24.

It's funny what can happen in a week. Or really, five days. Last Wednesday, I turned 24. And I got the best birthday present EVER, even better than finding out I was going to have a little "nephew" the day after my birthday last year. :)

It all started when I somehow talked my mom into going to look at a condo with me (three days after we had decided I'd stay at home and keep saving money until after Christmas...and I'd hopefully find a place and move out after the first of the year.) I had already seen the place, so I was excited to show my mom around and see what she thought. They were brand-new, and there were about five left for sale. Or so I thought. We walked in, were handed a flyer, and I heard "there's only one left." WHAT?! ONE LEFT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'ONE LEFT'?!

I freaked out.

Yes, this was the only place I had looked at. But I didn't care. It was the only thing I wanted. We walked around, and I swear I asked my mom "what do I do?!" every two seconds. After talking to the realtor for about 20 minutes, I took his business card and told him I would talk to him soon.

Note: I left something out in my last post - when I got home from church, I checked the paper to see when the open house for this condo was...1-2 PM. Damn. It was 2:15.

On the way home, I asked her "what do I do?!" but this time it was every ten seconds. We got home and sat at the kitchen counter, contemplating my options. That night, I e-mailed the lady at the bank I had been working with to tell her I wanted to come in and get my home loan application submitted. I felt sick all day, wondering what was going to happen. What would I do if I didn't get this condo? I didn't want anything else. I didn't want to mess with mowing, shoveling or making updates to a place. I wanted this.

I got a response stating that she wasn't available until 3:00 PM Tuesday, that she could maybe fit me in, otherwise Wednesday at 5:00. My birthday. I chose Tuesday, solely because my mom and I had both been sick to our stomachs, unable to eat much since Sunday.

My mom had been reading me my horoscopes, and mine for Tuesday said something about not being pessimistic. And I'll be the first to admit, I'm not the most optimistic person you'll ever meet. I very rarely have an entirely good day. So I dealt with it. I was positive ALL day long. I looked at the good in all situations. And it felt good. And obviously, it was good. When I met with Stacey at the bank, we went over all of the paperwork and she said she had a very good feeling about it, and that everything looked great. She said we should hear back sometime Wednesday, or at the latest, first thing Thursday morning. As I left her office, I called the realtor and told him the news and that I'd contact him as soon as I heard back.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011. My 24th birthday. I had a couple hour-long morning meetings, and after each, I came back to my desk hoping for a missed call (amongst messages upon messages wishing me a 'happy birthday') or an e-mail from Stacey. Around 12:30, I put my phone out of sight and reach to try and get some work done. I closed my Internet Explorer window with my Gmail account up. I had to get something accomplished.

At 12:51, I received an e-mail from Stacey on my work account. The subject line read:
                                                            HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Somewhere between the "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!!!!" "GREAT NEWS!" "We just got your loan approval!!!!!" and "MAKE AN OFFER ON YOUR BIRTHDAY!" I managed to nervously get the word "girls..." out of my mouth. I turned around and one of my co-workers said "you got it?!" I picked up my phone, went into the hallway and called the realtor. Then I called my mom. She thought I was joking. I was sweating.

After A LOT of celebrating that night and a rough supposed-to-be 9-hour-day-turned-into-7 (birthday night details to come!) I met with Brian at 4:00 and signed my life away. 31 days until I close on my place and move in!