It's another sunny day in WA today (even though cold). That's the 4th beautiful day this week - a record! And w e are signing our loan docs today. Hooray! There are still some issues with the septic tank, the county needs to inspect it and if there are any fixes to be made we want the seller to pay them, so we probably won't officially close and get the keys to the house until late next week. I am so antsy to get in there and get started on all our projects! We are going to pick tile and fixtures for the bathrooms this weekend. It's overwhelming with so many choices and decisions to make, but in the best way.
In other news, I have three interviews next week for new positions at work. My current job officially comes to an end May 4 so it will be good to get some clarity on what comes next and move forward. I am just ready to be settled, in general.
Finally, Sam has figured out how to climb up the stairs! He's pretty proud of himself.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Sam's First Year
I still can't believe my little boy is one. It is true what everyone says (but you don't really understand until you experience it)- they grow up so fast! And everyone says it goes faster after the first year.
Admittedly, if you've been reading my blog you know the first 4 months with Sam were pretty rough (for both of us). But since then it has gotten better and better, and I love each stage more than the last. I really love this age. It is so fun to watch Sam explore and learn and test the waters (literally, tonight he was trying to stick his face underwater in the bath!) with each new experience. He is the most wonderful gift from God and I love him so much it hurts. It's scary, loving someone so much. It will be sad to watch him grow up and become independent, even though I'm excited to see who he will become. So far, I can say he is sweet natured, fun loving (loves to be tickled and roll around on the couch/bed, tempting you to tickle him), and a little mischievous (looks at you as he is about to stick his face underwater, waiting to see your reaction! Same thing with getting close to rolling off the bed).
He is very attached to me (and I don't say this in a bragging way, though of course in some ways I love it)! Most kids go through some sort of separation anxiety at some point, but he is like my Velcro baby. I hope I didn't somehow make him feel scared or insecure. I'm not sure how I could've done that, but I don't know where the clingy-ness comes from. Again, I am happy to hold him tight though when he clings to me! I guess it's a big unpredictable world when you're that little, and being with your Mom is the most familiar, safe place to be.
Sam takes a little while to warm up to a new situation or new people, but once he does he is a charmer! He loves to flash a grin or point and wave at people when we go to the store, to see who he can get a smile from. And he enjoyed the attention at his birthday party. We had a small party with family this year, just due to lack of space and not having the option to go somewhere outside.He wasn't quite sure what everyone was staring at when he ate his cake, but he loved it (and all the new toys, and balloons too). The video files were too big to fit into one video so this is split in two parts.
(Major bummer, the one picture of all 3 of us did not turn out, it's blurry. But I do love this shot!)
Monday, March 26, 2012
Birthday update and other thoughts
Can't believe my little man, my baby, is one! One and some change as of today. We are having a belated birthday party for him next weekend since Bill had to work on his actual birthday. I will definitely take the time to write some reflections on Sam and this past year too, just not sure when! All our free time this week will be filled with remodel planning and birthday party prep. Oh, and a haircut for Sam!
Things have been going so well lately, despite all the change and upheaval in my life right now. Yeah I've been a bit stressed but that's normal right? I know it sounds morbid but I keep wondering, when is the shoe gonna drop? Surely something bad will happen because we've been so blessed with good news lately. Wrong. I know. I know God doesn't work that way. Life will have its ups and downs and I can't control that - just need to take joy in the good and continue to trust God in the bad. Still, I think of all my friends and family going through tough things lately, struggling and I feel guilty. Why do we have it so easy right now? I hope she doesn't mind me sharing, but my dear Molly's recent blog post really spoke to me and I want to share it. I know this is a season and there will be some different periods of suffering in the future, because that's life on this earth. But I know God will use it, and is using it in my friends' lives right now, to draw them closer to Him and give them a deeper understanding of and relationship with Him.
Things have been going so well lately, despite all the change and upheaval in my life right now. Yeah I've been a bit stressed but that's normal right? I know it sounds morbid but I keep wondering, when is the shoe gonna drop? Surely something bad will happen because we've been so blessed with good news lately. Wrong. I know. I know God doesn't work that way. Life will have its ups and downs and I can't control that - just need to take joy in the good and continue to trust God in the bad. Still, I think of all my friends and family going through tough things lately, struggling and I feel guilty. Why do we have it so easy right now? I hope she doesn't mind me sharing, but my dear Molly's recent blog post really spoke to me and I want to share it. I know this is a season and there will be some different periods of suffering in the future, because that's life on this earth. But I know God will use it, and is using it in my friends' lives right now, to draw them closer to Him and give them a deeper understanding of and relationship with Him.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Our new house in the woods
We did it! We found our house! We've been looking for about 6 weeks now, and this house was actually on our original list but we overlooked it. It's a little further out than I wanted to be, so my work commute will be longer, and we weren't sure we were up for buying a fixer. But when we finally decided to go out and take a look we were sold. The location is just so cool. It's about a half mile (up hill:) from the harbor, yet feels tucked away - there's a long drive way lined with trees and about an acre of property, lots of which is trees. The price was also too good to pass up. We got this place for $125,000 below the original asking price!. It was on the market for a year and they had already lowered the price by $100,000. I don't think there had been any other offers. We offered $25,000 below that and they still accepted! If there were ever a time to buy a house...
The yard will be a long-term project, we don't even know where to start with that, but we are planning on remodeling the kitchen and the upstairs bathrooms right away, before we move in. We've got a good friend who is a contractor who will be helping us for practically a song, and we'll have to save some other major projects for later down the road. But I am just thrilled about this place! Of course we haven't had the inspection yet, so let's hope nothing major comes up. The house WAS built the year I was born so I'm sure there will be some things that need immediate fixing. I just hope they're not large things.
I know a lot of friends and family were praying for us to find the right place, so thank you! Thank you God. I feel so blessed. Now for the pictures. And hey, if you have ANY ideas or inspiration for design, remodeling, landscaping, I am all ears. It's a little overwhelming to know where to begin.
The yard will be a long-term project, we don't even know where to start with that, but we are planning on remodeling the kitchen and the upstairs bathrooms right away, before we move in. We've got a good friend who is a contractor who will be helping us for practically a song, and we'll have to save some other major projects for later down the road. But I am just thrilled about this place! Of course we haven't had the inspection yet, so let's hope nothing major comes up. The house WAS built the year I was born so I'm sure there will be some things that need immediate fixing. I just hope they're not large things.
I know a lot of friends and family were praying for us to find the right place, so thank you! Thank you God. I feel so blessed. Now for the pictures. And hey, if you have ANY ideas or inspiration for design, remodeling, landscaping, I am all ears. It's a little overwhelming to know where to begin.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Favorite Things
So my friend Melanie had a great idea to focus on a few of her favorite things, to 'bring a smile to her heart & remind her of what she's thankful for, and whenever she's in a funk, to think of these things'. Sounds like something we could all use! So here are a few of mine:
- Fresh baked chocolate chip cookies
- Sleeping in (that moment when you wake up and realize you don't have to get out of bed, so turn over and snuggle in for some more sleep!)
- The huge, sleepy grin on Sam's face when I get him out of his crib in the morning
- Morning snuggle time with my boy
- Foot massages
- A nice glass of wine
- Bubble baths
- The smell of summer (fresh cut grass, BBQs, suntan lotion)
- Warm sand between my toes (I don't even remember the last time I felt that)
- My cute pets
- Annual summer trip w/ my parents & brother's family each summer
- Shopping :)
- A new haircut
- Dinner w/ Bill
- Traveling - in general- I really miss it
- A clean, organized house. Ah, how I miss that!
- A good book, one that you can't put down
What are some of yours? Tag, you're it. :)
Would love to hear some of your favorite things too.
- Fresh baked chocolate chip cookies
- Sleeping in (that moment when you wake up and realize you don't have to get out of bed, so turn over and snuggle in for some more sleep!)
- The huge, sleepy grin on Sam's face when I get him out of his crib in the morning
- Morning snuggle time with my boy
- Foot massages
- A nice glass of wine
- Bubble baths
- The smell of summer (fresh cut grass, BBQs, suntan lotion)
- Warm sand between my toes (I don't even remember the last time I felt that)
- My cute pets
- Annual summer trip w/ my parents & brother's family each summer
- Shopping :)
- A new haircut
- Dinner w/ Bill
- Traveling - in general- I really miss it
- A clean, organized house. Ah, how I miss that!
- A good book, one that you can't put down
What are some of yours? Tag, you're it. :)
Would love to hear some of your favorite things too.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Change is in the air
So... the reference to having a tight budget in my last post is related to some big changes!
First, we finally decided to look into moving and getting out from under the huge debt we're in with this town house. The first step was to meet with a real estate attorney who specializes in loan modifications, short sales and foreclosures. What we discovered talking with her and crunching, re-crunching, then crunching some more numbers, was that unless we plan to stay put for the long-term (5-10 more years), we should consider a short sale. (With no back yard, a pretty bad school district, and plans to grow our family, we definitely don't want to stay here). It came as a bit of a shock, since I always thought of short-sales and foreclosures as solutions for either people in a lot of trouble financially, or the irresponsible. The reality is that with the way the market's going and the banks' unwillingness to work with the average person paying their mortgage, we don't have a whole lot of options. The even more surprising advice we were given was to plan to purchase a new home before we stop paying on this house, and before our credit takes a hit. Yikes. Sounds crazy! With the low prices and really low interest rates, it makes more sense to pay a new mortgage then to pay someone else rent when we do move. That's the long and short of it. So we are now officially house hunting! It's been an emotional roller coaster so far. The first week we looked, we found two houses we really liked, both of which sold before we could even consider making an offer. Since then, it's been kind of slim pickins' for our price range. (Oh yeah, that was yet another surprise, that we pre-qualified for a loan on a secondary residence...). As of today, the search continues. We're struggling with whether to buy an older, larger house that needs lots of work (for which we have no cash) or a newer, smaller place with less character.
Add to all of this some big changes at work. My department has been re-structured and my whole team was notified last week that our positions had been eliminated. We've known of the reorganization for months but weren't sure how it would all go down. Basically I will have to re-apply for a job on the new team (with my job share partner). It's exciting and unnerving at the same time. I think the end result will be good for our organization and I'm hopeful that it will mean a new, more interesting and challenging job for Sarah and I. So obviously we won't be signing on any dotted lines for a new house until all this work business is straightened out. Needless to say, I could use your prayers!
First, we finally decided to look into moving and getting out from under the huge debt we're in with this town house. The first step was to meet with a real estate attorney who specializes in loan modifications, short sales and foreclosures. What we discovered talking with her and crunching, re-crunching, then crunching some more numbers, was that unless we plan to stay put for the long-term (5-10 more years), we should consider a short sale. (With no back yard, a pretty bad school district, and plans to grow our family, we definitely don't want to stay here). It came as a bit of a shock, since I always thought of short-sales and foreclosures as solutions for either people in a lot of trouble financially, or the irresponsible. The reality is that with the way the market's going and the banks' unwillingness to work with the average person paying their mortgage, we don't have a whole lot of options. The even more surprising advice we were given was to plan to purchase a new home before we stop paying on this house, and before our credit takes a hit. Yikes. Sounds crazy! With the low prices and really low interest rates, it makes more sense to pay a new mortgage then to pay someone else rent when we do move. That's the long and short of it. So we are now officially house hunting! It's been an emotional roller coaster so far. The first week we looked, we found two houses we really liked, both of which sold before we could even consider making an offer. Since then, it's been kind of slim pickins' for our price range. (Oh yeah, that was yet another surprise, that we pre-qualified for a loan on a secondary residence...). As of today, the search continues. We're struggling with whether to buy an older, larger house that needs lots of work (for which we have no cash) or a newer, smaller place with less character.
Add to all of this some big changes at work. My department has been re-structured and my whole team was notified last week that our positions had been eliminated. We've known of the reorganization for months but weren't sure how it would all go down. Basically I will have to re-apply for a job on the new team (with my job share partner). It's exciting and unnerving at the same time. I think the end result will be good for our organization and I'm hopeful that it will mean a new, more interesting and challenging job for Sarah and I. So obviously we won't be signing on any dotted lines for a new house until all this work business is straightened out. Needless to say, I could use your prayers!
Monday, February 13, 2012
Napa
Bill and I got to escape to Napa Valley for 3 nights last weekend with 2 other couples. I had so much anxiety about leaving Sam for the first time, I don't think I was really even excited about it until we actually landed in Sacramento. My mom came up to my house and stayed with Sam all weekend, and he did just fine. I finally did relax and start to enjoy myself after talking with her just after we got to our hotel.
The weather was great, not quite warm, but sunny and clear. The landscape was beautiful - rolling hills, huge old oak and walnut trees, vineyards as far as the eye can see. Ah...now I am really missing it! The weekend was pretty much all about wine and food. We had a great hotel with a yummy breakfast buffet; after breakfast we would go sit by the open air fire pit and sip our coffee, then hop in the car and start visiting wineries. I really don't know much about wine (just what I like and what I don't like) but I think we tasted some pretty darn good wines. We had some great meals too. We tried to get into Bottega but it was a busy Fri night and we didn't have reservations. We did catch a glimpse of Mike Chiarello though. That was as close to a 'celebrity' siting as we got - our friends went last year and saw Robin Williams at this place. We had dessert there but again no celebrity sitings. :)
These pictures really don't do the trip any justice. I wish I a) had a nice camera and b) knew how to use it. Alas, the iPhone pics will have to do. All in all, a great trip. And I'm glad it was because it may be the last one we can afford for a while. That will be the topic of my next post....
A quick stop for IN-N-OUT burgers on the way to Napa.
Tour of Stag's Leap - there is a cool story behind this winery, one of the first in Napa. The movie "Bottle Shock" was indirectly about Stag's Leap.
Table-side S'mores!
Coffee by the pool.
The weather was great, not quite warm, but sunny and clear. The landscape was beautiful - rolling hills, huge old oak and walnut trees, vineyards as far as the eye can see. Ah...now I am really missing it! The weekend was pretty much all about wine and food. We had a great hotel with a yummy breakfast buffet; after breakfast we would go sit by the open air fire pit and sip our coffee, then hop in the car and start visiting wineries. I really don't know much about wine (just what I like and what I don't like) but I think we tasted some pretty darn good wines. We had some great meals too. We tried to get into Bottega but it was a busy Fri night and we didn't have reservations. We did catch a glimpse of Mike Chiarello though. That was as close to a 'celebrity' siting as we got - our friends went last year and saw Robin Williams at this place. We had dessert there but again no celebrity sitings. :)
These pictures really don't do the trip any justice. I wish I a) had a nice camera and b) knew how to use it. Alas, the iPhone pics will have to do. All in all, a great trip. And I'm glad it was because it may be the last one we can afford for a while. That will be the topic of my next post....
A quick stop for IN-N-OUT burgers on the way to Napa.
Tour of Stag's Leap - there is a cool story behind this winery, one of the first in Napa. The movie "Bottle Shock" was indirectly about Stag's Leap.
Table-side S'mores!
Coffee by the pool.
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