I owe you all a post. I’m sorry I’ve been MIA lately, between the marathon house hunting (which is still continuing – I think now we’ve looked at nearly 80 houses) and getting ready for Christmas I’ve simply been too tired at night to type.
As you can assume, we still don’t have a new home and frankly we’re both getting a little antsy. Man it’s hard. Plus with the market tanking around us – every day something new is coming up and the prices are getting better by the day so it's hard not to want to hold out and see what comes up tomorrow.
C is actually looking at a great house tonight in our range which is about $90K under its original asking price. I have to work so he’s going on his own – we have to do it this way because at that price, in the community we really want to live in, someone will be snatching that up very soon.
So keep your fingers crossed – I really hoped we’d be in a new house by Christmas. It’s my absolute favorite time of the year. I love nothing better than decorating for the holidays, carefully choosing those special gifts (which is so much easier with the ability to do the majority of it online) and wrapping everything while enjoying a fantastic bottle of wine and listening to my holiday music playlist on my iPod (a gift from two Christmas’ ago). But this year it’s bittersweet. All my decorations are in storage and we really don’t have the space for the tree with all our boxes of what we needed for our temporary stay at my grandmother’s. I’m hoping to get myself into the spirit a bit tomorrow night wrapping my gifts and listening to music, but not being able to admire my tree - which every year is covered in antique ornaments passed down to me from my great aunt who passed away many years ago (she was my favorite) - is going to be hard. So while this year will be a bittersweet holiday, I at least know there is something to look forward to in the New Year – setting up our new home (wherever that will be).
Have a great weekend everyone!
Friday, December 07, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Fears Faced - Bring on the Baking!
I finally did it! Kristi – you’ll be so proud. I bit the bullet and finally decided 11 months was long enough to wait to get acquainted with my KitchenAid. And I’m no longer afraid.
I used it for the first time Friday night. My girlfriend was telling me a week ago she uses hers for everything so I figured why the hell not – I used it to make mashed potatoes. No one told me it does things in seconds that normally take me forever! I was in love!
So Sunday, after another marathon afternoon of house hunting, I settled in to make my grandmother’s German cheesecake. This was a first (although I have a vague recollection of making it years ago once but it did not come out well at all).
And since I have the counter space in my temporary kitchen, that I did not have in the old house, Little Miss KitchenAid is now always in place and ready to go. And I’m obsessed – spent the most of last night looking up recipes to make just to use it! C certainly isn’t complaining – it’s a nice treat for someone who usually does all the cooking to have me obsessed with a kitchen appliance.
Remember how happy I was when I got it for Christmas last year? (little did I know I'd be so intimidated by it that it would be almost a year before it was put to use)
Here she is – unveiled for the first time.
A work in progress as my cheesecake fixings come together.
And the finished product!
I used it for the first time Friday night. My girlfriend was telling me a week ago she uses hers for everything so I figured why the hell not – I used it to make mashed potatoes. No one told me it does things in seconds that normally take me forever! I was in love!
So Sunday, after another marathon afternoon of house hunting, I settled in to make my grandmother’s German cheesecake. This was a first (although I have a vague recollection of making it years ago once but it did not come out well at all).
And since I have the counter space in my temporary kitchen, that I did not have in the old house, Little Miss KitchenAid is now always in place and ready to go. And I’m obsessed – spent the most of last night looking up recipes to make just to use it! C certainly isn’t complaining – it’s a nice treat for someone who usually does all the cooking to have me obsessed with a kitchen appliance.
Remember how happy I was when I got it for Christmas last year? (little did I know I'd be so intimidated by it that it would be almost a year before it was put to use)
Here she is – unveiled for the first time.
A work in progress as my cheesecake fixings come together.
And the finished product!
Thanksgiving Shots
Happy Belated Thanksgiving everyone! Another holiday has passed and I can't believe it's less than a month until Christmas - so much to do! Where does the time go?
I wasn't my usual camera-happy self on Thursday, so I only have a couple of shots to share.
Here's C cutting the turkey at mom's
And of course a photo (OK, a couple) of the little guy with my Dad!
I wasn't my usual camera-happy self on Thursday, so I only have a couple of shots to share.
Here's C cutting the turkey at mom's
And of course a photo (OK, a couple) of the little guy with my Dad!
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Early Sesame Street: Adults Only? You've Got to Be Kidding Me
I don’t know what to think. The New York Times this week ran an article about the “Sesame Street” we all enjoyed as children. The article, which is highly cynical, actually talks about how the original “Sesame Street” is now available on DVD but it has a warning on it: Adults Only. Are you kidding me?
“What they did to us was hard-core. Man, was that scene rough. The masonry on the dingy brownstone at 123 Sesame Street, where the closeted Ernie and Bert shared a dismal basement apartment, was deteriorating. Cookie Monster was on a fast track to diabetes. Oscar’s depression was untreated. Prozacky Elmo didn’t exist,” said the author. And let’s not forget that only Big Bird can see Mr. Snuffleupagus – thus he’s hallucinating.
Now, I for one never thought anything like this as a child growing up watching these episodes. But then again, in the 1970s we weren’t exposed to things that are so mainstream today.
The article talks about a segment in the first issue where Gordon brought Sally home to meet his wife and gave her milk and cookies. And in today’s world, a child going home with a man to meet his wife is just frightening. Why? Because the world we live in today is a pretty scary place to be.
My mom always says she gave me the gift of fear – and we both believe it’s a good one. And we do laugh about it – but know deep down this is the greatest gift she could ever give me. Not a fear of everything, but more of a fear to be aware of your surroundings at all times. When the other kids used to cut through the woods on the way to elementary school, it took me a little longer because mom told me not to walk in the woods and I never did.
As a little girl on my necklace chain I had very small gold whistle – the size of a charm. The idea was if my mom and I were ever separated while out shopping, I was to stop and blow the whistle. I have a very vivid memory of losing my mom in a department store and looking up and seeing all these women with the same blonde hair but couldn’t find my mom. I called out to her. Nothing. A woman came over, took me by the arm and told me she’d help me. No way! I started blowing the whistle (while this woman, who honestly in 1974 only wanted to help me find my mom looked at me like I was a lunatic). All of a sudden an arm went up from across the store and my mom called out “Elizabeth, I hear you – I’m coming.” Now that was pretty forward thinking on my mom’s part if you think about it.
Today I always check under my car as I approach it (you never know when someone might be hiding underneath it). I always check the far back of my SUV before opening the door. I walk with my key stuck out between my fingers in case I need a quick way to defend myself from a predator. I lock my doors, don’t let any strangers in my house and overall think I’ve lived a pretty safe existence.
While this author goes on to explain why the original Sesame Street series is carrying this adult only rating, it makes me nostalgic and disappointed at the same time. Those decades were a lot different then the one we are living in now. The world was a friendlier place, people weren’t abducting children and doing horrible things to them, terrorism wasn’t something we thought about on a daily basis and people socialized with their neighbors, said hello to passers-by on the street and left their doors unlocked. I think watching these early episodes of Sesame Street are no different than watching 1950s television programs. They are a reminder of the world we used to live in and a refreshing break from a world where we are always looking over our shoulders.
“What they did to us was hard-core. Man, was that scene rough. The masonry on the dingy brownstone at 123 Sesame Street, where the closeted Ernie and Bert shared a dismal basement apartment, was deteriorating. Cookie Monster was on a fast track to diabetes. Oscar’s depression was untreated. Prozacky Elmo didn’t exist,” said the author. And let’s not forget that only Big Bird can see Mr. Snuffleupagus – thus he’s hallucinating.
Now, I for one never thought anything like this as a child growing up watching these episodes. But then again, in the 1970s we weren’t exposed to things that are so mainstream today.
The article talks about a segment in the first issue where Gordon brought Sally home to meet his wife and gave her milk and cookies. And in today’s world, a child going home with a man to meet his wife is just frightening. Why? Because the world we live in today is a pretty scary place to be.
My mom always says she gave me the gift of fear – and we both believe it’s a good one. And we do laugh about it – but know deep down this is the greatest gift she could ever give me. Not a fear of everything, but more of a fear to be aware of your surroundings at all times. When the other kids used to cut through the woods on the way to elementary school, it took me a little longer because mom told me not to walk in the woods and I never did.
As a little girl on my necklace chain I had very small gold whistle – the size of a charm. The idea was if my mom and I were ever separated while out shopping, I was to stop and blow the whistle. I have a very vivid memory of losing my mom in a department store and looking up and seeing all these women with the same blonde hair but couldn’t find my mom. I called out to her. Nothing. A woman came over, took me by the arm and told me she’d help me. No way! I started blowing the whistle (while this woman, who honestly in 1974 only wanted to help me find my mom looked at me like I was a lunatic). All of a sudden an arm went up from across the store and my mom called out “Elizabeth, I hear you – I’m coming.” Now that was pretty forward thinking on my mom’s part if you think about it.
Today I always check under my car as I approach it (you never know when someone might be hiding underneath it). I always check the far back of my SUV before opening the door. I walk with my key stuck out between my fingers in case I need a quick way to defend myself from a predator. I lock my doors, don’t let any strangers in my house and overall think I’ve lived a pretty safe existence.
While this author goes on to explain why the original Sesame Street series is carrying this adult only rating, it makes me nostalgic and disappointed at the same time. Those decades were a lot different then the one we are living in now. The world was a friendlier place, people weren’t abducting children and doing horrible things to them, terrorism wasn’t something we thought about on a daily basis and people socialized with their neighbors, said hello to passers-by on the street and left their doors unlocked. I think watching these early episodes of Sesame Street are no different than watching 1950s television programs. They are a reminder of the world we used to live in and a refreshing break from a world where we are always looking over our shoulders.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
I'm Not Crazy
So yesterday I posted about the fact one of the houses high on our radar screen felt to me as if it had a bad vibe to it. In fact, that was one of the reasons that turned me off to it completely when we first looked at it. And I didn’t feel crazy about it because I’ve always had a sixth sense – ever since I was a little girl – and it comes and goes and that’s the way it is. Plus when I sensed it the first time we looked, my realtor felt it, too. Though C I swear thought we were both nuts.
In any case, we went back to take another look at the house last night. It is after all a great value, a giant house (2400 sq ft), is on more than an acre of land and is only 17 years old.
So we did and I had to admit, I wasn’t having too much of that feeling last night. Until I went upstairs. While it wasn’t super bad, I did get a bad vibe. I was talking to our realtor last night while C was walking around checking the outside of the house and I asked him if he felt anything this time. He said, “not like last time.” Again, not so bad, but I was starting to feel a little crazy. It's a great house. Am I willing to give it up because of a "feeling?"
Today I was on a mission. To find out EXACTLY what happened there to make me feel that way. And here is what I found out thanks to a little detective work. The police were called 10 times in 10 years for domestics. Absolutely horrible and these people had three children. I can’t image how horrible it was inside that house.
On a lighter note, no one died in it and I think this beautiful home just wants a happy family to live in it. Hopefully if all goes well, we’ll be putting in an offer this week. I’ll keep you posted!
In any case, we went back to take another look at the house last night. It is after all a great value, a giant house (2400 sq ft), is on more than an acre of land and is only 17 years old.
So we did and I had to admit, I wasn’t having too much of that feeling last night. Until I went upstairs. While it wasn’t super bad, I did get a bad vibe. I was talking to our realtor last night while C was walking around checking the outside of the house and I asked him if he felt anything this time. He said, “not like last time.” Again, not so bad, but I was starting to feel a little crazy. It's a great house. Am I willing to give it up because of a "feeling?"
Today I was on a mission. To find out EXACTLY what happened there to make me feel that way. And here is what I found out thanks to a little detective work. The police were called 10 times in 10 years for domestics. Absolutely horrible and these people had three children. I can’t image how horrible it was inside that house.
On a lighter note, no one died in it and I think this beautiful home just wants a happy family to live in it. Hopefully if all goes well, we’ll be putting in an offer this week. I’ll keep you posted!
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
How Do You Choose?
Another day another house panic. We looked at a really beautiful split level in a nice neighborhood on Sunday (along with seven other houses). There’s really nothing wrong with it. Brand new kitchen, beautiful floors, ¾ of an acre of land, a garage, but I think, personally, that the bedrooms are too small. Of course our old house had huge bedrooms and some of the other houses (close to 50) we have seen have had larger ones as well. But overall it’s well kept – well loved, and very attractive.
On the flip side there is another house we looked at quite a while ago. It’s a split gambrel cape. (which works out for both of us as I love capes and C is a big fan of splits). It has more than an acre of land. A front to back living room and a front to back master. When we looked at it many months ago I felt like I got a bad vibe from it. I’m pretty intuitive and maybe my intuition was off that day, but frankly I didn’t like how it felt. But it’s in a great neighborhood in a location I want to live in – and every other house on the cul de sac also boasts more than an acre of land each. It’s large, sunny, everything. But I poo-pooed it for quite some time.
The past few weeks I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind. The size, the yard, the location. Ah. So I did some research and no, contrary to my initial belief no one died in it. It was a divorce, just as C suspected and that’s why it is on the market.
Here’s the problem. We are going to look at both of them again tonight after work. The first one the owners are anxious (even though they just put it on the market) because they have found a new home and want to move. The second one is empty and has been for quite some time and has been on the market even longer. They are both the same price. Though the second one is assessed for less than the asking price and the second one is assessed for almost $100k more.
It’s hard. I feel like the split is smaller than some of the other houses we’ve looked at – but it had a good family feel. Then again it’s well decorated, painted in tones I would have chosen and lived in. The other is empty and begging for a family to move in.
Decisions decisions. Going to head over to both tonight with an open mind and hopefully come to some decisions. We’ll see. Whoever would have thought this would be so difficult and there would be so much to choose from?
On the flip side there is another house we looked at quite a while ago. It’s a split gambrel cape. (which works out for both of us as I love capes and C is a big fan of splits). It has more than an acre of land. A front to back living room and a front to back master. When we looked at it many months ago I felt like I got a bad vibe from it. I’m pretty intuitive and maybe my intuition was off that day, but frankly I didn’t like how it felt. But it’s in a great neighborhood in a location I want to live in – and every other house on the cul de sac also boasts more than an acre of land each. It’s large, sunny, everything. But I poo-pooed it for quite some time.
The past few weeks I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind. The size, the yard, the location. Ah. So I did some research and no, contrary to my initial belief no one died in it. It was a divorce, just as C suspected and that’s why it is on the market.
Here’s the problem. We are going to look at both of them again tonight after work. The first one the owners are anxious (even though they just put it on the market) because they have found a new home and want to move. The second one is empty and has been for quite some time and has been on the market even longer. They are both the same price. Though the second one is assessed for less than the asking price and the second one is assessed for almost $100k more.
It’s hard. I feel like the split is smaller than some of the other houses we’ve looked at – but it had a good family feel. Then again it’s well decorated, painted in tones I would have chosen and lived in. The other is empty and begging for a family to move in.
Decisions decisions. Going to head over to both tonight with an open mind and hopefully come to some decisions. We’ll see. Whoever would have thought this would be so difficult and there would be so much to choose from?
Friday, November 02, 2007
My Most Wonderful Time of the Year
It’s officially Autumn and we officially have a break. We are settled into my grandmother’s house while we continue our house search and for the first time in quite some time I’m at peace. There’s a nice feeling knowing there is no more rush to pack, move boxes and be sure not to send anything you might need to storage for an indefinite amount of time.
But the best part for me is it’s November – which I’ve always enjoyed, but after meeting C it’s an even better month for me.
This is my favorite time of year. The crisp autumn chill (though this morning in Boston it felt a lot like winter). The crunch of leaves under my feet. The smell of a fire from neighboring chimneys after the sun goes down. And it’s apple season! Every year since I was a little girl I’ve spent my fall weekends making apple pies. My great Auntie Eva taught me and made a tradition out of it – baking apple pies and watching old movies. To this day I still make sure I have an old classic on while baking them in her memory.
November is also very close to my heart as C and I met this month and had our first date. What more could a girl ask for than to meet her perfect guy during her favorite time of the year (and yes, C is a BIG fall fan too!)
And (I know many find it annoying) but my other absolute favorite thing about the month of November? Come the week of Thanksgiving there’s a radio station in Boston that plays 24 hours of Christmas music everyday until Christmas. I simply can’t get enough of it! Though I know, unless some miracle happens and we buy, paint, replace carpeting and move into a new house before Christmas, this will be the first year in a very long time that I won’t be trimming my tree with my heirloom ornaments or decorating my mantel. It’s bittersweet – but will be worth the wait knowing when we do find our perfect new home it will be a place where we can build new holiday traditions year after year after year.
But the best part for me is it’s November – which I’ve always enjoyed, but after meeting C it’s an even better month for me.
This is my favorite time of year. The crisp autumn chill (though this morning in Boston it felt a lot like winter). The crunch of leaves under my feet. The smell of a fire from neighboring chimneys after the sun goes down. And it’s apple season! Every year since I was a little girl I’ve spent my fall weekends making apple pies. My great Auntie Eva taught me and made a tradition out of it – baking apple pies and watching old movies. To this day I still make sure I have an old classic on while baking them in her memory.
November is also very close to my heart as C and I met this month and had our first date. What more could a girl ask for than to meet her perfect guy during her favorite time of the year (and yes, C is a BIG fall fan too!)
And (I know many find it annoying) but my other absolute favorite thing about the month of November? Come the week of Thanksgiving there’s a radio station in Boston that plays 24 hours of Christmas music everyday until Christmas. I simply can’t get enough of it! Though I know, unless some miracle happens and we buy, paint, replace carpeting and move into a new house before Christmas, this will be the first year in a very long time that I won’t be trimming my tree with my heirloom ornaments or decorating my mantel. It’s bittersweet – but will be worth the wait knowing when we do find our perfect new home it will be a place where we can build new holiday traditions year after year after year.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
"Even My Skin Hurts"
I think C put it best in the wee hours of this morning when he said “even my skin hurts.”
Yesterday was a VERY long day for us as it was our last official day in our house. At 4 p.m. the movers came to take the final load to storage and I packed up the trusty Hondamatic with some more boxes (mostly cleaning supplies, empty boxes that need to be trashed, etc…). Then my job was to wait for the realtor and the new owners to come do the walkthrough at 6. C went with the movers. Well here it was quarter to 5. I poured myself a well deserved glass of wine and caught up on some email, when C texted (is this a word?) me.
“Did you empty the Hondamatic yet?”
What was he talking about? He never said anything about driving the stuff over to the other house and unpacking. And I was in no frame of mind to think clearly. Shoot. This was bad. So somehow, in rush hour traffic, I flew to my grandmother’s with my car packed to the brim, unpacked it and got home with 15 minutes to spare before the walkthrough. Not really sure how that happened, but it did.
Then the fun really began. We ate pizza on our kitchen floor since we had no furniture – but I did manage to find the salt and pepper (I always know what is in what box when I pack them). Then more trips. C’s truck and my SUV packed back and forth, back and forth. It was tiring, yes. Moving the giant man-sized TV – even tougher but we did it - together. I’ll admit, while I have been pretty focused and pushing myself harder than I usually do throughout this process last night I was sore, exhausted and borderline moody. it was bound to happen. Let's just say at about midnight I curled into a ball on the floor of our empty livingroom and went to sleep. But We finally finished up last night about quarter to one in the morning. I’m a zombie and every muscle, every smile hurts right now. But it’s all good. The house is officially sold and it is no longer ours. C’s off today – taking care of some errands and trying to make some sense of the tons of boxes littering my house at the moment.
Tonight we celebrate at a romantic dinner for two – I only hope I don’t fall asleep in my soup!
Thank you all for listening, for your friendship and for talking a usually super organized person off the ledge many times this week. I owe you all!
Yesterday was a VERY long day for us as it was our last official day in our house. At 4 p.m. the movers came to take the final load to storage and I packed up the trusty Hondamatic with some more boxes (mostly cleaning supplies, empty boxes that need to be trashed, etc…). Then my job was to wait for the realtor and the new owners to come do the walkthrough at 6. C went with the movers. Well here it was quarter to 5. I poured myself a well deserved glass of wine and caught up on some email, when C texted (is this a word?) me.
“Did you empty the Hondamatic yet?”
What was he talking about? He never said anything about driving the stuff over to the other house and unpacking. And I was in no frame of mind to think clearly. Shoot. This was bad. So somehow, in rush hour traffic, I flew to my grandmother’s with my car packed to the brim, unpacked it and got home with 15 minutes to spare before the walkthrough. Not really sure how that happened, but it did.
Then the fun really began. We ate pizza on our kitchen floor since we had no furniture – but I did manage to find the salt and pepper (I always know what is in what box when I pack them). Then more trips. C’s truck and my SUV packed back and forth, back and forth. It was tiring, yes. Moving the giant man-sized TV – even tougher but we did it - together. I’ll admit, while I have been pretty focused and pushing myself harder than I usually do throughout this process last night I was sore, exhausted and borderline moody. it was bound to happen. Let's just say at about midnight I curled into a ball on the floor of our empty livingroom and went to sleep. But We finally finished up last night about quarter to one in the morning. I’m a zombie and every muscle, every smile hurts right now. But it’s all good. The house is officially sold and it is no longer ours. C’s off today – taking care of some errands and trying to make some sense of the tons of boxes littering my house at the moment.
Tonight we celebrate at a romantic dinner for two – I only hope I don’t fall asleep in my soup!
Thank you all for listening, for your friendship and for talking a usually super organized person off the ledge many times this week. I owe you all!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Good-bye Home Sweet Home
It's been great having turned this house into our home. To watch as each room was brought to its full potential through a lot of hard work and sweat, but now as the days are numbered, it's almost time to say good-bye.
All the closets are empty, the only furniture left is our bed and our kitchen table. And of course the high-def TV - can't watch the Sox sweep the World Series without it! Every room is finally empty and now we are about to make our last trip to my grandmother's with the last of our stuff we'll need during our transition. The bed and table are coming Tuesday.
That's it. No food, except some cheese in my tiny college-dorm-like fridge, which also holds cream for our coffee and some soda, wine and water. The clock is finally counting down and in 48 hours we will no longer call this great century-old house home. It's bittersweet. It was the first major step in our at the time newlywed phase of our relationship - but now we are moving on to an even bigger step. Finding the home we will together grow old and raise our family in.
A toast to you our great home. You've done us good and made us very happy. I hope the happiness I had here is something the new owners will enjoy as well as they put their own personal touches on a house once belonging to someone else that they too can now call home.
(On a side note: while in 2004 I got to see Game 2 of the World Series with my dad, this time around I was left in the bullpen. Dad and my brother both went to Game 1 and as I type, my brother has been in Colorado with the Red Sox brass taking in all the action from there. Go Sox and A - have a great time and be safe!)
All the closets are empty, the only furniture left is our bed and our kitchen table. And of course the high-def TV - can't watch the Sox sweep the World Series without it! Every room is finally empty and now we are about to make our last trip to my grandmother's with the last of our stuff we'll need during our transition. The bed and table are coming Tuesday.
That's it. No food, except some cheese in my tiny college-dorm-like fridge, which also holds cream for our coffee and some soda, wine and water. The clock is finally counting down and in 48 hours we will no longer call this great century-old house home. It's bittersweet. It was the first major step in our at the time newlywed phase of our relationship - but now we are moving on to an even bigger step. Finding the home we will together grow old and raise our family in.
A toast to you our great home. You've done us good and made us very happy. I hope the happiness I had here is something the new owners will enjoy as well as they put their own personal touches on a house once belonging to someone else that they too can now call home.
(On a side note: while in 2004 I got to see Game 2 of the World Series with my dad, this time around I was left in the bullpen. Dad and my brother both went to Game 1 and as I type, my brother has been in Colorado with the Red Sox brass taking in all the action from there. Go Sox and A - have a great time and be safe!)
Monday, October 22, 2007
Give Me Strength
What a weekend. Too many life-changing events in too short a time.
My grandmother (my mother's mother) passed away Saturday night and we weren’t expecting that – it was tough, but we are all doing pretty well considering.
Then yesterday we put an offer on the house we wanted, and they countered (which we expected) but countered at only (hold your breath) 1.5 percent under their asking price. In this market that is insane! Needless to say we came back up another 1.5 percent and then they notified us in no uncertain terms that they were staying with that number take it or leave it. We left it. We’re good – there are at least 10 other houses on our list that we can get for a better price. So we’ll see. We can't actually do anything this week as we have to move and the closing is next week. But rest assured - we'll be moving full steam ahead once we get past the closing!
But the stress of sitting in the realtor’s office yesterday morning making an offer on a new house, knowing we had the movers coming on Tuesday and my grandmother’s death just finally physically stopped me in my tracks. It was simply too much for me to handle – emotionally and physically I am exhausted.
I’m actually at work this morning – need to get some stuff done before I lose time this week. Working half a day today, half a day tomorrow and then I’ll be out on Wednesday for the services.
Give me strength.
My grandmother (my mother's mother) passed away Saturday night and we weren’t expecting that – it was tough, but we are all doing pretty well considering.
Then yesterday we put an offer on the house we wanted, and they countered (which we expected) but countered at only (hold your breath) 1.5 percent under their asking price. In this market that is insane! Needless to say we came back up another 1.5 percent and then they notified us in no uncertain terms that they were staying with that number take it or leave it. We left it. We’re good – there are at least 10 other houses on our list that we can get for a better price. So we’ll see. We can't actually do anything this week as we have to move and the closing is next week. But rest assured - we'll be moving full steam ahead once we get past the closing!
But the stress of sitting in the realtor’s office yesterday morning making an offer on a new house, knowing we had the movers coming on Tuesday and my grandmother’s death just finally physically stopped me in my tracks. It was simply too much for me to handle – emotionally and physically I am exhausted.
I’m actually at work this morning – need to get some stuff done before I lose time this week. Working half a day today, half a day tomorrow and then I’ll be out on Wednesday for the services.
Give me strength.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Almost There
This weekend was yet another turning point for us in our quest to vacate our house for the new owners and get one step closer to finding our new home.
On Sunday morning, early – way too early for someone who was at the Red Sox playoff game Saturday night (or wait, should I say into Sunday morning) – we headed out to look at two houses I had wanted to see for a long time. They are both large split-level homes, both on the same street (in fact, they are almost across the street from each other). They were both absolutely beautiful, turnkey (except for some interior paint and paper), on great lots of land in a neighborhood I could picture raising a family in and growing old together in. In a word, they were perfect and we are leaning toward possibly making an offer on one this week.
After trudging through nearly 40 houses in the past six months, this was such a completely different experience. Everything was what we wanted. The location, the neighborhood, the size, the space – everything. And for the first time, we are both in agreement – which I never thought would happen. (last time I found “the house” C found “the house” too – although they were both different houses!)
Then yesterday we made some real headway. We took everything (with the exception of clothing and what we need to cook for the rest of the week) over to my grandmother’s house (where we are settling in temporarily while we wait to move into our new house). Three trips with both the truck and my trusty Hondamatic packed as full as possible. It actually wasn’t so bad. But definitely tiring.
So we are making headway – moving along and by this time next week will be out of our house – whether we are ready or not – the movers are coming a week from today to take our furniture to storage (what am I going to do without my bed for two months!)
But in the end I know it will all be worth it. No more city for this suburban girl. Back to the suburbs for me (though it’s so far out I’d have to say it’s more country than suburbs, but it sure beats city living).
Until next time …
On Sunday morning, early – way too early for someone who was at the Red Sox playoff game Saturday night (or wait, should I say into Sunday morning) – we headed out to look at two houses I had wanted to see for a long time. They are both large split-level homes, both on the same street (in fact, they are almost across the street from each other). They were both absolutely beautiful, turnkey (except for some interior paint and paper), on great lots of land in a neighborhood I could picture raising a family in and growing old together in. In a word, they were perfect and we are leaning toward possibly making an offer on one this week.
After trudging through nearly 40 houses in the past six months, this was such a completely different experience. Everything was what we wanted. The location, the neighborhood, the size, the space – everything. And for the first time, we are both in agreement – which I never thought would happen. (last time I found “the house” C found “the house” too – although they were both different houses!)
Then yesterday we made some real headway. We took everything (with the exception of clothing and what we need to cook for the rest of the week) over to my grandmother’s house (where we are settling in temporarily while we wait to move into our new house). Three trips with both the truck and my trusty Hondamatic packed as full as possible. It actually wasn’t so bad. But definitely tiring.
So we are making headway – moving along and by this time next week will be out of our house – whether we are ready or not – the movers are coming a week from today to take our furniture to storage (what am I going to do without my bed for two months!)
But in the end I know it will all be worth it. No more city for this suburban girl. Back to the suburbs for me (though it’s so far out I’d have to say it’s more country than suburbs, but it sure beats city living).
Until next time …
Thursday, October 11, 2007
The Continuously Ticking Clock
The clock is continuing to tick (not the biological one but the one that says we have to be out of our house within the next two weeks). This week has been a total bust for me in terms of packing thanks to a cold that started slowly last week and has been kicking my ass ever since. All I want to do is sleep and no matter how much it’s never enough. I’m exhausted, every muscle is sore and yet I’m still turning out page after page here at work and trying to create crafty ways to get everything that’s left to be packed taken care of by the end of the weekend.
Problem is – the weekend is two days away and I only have a limited amount of time to get anything done. I’m working tomorrow day and night. Saturday afternoon we are going to look at two more houses we are interested in (thanks to me finding them online before we went ahead and chose among our top four which was the original plan). Sunday morning we will doing second showings at at least two of the houses and then Sunday afternoon we picking Nana up to take her down to my parents’ so we can all go out to dinner to celebrate her birthday (her 98th by the way!).
Whew.
I’m off on Monday – the plan is to get everything we plan on taking to our temporary housing over there so all that’s left in our house is what the movers will be taking off to storage the following week. (sniff, sniff) I still can’t believe we are moving. I’m definitely looking forward to finally finding our new house and making it a home. And C is on a mission to make that happen as soon as humanly possible. Until then we will be living the life of a couple of nomads squatting at my grandmother’s house. But thankfully she has plenty of room so space won’t be an issue. Now if I can only be sure not to send anything to storage I may need in the meantime.
Oh and did I mention the majority of what I have left to pack is my clothing? And you all know how much work that’s going to be! (I did incidentally already pack up all my shoes) – I think they had shoe babies in my closet – I don’t remember having this many!
Problem is – the weekend is two days away and I only have a limited amount of time to get anything done. I’m working tomorrow day and night. Saturday afternoon we are going to look at two more houses we are interested in (thanks to me finding them online before we went ahead and chose among our top four which was the original plan). Sunday morning we will doing second showings at at least two of the houses and then Sunday afternoon we picking Nana up to take her down to my parents’ so we can all go out to dinner to celebrate her birthday (her 98th by the way!).
Whew.
I’m off on Monday – the plan is to get everything we plan on taking to our temporary housing over there so all that’s left in our house is what the movers will be taking off to storage the following week. (sniff, sniff) I still can’t believe we are moving. I’m definitely looking forward to finally finding our new house and making it a home. And C is on a mission to make that happen as soon as humanly possible. Until then we will be living the life of a couple of nomads squatting at my grandmother’s house. But thankfully she has plenty of room so space won’t be an issue. Now if I can only be sure not to send anything to storage I may need in the meantime.
Oh and did I mention the majority of what I have left to pack is my clothing? And you all know how much work that’s going to be! (I did incidentally already pack up all my shoes) – I think they had shoe babies in my closet – I don’t remember having this many!
Thursday, October 04, 2007
How Cute Is This?
Yesterday I was talking to my mom. She was telling me she was out with my nephew (who is now 16 months old) and as they walked into a store an older woman held the door for him. He walked halfway through the door. Stopped. Looked up at her. And clear as day said "thank you." How precious is that? I couldn't be a prouder aunt!
Making Progress
I’m on a roll – this has been a week of what I like to refer to as “power packing.” And even though work has been so crazy busy this week for some reason I can’t keep my head above water – I’m not letting that affect my goal and challenge to myself to have the majority of my crap boxed up and labeled by week’s end.
All of my books (with the exception of the rather large pile I have yet to read) have been packed up and trucked off to storage. I have even managed to pack all my china and dinnerware, as well as all my stemware with the exception of eight glasses which will be coming with me to my temporary location (I intend to pack those up tonight). I even boxed up all my games – well, except for our chess set and Trivial Pursuit – you never know when you’ll be in the mood to play a game and I certainly don’t want to be without.
I started boxing up my clothes to go to storage with the original intention of only taking what I might need to our temporary living arrangement, but then realized last night that there is plenty of room there so to make life a bit easier, they are all coming with me. Besides, clothes are the lightest and easiest to transport right?
That’s all for now. Tonight I tackle the shoes – sending the summer stuff off to storage, and gearing up to make sure by tomorrow night all my stuff is taken care of so I can start to help C with everything else we have. Wish me luck!
All of my books (with the exception of the rather large pile I have yet to read) have been packed up and trucked off to storage. I have even managed to pack all my china and dinnerware, as well as all my stemware with the exception of eight glasses which will be coming with me to my temporary location (I intend to pack those up tonight). I even boxed up all my games – well, except for our chess set and Trivial Pursuit – you never know when you’ll be in the mood to play a game and I certainly don’t want to be without.
I started boxing up my clothes to go to storage with the original intention of only taking what I might need to our temporary living arrangement, but then realized last night that there is plenty of room there so to make life a bit easier, they are all coming with me. Besides, clothes are the lightest and easiest to transport right?
That’s all for now. Tonight I tackle the shoes – sending the summer stuff off to storage, and gearing up to make sure by tomorrow night all my stuff is taken care of so I can start to help C with everything else we have. Wish me luck!
Monday, October 01, 2007
And So It's Begun
I’m actually quite happy with my progress. On Saturday my girlfriend came up from the Cape for the day and visited. We haven’t seen each other in FAR too long so we had a ton of catching up to do. And while we caught up I packed … and packed … and packed. I managed to pack up the entire china closet in the dining room by day’s end Saturday. (which incidentally ended with a delicious meal C made for us – he’s too good)
Then yesterday, we went house hunting again – looking at four of them in two different towns. Again, some we liked but this time there was only one that was put on the “no” list. So we’re making progress there.
When we came home I fully intended to crash on the couch for an hour or so and just do nothing, but the packing bug got the better of me so I dragged out 80 percent of my china from my hutch, piles of newspaper and boxes, and plopped down in front of the TV to finally watch the season premiere of “Grey’s Anatomy” while packing. I’ve always been a multi-tasker.
And I’m proud to report, by the time I was in bed dreaming away last night – 20 boxes of china and books were packed, taped, labeled and ready to go to storage. Not so bad.
My goal tonight is to finish the china, catch up on some more TV premieres awaiting me on the DVR and then gear up for tomorrow night. My clothes. Ah, I finally get them organized and now they have to be separated into (a) going to storage (likely all summer wear, sandals, etc…) (b) going to Goodwill (already have a full bag but want to do it all at once) and (c) going with us to Nana’s (where we are going to be living temporarily).
When does the fun begin?
Then yesterday, we went house hunting again – looking at four of them in two different towns. Again, some we liked but this time there was only one that was put on the “no” list. So we’re making progress there.
When we came home I fully intended to crash on the couch for an hour or so and just do nothing, but the packing bug got the better of me so I dragged out 80 percent of my china from my hutch, piles of newspaper and boxes, and plopped down in front of the TV to finally watch the season premiere of “Grey’s Anatomy” while packing. I’ve always been a multi-tasker.
And I’m proud to report, by the time I was in bed dreaming away last night – 20 boxes of china and books were packed, taped, labeled and ready to go to storage. Not so bad.
My goal tonight is to finish the china, catch up on some more TV premieres awaiting me on the DVR and then gear up for tomorrow night. My clothes. Ah, I finally get them organized and now they have to be separated into (a) going to storage (likely all summer wear, sandals, etc…) (b) going to Goodwill (already have a full bag but want to do it all at once) and (c) going with us to Nana’s (where we are going to be living temporarily).
When does the fun begin?
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Forging Ahead
Now that everything is all said and done the realization that we have to be completely moved out of our house in less than a month has finally hit me. C, too - though I'm sure he realized it immediately, I tend to get distracted and forget about such important issues.
So while we continue to search for our new home, our priority now is to get packing and decide what's coming, what's going to storage and what's going to trash. We also have to decide what to bring with us for our temporary housing - which incidentally is back to my grandmother's house until we find the new home and close on it. Though we won't need much since mostly everything is there and we won't be there too long (fingers crossed).
In my only way to stay focused I've been making lists and planning on spending a minimum of one hour each night packing my stuff and getting everything organized. That way when it's time to move, mostly everything has been done and at the very least all my crap is taken care of. I don't have to even worry about C - he's so on the ball, but I don't want to be the progress parachute and have us scrambling because I couldn't get my act together. (Anyone who has been through the moving process with me before - Jenn, Sarah, Kerri, Lindsay, Becky - you all know what I'm talking about) And no worries this time gals - I've got it all under control and all you'll have to do is come over for a little wine and check out my new digs when we finally move in :-).
I'm off to get some boxes and get started. Wish me luck!
So while we continue to search for our new home, our priority now is to get packing and decide what's coming, what's going to storage and what's going to trash. We also have to decide what to bring with us for our temporary housing - which incidentally is back to my grandmother's house until we find the new home and close on it. Though we won't need much since mostly everything is there and we won't be there too long (fingers crossed).
In my only way to stay focused I've been making lists and planning on spending a minimum of one hour each night packing my stuff and getting everything organized. That way when it's time to move, mostly everything has been done and at the very least all my crap is taken care of. I don't have to even worry about C - he's so on the ball, but I don't want to be the progress parachute and have us scrambling because I couldn't get my act together. (Anyone who has been through the moving process with me before - Jenn, Sarah, Kerri, Lindsay, Becky - you all know what I'm talking about) And no worries this time gals - I've got it all under control and all you'll have to do is come over for a little wine and check out my new digs when we finally move in :-).
I'm off to get some boxes and get started. Wish me luck!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
We Won!
A while back when work was ultra hectic I blogged about the coverage we were doing here about the rollout of Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner. Well that all certainly paid off.
This weekend we were in New York for the 2007 FOLIO Awards. We were up for an EDDIE Award (editorial excellence) for Best Online News Coverage for our Boeing coverage. I was beside myself for just being one of the three finalists as we found ourselves in the big time competing for the award with Time and Newsweek. What more could an executive editor of an engineering publication ask for?
You can check out our coverage here.
Well, imagine our surprise when we took home the Gold – the first place trophy in this category. It made everything worthwhile and was a great diversion from house hunting – although I was only in New York for a whopping 18 hours. My editor-in-chief John, publisher Joan and myself were there for the awards. Regina, our web editor, unfortunately was too sick to make the trip - but we were sure to include here in our celebration calling her from a restaurant in Times Square at 11 p.m. to let her celebrate with us - even if it was just by voice :-)
Here are the three of us with the trophy:
And here is John accepting the award:
It's still so surreal - I guess when you're good you're good!
Now back to house hunting …
This weekend we were in New York for the 2007 FOLIO Awards. We were up for an EDDIE Award (editorial excellence) for Best Online News Coverage for our Boeing coverage. I was beside myself for just being one of the three finalists as we found ourselves in the big time competing for the award with Time and Newsweek. What more could an executive editor of an engineering publication ask for?
You can check out our coverage here.
Well, imagine our surprise when we took home the Gold – the first place trophy in this category. It made everything worthwhile and was a great diversion from house hunting – although I was only in New York for a whopping 18 hours. My editor-in-chief John, publisher Joan and myself were there for the awards. Regina, our web editor, unfortunately was too sick to make the trip - but we were sure to include here in our celebration calling her from a restaurant in Times Square at 11 p.m. to let her celebrate with us - even if it was just by voice :-)
Here are the three of us with the trophy:
And here is John accepting the award:
It's still so surreal - I guess when you're good you're good!
Now back to house hunting …
Thursday, September 20, 2007
The Hunt Is On
Now we are seriously hunting for a new house. We have three appointments scheduled for late afternoon today and hopefully more on Saturday. Keep your fingers crossed! We have also decided, since we do technically have a place to stay, we aren't going to rush to buy something just so we have something (course we never planned on doing that anyway) but are defintiely going to make sure it's the house we want to live in for the next 30 years. Talk about pressure!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Update
Today is one day shy of a week since we:
Put our house on the market
Got an offer
Passed the home inspection
Are readying to sign the P&S
Insanity!
And while yesterday I was so sure I wanted us to live in that beautiful brand new house by the lake, by yesterday afternoon I had second thoughts. I love it, don't get me wrong, but again, it's a little farther north than where I want to live and frankly I'm not a big fan of the neighborhood. Don't get me wrong - it's a nice neighborhood, but it's not where I pictured our new home to be. Thankfully, last night, C mentioned the same concern. And since no one has put an offer on that house yet, we have some time to make some decisions. The realtor has been instructed to tell us immediately if and when they receive an offer - at which point our feet are to the fire and we have to decide to fish or cut bait.
In the meantime, we are setting out to look at even more houses to see what else is out there. We've decided to go a little beyond what we want to spend in the hopes we can get a really good deal on properties that have been on the market for quite some time now.
Like I said before, we looked at a bunch on Sunday and ruled them all out but one. We are hoping to look at three more tomorrow afternoon and more on Saturday. Sunday and Monday I'm out of town so C is going to go ahead and do some looking on his own to weed them out. This is tough, but it looks like no matter what happens (we find our home asap or we find one in a few weeks) we are likely going to need temporary housing (aka putting everything in storage and moving into either Nana's for the time being or renting an apartment - both of which make me queasy but at least I know it's not forever and at least C and I (and Molly of course) will be together in all this.
I'll keep you posted.
Put our house on the market
Got an offer
Passed the home inspection
Are readying to sign the P&S
Insanity!
And while yesterday I was so sure I wanted us to live in that beautiful brand new house by the lake, by yesterday afternoon I had second thoughts. I love it, don't get me wrong, but again, it's a little farther north than where I want to live and frankly I'm not a big fan of the neighborhood. Don't get me wrong - it's a nice neighborhood, but it's not where I pictured our new home to be. Thankfully, last night, C mentioned the same concern. And since no one has put an offer on that house yet, we have some time to make some decisions. The realtor has been instructed to tell us immediately if and when they receive an offer - at which point our feet are to the fire and we have to decide to fish or cut bait.
In the meantime, we are setting out to look at even more houses to see what else is out there. We've decided to go a little beyond what we want to spend in the hopes we can get a really good deal on properties that have been on the market for quite some time now.
Like I said before, we looked at a bunch on Sunday and ruled them all out but one. We are hoping to look at three more tomorrow afternoon and more on Saturday. Sunday and Monday I'm out of town so C is going to go ahead and do some looking on his own to weed them out. This is tough, but it looks like no matter what happens (we find our home asap or we find one in a few weeks) we are likely going to need temporary housing (aka putting everything in storage and moving into either Nana's for the time being or renting an apartment - both of which make me queasy but at least I know it's not forever and at least C and I (and Molly of course) will be together in all this.
I'll keep you posted.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Found!
Oh man, so yesterday we spent some more time at the new construction house and it's simply perfect. Quarter acre of land, front to back kitchen and front to back living room. Not to mention a front to back master bedroom. And closets that would not only hold nicely ALL my clothing, but even more! It's unbelievable really that in this market we could actually consider new construction.
My only, only gripe, is that it's farther away than I wanted to live. But it's beautiful, in a neighborhood surrounding a lake, with lots of trees and quiet. It's perfect.
While it will be farther for people to travel to see us, on the other hand, I've talked to several people at work who live there and it seems the commute is no different than my current one (which really is nice). I just wish I wasn't so directionally challenged and could see how it all comes together. But I will. I have to.
I really want to call this house home - keep your fingers crossed. This could be simply amazing!
My only, only gripe, is that it's farther away than I wanted to live. But it's beautiful, in a neighborhood surrounding a lake, with lots of trees and quiet. It's perfect.
While it will be farther for people to travel to see us, on the other hand, I've talked to several people at work who live there and it seems the commute is no different than my current one (which really is nice). I just wish I wasn't so directionally challenged and could see how it all comes together. But I will. I have to.
I really want to call this house home - keep your fingers crossed. This could be simply amazing!
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