Long Weekend

Just write. My mind is foggy this early in the morning. Early for a Saturday anyway. My cat and an upset belly got me out of bed. A garden window seat, hot tea, and the G4 is a great way to start the day. Trying to get my computer fix in before D takes the computer away for a week (a fun trip to Eastern WA he's put off for a long while). Oh no, what will I do without home internet access? And new TV shows? I've got a list going. I wonder how motivated I'll be without my love around to distract me?

The calla lillies are starting to bloom. I love watching the yard exploding with flowers and color and life. Still need to map out the yard. Plenty of weeding and mulching to do. But I will just sit and enjoy the view a while longer.

2007

2/11/07 update: Photo Friday entry: Sky.

I don't usually make resolutions for the new year as I already live a perfect life. Kidding. I don't really believe in waiting for the new year to start something new, get rid of a bad habit, make changes, etc. Seems to me it's easier to just do it. But, easier said than done eh? Being busy with the new house (budgeting, online searches, drivebys, offers, rejections, paperwork, packing, moving, unpacking, house projects--whew!) has been an excuse to put other things in my life on hold. Maybe it's a valid excuse. :)

SIMPLIFY Get rid of things I don't need or love. Buy less. Buy used. Give experiences instead of stuff. I'm sitting in our combo office, music, craft, storage, and guest room (don't actually have anything for people to sleep on other than an air mattress yet) and it's much too full of stuff. What I'd like to do is get rid of the 4 storage units currently holding/hiding stuff (1 small bookshelf, 2 end tables, 1 TV table) and get a big ass bookshelf/wall unit. 1st job is to swap out this old dining room table we're using as a desk with my actual desk which is in our garage (someday my car will fit!). Problem is getting the desk into the room--it's a bit too wide for the door frame.

EXERCISE REGULARLY Bike to work. Join the IMA (done). Yoga (done, signed up for a class twice/week). I miss the soccer team, but did not enjoy driving all around town to get to games--need to find someone to carpool with again.

Play Music (might get the piano I played on for years growing up from my parents). Get Crafy. Get out. Into the mountains or head to the coast. Currently skipping out on both at this moment. :( But there's plenty right here to keep me busy. With Friends. Had a good time hanging out with the crew last night at Jason's 'Stoner Movie Marathon'--cracks me up because none of them are stoners.

VOLUNTEER With PAWS too far away, I need a new gig 1x/week or 2x/month. Possibly Youth Tutoring Program?

Job Update my resume. Search for something closer to home which pays better.

hate it

being in the middle. personality conflicts at work. one person happens to be your boss, the other is the director of the department. wish this was just like the old days and there could be a dual or something-get it over with and lets move on! stop holding grudges and don't assume people are doing things on purpose just to spite you and your project. and don't try to use your power to screw someone else over. can't we all just get along? :)

Searching...

...for a house. My 1st house. Our 1st house. :) Not exactly a fun process. A given right? But Seattle's market is tough! It's not 1st come 1st serve, homes are going for much higher than listed, and there's not a ton of houses (in our price range at least) on the market. The listing agent will give a date that offers are accepted, which basically causes a bidding war. All the homes we have any interest in are either gone before we even get a chance to look at it or it's one that attracts other buyers. We've put in bids on 2 places and have been maybe 3rd in line. Even going $47K over listing! Gee, if only we had an extra $100K laying around we'd be golden. I swear we aren't that picky, we only want a 2 bedroom, 1 bath house with a bit of a yard. Okay maybe going for the house on Bitter Lake was pushing our luck, but come on, it was a fixer! Eh, it's only been a month, guess I shouldn't be complaining. But such the rollercoaster ride of emotions. I used to like rollercoasters.

Really, we're not just buying a home. This whole process has made D and I work on our future 'plans'. Can't we just plan to make a plan? Do we want kids? Maybe. Do we want a dog? Yes, as long as it can make do without much a yard. Do we want a fixer. Sure, bring it on. Can we make do with a big ass mortgage and a small home in the city. Yes, until we have a kid or one of us decides to go back to school. We've done the budgeting bit, and then budgeted and scrimped some more so that we can hopefully afford more house (not sqaure footage unfortunately, just price). And of course there's always the when do we get married question. Of course if that happens would we be able to afford a fun party and honeymoon? What's the point if we can't do that? :)

Quit your bitching

Waiting in the rain for a bus, a bike rider goes by. A couple poles strapped onto the back caught my eye. Looked similar to trekking poles. I then realized they were arm braces. A closer look and I notice the bicyclist has just 1 leg! One of those wow moments. Shouldn't be a big shock I guess. When working as a research study assistant a few years back, I helped out with a study taking a look at mobility in amputee patients. This person had 1 leg and 1 prosthetic leg. We had him hop up/down, then side/side on his real leg, and then on his prosthetic while recording measurements with special video equipment. Can you imagine hopping around on a prosthetic leg? I wouldn't have if I hadn't been there. Guess it's a reminder not to take things for granted and if you want to do something, just do it!

For Tina:
“We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily difference we can make, which, over time, adds up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.” --Marian Wright Edelman