Monday, September 4, 2006
overdid it but i did it
From a 'run' last week, last Wednesday I believe: gmaps-pedometer. Cool tool for mileage as I don't have one of those fancy portable GPS trackers. Run is in quotes as I walked most of this. I ran down a steep hill at the beginning of the run which wasn't a good idea as my left knee was killing me later. I would run until my knee couldn't take it, walk, run, run, eventually I just walked it. Tina says I started with way too much mileage. Makes sense. But I couldn't help but head to Seward as it's close by and I found the Martha Washington Park on the way so I had to check it out. Though we don't have a view of the water, I love living close by. Seward's main trail is 3 miles or so around the perimeter but it has a few trails which criss cross through the middle. I found one and enjoyed how quiet it was, easy to forget this was still Seattle. As I came out onto the main path, the sun had set, leaving beautiful colors in the sky. Aside from the knee pain during the run and the soreness the next couple of days (uh, hello, need to stretch before and after!) I was happy to make it out.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Beppu circle
It's been a while since I've done one of these. Here's a late entry for Photo Friday
This is a manhole cover from Beppu, Japan.
This is a manhole cover from Beppu, Japan.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
4 weeks plus
We've been in our house for more than a month now, but I'm not as settled as I'd like. It would help if I had more time for just house stuff. A week after moving we left on vacation. A road trip to Northern Cali for Reggae on the River Festival, 4 days of hedonism at it's finest. We were with a good bunch of people, had great weather, a great camping spot (in the shade, close to a swimming hole), and enjoyed world famous reggae music (one would think at a music festival I would catch more live music, but I spent a lot of time at camp, in the shade, listening to the shows broadcast over a local radio station). D and I did take a day off after our vacation to sleep and got massages!
There hasn't been anything we've had to to, to make our house liveable. But we definitely have a big To Do List:
insulate the attic
insulate ducting
add support to our deck
add support to our crawlspace
add a peephole to front door
paint side of the house (blistering issues)
rehang a few doors
pub table for kitchen?
desk from parents into guest room?
french drain along back side of house
...
There hasn't been anything we've had to to, to make our house liveable. But we definitely have a big To Do List:
insulate the attic
insulate ducting
add support to our deck
add support to our crawlspace
add a peephole to front door
paint side of the house (blistering issues)
rehang a few doors
pub table for kitchen?
desk from parents into guest room?
french drain along back side of house
...
Monday, July 31, 2006
Getting settled
Our place is looking better and better each day. So great to have a full weekend without anything but our stuff to deal with. I begged Jeremy to cover our PAWS shift on Sunday and he agreed even though he'll be covering my shift next Sunday when I'm out of town. I'll be taking a couple extra shifts later this month to compensate.
*The kitchen is unpacked. Darren cleaned all the shelves and we started unloading our goods. Still disorganized, but we aren't tripping over boxes. Have yet to find that last box of spices, we really wanted the no MSG Johnny's for steaks on Saturday, we survived with plain ol' salt and pepper. Also discovered most folks down in the south end likely bbq with charcoal briquettes, we drove for quite a while before we found a gas station with propane for our gas grill.
*A couple outdoor plants are in the ground. Our sweet old neighbors at our last place dug up some plants for us: pinks, daisies, and this one plant with cool red flowers. We might go back once more to dig up our irises and dahlias. While checking out our yard I came across a large (bigger than my head) yellow jacket's nest in the tree in our backyard. Just above head height hiding hidden among the leaves. Eek! Good thing when my friends (who were hiding in the tree's shade with popsicles after our move) and little 2 year old 2nd cousin (my cousin's child--is that a 2nd cousin?) who was running around in the yard a couple days later (wearing a bright yellow t-shirt and all sticky with popsicle, big no-no's when it comes to yellow jackets) were not stung!
*I took a very pleasant 3 hour nap. I had no trouble falling asleep at my regular time that evening. I think my body was telling me something. Rest! With the longer commute I am now waking up at 7ish AM and catching my bus at 8 (takes me about an hour to get into work) whereas before I used to wake up at maybe 8:45 AM for the 25 minute commute. I had it easy for 2 years while Darren had the long commute, it's my turn this time. I need to unpack my books so I have something to do while on the bus.
*Friday night Erica and Roxy came over to catch up. We went out in search of dessert and coffee. The Starbucks in Columbia City was closed so we checked out Lottie's Lounge. We weren't in the mood for alcoholic drinks and enjoyed our chai tea (Morning Glory is the best) and chocolate torte. Yum. Erica used to work with youth in this neighborhood back in 1999. She said it's changed a lot ('everyone's white now').
*The kitchen is unpacked. Darren cleaned all the shelves and we started unloading our goods. Still disorganized, but we aren't tripping over boxes. Have yet to find that last box of spices, we really wanted the no MSG Johnny's for steaks on Saturday, we survived with plain ol' salt and pepper. Also discovered most folks down in the south end likely bbq with charcoal briquettes, we drove for quite a while before we found a gas station with propane for our gas grill.
*A couple outdoor plants are in the ground. Our sweet old neighbors at our last place dug up some plants for us: pinks, daisies, and this one plant with cool red flowers. We might go back once more to dig up our irises and dahlias. While checking out our yard I came across a large (bigger than my head) yellow jacket's nest in the tree in our backyard. Just above head height hiding hidden among the leaves. Eek! Good thing when my friends (who were hiding in the tree's shade with popsicles after our move) and little 2 year old 2nd cousin (my cousin's child--is that a 2nd cousin?) who was running around in the yard a couple days later (wearing a bright yellow t-shirt and all sticky with popsicle, big no-no's when it comes to yellow jackets) were not stung!
*I took a very pleasant 3 hour nap. I had no trouble falling asleep at my regular time that evening. I think my body was telling me something. Rest! With the longer commute I am now waking up at 7ish AM and catching my bus at 8 (takes me about an hour to get into work) whereas before I used to wake up at maybe 8:45 AM for the 25 minute commute. I had it easy for 2 years while Darren had the long commute, it's my turn this time. I need to unpack my books so I have something to do while on the bus.
*Friday night Erica and Roxy came over to catch up. We went out in search of dessert and coffee. The Starbucks in Columbia City was closed so we checked out Lottie's Lounge. We weren't in the mood for alcoholic drinks and enjoyed our chai tea (Morning Glory is the best) and chocolate torte. Yum. Erica used to work with youth in this neighborhood back in 1999. She said it's changed a lot ('everyone's white now').
Thursday, July 20, 2006
It's official!
We moved on Sunday, one of the warmest days of the year. Thankfully, we had a lot of help so we finished the majority of the move in one go. D and I did a couple more loads Monday and Tuesday, we cleaned the old place Wednesday, and turned in our keys last night. Now we can focus on unpacking and arranging our space.
I'm overwhelmed with the amount of stuff we have. Our house is 1180 sq ft (2 br/1 bath) including a 1 car garage and basement. As we were living in an 1850 sq ft (3 br/2 bath) house, D and I didn't get rid of much when we moved in together. I tried to purge as best as I could before the move, but it appears I have problems getting rid of stuff. I was able to get rid of bags of clothes, it makes sense to get rid of something I haven't worn in a year or so (or what doesn't fit anymore). But it's much harder giving away something which has a memory attached. Letters, pictures (thank goodness for digital cameras), trinkets, you name it, I still have it. I need to adopt the mantra 'love it or toss it'. I guess I just have too much love. :)
Still boggles my mind that this is really OUR house. It's exciting and now that the stress of the home search/bidding/closing/all those other pesky details is over with I finally feel a bit giddy. Doin' the happy dance. :)
I'm overwhelmed with the amount of stuff we have. Our house is 1180 sq ft (2 br/1 bath) including a 1 car garage and basement. As we were living in an 1850 sq ft (3 br/2 bath) house, D and I didn't get rid of much when we moved in together. I tried to purge as best as I could before the move, but it appears I have problems getting rid of stuff. I was able to get rid of bags of clothes, it makes sense to get rid of something I haven't worn in a year or so (or what doesn't fit anymore). But it's much harder giving away something which has a memory attached. Letters, pictures (thank goodness for digital cameras), trinkets, you name it, I still have it. I need to adopt the mantra 'love it or toss it'. I guess I just have too much love. :)
Still boggles my mind that this is really OUR house. It's exciting and now that the stress of the home search/bidding/closing/all those other pesky details is over with I finally feel a bit giddy. Doin' the happy dance. :)
Monday, July 17, 2006
Afternoon adventure
I forgot I was supposed to drop off a cashier's check at the escrow company today to cover the remainder of what we owe for closing costs. Luckly, my agent called to see how the signing went last week which reminded me of the check. Shoot, Darren leaves town for a couple days (ahhhhh, the bed all to myself!) and I forget about my responsibilities.
Anyhow, I'm at work without any paperwork regarding how much I owe. Call the escrow co. and leave a message stating I'm a dumbass and don't know how much I owe. As it's gettting later in the day, I can't wait too long for a response--I decide to bus it home to get necessary information, bus it to my bank, bus it to the escrow co., grab a bite to eat, and then bus it back to work. Takes 2 hours and 5 buses, of course most of that time is spent waiting for the buses (ok, for 1 of them I was just feeling lazy and didn't want to walk the last bit to work). Rolling down Roosevelt on the #66 & 67 a flood of memories; my old hood near Greenlake, being a student in the UD, Thursday nights at Dante's, pool at the Zoo. A bit sad to be moving from North Seattle which I know so well, but also excited I'll eventually learn my way around South Seattle.
Deed is done, check has been dropped off. I get back to work and there's a message from the escrow co. (left half an hour after I left), stating the final total comes to $70 more than what I dropped off because of an additional recording fee. D'oh. Will I have to do this again tomorrow? I do have a car, but I'm too cheap to pay for parking while I'm at work, plus the Seattle bus system is great (as long as you work at the U). I call back and am told this fee is just an estimate so we're likely ok. I sure hope so, because though I love taking 2 hour lunches, it really shouldn't happen on a daily basis. :)
Anyhow, I'm at work without any paperwork regarding how much I owe. Call the escrow co. and leave a message stating I'm a dumbass and don't know how much I owe. As it's gettting later in the day, I can't wait too long for a response--I decide to bus it home to get necessary information, bus it to my bank, bus it to the escrow co., grab a bite to eat, and then bus it back to work. Takes 2 hours and 5 buses, of course most of that time is spent waiting for the buses (ok, for 1 of them I was just feeling lazy and didn't want to walk the last bit to work). Rolling down Roosevelt on the #66 & 67 a flood of memories; my old hood near Greenlake, being a student in the UD, Thursday nights at Dante's, pool at the Zoo. A bit sad to be moving from North Seattle which I know so well, but also excited I'll eventually learn my way around South Seattle.
Deed is done, check has been dropped off. I get back to work and there's a message from the escrow co. (left half an hour after I left), stating the final total comes to $70 more than what I dropped off because of an additional recording fee. D'oh. Will I have to do this again tomorrow? I do have a car, but I'm too cheap to pay for parking while I'm at work, plus the Seattle bus system is great (as long as you work at the U). I call back and am told this fee is just an estimate so we're likely ok. I sure hope so, because though I love taking 2 hour lunches, it really shouldn't happen on a daily basis. :)
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Countdown
We close on our house next week! Start moving in on the 23rd, hopefully our current place is empty and clean by the 31st. I'm psyched, but for some reason I don't feel I'm as psyched as I should be. Possible reasons:
*Packing and moving. I hate moving. I haven't 'really' moved in 4 years. I say 'really' because though we moved into our current place just over 2 years ago, Darren moved most of my shit for me. I was out of the country and he moved his stuff AND my stuff. What a guy. I've got a lot of stuff, and know I need to get rid of a lot of it now, before the packing and move. Darren likes to remind me how much stuff I have, but I can't give him a hard time about it because he literally moved it for me. Though I'm constantly adding junk to the give-away pile, there is just more stuff. Need to remind myself 'Love it or toss it!'
*We're staying in the city, but I wonder if moving to South Seattle will affect how often I see my peeps. Thing is I already feel fairly isolated and anti-social. But it's my own doing really. Saving for a house has been the biggest reason. D working a lot lately is another. I know I shouldn't let D's schedule affect my own activities, but sometimes it's hard to motivate myself when he's so exhausted.
*I quit soccer for my foot's sake. We lost most of our games, but the folks on my team are good folks and it was great exercise (if hard on the body).
*I haven't been visiting my cousins and they live just 15 or so blocks away currently, meant to get together more often being family and all but I particularly wanted to get to know their daughter, Brigette, better. She's a handful but I kinda miss being around kiddos. No, not planning on any kiddos of my own anytime soon.
*I don't make it out to church (Thursday night beer) too often. We used to meet at Dante's which was a straight shot from Maple Leaf. Once the DJ'ing started it was moved to Ballard Ale House. It's usually not too exciting, but a chance to catch up with people. I've just convinced myself to go tonight. Soon I'll live even further from the action and it will only be harder to stay religious. ;)
Okay, well how can I be more social:
invite folks out for 1st Friday's in Columbia City ($5 cover gets you into a number of different bars with live music)
take some art classes at Seward Park
get out and exercise. Maybe this isn't exactly social, but it'll help my energy levels
go to church at least 1x/month
plan for our housewarming for later this summer.
find another volunteer gig closer to home. Bike works?
get crafty. i like being creative, but don't make the time. Schedule it!
invite friends over for dinners/movies
We have a house!!
*Packing and moving. I hate moving. I haven't 'really' moved in 4 years. I say 'really' because though we moved into our current place just over 2 years ago, Darren moved most of my shit for me. I was out of the country and he moved his stuff AND my stuff. What a guy. I've got a lot of stuff, and know I need to get rid of a lot of it now, before the packing and move. Darren likes to remind me how much stuff I have, but I can't give him a hard time about it because he literally moved it for me. Though I'm constantly adding junk to the give-away pile, there is just more stuff. Need to remind myself 'Love it or toss it!'
*We're staying in the city, but I wonder if moving to South Seattle will affect how often I see my peeps. Thing is I already feel fairly isolated and anti-social. But it's my own doing really. Saving for a house has been the biggest reason. D working a lot lately is another. I know I shouldn't let D's schedule affect my own activities, but sometimes it's hard to motivate myself when he's so exhausted.
*I quit soccer for my foot's sake. We lost most of our games, but the folks on my team are good folks and it was great exercise (if hard on the body).
*I haven't been visiting my cousins and they live just 15 or so blocks away currently, meant to get together more often being family and all but I particularly wanted to get to know their daughter, Brigette, better. She's a handful but I kinda miss being around kiddos. No, not planning on any kiddos of my own anytime soon.
*I don't make it out to church (Thursday night beer) too often. We used to meet at Dante's which was a straight shot from Maple Leaf. Once the DJ'ing started it was moved to Ballard Ale House. It's usually not too exciting, but a chance to catch up with people. I've just convinced myself to go tonight. Soon I'll live even further from the action and it will only be harder to stay religious. ;)
Okay, well how can I be more social:
invite folks out for 1st Friday's in Columbia City ($5 cover gets you into a number of different bars with live music)
take some art classes at Seward Park
get out and exercise. Maybe this isn't exactly social, but it'll help my energy levels
go to church at least 1x/month
plan for our housewarming for later this summer.
find another volunteer gig closer to home. Bike works?
get crafty. i like being creative, but don't make the time. Schedule it!
invite friends over for dinners/movies
We have a house!!
Monday, June 26, 2006
Sunday, June 25, 2006
We have a winner
Our bid was accepted on the Seward Park house!! If all goes well with the inspection on Wednesday, we close on the 19th and can move in on the 23rd. I'm really psyched--I think I got all my nerves out on the other houses. Of course part of my excitement might just be being done with the searching part of this process. I know some folks take months (years) to find the perfect house. But we really didn't need perfect, this is just our starter house. It's just the 2 of us, 1 cat and a lot of stuff. We already know we have to get rid of a lot of crap.
I think we're going to have a lot of fun with this house and where it's located. We've already checked out Columbia City and Seward Park and both are great. Yesterday we checked out the Kubota Gardens which is located further south. Only portions of it were of a typical Japanese style garden but it will still nice to wander through as it was very peaceful.
As yesterday was another beautiful day, a ton of people were riding their bikes on Seward Park Ave. I think this area is very popular with bikers, and I know the Seafair sprint-triathlon is coming up and is located in Seward Park. The seller of this house was away this weekend in Coeur d'Alene doing an Iron Man competition so I get the feeling this will be a great neighborhood for getting in shape.
The house is located a block off Rainier Avenue which can get sketchy. There is a used car place and a couple auto body shops just down the street. There is a cafe right on the corner, but it has those ugly bars on the windows. I will definitely miss Cloud City which is our current neighborhood coffee shop in Maple Leaf. I chatted with one lady who was out in her yard with her old dog Wally. She's lived there for 12 years, knows all the neighbors and really likes living there. She loves the multicultural aspect about living south. Says she'll go and visit friends in North Seattle and is shocked that most everyone is white. A friend told me yesterday that until 1968, you couldn't live north of the ship canal unless you were white. Isn't that crazy? That wasn't that long ago!
Well, my fingers are crossed that all goes well with the inspection. Wish us luck!
I think we're going to have a lot of fun with this house and where it's located. We've already checked out Columbia City and Seward Park and both are great. Yesterday we checked out the Kubota Gardens which is located further south. Only portions of it were of a typical Japanese style garden but it will still nice to wander through as it was very peaceful.
As yesterday was another beautiful day, a ton of people were riding their bikes on Seward Park Ave. I think this area is very popular with bikers, and I know the Seafair sprint-triathlon is coming up and is located in Seward Park. The seller of this house was away this weekend in Coeur d'Alene doing an Iron Man competition so I get the feeling this will be a great neighborhood for getting in shape.
The house is located a block off Rainier Avenue which can get sketchy. There is a used car place and a couple auto body shops just down the street. There is a cafe right on the corner, but it has those ugly bars on the windows. I will definitely miss Cloud City which is our current neighborhood coffee shop in Maple Leaf. I chatted with one lady who was out in her yard with her old dog Wally. She's lived there for 12 years, knows all the neighbors and really likes living there. She loves the multicultural aspect about living south. Says she'll go and visit friends in North Seattle and is shocked that most everyone is white. A friend told me yesterday that until 1968, you couldn't live north of the ship canal unless you were white. Isn't that crazy? That wasn't that long ago!
Well, my fingers are crossed that all goes well with the inspection. Wish us luck!
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Just dance
A reminder not to take life so seriously.
D and I are heading to Reggae on the River in early August. I can't wait for the music, sun, camping, and the dancing!
I got my fair share of sun today with pink cheeks and shoulders as proof. We checked out a couple houses down south--Ranier Valley and Beacon Hill area. 1st one was cute, but had bouncy floors and saggy ceilings--not for $350K! 2nd one is a possibility, nice looking home with a decent sized lot, only a block off Ranier, but also just a block off Seward Way. Walked the Seward Park loop. What a nice park! Not as crowded as Greenlake, some old growth areas, a ton of boats out on Lake Washington, and beatiful views of downtown and Mt. Ranier. Can't believe I've never been there before. Had lunch in Columbia City, a really cute area of Ranier. We found out where the Farmer's Market is located and know we'll be back to check out other restaurants. Even if this house doesn't pan out, I really wouldn't mind if we focused our search to this area. Only a 20 minute bus commute for Darren, 45 minutes for me.
D and I are heading to Reggae on the River in early August. I can't wait for the music, sun, camping, and the dancing!
I got my fair share of sun today with pink cheeks and shoulders as proof. We checked out a couple houses down south--Ranier Valley and Beacon Hill area. 1st one was cute, but had bouncy floors and saggy ceilings--not for $350K! 2nd one is a possibility, nice looking home with a decent sized lot, only a block off Ranier, but also just a block off Seward Way. Walked the Seward Park loop. What a nice park! Not as crowded as Greenlake, some old growth areas, a ton of boats out on Lake Washington, and beatiful views of downtown and Mt. Ranier. Can't believe I've never been there before. Had lunch in Columbia City, a really cute area of Ranier. We found out where the Farmer's Market is located and know we'll be back to check out other restaurants. Even if this house doesn't pan out, I really wouldn't mind if we focused our search to this area. Only a 20 minute bus commute for Darren, 45 minutes for me.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
House hunting sucks (okay maybe it's just getting shot down that sucks)
The roller coaster continues.
Bid #4 went in today, a nice place in Shoreline. We thought we were going to be able to get our bid in 1st, no bid date, no bidding war. Originally, the agent and seller were going to meet tonight to go over our bid. That meeting was delayed until tomorrow. Now our agent calls and said the selling agent was mistaken, the seller is having an open house this Sunday and doesn't want to look at offers until Monday. Supposedly the selling agent inherited this listing from someone else and didn't get all the info. I thought this was going to be the one, but my guess is the seller realized people were interested in her house and wanted more than listing. That or the selling agent was just lying to our agent. Guess being selfish is what real estate is all about.
To recap:
We started looking just over a month ago 5/21/06.
1st bid * Ridgecrest
*we were not the highest bidder
*Lesson is we need to be willing to bid higher over listing.
2nd bid * Bitter Lake
*we were not the highest bidder, 47K over listing and we were maybe 3rd or 4th in line. It was a fixer!
*Lesson is don't go for anything near waterfront as someone rich will bid a heck of a lot more to tear the house down and build new
3rd bid * Maple Leaf
*We were the highest bidder but they didn't choose us because we had an inspection clause
*Lesson is go with the pre-inspection
4th bid * Echo Lake (no actual access or view on this one)
*we'll see what the lesson is on this one.
We could still get the Shoreline place I guess. We get a pre-inspection lined up and deal with that tomorrow or Saturday and resubmit our bid on Monday. But then we're likely dealing with a bidding war and we didn't want to go much above listing on this place.
Maybe we just need to slow down. We wanted to tackle this process aggressively and we've been busy with on-line listings, drive-by's, and walk-thru's. Though there's a lot of expensive crap on the market, there are a lot of really nice places.
I think I need to go for a run to release some of this pent up stress (in general)and annoyance (at the seller and her agent). Then I'll come back to deal with a tired Darren (who will hopefully be in a better mood), a kitchen full of dirty dishes and dinner.
Bid #4 went in today, a nice place in Shoreline. We thought we were going to be able to get our bid in 1st, no bid date, no bidding war. Originally, the agent and seller were going to meet tonight to go over our bid. That meeting was delayed until tomorrow. Now our agent calls and said the selling agent was mistaken, the seller is having an open house this Sunday and doesn't want to look at offers until Monday. Supposedly the selling agent inherited this listing from someone else and didn't get all the info. I thought this was going to be the one, but my guess is the seller realized people were interested in her house and wanted more than listing. That or the selling agent was just lying to our agent. Guess being selfish is what real estate is all about.
To recap:
We started looking just over a month ago 5/21/06.
1st bid * Ridgecrest
*we were not the highest bidder
*Lesson is we need to be willing to bid higher over listing.
2nd bid * Bitter Lake
*we were not the highest bidder, 47K over listing and we were maybe 3rd or 4th in line. It was a fixer!
*Lesson is don't go for anything near waterfront as someone rich will bid a heck of a lot more to tear the house down and build new
3rd bid * Maple Leaf
*We were the highest bidder but they didn't choose us because we had an inspection clause
*Lesson is go with the pre-inspection
4th bid * Echo Lake (no actual access or view on this one)
*we'll see what the lesson is on this one.
We could still get the Shoreline place I guess. We get a pre-inspection lined up and deal with that tomorrow or Saturday and resubmit our bid on Monday. But then we're likely dealing with a bidding war and we didn't want to go much above listing on this place.
Maybe we just need to slow down. We wanted to tackle this process aggressively and we've been busy with on-line listings, drive-by's, and walk-thru's. Though there's a lot of expensive crap on the market, there are a lot of really nice places.
I think I need to go for a run to release some of this pent up stress (in general)and annoyance (at the seller and her agent). Then I'll come back to deal with a tired Darren (who will hopefully be in a better mood), a kitchen full of dirty dishes and dinner.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
love it
had a dream last night and i woke up laughing. i think the dream had something to do with cute furry animals. maybe the laughing wasn't as loud as i thought (you know when you're awake but not really awake?), but at the time, i was worried the outburst was going to wake up d. it didn't. we're both quite heavy sleepers. in another dream, mike and jason came to visit. haven't talked to them in a long time, but sending them birthday cards (gotta love the internet) yesterday must have popped them into my dreaming mind.
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? :)
Monday, June 19, 2006
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? :)
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? :)
Friday, March 3, 2006
Friday, February 10, 2006
Blur
It's been quite a while since I've participated in Photo Friday.I took this picture of the crowd during a String Cheese show at Hornings last summer. Trippy eh?
Tuesday, February 7, 2006
Four Things Meme
Four jobs I’ve had:
1. Research Study Coordinator
2. Research Technician
3. Target cashier
4. Engineering Assistant
Four movies I can watch over and over:
1. Amelie
2. Pride and Prejudice (BBC version)
3. Office Space
4. Lost in Translation
Four places I’ve lived:
1. Seattle, WA
2. Richland, WA
3. Fairfax, VA
4. Anaheim, CA
Four TV shows I love:
1. Scrubs
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. CSI
4. Sex and the City
Four places I’ve vacationed:
1. Costa Rica
2. New York
3. Japan (mostly south)
4. Hawaii
Four of my favorite dishes:
1. sushi from the Moto
2. Penn Cove Mussels from Ray's Boathouse
3. Hukilaulu burger and fries from Primo Burger
4. pork chops
Four sites I visit daily:
1. Superherodesigns
2. dooce
3. Wish Jar Journal
4. Soulemama
Four places I’d rather be right now:
1. surfing (warm water please)
2. yoga class
3. snowboarding
4. on a beach with a book and a cold drink
Four people I’m tagging with this:
Actually, just two: Tina and Lastuka
1. Research Study Coordinator
2. Research Technician
3. Target cashier
4. Engineering Assistant
Four movies I can watch over and over:
1. Amelie
2. Pride and Prejudice (BBC version)
3. Office Space
4. Lost in Translation
Four places I’ve lived:
1. Seattle, WA
2. Richland, WA
3. Fairfax, VA
4. Anaheim, CA
Four TV shows I love:
1. Scrubs
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. CSI
4. Sex and the City
Four places I’ve vacationed:
1. Costa Rica
2. New York
3. Japan (mostly south)
4. Hawaii
Four of my favorite dishes:
1. sushi from the Moto
2. Penn Cove Mussels from Ray's Boathouse
3. Hukilaulu burger and fries from Primo Burger
4. pork chops
Four sites I visit daily:
1. Superherodesigns
2. dooce
3. Wish Jar Journal
4. Soulemama
Four places I’d rather be right now:
1. surfing (warm water please)
2. yoga class
3. snowboarding
4. on a beach with a book and a cold drink
Four people I’m tagging with this:
Actually, just two: Tina and Lastuka
Saturday, February 4, 2006
1/2 marathon
Makes me think of T and her run tomorrow:
I'll keep running
Because it lets me be selfish.
It's the thing I do that's just for me,
and nobody else.
FYI, I never thought this being-selfish-thing
could take so much discipline.
(from an Asics ad)
This run raises money for blood cancer research and her team raised $83,000! I really admire T, who never thought she was a runner. She's run over 130 miles in the last couple months. Just 13.1 more to go...until next time. She is a Superhero, but as I'm being 'thrifty' these days I hope she handle something LYF style (T, a package should be arriving in a few days).
Mikey's running in the race as well. Sean and Jason have done marathons in the past couple months with more to come. What is it about getting older and running? Ha, on one hand I like the idea of getting into decent enough shape I could enter a road race again. On the other hand, maybe I'll leave all this running to others while I try new (and gentle) things like Nia. I still have not taken a class yet. No more exuses!
Good luck to Tina and Mike in their run tomorrow. Have fun! I hope Matt is taking pics at the finish line.
I'll keep running
Because it lets me be selfish.
It's the thing I do that's just for me,
and nobody else.
FYI, I never thought this being-selfish-thing
could take so much discipline.
(from an Asics ad)
This run raises money for blood cancer research and her team raised $83,000! I really admire T, who never thought she was a runner. She's run over 130 miles in the last couple months. Just 13.1 more to go...until next time. She is a Superhero, but as I'm being 'thrifty' these days I hope she handle something LYF style (T, a package should be arriving in a few days).
Mikey's running in the race as well. Sean and Jason have done marathons in the past couple months with more to come. What is it about getting older and running? Ha, on one hand I like the idea of getting into decent enough shape I could enter a road race again. On the other hand, maybe I'll leave all this running to others while I try new (and gentle) things like Nia. I still have not taken a class yet. No more exuses!
Good luck to Tina and Mike in their run tomorrow. Have fun! I hope Matt is taking pics at the finish line.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Happy Lohri
I think Seattle's rain streak has ended. 27 straight days of rain (unless they receive 1/100th of an inch? of rain by midnight). Sounds like today was beautiful (the Mantis was stuck in 4 hrs of traffic on the way to Stevens this morning, Ben told Stukes about chest deep powder!). Too bad I was on the way home from TC. But it was worth it.
Ryan's Lohri party was good times. Finally met 24--he smiles in person unlike most of his photos. Seems a sweetie, though really only had a few minutes to hang with him. Reub seems sooo happy about being a dad. Amazing to see so many of his family and friends come together for such an event. Rueben's mom sure knows how to throw a party. Plenty of food and alcohol flowing. And damn, those Indians love to dance. :)
I'm hoping to hit some powder tomorrow. If I need to be on the road in 7 hours, I better get some rest. Hopefully I have good stories (pics?) next time.
Ryan's Lohri party was good times. Finally met 24--he smiles in person unlike most of his photos. Seems a sweetie, though really only had a few minutes to hang with him. Reub seems sooo happy about being a dad. Amazing to see so many of his family and friends come together for such an event. Rueben's mom sure knows how to throw a party. Plenty of food and alcohol flowing. And damn, those Indians love to dance. :)
I'm hoping to hit some powder tomorrow. If I need to be on the road in 7 hours, I better get some rest. Hopefully I have good stories (pics?) next time.
Thursday, December 1, 2005
It's snowing!!
Not a regular occurance here during the winter. It started about 10 this morning and it's been snowing ever since, though I don't think it's sticking yet. That's Seattle for you. Happy December!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)