Everyone wants to be Irysh

It's a big one

2010-01-03T16:29:00.001-08:00

Happy New Decade, everyone!

Change is good

2009-05-30T23:30:00.000-07:00

One week down and I know that the new job is going to be at once challenging and fun. I'll be on information overload for a while, I can tell (and have verified with several inside sources), but I like it. My last couple weeks at my old job proved to me that I made the right decision in leaving. While there are some great people that work there, the 2-3 running the department are passive-aggressive, and arguably borderline incompetent. My boss (of whom I was never a fan) didn't even show up on my last day (a gift really, but still showing her true colors once again).

All of it made my first day at the new job even nicer. People are committed to their jobs, to the organization, and the leadership. It's refreshing actually. My boss is intelligent and approachable and already I enjoy working with her. I think we'll have a great collaborative relationship, which is awesome.

So, although my brain will be tired for months to come, I am glad that I took a risk and made a big change. I hope some of my former coworkers are as proactive and as fortunate since many of them are guaranteed to be laid off. I have my fingers crossed for them, but they also have to be ready to act... sooner rather than later.

Back from the dead

2009-05-11T21:57:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update because I'm tired, except I'm thinking that it's been a while since I updated and I should do it while it's in my head rather than forgetting for another few weeks.

The room is finished. Woot! And it looks amazing:

I've moved a bed and desk into the space and am still pondering what to put on the walls, but otherwise it's done. Checked off by building inspection and everything. Still waiting to get reassessed, but whatever.

Also, I accepted a new job. Bigger WOOT for this one. I can't say I've been happy at my current job (there have been departments for which I really liked working, but this one... not so much) and, with budget cuts and layoffs, there were a few catalysts that pushed me harder into the job hunt. As serendipity would have it, my cousin's company had an opening that was right up my alley. I actually will be able to put the last 8 years of public sector experience to work in the private sector (and who says they don't cross over?) doing office administration - policies and procedures, project coordination and management, business analysis, etc. And I can't wait to get started. They don't currently have any administration so it's even more exciting. And I'll never, never... EVER... have to hear someone say: "But we've always done it this way!" If you work in government, you know what I'm talking about!

Tiling

2009-02-17T23:56:00.001-08:00

This past weekend was spent tiling the shower. On Saturday, Michael and I completed the entire top half and, on Sunday, we finished the bottom half. All that's left are the small cut pieces at the bottom, the edges and the grout. We started to lay out the floor tile but were too tired so we'll do that later this week.

I stained the pocket door for the bathroom and Clark made a cameo to help install it (much harder than I had anticipated).

I've added more photos to the album (link at right) and I expect more to come by this weekend. We'd like to have the final inspection and reassessment next week if at all possible, especially since we'll be in Oregon the weekend of the 28th.

So close!

2009-02-12T11:35:00.000-08:00

Well, the painting is done. I'll paint the trim when the pocket door is in because that still will have to be trimmed out. Hopefully this weekend we'll be able to tile the shower and bathroom floor.

Summing up what's left

2009-02-07T23:48:00.001-08:00

Let's see, today Michael laid the slate in the laundry and installed the plugs and switches. Clark did the finish work on the bathroom window. Here's what's left off the top of my head.

Siding - The siding was finished on the side of the house where we moved the window, but needs to be done on the back where we covered an old doorway and made the bathroom window. Then it all needs to be painted.

Painting - The laundry room is done (maybe need to touch up a little ghosting, but otherwise, it's good), the bedroom has the first coat of the pale yellow, and the bathroom has one coat on three walls but none on the fourth as the window was just finished and the texture had to dry. So I have to finish the bathroom, do another coat of yellow and then paint the accent wall in the bedroom. Then I'll paint the trim.
Doors - We're waiting on the arrival of the pocket door for the bathroom. The door to the garage needs to be painted, the other 3 need to be stained. Door knobs have to be purchased for 2 of them.

Flooring - Michael will grout the slate and we'll return the washer/dryer to their rightful home (I call doing the first load of laundry!). Bathroom tile still must be installed (including the shower surround). Carpet will be ordered in the next week or so.

Fixtures - Install the shower head and valve, build the floating cabinet for the sink and mount said sink along with the faucet. Purchase and install the toilet. Mount wall plates on the plugs and switches.

Lighting - The only unfinished light is in the bedroom. Currently just a bare bulb, it needs a cover.

So, tomorrow, after I go to Home Depot to get one more gallon of the yellow, I'll be trying to finish out the painting. We hope to finish all the necessary elements to have our final inspection (though I'm not sure exactly what they require - probably not carpet, but definitely a finished shower) within the next week.

Color me happy!

2009-02-06T21:01:00.001-08:00

I'm really starting to feel like this whole project has a finish line. I know, it's only been 5 weeks, but my house is a mess (Michael says, "It's a construction zone!") and I can't wait to walk into that room and see a guest bed instead of saw horses. :o)

Here are some updated photos (you can see more on the album).

A busy Tuesday tomorrow

2009-02-02T23:26:00.000-08:00

Clark finished texturing the walls today and will prime tomorrow. Also tomorrow:

Three doors arrive and will be installed
Tile for shower (subway) and bathroom floor (1" octagons) is picked up
Tile for laundry is picked up (12" smooth, flat black slate)
I paint the laundry room

Maybe by Thursday, the laundry room will be ready to have the washer and dryer installed and out of my family room!

And the doors will help keep the damn mosquitoes out - those suckers must have flown southwest from Minnesota! They're friggin' HUGE!

Today's photos

2009-02-01T11:14:00.000-08:00

Today's goings-on...

Clark working on the ceiling---
A view of the shower

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The exterior wall
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The bedroom window
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The hole for the bathroom window, now sans window for the time being
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Under the room
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For Julie (this is an EXTRA scary picture because he's been crawling around under the bedroom all morning and his hair is full of drywall and saw dust)

The final countdown

2009-02-01T10:24:00.001-08:00

It's been 4 weeks since we started this little project and we've got about a week left, give or take a few days for the carpet (a wool carpet that is completely green (environmentally, not color)). The windows arrived and we batted .500 - the window for the bedroom was perfect, but the bathroom window was built out of square so we had to put on our disappointed faces and take it back. The original order took around 3-4 weeks and I'm hoping we don't have to wait as long for a replacement.

Here's Clark installing the bathroom window, during which the defect was discovered:
At least we know we like the color we picked for the exterior. Michael was originally thinking he liked a lighter color but I convinced him to go with the dark brown because we'll soon replace the rest of the windows in the house and paint the house a darker color. And the dark trim matches the brown trim on the house for now, anyway.

The doors have been ordered but I'm not sure when they'll arrive. The faucet and shower fixture are here, the mirror and bathroom lights are here, the sink arrived a couple days ago. The tile for the bathroom is ordered and should arrive on Tuesday as well as the black slate we ordered yesterday for the floor of the laundry room. Also yesterday I bought paint and am very excited about the colors I found. I love the way a room changes depending on what color is on the wall.* The laundry has no window, so I chose a slightly brighter greenish-khaki color, happy yet still earthy, that will be offset nicely by the flat black slate. The bedroom will have a dark accent color on the largest wall with the window (a grayish brown) and the remaining walls and ceiling are a light yellowish (like lemon chiffon). The bath will be a pale blue with a hint of green and should look beautiful with the stark white tile, sink and toilet. Unfortunately, the colors on the Ralph Lauren site don't look the same on my monitor so they surely won't on yours. You'll just have to wait for photos!

Today, Clark is working on mudding and taping, Michael's crawling under the room, and they might start replacing the siding that had to be removed to do the windows and close up the old door to the backyard.

I'll upload more pictures shortly (after the camera battery is charged).

p.s. My dear husband has lost his mind and decided that, in protest of the cost of this room, he's not going to shave until it's paid off. It could be a long few months for yours truly.

*The persimmon color I chose for the guest room when we moved in has run its course and, after this project is complete, I'm going to repaint it something less... bright.

Can you hear it? It's the world's smallest violin

2009-01-25T23:26:00.000-08:00

I was perusing my past blog entries and found this one, written September, 2005. If I could see the future, why couldn't the stupid banks?

Oh wait...

They did.

They just didn't care.

And, although the folks who've lost their house or might can't say they knew what was going to happen, I still blame them for being part of the problem.

They and Wal-Mart.

Phase 2 Complete

2009-01-23T18:44:00.000-08:00

A lot of work has been completed since my last post. Clark works at a crazy-fast speed and we were able to have our second inspection today (which we PASSED!) and he and Michael are out there sheet rocking as I type. The photo album has been updated, but here are a few photos:

Michael and I are going to the home expo tomorrow to see if there are maybe any good deals on flooring and any other stuff we haven't already purchased. We have to get tile for the laundry (slate) and the bathroom but still haven't decided on the bedroom.

Stay tuned!

Passed!

2009-01-16T14:36:00.001-08:00

We passed inspection numero uno this morning - yay! - and are on Phase 2! This means we're probably less than a week and a half away from having our washer and dryer back! Although I love our washer/dryer units, having them in the family room is not exactly what I'd call cozy.

Phase 2 will include insulating and closing up the floor, building the walls for the laundry and bath and, basically doing everything up the point of needing sheetrock. Then we get inspection numero dos and the finishing work begins.

I'm still shocked about the speed of this project. I guess I'm used to Michael and I doing everything ourselves in between working full time, so that inevitablity means long projects and lots of patience. Having Clark work over here every day has been pretty awesome.

And, although it will take a while to recover from the cost of this project, it will be SO worth it in many ways. Keep checking back for more updates!

2009-01-15T17:44:00.000-08:00

The subfloor's skeleton is pretty much complete. The windows are framed, the plumbing for the bathroom and laundry is done. Phase I is just about complete, which means we get to have our first inspection. These photos show the framed bedroom window which is shifting up a bit and shrinking from an 8x4 to a 6x4.

Also, the bathroom window, next to which you can see Michael trying to encourage Merlin to come inside even though there's nowhere for him to stand. What a nice papa. To get around the problem, Merlin pseudo-crawls under the framing to get from side to side. He'll sure be disappointed when the space that was formerly a door is sealed shut!

Despite the constant thwarting, Merlin is determined to be the site supervisor... A job he performs equally well from the garage ground level and from a napping position on the couch.

More photos are updated on my Picasa album in case you're following the project.

More shiny things

2009-01-13T17:09:00.001-08:00

Had to change the shower pan as the one we wanted (with the seat below) was a 4-5 week lead time, which is too long. So we went with a regular shower pan instead. The subway tile will be from floor to ceiling in the shower and should look very pretty. Nice and white. :)

We settled on a faucet, as well, and also chose the coordinating shower head and valve control. Although there were plenty that we liked, they were either too expensive or were the kind that would get lots of "wow, that's neat" comments now but "what were they thinking" comments in 15 years. I'm trying to stay as classic as possible. No crazy patterns or color schemes. No trendy this or that. The sink is as trendy as it's going to get and its design has a lot of elements from the classics of the past so I'm sure it will endure.

Clark's been working at his usual pace (speedy) and we'll probably have our first of the 3 inspections this week or next. I'll post more photos later tonight or tomorrow.

Finishing the floor and picking out sinks

2009-01-11T09:45:00.000-08:00

Despite picking up a conglomeration of many people's sickness, Michael and I went out today to look at bathroom fixtures. We found a really beautiful sink and floating cabinet but it was just a little bit too big for the space - it would have fit but would have felt slightly imposing. So we decided on this sink for which Michael will built a cabinet similar to the one seen in the photo, only it will be made out of bamboo and will cost a lot less than the $2,500 Kohler wants for theirs.

We will use subway tile for the floors as well as halfway up the walls and the entire shower (except for the shower receptor, which will be white). The walls will be painted blue, accented by brown towels, and hardware will be chrome. I still have to decide on a faucet, which is hard as there are many I like and most of them are pretty expensive (figures).

The bedroom will have cork floors and will be painted brown with accents of blue (opposite the bath).

Today Clark is back and he and Michael and putting up the rest of the floor joists and possibly start a wall (not sure which one).

I'm going back to the store for some medicine that doesn't taste so bad that I feel sicker than I actually am!

Shiny new lumber and shiny new cousin

2009-01-08T22:29:00.000-08:00

After a delivery of a lot of lumber,

the floor is starting to take shape...

Meanwhile, meet my new cousin, Eva Echo Bailey:

Another PGR Entry

2009-01-06T19:58:00.000-08:00

PGR is on track! Michael went back to the building permit office today with my uncle and purchased the rest of the permit for the job. Intially, when he was going to do the project himself, he was going to do it in bits and pieces because of the work and time it would take. Now that Clark is involved, it will be much more efficient (and beautifully done). Afterwards, Clark went to Lowe's and loaded up on a bunch of lumber for the wall and floor and Michael met him there to pay. He also got a tankless water heater since he had a 10% off coupon. Score. We have two water heaters for our house - one for the side of the house with the kitchen and laundry and the other on the side with the bedrooms/bathrooms. The new tankless will replace the one in the garage because it's pretty ancient and, if it works like we think it will, we'll get one to replace the other water heater, too.

In a couple weeks, I'll be picking out flooring and bathroom sinks. Yay! And I'm especially excited for my cousins who will be staying with us at the end of March as they'll get to stay in that room after we have a fun night at The Kitchen!

Anyway, this whole thing will be done much sooner than expected and it will add 255sf to our house (making it 2035sf)! Great for value and resale (not that we're planning on moving any time soon). I think I'm most excited about having the laundry in a cleaner area than the garage!

Project started

2009-01-03T12:42:00.000-08:00

Michael, my uncle Clark, and Michael's friend John have started Project Guest Room (PGR). With the three of them, it's going very quickly.

New Bedroom

Another project

2009-01-02T09:15:00.000-08:00

We have started phase one of creating bedroom #4. Sounds like a project involving an addition and enlarging the footprint of the house, but fortunately not. We were lucky enough to find a house with a massive garage - 830sf - and part of it was already set up to become another room of the house (including bathroom plumbing). The garage is L-shaped: an oversized two car portion and then another section that extends all the way back (making one side similar to a tandem garage). That extension is what will be the bedroom.

We've gotten a permit and need another, but in a few weeks time it will contain a laundry area which leads to "guest quarters" - a bedroom and three quarter bath. We'll then have three bathrooms, one of which will be on the opposite side of the house, which is the best part, especially when working in the yard or having parties. And it will be a great place for guests because they'll have their own bathroom rather than having to use the hall bath, or share it with others who might also be staying.

We couldn't do this as well or in as quick a time without the help and guidance of my uncle Clark, whose master skills will make this room the envy of the neighborhood! Thanks, Clark!

I'll try to post pictures of the progress. It should be interesting!

Welcome

2009-01-02T09:04:00.000-08:00

...new little girl cousin who arrived the afternoon of New Year's Eve.

Um, like, you know what I mean?

2008-12-22T18:21:00.000-08:00

We had fun in Salem (which is now covered in snow!) did lots of shopping, per usual (no sales tax is awesome!), and found the best pizza place on the planet. In fact, it was so great that I'm not even going to say the name because it's busy enough as it is! A queue forms about 20-30 minutes before they open and so you'd better get there early or be virtuous in your patience.

I got some adorable pairs of shoes (ok, Michael, too), a couple more pieces of Le Creuset as well as lots of stuff at Banana Republic. Michael found some beautiful button-down shirts as he's now on a "no polos" kick. Whatever! :)

It hardly rained at all which was strange. I always look forward to trudging through the stormy weather in search of adventures! Seriously, I'm not being sarcastic. Not a fan of the sun, I get grumpy when we don't have any cloudy days for weeks on end. So going to Oregon - or any of the other overcast places I've visited (Ireland, England, Scotland, etc.) - makes me happy!

Thursday is christmas and we have to drive to Marin to spend it with the in-laws. My sister-in-law has once again caused plans to be in a constant state of flux due to her lack of committment and time management. This inevitably leads to tension and stress and a holiday full of forced smiles. Fun! Oh, and her 13 year old is with us at the moment. Michael was in LA last week and brought him back with him on Friday. His mom flew in yesterday and was supposed to pick him up today, but it's 6:30pm and she's still "on her way." Not only that, but she's now planning on spending the night all so she can go to our favorite sushi restaurant. And she's bringing a friend. Joy. Joy... Joy to the world.

The kid, albeit not into drugs or gangs or other hooligan behavior, is the poster child for birth control. His favorite word is "like" and his favorite phrase is "you know what I mean?" So a typical conversation (usually one-sided because he either talks over you or doesn't actually ask a question) goes like this, "My friend, like, lived in, like, this, like, house and, like, you know, he like, his mom, you know, she, like, went in the,like, front yard and, ummmm, and, you know, like she saw this, like, thing, and, you know what I mean?" I... am... not... kidding. Only my steroidal will power has kept me from doing something that would be frowned upon by CPS.

He's currently playing a game on my xbox, using my headset, and having a conversation while playing that would cause Ghandi to curse. He has no internal volume control, no powers of observation (asked "is it raining" while standing outside looking at the rain), no table manners... I could keep going but I won't. I will give him a modicum of credit as he does know that I do expect certain behavior in my house and he tries to try. I only had to tell him once to hang up his towel rather than leave it to mildew on the bedroom floor. He helps clear the table when he sees us doing it. When we said, "No, we really don't know what you mean," he makes a concerted effort to use actual words (sometimes successful, mostly not). And, like I said, he doesn't tag buildings with graffiti, he loves his mother, he goes to school and mostly does his homework. Sure, it could be worse.

So that I don't write an entire blog about my inane nephew-in-law, I'll end by saying this:

Happy holidays, happy solstice (first day of winter today!), happy new year. 2009 is bound to be a bright new year filled with possibilities. May yours be fabulous.

Not enough hours in the day

2008-11-22T09:34:00.000-08:00

Been very busy. Too busy to update.

Going to Martinez today for a party then driving to Salem, OR tomorrow for the rest of the week. Will be nice to have a break.

Club 33 was amazing. Disneyland was a blast. The Kitchen on November 1 was beautiful as always. Pictures are uploaded to Picasa (click the slideshow on the right).

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone!

2008-10-17T16:12:00.000-07:00

Michael's been in Los Angeles since September 30. He got a promotion with his company and is now a "Configuration Administrator" or something in MIS. Finally putting his master's degree to good use! :) In an hour or so my neighbor is driving me to the airport so I can fly down and we'll go to Disneyland tomorrow, then drive home on Sunday.

I can't wait to get there - we haven't been to Disneyland since they're 50th anniversary on 05/05/05 and that was a blast. This time is going to be even better because it's going to be decorated for Halloween, my favorite holiday, AND we had dinner reservations here (click on the image to see more about it):

I got a new digital camera - I've been looking at them for a while and waiting for the right time to replace my 5mp Sony that I liked but I wanted something smaller, faster and with better battery life. After quite a lot of research, I ended up with the Sony DSC-W300, a 13.6mp camera that, on burst mode, can take 5 frames per second at 3mp. It's pretty awesome. When we get back, I'll add my album to the blog so you can check out the photos I've taken so far. I got it on Monday and have just been playing with it so far, seeing how I like it... I'm very happy with the results considering I haven't read the entire manual and have yet to explore all of its magic. I do know that I used it for 3 days straight and only yesterday did the battery meter go down by one bar.

Come back soon to check out the Disneyland photos!

The Sling is Slung

2008-08-09T15:53:00.000-07:00

Friday's visit to the doctor's office yesterday yielded positive news (as long as you don't ask Michael). The doctor said he no longer has to wear the sling and there appears to be good bone growth. There's still a gap at one of the break points, and the artificial bone grafting material was rejected but the hardware is still in place and doing its job.

Michael was disappointed because he's still on strict orders to not use his right arm. He can move it from the elbow, but not from the shoulder. Yesterday evening, however, he realized that just the effort of holding up his own arm was harder than he expected. The muscles are weak and the extra pull it places on his collar bone is uncomfortable. I'm convinced that this is an exercise in patience for Michael, but we're still waiting for that virtue...

It's a sling thing

2008-07-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

Michael's being a good boy and wearing his sling every day. Only a few times did it appear to be more of an accessory. He's counting the days until he can use his arm (I think it's 3 weeks and 4 days as of now) and he's only moderately annoying about it. :)

The new job is insanely busy. Getting to have a lunch break has been a bonus most of the time. Otherwise, I'm starting to really like it. The people seem like generally good folks and I'm definitely figuring out the politics (essential to success).

Not much time to post today, just wanted to say we're alive.

More Waiting

2008-07-13T08:23:00.000-07:00

Surgery went well. Dr. James removed the previous hardware (which we get to keep!) and installed a longer titanium rod with 9 screws (2 more than the last). He said that, while Michael's unauthorized activities certainly helped move the screws, the bone was pretty soft. Unfortunately, when one of the screws came out, it started to form a new fracture, so now there's some bone graft material in there.

Michael's learned his lesson (so far) and is consciously counting down each day in the next six weeks. He has strict orders to stay non-weight-bearing for the duration. If he doesn't, he forfeits fun for a long, long time. The bad news, for me anyway, is that while he's down, he becomes a great big nag and asks things of me that only someone with 8 arms and a 48 hour day can do.

I might pick up some sleeping pills and slip him one every so often.

In the Waiting Room

2008-07-09T14:09:00.000-07:00

That's where I sit right now. A dungeon-like space on the lower level of the Mercy Medical Plaza. Crowded when we arrived at 9:30am, it's now virtually empty. Just me and a couple other souls either waiting for their loved ones or to be called back for procedures of their own. This enables me to claim a series of three seats, attached like a couch, for my light load: purse, laptop case, and Grande Starbucks Doubleshot with Energy.

They took him back for surgery at 12:30pm, after needle poking, arm squishing and question asking. An exact repeat of the first surgery a month ago. I sat with him for a few hours and then walked a block to Starbucks. Not because I wanted to experience the heat and smoke of the outdoors (today the air is particularly terrible - the hundreds of fires are nothing but helped by temperatures near 110), but because sitting for 2-3 hours in the waiting room listening to others whine about their various ailments is even less desirable. In fact, these last 30 minutes that I've chosen to endure are plenty. There is someone sleeping behind me, snoring like they're at Motel 6. The elderly couple to my right, however, are cute and just chatting pleasantly. There are doors opening and closing, names being called out, and the ever-present "hospital smell." That familiar waft of latex, iodine and alcohol. It's strangely comforting - perhaps reminiscent of the time spent visiting my mom on her nursing shifts in the maternity ward. Not that I'd spend any more time here than necessary.

I didn't mind the waiting room during the previous surgery. Last time, the procedure was scheduled at Mercy General Hospital next door. There, the waiting room had high ceilings and a plethora of windows. It was much less claustraphobic, even though I had to sit in Michael's wheelchair for the duration. It's impressive how comfortable those are and I had no problem reading and playing sudoku while slowling rolling back and forth in a vacant patch of the waiting room.

As I continue to write, there's a steady rotation of people entering and exiting. The two women across from me, who were talking about the various affects on the soul when one is cremated versus buried, have been replaced by a weathered woman in her 50s wearing clothes made for 30-somethings. She's reading a paperback, her silver-painted toenails glinting from the flourescent lights and occasionally distracting my attention. As she drinks her pink Vitamin Water, I wonder who she's waiting for and why they're here. Meanwhile, the snoring continues and I tilt my head over my right shoulder to peek. A man, with his little girl on his lap, is dead to the world... That is until his wife rescues all of us and wakes him to leave.

Dr. James, Michael's orthopedist, just came out and said the surgery went well. A new, longer titanium plate is now attached to his clavicle via nine titanium screws. Dr. James said the screws should not have come out in the first place; the only possibility is that Michael's bones were a little softer due to being inactive for so long. The new plate is the longest one available for that purpose and Michael will have to lay low for at least five weeks. This will make him very unhappy but it will be better in the long run. He can either push it now and ruin himself for any further fun activity, or he can take it easy and have fun next season. I think he's smart enough to choose the latter.

I'll hopefully have some photos soon from the procedure. I'll make them small so that those who want to view them can and those with a weak stomach can ignore them. But for now, I'm going to pack up and prepare to see him in post-op.

Because we like sharp objects and those little paper booties

2008-06-27T23:36:00.000-07:00

I apologize for not having any new information lately. I've been SUPER busy and just haven't had the energy. As I mentioned in my June 1st post, I was promoted and started the new job this past Monday. The two weeks prior, I worked nearly 24 hours of overtime just trying to tie everything up at my last office. There's a temporary hiring freeze that went into effect 1 week after I was offered my job and so they can't fill the spot I'm leaving. That meant that it was really important that I didn't leave anything hanging. Besides, that's just not the type of person I am. I worked way to hard over the past two and a half years to leave anything partially finished. Anyway, it goes without saying that it was a long two weeks and the weekend between the old and new was barely enough to recover. The new job, however, is great. It's been amazingly busy and I've pretty much been expected to just jump right in and start going, which is fine with me. My immediate boss started only two weeks ahead of me so we're both learning at the same time and we are very excited about the projects ahead.

So, enough about me...

Michael's surgery went well and he seemed to be recovering all right. But about two weeks in, he started having more pain in his shoulder and this past weekend it was hurting quite a bit. I suggested he move his next appointment up so that it could be checked out. On Tuesday he went in and was told that three out of the seven screws are backing out of the bone and he will have to have surgery. Again... with a bone graft. FANtastic.

I think part of the problem was that his bones weren't growing fast enough to support the muscles pulling on them - hence the bone graft now. But the situation was exacerbated by Michael's stubbornness and insistence upon being independent. While he was "careful" with his injured arm, he tried to do too much with his left side which caused straining and contributed to the current situation. Would this have happened if he'd had more bone growth? We don't know. But we're both pretty frustrated. The next surgery is scheduled for the morning of July 9. Don't worry, it'll be fine.

The Wolf range is installed. We hired someone to come out and extend the gas line into the kitchen and then Michael supervised as I learned woodworking. As it turns out, I'm pretty good with a router. (We won't mention the skill saw.) While the range looks a little out of place in our kitchen - especially sitting on a now-modified cabinet - it cooks like a dream and we love, love, love the griddle. 18,000 btu is pretty darn impressive. We still have to take out the upper cabinets to install the 36" hood (right now we're just not using the back burners), and when we do we'll also have to install a pantry to make up for losing that space.

Also, I finally bought a new piece of furniture for the family room. A pretty dark brown sectional with matching storage ottoman (perfect for my Rock Band guitar!) that is a nice change from the vintage 1972 Bruener's sofa we had before. Now, to save for a new dining room set!

Under the Knife

2008-06-02T18:21:00.000-07:00

The second set of x-rays showed that part of the clavicle break is healing pretty well, but a larger part is still not showing significant signs of coming together. The doctor thinks that there's still a good possibility that it could heal well on its own, but since Michael is still spending 16-20 hours on his back every day, surgery became an excellent choice. So we're set to be at the hospital on Wednesday at 1:30pm for 3:30pm surgery. Supposedly the operation will take about 2 hours and, once complete, he'll have a titanium rod and screws holding him together. He'll also be able to sit up for prolonged periods of time and will be far less grumpy.

His acetabular fracture looked good and we took home a crutch that he can now use to hobble around. It's a little awkward because of the counterintuitive nature of using it - he can only lean on it on his left side so his arms have to swing opposite of normal - but it's a lot nicer than having to get the wheelchair out for every little errand.

________________________________________________

We've decided to push out our kitchen 8 1/2 feet and do a complete remodel. But, since we don't currently have the cash for that, we're starting with what we're calling a "partial remodel." When we first moved in, we replaced the dual ovens with a Bosch convection oven/convection microwave combo and installed a new Bosch dishwasher. We already had a cabinet-depth fridge that we bought only a couple years ago so we naturally brought that with us. Also, we found a great floor model Jenn-Air hood for about 1/3 normal price and so we snatched that up late last year and stuck it in the garage. Because the complete remodel will require a significant amount of funds, I suggested to Michael that we look at replacing the electric range with the gas range we've always wanted so that we could really enjoy our current space. The range we've been eyeing is the Wolf 36" rangetop with four burners and a griddle (the photo below shows the model with the grill, but easy to imagine a griddle in its place). As luck would have it, a man was selling a brand new, in the box, range that he'd bought for his own kitchen remodel that he's not going to complete. He put it on Craigslist for $800 less than list price - how could we pass that up?? Tomorrow evening we drive to Cotati to pick it up. We'll have to do a minor modification to the cabinet where the electric range is housed, install the new hood and extend the gas line about 20 feet.

More motivation for Michael to heal quickly!

Michael, etc.

2008-06-01T12:43:00.000-07:00

Michael's visit to the orthopedist on May 19 was uneventful. The new x-ray of his collar bone showed no signs of improvement and looked nearly identicle to the x-rays taken in the ER. The doctor said that he wanted to see Michael again in two weeks and, if still no significant healing, might talk about surgery. He also prescribed a more effective pain killer.

Fortunately, the past several days have yielded signs of healing - albeit painful - so I'm hopeful that tomorrow's appointment will be good. It will be nice to look forward to a husband on crutches and not having to always have a wheelchair in the trunk of my car.

In other news... I've gotten a promotion. On Wednesday I went for an interview at another department. I felt it went really well - wasn't nervous or anxious and wasn't stressed while waiting to hear from them. On Thursday morning they were calling my references and by noon that day I had the job. My new title is Administrative Services Officer and I start on June 23 - barely enough time to finish everything at my current department.

My manager is very sad, and not just because she has to fill my position. I'm very pleased to say that I'm leaving that office far better than I found it. Most of my nearly 2.5 years has been dedicated to improving procedures, teamwork and morale and I have succeeded on all fronts. I can only hope that the trend continues once I'm gone. My employees are disappointed, too, that I'm leaving and I know they're nervous about who will be their new boss. I will be helping to interview and I will do what I can do ensure that a quality person is hired - someone that will advocate for them as well as maintain the department's business needs.

I learned a lot about Workers' Comp but am happy to say that in my new capacity, I'll be the liaison between my new department and WC and so will interact with my old coworkers quite frequently. I think it will work out splendidly.

Hell in a Handbasket

2008-05-17T14:01:00.001-07:00

It's so freakin' hot all of a sudden that I feel like I've gone to hell in a handbasket... ok, sans basket. It was inevitable (heaven for the climate, hell for the company and all that). Thank goodness for A/C and walk-behind, front wheel drive lawn mowers.

Michael's reached another stage of his recovery. It's called annoyance. Three and a half weeks after his accident, he's finally adjusting to the reality that it's going to be a while before he's all better. But this adjustment is not coming without some serious annoyance and frustration. He says he's tired of being broken. Just yesterday he requested traction and a medically-induced coma. Well, I think I can safely say that I'm tired of him being broken. I have twice as much to do around the house and now it's hot outside. Blah.

He's also become an expert at stating the obvious. Since he can't actually do much for himself, he's taken to supervising me and narrating my movements. It's like I'm Will Ferrell in "Stranger Than Fiction." Speaking of annoying! Sigh!

We go back to the orthopedist on Monday morning for follow-up x-rays. I am hoping we find out how much longer it will be before he gets on crutches. Then maybe he can get back to narrating his own movements. And maybe I'll stop taking all the vehicle keys with me everywhere I go.

And when will you be getting a good night's sleep?

2008-05-09T22:21:00.000-07:00

That's what I get asked most often. Oh sure, people ask how Michael is and how he's feeling, mending, etc. But mostly people ask how I am. During the first two weeks I thought this was strange. Why would people be asking me thing? He's the broken one, after all. Two and a half weeks in, however, and I'm feeling it. I still don't mind the work, I'm just tired. Not so much because he sits up a few times each night because he's uncomfortable always being on his back, though I do wake up almost every time - even when I slept in the guest room because his allergies were making him snore so loudly I swear the neighbors were about to complain. I'm mostly tired because I have to give him his worthless pain pills every four hours and that means that my alarm goes off at 2am every day. I don't blame him. I blame the stupid prescription.

The ER doctor prescribed Norco with 10mg hydrocodone and 325mg acetaminophen. These pills were awesome - exaggerated sense of well being, etc, etc. Probably why the first couple weeks were so great. Then the orthopedist prescribed Vicodin with 5mg hydrocodone and 500mg acetaminophen. Giving him a big Tylenol with a hint of actual relief is some sick joke and we're not laughing. Plus the acetaminophen is wreaking havoc on his liver. The max dosage anyone should have each day of acetaminophen is 4 grams. At the rate he is forced to take these pills, he's at 3 grams. And he was taking 4 Norcos a day as compared to the 6 Vicodin he's currently on a day. Maybe they're worried about addiction, I don't know. I do know that getting a doctor to return your call is like asking the president to pronounce nuclear correctly. He's been trying both the orthopedist and his primary care doctor since Wednesday and has had no luck at all.

On the bright side, we got his temporary disabled placard on Wednesday. Fortunately I made an appointment at the DMV so we were only there 15 minutes. This was a good thing as I'd forgotten that the DMV was such a hip hangout for teenage ghetto sleezebags. Who knew!

Time's Running Out!

2008-05-02T16:51:00.000-07:00

Voting is almost over for the survey on the left, so cast now if you haven't already!

I can't know for sure who voted for what so far, but I do know that the single vote for the first choice was cast by, shocker, Michael himself.

I'm currently accepting suggestions for my next survey. :o)

Our Magical Dog

2008-05-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

Our amazing dog, Merlin, whom many of you know, is skilled in so many ways. He knows the names of all of his toys - even knows the difference between his goose and duck which vary only in coloring. He can open doors, both pocket and swinging. He understands more English than many 4th graders today. And apparently, he can not only drive, he can walk into a doctor's office and obtain a prescription for Michael's wheelchair.

The prescription we obtained at the ER last week was unacceptable to Michael's insurance company (what's the point of being an ER doctor if all you do is undermined by HMOs?) so he had to get one directly from his primary care physician. Michael had put in calls to his doctor yesterday but she was apparently out.

When I called him today he said that he had to fax the prescription over to the wheelchair folks but we don't have a fax. I said, "Can't your PCP fax it over?" He answered, "They won't write more than one prescription." Well, here I am thinking that the doctor's office would write the prescription and send it over to the people with the wheelchair, so I was naturally confused. When I asked him to clarify, he said that he'd gotten the prescription from his PCP. My first reaction: How??? How can anyone get to a doctor's office when they're unable to walk.

Silly Erin, he tells me. Merlin took him. And Merlin also got out of the Jeep, went into the office, spoke with the staff and doctor, got the prescription, and drove Michael back to the
house.

The wonderful, magical, scapegoat of a dog.

Edit @ 10:56pm

I feel I should clarify...

When I got home and discussed this matter with Michael, he finally admitted that, no, the dog did not in fact drive him to the doctor. Nor did the dog go into the office. But neither did Michael. Although he did use his office chair to wheel himself to the car and drive himself to the doctor which is barely over one mile away, he did not get out of the car. Instead, the doctor came out to meet him and he never left the vehicle. Additionally, he was not "under the influence" as suggested by the anonymous opinionator (whom I suspect to be one of my parents). The new prescription he's been given is woefully weak and he was also nearly due for his next dose. So, no: I'm not making any excuses for him. And, yes: He was silly to do it.

Anyway, we got a wheelchair for him today. We owe a great debt to a new friend who loaned us one that we can use for as long as necessary. Although it doesn't fold like a standard wheelchair, it's much better in that it's less than 35 pounds and the wheels easily come off and the seat folds in on itself, making it a breeze to get into a small car or my trunk. Now he can go out into the real world again, which he did tonight. He, Cousin Mikey and I went to the theatre broadcast of This American Life. It was a great experience and I left feeling even more strongly that it's one of the best radio shows. Ever.

Doctor Visit

2008-04-29T22:01:00.000-07:00

Our visit to the orthopedist was different than expected. We had thought we'd come out of there with a date for surgery and advice that it was better that way. However, the doctor said that, although surgery was an option, it was not something he recommended unless the broken bones were protruding or if they were in such a position that successful mending would be too difficult or impossible.

Instead, he said that the broken bones looked "beautiful" for their condition and that the risks of surgery far outweighed the benefits, of which there were few. To open him up, exposing him to infection, cut the bone and cut off blood supply to areas which desperately need it, and screw in a plate which may fail at a later date was just not worth it. His clavicle is positioned well for healing and Michael got a brace of sorts that keeps his shoulders gently pulled back. He pairs that with his sling which further neutralizes his arm. He wore both all day today and has noticed a significant improvement in his overall comfort.

We'll be picking up a wheelchair some time tomorrow or Thursday if all goes as planned. Also, I have an appointment at the DMV next week to get the temporary disabled placard. That will be very handy for his future doctor visits and for getting him out of the house so he doesn't go stir crazy.

It will be 4-6 weeks before his shoulder is well enough to use crutches and about 2 months before he can even think of putting any sort of weight on that right leg.

Are we surprised, though, that Michael asked the doctor if he could ride a stationary bike in the meantime? And are we surprised when the doctor paused, looked at him wryly and said, "Yeah, I don't think so."

The amazing technicolor shoulder

2008-04-27T19:29:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo at day 4 after the accident. It shows the bruise on his shoulder. The dark area is obviously where the break is and the large yellow area is the damage which ensued. The day after, there was virtually no mark. By Thursday evening, it was starting to appear and it slowly became a reddish purple. Now it's progressing to puke color. It's like magic, kids.

Not so much an update as just checking in

2008-04-27T15:34:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I go back to work for a good part of the day, but then have to take Michael to the orthopedist for his consult. Although his appointment is not until 3:15, I'll probably get home some time around 1:30 so we'll have lots of time to get him to the car.

It was interesting getting him in the house after the ER. They tried to procure a wheelchair for him but couldn't find any that were available (not that we had room in the Jeep - even though it's the Unlimited model, there was already the bike and the dog filling up the back). The nice traveling nurse from Alabama found a walker for us, though and, after Michael demonstrated that he could put all his weight on it while sliding his good leg forward, they let us go home. Nonetheless, it was still a challenge. To go in the front door, the walk is longer but there are only two steps, each with plenty of space in between for stabilizing. To go in the garage, it's shorter but there are four steps and each are close together. Michael chose to go through the latter. Using the walker, he made it to the first step and managed to sit down. He then slowly hoisted himself up one step at a time until the last one where I then drug him into the family room. After a rest, I helped him to a standing position and he used the walker to slowly get to the bedroom.

I picked up his office chair from his work last Thursday and he's been rolling around the house on it. So getting him to the car for the appointment should be easier. We can use the chair to roll him to the car. Walker to the chair, chair to the car. They'll have a wheelchair for us at the office.

I'm looking forward to hearing what the surgeon has to say. Michael's drugs will be working well at 3:30 so the doctor could tell him anything and he'd be fine with it.

Oh, that reminds me. I looked up side effects for hydrocodone last night and Michael fortunately only has a few out of the long list. The funniest one was "exaggerated sense of well being." Yep, that explains it! And where can I get me some of those? Never mind, someone has to be realistic!

Besides things have to get done around here and I suspect they wouldn't if I was also on happy pills. Either that, or the vacuuming and mopping I just finished would have been much more fun. I wonder how entertaining dusting could be...

It's true. It IS better living through chemistry!

2008-04-26T20:45:00.000-07:00

It's pretty clear how some people become addicted to hydrocodone and similar pain drugs. When in full effect, Michael's outlook on his condition is positively cheerful. Nevermind that he can't walk. Can't sleep in any position but his back. Can't put socks on. But life's grand when hopped up on pills.

I stopped by the radiology department of the hospital today and picked up cds of his x-rays and CT scans. I'll post them later some time for your viewing pleasure.

Then I think you'll really know what I mean that life is better when necessarily supplemented with pharmaceuticals.

Update @11:45pm
Here are photos of the damage. The first is an x-ray of his right clavicle. You can see that it snapped in half and there are two fragments floating there. The second is several shots of the CT of his pelvis. Imagine yourself looking down on him while he's standing up. The round shape is the head of his femur and other shapes are part of the socket where the femur fits into the pelvis. The findings state: "Fracture of the right acetabular roof in a triradiate pattern with fracture line extending posterolaterally, anteromedially and anterolaterally. The fracture extends to the anterior column of the anterior acetabulum and also involves the function of the superior pubic ramus and acetabulum."

An exercise in what NOT to do when racing mountain bikes...

2008-04-25T13:32:00.000-07:00

Let's see... fracture your clavicle? Good start.

What else... fracture your acetabulem? Excellent recommendation.

Too bad Michael took neither piece of advice in his mountain bike race on Wednesday. He went over a small hill that came down on a slight slant. His front tire got a little off the ground and, when it came back down, it slid out from under him and he went down. Hard. Cracked his helmet and everything.

Seven hours in the ER, one set of x-rays, two CT scans and a prescription for hydrocodone later he's rolling around the house on an office chair and I'm helping him put his pants on. We have an appointment on Monday with an orthopedic surgeon who will set his shoulder with a rod and screws later next week (hopefully) so that he can get on crutches. Since his acetabular fracture is not displaced, we need to keep it that way and that requires keeping all weight off of that leg.

Every day is such an adventure! Michael's just bummed that he would have been in the top five racers that night. I've told him he needs a new goal... Finishing.

Oh, while you're here, take my survey on the upper left side of this page. :o)

Turning out quite well, though a future in landscaping, I think not.

2008-04-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

I know I've been MIA for a while but at least I've not been lazing around. Michael and I have been hard at work on the front yard landscaping and we're about 75% done. YAY! Michael's done a ton and he's awesome (I couldn't do much for a while because my back was injured when I was rear-ended back in December, but I'm good now) and the poor thing's got allergies BAD.

Here are some before photos:

Not only was the grass 36 years old and waterproof (so extremely thatched and compacted that the water would just rush right onto the sidewalk), the shrubs - albeit manicured - were too bulky and hid the details of the house. Also, there was no way for people to walk directly from the front door to the sidewalk without either walking around on the walkway to the driveway or walking across the lawn. So, we've made a few minor adjustments:

Look at that fantastic detail! :o) Thanks to Terry and Doris next door, their son Eric and Doris' dad. They're all awesome and helped us make this walkway!

Nearly all of the plants to the right were pre-existing. The orange tree in the middle has been Michael's for years. The agapanthus were from under the other windows and the calla lilies were split up from a massive plant about where the urn in the foreground is. Only the trailing rosemary in the urns is new. Oh, and the urns themselves.

Wow, there's brick there? Those old shrubs wouldn't let you know it!

Michael rototilled this area 5 times. It was so full of clay that we could have started a pottery business. Merlin sure liked to lay it in though. His mother wasn't so thrilled.

The sod arrived this past Saturday and Michael and I installed it... with the help of Terry and Doris next door and Dean down the street. I love our neighbors!!!

Under the pine tree I'm going to put various plants and ground cover. Nothing too high- maintenance and which won't mind having pine needles dropped on it.

Under the set of windows to the right of the front door will be a fountain, bench, Japanese maple (which we already planted) and various plants and flowers. That's what's left to go.

It's coming along! Slowly (painfully) but surely!

Fun on the swing!

2008-01-23T17:38:00.001-08:00

Michael and cousin Merritt on the tree swing at Merritt's mommy's surprise birthday party... (not bad for a 1.3mp camera phone!)

2008-01-07T09:53:00.001-08:00

The storm knocked our power out at 8am last Friday morning. It wasn't restored until 9:07pm last night. Let this hold as the longest weekend ever. Fortunately, everyone across the street from us had power because they're all on a different set of power lines, so I'd like to thank Cris, Sid and family for letting me and Merlin hang out there beyond what would be a normal welcome. Sleeping at home wasn't too bad because of the down comforter and Michael's army blankets... unless you had to go to the bathroom (which I did because I've had a stomach bug for a week), in which case you have to bundle up and make it fast. The thermostat only goes down to 50 degrees as it assumes no normal human would set it even that low, let alone any lower. But I suspect it got down to the 40's because I could see my breath sparking off the beam of my headlamp as I read by the fire on Saturday night. At least the water heater is gas so I could take a shower (only to dry off as quickly as possible, lest icicles form on your nose) and at least the chest freezer in the garage kept everything frozen so we didn't lose too much food. Poor Clyde the canary was a little out of sorts, and a lot annoyed because I kept covering him up when it got dark and, in his opinion, he can put himself to bed, thank you very much. It was for your own good, little Clyde, and I heard you singing this morning so I'm glad you're back to your normal self.

Michael went to Petaluma early Saturday morning with John to do some handwork for some guy. The guy had power but both Michael and John's parents did not and they were their options for sleeping in Marin. Smartly, they chose John's as they have a generator for a little light. But they had to sleep in the cold, as well.

It was a crazy storm that stomped through on Friday morning and I know SMUD and PG&E are still working nonstop to get everyone powered again. I'm sure the SMUD guy who was balanced on the pole last night knew how grateful I was when, after he fixed the switch that had flipped, I yelled, "Thank you! I love you!," and ran back down the street to a soon-to-be-warm house.

Damn good, I tell ya

2007-11-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

Nearly everything is complete in the guest rooms. The bedding is on and looks terrific and I just have to tidy up a little and hang some pictures. I can then clap my hands and call it done. Depending on how I feel, I'll probably paint the bathrooms next weekend. Or at least get the prep work done. I've settled on blue, but haven't picked the shade yet. Something mellow and clean and that will make the old lighting in the hall bath look even worse so I can convince Michael to change it sooner rather than later.

Tuesday was our 8-year anniversary. We went to Taka's Sushi where Taka delivered a white-ribboned blue box incorporated into one of our courses. How adorable! Michael is so sweet and I was quite impressed because it's the first time he's successfully kept a secret. Inside the box was the flower ring to match my bracelet and necklace. It's beautiful!

Last night our friends from Salem, OR were in town and we checked out Ella Dining Room & Bar downtown. The decor is gorgeous and prices were quite reasonable. The food was wonderful and staff was great, too. Considering they've only been open for a month, I was impressed. I can see a little room to trim some the staff (I could tell that a couple were very pleased with themselves for having landed a job in the Selland family's new place and it affected their service and humility noticeably), but overall it was delightful.

Tonight we'll enjoy The Kitchen, which is our traditional anniversary celebration. I'm looking forward to a long evening of wine, perfect cuisine and fun people.

Happy anniversary, Michael. I love you!

2007-10-29T23:09:00.000-07:00

I am so freaking exhausted. "Why haven't you gone to bed?" you ask. Because I'm waiting for the comforter to dry - the last item in my quest for guest bedrooms. I shopped today and was quite successful. I got home with two new sets of bedding, many pillows and a shower curtain, rod and rings.

Bedding for the Persimmon guest room is as follows:

Black bedskirt
Black sheets
White comforter
White and Black accent pillows

Bedding for the Olive Tree office/guest room is henceforth:

Tan bedskirt
Tan sheets
Dark brown comforter with contrasting stitching in paisley and flower pattern
Tan velvety accent pillows

My shoulder wants to leave my body as it plans to whack me on my head with my own hand. But I'm managing to maintain control for the moment and suspect I will win this battle. However, the ibuprofen is wearing off and I think I need to check the dryer.

Persimmon AKA Orange

2007-10-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know persimmon is orange. But it sounds prettier, and has a warmer tone to it. At the end of the day, however, the walls are still orange. I hope I'm rooting for the right rugby team or I might get beat up.

Actually it looks pretty good. It's just an adjustment for me because it's such a stretch from my normal color palate, yet it's happy and will keep guests from sleeping in. That's what Michael says.

And although my right shoulder is still recovering from last week, I'm just about to start the office. By the end of tomorrow, the room in which I'm currently sitting will have "Old Violin" on three walls and "Olive Tree" on the fourth. I have complete confidence in this combination. It's in my comfort zone. In fact, it would look really good in the master bedroom. Except I've already decided that the master is going to be battleship gray with glossy black trim. Very deco.

Not sure if I'll get around to painting the bathrooms next weekend; I might have to put it off until the weekend following. Some friends from Salem, OR will be in town on Friday and will probably stay with us. We have reservations at Ella that night. I'm looking forward to that as I've wanted to go since they opened. Then Saturday Michael and I are doing our usual anniversary (8 years on Oct 30) celebration at The Kitchen.

After two nights of heavenly, yet gluttonous, activity I'll be recovering by sleeping in and sweating at the gym. Sounds like it'll be a great weekend!

Bizy Bizy

2007-10-17T18:10:00.000-07:00

Yep - busy... only with a Z... and an I... why? Cuz everyone's doin' it.

Anyway...

Progress is being made on the house. New back door installed. Second dog door installed. Guest room almost sorted and ready to paint.

This weekend - painting guest room persimmon color
Next week - sorting boxes office
Next weekend - painting office dark brown and light green
Following week - priming both bathrooms
Following weekend - painting both bathrooms blue

No, you can't help. I'm keeping this fun all to myself.

2007-08-30T15:37:00.000-07:00

Another couple weeks have passed and it’s feeling like home. Merlin has finally realized that this house is way cooler than the last one and is more comfortable than I expected he ever would be. Last Monday (August 20) Michael gave him access to the house and the backyard by leaving the door from the house to the garage ajar. I was admittedly a little stressed out about this – what if he escaped or went crazy tearing everything up? When Michael got home, he cut the bike’s engine and coasted up the driveway so that he could sneak in and see the dog in action. Turned out to be inaction. He walked in the front door… no dog… looked into the kitchen and through to the family room… no dog… looked through the kitchen window to the yard… there was Merlin rolling around in the grass like he was in canine heaven. Sheesh!

The next day we tried it again just to verify that it wasn’t some sort of fluke. I got home early this time and the dog was in the yard again, pleased as could be. That evening we went out and bought and installed a dog door. Since then, he’s been happier at home than going out with us. Who would have ever imagined that this codependent dog would ever “find himself?” Thank goodness he did, nonetheless. Now we can leave for long workdays, or evenings out, and not worry about him barking or attacking the wretched miniblinds.

Speaking of blinds, I replaced the ones in the living/dining room with lovely satiny curtains. I even installed the curtain rods myself. Yay me. They look quite nice and much better than tacky aluminum miniblinds. I also moved the low priority boxes to the spare bedrooms so that the main living area of the house feels more comfortable. We even had friends over for dinner last Friday night!

Michael installed my pendant light over the breakfast table and increased the ambience tenfold. We plan on installing a ceiling fan in the living room and that will improve not only the appearance, but also the airflow in that room which is much needed.

Tonight Michael’s going to Home Depot to get my new lawnmower and weed whacker. :o) And after I get back from the gym, we’re heading out to Lowe’s to buy/order several new appliances – washer/dryer, dishwasher, and – this is the best one – a convection oven/convection microwave combo. It’s going to be awesome! We’ll have to save more money in order to remodel the kitchen like we want to (a complete overhaul), but there’s nothing stopping us from getting the appliances and enjoying them in the meantime.

Tomorrow I’ll get to mow the lawn – just in time, too. It was threatening to take over the backyard! And Michael will get to install some shelves in the garage. This will enable me to transfer stuff from the boxes in the house to translucent bins in the garage. And it will enable Michael to organize his tools and then build me the cabinet I want to put under the TV to hold the DVR and XBox.

Day 14 (more or less)

2007-08-14T11:29:00.001-07:00

I guess it depends on how you look at it. If you start counting from the date title changed into our name, it’s Day 19. If you start counting from the day we starting moving things into the house and sleeping there, it’s Day 13. I’m going to count from the date we got the keys. August 1. So, Day 14.

I went looking for my car last night. Under a lot of dust, bird crap and bug guts I found it. I had suspicions of it being white. I was right. Fun. We also got the lights that flank the garage. Michael installed them while I excavated my vehicle. They look awesome – very modern. We had purchased some at Expo Design last week, but then I found house numbers I liked and they didn’t coordinate with the lights so we’re going to return those lights. I then found cool lights at Lamps Plus that match the numbers. Even better was that they were on clearance. The porch light was installed a couple days ago but the garage lights had to be ordered and we received them yesterday. Maybe tonight I’ll install the new numbers.

Merlin is adjusting as dogs do. On Saturday we went to Ikea and left him home to see how he’d do. He chewed some of the cheap metal horizontal blinds. Although he got in big trouble, I didn’t really care because I’m replacing the window treatments anyway. On Sunday we decided to see how he would do if we left him access to only the garage and backyard. He barked and howled the whole time we were at Home Depot buying new toilets. Yesterday, we closed off the living room (the scene of the blind mangling), the spare bedrooms and hall bathroom. This left him access to the family room, kitchen, breakfast area and master bedroom. He did much better, only getting his paws on a roll of masking tape and mildly gnawing on it. So, this morning, we did the same thing and will see again. Michael took him to Fair Oaks Park this morning which is Merlin’s old haunt and a comfortable, familiar space. By the time they got home, he was tired and seemed glad to see Michael leave for work. This was a good sign and hopefully he’ll just sleep most of the day.

Our canary, Clyde, has adjusted most quickly and positively. His cage is positioned right in front of the family room window where he can see the backyard and olive trees. And although he’s started molting, he’s perpetually happy and singing all day and even into the evenings (ok, he wasn’t so happy when I had to catch him to clip his nails and he glared at me for a good two hours afterward until he got over it and tossed a song over as a truce). The only thing he doesn’t like it is the evil black shadow canary that vexes him and matches his every move each night when the sun goes down. Curse the wires of the cage that keep him from slamming through the glass to catch the blasted mocker!

What else… The TV is hung on the wall and off the fireplace. I got a new dresser and am putting it to good use. Michael will soon have his coordinating dresser (it was out of stock) and the boxes and bags in the bedroom will be no more. We installed two new toilets. A necessity not only because the old ones were, well, old and inefficient and ugly and dirty; but also because when the previous owner’s son-in-law reinstalled them after repairing the floor, he didn’t seat them properly and the hall bathroom was starting to smell because of it. Great job, dude. Who doesn’t love the smell of sewer gas in the summer?

I’ve filled out the “Just Moved” postcards for mailing so, if you’re on my list, watch your mail over the next week or so. Our home phone number stayed the same since we didn’t move outside the area covered by the C.O. and that makes for less hassles. We’re probably looking at having a housewarming party in October. I’m thinking of a 70’s theme the week before Halloween. Get your afros fluffed and leisure suits pressed. Slide on your platforms and get ready to disco!

The wheels of progress are slow but moving

2007-08-09T11:08:00.001-07:00

So it's been a week now since we were able to start moving things into the house. Thus far, I painted the TV wall, which got hung last night; I've gotten the kitchen just about sorted out minus a few more boxes that are still in the garage; I've unpacked a ton of books, though, again, more are in the garage, and we've gotten more furniture in and set up. As everything gets put away it's hard to believe it all came out of so many boxes! All of which are piling up in the back yard until Michael decides which to keep and which to recycle. Oh, we also got a ceiling fan and installed it in the master bedroom. That was an absolute must in this town.

Michael went camping with his brother, sister and nephew from Sunday evening through Tuesday evening. During that time I did much of the aforementioned tasks (except the ceiling fan - that was done before he left). I also managed to get enough out of the garage that my car can now park inside. Now that Michael is back (kind of - yesterday he went rafting down the river with said family and today they are going to Black Chasm Caverns) we'll get the garage even more sorted out so that we can get the Jeep inside, too.

There's one box I really hope to find soon: The box with all the Harry Potter books in it. I packed them all together, including book seven - still in its unopened shipping package. To have opened it would have led to too much distraction! Now I want to find it!!!

Anyway, things are moving along well. The house is comfortable and bigger than I'm used to. Last night there were five people at once in my kitchen! In the old house we would have all been squished and wouldn't have been able to open any drawers or cabinets! We are going to go look at appliances as they all need to be replaced - especially the washing machine. It's a bitch to get the knob to turn to the correct setting, the capacity is lousy and it's completely inefficient in both water and electricity.

Till later... Sláinte

Moved in!

2007-08-03T12:11:00.001-07:00

Well, almost (yes, there are a lot of "almosts" right now)! After much exhaustion, dust inhalation, sweat and bruises, we are in our new house. Wednesday morning we showed up at the new place (after sleeping at my grandma's house) and met our realtor who said, "We might have another problem." Oh no! Fortunately, it was a minor one. The lockboxes that go on the doors of houses for sale often are set to only operate during certain times. She didn't know what time this one was set to start operating and, since it was only 7:15am, we weren't surprised when it wouldn't let us in. Because we've known our realtor for nearly 4 months now, she gave me her remote and the code and said just to bring it to her in the office later. Thanks! So we unloaded the Jeep and we went back for the TV and birdcage. By the time we returned with that load, it was a few minutes past 8am. With much anxiety, I tried the lockbox... It worked! I took the Jeep back again to the old place to get the last of the small stuff and do a final wipe-down. Michael's brother, Andrew, came by a while later and we took care of the large plants and misc things that wouldn't fit in the Jeep. Then I locked it up, waved goodbye and was gone.

After stopping at Starbucks on the way back to the new house, hereon called "our house", I arrived to find Michael rushing around trying to find something to wear to work and the contractors taping two layers of plastic to the interior of the house. We had initially planned on only have the contractors scrape and texture the ceilings but, considering how tired we were and knowing how daunting a task it would be to prime and paint and newly textured ceiling, we decided (quickly) that an additional $0.75 per square foot was damn worth it for them to prime and paint.

Michael eventually found some clothes, jumped in the shower and took off for work while Andrew and I ate a small breakfast on the back deck. I then left to deliver our old keys and the lockbox remote to our realtor while Andrew started unloading the moving truck into the garage. He was able to get quite a bit done while I was gone, but was very happy to see me get back and we were able to unload the whole thing by noon, stopping a few times for a lot of water (it was over 100 degrees that day!) and resting. At the end of it, the 830sf garage was packed with our entire lives with only a small path running from front to back.

We slept at grandma's again (the ceiling is a two day process) and yesterday Michael went to work while I hung around our backyard with the dog waiting for the painters to come and finish up. Besides a hair appointment and chiropractic appointment, it was a much slower day that the previous few. The painters were just finishing up when I returned from the chiropractor and so I was finally able to get inside and start some cleaning! The contractors did a FANTASTIC job and cleaned quite well, but I still took my vacuum around a few times and cleaned some of the floors.

We managed to get the old refrigerator out and ours in. Plus our living room set and the kitchen dining room set is in place. The TV is hooked up and we get limited cable until Dish comes back on Sunday (they had "issues" on Wednesday when they initially came out). Cousins Mike and Samantha came by with little Merritt to check out the new pad and gave a thumbs up. That meant a lot. :o)

So... we'll keep working and maybe we'll even have the family Thanksgiving here!

Almost there!

2007-07-30T22:18:00.000-07:00

After a hellish day, we are finally moving things into our new garage. The seller's agent has been revealed as inept and we had to go arrange everything with the old owner ourself... what was his commission for again?

Anyway, truck was rented this afternoon and one big load was brought over and is now waiting patiently in 1/3 of our garage. The rest will make it's home there tomorrow and by tomorrow evening it will be finished and our keys will be handed over to our real estate agent. One night at grandma's house and then we can meet the contractors at the new house on Wednesday and I can start sorting while they scrape the ceilings and I wait for Dish Network to show up.

We are exhausted - mentally and physically.

Squatters?

2007-07-28T15:04:00.000-07:00

According to the seller's son-in-law, they'll "definitely be out by August 1." It seems to be difficult to impress upon them the need for a more firm deadline, except that they now know that contractors will be showing up on Wednesday to scrape the ceilings as well as Dish Network to do their install. I just wish they would at least schedule their phone service cancellation because our transfer/install order can't be processed until they do. We really love the seller, but his family seems to be a little lax about this whole process.

At least we own the house now... except that we don't own the one from which I'm typing this. So I guess that makes us squatters.

Anyway, we have a truck reserved for Monday night pick-up and we'll load it up with lots of boxes until we can unload it Tuesday night in the new garage. I guess I won't get too stressed just yet and I'm only working Monday/Tuesday next week which will make it easier on me.

Pretty cool

2007-07-26T22:38:00.000-07:00

All the paperwork is signed and will be recorded tomorrow - both the sale and the purchase. Drove by the new place the other night after the purchase paperwork was done and saw this:
Pretty cool.

... yes, despite still not knowing when we'll be able to get the keys to the home we'll own as of 2:30pm tomorrow...

Pretty damn cool.

Writing Cramp

2007-07-24T16:50:00.000-07:00

Ok... not quite. But we did just finish signing all the documents for our new house. Yay us! The best part? Compared with what we're paying now (mortgage, HOA dues and over-payment of HELOC), we are going to be spending $40 LESS each month than we are now. I feel like we're cheating. Shhh... don't tell!

We also found out the other day that we sold our house for the highest price in our neighborhood for this entire year. Awesome. Our neighbors will be thrilled since their value will improve. You're welcome, glad we could help.

Tomorrow afternoon we'll take 10 minutes or so to sign off on this house. Then the fun(ding) happens and recording of docs. And, like I said previously, we'll just have to wait for the old owner to be all moved out.

Just a few more days!!!

2007-07-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

Michael and I completed the walk-through of our new house on Friday night. It took about and hour and half, but only because 90% of that was spent sitting and talking with the current owner. I told him that he was welcome to stay and live with us. He said, "Thank you, but my daughter has preference." Too cute.

The owner's son-in-law was working on the repairs to the house, including
those to the outside, and he's doing a really nice job. The flooring they chose for the bathrooms is perfect - totally neutral. It kinda looks like this:

So, considering we're eventually going to remodel both bathrooms, this will do just fine for now. They also replaced the shower pan and the last couple horizontal rows of shower tile.

In talking with the son-in-law, the owner's daughter is coming into town this Friday, which means we probably won't be getting our keys until after next weekend. This is all right because it gives us more time to get everything packed up. Plus we'll need a day or so after we do get the keys to transfer all our stuff 1.4 miles to the new place, and I want to clean our place for the new owners. As our realtor says, "Everyone in these two transactions likes each other, so no one is going to be kicking anyone out on the street."

We are both really excited to be moving into such an awesome house in such an awesome neighborhood. It's taken a while to even seem like it's really true. We've lived in this house* for over 8 1/2 years and after that long it seems strange to leave. But I can't wait to say goodbye!

*My pet peeve: Contrary to popular belief, our current house is not a condo. It's an "attached house," the same classification as a duplex. In fact, ours is a triplex. We own our own lot and are responsible for the structure, just as in a non-attached home.

Pressure!

2007-07-20T16:25:00.000-07:00

Talked to our Lending Tree agent this afternoon and our documents are off to the Closing Department and will be at the Title Company on Monday. We'll be scheduling a time to sign away our old house and then sign away our lives on the new one... SOON!

In the meantime, I have to replant the courtyard (the plants had to come up so they could drill for the termiticide) and pack like mad. Not to mention I'll be in Pleasanton on Sunday so that day's a bust for packing.

I'm off now to do a walk-through on the new house.

Count down begins

2007-07-19T22:21:00.000-07:00

As the clock winds down, I'm de-stressing about some things (lender) and becoming more stressed about other things (the actual timing of the move). In speaking with the title company today, we are tentatively set to get our keys to the new house on August 2. I expect it will probably be sooner than that, since they always over estimate. Either way, August 2 is two weeks from today... Two weekends... Not much time left.

Nonetheless, it's all going smoothly now that the wheels got a good greasing and we jump started the engine. Everyone's on the same page and, despite the plethora of things left to do, it's all very exciting!

Tomorrow we go back once again to our new house to look at the work that was done. I'll try to remember the camera.

Pseudo Remodel

2007-07-18T22:09:00.001-07:00

Since the pest report indicated there was damage to the floors of both bathrooms, they had to come up in order for the inspector to check the subfloor. The owner was sweet enough to ask if we wanted lino or tile to replace the original flooring. Aw, shucks. Since we know it's already costly for him, and we'll be remodeling both in a couple years anyway, we just said that plain white (or b&w) lino would be fine.

Unfortunate for him, but fortunate for us because now this is gone:

Now I'll just have to take the wallpaper off and paint the bathrooms to make them quite nice until we can gather enough funds to tear them apart.... In a good way. :o)

Lender Drama

2007-07-17T17:51:00.001-07:00

After a stressful couple weeks trying to deal with CalVet - they work as quickly as a comatose patient - we switched lenders. Got a great rate (almost as low as CalVet, but about $5k less in fees) and we'll probably close on July 27!

This is a relief on so many levels, but mostly because the sooner this is over the happier I'll be. And as soon as I can stop looking at how much this is all costing... well... I'll just be thrilled.

View from over head

2007-07-10T08:03:00.000-07:00

I wanted to add these because it gives such a great view of the yard surroundings:

Looking west at the front of the house (outlined in red):

Looking south:

Looking north:

3 weeks left!!!

Our 70's show

2007-07-09T17:11:00.000-07:00

We got to go back to our new house yesterday so that we could take photos, measurements, notes... The owner was there. He's just amazing - 93 years old! - and the SWEETEST person you'll EVER meet (he said grandma was "just a kid" since she's only going to be 80!). We stayed about an hour and chatted with him and wandered the house and yard. That's gonna be a lot of grass to mow! I'm tired already! Here are some photos (keep in mind, the wallpaper is going to go pretty quickly, but we'll do the floors later... although the carpet in the living/dining room is staying... it's awesome). Also, according to the Assessor, the garage is a massive 830 square feet. That's more than twice the size of our current garage. WOOOO HOOOO!!!

The view of our new street:

What great detail:

Massive side yard:

Landscaping next to the walkway:

Merlin LOVES his new backyard:

The back of the house:

The huge garage:

Another view of the garage:

Guest bathroom:

Entry:

Living/Dining area:

Looking in from the entry:

Family Room looking into the kitchen:

Hello 107

2007-07-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's a'gonna be 107 degrees today. Yippee.

Ok, so we signed the loan app papers yesterday (yes, on 4th of July - my friend of 8 years is our loan lady). And we get to sign and fill out a ton of disclosure papers today. Pest inspection on our house maybe tomorrow or, at the latest, the first of next week. This whole thing is going to be speedy since the buyers of our house wanted the 30 days escrow (we didn't argue as moving sooner rather than later is ideal - though moving in over 100 degree heat is less than).

The buyers are a really nice couple buying it for their daughter who was accepted into nursing school at ARC. They have two daughters and wanted to have a home for each of them "just in case." They loved our house and even wanted all of our potted plants in the courtyard. I rejected that part of the offer since almost all of them are from grandma. They are getting the window treatments and info about where we bought our furniture since they liked that too. :o) They really wanted the 30 day escrow so their daughter could move in before the semester started.

Now a little about our new house!

It was built in 1971 and is being sold by the original owner. It's 1780sf, 3 bed/2 bath on .28 acre. The seller kept meticulous maintenance on the house so it's as if the house was built only a few years ago. There is little-to-no settling, no visible dry rot on the structure, all the caulking inside and out is solid. Also, the aesthetics of the house are still 1971 (as I'm sure you gathered from the photos). Nothing has ever been remodeled. HOWEVER, the owner kept the inside decor in the same condition as the structure. It's like everything is new, including the green shag carpet. A brief word about the carpet... I thought I would hate it when I saw it on the photos; but when we walked through the house the first time, I actually liked it! It's a dark green, not offensive at all, and in immaculate shape. Now I won't be keeping all of it, but I think I'll keep it in the living room. Our black couches will look good with it!

Anyway, as far as "fixers" go, this is not one. Fixers require repairs to walls, roofing, etc. Nothing in this house technically needs to be repaired. Just updated. Big difference. This is great because the only thing we're going to do right after we close is have the ceilings scraped and painted - just because the process is so messy and it's easier to do it before all of our stuff is in. Otherwise, we are going to move in and live in the house as-is for a while until we figure out how we want to remodel the kitchen, and what to do with the bathrooms, etc. I might paint a few walls to add color, though that's it.

The garage is the most amazing part of this house. From the front, it looks like an over sized two-car garage (and over sized it is, there is a ton of space on either side). However, the space on the right is a tandem, leaving room for the motorcycles and tools! Here's a crude drawing to give you an idea:

It's over 800 square feet of garage wonderland!

Yesterday afternoon we drove by our new house on the way to a bbq. We stood outside and looked at the house, at the yard, at the street. I stood in front of the side yard next to the garage and couldn't believe how huge it was. I could take out the bushes and drive a monster RV in. Not that I would, but I could! And the roses by the door are so pretty. There's not much to do outside either - I might change the color of the trim eventually and I'll probably paint the door right away, just to make it mine.

I don't think there is a house more perfect for us than this one. And the universe thought so too. Both the owner and his agent wanted us to get the house and were very happy to see our offer reappear. See, meant to be!

I'll post more pictures soon. We're back this weekend to take some measurements and I'll bring the camera.

Second try is a charm!

2007-07-03T15:12:00.000-07:00

As soon as we signed papers to accept the offer on our house last night, we turned right around and made an offer on the one we tried to get before (if you remember, it was rejected because we hadn't sold our house yet)... only $5k less. This time it was accepted! And I found out that other people had submitted offers - one person submitted twice - but they were all rejected. I guess it really was meant to be our house.

More info will come later as I'm at work right now. But, here are some photos!

And... exhale!

2007-07-02T21:20:00.000-07:00

I'm tempted to hold my breath...

2007-07-01T18:02:00.000-07:00

This may be it!

As I mentioned in the last post, we didn't have an open house last weekend. It was a nice break - we spent the afternoon at Lake Natoma with the dog. Anyway, about midweek, I had this voice in my head telling me to reduce the price of the house. So I mentioned it to Michael and we agreed to go down by $2050 (to $279,950).

Then, yesterday, while watching The Night Listener, I get a call from the agent who is selling the house we want to buy. He is outside our house with a client and wants to show it if it's not an inconvenience. We ask him to wait about 10 minutes so we can get out of movie-watching mode. When they arrive, they ask all sorts of questions and the agent says that he's been showing him condos and townhouses in the area and proceeded to point out all the stuff ours had that none of the others did. He commented, at the end, about how well maintained the house was and how great the neighborhood looked. As he closed the courtyard door behind him, he peeked through and said, "I really want you to get that house in Fair Oaks!" Awesome! TWO agents working for us!

So today we tidied up for the open house our agent was holding and I just had a feeling all day that this would be a GOOD day. Normally I am a little anxious during each open house - wondering who was walking through, what they were thinking, what they were scrutinizing, etc. But not today. Today I felt calm and as if this was a different kind of day.

We went to lunch at Crepeville in Curtis Park. Then drove around and went into various other open houses (wishing that our price range was a bit higher for some of those gorgeous older homes in East Sac). We finished up by going to REI and looking at new Keens for Michael and backpacks for day hikes. See? Laid back day!

When we got home, there was a note (as usual) from our Realtor. Normally the notes have details, like "3 couples, 2 single men, 1 agent." Things like that. This one just said, "Will email report when I get back to the office." Hmmm! This was either good or bad.

Well, I just read her email about 4 times now and we may actually be getting multiple offers! How crazy is that!? At one point in the open house, there were 4 different buyers wandering around creating quite a competition of "who likes it more" and one guy almost making an offer on the spot! Then one of the buyers came back and asked if any offers had been received because she was nervous someone would make an offer before she did!

Anyway, that buyer is going to come back tomorrow morning with her husband (he couldn't come today) and maybe we'll get what we've been waiting 63 days for!

I'll report back later with what happens... after all, in this market, people can change their mind in a split second and we could be right back where we started. Nah! Not this time!

Patience is a virtue... Or something like that!

2007-06-23T12:46:00.000-07:00

No open house this weekend. It's our agent's birthday and her husband actually wants to see her. :)

I don't mind because we'll have our house to ourselves for the first time in a while. Plus this weekend is crazy - parades and Renaissance "fayres" etc so I don't think we would have had that much traffic anyhow.

In the meantime I created a separate blog for the house to hopefully generate interest.

R is for Reject

2007-06-11T12:49:00.000-07:00

Our offer was rejected. Bummer. The seller’s daughters apparently said that they thought their father’s house could sell faster than ours, even if they have to take a lower price. Seems the daughters are pulling the strings because it seemed that the father/owner wanted to accept it. Oh well. If we sell before he does, we’ll make another offer… only $10k lower. Their loss.

For now, we’ll focus on getting ours sold and then go from there.

Open wide and say SOLD

2007-06-09T07:49:00.000-07:00

Open house number 7 tomorrow. Despite consistent rave reviews about our house, and several people alluding to loving it so much they want to live here, we still have no official offers. One gentleman stayed an hour last time - 30 minutes past the close of the open house. He seemed really enamored and kept listing all the things he loved. Unfortunately for us, it's the kind of market where people can take their time making up their minds. Somewhat fortunately for us, the Fed has threatened (promised?) to raise rates by the end of June so that might put people in more of a hurry to make offers and lock in rates. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

We released the contract on the house we had initially planned to buy (below). The seller got some shifty contractor out to fix the things listed on the pest report. The guy did a horrible job and didn't even repair all that was listed. Then the shiftier pest inspector came back and said "all the work listed in this report appear to have been done." Well if he'd actually looked (by the shower, in the entry hall, under the eaves, etc.) he would have seen that those areas weren't even touched. The contractor also would not provide a guarantee or warranty on the work that he did, nor a list of where he worked. He would only guarantee the materials. Whatever. So we're out of that one.

We looked at a lot of other houses since then and found that most of them are crap. I seriously wonder how someone could live in some of these. (On another day I'll tell you about the house with the dirtiest people in the world.) We finally found one we both really liked. It was in the same neighborhood as the other and had just been listed that day. We considered an offer, but hesitated since we haven't sold ours. The next day, someone else beat us to it. Bummer...

Then on Wednesday, Michael was walking in the neighborhood across the street from the front side of the park (versus the other area which is directly behind the park). When he came home, he said, "If you could find a house on one of those streets, I'd live there." Ta da! I found a place that, again, had just come on the market.

We went to look at it that night and loved it! The owner is a gentleman who's the original owner and has maintained his house PROPERLY. For a house built in 1971 it looks only a few years old based on condition. Even all the original decor is pristine. I thought I would hate the green shag carpet, but I surprised myself and loved that too. If we get the house, I'll probably keep it in the living room and office. It's such high quality and has been so well taken care of that it looks new! The seller was there when we viewed it with our agent and he was such a nice older gentleman. His wife died two years ago and his daughter in Washington wants him to move up there. Must be hard to sell after 36 years.

The next day we talked about the house and were still hesitant to make an offer because it would have the contingency attached. Nonetheless, I didn't want to end up like the last one and have someone else take it first. So I had our agent contact his agent to see how open they were to such an offer. The feedback we received was positive, so yesterday we made a full price offer with a larger deposit and also included a nice letter to the owner. Hopefully it will all be strong enough to have them accept it. The benefit is that he not in a rush to move and the house is paid off - it wouldn't be too much of an inconvenience to take an offer with a contingency.

I really hope we get this one. I'll post details after we hear back from the agent. I don't want to get too excited just yet.

Open House Day

2007-04-29T22:01:00.000-07:00

Today was our first open house. It was VERY successful, with several very interested parties. One person stayed for about 40 minutes and someone else for about an hour. Then there were a couple more folks who expressed strong interest.

Despite it being stressful having complete strangers walk through my house, it was a good day. We are hopeful that we'll get an offer this week.

Oh, and a very cool side note: A couple other realtors came through (they were also holding open houses today), and they were QUITE impressed and wanted to know what company had staged the house... Since it was me, maybe I have another career in my future! :o)

Here we go...

2007-04-19T23:04:00.000-07:00

Guess what??

Michael and I have talked for a while now about moving - where, what type of place, what part of town, etc. We've owned our house for 8 years now and I've been ready for a change for a little while. However, the market sucked and we didn't want to lose equity... plus we weren't sure we were even going to stay in California (which we probably won't in the long-run... Portland will be in our future eventually). Anyway, we basically decided that we would stay where we were because we bought it "cheap" and we would maybe buy an empty lot in Oregon or something. Nonetheless, we always had a few exceptions to this. We agreed that if something went up for sale in specific areas, that we would look at them.

Last week, something did. One of those areas is really our current area only across the street to the other zip code (Citrus Heights to Fair Oaks) - more specifically, the neighborhood behind Fair Oaks Park (and Fair Oaks Presbyterian... FOP). We LOVE the area in which we live because we can walk to Trader Joe's, Sac Brewing's Oasis, and (my favorite) Taka's Sushi.

Soooo.... I was driving home and cut through this neighborhood (which I sometimes do) when I noticed a for sale sign pointing down one of the streets. I decided to take a detour and see what I could find. Turns out it was for a huge house out of our price range BUT on my way, I glanced down a small, dead-end side street, and saw another sign. This one was for a house that shared a side fence with the park and FOP. There were no flyers left so I went home and looked it up.

I got excited right away! It was well within our price range, on just over a quarter acre (.27) and had a great kitchen space (mandatory). I called Michael and told him what I'd found and we decided to go to the open house that was going to be held on this past Sunday.

That day, if you recall, was windier than all git-out so we drove over (we normally would have walked - it's only .6 miles from our current house). When we got there, it had just opened and we were the first ones so we had the place to ourselves. I was really surprised at how big the master bedroom is and how well the house is laid out. It was built in 1968, during a time when entertaining was popular so they tended to design houses with nice flow (unlike the subsequent decades where they started cordoning things off again - thank goodness the new houses are back to more open space).

The only bummer is that the house never really left 1968. The carpet is livable (less than 10 years old?), but it needs new windows and aesthetic remodeling. At first this freaked me out - we put so much work into our current house I wasn't sure I wanted to start over! But, Michael informed me that the house was extremely solid, hardly any settling over the past 40 years, so the work really was just the fun stuff. Colors, textures, materials, etc. I love that kind of work.

After hanging out for a while, I asked Michael what he thought. Normally, he's the kind of guy who says, "Why don't we go get a cup of coffee or a bite to eat." So when he said, "I think we should make an offer," right in front of the realtor, I almost fell over right there in the family room (I would have hit my head on the 1968 laminate kitchen counter with the barely noticeable, but cute, little geometric pattern on it)!

Anyway, we made the offer. Then waited. The owner countered and we accepted it so now we're in escrow. STRESS! Our house is listed, but we're busting our asses to get it "showable" which means we can't look like we actually live here. We have to be plastic people who don't brush their teeth, use hair products, dress ourselves, or cook.

The process of selling is what is stressing me out the most. The thought of all those strangers stomping through my house. Getting my pretty 1-yr-old carpet dirty with their apathetic feet. But, even more than that, I'm worried it will take a long time to sell in this market. (Anyone know anyone who would want to buy a beautiful, updated, 2-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom, 1300sf townhouse with a small yard?)

I Heart Mel Rapton Honda

2007-04-10T21:07:00.000-07:00

The best kind advertising is word-of-mouth. Therefore, I would like to submit this little rave about Mel Rapton Honda on Fulton at Marconi...

I've been taking my 1997 Acura 3.0 CL to Mel Rapton Honda (MRH) for near on eight years for many reasons, not least of which includes their exceptional customer service and complete and total lack of sexism (take note Acura dealership which will not be named, but is located on Madison at I-80). They have always treated me with respect, kindness, and intelligence. I'm a question kind of person and expect proper answers when I ask them.

My first experience with them was prior to the purchase of my aforementioned Acura CL. My husband and I went to MRH to check out used cars and get a feel for what I really wanted. The sales people were all very nice and when they asked for whom the car would be - and found it was me - it was as if Michael became invisible. One of the guysman strolled around the lot with me, never asked when I was planning to purchase, or even what my price range was. He just showed me what they had and was kind and gentlemanly. What a concept. And, although I ended up buying from a private party, I remembered this great exchange.

Fast forward eight years... I've been diligent about having my car serviced when necessary and have always taken it to MRH for maintenance history and service. Recently I dropped it off for a major service (120,000 miles) which, as you may know, requires them to empty everything, take it apart, give it a good shake, put it back together, fill it up, wash it and give it back... ok, I exaggerate, but you get the idea. Anyway, I was prepared for a large bill - I also had to have new front brakes - and paid it happily, confident that they did a great job. Which they did, however...

Driving it home, I noticed the power steering felt off. It was overly easy to turn right and extremely difficut to turn left. I called MRH and explained the problem, to which they told me to bring it back in (which I did a couple days later due to scheduling). After a day in their shop they were at a loss... why would the car drive fine on the way in to service, but not on the way out? So, they gave me a complimentary loaner (a cute, black 2005 Civic EX*) and sent me on my way until they could figure it out. Time went by and they were in constant communication, explaining each step they had taken to investigate the cause and resolution. At one point they thought it was the power steering valve that had given up the ghost, but after ordering and replacing, it did not solve the problem.

Long story short, the rack and pinion system had been busted somehow during the front brake replacement. Mike L. in the MRH Service Dept played Sherlock Holmes and even interviewed all the techs who touched my car. They had to get the part from Acura (as, of course, they don't exactly stock them) and rebuilt the whole thing. He also explained to me, in detail and diagram, what happened and how they fixed it.

One week from the day I dropped it off, I was able to pick it up. MRH charged me nothing... not even for the loaner that I put 500 miles on. Mike said both he and the manager agreed that, although the rack and pinion system is a "wear and tear" item, the ultimate cause of the failure occurred sometime during service and they were happy to foot the bill (which would have set me back over $1000), especially since I've been coming to them exclusively for almost a decade.

The moral of this story is not that dealerships make mistakes - for they, too, are human. Rather, it is that Mel Rapton Honda is the best, most reliable, responsible, customer-focused, awesome dealer in the state**. I cannot say enough good things about them and hope that the handfull of people who read this entry will tell their friends, who will tell their friends, etc. etc. etc..

Soon I will be replacing my Acura. I considered another make of car, but kept thinking about how I wouldn't be able to take it to MRH and that truly disappointed me. So, probably within the next 4-8 months, I'll be getting a 2008 CR-V. And I'll be buying it, fully loaded, from Mel Rapton Honda.

*Damn the cloth seats, though! I got a wedgy every time I'd get in! Never without leather! Never!
**actually, MRH IS the #1 dealer in the state... some dealer in LA is #2. I even heard from a reliable auto-industry source that all the other Honda dealerships in the state show Mel Rapton Honda's training video to their new hires.

Happy St. Cholesterol Day!

2007-02-24T10:56:00.000-08:00

All hail the Patron Saint of Wretched Excess.

Eat.... Drink.... Be Merry....

Repeat.

(photos and more details to come after the ceremonious event)

I've never really liked football, but...

2006-12-04T12:43:00.000-08:00

Somehow watching it in all it's 46", 1080i glory makes me its biggest fan! I even watched the Army/Navy game on Saturday and then the 49ers lose to the Saints on Sunday. And if anyone says that you can't see the difference between 720p and 1080i, they are on crack.

Merlin even likes it!

We've put it up above the fireplace for now and it looks nice, but if we decide we don't like it there, we'll mount it on a wall.

Delivery Estimate: December 5-9

2006-11-25T10:32:00.000-08:00

After much hemming and hawing; walking in (and quickly out of) brick and morter dealers; performing hours of mind-numbing research and review-reading...

It is on it's way! Hip, hip, hooray!
(thanks to Amazon.com having an excellent price for an authorized Sony dealer... and for the free wall mount, free shipping and zero tax)

I can't wait to re-watch every dvd we own. Eventually we'll have a gaming console to hook up to it. Until then...

When ya' coming over, Cousin?

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-23T15:52:00.000-08:00

Be thankful for what you have.

And what you don't.

Slainte

More choices

2006-08-26T13:41:00.001-07:00

All right, we've changed our minds again. This is what we're waiting for:

The KDL-46V2500

Or...

KDL-46XBR2

Google this

2006-08-26T13:41:00.000-07:00

Go to Google and search "failure"

eenie meenie minie moe

2006-08-11T09:12:00.000-07:00

Now that Michael's company has finished being purchased, and we're sure he's not getting laid off (three times was enough, already!), we're ready to get that new TV. I've done so much research that my head is going mushy. So - drum roll please - here are the two between which we are chosing:

The Panasonic TH-42PHD9UK (the predecessor to the 8UK which is almost identical except the new model is 10lbs lighter and has a better image contrast ratio of 10000:1 instead of 3000:1). We'd have to buy a stand or mount for the wall, which is ok; there are no speakers, which is fine because we have the home theatre system; and it's pretty naked, which is ok too because we can expand it and we like the minimalist look. It's fanless, so very quiet, and supports the most resolutions (480i, 480p, 525i, 525p, 625i, 625p, 720p, 1080i and 1080p) and, because it's an industrial model, gives the user control of each color setting individually.

The Pioneer PDP-4360HD. It comes with a stand, speakers and a receiver box so that there is only one cord going from the set. It's lighter than most 42" plasmas, despite being a 43" and has tons of connections because of that receiver box. Additionally, it has six picture adjustment settings, which is a couple more than most units. The bonus of this tv is that it comes with everything we need and more. On the other hand is the "and more" part since we already have a theatre system and will have a tuner through the cable company, the stand is really all we'd need.

All that having been said, both received excellent reviews everywhere I looked - most importantly CNET which gave the Pioneer 0.2 higher (8.0 to the Panasonic's 7.8), mainly because it came with everything. However, CNET picked the Panasonic as an Editor's Choice and users rated the Panasonic higher because of its picture and price. The Panasonic is less expensive, sans stand (and even with it would still be less expensive than the Pioneer).

As of now, I'm leaning toward the Panasonic. What's your opinion?

2006-08-10T17:06:00.000-07:00

I love random days off... especially random days off ALONE :o)

Michael is camping with his brother, sister, nephew and sister's friend up at Wrights Lake. Park of me wishes I were there - mainly for the weather and canoeing - but most of me is glad I'm here... in my pj's... playing with my GameBoy (waiting to get my new DS Lite)... and re - lax - ing.

I took tomorrow off, too. Another day of doing what I want. Maybe I'll even go outside!

myspace... i love you.

2006-07-30T14:48:00.000-07:00

so i'm sitting here with my cousin kate and my future cousin-in-law christina and we are talking about MYPACE.com and i just wanted to say that MYSPACE

SUCKS

ASS

thank you and goodnight.

:-P

2006-05-14T14:51:00.000-07:00

Yep Kings are out... and so is Adelman.

Does anyone believe Joe Maloof when he says on Sports 1140 that they really got rid of him without having anyone else in mind.

Is that smoke I smell?

Nothing to do but a big fat nothing.

2006-04-30T14:23:00.000-07:00

This is pretty funny

Michael went abalone diving this weekend in Sea Ranch, near Gualala, and got 6 big abs. Those are gonna be some good eats. Mmm mmm can't wait to introduce them to some garlic and butter.

I, on the other hand, spent the weekend getting a facial and watching movies. And sleeping... lots of sleeping. Considering I had a lot to catch up on, it was really nice. :o)

Anyway, time for a late shower and some minor housecleaning, just laundry and vacuuming as I don't want to exert too much energy after conserving so much for three days hahahahahaha.

2006-04-08T21:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, normally I love the rain, but when I've not even put 10 miles on my new motorcycle, it starts to piss me off. Granted it didn't rain today but it wasn't sunny either and the sky threatened all day long. Weather.com says that next Saturday will be partly cloudy so it might be a riding day. Fingers crossed.

New job is going all right. Two out of my three new hires started and are doing well for their first week and the third starts on Monday. My petulant employees are mellowing out. Management seems pleased at my work thus far (six weeks in).

We ordered a new printer, thank goodness. The HP 1320 with built-in duplexer is on its way from Amazon.com. We are also shopping for a new television which Michael may buy next month in Oregon when he visits a friend. The benefits of no sales tax, of course. We're still up in the air between plasma and dlp sets, so I'm headed to do more research.

Sláinte

2006-03-19T22:52:00.000-08:00

Great weekend. Sushi and V For Vendetta with friends last night. Dinner at another couple's house tonight. Beautiful days both. Would have been better if my bike was insured yet and I could have taken her out. Next week definitely.

More pictures of my Chic Motocicletta:

WOOT WOOT!

2006-03-09T22:37:00.000-08:00

YAY!:

On another note, when I walked out of the gym this afternoon after work, there was a crowd gathered in the parking lot staring up at the sky. When I got out far enough from the building, I saw a huge funnel cloud quite close. Everyone ooohed and ahhhhed for a few minutes as it got larger and larger and closer and closer. But as I watched it, it seemed I was really the only one who noticed the most important part...

The funnel cloud was directly over...

wait for it...

yep, you guessed it...

a trailer park.

Now this is word of mouth...

2006-03-05T17:55:00.000-08:00

Hey Cousin, check this out. As both a vocal manipulator and Honda Civic owner, you should appreciate. :)

(here's where to find the rehersal video)

2006-02-13T16:22:00.000-08:00

I know it seems like yesterday that I was blogging about a new job and here I am doing it again. An opportunity came knocking and I couldn't close the door without walking through. Over the summer, I took a written exam for a promotional position in Sac County. After passing that, I moved on to an oral exam in front of a panel who would do the final ranking. After being fairly certain I ranked highly after being offered a provisional position before I ever got my notification, I was still excited and shocked when I did receive it and found I was in the first rank, having an overall score of 95% (combined written and oral). I was even more shocked when I discovered I was the only person in Rank 1. Needless to say, the requests to interview came pouring in. I waived most as they were mostly for positions in departments I didn't like. Eventually, I received a letter from a department for which I had never worked and the position was Confidential - no, that doesn't mean I have to kill you after you read this, but it does mean that it's not represented by the union and it also handles information and files that are confidential, therefore it pays over 11% more than the same non-confidential classification. I was intrigued by the type of work that division did and so I called to schedule an interview. My boss, meanwhile, was less than thrilled at all the interview requests I was receiving and, though he planned on promoting me and the paperwork was started, he was still sitting on it and preferred whining to actual action.

The day of the interview came (January 26) and it went perfectly. They offered me the job on the spot and, though I wanted to jump at it, I managed to tell them that I wanted to talk it over with Michael and get back to them. The next day I also talked it over some of my coworkers and I weighed all of my options. I quickly realized that this was a chance that probably wouldn't come around again for a long time and I knew that I would regret not accepting. Anyway, to keep this story from getting any longer than it already is, I called and accepted the position the next day. I start there on February 21 (next Tuesday).

My boss did not take the news very well and he resorted to passive-aggressive and spiteful behavior. Where once I was on his Can-Do-No-Wrong List, I moved at the speed of light to the Shit List. In fact, it was so bad that many people in the department noticed and by the time I went to HR about it, they were already aware because others had mentioned it too. It was pretty sad that the way someone expresses their appreciation for you and disappointment in your departure is with such abominable actions and cruelty. After HR spoke with him, his attitude improved and hopefully my last four days there will be more pleasant. This new position will put me in a much better place to eventually move back to private sector, especially if one day Michael gets a job out of state. Basically, what I will learn will help me extend my marketability and help me get good job sooner rather than later when that move comes.

Speaking of turning corners...
Last Saturday, February 4, I turned 30. After feeling like I was spending much of my 29th year waiting to be thirty, it seemed normal. I had a bunch of friends over and I cooked an awesome dinner of steak, crab cakes, spinach salad, grilled vegetables and my special bread pudding with amaretto cream sauce. It was a blast and, by far, one of my best birthdays. I'm looking forward to all this year will bring, not just in my career, but in everything else as well.

Sláinte

2006-02-06T12:27:00.000-08:00

This was too funny not to post.
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/llama.php

New Best Friend

2006-01-20T18:08:00.000-08:00

Who would have thought that I could love an inanimate object this much? Well, I do and I'm not ashamed to admit it.
This thing sucks like nothing's sucked before. Amazing. And it's kinda pretty...

Yes, I am weird. Don't bother telling me.

Someone's knocking at my door

2006-01-09T15:11:00.000-08:00

Since I was placed in the first rank for Supervisor II, I have been getting cert letters (basically a form letter requesting interviews) from various different divisions and departments. The majority of them have come from the Dept of Health & Human Svcs (DHHS) - divisions like Mental Health, CPS, CMISP (Co. Medically Indigent Services Program) - and the others have been from the Employment Office's Risk Management (Worker's Comp), and Dept of Human Assistance (Welfare, etc). I have waived most of them because they are either too far away, or they are for divisions that don't interest me.

On Friday I interviewed with the management of CMISP. By far, I thought it was my worst performance ever. Normally, I go into interviews with confidence and answers aplenty. This time, however, I couldn't finish a sentence to save my life. Though, don't misunderstand, my "bad interview" is probably someone else's "great interview"* but I was really ticked off at myself. I don't really even want that position, as it's in a program in which I don't see myself in 2-3 years; I was just really aggravated that I was "average." I hate being average at something I know I'm normally not. Seems retarded, but it's true.

The funny part was when I got home, there was a message on the machine from that division requesting a second interview. I wanted to call back and say, "Geez, I was so lame in the interview, are you sure?" But, since - like I said - I didn't want this position anyway, I figured I would let those who were truly vying for it a fair shot and take myself out of the running. I called them this morning and told them I was waiving the second interview and that I wished them the best of luck in finding the right person.

I have another interview on January 26 for the Worker's Comp office. It's what they call a "confidential" position (meaning the job requires reviewing confidential information and, therefore, is paid more and not covered by the union). This one interests me more than any of the others. Then there is the fact that my supervisor in my current department (Environmental Management) wants to promote me within. I might have a lot to think about in the coming weeks. We'll see.

*A former employee of mine recently went on an interview and, when asked what she would do if she had down-time, replied, "Well, I could play solitaire. Or, I like books, so I could read." I don't know what the interviewers did to maintain composure, but I commend them.

Belated photos from the Oregon trip

2005-12-18T13:04:00.000-08:00

Post Thanksgiving

2005-12-02T18:46:00.000-08:00

We went to Salem, OR for Thanksgiving (got there the Wednesday before and left the Monday after). Had a TERRIFIC time and spent quality time with friends who had moved up there. We also spent a day in Portland and decided that it's definitely on our list of places we will consider moving. And considering I've told Michael that if he gets a great job after he graduates in Spring, we will move (as long as it's not to a farm town or something like that - though luckily jobs in his field are in cities) so I want to have some good prospects.

On the way home it either poured rain or snowed. Actually, it snowed from Ashland to Redding so it took us 12 hours to get home instead of the usual 8-9. It was fun though, especially when we got to pass all the cars that had to keep pulling over to either install or remove their snow chains. Michael was so excited that he got to drive in the snow with the Jeep. Giddy actually :o)

Maybe one of these days I'll sit down and write a real blog. Till then, sorry but this is what you get.

My New Toy

2005-11-19T09:20:00.000-08:00

It has WiFi. And Bluetooth. Drooooooooool.
Best yet...
I didn't buy it. My job did.

Celebrations

2005-10-29T12:42:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is our six-year anniversary.
Tonight we are going to The Kitchen for dinner.
Here is the tentative menu:

A Fall Ravioli of Cinderella Pumpkin, Ricotta Cheese and Creamed Leeks
with a ‘Stew’ of Maine Lobster, Potato and Sweet Carrot,
a Broth of English Pea and French Butter with
‘Three Strike’ Free Range Rabbit

A Salad of Endive, Dandelion with Parma-Proscuitto,
Frisee with Peppered Bacon, Young Local Goat Cheese,
Fall Herbs and Preserved Lemon
and Toasty Walnuts

The Kitchen’s Last of the Season Heirloom Tomato ‘ Cioppino’
with Strawberry Grouper, Sushi Style Scallops, Rock Shrimp,
Dungeness Crab Crème Brulee ,
Young Celery and Basil

Painted Hills Beef Tenderloin and Just Made Mashed Potatoes
with White Chanterelle Mushrooms, Shaved White Asparagus,
and a Slow Roasted Duck Jus

A Dessert of Very Creamy Bittersweet Chocolate,
Milk Chocolate Mousse, Caramel-Almond Crunch and

Old Fashioned Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Oh yeah, my cousins are prego and they didn't even call me! BAH! :o(

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock

2005-09-17T09:35:00.000-07:00

Our neighbors are moving. They found a place in Rescue on one acre. It's a 1979, 1793 sq ft box-house and it's costing them $560k. I don't just think it's crazy because their commute into Sac will be long and unnecessary, nor because it takes a good deal of planning and time management to make a trip to the grocery store. But because housing prices are so inflated and artificial and also because they're going with a high-risk, no-sense interest-only loan.

From the local NPR station: 88.9 KXJZ

Everyone knows the price of housing has skyrocketed in California, but commentator Ginger Rutland was surprised to learn how much our economy depends on those high priced homes.

By:
Ginger Rutland

Listen

Aired 9/16/2005 on Morning Edition
(Sacramento, CA)

My husband and I bought into the Sacramento housing market 20 years ago so I used to live secure in the knowledge that my house had appreciated hugely in value, a cushion against a lost job or unexpected expense. Then Dale Kasler, and Andrew LePage, reporters for the Sacramento Bee and friends of mine, wrote a series - Built on the Boom - that informed me my house may not be worth quite as much as all those folks pushing me to take out a home equity loan keep telling me.

Experts say Sacramento area homes are over valued by 54%. That's because home prices have far outstripped incomes and because many folks bought their high priced homes with ultra high-risk loans like 100% interest-only mortgages.

The experts predict housing prices will fall within the next two years. That upsets not just my peace of mind but all those people whose livelihoods depend on our inflated housing market - construction workers, real estate agents, and the financial industry. Real estate accounted for a whopping 40% of all new jobs created in California last year.

What's the message in all this? It isn't "don't buy a house." It is, "don't buy one you can't afford and don't finance it with funny money."

Ginger Rutland writes for the Sacramento Bee Opinion pages.

People think they're going to keep making more and more and more money on their house. It's this mentality that will be the reason the housing bubble bursts. When people start signing up for interest-only loans and the time comes that they start paying actual principle, they can't afford it. They even admit this. But they justify it and say, "My house will be worth more by then so I'll just sell it." This is ridiculous. Let's look at this more closely, shall we?

Said couple closes their interest-only loan for $560,000 and only pays interest on it for X amount of years - let's pretend it's 10 years (this is reasonable as they've already said that they will be living their a long time because they've always wanted "land" which is a whole different blog altogether because one measly acre is not "land", it's a "lot"). Now, let's say that five years have gone by. The housing prices have snapped back to normal levels and their house, using the numbers in the above report, is now worth only $363,600. But! They still have a loan for $560,000 and they haven't paid a drop of principle. Ouch! Can you imagine living in a house for years and paying money every month and not being even one penny closer to actually owning it???

Here's some more math:
If their loan amount is $560k, their interest only payments (at a rate of 6%) will be $2,800 for the first 10 years. This won't decrease like a normal mortgage payment does, because, remember, they're only paying the interest and the principle is not changing.

After 10 years, there are 20 years left on their loan, on which they now have to pay interest and principle (it's as if they've taken out a 20-year loan for $560k). Their payments will now be $4,100. And that's assuming that their interest rate will stay the same, which is likely not the case. In fact, their payments will probably be more like $4,600 since interest rates will be higher (potentially moreso than the generous 7.5% I just used for the last calculation).

One more thing... Since people often forget the past and it often comes back to haunt us when we think denial is enough protection, here's something else to consider (from TimeWeb):

In the mid to late 1980s, house prices began to accelerate rapidly, leading many owners to believe that what was happening to the value of their property would continue to persist. Many were persuaded to fuel their spending by borrowing money against the value of their house, as this value was, it seemed, ever-increasing. Many others sold their homes, moving to more expensive property; the increased mortgage borrowing would be more than offset, they thought, by the soaring housing market.

When retail price pressure reached its peak around 1989-1990, interest rates had to be used to cool the housing economy down. Mortgage lenders reacted by raising their rates, to 10-14%.

By this time, the brakes on the overall housing economy were floored and the housing market imploded spectacularly. The fall-out was as destructive as it was wide-spread. Thousands began to default on their mortgage payments, as the credit supply they had relied upon was turned off. Homeowners forced to sell their properties to repay their borrowing, found that their homes were now worth far less that they owed on their mortgages, thus causing "negative equity" problems.

It's silly for me to be surprised that people haven't learned their lesson, especially when so many of the homebuyers now were just babies when it happened the first time. But I am. I'm also sad, a little disgusted and a lot disappointed. Though not as much as those people who will lose hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Blog Slacker

2005-09-05T22:13:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm a Blog Slacker. And in order to maintain this status, this will be the extent of this post as I must sleep before work tomorrow.

Sláinte and goodnight.

Jeeps - The Incurable Disease

2005-08-25T18:11:00.000-07:00

Nope, I'm not dead, just been busy. Let's see...

As of last post the furniture is in. We got the ottoman last night after I completely bitched out the guy at Scandinavian Designs. If you sell something in May to hold until August, you'd BETTER have it in stock when I come to get it and not tell me I'm lucky that the floor model is still there and I can have that. I sent Michael to the store because I was afraid I'd kick the guy's ass right there in the show room. Ok, I probably wouldn't have, but I feel better just knowing I could have.

We added a new member to our family on Sunday:

Isn't she pretty? A 2005 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, Sahara Edition (42/1000). Michael's like a kid in a candy shop - after all, he's wanted a Jeep since Cub Scouts and it also reminds him of a CJ8 (the Scrambler) and of his Army days when he drove the RATT RIG (Radio and Teletype Rig).

We hadn't quite intended on buying her so quickly. In fact, last week we drove to the Jeep dealer in Auburn (Magnussen - they are awesome there) to test drive the Unlimited model which has a 12" longer body and 10" longer wheelbase than the regular Wranglers. Our hopes weren't too high because when we had driven a normal Wrangler quite a while ago, we were disappointed by its ride (it was too swimmy-feeling and not fun like we'd anticipated). Even Michael, a true Jeep lover, left the dealership depressed. So, when we went to Magnussen, we thought we'd just drive it around and think about it, etc. Well, we got in a manual transmission and started driving up the road and immediately we noticed the difference. It drove like a truck! It felt stable and solid and it was quieter and more, well, refined (for lack of a better word). Our only disappointment was in driving the automatic transmission as it felt underpowered and incorrectly geared. Basically though, we totally loved the Unlimited with the stick shift.

Michael originally thought he'd get a 2006 model but after realizing that the features and seats he loved on the Sahara edition were not going to be around next year and that 2006 will be the last year of the Wrangler as we know it, he decided to take the plunge. We went back on Sunday, signed a bunch of stuff (no haggling since there were rebates and employee pricing) and Michael drove Rubi home with a big ol' smile on his face. Come to think of it, the smile hasn't disappeared yet.

I can't wait to take her to Tahoe or the coast or even to work next week while Michael's in Anaheim for work. :)

2005-08-12T23:57:00.000-07:00

New furniture arrived on Wednesday and it looks beautiful. I hardly want to go upstairs because the downstairs is such a nice place to be. Now I have to replace the hanging items but have to wait on getting some new frames for a couple pieces and still need to "get a feel" before redecorating with the small stuff. Michael has to sand the ceiling in the entry hall and then I can finish painting that section (I, of course, didn't want to paint it prior to that in case it was accidentally damaged in the process of sanding, etc.) and it will look put together. Anyway, the former will be done this weekend and will eliminate remaining clutter and the latter may be done next weekend... we'll see. (note: the photo shows the table; the chairs are nearly identical except that they are black and the legs are a different shape.)

Michael's accepted a job with a local - LOCAL! - company which he starts on Aug 22. Let's pause, shall we, and do a jig. Jig like you've never jigged before. Hold it, that's getting jiggy with it and not the same. Cease the jiggy. Ok... So he starts the new job on Aug 22 and, ironically, it's directly across the street from my old office - yep the one I left just last week - but still only 3.1 miles (thanks Mapquest) from where I'm now working. He won't have to work nights or weekends or holidays anymore and that is AWESOME. And he won't have to commute 600 miles each week just to do a job that is unrewarding and underpaying. And he will have more time he can use for studying and homework. Personally, I can't wait because I'll get to spend more quality time with him and plan fun stuff with friends and family.

This week at work was all right. There are definitely some walls to hurdle and at least one person who's not so thrilled about having a supervisor (she hasn't had one in a while and the last one she had she didn't get along with) but she'll get over it one way or another. Time will tell, per usual. Overall, it was a good week and I have a lot with which to familiarize myself. They tell me to take my time but they'll soon figure out that I have higher expectations for myself than that.

Have a great night and a wonderful weekend. My sister's in town and we're going to go shopping tomorrow, maybe get pedicures and then I have a bridal shower to attend on Sunday. Oh, and a guy is coming over tomorrow to measure and provide an estimate for new carpet up the stairs and in the master bedroom (and hallway). More prettiness coming soon.

Sláinte

2005-08-08T17:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, so today was my first day in my new job. Kinda boring but that's usually how it goes. Just tryin' to get used to the people and what they do. So far, it seems that not much is expected of those I'm supposed to lead. It's a really relaxed atmosphere which is nice and I look forward to the proficiency that will come with time.

What's the best part? Working with MEN!

My old job was 100% women which means 100% drama. Don't get me wrong, I really like most of the ladies but when you get that many hormones in a room together, it's dangerous. And if two women don't like eachother everyone knows it and not a word even has to be said. Not that there are no words said because gossip is also quite popular. Men are so much simpler. There are few ulterior motives, no sidestepping issues - just the tell-it-like-it-is approach which I really prefer. And since it's in IT, I have even more motivation to get my CCNA. Gotta do a refresher on subnet masking but no worries. I love it.

Segue...
My parents helped me paint the downstairs on Saturday. It took longer than I anticipated but we did an awesome job. On Sunday I painted the base boards, breakfast bar, etc - areas we didn't get to on Sunday. Didn't really change the colors, just added a new one so it's warmer now and more defined. Loverly. Can't wait for it to be put back together.

Hmm, well sorry for the boring post. I'm not feeling particularly talkative or creative this evening.

Sláinte.