Pins & Needles

Today Joe and I did something we've never done before...we made an offer on a house. So now we sit and wait to see if they'll accept our offer.

GULP!!!

I'm sure that they'll come back with a counter offer, and things will go on from there. But it is a weird feeling. To have to love the house enough to be willing to sign up for 30 years of debt and a sizable mortgage each month, and then still be able to walk away and not look back from it if they don't meet our terms or won't come down in the asking price. I've been told numerous times not to get attached to any one particular house...and I've tried not to. But it's hard for me. When I walked in it for the first time, it instantly felt like "home", and I was already trying to mentally place the sofa and loveseat in the living room. It's the right age house for us - the previous owner is now in a retirement home, but she took really good care of it, so it isn't a dump, just a little dated. Which is very much what we wanted to find - something livable now, but with potential to update and put our own twist on, at our own pace, as opposed to a complete fixer-upper where you have to do mucho work just to make it comfortable. It's ready for a young family to give it some life! Is it weird that I really wanted the house to need us? Probably not, since I also believed when I was a kid that my dolls and stuffed animals had feelings. Now you probably think I'm nuts...oh well.

It would be an extreme blessing for us if in fact this house works out; the only reason that we're able to even consider it is because of the dropping prices and very generous grandparents who are eager to help with a down payment. But this is the type of house, that if we had 2 or 3 kids, we could comfortably grow into it and live there for an extremely long time. Nice size back yard, quiet street, great school district, the whole kit 'n caboodle. The great thing is, Joe and I have been on the same page throughout the whole process, and that I attribute to prayer. This is the biggest financial decision we've ever (and might possibly ever?) made.

All that to say, am I excited? YES Will I be disappointed if it doesn't happen? Yeah. But I'll be OK with it. I know that the Lord will provide us with exactly what we need, when we need it. It's just exciting that this process is underway. I think I'm in for a sleepless night tonight though...I can't wait to hear back (hopefully) tomorrow from our agent!!!

New Favorite?

I've mentioned before that I'm not on the forefront of new things... it takes a little bit of watching and waiting to see if they pan out before I take the plunge. TV shows fall into that category, especially since we got cable when all the series were ending last season, I really felt out of the loop. Mostly what I watch is on cable - lots of TCL and Food Network, and I get my dose of reality (or lack thereof) TV by watching Lauren and the girls on The Hills. If my TV received only those two channels, I could make it. I'm not a fan of too many of the shows on ABC, NBC, you know the main channels...I think they had their heyday when I was in high school and you had the good version of ER with George Clooney, Seinfeld, Friends, Mad About You, and a super stellar cast on SNL. Anymore, a lot of the shows are just plain trashy to me, or interest me.

All that to say, I was channel surfing last night and landed on NBC at 8:30PM on 30 Rock. I'd obviously heard about it for awhile, but knew nothing about it, except that it won the Emmy for best comedy, so I decided to watch until the first commercial. Well, I watched the whole darn thing and laughed a lot during it. I think I'll tune in next week. What really surprised me though was Tina Fey, aka Liz Lemon - she is so watchable!! And cute. And smart. And witty. I think she may be my new favorite sitcom lady. I haven't had one of those since Jennifer Aniston. Huh.

And since I'm on the topic of TV, I must say that on The Hills, Elodie was absolutely amazing and got hers in the end over Heidi. I wish I had that kind of guts!!

The Birthday Boy

Is my hubs!



Today we celebrate 27 well lived years, and pray for many, many more to come.


What did we do to celebrate this momentous, joyous occasion you ask? Why, we worked opposite schedules (fun, no?), and I gave him 27 spanks, with an extra one for good luck. OK, maybe that was TMI. In a perfect world, we'd be hitting up a restaurant in SF, or maybe our favorite restaurant Kincaid's. Unfortunately, it was a no-go tonight. The turn around time between me getting home and him leaving for work was just too tight. I did manage to swing by Whole Foods after work and pick up his favorite schtuff to make a kick-butt birthday dinner, just for him. I really try to limit my shopping there...it is not far at all from where I work the majority of the week, so it is a BIG TEMPTATION, because it's beautiful. The produce section looks like an artists palette the colors are so bright, and they have just about every food product you could think of. But it is uber expensive for everyday groceries...so only for special times do I let myself enter the front doors.

So here's the spread...rack of lamb cut into chops, tomatoes stuffed with couscous topped with breadcrumbs and cheese, throw in the Martinelli's and you've got yourself one scrumdiddlyumptious meal/party a deux. It looks great, but it tasted amazing, if I do say so myself.





Here's to you Joe, my darling husband. I love sharing life with you and watching you become more and more of the man you were meant to be with each passing year. Happy Birthday!

September Breakdown

Do you keep a calendar? I do. I love to write down appointments, dates to remember, birthdays, etc. While I was flipping throught my little Hallmark freebie one that I keep in my purse, I was pretty shocked at how many big things happened this month. But that accounts for why it felt like it was a blur. The fall is my favorite season of the year (unlike others I know *Marisa*), but it's also the kickoff in our household to the birthday/anniversary/holiday extravaganza that doesn't really let up until February. Here's what my schedule looked like for the month of September.


On the...


2nd: Spent our last day in Italy and flew home. Boo.


Us in front of the Trevi Fountain, Rome.


The view of the Duomo and red rooftops of Florence from our bedroom window.



Joe in front of the Colosseum.



The Grand Canal in Venice, riding on the water taxi to our hotel there.

9th: Happy Birthday to me!! I turned 26. It's not that different than 25. I was hoping I'd wake up with more wisdom, patience, maturity...something? But nope. It's not quite the same as when you were a kid and woke up on your birthday morning feeling empowered and slightly magical because you were now EIGHT as opposed to only SEVEN, and your world was bigger with new priviledges, responsibilites and a later bedtime. I still wake up excited that it's my day, but the age really doesn't seem to matter anymore. Anyhoo, I got some new kicks that I love - Uggs (or ugglies as Joe calls them)!! Lots of cards and phone calls and feeling loved on. Cheers to another year!

11th: Full time hours start at my work. Went to the 9/11 memorial at our church. They also honor all the local first responders (fire dept, police, emt) and Joe got to wear his uniform and looked like a stud. I felt very proud of him!!

12th: Met with Jim & Carolyn Millen and decided to do a weekly Bible study with them. So excited about this!! (But to do full justice to this topic it deserves its own blog)

15th: Went to my hair appointment for a trim and decide to dye my hair darker. Originally I was thinking a chocolate brown (I was just really sick of the blond grow-out that really bothered me when I looked at myself in the Italy pictures), but my hairdresser said she knew the perfect shade for me called "mahogany" that has some darker reddish tones in it. I've only ever really highlighted my hair, so this was rather extreme for me. I came home and knocked Joe's socks off. It's just a tish darker and more auburn-y than my own color. I think it's great! I wish I had a picture of that to show you...I'll have to get on that. Walked thru some open houses with Joe later than night just to get a feel of what's available.

17th: Happy Birthday Mom!! Celebrate with the family and go out to yummy Greek food.

21st: Knowing that Joe's schedule shift is fast upon us, we head to our mortgage broker to see how things look as far as getting a loan to buy a house since our goal is to be in one by the end of this year. So we looked over our budget, income, spending and bills for about 3 hours (before we met with the broker, so we'd have some #s to give him). Not the most fun thing I could think of to do. We had to do like 5 different scenarios of a budget to make sure that we'll be able to swing the house payments when we have kids and I stop working. But it was worth it. This time I didn't feel like puking when we talked about those humongous sums of money like I did when we touched bases with him earlier in March. All the numbers meshed up and we walked out of there pre-approved for a loan. Hurrah!

22nd: Can't stand not having anything fallish out even though technically fall is still one day away, so the wreath goes up. Get started on the onsies for Sandy's shower on the 29th...here they are finished below. Sandy doesn't want to know if it's a boy or girl, so I made one for each. I'm really partial to the little girl's one. Sandy and her husband are living in New Orleans right now, so that's why I incorporated that into the onsie. Drive all around our town that afternoon with Joe and my folks going to open houses, my dad teaching Joe what to look for when you look at a house (he used to be a realtor), call a lot of Realtors to get house info. Have dinner with Jim & Carolyn at Texas Roadhouse, which is where I ate the best chicken fried steak I think I've ever had.

23rd: Joe changes to vampire hours. The shift starts at 9pm til 7am, with Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays off. Boo. Start watching Ken Burn's new documentary The War about WWII - very, very good.

25th: Happy Birthday Darlene (Joe's mom)!! We'll celebrate with his side all the September & October birthdays in a couple weeks.

26th: Was asked to submit a recipe for a new cookbook that our church is putting together, and it's due today. Since the last one was published in the 70's, this is exciting. But then I had total indecision about what to choose. I felt like I was going to be judged by what I selected to have put in the book, like if people thought it would sound gross, or weird, or be too easy (silly, I know). In the end I chose to send my Frittata recipe because: I make them fairly often so I stand by it as a GOOD recipe, it's easy to change to your own taste once you know the method, and I was fairly certain it would be the only one like it in the book. It'll stand apart from all the Chicken Divan, ya know? Mmmmm, doesn't it look yummy?

29th: Can't go to Sandy's shower b/c we're meeting with a realtor and with her parents living a good 2 hours away from me (where it was to be held), I didn't have enough turn around time. Very bummed about that one. Drop her present off at my friend Debbie's house so she can take it to the shower for me. But the meeting with the realtor went well. After three hours of talk, we're now serious home buyers; after Joe is off probation with work on Oct. 15, everything is good to go!! It is crazy cool to think that we might just get to celebrate Christmas in our own, new home this year. It makes coming back to this little apartment tough, so I just keep telling myself we'll be outta here soon, I can hang in there just a little more.

So, come on October!! Can't wait to see what you're gonna bring me!

La Dolce Vita

I'm home! After a whirlwind 10 days, 3 blisters, 618 pictures, many euros, 3 train rides and 3 cities later, I'm back home in good old CA. In all honesty, I'm a little dazed. It's a little cruel actually how life demands that you hop right back into the routine at full speed ahead. It seems like you need an extra 3 days to process where you were and what you saw. I don't know where to start. I feel like there's so much to share and tell and describe, how do you encapsulate our adventure in one little blog? It would be big, boring, and probably scare all you off reading my posts for sure. So what I think I'll do is share things by topic, and sorta spread it out. So have some patience with me. I will say now, however, that it was definitely the trip of a lifetime, and something that I'll be forever grateful that we decided to do now, rather than relegate into the category of "someday". In Italy, they say they live the "dolce vita", or "sweet life", and I have to completely agree. The pace is slow. The people are wonderful. The food is amazing. Truly, whether you're at a little mom & pop trattoria, or a tiny pizzeria, or a big hostelaria, you can't get a bad meal. The blend of ancient and modern together in Rome, Florence, and Venice is beautiful and surreal. You feel richer just for seeing the things that those cities have to offer you, be it works from the masters like Michelangelo and da Vinci, old ruins from the Forum built by slaves, or the lazy rivers that glide through the cities. Rome absolutely stole our hearts, and will forever be a special place to us. On our last night there before we flew home the next morning, we went to our favorite restaurant in the city, and then walked across the street to the Colosseum, where we laid out on the grass in front of it, and got some amazing pictures. It was the perfect way to say goodbye. Even though I could have stayed on vacation for a whole lot longer, 10 days was a good amount of time - we left in love with Italy wanting more, rather than feeling like we were sick and tired of living our of our suitcases and just ready to be home. The funny thing about travel though, it once you get a taste of it, you want more, more, more!! On the plane ride home the wheels were already turning as to where we could explore next. It would be really nice if we could swing another big trip before any wee-ones come along. But I don't know...if we get into a house, that's where all the $$$ will be going... so who knows. It is nice to be home though. Nothing feels as good as your own sheets, pillow, and bed, plus this is the land of complementary ice with your drinks. And fall is almost here, which means my birthday is just around the corner, as well as my favorite season of the year. So stay tuned, much more to follow...Ciao!

A Wicked Awesome Feat

So while I was slavin' away at work on Friday, Joe was out enjoying the great outdoors with a buddy from work at Yosemite. They decided that they would drive up, hike up Half Dome, and drive back home all in one day. Like all goodly planned things, it didn't exactly happen that way. But nevertheless, they had a great time. When I saw the pictures the next day of their hike, I had to post them because one: they're pretty cool, and two: I'm really proud of Joe. Now, he did this hike once before by himself, so, obviously, I knew he could do it. But it's a lot different when you go with other people. And this hike is not to be sneezed at. It is massive, and tough. You had better have the right gear and mental toughness otherwise, you're in trouble with a capital "T". This is no little walk in the woods - it is a pretty big endeavor. Granted, you're rewarded at every point along the way by absolutely amazing views, but this is not for the faint of heart. Depending on the pace you go at, it's a 6-8 hour trek, that really becomes a climb at the end straight up the granite back with just cables to help you, so you're pretty much hugging the rock, trying to scoot up and not think about what would happen if you tumbled and took a fall. It wouldn't be pretty. I don't think I'll ever be able to do it, because of my fear of heights, so I'll just stick to the Yosemite falls and Vernal falls hikes. Guess I'll just have to live vicariously through Joe...



Almost to the top. See how high up you are?

There he is, reaching the summit...I love how the setting sun looks. I know that technically this picture is a little too dark, but dang it, this is my blog, and I have the artistic license here, OK?

I know this isn't Joe's favorite picture of the bunch, but I like it, especially for those of you who have never been to Yosemite, this gives you some scope for just how high and big it really is. The valley floor of Yosemite is below him, plus you get to see how he is sitting right on the top of the curve of it. My feet and pits start to sweat when I look at this picture, because there he is, swinging his legs off it. If it were me, no way would you have gotten me to the edge, and I would probably be face down clinging to the rock crying my eyes out, and dreading the trip down, cursing whoever it was that talked me into doing it in the first place. Not Joe. He looks completely carefree and at home on the little ledge, right?

Here's the winner shot of the batch in my opinion. The lighting is gorgeous. A man and his mountain. Gotta love it. He told me as he tumbled into bed upon arriving wearily home in the wee small hours, that despite the screaming sore muscles, total physical and mental exhaustion it is worth it. So I'm sure that he'll be right back up there again. And, just in case anyone out there has forgotten...

YESSSSS!!!!!

Shout Out to Sandy

I just found out today that one of my ol' friends from school days is expecting her first baby in January. I am so excited for her - I really haven't been able to stop thinking about it today. I'm not quite sure why. I mean, quite a few people from my class have had kids...heck, even my high school boyfriend has now been a dad for about a year. But this is different...she's the first one from my closer circle of girlfriends from then to actually experience pregnancy - she's the one sustaining life. Not like the guys I know who're now dads...I mean, that's very cool too, but not the same b/c it's their wives who went through all the emotions/physical change/etc. Trippy! I mean, this is Sandy who in 3rd grade volunteered to pull out my tooth for me, watched Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken with like 84,000 times (small exaggeration), played soccer with at every lunchtime in Jr. High, giggled and gossiped with in High School during band... Of course, we had our arguments and normal girl drama too...but when I think of my school experience, she is a big part of it. Hard to believe that we're really at this stage of life, when I can picture running around Chabot Elementary school's field chasing soccer balls with her like it was yesterday.
Not too uncommon, but we kinda lost touch during college; however, thru the joy that is MySpace, have reconnected enough to know what each other is doing, send a comment, and keep tabs on each other. She should be really grateful that I still don't know how to use the scanner, otherwise I could post some adolescent pics that are dynamite...you know, that lovely awkward stage. Actually, come to think of it, Sandy always looked good. I look like a skinny geek, so you're really not missing much.
Anyhow, I just wanted her to know that I'm thinking about her, excited for the journey she's on, and wanted to pay a small tribute to her, because saying "congrats" just doesn't seem adequate enough. Especially since it made me get to reminiscing about elementary, Jr. High and CVHS. I don't think I let her know how much I valued her friendship - and that's not right. She was an awesome buddy to have. Bye 4 now !!

***Edited to Add***
Sandy was kind enough to send me our eighth grade sticky-pic from the yearbook...can you dig the matching overalls? Very 1995. So I'm on the left, Sandy's in the middle, and Debbie is on the right. Interestingly enough, Debbie was always interested in showbiz, and lo and behold she graduated from UC Berkely and has been wrapping up her master's (all aimed at the entertainment field) at Stanford and directed a short film for her thesis. She'll be famous, and I hope she remembers that she owes us a limo ride like she promised if she ever "made it". She is also gorgeous now, no more pouffy bangs... Good times, good times!