Saturday, May 24, 2008
It's my birthday, my buh-buh-buh-birthday...
The only productive thing I've done so far today is get a massage. Which I guess isn't really productive, but whaddayagonnado. Soon it'll be time for me to get my hair cut, and then we're having friends over for a small dairy-free potluck (woo!), and then tomorrow the plan is to head down to Seattle for some shopping, dinner, and family time. Then Monday Amanda and Gini (and who ever else wants to come, just let us know!) are coming over to do some yard work. And the weather is *perfect,* and I've had loads of awesome presents, and Brett isn't going back to work until Tuesday. It's a perfect birthday weekend. Woo! :D
Friday, May 16, 2008
A muggy kind of hot.
You know when like, the sky is white with clouds, and there's a slight cool breeze, so it SEEMS like it should rain, but instead all the clouds end up doing is holding in the heat from when it was sunny a few hours before, so there's this like, pressing, thick heat all around that makes you sweat every time you move? That's the kind of hot it is at my house right now.
Luckily it's only about 80°, which really isn't that bad. I've shoveled sludge and sawdust all day in the hot Georgia sun (or worse; inside an un-air conditioned Georgia paper mill filled huge oven-hot machinery) wearing full length jeans, a hard hat, and steel-toed boots. And a t-shirt. But not a tank top, because for some reason it was okay to risk exposing our arms to things, but not our shoulders. Whatevs, dude.
But anyway, I learned from that experience that even when I feel like it's too hot to possibly get any work done, if I'm not dry-heaving, I'll probably be fine. As long as I drink water and take breaks. "Take 5 to stay alive." That was the rule. And I was NOT one to break the rules. Hell, sometimes I took 10, or even 20! You know, just to play it safe.
Our real estate agent is coming over tomorrow to check out our digs, and give us some advice on what we'll need to do to this dump in order to sell it for a good price. I'm pretty nervous about it. I'm pretty sure we have a lot of things working in our favor; a nice, quiet, safe neighborhood, a big yard, three pretty good sized bedrooms, 1.75 baths, multiple living spaces, hardwood floors, nice architectural details, two decks, a hot tub, a not-bad kitchen w/ new appliances, separate closets in the master bedroom, two fireplaces, vaulted ceilings in the living room and bar, and a huge garage with lots of built-in storage. We're also walking distance from three different grocery stores and a bunch of other things (restaurants, a movie theatre, etc), we're biking distance from a mall, and about three minutes from the freeway. And we have several fruit trees, three maples, three lilac trees, jasmine, climbing roses, wisteria, a crap load of rhodies, and all kinds of other pretty flowering things that I don't know the names of. And blueberries! We have blueberries.
Aaanyway, my point is that I really hope she likes what she sees. Our house is a little 70's-ish, and I know it needs new paint, new carpet in a couple of places, and probably new kitchen cabinets, but I really don't want to list it as a fixer. Even a "cosmetic" fixer. I like it the way it is, and I'm hoping she thinks it's good enough for buyers to like it the way it is, too. We'll jut have to see. And Brett and I can both be a little pack-rat-ish, so we have a lot of purging and packing to do before we put it on the market, which I know she'll say. Especially in the basement, garage, and front guest room. But it'll feel really good to let go of a lot of that old stuff, I think. We already have a bunch of stuff piled up to go to Goodwill, and we'll just keep adding more. Especially since we're moving closer-in, which will mean going smaller, which will mean less space. AND we'll have kids soon, and those little monkeys take up a lot of space too. Ugh. I hate moving SO MUCH.
I should really get back to ironing. BUT! Do you like how I changed things up a bit on this site? I really only changed the colors and the ratio of the left column to the right column. I can't believe I still use tables, but whaddayagonnado. I studied web design back in the dark ages, and they just make sense to me. Also, MOST (but not all) of my photos from SF are up; take a look! Or wait for me to finish uploading. Maybe on Saturday night. If not then, probably in a few weeks. We've been really busy lately. REALLY busy.
And on Tuesday of next week I'm driving down to Portland to hang out with my mom and sister, and attend a luncheon where my mom will be honored as a "woman of achievement." Her contributions over the years to organizations empowering women and children have not just been monetary, but have also involved large amounts of time, effort, and a passionate drive that has helped inspire countless others to give more of themselves, as well. So woo! Go mom! But I'm driving down to Portland by myself for the first time EVER (believe it or not), and then back up again the very next day (also by myself), so wish me luck. I've never driven that long alone before, so let's just hope I don't fall asleep at the wheel. Or get lost. Because I'm reeeally good at getting lost. Knowing me, I'll probably accidentally get on 99 or something, and end up in Idaho. Oooh...Cat. :/
And then when I get back...it will be Wednesday night. But THEN! It will be Thursday. And then Friday. And THEN!!! MY BIRTHDAY!!! My 30th. The big three-oh. People keep asking me how I feel about it, if I'm doing okay, etc. You'd think I was diagnosed with some sort of disease. FYI: I'm doing fine. Brett and I want to have a few kids, and I'd like to squeeze them all in (or out...ew), before I hit my late 30's, but other than a slight sense of urgency in that regard, I have no feelings of panic or regret.
Sometimes I feel like my life has actually been eerily perfect; like, even all of my negative experiences served some purpose, because it all lead up to the life I have now, which is exactly the life I want. I'd like to have children, I'd like to keep traveling, and obviously I'll always want to keep learning, growing, and evolving as a person, but I'm quite happy with what I've achieved up to this point in my life, and I don't feel behind schedule. Life is good! :D
Luckily it's only about 80°, which really isn't that bad. I've shoveled sludge and sawdust all day in the hot Georgia sun (or worse; inside an un-air conditioned Georgia paper mill filled huge oven-hot machinery) wearing full length jeans, a hard hat, and steel-toed boots. And a t-shirt. But not a tank top, because for some reason it was okay to risk exposing our arms to things, but not our shoulders. Whatevs, dude.
But anyway, I learned from that experience that even when I feel like it's too hot to possibly get any work done, if I'm not dry-heaving, I'll probably be fine. As long as I drink water and take breaks. "Take 5 to stay alive." That was the rule. And I was NOT one to break the rules. Hell, sometimes I took 10, or even 20! You know, just to play it safe.
Our real estate agent is coming over tomorrow to check out our digs, and give us some advice on what we'll need to do to this dump in order to sell it for a good price. I'm pretty nervous about it. I'm pretty sure we have a lot of things working in our favor; a nice, quiet, safe neighborhood, a big yard, three pretty good sized bedrooms, 1.75 baths, multiple living spaces, hardwood floors, nice architectural details, two decks, a hot tub, a not-bad kitchen w/ new appliances, separate closets in the master bedroom, two fireplaces, vaulted ceilings in the living room and bar, and a huge garage with lots of built-in storage. We're also walking distance from three different grocery stores and a bunch of other things (restaurants, a movie theatre, etc), we're biking distance from a mall, and about three minutes from the freeway. And we have several fruit trees, three maples, three lilac trees, jasmine, climbing roses, wisteria, a crap load of rhodies, and all kinds of other pretty flowering things that I don't know the names of. And blueberries! We have blueberries.
Aaanyway, my point is that I really hope she likes what she sees. Our house is a little 70's-ish, and I know it needs new paint, new carpet in a couple of places, and probably new kitchen cabinets, but I really don't want to list it as a fixer. Even a "cosmetic" fixer. I like it the way it is, and I'm hoping she thinks it's good enough for buyers to like it the way it is, too. We'll jut have to see. And Brett and I can both be a little pack-rat-ish, so we have a lot of purging and packing to do before we put it on the market, which I know she'll say. Especially in the basement, garage, and front guest room. But it'll feel really good to let go of a lot of that old stuff, I think. We already have a bunch of stuff piled up to go to Goodwill, and we'll just keep adding more. Especially since we're moving closer-in, which will mean going smaller, which will mean less space. AND we'll have kids soon, and those little monkeys take up a lot of space too. Ugh. I hate moving SO MUCH.
I should really get back to ironing. BUT! Do you like how I changed things up a bit on this site? I really only changed the colors and the ratio of the left column to the right column. I can't believe I still use tables, but whaddayagonnado. I studied web design back in the dark ages, and they just make sense to me. Also, MOST (but not all) of my photos from SF are up; take a look! Or wait for me to finish uploading. Maybe on Saturday night. If not then, probably in a few weeks. We've been really busy lately. REALLY busy.
And on Tuesday of next week I'm driving down to Portland to hang out with my mom and sister, and attend a luncheon where my mom will be honored as a "woman of achievement." Her contributions over the years to organizations empowering women and children have not just been monetary, but have also involved large amounts of time, effort, and a passionate drive that has helped inspire countless others to give more of themselves, as well. So woo! Go mom! But I'm driving down to Portland by myself for the first time EVER (believe it or not), and then back up again the very next day (also by myself), so wish me luck. I've never driven that long alone before, so let's just hope I don't fall asleep at the wheel. Or get lost. Because I'm reeeally good at getting lost. Knowing me, I'll probably accidentally get on 99 or something, and end up in Idaho. Oooh...Cat. :/
And then when I get back...it will be Wednesday night. But THEN! It will be Thursday. And then Friday. And THEN!!! MY BIRTHDAY!!! My 30th. The big three-oh. People keep asking me how I feel about it, if I'm doing okay, etc. You'd think I was diagnosed with some sort of disease. FYI: I'm doing fine. Brett and I want to have a few kids, and I'd like to squeeze them all in (or out...ew), before I hit my late 30's, but other than a slight sense of urgency in that regard, I have no feelings of panic or regret.
Sometimes I feel like my life has actually been eerily perfect; like, even all of my negative experiences served some purpose, because it all lead up to the life I have now, which is exactly the life I want. I'd like to have children, I'd like to keep traveling, and obviously I'll always want to keep learning, growing, and evolving as a person, but I'm quite happy with what I've achieved up to this point in my life, and I don't feel behind schedule. Life is good! :D
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)