thankful thursday

Wow, Thursday really snuck up on me this week!  I really thought yesterday was Tuesday for a while!

this Thursday I am thankful for:

closing.  It was a long long road.  No part of it was ideal (except maybe picking out the house on our first day looking).  We had a great realty team there to support us through it all, and our realtor has really become part of the family.  It sounds like we aren't the only ones to have some issues moving in... 2 other residents on Kyle's team have also had problems; one is living in a hotel this week, hoping to close on her house, the other closed a while ago but planned and unplanned renovations have held up their settling in.  Thankful our house was pretty much move-in ready.

my family.  They were with us from Wednesday night to Monday at noon.  From loading the truck to organizing it in the new house.  Couldn't have done as much as we did without them.  Thanks guys for everything; I know I didn't make it easy on you but you were real troopers.  My dad basically worked nonstop as carpenter, gardener, electrician, and plumber from the moment we unlocked the door (except for this quick trip to downtown for dinner).

my backyard.  You cannot imagine how excited I am to finally have a garden and a grill.  I can't wait to start getting in some fresh veggies and I have already put that grill to good use!  Thanks to everyone that made it possible.  Now I just need some patio furniture...

This Thursday I am linking up with my good friend Julia over at BlackTag Diaries.  So pop over and say hi!

room by room : kitchen

We have been pretty busy since the Friday move-in and I've started settling into my new job as a homemaker.  Kyle started orientation on Monday so I've had to keep myself busy.  I've done a little unpacking and tidying up, but mostly running around checking out the local thrift shops.  Today, however, I decided the blog would be my top priority.  

The room of choice to share today is the kitchen.  It is pretty much the first room to be "finished".  I say "finished" because of course I intend to do something to all of the rooms... so the next several posts will be of our rooms with our stuff but little to no improvements done to what existed when we moved in, with some extra photos of changes I would like to make.  

the kitchen:

We had to buy the fridge for ourselves, thankfully it was the only appliance that needed purchasing.  After a lot of issues trying to find the counter-depth Whirlpool Gold that I wanted, at the last minute, we were able to get basically the same thing in a Kenmore Elite (made by Whirlpool) from Sears with a hefty sales sticker on it, delivered exactly when we needed it.  So instead of living out of a cooler for 3 weeks like it was looking like we would need to, we only had to survive about a day.  

I knew immediately that I wanted this big cabinet to be food storage, but I think its original purpose was to store the trash... so I had my Dad order some drawers for easy access to food and helped him install them on Saturday (I glued 2 of the drawers together...he did everything else...thanks Dad!)

I would really like to paint the top panel with chalkboard paint so I can have a fun little spot to write my grocery list as I realize what I'm out of. 

This is from standing next to the fridge, virtually the majority of our cabinets and counter space.  It is more than we had though and we are very thankful.  All of our stuff fits in these cabinets pretty well since we have the food storage surrounding the fridge.

This is the other side of the kitchen.  The microwave is old (and still dirty :/) but the seller installed the dishwasher (which is 100xs quieter than what was in our apartment!) and range.  I chose to turn the empty display area into a built-in coffee bar and am keeping all of my mugs above the various coffee makers.

You may not be able to tell from the photo very well, but we started changing out the knobs on the cabinets.  The left side shows how small the existing ones were (gunmetal plain), and the coffee bar has the larger ones (gunmetal with a basket weave design).  The new knobs were left overs from a job my Dad did so we are going to need to order some more to finish up.  I've highlighted the background of the coffee bar in grey; I hope to eventually put a tile backsplash of some sort in there.  Not drawn in,  I want to install a small light in the top of this space and I would also like to find a cute colorful little tray to put the sugar bowl and spoon on to keep the surface from getting coffee stains.

 

I love that I have a window to look out of now.  To add a little color and to soften the area, I am dreaming up some curtain plans:  

 

My original thought was to go with an orange theme and do a little curtain on the bottom half... probably with a design.  I had picked out a cute Ikat print that I thought would work great here...

Since getting here though and getting a better look at the countertop... I'm thinking green would probably be the safer color to go in here... and the rug I brought is also blue and green and I really like the look of it with the hardwood.  I also feel like it MIGHT be better to put the curtain at the top so I am sure to be able to look out the window rather than straining to see over the curtain.

So what do you think?  I can't wait to see how this space evolves.  Green is really growing on me for this room... 

weekend replay : under construction

Move in went smoothly, we happened to move in on a perfectly "cool" South Carolina day, plenty of sunshine and breezes, we have all of the furniture placed, satellite and internet hooked up, a few boxes unpacked, and my raised gardens built and planted.


But I'm still not ready to share the goods :)

We have a lot left to do... and while there is some order to life now, there is still a lot to figure out!  So stay tuned for some photos of the house with our stuff in it after we have everything unpacked room by room. 

There have been a few hiccups along the way this weekend, but many victories and I am in recovery mode.  This pregnant lady feels like she has barely slept in a week... because I haven't.  So bear with me and my lack of posting.

finally.

finally a good day.
 
8am: breakfast with a good friend + 2hours of conversations and encouragement.

9am: my realtor calls and has me laughing with the conversation replay she gave me from her talk with our loan people this morning. ("let me tell you a story... my clients are a 4 months pregnant young woman and her Lt in the Air Force Dr. husband and if we don't make this happen for them by Friday, they will be homeless.  Please don't make them be homeless.  Do I need to send you donuts?  Coffee?")  Have I said lately how much I love my realtor?

11:30am: realtor calls to say we are clear to close on FRIDAY!!!! 

The truck is booked for Thursday.  More boxes are packed.  Linens are being washed.  Fridge will be ordered tomorrow. 

My excitement meter is starting to go up. 

So I'm probably going to be MIA for a while as we finish all of this and get moved in.

Wish us luck! 

weekend replay : last weekend

It wasn't a super exciting weekend but it was pretty good.  We did a few chores, played some games, I laid out, Kyle got a few modules done for the hospital and a few hours in at the volleyball court.  We had big plans to spend Saturday evening at the zoo... picnic packed and everything, to arrive to find out they closed early for a special event.

We spent (probably) our last Sunday at our church.  We had our favorite Louisville pizza afterward (Bearnos).  I packed up all of our winter clothes into big plastic storage tubs.

We watched the season finale of Game of Thrones, and the season premier of Falling Skys.  We caught a few movies on HBO, and went to the movies to see Now You See Me (go see it).  Movies and TV are our thing (for now).

And now begins our last week (we hope...Kyle's for sure), in Louisville.  Maybe if I stay up all night I will sleep through the worst of the stress tomorrow while waiting to hear what our closing date is going to be.  No, I will be in bed soon... I'm a morning person no matter what time I go to sleep.

Only thing I know for sure:  we are moving our stuff out of this apartment this week.  

Whether its into a small truck to go 3 miles to my aunt's garage or a big truck 7 hours to South Carolina is yet to be seen.   

One day at a time.
 

last day. last week?

Today is my last day at work.  A bittersweet moment.  I have dubbed it my early retirement.  Instead of a retirement package of $X each month though I will be getting:

• less stress... anyone that knows me knows that I will still be stressed regardless, but there is something to say for the amount of stress that is about to be taken off of my daily agenda from my job.
• more outdoor time... unfortunately this week the best weather was on the 3 days I worked.  I just feel less stressed and happy when I can actually enjoy a sunny day.
• more time to rediscover old hobbies... I haven't painted in years and only been marginally crafty
• plenty of time to discover new hobbies... I can't wait to garden, learn how to can food, maybe bake my own bread, volunteer somewhere, fix up old furniture.  Who knows, maybe I could go crazy and save up for a bike?
• the ability to be home when my husband is home...this is a big part of my decision to stay home.
• and eventually... the new job of stay at home mom will be the main focus.

What am I losing in this?

• daily interpersonal interaction... I'm a bit of a homebody so it will take a little forcing on my part to make me get out and make friends when we move.  Having a full time job has been my reason to get out and see people everyday.
• a pretty cool job... I started my science career working with plants.  I love plants.  But this being the only job offer I received...I had to get out of my comfort zone and get used to animals.  Specifically rodents.  And I have loved it.  No more will I be able to shock people with descriptions of what I do on a normal basis... spinal cord injury microsurgery, animal care, histology, staining, working with expensive microscopy equipment, injections into a mouse's tail vein, behavior testing, dissections... just a few things I have done in the past 3.5 years.  My normal day for a while is going to be along the lines of "oh yeah I cleaned the toilet and fixed dinner."
• an amazing work family... these people are hands down the best people I could have spent my last 3.5 years with.  We have laughed and cried and supported each other over the years and I will really miss them.
• a paycheck... Kyle's new income is going to be enough for us to live on without me working, but we are definitely going to have to tighten our belts a little and change up our budget.  I think it is going to be well worth it though.  Sure we won't be able to do the fancy vacations that others in his class may can handle with working wives, and shopping is going to be a more extravagant luxury, but the ability to see Kyle during his crazy schedule and be there for all the "firsts" of our kid are a pretty good trade to that stuff I think.

So is this our last week in Louisville?  We are still waiting for that to be answered.  The underwriter hasn't gotten back to us yet about an approval and closing date.  I'm still really hoping for early next week like they said our best case scenario is but who knows... We have to be out of our apartment by the 14th though.  

One day at a time.

weekend replay : going aways

It was a very busy weekend for us!

Friday I left work later than expected... found out we would be having the apartment shown to potential renters the next morning... So rushed home and cleaned for an hour before we went to our next going away party at Four Pegs with some friends from church at 7pm.  It was also our 5 year anniversary and was a pretty fun night of celebrating.

Got home around 11pm.

Fell asleep shortly before midnight.

Woke up around 6:30, got up a bit later, and started the finishing touches on cleaning the apartment.

Hit up the Farmers Market with the bestie, followed by some omelet making back at her house.

Grocery and home around 1pm to start cooking for our next event.

A second going away party/pot luck at my boss's house.  Our lab is losing me and a Postdoc to residency within the next few weeks!

Left there completely miserable.  Because I've started to get a baby bump!!! And I had squeezed myself into my nice jeans for the past few hours.... we left their house right before 8pm and headed straight to the mall for some maternity clothes.  The idea of which already had me in a tizzy... I just really don't want to deal with this yet.  And it just didn't get any better because:

Louisville's JCPenney's DOESN'T HAVE A MATERNITY SECTION.

Louisville's Dillards DOESN'T HAVE A MATERNITY SECTION.

KOHLS has a PITIFUL MATERNITY SECTION.

After an hour of running around, finally ended up at Target and bought the BeBand so I can just keep wearing my normal pants for a while longer... because the bump is obviously not going to fill out maternity pants yet.  I was maybe a little bit traumatized by the experience.

Sunday was a perfect day.  Perfect weather.  Church was good.  Met up with my brother for some lunch at our favorite Asian place (YangKee Noodle), talked Kyle into buying some new shorts at Old Navy, where he made me pick out a maternity shirt to finish off his gift card, and then headed to my aunt's backyard for some alone time in the sun with a book.  I made it home before Kyle (he went to play volleyball with my bro), and got some more alone time with my current game of choice (Skyrim).  Dinner of homemade chilidogs while watching Trouble With The Curve (highly recommend!).  Ended the night with a shocking episode of Game of Thrones and it was a fantastic Sunday. (Though that episode about made me mad enough to stop watching...not really...but come on!!!)

And today is Medical Monday!  What a great way to start off my last week at work!  (My last day is Wed!)  Looking forward to reading what is going on with the rest of the medical life community today! I hope all of you moving are having an easier time of it than us!

boxes

 
Today begins the time of boxes.  Living out of them.  The thing I have been trying to avoid so much.  

My parents decided its time to get everything we own and don't HAVE to use, in a box.  So they drove up last night and will be making us work all day to make sure that everything is carefully wrapped in a box.

I'm overwhelmed.  The move.  The baby.  The idea of residency.

We don't even know when we are moving.  But everything will go into a box.

The VA loan fell through.  Long story... which basically comes down to an HPSP student, (military scholarship) while having the "90 days of active duty time" required for a VA loan... does not have the right TYPE of active duty time required for a VA loan.  And so the VA should have never told us (6 weeks ago) that we qualified.

Enter new loan.  More money.  More time.  Praise the Lord for a gracious seller.

We still don't have a closing date set.

We can't book a moving truck.  But our stuff will be packed.

Our monthly payment is a lot more than the VA loan would have been... still manageable... but not what it was going to be.

I'm going to keep working in the meantime... because what else is there to do?

We are both very frustrated right now.  I can't be excited about the move right now when everything is so uncertain.  Why dream about what I'm going to do to the house when it feels like the deal could collapse at any minute?  (Not that there is any reason for it to.. but that's just how it feels after the week we just had.)

And how can I be excited about moving when the house was the main thing I was excited about?  The house was/is going to be my new job.

Because everything else about this move scares me to death.  Yes it is an awesome city.  Yes we will find somewhere to live even if that place is an extended stay hotel.   

But we don't know anyone there.  I'm pregnant with no one around.  No friends (yet).  No family.  And my husband will be a surgery resident intern.  Averaging 80 hours a week, 4 days off per month.  And while the hospital he is working for could potentially be understanding... his particular specialty isn't exactly family friendly like Peds or Emergency Med can be.  Neither of us have ever experienced anything like this before.  Sure med school gives you a taste... a couple of weeks at a time.. but then it is time for a different team, a different schedule, a different rotation.  This is our life for the next 5 years.  And really doesn't get much better afterward... sure more money, but at what cost?

It would just be nice to have the house stuff over with.  So we could get settled into our new surroundings, find a church, meet the neighbors, before our entirely new life starts.  Now its looking like we will be unpacking all these boxes days before it all begins.

weekend replay : goodbyes and uncertainty

This weekend began the end of our time in Louisville.

Things that happened:

the last time I turned dog sitter for my aunt's friend (yay house money!)

the first time to watch a movie in the new theater they have been building for a while before we move (Star Trek)

last time to browse estate sales in Louisville with my aunt

a going away party hosted by some dear friends from our first year here for us and another couple leaving soon (to go to Morocco)

Unfortunately we are no longer certain as to when our closing/moving is going to happen.  Very unhappy with our current experience with our mortgage group.  We feel like we are babysitting to get anything done.  While we DO have a little time to play with, (we planned on closing the 24th and being in our house on the 3rd but don't have to be out of our apartment until the 7th) the amount of uncertainty with all of it is creating a very uncomfortable state of limbo for me.  The 24th is looking more and more like a fairy tale ending that would have been the perfect time to allow work to be done on the house before moving the furniture in.  The uncertainty with all of it is keeping us from being able to book a moving truck or carpet cleaner (our lease says we have to clean them before we leave).  Both of which are better booked in advance.  And while worrying about this... I keep feeling the weight of how much there is left to do before I leave my job... and seeing as there isn't anyone to replace me or that has ever done what I am doing... it has to be done in the next 2 weeks so my boss can turn it into a paper.  This is exhausting. 

yay donuts.

How is everyone else handling the pre-move stress right now?

things to fill : a shed

The weather is beautiful up here and all I can dream about is when I will have a backyard and plenty of time to use it.  Lawn maintenance, gardening, landscaping are just a few uses for it, but don't forget that the backyard is also a good place to work on projects, paint something, grilling and entertaining.  All of those things require stuff.  And most of that stuff will be stored in our mega shed.  So what do I hope to fill mine with one day?

Weber One-Touch Gold

A grill ASAP.  We have lived in apartments our whole marriage and the one thing (other than an ice maker) we (I) have been dying to have the whole time has been a good grill.  Burgers just don't taste the same in a skillet.

chaise lounge.  You know.... nap time on the deck.  Snack time on the deck.  Sun time on the deck.  Rest on the deck after working in the garden.  This would get all sorts of use from me.  And a second one would allow for Kyle to join me (you know when he might possibly be home)... or a friend... Whenever we make those...

lawn tools.  Mower... weed eater... gardening stuff.  The typical things you would store in a shed.  All of which ought to be easy to use... like a mower that I could start by myself so I don't have to ask the neighbor to turn it on every time I need to mow the lawn.

power tools.  I figure every home needs some good tools... a saw of some sort, a laser level, a jig saw, a nail gun... Who knows when such awesomeness might be needed?  I know I definitely would use a laser level and a palm sander for the types of projects I hope to do.  And since the shed is MASSIVE, it can double as a small work shop if I want it to.  Bonus.

What am I forgetting?  Any suggestions? 

House hunting update:  We have big hopes of closing next Friday so we can do a little to the house over Memorial Weekend, but our loan officer seems to be dragging her feet... we shall see.  Until then... I will continue dreaming.

well whadya know?!

Its Medical Monday Ya'll!  I didn't have the heart to cover up this post with something new just yet so here ya go!  

If you have never participated in Medical Monday, it is the first Monday of every month and for anyone connected to the Medical life in any way shape or form.  Great way to meet similar people dealing with similar crazy ways of life.

So go link on a link up!





This is the big announcement post.  I love how my mentor from college put it in an email to me:

"Obviously I was remiss in your education and did not convey to you that you don’t have to do everything all at once:  graduate, move, buy a house, have a baby."

Oh yes.  You read that right.  

Because moving out of state 7 hours from anyone we know, buying our house, and Kyle becoming a doctor just wasn't enough.  We might as well complete all of the tasks of becoming real adults all at the same time.  We are going to have a baby.  God help us.

We are SO excited.  It has been a long road that only a select few knew about.  

Little bro took this shot :)  Good job Lucas!

My mentor was right.  This is a lot happening all at once.  And its scary.  But this wasn't our original plan.   The plan had been to have this happen at least a year ago.  You know.. so we would be somewhat used to being parents before Residency.  But God had other things in mind.  Lots of lessons to learn.  To really prepare us and shape us to know that this is really something we truly desire.  Not something we are doing to make our families happy.  Not something I am doing to make my husband happy.  Not a role to fulfill.  But what WE want for our life.  Sure the timing isn't fantastic, but it is perfect all at the same time.

Details.

How far along?  12 weeks and some change.

Due Date?  as of now it is Nov 13th

When did we find out?  At about 4 weeks.  The week before the Match.  Imagine that anxiety people. 

How do I feel?  Pretty normal (PRAISE GOD).  I'm generally hungry all the time.  Early on I was a little more tired than usual and had some not-so-fun cramps but those are mostly gone.  I have to watch being on my feet for too long.

Am I showing?  I can tell a difference but I don't think its obvious.  Soon. I could while laying flat in bed yesterday.  Kinda freaked me out.  Just all of a sudden there was a very noticeable bump.  That wasn't noticeable when I stood up.  Or any other time that I have been on my back since then.

Cravings?  Nothing I can pin point... I think I just crave everything I see.  Driving down the road... ooh Panera sounds good, or Taco Bell sounds good, or the pasta I just saw on Instagram looked good.  But really I've always been like that lol.  I do really enjoy McDonalds McDouble (no ketchup) about once a week.  

I don't know what else to tell you...  My first doctor's appointment was a bit odd... I'm such a bad pregnant person.  (Don't worry, I'm a great pregnant person about taking care of myself... but you will see..)

Dr. P:  So what have you been reading?
Me:  Um. Nothing.
Dr. P:  O.K.  Well most women like to read "What to Expect When you are Expecting"
Me:  Oh O.K.
Dr. P:  Or some people like babycenter.com
Me:  I have the app on my phone.  (that I occasionally look at).
Dr. P:  What kind of exercising do you do?
Me: Um.  I walk to my car?
Dr. P:  You might want to look into yoga.
Dr. P:  Do you have any questions?
Me: (fumbling in my head... I was so not prepared for the Spanish Inquisition I walked into)  No.
Dr. P:  Ok well write any questions that come to mind down in a notebook for next time.

(The above commentary is only a snippet and does not mean my Dr. is weird or I hate her or anything of the sort.  I LOVE her and hate to be leaving her to have to find another in the middle of all this)

Kyle has bought me the book.  I haven't opened it.  Kyle bought me a fitness DVD.  Its cardio.  I did a little bit of it this weekend.  I about died.  And could barely move my legs for 3 days.  I'm so out of shape.  (I didn't overdo it... I am very careful about taking breaks... I'm just that insanely pitiful)

This has partly been the reason for my lessened amount of postings the past several weeks.  What do you talk about when this is all there really is to talk about but you aren't ready to talk about it yet?  We've been busy thinking about the move and such so I haven't had time to do any awesome recipes or photography... But I think about this often.

So here's Baby C. at 8 weeks.  Head is down, there are little arm buds sticking out. 

Heck of an adventure ahead.

house hunting part 2

offer accepted

Wow.  That was fast.  We did our second look... and picked house #1 from this post yesterday.  Come to find out, it was in a different school district than we originally thought...its not in the crappy district, its zoned into one of the top 10 schools for the county!

After we finished looking, we went back to the realtor's office and decided on an offer.  Grabbed some lunch, and headed back to Louisville.  

An hour out of the city and our realtor called for a counter.  Another hour later, the seller accepted the offer!  So 2 hours out of Greenville, we had begun our path towards home ownership.

We are so excited!  The house is move-in-ready.  Its beautiful.  The neighborhood is adorable.  The seller told our realtor that the next door neighbors are a young couple with their first baby, and on the other side a 30 something woman with a dog.  Everyone looks out for everyone else.  And unlike the other house, this one has some room for us to grow.  We could buy a recliner if we want, have space for a cat tower, be able to put the litter box in the utility room instead of a spare bedroom.  We don't have to feel like our feet are in the shower when we are on the toilet... 

We can grow our lives a little without too much space to take care of.  I'm so extremely excited.  

Without further ado:  Pictures!

I can't believe I forgot to take my own picture of the outside....  Photo from realty site.

I also forgot to take a good picture of the awesome deck??

kitchen with new appliances

we have to buy the fridge, pantry on left skinny side and on the right

master bedroom (all the bedrooms (3 total) look basically like this...different window placement

through the door up in the bedroom photo is the master bath

spare bathroom, there is a tub shower with white tile walls, floor is same as master bath

utility room, window looking out to carport, (there's the laminate floor dad)

inside the awesome huge storage shed in the backyard, complete with electricity

So that, for the most part, is our future house!  (Assuming all goes well with everything that has to be done over the next month...)  Trying to be optimistic!

a weekend to find a home

Its here.  The day we are leaving to check out homes in our next city.  The camera bag is packed, the suitcase is packed.  We will leave once I get off work (perhaps a little bit early), and stop about 2/3 of the way there.  Because I really hate driving through the mountains at night.  During the day its fun, but what's the rush?  So we will stop, and then Saturday morning at about 1pm start trying to find our home.

We have a list of about 10 homes to check out this weekend... still not sure how long we are staying... if we figure out what we like pretty quick (with a backup plan in case it falls through), then we might head back to Louisville Sunday.... if not, or if we just want to explore and take it easy, we will be back on Monday.

So what do most of the homes we are looking at have in common?

hardwood floors... or more importantly... limited amounts of carpet.  Some carpet is ok... it really is... but we have 2 cats and have hated having an apartment with nothing but carpet.

cabinet space... or the room to add more.  Our kitchen is overflowing with gadgets and pans.  We want more room.  So for the most part the homes we are looking at either have similar space to what we have now...more room... or have the space to add more... its nice to have a kitchen designer/builder for a father.

the Ranch.  All of the homes we are looking at are of the Ranch style.  I like the idea of everything being on the same floor.  It simplifies things.  And thats how I want to try to make life in our new city... as simple as possible... for having a husband in Gen Surg residency of course...

3bed 2bath.  Because why would we want any smaller than that?  And why would I want to take care of anything bigger?

more space.  Our current apartment is a little over 1200sqf... everything on our list is on average 1500-1600. I want to spread out a little bit.

close.  To the hospital (within 15 minutes usually (at least our online favorites are)).  To the mall.  To anywhere I might want to frequent.... Sonic... Homegoods... Lowes...

established.  All of the homes on our list were built in the 60s and 70s.  I don't like the huge pop-up cheaply made homes that anything is anymore... and I like some trees.  Not the tiny 4 ft tall things that the builder put in to watch grow... and not in the woods... But some real trees in the yard to watch blossom and fall year round... even if it creates extra yard work for me.  Leaves=compost.  Better yet.. these older homes on our list have been updated.

the yard.  Most of the homes on the list are on 1/4 to 1/3 of an acre.  A manageable size for us.. (me).. with enough room to throw in some raised garden beds.

safe.  I used a crime map online to help decide the areas we wanted to look... and had the realtor drive around a couple I wasn't sure about.  And utilized Google street view to check out a few for myself.  Nothing will beat seeing it in person, but this has definitely helped weed out a few.

What I can't completely tell from the photos but hope to end up with.

light.  I want windows.  I want to have sunshine light my days.  I don't want to feel like I'm living in a dungeon.

open spaces.  What I love about our apartment and our parents' homes is that the kitchen opens up to the living area.  We can cook and still talk to our friends... we don't have to feel like we are slaving away alone while everyone enjoys themselves somewhere else... or feel crowded in by everyone standing in the kitchen.

laundry room.  I want a room for this if we can.  Or at least not have the machines behind a closet in a narrow hallway like we do now.  This might be asking too much but I can dream.

So wish us luck.  I've already read all of the horror stories from others about buying a home during residency.  But you aren't stopping us.  Maybe we are idiots... but we are also a medical couple that isn't in debt.  And that helps in our decision.  My husband has no student loans.  The only thing we are in debt for is a small monthly car payment.  He did the military route for med school... so at the end of these 5 years (also a big reason we are buying) we don't have to freak out about selling quickly.  Because our next location there will be either free housing on base or enough of a housing stipend (on top of pay) to cover an apartment. So we can take our time selling... or rent out our house.  We have thought about this a lot.  Maybe we are still naive but we have to learn our own lessons.  So please just wish us luck.  Say a prayer that we find what we are looking for this weekend and it all goes smoothly.  Be happy for us.

Because we are about to live here:

   And this is downtown...

thankful thursday

This Thursday I am thankful for:

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graduation presents.  This one is only indirectly for me... Kyle's family for his graduation present (early) made it possible for him to FINALLY get Lasik.  I've had to listen to him talk about it for years.  And it finally happened.  Like, he is playing a game with sunglasses on right this moment.  He needed it really bad... like his astigmatism was so bad he constantly had to touch his eyes to reposition his contacts to his eyes.  Not a good habit to deal with as a surgeon.  Not at all.  Thank you Kyle's family. 

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travel.  This is it.  This is the weekend we hop house to house in our future city and hope to find our home.  I don't know how I feel about this yet.  Am I just overwhelmed with the whole prospect, or am I actually excited about it, but the idea of being in the car for 7 hours is dampening it?  Not sure yet.  But either way... its here, and this is really Kyle's first chance to really see the city we prayed for...we were only there about 24 hours last time and he spent his whole time in the hospital for the interview.  So I am excited for him to see it, and to get to see even more for myself.  

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good news.  A good friend of mine got some great news for his future career in this country... and I am beyond excited for him and his family.  Sometimes dreams do come true... albeit a little late... but God's timing is perfect and good.  

What are you thankful for this week?

I'm linking up with 

weekend replay : yardsale

The weekend was intense.  My friend Julia let me participate in her yard sale this weekend.  (Part of my project downsize).  It was pretty successful!  I got rid of 4 pieces of patio furniture that I knew I wouldn't want to move with us (a bistro set and a rod iron plant stand).  Several knick knacks, a few jackets, and our comforter set (to be sold in consignment).  Some pretty good progress.  We only took 2 small boxes of stuff to Goodwill afterward!  While my friend did much better monetarily (for her adoption savings woot woot!), I was glad to have the extra almost $100 added to the "renovations" column of our budget and less crap to take with us in 2 months.  These pics are after the "early bird rush"  that occurred 45 minutes before we opened up shop... or you know... woke up.  But we couldn't be too mad, my friend made about 1/3 of her take in that little time frame... from one person.  These people were serious.

Thanks to my family who all helped price, box, transport and unload my share of the stuff.  After the yard sale and Goodwill run, my family all went to the park.  More specifically the park my brother has been doing his internship with to finish his college career.  It did not disappoint.  It is a brand new park in the east end of our city, the first part of a major project.  My brother is really proud of this place and it wasn't hard to see why.  They have done an amazing job there.  It was the perfect way to spend our first nice Spring day.  Unfortunately I was only able to take a few shots with my phone... I brought my camera out with me... but forgot to put the newly charged battery back in it.  :/

End the weekend with not only the men's, but also women's Cardinal basketball teams headed to the championship game... and it was a pretty awesome weekend.  I'm exhausted.. and not sure if I can handle staying up so late to watch the game tonight... Why on earth does it start at 9:23pm?  

Good luck tonight guys!