Tunnelling out of Pile City.

I spent at least 3 hours earlier today figuring out what files needed to go into our suitcases, or into the (new) firebox, and what needed to be shredded. After shredding about 2 hours worth, I finally finished up! Whew!

But then there was this whole box in the basement left over from when I lived in NYC which still had to be dealt with. Fortunately, most of those accounts are already closed, so they were trash - but check out this pile of pay stubs from my time at Limited Brands, from before they converted to E-statements. I will have to shred them one-by-one, because they contain my SSN - AND they are several layers thick, and the paper is so thick that they will certainly jam the shredder otherwise. I've cleared two paper jams from the shredder today already, and i don't want to do it again!!

IMG_1605

IMG_1605, originally uploaded by katie&bas.

June 25 Pics

Link to pics on flickr.

Pile City

It's getting crrraaaaazy around here...

The first couple weeks I was home I kept the place spotless. I'm more like my sister than I thought. :) But then, as my list kept getting longer, even as I was attempting to cross things off - it became clear that there would be no relaxing pool days for me! And as the deal for the house firmed up the piles started.

And now we're in pile city. Since I have to:

1. pack for MT vacation before 7/1
2. prepare items and clothing to go in air shipment 5 days after we return from vacation
3. figure out what will go into our suitcases for final trip to Germany on 7/18
4. get all the documentation together for the closing, scan it and get it to the title company
5. manage getting the rest of the "request to remedy" work done before we leave 7/1
6. vacuum all the rugs
7. mow the lawn before we go on vacation
8. get the laudry done before we go on vacation
9. pack for vacation
10. pick up the dry cleaning
11. polish the silver
12. shred un-needed documents
13. buy a bike and a grill
14. schedule bulk pick-up for old grill
15. re-organize file system, fill firebox and identify documents we hand carry
16. go pick up wedding albums (finally!)
17. go consult with financial advisor regarding 401 (k) rollovers
18. drop off car for body work
19. Go on vacation YAY!
20. Un-pack.
21. Do laundry
22. Pick up medical records.
23. Pay final bills.
24. Organize and separate storage room items for storage vs. Germany shipments.
25. Organize and separate garage items for storage vs. Germany shipments.
26. Label all items in house with post-its directing movers for Storage/Stay/Air Ship/ or Germany.
27. Take pictures of all items in house.
28. Get copies of keys, so I can hand them over and lock the house..
29. Pick up car.
30. Pack for Germany.
31. Close on house.
32. Manage movers.
33. Clean house.
34. Cancel all utilities that can't be done ahead of time.
35. Get to the airport and get out of here!!

And of course this is all with 5 meals and 3 nursings a day for Luna!! Good news is she is finally going down for naps again. (For a whopping 30 minute max!) We'll see what happens when the whole world turns on end for her again!!

Don't get me wrong, I'M NOT COMPLAINING!!! I'm so excited about this, and very happy to be getting this vacation with family. But whew! What a list - and of course I haven't mentioned all the stuff we already got crossed of!!

So anyway - we're in pile city, and it's just going to get worse, especially since I have to make it easy for the movers to know what's going where!

One more - I'm sorry...

BUT read it carefully...


ASKING THE BOMBERS TO TRY AGAIN
By Dick Morris And Eileen McGann
06.23.2008
Published in The New York Post on June 19, 2008.
In an ABC interview on Monday, Sen. Barack Obama urged us to go back to the era of criminal-justice prosecution of terror suspects, citing the successful efforts to imprison those who bombed the World Trade Center in 1993.
It was key to his attack on the Bush administration, which he charged, has “been willing to skirt basic protections that are in our Constitution . . . It is my firm belief that we can crack down on threats against the United States, but we can do so within the constraints of our Constitution. . .

“In previous terrorist attacks - for example, the first attack against the World Trade Center, we were able to arrest those responsible, put them on trial. They are currently in US prisons, incapacitated.”

This is big - because that prosecution, and the ground rules for it, had more to do with our inability to avert 9/11 than any other single factor.

Because we treated the 1993 WTC bombing as simply a crime, our investigation was slow, sluggish and constrained by the need to acquire admissible evidence to convict the terrorists.
As a result, we didn’t know that Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda were responsible for the attack until 1997 - too late for us to grab Osama when Sudan offered to send him to us in 1996. Clinton and National Security Adviser Sandy Berger turned down the offer, saying we had no grounds on which to hold him or to order his kidnapping or death.

Obama’s embrace of the post-’93 approach shows a blindness to the key distinction that has kept us safe since 9/11 - the difference between prosecution and protection.
Pre-9/11, the priority was what it had always been - to identify the guilty, gather evidence to convict and punish them by imprisonment.
Post-9/11, the goal changed - now it’s to identify and frustrate any and all pending terrorist attacks.

Should the effort to stop the attacks lead to arrests and provide enough admissible evidence to incarcerate or deport those responsible, fine. But gathering intelligence - not court-admissible evidence - lies at the core of the mission.
So when we found Jose Padilla - a terrorist planning to build a dirty bomb and explode it in a populated area - we couldn’t prosecute him for his plans. We had the evidence, but it hadn’t come to us in a form that made it admissible in a criminal court. So we prosecuted him on lesser charges of aiding terrorists by providing them with funds and supplies - something for which we had sufficient admissible evidence.

Would Obama require all our investigations to be conducted within the procedural framework needed to bring a criminal prosecution? That would slow our anti-terror efforts - fatally.

It has before. Following Obama’s logic, Attorney General Janet Reno and her deputy, Jamie Gorelick, ruled that evidence seized in an immigration prosecution couldn’t be turned over to intelligence operatives investigating terrorism.

The “Gorelick Wall” barred anti-terror investigators from accessing the computer of Zacarias Moussaoui, the 20th hijacker, already in custody on an immigration violation.
He was taking flying lessons in Minneapolis at the time, so we wondered what he was up to. But we didn’t look at his computer, and find the e-mail addresses and records of fund-transfers to each of the 9/11 hijackers - information that might well have prevented the attacks.

Our constitutional protections are wonderful and shouldn’t be abridged on any account. But the protections in the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments relate to prosecution under criminal law.
Intelligence that doesn’t lead to prosecution isn’t covered. But Obama would cover it anyway. He’d require us all to proceed in the way we had to in the halcyon days after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing - procedures that led us to miss the point of what was going on, to fail to identify the real culprits until it was too late and left us unprepared for future attacks.

Great article I just read...

One would argue that speculation is a necessary and healthy part of our markets, but should it be regulated a bit more?


OIL PRICES: ‘08′S DEFINING ISSUE
By Dick Morris
06.18.2008
Published on TheHill.com on June 17, 2008.
Gas prices are the first important issue in the 2008 elections. But both parties have been pathetic in their solutions and, one suspects, in their understanding of what is going on.
Democrats call for windfall profits taxes. Bad idea. How can you get oil companies to explore and drill if you tax away their profits? Republicans focus on a gas tax “holiday,” an 18-cent palliative to gas prices that now top $4.50.

Fadel Gheit, managing director of oil and gas research for Oppenheimer and Co., and Jim Norman, author of the book The Oil Card, coming out next month, say that speculation is responsible for a huge part of the run-up in prices.
The growing demand for oil by India and China and the instability of oil supplies certainly account for much of the increase. But the recent spike, they say, is equally due to the weakness of the dollar and massive speculation.
They argue that oil prices are, indeed, determined by supply and demand — not only the supply and demand for oil, but also the supply and demand for oil futures. (Oil futures are a commitment to buy 1,000 barrels of oil at a certain date at a certain price.)
Formerly, most of the investments in oil futures came from energy companies. The federal Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sharply limited investments by those outside the business, to prevent precisely the kind of speculation now gripping the market.
But when the stock market slowed down in 2000–2002, outside investors decided to speculate in oil futures.
The new players were institutional investors like corporate and government pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, university endowments and other investors, guided by brokerage firms like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.
To avoid the CFTC caps, these investors moved their operations to London, setting up the International Commodities Exchange. Now they can buy all the oil futures they want.
Michael W. Masters, of Masters Capital Management, told Congress that the volume of investment in commodities futures soared from $13 billion at the end of 2003 to $260 billion by March of 2008.
After a while, the CFTC rescinded its limits on how much speculators could buy as long as they went through special “swap” desks at the major brokerage houses.
You can buy oil futures for only 5 percent down on margin, a bargain considering the 50 percent margin requirement for stock market equity investments. Because the margin requirement on oil futures rises as the due date approaches, few investors actually end up buying the oil; they just roll over their investments.
So the willingness of sellers to unload their oil futures, and of buyers to acquire them, sets up its own market of supply and demand that has more to do with determining the actual price of oil than even the global demand and supply for the product itself.
On May 20 of this year, Masters told Congress: “Commodities futures prices are the benchmark for the prices of actual physical commodities, so when index speculators drive futures prices higher, the effects are felt immediately in spot prices and the real economy. So there is a direct link between commodities futures prices and the prices your constituents are paying for essential goods.”
Gheit and Norman suggest that the CFTC regulate the domestic oil futures market (NYMEX) and the participation of U.S. companies in the ICE, restoring the caps on the amount of oil futures speculators can buy. Gheit also urges raising margin requirements for them.
Both worry that the oil futures bubble is going to burst and cost a lot of investors — particularly pension funds who channel their investments through the swap desks of the brokerage houses. We don’t need another sub-prime or savings-and-loan crisis on our hands right now.
The Senate recently tried to force CFTC regulation of all commodities speculators, but the bill was loaded down with a windfall profits tax, so the Republicans killed it.
John McCain needs to get with this program. In his town hall meeting in New York City last Thursday night, he attacked speculators for driving up oil prices but didn’t propose remedies or really explain the problem.
Americans will pay close attention if he does. For McCain, this is the issue and now is the time to use it.

Wake up America, I love you.

So I'm going off on a bit of a political tangent here, forgive me...

I have heard Barack Obama say that he only wants to raise taxes on the "wealthiest" Americans... those earning over $250,000 a year. Well, I'm going to go ahead and assume that this would also include households which earn that much per year combined. Now that I'm not working, we don't really come close to that, but when I was, we came fairly close! So I've really questioned myself as to whether I feel like I qualify as one of the "wealthiest" families in America - and I can tell you I sure as shoot don't!!

Don't get me wrong, I know that we do better than many, and even most Americans, and I feel very fortunate - but hey, we live in a 2000 SF house in Clintonville! We go out to dinner and take nice vacations, and certainly don't go wanting - but wealthy? I think not! We will scrimp and save for college and retirement just like anyone else. We know we can always put food on the table, but that doesn't mean we don't worry just like everybody else.

So I decided to do some research online about income levels in the US. Here are some interesting things I found...

Household income is a measure of current private income commonly used by the United States government and private institutions. To measure the income of a household, the pre-tax money receipts of all residents over the age of 15 are combined.

In 2006, the median annual household income was $48,201.00 according to the Census Bureau.[

In 2005, there were approximately 113,146,000 households in the United States. 19.01% of all households had annual incomes exceeding $100,000.

The aggregate income distribution is highly concentrated towards the top, with the top 6.37% earning roughly one third of all income, and those with upper-middle incomes control a large, though declining, share of the total earned income.[

Households in the top quintile, 77% of which had two income earners, had incomes exceeding $40,705.


SO my first big takeaway - that Bas and I learned about when we filed our taxes this year anyway - was that 77% of the top quintile have two wage earners - and they will be hurt by this. So I would guess that around 77% of people earning 250k or more are from two-income families, too. So Obama wants to raise the taxes on couples essentially like Bas and I - or close to it - before I stopped working. Bas and I both worked hard in high-school and college to achieve what we did, we had parents who sacrificed for us in order to get us to school - and then when we went out into the workforce we busted our butts to get where we are. And yet according to Obama, we should be penalized for this.

The second thing that struck me about these statistics was that 6.37% earn a third of our annual income. A THIRD! So if Barack really wanted to go after the wealthy - why not just restrict it to that THIRD!! And that's only if this money is that he is trying to raise really goes towards the betterment of our country and not towards government sponsored hand-outs and programs that we don't need.

The third thing that bothered me was that those with "upper-middle" incomes are controlling a declining share of earned income! What does that tell us? That our 30% tax bracket is already too high! If we make so much more money than the rest of the country, why not leave a little more in our pocket, so that we have more buying power, so that we can get more of the lower income tax bracket folks employed!! But Obama would prefer to just take our money, give it the poor through health care or new programs, and thus motivate them less to go out and work hard for themselves.

I can tell you one thing - America needs to wake up and realize that this country can't AFFORD BARACK OBAMA AS PRESIDENT. If we're all so worried about (what I strongly just believe is just a down cycle in) OUR ECONOMY, and $4 gasoline - then Barack Obama is not the answer!!

And this is going to sound completely callous and crass, but if he is elected I will understand why. The majority of our populations is so stupid and mis-informed that they actually can't think for themselves. (Sorry, I told you that would not be nice.) Wake up America, I love you.

This is the house I'm hoping that we can build.

We will have to see how much it all adds up to, buying land, etc. And of course we will look around, and I may end up changing my mind, but from here, this is the best one I've seen in our price range. There was another one that had an actual real walk-in closet, but the living space on the first floor wasn't as nice. We would probably add a basement, so the room that is pictured in the floor plan as a wash room would probably be an office instead. There would also be a rec room in the basement, and a storage room. We could probably use the smallest bedroom on the second floor as a closet, or eliminate a wall, make the parents bedroom bigger, and add a closet. We'll see. (And I don't think we'll go with pink, I'm sure we can pick a different stucco color!)

2008 edition of getting to know your friends!

Subject: 2008 edition of getting to know your friends!
Welcome to the new 2008 edition of getting to know your friends! Here is what you are supposed to do, and try not to be lame and spoil the fun. Change all the answers so that they apply to you. Then send this to a bunch of people you know, INCLUDING the person who sent it to you. Some of you may get this several times; that means you have lots of friends. The easiest way to do it is to copy this into a new email and change the answers. Have fun and be truthful!

1. What is your occupation? wife, mom - previously fashion designer, technical designer and business analyst

2. What color are your socks right now? they're all the same color they were yesterday.

3. What is your favorite dessert? cherry pie - only started liking it when I was preggo, still love it!

4. What was the last thing you ate? oatmeal, about to eat a clementine

5. Can you drive a stick shift? yes - and I still do!

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Laura Ott

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? she's my sister, I adore her!

8. How old are you today? 24 (plus 10 in years but not in spirit!)

9. What is your favorite sport to watch? college football - Go Bucks!

10. What is your favorite drink? diet coke and miller lite

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? not really other than some pink and blue streaks in high school!

12. Last time you hugged your child? half an hour ago

13. Favorite food? filet mignon - served oscar style

14 Last movie you watched? i have no idea.

15. Favorite day of the year? Easter

16. How do you vent anger? Talk!!

17. What was your favorite toy as a child? the doll house my parents made for me

18. What is your favorite season? all of them. each one has it's special beauty

19.Ocean or pool? ocean

20. Cherries or Blueberries? neither - I don't like most berries, haven't since I was a kid

21. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? if they want to.

22. Who is the most likely to respond? Angela

23. Who is least likely to respond? someone who doesn't get an email from me!

24. Living arrangements? happily married but separated until we move out of this house!

25. What's your favorite - sunny or rainy? love sunny, but there's something special and snuggly about an occasional rainy day

26. What is on the floor of your closet? shoes, shoes, shoes and more shoes

27. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? Laura

28. What did you do last night? talked to neighbors and on the phone

29. Hawaii or Florida ? Florida

30. What inspires you? almost anything I read, good movies, broadway performances, classical music - and family and friends

31. What are you most afraid of? Luna getting hurt.

32. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? cheese

33. Favorite dog breed? standard poodles

34. Favorite day of the week? Sunday

35.How many states have you lived in? arizona, oklahoma, north carolina, virginia, new york, massachusetts, kansas, pennsylvania, maryland, south carolina, ohio, new york - that's 12.

The end!!

New (and funny) Video!

Oberammergau Passion Play

I was looking at a guide book I bought yesterday, and realized that we will most likely be in Germany in 2010, which is when Oberammergau will be doing there passion play again!

For those of you who don't know, or don't remember... In 1633 the townspeople of Oberammergau promised to reenact the life of Christ every decade in the year ending in zero, forever. The plague ended, and the original performance was done in a field in 1634. Since then it has become a much bigger deal and lasts 5 1/2 hours, but the town has remained constant in its sincerity to the pledge and the entire town participates.

We'll have a 3 year old, and who knows, maybe even another baby - but I would really like to go, even if we are only able to see parts of it!

http://www.passionsspiele2000.de/

Temp Housing in Germany

Here's a link to the website which has pictures of the house we will be staying in Germany until we find a place to live permanently.

http://www.fewo-hofermages.de

It looks pretty decent. Not particularly my style per se, but it's big, it has 3 bedrooms, looks like it has internet, and it has a washing machine - not sure about a dryer!

my Dad "at work"

He's even still wearing one of his work gloves...

June 17th...

Whole Foods:

So I have been very aware of my nutrition and Luna's nutrition since I have been home. I really want to make sure that we are both getting the recommended daily amounts of fruits, vegetables, dairy, meats and grain. And since Luna will be getting mainly table foods soon, I would really like to just take whatever Bas and I are eating and put it in the blender for her. So, I have been looking carefully at nutrition and the rules on when babies can eat what, etc. I also want to make sure that Bas and I are eating fish at least 3 times a week. Luna won't be able to do that for a while, especially since my favorite fish are shellfish, but we'll find an easy alternate for her on those nights.

I think the biggest impact you can have on your diet is to eat "whole foods" and that means the least processing possible. Reduce preservatives and chemicals by just buying the original ingredient yourself. That means, actually quite simple and easy to prepare meals in most cases. Instead of canned this, and jarred foods that- combined with boxed concoctions - we buy steak or fish and eat it with a steamed vegetable. For lunch I have sliced fruit, and eggs and some nuts. As far as I am concerned the grill is the best invention ever. Now don't get me wrong, every now and then I make lasagna or a frozen pizza - but now that I'm home I'm finding it easier than ever to eat really well, and I'm really happy about it!

So anyway - this brings me to my point!! I found a GREAT website, which not only provides detailed nutritional value on foods, but it also has a list of the most nutritional foods (129 of them). And in it's description of each food, it also even lists the best compliments for that food item. It also has the best ways to prepare each food: boiling, broiling, baking, frying, steaming, etc. SO I was eating a filet tonight for dinner - and with all of the flack that beef gets lately I wanted to see what it had to say. Turns out that filets are part of the tenderloin, which is fairly lean, and so actually very good for you. But it even recommends what vegetables to serve with beef to get the maximum impact of it's nutrients! Check it out...

here's the article on beef:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=141

and here's the list of the top 129 foods:
http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php

Dutch Team:

for anybody who didn't know the Dutch team is doing very well in the European play-offs this year, so to help support their spirit (and at Bas's request) I am adding a widget of Luna showing her support:


And on a lighter note:
I caught an inch worm out on the back porch last night when I was grilling my dinner. Pretty cool little animal.

The Move!

I will have the packers create a box in the kitchen labeled "open 1st!" which will contain:

a few dishes
a few glasses
some flatware
can opener
wine opener :)
zip-lock bags
garbage bags
paper towels
dish soap
dish rags

My favorite summer salad (super easy)

so my mom asked about my favorite salad that I mentioned in the June 11th post...

I fell in love with wedge salads last year when I was pregnant. But this year I've made them even easier to make (not that they're not easy to make as an original wedge.)

Either get iceburg heads and slice them into wedges or get bagged iceburg (my newest development) either way, they last well, and are quick and easy to prepare!

Shaved parmesian ( alternate ingredient would be blue cheese) - I find a container of shaved parmesian lasts at least a week for me alone.

Crumbled bacon bits - I get Hormel Real Crumbled Bacon 50% less fat -lasts several weeks.

Tomato - dice em up. (not lately, I threw them all awy due to the salmonella outbreak.)

Then add dressing - I prefer buttermilk ranch (butermilk is good for you) but blue cheese or any white creamy dressing will do.

So using bagged iceburg has really sped it up for me this year - so it's speedy and fast, and th eingredients are easy to keep on hand.

updates...

so yesterday i had 3 roofers over and 2 electricians. turns out we're going to be able to do most of what they want done - so we're just going to do it to make sure it doesn't fall through!

we paid off the car yesterday, so that we will have the title for shipping it to Europe.

i called usaa today to put in a claim for the damage on my car (from two accidents - years ago!!) We will get that fixed with one deductible before we go.

i also found out from them that they can cover us while we're in Germany, at least on auto. Assuming that it will still be better than market rates there, too.

the moving company came out to do an estimate for us. He confirmed that we can include everything I wanted to in the air and storage shipments, and told me that they have their own storage facility, and the price will be right around the $200 per month that Adidas will be covering for us. we want to air ship:

crib
changing table
high chair
diaper pail
clothes toys
car seat base
baby bath

and he said he thought that would only amount to 250-300 lbs. We're allowed 500, so we should be able to do alot of toys and clothes. That is good, because if decide to build in Germany, we may have to wait a while (5 months).

We're thinking pack teh house on the 14th and 15th of July moving out on Wednesday the 16th, which gives us one more day to clean the house.

Ohio Ecoli outbreak...

So I heard on the radio today that we officially have an Ecoli outbreak here in central Columbus. They even cited that it began with a "Gahanna Woman" who died in late May. That was my friend and co-worker Nancy Edgar, who's funeral I attended just a couple weeks ago. Apparently, now it has affected other people as well, and they are trying to find the source. I think they said that there has been 11 other cases.

I have been making my latest favorite salad with bagged lettuce. I think I may go buy a salad spinner, so that I can wash and dry it well - I'll admit it - when it comes pre-cut and in a bag, I don't clean it. I have no idea whether that is what this is related to - but, I will certainly be more careful in the future!

I believe Nancy was 52. She had a husband and sone of 17, who was just about to graduate from high school. Below is her obit.

http://columbus.backpage.com/Events/edgar_nancy_e_edgar_age_52_passed_away_after_a_/classifieds/ViewAd?oid=549964

Luna's new tricks...

She's figured out how to flush the toilet.

She knows how to flip a light switch.

She can stand on her own for 30 seconds to a minute.

She'll crawl up one step.

She's climbing up on top of things that are 12 - 14 inches.

She knows that she can fall off of things with edges (the bed, stairs, etc.) doesn't mean I don't watch her like a mama hawk, but she knows she can fall.

Life as a (dare I say it?) "homemaker"...

uchh, i hate that term. For some reason, stay-at-home-mom is more acceptable to me, I don't know why. Maybe because "homemaker" seems like some kind of new monicher the politically correct have decided makes staying at home with your children somehow more respectable - whatever... I'm a mom and I stay at home.

so this post may seem down, but I want to make sure that no one mistakes it be so. I am SO happy to be home with Luna. It is awesome to spend every day with her. She is amazing, and SO adorable. She changes so much every day, and I feel so priveledged to be able to take care of her myself and see her grow and change. But we are still exploring this new experience together. She has been adjusting well. She is eating better then she was in daycare, and the separation anxiety that she was exhibiting when we took her out of daycare is starting to subside. She is definitely learning that we are now home together and that I'm not leaving anymore!! Awesome.

But today was a challenge. I don't know why per say - I mean we're half way into our second full week of our adjustment, which isn't that long, but I have definitely felt the change at times. I guess it has to do with the added stress of selling the house and the home inspection that's going on and everything, but I got up this morning at our regular time, then we started our normal routine. SO far our normal routine hasn't afforded me a shower since Saturday. Don't get me wrong, its not that I didn't want one - but, I just havn't figured out how to get it done. I have managed to wash my hair in the sink, and my face and do a "cat-bath" every day - but not today. I had to call a ton of contractors and was just trying to stay on top of making sure that we get this house sold. So it was noon before I knew it and time to feed us both again. Between all the phone calls and making sure that Luna was stimulated, happy and fed it was 2pm before I had actually eaten a fullfilling, whole lunch! And I'm used to getting my mid-day at 11:30... lesson learned - GRAZE.

So then we tried to head off to the park - Luna was getting stir crazy, before heading to th egrocery store for more baby food (lack of good planning on my part,)and once we got thereand swinged for a while I realized that Luna was VERY poopy and I didn't have a diaper bag!! So off to home we went, and then she was ready for her afternoon feeding ofcourse - just delaying the inevitable trip to the store...

anyway - to make a long story short, we got it all done, and had a good dinner, both of us. We even managed to have a nice walk after dinner and then get a good bed-time for Luna. But after she went to bed I put away the laundry, swept the kitchen floor, finished the dishes, FINALLY took a shower and went over to my new neighbor's house to help her close her garage door (she's at least 80 years old, and has no car in the garage at present and just moved in today, so I didnt want her to leave it open all night and signal to any bad guy around that no one was home.)

So whatever - it's mundane, very mundane. But for some reason, when I was sweeping the kitchen floor, after all of that, I had a selfish thought something like "I can't believe that I have the education that I do, and the experiences that I have, and I am going to spend my time sweeping my floor like this, over and over again."

Again, don't get me wrong - this is what I want. And I am so thankful for the priveledge. But I AM adjusting!! And then all of a sudden it came to me, through grace - this is a sacrifice. I am making a sacrifice for my child. What better reason? And I thought about sacrifice and what that means to me. About our Father and his sacrifice for us, and what that means to each of us. I couldn't be happier to make sacrifices for Luna and Bas, and our life together. I know that this time with Luna and Bas is precious. When older women come up to us at the grocery store and adore her, I recognize that they miss this time in their own lives, and would say that it was the best years of their life. And I will treasure it. I think of Mary and that one verse about how she treasured all these things in her heart. And it was worth it. It will always be worth it.

Isn't it wonderful that we have LOVE in this world?

From I can has cheezburger...

more cat pictures

Luna's new stroller...

I love it. It's only 8.6 lbs. Folds up like an umbrella stroller, and is so much easier to push around than the big old jogger we have that goes with the carseat. Since she'll be in a big girl car seat soon, I though we should go ahead and get her new stroller that's easier to cart around. We'll keep the jogger for walks in the park, etc, but this one is easier for shopping, and what not. AND we'll be able to take it onto the plane at the Amsterdam airport! (Last time we we were there they made us check our stroller at the ticketing counter because they don't do gate checks there - I was so happy I wasn't alone!!

Request to Remedy...

so we got the request to remedy from the buyers agent today. Good news is that we don't have radon!! We have open drains in the basement, so I was worried. Radon is a gas ocurring naturally in the ground, and any open drains (which we have) or sump pumps can let radon into the house. It made me happy, especially since we spend so much time in the family room in the basement!

But - they do have a laundry list of things that they want done... plumber - water damage issues, electrician issues - including old knob and tube wiring and a lack of grounded receptacles and GFCIs, they said the vents in the roof ridge line weren't big enough, and wanted a roofer to repair it, and the drains out to the street from the gutters were clogged and needed to be repaired / replaced. So the major items are probably the roof and the drains, but after calling the buyer's agent, we think they can compromise on snaking the drains, instead of replacement and having a handy man deal with the ridge line may be adequate, instead of a roofer - he said they were willing to compromise.

Their inspector also noticed water damage along the wall in the basement (which we knew about - I mean th ehouse is 83 years old - but cited a potential continuos drip in either the basement or kitchen sink as the issue. Which is toatlly wrong. We've had enough wall repair issues to know that it's the chimney that is the issue and the mastic on the flashing at the roof is what needs to be repaired. So, we're going to go back to them with that and have a handyman do it. Much less $$$ than a roofer.

The inspector also said that the air conditioner ran continuously while he was here and reccomended having a HVAC person come do a repair, cleaning and inspection and potentially refill the freon. And the inspection was done last Friday when it was 92 degrees, and he was here in the afternoon. I mean c'mon!!

So anyway, we have 4 days to get estimates done, and then decide what we will go back to them with. We don't have to do it all - just make them happy. The buyer's agent said that they are willing to compromise, so I'm sure that we'll be able to make it work!

Life is finite...

so...

here is life as a "new" stay at home mom:

6 - 7 am: wake up, Luna needs to eat.
nurse Luna

7 - 8 am: wake up and head downstairs.

8 - 9 am: give Luna breakfast, and feed yourself.

9 - 10 am. Luna plays, mom does dishes, checks email, etc.

10 - 11 am, Luna gets a diaper change, the bed gets made, mom washes her hair, etc.

11 am ( no later) mom nurses Luna.

11:30 - mom figures out whether she should go to pool or what, while calling all th epeople on her list of to-do's.

12:05 - pool is already full. Mom goes home tofeed baby and self.

1:30 - mom goes to Target to get stuff we need.

3:30 - baby is ready to eat, mom is not home yet.

4:00 - baby eats, but does not sleep.

5:00 - mom goes to local grocery and gets scallops and meat. YUM.

6:00 - Luna awakes, and eats good dinner - LOTS of food.

7:00 - mom eats, and feels good.

7:30 - we go talk to th neighbors...

8:00 - bedtime!!

9:00 - mom does dishes, and whatever else is left to do, laundry, etc!!

New Toys

No news on the home inspection...

Everybody is asking me about this, so I decided to post it here. As far as I know the inspection went well on Friday, but the radon test thathey are doing is still going on. They left a monitor in our basement and are picking it up today or tomorrow, I don't even know. But I'm sure that they are waiting until that is complete to get back to us. I will post news as soon as we have any!!

No pool today...AGAIN.

So for the second day in a row I turned around after packing up and heading up to the pool. It's 94 degrees here in Columbus the last few days, so it's a popular destination. I got there at 12:20 yesterday - 20 minutes after it opened. And almost all the chairs were gone already. SO I just went home. I figured with it being the weekend yesterday, it would be better today. SO today I made sure to get there early and arrived at 12:05. There were lots of chairs left, but there were about 30 people standing line outside. Well, I wasn't going to load up with Luna and all of our stuff and go stand in line. And I figured once all those people got in, there wouldn't be many chairs left either... I was bummed but oh well. I hope the situation gets better, because it's teh best way for both of us to get outside during the day. The deck is just very dirty for Luna to crawl around on!!

Yesterday...

It was really cute... I had an egg timer going for my dinner which was in the oven, and when it went off Luna turned around and looked at the phone!! Our kitchen phone is one of those retro style wall phones that has the old-school ring, so they do sound really similar!

Luna and the Pansies

June 5th

We're hangin' out this afternoon while the handyman repairs the dining room wall / ceiling. It stopped raining here, so no more water in basement!!

From dlisted...

INSANITY.

The Inspection will be Friday at 1:30.

I managed to get a foundation specialist to come today or tomorrow to give me an estimate for the whole on the side of the screen porch. He thought he could get it fixed before Friday, and that it wouldn't be too expensive. My handyman just had carpal tunnel surgery, but he thought he might be able to be up to the rest of the work we need done on Thursday. That includes some wall repair in the dining room, clean out the gutters, and replace the flashing around the chimney (which is why the wall needs to be repaired!) So hopefully that all gets done. Gloria, our relator told me that if he can't make it here on Thursday she will come over and help me at least get the wall repair done. So I'll definitely be praying about the inspection!!

Took a walk in the park this a.m.

New Pics

Click here to see the rest of the set.

We're in contract!

They accepted our counter offer. They just wanted the mirror above the fireplace (!?!) Of all things. I don't love to part with it - but it's just a THING! I got it a BBW sample sale for $50, so there's no way we can replace it for that cost - but who cares. We probably won't have a fireplace like this again while we're in Europe anyway.

I was joking with Bas about how it feels strange to have someone "pilfer" your belongings - you know we already agreed to give them the bookshelves in the basement, and the wicker furniture on the screen porch - and I said, maybe we should see if they want the family portraits, too? But whatever, like I said - it's just stuff - and we're happy to have this load lifted off our shoulders.

I have had faith all along that it would happen, but, I am grateful to know that we will be saving the time and cost to make it happen that much sooner.

So just pray that we don't have issues with the inspection!!

We got another offer on the house!

It's low - but about what the other people were trying to get us to do AND more importantly, there is no home sale contingency! We counter-offered today, and split the difference between their offer and our asking price. We asked for a closing date of 7/14 - which would mean we don't have to make a house payment in July, and it would allow us to schedule the movers the following week (we would retain possession until 7/19.) That way we could do everything after we get back from our trip to MT.

So hopefully this will work out. At this point Bas and I don't care if we take a little bit of a loss - we just don't want to drag it out forever!!

The weather was great here today!