Weight Off My Mind

We've successfully disappointed some poor souls somewhere by beating them to a house, just as we'd been disappointed a couple of times previously in our one week here. Maybe I'll sleep a little better at night knowing that we have a place to live come March!

Late last week we came across a few two bedroom places (we'd been looking at three bedrooms previously, mainly because all the two bedrooms I'd seen were apartments/condos/townhouses) that we thought might work. Now, remember, we have to have room in the house for a drum set. So, while these locations had only two bedrooms, most of them also had a basement with room for a set. The unfortunate thing about them is that they aren't necessarily any less expensive than the three bedroom places (of course some of them have just as much, if not more, square footage than the three bedroom places). Not only were we seeing several two bedroom places, but they were also in areas that have great schools and are close to work. That's actually been a somewhat difficult combination to come by around here.

We looked at a couple one day and thought both of them would work, but had one we were really interested in seeing scheduled for the next day. I was a little nervous, because what if the third one wasn't as great as it looked/sounded and we ended up losing both of the first two because we hadn't acted right away? (Seriously, stuff moves ridiculously fast here.) Luckily, the third one looked great. The only worry was that, although we were the first to be shown it, it sounded like the owners were going to accept several applications and then make a decision later this week. Thankfully, at some point this afternoon the owner told me that we were first in line, and if we could get the application and first month's rent to him the place would be ours. So we went over to their place after Ryan got home, handed them our application and rent, and signed a lease. I guess they'll check up on us still, but I'm glad they decided they could trust us to have good credit or whatever so that I can be done worrying about the housing situation!

Some awesome perks: the home has been fairly recently remodeled. The kitchen isn't huge (but is comparable with most of what we looked at), but it's got newer appliances, granite countertops, and even a small pantry area. The bathrooms have also been redone - a definite plus considering some of the bathrooms we looked at. The basement is finished as well and there are recently refinished hardwood floors in most of the main floor. The back yard is completely fenced in, has a great patio, an apple tree, and a good amount of lawn for Gareth to play on. Oh, and I definitely don't want to forget that Ryan will be able to bike to work in about a half hour. So awesome.

Olympic Sculpture Park

One cool thing about our temporary housing complex is that it's right across the street from the Olympic Sculpture Park. Gareth and I took a walk there this morning, despite the spritzing rain and wind - sure it's a bit chilly, my ears were pretty cold by the time we got back home, but it's nowhere near as cold as Indiana is right now.

Gareth decided to take a picture of Perre's Ventaglio III by Beverly Pepper:

While I decided to take a picture of Schubert Sonata by Mark di Suvero:

Gareth also enjoyed watching the trains going by and looking out at the Sound, particularly watching the waves crash against the rocks.

Hopefully we'll have a sunny day soon so we can go back and enjoy the park for a little longer - this trip definitely did not use up enough time!

City Mouse or Country Mouse?

I've discovered that I'm a country mouse. Or at least a small town mouse. Definitely not a city mouse. (Gareth watched a SuperWhy episode using that story the day we moved.) I love cities for visiting, but actually living right in them? Not for me. I was doing great on moving day until we were driving in downtown, trying to find our way to our temporary housing. And the crowds and the traffic and all the one-way streets quickly started to irk me, knowing I'd have to put up with it every day for the next several weeks. Your rooms are never completely dark because of all the lights shining right in them. And don't even get me started on the trains that went by around 2 am, ringing their bells or whistles or whatever for several minutes straight. Between that and what sounded like someone vacuuming at 3 am and Gareth getting up and helping us realize that if you turn the door handle to the apartment from the inside, the deadbolt will unlock itself and he'll walk out of the apartment, causing me to toss and turn with worry that he'll leave the apartment and go down the elevator and who knows where during the middle of the night, I didn't have a great first night. I'm sure I'll get used to some of it after a few days (and I finally got up that first night and put a chair in front of the apartment door), but right now I'm just exhausted and trying to battle the usual post-move feelings of "why did we ever come here?!". The discouragement of looking for housing isn't helping things either. Too bad all the interesting jobs are in big cities and not small towns like Somerville or affordable places like Lafayette. I guess I'll have to eventually give up on finding a replica of my hometown and settle for becoming a suburbanite as the next best thing. Hopefully once we find a place to live my glumness will dissipate at the prospect of reuniting with decent knives and a full array of toys for Gareth.

Moving Day Approaches

Moving really is tough on a little kid. At least the last week of prep. before the move is. Most of the month Gareth has been blissfully unaware of the impending move (helped by the fact that we don't have to pack anything ourselves). But we're leaving this weekend, which means the packing and loading and all that is happening this week. And he's having a rough time understanding that Ryan and I really do have to get things other than playing Chutes and Ladders done. The fact that he doesn't want to nap anymore (but probably still needs a nap at least two or three times a week) isn't helping. Hopefully we'll choose wisely the books and toys we bring to temporary housing with us and the transition to a new place will go a little easier than this week. Chutes and Ladders is definitely on the list I'm thinking.

Moving is more exciting to us grown-ups. Still rough on me because I can't pack anything. And since we have nothing packed I keep having dreams about leaving and always wake up feeling anxious because I have yet to pack anything. Silly, I know. I then remind myself a few times that I can't pack anything and that momentarily calms my anxiety. Other than that, we're excited for a new adventure and the chance to explore the Seattle area some more and with greater ease since we will have a car this time around. The not-so-exciting trade-offs: ridiculously expensive housing costs (I almost gave a friend a heart attack the other day when talking about the good rent prices which apparently are at least double her mortgage payment here), more expensive food, and, well, pretty much more expensive everything. Oh, and only seeing the sun an average of 71 days per year. I mean, I enjoy those melancholy grey days and all, but 200 some odd of them might be a bit much, even for my tastes. Other things we're excited for include (but are not limited to): Costco (sooooo much better than Sam's Club!), Trader Joe's (I made my first trip to one over Christmas, but we had other places to get to, so it'll be fun to explore this store I've heard so many good things about), Ryan having a job he'll (hopefully) enjoy, and forty and fifty degree weather. I'm sure we'll discover many more exciting things that will help to outweigh the cloudiness and help us to love our new home. But first we have to make it through this next week!

Just In Time

I've finished another project, and just in time:

A woman in our ward leads a quilting group every semester and this was one of the projects for this semester. I'd been planning on making quilted stockings for our family for some time, so I was excited to have the chance to do it where I'd also have someone hounding me to get it done quickly. And it was a great opportunity to ask my mom for the sewing machine she's been meaning to get for me for a while! (Thanks, Mom!) Another option this semester was to make a tree skirt. Since I won't be around for next semester's class I might just make that my next project - that or a quilt for Gareth's bed.

Crunch Time

My friend Aaron had two paper deadlines recently. This is a picture of his desk:

This is a picture of my friend Aaron:

Enough said.

Tiddlywinks

Gareth has discovered the joy that is Tiddlywinks. He's getting quite good at it.

Yes, he really does get that excited when he get's one in.

Of course, his discovery means that I'm now amazed at the capability of tiddlywinks to apparently vanish into thin air, never to be seen again. But at least someone's enjoying them before they vanish, right?