As it's the last day of February, I give you 28 things that happened in the last little while (in no particular order):
1. Logan is 100%% potty trained. Even at night. Sooo glad that battle is over.
2. Kaylee is in the 10th percentile for height and weight. She's tiny.
3. Kaylee recently became obsessed with Baby Einstein. Took her long enough.
4. "Man vs. Food" came to Seattle recently. We now have 4 new restaurants we HAVE to go to.
5. St. Patty's Day is coming up, so I changed the blog background.
6. St. Patty's Day is coming up, I am excited for Shamrock Shakes.
7. My besty, Dani, got a new KitchenAid mixer. Equally as exciting for me as I already reaped the benefits of some delicious cookies.
8. My sister-in-law Liz is getting married on Saturday! She is wonderful and I hope her special day is everything she is hoping for. And I'm sad we won't be there.
9. It snowed here and stuck around for 4 whole days. Which I'm told is unusual. *crosses fingers*
10. We got our hefty tax refund!!!!!
11. In lieu of #10, Zac got me my very own Asus Netbook!!!!!!!!!! This deserves its own post.
12. I've been watching Desperate Housewives on Netflix and am a few episodes into season 3. It is sinfully delightful.
13. Logan went to a soccer clinic last weekend and learned a little bit about playing soccer.
14. I am looking into summer soccer programs for and 4 year olds.
15. I've been video chatting with some good friends as of late, now that I have my own computer with built-in camera.
16. Logan helped Kaylee out of her crib this morning and then they both came in and woke me up. Not sure how I feel about that.
17. I've been making friends in my ward, which has been good for me and good for Logan, as most of them have kids his age.
18. I finally got around to reading "Enna Burning," the second book in Shanon Hale's "Goose Girl" series. It was really good.
19. Still not sure how I feel about my bangs. Some days they look great and I like them so much better than no bangs at all, but then by the end of the day, I can't stand them and clip 'em back.
20. We've been taking long (like 2 hour long) walks as a family down by the lake. I mean, before it got cold and snowed.
21. It's been surprisingly difficult to find apartment manager jobs to apply for. Which is odd because we were applying to 3 or 4 a week before we moved here. I guess it's all in the timing.
22. My writer's group is still going strong, and they gave me some insights as to where my story line needs to go.
23. Zac has a job interview on Friday with a HUGE company. *crosses fingers again*
24. We are trying to plan a trip to Oregon again, but not sure when it will be convenient. But we miss family.
25. If everything works out with this job interview, we will be looking at apartments in and around Kirkland, Washington. EXCITING!
26. I've really already been browsing apartments online. It's kind of overwhelming when you expand your budget and know exactly what you can afford. Even without an apartment managing job. So many options...
27. I'm due for a cell phone upgrade. I really wanted the new iPhone, but now that I have my Netbook, I don't know if that's a necessity now. I'm sure there are cheaper options.
28. I'm still in love with Seattle and hope we can make it work here...it's hard to be so far away from family, but it's hard to think about leaving a place I've started to fall in love with. Just everything about it is so...well, Seattle. It's beautiful, culturally diverse (but not in a scary way...haha), it's exciting, it's where Grey's Anatomy takes place...the list goes on.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Sunday Snapshot...
Snuggling with Daddy on a Sunday afternoon. Can life get any better? I submit that it can not.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
The Curious Case Of The Southpaw...
I'm not sure if I've mentioned this yet or not, but my baby is a lefty. One hundred percent. Here's the proof. Is it genetic? I know my aunt and cousin are lefties...but I find it rather curious. Sweet, but curious.
How Do We Do New York? Let Me Count The Ways...
We do New York with Birthdays:
By rocking out in the car with Uncles:
In (indoor) pools with Grandma and Aunt Madi:
Finding plenty of uses for fuzzy blankets:
By rocking out in the car with Uncles:
In (indoor) pools with Grandma and Aunt Madi:
Finding plenty of uses for fuzzy blankets:
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Thursday's Random Thoughts...
On "Video Blogging..."
I have a few friends who, as of late, have started "video blogging." Instead of writing a post, they just video themselves and post the video. My first thought was "Hey that's a neat idea. And so easy to do...just talk and post." And then when I played out in my mind how it would go, my second thought was more like, "Duuuurrrrr...I wouldn't know what to say. I'm a writer, after all."
On Messes...
My brother-in-law, Remington, got a package in the mail yesterday. A large package. Full of packing peanuts. This happened:
At first, I was about to shriek, "STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" But when I realized the damage was already done, playing commenced. Followed by clean-up. Lots and lots of clean-up.
On Illnesses...
We have all been sick or otherwise afflicted since visiting New York. My back has been killing me. K and Logan have had terrible colds and coughs. Logan's turned into an ear infection for which he is now on antibiotics. Zac had some terrible stomach pain which he is guessing might be a kidney stone. Yet we are still having a good time and managing to not be too grumpy about it all.
On Wearing Pants...
I do. My daughter prefers not to. Any chance she gets as of late, she takes her pants off. Most notably, when we were out to dinner at the Villager with my parents the other night. Or maybe when she was walking around on Grandma's kitchen table. Or at the florist's on Tuesday. Or while I was posting this (see below). The list goes on.
On Bangs...
I have them now. I haven't had bangs since I was in 3rd grade. That year was the year Stephanie Hayes grew hers out, so I did, too. But the other night, my sisters-in-law and I got a little crazy. We went to Sally's Beauty Supply, bought hair dye, and had a night of hair fun. My hair is now about 4 shades darker, 3 inches shorter, and I have bangs. Still not sure how I feel about them. One minute I love them, the next minute I don't know what to do with them so I clip them back. There is a picture on facebook if you're curious.
I have a few friends who, as of late, have started "video blogging." Instead of writing a post, they just video themselves and post the video. My first thought was "Hey that's a neat idea. And so easy to do...just talk and post." And then when I played out in my mind how it would go, my second thought was more like, "Duuuurrrrr...I wouldn't know what to say. I'm a writer, after all."
On Messes...
My brother-in-law, Remington, got a package in the mail yesterday. A large package. Full of packing peanuts. This happened:
At first, I was about to shriek, "STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" But when I realized the damage was already done, playing commenced. Followed by clean-up. Lots and lots of clean-up.
On Illnesses...
We have all been sick or otherwise afflicted since visiting New York. My back has been killing me. K and Logan have had terrible colds and coughs. Logan's turned into an ear infection for which he is now on antibiotics. Zac had some terrible stomach pain which he is guessing might be a kidney stone. Yet we are still having a good time and managing to not be too grumpy about it all.
On Wearing Pants...
I do. My daughter prefers not to. Any chance she gets as of late, she takes her pants off. Most notably, when we were out to dinner at the Villager with my parents the other night. Or maybe when she was walking around on Grandma's kitchen table. Or at the florist's on Tuesday. Or while I was posting this (see below). The list goes on.
On Bangs...
I have them now. I haven't had bangs since I was in 3rd grade. That year was the year Stephanie Hayes grew hers out, so I did, too. But the other night, my sisters-in-law and I got a little crazy. We went to Sally's Beauty Supply, bought hair dye, and had a night of hair fun. My hair is now about 4 shades darker, 3 inches shorter, and I have bangs. Still not sure how I feel about them. One minute I love them, the next minute I don't know what to do with them so I clip them back. There is a picture on facebook if you're curious.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Ooohh, Shiny...
I like sparkly, shiny things. If you know me, you should know that by now. So I changed the blog background again. I certainly like this one. In other news, 2011 hasn't been awful yet. Great, no. But not awful either.
We have had some rather spectacular weather here in the northwest the last few days. It's been 50 and sunny all day. So Saturday, we decided to go be all touristy and roam around Elliott Bay and Pike Place Market. Little did we know it would be so dead on New Year's Day, but it was still fun. We even had fish and chips right on the water. We will definitely be going back when it gets warmer again.
We have had some rather spectacular weather here in the northwest the last few days. It's been 50 and sunny all day. So Saturday, we decided to go be all touristy and roam around Elliott Bay and Pike Place Market. Little did we know it would be so dead on New Year's Day, but it was still fun. We even had fish and chips right on the water. We will definitely be going back when it gets warmer again.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Auld Lang Syne...
I don't want this post to sound whiny, but it does. And I'm not looking for support or reassurance, I simply want to be able to reflect on this last year the way I do the first half of 2006...as a basis of comparison, and to remind myself of the low points and that things can only get better. You see, 2010 hasn't been good to us. In fact, 2010 has pretty much sucked. Looking back over the last year in blog posts, the few good things that happened can easily be seen in a negative light.
Like me getting a job and earning more money = hating my job, being tired and stressed all the time, and feeling guilty for the rest of my life that I was away from my kids so much for 9 long months.
Or like us getting the mini van = more car repairs than I care to think about.
Trip to LA = cost us a lot of money and didn't yield any results for jobs or even contacts for Zac.
Moving to Seattle and living with the Williams' = not having any friends or job offers and feeling like I'm in the way all the time.
See what I mean? I hate to be such a Debbie Downer about it all, but it's been rough. And that was the "good stuff" that happened. Forget all of the other crap that I don't want to go into detail about. Unemployment, deaths, fighting, unemployment, debt, computers breaking, did I mention unemployment? This year has pretty much been comparable to our first six months of marriage which were probably the worst six months of my life (not because of being married, mind you, but because of all of the other awful things that happened to me in those six months...deaths, unemployment, severe anemia, school issues, etc...all that other crap that I don't wish to think about).
So yeah. Here's to hoping for a better and brighter 2011.
And speaking of bright, here are some pictures of my beautiful kids in the bright sunshine. (These were taken a few weeks after moving to Seattle at our new favorite park that is right down the road.)
We'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
Like me getting a job and earning more money = hating my job, being tired and stressed all the time, and feeling guilty for the rest of my life that I was away from my kids so much for 9 long months.
Or like us getting the mini van = more car repairs than I care to think about.
Trip to LA = cost us a lot of money and didn't yield any results for jobs or even contacts for Zac.
Moving to Seattle and living with the Williams' = not having any friends or job offers and feeling like I'm in the way all the time.
See what I mean? I hate to be such a Debbie Downer about it all, but it's been rough. And that was the "good stuff" that happened. Forget all of the other crap that I don't want to go into detail about. Unemployment, deaths, fighting, unemployment, debt, computers breaking, did I mention unemployment? This year has pretty much been comparable to our first six months of marriage which were probably the worst six months of my life (not because of being married, mind you, but because of all of the other awful things that happened to me in those six months...deaths, unemployment, severe anemia, school issues, etc...all that other crap that I don't wish to think about).
So yeah. Here's to hoping for a better and brighter 2011.
And speaking of bright, here are some pictures of my beautiful kids in the bright sunshine. (These were taken a few weeks after moving to Seattle at our new favorite park that is right down the road.)
We'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
Belated Christmas Post...
So I tried taking pictures of the kids in order to send out Christmas cards this ear...then Zac's card reader wasn't working so I couldn't upload the pictures. And I didn't get a single decent picture of the kids together anyways, so whatever. But, these are some cute ones that did turn out and deserve recognition somewhere.
The girl:
The silly boy:
Christmas was great. Do I have pictures? No, because we were too busy web chatting all day with my parents, Zac's parents, and Zac's brothers and I just didn't take any pictures. Fail. I know. However, I feel it is safe to say that the kids LOVED every one of their presents...from shoes to games to toys to clothes, they couldn't be happier. Among Logan's favorites: the full-sized Buzz Lightyear ("Butt Laser," as he pronounces it), a wooden train set from Ikea, his new sneakers from my parents, and his fire-breathing dragon from Zac's parents. Kaylee LOVES her pink sneakers from my parents (she tries to put them on every chance she gets), her Little People dolls which seem to make the bath WAY more fun, her baby doll and bottle she got from us, and the stuffed puppy from Ikea that she got from us. She says "puppy" like "Ba-boo" for some reason and she sleeps with that puppy all the time. Bedtime and naptime have gotten much calmer...as long as she has her Ba-boo, she just snuggles it, rolls over, and goes to sleep.
I scored some good stuff...I am really falling in love with my faux fur pom pom slippers from Old Navy from Zac's mom. They are adorable and toasty warm. I also love the earrings my parents got for Kaylee, even though they aren't my gift. There are 3 pairs of 14K gold earrings...pink CZ, butterflies, and gold balls. They have safety backs which twist on and are rounded caps so the earring post doesn't poke her. They are beautiful!
So, we had a good Christmas. Not a white one, but a good one.
The girl:
The silly boy:
Christmas was great. Do I have pictures? No, because we were too busy web chatting all day with my parents, Zac's parents, and Zac's brothers and I just didn't take any pictures. Fail. I know. However, I feel it is safe to say that the kids LOVED every one of their presents...from shoes to games to toys to clothes, they couldn't be happier. Among Logan's favorites: the full-sized Buzz Lightyear ("Butt Laser," as he pronounces it), a wooden train set from Ikea, his new sneakers from my parents, and his fire-breathing dragon from Zac's parents. Kaylee LOVES her pink sneakers from my parents (she tries to put them on every chance she gets), her Little People dolls which seem to make the bath WAY more fun, her baby doll and bottle she got from us, and the stuffed puppy from Ikea that she got from us. She says "puppy" like "Ba-boo" for some reason and she sleeps with that puppy all the time. Bedtime and naptime have gotten much calmer...as long as she has her Ba-boo, she just snuggles it, rolls over, and goes to sleep.
I scored some good stuff...I am really falling in love with my faux fur pom pom slippers from Old Navy from Zac's mom. They are adorable and toasty warm. I also love the earrings my parents got for Kaylee, even though they aren't my gift. There are 3 pairs of 14K gold earrings...pink CZ, butterflies, and gold balls. They have safety backs which twist on and are rounded caps so the earring post doesn't poke her. They are beautiful!
So, we had a good Christmas. Not a white one, but a good one.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
All I Want For Christmas...
Well, not really ALL I want. But if you are wanting to get our little family a gift as a family gift, this is the one: $40 family pass to the Seattle Children's Museum. Just a thought.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
This Last Month (Scatter-brained Style)...
So I always put off blogging until I have time to make something funny, witty, pretty, etc. I tried to make a timeline in Photoshop of the last month with pictures and descriptions...it was very clever. Then the computer crashed. And now I'm getting to the point that it's been more than a month and it will be very hard to catch up on all of the events in that manner.
My second thought was to write a song to the tune of Billy Joel's, "We Didn't Start the Fire," since this last month+ has been hectic enough to warrant that. But again, I don't have the time or patience to do that.
Instead, you get a mismatched, unorganized series of events that I will just write down for future reference. Maybe, MAYBE, I'll get to a picture smattering of events later, too. So, deep breath. Here goes:
Early October:
General Conference. It was great.
Kaylee started walking more than crawling.
I bought myself some sparkly Converse sneakers. I love them.
We had an offer to move to Seattle and live with my best friend's in-laws.
We didn't want to take the offer because it was just so...uncertain. Other than we'd have a place to live as long as we needed it.
A few talks in Conference and some thoughtful prayers later, we decided we were moving to Seattle.
I put in my two-weeks notice at work.
I put in our 30-day move-out notice.
Found a new writer's group in the Seattle area.
Mid-October:
Started packing.
Zac's friend Brian Coller came and stayed with us for a few days.
I made chicken tortilla soup with black beans and fed it to Brian. His stomach doesn't do well with black beans. He spent a good day barfing.
We came up with a list of things to do before leaving Provo.
I broke my glasses beyond repair. They were still under warranty, but they only had black frames in stock (mine are brown). So I had to use black until they got mine in.
I used a spa gift certificate I had and got pedicures and "glitter toes" with my neighbor, Roxy.
Roxy talked me into going with her to her parent's houseboat on Lake Powell sans children.
Late October:
Went to Lake Powell with Roxy and left the kids home with Zac for three days.
Zac's best friend, Matt DiPerri, came out for a visit.
Had a hitch installed on our van so we could pull our Uhaul.
We finally made it up to the Salt Lake Temple. It was awesome.
Attended a good friend's baby's funeral. That makes two and I'd rather not have to do that ever again.
K started "talking" more. Actually distinguished between "yes" and "no" now. Before it was always "Nuh-uh."
Packed up most of the apartment.
Returned a bunch of stuff to people all over the city of Provo that didn't belong to us.
Broke my pinky toe on my left foot. I still can't wear my sparkly Converse sneakers.
Packed up the rest of our apartment, shoved it into a Uhaul trailer, and left the state of Utah.
Spent a few days in Idaho with the Ganoes.
Early November:
Made our way up north. I drove a lot. Pulling the Uhaul.
Spent a night in Somewhere, Washington at a hotel.
Finally made it to Sammamish where we are currently living. (Let me know if you need the address!)
Continued/continuing the job hunt (apartment managing, animation jobs for Zac, part-time writing gigs for me).
Went to the Costco in Kirkland...which is basically like going to Ikea in Sweden.
Got a GPS which is necessary when moving to a new state. I'm convinced.
Met with my new writing group for the first time (last night, actually). They are equally as fantastic as my Provo-based one. However, there was better parking for the one in Provo. And yet, meeting at a coffee shop in downtown Seattle is pretty darn hip.
Um. I think that's all. Now you know how my brain really works when I don't have time to process things. We are off to look at an apartment for a management position in a bit. They owner was nice and said "here's the address...go look at the building and see if you'd be interested in living there first. If so, call me back and we can set up an interview." I don't know what to take from that...potentially, it's really ghetto and we might hate it and may not even want to apply. But we shall see.
I'm out!
My second thought was to write a song to the tune of Billy Joel's, "We Didn't Start the Fire," since this last month+ has been hectic enough to warrant that. But again, I don't have the time or patience to do that.
Instead, you get a mismatched, unorganized series of events that I will just write down for future reference. Maybe, MAYBE, I'll get to a picture smattering of events later, too. So, deep breath. Here goes:
Early October:
General Conference. It was great.
Kaylee started walking more than crawling.
I bought myself some sparkly Converse sneakers. I love them.
We had an offer to move to Seattle and live with my best friend's in-laws.
We didn't want to take the offer because it was just so...uncertain. Other than we'd have a place to live as long as we needed it.
A few talks in Conference and some thoughtful prayers later, we decided we were moving to Seattle.
I put in my two-weeks notice at work.
I put in our 30-day move-out notice.
Found a new writer's group in the Seattle area.
Mid-October:
Started packing.
Zac's friend Brian Coller came and stayed with us for a few days.
I made chicken tortilla soup with black beans and fed it to Brian. His stomach doesn't do well with black beans. He spent a good day barfing.
We came up with a list of things to do before leaving Provo.
I broke my glasses beyond repair. They were still under warranty, but they only had black frames in stock (mine are brown). So I had to use black until they got mine in.
I used a spa gift certificate I had and got pedicures and "glitter toes" with my neighbor, Roxy.
Roxy talked me into going with her to her parent's houseboat on Lake Powell sans children.
Late October:
Went to Lake Powell with Roxy and left the kids home with Zac for three days.
Zac's best friend, Matt DiPerri, came out for a visit.
Had a hitch installed on our van so we could pull our Uhaul.
We finally made it up to the Salt Lake Temple. It was awesome.
Attended a good friend's baby's funeral. That makes two and I'd rather not have to do that ever again.
K started "talking" more. Actually distinguished between "yes" and "no" now. Before it was always "Nuh-uh."
Packed up most of the apartment.
Returned a bunch of stuff to people all over the city of Provo that didn't belong to us.
Broke my pinky toe on my left foot. I still can't wear my sparkly Converse sneakers.
Packed up the rest of our apartment, shoved it into a Uhaul trailer, and left the state of Utah.
Spent a few days in Idaho with the Ganoes.
Early November:
Made our way up north. I drove a lot. Pulling the Uhaul.
Spent a night in Somewhere, Washington at a hotel.
Finally made it to Sammamish where we are currently living. (Let me know if you need the address!)
Continued/continuing the job hunt (apartment managing, animation jobs for Zac, part-time writing gigs for me).
Went to the Costco in Kirkland...which is basically like going to Ikea in Sweden.
Got a GPS which is necessary when moving to a new state. I'm convinced.
Met with my new writing group for the first time (last night, actually). They are equally as fantastic as my Provo-based one. However, there was better parking for the one in Provo. And yet, meeting at a coffee shop in downtown Seattle is pretty darn hip.
Um. I think that's all. Now you know how my brain really works when I don't have time to process things. We are off to look at an apartment for a management position in a bit. They owner was nice and said "here's the address...go look at the building and see if you'd be interested in living there first. If so, call me back and we can set up an interview." I don't know what to take from that...potentially, it's really ghetto and we might hate it and may not even want to apply. But we shall see.
I'm out!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Punkin' Patch...
I know I still haven't said much about Seattle. I will. Until then, here are pictures from our pumpkin picking extravaganza yesterday:
And yes, that does happen to be the same shirt Zac wore at the same farm 2 years ago. Maybe it's time for a wardrobe overhaul...
I also enjoy the picture where the boys are sitting the same way on the hayride. Like father, like son, I suppose.
And yes, that does happen to be the same shirt Zac wore at the same farm 2 years ago. Maybe it's time for a wardrobe overhaul...
I also enjoy the picture where the boys are sitting the same way on the hayride. Like father, like son, I suppose.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Metaphor Continued...
(Courtesy of my Aunt Karen at Strapp Studio)
EEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Details where I spill all of the nitty-gritty are forthcoming. But for now, you should just know that the whole family couldn't be happier!!!!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Try This Metaphor On For Size...
I don't know why I post the things I post. Like when I get my hopes up about something (see the last two posts about potential moves for us). I get all excited and then...
BAM.
It falls through.
The lady in Seattle? She still wants us.
I still want to go.
But I don't think it's going to happen.
"Not under these conditions," someone said.
I hate Provo.
I hate my job.
I want OUT.
I feel like I'm a fish on dry land, slowly suffocating. Or better yet, I feel like a fish in a plastic carnival bag that is slowly leaking water. Yep. Like this:
I'm running out of room to breathe, to swim, to be happy and alive. And here comes this net, ready to scoop me up. But I can't tell if the net will drop me into the ocean where I can breathe and be free and happy, or if it will simply drop me into a small bowl where I will continuously swim in circles, surrounded by my own fecal matter.
So no, I don't think we are taking this Seattle job. "Not under these conditions." (Makes snide, mocking face.)
I'm pissed.
BAM.
It falls through.
The lady in Seattle? She still wants us.
I still want to go.
But I don't think it's going to happen.
"Not under these conditions," someone said.
I hate Provo.
I hate my job.
I want OUT.
I feel like I'm a fish on dry land, slowly suffocating. Or better yet, I feel like a fish in a plastic carnival bag that is slowly leaking water. Yep. Like this:
I'm running out of room to breathe, to swim, to be happy and alive. And here comes this net, ready to scoop me up. But I can't tell if the net will drop me into the ocean where I can breathe and be free and happy, or if it will simply drop me into a small bowl where I will continuously swim in circles, surrounded by my own fecal matter.
So no, I don't think we are taking this Seattle job. "Not under these conditions." (Makes snide, mocking face.)
I'm pissed.
Time For Another Fortunately/Unfortunately Story...
Fortunately, my husband and I are both college graduates now.
Unfortunately, I picked a terrible major for which to acquire a job.
Fortunately, my husband picked a specialized major for which he has a deep love and where jobs are typically plentiful.
Unfortunately, the whole "economy being terrible" thing has hit his job market in the area of internships and low-level positions, so now companies only have positions that are contractual or are for people with 3-5 years experience.
Fortunately, the place with the most freelance and contractual jobs to offer is Seattle (and the surrounding areas, where we would love to live.
Unfortunately, Seattle is expensive and paying rent for an apartment when you aren't sure if and when you will have a job and get paid is scary.
Fortunately, the idea occurred to us that apartment managers typically get free rent.
Unfortunately, we don't have any experience managing apartments, and there sure aren't any positions in Provo to get us started.
Fortunately, there are 2-3 postings a day on Craigslist for ads for apartment managers.
Unfortunately, (and obviously) no one that posts those ads wants to hire someone from out of state.
Fortunately, one of the first jobs we applied for, we got a phone call back and the owners were so excited to meet us that they were willing to Skype-interview us.
Unfortunately, we never heard back from them. Even after sending an email saying "If you found someone else to fill the position, that's great. But please let us know!"
Fortunately, there were a ton of other want-ads, so we kept applying.
Unfortunately, we only heard back from two other owners, both of whom we didn't get a response from after we said we were out of state and could not make it in for an interview the next day at 9:00 a.m.
Fortunately, I got a voicemail on Thursday from a lady with a 20-unit complex that wanted to phone interview us.
Unfortunately, she wanted to have a phone interview basically to pre-screen before she would make up her mind if she wanted us to come into the office for an actual interview. So I never called back.
Fortunately, she noticed on our resumes that we are BYU graduates and secretly, she was hoping to hire an LDS couple. So she called again.
Unfortunately, I was at my crappy job that I hate, so I didn't answer.
Fortunately, Zac had his phone on him so she called him.
Unfortunately, Zac was caught off-guard and didn't know how to respond to any of her questions.
Fortunately, he told her just to call me and leave a message and I would call her back asap. So she did. Then he texted me and told me, "got a call from an apartment place in seattle. the lady said she is mormon and likes the idea of hiring mormons and needs someone like now."
Unfortunately, I was still in the middle of work and didn't have time to call her back.
Fortunately, when I did listen to her message and call her back, she was thrilled. We talked for a good 15 minutes about the job, the pay, and about how soon we could get there.
Unfortunately, the compensation for the job is only half rent credit. We would still have to come up with $450 a month.
Fortunately, I explained our desire to be managers was for the free rent. Then she said we could have until at least November free. She also said that with the three other properties she manages, she would throw work our way (painting, cleaning, turn-overs, etc), to help compensate for the other half of our rent.
Unfortunately, it's only a two bedroom.
Fortunately, it has a washer, dryer, dishwasher, and a fireplace.
Unfortunately, and this is a BIG unfortunately, she wants us there in a week. Like, pack up the entire apartment, quit my job, and drive to Seattle by next weekend.
Fortunately, it gets us to Seattle with extremely discounted (if not free) housing.
But do you see why I'm stressed?????
Unfortunately, I picked a terrible major for which to acquire a job.
Fortunately, my husband picked a specialized major for which he has a deep love and where jobs are typically plentiful.
Unfortunately, the whole "economy being terrible" thing has hit his job market in the area of internships and low-level positions, so now companies only have positions that are contractual or are for people with 3-5 years experience.
Fortunately, the place with the most freelance and contractual jobs to offer is Seattle (and the surrounding areas, where we would love to live.
Unfortunately, Seattle is expensive and paying rent for an apartment when you aren't sure if and when you will have a job and get paid is scary.
Fortunately, the idea occurred to us that apartment managers typically get free rent.
Unfortunately, we don't have any experience managing apartments, and there sure aren't any positions in Provo to get us started.
Fortunately, there are 2-3 postings a day on Craigslist for ads for apartment managers.
Unfortunately, (and obviously) no one that posts those ads wants to hire someone from out of state.
Fortunately, one of the first jobs we applied for, we got a phone call back and the owners were so excited to meet us that they were willing to Skype-interview us.
Unfortunately, we never heard back from them. Even after sending an email saying "If you found someone else to fill the position, that's great. But please let us know!"
Fortunately, there were a ton of other want-ads, so we kept applying.
Unfortunately, we only heard back from two other owners, both of whom we didn't get a response from after we said we were out of state and could not make it in for an interview the next day at 9:00 a.m.
Fortunately, I got a voicemail on Thursday from a lady with a 20-unit complex that wanted to phone interview us.
Unfortunately, she wanted to have a phone interview basically to pre-screen before she would make up her mind if she wanted us to come into the office for an actual interview. So I never called back.
Fortunately, she noticed on our resumes that we are BYU graduates and secretly, she was hoping to hire an LDS couple. So she called again.
Unfortunately, I was at my crappy job that I hate, so I didn't answer.
Fortunately, Zac had his phone on him so she called him.
Unfortunately, Zac was caught off-guard and didn't know how to respond to any of her questions.
Fortunately, he told her just to call me and leave a message and I would call her back asap. So she did. Then he texted me and told me, "got a call from an apartment place in seattle. the lady said she is mormon and likes the idea of hiring mormons and needs someone like now."
Unfortunately, I was still in the middle of work and didn't have time to call her back.
Fortunately, when I did listen to her message and call her back, she was thrilled. We talked for a good 15 minutes about the job, the pay, and about how soon we could get there.
Unfortunately, the compensation for the job is only half rent credit. We would still have to come up with $450 a month.
Fortunately, I explained our desire to be managers was for the free rent. Then she said we could have until at least November free. She also said that with the three other properties she manages, she would throw work our way (painting, cleaning, turn-overs, etc), to help compensate for the other half of our rent.
Unfortunately, it's only a two bedroom.
Fortunately, it has a washer, dryer, dishwasher, and a fireplace.
Unfortunately, and this is a BIG unfortunately, she wants us there in a week. Like, pack up the entire apartment, quit my job, and drive to Seattle by next weekend.
Fortunately, it gets us to Seattle with extremely discounted (if not free) housing.
But do you see why I'm stressed?????
Monday, August 30, 2010
Miss K...
Disclaimer: Her hair is out of control in nearly all of these pictures. I promise I usually do it and she normally doesn't look so homely!
(On her 1st birthday...over a month ago. Wow.)
Well, Miss K has been up to quite a lot. She is such a big girl!!! She now scales all three flights of stairs in our house in about 38 seconds flat. And just a few days ago, she learned how to go down them on her own, too. She also knows how to get up and down from the couch, the chair, Logan's bed...you name it.
She isn't quite ready to walk yet, but she is getting pretty good at the standing thing which tells me that walking isn't too far behind. Here's a video of her doing just that....however, I had to put the camera out of sight/reach and didn't realize you couldn't see her head. But whatever. You get the idea. (I would say "I'll try and get a better video and post it later," but we both know I won't actually do it, so I won't make any empty promises here.)
And as I mentioned before, she is pretty much weaned. I totally feel a sense of freedom. Both times that I have weaned my children, I have expected to be a little sad. However, that's not the case. I'm glad I've done it until they are just about 1, but the honest truth is that I find it suffocating to nurse and have a baby literally attached to me several times a day.
Even though she is on the bouncy seal thing at the playground in this picture, she LOVES the slide. She would climb the stairs and go down the little slide all on her own all day if she could. K also has a total of 6 teeth...two on the bottom and 4 on the top. At her last appointment, she weighed in at a petite 18 1/2 pounds which is like the 30th percentile.
K is still napping twice a day (most of the time), which is great. And though she wakes up once or twice at night still, it usually only lasts about 5 minutes and she puts herself back to sleep.
Her favorite food is cantaloupe, but she also goes crazy for Vanilla Oreos, most pastas, and root beer. And she prefers a bottle full of water when she goes down for a nap over anything else. She also has two super-soft blankies that she likes to snuggle when she sleeps. Though she doesn't need them, per say, I think she prefers to have them close.
We sure love our little princess!!!
(On her 1st birthday...over a month ago. Wow.)
Well, Miss K has been up to quite a lot. She is such a big girl!!! She now scales all three flights of stairs in our house in about 38 seconds flat. And just a few days ago, she learned how to go down them on her own, too. She also knows how to get up and down from the couch, the chair, Logan's bed...you name it.
She isn't quite ready to walk yet, but she is getting pretty good at the standing thing which tells me that walking isn't too far behind. Here's a video of her doing just that....however, I had to put the camera out of sight/reach and didn't realize you couldn't see her head. But whatever. You get the idea. (I would say "I'll try and get a better video and post it later," but we both know I won't actually do it, so I won't make any empty promises here.)
And as I mentioned before, she is pretty much weaned. I totally feel a sense of freedom. Both times that I have weaned my children, I have expected to be a little sad. However, that's not the case. I'm glad I've done it until they are just about 1, but the honest truth is that I find it suffocating to nurse and have a baby literally attached to me several times a day.
Even though she is on the bouncy seal thing at the playground in this picture, she LOVES the slide. She would climb the stairs and go down the little slide all on her own all day if she could. K also has a total of 6 teeth...two on the bottom and 4 on the top. At her last appointment, she weighed in at a petite 18 1/2 pounds which is like the 30th percentile.
K is still napping twice a day (most of the time), which is great. And though she wakes up once or twice at night still, it usually only lasts about 5 minutes and she puts herself back to sleep.
Her favorite food is cantaloupe, but she also goes crazy for Vanilla Oreos, most pastas, and root beer. And she prefers a bottle full of water when she goes down for a nap over anything else. She also has two super-soft blankies that she likes to snuggle when she sleeps. Though she doesn't need them, per say, I think she prefers to have them close.
We sure love our little princess!!!
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