Life at the Extended Stay

has just been extended due to some major drama on the house front. Our lender fell through for a couple of reasons: our original mortgage broker left his firm to pursue politics as well as divulged information from the sellers' disclosure report that he shouldn't have. (Just can't trust those politicians! I won't be voting for this guy!). I won't bore you with the sordid details but needless to say, what should have been an easier last 2 weeks before moving in has turned into anything but. Our closing date is up in the air now, it could be as early as next Monday or pushed back a full week, depending on the speed of the new lender. What makes this whole situation even more fun is that our stuff is already on its way from Mississippi. ARRGHH! So if we're not able to close before Sept. 28th, we have to store it (on our own dime) in Seattle until we move in. Much fun! Hence, the lack of pictures the past couple of days. I'll keep you posted on the latest drama......

Books, books & more books plus a rant about the job search

Ok, I have entirely too much time on my hands right now, which feels so weird. Even with the traveling this summer, I didn't get in much pleasure reading, unless you count guide books. And school from the last 2 years ate up any reading time so the last time I've had some good time for reading was Guam. So, instead of looking for a job, I've been voraciously reading my eyes out. Actually, I'm passively looking, as Ryan says. The latest on the job search is there are not any dietitian or health educator jobs here. Actually, that's not exactly true. I have been phone interviewed for a per diem job which is filling in for RDs on vacations, weekends, holidays with no guarantee of hours or benefits. Not exactly a dream job. So either there just aren't many dietitian or health educator jobs or I'm just not looking in the right places, surprising for such a health-conscious community. Thus, I have concluded that the universe is trying to tell me to seek out another field! So I'm debating about many things including traveling, Starbucks, or a career in books. (Is anyone reading this?). If so, what should I do??!!

On to books, I've read some great ones that I want to pass along. Middlesex by Geffrey Eugenides (?sp) is a perfect novel and oh so engrossing. In recommending this, the subject matter is hermaphroditism which might not sound too appealing but trust me, do not be judgmental about this one, you will not be offended. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert made me so jealous as that's what I want to do with my life: well, the eat in Italy part and travel, anyway. But this book also is about finding God and oh so funny along the way. Also Heat by Bill Buford follows a former New Yorker editor as a slave in Mario Batali's kitchen and through Italy learning to make pasta, etc. This book has inspired me to visit Salumi, Mario Batali's father's restaurant in downtown Seattle.

I'm super excited that Love in the time of Cholera will be a movie soon. And Seattle has a Half Price bookstore so I'm headed there for a copy to read before the movie. I have to join a book club, I'm obsessed! Anybody have any book recommendations?

Inside pictures of the house

So here's the breakfast nook in the kitchen. We loved the built-ins. I can't wait to get my hands on the kitchen. It has old appliances and will definitely get a fresh coat of paint and much more. There's not a lot of shelving and cabinets so right above the stove I'm planning on a pot rack and some shelves. Ikea will soon be my friend!! Hmmm, maybe I should work there?!

The second picture is the living and dining room. We loved the fireplace. Oh yeah and the furniture, but that's not our stuff. Wow, staging really works. The living room walls are taupe and dining room is pale green which we like so will probably keep.

Horns beat TCU!

I love college football! Our game didn't start well, down 10-0 at half but McCoy and the defense really came through, 34 points in the second half! I hate to admit where we watched the game, ok, don't judge me you feminists, HOOTERS! Argghh, the Texas Exes meet there because the manager is a huge fan and he gives discounts on food and even has Longhorn stuff all over the place. So we got to meet lots of fellow Horns, very fun. And I have to brag on the Big 12 (because nobody ever does, ha) 11 teams won their games this past weekend!!! OU looks SO good, we are so going to lose. Poor Michigan, sorry guys. Washington looked great too, saw Boise State fans all over Seattle this weekend. Husky stadium is right on the water, gorgeous, and has the most unique tailgating ever, BOATS!!!! I think I should become a fan.....

We got the house!!

Yay!!! After agonizing over foundation, electrical, and roofing issues uncovered from the inspection and much going back and forth between the sellers over what they'll cover, the house will be ours!! Our closing date is in 2 weeks, Sept. 21st. Now our battle is to retrieve our stuff from storage in Mississippi and have it delivered as close as possible to that date. I have a feeling we'll be investing in an air mattress!!

One friend commented how easy it was to buy a house. Do you all think so? I couldn't disagree more, with this, my first experience!! Maybe newer construction is less involved but each inspection we had seemed to divulge more issues, argghhh! Maybe it's better to not know?? I had no idea the stress involved in this whole process. We almost walked away as their counter-offer after the inspection was much less than we were willing to settle on. The major stuff that needed to be done to the house amounted to an estimate of $20,000!! Our realtor warned us it's an old house (built in 1914) so there would be issues, still I wasn't prepared to take such a critical look at where we might call home. We eventually compromised at $12,000, now the real work begins..... The house is definitely "move-in ready" but we have some ideas on updates. I'll gradually post pictures instead of all at once to pique your interest in visiting us!!

Seattle Rocks!

This weekend was so fun because we weren't busy doing house stuff so had time to explore! There are tons of quirky little neighborhoods. For example, there is literally a troll under one of the bridges squashing a VW bug on Troll Ave, I'm not kidding.

We've been in Seattle for a month now so thought I'd post some pictures. Does the first one look familiar, you Grey's Anatomy fans? The other 2 are from a music/indie film/art festival we went to this past weekend called Bumbershoot in the coolest venue ever: under the Space Needle. I'm telling you all of this so you will visit us next year over Labor Day! It's a great time to visit....perfect weather and Seattle's uberfest. We heard The Shins, The Gourds, Rodrigo y Gabriela, all highly recommended!!! Hope you all had a great weekend too!

A Political Statement

I went to my first protest last Monday! Pres. Bush visited Bellevue (the more conservative, suburban answer to Seattle) while avoiding Seattle entirely. About 400 protestors were out in full force. There were no arrests, just some shoving with crowds, although there were some scary looking militant people at the ready. Have to say I was impressed with the diversity of people there: of course, there were scary extremists and a definite SWAT team presence, but there were people of all ages and cultural backgrounds.

The first picture is the best crowd shot I had (love the Crate & Barrel in the background) and the second is of the "I Miss America" girls, creative, huh? Even I didn't agree with some of the bash Bush posters such as 9-11 was an inside job. My all-time fav was "Dumb, Dumber, Dubya!" Although I didn't physically see 43, just his huge motorcade, at least I was a part of the "welcoming" committee. Is 2008 here yet??!!