Monday, September 10, 2012

Camping Labor Day Weekend 2012

It's been a week since Ross & I came home from camping with our friends over Labor Day weekend, but that just makes me want to reminisce even though I have a ton of great pictures to remember it by (on facebook in case you hadn't noticed)!! A few of the highlights:

- Camping in the mountains of North Carolina (near Boone)...gorgeous area all around! Can't wait to go back one day!

- The chaos of figuring out our tent sites at the campground, long story, but Ang & I were victorious in the end :) Go Team... um......Portuesi Seibert?!!!

- Touring Linville Caverns and Linville Falls, experiencing 'total darkness' in Linville Caverns, only 2 places in the world you can experience that and we were in one of 'em :)  (fun fact: apparently it would take 2 months to go completely blind, but psychiatrists say it would only take 2-3 weeks to go crazy) Final Conclusion: Yes, it was dark  (not the whole tour, just that one moment :)

- As usual, we played card games, and yet another game of never-ending Phase 10, to which 3 of us finally ditched out in hopes of gaining back our sanity

- Ross & I got to use our brand new tent. OH THE ROOM WE HAD :) Even Dakota had her own spot in the corner with her bed. She was great, we'd go to bed at night, and she'd immediately go lay down in her bed. I'd cover her with a blanket to keep her warm (since her new habit is burying herself at home) and she'd sleep until morning. And as usual per our faithful Marmot brand, the tent stayed dry through the rain!

- Ross & I also felt spoiled having the crossover with so much room and power! (mwahaha) Somehow we managed to completely fill it up with stuff, but it's still a car we're both going to love for years to come and for hopefully many more adventures :)

And last but NOT LEAST:

- Mr. Monopoly (aka mean Park Ranger with a mustache that we nicknamed) threatening to give us a $250 ticket for having our cooler with alcohol in our car when pulling into an area to go see Elk Falls!!! Apparrently we drove onto an Air Force Reservation Land which prohibits alcohol and weapons. So sorry we didn't see your rusted, dinky sign and that you barely noticed our ALABAMA (aka tourist) license plate. And then questioned if we were even 21 years old AFTER looking at Ross' LICENSE, registration & insurance. Wow. Deuche-bag. Yes, Mr. Monopoly, I can call you whatever I want, at least we had some great laughs for the rest of the weekend!! :)  (aka....Mr. Monopoly park ranger says 'do not pass go, do not collect money, go directly to Jail') hahahaha    but we never did get to see those falls.... o well! We were lucky we had to head back to the campsite anyway, b/c then it started pouring down rain and we were there in the knick of time to salvage most things!!

*Kristin*

Monday, August 27, 2012

Gearing Up for North Carolina!

Everything is in full swing for camping this weekend!! Not only do I love camping and my friends, but combine the 2 and the fact that I hardly see them anymore, you can bet that I'm 10x's more excited than usual! And I'm pretty sure Ross is looking forward to it too :) Of course, my friends & I have been constantly checking the weather, and even though it's calling for rain, I can't help but not care (it always changes anyways!). I'd rather be sitting under the rain canopy with my closest friends than sitting at home by myself with beautiful weather. It's nothing we haven't dealt with before in the past :) Especiallly last labor day weekend when we were drenched after the last night of camping. Said trip would've been better if Ross & I put the rainfly on our tent properly, aka having dry shelter throughout the night rather than waking up with water everywhere! But have no fear....we know for a fact that our tent stays dry through monsoons(!). It's part of the reason we so highly reccomend Marmot tents :) So no rain is gonna ruin our trip this time!

We did lots of shopping for food and drinks this weekend, b/c no camping trip is complete without lots of food!! ...and drink. And am I alone in thinking that all road trips require candy and snacks?! Ross never thinks so! haha ...more candy for myself.  We're gearing up and ready to go. Only 4 days until we set off!! The weekend will surely go by too fast but hopefully with lots of pictures to remember it by....

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Living the Life

It's been 3 weeks since I last posted and things have sure changed since then.

I got over the hump of starting my new job at Southern Nuclear Co. as a Sr. Admin Asst. The first week was long, chaotic and a typical 'first week' where you just want to get it over with! (at least for me anyway :) On top of starting a new job, Ross' 'rents were also in town to visit. It was so much fun to have visitors, to have company to grill out with, show them around our town, etc. I didn't take many pics but here is one of Ross' and his dad:


I didn't get a full family picture but they'll be back in September along with Ross' brother and hopefully I'll be more diligent in getting pictures that time :) They were here for the full week so even though it was tiring to be starting a new job and having company, it was great to see them!

I've now finished my 3rd week of the job and I'm pretty happy with it so far! It feels good to be back working and having a schedule again. My coworkers are great (and sociable!). They are all so friendly (which I also contribute to southern hospitality :) but they are so easy to get along with and work with. My boss travels every week (and depending, my managers travel quite a bit too) so I really only see him on Mondays and Fridays, but he's great to work for as well. The girl I replaced is still working in our dept. but she was promoted. She's only 20 ft. away if I ever have questions, which is awesome but also hard to not rely on! haha Quite the opposite of what I had at Westinghouse with no one to train me! She held my position for 6 years so I have a lot to live up to!! But I feel like I'm catching on quickly (hopefully!) and will be on my way to enjoying my job even more once I know all the answers...like I once did at WEC :)

My 2nd week on the job I caught a small cold, mainly congestion, finally got over it this week and then gave it Ross as an anniversary gift :) I'm so sweet....I know! So now he's down and out. We planned on going out for dinner for our anniv. gift but we're gonna wait until he's better so he can actually taste things! I still can't believe it's been 4 years(!) and how much we've done in those years. NEVER would I have guessed we'd end up in Alabama one day, but so far, so good :) I think we're both enjoying our independence and exploring. And I'm really enjoying the apt. (more than I ever imagined) and not having to worry about fixing things. I guess that house flip really did take it out on me. And we have a pool, which is a nice little perk :)

We have a trip planned over labor day weekend to go camping with our Pgh friends, so looking forward to that is keeping me going :) My mom & dad and grandparents are visiting a week after that, and then Ross' family is back near the end of Sept., so we have a busy September month to look forward to! And hopefully many pics to share from all of that!

*Kristin*

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Quick Hello

I should be getting ready for church, but instead I thought I'd drop in and say 'Hi!'  Ross & I are excited for his parent's visit this week. They will be here today thru saturday. I plan on getting lots of photos which I hope to share with you later. We don't have many plans set in stone, but it will be nice to have visitors this week :)

On top of that, I start my new job tomorrow. Good thing I passed the background check, drug test, referral check, and the 567 true-or-false Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. That test was a doozy! Of course there is no right or wrong answer, but once I googled it, I was intrigued but how much it can tell about a person. I wish I could see my test results. I wonder if they've figured out how weird I am :) Or special. That's what I'll call it :) Anywho, work starts tomorrow and I'm thankful to be busy with the in-laws today so that I don't have time to be nervous. I'm anxious to get the first WEEK over with b/c it's always the hardest!

Aside from that, Ross & I have been trying to find a church. We started our hunt last week with a church that meets in a school (aka starter church). Today, we're trying a Presbyterian Church. The hardest part for me is figuring out what religion to go with. I grew up Lutheran, then switched to Presby, then attended non-denominational, then lastly (and my favorite due to the people & the pastor) Ross & I really enjoyed his friends church which was loosely based on Baptist. Oi! OH, and on top of that, Ross was raised in a Catholic school...but luckily we can rule that out b/c neither of us are Catholic and the nuns scarred him for life! Of course I know that Presby, Methodist, Lutheran, etc. are all Christian based, I just don't know how to choose (and really don't know how they differ from eachother!). I think it will come down to being a small church so we get to know people, but also enough people so that have a chance to make friends. I just wish I had more guidance in which religion to choose. I guess as long as we like the people and the pastor, we'll find a winner. So let the hunt continue :)

*Kristin*

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

A Whirlwind Weekend

This weekend had flown by, just like I knew it would! But I was lucky to be able to see almost everyone when I was home, and enjoy every minute of it. Sorry for the long post and countless photos...but you know me, I update rarely on here, and rather just cram it all into one post :)

Thursday night my flight arrived around 4:00pm and I was off to pick up Ross from his seminar downtown to head to my parent's house for dinner. One thing I DON'T miss about Pittsburgh?? The constant roadwork & heavy rush hour traffic .... it took me over an hour and a half to drive from the airport to downtown to my parents. Absolutely absurd! Also thanks to an accident on greentree hill...what else is new?!

There, we got to see my whole family. We celebrated an early father's day and even got to celebrate my birthday early , to my surprise :)

Clockwise from bottom: Cupcakes Michelle made for dad & grandpa to celebrate father's day; Stephen carrying out my birthday cake;  me blowing out candles; Ross showing off a picture on his phone that he got with some furries (he was staying downtown all week for his seminar and got quite the eyeful of the furries convention!); Mom, Grandma and Betsy talking; Grandma & Grandpa; My Birthday Cake..made by Michelle!; Ross & I posing for a picture; Stephen & Mike; Michelle watching dad enjoy his cupcake :)


On Friday, Ross had one day left of his seminar, so he was stuck at work all day. I was off to get a mani/pedi with Ang, aka The Bride :)  I really should get pedi's more often, they are so enjoyable!! After that, I headed out to lunch with mom and Michelle. Once I fought Wexford traffic (again...roadwork is to blame), it was time for me to head downtown to pick up Ross (since I had the rental car).

That morning, I had a voicemail from Southern Nuclear and was eager to hear back from them about a job offer. So I waited and waited all day, until the exact moment I picked up Ross, they were calling me back. I got the job offer over the phone and gladly accepted.  How funny it is that I got a job while out of town! I was especially ecstatic after thinking that I blew the interview and wrote it off as...."I gave it my best shot!" Who would have thought?!

Friday night was the rehearsal dinner for Mike & Ang's wedding.  Another collage to celebrate the occasion :) I guess the only curse of being the photographer is that I'm not in any of the pics! oops! lol But I had fun playing around with my dslr.



Next up, the BIG DAY! Mike & Ang's wedding :) The entire day was a success and a lot of fun. To be in the wedding party with all of my best friends and Ross as a groomsmen was such a treat! Sadly, I didn't want to worry about carrying around the dslr, so I only brought our point and shoot camera. Photoshop can only fix so much, so excuse the awful photo quality...our point-and-shoot is on it's last leg!

I only took pictures that morning at the salon, and later after dinner. My parents and Ross' parents were both invited to the wedding so we got a chance to get pictures with them as well! Enjoy our 3rd and final collage :)

Clockwise: Steph at the salon with our feast of food and drinks!; Ang getting her hair done; Ross & I with mom & dad at the wedding; Ross & I linking arms to take a sip of our "angelina" drinks; Ross & I with mom & dad S.; Mom & I at the wedding; Kris & I taking a candid photo; Kris & I taking a photo with the bride at the end of the night; Ross, Ray and Ken having some cigar time after the wedding; Me & my besties, Kris & Steph; Ang and her final updo; Ross & I at the wedding :)


It was an exceptional night. Most of my friends and I stayed at the hotel after the wedding which gave us even more time to catch up, but it was a long day, and we all headed to bed around 1:00am. Of course, I was sad the day was over but my heart has never felt so full with all of the love I have for my friends and family. The weekend couldn't have been better!

*Kristin*

Monday, June 11, 2012

Waiting for Pgh

I just returned home from dropping Ross off at the airport. He's off to Pittsburgh this morning b/c he has training for work this week at the US Steel headquarters (aka US Steel Tower :). The fact that his training for work fell during the week directly in front of our friend's wedding weekend was extremely lucky for us!! (Training for work = plane ticket for Ross paid for by USS)

I'm not headed into Pgh until Thursday though. Originally I thought if I was working already, I didn't want to take off too much time, but then again, I also didn't want to put Dakota in a kennel for more than a few days. She's going to be traumatized since she's never been to a kennel, but luckily her current dog trainer (another long story!) is taking her in while we're gone. Even though he charges a little more than a normal kennel, I think maybe he'll get some training in while she's at his house :) Win-win for us! Perhaps all her aggression problems will be solved?!

I can't wait to be in Pgh this weekend! Time is certainly going to fly! I have my best friends wedding on Saturday, and plans to see family on Thursday/Friday. Hopefully I remember to get some pictures :) Especially now that I don't get to see all of their lovely faces these days, I'm definitely going to start taking more pictures!

Anyway, I've already done almost all my packing hoping it'll make Thursday come quicker! Now I just have to stay preoccupied for the next 3 days. It'll be quite the task with no Ross here to entertain me :(

*Kristin*

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Happy Accidents

Now that Ross & I are fully unpacked and kicking back to relax, my intuition is screaming at me to decorate! Make this place feel more like 'home,' even if it is temporary! So the last project I had on my to-do list was to hang pictures, specifically in the living room. I'd rather hang the pictures I have then let them collect dust in storage, so off I go.

I was excited to hang my gallery wall frames over the couch since I had the perfect spot in the apartment. If you don't know what my gallery wall is, here's a little refresher from the old home.



 The white frames were one of my favorite things in the old house, so I was excited to get these puppies back out!

*wa-wa-waaaaaa*

That's when I realized the one box I had sat aside, thinking was filled with my white frames, was in fact, not my white frames at all, but other misc. picture frames. The white frames were officially packed away in our garage storage unit, buried behind 2 rows of other boxe, so that idea quickly died.

Once I pulled out the frames from this box, I had a ton of mismatched artwork that was previously hung in random places in the old house.

Happy Accident #1: Why not do a gallery wall with mismatched frames like I've seen before?? This could get interesting and I was intrigued :) My creative juices were flowing!!.....

I didn't do a great job at taking before photos, but basically, once I got all of the frames filled with pictures of family & friends (which was dif. from the last gallery wall...but let's face it, I miss all of them already and knew I wanted to see their shining faces in my living room!!! haha) and figured out the frame arrangement, I hung 'em up!  (Oh don't judge me that most of pics are not straight, haha)


Pretend you don't see the blue peaking out at you in the 2 frames ;) That would be a spoiler alert!!

 

As much as I enjoyed the mismatched 'look,' something didn't feel right. It felt balanced enough, but it felt 'heavy.' For some reason, the heaviness felt like a 'northern decorating habit' and didn't feel right down here in the south. I can't explain it. Call me crazy! But in the south, I feel like decorating should be light and airy thanks to the HEAT we have outside. This was all wrong.

I needed color! Light! Brightness! That's when I decided I wanted to throw color into my decorating. In the last house, I decorated with all greens. Now I wanted TURQUIOSE! YELLOW!! Are you getting excited yet?! B/c I sure was :)

Off I went to the store to find a few new accessories to hopefully tie in the color scheme I was going to incorporate in the gallery wall.

This pillow was a starting point :)


Happy Accident #2: I stumbled across this vase in Jo-Anne's in the clearance aisle. It was PERFECT and turquoise!! So I added some yellow flowers...and VOILA...it's shouting SUMMER! :)


Now I was ready to amp up my gallery wall, so I picked up a few supplies at Jo-Anne's as well. Some scrapbooking materials and paper.

My first thought was to replace the beige mat in dakota's pictures with turquoise paper. I didn't want to ruin the old mat in case I go back to neutral one day, so I just cut out the paper and layed it on top.


Next up was more turquoise paper behind these pictures. You can see this paper was more of a cutout design which I thought was cool. The frames were originally see through glass, now there's another dimension to it :)


 Lastly, I needed to fill two frames I picked up at Goodwill for .99 cents each!

(My best kept secret.... I almost ALWAYS buy frames from goodwill! Also, if you scroll up and see the 4 tiny square frames...those were also .99 cents each from Goodwill and I think they're adorable! The rest of my frames I had on hand.)


Happy Accident #3 (are you tired of hearing 'happy accident' yet?!) I broke the glass in the bottom frame when I was going to put a picture in it. That's when the next idea came to me instead! Why not fill it with something 3D instead, aka 3D flowers in the scrapbooking section.



Here's the 3D picture:


And here's the 2nd picture frame with just some 2 dimensional flowers.


Lastly, since I had a TON of turquiose in the gallery wall, I needed to incorporate more yellow (the above example was one try). So I changed our monogram picture to yellow text:


It's not very noticeable from far away, but I like the subtlety of it :)

And the FINAL result?! I LOVE my new gallery wall :) It feels fresh and exciting!!




I still want to find one more turquoise pillow or throw blanket to balance out the million and one green pillows, but for now, I'm as happy as a peach. If peaches were happy. Which they should be b/c they are yummy. At least Ross thinks so. I'm still indifferent to them. ANYWHO...that's all for today! I'm all decorated out :)

*Kristin*

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Art in Avondale Park

The fun of living in any new town I imagine is just exploring the area. So far, Ross & I have done just that. This past weekend, we checked out the annual Buck Creek Festival in the town south of us, called Helena (rated in the top '100 places to live in the US,' which peaks my interest! haha). It was a casual hang out, lots of good food and gave us something to do in this gorgeous weather. Sorry though, I didn't bring my camera.

But that brings me to my next topic, the weekend before when Ross & I checked out 'Art in the Park' at Avondale Park, a bit north of us. The drive there was quite interesting, going through some very deteriorating neighborhoods, and Ross was wondering where on earth I was taking him! But alas, we stumbled upon Avondale Park which was quite the hidden gemstone.


It was a VERY small art show, which local artists only, but was worth a day out. They had tents set up for the artists, Firetrucks for the kids to explore, and so forth.


We even brought Dakota with us, just to get her out of the house and hopefully burn off some energy!


Look ma'.... trying to wear my hair curly aka au naturale!! You'd be so proud!

Moving on, Ross & I have decided we are bad 'parents' as I remembered to bring water for Dakota, but no bowl. Sooooo, we couldn't stay very long, since she was panting in no time! oopsie daisy!


Also at the festival were musicians playing in the outside amphitheater, which was quite nice. It was pretty dead when we were there, but it seemed like it would be a great place to hang out if they had more events set up on the weekends.

The first picture shows the stage, and the second shows the sitting area. I love how they tiered the seating right into the hill :)




As we were leaving, we saw baby ducks (ducklings?). lol


And lastly, for my dad, on our drive home, we saw his favorite Two Men.....


 HAHA. I had no clue they were based nationally and not just in Pgh.

Well, that's been our weekends so far, and I'll remember to keep our camera handy for our next adventures!

*Kristin*

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Mastering the Cookie

That's right...in my 25 years of life, NEVER have I been able to bake a chocolate chip cookie that didn't come out looking like a pancake! But no more!! I finally concocted the perfect recipe! *er* maybe. It still needs a bit of tweaking, but that's ok :) At least these are OH So delicious!

Also, in my free time, I've been trying to use my DSLR more since I've realized 1) Ross & I NEVER take pictures and 2) I bought this fancy camera and intend on learning all about it! So the more opportunities I decide to use it, the better I'll get. I no longer put the camera away, b/c when it's put away, I forget about it. So now it sits pretty on the top of my kitchen counter :)

So enjoy a ride through my Monday baking...


 Yum....can't you just smell them?!


They came out a little more brown than I intended, which is where the tweaking comes in to play. Or maybe it's the electric oven I'm not used to.

On a photography sidenote, I think I'm getting a little carried away with my nifty fifty lens and need to tone down the 'blurriness' ha!


 And my new routine? A fruity alcoholic drink while baking. They just go hand-in-hand, dontcha thinik?!


So perhaps this is what people do while they are unemployed? If so, I could sure live it up :) And to follow my 'get-fit-for-Ang's-wedding' regime, I gladly gave away all of my cookies for Ross to take into work. So I only ate ten. What?! Surely, that's better than eating all 4 dozen!! 0:)

*Kristin*

Monday, May 7, 2012

Southern Living

Oi vey! The apt. has been taken over by boxes! I'm slowly unpacking everything but now our apt. seems to be bursting at the seams. Ugh! But anyway, before I get lost in the madness again, I thought I'd update you on how life in the south has been going so far :)

Since our tv and other items didn't come until yesterday, I had nothing to do all week but catch up on some reading and work on some projects on the computer. I just finished the Hunger Games series and can't stop thinking about it :) I'm so glad I finished it after being very confused after the 2nd book...but you'll see....I wouldn't want to give away any spoilers!

Other than that, it was kind of nice to relax without being sucked into tv-watching every night, gave us a chance after work to explore the area instead and try out some restaurants. Although, I must admit, once we finally got our stuff yesterday, the first thing Ross & I did was hook up the tv and order pizza (Papa John's to be exact, since we've NEVER lived somewhere where they deliver to us, so this was a huge splurge :)

Ross has been busy at work, normally getting home around 5:30 or 6:00. Then there are some late nights when he doesn't leave the office until 6:00, but we can't complain. I think we both still see this is the opportunity we were waiting for, and I don't think he minds the late night every now and then. He's gaining a ton of experience already and seems to enjoy his job for the most part, at least as much as you can enjoy the field of labor relations! I still question how he deals with difficult people on a daily basis, haha....but I guess he knew what he was getting into!

As for me, I've been job hunting a bit here & there, but haven't seen anything yet that interests me. Bu I'll keep looking and forge on! I know something will come along sooner or later.

As for the weather...it's hot. The end. And I know we're not even into the thick of it yet. It's weird, knowing that I'm experiencing weather that is the HEIGHT of Pgh's summer, high 80's, low 90's, and can't even imagine what it's going to be like when the humidity hits. We've been warned, so I'm not looking forward to it. I've been complaining since the day I've moved here how HOT it is! I guess I was never really a summer person to begin with. Always enjoyed the fall weather most (aka Alabama's winter :)

Well, anyway, I should go back to unpacking/ looking for things I can't find/ losing my pair of scissors for the 1093240824th time!

*Kristin*

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

One Bachelorette, One Last Farewell

So much has happened since my last blog post, I have a lot of catching up to do! But first, before updating on Alabama, let's pick up where I left off...finishing my last day at Westinghouse. Once I left there and a few emotional goodbyes, I was on my way to a fun-filled weekend with my best girlfriends for Ang's Bachelorette Party!

It was such a great weekend and I can't stop reliving it :) We got to Ang's Friday night just in time to watch the Pen's victory for game 5. Saturday we had everything planned and kept secret from Ang. First was lunch, then off to another one of our bridesmaid's houses for a Passion Party. If you've never heard, just google it! It was hilarious to say the least ;) After that, we headed into Bethesda for dinner and hit up some bars for drinks and dancing the night away. I stole a few pics from facebook to share :)

It was funny how many times we were asked who the bride was!!! Umm...just look for the girl with the feathered boa, sash, tiara, lighted up shot glass and more! HA! She was all decked out :)



My best girls for life! Miss you girls already....


 And one shot of me and the bride :)


What a great weekend! We might've even outdone the guy's bachelor party that same weekend (but in different towns), but I won't judge :P   It was a weekend to never forget, and even though it was a weekend meant for Ang, it was the best way for me to be ready to go off to Alabama... spending time with the girls I love most and have known for most of my life! *tear* Can't wait to see them in June for the big wedding!

*Kristin*

Friday, April 20, 2012

Saying Farewell

Well today is my last day at Westinghouse, and it's hitting me a lot harder than I thought it would. I guess saying goodbye is never easy, no matter how close or distant you are to people, but I think what's hardest is saying goodbye to familiar faces and not knowing what's to come next. Yesterday, all of my coworkers got together with a farewell cake for me, and it was the sweetest thing. I was blown away that they all took time out of their day to celebrate with me and to give me a going away gift. I truly feel appreciated here, and they all keep gushing about how much they'll miss me. *blush* ....hopefully I will have greener pastures ahead!

After I leave here today, I'm on my way to a very exciting weekend in Bethesda, MD, celebrating my best friends bachelorette party! It's going to be a great time, but also bittersweet, as it'll be the last big 'Hooray' with my closest friends. Friends that have stuck with me since middle school, high school, college and so on! I know we'll all keep in touch and that I'll never lose them, but knowing that we won't have anymore camping outtings together or an impromptu weeknight dinner together just plain hurts.

On another note, I am looking forward to the fact that I will be with Ross soon, but that's about it! I've become quite the 'debbie downer' about moving south, after all of my optimism the past few months, it's finally worn thin. I'm ready to say "THIS SUCKS." I know Ross & I will have an exciting adventure ahead of ourselves and make the most out of it, but some days I just don't know. It'll be good for us too, I guess I just want to get over the hump of moving, and finally get settled down there.

Anywho. Enough pessimism for one day :) Let's go forth and do great things!!

*Kristin*

Monday, April 9, 2012

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to everyone! I spent the holiday with close family but it was still bittersweet without Ross around. He stayed behind in AL and simply relaxed on his long weekend, while I spent the holiday with both of our families, doing our same usual routine, although it was much lonelier without him around.

As much as I enjoyed the holiday, I can't wait for this next month to go by quickly!

Over the next few weeks, I'll be anxiously awaiting my move to AL and being with Ross again. I think the saying "Distance makes the heart grow fonder" is certainly true.  I have a few things coming up that I am looking forward to that will hopefully help the time to go by quicker, but more than anything, I can't wait to be with my husband again.

As for the house, we're moving right towards the closing date of 4/30 (even though my move date is 4/28). We settled and agreed to give the buyer's the money they were asking for, and I can't imagine any more bumps in the road until closing (aside from getting the appraisal price, which should be coming any day now).

So I think it's safe to say I'm allowed to start a countdown :)
11 days until my last day of work
12 days until my best friends Bachelorette Party!
18 days until I see Ross!!
19 days until I move to AL

*Kristin*

Monday, April 2, 2012

Two Steps Back, One Step Forward

So here's the latest update....Mr. and Mrs. Schmuck found a serious issue with the house that was never noted in our home inspection when we bought the house. But for the good news(!!), they've decided to not walk away from the deal. Right now, time is more valuable than money for us, and I'm happy they are still sticking around, on one condition..... they've asked for $5,000 to fix the problem. Now, that may seem like a lot of money, until you hear what they are going to have to deal with after they close on the house...

It's a fairly lengthy story, you can read on if you're curious, otherwise, your welcome to skip to the end :)
Apparently, their home inspector noted a very minor amount of rust coming from the furnace. They thought it was better to check it out fully with a contractor (or 3...since no one could give them a clear answer!) and lo and behold, some or most of the venting in the slab/underneath the house is rusting or corroded (not quite clear how extensive the problem is yet). Since we have no basement, the original owners built the floor ventilation underneath the slab.

Solution #1: Rip up all of the floors and foundation and redo all the underground ventilation. Now $5,000 doesn't seem like such an absurd request, does it? Not once you start thinking everything that the project entails.

Solution #2: My dad suggested an alternative, which wouldn't require ripping up all of the foundation, but those are answers we don't quite have yet and are still working on.

Ross & I were completely caught off guard from what they found, as was our Realtor. I had the worst gut feeling that they were going to walk away Friday afternoon. Of course, none of us had the slightest idea of the problem, otherwise, it would've been disclosed to the Buyer in the beginning. I'm frustrated that our home inspector did not find the problem when we bought the house, but then again, I'm happy that we did not have to deal with it, and fortunate that Ross & I are selling the house and never got around to putting new floors in the entire house (not realizing what was lurking underneath)! If we would've stayed there for the 5-7 years like we planned, we would be a lot worse off. So that is, of course, the upside to all of this. Also on the plus side, the rest of the home inspection came back quite well :)

So all in all, Ross & I have a few days to give them our final answer. In the meantime, my dad is trying to find our own contractor to come out and take a look. Otherwise, we'll take their word for it from their contractors' documentation.

So it's been a hell of weekend and an unbelievable amount of stress on Friday. I'm glad the weekend is over and the closing is still set for April 30th. So now I can move forward with my move :)  Thanks for the prayers!!

On another unrelated note, buried between all of this house business, was my best friends Bridal Shower on Saturday, which I think went fairly well and hope everyone had a great time. We had a ton of great food (lots of which I'll be eating for the rest of the week....HELLO leftovers :), a few games that provided comedic relief, and my friend received a ton of great gifts. Only 3 weeks until the Bachelorette Party and I can't wait to live it up!! Hopefully a little less 'PG-rated' style :P

*Kristin*

Friday, March 30, 2012

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Schmuck

I'd just like to say that I think being on the buying end of a house is much easier than selling. Yes, you have to go through all the inspections, etc. but at least you can walk away unscathed in your contingency period.

Our Buyer's had their home inspection on Tuesday, came back Thursday with a contractor, and came back twice today with different contractors. I have no idea WHAT they are questioning, but I'm stressed, knowing that if they walk away, we've wasted a great deal of time on these shmucks (hereinafter referred to as "Mr. & Mrs. Schmuck") that can't make up their minds! I agree, a week and a half may not seem like a big deal, but it is when you are resigning in 3 short weeks, moving in 4 weeks, and everything is already set in motion without turning back.

So I thoroughly hope that Mr. and Mrs. Schmuck find answers that they are looking for today. At least if they walk away tomorrow, I'd be happy to take their hand money and cover my move for free! If they walk away today, well jokes on me that I fell for their sincerity in actually wanting the house!! Frustrating.....

*Kristin*

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Quick Update

Of course I realize that even though we accepted an offer, we are not clear out of the woods just yet! Our buyer's have 10 days to get the home inspection and radon test complete. So add that to one more stress and worry during this process.

Even though I know how much Ross & I and professional help fixed things in the house, I can't help but wonder what they might find. I know we fixed nearly EVERYTHING that went wrong in our home inspection (it was quite the list and we were the fools that forged on :) so here's hoping that anything they find this time around won't scare off the Buyer's.

So 10 days is the deadline. Maybe I shouldn't have handed in my resignation so soon?!

*Kristin*

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

SOLD! ...er...

UNDER CONTRACT!

We officially accepted an offer last night and have moved towards the impending closing date. It's an emotional roller coaster ride as I can't even begin to express the excitement of selling the house so quickly, but also the sadness of moving so quickly.

As I mentioned here and everywhere, Ross & I received 3(!!) offers on the house after 10 showings in 2 days. I couldn't believe how much activity we received on the house, but I'm so happy people love the house as much as we do.

The offer we accepted was a little over our asking price! I was nervous for weeks before it was listed that we weren't going to get the $159,900 we were asking. I constantly went back and forth thinking maybe we should list higher, list lower, etc....it was driving me nuts.  **Spoiler Alert: I'm going to overshare again since it's mostly family that reads this anyway!**  But lo and behold, in the end, one couple offered us $163,000 (with 20% down, conventional loan, closing at end of April, etc.). There were so many good things about their offer despite the price, that we were ecstatic about it. This couple (and one other offer) even wrote us a letter about why they wanted the house and what it would mean to them. Let's just say the couple we sold it to really hit a note with me, and I'm so happy for them to be getting our house. I really think they'll take good care of it. (wow....can you tell I'm emotional?!)

The closing date is set for April 30th, which means I'll officially be moving April 28th, one weekend after my best friend's bachelorette party (that'll be an emotional celebration!). I also officially submitted my resignation letter today for Westinghouse, resigning on April 20th. There's a lot of official biz-naz going on up here, can you tell?! Maybe I should see how many times I can use the word 'official' for the rest of the post....

So for now, I'm officially getting some official moving company quotes. And trying to squeeze every official last bit of joy and appreciation out of my official house, hopeful that we'll find another official beautiful home in good ol' Alabama.

:)

*Kristin*

Monday, March 19, 2012

Let's be Honest....

...it was my fresh baked chocolate chip cookies that sold the house. And the fresh flowers I put out in the kitchen. And the world's most pathetic hanging flower basket I hung by the front door.

I'm certain it was those things that gave buyer's a good impression :) Or I like to think so, so that I can take all the credit!! haha

I'm on 'Cloud 9' right now. We had 8 successful showings yesterday, and 2 more today. Two offers came out of yesterday's showings, and they are both great offers and just shy of the full asking price. I'm hoping now that they have a little competition, they'll suck it up and offer the full price. If not, we're still thrilled with either offer. (I hope they are not reading this b/c there goes my Poker Face!! *Pa-pa-pa Poker Face pa pa Poker Face. Na na na na. ....Name that artist!)

So by noon tomorrow, both buyer's will need to come back with their 'highest and best' offer, and we'll go from there. As for today's showings, who knows if something will come out of those, but if so, they are on a time crunch to compete with the other 2 offers. If not, then that's just fine with us!

So for all future home buying & selling....Ross & I are completely delusional to what the rest of the population goes through. My heart goes out to anyone struggling to buy & sell.

But for now, I'll try to keep you guys posted on what's next :)

*Kristin*

UPDATE: We now have 3 offers, all of which we'll see by 12:00pm tomorrow :)

Friday, March 16, 2012

House Listing

We officially listed the house on Tuesday :)

6100 Meadow Lane

In the first 2 days it was listed, we already had 6 requests for showings!!! Four on Sunday, one on Monday, and one on Wednesday. *whew*   (We made a note that there were to be no showings until Sunday, March 18th in order to finish a few things.)

We took our time to list the house because my father-in-law and his contractor friend were helping us spruce up the curb appeal, since Ross & I never got the chance to work on the outside. I think it was a good decision seeing as what a difference freshly layed mulch can make!

But along with that, I'll also ....
  • buy fresh flowers for the kitchen on Saturday to give it that extra special touch...
  • burn my 'cupcake scented' candle for the Sunday showings (I thought maybe this would beat the old 'fresh baked cookies' adage :) (OK...I lie...I couldn't find a 'fresh baked cookies' candle, so I resorted to the 2nd best scent!! HA!). 
  • I've already burried my St. Joseph statue that my grandma gave me right in front of the house and upside down! (read more about that here). I truly believe in this, as Michelle and Mike took it seriously and they were able to sell their condo in Connecticut :)

So all in all, I'm at least hopeful to get some good feedback, along with the bad (*eek*). And from there, hopefully we have a good idea of what it'll take to sell the house. And I know if it doesn't sell right away, or if it does, that He has a plan for us and all will happen according to His plan.

*Kristin*

Monday, March 12, 2012

And it keeps on Changing...

I'm about finished thinking that I have things all planned out b/c in 5 minutes, I'll have a complete and opposite plan instead :)  I refuse to even make a decision about what I'll eat for dinner, because let's face it, I can't make up my mind on anything right now!!!

First, the house was to be listed on March 1st. Then we decided we'd wait until we finished a few projects, so we held off for a week. Then one more. Then a few days. NOW I'm ready to list it. Pronto. But wait... we still need 2 more days to finish the projects that should really be done BEFORE we list, otherwise giving buyers the impression that the house needs 'work.' Okie dokie, so by the end of this week hopefully it will be on the market. Or next monday. Or next wednesday. Who knows anymore. And I'm going crazy thinking about it.

Next, I originally was going to stay here until mid-June after my friend's wedding and hopefully after the house is sold. This was Ross' and my original plan, together we agreed. Now? I want to move sooner, but have to be realistic, so maybe sometime in May? The earlier the better, but still hoping the house is either sold or under contract come May. The hubs is bored and wants me to move NOW, but that is just day-dreaming :)

Moving options? Welp...that is a revolving decision as well. The first time we moved Ross to AL, we rented a Budget Moving Truck and did most/all of the loading, unloading, and driving ourselves, which also resulted in getting a hotel room one night on the road, for a total of about $1,000 for the first move! It ran us a lot higher than expected. So for this time around, it just may be worth it to hire a company to move us while Ross & I drive my car down ourselves. A few estimates are coming in at $1,500-$2,000 for a company to load, unload and drive, which is better than what I expected! That way, we get professionals to load and unload all of our stuff (bonus points!!) and Ross and I can drive the 17-hour drive in one day since we'll only have my car to drive. AND Dakota will be able to ride along with us in our car. I'm absolutely fearful of bringing her on a plane, so I wouldn't mind driving my good old Chevy Cobalt the whole way without cruise control (darn car!). Oh, that dog is spoiled!!

So if you ask me over the next few months how things are going, and you get a complete and opposite answer of what I told you the first time....well, too bad. Just look at my life right now! It's a revolving mystery :)

I shall like to blame thank my hubs for the chaos!

*Kristin*

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Keeping Busy

One thing I won't miss about Pittsburgh...the rain! It's been pouring down here all night, and so far, all day. I had my umbrella break on me on my way into work this morning, which in turn forced me to run in my high heels to get into the building semi-dry, while juggling my heavy purse that was carrying my work laptop and a box I had to mail to Ross later. What a morning!

But regardless, it's weird being back home in an empty house. I have many things to accomplish though, luckily, so I'm definitely keeping busy.

The house, for one, needs to be put on the market soon. My father-in-law and a local handyman he's friends with are finishing up a few last minute projects on the house to get it in tip-top shape before we list it. There were just a few unfinished things that Ross & I never got around to which will make quite a difference for open-houses, so I'm happy they are finishing them for us! I'm even a little jealous that we didn't do these things sooner!! Once they finish up, I can't wait to get it on the market, and see what kind of feedback we get. Hopefully we get a quick offer, but I'm also telling myself to not get my hopes up just so I'm not disappointed if we don't, and I have to stay here longer than planned. Either way, I'm anxious to get the house listed!

Secondly, my best friend is getting married in June, so me and her other bridesmaids, also my other closest girlfriends, are planning her shower, which will be at the end of March (which I just realized is only 1 month away!). So I'll be busy getting all the final details planned. I'm so excited to get to host this for her and it's so much fun having my other girlfriends be a part of it to help me with the planning! It'll be a great day and I can't wait!!

Other than that, I guess I'm enjoying some of my free time, not having any obligations to cook dinner, watching any chick flicks that I want, etc. :) I gotta live it up a bit because I know Ross is! ...As he keeps insisting the apartment is an all-out Bachelor Pad until I move down. Thanks hun! So this road goes 2 ways!

But for now, I'll keep on dreaming of the warm weather Ross is enjoying, and dreaming of the Caramel Brownie Chunk ice cream I have waiting for me at home for dinner :) Who says that's not a balanced meal?!

-Kristin

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Chillin' in Bham

So after a 2-day trek to Alabama and a very tense and stressful situation with Budget Truck Rental, Ross and I are finally settled in at the apt. I ended up having to drive Ross' car behind him the entire way since the car dolly did not work for his car, nor my car, for that matter! But other than that, and after lots of yelling and screaming at Budget, the rest of the trip went smoothly. Most of the boxes are now unpacked and its a sunny 60 degrees outside. Life is pretty great. There's no tv or internet yet but we both have smart phones to supplement that. Its actually kind of relaxing to think outside the box about what to do and not be a victim of tv due to boredom :)  We're enjoying our time together before I leave on monday, which I'm not looking forward to.  I'm eager to begin this next chapter and feel like these next few months will be hard to concentrate on! But anywho, I'm gonna go grab Ross to join me for a Shamrock Shake at McD's :) Lata!

-Kristin

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Today is the Day...

The truck is being packed.
The car is being towed.
We're off tomorrow to make the long haul south.
I've counted a million and one boxes that are going with us,
And a million and one feelings of anticipation of what's to come next.
I'm happy for Ross and his immediate move;
Sad for myself to have to come back to Pittsburgh without him.
But I'm going to make the next 5 days count.
Gonna do my best to not be stressed
And just enjoy living in this moment,
Because I really feel like we're starting a new chapter.
And it's bittersweet to leave our closest friends and family behind.
But I hope we find more of ourselves in Sweet Home Alabama :)

*Kristin*


p.s. - I downloaded a blogger app to keep me connected on the road, so stay tuned :) A girl's gotta have something to do during a 16-hour drive!!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

My Photography Beginning

My cousin Angela asked me a few months ago when I bought my DSLR if I'd be up for taking newborn photos when Giana, her first child, arrived. So on Sunday, Ross & I set out to Angela & Dave's house to meet Giana for the first time, and to take some photos.  She was precious to say the least and only 17 days old. I was so excited to finally have a subject that wasn't Dakota!! I would've liked to take pictures of Giana sooner, but with the move Ross & I are preparing for, we were just too busy to do it any sooner! Giana was quite the cryer for the first hour, but after a bit of coddling and feeding time, she calmed down enough to get some decent photos :)

I'm the first to admit how FAR I am from being a professional after overexposing a ton of shots, taking too long with settings, and some of the pictures being completely out of focus! ...But after 600+ photos (200 of which I instantly deleted), here are some of the best shots. I had so much fun with Giana and can't wait to find more 'test' subjects so that I can keep practicing!  If only all subjects could be this adorable :)





 
  


 










 

 


  

 *Kristin

Having Fun at Work

All work and no play is no fun at all! Every now and then I get creative on keeping myself busy at work :) A few months ago, when Ross could not see the light at the end of the un-ending job stress tunnel that was his past recruiting job, I had a little fun in Microsoft Word and made him his own personal flyer for work. His job was stressful to say the least, and sometimes humor was all I could offer to help him get through the roughest of times when words of encouragement no longer had an effect!

So back in November, I had a little fun, hoping he would post this on his office door for all to see (but sadly did not, haha....you'll see why....read to the bottom :)

So after a good laugh, Ross showed it to two of his closest coworkers, one of them being his former administrative assistant when he was in the HR Generalist role. She loved it as well, and while currently not meshing well with Ross' replacement at the time (who none of us understandly liked since they let Ross go and hired this new whack of a job who didn't even know basic HR 101 to replace Ross), Ross' admin asked for her own flyer! haha  It was kind of fun to make one from an Admin perspective...something I could give great insight to :)
And lastly, this week, I thought it only made sense to get Ross prepped for what's to come at his new job at US Steel, so I made him a new flyer! I think we both like this one the best! Perhaps I've found my new side business?! HA

 Haha...I hope the discretionary advisory was readable and you had a good laugh : )

*Kristin