Secrets, Secrets! Read all about them :)

Well I'm ready to spill the beans, even though I haven't gotten a chance to tell all of my coworkers yet (hence the delay of a FB announcement)...

We are moving to Cleveland, OH!!!

Let me start from the beginning (I know you're thinking, "yay, another rambling post!") ...

This summer has been a whirlwind. Lot's of uncertainties at a time when I thought being pregnant was enough on our agenda, God had other plans. In case you hadn't heard the news, US Steel (where Ross works) is doing very poorly, as a whole. Over the course of the spring, Ross had witnessed round after round of layoffs at his workplace. Eventually, we were not surprised when he was dealt the same card. We saw the writing on the wall but were still hopeful at the time that he would be spared. Since June, Ross has been enjoying his 'summer break' (as we call it :) There was a chance he would be recalled, but that never happened and the operations here (and all USS plants nationwide) have only gotten worse. They just recently announced last week the remaining 1,100 layoffs at his plant here in B'ham. The plant is being completely idled for at least a year. And even when they do start-up again next fall, they will only hire back about 200 employees (compared to the 1,500 that worked there earlier this year) (and that 200 does not include Ross' position). Lot's of good people lost their jobs so the whole scenario is really a shame.

In the meantime, Ross has been job hunting this summer. The big question at first was whether or not we move out of state (since I have a very good job here in B'ham!). Once we learned that I may have the possibility of working from home, the job hunt was wide open. We decided it would be nice to be a bit closer to home, so he started looking for jobs anywhere on the east coast.

He actually got a lot of good traction in his job hunt and I was excited to think of our next phase of life (even as it was bittersweet)! He had gotten such invaluable experience at his job here at USS that I really felt like we did what we came here to do, but now it was time to move on.

As of 2 weeks ago, he accepted a job offer with Alcoa (another Pgh-based company, go figure!) in Cleveland, Ohio! He'll be in the same line of work of Labor Relations. We gave them a start date of 9/14 (which gave us 4 weeks) to give us time to list & sell our house here (another house updated and flipped *sigh*) and get some other kinks sorted out before we move north.

Our house was officially listed this Monday. It's been on the market for 2 days now and already, we've had 2 showings, and 3 more coming up today! It's getting a lot of good attention so we're hopeful it will sell quickly! The updates we've made to the house really show so even though it plain *sucks* that we've renovated another house, and are now selling it, we're hopeful to at least make some money off of it. (I'll blog a house post to show you some 'before' and 'afters' so stay stuned!)

Ross & I are headed up to Cleveland this weekend for a house-hunting trip and to check out the area. We haven't decided yet whether to rent or buy in Cleveland, but hopefully we will have some answers in the next few days. Baby Girl's due date is approaching quickly, so trying to coordinate a timeline for the next 6 months is quite the headache. We'll see what feels best for us and our situation this weekend :)

And lastly, as far as my job is concerned... it's probably one of the biggest blessings I could have never imagined. I just found out yesterday that my boss has agreed to let me work remotely from home until after maternity leave! And then!, for the long-run, I can come back as a contractor and continue working from home. I'll admit, I never wanted to be a stay-at-home, I love coming to the office and interacting with coworkers on a daily basis, but with our lives about to change with Baby Girl, working from home may be such a huge blessing I didn't even know I needed and/or wanted, so I'm thrilled for the opportunity! (And Ross is thrilled I still have a job, haha)

Everything is now falling into place. I've prayed more in my life this summer than ever before and relied on my faith more than ever. Strangely enough, Ross & I have felt more calm in this chaos than I think we should've felt. Yes, there were days we were fearful or questioning 'Why?' but we've not been as stressed as I think someone should be in this case. From one of my favorite church sermons we heard at the beginning of summer (perfect timing!) was to live fully in your Faith so that you can live your life Fearlessly. I've relied on that so heavily this summer and God has truly taken the brunt of the weight and moved mountains for us.

In the end, we feel we've done what we came here to do and now it's time to be closer to our family and friends in Pgh. Ross & I are so excited for our next phase of life and I'm so relieved to finally get to share our secret :)

*Kristin*

A Plan

You've heard it over and over on this blog, if we're gonna buy a house, if we're not. We've been back and forth on this more than I can count. After waiting and waiting for the perfect sign, waiting to see if it felt right, I finally decided that Ross & I needed to step in and create our own fate. To set our own path in life. That's when we I decided we needed to make a 3-year plan for ourselves. And if fate intervenes, then so be it! But this is what we've I've decided so far. After all, Ross is such a good listener, it's certainly not my fault that I do most of the talking :)

- We need to be here for at least 3 more years. Ross & I both have great jobs here and in order to make this step in his career worth it, he needs to get at least 5 yrs. experience under his belt. Though I think this was always the plan...

- Our goal at the end of our three year plan is to figure out how to move back to PA.  Unfortunately, I don't know how that will work with Ross' job at USS, but we'll see. We may not have all the answers, but at least we have a goal. The reason we didn't make a 5-year plan is b/c I really can't fathom staying here any longer than a few years. Three years is optimistic I guess and the most I'm willing to miss out on in our families and friends lives.

- So now that we've decided to make it here another three years, I think it's time to buy a house. The apartment is really driving me crazy lately anyway between late-night partying neighbors, construction work going on and not having an outdoor space. So back to square one. We want to find a new Realtor and start house hunting again.

So we'll see. I feel a lot better after making a decision about the next few years ahead. And I realize that a few years may only be a blip in time, but it's a start. And as much as I try not to plan out our lives, it's nice to have an idea of what we want. Because once I can see a road ahead, I'll stop trying to focus on how much we miss Pgh and focus on how we can make the most out of our time here :)

*Kristin*

Hello Hello!

Hello there! Sorry I've been M.I.A. for so long but I never felt like updating on nothing :) Anyway, it's been quite a few months since I've blogged so I thought I'd give an update on how things have been going here!

Life is pretty 'ho hum' lately, in a good, calm, relaxing, 'finding ourselves' kind-of-way, but also in a boring, uneventful, waiting-for-things-to-happen kind-of-way. I have my ups and downs. I really like our life here and wouldn't change it, it's been a great experience so far, but I still feel like we're 'waiting' for things to happen. We're still trying to meet people and force ourselvse to have a social life (it's nonexistent!). And recently for the past few months, we've been trying to find a house.

The house hunt has been down right frustrating. We've done everything from expanding our search to more parts of town, stretching our budget (with no luck) and doing everything to try to find something. Now we're just going to sit back and wait to see what new listings come on the market. I feel like we'll know when it's 'the one' and that it'll all work out on it's own. So I'm trying to tell myself to stop thinking about it! It's not that I hate our apartment, I just hate the rent payment going nowhere every month!

Once we find a house, I'm hoping that'll help us to meet some people/neighbors. Or if we'd continue our church hunt, that would help too. I feel like right now we're stuck in some 'waiting' limbo, waiting to find a church, waiting to find a house, waiting to meet friends, etc. Ross & I are not very proactive in any of those areas, and I think we need to force ourselves to come out of our shells... eek!

Our jobs are going well. Ross is extremely busy at work and holding down the fort for the labor relations team this summer, thanks to some reorganizational changes. His schedule at work makes me reconsider buying another fixer-upper :) My job is going really well too. My dept. got a new manager last month so there's been some adjustments there. Now if only I could get used to my 7am-4pm work schedule, life would be good. Is it possible to reinvent myself as a morning person?!!  :)

As for the church hunt, so many people have given good suggestions about what churches to try, etc. but after about 10 churches we'd given up. I guess it's time to get back on that bandwagon with full force ahead! Of course, it would help if we knew what part of town we might settle down into one day :) Again...the waiting! I don't want to become attached to a church here then move 40 minutes away. Ack! Our house hunt has GOT to come to an end so we can figure out where to lay down some roots.

As for now, I'm looking forward to coming home in March for Michelle's baby shower and am very excited to be home for 4 days and being able to focus on visiting with just my friends and family. Xmas break was fun when Ross & I came home but was way too chaotic. Halfway through our stay we were burnt out, exhausted and didn't get to truly enjoy the time we had left in Pgh. So I'm happy to have some time to myself in March to spend in Pittsburgh. Ross is actually visiting Pgh next week (he has a seminar for work in Pgh) so he'll get to spend some time with his own family and friends. Unfortunately, it's so much easier when we visit Pgh by ourselves but at least we both agree it's easier :) haha And while he's gone next week, I'll be planning a few chick flick movie nights and junk food extravaganza. Call me excited!!

Talking about junk food though, Ross & I have finally started to do something about our unhealthy eating habits! Although we weren't ever truly horrible, we thought it was finally time to start working out and planning better dinners again. It feels great to finally be doing something about it and not just talking/whining about it. And we're not quitting this time. We've got an all-inclusive beach vaca to Punta Cana planned in May with our best friends staring us down! Bring it on Punta Cana....bring it on! When our friends asked us back in July if we'd be interested in going, we couldn't turn it down! We're justifying it as our 5-year anniversary gift to ourselves. 5 YEARS. Holy cow. When did that happen?!

So yes, our 'ho hum' life is going well. We have so much to be thankful for and lots of things to look forward to for this year. I have a feeling it will be a big year... new house? new friends? new church? Here's to hoping :)

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*

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*

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 

Sweet Home Alabama

Since I've made it Facebook official, most of you know of mine & Ross' impending adventure to Alabama!!! We are excited, nervous, optimistic, scared, and so on. It's quite the roller coaster of emotions. Call us sheltered, but we've never lived more than a 10-mile radius from where we grew up!! Even our first apartment was only a short distance away. Of course, I've always dreamed of living out-of-state, but Ross was always persisent that he never wanted to move.  Now, we are both excited to finally take the step to move (although not looking forward to traveling on holidays) and see what else is out there. Who knows, maybe we'll love it and never come back! Ok, I'm kidding, we'll always be pittsburgh-ers in our hearts and plan to come back one day :)

So since everything has been set in motion, we have quite the number of things to get done.

Ross' official start date with US Steel is March 1st. He finishes up with NHS Human Services on Feb. 16th and will have about 2 weeks in between to get packed and moved. We're flying down to B'ham (gotta love the lingo!) Feb. 2-6 to apartment hunt. Ideally, we'd love to find a townhome w/ at least a 1-car garage to rent for the first year. We don't want to buy a house until we really know the area. And if we could find a townhome with garage space (and NO yardwork :), all of our stuff should fit!! I would HATE to have to put it all back into storage when I just got it all unpacked, organized and useable in our new house :( 

Our realtor, Stephanie (who helped us buy our house and is now helping to sell it) got us in touch with a realtor in the B'ham area that specializes in rentals, so hopefully she will be able to help line up some places to look at the 3 days we have to find a place! I haven't had much luck by looking myself, so I hope this girl has something up her sleeves, haha.

Of course, everyone knows that it breaks my heart to sell our house after all the work we put into it, but I wouldn't have changed a thing and we should be able to sell it easily. I just tell myself that it's only a house and I can't be this emotionally attached. We'll also try to have everyone over to see it before we sell it, and show off our work one last time! Because we won't be doing that extent of home reno's for quite some time and we are quite proud of how far our house has come since we've bought it.

Anyways, once we find a place in B'ham, we'll have to figure out how Ross is moving his stuff down there. We have not priced anything yet as far as moving goes, but if you have any suggestions, please let us know :) We're taking everything ONE step at a time, b/c it's just too overwhelming to think about the full picture.

Once Ross moves out, we'll get the house listed on the market and see if we get any bites. Ideally, I don't want to move out until mid-June. That way I can continue working here, take care of selling the house, packing our things, etc. That gives Ross a few months to get settled into the position and to be 100% confident that he likes it. (If not, he can always move back and we'll still have our house! He always likes to play it safe and be extra cautious! Can you tell?) We also have a friend's wedding in June that we're both a part of, so it makes sense to have to only pay for him to fly home for that. It'll be hard to not see eachother for 4 months, but who knows. The plan can always change if it has to. Nothing is ever set in stone.

So that's it for now. I'm really looking forward to our 5 days in Alabama next week :) US Steel actually pays for one house hunting trip for employee & spouse, so they are paying for our flight, hotel, rental car, meals, etc. It's like a free vacation!!!! And get this, they booked us at a Residence Inn by Marriott. Yes!! I've never got to stay in such a nice hotel before (aside from our honeymoon), so I'm thrilled and can't wait for our free 'vacation' :)

Let the townhome hunting begin!...