Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Back to the west coast. Step one...
It's time! I'm so excited that we are getting ready to put our house on the market. There will be work; there will be stress; but it's all good.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
First day of Winter
Has it been crazy or what?? We have been checking Northwest weather. Burrrr! I'm sure they don't feel like this is only the first day of winter! On this corner of the country, it's been high 70s for a good while. However, the next 2 days will drop down to only high 40s and 60s and gets pretty cold at night, in the 30s!!!!
Since this is the new mark of the "new season", let's talk about what's going on last season, Fall (+ Summer... maybe Spring!).
Things for us finally started to look better. Physically, I started feeling normal at the beginning of Fall. I was able to reactivate my gym membership and started exercising. By October, I think I was pretty much all healed; I felt great and Strong!
Fall was also the time we mentally started to feel better! As some of you know, we had a very tough year. Even without our depressive feelings from the relocation, I don't think that it would have been easy. You may notice not only that I quit updating this blog here, Stakit also was not super motivated to write a little something here either. Sorry :( There are times we felt better, like when Cindy & John, in-laws, and Andrea and Andy came to visit us. Additionally, phone calls and emails from some of our friends really helped us out a whole bunch. (Correct, we didn't want to talk much, please don't take it personally.) Boy, we just really don't need to go back there! We are glad that we have moved on.
As far as the house, Fall was also when we figured out there's no way we're willing to lose a very big load of money selling this house and move to anywhere. We know we will be in this house for a L-i-t-t-l-e-W-h-i-l-e. Oh well, it is what is it. It's funny how once someone's attitude / expectation changes, their perspective completely changes. We allowed ourselves to enjoy Florida, to do stuff with new people (w/o seriously looking for friends), and to get a Wii.
In Fall, I also become a new auntie. I was very fortunate to get to meet my new niece and took a bunch of pictures of her for later days. She's a sweet little baby girl.
Let's come back to 'now', we are enjoying our mild winter here. I am very excited that I have Christmas this year! Last year was a scam, I barely could function. In-laws were here to spend Christmas with us but I felt like they ended up taking care of me. I felt bad. This year I sure will enjoy My Christmas with my family. My in-laws are on the way here and I am so looking forward to spending some good time with them!
Since this is the new mark of the "new season", let's talk about what's going on last season, Fall (+ Summer... maybe Spring!).
Things for us finally started to look better. Physically, I started feeling normal at the beginning of Fall. I was able to reactivate my gym membership and started exercising. By October, I think I was pretty much all healed; I felt great and Strong!
Fall was also the time we mentally started to feel better! As some of you know, we had a very tough year. Even without our depressive feelings from the relocation, I don't think that it would have been easy. You may notice not only that I quit updating this blog here, Stakit also was not super motivated to write a little something here either. Sorry :( There are times we felt better, like when Cindy & John, in-laws, and Andrea and Andy came to visit us. Additionally, phone calls and emails from some of our friends really helped us out a whole bunch. (Correct, we didn't want to talk much, please don't take it personally.) Boy, we just really don't need to go back there! We are glad that we have moved on.
As far as the house, Fall was also when we figured out there's no way we're willing to lose a very big load of money selling this house and move to anywhere. We know we will be in this house for a L-i-t-t-l-e-W-h-i-l-e. Oh well, it is what is it. It's funny how once someone's attitude / expectation changes, their perspective completely changes. We allowed ourselves to enjoy Florida, to do stuff with new people (w/o seriously looking for friends), and to get a Wii.
In Fall, I also become a new auntie. I was very fortunate to get to meet my new niece and took a bunch of pictures of her for later days. She's a sweet little baby girl.
Let's come back to 'now', we are enjoying our mild winter here. I am very excited that I have Christmas this year! Last year was a scam, I barely could function. In-laws were here to spend Christmas with us but I felt like they ended up taking care of me. I felt bad. This year I sure will enjoy My Christmas with my family. My in-laws are on the way here and I am so looking forward to spending some good time with them!
Friday, March 07, 2008
The Ides of March
OK, the title of this particular blog entry is a little misleading. However, it has been raining quite a bit. It kind of reminds me of the NW, except when it rains here, it's like 65 degrees outside. The rain is good, because FLA is still trying to recover from drought-like conditions over the last couple of years.
Since the last entry was back in January, I should probably give a brief recap of what we have been up to over the last month:
1) We went to Tampa/St. Petersburg over one weekend. That was a lot of fun. We visited the Dali museum (largest in the US) and the Pier in St. Pete. We had dinner at a GREAT tapas restaurant. KC still talks about the shrimp ceviche. We also visited Honeymoon island, which is just north of Tampa. We wanted to at least take a look at the water on the Gulf side of the state. We did a bit of shelling on Honeymoon island, before we ended up heading back home.
2) Due to health concerns, KC had left her position at the pre-school in early February. She is feeling a lot stronger now, so it was definitely the correct decision. She can now concentrate solely on school. She is really enjoying her classes, and feels like she is learning a lot this term. And yes, she is applying what she learned already. I wouldn't say that I am a guinea pig or anything, but....
3) A Dim Sum place has just opened up in JAX. This was HUGE news for us. We have eaten there several times now. The chef is from HK, so the quality of food is quite good. We also managed to find a really good Korean BBQ place down in JAX as well.
4) We have been working on home improvement projects. We painted the master bedroom, and have installed some new lights in our dining room and entry-way. I'm not going to tell you any details, out of the hope that some of you reading this might feel intrigued, and feel obligated to come and visit us!
5) KC is visiting a friend this weekend, down in San Antonio. Based on an e-mail that she had read to me, her friend plans on taking her to see the Alamo, the Riverwalk, and some sort of caverns. When she gets back, I promise to pester her to blog about the trip.
Since the last entry was back in January, I should probably give a brief recap of what we have been up to over the last month:
1) We went to Tampa/St. Petersburg over one weekend. That was a lot of fun. We visited the Dali museum (largest in the US) and the Pier in St. Pete. We had dinner at a GREAT tapas restaurant. KC still talks about the shrimp ceviche. We also visited Honeymoon island, which is just north of Tampa. We wanted to at least take a look at the water on the Gulf side of the state. We did a bit of shelling on Honeymoon island, before we ended up heading back home.
2) Due to health concerns, KC had left her position at the pre-school in early February. She is feeling a lot stronger now, so it was definitely the correct decision. She can now concentrate solely on school. She is really enjoying her classes, and feels like she is learning a lot this term. And yes, she is applying what she learned already. I wouldn't say that I am a guinea pig or anything, but....
3) A Dim Sum place has just opened up in JAX. This was HUGE news for us. We have eaten there several times now. The chef is from HK, so the quality of food is quite good. We also managed to find a really good Korean BBQ place down in JAX as well.
4) We have been working on home improvement projects. We painted the master bedroom, and have installed some new lights in our dining room and entry-way. I'm not going to tell you any details, out of the hope that some of you reading this might feel intrigued, and feel obligated to come and visit us!
5) KC is visiting a friend this weekend, down in San Antonio. Based on an e-mail that she had read to me, her friend plans on taking her to see the Alamo, the Riverwalk, and some sort of caverns. When she gets back, I promise to pester her to blog about the trip.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Hope that's the last box
We have been in this house for over a year now. Some rooms are painted; our rooms have been rearranged for hundreds of times; we are half way through changing out all the light fixture; this past week, out of the blue, I had this idea. I wanted to turn one of the rooms in to an art / project room. Before I do anything, I want to clear out all the Stuff in that room. We have managed to piled a number of things in this room (we barely can touch the wall). This evening we were uncluttering and we were getting almost to the wall! There was a box sitting in the corner....still taped! An Unopened box from the move? You gotta be kiddin' me.
I was hoping it was something good in this box. No, just some stuff from my old busniess that I had been looking for. I hope that's the last box.
I was hoping it was something good in this box. No, just some stuff from my old busniess that I had been looking for. I hope that's the last box.
Monday, July 30, 2007
We have been here for WHAT? One year? Already?
We moved in to our “vacation house” exactly one year ago. We still don’t have full time neighbors right next to us but we have some very good neighbor friends very close by. One year later, we have a better understanding why Stakit’s company wants us to relocate. One year later, we are starting to accept the fact that we live in FL. Realistically, things / friends just don’t stay the same, we started to accept that now. Although, I’m very happy to see a lot of you are still staying in touch. One year later, we are going to slow down on traveling. Yes, this is still our extended vacation and we will start to spend more time in this area.
This past year, we have been traveling quite a bit. We have been to
I do have to say it’s very nice to live here, especially in the winter, very lovely. I can see why people buy their vacation houses here. Summer time, now, it’s not too bad either. Last summer was unusual, this area didn’t have the regular afternoon rain (for 1 – 2 hrs) that I always heard about but this year… we have it! I kinda like it. It cools down quite a bit. Plus, I don’t usually go anywhere in the afternoon anyways. Rain or shine, I am planning to stay inside (anywhere with A/C) for July and August. I don’t mind that at all. The rain is good for the lawn and the garden anyway.
Speaking of staying in, here is how our place look likes now. I’m just looking at pictures from a year ago.
The new walls (with the contractor’s paint) were driving us crazy. I was so unhappy about anything and everything then. We still have some more work to do but at least it feels like home now.
This past year, we have been traveling quite a bit. We have been to
- DisneyWorld for a few time, like Eight times, hee hee
- Savannah, GA 4 times
- Jekyll Island, GA a few times
- St. Simons Island, GA a few times…
- Bahamas - the blue water was incredible
- St Augustine, FL - the oldest city in North America
- Atlanta, GA
- Charleston, SC
- Washington DC
- Daytona Beach, FL - made it to the America's Top Ten Beaches List in this year
- Vegas, NV
- The Northwest and
- Hawaii
I do have to say it’s very nice to live here, especially in the winter, very lovely. I can see why people buy their vacation houses here. Summer time, now, it’s not too bad either. Last summer was unusual, this area didn’t have the regular afternoon rain (for 1 – 2 hrs) that I always heard about but this year… we have it! I kinda like it. It cools down quite a bit. Plus, I don’t usually go anywhere in the afternoon anyways. Rain or shine, I am planning to stay inside (anywhere with A/C) for July and August. I don’t mind that at all. The rain is good for the lawn and the garden anyway.
Speaking of staying in, here is how our place look likes now. I’m just looking at pictures from a year ago.
The new walls (with the contractor’s paint) were driving us crazy. I was so unhappy about anything and everything then. We still have some more work to do but at least it feels like home now.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Chrismas lights
P.S. We hear about the storm in the Northwest. Hope everyone is ok out there!
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Please don’t show me your love
We put up our “HOLIDAY” lights last weekend and I’ve been kinda “fine tuning” them. I got some more Green ones yesterday and this evening, I went outside when the sun set. I know that’s the worst time to go “play” in the yard and wearing low rise capris is not a great idea. But I am on a roll today, getting a lot of things done. I didn’t want to lose the momentum. I went outside to Git-r-Done! (no, I have not see him before)
I just came back inside and guess what I got? I got 3 big mosquito bites on my lower back and a few on my arms and ankles! Gee, I want to be likable and lovable by People! Like human being, not by Mosquito!
I’m icing it now; hope they won’t get any bigger and burn like last year when we were in Kaua’i (but I got 50 or so bites; that was bad!) and hope I can sleep tonight.
I just came back inside and guess what I got? I got 3 big mosquito bites on my lower back and a few on my arms and ankles! Gee, I want to be likable and lovable by People! Like human being, not by Mosquito!
I’m icing it now; hope they won’t get any bigger and burn like last year when we were in Kaua’i (but I got 50 or so bites; that was bad!) and hope I can sleep tonight.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Ordered 3 months ago
The stuff that we ordered 3 months ago for the Great room is FINALLY here!!!
I - L o v e - I t !
I - L o v e - I t !
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Covered Lanai
One of the things we like about this house is the covered patio and the view of all the preserve. We are planning to have the patio enclosed with screen put in to keep the bugs out. We got some quotes but haven’t decided on how we want it yet. Without the screens, I never thought about going outside “work” or hang out. Now that we are not in Love bugs season, I could sit Outside!! Right now it’s 78. I want to enjoy it while I can.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Landscaping
The weather is finally nice now (70 degrees today). It was a fine Fall day, down here in the South. Since neither of us are hunters, that pretty much meant that it was a nice day to do some yard projects. We concentrated on two items - lighting and a flowerbed around our mailbox. I would like to say that I helped immensely on the lighting project. My total involvement on that project pretty much entailed standing across the street after dark, looking back at the house, and helping KC adjust the lights. That's it - KC did the rest. My arms are tired just thinking about it. Actually, most of my time was spent on gardening. We had to remove a pretty large area of grass, smooth out the area, and then plant the flowers. The cable guy gave us a head start on the project - remember when we didn't have cable for a month because the boneheads forgot to run the cable under the driveway - well, when they finally put the cable in, they managed to rid us a lot of "unneccessary" grass near the mailbox. Actually, when I was pulling out the grass with the shovel, I almost cut through the cable - the boneheads only buried it an inch below the ground! Anyhow, the flowerbed looks nice, and KC did a spectacular job on the lighting.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Something Missing
I was planning to put in the low voltage lighting outside today. When we got our lights, we were still pretty overwhelmed with the move. We kept it simple and just got a box set deal; it will have everything to get it going. So, I was going to get all the lights ready last night, did I have everything? No! That’s my luck! Transformer, check! Wire, check! 15 fixtures … ... um, no, there are only 11.
So, I took it back to the store today and exchanged it for another one. Even though I didn’t take the 4, I worried that the store won’t take it back. But they were actually all fine with it. I just got a new box, checked everything right there and off I went. That wasn’t so bad.
We put all 15 fixtures together while we are watching movies at home tonight. They are really ready to go. Ooohhh but it’s the weekend! We will see.
So, I took it back to the store today and exchanged it for another one. Even though I didn’t take the 4, I worried that the store won’t take it back. But they were actually all fine with it. I just got a new box, checked everything right there and off I went. That wasn’t so bad.
We put all 15 fixtures together while we are watching movies at home tonight. They are really ready to go. Ooohhh but it’s the weekend! We will see.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
My arms are shaking
We have a winner! We finally decided on our bedding. It’s about time! It took us about 3 months. We paid the deposit last night and they should start crackin’ here. Hopefully we will get them before spring.
I had been working in the garage for days now. Garage shelving from the old house, is finally up and all the Stuff has been organized. It’s done! It takes care of mostly everything in the garage, i.e. camping, recreational, seasonal, coolers, tools, MY power tools! gardening tools, painting stuff…. all went on this one wall! not too bad huh?! Oh, almost forgot, my favorite, the stuff that made my arms shake, the Extra tiles & grout that the builder left for us. They. Are. Heavy! I just moved them from the middle of the garage to this garage shelving wall, on the ground though. My arms are still shaking! Well, I guess that was pretty good weight training!
Now all the smaller stuff in the garage is all organized, there're still the bigger stuff. I still have 2 bikes and all the stuff that directly "goes" on the wall. But still, I am pretty happy.
Tomorrow, outdoor low voltage lighting and hope I can work on the rest of the garage too!
I had been working in the garage for days now. Garage shelving from the old house, is finally up and all the Stuff has been organized. It’s done! It takes care of mostly everything in the garage, i.e. camping, recreational, seasonal, coolers, tools, MY power tools! gardening tools, painting stuff…. all went on this one wall! not too bad huh?! Oh, almost forgot, my favorite, the stuff that made my arms shake, the Extra tiles & grout that the builder left for us. They. Are. Heavy! I just moved them from the middle of the garage to this garage shelving wall, on the ground though. My arms are still shaking! Well, I guess that was pretty good weight training!
Now all the smaller stuff in the garage is all organized, there're still the bigger stuff. I still have 2 bikes and all the stuff that directly "goes" on the wall. But still, I am pretty happy.
Tomorrow, outdoor low voltage lighting and hope I can work on the rest of the garage too!
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Upgrading Master Bath
We have a plumber (hee hee) here today working on our bathroom faucets.
I usually try not to say plumber…. cuz it makes me giggle. (I know, how old am I?!) AND I can’t help it… I always have to check their “belt line”. The one came over today, nothing there for me to giggle. I figured; he’s about 140 lbs and 6’3”!
Ok, enough of That. I am very happy that he showed up today and installed the new faucets in the Master bath. I love the new faucets so much better. Now we are just waiting for the Roman tub trim and shower trim.
Now, I better head over to the gym and work off the candies that I had for the last 2 days!
I usually try not to say plumber…. cuz it makes me giggle. (I know, how old am I?!) AND I can’t help it… I always have to check their “belt line”. The one came over today, nothing there for me to giggle. I figured; he’s about 140 lbs and 6’3”!
Ok, enough of That. I am very happy that he showed up today and installed the new faucets in the Master bath. I love the new faucets so much better. Now we are just waiting for the Roman tub trim and shower trim.
Now, I better head over to the gym and work off the candies that I had for the last 2 days!
Friday, September 08, 2006
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Moved in!
We are officially moved in! We checked out of the hotel (and the internet… Sniff! Sniff!) on Sat and went into the house with our luggage. We did some major cleaning for the weekend!
The big moving truck came in on Monday and we have everything. I mean EVERYTHING except the missing boxes! So, now we have a huge mess at the new house! Why? Because, apparently some people can’t read labels on boxes!! (or labels of the rooms on the wall!)
So, we were not supposed to have alcohol, candles, aerosol cans, live plants….. etc. AND guess what we found? Jack D, Kahlua, Bombay, Vermouth, sake….. (darn, I should have left my Grey Goose there when they packed!) some candles, a bottle of PAM, AND an Orchid!! They. Packed. A. Live. ORCHID!!! Hello!?!?!
Since Tuesday, after the big truck left, all sorts of subcontractors came in and “finished” the house: counter dude, tile guys, site foreman, wiring people… you name it! Tomorrow we will have the appliances guy! But no, NO, internet guy until at least next week! :( I guess I have to come back to the coffee shop again!
Car update! Good news!! I got My Car!!! Yippee!!!! It’s weird to have my car here! It still has PST on my car clock.
The big moving truck came in on Monday and we have everything. I mean EVERYTHING except the missing boxes! So, now we have a huge mess at the new house! Why? Because, apparently some people can’t read labels on boxes!! (or labels of the rooms on the wall!)
So, we were not supposed to have alcohol, candles, aerosol cans, live plants….. etc. AND guess what we found? Jack D, Kahlua, Bombay, Vermouth, sake….. (darn, I should have left my Grey Goose there when they packed!) some candles, a bottle of PAM, AND an Orchid!! They. Packed. A. Live. ORCHID!!! Hello!?!?!
Since Tuesday, after the big truck left, all sorts of subcontractors came in and “finished” the house: counter dude, tile guys, site foreman, wiring people… you name it! Tomorrow we will have the appliances guy! But no, NO, internet guy until at least next week! :( I guess I have to come back to the coffee shop again!
Car update! Good news!! I got My Car!!! Yippee!!!! It’s weird to have my car here! It still has PST on my car clock.
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Our NEW House!
We got the key! We haven't gone to the new house yet; however, we went out to dinner and celebrated. We are going to sleep in tomorrow morning. then, have a good breakfast, check out, and "move in"! Since we don’t have our stuff yet, we will just be moving our suitcases there, take a trip to the home improvment store for cleaning supplies / water softener, and go to the new house CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN. Our stuff should get there at the new house on Monday and hope we will be ready for it!
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