I love my new home. ^_^ Technically we aren’t living there yet, but we’ve gone up over a dozen times to work on repairs/renovations, and move a few things in. (Remember, I live with my in-laws and we’re turning the basement of the new house into a full home for them. The kitchen is just about done, and the next big step is laying the floor!)
It’s so peaceful there. I can go out on the porch and *maybe* I’ll see one car on the road. But usually the only thing I hear is the wind in the trees.
So, whenever we’re there.I make little excuses to go outside and just soak in the calm. I could happily spend my entire day outside! That’s a HUGE difference from where we currently live. It’s a very upscale neighborhood, but it’s busy. If I leave the house it’s usually at night, when everything is quiet. (Or go out with my hubby to get groceries. But that’s about the only time I go out.)
Today when we were at the new house I took a few minutes to walk around outside and pick some wildflowers. They were probably weeds, but whatever. XD
Anywho, I put them in a yellow glass vase that my mum gave me, and they just looked so pretty! When I was little I used to love picking flowers/weeds for my mom. This is the first time that I’ve been able to do it for myself and it’s awesome.
And windows!! I have so many windows! The past few visits the weather has been beautiful, so I opened up the windows to let the breezes wander through the house. Cross ventilation ftw! ^_^
I really, really hope that we can move up there and stay there soon.
It’s not something I’ve ever been particularly good with. For example, in our house-purchasing progress, three times before we’ve put contracts on other homes, and three times before they’ve fallen through. The first time it happened, my husband off-handedly told me while we were grocery shopping, and then was appalled when I started crying. *^_^*
I do NOT like to be seen while I’m crying, but tears are my default outlet for intense emotion. >_< So.. yeah.
The last time the contract fell through, my realtor told me about it on the phone. (At least I was home this time.) And of course I started bawling. My realtor is really nice and was trying to cheer me up, but I just wanted to hang up so I could cry and get over it.
See, I’ll be hit really hard with emotion and won’t want to talk about it to anyone for a few days. Talking doesn’t help me process or move on any quicker. I’m incredibly introverted introspective and have deep philosophical talks with myself all the time, so I basically talk myself through things. (Does that sound creepy? Yeah… probably does...)
Today, I’m reminded again just how much it SUCKS to be disappointed. Don’t worry! The contract is still a go on the house. ^_^ We’re getting the loan processed and that looks good so far. *Two thumbs up*
But the potential job I was so excited about…. Pretty much fizzled. :( It’s been downgraded from a Community Manager position (a long-term job) to writing just a few blog posts. The toughest part is that I had so many ideas ready to go, and I really wanted to see them in action!
For now, I’m sipping ginger ale (bad stomach) and telling myself how this is probably for the best. Starting an intense job right before we move would have been rough. And since I’ll still have contact with the company, this doesn’t mean things are over either. It could be that in a few months our respective situations change, and being a CM is a possibility again. Or maybe something else will happen. Who knows?
There is only one certainty in life, and that’s that things rarely happen the way you expect them to. (Which to be honest, makes it really damn hard for dreamers like myself.) I can plan and scheme all I like, but everything can change in the blink of an eye.
Or the stroke of a pen.
Now I’m back to trying to find a consistent job, and this ginger ale is starting to taste kinda funky. >_< Bleh on both counts.
I have about 5 posts I’ve been meaning to write down, but right now I want to share some breaking news!! ^_^
With any luck, I may have a job soon. An online job!! That pays money and everything! XD This would be a huge, HUGE blessing, and I really hope that it works out.
The new house we’re (hopefully) moving to is a lot bigger than our current space. But even though I’m going from a kitchen with 4 WIDE drawers to a kitchen with 12 drawers of all different sizes, I don’t think it makes sense to bring things I don’t use, just because we’ll have room for it. That’s silly.
So! As part of pre-pre-PRE moving preparation, I decided to tackle 1 drawer/shelf/space each day and sort it. Not pack it up or anything. Just sift what I want to keep and what can be sold. (Or repurposed.)
Today I tackled the cooking utensils drawer. Probably 75% of the items stayed in the drawer because we use them all the time, or because they’re so unique that nothing can really replace them. Like the ladle. It’s REALLY hard to find a good substitute for a ladle.
Anywho, I set aside the 25% that I culled so my hubby could take a look at it. He looked at each item carefully, and occasionally even said, “What is this?” and held up a never-before used utensil.
But much to my surprise, we actually disagreed on a few of the “kick” items. o_O And those items were…
Pampered Chef Pizza Cutter – Marked for demise because we already have a pizza cutter, and hubby likes the 2nd one better. Marked for saving because we “only” have one other pizza cutter.
Long nylon spoon, Pampered Chef brand – Marked for demise because I haven’t used it in 2 freakin’ years, at least. Marked for saving because… it’s nice.
Long nylon slotted spoon, Pampered Chef brand – Marked for demise because I haven’t used it in 2 years either. Marked for saving because it was rainy today.
Oh, if you couldn’t tell, I used to be a Pampered Chef consultant. Those three items are all things we got for free, so it isn’t like we’re out $20 or something.
There really isn’t a need to hang on to them. *Shrugs* I was going to offer them to my MIL, but then I went upstairs to check if any of our cooking utensils had ended up in her kitchen drawer….
(Picture redacted for the sake of the children.)
It’s scary. o_O I may wait and try to help her clean out some kitchen things too. Maybe if she has nicer utensils she’ll ditch the broken ones. *Crosses fingers*
Now, my friends, I need your help on something! I have two whisks and really only need one. (Technically I have a third that’s an attachment to a hand mixer. That one stays!) We have a red Kitchenaid whisk and a long Pampered Chef whisk. Both are pictured below.
It’s a whisky business! *Audience boos*
They’re both in great condition, dishwasher safe, and have solid handles. Whenever I need a whisk I don’t stop to analyze the curvature of the ribs, I just grab whichever is closest. So really, this won’t affect my long-term cooking. ^_^
This year I decided to try container gardening, with veggies. I researched it and ended up planting tomatoes and cucumbers in two recycling bins. (I’ll get pics of them later. Promise!)
To be honest, at first I was more excited about the tomatoes than the cucumbers, but it turns out that I like eating fresh cucumbers a LOT!! Apparently I’m getting old, and the acid in tomatoes isn’t so grand. *Le sigh*
Cucumbers grow fast, so I usually get to pick 1-2 each day to eat. They’re a lot better when they’re still small and uber-crunchy, but they like to hide under the giant cucumber plant leaves. When that happens, I only find them when they’re the standard grocery-store size. Not as tasty for straight up nomming.
But they ARE good for cucumber samiches. ^_^ So yesterday I took one of the giant ninja cucumbers and sliced it up. Then I took some fresh bread that I made last night, sliced it very thinly, added mayo and pepper, and piled on the cucumbers! (And added more pepper!) Such a simple thing, but omg… delicious!!!!
Just looking at this pic makes me want another one. *^_^*
It’s a small plate and they were small samiches, but they were soooooooooo good! This was the first time I’d tried them on my homemade bread, and it was beyond my best expectations. Now I’ll just have to keep bread on hand for cucumber samiches for the rest of the summer.
Earlier today I was in the kitchen, shaping some loaves of bread, and my hubby started calling me from the next room. I hollered back but he couldn’t hear me. *Facepalm*
Finally he came into the kitchen and said that I should come see the kitties! Spaz and Daisy were sleeping on top of each other in a funny way, and luckily for you he had the foresight to take a picture. ^_^ (Of course they woke up. Dangit!)
“What are you lookin’ at?”
It looks like Spaz got sucked into Daisy’s belly. o_O ALIEN!!!!
Here’s a real quick house update before I jump into what’s wriggling around in my brain. ^_^
The inspection went fine and there were no nasty surprises! (Aka, the house isn’t half-eaten by termites.) We’re still waiting to hear back from the seller about a few things, and then we can start processing the loan. WOOHOOO!!!
Oh, and since we’ll be adding a kitchen to the basement, my MIL and I started searching Craigslist for cabinets. It looks like we’ll be able to get good cabinets for the entire kitchen for about $300-$600!! We also priced some used appliances, and that looks really good too. ^_^ I know she was worried that the kitchen would use up a ton of her money, but it seems we can get it done for about $1500. (My dad will help with installs. (He’s a contractor.))
Now, on to what else is going on in my head!
Current Earworm
I started playing Rockband 3 a few days ago, and proceeded to spend a LOT of time working on songs with the keyboard. *^_^* Somewhere along the way I got “The Con,” by Tegan and Sara in my head. I can’t embed the official music video, but you can listen to the live version instead!
I tend to get songs stuck in my head for days at a time, so hopefully I’ll have something new for you later in the week. ^_^
Currently Reading
I finished Scar Night and have semi-started Iron Angel. (It’s the 2nd book in the trilogy.) By “semi-started” I mean that it’s in my bathroom, and I’ve read about 10 pages in it so far. *^_^*
Scar Night really picked up the pace and got quite interested, but it started out very slow. Unfortunately, I’m getting that feel from Iron Angel too. And it’s strange because there are SO many neat concepts that are absolutely fascinating! (Soul pearls, warring brother-gods, a skyship hidden in fog, etc.) But I just don’t feel sparked by them. Gah. >_<
It might take me a while, but I’ll make it through!
Currently NetFlixing
I’m a little ashamed of this one. *^_^* I read an article on Yahoo! that referenced a girl on Toddlers & Tiaras, and I thought, “You know… I’ve heard a lot about it, but I’ve never actually seen an episode….”
So I put it in my instant queue and settled in to be properly horrified.
The first episode was what I expected, so it didn’t exactly horrify me. The second episode I found really interesting because I had no idea there were different type of pageants! “Glitz” pageants are the ones we’re familiar with. That’s where the fake tans, hair pieces, heavy makeup, and SUPER sequined outfits come in. “Natural” pageants are just the girls as they are. No makeup. No hair pieces. No super-fancy outfits.
Conceptually I like that idea. ^_^ But they only discussed the differences and didn’t show a “natural” pageant. I’d like to see how that actually plays out.
Oh, and one dress for a contestant cost $800. The contestant was a two year old. >_<
That’s more than my entire wardrobe, but I’m kinda cheap. *^_^* I wear my clothes until they start falling apart, and then I wear them for a few more years.
*Innocent whistle*
So that’s what’s going on with me! What are you currently listening to/reading/watching?
