It's a new year, and this new year has been marked by illness at our house. Not fun! I have been battling a cold (or something) since December 14, and now a sinus infection. Poor Alyssa came home from BYU for the holidays and got a horrible cold and ended up with the beginnings of an ear infection and sinus infection. Brie appears to finally be getting over her illness, and now Mark is starting to have cold symptoms. *Sigh*
We had a wonderful Christmas in Georgia with our family. We met my family at a cabin in the "mountains" (they aren't mountains...they're really hills, but people in Georgia call them mountains) and spent four days there. It was a nice cabin and it was fun to be together, although all of the "littles" (my younger nieces and nephews) had colds, which they kindly shared with the rest of us. I love spending time with my family, and especially at Christmas. It was especially wonderful to have Alyssa home for three weeks. I was sad to take her to the airport Friday to fly back out to school, but I know she'll have a great semester, and we love that she is so close to Mark's family and able to spend time with them.
I have decided not to make an New Year's Resolutions because I'm terrible at keeping them. Instead, I've been thinking about things I want to work on this year but not putting the pressure of a "resolution" on myself. I've thought about things in the areas of home, family, spiritual, and self.
For our home, I am continuing a decluttering challenge I started on Facebook last year. I am hoping to be more successful with it this year. I want our home to be a place that is welcoming and ready for guests with very little notice. Right now I would say it is welcoming but definitely not ready for guests! One thing I have learned is that it's much easier to keep something clean than it is to get it clean in the first place. I did ok with the challenge last year but plan to be more dedicated this year. Clutter and stuff seems to be overtaking my life and at times it feels claustrophobic. So we'll see how it goes this year.
For our family, I want to focus on being present and in the moment when we are together. So often my mind is racing off in multiple directions when we're together and I don't stop and just savor the moment. Having Alyssa leave for school this past fall really hit me hard and I realized how much time we spent together where I just wasn't fully present and focusing on the time we had together. We have missed her so much, and I realized that I missed out on a lot of moments because I was physically present but not mentally present. So this year I want to work on that.
Spiritually, I want to be better about personal/family scripture study. That is something I've never been good and I want to work on it. Our Relief Society Presidency sent out a reading chart over the holidays and I'm going to work hard to keep up with it as much as I can. I've tried listening to the scriptures during my commute time but I don't seem to absorb it that way. I have found that I really need to read it myself.
Finally, for my self...I have felt my body turning to jell-o since I stopped taking ballet classes and I hate it. I bought some ballet workout DVDs and I really need to find time to do those, at least once per week. Brie mentioned that she wants to exercise more and be more physically fit and that is something we could work on together. When the weather gets nicer I want to walk. I love going on walks. My commute/work schedule makes it hard to do things in the evenings but I need to not just plop myself down on the couch and veg out all evening...I need to be active.
So we'll see how we do this year....
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Monday, November 12, 2012
And This is Why I Don't Make Resolutions....
Because I'm very apt to not keep them shortly after I make them! In my last post I said I wanted to add blogging to my Sunday afternoon activities...well, obviously that didn't happen! In my defense, though, it's been a little busy...
I was in Georgia to help my sister after the birth of her new baby. They are adopting a precious little girl who was born on October 30. Moriah was diagnosed with pneumonia the morning after her birth and was in the hospital for a week, so I went down to help take care of her other two girls. I won't lie -- it was exhausting at times -- but I am so glad I was able to be there to help. My time in Georgia included making two tutus for my nieces, hours of Spongebob Squarepants (I hate that show -- honestly, I hate it...I cringed every time the girls asked to watch it!), watching them play outside, supervising school work, and helping with crafts. And, oh yes -- snuggling babies! Not just Moriah, but my sister Erin's baby, Parker. SO much fun to snuggle babies! It is one of the great joys of life. I am convinced that people in the world would be so much happier if they would just spend 30 minutes each day snuggling a beautiful, perfect, sweet baby.
Brienna's volleyball season wrapped up on Saturday. One of her coaches said she was the most improved player from the beginning of the season. By the end of the season she was starting almost every game. We could see her improving every week. She loves volleyball. Both of her coaches wanted her to try out for club volleyball (travel team). Unfortunately, though, it turns out that all of their games are on Sundays. So when Brie's coach approached her about playing on a club team (one of her coaches is on the board of directors for the club program), Brie asked what days they play on. The coach told her they played all of their games on Sunday. Brie immediately replied that she wouldn't be able to try out, then, because she doesn't do sports on Sunday. SO proud of her -- she didn't even think twice about it. We're going to look into some volleyball camps for her for next summer (maybe one at BYU), as well as taking her up to the local volleyball center for their open gym playing time, and whatever else we can do to keep working on her skills during the off season. I have a feeling her high school years will be filled with volleyball.
And now that volleyball season is over, basketball season is beginning. No rest for the weary! LOL Brie is playing on a team and Mark will be helping to coach a team at church. He took this year off from coaching high school sports because of my work schedule, and I have a feeling he really misses it. So this will help him keep his toes in the water until next year when he will start coaching high school sports again. For the next 8-12 weeks, then, we will be a basketball family. Mark will be helping with Brie's practices and games (when they don't conflict with his games), plus coaching his boys' team at church, so we'll be busy. One thing that I like about the basketball league is that parents *must* volunteer to help (or pay an extra $40 or so in registration fees). So I'll be helping with score keeping, time clock, etc., etc., etc. Too bad Alyssa isn't here -- she was Mark's clock and score book person for his high school team for a couple of years -- she's very good at it!
Alyssa is doing well at BYU and it seems she has found her footing and rhythm there. She has a wonderful roommate and I love that they go to the temple together each Saturday morning. How awesome is that??? She's doing better than we are on that front...we haven't been yet since we moved. We need to do that soon. She is doing well in her classes and has enjoyed going to BYU football games. She gets to spend time with her cousin Jordan and his wife and sweet baby, and will be spending Thanksgiving with Mark's family -- a first! We've never been able to spend Thanksgiving with Mark's family because of coaching schedules, so this will be neat for her. I love that Alyssa calls home frequently, usually on her way back to her dorm for lunch. :-) We miss her terribly but we know she is where she needs to be.
We escaped Hurricane Sandy's wrath. Really, down here there wasn't much storming going on at all. We had worse rain and wind during several storms in Georgia. But better safe than sorry. It could have been so, so, so much worse if the storm had come ashore farther south than it did. We were well-prepared for the storm and it was a good exercise in preparedness and got us thinking about the things we would need in case of a serious emergency. I think we may buy a generator next year.
We will be going to Georgia for Thanskgiving...just a quick trip...but we're all excited to go home again and see our family (and especially those sweet babies). I wish the drive wasn't so long, but it's do-able. And then we'll be back down there for Christmas. :-)
The weather here is gorgeous today...blue sky and sunshine with light, wispy white clouds. I see fall colors outside and am reminded of how beautiful this area is. My menu and grocery list are filled with soups and stews...fall always makes me crave soups and stews. So off to the grocery store I go...
I was in Georgia to help my sister after the birth of her new baby. They are adopting a precious little girl who was born on October 30. Moriah was diagnosed with pneumonia the morning after her birth and was in the hospital for a week, so I went down to help take care of her other two girls. I won't lie -- it was exhausting at times -- but I am so glad I was able to be there to help. My time in Georgia included making two tutus for my nieces, hours of Spongebob Squarepants (I hate that show -- honestly, I hate it...I cringed every time the girls asked to watch it!), watching them play outside, supervising school work, and helping with crafts. And, oh yes -- snuggling babies! Not just Moriah, but my sister Erin's baby, Parker. SO much fun to snuggle babies! It is one of the great joys of life. I am convinced that people in the world would be so much happier if they would just spend 30 minutes each day snuggling a beautiful, perfect, sweet baby.
Brienna's volleyball season wrapped up on Saturday. One of her coaches said she was the most improved player from the beginning of the season. By the end of the season she was starting almost every game. We could see her improving every week. She loves volleyball. Both of her coaches wanted her to try out for club volleyball (travel team). Unfortunately, though, it turns out that all of their games are on Sundays. So when Brie's coach approached her about playing on a club team (one of her coaches is on the board of directors for the club program), Brie asked what days they play on. The coach told her they played all of their games on Sunday. Brie immediately replied that she wouldn't be able to try out, then, because she doesn't do sports on Sunday. SO proud of her -- she didn't even think twice about it. We're going to look into some volleyball camps for her for next summer (maybe one at BYU), as well as taking her up to the local volleyball center for their open gym playing time, and whatever else we can do to keep working on her skills during the off season. I have a feeling her high school years will be filled with volleyball.
And now that volleyball season is over, basketball season is beginning. No rest for the weary! LOL Brie is playing on a team and Mark will be helping to coach a team at church. He took this year off from coaching high school sports because of my work schedule, and I have a feeling he really misses it. So this will help him keep his toes in the water until next year when he will start coaching high school sports again. For the next 8-12 weeks, then, we will be a basketball family. Mark will be helping with Brie's practices and games (when they don't conflict with his games), plus coaching his boys' team at church, so we'll be busy. One thing that I like about the basketball league is that parents *must* volunteer to help (or pay an extra $40 or so in registration fees). So I'll be helping with score keeping, time clock, etc., etc., etc. Too bad Alyssa isn't here -- she was Mark's clock and score book person for his high school team for a couple of years -- she's very good at it!
Alyssa is doing well at BYU and it seems she has found her footing and rhythm there. She has a wonderful roommate and I love that they go to the temple together each Saturday morning. How awesome is that??? She's doing better than we are on that front...we haven't been yet since we moved. We need to do that soon. She is doing well in her classes and has enjoyed going to BYU football games. She gets to spend time with her cousin Jordan and his wife and sweet baby, and will be spending Thanksgiving with Mark's family -- a first! We've never been able to spend Thanksgiving with Mark's family because of coaching schedules, so this will be neat for her. I love that Alyssa calls home frequently, usually on her way back to her dorm for lunch. :-) We miss her terribly but we know she is where she needs to be.
We escaped Hurricane Sandy's wrath. Really, down here there wasn't much storming going on at all. We had worse rain and wind during several storms in Georgia. But better safe than sorry. It could have been so, so, so much worse if the storm had come ashore farther south than it did. We were well-prepared for the storm and it was a good exercise in preparedness and got us thinking about the things we would need in case of a serious emergency. I think we may buy a generator next year.
We will be going to Georgia for Thanskgiving...just a quick trip...but we're all excited to go home again and see our family (and especially those sweet babies). I wish the drive wasn't so long, but it's do-able. And then we'll be back down there for Christmas. :-)
The weather here is gorgeous today...blue sky and sunshine with light, wispy white clouds. I see fall colors outside and am reminded of how beautiful this area is. My menu and grocery list are filled with soups and stews...fall always makes me crave soups and stews. So off to the grocery store I go...
Sunday, October 21, 2012
We Did It!
The move is over. Actually, it's been over for some time. We arrived in Virginia on August 1 and are slowly getting unpacked and settled. Mark really enjoys the school he is teaching at and gets along great with his fellow teachers. There are several other new teachers in the biology department and that has helped -- they all pitch in to help each other out and they get along great. He tells funny stories about their lunchtime conversations all the time. I'm glad he's enjoying his new job. Brie is doing great in middle school and is at the top of her class in pretty much every subject. She has some really good teachers and a teacher or two who are not quite as good. As seems to be the case every year, there is always one teacher that is problematic and this year is no exception. But other than that I think she really likes her new school. She is playing on the volleyball team and has fallen in love with the sport. She seems to have a natural ability for it and really enjoys it. I find that I prefer being a "volleyball mom" over a "soccer mom"...mostly since volleyball is played indoors so we don't have to worry about either roasting or freezing outdoors during her games! Alyssa is at BYU and making the adjustment to being a college student. We miss her terribly and the entire experience has not been without growing pains (for all of us) but we know that she will be successful. She has a wonderful roommate and is close to lots of family, which is nice. She has enjoyed the football games, even though the football season isn't having the win-loss outcome we would hope for. My job is ok...I'm doing something different from anything I've ever done before and, truth be told, I'm not really loving my current rotation. But in another 10 months or so I'll rotate into something else that is more similar to what I really love doing and all will be well. I am learning a lot, and that's good. I don't love my commute, though. It would be fine if I could read on the bus but, sadly, I get motion sickness very easily and just can't do it. So in the mornings I listen to uplifting music and on the way home I get my fill of show tunes and Broadway musicals. :-) I have to get up at 5 am and leave the house by 6 am and I get home just a few minutes after 6 pm. As a result I am constantly and chronically tired and I miss having more time with my family. But I have some great coworkers and it all manages to work out.
We are getting settled in our home and have finally finished buying furniture to fill it. Now it's just a matter of getting pictures up on the walls and finding places to keep everything. It's been a long time since we've had stairs in our home and going up and down stairs all the time is helping to keep us all in shape.
It is definitely fall here. The trees are blazing with gorgeous red, orange, and yellow leaves. The colors are so incredibly vibrant. It won't be long until winter sets in, and "the locals" are telling us to expect a long, hard winter. Apparently the Farmer's Almanac is calling for a long, hard winter and, according to at least one person, the incredible abundance of acorns all over the place mean it will be a long, hard winter. We'll see if that turns out to be the case. I am hoping it is not! We need to buy winter coats and boots...we have found that our Georgia "winter" gear is really more appropriate for fall here. There has already been one morning that we had to scrape frost/ice off the car windows.
One of the things I have made a tradition of since we moved here is going to the local farmer's market on Saturday mornings. Yes, the produce is (usually) more expensive than the grocery store, but it is SO much better. And we have tried so many new varieties of tomatoes! I never knew there were so many kinds out there! This week we are trying green zebra striped tomatoes (no, they're not green as in unripe -- they're green and fully ripe!). One of our favorites is "chocolate tomatoes" (named that because of their color, not their flavor) as well as brandywine pink tomatoes. We've had tie dye tomatoes which are yellow and pinkish/red on the outside *and* on the inside. Lots and lots of varieties of tomatoes and my goal is to try them all. :-) Now that it's fall apples are in season and we have fallen in love with locally grown honeycrisp apples. We've tried freshly made local mozzarella cheese (well, Mark and Brie tried it!) and Mark even tried (and loved) banana salsa. Yes, salsa with bananas in it. No one liked it but him. LOL
We love our new ward at church. People have been so warm and welcoming. Mark is serving as a Primary teacher, Brie was just called as the Beehive class president and I am serving as a RS teacher and ward missionary. I bet you never expected to see my name in conjunction with those titles! LOL Honestly, I never expected those callings (and didn't want them). But I am finding that I appear to be slowly recovering from my "allergy" to Relief Society. It helps that our ward has the most incredible RS President. She is truly amazing and inspirational and I learn something from her every time I hear her speak or give a lesson. If I can grow up to be even a little like Sis. Tagg I will consider myself to be a success.
My goal is to add blogging to my Sunday afternoon routine that currently includes working on dinner and indexing. Hopefully I can be better about updating so you can all keep up-to-date on what's happening with us!
We are getting settled in our home and have finally finished buying furniture to fill it. Now it's just a matter of getting pictures up on the walls and finding places to keep everything. It's been a long time since we've had stairs in our home and going up and down stairs all the time is helping to keep us all in shape.
It is definitely fall here. The trees are blazing with gorgeous red, orange, and yellow leaves. The colors are so incredibly vibrant. It won't be long until winter sets in, and "the locals" are telling us to expect a long, hard winter. Apparently the Farmer's Almanac is calling for a long, hard winter and, according to at least one person, the incredible abundance of acorns all over the place mean it will be a long, hard winter. We'll see if that turns out to be the case. I am hoping it is not! We need to buy winter coats and boots...we have found that our Georgia "winter" gear is really more appropriate for fall here. There has already been one morning that we had to scrape frost/ice off the car windows.
One of the things I have made a tradition of since we moved here is going to the local farmer's market on Saturday mornings. Yes, the produce is (usually) more expensive than the grocery store, but it is SO much better. And we have tried so many new varieties of tomatoes! I never knew there were so many kinds out there! This week we are trying green zebra striped tomatoes (no, they're not green as in unripe -- they're green and fully ripe!). One of our favorites is "chocolate tomatoes" (named that because of their color, not their flavor) as well as brandywine pink tomatoes. We've had tie dye tomatoes which are yellow and pinkish/red on the outside *and* on the inside. Lots and lots of varieties of tomatoes and my goal is to try them all. :-) Now that it's fall apples are in season and we have fallen in love with locally grown honeycrisp apples. We've tried freshly made local mozzarella cheese (well, Mark and Brie tried it!) and Mark even tried (and loved) banana salsa. Yes, salsa with bananas in it. No one liked it but him. LOL
We love our new ward at church. People have been so warm and welcoming. Mark is serving as a Primary teacher, Brie was just called as the Beehive class president and I am serving as a RS teacher and ward missionary. I bet you never expected to see my name in conjunction with those titles! LOL Honestly, I never expected those callings (and didn't want them). But I am finding that I appear to be slowly recovering from my "allergy" to Relief Society. It helps that our ward has the most incredible RS President. She is truly amazing and inspirational and I learn something from her every time I hear her speak or give a lesson. If I can grow up to be even a little like Sis. Tagg I will consider myself to be a success.
My goal is to add blogging to my Sunday afternoon routine that currently includes working on dinner and indexing. Hopefully I can be better about updating so you can all keep up-to-date on what's happening with us!
Thursday, July 5, 2012
On the Road Again....
Well, not me. But Mark is on the road again and Brie went with him. They left last night after dinner to drive back up to the Leesburg area to look for a house. We had to increase our price range a bit (which makes me nervous...) but we actually found more homes that look like possibilities (at least from the MLS listings the realtor sent us) than we did in Woodbridge. I find that interesting because Woodbridge is so much bigger. We came up with a list of about 10-12 homes to look at. Mark and Brie met the realtor at 11 am this morning and at 2:30 I got a text message about one that they really liked. We talked and I looked at the pictures and we decided to put in an application. Fingers crossed....
The local is really great...it's about 5 miles from Mark's job, about the same distance from the transportation lot I will be using, 3/10ths of a mile from the church -- which is right across the street from the community pool for the neighborhood, and 1.5 miles from the largest premium outlet mall in Virginia. Yea! (Mark is a little worried about that part...LOL) Mark is hoping the paperwork will go through quickly so he and Brie can head home tomorrow afternoon. I hope so!
The local is really great...it's about 5 miles from Mark's job, about the same distance from the transportation lot I will be using, 3/10ths of a mile from the church -- which is right across the street from the community pool for the neighborhood, and 1.5 miles from the largest premium outlet mall in Virginia. Yea! (Mark is a little worried about that part...LOL) Mark is hoping the paperwork will go through quickly so he and Brie can head home tomorrow afternoon. I hope so!
Sunday, July 1, 2012
An Eventful Couple of Weeks
Things have been pretty eventful since my last post. We signed the listing papers for the house on Saturday, 16 June. The listing went "live" on MLS on Monday, 18 June. We had a showing that night, two showings on Tuesday, 19 June, an offer (which was insultingly low and we rejected) on Wednesday, 20 June, another showing on Wednesday, a showing on Thursday, and an offer which we accepted on Thursday. It wasn't quite as high as we wanted but it is a good offer and the timeline matches what we needed. So our home sold in about five days. Not bad! The unfortunate part -- a few days ago a full price offer came in on the house but we can't take it because we already accepted the other offer. Boo! But it's nice to know there is interest in the house and all of our hard, hard work paid off.
Friday night, June 23, Mark and I headed north to go on our househunting trip. We drove to Columbia, SC, that night and stayed at a hotel that is usually known for a high level of customer service and good customer experience. The customer service was fine....customer experience, on the other hand, was not so fine. The hotel was completely booked due to two conventions and a wedding. I had to call down to the front desk around midnight or 1 am because it sounded like there was a party, complete with a football marching band and drum line, in the hallway. We didn't get much sleep because it was so loud. We got up Saturday morning and tried to find a Chick-Fil-A to get some breakfast...no such luck. I think our GPS doesn't like downtown Columbia.
We drove to Virginia and went to stay with an online friend of mine. She lives in Maryland, just two and a half blocks away from the border with the District of Columbia. We drove by the Pentagon (wow, it's huge!), saw the Capitol and Washington Monument, and drove through downtown DC. That was an interesting experience. My friend and her family were so kind and welcoming and her son and husband made a lovely dinner for us. They live in a neat community and it is a completely urban lifestyle -- something Mark and I have never experienced before.
Sunday morning we got up and headed toward Woodbridge in Prince William County, which is where we had narrowed our housing search. We scouted out a few neighborhoods and rental properties and went to church in one of the wards there. It was a friendly, inviting ward in a lovely new chapel. The gospel doctrine class was great -- there were only about 10-12 of us in the class, but the entire class was filled with discussion from the class members, whereas in our ward we don't get as much discussion. I think part of it was the small size of the class and part was the fact that the class was in a room and not the chapel with everyone spread out. Whatever it was, I enjoyed it. After dinner we scouted a few more areas and went to dinner at the home of someone I will be working for in my new job. He and his wife and children were very kind and sweet and we enjoyed spending time with them. They were able to give us great information about the area, neighborhoods, where to shop, etc. My only regret is that it looks like we won't be living there after all (see a few paragraphs down), because I was looking forward to having them over for dinner and offering to watch their children so they could go to the temple....
On Monday we met with our realtor and visited several homes. Some of them were strange...like having the ceiling in each room painted the same color as the walls (pea green, or purple, or aqua, or yellowish peach...). Some were in neighborhoods we just didn't love. But we found one that we liked and we really liked the area. We decided to look at it again the next day. So back to the hotel we went.
On Tuesday we went and looked at the house again and decided to put in an application. Then we drove around to different schools so Mark could try to meet the principals in his job search. It was not a fruitful afternoon -- jobs that were posted as being available had already been filled. It was frustrating.
On Wednesday we spent the day driving to Stafford County to check on jobs there (same result as Tuesday), and going to more schools in Prince William County (same result as Tuesday). I ended up getting carsick and wasn't much fun at all. I had poor Mark leave me at a small strip mall so I could be out of the car while he went to visit another school. It was pretty frustrating and we decided that we would leave to go home on Thursday, with Mark continuing his job search the next week, possibly by coming back to the area.
Thursday morning the realtor called and needed supporting documentation for our lease application so we got that together and then went by the school district office so Mark could talk to someone in their HR department. Again, not very fruitful. They had no explanation for why they continued to post jobs that had already been filled and told him he needed "face time" with the principals. Except it's hard to get "face time" when you live in a different state.... We headed to the mall to get some lunch and then something interesting happened. As we were leaving the mall, my cell phone rang. It was a principal in another county calling to schedule a job interview for Mark. We weren't sure what to do so he told her he would call her back. We found a wifi connection and looked up the area on the map and decided to go ahead and drive up there and check things out. It was the first solid job lead we had had all week.
We drove to Loudoun County, about 45 minutes away. Mark called and left a message for the principal that he wanted to interview and that we would be in the area that afternoon and the next morning. We got to the area and drove through a quaint, historic downtown area and then got to the school, which is huge and new and gorgeous. Mark was very impressed with the turf on the football field. :-) Unfortunately, the principal wasn't available and my anxiety level steadily increased throughout the afternoon/evening as she didn't return Mark's call. All of my frustrations and worries over this move came to a head and I had a lovely breakdown. Not proud of it, but that's what happened. Poor Mark had to put up with a lot of that on this trip. I have learned that I DO NOT like change, uncertainty, and moving!
Friday morning Mark decided to go to the school and wait until the principal could see him. It was the right decision because when the principal arrived at the school she said she would interview him right then. The interview must have gone well because she said she wants Mark to teach at her school and she is going to forward his name to the school district office to fill the job. YEA!!! So it looks like we have a job....in a different county than the house. We still haven't heard back on whether we got the house or not. We liked the house and the planned community it was in, so that's sad. But it's just too far away. So now we need to find a house in Loudoun County (Leesburg area). Mark will go back up there this week to meet with a realtor and hopefully be able to find a house quickly. We are impressed with the schools, at least from the information on their website, and Brie is especially happy that middle school doesn't start until 8:30, unlike the 7:30 start time here. It is an expensive area to live and I'm a little apprehensive about that, but we have to go where the job is.
All in all, it was an interesting week filled with lots of growth opportunities!!!
Friday night, June 23, Mark and I headed north to go on our househunting trip. We drove to Columbia, SC, that night and stayed at a hotel that is usually known for a high level of customer service and good customer experience. The customer service was fine....customer experience, on the other hand, was not so fine. The hotel was completely booked due to two conventions and a wedding. I had to call down to the front desk around midnight or 1 am because it sounded like there was a party, complete with a football marching band and drum line, in the hallway. We didn't get much sleep because it was so loud. We got up Saturday morning and tried to find a Chick-Fil-A to get some breakfast...no such luck. I think our GPS doesn't like downtown Columbia.
We drove to Virginia and went to stay with an online friend of mine. She lives in Maryland, just two and a half blocks away from the border with the District of Columbia. We drove by the Pentagon (wow, it's huge!), saw the Capitol and Washington Monument, and drove through downtown DC. That was an interesting experience. My friend and her family were so kind and welcoming and her son and husband made a lovely dinner for us. They live in a neat community and it is a completely urban lifestyle -- something Mark and I have never experienced before.
Sunday morning we got up and headed toward Woodbridge in Prince William County, which is where we had narrowed our housing search. We scouted out a few neighborhoods and rental properties and went to church in one of the wards there. It was a friendly, inviting ward in a lovely new chapel. The gospel doctrine class was great -- there were only about 10-12 of us in the class, but the entire class was filled with discussion from the class members, whereas in our ward we don't get as much discussion. I think part of it was the small size of the class and part was the fact that the class was in a room and not the chapel with everyone spread out. Whatever it was, I enjoyed it. After dinner we scouted a few more areas and went to dinner at the home of someone I will be working for in my new job. He and his wife and children were very kind and sweet and we enjoyed spending time with them. They were able to give us great information about the area, neighborhoods, where to shop, etc. My only regret is that it looks like we won't be living there after all (see a few paragraphs down), because I was looking forward to having them over for dinner and offering to watch their children so they could go to the temple....
On Monday we met with our realtor and visited several homes. Some of them were strange...like having the ceiling in each room painted the same color as the walls (pea green, or purple, or aqua, or yellowish peach...). Some were in neighborhoods we just didn't love. But we found one that we liked and we really liked the area. We decided to look at it again the next day. So back to the hotel we went.
On Tuesday we went and looked at the house again and decided to put in an application. Then we drove around to different schools so Mark could try to meet the principals in his job search. It was not a fruitful afternoon -- jobs that were posted as being available had already been filled. It was frustrating.
On Wednesday we spent the day driving to Stafford County to check on jobs there (same result as Tuesday), and going to more schools in Prince William County (same result as Tuesday). I ended up getting carsick and wasn't much fun at all. I had poor Mark leave me at a small strip mall so I could be out of the car while he went to visit another school. It was pretty frustrating and we decided that we would leave to go home on Thursday, with Mark continuing his job search the next week, possibly by coming back to the area.
Thursday morning the realtor called and needed supporting documentation for our lease application so we got that together and then went by the school district office so Mark could talk to someone in their HR department. Again, not very fruitful. They had no explanation for why they continued to post jobs that had already been filled and told him he needed "face time" with the principals. Except it's hard to get "face time" when you live in a different state.... We headed to the mall to get some lunch and then something interesting happened. As we were leaving the mall, my cell phone rang. It was a principal in another county calling to schedule a job interview for Mark. We weren't sure what to do so he told her he would call her back. We found a wifi connection and looked up the area on the map and decided to go ahead and drive up there and check things out. It was the first solid job lead we had had all week.
We drove to Loudoun County, about 45 minutes away. Mark called and left a message for the principal that he wanted to interview and that we would be in the area that afternoon and the next morning. We got to the area and drove through a quaint, historic downtown area and then got to the school, which is huge and new and gorgeous. Mark was very impressed with the turf on the football field. :-) Unfortunately, the principal wasn't available and my anxiety level steadily increased throughout the afternoon/evening as she didn't return Mark's call. All of my frustrations and worries over this move came to a head and I had a lovely breakdown. Not proud of it, but that's what happened. Poor Mark had to put up with a lot of that on this trip. I have learned that I DO NOT like change, uncertainty, and moving!
Friday morning Mark decided to go to the school and wait until the principal could see him. It was the right decision because when the principal arrived at the school she said she would interview him right then. The interview must have gone well because she said she wants Mark to teach at her school and she is going to forward his name to the school district office to fill the job. YEA!!! So it looks like we have a job....in a different county than the house. We still haven't heard back on whether we got the house or not. We liked the house and the planned community it was in, so that's sad. But it's just too far away. So now we need to find a house in Loudoun County (Leesburg area). Mark will go back up there this week to meet with a realtor and hopefully be able to find a house quickly. We are impressed with the schools, at least from the information on their website, and Brie is especially happy that middle school doesn't start until 8:30, unlike the 7:30 start time here. It is an expensive area to live and I'm a little apprehensive about that, but we have to go where the job is.
All in all, it was an interesting week filled with lots of growth opportunities!!!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
On the Market
The for sale sign went up in the yard yesterday. The house feels so empty -- it actually seems to echo in the kitchen. Mark, Alyssa, Melissa, Bryan, and my parents worked SO hard to get the house ready. (Brie and I helped, but they definitely did the bulk of the work.) The challenge now is to keep the house clean so it can be shown on very little notice. We're hoping to get people looking at it soon. The house will go into the computer system on Monday so hopefully the realtor will start getting phone calls....our fingers are crossed.
It is so strange to be in a house so empty and so clean. LOL It doesn't feel lived in at all. It feels sterile and boring.
Brie is home from girls' camp and had a relatively good time overall, although she definitely didn't like the campground they used for camp this year. Sounds like there were a lot more bugs than there were at the campground they went to last year. The house was too quiet with her gone this week.
Mark and I will be driving up to Virginia next Saturday to do a house hunting trip. Should be interesting....I keep hearing about how horrible the traffic is going to be in the area we're looking at, like two hours to go 10 miles on a Saturday...and that makes me nervous. But it's just too expensive to live in some of the other areas that are closer in and have less traffic.
This has been an emotional week. I definitely could have used my ballet classes this week to clear my mind and focus on something else for a while! I really want a beach trip soon...not in the cards for this coming weekend, but maybe the next weekend or the next....
It is so strange to be in a house so empty and so clean. LOL It doesn't feel lived in at all. It feels sterile and boring.
Brie is home from girls' camp and had a relatively good time overall, although she definitely didn't like the campground they used for camp this year. Sounds like there were a lot more bugs than there were at the campground they went to last year. The house was too quiet with her gone this week.
Mark and I will be driving up to Virginia next Saturday to do a house hunting trip. Should be interesting....I keep hearing about how horrible the traffic is going to be in the area we're looking at, like two hours to go 10 miles on a Saturday...and that makes me nervous. But it's just too expensive to live in some of the other areas that are closer in and have less traffic.
This has been an emotional week. I definitely could have used my ballet classes this week to clear my mind and focus on something else for a while! I really want a beach trip soon...not in the cards for this coming weekend, but maybe the next weekend or the next....
Sunday, June 10, 2012
A Little Progress.....
Well, we seem to be making progress, although at times it is hard to tell. The major accomplishment over the last few days was Mark, with the help of Alyssa, Bryan, and my Dad, getting the new kitchen and laundry floor put in, and the new kitchen countetops are almost done. Still lots of painting and touch-up work to be done in the kitchen but it's getting there. The challenge now is to figure out what needs to go back into the kitchen and the cabinets and what can be put in boxes, so that it looks like there is as much room in there as possible. I feel like we're doing all the work that the movers are going to be paid to do, boxing things up. It's quite frustrating.
The girls' bedrooms are getting there, also. Alyssa still needs to sort through and box up more clothes and shoes, but the main cleaning is done. I haven't started on our bedroom yet, really. I guess I'm going to work on that this afternoon, as much as I hate to do that on a Sunday. We're just running out of time. The realtor is coming over tomorrow night to get the paperwork signed to list the house. We haven't even started on the outside. And all of the wood trim throughout the entire house needs work...patching up, filling in, and painting all of it. Not to mention that the hall needs to be completely repainted, and the living room and kitchen need to be touched up and the master bathroom needs to be repainted. *Sigh*
There is just SO much to do, and at times (ok, always) it is overwhelming. People keep asking if they can help but I don't even know where to begin to take them up on the offered help. I wish I had a master checklist and I could just make copies, hand it to people, and tell them to just pick something on the list and do it.
Mark still hasn't heard anything on job interviews, and that makes me nervous. He is a good teacher and very marketable, but it makes me anxious that we're moving somewhere so incredibly expensive and he doesn't have a job lined up yet. Prayers would be greatly appreciated.
The girls' bedrooms are getting there, also. Alyssa still needs to sort through and box up more clothes and shoes, but the main cleaning is done. I haven't started on our bedroom yet, really. I guess I'm going to work on that this afternoon, as much as I hate to do that on a Sunday. We're just running out of time. The realtor is coming over tomorrow night to get the paperwork signed to list the house. We haven't even started on the outside. And all of the wood trim throughout the entire house needs work...patching up, filling in, and painting all of it. Not to mention that the hall needs to be completely repainted, and the living room and kitchen need to be touched up and the master bathroom needs to be repainted. *Sigh*
There is just SO much to do, and at times (ok, always) it is overwhelming. People keep asking if they can help but I don't even know where to begin to take them up on the offered help. I wish I had a master checklist and I could just make copies, hand it to people, and tell them to just pick something on the list and do it.
Mark still hasn't heard anything on job interviews, and that makes me nervous. He is a good teacher and very marketable, but it makes me anxious that we're moving somewhere so incredibly expensive and he doesn't have a job lined up yet. Prayers would be greatly appreciated.
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