Release

This past Saturday JM, Mom and I attended "A Walk to Remember". It was a memorial service for families and friends who have lost children. A friend of mine had told me about it and I was so excited to go...then the night before I started to chicken out. I wasn't sure if I was really ready for this. I know the baby's gone, but it's so hard to admit. It's even harder to admit to myself that I need help with this.

JM ended up calling in to work so that made me feel like we had to go, and I'm so incredibly glad we did. Just to be surrounded by so many people in the same situation helped immensely. Then to see all the people with other kids and to see actual proof that there's still hope, that this isn't the end.

The first part was a memorial service where the names were read and you could go put a ribbon angel on a wreath in memory. This portion was called "Remember". It was a very nice little service and it brought my emotions back up which I think was good...then I have to deal with them instead of push them aside to deal with at a 'more appropriate time'.

What helped me the most was the "Release" portion. First, 3 white doves were released. This was to help us look toward the sky, look toward the future, and signify hope. I believe they even said something about the doves carrying our sorrows and grief. Honestly, it was kind of hard to pay attention to the words because the 3 doves took off to the beautiful blue autumn sky and circled multiple times. It was such an amazing site. I truly felt like my soul was being cleansed to start fresh. That all of my grief and blame and every other emotion I had been feeling was being taken away by these birds, leaving me only with hope.

After that, a balloon was released with a card attached with all of the babies' names written on it. This was the second portion of the "Release", but for me it was so much more. As children, my brother and I would get upset when our balloons would fly off into the sky, as children do. To make it better for us, our parents would tell us that the balloons were going to Grandma's, which was many states away in NJ. This always seemed to make us feel better. After the miscarriage, one thing I truly struggled with was the fact that my baby didn't have me. I know it's with God and I know that should comfort me, but I should've been the one taking care of him. I wanted to badly to hold him and to know him. One of the things that helped me with this was knowing that my Grandma was holding him. I know she's taking care of him until I can meet him.

When the balloon was released and almost out of site, I turned to JM to joke that it was going to Grandma's, and the symbolism became clear to me. It was like a huge wave of relief hit. That balloon was indeed going to my Grandma's...she's holding my baby and all my balloons for me. So until then, I am allowed to go on with my life and be filled with hope for the future and it's alright...someone else is taking care of the things that I can't until it's my turn.

6 weeks and 4 day heartbreak

JM and I had been waiting till we were a little further along to tell the world, but a couple of weeks ago we found out we were pregnant. We had been taking it slow telling people and were just starting to realize this was real. The baby's name was "Ladi" for the time being and neither of us had ever known a love like this. We were falling harder and harder with each passing day and each wave of nausea.

We came down to Sanibel Island with my mom last Wednesday. Everything was great and we were all having a great time. Sunday JM left to go home since classes started, but Mom and I were staying till Wednesday. After he left Mom and I did a boating cruise and had dolphins ride along side us (I'll blog with pictures later) and everything seemed wonderful. Later Sunday, I started having some very light bleeding. I had read and been warned by the doctor that this could happen and was normal, so I ordered myself bedrest for the rest of the day and the bleeding seemed to subside.

When I woke up Monday morning the bleeding had become a little heavier so we called my doctor who instructed us to go to the ER since we were away from home. At the ER they were calling it a 'threatened miscarriage', meaning that I hadn't miscarried but the possibility was there. My cervix was still closed and the exam showed just a small amount of bleeding which calmed me and made me think this was just a scare. But then I went for the ultrasound (and since I wasn't far along I had to get a Foley catheter inserted to blow up my bladder...let's add a little more pain to this) and I could tell they weren't seeing anything. I knew it was early and there would be a chance the sak wouldn't show up yet, but in my heart I knew this wasn't good. I had read that you could hear a heartbeat by this time and I wasn't hearing a peep.

The ER had picked up by then so unfortunately it took about an hour for my nurse to come get the catheter back out. By this time I was in rather serious pain but I thought it was from the Foley. Then I noticed clotting when I went to the bathroom and knew it was ending. The doctor said I was probably going to lose the baby. Unfortunately, they sent me on my way with some vicodin but didn't explain what was going to happen. I think a lot of times with pregnancies people just assume you know more than you do. My mom had never had a miscarriage and I had no idea what to expect, so we just thought it was like starting your period. Mom was trying to get me a flight home that afternoon because it was making it so much harder being away from JM. Luckily the flight out didn't work because I never would have made it. By the time we got back to the condo I was in extreme pain and the 1 vicodin they gave me at the hospital was acting like a placebo. Mom called my doctor for me and they said what I was feeling were contractions and it would keep getting worse until the baby passed. At this point I sent Mom out to refill my vicodin thinking that would help (the pain was so severe I was worried I would pass out), but thankfully within minutes of her leaving I passed it.

The airlines couldn't do a whole lot and I understand. They would waive the penatly fee but I still would've had to pay the difference of the flight to come back today instead of tomorrow...and it was well over $100. All I truly want to do is get back to JM, it breaks my heart that he's at home by himself. But, the flight tomorrow morning has lots of open seats and that won't cost to get on standby since my original flight is in the evening, so Mom and I are going to the airport early tomorrow to try and get on the early flight. Then I go to the doctor on Thursday morning for the DNC or whatever it is to make sure everything cleared out on its own.

Although it was/is hard to be away from JM, I'm truly blessed that my mom is with me. I think she was on the phone for well over 3 hours yesterday trying to get flights changed and talking with my doctor and keeping my dad, brother, and even JM updated when I couldn't do it.

Thanks to all my friends and family for the kind words and listening ears. I wouldn't be able to get through this without you all. I think we can start healing when JM and I get to mourn together tomorrow.

I have a newfound respect for the words that you say to someone who is going through something heartbreaking. The ER doctor (PA, actually) was male and not married and you could tell he had no idea how to deal with a woman crying that you just told is going to lose her first baby. He gave me the whole speal about how the baby probably wasn't viable and that's why I was losing it so early, it's nature's way, etc. I just kept thinking, yea, I know this. It may not have been viable but it was OUR baby. But I had to remind myself that he's probably never experienced this and he only knows the 'medical' things to say. The little foreign lady who came in to register me to the hospital when I first got there did make me smile though. She was taking my info and I kept starting to cry, then she realized I was pregnant and what was happening. She came back in to give me my insurance card back and said, "You're not the only one going through this, you just have to pray". My first reaction was to think 'I don't care if every other room in this ER is some other woman having the same thing happen, this is MY baby in trouble'. Then I realized I think she meant I'm not alone...God is always there. It made me smile at her broken English and I felt touched, it probably took a lot for her to come back in and try to say something comforting to me.

Anyway, like I said, hopefully I'll be back in Indy tomorrow afternoon. And I know it's kind of cliche, but it does bring me some hope that at least we know we can get pregnant...this was the first month we tried.

And if anyone is up by our house, please feel free to stop in and check on my husband, or send him a text. I think what's hurting him the most is that he can't be with me, and it breaks my heart to know he's by himself. My brother went over and spent some time with him and I know my dad has been checking on him, but it would mean the world to me to have people check on him so he knows he's not alone until I get there.

No more ducking!

After JM mowed the yard today he made me a very happy lady...he trimmed back our big tree!!! You can see in some of these pictures from before how low some of the branches hung. To mow the lawn or even walk around you had to duck. This first picture was back in the spring so the leaves haven't filled in but you can see how low the branches hang.

This one kind of gives you an idea of how much it hung over our patio.

It looks so much better now. We could trim back a little more but we didn't want to be too aggressive and trim back too much.

And here's the man that made it all happen.

The fence is almost here!!!

We are closing in on our fence!!! After 2-3 weeks of waiting, the homeowners association FINALLY approved our proposal. When I got home from my errands today the survey guy had been here and marked our yard. It was an extra cost but I'm really glad we did it. Our yard is this strange diagonal shape (I forgot my geometery...it's a rectangle that angles...anyone???) and now we have visuals for the neighbors in case they don't know their yards do that. We won't have anyone questioning if we're in their yard or not.

Then at 3 today the fence guy will come out and go over exactly where we want the gates and which decorative posts, etc. Then he'll come out Monday and put the posts and cement down, and I believe then they'll come out Tuesday and finish it! Kodi is thrilled!!! It took me 8 years, but I finally got him a yard!

Of course last night JM was talking to one of our neighbors and it turns out there's an invisible fence already in our yard. But without the transmitter I think we'd still have to pay quite a bit...and not to sound like the old grouchy neighbor, but I'm tired of the teenagers cutting through my yard!

I was excited when I got home and saw the stakes were up so I took pictures!

Kodi's already out there wishing he had a fence so he could lay outside all day.

And then he refused to come inside with me. Just a few more days, Kodi!!!

Beer can chicken

Tonight I made Beer Can Chicken for Dad's birthday dinner. I made two since I had Greg and JM there, and with a total of 4 of us there was just a tiny bit leftover. The chicken itself was delicious, but it was definitely a messy situation! Especially for someone who doesn't like to see bones and that kind of gross stuff on the food she eats!!! After I got the chickens all oiled and seasoned up and put the cans up their behind they cracked me up so I had to take a picture...

Here's the recipe that I found on foodnetwork.com. Keep in mind that they will be dripping, oily and hot when you get done so have a way to cut them up close by!

Ingredients
1 (4-pound) whole chicken
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons of your favorite dry spice rub
1 can beer

Directions
Remove neck and giblets from chicken and discard. Rinse chicken inside and out, and pat dry with paper towels. Rub chicken lightly with oil then rub inside and out with salt, pepper and dry rub. Set aside.

Open beer can and take several gulps (make them big gulps so that the can is half full). Place beer can on a solid surface. Grabbing a chicken leg in each hand, plunk the bird cavity over the beer can. Transfer the bird-on-a-can to your grill and place in the center of the grate, balancing the bird on its 2 legs and the can like a tripod.

Cook the chicken over medium-high, indirect heat (i.e. no coals or burners on directly under the bird), with the grill cover on, for approximately 1 1/4 hours or until the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F in the breast area and 180 degrees F in the thigh, or until the thigh juice runs clear when stabbed with a sharp knife. Remove from grill and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

I also made corn souffle with fresh corn from the farmer's market. We get it from My Dad's Corn up in Tipton County and it's amazing! I found the recipe on their website:

3 cups corn -- 1 cup sour cream -- 1 egg -- 1 box Jiffy corn bread mix --1 stick margarine

Melt margarine. Stir in egg, then all other ingredients. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Kodi's 8th Birthday

Today was Kodi's 8th birthday and Murray's 6th. For those of you who didn't know, Mom had been told Murray's birthday was sometime in July so she made it Kodi's birthday so she wouldn't forget. I can't believe Kodi's 8 already! I swear I just got him!!! We've been really lucky so far, for such a big dog he's had no major problems. He has a thyroid issue but I forgot to refill his prescription over a month ago and he seems to be doing fine, and he had a touch of arthritis in his hips this past winter but it only seemed to bother him on really cold days.

Of course, since I thought 8 seemed like a big birthday, we had a mini-celebration of a trip to the dog park and doggie cake :-)

Kodi's licking his chops already!

I finally figured out I should cut it in half so they didn't have to break it themselves.

Kodi's half didn't last long!

Murray looks like he thinks he's in trouble! No Murray, that is not the beer bread from the counter...this is ok for you to eat!

Dining room down

It took almost an entire day, but the dining room is presentable!!! Here are some before pictures (and yes, we've been pretty much living like this for the past couple of weeks)...

And the after!

Our July Getaway

Early in the week of the 4th I was at work thinking how I needed a break. From work, from everything. And of course, my scheduled vacation from work isn't for another 4 weeks. As I was dealing with a very sick patient it occured to me that I couldn't wait another 4 weeks! I was testing the limits of my insanity.

I did some research online, trying to find a little getaway that both JM and I would enjoy. I came up with doing the Indiana Uplands Wine Trail (which was mainly for me) and staying the night at the French Lick Casino Resort (mainly for JM).

We left Friday late morning after JM got off work and headed down to Huber Winery and Orchard. My original plan had been to taste wine here AND pick our own blueberries and peaches. We were so impressed by this place. Orchards as far as you could see, a winery, restaurant, huge Farmers Market, and even their own store where they made their own cheese AND ice cream! Needless to say, we never made it to picking our own fruit. We tasted a few of their wines...this summer they even had a peach wine that they made from the peach harvest. It was great by itself, but they had also made peach sangria (made from the wine, brandy and peach nectar) which was amazing! After tasting (and buying) a lot of wine, we walked around and did our own little tour. We spent so much time there we had to hurry off to make it to the rest of the wineries!

Our next stop was Turtle Run Winery. Obviously, I liked this winery because of all the turtle stuff! We made ourselves only buy 2 bottles there since we had gotten a bit carried away at Huber. Here we also learned about Best Wineries, which I had seen at the Vintage Wine Festival but they weren't online for the trail yet. We decided to stop by there...it wasn't too far, plus, we needed to visit all the wineries to get our gift!

So, we headed off to Best and enjoyed ourselves there. It was also set off in the countryside. They're relatively new so they only had a page of wines, but what they had was very good.

We didn't stay too long at Best as it was getting late in the day and we still needed to stop at Winzerwald Wineries. This is one that doesn't sell their wine many places outside of the winery and we LOVE their wine, so we wanted to make sure we got there with plenty of time. This was also the only place we took a picture on our whole trip. But, I think the picture sums it up quite well :-)



We were somewhat surprised, this is a very small building and it's kind of a pain to get to. But their wine makes it totally worth it!!!

Then we headed up to French Lick Winery. We lucked out, not only was it across the street from the Resort but it was also open till 9! I had drank A LOT of their cherry wine at a friend of mine's wedding last fall so I was interested to see if it was really as good as I thought it was! I was pleasantly surprised...it was even better!

After tasting and buying (kind of the theme of the day!) we headed back to the resort and got checked in. We had reserved the cheap last minute room and it came with an amazing view of the air conditioner units :-) No, really, it was a fine room. The resort was interesting because it's so old yet the upkeep is great. We went to the pool party they were having for the resort and napped by the pool. Then we had dinner at their steakhouse (bad bad experience, but I won't get into that), then headed over to the casino. JM played a bit of craps and I sat my butt in front of the fisher slot machine and fed it money!

Saturday morning we won all our money back at the breakfast buffet and then headed back home. It was rainy and dreary, so we decided to leave the last 3 wineries for another time. They're all in the Brown County/Bloomington area which isn't that far away from us. We did stop at Carousel, though. Like Winzerwald, this winery doesn't sell their wines many other (if any) places other than the winery itself. It's another small winery but I absolutely love their wines and the people who run it. Somehow we bought another 6 bottles there...oops! We already had an overflow at home (about 48 bottles) and yet we bought another 22. We probably need to have a party!

After Carousel we headed home. Stopped at Lowe's and bought the much anticipated and awaited grill. We had a little cookout on Sunday to try it out and I'm in heaven!

We even had some more neighbors come over and introduce themselves on Sunday morning. They had even made oreo truffles to welcome us to the neighborhood! Adorable! All of the neighbors have been so nice and stop by all the time...we couldn't be happier!

Service Flag Bill...Please Help!

Did you know over the last few years many families are being told to take down their Service Flag because of homeowner's association restrictions? Yep, seriously.

On May 21st, Congressman John A. Boccieri submitted a Bill to help these families. No one else co-sponsored the Bill so your help is needed. For more information, and to see how you can help, please click.

Thank you Senator Bayh

Luckily, most of this doesn't apply to JM and I anymore. But I think it's a great step in helping Americans take charge in their credit card balances!

http://bayh.senate.gov/news/press/release/?id=5f985a38-0fc8-4884-ac4d-4d5b14c4dc64

Lexapro weaning

I've only been taking Lexapro (10 mg...a low dose) for about a year now. It's a drug that's used to treat depression and anxiety. I've been taking it mostly for SAD. I meant to go off of it last summer but ended up just staying on. This spring I started feeling better with the weather getting nicer so my doctor and I decided it was ok to come off.

First, I took 5 mg daily. After 2 weeks of this, I switched to 2.5 mg daily. I guess I should've then gone to 2.5 mg every other day, but I thought it was going ok so I just stopped.

WARNING -- it sucks. Every single time my eyes change directions, I feel dizzy. It's just for a split second but it's horrible. I read online that your brain is mimicking a seizure for a split second...and that's how bad it feels. It's been enough to throw me off balance more than once now. And if that wasn't bad enough, you feel 'manic' attacks. You'll be fine, blah blah blah, and then suddenly are crying. You can't explain why or what set it off, but it stops as soon as it starts. Then you'll be fine again, and you're suddenly mad. Then you're fine, and suddenly ecstaticly happy.

All of these symptoms are also MUCH worse if you're tired. I started experiencing them on Monday and Thursday was my first day at work with them. It was so bad in the morning I even called the doctor's office to make sure it's ok to have them so severly. Later in the day they got better because I wasn't as tired anymore. Unfortunately, the doctor's office said it is normal and should go away within the next week or so. I had also asked if it was ok to do the mini marathon and the nurse said yes, just make sure you put a contact name on the back of your bib just in case. Ohhh...thanks!

Anyways, my reasoning for writing this was to help anyone else who is considering going off of it. The symptoms aren't as bad now (day 8 off), but they're still there. More importantly than any other thing is to make sure you have a good support system in place. Tell people close to you what you are about to do so they are ready for it. Make sure they know what to expect. And hopefully, they'll be great enough to give you a break for a couple of weeks.

Dashboard figurines

Check out the "new product" on this website! Hilarious!

Indiana Wine Fair

Yesterday, JM and I went down to Nashville for the Indiana Wine Fair. We were looking forward to the outing, but did not expect to have as much fun as we did! If you click on the title of this blog it will take you to the website for the Fair. There were about 21 wineries from the Indiana area and they had tasting for many of their wines. $20 got you admission and a wine glass from Story Inn. There were a few big, white tents and all the wineries were stationed underneath them. You would just take your wine glass and go up to a winery and start naming off ones you wanted to try! Obviously, there were A LOT of drunk people there! We tried to be good...about halfway through we went and bought cheese, bread, water and cheddar popcorn.

The location of Story Inn was pretty cool as well. As their slogan reads, it's a VERY inconvienent location, but a beautiful drive! We thought it was in Nashville (like the website says), so we just drove down to Nashville then used the Garmin. It's actually in Columbus, so we ended up taking the scenic route. Turns out, it was the perfect day for that! We got to enjoy the sunroof on the crave and take all the windy roads through parts of Indiana we'd never seen.

The wine was amazing. I feel Indiana has great sweet wines, and since the day was hot, sweet wines sounded the most refreshing. JM tried a couple of drier wines, but I stuck to the sweets. I'll have to remember for next year to take a pen because I forget a lot of what we tried and liked. We did buy one bottle (yep, just one! We were proud of ourselves!!!) of wine from Carousel Winery. We discovered them at the Home Show last winter and JM really likes them. They don't hold events or sell their wine at other locations so we haven't gotten to enjoy them much. We bought a bottle of Pomegrante Wine there. It was towards the end of the wine tasting, but I seem to recall it being delish!

Wines that stick out in my mind were:
Madison Vineyard ~
Black Dog -- sweet red blend
Mystique -- sweet white blend

Buck Creek's Cranberry Apple (tasted just like juice!)

Most of the Simmons wines, especially the Harvests, were great. We enjoyed so many we're going to try to catch a few events there to remember which ones we want!

Ferrin's (which is in Carmel!) had a Caramel Apple that was dangerously good...tasted just like a caramel apple! It wasn't as sweet as some of the others and had just the right blend.

Easley's Winery was a great surprise. I had known there was a winery in downtown Indy but hadn't paid a whole lot of attention to it. It had "Reggae" wines that were very flavorful. They also had a Cayuga White that had won some awards and I was in love with it! They also have a lot of events planned for this summer that I'm excited to attend!

I was pleasantly surprised with Mallow Run as well. I had only heard of it a couple of times before the Fair. Their Rougeon won the gold for the sweet red at the Fair, giving them the first booth when you entered. I didn't think this seemed like such a great prize, but considering I wasn't tipsy when I tried it and I can remember it, maybe it was a great prize! The Rougeon deserved the sweet red win!!! They also have "Pizza and Wine" nights in the summer. Bazbeaux pizza, wine, and sitting outside...perfect sounding evening!

The winery I am probably most excited about is Chateau Thomas. It not only had great wine, but it has TONS of events planned this summer and it's so close to us!

I know this wasn't an indepth review of the wines, but there was a LOT of wine and I'm lucky I remember this much! If you're interested in events this summer, definitely check out the Indiana Wine Trails. JM will be out of town for the first event I'm going to try, but it's the Indy Wine Trail's "Race Into Wineries". It's $20 and on Saturday and Sunday you can go to as many of the Indy Wine Trails' wineries as you want and get free tastings as well as track food! The Indy Wine Trails include Buck Creek, Grape Inspirations, Chateau Thomas, Mallow Run, Easley, Simmons and Ferrins. That Sunday is Mothers Day so I'm hoping that's what Mom wants to spend her day doing!

Life is good store

I ordered 2 presents from this Life Is Good store, Jake's Lake Place, on Wednesday night. The only real reason I ordered through their site was because one of the items I was ordering was discountinued and they happened to have it. I checked out and somehow qualified for free shipping. Not sure if it was because it was my first purchase or it was over $50 or because they liked me...don't really care the reason I was just happy it happened! Anyways, it was shipped regular mail and I received it TODAY! Yep, amazing. I am so happy with this place so I wanted to share with everyone!!!
http://jakeslakeplace.com/

Yet another one fell through

We were outbid today for the house.  It was only a couple of thousand dollars, but their realtor said it was enough to continue working with the other offer instead of ours.  Can't say it's easy to take, but we'll keep looking.

Ouch...

To add insult to injury, as soon as I hit "publish" on the last post my phone rang. The house had another offer so we have to put our very best offer on the table tomorrow by 3.

What's so frustrating about the tax credit?

Let me clarify before I start my rant. I am BEYOND grateful for the first time homebuyer's tax credit...especially since we're buying a house this year!!! The problem comes in because it's almost a tease. In less than a year, we'll receive $8000. But we can't have it now.
We found a house that I think is perfect. It has the potential to be a house we live in forever. All the other houses we've found in our price range we will grow out of in a couple of years. This house could grow with us. It has a loft that we could make into a 4th bedroom if we needed. It has a huge backyard and it's in a great neighborhood. I truly feel our family would have a great life in this house.
Here's the problem. We made an offer last night and they countered today at 157. The highest we can go, according to our mortgage guy, is 152. I don't think they'll come down that far. I want (soooo badly) to go back with even just 154. Just 2-3K more than what we can do. That's where the tax credit teases us. We WILL HAVE 8K more dollars in less than a year. But we could use it more NOW!
We can't borrow a couple thousand dollars from the bank because that would then make less we could afford in the mortgage. But the money is RIGHT THERE, dangling in front of me. We just can't have it yet. Why can't I have some really rich relative that would loan us the money? We're good for it...you know next spring we'll get the 8K! Heck, I'd pay them interest if we could just have it NOW.
Yes, I know, I'm horrible at waiting. I am probably the most impatient person I know, so this isn't helping. I just emailed our mortgage guy to find out if we put down 6500 instead of the mandatory 3.5%, would that help us much? I doubt it will but I figured it was worth finding out.
Next month I also get the last installment of my sign-bonus. (I know, can you believe I've been working in the real world for almost a year now!!! Time flies!) But I don't want to count on that too much because taxes kill those bonuses. This will be a bigger installment, but the last couple have seemed pretty small after taxes so I don't want to get my hopes up.
What makes everything worse is being shot down. You start to invision yourself in the house...walking the dog at night and meeting neighbors and all of that. Looking out the window into the backyard yesterday I swear I saw my kids chasing the dog around. Like my brother said tonight, you can't help but do it. And you want to be thinking positively, but it makes it hurt even worse when it doesn't happen.
That'll be the end of my rant tonight. In the meantime, if you find a couple thousand dollars on the sidewalk, please keep us in mind. :-)

Thank you

I wanted to send out a worldwide (at least worldwide web!) thank you to a lady I don't know. Last week I was at the United Methodist Church in Greenwood for my mini marathon training. Before I started my run, I used the restroom. I was wearing my cold weather workout gear...fitted black pants and a very bright fuschia long sleeved top. Since I've been feeling very overweight lately, let's just say this isn't my favorite outfit as it's a running outfit, therefore skin-tight. Anyways, I was washing my hands (as EVERYONE should do!) when an woman walked in and said, "You look so cute in that outfit. I love the color of your top!" Granted, I was in Greenwood so I probably fit in a little more (sorry to any South-sider, I just had to throw that in), but regardless, she made me feel so good! It was nice to have someone compliment you when you were feeling so blah about yourself. Especially a perfect stranger. I think it shows you should do things like that...compliment strangers. It can totally change someone's day.

Open house dance

Click on the above link to see the dance my husband began performing for me and my mom today during an open house.

Another one bites the dust

This whole house-hunting thing is getting a little frustrating. As you know, we've been back and forth with what we thought was "the" house this past weekend. I thought this time we did everything right...we looked at it twice, looked into the age of the roof & appliances, researched the area, etc.
We went in with a somewhat low offer ($11K under their asking price) on Thursday night, wanted them to pay closing costs and wanted possession at closing. They came back on Saturday and had come down 4K from their asking price, said they'd pay closing costs, but didn't want to give up possession until 7 days after closing. We countered yesterday at 9K under their asking price and possession at closing. I told the realtor (Judy), that if the possession was the only thing holding up the sale I was willing to work with it. Say they pay us rent for 7 days or something. She said to stick with the possession at closing and a little lower price and make them pick one that they really want.
This afternoon they came back and the same price they offered Saturday, but now they want possession 4 days after closing and do not want to pay rent or any other fees.
Ummm...no. I am not paying insurance, mortgage, utilities, etc., for another family that I don't know to live in MY house for 4 days, no strings attached. There is way too much liability there! Plus, they're obviously not budging on the price. It's not that we don't want to go up to where they're asking, which actually can't.
I understand their thinking with the price. It's a good neighborhood, they're asking an awesome price for the house, we thought it was great. Obviously, just not great for us.
I know there's other houses out there and all that stuff, but it's a downer. This is the 3rd house now that hasn't worked out. We're not even being totally unrealistic! Oh well, back to the drawing board! On the bright side, I have tomorrow off AND I get to pick up the bear tonight!

Randoms

Wow, December was the last time I blogged?!? Yikes! What have my loyal followers been doing while I was away??? :-)

Happy Good Friday to all. Is that the right thing to say? Regardless, it's what I'm saying. I'm working today saving one life at a time with Albuterol while everyone else has the day off paid. It actually has been a hectic day. We had two codes this morning which were true codes. A lot of times you get there and someone just fell, etc. These were real they're-not-breathing-no-pulse-intubate-compressions type deals. Added a little excitement to my day! Although I have a new scrub top and it's made out of polyester and cotton instead of just cotton. According to the tag, it's a more comfortable fit. According to Shan, it doesn't breathe. Running flights of stairs to the codes was hard work and I sweat right through the shirt. Good thing it's a dark color so no one could tell!

We put an offer on a house yesterday. We want to be very excited but we're afraid it will fall through. A couple of weeks ago we put an offer on another house (which was wayyyy over-priced) and didn't really think it would work out...obviously it didn't. We weren't too bummed because it was a little far out in Fishers and honestly, I didn't "see" us in it. This house I see us in. That tends to make me a little more apprehensive about getting excited because we don't want to be disappointed if it doesn't work out.

Tomorrow night JM and I are going to an Egyptian restaurant with a group of people. I've never had Egyptian food and am very excited! Hopefully it's not a lot of lamb!!!

JM got his internship! He had an interview yesterday and they hired him on the spot! Smart people!!!

Back to work. Hopefully it will quiet down a bit. My legs are a little sore from all the running and stairs earlier!!!

Happy Easter weekend!