This weekend, Craig and I went to Cincinnati to look around our new home city and check out the neighborhoods/look at some houses. The trip did not go exactly as planned, however. I was a day late, due to incompetence at the airport, but we left a day early because of some sad news.
Craig's grandfather, Grampy John, passed away on Saturday night.
Craig is devastated--he was hoping that he would be able to see Grampy John one last time when we travel to the UK in August. Craig's mom called him Saturday afternoon to let him know that Grampy John had taken a turn for the worse. We immediately began making arrangements for us to get back home and for Craig to leave for the UK as soon as possible. Craig was hoping he would get there in time, but, sadly, it was not possible.
Grampy John had advanced Parkinson's and, a few weeks ago, fell and broke his hip. While in the hospital, he developed a lung infection as well. It seems like the combination of all three events was just too much for his body to handle. Craig's family was with him at the end--they say he was very peaceful. Which, I think, is all that one can pray for.
Craig is currently en route to Cardiff to be with his family. Please include John Davies, Craig, and his family in your thoughts and prayers, if you are so inclined. Craig loved his grandfather dearly and from all the stories I have heard (unfortunately, I met him when Parkinson's had already begun to affect him), he was a hell of a man. If no prayers, then perhaps raise a glass--Grampy John would have liked that, too.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Busy times
So, met with two realtors yesterday who came and took pictures of the house to put in their database (thank God these are not the pictures that will go on the internet because my house is not ready to "show" yet.). Both of the realtors were not optimistic of our chances of making any moola on the house due to the market here and the fact that the house next door to us is a foreclosure. We are hoping to break even. This after the fact that we bought the house for almost $50,000 LESS than what the original owner paid for it. Glad we are not that poor bastard. But, still, rolling in wads of cash is not in our foreseeable future.
On the bright side, we are going to Cincinnati this weekend to check it all out. We are meeting with a realtor there too to look around at the neighborhoods. The following is an illustration of the difference between (the darling, charming, sweet, intelligent, thoughtful) Missus and Mooner (Actual conversation mind you):
Me: When we look at neighborhoods, what will we be looking for? Here are the some of the things that I would like: I think a nearby park and walking trails would be nice. We need to look at the school district just in case we have a little Mooner baby and we are still around here when It begins school. I think we should look for a house with not a long commute to your office. It would be awesome if the community had a farmer's market nearby.
Him: I would like to be able to walk to a bar.
There you have it, folks.
We haven't put the house on the market yet--the realtors will get back to me tomorrow on the listing price. Then, with the relo package Craig got, if the house does not sell in 90 days, the company will buy it out. Which takes the pressure off. That is sooooo much easier than having to wait until the house sells to actually start your life in your new place, as my friend S. knows.
This past week was my dad and my sister's birthdays!!!! I went down to spend some time with them and had a really good time. On Saturday, Sister, Nephews, and I went to the downtown and looked around. It was a lot of fun and once I get the pictures from the weekend, I will post. The Nephews were REALLY cuddly this trip. I LOVED IT!!!!! Lots of "I love my auntie" hugs and kisses.
On the bright side, we are going to Cincinnati this weekend to check it all out. We are meeting with a realtor there too to look around at the neighborhoods. The following is an illustration of the difference between (the darling, charming, sweet, intelligent, thoughtful) Missus and Mooner (Actual conversation mind you):
Me: When we look at neighborhoods, what will we be looking for? Here are the some of the things that I would like: I think a nearby park and walking trails would be nice. We need to look at the school district just in case we have a little Mooner baby and we are still around here when It begins school. I think we should look for a house with not a long commute to your office. It would be awesome if the community had a farmer's market nearby.
Him: I would like to be able to walk to a bar.
There you have it, folks.
We haven't put the house on the market yet--the realtors will get back to me tomorrow on the listing price. Then, with the relo package Craig got, if the house does not sell in 90 days, the company will buy it out. Which takes the pressure off. That is sooooo much easier than having to wait until the house sells to actually start your life in your new place, as my friend S. knows.
This past week was my dad and my sister's birthdays!!!! I went down to spend some time with them and had a really good time. On Saturday, Sister, Nephews, and I went to the downtown and looked around. It was a lot of fun and once I get the pictures from the weekend, I will post. The Nephews were REALLY cuddly this trip. I LOVED IT!!!!! Lots of "I love my auntie" hugs and kisses.
Monday, July 13, 2009
When Craig's parents were here, the dishwasher broke. At least, that is what Craig's father said. So, me, being the-take-the-bull-by-the-horns kinda gal, started poking buttons on the thing, opening and closing it, turning it on and turning it off, taking the cover off the drain and checking for blockages and declared that YES, THE DISHWASHER IS NOT DRAINING. It made a funny noise when I turned it on then turned it off.
So the dishwasher sat there since Thursday night, unused and unloved. (The dishes that were already loaded into the dishwasher sat there, too. June Cleaver I am not. Washing dishes BY HAND?? Screw that shiz.)
My thinking is totally in line with the Facebook Quiz "What Decade Fits Your Personality Best?" Here is my answer:
Vicki completed the quiz "What Decade Fits Your Personality Best?" with the result 2000's.
You're always a step ahead of what has become the norm, whether it be technology, cultural trends, or your political beliefs. Problematic world issues have become very important to you. You're independent, creative, and intelligent because you have to be in a culture that moves at such a fast pace. You are ultra dependent on your cell phone and to-do list, and know all the latest celebrity gossip (no matter how much you know it's a guilty pleasure). If someone could describe you in one word, it would be COMPETITIVE. Getting a high GPA in school, getting that promotion in your job, winning that sporting competition, or having the most cutting-edge computer are all high priorities for you. Most likely, you strive to be "politically-correct" and involved in social activism that you feel strongly about. You're responsible in the day and a total party animal at night. You like "indie," non-mainstream, non-"sell-out" bands but you secretly listen to the Top 40 songs on your radio when you drive alone. You're modern, driven, and have high expectations for everything you do...
See--nothing about washing things* by hand. If I can't throw it in a machine to get clean, then I don't buy it.
Back to the story. Me, being productive, call a plumber to see about this non-draining POS I have in my kitchen. He is supposed to come Monday morning. So, drag my unemployed self out of bed and put on some clothes and wait for Mr. Plumber to come on over.
Mr. Plumber turns out to be a cute young pup. He is not your typical plumber and if he is, then I'm going to start looking for things to break. Craig, my darling, I do love you, but you can't fix my dishwasher and he can.
So, I take Mr. Plumber to my kitchen and go through the whole process of turning it/off and making him listen to the noise.
Mr. Plumber gives me a look, then looks in the drain, then listens. And says
"That noise IS the dishwasher draining. There's nothing wrong with your dishwasher. That will be $40."
And that is how my Monday began. How about yours?
*People excluded from this.
**Dirty dishes after Thursday were, in fact, washed by hand, but I threw nasty looks at the dishwasher.
So the dishwasher sat there since Thursday night, unused and unloved. (The dishes that were already loaded into the dishwasher sat there, too. June Cleaver I am not. Washing dishes BY HAND?? Screw that shiz.)
My thinking is totally in line with the Facebook Quiz "What Decade Fits Your Personality Best?" Here is my answer:
Vicki completed the quiz "What Decade Fits Your Personality Best?" with the result 2000's.
You're always a step ahead of what has become the norm, whether it be technology, cultural trends, or your political beliefs. Problematic world issues have become very important to you. You're independent, creative, and intelligent because you have to be in a culture that moves at such a fast pace. You are ultra dependent on your cell phone and to-do list, and know all the latest celebrity gossip (no matter how much you know it's a guilty pleasure). If someone could describe you in one word, it would be COMPETITIVE. Getting a high GPA in school, getting that promotion in your job, winning that sporting competition, or having the most cutting-edge computer are all high priorities for you. Most likely, you strive to be "politically-correct" and involved in social activism that you feel strongly about. You're responsible in the day and a total party animal at night. You like "indie," non-mainstream, non-"sell-out" bands but you secretly listen to the Top 40 songs on your radio when you drive alone. You're modern, driven, and have high expectations for everything you do...
See--nothing about washing things* by hand. If I can't throw it in a machine to get clean, then I don't buy it.
Back to the story. Me, being productive, call a plumber to see about this non-draining POS I have in my kitchen. He is supposed to come Monday morning. So, drag my unemployed self out of bed and put on some clothes and wait for Mr. Plumber to come on over.
Mr. Plumber turns out to be a cute young pup. He is not your typical plumber and if he is, then I'm going to start looking for things to break. Craig, my darling, I do love you, but you can't fix my dishwasher and he can.
So, I take Mr. Plumber to my kitchen and go through the whole process of turning it/off and making him listen to the noise.
Mr. Plumber gives me a look, then looks in the drain, then listens. And says
"That noise IS the dishwasher draining. There's nothing wrong with your dishwasher. That will be $40."
And that is how my Monday began. How about yours?
*People excluded from this.
**Dirty dishes after Thursday were, in fact, washed by hand, but I threw nasty looks at the dishwasher.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Destin 2009
We all had a really great time together in Destin!!!
I think the family needed a big, relaxing break and I hope that the in-laws had exactly that! Craig's grandfather and grandmother are not in the best of health, so his mom and dad have been really taking on the burden of home health care and hospital visits. I'm hoping that this trip was, at the very least, a chance for them to unwind a little bit.
I think Craig's main goal of the trip was to eat as much fresh seafood as humanly possible since we live in a land-locked state about to move to another land-locked state! We ate at quite a few restaurants, found a great seafood market and cooked in one night, went outlet mall shopping (my MIL is one hell of a shopper, that I can say definitively), and just hung out together. This was the first time Craig had seen his brother in over a year, so they had a boys' night one night, too. I heard them creeping in at 3:30 (!) a.m.
The inlaws left on Friday and arrived today back in the UK. We will be going over there in August to attend T and S's wedding. I wasn't originally planning on going, but now that I am jobless (oh yeah, also resigned from my school when we returned from Destin), I'm heading off to London with Craig. We will be there for two weeks. I'm excited--I haven't been back to London since Christmas 2007.
As far as Ohio is concerned, things are chugging along. We will be going there in a couple of weeks for a long weekend to check it all out--explore the city and look around at neighborhoods. Craig's new boss has offered to take us out to dinner and meet his family to welcome us to the city. I thought that was a really nice gesture and hopefully bodes well for the relationships/work environment in the office. His current bosses are not the come-over-to-our-house-for-hot-dogs type of people.
For me, I am doing much better than my other post. I think that the anxiety of thinking about resigning from my job was worse than the actual doing of it. Craig's parents and I went to the school, cleaned out my classroom, and turned in my resignation letter the second day we returned from Destin. I had myself a little cry the night before and the actual day of I was fine.
As of this moment, I am not looking for jobs in Ohio yet. I will wait until we are up there and are settling in, then I will look for a job.
It may be a situation where I take temp jobs or an office job or something at a mall for a little while until teaching jobs start to open up. If I do that, this will be the first time EVER I have actually researched a school before accepting a job there. My first teaching job was offered to me after my first job interview; the second was in London and conducted by phone; the third was a whirlwind of activity wherein I applied, interviewed, accepted, quit the other job, started the new job in a matter of a week. It just may be nice to take a back seat and figure some things out!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
Well, we made it!!
Craig's family landed (almost) on schedule, had about two hours downtime, then off to my parents' house we went (who, I forgot to mention, were flying back from San Diego that day as well).
We set off at 4(!!!) in the morning to drive down to Destin. It took us 14 hours to get there due to two traffic jams that we ran into, but Craig's niece took it like a champ!! Actually, they all did. Jet-lagged and all.
More on the trip later, complete with pictures.
But, the big news of the week was that Craig got a promotion at work!! HOORAY!!! The job is in Cincinnati, so we will be moving pretty soon. He doesn't have his start date yet, but it's coming.
As for me, I really have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I am super excited for Craig because (1)it IS a promotion and he will be a manager now and (2) he really, really wanted this job. **For those of you who know me in real life, please don't publish anything on Facebook--my work doesn't know yet and Craig's co-workers don't know yet and I have a few of our work friends on there.
Purely from a selfish point of view, this move is not a good thing for me. I LOVE (really love) my job and there was a really cool job opportunity that just became available that is something I have been looking for since I graduated from college. I was so excited to apply for that job, but now, obviously, I can't. On the other hand, I would have to leave my job (at least for a little bit) if I got pregnant.
Plus, even though we are three hours away from my parents and sister/nephews, this is the closest I've lived to them in 15 years. With my parents' health issues and our trying to have a baby, I was really looking forward to having them close for (hopefully) a grandchild/niece/nephew/cousins. I know that's sounding selfish considering Craig's parents are all the way in the UK.
Another thing, I struggled really hard to make close girl friends here and now that I have them, I am going to leave them. Yes, yes, I can always keep in touch with them, but that's not the same as organizing a girls' night is it? Granted, many of them are now pregnant and things would change anyway. Plus, in Cincinnati, I will be closer to two of my best friends from college so I will get to see them more that I do here.
But, Craig and I have both wanted to explore the US. Living in a small town where we are is really not what Craig signed up for when he made the move to the US, so I KNEW this was coming and I was wholeheartedly in agreement. What I didn't figure on was how comfortable (for the most part) I would feel here.
One of the things I will not miss about the small town is the closemindedness and judgements that people have here. That has been one of the pitfalls of this place. So, I will be interested in moving "North" since that is not a part of the country my little ol' Southern heart has ever experienced (well, other than the three years in England). :)
Ultimately, I know this move is a good thing, so I will come around to being as excited as Craig is. I think going to the city and looking around and exploring it will help.
Craig's family landed (almost) on schedule, had about two hours downtime, then off to my parents' house we went (who, I forgot to mention, were flying back from San Diego that day as well).
We set off at 4(!!!) in the morning to drive down to Destin. It took us 14 hours to get there due to two traffic jams that we ran into, but Craig's niece took it like a champ!! Actually, they all did. Jet-lagged and all.
More on the trip later, complete with pictures.
But, the big news of the week was that Craig got a promotion at work!! HOORAY!!! The job is in Cincinnati, so we will be moving pretty soon. He doesn't have his start date yet, but it's coming.
As for me, I really have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I am super excited for Craig because (1)it IS a promotion and he will be a manager now and (2) he really, really wanted this job. **For those of you who know me in real life, please don't publish anything on Facebook--my work doesn't know yet and Craig's co-workers don't know yet and I have a few of our work friends on there.
Purely from a selfish point of view, this move is not a good thing for me. I LOVE (really love) my job and there was a really cool job opportunity that just became available that is something I have been looking for since I graduated from college. I was so excited to apply for that job, but now, obviously, I can't. On the other hand, I would have to leave my job (at least for a little bit) if I got pregnant.
Plus, even though we are three hours away from my parents and sister/nephews, this is the closest I've lived to them in 15 years. With my parents' health issues and our trying to have a baby, I was really looking forward to having them close for (hopefully) a grandchild/niece/nephew/cousins. I know that's sounding selfish considering Craig's parents are all the way in the UK.
Another thing, I struggled really hard to make close girl friends here and now that I have them, I am going to leave them. Yes, yes, I can always keep in touch with them, but that's not the same as organizing a girls' night is it? Granted, many of them are now pregnant and things would change anyway. Plus, in Cincinnati, I will be closer to two of my best friends from college so I will get to see them more that I do here.
But, Craig and I have both wanted to explore the US. Living in a small town where we are is really not what Craig signed up for when he made the move to the US, so I KNEW this was coming and I was wholeheartedly in agreement. What I didn't figure on was how comfortable (for the most part) I would feel here.
One of the things I will not miss about the small town is the closemindedness and judgements that people have here. That has been one of the pitfalls of this place. So, I will be interested in moving "North" since that is not a part of the country my little ol' Southern heart has ever experienced (well, other than the three years in England). :)
Ultimately, I know this move is a good thing, so I will come around to being as excited as Craig is. I think going to the city and looking around and exploring it will help.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)