Well, we have been in our house now for 10 days and it's beginning to feel more and more like home. We have even had MeL & Dave over for dinner!
FRIDAY - Moving day was a scorcher and we are so very thankful to all who helped (MeL & Dave, Levi, Bo, Tyler, Kyler, and Abby)! We could not have done without you! I think I did about 10 loads of laundry and quite a few runs of the dishwasher! I was so worried about our refrigerator being moldy but to my surprise, it was just really smelly! Chloe and Abby cleaned it out and the smell went away! We returned the U-Haul right on time and came home and got cleaned up, then headed off to Wal-mart and Sam's for a very expensive shopping excursion.
SATURDAY we had Direct TV coming so we had to wait for them to show up before we could do our final shopping trip. We were also blessed to have The Madonna Family bring us a very yummy dinner! Providence (our neighborhood) had a 4th of July celebration and I was so HAPPY that I was able to see the fireworks from the balcony! It kinda hit me that this is now where we live and I even got teary eyed!
SUNDAY was church. We started a new series called, "I love the 80's". After church we went to Ikea and The Container Store. Then, more unpacking. Deke, Samantha, and Kennedy stopped by on their way to Denton Water Works (I really wanted to go but was just too exhausted).
MONDAY we took a bunch of stuff to Goodwill (one realizes that after not having some stuff for a year and a half - you really don't need it at all!), made a trip to Ikea to get a futon for the loft (since the couch the girls use broke at some point while in storage) and a couple other items for the girls' rooms, did more laundry, ran the dishwasher some more, and unpacked some more boxes.
TUESDAY while I was at work, Peter cleaned the rest of the dishes and we purged even more stuff! It was so great to get the kitchen put together and the table cleared off!
WEDNESDAY we cleaned a bit and had MeL & Dave over for dinner. We hung out for a bit then they had to leave since they both had to work Thursday.
THURSDAY I worked and Peter did some more unpacking. At this point, the family room, and kitchen are done and the upstairs is a work in progress. The loft is pretty much done with just a few things that need to find another home.
FRIDAY I worked again and Peter worked on his office. After I got home, I changed and we headed out to the Rangers game. Thank goodness our seats were not directly in the sun cuz it was h-o-t! The game was pretty uneventful but the fireworks show afterwards was FANTASTIC!
SATURDAY I spent a good part of the day with some wonderful ladies from church for mani/pedi's and lunch. Love those ladies! Spent the rest of the day chilling with my husband.
SUNDAY (today) I skipped church (I know... I'm a bad girl but I was exhausted and just needed to do nothing). Peter mowed the yard and then we went to Sam's Club and Wal-Mart. We just finished dinner and are now hanging out. Lyndsy leaves for church camp tonight and will be back next Saturday.
There you have it! We are settling in to our Home Sweet Home!
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Things are changing...
Well, a lot has happened since my last post (posted today but written a month ago)!
We have really been pushing hard to find a house to rent in the neighborhood that we are currently in but to no avail! We have looked at quite a few houses (even some for sale), really liked 2, and have gone thru 3 realtors. Unfortunately, both that we liked were for sale! We asked the realtor that we were working with at the time, if he would ask if the homeowners would be willing to rent their houses instead of selling them. He said, "Yeah, we do it all the time". Well, he didn't!
Last week Peter had a business trip to CA and had said that next time he has work near San Francisco, I could come. Well, it was near San Fran! I was a little apprehenisive about going. I had a feeling that a house was going to come up for rent and we wouldn't be there to look at it or move fast if we liked what we saw online. More on houses in a moment... Gotta tell you about our trip. :-)
We left bright (it was definitely not bright when we left) and early on Thursday morning for the airport. We arrived in Oakland around 9:00am and picked up our rental car. Peter had work in two different areas so, I dropped him off at the first place. At some point he had checked realtor.com and saw a house for rent that was previously listed as for sale... AND we had already looked it... AND it was perfect for us! As soon as I dropped him off I found a Starbucks with WiFi and checked it out since it wasn't showing up on my phone search. My search only showed it for sale. I left a voicemail with our current realtor (and sent him an email) asking him to fax us an application and then proceeded to call the broker to make sure that it was in fact for rent and there weren't any contracts on it. The broker didn't have any info on it - which was a good thing - so, I waited to hear back from our realtor, Wayne. It was time to pick up Peter so, I packed up and went to get him. By this time, Peter said that he received the fax from Wayne. I dropped Peter off at his next stop and drove 45 minutes to our hotel to get started on filling out the applications. After forgetting to print 2 applications (we had to submit one for each of us), going up and down the elevator to the hotel computer several times, talking to Lyndsy on the phone to try and find my license plate #, and finally getting it all faxed... it was 2 hours later and time to head back to get Peter. We went to dinner and then back to our hotel to crash! It was a long day!
Friday morning, we drove a few hours north towards Sacramento where Peter had his first stop of the day. I wasn't in the mood to drive anymore so, I wandered around. There was a weathered man sitting on a bench and at first glance, he looked like a statue. He sat there in the same position as I walked past him - not changing his demeanor at all. I really wanted to take a photo of him from the side to really show his posture but I was too chicken so, I got this one instead.
I was tired of wandering around so, I sat in the car and bugged our realtor. I wanted to know how long it usually takes to get a response back and he said it should be 1-2 business days. Ugh! It was Friday and that meant we would have to wait until Monday or Tuesday! A little bit later he sent me an email asking me about the move in date (on the application I put a move in date of June 9th to give them an idea that we ARE ready NOW!) - he said it wouldn't be available until July 1st and wanted to know if that was ok. Of course it is silly! :-) Anyway, Peter finished working here so we headed to his next location. I honestly don't remember what I did this time while he worked. Once he was done we had a long drive back to Oakland. I was playing around with my camera in the car and got some cool shots.
Once in Oakland, we checked into our hotel and relaxed for a bit. Then it was off to take Bart to San Francisco. Bart was very interesting. Peter said it was more like the subway than the lightrail. I have never been on either so, I wouldn't know. Anyway, once in San Francisco, we began our walk to Pier 39. First stop... to take some photos of course.
We have really been pushing hard to find a house to rent in the neighborhood that we are currently in but to no avail! We have looked at quite a few houses (even some for sale), really liked 2, and have gone thru 3 realtors. Unfortunately, both that we liked were for sale! We asked the realtor that we were working with at the time, if he would ask if the homeowners would be willing to rent their houses instead of selling them. He said, "Yeah, we do it all the time". Well, he didn't!
Last week Peter had a business trip to CA and had said that next time he has work near San Francisco, I could come. Well, it was near San Fran! I was a little apprehenisive about going. I had a feeling that a house was going to come up for rent and we wouldn't be there to look at it or move fast if we liked what we saw online. More on houses in a moment... Gotta tell you about our trip. :-)
We left bright (it was definitely not bright when we left) and early on Thursday morning for the airport. We arrived in Oakland around 9:00am and picked up our rental car. Peter had work in two different areas so, I dropped him off at the first place. At some point he had checked realtor.com and saw a house for rent that was previously listed as for sale... AND we had already looked it... AND it was perfect for us! As soon as I dropped him off I found a Starbucks with WiFi and checked it out since it wasn't showing up on my phone search. My search only showed it for sale. I left a voicemail with our current realtor (and sent him an email) asking him to fax us an application and then proceeded to call the broker to make sure that it was in fact for rent and there weren't any contracts on it. The broker didn't have any info on it - which was a good thing - so, I waited to hear back from our realtor, Wayne. It was time to pick up Peter so, I packed up and went to get him. By this time, Peter said that he received the fax from Wayne. I dropped Peter off at his next stop and drove 45 minutes to our hotel to get started on filling out the applications. After forgetting to print 2 applications (we had to submit one for each of us), going up and down the elevator to the hotel computer several times, talking to Lyndsy on the phone to try and find my license plate #, and finally getting it all faxed... it was 2 hours later and time to head back to get Peter. We went to dinner and then back to our hotel to crash! It was a long day!
Friday morning, we drove a few hours north towards Sacramento where Peter had his first stop of the day. I wasn't in the mood to drive anymore so, I wandered around. There was a weathered man sitting on a bench and at first glance, he looked like a statue. He sat there in the same position as I walked past him - not changing his demeanor at all. I really wanted to take a photo of him from the side to really show his posture but I was too chicken so, I got this one instead.
I was tired of wandering around so, I sat in the car and bugged our realtor. I wanted to know how long it usually takes to get a response back and he said it should be 1-2 business days. Ugh! It was Friday and that meant we would have to wait until Monday or Tuesday! A little bit later he sent me an email asking me about the move in date (on the application I put a move in date of June 9th to give them an idea that we ARE ready NOW!) - he said it wouldn't be available until July 1st and wanted to know if that was ok. Of course it is silly! :-) Anyway, Peter finished working here so we headed to his next location. I honestly don't remember what I did this time while he worked. Once he was done we had a long drive back to Oakland. I was playing around with my camera in the car and got some cool shots.
Once in Oakland, we checked into our hotel and relaxed for a bit. Then it was off to take Bart to San Francisco. Bart was very interesting. Peter said it was more like the subway than the lightrail. I have never been on either so, I wouldn't know. Anyway, once in San Francisco, we began our walk to Pier 39. First stop... to take some photos of course.
Seagulls were everywhere! Probably cuz they were being fed.
Sailboat
One of a few men fishing on the pier... He was having good luck
The Pier
These seagulls were sitting nicely waiting to be fed. Wherever the guy went, they moved their heads, watching him. It was pretty funny!
We kept walking and once closer to Pier 39, we could see Alcatraz. Since the TV show has been on, Chloe has been a little fascinated with it. She wasn't too happy that we were going to be so close without her. We were going to take the ferry over there and do a tour but it was just too expensive. Oh well!
Not a very pretty site - in my opinion anyway
Well, we made it to Pier 39 and walked around some more deciding where we were going to eat. We decided to eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp. Once we were seated and our waitress had just walked up to our table to get our drink order, my phone chimed in indicating I had an email. It was from Wayne, our realtor, and it said, "Congratulations!! You're approved! The lease should be ready for you to sign soon." I think I let out a little scream of excitement! I tried to contain myself so I could order but it was pretty hard! Once our waitress left, I handed Peter my phone so he could read the email and then the tears of pure joy came (from me, not Peter)! We ordered our food - Peter ordered Lt Dan's Drunken Shrimp and I ordered the All American BBQ Burger (yep, we went to a seafood restaurant and I order a burger!). Mine was delicious and Peter said his was good too. Our waitress came back a little later with a little cup of ice cream and told everyone in the restaurant that her friends just got their house and wanted to say congratulations. It was kind of weird but cool too! I think I was in a daze during dinner and couldn't stop smiling.
Peter had heard there were sealions somewhere near where we were eating. Our waitress said that they were right below us. So, after dinner we went to see the sealions. They were all pretty much chillin' in the sun. A couple of them were laying pretty funny. See for yourself.
This sealion laid this way the whole time. :-)
Pose for all the cameras
This guy looked like he had been through a fight or something
Peaceful
Love
I was told by a friend, Erin C., that we needed to go to Boudin's to have some sourdogh bread and chowder (I didn't see her msg before we ate, otherwise we may have eaten there) so, we headed over there.
This place had some pretty crazy bread designs (if you can call them designs). There was a large alligator, a small alligator, teddy bears, turtles, crabs, and more. We went with the boring - small sourdough round and 4 cookies (2 snickerdoodles, chocolate chip, and peanut butter) to take home and enjoy with the girls.
It was time to walk back and catch Bart to take us back to Oakland. Of course, I had to capture a few more photos...
This is really a toilet on the street corner. It smelled sooooooo bad!
This was one of the first views I had of San Francisco. Photo taken using zoom lens
Perspective - same view as above using regular lens
We made it back to our hotel and crashed. It's was an emotional evening and we had an early flight home in the morning.
Once back in TX, we made arrangements with Wayne to look at the house again to refresh our memory for Monday. This time we took both of the girls with us (Lyndsy went with us the first time) and told them to pick out their rooms. :-)
We move into our new (to us) home on Friday, June 29th! Only 22 more days! I am super duper excited to revisit all our stuff we have in storage.
Sorry for the long post but I had a lot to say. ;-p
toodle loo
Shine On
I
have really been struggling with finding a job and my photography. The struggle
really started a few months ago during our Project 1:8 message series at
church. I felt God pulling me towards missions but to what extent I had (and
have) no idea! I just know that it had something to do with photography. Well
since then, I have been asking God to provide me with a job that is provided by
Him and where I can glorify His name. I have had 3 interviews at some great
places and 2 out of the 3 (so far) were no’s. I was starting to get depressed
and feel like something is wrong with me! The third place (I have interviewed
with corporate, 1 doctor, and then 3 staff members at another office) hasn’t made
a decision yet. By the time I hear something back from them; it will have been
a month. Ugh! In the meantime, I am
still offering up finding a job to God and doing my best to accept the waiting.
Also, during this time, God has kept me busy with photography and I realized
that if I had any of those jobs, I wouldn’t have been able to say ‘yes’ to some
of the opportunities that have been put in my path. I stated a while back to
Peter that if I could have 1 or 2 larger jobs (weddings, golf tournaments,
school pictures, etc…) that bring in a certain amount of money than I would be
great (insert 2 thumbs up here)! You see I have 2 big events on my calendar but
they are not until June and September. Well… God came thru! A friend of mine
has a son that attends a small Christian school and they needed school photos
taken. I jumped at the opportunity (not knowing what the heck I was going to
do) and once I saw the income potential, I was even more excited. Don’t get me
wrong, I DON’T do photography for the money… I do it purely to capture special
moments and joy in people’s lives. The money is a bonus! Anyway, after getting
just about all of the order forms back… the total is just $25 shy of what my ‘great’
would be! Now is God amazing or what? *** UPDATE - since I first started to write this post (a month ago) I am still without a 'regular' job. I am still looking and our goal is to find a job this month (June) ***
This
past Thursday (May 3rd) some of the ladies (Wendy, Peggy, Brenda, Rhonda, Stephanie, Melissa, Sarah, Samantha, Beth, Mauri, Amy, Christa, Astasia, and Hilary) from church went to the Flavour conference at Fellowship Church in Grapevine, TX. I didn't have a lot of expectations going in but was very excited to hang out with some great ladies! The conference was Thursday evening, Friday morning, and ended Friday night. Here is a much condensed snap shot of what happened throughout the conference.
Thursday evening, we arrive at Fellowship Church and wait to get into the auditorium to sit down. Once the doors open, we stake out our seats and wait for the show to begin. The lights go out and 'This Little Light of Mine' begins to resonate from the speakers. BTW... the conference was called, 'Shine the Light'. Once worship started, I felt like I was at a concert! It was great! There were 2 speakers, Lisa Young and Janay Wilborn. Both women were fabulous. More worship and then to our hotel to hang out and play some games. We played 'Never Have I Ever' and Catch Phrase, laughed, danced (well, Beth showed us her new moves), and laughed some more! I didn't get much sleep and woke up with a stomach ache but I was so looking forward to what the day had to offer.
Friday morning, we headed back to the church for the morning session. All I have to say is God spoke profoundly to me through worship and the ladies who spoke! I go back to my big struggle that I mentioned in the beginning of this post... During a break we had, I asked Sarah if she would help me decipher what I have been feeling. Sarah is such an amazing, godly woman and she helped me realize that God has had His hand in all of this! She prayed and then we heard more ladies speak.
Friday afternoon we had several hours of free time. A bunch of us went to Chipotle for lunch and then headed to downtown Grapevine to wander around. We went from shop to shop browsing around and tiring ourselves out! The conference started again and we worshipped some more and listened to some of the ladies again.
All in all, the conference was AMAZING! I am so glad that I went and was able to make new friends and strengthen some old! Thank you Wendy for being my co-pilot there and back! You are such a sweet friend!
FAST FORWARD to today, June 7th... see my newest post a little later today!
Thursday evening, we arrive at Fellowship Church and wait to get into the auditorium to sit down. Once the doors open, we stake out our seats and wait for the show to begin. The lights go out and 'This Little Light of Mine' begins to resonate from the speakers. BTW... the conference was called, 'Shine the Light'. Once worship started, I felt like I was at a concert! It was great! There were 2 speakers, Lisa Young and Janay Wilborn. Both women were fabulous. More worship and then to our hotel to hang out and play some games. We played 'Never Have I Ever' and Catch Phrase, laughed, danced (well, Beth showed us her new moves), and laughed some more! I didn't get much sleep and woke up with a stomach ache but I was so looking forward to what the day had to offer.
Friday morning, we headed back to the church for the morning session. All I have to say is God spoke profoundly to me through worship and the ladies who spoke! I go back to my big struggle that I mentioned in the beginning of this post... During a break we had, I asked Sarah if she would help me decipher what I have been feeling. Sarah is such an amazing, godly woman and she helped me realize that God has had His hand in all of this! She prayed and then we heard more ladies speak.
Friday afternoon we had several hours of free time. A bunch of us went to Chipotle for lunch and then headed to downtown Grapevine to wander around. We went from shop to shop browsing around and tiring ourselves out! The conference started again and we worshipped some more and listened to some of the ladies again.
All in all, the conference was AMAZING! I am so glad that I went and was able to make new friends and strengthen some old! Thank you Wendy for being my co-pilot there and back! You are such a sweet friend!
FAST FORWARD to today, June 7th... see my newest post a little later today!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
crazy busy
I have been so busy the last month that I realized; I need to get better organized! I am a pretty organized person to begin with but not having a job and my ‘normal’ routine has helped mold me into a lazier person. I am not enjoying my new routine so much and am really looking forward to getting back to ‘normal’. I can honestly say that my ‘normal’ routine is what I miss the most from Arizona (other than my family). Things will be back to normal again soon and I am super excited!
Here is how this past month has gone down… I have had 2 interviews for a job I really wanted but didn’t get and I am okay with that. God has other plans for me. I prayed for Him to keep me busy and He has! I have my Saturday Bible study and am really enjoying it! The girls had Spring Break and I was finally able to get Lyndsy and 2 of her friends together for a photo shoot. Good times I must say. :-) The Denton County Stock Show was a few weeks ago and the girls showed their goats. They didn’t place but still did very well! So proud of them!! I had an engagement photo shoot at the Fort Worth Stockyards and had the pleasure of meeting a great couple. I will be seeing quite a bit of them this year.
Then I had a week of photo shoots what seemed like back to back.
My niece and nephew at a beautiful location that I can’t wait to use in the future!
A bluebonnet photo shoot with the Alexander’s (I just love Kennedy – she makes the sweetest faces).
The Holt’s are never boring in their location choice. :-) We were supposed to have their photo shoot at the Dallas Arboretum but needed to stay closer to home. They were having Pierce’s 4th b-day party at Strikz bowling alley and asked if I would do it there. Sure, why not! I am up for a challenge… and a challenge it was! In the end, it was the perfect place for such a fun family!
The Aubrey Stock Show and Sale was Saturday and we were there pretty much ALL day. The girls again did very well (Chloe placed 6th and Lyndsy 4th). We left for a bit and then came back for the dinner and sale. BBQ was delicious as always and the sale was fun! Deke and Samantha came for the sale and a big thank you to First Security Bank for bidding on the girls goats in the premium sale! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I was able to win the bid for brisket this year! Peter was laughing at me because I was so excited about brisket!
Sunday came along (by this point, I was pretty exhausted) and we went to church and then had the 2nd Annual Easter Egg Drop. This year they were able to drop a lot more eggs from the helicopter and it looked so cool!
Then I had a quick photo shoot at UNT! Ashley rocked the photo shoot!
Then I raced back to our FPU class. Phew! Monday, Peter left for a 2 day business trip and I spent the day editing photos. Oh, I drove to Whitesboro to watch Lyndsy run the mile at her track meet. She came in 3rd! Tuesday was quite eventful! I had an impromptu interview at a company very close to home and we had quite a crazy afternoon of weather. Tornadoes were sprouting up all over and did a lot of damage! Nothing too close to us, thank goodness! I think the count is up to 15 tornadoes that touched down. WOW! Wednesday I dropped off photos and CD’s to customers and today I finished the last of my photo CD’s
I am so grateful for staying busy!
Well, right now there are not any houses to rent within the AISD boundaries. We are trusting that God will provide the perfect house for us when the time comes!
I have several photo opportunities coming up over the next several months and am excited for each one! Thank you to everyone who puts their trust in me to capture their family on ‘film’!
Easter is Sunday and I just love that it’s a wonderful time to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection! Thank you God for offering Your Son to endure the cross for my sins!
Happy Easter!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Just a little info...
The weather here has been unseasonably warm. We have had rain and some major thunderstorms and thanks to all that rain... the trees are starting to get their leaves and flowers are blooming. I love spring and all of the beauty it brings!
Peter and I started watching Friday Night Lights and have now finished watching the entire series! I just love that show and am very sad that it's over! As Peter tweeted, "The Taylor's will be missed". I think I will have to watch them all again. :-)
I have been pretty good about keeping up with my Bible reading plan and I also started a women's bible study at church. I was super excited at our first meeting to find out that the study was on the Tabernacle. I read all about this in January and February and was fascinated with it then. Now I get to delve even farther into it and I'm praying that I learn even more! I am currently reading Judges and Proverbs. Proverbs has been quite an eye opener as I read them.
I am still looking for a job (the one I interviewed for didn't work out, obviously). It's so frustrating searching for jobs! I have, thankfully, picked up a few more photography sessions... I am photographing a wedding in September and the girl getting married has asked me to do their engagement photos (which I am doing this Saturday in Fort Worth) and her bridal session in June. I also am photographing a golf tournament in June. Super excited for each event!
Today we looked at our first property to rent. We were supposed to look at two of them but the realtor got a call that it just leased. Kinda sad, as I was really looking forward to seeing that particular one. The one we looked at today is on the same street we are on now. It was nice. Fresh paint and carpet but the cabinets were not so great and the microwave was trashed. Oh, and the toilet in the master bathroom is in a really odd place... you walk into the bathroom and there it is on the right. No little room or anything! Here is a diagram of the bathroom layout.
It would work though. Our realtor is going to see if he can come up with some other rentals for us to look at. We are just limited in where we can live because of the district boundaries for the girls' schools. We shall see!
Tomorrow the girls will be showing their goats at the Denton County Stock Show. Hoping for some good results! Next week is the Aubrey Show and there will be a lot less competition!
Well, that's all I have. Until next time...
Peter and I started watching Friday Night Lights and have now finished watching the entire series! I just love that show and am very sad that it's over! As Peter tweeted, "The Taylor's will be missed". I think I will have to watch them all again. :-)
I have been pretty good about keeping up with my Bible reading plan and I also started a women's bible study at church. I was super excited at our first meeting to find out that the study was on the Tabernacle. I read all about this in January and February and was fascinated with it then. Now I get to delve even farther into it and I'm praying that I learn even more! I am currently reading Judges and Proverbs. Proverbs has been quite an eye opener as I read them.
I am still looking for a job (the one I interviewed for didn't work out, obviously). It's so frustrating searching for jobs! I have, thankfully, picked up a few more photography sessions... I am photographing a wedding in September and the girl getting married has asked me to do their engagement photos (which I am doing this Saturday in Fort Worth) and her bridal session in June. I also am photographing a golf tournament in June. Super excited for each event!
Today we looked at our first property to rent. We were supposed to look at two of them but the realtor got a call that it just leased. Kinda sad, as I was really looking forward to seeing that particular one. The one we looked at today is on the same street we are on now. It was nice. Fresh paint and carpet but the cabinets were not so great and the microwave was trashed. Oh, and the toilet in the master bathroom is in a really odd place... you walk into the bathroom and there it is on the right. No little room or anything! Here is a diagram of the bathroom layout.
It would work though. Our realtor is going to see if he can come up with some other rentals for us to look at. We are just limited in where we can live because of the district boundaries for the girls' schools. We shall see!
Tomorrow the girls will be showing their goats at the Denton County Stock Show. Hoping for some good results! Next week is the Aubrey Show and there will be a lot less competition!
Well, that's all I have. Until next time...
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