Yesterday was another busy day with moving into the new place. Dad borrowed my uncle's truck and we moved my new bed to the new place. Then, yesterday afternoon, I went with my parents to Costco. OMG, I haven't been there in a while and then I was reminded why I really don't like going there. The foot traffic in that place ranges from the "slower than melting glaciers" people that want to look at every item to the people that zoom around the whole place only looking for the items that are on their list. The store staff need to put traffic lights at the major intersections of the warehouse so that people don't ram their carts into one another. Dad was very generous and bought me a new TV for the living room and a table for my craft room. I can't wait to get my cable and internet hooked up on TH, but it's not so bad being unplugged for a little bit. At least I have internet at work.
This whole moving-to-a-new-place feels very similar to when I went to college. New surroundings, new neighbors (I met quite a few already!), etc. The big difference is that my parents are only 10 minutes away, instead of a few hours. This will lead to more opportunities to chat and raid the fridge and visit Ginger. ;)
I also killed my first bug at the new place last night. It was a ginormous moth in the bathroom. It was too high up for me to reach, so I ended up dragging out the vaccum cleaner to get it.
On a non-new place related note: my 8K training program starts today. For today, the training program says that I can go to spin class. Thankfully that's indoors. Running outside is going to be a challenge with the heat and humidity this week, but I'm just going to have to figure it out!
Song of the day: "For Good"- Wicked Soundtrack
Monday, July 11, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Moving Day
Whew. Even though I didn't go to spin class today, I definitely got a workout in by moving a bunch of my stuff into the new place! Mom and I started loading up the cars around 8:30 this morning and then 3 of my cousins came to help finish the job. Once the cars were loaded, I lead the cousins to the new place. They all seemed very impressed with the place. I think they'll be more impressed when I have artwork hanging up and the house is fully operational.
It's amazing how one person has so much stuff! Most of it went to my craft room, imagine that. After two trips today, most of my kitchen and office is set up.
The dining room table that I'm going to be using actually started out at my house and has been passed on to many family members until it finally came back to us. One less thing to have to buy!
Tomorrow the plan is to get the mattresses over to the new place, a desk for crafting, maybe a new television, and some chairs for the dining room. I'm planning to put my full bed on risers and put a twin mattress underneath for any visitors that might stay the night. Originally, I thought of using the smaller bedroom as a guest bedroom, but I don't foresee lots of visitors that would stay long enough to need a bed and I thought it'd be a waste of space to have a bed in there that's rarely used. I'm so excited to have more space for crafting. This could be dangerous, ha ha.
It's amazing how one person has so much stuff! Most of it went to my craft room, imagine that. After two trips today, most of my kitchen and office is set up.
The dining room table that I'm going to be using actually started out at my house and has been passed on to many family members until it finally came back to us. One less thing to have to buy!
Tomorrow the plan is to get the mattresses over to the new place, a desk for crafting, maybe a new television, and some chairs for the dining room. I'm planning to put my full bed on risers and put a twin mattress underneath for any visitors that might stay the night. Originally, I thought of using the smaller bedroom as a guest bedroom, but I don't foresee lots of visitors that would stay long enough to need a bed and I thought it'd be a waste of space to have a bed in there that's rarely used. I'm so excited to have more space for crafting. This could be dangerous, ha ha.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Settlement Success
Settlement today went so smoothly.
Actually, let me back up.
My realtor and I went by the property to do a final check of the place, to make sure that everything was in good condition. The place looked fine. It actually still looked like a home (as opposed to completely empty) since the previous owner was nice enough to sell me some of her furniture. We then drove to get the final papers signed.
Before we went into the conference room, the settlement offices had a wall full of junk food goodies and drinks. I guess they like to keep their clients, employees, visitors happy and well fed. I didn't snag anything before signing the papers, but I did take a Laffy Taffy and two Peppermint Patties and a bottle of water on the way out.
Since I had more paperwork to complete and the owner of the townhome hadn't gotten there yet, they let me start with my paperwork. Midway through, the owner, her husband, and their realtor came in. Perfect timing! We signed a bunch of papers for an hour, I handed of the biggest check I'll probably ever have to write, and the owner handed over all the keys. She was super nice during the meeting, giving me tips on how to take care of the rose bushes and things she had left at the house for me (weed controller, manuals for the major appliances, etc.).
On my drive home back from the signing, it was pouring rain so I couldn't immediately move my stuff in. However, the rain eventually stopped and I went with my parents to the new place to put some small things in there. My cousins have been recruited to help me complete the move tomorrow morning. It's nice to have help around!
I'm officially a home owner. It feels good to be able to cross one more thing off my New Year's Resolution list. (I got this fortune cookie fortune at Dad's retirement dinner. I didn't think it was especially applicable then, but it definitely is today.)
Actually, let me back up.
My realtor and I went by the property to do a final check of the place, to make sure that everything was in good condition. The place looked fine. It actually still looked like a home (as opposed to completely empty) since the previous owner was nice enough to sell me some of her furniture. We then drove to get the final papers signed.
Before we went into the conference room, the settlement offices had a wall full of junk food goodies and drinks. I guess they like to keep their clients, employees, visitors happy and well fed. I didn't snag anything before signing the papers, but I did take a Laffy Taffy and two Peppermint Patties and a bottle of water on the way out.
Since I had more paperwork to complete and the owner of the townhome hadn't gotten there yet, they let me start with my paperwork. Midway through, the owner, her husband, and their realtor came in. Perfect timing! We signed a bunch of papers for an hour, I handed of the biggest check I'll probably ever have to write, and the owner handed over all the keys. She was super nice during the meeting, giving me tips on how to take care of the rose bushes and things she had left at the house for me (weed controller, manuals for the major appliances, etc.).
On my drive home back from the signing, it was pouring rain so I couldn't immediately move my stuff in. However, the rain eventually stopped and I went with my parents to the new place to put some small things in there. My cousins have been recruited to help me complete the move tomorrow morning. It's nice to have help around!
I'm officially a home owner. It feels good to be able to cross one more thing off my New Year's Resolution list. (I got this fortune cookie fortune at Dad's retirement dinner. I didn't think it was especially applicable then, but it definitely is today.)
Thursday, July 7, 2011
The Hitchhiker and a Blast From the Past
OMG, the weirdest thing happened to me this morning. I picked up my first (and hopefully last) hitchhiker on my way to work. This woman waved me down and asked her if I could drive her to the main street that I was on my way to so that she could take the bus to get on the Metro. I'm glad that I had my sunglasses on so she wouldn't see me eyeing her with suspicion. If it was a man, I would have made up some excuse about how I was late for work and zoomed off. But this woman didn't look threatening and I didn't have a far distance to go. I took pity on her because it would have been a long way to walk in the heat. She got in the car and I tried to keep an eye on the road and an eye on her purse. Was she going to take out a weapon? Am I going to be on the news tonight? As I approached the main road, she asked if I could drop her off at the Metro since it seemed like I was going in that direction. Mmmyeahno. I'm going to let you off at the light. That was the deal. I said something about having to drive on the other side of the street and not the side that the Metro was on. She understood, told me "God bless you" and got out of the car.
Why couldn't my hitchhiker be Bono?
Weirdness.
ANYWAYYYYY...let's talk about something more positive and less creepy. So, yesterday, a fellow intern from an internship that I did at a medical clinic 5-6 years ago contacted me via Facebook. She had seen the pictures of the cards that I made that I posted and she wanted to order a custom set of "Will you be my bridesmaid?" cards! I often wonder if people go through those albums on my Facebook and whaddiya know, people do! :)
Song of the day: "Just a Kiss" - Lady Antebellum
Why couldn't my hitchhiker be Bono?
Weirdness.
ANYWAYYYYY...let's talk about something more positive and less creepy. So, yesterday, a fellow intern from an internship that I did at a medical clinic 5-6 years ago contacted me via Facebook. She had seen the pictures of the cards that I made that I posted and she wanted to order a custom set of "Will you be my bridesmaid?" cards! I often wonder if people go through those albums on my Facebook and whaddiya know, people do! :)
Song of the day: "Just a Kiss" - Lady Antebellum
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Commence Move
I'm one day closer to my settlement date, which means I have to pack up my crafty items to get ready for the move on Friday/Saturday. Crafty activities will resume once I'm more settled into the new place. Wish me luck! :)
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Two-Step Masking Technique
One of the computer guys told me today that he knew this guy that had a cat that he needed to give away because his fiancé's allergy to cats. "Well, I know that you like cats." Aww, how thoughtful. Too bad I'm 
not already settled into my place, I might have considered it!
I was reading Papertrey Ink's Nicole Heady's blog this morning and I saw this post/video about a 2-step masking technique. I wanted to try it tonight, using my newest stamp set. I ran into a little trouble with the flower on the lower left corner. The scrap of cardstock was too thick and when I stamped the flower over it, some of the ink didn't make contact with the cardbase. I covered up the empty space left behind with the paper punched butterfly. Next time, I'll use a scrap piece of copy paper (like in the video) to avoid this problem.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Warm Green, Prussian Blue, Dark Peony, Rose Coral
Stamps: Inkadinkado- Nature (leaves, butterfly, flowers), K&Company- AB Lotus Greeting Stamps (sentiment)
Punch: Martha Stewart- Classic Butterfly, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Pearl: Queen & Co.- Sunflower Yellow
not already settled into my place, I might have considered it!I was reading Papertrey Ink's Nicole Heady's blog this morning and I saw this post/video about a 2-step masking technique. I wanted to try it tonight, using my newest stamp set. I ran into a little trouble with the flower on the lower left corner. The scrap of cardstock was too thick and when I stamped the flower over it, some of the ink didn't make contact with the cardbase. I covered up the empty space left behind with the paper punched butterfly. Next time, I'll use a scrap piece of copy paper (like in the video) to avoid this problem.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Warm Green, Prussian Blue, Dark Peony, Rose Coral
Stamps: Inkadinkado- Nature (leaves, butterfly, flowers), K&Company- AB Lotus Greeting Stamps (sentiment)
Punch: Martha Stewart- Classic Butterfly, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Pearl: Queen & Co.- Sunflower Yellow
Monday, July 4, 2011
Wee Memories Challenge #61
When Julie mentioned that she'd be coming home for the July 4th holiday, we made a plan to see Transformers: Dark of the Moon today. The movie far exceeded my expectations! I really felt that the 3D effects enhanced the already really cool special effects. There were moments where my jaw literally dropped, the scene was so shocking or awesome. I thought this article from msnbc.com described the movie well. I've seen several movies this summer already, and this one is definitely my favorite so far. Onward to HP7 Part 2 and Captain America.
Here's my card for Wee Memories Challenge #61: "Summertime." Hmm, what could be considered a summery image? I dug through my stamp stash and found one that was surfing themed. Perfect! Then I decided to incorporate as many colors into the card as possible, so I stamped the surfboard image over and over using different ink colors. The bottom of the card was missing something so I punched a border that looked like a wave and then added some hibiscus paper to complete the beachy/summery card.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Warm Red, Rose Coral, Yellow Ochre, Aquamarine, Prussian Blue, Warm Violet
Stamps: The Paper Company Studio- Surf's Up
Paper: Die Cuts With a View
Punch: Fiskars Upper Crest border punch, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Other: Black American Crafts Stamp Marker
Hope y'all had a wonderful 4th of July! :)
Here's my card for Wee Memories Challenge #61: "Summertime." Hmm, what could be considered a summery image? I dug through my stamp stash and found one that was surfing themed. Perfect! Then I decided to incorporate as many colors into the card as possible, so I stamped the surfboard image over and over using different ink colors. The bottom of the card was missing something so I punched a border that looked like a wave and then added some hibiscus paper to complete the beachy/summery card.
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Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Warm Red, Rose Coral, Yellow Ochre, Aquamarine, Prussian Blue, Warm Violet
Stamps: The Paper Company Studio- Surf's Up
Paper: Die Cuts With a View
Punch: Fiskars Upper Crest border punch, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Other: Black American Crafts Stamp Marker
Hope y'all had a wonderful 4th of July! :)
