I was stretching my legs this morning in bed, as I always do, and suddenly got a nasty cramp in my calf. I figured this would happen eventually; it's another fun pregnancy thing. Oh man it hurt so bad, I was gasping and making all this noise, which caused Brian to ask me if it was the baby, and I said no, my leg auuuuggghhhhh so he rubbed it until it stopped seizing. So that was a treat. It's still kinda sore.

( interior design )

And now it's time to go make some apple oatmeal on the stove.

You know how wives are supposed to get all offended and hurt if their husband buys them a vacuum cleaner as a gift? Well, what if this is the vacuum cleaner?


[click to enlarge]

( picture post )

All my books are still on the living room floor. But I have decided to order a customized bookcase from the same place we bought our bed -- the furniture maker in Tacoma.



I measured, it will be five feet wide, six feet tall, and 14" deep. Espresso stain. All local hard wood, locally made by hand, should last a lifetime and become an heirloom. I like the idea of buying a piece of furniture only once, and not having to replace it every few years. Looking at you, IKEA.

In an ideal world, I live in an old early 20th century Craftsman bungalow that has a wall of built-in bookshelves. But uh, I don't see that happening any time in the near future, and meanwhile my books are all over the floor. I need to get this project moving.

Last night we drove to Home Depot around 9:00 and bought a new washer and dryer. We went with an ocean-blue-colored Energy Star pair from LG. It's our first new, modern, energy-efficient appliance. And our first improvement to our house.

The bonuses: using a coupon we got in the mail two days ago, we got ten percent off. So that covered more than the sales tax. Also, they are running a promo for appliances, so we got a $200 gift card. PLUS we will get $100 back from Puget Power for buying an Energy Star washer.

In total, over $500 in discounts. Word.

This morning, I put on a dress. No tights, it's 70 degrees. I inspected my legs; haven't been shaved since I don't know... February? That's what happens when you never wear skirts. And don't care that much.

So I stepped into the tub and shaved below the knees, still dressed. I am awesome. Much smoother.

Wearing new yellow flats. For a first time on my feet, actually fairly comfortable, and cute. Though I'll probably need to treat my heels with aquaphor a little later.

This book sounds great



1. Remove toxic products from your home and garage
2. Clean, declutter, clear and organize your home
3. Buy/use environmentally friendly products
4. Learn how to place objects to manifest change in your life

We are well on our way.

previous owners



emptied



today

We have the most well-adjusted cats on earth. We brought them to our house last night and released them in the living room. They ran around a while, sniffing everything. Sasha learned how to climb a staircase, which was extremely funny. Within a couple hours, they were chillin on the bed. They found the litterbox. They became instantly acclimated. Slept on the bed with us as usual. No hiding, no serious anxiety. Lots of purring and talking and even playing. Sasha was so glad to see our couch again; right now he is curled up asleep on his old favorite spot on the back of the cushion.

So, we are home. The six-month limbo is drawing to a close. Now the fun of unpacking and arranging begins, and will probably take a few weeks. Because I hate unpacking.

And oh my GOD we missed our bed. It's so amazingly comfortable compared to the one in my dad's house.

So I just barely make the 4:40 ferry, by the skin of my teeth. It's raining and gray. You can tell it's Seattle because it's raining and lots of people aren't carrying umbrellas, or even covering their heads. I had my hood up.

I get off the ferry and head to where my bus is always parked. Except I forget that I usually take the 5:30 ferry and don't even think to check the number on the front of the bus. oops.

Halfway through the express ride home, the bus makes a right turn. Where it would normally go straight, had I boarded the right bus. I'm like, shit. Where am I going now? Indianola? Will the bus even stop? Crap. I called Brian and confessed my error.

Luckily there was a stop a mile later at a Shell station. So I waited there dumbly until Brian picked me up a little while later.

We headed straight for our new house!

It was empty inside, and ours. We ran around, checking for what the previous owners left for us: a garden hose with wheel, a hanging oval pot rack, nice curtain valances in the living room and dining room, plentiful shelving and corkboard in the garage, cans of paint, and a shower curtain liner. Woo hoo!!

Tomorrow maybe we'll take a few boxes over or something. Might be fun to get started. We still have to hire movers. I got a quote tonight for a company that will do it for under $300. Sweet.

Well, we did it.

We spent about a half hour signing our names to various forms, handed over two very large cashier's checks, and I suppose, are now property owners.

We do not get the keys until Friday, but that is alright. I suspect it will take us a few weeks to make the belongings transfer anyway, since we are lucky enough to have our transitory home in the meantime.

In other good news, my g.i. doctor's office just called to offer me an appointment tomorrow morning. yay!!!

It's supposed to snow all day tomorrow and into Monday. More winter! Fortunately new job won't start for another week.

Today was the house inspection, meaning we (me, Brian, our agent, and the inspector) spent a couple hours in our future house going through every single room. The inspector also went on the roof (will need to be replaced in a couple years), peeked at the attic (lots of insulation), and went into the crawlspace (eek, evidence of mice). Mice isn't a shock -- it's a wooded area and mice happen. Luckily we can put that in the inspection report and maybe use it as a bargaining chip. And not to reduce the price of the house, but rather to ask the sellers if maybe they might consider throwing in the lovely butcher block/kitchen island in with the deal. And any other furnishings they don't want to take with them (the barbecue grill). They are moving overseas against their will (military), so might be willing to pack light. I don't know. They also might be putting every single thing into storage.

We have two cats, so I don't worry about mice.

Anyway, aside from the roof thing, the mice thing, and the fact that the furnace should probably be checked out, the house was great. I think the blue room is going to be my office, or, where I keep all my crap. Each of the secondary bedrooms has a full-sized closet! Every room has an outlet on EVERY wall. To me that is amazing, coming from shitty post-war-apartment living, where sometimes there was literally one outlet per room, and half the time they weren't even grounded sockets.

It's going to take us a long while to furnish this house. We don't have much. My bed is almost nine years old, so I want to turn it into the guest bed and buy us a brand new one. Or, a used frame and a new mattress. I want to get some furniture from antique stores. Other stuff from IKEA. I told Brian I am finally allowing myself to subscribe to decorating magazines. He told me he would hook me up with a free digital subscription to Dwell.