Install new backsplash - check
Purchase new appliances - check
Have new hardwood floors installed - check
Have new carpet installed - check
Install new flooring in laundry room - check
Putty and sand all dings in walls - check
Touch up paint in the entire house, including cabinets - check
Replace old light fixtures - check
Wash windows - check
Wash floors - check
Scrub walls, baseboards, light fixtures, and every other imaginable surface - check
Weed and mulch garden beds - check
Plant flowers - check
Mow lawn - check
Buy house plants and rugs - check
Fix all the little things - check
Box up any superfluous items and haul to garage - check
Organize every closet - check
Vacuum, dust, mop, and tidy up constantly - check
Hire a Realtor - check
Have pictures taken of house - check
Have sign installed in front yard - check
Put house officially up for sale - check (check it out for yourself)
Now, all I need is a buyer... and a nap!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
A Tale of Two Cities Revisited
Thus far Jeffrey's and my life together has been a tale of two cities.
We grew up, met, attended college together, and got engaged living in Salt Lake City.
We spent most of our engagement in the Washington, DC region (living in Alexandria, VA to be precise) and working as interns together.
We returned to Salt Lake, married, lived in our first two apartments and landed our first real jobs.
Then, we packed up our meager belongings and hauled them back to DC (to an apartment in Arlington) to spend a couple of years working on Capitol Hill.
Then, back to Salt Lake for five years, the arrival of two children, the purchase of our first home, law school, and establishing our careers.
Then, back to the DC region (Manassas, VA this time) for our second home, a job with the federal government for Jeffrey, time for me to be a stay at home mommy, and the arrival of our last child.
Anyway, you get the point.
Our lives together have been spent bouncing back and forth across the country between these two cities.
We have often commented on how both places feel like home. How there are so many things we love, and dislike, about each. How we always miss the place that we are not in currently. How we never feel quite finished, content, or satisfied with our time in either location when we leave it and move again.
So, it is no wonder that I have some trepidation over moving to a DIFFERENT city. We have never done that before.
I don't know what to expect. I don't know for certain if I will like it.
I do know I will miss Virginia, DC, and probably still SLC.
I know it will take time to settle in, to put down roots, to create new patterns and traditions and memories.
I just hope, deep in my heart, that it too will feel like home.
We grew up, met, attended college together, and got engaged living in Salt Lake City.
We spent most of our engagement in the Washington, DC region (living in Alexandria, VA to be precise) and working as interns together.
We returned to Salt Lake, married, lived in our first two apartments and landed our first real jobs.
Then, we packed up our meager belongings and hauled them back to DC (to an apartment in Arlington) to spend a couple of years working on Capitol Hill.
Then, back to Salt Lake for five years, the arrival of two children, the purchase of our first home, law school, and establishing our careers.
Then, back to the DC region (Manassas, VA this time) for our second home, a job with the federal government for Jeffrey, time for me to be a stay at home mommy, and the arrival of our last child.
Anyway, you get the point.
Our lives together have been spent bouncing back and forth across the country between these two cities.
We have often commented on how both places feel like home. How there are so many things we love, and dislike, about each. How we always miss the place that we are not in currently. How we never feel quite finished, content, or satisfied with our time in either location when we leave it and move again.
So, it is no wonder that I have some trepidation over moving to a DIFFERENT city. We have never done that before.
I don't know what to expect. I don't know for certain if I will like it.
I do know I will miss Virginia, DC, and probably still SLC.
I know it will take time to settle in, to put down roots, to create new patterns and traditions and memories.
I just hope, deep in my heart, that it too will feel like home.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Never Say Never
Growing up in Utah, I always longed to get out.
It's just the truth.
I was never particularly in love with where I lived. I felt like it was dull and unsophisticated. I hoped to move on in my life and live somewhere more interesting, more exciting, more... something!
But, if my opinion of my home state was poor, or even somewhat apologetic, there was still one place in my mind that was worse. A place more backwards, less interesting, and surely less impressive to say that you called home: Idaho.
Truthfully, I think my exposure to Idaho involved having driven through it twice (about 10 years apart) on the way to visit family in Washington. So, I had no basis for my opinion and judgment regarding the virtues of the place.
I just think it was my own form of "little man's syndrome," my own pathetic human way of justifying that while I came from an entirely unimpressive locale, there were worse.
If you would have asked me, even two years ago, if I would EVER live in Idaho, I would have sworn in no uncertain terms that it was as likely as the Tea Party and President Obama EVER getting anything truly productive accomplished. Not happening in this lifetime!
So, no one is more surprised than I am that Jeffrey just accepted a job in Boise.
A job we feel really good about and are excited for him to take. A job we have spent the last few months praying would work out.
Yep, I am moving to Idaho.
I keep thinking of that quote from President Benson (a former president of our church) about how the Lord will have a humble people... either they can choose to be humble or they can be compelled to be humble.
Not sure if I am choosing or being compelled, but I am humbled.
Humbled by how little I can predict my life. By how little I really know about what is best for me and my family. Humbled by how life unfolds and doors and possibilities open up in such unexpected ways. Humbled by how prayer and experience and seeking the guidance of God in my life can change my desires and perspective so much.
Humbled to admit that I really am excited to be moving to Idaho.
I am also nervous and uncertain and very sad. But, I am excited too.
Most of all, I am sad to leave behind so many wonderful friends we have made here. I love our ward. I love the sense of family and community that I have in it. I love the church and opportunities to share the gospel living in Virginia. I love the springs and falls here, that I don't think are matched in their beauty, mildness, or length anywhere else. I love my home and the woods. I love DC: the culture, the opportunities, the beauty of the city.
But, I am hopeful for the future. For new friends and opportunities. For new job experiences and the chance to build a legal practice for Jeffrey. For NO commute or long drive times. For living closer to family.
Now, I just have to hope we can sell our house. Anyone interested in a beautiful home in Manassas, Virginia?
It's just the truth.
I was never particularly in love with where I lived. I felt like it was dull and unsophisticated. I hoped to move on in my life and live somewhere more interesting, more exciting, more... something!
But, if my opinion of my home state was poor, or even somewhat apologetic, there was still one place in my mind that was worse. A place more backwards, less interesting, and surely less impressive to say that you called home: Idaho.
Truthfully, I think my exposure to Idaho involved having driven through it twice (about 10 years apart) on the way to visit family in Washington. So, I had no basis for my opinion and judgment regarding the virtues of the place.
I just think it was my own form of "little man's syndrome," my own pathetic human way of justifying that while I came from an entirely unimpressive locale, there were worse.
If you would have asked me, even two years ago, if I would EVER live in Idaho, I would have sworn in no uncertain terms that it was as likely as the Tea Party and President Obama EVER getting anything truly productive accomplished. Not happening in this lifetime!
So, no one is more surprised than I am that Jeffrey just accepted a job in Boise.
A job we feel really good about and are excited for him to take. A job we have spent the last few months praying would work out.
Yep, I am moving to Idaho.
I keep thinking of that quote from President Benson (a former president of our church) about how the Lord will have a humble people... either they can choose to be humble or they can be compelled to be humble.
Not sure if I am choosing or being compelled, but I am humbled.
Humbled by how little I can predict my life. By how little I really know about what is best for me and my family. Humbled by how life unfolds and doors and possibilities open up in such unexpected ways. Humbled by how prayer and experience and seeking the guidance of God in my life can change my desires and perspective so much.
Humbled to admit that I really am excited to be moving to Idaho.
I am also nervous and uncertain and very sad. But, I am excited too.
Most of all, I am sad to leave behind so many wonderful friends we have made here. I love our ward. I love the sense of family and community that I have in it. I love the church and opportunities to share the gospel living in Virginia. I love the springs and falls here, that I don't think are matched in their beauty, mildness, or length anywhere else. I love my home and the woods. I love DC: the culture, the opportunities, the beauty of the city.
But, I am hopeful for the future. For new friends and opportunities. For new job experiences and the chance to build a legal practice for Jeffrey. For NO commute or long drive times. For living closer to family.
Now, I just have to hope we can sell our house. Anyone interested in a beautiful home in Manassas, Virginia?
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