the long way home

the share drive is down today, and since my documentation is complete for my current project, that means i am having a slow day (as is the printer). at least the meetings start soon and there are always plenty of those around here.

bryan and i found a house that meets our needs wonderfully. we made an offer last tuesday night, and they accepted without counter on wednesday! we had the inspection done friday, and he found some electrical updates which would be wise to complete (and which we're willing to pay for) and some movement in the basement walls (estimate to fix: $7200). so we're asking the sellers to fix the basement prior to close, as we'd like to put up drywall down there soon after we move in. they're already out of the house and want to close quickly, so we're hoping both that they accept and that they are willing to get right on it. with any luck, we'll close in the next 2 weeks and have a place of our own! shannon and i have already been all over the home depot and lowe's paint departments and chosen all of our colors. i am so lucky to have shannon working interior design for free! she has measured every bit of the house and is already creating her architectural space planning design and will be making up design boards as well. she's pretty excited about shopping with my money. while there is nothing that needs to be done to the house (except putting up fencing for the doggies), we do plan on making some updates and changes, probably in a 5 year plan. we're going to reno the kitchen pretty quickly, as well as finish out the basement. we've already ordered our new kitchen appliances and i looooooove them. we were finally able to agree on a fridge, which was a big relief. i wanted a bottom freezer with french doors on the fridge, stainless, and while bryan agreed in theory, he didn't agree in price. we worked through that though, and i managed to get what i wanted without breaking the bank. ;) i finally get a 5 burner stove with a separate warming oven, so i'm in heaven. shannon and i need to hit up some more places to figure out cabinets, flooring, and countertops. there are so many options out there it makes it toughto decide. plus, once you buy it, you're stuck with it! but i'm extremely excited to be able to design our new kitchen. we'll also be doing lots of paint, which will involve pulling down wallpaper. luckily, shannon and bryan are experienced at that! we'll eventually want to update both bathrooms, and put french doors off the back of the house, but those are not top priorities right now. don't worry though, i have spreadsheets going already, and those will soon feed into project plans. you can never be too organized, especially when you're spending a whole ton of money. we're meeting with the lender tonight to sign all the paperwork there, and we should be hearing from the sellers before the end of today regarding the basement, so with any luck we'll be able to set a close date before tomorrow is through. keep your fingers crossed for us!

the house stuff has been consuming the majority of our time lately. i'm trying not to be overly anxious while we wait for all this decisioning to be over, but i'm so excited to move that it's tough. at least i have work now to fill some of my time.

the new job has been going well. i am definitely learning a lot. the banking/insurance business is pretty interesting. my first project is winding down soon, and i've already been pulled into their new project, so that's pretty exciting. i am looking forward to having more to do and be in the full swing of things. getting a paycheck now is pretty cool too. still trying to find my comfort level with consulting, which is new to me. so far i like it just fine, just need to get used to not being permanent.

i found out yesteday i've been taking the long way to/from work, which i figured was the case, but didn't know which was was better. one of the women here turned me on to a highway no one uses. that's pretty cool. saves me 10 miles round trip, AND even though it's still twice as far as my drive to work was in atlanta, it takes me less time. go figure. i can't tell you how very much i DO NOT miss atlanta traffic. atlanta traffic made me hate that city cometimes, and even at it's worst, milwaukee traffic's got nothing on that mess in atlanta.

hannah comes soon and we couldn't be more excited. we have so much planned for while she's here. i've made our reservations for our long weekend in the wisconsin dells, which should be a blast. i haven't been there in ages, and i think it will be so much fun to show hannah my childhood vacation spot. i'm also trying to find a close camp spot so we could camp one weekend (or, "mobile cabin" as bryan insists on calling it, since i want to take my parents' camper). all the good places are further away from the city, so we'll see. hannah and i should be planning the menu for the baby shower/birthday party two birds/one stone party tonight. we're going to do a full on bbq, so that should be fun. i wonder if dad would let me pit roast a pig in the garden (nothing is planted so it's all dead space currently). that could be fun. shannon's invites for the event turned out AMAZING. they look so freakin good. i'm pretty excited. it should be fun. i'm looking forward to seeing some folks from out of town, and there are some who have to come or they're not my friends anymore. ;) i'll be calling them to warn them soon.

everything has been going well baby wise. we find out in a week and a half if it's a boy or a girl, so we're pretty excited. that will help us focus our talks about names and hopefully agree on one. :) that will also allow me to start shopping! not to mention my family - my sisters have been dying to know so they can start sending cute clothes. i'm all for that! i luckily have had no real complaints, as this pregnancy has been very easy. i'm not too thrilled about the growing belly and the achy feet, though. i do now love elastic wasited pants, and that is something i thought i would never say. i've bought some very supportive shoes, since i don't want my feet to expand and not fit into my shoe collection (horror of horrors!). but all in all, it's been a smooth ride, and i'm hoping it will stay that way.

lucinda williams is coming to the pabst theater at the end of july. we may be lucky enough to see her twice in one year! mom and shannon want to go, so that could be a lot of fun. tickets go on sale tomorrow, so we shall see!!

that's all for now!

white flag

well, i was waiting to post until i had high speed internet (or access to it), but i am losing hope on that, so here i am. i am the french in the war - i give up.

so we made it to wisconsin safe and sound. the drive took me about 13 hours total. it really wasn't bad at all, nice and steady going. the dogs were well behaved and napped in the back. the only bad part was chicago - whose bright idea was it to close down the entire highway through the entire city to one and two lanes? did they not know 12 million people live there? driving through that was pretty ungodly, and the experience managed to strip away what little respect i had left for the speed limit. once i got through that, i blasted it to my parents' house.

have been going on interviews, and may have some options. waiting to hear back on some stuff this week; should be having some follow up interviews, so waiting on times for that. i am hoping against reason that i'll have something lined up by the end of the week. i'd really like a job [paycheck].

we've been house hunting as well. that is slow going. there aren't a lot of house rentals, and with 2 larger dogs, our options are further limited. we've got some places in a trendy area downtown to check out this week, so keep your fingers crossed for us.

other than the general job/housing stress, things are going pretty well. we were finally able to tell my parents that we're pregnant, and they are so very happy and excited. they can't wait! also got to tell my good friend maggie, who is super excited as well, and start spreading the news to the family.

bryan and i visited the milwaukee public market this past saturday. how freaking cool is that place! it's small, but has a good variety of vendors with lots of fun items. i saw a whole salmon that couldn't have been more perfect, and i found myself trying to find an excuse to serve a whole salmon to 4 people (i couldn't come up with one that would satisfy bryan). we're excited to go back, and are hoping to find a home close by so we can have saturday morning adventures there.

we've been having fun cooking for my parents as well. this past week, we made:

- lenora's chicken tostadas: on isla mujeres in mexico, there is a woman named leonora who runs a loncheria. she has the most outstanding tostadas for lunch. while she makes her corn tortillas by hand, i admit i cheated and bought ours. :) we fry those up, slather on sour cream, and layer on sliced avocado, shredded lettuce, roasted chicken, sliced tomato, mexican cheese, and pickled red onions. it's the onions that do the trick. so simple, and so knock out delicious.

- pork chops milanese with spinach and rice: milanese is an old stand by for us. just something a little extra.

- mousakka and greek salad: since bryan lived in greece, we really enjoy recreating dishes from there. mousakka is a good standard.

- shrimp and grits: my parents had never had this, so we had so introuduce them. our recipe includes bacon and onions, and bryan also added some left over garlic sausage. my mom was unsure about the grits, but dad loved it (2 healthy helpings worth).

- cashew chicken and rice: simple meal after a busy day.

- charcoal grilled burgers with pepper jelly: the addition of pepper jelly just about negates the need for much else on a burger. expect some monterray jack cheese. there's few better burgers that than.

i just did the grocery shopping today at sendik's, an upscale grocery store. suffice to say i had fun. our menu for this week:

- greek rubbed pork chops with lemon parsley rice and toasted pine nuts, and green beans: another easy meal.

- mediterranean roast chicken with roast vegetable pearl couscous: bryan's roast veggie couscous with golden raisins and toasted almonds is almost a meal by itself. with some roast chicken it's perfect.

- risotto with peas and prawns: what more can i say? yum.

- cedar planked salmon with pink peppercorns, cucumbers, and balsamic vinegar: a favorite of ours. the weather is just nice enough to use the grill.

- center cut beef tenderloin with baked potatoes and honey parsley carrots: everyone loves a baked potato + beef.

- red beans and rice: another southern favorite to introuduce my parents too. i found a lovely smoked ham hock for that extra oopmh.

if it wasn't for the love of a paycheck, i could stay home and cook all the time. speaking of, i need to start soaking some cedar planks.