Happy Birthday to Us!

Today is a special day for my mom and I- we share a birthday! Unfortunately, we both work all day.. but we're looking forward to celebrating together sometime soon.



And.. while I was too busy to blog a couple days ago.. my dad had his birthday. Yep, all 3 of us within 4 days of each other. :) So, happy birthday to you to, dad!! :)

Poll: White Coats

I've been having THE HARDEST time picking out a ski jacket. I've narrowed it down to a few criteria: North Face, no arm pit zips, 3-in-1 that zips together, and must have white & grey. I found one I love, and the store is holding it for me.. but there's just one issue- it's mostly white with a little grey.

I know, I know, that's what I said I wanted. But I'm starting to wonder how practical white is going to be. How easily will it get dirty? How hard will it be to keep it white??

So.. that's where you all come in.. anyone own a white ski jacket? How do you keep it clean? Are you happy with the white or would you go back & switch if you could?



Thanks in advance for your feedback. I need to decide soon!

Land..

We're signing a contract right now. The sellers accepted our offer and we have an agreement. Provided all the technicalities go well, we'll be the owners of 49 acres of beautiful land very soon.

So why am I not jumping up and down and super excited?

#1- My house / property hunting emotions are drained. I think I just stopped getting excited or sad. I'm just kinda of okay with whatever. It's too exhausting to commit to the journey 100%.

#2- We will have land. Not a house. Which means we will continue to live in my parents' "basement apartment" until we have a house. Living with the parents? Really much better than I thought it would be.. but still. We're not out on our own technically. Sure, we could get a separate apartment.. but we're saving fantastic amounts of money by staying here.. so we're torn. It's super smart financially, but I don't know.. maybe it's a pride issue. Probably.

#3- Building our own house is a LONG process. No, we're not just hiring a contractor to do the entire thing. We're acting as self-contractors. Another smart financial decision. Why, oh why do the smart ones have to be so.....difficult?



I think I'll be excited when I see the foundation getting poured. Although, in reality, that might be like another year and a half. We're limited by seasons around here. And the budget of course. So we might have the land in November, and the driveway, septic, well, power lines, and other details done this summer.. but realistically.. it might be the summer of 2011 til we have the finished house. Ugh. I'm trying to be positive because in the end we'll have a gorgeous, brand spanking new house.. but right now it's a little tough.

Happenings :)

So remember how we've been house hunting for like the past year? Well, we might have come to a different decision. We were just about to put an offer in on a house we really liked, but Z had another idea. He thought we should build instead. To be honest, I was mad. Right now, I just want to settle down after so many ups and downs the past two years. But, I've been praying for an open mind, and for God's guidance.

We looked at a couple properties on Sunday. The first was 49 acres and the second was 98. Obviously, the 98 is a little bigger than we want (my dad is actually thinking about buying it as an investment). But, the 49 seems just about right. It's a beautiful lot with a large amount of road frontage, a big hilly knoll perfect for a house on top (with a great view), a big area of beautiful forest, and borders a pretty little pond with a view of the ski mountain. It's 5-10 minutes from the ski mountain, a couple minutes from the little town (grocery store, etc.), and about 15 minutes from work for both of us. We put in an offer on it today.

So.. your prayers would be appreciated! I'll be fine no matter what happens- if nothing else, I've learned that God's way is best. If he opens the doors for us to get this property and build, then I'll be happy. If not, I'll know he has something better for us.

My new job is going pretty well. It's been rather stressful so far. We're just so busy that I haven't really gotten the training I need, therefore causing me to get behind. And when I'm behind.. I'm stressed. The girl that was there before me left things very undone, and I'm having a hard time figuring out where she left off, and what things she did wrong that I need to correct.

Z's currently working with my uncle building homes (hence the decision to build our own), but he'll be starting a new position at the beginning of November. He's been working a LOT, and driving long hours back and forth, so we're only getting an hour or two per night together. Thank goodness I have my family right here.

My dad's birthday is Thursday, and my mom and I share a birthday next Monday. My sister and her boyfriend made us this fun cake the other night:


Cute, right? We were pretty impressed!

Sorry for the lack of posting lately! It's been a little crazy! It'll get better soon! Love you all!

New England Runs on Dunkin'

So usually ad campaigns exaggerate the truth a wee bit. I'm sure most of you have seen the whole "America runs on Dunkin'" campaign from Dunkin' Donuts. I don't know how true it is that America runs on Dunkin.. however, I'm beginning to believe that New England truly does.

I'm going to need my NE (New England) girls to back me up on this one.. Where we used to live in Ohio, I knew of MAYBE one DD's in like a 100 mile radius. And, we were pretty close to some major cities. But here?? There's a DD's on pretty much EVERY interstate exit.. and then some. Pretty much anywhere you go you can find yourself some Dunkin. Though not everyone's as hardcore committed, we've got some straight up faithfuls.

I never realized it growing up here. But coming back after a few years away with a midwestern hubby, it really stands out. He couldn't believe how many Dunkin Donuts there were on our trip up here. Funny thing is, I think Z has officially been won over. He's on his way to being a true New Englander.. drinking a Dunkin' coffee almost everyday. Now, there's just one more point I need to get him to commit to...

Fab News!

God is SOOOO good you guys! Let me preface this by saying when we moved up here (a more rural area) I figured I'd have to "downgrade" in job professionalism. I figured there would be less positions and even less good ones. So, I responded to an ad in the newspaper for an administrative assistant. I got a call for an interview and found out they also had a position for a financial manager open. So.. feeling that I was well qualified, I expressed my interest in that one. I got a call today for a second interview. I went in & met with 4 people (including the CFO) and walked out with a job!! WAhooo!!!!! How amazing is that? We've barely been here for a week and I already have a job- I start Monday. All of these blessings just make me feel like we made the right decision in moving here.

*happy*

It's so good to be back, you guys. I never realized how much I loved it here until I left. Nor realized that I'm a bit of a complex person.. lol. See, I've tried it all- country life, city life, suburban life.. And really.. I feel like I fit in each place.

Part of me LOVES the city- I love the energy, the constant buzz, the opportunity, the convenience & proximity of shopping options, the fashion, the design, etc. I enjoy it so much. I lived almost a year in the city. The only part I didn't like was the dirtiness, the bums, & lack of SPACE.

I spent almost a year in midwest suburbia, development-land, whatever you want to call it, as well. And really, I loved it there too. I loved the neighbors, the cute little neighborhoods, the perfectly manicured lawns and bushes, the beautiful bike path, & my running route. And, I'll admit- I kind of liked the stupid status-y stigma. However, I still felt like my wings were clipped.

I never would have told you I loved the country 5 years ago. Uh-uh, no way. I wanted out. And I got out... and came skipping back last week. :) Oh my gosh, this place is beautiful. I LOVVVEEE New England. I don't care if we have cold snowy winters, or if Cracker Barrell hasn't made it's way into Maine yet. This place is gorgeous, and I'm so thankful to be here. If I ever forget that, would you all remind me please??

Anyway.. call me a chameleon.. I can learn to love it just about anywhere. I think that's what God's taught me these past few years. I've gone through periods when I hated where I was.. only to lose precious time I could have been enjoying my surroundings. So seriously, if you don't like where you're at right now, learn to okay?? God puts us in places to stretch us sometimes. And I believe that if we learn to appreciate where we're at, it enables him to bless us through it. I missed out on several blessings I'm sure while I was in high school and hating northern Maine. Now that I'm back and my eyes are open.. God is blessing me abundantly. Just tonight he sent me a little message in the form of beauty:

This is the view from my parents' front yard. Gorgeous, eh? Oh, and Canada's on the other side of that mountain. We'll blame the "eh's" on that, okay? :)

Here's a quick rundown of what's going on: My parents have made their basement into somewhat of an apartment for us for right now. We're house hunting at the moment, and will buy as soon as God leads us to the right one. Z's got a job and starts monday. I've had two interviews since I got here, and I felt pretty confident about both of them (I'm a bit over-qualified for them..). I should know about both of them by Friday. I've said the same prayer before each- just that God would bless my words, and that I would be hired where HE wants me, not where I want. Sure takes the stress out of interviewing. I do my best, and if it's where he wants me, I'll get it. Simple enough. My dad's in Louisville on business and my mom and sisters left to visit a college in TN today, so Z and I are alone in this big house for a week. I plan to get lots of cleaning and fall decorating done for my mom while they're gone. I'm just feeling super blessed right now, even though things are in a big transition stage. Anyone else able to relate??

Oh, and a BIG shoutout to my fellow New England bloggers! Glad to be back with ya, ladies!! :)