Finally

After lots of stress over whether or not or when we'd actually get to move, we finally are. Packing stinks. I'm sure the moving and unpacking part will be just as bad. Way to end the year. But we'll be beginning the new year in a new house, which I'm excited about. I'll be back next year with pictures after unpacking.

HOUSE!

So we've been trying to sell our house since September. It wasn't looking too promising, but we'd found a house we liked and had a contingent offer out on it. We got bumped by another buyer 10 days before it was set to expire. We almost gave up at that point, but then our realtor brought by a lady who really liked our house. Long story short, she ended up making an offer and we went back and forth to find something we could both agree on last week. Yay!

But we didn't really know where we wanted to go. We had poked around at another house that was a good possibility and a few others. After some debate and lots of pros and cons lists, we agreed on it and made an offer. Unfortunately, two other people made an offer that same day. Gaaaahhhh! So on Sunday we went and looked at a bunch of houses. Didn't like any of them as much as the one we'd made an offer on. We had our realtor call back and bump our offer up a bit, and 90 minutes later we got a call that it had been accepted. Woot!

Now Marc's coordinating all the loan stuff along with the estimates from movers, carpeters, and painters on our current house (part of the conditions to our buyer) and we're trying to decide on the logistics of our move right before Christmas. We cancelled our Maui trip--boo!--but it's for a good cause. If you don't see anything from me in the next few weeks, it's probably because I'm busy packing. Fun fun!

A great birthday day

My birthday is tomorrow, but since that's so inconveniently a Monday, we celebrated today by spending the day in Cannon Beach. It had been over 2 years since we'd been, and the day couldn't have been prettier--clear blue skies, crisp cool air, warm sun. We walked along the beach for a bit, poked at a few of the tide pools (though the tide was high so we couldn't get far), and then went to Lumberyard for lunch. They have THE MOST FABULOUS clam chowder! Totally yum! We also split a fish and chips platter with both salmon and halibut.

After lunch, we drove a bit down 101, stopping at the lookouts along the way and then at Arcadia Beach and Hug Point. Neat beaches... hope to go back someday with a picnic lunch. After a quick stop in town for some taffy and a chocolate covered Nutter Butter, we headed home. It was a great day with my great husband.

Toils and Toilets

Last night our toilet overflowed. This has never happened to me before. I was semi-quick with turning off the water, but it still flowed over the bowl and all over the floor. Nice. So that was fun to clean up at 10:00 at night.

Marc wanted to know if a cat was flushing the toilet, which of course got this stupid song stuck in my head. And now it is stuck there again.

Look! I'm posting two days in a row!

The cat's finally out of the bag. As promised, here's the big news from yesterday:

I got a new job, and I'm leaving Sage.

Without going into a ton of detail here, let's just say that it was a very hard decision, I truly believe it's the best move for me right now, and I'm simultaneously sad (to leave a place I've loved working for 8.5 years) and excited (for a new challenge).

That's all for now.

Tap tap tap... is this thing on?

Wellllllll, lookie here. I still have a blog! Hey, it hasn't been a full year since I've posted, so don't give me too much grief. It seems like a lot should have happened since I last posted. Let's do a really high-level recap and see whether or not that's true.

1. I've turned into a total nerd by participating with Marc in Star Wars costuming. Check out the Cloud City Garrison. Or, if you and I are friends on Facebook (which we probably are because I'm not funny enough to attract total strangers like Allie at Hyperbole and a Half or Matthew at The Oatmeal), you've already seen plenty of this there and aren't impressed with this update so far.
2. I visited my brother and sister-in-law and their kids in Alabama last November. Awesome fun time. The only bad parts were that Marc didn't go with me and the effers at National Rental Car stole my practically new cell phone when I accidentally left it in the car upon returning it, even though I realized and was back to claim it within 12 minutes--literally. The manager strung me along for an hour "looking for it" and lying to me about whether he'd actually spoken to his employees before I gave up and had to go to catch my flight. Never, ever will I give them a penny of my money again. On a complete tangent from that--have any of you ever boycotted a business based on how their employees drive company vehicles around town? Because I do. Let me know if I'm alone in this.
3. Expanding on #1, Marc and I were in a Star Wars-themed short movie this winter. It was an interesting experience. The main star in the film was an actor from Heroes. You can check it out here.
4. In April I flew out to Mississauga, Ontario (a 'burb of Toronto) to help with a big software rollout for the Sage office there. They were ultimately prepared, and I didn't have much of a purpose there other than moral support, but it was cool to visit a new city and meet coworkers.
5. In June Marc and I spent a week on Vancouver Island--a couple days in Victoria with Rick and Hayley and then a few days up in Tofino with Paul and Lisa. Awesome hosts, awesome time. Very chill. And I learned how to surf (in very frigid water, I must add).
6. Summer never happened here in Portland (other than a week or so of insanely hot weather), so camping season kinda sucked. We went a couple times, and we did go river rafting again, so that was good, but that was also about it. That's especially sucky since I took every Monday in July and August off to make for some good camping weekends. Oh well.
7. A few weeks ago we decided that house loan rates are so stupid low right now that we'd be stupid to not try to sell our house and move into something bigger for a couple dollars more per month. Unfortunately we've done things a little backward by finding the house we want to buy and making a (contingent) offer on it before we've sold our own house. Also unfortunate is our complete dislike of cleaning the house every other day for showings. Cross your fingers that someone will buy ours soon so we can finalize the deal on the one we want to buy.
8. Somewhere along the way we sold our third car since it spent way more time in the garage than it ever spent being driven, and the Civic lease ran up, so we bought a diesel Jetta. Love that car. Really love the mileage. Really really love the shade of blue that it's painted.
9. Last but not least (for now anyway, until I facepalm myself later for forgetting something significant), we've made some progress lately with letting Manga out of the bedroom to mingle around the house and with the other cats. She's less growly and exploring more each day. There are a few bad days, like when there's a battle royale like the one that broke out today (though I missed it while I was at work). I'm just looking forward to a night in a bed that's not half taken up by a cat.
10. There is one other thing, but it needs to wait another day or two. Oooohhh the suspense. (No, I'm not pregnant. Seriously, I'm not. Just to prove it, I'm drinking a vodka cranberry right this minute.)

Until we meet again... and I promise it won't be 11 months from now.

PNWX 10 Year Anniversary Run

It was a great day to be up at Hood on Saturday. PNWX had its first trail run about this time 10 years ago on Barlow Road, so that's where we went again. Good times. And though it was a little chilly, the sun was out, and the trees were changing color.

Steak-umm revisited

Evidently the current economic state of America is perfect breeding ground for products like Steam-umm. I swear, I thought I had blogged about them and their ridiculous slogan about sticking steak in your mouth. Now I can't find that. I've search for "steak-umm," "steak-umms," "steak," and "mouth" and can't find it. Bah. Anyway. Folks, that wonderful goodness is back. Did you know that Steak-umm is "America's favorite sliced steak"?

Really? You didn't know?

I'd like to argue that. Though I have not tasted Steak-umm before, I can pretty much guarantee that some flank steak grilled and sliced up by our friends Chris and Slimey is far superior to anything bought in a box with Steak-umm printed on it. So maybe they mean that Steak-umm is America's favorite mass-produced, sold in a box at the grocery store sliced steak. I think Steam-umm is America's only mass-produced, sold in a box at the grocery store sliced steak. And in that case, is it really fair to say it's America's favorite? Can we have a favorite when there are no competitors? Or are there competitors that I just don't know about? I'm fine with keeping it that way, really.

Slow - Cat Crossing

There's a house in our neighborhood that I drive by every day to and from work. A couple weeks ago they started putting ones of those "Slow down for kids" signs at the end of their driveway. Like this one. It annoyed me. If you know me, you know I'm not much of a kid person. I like other people's kids--especially when they're cute and sweet--but in general kids aren't really my thing. This house happens to be on a short road where you can't build up much speed. It's also right by a park where there are always cars parked and people milling around. This isn't a high-speed possible part of the neighborhood, so that sign was annoying. Of course I'm going slow. Of course I'm watching for kids. They're everywhere, Captain Obvious.

A few days later, my entire attitude toward that sign changed. Why? Because they modified it by writing "Cat X-ing" on it in black marker. Slow down for kids? Duh. I don't need a sign. Slow down for cats? Sure! Why didn't they just say so from the beginning?

Rafting

Rafting was a success! The weather at our campsite was not great... a bit misty the first night, and pretty cold the whole time. Down in Maupin for the rafting, it was sunny and beautiful. A little cool in the morning, but the afternoon was warm. I highly recommend Imperial River Company--the guide was tons of fun, and the rafting was even more entertaining. I took advantage of all the special activities on the boat (swimming through one of the rapids, balancing/standing on the front of the raft, riding the bull). Until the end of the day when some jerky kids on another raft attacked us with high-powered water guns that hit me right in the ear, everything was great. When it was over, Marc joked that he wanted to come back again next weekend. I think we'll compromise and make this an annual event.

Getting fitted in our life jackets:


Out, damn'd spot!


Marc enjoying the lack of clouds and cold weather:


Swimming (that water was COLD):


Riding the bull: