life in general

click, click, click

click . . . christmas cards are designed and on their way.

click . . . two-thirds of the kids' christmas shopping is complete with one-stop shopping.  Thank you Amazon.  And Lego.  And Cyber Monday.

click . . . I cannot resist 50% off and free shipping.

click . . . Scott's flight itineraries in my inbox.  He's home for 11 days over Christmas break.  I call that a very merry Christmas!

click . . . instant messenger with friends across the country and across the neighborhood.  Discussion points: planning a reunion and plotting to keep UPS shipments concealed from the kids.  

click . . . pinning ideas for a DIY christmas tree skirt.

click . . . part 1 of FHE - time to practice Away in a Manger with the help of the mp3 file online.  We're supposed to sing it this Saturday.  Oy.

click . . . part 2 of FHE - rolling out, baking, and decorating gingerbread cookies with Skype in our kitchen.

click . . . itunes Christmas playlist

It's been a computer-y kind of day.  It's amazing & wonderful how much information, communication, enjoyment, and convenience is available right at our fingertips.  When I got my ipad I was able to add an engraving on the back for free.  I chose this:

because when you stop and look around, this life is pretty amazing

It surely is.

And now I'm going to click myself right off to bed.  Goodnight.

apple pie, house news, and thanksgiving

Wednesday afternoon, while rolling out the crust for my apple pie we got the news . . . 

. . . the offer we made on a house has been accepted!

Now, we're in another waiting game while it goes through bank approval.  (The home is a short sale, just like everything else in Vegas).

But.  We've made it this far in the process, which is a milestone in and of itself.  The house is great.  Great schools, ward, neighborhood, and an amazing 7 minute commute to work for Scott.

Conner's birthday fell on Thanksgiving this year.  He is 11 years old.  11!  Wow.  I plan to do a post about this boy later, but for now here's a picture of him with his birthday loot.  He was a pretty happy boy.

The boys played at the Turkey Bowl in the morning.  

I was so sad that I missed the game!  After spending the morning making a double batch of crescent rolls I pulled into the parking lot just as everyone was getting into their vehicles to go.  :(  But at least I got a photo.  Conner was stoked - he got 3 touchdowns and 1 sack.

We all wrote down what we are thankful for.

The turkey was beautiful.  And delicious.

The kids played with Conner's new toys, we took a nap, and later joined friends for pie.

It was a good day.

Even though we are in an interesting & transitional stage right now and certain aspects of our family life are upside down . . . we have much to be thankful for.

. . . family, good health, a safe & warm home, the gospel, a job that provides for us, friends . . . .

and Payton would add - video games, egg nog, and apple cider.

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

jewelry organizer

For the longest time the art of accessorizing has alluded me.  I always like the look on other people, but couldn't figure out how to do it on me.  Slowly I've figured out what I like and in the process I've amassed a large (for me) collection of jewelry.  But in that process I have not figured out a way to organize or store it all!  For a while my dresser has looked like this . . . 

and that's just scratching the surface of what resides in various boxes here and there.

Using inspiration from online I decided to make a wall organizer for some of my necklaces.  I bought the basic materials months ago, and last week I decided to finally make it happen.

Nothing fancy, but it works.

Here's how I did it.  And believe me, there is really nothing fancy going on here with the assembly.  Duct tape was involved.  Lots of it.

I couldn't find hooks in silver, so I was stuck with brass.  I used some spray primer and metallic paint that I already had in the garage to pretty them up.  (I only used the primer because the metallic paint was running super low and I wasn't sure how much coverage I was going to get out of it.)

I envisioned using a piece of plywood or MDF as the backing for this project.  But I had neither.  What I did have was a foam core poster-board.  So with my trusty xacto knife I cut it down to 12x16.  This was after using the poster-board as my painting surface.

Then I laid it down on a piece of burlap, snipped the corners, and proceeded to affix the burlap with duct tape.

The burlap-covered foam board fit perfectly inside the picture frame.  But there was no way I was getting the frame backing to pop back in.  Enter more duct tape.

And thanks to my beautiful prop assistant.  As you can see, the foam board is help in entirely by duct tape.  I considered gluing it in there, but I didn't want it to be so permanent.

Next comes hook placement,

Now that I see it on the wall, with necklaces, I wish that I had put my top row up a little higher.  There's just a smidge too much white space.  But I can deal with it.

I knew the hooks would screw easily into the foam board, but I wasn't sure if they would hold over time with the weight of the jewelry.  Only time will tell.  To give me some insurance I added a few drops of E-6000 glue (the best, strongest, all-purpose glue ever) around the screw before installing it.

Everything is lining up well . . . 

And now it's time to hang it on the wall!  But wait, the thickness of the foam board wouldn't allow me to get the frame backing (with hardware) to pop back into place.  How will we hang it on the wall?  Don't worry, I have a little secret.

BEHOLD!! . . . 3M Velcro picture hanging strips!

They are awesome.

And now I have a pretty jewelry organizer hanging in my bathroom!

I really like it.  And I especially like that I have enough necklaces to display that coordinate with my bathroom color scheme.  Coincidence?  :)  Silver and aqua/turquoise are my favorite colors for accessorizing.

a walk down thanksgiving memory lane

I spent a chunk of saturday sorting through iphoto.  In my pajamas.  It was lovely.

I came across photos from Thanksgiving 2005 and they just made. me. smile.  What a different stage of life we were in -- a 5 year old, 2 1/2 year old, and a 2 month old.  I remember that morning of Thanksgiving dinner prep, as a sleep-deprived mother of a nursing infant, and accidentally pulling the wrong bowl of dough out of the fridge (there were 2 - one for my rolls, one for Valerie's rolls -- Scott really likes rolls).  I got through rolling and assembling 2 cookie sheets of crescent rolls before Scott pointed out my error.  Oops.

This was a year that Conner's birthday fell on Thanksgiving.  We went the whole day and never told him it was his birthday.  Instead, we woke up friday morning and the birthday celebration began.  He was 5.  He never knew the difference.

The Turkey Bowl was something Scott looked forward to and participated in each year.  He was in the YM presidency and relished the opportunity to take out a certain smack-talkin' 14 year old.  :)  All in good fun.

Anna, what a sweetie.  She spent most of the day asleep in the swing (a.k.a. my most essential, most used, most loved item of baby gear -- it was a sad day when I finally gave it away).  And Grammer playing Hungry Hungry Hippos with the boys.

Conner learned about the Mayflower in preschool and for a month he drew it on every piece of paper he could get his hands on.  Payton's drawings . . . . he was 2.  But he was a helpful butter shaker.  I think this may have been the year that we started our Thanksgiving tradition of shaking up our own butter.

And finally, father and son bonding over a potato peel.

Do you want to see the one and only photo of me on Thanksgiving 2005?  

Nice capture, babe.  

I think this photo needs a caption.  But my mind is blank.  Ideas?

red eyes for everyone

breaking dawn was excellent

as was the company

and the deep fried ice cream.

Leading up to the movie I spent my week catching up on the previous films:

• tuesday - Twilight
• wednesday - New Moon
• thursday - Eclipse

and was reminded just how much I love them all.

I was also reminded of my experiences of getting to see Twilight come together when it was filming here back in 2008.

I got to walk through Charlie's house, see Bella's truck, deliver a totally non-stalkerish 18th birthday card with ballons to Kristen, pose with Kristen & Catherine for photos, and watch Rob, Kristen and others on set.

Lots of good Twilight memories -- the reading, the filming, and the movie-going.  It's been so fun to have something like this to bring us together, to plan for, to share excitement, to be silly (burger king crowns), to prompt discussions, and to provide an excuse to order deep fried ice cream at least once every year.

Only one more movie to go!

cooking with pinterest

Yes, this is another pinterest-related post.

A few weeks ago I pinned my 1000th pin on pinterest.  Now that's a lot of ideas, projects, and visual-goodness.  I think this sums up the feelings of a lot of pinterest users . . . .

Source: marlenemccune.blogspot.com via Shannon on Pinterest

 

 

I feel creative every single day!  :)

I also like this quote . . . .

 

Source: iloverosemarywatson.blogspot.com via Shannon on Pinterest

 

 

I came across a great idea on a blog the other day.  She creates a pinterest board for things she has actually completed, and simply re-pins the idea to that board.  Love that.  So I did it too.  I made a board for the recipes I have tried that turned out well.  If it was bad, I just delete it.

So here are a couple that I have tried in the last month that have my mouth watering and taste buds dancing.

 

Source: landeeseelandeedo.com via Shannon on Pinterest

 

 

Love love love this recipe!  I took it to a Relief Society activity and was glad to have most of it gobbled up so I didn't feel obligated to eat it all myself.  I'm not a fan of pumpkin pie but this totally works for me.

 

Source: tasteofhome.com via Shannon on Pinterest

 

 

Made this for dinner on Tuesday and we had the leftovers last night.  Country Pork Ribs went on sale a while back at Safeway so I stocked up my freezer.  But I had never cooked them before!  These turned out so tasty and tender, I think it will be my go-to recipe from now on.

 

Source: eatcleandiet.com via Shannon on Pinterest

 

 

Scott's new diet has introduced us to tilapia.  It is surprisingly versatile and really easy to cook.  Add some spices, grill or bake, and 10 minutes later you have dinner.

As for dinner tonight, the kids have requested German Pancakes.  That works for me.

 

11:11 on 11.11.11

11:11am on 11.11.11 -- Returning from the grocery store, a papa murphy's pizza in my lap, and being greeted by two bouncing boys who were trying to be the number 11

11 things about 11.11.11

1. I slept in until 8am.  Yes!

2.  I set the craft bucket on the dining table and Payton & Anna made turkeys.  I also attempted an origami turkey.  It turned out okay.

3.  Anna continued to craft for much of the day.  At one point she was singing "Do Nothing Day" to herself.  A perfect sentiment for this day off of school.

4.  Payton and I started working on his 3rd grade Ancient Americans Dwelling project.  He chose the Mound Builders.  This is his first real school report.

5.  Scott and I left the kids in Conner's care (one of our mini baby-sitting practice runs - he's almost 11!) while we went to the grocery store.

6.  I am in love with my maple tree!  Just look at those colors

7.  We told the kids to brainstorm ideas for our family christmas card photo.  Conner submitted this idea:  a picture of dad and it says "Have a very skinny Christmas."  (Over the last 10 weeks Scott has lost 23 pounds!  He looks awesome.  And he needs new pants.)

8.  Scott pulled out the ping pong table and played with the kids.  Balls flying everywhere.  They love it.

9.  The kids watched a Harry Potter movie.

10.  We enjoyed a delicious dinner out with friends.  Each couple ordered a different appetizer and we all shared.  Best. idea. ever.  (All appetizers are not pictured here, but trust me they were amazing.)

11.  The day ended with all 5 of us safely tucked into our beds.  A great start to a great long weekend.

what's on your bucket list?

The people at Just Ask want you to stay around for a good long while so you can cross activities and achievements off that bucket list of yours.  That's why they've developed a test that could save your life -- the BRACAnalysis test - by warning you about your chances of getting breast or ovarian cancer.

I want to be around for as long as I can too!  (But if you ask Scott, he'd be happy to have a cut-off date around age 75.)  If you share your list you'll have a shot of winning a trip of a lifetime.  The grand prizes are:

• a family vacation of a lifetime to Universal Orlando Resort
• A Las Olas Surf Camp Safari in Mexico
• Ski Lessons and stay at Park City Mountain Resort

Here are 15 things I want to enjoy in my lifetime:

1. take a real-life, in person, photography class.  The Blue Lily's GoPro workshop looks like an awesome bundle of information.

2. go to South Africa and stay in a luxury safari resort of course

3. go to Ireland - my name is Shannon after all.  I am drooling over this trip.  Ireland + photography + scrapbooking + ali edwards + karen russell = my dream come true.

4. go to China & Hong Kong.  Marjorie Hinckley said that Hong Kong was her favorite place to visit in the whole world, and I think she was a pretty smart lady.

5. go to Greece - I can't get enough of these photos of pristine white cliffside homes

6. go to Australia

7. serve a mission with Scott for the church when we're old(er).  Any of the above locations would be just fine.

8. visit NYC during Christmas time

9. have a caricature drawn (like they do at theme parks)

10. ride in a limo

11. ride in a hot air balloon.  I might have a heart attack, but it would be fun!

12. sell something on etsy

13. attend general conference in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City

14. learn how to make caramels

15. buy a nice house in Las Vegas.  Preferably with a pool.

And that is my list today.  It could change tomorrow.  I think it's good to include several do-able things along with the big fantasy items.

What's on your bucket list?

 ---------------------------------------

This is my entry in the Just Ask Bucket List Getaway Giveaway.  Just Ask offers a breast and ovarian cancer screening and is encouraging people to share 15 things that I want to enjoy in my lifetime as a reminder to be aware of my health.  Want to enter?  Head over to TodaysMama.com to get the details.

happy day

Today you get to be a part of my Sunday therapy.  :)

This whole moving / trying-to-find-a-house has been wearing.  There's anxiety over the prospect of starting some place new, and wondering if we'll even find a house, and basically just hanging in limbo.  There is frustration over the housing market being the way that it is . . . both on the buying and the selling end.  And there's that tinge of loneliness (although Facetime helps) that creeps in from time to time.

I've realized recently that way too many of my thoughts are consumed with "me".  Too many of my conversations revolve around my issues.  And I don't like that!  I've often heard it said that the best way to get through your struggles is to forget yourself and serve others . . . to turn your focus outward.

Last Sunday Conner was assigned to give a talk in Primary.  I gave him several suggestions for topics (pulled from his Faith in God booklet - a list of goals for 8-11 year old boys & girls) and told him to choose one and write a talk about it.  Saturday afternoon I picked up his notes to see how he was coming along.  It brought me to tears to read what he had come up with all on his own.  (Partly because of the subject matter and partly the fact that my boy is growing & is able to express and share mature thoughts and feelings.  He can write about more than Bionic Booger Boy!)

     

Conner's talk was the trigger to help me begin thinking about changing.

Also this blog post

And this idea I found via pinterest  -- 35 RAKs on her 35th birthday

As well as this one -- 38 RAKs on her 38th birthday

And finally this . . . The Happy Day Project (details here and here)

Now, is it simply coincidence that I found and was drawn to each of these posts in just the last week?  I think not.  I didn't go searching any of them out (I didn't google "RAK" or "service"), they just happened to spill out in my daily internet usage.  I'm trying to pay attention more and act when I see patterns emerge.

I'm especially intrigued by and ready to participate with the Happy Day project

It begins tomorrow, and they are suggesting a daily RAK (with various ideas on how to fulfill it) and offering a cute printable to make it easy.  And cute.

I think this will be great!   

The quote below reminds me that we are the Lord's hands upon the earth and that he uses us to answer other's prayers.

"We are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness . . . . We are the Lord's hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children.  He is dependent upon each of us."   Thomas S. Monson

Let's see how much happy we can create this week.

let's go on a date: july

the date envelope

contents  $15 Blockbuster gift card, 2 Do You Know Your Husband/Wife Quiz books

cost  $27

the plan

It's a slumber party for two!  I also grabbed this idea from Love Actually.  My little note above explains it all -- get comfy & cozy in front of the tv, order in some pizza, fill out the Do You Know? quiz books, pop in a movie, enjoy some popcorn, and stay up all night talking or whatever.  

the date night

July was a busy month.  We were on vacation half the month, and Scott was out of town for the other half of the month.  So when we planned a spur of the moment weekend in the city, we decided to bring along the date envelope.  Yay for separate / adjoining hotel rooms!  But . . . I got food poisoning that night so nothing fun was going to happen.

Just goes to show that sometimes your best laid plans go awry.

We tried again a few weeks later.  I put together a fun date basket

There was so much to do -- 2 movies, quizzes, discussion, treats . . . . We ended up spreading it out over an entire weekend.  We ditched the living room floor idea (because that would mean we'd have to walk downstairs) and chose the comfort of our bedroom instead for movie watching and late-night talks.  

The quiz books . . . so. much. fun.  And I can truthfully tell you that Scott really enjoyed it too.  There are 100 questions in each book so we worked in 20 question increments.  We'd quietly jot down our answers about the other person and then go through it together one by one.  I have to say that we know each other very well!  Very few wrong answers in there. Some of the questions were totally random (like, what pocket does he put his wallet in?), some were good "what would he/she do in this situation?" questions, and others asked about their childhood, personality, and habits.  I highly recommend it as a fun activity to do together.

the scrapbook layout

no photos this month.  I cut out some of our answers from the quiz books to include on this month's layout.  (click on the photo to see it larger)

next month

drive, chip, putt

To see each of our monthly dates from 2011, click here.

let's go on a date: june

the date envelope

contents  Restaurant.com voucher to local restaurant, deck of cards, list of 2-player cards games & instructions for play (not seen)

cost  $5

the plan

As the note says, this month marks 13 years since our first date.  We dated over that summer and spent quite a bit of time outside.  I wanted this month's date to be slightly reminiscent of that.

My idea was to get some dinner at a local Hawaiian restaurant (I was able to buy a $10 voucher on Restaurant.com for just $2 -- you can find great promo codes from time to time).  And then we would stroll across the parking lot and sit at one of the picnic benches in the park on the river.  Pull out a deck of cards and enjoy a nice summer evening playing some card games.

the date night

Dinner at our local Hawaiian place was great, as usual.  But the weather was a bit overcast and nippy outside -- not the greatest conditions for sitting outside for an extended period of time.  So no card games for us.

Instead, we walked down to the docks to get a closer view of the river and boats -- the river was the highest we have ever seen it.  Then we took a nice walk up and down historic mainstreet, peeking in the shop windows, with me essentially giving Scott a tour of the town we've lived in for the last 9 years.  :)  

Then we decided to go to Burgerville for fresh strawberry milkshakes (yum!) and use their free wi-fi to play around on our ipads.  In the photo below we look pretty lame - sucking on a milkshake, zoned out on our ipads.  But really it was just perfect to get to sit together, surrounded by quiet, piddling around on our devices.  It's the little things.

Before leaving home Scott had downloaded a 2-player card game (Speed, I think?) and we had a really fun time playing that together.  Yep that's us . . .  just a couple of 30-something parents, out on a friday night, playing card games in Burgerville.

the scrapbook layout

next month

getting to know you

to see each of our monthly dates in 2011, go here

let's go on a date: may

the date envelope

Sorry, no picture.  This date falls into the category of "for our eyes only".  If you're putting together a year of dates, be sure to include one at-home date that he is sure to enjoy.  I found a creative idea on the Love Actually blog (scroll down to see a list)

Cost:  $0

the plan

Instead I'll share another date we went on in May.  It doubled as a birthday present for Scott.

the date night

I got tickets to see Riverdance!  In his college days Scott had several people tell him he looked like Michael Flatley, of the Lord of the Dance.  Since then, whenever we flip through tv channels and happen to come across Riverdance on PBS or wherever we always stop and watch for a few minutes.

Before the show Scott suggested that we go to dinner at Mexican restaurant.  This is ground-breaking people because he doesn't care all that much for Mexican food.  But apparently he had visited this restaurant with co-workers and enjoyed it, so he knew I would too.  Yay for me!

The show was great.  We loved the dancers and the Celtic soloist & instrumentalists.  There was also a dance-off between tap dancers and Celtic dancers that was pretty darn amazing.

Afterwards we had a serious hankering for a treat.  Ice cream or frozen yogurt.  We managed to find a frozen yogurt place just a few blocks away.  The kind that offers self-serve yogurt and toppings and you pay by the ounce . . . . my absolute favorite.  It was the perfect ending to a great evening out.

the scrapbook page

(forgive the photo quality -- it is an especially grey morning.)

next month

summer lovin'

to see all of our monthly dates in 2011, go here

let's go on a date: april

the date envelope

cost: $20

the plan

A pretty simple, straightforward date this month.  Dinner at a favorite Thai restaurant and a session at the Portland Temple.  We're always trying to be better about going to the temple more often so I made sure that this was included in one of our pre-planned dates for the year.  

the date night

Like I said, it was pretty straightforward.  We ate Thai food.  We went to the temple.  It was perfect!

the scrapbook page

We always joke about the stark differences in our Thai food tastes.  Scott orders it as spicy as they will make it.  And I order my pad thai with no spice whatsoever.  

next month

getting in the Celtic spirit

to see all of our monthly dates in 2011, go here

the amazing world of pinterest

So you all know how much I love pinterest, right?

It's an amazing thing to have so many deliciously beautiful projects, clothing, ideas, recipes, quotes, you name it, right at your fingertips. 

Ideas pinning right and left -- there is so much to see and explore!

This summer I noticed that my little Year of Dates idea had been pinned.  I was so flattered!  I don't even know who the first pinner was.

Since then it's been re-pinned, and re-pinned, and pinned again.  It seems that a lot of people really like the idea.   Like, a lot of people because, this is just crazy, my blog stats hover around 1000-1500 visits (not page-views) a day.  75% of those originate from pinterest or from people linking my date basket idea on their blogs.  This is insane. 

I love the comments that have been coming in.  They make me smile every time.  Everyone seems so excited about this project and many are planning to do something similar for their spouse this Christmas.  I love it!

But, I haven't been so great about posting our dates as they happen.  We are still following through with the dates each month!  With the holidays approaching & so many women planning to use this idea, I've received a lot of requests for the full list of my date ideas.

So over the next few days I'll be getting things up to speed.  I just wanted to warn you that you can expect to see lots of "let's go on a date" blog posts popping up.

I hope this doesn't sound braggy at all, because that is so not my intent.  I am just so excited that other people have the desire to nurture their marriages and relationships, they want more meaningful time together, and they want to do something tangible to make that happen.  It's a win-win for everyone involved.

As Anna would say, "there's the love!"

ten on tuesday: november 1st

1.  Meet Anna, a.k.a. Flower Power

Don't call her Super Girl.  Oh no.  Her name is Flower Power.  And she has the power to make the rain go away and to help flowers grow.  Her powers came in handy yesterday as we drove to school pick-up and an ominous grey cloud began to crowd out our sunshine.  She sang and sang and eventually the sun won!

2.  Payton continues to charm each year on Halloween.  Something about those cheeks.  And that little smile.

Payton decided he wanted to be Harry Potter, so we recycled our Quidditch robe from 2 years back. To make it feel "new" I purchased a broomstick and golden snitch (he had tried to make his own with tin foil and feathers).

3.  Conner was over-the-moon excited to unveil his comic book character Bionic Booger Boy.  You can probably guess what his super powers are.

 

Ahhh, boys, boogers, and super heroes. . . . This is one of those times when I decided I needed to sit back, realizing my boy is 10 (almost 11), and just let him do his thing and be what he wants to be.  The control-mom in me, though, wanted his look a little more polished so I whipped up some shorts, a cape, a t-shirt, and even dyed some thermals one afternoon this weekend.  I think I win a super-mom award for how well & un-boogery it turned out.  He thought it was perfect!

4.  We had talked all summer about doing a Phineas & Ferb & Candace theme but they all bailed on me.  They chose their own costumes and in a round about way we ended up with a "Hero" theme.  That works. 

I think Anna wins the award for intensity.

5.  What about me?  In a last minute effort I pulled together a costume for myself monday morning.  And I love it.

Mary Poppins!  Needing inspiration I scanned through my Fall Pinterest board and came across this pin that I pinned months ago.  I already had the skirt and shirt (with ruffles, no less!).  A quick trip to Walmart and I picked up ribbon for my belt and a little bow tie I hot glued together.  Found a hat there for $10 -- all I had to do was turn up the rim and add some silk flowers.  Oh, and don't forget the red lipstick.

I think dressing like Mary Poppins enabled me to take on her persona all night . . . being extra sweet, and kind, and gentle, and patient with all the little children.

Handing out candy at the trunk-or-treat is serious work!  There is no rest for the weary.

6.  When we got home from the church I let the kids trick-or-treat on our little culdesac all by themselves while I handed out candy.  Eeek!  Another exercise for me in allowing independence and at the same time teaching them responsibility.  When they got back to our house I took them farther around the neighborhood.

7.  Anna went through her first Haunted Garage and FREAKED OUT.  Even the masked goblins froze in their tracks and I heard one of them say, "that girl has got some lungs."  Her screams/wails lasted about 5 minutes and the whimpering continued for an hour.  Poor girl!  Once home we got her to drink some hot chocolate and I eventually distracted her from the evening's events by looking at the pictures in her birthday party blog posts.  She slept through the night just fine and is back to herself today.  But she wants to make sure I know that she never wants to go through that haunted garage ever again.  Deal.

8.  This weekend I became an aunt for the 7th time.  Kent and Becca had their second child, a baby girl named Ellie Sarah.  They are also starting a new job and moving in a few weeks . . . all with a brand new baby!  I don't get to complain about packing boxes one bit.  :)

9.  On the moving front . . . we are here until we move.  We missed 2 Sundays of church this month and I was surprised to come back and have several people comment, "You're back -- we thought you had moved!"  Ack!  Didn't realize we had been written off already.  :)  

With us announcing the new job back in August I guess it might puzzle people that we are still here on November 1st.  This process is taking a while, and we are taking our time.  We don't want to jump into a house, we want to make a good decision because it will affect our lives for the next few years if not much longer.  Additionally, it is going to take time because at least 90% of the houses for sale are short sales which, well, take some time to muddle through.

10.  The good news . . . we found one house this week that we really like and we'll probably make an offer on it.  Cross your fingers for us that something works out!