The Unemployed Life

How has it already been two weeks since my last day at work?! Time really does fly when you are having fun! I start my new job on Monday and between wondering what everyone will be like to hoping I don't get lost, it feels like the first day of school.  Regardless of the combination of excitement and nervousness, I'm going to miss my days of leisure :)

Mazi's Moving Day!

Today is Maserati's moving day!  He left the Maryland house for good and is settling into the new place like a champ.  After a few weekend trips up here, I think he is excited to be here for good.  And I know he is really excited not to have to endure another car ride for a while!

Obviously, the trip really stressed him out!

Pictures from Moving Day

It was a long day, but with the help of some great friends, we successfully moved the furniture from Bethesda to Delaware!

I still have to move all of clothes and all of my shoes- hmm, maybe I'll need another trailer for those! Ready or not, we have to be out of the Bethesda house by Sunday and then I will officially be living in Delaware!

Moving Day

Today is the big moving day! Check back later for details and pictures :)

Mission: Closet- Part 3

Working hard into the night.

Progress is really being made on the closet project!  Greg and Mike worked hard last week on framing up the new wall, wiring the outlets, and starting to hang the drywall.  Last weekend Mike and I finished hanging the drywall and I got a quick tutorial in spackling.  Then on Monday, I spent my first day of unemployment putting my new skills to work by spackling, spackling and then spackling some more.  We also had to re-wire the wall sconces which is proving to be harder than it should since I can't find any light fixtures that I LOVE.  But, we think we figured it out and I am keeping my fingers crossed that whatever we finally decide on will fit. 

Shortly after this I decided
driving a nail straight was
highly over-rated.

Below are the pictures of its current condition. (See Mission: Closet- Part 2 for a reminder of its previous state.)  Mike should be adding the corner beading this week so that all we have left to do is spackle the heck out of it and then prime and paint!

Framing before drywall

Drywall is DONE!

NEW JOB!

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I was really worried about finding a new job in Delaware. Both interviews went well and I was hopeful to hear something back from the firm I interviewed with on Tuesday. They said they would call me in a few days so I tried to not worry about it, staying optimistic while mentally preparing for the next round of applications. Well, as of this morning, I no longer have to worry. I was offered a job as a Litigation Paralegal at a great firm in Wilmington and I eagerly accepted. They even agreed to a November 1 start date which gives me two weeks to enjoy the unemployed life and take my time moving. Yay :)

Kitchen!

After about 6 weeks of measuring, designing, and many, many trips to Lowe's, we finalized and ordered a new kitchen.  We are replacing the existing yellowish cabinets and forest green countertop with new rich, cognac colored cabinets and a brand new Corian countertop.  The new cabinets will be in roughly the same layout as the existing cabinets and then we are adding a matching peninsula between the kitchen and eating area.  We are hoping that this will give us more storage and a more efficient kitchen overall.  I guess we will find out in 6 more weeks when the new cabinets arrive!  Below is the kitchen as it is now.  Look for a new "after" picture mid-November!

AND Tuesday at 11am!

I got a call first thing this morning and I have another interview on Tuesday!  Time to dust off those interview skills!

Monday at 11am!

Perhaps the most stressful part of me moving to Delaware is not the fact that I will have to put up with Mike's fashion style on a daily basis, but the fact that I am leaving my job of 5 years without having anything definite lined up.  Ideally, we would love it if I was able to have a few weeks off between my last day at my current job and the start of a new job to allow me to move all of my belongings over the span of a few days and also give me free time to be able to work on the house.  However, the fear of not being able to find a job and a "few weeks" turning into a few months is growing by the day.  I have sent out a few job applications for government positions, but have not heard anything after the standard "you are qualified, we will be in touch" response.  I would have loved to be actively interviewing right now for a job, but since I am in my last two weeks, I can not take a day off (and 2 hours each way make even a long lunch break impossible).  However, now that my last day is just around the corner, I have started sending out resumes for jobs in the private sector and a few of the wonderful attorneys here have passed it and a recommendation on to whoever they know in the area.  Sure enough, I have my first interview lined up for Monday at 11am!  And the best part about having an interview scheduled?  I need a new suit and I can finally justify going on a shopping trip (or two)!

Teddy and Gretta

I stayed home this past weekend so I don't have any updates on the house or any of our other many projects.  I am, however, told that progress is being made on the closet and that I will be pleasantly surprised when I see it this coming weekend.  I have also put wedding planning on the back burner for a bit while I focus on packing, moving and job hunting.  So, in lieu of no post at all, I thought I would introduce the world wide web to the other loves of my life (and sometimes source of stress headaches), my horses.  I began riding horses before I can even remember.  I believe the story is that I was under a year old when I had my first pony ride.  My mom got me into the horse world and it turned into not only a wonderful activity that we shared, but an entire way of life that most of my  memories revolve around.  From spending all day, every day of a hot summer doing barn chores to bundling up on the coldest days to smash the ice out of water buckets, my favorite memories are the years we spent together with our horses.  I will never forget riding side by side with my mom along the perimeters of each field as we checked for broken fence boards and feeling like the rest of the world was miles away.  Horses became my entire world and I enjoyed simply being at the barn just as much, or even more than, riding.  Not only did the great people we met through horses become our family, but so did the actual horses.  My mom bought Gretta when I was 10 years old and I got Teddy when I was 11.  They have distinct personalities- Gretta is a typical mare and such a graceful lady that tries to hide her sweet nature while Teddy is the dorky little boy allergic to everything that is so excited to see you that his ears look like they are going to pop off.  The were truly fun and frustrating horses to ride and show, and now that they are retired, they are still just as fun and frustrating.  Gretta was a dressage horse who loved to get in the show ring.  She was retired after she developed Navicular in both her front feet and deemed too lame to consistently ride.  Now at 27, she runs everyday through her field kicking up her heels and showing off her beautiful gaits; stick a saddle on her and put her in a ring and she can't trot a straight line without looking lame.  As for Teddy, after 10 years of doing everything from eventing to Western shows with me, he developed severe allergies and COPD and seems to cough at the sight of a halter coming toward him.  This past summer was extremely hard on him and he currently is being treated for a build-up of scar tissue in his lungs, yet when I go to see him in the field, he trots right up to me looking as happy as he can be.  I know it must sound strange to everyone else, but Teddy and Gretta really are members of my family.  So much has changed in the past 15 years, but the one constant thing in my life has been these horses that have seen me through the good times and the bad, the happiness and the heartbreak.  I still get excited to see them every time I drive down the barn driveway.  I hope they are as ready to move and start this next chapter as I am.

False Advertising?

Now that I am officially in my last two weeks of work, I have taken it upon myself to really buckle down- that is, buckle down and get all of my picture files in order before giving up my work computer.  While browsing through the pictures in my "new house" folder (all 219 files, so far) I came across the pictures from the real estate website that I downloaded when we first started looking at the place.  Most of the pictures of the house are fair depictions and reflect the state that the house is in now- at least before we started knocking down walls and putting spackle all over the place.  However when comparing the exterior shots to the ones that we took once the papers were signed, one can really tell how far the the yard fell into disarray- and just how many things the homeowner removed before settlement.  Where exactly did those bricks in the edging go anyway?  Regardless, it is obvious how much the former homeowners' cared for this house and how much work they put into it. Things just got a bit "unruly" while it sat on the market.  Even now, it really is not in bad shape, it just needs a bit of TLC.  At least we know it has potential.  Mike and his dad have already been working on getting things under control and looking better.  I try to help, but I don't exactly have a green thumb these days and yard work makes me have the attention span of a 4 year old.  I am, however, looking forward to springtime when we can really dig in and spruce everything up.  Maybe I can even talk Mike into letting me plant an herb garden, and then maybe I can talk him into watering it since I always forget about that part.  For now, a little unruly never hurt anyone. 

Backyard- Then

Backyard- Now

Backyard- Then

Backyard- Now

Mission: Closet- Part 2

I had originally intended to have two Mission: Closet posts- one for the demo and one for the construction.  But life rarely works out the way we plan and I am finding that these house projects are no different.  For a refresher of Part 1- see  Mission: Closet- Part 1.

So here we are, 3 weeks since we started the project and the end is just starting to be in sight. There have been a few hiccups in the process, but there has definitely been progress.  Over the past few weeks, all of the demo work has been completed, the remnants of the old walls have come down, the materials have been purchased and the construction plans have been formed in Mike's head- or so he claims.  This past weekend we had to call in reinforcements to get things moving along.  Mike's friend Greg came over to assist in the construction and my friend Lauren came over and assisted in the demo of even more drywall.  With everyone's efforts (especially the supervision Lauren and I provided from the sunroom while snacking on chips and guacamole) much was accomplished.  The opening where the guest room closet was has been framed in and the framing for the new wall in the master bedroom has been started.  Unfortunately I had to leave the wall building party early to go home and check on my sick pony, but Greg and Mike continued their hard work and made massive strides.  Things are actually farther along now than this picture shows and from what I've heard, the new wall is almost fully framed in.

One HUGE Step

I submitted my resignation today and Friday, October 15, 2010, will be my last day of work here in DC.  I have been with this firm for just over 5 years so this is definitely bittersweet.  As excited as I am to move on, this has been my home for 40+ hours a week (making it over 10,400 hours of my life!) and as much as I may complain about my job at times, they have been very good to me.  It is a little unsettling right now as I do not have anything definite lined up, but I'm looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that come with starting something new.  The best part is, this is the first big step I am taking to officially make my way to Delaware.  And while part of me is scared out of my mind, I can't wait.