Looking forward

We are moving in 4.5 short months! It sort of doesn't seem real, but at the same time we are slowly getting ready and talking about plans. We are mostly focused on waiting to find out if Ben got into Vet school. The first possible interview date is December 16th. Ben didn't get called for this one. We will know if he'll get an interview by January and if he does get one, we'll know if he got in by mid March.

We aren't making any major plans until we find out. We are moving either way, but it will change things a bit. He will apply 2-3 times if needed to get in.  It often takes awhile.

I just went through all of Finleys clothes and toys and got rid of stuff we don't want anymore and packed stuff that I want to save. We are slowly packing up our house and talking about how long we want to rent vs buy a house. But again so many unknowns: when will our house sell? what town do we want to live in? Schools for Finley? Where will I work? What will Ben do if he doesn't get in this round? How will we get our stuff there without renting a storage unit? The list goes on....

I find myself pondering about what things I'll miss from the last 11 years I've spend i the Pacific Northwest. I know I missed it when I was in Massachusetts for a few years. And then there are also things that I won't miss at all and look forward to about New England. I've got a list going in my head and it goes something like this.

Things I won't miss about Seattle: constant traffic everywhere, short/coldish summer, gray skies, no where to swim/gross beaches, no good ice cream or eggplant parm,  superficial friendly people, our lack of yard and space, our neighborhood

Things I will miss about Seattle: year round growing season, year round farmers markets, compost pickup and recycling options for everything, good coffee, PCC, Vietnamese food everywhere, huge trees and mountains, constant green, some dog sports, the North Cascades, picking blackberries,


I'm looking forward to snow, good ice cream, being close to several fun cities, lakes, good flyball, open space for hiking, changing leaves, cross country skiing, having land, growing hot weather vegetables, apple picking, cape cod, maine, hot summer nights, more light, pretty country drives, antiques.

Thats a start...I've got more to add to the list.

slowing down

We've been enjoying the cool weather this year. I love making soups and stews that cook for a long time, having a fire and enjoying the warmth of our house. Since we started having our kitchen remodeled, I haven't been doing a lot of cooking. I'm really excited about the way it looks and kind of sad that I've had to spend the last 5 years looking at the awful pastel fish tile backsplash and stained laminate countertops.

We put in an above the stove microwave, mostly black (with gold specks) granite counters and a white subway tile backsplash. The cabinets and appliances were in good enough condition that we decided to leave them as is. I'll post photos when it's done.

We had a real estate agent come over a few nights ago, which was actually pretty encouraging. Our house doesn't need a ton of work. We just need to do little things like fix some drywall, get new doors and clean, clean, clean. We need to have the furnace checked too and pray it's still doing well. We decided to wait until we are out of the house before putting it on the market, as our house is mildly chaotic with 3 dogs and a toddler. We are thinking we can get enough for it to buy the type of house and property we want. Woohoo!

Speaking of toddlers, our little Finley is doing great. She is getting better and better at talking, understanding things and having preferences for things. If she asks for something she knows to say please, even though it sounds like "zzzsss". She can put things away and absolutely LOVES books! When I pick her up at daycare or when we get home, she is always climbing up in someones lap with a book for them to read. She has a pair of pink maryjane shoes that she wants to wear everyday and loves taking baths. She will stay in there for as long as we will let her. The best thing is filling up a water bottle and dumping the water on herself. Obviously she's a dog trainer in trainer and so the other day I asked her to say "sit" to one of the dogs. Instead of saying it, she just sat down herself! Funny! Oh yeah and she chipped a tooth! Ouch! It's not too bad and the dentist pretty much just said to watch it for any color changes or infection and otherwise look forward to a new set of teeth in 5 years.


Anyway, we don't have a lot of plans this weekend.  Tomorrow we'll go out to breakfast and then Finley and I will go do some clothes shopping at the outlet mall and then visit with some friends in the evening. On Sunday, we are going to a flyball party to make tug toys for the dogs.

 Pumpkin Patch Visit in Oct 

Bat Costume

19 months

work play balance

We just got back from NYC for Rachel's wedding and to visit Finley's great grandmother and our good friends Carly, Fritz  and Beau. The wedding was exactly what Rachel wanted and went very smoothly. I learned that I hate getting dressed up and having my makeup done, which is sad because it looked good. It's just torture for me though!  I sucked it up and had fun anyway.

Finley and Beau very close in age, which made it very easy to stay with them. We went to playgrounds, kid friendly restaurants, stroller rides around some Brooklyn neighborhoods. It was perfect!

Photos from our trip are here. Here is a favorite

Finley had a fun Halloween! We went to three neighbors houses and got more than enough candy. We let her sort through her bag at home. She had no idea that there was candy inside and would have been fine with no candy, but I couldn't resist letting her have one piece. She picked a Snickers bar. Smart girl. Oh and she was a bat and Ben was Dracula. I'm lame and don't dress up.

What else is going on? We are slowly packing up things that we won't need for awhile. We had a new fence put in and the kitchen is being minimally remodeled. The real estate agent we might use is coming over next week.

I LOVE my job. I never thought I'd love clinical dietetics so much, but it's perfect for me. Just the right amount of medicine/science, working independently, a little bit of counseling and days that zip by. The per diem aspect works really well too. If we are going out of town, I'm just not available to work.  Luckily this is a common job for a dietitian and easy to find positions.

Finley is still an amazing sleeper and eating. Who knows how late she would sleep, because most days we wake her up at around 9 am. She eats as much food as me, if not more. She is getting better and better at communicating and putting words together. Sometimes though she gets this intense look in her eye and tries to tell me something important and I have no idea what she wants. So I just start asking her questions and eventually figure it out.

I'm really happy with our weekly schedule right now. I think it's a nice balance of everything. It looks something like this....

Monday: Ben and I work all day. Finley goes to daycare. Nothing in the evening usually make dinner, walk dogs, train dogs or go to the gym.

Tuesday: Finley and mom day. We go to Little Gym and just hang out all day doing errands and playing. Ben has agility with Pax and Indigo.

Wednesday: Finley goes to daycare. I have the day off. This is my day to catch up on things I can't do when I have Finley. Study for my nutrition support dietitian exam, clean, blog etc. In the evening I volunteer at dog training class

Thursday: I work 1/2 day. Finley goes to daycare. We've got box practice some weeks. Otherwise we make dinner and spend the evening at home.

Friday: Ben has the day off, but usually does school work all day. Finley is in daycare. I work all day.

 This is the first time in my life that I've found a balance between work and play. It's a nice feeling.