I like apples better anyway....

Well, we're very sad to announce for those of you who have been following that we did not get the orange house. The seller received another off mid-negotiation and decided to strike a deal with them instead. They kept saying he'd get back with us and deadlines pushed again and again and finally tonight we found out that the home has been sold.

As much as we trust that there is another home out there that will be just as wonderful and in which we will be just as happy, we're still having a hard time thinking about not having the one that felt so right. I guess next time we know not to let ourselves get too attached - the more you love, the greater the risk for hurt.

Thanks for all of your encouragement in our search. I'm sure we'll be back in the saddle again soon.
Natasha

Still seeing orange...

Well, the owner of the orange house has decided that he is willing to negotiate with us and we will get his counter offer in T minus 74 minutes. This, is a good thing considering he could have dismissed us entirely or have had another offer on the table. We are anxious and excited and hopeful as the process gets serious.

Meanwhile, it's funny to me how much this process highlights our strengths and how very different they are... Michael's understanding of how rates and financing work is soooo much greater than mine and his negotiating skills will surely come in handy as we move forward. As I try to understand the mortgage side of things best I can, I've made a spreadsheet that helps us determine the best refrigerator (the house doesn't come with one) and pursued advice from all my builder friends regarding updating to be done, solid construction, discount connections, etc.

Hopefully together we prove to be a successfully unstoppable team, at least when it comes to the orange house! We'll keep you updated.

Do you believe in love at first (home)site?

So I guess it's not the first home we looked at, but it IS the first one we visited. Two weeks ago we did some driving around looking at homes in a nearby neighborhood that we'd found online. Only slightly more formal than what we sometimes like to do after lunch on Sunday afternoons, because we'd found homes online beforehand. Before we headed back to the house, Michael said there was one more that he thought I would really like.

And WE did. That little "orange house" as I would call it because of the orange brick (not orange paint!) looked so cute and felt so homey even though all we could do was peek in through the windows and sneak through the back gate to check out the yard. The following week I thought a lot about the house and we set only a semi-serious appt to check out the inside the following weekend.

Last Saturday, we toured the house and loved the layout and the condition of the home. Monday night we went back at night and walked the yards and looked in the windows again to see how it felt. Last night we went back with a realtor and went inside.

How could we just stumble on this little home with an Aggie Realtor and fall in love so quickly? It just all seems so crazy.... not foolish, just fast. I've had so many people say "When it's right, you know it." and it does feel right. I guess now we'll see how right our gut is!

Wish us luck!

It's Snow Fun!

Well well, it's been a while!

Since I last wrote about the half marathon, Michael has run yet another one, that (really this time) mark the end of "marathon season" as it has been dubbed. Finishing with a smile and a high five, I succcessfully caught up with Michael at miles 6, 9 and the finish (13.1). I'm so proud of him and his physical accomplishment and so proud of myself and my navigational accomplishment of catching him at three different places throughout the race (four, if you count the start)! ha

And since the last half we ran together we've worked very long hours at the office, done who knows how many loads of laundry, watched our good friends Amy and Ben get married (YAY!) and had the opportunity to go on a very fun ski trip with three other couples from our college circle of friends.


We had a WONDERFUL time on our trip getting to spend time with the Ksionda, Skow and Bayles families (or was it the Bayliss family?) and getting to ski for the first time in a long time. Michael and I skiied all three full days (if that counts as an accomplishment) - 2 days at Snow Basin and 1 day at Powder Mountain. True to the name of our blog, Michael skiied 'in the fast lane' in a squat position with poles tucked in his armpits while his I, 'White-Lightning-wife', cautiously zig zagged her way down the slopes (not so true to the name of our blog). We sat in the hot tub every night, some days more than once, and remembered to buy an ornament this trip since we forgot on our honeymoon. I made my first REAL snowman that was actually 'life-size', we had snowball fights, rode sleds and had a wonderful vacation - our first as a married couple other than our honeymoon.


Never surprised by this, I always enjoy how small the mountains make me feel and what a wonder they are. The last day that we skiied at Powder Mountain was the best in this regard. One of our last runs we passed a "Run Closed" sign that had been taken down and skiied (Ben and Ashley Skow, Ben Bayles, Michael and I) into a low-incline (hallelujah!) hill surrounded by Aspen trees and pines with undisturbed snow resting in banks along both sides. It was so still, so white, and so peaceful... If I'm truthful, somewhere along that wonderous and peaceful trail we stopped to rest and ended the peace and quiet in a snowball fight, but I loved it all the same. Loved all the natural beauty, loved our wonderful friends, was grateful that we have the physical ability to ski one weekend and run another and was so so so so glad that no one was hurt.


Last but not least, speaking of injury.... Michael will have to post his sledding video of him hitting the hidden rock on the sled. (As promised, no one got hurt in spite of the horror you hear in my voice when I see him bail from the sled).


Love for you all this week!

Natasha