summer fun

just a few shots of fun at our new home..

Colby turned ten last week.  Had a good friend come over to celebrate.  Lots of fun was had.  Swimming in the pool...

..playing with Colby's new arcade-style basketball game in the bonus room...

(Sister Sam had friends over, too...)

...and of course, playing video games on their iPads.

And a couple pics I took today...

 Roses I picked this morning, using oven mitts to avoid the thorns. (garden gloves still packed up someplace in all the boxes!)  Reminded me of the song "Every Rose has its Thorn". (that was Poison, right?)

Even Morgan loves his new home.

and life goes on.  Once we're all moved in, unpacked, settled, acclimated, undiscombobulated, and into a routine again, I may start blogging more thoughtful stuff on my sister blog.  But for now, it's just the facts.  Moved here, love the house and yard.  Country is cool. (not the music, though)

goodnight!

Spittin distance

Big Steve's Bagels. Just down the road from our new home. Yum, yum.

Closing day

Well it's official: this is ours now!!!   Back in Cary now, movers come to get our stuff at 8 am tomorrow, and i'm not even all packed. Eeek! Gotta get busy now...goodnight!

where's waldo? part 2

Time is ticking...we're moving SOON!!!  Has anyone figured out where we're going yet? (based on the last game of Where's Waldo??)  well guess what.. just in case anyone is still confused, still scratching their head, cluelessly floundering the globe....i'll be nice and give some more hints.

It's game time again!

This time, it's a 1 out of 7 guessing game. (does that make sense?)

What am I talking about?  oh, in case you missed the first round, we're trying to figure out where this waldo will be living in...(counting on my fingers..)  ..in four days from now!!

ok, so here's the deal:
I'll give you some real estate options, kind of like that show on HGTV,  "Househunters", where the potential homeowner looks at 3 different houses and tries to decide which one to buy.  (Only I was having too much fun making this up and couldn't stop at just 3 houses, they were all too good!  Plus I didn't want to give it away, gotta make ya sweat first..)

So come along, I will be your host, as you ride along on this process of selecting the right home!

First house. Let's be wild, travel overseas, to a place I lived for 3 years and have always dreamed of going back to live someday.  The beautiful island of the Dominican Republic!  Where the rich have it good, and the poor....(most of the country) are their humble servants.

  

Here's a nice one, in my favorite beach town of Sosua.  Check it out!
House #1:
https://www.coldwellbanker.com/property/-Sosua-MLS-V-972
Just $230K for over 6,000 sq. ft??? Crazy!!!  Gorgeous pool, ocean views, and completely furnished!
Would be nice.


 But...hmm, maybe I should look at some options closer to friends and family, back in the good ol' USA.  How about this home on a lake!!!
House #2:
http://www.fmrealty.com/real-estate/louisburg/927-sagamore-drive/2073689
Very cool!  A bit small for the higher price tag, but looks fun.

ok, let's get wild again...Let's jump back on that jet plane and take a look at this sweet home in the Costa Rican rain forest!
 
 
House #3:
http://www.coldwellbankertamarindo.com/Uvita/uvita-home-with-second-suite-enjoy-the-wildlife-and-ocean-lifestyle.html
oh my gosh, i think i'm going to faint!  If I could really wake up to the sounds of toucans and all those crazy beautiful birds, AND have those ridiculous monkeys traipsing across our property every day..can you say HEAVEN???  wow.  And a mother-in-law suite that could be rented out for extra income, justifying the higher price??  oh dear, must wipe chin, i'm drooling...

ok, back to reality.  Here's another American home.
House #3:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/124-Solomon-Cir_Four-Oaks_NC_27524_M59875-81722

 Not bad, nice pool, 3000 sq. ft. for around $255K, pretty good deal for that general area, I think... I could make a craft room out of that extra bedroom...not bad.

oh but let's go back to dreaming again...like scooting over to the other side of Costa Rica...


....and living in a crib like this!!!
House #4:
http://www.coldwellbankertamarindo.com/Playa-Negra/expansive-coastal-views-beachfront-home.html
not bad, eh?  In my dreams, right.  A bit too pricey, but wow. nice to look at.

Let's try something that's back in the more safe, comfortable familiar territory of the US, yet still captures the essence of tropical paradise...



House #5:
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/75-5442-Kona-Bay-Dr_Kailua-Kona_HI_96740_M83059-09633#photo0
AAAAAAghhhh!! Have I lost my mind? Practically 3 million dollars!  oh but those views, look at those views!  It's like living outside, with those 360 degree views everywhere you go!! (told you this would be fun!!)

Need to win the lottery to get that one.



Here's something more reasonable:

House #6:
http://www.fmrealty.com/real-estate/zebulon/9712-skipping-stone-court/2078730?rowNum=16&searchID=cedef1ad-57de-4e58-848e-92e2aa43ea83&sortBy=priceDesc&pageSize=20&page=1&displayPhoto=exterior

Decent size house, love that curly slide!  

But honestly, if it were up to me...and I could live AnYwhere i wanted..I'd choose something international and wild.  Get back on that plane, and hope you're wearing your red, white and blue, cuz we just might swing by the Olympics on this one:

House #7:
http://www.viviun.com/AD-232543/
$115K - Amazing 3BR house on the "paradise island" of Boipeba Bahia, Brazil!!!!  Wow!  Crazy cheap! Ocean view!

So there you have it.  In four-and-a-half days I WILL be waking up in ONE of the six houses listed above.  Can you guess which one it is????

Good luck!!

men are pigs

just sayin.  and actually i take part of that back.  Actual pigs are beautiful, highly intelligent animals, much too worthy and innocent to be classified anywhere near the detestness of the human male creature.

so here's my story. i go to kroger after dropping off son at school.  looking like the usual, just rolled out of bed stay at home mom with bed head, sloppy clothes and sleep boogers in her eyes,  Yet i start noticing that these gross male grocery store employees seem to be going out of their way to say hi and acknowledge me, though i don't even look at them, just barely mumble the obligatory "hey" if i must.

so i wonder, what's the deal?  then i notice my shirt.  i'd thrown on a v-neck t shirt that my daughter re-gifted to me, she didn't like it and was too big for her.  well, it's a tad loose on me too, so naturally that makes the "V" a big lower than usual.  so THAT'S why these dirty punks are looking my way!  never fails.  so disgusting.  i see it at home too.  the eyeballs.  they widen and shoot down below normal conversational eye level.  that is just SICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  that's why i mostly wear baggy clothes at home, even my pajamas are long pants and baggy huge t-shirts with an undershirt too, even in record-breaking heat waves.  can't take any chances.

and that's why next time i go to kroger, i'll sport a thick turtleneck and a pair of boxing gloves.  one look at me, bubba, especially below the neck, and you're toast.  you iz goin DOOOOOWWWWWWWNNNNN!!!!

ugh. did i mention that men are sick and disgusting perverts?

oh and by the way, happy "thanks for the memories even though they weren't so great" day.

where's waldo?

Game time!  Name of the game is Where's Waldo?  (aka what's nearby)

First a little background:



In just a few weeks, I will be moving to a geographical area that is totally new to me, and may even be quite a cultural shock. Think city mouse turns into country bumpkin mouse.  So, in preparation for the onset of discombobulation, I've been hoping to ease the pain a bit by familiarizing myself with some points of interests near my new neck of the woods. Now if you happen to know which general area i am moving to, and you are from these parts of the world, you may even have a visual image of my new stomping grounds.  In general, that is.  Even though I know some of you read this from places like...(let me check my stats again...) ...ok so there's like quite a few of you in Russia, a few in France, maybe one in the U.S.  weird.

Anyway, so here's how to play.  I will call out different landmarks that are "nearby" my new location, and you all get to try and figure out, as closely as you can, where my new home is!  And just to make it fun, I'm not giving any compass directions, as in N,S,E,W.  gotta follow your nose.

Players, are you ready?

GO!!!!!

My new home is...

12.7 miles from La Cocina Mexican restaurant




10.6 miles from Heidi's Two Wheel Cafe

10 miles from Little Brown Jug

9.7 miles from Brightleaf flea market

9.1 miles from Rose & Graham funeral home

8.4 miles from Stanfield's General Store

6.4 miles from C3 Church





5 miles from McGee's Crossroads elementary school

3.4 miles from Southern School of Martial Arts and Bujinkan Dojo

2.5 miles from JoCo Horse Show Series

1.2 miles from Red Line Defense



An' i reckon that's as close as i need to get y'all folks to my new shack.
y'all come back now, y'hear?

Bus stop waiting

I actually enjoy waiting for the bus. Even on super hot days like today. I pack my ice water, a small towel to sit on, a good novel and I'm good to go. I even leave the house a bit early so I can enjoy the 3 block walk, settle in and enjoy a few precious moments of alone time.