November News

A lot has happened over the past couple of weeks.  We've successfully moved into the new house, although many rooms are still in transition.  Our bedroom, for example, is full of piles of clothes since we are without a dresser.  But, we are making due.  Here's our living room:

As you can see, it's pretty bare.  There are plans in the works, like getting a new rug and couch, painting the TV stand, and reupholstering the large chair and ottoman.  It'll come together soon enough.

Just as we were getting things unpacked and situated, a winter storm came through western Washington and covered us in snow and ice.  At first, I was loving it....  

...but then the snow came down harder and the driving became slow and icy.  It was bad.  It took me an hour to drive home from the grocery store (it should take 20 minutes!).  Driving home, I realized Washington doesn't quite handle snow like New England, or at least they don't have the power to handle it.  We ended up getting only two and a half inches of snow, but a lot of ice.  Then the power went out.  Thankfully we have a gas fireplace and lots of blankets. 

The dogs were not too happy about having to wear their sweatshirts, but they had no choice.  It was cold in the house.  Notice that the actual temp is 55 degrees.  This was after running the fireplace all day.

It was definitely a bummer to not have heat or electricity, but the bright spot for us was a visit from the Apostles!  Mike and Jess came out to see our new house and celebrate Thanksgiving with us.  They were good sports about the whole "house-feels-like-an-igloo" thing.  In fact, we pulled a couple mattresses into the living room and had a slumber party in front of the fireplace.  I borrowed this picture from Jess' photo blog to show our set-up:

Thankfully after two full days, the power came back on.  Our Thanksgiving was not traditional, as we decided to have a tapas-style meal instead of the traditional turkey feast.  Again, a pic from Jess' photo blog (she's so much better at keeping her camera around than me):

Yup, that's pizza in the front.  :)  Our last night together was spent in Seattle.  We stayed at a Hotel Monaco, which I highly recommend (they are located around the country, so check them out if you are staying in a major city in the US).  Then we went out to a great dinner at Purple.

Lastly, we caught a Frames concert at The Showbox.  You may or may not have heard of them: the lead singer of The Frames played one of the main characters on one of my favorite films, Once.  Anyway, the band played a great concert and we had a great time out in our new city.

Thanks again, Jess, for taking (and sharing) your photos!  I love this one!

House Tour

Welcome to our NEW HOME in Poulsbo, Washington.  We are so excited about finding a place to call home and s-l-o-w-l-y make it our own.   

First, the exterior.  The house is considered a "rambler" or basically a one-level home.  We are located in a small neighborhood tucked away in the woods, hence the tall evergreen trees behind the house.

Here is the front door.  I can't wait to decorate the front stoop for Christmas in just a few weeks!  The wreath is left over from the previous owners.

Open the front door and you'll come into a part of the hallway and a huge living room.  Currently, we have no furniture to put in this space (when our shipments arrive), so I've got a blank slate to work with here. 

 I love the high ceilings and custom window treatments.

If you stand by the windows and turn back to the front door, you can see the entryway in it's entirety (sorry the photo is so dark).

Back at the front door, we'll now turn to the right and find another, smaller hallway.  Did you notice the cool wall treatment?  I love it, but I don't care for the wall lights.  Those will eventually get replaced.

At the end of this hallway and to the right are two bedrooms, the main bathroom, and some linen closets.

Straight ahead is bedroom #1, which will someday be a nursery, but will most likely be a storage area and project space for now.

Bedroom #2 was a little challenging to photograph since it's smaller than the other bedroom.  This will be our guest room (hint, hint: you are all invited to visit!!).

The main bathroom will need some minor renovations this year, specifically replacing the floor and countertop and painting the cabinets.  Not pictured is the tub/shower, but you can see the skylight in the ceiling, which is a great feature. We have about four skylights in the house.

The other end of the short hallway leads to the master bedroom.

It's a pretty standard master bedroom.  I'm not loving the ceiling fan, but it will stay for awhile.

  Yes, that's another wreath left by the previous owners. 

The master bathroom is HUGE.  It's also a little outdated and will most likely see some upgrades in the coming year. 

The toilet is separate from the main bathroom, so I call this the "toilet room."

 The closet is next to the toilet room and is surprisingly smaller than expected in such a large bathroom.

Now, let's head back to the front door and turn to the left.  First thing you'll see is the kitchen.  Again, there's the cool wall treatments and not-so-great wall lights.

I LOVE the wood floor. Love, love, love it!  It's one of my favorite things about the house.  The pictures don't really do it justice.  In reality it's a deeper brown color, not cherry at all.  This picture is a little better at showing the color.

The kitchen....it's actually quite similar to the set-up we had in Okinawa, minus the cupboards that had glass in the doors.  All the appliances came with the sale (score!).  Even better, we have a dishwasher now!

Another skylight in the kitchen adds a lot of natural light to this space.

The former owner had decorated the house with a French country flair.  Although very nice and tastefully done, I am not really into decorating my home with the French country look, so there are some obvious changes to make.  One such change is the kitchen cabinets.  Currently, they are painted an off-white color and distressed.  I plan on painting them white and changing out the hardware.

Another change will be the pantry door. Again, I think the frosted wheat pattern is not bad, per se, just not my style.

One more view of the kitchen. 

You might also notice our laundry room, which is the walk-through to the garage.  The high-efficiency washer and dryer also came with the sale (score, again!).  I'm hoping to have this floor tiled in the future.

If you stand in the kitchen and look back towards the front door, you'll see our dining area.  I know I'm biased, but I think it's really cute.

The dining area and kitchen look into our den.  I said that my favorite part of the house was the floors.  My second favorite part of the house is the fireplace and mantel.

There's another wreath in this room!

 These sliding doors lead to the backyard.

We have a small porch to step out on.  To the left is a small shed that will be perfect for a lawnmower and other outdoor tools.

Here's the view to the right.

 And here's the backyard.  We need to fence off the very back of the yard so that the dogs can run freely back here.  I know they will just love having a yard of their own.

That's it for the tour, but I'll be showing all the stages of making this house a home.  For now, I need to get ready...the movers are coming soon!

Big News

We're homeowners!!

My "Marathon"

WARNING: LONG POST. 

 Sorry for all the babbling.  Scroll down to skip to photos if you don't want to read my novel.

Have you ever tried something completely out of your comfort zone?  Something so completely new and   unknown that it leaves your heart beating out of your chest and makes your palms sweat at the thought of completing this task?  

I know that feeling all too well.

Let me back up a little.  A few months ago, Mike (of Mike and Jess) suggested to Noa that they sign up for the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC.  You may remember that the two of them completed a marathon 4 years ago in Tennessee (see posts here and here).  Mike also mentioned that Jess would be running the 10K race that was also occurring that weekend and somehow the suggestion was made for me to run that race.

My thoughts: NO WAY.  NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS.  NO.  NEVER.

But somehow I got signed up for this race.  

Whenever I thought about the race, my heart sunk to the floor.  You see, I've never been a runner.  I'm not even much of an athlete.  I've played some team sports, including track (if you consider that a "team" sport).  I was horrible at track.  My race was the 400 meter and I came in last in all but one of my races.  I stayed on the team because I enjoyed cheering for the other runners and made some great friends in spite of being the worst runner on the school's track team.  I didn't enjoy it and knew that I couldn't keep participating if I hated it.  So, I found something else I enjoyed: theatre and singing.  Once involved in those, I never looked back at sports.  Until now....

For the past three months I have been running (well, jogging or walking really fast might be better terms for my training regimen) and slowly working up to complete a race that is 6.2 miles in length.  I realize that this isn't really a major feat of human strength and endurance, but for me, it was just like preparing for a marathon. Or climbing Mt. Everest.  Or solving the problem of world hunger.  Impossible and at least, very, very, very unlikely.  After all, I could barely run a mile without panting like a dog.  And my knees....well, let's just say that I have a lot in common with the 70-year-old women in my Bible study group.

Early Friday morning, both Noa and I hopped on a plane bound for Washington DC.  We spent Friday and Saturday visiting his friend Brad, from high school, and his lovely family.  Saturday night, Mike and Jess, and several mutual friends arrived in DC for the race.  Although I was excited to see everyone, I could not sense a feeling over overwhelming foreboding.  That night, sleep did not come easily.

Race morning: we got up and ready quickly in order to be at the starting point before 7 am.  Jess and I met up with Hutch (one of our mutual friends), who was also running the 10K.  We walked around and tried to stay warm in the cool morning air, stretched our legs, and waited in the long lines at the port-o-potties.  Finally, it was time to get in position.  The pit in my stomach felt enormous and heavy, as if a bowling ball would explode in my stomach.  Instantly the gun went off and.....

nothing.

Seriously?!

Yup, we just stood there for a few seconds.  Then the crowd started to move.  Not fast, but at a simple walking pace.  But, you could feel the energy in the air.  There was cheering, music was playing, and the sun was turning the sky bright and cheerful.  I looked to the right an saw 5 Marines standing at attention.  I could feel the goosebumps rising on my arms.  Shortly, we crossed the starting line and started to run.  To my surprise we were running at a reasonable pace.  We weren't at a full sprint, but yet, the three of us were still passing people. It was as though we were in a dance; we'd be running together and then move to the right and around someone and then split our group in order to pass the next person or group before us.  Sometimes we ran in single file, other times we were all together in a row.  I was even able to talk to Jess and Hutch, without panting like a dog, I might add.  "I can do this," I thought.  And then I said it out loud, "I can do this."

I kept up the steady pace through mile 4.  There were signs posted along the route that let runners know how far they had run.  Oh, and I failed to mention that there were approximately 10,000 runners in the 10K race, so the roads were packed.  Our group continued to do our "dance" as we weaved through the crowds.  At one point, Jess ran ahead, whipped out her iPhone and took a picture of me and Hutch.  I flashed the peace sign and smiled like a goof.

The gum helped.  We made it through the last water station and then I saw the sign for mile 6.  Only .2 miles to go.  "I can do this," I thought.  We turned a corner and then I saw it: THE HILL.  The last stretch to the finish line was a sharp, curse-inducing hill that covered the last part of the course. I was determined to finish this race and finish by running.  Now, when I saw "run" what I really mean is moving my arms and legs in a way that would indicate running, but really going at about the pace of a elderly snail.  Jess stuck with me, even though it was probably painful to watch me, let alone, stick by me.  What a friend. 

And, then, the finish line.  The glorious, gleaming red arch that beckoned me forward.  As I stepped through, a burst of excitement and relief filled me and I realized one thing:  I DID IT!  I ran the 10K!  I did the impossible!  And...OH-MY-GOSH-I-NEED-TO-PEE!  We high-tailed it to the port-o-potties and I took care of business (and let's just say that the port-o-potty experience post-race was one of the most disturbing experience of my life).  

After that, I felt like shouting from the rooftops.  I had to tell someone.  I can't tell Noa (he was running the marathon, which started at the same time as the 10K).  So, I called my parent's house in NH.  My mom and sister got on the phone and all I could must was, "I did it!"  And then the tears started flowing.  I couldn't contain myself any longer.  The salty tears stung my face as they slide down my cheek.  I don't even remember what I said to my family, I just remember feeling like a million bucks, like I could take on the world, like I really could solve the problem of world hunger. After hanging up the phone, Jess, Hutch, and I went in search of our medals.  All participants receive medals and we somehow missed them in all the excitement of finishing and my frantic search for the bathroom.  We found some young Marines who were assigned to giving them out.  So, I walked up to one of the Marines, bent down my head, and let him place the medal around my neck.  I looked down at the medal - a physical symbol of my major accomplishment and felt that same feeling that I felt when I called home.  I did it!  

I really did it.  I am not a runner, but I did it. 

I didn't even come in last place.  Not even close.

I did it!

I almost couldn't contain myself. I looked at the young Marine who just gave me the medal and instead of saying a simple, "thank you,"  I said, "can I hug you?!"  This poor Marine, who was just trying to do his job now had a sweaty, overly emotional girl giving him a hug for running a measly 6 miles.

But, you know what?  I don't care.  I did it and I was proud and beyond thrilled.

Later came photos, meeting up with our friends, and later meeting up with the boys, who completed the marathon in under 4 hours.  The rest of the weekend included delicious dinners out, visiting with friends, and going to the Newseum.  The weekend has now washed away and it all feels like a dream, but I still can't shake the feeling of accomplishment.  It's a great feeling.

Alright, enough with my ramblings....on to the photos:

Me with Jess, who sweetly stayed by me the whole race, even when I had to walk.

The 10kers: me, Hutch, and Jess

The Marathoners: Noa, Mike, and Rob (mutual friend).

Hampostles: Noa, me, Mike, and Jess

Special thanks to Jess for providing not only moral support, but also all these awesome photos.