31.3.10
Real-Estate Rejection....
So, those of you who follow me on twitter know that we lost the house. There were four other offers and it went for well over the asking price (within 4 days of coming onto the market).
We were only in the house for 15 or 20 minutes, but it was love at first sight and now it feels like something has been taken away from us. We saw our children growing up there, playing in the backyard and knew exactly where our Christmas tree would go.
It wasn’t just a house….it was a HOME.
So, back to the drawing board we go – a little disappointed, a little frustrated, but mostly sad. I feel like we have lost so much more than just a piece of real estate. My nesting instincts kicked in and I don’t know how to turn them off or redirect them so I just keep searching for something as perfect and keep coming up empty-handed. Boston definitely is not in a housing crisis.
28.3.10
We May be House Poor but....
Today we put an offer in on a house. There is only a slim chance I think we'll get it, so I'm not going to get you all excited by posting pictures here....yet. Offer is good until 5pm Wednesday so if you love me you will cross your fingers, toes, and other possible extremities until that time. Thanks.
If our offer is accepted we will be what is commonly known as 'house poor'. That means no more foodie explorations with friends, packing lunches for work each day and probably filling a nice house with crappy/cheap furniture. However, staying in wont be SO bad because did I mention my husband learned to cook? Apparently if you refuse to cook for long enough they will actually learn to do it themselves to keep from starving. One of my favorite dishes recently is below, and was a total improv. We dubbed it 'Southwestern Shrimp Salad'.
Details: Sauteed Peppers and Corn on a bed of mesclun greens topped with warm shrimp and crispy onion strips. (Oh yes, did I mention I bought him a deep-fryer for valentines day? Best idea ever.) Tossed with a balsamic vinaigrette (also handmade).
So Ladies - wondering how you can get your husband to cook for you?
1. Avoid cooking for 2-3 years while living together.
2. Start a side-business so you can 'work and make $$ for US' while he cooks.
3. Purchase deep-fryer.
4. Subscribe to food and wine magazine.
5. Buy him other 'foodie' accessories as gifts: micro-zester, french-press, mandoline, etc.
6. #5 can be repeated as many times as necessary.
If our offer is accepted we will be what is commonly known as 'house poor'. That means no more foodie explorations with friends, packing lunches for work each day and probably filling a nice house with crappy/cheap furniture. However, staying in wont be SO bad because did I mention my husband learned to cook? Apparently if you refuse to cook for long enough they will actually learn to do it themselves to keep from starving. One of my favorite dishes recently is below, and was a total improv. We dubbed it 'Southwestern Shrimp Salad'.
Details: Sauteed Peppers and Corn on a bed of mesclun greens topped with warm shrimp and crispy onion strips. (Oh yes, did I mention I bought him a deep-fryer for valentines day? Best idea ever.) Tossed with a balsamic vinaigrette (also handmade).
So Ladies - wondering how you can get your husband to cook for you?
1. Avoid cooking for 2-3 years while living together.
2. Start a side-business so you can 'work and make $$ for US' while he cooks.
3. Purchase deep-fryer.
4. Subscribe to food and wine magazine.
5. Buy him other 'foodie' accessories as gifts: micro-zester, french-press, mandoline, etc.
6. #5 can be repeated as many times as necessary.
26.3.10
03.25.2010
To share a fantasy is another fantasy.
Date: 3/25/2010
Your Day Was: (A)spying. (B) pushy. (C) not missing a thing.
Explain Why: Travelled 4 hours for a half hour meeting, worked day job, worked night job, Staples messed up cutting job and had to reprint 70 RSVP cards and fix 210 others.
A very naïve thought: We would find a house we both loved.
Boys are born:
1. With privileges girls don’t even take into account.
2. To be told.
3. To be looked after, to be looked up to, and to keep the two apart.
4. To be strong and to admit when being wrong.
5. To go at it.
6. To pile and smile.
7. To prove.
8. To sell.
....................................................................................................................................................
My favorite kind of ceral is Cheerios. Whats yours?
3.24.2010
A sunrise has no stage fright.
Date: 3/24/2010
Your Day Was: (A) irresistible. (B) reclusive. (C) listening.
Explain Why: so very busy with client emails, squeezed in four house tours.
And time stood still: Hubs got lost using GPS and I knew where we were (I was right).
Girls are born:
1. With beautiful gifts and burdens.
2. To be taught.
3. To connect, to collect, and to be perfect.
4. To feel and to deal.
5. To take it.
6. To cry and be shy.
7. To love.
8. To tell.
24.3.10
3.23.2010
All in all, one for all can’t be the goal.
Date: 3/23/10
Your day was : (A) sweating. (B) sweet-and-sour. (C) sorry about it.
Explain why: Left work early for a 'field trip' (sweet), came home early to an email from a client saying I forgot to add her website to the invitations (sour).
If there were no tomorrow, you would end up being a/an: happily plump.
You have been swamped with responsibility: (Y) (N)
Some give affection:
1. Like a racehorse.
2. Cozy as a pillow.
3. Quietly.
4. As clueless as a Politian.
5. Full of expectations.
6. With a childish temper.
7. As generous as the lottery.
Who had a bigger influence on your? (sorry to the rest)
a) Your mother b) your father c) someone else This was a hard one - I'm most like my father, but I wouldn't be that way without my mother.
............................................................................................................................................................
Who was/is your biggest influence?
Date: 3/23/10
Your day was : (A) sweating. (B) sweet-and-sour. (C) sorry about it.
Explain why: Left work early for a 'field trip' (sweet), came home early to an email from a client saying I forgot to add her website to the invitations (sour).
If there were no tomorrow, you would end up being a/an: happily plump.
You have been swamped with responsibility: (Y) (N)
Some give affection:
1. Like a racehorse.
2. Cozy as a pillow.
3. Quietly.
4. As clueless as a Politian.
5. Full of expectations.
6. With a childish temper.
7. As generous as the lottery.
Who had a bigger influence on your? (sorry to the rest)
a) Your mother b) your father c) someone else This was a hard one - I'm most like my father, but I wouldn't be that way without my mother.
............................................................................................................................................................
Who was/is your biggest influence?
23.3.10
3.22.2010
Loving, living, everything.
Date: 3/22/10
Your day was : (A) out of order. (B) sauteed. (C) a brother.
Explain why: Generally I get the most done in the morning, but today it was all about the afternoon.
You are great company: (Y) (N)
Luckily, you will never learn how to: clean/empty outhouses.
The way you see it : 1. To see it coming 2. To come and see it.
You want to learn how to: develop/code a wordpress site.
You know more than you think. (Y) (N)
.........................................................................................................................................
Which would you rather have? Girl Scout cookies or Cadbury Eggs? (mini or regular)
Date: 3/22/10
Your day was : (A) out of order. (B) sauteed. (C) a brother.
Explain why: Generally I get the most done in the morning, but today it was all about the afternoon.
You are great company: (Y) (N)
Luckily, you will never learn how to: clean/empty outhouses.
The way you see it : 1. To see it coming 2. To come and see it.
You want to learn how to: develop/code a wordpress site.
You know more than you think. (Y) (N)
.........................................................................................................................................
Which would you rather have? Girl Scout cookies or Cadbury Eggs? (mini or regular)
22.3.10
3.21.2010
If it's not there, there is nothing to find out.
Date: 3/21/10
Your day was: (A) A Party (B) A U-Turn (C) A Smarty
Explain why:
Found a house we love, that we can afford if we don't have kids for 5-10 years.
Feeling at home:
1. Opening an organized, odorless refrigerator filled with everything you like.
2. A mess of your own making, reassuring diversions to keep you busy and engaged in every corner.
3. The same person or animal that sometimes make you want to leave your home.
Are you at peace with your hair? (y) (n)
With respect to your generosity : (A) No comment (B) some take advantage (C) 50/50
How was your day?
2.3.10
More Love for Google....
As someone who is trying to start their own business while still working a standard 9-5 (well, if we are being honest, more like 8-6) job during the day I need all the help I can get! It’s waay to easy to get distracted following a lovely trail of blog posts and twitter feeds and then look at the clock and realize multiple hours have passed and that I’ve gotten nothing done. Sigh. So, I LOVE products that multi-task for me, or at least make things easier for me – basically I love Google.
It all started with Google Reader – a steaming post of my favorite blogs that I can quickly access on my blackberry? YES PLEASE. Next, I discovered Google Documents - I could share information with my bridesmaids and keep documents online that I could access anywhere without constantly spamming myself by emailing them back and fourth. Then, when I started blogging more frequently I starting monitoring my traffic and viewers with Google Analytics. I love looking at where my visitors are coming from and get really excited when they are from faraway places like New Zealand and Egypt. I also added Google FeedBurner later on since some of the information it monitors is slightly different.
Recently, I learned of another amazing Google product from my friend Meredith, Google ALERTS!
From the Google Website :
Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.
Some handy uses of Google Alerts include:
Some handy uses of Google Alerts include:
- monitoring a developing news story
- keeping current on a competitor or industry
- getting the latest on a celebrity or event
- keeping tabs on your favorite sports teams
Or, um – stalking yourself obsessively? I input a few variations of key words relating to my business 4th&Folded and each time someone uses them or links to me I get an email linking to the story or post. Pretty clever huh? You can adjust how often you receive the information, including getting it as-it-happens. I found this to be incredibly useful since analytics only runs once a day and I don’t usually see the article or post linking to me until the next day when I investigate the spike in traffic. For me it took a little manipulating of the search terms to get results I wanted. I was getting a lot of stories about poker players who “folded” their hands and came in “4th”….not quite what I was going for :).
Do you use Google Alerts or have any technology time savers?
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