Not Dead!

Man oh man! It's been a bit of a whirl wind since we got back to the States, but now that I finally had a chance to relax, I can bust out a lovely blog for you folks. Don't you feel special?

Ok, so we managed to finish up cleaning the house in Belgium and did our final walk through. 

Luckily, we got our 1,900 euro deposit back (thank gawd!) and proceeded to migrate over to our temporary apartment till it was time to catch our flight out of Amsterdam. The final few days were bitter sweet..not going to lie. We absolutely love Belgium, the travel opportunities and everything else that's awesome about Europe, but, we're ready to move on with our lives and get settled into our new home. 

If you're a frequent reader of my blog, or actually know me, you know that we have a small horde of dogs. By small, I mean five...and it's definitely interesting when it comes to transporting them, that's for sure. I had to do a "system check" on all the crates to make sure they were all up to snuff when it came to airline requirements. Luckily, all of my prepping paid off because the check-in crew for KLM were stoked that I had everything re-enforced, paperwork in hand, and anything & everything else you can think of that's required to ship a pet internationally. 

Of course, the dogs needed to get their beauty sleep before the big journey, so they made it a point to pretty much push us out of our own bed...

On our last day, Eric and I went on one last Belgian date day and went over to my favorite cafe to grab some awesome tomato soup with a side of cappachino. It was a little depressing, to be honest. I went there so often that the staff knew me, it's always mellow so you can sit & people watch...and their coffee was ALWAYS awesome. Hopefully we'll find a place like that in New Mexico..so that seems to be something to add to our "treasure hunt" in terms of things to find. 

The day had finally arrived for us to leave...it was pretty sad, although, we didn't really have much time to dwell on it en-route to the airport. Once we rolled our six pieces of luggage and five carriers full of dogs, we were immediately directed over to a special ticketing area that takes care of...uhhh...individuals like ourselves, lol. After an hour of checking in, getting the dogs all situated and grabbing a quick lunch, it was time to board the plane and head off to beautiful California! The flight actually went pretty fast, at least to me...it didn't feel like an eleven hour flight, lol. I suppose taking naps and watching all the various "The Real Housewives of blah blah blah" killed time for me. I'm just relieved that we were able to get a straight shot flight from Amsterdam to San Francisco without having to deal with a ton of layovers. Oh, and KLM, if you happen to see this..I love you and your airline ROCKS!

We got to unwind for a few days before Eric had to head out and take care of business in terms of the home we're in the midst of buying. Yes, I stayed here in California while he and John jetted off to brave New Mexico. As of today, we're officially the owners of a home! I'm so excited! Eric went through all the paperwork earlier this week and signed off on everything, including my part of the paperwork with a handy dandy POA...he was displeased with the amount of writing he was required to do in order to officially get the  house. Oh well..he got the keys today and that's all that matters! lol

All the while, we're enjoying our time at Casa de Vandegrift. Izzy and the other furballs have taken quite a liking to my suite and it's awesome bed. You'd think they had been roughing it their whole life or something by the way they burrow into the bed ...

I've been plugging around, meeting up with friends and hanging out with family since my time here is limited. I have about a month left till I need to head on out to New Mexico...well, I'm guessing a month, but it all depends on when my vehicle shows up. Once Big Blue arrives, it's time for me to mosey on out of here so I can start decorating my new house :) I'm sure Eric will be relieved once I'm outta here so I'll stop haunting the Le Creuset place in addition to the various antique places around here...lol. 

I ended up getting a killer deal on a cast iron skillet, oval skillet, 2.5 qt container and a pie bird (all from Le Creuset) for 30% off in addition to another 40%...can you blame me for jumping on that sort of deal??

Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to start posting some more blogs as I run around California and throughout the trip to New Mexico for you guys. It's interesting trying to work on my iPad, then my Eee PC since my old faithful laptop isn't functioning at the moment...le sigh. 

Toodles!

Read More

When "push" comes to "shove"...

Welp, in a previous post, I talked about us being in the process of buying a home we really fell in love with that's located near our next assignment. 

We've been working on it since November, so, for the past two months...we've been dealing with paperwork, making my printer / scanner earn its keep, and going back and forth with the Sellers. For the most part, things were going rather smoothly....

 Blah blah blah. 

After an inspection was done on the home, some major things needed to be repaired and we weren't really willing to budge on it. The Sellers, apparently, had the same logic in terms of not budging when it comes to fixing the listed items. In my eyes, when an inspection report clearly states that parts of the roof need to be replaced, the furnace needs repair and the electrical system NEEDS to be looked at by a LICENSED Electrician, you can't just sweep that under the rug. Of course, we stood by what we wanted fixed in our "Objection, Resolution & Waiver Amendment" and that the major things we listed HAD to be resolved. Two weeks go by and the Sellers finally got back to us with basically saying "Yeaaaaaaaahhh....we'll fix the little diddly stuff that's not important *at all*, and we'll have our buddy check out the electrical system even though he kind of sorta knows what he's doing"... 

The picture above pretty much conveys how Eric & I feel. They weren't willing to negotiate anything. Not even some sort of wiggle room so we both win in the end. After talking at length with our Realtor, we finally decided to throw in the towel (at his suggestion) since the Sellers were basically trying to bulldoze sticking us with roof repairs, furnace replacement and various plumbing issues in addition to the electrical system. VERY frustrating since two months worth of work just went up in smoke. I realize it's all part of the big machine when it comes to buying a home...but, GAH! Although, it did feel good to sign off on the "Termination Agreement"...I just wish I could see the Sellers face and be like "SEE?? Being a turd doesn't pay!"

So, I hit the ground running and trolled through more real estate listings. It was a little discouraging at first since all the homes I *really* didn't like were still available, LOL. Nothing new had popped up. Le Sigh. I finally just had a map load with all the potential listings with the specs we were wanting and went through one by one....ugly kitchen here....no yard there....what's with that paint color?? I took A LOT of mental notes in terms of what *NOT* to do to our home when it comes to decor. 

Just when I was about to throw in the towel and sulk, I found it. I found a house with the exact same square footage, appearance and everything that the house we had originally put an offer on. AND, it has a gorgeously landscaped backyard, it's a nice chunk cheaper in terms of the asking price, there is an interior AND exterior fireplace, AND....AND!! And the homeowner is a Contractor, so he's taken exceptionally good care of the home and had made various improvements and upgrades to the property. SWOON! Of course, I instantly call our Realtor and go figure...he knows the guy since he was a Contractor for twenty years! AH! So, he was able to go over and check out the house, talked to him for a while about the whole terms and conditions...can I say I'm excited? No. Hopeful is a better word in this case. 

Here's a sneak peek of some of the pictures our Agent sent us: 

Apparently they're dog people. The funny thing is that Eric and I were planning on installing a doggy door just like this when we got a house. The fact that its already been done (installed properly with insulation), I think it's a sign!

A view of it from the inside:

There's a metal gate that leads out to the street from the backyard. Luckily, he was awesome and it's all  super secured so not just anyone can open it up and walk on in. Here's how it looks from the street:

Since it's kinda ugly to look at a metal gate, he actually framed it up with wood fencing to make it look better. I think he did an awesome job! Plus, there's a good amount of concrete under the fence line to help "dog proof" the area so little diggers like my ninjas can't get out. 

And here's how it ties together with the rest of the yard:

I'm VERY happy about the yard because of all the homes I've searched through, maybe two had nice backyards. It sounds silly, but I'm just stoked to see that much greenery even available considering we're moving to the desert and the majority of the homes have rock yards. Going from gorgeous Belgium to dirt is gonna be rough for me. So, this will help a little smidge.  

So, at this point in time, I'll just agree with the saying "Things happen for a reason". Hopefully everything goes SMOOTH with this house! Fingers crossed!

Read More

Afscheid 2012!

Time seems to have flown, especially since the movers will be coming next month to pick up our household items, then we'll be flying back to the States the following month. It's kind of crazy to me that it's already the end of the year, not to mention, our time in Belgium is almost up! 

Here's some memorable events from 2012: 

In January, I got to go to my first TNA Wrestling event with Eric over in Brussels. I mean, we traveled to London the year before, but Eric went to that event on his own while I chilled out at the hotel and got pampered at the spa. Hard life, right? Anyway, it was pretty cool to see in person, especially since the place wasn't super super packed and we got to sit fairly close to the ring :) 

In April, Eric went to Non-Commissioned Officers Academy and graduated! He was gone for a total of six weeks and he learned to be extra responsible, lol. I was (and still am) EXTREMELY proud of him! AND, he smiled willingly! VICTORY!

In June, I had a fabulous "girls trip" to Poland to do some more pottery shopping. We ended up staying at a place called "Palac Brunow" and it was absolutely AWESOME! 

In July, Eric and I celebrated our FIFTH wedding anniversary!! Oh my goodness! It feels like we just got married yesterday. It's rather crazy how much time has flown and all the things we've experienced together. Obviously, I'm looking forward to many...many more years together :D

In August, I got to see the last Flower Tapestry in Brussels for quite a long...long time. Hopefully Eric and I can come back for our ten year anniversary or something to see it again :) 

Oh, and we welcomed Grimm to the family in August :) He's a standard sized Wirehair Dachshund with a massive personality. Since his arrival, he's brought loads of entertainment, laughs and snuggles to our lives...he's definitely a perfect fit for our family.

In November, I got to spend my 30th birthday with Eric in Rome! We stayed at a fantastic B&B, got to see some amazing sites, and made some wonderful memories :)

Also in November, Eric, myself & a group of gals went to Poland to do our last round of shopping. I realize when I went in June, I said it was gonna be my last one...but obviously I couldn't stay away from the place. Not to mention, Eric was really wanting to go since he was jonsing for some Polish food. 

In December, we started the process of buying our first home! I'm SO excited!! I'm looking forward to having a place that's OURS rather than renting a place or living on base. Decorating ideas have been running through my mind non stop in addition to finding lots of things I can do in our soon to be new city. 

Hopefully, everyone will have a very Happy New year and start off 2013 on the right foot :)

Tomorrow, is the first blank page of a 365 page book.

 Write a good one.

Read More

Ramping Up

GAH! So much is going on!

I'm trying to keep track of all the stuff we're counting down to. Next month is going to be a complete whirl wind since I'll be going on a trip, packing to move, shipping to move, then twiddling my thumbs till it's time for us to leave. 

Like I mentioned, I'm going on a trip...to Scotland to be specific. I'm rather excited to get over there since I really REALLY wanna check out the castles. Plus, it's a gorgeous country. I mean, who wouldn't want to go there? 

Over the last week, we've been busy with appointments in order for us to get everything set up for the move. OH my gosh. There's SO much to get done, it's a little overwhelming. I still need to plow through my office to get it all organized for the movers. Not to mention, there's a lot of 220v we need to sell off since we obviously have no use for it when we're back in the States. I have a funny feeling that the movers are going to pack some of that stuff anyway because they'll literally pack anything / everything (including garbage). If any of those 220v items happen to hitch a ride to the US, at least we're going to a massive base where the odds of someone else moving to Europe is pretty high and we can still get rid of them...I'd just prefer not to deal with them at all, lol. 

THEN, I gotta ship off my beloved Xterra. That's going to be a little hard for me since she's my baby and I'm rather fond of having my independence. The last time we had to ship her off, the place where we dropped her off were jerks to me...wasn't exactly a good experience (in my eyes). Oh well, at least Eric and I will make the best of it since we'll be over by the French border and venture around there for a little bit...

Our flight has already been arranged to fly back to the States. I'm very...VERY sad about leaving Belgium. Well, Europe in general, but we're very very fond of our little Belgie. Luckily, the people in charge of our traveling managed to get us a straight shot to our destination since we're concerned about our fur babies enduring multiple layovers, especially since we'll be in transit when it's still fairly cold every where. 

Of course, once we're back in the States and get our bearings together just a smidge, Eric and I will be heading over to New Mexico to finish up all the paperwork required to get our home! I'm SO excited about having a place of our own! I've been corresponding with our Realtor ever since we found out where we were moving to ...finally found *the one* in terms of a home earlier this month and have been signing whatever we can. Luckily, a friend of mine was able to do a walk through on our behalf with the Realtor to make sure the house was on the "up & up"...gave us the lowdown and ultimately gave us the thumbs up. Like I said, I'm VERY excited to get our own place :) 

The fun part is the whole "waiting game" in terms of our stuff showing up. The guy in charge of the movers told us it'd take about 55 days for our household stuff to show up in New Mexico, and the same thing goes for my Xterra. What we'll probably end up doing is that I'll stay behind in California for a little bit in order to catch up with friends and family while Eric & John stick around in New Mexico since John needs to get back into school. My truck is actually being sent to California, so when that arrives, I'll be able to pick her up, hang out for a few days till Eric is able to meet up with me and then we'll tag team the drive back to New Mexico. LOTS and lots of work ahead of us...it's kind of crazy. I'm thinking that there really isn't going to be any sort of "relaxing" done until..hmmm...June. 

Aye aye aye..

PS: Like my new signature? I was fiddling with an app on my iPad and I was able to bust out with the way I actually sign my name. Now I'm all super legit..WOOT! 

Read More

Decorating Dreams

As I've mentioned in a few posts, we'll be moving to New Mexico at the beginning of 2013. The upside to the whole thing is that we're working on getting our own home. OUR OWN HOME! OURS! Not the Air Forces...not a rental...OURS! I'm over the moon about the whole things considering I'd FINALLY get to decorate my house the way I'd want to. When you live in base housing, you pay out the wazoo to fix things (like a smudge on the carpet, or a pin hole in the wall from hanging a picture)...and landlords can be jerk offs when it comes down to you changing wall colors and, again, pesky holes from pictures. 

In my current house, I only have a total of eight things on the walls...it's a little depressing. And I was only able to do that because the holes were existing. If you didn't know any better, you'd think we hated family pictures or something. SO, first thing in our new home is that ALLLLL the fun family pictures we've taken over the years will go up! Yippy! 

One thing that I'd love to do is paint our stairs to look like iconic books. This is a FABULOUS example of what I'm talking about! We're all book nerds, so this would be very appropriate for us:

There's a closet right off to the side when you come in the front door. I'm thinking about making it like a "coat rack" sort of area where Eric can hang all of his junk, in addition to an area where I can hang my purse so it's not taking up space on the counter. I'm torn between the two different ways it can be done, but I'm sort of digging the first option:

Of course, I want to install roll out shelves in the closets for bath towels and various bedding things..

When it comes to the kitchen, I want to do something sort of like this (but in a toned down color) by using a flat paint then doing designs in the same color, but with a gloss finish. I think it'd really pick up the scroll designs on the kitchen table as well as the hutch we have: 

The main project I'm going to do is going to be awesome. Time consuming, but very awesome. I've wanted to do a family tree painting for quite some time, but since we're never allowed to paint on walls that didn't belong to us, I had to sit and bide my time. Here's an example of what I'm talking about:

Well, now that we'll have our own house, I can actually do the mural!!! After searching for a while in terms of something that tickled my fancy, I finally stumbled across a very colorful tree picture that would be *perfect* as a family tree for our families:

Now I just gotta do the footwork to get old pictures from when various family members were kids, or when they got married to add to the mix. I'm rather stoked to start that project once we're all settled in. Eric's pretty excited about it himself because he wants to see how OUR home is going to turn out once we're finished with it. 

Of course, there's lots and lots of other stuff I wanna do, especially since I'll still have a fair amount of free time on my hands till I manage to find some sort of job to pass my time. I'm already working on getting stuff set up for John in terms of a school...that should be fun!

At this time, we're still in the works for the house, but we've put an offer down, it was countered and we've settled on it. Actually, I just got an email while I'm writing this that the offer was accepted, so YAY! Still lots of stuff to do, but it's inching ever so closer to obtaining a home for us to...well..come home to when we move! 

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Read More