When I think about spending another month in limbo it makes me cry. I have to be honest: this past month has been really hard and I just don't know if I have another month of this in me. We are still living out of the suitcases we packed on July 30th and both Emerson and I are rapidly growing out of our clothing. Working from home, I spend more time than is good for me sitting at my laptop in this dim apartment and my time outdoors is usually spent walking around the parking lot with Emerson looking at the moon in the pre-dawn darkness rather than face the wildlife indoors.
The people I complain to say encouraging things like "one month will go by so quickly you'll hardly notice it," and while I want to believe them, this past month has been an eternity and it seems certain the next month will only be longer. Not knowing for sure which neighborhood we will be in has made us hesitant to start meeting people or get involved in local activities. For example, I took Emerson to try out a music class but am reluctant to sign up for the full session because if we end up in a different neighborhood it will be a long drive for no reason and all the moms and kids we would become friends with will live far away from us. So we will wait until we actually live somewhere.
Do you see how right I am to sit around feeling sorry for myself?
One bright spot: this weekend my brother Andrew will be joining us as we head out to New Smyrna Beach to hang out with a whole bunch of family, include Emerson's second cousin Lucy who is just a few years younger than he is. I think it is going to be a lot of fun.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Tropical living
Here we are, living in the tropics. This whole adventure still sometimes just feels like a really long, sometimes horrible, vacation and I think the palm trees, hot days and frequent thunderstorms contribute to the feeling that this is not really home. It may take a while to sink in that we are now tropical people.
While I shudder to put it in print, we now have experience with another aspect of tropical living: chihuahua-sized cockroaches. Living with us.
So far, I have only seen them between 5 and 6am when I am up with Emerson, and the same is true of Eric. I now refer to that as "Roach o'clock" or sometimes "The Cockroach Hour" which is funny to me because it sounds like a news show put on by cockroaches. I think the headlines would focus on pieces of food Emerson hides around the apartment and when someone forgets to run the garbage disposal before bed.
The funniest part about the cockroach encounters for me was how delighted Emerson was to see them. In his mind, these are just like the lizards he is fascinated by outdoors, but they run around on our kitchen counter and are as big as his hands. He loves them. They should clearly be welcomed, not shunned, and he got really agitated when I tried to trap one to put outside (ridiculous, I know, but I don't have the stomach to try to squish these things - waaaay too much crunching given how big they are).
Other than that this rental condo continues to be good enough for now. Sure, there are holes in the towels and the small bed Eric and I share is really more of a trampoline than a mattress: when he rolls over, I get three feet of air. But I just keep reminding myself that our bed will be here soon (probably). The home inspection of the place we have under contract is tomorrow, so I guess we will know more after that.
While I shudder to put it in print, we now have experience with another aspect of tropical living: chihuahua-sized cockroaches. Living with us.
So far, I have only seen them between 5 and 6am when I am up with Emerson, and the same is true of Eric. I now refer to that as "Roach o'clock" or sometimes "The Cockroach Hour" which is funny to me because it sounds like a news show put on by cockroaches. I think the headlines would focus on pieces of food Emerson hides around the apartment and when someone forgets to run the garbage disposal before bed.
The funniest part about the cockroach encounters for me was how delighted Emerson was to see them. In his mind, these are just like the lizards he is fascinated by outdoors, but they run around on our kitchen counter and are as big as his hands. He loves them. They should clearly be welcomed, not shunned, and he got really agitated when I tried to trap one to put outside (ridiculous, I know, but I don't have the stomach to try to squish these things - waaaay too much crunching given how big they are).
Other than that this rental condo continues to be good enough for now. Sure, there are holes in the towels and the small bed Eric and I share is really more of a trampoline than a mattress: when he rolls over, I get three feet of air. But I just keep reminding myself that our bed will be here soon (probably). The home inspection of the place we have under contract is tomorrow, so I guess we will know more after that.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Other major life event update: Groucho
I met with my Tampa midwife (and her two kids) this morning for our first visit. Given everything else that is going on right now it can be easy (for others) to forget that in addition to trying to buy a house, work full time, adjust to a brand new place and be an attentive and nurturing mother and wife, my body is in the process of growing another human being right now.
It was actually great that her kids came along because they entertained Emerson while Rebecca and I talked about how my pregnancy is going. The short answer: all is well, though I am pretty tired and wish I had more opportunity to exercise.
I spent a lot of my first pregnancy wondering what labor would be like. I know now (and remember pretty vividly) what labor #1 was like* and I especially like it when people tell me that labor #2 is usually faster (but not always). But mostly I just focus on having this second little guy around to hang out with - which I tried to think about the first time around but had so little idea what to actually expect that it was quite intangible. Now I know how much fun it is to get to know this little person as he learns, grows and explores. The idea of having two little boys around the house, no matter how messy it means that house will be, is very exciting. I can hardly wait to meet Groucho (and I am glad that we still have a few months to get ready for that big event.)
*I would gladly do the ice water exercise straight for a week to skip the pain of labor. (But I won't do the epidural. Aren't I fascinating and complex?)
It was actually great that her kids came along because they entertained Emerson while Rebecca and I talked about how my pregnancy is going. The short answer: all is well, though I am pretty tired and wish I had more opportunity to exercise.
I spent a lot of my first pregnancy wondering what labor would be like. I know now (and remember pretty vividly) what labor #1 was like* and I especially like it when people tell me that labor #2 is usually faster (but not always). But mostly I just focus on having this second little guy around to hang out with - which I tried to think about the first time around but had so little idea what to actually expect that it was quite intangible. Now I know how much fun it is to get to know this little person as he learns, grows and explores. The idea of having two little boys around the house, no matter how messy it means that house will be, is very exciting. I can hardly wait to meet Groucho (and I am glad that we still have a few months to get ready for that big event.)
*I would gladly do the ice water exercise straight for a week to skip the pain of labor. (But I won't do the epidural. Aren't I fascinating and complex?)
Thursday, August 18, 2011
No ego
The counter-offer on the offer we submitted on the cathouse was higher than we wanted it to be, but not by that much.
The dilemma: negotiate hard and risk the deal falling through or swallow our pride and accept the house at what is still an excellent price with excellent terms. I like to win. But I had to ask myself what "winning" really means at this point. If winning is about getting what you want at a good price, then we definitely won.
Just verbal agreement for now; we should have the fully executed contract tomorrow. Ahhhhhh!
I am not going to post the photos or address here because this is the Internet and that would be dumb but I will send them around via email so you can check it all out.
Oh my God. We may be homeowners soon. (So adult-sounding, no?)
The dilemma: negotiate hard and risk the deal falling through or swallow our pride and accept the house at what is still an excellent price with excellent terms. I like to win. But I had to ask myself what "winning" really means at this point. If winning is about getting what you want at a good price, then we definitely won.
Just verbal agreement for now; we should have the fully executed contract tomorrow. Ahhhhhh!
I am not going to post the photos or address here because this is the Internet and that would be dumb but I will send them around via email so you can check it all out.
Oh my God. We may be homeowners soon. (So adult-sounding, no?)
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Offer #3
I'm not sure I ever posted the outcome of offer #2: they decided to take their house off the market because the work transfer that had prompted the move had fallen through. Boooo!
After much deliberation, we decided to put in an offer on one of the houses we saw on Sunday. We refer to it as "the cathouse" because it is currently inhabited by two cats (in addition to the owners). This was how we came to distinguish it from the ten other places we saw; they blur together really quickly. (Other places were: the jungle house, the bad carpeting house, the busy street house, etc.)
The emotional process of buying a house is actually pretty complex: you need to get attached enough to a place that you are willing to put in an offer, but you can't get too attached because it may or may not work out and you don't want to get too invested and pay more for it than you really mean to.
We'll see. As we know, anything can happen.
After much deliberation, we decided to put in an offer on one of the houses we saw on Sunday. We refer to it as "the cathouse" because it is currently inhabited by two cats (in addition to the owners). This was how we came to distinguish it from the ten other places we saw; they blur together really quickly. (Other places were: the jungle house, the bad carpeting house, the busy street house, etc.)
The emotional process of buying a house is actually pretty complex: you need to get attached enough to a place that you are willing to put in an offer, but you can't get too attached because it may or may not work out and you don't want to get too invested and pay more for it than you really mean to.
We'll see. As we know, anything can happen.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Trip within a trip
It is a bad sign that the St Louis Westin is the place in the world where I feel most at home right now.
It's nice to be home, even if only for a night.
It's nice to be home, even if only for a night.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Back to Tampa
Our two weeks at the beach came to an end today. We packed everything up into Roy, climbed in and drove up to "move in" to our temporary furnished rental which we will stay in month to month until we either find a house to buy or give up looking and get a long-term rental.
Our temporary furnished rental is a two bedroom ground floor condo in a condo complex called Grand Key. It is on a major street and across the street from a Lowe's, among other large stores. It has some nice perks like a shared pool and a small fitness center. The condo itself is exactly what you would expect from a temporary furnished rental: I would rate it a medium on a scale of grim-ness.*
It is good that the "master" bedroom has an enormous closet because that can be Emerson's room while my mother stays with us to help out for a while. It turns out that the day before she came down here for a week-long visit she was informed that she had lost her job. Eric and I were sure to say how sorry we were before eagerly asking if she might be willing to stay with us and look after Emerson while I finish up this project for work. She agreed, so she gets the second bedroom. Sometimes things do seem to just work out.
After moving all of our stuff into the condo, we went out for another marathon day of house-hunting. We saw 11 places all in a new part of town called Westchase. We have seen everything there is to see in South Tampa within our price range it is all garbage. We have seen good places come on the market in our price range so we know it isn't impossible but it seems like it will take a while and I am not sure we have that kind of endurance at this point. Westchase is a little further out and it is subdivision-land, but it has great schools and we will be able to get more space for our money. Eric says he is willing to do the extra driving. This does mean we would need to get a second car.
Of the 11 we saw, a few places have potential. We're going to sleep on it and see what clarity we have. I go to St Louis in the morning for a few days so maybe that will bring extra perspective as well.
*Not a scale of grim to great, but a scale of really grim to not too grim.
Our temporary furnished rental is a two bedroom ground floor condo in a condo complex called Grand Key. It is on a major street and across the street from a Lowe's, among other large stores. It has some nice perks like a shared pool and a small fitness center. The condo itself is exactly what you would expect from a temporary furnished rental: I would rate it a medium on a scale of grim-ness.*
It is good that the "master" bedroom has an enormous closet because that can be Emerson's room while my mother stays with us to help out for a while. It turns out that the day before she came down here for a week-long visit she was informed that she had lost her job. Eric and I were sure to say how sorry we were before eagerly asking if she might be willing to stay with us and look after Emerson while I finish up this project for work. She agreed, so she gets the second bedroom. Sometimes things do seem to just work out.
After moving all of our stuff into the condo, we went out for another marathon day of house-hunting. We saw 11 places all in a new part of town called Westchase. We have seen everything there is to see in South Tampa within our price range it is all garbage. We have seen good places come on the market in our price range so we know it isn't impossible but it seems like it will take a while and I am not sure we have that kind of endurance at this point. Westchase is a little further out and it is subdivision-land, but it has great schools and we will be able to get more space for our money. Eric says he is willing to do the extra driving. This does mean we would need to get a second car.
Of the 11 we saw, a few places have potential. We're going to sleep on it and see what clarity we have. I go to St Louis in the morning for a few days so maybe that will bring extra perspective as well.
*Not a scale of grim to great, but a scale of really grim to not too grim.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Birthday!
Today I turned 33.
It was a tropical birthday this year and when I got done with my work I was able to take Emerson for a swim before dinner. He has just loved being outside and being in the water as much as possible while we have had this idyllic beach-front set-up. It has been lucky, as well, because he has had the bad luck of having an extremely painful mouth infection while also getting some new teeth and we are putting on a 24 hour three ring circus to keep him distracted from the pain. Today was the worst day yet in terms of his level of misery. Poor guy. The water does seem to help.
My mother, who will be staying with us until the end of September, made spinach cheese pie to celebrate (it is the traditional birthday meal of my childhood) and we also had cake and ice cream.
Tomorrow I get a massage.
Eric commented that this was the mellowist birthday celebration I have had since he has known me. It's true: I tend to love to do it up on my birthday in a big way. But this year celebrating with family, good food, a good night's sleep and the promise of a massage was pretty much exactly what I needed.
Well, and a house. But we'll get that part figured out soon.
It was a tropical birthday this year and when I got done with my work I was able to take Emerson for a swim before dinner. He has just loved being outside and being in the water as much as possible while we have had this idyllic beach-front set-up. It has been lucky, as well, because he has had the bad luck of having an extremely painful mouth infection while also getting some new teeth and we are putting on a 24 hour three ring circus to keep him distracted from the pain. Today was the worst day yet in terms of his level of misery. Poor guy. The water does seem to help.
My mother, who will be staying with us until the end of September, made spinach cheese pie to celebrate (it is the traditional birthday meal of my childhood) and we also had cake and ice cream.
Tomorrow I get a massage.
Eric commented that this was the mellowist birthday celebration I have had since he has known me. It's true: I tend to love to do it up on my birthday in a big way. But this year celebrating with family, good food, a good night's sleep and the promise of a massage was pretty much exactly what I needed.
Well, and a house. But we'll get that part figured out soon.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Who invited the homeless lady
To say that I am not 100% on top of my game right now would be…true. Let me share an example.
During the pre-move chaos I packed a handful of work-acceptable maternity clothes into my next-two-months suitcase (everything else went to storage where it will be until we are successful in buying a house or we give up trying) but they are ill-fitting and don’t really go so well together. So for my Chicago work trip, knowing that I would be among extremely fashion-conscious women, I opted for the least bad combo: black pants that could fit two of me, a light blue knit top that isn’t quite long enough and a light grey jacket that I can’t button over my belly. Add to that that something about the Florida water has turned my hair to greasy straw. Also, I realized the morning of the meeting about 10 minutes before the bus was leaving that I haven’t plucked my eyebrows in about a month and I didn’t have any tweezers with me. And my shoes may be a little too well-worn.
On the bus ride to the meeting, my Luna bar flaked a little chocolate coating onto my blue shirt right in the middle of my belly. I tried to dab it off but it turned into a big brown spot. Remember: jacket doesn’t button. Instead, it calls attention to the big stain by framing it just so.
I pretend that all is well and I take my active role in leading this meeting, trying not to notice how sharp everyone else looks.
Several hours into the meeting, during the morning break, I go to the bathroom and notice that the prominent silver necklace and earrings that I am wearing – accessories! my one bright spot! – clash horribly with the large black and gold buttons on the grey jacket.
I am happy to say that in spite of all of this, the meeting went extremely well and we got to a very exciting outcome.
I am also now accepting suggestions for professional make-over packages in the Tampa area.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Thank you Dollar Rent-a-Car man
I used my trip to the airport to return the rental car that we no longer need now that Roy is back with us.
An older gentleman checked in the car and gave me my receipt. Then he asked me if he could tell me something. I said OK.
"You look very beautiful this morning," he told me.
I am sure he says that to everyone but I choose to believe that he meant it with me.
An older gentleman checked in the car and gave me my receipt. Then he asked me if he could tell me something. I said OK.
"You look very beautiful this morning," he told me.
I am sure he says that to everyone but I choose to believe that he meant it with me.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Going away
I head to Chicago tomorrow morning and won't be back in home sweet Florida until very late Wednesday night. I have been nervous about this trip because I don't want to freak Emerson out by disappearing for such a long time. He is more sensitive than usual to my whereabouts these days, understandably, and he still doesn't quite understand when I explain to him that I will be back soon. He will be in good hands with his dad and his Gama while I am gone, so I know I don't really need to worry, but I probably still will.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Our car is not stolen
Against all the odds, Roy arrived tonight.
Eric got the call around 5:30pm from the pair who have been transporting him across the country saying that they were about 3 hours away. He got another call at 10pm saying they were just up the street. We went out to meet them.
I was excited to see the huge car carrier trailer, but I was actually even more excited to see that they had left it a mile away at a shopping center, unloaded Roy and another car, and drove just the cars to the little condo driveway on a narrow road with a number of very tight turns.
The young-ish hispanic woman jumped out of Roy and the older black man hopped out of the other car and you would have thought they just got off of a theme park roller coaster: they were giddy and both talking a mile a minute. It seems they have had quite an adventure coming to Florida.
"I had 18 blow-outs on this trip," the guy told me.*
"We got stuck in this little town in New Mexico. It didn't even have a Wal-mart!" explained the lady.
"I got one guy, he's got a silver Chrysler 300**, and he threatened to call the police on me!" shared the guy.
"Wow," Eric said. "Some people!***"
They gave us $50 off for being a week late.
Eric pulled Roy into a parking spot and observed that he smelled different than when we last saw him almost two weeks ago.
"He's been sleeping with someone else," he commented sadly.
It's good to have him back!
*I had to go back up to get the cash from the condo so I missed the story, but Eric explained to me later that it had been the same wheel that blew out 18 times because there was something wrong with how it was attached. I'm not sure if this is more or less likely than every single wheel blowing out on the 18 wheel trailer.
**It was definitely silver. Not sure about the rest of it, though.
***We thought about calling the police but never actually picked up a phone to do it.
Eric got the call around 5:30pm from the pair who have been transporting him across the country saying that they were about 3 hours away. He got another call at 10pm saying they were just up the street. We went out to meet them.
I was excited to see the huge car carrier trailer, but I was actually even more excited to see that they had left it a mile away at a shopping center, unloaded Roy and another car, and drove just the cars to the little condo driveway on a narrow road with a number of very tight turns.
The young-ish hispanic woman jumped out of Roy and the older black man hopped out of the other car and you would have thought they just got off of a theme park roller coaster: they were giddy and both talking a mile a minute. It seems they have had quite an adventure coming to Florida.
"I had 18 blow-outs on this trip," the guy told me.*
"We got stuck in this little town in New Mexico. It didn't even have a Wal-mart!" explained the lady.
"I got one guy, he's got a silver Chrysler 300**, and he threatened to call the police on me!" shared the guy.
"Wow," Eric said. "Some people!***"
They gave us $50 off for being a week late.
Eric pulled Roy into a parking spot and observed that he smelled different than when we last saw him almost two weeks ago.
"He's been sleeping with someone else," he commented sadly.
It's good to have him back!
*I had to go back up to get the cash from the condo so I missed the story, but Eric explained to me later that it had been the same wheel that blew out 18 times because there was something wrong with how it was attached. I'm not sure if this is more or less likely than every single wheel blowing out on the 18 wheel trailer.
**It was definitely silver. Not sure about the rest of it, though.
***We thought about calling the police but never actually picked up a phone to do it.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Observations from inside the Florida housing market
If I had to explain the Florida residential housing market to a "non real estate" person I would say that it is like a party with a lot of men and a small number of homely women.*
Here's what that adds up to: a lot of dumpy, poorly dressed, awkwardly built or just plain ugly women are walking around looking for someone to talk to, dance with, just stand near - anything! And they are getting no attention whatsoever.
Then a moderately pretty woman arrives at the party and while this woman is really, truly nothing special, she suddenly has men elbowing each other out the way to buy her a drink. She ends up with multiple drinks and will definitely go home with someone above her true attractiveness level.
If a truly lovely woman were to arrive at the party, she would probably be mauled and torn limb from limb by over-desperate admirers.
It is starting to feel like we might be leaving this party without a date.
*Some would describe this as "business school."
Here's what that adds up to: a lot of dumpy, poorly dressed, awkwardly built or just plain ugly women are walking around looking for someone to talk to, dance with, just stand near - anything! And they are getting no attention whatsoever.
Then a moderately pretty woman arrives at the party and while this woman is really, truly nothing special, she suddenly has men elbowing each other out the way to buy her a drink. She ends up with multiple drinks and will definitely go home with someone above her true attractiveness level.
If a truly lovely woman were to arrive at the party, she would probably be mauled and torn limb from limb by over-desperate admirers.
It is starting to feel like we might be leaving this party without a date.
*Some would describe this as "business school."
Friday, August 5, 2011
Friday night showdown
Now that my mother is here with us in Florida, Eric and I have had the chance to get out in the evenings, which feels like quite a luxury.
Tonight we explored the Friday night scene on Anna Maria Island. We wandered down the city pier watching way more people that I would have expected fishing and even catching things. We got an ice cream cone at "Two Scoops," an average ice creameria. We watched this sunset:
Then the real fun began. And by real fun, I mean mini-golf.
The mini-golf course we stumbled upon was fish-themed (each hole was named after a Florida fish) and its most distinctive feature was the mist machines behind hard-blowing fans which created a moist, hurricane-like environment in the tightly arranged holes. Every time I took a breath the word "biofilm" echoed through my head, and occasionally Eric would comment on which mist machines likely had the highest concentration of legionella. (This is what you get when you marry a microbiologist.)
We jockeyed back and forth for the lead the first nine. Starting the back nine I fell a few strokes behind and got worried. So I changed the rules: each hole required a different physical challenge, and we would alternate choosing the challenge.
First one (12th hole) was standing only on your left leg. Pretty tame. Second one was one-handed.
Third one: behind the back. Eric ended up shooting from behind the back through his legs and did pretty well in spite of a giggling fit right before his second shot.
Fourth one: holding the putter between your knees with you hands above your head ("roller coaster arms"). We had an audience for this one and while they were a little skeptical of my practice swings, they changed their tune after I knocked the ball cleanly down the green toward the hole with a satisfying click. Eric had a solid knee knock as well but the audience wasn't quite as impressed, maybe because he wasn't wearing a skirt.
Fifth one: billiards style. Down on your knees and elbows using the putter like a pool cue. I was the one with the giggling problem on this hole.
Sixth one: blind. Face away from the hole, close eyes, then turn around, place your ball and take your best shot. Do not open those eyes just yet! Your partner leads you with your eyes closed to your ball and places your hand on the ball, then the hole. I sunk it in 2 strokes total. Eric needed 4. This was where things really started to change for me.
18th hole: using the heel of the putter only. This hole had a stream running through the middle of it and required a soft touch that was simply not possible with the heel. Even better, there were three very old men sitting in rocking chairs watching us play the 18th hole. I have no idea what they were doing there. I can only imagine how silly they thought we were, hitting the balls with the wrong side of the club and landing them in the drink again and again and again (5 times for me, 7 for Eric). We did, finally, manage to get the balls into the hole, and my victory was sealed.
Then Eric won the "plinko" to get a free game. So I guess in the end it was kind of a tie.
Tonight we explored the Friday night scene on Anna Maria Island. We wandered down the city pier watching way more people that I would have expected fishing and even catching things. We got an ice cream cone at "Two Scoops," an average ice creameria. We watched this sunset:
Then the real fun began. And by real fun, I mean mini-golf.
The mini-golf course we stumbled upon was fish-themed (each hole was named after a Florida fish) and its most distinctive feature was the mist machines behind hard-blowing fans which created a moist, hurricane-like environment in the tightly arranged holes. Every time I took a breath the word "biofilm" echoed through my head, and occasionally Eric would comment on which mist machines likely had the highest concentration of legionella. (This is what you get when you marry a microbiologist.)
We jockeyed back and forth for the lead the first nine. Starting the back nine I fell a few strokes behind and got worried. So I changed the rules: each hole required a different physical challenge, and we would alternate choosing the challenge.
First one (12th hole) was standing only on your left leg. Pretty tame. Second one was one-handed.
Third one: behind the back. Eric ended up shooting from behind the back through his legs and did pretty well in spite of a giggling fit right before his second shot.
Fourth one: holding the putter between your knees with you hands above your head ("roller coaster arms"). We had an audience for this one and while they were a little skeptical of my practice swings, they changed their tune after I knocked the ball cleanly down the green toward the hole with a satisfying click. Eric had a solid knee knock as well but the audience wasn't quite as impressed, maybe because he wasn't wearing a skirt.
Fifth one: billiards style. Down on your knees and elbows using the putter like a pool cue. I was the one with the giggling problem on this hole.
Sixth one: blind. Face away from the hole, close eyes, then turn around, place your ball and take your best shot. Do not open those eyes just yet! Your partner leads you with your eyes closed to your ball and places your hand on the ball, then the hole. I sunk it in 2 strokes total. Eric needed 4. This was where things really started to change for me.
18th hole: using the heel of the putter only. This hole had a stream running through the middle of it and required a soft touch that was simply not possible with the heel. Even better, there were three very old men sitting in rocking chairs watching us play the 18th hole. I have no idea what they were doing there. I can only imagine how silly they thought we were, hitting the balls with the wrong side of the club and landing them in the drink again and again and again (5 times for me, 7 for Eric). We did, finally, manage to get the balls into the hole, and my victory was sealed.
Then Eric won the "plinko" to get a free game. So I guess in the end it was kind of a tie.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
At the beach
I like it here.
Emerson had a great time playing in the pool and the Gulf today; he made happy, excited noises pretty much constantly all day except when he got the occasional taste of Gulf water and then he scrunched up his face and stuck his tongue way out. But mostly, he had a ball.
I got my work done and still had time to go for a swim with Eric and Emerson and a short walk along the beach. Eric saw a ray with a white under-side jump out of the water, or so he says. I saw a big splash but it could have been a small meteorite or something, you never know.
It is H-O-T here but I am enjoying it. I have made the unreasonable demand that the air conditioning at the condo be set to 85 degrees and so far Eric is going along with it. He might just think it is funny to see me working on my laptop in my bathing suit all day. I think it is very pleasant and will help us acclimatize well to our steamy new home state.
My mother arrives late tomorrow evening. Eric and I are looking forward to seeing her and spending time together here (and having the chance to leave the condo together after 6pm).
Emerson had a great time playing in the pool and the Gulf today; he made happy, excited noises pretty much constantly all day except when he got the occasional taste of Gulf water and then he scrunched up his face and stuck his tongue way out. But mostly, he had a ball.
I got my work done and still had time to go for a swim with Eric and Emerson and a short walk along the beach. Eric saw a ray with a white under-side jump out of the water, or so he says. I saw a big splash but it could have been a small meteorite or something, you never know.
It is H-O-T here but I am enjoying it. I have made the unreasonable demand that the air conditioning at the condo be set to 85 degrees and so far Eric is going along with it. He might just think it is funny to see me working on my laptop in my bathing suit all day. I think it is very pleasant and will help us acclimatize well to our steamy new home state.
My mother arrives late tomorrow evening. Eric and I are looking forward to seeing her and spending time together here (and having the chance to leave the condo together after 6pm).
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Day 2
Today we secured that hotel-ish short-term furnished apartment. I made the lease guy sit in the car with me to review and sign the papers because Emerson had fallen asleep in the car on the drive to meet him. Eric, meanwhile, was picking up his new work computer and scoping out his new office. He reported that the computer is "gorgeous" (goes without saying: it's a Mac) and that his office overlooks a dome.
The other big development of the day is that we put in an offer on our favorite house from yesterday. We went back to see the house again today and it was still great so we decided to give it a whirl. This new realtor is a crafty negotiator and during our second walk-through today she was already laying some groundwork for our offer. ("I was looking up comps and couldn't find anything in this area to support your list price. Could you send me some of the comps that you used to come up with this price?" to which the reply was "We know the house is currently overpriced...") So we put together an offer at the realtor's office while Emerson ran around and the realtor sent it over. Let's see what happens! We should hear something back by end of day Thursday. I feel like we should buy a lotto ticket too just to see.
It continues to be about 98 degrees during the day, and it has become clear that Emerson has my complexion: he and I both get quite flushed in this heat. Eric has taken to calling us his "pinks," as in "Just sitting here eating lunch with my pinks," which he said today at Crazy Ray's Deli.
After all this action, we hot-footed it to the beach! Some friends who have a condo on Anna Maria Island are letting us stay there for the price of the air conditioning (thank you!!). We arrived around 6pm after getting groceries on the way. It feels great to be in a relaxing spot, though I am actually back at work tomorrow so it won't really be a vacation, even though I hope it feels like one, at least some of the time.
The other big development of the day is that we put in an offer on our favorite house from yesterday. We went back to see the house again today and it was still great so we decided to give it a whirl. This new realtor is a crafty negotiator and during our second walk-through today she was already laying some groundwork for our offer. ("I was looking up comps and couldn't find anything in this area to support your list price. Could you send me some of the comps that you used to come up with this price?" to which the reply was "We know the house is currently overpriced...") So we put together an offer at the realtor's office while Emerson ran around and the realtor sent it over. Let's see what happens! We should hear something back by end of day Thursday. I feel like we should buy a lotto ticket too just to see.
It continues to be about 98 degrees during the day, and it has become clear that Emerson has my complexion: he and I both get quite flushed in this heat. Eric has taken to calling us his "pinks," as in "Just sitting here eating lunch with my pinks," which he said today at Crazy Ray's Deli.
After all this action, we hot-footed it to the beach! Some friends who have a condo on Anna Maria Island are letting us stay there for the price of the air conditioning (thank you!!). We arrived around 6pm after getting groceries on the way. It feels great to be in a relaxing spot, though I am actually back at work tomorrow so it won't really be a vacation, even though I hope it feels like one, at least some of the time.
Monday, August 1, 2011
All of it is happening
I am proud to say I went to the gym this morning. It is a particularly easy thing to do when all it requires is a short elevator ride, plus I am reading Bossypants on my kindle and it was really just an excuse to go read.
When I got back to the room Eric had called Joe, the guy who loaded Roy onto his big car-carrying truck almost a week ago.
"I'm not gonna make it," Joe told Eric by phone this morning.
"Wha-what?" Eric responded.*
"Air bag blew out on me. I'm in New Mexico waiting on replacement parts. I'll let you know when I expect to be getting to Florida."
And that was that. Our car may or may not actually be stolen. If it was, at least we have a video of it happening.
From there, we went to tour some day care centers in Tampa that we are thinking about sending Emerson to until I wrap up at work in the next few months. None of them were bad, they were just so day care-y. I'm sure a 1:6 teacher to 18 month old ratio makes sense when one is regulating this sort of thing, but I don't think I am quite ready for Emerson to be competing for affection and attention with five other children for most of his waking life starting in two weeks. I know there would be good things for him in a program like this and one option could be to do a half-day program so he can have some fun with the other little ones every day, but also still get cuddled plenty at home.
Then we did some house-hunting. We spent a few hours with a new realtor** looking at eight places up for sale. Unexpectedly, we feel a lot less pressure now to find something good than I think we did when we were here before. Which is good, because most of these places were not so great. However, one of them was great and a couple of others were potentially good runners-up. We are thinking about making an offer on the one we liked which is pretty exciting and, in a sign that either I have more fully accepted our move to Tampa or my crazy pregnancy hormones have stabilized somewhat, doesn't make me want to sob uncontrollably.
We also looked at two rentals - one short-term furnished joint that reminded me of the Sheraton in Key West (in case we want to buy), and an unfurnished place which I would suggest to a location scout is perfect for a miniseries about a tropical flop-house (in case we strike out).
I need to get to bed soon but there were a few other highlights from the day as well:
*I don't know for sure how this part of the conversation went because I was at the gym, but I suspect I am pretty close.
**The woman we worked with back in May was a nitwit. This new woman is a lot better.
When I got back to the room Eric had called Joe, the guy who loaded Roy onto his big car-carrying truck almost a week ago.
"I'm not gonna make it," Joe told Eric by phone this morning.
"Wha-what?" Eric responded.*
"Air bag blew out on me. I'm in New Mexico waiting on replacement parts. I'll let you know when I expect to be getting to Florida."
And that was that. Our car may or may not actually be stolen. If it was, at least we have a video of it happening.
From there, we went to tour some day care centers in Tampa that we are thinking about sending Emerson to until I wrap up at work in the next few months. None of them were bad, they were just so day care-y. I'm sure a 1:6 teacher to 18 month old ratio makes sense when one is regulating this sort of thing, but I don't think I am quite ready for Emerson to be competing for affection and attention with five other children for most of his waking life starting in two weeks. I know there would be good things for him in a program like this and one option could be to do a half-day program so he can have some fun with the other little ones every day, but also still get cuddled plenty at home.
Then we did some house-hunting. We spent a few hours with a new realtor** looking at eight places up for sale. Unexpectedly, we feel a lot less pressure now to find something good than I think we did when we were here before. Which is good, because most of these places were not so great. However, one of them was great and a couple of others were potentially good runners-up. We are thinking about making an offer on the one we liked which is pretty exciting and, in a sign that either I have more fully accepted our move to Tampa or my crazy pregnancy hormones have stabilized somewhat, doesn't make me want to sob uncontrollably.
We also looked at two rentals - one short-term furnished joint that reminded me of the Sheraton in Key West (in case we want to buy), and an unfurnished place which I would suggest to a location scout is perfect for a miniseries about a tropical flop-house (in case we strike out).
I need to get to bed soon but there were a few other highlights from the day as well:
- As we were driving away from the hotel this morning, having driven in this rental SUV for approximately 10 miles coming in from the airport last night, Eric said, "Wow, we've already gone through half a gas tank." I was halfway through saying "Are you happy with your choice?" when I realized what a funny joke he was making. In my defense, I was really hungry.
- The highlight of Emerson's day was clear: we stopped at Publix to get a few supplies and they have these special carts for kids where the kid faces away from you and there's a little steering wheel for them to "drive" the cart as you push it around. The only time I have seen him happier is poking at Sarah and Rob's poor, tolerant cats.
- We also took him to a park for a little while from 3:30 to 4:30 in the afternoon. It was an adorable park in a family-oriented neighborhood and we were the only people there the whole time. Where was everyone? It might have been the thunderheads and the occasional actual thunder but it wasn't actually raining and in fact the air was noticeably cooler for a little while there.
- We went back to the Mexican restaurant where we ate our first Tampa meal ever last time we were here and it was as delicious and salty and greasy as we remembered it. Emerson, who eats no added salt in his food, gulped water after every bite I gave him.
- We needed to get some milk for Emerson on the way home from dinner because the milk we had been driving around in the hot car all day had lost its appeal. Eric's idea: the Krispy Kreme drive through, because apparently they sell milk. ("They have to!" Eric explained to me.) And of course, you can't go through the drive through just for milk, so we got one hot freshly made donut which, I will admit, was incredible. I was one with Homer Simpson for about 15 minutes there.
*I don't know for sure how this part of the conversation went because I was at the gym, but I suspect I am pretty close.
**The woman we worked with back in May was a nitwit. This new woman is a lot better.
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