23 more days...

It's almost here.

Closing day.

Right now, we're scheduled to close on April 9th. It might be sooner, if we can work it out with everyone.

OMG... we're moving into a house.

Our own four walls. Our own backyard. Our own floor.

Today, we went to pick out new carpet to cover our new floor. It felt like a task, but it definitely was a task I enjoyed. It reminded my hubby and I of when we went to register for glasses at Crate and Barrel. This time, though, I remembered that my husband and I have different tastes and to be prepared for discussions about which carpet was lighter or would look better in our new home. Thank God we finally agreed on the same carpet. This time, though, neither of us had to leave the store to cool down and then "discuss" it in the car.

I wish I had something clever to say, but I don't. I'm tired, and I can't wait for this roller coaster ride to be done. I'm looking forward to packing up and cleaning this place that has been our home for the last 5 years.

I am a little sad about leaving, but did I mention we get our own four walls?

April 9th - big day. Big changes.

Can't wait :)!

Revelation

I think I have the answer to bringing an end to all of the violence in the world.

Yes. Are you ready? Are you REALLY ready for the answer to invoking WORLD PEACE?!?!?

Then find yourself a copy of "Cool It Now" by New Edition.

There's just no way on God's green earth that ANYONE can be mad, angry or violent listening to this song!

Did Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky, Mike and Ralph intend for this song to be a world peace maker? Heck NO! But goodness gracious, I swear we need to just blast "Cool It Now" on loud speakers in Afghanistan, Iraq, North Korea, Venezuela, Sudan, Nigeria and any other part of the world in complete violent chaos. Or perhaps, I should send a copy of the song via e-mail to every leader of a country gone sideways.

We should start this in our NEIGHBORHOODS first. Can't you see gang members hanging halfway out of their cars with a gun trained on a human target hesitating, ducking back into the vehicle and then smiling...upon listening to New Edition? It's possible!

Cities and countries across the world could be TRANSFORMED if they would just listen to "Cool It Now." That goes for the song "Count Me Out" by New Edition too. Great songs that have the possibility to bring WORLD PEACE!

You just can't be angry while listening to "Cool It Now."

Music is powerful.

(Much thanks to Gerry Dove for blessing me with New Edition's Greatest Hits cd last week.)

Real American Citizen (an R.A.C.)

Tonight I must salute my bless-ed buddy Mrs. J.S. for taking the initiative and GETTING INVOLVED to rectify a horrific situation regarding our beloved American flag. She is a role model for ALL American citizens. Take note, people! This is how you do it! Here goes the story:

As she was driving down El Camino Real in Millbrae, Mrs. J.S. noticed (much to her shock and horror) a shredded, faded and miserable looking flag, flailing in the cold wind in front of a huge three-story Chinese restaurant. Her exact words to me were, "Nay, every stripe in the flag was flying separately in the wind."

Mrs. J.S. then took matters into her own hands by whipping out her cell phone - and immediately calling the offending restaurant. She proceeded to relay the disturbing sight of the poor, decrepit flag falling apart in the wind. After voicing her displeasure, concern and dismay, the voice on the other end said, "Thank you for calling."

Did the guy understand? Would he relay the message? How long would it take until only three or four identifiable stars would be the only bits of fabric left of that flag?

The answers to her questions were answered in one month - when she happened upon the restaurant again. Lo and behold - the restaurant owner had replaced the American flag with a glorious new one! AND - he added more flags! Hallelujah!

So you see Citizens, YOU really can make a difference. Sometimes all it takes is one phone call to make a change or right a wrong.

I salute you Mrs. J.S., a Real American Citizen!

Really cute...

Aren't my friend Rose and her little boy the cutest ever? Squishable!

Joy

Joy - noun; def. "a source or cause of delight".

This little guy is the third biggest joy in my life (after Jesus & my hubby). Though he and I have been through a lot in his almost 4 years of life, he remains exactly that - a joy.

We have rough days - like all families - when you can't wait for the day to end (or at least for him to take a nap).

But, there are times like these (captured in the photo), when all I can think is... "I really love my son".

And I really do.

I also have a really great husband who lets me go out all day to spend time with my friends and do nothing productive, but eat, shop, and get a soothing foot massage from the "communist lady". That's on top of being out 2 nights last week for meetings and all day Sunday so I can serve at church.

Did I mention he works 40+ hours a week, sometimes after he gets home from work, and that he is the only source of income for our family?

Yup - I got a good one! (Hubby - if you're reading this - thank you & I love you.)

Ok... lots of mushy cheese goin' on here... :)!

Oh - I should give an update on the whole house thing:

1) We have buyers for our condo (woo-hoo!) whom we had the unexpected pleasure of meeting face-to-face. They're a nice couple relocating here from Australia (via Microsoft). So far, so good.

2) And THIS ONE is the real kicker: We're under contract for the house we REALLY WANTED - the one we lost the first time around. WOO-HOO!!!!

God has a very, very funny sense of humor.

If everything works out, we'll be moving in the beginning of April.

We're not through it all, yet. We're still waiting to hear how the inspection of our condo went. After that hump, we'll be waiting to see if the buyers' financing goes through okay.

But for now, I'll just give thanks and choose to be joyful.

Even without the house, I've got more than enough reasons to have joy.

Rejuvenation

Saturday morning madness!

8:45 a.m.: Tangerine/Pomegranate juice blends ordered (thank you, El).

8:55 a.m.: Settled in the Saturday morning sun on Starbuck's plastic chairs.

8:57 a.m.: We pose for a picture. Black & White for that classic effect.

9:00 a.m.: Random musings, observations and life headlines are shared. We carry on in hushed tones just in case anyone actually hears us. Inuit Pie!

9:10 a.m.: The bike pulls up. It has a motor on it.

Does that mean that dude doesn't really pedal?

9:15 a.m.: Check out the rims on this...oh wait.

Check out the rim.

It's the "one a month" program.

9:20 a.m.: When you're addicted to Starbucks coffee, you will leave your job to get your fix on. Even if it means parking the bus on the curb and leaving passengers waiting. At least the driver left the door open just in case anyone else wanted a latte.

Fast forward 40 pictures later and to 11:30 a.m.:

Yep. That's us at the Grand Opening celebration for the Union City Sports Center. No matter what, I'll always be a "hometown hunney" (that's what El's lil' sis called me). I have to say it's true...you can take the girl out of the Une, but you can't take the Une out of the girl. Go U.C. with yo' bad a-- Sports Center self.

11:45 a.m. I drove home with a smile on face.

When it rains, it pours... and then it snows

If you can't tell from the title, this is going to be a huge rant post.

Here's some quick background:
- Since mid-January, my family and I have been in the process of selling our condo and trying to buy a home.
- We have a 3 year-old boy who is VERY ACTIVE (as everyone - including strangers - tell us). He also has ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), which makes living in a 3rd floor condo more than just challenging. Plus, it's about time we moved into a place where he can have a proper drum set. Music is his first love. Numbers are a close second.
- We had put in an offer on a great house AND had a buyer on our condo. Everything was moving along fine.

Then in one week (the week we were supposed to close on both places)... it was all gone.

Our buyer turned out to be a loan agent who was probably trying to write his own loan. The guy goes by 4 names: Ghulam Kosrow, Ghulam Kasrow, Mark Kasrow, & Mark Lieberman. The escrow company he wanted us to use - Emerald City Escrow - is filled with a bunch of idiots & are probably a part of this elaborate scam they were trying to pull on us & others. What they were trying to get - we're not sure, but we're going to be watching our credit report for a long time.

And the house we were going to buy? The one we thought that was perfect - same school district as our son's special ed preschool, that was a walk away from the elementary school he would attend, with the cool park right behind the house, and a short commute for my hubby to go to work?

Gone. Gone. Gone. Under contract. Under inspection... with some one else.

Now we're back to square one.

Our place is back on the market (anyone want to buy a condo in the PNW?). We're back to sterile living, which means we get really pissed when our son throws all his crayons on the floor, and we have to get out of the house in 15 minutes before a potential buyer comes to look at our place, and we still have all the rest of the "pretty stuff" to put out.

Then my son's speech therapist - whom he loves and looks forward to seeing each week - is leaving because she and her family are moving. Next week is her last session with him.

You think trying to tell a preschooler that the home you said was going to be his is not going to be his anymore is hard? Try telling a preschooler who is still learning to talk, whom you're not sure understands the concepts you're trying to explain (let alone the words you're using) that he lost his room with the ceiling fan in it.

Oh - and how could I forget? It snowed today. A lot of people like snow. I like the first snow of the year. Catch that? The FIRST snow. 3 storms later, we're pretty much done with it. We lost another day of school to the snow.

Did I mention my son has missed school for two weeks now because of breaks and colds... and now snow.

When it rains, it pours... and then it snows.

Pure icing.

The results of all this chaos?

- Son: C-L-I-N-G-Y & W-H-I-N-Y. Oh... and he's been sleeping in our bed for 3 months now.

- Dad: Tired. I wonder sometimes if he feels like he isn't providing enough. That sucks because he provides well enough for all of us, and we have more now than 3 years ago when he was out of work for almost a year.

- Me? Angry. Stressed-out. Depressed. I even got suicidal. It's been that bad.

God and I have had a few conversations - most of them filled with lots of anger, doubt, confusion, and pain. This morning, I had this image of sitting on a bench, on a cliff, with a raging storm and crashing waves all around me. It was so real to me that I could feel the wind hitting my face and blowing through my hair. I smelt the salt in the air, and I could taste it on my tongue. But the most intense sensation I had was I could HEAR the waves roaring around me. I was overwhelmed by the sound, but I wasn't afraid.

Why?

Because sitting next to me, just a foot away.... was Jesus.

The storm is still raging. The cold from the wind hurts, as it hits me. It hasn't stopped.

The tears continue to run down my face, burning my skin. Some are filled with anger & bitterness. Some tears are just tears of sadness and pain.

Other tears are filled with joy.

I am not alone.

You may be silent, Jesus - for now - but You haven't left me.

And I won't be leaving either.

Real friends...

Big "ups" to the Freshest in the West-est, the faboolous Mizz El! Thank you Ellerz for being the first friend to post a comment! El goes way back with the R and R - she's part of the o.g. posse. We love you El! Okay, so how mad at me are you, for posting this pic?!?!?!?!

Reflection...

The other R and I are on this whole house kick...so here's my house story...

Well, it's finally happening. I didn't think it would ever happen. I thought we were going to be U.C. for life. But seeing the "For Sale - Coming Soon" sign posted firmly into the new lawn of 2571 pretty much confirms that all good things must come to an end.

Headquarters is finally up for sale.

This 3 bedroom, 2 bath home was the first major purchase for my parents and they raised all four of us wild ragamuffins in that place.

I didn't think I would really miss the place. In fact, just the other day I told my dad, "Dad. I'm not gonna miss that house at all."

But I do miss it - and it's not even really for real on the market yet. It's still just "Coming Soon."

However, here's what the next buyer may not know...or even notice:

#1. In the morning, when the sun is rising, the light will catch the peephole in the door just right and create a round rainbow on the wall next to the fireplace.
#2. Underneath two new coats of paint there's an artistic masterpiece drawn in orange crayon. The rendering resembles a Mr. Potato Head with glasses, but it's actually a portrait of my dad.
#3. Countless stray animals found refuge and were made comfortable in the garage and backyard.
#4. War and not much peace was waged in the front room and living room over who could watch what program on t.v.
#5. The sounds of the high school band practicing late on a hot summer night and the football fans cheering at the beginning of fall.
#6. The comforting sound of the train whistling in the far distance.
#7. The absurd looking fake Christmas tree that took up the corner in our living room, but held many treasures underneath its plastic branches.
#8. Easter egg hunts organized by my mom took place INSIDE the house.
#9. Much baking, creating, eating and fighting happened in the dining room.
#10. Four kids and two parents grew up all together and shared a lifetime of incredible memories within four walls.

The house was far from perfect. In fact, it was so messy that we ceased inviting friends over when I turned 6 years old. People always waited out on the porch for us.

But - shoot, it's still my house. And it's not just the house that I will miss. It's the whole area.

There's something about driving familiar streets and turning corners you've turned so many times. I can't help but smile.

I remember how all of us neighbor kids would play hide and seek, baseball, kickball and everything else. My sister and I sold snow cones on the corner, tried to burn the neighbor's house down when we were four and five and rode our bikes around and around the court before we turned 12 and were allowed to venture out.

Now, I have no reason to visit the Une. Well, except for when Joyce comes into town and we hang out at her mom's house. Or maybe I'll go visit my old high school. But the Une has changed too - a lot. So, maybe it's best to cut this last tie and move on. I don't identify with the direction my old town has taken. I'm a visitor now.

We were lucky - to have such sturdy, stable covering and shelter for so many years. The walls of my house absorbed every mood, every cry, every holler, every shout for almost 40 years. It weathered the storms, celebrated our joys and grew more walls when it needed to.

We had a good house.

Now it's time to say goodbye.

Goodbye house.

Dude! Let's get started...cheers!

Dude! Let's raise our coffee mugs and toast to our new blog page! We're so fresh.