Well kids, here's the last bit of news we've all been waiting for. We've accepted an offer on our house in Gilberts. I have very mixed feelings about the whole thing. A big part of me is going to be extremely relieved to have that worry gone and not have to think about how we're gonna manange two payments. The other part of me is saddened to see our house turned over to someone else. We'll pretty much be coming out of the deal with little more than we started with which is kinda depressing when I think back to our original goal behind buying the house. But I need to remember that the bigger thing is we won't be losing money by paying on a mortgage for an empty house and that to truly have made that investment worth it, we would have had to stay there for a lot longer.
So I've been having these roller coaster feelings where one moment I'm feeling so relieved and then suddenly I just feel like I want to cry and barf all at the same time. I hate getting so attached to things. But B made an excellent observation the other day. He said that instead of investing in real estate, now we're investing in ourselves. With the move out here, we have the chance to financially start over and and start making some wiser decisions. That alone will offer tremendous piece of mind.
So yay! We have an offer! This is that last piece of business that needed taking care of, and given what we were up against (the builder) we're damn lucky that we sold within 3 weeks of being on the market. I am so thankful that we've been so blessed how this whole adventure is turning out. We're both employed, we have a place to live and now we're getting that house sold. Of course, no formal celebrations until the papers are signed and the keys handed over. Don't want to jinx ourselves!!!!
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Thursday, June 16, 2005
For my geek friends: The Importance of RSS
There's an article on particletree about The Importance of RSS, and it hits on so much cool stuff related to both of what Lisa & I do professionally, that I had to post it up here for my geek-homies back in Chi-town.
Dig. (and block out some time to crawl over some of the annotations in the article for those of you not already familiar with things like Delicious and google.com/ig - they're the bomb!)
Dig. (and block out some time to crawl over some of the annotations in the article for those of you not already familiar with things like Delicious and google.com/ig - they're the bomb!)
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Making Friends in Seattle
Maybe you've heard, but there's a phenomenon out here in Seattle (so they say), and I even found a radio show covering it: 94.9 KUOW: Seattle's NPR News and Information Station has a show "The Conversation", which had a piece called How to make friends in Seattle
Anyone else have any thoughts on making friendships? I'm of the opinion that if there is such a thing as a Seattle Freeze, then it's just an expression of basic rudeness. Back in Chicago, there were certainly as many rude people as not, and it was easy to just ignore the jerks, right?
So I pose this to my friends and family back home:
I've been occupied with moving and managing daily life's more obvious details, plus work and silly things like opening bank accounts, so I've not had tons of time to explore this idea of "community-building" and all the things that fight against it.
Seattle has a reputation for being a hard place to make friends. The conventional wisdom is that there's a bland niceness. But often it'’s hard to break beyond the superficial. It's been called the phenomenon of the plastic smile. And the Seattle freeze. Is that reputation deserved? Have you had a hard time making friends in the Seattle area? Why do you suppose that is? There's a class in how to make friends in Seattle. What can it teach?
Anyone else have any thoughts on making friendships? I'm of the opinion that if there is such a thing as a Seattle Freeze, then it's just an expression of basic rudeness. Back in Chicago, there were certainly as many rude people as not, and it was easy to just ignore the jerks, right?
So I pose this to my friends and family back home:
- How do you make friends?
- How many times do you offer yourself to a new potential friend?
- Have you been anywhere that was more or less friendly than your hometown?
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Ahhh....our stuff
Random events...
We did it! We made it to our new townhome! It's been fun unpacking--it's like Christmas opening up all of our boxes and rediscovering what is in them. :)
I get to take a half day tomorrow since I screwed up our cable guy appt. So of course that means we have now missed 2 episodes of Six Feet Under. *SOB*
We've also started seeing a chiropractor. My back is pretty messed up. :( But I'm hoping that this treatment will really help get it straightened out. Har har har! Seriously tho, I do like this place. They really take the time to examine you and work out a treatment plan. X-rays and everything! I'm excited to see what the results will be like in a year. (Yes, I know--a year, but I think it'll be worth it.)
Ug. I so hate Verizon right now. They assigned us a phone number last week, but it didn't work all weekend despite us having a dial tone. So on Monday, Verizon calls can says it's all set up and we're good to go. I called the number from my office and it worked fine. So I'm talking to my sister later on and she goes to call me back on the land line. She tried a couple of times and got the Landons' voice mail. So I tried calling it from my cell phone, and sure enough, same problem. Calls to our home phone from a local number worked fine. Calls from a long distance number resulted in getting the Landons' voicemail. ARGH. So I call Verizon on Tuesday, and they tell me that the only way to fix it is to give us a new number. After I'd already sent out our new contact info to oh, 115 people!!!! I was NOT a happy camper. But there wasn't any other option, so we've got a new number, which you should all have now. Hopefully THIS one will stay consistent.
We did it! We made it to our new townhome! It's been fun unpacking--it's like Christmas opening up all of our boxes and rediscovering what is in them. :)
I get to take a half day tomorrow since I screwed up our cable guy appt. So of course that means we have now missed 2 episodes of Six Feet Under. *SOB*
We've also started seeing a chiropractor. My back is pretty messed up. :( But I'm hoping that this treatment will really help get it straightened out. Har har har! Seriously tho, I do like this place. They really take the time to examine you and work out a treatment plan. X-rays and everything! I'm excited to see what the results will be like in a year. (Yes, I know--a year, but I think it'll be worth it.)
Ug. I so hate Verizon right now. They assigned us a phone number last week, but it didn't work all weekend despite us having a dial tone. So on Monday, Verizon calls can says it's all set up and we're good to go. I called the number from my office and it worked fine. So I'm talking to my sister later on and she goes to call me back on the land line. She tried a couple of times and got the Landons' voice mail. So I tried calling it from my cell phone, and sure enough, same problem. Calls to our home phone from a local number worked fine. Calls from a long distance number resulted in getting the Landons' voicemail. ARGH. So I call Verizon on Tuesday, and they tell me that the only way to fix it is to give us a new number. After I'd already sent out our new contact info to oh, 115 people!!!! I was NOT a happy camper. But there wasn't any other option, so we've got a new number, which you should all have now. Hopefully THIS one will stay consistent.
Friday, June 10, 2005
Busy week!
This is (hopefully) my final post from Mercer Island - YAY!
It's been a surprisingly busy last few days! Work was quiet on Monday and Tuesday, but then we went into training/orientation for the remainder of the week. We have 3 new people on our team: Jeff, Carrie and Rich. They all came from the same company as one of the other girls on our team.
On Wednesday, we hiked over to main campus and hung out in a conf room and had the opportunity to meet with and listen to several people from the organization present and share info with us.
Thursday, we started the morning with training on the tool we'll be working with and then did lots of team building exercises in the afternoon. They were really interesting, but fun too. The actual exercises are kinda hard to explain, but it really fostered building communication skills, learning each other's styles and team building.
Then that evening, we had a VERY nice dinner at the Fish Club in downtown Seattle and it was all on Uncle Bill's tab. Some senior people on the team joined us so we all got to talk with lots of different people which was really cool. There were about 15 of us and the bill was $3,000!!!!!! Can you believe that?!
Finally, one of the biggest highlights of the week culminated in this evenings event. WE STARTED MOVING INTO OUR PLACE IN REDMOND!!! YAY!!!!! I am so excited to see all our STUFF and to finally be able to settle in. We've got a long way to go, but we did manage to get the kitchen nearly finished tonight. We plan to be sleeping there by tomorrow and to have the cats there by Sunday. I'm looking forward to my new 3 mile commute on Monday! :)
It's been a surprisingly busy last few days! Work was quiet on Monday and Tuesday, but then we went into training/orientation for the remainder of the week. We have 3 new people on our team: Jeff, Carrie and Rich. They all came from the same company as one of the other girls on our team.
On Wednesday, we hiked over to main campus and hung out in a conf room and had the opportunity to meet with and listen to several people from the organization present and share info with us.
Thursday, we started the morning with training on the tool we'll be working with and then did lots of team building exercises in the afternoon. They were really interesting, but fun too. The actual exercises are kinda hard to explain, but it really fostered building communication skills, learning each other's styles and team building.
Then that evening, we had a VERY nice dinner at the Fish Club in downtown Seattle and it was all on Uncle Bill's tab. Some senior people on the team joined us so we all got to talk with lots of different people which was really cool. There were about 15 of us and the bill was $3,000!!!!!! Can you believe that?!
Finally, one of the biggest highlights of the week culminated in this evenings event. WE STARTED MOVING INTO OUR PLACE IN REDMOND!!! YAY!!!!! I am so excited to see all our STUFF and to finally be able to settle in. We've got a long way to go, but we did manage to get the kitchen nearly finished tonight. We plan to be sleeping there by tomorrow and to have the cats there by Sunday. I'm looking forward to my new 3 mile commute on Monday! :)
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Baby Huyett has arrived!
For those of you who know the Huyett boys, Mike and Rob, you'll be excited to know that Mike is now a daddy! Karrin had a 10 lb 20 inch boy this morning who they've named Benjamin Thomas. Congrats to Uncle Rob too!
Weekend Laziness
Yeah--nothing too exciting to post for this weekend. I spent pretty much the whole day Saturday in my jammies watching ABC Family chick flicks. It was nice not having to worry about being anywhere and being able to just veg out. Next weekend we will hopefully be unpacking and getting settled into our new place! Man, I CAN'T WAIT!!!
Today (Sunday) we went to Pike Place Market and got some fresh fruit, yummy garlic spread and another beautiful bouquet of flowers. Don't worry--we plan on taking everyone there when you each come and visit. :)
Today (Sunday) we went to Pike Place Market and got some fresh fruit, yummy garlic spread and another beautiful bouquet of flowers. Don't worry--we plan on taking everyone there when you each come and visit. :)
Friday, June 03, 2005
We've survived....
...week 2! Wow--I can't believe we've been here for two full weeks already. It doesn't seem real. It was a pretty quiet rest of the week. Next week is going to be a lot busier at work with our orientation for the Search department. I also found out that Sean and I are gonna get a new roomie. Yikes--it's gonna be squished in our office. :(
After work today, my department went out for Happy Hour. Did I mention Happy Hour started at 3? Yay! We went to a restaurant/bar in Kirkland called Cactus. I had the best mojito ever there. YUM! We hung out for couple of hours, and it was all on Bill's tab. :)
We don't have too much planned for the weekend, so we'll see where that leaves us. One more week until we move into our townhome!!!
After work today, my department went out for Happy Hour. Did I mention Happy Hour started at 3? Yay! We went to a restaurant/bar in Kirkland called Cactus. I had the best mojito ever there. YUM! We hung out for couple of hours, and it was all on Bill's tab. :)
We don't have too much planned for the weekend, so we'll see where that leaves us. One more week until we move into our townhome!!!
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
*sigh* Restaurant Stress
So are our expectations for quality of service at restaurants too high? Were we spoiled in Chicago? Here's a few highlights from our recent experiences.
Fado Irish Pub in Seattle
*Had to ask for a glass of water 3 times
*Asked for a pint of Magners cider, was told they didn't have it. An hour or so later, saw another patron walking around WITH A BOTTLE OF MAGNERS
*Asked for my sandwich without dressing--sandwich came with dressing slathered on it
*Grade = D
Claim Jumper
Double Whammy
*SECOND TIME there after a not so great first time when we were here in April
*Stuck in the same (cursed?) booth
*Ordered app and entrees; entrees come out 15 min later but no appetizer;
*Manager comes over to apologize (positive points added there) and persuades us to take home the app to have later; we also made sure he knew that this was our 2nd poor experience
*We get the bill at the end of the night and find that we're STILL charged for the appetizer (big time negative points)
*Grade = F
Grazie
Redeemed!
*Started out with bad experience--went in for dinner at 9:40 only to be turned away b/c they closed early = unhappy and hungry diners (us)
*Decided to give it 2nd shot the following evening
*Manager was so happy we came back that he gave us a complimentary appetizer AND comped us on our other appetizer!
*Grade = A+!!!
Overall tho, folks seem to move at a slower pace here. It takes longer to get our orders taken, to get our food and of course to get our check. I guess we'll get used to it tho. :P
Fado Irish Pub in Seattle
*Had to ask for a glass of water 3 times
*Asked for a pint of Magners cider, was told they didn't have it. An hour or so later, saw another patron walking around WITH A BOTTLE OF MAGNERS
*Asked for my sandwich without dressing--sandwich came with dressing slathered on it
*Grade = D
Claim Jumper
Double Whammy
*SECOND TIME there after a not so great first time when we were here in April
*Stuck in the same (cursed?) booth
*Ordered app and entrees; entrees come out 15 min later but no appetizer;
*Manager comes over to apologize (positive points added there) and persuades us to take home the app to have later; we also made sure he knew that this was our 2nd poor experience
*We get the bill at the end of the night and find that we're STILL charged for the appetizer (big time negative points)
*Grade = F
Grazie
Redeemed!
*Started out with bad experience--went in for dinner at 9:40 only to be turned away b/c they closed early = unhappy and hungry diners (us)
*Decided to give it 2nd shot the following evening
*Manager was so happy we came back that he gave us a complimentary appetizer AND comped us on our other appetizer!
*Grade = A+!!!
Overall tho, folks seem to move at a slower pace here. It takes longer to get our orders taken, to get our food and of course to get our check. I guess we'll get used to it tho. :P
Weekend Extravaganza!
We had a pretty dang good Memorial Day weekend! :)
On Saturday, we got up late and tried out public transit on our way to the 34th annual Folk Life Festival. There were tons of music stages, lots of food, and some really good people watching! Holy cow was it ever an interesting mix of folks. High crunch factor, but that's not too surprising for the area. :) I did a bit of shopping and got a nice peasant style skirt along with cotton bodice style top. I also picked up a new watch (first new watch in 6 years!). Here's a picture of it. (It compliments my wedding/engagement rings very well!)
Sunday we ran a few errands and finally made a trip to the grocery store. That evening we hung out with a couple of my co-workers, Julie and Jessica (Julie is living in my temp housing complex right now and Jessica is from Chicago).
Finally, on Monday we had our first road trip! B and I piled into the car and headed east in search of wine country! Would you believe that on the other side of the Cascade Mountains, WA is a totally different climate?! It looked like the arid southwest complete with scrub bushes and dusty mountainsides. It was such an odd change!
Anywho, we drove out to the Yakima Valley and 3 hours later were tasting wines at various vineyards. We drove out towards the east end of the valley to the city of Prosser. We visited Hogue Cellars, Thurston Wolfe, Kestrel Vintners among others. We really liked Kestrel and wound up joining their wine club and walked out with 4 bottles of wine! We also found a touch of home at a local brewery. The woman working there grew up in Rockford and her grandmother grew up in Huntley! Can you believe that?!
We're thinking of headed back out there in a few weeks for the Scottish Highland Festival. :)
On Saturday, we got up late and tried out public transit on our way to the 34th annual Folk Life Festival. There were tons of music stages, lots of food, and some really good people watching! Holy cow was it ever an interesting mix of folks. High crunch factor, but that's not too surprising for the area. :) I did a bit of shopping and got a nice peasant style skirt along with cotton bodice style top. I also picked up a new watch (first new watch in 6 years!). Here's a picture of it. (It compliments my wedding/engagement rings very well!)
Sunday we ran a few errands and finally made a trip to the grocery store. That evening we hung out with a couple of my co-workers, Julie and Jessica (Julie is living in my temp housing complex right now and Jessica is from Chicago).
Finally, on Monday we had our first road trip! B and I piled into the car and headed east in search of wine country! Would you believe that on the other side of the Cascade Mountains, WA is a totally different climate?! It looked like the arid southwest complete with scrub bushes and dusty mountainsides. It was such an odd change!
Anywho, we drove out to the Yakima Valley and 3 hours later were tasting wines at various vineyards. We drove out towards the east end of the valley to the city of Prosser. We visited Hogue Cellars, Thurston Wolfe, Kestrel Vintners among others. We really liked Kestrel and wound up joining their wine club and walked out with 4 bottles of wine! We also found a touch of home at a local brewery. The woman working there grew up in Rockford and her grandmother grew up in Huntley! Can you believe that?!
We're thinking of headed back out there in a few weeks for the Scottish Highland Festival. :)
Contact
You know - you can always reach a Duchek. It's nice. Now there's lots of different ways to reaach your desired Duchek, but for today - let's consider the email medium.
Just drop a quick message to and you get all the Ducheks at once! How handy.
If you wanted to give your message some urgency, you could call upon your knowledge of email and SMS, and send a message directly to our mobile phones! Wow - technology works (sometimes). To reach Brian's phone, you'd send an email to and it would magically appear on Brian's cell phone! Pay attention: keep it short and free of fancy signature files, pictures and stuff. I can't see it on a phone and it increases delivery time. ;p
If you don't have access to email, you can just trot over to cingular.com and click "send a text message" in the top right corner. They'll help you get an SMS sent to our hands right quick!
Just drop a quick message to and you get all the Ducheks at once! How handy.
If you wanted to give your message some urgency, you could call upon your knowledge of email and SMS, and send a message directly to our mobile phones! Wow - technology works (sometimes). To reach Brian's phone, you'd send an email to and it would magically appear on Brian's cell phone! Pay attention: keep it short and free of fancy signature files, pictures and stuff. I can't see it on a phone and it increases delivery time. ;p
If you don't have access to email, you can just trot over to cingular.com and click "send a text message" in the top right corner. They'll help you get an SMS sent to our hands right quick!
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