Kindle it Is!

Well, I have been debating the Kindle for a while. It's a little bit of an investment, but since the price has recently reduced to $189, I figured this is a good time to seriously consider Amazon's gadget. I typically finish a novel a week, and the space thousands of paperbacks take up in my house, not to mention their pricetags, can be extreme. The Kindle has seemed like a perfect solution for some time.

My primary reservation in regards to the device is reading via screen. I am easily cursed with headaches, and tend to watch LCDs and use computer screens on the dimmest setting available. I have been concerned that I would spend all that money for a product that gives me nothing but headaches!

After asking around and receiving tons of positive feedback, I have decided to order it! According to friends, the screen is dimmed and the contrast not too harsh, so it shouldn't be an issue... we'll see. I am hopeful and will continue to update regarding usage!

Blue Canyon Dinner.

When Hubs and I were driving around today, we spotted Blue Canyon, a steakhouse that is known around the Cleveland area as "awesome." We have not been there during our two years in Ohio, so we decided to Open Table them that afternoon, and went for dinner.

Overall, it was a great dinner. Hubs ordered a flank steak, medium, with blue cheese crumbles baked on top and a side of green beans and mashed potatoes. I got the sirloin, medium-rare (as all steaks should be cooked as far as I am concerned!), with roasted red potatoes and green beans. After the entrees, I finished with a coffee and blueberry lemon tart and Hubs had a mini-s'more.

Typically, when I order a steak, it is not cooked to a "real" medium-rare. I will say, however, both of our steaks at Blue Canyon were cooked perfectly. All the food was delicious, and the service was nice, however, it was nothing I found to be special. The only complaint I have is the prices do not seem to fairly represent the restaurant. We knew it was a little more than other restaurants, and in general are fine paying more money for dinner when appropriate, but did not feel the prices were appropriate.

For some reason, as a salad lover, I get annoyed when restaurants charge nearly $30 for a steak (even when it's perfectly cooked) and then do not include a salad with the dinner. I just feel like steaks should come with a side salad, if not only for digestive purposes! Instead, Blue Canyon charges $4.99 for a small salad, bringing the steak and salad total (if we had ordered it) to about $35. Plus, the small tart for dessert was $8, and the mini s'more was $3 (it was literally a square inch). Hubs LOVED the s'more, and since it was so original, I can see the one-bite being $3. However, as good as my tart was, it was not unique. The crust was too cold and the creme in the center a little hard - you could tell it had been sitting in a refrigerator for a while. Yummie, but only about $5 worth of yummie. Now, the item that got us talking when we paid was the coffee. A cup of coffee was the same as the s'more!

It seemed that all the menu items were a few dollars too high, especially considering the location of the restaurant - a small suburb 30 minutes outside of downtown Cleveland where there is a quickly depleting economy. If this was Manhattan or even Atlanta I would consider it a little more reasonable.

Overall, though, the restaurant was nice, professional, and served very good, though not spectacular, food. If we had walked out the door with a final tally of $60 instead of $80 (for two dinners, one coffee, and 1.5 desserts), I would have felt a little better about it.

Final say? 3.5 stars.

Melting Stress

Well... at last. Things are starting to get settled for us!

The information regaring the previously botched home repairs was evaluated, turned in to the proper contractors and finished. That being said, we were able to CLOSE on the new house in Georgia! So exciring! That's one hurdle down in the game of relocation. Now we have to concentrate on selling the house we still have in Ohio.

Another great thing that happened this week: We finalized the paperwork and drove home the new Murano. It really is a great car, and I am extrememly excited to have it as my new baby. I have already played around with programing names and numbers into the voice actiivated phone system - it's so much easier (not to mention safer) to talked through the speakers instead of fussing with your phone!

The only issue I am having on the car front is my old car. She is also a great car, and since we traded in Hubs' car toward the Murano, he has now inherited my old car. . . however, I just cannot seem to let her go! I still think of her as mine, and still feel a little ping of saddness when Hubs drives her away. I guess it is all still new, so hopefully I will handle it better soon!

Always, Always, ALWAYS... RE-inspect.

Well, here we are:

It's officially (since it's after midnight) 2 days before we sign the closing documents on our new home in GA. We have braced ourselves to take on a second home (aka, second mortgage) for a couple months, and were excited for this one leg of the relocation process to be OVER.

Now, let us take into consideration the fact that nothing thus far has been smooth or simple... why would we have expected the final leg of this to be nice and easy?

I blame myself. Seriously.

I looked at paint samples.

Every time I make the slightest effort to mentally redecorate the new home, something happens to prolong the process. I think it is one of the universe's amusements. I really should have learned better by now, but unfortunately I have not and subsequently picked paint colors for the master bedroom and bath.

Maybe, just maybe if I had left the paint choices to the master suite, we would have emerged unscathed. However, I unfortunately have to admit that I also picked samples for the hallway, office, dining room, living room, kitchen, and family room (in my defense, the kitchen, hallway, and family room are going to be the same color, so they should not count against me as three separate choices!).

As Hubs and I were enjoying a few drinks (a few too many? I can still type, so I say it was an acceptable amount) on the back patio, we should have been checking our email (yes, we have a joint email account for all the housing contact.... we are tools, what can I say?). Our lovely, and always on the ball, GA realtor forwarded us information from our re-inspection.

After having the house inspected during our due diligence period, we did not simply trust that all the necessary repairs were correctly handled. As with the house we currently have on the market in OH, we had the GA house inspected for a second time to assure that all agreed upon repairs were satisfactorily completed.

Out of our six or seven major items, ONE was properly addressed. . . ONE.

To be honest, I feel badly for the seller. She is a nice woman, and has sent us paid invoices for all the agreed upon repairs. She thought everything was in order, and has expressed extreme concern regarding the recent inspection discoveries. This woman paid for everything to be fixed, and basically made the mistake of hiring companies that were not reliable.

I feel badly for her, but we are not taking the house over until everything is up to par. We just cannot take on the possible financial burden of a leaking tub pipe and the subsequently moist dining room ceiling, a wobbly deck, and inoperable windows. The closing may need to be postponed, but hopefully the seller will be able to have everything rectified over the weekend...

Hopefully.

My advice to everyone... REINSPECT before you close. The process basically goes like this:

You have a home inspected.

Something will be discovered.

The seller will agree to fix the issues.

Then have your inspector back to reinspect the agreed upon problems.

Not everything will be correct... as we have learned with multiple houses, they are never all perfect.

THEN, after the sellers have it all fixed again... INSPECT again.. until it's all correct.

Suck it up buyers - pay the extra inspection costs and make sure you do not purchase long term issues. If you have recently bought a home and did not pay the inspector to come back... do it now. There is s likelihood that something is still wrong...

Muranolicious

Well, we need a new car. And, do to my soon-to-be-renewed career in sales and the associated tax breaks, it needs to be a lease. We have ever leased a vehicle before, and so this experience is certainly a novel one. In the past, my cars have always been purchased with a check and have been driven for 6-7 years. The idea of not "owning" my car is a little strange to me, but since it works as a tax deduction, I think I can start to live with it. On the flip side, I do hate adding another bill to our lives. However, as Hubs car is pushing 90,000 miles and we both will be dealing with large commutes and trips, the time has come to deal with it.

I am pretty sure the winner of "what car should I get?" will be the Murano. I like that it's an SUV, but not completely oversized. Atlanta has some serious traffic, so oversized SUVs and trucks are not very strategic. More than anything, however, I love that it is basically a mobile office. There are voice commands, five phones that can be blutoothed simultaneously, under-mounted bins for supplies, and tons of comfort for myself and clients.

Getting a new office on wheels will be strange, but the time has come for change my friends. Plus, the car costs a lot more on a monthly basis if purchased down in Atlanta, so putting off much longer does not make financial sense.

From Bitterness to Hearts

I finished a book over this weekend - Bitter Is The New Black, written by Jen Lancaster, has opened me up to a new author. Thankfully, she has also written a number of other Chick Lit Novels, including Bright Lights, Big Ass, Such A Pretty Fat, Pretty In Plaid, and My Fair Lazy. Granted, I have not read any of those other novels, but I find Lancaster's writing style original and motivating. One night I read 125 pages and accidentally stayed up until 3:30 a.m. simply because I could not put it down! I am always excited to find a new author that has multiple books under her belt since it gives me a new reading list for a month or two!

For more information on Jen Lancaster, visit Jennsylvania.

Although I am excited about my newly discovered Lancaster, another author I am a fan of has written a new book:

Amazon alerted me to the hardcover (yes, I was so excited that Giffin wrote another book I immediately ordered it in hardcover!), and I just could not help myself. To be honest, I had no clue what it was about while authorizing my credit card information, and I did not care.

Upon receipt, I read the back of the book and discovered the plot: It is about a couple women in a Boston suburb working to find balance with their families. A tragic accident occurs that brings these women together and completely transforms their lives and beliefs forever.

More information on Emily Giffin can be found on her website.

As a selfish plug, I am going to remind everyone familiar with Giffin that she has also written Love The One Your With, Baby Proof, Something Blue, and Something Borrowed. All of there are wonderful novels, and worth adding to any reading list.

Due to her talents, Emily Giffin has undergone a MOVIE DEAL!!! Hilary Swank and Molly Smith will team up in Something Borrowed and Something Blue - SOBO is coming, and I cannot wait! I really hope the movie does not disappoint me like Where The Heart Is did upon its release. Congrats to Giffin!

Water and Keys

Having a house on the market is amazingly stressful. We busted our butts last night to get the house perfect for today's open house. As usual, no one came. However, I do attribute a lot of this to our realtor who refuses to put the open house signs in a clearly visible area (we always drive by to check) and does not advertise anywhere. Regardless of the reasoning, it is extremely annoying to constantly go through this much work for seemingly no reward.

And then, the house upkeep got worse. So, Hubs asked me to wash out the pan he used for dinner tonight. Okay, no biggie... so, in my completely embarrassing attempt to be helpful, I spilled an extreme amount of water down the front of the newly refinished kitchen cabinets. The streaking caused by this was anything but lovely. We immediately went into recovery mode, and think the marks were successfully dried - I am pretty sure you can no longer notice an incident occurred.

Then, Hubs was trying to get everything in the kitchen reorganized in case someone calls tomorrow giving a mere 15 minutes notice before coming for a showing (this happens at least once a week). In the process, he dropped a large set of keys, which of course put a nice scuff in the newly tiled floor.

It seems that such slip ups only occur to people while they need to keep their homes in perfect showing condition. Maybe the stress of corporate relocation has turned us into walking butter-fingered nightmares.

I would appreciate someone buying our newly remodeled house. We think it is lovely and would like to hand it off to a nice family. . .

The Long Awaited "10 Days"

Well, today is 6/5/2010.

This is one of the dates that has risen the Hubs and my stress levels to new extremes over the past couple months. Why? Because it is 10 days before our official close on the new house.

The 10 day marker is one that holds extreme importance - all had to be approved, completed, dotted, and crossed by this day.

And, after some amazing handiwork and many bottles of wine, the task of crossing off items on the 6/5/2010 List has been accomplished... and I still have no clue how we managed to pull it off. Granted, I am not yet willing to allow myself to completely believe it. I'll wait for the new keys to be mailed before I toast the success.

So, what is the newest stress? Managing our way through a long distance closing.

Ah yes, our transplanted selves are still in the midwest, yet our new home is in the south. Flying down for the day seems rather wasteful, and so we are simply going to handle the paperwork from the other house - the one we have listed for sale. Nothing about the hair-pulling mortgage process has been simple. Nothing has gone smoothy. Nothing has even gone reasonably. I am just hoping that today, the long awaited "10 days before close" day, will turn our lender luck round.

I think we've earned it.

Unfortunately, I think a lot of things, and am not always agreed with.

Even with the horrifying memories of the past two months still looming in my mind, I am trying to venture forth with optimism. Hopefully all the time and effort we have put into the process thus far will grant us smooth sailing over the next 10 days. We still need to meet with lawyers, sign documents, mail them to GA, and wait for the seller and seller's lawyers to finalize all the paperwork. It seems like a lot of exchanges that could potentially be foiled, but I would like to have faith in the fact that those involved are competent professionals.

We shall see.

And shall hope for best (though still prepare for the worst! - better prepared than not, right?)

Now to get the Midwest House immaculately clean before tomorrow's open house, especially since in 10 days, we will officially own two houses. eeek!!!