Random talk thread!

[TooPatient]

We have a hole in the wall above our stairs. Long story.
I got excited. DH agreed it seemed like a great idea. So there you go...

Didn't work out how I planned


(Full details in "wanting but waiting"

 

[audball]

I want to grow up to be like this couple: Ohio Couple

The love and friendship they had was amazing. I'm glad they had 70 happy years of marriage together. 8 kids, 23 grandkids, 43 great-grandkids.

Such a sweet story of love!

 

[audball]

We have a hole in the wall above our stairs. Long story.
I got excited. DH agreed it seemed like a great idea. So there you go...

Didn't work out how I planned

(Full details in "wanting but waiting"

Wow! Lol. A little gung-ho there! Those are some pretty large renovation plans -- best of luck tackling them all! Any more talks about when you may start TTC?

 

[TooPatient]

We have a hole in the wall above our stairs. Long story.
I got excited. DH agreed it seemed like a great idea. So there you go...

Didn't work out how I planned

(Full details in "wanting but waiting"

Wow! Lol. A little gung-ho there! Those are some pretty large renovation plans -- best of luck tackling them all! Any more talks about when you may start TTC?

I asked DH to remind me of the hole the next time I get a brilliant idea and to grab the super long drill bit instead of knives & hammers. At least then we'd only have a little bitty hole that wouldn't need any patching

Thankfully our neighbor is a contractor who can tell us when we're taking on too much. His crew does great work so sometimes it costs less to just let them do stuff. He also knows good roofers and plumbers so we can hire good people when needed. Framing in rooms isn't too hard. I want to do most of that over my summer break.

I started to second guess and contemplated just making the existing office a combo office/nursery. Then every time I went to use the bathroom this weekend got reminded that I'd really love a nice master bath. "A" helped here -- urine on the seat, blood all over, and worse

We're still talking September/October to start trying.

 

[audball]

Fall will be here before you know it!

 

[TooPatient]

Fall will be here before you know it!

I think the hardest part will be deciding when to end BC. I've been on the same one for more than 10 years. I don't want to stop until we're ready because some bodies adjust and start ovulating pretty quickly but I don't want to have it take 6 months to rebalance either.

We're not going to do any sort of medical assistance with the exception of maybe getting my body to ovulate if it doesn't just do it. I don't want to go through the misery of IUI or IVF or any of that. I'd just stay off BC and let it happen (or not) when it happens.

I'm also going to try to not pee on any sticks except in event of late period. No temping or ovulation tracking. No early betas.
Of course that is just how i feel now. Could change when the time comes!

 

[TooPatient]

How is the furniture hunt going?

Is this your first furniture picked out together?

 

[audball]

Fall will be here before you know it!

I think the hardest part will be deciding when to end BC. I've been on the same one for more than 10 years. I don't want to stop until we're ready because some bodies adjust and start ovulating pretty quickly but I don't want to have it take 6 months to rebalance either.

We're not going to do any sort of medical assistance with the exception of maybe getting my body to ovulate if it doesn't just do it. I don't want to go through the misery of IUI or IVF or any of that. I'd just stay off BC and let it happen (or not) when it happens.

I'm also going to try to not pee on any sticks except in event of late period. No temping or ovulation tracking. No early betas.
Of course that is just how i feel now. Could change when the time comes!

That's always a rough call I think. My little sister (with her first) went off BC about 6 months before they wanted to start trying because the doctor said it could take awhile to readjust after taking BC for so long. She got pregnant the first month! I've heard it happen to lots of people, but I've also heard people who do have trouble right after coming off BC so you just never know. You could always go off your BC and use barriers in the meantime to give yourself time to wean off it and still start at your planned month knowing your body has had time to readjust.

I tend to think I feel the same way about interventions -- but you never know until you have to face the choice. I just pray when our time does come that we won't need to go there.

 

[audball]

How is the furniture hunt going?

Is this your first furniture picked out together?

Ok, it's tough! We like one store better because quality and customer service were far superior to others we've shopped at, but we can't find a couch that's just what we're looking for. We found one we really like, but have had awful experiences with their staff so far and have read awful reviews about their customer service and delivery.

Dining sets have been tough because the new place has a relatively small area for dining and we're looking for a smaller round table but that is still nice. We'd also prefer a glass top because we have a cat who inadvertently scratches table top surfaces. We found one we like online with great reviews but it doesn't come with chairs and by the time we add 4 nice chairs to it the total will come out to more than we'd planned to spend.

We'll just keep looking! I know we'll find something we like.

 

[TooPatient]

Good luck!

We went to what felt like every furniture store in western Washington. It wasn't quite that many but we had days where we'd visit 6-8 different stores sitting on every couch they had. Went as far as an hour and a half drive from home.

I don't regret it. We both still love the two couches we found and they've held up well.
Same with our dining room chairs and China cabinet.

The only stuff we regret is where we got tired of looking and just settled on something.


Have you thought about a wood table and the get a piece of glass to sit on top? My grandmother did this and it looked gorgeous. No problems with moisture or anything else under the glass so the table really was protected.

 

[TooPatient]

I need to look at timing and see. It might work out okay to stop BC next month because even if things happened quick, it would not impact school much. I'd been planning a super light (online fun classes only) winter quarter and would only have one class spring quarter.

Life throws lots of unexpected stuff. We can all talk and plan but until a situation happens it is all just talk. I think it is good to think about what-if and have an idea of what you would want to do but I think it is equally important to be open to changing plans as situations change. I've seen people get hung up on their plans and have a hard time because they aren't willing to budge.

I do hope neither of us have to ever make the decision! I hope it just happens uneventfully when we're ready.

 

[audball]

Good luck!
We went to what felt like every furniture store in western Washington. It wasn't quite that many but we had days where we'd visit 6-8 different stores sitting on every couch they had. Went as far as an hour and a half drive from home.

I don't regret it. We both still love the two couches we found and they've held up well.
Same with our dining room chairs and China cabinet.

The only stuff we regret is where we got tired of looking and just settled on something.

Have you thought about a wood table and the get a piece of glass to sit on top? My grandmother did this and it looked gorgeous. No problems with moisture or anything else under the glass so the table really was protected.

Yeah, seriously. We've been to so many shops that some part of every weekend for the last several weeks has been spent in furniture stores. It's so tough because there really isn't comparison shopping since all the stores carry different lines. I don't want to settle so we've kept on looking.

We have thought about a wood table and putting a glass top on it, but the wood tables we like are much nicer (and more expensive) and I don't think we want to invest a lot in a small table that probably won't be kept when we eventually purchase a home. We want nice, but something we wouldn't feel bad selling/donating in a few years to upgrade if we purchase a home and need/want something larger.

WHEN we find things, I'll be sure to post some pictures of our new stuff! I drafted our "notice of intent to vacate" letter for our landlord today. We'll sign it tonight and I'll mail it by certified mail/delivery confirmation tomorrow. I'm so stressed/nervous about this because the landlord has been such a jerk, but we have every right to choose to leave and there is absolutely ZERO reason we shouldn't get our full security deposit back. I just want to be done with him and done with this place. Seriously.

 

[audball]

I need to look at timing and see. It might work out okay to stop BC next month because even if things happened quick, it would not impact school much. I'd been planning a super light (online fun classes only) winter quarter and would only have one class spring quarter.

Life throws lots of unexpected stuff. We can all talk and plan but until a situation happens it is all just talk. I think it is good to think about what-if and have an idea of what you would want to do but I think it is equally important to be open to changing plans as situations change. I've seen people get hung up on their plans and have a hard time because they aren't willing to budge.

I do hope neither of us have to ever make the decision! I hope it just happens uneventfully when we're ready.

Indeed. You just won't know until you try. It's like they say, if you want to hear God laugh tell Him your plans -- you can't control these things as much as everyone would love to.

 

[TooPatient]

Ah. Got it!
We did the same thing when we got stuff for the apartment and again moving into the house. It is hard when you want nice (or at least pretty good) quality but don't necessarily want to keep it forever. We've been replacing some of the stuff we got for the apartment but used until we had a house AND could afford nicer. One great thing about getting okay stuff (but super cheap) is that I haven't had any problem giving away (or sticking in our shed to maybe pass on to "A" when she moves) as we slowly replace with nice stuff. It also means that we aren't in a huge hurry so we were able to get dining chairs at $25 each (regular price $250) when a store went out of business and the same for a china cabinet ($350ish down from $2000+)
Shhhhhh.... our dining room table is still a $60 Ikea plastic/metal worktable. No one knows because it has a cloth over it The tables we liked were well over $10000 so we're waiting for another store to go out of business or some equally great deal.

Do you have anything like This around you? This is what we're going to do for the renovation. They have a location we can actually go visit to see stuff in person before buying.

 

[TooPatient]

Oh the memories!
We haven't had to buy a piece of furniture (except more identical Ikea bookcases) in something like 6 years.

DH and I walked around touching or sitting on everything in sight. One would love the other would hate. Too soft or too hard or too long or short or narrow or wide or dark or light or the legs were wrong or the stitches weren't nice enough (that was NEVER me!)

We finally sat on a couch that we both liked only to see the price tag... $14,000

Back to more looking!
Finally found one and in our little bitty budget (we were looking to stay well under 500)
Yay!

Our downstairs couch was even worse...
FINALLY found one (had to be reclining according to DH's media room requirement plus all the stuff like the other couch) but the only one in stock was a color I just couldn't live with. We ended up paying extra and waiting 8 weeks for them to do a new one with the fabric I wanted.


Hmmm.... The misery of looking may be part of why we still have the cheap table

 

[audball]

Yeah, it's definitely a balance of wanting nice enough things to live with for now, but knowing they're *for now* I can't stomach spending a fortune on a furniture set that may not suit the house we hope to eventually purchase.

I don't know if we have anything that around here, but I can see!

We're having similar issues with the couch hunt in finding ones we like but lack in quality for the price, or we like the comfort and the size, but not the fabric and so on and so forth. I thought (initially) that this would be fun but it's kind of not! Furniture isn't returnable and it's a pricey thing not to get right!

 

[TooPatient]

Yeah, it's definitely a balance of wanting nice enough things to live with for now, but knowing they're *for now* I can't stomach spending a fortune on a furniture set that may not suit the house we hope to eventually purchase.

I don't know if we have anything that around here, but I can see!

We're having similar issues with the couch hunt in finding ones we like but lack in quality for the price, or we like the comfort and the size, but not the fabric and so on and so forth. I thought (initially) that this would be fun but it's kind of not! Furniture isn't returnable and it's a pricey thing not to get right!

Yep!

That is exactly it. I started out thinking it would be fun and then it turned into massive work. Hours and hours each weekend (I think one day actually hit 14 hours from the time we left to the time we got home ) and after work going all over town.
Nice enough to live with but on a small budget PLUS comfortable and liked by TWO people..... asking for the nearly impossible. (but well worth the hours to find the right one.... the one time we settled on "okay enough" we ended up hating and having to start all over again... with the loss of money put into the first.)

Oh!
We did end up getting some office furniture after we moved into the house. The guys in the next office down the hall were moving and had a gorgeous (okay, still laminate but looks great and is sturdy) office set for sale. I couldn't believe the price! Took a picture, e-mailed DH (then FI), hauled him up to look and bought it on the spot. (okay, so the guy was awesome enough to let me mail him a check at his new address )
And then I got to drive the 18 foot rental
(I love driving the big moving trucks and DH HATES driving them so I always get to have the fun!)


If it helps, things are a bit easier when you are in a house (you've bought) because you know you plan to be there for awhile and it is so much better than trying to get stuff that could work in some unknown space. Being able to replace slowly as you run across stuff you both love at a good price is awesome too. Takes so much of the pressure off!

 

[audball]

Sooo true. I look forward to eventually being a homeowner -- but we won't be buying for several more years. I look forward to the end of the (for now) furniture shopping, though!

Sidenote: You didn't post your Week 16 picture on Friday!

 

[TooPatient]

Sooo true. I look forward to eventually being a homeowner -- but we won't be buying for several more years. I look forward to the end of the (for now) furniture shopping, though!

Sidenote: You didn't post your Week 16 picture on Friday!

I loved your jewelry picture!

This is one where I was sad to have not gotten more pictures. I'd really wanted some of my jewelry together and mine & DH's together. Lots of beautiful flowers and great backgrounds for that sort of thing.
Unfortunately I didn't put a list together ahead of time and it got overlooked. Oh well. I still have the jewelry and can pull it all out on our anniversary... Not to say that I'm not wearing it all the time anyway (except the earrings... if you look closely at the pictures, you can see than about 30 minutes in my ears started to turn red -- SOOO painful!)

 

[TooPatient]

So excited!!!

We are going out JUST THE TWO OF US!!
Last time was March 4 of last year when "A" was at a teen weekend and we went to a Fado concert.

DH found a blues music thing in the local paper and I looked into it. Looks like fun!
So I bought the tickets!!

 

[audball]

I loved your jewelry picture!

This is one where I was sad to have not gotten more pictures. I'd really wanted some of my jewelry together and mine & DH's together. Lots of beautiful flowers and great backgrounds for that sort of thing.
Unfortunately I didn't put a list together ahead of time and it got overlooked. Oh well. I still have the jewelry and can pull it all out on our anniversary... Not to say that I'm not wearing it all the time anyway (except the earrings... if you look closely at the pictures, you can see than about 30 minutes in my ears started to turn red -- SOOO painful!)

Aww, thanks! I think everyone has shots they wish they'd gotten and didn't. It's such a hectic day and the time just goes so quickly!

 

[audball]

So excited!!!

We are going out JUST THE TWO OF US!!
Last time was March 4 of last year when "A" was at a teen weekend and we went to a Fado concert.

DH found a blues music thing in the local paper and I looked into it. Looks like fun!
So I bought the tickets!!

Yay! Fun!

 

[TooPatient]

Just ordered tickets for us to all go to Seussical the Musical for DH's b-day. We'll actually do the night before his b-day since "A" is seeing a play with her mom on DH's b-day. (parenting plan says she is with us every year on his b-day and this is two years running her mom made plans and then told me ) I don't feel like arguing and this actually works out best anyway. We can do a 7:90pm performance rather than mid-day on a Sunday when they'll be packed with little kids.

So plans are:

Saturday evening musical for all
Sunday dinner for two
Sunday cake for all

 

[audball]

That sounds like fun! I bet it'll be nice to have some just you guys time anyway, despite the ex's ill intentions.

 

[TooPatient]

That sounds like fun! I bet it'll be nice to have some just you guys time anyway, despite the ex's ill intentions.

That was my thinking too. She's done something like this on his b-day, father's day, and any other time she thinks is a special day for us. Rather than get upset, I figured we'll just make it into good -- better show time, just us time, etc. So turn her bad intentioned actions into a positive!

I have also learned that it is best to keep "A" in the dark about plans until after her weekly visit so she can't accidentally tell her mom about stuff that she'd try to interrupt.

Since I can't control her actions, I can choose how I react to them. If I don't get upset -- and actually turn things into a positive -- she may eventually get bored and quit doing negative stuff. Until then I much prefer to be positive

 

[audball]

Exactly!

 

[TooPatient]

Hoping our blues event still happens tomorrow night. I've got the tickets ready to go...

Heard this news story on the radio this morning: STORY

An explosion destroyed several businesses. (No one hurt -- thankfully it was 3:30am!) Debris 4 blocks away...

The blues event is hosted by bunches of businesses. Groups play in different locations so you've got your choice of about 4 performances at any given time. You walk from place to place and stay as long as you want at any location.
BLUES


The blues event is about a block and a half away from the explosion...

 

[audball]

Oh no! I hope you're able to go!

 

[TooPatient]

Oh no! I hope you're able to go!

So do I!

I'll have to check for an announcement tomorrow, but we're planning to just go anyway. If we get there and no one is there we'll just have dinner out together.

 

[TooPatient]

Yay that was fun!

Started with great blues music. Then good food (could have been great but service was super slow and we ended up eating in the rain... it was nice enough when we sat down but an HOUR later when they finally brought our food it started raining) for dinner. More great blues music. Great coffee with interesting conversation and more great music. Cheesecake & wine with AWESOME music. Then some more great music to end the night.

One of the harmonica players showed off his circular breathing! OMG that was impressive!

Crowded. Noisy. We ended up sharing a table with another couple at the place we had dessert. Super cold out in the rain for dinner.
But SO MUCH FUN!!!

We even ran into a group of people we know! I never figured them for blues music fans!


Oh -- And GORGEOUS surroundings. (North Bend, WA -- surrounded in mountains) We took the long way out past Snoqualmie Falls. I'm still convinced we live in the most beautiful place ever


Anyway.... It is 1:30am and I am going to bed now! Just wanted to say YAY!!!



Oh.... and super quiet DH actually shouted "Whhoooo!!!" a few times


ETA: We did drive past the site of the explosion. Wow! The pictures on the news really didn't get how big that was!
The lady we shared a table with at one place is friends with the woman who owned (owns?) one of the businesses that was completely destroyed. Thankfully it was the time of day it was so no one was seriously hurt!