Sometimes you have tons to do...

Before 5pm. Today we take off to Seattle to go see Paco and Sarah at Says The Snake's CD release show. The car rental company is picking me up at 5pm(I get out of work at 5pm exactly lol). Then I have to get the car, pick up Geli downtown, and drive in what will most likely be disgusting peak traffic hour traffic to Seattle from Portland.

I also have to get these things done(and I've done some already!):

Things to do 6/28
1. Do Laundry
2. Make hummus and dinner wraps to go
3. Go to Safeway(grocery store)
4. Get buspass + food to go(cereal, non-refrigerated milk)
5. Map Portland to El Corazon(venue)
6. Map El Corazon(venue) > Paco's
7. Map Paco's > Our Saturday destinations
8. Map Paco's > Our Sunday destinations > Home
9. Pack my stuff 2 days
10. Pack Sophie's backpack(colors/toys)
11. Shower Sophie
12. Put battery in camera bag
13. Put map PDFs on Tablet
14. Charge Tablet
15. Pack bathroom stuff(toothbrushes, toothpaste, comb, shampoo, etc.)
16. Take letter to Manager to print and let her know vacating apt.
17. Take Sophie's carseat.
18. Wash dishes.

I of course also have to work. And feed and take care of Sophie. I hope our 2 memory cards are enough. Shooting a show + 2 days of being tourists is not something we've done without a memory card dump onto the PC(we're not taking the laptop).

Sometimes it is very difficult...

So the replacement lens came in.

And it is very difficult to not open it. I want to wait for Geli, so we can open it together. But it's just sitting there. In the box. Begging to be opened. Begging to be used on the 7D....And she doesn't get home for another 3 hours. I've already waited like 3 hours! fddfkljfkljfkljfakljf dfs hdjshfkljh fkjdashkj dsfkljshf hfkljs !!!!

Sometimes you can't decide...

So we've been obsessing a little. Geli's become an interior designer, planning up all sorts of things for the inside of the house. And we've been looking for a color scheme for the outside that isn't too crazy, yet isn't boring. And that is harder than it sounds. I mean, we're going to stand out anyway, we always do for some reason. So yeah, help us decide. We have some preliminary choices. Including Sophie's input. Here you go:

This is what it looks like now, not very much like us:

So we're looking for something that contrasts, and is bold. Without being totally crazy.

#1 I personally love this green color. And it goes well with gray/black:

#2 Very minor tweak, the bottom of the roof's "trim" is white, instead of green:

#3  A different take on the same colors.

#4 Green/black/white

#5 A still bold, if a little less crazy option w/gray/black/white

#6 As "traditional" as we can get. This is the most normal color scheme here.

#7 No gray. Just green/black/white

#8 All black. Accent door.

#9 Just black and green. Wood door.

#10. The Geli. She had to try this color scheme. I think she's a goth and won't admit it haha

#11 just accents of green on gray and black.

#12  A lighter version of #6

#13. Sophie's entry. She's very adamant about this color scheme. Sophie: "This is exactly how I want the outside of the house!"

So as you can see, we are all excited and indecisive. Help us pick. Suggest other color schemes. Go!

Sometimes you break the streak...

In this case, the monthly certification streak I had going since January. This month I won't be taking an exam. I am not even studying for one. I don't even know what I would take next. I am not sure how I feel about that. I guess I lost motivation since they aren't showing any interest in moving me to engineering at work. And here in Portland things aren't looking too good either. Not that I have really tried. I actually have an interview on Monday, in person at the power company, and I am pretty sure I am gonna cancel that tomorrow. Things are way too hectic right now like to think about going to an interview where I have to dig out my dress clothes(been years since I have had to wear them haha), re-learn to tie a tie, get a baby sitter since Sophie is home, figure out how to get the time off from work, so yeah. Not gonna do that. I will cancel that tomorrow(it was for a hardware support job anyway, not systems administration like I would want). But yeah...I shouldn't have broken this streak. I know it will be very difficult to get back on the certification track. Last time I got off it, it took me 3+ yrs to get back into it.

Sometimes things go well...

I am still waiting for the inspection report to come in tonight. It might not until tomorrow morning. But at least the walk through and the explanation the inspector gave us isn't too bad. No major structural issues. No major surprises. The roof might need some work, the bathroom has some moisture issues. All in all, nothing major. No deal breakers. We're gonna see if the seller will fix some of the issues, since they squeezed an extra $25k out of us. But this is most likely gonna happen now. Don't want to get ahead of myself here, but I think this is it. It's happening! :D

here is the house, if you haven't seen it. It's missing the pics of the living and dining rooms, but we'll be posting some we take ourselves soon:

http://www.redfin.com/OR/Portland/3355-SE-Kelly-St-97202/home/26579305

Sometimes you wear many hats...

This week has been pretty crazy. With the house offer being accepted, there has been a barrage of things we need to get done. So I have been busy making calls, gathering and signing all sorts of documents, looking into interest rates, trying to understand the loan, paying for inspections, trying to schedule them as soon as possible, etc. I also have Sophie this week at home with me. So I have been keeping her entertained as well. Like in the mornings I make/serve her breakfast, when she's done with that, I have her write in her journal, which is where she makes a drawing of what she did the previous day and also writes a couple sentences about it(I'll upload pics of them later, they're cute). They taught her this at school, so I have just kept it going here at home this week for somewhat selfish reasons - I absolutely love reading them. I have kept all of the ones she brought home from school haha. So after that I give her an array of activities, some reading a short story and answering questions about it on her own. Others some addition and subtraction. Some doodling and coloring. And some free play and TV sprinkled in. She also helped me do the laundry. She has been lacking in park/outdoor time though, but I just have no time to get her outside during the week :/ Today I will take her though, I promised her(after work). Even if just for a bit, cuz I gotta get home in time to make the cheeze sauce for the dinner. All this while still getting my work duties done.

So I've been dad/teacher/playmate/IT tech/house buyer/home maker all at once this week. 
So it's been a crazy week. But I've enjoyed having Sophie home so far :) And today we have the house inspection. I am hoping there aren't going to be too many unpleasant surprises...but it's an 89 year old house. So there probably will be...

Sometimes you actually win...

So we won the offer on the house. Crazy. There was cash offers too, so that we won is unexpected. We will be doing the inspections this week. Then there's the bank's appraisal, and the underwriting on the loan. So there's a few hurdles yet. But this is the first time we win a multiple offer situation, and there's been like 8 of them. Here are 6 of them:

On another one, we were ready to offer $300K and another client from our realtor had already offered more, so she let us know so we wouldn't get our hopes up and waste our time. We also made a verbal offer for another one for $300K, and they didn't go for it either. So yeah, first time we win a multiple offer situation(Last accepted offer was the only one submitted). So now, let's see what happens with the inspection this week.

Sometimes you are excited...

And I know we shouldn't be. We are making an offer on this house tomorrow:

http://www.redfin.com/OR/Portland/3355-SE-Kelly-St-97202/home/26579305

There are already 2 offers, and one is for cash, so we'll probably not get it, as usual. But we'll be offering like $20K over asking...so here's to hoping...It's cute, and in a great location.

And on another note. Sometimes humanity is just disgusting. What year is this? How can people have such short memories? And how can people be so publicly disgusting with no shame?

http://publicshaming.tumblr.com/post/52763976629/racist-basketball-fans-pissed-a-mexican-american-boy

These people are offended that a mexican american boy sings the american anthem? And there's this much backlash? So lame that people are like this....It's sickening.

Sometimes you are let down...

This time, by our realtor. I don't know what is up with her. Maybe we are horrible clients to have. But even then, this is not very professional. Yesterday we went to an open house. We like the house quite a bit, and we wanted to make an offer for it. I called our realtor from the open house, and she didn't answer. So I left her a message saying we wanted to place an offer for a house, to get back to me. She didn't call or email back. This was yesterday around 2pm. I called her again this morning, left another message. I still haven't heard back from her, and the house already went pending(they accepted another offer). This is not cool. The house was cute, in a good location, and was $289K(within our budget). I mean, the way things have been going, we most likely would have lost anyway, but who knows, we might not have. And now we lost the chance to bid on it...and we both really liked it. Sophie did too. So now I have to call the main office tomorrow and try to find out what happened. Ask for another realtor or switch companies altogether. I don't like to be "that guy" but this just not acceptable in such a competitive market, where every day counts. We were in time to do this, we were at the open house, and there was no response...so yeah. I think we are cursed when it comes to houses. It should not be this difficult to give someone $300k.

Sometimes you don't have a lazy day...

Today we had a lot to do, just like yesterday. We usually do absolutely nothing on Sundays, and it is awesome. But not this one. We had dinner for breakfast, and and breakfast for dinner, then we went to an open house, then to the thrift shop for a couple plates since I broke them all last week. Then we went to fix my bike, I just needed to replace the chain on it, but ended up replacing the cassette too. And man, it feels so smooth now. I love taking my bike to that place(A Better Cycle). It's a cool worked owned bike shop. They're super nice, and super helpful. Then we went to the co-op for some groceries, then home, then to get some quarters to do laundry, then did 2 loads of laundry while watching a movie kind of. Also had some popcorn and a bagel. Then tried to make a dent in the processing of the pics, but no time really. All in all, a pretty cool Sunday, despite being so busy.

Sometimes you take over 450 pics...

At a birthday party. Today we went to the store for a gift, then to go see a house, then to a birthday party, then out to dinner for some Ethopian food. And apparently, that means I took 450 pics haha A bit ridiculous, I know. But there was a magician, and apparently commissioned me to take pics of  him and send them to him haha I was just going to take a few to make a collage of the night, but then he said he was gonna give me cues and tell me when to take pics. And well, if I am gonna share my work with someone, it has to be good. So I took a lot. Then there was a piñata, and so I turned into a sports photographer and used it in high speed burst mode(8 frames per second ftw!). I have only glanced through them, but some of them came out pretty cool. And then I took a few pics of the food at the ethiopian place(awesome food!), and apparently, that's 450+ pics....and now I have to look through them, delete like 90% of them, and process the rest. I also got the emails of some of the parents to send them the pics of the party. And also, we had some bomb coffee Geli made, and apparently I am so tired, it didn't really work. I need another one lol...

Also here are a couple pics I should have posted long ago(from the comedy show we almost didn't go to because of the miscommunication with the sitter):

Keith Lowell Jensen!

Keith Lowell Jensen!

Keith Lowell Jensen!

Sometimes you bake...

But not today haha I just have these pics about baking I've been meaning to post. Friday's I had been baking cookies as a snack while we hang out in the apartment. But not today. Here are the pics from those other Friday's:

Some sugar cookies, but Sophie wanted a ginger bread man, so I made her a sugar cookie man haha

Gingerbread animal cookies, and a gingerbread man. Sophie's request.

Somtimes you post pics of spring, in summer...

It isn't summer quite yet, but it sure feels like it. 81 degrees today, and on the top floor with no A/C, that's not that cool(pun intended lol). But here are some pics from April that I meant to post and hadn't for some reason:

Tulips!!

Flower walls!

Everyone's yard looks awesome even if they don't do much with it!!

I love these mossy walls of rocks!

In Bloom!

I believe this is a dandelion flower

Strange shaped tulip!

More and more tulips!

Cherry blossoms!

Tons of tiny little white flowers in circles

This is what the farmers market looks like on Wednesday's at the co-op!

Look like a flame, this tulip does!

Sometimes you have more pics...

Okay, so we've all been slacking it. No one is posting as regularly as we agreed to. But here are some pics that were supposed to be in previous posts:

This is the taco-inside-a-taco I had told you about. Although, I realize it can't be a taco with a flour tortilla. This is taco-bell speak haha. We also had some vegan s'mores and a vegan chocolate chip ice cream sandwich! Bomb!

This is where I come take the certification exams. It's a technical school.

Traffic, on the way back from the certification exam...this is something that makes me not miss cars at all...

This is the zipcar closest to our house(less than half a mile). So this is the one I rent when it's available. It's also like $8/hr, so it's not bad. And that includes gas and insurance.

I got this vegan cupcake for Sophie last month when I took her to a birthday party of one of her friends. So she would have something to eat while everyone eats cake. She didn't even eat it. Was too busy playing to care about cake lol.

So I'm relaxing at the park, laying down under a tree. And then something falls on me.

So what do Sophie and I do? Proceed to take tons of pics of it!

It was almost sunset, so it was a beautiful backdrop!

The kit lens can get some pretty decent magnification in a pinch!

"What is this strange terrain I am walking on?!"

And then on the way home, this bug was posing. So I had to take a pic.