Home for Sale.

Does anyone want a house in a family friendly community? If so, our house could be yours! It is official. Our house is for sale.

It seems pretty surreal, and maybe more so since the sign is up for the whole neighborhood to see. Robert has been talking to a lot of the neighbors lately since he has been busy with the yard. I'm sure the sign will likely bring up sparks of new topics in which will allow us to get to "know" our neighbors better.

Actually, we do not know our neighbors. I could count the number of times on two hands that I've spoken to our neighbors...four of those times were neighbors that live about a block away and another was when a neighbor was trick-or-treating with her son last Halloween dressed as a witch. She introduced herself as the "neighbor down the street."  It will be interesting to see whether the sign changes anything, particularly with Halloween right around the corner.

We are still waiting to hear back from the FBI about our fingerprints, however, that has not stopped us from continuing our own process with what we can do in Arizona. Nothing new has really occurred since the last blog. Just more of the same stuff with making sure the house looks clean and organized.

That means I am mopping, dusting, and vacuuming at least three times per week. Prior to the house being put for sale I would do all of this one time per week. This is definitely brand new to me and at times I feel it is over excessive. I believe that with this "excessiveness" will come discipline with other habits that I have yet to master. Ask any of my old co-workers about how my work desk used to look.

We had a family who rescheduled on us several times to look at the house. I believe they came yesterday, but cannot be for certain. Robert and I left the house around 4:40 so we were away from the house when they were supposed to show at 5:00. We took the dogs for a longer than usual walk and came back about 40 minutes later.

We checked to see if we saw any cars in the driveway to explore whether the walk needed to be extended. There were no signs of anyone being in the house. It was kind of an eerie feeling that I have not experienced yet. I was not worried about anyone taking anything, but it is also a strange feeling to be uncertain on whether or not somebody, a stranger mind you, has been in your house. Does that make sense?

It is a weird feeling indeed and one that I believe I am going to have to get used to if we want to sale the house before we leave for Panama,  for which we still do not have an exact date. I also know that this uncomfortable, eerie feeling will not be the last time I feel this way any time soon. This is a new adventure and with new adventures comes a new world of feelings.

~Natalie

One Crazy Weekend

This has been yet another busy week for our family. I am not quite sure how we could have done all of this if we still had our jobs in addition to what we accomplished. I know people do this all the time and have jobs, kids, and the like, but this week has flown by. In order to move to Panama, we are having to sell pretty much everything, including both vehicles and our house.

We haven't put the vehicles up for sale yet but we did meet with the realtor in order to begin the process of selling our house.  Our house is not officially on the market yet, meaning that there is no "For Sale" sign in the front of the yard. However, our realtor informed us that somebody within his agency has a client that is interested in looking in this area and would like to come by Monday to check it out. Many of the things we expected to do were going to happen eventually including sort through/box things up, landscape the yard and do odd and end projects that we were planning on doing anyway. The fact that somebody is actually going to be looking at the house makes the process of everything done perfectly even more dire.

The master bathroom is ready to go!

The person who lived here did not install everything properly. Luckily this lovely
towel holder came off the wall right as we start doing things around the house. 

We went plant shopping and stayed under our budget, which made Robert and I both very happy. The people are the nursery were also very helpful and managed to get the plants delivered the next morning. 

Robert dug holes along the front and back yards. Normally the dirt is so hard that professional landscapers use jackhammers with spades on them to dig bigger holes. Although this could have been an option, it was not needed. I think the rain in recent weeks helped soften the ground enough to make these holes "easy" to dig. 

The holes are covered and ready for the plant delivery in the morning. 

Because of the high mineral content of the soil in our area, it is generally a good idea to fill holes with water first. Not only does it soften the ground, but it also pushes a lot of the minerals down to the bottom of the hole, which can have a layer of nice, nutrient rich soil.

Water in a hole.

Our yard before the holes and new plants

Our yard after landscaping.

In general, Robert did a lot of the outside labor while I did a lot of the inside stuff. I vacuumed and shampooed the carpets. Because of our team effort, I know the house will be ready to go for tomorrow. We still need to do some final touches on organizing. This has been a tiring weekend, but Robert and I got it done. We make a great team and I am glad that I get to go on this journey with him. 

Stuff, Stuff, and more Stuff...

I have one question for everyone: how does one accumulate so much stuff? There are only two people living in our house and although we felt like we had a "big" yard sale, I am quickly realizing that we did not even come close to selling/giving away things. Many of the things I am coming across now are things I have forgotten about.

Case in point, I came across my graduation gown from Arizona State University. Honestly, I kind of forgot that I had it. I'm not sure where this will end up, but for now it is tucked away in a box in my closet.

For those of you wondering, the red shoes are an inside
joke from when I graduated Oregon State University.

This is what will be donated to a local food bank. Some of the stuff is non-perishable food, while others are gently used clothes. There is also a nice stock pile of hotel/travel sized hygiene products.  I love to collect soaps and conditioners from hotels and donate them.

I did not put the boxes in very good so I had to put the seats down. Obviously my Tetris playing skills could use some work. This is what my car looks like after reorganizing some boxes.

Although I am no longer working, I feel like there is plenty to do. I know now that this is what I'm supposed to focus my attention on, despite missing my families and co-workers. We still do not a definitive date of when our move will occur, but I'm sure we'll continue to stay busy as we narrow down what we want to bring to Panama.

~Natalie

Saying Work Goodbyes

For those of you who do not know, I am an early childhood therapist. What does that mean? It means I provide therapy for children typically who are between the ages of newborns to 5 years old. Many, but not all are involved with Child Protective Services, aka, Department of Child Safety (since we are in Arizona). I have been very lucky to have wonderful co-workers who have been willing to take on some of my clients, particularly some of the more challenging ones.

In the past week, I have spent much of my time working from home, primarily checking emails to see whether anything urgent comes up. Luckily nothing has. I thought I would be busier at this point. I thought I would be busy putting out emergencies or having to testify in court. Work has quickly come to an end for me and it is a very bittersweet feeling. I was not been as busy as I thought I would be at this point.

Instead, I have been saying goodbye. I have been with my current agency for roughly 18 months and have grown very close to some of my clients and some of my co-workers. I have little need to have to drive 51 minutes south to go to my office. Lately I have chosen to work from home. I will miss a lot about my job because of my office I work at. I probably have the best office staff one could ask for and I am going to miss all of the special traditions we've had. These traditions include things like going on breaks for junk food, inside jokes, and celebrating events and birthdays in each other's lives.

I've said goodbye to many of my clients. I've grown so much with them and they have shared things with me that few are privileged to hear. Saying goodbye is something I'm accustomed to with my clients, however, it is something that is still hard to do, especially when you feel like you've been through a lot with them.  Luckily, I feel that all of my kiddos are in good hands.

I have had to say many goodbyes in my lifetime. It is part of being a social worker and a therapist. I may not always remember faces, but out of the 500+ clients I've worked with, I can say that each of them and each of my collegues have a special place in my heart. To all of you that fall into this category, I thank you.