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3/15 House Hunting: House #4
House 4: $498,000 3 bed / 1.5 bath / (unlisted) square feet / 6,570 square foot lot / garage The Good: Okay, talk about curb appeal. The house look beautiful on the outside and is on a corner lot, but one of those triangle shaped corners, giving it a unique look. Plus, it is in the Seward Park neighborhood, which is definitely upscale. The street it was on was quiet. And as a random bonus, the house across the street had to adorable big dogs. The living room area with two sets of French doors that open to what was probably once a porch, but is now a fully finished…
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3/15 House Hunting: House #3
House 3: $439,000 5 bed / 3 bath / 2,560 square feet / 5,445 square foot lot / garage & carport The Good: When we arrived at the house, a neighbor was walking her dog by. She mentioned she could not believe how great the house looked. It had been bought and flipped, and she was thrilled. And while the house did not have the curb appeal of the previous brick house, it still looked quite nice, and fit in very well with the surrounding neighborhood. It was on a quiet street, Beacon Hill area, and again, seemed like an area where I would be fine with the girls playing…
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3/15 House Hunting: House #2
House 2: $475,000 3 bed / 1.25 bath / 2,140 square feet / 5,432 square foot lot / garage The Good: The house has great curb appeal, and is in a nice Beacon Hill neighborhood. The streets are narrow, but quiet, a place I would have no issues with the girls playing outside. It has a large back and side yard, but without a lot of fancy landscaping the dogs would mess up. I really liked the flow of the public spaces of the house, with the fireplace kind of set between the dining/living areas, and then the French doors from the dining area into the kitchen. The basement area…
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3/15 House Hunting: House 1
House 1: $385,000 4 bed / 2 bath / 2,080 square feet / 4,000 square foot lot / garage The Good: Based on the pictures, the price, and location, this was the house I was most interested in seeing today. It had a nice large kitchen with eat in space, and good sized, fully fenced back yard. The fireplace was lovely, and the two main floor bedrooms were pretty comparable, with a bathroom in between, making them good for the girls. The basement had been nicely finished with a family/entertainment room that was nice, and would allow perhaps for a child play area that wasn’t the main floor. The Bad:…
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Looking for the Good
When Pop Tart first came to live with us, she had a general anxiety disorder diagnosis. Almost two years, lots of hard work, and more coping mechanisms than I can count later, she still has symptoms of anxiety but no longer a disorder. Still, a generalize feeling of fear or anxiety can over take her at just about any time. In addition, she is one of those sensitive souls that FEELS (and yes, all caps) everything. One of the things we have struggled with as parents are school reading assignments that have dealt with death (in 4th grade, 2 classroom books assigned back to back dealt with child death and…
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Houses that are not for us
We are currently in the early stages of house hunting, with a plan to move this summer. I love to look at houses (both in person and online), so I am casting a pretty wide net with the search. Sometimes there are houses that for one reason or another are absolutely not right for us, but that have some kind of space or feature that I love anyway. I thought I would share some of those spaces. Look at these matching built in window seats. I don’t mind the scratches in the finish, that actually just adds to the charm. The house itself was more expensive than I would want…
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9 Things in 9 Months
About a month ago, my friend Jana at JanaSays posted her 40 by 40 list. Jana has a couple of years before she turns 40. I have 9 months. There is no way I am accomplishing 40 things in 9 months, but, I might be able to accomplish 9 things in 9 months, so here are some things I want to do before I turn 40 this coming December. Take kids to Disneyland This is kind of cheating, as the timeshare is booked, the plane tickets are bought, and the rental car is reserved. But I am very much looking forward to it. Complete the first draft of…
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100 Word Book Review: YA Series – The Immortals by Tamora Pierce
(Originally posted on February 28, 2013) The Immortals is the second series by Tamora Pierce that I have completed. Just as with the Song of the Lioness books, these books are targeted at tweens and young teens. The protagonist, Daine, is an inspiring young woman who we get to watch from 12 to 16 years of age. She is intelligent, capable, kind, brave and loyal- pretty much everything we want girls of this age to aspire to be. It doesn’t mean she does not make mistakes or have her flaws. It means she learns from them. This series is particularly good for kids who love animals.
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100 Word Book Review: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
(Originally posted on December 3, 2012) The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is the first book in a series. Based on it, I intend to pick up the next book. This is the story of Kvothe, as told by Kvothe. He is an exceptional man whose life has already reached legendary status, despite the fact that he is only 30 or so years old. The book is exceptionally well written, and reads as if it were a much shorter book. The story is fast paced and keeps the reader “listening” to the tale with as much anticipation as those hearing it in the book.
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100 Word Book Review: Tiassa by Steven Brust
(Originally posted on May 30, 2012) Tiassa is very different from most of the Vlad novels in that very little of it is told from Vlad’s point of view. This does not make it bad, just different. The story is still Vlad centric, but it details what would normally be behind the scenes actions that Vlad never sees and isn’t really aware of. It’s good, but I love Vlad’s voice so I was kind of disappointed. It also reminds us of the fact that we’re hearing these stories because Vlad is telling them to someone, recording them. We learn this is as a favor to Sethra.
