We’re getting ready to move in (T-2 weeks to go). We’ve put up new lights, removed the doors from the play room closet, and started to make a big dent against our credit card :-p
Micky is really excited about the DIY, and I’m really excited to make the house feel more like our own.
Today we got our new fridge & washer/dryer set. We also spent the day painting the play room. It’s a very bright yellow, and the whole crew got in on the action:
I think the house is really starting to look good 🙂
I keep missing posts. Right when I’d like to write my post, Amelia wakes up. After getting her back to sleep, it’s 1am. Then I’m too tired to put it together.
Then she wakes up again at 5am, 6am (and if she makes it back to sleep at 7am again).
It’s been really brutal, and I have no idea how to beat it. Micky’s back is out, and so it’s been a very solo affair as well (which only makes it worse). It’s tough to get excited about waking up so many times in the night 🙁
Anyway, I’ll get back to daily posts this week, but I’ll continue to catch up tonight 🙂
There aren’t many examples of aging gracefully on my side of the family.
My grandfather on my dad’s side I barely remember being healthy (though I remember him living life fully and with a smile). My grandfather on my mom’s side was an ox, but then pneumonia & cancer got the better of him as well.
On my dad’s side, my grandmother has dementia.
Physical problems slow down the grandmother on my mom’s side (though she’s done amazingly well, and so maybe she’s the exception that proves the rule).
That’s why when I see Mike (my father-in-law) chase the kids, help paint the house, and chase after Micky, it blows my mind. The family of his who I have met (Patty, Monica) are equally well put together. I think it’s really great for the kids.
I talked to a financial adviser who told me that if I lived to be 95 years old, I’d need some big number millions of dollars to pay for my needs. I laughed. I’ve never wanted to live past 70 because in our family it doesn’t happen gracefully. But maybe it’s still possible…
One of my New Year resolutions for 2013 is to give up french fries. Holy smokes – this is going to be hard 🙁
French fries are a standard across any fast food restaurant. Fine. I don’t eat at many fast food restaurants. Thank you resolution from 2011!
But it’s still an incredibly standard affair. Sandwiches, burgers, and even pizza places have french fries as a side dish. The kids want it. Other people order it not knowing any better. And resisting stealing one off of a plate is torture.
The first thing to get you is the smell. You can actually smell the salt on the fries when you haven’t had any in a while.
Then, it’s the hunger pangs. I had a burger and salad the other day, and I was still hungry. I’m never hungry when I have fries. And there they were on Mike’s plate begging to be eaten.
Finally, as everyone stands up to walk away, it’s the feeling that I, yes I, could save the day, and finish off that plate by eating the last remaining fries. I’m doing world hunger a favor. I need to appreciate having food by finishing it.
Until the bus boy comes by, takes the plates, and ends the misery.
This giving up french fries thing is going to be a lot harder than I realized…
Amelia got a camera for Christmas as she’s obsessed with taking photos. She runs around with no regard for composition or subject, and just takes photos. It’s actually incredibly liberating if you ask me. Since I got a 5D from my family for my birthday, I’ve been shooting a lot more as well.
The amplifize crew is doing a monthly photography theme as a group motivation tactic to take photos. This month’s theme is emergence thanks to John Shen. Here is one of my favorites so far:
Lots of family stress & sickness means that this post is two days late 🙁
The new house is in the Sunset. We’re about one mile away from the ocean, and so yesterday after we were done walking through the house we decided to head over to the beach. We started at the coffee shop at Judah and Great Highway. Then Micky and Mike headed home while the kids and I went to the beach for a quick toe dip into the Pacific Ocean.
As I watched them run around the sand I realized that Ocean Beach was my new front yard. Golden Gate Park will be the extension of my new back yard. And the kids are going to grow up with so many great choices about where to go and what to do all within biking distance.
The rest of the wonder I’ll leave to the photos.
This week was epic. Everything was down, then up, and then down again. I’m emotionally spent, and I’m physically exhausted.
Monday morning Micky woke up screaming in pain. We had to call an ambulance, and she headed off to the ER. Unfortunately, Amelia had woken up, and so she saw it all. She understood that her mom was in pain, and that she had to go see the doctor. I got her back to sleep thanks to the big bean bag, and the Bay Bridge light show, but that was total chaos.
At the same time, the whole company was in town to do homecoming. It was going to be a long week anyway, and Monday morning started it off with a bang!
Tuesday was really good because Aydin came into town for his annual pilgrimage. We changed plans because of Micky’s back pain, but otherwise we were off and running.
Wednesday I had a good work day; but a weird personal day. In chauffeuring Micky, Aydin dinged the car. Everyone freaked out. When I came home, I saw the damage, and it really wasn’t that big of a deal. It sucks. It’s a nice, new car. But at the end of the day, no one was hurt. And it really doesn’t matter. It’s just a car. But a weird day nonetheless.
Thursday, Aydin headed out to visit the Pacific. I finally felt like it was a normal day. Micky’s dad came into town, and the kid’s went to the airport to pick him up. It seemed as if we’d turned a corner… but alas.
When I got home, Amelia got sick. Micky ran in, and picked her up, throwing out her back… again. Back to the ER. A long night.
The next day, we couldn’t send the kids to school (fevers), couldn’t leave Micky by herself (bad back), and also had Mike to consider. It was a hard day with a lot of angry words. Finally though, the drugs kicked in (everyone’s), and somehow we saved the day. The big news… we closed on the house!
So the weekend has allowed us to recover. Tomorrow is a day off, and I think that will help as well. I’ve definitely hit a wall (and I’m 100% sure I’m getting sick), but the roller coaster has stopped.
I’ll finish with my new favorite Dr. Seuss line from “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish”:
Today is gone. Today was fun.
Tomorrow is another one.
Every day,
from here to there,
funny things are everywhere.
Every year since about 2002 (for argument’s sake. I can’t actually remember), my father, Aydin Yardim, and I have met in Las Vegas during CES to ring in the new year; eat at a steakhouse; and get in a show.
It’s become the one family tradition which is constant and memorable.
The trip always starts in Las Vegas, but also tends to find its way to the Pacific Ocean where an annual pilgrimage is performed. It may be January, but the ocean can still speak warmth despite its cold temperature. We’ve done road trips up and down CA-1. Visits to Portland and Seattle have happened. Funny stories about late night visits to BnBs with only one bed left are still told today.
Aydin also holds the title of only person who has visited me at every house at which I’ve ever lived. I actually don’t know if this is true for homes in NC, but it’s definitely true of homes in San Francisco.
Put it all together, and you get a fun week with family we don’t get to see enough of, making memories that we tell stories about for years to come. On to the photos 🙂
I’ve been tight-lipped for a month so that we didn’t jinx it, but now the keys are in our hands. We bought 1250 31st Ave earlier this month, and the deal closed today. It was a whirlwind of zero to house in approximately 24 days.
We’ll throw a party soon, but otherwise I’ll let the photos do the talking 🙂 (the furniture is fake in these photos)
I recently heard “Jar of Hearts” by Christina Perri on the radio. I was super psyched to have found a new moody song to listen to. Check it out here:
I just looked it up on Wikipedia (as I didn’t see it listed on any charts), and it turns out it’s a 3-year old song 🙂
I do this all of the time. I remember I found “Viva La Vida” by ColdPlay, and then told my brother about this awesome new song. He told me it’d been out for years.
I’ve never been one to really keep up with music. I just find something that I like, and then over play it to the point where I can’t stand it. Then I move on to the next one. I’m also rather disappointed in how similar all of the radio stations in San Francisco are. How many top 20 stations can one city really support? It just doesn’t make sense.
Maybe one of the new music services will become a favorite and save me… otherwise, it would be nice if someone told me what was cool in a weekly newsletter, and I’ll keep up that way 🙂