Meet Jersey, Ichi, Figgy, and Ollie

It's an animal house around here! Three cats is okay but add a dog in the mix and it is a whole new dynamic that I'm not very comfortable with. I think I would rather have triplets than a dog. But Dan says he will train her not to lick, jump, howl, scratch my new wood floors, play fetch, and other niffy and necessary behaviors. Here is a run down of our clan:

Ichiro S. BeeBee (Ichi)- is named after Dan's favorite baseball player, Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners. We first met Ichi when he was still in the womb. Our friends' cat got pregnant and Dan picked Ichi because he was the only grey kitty in a litter of black kittens. He is 4 1/2 years old and loves to sleep on our new red velvet chair.

Figgins (Figgy) - is named after Chone Figgins of the Anaheim Angels (one of Elizabeth's favorite baseball players). She was adopted after Dan found her and her three black brothers under a wood palate at the CHP office in Torrance. She is an orphan because her mom most likely got squished by traffic outside the office on the busy street. Dan affectionately called her "garbage" for awhile because she has stripes like the cat Dwight got Angela after he murdered Sprinkles on an episode of The Office. We bottle fed her from the time she was 5 weeks old. She has the loudest motor and likes to swallow her kibble and treats whole instead of chewing them. We call her our "noise ninja" because she is drawn to anything that makes noise like cell phones and sirens. When a T-mobile commercial comes on she perks up at the sound of the T-mobile generic ring. She loves to steal my red grading pens, play with ice cubes in water, and she does this hilarious cackle sound when she sees birds and flies. She is 15 months old.

Oliver (Ollie) - is our newest feline named after Dickens' orphan hero Oliver Twist. He was living in my friend Janee's neighborhood. It took Dan and Janee several weeks to catch him. He adjusted very well to Ichi and Figgy but still runs away from all humans. I still wonder if he will ever learn to trust us. Oh, well, at least he is cute! He is probably 4 months old and loves to wrestle with Ichi and Figgy.

Jersey - is the dog. She is half german pointer and half chocolate lab. We think that she is about 6 months old. She was named Jersey because she is the color of a jersey cow (and we live in Chino where there are many many cows). Once again my friend Janee is responsible for this addition to our "family". She was lost and chasing cars on a busy street. Janee rescued her and tried to find her owners but could not. So. . .Dan wanted to keep her and now Jersey lives in our little cement side yard. She is really sweet (and stinky and dirty) and Dan thinks she has great potential. I'm still holding out for Jersey's real owners to call us.

Well that is it! NO MORE PETS IN THIS HOUSE!!! Don't forget to participate in my pet survey located on the left of your computer screen.

I have been tagged!

I've been tagged by Christine Mowles which means I need to display the picture that is fourth in my fourth picture file. This is the mascot for the Seattle Seahawks. Dan took this picture when he and I were there in 2007 for a preseason game. I never cared for football much until I met Dan and I must say that even though I don't mind it on TV I never go out of my way to see a football game. I wish a more interesting picture was my fourth, fourth picture. Oh well!

I now tag: Mom, Kathryn, Ben, and Rachel

Fire - Update

6:00 am Sunday morning
The good news is the wind has totally stopped in Chino. The sad news is that the fire(s) are coming over the hills from Brea into Chino Hills. Our house is a very safe distance away but we are somewhat trapped in Chino. The fires have closed down most every road that can bring us towards LA. I just might stay home on Monday with Dan. It took him almost three hours to get back to Chino last night after a 14 hour work day.

"Love Him in the morning. . .

. . .when you see the sun is rising!" is how one of my old favorite worship songs begins. Taking a glance out my bedroom window to see the vibrant colors of the sunrise is how I usually start my day. Isn't it beautiful?! I've always been a morning person but Chino really rewards you for getting up early with heartwarming scenes like this. Having learned to take pleasure in the little treasures on this earth has helped me stay grounded in times of turmoil. To me the sunrise is a glimpse of eternal glory. C.S. Lewis in his book The Great Divorce describes Heaven as a place where life is more solid, vibrant, and real compared to earth. The colors will be brighter, the rain will glisten more, the heavenly bodies of souls who have gone to heaven are more solid and strong. His imaginings are quite the contrast from the more accepted view of heaven and life after death where everything is translucent and vapor-like. Our spoiled and imperfect earth is merely a shadow compared to the aesthetic splendor and glory of Heaven.

TIME OUT!!!

This past Tuesday Dan and I finally had a day off together. (Thanks Veterans!) We saved most of this day for a relaxing trip to our favorite local spot, Crystal Cove beach in Newport. After breakfast Dan and I packed a few things and drove 25 minutes to Newport and spent the morning walking along the cliffs with the blue ocean splashing below. We walked barefooted in the soft, wet sand, searched for the most unique looking shells, laughed at the funny little crabs in the tide pools, and laid down on our towels resting in the sun listening to the crashing waves. There were no ghetto blasters, no traffic noise, no little kids screaming, no teenagers casually using profanity. . . it was a marvelous day. After a few hours of relaxation we drove to the Shake Shack and shared a cookie dough milkshake before our drive back to reality. Today I am glad I live in California.

There is a little Miss Havisham in us all!

During our recent move Dan and I purged many things that we no longer needed. In the midst of sorting I came across a bridesmaid's bouquet from my wedding over five years ago and also the lemon leaves from the bouquet of white roses that Dan used to propose to me six years ago. They were a dusty, frail shadow of their former selves; crusty, brown, and frail. I had held on to them long after they lost their beauty because I wanted to hold on to the memories that they represent. At last after I lingered over them I decided to snap a few pictures and toss them in the trash. While unlike Miss Havisham my momentos represented pleasant memories, they still held me hostage. Don't get me wrong. . .I'm all for keepsakes. But when you keep smelly, messy dead flowers in your house for years, you've gone a little too far! I never want to be a slave to my stuff.

Fire!

Hello Everyone! One of the things we were warned about when we moved to Chino was the fierce wind that blows through the valley on occasion. In the first wind storm about a month ago we lost many trees around the neighborhood and the hay at the dairy next to our house caught on fire. We couldn't believe how loud the wind can howl. For the past two days we have had our second big wind storm and unfortunately it is helping to spread fire throughout the Los Angeles area. I took a quick picture of the Corona/Yorba Linda fire from the window of the third story loft. I am so sad for the hundreds of families that have lost their homes to the fires.

We're back!

Time has been precious of late. Every moment we don't spend at work is spent unpacking and finishing the rennovations at the Long Beach house. The Chino house is awesome and Dan and I feel so blessed. We still don't have a next door neighbor but all our other neighbors are so nice. I'll have to post some pictures later.

It is finally done!

Today I took the day off work to head to Chino so that Dan and I could do the first inspection of our finished house. The most amazing thing to me about purchasing a new home is that it comes with customer service and a warranty. Dave, our customer service agent, walked us through the house to explain how everything works and help us create a punch list for the construction manager so that he can fix all the little imperfections. It took us over three hours to do this but halfway through the tour our selling agent, Melissa, surprised us with a lunch in our new kitchen! So today Dan and I hosted our first party in our new house with the customer service agent, selling agent, and all the construction managers! Too bad we didn't have any seats for them. Next Monday, Sept. 29th, we close escrow and get our keys. I seriously can't believe this is happening! The packing has been a lot of work but the end result will be SO worth it. We can't wait for company!

Canopy Row Cottage

P.S. Sorry for all the typos; I did this quickly and I'm too busy to go back and fix it!

A tale of two houses. . .

We are moving in two weeks and this past week we (mostly Dan) embarked on the adventure of finding renters for our Long Beach house. Tomorrow we will hopefully sign a sweet little family to a two-year lease on our house. Our Chino house will be finished by this Friday (Sept. 19th) and then we get to begin to move!

It has been interesting having strangers come walk through your house scrutinizing it. I thought it would be difficult to find people to pay the $2400 price tag but we had 15 walk throughs in five days! The things that people most liked about our house were the colors of the walls, the backyard oasis (as Dan calls it in our rental ad), the loft space, and the fireplace. The things most people didn't like were the things I don't like about the house: how small the two bedrooms are, lack of a closet in the master bedroom (which technically declassifies it as a bedroom), and that the pool isn't heated. We will have to rectify the closet situation sometime in the future and I would still like to upgrade the kitchen space a bit with tiled floors, new appliances, and granite countertops. But for now our renters seem extremely happy with the property. I think they love the neighborhood.

Well tomorrow I get to go to Chino to check on the progress on Canopy Row Cottage (as I so fondly now call our new house). The floors, countertops, and other details have been installed since we've last been there. I'll post some new pictures soon after we get back from our visit.

We have grass!!!

One month and counting!!!

On Friday Dan and I had to make another trip out to Hidden Hollow for a VERY fun reason. Standard Pacific homes (our builder) called us to tell us they are dropping the price of the house again by $21K bringing the grand total to $381K which includes $23K in upgrades!!! We couldn't believe it! Since we reserved the house in mid-July the price has dropped $46K for a total of $121 off the price of the house. I am amazed at God's generosity and goodness. Since we were in town we visited our new house again and I snapped several update pictures for you all. Since we were last there the interior painting has been finished and the baseboards put in. The interior doors have been installed as well as the hardware. The front door has been painted a nice dark blue/green. The porch and walkway cement has been layed, the side yard wal has been built, several trees have been planted, the central air unit installed, and probably a lot of other things we can't yet see. We met the construction manager on Friday (he was so nice!) and he told us about the things they plan to do to our house.
Today (Saturday) they will finish installing the sprinkler systems as well as the rest of the landscaping. They will also paint the shutters the same dark blue/green color as the front door. This week the granite and flooring is going to be installed as well. The house should be finished by Sept. 19th and our walk through with the construction manager will be on Sept. 22nd. We officially close escrow and take possession of the house on Sept. 29th. We have three other police officers in our neighborhood so far but we still have no neighbors in the house next to ours or across from ours. We are really excited to meet our new neighbors soon!

We have a move-in date!!!

This past Sunday Dan and I went to finish our paperwork and to visit our new house. Our official moving day is September 29th!!! We are very excited to say the least. The house will actually be done on Sept. 22nd when we will do our offical walk-through inspection.
On Sunday when we were there I was surprised at how quickly the house is coming along. The kitchen cabinets are up, the ceilings are painted, and the recessed lights already have their light bulbs. All the stone work and exterior painting is finished and it looks like they are about ready to begin preping the walls for paint. Dan and I climbed through the house and were excited to plan out how we will use each room.
The house next to ours is still available. . .any takers??? It is 2,800 square feet 4 bed 3 bath american colonial style (light green, white trim, with red shutters) for $416,000 (includes stainles steel applicances, recessed lighting, hardwood floors, granite countertops, etc.)

More Treasure

My second great find on craigslist: this pair of chairs!

I'm goin' on a treasure hunt. . .

I have finally discovered craigslist and this is my first deal! I am so excited to add this cute chair to my collection of unique furnishings. The man said it was pre-Castro Cuban mohogany but to be honest I really don't care because I like the way it looks and I paid $30 for it. I will have to reupholster it. I might go the the "Y" to look for some good furniture fabric. I think I did pretty good for my first craigslist purchase! Now I just need to find another one that is similar in structure. Wish me luck! (p.s. please forgive the mispellings- I'm feeling a little lazy today)

A new house for the Shacks!

We bought a new house! We were not exactly expecting to buy a new place but we were at that crossroads where you decide if you pour more money into a house that might have potential (but feels like a money pit) or you invest in a new house that better suits your current and future needs. We opted for the new house and we are very excited.

It is in a planned community called The Preserve in Chino in a neighborhood called Hidden Hollow. There are dairy farms all around and our best friends live in this same community. It is a new construction house to be finished in October. We were originally looking at this this house which was a short sale going for $400-$425K, but then we found out what a nightmare a short sale can be. As a back up plan we began looking again at the new construction homes in the community and were amazed at how much the prices had dropped. Our pick was this 2572 sq ft cottage style corner house on a park. It was listed for 478K but they are having a special and took 75K off the price of the house plus it sits on the second largest lot of 5,100 sq ft and comes with many upgrades (granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, recessed lighting throughout the house, designer paint, white cabinets) We put a hold on the lot so that we could think about it while we heard back from the bank on house #1. The next day I had to drive back to Chino to show the model house to my parents and put our deposit down on the house when the sales rep announced that just this morning the company decided to give us $20K towards upgrades in the house!!! So basically that sealed the deal for Dan and I and we are getting this huge new house for $403K plus $20K in upgrades! Here are some details about the house and some of the things I like best about it:

Floor Plans:

4 bedrooms
3.5 baths
2572 sq ft
3 stories
2 car garage
corner lot on the park
wrap-around porch

my favorites:
the storage!!!
the high ceilings
the old fashioned charm this new house has
the abundance of huge windows that let in the natural light
the master bath and closet is huge!
the master bed and bath overlook the park
there is only another house on one side of us
the view from the third floor (mountains are beautiful and the dairies fun to watch
the parkhouse which is a community center that has a huge pool, jacuzzi, bbq center, movie theater, pool/game parlor, 24 hour gym, meeting rooms (great for my music recitals), and Dan's favorite free Starbucks coffee in the internet cafe.
the school district (great for teaching and our future children)

Even though the move means a longer commute for Dan, eventually we both hope to transfer to local branches in our respective jobs. On Friday, we go to the design center to decide how we want to spend our $20K in upgrades. I am going for dark hardwood floors on the first floor and upgraded carpet on the 2nd and 3rd floors. I am still trying to decide if we should carpet the stairs or put hardwood on the stairs. Any opinions?

God has really blessed us with this opportunity. Chino definitely has a more tranquil feel to it. We are ready for the change! There will be lots of room for guests. I can't wait for you all to see our new place! Tim- we will be asking you for advice on renting out our current house. Dan already has several CHP cadets interested in renting it. We will visit the house again on Sunday to sign papers so I might be able to post more pictures for you all. If not, you will just have to make the trip down to check it out yourselves!
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Anatomy of an 18-day Caribbean Vacation

Never in my life have I so much needed a total and complete break from life. On June 19th Dan and I boarded a plane (first class) to Aruba for 18 days of rest and relaxation. We left the phones, computers, and other distractions at home and we are so glad we did! Here is a brief breakdown of our trip for those who wish to know. . .

6/19 Fly to Miami first class stay in Miami overnight
6/20 Fly to Aruba first class stay at Marriott Stellaris and Casino eat the most amazing meal at Texas de Brazil (brazilian bbq)
6/21 Drive to the California Lighthouse and move to the Marriott Aruba Ocean Club
and grocery shop at Super Food (they had Magnum ice cream bars!!!!)
6/22 Relax with the iguanas at the pool and earn marriott reward points for our next vacation by taking a sales pitch tour of the Marriot Surf Club (we almost bought-but didn't)
6/23 Went on an amazing catamaran snorkeling trip around the aruba coastline. We snorkled at the Antilla wreck where a German warship from WWII was captured by the Dutch. (The Germans sank their own ship so the Dutch couldn't use it.) This was such a freaky experience but i loved it except for the horrible sunburn I got. (FYI- arisol sunscreen doesn't work on a windy boat trip)
6/24 Watched movies in the suite while recovering from my lobster colored sunburn
6/25 relaxed by the pool in the shade and finished reading The Magician's Nephew (great book!) and then played slots in the Casino
6/26 Watched European cup soccer with serious soccer fans (we actually did this several days)- relaxed by the pool
6/27 Relaxed on the beach (snorkel/swim/float, lay out and read, order a tropical drink, repeat)
6/28 Shopped at the local market place and watched the aruba syncronized swimming team perform and a bartending contest. Ate at Moomba beach restarant (we dined barefoot on the beach while the sun set)Moved to the Westin Aruba resort for two days
6/29 Spent the most amazing day at Baby beach snorkeling and wading in the most pristine water I've ever seen. Relaxed by the pool. Watched the sun set over the ocean after eating an amazing italian dinner that we won for free at a raffle
6/30 Got up very early to fly to Puerto Rico! (not first class) checked into our amazing hotel room at the marriot Stellaris and Casino in San Juan. (Our room was floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city of San Juan, the blue bay and the green rainforrest hills in the distance)
7/1 Explored Old San Juan which is very much like a real life pirates of the caribbean. We loved the ruins of El Morro and the other Spanish fort that protected the city of San Juan from the Brittish, the Dutch, and pirates.
7/2 Drove to El Yunque rainforrest to hike to Mina falls. it was very beautiful!
7/3 Relaxed
7/4 Relaxed by the pool while listening to an amazing steel drum band. Explored Old San Juan again!
7/5 Toured the Bacardi Rum factory - fun! Took the ferry to Old San Juan again.
7/6 Drove to the other side of Puerto Rico to explore Ponce and tour a restored coffee plantation then stopped at La Route de Lechonores (the route of the pig bbq stands) We were the only white people there and people yelled "gringos!" at us but it was so delicious and very fun. Anthony Bourdain would be very proud of us.
7/7 Flew back home first class (Thanks Dad for picking us up!)

Well, it was an amazing trip. I came back relaxed and tan and so happy that I didn't have to go right back to work- sorry Dan. . .Hmmm I wonder where we should go next! Help us decide by voting in our blog poll!

Where we've been. . .

In May and June life picked up the pace. I almost feel like listing all the crazy things that have consumed my days in those crazy seven weeks- but I won't. . .for fear that I might get exhausted and never finish this post. So I will talk about two major things that have consumed my time. One happy, one sad.

One sad thing . . . that has consumed our time is the sudden hospitalization of Dan's mom, Joanne. At the beginning of May she had to have emergency surgery to remove nine feet of dead intestine. We almost lost her and her recovery has not been easy to say the least. Watching your parents (who have been the source of wisdom, strength, and leadership in your family) slowing lose their ability to function and be independent is so hard. Al and Joanne moved in with us for several weeks while Dan and I remodeled their master bed and bath and cleaned up the kitchen and dining room. We also did many other projects (water heater, plumbing, clean out motor home and storage shed, etc.) We finished this part of the project on June 17th and moved them back in one day before our much needed vacation in the Caribbean. Joanne still struggles with adjusting to her unstable digestive tract but we are thankful for every day that we still have them here with us.

One very happy thing. . . is that my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary! We decided to make it a celebratory weekend. "The sisters" came from the north and we all rode to Laguna Beach in a limo for a very fancy dinner on the water. We then had dessert at the Montage while the sun set and then off to Disneyland to watch the fireworks. Sunday we had an open house and many of our good friends and family were on hand to celebrate the anniversary. We had great food and watched an amazing video that Ben put together. I feel so incredibly grateful that I have parents who are committed to each other and their family. They are loving and self-sacrificing, and always put God first in their lives. Needless to say it was a weekend I will never forget!

The juxtaposition of joy and sorrow is such a profound aspect of life. Isn't it?

To finish this post I will share (in part) one of my favorite poems of love which I feel very much applies to my parent's marital example:

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
-William Shakespeare

A Fun Memory!

This past weekend I had a blast with all of the Northern California relatives! The last time I saw many of them was in August 2006 when Andy got married. This post is for Uncle Dean who loves to remember the infamous "Crab Pot Adventure"! For those of you who were not there, Andy's wedding was in Washington State.
We were staying on the shore of the sound where you can row out and drop crab pots. Free crab!!?? The young men in the family decided it would be great to stick a pot in the water and boil up a crab feast for all to enjoy; so after leaving the pots underwater for several hours Andy, Bob, Ben, Dan, and Jake all decided to take the row boat out to bring in the crab feast! Only. . .it was a little harder to row than they thought. Finally, Andy decided it would be easier to row all five of them himself! I can still hear Uncle Dean roaring with wild laughter at the sight of four grown men being rowed by the young and muscular Andy. After they finally made it back to the dock they unloaded their mighty catch only to watch the very law-abiding property manager throw crab after crab back into the water because they were females or too small to keep. (Only 1/16 of an inch too small!!!)


When all was said and done there were two crabs left to boil up- and they were delicious! Thanks for the memory! (P.S. This post is dedicated to Rachel who inspired me to post again!)

Perspective

Ever since I have returned from Easter break my life has been consumed with work and responsibilities. I felt burdened by the extra hours I spend on work instead of doing recreational and social activities. A few days ago as Dan and I were driving somewhere I was complaining in my head feeling very defeated and frustrated to the point of self-pity. At a red light on a street near our house a middle-aged man in a wheel chair was wheeling himself across the crosswalk. They had just graded the street for repaving and the sidewalk was a good 4-5 inches higher than the street and he could not get his chair up on the sidewalk. Since he had no companion to help and no legs below his knees he threw himself onto the pavement and dragged his now lighter chair with great difficulty onto the sidewalk. He then attempted, several times, to pull himself back into his chair all while dozens of people stared at him waiting for the light to turn green. My cold, bitter heart broke.

Similarly, a few months back I was frustrated with the amount of times our worship leader made us stand and sit during the church service. (I find it distracting but he likes to keep us awake.) The sixth time he had us stand I rolled my eyes at Dan and begrudgingly pulled myself to my feet. In silent protest I didn’t focus on the song but turned around to look at the clock on the back wall only to meet eyes with a young man in his thirties in a wheelchair. He smiled at me as he cheerfully sang the words to the song– confined to his chair– nature having taken away his option to stand and worship. I’ve never since complained in my heart about standing in church.

A few weeks before this we were in church again on a Sunday morning and our music pastor was having us sing, “Our God is an Awesome God” which I felt was a very over sung piece of music. Annoyed and distracted I looked around remembering something I had heard another share in my bible study a week earlier: “It helps me in my worship time to look around and see others worship God knowing the difficult things those people are dealing with and personal trials they have overcome.” My eyes then fell on a third-grader who was born with a birth defect that kept him from speaking until very recently. This 11-year old stood next to his dad enthusiastically signing the words and loudly singing in his gruff, raspy voice “Our God is an Awesome God”. The power and weight of the words of this song hit me fully and immediately. Annoyance turned to remorsefulness and my complacent heart was moved to joy.

It is amazing how our perspective on our situation in life can change when we take our eyes off of ourselves. It is in our nature to be self-focused and I welcome the reminders that God positions in the way of our self-pity and self-admiration to help us gain a truer, clearer picture of life.