Work/House Updates!

Hi everyone –

Just wanted to provide you all with a quick update of last weekend. Well, I guess Friday was the most exciting.

First of all, Gus and I got keys to the new townhouse! It was very exciting and we have already been hard at work moving things, painting walls, and building the new dining room table. Next weekend’s projects include finish moving a majority of our stuff and painting the upstairs. I’ll post another blog shortly with some before/after shots of our painting projects.

Second, I found out that I was named Public Relations Society of America Puget Sound Chapter’s Young Professional of the Year 2009 for some work I did for my mobile handset manufacturing client. Wahoo! The slightly unfortunate part is that they already had the awards banquet (2 weeks ago), but were unable to announce the winner at that time due to an error in the scoring. I’ll just have to settle for a nice resume booster and a personalized plaque. All-in-all, I am very honored and excited to have this special distinction and look forward to the job security it entails! Haha!

Well, stay tuned for more pictures and updates from the new house!
~Jeanine

Big News on the Home Front :)

Sorry I haven't updated on here in quite a while! Gus and I have been super busy these last couple of weekends. What we were doing? Well, we were looking for a new house! Before I get started, I should explain that when I say "we" I really mean Gus... I am living vicariously and reaping all the benefits! Thanks Gus. :)

Gus has been diligently saving his money and decided that it was time to invest in himself (rather than sketchy landlords). He contacted a loan officer and a realtor, and off we went! Along the way we found a few good possibilities and definitely a few duds. Gus definitely kept our realtor on his toes by asking every question a person would ever think to ask. He is very organized. Only after two weekends of concentrated searching, we stumbled upon a beautiful townhome in lovely Ballard (one of our favorite neighborhoods in Seattle).

The townhome features three bedrooms, 2.5 baths, one car garage, gas fireplace, and it is brand spanking new. We fell in love immediately and quickly learned that this was one hot property. The complex contains 8 townhomes, all of which were put on the market 2 days before we visited. In that time, two of them had already sold. We visited the home on Saturday and went back to its open house the next day. Gus' mom, Gwen, was also in town that weekend, which really helped us to ask the right questions and stay calm through the whole process. It was very hard to see all the other people crawling all over the place, though! We decided right then and there to run to a coffee shop with our realtor and determine what we wanted to offer! Our realtor drew up the papers and delivered the offer that night. Twenty-four grueling hours later, we had our answer... they ACCEPTED! The rest is history. We close on February 20.

Now, I am anxiously planning what colors I think would match. Gus has been thinking about landscaping and what energy star appliances he wants (we get to pick out the fridge and washer/dryer). Overall, it has been three very exciting weeks!

As you should expect, once we are moved in, we welcome any and all visitors! You will now have a nice bedroom and your own bathroom when you stay! We will also be having a house-warming party sometime in March, so those of you in Seattle, stay tuned for more details.

If you are interested, you can see the townhome through this link: http://maps.google.com/maps?sourceid=navclient&rlz=1T4TSHB_enUS311US208&q=856+NW+50th+st.+seattle,+wa&um=1&ie=UTF-8&split=0&gl=us&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=image. Of course, the place is a lot more finished than it appears on the map. I have also included some pictures below of the model home. Our countertops are a different color (white/gray marble) and the furniture isn't ours... sad. But everything else is the same, enjoy!

AquaBlitz '08!

Ok, that makes it sound more than that it really is. Most of you, I'm sure, are aware of the massive flooding that has taken over Western Washington. In Seattle, we are doing fine with no water covering streets, yet... just a few VERY backed up sewer drains. However, in the south, north and east of Seattle, the floods have wreaked havoc on the residents and people just passing through. Interstate5 and many other roads are closed in Central Washington where most of the below pictures are from.

Just wanted to let you all know we are ok, but kindly request that you keep all these people in your thoughts and prayers.

For more pictures, go to http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/photos/popupV2.asp?SubID=4470&page=1&GTitle=Flooding%20in%20Western%20Washington%20%281%2F7%2F09%29&pubdate=1/7/2009 or http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/photos/popupV2.asp?SubID=4470&page=1&gtitle=Flooding%20in%20Western%20Washington%20%281/7/09%29&pubdate=1/07/09.

HEY YOU GUYS!

No I didn't get to meet the cast of The Goonies, but I did get to see the giant cave where they found One-Eyed Willie's pirate ship! Presently, no ship or secret treasure are still in the cave... they have been replaced by hundreds of sea lions! My family and I visited the cave while we were on our Oregon Coast holiday vacation. It's exact location was Yachats, Oregon.

It was pretty fascinating. We had to take an elevator down 206 feet into the ground. The elevator gave us a preview of the unpleasant aroma these creatures put off. Luckily, you get used to the smell very quickly and it doesn't ruin the rest of the experience. The whole cave is very loud because of the water crashing into the cave and the barking of the sea lions. You aren't actually in the big cave, but a small offset of it that has a viewing screen into the bigger space.

I have added some pictures below and a video over the right hand side of this page in my YouTube section (Check it out!).

More photos of the beach house:

A Coastal Christmas Story

Happy Holidays!

I've been spending the last week or so on the Oregon Coast (Lincoln City) with my family. It was definitely an interesting experience to get down here. For those of you that don't watch the news, it has been snowing like crazy in Seattle. The snow doesn't really bother me, per se, but the entire city shuts down at the slightest hint of snow. Now, with 10'' on the ground, you can imagine what's going on.

My family drove over from Montana and met up with me near Longview, WA. We then completed the beautiful, windy drive through Astoria and down the coast. And here we have remained in our lovely rented beach house. The house itself has three floors, but they are all straight up from each other! Family room on the bottom floor, bedrooms and bathrooms on the middle floor, and kitchen, dining room, and picturesque sitting room on the top floor. I've been doing tons of reading, having completed 1.5 books as of this blog, and watching the giant waves crash ashore. The rain hasn't really subsided since we arrive, but some people have braved the weather for walks on the beach.

Other than that, we are playing lots of card and board games, opened Christmas presents, and preparing to go explore the sea lion cave from the movie Goonies! That's happening this afternoon. I'll be heading back to Seattle on Monday, most likely, where I will enjoy another week of reading solitude before having to return to work in January.

I'll leave you all with pictures from my new camera!

Seattle in Snow (old camera):

Oregon Beach House Views (new camera):

It's Official...

I've been promoted! My new title is Account Executive... no longer an "Assistant." I'm pretty excited about the new title and the new responsibilities I'll take on (not to mention more money!). First order of business? Plan a reporter summit for some of our most influential contacts. :)

As for other things, I'm fully in the Holiday swing. I've been Christmas shopping several times already, including the day after Thanksgiving, and I must say that my list is getting shorter! Gus and I also decorated our Christmas "plant." And YES, it is only a plant. I fear that if we had a tree of any sort, our overly ambitious cat exploration crew (i.e. Jack and China) would decide to climb or tip it over. Therefore, we opted to decorate one of our "cat-proof" house plants (pics below).

Salon of Shame - A Must See!

So, it's a week late, but I HAVE to tell you about this show I went to last Tuesday with my co-worker, Cindy. She has been telling me for some time that I must see the Salon of Shame. Since it only occurs every two months, it was quite awhile before I had the chance.

What is the Salon of Shame? I thought you would never ask. The Salon of Shame resembles a good ol' poetry reading... with a twist. Readers get up and thoroughly embarrass themselves by reading from their childhood diaries, journals, notes, and miscellaneous musings. Let me tell you, this is HILARIOUS! Not only are the topics tackled completely entertaining, but they are totally relatable. Honestly, how many of us can relate to pining for the cutest boy in class or writing that potentially award-winning hit song?

Anyway, I completely recommend attending this show for anyone that has the chance. The website is www.salonofshame.com and the shows happen in several cities besides Seattle. If you want to see a sample YouTube video of someone's reflections on why the toilet paper companies use bears and babies for advertising (warning: some language inappropriate for work settings or in the presence of children), go to this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dyyipx4PowQ.

That's all for now!