saturday project

we spent our saturday painting our back utility room. it was THE last thing i wanted to do today. but the hubby felt that the room was an eye sore (which it was) and needed to be spruced up to help with the sale.

here are some shots before we did any work on the room (pardon the mess and laundry):




(these pictures were taken by our realtor)

and here are some shots once we started working:







and here are some after shots:







i have to say, it was well worth the work. it looks so much better! it totally opens up the kitchen to make it look bigger (which it definitely needs). i only wish we had done it earlier. we still plan to put up a curtain to cover the hot water heater. so once we do that it'll look even better!

checked off my list

i talked to a power washer guy today and he'll be coming out on sunday to scrub the house, driveway and walkway. i even talked him down on his price! so can scratch that one thing off my list.

stressed? why would i be stressed?

here is a list of just some of the things that need to get done as soon as possible:

-finish spackling and paint the utility room
-pack the DVDs and CDs
-sort and figure out what we're going to do with what we didn't sell at our yard sale and then with it whatever we decide we'll do
-post a bunch of stuff on craigslist and hope that it sells
-power wash the house
-trim the trees and bushes
-take all of our pictures down and spackle and paint the holes
-clean the house

this list doesn't take into account that it's coming to the end of the semester and both the hubby and i have grading and test preparation to do.

we're trying not to be stressed and just stay focused to get as much done as quickly as we can.

yard sale

our yard sale was a success on saturday! we sold about 1/2 of our stuff, which isn't too bad because we had A LOT to sell. and it went a whole lot better than i thought it would. not that i thought it'd go "badly" exactly. i think i just expected people to be a lot more difficult and to insult me by insulting the stuff i was selling. but everyone who came was really nice. so i didn't mind selling them my stuff.

now we have to figure out what we're going to do with the rest of the stuff--either hold onto it and do another yard sale in a few months (which we'll probably do anyway) or just donate it so it's out of the house and one less thing to worry about. we'll probably do the latter of these 2 options, but we'll see.

big thanks to our friends carrie and allyson. their help was so amazing! they're such good friends to get up before sunlight and help us!

*
a view of the sale during a lull period


a heated transaction taking place


the jehovah witness folks even stopped by and bought some things (and left pamphlets of course**)


mokey was the hardest thing to sell. no one would take her so we had to drop the price to $.50.***

*if you scrutinize these pictures and see something that you gave us that we're now sell, i'm really sorry. we're selling almost everything, so it's nothing personal.

**one of the pamplets that the j.h.s left had a picture of jesus that looked like a bearded adam carolla. pretty oxymoronic.

***this is only sort of a joke. we are actually giving her away. but since we're giving her away and not selling her i guess you could assume she's priceless.

it's official

our house is officially on the market!

know anyone who wants to buy a cute bungalow?

*we'll be adding pictures as soon as we can get the house cleaned out a bit.

moving/yard sale

we're selling a huge chunk of the stuff we own this saturday at our yard/moving sale. stop by our house on saturday, april 9 from 8-11AM to pick up some seriously great finds (and, of course, help us on our move to africa)!

if you're reading this i assume you know where i live. if not, drop me your email in the comments section and i'll let you know.

visit from friends

this past weekend, while the hubby was still away in asia, my friend melissa and her daughter came for a visit to celebrate both of our birthdays. these might just be the last visitors to see our house as it has always been. (we're about to have it torn up and changed around as we sell our stuff and our house.)

we had a great time chilling inside away from the cold rain, going to edventure children's museum, and eating brunch at the farmer's market. thanks, guys, for the fabulous visit!

here are some highlights from the visit.

the holy terror after just waking up


visiting the all-local farmer's market


relaxing for a minute


having fun at the piggly wiggly shopping area at edventure. (if ann only knew that it was easy mac that got her mother through college....)


plowin' the fields


the adults can have some fun too (though, too bad there wasn't anything that came out of that cow's utters. that would've been cool!)

you can see all the shots here.

destressing

i've been so stressed over the past week or so-just running, running, running. so i'm trying to relax for a minute tonight with a little of the season opener of dancing with the stars. i'm such a junkie!

cutie in asia!

check out the hubby! isn't he the cutest?

2nd beehive gone

we sold our 2nd beehive and all the remaining equipment tonight. it's official; we're no longer keeping bees. i won't say "we're no longer beekeepers" because i definitely think we'll do it again. but for now, we have no bees.

i've definitely got mixed feelings about it. i was sad to see them go. but the woman who bought this hive was so sweet and seemed so happy to have them. she used to have a bunch of hives years ago. but her husband died and she suddenly was raising children alone. so she had to give up the hobby. her last child is about to go away to college, so she said she's looking to start the hobby up again. i was really happy to have them go to someone who was so smitten with them. it made me feel a little bit better.

next hurdle will be the cats. gasp.

st. patty's festival

i've lived in columbia 7 1/2 years and have managed to have never gone to the st. patty's festival (a.k.a. drunk-fest) in five points. it's something i sort of have prided myself on not having done.* but this year, my last year in columbia, i ended up helping my office out by volunteering for a 3 hour shift in the comfort zone tent.**

it was pretty much like i expected it to be--mostly really drunk people showing too much skin and getting sunburned, all in the name of... well, i'm not really sure what it was in the name of. in the name of "fun," i guess. but i don't really call that fun.

shameful highlights of the day:
-several heavy-set men dressed in kilts and no shirt (reference the picture above)
-a guy in some sort of green lycra outfit that covered his entire body, including his face (that was more creepy than anything)
-an older man walking through the crowd preaching and holding up an open bible
-a girl vomiting in the aisle of the shuttle bus on the ride back to my car

*sort of like not having gone to any gamecock football games, despite living within spitting distance of the stadium.
**my office gets proceeds for coordinating the volunteers for the day.

trans-global communication

it's so amazing what technology can do! i just got off skype with the hubby. he's in taiwan and it's friday morning for him. and i'm in south carolina and it's thursday night for me. it seems like we're worlds away, but yet we could sit down and have a conversation...

well, a quasi conversation. for whatever reason, maybe the microphone on his computer is broken, but we can't get it so i can hear him talking. so we're able to look at each other and he's able to hear me. but i can't hear him. i think it's so funny because if anyone knows baldman you know that he likes to talk and it's sometimes hard to get a word in edgewise. so to have the ability to speak without him chiming in is quite unusual! the only problem is i like to hear him talk. and i have trouble thinking of things to say.

so we resorted to me talking and him text chatting me via skype. that worked fairly well. in any case, i enjoyed seeing his face and cracking a few jokes.

st. patty's day

today is the hubby and my 10th dating anniversary. too bad her's not here so we could celebrate in some way. i can't believe that we've been together for that long!

our first date was a concert that we went to with a group of americorps friends when we were doing a project in florida. we were supposed to see 2 punk bands (the bouncing souls and flogging molly), but the building had a flood so the concert was canceled. so, instead we just walked around coconut grove, sat outside and talked. happy anniversary, sweetie.

for st. patty's day dinner i made an open faced sandwich topped with a veggie burger and sauerkraut with a salad on the side. for some reason when i was making it i thought that'd be kind of irish. but i guess sauerkraut isn't irish, is it? oh well! it was yummy anyway.

the first to go

one beehive gone.

breaks my heart.

at least i know they've gone with someone who will take good care of them.

the irony is that we went into the hive this weekend and it was so strong and so docile. the perfect hive, really. i guess we can rest easy knowing that we raised them well.

FAQ for africa

the hubby posted a good list of frequently asked questions on his facebook page. i know most people who read this blog also check his facebook page, but just in case-here are some answers that he typed up about our big move abroad.

So, not surprisingly, announcing that we’re not just moving but moving to AFRICA has resulted in people having a lot of questions for us. I have prepared this list of frequently asked questions to hopefully provide people answers to most of the questions people may have.



1. Moving to Africa? Why?

No surprise for those who see us regularly, but this has been a dream for almost a decade. The original plan was to go abroad in 2006. We even applied for Peace Corps and several other programs, but my father’s cancer waylaid those plans. So we’ve been working toward this for years. As for why we’re moving to Africa, this one is a bit more difficult to answer. Katie and I have been fascinated by the continent for years and years. We even visited Tanzania and Kenya in 2006. I can speak a little Swahili, we’ve both tutored Somali Bantu refugees, and I helped found the Pan-African Student Association at USC. We just dig the place, man. We want to go have a substantial overseas experience, and the work that Maryknoll Lay Missioners (MKLM) does is awesome, so we are ecstatic to be a part of this organization and its mission of working among poor communities around the world.



2. Seriously, Bro. You’re talking about moving to Africa. Are y’all crazy?

Nope. Africa and Africans are awesome. It won't be easy, but we're up for the challenge.



3. Are you both going?

Yes. We are married and enjoy each other’s company. Therefore we have decided to move together. But seriously, this isn’t something tat one of us wants to do and the other is just going along with it; we’re both really excited about this move.



4. Why not stay here? There are plenty of problems here in the US.

True. But we want to live in Africa, so we’re moving there. Simple! Also, I’ve been teaching a class on International Social Work, and all my relevant experience is domestic work with internationals here in the States. I’ve talked the talk; now it’s time to walk the walk.



5. Will it be dangerous?

Most likely not. While I cannot tell the future, both Tanzania and Kenya are relatively peaceful (especially Tanzania). We do not foresee any issues, but it is a risk we have discussed and are willing to take.



6. What are Maryknoll Lay Missioners?

Here’s bit from the MKLM website:

“…We are a lay Catholic community called through baptism to witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, crossing boundaries of culture, nationality and faith to join our lives with impoverished and oppressed peoples of the earth. With them, we discern the presence of God’s Spirit in all creation and in the world’s many cultures and religions, and work toward human liberation and inter-religious dialogue in Africa, Asia and the Americas.



…We strive together for justice, peace and fullness of life, and so our ministries are offered in response to the needs of the people with whom we live and work, and with respect for the integrity of all creation.



…We challenge unjust structures and systems, seeking transformation of the very powers that create and benefit from the marginalization of communities, and we commit to becoming a dynamic anti-racist organization that reflects the ethnic and cultural richness of the US Catholic Church and the world in this millennium.”



A great organization. Pretty badass, actually. Learn more at their website: http://www.mklaymissioners.org/



7. What is the timeline for your move?

We will find out our country placement in June. Out pre-departure orientation and training takes place in Ossining, NY, and occurs mid-September through mid-December. We’ll leave early January 2012 for our placement and be abroad for 3 ½ years, with the option to stay longer if we so choose. We’ll both remain at our jobs into the summer. Not really sure at this point exactly when our last day will be. We’re working that out right now.



8. What will you be doing?

Well, we don’t actually know that yet. But we do know we’ll be using our Social Work training to work in marginalized and poverty-stricken communities most likely around either health or educational initiatives. When we arrive in our country of placement, we’ll first be put into an intensive language program to learn Swahili. While this is happening, we’ll be visiting prospective work sites to determine the best placement. It will be a “mutual discernment” to find the balance between our interests and the needs of the organization and community. It’s a bit nerve-wracking to move to the other side of the world without a clear idea of what we’ll be doing, but I have faith that the placement process will ultimately find a very good fit for our talents and interests.



9. Are you getting paid?

Yes. Not a lot, but enough to live on. We’ll also have a retirement fund and insurance.



10. What are you doing with the house? What about your stuff?

We hope to sell it. If we cannot, we will rent it. We’ll be keeping certain sentimental pieces of furniture and odds and ends, but largely we will divest ourselves of most of what we own. I think it will be difficult, then liberating.



11. What about the cats and the bees?

One beehive will be relocated to City Roots, the CSA just up the road from our house. The other will be sold. As for the cats- well, that’s the toughest part of the move, I think. I LOVE our cats. Luckily, they will both be moving into a new home with our friends Travis and Julia sometime in April.



12. What does this mean for being Foster Parents?

It means it will not happen at this point in our lives. The fostering process was actually very frustrating, but that’s an issue for another post. We knew when we applied for MKLM that we would only be fostering a little while; however, we never got a placement that worked out. The fostering approval process took much longer than anticipated, and the MKLM approval happened quicker than we thought, so the timing didn’t gel. We’re sad fostering didn’t work out, but we’re thrilled to be going overseas. We’ll have other opportunities down the road to start a family.



13. Can you come back to the US at any point in the 3 1/2 years?

Yes, we can, and we very well might. However, the costs of a trip home are quite high, so timing and cost will determine whether we can actually make a trip home.



14. Can people visit you while you’re over there?

Absolutely. It’s encouraged, actually, so folks can see for themselves the work that MKLM are doing. In fact, there are a few of you from whom I EXPECT a visit. It will be an amazing vacation- life changing!



15. Do we need to do fundraising before we go?

No; MKLM has funding available to send missioners. However, the organization can always use support, so from time to time you may be receiving information from us about ways you could help support our work. If you are able to help support us, it would be appreciated.



16. Are you giving away any of your CDs?

Ha HA. No.

big changes afoot for waldie and the baldman

After about 10 years of planning, hoping and praying, the hubby and I are so pleased to announce that we will soon be moving overseas. The organization that we will be working with is called Maryknoll Lay Missioners. It's a Catholic-based organization that does social justice work in 6 countries around the world. We're pretty sure we'll be going to either Tanzania or Kenya, but there's a small chance we could go to one of the other 4 countries that they serve (Cambodia, El Salvador, Bolivia, Brazil). We're really hoping to go to Africa, but we're super jazzed about the work that the organization does, so even if we went somewhere else, we'd be okay with that. Our contract would be for 3 1/2 years, with possibilities of extensions if we so choose. You can check out the organization we'll be working for online at www.mklaymissioners.org.

Obviously, it's a total life change for us, for our families and our friends. The hubby and I are a bit dazed and confused right now. But we've already started the process of getting rid of stuff and preparing to divest ourselves of most everything we own. We'll be putting the house on the market (hopefully) by the end of the month. We're also giving away the cats (to a good home) next month...break our hearts! And, no more beekeeping for us (for now). We're giving away one hive this weekend and trying to sell the other one ASAP. It's all tough stuff, but we're up for the challenge and really excited.

I'm sure the hubby and I will be updated Facebook and my blog respectively as things change and our plans come to fruition. In the meantime, if there's anything that we own that you've ever wanted, let us know! ;) Most things will be going the way of the yard sale and Craig's list.

Thanks for everyone's support and prayers. We know that we wouldn't be able to do any of this without the support of family and friends. Your continued support and prayers will be much appreciated.

mmmm, caper pasta

i made our family's favorite dish tonight for dinner, caper pasta. boy howdy, is it still so good!

3/4 - 1 lb pasta
6 TBS capers, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
piece of stale bread
1/2 cup olive oil
parmesan cheese for garnish

cook pasta. take the stale bread and cut off the crust. grate the bread until you have 2/3 cup. while pasta cooks, heat oil in skillet and add garlic. saute about 2 minutes until golden. add capers, parsley, and bread crumbs. saute a few minutes until everything is nicely cooked and golden. when pasta is done, drain and add caper mixture to it. serve with parmesan cheese.

is it not january anymore?

time keeps on whizzing by and i've barely posted on here lately. it occurred to me tonight that i never posted our post christmas christmas party pictures. so i'm pretending it's still january instead of march, and here are some shots we took at our awesome party!

seitan

i made my first attempt at making seitan today. i've been trying to clean out the cupboards lately. so in an attempt to use up some of my wheat gluten, i decided to try it out. boy, that's some weird stuff! it's like mushy sponge from outer space. but it worked. and it even tasted yummy.

so i'm going to make my favorite vegetarian reuben sandwiches with it this week!

homemade seitan. homemade bread. homemade russian dressing. not homemade sauerkraut. (but i did doctor it up a bit, so maybe that counts.) can't be beaten!

unimportant blog post

i haven't been posting a lot on this blog lately. so i thought it'd let you know that i think i worked out so hard in my cycle class this morning that i busted a blood vessel in my eye.* that's tough!


*it's actually a very small blood vessel. and it doesn't hurt. but it sure sounds cool. and tough.

valentine's dinner

the hubby and i don't really get into valentine's day. not that there's anything wrong with it, but we're just not really a sentimental type couple. but i have been a bit obsessed with a variety of cooking related tv shows lately, so i've been jonesing to cook. so i found what i thought to be a few yummy and sort of valentine's-ish recipes online and decided to try them out tonight. it was the yummiest dinner! i totally recommend it for your special someone.

we had artichoke stuffed shells in ricotta cheese sauce, recipe courtesy of my favorite food blogger, with a salad and homemade bread (not made by me but by a friend of ours who just so happens to be a trained pastry chef.)

for dessert we had mexican spiced chocolate lava cake which was so rich that i thought i was going to die after eating it. (that's not to say it wasn't the best thing in the world.) we also had homemade whipped cream with it, which really helped to balance out the sweetness.

ny weekend

did i mention that we made a trip to new york a few weekends ago? we managed to squeeze a visit in when it wasn't a torrential downpour of snow and/or ice. of course, the snow was already on the ground, so it was a winter wonderland. but we got in a visit with family and friends, which was great. and, despite our flight home being canceled, we managed to escape the northeast before the crazy ice came down.

i have a whole set of pictures on flickr, but here are some highlights:

we stayed on long island with melissa, tim, and ann so there was plenty of time to play and hang out.


ann's quite busy, but she sure is a cutie!


i can't remember a time when there's been this much snow on the ground!


who are these toys for anyway?


we got in a nice visit with americorps friend, elizabeth and her fiance, dan. we hadn't seen them since our wedding almost 8 years ago.


and, we got to hang out for an evening with the nyu crew. theresa even was able to make it in from massachusetts.




the bald husband side of the room


we had a great time (though i'm getting old because it took me like 3 days to recover from being out late)


paulie and eric


the whole crew (minus my sister who had to take the picture because we couldn't figure out how to work the timer)

phone out of commission

i (unknowingly) accidentally dropped my phone last night when i was running through the pouring rain from the car to the house. when the hubby found the phone on the ground next to the car this morning it was soaked through, thanks to the torrential rain we received last night. so, needless to say, my phone isn't currently working. an internet search offered several suggestions to put the phone in a bag of rice for a little while and let that absorb the water. we're trying that today in hopes that it'll do the trick.

so for now if anyone needs to reach me you'll have to call the hubby's number or send me an email.

class 1 = success

tuesday was a marathon day. i was out of the house by 6:45 a.m. so i could exercise before work. as tough as it was to get up, i think that was a wise decision because it gave me energy to last until my class at night.

and, if i do say so myself, i think i rocked the house. it was totally cool. the students were well-engaged. they were talky but not too chatty. i really enjoyed it. and i think they did too. well, no one has dropped the course since that first class. so i think that's a good sign.

i even had a student speak with me after class about helping him choose a topic for the big paper. that means, perhaps, that he's taking the assignment seriously. maybe? i hope, at least.

and, yes, it was way cool when one of the students called me "professor."

*blush* :)

update on my course

the course that i'm scheduled to teach was supposed to begin this past tuesday. but, as you may recall, we had another freak course of snow, so the class was canceled (as was 2 days of work!).

i was actually relieved that it was canceled because up until later this week i was still skeptical that it was going to happen. i originally had 4 people registered, and the university requires courses to have at least 6, otherwise they cancel the course. so i was sort of waiting around and not planning much because i felt certain it was going to be canceled. but then, someone dropped the course and i was down to only 3 people. then i definitely thought the course was going to be canceled and i didn't do a single bit of planning.

but then i was told by "those that be" that under no circumstances was this course going to be canceled. this works a-ok for me because i get paid the same amount no matter what! fools!

and, in the meantime, i had one more person register today! so now i'm back up to 4, which i think is better. so now i need to get planning!

snow day!

i can't believe it snowed for the second time in only a matter of a couple of weeks! plus, this is the second year in a row that we've had substantial snow. craziness!

the city shut down so, of course, both me and the hubby had off work. it's been great catching up on things around the house.

every morning at anytime between 5 and 9 am doozer starts meowing at the foot of our bed. this morning he was insistent that he wanted out! but when i opened the door, he wasn't so sure. so i sort of nudged him outside and shut the door behind him. this is a picture i took from inside the house. he sat on the stoop for a good couple of minutes contemplating this crazy white stuff. this was the first time he'd experienced snow.


he was a little leery at first, but he got used to it.


mokey, on the other hand hated it. i don't have any pictures of her, but she was pretty hilarious trying to walk in it. she immediately came back inside, unlike doozer who enjoyed going in and out all day.

hope the bees are doing okay.


"my feet are cold."


you can see the whole flickr set here.

happy birthday yesterday to my big brother!

i know this picture is sideways, but i don't have the ability to rotate it. you get the idea none-the-less.

party success

before


after

thanks to everyone who came out (in the freezing weather!) for our annual party. we had a great time, as usual. pictures to be coming soon.

kitty picts of the night

we got a new camera for christmas so now i love taking pictures of the kitties.


mokey, taking a break from her nighttime crazies. this might be my favorite picture of her ever.


doozer, if you can't tell, is on the bed nestled between the hubby's legs and 1/2 buried under his computer and lap desk. classic.

just found out!

i'm teaching a course in the undergraduate social work college! my first class starts tuesday! woah! that gives me no time to prepare...

but i'm excited about it.

relaxing

with the stress and business of the holidays over (or mostly over. we still have our party approaching. are you coming?), we've been relaxing over the past few days. doozer has really let himself get lazy. oh, wait...is that a change from the normal?

christmas pictures

our christmas pictures are up on flickr. we had a really nice visit in new jersey with my side of the family. we were originally supposed to be up there for less than 5 days, but the trip got extended an extra day and a half due to the christmas blizzard, so we got some nice extra visiting in with everyone.

here are some of the highlights:

december is the month to celebrate Jesus' birthday, as well as my hubby's and my stepdad's.

to celebrate my stepdad's birthday it's tradition to go to pizza hut and then a movie, which we did on the second evening of our trip. we saw true grit, which we all really enjoyed.

my sister came down from new york on the night of the 23rd and we had a very relaxing christmas eve and christmas day.


we always enjoy eating, drinking, resting, and going in the hot tub.

too bad it broke down 1/2 way through the trip, maybe from too much use(?).

on the day after christmas we met up in central jersey with my brother's family to have a family portrait taken.


luckily, everyone safely navigated the snow from the photographer's and met up again at mom's house for a second round of christmas.


at this point the snow was really piling up and the hubby and i quickly realized that we wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.


we made the most of being "stranded" and had a great time playing cards, watching movies, eating, and visiting. by the morning of the 27th, there was about 18 inches on the ground.

that's not a sight we're used to seeing.

beautiful.

sadly, all good things must come to an end. so on the 28th we struck out across the bay on the ferry, bound for delaware en route to south carolina.


we were navigating the icy roads fairly well when we realized that our car had a flat tire. that set us back about $100 and an hour, which made our long journey even longer. fortunately, we found a tire store very easily and they were super nice. it also caused us to be traveling past south of the border right about the time we were ready for dinner. so, after all these years, we finally made the stop.


we were a bit tired, but i definitely enjoyed the weirdness of the place. and, they had a relatively decent salad bar, believe it or not.

we got back into town in time to meet up with my other set of parents (my father and stepmother) for christmas part 3. i'll post about that at a later date.