a very good sign

Best I've seen in a long time!



Looking forward to seeing one in front of the one we're buying. Within the next four weeks we should close on both!

--Jennifer
Oooh, look, our house is SOLD! 

Gemini dream

And today is the first day of Gemini. You don't have to believe in it, but allow me to revel in the fact that on the first day of the dualistic sign -- which is my sign and that of my anniversary -- we signed the contract to get out of our house. Escaping this house will be a dream come true (although it's a perfectly lovely house, don't get me wrong).

We'll finally have a place that is ours, full of our memories together. Tom's been in this house for nearly 14 years, and some of those memories are best left behind. Woohoo!

--Jennifer
Shiny things times two! 

at last!

Our house is now under contract! We finalized the deal this morning. Next we'll have to clear out for inspections and appraisals, but the fact that we've got a buyer makes it all worthwhile. It's pouring rain for the second day in a row, but Tom and I are absolutely giddy. No way the weather can dampen this excitement!

It's been a long, stressful week, and it is ending beautifully. I survived my first week of training to teach online for Kaplan, my first live course since February is off to a pretty good start, and there's a light at the end of the real estate tunnel. I hope to sleep well tonight!

--Jennifer
Shiny things in a new house! 

Mt. St. Helens

I remember the anniversary of Mt. St. Helens every year, because it is my cousin Amy's birthday. She was born the day of the eruption. And I say I remember it; I was almost 8, and it was a Sunday, so the memory I have is a combination of Amy's birth and that of her sister, my cousin Traci.

One or both of those girls was born in the early morning. I remember being awoken and told she was here by my mom, but it seems like that was Traci. (I do remember being asked to guess whether Brownie's baby was a boy or a girl, and I guessed boy. Sorry, Traci!)

So Amy and the eruption memories are 30 years old. The media's got plenty of retrospectives on the volcano, and Amy's got her own 30th birthday celebration here.

--Jennifer
Collector of shiny things

Dalila's graduation

Mom, Dad, Grandma, and I went to Athens over the weekend to see Dalila's graduation from the University of Georgia. She is now Dr. Mathews! We had a great trip and got to spend some time with Charles and Lila, some of Lila's family, and our friends Thad and Kristy.

--Jennifer

Proud sister-in-law to  
Lillian Dalila Mathews, PhD! 

P.S. -- I almost forgot the funniest part. Despite having the phonetic pronunciation provided to her, the lady announcing the graduates said "Da-LEE-la." (Dalila says she should have just written "Delilah" instead of trying to tell them DUH-lila.)

back in limbo

We've had another house inspected and have once again submitted repair requests to the seller. This is where the deal fell through last time, although there are almost no similarities between this contract experience and the last one. All communication has been timely and official this time around!

We can't help but be nervous, though, after getting burned by the irrational behavior of the seller in our first attempt. Hopefully we'll fare better this time! We probably won't hear back until tomorrow, when I will be en route to Georgia for my sister-in-law's graduation (PhD!). Glad my laptop is back to being trusty! (Thanks for that, Scott B.!)

--Jennifer
Oooh, look, shiny things! 

our upcoming high school reunion

Ramsay High Class of 1990 is having its first-ever formal reunion in June, a few weeks after the 20th anniversary of our graduation. Jennifer Venable Humphrey and I have been on board since the beginning, but Mere and Jen Tomlin Bowman have had possible conflicts. Mere thinks she has worked hers out for at least part of the weekend, and today JTB booked her flight home from Oregon for that weekend! Yippee!

Now if we can make absolutely certain that Meredith can slip away from her other commitments on Saturday evening, we will all be there for the gala. One more things to cross fingers and hope for!

--Jennifer
Oooh, look, shiny things!