K|S in Seattle

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Dr. Vindigni

Steve's been incredibly busy at the hospital. Poor guy, his first rotation as an intern--a newly minted doctor who graduated less than two months ago--is in the intensive care unit at the county hospital. Talk about throwing a person into a roaring fire! This is probably his toughest rotation of the year, and in true Steve form, he handles everything in his typical calm, cool, and collected manner. I would be a total stress ball. And based on some of the stories he tells me about his sick patients, I would also be an emotional wreck. Hey, I tear up even hearing the stories--no way would I be able to handle what he and other doctors do.

Steve was working nights at the ICU last week. He left for the hospital around 6pm and would return home the next morning around 9am. This meant that we went for about a week without seeing each other at all because I was at work when he was home. And when he was home during the day, he would be sleeping since he had to be up all night at the hospital. That was tough--I missed my husband! I did work from home last Friday (his birthday), so that I would at least see him for a few hours on his special day. He spent most of the day catching up on much-needed sleep, but we were able to go out for a quick birthday dinner at our favorite local Japanese restaurant before he left for another night in the hospital.

Just a couple more days, and he'll be done with this ICU rotation. Then, it's on to the ER, and the hours should actually be slightly better. Hopefully we'll get to have more quality time together to explore our new city! Or I'll simply scope out the best hiking trails, activities, sights, restaurants for us first...

Friday, July 15, 2011

My Favorite Little People

One of the best things about living in Seattle is that we're only a few hours away from some of my most favorite little people in the world. Meet my niece, Zoe, and my nephew, Dylan:

Zoe

Dylan


Dylan loves imitating his big sister.

They're adorable, right?!? Zoe's three and Dylan's one. They're at such a fun age--I'm sure I can say that because I'm their aunt and I don't see them everyday. I do know that they're quite the handful. I have new-found respect for my sister and brother-in-law, and for parents in general! Yikes.

I took Amtrak from Seattle to Portland over the July 4th weekend. My parents flew up from California, so it was like a mini family reunion (though we missed my brother and Steve, who both had to work). We had an early birthday celebration for Zoe, who turned three on July 6. I got to spend some quality time with Zoe and Dylan; we went to the park, played lots of games, read books, and had a lot of silly fun. By the end of the weekend, I was exhausted. Love those kids!

Enjoying an ice cream cone.

Steve and I got Zoe a kid's digital camera for her birthday.

Strawberry ice cream cake for the birthday girl!

Dylan says, "I want to use your camera!"

Slide at the park

Firefighter Dylan

Saying Goodby to Our First Home

Well, we've been in Seattle for one month now, and we're still settling in. We're almost fully unpacked, though a lot of our stuff will remain in boxes and hidden away because our new apartment is about half the size of our Atlanta house.

Speaking of our Atlanta house--it's sold! We are set to officially close on July 29th, where we will sign all the official documents, turn over the keys to the new owners, and receive a nice check. The home-selling process was a bit frustrating. Or a lot frustrating. We went through a lot of negotiations and counteroffers--I think 7 or 8--with the buyers. It was ridiculous. I understand that it's a buyers' market, but hey, don't try to take advantage of us. The buyers were still trying to weasel more money out of us until the end, and I didn't feel like my realtor was backing me up. He was just trying to close the deal, but I was firm on NOT making any more concessions. Trust me, we were generous with the closing costs and inspection fixes. I was willing to walk away from the deal. Luckily, the realtor smartened up. Long story short, we've sold our house, and we're satisfied with the final sale. Phew. This whole ordeal makes me want to get a real estate license so I can buy and sell my own home. :)

I'm glad that our house sold in a relatively short period of time in these horrible economic times...but honestly, having to say goodbye to our first home is bittersweet. I loved that house. It was our home. Yes, there were some headaches: broken HVAC units, squirrels in the attic, and worn-out plumbing boots that made the roof leak. It's all part of home ownership though, and now that we don't have to deal with those issues anymore, we'll look back fondly on it. :)