Phoebe: Bedtime Blues

Phoebe has slept on our bed for 3 of the 4 years we've had her.  A couple years ago we even upgraded to a King bed to make everyone more comfortable (she is massive and takes up a huge amount of space).  But for the last 3 weeks, I've made her sleep on a dog bed about 2 feet away from me instead.  I thought life might be better if we didn't sleep with dog hair and paw prints, and if I didn't have to wash the sheets every 3 days, and if we never woke up with Phoebe-induced cricks in our neck and back.  So, I separated our pack.

Of course, Phoebe was not pleased.  For the first 2 weeks she whimpered, and begged, and pleaded for us to let her back on the bed.  But I stayed firm (just barely) and never gave the command to join us.  What I didn't realize though, was how sad it would be when she finally stopped asking.  

For the last week she's come by my side to give me a quick kiss, given us a long and wistful (but silent) look before going into her corner and falling asleep by herself.  And for whatever reason this has made me incredibly sad.  I thought about how she follows me from room to room all day everyday, how fiercely protective she is of me, how excited she gets when we come home, and how she still says goodnight even though I make her sleep alone on the floor.  And then I thought about how I kicked her off the bed just because I want to reduce the laundry load.  It broke my bleeding (and selfish) heart.  The hairless bed is truly wonderful, but it isn't better than my 90lb baby.

So she's back in the bed...and we're cool with it.

Bliss

Gig Harbor House: Buying and Selling

We always knew that selling our house in an unpredictable market only 18 months after we bought it would be an interesting experience.  And oh it has.  My father-in-law is a real estate agent and he keeps reminding me that, "You just never know" when it comes to buying and selling houses.  

And while I keep repeating this mantra, I'm still shocked when we get unexpected news.

When buyer #1 inspection is totally benign, and then buyer #2 asks for $4,000 in repairs.

But while we're on the subject, I've had some time to reflect on the hilarious differences between buying and selling this house.  

Selling our house:

Pricing

Signing an offer

Inspection repair requests

The net sheet

After closing (at least this is how I expect to feel)

When we bought our house:

We had no idea what was happening and it felt like magic.

But as we go farther down the path of escrow #2 I'm trying to adopt a more Zen attitude, inspired in part by my cool as a cucumber spouse.  In a nutshell:

Imma try

Mama

Today is Mother's Day in the US and there's a mama-shaped ache in my heart.  We sent flowers, we exchanged photos, we made phone calls.  But it's still not the same as being there.

I was watching a documentary short on HBO the other day about Ebola orphans (very awkward segue, I know) and one part really stayed with me.  To paraphrase - your mother is the one who loves you most in the world, and no one can love you like she does.  Across time, space, circumstances, and age, this holds true.  

One of my favorite outtakes from our wedding. The mamas are so happy.

Dubai Villa Progress: Little by Little

WE HAVE FURNITURE.
Not a lot, but enough to feel like we're starting to live in this villa instead of squatting in it.  We're embracing the white-on-white-on-white theme because I'm a little obsessed with modern Scandinavian style, and white is always readily available here.  

AND CURTAINS!
This might be more exciting than the furniture.  As much as I love the way our plethora of open windows look, I don't love the way it feels when everyone can (and does) peer into our life at all hours of the day.  And while the curtains didn't quite turn out the way I'd hoped, it's fiiiiiiine.  

FYI - It's still a work in progress and the photos below are super candid (ie - don't judge me for the mess and terrible lighting).

Don't worry, PB still gets to sunbathe on the yoga mat behind the chairs.

Yep, that's pizza.

In short: new country, new house, new style, same dog.

Gig Harbor House: Selling Again

Less than 36 hours after the 1st buyers backed out of the sale of our home, a new offer has been signed with new buyers!

Our real estate agent, Kari, is worth her weight in gold.

My reaction

Steve's

My virtual appreciation for Kari

Phoebe reclines

A couple weeks ago, we bought a pair of recliners so we'd have somewhere to sit while we waited for the couch we ordered.  Steve and I have never been that fond of recliners, but these were the right price, pretty comfy, and attractive (enough).  But apparently Phoebe is an old pro and she's been teaching us new ways to sit in our recliners (after she stopped being afraid of them, of course).

You can sit and watch TV

You can sit and get force cuddles

You can sit UNDERNEATH (but whyyy?)

And you can fly solo when Sven isn't around (her legs look tiny, don't they?)

Gig Harbor House: On Selling - Heather vs. Steven

As some of you already know, we put our house up for sale in Gig Harbor around mid-March.  We accepted an offer a few days after listing and have been moving through the escrow/closing process ever since.  Today, I talked to the title company to arrange the details for signing the final papers in a few days (getting things notarized takes a little more effort here).

And then tonight, I got an email saying the buyers will not be moving forward with the transaction (we're not sure why).  Thirty-three days into the process and like a week from closing, and they will not be buying our house.

WHAT.  

Ugh. As always, we'll just move forward.  The only thing we can do is re-list and try again.  But this is the range of emotions I had within the first 10 minutes of receiving the news:

And this was the range of Steven's emotions from the minute we heard until the moment he went to bed:

So basically, this is our marriage:

we're different, but we dig it