We got a house!!!

We purchased a house today!! I am soooo happy. We will close on Jan 18th, so really pretty soon. We only have a picture of the outside and the floorplan, but they are below. We are gonna take some pictures on Saturday of the inside :) Its a brand new, 2 story, 3 bedroom, 2.5 baths, 1898 sq ft home. It has a formal dining room, living room, game room (loft), 2 car garage and pretty silestone countertops (so no boring laminate). Its got a huge fenced in backyard (for the puppies) with a super cute little wooden deck. Again, you will see more pictures soon!!

Sad News

Some of you might know this already, but Papi passed away on Friday, December 7th. Mama and Mom were by his side, and he went peacefully with no pain. I just got back from Indiana today, we had a memorial service on Monday at Meeks Mortuary in Munice. There is still a tough road ahead as everyone, but especially Mama, tries to cope with everything. They were married 59 years, so she just doesnt know anything without Papi. I just wanted to let everyone know the news and that we appreicate your past and current prayers.

No Broken Bones

So, I am very happy, I did not break my knee cap!! I did ice my knee last night and wrap it like Lisa told me to do, which really did help, it feels so much better today, but I still went to the doctor anyway. Based on its appearance and the swelling they really were concerned I broke my knee cap. So they sent me next door for xrays (very handy to have that next door), and it turns out nothing was broken.
I guess I aggravated or something a sack of fluid behind my knee cap (which is causing all the swelling) and I have a pretty deep contusion on my knee, but nothing that wont fix itself over time. I was told to take motrin 3 times a day, ice it daily, wrap it nightly, and just take it easy for about 10 days for it to heal. But I am sooo happy nothing broke, I really didnt want to deal with that :)

ouch

After living in a 3rd floor apartment for over 4 months I finally fell down the stairs!! I normally change out of my work clothes and heels before taking the dogs out, but yesterday I wanted to catch the beginning of bones, so I figured I would just change afterwards. Well, I was being careful on the stairs since I was in big heels and a large open cuff on my pants, so I was really caught off guard when it happened. Jaska was walking next to me (annie was ahead on her retractable leash), and Jaska's paw got caught in the cuff of my pants as I was in the middle of a step, so my foot came out of my shoe, I feel to my knees, and then skidded (on my knees) down 7 or 8 hard concrete block stairs - all the while trying to stop myself but making sure I didnt let go of either dog - who were both a little freaked out by the comotion and needed to go, so they just kept pulling me down the stairs faster!!
So, I will have some nice bruisers on my legs and feet, have some cuts on my feet and hands, and have a very swollen left knee, so Ive been hobbling around the office today. Im gonna see how it feels tomorrow and possibly get to the doctor in the morning before work. Hopefully its just swollen and bruised (the bruise is starting to really come out), my only concern is it was swollen minutes after the fall, which evidently is not a good sign, but I am staying positive because I walk a lot and walk on a lot of stairs all the time. If I go to the doctor and have news Ill update you, otherwise assume I got lucky and its nothing big!!

nothing new

Not too much to report on - just been busy and boring stuff like that. I am feeling all better so that has been nice, Jaksa finally got the tumor removed from her leg and everything went great with that as well. For 2 days she was really calm and didnt make any noise, I was lovin it, but she quickly went back to her normal self.
Work has been busy, I had 2 weddings last weekend plus we had a group of 1000 people, so needless to say it was not a fun day, but we pulled through and both weddings had a blast and didnt notice how busy were were. I also booked a large wedding for February and with their revenue (60K+) I was able to meet my quota with 3 more months to go, so I should be getting a nice bonus check at the first of the year.
The bonus check will be nice because we can use it to buy furniture for our new house. We still havent found anything but we are gonna go and try to see a new one either today or tomorrow, so keep your fingers crossed. Either way, the prices just keep dropping so we should be able to get a good price, perhaps even a much nicer home than we figured but down in our budget.
Otherwise we are just counting down to thanksgiving and when Lisa comes to visit - only 34 more days till she arrives!!!

more wierd stuff

So I thought maybe I was finally out of the woods, my eye was better and my jaw & ear pain and swelling was gone. Aside from not being to sleep due to the steriods all was good (plus even though I wasnt sleeping I didnt mind because I am wide awake). Well, this morning I discovered I had broken out in hives, so my guess was I was allergic to the steriods (since it is the new medicine). I took my antibiotic like I was supposed to (as I have been doing for 8 or so days) and waited until I called the doctor before taking the steriod. To only find out I am having a delayed reaction to the antibiotic, and the steriods were actually helping the past few days, by trying to keep the reaction at bay. So I was told to stop the antibiotics (I only had a few left so it worked out well), to keep taking the steriods, to take claritin during the day (so I would stay awake at work) and take benadryl tonight when I get home to help calm the hives (that stuff knocks me out, so I know I will sleep tonight). If they do not improve by tomorrow I have to go back to the doctor.
I am trying to be hopeful this is the last of my issues, but Im not banking anything on it. The only good thing is the hives could be worse than they are, and now I know I am no longer just allergic to penicillin, but also sulfa based antiobiotics :)
On another note, a nice looking house just came on the market in a good location at a crazy low price for its location and size, so I am waiting to hear if our realtor thinks we should look at it. All the homes just keep getting reduced in price, so I think we should be able to get a good deal by the time we find one we like!!

So here is the deal...

OK - So I dont have an ear infection (which I kinda figured). I do have a fever, but no ear infection, my eye infection is gone (but still 4 more days of antibiotic), my glands arent swollen, but my jaw joint someone got aggravated and due to the movement got really swollen and started affecting my ears and head. So the doctor put me on steriods for 9 days (which I will still take with the antibiotics). The steriods will most likely make me irritable, nervous and will keep me awake. So I will be grumpy for 9 days!! The fever kinda threw the doctor off, but he couldnt find any other reason than my jaw, so we will see if it really solves the problem.
I go to the dentist next week so hopefully I wont have any issues there because I am not used to going to so many office visits.
But hopefully that is the end of my health problems, and I pray that these mediciations fix all these problems and that they arent really all interconnected since they are all so close to each other!!
Time will tell ...

i'm falling apart

So...The right side of my face hates me. I got the eye thing taken care of (it was an allergic reaction, not pink eye), after getting 5 days of antibiotic eye drops and pills (and 7 days of swelling) my eye is almost completely back to normal, it is still a tiny bit pink but I can wear makeup again so thats nice.
Well...now that my eye is fine my jaw or ear is mad at me. For the past 2 days my head has been hurting, yesterday I would get random moments of pain in my right ear, and my jaw was hurting pretty bad. I just figured it was my jaw acting up again and that is was affecting my ear (as it often does). Well, I woke up this morning and there is a bump (about 1 cm long) where my jaw meets my ear. And it feels like my jaw is just not in its socket, plus my ear is killing me, a few times today I've had pain in my left ear, and my overall head feels like it is going to explode. I am a little concerned that all 3 of these areas are very close to each other.
So...I am not putting it off, I have another doctors appt tomorrow at 9, they were very concered when I called about it this morning, but I couldnt get in today due to work. I really dont know what to expect tomorrow, Ian thought maybe an ear infection but what are the odds of getting one of those whenI am on antibiotics. Plus, now that my other ear is starting to hurt, plus the bump, plus the jaw pain, Im just at a loss for an explanation.
Anyway...I will let you know whats up, hopefully it will be the end of my head issues for awhile.

WHAT IS THIS ABOUT!!!

I have pink eye again!!! Like last time I was really hoping it was just a stye but no, its pink eye again!! I think I might finally go to a doctor to figure out what is wrong with my poor little right eye that is always infected :( I know, wonderful news, but thats whats going on right now.
Still looking at homes, they have been dropping in price so thats nice. We are hoping they will keep dropping a little more by the time we need to purchase in about 1 month to close in November!!

Houses!!!

So - Ian and I have started the house search. We have considered new home communities a little outside of Austin and old home communities inside of Austin, and we decided to try to find an older home (but as new as we can find one) in the same section of town we are in now (which is somewhat limited but we are gonna try). Ian really wants big trees which you just cant find in brand new home construction, plus we live in a nice area of Austin.
So, we have contacted a realtor and a mortgage lady so the process has begun!! I am very excited about this, the doggies will finally have a big fenced in yard they can spend as much time in as they want and therefore leave me alone when I want to just do nothing for a little bit. Also, I have only been dealing with the 3 flights of stairs for 2 months and I am sick of them already.
We are looking to try and close on a house by the end of November, but if something happens before that is cool, and if we have to wait till after November that is ok as well, but I am hoping by November we will have a home.
We will keep you posted, and I know you are all looking forward to updating our address once again, because moving just 1 time a year is too easy, we have to move every year plus spice things up and move from state to state, from town to town, and even sometimes even more more than once a year!!!

Random Pics

So, I was going through my camera and found a few pictures I thought I would post - Enjoy!!

Ian and I at Sean and Colleen's Wedding in Chicago on 7/7/07. It was a fun time for all, and I finally got to see Ian in a tux :) But I think I prefer him in his favorite jeans and a polo!

Olive, a tiny beagle puppy we watched for a few days, harassing my dogs to the point of sheer terror and exhaustion on their point. I guess they really arent puppies anymore, they are almsot both little old ladies :)

Annie being her insanely cute, but sad, self

I am gonna try and get some pics of Austin and our apt to post too. Let me tell you, our apt is super classy, boxes everywhere and a freeway out the back window :) It really actually is pretty nice and I am enjoying it, it was just quite a jump in a different direction from the golf community we were living at - we are living the city life now!!

Hyatt Regency Lost Pines

I thought I would post some pictures of my new "home" since we all know I spend more time at work than it seems like I do at home. Hopefully next week I will post a new picture of Ian & I from Sean & Colleen's wedding (and maybe even a pic of annie with her elizabeathan collar on).

An Eventful Week

Well, unfortunately its been a pretty eventful week for the Richardson Family (as Pia loves to call us).

In Florida - Jaska had to go to the vet because she had a weird bump like thing on her leg (I havent seen it so I apologize for my bad description). We were a little afraid it was a cancerous tumor, but that has been ruled out, however, we still are not quite sure what it is and if it will need to be removed. But with the 2 day car trip right around the corner she will have to wait until she gets to Austin, but luckily it was not a big deal. Annie is also having some health issues, she is having her normal skin reactions to the heat/humidity (even though she is inside) and has been scratching her face horribly and is almost at her eye. She is going to get to wear an elizabeathan collar until it heals, I wish I could be there to comfort her and to see how funny she will look, but hopefully it will help because last year it got pretty bad.

In Indiana - Papi feel down and broke his hip, he went in for surgery and that is all fine. But when he was there we discovered he has been having mild strokes since his accident and has colon cancer that has spread to his liver and lungs. Not the news you really want to hear. He will have surgery next week to remove the main tumor in his colon. I am praying that everything will be fine with that and that he still has some good times ahead of him. He is a tough old man, so I have faith in him.

In Texas - I moved into the apartment officially (last night was my first night), there are boxes EVERYWHERE. Since we are planning on moving in 6 months we are keeping all the boxes and packing supplies and keeping some things packed, but let me tell you, that takes up a lot of room. Until we move out the extra bathtub will be the home for all the broken down boxes and the extra room and both closests the home to all the boxes I am not unpacking. Last night all I needed to do was get the bathroom ready so I could get ready for work, so I made sure to stop and get a shower curtain rod, a liner and a curtain, but at like 10:30 realized I didnt get shower curtain rings. So off to Walmart I went in my pjs to spend one whole dollar on shower curtain rings!! So basically it took me like 4 hours to get the bathroom ready, not a productive night to say the least. I am planning on using all weekend to unpack and finally get that apt organized at least a little bit. I know compared to the other news my week in TX was not eventful, but it has been stressful when you put it all together.

OH - And we just ordered new cell phones, we will start using them once Ian gets down to TX. I'll be sure to email the new numbers to everyone.

Howdy from Texas

So - I have been in TX for a little over 1 week now. We found a place to live (an apt for 6 months) but will start to look for a house when Ian and the puppies come in about 3 weeks. I was excited about staying in a nice hotel room for a few weeks, but let me tell you, its boring as crap!! I only get like 10 channels, and only 2 have anything good, so I have been watching the Hyatt channel a lot. I am going to just let you guess how exciting that really is, I can pretty much tell you anything about all the Hyatt Resorts if you ask :)

Anyway - Ian and I leave for Chicago today for Sean's wedding. I will get in about 4 hours before him, but I am gonna meet up and have dinner with Dad as we wait. So even though Ian and I were apart for our 2nd anniversary (it was monday) we will get to spend a few nice days together and stay at the Park Hyatt in watertower for 2 nights (and the HRC for the other 2 nights). I have been looking forward to staying at the Park all year, since that was how long ago I had to make the reservations.

But, as you might be able to tell, I am just trying to kill time. My new director was really nice and had me come into work today (instead of be bored in the hotel room), plus, by coming in today on a holiday I can take my holiday tomorrow and not have to use any vacation days for my trip. But I got my desk and office all organized but I still dont have email or my own computer log ins so I can't really do too much more today so I am just counting down the last hour before I leave to head to the airport. Hopefully its not really confusing, but is looks almost as small as RSW is, and that is the easiest airport in the universe to get around, so I am hopeful.

Well, I could go on for longer but it would just make you all want to scream - to any FL friends who are reading this - I MISS YOU ALL!!!!!

Moving Again

So Ian & I are moving once again - this time we are moving to Austin Texas!!! Yup, Texas, a state I never in a million years thought I would even ever visit, much less live there (no offense gpa). I just accepted a a wedding/catering manager position at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines (http://www.lostpines.hyatt.com/). I will start on Thursday, June 28th and Ian will follow in early August, he is staying in FL to help our Hyatt with a new computer system roll-out. The nice thing about this move is that Hyatt will pay for it, they will come pack up all our stuff and move it to Austin, so at least I dont have to move our stuff again because I am not doing that ANYMORE!!

I am not sure when I will leave FL, it is a 20 hour drive so my guess is I will Monday to have time to rest before my 1st day. I am looking forward to having a nice hotel room for 2 weeks and no dogs to hog the bed, I will miss them but it will be very nice.

But thats all I have for right now, I should know a little more in a few weeks, and when we find a place (we are hoping to just buy something this time) I will get the address out to everyone.

a whole weekend off!!!

I have an entire weekend off work - 2 whole days in a row - I am sooooooo excited!!! Sunday will be a drive into the Cape (with LM, Liz and Ellen) for Karin's baby shower, but it should be fun, she will be so excited to get all the fun gifts. Supposedly there will be mimosas and bloody marys for Ellen :) Just incase you have not been into Babies R Us before, be cautious when you do go in there to buy gifts. I went to buy stuff for Karin & Pia and left 2 hours later, I have no clue how I managed to waste that much time in a store that really doesnt seem that large.

But oh well, as you can see not a whole bunch of news. We celebrated Ian's 25th at Iguana Mia with LM and Bastow. It was fun, I'll have to post the picture of Ian in his birthday sombrero. I'll wait until we go on my Easter birthday (with LM, Bastow, Karin, and Tracy & family) so you can see double the sombreros!!

Work has been super busy for both Ian and I. Its funny because they say Jan & Feb are the peak season, well, my April & May might kill me, ITS CRAZY!!!! But its Friday afternoon so I have no brain function left so I am just killing time, even though I so should be working.

But I could ramble on for longer but I am sure everyone is getting pretty bored. Check again after my bday for our sombrero pics!!

Puppy Picture

I thought I would add a picture of my puppies for everyone to enjoy!!!

Change of Plans

So... I know I said Ian put his notice in at the Hyatt and would be working at home. Well, he did that and worked in Indiana for 1 week and then worked at home for 2 days, and then was back at Hyatt. He is going back to the original plan of working full time at Hyatt and working for efamily on the side, so the best of both worlds for him (not for the puppies though).

Other than that its just the same old stuff down here, we had a cold week (in the 40s & 50s) but we are back in the 80s for this weekend, so no massive complaints considering what the rest of the country is dealing with at this point!!

Wow, our lives are so exciting that I can only talk about work and weather, Florida is such an exciting place!!!!

Welcome 2007

So, I know its been a month since I've updated everyone, but thats only because nothing was going on except work. But the past week has been eventful, so here goes...I got to go home and visit everyone, it was great and really hard to leave, I try not to think about it or I get all teary eyed again. When I was home I caught strep throat, so that was super exciting. Also when I was home Ian put his notice in at the Hyatt, his last day will be at the end of the month. He will be working for efamily full time now, he will be working from home so im excited for the puppies. We are hopeful that by the end of 2007 we will be back living somewhere in the midwest and in our own home!!! Thats about all the updates at this point!!!