Friday, October 26, 2012

Change is coming

I had hoped that our house would sell quickly. I didn't imagine it would sell in six days.  It went on the market on a Monday. We didn't allow showings until Wednesday. We had 7 showings between Wed and Sunday and an open house on Sunday. By Sunday night we had 2 offers! You would think with that activity we would've gotten asking price but we didn't. But we never expected to so we're okay with it. The buyer is having their home inspection tomorrow so hopefully that goes smoothly with very little findings.

The house we liked sold the same day ours did. We were pretty disappointed. We went out house hunting with the realtor already and have some prospects.

In the meantime it's been busy with staying out of the house and I can't believe how few pictures I've taken in the last 2 months. I feel really lucky that Cassidy is so laid back. The first day we had 3 showings. After school we went over to my cousins house to kill time. She ate dinner and played there. We headed home only to people still looking at the house. She was very cool about it. We parked down the street and chatted for almost 15 minutes waiting for them to leave. She's a trooper and its nice that she's so easygoing.


I love this t-shirt

 
She loves to have pretend birthday parties. Sometimes its her birthday, other days its her animals (Violets was yesterday, the babies were today). She's a great hostess and everyone has to have a piece of fake food and a beverage.
 

 
 
 

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Making Strides for Breast Cancer - Boston 2012

Had a great 5 mile walk at the Making Strides for breast cancer walk today. The weather was a bit cool and drizzly but at least no downpours. My mom walked the whole 5 miles! And at the end she said "Next year will be better weather".  So I guess we're walking again next year.

It was a nice time and as a group we raised approximately $800!





Saturday, October 13, 2012

Big Changes

We've been busy. Really busy. We decided, kind of spur-of-the-moment, to try to sell our house. We will absolutely take a loss on it but with interest rates so low we could have a bigger mortgage for not too much extra a month. And new houses in our town suddenly are in our price range. So we're going to see what happens. Our fingers are crossed that our house sells fast because many of our things are already packed as a result of staging! 

Last weekend we packed (Thanks Renee for letting us put stuff in your basement and thanks to Keith for coming over and helping!). We did minor repairs. We cleaned. We donated and threw away a lot of things!  We packed some more.

 
A friend gave me the idea to go to a liquor store and ask for boxes so we did. It's not obvious in this photo, but we look like total alcoholics with all beer boxes.
 
In addition to all the work we did on the house, we squeezed in a trip to Topsfield Fair. Which wasn't much fun. Too crowded for us. We made a mental note to always take a day off and go midweek in the future. We did however pet some donkeys and cows so that always makes me happy. Oh and of course Cassidy went on the Merry-go-Round. Twice.
 
I don't remember anything happening but it sure looks like that donkey startled us both!

 
This weekend was more cleaning and stowing our personal items (apparently everything is a personal item) to stage the house. The realtor came today to take photos. Luckily she used my camera so I have them too!
They asked me to paint the kitchen. It used to be a beautiful blue. now it's blah neutral.




not my wall hanging or fake plants. The realtor brought all staging items over!




 
It's not going to be easy to live like this. We are very lucky that Cassidy is very laid back. We cleared out so much of our basement that we were able to put our spare couch down there and make a little playroom. She's so cute when she asks if she can go play in the basement.  I really hope it sells fast. There's a couple houses in town we'd love to buy.


Saturday, October 6, 2012

One year


One year ago I had surgery to removed cancer from my body. It seems like a bad dream now. I hope to never see that waiting room and those surgeons again. All lovely people but a place I never want to re-visit.  A place I wish no women ever had to visit!

In this month of October the pink ribbon is everywhere.  I was lucky that I pay attention to my body and noticed right away when something was wrong – not everyone does. So if the pinkness of October reminds someone to get a mammogram or to go get that lump checked, then let October be pink! I am the shining example of how early detection can make a big difference in treatment.

Next weekend I, along with family and friends, are walking in the Making Strides for Breast Cancer walk in Boston. I’ve raised $465!  I heard about this charity walk last year. It was the week of my surgery and my cube neighbor, an older man, put a card and his pin from the walk on my desk. The pin is pink and says “I walk in honor of…” and you write in a person’s name. He had written my name.

Also it’s the American Cancer Society behind this charity event and I used their services last year. When I was freaking out in the weeks leading up to my surgery I needed someone to talk to who had been through this. I think it was easier to talk to a stranger. Roberta called me weekly for about a month and a half, starting before my surgery and ending when I got my pathology results that I wouldn’t need chemo. She was matter of fact and told me step by step how I’d feel after surgery, a week later, two weeks later etc. It made me feel better. It was a big help and I want to give back to that organization. If you’d like to donate the link to my fundraising page is below


One year cancer free!  And many more to come.