I began writing this post in early January, but as life does, the things that are worthy of blogging about sometimes leave little time to actually write! My priorities changed greatly beginning with the hospitalization of my grandma on New Years Eve weekend, but more on that later....
2010 began with much excitement and promise. Jeff and I were in escrow on our first home and eager to start tackling the project of our lives. We originally started escrow in November and were supposed to close in December but as those of you have purchased a home before know, there were glitches. We fell out of escrow due to a seller error and began the process again in December with a closing date set for early February. When we were looking for homes we had our Bailey girl in mind at each house. We wanted a house rather than a condo because we wanted room for our girl to run and play. We also knew that this would probably be the house we started a family in and did not want to raise children without an outdoor space. Just a week before we were set to get the keys to our house, I came home from work on a Friday to find Bailey very sick. We had a very difficult weekend with a dog that was in obvious discomfort and prior episodes indicated she may have a brain tumor. Jeff stayed home on Monday so he could take her to the vet. After a whole weekend of not sleeping and trying to keep Bailey comfortable, he fell asleep next to her on the floor while waiting for the vet appointment. He awoke a few hours later to find her peacefully at rest. I was a cat person my whole life and Bailey changed all that. We know we want to get another dog someday but we aren't quite ready yet and we are very sad that Bailey never got to see her new house with a back yard.
Bailey while on a visit to my grandma's. She loved that backyard!
On February 4th, 2010 we finally closed and got the keys to our house! We tried for 6 months to buy a house and put in offer after offer but cash investors would scoop up houses in our price range the same day they were listed or we'd be competing against 40 other offers. It was crazy! We were even putting in offers on houses we didn't really like knowing our offer probably wouldn't get accepted anyway. Thankfully our agent found this house which was a foreclosure before it was even listed. We took a look at it and it needed ALOT of work, but the price was right and although Mira Mesa was not where we intended to purchase (we were looking in Poway), I was familiar with the neighborhood as I worked at the school just up the street from the house for four years prior to entering the insurance world. Also, our buddies the Colemans lived a short 1.9 miles away and our other buddies Mel B and Jenny Mae lived in an apartment in between us and the Colemans! Our agent brokered a deal with the seller and he never even listed it. It worked out perfectly!
The large, but fugly living room
The even fuglier kitchen, which had 3 different colored cabinets and pumpkin orange, peeling paint
The next several months consisted of heading to the house after work until 8 or 9 pm and spending every weekend there. Jeff's Dad and Goldie came down to SD every weekend to help us and we would have been lost without them. Not only did they make it fun to work on the house, but they were hard workers and knowledgeable. Jeff's dad is very handy and Goldie has an eye for design and helped me with everything from curtains to where to put the furniture. They really helped us transform that dump into a home.
Living room after
Kitchen after
We moved into the house the first week in April. The house still had a lot of work to be done but it was livable at that point and it was so much easier to come home from work, work a few hours on the house and then go to bed then to drive back to the condo each night. My Uncle Randy helped us out greatly during the week. After working at his day job all day he would come over to the house and help us out for 3 or 4 hours each night. I really enjoyed getting to spend the time with Randy and it was nice having an extra pair of hands. One of the days in April that he was over helping paint the kitchen he informed me that he heard one of my other uncles, Steve, was pretty sick. I had seen him in March at my grandma's 90th birthday and noticed he looked frail but didn't think too much of it. It turns out that he had melanoma and it had spread very quickly throughout his body. Just a month after being diagnosed with cancer, he passed away on May 5th, just one month away from what would have been his 55th birthday. This came as a great shock to our family because it was so sudden and he was so young. My Uncle was very much involved in the music business and also very active with several clubs and charities on the central coast. His memorial service was held his birthday weekend in June followed by a celebration of life in which hundreds of people attended. His death reminded me to make time for loved ones because our time here is limited. It also reminded me that life is too short to be mad or angry at someone. Steve and I missed nearly two years of time together due to a disagreement, 2 years I desperately wish I could do over. It was my engagement which finally brought us back together. I wanted him to attend my wedding and we were able to get past our disagreement and he did come and it meant the world to me. He will always hold a place of honor in my heart.
Steven R. See 6/5/55 to 5/5/2010
The weekend after the memorial I, along with my BFF's family, hosted a baby shower for Rosa. Saying Rosa comes from a large family is an understatement! The shower had over 100 guests and we had to rent a hall in order to fit everyone. The shower was a great success and baby girl Snowden really made out! Unfortunately my camera was out of commission so I don't have many photos, but I was quite proud of myself for the garden party decor and how it all turned out (thanks to a great amount of help from Rosa's sisters).
Rosa (middle) and her sister Betty (left) and Carol (right) at the shower
Emma Carolina Snowden Ruvalcaba
It's a good thing we had the shower a month before Rosa's due date because miss Emma decided to make her entrance into the world just two weeks after the shower! Emma is the first baby to be born into my group of friends and I am absolutely in love with her. It's a lot of fun watching my bestie be a momma. This little girls is very lucky and will no doubt be a wonderful human being, just like Rosa.
In July I had to report to Jury duty. For some reason I get called every year on the dot, but I never get picked to be on a trial. I always wondered what it was about me that always got me dismissed. Typically I considered myself to be the most normal person in the jury pool. There are always wackos and the excuses some people give to get out of jury duty can be quite interesting. Well, for some reason I got picked to be on a 3 week civil trial about a boating accident involving a yacht. I got picked even though I work in the insurance industry and had been in a boat accident before. It was an interesting process and I actually proved to be a valuable juror. Because of me, the defendant had to pay a lot less $.....but, most of the people I served with were idiots and if I am ever in the position of being on trial, I'd rather have a judge determine my fate rather than 12 peers aka morons. I was shocked that they all had their minds made up before we even started deliberating and there were only a few that had an open mind regarding evidence and testimony. Because of my knowledge of the insurance industry and law in general I was able to convince the jury to reach a more reasonable verdict.
My 'office' for 3 weeks in July
Summer really flew by. We continued to do projects around the house but one highlight was going to see Elton John in concert. He was amazing! The best part is that he had just gotten over a stomach flu bug and had cancelled the previous concerts. At one point in the concert he stopped, stood up and basically told us he had to take a break to poo! Professional that he is, after about 10 minutes he came back and resumed like nothing had happened. Seeing Elton was on my bucket list and I can proudly cross it off!
Sir Elton John
Chilling at the pool
Peter (middle) with Cynthia (left and his wife Crystal (right)
Enjoying warm summer temps, BBQ and booze
In November we joined the Colemans in Hawaii at their awesome time share on Oahu. Won't go into too much detail as I wrote two blogs about it but Hawaii was definitely a highlight of the year!
Sunset from our Lanai
Sunset at Waikiki
It wasn't too long after Hawaii that the holidays arrived. It was a lot of fun decorating the house for our first Christmas. Christmas Eve Jeff and I went over to my grandmothers and my Uncle Mike had picked up a delicious prime rib dinner . My mom asked me to buy a beautiful centerpiece to take over to my grandma's to help make things festive. My grandma had been at the emergency room earlier in the day but still wanted us to come over. I'm so glad I remembered my camera so I could take the picture below. I wanted to take a picture with my grandma holding the centerpiece so I could send it to my mom for her to see, little did I know it would be the last time I saw my grandma outside of a hospital or hospice care.
December 24th, 2010. Me and my grandma celebrating Christmas Eve.
Because it was our first Christmas in our new house we wanted to play host. We had everyone over for Christmas dinner and had quite the spread. The boys got their traditional Christmas boxers and the girls got the better end of the deal on the stockings (thanks to one Miss Goldie Boeder). After dinner, presents and many cocktails we were buzzed enough to not care whether it was age appropriate or not and put on Bad Santa. Nick and Alex seemed to enjoy it. I guess since we let them watch The Hangover Bad Santa was logically the next step in their corruption.
Christmas Goodies
Boxers, cash and cocktails
Everybody's favorite Christmas Classic...Bad Santa
Because we're old and now wise enough to know that drinking a home is 1. cheaper 2. safer 3. just as fun We decided to stay in for New Years. The Colemans and Jenny Mae came over and we played Just Dance and Michael Jackson and lots of board games and imbibed an insane amount of booze (that tends to happen when its free and you don't have to drive anywhere). We pulled pretty much an all nighter and had a lot of fun. I'm very grateful to have such fun friends nearby. A good time is never more than 1.9 miles away!
Dancing to MJ on NYE
So that is the long and short of 2010. In retrospect there were many sad events last year, but out of those sad events came a hearty appreciation for what we have. Bailey gave me a new appreciation for dogs and in time we will get another. We just aren't ready to replace Bailey girl just yet. My Uncle's passing brought our family closer together and also brought many of Steve's friends together as well. I always knew Steve was a special person but seeing the love that so many people had for him and actually meeting people whose lives he had changed really helped me realize that there is a lot of room for improvement in my life and what was a priority before is not necessarily a priority now. Christmas Eve with my Grandma will always be a cherished memory and I am thankful that the last 10 years I was able to spend a lot of time with her. I am also grateful that I could be with her when she needed me most. 2011 started off on a rough note with my Grandma passing away and just tonight I learned that my good friend Nate's dad passed away today from cancer. Instead of thinking that the year is starting off on a bad note, I am just going to say that the world revolves around life and death and those we love are never really gone. Those of you who know me well know I am not religious, but the words of Ecclesiastes 3 convey my thoughts better than anything I can come up with. Let's just say its an awesome song by The Byrds...shall we (Turn, Turn, Turn)?
Ecclesiastes 3
A Time for Everything
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
