Homeless

One closing down - one to go. So for a few hours, we're homeless. I'm sitting in one car packed full while Shaun sits in another car also packed full. We can't even sit together because both passengers seats are stuffed. Oh and it's SNOWING. We are homeless in snow on April 30th - go figure! Thank goodness we'll be homeowners again in a few hours!!!

A Week in Fairytale Land

I'm home from Monte-Carlo - the land that literally looks like fairytales take place there! Surprisingly, it didn't seem like Fairytale Land when I first got there. My "World Edition" Blackberry wouldn't work, I couldn't find a sim card for my travel cell phone, and I couldn't find anywhere to eat that had a menu in English. I walked 20 minutes in complete awe of the architecture and amazing beauty of the city to the tennis without any road signs and just praying that I would end up in the right place. I finally made it to the tennis and was too exhausted to stay and watch so I headed back to the hotel. I eventually found food and slept well that night.

Things got better - I figured out how to feed myself when I couldn't find English menus, I got my Blackberry working and just felt a little more at ease as the week went on. I could not get over how beautiful the city was - it's like they blew up part of the rocks and just built wherever they could. It was stunning how buildings were built around each other and into the rocks. I have never seen anything so brillant.

The tennis venue is very cool and unique. Each court is on a different "level" and it's so intimate. A little too small for all the people that are there but I love that you can watch the tennis and see the ocean in background. It was disappointing that the USA wasn't better represented - neither Andy Roddick nor James Blake were there. But, Sam Querry was there and kicked some butt until he lost to Novak Djokovic. And Mike and Bob Bryan were there to play doubles. Unfortunately they lost their second match but I was glad I got to see them play.

While I was there they were getting the city ready for the Formula 1 Grand Prix at the end of May - lining the guardrails with tire material and putting up bleachers everywhere.

It's good to be home. It's a busy week but I'm so excited to move into our new house. We spent today packing up the kitchen and most of the house that wasn't packed already. My dad comes tomorrow and on Tuesday we pick up the moving truck. And finally, on Wednesday we close on both the sale of our condo and then our new house. We will move in that night - yippee!!! :)

So Excited!!

We went to see our new house tonight. It totally got us re-excited about moving in. Don't get me wrong, we were already VERY excited but now we're REALLY REALLY REALLY excited. We hadn't seen the house since we put an offer in on it back in mid-March.

Before walking through we went to Abby and Dave's to hang-out with them and Anna. Anna read to us and wrapped us around her little finger in minutes. While she's used to me she hasn't spent a lot of time with Shaun until tonight so it was nice to have her warm up and bond with him so quickly. It was adorable to watch her show him her flappy-pop-up book.

Eventually we all walked across the street to our new house. Our realtor wasn't there yet so we checked out all the doors and windows. The sliding glass door in the back was open so we all trouped inside. Anna loved to hear her voice echo through the empty house and enjoyed closing some of us into empty rooms. We enjoyed showing the house to Dave and Abby. While they live in the same development, their house is slightly older so there are definitely some differences.

The pictures are of us walking back from our house to theirs. Anna is on her spiffy bike that Shaun pushed with a handle. And then Aunt Shawnna and Uncle Shaun posed with Anna before we took off to meet our realtor so we could measure windows and walk-through to see if there was anything that needed to happen before move-in day in less than 2 weeks!!!!

I forgot to take the camera upstairs but here are a few photos of the house. It will probably never be this clean again after we move in! :)

Davis Cup

Well, as much as this post is delayed, I had a great time at the Davis Cup Quarterfinals in Winston-Salem, NC this past weekend. The USA beat France 4-1 so they are moving onto the Semifinals in SPAIN in September! The guys will have a tough time beating the Spainards on clay but it will be fun nonetheless and I can't wait! :)

P.S. This pic is of my favorite player, James Blake. :) Sweet backhand, huh?

Home Sweet Home

I am currently sitting in the airport in Philadelphia on my way home. While I enjoyed both Miami and North Carolina, it has been a long 3 weeks. I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed and believe it or not, cooking! :)

This week will be a little nuts. I have a ton to do at work and we need to get a massive start on packing up the house. On Sunday morning I leave for the Monte-Carlo Open - I am very excited but overwhelmed at all that needs to be accomplished before my departure. Luckily I'm only gone a week and then I'm home the night of the 26th.

My dad is planning to get into town Monday night to help us load the moving truck on Tuesday. Wednesday is the big day. I'm planning for pizza and champagne for dinner! LOL!

While I'm very excited about our new house there are some sad, and nervous, things that come with this move.
1) My good friend Erin and her fiance Andrew recently bought a house not far from us. While we really haven't seen them much since their arrival, it has been fun seeing them in the grocery store! :) We will just have to make sure we make a good effort to catch up with them often.
2) It has been really nice living next door to a friend and co-worker. There have been several times Jeremy has given me a ride to or from work. Of course, he's also been a good neighbor - checking the mail when we're gone, coming to dinner and even sharing movies. The good thing is that I'll see him everyday at work. :)
3) I am nervous about getting the commute down. Not sure why as I commuted for many years. Then again, I love my sleep so it's probably more a worry about how much less I'm going to get with the extra we have to drive! LOL!
4) I'm very nervous about the bills. I know we can afford the mortgage but it's a bit of a stretch to know how much all the bills will be each month.

Of course there are always the exciting things about it - living near our friends, being in a NEW house (literally), and being in a neighborhood near families and maybe some other people our age!

Well, we're boarding. I can't wait to be home. I'm sure the next few days will FLY by but I have no doubt they'll be productive!!!

A Dear Old Friend

My trip to NC also allowed me to see one of my dearest friends - J.R. - and meet his wife, Jen.

J.R. and I first met in the 6th grade. In the 7th grade I moved to California and then moved back to Virginia and J.R. and I were reunited in the 9th grade. We were friends right through high school and have stayed in touch since graduation.

We haven't seen each other in several years and many things have happened in our lives including both of us completing our masters degrees, both getting married and J.R. joining the Marine Corps.

It was so nice to catch up over dinner and of course, meet Jen. She's a great person - J.R. is a lucky man. :)

Meeting my nieces

After over 3 years I got to see Jen, my best friend from high school this past weekend. And, I got to meet her daughter - KayLee and NataLee. KayLee is 2 years old and NataLee, who is also my Goddaughter, is 4 months old.

The few days I was with them was wonderful. KayLee, who is usually shy, got attached to me very quickly and was my little cuddle buddy. We had a great time at the park where we spent over an hour going down the slide, climbing the jungle gym and swinging. We watched loads of Diego, Noggin, The Wiggles and other kid's shows. A lot of times KayLee danced and giggled. NataLee was just a happy baby - she's definitely a mommy's girl but when she did sit with me she was so cuddly and lovey.

It was so good to see Jen - I wish I could have spent more time with her but I'm thankful I got to be with them for the last few days. And I'm even happier that her husband is coming home from Iraq on Friday after being gone for so long. He'll finally get to meet NataLee and see what a beautiful little girl KayLee is growing up to be. I can't wait till I get to see them all again.

Finishing up in Miami

Well, none of the guys (besides the men doubles team - way to go Mike & Bob!) I wanted to win, won. They were eliminated after some great matches so they definitely went down putting forth great effort.

Another plus of the tournament was getting to watch Andy Roddick play doubles. Though he and Meltzer lost, they did a great job and Andy did better at doubles than I thought he would.

It was a great tournament. Hot and humid but I enjoyed the sun and the warm weather.