7 Quick Takes (vol. 31)

--- 1 ---

You know what is really good news for the end of the week?  Not losing your earnest money because the person who was supposed to sell you a house filed for bankruptcy and went to jail.  We're still feeling pretty bummed about not getting this house, but at least we're only out the money for the inspection and not another $2000.

--- 2 ---

Guess who turned 8 months old?  This guy!

Who? Me?

Okay, actually he turned 8 months a couple weeks ago, and I'm just that behind.  Good thing he's so easy going--I don't think he'll hold it against me.

He's sitting up by himself (with relatively little tipping over)--one of my favorite milestones.  A little over a week ago he suddenly decided he loves being fed, and started opening his mouth voluntarily and lunging for the spoon.  I almost cried with joy.  He's also getting much better at feeding himself, so we're doing lots of soft finger foods.  It looks like crawling is next on the agenda as he has started getting up on his hands and knees and rocking, all by himself, just in the last couple days.  But hey, maybe he'll surprise me and go back to being The Amazing Sleeping Wonder Baby first and sleep through the night consistently again (we had a stretch of a couple weeks back in May, and then... once, since then. blech).

--- 3 ---

Alex was running some errands before our latest trip while I stayed home and tried to get ahead on a project for work.  I asked him to pick up some more deodorant for me.  Like the dutiful, generous, attentive husband he is, he did (or maybe he just didn't want me to smell on vacation).  He got the right brand and the right variety, but while I usually go for "Active Clean" he picked up "Sexy Intrigue."  I asked him if it was a compliment, a hint, or just an innocent oversight, and he said that was the only scent they had.  I'm not sure I buy that answer.

--- 4 ---

Does anyone else feel slightly disoriented for a day or two when switching deodorants, or is it just me?

--- 5 ---

Michael's newest literary love is Calvin and Hobbes.  At first I was thrilled and thought it was just so cute that he wanted to sit and read it all on his own.  Then I caught sight of one where Calvin is climbing out the bathroom window instead of taking a bath like he's supposed to.  

Don't be getting any ideas, Buster.

the picture of innocence

--- 6 ---

If you're looking for something to do this week I'll be joining Jen for her blogging challenge: every day Monday-Sunday.  You totally should too.  (Dad and Dene', I am looking at you.)

--- 7 ---

Please keep Dwija and her family in your prayers as they grieve the loss of baby Nicholas.  I have no words.

Go see Jen and the rest for more Quick Takes!  
Happy Friday :)

Theme Thursday: Bright

A bright summer's afternoon here in Colorful Colorado (at least that's what all of the signs on the state borders say--but outside of the well-watered lawn and the park behind the house the colors tend to range toward brown tones...)

sunlight through the lindens... isn't there just so elven about lindens?

splashes of color in the yard

fountain

flowers

a bright summer cocktail: vodka tonic with lemon

Go brighten up your day (see what I did there?) with Cari and the gang!

Five Favorites (vol. 2)

1.  If I had ever been there, I'm sure Spain would be one of my favorite places.  Since I haven't gone yet, and since I can't convince Alex that walking the Camino with two small children is a good idea (I have no idea what his problem is), friends who travel internationally and let me live vicariously through them and bring me back amazing and totally unexpected gifts are absolutely my favorite.  Many thanks, Nicole and Laurel (and Alison, whose lovely stuffed animals brought back from Cambodia are not pictured because they in the room of a sleeping child and I did not plan head... sorry)!!!


2.

Tarta de Santiago (cake of St. James) is my newest favoritest pastry (and here's a recipe in English).  The feast of St. James is coming up on July 25th, and if I can keep up my motivation I'll be trying for my very own tarta.  We'll see how it lives up to the real Spanish deal.  Wish me luck.

3.

And these are my newest favoritest earrings.  Apparently the cathedral in Compostela sells jewelry with designs taken from an illuminated medieval manuscript they have in their archives.  How cool is that?  Oh, and Liam loves them too.  Of course.

4.  

Speaking of favorite places, here's one of them.  Please ignore the classy framing and artistically placed flattened bugs, and focus on the buttes on either side of the highway.  This is on Hwy 85 between Cheyenne and Torrington, Wyoming.  Alex and I both love driving through Wyoming (seriously), and this is our favorite part (okay, one of several).  There is something so majestic and lonely about those two buttes framing the highway...  So if you're ever needing to drive from Denver up to SD, we highly recommend taking 85 right after Cheyenne instead of staying on I-25.  But the Taco John's in Torrington doesn't have a public restroom.  Just so you know.

5.  And for something completely different...

I had completely despaired of finding a new swimsuit.  Ever.  I'll spare you all of my whining about how impossible it is to find one that fits modestly--let alone looks at all flattering.  I had looked at Kohl's the last couple summers and couldn't find anything, so I almost didn't try again this summer.  But I was desperate.  And voila, look at what I found!!!  It fits (although I had to go up 6 sizes from what my size actually is based on the numbers, but whatever)!  I like the color!  It was on sale (although not as on sale as it is now... rats)!  It has support!  It's modest (for a swimsuit)!  Win!

Go see Hallie and the gang for more favorites!

Home again, home again, jiggedy jig.

Friday night we arrived home from a wonderfulamazinglovelyincrediblefantasticsuperb vacation visiting family in the Black Hills.  I feel a bit bad for being MIA for so long, but since we got to hang out with about 90% of the people who read this here blog, I figure it was probably okay.

While we all work through our family withdrawals ("See Papa Brama? A Sou' Dakota?"  "No Michael, we can't see Grandpa and Grandma today."  "Papa Chuck! Brama Maxine!"  "No, I'm sorry, we can't go to Grandpa Chuck and Grandma Maxine's for lunch."  "Cousin friends go?"  "Your cousin friends are back in South Dakota.  I'm sorry.") I'll be posting some of the highlights from our trip.  I don't know if it will make my withdrawals better or worse (probably both).

The boys were pretty much champion traveling buddies (all three of them! Alex is my hero for packing up the car so efficiently both ways).  Here we are traveling through Wyoming:

Coming soon: Storybook Island, hiking, family pictures, out takes, and more!  Thank you to all the SD Rappanas and Mattoxes for hosting us!

Do you ever...

...pick the wrong check out line at the grocery store?

You know, there are so many options and you really just want a quick and easy check out experience, and one line just looks like it's moving fast than the rest, so you hop in that one?  And then ten minutes later you're wondering if you should move to another line or just stick it out since you've already invested so much time in the slowest. line. ever.?

Yeah, that's kind of us and this whole house deal.  (And here you were thinking it was an elaborate analogy leading into an apology for being MIA for weeks... nope! But I am sorry... really!)

We went under contract the middle of June, and everything was going well.  The house was in pre-foreclosure and we knew there was a chance the bank would ignore our contract with the seller and auction it off at the scheduled auction on July 3rd.  The morning of the 3rd we learned that the bank had postponed the auction for a couple weeks--not exactly the news we were hoping for, but still good news.

A couple hours later our realtor called us back to tell us she had just been informed that the seller had filed for bankruptcy.  The house was now under the protection of the bankruptcy court, and the seller needed to petition for permission to sell it to us anyway.  It would be at least two months before the court even issued a decision.

We sent the seller an amend/extend that would push the closing date out long enough to allow for the slow-grinding wheels of justice (or something like that) and asked for confirmation that she was, in fact, still intending to sell us the house.  We heard nothing (surprise surprise).

Today we learned that the seller is in jail.  ?!

Her ex-husband is trying to get power of attorney so he can sign our notice of termination so we can get our earnest money back.  We don't know if there's any possibility of him being allowed to take over the contract and still sell us the house, or if the seller's incarceration will have any effect on what the court decides about her bankruptcy situation.  We're thinking this chapter of the epic (epically awful) house search is probably closed.

We're vacillating somewhere between heartbreak and good riddance.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us throughout this whole process... and thanks for your continued prayers.  We need them.  A lot.