And the winner is....

House number 1! It was a hard decision to make! I will miss that screened porch that house number 2 featured, but here's what I love about our soon-to-be home:

It's a pretty house.

 

 

 

 

It has a huge kitchen with a gas stove, not to mention the view from the window. Once I take down the wallpaper and paint the walls a pale yellow or blue, it will be stunning.

 

 

The family room has a full view of the wooded back yard, and a window seat facing the front yard. Being on a private drive the front yard faces trees rather than a street. There is a covered porch off the back of it that we could screen in later. :) I'll paint this to match the kitchen.

 

This sitting area is part of the master bedroom. The double doors are functional and open to the balcony over the front door. Most of the house is actually painted in this color, including all of the bedrooms.

 

 

The wooded backyard is pretty nice too, and is fenced in. We're going to try to get some more grass to grow but for the most part we can just let the trees do their thing.

 

The trip was kind of stressful and tiring; make no mistake. But I have had a lot of fun sharing my adventures with you. Come see us sometime!

 

DC Diary: Day 6

IT IS SO GOOD TO BE HOME! I want to kiss the ground. By now I know exactly how the Wizard of Oz felt when he wanted to get in a hot air balloon and float away to Omaha. I NEVER thought I'd say that about this city, but home is home and it's good to be back.

We've made our choice, the offer is in, and negotiations are under way. I'll reveal which house gets the Rowes tomorrow once things are finalized!

DC Diary: Day 5

Let me ask: If YOU had looked at two dozen homes in three days, given each one careful consideration, and narrowed it down to your top three, which one would YOU pick?

All three homes are priced within a $10,000.00 range of each other, so that's pretty comparable. All three are close to good public transportation options, so the commute would be about the same from all of them. All three are strong contenders.

Note to my dear friends Dana and Jenn - no spoilers!

House #1: It's the biggest house, with the lowest asking price. It sits on four tenths of an acre and is on a private drive. This is the one with lots of wallpaper.

 

 

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This house sits on the biggest lot, just over half an acre, and is in incredible shape. This is the middle of the three houses price wise. It has the amazing screened in back porch.

 

 

 

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This house is exactly the same size as the second one, and is the most expensive. It sits on a third of an acre, and the yard is in great shape. The house is in good condition too.

 

 

 

What do you think? Cast your vote- I'd love to hear you chime in!

 

DC Diary: Day 4

I'm still tired when I wake up this morning. Yesterday was full of a lot of information to process and I probably stayed up later than I should have sifting through my notes, talking with Ryan over the prospects, then reading and relaxing for awhile.

Y., the real estate agent with whom we're working, picks me up at my hotel and off we go, taking a country route through Manassas, Virginia. Oh my goodness, it is BEAUTIFUL there. I'd happily ride around for an hour taking in the scenery; I'll bet it's amazing in the fall!

Summarizing the three new properties we walked through this morning is easy: they are all pretty much run-down, poorly laid out homes. Ranks for the day: all are relegated to the C-list. One in particular surprises me because it's in a really nice neighborhood. Y. ponders how the resident (I'm not sure if he's the owner or a tenant) could have the self-discipline to be in the army, yet be such a slob at home. I don't know what to tell her about that one.

Then we re-visit yesterday's "final four" homes. My opinion of them doesn't change much as I walk through them; they're all lovely houses that have been well cared for.

Reflection:

It goes without saying that relocating to a new area is hard. In addition to learning your way around, finding new churches, doctors, stores, friends, and activities (not to mention the heartbreak of leaving old friends behind), you have to get used to new ideas.

Here are some ideas I've had to wrap my mind around:

• For the last five years we've parked our camper at our home. That is probably not going to happen here since the most garage you'll find might hold two cars, and not much else.
• It is impossible to find more than a quarter acre in certain cities around here, since the zoning and codes require that lots not exceed that size.
• It is customary here to convey washing machines and dryers with the house you sell.
• There are as many, if not more, people here than there are in the last five cities I've lived in combined.
• Property is outrageously expensive. This has been a really big mental hurdle for me.
• Begging pardon for the language, but some people really, really don't give a damn about the condition of their home. I'd be embarrassed to offer up my home  for sale if it was in the condition that a few of these homes are in.

After a busy morning we eat a late lunch at an authentic Korean restaurant in Fairfax. Oh my, what a treat! We enjoy several varieties of kimchi with rice and some beef bulgogi, as well as a seafood pancake. I haven't eaten Korean food like this in over ten years- it is fresh and delicious! I've eaten on the run a lot since I've been here so it's good to sit down and eat a good, nourishing meal. I am a little rusty at using chopsticks but it comes back to me and I don't embarrass myself too much.

I'm glad we've wrapped up early today. I take a long walk around a lake near my hotel to clear my head; there are about a half-dozen properties in another neighborhood I'll look at tomorrow morning. Then it will be decision time!

DC Diary: Day 3

Today it's time to get down to brass tacks and look at houses in earnest. After a quick breakfast at the hotel (I made it this morning!) I head over to meet my real estate agent, with whom I have only communicated with via email.

Y. is a delightful woman from Kunsan, South Korea. I've actually visited her hometown We chat a bit about Korean foods and differences between Kunsan and Seoul; she's lived in both cities and I've visited both.

We'll see a wide variety of homes; yesterday's drive helped narrow down what neighborhoods to look in. Also, I'm feeling pretty well oriented as we drive around; I don't have that helpless, lost feeling that you get when someone zips you around an area you don't know. We'll plow through as many homes as we can stand today.

Here's how I'll rank them: Homes that are actually a consideration will get a rank number. B-list homes will be considered if everything else falls through. C-list homes will be considered if the only other option is a park bench.

I'll keep them all straight in my head by writing notes as I go, then blogging about them when I get back to my hotel at night.

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All right, here is the tally:

House number 1: Nice house, neighborhood; added sunroom blocks 3/4 of the view out the kitchen window. Looks like moisture issues exist in the sunroom too... but you can hear lots of birds singing. Rank at the end of the day: 5th place

House number 2: Great big laundry room, nice, newer home but garage is really a tight fit. Lots of highway noise as well. Decent yard. Foyer is wide open near bedrooms which is a problem because noise will travel up there and keep the boys awake. Rank: 7th place

House number 3: Same neighborhood; LOVELY home. Yard has a steep slope and a deck needs to be added. Quirk: downstairs bathroom is right by the front door, with a toilet that faces a floor-to-ceiling window looking out at the driveway. Hmmm. Rank for the day: 6th place

House number 4: "Please remove your shoes", the sign by the front door says. Fair enough. OK floor plan, small kitchen, decent, fenced in yard. Some issues with where the drywall was taped and mudded. Carpet in basement stinks like cat pee, and it feels wet, too. Next time I'll leave my shoes on my feet, thankyouverymuch. Rank for the day: (relegated to B-list)

House number 5: The door to this one sticks so tightly that neither the realtor nor I could open it. Oh well. Outside of house is filthy anyway. Rank for the day: (relegated to C-list)

-The nerve some people have to set an asking price so high and then offer you trash for a house-

House number 6: Fairly level yard with a fence, but ick. This place is filthy! Also, I notice that the neighborhood is a little run-down. I think it's a nice house but I haven't the inclination to clean up someone else's mess. Rank for the day: (relegated to C-list)

House number 7: There are only two problems with this home. One is that it's really more house than we need, though the asking price is within our budget. The other is that the owners loooove wallpaper. Or at least they did when they put it up in the late 80's. Actually, I love this house. It's an amazing home. Wallpaper is cosmetic, not structural, so it can be worked around. Comes with a half-acre mostly-wooded lot. Rank for the day: 1st place.

Whew! We stop and refuel at Bob Evans with a soup and salad, then press on.

Houses number 8 and 9: I lump these two together because they're in the same neighborhood, not far apart. They are both good houses, but both have small, nondescript yards. Number 8's basement smells like cat pee. At least it's unfinished so we aren't walking on squishy carpet this time. I went through number 9 yesterday during the open house so there's no need for us to look at it again. I think the "deal breaker" for me is the myriad of cars parked on the street rather than in their driveways- it makes navigating the roads unpleasant. I saw the same thing yesterday when I drove through so I'm afraid it's a consistent pattern rather than a rash of graduation parties. Rank for the day: B-list for both.

House number 10: "Todd and Margo's house" that I saw yesterday. The realtor had it on her list, so why not see it again? In truth, the house is in immaculate condition. Rank for the day: 4th place

House 11: This house is the smallest one we'll see today, but it sits on a little over one-half acre and has an amazing screened-in back porch. Most of the backyard is woods which need to be thinned out, but the neighborhood is one of my favorites. The master bath is really tiny but surprisingly, doesn't bother me as much as I thought it might. This house just feels like a good fit. Rank for the day: 2nd place.

House 12: This house is a great home with, unfortunately, two pitfalls. One is that it has not once been updated since it was built 21 years ago. While it's in terrific shape, it really looks dated. The other woe is that it's a short sale that's still being negotiated with the bank. The timeframe needed to complete that process will probably extend past when we need a home. Rank for the day: B-list.

House 13: House 12's next-door neighbor is the "perfect" home that I visited yesterday. Boy, if the lot was only twice as big, I'd be signing contracts right now instead of writing a blog entry about 14 houses in one day. Rank for the day: 3rd place

House 14: In a couple of months, this house will be a lovely home for somebody. The elderly couple who owned it passed away, and major renovations have been done. The interior is immaculate and new; the exterior needs a LOT of repair. It's two houses down from an elementary school which means there will be a lot of additional traffic twice a day, so that's a slight disadvantage from our standpoint. Rank for the day: B-list.

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I am absolutely wiped out! Will re-visit my favorites and see a few additional listings in the morning!

DC Diary, Day 2

I take advantage of having no small people with me who want breakfast, and sleep til 8:30- CST! Um, I guess that means I'm getting a late start since I'm in the eastern time zone, but no schedule, no worries. I did miss the free continental breakfast at the hotel though. Bummer.

I decide just to skip breakfast since I'm not hungry anyway, and take a leisurely drive through Fairfax County. The scenery is beautiful! After two years of living in Nebraska I'm ready for some more flora in my life.

Eventually I do hit the interstate... and sit in traffic on southbound I-95. The bad traffic here is legendary, so I guess this is my initiation. Once I pass a weigh station traffic starts rolling again and I work my way down towards Woodbridge, VA to see what I can see. My first stop is at the Potomac Mills shopping center, and I am NOT IMPRESSED. It's way, way too much like Gurnee Mills near my hometown, but without a Bass Pro Shop and a Rain Forest Café. They are owned by the same corporation, I believe. I am always struck by how much crap is offered up for sale in malls like these; so much of it is really stupid stuff!

By this time I'm hungry so I grab a wrap and glass of water at the food court. While I enjoy my lunch I read a few more pages from a wonderful book I've been reading called How the West Won by Rodney Stark. It's a fine synopsis of world history from the fall of Rome till modern ages, and how Christianity impacted major advances in science and discovery. I highly recommend it.

There are some things to get used to in this area; most notably the traffic. One needs a lot of patience to get anywhere and the realization that a generous amount of time is needed to travel relatively short distances. Omaha and Dayton, and especially Clovis (New Mexico), which are the three most recent cities I've lived in, have relatively light traffic and it's really been nice.

Another adjustment is that I will be surrounded by LOTS of foreign languages and people who don't look like me. There are people everywhere from all tongues, tribes and nations and it's not a bad thing, just different.

BUT the suitcase is replaced! After lunch I found a nice new red suitcase in Marshall's. I guess you could say my old luggage will be "lost", though not in the traditional sense.

I am NOT walking through Dulles International Airport with this thing again! Or even humble Eppley Field, for that matter. Someone I know might see me there.

After lunch I drove through some neighborhoods in the areas we think we're interested in living and I managed to get to three Open Houses.

The first home was a nice, very adequate house but with a rather small yard. While I was there I had a lovely chat with the realtor and his wife, as well as a neighbor who was looking at the house out of curiosity.

The second home gives meaning to the idea that personalizing a house too much makes it hard for other people to envision themselves living there. Confession: every year I watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and I laugh at it too. Well, if you've seen it then you'll know what I mean by this statement: I think Todd and Margo live here. The house was in excellent condition, but the owners are well-heeled and very musical and artistic.

I then drive by another listing that interests me which didn't have an open house, but think I struck gold on the town and neighborhood. I chance upon an third Open House in the same neighborhood and seriously, if the yard was a bit bigger, I would just buy it here and now. I do enjoy a nice chat with the realtor and his family, who used to live in Fairborn, OH. My boys spent many a Wednesday at a Mother's Day Out program in Fairborn.

After that it's time to head back north, so I drive that way on I- 95 and spend some time going around the Washington beltway. Lots of traffic, but I manage to get the exit I need without too much trouble.
Before taking it back to the hotel for the evening I stop off at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum (not the main building in the city, but an auxiliary hangar near Dulles airport) Here's one of today's neatest "discoveries:"

 

 

I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO SEE A SPACE SHUTTLE!!!!!!

 

It's so neat to look at Discovery and realize that the vehicle in front of me has actually been in outer space! You can still see burn marks on the heat shield tiles from re-entering our atmosphere. The National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, OH was robbed when it wasn't selected to get a retired shuttle. I will always be a little sore over that one. But at last I get to see one, up close and personal. (Ryan's still one up on me. He saw one launch back in the early 90's).

 

Here's another gem the museum has to offer: the Enola Gay.

 

 

What a day! Tomorrow I will meet with my realtor and start looking at houses in earnest.



DC Diary: Day 1

Later this summer,  next month to be exact, we will embark on another military moving adventure. This one sends us east to our nation's capital! Now, I love Washington, DC but other than taking the Metro (intra-city subway) for touring purposes when I was 15 years old, I can't say that I know my way around the area.

So my mission for the next six days (why yes, I have chosen to accept it) is to fly out there- no kids, no husband- and spend some time getting to know the lay of the land and look at potential homes.

I have spent the past month preparing for this by hyperventilating into a paper bag when I look at the prices of homes in "NOVA" (northern Virginia).

Proverbs 31 states, in various verses, that "The heart of her husband trusts in her", as well as something about "consider[ing] a field and buying it", so I guess that makes me a Proverbs 31 wife?????

Anyhow. Day one unfolds with a pretty typical breakfast at home. I get around to packing about an hour before I needed to leave 'cuz when you don't need to pack diapers, wipes, and changes of clothes for four boys who like to get messy packing takes no time at all.

I close my suitcase that I dragged up from the basement, and realize it's the one held together with duct tape. There is some dispute over who is responsible for this dreadful state of affairs. It could be me since I grabbed that luggage. It could be another member of the household who at times flies regularly on temporary assignments, taking that bag with him, and is too cheap to replace it.  But back to the point: There's no disguising it; it's a solid black suitcase with silver duct tape all over it. It couldn't be black and discreetly blend in where only the baggage handlers and I would notice, and it couldn't be awesome tape with leopard print, paisleys, or Justin Bieber (JUST KIDDING on the last one, although such tape does exist). Sigh.

Off to the Omaha airport we head; the boys and Ryan opted just to drop me off at the terminal. That was just as well as my airline and TSA are the models of inefficiency today.

My flight leaves  about an hour and twenty minutes late but I make it to O'Hare in Chicago with about 15 minutes to catch my connecting flight. I really need to start running again. I land at Dulles airport right on time; it's a little larger than I had imagined but I found the subway to the baggage claim and the shuttle to the rental car lot with no trouble.

The hardest part about finding my hotel, being that it is only about seven miles from the airport, is heading west into the sunset. The overhead signs are accurate and helpful I am sure, but not when the sun is a great big blazing ball right behind them. But I arrive safely with some daylight to spare. Tomorrow I am going to sleep in very late and then go drive around and get lost so I can find my way back and thus learn my way around.