Friday, July 17, 2009

A house! A house? Oh my, I just bought a house.

So I found a house made an offer and it was accepted today!!!!
I'm sure you wondering how I did meeting my requirements

From list one:
Big Window, check- in the living room, dining room, family room and studio/spare bedroom
Room for a hammock, check- in the little back yard or next to the studio
Dark backyard, check-some big old trees and a neighborhood street
Entrance without stairs, check-the front door you can just walk right in
Master Bedroom window, check-a quiet street that has very little traffic
Trains not close, check-but not to far either, about a mile to the closest station
Storage, triple check-basement garage and attic
place for bike, check-that would be in the garage
Garden, check-there's a small space for flowers, and a good spot for some other things to grow
Dog friendly, check-small back yard easy to enclose
Location, check-4 miles less to work, 3 miles from church, 15 minutes from family
Comfort, check-when looking at the house, it was the first house my mom liked enough to sit down in

On to list two:
Smoke free, check-enough said
Deck, Patio, or Porch, double check-patio out back, porch off of studio
Fireplace, check-one in the living room
Light, check-why do you think I'm making the spare bedroom a studio
Green, OK, room for improvement but lots of light gets in through double pained glass
Widescreen TV, check-most likely will go in the family room when I get one
Three bedrooms, check-Master, guest, and studio
Laundry, check-stackable but right now is just off the kitchen which is kind of weird
Hill, OK, not obviously high, but next street over is definitely downstream
Non shared driveway, check-hedge needs to be trimmed at the edge but it's all mine
Room, check-so much room I'm going to need more furniture
Prayer space, check-I'm thinking by the front window in the dining room

Another bonus I just discovered 4 Starbucks within 3 miles!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Things I Want in a House - Part 2

Alright, now for some practical things:

1. Smoke Free, I refuse to wash nicotine of the walls again.
2. A deck, porch or patio would be lovely.
3. A fireplace, I can feel the warmth already.
4. Good southern light, it an artist thing.
5. Green adaptable, I want to do my part for the environment.
6. The perfect spot for a wide screen tv, even thought I don't have one yet.
7. Three bedrooms, so I can have guests stay over.
8. A washer and dryer, so I can do laundry at midnight.
9. I'd like the house to be on a hill so I don't have to worry about flooding.
10. A non shared driveway.
11. Room for my stuff, no storage place for me.
12. A dedicated prayer space would be really nice.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Things I Want in a House - Part 1

So I'm in the process of looking for a house, ready to expand beoynd my one bedroom 4th floor apartment. The problem is I'm not exactly sure what I want. So I thought I'd bring some ideas here. Sure I could write about
- School district (Don't care I'm single and all taxes are high around here)
- Down Payments (Can you ever save up enough?)
- Real Estate Agents (Who send me lots of e-mails but otherwise ignore me)
- Time deadline (I'm not being kicked out but I'd sure like that tax credit)
- Kitchens (As long as it has appliances from at least 1990 and work, that's good enough for me)
And much more, but I find the things I care about will never show up on any webpage or printout.

So I thought I'd share some of the things that really do matter to me.
1. A big window to watch thunderstorms, yes I love them and it's what got me inspired to write this instead of going back to sleep.
2. A place for a hammock in the yard in the shade, I really find these soothing.
3. A dark backyard to look at the stars from, right now I've got a well lit parking lot.
4. At least one entrance without stairs, why make things difficult on myself.
5. A master bedroom were I can have the window open at night and not be awakened several time because of noisy traffic.
6. The house should at least be three blocks from any train tracks, if you knew where I live currently you'd understand.
7. An attic, garage or basement, it doesn't matter which as long as there is someplace for storage.
8. A place for my bicycle, which is currently still at my parents house.
9. A garden, it doesn't have to be much, but I need someplace to get my hands dirty.
10. Dog friendly, I love dogs and want to have one of my own.
11. A location that's less than my 45 minute commute, but still closer to friends and family.
12. A place where people could come over and feel comfortable, but I guess that part is up to me.

That's enough for one night, but I promise to write more soon.
KC

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

GLB

Here's a video I created for the one and only Ginny.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Brazil Video

Here a video I captured while in Brazil. That's my friend Sharon spinning.
The words being sung are: Let Your fire fall, let the wind blow, let Your glory come down.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving

I know I haven't said it elsewhere, but I thought I'd at least say it here; HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Things I'm thankful for are:
Family
Good Friends
A job in the field I love
A few days off from work
A Savior who loves me
Crazy older neighbors
Cheaper gas prices
A car that gets me where I need to be
Talents and abilities
A place to call home
Internet access
A life changing trip to Brazil
A time to worship

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

God Dreams and the Narrow Road

So after talking about the narrow road in Bible study tonight, God just gave me a follow up on some questions I had.
Here's my dream.

I had gotten in the car, and was listening to the radio. I knew my friend from Bible study were in the house behind me, and we weren't at our normal meeting place, but on a retreat or something. I'd like to think were were down the shore, or at least by some body of water. Anyway, I'm sitting in the car, and one of my friends sits down in the car next to me and squeezes beside me. A song comes on the radio, I think it was an Avalon song, but I thought at first it was a different song, and I asked my friend what they thought of the song. As I was waiting for an answer, I realized it wasn't the song I expected it to be, when my friend asked, "Why do you want to know?" Knowing now that it was not the song I thought, but at least a good song, I replied, "Because what you think matters to me." So she started to talk, and I started to drive. And I listened and was absorbed by what they were saying, not just about the song but on many other things as well. As I'm driving down this road with turns, hills, stop signs, traffic lights and scenery, I realize I only have control over the wheel, my friend has control of the gas and break. As we start to drive on after mostly stopping at a stop sign, and not instantly hitting the gas, I realized it was not my friend I thought sitting next to me, but Jesus in the car with me. Then I woke up.

You can take your own meaning from this, but here's what I've got. 1. It's our job to follow the road. We aren't in control of the pace of this life, God is. So sometimes we slow down and don't know why, God's got a plan. He also has a plan to get us moving again, but it's in his timing. 2. God is craving that relationship with us, more than we can comprehend. He just wants to sit with us, talk with us, and share His love with us. All He asks in return is that we seek Him. Seek His guidance, and opinion.

One of my friends at the Bible study commented that to be Christian is to never be lonely. I struggle with this. I get spiritialy attacked on this issue often. It usually comes from when I leave the people I'd just been with and head off alone home, without feeling like I contributed, or connected with people. And I'll admit, I got hit with this again tonight. So part of this dream was just saying, I know your struggling, but I'm in the car with you.