Don't wake me. I must be dreaming.

Last night we got to a verbal agreement with the sellers of our dream home. I'm still in shock.

It was such a roller coaster evening. We just got home from doing another walk through, and I thought for sure the sellers were going to walk away from our offer. I was down in the dumps. Then our mortgage broker called. We were on the phone with our mortgage broker who alerted us to the craziness that happened in the markets / 30 year rates -- and then our agent (mid mortgage broker call) finally called with their offer and we accepted it. Hopefully fear of raising rates didn't cloud our vision. I really don't think it did. The house is really a dream home. I keep saying that -- and someday you will all believe me. :-)

Regarding rates... Apparently the 10-year Treasury yields spiked because of massive debt being sold off, and that sent the 30 year mortgage rates up. [1] Here's a slightly better explanation of the yield issue and some alluding to the future. [2]. There is a potential for the rates to inch back down. We'll see. In any event, for now, we locked in 5.125% with no points. (APR 5.1719) We're pretty sure there isn't a better deal in town that can be sure to close in time. *knock on wood*

Jason blogged about the house here Thirty-eight, and the pictures are here: Thirty-eight Set on Flickr.

Really... it is a dream house. We would never be able (both mentally and financially) to afford a remodel like this. We're just to frugal. However, when the end result is presented in a format we can afford... it is just too beautiful to resist.

Branching out...

I've recently joined the Seattle Animal Shelter's digital photography team. Last Tuesday was my first shift, but my regular shift will be on Sundays. Someday, I hope to be as cool as The Food Lady at Three Woofs and a Woo, but until then... here are my first three shelter pictures.


Cheeky



Howie


Laurah


There were two more cats, but I can't find them which means they were already adopted. Yay!

Disconnected

We've subscribed to the Seattle Times via the Kindle. I've been feeling more "in touch" with news. Or so I thought...

This afternoon my physical therapist mentioned flooding in the Midwest, and I told her about the Fargo flood of 97 that I survived in college. I figured not much could top that.

Tonight I went online. Wow. The flood in Fargo / Moorhead going on right now is much worse than the flood of 97 -- many feet worse. Tonight, my college closed and asked everyone to evacuate. That area of town is "protected" and in 97, we never shut down. (Students were excused to volunteer to go sandbag the homes of friends, family, and professors, but the college did not close.)

Clearly, I need a better and/or more personalized national news source than the Seattle Times if I'm going to be truly connected.

The Quest for Cubic Feet

[Reposting because I accidentally left this in draft mode when adding a vehicle to the list]

Before it gets lost in the sea of useless information on my hard drive, here are the alleged cubic feet of most of the AWD SUVs (and one or two minivans) that I've at one time or another considered. I find it humorous and a little unbelievable that the Sienna has more room behind its 3rd seat than I have in my entire Golf.

My Current Tiny Car: VW Golf
Cargo to 3 NA
Cargo to 2 18.0
Cargo to 1 41.8

BMW X5
Cargo to 3 NA
Cargo to 2 21.9
Cargo to 1 61.8

Subaru Forester
Cargo to 3 NA
Cargo to 2 30.8
Cargo to 1 63.0

Ford Escape
Cargo to 3 NA
Cargo to 2 29.2
Cargo to 1 66.3

Grand Cherokee
Cargo to 3 NA
Cargo to 2 29.5
Cargo to 1 66.8

Dodge Journey
Cargo to 3 NA
Cargo to 2 37.1
Cargo to 1 67.6

Jeep Commander
Cargo to 3 7.5
Cargo to 2 36.3
Cargo to 1 68.5

Jason's Subaru
Cargo to 3 NA
Cargo to 2 36.1
Cargo to 1 69.5

Mazda Mazda5
Cargo to 3 NA
Cargo to 2 44.4
Cargo to 1 70.9

Volkswagon Toureg
Cargo to 3 NA
Cargo to 2 31
Cargo to 1 71

Subaru Tribeca
Cargo to 3 8.3
Cargo to 2 37.6
Cargo to 1 74.4

Toyota 4runner
Cargo to 3 NA
Cargo to 2 42.2
Cargo to 1 75.1

Nissan Pathfinder
Cargo to 3 16.5
Cargo to 2 49.2
Cargo to 1 79.2

Chevy Trailblazer
Cargo to 3 NA
Cargo to 2 41.0
Cargo to 1 80.1

2007 Highlander Hybrid
Cargo to 3 10.5
Cargo to 2 39.7
Cargo to 1 80.6

Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
Cargo to 3 NA
Cargo to 2 46.4
Cargo to 1 82.0

Lexus 400h
Cargo to 3 NA
Cargo to 2 38.3
Cargo to 1 84.7

Ford Explorer
Cargo to 3 NA
Cargo to 2 45.1
Cargo to 1 85.8

Ford Taurus-X
Cargo to 3 20.8
Cargo to 2 47.0
Cargo to 1 85.5

Honda Pilot
Cargo to 3 18.0
Cargo to 2 47.7
Cargo to 1 87.0

2009 Highlander Hybrid
Cargo to 3 10.3
Cargo to 2 42.3
Cargo to 1 94.1

Mazda CX-9
Cargo to 3 17.2
Cargo to 2 48.4
Cargo to 1 100.7

Chrysler Aspen
Cargo to 3 19.0
Cargo to 2 67.25
Cargo to 1 102.4

Ford Expedition
Cargo to 3 ..
Cargo to 2 55
Cargo to 1 106.3

Saturn Outlook
Cargo to 3 24.1
Cargo to 2 68.6
Cargo to 1 115.9

GMC Acadia
Cargo to 3 21.4
Cargo to 2 68.9
Cargo to 1 116.9

Chevy Traverse
Cargo to 3 26.1
Cargo to 2 68.3
Cargo to 1 117.9

Toyota Sequoia
Cargo to 3 18.9
Cargo to 2 66.6
Cargo to 1 120.8

Toyota Sienna
Cargo to 3 43.6
Cargo to 2 94.5
Cargo to 1 148.9

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

10" of hair - qwickening

I had been growing my hair out for a few years for various reasons. At first, it was to get past a weird phenomena of my hair where it "wings out" just above my shoulders. Then, I got engaged and "wedding hair" was just around the corner. Then, we decided to postpone the wedding a year so "wedding hair" was no longer an immediate excuse. So... why not? Time for some change!

Yes, I consulted with Jason before hand. He re-iterated his love of short hair, and we agreed on a length. It will soon be summer. :-)

At the salon, Lyndsay mentioned that I might be cutting off enough to donate it -- and, bing! That was it. I was so excited about having enough to donate that concerns of the "wing out" phenomena were secondary. I proclaimed bravely, "Hair grows! I can learn to use a blow dryer and a flat iron if necessary!"

Leaving the salon, I actually skipped like a little girl. I felt good about my cut and I felt extra good about donating my hair to Locks of Love.

Right now, I have no regrets. I'm off to hop in the shower soon. We'll see if the "wing out" demon returns. But even if it does... whatever. :-)

Either way, you should check out the cute-cute-cute pictures that Jason took of me immediately after my hair cut.

Jason's photos of my new hairdo

The Brown Boot Quest

Fashionistas of the world, I need your help. I'm looking for the perfect (cheap) brown boot. Requirements include: the color brown, mid-calf or taller, some buckle / ruggedness to it, and less than $125.

At $61.59, the Rampage Women's Murphy Tall Boot is leading the race, but I would like a slightly shorter heel... maybe. Maybe not. Maybe this is perfect.

my pizza tastes like fajitas

my pizza tastes like fajitas - qwickening

The cafe has been alternating Asian noodle bowl with fajitas. Tuesday and Thursday had fajitas. Today, the pizza with peppers is clearly recycled fajitas. It is decidedly weird. (And thank goodness they didn't decide to provide an Asian noodle pizza option! Eew.)