Oh my lord, has this past week and a half been hell.  The day we left Indiana, I started coughing some.  Not a big deal, but it was annoying.  But, after about a half day, it went away, so I didn't think any more about it.  Then, we flew back to the NL, and jetlag wasn't too bad, so I thought I was doing really well!  Went into work on Monday, was super tired, but just thought it was jetlag.  Yeah, right.  About halfway through Monday, I felt like absolute crap!  I was coughing constantly, sneezing all over the place, and just generally felt like death warmed up.  I left work and headed home, and then, over the next week, it just got worse.  By the time Friday rolled around, I had been through SEVERAL boxes of kleenex, my nose was raw and bleeding, I hadn't eaten in a few days, and I hadn't slept in even longer.  Miserable!

So...today is Wednesday, and it's the first day I've really gotten back into my routine (over a week later).  I went to the gym this morning, which was really good, then managed to drag my sorry ass into the office for work.  So far, I'm doing ok, but I'm still tired.  And I felt like a total weakling at the gym today!  Granted, it has been nearly a month since going (what with being in the US for 2 weeks, then being sick for nearly 2 weeks).  Oy, it's amazing how quickly you lose strength!

In other news, the house is progressing nicely!  The inspection came back with a few minor issues, but the sellers agreed to fix them all, so no problems there.  The other tests they ran came back clean, so now we're just waiting to close!  We close at the end of the month (at least, that was the initial plan), but now Jamie needs to be traveling between the US and Japan, so it might get tricky.  The idea is for Jamie to fly from Amsterdam to Tokyo, stay in Japan for two and a half days, then fly over to the US.  Close on the house, spend a few days in Indiana, then head to Wisconsin to spend a week at our other plant there.  After that, come back to Indiana, spend another week (and two weekends) in Indiana.  During this time, Jamie will be getting quotations on how much it will be for a cleaning service to come in a deep clean the entire house before we move in, quotations on how much it will be for painters to come in and repaint, quotes on having the siding power washed, quotes on having the master bathroom renovated (move the toilet to the other side, and expand the shower, then retile in the entire new shower area), and a few other odds and ends.  Then, he comes back to the NL, we have the movers come to move the air shipment goods (the boat shipment will have already left before he traveled to Japan), and then we move!  Basically, he'll come back to the NL for a week, and then we'll move home!  It's happening so fast now, I love it!

And, since he's going to be gone for 3 weeks, that gives me some time to do a little traveling on my own!  I'm planning a weekend in Scotland with a good friend from England, and then another weekend in Paris with a friend from law school.  Other than that, work and the move will keep me pretty busy (plus, I have two baby blankets I need to finish up...oy!).  All in all, it's going to be busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  On Friday, I am having a good friend do bourdoir shots of me for Jamie's anniversary present, so that's something else coming up!  It's mad crazy here!

Hope you all are doing well!

XOXOXO,
K.

Last night, I realized that we are nearly into February.  Then, immediately after that thought, I realized that my friend, Nicola, is due with her baby in the beginning of February, and I haven't even STARTED her baby blanket!  Crap, crap, crap!

So...I rush around, grab my supplies, and get started.  I'm doing a modified granny square pattern, much like the afghan that I did for my MIL.  Nic and Dad didn't want to know the gender of the baby, so the colors are greys and yellow...very cute, I think!  Thankfully, I had purchased the yarn for this project way back in the day, so I didn't have to worry about waiting for a yarn delivery from the UK (whew...for once, I actually thought ahead).  I managed to finish up 10 rows last night, and the finished product will probably be around 36-40 rows, but since you work your way out in a square shape, each row takes longer and longer.  

Here are the yarn colors that I'm working with!  I absolutely ADORE the dark grey color (graphite).  I need to find some use for it for something in our place!

Unfortunately, the photo is sideways, but you get the idea.  Those are the yarns, spread out next to me, last night.  I was working from the couch.  Ignore the kleenex packet next to me...it appears I have come down with the plague and have been running through kleenex like they're going out of business.

Here is what I've done so far on the afghan.  I really love how the colors are coming together!  At the moment, it's only about a 10-inch square (I know it's hard to tell from the photo).  When finished, it should be close to 36" x 36" square.  Perfect for a baby blanket, and then later as a lap quilt for the couch.  

So, what do you think?  

 

XOXOXO,
K.

I just realized that I start a ridiculous number of posts with the word, "Well."  Good god, I need to work on that!

Last night, Jamie and I were talking about the move, new jobs, career changes (more about that later), life, etc.  Jamie told me that his boss would welcome him back whenever he wanted, and that he's not sure he wanted to stay in the NL through March.  Initally, we were going to stay this quarter because he told his replacement he would (to help the guy ease into the transition), because the expat package here is sweet-ass (we get a COL adjustment and other perks, so it's all just extra padding for the savings), and because we wanted to get in that last bit of living in Europe that we could, before we went home.  

And then we went home to houe hunt.  And it just felt so right.  It's hard to explain, really.  I mean, we have LOVED living abroad...it has changed us both so much, definitely for the better, and we've grown and expanded our experiences by so much.  But, on the flip side, there are a lot of sacrifices that come from living abroad...and not a lot of people truly understand that.  Most people think that we just living a jet-setting lifestyle where the sun is always shining and the wind doesn't blow our hair.  So not true, but that seems to be the impression a lot of people get when they think about "living overseas."  So yeah...while we have loved it, and we've gotten so much out of this experience, being home only solidified that we made the right decision for this next part of our lives.  It felt so good to be back, to see friends and family, to reconnect with everyone.  As we were flying back, for the first time in our lives, we were talking about how we didn't want to go home (well...I wanted to come home to get my cat, but otherwise, I could have stayed back in Indiana).

And now, while we had planned to stick around until end of March, it looks like it might be sooner than that.  Jamie is thinking end of February, which is really only one very short month away!  The only problem is, if we leave before our bonuses come out, I might not get mine (since when we move back, I'll be a contractor again).  I need to talk with HR, and it's only a couple of thousand, but it's money I earned!  Granted, Jamie made a point about whether that money was worth us sticking around here when we really wanted to be home, but on the other side...it's only an extra month.  Hell...I can do anything for a month.

So yeah...looks like the move home could potentially go a lot quicker than we originally thought.  I would much prefer it that way, as I HATE when things drag on and on, so that would be good.  It's just really strange to think about how, in a month, I will be living back in the United States!  These past 3 years have absolutely flown by!

Hope everyone is doing well!

XOXOXO,
K.

 

Well...Jamie and I are back, finally, after a grueling couple of days travel.  I was supposed to leave on Thursday, because it was a much cheaper ticket, and Jamie was to leave on Friday.  Well...my flight out was delayed so much that I was going to miss my connecting flight in Washington DC, so I went ahead and rebooked on Jamie's flight the next day.  Which was nice, that we could fly together, but I could have really done without spending 6+ hours in the airport on Thursday.  Not fun.

We got back early Saturday afternoon, then tried to stay awake and get a few things done, so we could get back on schedule.  I absolutely HATE flying east.  It is so hard for me to adjust, especially because you arrive in the morning, then have to stay awake all day.  I just can't do it...I can't sleep on flights, so I wind up spending 30+ hours awake, and by the end of it all, I'm so drained that I just don't care.  So...flying east is a bitch for me.

Sunday was spent getting things taken care of around the apartment.  We cleaned, filled out some paperwork for the mortgage, filed some medical reimbursements, and tried to catch up on laundry.  Then, I went to bed around 11pm, only to wake up at 1:30am.  I wasn't able to get back to sleep, so I stayed up until after 3:00am, then woke up again when Jamie dropped his iPad charger at 6:00am.  It was NOT a restful night, to say the least.  So now, here I sit, at work...trying to concentrate, but not really able to get much done.  I need to go to the grocery after work, but then I'm just going to huddle under my down comforter in the living room and watch NCIS episodes after work, because I really don't have much more energy beyond that.

I was also able to start packing for home yesterday.  We have movers that move us, but I wanted to get a head start on separating the boat shipment, air shipment, and suitcase items out, so that it'll be easier to inventory (we have to fill out a full inventory before they'll move anything).  I was able to get about 1/3 of my closet done, so that was good!

Otherwise, nothing much!  Sorry this is probably disjointed, but I'm barely coherent at this point.  I need to get through anotehr 6 hours of work, then hopefully I can go home and rest.  Hope you all are doing well!

XOXOXO,
K.

Well, I was supposed to be back in the NL by now, but that didn't work out quite as I had hoped.  I got to the airport yesterday in plenty of time for my flight, only to find out the flight was delayed because the plane we were supposed to take on our flight to DC was stuck in Chicago, due to weather.  So, no big deal, I still had plenty of time for my connection.  After three more delays for the same flight, it quickly became apparent that I was not going to make my connection in DC for my flight to Amsterdam.  I went to the counter, stood in line, and managed to be rebooked for a flight today.

So...trip back to Indy, round 2, starts in a few hours.  Woke up this morning to icy rain, snow, and otherwise weather nastiness, so who knows if we'll make this flight either.  Sigh...I just want to get home to my kitty!

Hope you're all having a good day!

XOXOXO,
K.

Well, I was supposed to be back in the NL by now, but that didn't work out quite as I had hoped.  I got to the airport yesterday in plenty of time for my flight, only to find out the flight was delayed because the plane we were supposed to take on our flight to DC was stuck in Chicago, due to weather.  So, no big deal, I still had plenty of time for my connection.  After three more delays for the same flight, it quickly became apparent that I was not going to make my connection in DC for my flight to Amsterdam.  I went to the counter, stood in line, and managed to be rebooked for a flight today.

So...trip back to Indy, round 2, starts in a few hours.  Woke up this morning to icy rain, snow, and otherwise weather nastiness, so who knows if we'll make this flight either.  Sigh...I just want to get home to my kitty!

Hope you're all having a good day!

XOXOXO,
K.

Well, I spent some more time thinking about what I wanted for my craft room.  I wanted it to be bright and vibrant, creative, and yet not overpowering (in case I wanted to nap down there too).  I did some more looking for colors, since none of the ones I posted yesterday felt "right".  Glad I did, because I found the perfect colors! 

Here they are!  I'm going to paint the walls the lightest grey, then get a navy blue chaise lounge for down there, to create a reading nook.  Then, I'll try to incorporate the green and fuschia into throw pillows, lap blankets, bookshelf colors, etc.  Maybe a fun chandelier would be a great addition!  Luckily, there is TONS of natural light in the room...it's in the basement, but it's a walk-out basement, so plenty of windows and light.

What do you think of my colors??

 

XOXOXO,
K.

So, now that we're 99% sure we have a house to move into, the question becomes, "what do we do with all that space?!"  The downstairs is freaking awesome, with a pool table (very nice, and it stays with the house), a built in bar, multiple television areas (one by the pool table, one behind the bar), and then an entire full bath and bedroom.  While it would be nice to put the guest bedroom downstairs (since it has a full bath and a bedroom), there is also a full bath and 2 bedrooms upstairs on the main floor.  Plus, then guests wouldn't have to schlep up and down stairs to spend time with us in the living area. 

So, after thinking about it, I decided to make the fourth bedroom downstairs into my craft room!  I'm planning on putting in a craft/sewing table, a reading nook area, and a comfy chair for my crochet/knitting needs.  I'm super excited, because this area is going to be 100% mine.  Jamie already has the rest of the "Man Cave" downstairs for him and his buddies (though I'm sure I'll be getting my use of the wine fridge), but this room is all Kristin.  So, since it's all me, I've been thinking of color schemes, furniture, etc...which is really exciting to me!

So, today's post will be about color.  Here's what I'm thinking (several options).  Which one do you like best?  I plan on painting the walls a lighter color, then using bright accents, so none of the super bright colors in any of these will go on the walls (because I doubt I could look at them, day in/day out).

 

Option 1:  Color Bee

 

 

Option 2: Color Cove

 

 

Option 3: Color Shiva

 

 

Option 4:  Color Zest

 

 

Option 5: Floating Flora

 

 

Option 6: Global Hues

 

 

Option 7: Moroccan Brights

 

 

Option 8: Orchid Tones

 

 

Option 9: Tiled Color

 

So, which color palette would look best in my craft room?

XOXOXO,
K.

 

So, I was going to upload all sorts of photos to my blog of the house, but it just didn't work out because I can't seem to upload them from my iPad.  Go figure.  But...I'll post the link here so that you can all go and look yourselves!  Just as good, and it will take less time for you to load the entry, so really I'm doing you all a favor.  You can thank me later.

 

OUR HOUSE!!!