We have made it to December. We should be just concentrating on Christmas and decorations, but I'm finding it hard to psych myself up for Violet's first Christmas being that we have to break it all down within a matter of weeks to pack up for Thule/Pagosa Springs.
Since hearing the news of Scott's orders, I keep reminding myself that when he and I discussed the possibilities of what could happen in our first years of marriage, this was definitely a possible reality. And I also keep reminding myself that a year is not that long, especially when factoring in Scott's leave time, the visits to my parents' and the support I'll be getting from my sister and her network of mothers. And yet, the freaking out is starting to set in.
It's partially because we are now in the month before all of the crazy transitioning is going to happen. It's also partially because Scott and I got to see the house I'll be living in Pagosa Springs. And another part is due to the great progress we made over the weekend in clearing the garage from all of the random boxes from my move from TN, Scott's move from ND and our move from the first apartment he and I shared across town. We have whittled things down to very manageable groupings of "stuff" and I feel better prepared for the packing that will happen after the Christmas holidays (and after the short trip to KY to visit with Scott's family.)
But something else set me off this past weekend. The reality of a year apart. The realizations that things will be slightly (if not significantly) harder than I'm believing (pretending?) it to be. A day sidelined by hurt feelings, stewing about it and the eventual discussion and a so-so resolution. I'm still trying to get over it, but my own self-image problems (I'm still about 20-30 lbs away from where I'd like to be), in addition to me being mad at myself for being so ticked off by the origin of the hurt feelings. All in all, I'm starting to question my confidence.
I know I'm just allowing myself the freak out in the hopes that if I mostly get it out of my system now, I won't be crippled by it when things need to get done. People have asked if I'll be ok and I'd say, "sure, no problem" and a really good friend called me separately and gently asked again "are you sure", knowing that sometimes a PR line is not the whole truth. I said, "yes", and I still think I was telling the truth at the time. It's still mostly the truth now.
The the other part is that I'm starting to definitely freak the f-- out and letting the slightly small things get me down.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Friday, November 4, 2011
Hello! Is it me you're looking for?
I'm back after a long, news-packed hiatus. I've been leaking updates here and there on Facebook and Twitter since those mediums allow for the hurried, half-thoughts, but because Violet is FINALLY taking a decent morning nap, I feel the urge to blog away my thoughts of the last couple of months. There are certain subjects I'll expand on in another entries, but here are the basics.
I posted two months ago that Scott will be in Greenland without family for a year, starting Jan/February-ish of next year. There are lots of cons and only a few significant pros to this, but overall, we are happy with the timing and location. It's better for him to volunteer to go now to this location, rather than being told at a later time to go to some place like South Korea. I'll be ok with the separation for the most part, and I am thankful that Violet is too young to realize all that's going on. If she were older and all of a sudden Scott wasn't around, I would constantly feel my heart breaking anytime she asked where Daddy went. So, instead, she'll be having fun with her cousins and her Aunt Heather and Uncle Jason, as well as visits to her overjoyed Grandparents.
Which leads me to the next bit of news. After considering a lot of different aspects, mostly financial, of the two possible areas of where to live in Colorado, I think I have finally decided on going to live in my sister's town of Pagosa Springs, CO. It's partially because of the cost of living would be cheaper down there as compared to the suburbs of Denver, but mostly it is so Violet can have a lot of children close to her age to run around with, including her very excited cousins. My sister has already checked out a possible house for me to rent and going by her description, it sounds wonderful. I'm looking forward to this location because this would be the first time Heather and I have lived anywhere near each other since she moved away for college back in 1998.
And after the year(ish) in Colorado, Violet and I will be packing up to go to Yokota AFB in Japan for Scott's next assignment. This was our top choice and we were pleasantly surprised we got it, considering that Scott didn't turn in his list of preferred orders until a couple weeks past the deadline (it was a misunderstanding of when we were supposed to do it. Who would have thought that some details of the military are confusing? haha.)
So far, the only things I know about Yokota is that it's about three hours away from where I lived outside of Tokyo, I've visited the base as a young child because my parents were friends with the base chaplain at the time and we already know one of the captains for the air traffic control. I will be spending a chunk of my time in Colorado trying to regain my Japanese with the help of my Dad (and a computer program or two.) There are so many details of how to move our stuff, what we can take, about our cars which we cannot take with us, and so many other things, that I decided having a separate notebook to jot down questions and answers would be necessary. Yes, an old school spiral notebook with pages and pens! I remember more when I write things down, rather than just reading it on a screen. Call me old fashioned ;p
With Greenland and Japan on our horizon, Scott and I are still trying to figure out if we can have a wedding celebration like we wanted. It'll be tricky to try to plan this. It may happen sooner than I think or not at all, and there are a couple of families I'd like to give as much heads up time as possible to ensure their presence. But at this point, I just don't know. This does bum/stress me out because I wanted to have as 'normal' of a celebration with friends and family, as belated as it is, but it may not be in the cards for us. I know there are more important things to concentrate on, but it's still something I wish and will try my darndest to make happen, within reason.
Violet is growing like a weed and is starting to show lots of personality. I've been trying to be diligent in updating her own FB page with pictures of her cuteness, but I've been neglectful of posting written updates of what's she's been doing. She's doing her army-crawl at a pretty fast clip now, but has yet to master the hands-and-knees crawl. She's got two bottom teeth, front and center, and I thought it was because of those (and possibly others trying to break the gumline) that was making her thoroughly impossible to deal with several days this past week. Now I think it was because she had a scratchy throat and was fussing big-time during her bottles because she was having difficulty swallowing. Why do I think this? Because couple days since she started fussing like mad, I woke up with a scratchy throat, and this was the morning after she was finally in better spirits to try to give me kisses. However, her version of 'kisses' is to just lick my mouth and nose. (She's still learning.) So, I think I got her scratchy throat germs from that and after a couple days, we are both doing better and are a lot less cranky for Scott. More specifics on Violet in future posts.
Well, I think that's a lengthy, but good first step back from the non-communication. I'm hoping to have more time for more detailed updates soon. It all depends on Lady Violet! ;p
Happy Clocks-Fall-Back weekend, everyone!
I posted two months ago that Scott will be in Greenland without family for a year, starting Jan/February-ish of next year. There are lots of cons and only a few significant pros to this, but overall, we are happy with the timing and location. It's better for him to volunteer to go now to this location, rather than being told at a later time to go to some place like South Korea. I'll be ok with the separation for the most part, and I am thankful that Violet is too young to realize all that's going on. If she were older and all of a sudden Scott wasn't around, I would constantly feel my heart breaking anytime she asked where Daddy went. So, instead, she'll be having fun with her cousins and her Aunt Heather and Uncle Jason, as well as visits to her overjoyed Grandparents.
Which leads me to the next bit of news. After considering a lot of different aspects, mostly financial, of the two possible areas of where to live in Colorado, I think I have finally decided on going to live in my sister's town of Pagosa Springs, CO. It's partially because of the cost of living would be cheaper down there as compared to the suburbs of Denver, but mostly it is so Violet can have a lot of children close to her age to run around with, including her very excited cousins. My sister has already checked out a possible house for me to rent and going by her description, it sounds wonderful. I'm looking forward to this location because this would be the first time Heather and I have lived anywhere near each other since she moved away for college back in 1998.
And after the year(ish) in Colorado, Violet and I will be packing up to go to Yokota AFB in Japan for Scott's next assignment. This was our top choice and we were pleasantly surprised we got it, considering that Scott didn't turn in his list of preferred orders until a couple weeks past the deadline (it was a misunderstanding of when we were supposed to do it. Who would have thought that some details of the military are confusing? haha.)
So far, the only things I know about Yokota is that it's about three hours away from where I lived outside of Tokyo, I've visited the base as a young child because my parents were friends with the base chaplain at the time and we already know one of the captains for the air traffic control. I will be spending a chunk of my time in Colorado trying to regain my Japanese with the help of my Dad (and a computer program or two.) There are so many details of how to move our stuff, what we can take, about our cars which we cannot take with us, and so many other things, that I decided having a separate notebook to jot down questions and answers would be necessary. Yes, an old school spiral notebook with pages and pens! I remember more when I write things down, rather than just reading it on a screen. Call me old fashioned ;p
With Greenland and Japan on our horizon, Scott and I are still trying to figure out if we can have a wedding celebration like we wanted. It'll be tricky to try to plan this. It may happen sooner than I think or not at all, and there are a couple of families I'd like to give as much heads up time as possible to ensure their presence. But at this point, I just don't know. This does bum/stress me out because I wanted to have as 'normal' of a celebration with friends and family, as belated as it is, but it may not be in the cards for us. I know there are more important things to concentrate on, but it's still something I wish and will try my darndest to make happen, within reason.
Violet is growing like a weed and is starting to show lots of personality. I've been trying to be diligent in updating her own FB page with pictures of her cuteness, but I've been neglectful of posting written updates of what's she's been doing. She's doing her army-crawl at a pretty fast clip now, but has yet to master the hands-and-knees crawl. She's got two bottom teeth, front and center, and I thought it was because of those (and possibly others trying to break the gumline) that was making her thoroughly impossible to deal with several days this past week. Now I think it was because she had a scratchy throat and was fussing big-time during her bottles because she was having difficulty swallowing. Why do I think this? Because couple days since she started fussing like mad, I woke up with a scratchy throat, and this was the morning after she was finally in better spirits to try to give me kisses. However, her version of 'kisses' is to just lick my mouth and nose. (She's still learning.) So, I think I got her scratchy throat germs from that and after a couple days, we are both doing better and are a lot less cranky for Scott. More specifics on Violet in future posts.
Well, I think that's a lengthy, but good first step back from the non-communication. I'm hoping to have more time for more detailed updates soon. It all depends on Lady Violet! ;p
Happy Clocks-Fall-Back weekend, everyone!
Friday, August 26, 2011
You gave my love direction, A game show love conneciton, We can't deny
It was only this morning when I got Scott's phone call confirming the orders he got via email and my mind is still whirling. His next base is Greenland. Because we knew this was more than just a small likelihood, he and I have already been discussing what will happen to Violet and me if he were to go to a base where we wouldn't be able to join him.
I know that I plan to move closer to my family in Colorado. Whether it be near Littleton, which is about 40 minutes outside of Denver or to Pagosa Springs, my sister's town in the southwestern Colorado, I don't know. There are advantages to either location and I have to really start nailing down logistics of budget, benefits to active duty spouses/family and what I need to get through my year apart from Scott.
When people have asked me how I would feel about Scott being away from me for any amount of time for his remote, I would answer with, "Well, we spent most of our relationship apart so far, so I guess it won't be too much different." I still mean that, but I feel as though I should clarify.
It's true that we held a long distance relationship in the past, plus the eight months it took from the time I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him to when I finally got to move to Idaho, these past experiences would only help us with the upcoming time apart. I will feel badly about the things Scott will miss out on in Violet's "firsts" but technology is our friend and will help with talking, Skyping, video recording, or just minute-to-minute updates on Facebook. In all honesty, I do feel like my life just got REALLY good and now I have to adjust to a new dynamic, but I'd much rather this happen now than later.
My optimism is convincing me that a year apart is a cake walk when compared to the years we've already spent in each others' lives but not quite together.
I know that I plan to move closer to my family in Colorado. Whether it be near Littleton, which is about 40 minutes outside of Denver or to Pagosa Springs, my sister's town in the southwestern Colorado, I don't know. There are advantages to either location and I have to really start nailing down logistics of budget, benefits to active duty spouses/family and what I need to get through my year apart from Scott.
When people have asked me how I would feel about Scott being away from me for any amount of time for his remote, I would answer with, "Well, we spent most of our relationship apart so far, so I guess it won't be too much different." I still mean that, but I feel as though I should clarify.
It's true that we held a long distance relationship in the past, plus the eight months it took from the time I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him to when I finally got to move to Idaho, these past experiences would only help us with the upcoming time apart. I will feel badly about the things Scott will miss out on in Violet's "firsts" but technology is our friend and will help with talking, Skyping, video recording, or just minute-to-minute updates on Facebook. In all honesty, I do feel like my life just got REALLY good and now I have to adjust to a new dynamic, but I'd much rather this happen now than later.
My optimism is convincing me that a year apart is a cake walk when compared to the years we've already spent in each others' lives but not quite together.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
But I would not feel so all alone, Everybody must get stoned
For three weeks now, I've been slowly, but steadfastly, irked when people keep linking the word "tragedy" to Amy Winehouse's death. I do believe that this was a tragedy to those in her immediate circle for losing someone so desperate for help. But, for anyone else, fans or the voyeuristic lookie-lous, I'll grant you it's sad that she was never able to pull herself together, but not 'tragic'. She took the God-given talent she was blessed with and did worse than squander it. She traded it away for the chance to disappear into nothingness.
I was recently berated on Facebook by a young man who vehemently argued that her death was tragic and that addiction is a disease and not a choice. To which I can express my opinion that to a point, drug or alcohol abuse is a choice. Until these substances physically alter your body and brain chemistry, it is still your choice to smoke a blunt or drink into oblivion or smoke crack cocaine. People who have become severally addicted will be an addict for the rest of their lives because they have caused something in their psychology, and eventually their body, to depend on it.
However, there are such people as recovering addicts. People who not only realize the problem, but search treatment and continually readjust their mindset to reach for help and not the crack pipe. This is not an issue where you can just flit it off by saying , "this is me, accept me for who I am." Winehouse's first real big hit was about not only rejecting help, but celebrated in refusing it. Yes, this could have been a work of creative fiction at the time, but given her actions, they spoke louder and clearer than her sultry voice and would eventually make it the punchline for her life. Her autopsy was inconclusive, so it is pure speculation as to what the actual cause of death was, but you cannot put your body through such torture and expect it to live while only a few days, perhaps a few weeks, sober.
My true point isn't even really about her life and death. It's people's insistence to call it 'tragic'. Yes, she died young and it's too bad she didn't let her talent take the headlines. But, I consider other things tragic. Like a Louisiana man confessing to decapitating his disabled 7 year old son with Cerebral Palsy. Or a three year old little girl's death and the evidence found couldn't convict a selfish mother who didn't report her missing for nearly a month. Or a countries so wracked poverty but the severe violence around them prevents any aid from reaching them. These are things I find the cause for great suffering.
I was recently berated on Facebook by a young man who vehemently argued that her death was tragic and that addiction is a disease and not a choice. To which I can express my opinion that to a point, drug or alcohol abuse is a choice. Until these substances physically alter your body and brain chemistry, it is still your choice to smoke a blunt or drink into oblivion or smoke crack cocaine. People who have become severally addicted will be an addict for the rest of their lives because they have caused something in their psychology, and eventually their body, to depend on it.
However, there are such people as recovering addicts. People who not only realize the problem, but search treatment and continually readjust their mindset to reach for help and not the crack pipe. This is not an issue where you can just flit it off by saying , "this is me, accept me for who I am." Winehouse's first real big hit was about not only rejecting help, but celebrated in refusing it. Yes, this could have been a work of creative fiction at the time, but given her actions, they spoke louder and clearer than her sultry voice and would eventually make it the punchline for her life. Her autopsy was inconclusive, so it is pure speculation as to what the actual cause of death was, but you cannot put your body through such torture and expect it to live while only a few days, perhaps a few weeks, sober.
My true point isn't even really about her life and death. It's people's insistence to call it 'tragic'. Yes, she died young and it's too bad she didn't let her talent take the headlines. But, I consider other things tragic. Like a Louisiana man confessing to decapitating his disabled 7 year old son with Cerebral Palsy. Or a three year old little girl's death and the evidence found couldn't convict a selfish mother who didn't report her missing for nearly a month. Or a countries so wracked poverty but the severe violence around them prevents any aid from reaching them. These are things I find the cause for great suffering.
Friday, August 5, 2011
So if you've a date in Constantinople, She'll be waiting in Istanbul
A couple of days ago, Scott was able to see the list of possible bases to which he could get orders. The lists consisted of the places we already knew there was need: two bases in South Korea, one in Greenland, and one in Honduras. The two other countries I didn't know about are Turkey and Japan.
The last two bases were a surprise to me, mostly because on the slim chance he gets orders to go to either of these countries, Violet and I could go with him. The two in Japan are Kadena (in Okinawa) and Yokota (about 2.5 hours west of Tokyo) and the one in Turkey is a healthy distance east of Istanbul. If we need to go to Turkey, I'd better buy a Turkish phrase book.
However, if the base is in Japan, this will give me the strongest motivation to purchase the Rosetta Stone language program to relearn my Japanese. I've been saying for years I'll be buying it, but procrastination always got the best of me. Now, I have a no-excuse reason to follow through.
The other detail to all of this base-talk that was a surprise to me is that we will find out in several weeks where Scott is going to go. Weeks. Here I thought I was at least a couple months. He won't know when he'll be leaving for a little while, but he'll know where soon. That sneaked up on me.
The last two bases were a surprise to me, mostly because on the slim chance he gets orders to go to either of these countries, Violet and I could go with him. The two in Japan are Kadena (in Okinawa) and Yokota (about 2.5 hours west of Tokyo) and the one in Turkey is a healthy distance east of Istanbul. If we need to go to Turkey, I'd better buy a Turkish phrase book.
However, if the base is in Japan, this will give me the strongest motivation to purchase the Rosetta Stone language program to relearn my Japanese. I've been saying for years I'll be buying it, but procrastination always got the best of me. Now, I have a no-excuse reason to follow through.
The other detail to all of this base-talk that was a surprise to me is that we will find out in several weeks where Scott is going to go. Weeks. Here I thought I was at least a couple months. He won't know when he'll be leaving for a little while, but he'll know where soon. That sneaked up on me.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
As a matter of taste to be exact, He's my ideal as a matter of fact
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| This is an older picture of Scott, but I couldn't find a newer one with him in his blues. |
After 4 months of waiting, the promotion list was finally posted today and Scott has made Technical Sergeant. Considering the fact that he was studying for the exam during the last full month of my pregnancy and went to take said exam about 3 days before my projected due date, the fact that he scored high enough to pass is a immense relief to me (and I'm sure for him, too, but I haven't spoken to him yet =) .)
What does this promotion mean? Well, for the immediate future, it means he can go to tomorrow night's Pass-over Party (a party to celebrate/commiserate with those who have/have not been promoted) and celebrate with the other guys who have also been promoted.
Beyond the immediate plans, this promotion also means that things can get a little interesting for our little household. Because there are not enough people of Scott's rank of TSgt (I've got to get used to the abbreviations and acronyms) with his skill sets, there is a high need for him at other bases. Other overseas bases. Bases that will have us separated for about a year, with only a few visitations sprinkled through his stay.
We've already had several discussions about this and I'm fully aware of the sacrifices as well as the benefits of Scott's strong possibility of being stationed far from Violet and me. I am actually encouraged by the thought that this can happen within a year because this would make things easier on Violet. Rather than her being older and can understand that her Daddy is far, far away, she can remain blissfully unaware of his absence.
Another result of this promotion has a good news/bad news twist to things. When Scott and I got married last July, we had only immediate family and a few close friends (most of whom were already in the Denver area) join us for the ceremony my father and brother-in-law conducted. We've always wanted to have a bigger celebration with more of our friends and extended family. It was tentatively planned for spring of 2012 and we've even gone as far as to looking at a handful of venues around the Denver area when we went to visit my family a couple weeks ago. We already had it in mind that if Scott did make TSgt, these plans will have to be deferred until... I'm not sure when. That's the bad news. The good news is purely based on my vanity. Because of all of the weight I gained while pregnant, I've been self conscience about my (larger) appearance and would rather not be this big for my 'wedding' day. Delaying the celebration gives me more time to lose the weight.
I'm sure there are other implications of his recent title change and more will be discussed when he comes home from work tonight. As of right now, I'm filled with joy and pride for him and for our family. Any other detail will fall into place, as it always does.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
I've breathed the mountain air, man, Of travel I've had my share, man, I've been everywhere
I move around. A lot. Some moves were by choice, some moves were decisions that were forced upon me. Since graduating college I've lived in 7 different locations, and the last 18 months accounts for 3 of those locations. I've already been preparing myself for a possible move next year, but I wasn't expecting anything this year. Until I got a phone call on June 7 from the property manager at Century 21.
She started the conversation with reminding me that our 12 month lease is up at the end of the month. I agreed and I thought it was just a courtesy call to ask us in to sign for another 12 months. Instead, she informs me that the owners of the house is going to put the house on the market, and would I be interested in purchasing the house? Now, there are those who are active duty in the Air Force who do purchase houses, but for me and Scott, it just doesn't make sense. So, I decline the offer saying that for us, it would not be a wise decision.
The lady on the other end of the phone starts talking very quickly and tells me that we have a month before the house goes on the market and we need to move out as soon as we can. Because I do not like to conduct business over the phone where there is no record of what is being said, I asked her to send me an email or letter.
Since then, Scott and I have been determined to be out of this house before we have to worry about strangers looking around our things. I've gone through this process before when my landlord in the last place I lived in Elmwood Park put the house on the market and it's very different when it's not really YOUR house people are coming to look at, and yet you still have to take responsibility for the living space.
We would prefer not to use Century 21 again. Even though we have only been renting through them for a year, I've had my fill with how they run their business. When I first went through the inspection of this house before we moved in, there was a mouse trap in one of the cupboards and they told me that 'there was no mouse problem on record.' Within two weeks, that trap had caught a little mouse and I called them again to tell them that there seemed to be a mouse issue. They gave me a spiel about how the nearest exterminator was in Boise and they wouldn't pay for it. I explained to them that my husband and I were going to start a family (I didn't tell them I was already pregnant, because no one outside of family and a few friends knew) and I did not want to worry about diseases carried in the mouse poop. It took them another month, a failed attempt by the handyman they hire to come to the house on the day he asked for and didn't show up (without calling me to let me know), and 7 more mice later for them to finally send someone out to come up with the highly technical solution to the problem: find the hole in the side of the house where the mice were coming in through the crawl space and plug up the hole. It was barely a $10 solution they could have done the day after my first phone call.
I've had other problems with them, like that same handyman showing up at my house without any heads up and when he finally does call me gets annoyed that I had the gall to be on vacation while Scott was training at a different base.
And yet...
We were scrambling to find another place to rent, so I made arrangements to see 4 other locations through them. A realtor, we'll call her Stephanie, told me of a 5th listing that she was going to see about talking down the price. This past Saturday morning, a different lady, we'll call her Deb, showed us around to some ok places and one that would have been better if they had bothered to clean the carpet of the pet waste stains and the broken hot tub that they didn't make use of the cover to hide the disgusting leftover water and odds and ends inside. After the 4th place, I had mentioned about the 5th location that the Steph spoke of, but Deb wasn't made aware and had already taken a phone call part way through walking us through the locations and was rushing us so that she could meet her next appointment. She took my phone number and promised to call me before 4 to take us to the very last place. I have yet to hear from here and it's already Tuesday.
Knowing that I really wanted to part ways with Century 21, I had made an appointment with a different company for late Saturday afternoon to look at the one location he had left for rentals. It turns out that he is highly recommended by people Scott works with and we were assured that he is a stand-up guy worth checking out. We met up with him and we saw a perfectly adequate house for a good price. And he was prepared and brought a list of other houses that were just a little over the price range we had discussed, but Scott and I wanted to check out just one last listing.
And this last house is the one we really want. The realtor is working on negotiating a lower price for rent and we will hopefully know by the end of the week if we are going to move into this house. It's bigger than our current place and has 2 floors, a beautiful open kitchen and a nice-sized baby room for Violet. I don't want to get too excited, but both Scott and I really want this place for however much longer we live here in Mountain Home.
She started the conversation with reminding me that our 12 month lease is up at the end of the month. I agreed and I thought it was just a courtesy call to ask us in to sign for another 12 months. Instead, she informs me that the owners of the house is going to put the house on the market, and would I be interested in purchasing the house? Now, there are those who are active duty in the Air Force who do purchase houses, but for me and Scott, it just doesn't make sense. So, I decline the offer saying that for us, it would not be a wise decision.
The lady on the other end of the phone starts talking very quickly and tells me that we have a month before the house goes on the market and we need to move out as soon as we can. Because I do not like to conduct business over the phone where there is no record of what is being said, I asked her to send me an email or letter.
Since then, Scott and I have been determined to be out of this house before we have to worry about strangers looking around our things. I've gone through this process before when my landlord in the last place I lived in Elmwood Park put the house on the market and it's very different when it's not really YOUR house people are coming to look at, and yet you still have to take responsibility for the living space.
We would prefer not to use Century 21 again. Even though we have only been renting through them for a year, I've had my fill with how they run their business. When I first went through the inspection of this house before we moved in, there was a mouse trap in one of the cupboards and they told me that 'there was no mouse problem on record.' Within two weeks, that trap had caught a little mouse and I called them again to tell them that there seemed to be a mouse issue. They gave me a spiel about how the nearest exterminator was in Boise and they wouldn't pay for it. I explained to them that my husband and I were going to start a family (I didn't tell them I was already pregnant, because no one outside of family and a few friends knew) and I did not want to worry about diseases carried in the mouse poop. It took them another month, a failed attempt by the handyman they hire to come to the house on the day he asked for and didn't show up (without calling me to let me know), and 7 more mice later for them to finally send someone out to come up with the highly technical solution to the problem: find the hole in the side of the house where the mice were coming in through the crawl space and plug up the hole. It was barely a $10 solution they could have done the day after my first phone call.
I've had other problems with them, like that same handyman showing up at my house without any heads up and when he finally does call me gets annoyed that I had the gall to be on vacation while Scott was training at a different base.
And yet...
We were scrambling to find another place to rent, so I made arrangements to see 4 other locations through them. A realtor, we'll call her Stephanie, told me of a 5th listing that she was going to see about talking down the price. This past Saturday morning, a different lady, we'll call her Deb, showed us around to some ok places and one that would have been better if they had bothered to clean the carpet of the pet waste stains and the broken hot tub that they didn't make use of the cover to hide the disgusting leftover water and odds and ends inside. After the 4th place, I had mentioned about the 5th location that the Steph spoke of, but Deb wasn't made aware and had already taken a phone call part way through walking us through the locations and was rushing us so that she could meet her next appointment. She took my phone number and promised to call me before 4 to take us to the very last place. I have yet to hear from here and it's already Tuesday.
Knowing that I really wanted to part ways with Century 21, I had made an appointment with a different company for late Saturday afternoon to look at the one location he had left for rentals. It turns out that he is highly recommended by people Scott works with and we were assured that he is a stand-up guy worth checking out. We met up with him and we saw a perfectly adequate house for a good price. And he was prepared and brought a list of other houses that were just a little over the price range we had discussed, but Scott and I wanted to check out just one last listing.
And this last house is the one we really want. The realtor is working on negotiating a lower price for rent and we will hopefully know by the end of the week if we are going to move into this house. It's bigger than our current place and has 2 floors, a beautiful open kitchen and a nice-sized baby room for Violet. I don't want to get too excited, but both Scott and I really want this place for however much longer we live here in Mountain Home.
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