Maya Angelou Monday

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Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!

Maya Angelou Monday

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Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!

Maya Angelou Monday

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Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!

Maya Angelou Monday

via

Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!

Maya Angelou Monday

via

Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!

Maya Angelou Monday

via

Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!

Maya Angelou Monday

via

Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!

Maya Angelou Monday

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Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!

Maya Angelou Monday

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Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!

Maya Angelou Monday

via

Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!

Maya Angelou Monday

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Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!

Maya Angelou Monday

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Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!

Maya Angelou Monday

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Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!

Maya Angelou Monday

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Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!

Maya Angelou Monday

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Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!

It's OURS!!!

STATS
1730 Square Feet (+1200 in the basement)

2.5 car garage

3 bedrooms

2 bathrooms

2 living rooms

A three seasons room with a hot tub

AND IT'S OURS!

We closed on our house today - signed our life away and got the keys.  The first two things on our list are to clean the carpets and get the painting started (prep, prime, and GO).  Before it's all over, we will paint every wall in the house... EVERY WALL... it's going to be quite a project.  Luckily, we have our apartment until the 14th and our storage unit (where most of our stuff is) until the 30th.

Slow and steady wins the race!!

A New Year is Upon Us!

School in Michigan starts after Labor Day - THANK GOODNESS!

All my friends have been back in school for at least a week.  I started today.

The start of a school year is a very busy time for me - meetings, trainings, promotional events, LOTS of students are have all of a sudden returned and expect undivided attention and quick responses  even though they have not been responding to us for 3 months.  Such is life.

On top of the start of school, we close on our house this week - not a huge deal... just THOUSANDS of dollars invested into a single item that will (hopefully) be ours for years and years.  Just kidding - it's really not that scary, especially when you know that your investment is sound.

We are in the throws of packing up our apartment, which is also not a huge task since it's only 700 square feet, but it's still an annoying pile up of energy draining activities that I'm having to deal with right now.  This weekend will consist of cleaning, taping and possibly some painting.  We keep saying we are not in a hurry, but let's get real, who wants painting to take that long... NOT ME!

So, send positive energy my way this week - I'll need all the energy I can get!

Maya Angelou Monday

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Still I Rise (Part 3 of 3)
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors game,
I am the dram and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise

Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday

Buying our Second Home

Even when we were buying our first home, we weren't typical first time home buyers - we have high expectations, and while we are not afraid of work, we have a pretty good grasp on what kind of work is going to be worth our time and money and what won't.  We have the ability to look past paint, carpet, wall paper and even walls to see the potential in a home, and as we go through a house, we can differentiate between what has to be done right away and what we could save for and do later.

When we met with our realtor, our list was actually pretty flexible:

We want a garage - attached, detached, space for us to put one up later, whatever

We want 3 bedrooms & 2 baths, or enough space to add a bed and bath to a 2/1

1 story would be nice, but 2 story is fine

Central air - well, that's kind of a non-negotiable

So we started looking in Ann Arbor and the surrounding cities, and let me tell you, the amount you get for your money in this area is WAY less than what we got in our first time around.  We saw a lot of houses that, on paper, looked like they had potential, but most were just too much work, or they were too small with no room for expansion, and the number of 3 bed/1 bath houses in this area are just ridiculous - WHO WANTS TO SHARE A BATHROOM WITH EVERYONE AT THE HOUSE?!!?!

The budget we started with this time around was about $40,000 more than last time, and we still ended up going $10,000 higher to get our house, but we got a great one!  We can't wait to move in - only a week and a half until we close!!

Maya Angelou Monday

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Still I Rise (Part 2 of 3)
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise

Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday

Quite a Year

It's been a little over a year for us in Michigan, and the start of year two has been quite the whirlwind!

When we moved here, we moved for my job.  We moved because we thought that all the cities and universities close by would create a great number of opportunities for J, as long as we could be patient.  We made the decision early on that he did not need to get a job, just to get a job - we wanted him to find something that was a career.

To say the year was a challenge is an understatement.  The year that we've been through, and specifically J has been through, has shown me over and over that I married the right man.  I am very confident that I'll never know what the year was like for him, but I can definitely say that my admiration for his attitude and approach to such a tough year is so high.

A few weeks ago, J started a new job - a new career, in a field that he has never experienced before, but I am so excited because he is working for a great company and so far, he feels like he will really enjoy it there.  Once the job offer came along, so did the opportunity to purchase a home.  We have lived in an apartment for the past year, and while we have been very happy with the place we are living, it's hard to go from an 1800 square foot home to a 700 square foot apartment.

After looking at 15-20 houses, we found one that we felt like we could grow in to - one that has the potential to be everything we could want in a home and a chance to FINALLY live in one place for more than 2 years, which is something that neither of us have done since leaving home for college.

We are working hard to close on the house on September 5 and we are SO excited!  We are excited to move in, we are excited to make it our own, and we are excited to (eventually, but maybe kinda soon) start a family!

Maya Angelou Monday

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Still I Rise (Part 1 of 3)

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With certainty of tides,
Just like hope springs high,
Still I'll rise.

Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday

Maya Angelou Monday

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PHENOMENAL WOMAN (Part 2 of 2)

Men themselves have wondered,

What they see in me.

They try so much

But they can't touch

My inner mystery.

When I try to show them,

They say they still can't see.

I say,

It's in the arch of my back,

The sun of my smile,

The ride of my breasts,

The grace of my style.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Now you understand

Just why my head's not bowed.

I don't shout or jump about

Or have to talk real loud.

When you see me passing,

It ought to make you proud.

I say,

It's in the click of my heels

The bend of my hair,

The palm of my hand,

The need for my care.

'Cause I'm a woman

Phenomenally

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday

Maya Angelou Monday

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PHENOMENAL WOMAN (Part 1 of 2)

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.

I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size

But when I start to tell them,

They think I'm telling lies.

I say,

It's in the reach of my arms,

The span of my hips,

The stride of my step,

The curl of my lips.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

I walk in to a room,

Just as cool as you please,

And to a man,

The fellows stand or

Fall down on their knees.

Then they swarm around me,

A hive of honey bees.

I say,

It's the fire in my eyes,

And the flash of my teeth,

The swing in my waist,

And the joy in my feet.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally

Phenomenal Woman,

That's me.

Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday

Maya Angelou Monday

Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!!

Maya Angelou Monday

Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!!

Home Sweet Hoosier No More...

My blog has a new look and a new name, but it's time for the .com to change, too.

www.loveinthemitten.com 

(or www.jasonandlexi.blogspot.com)

I hope you'll still visit, even though the posts have been minimal - now you can also subscribe via email in the top right corner.  One of these days, something is going to come along and it's going to bring back my passion for blogging.  I don't when or what that's going to be, but I feel like that will be the case.

You can also find me on Pinterest and Twitter

Thanks for reading!!

Maya Angelou Monday

Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!!

3 Fabulous Years

Happy Anniversary to my very best friend and most amazing husband! I could have never imagined where our journey has taken us, but what's most important is that we have been together through every bit of the last three years. 

Photo by www.catiescaptures.com

Maya Angelou Monday

Because it's our anniversary week, here's a quote that reminds me of J  :)

Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!!

Maya Angelou Monday

Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!!

Maya Angelou Monday

Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!!

Maya Angelou Monday

Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!!

Maya Angelou Monday

Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!!

Maya Angelou Monday

Last night, I spent a lot of time reading Maya Angelou's writing.  A number of poems and quotes that were familiar to me and some that were not so much.  I was inspired to share her on here, so I'm going to do a year of Maya Angelou Mondays - starting today.  I hope you'll be inspired by her words, as I am.

Here's to a MARVELOUS Monday!!

Time for Some Changes

It's June 1 and it's spring in Michigan (with summer quickly approaching) - time for changes, and growth and new opportunities.

It's time for me to make some changes myself.  I've felt the urge lately to get back to blogging, and now that it's summer and my work life is a little slower, it seemed like the perfect time.

I've also felt an unusual urge to get back to blogging this week when I heard of Maya Angelou's passing.

www.mayaangelou.com

I haven't really been that in to poetry (in a general sense) since I was a hopeless, romantic high schooler with journals full of friendship and love poems/quotes, but I have always loved Maya Angelou.  Her words are so eloquent and powerful.

So I suppose you could say I've been re-inspired.  And as you can probably see, this inspiration has come with a new look, and a new name (a new www to come soon).  It's been almost a year since we moved to Michigan, and while it has not been an easy year and while it may not yet feel like "home" to me, things are heading in the right direction.