Now's the Time

Over the past seven years I'm not sure how many times Sky and I said that we were going to move. When we first purchased our house we went into it thinking that we would be here 3-5 years; we saw this as a starter home. Originally we chose to buy a house near both of our jobs, which made a lot of sense at the time. However, over the past few years, we have realized that there are things offered in the city that we want to be closer to and all of them are on the north central side of the city.

It is so frustrating when all I want to do is make breakfast on Saturday and the ingredient I need is a 30 minute drive away at Whole Foods! Our entire Sunday has to be coordinated around making a trip to the northside of town. Sky's game is at 12:00, we want to do grocery shopping, we're celebrating a birthday later in the day, but before that we have to get a gift. All of these things have to be taken into consideration because we only want to take one car and even though we both don't want to do all of these things, we end up doing them together.

So moving to the north central part of town has been something on our mind for the past few years. We had our realtor come to our house to put it on the market right before the decline in housing a few years ago. The prospect of selling our house seemed too challenging in that climate, so we held off until last Spring. Sky had gotten a new job and we were making considerations for future expansion of our family, so it seemed like a good time to try our luck and sell our place.

I didn't realize how stressful it would be to have our house on the market! I'm the kind of person who does a big clean every couple weeks, so little cleaning jobs daily just 'in case' someone wanted to see the house was pretty stressful. We settled into it though and it has been a good exercise in keeping our house tidy. Showings came in spurts. Good weather, updated pictures, and a drop in price kept interest coming. In November it was time to either do another price drop or do something to set our house apart from the field. We anticipated a drop in showings around the holidays, so we figured that was a good time to put in some granite countertops. By the first business day in January we were right back into it. We hadn't had a chance to update our listing to reflect the updates before we had our first, and last, showing of 2012! The family was interested in the house before they even knew about the countertops. The updates really seemed to seal the deal!

So, here we are. We've gone through the inspection process during which they didn't find anything that we need fix. Lucky us! The appraisal is tomorrow and we are home free from there! It will be hard to say goodbye to our first home. It's not real for me yet. I know I need to pack up our things, but I haven't gotten the urgency that will come with a fast coming deadline. The buyers asked to take possession on February 1st, but we were able to negotiate out to March 1. Over the next month and a half I will think about memories made here in this home and look forward to making new ones wherever we end up. My ten minute commute, proximity to international food on Lafayette Rd., and watching reality TV with Mandy are things I'll have to make the most of before we move!

Home Sweet Home

Seven years ago Sky and I purchased our home on the Westside of Indianapolis. I was in my first year of teaching in Wayne Township and Sky had just returned to the States and worked in the business park by the 'old' airport. Having not been in the Indy area more than a few months, we weren't very familiar with amenities and personalities of different neighborhoods. We did know that we wanted to be close to work and live in Indianapolis, so it made since to look in Wayne Township.

It's hard to believe now, but when we searched we actually went to the grocery store and got booklets of homes for sale and looked at the classified section of the paper to find open houses. I remember purchasing a paper map in order to see where each of the listings was located. We didn't have a list of 'must haves', rather we worked more by location, square footage, floor plan and overall feel of the house and neighborhood. We found our home when we attended an open house for a different place in the same neighborhood, Parc Estates. We contacted the selling agent (for our home) whom we felt comfortable with right away. She ended up representing us in the sale as well, so we never signed with another agent.

We took possession of our house at the beginning of December, 2004. Since then we've learned a lot about ourselves as home owners. Yearly maintenance isn't something we diligently keep up with, but when something needs to be fixed, we are quick to find an economical, practical solution. Flower beds and patios can quickly turn to weeds in our yard, so a wooded lot that can be left mostly natural would be our best bet. White tile in the kitchen and entryway is not our friend; we don't clean floors often enough and white tile shows everything! We like to entertain, so having a comfortable space to entertain family and friends where they feel like they can make themselves at home is a must. These, among many other things, have influenced our search for a new home.

We plan to say in Indianapolis, moving to the north, central part of town. We love the established neighborhoods, amenities, and proximity to family and friends. It's farther from work for both of us, but that's ok. Completely detaching from work and having time to catch up on NPR on my commute are things I'm looking forward to. We will miss our Parc Estates neighbors as they have become our friends over the years. We also have a good friend who lives close to our current place, so moving farther away from her isn't going to be easy as we like to get together weekly to watch our favorite shows. However, we'll be closer to our favorite stores, city amenities, and most of our friends and family which will all be nice. The move is bitter-sweet, but I'm hoping, in the end, the sweet things will outweigh the bitter.

So, I plan to blog about our search for our new home and the process we go through to move into and create our home. We have already done some of the searching and planning, so those posts should be coming soon. It's good to be back :) I hope you stick around!

My favorite summer snack...

...is chips and salsa.

Chips and salsa is especially fitting for summer because it requires no cooking, and if you're really creative, no dishes. Of course you eat the chips from the bag, no problem there. The creativity comes when eating the salsa out of the jar. There is an art form to this, that to this day I have not quite mastered. There are a few guidelines though that I have learned to follow.

1. Choose the size and shape of the chip carefully. Ideally it will be long enough to reach into the jar, but sturdy enough not to break inside the jar.

2. Tilt the jar just so. Not too far that the juices drip out, but far enough to give you room to leverage the salsa out of the jar.

3a. Utensils can be used only when there is less than 1/2 inch of salsa left in the bottom. Spooning the salsa out onto the chip is acceptable. OR 3b. Leave the end of the salsa in the jar for someone else to deal with! --Ha, my mom hated when we did that!

When I eat this snack I am always reminded of the hot summer days my sister and I used to spend together sitting by the pool in our backyard. My sister was, and probably still is, an expert chips and salsa eater. I owe everything I know to her :) We weren't able to cook, and really weren't on a regular schedule for eating. So, when we would feel like a snack we would go inside and fix ourselves food. Chips and salsa, in most cases, was our 'food' of choice. (We also had Ramen Noodles, but that's another story.) We would argue over who took the most salsa, and many times the jar of salsa wouldn't last more than a day, maybe two. We would usually eat in the sun on the deck of the pool, deciding what to do next. How much time did we have before our parents would get home? What chores did we still need to do before then? We had a lot of fun during the summer together!

Chips and salsa is a good snack year-round, don't get me wrong, but eating it during the summer just feels right! What's your favorite summertime snack?

So what!?!

I've drafted posts commenting on the debate on education reform and merit pay for teachers, trying to find a balance of raw emotion and rationality that lends one's point of view credibility. I haven't been happy with the ways I have articulated these issues, but have continued to form my arguments and had intended to add to these drafts and post them when I felt they were ready.

Well, all of that went out the window today when I was listening to the Diane Rhem Show. The topic of today's show was the protests in Wisconsin over collective bargaining rights and how they are bankrupting our States and Country. She featured Gov. Daniels at the beginning of the show and from there my blood pressure continued to rise. After listening for most of the hour, I finally shouted, "So what!?!"

All politicians talk about is how teachers are overpaid, benefit hoarding free loaders who have cushy jobs that allow them to do the bare minimum without retribution which means a crappy education for our kids. We are then required to repudiate these statements and prove that we are underpaid employees whose benefits are not cost controlled by our Districts; employees who spend our own money to furnish our classrooms with engaging materials and take work home nightly with no extra benefit; who work tirelessly for our students, learning new ways of reaching struggling learners and enhancing education for all students.

This causes me to ask, "So what?!?" I don't want to have to prove politicians wrong anymore. Even though their assessment of teacher compensation is completely bogus, I'll go along with it for the sake of making my point, "So what?!?"

So what if we get great benefits and job security? So what if our salaries reflect the work of an entire year when we are only in school for 9 months? So what if we are able to collectively stand up for our profession and negotiate terms of our contract to protect ourselves from unfair labor practices? So what!?!

Teachers should have these benefits and much more. If, as a Country, we really value the education of our children, we should value the position of a teacher enough to put things in place that attract the best of the best to teach our students. Teachers should have great benefits and high salaries considering the future of our Country rests on their shoulders. Instead, teachers are forced to apologize for the compensation we get for doing an incredibly hard job, in which, daily, we are accused of being selfish and free-loading off tax payers.

As a highly educated, articulate professional I am unable to move up in my profession. Once a teacher has a few years of experience and/or an advanced degree, we are priced out of the job market. There are few opportunities within my District to move up and going to another District is out of the question. No one has the money to pay me. Experience and higher education make teachers undesirable. In any other profession, you can barely get your foot in the door without an advanced degree and at least 5 years experience. In education you are stuck.

All I can say is, "So what!?!" Well, I have an answer to that question. The quality of those in the education profession will continue to decline. Who wants to be a punching bag when things go wrong and ignored when things are going well? Being blamed for the poor choices of others is a position no one wants to be in. Maybe, eventually, our society will realize that a strong economy and civilization lies within those who teach. Until then...

Mitch, if you want to fuck me you better buy me dinner.

Pogue's Run Grocer

Three things have come together to make me want to drive 25 minutes in city traffic to the east side of Indy to do my grocery shopping: 1. supporting local farmers and artisans, 2. making healthy foods available to low-income neighborhoods, and 3. decreasing childhood obesity. Pogue's Run Grocer is at 10th Street and Rural, which isn't where one would normally expect to find an organic, local grocer. In fact, aside from the Marathon station down the street, there really isn't any kind of grocer in the community.

I first heard of Pogue's as a dream some local foodies had for Indianapolis through the Indy Backyard Growers Network on Facebook. They talked about opining a coop grocery store in a low income area to provide healthy food options along with a community center for healthy living. Fortunately, they were able to bring together volunteers and enough loans to open a small grocery. The store is about 1000 square feet, with local and/or organic produce and groceries. Pogue's has a limited selection compared to other grocers, but you can tell that they have made a commitment to stock their shelves with local foods, and fill in the gaps with commercial brands. Last weekend I was looking to buy some local honey and met the beekeeper whose honey I was purchasing. Pretty cool, huh?

They also have a lunch counter where they serve sandwiches, soups, salads, and drinks. Their sandwiches are big and fresh and their soups and salads are made from scratch daily. Their food is reasonably priced, if not cheap. $5.00 for a sandwich. Add soup and drink for $1.00 more. They are sensitive to vegetarian and vegan eaters, which puts the cherry on top!

In addition to the lunch counter, they are holding classes for the community around healthy living. Next week they are offering a class on how to nurture plants from seeds and they plan to do some canning classes once fruits and vegetables are in season. What a great way to give the community the tools to eat more healthfully.

Since it is a coop, you can pay for a membership that allows you to be a decision making voice for the store. I haven't decided to become a member, so I can't elaborate on the details a membership to this coop would allow you. Most coops have meetings where issues are discussed and voted on, along with the opportunity to volunteer your time for discounts on groceries. You don't have to become a member, though. Anyone can shop their store, eat at the lunch counter and take classes.

Their prices for groceries are 'at cost', so they aren't making a profit on their groceries and the classes are all free. They are working to get not-for-profit status, but the IRS is giving them a hard time. As far as I know, they are still working on changing their tax status. This is one reason why they have had to take out loans, rather than getting grants. Once their status changes, they expect funding to come more easily.

It light of the recent conversations around the updated USDA Nutritional Guidelines, the Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act, and the increased emphasis on decreasing childhood obesity, it will be important to see how Pogue's changes the east side community around their store. Federal and State funding is being cut to community outreach programs, which will make it harder for groups like Pogue's to be able to fulfill their mission. For low income families, it doesn't matter how many Guidelines are presented, if they don't have access to affordable, whole foods, they aren't going to be able to feed their families healthfully. Grocery stores move out of low income communities because they aren't profitable, and it leaves these families without choices. This is a void that can filled by local food producers and not-for-profit grocers. I'm excited that Indianapolis is working to create more healthful communities by increasing the availability of healthy food to low income neighborhoods, with a commitment to local food producers. I'm even more excited that I get to be a part of it :)

Things husbands are good for...

1. warming up cold feet. Where are the warm legs when I'm trying to warm up my toes at night?

2. shoveling driveways. Aren't we setting some kind of record for snow in January!?

3. having someone to laugh with. Chico and Sophie playing with the laser pointer just isn't as funny when I'm the only one laughing.

4. answering the door. A single woman can't be too cautious. It might be a serial killer. Darn you Criminal Minds!

5. picking up milk on the way home. I always forget until I'm home, even with reminders.

6. carrying heavy things. I want to buy cat litter in bulk, but I can't get the bag upstairs without giving myself a hernia.

7. making things better after a bad day. Sometimes I just need to be told that it will all be OK.

8. zipping up dresses. Those back zippers are very challenging with only one pair of hands.

9. driving. I'm definitely a rider, always have been.

10. putting air in tires. Do I need new tires? I don't know. I can't even get the right oil change.

I can do these things on my own, but having to do them without Sky, endears him to me even more. Can't wait for him to come home :)

Resolutions

It seems like on most of the blogs I am following, the first post of 2011 starts out, "Sorry it has been so long. I've been so busy!" To this I reply, don't worry, I haven't opened my Google Reader account the last couple months anyway. No posts and no readers. It's OK. We'll just call it even. So, I won't apologize for not posting the last few months due to my busy schedule. You've probably not been around to read anyway ;)

A lot of bloggers have been sharing their New Year's Resolutions for 2011. I haven't been one to make resolutions in the past, but this year, after hearing the resolutions of a few people, I have decided to make my own.

It was interesting when I sat down to think about what I want to accomplish this coming year. There were so many things to consider; I felt like I needed a game plan. I could approach the process by thinking about areas of my life: food, housekeeping, sewing, exercise... This seemed logical, but then I realized that I couldn't just set a goal for the year, it had to be broken down into smaller time frames: weekly, monthly, seasonally...

If you set a weekly goal, you are meeting it, or not, 52 times a year. Monthly goals would be met, or not, 12 times per year...and seasonal items 4 times. It can be overwhelming to think that I would be assessed for success 52 times. So, I thought of approaching it as a sports team would their season. I figured, if, at the end of the year, I have a winning record, I will have successfully completed my resolutions. Seems logical that I will have some "losing" weeks, but if overall, I have more "winning" weeks than "losing" weeks, I can be proud of myself and consider my resolution accomplished.

Having chosen a strategy for making the goal (choosing an area and then a time frame) I had to decide what I really wanted to hold myself accountable for. I don't want to say that I will exercise 5 times per week, because I won't. A more interesting take on exercise would be: add a new activity to my routine. Exercising 5 times seems like a hard thing to do, but adding something new sounds like fun! It's all in the way you word it! So, one of my resolutions is to join a Pilates class once a week :) Exercise...DONE!

I completed this process with a few other areas of my life and feel like I have a plan for 2011. (I'm a planner, so this is very exciting to me!) I have a new notebook in which I have written my resolutions and plan to record my stats.

Bring it on 2011!!!