Mouse in the House: When Owning a Home Isn't Quite As Much Fun

Along with all of the awesome things about owning a home, like gaining more space and no longer having to deal with rent increases, come some not-so-nice things, like unexpected repairs and unwanted critters trying to escape the winter cold.  

It was late three nights ago when we first heard the scampering coming from the vent above our microwave. At first, I hoped it was just my imagination or something else, but obviously, it wasn’t. Two semi-sleepless nights and a few stomach grumbles later (I’d been afraid to spend more than a few seconds at a time in the kitchen), a pest control expert came out to investigate.

The only mouse I ever want to see. (via Babble)

Upon checking the kitchen, utility room and yard, he found evidence of one lone mouse that had entered our home. For a fee of $189, he then set up four bait stations, two indoors and two outdoors. If the mouse hasn't already left, it will take the bait, become dehydrated and leave our house to find a new water source. Pest control will come back in one week to check the bait stations. He did say that this is the smallest mouse infestation he's ever seen, and that we caught it early, so that is very good news!

Have you dealt with this type of situation before? What's your most hated thing about being a homeowner? 

Not Silence, But Action

Many of my fellow bloggers participated in a day of silence yesterday in honor of the Sandy Hook victims, and while I too am keeping them in my heart and thoughts this week, it is also my personal choice not to be silent. This is because I believe that what we need in the wake of this tragedy, like so many others that have come before, is not merely remembrances, thoughts, words and prayers, but genuine action.

I strongly believe that the increasing prevalence of events like this one is a multi-faceted crisis that needs to be addressed in a comprehensive manner. Easy access to guns, the state of our mental health system, exposure to violence within our culture and the way some young men are socialized surely all play a role in contributing to these types of atrocities. No one factor acts alone, and therefore, there is no "easy fix."

So, while I do think that tougher gun control laws and an improved mental health support system would be positive steps in the right direction, I also think that until we get serious about examining all of the interlinked causes and committing as many resources to solving this epidemic as we do to fighting other evils in the world, nothing will change.

Thoughts and memorials are beautiful things, but only action has the power to save lives. 

Hurricane Sandy aka ‘Frankenstorm’

As a kid, I remember once watching a documentary that outlined two potentially devastating hurricane scenarios for the U.S. One was a hurricane barreling down upon New Orleans, and the other was a storm tracking up the East Coast and into New York City. I can hardly believe that in my short lifetime, I’ve already lived to see both of these instances play out with varying degrees of damaging effects.

Here in the DC area, Sandy rolled into town yesterday, bringing rain, wind and flickering lights, but fortunately nothing more serious, at least in our neighborhood and those immediately surrounding. I know that for millions elsewhere, however, things took a turn for the much worse, with devastation including widespread flooding, property damage, power outages, blizzards and even the loss of life.

Image Source: NOAA

So, even though the worst may now be over here in our neck of the woods, my heart and thoughts go out to those who are still dealing with the disastrous effects of this storm, as its impacts will no doubt be ongoing throughout the coming weeks and months. To all my friends on the East Coast, I hope you will continue to stay safe, and to my friends elsewhere, thank you for checking in with us throughout the past several days. Peace and love to you, now and always! 

Remembering

After nearly a month-long summer blog break, I’ll be back tomorrow to recap my recent trip and share all that I’ve been up to these past few weeks. Today, however, I’m simply looking out my window at the Capitol dome rising in the distance, and remembering. 

Image Source: All Women Stalk

Love and peace, my friends, today and always. 

From Cali to DC: Snakes, Storms & Vespas

After spending two full weeks in California visiting my Nana, family and friends, it was harder than ever coming back to DC last Wednesday, even without the added delight of 100+-degree temperatures and the unexpected mother-of-all-thunderstorms that swept across the area Friday night, bringing 80-mph winds and causing damage throughout the region.

Despite a few scary moments when I was sure the windows were about to give way, our high-rise building thankfully made it through the storm unscathed. Plus, while thousands are still without power around town, ours amazingly came back on within a couple minutes of the storm’s passing.

Here, a look back at a few highlights, both the good and the not so good, from the past couple weeks.

Not So Good {June 13}: Shaking myself awake at 4 a.m. to make a 6 a.m. flight out of the DC airport -- luckily only a few minutes away by Metro -- only to find the line at security longer than ever before once we arrived. For the first time, Stephen and I found ourselves dashing to the gate just as our flight's "final call" was announced, an experience that then unbelievably repeated itself in Houston, where we were late getting in and forced to run between terminals in order to make our connection. Needless to say, this was not my favorite bicoastal travel experience! 

Good {June 14}: Celebrating my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary, a memory I will always keep close. As part of the low-key festivities, our family gifted them a colorful betta fish named Gill, while my sister and Stephen baked up a delicious apple pie for dessert.  

Good {June 16-17}: Heading up to California's Central Coast for a weekend of wine tasting, beach hopping and Vespa riding lessons in Moro Bay and Paso Robles with Stephen and my best friends of more than 15 years. One of the wineries we visited was randomly hosting a "zoo day," where visitors could take turns holding a 120-lb. python -- admittedly not my favorite type of animal, but worth being a good sport around, at least for the couple seconds it took to snap the picture! 

Image Source: CNN.com

Not So Good {June 29}: Hiding out in the closest with my equally scared husband and two very terrified kitties during the worst storm ever to hit the DC area outside of a hurricane. Oh California, how I miss you already (although I must admit that earthquakes do scare me even more)! 

Has your area been affected by the sweltering temperatures, intense storms or massive wildfires that are impacting regions across the country? The amount of destruction and number of lives lost on account of these disasters is nothing short of heartbreaking, to say the least.  

9/11: Reflecting & Remembering

I wasn’t yet living in Washington DC on Sept. 11, 2001. Then 17 years old, I was just starting my second week of college in California when the awful news flashed across the screen, horrifying me along with everyone else throughout my campus, hometown, state and nation.

Unbeknownst to me, those who would four years later become my colleagues, friends and fellow federal aides fled from Capitol Hill in chaotic terror, some frantically trying to reach their loved ones at the Pentagon, most succeeding, some tragically not getting through, then or ever again.

Forever changed, DC was different by the time I arrived. During my first month on the Hill, I quickly learned how to use a gas mask, screen for potentially hazardous materials in the mail, and discreetly summon help to my office. There were emergency procedures, drills and false alarms, though nothing serious ever happened throughout the years that followed. I was lucky. On 9/11, far too many hard-working, honest and big-hearted people were not.

Image Source: gotgeoint.com 

It’s been 10 years, and some are asking whether Americans have now started to forget. I haven’t and won’t, because even now, I often stop to think how many amazing life moments and milestones I would have missed had I been one of the thousands killed that day, knowing that for so many, too many, this circumstance became a tragic reality.

In the end, whether I'm always conscious of it or not, the events of 9/11 have inspired me to more fully appreciate life, not only for myself, but in memory of those who no longer can. That's something I know will always be with me no matter how much time may pass.

Grad School: Round 2

Learning is not attained by chance. It must be sought for with ardor and diligence. 

~ Abigail Adams 

After several blissful weeks of travel, weddings, reading and writing, Tuesday's the day I’ll kick off my second and final year of grad school. Though I’m excited to get back to learning and ever closer to graduation, I also can’t help but look back over the past year and feel that as far as I’ve come and as hard as I’ve worked, I still have just as far left to go.

Without a doubt, my going back to school has required my husband and I to make some major life choices that haven’t always been easy, including the decision to continue living on the East Coast for the time being. Plus, though I’ve truly enjoyed my program, professors and classmates, going back to school after five years as a working professional has been one of the biggest challenges of my life, especially since throughout my first year, I continued working full-time while going to class. The majority of my classmates did the same, all of us succeeding through a great deal of effort and determination.

Even so, after a year of juggling classes, a career on Capitol Hill and then with Weddzilla, serving on the board of a charity, earning my wedding coordination certificate, and starting to work with my own clients, something simply had to give for me personally. That's why this year will bring about yet another big change, even though it’s hard for me to fathom no longer working full-time, instead accepting that I realistically can't do "it all" right now.

Image Source: uhclthesignal.com

Still, I absolutely plan to continue coordinating weddings, taking steps toward building my business and seeking out part-time or freelance opportunities, knowing without a doubt that this is the best decision -- one that will allow me to get the most out of my education and continue pursuing my dreams at the same time. My husband, family and friends support me 100 percent, and I’m incredibly thankful that my own advance planning throughout the years has left me in a position where I’m able to make this type of personal choice.

More than anything, the past year has shown me that as much as I'd like to believe it at times, I really can't take on the entire world at once, and that sometimes the decisions we make can feel like little more than a shot in the dark, a leap of faith, with an outcome entirely unknown. That scares me, but also exhilarates me. When all is said and done, I’m here for the adventure, and I’m doing my best to live it to the fullest every day. Year two, here I come!

How do you find balance when it comes to school, careers, pursuing long-term goals and making other major life choices?

P.S. Thank you all for your fabulous blog suggestions in response to Friday's post, and for your well wishes ahead of Hurricane Irene. We made it through just fine, hunkering down for the weekend with good books, a couple bottles of wine and our trusty iPhones as we waited out the tropical-storm force winds and rain. Other than a few downed trees and a temporary power outage, it looks as though our immediate area thankfully made it through without any severe damage. My heart goes out to all of those facing serve flooding and destruction as a result of the storm. 

Hurricanes & Earthquakes

It’s been a déjà vu kind of day.  

Back in 1994, I was just 10 when the infamous 6.6 Northridge Earthquake hit Southern California, damaging our home and my grandparents’. Over the years, I’ve felt plenty more earthquakes but have never, ever gotten over my fear of them, and have certainly never experienced a strong one here in the DC area.

In fact, whenever I felt inclined to complain about East Coast weather or start to miss certain things about the West, I’d laugh and think to myself, “Well, at least we don’t get hit by earthquakes.”

Memories of Northridge. Image Source: NASA Ames Research Center

Apparently, I was wrong, and you can imagine my shock when I suddenly felt the familiar shaking and heard the telltale creaking this afternoon during a 5.8 quake centered right here in Virginia! As much as I'd like to say my Cali girl experience left me cool as a cucumber, that couldn't be farther from the truth. Yeah, I freaked out, majorly, just like I always have. 

Now that it's over, I’m just thankful our brick high-rise held up OK and that the shaking didn’t last longer than about half a minute. Plus, I now hear Hurricane Irene is set to wreak havoc throughout the Mid-Atlantic and potentially along the entire East Coast this weekend.

Well, at least we don’t get hit with tornado warnings or struck by major blizzards, right? Oh yeah, wait…

Are you calm when faced with a natural disaster, or do you freak out the way I do? Anyone else experience the Northridge quake or any of the other California big ones?