Just posted this on my blog, thought I'd share.

So I didn't take any pictures of the actual building, which is a shame cause the pool and commons area would blow your mind. They are so nice. It makes me feel like I'm spending a lot more than we are, and trust me . . . we are spending a lot. I looked at housing in Denver today and about croaked! It's so cheap! Which means I only have things to look forward to. Anyway, here's a tour of our new place.

Ben about croaked when I spent $200 on a new bathroom. But I love it! And I love all the cabinet space, we don't have to leave everything on our counter anymore.
Our bedroom, well part of it. I gave Ben the lamp, he was stoked. I had to put it on that side of the room to balance out the dresser on the other side.

My closet is possibly my favorite part of our new place. It's so big. You'll notice I can't even fill it. Also notice the cute monkey wearing a Muslim, Malaysian Flag hat in the top left hand corner.











We have two storage closets like this. I love it! Definite bonus, our last place barely had a coat closet. The other picture is Ben's study corner. He misses the den, having his desk out in the living area means he has to keep it tidy. But he manages.

Our living room. Do you think either of us like to read? Once we can afford a house we're going to have a library.
Our kitchen is a lot bigger here. I love all the cabinet space. And on the opposite wall there is even a pantry for our food (and hopefully some food storage, when we get some spare cash). Don't be thrown off by the door, it's not our entry way, we have two doors.









You can't see it very well but I have all my Malaysia/Singapore trinkets up above the kitchen cabinets. I think it adds a special touch. I also hung the sweet elephant on bamboo on the opposite wall, to give a real Asian kick. The other picture is, obviously, our dinning room table and the door to our balcony.

I love our palm. And you can't really tell, but just past that big pot (by the palm) there's a nice little table with two seats. We love spending time out on our balcony. Our two trees only cost us about $50 each. Money well spent.

I love our cane tree. It reminds me of my sweet Malaysia. And the pot on the right was only 26 bucks. A real steal if you ask me. Now, if only we don't kill it.





The view from our balcony seats (summer/fall time dinner table) is gorgeous. The picture doesn't do it justice, but there are just tons of trees off in the distance. Maybe I've just been here too long, but I feel like you can't even tell we're in the city when you look over our balcony. It's a lot better view then our last place.

And now for some 4th of July photo ops . . .










At lunch with Lauren, Jessica, and Katie. As we were waiting for our food this huge barge pulled up on the canal just off Lake Erie. It was cool to watch.

On our way to the mall Ben saw this huge puddle and couldn't resist. He's such a little kid. And a fool. He thought it would just shoot straight up over his head, not straight up his behind. He looked like he wet his pants for about an hour, and his shorts stayed nice and moist for a good three. Serves him right.

Moving Day Fiascos

So as you all know Liz and I recently moved to a new apartment. We really like it, and it is quite a bit cheaper per month which is always nice. We don't have a washer/dryer but we will learn to cope somehow. Anyhow, I thought I would just set out some of the pitfalls along the way, in case any of you haven't heard them.

1) We found out the Tuesday before we were planning on moving that we did not have an apartment, because the previous tenant had not been evicted as planned. The best part is the apartment managers did not call us to tell us, we only found out because Liz called to finalize some details about the lease! So who knows if they ever would have gotten around to telling us we didn't have an apartment. Luckily while we were looking for other apartments we found a building just up the road from us that had an opening for that very weekend!

P.S. I talked to a guy I work with and he said that under D.C. law it can take as long as 6 months to a year to actually evict an unwilling tenant.

2) I made a reservation for a moving truck with Uhaul online about a week and a half before we moved. I even called the rental place on Thursday to confirm our reservation. Friday afternoon I get a text message telling me that my reservation has been moved to a different location and my truck won't be ready until 1:30pm. This was a problem because we had already announced the move in church, recruited friends, and reserved the freight elevators for 9am! So, I called and after being told there was no way I could get a truck before 1:30pm I sweared at the guy called him incompetent and he hung up on me (not wholly surprising). We ended up renting a truck from Penske (though it was significantly more expensive they guarantee their rental reservations).

3) After loading the moving truck and getting ready to drive over to our new place I realized that I didn't know where the truck key was. I thought maybe Liz had it, but she didn't. That's right within the space of 2 hours I had managed to lose the key to our fully loaded moving truck! So after a mini stroke, I called up the rental office and luckily they could make me a new key (for a small fee of course) and we were on our way.

4) Due to the delay of losing the key and having to get a new on we missed our reserved time on the frieght elevator. If any of you have ever moved into/out of a high rise building you know how important it is to have a reserved elevator. So we had to take up most of our stuff in the regular elevators and endure countless dirty looks and turn people away when we had the elevator stuffed full of junk. Luckily, the people that had it reserved after us were kind enough to let us take up a few loads of really big stuff (i.e. our bed and couch) and it turned out ok.

That's most of the moving drama, now we are just trying to get unpacked and situated in our new apartment. I'll be sure to post some new pictures once it looks presentable!

New Address

1600 S Eads #1026S
Arlington VA 22202

Notice we are on the same street as our previous address.

More friends come to visit.

There are about a gazillion pictures here. But I thought you might enjoy them. And it might make you want to come to DC . . .

Norfolk VA

Washington DC

Ben and I are moving this week. I hate the stress of packing. And to add on to that, the person who was suppose to be evicted from our new apartment hasn't left yet. Sweet! We may be homeless come Sunday.

More Ohio Pictures & A Video

Synchronized Diving

Lauren @ Bucco di Beppos

Heron @ Shooters

Heron @ Natural History Museum

There are more pics posted here.

Ohio Pictures

I just thought I would share some of my favortie pictures I took in Ohio

No Hidden Message Just an interesting article

Aspiring teachers must choose the right school By Jennifer Acosta Scott
On the surface, teaching seems like a great job: summers off, lots of holidays and the opportunity to make a difference. But the reality may not be quite so rosy.
According to a 2007 study by the California State University Center for Teacher Quality, many teachers in California quit well before retirement for reasons including low morale, excessive paperwork and too little planning time.
The National Education Association estimates that 20 percent of all new teachers leave the profession within three years because they feel overwhelmed and don't get the guidance they need at the beginning of their career.
How can you make sure your prospective school won't leave you twisting in the wind? Just as it's important for job seekers to research a company's culture and mission to find the right fit for them, so too should new teachers do their homework to find a school environment that will allow them to flourish.
"It's important for [new teachers] to interview the people they're interviewing with to see if there's a good match," says Sally Zepeda, a former teacher and current professor of educational administration and policy at the University of Georgia.
So before you sign that contract, follow these steps to get the real scoop on your prospective workplace.
Find out about help for new teachers
If you're a beginning teacher, being in charge of a classroom can be overwhelming. During your interview, ask about mentoring programs or other systems for helping new teachers get acclimated to their jobs.
"Our school has a program where you're paired with a 'buddy teacher,'" says Zac Rantz, a high school teacher in Nixa, Mo., who has been teaching for six years. "They can help you understand paperwork and forms. In a lot of districts, you're on your own."
Determine your out-of-class duties
Many school systems require teachers to perform non-teaching tasks, like monitoring students during lunch or sponsoring an extracurricular club -- adding hours to your workday. Your principal should be able to tell you whether these kinds of duties are mandatory, though she may not be able to say what assignment you'll get.
As a first-year teacher, be prepared for a less-than-enjoyable job, like overseeing detention. "The big kahunas usually get first dibs, while the beginning-year teachers get the leftovers," Zepeda says.
Gauge the principal's work style
Teachers' jobs are much easier when they have a principal who supports them without being overly restrictive. But how do you determine this before taking the job? Pay attention to the way your interview is structured, says Danny Drew, a junior high teacher for the past four years in Heber City, Utah.
"If it's done right, you'll be interviewed by teachers and administrators," Drew says. "If only by administrators, that's a warning. You may have a dominant vice principal or principal who wants to micromanage everything. You need to know teachers are supporting the principal in the hiring decision they're making."
Read the school's report card
These documents can tell you a lot about a public school's academic performance, listing what percentage of students at the school passed standardized tests in reading, math, science and more.
When looking at these reports, keep an eye out for the phrase "adequate yearly progress," or AYP. This term is from the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and refers to the school's progress toward proficiency on state standardized tests. Schools that don't make AYP within a certain number of years are subject to corrective action -- which may include a complete reorganization of the school.
"It's like probation," says Drew. "You don't want to join a school on probation [because] you'll probably lose your job in a few years." You can find your prospective school's report card by going to your state's Department of Education Web site.
Get the scoop on parents
Parents who care about their child's education can provide an amazing amount of support for teachers, says Meri Delapa, an elementary school teacher in Linden, N.J., since 2000.
"The school I'm in has very good parent involvement," Delapa says. "I'm not responsible for buying cupcakes and juice out of my own pocket for class parties. And if I do a take-home project, the assignment always [gets completed]."
To help gauge parent involvement, ask if there's a parent-teacher association, and talk to other teachers in the school if possible. "They'll give you a better perspective as opposed to asking the school district," Rantz says.
Mingle with the community
It's important to know if your prospective school is seen as a respected institution or an ineffective mess. Talking to people away from campus can reveal a lot about the public's opinion of the school.
"Go have breakfast at a local restaurant and lunch at another restaurant," Zepeda says. "Talk to people. Hang around the grocery store. There are lots of ways you can find out about the public's perception." You may even want to talk to a local realtor -- they can identify the best (and worst) schools in town.