I know I'm obsessed but...

Guess what I saw on my google reader tonight? One of the blogs I love to read posted about their trip to...Charleston! Look at the pretty pictures that she took! I just got so excited.

Okay, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

A Post About Mr. John Savage (and the awesomeness thereof)

We got some pretty fantastic news today. Wanna hear? John, who got back from his interview with Amazon yesterday, was made an job offer by Amazon today!

Well okay, they called saying they are putting the official offer together, but to let him know that they do indeed want to hire him! So we are technically still waiting for the official info to come via email (you better believe you can't pry John away from his inbox right now), but the good news is that they said it will be here later today! I am really keeping my fingers crossed for an excellent offer. I think it will be, but you know. ;)

John is beyond thrilled. He said the in person interview with them was pretty hard, and he wasn't sure how he had done. I didn't really take much stock in his nervousness though because he is very self-effacing, and doesn't really seem to realize how smart and awesome he is. Luckily I happen to know both very well (hello, why do you think I married him? I have a good eye, that's why!)

So although there is a possibility that they could send a terribly lackluster offer and we can't take it, I kinda doubt it. And although we may still get an offer from Booz Allen Hamilton, John is so in love with this job and what he would be doing, I doubt anything would sway him (except for a bad offer). We already know that they are willing to give us relocation assistance (not sure how much, hoping for the full pack! A girl can dream...) and a signing bonus. I thought only basketball players got those, so I'm pretty stoked.

Okay, I'm sorry for the braggy nature of this post. I'm just so excited and SO proud of John. This past week was hard on us both, but he did it and I am so happy that people are able to see how amazing he is. Good job sweets!

Start making your reservations to visit us in Charleston now. You know we'll only be a few minutes from the beach right?? :)

Is this blog starting to sound like a moving-travelogue to anyone else besides me? Sorry about that. It just happens to be what is occupying my entire brain these past few weeks/months. So until it's all over, I hope you don't mind the moving updates.

We got our final addendum (woo-hoo!) and I consider us officially moving now. They did the home inspection today. It turned into a very frustrating situation because the guy broke part of our faucet and then just left it on the counter. When I called him about it and told him that I felt it was unprofessional, he got very annoyed with me and then asked to speak with my husband. So then I went from annoyed to furious. He also told me that it was an easy fix and just to look under the other sink and figure it out and fix it myself. I was not impressed at all and told my realtor so, and she was pretty mad as well. I know I should call his company, but at this point, I feel like I have so little energy to waste of people like that. I have enough going on. So hopefully this guy is right and it's an easy enough fix for John to do, because I don't even want to mess with it. Blah. Hope the appraisal goes better (whenever that is).

In other news, John got home last night, and today is gone again for his interview in South Carolina. It was nice to have him home, even if it was for a short time. The only sad part about it was that he was so uptight and anxious the entire time he was home because he was thinking about the interview still to come. He said it's because he still really has his heart set on this job. He said he wasn't as anxious about the other interview in Maryland because although he cared, he didn't care as much. (His interview in Maryland went really well bytheway. They said they would let us know either by Friday or Monday by the latest). So John's big interview is tomorrow and then he will be home again late Thursday night. I will be so happy to have him home.

Other than that, I have been here with Maddy, hanging out, trying not to go to D.I. so that I don't buy stuff that we would have to move. :) I need some chocolate, and a virgin martini. Yum.

Chick Flick Anyone?

So as we speak, John is in Maryland in his hotel room. And I am here, with my tiny girl hanging out watching DragonTales (I kinda hate this show). He will be back tomorrow evening, but I still miss him. I so look forward to when he gets home everyday. He usually comes home and Maddy climbs all over him in adoration for the next few hours, and I have a bit of a break to get things done or relax or play with them. Single momdom is not for me I tell ya. My Mom was a single mom for a while and heaven knows how she did it. I've always admired the moms that have to do it. And here I am sad after just one day. Does it count that I am at least aware of how pathetic I am? :)

So I guess I will make tonight a girl movie night. I'll catch up on all of my Masterpiece Theater movies, or check our streaming Netflix for a suitably girly movie. Anyone want to join me? I'll provide the popcorn, you bring the red vines. :)

(p.s. we're supposed to get our final addendum papers either tonight or tomorrow. But I'm not holding my breath because I feel like I've already been holding it for three weeks straight.) but I'm still hopeful.

All the Latest Mumbo Jumbo

A lot has been happening and will continue to happen in the Savage house lately. I seriously feel like this past week went by in a blur. This is probably due to the fact that this weekend went by really really fast. We posted a bunch of furniture on the local newspaper's website classifieds, and sold a bunch of furniture that we didn't want to take with us. Saturday was basically taken up with phone calls from people, people picking stuff up, and us helping them put stuff in their trucks. (and by us I mean mostly John and his manly muscles).

We also packed up our sewing room for the most part, and the huge storage room that is connected to it. We have already packed our under stairs storage previously. I also packed up some of Maddy's toys, and John packed up all of our videos. Our garage is slowly filling with boxes.

It's probably a good thing we did have some extra money, because we had to buy John some new suit pants (his others were torn and too small), and new suit pants are not cheap. We also had to get him some interview clothes for his interview with Amazon, as they ask you not to wear a suit to the interview. (kinda weird, but kinda cool). So we still wanted him to look nice but pretty casual. Unfortunately I realized that I don't buy John enough clothes that fit into that category, and his work pants were getting ratty too. I promise that I buy him clothes. He's just hard on them! So it was nice to have some extra money (while it lasted lol).

So John, in between moving stuff, has been studying, packing his suitcase, and getting really nervous about his interviews. Luckily the other stuff has kept his mind off of things for the most part (an unexpected benefit of selling stuff). I know he will do great, but I can understand his anxiety. I would be nervous to fly somewhere I didn't know and then have people analyze whether I'm smart or not. But luckily John is way smarter than I am, so I know he will do great. The only thing that is a little sad about his first interview (in Maryland on Tuesday) is that he will have to drive two hours from the airport. That seems kinda crazy to me. I forget that not everyone lives pretty close to an airport. Luckily a friend suggested he upgrade and reserve and pay for a GPS himself and so that has given John some piece of mind (thanks Lindy!). All I know is that I'm going to miss him like crazy this week. I don't like sleeping without him here, and I don't like not having something to look forward to at 5:30 every night when he comes home. Ah well, I'm very grateful that these companies are flying him out for interviews. Please keep him in your prayers, we would really appreciate it!

Okay well this has been a long post. Mostly I'm just thinking how moving is becoming more real. I'm realizing the amount of work that it takes to move again, and while it can be overwhelming, I'm really not panicking. We're just going slowly and taking it a room at a time. Mostly we are packing stuff that you can't see and that we don't use all that often. Mostly because we STILL haven't heard that the buyers have signed the papers for sure. Our realtor said that they agreed on a price with their buyers, and were just deciding on dates. So with that we are moving forward with the confidence that it's going to work out (is that crazy? probably, but I was going to sell stuff anyway).

So that's our latest word. What's your's?

This made us laugh

Hopefully it makes you smile too.

Merryweather, Eat Your Heart Out

You remember the three good fairies in Sleeping Beauty? Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather? Remember how they weren't allowed to use their wands while raising Sleeping Beauty? The finally on her 16th birthday they took them out to make her a cake because without the magic it turned out crazy?
Like this?

I present to you, my cake. Which turned out....well, I'll let you see for yourself. Caramel cake for book club. Ugly, but oh so delicious.


Do you like the concaveness of the middle of the cake? The chunk that fell off the side? Even better, when I put on the frosting, that whole portion of the cake fell off. LoL. But like I said, it tasted good. That's all that counts? And I didn't even need a broomstick to hold it up. Take that Merryweather.

Because I Love You

Because I love you, I am going to tell you how to make the best caramel apple you will ever have in your life. Remember how I told you that I had an apple pie caramel apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory? Remember how you drooled and then cursed me from your computer chair? Hate me no more. I present to you, the DIY (recipe) way to make your own.
Here's the very simple rundown. First, (don't laugh) get some sandpaper. No, I'm not kidding. I heard through the insider grapevine that RMCF (rocky mountain chocolate factory) sands their apples so the caramel sticks better. So I tried it. And it works!

Step two: melt some caramels. I used
these kinds. No unwrapping for twenty minutes required. You melt these like the package tells you. Then cover your apples (one bag covers three Granny Smith apples well). Put the apples onto parchment paper and into the freezer until they are not sticky anymore.

I should also point out that while the apples were in the freezer you should mix together a bowl of sugar, cinnamon, brown sugar, a little bit of nutmeg (it doesn't take much) and a tiny tiny bit of cloves (get it, apple pie spices!) Mix it together until it tastes good. That's how I work in my kitchen.
Melt some white chocolate chips. Now I want you to listen carefully. I do NOT like white chocolate. But I love these apples. So trust me on this even if you don't like white chocolate--these are delicious. Okay, whew. Now, melt the white chocolate with a smidge of lard for smoothness. Melt it on low heat. This is important. If your chocolate is too hot it will melt your caramel that is already on your apple.

Take the white chocolate dipped apple and cover it in the sugar spices you previously mixed. Put the apple back on your parchment paper and slide it into the freezer for a few minutes.
Then cut it up and watch while the whole family enjoys (and hides from the camera).



Kisses and wild joy made follow.Cute big eyed babies will stare at you in amazement of your culinary prowess.
General good feeling will be hard to suppress.

Now go, cook, and get addicted likewise. But don't say I didn't warn you.
and a pretty picture of my tulips. Just cause I can.

You Know What I Want To Do?

I want to write about random useless stuff. Instead of life-changing stuff. But I will briefly update the major stuff. We were supposed to hear back from one company on Friday (the Georgia one) and didn't. We were supposed to hear back from Amazon if they would be able to speed up the process and fly John from Maryland to South Carolina and didn't. We are still waiting on the official itinerary from Booz Allen Hamilton. Our buyers asked if we could move our closing date up (gulp) to the 16th of May, because they got a good offer and need to be flexible on dates with their buyers. But other than that, no word if they are yet under contract.

Do you notice a pattern??? Me too. It's called WAITING. It's called being at everyone else's mercy, and feeling like we have no control over our life. And we hate it. It has put a damper on our weekend. It would be a lie to say it hadn't. But luckily the sun was out today, and we were able to get out in it for a bit, so that sure helped. But seriously, we can't pack because we have to keep showing the house (which we did yesterday). We can't make plans for when or where we are moving because we still don't know. I can't even have a garage sale yet because I want to sell some big stuff and the house would look weird without a few of my couches. So....we're just at a standstill, made worse by the fact that we know things are ABOUT to possibly happen. Aghhhh! Okay, I feel better. :)

Okay, that was longer of an update than I even wanted to type. Sorry. So can I just write some stupid meme about random stuff just for fun? You're too good to me. :) This is just one I made up.


I Like: a hoodie sweatshirt after I've been swimming
I Know: that things will work out somehow, someday
I Feel: a little tired
I Eat: fresh raspberries on vanilla ice cream. It's my treat of choice these past few days
I Worry: too much. Obviously.
I Laugh: at Maddy's antics. Or when she copies what I'm doing and I notice it belatedly.
I Crave: um, raspberries and ice cream lol! No, how about some call backs!
I Lose: lip glosses regularly. John lost his phone, but that's his meme.
I Obsess: about keeping my house picked up lately, but that's just because we are selling it.
I Care: about how my friends are doing. But I hate talking on the phone, so I feel like a bad friend because I don't call people or carry my phone around and pick it up. But I like texting!
I Wish: facebook never existed. It wastes my time, it lost me a friend, and yet I still like it. Something's wrong with me.
I Buy: Gain detergent. Because one of my friends is obsessed with it, and got me hooked.
I Sell: (or will sell) a few couches before we move. We have too many, and I'm kinda sick of them. Plus I don't want to move them. So I'll sell them and save up for a couch I like.
I Fantasize: about projects. About kitchens with white cabinets. About warm weather that involves swimming. About moving. About having another baby to snuggle. About snowcones from Maryland (snowballs as they call them). I like to daydream, can you tell?
I Never: mean to hurt people's feelings.
I Cook: quite often. Not necessarily all that well, but often. A for Effort.
I Sing: to Maddy to distract her. To myself in the shower--usually jazz or showtunes.
I Borrow: John's Ipod Touch to read books.
I Listen: to Maddy's stutter and feel helpless. But then I hear what she is saying and feel happy. It's kinda bittersweet lately.
I Snuggle: my Maddy, my John, my feather comforter.
I Stress: like I invented stress.
I Detox: never. But I should. I did get my hair done again (brunette it's good to be back) and it was so nice to have a few hours not able to do anything but sit and read magazines and get my scalp massaged.
I Smile: when John walks through the door.


there's my meme. Feel free to steal it. It was pretty fun. Happy Sunday everyone!

My Life in Numbered Form

Just here for a quick post. A few things have been happening lately.

First of all our realtor told us this morning that our buyers got an offer on their house. Still no word on whether they took it and are under contract, but I imagine that they are probably haggling on the price. So we're waiting to hear back on that.

Second, John got a call today from a company called Booz Allen Hamilton. I am fairly certain this is a company that a good friend of my family works for--and he was gracious enough to walk John's resume in for us. (I'm pretty sure it's the same company. If not, then we found it because I made John apply to every "Top 100 Companies to Work For" that CNN posted, and Booz Allen Hamilton is one of those companies). Either way, they called, and they are flying him out to Maryland for an interview! I am beyond thrilled, and John is also excited but I think I a little nervous, because they are renting him a car and he hates driving in places that he isn't familiar with. I can't say that I blame him, but I'm sure he'll do great! I'm just amazed that they are flying him out without a real phone interview. I'm really really proud of John and we feel really blessed by the interest he has been getting lately. Honestly we do.

Thirdly, his interview on Tuesday went pretty well we think. We're still waiting to hear back about that one. It's located in Georgia.

Fourth, Amazon is looking into flying John from his Maryland interview to their offices in South Carolina for that interview. Did I mention we feel blessed? Please keep your fingers crossed that this will work out because John really really wants that job. :) Me? Well I like just about any job.

Fifth, well the weather was gorgeous outside today and it made me so happy. Of course having over a couple of friends to chat and eat lunch on the deck might have helped. Summer, you are welcome here.

Random Ephemera

I had to read my last blog post to know what was last happening when I wrote. So let me update from last time. We decided that Connecticut was a lame idea (sorry to all you Connecticut lovers) because it's just too expensive and John would be commuting all of the time. No thanks. :)

Amazon contacted John again and said they would schedule his interview in 2-3 weeks as they are in the middle of their annual review. He also got a call from a company in Alpharetta Georgia who did a mini-interview on the phone and scheduled a technical interview for Tuesday. So that's the latest on that front. (that and we've shown the house a few more times)

What else is there to report? Well we ate Easter dinner at my sisters, and it was fun and delicious. We walked around the Gateway Mall (John works around there so he came during his lunch) and we had lunch, checked out the new Ipad (no surprise, John wants one!), and bought a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory apple pie caramel apple. Yum. Some days the simple pleasures are the best.

I've also cleaned the house several times, scrubbed my dining room chairs (because I'm too cheap to recover them), made some curry, taken a nap, read some books, tickled my toddler, ate too many jellybeans, bought some cute tiny glasses from the thrift store, and all of the other usual stuff.

It's funny--it doesn't sound all that busy, and yet I know that I've been busy. I think mostly because my mind is constantly on everyday things I have to do and then being preoccupied with the future. Patience...why does it have to be a virtue??

Oh, and before I forget, my Mom posted picture of Maddy's bedding. I've been too lazy and busy to take some myself. Check them out! And if you love the fabric as much as I did you can buy it for cheap on her etsy store or you can buy one of her cute projects she's doing with the fabric (think skirts, baby blankets, and pillows!--although she hasn't posted those yet because her husband is out of town with her camera--but they are coming soon!) I told her I'll probably be her biggest customer. So cute! In the next house I have big plans on how to put Maddy's room together into a sort of Mary Poppins-ish room without looking themey (hint, I've already bought some of these doll sized umbrellas in different colors).

It's pretty much going to be awesome. Thanks again Mom!

We didn't actually make the bedskirt out of this fabric because we didn't have time, but it would have looked cute!

My Mom made these curtains out of a sheet (from Walmart), the fabric, and giant ric rac! She's going to sell the ric rac on her etsy shop as well. Isn't it cute?? I want to put it everywhere now!

She showed me how to make the pillowcases as well. I love the fabric on the left--it looks like the tops of open umbrellas in person. So cute!

The colors in these photos are off because we had to take them with the window closed. But this still gives you an idea of the cuteness at least.

My favorite is of course the umbrella fabric itself. I can't wait to see the skirts and baby quilts my mom is going to make using the fabrics. She's got really reasonable prices for the quality of her work and the incredible quality of fabric. I'll let you know when she updates her shop with the goods! (oh and my other favorite part--the duvet cover has ric rac edging, can you see it in this picture? It's small, but it's there and it is such a sweet little detail. I love it! Also, my Mom made this to fit the ikea twin size duvet cover, which if you've ever bought one, you know they are not standard american twin size. I am trying to convince her that she should make custom ikea duvet covers because their patterns are sometimes boring and not high quality at all). Don't you think that's a great idea? Let me know what you think.

okay, that's enough of that. Hopefully next time I post I'll have some sort of exciting news. I like exciting news. :)

What the What?

I think John should take over this blog. His posts crack me up every time I read them. So that's why he's been posting more lately, because I enjoy a good crack up. (and I hate resizing the pictures to be 110% honest).

Anywho, things around here are quiet. A little too quiet if you get my drift. And by drift I mean that I would like our house to be sold (aka I want our buyers to sell their house) and I would like the company to finish setting up the details to do John's face-to-face interview and get back to him the details (no word yet on when or how or who or what or any other interrogatives), and I would also like to stop thinking about it like a crazy person, and lastly, I would like to forever and always refer to Maddy's stuffed animal by the full title of "Chris the build-a-cat" because it's funny. (also, why in the world does build-a-bear cost so much money? Does stuffing the animal in person make it that much more expensive than people stuffing it in China? What the what?) And you were sitting there wondering where the title of this blog post came into play. There ya go.

and yes, Maddy named the build-a-cat Chris all by herself. It was very random, as we do not know anyone that I can recall that is named Chris. So...yeah. I laugh everytime she calls her Chris. She fits right into our weird family. Maddy I mean. I guess the cat does too.

No but seriously, everything is hunky dory. We had a great day today actually. I define great day by me getting stuff cleaned and done, Maddy behaving in a generally acceptable manner, making real food for meals, laughing heartily at something, putting Maddy in time-out when she doesn't behave acceptably and her accepting her fate, nap-taking, and clean counters. Mostly it's the clean counters, let's be honest.

and yes, this is an actual photo of me. thanks for asking. well okay...technically it isn't. the stainless steel appliances gave it away didn't they?

I'll keep you updated on stuff. The latest thing job-wise today was that John had another recruiter call him, this time from Connecticut wanting to see if we would consider relocating there. Apparently the pay-rate for a job there (that would also require him to occasionally to travel into NYC and Jersey) is between $120,000-$160,000 a year. John's little ear's perked up when he heard that. But I put a damper on his spirits by pointing out that houses cost a gajillion dollars out there and he would be in terrible traffic for a gajillion hours. I don't really know if that's one hundred percent true...maybe there are towns nearby that aren't too expensive, but I'm kinda doubting it. So...we're kinda on the fence about that. What thinks you?

Okay, too many words. what the what, i need some wordiness restraint. Goodnight!

Easter Egging

John here again. Today was our Easter Egg Dyeing Day. Rather surprisingly, no eggs were broken in the making of this post.

Jenn demonstrates the technique for Maddy. Chris the Build-a-Cat looks on.
We got a Sparkle Egg kit, but it turns out a Sparkle Egg is not like a Shake-n-Bake chicken leg. So the first 3 eggs were mega-sparkly, and the last 9 had about one mini-sequin each.

Also the eggs are supposed to be room-temperature for the procedure, and ours were fresh from the fridge. Jenn is trying to hand-warm one here.
Shake it like a Polaroid picture.

I tried to do artistic close-ups like Jenn did with the flowers. Turns out there's more to it than "hold the camera really close".


Chris the Build-a-Cat is rockin' a Tinkerbell mini-skirt.


Maddy got a little too excited about the eggs. Chris the Build-a-Cat had the paper towels on standby in case of accidents.
Maddy LOVES this thing. She took it down with her a few minutes ago (10:30 pm) to hide behind so I wouldn't notice her escape. Lucky for her she had a good reason: dirty diaper. So the Easter Bunny won't skip our house after all. Whew.

She is way excited about a giant bunny breaking into our house - despite having run herself ragged at the McDonald's playland tonight, she still can't fall asleep. I have the same problem on Christmas Eve.
Some tender Daddy-daughter moments. I love this little girl.

But, those eggs aren't gonna dye themselves...