ARMs rock

As a former loan officer, I just want to take a moment to counter all of that crazy propaganda I keep hearing on the radio about how Adjustable Rate Mortgages are of the devil. Will and I have a 2-year ARM, and I just want everyone to know that our mortgage payment is going down as of June 1st. Praise be to God. That is the beauty of the ARM. Yes, some ARMs are awful loan products, and you should never use them. But others are totally appropriate and smart choices for certain home owners. So if you're in the market for a loan, don't close your minds to the adjustable end of the spectrum. You need to investigate all of your options. And feel free to hit me up for advice. Makes me feel useful.

The Fridge

I need to take a poll. It's about the fridge. The situation is this...we remodeled our kitchen two years ago and bought a black dishwasher and microwave to match our black and stainless steel oven. Our fridge is almond and was working great, so we just left it. A couple of weeks ago the ice maker decided to start dripping, creating an ice glacier in our ice bin. This happened three years ago and we had to replace it (while it was under warranty). So here comes the question...do we replace it again at the cost of $150 (the fridge is only 6 years old) or buy a black and stainless steel one to match our other appliances (at least $600). My real question is whether you think a potential buyer would be turned off by the mismatched appliances. Since we're only going to be here for another 14 months, I can live with the current fridge quite happily as long as the drip is fixed. I just want to make wise financial decisions and not continue investing more and more money in the house, knowing the market will not support selling at a price that will give us a worthwhile return. Thanks for your opinion.

Life as Usual

So we're back to life as usual. It's been an eventful three weeks. We went on vacation (built snowman, didn't die on skiis), had visitors (Amanda & Daniel), Will went to Chicago (for work), I went to Trinity (visited family). So now we're trying to get back into the routine of normal life. My mind is currently rebelling against that concept. I don't want to be responsible. Not interested in making dinner, washing dishes, doing laundry. But I'm sure I'll get used to the idea soon enough. I actually went to the grocery store and cooked a real meal last night (poached salmon--which was my first time poaching) and it wasn't such a bad time. But enough of that. Thought you might want to see some pictures from our blogging hiatus, so here you go.

And since they clearly thought it was funny to play with my camera while I wasn't paying attention, I want to make sure everyone shares in my laughter...

Well, I'm not dead

This is the position in which I spent much of vacation. This is me in stick form, sprawled out on a snow-covered mountain in varying degrees of consciousness. Notice all appendages still attached and in relatively normal alignment, though notably hypothermic.

New Hampshire, the magic kingdom

I must say, I don't understand all those crazy Yanks who say, "I hate snow. It's fun for one day and then after that, it's just dirty slush." Whatever. I'd like to banish them to a world without snow. Deep down, they'd hate it. I've spent my whole life in the south with the yearly threat of a half centimeter of accumulation that sends the whole world to the grocery store to pick up extra milk and bread (for milk sandwiches). Of course, that snow doesn't happen and I'm left with only disappointment.
But New Hampshire isn't like that. In March, they say it's gonna snow, and it snows. They say it's gonna be sunny, and it snows a little, and then the sun comes out. It's like extended Christmas. Where else in the world can Owen build an imaginary girlfriend to make out with? (I'm sure that picture wasn't posed) Where else can people hurdle themselves down a mountain with one or two boards strapped to their feet for at least 5 months out of the year? Sure, there are a lot of places like that...and their awesome.

God's Provision

In my Bible study, we are learning about the different names God is given in his Word. The last one that we studied was Jehovah-jireh, which translates "The Lord will provide." Not provide like, "ooh, I sure would love to have an i-phone," but more like "I need you to work in my life right now before I scream or cry or succumb to staring mindlessly at the television all day." And the first thing that popped into my mind to share with my Bible study was how God has always provided me with amazing friendships, no matter where I go. I have been blessed to be surrounded by incredible women in Chapel Hill, Winston-Salem, Santa Cruz, Norfolk, and I'm sure many cities to come. The three ladies with me above are some of my dearest friends here in Norfolk. Marybeth, Joanna, and Christianne have all blessed me in countless ways. If you don't have people like that in your life, I encourage you to make yourself vulnerable and allow God to shower them on you. It's not easy making friends. It brings out all of your insecurities. You stress about whether you're cool enough, whether they think what you said was stupid or lame, whether they'll ever want to hang out with you again because that story you just told was not nearly as funny as you thought it was. Who cares? Make a fool of yourself. It's totally worth it. Trust me.

Life or Death

My sister, Amanda, is an elementary school teacher and recommended the young adult novel, The Giver, so I read it earlier this week. Wonderful book. I don't care how old you are, you need to read this if you haven't. What led me to the blog though is the ending. I'm not going to give it away, but I will say that you could interpret it as a happy or sad ending. The author is very ambiguous. This reminded me of another ambiguous ending--Tim McGraw's song, Don't Take the Girl. If you've known Will and I long enough, you probably know that we have a ten year disagreement regarding this song. And now I want your opinion. Since I want you to be a well-informed jury, you'll find the lyrics below.

Don't Take The Girl

Johnny's daddy was taking him fishin', when he was eight years old. A little girl came through the front gate holdin' a fishing pole. His dad looked down and smiled, said we can't leave her behind. Son, I know you don't want her to go, but someday you'll change your mind. And Johnny said, take Jimmy Johnson, take Tommy Thompson, take my best friend Bo. Take anybody that you want as long as she don't go. Take any boy in the world. Daddy, please don't take the girl.

Same old boy, same sweet girl, ten years down the road. He held her tight and kissed her lips in front of the picture show. Stranger came and pulled a gun, grabbed her by the arm, said if you do what I tell you to, there won't be any harm. And Johnny said, take my money, take my wallet, take my credit cards. Here's the watch that my grandpa gave me. Here's the key to my car. Mister, give it a whirl. But please don't take the girl.

Same old boy, same sweet girl, five years down the road. There's going to be a little one, and she says it's time to go. Doctor says the baby's fine, but you'll have to leave. 'Cause his momma's fading fast, and Johnny hit his knees, and there he prayed, Take the very breath you gave me. Take the heart from my chest. I'll gladly take her place if you'll let me make this my last request. Take me out of this world. God, please don't take the girl.

Johnny's daddy was taking him fishin', when he was eight years old.

I'm not going to tell you who's on which side, no bias allowed. Does the girl die? No pressure, just know that one of us is going to be mad at you.