Yes, tattoos hurt

Ben and I are working quickly to get this home ready to sell in 2 weeks. If I'm lucky, I'll close on this one before I HAVE to take the loan for the Ohio home. If not, we'll deal with it.

My agent here is fabulous and is going to help REVIEW the docs for the home in Ohio too.
She is going to list my house at $995,000 which should bring in a ton of interest - She believes we'll get offers for over asking. That would be great, but right now I am just thrilled that I may be getting the home in OHio.

Ben and I are both so darned excited we can hardly stand still. Which is good. SO much to do to make this happen.

I'll be around for at least a month and 1/2 maybe more. And I'll have reasons to fly back for get togethers!

Deb

I went to Ohio last week to see if there was a perfect home near my mom and sis, and there was.  I can't say we'll actually GET this house, but I'd like too. We'll just have to wait and see.

I know many of our friends read my blog and are likely wondering what they heck we are up to. Please forgive us for not talking to you sooner - this is a rather sudden decision. I am a bit amazed we are really doing it. Once we get past the getting ready to sell, we'll have more time to connect.

So now we are in full clean up, repair, remove, store, carpet, new paint mode. We will be putting our :::sniff::: home of 14 years on the market. It's not worth as much as it was a year ago. We owe more on our home equity line than we did a year ago. While we do love our home here, and our friends, and CA - we are ready to try something new.

I've been traveling back and forth from here to Ohio for years now - each time I would pick a different area of OHIO and look a few homes. Twice I looked into Columbus. Last trip I found a beautiful home on 2 acres that I liked a
lot.  I realized I did not want to live near Columbus because it is too much like a young California for us. I'll go there to find clients in high tech, but it's not where I wanted to live. I found a home I loved in Akron, but it was too expensive and out of the way.  In fact, all the homes I found were just too expensive when considering we want to buy a home outright, buy furnishings and make a few changes, then invest the remaining $.  Every trip, I would come back to my sister's home and my mother's home... Massillon, Ohio... and feel so at "home." Whether or not we get the home I just found, or another, I know we will be in a wonderful place to start again. Perfect timing, as in August we will be celebrating our 10th anniversary.

Why Ohio? And will we be in shock after living so long in California? 

Yes, it will be quite a change. The pace overall is slower. There are more people "in the middle" - not poor, not rich - and more people with extended families near by. There are seasons - with GLORIOUS tree colors in the fall and thick warm summers with thunderstorms.  Winter... snow... I have not lived in snow since I was 20. And for the first time, I am excited by it. We already have a ski trip planned with my sister and brother in law. The doggies will LOVE running through the snow. I'll learn to relax and let winter set the tone for spring. I remember as a little girl the excitement of the first flowers and the slow magical change from winter to spring to summer. I can't wait to snuggle Ben as the first snow falls in our new home!  We will find new places we love to go and friends. And with both Ben and my family there, we will finally have a family life outside ourselves.I've already met a couple wonderful designers from the area. And there is so much to explore.

We will still work as HOPPING MEDIA. We will still have our same emails and cell phones. We will continue to work with clients as we always have, just from a different place on the earth

I have found a home in OHIO I would love to buy and live in . It's 15 min from my mom and sis. It is the perfect mix of inside and outside and has many guest rooms for our friends to come and visit.

new entry in FIVE MINUTE MEMORIES

My sis called while I was in Mansfield - my niece had her car towed in Columbus and could not cash to get it out.

Yea, I bought a bottle for $6.99

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Wallpaper at BEN's aunt barbs

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