packing up and heading out

there is big change on the horizon for marko and i. for those of you that don't know, marko was laid off from his job the week that i stopped working at mine. it didn't come as a surprise, as we knew that business wasn't doing so great. he and a few others were given severance packages, with budget cuts being cited as the reason. it has worked out well having him at home, and so far finances are the same as always, so we have been weathering it pretty well. then last friday we were given notice on our apartment. turns out the owner has not only decided that he wants to sell, but has found a buyer as well. july 1st is the big day we have to be out by. these two things coupled with the fact that we have a newborn at home and you would think stress would be at the top of our feelings list, but so far we have both managed to stay pretty calm.

today marko had an interview for a job that he thinks he would really enjoy, and it went well, so well that within the hour they were calling his references. keep your fingers crossed that he gets a call in the next week offering him a position. it would be a relief to have one thing crossed off the list.

the other item i am beginning to think might be a bit more challenging. we have been to see 4 places so far. 2 of them were the grungiest, smelliest, most disgusting places one could imagine, and the rents were 1500 and 1600, plus utilities! one other was beautiful but too small, and there were many people filling out applications. the fourth place was one that we went and saw last night. when we got to the house there was a for sale sign out front, a warning sign that it probably wasn't the best bet for a long term situation. when we asked about it though we were told that they had decided to take the house off the market and that the sign would be coming down, so we went in and had a look. it was everything we were looking for, laminate floors throughout, new kitchen with brand new dishwasher and stove, huge sundeck off the kitchen, laundry and a large backyard for cohen to play in, and it was only 1300 (did i just say only??). we told him right away that we were interested and he seemed keen on having us take it, but said he would call us back today with a decision. so today came and we waited and waited and then waited some more, as the hours went on it became doubtful that it would be ours, yet we seemed so certain he liked us. tonight we phoned him and he said that he has changed his mind and he thinks he might keep it on the market...sigh, that's vancouver for you (and we looked the house up on the real estate pages to find out that they are asking 750 000 for it, the whole house is only 1900 sqft!), so we will keep looking. luckily we still have time on our side and hopefully something just as perfect will come along. it is just tough lugging two kids and the stroller all over town on public transportation often in the height of rush hour traffic to view places. for those of you living here keep your ears open for us, hopefully our place will present itself soon.

i look around this apartment which is much too small for us now and i am filled with both excitement at starting anew, and dread at having to pack it all up. one thing is for sure, wherever we end up i know it will finally have a plot of grass to call our own, it is time for that. i can't wait.

here are a couple of pictures of me with my babies, both taken today while playing around with the photobooth on my mac (hence the rather poor quality!)