home is where the heart is

this weekend, mark and i were on a mission. we met in the san francisco area for a long weekend together with the sole purpose of finding a place to live when we move here at the end of june.

with perfect timing, mark received his letter of acceptance as a transfer student to sonoma state university in beautiful rohnert park, california last wednesday, so we were able to approach our home search with a better understanding of where he would be attending school. coupled with the knowledge that i would need relatively easy access to one of the area airports (actually, there are a few more that i now know are within a reasonable distance), we headed off to look for the perfect place to live.

here are a few things that we learned in our searches this weekend:

1. apartments within the city limits of san francisco are very difficult to obtain. there are far more people wanting to rent than there are places to rent.
   
2. many places within san francisco expect you to provide "renter's resume" (seriously, printed out as if you were applying for a job) including a list of previous landlords as references and your credit and salary information used to compare you to other potential renters


3. looking for an apartment an ENTIRE six weeks in advance is sooner than most landlords expect. apparently, its normal to sign a lease that starts a week or two later
   
4. the rental prices with san francisco neighborhoods and sometimes be directly correlated to the amount of sun that neighborhood receives


5. the price to space ratio is much higher than in chicago. on average, somewhere on the order of 2:1


6. there was little chance that we were going to live with the city limits - and we were okay with that

we (or i should say, i) started the weekend hoping that we would find a lovely home in the north bay, just over the golden gate bridge. perfect, i thought, as i searched for for apartments in san rafael, larkspur and novato within our "price range" - just 20 minutes north of san francisco, and 30 minutes south of ssu. plus, the weather is generally a little warmer after you cross the bridge, which was a huge plus, in my book. unfortunately, my dreams were dashed as we drove up to the first appointment and looked at the community. it was old and unkempt - there were bugs and cobwebs inside, the screens were bent and often gaping (explaining how the critters entered), and although the view of the mountains was fabulous, it just wasn't going to do. mark could tell that the other rental properties weren't going to provide us with the amenities and services that we were hoping for, but i was hopeful, and insisted that we venture to a few more places to before calling it quits.

by saturday afternoon, i didn't know what to think. the only nice place we had seen was just outside of sonoma, and i didn't want the long drive in to the airport (i'm not the biggest fan of a commute), however, was equally insistant that mark's drive to school not be terribly long either. the combination was NOT working.

thankfully, mark had done a lot of research over the past few months on apartments in the area, and had printed out brochure upon brochure on apartment communities in the area. we were able to use his list to find an almost new apartment community in the city of vallejo, about 30 minutes northeast of san francisco (on the way to napa), and about 45 minutes from mark's school. we were able to take advantage of a great special offer on a 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit, which we both immediately liked, and are excited that we can check a huge thing off our "san francisco to do list"!

finding a new place to live is never easy, and nothing is ever quite perfect. what will make it so, is the love that surrounds you in that place - the joy and laughter that turn a house into a home. as i remain here in san fransico after mark has returned to chicago, its funny that i'm finding myself a little homesick given that "home" will actually be "here" in just a few weeks.

i know that when we move, i'll be leaving pieces of my heart in chicago, but there's no doubt in my mind, that home for me will always be where mark is.

mark at his new school taking an apartment-finding break for a latte and cafe au lait at rose's cafe
model living room for our new vallejo, ca. apartment

quality friday: reuniting

this has been a whirlwind of a week....

on monday, i left for vancouver for my final tandem trip - except that this time, rather than being the observer as in previous work trips, my performance was being evaluated throughout the four days we were at this customer site.

vancouver was amazingly beautiful (another post to follow with details on the city and my visit) and i left with great hopes that i'll be returning soon. i left vancouver and headed straight to san francisco, where mark flew in to meet me on friday. our plan is to find our new home here this weekend. and we're working hard to do so (expect yet another post with the weekend adventures)!

before mark got into town, however, i got to spend an evening and the following morning reuniting with an old friend, who now lives near san francisco. vlada was my roommate for two years in college, where our friendship deepened, and she was a bridesmaid in my wedding, five and a half years ago. although we haven't spent much time together in the recent past, getting together this week was a wonderful reminder of how blessed i am to have her in my life.

in true vlada-fashion, she ran to greet me with a smile a hug and a kiss on the cheek, as we met for dinner. and as we caught up on each other's lives late into the night at her home in palo alto (over our bowls of ice cream, each wrapped up in blankets:), i couldn't help but feel as though no time had passed between us. we were able to pick up right where we left off - discussing our families, our thoughts, our plans and our dreams. i was immediately reminded of how intelligent, thoughtful, considerate and kind she is, and has always been. the next morning, after we dropped her fiance, michal, off at school, we even got to do a little shopping for her upcoming wedding in august.

thanks for a quality friday of reuniting, vlada! i'm looking forward to lunch in san francisco tomorrow, and for the mark-and-vlada reunion. but more importantly, i'm comforted to know that amongst the changes and uncertainties of moving to a new city, i'll have a the familiar face of a dear friend to help make it all a little easier.

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photos added sunday, may 20th....

audrey and vlada in front of a mission district mural

vlada, audrey and mark in front of the mission dolores church, on our way to indulge in delicious homemade ice-cream in exotic flavors coffee toffee, salted caramel, roasted banana, balsamic strawberry and cherry almond (we each tried two flavors!)

quality friday: achieving your goals

today was a wonderful reminder to me of how important it is to set goals, and how amazing it feels when you achieve them....

during the fall and winter of 2006, mark and i spent a lot of time talking about our future, about how we envisioned the next few years would unfold, and about when we thought we would start trying to add to our family. we made decisions, and mapped out timelines. we knew where we were headed and how we would get there. and we took comfort in the plans we were making, finally enjoying the feeling that we sorting ourselves out and figuring out where life was leading us.

then, in early 2007, our carefully mapped out plans began to shift as i was presented with a job opportunity that promised to change our life as we knew it. although we felt that the decisions we made were the correct ones for us, it was strange to so quickly depart from all of those well-made plans. as we've struggled and grown throughout this experience, i believe that we've also learned that not everything has to change as a result of my new gob and our upcoming move. we can still work towards our goals - accepting that sometimes we might need to reset them, while other times we may be able to find ways to work through and around our circumstances to continue to try to achieve those goals.

near the top of my list of things to i wanted to accomplish this year, was to run the chicago marathon. as it came time to register, i started to get nervous that it was too much of a commitment to, not only train for 26.2 miles, but to also have to consider the cost of traveling back to chicago to participate in it - not just for myself, but for mark as well. so i let go of this goal, let the registration close. i immediately found myself regretting it, wishing that i hadn't let the opportunity pass.

thankfully, i got another chance. this morning, i was able to take advantage of a special opportunity presented by the chicago area runners association and am now officially registered for the 30th anniversary of the largest marathon in the country. i've taken the first big step, and have set my sights on the goal!

then, just a bit later in the day, a colleague of mine stopped by to drop off a fund-raising check towards my race participation this weekend. this person had been mentioning for weeks that she wanted to support me, and had asked me for the details of making a donation on more than one occasion. as the end of the week (and end of my fund-raising efforts) approached, the subject wasn't breached again, and i figured that she had either forgotten all about it, or changed her mind.

as it turns out, neither was the case. she had decided to wait until the last day that she would see me for a specific reason. as she stopped by to drop off her donation, she said "i just wanted to make sure that you reached your goal". friends - this wonderfully sweet and amazing woman made an extremely generous donation to ensure that i did just that.

and finally, at the end of the day my company received notice of the approval of our first in a series of diagnostic tests that will help position us as leaders in molecular diagnostics. the results of years of hard work were finally felt today!

how's that for a day of setting and achieving goals?

why me?

that's the question that many women ask when faced with a breast cancer diagnosis.

why me? how will i deal with this? how will my cancer impact my family? will i survive? what treatments are available to me?

for the women asking these questions, y-me is there to listen to their concerns, help ease their fears, and lend a helping hand in any way they need.

the y-me national breast cancer organization's mission is to ensure, through information, empowerment and peer support, that no one faces breast cancer alone. they provide programs and services that are available free of charge to anyone who needs them. Y-ME has the only 24-hour hotline staffed entirely by trained breast cancer survivors who are trained to provide information and support to anyone touched by breast cancer, with interpreters in 150 languages.

on mother's day this sunday, i will be participating in the 2007 y-me race to empower, benefiting this wonderful organization. i'd love to have you support me - or join me, if you'd like!

p.s. - here's another way to support breast cancer detection!

of weddings and showers

this weekend marked our official entry into wedding season, 2007! last night, we attended mark's cousin, elizabeth's wedding - the first of a few that we'll get to enjoy this year - and this afternoon, i attended ann-marie's lovely bridal shower.

and so in true wedding fashion, i'd like to propose a toast to this season of love and marriage....a toast to all this old, new, borrowed and blue!

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packnett/burzynski wedding

yesterday, mark, leslie and i hopped into the car for my second road trip of the week (see note below) to elizabeth and joe's wedding in madison, wisconsin. the ceremony was intimate and lovely, and the reception overlooked lake mendota, on the university campus where the bride and groom met.

the whole experience was enjoyable - it was a wonderful time of reconnecting with family, of enjoying each other's company, and of reuniting.

the family together

burton and mark could be brothers, don't you think?

kim and audrey

dancing to "at last" by etta james (not dinah washington:)

the lovely bride...

...and groom in their first dance as husband and wife.

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amo's shower

i absolutely loved ann-marie's coffeehouse-themed bridal shower, and had a great time this afternoon. the whole thing was so well coordinated - from the coffee and espresso - to the scones (which i must add, were served with an AMAZING raspberry butter), biscotti and mini-muffins - to the coffee mug shower favors!

congratulations ann-marie and david! i'm looking forward to your wedding, too!

the brunch club celebrating ann-marie!

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here's my note on the other road trip of the week, taken on wednesday to the vera bradley outlet sale. since melissa so accurately described our adventure, i'll just point you here for the photos and full story:)

i will, however, comment that i found myself fully immersed in crazyville, and had my own bout of craziness during which i decided that it was absolutely appropriate for me to purchase a baby bag for myself. crazy because i have no baby, nor is there is one on the way. crazy because i wanted this bag so badly that i actually stopped in front of a couple debating whether or not they wanted to purchase it, politely waited for them to decide, and then grabbed it an nearly ran when they said i could take it. crazy because i'm giddy just thinking about the day when i'll be able to sport this sleek bag on one shoulder, with baby malone in tow (or "in tote" - whichever you prefer:)!

at least the other purchases for myself were items that i can actually put to good use at this point in my life. in fact, here's how i've used each of them this week!

microfiber wristlet: debuted at elizabeth and joe's wedding

miller bag and matching travel pouch: accompanied me to the gym

tote and matching zip id case: carried shopping, and to amo's shower

resolved....FINALLY

for those of you who have been privy to my venting in frustration over a "compensation issue" at my job for the past months, i'm happy to report that as of yesterday, the three (yes, THREE) errors that occurred in my pay processing are now corrected in the system.

seven-and-a-half months later, i can now smile and be done with it!

oh, and by the way, i was "applauded for my tenacity" surrounding this issue. and apologized to, profusely. sigh.