Ready to go Home

I've been on the road for almost a week. I left Washington, DC on Friday. Took my first ever solo train ride here in the States from DC to Baltimore to get to BWI. The train was delayed by almost half an hour, but I built in a two hour window before my flight. The flight to Grand Rapids was non-stop, which is always awesome. I actually arrived almost half an hour before my dad was expecting me, so I had to wait a few minutes for him to come get me. Luckily I have a nice new down coat so waiting wasn't a problem. It was actually kind of enjoyable after the stale plane air.

The weekend was slightly crazy because I got shuffled back and forth between my family and my in-laws. Or, to be fair, I chose to be shuffled back and forth. But it was awesome to see everyone again. Well, I didn't get to see my sister, but I'll see her at the end of February since she's coming to live with us for three weeks. It was so good that I told my mom to turn around when she was dropping me off at the airport. Unfortunately, I had to continue on to Portland, OR for a business trip, so not going wasn't an option.

The business trip has been good too, though. I got to hang with some of the best minds of our organization and listen to them strategize. The best part was that I actually knew what they were talking about, after only four months of immersion in the subject. The only curveball for the week was an impromptu job evaluation. The good, the bad, and my supervisor's expectations for the future. At the end of the day, I think they're satisfied with my work but not quite ready to believe that I might actually have something concrete to contribute besides my awesome organizational capabilities and up to date technological skills. I'm not sure if it's my age or because I don't have a masters degree yet. Oh well, I'll just have to work harder to convince them that I'm smart and have something to say that might actually be helpful.

I fly back tomorrow afternoon and arrive back in DC around midnight. I can't wait to see my husband and my cat. Five days is fine, but seven is just a little too much to be away from home, at least when it's for work.

If I had a bedroom to decorate...

I have been reading Un-blog-evable's, "If I had a [room] to decorate..." posts. The latest in the line was a bedroom. I thought it was really interesting, so I'm going to follow suit. However, since I already have a bedroom to decorate, I think my challenge to myself will be... how would I decorate that bedroom if I had unlimited funds (not to mention I'd want us to own our own place first).

Paint from the Natura Bejamin Moore line and wooden floors from here.

This beautiful brown rug and green curtains from Target.

Bed from Anthropologie found here with a white comforter set from The Home Decorating Company.

An awesome refurbished green dresser and these cool twisty wooden tables from vivaterra as end tables.

As for decorations, I'd start with these green tiffany lamps for the bedside tables and this hanging lamp.

On top of the dresser, I'd love some candles.

On the walls, I'd hang several of these frames, with this artwork in it.

Feeling Safe

Every person has a right to feel safe in their home. I no longer feel safe in mine. My DH and I came home today, to find a few things strewn about the living room, confined to the area in front of the TV. There was a drawer hanging open in our outgoing table. At first we couldn't figure out if the cat had knocked stuff down, until we realized that our Wii was gone. The cat couldn't have run off with that. Then we saw the bathroom window open and the screen missing, that's when it hit us. We'd been robbed.

My husband promptly called the police, and when he finally got through to the dispatcher, it took almost no time at all for a very nice gentleman to show up at our door. Now, we don't live in the best part of town, not by a long shot. Our car was stolen one day ago last year from right in front of our building in broad daylight. But I've never felt like I was in any danger once I was safely behind my double locks.

Apparently the readers for water and electricity are directly below our bathroom window, and it was a simple task to climb up the boxes to our second-story window. That's how they got out too, because our door was still locked when we came home. I'm just glad that I didn't come home directly after work, but stopped at Barnes and Nobles on the way home. What if I'd been at home when they broke in?

The worst part is, it all makes no sense. They took our Wii, some subway cards, a few quarters, and one of the two Wii remotes. Oh, and the empty ring boxes that our wedding rings had come in (clearly we were wearing the rings at the time). But we had our digital camera sitting out on the table, by our two desktop computers that weren't touched. My jewelry is safe (and they ran right by my engagement ring which is in the soap dish in the bathroom). For a thief, he or she clearly wasn't very prepared or thorough.

What this all boils down to, however, is that being at home doesn't seem safe to me anymore. But I have the wedding to worry about right now, without having to worry about finding an apartment or moving.

Has there been a time when you didn't feel safe, how did you handle it?