Last July, John and I bought our first house here in Nashville!!! We had only been married for ten months, but we were literally about to EXPLODE out of our townhouse. Before we got married, we both had two fully furnished apartments/townhouses. Trying to cram as much of it as possible under one roof (plus wedding presents) was just not working. Also, our townhouse was in "the city" close to Vanderbilt, St. Thomas, Centennial and Baptist. You can imagine the noise from helicopters and sirens. Not to mention traffic. We were dying to move somewhere quiet, away from the city and where we could spread out a bit. So we decided it was time to start looking at houses.
We had the most wonderful realtor ever. (If anyone is in the market for a house in the Nashville area and needs a realtor, please let me know.) Since we were first-time home buyers, she was so thorough with us, always making sure to explain every detail of the whole buying process. We looked at about 10 to 15 houses total, but finally decided on one in West Nashville in a very family-friendly neighborhood. Our new house is a two-story brick house with black shutters and white columns. It's about 40 years old, so it has some character which we love and we are currently working to put our own touches on it (I'm sure I'll be blogging about that later!). While we still live in the city of Nashville, we are now away from the "city" part. Where we live now is very residential - no helicopters or sirens - but we are still just a 10 to 15-minute drive to all of the entertainment, restaurants, etc. of West End and Downtown which is nice.
Shortly after we moved in, we went to the Humane Society and got our first dog, Annie, a German Shepherd mix. As we were walking through the kennel looking at all of the dogs that were up for adoption, Annie was the only dog not jumping up and down and barking like crazy. This is what immediately drew us to her. After all, we were new to our neighborhood and didn't want to be THOSE neighbors with THAT dog. Sure enough, Annie has been the best dog ever - very sweet and docile. The neighbors love her, especially the kids because she's so nice and gentle.
Right about the same time we got Annie, I switched jobs. Before, I was working in HR for a healthcare consulting company located close to Downtown Nashville. When we moved, I realized my commute was going to double, so I started looking for jobs closer to where our new home would be. After interviewing for my current job on the day we closed on the house, I was offered the position the next week. The timing of starting my new job and moving could not have been worse! I had 3 days between my old job and my new job to finish unpacking (or at least try to put a big dent in it). Luckily, my mom and mom-in-law were here and were a HUGE help. Not to mention the friends that helped with moving. We could not have gotten it done without them.
I currently work in Recruitment (I'm the Recruitment Systems Administrator) for a hospital corporation headquartered in Brentwood. I am so excited that I do not have to get on the interstate to go to the office in the mornings anymore. Brentwood is about 6 miles from our house, and I can just hop on Old Hickory Blvd (2 lanes the whole way) and I'm there in about 20 minutes. The company I work for is wonderful and the people there are amazing. John is still the General Manager at a pro-audio company on Music Row. This month will mark his 3-year anniversary there.
This weekend, I am home alone while John enjoys a bachelor party/trip with some of his guy friends in Blue Ridge, GA. They are renting a cabin in the mountains and going white water rafting on the Ocoee (spelling?). John loves white water rafting, so I know he'll have a good time. As for me, I've been shopping this weekend (unsupervised which is dangerous) and relaxing. John's mom is arriving mid-week to stay with us so that will be fun to have her here for a few days.
So...those are the high points for us over the past year and brings everyone up to present. New job, new house, new dog....Life is good and we feel very grateful and truly blessed. God has been good! We will be better about updating the blog going forward, so keep checking back for updates!
