A house...

Well... this is an exciting post.

Rachel and I are house hunters.

We started by searching through many properties on the Internet.  (I know this really doesn't "officially" make us house hunters),  However:

There were many we either

1.) Didn't like
or
2.) were out of our price range.

A few months ago we looked at a nice little place in Canandaigua.  Unfortunately (at the time) we didn't have the means to buy the house at the time & someone placed an offer on it within ~1-2 weeks after we looked at.

I say at the time because it was zoned in the city of Canandaigua, which means no USDA loans and it was less than 1000 sq. ft.  That would've worked for us when we were first married, but with 1 little one here now & the possibility of more down the road, it wouldn't have made financial sense.

Our house (we hope)

About 2 weeks ago, we looked at a nice place 10-15 minutes from us.  Cuts down on my commute to work (by 5 minutes), and I don't have to use the Thruway! (no more tolls!)

House driveway (with garage)

Not too much land: 0.25 acres, with 1744 sq. ft.  A garage too: WOOHOO!  No more snow on the car in the morning, and no more chances of playing "car tag" with that nice turnaround.

View from the back

The inside: it has a lot of potential.  Structurally, it's good.  It just needs updating, a "personal" touch.  My wife being the fantastic homemaker she is, and me wanting to "learn" how to be more handyman like makes it perfect.
 

We loved it so much we decided to go through a 2nd showing with our fathers "ripping" apart from a structural standpoint.  Not too much they found wrong with it.  A cable that will need replacing soon.

Because of them not finding much wrong with it: we put an offer down.  Snag is it's a short sale.  Hopefully everything can go through smoothly and quickly.

We're praying that it will all work out!

"We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose"
-Romans 8:28-

A new ride & Valentine's Day

I'm still getting used to writing this blog.  Never know what format to write in... Ah well.

We got a nice new (okay... new to us) ride.  It was time to trade Rachel's VW Bug in for a more "family" car.  We got (more appropriately: Rachel got) a VW Jetta Wagon.  

Since she loves to name her cars, here is Betty Blue:

I am now personally kicking myself in the butt for not buying a beautiful Passat from this place when I had the chance but ah well.... live and learn.

It's so nice to have a day off from work!  

I took yesterday afternoon off to surprise my wonderful wife in the afternoon with flowers and chocolates.  I took a nice outfit to work to get spiffy.  

Funny how God has a sense of humour.  Rachel was trying to get the house nice & tidy and had my Valentine on the bar.  She was going to have a "spotlight" on it when I got home at 5.

She was happy to see me but bummed her surprise didn't turn out.  I know she wanted to get ready: so I left for an hour before we left and got the car all nice & shiny.



Last thing of the night: the Valentine's Day meal.  Off to our favorite restaurant hands down.  

We always have fried calamari as an appetizer on Valentine's Day.  We both got a chicken dish & it is the tenderest chicken ever.

For dessert? House special called Italian Twinkies.  It is basically house Italian Bread deep fried, rolled into a log & filled with a buttercream frosting.  Take that & roll it in sugar & cinnamon and sprinkle powdered sugar on top. 

Sorry... no pictures.  We should've taken the picture of this dessert.  Phenomenal.   

My journey into blogging!

Hello all (if anyone :-))

This is a start to the blog of "On the Road to Damascus".  The name of the blog is derived from scripture about St. Paul on the road to Damascus when Jesus appeared to him in Acts.  Why St. Paul?  A few reasons:

1.) All that he wrote that contributed to the New Testament are some of my favorite books of the Bible (but honestly: are there any bad ones?)

2.) He went from being a man that persecuted the Church, to a man that became an apostle for Christ.  He was personally redeemed by Christ.  Just his complete transformation and piety is quite incredible.

3.) (A minor reason, but still a reason).  My first name is not derived from any name in the Bible: Paul however happens to be my middle name.

Just a brief overview (in blog form), since I've never blogged before and really don't know about what to write...

First: a glimpse into the past two days.  I have once or twice: tried to make dinner for my darling wife.  She far surpasses me in the kitchen but isn't it nice to have a night off?  I tried my hand at cooking again from one of the cookbooks I gave her.

I made a olive/cheese "quickbread" and for the veggies, I cooked some pancetta along with green beans.

The main course was a fun one: chicken cooked together with apples, onions, mushrooms, with heavy cream and... CALVADOS!  First time I ever tried Calvados (strictly for cooking purposes :-))  Mmmmm... that has a good flavor.

I needed to call in her help a little for some things.  I must learn to prep my veggies before starting to cook!

Perhaps if I can get some pictures I will upload them in the next post.

My Family

A picture my sister-in-law took a while back: O God has been so good in my life!  Sometimes I don't feel like I repay him enough.