So our like big BIG moving day was Sunday, August 30th, my brother’s 19th Birthday. We worked our fingers to the absolute BONE that day and were up until at LEAST three in the morning. We had planned to leave on Monday, August 31st at like 6am. But as we fell onto the air mattress, we made a wise decision to park it for a day and just RELAX. I’ve outlined this day in a previous post so I won’t re-bore you.

Anyway, we DID relax but also had a LOT more to do than we thought. We got up pretty early on Tuesday, September 1st and started getting last minute crap together and packing the car. The animals were extremely anxious and worried. I was like at wits’ end. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt bitchier in my LIFE than those last few weeks before we moved, I was just so dern frazzled all of the time and trying to hold it together. It was a lot of pressure, we had a lot to do and a lot of people to say goodbye to. I had been holding back from getting emotional by just focusing on the task at hand. This was easy because there was a neverending list of tasks at hand to keep me composed. The closer we got to having no more tasks though, the closer I got to losing my shit. Kristyn’d been having a hard time with the “saying goodbye to everyone” part of leaving. Not that I hadn’t but it was really, really bothering her. So I stayed the straight guy while she fell apart and sometimes she stayed the straight guy while I fell apart. So this last day, we were both excited to get this show on the road already.

After we’d fit all we were gonna fit into the Relocube and packed all we were gonna take in the car, it was time to bring the animals out:

Here's a picture of our House with the Relocube next to it. That tiny cube holds the entire contents of our entire apartment here, haha.

Kristyn's walking Elvira out of the house for the last time. Things are going well...

Okay, one down, three to go. Elvira is a little worried.

Here's a scuffle that happened when Kristyn brought Monster out of the house. Things are starting to get hairy.

They know something is up and frankly, they don't like it.

Chucky coming out is smooth enough.

Edith was pretty trouble-free too.

Here is Kristyn loading Edith into her prison cell, I mean, comfortable travel carrier.

So then I went in to the house for one last look around. Here is our lonely, clean bathroom. I'm melancholy.

Oh happy, pretty, yellow kitchen! How many good times I've had in here! Weekend breakfast rituals, parties with friends...I'll miss you!

And see you later fishies, hallway and stove. We've had some good times...I was starting to get emotional.

We couldn't take our fish with us. Kristyn's parents thankfully took them. Bye Nicole Ritchie! Bye Billy Idol! Mommy misses you already! *Tears starting to well*

Oh the pretty view of the back yard. So cheerful to look out the window and see a pretty yard. *Trying to control my breathing*

Oh Kristyn's bedroom...so bright, so clean. Kristyn took good care of you and I'll miss you too. *Wiping silly tears off my cheeks*

My bedroom...Oh you were so pretty! So purple! *OMG ARE WE REALLY DOING THIS?! Panic is setting in.*

This is the Dining Room looking into the living room. *Open sobbing*

This is the front room, AKA Chucky's room. Chucky and the cats loveloveloved it in here. *Oh my God Chucky won't have his own room why are we doing this?! Hysteria setting in.*

Living Room looking into the Dining Room. *I can't take it anymore! I have to get out of here! Totally lost my shit at this point*

So basically, I held myself together until the last minute. I hate endings and I hated this one. I, at first, did not even want to move into this apartment for one reason: Because it’s owned by Kristyn’s parents and is so nice, I was terrified that we’d LOVE living here and never, ever want to leave, negating my California Dreams forever. I was right. I loved living here SO MUCH that leaving here was a huge CON on why we should stay. I mean, in reality, Kristyn’s parents are going to put the house on the market once it’s profitable for them to do so again but I REALLY…did not…want to…go. Apart from the drama with the upstairs guy and the downstairs nutjobs, we had a really, really pleasant time living in this apartment. We had a lot of space, all the animals had a lot of room to spread out, they had their own room for Christ’s sake…And we had a lot of good times here, just us alone and with inviting people over. I guess moreso than people, this affected me because I was definitely closing a good chapter in my life. And if we’d stayed, we’d still be making happy memories there. What it really came down to was if we stayed, would we ever get up the courage to make happy memories out here? We wouldn’t have had a bad life either way. Back there we had lots of family, lots of friends, good jobs, lived near NYC, had plenty of things to do and see but we were BORED. Kearny is a cute town and it’ll always be home. We just wanted to try living somewhere else…And as cute as that apartment is, it will ALWAYS be in Kearny.

So we took a chance…and I was sad because leaving that apartment made it real that we were leaving. I could say goodbye to everyone I know and love and for some reason, although it was stressful, I could excuse it away. I think in my head I went to like a “safe place” and thought, “Oh this is like any other time I’m saying goodbye. It’s just see you later.” But when I left the apartment, like the gravity of what we were doing hit me like a ton of fn bricks and I was like inconsolable for a little while. When I say I was sobbing, I mean I was sobbing. Ugly crying, the whole nine.

And when I finally got outside and in the car, Kristyn was ready to par-tay! She had been so worried and sad for so long that now that everything was done, she was soooooo over it. She was ready to party and have a good time and leave and get on with it.

We stopped at the gas station on Midland Ave and I cried over it. We passed the gross Chinese Food place on Kearny Ave and I sighed. I managed to pull myself together for a hot minute and when we pulled into the Bagel Bistro to get one last Onion with Scallion, I lost my damn mind again. “Bagel Bistro!!!!!!!!! Waaaahaaaaa…” Crying while eating a cream cheese bagel is NOT a hot look.

We had to drive past everything in town that we’ve been seeing all our lives and loathing. It was sad to see the Arlo…Shop Rite…and the bat factory that blew up in 1986 and no one bothered to clean the rubble up…the emptied out factories that used to be something and now are nothing…Tops Diner…I couldn’t even look anymore. And we got on the highway to start our new life.

So I have more pictures from that first day once we got on the road. I’ll post them later if I can take it. Lotta posts today, haha. I just want to get them all written. I’m so afraid I won’t write all this stuff down for myself and forget it later. This might all seem like sentimental bucocky to you (and it is) but all of this has been a major change in my life and I’m recording it for me and Kristyn and anyone else who has some time to kill and/or is curious.

Good times.

Now I know we also covered the Going Away Party but there’s aaaalways mooooore. Coincidentally, the party happened to fall on Michael Jackson’s birthday. If you know any of the people in these pictures, then you know you’re looking at some hardcore Michael Jackson fans. Who the hell knew that an ill-advised taller-than-lifesize dummy of Michael Jackson would come in handy on SO MANY occasions! Oh the hilarity!

We begin our evening with Ray whispering secrets into MJ's ear. MJ is thrilled.

Kristyn and MJ get kind of...friendly.

Aleix and Michael are so close that they are known to walk on the Wildwood Boardwalk like this together. They're in love and they don't care who knows it!

Silvia, Ray and MJ are always clownin around together. Oh you guys!

I've immortalized Angie in a moment of abandon!

Silvia, Michael, Kristyn, Angie and Ray pose for the Paparazzi.

This is everyone engaged in their solitary pursuits in a down moment of the party. We all took a much deserved breather from the excitement.

And Chewy came to see us!!! Aleix and Cristina are happy to see him.

Nothing like inviting your friends over to hang out with your inflatable mattress...

Silvie Sophie made a pretty buttafly.

I had released the Halloween costumes into the party (obviously) and Ray managed to give himself bangs using a beard, use my Prostitute costume to make himself into a Pink Lady and get MJ in on the act. Good times.

Ray and Angie getting sexual, as usual. God get a room! (Them's just jokes.)

We had a great time with everyone and were sad to see everyone go!

So I know I already blathered on and on about the packing and moving segment of the move to LA but there’s more. I just uploaded all these here pictures and you’re gonna like it, see? Here I lead you into the topsy turvey world that is…CROSS COUNTRY MOVING:

This is the first box I packed. I've always been overly sentimental. Don't act surprised.

We had just started packing and I took some pictures for posterity. You can find the HELLA mess pictures on my flickr, I won't torture you with them here.

Kristyn packing her beloved CD's. We have NO IDEA how much work is ahead of us yet. So naive.

A loverly picture of our mattress with Elvira on top. The cats could not resist this high perch.

These are the eyesore posters we made for the House Sale. We made bank but I will never have a House Sale again so long as I live. Dirty, cheap bastards, in my house, wanting to take my stuff. I still have flashbacks of this weekend and it's not welcome.

Our Show Room. Don't be jealous!

This picture is called: The Calm Before the Storm

In the above picture, I hadn’t yet run to the window and shrieked, “NO EARLY BIRDS!!!” to a gaggle of waiting lady vultures who were ringing the doorbell off the hook fifteen minutes before the sale started. The cab driver who molested me every day on my way to work hadn’t shown up yet. The Asian Lady didn’t steal that DVD stand from us yet. The kid with ADHD hadn’t yet arrived and ripped a hole out of an exercise ball with his teeth. Nor had he taken a baton and smashed it on everything in the house while his mother calmly looked at CDs. He also hadn’t overturned a box of loose beads onto the floor and scattered them throughout the house. His mother hadn’t yet hung out for three straight hours followed by walking out with $15 worth of merchandise without paying for it. The Swindler Lady had not yet come and scammed Kristyn out of a lot of money by tricky hand moves and guilt trips. I hadn’t yet confronted the same woman in the Supermarket as she was shaking down the cashier over some Little Debbie Cakes. “I WILL CALL THE POLICE NEXT TIME LADY!!! I’LL TELL EVERYONE ABOUT YOU! YOU’LL NEVER YARD SALE SHOP IN THIS TOWN AGAIN!” (This woman scammed us in the summertime too at a yard sale. She took my friend Becky’s purse and shoved it in her own and gave her a dollar though the price had been $15. {She also wanted to buy the glasses off my sister’s face!} When Becky demanded the purse back, the lady told her she was rich and could get another one. Becky screamed, “You don’t know my socioeconomic status!!!” and the woman started crying. They actually FONDLED each others FACES at this point and I think some gentle kisses were exchanged. Becky ran over and said, “I just made someone cry!!” And the woman stood on the side of our house and weeped. But later we realized it was a scam and were over it.) The woman hadn’t come yet and told me a fable about how her husband had been shot and killed in Florida. Nor did we meet the woman yet who showed up at the last second and tried to talk me down to peanuts for all the most expensive things left in my house. I didn’t know I would later call the police on this woman. I also didn’t know I’d need backup in the form of friends looming as she took my Tony Little Gazelle from my clutches for $15 rather than the $50 I wanted for it because the Kearny Police Department said that I’d entered into a verbal agreement over it after she pressured me into agreeing that she could buy it. I certainly did not expect to force this woman to sign a handwritten contract and then receive a tender hug from her. None of these things had happened yet and it was a simpler, more innocent time.

But Lori and Billy brought Chewbacca over to visit! And many friends and family stopped by!

Kristyn and Edith were tired.

And even Monster needed a little shuteye.

But something hilarious happened because Kristyn and Janie decided to move a dresser down the stairs.

...and me and Christine helped by taking pictures and waving at each other. Oh and by laughing. We laughed too.

But the dresser got outside and yes, that is the tiny car we stuffed it in. Note the look of naked despair on Christine's face. Also note how everyone's spine is painfully curved from carrying shit.

Loooooong story short, we fit everything into the Relocube. It took like ten of us and so...much...time...and...strain but we got it all in there.

I leave in 67 days.

I am moving to Japan in 67 days. This means that I actually have less than that to hang out with my friends and family. I have to take into account that I will be working, sleeping, hanging out with the family, or hanging out with the friends.

So, if you would like to hang out, let me know. We should schedule something fun to do. I love to eat good food, drink coffee, sit and chit chat, play (some) games, and shop. If you like to do any of those things, awesome, we shall have a great time.

UH.. WHICH WAY DO I GO??

Ight so, I’ve been praying long and hard! Hard and LOng, about some things that are might about to transpire in the next couple of months. Good ole Alabama might just be a thing in the past for me. I got a proposition out of state from a family member, and I just might take it.. Idk yet. The only reason I’m still here is my mother.. I have a good job, but if I’m getting something better with more opportunities then why not huh?.. Theres nothing here for me anymore, why subject myself to this place full of memories I’m trying to forget?.. You know, sometimes you just have to learn how to let go completely and branch out of your familiar surroundings.. yea it may be scary at times, but you;ll never know whats out there until you just go!.. Some people need a bigger push than others.. But whatevers out there, I just want to be happy, and living a good life!..I find myself more and more trying to do things different, trying to be better than ever, trying to be spontaneous.. I guess thats what divorce and separation will do to a woman. I’m planning a cruise for my birthday to the Bahamas.. I needed to do something for myself, since I’ve been working to get caught up non stop and I’m just about there, so this trip will be a breath of fresh air!.. I think everyone should take at least one or two trips a year, just to get away from the hustle bustle of life.. I can see me now.. on an Island, walking on warm sand, letting the water from the waves brush up against my naked toesies:).. admiring the sunset with a Bahama mama in my hand..(Yall know  I had to be sippin on something lol).. and then I’d go back to my ocean view suite, slip into a nice sun dress, with heels and make up, and I’m out the door to go have a nice dinner, and maybe catch a dance or two:).. And thats just the beginning! I sure have a vivid imagination I tell you.. but doesnt that just sound wonderful so far?.. it does to me:).. and I CAN”T WAIT! Any who.. Let me get my head out of this cloud lol.. getting back to work now.. well kind of..*wink*.. Later fam..! Peace love and Yelloooooooow

Dear Diary,

      I have a confession to make. Since moving last february I have made friends with a female gas attendant at the ESSO near my house. After coming in several times, she warmed up to me and we started talking and then she started to ask me personal questions to get to know me better. She asked me if I was married or if I had a boyfriend, and since I am such a private person in general I simply said no. She seemed as if she was raised in a very traditional home and wouldn’t be open to “unconventional lifestyles”  so every time she asked me I would answer no. 

     After about the 15th time of asking me through a couple months I finally relented and said yes, I indeed did have a boyfriend. She asked how we had met and I fabricated a story of how I had met my new prince charming. Over the course of several stopovers for smokes and chocolate bars in the coming months, I would give her little updates on my relationship with my new, gorgeous, and extremely athletic boyfriend.  Every now and then I would throw in some trite obstacle like “we had a fight” or “he is being difficult”  but then we would always make up. 

      It has now been 10 months and I cannot stop! The other day when I was buying my cigarettes, she asked how he was. I said we were doing great! She asked if we were going to get married but I said we were not at that point yet.  She asked me if we were thinking about moving in together and I said “actually yes, that is something we have discussed” Diary she was so happy for us! I said it was a good idea for us to live together first before I think about marrying him.

    Dear diary I think this has gotten out of hand. But, I cannot stop! In a few months I am thinking of telling her that my boyfriend has proposed to me!  Dear diary, help me!

With all my love and respect my friend & confidant.

xoxoxo Miss Singleton.

(I just figured out how to link my blog to my facebook profile, so if any of you find this on FB and don’t know what it’s about, you can go to the link below that says ‘read original post’ and that’ll take you to the site. Welcome!)

4 days left. I could stretch it to 5 if I had to, but I want to be out of my apartment on Sunday night.

Yesterday, on top of my regular (somewhat nutritional) daily meals, I ate the following:

• 4 Peak Frean jelly cookies
• 1 large bag Hard Bite potato chips
• 1 full tub Mayan Chocolate Haagen Dasz
• 1 bag Jelly Bellies
• 1 McChicken

Not all at once of course, but still… that’s excessive, right? It was when I finished the bag of potato chips that I realized what felt so familiar about it. The last time I ate a whole large bag of chips at one sitting was when I was past-last-minute cramming for an exam at UBC. I think maybe it’s stress?

I’m not consciously worried anymore, in fact I think everything’s pretty much on track. And I think last night I might have even crossed a threshold, where so many of the essentials are gone from my apartment that now my van is the more comfortable place to be!

Well, now that the junk food’s all gone I can get back to sorting through stuff. There’s a pile to keep with me in the van, a pile to keep in storage (many thanks to all who are helping out with that… Jodi, Vero, Ocean, Erica, Kristie & Russ), a pile to take to Gather & GIve (they put together packages of household items for people with low incomes that are starting a new home from scratch), a pile that’s true garbage.

(sigh)

okay, okay, back to it…

Lyda here.

So. I’m moving. This weekend will be a turkey-fest, true, but it will also be a big purging and packing spree for me. So far the decisions have been easy on what to keep and what to sell at the garage sale. Saturday December 5 – Y’all come and bring your money! The garage is almost at capacity with boxes and I haven’t even moved any furniture out there yet.

But soon I will get to the point where what I keep depends on where I’m moving. It would be easier if I knew where I was going.

The possibilities include:

• staying in this area and living with friends for a month or three while I get my finances in order and decide on the next step
• staying in this area and renting a new tiny space if I can find one
• moving to San Antonio and staying with my stepmom while finding a job
• moving to Ohio and living with Gorgeous and Available Engineer Brother
• moving to Seattle and staying with Younger Brother and Fabulous Brother-in-law and Gorgeous Sister for a very short time
• moving to Colorado where the streets are paved with fiber – or at least that’s what I hear

The first choice on that list would be the easiest in terms of cost and time, and I would be able to keep my current job (a longer commute, but not too bad) and see the Resident Sith Master often. My friends are great and have a spare bedroom that they rent out sometimes, so it would not be an inconvenience for them. However, they have a not-cat-friendly dog, and I would have to find a new home for my two demon spawn adorable kittens. The cats seem to suspect something – they have been extra cuddly lately. Or maybe they are just cold – I still have to light the gas heater’s pilot light so we can use the heater. Hey, it’s getting down to 68, even 65 degrees at night now. If I go with this option, I will have one room and will take only what will fit in it. I am not renting a storage unit for my cheap Ikea/garage sale/street scrounged furniture. But parting with my washer and dryer will be hard.

Of course, I know most of you are voting for the final choice on the list.

Is it true that Colorado clouds are made of alpaca fleece and it rains yarn?

Contact Ten Palms

                   Rhonda

Ten Palms Cleaning Services
2725 Shoreview ct.
Navarre Fl.32566
Open Seven Days A Week 7:00am- 7:00pm
Licensed & Insured
850-699-7484
Fax No# 888-725-5430

Contact us by  Email at   rhonda@tenpalmscleaning.com
Website www.tenpalmscleaning.com

Give us a call here at Ten Palms to do your cleaning after moving
out or before you move in to your new home!                     
                                      850-699-7484

Email us at rhonda@tenpalmscleaning.com
We do the moving out or moving in cleaning on your schedule
with no waiting so you can stay on track with your scheduled
plains.

All Rooms
All Floors vacuuming, sweeping  and mopping
All Doors both sides and trim
All Windows and window cells
Base boards, celling fans, light fixtures and plug ins,
Corners and cobwebs
Patio
Laundry room
Kitchen all cabinets and drawers inside and out, top of cabinets,
closets,all appliances if any,counter and counter tops,sink
Bathrooms top to bottom,mirrors,sink,showers,tubs,toilets
Trash and trash cans

Are you ready to move out. We
recommend that you call Ten Palms
Cleaning Service to clean up the
place for you. They do a wonderful
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the next family to move in.

We are all packed up and ready to
move on to our new home. We call
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They do a superb job cleaning up
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I feel as though I’ll be saying the above quite a bit over the next few months…but what the heck! With a new city, a new school, new people, new (fingers crossed) friends and a new (double crossies) job, I’ll be embracing a lot of “newness.” I figured, why not start my first blog to add media  adventure to my real-life excursions?

So here she is, guys. Shiny and brand spankin’ new for your reading pleasure (but let’s be honest:  no guarantees on spelling, grammar, or overall entertainment value).

I hope you’ll read along as I recount a few quasi-notables during my move from Minneapolis to our nation’s lovely capitol, Washington D.C. Thanks in advance for hanging in there when I’m boring (so like, 90% of the time).  Love you guys.

I’ve been working hard over the last few days really. There is a lot that I need to consider and the unfortunate side of this is that I don’t have a marketing or PR person to help with all of this stuff. Yes, as an artist, you are your own advocate and it is work I am perfectly willing to do, but there is also a part of me that is just overwhelmed by it all at times. I suppose, like many unknown authors, I have an idealized view of what I want in an Agent. I don’t know that I will ever find it but, it is a nice vision in my head.

In a perfect world (at least my perfect world) my agent would be my advocate. Part Editor, part sales person, part coach, and part image consultant and marketing guru. They would call me periodically to check in on how a new project is going, give me some encouraging words, insist from time to time that I take a respite from all the hectic duties that go with daily life so that I can write, and schedule public appearances that actually go over well when I arrive to do whatever. Again this is all an ideal. And frankly, I’ll be happy if I get someone who is adept at marketing my manuscripts and helping me to get into bookstores. It isn’t as easy as you would think it would be.

So, we moved back here. Weren’t entirely thrilled about it, but we did it. Now, it is just a matter of making the best out of the situation. Getting through the holidays is the priority at the moment. I’m going back to a full time job for a while at least. And I’m actually pretty excited about the new job. I mean it is the same work that I’ve always done in various forms, but it means a new environment, new faces, personalities, networking opportunities, and even new ideas.

I’m trying to find a groove. I know that isn’t going to be instantaneous. And likely it is going to take a few months to really find any sort of routine. Hubby is still looking for a job in the area. We’re focused on getting a certification that he needs in order to make more money and open up opportunities. So, in the meantime, I’m hoping that I can join a local writers group this year and perhaps start a creativity workshop in the area as well.  I just want to keep from taking on too much at a time.

Truth is, I’ve streamlined my life considerably over the last few months. It has been quite a journey for me. But, I’m hoping that with all of the strides I’ve made in the last year to come into my own, that life will be a bit more fulfilling.

Today, I’m working on AR. My husband is being a real gem lately. He just brought me some bagels with cream cheese and coffee. We’ve been late risers lately, so breakfast for me.  I have a little dog sitting here at my feet just waiting for me to drop something for her to gobble up. My mom’s six point siamese cat is sitting in the other chair curled up in a ball asleep.  I have my playlist up and ready to go.  I’m finally able to get into the groove and get to work.

So without further ado, I won’t keep Lil waiting any longer.

Double Celebration, originally uploaded by SGSunbeam.

An invitation for a friend who is holding a house warming gathering and celebrating her daughter’s birthday on a same day.

November 25, 2009

Dear readers,

Most of you will be feasting away this weekend, but I’ll be packing the junkyard that is my room into select boxes, because we’re moving. It’s been surreal up to this point, when the books on my shelf are disappearing into nondescript cardboard containers, because the situation is so bizarre. I can’t quite believe my mom went out and bought a condo in some other city.

I’ve been here since I was seven. That’s nine years of my life in cow town. I’ll still be around, but it’s not the same. I don’t feel like I belong to this city anymore. I hope I can deal with this, on top of the mountain of work I have this year. On top of tackling the Got Milk? competition in three weeks.

This feels like the final step away from childhood. Not sure how to explain that, but there it is.

The chosen soundtrack for this moment in time: “Continuum”. Maybe I’ll change it later. Haven’t listened to “All the Pretty Girls” in a while.

Love,
Katherine

Howdy folks.  While still a work in progress, I have moved this blog from the convenient and free WordPress.com site to a more expensive and cumbersome site.  You can find all of my updated picture stories by traveling through this link:

http://wolsamnoraa.com/

I appreciate your time and your support.  If you have any questions, suggestions or comments, feel free to suck on my balls.  Once again, thanks for that.

Moving out of Dow Jones home is a very momentous occasion. What I mean is, let’s say you’re British, and you meet Dow Jones on assignment in The Labor Department, and then decide to move, together, back to u haul chicago, where you’re from, but the Federal Reserve has only visited. And you should not forget to clean them. Sometimes, The Labor Department may feel you’ve abandoned them and their hurt feelings could lead you to feel further ostracized.

Thanksgiving has slowly become my favorite holiday.  The simple answer to why is the food and family.  There is something about sitting down and eating this crazy meal that is just awesome.  I love Thanksgiving dinner.  The turkey, the stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, etc.  And then days after, you still have the leftovers!  This whole part of the year is great when you get to see other family members and just have a good time.

I’m not going to write about the whole cliche “What am I thankful for?” nonsense.  Because in reality, I’m thankful for everything basically.  I cannot ask for anything better.

With the holiday season now here, it also means I’m almost done with the school semester.  My grades as of right now are still top notch.  Just got 98 on my Finance test and 101 on my Economic History exam last week.  I just can’t wait to have a couple weeks off to enjoy the season.

Where will I be enjoying the season though?  Thought you might ask.  In my October blog I mentioned that I was looking to move.  And that will become a reality in December.  My parents have found a good place and we will be moving there soon.  It will be a little tougher for me to get to school, but it will be worth it in the end.  I’m sure of it.  I must say this is the first time  I have been excited about moving.  I feel like good things are going to come out of this.

So, I have been thinking that I need to start posting more blogs.  And I plan on doing that.  I already posted two today so I am off to a good start.  I think I am about to start a series of blogs where I talk about some of the finer points in life.  I’ve been thinking some things that I would like to share with the world, and maybe even provide some advice on things.  I will post another blog soon basically explaining myself a little more.  But until then, Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy the holiday!

Our house just sold, and we’ll be going to settlement three days after Christmas. On that day, we’ll also settle on the house we’re buying. It’s a contemporary-style home in the neighborhood closest to UD and Main Street. January will see us painting and tearing down wallpaper, but it’s good timing because James doesn’t teach in January.

We’ll take pictures of the house the day we’re moving in and then post our progress as we make 102 Radcliffe Drive our home!

Step 9:

When the time comes to sign an offer to purchase, make sure you understand everything written in the contract. Do not sign a contract if you are unclear about anything. Rather ask advice from someone you trust.

Step 8:

While house-hunting, ask the estate agent and owner as many questions as possible about the property.

Last Thursday, November 19, we moved into our new home.

Four faithful friends and one mom helped us move, without which we might still be swimming in a sea of cardboard.   My mother firmly grabbed my shoulders as she made her departure.

“Do not finish unpacking tonight,” she advised.  “It is too much.  Don’t let your compulsiveness make you think you need to do it all.”

Apparently she knows me pretty well.  She also knew, even as she spoke, that I was incapable of following this advice.

I’m not one of those people who has to lock and unlock a door seven times before I can walk away from it.  I don’t wash my hands with a fresh bar of soap every time I approach the sink.  I don’t have Melvin Udall-brand OCD.  But I do feel completely suffocated and unable to sleep knowing that my kitchen is only half-unpacked.

Add to this that I can’t resist surprising people, and I was doomed.  Mike had to go to work immediately after our full day of moving (poor guy), so I felt compelled to wow him with what I could get done before he got back home.  He’s as much, if not more, freaky as I am about organization, so before he left he looked around at the boxes and said he couldn’t look any longer without developing a twitch.

So I dove in.

I have discovered that Mike and I both have an insatiable need for order.  Despite the midnight hour, despite barely being able to walk from exhaustion, I still relentlessly unpacked boxes and organized, as if pounding my gavel and hollering “order in this house!”

It’s as if we are transition-averse.  I seriously thought Mike was going to break out in hives when he couldn’t find his shaving cream the day after the move.  There’s nothing like the rush of the morning coupled with lacking essential tools to make you homicidal.

So I grabbed my proverbial sledgehammer and started knocking down the walls of disorder.  It’s truly a good thing I was in workout pants and a hoodie, because the effort was not without perspiration. 

But I did it.  And when Mike walked through the door to find he could see the floor and the countertops, it was like his shoulders descended from their perch near his ears to the more relaxed location near his chest, where they should be.  Though I hardly noticed since I was beaming the special glitter-glow that organization creates.   

What’s funny is I always translate my work skills into my home skills (since my home skills are limited).  As an example, I made a three-week “moving” work-back plan that mimicked ones I used to make while at Microsoft.  Excel kept us in line with tasks, details on what to pack each day, which walls to paint, when to clean, errands to run, forms to turn in.  So on the actual move-in day, everything was streamlined and we finished in less than five hours. 

But I’m not going to pretend all is as it should be.  We only painted two areas of our new place, so we are going to have to go back through and move things around next weekend to paint more extensively.  The den is not put together at all.  The curtains are not up. 

…which is why we both feel the need for self-imposed denial of every social opportunity until the task is complete.  Even as I write that I realize it’s absurd; people take years to fully furnish and decorate — why should we try to do it in two weeks?  The truth is, we won’t.  Unless you’re on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, who on Earth could accomplish such a feat? 

And who would want to when there is a cozy couch, lit fireplace and glass of wine beckoning?

Next week, I am excited to debut two new guest bloggers, who will tell us about the completion of their first half-marathon (coming up on Nov 29)…both of whom, before training, had never run more than three consecutive miles.