MOVING RIGHT ALONG...

we're winding down our final days in this house. We move out on Tuesday, Sept 2nd.

I haven't mentioned much at all here in my blog about this move until now. It's been a fairly stressful and bumpy ride over the past few months and it has just not been something I've wanted to address here.

The house went up for sale when there was talk of a promotion for Andrew that would have meant a move out of state. To get a head start on that, the house went on the market. We sort of anticipated at least a 1-2 month period of open houses, scheduled viewings and finally an offer. Well, it was less than two weeks and there was an offer and the house was sold. It was bought by a family who had lost everything in the floods here in June. I suppose the timing of the flooding and the house going on the market around the same time was bound to result in a quick sale with so many people losing their homes to the horrific flood waters.

So, here we sat for the better part of two months wondering where we'd be moving to. Then, with changing company decisions and a lot of restructuring, the pending promotion didn't happen.

Unfortunately, for the same reason our house sold so quickly, we were left with the nearly impossible task of finding another place to move to. Rentals were being snapped up as soon as they were available and anything left over was way over-priced. Landlords were cashing in on flood victims' misfortune. On top of that, we have a 60lb dog to throw into the mix. Ever tried renting a place that allows large dogs?

So, until about 10 days ago we had no idea where we were moving to and the closing date on this house was approaching fast. Ever heard of stress??

Then Andrew found a new townhouse/condo that was nearly finished. What luck! 3 full, finished levels, a fireplace, deck and a huge yard for Bailey to run in. Plus, "condo" means no more mowing or snow shoveling! YAY! So, instead of renting, a new home was purchased.

So, last weekend we held a last minute garage sale to get rid of all of our accumulated junk and several pieces of large furniture that we would no longer need or wouldn't fit in the new place. At this point I think we're ready for the move and everything we have will have a spot in the new house. The truck will be picked up today and we'll spend the entire 3 day weekend packing and loading the truck. By Tuesday around noon we'll get possession of the condo and will start moving in. My back is already dreading this.

Stay tuned...I'll update later and probably have some pictures of the new place to share.

Wish us luck!

Update: The stress continues...We went to pick up the 27 ft truck on Saturday that we'd had reserved for more than a week. Andrew even called the day before just to confirm our reservation. We got there to pick it up and, you guessed it, no truck. Apparently the people who had rented it in the few days prior, had not returned it. So, with no other choice in the matter, we left with the 16 ft truck. Now we have to load and unload the truck twice instead of making one trip and being done with it.
To top that off, we can't get into the condo until the closing which can't happen until the building inspection is done and certificate of occupancy is handed over. At this point we're now looking at closing not taking place until 4pm Tuesday. The truck is due back by 5pm. Looks like that's not going to happen so we're looking at another day of truck rental. In the mean time, the buyers' realtor is hounding us to hand over possession of this house by 8am Tuesday. NOT.
We started the process of packing and loading the truck 3 days ahead of time so we would not get to move-in day and have to work till midnight getting all of our stuff moved. Now that we have to load and unload the truck twice, it looks like it's going to be almost midnight on Tuesday until we'll have everything done.
So, it's Monday and here we are with 75% of our house packed on to the truck just sitting in front of the house. We slept on an air mattress last night and tossed and turned all night and woke with nagging back aches. Tonight we're going to a hotel.

God, moving sucks!

JUST ABOUT SUMS IT UP...

I was reading an article written by Jay Leno the other day, talking about the quality of American cars compared to those from other countries. He wrote one paragraph that made me stop and say, "Yes! That's exactly how I have felt for years!"

Since I can't find the article again, I'm paraphrasing here, but this conveys the general idea:

European auto makers are in business to build cars that are of high quality and are fun to drive. That's why they make money.
Japanese auto makers are in business to build cars that are extremely reliable and fuel efficient. That's why they make money.
American auto makers are in business to make money. So they build cars.

I couldn't have said it any better myself.

A MEME SOUNDED LIKE A GOOD IDEA...

My friend Matt posted this on his blog today and since I'm just sitting here catching up on emails and blogs today, I decided to throw in my 2 cents...

1. Do you like blue cheese? Yes, and it's very low carb!
2. Have you ever smoked heroin? No
3. Do you own a gun? No
4. What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? I've never been to Sonic. Drive past one all the time, but never stopped.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? Only with sauer kraut. I actually prefer brats.
7. Favorite Christmas movie? Not really a Christmas movie, but I'd have to say Auntie Mame for it's Christmas scene. It always makes me cry.
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Coffee!
9. Can you do push ups? Yes.
10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? Probably my silver and gold ring that I bought in Chicago and wear everyday. Aside from a watch, I don't wear much jewelry.
12. Do you have A.D.D.? Nope.
13. What's one trait you dislike about yourself? I can't think of the word for it, but I tend to ignore problems, hoping they will just go away.
14. Middle name? Ivan. Hey, no laughing!
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: I have to start packing. Why is my daughter not out of bed yet. I need to pee.
16. Name 3 things you bought yesterday: A salad for lunch. a bottled water. Another month in the house.
17. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Wine, coffee, vodka.
18. Current worry? Where am I going to move to?
19. Current hate right now? Cicadas. The damn things make noise day and night in our trees.
20. Favorite place to be? Chicago.
21. How did you bring in the New Year? Woke up Andrew from the sofa and we went to bed.
22. Where would you like to go? I'd love to visit Maine again.
23. Name three people who will complete this: Hmmm... I'm not sending it to anyone, so probably no one.
24. Do you own slippers? Yes – but I only wear them in the winter.
25. What shirt are you wearing? A white, Mast General Store T-shirt that my friend, Phil sent to me after one of his trips to Asheville, NC.
26. What year would you go back in time to? Would love to go back to 1994 and see my grandfather again.
29. Would you be a pirate? No-I look silly in an eye patch.
30. What songs do you sing in the shower? Whatever is playing on the radio at the time.
31. Favorite girl's name: Robin - my little girl's name
32. Favorite boy's name: Jeremy - my not so little boy's name.
33. What's in your pocket right now? A little pocket lint.
34. Last thing that made you laugh? Watching an episode of Little Britain with Andrew on his Ipod.
35. Best Halloween costume? My Boy George costume from the late 80's.
36. Worst injury you've ever had? Five-stitches in my right index finger from a broken wine bottle.
37. Do you love where you live? I'm happy where I live but I'd also like to experience living in other places too.
38. How many TVs do you have in your house? Two.
39. Who is your loudest friend? Probably Jody at work. You can hear her talking on the phone all over the office.
40. How many dogs do you have? One. He just seems like two at times.
41. Does someone have a crush on you? Not that I'm aware of. There is that new girl at work who stares at me all the time though.
42. What is your favorite book(s)? I really enjoy Augusten burroughs' books.
43. What is your favorite candy? Peanut M&M's.
44. Favorite Sports Team? Sports? I'm a bit stumped on that one.
45. Your favorite meal: I love so many things...hard to answer.
46. What were you doing 12 AM last night? Sleeping.
47. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Oh my God, I have to start packing.

CLEVELAND ROCKS...

Got back on Wednesday from a trip to Cleveland. For Christmas last year, I gave my 15 year old son, Jeremy a trip to Cleveland to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. I had no idea we would spend over 6 hours there! That place is amazing! It's definitely a must see if you find yourself in Cleveland. Not really a lot of other reasons to go to Cleveland other than that, but it was really a nice city.

From home it was a 10 hour drive. Normally I wouldn't consider driving on a trip that far, but with airfare as high as it is lately, it was the sensible option. Flying would have also meant renting a car so that would have just added to the expense. I was very excited by the great gas mileage I got with my VW Passat.

Does the fact that this excites me make me a nerd?

Yup, I averaged 30 mpg for the trip. The best I could ever do with the Jetta was about 26mpg and that was a smaller car. Must be the turbo engine in the Passat.We also toured the USS COD, a WWII submarine that is docked near the Rock Hall on Lake Erie. It was pretty interesting. I learned one thing by touring this sub...I'm never signing up to serve on one. I can't imagine living for weeks at a time in quarters that are that tight. I'd go insane.

We stopped overnight in Chicago on the way home and saw the Blue Man Group. I'd seen them a year or so ago and I had forgotten what a great show that is. We stayed in chinatown just south of the Loop and took the train to dinner downtown and to the theater. I also learned another thing...I'm never staying in Chinatown again. That was an experience for another post.