Coming Along

Today I feel like I made a real dent in things and that always motivates me to do more. I was able to get the fishtank set up and filled with water. It is running happily in the dining room with no fish in it yet...we'll wait a bit before we put any in there.

I also attacked our storage area in the garage because I want it to be organized and so far we have just been throwing stuff in places without really organizing so we could get to the bottom of the pile. Well, we are at the bottom of the pile now and I need to know where stuff is and make sure it is not just willynilly. I took everything out of it, organized it, labeled totes and then restacked everything in a much nicer way. I was sweating my brains out by the time I was done but it is done.

I am hopefully going to a flea market next weekend (not this weekend) to get rid of some stuff that is filling up my laundry room right now and then I'll be able to put more stuff away where it ultimately needs to go. I still need to figure something out for this little storage area we have in our big bathroom so I can put some totes in there of stuff we actually do use without them falling over, but it will have to be later on that I do it because other things are calling right now.

Anyhow, just a little update on my anal little life....haha. (I definitely see some more of those space bag things making a home here).

Busy, Busy

I have way too much stuff to do and not enough time to do it in.....I hate that. Our weekend is already getting busy with friends and such. We are going to have some dimsum with friends on Sunday morning....I am excited because then I'll know where a place is. I have never had it in Japan, only in Hong Kong and in the States.

Saturday we are going to a bbq in the afternoon but in the morning, I (and J if I can get him to go) am doing a beach cleanup. It is only for two hours but I'll feel like I am making a dent since recycling is so difficult to do here.

I better run, have to get some tea made...perhaps that will help me get over my nap feeling. Since lunch, I have felt like I need a nap...it is probably a mixture of feeling full and also the fact that I spent the morning walking in the sun and wind exercising and looking for a geocache....you know how the sun can be. At least I am not pink from it....haha.

Now Super Typhoon Wipha

2:29pm:

Well we have another one out there. This one is not supposed to get near us according to its forcast but we are (as you can see from the satellite picture) getting some weather from it....lots of blowing rain today folks....



1:57pm update on Tuesday:

It still isn't going to hit us but it is definitely getting us some weather. We have had a lot of wind and rain for sure. It looks like it is going to hit Taiwan while very strong and then hit China on the way out.

Loving The Space Bag

We have these two mats that we bought last time we lived here so that when people came to visit they would have something to put on the tatami mats to sleep on. They are about twin bed sized but thinner and fold into thirds. Normally in a Japanese style house the tatami room has a big closet in it that the mats and bedding go in everyday after everyone gets up. Because this house doesn't really have a separate tatami room (it is just off the living room but not really separate, we don't have that big closet and finding a place to store these mats where they won't get dusty or buggy has been an issue for me.

I found the Original Space Bag at the store and thought I would give it a try. The jumbo size looked like it might fit one of these mats in it so I bought two of them to try it out. Since it was a combo package, each one came with an large one as well so I figured I could use those ones for our sleeping bags.

Back story: this house actually has quite a bit of storage space, but the issue is the biggest areas are 1. the storage area in the open garage (which locks but is subject to humidity and heat and is not air tight to bugs or mold) and 2. the laundry room area off the back of the house (which is also very hot and humid but seems to have less of a bug issue). So the stuff in the storage area outside has to be able to handle the weather and can't be anything that we are worried about bugs or anything. So far, we have yard equipement, empty boxes that we have to keep, and some camp chairs, or pop up shade tent and our golf clubs out there. The laundry room has our bikes, our dive stuff, some sports stuff, tools that won't rust or don't have electric parts, all the boxes of stuff that I am donating or selling at the swap meet, and the laundry stuff. I would like to be able to store more out there but I won't be able to until we get some of the donation stuff out of there. Anyhow, I didn't want to put any clothes, mats or sleeping bags out in either area without having a way to keep them from molding or getting bugs. So this limits quite a bit what can go where and finding places in the house for all the stuff we have to store has been fun. End of back story.

So anyhow, I decided we could put the mats under the guest bed in the office. Thing is that the cat is in that room and I didn't want them to get dusty or too much infected with kitty germs (haha). So these bag things work great in that aspect. Now the kicker on these bags is that you vacuum out the air and it makes the mats super small (I can actually stack both of them on top of each other under the guest bed (which has the smallest clearance of the two beds)). They won't get dustmites or allergens or even mold because there is no air in there. We put the sleeping bags in the other two bags and sucked the air out of them and now they are so small I can put them both in one tote and store them in the closet.

I might end up finding some more of those bags and putting lots of other stuff in them. I am thinking I could probably reduce my 3 totes of winter clothes down to one...it would be heavy but it would only be one....we'll see.

Anyhow, I just wanted to tell you that even though I felt like I was stepping back to the seventies with these things, they work awesome and if you are cramped for space, and/or have weather issues that make storage tricky....these things are the bomb!!!

We Have Football

Yeah, we finally, after much fiddling, got the satellite to get signal and we have all ten channels now. We can actually watch some football and the final two rounds of the Fedex Championship in golf.

I know it sounds trivial but sports are about the only thing we watch consistently on TV (except for me with my ER), and we were basically cut off completely from them except for MLB which neither of us likes to watch on TV much (in person is fun).

Besides that little project (that seemed to take all day), I managed to get some things organized and put away. Right now, things are functional so it is hard to get motivated for the finishing touches, but I need to do it. I can't live with it like it is around here for long. So yesterday I got all the little shoeboxes (clear ones for storing) off my kitchen counter, organized how they need to be with all the little misc household stuff in them and put away. Whooooohooooo!!!!

Today, I am going to get the fish tank up and running (has to run for about 2 weeks before we can put fish in it), and maybe even some work done on a blanket I need to finish before the child is so old they can't even use it....haha.

Oh, and I did I mention this will all occur while watching some FOOTBALL!!!

Storm Is Over

It was raging pretty loud when we went to bed but I put my earplugs in and around 3am it was quite again. We didn't have any damage and J is outside trying to get our satellite dish set up so we can get more than one channel. It will be nice since they don't broadcast any of the sports that we like to watch on the one channel we can get but we can get a bunch of channels through the satellite company and they are even in English!!!!

I found a trojan on my computer this morning but Norton and Spybot put it down with no problems. I think it got on there yesterday when I was trying to help some bloggers with their sites....seems that there is a lot of malware floating around blog sites these days, so be careful in your surfing. I didn't have Spybot turned on for continuous scan and that is why I didn't know when it first hit that it was there. Fortunately my scheduled full scan w/Norton last night caught it. I have enabled the continuous scan on Spybot now...

Luckily, it didn't transfer onto my thumbdrive or to the laptop (which hasnt' been on the Internet since we left the hotel). I need to get the wireless set up today if I can, so we can at least print from the laptop without having to use the thumbdrive.

J and I went to the Eisa Festival a while back and I have some great footage and pictures from that. I want to make a little movie from the footage but I need to do some harddrive shuffling now that we are settled so I can get things organized before starting a new project. I'll try to post about the festival either here or on my travelblog and upload some photos from it in the meantime.

Oh, and I have been playing a bit with my site over on Vox.com. I kind of like their set up over there but am loyal to Blogger as well (along with the fact that I don't want to transfer everything over there). I might just start blogging occasionally over there as well. They have some neat features. I'll get a link to my page over there on my site here soon. Problem with them is that commenting requires membership (free, but still one more thing to sign up for). Grrrrr...

Kitty Diet

Chase is on a diet. While she was at the kennel, they were leaving her bowl full of food all day long. This is not how I usually feed her. So, when she came home the first night, she was following us around like she wanted to eat more. We just ignored her. The next morning, I put the normal amount of food in her bowl and she ran over and scarfed it right down. Then she kept checking back all day long to see if there was more in there.

This morning, I put the same amount in there, and she has slowed down to allow herself some throughout the day....I can't believe how fast they remember things. I will be curious when we take her into the vet for her 30 day check up, if she has gained pounds from being at the kennel.

She gets another hair cut on the 24th....I am going to keep her short at least until it gets cold here.

Typhoon Nari

7:37am:

Well the second one to hit while we have been here is upon us. This will be our first in our new house. Looks like it won't be a bad one but it is getting here faster than most. Should be here by tonight. I guess I will have to get outside and get things situated so we aren't suprised in the middle of the night by something coming through one of the many glass walls we have in this place....

Update at 6:18pm:

Nothing major has happened yet but I did find this cool picture of it on the radar site. I went outside and made sure that most everything is tied down or put away. Highest winds are supposed to be later tonight.

Update 1010pm:

The storm is getting a bit stronger but seems to be passing by the bottom of us rather than right over us. The winds should shift to the other direction here soon. Windows are whistling but nothing is too bad. Chase is not thrilled with any of it.

Dead Gecko Movement

Geckos are a part of life here. I don't mind them too much as long as they don't get too big in the house because then their poops get big and it is a pain in the ass to clean it up. They eat lots of bugs and having them around actually keeps other things away. The ones we have here chirp a lot and I guess that is normal for the gecko species as a whole. Sounds like a bird in the house.

Anyhow, when we first moved in, I found a dead gecko on the steps in front of the house. It was being attacked by ants. I kicked it off to the side in the flowerbed just so I wouldn't accidentally step on it. I came home a few hours later and it was in the sidewalk again but much further down. I kicked it off to the side again. Next day, I didn't see it until the afternoon when coming in. It was on top of a 5 foot wall that borders our front porch. I have no idea how it moved that much (birds or ants I presume) but I was amazed at how fast it was moving about. I flicked it with my finger into the flowerbed that the wall borders and figured that would be the last of it.

No such luck, since then I have seen it move all over our front walk, porch and beds. It hasn't show up in a few days so I am assuming it has been completely consumed or a bird moved it completely out of the area. If all this movement was due to a troop of ants working in organization, we might have a few things to learn from them. It would take tons of them to move that thing and that means a lot of coordination so it wouldn't just sit there spinning in circle like a boat with too many rowers that don't know what they are doing.

She's Home

Brought the kitty home today...she is busy checking the place out and laying in the sun.

House

Here is a pic of the house from the outside. It is pretty cool on the inside too...



As you can see, it is very modern and industrial looking. The walls on the inside are just like the walls on the outside except where you can see the little dark spots, we have things we can hang pics on on the inside. You are looking at the corner where the deck, living room, and pond are. This is all behind the high wall. The windows you can see near the roof are the vaulted ceiling in the living room. We are planning to put some curtains on them (although we love the natural light) to try to keep the room cooler in the summer and I suspect warmer in the winter. It will also keep the floor and furniture from fading as the sun coming in that window during the day is direct midday sun and it is hot.

I like that the style of the house is very simple, and that there is the mix of straight lines and gardens. The kitchen is much bigger than the one in our last house in Japan so we can't complain there. We had to buy some pans and pots (the owner bought them and we'll leave them with the house) in order to use the stove because two of the burners are IH which is a new safety type of heating for stoves. It works great now with the new pans but for a week or so, I was cooking everything on one burner and that was a pain in the butt. We even have a little itty bitty dishwasher (which I use for drying dishes). I probably won't use it just to cut back on electricity use. There are lots of cabinets and counter space and that makes preparing meals much easier. We were worried for a bit that the refrigerator wouldn't fit but it does with room to spare.

The bathroom is split into two, one room (near the front of the house) has the toilet, a urinal, and a sink with cabinet, and the other room (near the bedrooms in the back of the house) has a sink w/cabinet and then a separate glassroom with shower and tub. The tub has jets but J tried them out and they aren't like our hottub jets but still, it will be nice for soaks in the winter for sure. Both of the bathrooms have windows looking out to little garden areas that are enclosed in a high wall so no one can see in but you get a feeling of being outside when you are in them.

We have a shallow rock pond off the dining room with a deck off the living room next to it. The pond has a little fountain we can turn on in the house. It is very relaxing to hear the water running and you can see the pond from the tatami mats so you can stretch or do yoga and enjoy the zen of it all. The entire house is fenced around so you can't really see the street at all unless you are in the kitchen (the only place where the window looks out over a shorter fence.

There is a large storage area/laundry room between the garage and the house so we have some things hidden out there until we can figure out where to put them. There are racks built in for drying so we don't have to use the dryer much either (another expensive electrical appliance I avoid). Electricity here is so much more than in the states so conserving is good for the environment as well as the pocket book.

I'll try to get pics of the various parts up soon....still trying to finish the unpacking along with all the other crap that keeps me occupied during the day.

Update to Mishka's Reading

Hey there....I updated Mishka's Reading with my reads from July and August today. I combined them because those two months are combined in my mind this year....they kind of just blended together.

Had some great reads so check them out if you have time....some highly recommended ones.

We Are On

Wow, I have Internet at home now!!!! I can't believe it....

For those of you that plan to contact me via Yahoo messenger so we can talk sometimes, I will try to remember to log on during the day and keep my status messages up to date. Right now I am using my laptop because the situation in our office is out of control but I hope to get it figured out and set up today....if it kills me.

I want to bring Chase home and I can't until I have a place for her litter box and that requires a bit of Rubic's cubing the room around. I am going to have to go old school dorm room status on it (you know, when you have lots of furniture and little space to call your own?) You have to get creative.

As soon as I get the PC up and running, I will get some pics of this place and our trip across the US posted for you to check out. Of course the good pics of the house will have to wait until I get the decor done (left for last) but I can at least put up some outside shots.

Anyhow, just wanted to update you all that we were up and running at home....whoooeeee!!!!

Only A Few More Days

Well, we'll see how things go, but we might have Internet by next week and I will be so thrilled. I have been running to friend's or the library to just get the simpliest things done (which were so much easier when I had Internet at home). It is so weird to be without it and it is weird to think it wasn't all that long ago that none of us even had it.

I even remember the first time I really heard about it, and I was fascinated from the get go.

Anyhow, enough of that....just wanted to drop a line and say hello.

Random thought of the day:

Why, when you are turning something in for repair under warranty (shipping the item to the manufacturer for example) do you have to provide proof of purchase? Isn't the fact that you own the thing and are shipping it to them enough proof that you have purchased it?

No Internet Yet

Well, we still don't have Internet at the house so I haven't been updating things lately but as soon as we do, I will be much more consistent.

We are in the house and have all of our stuff....too much stuff. I have taken some cool pictures but can't upload them to the library computer so I will have to wait to post them until we get our own Internet set up.

I am not completely unpacked yet, although we are almost done with all the cardboard and now are just left with totes and finding homes for all the things that we have. I have already put together at least 6 boxes of stuff that I am going to sell at a swap meet or give to the thrift store here (the equivalent of Goodwill).

We have eaten at most of our favorite places (some of them a few times). It took a week or so to figure out the stove at the house because it has a new safety feature and you can only use a special kind of pan on it....we were able to get the rental company to buy the pans and then we'll just leave them with the house when we leave.

We had to bring our sofa in through the back yard (over the fence and pond) because it couldn't make the 90 degree turn in the entryway to get into the living room...that was a lot of fun. So far, nothing seems to be damaged although I am not all that thrilled with the packing job done in the states....stuff was moved around quite a bit and so I keep opening boxes that I think have one thing in them but in reality have something quite different.

I'll start updating the travel blog on my link list as well so you can also check in there for updates and if you want to be added to my subscription list for it, let me know.

Anyhow, just wanted to do an update to everyone would know we were alive and well. We are finally getting back into a routine and hopefully will have normal life flowing soon.

PS. Chase is still at the kennel for a bit....grrr.

Moving Day

Today we move into the house and out of the hotel. We get some furniture today but most of our stuff will come tomorrow and next Tuesday. I am thrilled to get out of a suitcase...will be nice.

I had to shoo a large gecko out of the house this morning while I was over there waiting for the movers. I am at the hotel clearing out now (waiting for a couple of emails from our mortgage guy in Oregon). We won't have Internet at the house for a while and I want to make sure I get as many of the emails I need for our new house in Oregon as I can before we are cut off. I have the car loaded up and will get out of here as soon as that email hits my box.

Later today I plan to talk to the Internet people and see when we can get things hooked up. I have some stuff in the fridge that needs to be moved too and I am waiting as long as I can on that one since we don't have a fridge at the house until the movers get there today.

I'll get some pics of the house up as soon as I can....things are just busy and crazy now.

Thanks To Everyone

I said before I would update our time in WA and I haven't done it yet so I figure, what the hell?

We did manage to get a ton of stuff done in our short time at the house and that was only due to the awesome help we received from friends and family in the area. In the 6 days that we were there to work on the house, we did the following things:

• Painted the interior
• Carpeted two rooms
• Replaced all kitchen appliances (except for the refrigerator)
• Replaced a few boards on the roof
• Replaced a few boards on the porch
• Resealed half of porch
• Painted eaves and new boards on roof
• Powerwashed house and all cement patios and raised beds
• Fixed plumbing issues in bathroom
• Tore out and replaced 320 sq ft of insulation in the crawlspace
• 4 full size truck loads of yard waste to the dump
• 1 oversized truck load of trash to the dump
• Trimmed 3 fruit trees
• Removed blackberry bushes
• Trimmed back 4 sets of vines (wisteria, grape, and kiwi)
• Trimmed large tree hanging into our neighbor's yard
• Trimmed several rhodies
• Cleaned up all extraneous things left by the renter

This was all possible because J's brother and family, my sister, my dad, and all our friends and their families helped us out on various days. Originally our plan had been to visit with all of them but we ended up having to enlist their help and that is how we got the visits in as well. We really own them a debt of gratitude because we were really under a crunch and they helped us to get a lot accomplished. The house looks great and I am sure it will sell with no problem (if we can just get the market going again).

Our New Wheels

We are buying a white version of this little car as our one and only car for the time being. It is called a Nissan Cube. We test drove it and it is pretty nice....I am sure I will love it and it will be fun to drive. I'll put a picture of ours after we pay for it tomorrow and get it registered.

Oh, and we got our driver's licenses today as well, which wasn't difficult but they did try to be tricky on the test.

We paid all the opening costs for our new place that we will move into on Tuesday next week so things are moving along. We will try to get cell phones done tomorrow and I want to get a visit in with Chase.

Getting Back To It

Wow, what a whirlwind week this has been. We have managed to get food at several of our favorite places like Hokka hokka tei, Sushi-go-round and Coco's Curry Ichiban. We have found a house (a nice one too) that we can move into next week. We are going to get our driver's licenses today if we can, and hopefully a car this week too.

We went to visit Chase and she is doing well. I need to get her off to the vet for her initial check up on Friday. I also want to get her groomed again.

The house is right near the beach (we can see it from the roof) so we can walk there if we want, and it is really close to J's work. We are really thrilled because it looks like it will be big enough for our stuff. I'll have to take pictures and post them because it is a really cool modern style Japanese house. I can't wait for family to come visit so we can show them all how cool it is.

It will be nice to get settled into our lives.

Back On Island

Well, we made it here in one piece. Got here late enough on Friday that we haven't gotten much done yet but it has been nice to have a few down days and we'll get started on things tomorrow.

It is so strange to be back, kind of feels like a major case of deja vu...a few things have changed but mostly it is the same as it was when we left three years ago.

I know I keep writing that I will write more later and haven't but I promise that I will. Right now I have to go to bed....still not completely switched over on the time thing.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Things have been pretty hectic since I last wrote. I don't have time to get into it all right now but will update as soon as I can.

Right now we are at the hotel near the airport and fly out to Japan tomorrow morning. Got to get to bed now and try to get some sleep....long day tomorrow.

Hitting Bumps But Living Through It

Well, our house in WA is back on the market. The buyers were not what we were looking for and it is for the best that it is actually on the market now and will get some real exposure. J and I are headed up there tomorrow to do some needed maintenance and spruce things up a bit.

We decided to just stay at the house so we can work on it first thing each day, which means getting a few food supplies too so we don't have to run out every morning for breakfast. We are hoping to get some friends and family over to visit us since we probably won't get to visit anyone now that our time is being devoted to the house.

We are still going forward, so far, on the house in the Rogue Valley that we found and like, but won't be heart broken if that doesn't happen either. If worse comes to worse, we can stick with renting out the WA house if we need to since still owning it means we are still in the market like we want to be....

Our visits in the Rogue Valley were great, saw lots of family and friends. We went to our friend's wedding reception in WA on the 28th and had fun catching up with everyone there as well. We are back in Portland for the second time and head out in the morning. At some point next week, we will have to come back down to Portland to pick up something we left in the Rogue Valley. My sis is going to pick it up since she will be going down for her friend's wedding.

The last few days have been a bit busy but we are through them and will see what is next in our path before we leave. You never know what can happen, that is for sure.

Rogue Valley

Well, we are here, have been actually for a few days now. We are using some free Internet at one of the local coffee houses and I thought I would update you all.

While we loved Bend and find that it would be a great place to invest, it seems the Rogue Valley is where we are going to concentrate our efforts. We have looked at some great houses and we'll find something here in Ashland to buy and rent out before we take off for Portland.

Visits with the family have been great, everyone is doing well and when I have time, I will update further on that. So for now, I am off to check out a few more places this afternoon and we'll see where things lead us.

Thanks

Just wanted to say thanks to all of you that have been reading and commenting even though I haven't been reciprocating lately. As soon as we are settled in, I will get caught up on all my blogging, but for now, keep reading if you want and I thank you for your diligence.

Bend Rocks

Okay, so far this town has me sold bigtime....it is like my hometown in Southern Oregon. I really like it, and getting some investment property here is definitely something we are considering. We are going out with a realtor tomorrow morning to look at some things and we are going to try to do the same when we get to the Rogue Valley as well. We'll see how things progress.

Found a cache today on my walk and dropped the TB but will probably take the coin either to Southern Oregon or to Portland, we'll see.

West Coast

Finally we are in Oregon. Got in yesterday afternoon....whew...that was a haul. Feel like I was on the Oregon Trail (not really, since they had it much worse than me) but we made it and no livestock was killed in the crossing....haha.

Okay, so we are in Bend. Cool town. We are going to talk to a realtor today and see if we can poke around a bit and see what our options for getting some land in this area would be....that would be cool and this place is growing so it would be a good investment regardless.

Looks like we have an offer on the house in WA so we might be out from under it sooner than we thought. There are some interested parties that work next door so it would be very convenient for them. We'll see how it works out. Our realtor is going a great job keeping us in the loop considering we are not in the same place more than one day these days.

I have managed to find a geocache in each of the states we traveled through that I was lacking from before so that has been fun (and a good way to stretch the legs). Yesterday's was in Idaho at a TB hotel near the Flying J we were stopped at. I traded out two TBs I was carrying for a coin and another TB. I am going to see if there are any locally that I can grab while I am here, and perhaps drop one or both of these guys.

Will update more as things progress.

Night From Hell

Left Nebraska (the eastern end) yesterday afternoon after lunch with Gpa and early morning golf. We crossed the entire state and halfway into Wyoming before we started looking for a hotel. Found out the hard way that none of itty bitty or even decent sized towns in Wyoming along the I80 freeway had rooms available. We ended up driving 2 extra hours in hopes of finding a place to lay our heads and ended up sleeping in our truck in a rest stop near the western border of Wyoming. One town we stopped in, actually had rooms available at the Travellodge (comparible to Motel 6 or Super 8) and they had bumped their prices up to 131 dollars plus tax because they knew they were the only ones available. I refused to get screwed over like that.

The truck wasn't so bad, we pushed Chase to the back, and then J slept in the back seat and I slept in the passenger seat. J woke up around 6:30am and started driving while I slept in the back seat until 8:30am. When I woke up we had left Wyoming, and Utah and were making our way into Idaho. We are now at a Flying J in Twin Falls, and will try to get all the way to Bend today....we'll see. Figure since we lost a night, we might as well make up for it and get an extra day in Bend to sightsee a bit. Hopefully there is a hotel and a shower in my near future...haha.

Traveling Update

Just wanted to let everyone know we were alive and kicking. Have been off the Net for a few days while visiting family in Nebraska but will be back on the road again on Tuesday and will probably be in hotels with Internet along the way.

We have had a great visit so far. Everyone is healthy, J's mom flew out to spend time with us and Grandpa and family and it has been great. Got some golf in and even found a new driver that works well for me.

Will update more as we go, just using a coffeehouse connection to get the word out.

Hanging in Independence

Arrived in Independence Missouri tonight. It is about 8 miles east of Kansas City, MO and we are going to head into KC to check things out a bit tomorrow before making our way to Nebraska. I will hopefully get a geocache in KC, KS so I can count KS as one of my states. I found one at a rest stop in Missouri today so that state has been added to my map.

We visited this house in Independence today....just did a drive by really but it was so awesome looking and I am sure it has been used in movies, that I just had to post a pic of it. It is called the Vaile Mansion. I will try to see if I can find out more about it. Internet lore discusses it possibly being haunted but I am not sure if that is the real deal or just a matter of looking at the place and thinking it would definitely be just that....

Anyhow, this is just a small update on our travels...will write more tomorrow when we get settled in Nebraska at Gpa's or the hotel....

At It

Well, we left NC yesterday. We stopped in Greensboro to pick up my sister's travel bug and then made our way along the 40 to Tennessee. I found two caches along the 40 in Tennessee to be able to mark this state off. It was so nice of J to alter our route (I didn't even ask) so I could get Tennessee in. We have been here before but that was before I started geocaching. One of the caches was really cool on this greenway trail that took us a bit to find.

Saying goodbye to the friends was absolutely horrible. Some of them are like family to us and that just makes it harder. I just have to hope that we will get to see each other again in the future and make an effort to make that happen as well as to stay in touch. Being the corresponder that I am, I am sure I will drive everyone nuts with my postcards, emails and letters.

We stopped for the night a ways out from Nashville (difficult to find a place that would let us have Chase in the room, but we managed) and we are getting ready to eat some breakfast and head out again. Hope to make it to Kansas City today. I don't have any caches in Missouri or in Kansas so I have already done a search to find a few I can make use of...should be fun and it breaks up the trip a bit.

Chase is doing okay....didn't like the car much (never does when she first gets in) but I think she has resigned herself to it. Right now she is hiding under the bed thinking that we might forget about her and she can live happily looking out the window of this hotel room forever....little does she know.

Heading Out

We are done at the house. I have to pick up the cat tomorrow morning when we take off, and other than that, we are done. It really hit me today that we are leaving....cleaning up the last of the house did it.

I was in the shower before running over to see one of my friends and I started crying a bit because I realized that I wasn't going to see them for a very long time and I didn't have much time left with them.

We had dinner with my niece and her family, and saying goodbye to them afterwards was terrible. I am going to miss her more than she even knows. All our friends here have helped us so much with this moved and there is really no way to say thanks properly. I think the thing that we remember is that they know if they need us to do the same, we would be there for them in a minute.

I am excited to get to Nebraska so we can see J's grandpa and family. I am also looking forward to getting all the way to the west coast and seeing the rest of the family. Of course that means more goodbyes as well but hopefully I will get to see most of them again in 6 months or so...depending on schedules.

Checking The List

I am checking the items off the list faster than ever....

sold car,
sold house,
shampooed carpets
emptied and cleaned hottub
shaved cat
put rhino liner in truck
picked up cat records
picked up my records
closed po box
forwarded mail from both po box and house
cleaned most of house
shipped or stored all belongings
took all plants to my friends

Now I just need to finish cleaning out the refrigerator, wipe down the kitchen, and sweep out the garage. Chase is still staying at the house so that will be our last minute pickup before we take off on Monday. Hopefully when I get there today, the carpets will all be dry. I think I might get an air freshner at Lowe's to liven the house up a bit.

I can't believe our time here is almost over. We have a little get together today at my friend's house...don't know if it will be the big goodbye or not, hope not because goodbyes kill me.

Ziploc Stock

I should have stock in reclosable plastic bags, whatever brand they might be. Practically everything I own is in a ziplocable bag of some sort, and then in a Rubbermaid tote (I should have stock in those too).

I used up 25 gallon size freezer bags today just organizing spices and other loose ends from the pantry. Once I get to Japan, I'll use the bags for other things and won't have to buy any until we move again, I am sure.

In The Hotel

Well, we are in our first hotel of many, I am sure. It is pretty nice. We have a suite so there is a little kitchen with plenty of dishes and utensils so I will be moving most of our refrigerator over here while we try to use up what we can. We left Chase at the house. It is less tramatic for her.

Our last shipment comes tomorrow, and I probably should be in bed by now, but I am waiting on laundry that I want to get into the shipment. Fortunately for me, we are pretty much done now, so I can relax and do some fun things.

We went to watch the fireworks tonight with some friends and that was cool. We have free high speed Internet at the hotel so I can stay in touch for a few days at least. I need to download some geocaches for the first legs of our trip.

Looks like we sold the car today...they are coming by tomorrow to pay for it and take it away. We'll pull the plates so we can make sure to get it unregistered in Oregon. We are signing the paperwork on the house on Friday even though it won't close until the 11th. It works for us.

I finally hired a realtor for the house in WA and we'll see how long it takes us to sell that one. She seems really nice and is willing to give us a break on the commission.

I managed to get the bedliner put in the truck and the cat shaved again all in the same day. This holiday in the middle of the week is really throwing things off.

Some friends of our taught us how to pan for gold the other day, and I have a bag of dirt from them that I need to go through before we leave. I was supposed to show it to J but I might end up doing it without him. I found gold in the last one so I am sure this one will have some too.

Classic Soft Rock

I am currently watching the longest commercial of all time for "classic soft rock" hosted by Air Supply (who knew they were from the UK?). I can't believe how many of these songs I know, and I actually considered buying it for my sister...she would get a great laugh out of it.

It was definitely a case of nostalgia watching it...brought be back....haha.

Still At The Open

We have been at the Women's US Open all this week...not bad really except that every afternoon we have thunderstorms so today was the first day all week they were able to play until dark and they had to because they were so far behind. Tomorrow they will be finishing up (9 more holes for the leaders) Round 3 and then completing Round 4 (hopefully).

We are taking our niece in with us (kids under 17 get in free) tomorrow, and I am sure she will be bored out of her mind but I think she will have fun hanging with us anyhow. We don't have much time left with her so I want to do as much as we can and this is an opportunity for her to see some girls with some very specific goals and achievements under their belts.....hint, hint....

I also am getting ready for the big push for our last shipment, getting this house cleaned up for the new owners and getting some friend time in before we take off. Hopefully, we will be able to stay in a hotel nearby and a chance to see our friends who we will miss dearly...saying goodbye is always the hardest part.

Happy Anniversary!!!

Today is my grandparent's wedding anniversary.....so here is a wish for a happy day going out their way!!!

Recycling

After living here for three years, my town finally improved their recycling program. I have been saving my recycling and taking it to the center myself because the curbside recycling in my town sucked so bad. Now, weeks before I am to leave, they improve it to a level that warrants my participation.

When before, we had to separate everything, and could only recycle a few things at the curb, we can now recycle almost everything, and it can all be jumbled together. We can recycle 7 types of plastic....that is how good it has gotten.

Here is a quote from our town newsletter regarding the new recycling program:

"Since allowing residents to commingle their recyclables, the Village has seen a tremendous increase in the volume of recycling. Total tons recycled increased 42% from March to April. 67.4 tons were diverted from the landfill in April."

Duh!!!!

Really, Who Gives A F*ck?

Okay, somebody please explain to me how P*aris H*ilton and her idiot friends are more newsworthy than the hundreds of people fighting and dying all over the world right now? Larry King is going to have an exclusive with her tomorrow....what a waste of CNN airtime. I am so disappointed in our media these days!!!!!!

How many people got out of jail today? Thousands, in just the US alone, I am sure, but somehow the "tramatic" 23 days she had to "endure" is worth talking at length about. No wonder the rest of world thinks that Americans are shallow and trivial....

Open and Moving

Well, everything is gone except for our fast shipment (which doesn't go out until the 5th of July) and what is going with us on the plane. We are cleaning, fixing picture holes, and generally getting paperwork and the house organized to be closed out. I have managed to get my new mailing address out to just about every one I can think of, and updated some things on the computer. I need to do a back up now, and burn some DVDs for back up as well.

I purchased a little Western Digital external harddrive that I could move pics and movies to, to free up some space on one partition of our harddrive and I think I am going to use that as back up too.

The livingroom looks like a paperwork explosion but I have to get things in order and spreading it all out is the easiest way for me to start the process. I have to make sure we have all the stuff we need as we make our way across so we don't get behind in bills or I forget something for us or the cat that keeps us from leaving on schedule.

We started going to the Women's US Open yesterday and it has been fun so far, although today my camera batteries died so I need to charge them up tonight because tomorrow is the last day you can take pictures and I am taking my niece with me to the course.

Amazingly (I have to think I had something to do with this), the USGA decided this time to include recycling containers near the concession stands along with the regular trash cans. I emailed them before the Open started about how that was a bad thing during the men's Open in 2005 and could have been easily remedied. They are still charging an arm and a leg (2.75 for 20 oz) for water and more for any other food or beverage and you can't bring anything in, but at least we have located the drinking fountains scattered on the course (we have found 2 so far that we can access) and we are having to drive this time so we have our lunch in the car.

We have seen some of the players we like to watch already but not Annika yet. We'll get her tomorrow, I suppose, and then the tournament will start on Thursday and there will be no more cameras allowed. Today it started to lightening and thunder around 4pm and play was suspended so we decided to call it a day and head home.

Updated Reading For June

Hey, I updated my reading blog for the month of June...don't know when I will get July done since we'll be on the road but hope to get some reading in. Have several books coming in the car with me...haha.

It's All Gone

Whew....the only things left in the house are our immediate needs which won't be shipped until the 5th. We have a PC and printer sitting on various Rubbermaid containers (I am currently siting on the floor with my keyboard in my lap), and we have a few essentials in the other room and then a bunch of crap that is either staying here or going with us when we drive across the US to the west coast.

I kept out my rice cooker, and wok, the coffee maker, a couple pots and a few plates and bowls, one set of silverware, the toaster, some stirring and serving utensils, some clothes, some towels, and odds and ends that we'll need the next two weeks.

We are going to be sleeping the next two weeks on our old futon bed (a full size) that we owned when we first got married...haha. I have sheets and a comforter for it along with some pillows. We have decided that once we leave the house on the 5th, we'll go to a hotel that allows pets so we can finish cleaning up and get out of here after closing the next week.

I talked to a tax guy today to try to get things straight in my head and I think we will be okay even if we have to sell both this house and our other house in the same year...whew...and the best thing is that I don't really have to worry about it until we do taxes next March, so no worries there for now. Now I just need to get the house in WA on the market so we can be done with it.

We are looking at getting some property in Southern Oregon that we can just hold onto for a while. Figure we might as well invest somewhere and we know that land is only going to get more expensive. Problem is deciding between a big piece that is a bit out in the boonies to one a bit smaller closer in...of course you get much more land for your buck out in the boonies, but we still need to be able to work (don't plan on becoming independently wealthy anytime soon...haha).

I better go, have to get some dinner in, and relax after my busy day of moving...whew. The hottub sounds pretty nice right now...

Another Pack Day

Well, today they packed up the majority of the stuff that we are taking with us. We think we might be over weight but there is nothing we can do about it, so I am just going to go with it and see where things lead us.

Tomorrow, they come to pick up what the packed up today and I think I might try to throw a few more things in the big shipment so we aren't overweight on the little fast shipment in two weeks. That would suck since that one costs a lot more to send....

I have some organizing to do and I have some preliminary info on the taxes for our house which means more work for me in the next day but might end up being okay at the end...

Storage Is Gone

Well, it has been a few days and we are back home. The storage shipment went as well as to be expected. It is all out of here and the remaining stuff is going with us or staying with the house.

This week we have to separate stuff into what it going on the plane with us personally, what is going in the speedy shipment and what is going in the slow shipment. It is not super critical on the other end because the slow shipment will arrive about 2 weeks after we do but it is critical on this side as the slow shipment is leaving here in a few days and the speedy shipment is not leaving until the 5th of July. That means we need to keep things we want to use up until then and can still ship with us but it can't be too much (only 950 lbs can go on the speedy shipment).

So, we have some things to do before the packers come again on Wednesday....

Give away fish
Empty tank and dry out
Move stuff into separate rooms based on shipment
Give books and magazines to community college
Put leather conditioner on couches
Clean up filing
Do some critical yardwork
Make sure to get all addresses and paperwork needed organized before filing cabinet goes


Those are the critical ones...then we have those that have to be done before July 5th when the speedy shipment goes

Back up computer
Figure out house tax situation
Put out pinestraw in yard (only 5 bales)
Mail printer to J's mom
Mail some things that can't be shipped to ourselves
Pack suitcases and stuff that is going to travel with us personally

I am sure that is just the tip of the iceberg but it helps me to get some of it on paper (virtually)...we have much more that will be done without us even thinking about it I am sure.

Coming Along

The movers will be here to pack and haul away our stuff for storage starting tomorrow for two days. We have basically finished organizing the stuff into Storage and Not Storage. The garage, patio, and guest room are all storage and the rest is not storage. After they leave on Thursday, we'll head up to the lake house to enjoy it with our friends for a few more days and then on Saturday we will be back to break the Not Storage stuff into Fast and Slow shipments. The Slow shipment will be packed and shipped next Wednesday and Thursday....then we will not have anything else going on for two weeks (hopefully we can get some golf and friend visits in during this time). We are also planning to attend the Women's US Open if we can swing it as well.

Right now, my computer is sitting on a mixture of Rubbermaid totes, and the printer stand because my desk is part of a built in that is going into storage. Much of the house seems a mess and I managed to drop one of my Thai green and white items on the ground shattering it. I will end up replacing it when I get to Japan, I am sure.

I decided to not take a lot of my dishes and china so we could reduce the amount of kitchen stuff going over and all I have left on the list for today is...

Unhook the front garden hose and let dry
Do one last load of laundry before unhooking washer and dryer
Unload items in dishwasher that are going into storage
Get box for microwave down from attic
Go through my candle cabinet and laundry room for possible storage items
Mail Father's Day cards

...and anything else I can come up with at the last minute. As soon as we get a new mailing address, I will start getting things off in the mail to change our address...

Back At It

Well, we still have the lake house (our friend rented it another week) so we will go back up there for a couple days of R and R after this storage shipment goes out on Thursday. It has been nice to get away even if it means a bit more stress to get things in order before this Wednesday.

I have been busy today trying to get things organized a bit and I think we are making some headway. We have our room, the guest room, most of the garage, the sunroom and part of the office done.

Things with the cat are at a standstill but I am sure we will get it worked out before long. We'll see I guess. Anyhow, just wanted to check in. Here is a picture of the house we have been renting from the dock...

To The Lake, To The Lake

Got a few things done around here (my massive "multimedia catalog" is updated). I need to back up our harddrive on the PC still and I just purchased a small external harddrive to start storing pics and video on since our data drive (I have my disk partioned into programs and data) is very full. Make sense to burn some of that onto DVD for storage/backup and then onto the external and free up the PC's drive.

We are staying up at the lake house tonight...I am looking forward to it but I am coming back down tomorrow to get some things done around here. The building and termite inspections are tomorrow on this house but I don't have to be here for them. I am hoping to come down in the morning, get some things knocked out and then head back up to the lake house for some alone time on the dock with the sun and a good book. I have a couple of personal projects that need some attention too and it will give me some time to attempt that.

J keeps asking me what I need him to do so that I am not stressing about the move, but I don't know that I can tell him exactly what I need because there is so much to be done and so little time to do it in. I know that after Saturday (when we give up the lake house) we will be focused only on getting stuff done for this shipment and then we can relax a bit. This first one is the big one for getting the organization done.

Enough babbling from me. I have to finish repacking up my bag so I can get out of here and get up there while the sun is still out for a bit. Catch tomorrow perhaps....

Here You Go

Here she is in all her glory....doesn't even look like the same cat, huh?

Lake Update

Lake house has been fun but we are back in reality at least for a few days. Our shipments out are coming up soon and we have to get organized. I am on the tail end of the head cold I picked up last week. I have a couple of cool pics to post but left my camera at a friend's so won't get those up until tomorrow, I imagine.

We still have the house until next weekend (we are sharing it with a friend) so we'll be up there relaxing again soon (I hope). It has been fun, that is for sure. Plan to get a couple of geocaches in while we are up that way too, if I can.

Will write more later, just wanted to check in.

Out and About

Just wanted to let everyone know that I was around, just not really around this week. We rented a house on a lake about an hour from here and we are spending a lot of time up there this week and there is no Internet (if you can believe that...haha). Anyhow, I'll check in when I am in town but other than that, you are on your own...play nice and I'll see if I can check in again on Friday when I bring the cat in for a shave and a hair cut....

Wait'em Out

Yesterday I walked a few miles with one of my friends like I do many times a week. My girlfriend had to leave early and I wanted to get some more steps in.

I started to just walk around the hockey rink there so I could be on level ground and get some sun as well. I did four sets of lunges (10 on each leg) while I was walking.

I eventually got up to 11000 steps and headed home. This morning my pedometer from yesterday says I walked over 20,000 steps during the entire day, and I can already feel the pain (good pain) in my legs from those lunges. I might not be able to move tomorrow...haha.

I also got a bit too much sun because my shoulders are kind of red but at least it is evening out the weird tan I got from sitting near the pool at my friend M's house in AZ.

Now I have to run because I have a gazillion things to do and procrastinating has not gotten any of them accomplished....I might be forced to post a "to do" list and we all don't want that...

Mishka's Reading Update

Updated my reading blog today, Mishka's Reading. Check it out if you have time and want a suggestion. I hope to get at least one more book in before the month ends but this is what I have done so far.

Back In The Land Of The Living

Okay, I am home. Whew...

The trip was fine, actually better than fine. After the headache I have dealt with recently with the airline, I was very nicely surprised how well things went on the flight. I was convinced I was going to be tagged for random security checks at every stop as some sort of retaliation for dealing with a customer service issue, but thankfully I was not.

So here is the story and my observations...

Thursday I left in the late afternoon. Didn't have to deal with much traffic to the airport, dropped off the truck in longterm parking and made my way to the terminal via the shuttle. Once I arrived, I checked my one bag and found out that our flight was delayed by 1/2 hour. I was told I would make the connection in DFW as long as the plane took off on the new scheduled time. We arrived with 20 minutes until my flight but fortunately, I only had to move down a few gates and not to another terminal so I made it in the nick of time. I was convinced my bag would not but I had at least a shirt and underwear in my carryon so I was okay in that regard for one day. I landed in PHX on time and met up with my friend M and her daughter outside of the security area. We made our way down to baggage and my bag did appear on the carousel so we were set. We went back to their house after some Mexican food and then did the usual hang around for the evening. Their daughter L is growing like a weed and so smart. They have two puppies and a kitty (who was recently shaved) so I was able to get my animal fix. I might get Chase shaved, I think it will be cooler for her on the trip across and for the flight to Japan.

Friday, (being on a different timezone bodywise), I woke up earlier than normal and we started our day. We had a 5 1/2 hour drive ahead of us to get to California and our reunion weekend. M and her husband were both in my class at Redlands so it was cool for us to travel together. We got some visiting in before seeing everyone else. The drive was good, no hangups and we went straight to M's parent's house in Riverside. We dropped off the munchkin and visited a bit before heading back to Redlands for the first of several get togethers over the weekend. We were a bit late getting there. Another sorority sister MD and one of our favorite guy friends from school were already there. We chatted things up and waited on the others (who never came). We did see a few people from school and allocated each other points if we could remember names (we weren't wearing name tags for this event). It is amazing how fast you forget names. We left the pizzaria after a while and had a drink at a martini bar before calling it a night. It was great to see MB and LM there, they looked great and happy and that is all that any of us can ask for, right?

Saturday we had two events....a lunch/BBQ and then an after dinner thing. Lots more people were at the BBQ than we encountered the night before and it was nice to see everyone. The kids were able to play in the bouncy house and the parents were able to take a break and relax. The food was what I expected for 20 bucks from our school's food service but the drinks were limited. We talked and reminisced and took plenty of pictures (any of you reading this need to email me your pictures). I managed to get over to the bookstore so I could get a few souvenirs since the online store sucks. After walking around a bit, we headed back to the parent's house for showers and some rest. We managed to get a bit of food in us so we wouldn't be starving that night since we were only promised heavy appetizers in the food department. The evening shindig was set near some of the newer buildings on campus and the area was interesting. The propane heaters (it was a bit chilling in So Cal in the evening) weren't working but the company was good and we all toughed it out. Most of the people we were able to see at the BBQ came back to the after dinner shindig and we had a chance to talk more and take more pictures. Some of us went out to a local bar to hang out some more when the campus thing closed down and that was fun. There were lots of current students there and it made all of us feel very old...haha. Around 1am we called it a night and headed back to the parent's.

Sunday, we slept in a bit and then started to pack up for the trip back. I was able to fix a few things on the parent's computer to offset my cost of room and board...haha. I was glad to help and it is always satisfying to me to be able to fix some one's computer so I had fun with it. We were on the road around 11am and got back to the Phoenix area in the late afternoon. We did dinner at Subway, hung out some more and then hit the hay early. M's husband D, had to work in the morning so I said goodnight to him before bed and M and I were able to hang out for a while the next day. My flight wasn't until the afternoon so it was nice to not be too rushed. We did some work around the yard in the morning and then sat near the pool for a bit (my upper back and the tops of my feet are a bit red today from it). Eventually we had to get going because we had to stop to pick up one of their dogs that had been kennelled and she had to get back in time to pick up L from school.

My flight home was on time and pretty uneventful. I landed around 12:40am my time and had to get bags, get to the truck and drive an hour home. Needless to say, I slept in a bit this morning, especially since I finally managed to get on West Coast time right before leaving...haha.
We might be making our way through the Vegas area on our way to the West Coast when we move later this summer and hopefully it will work out that M and D can come up for a visit along with some other close friends we have in Tuscon. If we get to see any of them, we'll be very happy because it will probably be a while before we get back that way again.

On the home front, we had some people see the house for a second time while I was gone and they made an offer, we countered and they accepted. We'll see how it works out.

Reunion Update

Heading back to AZ today from CA...will fly home tomorrow. It was nice to see some of my sisters and friends from college even though the food wasn't all that great (same food service we had in college) and the proprane heaters didn't work. It wasn't cold, but just a bit chilly after being in AZ.

I'll post some pics if I can....of course maintaining the secret identity, later when I get home.

Reunions

Well I leave today for AZ and then on Friday my friends and I drive to So Cal for our college reunion. It is a cluster reunion with 3 classes total which is kind of nice since we all knew people from other classes.

I had all these plans to be skinnier, have whiter teeth and less wrinkles by the time this came up but now I am just not worried about it. I did put in some nice brown color to my hair this week, but that has become more of a necessity than anything else...haha.

At this point, I figure that at least 1/2 (if not more) of my class is either fatter or older looking than me and I am just not going to worry about it. It is not like I see most of these people very much and do I really care what anyone thinks that is not in my immediate life? No. Of course, the majority of my time is going to be spent with my sorority sisters and we all love each other no matter what so I am not worried about them at all. We'll have a blast regardless.

More than anything, I hope I don't spend the entire trip thinking about all the things I need to get done around the house back here. After this trip, I get home and start to get serious about organizing things for our move and shipments. But for now, I am hoping I can focus on a weekend of fun and memories with my friends before things really start to get hectic.

Reflections at Weymouth Woods Reserve

Just one of many pictures we took during Mom's visit on the East Coast.

Freedom Writers

I watched this movie tonight. Some people might say that this is not the best movie, that it was hokie or the plot or story could have been told better. It doesn't matter to me.

This was a great movie. It is a true story and it moved me. This woman affected the lives of these kids, made them feel like they were worth something. If she does nothing else in her life, she has made a mark on another life, and isn't that what it is all about?

If I can have that kind of inspiring affect on just one kid, I will feel like I have accomplished something with my life.

Mom Visit Update II

Okay,

I put my mom on the flight home this morning and it looks like it is going to be delayed and then she will be rerouted...not exactly how I wanted her to spend Mother's Day but at least she had a good time here and will get home relaxed from her visit.

Let's see where we stand on activity...

1. Ran lots of errands.
2. Had 3 more showings of house.
3. Found 2 more geocaches.
4. Went to the beach, ate, touristed around, and collected some shells.
5. Went to a work event and participated in all the fun.
6. 1 birthday party, and 1 going away party (both in the same day).
7. Found the music we were looking for.
8. Relaxed, read a lot, and generally had no defined schedule.
9. Visited several historical sites.
10. Drove all over the state and saw lots of countryside.
11. Had some loss of sleep the last day but hope it will be worth it.

Mom Visit Update

Let's see...

1. Plane was a bit late but not much.
2. Mom has a cold but is on the downside (she jokes that she will be just getting better when the plane ride back will put her down again).
3. We have found 4 geocaches so far.
4. We have checked out a cool cemetary, an awesome museum and several yummy eats, along with the usual errands.
5. We have had 3 house showings so far.
6. I have made Thai beef noodle soup and Massuman curry for her and she loved them both.
7. We have emailed family on the west coast for birthdays and Mother's Day.
8. We have done movie and music searches on the Internet.
9. We have watched one movie and have at least one more planned.

Tomorrow is the day that I do afternoons with my niece. We are also showing the house during that time so hopefully the weather will cooperate and we will spend the morning checking out some cool historical sites and perhaps some sourvenior shopping will occur and then we will spend the afternoon doing some caching with my niece. We'll probably have some tacos for dinner. Friday we are heading to the beach for the day and Saturday is already very packed...we'll see if we can fit it all in...haha.

Mom Visit

My mom is flying out from the west coast to visit me for a whole 9 days!!!! She will be here tomorrow afternoon and I can't wait to spend some quality time with her. I don't know that we have had this much time together since she visited me with my sister and B, when I lived in Japan the first time. I intend to get all of them out there again when we move there this time as well but this visit will be nice.

She hasn't seen my house out here and in a few weeks it will be a wreck as we get started on the organizing for the move. She hasn't been to the east coast either (maybe a trip to Boston once) so I am excited to take her to the ocean one day if she wants to go but mostly just hanging out doing the stuff I do. I don't know if any house showings will turn up in the middle of our visit but if so, it will give us an excuse to get out and play somewhere.

April Books

Updated Mishka's Reading with the April books...some were good and some were great....check them out when you have time.

Barely Moving

From my work outs the last three days...I can barely move my legs...but it is a good hurt so I guess I can't complain too much. Whew...at least I feel like I am making an effort.

Soccer Woes

I played soccer today with my team for the first time since November (I believe). I have kicked the ball around on a few occasions with J and in the raquettball court at the gym but that is about it. Other than my gym and walking workouts, I haven't really been pushing myself much.

Oh my gosh, did I suck. I felt like I was running with lead in my feet. I ran out of gas before we were finished because we started so late and I had eaten 4 hours before. Luckily, I was still able to kick the ball and control it but it felt like I had no power and was not even close to being an effective player.

Yesterday, I weight lifted backs and one of the exercises I do is "good morning" raises. This tightens up the butt and hamstrings besides just working the lowerback, and today they were tight so sprinting was almost impossible. I now know I need to get my butt exercising twice as much as I am currently doing or I will not be able to compete at all.

We might have a tournament next week and I don't know if I will even been any help to the team...

New Printer

I finally got around to installing my new printer yesterday. J got it for me for Christmas....I know, it is terrible that I hadn't gotten it on there but I had other computer stuff that was more pressing and then all the house stuff piled up.

It is a Canon PIXMA MP830 and can I just say this thing rocks!!! I have only made one scan and one copy so far but I am impressed. It scans a million times faster than my old HP (sorry Chicken) so finishing up my Grandmother's picture project should be easy. It has slots for memory cards so you can easily transfer pics from camera (which I don't really need since I have 4 card slots in my computer and I usually have York print my pics but it is nice that it is there). It also does double side, all sorts of different paper and has a usb port on the front for thumb drive access...

I am sure the ink will cost a fortune and we won't be using the faxing capability for a while (no jack in this room) and I can just scan stuff in and email it in most cases but I think I am in love...haha.

For Chicken...

who wanted me to post a pic of my tulips and I thought the dogwood came out exceptionally well so I am throwing it in as a freebie...I reduced the file size on these to keep down the pilfering but if you (Chicken) want a full sized copy I can email them to you...






I am using the dogwood on my myspace profile, this profile and on my desktop right now because it is just so springy and spring doesn't last for long here...soon it will be hot and muggy!!!

Mystery Bump

NOTE: GROSS WARNING!!!!!

I am not sure if I blogged about this before but I found this weird white bump on my arm in the fall. At first it just looked like one of those white "no pigmentation" spots you sometimes get when you get tan but it felt a bit raised so of course I fiddled with it and worried a bit about it. I wasn't too concerned but was definitely curious.

J told me that it was probably nothing but I should leave it alone and make plans to have it looked at. I didn't have time to schedule anything before Christmas with our trip and my school wrapping up, but I was going to do it right after the new year started.

Anyhow, during the trip, I noticed that it was going away some (probably because I was leaving it alone) so I stopped calling it "my little cancer" and forgot about it for the most part. When I went for a physical in February, I mentioned it to the doctor and they didn't seem to think it was anything to worry about.

Yesterday I was wearing a sleeveless shirt and felt the bump and it felt greatly diminished...I was glad because it really meant that it was nothing and that my fooling with it, was what made it seem like it was getting bigger.

Today, I was in a sleeveless shirt again, and I noticed this stuff on my arm, kind of near the practically unnoticeable bump. I wiped it off. Later on, I noticed this stuff again, and thought it was kind of weird. I pushed on the spot there the bump was supposed to be, and all this white stuff (I know, kind of gross) came out of one of my pores. I just kept pushing and more stuff came out (more than any kind of pimple or anything like that). I asked J what he thought, and he said, I must have had a small infection in there (probably from messing with it) and now it was over.

So I am not sure if I should be concerned that all this stuff expressed out of this thing or glad that it might be a sign that it is gone forever....guess I will just keep an eye on it and see what happens. Right now it seems to be gone, let's hope it stays that way!!!

Almost There

Well, we had the meeting with our realtor today and he came by and did the measurements and pictures for our listing which starts on Monday. We have pretty much everything done around here for the listing, but not for the move. We are trying to keep the house looking a certain way at least for a while.

When I get home from my reunion in May, I plan to go head first into packing and organizing and at that point, people will just have to deal with the fact that we will have a house that looks like we are moving. If I have to wait 'til the last minute to do my organizing and packing, I will lose my mind...haha.

In other news, the eggs in the bluebird nest have not hatched yet...I am starting to get worried but I guess I better look it up on the web so I know if they are not viable or not.

We got our title for our second car. We are selling it before the move and it is easier to sell a car when you have the title in hand, so I paid it off last month just for that reason and it came in the mail the other day. I had to run by a branch of the bank that did the loan though, because they didn't sign off on the title and it is worthless to me if they don't sign off on it. Fortunately, they understood what I needed and signed it.

I have another customer service story to post about but I am waiting to see if they will take care of it before I have to start a campaign against them...

Water, water - and wasted plastic bottles - everywhere :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Health

This article touches on exactly what I bitched about in my blog earlier this month....what a waste and now it looks like some of the time, the water in the bottles is not any better for you...

Flashing

The other day when J was in the attic putting some new insulation up (and thank goodness I didn't have to do that...I have this weird fear of getting fiberglass in my skin)....he noticed that there was a small hole in the sheeting of the roof right near our chimney. We talked about different ways to fix it for a few days but came to the concensus that to do it right, we would have to take the shingles off in the area in question and replace the sheeting properly. We probably could have gotten away with doing some kind of half assed job but we just couldn't do it.

So on Friday, while I was busy dropping off yardwaste and picking up pinestraw and unloading it, J was on the roof getting things going. He carefully removed the shingles (as we didn't know if we could find matching ones) and cut out the section of sheeting that would need to be replaced. In the course of that, he discovered that the reason the hole was there to begin with is because whomever replaced the flashing on the chimney before did a really bad job of it (part of it was aluminum siding not even real flashing) and some how water had gotten below it and rotted that sheeting. We were lucky we hadn't had a leaking problem this whole time in the house.

So after I was done unloading, we took off for our local home improvement store and picked up the necessary items. Amazingly enough, we did find some shingles that matched ours and so we ended up with a pack of those as well. We came back home and J went back to the roof and I moved onto another project. As it started to get dark, we put things away and prepared for the next day.

Saturday, J got up on the roof bright and early and I took care of some other items. We knew it was supposed to rain on Sunday so we were trying to finish the roof up that day for sure. I started working on my yardwork and getting the 39 bales put out. I finished up the yardwork, right at dusk and because we weren't completely finished but finished enough that we could just tarp the chimney and not have to worry, that is what did. Around 11pm it started to rain but we knew that we were okay because J had finished up everything that would be getting wet from the tarp, we really only had to do the cap flashing on the sides of the chimney.

Sunday morning we get up to the news of the horrible storm hitting the East Coast. So many inches of rain expected and severe thunderstorm and tornado watches in effect. We decide to run to the home improvement store since we can't do anything on the roof until the rain stops. We had some returns to do and a few different things to pick up. While we are there, the rain stops...we hurry home because it looks like we have a 3 hour window to finish up. J already has all the flashing shaped and cut, we just need to get it on there and caulked. He starts on it and then asks me to help him so we can finish in time.

So he places and nails them into the chimney and I go around behind him caulking them up with this polyurethane black goopy stuff. It is definitely a messy job but not anything too difficult. We are down to two more pieces when the sky starts to get darker and we can hear thunder in the distance. I tell him that I am getting down as soon as it gets close, because not only are we on the roof of our house during a severe thunderstorm watch, we are playing with sheets of metal and have to climb an aluminum later to get down. I won't even mention the fact that there have been 5 lightening strikes on trees in our neighborhood since we have lived here (one in our yard). Needless to say, we start working much faster. I kept one eye on the storm as we joked about the headlines if we should both get killed up there...haha. Fortunately for us, the storm skirts by us without coming very close although it was a bit gusty and dark off to one side, and we are able to get everything caulked, cleaned up and off the roof before it starts to rain.

Note: While we were up there, I just kept thinking about how much my mom would not want to know what we were doing...

New Eggs To Watch

The bluebirds laid 5 new eggs in their first (very late) clutch for the year...

What Are They Thinking?

On Saturday, I spent a large portion of the day doing yardwork around the house. I put out 39 bales of pinestraw in our yard (my fingers are raw), but while I was doing it, I was wondering what the birds were thinking of my actions.

I figure it went something like this.

"So Louise, what do you think that human is doing over there?"
"Oh, she does that twice a year..."
"Yes, but what for?"
"Irma, don't you know? She is building a nest....that is how they do it."

Time Is Flying

Wow, it seems like I am on the computer all the time but every time I come to check out my blog, days have gone by where I haven't posted....

This weekend (a four day for J) is being spent getting things done around the house in prep for putting it on the market in about a week. I am doing yard stuff and J is doing house stuff. I picked up 39 bales of pinestraw yesterday and I am putting it out today before it rains tomorrow. I did a recycling run this morning as well as a run or two to Lowe's for J's projects.

We have some flowers to put in pots and some cleaning up outside to do, but things are coming along quickly. J has already fixed the insulation in the attic on the two skylights. I managed to smuggle two big boxes out of the recycling center so I can put a few nonessentials in the attic for the time being. This week will be busy for me, even after J goes back to the office because I have lots of little projects looming on the edges. I do plan to try to get the computer stuff out of the way tomorrow while it is lowsy weather outside.

I am helping a friend and his partners beta test a new online service, trying to get to the gym so I won't be gigantic at my 15 year college reunion in May, and organizing stuff for our move in July...needless to say, the plate is full. I do want to get visits in (we are trying to get my mom out here before we take off), and I have friends in the area that I have to see so time management skills for me are of the essense and I think I am doing okay with them.

We did find out that our renters in WA are not going to be able to buy our house (it is out of their price range) so we will have to actually put that house on the market too...I am not going to worry about that right now though....we'll see how things play out and go from there...the renter's might be there a bit longer or something, so who knows.

Anyhow, that is a little catch up from me...hope everyone else's weekend is going well. Hope nobody is stressing about taxes...haha.

Pinging Irritation

I HATE the fact that Wordpress, Typepad and all other blog hosts out there don't ping Blogrolling automatically!!! The "recently updated" function is back online with Blogrolling but those that are hosted at the above locations always sit at the bottom of my list and I forget to check them and then I get so behind.....grrrr.

(All you all could ping using autopinger but that would require an extra step everytime you post)

Novelist Kurt Vonnegut dies at age 84 - Yahoo! News

One of J's favorite authors....so sorry to hear that he died. J doesn't really read much fiction but when he does, it is almost always a Vonnegut book.

Do You Need Any?

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but my friend Bonita that came to visit us this weekend is a Tupperware consultant. She is the best because she has a no pressure sales style which is just what I am looking forward in a consultant (not to mention that she has been my friend for over 20 years). She brought several pieces with her to my house to show me (since I had told her that I wanted to get some things). I purchased a few items from her that she had with her but I also plan to make an order online from her page (so she gets the credit) in the near future. I have a couple of friends that wanted to look at the catalog so we are going to put the order in together if we can.

Anyhow, I am so happy with Bonita as my consultant, I thought I would share her contact info on the Tupperware site in case any of you wanted to order something...

Click on this link if you would like to go to her website on Tupperware.

Tasks To Do

Well, I haven't been on my laptop in a while and that is where I keep my task list on Outlook. I went to it today and was able to check off a few things but had a to add a few things too. We are having to replace some insulation in the attic along the two skylights. I don't think insulation does well when it is in a upright position unless you are able to tack it in. I am sure J plans to do that when he gets it done. It was kind of fun to click off some of the check marks but then I had to change the date on a few other things that I was supposed to get done in March (just an arbitrary date really) that I didn't get done. Hopefully many of them will be accomplished this week and weekend although, it is raining today so all outdoor stuff is cut off.

Fortunately, the temperature is coming back up to spring weather and we'll be able to kick some of the yard things off the list. I need to get some pinestraw, and we might borrow a bigger truck to do that....would be easier than making several trips.

Anyhow, I have been on here for too long today, helping on the help boards and playing around. Have to get to some other items.

Our New Visitor

I don't know if I have mentioned this recently or not, but after the squirrel and then mouse issues (and it was only one of each that we can figure) a while back, things have been quiet in the walls.

A few weeks ago, when quietly typing on my PC in my office, I would hear some kind of "scritching" sound (and yes, I have since found out there is a definition for that term but it doesn't apply here and I started calling this noise that before I knew the definition and even now know, can't stop myself from using the term) in the eave area outside my office window.

I reported the sound to J and started to track when I heard it because sometimes it will give you a clue to what it going on. Now the thing about this sound is that, it wasn't of the same consistently or timing of the sounds the mouse or squirrel made so I was convinced it was something else. J went up into the attic a few times and we couldn't determine anything but were sure that it was definitely something in the eave.

I went with him and we even brought out the mouse traps just in case, and we talked about setting the live catch squirrel trap (it doesn't hurt them, just contains them) because we thought perhaps it was a possum that got in there while we had the eave on the end of house open a while ago for some work. We didn't end up setting the live trap, because we soon became convinced it wasn't a possum. Thing that confused us completely is the fact that our attic is pretty much sealed off these days so it would be difficult for anything of any size to get up there, not to mention the fact that in our warming days, it is blazing hot up there.

So, we set the few mouse traps and I waited. I left the attic stairs down one evening with the garage door open hoping if it was a possum, it might just go out for dinner at night and I could put the stairs back up and be done with it. J went on a business trip and when he would call, he would ask if I had checked the traps and if I was still hearing the scritching. I was logging it all at my desk in the office, and yes, I was still hearing the scritching. J came home yesterday and in the afternoon, went up into the attic to check things out. He decided to get all the way out next to the eave and move the insulation around. When he did this, an 8 inch lizard came out....and scurried away. I am thinking it is this beautiful skink that we have had living (I assumed on the outside) at our house for the last couple of years. He has a gorgeous blue tail. J couldn't confirm this but it is dark in the attic so perhaps it is him.

This explains why the traps weren't not being triggered and why I was hearing the scritching even when it was hot up there. He is probably in lizard heaven up there, and as long as he is not chewing on wires, I am not sure I care whether he is up there. I figure he is probably eating some bugs that I don't want to deal with, right? Personally I am just relieved that it isn't a rodent of some sort...

They Arrived

Our friends came last night...they look great and we are having a great time...minus a small allergy attack...will update on our visit as the weekend progresses. They love the hot tub, especially after a long day of driving.

Friends

One of my best friends from high school and his mother are coming to visit us this weekend. I am so excited to see them. They are taking a long weekend to get away and chill which sounds absolutely fabulous to me. I am excited to have visitors, we haven't had many, and it will be the last time I get to see them before we move back to Japan.

J and I stopped to see them on our way home from Florida at Christmas time and I think that was the first time I has seen them in about 10 years. We had stayed in contact with cards and emails but no face to face in forever. The cool thing about it, was that once we got caught up, it was like we had never been apart, the conversation was so easy and fun.

Needless to say (and I hope they aren't reading my blog in the next few days) I am getting things in ship shape around here. It is a good motivator for me so it is fabulous. We are going to be putting our house on the market in a few weeks so this spring cleaning I am doing is going to be filling at least two requirements. Tomorrow I am finishing up the house (in between other appts I have) and then on Friday (since they won't arrive til evening time), J and I will be able to tackle a couple of yard issues we have been waiting on.

I purchased some new things for the yard the other day at Lowe's and now it looks like we are going to get another (and hopefully our last) freeze of the year this weekend so I will have to bring some of it in...oh well, at least I didn't get it in the ground and then have it all freeze...that would have pissed me off.

I am hoping we will have some clear nights with a moon that we can check out in the telescope, a few logs on the outdoor fireplace and a nice warm hottub with some glasses of wine to go with it....sounds like a nice weekend to me. What will you all be doing?

Iran frees detained British sailors - Yahoo! News

Maybe there is hope for all of us yet...

Is The List Actually Shrinking?

Okay, I am making headway...and it feels good. While it might not look like it to the naked eye, I am slowly clicking little things off my list and that always helps me sleep better at night...and oh, can I say, how fabulous a little Clairol can be for a person's outlook? I just feel better knowing I did it and I won't have to do it again for a month or so and I don't look ten years older than I am anymore!!!!

So, if I can get the fish tank cleaned, the cat box cleaned and the sunroom vacuumed tonight before settling in to watch a movie and work on my friend's baby blanket, I will feel like a completely new person...the work in progress in my office can wait 'til tomorrow.

Please note that while I wanted to post a huge list here of all the sh1t I have been doing, I decided against it because I know how much it depresses you all....haha

This Rocks!!!

Google Translate is awesome....loving it. You should check it out sometime. What a great tool...I am sure there are others out there but this one is so easy to find and use...

http://translate.google.com/translate_t

Of course it is probably not completely perfect but something is better than nothing (unless of course it completely messes up what you want to say....)