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.