1. The "gift" of mildew/mold is a pain and is feeling not so gifty right about now.
2. Of the 6000 lbs. we had in storage, we're keeping the following: 16 pieces of crystal, a few formals, about 13 items for Jeff's someday man room, a bookshelf, some random yard implements, a found mirror* and that's about it. Nothing like the passage of time to make you realize you hold onto things you shouldn't. So. Much. Stuff.
3. If you are the friend or family member that gave me a *very cool starburst mirror (really is cool and I'm not describing it well), thank you! I love it and I guess I stored that away for 3 years. I really have no idea where this object came from! I don't remember purchasing it or receiving it and, quite frankly, I think I would've taken it with me. The price tag is still on it (from Pier 1, in case that trips your memory) so it was either a very generous gift or someone out there has received their shipment and is lamenting the loss of their sweet mirror.
4. Wyatt has taken to saying, "nope." I guess I say it more than I realized and I heard him repeat it a few times but all of a sudden he's using it often, and in context. For now, it's cute. Like when you say, "okay, you ready to get out of the bathtub?" and he replies with a sideways grin and, "nope." I believe this will come back to bite me.
5. The Jayhawks actually won tonight. It was an ugly, ugly win if you ask me and has tainted my excitement for the Final Four. Or maybe it's my complete chaos of a life that's tainting my excitement...
6. If there were sand in my yard (instead of weeds and mole holes), I would bury my head. I am up to here - holding hand very near eyebrows - with indecision and waiting and estimates and spending and bad furniture that doesn't fit me or my house.
7. The community garage sale is conveniently scheduled for next weekend. Guess who's got her garage full o' stuff? We're already debating how many balloons we should buy to flag people toward our sale. And we're going to run it Asia style - the closer it gets to closing time, the cheaper it will be.
8. Jeff is on the phone right now with friends that we haven't seen for 4 years. We've exchanged sporadic emails but man, it is so great to catch up with them! I can hear Goz's voice and it makes me smile. We know some seriously cool people (but if you're reading this, you're probably one of them so you already knew that).
9. I am trying another new hairdresser tomorrow. I am armed with photos (multiple) and plan to do something a little different...perhaps this is how I always end up with tress stress? I'll let you know how it goes (don't I always?) so try to contain yourself in the meantime.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
A Spa-Like Experience
Well, things are just interesting around here. I noticed while washing my face this morning that my skin feels extra smooth. I think it's because I had an exfoliating treatment last night courtesy of an acid peel (bleach fumes*) and exfoliation (my torn up hands).
I got a phonecall at 8:30 yesterday morning from a very nice and extremely difficult to understand gentleman who was saying things like, "Captain Rock....blah, blah, blah....stuff...Panama City....Virginia...today" from which I discerned our stuff from storage was in the local area and he was on his way to our house. So I did what you would do and said something along the lines of, "uh, sorry, no can do buckaroo". And then I left a rather frantic message on Jeff's cell phone.
So you know how that turned out. Me in Costco, Jeff calling and saying if we don't take it today, it'll be weeks before they deliver and lo, they had our washer and dryer. And that's how it came to pass that at 11 am, our craptastic stuff from storage arrived. And all looked to be in (disappointingly) good shape. See, not-so-secretly I've been hoping for a fine layer of mold on key pieces so we'll get some compensation for said pieces that will, in turn, fund the purchasing of new stuff. Good plah, huh? Please imagine my disappointment when all was well.
But then as we started to get into the nitty gritty of cleaning, lo and behold MOLD. Kind of everywhere. Like in our dresser (not a planned replacement item) and yes, even on our couches (yeehaw! That's what I'm talking about! And why the second western style reference in one blog this morning?). Also in our spare mattress so we yanked that baby back out to the garage where, incidentally, every other random thing from storage is. Nothing was allowed to enter the house with exception of a few pieces of (moldy) furniture. And to my former self: get a brain. You do not need to keep four cinder blocks! You do not need to keep 5 boxes of "papers", you do not need to keep every tchotchke, thingy and knick-knack you've ever had. Self of 2004, you've provided interesting insight for this self of 2008. Thanks for the entertainment.
So now I'm off to photograph more mold, scrub, bleach and vacuum myself into a zen-like state.
*Ibelieve bleach is not acid but base, though the former is better for the purposes of this story. Can anyone confirm? Curious...
I got a phonecall at 8:30 yesterday morning from a very nice and extremely difficult to understand gentleman who was saying things like, "Captain Rock....blah, blah, blah....stuff...Panama City....Virginia...today" from which I discerned our stuff from storage was in the local area and he was on his way to our house. So I did what you would do and said something along the lines of, "uh, sorry, no can do buckaroo". And then I left a rather frantic message on Jeff's cell phone.
So you know how that turned out. Me in Costco, Jeff calling and saying if we don't take it today, it'll be weeks before they deliver and lo, they had our washer and dryer. And that's how it came to pass that at 11 am, our craptastic stuff from storage arrived. And all looked to be in (disappointingly) good shape. See, not-so-secretly I've been hoping for a fine layer of mold on key pieces so we'll get some compensation for said pieces that will, in turn, fund the purchasing of new stuff. Good plah, huh? Please imagine my disappointment when all was well.
But then as we started to get into the nitty gritty of cleaning, lo and behold MOLD. Kind of everywhere. Like in our dresser (not a planned replacement item) and yes, even on our couches (yeehaw! That's what I'm talking about! And why the second western style reference in one blog this morning?). Also in our spare mattress so we yanked that baby back out to the garage where, incidentally, every other random thing from storage is. Nothing was allowed to enter the house with exception of a few pieces of (moldy) furniture. And to my former self: get a brain. You do not need to keep four cinder blocks! You do not need to keep 5 boxes of "papers", you do not need to keep every tchotchke, thingy and knick-knack you've ever had. Self of 2004, you've provided interesting insight for this self of 2008. Thanks for the entertainment.
So now I'm off to photograph more mold, scrub, bleach and vacuum myself into a zen-like state.
*Ibelieve bleach is not acid but base, though the former is better for the purposes of this story. Can anyone confirm? Curious...
Monday, March 24, 2008
Tidbits
Things that have been blog-worthy, but yo, I'm busy living in my own little personal corner of moving hell. I know, I know, we've all been there (and many will go again, more times than we can fathom) but it's just never easy. So here are the things I want to share in no particular order, some good, some bad and some just...stuff.
1. Wyatt is a chatterbox. We hear multiple new words every day and he loves his newfound ability. I just wonder if kids feel like saying, "finally! I have a way to get all these thoughts out of my head!" when they finally get their mouths to do what they want.
2. Wyatt is very durable and manages to show us every day. You know, average things like splitting his lip open, leaving knots on his head, stubbing his toe...like, every five minutes, scraping random appendages, that kind of stuff.
3. The boo-boo (another new word, used often) apparently hurts more today than it did yesterday, or the day before that and so on. He can actually muster tears when he sees it again! I've started telling him that yes, it's there, but it happened ages ago and he's healing. Then we move on. Or at least I do.
4. I have already put a small dent in my new wood floors. Yay me! Way to break in the new house! And thank you, God, that the (apparently) wickedly heavy bowl with the sharpish edge hit the floor instead of my sweet boy who was walking nearby when it catapulted itself out of the highest cabinet.
5. The cable outlet where we want our tv cabinet is dead and needs to be re-wired. This requires either (a) a contractor or (b) running cable along the outside of the house, which might or might not be against our neighborhood covenant. I'm of the "better to beg forgiveness" opinion, while Jeff is still undecided. Ooh, the suspense! What will we do?
6. Our eat-in kitchen is skinny and will not accomodate our dream table (center pedestal round, one leaf that makes it an oval so no one has to sit at the leg!).
7. Our eat-in kitchen now provides shelter for a lovely new (cheap) rectangular (inexpensive) table with six (bargain) chairs. I'm delighted with the fact that we all actually sat down to dinner together tonight.
8. Millie is in heaven here. She moves around the house all day seeking the sunniest spot, then lets us know when she needs to go out and chase birds or squirrels.
9. Wyatt loves his room. I love his room. It makes me happy with all its sunlight and room.
10. We have no windowcoverings. Zero, zilch, nada, nyet, none. We need to remedy this immediately since Jeff keeps forgetting as he passes the big window in our bathroom. I hope the neighbors are enjoying the show.
11. We have interesting neighbors. One is a cat-walker (weekdays at 4pm, weekends at noon) and one is the quasi-self-appointed 'mayor of the cul-de-sac' whose bad side we do not want to approach and who has already semi-abducted Jeff from our driveway.
12. The cozy coupe is Wyatt's favorite toy. He just sits in it, happy as a clam, saying, "go!" and "bye bye" and commentating whatever he sees.
13. The stairs are a challenge. Days 1-5 were great, Wyatt always asked before he attempted them and would take no for an answer. Now we're in the "I hear no but will see how far I can go without getting in big trouble" stage. It's a blast.
14. DVRs rock. A hundred some-odd channels rock. Music channels rock. Free HBO for one year rocks.
15. Even good painters cut corners.
16. Our family room is deceiving; as in, it looked bigger than it turns out to be which makes the couch-purchasing process challenging.
17. If I had questionable taste I could find a wide assortment of couches to fit my needs. Alas, my taste is impeccable and entire furniture warehouses do not offer what I seek (heavy wink on the impeccable taste thing).
18. Our last furniture purchase in Okinawa, the one that made my heart beat faster, looks PERFECT in my entry way.
19. We actually acquired enough furniture in Japan that pretty much every room has some very loved piece in it. Yay!
20. Our attic is huge beyond our wildest dreams with some killer shelves. It's like having an upstairs basement; seriously good stuff.
21. Our garage sale is going to be massive.
22. Our dining room table took some hits in the move (nail gouges in the top - oops!) as did a carton of my clothes (mold). But everything else seems to be in great shape. Thank you Japanese part-ant movers!
23. We received a goody box from Lisa today chock full of Japanese treats and it brought a big smile to my face. Thanks, Lisa! And the picture of Wyatt with crazy hair, courtesy of Nathan, was extremely accurate.
24. I need to stop purchasing linens! Or maybe I could sell a bunch of what we own and buy new because I love linens!
25. Ditto kitchen goods. We need either an island or some additional cabinets somewhere because I'm out of space and still have a few homeless items. And I still want a set of white dishes.
26. Jody, RYC, the Jayhawk chant is Rock Chalk Jayhawk, KU! Say it loud, say it proud. Sorry about your Aggie loss.
27. Shannon, I have not checked your blog yet but my mom tells me you'll be her neighbor(ish) soon! Congrats and I can't wait to see you in the Sunflower State, though you'll have to vehemently defend your Carolinian so-called barbecue in the land of Kansas City style!
28. I have to go to bed now, for it is late and I am tired. And the delight I feel in finally sleeping on my own fabulous mattress is indescribable.
1. Wyatt is a chatterbox. We hear multiple new words every day and he loves his newfound ability. I just wonder if kids feel like saying, "finally! I have a way to get all these thoughts out of my head!" when they finally get their mouths to do what they want.
2. Wyatt is very durable and manages to show us every day. You know, average things like splitting his lip open, leaving knots on his head, stubbing his toe...like, every five minutes, scraping random appendages, that kind of stuff.
3. The boo-boo (another new word, used often) apparently hurts more today than it did yesterday, or the day before that and so on. He can actually muster tears when he sees it again! I've started telling him that yes, it's there, but it happened ages ago and he's healing. Then we move on. Or at least I do.
4. I have already put a small dent in my new wood floors. Yay me! Way to break in the new house! And thank you, God, that the (apparently) wickedly heavy bowl with the sharpish edge hit the floor instead of my sweet boy who was walking nearby when it catapulted itself out of the highest cabinet.
5. The cable outlet where we want our tv cabinet is dead and needs to be re-wired. This requires either (a) a contractor or (b) running cable along the outside of the house, which might or might not be against our neighborhood covenant. I'm of the "better to beg forgiveness" opinion, while Jeff is still undecided. Ooh, the suspense! What will we do?
6. Our eat-in kitchen is skinny and will not accomodate our dream table (center pedestal round, one leaf that makes it an oval so no one has to sit at the leg!).
7. Our eat-in kitchen now provides shelter for a lovely new (cheap) rectangular (inexpensive) table with six (bargain) chairs. I'm delighted with the fact that we all actually sat down to dinner together tonight.
8. Millie is in heaven here. She moves around the house all day seeking the sunniest spot, then lets us know when she needs to go out and chase birds or squirrels.
9. Wyatt loves his room. I love his room. It makes me happy with all its sunlight and room.
10. We have no windowcoverings. Zero, zilch, nada, nyet, none. We need to remedy this immediately since Jeff keeps forgetting as he passes the big window in our bathroom. I hope the neighbors are enjoying the show.
11. We have interesting neighbors. One is a cat-walker (weekdays at 4pm, weekends at noon) and one is the quasi-self-appointed 'mayor of the cul-de-sac' whose bad side we do not want to approach and who has already semi-abducted Jeff from our driveway.
12. The cozy coupe is Wyatt's favorite toy. He just sits in it, happy as a clam, saying, "go!" and "bye bye" and commentating whatever he sees.
13. The stairs are a challenge. Days 1-5 were great, Wyatt always asked before he attempted them and would take no for an answer. Now we're in the "I hear no but will see how far I can go without getting in big trouble" stage. It's a blast.
14. DVRs rock. A hundred some-odd channels rock. Music channels rock. Free HBO for one year rocks.
15. Even good painters cut corners.
16. Our family room is deceiving; as in, it looked bigger than it turns out to be which makes the couch-purchasing process challenging.
17. If I had questionable taste I could find a wide assortment of couches to fit my needs. Alas, my taste is impeccable and entire furniture warehouses do not offer what I seek (heavy wink on the impeccable taste thing).
18. Our last furniture purchase in Okinawa, the one that made my heart beat faster, looks PERFECT in my entry way.
19. We actually acquired enough furniture in Japan that pretty much every room has some very loved piece in it. Yay!
20. Our attic is huge beyond our wildest dreams with some killer shelves. It's like having an upstairs basement; seriously good stuff.
21. Our garage sale is going to be massive.
22. Our dining room table took some hits in the move (nail gouges in the top - oops!) as did a carton of my clothes (mold). But everything else seems to be in great shape. Thank you Japanese part-ant movers!
23. We received a goody box from Lisa today chock full of Japanese treats and it brought a big smile to my face. Thanks, Lisa! And the picture of Wyatt with crazy hair, courtesy of Nathan, was extremely accurate.
24. I need to stop purchasing linens! Or maybe I could sell a bunch of what we own and buy new because I love linens!
25. Ditto kitchen goods. We need either an island or some additional cabinets somewhere because I'm out of space and still have a few homeless items. And I still want a set of white dishes.
26. Jody, RYC, the Jayhawk chant is Rock Chalk Jayhawk, KU! Say it loud, say it proud. Sorry about your Aggie loss.
27. Shannon, I have not checked your blog yet but my mom tells me you'll be her neighbor(ish) soon! Congrats and I can't wait to see you in the Sunflower State, though you'll have to vehemently defend your Carolinian so-called barbecue in the land of Kansas City style!
28. I have to go to bed now, for it is late and I am tired. And the delight I feel in finally sleeping on my own fabulous mattress is indescribable.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
On the Lookout
If you happen to be traveling interstates in the southeast over the next couple of days, keep your eyes peeled for a truck pulling a very heavy U-Haul followed by a tan sedan with a crazy-eyed toddler in the back. That's us!
We're bidding adieu to our lovely accomodations here in Florida tomorrow morning, headed for greener...no, less green....carpeted pastures. Or something like that. Please think nice thoughts for us, pray that Wyatt's brain will not melt with all the DVD watching we have planned for the next 48 hours and that Millie's skin doesn't burst into flames with all the stress. 'Kay? Thanks.
Catch ya on the flip side.
We're bidding adieu to our lovely accomodations here in Florida tomorrow morning, headed for greener...no, less green....carpeted pastures. Or something like that. Please think nice thoughts for us, pray that Wyatt's brain will not melt with all the DVD watching we have planned for the next 48 hours and that Millie's skin doesn't burst into flames with all the stress. 'Kay? Thanks.
Catch ya on the flip side.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Kicking Myself
I have just returned from a vet appointment (for Millie, of course, though Wyatt does continue to act like a monkey much of the time) where I heard the following phrases: "immune stimulants" and "veterinary dermatologist". Right after that they handed me three new medications, a packet of reading material about her 'condition' and stripped my bank account of another eighty dollars. It's times like this that make me wish we'd taken out one of those fancy pet insurance policies years ago. We actually talked about it, right around the time of her pediatric knee surgery, but thought it would end up being a waste of money. Annnnnnd now I'm thinking people generally call things like that a "good investment".
The only other option is to let her feel crummy and come on, how could you resist this face?
Millie in all her sun-basking glory, relieved to have survived another trip to the vet.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Snapshots
Wyatt's words are starting to come fast and furious these days. Just this morning he was happily eating his breakfast with his frog spoon, croaking at it and then all of a sudden said, "eye" and "ose", labeling the frog's face. It just amazed me that at the start of a brand new day he could form these words we've been saying for so long. (I hope that doesn't mean that one of these days he'll wake up and greet me with an expletive. I'm kidding!) What I really love now is that he'll imitate just about anything but seems to take special joy in trying the big words: calculator, aluminum, linoleum, sagitarius - you name it, he'll try it. And my mom's here this week which means he's been getting some high dollar words to try. He's also started singing along with his music (more on that later) and will "help" with the words of some of his favorite books. Where did my baby go?
We had another great weekend at Jeff's parents' house and another fun dinner at the Red Bar on Saturday. Sadly, it will be our last for a while since we'll be on the move this time next week. We lucked out and got there just ahead of the crowds (you can tell it's spring break!) and snagged a big table at the front so Wyatt had awesome views of the singer. It's entirely possible that Wyatt led every round of applause! 
In other Wyatt's World news, he loves his puzzles and will literally drop everything and run to the door if you mention the word "outside". He lobbies for playing (by throwing his own made-up sign) every time we get in the car, in hopes that we'll turn toward the playground. The child wakes up every day and wants his music. We are learning to not mention that word if we're not prepared to provide it! Right now I'm working on music appreciation with him, meaning that music is music even if it's not Ralph's World. On the flip side, I'm both falling asleep and waking up to "Peggy's Pie Parlor Polka" running through my head which tells me my campaign is, thus far, fruitless.
In other Wyatt's World news, he loves his puzzles and will literally drop everything and run to the door if you mention the word "outside". He lobbies for playing (by throwing his own made-up sign) every time we get in the car, in hopes that we'll turn toward the playground. The child wakes up every day and wants his music. We are learning to not mention that word if we're not prepared to provide it! Right now I'm working on music appreciation with him, meaning that music is music even if it's not Ralph's World. On the flip side, I'm both falling asleep and waking up to "Peggy's Pie Parlor Polka" running through my head which tells me my campaign is, thus far, fruitless.
It was a beautiful day here today, so we spent some quality time at the park with the grandparents - they have to head home tomorrow so we soaked up the fun as best we could. 
Friday, March 07, 2008
A Thousand Words
I think there are a handful of people who are actually interested in these. To the rest of you, please feel free to check this blog later for slightly more captivating topics. For those still reading, please disregard all the ladders, random stuff and masking tape in the following photos. We're desperately hoping these things all lead to a clean, comfortable home for us and all our family and friends to visit!
Here she is, in all her vinyl-sided glory.
The entry
Our family room (from two angles) with its old brown wainscot and window trim mercifully hidden under some nice, new primer. It smelled as though I was standing inside a giant Sharpie when I took this picture! Sadly not low VOC, but definitely high impact and necessary for my future mental health.
Here she is, in all her vinyl-sided glory.
The entry
Our family room (from two angles) with its old brown wainscot and window trim mercifully hidden under some nice, new primer. It smelled as though I was standing inside a giant Sharpie when I took this picture! Sadly not low VOC, but definitely high impact and necessary for my future mental health.
The kitchen, complete with new floors. If you dislike them, please keep it to yourself because I'm in heavy like with them. It's not the love I felt for the walnut floors we saw in a model home here, but they (it?) make(s) me significantly happier than the old flooring. First picture is pre-priming of the window trim. Second picture (sorry it's dark) shows my electrician's talent for installing fixtures as well as gives a glimpse of the shiny new white trim. White = Clean and this house was aching for clean!
Living room and dining room
We also have some bedrooms and bathrooms, but they are boring and I managed to not really take any pictures of them. Maybe once we get moved...
Now I have to start entering receipts in Quicken, creating a new category titled "Home Improvements" or perhaps more accurately, "the Great Money Suck of 2008."
Military Issue
My i.d. card was set to expire in two weeks, so we figured that - combined with Jeff's promotion - meant now was a good time to get a new one. Besides, with my parents in town we were able to enjoy the MPF without Wyatt in tow. And I'm just so glad that I picked today, ponytail Friday, to get my new id since my brand new picture looks as though I was issued two additional chins. Sweet. At least I can get another one....in four years.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Sigh of Relief - Mostly
Well, that was much ado about almost nothing. The sellers came up with their money, less $18 that disappeared somewhere along the wire transfer lines, so their agent kicked in the missing funds and voila! We have a house. It turns out that my dad knows how to install lighting fixtures, so we now only have one left to replace. The cabinets look much better after having my mom and I spend two days ridding them of at least 10 years of grease build-up (I think the previous tenants were really into frying their foods - the level of grease in this kitchen is disconcerting) and I predict they'll get even better with a little polishing. But really, I hope you never have to take a small knife to all the grooves on your cabinet doors to scrape out unnamed filth.
There have been some surprises - a strange blob of something orangey-red that turned bright yellow upon getting wet, then just got yellower and brighter as the scrubbing continued; the fact that there is no light box in the kitchen, just some wires pulled through a hole in the ceiling; the outdoor lights that got "fixed" so we could close really just involved the listing agent removing the bulbs from our hall bath; two random hot pads, five bowls of Asian descent, three Spode plates, two corningware bowls, a nylon spoon and a plastic ice cream scoop - but mostly the house is starting to morph into something I'll be glad to call home. Pleasant discoveries include hyacinths, daffodils and azaleas in the yard, the moulding in the dining room looks better with a little love from the painters and the decision to paint the remaining brown woodwork was a good one.
I've added Portia at Home Depot and Debbie at Costco to my network of friends and am hoping to meet a nice kitchen guy later today or tomorrow. Things are definitely looking up. Besides, all your stories of Star Trek fixtures (that one made me laugh at how very accurate that description was!), brass abounding (my ceramic toilet paper holders and towel bars grouted into the walls still win) and the fact that every new homeowner has gone through similar panic attacks was very comforting. Thanks!
No pictures until we get home - my blogs are courtesy of either stolen bandwidth (password protect, people!) or the free Wi-fi at Panera, so I'm not ready to start downloading and uploading all over the place. Plus, if I wait long enough, you'll never see how bad it really was!
There have been some surprises - a strange blob of something orangey-red that turned bright yellow upon getting wet, then just got yellower and brighter as the scrubbing continued; the fact that there is no light box in the kitchen, just some wires pulled through a hole in the ceiling; the outdoor lights that got "fixed" so we could close really just involved the listing agent removing the bulbs from our hall bath; two random hot pads, five bowls of Asian descent, three Spode plates, two corningware bowls, a nylon spoon and a plastic ice cream scoop - but mostly the house is starting to morph into something I'll be glad to call home. Pleasant discoveries include hyacinths, daffodils and azaleas in the yard, the moulding in the dining room looks better with a little love from the painters and the decision to paint the remaining brown woodwork was a good one.
I've added Portia at Home Depot and Debbie at Costco to my network of friends and am hoping to meet a nice kitchen guy later today or tomorrow. Things are definitely looking up. Besides, all your stories of Star Trek fixtures (that one made me laugh at how very accurate that description was!), brass abounding (my ceramic toilet paper holders and towel bars grouted into the walls still win) and the fact that every new homeowner has gone through similar panic attacks was very comforting. Thanks!
No pictures until we get home - my blogs are courtesy of either stolen bandwidth (password protect, people!) or the free Wi-fi at Panera, so I'm not ready to start downloading and uploading all over the place. Plus, if I wait long enough, you'll never see how bad it really was!
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