When we moved from our first home to this one, we brought with us boxes that hadn't been opened in many years. In those boxes contained memories of times long ago. When we moved in, our strategy was - if we know which room it goes in and can be put into place (IE furniture) - put it into place. Everything else placed into the garage. A few weeks went by and we decided there were a few things that needed to go ahead and be put inside the house. So we moved most all the inside boxes into the living room. After a few weeks of tripping over everything and getting extremely irritated, we decided to bring all the boxes upstairs and into the bonus room. This is where (theoretically) we could unpack and find a home for everything else. Also by this time, everything that was going to need to be downstairs was already downstairs. Theoretically everything up in the bonus room or in the garage would need to find a home upstairs or garage (respectively).
Here we are, three plus months later, and the downstairs looks awesome. It is visitor ready at almost any time of the day. There are a few "hidden surprises," but overall the downstairs is organized and neat. Then, we walk upstairs. I just shake my head. I pretty much avoid the upstairs altogether. So yesterday, I decided it was time to move some stuff. We walked in and if it looked like it could be Christmas Stuff it was moved it to a bedroom that was empty. I opened every single tote or box and unwrapped every single item. I, then, DVD racked it. LOL. My husband jokes with me that when I want to 'look' like I'm cleaning that I organize the DVD rack. There was a reason for the organization though. I wanted all my tree stuff to go into one tote so that when it's time to decorate the tree, I only have to pull out one tote to do it. I wanted all my snowmen stuff in one tote so that I know what to expect when I open that tote. Then everything that already had its own box was stacked in the closet neatly. I managed to put everything from two HUGE (unmanageable) totes into two medium (manageable) totes. There are only a handful of items left and they will go into a third tote. I know we have some more Christmas things in the Bonus Room and hopefully those things will be combined with the handful of items will fit nicely with those items.
Then we tackled "files." Now, it would be simple of the files were already ready just to be put into our file cabinets. However, we had probably 6 bankers boxes worth of files/paperwork. Two of them were filed nicely and the other four -- well not so nicely. We went through the boxes and I put out in three piles. One pile would need to be shredded, one pile that we needed/wanted to keep and the final pile was a pile that I wasn't sure if it needed to be shredded or kept. We wound up with two full banker's boxes of "shred" material, one full banker's box of files in files (although this could be worked through and organized better, but we'll wait for that another time) and a full banker's box with files not filled at all - and a completely empty box.
Why is it that men have a box of stuff and women have a box of memories? I'd look through boxes and remember the exact moment and feeling of the things in the boxes. I felt happy. My husband looked through his boxes and it wasn't until he came across his old Popular Science Magazines that he even had a look of nostalgia in his eyes. I don't want to get rid of the acorn a dear friend of mine gave me in the 5th grade (nor will I !!!) that I held every day from the point he gave it to me until I graduated high school. It was my secret (well I guess not anymore. LOL). I'm leaving my elementary jewelry box intact as is. I remember how I felt as I placed each treasure in there. It includes one of my lost baby teeth. I remember not placing too many things in that box after elementary school. I haven't looked in that box since college and I haven't pulled anything out since high school. It was like my own little time capsule with tiny bubblegum rings, fake jewelry, girl scout patches, a lost tooth, a marble and that precious acorn plus many other memories. To anyone else, it would be a box of stuff. But to me, it's happiness in a box.
Lastly while in college, I wrote down a phrase. I found it while digging through a box. It said, "Children will soar like Eagles if given the wings to fly." How Profound -
Showing posts with label moving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moving. Show all posts
Monday, September 3, 2012
Sunday, May 27, 2012
The one about the Massager
My husband and I went shopping a few years ago. I sat in this chair that had a back massage mat. I was in heaven. It massaged the back and the shoulders and had heat. I sat in the chair every time we went to the store. It was much too expensive so we never picked one up. He surprised me with this beauty on Christmas that year. Our old house was not set up appropriately for me to use the back massage seat. I used it once and sadly it was too cumbersome for me to use it again.
Fast forward 2 and 1/2 years. We move to the new house and yesterday we went on the hunt for a computer chair. In our old home, my computer was set up in front of the futon (that we used as our couch). Our need for a computer chair for me was non existent. We went into an office store and I tried out a few chairs, but all of them were way out of our price range. Then I sat in one that screamed my name. It was dark brown for one and had a tall back and was comfortable. There was no price tag. In general if we have to ask, it's too much.
Sales associate pops over after a bit (after hearing us chuckle about the UGLY white computer chair with bright chrome accents) and we ask him how much it was. It was just the right price! So we brought that bad boy home. Afterwards, we went to our old house and picked up the massage mat. *sigh* Oh the joy. I have been using that bad boy off and on all day.
It can massage the back. You can choose the lower back, upper back or both. You can choose a rolling or a shiatsu motion.You can vary the width in which it rolls. Then there is a shoulder option. You can adjust the height of the shoulder massage so it hits in just the right spot. Then, there is the heat option. You can choose to use the heat or not. There is also a "Demo" button so it will do a variety of things.
Perfect for the after move soreness.
Fast forward 2 and 1/2 years. We move to the new house and yesterday we went on the hunt for a computer chair. In our old home, my computer was set up in front of the futon (that we used as our couch). Our need for a computer chair for me was non existent. We went into an office store and I tried out a few chairs, but all of them were way out of our price range. Then I sat in one that screamed my name. It was dark brown for one and had a tall back and was comfortable. There was no price tag. In general if we have to ask, it's too much.
Sales associate pops over after a bit (after hearing us chuckle about the UGLY white computer chair with bright chrome accents) and we ask him how much it was. It was just the right price! So we brought that bad boy home. Afterwards, we went to our old house and picked up the massage mat. *sigh* Oh the joy. I have been using that bad boy off and on all day.
It can massage the back. You can choose the lower back, upper back or both. You can choose a rolling or a shiatsu motion.You can vary the width in which it rolls. Then there is a shoulder option. You can adjust the height of the shoulder massage so it hits in just the right spot. Then, there is the heat option. You can choose to use the heat or not. There is also a "Demo" button so it will do a variety of things.
Perfect for the after move soreness.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
The Big Move (and #800)
I call it the big move, but not because of the distance. I *know* God had a hand in every single aspect of our move. From the very first moment we walked into the house to the moment I put the very first key in the very first lost --- God had a hand in it all.
I absolutely do not like change. I think change is horrible and I avoid it at all cost, even if it means I'm miserable. So every single time my husband mentioned moving, I quickly changed the subject and kept on going. I knew deep in my soul that me *wanting* to physically pack up every single item in our home and uproot it to another home would have to have divine intervention.
And God spoke very clearly the moment I walked into the home for the first time. It couldn't have been clearer even though there was no big flashing sign written on the walls. Not only did the financial aspect fall into place much quicker than anyone anticipated (honestly we were told when we first asked that August was the absolute earliest and there was no way that a spring move in date would be an option), but everything fell into place. We took a chance by packing up 20 or so boxes before we even got the pre-finance approval.
Friday, I signed the paperwork and then I drove back to our old house to make a few phone calls. After all, we needed power and utilities to be transferred in our name. Then, I drove over to the new house. In order to unlock the doors, I had to place 6 keys in each lock, lock & unlock several times each. There were 6 locks, 6 keys for a total of 36 key turns (but times that by 3 because each one had to be done 3 times).
Then I brought in some boxes. My friend, Beth, came over to give me something, but she stayed to help unpack a few boxes. Honestly, the first day was a blur.
The next morning, I woke in a world of pain. To be honest, I'm still in a world of pain. But I will push through.
My husband and I went out to eat breakfast bright and early and picked up some biscuits for our early morning helpers. We were expecting quite a crew and we decided that my high school friend Jeff & I would return to the new house to unpack the boxes my husband and I had brought over the night before. Jeff arrived bright & early at 8:15 and off we went. We had been unpacking for about 30 minutes wehn my husband sent word that no one had arrived to help. Not a single person. This was very unlike the two people that had said they would be there at 8:30 at the latest. We were worried. Shortly there after a neighbor came to help. Then, we received the call for us to come back home because our friends still had not arrived (found out later, they thought we were moving in June).
Jeff & I trucked our way back to the house and began to unload. We were hopeful to return back to the house sometime by 12:30 to 1. My parents showed up around that time with pizza. We all enjoyed the food and got to work unloading the truck. Then while we were unloading, my husband and our neighbor Mike went to get the rest of the big stuff from the house.
At some point during the day, my husband brings over an envelope. To say this envelope was a gift would be an understatement. I had been given some furniture from my Grandfather shortly before he passed away. We had cleaned this furniture a multitude of times when we got it, but somehow something was in the dresser that we had never seen. I have no doubt it was God's intervention letting us know that everything was going to be alright.
In the envelope were pictures that my Great Uncle had sent my Grandfather. There were 4 altogether and a letter. 3 of them were copies of pictures from the 1920's and 1940's and one was from 1984. It was amazing to say the least and they were in perfect condition. I cried. Of course.
Then, another surprise. My friend painted me something spectacular. She's an artist and I had asked her if she would paint me something special. What she came up with was so extraordinary, but --- I had not noticed that on the back she had written something just for me. That made me cry too. Of course.
Until today, I pretty much didn't stop. Moving, moving, cleaning, moving, cleaning, moving. I decided today was a "me" day so I spent 4 hours with a friend of mine. It was nice to sit in a house without boxes. ;)
I still don't have internet, but managed to find a space to write a blog because I didn't want to forget the little moments of God's intervention for me. If I had seen my friend's inscription on another day, it wouldn't have had the same meaning.
On a side note. Please pray for me. I am not feeling so well. In fact, today I do feel down right awful. I was hoping it was just that I had been doing too much and needed a down time day, but I feel quite feverish and unwell. I begin my antibiotic regiment on June 1st. Mepron is one of those. I think Babesia is starting to kick my tail feathers and it's time that I start plucking those tail feathers one at a time.
Ps too ... found a tick on my husband yesterday morning, yes the Lyme kind of tick. Fortunately he's on Doxy for pnuemnonia so hopefully it will kick out any infections the tick might have had.
PPS: This was my 800th post!
I absolutely do not like change. I think change is horrible and I avoid it at all cost, even if it means I'm miserable. So every single time my husband mentioned moving, I quickly changed the subject and kept on going. I knew deep in my soul that me *wanting* to physically pack up every single item in our home and uproot it to another home would have to have divine intervention.
And God spoke very clearly the moment I walked into the home for the first time. It couldn't have been clearer even though there was no big flashing sign written on the walls. Not only did the financial aspect fall into place much quicker than anyone anticipated (honestly we were told when we first asked that August was the absolute earliest and there was no way that a spring move in date would be an option), but everything fell into place. We took a chance by packing up 20 or so boxes before we even got the pre-finance approval.
Friday, I signed the paperwork and then I drove back to our old house to make a few phone calls. After all, we needed power and utilities to be transferred in our name. Then, I drove over to the new house. In order to unlock the doors, I had to place 6 keys in each lock, lock & unlock several times each. There were 6 locks, 6 keys for a total of 36 key turns (but times that by 3 because each one had to be done 3 times).
Then I brought in some boxes. My friend, Beth, came over to give me something, but she stayed to help unpack a few boxes. Honestly, the first day was a blur.
The next morning, I woke in a world of pain. To be honest, I'm still in a world of pain. But I will push through.
My husband and I went out to eat breakfast bright and early and picked up some biscuits for our early morning helpers. We were expecting quite a crew and we decided that my high school friend Jeff & I would return to the new house to unpack the boxes my husband and I had brought over the night before. Jeff arrived bright & early at 8:15 and off we went. We had been unpacking for about 30 minutes wehn my husband sent word that no one had arrived to help. Not a single person. This was very unlike the two people that had said they would be there at 8:30 at the latest. We were worried. Shortly there after a neighbor came to help. Then, we received the call for us to come back home because our friends still had not arrived (found out later, they thought we were moving in June).
Jeff & I trucked our way back to the house and began to unload. We were hopeful to return back to the house sometime by 12:30 to 1. My parents showed up around that time with pizza. We all enjoyed the food and got to work unloading the truck. Then while we were unloading, my husband and our neighbor Mike went to get the rest of the big stuff from the house.
At some point during the day, my husband brings over an envelope. To say this envelope was a gift would be an understatement. I had been given some furniture from my Grandfather shortly before he passed away. We had cleaned this furniture a multitude of times when we got it, but somehow something was in the dresser that we had never seen. I have no doubt it was God's intervention letting us know that everything was going to be alright.
In the envelope were pictures that my Great Uncle had sent my Grandfather. There were 4 altogether and a letter. 3 of them were copies of pictures from the 1920's and 1940's and one was from 1984. It was amazing to say the least and they were in perfect condition. I cried. Of course.
Then, another surprise. My friend painted me something spectacular. She's an artist and I had asked her if she would paint me something special. What she came up with was so extraordinary, but --- I had not noticed that on the back she had written something just for me. That made me cry too. Of course.
Until today, I pretty much didn't stop. Moving, moving, cleaning, moving, cleaning, moving. I decided today was a "me" day so I spent 4 hours with a friend of mine. It was nice to sit in a house without boxes. ;)
I still don't have internet, but managed to find a space to write a blog because I didn't want to forget the little moments of God's intervention for me. If I had seen my friend's inscription on another day, it wouldn't have had the same meaning.
On a side note. Please pray for me. I am not feeling so well. In fact, today I do feel down right awful. I was hoping it was just that I had been doing too much and needed a down time day, but I feel quite feverish and unwell. I begin my antibiotic regiment on June 1st. Mepron is one of those. I think Babesia is starting to kick my tail feathers and it's time that I start plucking those tail feathers one at a time.
Ps too ... found a tick on my husband yesterday morning, yes the Lyme kind of tick. Fortunately he's on Doxy for pnuemnonia so hopefully it will kick out any infections the tick might have had.
PPS: This was my 800th post!
Friday, May 18, 2012
10:43am
I signed all the documents using my husband's full name with middle initial, then signning "by Jennifer mylastname as attorney in fact" on ALL the documents this morning. Some of them were special and I just got to sign my name.
Doesn't matter because all that matters is ....
WE OWN A NEW HOME! (and our old one until it sells which theoretically is going to happen on June 1st)
YIPEE YIPPEE SKIPPEE
Doesn't matter because all that matters is ....
WE OWN A NEW HOME! (and our old one until it sells which theoretically is going to happen on June 1st)
YIPEE YIPPEE SKIPPEE
This IS the day!
Last night was like Christmas Eve as a child. I fell asleep and an hour later I woke. I woke up every hour on the hour until just couldn't take it anymore. I got out of bed at 5am. Many emotions are running through me.
Happiness
Excitement
Anxiousness
Loved
Terrified
Hopeful
I suspect that this morning will go by very slowly. At 9:15, I am to meet the builder and the realtor at the new house. We will do a quick walk through to make sure they fixed the things they were supposed to this week. Most of it included paint touch up, but the vinyl in the bathroom needed to be fixed and there was a small crack in one of the tiles that needed replacing and the grout in the kitchen tiles was varying in color.
All of the things were quick fixes and it was all indoor jobs that needed to be done (it's rained every day since Monday) so weather shouldn't have affected the ability to do these jobs.
Then, I go over to the lawyers office and meet up with our finance guy and our realtor. Thank Goodness there will be two familiar faces there. I am doing this all on my own. This is quite the change. My husband typically does everything, but our realtor made a mistake by not asking the builders if we could do a walk through earlier so we could close on the 14th. So, they worked their magic. I am power of attorney to be able to sign for my husband since my husband has to be at work today. I will sign all of his paperwork and all of mine. Double signature duty. The finance guy thinks we'll be done and funded by 11:15.
I want to begin bringing a few boxes over to the house because it won't feel like our home until we have some of our stuff in it. When my husband gets home, we want to bring the dog over. He's been acting strangely since we started packing and he had no idea what's about to happen. I think once he sees all the windows and the fenced in backyard, he's going to be in doggy heaven. Our other dog won't have an issue. She's not been phased one bit by the boxes. We wanted to take them both out earlier, but were told we couldn't bring them to the house until we owned the house. I understand that, but it would have been nice to at least bring them to the backyard so they could see it. But what the hay -- it is what it is.
This is the day we've been waiting for. The day we have the ability to get out of this subdivision and into a new one. We have a lot to do over the next 48 hours. We have help coming over tomorrow which will be delightful. So far we have a few neighbors helping, a former neighbor and his son, one of my close friends from High School -- and I'm sure there will be others that I'm not thinking of. Then in the afternoon, my parents will come over to help us unpack some things.
We may be without internet for a while until we can get everything set up. So those of you that know me in person will need to call me on my cell instead of emailing.
We need a few prayers spoken on our behalf.
1. Please pray I can remain healthy during this moving process. I was exposed to someone with Mono this past week. That makes me nervous.
2. Please pray that on the behalf of all the men that will be helping us tomorrow. Their help means more to me than words can express.
3. Please pray that everything goes smoothly today.
4. Pray that we can decide whether to sleep in our new home tonight (which would mean carrying our bedroom stuff today by ourselves) or to remain in our old home one more night.
5. Pray for the dogs.
Happiness
Excitement
Anxiousness
Loved
Terrified
Hopeful
I suspect that this morning will go by very slowly. At 9:15, I am to meet the builder and the realtor at the new house. We will do a quick walk through to make sure they fixed the things they were supposed to this week. Most of it included paint touch up, but the vinyl in the bathroom needed to be fixed and there was a small crack in one of the tiles that needed replacing and the grout in the kitchen tiles was varying in color.
All of the things were quick fixes and it was all indoor jobs that needed to be done (it's rained every day since Monday) so weather shouldn't have affected the ability to do these jobs.
Then, I go over to the lawyers office and meet up with our finance guy and our realtor. Thank Goodness there will be two familiar faces there. I am doing this all on my own. This is quite the change. My husband typically does everything, but our realtor made a mistake by not asking the builders if we could do a walk through earlier so we could close on the 14th. So, they worked their magic. I am power of attorney to be able to sign for my husband since my husband has to be at work today. I will sign all of his paperwork and all of mine. Double signature duty. The finance guy thinks we'll be done and funded by 11:15.
I want to begin bringing a few boxes over to the house because it won't feel like our home until we have some of our stuff in it. When my husband gets home, we want to bring the dog over. He's been acting strangely since we started packing and he had no idea what's about to happen. I think once he sees all the windows and the fenced in backyard, he's going to be in doggy heaven. Our other dog won't have an issue. She's not been phased one bit by the boxes. We wanted to take them both out earlier, but were told we couldn't bring them to the house until we owned the house. I understand that, but it would have been nice to at least bring them to the backyard so they could see it. But what the hay -- it is what it is.
This is the day we've been waiting for. The day we have the ability to get out of this subdivision and into a new one. We have a lot to do over the next 48 hours. We have help coming over tomorrow which will be delightful. So far we have a few neighbors helping, a former neighbor and his son, one of my close friends from High School -- and I'm sure there will be others that I'm not thinking of. Then in the afternoon, my parents will come over to help us unpack some things.
We may be without internet for a while until we can get everything set up. So those of you that know me in person will need to call me on my cell instead of emailing.
We need a few prayers spoken on our behalf.
1. Please pray I can remain healthy during this moving process. I was exposed to someone with Mono this past week. That makes me nervous.
2. Please pray that on the behalf of all the men that will be helping us tomorrow. Their help means more to me than words can express.
3. Please pray that everything goes smoothly today.
4. Pray that we can decide whether to sleep in our new home tonight (which would mean carrying our bedroom stuff today by ourselves) or to remain in our old home one more night.
5. Pray for the dogs.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Happy Happy Birthday Dad!
My Dad is having a birthday today and I got the present!
We ordered a U-haul for moving on Saturday. We heavily considered just huffing it and loading up the pick up truck over and over again, but after we weighed the pros and cons we decided to get a U-Haul. Well, they just called. The person that has the truck we are renting is keeping it longer than they anticipated. Therefore, we are getting a free upgrade.
We rented a 17 foot truck and they are giving us a 26 foot truck because of the error. They asked, "Is that okay with you guys?" Yeah like I was going to say no ... it will take less trips back and forth which means it will be cheaper for us. I think we'll take the free upgrade thank you very much!
Tomorrow we close on the house. Saturday we move all of our stuff.
Back to Dad.
Happy Birthday Dad. Glad I got your Good Birthday JuJu today.
We ordered a U-haul for moving on Saturday. We heavily considered just huffing it and loading up the pick up truck over and over again, but after we weighed the pros and cons we decided to get a U-Haul. Well, they just called. The person that has the truck we are renting is keeping it longer than they anticipated. Therefore, we are getting a free upgrade.
We rented a 17 foot truck and they are giving us a 26 foot truck because of the error. They asked, "Is that okay with you guys?" Yeah like I was going to say no ... it will take less trips back and forth which means it will be cheaper for us. I think we'll take the free upgrade thank you very much!
Tomorrow we close on the house. Saturday we move all of our stuff.
Back to Dad.
Happy Birthday Dad. Glad I got your Good Birthday JuJu today.
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