Currently

Doing:  Waiting for it to be 5pm so the weekend can officially start.

Thinking about:  Everything. My mind is kind of all over the place right now. I'm wishing I was upstairs with David. I'm thinking about how much I miss Puppy. I'm running scenarios in my mind of how the party is going to go on Sunday (the one we didn't want to throw). 

Watching:  The third season of The Umbrella Academy on Netflix. The Downton Abbey movie should be streaming on Peacock now, so I'm hoping to watch that tomorrow.

Looking forward to:  Sadly, I'm looking forward to the weekend being over. I hate wishing weekends and my time with David away, but this weekend is just now what I would normally be doing. Or offering to do.

Reading:  I'm currently reading Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection by Brandon Sanderson. 

Loving:  My husband. I know that is usually my answer, but it's always true. This last week was really hard on both of us, but he's been right there for me. Always ready with a hug, or a head kiss, or whatever I need. I don't know how I got so lucky.

I know I haven't blogged in a long time. Maybe a blip here or there. So much has happened. Perhaps I'll get to the point where I'm able to share. Stay tuned, and if you are still here reading thank you!

Hardest Goodbye

 

We said goodbye to Puppy today. This was one of the hardest things we've had to do. She was our girl, and we had to make the choice to let her go. Our poor girl let us know it was time, and we didn't want her to suffer. Our hearts are broken. 

We miss you. Goodnight pup pup.

Wow...

I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted to this blog. I'm not sure why that is, I mean, I have lame excuses. I think ultimately laziness is the reason but that seems really lame.

A lot has happened, obviously. We've been in the "new" home for almost 5 years now. I've changed jobs a few times, we've changed cars, we've gone on a few adventures, and we still have puppy. Oh, and we find ourselves living through a pandemic. I know I haven't blogged recently because it's hard to put things into words, which is something I really should be working on if I think I want to write. I know. I'm complicated.

The world we are living in now is, at a glance, depressing. That isn't to say there aren't pockets of hope and hints of the core of things not being "damaged" but they can be hard to see especially if you have a hard time getting through the isolation feelings. We've rather rapidly moved from being a social society to one where we are no longer allowed to collect in large (or even small) groups. No more sitting in Starbucks with a friend catching up over coffee, or going to dinner with friends (or anyone right now). No more movies out, or gym trips (not that I went to the gym). We are working to flatten the curve, and for the most part have made some progress. But the thing is, we may get to a point where we are allowed to be out again, but this virus isn't done. It's not going to just go away. It's going to come back, like the flu. So these changes, staying 6 feet away from people, and no large groups is probably going to become our new normal. This may even be after there is a vaccine. Dining out is going to look different. Gyms and movie theaters are going to have to make changes. I see the drive thru being a very popular thing. Maybe the drive thru movie theatre will make a victorious come back! That wouldn't be so bad.

For me, change is hard. And I'm a hugger. I'm glad I don't have to isolate myself from David. Thank goodness we are both healthy, and we were not separated when shit hit the fan (sorry). We both have the good fortune of being able to work from home. I'm have a bit of a struggle with it as I'm used to being social and in an office with people. But I'm doing it. David is a good example, and an even better partner. If I didn't have him I don't know what frame of mind I'd find myself in at this point. I have a hard time visualizing what things are going to be like as our new normal unfolds. What is going to happen to places like Disneyland or Disneyworld? What about Las Vegas? Not a favorite place, but it's such a crowd inducing place what is social distancing and not being able to be in large groups going to look like for gambling and seeing shows?

I don't know what the future is going to look like. Right now the world is face masks, limited entry, take out only, working from home (if you are lucky enough to do so), and no contact/social distancing. I hope we come through this okay.

The Great Move

I know it's been awhile, but we've been dealing with the insanity that is moving. Thankfully, we are all moved in to the new place-including having a fair number of boxes unpacked. It actually feels like home! We've also been dealing with getting the old house officially done, and on the market-which happened and now we are going through the selling process (a whole other blog post). It feels like we've been constantly doing doing doing, and haven't had a chance to catch our breath and enjoy our new location. While that's mostly true, it isn't entirely. But let me tell you about the move first.

We were able to schedule things when we had a three day weekend. David took the whole week off to deal with packing and scheduling of various services (and cancelling various services). We had done a fair amount of the packing before the guys came to pack us up. The day of the move, we loaded up my car with all it could hold-including the precious cargo that is our cat. The weeks leading up to the move were pretty stressful for her. Things kept disappearing, there were boxes everywhere. She knew something was up and she was not happy. That morning, as we stuffed her into her kitty carrier and put her in the car she let us know what was happening was not acceptable, under any terms. I left with the cat before the movers got there. I stopped quickly for gas and then hit the road. Just as I was heading down the ramp to merge onto I-5 David called me. He was hoping I was still getting gas because in my haste to get on the road I had forgotten to pack her food and water bowls. It was too late, I was going to have to figure something else out. She meowed the first 5-10 minutes but then stopped and resorted to hanging out in the far back corner of her carrier and glaring at me with all her might.

The drive was uneventful and we made it to the new place in good time. I was able to pull into the garage so I could unload what I brought up-starting with anger bag of course. I took her up to the second floor and set her carrier in a spot I knew she would keep cool (it was a really hot day). I left her in the carrier while she settled down, and so I could unload without worrying where she may have run off to, and so she wouldn't get out of the new home. The unloading went quick, and once I knew I was going to be there for a bit (still had to figure out food and water bowls) I opened the door to her carrier so she could come out on her own terms. I texted a few people who lived nearby to see if anyone could hook me up with some bowls for the cat. My friend Angela was able to help me out, and would head over and be the cat's hero for the day. Meanwhile, the cat is still in the back corner of her carrier and freaked out. Since I was about to add more stress to the mix, I decided to take her up and put her in our bedroom-she was going to be put in our bathroom when the movers arrived so it seemed like a good idea. I carried her potty and a blanket up and put them in the bathroom. I closed the bedroom door so she couldn't explore too much and opened her carrier door once again. She came right out, let out a huge meow and promptly went into our closet where she stood and meowed for five minutes. I went over and picked her up, she let me carry her around the third floor while I took her into each room and had her sniff things. After that, I put her in the bathroom and closed the door, since Angela would arrive soon. We'd be able to come up with food and water for her and hopefully she would be set while the moving insanity took place.

Angela arrived and saved the day. I got to give Angela a quick tour, and then we took food and water up for Riley. When I opened the bathroom door, there was no cat to be seen, and her blanket it had moved from one corner to in front of her potty. I gently touched the blanket and it made a little "mew" sound. I lifted up a corner and there was my terrified kitty, who in turn tried to burrow back under the blanket. I carefully moved the blanket back, and she scuttled back under it. I put down her food and water and tried to talk soothingly to her. Angela and I let her alone because she was clearly not interested in any comfort from us, and there were still things to be done.

Scared kitty

I had to move my car out of the garage, because we were going to be unloading the moving truck into the garage and then moving things into the house. I was able to find a parking spot and as I was getting out I had a missed calls from David. I called him back, they were on their way, could I stop at the bank for more tip money (we had last minute added a second moving truck because all our stuff wouldn't fit in one, we were going to have to schedule another day or figure something else out but then at the last minute a second truck freed up and we took advantage of it), and some lunch. I was unsure of the area, and a little nervous about losing the parking spot so Angela drove me around (thankfully it was all pretty close) and we got the quick errands done. When we pulled in David was there waiting for the first truck to arrive. The crazy was really about to begin.

Did I mention we did this on one of the first hottest days of the summer? The next many many hours were spent with David trying to direct the movers where to put things. Then, the poor lads, had to run up and down the stairs with objects varying in weight. Of course a big chunk of the really heavy stuff was going up to the third floor. These guys hustled up and down those stairs. The once empty new house became a maze of boxes-daunting to look at let alone thinking about where to start with the unpacking. It took a few hours to unload the first truck, then the second truck backed in and it took a few hours to unload that one. At the end of the day, everything we were moving to the new house was there-including some things we thought we'd have to move ourselves. And we didn't have to haul the heavy items up and down the stairs ourselves. Best. Money. Spent. Ever.

Everyone left, and we found ourselves finally in our new home completely overwhelmed with where to start. Then Angela saved the day (again) by suggesting we meet up for dinner. We got cleaned up and met her, her hubby and daughter at The Cedar Hills McMenamins and had a fantastic dinner! It was the perfect way to spend our first evening in our now town and our new home.

A much happier kitty

Currently.

Doing:  Lunch break at work-trying to find my motivation/sanity.

Thinking about:  The weekend. I know I'm always thinking about the weekend, but weekends right now are a big deal. Last weekend we moved, now we get to learn our area and set up our new home. We also have to take care of the old home and getting it on the market. Yeah, lots going on!

Watching:  So You Think You Can Dance. We are also re-watching The Sopranos because some times you just need to go there.

Looking forward to:  The time when we are all unpacked and settled in at the new home, and the old home is sold.

Reading:  I have read so many books that I need to blog about.  I'm currently re-reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Loving:  My husband.

Sorry I haven't been bloggy lately. I will get back into posting and sharing, just have been way to busy and tired. Just know we are still around, we are well, and life is insane as always!

Yup. My Monkeys, My Circus!

I've been meaning to blog an update about all the crazy things going on but every time I start something else comes up, or the last thing I want to do is sit at a computer and type.  This means I'm really behind on book reviews and general sharing of things with those of you who take the time to come here and check.  It will get better, or I will go insane.

As some of you may already know I started a new job last week.  For those of you who didn't know, after working at my previous job for 6 years I decided (with love and support from David) that it was time for a change.  We decided it was time for a whole boatload of changes actually.  We talked about it for a while; I was having a  hard time imagining things different.  I don't deal the best with big changes.  But after realizing I was unhappy and bored at my current employment and seeing how it was affecting me (and David) I realized it was time to listen to him and be willing to make some changes.  I spent some time getting things organized, and wrote a guide for my prior job.  Then, with some amazing help, I created a resume and cover letter and began the process of applying for a new job.  A few days after sending out a handful of applications I got a call that resulted in an interview a few days later, which resulted in a job offer a few hours later, which I accepted the following morning after discussing it with David.  Accepting this job meant some really big changes.  I put in my notice, and two weeks later I started my new job.

The new job also meant relocating.  While I was making a job change, it seemed like a location change was a good idea as well.  We've been wanting to move out of the town we were in and get closer to family and friends, better shopping, and more activities.  So after I gave notice, we started the incredibly stressful process of house hunting.  Let me tell you, the job interview was easy compared to house hunting.  We would find a place we wanted to see, and even before we would have a chance it would be off the market-sometimes only hours after being listed.  Hopefully we'll be so lucky when it comes to selling our current home.  After lots of frustration about missing out on what looked like some really cute places, and seeing some not so great places, we found a place in an area we wanted to be in.  David did a guest post about this here.  It's really perfect for us-and I'm still afraid to call it ours until we have closed and we have keys in hand.  The process of buying a home has to be one of the seven levels of hell-shared with buying a car and selling a house.

So, here we are.  We are in the process of buying the new place, which David has been taking care of and I couldn't be more thankful because it has been crazy.  I'm commuting back and forth to my new job- I'm not complaining, I'm lucky to have found a job so quick and it's easy to get to and from (from current home and future home) so it's not a big deal for a longer drive short term.  Gives me time to sing, unwind, and think about all the fun places we will be able to go after we have moved.  It's still going to be a crazy couple of months (hopefully we will be able to sell the soon to be former home quickly), but I know we are making the right choice for us.  As long as we stick together and support each other (one of the things we are best at) we are going to come though this just fine.

Lucky and Thankful

You've all heard the news that Emily has found a new job in a new place a fair distance from home, and that we're planning to relocate. What's new is that we've found a house and are in the process of purchasing it. This happened yesterday; much sooner than we'd anticipated and quite contrary to our expectations given the state of the real estate market here in northern Oregon.

It's a lovely place--truly a dream home--in a very nice, new development in Beaverton, OR (I will learn to stop giggling about that... maybe). I call it a townhouse, because it reminds me of some of the old brownstone communities in NY and NJ, but the house is fully-detached, meaning we're responsible for all of it, but the only land we own is that which forms the footprint/foundation of the new home. We're giving up a yard (and the maintenance thereof... fist pump) and maybe a bit of privacy, although not much. But what we're gaining is a thriving area chockablock full of variety and culture, something sadly missing in our current area. We'll be closer to (weird in wonderful ways) Portland and Emily's family. And we'll be closer to being able to live the kind of lives we'd always wanted to lead.

Here are some pictures.

These pictures are accurate, but the actual home we purchased is in a different location on the property. Otherwise, if you can imagine it sans furnishings, it's nearly identical to what we're in the process of buying.

I'm feeling lucky and thankful for all kinds of reasons, but today, it's because I have a great partner in my wife and best friend, Emily, who is always willing to share (or, as in this case, initiating) these adventures; I have a really good job, which let's me do crazy things like purchase a new home when I still own my current home (we'll be getting it ready to go on the market in the coming months); and I have some wonderful friends and family who embrace our crazy and share in our passions.

We're having a gathering at our home in Salem this coming Memorial Day weekend, a fitting day to host the last hurrah in our current home. It's an appropriate holiday to say goodbye to the past, to express our gratitude for a truly good life, some of which was borne on the backs of those who have come and gone before us, and to usher in a bright future in a new place, full of promise and adventure.

I am lucky (it wasn't always so) and I am thankful for all that I have and for what the future will bring.

~David