Pure Joy

I think that discovery is one of the biggest perks of moving.  You find things you had given up for lost, you finally make the decision to keep or throw, and you learn to solve mysteries every day...

I have discovered:
- why that lightswitch by the front door formerly had tape on it.  That means don't turn it off.
- the pantry light in the kitchen shines through this random large vent into the living room - making it the best nightlight ever
- just because the living room is warm, doesn't mean the bedroom will be (I indulged myself yesterday at Tuesday Morning and bought my first set of flannel sheets for my bed and a new down-alternative blanket.  I had to.  I was freezing...)
- it doesn't matter which direction I have my front window shades...you can still see inside.  This doesn't give me great confidence for my bedroom shades (which I am remedying today by finally putting up my blackout curtains)
- why half the lightswitches here have this random sheet of plastic around them...fingerprints!
- the backyard light is a motion light that only turns on when you cross the sidewalk to the right side of the yard.  GOOD TO KNOW. 
- my bathtub is super slippery.  perhaps i shouldn't have cleaned it so well.

Other good things:
- I met my mailman.  It could have been the morning light, but I would SWEAR he looks exactly like John Malkovich.  With hair.
- Atticus is doing much better.  The move stressed him out...the boxes, the suitcases, etc.  When I was in my apartment, he never left my side.  I accidentally kicked him a couple of times (not knowing he was there), and he still didn't leave my side.  Now, he's still clingy, but less so.  He enjoys sniffing all the nooks and crannies of this place...especially the closets. 
- speaking of apartments, I got rid of mine yesterday.  Spent 6 hours on Monday scrubbing the crap out of that place to have the apartment manager look around for a minute and say "looks great, you shouldn't be charged for anything".  I wanted to demand she look in the oven and refrigerator and all the closets, but I didn't.  I'd rather get my deposit back than make the point the place was clean.
- most of the kitchen is clean and unpacked.  there are so many drawers in the kitchen that I think I'm going to load them with kitchen towels instead of putting them in the linen closet.  the pantry is so huge that all my food fit on one shelf before I decided to spread it to two shelves to make it look more even.  To answer your next question, there's 5 large shelves and a bunch of tiny shelves to one side. 

You know, I had absolutely no questions or qualms or misgivings about moving.  Yes, it was stressful and a lot of extra work and money, but I never thought to myself "am I doing the right thing?"  I KNEW I was doing the right thing.  Despite all that, its nice to see proof that what I did was the right thing.

I call this photo "Pure Joy".  I just wish you all could see his face better.

Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can. ~ Danny Kaye

My bathroom (for a laugh)

In this whole house, there is only one mirror - in the bathroom.  (At the apartment I had 3 huge mirrors - I couldn't get away from myself sometimes).  I wanted to demonstrate how silly the single mirror was, but couldn't think of a better way.  I can only see myself from like the collarbone up. 

Introducing me, 8am, after about 10 hours of sleep, 2 cups of coffee, and no shower for 3 days.  (There's no other explanation for why I'm doing this.  And yes, I'm taking a shower in a minute....) 

My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance. ~ Erma Bombeck

Moving day! (the next day)

My day...in pictures...

My friend Jayme came over and hung out with me and Atticus while the movers did their thing.  I bought her washer/dryer and her microwave as well. 

Leaning tower of boxes before.

And after.  It was pouring outside during the move so there is currently leaves all over the carpet.

New place...Atticus supervising the movers.



He was so excited it was hard for him to sit still all day.



He approves of the large empty room.  (Bedroom 2)

A sunroom add-on to the house, which is a perfect place to dry off Atticus before he comes inside.  One of these days I'll show you all the cool details - it has indoor flower boxes that vent to the outside, and old fashioned vents at the top of the walls. 

New place...living room.  Apparently I can't take a straight picture.  This doesn't even show you how huge it is....all my furniture is still willy nilly.

Other side of the living room.  The fireplace is propane...I need to fill the tank.

Apartment kitchen.  Notice the lack of counter space.

House kitchen.  The set up is weird (refrigerator gets in the way of the cabinets and the stove is stand-alone), but look at the counterspace!!!!  10 feet of counters!!!  What you can't see is I'm standing in an eat-in area.  I need to buy a table.

My "new" washer/dryer.  At the end of the kitchen. I need to try them out to make sure they work/no leaks in the plumbing, then I'll stack them.  Pantry door on the right.  Door leading to the hallway straight on.

The coolest part of the kitchen.  This is a nook in the back of the fireplace.  Before the fireplace had the gas insert, it was woodburning....And this was the nook to put bread you wanted to raise, because the fireplace would of course make this nook nice and toasty. 

Oh yeah...and old red counters.  I'm in love.

So, thats a quick look at moving day!

If anyone wants a recommendation for movers in Kitsap County, I'll give you the name of my guys.  They were AWESOME.  Even more awesome was the one guy noticed I had put "coffee pot" on the box holding my coffee pot and put it on the kitchen counter for me.  I didn't have to search for it. 

This house has a ton of quirks and random things that are weird (like no room for the refrigerator and the fact that I need 3 different keys to get into the house), but its still awesome and I can barely contain my excitement.

Right now Atticus and I are just chilling in the 3am quietness of the neighborhood, drinking coffee, lounging around, and just enjoying the pre-day peace.  When 7am rolls around I'll be out the door, off to home depot (I need a needle-nose pliers to get some of the anchors out of the walls of my apartment.  Darn me for knowing how to hang a shelf properly), and I will spend the day scrubbing and spackling and cleaning.  My goal is to have the apartment sparkling so I can rid myself of it tomorrow. 

Hope you all are doing well this Monday after Thanksgiving.  Back to work!!!

Pleasure is spread through the earth
In stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find.
~ William Wordsworth

One day more

There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them. ~ Andre Gide

The day after thanks

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Mine was indeed fabulous, thanks for asking.  I went to a friend's house who does an annual "orphan Thanksgiving" and had a marvelous time.  I really needed to recharge my social batteries with conversation that did not revolve around training or work related things. 

After dinner I went to work and was forced to do overtime.  During the 4 hours before I was relieved I dispatched and kept track of over 30 collisions.  It was beyond crazy.  Its wintertime, people...watch out for black ice!!! 

Of course, as I was driving home, I was the jerk going 10 miles under the speed limit because I didn't want to join the legions who were sitting in the ditch.  I'm sure people had some choice words about me, but I'm okay with that...I got home safely.

I do have some last minute things to shop for due to my move (like my stove light that just went out - convenient!), but I think I'm going to wait til tomorrow.  Tonight is a packing night, then a 12 hour shift, then I'm going to do a walk through and get the keys tomorrow...then sleep...then finish the rest of the packing...then move Sunday morning at 9am!!!  Whew!

I told a friend yesterday that I have a strict budget of my time already laid out from then until next Wednesday evening the 30th and if anything happened I hadn't budgeted for it would throw a major kink in the works.  Well, I already had to work overtime this morning, which threw off my sleep schedule because now I'm up and have a feeling I'm going to be punchy from lack of sleep for the rest of the night.

Two more weeks til I'm on vacation.  I tell you, that time cannot come soon enough. 

Thanksgiving feast.  Grace moved when I tried to take her picture

The dessert I couldn't wait to eat...

The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.
~ George Bernard Shaw

Thankful (10)

Right now I'm thankful that all bad things must end.  Eventually. 

Right?

The lake at my work yesterday.  Today its all dried up.

I'm looking forward to some good coming back into my life.

Thanksgiving, man. Not a good day to be my pants. ~ Kevin James

Thankful (9)

So...what shall I be thankful for today?

The eye headache I've had for the last 15 hours?
The embarassing moment I had last night that literally made me blush from my toes to the tips of my ears?
The gray, dripping skies?
The crack in the sole of my shoe I discovered AFTER I was out walking Atticus in the rain?
The 3 hours of overtime I did this morning?
The lack of sleep I'll get today due to said overtime?
That weird sound my car is now making?

Sometimes its very hard to find something to be thankful for.

So, today, I guess I will be... 
Thankful that I can see despite the headache. 
Thankful I can smell the scent of wet grass and muddy fields. 
Thankful I can feel the water seeping into my sock. 
Thankful I can hear my music covering up that weird sound. 
Oh, and very thankful I can taste the breakfast wine I'm now settling down with.

All that we behold is full of blessings. ~ William Wordsworth

Thankful (8)

So, let me tell you a little story for this one.  The story might have my parents freaking out a little, or maybe saying "I told you so". 

About 3 years ago, I went to the doctor because I had difficulty breathing.  The doctor, not even paying attention to the fact that I had untreated Graves disease, sent me to an array of specialists, where I ended up with a lung doctor outside of my HMO, Dr. E.  Dr. E was not only a lung doctor, but a critical care doctor.  Critical care is also like long term intensive care, which requires organ support and a lot of monitoring. 

Anyways, on my first appointment, Dr E listens to my lungs and my heart for a long time and then sits down with me and laid out the facts.  He told me that my resting heart rate was too high (about 120 BPM), and it was working so hard that it had started to skip beats.  He said my heart was directly affected by my graves disease, and if I continued with it untreated, in about 6 months I would start having to see him again, only this time as a critical care patient.  Once I was a critical care patient, I would be one for life. 

"Get your thyroid treated, Alicia".

Well, I hated my current endocrinologist, so I went back to my HMO and asked for another one.  I disliked the new one they gave me, but not as much as my old one, so I stayed with him and followed his directions and got my thyroid treated.  This year I added exercise to the mix, for many reasons, one of which was I could actually handle physical activity without being bent over double gasping for air.

Two weeks ago I went to the doctor.  She listened to my heart for a little and asked if I exercised at all.  I told her yes, I did, 5 days a week if possible.  She told me she could tell, because I had the healthy sounding heart of an athlete.  My resting pulse rate is now about 60-70 BPM.

So, for all the wonderful intricacies and mysteries of the human body, I am grateful.  And most of all, I am thankful for my heart, for scaring me back to the doctor, for putting up with my abuse, and for keeping me alive and well.

Why yes, that is a Trader Joe's 3 cheese organic pizza!

Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love.
~ Charlie Brown

Thankful (7)

Despite all my complaints about packing and having too much stuff, I am thankful that I am in a position to have such stuff.  I have a job that provides for me, my dog, and my craft habits, with some left over to spare.

Its not everyone who can say they have over 20 cubic feet of craft supplies (no, this isn't including fabric). 

It is the eye of ignorance that assigns a fixed and unchangeable color to every object; beware of this stumbling block.
~ Paul Gauguin

Thankful (6)

Today I'm thankful for the light at the end of the tunnel.  Though I don't quite see it yet...

Time is the fire in which we burn.  ~ Delmore Schwartz

Thankful (5)

Today, I'm super thankful for naps. 

No day is so bad it can't be fixed with a nap. ~ Carrie Snow

Thankful (4)

Today I'm thankful for comfort food.  I needed it this week.

Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently. ~ Henry Ford

Thankful (3)

Today I'm thankful for the little things - like an afternoon of sun in an otherwise dark northwest November. 

Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future. ~ Paul Boese

Thankful (2)

For always seeming to know when I need something or that I have something on my mind, I'm ever so thankful for the friends I've made in my lifetime...

Friendship is a sheltering tree. ~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Thankful

So, I'm starting the series a little late this year, but I would like to have at least 10 entries in by Thanksgiving.  I'll see if I can do it.

One thing I'm thankful for every day (to the point of sounding like a broken record) - even walking in the rain, or spending the evening at the vet...

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.

~ William Arthur Ward

Another day, another vet bill

I will spare you most of the gory details of what is wrong with Atticus, but lets just say it involved him waking me up once an hour or so when I was trying to sleep and ended up with my poor dog pooping blood and an emergency trip to the vet.

3 hours, a chunk of paycheck, 3 medications, and a liberal dose of stress later, we are finally home.

Diagnosis:  dog colitis.  Or some sort of eating-raw-salmon-disease that I can't remember the name of.  The vet found out Atticus eats random things he finds on the ground outside and couldn't figure out which one it was without more testing.  Which I vetoed.  Dog mom of the year? Not this year. 

On the good news channel it only took 20 minutes for me to convince Atticus to eat 3 pills covered with cream cheese.  Now I get to do that twice a day for the next 2 weeks. 

On the other good news front I got approved for my rental house.  Yay!  Nothing like trying to drum up some excitement in the vets office while I'm anxiously sitting in the waiting room for them to stop poking my dog with needles etc. 

I'm pretty much tired enough I want to cry.  Instead of indulging myself, I get to take a shower and go to work for a 12 hour shift. 

Atticus seems to be okay with that as he is currently snoring on the couch.

What a life!

My new pet pharamcy

A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of. ~ Ogden Nash

Checklist

So far today, I've...

Woken up early and cut my coffee time short
Gave my monthly dose of blood to the vampires at group health
Scored a bunch of free packing boxes from the husband of a coworker
Had a friend over to sort through all my future Goodwill donations (she took most of my blouses...awesome!)
Talked to my future landlord twice (he assures me he sent my paperwork Friday.  Its Wednesday and I still haven't seen it).
Got in my hours worth of sweat at the gym
Walked Atticus in the pouring down rain
Shopped for food for tonight's work meeting (yes, another one....)
Have played enough Word Feud amongst all the above to raise my IQ 3 points
Now I'm all showered and squeaky clean and ready to leave for work in about 30 minutes. 

Although I still haven't technically applied for the house etc I feel pretty good about it.  Its still a big source of stress in my life though.  I hate not knowing something.  I also wonder how soon in advance I need to schedule movers?  I have a company in mind, but hesitate to book them yet. 

Oh wait, how could I forget...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAPA!!!!!

Skipping is oxygen for the soul. ~ Jessi Lane Adams