Trash & Trinkets Day!

I'm making good progress in packing up the house, and now we're down to mostly odds-n-ends stuff ... take this? give it away? trash it?

My daughter and I had a garage sale a month ago. We made some decent money, but it didn't seem to put a dent in the stuff that MUST go away. So I started Freecycling some things -- that's working out great! If you have a Freecycle group in your area, take advantage of it; I've received some really nice things from the group, and given away even more. You don't get a charitable tax receipt, but you know that the recipient really appreciates what they get.

This morning I have a lady coming to pick up several bags of very nice clothes that I can no longer wear because I've lost weight. I've hung onto these things for a couple of years -- just in case, you know -- but now it's time to let someone else enjoy them. And I'm sure she will.

I also have someone coming to get the gas grill I no longer use. I tried to sell it in the garage sale; no takers. But lots of people wanted to come pick it up for free, so there it goes too. It'll save me trying to get it to the Salvation Army or Goodwill stores; in fact, I'm not even sure they'd take it. It's a perfectly good grill that someone will enjoy for years to come!

Best news of the day: my friend Connie is coming to help me empty the garage and take all that stuff to Goodwill in her hubby's truck. YEA!!! I'll be SO happy to have the garage emptied out!

More importantly, I'm SO grateful for friends like her who will drive 60 miles one way to help me out for a few hours. Am I blessed, or what?

And The Packing Goes On ...

Wow. You should SEE the stacks and stacks of boxes I'm building! I'll take pictures eventually, but for now, you have to take my word for it.

Thanks to two wonderful, dear friends -- Diane and Charmaine -- my sewing room is almost packed up. The only things remaining are three drawer-type plastic bins that hold fabric, WIPs and PIPs. And probably a couple of UFOs as well. There are 23 -- count 'em .. 23! -- boxes stacked and ready to go in that room alone.

In the upstairs family room, there are 20+ more boxes packed, taped and dutifully labeled. I'm embarrassed to admit that most of those boxes are quilt or sewing-related things.

In the guest room are 4 big boxes of bedding, decorative stuff, and whatever else I can cram in there with all that padding, and 4 wardrobe boxes. My goal is to finish the upstairs today, no matter what!

Not really sure that'll happen, but I'll come very close, for sure.

This has been a long, torturous, overwhelming project, let me tell you. To all my fellow packrats, this could be you. I intend to turn over a new leaf: my new rule is that nothing new comes into the house unless it's replacing something that's going away. The alternative is to move every year or two, and I'm such a big homebody I don't see that happening!

Okay -- time for lunch, and then back to work!

Who Knew?

My gosh, there's a lot involved in moving half way across the country. I'm still purging and packing, slowly but surely. This morning was spent fielding phone calls from realtors and moving companies, compiling a list of furniture to be moved, and compiling a list of address change notifications to make.

Yes, I will fill out a change of address card at the post office, but I need to make sure I capture all the paperless billing places. Although those bills are sent via e-mail, I want to make sure I capture all of them and update my address information when the time comes.

The moving company spreadsheet is growing and I have to commit to one of them very quickly!

I'm taking a break from the purge/pack process to eat lunch, and then I'm going to start taking down all the light fixtures from the ceiling fans and washing those. And I want to clean out the freezer today so "old" stuff can go in tomorrow's trash pick-up.

I have roofers coming tomorrow and Thursday; need to get that done a year ago (ha!). And a realtor coming Thursday who not only sells homes, but also works with investors who buy homes that need to be sold quickly. She *really* perked up when I told her this house has two masters: turns out she has a buyer looking for a Pearland home with 2 master suites. Could this be serendipity? Let's hope so!

One other note: I've been approved as a Google AdSense associate so you may start seeing ads on this blog. If they're interesting, and you click on them for info, I might make a few cents on the deal -- I have no idea how much; ask me a month from now how that's going.

Back to work!

On The Move

Okay ... so I've been absent from this blog for quite a long time. A lot has happened in that time -- too much to really recap, so here's the short version:

* Recuperated from surgery successfully
* Went back to work after a 2-month leave of absence for recuperation
* Gained a beautiful grandprincess thanks to daughter & SIL
* Got a new boss
* Lost the husband unexpectedly to another "woman" (I'm trying to be nice)
* Divorce finalized 10 months later
* Was found by my long-lost younger brother (!!!)
* Reconnected with long-lost friends from HS thanks to Facebook
* Maintained quilting passion and quilting friends
* Gained a 2nd beautiful grandprincess thanks to son and DIL
* Reconnection with one HS friend began to turn into something really special
* Lost my 24-year job with Toyota

And now, it's time to make a move. A really really BIG move for me: I'm leaving Texas and moving to Ohio to be with Rex, my extra-special high school friend. Who's turned out to be SOOO much more than that.

It's still mind-boggling to both of us, but something we're both grateful for. The time that we're apart is becoming harder and harder to bear. He's been trying for months to find work down here, to no avail. I've been off work for 2 months, and am having a very difficult time finding prospects here as well. Ironically enough, even though everyone *knows* the economy is a lot better in Texas than Ohio, I seem to be finding a lot more possibilities up there than here, he's already got a secure job up there, we both own our own home, but believe mine will be easier to sell ("easier" being a relative term, of course), so when we add it all together, it seems that me moving up there is best for us at this time.

We both want to be back down here, sooner rather than later, and will continue working toward that. But in the meantime, I'm sorting, tossing, giving away and packing all the JUNK that's accumulated in this house over the last 15 years, and putting it on the market ASAP.

I'd hoped to have it on the market before the end of July, but it hasn't happened yet ... mainly because I need to have some shingles replaced on the roof (to repair a leak), and then repair an interior ceiling, before my consciounce will let me list it. I've had several roofers be no-shows; this morning's first chore was to call 4 more and set up appts with them for estimates THIS WEEK.

So ... I'm in high-panic mode now, taking a break from packing to finally get back to this blog. Like I don't have anything else to do -- LOL. But I may be a bit more active from here on out, as I chronicle this exciting journey ... to Ohio!

On The Warpath

Do you ever have those times in your life when you feel like everyone's against you? That you're nothing more than a huge annoyance in the lives of those you care about?

Sure you do. We all do.

It's one of those times for me right now, and I'm on the warpath. I'm ticked off and mad as hell and of course the people I'm upset with don't have time to deal with me so I guess I'll just rant and rave right here. And yes, I realize the first half of the previous sentence is redundant. I'm not one to air my dirty laundry in public, but lately I feel like I have no one to talk to, so cyperspace it is.

It started a week and a half ago with some snide remarks from someone I thought of as a friend. The remarks were made to a third party via e-mail, and the "friend" who made them inadvertently (?) forwarded them to me. Aware that I was in the throes of PMS and might be a little more sensitive than normal, I kept my reaction to myself. A few days later, she followed up with an "apology", saying she never intended for me to see what she'd said to her other friend (well, DUH), and that what she said may have sounded "sorta bad" ... ya think?!? But I refrained from answering that, too, until I was sure I was out of my emotional danger zone. Then I very politly e-mailed her and thanked her for checking with her friend for me but that I would pass for now (it was about purchasing something this third party builds). End of story, I hoped.

But now, I think there is some behind-the-scenes chicanery going on and I'm ticked off as hell. BUT, I'm still holding back and trying not to make a mountain out of a molehill, and certainly refraining from involving anyone else. I figure if she's going behind my back to make her case for "innocence" (for lack of a better word), then my lack of doing the same speaks volumes to anyone else involved.

So I'm still dealing internally with all that when I have to break the news to my boss that my surgery originally scheduled for the first of October has been postponed a month, and between the anticipated 6 weeks recovery time off work, followed by the 2 weeks vacation I already had on the calendar, I would be out of the office the last 2 months of November. Believe me -- I did NOT want to do this. But instead of his appreciating my efforts to make sure I had all projects in order and unfinished work transitioned smoothly, his comment to me was, "wow -- you're really leaving me in the lurch."

I told him that the next time I had to take off work for recovery from surgery, I'd try to plan it better.

I feel bad enough that he's getting stuck without help the last part of the year. He does not need to rub it in or try and make me feel guilty, or sorry for him. I couldn't feel any worse than I do already. I could, I suppose, ask the surgeon to put this off until after the first of the year, but how would that make it any better? There is no "good" time for me to take 6 weeks off work, so I might as well get this over with.

Of course, having this schedule puts me in a bind with my daughter, who is pregnant and due December 30th. If my much-anticipated grandprincess does not make her appearance until her due date, I don't see how I could possibly ask for yet another week off work in January to help my daughter adjust to motherhood. And I've waited 30 years to be able to do that!

So naturally, I'm feeling terribly guilty about that, and selfishly praying that little Madeline Grace shows up just a couple of weeks early, so that everyone will be happy.

And then yesterday. Like things aren't bad enough in my head and heart right now, DH had to go meet with the surgeon with me yesterday. Normally, it would not have been a big deal, but he worked a twelve-hour shift the night before and was very tired. So what did he do? Put his A$$hole Hat on and played the part to the hilt -- so much so that I was in tears for much of the day. I'm still upset and sick to my stomach over it, and I'm sure he figures it's no big deal. He did leave me a message apologizing last night, I'll give him that. But WHY did he have to act like such a jerk at all?

Okay. He's very tired. I get that. But in the 14 years we've been together, how many times have I asked him to give up sleep on my behalf? ZERO. NONE. ZIP. NADA. NEVER! And how many times have I sat in a hospital room for him? How many other times have I given up my plans, or inconvenienced myself, for him? Many times. And how many times have I acted like an a$$ and made him feel like dirt? NEVER.

The surgeon specifically requested that my DH come to the appointment with me, so that the doc would feel comfortable that I'll have support at home during my recovery period. I hope Doc was more assured of that support than I am right now.

How Weird Is This?

I should never have stumbled on Blogthings.com -- I could waste the next year of my life taking these little quizzes! But how strange is that that the result of the last quiz was this:

You Belong in San Diego

Laid back and friendly, you were meant to live most of your life on the beach. You usually think everything is "all good"... except when the weather dips under 60F. You stay classy - especially when you're in Tijuana!

Where Does Your Inner Californian Belong?

Considering that I was born and half raised in San Diego, and still miss it even after being gone for well over 30 years ... is it ironic that San Diego is the Californian I was meant to be?

Oh well ... I'll just have to continue living vicariously through my laid-back sister, who is still in San Diego ...

Are You Right Brained or Left Brained?

I learned today that I'm almost half & half -- 55% left brained, 45% right brained. Here's what the quiz tells me about this:

You Are 55% Left Brained, 45% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

I wonder if any of this is related to my being born under the sign of Pisces?

It's no wonder I never seem to know if I'm coming or going! Half of me wants to be logical and steadfast; the other half of me wants to fly away in a hot air balloon and paint the sky!

An Important Day

Unless you recently crawled out from under a rock, you're well aware that today is an important day in U.S. history -- one we wish we didn't have. It's undoubtedly important to those of another ilk, who despise Americans and wish to rid the Earth of our presence.

I could say so many things about today, but it's all been said before.

I try to understand why this happened. I try to understand "their" motivation. Sometimes I think I'm getting close to understanding, but then again .... I just can't. I can't understand wanting to blow away thousands of people to make a point -- whether it's "them" or "us". And I especially cannot understand how or why anyone could or would kill in the name of God.

I've struggled all day, trying to find the words to express my feelings. The words won't come.

So, I'll simply acknowledge today and express my sorrow to every single person who has lost a loved one, either on this day five years ago, or since then, in the war on terrorism.

Tomorrow will be a better day.