New Jersey. College. Five Years. Hot Husband. 'Nuff Said.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
We Live in Florida!
We made it happen, folks. Over the past 8 days, we've moved and gotten ourselves settled in Florida. Here's how it went down...
Sunday: Mom & I leave from Atlanta. Arrive in Florida to meet landlords and get keys. Landlords are an hour late and very flustered. Proceed to point out everything that's wrong with the apartment. Seriously? Not a good start. I was so glad Mom was there or I might've a)cried, b)checked into a hotel, c)texted B to "GET HERE NOW." Instead, Mom put on music and we unloaded the things we had in our cars, got them organized, then went out to dinner at the fun Mexican place down the street. Shared our new air mattress in the empty apartment. Picked up a few staples from Publix.
Monday: TECO arrives to turn the gas on (hot water!). POD teases us! I'd spoken with the zoning committee, who said it would be no problem to have the POD in our street for up to 30 days (we only wanted 3). The POD people balked ("um, they didn't read far enough down. At the bottom of that page it says 'NO PODS ALLOWED ON STREET OVERNIGHT.'"). That's exciting! So we told them to get the POD there asap, called movers, and had the whole thing unpacked and off the property in a total of about five hours. Did I mention that Mom is amazing? Yes. Mom slept in guest bed, I slept on air mattress. B arrives in time for bed (post bachelorette finale, which we watched with our neighbords; so fun!) and gives the place his approval (yea!).
Tuesday: Cable guy arrives and is mean and crude and just mean. B was out on a run when he arrived and Mom and I literally stood at the window watching for B to come back. If you know us, you know that's not like us! He stood around, dented and bent things, then left without hooking anything up, "because this stuff always works." UGH. Called Comcast, complained, got part of our bill reduced, scheduled two new people to come out. Sidebar: The first guy also made it clear he was an area cop, so I felt so NOT ok complaining about him. Anyone else had to deal with that?
Wednesday: Mom and B headed off to run errands (bless them!) while I had a job interview at a local bakery (yea!). They're not even really sure that they're hiring, but I should know this week. Fingers crossed! Washer/dryer arrives, looks beautiful, and works. Amen.
Thursday: More organizing and settling.
Friday: B leaves for bachelor party #2. Mattress arrives. Bed arrives. Everything finally in the apartment! Mom & I celebrate by hitting two "First Friday" events in nearby neighborhoods.
Saturday: Mom and I enjoy a lazy morning, then a five mile walk (she walked alll over our neighborhood this week in anticipation of her upcoming hiking vacation; go Mom!), then lunch at a cute town center across the river. We tried to go to church and failed, and Mom decided she'd head home on Sunday morning so she could get a few things done in Florence.
Sunday: Mom hugged me goodbye, I went back to sleep, then B arrived around 2pm, after I'd finished a few hours of work. We spent the afternoon laying in our new bed watching movies and bad TV (seriously, have you ever seen the Hotel Children of Orange County? It's not a slasher flick, but it is a scary true documentary of homeless kids) before walking our tails to Publix to get things for dinner. I'm trying not to fill our fridge, only buying what we need as we need it. Here's to budgets, minimalism, and the love of clean fridges!
So it's Monday now, I think. I'm working this morning while B sleeps off the rest of the bachelor party. The apartment is starting to feel like home; after all, it does have all our stuff!
B's awake! Love him.
Sunday: Mom & I leave from Atlanta. Arrive in Florida to meet landlords and get keys. Landlords are an hour late and very flustered. Proceed to point out everything that's wrong with the apartment. Seriously? Not a good start. I was so glad Mom was there or I might've a)cried, b)checked into a hotel, c)texted B to "GET HERE NOW." Instead, Mom put on music and we unloaded the things we had in our cars, got them organized, then went out to dinner at the fun Mexican place down the street. Shared our new air mattress in the empty apartment. Picked up a few staples from Publix.
Monday: TECO arrives to turn the gas on (hot water!). POD teases us! I'd spoken with the zoning committee, who said it would be no problem to have the POD in our street for up to 30 days (we only wanted 3). The POD people balked ("um, they didn't read far enough down. At the bottom of that page it says 'NO PODS ALLOWED ON STREET OVERNIGHT.'"). That's exciting! So we told them to get the POD there asap, called movers, and had the whole thing unpacked and off the property in a total of about five hours. Did I mention that Mom is amazing? Yes. Mom slept in guest bed, I slept on air mattress. B arrives in time for bed (post bachelorette finale, which we watched with our neighbords; so fun!) and gives the place his approval (yea!).
Tuesday: Cable guy arrives and is mean and crude and just mean. B was out on a run when he arrived and Mom and I literally stood at the window watching for B to come back. If you know us, you know that's not like us! He stood around, dented and bent things, then left without hooking anything up, "because this stuff always works." UGH. Called Comcast, complained, got part of our bill reduced, scheduled two new people to come out. Sidebar: The first guy also made it clear he was an area cop, so I felt so NOT ok complaining about him. Anyone else had to deal with that?
Wednesday: Mom and B headed off to run errands (bless them!) while I had a job interview at a local bakery (yea!). They're not even really sure that they're hiring, but I should know this week. Fingers crossed! Washer/dryer arrives, looks beautiful, and works. Amen.
Thursday: More organizing and settling.
Friday: B leaves for bachelor party #2. Mattress arrives. Bed arrives. Everything finally in the apartment! Mom & I celebrate by hitting two "First Friday" events in nearby neighborhoods.
Saturday: Mom and I enjoy a lazy morning, then a five mile walk (she walked alll over our neighborhood this week in anticipation of her upcoming hiking vacation; go Mom!), then lunch at a cute town center across the river. We tried to go to church and failed, and Mom decided she'd head home on Sunday morning so she could get a few things done in Florence.
Sunday: Mom hugged me goodbye, I went back to sleep, then B arrived around 2pm, after I'd finished a few hours of work. We spent the afternoon laying in our new bed watching movies and bad TV (seriously, have you ever seen the Hotel Children of Orange County? It's not a slasher flick, but it is a scary true documentary of homeless kids) before walking our tails to Publix to get things for dinner. I'm trying not to fill our fridge, only buying what we need as we need it. Here's to budgets, minimalism, and the love of clean fridges!
So it's Monday now, I think. I'm working this morning while B sleeps off the rest of the bachelor party. The apartment is starting to feel like home; after all, it does have all our stuff!
B's awake! Love him.
Bar, Day 2
Did I tell you about the second day of the Bar? After the first day, B felt much better, so we enjoyed a pizza night in, watched a movie, and packed new snacks for him to take on the second day.
When I saw him for lunch, he was tired but ok. The funny thing was when I went to pick him up that afternoon.
I parked and watched as the first kids staggered out into the sun, still wearing their sweatshirts in the 100 degree heat. Then the next dozen came, moving faster. The third wave came out in a run and the fourth in a full sprint. I kid you not. I wish I'd had the track to School's Out for the Summer, because boy did it feel like that!
B came walking out amidst the rush, walking across the stream of the crazies, no less, with hands held high and a happy look of having completed his two days of intense testing.
No word on results until October. For now, we're just glad it's over!
When I saw him for lunch, he was tired but ok. The funny thing was when I went to pick him up that afternoon.
I parked and watched as the first kids staggered out into the sun, still wearing their sweatshirts in the 100 degree heat. Then the next dozen came, moving faster. The third wave came out in a run and the fourth in a full sprint. I kid you not. I wish I'd had the track to School's Out for the Summer, because boy did it feel like that!
B came walking out amidst the rush, walking across the stream of the crazies, no less, with hands held high and a happy look of having completed his two days of intense testing.
No word on results until October. For now, we're just glad it's over!
15 Months!
At least I think it is. I've been up doing freelance work and, as my tax account proved when I sent her line 52 from our return as 2,5550, I am not so in touch with the digits these days.
Happy Anniversary, B! You're still sleeping (in our new bed! Happy dance!) after a bachelor party weekend in Savannah, but I love you very much all the same, perhaps even more because I know that any minute I could go pounce on you and wake you up in the worst way: singing. You're helpless. And I love that. And you.
This month is definitely in the running for Busiest Month of Our Marriage. In the last month, I've spent a week with my sister meeting baby T, B's flown up to meet baby T mid Bar studying, I trained for a temp position at my old job (which is just now starting), we finished house sitting, I was the focus of a photo shoot in my mother-in-law's kitchen for a magazine, B TOOK THE BAR (yes, it deserves caps), we arranged for all the basics of a move (gas, electric, address changes, cable, internet, storage, movers), we actually moved, I had my first trip to an Atlanta junk yard, both our cars got worked on, B had two back-to-back bachelor parties, I renewed my license in no-where Alabama, we made our first major purchases (bed, mattress, washer/dryer), and I had a job interview.
At a bakery. More on that later. Fingers crossed!
Seriously, we need a vacation, which is why we're heading out this week to Miami and Key West for a belated Bar trip. B's a good sport; I'm pretty sure he'd rather stay home and veg for the week after his two crazy weekends, but I'm ready to get out of town and enjoy some time just the two of us in a place where we can't organize or do life things. Maybe I'll regret it, but, in my experience, it's hard to regret anything while sitting co-pilot in a convertible. That's right, we rented one. Or at least I hope we did.
Like I said, it's been a busy month.
Work has picked up for me, which is great. I've been working with one of B's high school friends on building/writing websites and it's been a huge blessing! So far I've completed my work on three. I've also picked up two other paid blogging gigs, bringing the total to three. For the next few weeks, I'm temping at my old job, working full-time hours on content migration.
I will say that God is good. We've been savers and all, but it sure is nice to have checks coming in after making said first major purchases together, as well as planning a trip to the Keys!
B's update has been just as nutty. Tons of studying interspersed with taking Marley on long walks (though we're still not sure, due to Marley's excitement) who was walking whom. I've hopeful that my 16th month update on B will be oh-so boring. Hopefully he'll have time to sleep, rest, recharge, and get excited about starting his new job (August 23)!
The next month will be a fun one for us: first (longer than a weekend) vacation for the two of us since the honeymoon, first day at a new job (yea government health care!), a wedding in Maine for two of our dear friends (I plan to turn into a lobster by weekend's end), and my birthday.
The not-so-fun stuff we have to do? Figure out car insurance and tax issues. Which is what we're doing today. Which is why I'm encouraging B to sleep for as long as he can. I may have even drugged him. May...
Happy Anniversary, B! Here's to a fun year in hot, muggy Florida!
Happy Anniversary, B! You're still sleeping (in our new bed! Happy dance!) after a bachelor party weekend in Savannah, but I love you very much all the same, perhaps even more because I know that any minute I could go pounce on you and wake you up in the worst way: singing. You're helpless. And I love that. And you.
This month is definitely in the running for Busiest Month of Our Marriage. In the last month, I've spent a week with my sister meeting baby T, B's flown up to meet baby T mid Bar studying, I trained for a temp position at my old job (which is just now starting), we finished house sitting, I was the focus of a photo shoot in my mother-in-law's kitchen for a magazine, B TOOK THE BAR (yes, it deserves caps), we arranged for all the basics of a move (gas, electric, address changes, cable, internet, storage, movers), we actually moved, I had my first trip to an Atlanta junk yard, both our cars got worked on, B had two back-to-back bachelor parties, I renewed my license in no-where Alabama, we made our first major purchases (bed, mattress, washer/dryer), and I had a job interview.
At a bakery. More on that later. Fingers crossed!
Seriously, we need a vacation, which is why we're heading out this week to Miami and Key West for a belated Bar trip. B's a good sport; I'm pretty sure he'd rather stay home and veg for the week after his two crazy weekends, but I'm ready to get out of town and enjoy some time just the two of us in a place where we can't organize or do life things. Maybe I'll regret it, but, in my experience, it's hard to regret anything while sitting co-pilot in a convertible. That's right, we rented one. Or at least I hope we did.
Like I said, it's been a busy month.
Work has picked up for me, which is great. I've been working with one of B's high school friends on building/writing websites and it's been a huge blessing! So far I've completed my work on three. I've also picked up two other paid blogging gigs, bringing the total to three. For the next few weeks, I'm temping at my old job, working full-time hours on content migration.
I will say that God is good. We've been savers and all, but it sure is nice to have checks coming in after making said first major purchases together, as well as planning a trip to the Keys!
B's update has been just as nutty. Tons of studying interspersed with taking Marley on long walks (though we're still not sure, due to Marley's excitement) who was walking whom. I've hopeful that my 16th month update on B will be oh-so boring. Hopefully he'll have time to sleep, rest, recharge, and get excited about starting his new job (August 23)!
The next month will be a fun one for us: first (longer than a weekend) vacation for the two of us since the honeymoon, first day at a new job (yea government health care!), a wedding in Maine for two of our dear friends (I plan to turn into a lobster by weekend's end), and my birthday.
The not-so-fun stuff we have to do? Figure out car insurance and tax issues. Which is what we're doing today. Which is why I'm encouraging B to sleep for as long as he can. I may have even drugged him. May...
Happy Anniversary, B! Here's to a fun year in hot, muggy Florida!
Bug Whisperer
I live with (and am married to) the Bug Whisperer. I'm sure you know people like B. Bugs love him, flock to him; he's the Pied Piper of winged creatures, much to his chagrin.
I first noticed this on our honeymoon, when we were waiting on our sunset cruise to depart and B was all but peeling the skin from his ankles. We've learned; now we have bug spray on hand and yet, still, bugs literally swarm him.
While moving in, we of course welcomed a few unintentional house guests through the near-constant opening and closing of doors. So now B's getting bitten inside.
But, fear not, for he has a secret. While he's also a Bug Whisperer, he's also the person most likely to send them to their maker. I once read that it's almost impossible to smush bugs because their eyes process faster than ours, so they literally see us coming even before we're there.
B, however, must have gotten rapid-fire magazine skills along with his perfect 20/20 vision. He can track and kill a mosquito with magazines, napkins, or, yes, even his bare hands. The only unwelcome result? We never notice them (of course) until after they've bitten us, so you can imagine what all these teeny-tiny smushed spots look like on our walls: blood.
I for one am thankful. I'll clean a wall, but I do NOT want to get eaten alive on my own couch. And for the first time ever, I'm sad that there aren't more spiders around, a sure result of the rampant baby lizard population that hops (yes, hops) around our sidewalks. Welcome to Florida!
I first noticed this on our honeymoon, when we were waiting on our sunset cruise to depart and B was all but peeling the skin from his ankles. We've learned; now we have bug spray on hand and yet, still, bugs literally swarm him.
While moving in, we of course welcomed a few unintentional house guests through the near-constant opening and closing of doors. So now B's getting bitten inside.
But, fear not, for he has a secret. While he's also a Bug Whisperer, he's also the person most likely to send them to their maker. I once read that it's almost impossible to smush bugs because their eyes process faster than ours, so they literally see us coming even before we're there.
B, however, must have gotten rapid-fire magazine skills along with his perfect 20/20 vision. He can track and kill a mosquito with magazines, napkins, or, yes, even his bare hands. The only unwelcome result? We never notice them (of course) until after they've bitten us, so you can imagine what all these teeny-tiny smushed spots look like on our walls: blood.
I for one am thankful. I'll clean a wall, but I do NOT want to get eaten alive on my own couch. And for the first time ever, I'm sad that there aren't more spiders around, a sure result of the rampant baby lizard population that hops (yes, hops) around our sidewalks. Welcome to Florida!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Moving!
I feel like I wish blogs were more like facebook, so then I could just write "...is behind," and be done with it.
Details to come, but I've officially moved to Jacksonville. I say "I" because B is en route tomorrow. Mom came down with me (THANK YOU GOD!), and is currently taking an unintentional cold shower. That's right, the gas people don't come on weekends. Sorry Momma. :(
The move was fairly uneventful, thanks to the help of friends and family, but the lead-up was anything but. In the past three days, both B's car and mine have been in the shop, duking it out to see who could become the next "what the hell IS that noise" contender. B's car won: A tune up, a new front seat, and a new fuel pump it is!
Let me just walk you through the past two days.
Friday: B leaves for Charleston (bachelor party, woot!). My car's in the shop leaking oil from every possible crevice (sorry B's parents' driveway). I'm with B's parents at the lake getting the boats out of the water and into storage. Blueberry ice cream was had and all was well.
Saturday: Learn that B's car needs a new seat because the rail beneath it is bent. Basically, B's been strapping himself into an ejector seat every time he's buckled his seat belt and hit the road. As his Dad said, "It doesn't help a whole lot to buckle yourself into a seat if the seat isn't buckled into anything!"
This, dear ones, lead to my first trip to an Atlanta junkyard. Now I've been to junkyards before, but never one with a front man named Jimmy who keeps trying to convince me to take his card and that he's not a rapist. I don't know what surprised me more: that the guys in the front office were super helpful in teaching me about fuel pumps and the going rate or that they had their entire inventory of cars catalogued by part. For real: '98 Jeep Cherokee Sport Front Electric Seat in Tan. "Absolutely," says Jimmy. "Come on down."
So "no down" we went, approving the seat (slight rust stain and all) and waiting for "Mike" to pull it out of the car. Yes, Mike, we want the bolts, too. Then B's Dad and I armed ourselves with fabric cleaner, leather cleaner, and deodorizer and went to work. As luck would have it, the "new" seat turned out cleaner than the original; we even realized the original has green in the fabric! As luck would have it, again, they may not need the seat, which means that if B's Dad is really into it, he could probably sell that bad boy on Ebay for a profit.
(Meanwhile, I have my Mother taking a shower in what the water heater says is 11 degree water, which she categorizes as "Not bad" and "maybe Celcius" in turn.)
After the trip to the junkyard and the epic cleaning, I hit the road and ran errands, purchasing a washer and dryer, returning books, buying wine, and picking up little Atlanta items to make Florida feel like home. I came back, did a few hours of freelance work, then welcomed Mom, who we celebrated with a fun dinner culminating in zero packing and four empty bottles of wine.
So here I sit, in my new lovely house, so excited for B to come and see it. That's right, he's signing on sight-unseen (which is what happens when you're studying for the Bar, bless him!), but I know he'll love it. The first thing I unpacked was his crystal bar set, one we've never set up.
Mom nailed it on the head; we've had houses, but this will be our first home. I can't wait to see where this chapter of our lives takes us.
To come? The gas people, the cable people, the POD people, and, of course, B!
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