thursday's ten: the 'meep' edition

we're at 23 days, people.

and so? here's the skinny on what is done for the wedding since the last time i posted!

1.  chair rental is taken care of. 
2.  invitions are ordered and on their way
3.  engagment photo session is done
4.  cake selected
5.  flower place chosen, working on the order
6.  dress alterations begun (it had to go down a couple of sizes...)
7.  centerpieces for reception in process
8.  most of the food for the reception is purchased
9.  wedding coordinator person booked
10. moving most of both of our stuff to the house (i still consider that wedding stuff, since it'll help s be more settled and less stressed on oct 8 to be all moved in!)

what's left?  well, nitty gritty details (like the exact music, program order, etc) and paying for stuff.  lots and lots of stuff.  sigh.

hey, it's ok (tuesday)

hey, it's ok

...to be sooooo sleepy
...to "trap" the baby and yourself upstairs when she decides to climb the stairs, because frankly you're tired of chasing her. either (a) she wants to play upstairs and will be content or (b) realize that she's stuck in the place she chooses if she climbs and not climb as often. either way, we both win :-)
...to be excited about stocking a nice, spacious pantry
...on that note, to be thrilled to be able to move a little at a time.  and YES i know y'all still don't know the story.  it deserves it's own post ;-)
...to be almost a little sad that this phase of the diet is nearly over.  i mean, eating dairy and olive oil again will be really nice.  but i have felt SO.GOOD on this phase, and i know for sure that sugar intake will be MUCH less from this point on
...to really, really, really want to organize your cd collection.  but to realize that it would be pointless since you're going to be merging collections soon anyway...
...to realize that the very nature of moving means that there will be plans needed and organization galore and that means you can be in your happy place for a very.long.time :D

mmmkay, that was a bit boring, no?  sorry...maybe i'll have better things next time around!


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what i'm loving wednesday (8.3.11)

i'm loving that i realized today that there is more behind me than ahead of me on this diet, and that i'm not craving all the "bad" food at all.  i mean, i'll be running to chick-fila at some point immediately after finishing, but i really appreciate the true lifestyle changes that i can foresee from this.  and isn't that the whole point of a "diet" anyway?

i'm loving that anthony and i haven't butted heads on pretty much anything in picking out furnishings, decor, etc for our upcoming new place.  now, a lot of that is letting us each have our own domain (me: kitchen, him: entertainment room), but quite a bit of it is back and forth discussion and reaching a mutual decision.  currently we're playing elimination games for bedside tables, bookshelves, etc.

i'm loving that i have some exciting news to share of God's amazing provision and faithfulness...but i'm hating that i can't share it quite yet.  soon, though.  very soon.

i'm loving random and wonderful moments stolen away with friends.  it seems like we're all so stinkin busy these days, and it's really nice to be able to connect even if it's only for 20 minutes.  and face to face trumps all!

i'm loving pinterest.  i have become addicted in a very few short days.  i have to admit that a lot of it probably stems from my upcoming wedding and new dwelling place, but i can see this being something i'll enjoy for quite awhile!

i'm loving thundershowers that appear in the midst of this summer crazy heat.  i'm wishing for more frequent thundershowers...my poor tomatoes.

i'm loving new piano students...new jobs...

i'm loving the fact that a few short weeks from now i'll be moving to a new location soon to be joined by my HUSBAND.  i'm not loving the packing, etc, that will have to occur in the next few short weeks.

it's a great day to be very busy

 

moving, teaching, babysitting...that's my day

so i started at 8 am

helping a friend of ours move

took a slight "break" to teach a piano lesson

(which likely burned more calories than carrying boxes and stuff...

since this particular student has special needs

and requires some redirection and restraint on occasion

some more than others

today being "some")

now i'm sitting on a couch

after putting two sweet boys to bed

and although noah, age 3, asked me if i could "sleep over"

i'm very much looking forward to going home 

and crawling into MY bed!

BUT

it's been a beautiful day

(ben totally gets the award for choosing the best weather

on moving day)

((...anthony mentioned today that octoberish would be a good time for a wedding...))

and although i'm tired

it's been a good day

i can only hope 

your saturday

has been too

exhaustion

having to be out of this house in a 10 day turn around
the first two days of which i spent working all.day.long
making it an 8 day turn around
quite plainly, sucks

don't get me wrong--i'm still so grateful for God's grace
and abundance in this situation

but it still hurts to say goodbye to this house that i cherished
painted, decorated, loved
repaired,
bought furniture to fit, cherished, planted gardens

and right now my muscles are screaming
my body aches
and i can't remember the last night i slept for more than 4-5 hours

i've had some help
more "troops" coming in tomorrow
(quite honestly i'm embarrassed by what a disaster zone the house currently is)
swallow the pride
accept the help
accept the not knowing what's in each box
because i don't have the time to lovingly, luxuriously pack each one
and others are kind enough to do it for me

right now
i really worry that i won't be done in time

but i know it'll happen
even if i take most of this crap to the dump!

prayers for my stamina, strength, and patience would be much appreciated
and mourning--i haven't mourned the loss of this place just yet and i'm not positive when i'll be able to do that.

off to bed now--perhaps i can get 5 hours of sleep tonight :0)
troops arrive at 9 am
must.be.up.

Thursday's Ten: Things I'm Discovering Through...

I know we're not all in the same situations right now, so adapt this to what you're doing right now
(things i'm discovering through pregnancy, mommyhood, running, new job, whatever)



mine?

Ten Things I'm Discovering Through Moving
(some of which i already knew but have been reminded of)

1. I'm a horrid packrat.
2. No one needs this many buttons, safety pins, or receipts.
3. Help is golden.
4. I don't care nearly as much about being organized when I have a deadline to meet. Throw it in a box and sort it out later!
5. Dishwashers breaking when one needs to wash a load and a half of dishes sucks. However, if you no longer OWN said dishwasher...oh well! :)
6. Breaks are golden too.
7. No matter how prepared I am, or how much time I have to move, I am STILL in panic mode at the end. This move I wasn't prepared at ALL (literally found out 10 days before the moveout day that I had to be out that day) and I'm not nearly as stressed. Why? Because I'm prioritizing. Those things that are precious and valuable to me are already packed or earmarked to be with me. Those things that aren't I couldn't care less about. Dump and Nashville Rescue Mission--both will be bursting at the seams with my donations on Friday!
(I guarantee you I won't be such a packrat in the future. Sentimental? Yes. But for scrapbooking and stuff. Not for stupid things that don't matter.)
8. Ellen playing on the DVR while I'm packing in the living room = priceless.
9. There isn't enough caffeine in the house.
10. I'm going to be a much better person for this move. :0)

God's Formula

part two of an amazing continuing God-story

allow me to recreate a conversation that happened yesterday, between a friend of mine and me. you'll play my friend.

remember how i told you on friday that i felt like the answer, the solution, was something that no one had thought of yet?
that no one had imagined yet?
do you also remember that i told you i felt like someone in my network of churches had a property that they needed taken care of?
that somehow we would work out a mutually beneficial arrangement?
well

yesterday (saturday) morning anthony called me after i taught my first voice lesson of the day
he said
"when you come over tonight, dad has a proposition for you of a living arrangement...that could include emi"
(emi and i being separated has been the hardest part of this whole thing for me. many tears shed)
he went on to say these exact words:
"it's a scenario i had never even imagined would be a possibility"

it was at that point that i said, "um, i need to tell you something.
i told laura and meghan both last night that i felt like the solution to the problem was something none of us had thought of yet."
he got really quiet
and after a moment said
"ok, that's really freaky."

so i went on about my day, met my friend lajuana who was in town for a wedding reception--and she brought me boxes from their move, taught another lesson, and then anthony and i headed to his parents for dinner.

after everyone had cleared out from dinner and we had finished watching...whatever sport was on that night (i believe it was the twenty (20!) inning baseball game...)
anthony's dad proceeded to tell me

how his father (anthony's grandfather)
has an early form of Parkinson's as well as a dementia they are certain is Alzheimer's
anthony's grandmother is already in an assisted living facility
and while the family knows that eventually he will probably have to move there as well
they also want to honor his desire to stay in his home as long as possible

however, he's been doing some dangerous and scary things lately
which could just be stress with his wife's recent health scares and with anthony's other grandfather's sickness and death (they were friends)
or it could be his dementia worsening

there is a doctor's appointment soon
first part of may
to do some testing and analysis to see what exactly is going on

he has a caregiver
who comes to the house daily through the week
she cooks breakfast and lunch for him
and leaves him a dinner that he doesn't have to cook
(normally a sandwich)
and she takes care of his bathing, dressing, etc
he loves having her around
(she's been there for at least 2 years)
and they are even going to increase her hours a bit while they figure out exactly what's going on

so david (anthony's father)
was quick to tell me that what they really need
is someone to act as a caretaker for the house
not to keep an eye on his father necessarily
(although i would be there to know if something crazy happened in the middle of the night!)
but to keep an eye on the house
and take care of it

are you getting the picture?
someone closer to me than i would have imagined
described to me the exact scenario that i KNEW would happen
i just had no idea it would come this quickly
or from a source so close

anthony's father went on to say
that if his father has to be moved to a facility in the near future
they would still appreciate it if i would stay in the house
because with the way medicare and all that works
they can't sell the house until after both his parents pass away

he went on to say
that even if i start working full-time again
they would like me to stay
because that way they won't have to find someone else
AND i can squirrel away my money and start rebuilding what was lost to me over the last 20 months.

isn't God amazing?
on the way out to the car i looked at anthony and said
"um, i have to tell you something else
i also told laura and meghan
that i felt like someone had a property they needed taken care of..."
this literally stopped him in his tracks
as he said "you've GOT to tell mom and dad this"

well, i haven't had a chance to tell them
but i will
and i didn't want to leave you hanging :)

anthony and i went to the house yesterday
i'm going to have a great setup
where emi and i will live in the bottom half of the house
they're moving furniture out so that i can move my stuff in and feel right at home
we'll even have our own entrance next to the carport
(it's a tri-level split level)
i'll have to go upstairs to cook and stuff
but the top floor will be all his so he doesn't feel like i'm closing in on his space
i like that :)

OH, but i will have to go to the tip-top floor once in awhile
you see, there's this great deck
on top of the carport
and on that deck
i can put my patio furniture
including my chaise
so that i can sun
ahhhhhh
oh and my herb garden?
it can live there too
or under the carport
depending on how much sun the deck gets all day long

and i'll grow my vegetables too
(his grandpa is actually kind of excited about that)

all the things i was mourning the loss of
emi--restored
my garden--restored
the use of a piano--restored--it's in the portion of the house i'll be living in, and his grandpa is looking forward to it being played again :0)

i'm so thankful
for a God who asks me to be obedient
to put down the pen and paper
and stop with the formulas

because He has one in the works
that is SO much better.

(ps...david was awakened at 4 am on saturday with this idea. so it truly was an idea that had never been thought of on friday :)

Thursday's Ten

I've been spending quite a bit of time this week helping some dear friends move. I'm actually quite bummed about it (you can read more about it here), but have treasured this time packing up their memories with them. It seems right that I'm the one to help them with this move--I helped when they bought this house 3 years ago.

We've giggled a bit as we've thrown things into boxes and I've said "you're gonna wonder why in the world you have this when you get to Atlanta"

Of course, it's got me thinking.

What random weird things would I make SURE I took with me to the next house?
I'm not talking scrapbooks, Bibles, electronics or anything like that. Everyone assumes those things go.

I'm not even talking about the dishes from my grandmas house. I'm talking about the everyday, ordinary items that I would make sure stay with me no matter where I go. Some of them are sentimental and some are just plain stupid.

Here's 10 of mine:

1. my iPod alarm clock radio. It was a gift from LaJuana and Randy one year, and I love falling asleep to it.
2. a stuffed white tiger from Anthony. Her name is Zoe. I know, it's corny. But I love her.
3. Nicole and Lora's Big Book of Quotes. It's a relic from high school, and full of expressions that my friend Nicole and I created.
4. my exercise ball. I've had it since college. I use it rarely, but it will always travel with me.
5. cables for random cell phones and electronic equipment that is long dead or broken. I mean, what if I have a new piece of electronics that exactly fits that charger? Then I'll have an extra...
6. speaking of...3 old cell phones. 2 of them I still have plugged in for an extra alarm on days that I'm reallllly tired. one of them won't even turn on (it completely died) so I can't recycle it...but I can't get rid of it. what the heck?
7. my NAP blanket. Also a gift from Anthony, but seriously the warmest most comfortable blanket EVER.
8. flowers that I have dried--a couple from weddings I was in, and a couple from Anthony
9. a framed poem/song that a former roommate wrote for me when I graduated college
10. papers written by former students, and the 8th grade blues they wrote every year.

So there you have it. And believe me, there's more :0) What about you? What random things would you absolutely put in the boxes to move across the country, city, or street?

Grab the button and sign up if you're participating! You can make up your own list too, if you don't like today's theme. There really are no "rules" :0)