Moving Pictures

Just a few pictures of the move, including a rough panoramic of the new place.

Slow Escape From Moving Hell

Moving is like getting going to the Gynecologist (or the proctologist - take your pick). You have to make the appointment then mentally prepare yourself. You think about it for days beforehand (If you're a freak like me), and then when it comes time to go you dread it immensely, but you know that if you just make it through the whole ordeal that you won't have to go again for a long long time.

I HATE moving. Right now I hate unpacking. But at least I'm moved. Pregnancy doesn't aid in any of this process either. I think I would have died if my little bro, best friend and little bro-in-law hadn't come in to help. My belly has grown to the can't carry anything stage.

If you've never been pregnant, it's like strapping a large bowling ball to your stomach, then trying to pick up a box against your abdomen. It's hard, uncomfortable and damn heavy. But that's okay, because you probably can't bend over to pick up the box in the first place.

We are REALLY happy with this new place though. So much so that we've decided we NEVER want to move. We left a decent neighborhood that over time it's convenience was overpowered by the noisy adolescent traffic (harley's and loud stereos) and crazy, less than desirable neighbors. But we never thought in a million years that we would be living where we are.

I think most nicer cities have that historical nice part of town where all of the yuppies live and the nicest parks are. I live not just near that area, but so smack dab in it, that we have tourism go by our house. I'm not joking! As we were moving in on Wednesday night I was on the phone about half a block away on a walk when I heard the train. It sounded incredibly close - not obnoxiously so, but close enough that I was looking through the trees for it. Then I saw it, 100 yards away. The freakin' train! THEN not half an hour later hubby yells for me to come outside and what do I see? The Captain Cook Horse Drawn Carriage trotting down the street with tourists enjoying the view of our front yard. PLUS the "nicest park" is literally 1 block away. It's the best entrance to the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail and is a great picnic area.

At first we were nervous about the train. It strolls in at 7 AM, slowly and not obtrusively and blows it's horn a few times. Hubby and I have dubbed the noise as "quaint". Since we're so close to the railroad depot it doesn't go by very fast and they're short trains because they're tour rail cars. It's a beautiful noise next to the "boom boom bang" of our previous neighbors' dropped S10 or the BBBRRRRRWWWWWAAAATTTTTT of some over-compensating-for-the-size-of-his-member's harley (or other undermuffled vehicle).

I think if someone tried to do any of that here there would be some sort of petition filed, cute rejecting (but matching) signs put up, or the home owners association might start a campaign and NOBODY wants that!

ggrrrrooaaannn

Packing sucks. Moving sucks (aside from the hardwood floors and fantastic neighborhood). And all of those things suck more when you're pregnant and chasing around a 2 year old (officially 2 today!).

I'm packing the kitchen and throwing half of it away. Some things I've found I don't even know what they are or how they're used, and the other half are coated in this sticky dusty, dirty film. ugh. How did that get in my kitchen? BARF!

And why the hell did I buy half this crap anyway? Corn meal? How often do I make cornbread? uh...never. And how often did I use the breadmaker? Not once since we moved here 1 1/2 years ago. And what is this bottle of...um...well, there's a picture of a fish on it and a bunch of asian (no way I know what nationality) writing on it...I think maybe that's a throw away. I don't need to rediscover whatever it was.

I DID manage to keep a half full bottle of Jose - How can I part with my latin lover when all I dream about are the margaritas he's going to make me this winter? mmmm....salt.

And why do I always end up short on boxes? I have bought, borrowed and been given tons of boxes and yet I'm now finding myself out! and I'm nowhere near close to done and I've been incredibly resourceful in finding alternative packing methods. Suitcases, garbage bags, backpacks, etc.

JUST GET ME OUT OF HERE!

Post Birthday Packing

Woke up...make booger breakfast.

Packed.

Cleaned up booger.

Packed.

Peed.

Packed.

UGH!

AND to top it off, the people that were SO excited about this place found something else they liked more. gggrrr...

Off to the valley for 2 year old birthday fun!

Happy Birthday to ME!

I remember being little and not having any understanding of why my parent's didn't care about their own birthday? How could they not be excited? You get to be OLDER! Being older is so COOL! It means you get to do so much more, and you get presents, and people talk to you differently.

I didn't realize that you really DO get to do so much more (whether you want to or not) and you do get more presents (poopy diapers, bills, stupid neighbors, flat tires, etc) and that people do talk to you differently (Good Afternoon, this is "We're Going to Take Everything You Own Down to Your Underwear Collections, Inc.", is Amber available?" "Nope...she moved to Zimbabwe. Sorry.")

Yes, birthdays are a beautiful thing to a 6 year old. Barbie dolls, bicycles, and Chuckee Cheese! WAHOO! Damn, I wish I liked Chuckee Cheese still. That place gives me the shivers now, and they're not good ones.

I actually had a great birthday. It's all in your frame of mind. I got to talk to good friends about things that meant something to me, and I think we may have gotten someone to replace us as tenants, which means we won't have to pay for July's rent! YAY! That's $900 in our pockets that we didn't think we would have. We were starting to get nervous...not a good feeling on your birthday.

I have a beautiful daughter (who's brilliant by the way) and an amazing husband (who is also brilliant by the way). How could I ask for anything better?

I'm such a sap.

Adventures in Marriage

Nothing like moving (or building a house, or having your inlaws visit) to magnify the communication (or lack thereof) lines in your marriage. Throw in a little tummy ninja and you've got a fantastic communicator. I mean when you're as good as I am at flipping out you've gotta make sure you don't waste your talent.

And I am a great example of having ridiculous expectations. I believe I'm not alone in this. I think that's the biggest problem with women in marriage. We think we are owed something. That because we are princesses (and we are!) that somehow that means we are deserving. And that our husbands not only understand this, but somehow are supposed to telepathically figure out our exact wants and needs at every moment.

But what happens when you are forgiving and fight those urges? When you try your best to not have unreasonable or downright ridiculous expectations? Well, you COMMUNICATE! Well, maybe communicate is too big of a word. You talk. You cry. You scream. But I think there's a little language barrier.

Some women cry when they want something. I try not to cry when I want something because the crying actually makes the message disappear. Very frustrating when you're a total crybaby like me! So I talk talk talk until I start to cry, then scream, then cuss, then pout. Then cry some more. Then talk. (Holy crap I'm tired!) THEN kiss and make up.

And I can't even remember what the hell we were fighting about in the first place.

Five Years!!!

We are officially married. Isn't that how it works? You have to go through a five year probationary period before people believe that you might actually make it.

Five years ago we were staying at the Tara Dells B&B in Palmer. We were really excited to be done with our crazy huge day and were so so tired. So when we got there and found out that we were in the "Honeymoon Suite" and that there was a hot tub right next to our room in the atrium we were even more excited. Then reality set in.

When we walked into the room we really couldn't believe that someone would consider decorating a room geared for romance with DOLLS! I swear I'm not making this up. It was (and apparently still is) called the "doll room". It was painted pink with all of these victorian dolls (including freaky-ass clowns!).

"Hey baby...you're my spouse now, so do you wanna maybe come over here close to me and protect me from the scary killer clown doll that's hanging over the bed?"

And even though we were the only guests we were given the distinct impression that the hot tub was not a place we were welcome. Apparently because we just got married we might get a little too crazy and disgusting. If anyone was at our wedding they would know just how damn tired we were! As if I would be able to move once I got into hot bubbling water!

THEN, even though we requested that we not be woken up for breakfast they decided that we HAD to come eat. They knocked on the door 3 times (every time we asked them to eat without us) before we finally got up to eat and were subjected to totally uninteresting conversation with the obviously strange couple.

We decided to celebrate our fifth year of freedom from the Doll room by napping in our own bedroom which is doll free, eating a very romantic dinner at Red Robin (I had a free birthday burger coming my way!), and looking for sewing notions at Joanns and Michaels before making a stop for dessert at Fred Meyer Starbucks. We have capped the evening off by playing Xbox and sewing.

Who would have guessed that after five years of marriage we would be the exciting, imaginative couple that we are. Man, everybody should envy us!

*Disclaimer: I adore my husband more now than I could ever imagine I would. He is my best friend, the father to my children, the bread winner of our household, and my hero. He takes such amazing care of us and always makes me his top priority. I am amazed that I ever found a man like him. So Congratulations to me for five years as Queen in my beautiful kingdom built by Joe!

This kid is HUGE! 

7 months along  

Playas BEWARE! There's a new stud on the block!

My Hubbie...ha ha ha

Big Opposites

We've officially done the hand-off and Tundra has moved on to a better home. We are so sad right now. She's been a part of our family for so long and I wish so much that we could have given her a better home and that she could have been a better fit in our home.

I never thought we would actually ever be here. She was going to be with us forever...well, as long as forever is for a dog. We could never have foreseen the path our lives have taken over the last five years. We've had her almost exactly five years - our anniversary is in a week.

On a more opposite, happy note I'm excited to tell everyone that we're moving! And not just anywhere, but to downtown Anchorage in a fabulous duplex in a fabulous upscale neighborhood right next to a fabulous park!

We weren't really even looking for a place, but Joe knows this guy who told him he was renovating one side of his duplex and it just so happened that we can afford the rent! He's putting in brand new bamboo flooring, new carpet, beautiful new cabinets and lighting and it's so super close to the park that it's a two minute walk! So cool!

As soon as we move in we'll post pictures!

Tundra Update

Tundra has finally found a new home! We made contact with a woman who is being a tremendous help by taking Tundra (this coming Sunday) and fostering her until she has a home. At the same time that we set up the foster home we were contacted by a man in Kasilof who wants to adopt her.

He has 7 acres and an australian shepherd to run with. He's very excited about all of this and will be in town to pick her up on Tuesday! So all of our patience and persistence seems to have paid off!

Thank you to everyone for all of your help! We really appreciate all of the email forwarding and phone calls made to friends. Thank you!

Why my hubby and I work...

Since meeting my husband it's been apparent that we are complete opposites. Of course we have things in common or we'd never get anywhere in life, but it's pretty entertaining to me to see what things we actually do similarly. For instance I'm extroverted, he's not. I'm loud, he doesn't talk. I can't stop moving, all he does is stop. I could go on and on...but the longer we are married the more alike we become.

For instance, we both seem to have a problem with making instant gratification decisions. It's a dangerous thing because we both get caught up in the other's excitement. It's a drug. He may disagree with me, but I think we both love it. It FEELS better to make big decisions more quickly than it does to plan, and evaluate, and make sure it's the right decision...blah blah blah. We thrive purely on instinct.

Of course, we TRY to put all things into consideration, but you can't account for everything when you make a big decision, so we just end up crossing our fingers sometimes. Most of the time we make the right decision, I think. Some people may disagree, but I'm not worried about their opinion.

I was just thinking about how the midwife asked us on Monday if our lives had "slowed down" at all in the past two weeks. I wanted to laugh hysterically! OH YEAH! We've slowed WWAAAYYYY down! Ha Ha! I could win "Last Comic Standing" with a joke like that!

Since we've decided to move 3 times in the last week, I think we've officially slowed down. I mean, 3 times is much slower than the daily flip-flop we've been making right?

Splash Mountain Mommy

My emotions are the best roller coaster ride ever...just like Splash Mountain.

You're riding along just the cutest little ride, with the pretty music and little rolls in the creek, then OOPS! You just miss getting sprayed by the frogs, then OOOOHHHH you go down a little dip. Doo Doo dah dah, just moving along singing some songs, then slowly you start to ascend a staircase...and it's not looking so good. But you're still hopeful that when you get to the top you'll just level off, but all you see is sky at the top as you come out of the cave....OH SHAT!

A FIVE STORY PLUMMET! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!

pant pant pant...I'm so freakin' glad that's over. Can we go again?

Yes sirree, I now resemble Splash Mountain. Although I'm sure my hubby will argue that I've always resembled the Mountain in one form or another (ba-dum-pum-ching!).

I have just found myself starting off well, bright and cheery only to have something said to me or a thought to pop into my head and it's either fury or gushing tears within about five minutes. Fun stuff.

Anyone want a ride?

Summertime Fun! 

mmmm mmmmm....My 1st Drumstick!