Starting to Feel Like Home

The last two weeks have been pure madness around our household. The big move, no water, constant repair work, trips across the country for work, the list just doesn't seem to end. We finally got our water back yesterday. The landlord is still working, fixing our laundry room, ripping out carpet, painting, etc. I have to admit though, this place is starting to feel like home. I was able to get my bathroom set up last night - cute rubber ducky theme carried over from our previous home with some new additions.

I'm heading over to our old place today to clean and get the rest of our clothes and other items that were left behind. We have an appointment at 3:00 with a woman who is interested in buying it, so I'm hoping that goes well. She had already seen the place while we still lived there, so I hope she still likes it after all of our stuff is gone, ha! I do admit the place looks a lot bigger now that it's empty, now I just have to get it CLEAN! I'm so sick of scrubbing and wiping and scrubbing some more - my poor hands look terrible and they're so scratched up that I look like I had a wrestling match with Catwoman!

I plan to feature a few artists this week whose shops I frequent - be sure to check back this week to see who I'm talking about! One feature is long overdue and her work has been hanging in my window for some time. The other is the creator of a beautiful piece that I won at The Gift Closet.

Wishing all of you a relaxing weekend!

Mission Moving Day Accomplished!

First off, I'd like to thank all of you who left well wishes for a smooth moving day for us! The move is complete with the exception of a few small items that I couldn't fit into boxes and our fish (we're picking them up tomorrow... explanation below).

While we have internet, tv, and heat... not everything has gone smoothly. My husband was forced to work nearly 18 hours the day before our move, leaving him exhausted on the big day. He's still recovering and has a honey-do list a mile long, poor guy!

I had the entire weekend planned out - cleaning on Friday, moving small boxes in my car and more cleaning on Saturday, full move on Sunday. Easy enough, right?! Ha!

Well... I arrived on Friday to find that the water hadn't yet been turned on (not very convenient seeing as how I took the day off from work to clean the new home in preparation for our move). My husband located the main valve to the house and when he turned it on, the thing started GUSHING water! At this point, I was just grateful that we're renting for the time being (renting with an option to purchase after the first year). The landlord assessed the situation and determined that the leak was a city issue. So, the city came out on Monday (yes, we moved on Sunday without the luxury of running water), fixed the main valve and went through the house checking all of the faucets and drains. By the time he got back to the basement, our laundry room was flooded with two inches of water! Talk about panic attack! We called the landlord and he found the source of the leaks (yes, that's plural). There were four of them behind the laundry sink. So, out came the sink and all of the drywall. He worked on it for six hours today but still wasn't able to turn our water back on - evidently he needed a few more parts and had to go to his regular job. He'll be back in the morning to finish the job.

In the meantime, we're running back and forth to my mom's house to use her ummm, facilities for bathing and all of the other important things. We're living off of filled water jugs and trying to stay positive. The rest of the house needs work as well, but we certainly didn't anticipate anything like this! On the positive side, we're living rent-free for now and will continue to do so for at least another week. I just wish things could have worked out better. I'm hesitant to unpack everything until I can really clean the way I wanted to (i.e. my kitchen and bathroom - I'm a bit of a germaphobe that way and want to SCRUB them til my fingertips bleed).

Major props to my family and friends who pitched in a hand to help move and unpack. We're forever grateful and can't wait until we're really settled in to celebrate with all of you!

On that note, I'm working on the setup in my office/craft space (yay, I have MY own room in the house) and am trying to find a good workstation for my jewelry craft. If any of you readers out there have a suggestion, please leave a comment or email me!

Do you have a moving or house horror story? I'd love to hear it - after all, misery loves company! Leave a comment!

Moving Week

So this is the big week! I'm SO far behind on packing - far enough behind that I have no business taking a few minutes to post this quickie! I returned from Baltimore on a full plane with a very noisy neighbor in the middle seat, who didn't seem to care whether or not I had my headphones on with an open book in front of me... he was determined to strike up conversation!

Moving day is officially Sunday. All of our utilities have been switched over effective Monday, the mail has been forwarded, moving truck ordered, the troops have been assembled to help with the heavy lifting... everything is ready except for the packing. Trouble is that I don't have room for more boxes! It's one of those catch-22's, I suppose. It feels like every time I get a box packed, I realize that I have about a hundred more to go... how we accumulated so much crap in three years is beyond me!

Hope all is well - the next time you hear from me, it will be from my new home :)

From Me to You!

Wishing you a day full of love and joy with the ones that bless your life...

Random Thoughts From An Airplane

I've spent most of this week in Baltimore for my company's annual audit. It's been a hassle with so much going on at the homefront, but it's also been a bit of a break from daily life.

On my way to Baltimore, I put on my mp3 player and tried to read "Twilight". I got a few chapters in, but found myself feeling the need to write down my thoughts instead of immersing myself in a world of highschool vampires. For your reading pleasure, here are some of those thoughts:

• The "Expert Traveler" lane at MDW rocks - I got through security in no time!
• The islands of ice in Lake Michigan are breathtakingly beautiful.
• Listening to "Summertime" by Sublime makes me want a mixed drink!
• Ahhh, free drink for Business Select Travelers on Southwest...
• Cranapple Blast is yummy!
• Maybe not the best first meal of the day - Cranapple Blast, airline peanuts and Ritz cracker chips.
• My first time flying with an all-male crew - I like them better than the women, I think.
• The pilot mentioned we're flying over Detroit - how the heck is Detroit "on the way" from Chicago to Baltimore?! Isn't that a bit north of where we should be?! Who designs these flight patterns anyways?!
• Flying above the clouds and seeing a horizon line where the clouds break into the most perfect shade of baby blue... it fades into a gorgeous shade of cobalt... THIS is why I must have a window seat!
• Cranapple Blast is yummy - and strong! I'm going to be drunk by the time the plane touches down!
• Oooh, "Sweet Angel" by Jimi Hendrix is playing... I love this song!
• These mixed drinks from Southwest come with the cutest little heart-shaped stir stick.
• I think the Bible-reading lady sitting next to me hates the smell of the vodka in my drink.
• I think she hates it even more that I've got a vampire book on my lap while she's reading the Bible.
• I hope she didn't die - she's sleeping in an awful funny position...
• I already miss my "boys" at home...
• Of course, the weather at home is supposed to be awesome while I'm away, and get back to freezing temps just in time for my return.
• Bible Lady isn't dead... she's actually very sweet, but she must not realize that I can't hear her with my headphones on...
• My flight is 25 minutes ahead of schedule - woot!
• Did I mention that Cranapple Blast is yummy?!
• We've landed... off to dinner at some Japanese Steakhouse...

Catch y'all on my return trip home!

Bummed By The Sims 3

A little geekery tidbit about me - I LOVE playing Sims games, especially The Sims 2 and all of its expansions. As a Christmas gift, my hubby pre-ordered The Sims 3 for me in October which had a release date of February at the time. At dinner last night, my sister informed me that the release had been delayed... by FOUR MONTHS! I jumped online to check it for myself today and was really disappointed to find this:

Nice, eh?

Oh, on the brighter side, my husband is picking up the keys to our new (to us!) house on Wednesday while I'm in Baltimore for our company's annual audit this week. Boo to the audit, yay to the keys! Guess I know how I'll be spending my time next weekend!

On Hold

So I woke up this morning at 8:00 - unheard of for me on a weekend. The weather was gorgeous and the sunshine beckoned me to get out of bed and enjoy, so I did. Instead of spending the day outside enjoying said sunshine, I spent the day feverishly cleaning my house from top to bottom, packing what I could, and scheduling "showings" of my dwelling for tomorrow morning - the first at 9:00 in the morning - yes, NINE O'CLOCK - doesn't anyone else believe in sleeping in on Sundays? Apparently not!

I have TONS more to do - I need to vacuum, try to get my son's bedroom in some sense of order, pack away all of the widgets on my kitchen table, and clean my kitchen floors. Instead of doing any of that, I'm going out. I have a long overdue girl's night out schedule for tonight and that is one thing I refuse to put on hold.

So forgive me responsibility, but I'm taking the night off. After the hell week that was month-end at work and due to next week's audit that I have to fly to Baltimore for (oh how I love the timing, right in the MIDDLE of a move!), I'm taking this night for myself.

Wishing all of you a happy Saturday night!

Mamalicious Monday

Heather at The Gift Closet is hosting Mamalicious Monday, an opportunity for us moms to post advice, hints, recipes, or anything else Mom-related.

In the spirit of Mamalicious Monday, here is one of my favorite recipes for a quick dessert, sure to please your guests without keeping you in the kitchen for hours, and its name is pretty attractive, too! I originally found this recipe in Kraft Food magazine and have made it many times over - it's one of the most requested desserts for family parties now!

Angel Lush Cake

You'll Need:

- 1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained

- 1 pkg. (4 serving size) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Fat Free Sugar Free Instant Reduced Calorie Pudding & Pie Filling

- 1 cup COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping

- 1 (10 ounce) package angel food cake

- 10 strawberries

Directions:

1. Mix pineapple with its juice and the dry pudding mix in medium bowl. Gently stir in whipped topping.

2. Cut cake horizontally into three layers. Place bottom cake layer, cut-side up, on serving plate; top with 1-1/3 cups of the pudding mixture. Cover with middle cake layer and an additional 1 cup of the remaining pudding mixture. Top with remaining cake layer; spread top of dessert with the remaining pudding mixture.

3. Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Top with strawberries just before serving. Store leftover dessert in refrigerator.

Yum!

Punxsutawney Phil is no friend of mine....

Punxsutawney Phil is no friend of mine. Heck, I wouldn't even call him an acquaintance at this point. Evidently the little rodent doesn't think we've suffered through this miserable winter long enough. The hibernating creature didn't see his shadow this morning on Gobbler's Knob (which I can't say with a straight face) and so it looks like we're destined for another six weeks of this cold stuff. Oh how I long to see green grass and hear birds chirping again...

Speaking of Groundhog's Day... For a short time, I lived in Huntley, IL which is pretty close to Woodstock, where parts of the film were shot. There's even a plaque commemorating "Ned's Corner". It's a cute, quaint town and it was really neat to see so many of the locations from the movie. If you're ever in the area, be sure to check it out! How many of you have seen and love the movie? Have you ever had a day that felt like you were living it over and over again?!

Super Bowl XLIII

In years past, Super Bowl Sunday has meant something to me. In the 90's, I was able to root for my Dallas Cowboys on more than a few occasions. Just a couple of years ago, I was able to root against the Chicago Bears and got the extra bonus of rooting for the Indianapolis Colts at the same time (much to the chagrin of my younger sister and her husband). This year, I really couldn't care less who wins, but I'm looking forward to watching the game with family and friends all the same. There will be food, there will be screaming, there will be laughter, and there will be men in tight pants bending over and showing their cute tushes all day. What more could a girl ask for on an otherwise peaceful day?

My almost-10-year-old son informed me that he wants the Cardinals to win, but he has to root for the Steelers. Why? Evidently, he "gambles" with his dad and stepmom. Seriously, they pick winners every week for every game. If they're right, they get a point. His dad already won, but he's vying for second place against his stepmom, who is one point ahead of him. Since she picked the Cards, he had to pick the Steelers. It's a pride thing, since he doesn't want to place last against a "girl" - his best bet now is to tie her for second place. So, in support of my son and his gambling efforts, I guess I'll be rooting for the Steelers today too.

How are you spending Super Bowl Sunday? Will you be watching the game? Who are you rooting for?

CPSC Grants One Year Stay!

Finally, the voices of so many have been heard! The CPSC has granted a one-year stay of testing and certification requirements for crafters. For more information, read all about it here.

This doesn't put the problems of the CPSIA law behind us, so if you're concerned and haven't taken the time to write to your legislators, please do so today!