Weekend warrior princess

Moving is not fun. This weekend we spent a good portion of time at the old apartment cleaning, throwing out garbage and packing the car with the random things we left behind. Since we lived on the third floor it was a lot of stair climbing. We had so much to do that it physically and mentally wore me out. Then we got to the condo and there are mounds of boxes left to be unpacked. Only one was unpacked!

Yesterday, we went to the BF's niece's 5th birthday and there is nothing like about 15 sugar fueled kids who descend on the gifts like sharks to chum. It was a frenzy. Of course the man who married my BF's sister (the BF does not like to call him his brother in law for many justifiable reasons) made an obnoxious comment to me that in essence told me that he will remember my name when there is a ring on my finger. He has this habit of calling me Christine and does not see a problem with it. I was so pissed with his comment because the BF and I have been together for almost 2 years, we purchased a home for us, we don't owe him any explanations and he is an ass hole. I know that it is coming but we are stuck together because we want to be and one day we'll make it legal.

I should have told him what the BF tells people when they ask about "the ring"...I have to wait for the divorce to be final and break it off with the mistress.

That would have shut him up!

Oh and doing the laundry with a fake diamond tiara is really cool!

Leaning tower?

So now that we have moved, I have to take a different route to work. So the other day, I was in my car heading to the daily grind and in the distance I see it....the Leaning Tower of Pisa? I thought that I was delusional.

On my way home, I saw it again. It is a half size replica of the original that is located in Niles, IL. Apparently it is a water tower for the local Y and is a tourist attraction,

Check it out if you are ever in Niles, if you like roadside oddities

A Habit to break

At the apartment Chaplin was able to meow his way to drink out of the faucet of the bathtub.  It became a ritual, he would dash to the bathroom as soon as the BF got up and meow.  The BF often ignored his pleas unless it got really annoying.  If he was ignored, Chaplin would wait until I got up and then I would give him his water.  Same when I got home or even went to the bathroom.

Now in the new condo, we do not want to encourage that.  Yet, it is not the plan according to Chaplin.  He is now sitting in the tub waiting and meowing.  If we go to the bathroom we hear the patter of tiny paws no matter when we go.  So we bought him a cat fountain so he can drink but it is at the BF's father's house.  So we can get it this weekend.

Until then, meows and mad dashes continue....

Yukon has totally adjusted and is a happy content doggy.  She has found her spots and manages to still get underfoot.  But they are happy...so that is all that matters.

Home...

We did it, we closed and moved!

The closing went well and I only signed my name 47 times.  Yep I counted.  In an hour we became home owners.  We then went to look for a sofa at The store formerly known as Marshall Fields.  We did not find anything we loved so the search continues.

This weekend was spent packing and the BF and his bro started installing the closet organizers.  Yesterday was really a busy day there were so many things to pack.  I was tired and hurting.

The movers arrived 40 minutes early so they started at 7:30 rather than 8.  Which was a bit of a shock because my alarm was set but not turned on so we overslept 15 minutes.  Which was 5 minutes before the movers arrived.  They were awesome, I highly recommend them.  We were done and settled in our new place at 12!  

So the rest of the afternoon was spent going back to the apartment to pick up the babies and come home to unpack.

It is all good!

Get ready, get set....

So tonight begins the first round of "the move".

We have our walk through with our real estate agent and the inspector. Tomorrow we are both off so we will pack, drop of items at the salvation army, run errands and hit the bank for the all important check!

Friday is the closing. (I just read that again, I need to take a breath)

Whew!

On the decorating side I think that I found the sofa. We are looking for a new sofa for the new condo because mine has seen some better days. The BF's requirement is that it is leather and would prefer a sectional. I want a sleeper sofa. Well after searching web sites I think that I found one that fits both of our needs and is on sale which makes it fall way under our budget.

I can't wait to see the place tonight with the painting done and the granite countertops installed!

The fun has just begun!

Got it!

I got my diploma in the mail the other day. Rather I got two, one for my "office" and one for home. My mother wants me to make copies like the doctors do to put it in the different rooms. She is nuts.

So I an official MBA graduate with distinction!

It is a tad bit anti-climatic though.

Damned

We have gotten rid of two things so far or rather I should say people bought two things so far. We sold the blender and papasan chair and the couple who took the chair may take our three AC units. If they want to haul them down three flights of stairs and pay us for the privilege I am all for it.

I was sad to see that chair go but, I could not bear the though of leaving it out as garbage. , I've had it for years(since I moved to Brooklyn) but the BF finds it "impractical,". A few weeks ago his sister asked us what are our "wagon wheel table" (from When Harry Met Sally when their friends moved in together and he had this wagon wheel coffee table that they were arguing about, he ultimately lost) and the BF immediately responds with the papasan chair. My response was his Gene Simmon's Kiss Collectible doll ehh "figure". But really it does not annoy me, I got used to it.

However, that has been replaced with the vitamin dispenser. In all the nearly two years of dating and one year of cohabitation, I never knew this existed. It was a purchase from a famous mall electronic gadget store and it is about 18 inches tall. You open the compartments and put your vitamins or meds there and then you press a button and it automatically dispenses that day's pills. Yes he paid money for that!!! The best part is that he forgot about it and it still has vitamins inside of it!

I was laughing so hard when I saw it and was teasing him about it.

Now he wants to keep it

I am damned!

Ugh!

So we went out for sliders last night. We got home at around 6 pm, I was in my pjs at 6;03 and by 6:34 I was falling asleep watching Family Guy. Around 7:40 I got up and then "it" began.

The rumble in the tummy that YOU know is not a good sign. It is your body screaming "Girl what the Hell! did you eat?!" So then the pain and discomfort began, I went back to the couch and then when it subsided a bit went to take a shower. The it was back on the couch to watch some TV and then to bed still in a wee bit of discomfort. At about 3 something this morning. The BF's tummy began to rumble and off he went to the loo or "reading room".

The last time we both had the stomach issue was New Year's day 2007 when we had some Chinese food at his sister's house in the boondock burbs. We both were so sick after that event. We both had to race to the bathroom at the same time, the next day we were so miserable. After that episode I swore off Chinese food and have not had a morsel since then. Once a food item cause stomach issues it is off my list.

That is why I do not eat any sea food. An episode at 7 years of age and scallops caused them to be first off my list. But I still ate tuna until 7th grade biology dissection class. That is when I officially swore off fish or any living thing that once spent a good portion of their life living in water.

So the long and short of it is...No more White Castle for me

Munchies

I have been very noshy at work lately. I just need something to eat or much on throughout the day. So for the past week I have been raiding the vending machine. But this weekend I got almonds to that I could have something to eat that was not junky. I also bought Jelly Bellies because I needed them, they were calling my name.

On the same line of thought, I have not been to the gym in over a week. I feel guilty about it but part of it was due to the vertigo that I had last week. Somehow feeling dizzy and lifting weights were not something that should be done together. But last night I had a dream that I went to the gym, does that count? I have been wanting to go but then something comes up and because we move in less than two weeks, something always comes up.

But do you think we will be going tonight? nope, the BF has been hankering for some sliders and now I want sliders so we will be getting sliders. It just seems weird to go to the gym and get sliders.

We'll go tomorrow, when I feel sufficiently guilty!

Flakes

So we are moving in exactly two weeks and to say that I am stressed is an understatement. The BF and I are making an effort to get rid of some furniture and other items that we do not need in the new place or use (like the dining room set, the espresso maker and foot spa plus many other appliances). So we happened to mention this to our respective friends and co-workers.
Immediately, people started to lay "dibs" on items. Great, we were pleased because we can make a few dollars (in some cases) and give it to people who we know would appreciate them. The only caveat is that they had to come and pick the stuff up.

So do you think anyone has....nope. The calls we made went to VM and emails have not been responded to. A simple "no we don't want it anymore" would be fine. We want to get rid of these things so we have spaces for our boxes. We are running out of room

We decided to try and post things on Craigslist and we got a few bites but after the initial email to ask them to pick the item up there is no response. So to add to the stress we now are going to donate some items to either Howard Brown or Salvation Army but the whens and hows are still not logistically worked out

The both of us are so disappointed in people!

Martin Luther King Jr. 40 years later

I heard the following speech by Robert Kennedy this morning as NPR recalled the assination of Martin Luther King Jr. It made me cry because it is relevant today as it was in 1968:


Ladies and Gentlemen - I'm only going to talk to you just for a minute or so this evening.
Because...

I have some very sad news for all of you, and I think sad news for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world, and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee.

Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings. He died in the cause of that effort. In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it's perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in.
For those of you who are black - considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were responsible - you can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire for revenge.

We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization - black people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion and love.

For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.

But we have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond these rather difficult times.

My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He once wrote: "Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."

What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.

(Interrupted by applause)

So I ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King, yeah that's true, but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love - a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke. We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times. We've had difficult times in the past. And we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; and it's not the end of disorder.

But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings that abide in our land.

(Interrupted by applause)

Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.

Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people. \
Thank you very much. (Applause)

Robert F. Kennedy - April 4, 1968 Indianapolis, IN

Vertigo

I think that I may have developed a case of allergies. I do not have nasal or stuffy head issues, I am dizzy. I feel like it is vertigo and it is worse especially after waking yo. Last year when I went to the doctor about this he told me it was an ear issue but I did not have an infection so he gave me a herbal supplement to take. I still had those so the other night I began to take them. I think that it is time for a proper visit to an allergist now.

So I am feeling a bit tipsy and not the good kind.

For the bf's golden birthday the other day I got him a new video game as one of his gifts so last night he as playing with it and was showing me how to play. So now my finger hurts and my head was spinning and I have Japanese pop songs in my head.