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.

Tapas and tape

So sure enough when I left work on Friday guess what I saw sitting on IT guy's desk...my laptop.  He had "disappeared" and I was out the door!  But I will be sure to see him tomorrow!  I will make it a point!

On Friday night, Diana and I went out for tapas.  They were so great, we went to this place in Boystown and it was so much fun.  We ordered sangria and some different types of tapas.  Which included bacon wrapped dates (it was like a bacon covered jelly doughnut), a blue cheese/cream cheese spread in tomato sauce, tomato bread with serrano ham and chorizo and chicken coquettas.  We polished them off and savored every bite.

She brought me some treats from her recent trips to the Big Easy and Minneapolis.  She is so awesome!

Yesterday, the BF and I went to brunch with my friends and their two little ones.  The kids were so well behaved and they all finally met the BF after so long.  It had been a while since I saw them so it was good to catch up.  Then we did our errands and packed some things at home.  I treated the BF to dinner for his b'day and then we met up with a few of his friends for drinks.

Today we did a lot of packing especially in the kitchen.  When we moved in together we had two sets of pots and other items so this time we eliminated the worst and got rid of a lot of kitchen things that seen better days.  We also cleaned out the pantry and tossed.  I also packed some more glasses until we ran out of bubble wrap.  I still have not gotten the chance to clean out the closet yet.  I am dreading that task.  But we will be moving on the 21st (pending that the developers are done by that time with the painting and granite installation) so three weeks to go!

Tidbits

It freaking snowed again yesterday. One day it is lovely in the high 40s then the next it snows. Mother nature is being menopausal!

I am patiently waiting for my new lap top to be delivered. It was sent a few days ago and I still do not have it. So it could be that
-it was not sent
-it got lost
-Magician IT guy has it but is to occupied flirting with the receptionist to give it to me and get it set up.

Come to think of it, the latter is probably the reason!

Work has been so different for me. I am used to the fast pace and constant phone calls. Now I do not have the phone ringing off the hook and most of my day is waiting for people to get back to me. It is definitely not as quick pace and my other job.

In exactly 3 weeks we have the closing. This weekend I plan to do the pack and toss. Pack the things I want to keep and toss the things I don't. On the agenda, the closets. Yep, I have to be ruthless and get rid of some clothes that I no longer wear. It can be hard because I am sentimental at times and there are articles of clothes that remind me of a memory but they don't fit or they are older than dirt. So that is the plan, that may change due to laziness!

Time time time, see what becomes of me....

Well apparently my office has been working 30 minutes more than the other offices for God knows how long. So to combat this problem, we are now able to leave a half hour earlier. This is awesome because I just miss the traffic of rush hour and I can get home and get a decent parking spotl However, it brings up the issue that if we were working an extra 2 1/2 hours a week and it was overtime, why are we not getting retroactive pay for those extra hours?

In other news, it snowed on Friday! Thursday was beautiful and then we got dumped on again. At least the previous snow had all melted but still. It was the first day of spring and then wham, snow. It sucked!

I took Monday off because I could and I spent the day running errands and packing. But I must admit that having the day off during a week day really makes me get a lot more done than during the weekend, traffic is not that bad, I could find parking and I got to linger at some stores . I could get used to that! I also got a lot of things around the house done besides packing. It was an eventful day, I could use a bunch more of days like that. I have gotten a lot more packed but not as much as I wanted too. We are in need of more boxes and time. The BF informed me we only have 3 1/2 weeks, so now I am getting stressed.

We are getting rid of (selling and throwing away) a lot of our furniture and we are planning on upgrading. So we have to get the people that are taking the stuff to come and get it. Then the shopping can begin!

The reveal

Well as a few of you guessed here are the correct answers:

Distant Haze-sage green

Ethereal-light blue-grey

Parchment-warm beige

Una Tuba-Black with green and white specks

See told you that was fun!

I just got back from NJ after meeting my new boss and getting lost in that freaking state.  I was so glad to get back home to my Honda (I heart my car) and logical roads and highways!

Distant Haze

The BF and I went to our soon to be condo to pick out the granite for the kitchen and bathroom and the colors that they will paint the walls.

I want a job naming paint (or granite) for that matter. Our living room and sun room are going to be painted Distant Haze, our bedroom is going to be Ethereal and the office is Parchment. For the record our kitchen granite is going to be Una Tuba.

Ok so what are the colors????

No cheating....

Transition

It is finally official, my new position has been announced to my team so no more sneaking around and pretending.

I start the transition on Friday. I have to train my replacement starting that day and it will be a few weeks before I am out of the picture. So starting on Friday it will all begin. I will also be moving out of my area into another cube which is good and bad. The good thing is that I will be physically removed from the dept but I really liked most of my team mates.

My two big sales reps took the news with both happiness for me but were worried about their accounts. Cousin it does not know yet, she has to be handled "delicately" but I don't care because in a few weeks I can tell her to go fuck off!

today until Thursday I am at an off site training on project management and so far it is really interesting. So I am excited that this will start now and there is no more sneaking around.

Oh and I get to go to NJ next week..

Within the past 7 days

What a week it has been here are the highlights

-We have decided to buy a condo and move
-We looked at about 9 condos in 6 open houses
-We found one we both liked (I was not sure if our tastes would mesh and in a few places they did not)
-We got a name of a real estate agent to act as a buyer broker* she rocks
-We found a mortgage broker
-We got our pre-approved mortgage the same day
-We decided to make an offer on the condo, we did that the same day we got our approval letter.
-I got drunk on a big glass of wine and apparently agreed to go RV'ing this summer.
-I had to go to WI for a meeting while the BF was on phone duty.
-They countered fairly and what we expected them to.
-We accepted their offer
-The contract is being reviewed by our attorney
-We tentatively close on April 18

Whew

PS-Thoughts on Project Runway, I figured that the who the winner would be but I liked the other two collections better

*Awesome suggestion Jessica!

Thanks to all of your suggestions. We have been extreamly stressed, nervous, excited, freaked out all at once.

Open houses

Well we went open housin' today and saw 5 today and one yesterday. We found one that are interested in and we found some incentives that we may qualify for as first time buyers.

Currently we are working to get a pre-approved mortgage and then we can really get down to the wheeling and dealing.

I am so tired so I think that it will be an exhausting few weeks!