Countdown Week

I wrote this while we were driving yesterday on highway 15 somewhere in the middle of Utah. Currently it is 7 am in Salt Lake City and Jason is sound asleep, so my post on our Adventure, Day 1 is forthcoming. In the meantime, here's a recap of our final week in Southern California (at least until the fall!).

The last week was jam packed. Not only was Jason’s G’ma Joyce still visiting with us (she was so wonderful!), we attended the Girl Talk Concert at the Hollywood Palladium (we bought tickets way back in December, long before we knew that this would be our last week in Southern California for a while). Thursday was Jason’s birthday - which we celebrated with dinner at Jason’s favorite establishment, Chik-Fil-A. He is so Southern, and so cute! In preparation for our time in Wyoming, he received a throwing tomahawk, a throwing knife, a book on hikes in Yellowstone and a bunch of cash.

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G'ma Joyce and Caity put a coaster hat on Maddie.

Jason’s mom (Catherine) and stepdad (Bob) came into town to help us (along with my family and G’ma Joyce) get moved into our storage unit. Our entire house fit into a 10 foot by 10 foot storage unit, stacked up like tetris. Wish I had a picture of that.... but I'm sure you can imagine it!

Indy’s been going through his own abandonment issues - boxes and packing really stress him out. He was able to release his stress with two days at my parents house, playing with his girlfriend Sierra, their 85 pound lab. By playing, I mean constant rolling, running, playing and... humping. Indy’s totally in love with Sierra. Fortunately, everyone is fixed and since it’s almost impossible to keep Indy from doing the humphumphump, we mostly give up on it and let them have a good time. Sierra doesn’t seem to mind. :)

Uncle Joe drives Caity around the house on his walker. She LOVED it!

Last night we had a bbq with all of our in-town family. Aside from the usual suspects (My parents, Jason’s parents, G’ma Joyce, my sister Kelli and her husband Jeff), we had many members of my larger family. Aunt Laurie surprised everyone by driving up from San Diego and just walking in the front door. Papa Phil drove himself down. Auntie Ann and Uncle Joe came down. My cousin Kevin showed up. My best friend Solange, her husband Nik (also my good friend) and my two year old goddaughter Caitlin (aka Caity, aka Monkey) came over. At the end of the night we had a visit from Jerry and Lisa. The highlight for me was hours of play and pretend with my precious Caity. She is at SUCH a fun age right now! All afternoon she was constantly saying “Ready, Bears? Ready?! Ready, set, go!” and off we would go. (Bears is my nickname, and Caity thinks it’s my only name). In reality, Caity is Caitlin Erin - my little middle namesake - and I swear to you we are kindred spirits. I’m pretty sad to miss the next six months of her growing up - but hope she remembers me when I see her again in October!

Solange, Caity and I after hours of play!

So that recaps it! Check back for a post on our first day of driving!!!!!

Moving... Eh.

Thank God for Grandma Joyce. :) Jason's Grandma Joyce has been here to visit and help us pack for the last two weeks. She is FAR more organized than I am, and has been able to help us back a few boxes a day.

Now, though, we're down to the dregs - the awkward items that don't really belong anywhere and that I've been avoiding going through.

But we're getting there. Two more days to pack it all up and then it's time to move it all out. We've been packing the storage unit as we go, to get the boxes out of the house. But still - packing to store everything for six months and simultaneously packing luggage for six months of varied climates (Spring and Summer in Wyoming, early Fall in Florida) involves some serious thought. I can't wait until it's all packed and stored. But, who really likes moving?

Last weekend we moved all of my potted plants to my parents house - mom is going to babysit all of them and nurse a couple of sick roses for me. Here's what our front yard looked like when we pulled out all the pots and plants. My parents are very good people to take on all of these!

The potted plant forest from my house.

Little House - But a new one!

Jason and I get our little house this weekend, and we are SO excited about it! Send us good thoughts for our packing and moving! We have lots of stairs to negotiate!

There are two things about the house that we are especially excited about. 1) it's a HOUSE - there is no one attached to any of our walls or in an apartment above us. 2) Indy gets a backyard (and so does Erin - yay for gardening!)

In addition, it's in an AMAZING neighborhood in Redondo Beach, close to everything, but quiet. And it's a two bedroom house with a big kitchen (at least for a two bedroom!), so we'll have enough space to start our lives together without being choked out by stuff or furniture.

Here are some "before" photos that my sister and I went to take yesterday. I'll update with "after" photos when it's all organized and done!

View from the front - it doesn't have the same character and age as the 100 year old front house, but it's clean, well-maintained and has a very nice owner. :) (and a big lavender bush - which I love).

Kitchen - yes, the countertops are two different colors, but there are TONS of cabinets, room to put in an island of some sort, and I'm thinking Anthropologie-esque colored glass knobs on the cabinets. :)

Breakfast nook looking into the living room.

Living Room - it's big, which is amazing - with a built in for the TV and all of the things that go with it.

Bedroom - pretty standard, but the closet is HUGE!

Bathroom - I have an amazing shower curtain ready to go (yes... shower curtains can be amazing).

The side yard - my herb pots, bbq and a patio table - maybe some roses along the wall.

The yard around back - small, but with so much potential, and I'm going to plant some creeping plants to crawl up and hide the back wall!

Little House

On Sunday I had to say goodbye to my little house. With the wedding coming up and Jason needing to move out of his current place in August, I decided that the best thing I could do is move out of my little house and save the money I would have spent on rent and utilities as a little nest egg for Jason and I to start with.

While I'm confident that this decision is the best and most responsible one I could make, that little house changed my life. I moved in there with a broken heart, and found a place that I could heal, grow, and become truly independent. I learned how to really manage my finances, what expenses are truly important and what I could do without, and how to be alone with my thoughts. I healed in that house, I grew in that house, and I became the person I am today in that little house. A little more than a year later, my life is so very different! As my mom put it, "That house served it's purpose." So while it is time to move on and forward, I do so with a little bit of sadness and definitely some tears.

Thank you, Little House. I hope your next tenant appreciates you as much as I did!