Art Festivals

Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

My friends in Savannah, Shawn & Bill, are going to an art festival in Forsyth Park this weekend. I love art festivals. I loved Forsyth Park when Vic & I visited last month. As you can see in this picture, the sidewalks there are especially lovely so I'll bet having artists and artsy stuff on them will be just grand! I looked forward to the art festival here in Pensacola every year, but last year's was cancelled due to the stupid hurricane! I'm sure Michigan will have its share of festivals, too. I can't wait for pumpkin festivals, strawberry festivals and boat regattas! I think I remember reading something about a hot air ballooon event, too. Although I'm sure Vic & I will love our new home and all that Michigan has to offer, we sure are going to miss a lot of people. I wish we lived a little closer to Savannah, because I sure would like to go to that art festival with Shawn & Bill!

Beach, Beach, Beach

I went to the beach yesterday. Yes, instead of working on my resume! It was only for a couple of hours, but it was really really relaxing and I needed it. I think I'll miss the white sands of Florida quite a bit when we move to Michigan. Looking back, it doesn't really seem like I spent a lot of time at the beach. I guess that's because it's usually so crowded on weekends. Most of my excursions took place during the week. The water was pretty cold, but there was a nice breeze blowing in and a great surf! It was nice just to take a few hours out of the day to sit and read.
Vic & I bought a DVD made by the local TV station all about Hurrican Ivan. If I ever have second thoughts about moving, I'll just pop in this tape! Living through that hurricane was the scariest thing I've ever experienced. I think what baffled me about the whole thing is how deceiving it all was. When we woke up the morning before Ivan was scheduled to hit the sky was a beautiful blue and the weather almost perfect for Florida in the Summer. As the day wore on the sky got progressively darker, but there was really no wind until about 5pm or so. We lost power at about 7:45 and remained that way for two weeks. The non-stop howling wind and things constantly banging against the house ALL NIGHT was just nerve wracking. At first light we went outside to find our back porch steps ripped from the house and pieces of our privancy fence torn down. Actually we did pretty good compared to most of Pensacola, but I don't ever want to live through something like that again. If I had been scheduled to go to work that night I honestly don't think I would have gone in. I just don't think I could work with all that going on and not knowing how Vic and the kids were doing. I'll take a good snowstorm any day!

Resume

I need to work on my resume...I'm typing a blog instead. It's just so tedious! I've worked at my present job for over six years so you would think that would be enough, but I guess I'm going to have to research dates for some previous jobs and come up with descriptions as well. I thought I had a resume, but I can't seem to find it so I'm thinking it must've been on the old computer and I just never kept a hard copy. I hate getting dressed up and driving all over creation applying for jobs. Maybe I'll just apply at The Home Depot. Surely they're not really concerned with my employment for the last ten years! And I'll get 10% off hammers and stuff!

Oh, The Stress of It All...

One morning, about 10 years ago, I awoke to discover I had been afflicted with Bell's Palsy. The whole right side of my face looked like I had just suffered a stroke. Nothing worked correctly; I couldn't hear, smell, chew, nothing. Eventually I regained about 90% of my normalness, but the doctors could never really figure out what caused the palsy! After many years, the final concensus was that the whole thing was probably some sort of nerve condition brought on by stress. Funny thing though, at the time I wasn't suffering from any stress. Why bring any of this up, you ask? Because right now I am living with enough stress to cause full-body palsy in not only myself but in everyone in a three mile radius. Buying a house and moving has to be the most nerve-wracking experience in my life, thus far. It's just gotta be!

It really makes me nuts having people traipse through my house, looking at our stuff. But "YEA" we finally got a bid on it today! Of course now we have to go through the whole home inspection and closing crap. And the paperwork! Geez! The house we're going to purchase in Michigan is suppose to close on May 20th, so if everything goes without a hitch here we could possibly close on this house around the same time. That would be perfect. So, of course, it probably won't happen that way. On top of all the house stress I also have the work stress. At the moment I don't have a job lined up in Michigan. I'd hate to think of myself working at McDonald's.

I'd like to think everything will all work out for the best and that all this stress is just a temporary condition. So I think that's what I'll do...just keep telling myself that this is all just a great big adventure and everything will be great in about six weeks. Six weeks, six weeks, six weeks....

Buffness & Boxes

Buff
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Today I decided that I was going to take a day off from house work...no packing or sorting thru anything. So I woke up earlyish and met a couple friends at the gym. I really worked up a sweat today and am feeling quite buff. When I got home, Shannon & I went on our daily walk. She's showing great improvement on the leash so we walked a little further today. On our way back I discovered someone who had just moved into the neighborhood and was throwing away their boxes. Now these aren't your run of the mill WalMart boxes;these are the good, heavy duty UHaul boxes. So I took Shannon home & went back for my new found booty, thus foiling my plan to do absolutely nothing house-like today. And since I was lured by the call of the boxes and my "Day of Casey" having been thwarted, I went ahead and did a little sorting in the shed. All in all not such a bad day. (Did you notice my buffness??)

More House Stuff

There seems to be some sort of problem with our soon-to-be-house in Michigan. The home inspector guy said the house and everything in it are in great shape, but underneath the house was some standing water. Apparently this is a pretty easy fix and a common occurence for that area, so we've given the current owner 10 days to remedy the problem and then we'll sign the final contract. I'm assuming he'll go ahead and fix the problem because it'll need to be fixed before they can sell the house to anyone. Vic is really worried something is going to go wrong. She really likes this house and has started arranging our furniture (in her mind, of course). I've yet to actually see it in person, just photos, but I'm excited, too. Even more than excited I'm worried and very stressed out. This will be the first home I'll actually own and be responsible for and everything. I'm worried about finding a job I'll like, about making friends, about the actual move itself, about paying bills...you name it and I'm stressed about it!

It is supposed to rain tomorrow, so I wanted to work outside today while I had the chance. I went to the Farmer's Market and bought some beautiful marigolds. I put them in a pretty little pot and set them by the front door. Marigolds seem Summery to me and I think they add a splash of color to the front of the house. I also began to tackle our backyard shed. I threw away a lot of stuff and started a nice little pile for the yard sale we hope to have before leaving. There's still quite a bit to go through, but at least I've started on it.

I took Shannon for a walk today. I'm not very good about walking her and consequently she's a little plump. She also pulls when we walk, so it just ends up being frustrating for the both of us. But I've decided that I want her trained to walk nicely before we move, so I'm going to start her out slowly. We just walked around the block today and she didn't do too bad. Every time she pulled I stopped and we didn't start again until she came by my side. Maybe if I can get her used to this routine every day, she'll eventually learn not to pull and we can walk further. I think she senses that something is going on, although I'm not sure if she realizes it's us moving soon. I can't wait to see her in her first snow. I'll be sure to "blog" some pictures of her!

Our New House

Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

If all goes well with the home inspection this week, Vic & I will have a new house in Warren, Michigan (just a few miles north of Detroit). We're both very excited about moving. Our new home has a small front yard, but a huge back yard for Shannon. We'll also have the whole upstairs as our bedroom & I finally get my craft room! I'm going to ask Santa for a sewing machine this year because I'd like to learn to make curtains for our new home. I think I'll probably also ask him for a snowblower!

Ode To Spring

Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Easy peazy, one two threezy
How I love the Springtime breezy.

Deck deck deck, oh what the heck
It sure takes away that Winter blechh.

Daisies, pansies, poseys, rosies
Sure smell sweet to all our noseys.

Itty bitty kitties, those backyard pretties,
Really give the squirells humungo fitties.

Oh Spring is the time that causes me to sing
Whether in my blue swimsuit or clad in bling-bling.

Houses & Baseball

Vic left today to spend the weekend in Michigan house-hunting. Our house here in Pensacola went on the market yesterday and two realtors have come by to look at it. I guess that's good news. Hopefully Vic will have similar luck in Michigan! She really wants a house with a basement and I'd love to have a fireplace and my own craft room. And we definitely have to have a second bathroom. One bathroom for two women simply sucks. Maybe by the end of the weekend we'll have good news to report about both houses!

I'll miss her while she's gone, but one nice thing about having the house to myself is that I'll get to watch whatever I want on TV. And you can bet it's not going to be "Law & Order." I really like that show, but not three times a night every night! Chances are I'll probably watch baseball or finish my book. I love baseball. Every Spring I look forward to opening day and scan the TV guide to see if the Indians will be televised. Now that we're moving to the Detroit area, I can root for the Tigers, too! And I'll bet there will be tons of Tigers games on TV in Detroit! Oh rapture!

Painting, Packing & Pina Coladas

Boxes
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

If I never paint or pack another thing in my life it won't be too soon! I'm really over asking everyone I know to save me cardboard boxes and newspapers so I can pack items we've never used for the move (where we'll unpack them and never use them there!). And painting! Geez! This house never looked so good...it's painted and cleaned up and uncluttered to the point of nausea. Although I don't have to worry about any more painting (I hope), I still have plenty of packing to do. As a matter of fact, I just ran out of newspaper yesterday, so I'm headed out to procure some more along with some boxes. I wanted to stop to vent a little before I start my day's adventure. I also need to stop by Home Depot to return something...I'm really looking forward to that. People at the Returns counter are always sooooo helpful and understanding. I need a pitcher of Pina Coladas.

Shannon

Smiling Shannon
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Shannon is the best dog in the world! We found her wandering the streets on Valentine's Day 2001...she was hungry and lonely and just needed a loving home. Four years later she's chubby and happy and has two moms who adore her! She has a great disposition and loves to play ball in the backyard. I can't wait to see how she reacts to the snow up in Michigan!

London

Big Ben
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Recently Vic & I visited jolly old London. We were lucky enough to have great weather the entire week we were there. We rode the Underground all over the city and took tons of pictures! We actually won the trip in a photo contest I entered in Budget Travel magazine, so all our money was spent on touristy-type stuff instead of on hotels and plane fare. We really had a great time (despite both of us catching a cold). I was really struck by the history of the city. Some of the buildings have been standing for hundreds of years! It's incredible to think of the people who lived there and all they accomplished. I thought Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament were just beautiful and felt really small in their presence. Also pretty impressive were St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. We couldn't take pictures inside either building, but got plenty of shots of the outsides. We visited the tomb of Queen Elizabeth I...how awesome! We were there a couple of weeks before the marriage of Prince Charles & Camilla so all the souvenir shops were filled with cups and tea towels and plates with their images on them. Tacky. I can't wait to start on our scrapbook of the trip. It'll have to wait until after we move, though, because all my scrap supplies have been packed away! Vic has promised me that our new house will have a room just for my "crafty" stuff. I think I'll paint it a sunny yellow!

Moving (hopefully soon)

Vickie & I have lived in this house for a little over six years and I've hated it since day one. Maybe hate is a little too strong...I haven't really liked it a lot. It's just too small for us and our rather large "family" of animals. We've talked about moving for years. And not just moving to a bigger house, but also moving away from Pensacola and back up North where we are both originally from. It just never seemed the right time to move and we could never get motivated to actually start the ball rolling. And then came Hurricane Ivan last September. What a motivator! So, long story short, we have just completed all the repairs & renovations to the house and have put it on the market today! We'll move up to Michigan as soon as we get this house sold. I'm really looking forward to having four seasons again. The summer months in Florida are unbearably hot and neither of us wants to experience another hurricane again ever. So hopefully we'll be moving soon. I'm not looking forward to setting up a new house or starting a new job, but I'm trying to think of it as an adventure!