We're on our way and currently waiting for our 15-hour direct flight from Chicago to Abu Dhabi in the comfort of the United Red Carpet Club, courtesy of Epic. We have 4 hour layover in Chicago, so Epic provided us with passes to the Red Carpet Club - much nicer than waiting in the terminals. Along with the pass is free wi-fi, so I thought it would be a good time to update the blog.
I'm happy to report that there were no additional meltdowns after Wednesday. :) While things remained crazy and busy, everything went according to plan down to the very last minute. On Wednesday, we finished moving everything to the storage unit and thankfully, everything fit! Thursday, we wrapped up some final logistics with the shipping company and scheduled the appointment for them to come and pack everything Friday morning (I know, talk about last minute!) and continue to pack up stuff, and Thursday afternoon, we handed off the car to our buyers (thank God for that timing!!) and Thursday night we delivered the kitties to our parents (too sad to write about). This morning, the shippers came and packed everything up according to plan and we had some pizza with the parents in our empty house before heading to the airport. After a tearful goodbye, we made it through security and here we are in Chicago!
As I read back over that last paragraph, it all sounds so reasonable and unrushed - I assure you, it wasn't. It's amazing all the little things that trip you up when you're moving out and not to somewhere else. What does one do exactly with all the half empty bottles of lotion, shampoo, dish soap ... family and friends got many 'gifts' this week (aka junk they now have to deal with! ;)
But, we made it and are finally on our way, and all the stress and craziness was soooo worth it for this adventure of a lifetime! Once we get to Abu Dhabi, we'll be in temp housing (a really nice hotel apartment) for about a month while Brian sorts out our permanent digs. I'm assuming we'll have wi-fi fairly quickly so will do my best to keep the updates coming.
Thanks for reading!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Goodwill Doesn't Take Hangers
This week has been a whirlwind of packing, sorting and tossing. I was feeling pretty good and then our Realtor stopped by for a walk through. All these nice things I thought I'd leave behind like hangers, cleaning supplies, extra paper towels, some shelves have to go. I guess it makes sense that what I see as a nice gesture might not feel that way to a new home owner. So then I was faced with what to do with all this stuff ... Goodwill! I had to take a load anyway, so I gathered up all the extra hangers (good grief!) and carted them off the GW only to find out that GW doesn't accept hangers. Now what?! Glad I won't be here when the garbage truck comes to find that load!
The Realtor visit also caused my second meltdown of the day. I feel like we are right on schedule, but I think he said, "Wow, you have a lot left to do" at least 3 times during his 30 minute visit, which got me really nervous. After he left, I made a frantic call to Brian (yes, he just loves these) to make sure he would be off tomorrow to help me becuase, "Wow, we have a lot left to do!" Brian probably thinks I've been drinking down the wine cellar. ;)
My first meltdown was about our 19 1/2 year old cat, Tasha. She is not handling all the change this week very well and has been throwing up. Today, she threw up all over herself and had a few issues on the other end as well. As I was cleaning her up, I just burst into tears thinking about the trauma we're putting her through. Yes, she's "just a cat" and will calm down again once she gets settled at Brian's parents, but I think the stress and fatigue just hit me and I lost it.
So, two meltdowns two days before we leave doesn't seem all that bad ... tomorrow should be even more fun! :)
The Realtor visit also caused my second meltdown of the day. I feel like we are right on schedule, but I think he said, "Wow, you have a lot left to do" at least 3 times during his 30 minute visit, which got me really nervous. After he left, I made a frantic call to Brian (yes, he just loves these) to make sure he would be off tomorrow to help me becuase, "Wow, we have a lot left to do!" Brian probably thinks I've been drinking down the wine cellar. ;)
My first meltdown was about our 19 1/2 year old cat, Tasha. She is not handling all the change this week very well and has been throwing up. Today, she threw up all over herself and had a few issues on the other end as well. As I was cleaning her up, I just burst into tears thinking about the trauma we're putting her through. Yes, she's "just a cat" and will calm down again once she gets settled at Brian's parents, but I think the stress and fatigue just hit me and I lost it.
So, two meltdowns two days before we leave doesn't seem all that bad ... tomorrow should be even more fun! :)
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Cracker Spread Recipe
Had a wonderful send off from my Martini Party friends on Friday. Thank you all for coming, the generous gift, and all the warm wishes! I laughed so hard my throat was sore the next morning (a sign of a good party). As promised, here is the recipe for the cracker spread I brought (courtesy of my friend, Sherry). Note: I made a half batch for the party. Enjoy!
1/3 C olive oil
2 packages cream cheese, softened
3 T chopped fresh basil
3 T chopped fresh parsley
1 T minced garlic (I used a bit less)
2/3 C chopped walnuts (I used pecans and roasted them in oven first)
2/3 C dried cranberries
Mix first 5 ingredients together until well blended (you can easily do this by hand). Fold in nuts and cranberries until combined. Cover and let sit in fridge for a few hours to let the flavors blend. Before serving, shape into a ball and serve with crackers of your choice. Keeps well in an airtight container and can be made up to 2 days ahead of time.
1/3 C olive oil
2 packages cream cheese, softened
3 T chopped fresh basil
3 T chopped fresh parsley
1 T minced garlic (I used a bit less)
2/3 C chopped walnuts (I used pecans and roasted them in oven first)
2/3 C dried cranberries
Mix first 5 ingredients together until well blended (you can easily do this by hand). Fold in nuts and cranberries until combined. Cover and let sit in fridge for a few hours to let the flavors blend. Before serving, shape into a ball and serve with crackers of your choice. Keeps well in an airtight container and can be made up to 2 days ahead of time.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Showdown with a Mouse
Yesterday, I went to start a load of laundry and when I opened the place to add laundry detergent, there was a little brown mouse sitting there! At first, I thought it was one of Rogue's mouse toys, but no, it was a real live mouse, at which point I screamed for Rogue (my no good city kitty who wouldn't be much help anyway) and eventually slammed the door shut. Yeah, I know, good thinking, scare him into climbing back down into the washing machine!
After a frantic call to Brian ... yes, I'm embarrassed to admit that I had to call my husband to help with a little tiny mouse!! I decided to move the cat food and litter out of the area and put down a mousetrap. But, of course, in all the chaos, I couldn't find a mousetrap, so I moved the food and litter into the kitchen, shut the laundry room door and hoped that little mouse (and heaven forbid his family!) decided to relocate.
After work, Rogue and Brian searched the laundry room, but saw no signs of the mouse. Adventure complete ... so I thought.
This morning I went to get that laundry started and luckily no mouse in sight. When pulling the first load out of the washer however, I found at least 2 cups of cat food pellets in with the clothes! That little bugger must have been hiding cat food in the washing machine! YUCK! So I ran an empty cycle and am now running the clothes back through again. AND, I set out that mouse trap! :)
UPDATE: 1-6-11
Success! The mouse trap worked and we caught the little cat food stealing varmint! And then I refilled the trap just in case he had friends and family staying with him.
After a frantic call to Brian ... yes, I'm embarrassed to admit that I had to call my husband to help with a little tiny mouse!! I decided to move the cat food and litter out of the area and put down a mousetrap. But, of course, in all the chaos, I couldn't find a mousetrap, so I moved the food and litter into the kitchen, shut the laundry room door and hoped that little mouse (and heaven forbid his family!) decided to relocate.
After work, Rogue and Brian searched the laundry room, but saw no signs of the mouse. Adventure complete ... so I thought.
This morning I went to get that laundry started and luckily no mouse in sight. When pulling the first load out of the washer however, I found at least 2 cups of cat food pellets in with the clothes! That little bugger must have been hiding cat food in the washing machine! YUCK! So I ran an empty cycle and am now running the clothes back through again. AND, I set out that mouse trap! :)
UPDATE: 1-6-11
Success! The mouse trap worked and we caught the little cat food stealing varmint! And then I refilled the trap just in case he had friends and family staying with him.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Details, Details
So today is my first day 'unemployed' - okay not really, but it kinda feels like it. I'm working about 80 hours with TDS from now until March 11th and this week I'll put in about 8 hours, but not until Wednesday & Thursday, so that's why I'm feeling unemployed. I had a whole list of things to accomplish and here it is almost 4:30 and I feel like I've barely started. So many little details to work through!
Today's accomplishments:
Today's accomplishments:
- organized a storage unit
- bought a shipping kennel for Rogue
- contacted the shipping company for information
- ordered identity card photos online
- packed another couple of boxes of kitchen stuff (how did my kitchen get to be so big??)
- cancelled the Sunday newspaper
- confirmed our third house showing for Friday evening! (fingers crossed please!)
Really? Is that all? Just seems like I should have gotten a lot more done ... maybe tomorrow! ;)
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