In the Thick of Things

For me, the total excitement of moving lasted about 24 hours. Then reality sank in: We have to pack up a 2,000 sf house, get it into beautiful order for selling, find a rental home that'll take the dog … all in the next few days. I have a perpetual headache and stomach ache.

Here's how we're progressing:

We got some landscaping done on Friday. It looks better than it did, but our money didn't get us as far as the landscaper said it would. I was very disappointed and feel a bit taken.

Jonathan dedicated a lot of time to packing this weekend. I did what I could … but there is much to do, and a baby that needs tending to.

Jonathan painted our TV room so as to remove the cool metallic yellow border and stenciling we did when our goal was to transform into an old fashioned movie theatre look.

We now have a Pod (www.pods.com) sitting in our driveway. It’s a fabulous way to get things packed up and moved!

Things are looking good for a rental house we'd like to get. It’s a house in a newer master planned community that is just about as close to Palo Verde as we can get. Check it out: http://www.tartesso.com. Trouble is, the housing market crashed hard in Phoenix and this new community isn't progressing quickly when it comes to services (Wal*Mart, grocery stores, restaurants, etc.). So, we could no longer make a "quick trip" to store. The existing community is pretty far-removed from most services. I've always lived a "city life," so it’s a bizarre concept that I can't get a store in 5 – 10 minutes. It will be a huge adjustment for me. But my priority with our living arrangements is to have Jonathan as close to work as possible.

And lastly, I've made the big decision to have my beloved ivory sofa taken to the dump. I think it would be a fabulous sofa to re-cover, but the reality is that we'd probably never do it and getting rid of it makes one less HUGE thing to move.

Jonathan is also getting rid of shelves and some other bigger items. Most go to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. I typically protest, but Jonathan sweetens the situation by promising me a trip to IKEA to get new replacements. And I'm always up for a trip to IKEA!

Stay tuned for more updates!