Alive, barely

We made it through the move. Three intense days of packing, moving, cleaning, and more packing. We had been packing and sorting since April, so we were completely amazed how much work was left to do. The little things seem to multiply as you pack them. The majority of our belongings are either sold, donated, or in storage and the four humans plus dog plus cat are living with my parents. I was hoping to wake up this morning and this would all be a nightmare, but no such luck.

In other news, things are still not progressing well on the house (and any schedule delays are amplified by the fact that we are living with my parents). Tile was started on Saturday and fortunately my folks stopped by to check progress because the tilers were working without a level, without snapping lines, and without spacers. Needless to say, everything was a bit off. I called the builder and had him remove the amateurs from the job. So now we're even further behind. Sigh.

Did I mention that everything for work is due this week as well? Calgon, take me away!

Marketing geniuses

I wonder if Apple is used as a case study in business school on how to market. After the hype died down a bit about the iPhone and everyone who would camp out in line for when the store opened or pay $3000 dollars on EBay has already purchased theirs after just a glimpse on television ads, Apple has moved on to phase II of the blitz.

I just received an email about signing up for appointments with personal shoppers to get all of your questions answered about the iPhone or attend an iPhone workshop or to find out which stores have it in stock. Since the impulse buyer craze has passed, time to target those that need more information in order to purchase.

I'd be even more impressed if they targeted cheapskates like me and were able to convince me I needed one.

Last to know or best kept secret?

I was able to sell a few pieces of furniture through advertising at work. I decided to put the remainder on Craig's List. I had heard of it before and had even been to the website once or twice, but I had NO IDEA how well it worked. It was incredibly simple to post my items for sale and the postings are free. Within hours, the weight set was sold. I've had 10 emails about the treadmill and it will surely be gone tomorrow. Someone is coming tomorrow to look at the bedroom furniture. Only have the squat rack and weights left without any potential.

The money for all the stuff we can't use anymore is nice, but the fact we don't have to move it is the best!

Mailbox

I need to select a mailbox for the front of the house. I haven't lived in a house where the mail man delivers to an individual house since I was a kid and it seems so quaint. That would pretty much describe the neighborhood, as it is one of the original neighborhoods for Sugar Land, built in the 1910's for the Imperial Sugar Factory.

Anywho, my issue is which mailbox and I can't decide, so I need some help:

A)
B)
C)

Bars

Took a look at the house Sunday and I was shocked when I walked in the door. I have no idea what they were thinking, but the window sills were in and each one hung outside the wall about 3 inches. It looked like each window was a little serving bar! I called the builder and he assured me it would look right when they installed the trim underneath the windows. I asked if he had seen it yet.

Hopefully they will be fixing that today. Also a miscommunication with the builder and the carpenter about the cabinet doors for the bathrooms and kitchen. Hopefully he hasn't started building those yet.

And feeling a little frustrated because no one was at the house yesterday. 11 more days until we move out of our house. And no one is working. Each day is precious and I'm trying to remain calm, but it is taking all of my energy. I really, really, really want to be in and relatively settled by the time the school year starts. And I really, really, really do not want to live with our folks for very long.

Paint

The exterior is painted! And I'm not quite sure how I feel about the color. It goes great with the stone, but I was so used to seeing white, it just throws me off.

Here is my gynormous whirlpool bath tub, or should I say swimming pool?

R&R

Why is it that I only allow myself to rest when I am forced? I made it through my niece's blessing Friday evening, the girl's birthday party Saturday, and my niece's birthday party Saturday night and then collapsed. I did manage to pack some boxes yesterday and had to go into the office for a meeting this morning. I left right after the meeting and am doped up on cold medicine. And I missed an opportunity for golf this afternoon :(

Here are some pics from the girl's birthday party Saturday, which was absolutely fabulous. It was hosted by Tea Parties to Go and I would definitely recommend!

Uniforms

I am usually fairly laid back and take changes in stride. But one in particular has me irked. The girl's school is requiring uniforms for the pre-K program starting in the fall. My biggest issue- they are ugly. My second issue- I hate being told what to do and being told how to dress my child for school definitely falls into that category. Not to mention that I'm cheap and most of her clothes are gifts and now I have to buy an entire wardrobe that will be useless come next summer.

I don't believe any of the BS associated with uniforms. 'The kids concentrate less on what each other is wearing and more on their education.' 'The kids feel part of a community because they are all wearing the same clothes.' Maybe the kid feels like a robot? Or a drone? Or even more controlled than they already are at 4 years old!!!!! And most of all, it feels pretentious. Argh.

They thought of everything

Toys that have not been seen or heard in years have come to the surface in the massive packing project currently underway. The kids started playing with this alphabet caterpillar where it will say the letter or sing songs or sound out the sound of the letter. The boy presses the letter 'f' and takes it to his father- Dad! This says a bad word!

So, dad, being the big kid that he is tries to sound out bad words. F-U-C: only it says Fuh-Uh- giggle, giggle, that tickles! He tries again. F-U-K: fuh-uh- giggle, giggle, that tickles! F-A-T: Fuh-Ah-Ta. D-A-M: Duh- Ah- giggle, giggle, that tickles!

Buckets of oil

This weekend I had one huge task I needed to complete: finalizing and summarizing my choices for lighting and plumbing fixtures. I had already spent upwards of 10+ hours perusing the internet and the catalogs from the builder and was totally confused. I asked interior decorator mom for help and the kids and I went to visit Friday night. Only then did I remember that I left the lighting catalog on my desk at work.

So, Saturday I loaded up the kids and we headed to my office. I showed them around a bit and then we headed to my folks. I asked if they were excited to see my office and the girl answers Yes! and the boy answers No! I ask him why not and he said because it was boring- just a chair and desk and some other stuff. Curious, I ask what he expected to see. He knows that I work for a large company famous for producing gasoline, and he thought I would take buckets and dig up oil out of the earth and bring them back to my office and pour them in a computer that would make gasoline.

My dad is an engineer as well and as a kid the boy's age I thought he drove a train. The boy has a much better grasp of reality than I did at his age.