Goldilocks on the Move

The past few weeks have been nothing if not stressful.

Back in July there was the minor surgery, a quick trip to NYC for a last easy taste of the city, and part 1 of the move.

Our packers came, and spent the ENTIRE day packing boxes. And by entire day, I mean, not leaving until maybe 6:00pm. They packed everything, including the microwave we were planning on leaving for the renters and items in the pantry (olive oil, kahlua, you name it. it's packed. And hopefully not leaking through a box right now...).

Around 0800 the next morning we have a giant moving truck parked on the street in front of our home. The driver and crew weren't happy (a car was parked in the street and we were unable to get a hold of the owner of the car). To wake up the neighborhood (in hopes of finding the owner), the driver leaned on the horn. And kept leaning. And yes, kept leaning. The joys of dealing with movers.

The driver was straight up out of the bronx, and filled every stereotype (not going to list). The moment he stepped out of the cab, I thought "ETOHer" If I didn't know any better, he could have been a patient on my old floor going through DTs. Quite an interesting character. Certainly with a past and have considered if the man is a member of the witness protection program.

Our stuff is hopefully all in storage, and all in one piece. Granted, anything that had screws in it was unscrewed. Hopefully every piece of furniture that had four legs will come out of storage with all four legs (a piano bench with only three legs will be interesting). And the parts box will hopefully make it as well....with all the parts. (am I the only one that thinks a parts box is a dangerous idea? Let's think for a moment...what if the parts box doesn't make it?

Never mind. Let's NOT thing that. Think good thoughts...positive thoughts.

So we made it to our new town. It's hot, humid and I'm weary of stepping into the water or eating anything that came from it (thanks to certain government waivers and a certain corporation). The homes are on big lots. Few trees. No landscaping. Large homes, high ceilings, small bedrooms, and for the most part, a lot of above ground utilities. Unfortunately lots of foreclosures. It is difficult to find a neighborhood where all lawns are kept and boats are parked in the backyard vs the driveway. (An area we like, where people keep their yards maintained and the boats parked in the back behind the house, is well over $300,000 for a house). A little steep considering we're keeping our other place.

We may have found one house, on the cheap end, but it needs a lot of work and we are trying to literally steal this house; only because it needs so much work and because again, some of the homes are unkept (you would literally need a weed wacker to get to the front door of one neighboring house). We'll see what happens. Who knows what-or where- we'll end up.

Running News: Back in April I signed up for the MCM. Training got off to a late start due to the minor surgery. True training actually started here, in Florida. It's rough; I am only running early in the morning (not exactly how-or why- people on base actually run in the afternoon). The first long run, 8 miles was last week, I ran 6.75, took a 15 min break, and then, angry with myself for quitting, finished the last 1.25 miles out on the track (with no problem!).

This past Sunday, for the 9 miler, I got through 7. something miles when I had to walk for a bit before starting up the run again. A mixture of negative and positive splits....hopefully this is heat related. I just ordered a box of my favorite gu (lemon sublime) from the local running shop.

Workout so far this week:

Sunday was a 9 miler.

Monday was weights (my first time since probably November/December time frame)

Tuesday: today was a nice 4 miler near the water.

Tomorrow, hopefully more weights, another trip to starbucks, and maybe even another post :)

Excuse me, Are you my husband?

"You were a chemistry major?!"

And you can imagine how the rest of the conversation went, over dinner, with my....

husband.

How is it possible that I've known him for about 12 years, married for 7, and NOT known he was a chemistry major? (granted he was only a chem major for either one semester or a year, he's doesn't remember)

Tangent....I hated chemistry. It was a massive class, with a professor who was always late, rushed, and obviously annoyed that he had to teach true undergrads. Chem lab was almost worse than the lecture. Walking near the chem building began to get my heart going, and NOT in a good exciting kind of way. But by far, the most awful part of chemistry was after the exam. First you felt like you bombed it. Then, a day or two later, you walked to the chemist yr lecture hall, and looked for the last four digits of your SSN in the glass enclosed bulletin board out on the side of the building. You found your grade. And then your curved grade. And then you cried (not tears of joy, either)....and eventually dropped the class and changed majors and..ok, so I see why he dropped the chem major. But I digress...

I couldn't help but wonder what else? After all, the previous evening we were eating waffles for dinner when I noticed that he ate his waffles tiny square by tiny square. (he swears he's always done this; I've just been too tired in the morning to notice).

Note, it's not like I eat my waffles strip by strip, but i certainly don't cut them into perfect squares either.....

with the move coming up, I can't wait to learn more peculiarities...we'll certainly be spending enough time together!

Keep Movin'

and we're back on the train again.

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind with no hope of slowing down.

Last week was my last day of work at an incredible hospital and I feel fortunate to have had an opportunity to work at and with such an incredible group of people. There is a group of people that I work with that make up an incredible team: the Rock Star Nurses.

They are the ones who are always calm, always willing to help, and always seem to know just what to do. The are great with patients. What can I say...they are my idols. There are also a few nursing students that work on the floor who I know will make fantastic nurses, and I hope to keep in touch with everyone.

No rest for the weary, after the last day of work, I had a minor surgery. As a nurse, I hate being a patient. It might not be the actual act of being a patient as much as the fear factor: completely out of control and aware of the worst possible outcomes (real and imagined).

And I can't really go jogging right now as it's still too close to post op. Bother.

But the day after the surgery I met up with some former classmates, aka sexy, zany nurses. Drinks, dinner, more drinks, delicious desert, wonderful laughs. Could I ask for anything more?

Well....maybe.

A house to move into would be nice. And a job.

The movers come in less than one week to pack up the house and lock all my belongings into a truck (and then move it into storage).

As for the job front....I've applied to three or four, and have only heard back from one. My "salary requirement" is about $8 per hour than they can offer me. The application (for all the jobs) requested that I fill in my current salary or salary requirements. I had figured that I would be taking a pay cut, but I feel like I was blown off.....I don't need to make the same dollar amount; but not even an interview. At least call me. I hate how impersonal the internet can be.

Just keep movin'...it will all come together.

Booking It

How many of you remember the reading program at school that was sponsored by a particular pizza restaurant that has a red roof?

I loved that program. First you got a button (one year it was a very cool hologram) and you would get a yellow star to put on the button for each month if you made the monthly quota for the number of books or book reports you were supposed to complete.

So in today's 'retro' style of Bringin' Back the 80s, I'm going to book it.

Just finished reading Sex With Kings

It was a cheap find at one of my favorite book stores, The Strand in NYC, and I'm glad I picked it up. There is so much juicy gossip on each page, I'm on information overload and can't even pick out the one juiciest moment. Scandal? yes. Sex? yes. Education? yes.

It's the not-so-trashy-trashy beach read for summer. Weird looks while reading it? quite possibly. For someone who doesn't appreciate and enjoy history, I would say this is a history book worth reading. Sometimes the writing gets a bit cheesy...and I would be lying if I said that I could keep all the characters (er, make that kings and mistresses) straight.

Next up The Girl Who Played With Fire. Diversity at its finest :)

Lesser of Two Evils

Would you rather follow a per diem nurse and have a 45 minute plus dressing change? or follow the nurse who gives poor reports and leaves things incomplete or incorrect?

I chose the latter. (tired of all these dressing changes we've had!) Tomorrow should be interesting. oye vey.

Fool

You'd be a fool not to try this panini for lunch.

The first time I made this sandwich, I actually had nearly all the ingredients (I needed bread, tomato, and a lemon). The olives and artichokes can be purchased for cheap at Walmart or your commissary. I've purchased the ciabatta bread at Walmart & at the local grocery store...sadly, the bread from Walmart made for a better sandwich. I obviously recommend purchasing the bread from a specialty shop if you're lucky enough to leave near one.

The first time I made this sandwich, I was amazed that I was eating something made in my kitchen and not at a sandwich shop.

Trust me, your mouth & taste buds will thank you for the flavor burst.

Bit

by the apple bug....

I broke down and got a new laptop...a mac book!! I'm so excited to be using it right now. Trying to figure out all the features. Not exactly looking forward to sitting down with my old laptop to transfer everything onto this new baby.

I love it.

I want to name it.

Opening it out of the box? so sexy and sleek. Strangely enough, I'm digging the backlit keyboard. It's the little things that get me going....

In the same way in which buying new exercise clothes motivates me to hit the gym, maybe it's a macbook that will motivate me to join the blogging world again. Then again, a PCS is just 4 weeks away, which means lots of lots of fun stories. (be forewarned, the stories have already begun...)