nothing exciting.

well, as i sit here thinking i have nothing exciting to post and no new pictures, i completely forgot that mom sent me pictures she took from her visit in august.  we are still slowly getting settled into our new place.  we still have lots of boxes hanging around but we're getting there.  goodwill is a lucky place, too.  in fact, i may make a trip there tomorrow.  the animals are doing well.  dave is still with us but he'll be making a trip with us to nashville soon and he will stay there with our friend barry.  she said she'll gladly take him.  cotton is doing well and has adjusted well to the move.  barley has had some male "stranger" anxiety but seems to be getting better.  she's been sick this week after (we think) eating the filling out of an old bone.  she has doggy colitis and is on a bland diet (for dogs, this is chicken, white rice, and canned pumpkin) for the weekend and on an antibiotic.  she definitely was back to her old self today but her body was telling other stories... you don't want to know.  let's just say "bless her heart."

but yes, i did report that i have pictures to share.  mom took some when she came to visit our "new" place at school.  now, it is only new to us as this building we live in was built in 1938.  it has a lot of character.  we are still in the process of getting unpacked and settled in, so pictures of our actual "home" will have to wait.  but here are some of the outside and areas around campus.

the dining hall- where we eat most of our meals.

the football field; student center is the building on the left.  a dorm is what you see on the other end of the football field (in front of the mountains)

tennis courts (these sit below and behind the dorm at the end of the football field)

the track with the upper soccer/lacrosse field in its center

the "lower" soccer field

the hill that kicks our tails when we take our walks

our front steps on the wellness center (home)

the "right side" of the WC- the two window units are in our nurses' office and the nurses' bedroom.  the end is one of the "sick rooms"

the left side of the WC- the far left with 5 windows is our living room and the windows next to it is our laundry room.  the others are part of the med room of the WC.  

our guest room.  Cotton and Barley love the low window sills...

...because they are nosy!

our old doorknobs.  they all have a "skeleton" key but we discovered it's for locking the deadbolt they all have.  

so that's a bit of our new place and landscape.  we're slowly getting settled in here and hope to continue to make it feel like home.

unpacking something new.

packing up to move is definitely no where nearly as fun as packing for vacation...  i said this earlier this week and meant it 100%.

unpacking after moving is definitely more fun than unpacking after vacation.  i mean this, too.

there is so much anticipation when you pack for vacation.  it's usually some place fun.  you are going to escape life's worries and troubles and hopefully you get to relax.  maybe sit in the ocean and soak in some vitamin D where "the only worry is the tide gonna reach my chair."  

and while i may not see the beach before the end of 2011, there won't be that dread of having to unpack at the end of a relaxing week.  instead...

this is my new view as i am unpacking to begin a new adventure.  we moved into our provided housing at Christ School and i am embarking on a new point in my career as a nurse, a new sense of community living on campus at a boarding school (and i never lived on-campus at college), and a time to simplify some areas of life and have a fresh, new start.  

memories.

it's amazing what you come across while you are packing up a house.  i found a card from a friend/coworker of mine from williamson medical center that she gave me before we moved from tennessee to north carolina.  i loved what it says and find it still fits our lives now.

Listen to your heart...

follow your own star

and dream your own dream.

There wouldn't be a sky

full with shimmering stars

if we were all meant to wish on the same one.

There has never been

and there will never be

a dream exactly like your own,

because you are so wonderfully unique.

As you follow your dream,

always do your best-

there are no shortcuts

on the path to true happiness-

so give all that you have

in all that you do.

And above all things,

believe in yourself,

for you are as amazing

as the stars themselves.

-Linda Staten

transitions.

july is turning out to be a busy month for jay and myself.  we are moving.  again.  and that's only a small part of our transition...

i have signed a contract and have taken the Head Nurse position at Christ School, a local boarding school here in town.  part of my salary includes our housing.  we will be living in a 3 bed/2 bath apartment off the Wellness Center, which is where i will work.  we can take 2 four-legged animals with us.  so the dogs will be going.  sweet dave needs a new home.  know anyone who wants a sweet kitty?  (declawed, neutered.)

we put our house up for rent- it went on the rental website on a saturday, had an interested renter by monday, she saw it on tuesday, and a contract was signed the end of that week.  i had no idea it would happen so quickly, but i am so relieved that it did.

so if the blog is slow-going for awhile it's because i'm busy with work at the hospital (7 more shifts!) and school, packing up my house, and getting ready to move to a new home, new job, and new community at an all-male boarding school.  going from new moms & babies to teenage boys will be a transition enough!

This is the chapel at school.

Entrance

Campus map... click the picture to enlarge and find the Wellness Center (our new home!).  (All those trees exist, too, as they are in this picture, only more beautiful in real life!)

miss me?

i originally delayed posting for awhile because i had a few things to post about and i wanted to space them out... and now it's the end of april.  i began my delay in mid-march.  oops.  but i've been busy working and catching up on sleep and trying to keep up with laundry and cleaning (and if we're being honest the keeping up with all of that part is enough work in itself) and so the blog got put on the back burner.  i am sure the world, well the maybe 10 of you who read it, are just dying to know what is going on here...

currently, it's raining and we're expecting storms overnight.  cotton has been medicated since the first thunder boomed outside and life is good.  jay and i still work completely opposite shifts.  we're hoping that changes soon.  more to come on work in a few posts from now- so, you know, in a few months or something.  haha  we went to nashville in march and visited with family and friends and had a great time.  gas was still "cheap" then at $3.20ish/gallon.  we are headed back in june for a wedding.

dave matthews (the cat, not the man with the band) may want a new home.  i don't know if i am ready for him to move on, as it's been a good 10 year relationship, but most of the family is allergic to him and always have to get hotels when they visit and he gets less attention than he needs.  he's sweet and loving and loves a lap to lay in.  if you know anyone wanting a sweet, declawed, and neutered kitty, let me know.

we still haven't forgotten the misery of the stomach virus we had 2 months ago.  but, of course, we're all recovered from that and now just suffering from allergies.  i have meniere's disease but it has been a year since diagnosis and it is well-controlled with a diuretic.  so i pee a lot but i am not as dizzy.  well, it's not really dizziness as much as just being off-balance.  but it's a lot easier to say dizzy.  and i actually prefer the British term "roomspin" so get used to it.  :)  get used to the word, not roomspin itself.  i don't wish that on anyone.  but if you have suffered it, i know you feel me on this one, and i graciously will allow you to also use the term roomspin.  in fact, i borrowed it from the gentlemen on top gear.

i think that about sums it up.  i wonder if i can find a picture to liven up this post even more (i.e. a picture i'm not planning to post later).  oh yes, here's one.  cotton loving her new toys from her mimi and pops.  two of which she promptly broke within the first 24 hours.  she's a chewer (of toys only, thankfully).  what can i say?

2 years ago today...

... we moved from here

to here...

... from here

to here...

and then not quite a year later to here...

... from here

to here...

movin' on up

tomorrow is moving day! we still have things to do at this point. really, we don't have anything else much to pack that the movers are going to move, but we need to clear off and away what they are going to move. also, going on tomorrow, is the cable guy is coming between 8am and 5pm. not 8-12 or 1-5. but all day. sometime. he will come. so i will be taking the dogs to sparky's in the morning for their overnight and baths/grooming on wednesday and jay will be in the apartment, waiting on the movers to come, between 9am and 11am and staying here to keep them on track. i met (jay already had) the across the street neighbors, mike and sharon. they are very sweet and in between the age of our parents and grandparents. they are both chefs and chocolatiers. yummy! i think we are getting some chocolate covered strawberries this week. i told them i would be happy to taste anything they needed tasted! :) i promise to post some pictures soon.

"Home is a place not only of strong affections, but of entire unreserve; it is life's undress rehearsal, its backroom, its dressing room. "
-Harriet Beecher Stowe

homeowners!

the closing went smoothly today and we are officially homeowners again. they were finishing up our yard today- they needed more sod than they planned for yesterday. we bought our ceiling fans and microwave today and will be getting larry (jay's dad) to help with the installation. and moving day is still set for next tuesday, even though we will be moving some stuff ourselves. we will be sending out change of address information soon, so don't worry. and the mail will be forwarded so if anyone sends anything it will get to us. thanks for all of your well-wishes and good thoughts. we appreciate you all!

and the day will be.....

.... april 22nd. that is our closing date for the house. it will work out perfectly because it will give us two weeks to get things moved out of the apartment and cleaned up. things are moving along smoothly with the house. drywall will go up starting monday the 10th. won't be much longer!

officially lot 151!

well, we have a sign. it is our lot. something is marked, too. but we are still waiting to hear from the project manager or whomever is supposed to contact us before they start. but a sign marking our lot is forward progress enough!!!

quick note

well, there hasn't been an update lately because there isn't much to update. however, this past sunday, we signed a contract on a new house. we are going to build a new house because that is actually cheaper than buying an old one. crazy, yeah? not really. we will be in henderson county, just over the line from buncombe county (where asheville is). buncombe co. thinks a lot of its land. sort of like williamson county does. but being just outside of the county and not in city limits, we lucked out. we got a great lot, number 151. it has decent views of the mountains. i would link the website, but it isn't working at the moment. i will send pictures of things and keep the building posted and updated. it should be finished around the beginning of may.... when our lease is up at the apartment. so that's it for us. new house. soon. no more kids running around in the apartment upstairs. yeah!

300 long shoals rd. apt. 7m

well, i am no longer a home owner. hallelujah! selling from another state is such a hassel. thank goodness i have such a great mom! (and dad) so i can no longer claim a franklin, tn address as home. onto arden. so i figured now i would finally put some pics of our apartment up here. however... they are pics from when we first moved in. so here is apartment 7m.


the entry way.

the dining room.


the living room (to the left) and barley and the entrance of our room (to the right). with dave in the window.


the spare room (aka doggy headquarters).

so that's it. it is a very beige, blank canvas, which we have colored with our belongings. i will have some updated photos of it soon. now we are just enjoying the sunshine and fresh air through the screen door because though it is over 80 degrees outside, it is still not hot enough to make us clothes the door. :)

happy june!

okay. so it has been over a week since i wrote. i can't believe that. it has flown. i have been working this week on my floor at the hospital. mother-baby. it is family-centered care for mom and baby together. since where i worked before was family-centered, it was also mommy sleep friendly, too. but here they very much encourage babies staying with moms as much as possible. doing tests and procedures in the room. i didn't think i would like it, but i actually do. i am learning about feeling and checking a fundus. fun. so long as everyone is "well" then it's ok. haha in a perfect world... but i was able to do some things today and get "checked off" on them so i can function more on my own and am becoming more comfortable with the mom/adult side of things. so that is how this week has been. i am soooo not a day shift person. the personalities here aren't so bad on days but it is really hard for me to get up at 530am. so it'll be good to get to nights- which will be 2-3 more weeks. the dogs have been going to doggy day care. sounds crazy, but they can go and run around and play all day and not be cooped up in a crate. it is less than $30/day for both dogs to go. so we are lovin' that. and when they come home they are exhausted! which is great, too. they get to socialize and get exercise. important for biggo doggies. we still have some boxes laying around. hope to get to those this weekend and put them in storage so we can walk without walking into cardboard. i guess that's about it. not much else going on around here. we have a contract on the condo and a back up if something happens with the first one. so hopefully that will continue to work out. selling a house is a pain. i had no idea. so we are really hoping it will be over soon. if all goes well, we will close the end of the month. ok. think that is all. i feel bad i haven't put any pics up lately. so here is one. that doesn't have anything to do with anything!

"it's in a box"

well... the movers made it to nc. we have all of our stuff, and so far, nothing is broken! (and dave has lots of places to hide.) the cable man finally came so we have our own internet and digital cable. we get our phone another day, apparently. we have unpacked about 15 boxes already. that doesn't even make a dent, but we will eventually get this apartment turned into something nice and functional. we can cook now, so that will be helpful. anyway, we are starving right now... i have been promised mexican food! i have taken pictures of our apartment when it was empty, so once things find their new homes, i will send before and after pictures. happy long weekend!

p.s. we had good news from our realtor today... someone is VERY intersted in our condo, so pray she is and it sells!!

views from the open road

ok. i have had some time this afternoon, sitting in my one chair, with the airbed leaning up against the tv... i grabbed my camera so i can share some pics from the drive up. the dogs are currently at my feet, gnawing on bones. dave is hiding somewhere, probably wondering where the furniture is so he can have more hiding places. haha which, the furniture, by the way, is coming tomorrow mid-morning. well, the furniture and about 80 boxes and everything else we own. yippee! the other end of moving... the unpacking. so it still doesn't seem like we have moved yet. but it doesn't seem like vacation either. it's like limbo. anyway, let's dig in the picture file and see what is there.



my car was filled up, as was jay's, with what we needed before the movers made it. jay had the dogs in the very back of his land cruiser and i had dave, in his crate, in my front seat. (who is now in my lap.)



here is jay with the girls. we stopped in knoxville at sam's to get gas. up there and in asheville it is less than $3.00/gallon. sadly, it was exciting!



i knew we were getting closer when the sign for the next closest big city changed from knoxville to asheville. it meant the end was in sight! it was, however, about 2.5 hours before we made it (which it never takes that long) but we definitely took our time to get here yesterday.



this post wouldn't be complete without a picture of dave on it. here's the scoop with dave. as you can see, maybe, he is sleeping with his face against the side of the crate. b/c he did not tolerate the medication well, dave would have "fits of rage" where he would paw and climb up his crate walls, meowing intently, hoping our pity would set him free. tough luck. then he would fall asleep and be so still and stiff that he looked like he was dead. it was bizarre. and, if you did not know, cats have a third eyelid. (look it up on wikipedia) his were closed so he could only see out of about 1/4 of his eye. he looked like a little kitty demon. but he is normal again. (praise the lord)

once we get our stuff in the apartment and get some things hung on the walls, so that it looks more like home, i will send pictures of that as well. until then...

finally...

we made it. we got in yesterday around 4:30pm est. yes, we are in a new time zone! crazy. 11 o'clock news. everything is on an hour later. of course, until our cable is hooked up, we can watch abc and a very static-y CW. haha fabulous. and we have an airbed. and one outside chair. but we made it. and the pets made it. dave barely made it. he had a bad reaction to his sedatives (all the animals received sedatives before we left) but dave didn't have much fun with his. so he was a bit of a mess. but he has recovered well and we are surviving. i have shopping 2 miles away... everything i would need (i.e. target) and i know how to get to work. so for now, that is good. well, we are still in need of our stuff. it is on a moving truck somewhere, hopefully on its way, soon. we'll see. but i will put pictures up later. we took some on the way. love you all!

all good things happen on the 22nd

that is our move date. may 22nd. it is 4 days away! so much to do in so little time. lots to pack. already packed boxes need to be recollected and stockpiled here. friends to see. one more drive through town to see things we will miss. (which does not include traffic and mcmansions) tuesday. that's the day.