We won't be homeless!!!!

Well, it looks like we may have a home! Patrick has already rented us a mail box via the UPS Store (we'll furnish everyone with the address via email later), but we still weren't sure about what to do about an apartment. Patrick looked at several this weekend, and found some that were okay--but the ones at the top of the list either didn't have a washer & dryer (and it would hurt my soul to have to go to a laundromat again...but I'd do it if I had to!), or were a bit run-down. Patrick looked at Taylor's Crossing (formerly Greentree Apartments), where he'd live when he was younger. He said they were okay, but just got a kind of "run down" vibe from them...but they were very affordable, and had a washer & dryer. So we thought, "Well, we could make due for a few months, if we had to." Well, looks like someone was smiling down on us, because he looked in his Apartment Guide & saw a listing for Polos at Hudson Corners--they sounded really, really nice, so Patrick went to take a look & really liked them. They've got a special right now, 1 month free, and the 1-bedroom rents for $579/month--washer & dryer, 745 sq. ft, nice layout (I looked at the pics on their website: http://poloshudson.com/ and liked what I saw, too). Patrick said the clubhouse was nice; they've got a fitness center, pool....they're fairly central & in a gated complex. So--it's in our price range, looks to be really nice, and they've got a unit available RIGHT NOW, and failing that, they've got several that will be available in the next week. Patrick's going to try to stop by after work tonight to sign papers--we may actually have a place to move into right from Jackson! But, if not, we're able to stay in the Extended Stay hotel through July 20, so if we have to wait a few days, that's okay, too...not perfect, but very do-able!

So take a look-see at where we may be living...I'm excited. It's an apartment, but we may only be there for 6 months or so, and it looks like it's a pretty nice place. Only 1 bedroom, but I thought I saw something about a guest unit, so if people come to visit, they can stay in a guest apartment. We may have to look into that...or, people can flip for the sofa!

It's late, and I've had a long day....

Well, I got up at 6 this morning...I had to do some yardwork, and the forecast was for the 90s today, so I figured since I was awake, I may as well go outside & play in the yard. I weeded, hooked up my 5 soaker hoses & a "jumper" hose together (we're going to set up a timer to water the yard while we're gone...unfortunately, though, the $10 timer I got at WalMart isn't going to cut it...big surprise, I know. Tomorrow I'll go to Lowe's and get one that actually works.)--seriously, 5 soaker hoses!!!! I distributed 10 bags of 3cu ft. of pine mulch (the nice worker at Lowe's loaded the truck for me, but since I couldn't bring him home, I took them out of the truck & laid them all out in the yard myself. Just call me Super Woman.)...and learned that, along with moulding, you never get as much mulch as you think you'll need...you're always 1 bag short. And, true 'nuff, I need just one more bag. I rearranged the retaining wall bricks along the side to be a little more "finished"--they don't just curve around the house to...nowhere. They now curve at the end of the shrubbery and look like they belong there.

In the middle of my yard work, the SECOND heater guy came out and verified the first diagnosis--it's wired funky. Great. But, he referred me to someone else, and I promptly called, left a message & have yet to hear from him. I'm starting to panic a little, since we'll be leaving NEXT WEEKEND. But...it'll happen or it won't. If it doesn't, we're going to have to come back for periodic maintenence & we'll schedule something for one of the weekends we're home.

I started looking outside, and kept noticing all those little nails we put around the edge of the porch when we hung the Christmas lights. The lights sure looked nice, but as we buck the trends, we took them down after Christmas, but left up the nails for next year. Only this year, we won't be hanging lights on this porch. So I removed all the nails, and painted over the spots. With white paint. Because I thought the porch was white. It's not. It's sort of....not really white, but not really beige, either (I know this, because I tried the beige paint that we have that the walls of our house used to be). So...I figured, "Heck with it! Maybe no one will notice!" and I just painted the edge & bottom of the overhang shelf-thingy. I think it looks okay...maybe no one will notice. If they do...they can repaint it at their leisure. I'm just glad when I look out the window you don't notice all these little rusty nails & such.

By the way, we've got three of the cutest puppies roaming around in our neighborhood....they're sweet, and if I thought there was any way we could take 'em, I'd have them named & bathed in about 2 seconds (they are so stinky!!! I don't know what it is, but every stray we come across stinks!!!!). Well, just to clear up a point: if you think it's easy working in the garden with three puppies, you'd be wrong. They are just about as helpful with gardening as the cats are with putting up a stove hood. They're at that cute "cotton balls w/feet" stage where they are UNDER YOUR FEET at every step, they've got those tiny, sharp puppy teeth that's perfect for nipping exposed body parts & they're all feet & claws. And stinky breath. But they are cute, and very, very sweet. Anyone want a puppy?????

You may want to avert your eyes....

I installed our new stove hood last night. The box said "Easy Installation."

"Easy Installation" my ass. Maybe if one has a team of midgets it would be easy. I, however, found myself contorting about on top of our stove, holding the stove hood up with my head, shoulders & screws that I just jammed in to help keep the thing up.

The hood didn't fit in the space that the old one came out of, either, which means the helpful guy at Lowe's lied to me ("Yes Ma'am, they're a standard size."). Either that, or (more probably), the person who put our kitchen cabinets in didn't use standard measurements...for the top cabinets (the stove fit perfectly, so my guess is the upper cabinets are about 1/4" closer together than the bottom cabinets). So I had to get out Mr. Dremel. I took care of the "not fitting" problem, yessir-re-bob. Have Dremel, will travel. There was someone looking out for me, though, because the hood fits snugly against the dremel'ed side, leaving the nice, factory straight edge as the one that's more apparent. I'm not sure how that happened....

I begin to put the hood in, now that it'll fit, and I realize that the hood is for flat-bottomed cabinets...which ours aren't. So the screws that came with the hood are too short to bridge the gap between the edge of the cabinet & the actual bottom of the cabinet. So, with the hood being held in place with four screws jammed in the back, and a vacuum hose to prop it up, I run to the tool closet to try to find some longer screws....and come up with - ta da! - deck screws!!! They're long enough, right? No one will see them, so it should work, right?

So I take the deck screws, and the left one goes in fine...the right one has about 1" before it's flush, and it won't go in any further. I try EVERYTHING, but nothing. So there I am, with a stove hood that's leaning down about 1" on the right. Not good. Then I notice that if I pull the hood forward about 1", I can use the screws that came with the hood & put into the wooden edge of the cabinet. Perfect! So I unscrew the deck screws, and try to pull the hood forward...and can't because of the 4 screws I jammed in the back to try to help hold the thing up. So here we go again...I undo the four screws in the back, and once again am wishing for a team of midgets to help me hold this thing up (I tried the cats...they just weren't good workers. Walked off the job site.). The hood is resting (again) on my head & shoulders...as I'm trying to delicately balance a screw on the end of my cordless screwdriver so I can line this hood up & screw it in before the screw falls off the end of the driver....I get the right one in. Now...how to turn around, on the stove--still with the hood resting on my head (by the way...aluminum filters tend to snag the heck out of your hair. Just keep that in mind.). I do it, and get the left one in (again, with the delicate balancing of screw atop driver...). But the back holes are still in limbo--still a good couple of inches from any solid wood. So I grab the trusty deck screws, and go to it. Again, the left one goes in fine, but the right one...not so much. If you pull down on the rear right of the hood, it'll come down about an inch. But don't you dare pull on it while I'm around. If you leave it alone, and don't touch it much (turning the light & fan don't seem to make it wiggle...which is good), you'd never know. Unless you duck your head down & look.

The hood fell on me, on the stove, and just about fell out the window (okay, that wasn't so much a fall as it would have been a thrown.). I was dirty, sawdusty, sweaty & swearing (sorry, Mom, but I was).

It's done, and it looks real purty. Just don't look too close. There's a deck screw holding up the back of hood.

How nice!

I was taken out to lunch today by all of my coworkers & boss; we went to the Olive Garden (I could have gone for Sakura or Fuji Yama, both really great Japanese restaurants, but not everyone that I work with likes Japanese cuisine, and even though this is my day, I was nice & thought of others...Mom, aren't you proud of me?). It was a great lunch, and they presented me with a card, where they all wrote very nice things--and I received a $30 Target Giftcard. Not bad, especially when you consider that my departure will leave the office in a bad way (the office will be down to one secretary, and it usually has 3--the other secretary is out on Medical Leave--we're not really sure why, we just keep getting statements from her Doctor stating that she can't come back to work quite yet).

I really like some of the people I work with; I'll miss them quite a bit. They've threatened to come & visit, though, on their way to the beach. I hope they do....

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to Pee Pa & my Dad. Below is a picture I took of them while we were out in Dad's boat...I think it was actually Thanksgiving Day 2003. The turkey was in the smoker, so we decided to go for a trip up the river. It was a great trip--one of my favorite memories. What you don't see in the picture is that my Dad is barefoot...I love that he goes barefoot and wears cut-off jeans.

Both of these men, my father & grandfather, are amazing. They both fought for their country...which, as I get older, I think I'm beginnning to sort of realize how truly scary it must have been--what they could have lost, leaving behind the known for the unknown (except the unknown was shooting at you). I don't think there are words to describe the bravery that these two men have.

And then when Dad came back from Vietnam, there was me, waiting for him. He's an amazing Dad--he lets me fall (although I'm sure as a parent it's heartbreaking to watch your child fail!), and is there if I need help getting back up...even though I may not know I need help at the time. He's taught me so many things: how to change my own oil, how to be true to myself, how to make sure that I have enough gas to get me where I'm going so I don't have to push my vehicle, how to stand up for what I believe in, how to be the best person I can be.

I miss my Dad, Mom, and all my other family. That's one of the reasons we're so excited to be moving; we'll be closer to what really matters in life--family.

Happy Father's Day, Dad & Pee Pa!!! I love you!!!
--Chaun

The Captain and the Kid and the Captain's Dad 

It's beginning!

Well, Patrick is on his way to Knoxville, where he'll stay tonight, then on to Gastonia on Sunday. He's hoping to get to the IDG Corporate Apt. early enough to snag the big room....otherwise, he'll have to share a room (he found out that there will be 2 other people there in the apt. with him.).

He just left, and I tried not to cry, but I knew I would. I really didn't want Patrick's last look of me to be with a puffy face & watery eyes!

Now I'm just trying to think of what to do first; I want to keep busy, get some stuff done, but also don't want to get too crazy...the next few weeks will be crazy enough without me adding to the frenzy!

I think I may go up to WalMart....I hear some bad food calling my name: chips with cheese dip; ice cream; mabe some fish sticks & tater tots. Then I'll kick back, watch some cheesy shows (I've got two "Sheer Dallas" shows and a few "Queer Eye" and some movies that I've PiVo'd) and try to take it all in: we're really leaving. It's not a pipe dream, it's here!!!!!

Yee Haw! (I guess that's the Fingertonian in me coming out!)

(By the way, Patrick--I love you very, very much. You are my world, and I can't wait until these two weeks are up, and I'm picking you up from the Memphis airport!!! I can't be there in person, but I'll be with you in spirit. They're lucky to get you--you'll make a wonderful impression, and they'll wonder where you've been all this time, and how did they ever manage without you!!!)

Patrick, ready to leave for Gastonia 

Don't Look Back!

Well, we just got home from Memphis, and Patrick's mowing our yard. We had a great day, even though it started out WAY too early--we had a 7:30 a.m. appointment at CarMax to have the rear bumper painted; I didn't know until we got there & Patrick asked if we could have had this done at any CarMax...and yes, we could have. Oh well. It was an excuse to go back to one of our favorite cities. I also wanted to see if they could pop the front bumper back on (again), but they said there wasn't anything they could do--no holes left. Oh well. Then I asked if they could replace the brake light--sure, for $38. I said no...and later on bought a two-pack of bulbs for $4.99 at AutoZone.

After CarMax, we went to Golden India--our favorite Indian restaurant. We had the buffet, which is always great, but on week days they have lamb korma (I think it's korma), and on the weekends (which is usually when we go into Memphis), they have chicken makhani, which I swear they lace with cocaine it's that good. So no chicken makhani, but I have to say...lamb is pretty darn good. I feel bad, since the animals are cute & fuzzy. I pretty much like to think all of my meat comes straight from my grocer's freezer, wrapped up in a tidy package and there was no actual killing of animals. (I know...self deception is a dangerous thing.)

Back to our day...after lunch, we decided to catch Batman Begins (I think that's the name of the movie...I'm so bad with actual movie titles. I catch myself telling Patrick that I want to see a particular movie, and he's continuously telling me that we've already seen it, and no, it wasn't good. I think Mulholland Falls was this way...or was it Mulholland Drive? I can't remember.). Anyway, Batman was playing at the Paradiso Theatre, which is a great theater--I'm not sure why they felt that they had to built a theater that looked like an Italian piazza in Memphis, but there you go. It's purty. The Paradiso boasts an incredibly large screen, and super THX sound. They call it the "Grand Screen"--it's an extra wide 50' tall screen with 60,000 watts of "Digital Stereo THX Surround Sound." (That's according to the ad in the "Memphis Flyer," the local alternative free weekly...oh, how I can't wait to get to a city that has a free weekly alternative paper!!!!) The seats rock & are extra cushy, too. The movie rocked. It wasn't super-brainy, but was appropriately dark, with the right mixture of violence & explosions. I give it a thumbs-up. (By the way, the trailer for Willie Wonka & The Choco Factory looks like it will be amazing. The trailer for Stealth--not so much.)

Then back home...where responsibility rears its ugly head....I need to cut one extra piece of window trim (why is it that no matter how much trim you buy, you're always one piece short???), and like I already mentioned...Patrick's mowing the yard. The garden in general needs some help, but I figure I can work on that while he's in SC, enjoying all the riches that the Greenville area has to offer. (By the way--anyone who comes to visit, we've GOT to go to Tanner's Big Orange--I'm not sure what they do, but their orange drinks are out of this world!!! Patrick said their pimiento [spelling? not sure as I don't like the stuff...at least, I don't think I do.] cheese hamburgers used to be good, too....so I'm sure he'll do a taste test to see if they're still as he remembers them.)

I'm trying not to think too hard on the next couple of weeks--I still have to go to work (why can't they pay me to stay at home?), and do little touch-ups here & there; I may take some stuff to the storage unit if I'm feeling frisky. I'll miss Patrick; I know it's only two weeks, and I know that Mom had to endure a much longer separation from Dad (and while pregnant, birthing me & for the first few months of my life!), so I know that this time apart will be nothing compared to that....I'm just trying not to think about it right now! He'll leave here around noon tomorrow...keep him in your thoughts to help keep him safe!!!

It was sad to leave Memphis today; we've had such great times there!!! We thought when we were ready to leave, we'd do Memphis up right: stay at the Peabody; go to Beale Street; eat once more at The Rendezvous; check out Neely's and Interstate BBQ; ride the Zippin Pippin one last time (we thought about catching a quick ride on the Pippin today, but it just didn't happen); go to Graceland & marvel at all the tacky souvenirs. But, that just didn't happen. I'd like to think we'll come back sometime--maybe our kid(s) can ride the Pippin (hopefully it'll still be in operation...it would be a shame for an old wooden roller coaster that was Elvis' favorite to be taken out of commission.). But you never know what happens, and it's just sad to think that today may have been the last time we would be in Memphis. At least we ended it with a great movie & some tasty food.

We're just about on our way!

Well, Patrick's last day at work was yesterday...and it wasn't even a full day! He left his office at around 11:45, and his co-workers took him out to lunch...and I got a call at 1:30ish from him saying, "Well, I'm done!" Yay!

Today he's mowing the yard, and then we've got a lunch date to go to the Dixie Castle--a wonderful meat & 3 place that's uniquely Jackson...meaning--you can't find Dixie Castle anywhere else, and in a town where the question "Where's a good place to go eat?" is met with "Outback Steakhouse," "O'Charley's," "TGI Friday's," or "Olive Garden," it's nice to have something in this town that is special to this place. There's not much about Jackson that I'd call special--Brooksie's Barn is pretty good, and there are some good BBQ places that are housed in small shacks, and there's the Dixie Castle. But all-in-all, Jackson doesn't have much about it that really sticks out...so it'll be nice to eat at a place that is special to sort of help us say goodbye.

I've still got a couple weeks left...and though I'm sure I'll miss Patrick terribly, I know the time will go by much too quickly, and before I know it, it'll be time to pick up the U-Haul and leave Jackson.

I don't think I'll be sad to leave Jackson; it'll be bittersweet to leave our house--the first house we've ever owned!--but the thought of the future just open and waiting for us, seeing Jackson in the rearview mirror...that's what we've been waiting for!

My heart is breaking...

I have to say that even though I'm not too keen on my job, I work with some pretty amazing women. When I glommed on a garage sale one of my attorneys was having, she introduced me as her friend, not as her "secretary" or "assistant"--but as a friend.

Another of my attorneys was diagnosed with breast cancer last December. She went through chemotherapy, lost all of her hair, her eyebrows, eyelashes, and finished her last treatment about a month ago. Throughout the entire ordeal, she carried herself with grace, and with strength, and with determination that she WAS going to beat this cancer. And we knew she would. She had her PET Scan a few Fridays ago, and called me to tell me the news as soon as she found out: Cancer Free!!!! I cried when she told me, and the fact that I was the second person she told (she told me the news after she told her beau of 16 years) honored me more than this woman probably knows.

I found out today that when she went to her regular doctor for the follow-up appointment, he referred her to a Radiologist--which was no big deal, since she knew that she'd probably need some radiation follow-up treatments. However, what her radiologist told her was not what she expected to hear.

Her radiologist believes that the cancer began in her chest wall, and spread to her breast. And that she'll need daily radiation treatments for seven weeks. And, her radiologist is also saying that the only way to really beat this thing is to have a radical mastectomy, and take part of that chest tissue, too. The PET Scan report also used the word "metastases" which is always scary when you're dealing with Cancer.

My heart breaks for her--not because I don't think she has the strength to deal with this news, because she does. She's one of the strongest women I've had the pleasure to know. My heart is breaking because she was able to feel like the other shoe wasn't going to drop, that she was home free, that she had a little more discomfort to endure, but she was done. Her life had been revolving around CANCER for so long, and since she received a clear scan (interpreted by her main doctor), she would be able to focus on what she wanted to focus on. And now this. The shoe doesn't just drop, it plummets.

And I won't be here to be a daily support for her, to do whatever I can to make her life just a little bit easier.

I will, however, be her friend.

Mom & Dad, sorry I didn't call today...we've been going like crazy fools to get the house done. I'm posting some pictures...not sure if I'll use them on a CD to give to our realtor, but I wanted to post some pictures to show what we've done. I'm really proud of my window trimming, and I think the doorway to the kitchen/dining room turned out really, really well. We still need to change out the electrical outlets & screw down the window sills...but for the most part, the house is pretty much done. Hurrah!!!

This is Patrick's last week at work, and it's not even a full week!!! His last day is Wednesday; I think the plan is for him to leave here on Sat., and stop by Knoxville for Father's Day weekend before heading to NC to begin the training for IDG on the 20th. I believe they said he'll be back in Greenville, SC on the 24th. Then of course, my last day is the 30th, and Patrick will come back to Finger, we'll load up a U-Haul & get outta Dodge.

I can't believe it's almost here!!!!

Well, enjoy the pictures, and be sure to heap praise upon me.

Love you all!!!!!

Why is it so hard?

I don't understand...our realtor SEEMS capable. She's been doing her job for some time now. We were really happy with her when we bought our house--which is why we went with her for our listing to sell. So why is it so hard to have good pictures taken of the house? And is it too much to ask that the pictures be labeled correctly? In other words...why does the picture that says "Back of House" really reflect the FRONT? And is it so hard to correctly spell "beautiful"? No, I'm not kidding....I'm attaching the link to where our house is for sale. Hopefully it won't stay this way for long: http://cisdata.net/bin/rea.php3?ZKEY=0&acnt=AR157842&action=HOME_SEARCH&hs_action=VIEW_DETAIL&listing_id=REAOAK5392717&yahoo=1

I've left a voicemail for our realtor saying I'm not happy with the quality of the photos (her digital camera looked like it weighed about 14lbs, and was circa 1990. If they even had digital cameras back then.); I'm not happy that the living room photo is 1) dark, and 2) has the exercise bike & ladder in the picture; I'm not happy that the cat food bowl is in the "eat in kitchen" photo; and I'm REALLY not happy that the picture she took of the bedroom shows the unmade bed...I certainly don't expect our realtor to make our bed...and yes, it should have been made, but all this was happening at the same time as the whole "Selling of the Camry" and we figured that our realtor has done this before, so she really should know what she's doing.

Also, the ad copy is horrid, and misspellings abound.

Our realtor just called me back saying that we can reshoot & drop off a CD (my suggestion...I figured that we'd take better photos anyway), and she'll have Kim (I guess she's the one without "spell check" on her computer) redo the ad copy. Pam seemed very amenable to any changes we want to make, so we'll see how the 2nd round goes.

Stay tuned.....

(Oh, and in case you can't follow the hyperlink above, it's MLS 110004.)

I feel powerful....

I love going to Lowe's, especially on a day like today. I'm having a good hair day, I think I'm looing pretty good in my pink argyle cardigan, and then I go marching into Lowe's, with my heels clicking on the concrete floors, and I KNOW what I'm looking for. I push my buggy with confidence, I look all these contractor-type guys in the eyes & smile at them. I know they probably look at me like, "Oh, isn't that cute. Some housewife running a couple of errands." Little do they know that I have my own toolbox. I have a mitre saw...and I know how to use it. I know that I'm looking for a 20" stainless steel braided hose, one end 3/8", the other end 1/2". I know what I'm looking for. And I know how to use it when I find it.

Help!

Okay, scroll down to the picture below. Can anyone tell me what the problem is??? See, when we moved in those long 5 years ago, we never had keys to our deadbolt locks. No biggie...it's keyed on one side (outside), so at night, we just turn the lever & we lock it. We don't worry about locking the deadbolt when we leave, so it's never been a big deal. Until now, when we're trying to sell the house, and someone may actually want a working deadbolt (or at least one that has a key). No problem. I go into Lowe's, purchase two deadbolts, and go home. I install the first one on the front door--goes in like a champ, no problems, couldn't have been easier. I was so proud of myself. The fact that it was so easy should have been the first clue.

I move to the back door. I put the deadbolt mechanism into the hole that the old one just came out of, and test out the deadbolt by holding up the keyed side & the lever-locking side into it, and the deadbolt isn't retracting. I take a close look. I put it in upside down. So I unscrew the 1 1/2 inch-long wood screws, pull the mechanism out--OH! It says "UP" on it! Duh! So I put it back in...the RIGHT way up. Screw in the 1 1/2" long wood screws. I line up the keyed side on the outside (ha! You thought I put it in backwards!!! Nope....), and the turn thingy on the inside. And it won't lock. It's stuck. Hmmmm.....so I take apart the keyed lock & lever thingy, unscrew the 1 1/2" long wood screws (by this time, my cordless screwdriver [thanks, Dad!!!] is really starting to complain. I've already changed the battery once....). Oh--I didn't turn & lock the mechanism, fully extending it, before I put it into the hole. Oops. I fully extend it, turning it & locking it like the directions (who needs to read directions???) say to do. I put the mechanism back in, screw in the 1 1/2"....you get the message. Still doesn't seem like it is working as smoothly as it should. Then I try to close the door. Nope--the deadbolt is sticking out too far. So I remove the entire thing, chisel out a bit from the hole to seat the mechanism further into the door. Put it all back together, have to switch to a manual screwdriver for a bit to give the cordless one a break. STILL WON'T WORK. I then switch tactics, and chisel out a bit on the door jamb so the deadbolt will fit in a bit more closely...I even hammer on the lock plate (or whatever the metal thing is that the deadbolt fits into on the door jamb) to make the inside part curve down a bit. It fits in, but the lock still isn't really turning. Then I figure out it's because the hole isn't big enough!!!

Well, that's easy enough to fix!!! I'll have this deadbolt installed in a jiffy!!! I go to our toolbox, pull out our hole screw thingy (fits into the end of a drill, makes a perfectly round hole...it's the greatest thing since sliced bread!) and make myself a nice, neat, even round hole. I was going to town...I saw smoke, I made the wood scream, the drill got so hot I nearly burned myself. Boy, was I on FIRE! (No, nothing actually caught fire. That may have been a blessing...at least then we could have collected insurance money.) I put the mechanism back in (with the 1 1/2" long woodscrews, whose heads by now are looking like they've been gnawed on my a hungry badger), attached the keyed part & the lever thingy on the correct sides, and, well....take a look & see what I did.

Any suggestions????

Can you see what the problem is? 

It's been a banner day....

Well, the house is for sale (list price: $82,500), and we'll have the MLS information on Thursday. While all this was going on, I also sold the Camry. $100, and the guy even took 3 old rims that were under the house (no, we don't know why they were there...). It was an adventure: the car had been sitting for about a year, wouldn't crank, so the guy came back with a truck and a strap. Couldn't get it out of the holes the 4 tires had made over the past year, so we all pushed it back. Then getting it up the driveway, the strap broke. Twice. Then trying to get it out into the road...well, let's just say that Mr. Cole had to bring out his logging chain & tractor. We stopped traffic and got the car on the road...then the guy's truck stalled. We pushed it backward & popped it into gear, then they drove off down the road, with the promise to bring Mr. Cole's chain back. Lord, I hope they made it home..... The good news, Dad, is this: the guy wanted to know how much I'd take for it WITHOUT the stereo...I said $100, and he gave me a $100 bill. And he took out the stereo. So if you want a Pioneer AM/FM/CD radio, it's yours.

Now we're going to eat pizza...Domino's just delivered. Life is good.

The house is for sale... 

It's finally coming together....

Well, we took the day off to work on house stuff. I have to say, it's coming together. I talked to our realtor today; she's coming by tomorrow at 6pm to take pictures and list our house. Our house will be FOR SALE tomorrow!!!! Of course, it rained a gulley-warsher today, so no outside work could be done...but I have to say--the house is looking good. We still need to trim windows, finish up the floor moulding & clean out the laundry room (I'm sure we'll find some treasures in there!), but if I take a step back & look--I can't see why anyone wouldn't want to buy this place. It's downright purty.

We cleaned up the magnets on the fridge--goodbye, "Dress Me Up Elvis" in your gold lame' suit.... goodbye naked "Dress Me Up David"....I don't have the heart to take down the Elvis clock yet. It's been in every kitchen I've had since I came to Tennessee & made my first pilgrimage to Graceland. It was by far the tackiest thing I found in the many shops peddling Elvis, and I knew I had to have it. So it is and ever shall be mine. But...I'm sure that I will wrap him carefully so that his swinging legs don't break, and put him in a safe place until we're in Greenville.

Most of the other pictures are down, too; Rachel--I'm keeping the black & white photos you did of Stonehenge & Warwick Castle (I think it was Warwick...they all started to blend after a while)--they're just too darn cool!!!

We had our hair cut today--we both really like Sheri, and she's been cutting my hair for about 3 years now....we really like her, and it was sad hugging her goodbye...but it was exciting, too--sort of hammered in that yes, we're really, finally leaving Jackson!

Anyway...I'll try to get some pictures posted in the next day of our house. We'd put "Designed to Sell" or "Sell This House!" to shame with what we've done!

Thanks for all the encouragement everybody has been giving us!!!!

(Mom & Dad--we've crossed 10 things off the list, and we just keep crossin' 'em off!)

Chauntelle hard at work. Since I am the one taking the photo, it is evident that I am currently NOT hard at work. 

It's Sunday Morning, and I Can't Sleep.

I try not to be anxious. I try not to worry. I've made a list, as had Patrick. (Only 42 things on his list, prioritized. I think he was slow at work on Friday.) We've crossed things off....we've painted door frames (2nd coat goes on today), touched up a bit in the kitchen. We ran out of paint & picked up some more. We took 3 pickup truck beds FULL of stuff to the storage unit. We ran out of boxes; I'll pick more up next week. We bought a new light fixture to replace the possessed one that we've got in our kitchen (it worked, then it didn't....took a look at it & looks like there was a short. Thought about just letting the new owners think it was a burned-out bulb, but I can't do that. I'm too honest. Thanks, Mom & Dad!)--that'll be up today. We've got new electrical outlets & cover plates ($.44 and $.24, respectively at WalMart! What a buy!) that we'll put in today. I'll clean up the cat vomit, courtesy of Smokey last night around 2am (probably one of the WORST noises to wake up to!), when Patrick wakes up....we'll steam clean the rest of the carpets maybe next week. So things are getting done. I just still can't sleep. I'm excited, don't get me wrong. I'm NOT worried about money, surprisingly. I've applied for 4-5 jobs in the past few days, and if none of those come through, I'll just go door-to-door until someone hires me.

I think this is just the new beginning that we've been waiting for, hoping for, praying for, for so long now (over 2 years!), and it's finally here, and I want it to be here NOW. Sort of like when you're a kid at Christmas, and you want that Barbie Dream House, the one with the escalator that you pull Barbie up via a string (that inevitably breaks, but that's okay, because she never really glided up the escalator...more of a jerky pull that usually caused her to fall over, sustaining massive head trauma. Maybe that's where my love of forensics began.). You're pretty sure that you've been good....you start going through a mental catalog of all the times you didn't clean your room, or gave a smart response, and wonder if Santa will hold THAT PARTICULAR transgression against you, keeping your Barbie Dream House from you because you were THAT BAD. And you can't sleep, because you KNOW that you want that Dream House so badly, you just know how great it would be....but you also know that you CAN'T PEEK, and you can't wake up until 5am, and the time just seems to go so slowly......

But somehow, you wake up, and it's 5am (or close enough anyway), and you run out into the living room, and there it is: in all it's pink plastic glory. Your dreams realized. You got the Barbie Dream House, the one with the escalator and everything.

(Thanks, Mom & Dad--that's still one of the best toys I ever received.)

Happy Birthday, Mee Ma!

I just want to say Happy Birthday to my Mee Ma--I wish I could be there to give her a hug. I know that she knows that I love her, but I do wish I could see her & Pee Pa more. They've always been so special to me, and they're two of the reasons I'm anxious to get to Greenville--we'll be able to fly down & see them more often. I could use more of her hugs...she's small, but packs one heck of a hug. When Mee Ma hugs you--you KNOW you've been hugged!!! She has a wonderful spirit, and I'm blessed to be her granddaughter.

I love you, Mee Ma. Happy Birthday!

Well, I've turned in my resignation. It was short & sweet...and felt pretty darn good. My last day is June 30. Patrick's last day is June 15, and he'll start in SC on June 20. We figured that there's no point in me coming down right away, since he'll be training at the Belmont, NC facility for the first little bit...but we hope that after the 4th of July holiday (also known as "Celebration of Patrick & Chauntelle") he'll be in Greenville training (or places close by). I'm really going to redouble my efforts to find a job...so far everything that I've put in for hasn't come back with ANYTHING (hello?? is there anybody in there?). So...Patrick will leave me the weekend of the 17th most likely, then will come back to Jackson the 4th of July weekend, and we'll pack as much stuff up in the moving van and head out of Dodge.

Now about the house...I'm going to work on it this weekend, painting, finishing up some trim work...I just feel like the only way I'm going to not feel overwhelmed is to just work on it so that I feel like I'm getting stuff accomplished. Otherwise I'll just curl up in a fetal position in the corner. And that won't be pretty. We need to get this house sold and quickly...and to do that, we need to have it all spiffy so we can put the "For Sale" sign in the yard. I need everyone to keep all fingers & toes crossed....

Woo Hoo!

Well, the news has come....Patrick has been offered a job with IDG. He'll be a site manager, with a decent salary--they're giving us $2000 for moving expenses (we're getting more details on that, too--are they just going to give us the money, or do we need to turn in receipts?), there are very attainable bonuses each month, and he gets $1000 for signing a Non-Competition Clause. We're very excited; he'll be a trainee at the Belmont, NC site until he gets trained...we're not sure how long that will be, and then the final work site will come later. IDG has been mentioning Florence, SC, which is not our first choice, but we're flexible. We've been looking at Florence on the Internet, and they have a Target, so I think we'll be okay.

We're just excited to be close to moving forward on our next adventure.

Not sure when the start date will be...Patrick will give a two-weeks' notice, and my boss said she'd like a months' notice.

Stay tuned for more news as we get it!