Let It Snow

Thanks for everyone's good wishes. Baja will have surgery tomorrow. He will have to stay overnight, but we'll be able to get him home on Wednesday. I'm not sure what the recovery will be like, but it is a 10-12 week process of physical therapy and exercise.

It did finally snow on Saturday. It didn't stick around for very long, but we had a few inches of the white stuff piled up in the back yard. The dogs were facinated by it. They especially liked when I would toss a snowball and they would try and catch it and it would disinigrate. I wish Baja was feeling better so he could really play in it, because I think he would really enjoy it, but for now he seems content to lie in the snow, crunching on the ice.

Thanksgiving was very low-key. It was just the two of us, and after the travails we've been going through, it was nice just to relax in each other's company. We watched football, talked to our families by phone and had a pretty good dinner -- even if I didn't cook it.

Don and I finished furniture shopping on Saturday, so we should have a house full of stuff by 12/11. I'm not really sure when we're going to use it all -- I mean, how many dining room tables do you really need? -- but I guess this gives us a good excuse to have a house-warming party or something. I did get a lot done on Sunday, including organizing a few of my kitchen cabinets and unpacking almost all boxes. I think we're down to about 6 that need unpacking, plus 4 large ones that will get unpacked as soon as I get some storage bins. I know what's in those -- craft supplies -- so no rush. I just want to get rid of the boxes and the paper.

The next few weeks should be pretty easy. I do not have any Christmas shopping donw, but I plan on doing a lot of it via the internet this year, so I'm not that worried about it. Don will be on the road on 12/4, 12/18 and 1/1, but he'll be here for Christmas (the Vikings play on Christmas eve) and New Year's Eve. Christmas will probably be very low-key -- I'm not even sure if we'll do a tree or lights, which kinda bums me out, but there really isn't a reason to this year. Maybe next year when we're a bit more settled. Usually, I'm really into the holidays -- exterior lights, a decorated tree, baking, stockings -- not quite the whole 9 yards, but pretty close. I think I'll plan a nice Christmas dinner and that will be about it.

I do have the week between Christmas and New Year's off, so I'm looking forward to that. I think I could use 10 days off. I know I feel a bit more together after the last 5 off....

Asking For Good Thoughts

Once again, a roadblock.

About 30 minutes after the fence was finished and Don had let the dogs explore their new back yard, he called them in and noticed Baja would not put weight on his left rear leg. It didn't get better over night. I took him to the vet first thing this morning and had to leave him as the vet thinks he may have ruptured his ACL. Baja has to stay there to get sedated and have a radiograph to confirm the doctor's prognosis, but this would mean surgery, probably on Friday.

Although it's not life-threatening, it is pretty major surgery, so I am asking all of my readers to please think a good thought or two for Baja.

FINALLY!

The fence guys are to arrive within the next 26 minutes to finish the fence. I am oh-so-happy. You know how some parents use the television to baby sit their kids? Well, we kinda use the backyard as a dog sitter. When they are getting feisty or underfoot, we can let them outside to burn off some energy. If I need to vacuum or mop, they can go outside. To celebrate, I did order some wonderful toys from one of my favorite catalogs, Plant Dog.

I’m also excited about having the next 5 days off. We made real progress in the office over the weekend, hooking up the printer and putting together a file cabinet. I need to actually put files into the cabinet and put the books that are now in the closet onto the bookshelves. I’d also love to have one guest room ready to be used – meaning sheets need to be washed, the dresser needs to be cleaned off and the closet needs to be cleaned out. Also on my To Do list, getting the empty boxes out of the other guest room and organizing the laundry room. Don and I are going to look for living room furniture this weekend and, depending on the prices, some dining room pieces as well.

Once these things are done, I can actually attempt to tackle organizing the kitchen. When we first moved in, I just wanted to get things out of boxes and into cupboards. Now, after using the kitchen for the last few weeks, I realize that things are not in the most logical place. Even though this new house is bigger, it doesn’t seem to have the kitchen storage space that the old house had. The one cool thing is that there is a large lazy Susan in one of the lower cabinets. I have my pantry items in there right now, but I’m not sure if that’s the best place for them.

My reward for getting all of this done will be some shopping for myself. Nothing to over the top, but I do need a proper winter coat, some boots & shoes, tights and maybe an outfit or two. I also should get started on my Christmas shopping. Not too many people on my list, but I like to get things done early. I will do most of it on-line so I can have gifts wrapped and shipped. The other option is gift cards. I know some people don’t like to give these, but I love them. I got one for Crate & Barrel for my birthday and was able to get a waffle iron, a 3-tiered basket for holding produce, a dinnerware set, table linens and some candles. Some things I needed, some I just wanted, but it was nice not to have to “spend my money” on these things.

Of course, if you’re an American Express card holder, you can go here and buy a new BMW for a mere $5000.00. No, that’s not a typo. They are offering different gifts every day at greatly reduced prices and, on Monday, they are selling 9 BMW Roadsters (3 each at 12:00, 4:00 and 9:00 EST) for $5000.00. We don’t need another car, especially a convertible, but it’s awfully tempting...

Baby Steps

The fence posts have finally been sunk! There is a light at the end of the tunnel! They are predicting they will be finished on Tuesday, so I will come home to a fenced yard, and then have the next 5 days off to enjoy!

Also, part of my DirecTV problem has been solved – we are now getting local channels on all televisions – no more LA newscasts (‘bout time – I was tired of hearing the weather forecasts).

On the unpacking front, my towels and linens (OK, the linens will be done by tonight) are folded and put away in their new spot.

Don has today and tomorrow off, so he’s running errands like getting a snow blower and a shovel before it actually starts snowing here. Hey, we are NOT going to be some California rubes who wait until after the first snowfall to get these things. We’re going to meet at the bank after I get off this afternoon and get a joint checking account. Tomorrow, we’re going to work on getting the office put together and getting some of the crap I’ve shoved into the guest closets put in proper places. On Sunday, while he’s at work, I’m going to try and get at least one of the guest rooms organized and the other cleaned out (that’s been my “holding area” for empty boxes).

Maybe, just maybe, I will be able to use my time off over the Thanksgiving holiday to organize my kitchen.

Don and I even have a date set up on Saturday. He’s been here almost 3 full months and he has yet to go to Mall of America. So, we’re going to have dinner at Napa Valley Grille and then maybe catch a movie or do a little window shopping. I am starting to feel a little more settled, a little more organized and a little less frustrated. I want to celebrate that.

To take even more pressure off, I did order Thanksgiving Dinner from Whole Foods. I did make my famous Chex Mix. I made extra to send off to my family who will be celebrating in Las Vegas at my brother’s. A few days of being able to sleep in, not stress, etc. should get rid of these bags under my eyes. I may even see about scheduling a massage.

So, things are looking brighter – even if the clouds and rain have moved in. I have less than 3 hours at work and only two days of work next week. I just might get into the holiday spirit.

Mischievous Elves Making Trouble

The Moving Elves are still at it. Here’s a recap of what we’ve experienced so far since moving into our house:

• The closing almost didn’t happen as our house in LA wasn’t funded until end of business on Friday, and it was only because we had the greatest broker who insisted we get the keys.

• We were in the house all of 4 hours before the spring in the garage door snapped, and we had to get that replaced (to the tune of $250)

• The night we moved in, Don gets into a car accident (not his fault, but it was a hassle, plus he had to pay his deductible).

• DirecTV was scheduled to come the day after we moved in, however the move order was not properly placed and it was another week before they could come out.

• BTW, it’s still not working – the TiVo unit isn’t getting the second signal and we are still getting Los Angeles local channels on 2 of the TVs.

• The fence, which should have been started no later than last week, will not get started until this Thursday. We may be lucky to have it completed before Thanksgiving. Because of this, we have to keep the dogs in the master bath since they have had a few accidents on the living room’s white carpet.

• Not all the bedroom furniture could be delivered. The armoire was too big to go up the stairs and I’m still waiting to hear if the factory will deliver it in 2 pieces.

• To top it all off, the furniture delivery people backed into my mailbox and pretty much destroyed it. One more waste of time & money.

All of this is just adding to my sense of chaos. I am feeling like I never accomplish anything. I almost wept when I actually (mostly) finished organizing my closet and my dresser drawers. It just seems like getting this house in order is taking a lot longer. I’m not sure if it’s because Don has been so busy that I haven’t been able to really turn to him or if it’s because everything else is new (job, city). I just want to feel like this is my house. Maybe I need to burn some sage to rid myself of these negative vibes.

I have made progress. I no longer have to walk down the hallway to get my underwear. I know where all my cosmetics are. I actually prepared an entire meal in the kitchen. Those are only small victories – my two guestrooms are a mess, I have piles of towels in my 2nd bathroom, the office is a mess, and much, much more. I hate the fact I’m only looking at the negative, but I’m not in the most positive mood right now.

That’s one reason why I am avoiding the scale. I don’t want to rub salt in the wounds, so to speak. My eating has sucked, to say the least. Fast food, ice cream, skipping meals. I guess the good news is that my clothes don’t seem any tighter. I think I may just postpone any weigh ins until I feel a little more “normal.” Any setbacks in that area right now would really do a number on my head. And I so do not need that now.

Found: 1 Scale

In answer to one of the questions in the comments:

Yes, some of the boxes have been surprises. I found my scale in a box marked “Hallway.” I don’t ever remember weighing myself in the hallway.

I finally have my cell phone and home voice mail problems fixed. I am still working on ^@$&^! DirecTV. The first issue was that my TiVO unit wasn’t working right – not getting all the channels, getting Los Angeles local channels, an error message always on the screen. It finally started getting Minneapolis local channels on Wednesday. But there is still an error message on the screen, so we’re getting a new unit. However, the other two boxes are STILL getting Los Angeles local channels. It’s been very frustrating, and I am very close in canceling my service.

I decided to take the dogs to the kennel on Saturday since we’re getting the furniture sometime between 11:00 – 3:00. It’s not that expensive, and it will give me some peace of mind while I get the bedroom set up and some errands run. I am way overdue for a mani/pedi and could also use a run to the grocery store. I would really like to get everything done on Saturday so I can spend Sunday at home, with the dogs, just watching football and nesting.

The weather here is finally turning a little cooler. It was 27 degrees as I waited to cross the street into work at 7:00 this morning, but it is still 10 degrees warmer than normal. They are predicting upper 40s to low 50s this weekend with plenty of sunshine. The lows will be between 18 and 34. I’m just hoping no snow until we get the fence built.

One thing I would like to do this weekend is a little clothes shopping – either online or in the mall. I’m realizing that I am woefully lacking in proper winter wear and my thin knit cap and fancy scarf are going to do little to keep the cold wind out. I need a hat or two, winter gloves, a scarf and some tights – just to get started. I also don’t think I can continue to wear my loafer mules for much longer. I’ll actually have to invest in some boots. I hate to think that I may be one of those people who have to wear ugly shoes that don’t match my outfit into the office and then change into proper shoes once I get here. OK, I’m really not one for caring about if my shoes match my handbag, but it’s just one more thing to have to get used to.

Today will be a slow day at work I think. My boss is back from his overseas trip, but will be working from home so not much for me to do. I have one project to finish which should take about 5 minutes after I get the info I need. I did bring some more bits in from my old office to try and get my space here organized, but again that will take all of five minutes to unpack. There is also some lunch to attend from 11:30 – 1:00. The Senior VP is taking all the Administrative Assistants out to lunch as a Thank You. I feel a little like a fraud since I’ve been here a whopping 2 weeks. Oh, well. It will still take up 90 minutes of my day!

Problems, Barriers, Obstacles -- BEGONE!

Boy does moving suck rocks. Just in case none of you out there knew that already.

We still don’t have DirecTV set up. I’ve been getting the run around and have spent over 8 hours of my own time trying to fix their mess. They have to send out a new tech but there is no way I can take any time off of work, meaning, once again, Saturday is going to be a mad house at the Seeholzer residence. The fence is also not started. I called yesterday to check on the start date since it was supposed to be this week and they told me they are still waiting for paperwork and they probably won’t be out to sink the posts until next Thursday. Of course, they have to wait 5 days after they sink the posts to actually build the fence. Damn concrete.

Yesterday was not a stellar day for either Don or me. Don travels with the team to cover the away games. The Monday night game was in Indy and he didn’t get back to his hotel until after 2:00 AM. His flight was at 7:15 so he got no sleep. Once he landed, he had to take a detour to the mechanic’s to drop off his damaged car, pick up a rental and then come home for all of an hour before having to go to the team’s facility. I get home after a long day at work and discover that the dogs had decided to throw up and poop on the white carpet. Brilliant. After cleaning the best I could, I decided to call the fencing company and that’s when I really lost it.

I guess with everything going on I hadn’t had a chance to really express my emotions. Everything in my life has changed – my house, the distance from my friends & family, my job (same company, but different duties/expectations and a 5-figure decrease in salary), my city and state. To top it all off, my back hurt and I had a couple of pimples. That should have been my warning, but it’s about 10 days too early for TTOTM. I guess stress causes it to come early in my case. Oh, joy. Maybe it’s a good think I can’t find the scale.

Things should look up on Saturday when the bedroom furniture is delivered and I no longer have to go down the hall to a guest room for my underwear. That should also allow us to get some of the boxes out of the closet, the closet organized, etc. There are probably a dozen boxes that still need to be unpacked. Don is gone again this weekend (Green Bay) so I will be alone Sat. and Sun. night. At least after that it’s two home games and then no more back-to-back away games.

I know things are going to get easier. At this point, it’s just one box at a time, baby!

Getting There

Slowly but surely I am getting unpacked and somewhat organized. OK, not THAT organized, but that will come in time. I do have to say, I should have bought stock in Linens-n-Things, Target and Home Depot for as much money as I've been spending. I am happy to say that I ended up getting a great bedroom set at Wicks during their sale this weekend -- half as much as the set I was looking at from Ethan Allen. It's a king bed (headboard & footboard), low dresser, high dresser, armoire, mirror and two nightstands. Our previous bedroom was barely big enough for a queen bed, 2 nightstands and a dresser. Also, outfitting 2 1/2 baths has been tough. My poor mom didn't even have a proper bath mat. Of course, the living room and dining room remain empty for the time being, save my china hutch and wine fridge.

Not to say that I'm a total alcoholic, but having to buy liquor, including wine and beer, at a liquor store is still weird. Plus, they are closed on Sundays, so if you want anything but 3.2 beer (they don't have this in Calif. -- the only reason I know about it is because Don has talked about being 18 and legally drinking it in Cleveland), you have to drive an hour to Wisconsin. Also, what I call knee-hi's (nylons that go to your knee) are called "cheaters" here. One other chink is that the state sends your plates to the dealer where you bought your car and they put them on. In California, they send you the plates (about 6 months later) and you put them on. It's taking some getting used to but I'm dealing with it. The hard part is just figuring out where everything is and the easist way to get from one place to the other. Plus, everything is so spread out -- I drove close to 50 miles yesterday just running errands -- and I went to all the closest places. For instance, the nearest grocery store is about 4 miles away.

I don't want to get caught in the whole, "Well, back home they used to do it this way...." but it's hard not to, at least right now.

For now, anyway, because DirecTV has messed up my move order, we're still getting Los Angeles local channels, which can be good and bad. I get the LA local news plus I was able to watch a good part of the USC game on Saturday. The bad part is we don't get local MN channels, so no traffic and weather updates, and the prime time shows I usually watch come on California time so a show I usually watch at 8:00 PM I can't see until 10:00 local time. Thank goodness for TiVO.

Don is on the road in Indy for the Monday night game. Because he took over the job from someone who had already made travel reservations, Don is pretty much stuck with what's been booked, meaning he had to leave on Saturday night and won't be back until Tuesday morning. I spent the weekend unpacking more boxes and just trying to get things somewhat back to normal. My closet is a mess (I had to unpack a box to find the sweater I wanted this morning), but the bedroom furniture should be here on Saturday and I can unload some of those boxes into the new dressers. My scale is still missing, so I haven't weighed since sometime in Sept. Not sure if I really miss that.

Now that DSL is hooked up, I am going to have to spend some serious time reading everyone's blogs and responding to some of your kind comments. I've been periodically checking up on you all, but with dial up it was hard to comment when I wanted.

The hounds are getting restless -- must be time for their 4:30 bathroom break. I will be so glad when the fence is finally up and we can let them out unleashed. They have to go out at all times on leashes because of the lack of fencing here. I know it's getting frustrating for them and it's tough on us too. I did get up early this morning and took them for a 1-mile walk (yes, both dogs, by myself -- a workout on its own) and will probably do the same tomorrow just to get them some sort of exercise. We also need to find an off-leash park for them to romp with other 4-legged chums.

As soon as I get fully hooked up, I will post new photos of the house, in spite of the mess -- I promise.

Making Progress

We’re making progress. I had Don move some of the boxes down into the basement to give us some room to maneuver. Although we have more rooms, space and storage, it’s not in the same place and so I need to do some rearranging of things we’ve already unpacked. I am also the type that needs to live in a space for awhile before putting things away permanently, especially in the kitchen and bathrooms. I have made more runs to Target and Linens-n-Things than I care to count. And I still haven’t decided on a bedroom set.

The good news is we should have DSL and DirecTV (with TiVo) set up by this weekend which means no more dial up and no more playing with rabbit ears. I’m really hoping we’re much more settled by Thanksgiving. I have three days off that week and will make sure things are put away and organized. I don’t think I am going to cook for the holiday though. I’ve cooked for the last 4 years and with everything so new and no family to celebrate with, I think I’ll just get a pre-cooked meal from one of the stores and call it a day. Don has to work anyway, and I don’t really want to spend several hours in the kitchen. We’ll make up for it next year.

Work is going well. I like the traffic much better on my normal schedule of 7:00 AM – 3:30 PM. My boss is gone all of next week so I may actually see about cutting out a little early on Monday and Tuesday so I can get things done like my car plates, homesteading our property (not sure why we need to do this other than it’s supposed to save us in taxes), getting the fence built, etc. The office and people are really nice. I’m still groping my way around and have entered a conference room instead of the bathroom twice. On my way home the other night, I actually took the wrong freeway and ended up in a neighboring city. I have yet to bring my lunch but will probably do that starting next week. I haven’t actually been cooking at home, so that’s part of the reason, but I will be cooking up some chicken tonight with leftover rice and some veggies.

The weather hasn’t really been a factor yet. They are forecasting a mix of rain and snow next week, so I will have to go through my closets to see what I have and what I need to make it through this winter. I am going to be a wuss and apply for parking in the building, even if it is $70.00 more a month than a lot 2 blocks away. Maybe it will be different come spring, but I need some acclimation time to thicken my blood.

We were disappointed in the election results. I am so worried about the Supreme Court, civil rights, the economy. I don’t think Bush will do the right thing, and these could be very long years. It just amazed me how split this country is – and what their concerns are. Despite the results, I was happy to see all the participation rates. Minnesota had 77% of eligible voters vote, which was the highest in the country. Of course, I’d like to know what the other 23% were thinking.

Off to actually get some work done. I have 2 meetings and a lunch today and that will take me to 4:00 or so today. I was hoping to get out at 3:30 but I don’t want to push it my first week.

Do You Know Where My Briefcase Is?

That's one of the many drawbacks of moving and unpacking -- I can't find anything!

After some drama at the closing on Friday (our LA house was supposed to close on Thurs. so we could close on Fri. at 11:30 AM but it wasn't going to happen until 6:00 on Friday and we were being told we couldn't move in until Monday or Tuesday, but some pushing and some tears got us in on Friday) we met the truck. The movers finished unloading us at 5:30 PM (right before a major squall) and just minutes before Don arrived with the dogs. My mom helped unpack and we have most of the boxes unloaded but hardly anything organized. It's also going to take about 2 weeks to get the fence done, which means we have to take the dogs out on leashes.

Today was my first day on the job. It was spent mostly going through orientation and getting supplies at my desk. It's going to be hectic for a few weeks, especially with Don traveling this week and next to away games, so I just have to be patient. We need to work on getting DSL set up tomorrow, DirecTV will be here Sat. to get us hooked up (I had to get rabbit ears so I can at least follow the election tomorrow night), we are having our glass table tops uncrated tomorrow, and our garbage cans will be delivered on Wed. Our dining room is filled with huge plastic bags filled with the packing papers, so it seems like things are much more cramped and unorganized than they really are.

We are still trying to figure out what we can do with the dogs during the day until we get the fence and doggie door put in. We left them in the laundry room today -- no accidents but Jager decided to munch on the corner of her bed. I'm hesitant to let them have the run of downstairs in case there is an accident but we can't let them in the basement (it's unfinished and I can just see them trying to taste the insulation). The real test is going to be next Monday and Tuesday since Don will be on the road and I have to be at work at 7:00 AM, meaning I have to leave at 6:30 AM. That would be about 10 hours and I don't think they could hold it that long. The other option is the unheated garage -- it's bigger than the laundry room and I can invest in a tray of sod for their bathroom business. Such decisions....

I'm acclimating pretty well. There are some oddities -- we have to bag our own groceries at the store. You can't buy liquor at the grocery store -- you actually have to go to a liquor store. Recycleables are only picked up every other week. I've never had to use a humidifier before. Prime time TV starts at 7:00 PM (I've missed a few shows because I'm used to their California start time) and Letterman & Leno come on early. I'm sure I'll get used to these things -- eventually.

Well, off to work on getting the bathrooms in order. Then, maybe I'll make an effort to find my briefcase.