And Now, More Deep Thoughts.....

My thoughts have been really muddled these days, hence the lack of blogging, but I figured that today I'd throw a Random Thoughts post your way because that's just where I'm at.

*we only have one car.

*Zach leaves anywhere between 4 and 5 AM every day and doesn't come home until (the earliest) 7:30 PM....most days it's more like 8:30 or 9.

*ergo, he wins and gets the car each day.

*ergo, Aubrey and I are stuck at home EVERY DAY.

*I don't know anyone in this State, let alone Augusta

*Zach works 12 days in a row, then has 2 days off.....leaving no time for us to have found a church yet.

*did I mention that I'm home all day, every day and know no one?!?

*I've got a bad case of cabin fever.

*there is no bus system in our town....not even a cab company! Seriously, I checked.

*I live relatively close to a bunch of things, with in about 2 miles, but it's in the 100's every day and I about pass out just walking to the mailbox 100 feet away.

*yes, I'm complaining, so?!?

*we NEED a second car, but in no way can afford one.

*I'm stuck.

*I've thought about pulling Aubrey out of bed at 4 am to drive Zach, but that just feels plain old stupid. Seriously, how selfish would that be?!?

*we're still potty training and I think we will be for the next year. It's just not clicking.

*Ok, enough whining. On to nicer thoughts.....

*Aubrey asks to blow bubbles EVERY day.

*even if it means sweating up a storm in the sun while doing it! please note the first picture and her sweaty brow.

*If I had to be stuck in a house, this is the one I want to be stuck in! I still love it! *insert contented sigh* central air!

*This place is so open, airy and doesn't feel like a cave(as our last place did).

*I've been spot cleaning the carpets like a mad woman these days. I love having carpet in the house, but other peoples stains are a bit disturbing.

*I'm using the Target brand carpet cleaner spray(Up and Up brand) and it is working like a charm!

*I've even been getting some sewing done! Not my quilt yet, oops, but a little something for a certain English niece who's turning 2 soon:)

*I think I'm going to have to whip up the same thing for all my nieces....or at least something....ahhh another project to fill the time! Yes!

*and in closing, I miss my husband....but not as much as Aubrey misses her daddy :( poor poor us. (yes, I did let this post take a turn for the sad again. What are you going to do about it?!?)

You Asked For It.....

This is your fault, you asked for pictures of my place and now you have to look at this mess. Yup, all your fault. Here it goes....

My sewing room/Zach's office/guest room is up a set of stairs and is the only room on the second level(in a converted attic).

BAMMMM

Mess. BIG mess. For some reason I have zero motivation to deal with this room. As much as I want to get back to sewing, I can't bring myself to deal with it. I can only deal with little doses of sorting/unpacking/organizing while Aubrey is sleeping, or watching a show.

We've got the general layout down, and pretty much all of the unpacking. May not look like it, but we have made progress! I totally called the window for my desk, and I pretty much take up the whole office, save for one wall. I think it's fair seeing as to how he's only used the office once so far and is working 12+ hour days and will never been in there. See my logic?! I'm good.

There is TONS of storage off of this room(because it's in the attic), there are two doors(you can see one in the above picture, off to the left IN the closet) leading to huge storage spaces in the attic/sauna. We toyed around with the idea of putting our workout bike in there and going for the 5 minute sweat workout ;) Seriously, it's so hot that I'm not storing candles or anything that could remotely melt in there.

And here it is after a rare day of me sequestering myself in this room for many hours. Sorry for the dark pictures, couldn't be bothered to retake them! You know how long it takes to fold fabric all the same way?!? Seriously, I LOVE my fabric stash, but we needed some time apart after this particular day. Absence, after all, does make the heart grow fonder.

I still want to refinish a few pieces in here, they're all garage sale specials :) And I would love to find a cutting/ironing table too. It will go smack dab in the middle of the room, it bothers Zach that all the furniture lines the walls! Funny guy.

And here's his teeny tiny corner....oh, see? He doesn't even get a full wall! Muahahahaha!

{and for the record, those boxes are now unpacked.....everything is strewn on the floor, BUT they are unpacked!}

Moving From The Ghetto

So apparently it was appropriate that we leave our ghetto-ish neighborhood in a ghetto moving van. Not sure how this got past the "inspection", but it did and we ended up with this lovely number to move with.

Ghetto doesn't even begin to describe it. They weren't lying with the name, "Budget" was exactly what it was. It was filthy and smelled of urine, PERFECT for me to put all my lovely things in...awesome.

The day of our move happened to be on Father's Day and poor Zach spent it driving this beast.

But Aubrey was ALL over going in the truck with him every chance she could get. That beast could actually go pretty good and we, Marcy, Aubrey and I, were within several miles of Zach and Tom at all times. We even fell behind a few times due to our obsession with finding a South Caroline Starbucks mug...oops(and we didn't even find one, booo).

Look at them! Aren't they just precious?!?

Aubrey did awesome on the drive and would just play with her toys, read books, watch DVDs, have random dance parties with Marcy and I, and sleep! Yay for sleeping in the car!

This was our classy park job in NC, we were advised by Amy's husband Dom that we should back the truck in so that people couldn't get anything out even if they broke in...smart man. I parked the car in front for added protection....smart woman.

Once we go to Augusta, we started to unload while Marcy and Tom went and picked up our new, not so fresh(read SICK), helpers Dennis and Anna from the airport. Poor kids were exhausted from a red-eye flight and both were sick. Good times, but they were a huge help even with being sick.

Aubrey was obsessed with doing everything just as Zach was, someone loves her daddy :) Well, that was until we had the mini pool blown up for her and then she ditched us all and was in the backyard for the next three days straight....we have the dead grass to prove it, oops.

But look how happy she is! Totally worth the potential loss of our damage deposit ;)

Now our workers...errr guests have gone and it's just Aubrey and I. Zach started orientation on Monday and starts work on Friday:( The beginning of then end. But it's all good, he got a great pep talk from another Urology resident that went a little something like this, "It's hard and you won't ever be home. Your wife is going to hate you, your kids are going to hate you, your parents are going to hate you. Just be prepared."....See what I mean?! I feel better already. At least the guy was being real....

Where I've Been....

I've been a little MIA lately, but for good reason....at least I think so. Packing takes up A LOT of your time and between that, our border run and moving, well life was a little crazy!

As far as moves go, this one went SO smooth! I can't even begin to sing the praises of all the people that helped us, seriously, Zach and I kept saying we had our A-team out for this one. And we've moved, a lot, so we know what an A-team looks like and this folks, was it! Like I mentioned earlier in a blog post, Tom and Marcy(close lifelong bff's) came all the way from BC(that's in Canada---you know, where they like to riot if a hockey game doesn't go their way) to help us move. Any help they did! These two kids are crazy! When they set their mind to something, it's GOING to happen....and in a fast and efficient manner! They also road-tripped down to Georgia with us, amazing!

Amy and her husband Dom came and helped us pack the truck(Amy also was kind enough to help me pack up my dishes--and kitchen in general--so nicely that NOTHING was damaged in the move!)! They kept joking that they needed us to sign an affidavit so that they were not held responsible for anything getting wrecked in the move after they packed it :) SO not necessary because I think only one thing got the tiniest nick in it(and that was en-route) and seeing as to how I have all garage sale furniture, it officially adds character. And let's face it, I probably would have put that nick in there when I refinished the piece ;) Saved me a step! We ended up being packed up early(I know, when does that happen?!? See what I mean about A-team?!) so we decided to stay the night in a hotel about an hour and a half down the road to make the next days trip a lot easier.

Once we completed our two day drive(and that was two nights of ALL my belongings sitting in a truck in some parking lot with me praying all night that it doesn't get stolen) we arrived in Augusta and were greeted with the most offensive heat! Seriously, SO hot. And I'm told this is nothing yet....awesome. The day we rolled in, our other amazing friends met us here...also flying in all the way from BC. I know, our friends ROCK! So we got to unpacking and the truck was unloaded in (again) record time. So the boys went out and bought our dryer(that goes IN my house!!!) while we still had the truck to haul it, then returned the truck a day and a half EARLY! Serious work being done here people.

Now Marcy and Tom have left(boooooo) and Dennis and Anna are left to help(yay!) :) We're planning on finishing unloading rooms before they go and maybe get a room or two painted too...here's to hoping!

Anyway, I've rambled on long enough, time to get back to work! Thanks for bearing with my lack of blogging. Apparently moving takes up a whole bunch of time....who knew?!? ;)

A Little More Lyndhurst....

So today is really going to be about the pictures...who am I kidding?!? It always is. I'm LI-terally(said like Rob Lowe from Parks and Rec...in case you were wondering) in a maze of boxes and I feel like a little, itty bitty mouse trying to find it's cheese....or in my case, my Better Homes and Gardens magazine so I can switch my mailing address. I'm SO not going to find it :( It's nuts here right now and I'm going a little crazy. So I will join you in gazing at these lovely pictures from mine and Amy's(take that grammar police) trip to Lyndhurst. The grounds around the rose gardens were gorgeous, so we spent almost as much time wandering around them as we did in the gardens. Oh to be a family summering in the 1800's....must have been nice.....

Looking Through Rose Colored Glasses....

The last few weekends I've had a standing date with Amy on Sundays....not that we don't hang out every other chance we can get ;) But Sundays are just us, no kids, and it's blissful...even if it only lasts for an hour! This last weekend we went to the Rose Garden's in Lyndhurst(NY) to get our photography on, let's just say we had a blast (duh) and I could not be more in love with roses at the moment! There were over 400 different kinds there, seriously, that's a LOT of roses. I don't have time to do a lengthy blog post today, so I'll let the pictures do the talking for me....and, as usual, there are offensive amounts of them. Um, I may or my not have taken 422 pictures that day....aren't you glad that I whittled them down for you ;)

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Packing/moving update....the move happens next Sunday and as of today, I'm at the point where it's the last minute things that need to be packed. I am done "cooking" as of today and it's sandwiches and take out from here on out...not to mention paper plates, etc. Sorry environment, you're about to take a hit. I'm fixin' (yup, getting ready with my "Southern" talk) to pack up dishes, pots, etc.... and not buy any more groceries...we'll see how that goes! My BFF Marcy(ohp, and her husband Tom) get here on Wednesday and are coming with packing bells on! SO happy they'll be here for that transition...hopefully I'll sob/wail/scream/cry a little less because of it...here's to hoping. But before allllll that happens, we have to do the ever stressful border run to renew our visa's. If you could all keep us in your prayers, that would be GREATLY appreciated. We have everything in order, and it should go smooth (Lord willing), but you never know and it's going to be a LONG day. It's 6 hours (drive) to the border and we're planning to go there and back in a day....see what I mean about needing the prayer?!? And no, we never do anything the easy way. The Lord seems to love stretching us to the max in these cases.