One Year

It is so strange that a year ago this week the La Vida Family was making its trek from Arizona to North Carolina on the most recent of cross country moves.

Remember the guitar playing packing man? Or what I chose to assert my control over  had to do   immediately upon arrival?

Good times.

Its funny how looking back can bring memories in which the tough parts are shaded so only the happiest parts shine through.

I was looking through the archives trying to figure out what day exactly we had landed here in God's Country, and I was thinking about all the expectations I had upon my arrival.

I had plans.

Big plans.

I thought for sure I would get here and slide-on into life as it had been before.

Only things had changed.

Instead of teaching music three mornings a week. I was teaching full time in my dining-room-turned-school-house.

Instead of having time for the gym, and throwing lunches with beautifully set tables and sewing, or baking, and blogging, I was always playing catch-up. Never being able to get one step ahead.

I didn't feel like myself.

I was fighting against all that was different and new, but until recently I hadn't realized it.

Back in the day, when The Mister and I left for our first duty station 13 years ago, I was given a great piece of advice from a woman I greatly admired. She said, "Kellie, it takes a full year to get settled when you move somewhere new."

I have kept that little bit of advice in my pocket each time we have moved.

Every time I got lost. Every time I had to find a new doctor. Every time I had to memorize a new grocery store. Or meet a new friend. Or feel like I had no order in my life, I would remember that a year from now, all this crazy newness will feel like order again.


I didn't expect that to happen when I moved back to North Carolina. After all I was moving right back to the same neighborhood. The same street. The same house.

It should have been the same!

But it wasn't.

And now, sitting one year away, I'm glad.

Its different, but its so much better than what my limited vision could see.

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes....

One year.

Fully lived, one blessed change at a time, and I lived to tell about it.

Life is good.

Greetings from North Carolina!

Hello! Hello!

How are y'all doin?

We are up to our eyeballs in unpacking and humidity and green, green landscape. But we are finally here.

The last time I posted we were in Tennessee and were about to visit Dollywood.  We went and had a lovely time, and even Kona the Wondermutt was able to have some fun at Doggywood, the canine resort for pets who like to travel.

Yes. Our dog stayed at the on site dog hotel in Dollywood. Darril and Marie, please stop laughing. You should take Truck (the Dog) sometime. He would love it, I'm sure.

Truth be told, the day away from our mutt was much needed. Seven nights in hotel rooms with that cantankerous canine was "fun" (kind of like a root canal), but everybody needs a break now and then. She did actually do a good job traveling, and she only threw up once. I won't go on about my relationship with my four legged friend because when I write about her I get hate mail. 

And I don't like hate mail.

Have a mentioned we are in NC???

I have a ton of pictures. But haven't yet had the chance to sit down, what with all the unpacking, and starting up school today, but I just wanted to to tell you that I am alive, and my North Carolinian accent is coming back.  Just this morning I told The Mister I was "fixin' to go to the store, and did he want p'tatahs for suppah? Cuz I might could get some." 

Oh I kid!  Because, honestly, I think the North Carolinian accent is really the sweetest accent there is. It truly melts my heart. 

And y'all, I had forgotten how nice the people are here. Yesterday when I went to the grocery to pick up a few quick items, the lady at the check out counter greeted me with a "Are ya ready sweetpea?!"

OH! AND THE MOST IMPORTANT THING OF ALL!!!!

You might need to be sitting down for this...they built a new Starbucks just 4.74 miles from my front door. Just 4.74 miles!!

And it's a drive thru!

I drove by it on Saturday, but showed great self control and didn't go in. I decided to wait until Sunday so I could take The Mister by for a look-see. 

When I showed it to him, his exact words were: You better start saving your money. Your gonna need it. 

And then he bought me a grande, skim, Cinnamon Dolce latte. Cuz he's good about keepin' me in my habits. 

Anyway, I just wanted to say Hello! I am looking forward to peeking in on all you bloggers out there soon!

La Vida Dulce!

Greetings From Nashville TN

Good Morning!

It's a fine morning here in Nashville. The sky is overcast and the air is cool, but nothing could dampen our spirits today!

Our long drives are over, and since we found out that our stuff won't be delivered until Friday (instead of tomorrow) we are going to take a little detour through the Smoky Mountains and take the kids to Dollywood!

I have been wanting to go there for a long time, so this little side trip is as much for me as it is for them.

Today we will drive 3 hours to Pigeon Forge and then on Thursday we will drive the short 4 (ish) hours to NC

On a different note, can I tell you how fun it has been to see all your encouraging comments at the end of each day?! Y'all are so fun and it's like you're traveling with me!

While we have enjoyed the beautiful scenery, we have also had a dose of reality. There is nothing more sobering than seeing a caravan of eight or more ambulance and utility trucks, headed to Louisiana and the Gulf states; to prepare for the next round of hurricane. It reminded us to pray for those who are in harms way.

Last thing, when we pulled into Nashville last night the sunset was incredible! It was to our back so when I looked in the rear view mirror it was spectacular! I wish I could have taken a picture!

Oh! And no matter how many times we cross the Mississippi River, it is always incredible. Especially with the city of Memphis on the other side!

OK, it's getting to be time to load up and get going. I pray that y'all are doing well!

La Vida Dulce!

Headed East

By the time this posts, we should be headed toward New Mexico.

I had so much in my head as to what I would write about this last day as a resident of this warm, desert town. I held in the floodgates that I won't be opened until I have the luxury of time on my own. Most likely that time will come on that first five minutes on the road, when the morning is still dark and the stars can be my cover.

I don't often like to cry in front of others when the grief is my own.

And yet, I know this isn't a goodbye forever. This truly is a "see you soon", since plans for a summer trip are already in the works.

I also look forward with great anticipation to our North Carolina home. It's smells, it's seasons, it's beautiful, soothing accent. I look forward to the greenery, and of course, above all things, seeing the friends we haven't seen face to face in 18 months.

We have much to look forward to. Much to be happy about!

I may be taking a blogging break while we are on the road. But then again, maybe not. We'll see...

I did want to tell you this funny story...

Upon packing our traveling bags I gave the kids list of what to pack, with strict instructions to pack one pair of tennis shoes and one pair of flip-flops. They weren't to pack anything extra, just what was on the list.

Last night as I was rechecking bags (we were at my mom's house for the night) and getting things ready to load in the car, I noticed that The Girl not only managed to pack flip-flops and tennis shoes, but stuffed in the bottom of the bag, were also a pair of brown sandals, sparkly pink slip on sandals and a sparkly handbag. She just couldn't be limited to two pairs of shoes, and she "always uses the sparkly handbag when she uses the sparkly shoes".

You know, that girl is a lot like her mother. I couldn't stick to my own list either...

All right, time to sign off on my last blog post west of the Mississippi...

To my Arizonian peeps: I miss you already!

"Say good things about me, Cuz I've gone to Carolina..."-James Taylor


La Vida Dulce

Guitar Playing Packing Man

When Willie came in on Tuesday he asked if we had anything listed on our High Value Inventory. I told him that the only thing that I had was my china and crystal stemware and my classical guitar. He asked to see where these items were while he off handed said, " I play a little classical guitar."

I walked him into the bedroom where I keep my guitar in it's case. The poor thing was badly out of tune since I haven't really picked it up in several months. 

I pulled the guitar out and handed it to him. He admired it by looking inside it, commented about it's make and then cradled it up into his right hand to play a chord with his left.

And suddenly it was very obvious that this man was an artist.

I play a little classical guitar: meaning I know a few chords and can get by.

Willie plays a little classical guitar: meaning he plays all different types of guitar. Very well, I might add. 

He only played a few chords on Tuesday before he put it down. So I blurted out "I'll buy you a sandwich this afternoon if you play a little more." Because I am not above bribery.

The truth is we always feed our packers and make sure they have plenty of water and Gatorade to drink. Of course, Willie didn't now this. ;)

So I spent the whole day wanting to ask him if he really would play something for me, but he left and there really wasn't a good part of he day to ask.

But yesterday, I subtly made it known that I did not want that guitar packed until he played, and finally I was rewarded; everything was packed and he played my guitar before packing her up. 

He played for less than ten minutes. From show tunes to a lovely Latin Samba. Even a little bit of the blues. 

But he started with the video below. I don't know how he knew that this was one of my favorite songs growing up, but it was the perfect piece to play.

The back ground noise is the other packers taping up boxes. And the quality of the speakers on my camera make this sound so much less than what it was.

La Vida Dulce!

Burning Rubber

Actually, I am not burning rubber, but the packers who are packing up all nearly finished, and it's just now past 10am. By far, the quickest pack job we've had by far.

Of course when we moved here we got rid of half of what we owned because our house was 500 sq ft. smaller. Why we did that, I'm not sure, especially since we ended up with two completely empty rooms.

I must have been having one of my "cleaning fits".

Anyway, I am not actually at my house right now, but am waiting for the fine people at Discount Tires to replace my two front tires.

Uh, hello? 316 dollars didn't feel so discount, but what's a girl to do? And they aren't burning rubber. And I hate the smell of tires. But I'll stop complaining now.

I am hoping that they will hurry because I have to get home to say goodbye to Willie, our head packer. I hope to blog about him tomorrow because he is a neat guy in his fifties, with amazing talent.

So, that's today's news at the La Vida Household!

I hope you are having a fine Wednesday!

(Can you believe it's September? I went to the Starbucks this morning and they had their Pumpkin Latte posters all over the place! Let the fall begin!)

A very random "packing" post.

So, it's been a bit of a slow day until this very moment. 

This morning one packer showed up, and he packed up my kitchen and left. He just walked back in with two other guys, who are now packing the contents of my underwear drawer. 

Whoever said childbirth destroys modesty had not been professionally moved six times in 13 years.  

Just kidding!

I am grateful to have these guys packing my stuff. The alternative would be me having to pack my stuff and that would totally vaccuum like a Hoover. I am trying to keep from saying that word I really dislike, but say all the time, kwim?

Speaking of kwim, that's text speak for "know what I mean", and I picked it up from Darcie. My only problem is that I have caught myself wanting to ask people, in real conversations if they kwim.

If I am ever speaking with you face-to-face, and I say kwim to you, please smack me. And then remind me that I am 35 years old and should attempt to speak like one.

AUUGHHH!!  I have on the 80's station on the radio and Kenny Rogers is singing, You picked a fine time to leave me Lucille.

Which reminds me of a joke I used to tell in the fifth grade. I don't remember the joke, but the punch line was you picked a fine time to leave me loose wheel. 

I am sure you are just dying with laughter at that amazing joke. 

I am also positive that you are now singing that Kenny Rogers hit. My personal favorite was Islands in the Stream, because I loved Dolly Parton. 

All right, I am signing off now because people keep wandering into the kitchen and it makes me nervous for some reason!

(An almost boxed up) La Vida Dulce!

The Fruits of My Labor!

Thanks so much for leaving me comments in the last post! It's fun to hear how y'all work the last minute grocery runs! 

I know I haven't posted in three days. I have been a little busy, although I am never really too busy for y'all. However, The Mister has been home and been working and I never like to look like a slacker when he is home.  

So, the last time I posted I was cleaning out the pantry and I didn't want to miss this opportunity to show you the 'after' photo of my pantry.  Of course I didn't show you the before photo of the pantry because I don't like to air my dirty laundry, so to speak.

Oh, what am I talking about? I have shown my dirty laundry many, many times here on this blog! But I chickened out on the 'before' shots of the pantry.  I do have some standards.

OK, not really, but the pantry was pretty bad.

I also cleaned out my car and both refrigerators, which is why you haven't heard from me in three days. It took me three hours a piece to clean out those fridges (is that a word?)! There is nothing worse than a fridge that has been unplugged and closed up for over a week but hasn't been completely scrubbed out. But let's not talk about such awful things...

Let's talk about happy things! Like a good hair cut and the ability to sport two eyebrows.

Meet the gals that I talk about every 5 weeks. The gals who help me cover those ever-greying greys' and help me to maintain healthy, moisturized skin. 

Aging: it ain't for sissy's.  These gals assist me in aging gracefully:

Melissa is on your left in the grey sweater, and Elizabeth is on your right in the floral dress.

Melissa is not only my hair stylist/colorist extraordinaire, she is also married to my "baby" brother.  If I was independently wealthy I would charter a private jet once a month and fly Melissa to whatever city I was living in next. There is nothing worse than finding the gal who gives you the perfect hair cut every. single. time. And having her live in a different city.  Of course the great thing is that she married into the family, so I know that I can always find her. 

I am non-to-proud of the fact that my biggest concern is finding a new stylist/colorist who understands my hair when we get into our new, yet old, dwelling place.  That is high on my list of priorities, however, the new stylist has a lot to live up to. I may have to lower my standards.

It's all Melissa's fault that I met Elizabeth. Elizabeth is an aesthetist. She gives a fabulous facial. Mel gave me a gift certificate a year ago and I have been hooked ever since. I treat myself to a facial about every twelve weeks or so. Elizabeth is great at what she does, but is only made better because of her sweet heart. I will certainly be seeing Elizabeth on my next visit to the desert. 

Listen, if you are a mom of young children, or have a stressful job, or need some way to spend some time to just feel a little pampered, go out and get a facial. It's an amazing hour of sweet smelling lotions and creams, hot towels and a little bit of massage on the shoulders, arms and back. Husbands (all three of you who read this blog), this is a great idea for a gift for your wives.
There is this soft bed, and comfy sheets and candles and soft music.  It's truly an hour of time where you can relax and enjoy an hour of time to yourself.  

As a matter of fact, I had my facial before my hair and eyebrow intervention, and since it was my "last time", Elizabeth took extra time during the massage and threw in a "peel" (I have no idea what that is and it scared me, but didn't hurt at all!). When I walked out of Elizabeth's room to Melissa's chair I felt very, very relaxed. I could barely talk.  

So, now after I have talked about my day of beauty, you probably don't feel one bit sorry for me that I have been cleaning and packing and working very hard.

And you shouldn't. My life is very full, and I am very spoiled. I have not ONE THING to complain about. 

Not one thing.

Happy Labor Day!

La Vida Dulce

Coffee and Conversation

Last night Stephanie J and I met to have a coffee and tea together. 

I met Stephanie through ladies bible study at the church we attended.  

One of the things about living in a military town is that I have had the opportunity to meet other military wives. Steph is one of them, and her family moved here around the same time we did.

We met at the local coffee shop where, unbeknownst to us, a man was scheduled to talk about how he had travelled around the world twice and wrote a book about it.  As we began to settle into our table to chat, this man stood up and started talking to the crowd that gathered in the shop.  I tried to talk quietly over what he was saying, but in the end we picked up our stuff and found chairs outside.

We talked of everything from family to finances, and many things in between. I was sad to hear the lock turn on the coffee shop, a warning that our evening was coming to an end.

Living a nomadic military life is one that is sometimes difficult. When you move from place to place it's hard; hard on the family who is moving, and hard for those who get left behind. 

But saying goodbye to Stephanie was different, because she has done this before. As an often moving, husband supporting, military wife, she has walked in my shoes. When we said goodbye, I hugged her twice, because I know she was thinking the same things as myself: Saying goodbye is the hardest part of military life.  

As I drove home I was thinking about that man who had written a book because he had travelled the world (twice). He was telling a room full of people how he had "discussed life with Masai tribesman, drank tea with Beijing rickshaw drivers, learned Buddhism from a monk in the Indian Himilayas."  How great it is that he was able to talk with people around the world, and come home to write a book. But how much better is it that God saw to it to remove me from my own comfort zone 13 years ago and send me around the country to discuss life with real women, to drink coffee with sweet gals, and learn from each one through laughter and tears; and then, at the end of the day I get to go home knowing that these women are my friends.

There is not enough paper in the world to write a book...His life may have been exciting, but it couldn't possibly be as rich as mine.

This morning I am going to visit two gals whom I love just as much as the friends I write about on this blog (both this week and in the past!): my hair stylist, Melissa, and my anesthetist (she gives me facials), Elizabeth. 

Today I get my last beauty treatment in the desert and I am REALLY looking forward to it.

I could use some prayer though...last night while talking to Stephanie I could feel my body starting to ache like I was trying to catch something. This morning I don't feel any better. This is not a good time for me to be getting sick!  If you are of the praying type, please send one up for me!

La Vida Dulce!

PS: If you haven't clicked over yet, Stephanie also has a blog! Would you go over and tell her hello!

Surprise!

These are the Gym Rats.  

For the last 18 months I have worked out three mornings a week with (starting from your left) K, Kn, and P.  

They are a really fun group of gals and just happen to live in my neighborhood. The Gym isn't really close to us, so I was shocked to find out that we all live within a quarter mile of each other.

K is really someone who brings people together. As a matter of fact I remember the day she came up to me in the gym and gave me a compliment about my legs.  Then she invited me to lunch and the rest is history. 

I'm sort of like a cat: stroke my ego and feed me some lunch, and, for all intents and purposes, your stuck with me.

K and her family are planning to visit NC in the spring and she asked if we might get the to families together so that our husbands could actually meet. What I didn't know is that she had planned a surprise Good Bye party/bbq Sunday evening. It was so fun!

The picture below best describes how things look when we are at the gym: Laughing! These gals have made working out F.U.N!  

It's Raining, It's Pouring, Why Aren't I Snoring?

It's 5:30 am on Tuesday morning and I was just about to walk out the door to meet Mrs Moofish for a walk. 

But she just called, and it's raining outside. It's a true, honest to goodness rain that is slow and steady. And quiet.

Very quiet. 

So quiet that I have been up for the last half hour, had my first cup of coffee, got dressed, put my contacts in, and sat down to read email to wake up, all while it was raining outside and I didn't even know it!

There is no chance of going back to bed, so this is the perfect time to blog!

Before I tell you about my dinner with girlfriends on Saturday night, I want to tell you about a dream I had...

This should probably be a post all by itself, entitled, "How You Know When The Blog Has Taken Over Your Life."

I had a dream that I had put up a site meter on my bedroom. I was excited to tell The Mister that in one day we had had 84 visits to our bedroom!

When I woke up and told The Mister about my funny dream, he said in his best Soup Nazi voice "No blogging for you, seven days!" 

I still giggle about that crazy dream!

OK. About Saturday night....

These are gals I have known for over twenty years. J is in the black, T is in the pink, and L is in the blue. We were all in church choir together.

It all started out back in the day (before I could drive, when L had preschool aged children). L is THE piano player extraordinaire and she happened to play the piano at the church I grew up in. For many years I went to Thursday night choir practice and she was always at the piano.

Our relationship was born of necessity: She needed a babysitter and I need a good piano player to help prepare for auditions. Along the way we became good friends.

Her two oldest are in college now (yes, I am that old) and she is still playing piano.

T is a newlywed and this was our first dinner in the new home she shares with her hubby. She made some killer Cheesy Mostaccoli and it was fun to be in her home, and see her doing things that married ladies do! Way back in the day T was also my boss, my choir buddy, and when I was in college and had to do a dramatic monologue, she listened to me practice from Antigone about a thousand times! 

J is a single mom to two boys. She entered into single parenting intentionally when her heart was moved to adoption. Sometimes things aren't easy for her, as motherhood often goes, but she is an exceptional mother.  

J and I, both sopranos, sat together at practice. Which wasn't always a good thing, because she enjoys a good laugh. We would often find ourselves in a fit of giggling. Even on Saturday night I said something that caught her funny bone and she giggled throughout the evening.

These gals are great because often long bits of time will pass without any communication, but when we do get together it is like no time has passed at all...kids grow, people marry, one of us keeps moving from place to place, but our friendship is consistent!

J, T and L, I had a great time on Saturday! 

xoxox

La Vida Dulce!

The Ladies Who Lunch...uh, Dinner?

This weekend was really fun. I have had the opportunity to spend time with people I care about; with whom I have enjoyed friendship.  

This week, I will be posting about these gals. 

Today we start with Darcie.

We went to dinner together on Friday night and checked out a new restaurant in our little neighborhood. The food was good, but the best part of evening was when we both got carded! After dinner, we weren't quite ready to go home yet, so we drove over a coffee shop that had live music playing in the parking lot. We were both quite full from our dinner, and hadn't any desire for dessert or hot beverages at eight in the evening so we rolled down the windows of her car and talked in the parking lot, while listening to the music in the background. It was a very happy evening.

I have not known Darcie very long, and yet I feel very comfortable with her. Maybe it's because we are like minded in many ways. Maybe it's because we share a birthday (although she's a spring chick!). Or maybe it's because when it comes to "girls night," we aren't high maintenance; whatever it is, I am so glad that this crazy little blog was able to bring friendship in real and tangible way!

La Vida Dulce!

Confessions of a Career Relocater

Is that a word: Relocater?

Oh well, you know what I mean.

In anticipation of The Movers coming and packing up all our stuff I have been systematically cleaning out and organizing.  

And for someone who doesn't have a lot stuff, we sure have a lot of stuff!

I decided to tackle my bedroom closet this week.  You won't believe what I found.

There were six boxes I never unpacked after our move 17 months ago!

Out of those six boxes, three had had never been opened from the TX to NC move over three years ago. I actually had to get a box cutter to open the packaging tape!

Yesterday, and this morning, I have opened, unpacked, and thrown away many things from those boxes. Obviously, when you can go three (+) years without opening boxes, chances are you don't need what's inside. Do you think?

My closet was so unorganized that it bordered on criminal. 

The nice thing is that it feels good to get rid of things that I didn't even know I had!

;)

What's next on the list?  My Desk. The Boy's room and The Car. After that it's the refrigerators and the pantry. The Girls Room was done this weekend.

After that I am going to sit down and gaze upon the organization that moving produces, because I seriously hope this will be the last time I see it.

La Vida Dulce!

Movin' on Up, To The East Side...

...Of the Country.

In the last few months I have hinted around about big things happening in the La Vida Dulce household. 

The Mister and I have been praying over some big decisions that we needed to make since before the New Year. 

I have been wanting to write about them, but because of the sensitive nature of my husbands job, (and the fact that he works for an often slow moving government: and all the military wives said "Amen!") I didn't want to bring y'all in the know until everything was completely official.

If you are new to La Vida Dulce, then you may not know that we are a military family who has moved all across the southern part of the country. Since 1996 we have moved five times. 

In less than seven short weeks, we will move again.

Sixteen months ago we jumped on an opportunity to move to The Desert Town where both The Mister and I had been raised.  We were excited to get back, but we were also very sad to leave our home in North Carolina. 

We knew that this is where we needed to be, and yet were very confused when our house in NC wouldn't sell. We prayed and hoped, but things never worked out the way we planned.

God orchestrated the renting of our NC house to an empty-nester couple who are friends of ours. It worked out perfectly, unlike anything we could have put together our self (as God's plans tend to work). 

I am intentionally being vague when I tell you that after several months of working at this job, it became clear that The Mister didn't want to retire here, so he began to see what opportunities would open up within the next year. 

Imagine our surprise when there was an opportunity in NC, in the same town we had lived in before!

I am excited to tell you that we are moving back to NC in less than seven short weeks.  Back into The House That Would Not Sell; The home I adored.

One of the things that is hard about moving is leaving family and friends behind. There is an excitement on our part to look forward to a new adventure (especially this time when we know a little bit of what that adventure looks like), but we are also awesomely aware that those who are left behind are often left with a void that isn't easily filled. 

Many years ago, when I realized that my marriage would most likely require a lot of moving, I made a decision to make my home "any place The Mister had to go." Because home is not really about where you are living, but who you are living with. 

I believe that this attitude (which came through learning the hard way) is why I have enjoyed friendships all over the country. Getting involved in the lives of others is sometimes painful, and yet it is one of the greatest joys of being a military family.

So now begins what I call the "Time for Goodbyes".  It's a bittersweet time. Although this time it doesn't seem quite so bad because I know I will be back here to visit, whereas the other places we have lived I never knew when the opportunity to go back for visits would come.

It's at times like this that I am grateful for this platform, because things here will be the same...and my friends around the country can still have a cup of coffee with me as they visit the blog...

Now comes the busy time as we plan logistically for another trip across the country. It is certain to bring lots of blogging fodder and excitement!

La Vida Dulce!

Boxes

Whew!

I have just tucked the kids into bed. Or I should say, I have made them a nest of blankets and pillows on the floor of my bedroom. They are currently watching a movie on the portable DVD while The Mister studies and I try to get in some blogging before the internet is cut off.

Today was a tough day as my tender hearted children said goodbye to their teachers and friends at school. I want to write volumes about the teachers and the fine educators at our little school, but nothing I can write describes exactly how I feel, so for now I hope they know how much I appreciate them.

I am tired. Although I have not done much in the last 48 hours but watch strangers open up my cupboards and closets and, yes, the drawers i keep my "drawers" in...which is totally weird, no matter how many times you have experienced it.

It's always very strange to live and sleep in a house that is filled with boxes. Boxes that make up your life. I always get pensive at this time...do we really need all this stuff?

Of course this morning when I went to blow dry my hair the answer was a resounding "Yes"!

I spent all of today wanting to expose my hair insecurities by telling everyone the reason my hair looked so bad was because the movers packed my dryer. I managed to have some self control and only told one person. I told her partially because her hair looked so good, and I was feeling envious, but mostly because I am certain she understands the necessity of good hair.

Not only did i have to air dry (I ended up pulling it back into a ponytail...my "style" for the next week) but my roots are completely out of control. It just isn't right. I did however manage to "tame the brows" with a good waxing. So at least I will be able to see while I drive across the country.

On to things less hair related.

The update on Kona is that she and the White Haired Terrier have now become friends. Mom was a bit worried and I have to say I was worried about her. She called me last night to tell me that if the dogs (a.k.a. Kona) couldn't be nice to each other then she knew someone (who knew someone) who knows a specialist, that could teach the dogs to give the world a Coke and sing in har-mo-ny. But then when my Mom called this morning all was right in the world and the "kids" were wrestling and playing as if they had been long lost litter mates.

Seriously I am grateful for my Mom's care (and concern) for our pet and I am glad that my (sometimes not so) sweet, needy, dog is getting along just fine now with her new doggy friend...or would that be her doggy uncle? Oh y'all! it's getting late...and I am starting to scare myself.

Moving on....

This may be my last post for a couple days as we make our journey west. I hope to update and possibly get some pictures posted if we can get internet access as we travel.

Until then...
La Vida Dulce!

Cleaning

Taking a quick break from frantic cleaning before our movers show up and haul everything away next week.

I just wanted to tell you that I think that Easy-Off (no fumes) oven cleaner and Mr. Clean Magic erasers are absolute M-I-R-A-C-L-E-S!!!!!

There is just something fabulous about spraying cleaner on the muck, waiting two hours, opening your oven and simply wiping away the mess....without having to scrub. If only everything in life was so easy!

La Vida Dulce!

Oh! I forgot to tell you that it is 69 degrees outside!!! I opened my window to let the fresh air in (to get rid of all those flu bugs my kids brought in this week) and guess what I felt for a few brief, delicious, moments...the hint of SPRING! Warm weather! Sweet smells! Sandals!

OK...I better go sit down.

Twelve Days

Posting twice in one day is insane. But I have had this idea in my head for the longest time. And it occurred to me that it has to start today or I won't have time to do what I want to do. In twelve days the movers start packing and then access to the computer will be cut off for awhile.

This week we started what I call the "Time of Goodbyes". This is the part of moving that I dread and love all at the same time.

I wanted to go through my pictures of the last year and pick a few that shows the beauty of this wonderful little town we have had the pleasure to live in. This is fun because it gives me some material to put on the old blog, and will also be fun for the family to look at later-when we want to remember the short time that we could talk with southern accents, catch lightnin' bugs, eat biscuits and drink sweet tea.
Each day there should be a new post. And today we will start with January 2006.