The hard part is over... I think!

Well, my mom and I survived packing out of the house. Because my mom has moved 18 times, she's pretty much a pro and knows the in's and out's of what to do for moves... which helped a LOT!

The packers seemed to take forever both days and I felt terrible because of course, the two days we are packing out happen to be absolutely freezing cold outside and the poor pups endured the cold weather all day long.

One funny thing that did happen was one of the packers labeled a box "bookay" and I kept trying to think what the heck that meant. My mom finally figured it out that it was my wedding bouquet. Gotta give the guy some points for creative spelling?!

After the house as emptied we spent a whole day cleaning the house. Never knowing who you'll get for the inspection, we tried our best to make the old house look somewhat new again. On top of cleaning, waiting around for the last shipment (stuff going into storage), we loaded up the cars with our luggage and my dogs and drove 4-hours to my parents place. And of course we go stuck in stop-and-go traffic for about an hour!!!

Anyway, I think I survived all the hard stuff, now we just have to make it over there which I'm sure will be an adventure itself (2 people, a total of 7 bags, and two large dog crates). My whole body is aching and I'm soooo exhausted I haven't even changed out of my PJ's yet today!

On the plus side, Joe finished with his resistance training and is heading back to MS for a few more weeks!!! The light at the end of the tunnel is now becoming brighter... yay!!!

Never fails!

It never fails to amaze me how much "stuff" I can accumulate in a one year(ish) time period!!! In college, I moved at the end of every school year into a new house and I was always surprised how much stuff I didn't have the year before! Sure the majority was clothes/shoes (hey, gotta keep up with the newest trends, right?!), but a lot of it was just random junk!!! I've slowly worked my way through each room and find myself utterly exhausted afterwards! I can't even count how many large trash bags I've filled (the trashcan is currently overflowing with trash that the lid won't even close), and how many trips I've made the the Thrift Store to donate stuff I just don't want/need anymore!!!

So a good New Year's Resolution for me would to stop being such a pack-rat!!! Get rid of crap I don't need (seriously, it's no fun to have to lug it half way around the world, unpack it and do it all over again the next move) and simplify!!! I'll get back to you next move and let ya know how that works out ;)

One week left in MS!

So lately, I've been slightly procrastinating on gettnig things done. After I got the first shipment out of the way, I took a break and slowed down on things. Now it's Friday and I've got to finish things up! My mom is coming on Sunday so I've been trying to get the guest room ready and the house clean. I need to finish packing and organizing the dog things before the packers come on Tuesday! One week from today I can say "good-bye" to Columbus, MS!!! I'm pretty pumped to begin our adventure :)

One down, two to go!

This morning I had the packers come and do the unaccompanied baggage shipment. It's a shipment where we can send up to 950 pounds of things (excluding furniture) that we would like to have right away. I sent the essentials... bedding, towels, kitchen items, small tv, Wii (we need some form of entertainment), clothes, etc. It was hard choosing things I want/need, because those are the things I use all the time and kind of need right now, up until the move. It was hard parting with some things like pots/pans, but I only sent half of them so hopefully that will suffice.

It only took about two hours for them to pack everything up, and we only needed one container! (They pack them in big clear containers to go by plane). Our other household goods shipment is next week. It will be a two day process... one to pack and one to load-up the truck. My mom is coming out (thank goodness) to help me with this one since it's a biggie, and to help me clean the house as well! It's pretty tough to get it done alone and I would probably kill myself if I had to. Thank goodness for great family and great friends/neighbors! The neighbors are generously offering for me and the pups to stay with them after the house is empty and we have to wait two more days for the temporary storage shipment to come. My mom will stay at the on-base hotel and Friday we will hit the road!

It's all happening pretty quick and I'm just counting my blessing for all the help and support I have. It's all getting done, slowly but surely and I'm pretty proud of myself! Sure I grew up movnig all the time, but my parents did all the dirty work... I was usually at a friend's house. This time, it's me doing all the big scary stuff, and I guess it's not so bad afterall. I'm just now hoping our stuff makes it all without being lost or broken :)

2008 Survey

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before? Got married (for real this time heh), swam with stingrays, went snorkeling, quit my very first job, found out we're moving to Japan...

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't exactly recall any exact resolutions, but I remember wanting to make the most of my Columbus, MS experience and I believe I did.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? A few friends from base

4. Did anyone close to you die? Yes, RIP Grandpa

5. What countries did you visit? Western Caribbean (Cozumel, Honduras, Belize and Grand Cayman!)

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? More patience; stop sweating the small stuff

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? December 14th- our cruise wedding

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Standing up for myself and my beliefs and walking away from a job where I knew I wasn't being respected.

9. What was your biggest failure? I'm not sure I would consider it a "failure" but a definite flaw is sticking to the budget. Joe and I have worked hard on budgeting this year and it's finally working out!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Nothing major... killer allergies, the flu and migranes...

11. What was the best thing you bought? That's a tough question. I felt like I bought some really creative gifts for Joe this year (airplane models of planes he flew in pilot training)... but the best thing we spent our money on was probably for the cruise (excursions and other expenses along the way)!!! We can't wait to go on another one!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Hah that's tough! The dogs' behavior improved drastically throughout the year. They can be trusted to roam the house freely while we're gone without destroying anything. Joe also has been great this year! He's really picked up when I need help with things around the house, or when I'm having a tough day he's always there to help with encouragement.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? People from the job I quit. I've never had to work in such conditions and I was in no way going to be associated with it any longer.

14. Where did most of your money go? Bills, student loans, gas, the dogs (vet bills, too many toys, etc.), food and shopping.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Our cruise wedding! It was great to have so many close friends and family members come all the way out for our special day. It meant a lot to us for those who came out to support us. Also, moving to Japan! Ok we weren't excited at first, but now we can't wait! It's going to be an experience of a lifetime!

16. What song will always remind you of 2008? Womanizer

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:a) happier or sadder? Happier! Pilot training is over, we're finally moving out of MS, and we're so excited to see what Japan has to offer!

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Working out and organizing my teaching things

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Going out of my way to reach out to friends who don't return the favor.

20. How did you spend Christmas? Unwinding from our vacation at my parent's house. It was the first Christmas my whole family (including my brother) was together in 4 years.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008? Already was

22. What was your favorite TV program? Oh man! One of my biggest downfalls is having "my shows" that I have to watch! Jon & Kate Plus 8, The Hills, Top Chef, Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Gossip Girl, ANTM, Real World, The Bachelor/Bachelorette... ok so I love reality tv.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Hate is a strong word. I have run across people I don't necessarily mesh well with...

24. What was the best book you read? The Twilight series is amazing even though I didn't think it would be anything I'd be interested in at all. I also read several books from the author who wrote "The Devil Wears Prada".

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Mmmm I can't really think of anything.

26. What did you want and get? To get a great assignment... and we did!!! Oh and a new diamond ring... I love it :)

27. What did you want and not get? I'm a girl so I'm always wanting things... but I don't think there was anything I had to have and didn't get.

28. What was your favorite film of this year? I can't really remember. I did go see "Marley and Me" on Christmas day. What a tear jerker!

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I worked, went to dinner with a few friends (Joe was in Altus for training) and I turned 23.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Having a good paying job that I enjoyed going to everday!!!

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? I have a weakness for shopping and I'm not afraid to admit it. I think I have a good balance of professional/age appropriate clothes and comfy house clothes. I also now only buy things I absolutely love... instead of impulse buying and having things just sit in the closet with the tags still on.

32. What kept you sane? Joe and my dogs (they kept me company while he was gone for 4 1/2 months!)

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I was pretty into Britney... lol.

34. What political issue stirred you the most? the election

35. Who did you miss? My girls from college

36. Who was the best new person you met? I met a ton of great people while being here in MS (Tina, Catherine, Brittany) but technically I guess that's 2007.

7. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. Life in the Air Force is unpredicable. Even when you think you're fully prepared and know the ropes, you're not prepared and they always throw new things at you. Things are out of your hands, but enjoy whatever comes your way and make the most of it! In the end, you'll look back and have so many wonderful experiences, memories and new friends.

Taking a minute to just breathe...

I'm actually just taking a few minutes to relax, breathe and digest everything that I need to do in the next few days and weeks. The last few days have been non-stop, and it's been really tiring! The list of things to do seems to be getting longer and not shorter.

Joe left today for resistance training in WA for three weeks and I'm here rattling my brain how I'm going to get everything done in time for the packers. Joe helped a lot in the short time frame we had to get things done. Since Monday, when everyone was back at work from the holidays, we were able to get paperwork done for the move, confirm our travel accomodations, get things in order for the dogs, begin cleaning the house, sell a bunch of things (including Joe's Jeep), make several trips to the Thrift Store to give away tons of things we really don't need, and of course, pack.

The hard thing for Joe is he not only had to pack for his 3-week TDY in Washington where it is an average temperature of freezing right now, he had to pack all the things he wants to bring with him for the few weeks he has to spend in MS, and what things he wants in Japan. He packed everything from long underwear and wintercoats to bring to WA and board shorts and flip-flops for Japan (it's an average of 60-70 degrees this time of year) and gets to lug all of it on our travels because the packers will have already packed the house up when he gets back from WA!

I guess I have it a little easier on the packing side. I'm just packing what I think I'll need in Japan until our household goods show up. I'll probably throw some clothes in the baggage shipment as well (small shipment which will arrive as soon as we get there). It's hard to calculate what events we'll be going to, the weather, if I'll actually land any immediate interviews, and if I do what kind of work clothes I would need. That's thinking optimistically of course... I should just not bring any professional dress clothes and that'd be the time I'd actually get a job and need it. Wishful thinking...

Well, it's time to go scrub the grill and firepit so they can go into storage. Not my idea of fun, but it's gotta be done. If you don't hear from me for some time, it's because I'm swamped with a million things to do by myself. I promise to stay in better touch with everyone once I have some time on my hands again :)

Success!!

Things are successfully starting to work out for this move! I posted an email on the spouses forum and we were able to sell Joe's Jeep for a great price, a desk, our lawn mower/weed eater and a dog crate (we're buying bigger ones for the move).

We also have things under control for the dogs. We have some paperwork to submit, appointments made and then more paperwork to drive around MS to get stamped and approved for their trip. It may seem like a lot of money, time and driving, but they are worth it and I can't imagine not taking them with us. I just hope they don't freak out too much on the long plane ride. The vet said no tranqualizers because it's too long of a trip (something about their body temperatures will get too low). Plus Kella having separation anxiety will be interesting to deal with as well.

We're slowly beginning to get the house cleaned, clean enough for the 5 million page long checklist of things to do before we move out for inspection, but it's a slow process. I'm still unwrapping wedding gifts and finding places to put them, even though they're going to be packed right back up in a few weeks. Crossing our fingers we get the dates we want for the three shipments, I will need to be getting things ready for the unaccompanied baggage shipment very soon!!!

Other than moving mayhem, we have been just relaxing and spending time together. We had a quiet little New Year's Eve (since the few friends we know in Columbus were out of town) with going out to eat and renting a movie. We hope everyone had a wonderful New Years Eve and has a great 2009!!!