Crazy people USUALLY amuse me....

I'd like to start this particular blog by telling you that I'm sick. As a matter of fact, everyone in my household is sick. We're coughing & sneezing, have sore throats, fevers & headaches, etc... I'm only mentioning this to give you an idea of what we're already dealing with & how we're feeling on top of now realizing that our new landlord may be crazy....

The house we're in now is small, about 1050 sq ft. The yard is not fenced. The floors are scoured concrete. There is a one car carport. It's one of eight houses built exactly alike on a dead end street. Oh, and did I mention that there is NO privacy? The neighborhood kids & dogs are always in our yard. The positives are the fact that the house is only like four years old, our neighbors immediately to our right are awesome, Olivia has had a couple kids to play with & there's no through-traffic. The rent is high, in our opinion, for where we are.

The house we're moving to is a little bigger, about 1300 sq ft. The back yard is fenced. The floors are hardwood & tile. There is a two car carport. It's in town, so everything is convenient. The neighbors immediately to our right are my best friend's parents. AND, the rent is $200 less than we're currently paying. Sounds a lot better, doesn't it? Well, we thought so too, so we turned in our 30 day notice on our current place & signed a lease on our new place. Then, the crazy started....

Before we signed the lease, we viewed the house (while the tennant was still living there). It's an older house (built in the 70s), so it's got character. We didn't really see any problems aside from the fact that the front of the dishwasher was coming off. All of the other appliances (washer, dryer, fridge, stove/oven) are only about 5 months old. When the tennant moved out, the owner of the house called me & was VERY upset. She starts telling me about how the hardwood floors are completely ruined; the deep scratches in the floor are unacceptable & go almost all the way down to the pad underneath. She says the floors will have to be redone. She also says that all the interrior doors will have to be repainted. Here's the thing... We knew where the key was hidden (she had told us before), so we decided to walk through it. We couldn't find anything wrong with the floors or the doors. I mean, there were some scratches that looked like normal wear & tear in a rental house. My mom went with us & even she didn't see a problem worth redoing anything.

The owner called a local guy to come fix the stuff & told us that we can't move in until it's all done. The problem is that we're running out of time. We have to be out by the end of the month. If we're here even one day into September, we owe for the entire month. She called me this morning & started our conversation with, "I know it's not what you want to hear, but...". I knew at that point that my day was not going to turn out how I had planned. See, I was hoping to start moving this week. Yeah. That's not going to happen. She told me that the floors are taking longer to dry due to the humidity, so we won't be able to start moving in until this weekend. That gives us a total of 5 days to move everything, clean & do yardwork before turning in our keys (all while Eric is in school & working). That'll be tough, but that's not the crazy part....

While on the phone this morning, our new landlord tells me that the new floors are absolutely gorgeous & that I'll love them. She also tells me that, in order to keep them that way, we will need to not wear shoes inside the house for the first six months AND we'll need to get those little floor-protector discs that go under the legs of our furniture. **When we lived in WA, a lot of our friends asked that their guests remove their shoes when entering the house. People up there do it for a couple reasons that totally make sense: 1) it's almost always wet outside & 2) most of them have been stationed in Hawaii or Japan where it's just a way of life. We were never those people. It's inconvenient & annoying & really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.** Anyway, she reminds me that I need to tell anyone helping us move in that they'll need to do so in "stocking feet". Ugh! I'm nervous about living there now. I mean, floors are going to get scratched. This will probably be the first time ever that we don't get our deposit back.

It may not sound bad to you, but you'd have to hear this lady go on & on & on about the floors. She told me that the last person to live there (the one that JUST moved out) is being made to pay for repairs. I know that replacing hardwood floors through an entire house can't be cheap. She called the law to come & documment the damages (I'm sure for court purposes). It's really rediculous. I just keep telling myself that it's cheaper & bigger & more convenient. I'm going to put rugs down everywhere. Eric says that it wasn't in the lease we signed to have to remove our shoes or get furniture discs, etc. It should be interesting.

Oh, yeah. She had a new dishwasher put in. That's cool.

Getting to know me...

I posted something similar to this on MySpace about three years ago. I've since made new friends & reconnected with some old ones, so I'd like to take another stab at it.

I would love to sit down with each of my friends, one at a time, and talk about our likes & dislikes. With my popularity though, & the number of friends I have, that would take forever... ;) So, I figured this way would be easier.

In NO particular order...

Likes: fall, spring, cuddling, good art, accoustic guitar, sanuks, steel drums, intelligent conversation, football season, marching bands, books, halloween, fireworks, [good] mexican/italian/chinese food, bonfires, camping, holding hands, having someone play with my hair, watching good movies, watching wonderfully awful movies, looking at the stars, ((dancing with my daddy,)) amaretto sours, playing cards, taking pictures, looking at pictures, really sweet tea, flip-flops, babies, my family, soft t-shirts, pajama bottoms, reading, driving with the windows down, any kind of cheesecake *especially my homemade one*, daisies, playing with olivia & adelle, church youth group, american idol, fishing, traveling, meeting new people, playing my trumpet, text messages, facebook, going to concerts, new furniture, doing home improvement projects, heart felt lyrics, improvisational jazz, surprises, tennessee, clear creek/ocean water, driving fast, deep thoughts by jack handy, kisses, any febreeze product, good company, cooking, learning something new, making someone feel good/happy, playing with playdough, the smell of fresh cut grass/horse stables, staying out late, downtown anywhere, playing pool, finishing a project/feeling accomplished, vampire stories, singing, hugs, praise music, rain storms, the great northwest, going to the gym, ketchup flavored potato chips, being trusted/respected, harmonizing, having a routine, cruises, knowing who holds my future, smiling/laughing, fountains, fruit, dasani water, bare essentials make-up, getting a card for whatever reason, flirting, riding horses/four wheelers, massages, vanilla pop-tarts, hosting dinner/parties, & being barefoot.

Dislikes: humidity, speed bumps, sand in my flip-flops, rap music, false hope, wet socks, turnips, cracks in my windshield, the end of a good vacation, cauliflower, stretchy jeans, gas prices, squash, filling out applications, moaning/groaning/whining/complaining, rejection, these extra 45 pounds, doing business with family, storage units, computer viruses, kids touching stuff at a buffet bar, telemarketing, pushy sales reps, coffee, dust, touching raw meat (esp. chicken & beef), needles, sneezing, restaurant guacamole, full body tattoos, when my nose itches, minivans, public restrooms, bottled up feelings, spiders, one ply toilet paper, clutter, lies, morning breath, insects that sting, over priced shoes, milk, seafood, movies that don't live up to their hype, being hot, sweeping & mopping, putting clothes away, being lonely, flies, confusion, being proved wrong, feeling defeated, throwing up, sore throats, disappointing others, a messy house, adults who call their kids bad names, seeing my kids cry, apathy, abortions, gas appliances/pilot lights, dirty dishes, feeling helpless, divorce, broken promises, most any kind of nut, anime, unnecessary noise, not having upper body strength, dropped cell phone calls, breaking someone's heart, the smell of jacob's dirty socks, rodeos, acne, cjd *it sucks*, the snooze button, people who go with the trends just because & don't have their own opinions, mosquitos, e-readers, cats/litter boxes & saying good-bye.

That's it in a nutshell. If you feel the urge to share, please do. I'd love to know more about my friends.
Much love,
Celeste

Stuck between a rock & a hard place...

Being torn about where to settle down & raise a family is not easy or fun.

When we moved to WA, I really didn't think I would be happy for the next 2 - 3 years. It had nothing to do with the fact that everyone says WA is the most depressing state or that it supposedly rains all the time there. It had everything to do with leaving my family & friends and moving clear across the country. I've lived in another state before, but TX is still "southern" & required only an 11 hour drive to come back "home". WA, on the other hand, is  5 full days of driving or 1 full day of flying.

There were good & bad times while we were there. The worst time was when my dad passed away. I was pregnant, 2,652 miles away & not with him as much as I should have been. After that, I was too far away to really offer my mom any comfort. The guilt of being so far away during all of that will probably be with me forever.

The good times are much easier to talk about. Olivia liked her school & she was very active in karate. Eric & I had friends from his work, the school, the dojo, our neighborhood & church. We were such an active family; there was always something going on. Adelle was born in WA (she's officially a Washingtonian) & my pregnancy was amazing... I guess mostly because of the climate.

We exercised more (rode bikes, went for walks, etc) because the air is easier to breathe. We had our very first white Christmas (right at 3 ft in a very short time). We tried new things like skiing & snowboarding. There were tons of museums & children's groups & festivities. Olivia signed to a modeling agency, Eric played with an amazing band & I had more opportunities for photography than you can imagine. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking & there is so much culture. Everyone recycles, tries to be as "green" as possible & accepts you for who you are without hesitation (I'm thinking because it's pretty liberal up that way).

I honestly can only tell you ONE thing that I don't like, or love, about living in the Great Northwest, and that's being away from my mom & brother. I have one friend here that remained my friend during my hiatus. Everyone else closed that chapter of their life & moved on without bookmarking me a place somewhere. I'm not mad about it; it just sucks. Eric, the girls & I really have no life outside of our house. Sure he works & goes to school, but we have no social life. We feel so very out of place. I really don't think we belong in MS, let alone Purvis. I can't talk to people here about it because they take it personally or get their feelings hurt. It has nothing to do with anyone else really. It's about our family & where we are happier. I don't want to just exist or be content or survive or make it somewhere; I want to live.

If we ever left though, I'd be terrified. I wouldn't be spending enough time with my mom (the girls with their meme) & family is so, so important....

-Celeste

Wow... It's been a while...

I'm almost ashamed at how long it has been since my last post. Almost. We have had such a busy four months & I really haven't had alot of time for such as this. I had intended to write a very long blog about our time in WA, what it meant to me & how hard it actually was to leave. I even started writing, but couldn't come up with the right words to do the topic justice. I'll get there eventually. Watch for that one.

Anyways, here's a quick recap of our lives since December...

The girls & I flew to MS on January 3rd. Eric followed, on a 6 day cross-country drive, with the u-haul (leaving out on the 6th). The four of us stayed with Mom & Jacob for about 5 weeks. Olivia got settled in at Purvis Upper Elementary in a class with her friend, Baleigh. Being in a class with her buddy made the transition a little easier for her. We moved into our own (rental) place in mid February. It has been three months since we signed the lease and there are STILL boxes that have yet to be unpacked. Ugh. Eric officially became a civilian on March 2nd. Not being in the military & not having tricare has definitely been an adjustment for us. Right now, Eric works at Topher's and is planning to start school full time in June. Other than your typical family-of-four chaotic schedule, there's not a whole lot to tell. School is drawing to an end (Olivia only has 8 more days) and after that, we are going to FL for a week. Adelle is in love with Mickey & his friends, so we're taking the girls to Disney. I'm pretty excited about that. I start work in July and then school starts back again in August.

I'm going to try to do better about updating you all on everything. We're still trying to find our place here & get into a routine.

As always, thanks for reading.  :)

Christmas activities of late

The holiday season tends to be a busy one for pretty much everyone. There are parties to go to, decorations to put up, gifts to buy & wrap, etc. You want to be sure to "slow down" as much as you can to really actually enjoy everything, rather than just fly through it all. I just wanted to say that... and, to tell you a little of what we've done lately.

We took the girls to pick out a tree. That was a fun trip. Olivia chose the perfect tree (which totally grew on the way home, I promise). We all decorated it together. For a long while, Adelle wouldn't touch it at all; she would literally hug the wall to go past the tree (like she knew it didn't belong inside). That was cute.
The tree has lots of white lights & we decided just to go with red ornaments this year. I made a red bow to go on top. This past week, Adelle has gotten used to the tree & it's pretty hard to keep her from pulling the glittery ornaments down. She did get into the decorating spirit though... She had seen us putting things on the tree, so she added her own things... a nutragrain bar... one of her snow boots... a toy... LOL.
Olivia & I put up the kiddos' pink tree. It has white lights & pink ornaments. Of course, the tree itself is also pink.  ;)

We went to the 56th Army Band's unit "Holiday Party". Everyone is so careful to be PC about everything. they insisted on calling it a holiday party & yet, there was a massive Christmas tree & Santa came to see the kids. Hmmmm.... sounds like a Christmas party to me. Ha!
At any rate, we had a pretty good time. I had volunteered to help the FRG with preparations & with the "white elephant" game. This had me on my feet for most of the night. It's probably important to the story if I mention now that I had on some hott new boots. The pain-to-hottness ratio was almost too close though. I thought. My feet. Would fall. Off!
Anyway, the food was good (my homemade cheesecake got devoured), Olivia & Adelle had a great time, I got to see Kerri & Terri (neither of which I see often enough) & I made a few new friends. Oh, and the gift we ended up with is pretty cool.

Let's see... what else?

Friday night, I put the kids down for bed & then went to hang out with Kate. We don't get to spend near enough time together. We watched Eclipse, again, had a few drinks & yummy appetizer-type foods and talked for a long time. I dare say we both needed a relaxing-kid free-girl's night. Thanks, lady!

Saturday night (last night), Becki came over, with two of her kids, to watch the girls, so that Eric & I could go to a Christmas party. It was at our neighbors' house across the street. It was a themed party (which I totally love, btw) to which the men could come dressed as a reindeer or an elf & the women could come dressed as their interpretation on Mrs. Claus or an elf.
If I had to give the party a title... it would be "Ho! Ho! Ho!". And, really what I mean is: the ho-ho-hoier, the better! Lol. Some of us ladies were dressed a tad on the sexy side.
The food was great- I took double chocolate chip brownies. The battle over whether to play holiday music or regular chart topping stuff was ongoing & quite amusing. The drinks were nice- I think Eric likes American Honey (whiskey). We took tons of pics that I'll try to get & post later (some of them anyway). We did a gift exchange there too. I think everyone had a great time.
Meanwhile... the girls were awesome for Becki & they had a lot of fun with Ian & Will.

As for holiday festivities, there are three more things on our to-do list.
1) We want to take the girls to "Zoo Lights". Point Defiance Zoo strings millions of Christmas lights throughout the entire park for families to walk through.
2) I'm sure we'll go to a Christmas service at church. The girls will look beautiful in they're matching dresses.
3) On Christmas day, after we've opened gifts & had family time, we plan to go to the Apelar household. They invited us for lunch/play time. Amy says that we have to come in our PJs, because that's a lazy day. We can totally do that.  :)

As much as I want a white Christmas, I don't see that happening. I'm going to try super hard to stay optimistic though. You know... crossin' my fingers & what have you.

I hope everyone is enjoying the season. You should.
Make sure to enjoy each other.

Peace.

Eric's birthday, Christmas decor & packing

The 29th anniversary of Eric's birthday was Sunday. Olivia offered to make breakfast in bed, but he told her, "Just bring me a Star-crunch & a Dr. Pepper." Lol. The breakfast of champions! I made a real breakfast instead. Eric opened cards from everyone & his present from us. He ended up getting three shirts & some kind of tool from Lowe's that works in like 60-something different ways (he specifically asked for this). Later, we went to a few stores & then had a great dinner at AppleBee's (Meme got him a gift card). Seriously, it was soooo good. He seemed to enjoy his day.  :)

We put up our Willow Tree: Demdaco "The Christmas Story" nativity. Besides that, the only other Christmasy things done around here are: a snowman welcome sign by the door, some jingle bells on the doorknob & two gifts wrapped. All other gifts & decorations are stashed in various places. We've decided to go Saturday to cut down our tree. The weather looks good for that. Although we'd all rather there be snow on the ground, the forecast calls for sunshine & a high of 41. I'm also going to try to sweet talk Eric into hanging our lights outside on Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Gift-wrapping may have to wait until Eric is home from work. Adelle likes to stomp on the paper while I'm trying to wrap. I went yesterday to help the Band FRG buy stuff fr the unit Holiday party. That was pretty fun & help me get a little more in the Christmas spirit.

I have our Christmas cards addressed, but I've run out of stamps. Adelle permitting, I plan to go to the post office today & mail them all. I don't think I've ever mailed them this early. December 1. Btw... Happy birthday to my Aunt Kim!

The main reason I'm having trouble embracing the spirit this year is because our house is full of moving boxes. I've packed a good many already, but I have a LONG way to go. I do have to thank some people for giving us boxes. Thanks, Becki! Thanks, Kerri & Luke! Thanks, AVON!  ;)  Ugh. Speaking of packing... I gotta get to it. Write more later.

Thanksgiving

Mom & Jacob came up for Thanksgiving week (Sunday - Saturday). It was so nice having them here. Our week was full & pretty busy, but at the same time, we got to just hang out & relax a good bit.

When we picked them up from the airport Sunday & brought them back to the house, it had been snowing most of the morning, there was about an inch of snow on everything & it was still coming down. When we got up Monday morning, there was a little more snow & the temperature wasn't supposed to get above freezing all day. Olivia went to school & Eric went to work. Around lunch, the post commander shut down post & sent everyone home, so we went & got Olivia out of school early when Eric came home. We all got bundled up & played in the snow for a while. By this time, it had been really coming down all day & there was a nice, soft, powdery 3-inch cover on everything.

Tuesday, school was cancelled due to road conditions. It had snowed more the night before & temps were in the 20s. Wednesday was more of the same- no school for Olivia & white stuff everywhere. Mom & I spent the day cooking our (Wednesday night) Thanksgiving meal. Olivia & Jacob went to see "Mega Mind". We had a great dinner: Dr. Pepper basted turkey, cornbread dressing, gravy, mashed sweet potatoes w/ cinnamon & sugar apples, baby lima beans, broccoli casserole, rolls, cranberry sauce, sweet tea, pumpkin-chai cheesecake w/ caramel-rum sauce & pecan pie!!!

Thursday, Eric, Jacob & Olivia went to Chrystal Mountain to go skiing & snowboarding. Olivia got a lesson on skiing & got to ride a snowmobile. Eric took some pics for me with a water proof camera. I'll get those up once they're developed. Jacob made a new canine friend. ;)  Mom, Adelle & I stayed at the house to get some packing done. Yeah... We packed some... We watched the Macy's Parade (USM's band- The Pride of Mississippi- marched). There was also some football-watching & napping taking place... But, hey- that's tradition, right?! That night, Eric & Jacob went to Toys 'R' Us to the "doors-open-at-10am-for-crazy-people" sale. They stood in line OUTSIDE for an hour & a half and then stood in the checkout line INSIDE for an hour & a half. Got the last one on the shelf of what we wanted.

Friday, Mom, Olivia & I went shopping for a while. Made a few small purchases. We weren't going for any of the "big-ticket" items. Later, we played some Apples-to-Apples & watched USM play football.

Saturday, we had to take them back to the airport. Boo. Roxy went with her Meme. She was so excited.

We really did have a nice visit. We got some packing done (& I've done a little more since then). Our countdown is now at 35 days. Crazy.

Anyway, I just wanted to share our Thanksgiving. I hope you all had a nice one as well.