2 Weeks Plus a Few Days

That's how long until we move to the new apartment. Every time we move I forget. I forget that no matter how ready you think you are to move, you just aren't. Financially, emotionally, physically. At least I'm not. Ever. It's funny, because I always believe that I've got everything under control. And then along comes that moment when I realize I was just kidding myself. I had that moment a couple of days ago. Even though everything is moving forward, I'm just not ready. This move is the same as all of the others in many ways and it's so different in others. This move signifies the end Dave's military career. 20 years and now it's done. It signifies a choice that we made, not the Navy, to decide where we live. There's unlikely to be an opportunity in a few years for us to pick up and start again. This. Is. It. I'm terrified. Fortunately, he's not. Which is good, because one of us needs to be able to remain rational. It can't be my job, I can't handle it. He's going back to school and will be looking for work. I, too, will have to look for work. I've been a stay at home mom for 11 years. I didn't work during my pregnancy either. 12 years since I've worked. I worry. My oldest is autistic and being available to him, the school, his teachers has always been my goal. This will be difficult now. Not impossible, of course, but more difficult just the same. Both kids will (next year) have the same schedule, but for the remainder of this year it's different and neither gets bused. Right now we live close enough to walk one and drive the other. At the new apartment we will drive both to different schools, next year to the same school with the same hours. This will hopefully make it easier to find work. Not having to work around the hours of 2 different school schedules. I hope. On the plus side, I think I'll be having another yard sale. I need to get rid of a few more things that just won't fit at the new place and I really don't want to get a storage locker. So, I think maybe the weekend after this one coming I'll give another one a try. It's also giving me a really great opportunity to really purge the house. Closets, garage, everything! This is good because I can certainly tend to be a bit of a pack rat. I want the new place to be as free from clutter as possible. That would be ideal, so going in with less is the best way to start. Frugality is going to be a necessary part of every day life now, which is good. Having everyone on board with that is really exciting to me. In the past, I've felt like I've been only half on board with being as frugal and thrifty as I want to be, so that will be a nice change of pace. That will also make it easier for me to blog about being thrifty (and organized!) since it will be necessary, not just kind of a hobby. The one thing that breaks my heart the most though, is that the move is costing way more, up front, than we realized. It's pretty much going to eat through everything we have and that means the holidays are going to be very, very rough. :( I'm hoping the kids can enjoy the spirit of the holiday (which they always have) even when they know presents will be lean. It's tough, but they're good boys and I have faith that they'll understand.

Product Review! Glade Fragrance Mist and Oil Diffuser!

Through BzzAgent, I was able to try out a new product by Glade for free.  (BzzAgent.. check them out!  www.bzzagent.com )  Here are my thoughts on it, I know you're just dying to know!  ;)





I always find myself looking for something to make the house smell nice (I have 10 and 11 year old boys in the home!).  Be it sprays, reed diffusers, candles, whatever.  So, it was no big leap for me to try out these two Glade Expressions products.

First, I want to say that overall, my impression of supermarket scents isn't this good.  Glade, in the past, has been my favorite.  I prefer it over Febreeze, Renuzit, etc.  That being said, it still wasn't my favorite way to buy scents.  There, that's out of the way.  :)

Okay!  So I first got my hands on the Fragrance Mist.  I opted for the Fugi Apple and Cardamom Spice and I love, love, love the scent.  It smells just like fresh apples.  It doesn't feel overpowering at all, which sometimes happens with sprays.  In the beginning I was feeling as though the scent was fading faster than it should which was disappointing, however, I later found that I was wrong!  The problem wasn't the spray, it was that I had just gotten used to it.  After leaving the house for a period of time and coming back, I was absolutely able to smell the lovely apple scent.  Score!

On to the design of the mister.  I was a bit back and forth on this.  It's pretty enough to look at, sleek, white, and it can be placed anywhere without it totally interfering with your decor, though, it's still plenty obvious that it's an air fragrance.  I felt that when I started using it, every time I would squeeze to spray, it felt more difficult then it should have.  I wanted it to be easier and I wanted the mist to be more even.  I found myself getting a small dribble on my hand each time.  All that said..I can tell you this.  A few adjustments with regard to my hand placement and boom! problem solved.  :)  Yay!  I should also note that replacing the canister is a breeze.

On to the Oil Diffuser.  For this one I chose the Lavender and Juniper Berry Scent.  I should first tell you that I am not a huge fan of floral scents.  Never have been.  I wasn't able to find any other scents though, and really wanted to give this diffuser a try.

Got it out of the box and was immediately able to smell the fragrance.  The instructions were clear and the diffuser was very easy to put together.

For the first few days the smell was a bit overpowering for my nose, actually giving me a headache if I was near it too long.  This could be a combination of the diffuser soaking up the scent and the fact that I'm just not a fan of the florals.  Now, though, it's had time to be absorbed and it's not nearly as strong.  It's more of a "just right" feeling.  I have it placed on my tv stand and it looks cute, with its little cut out design and the way it's positioned in my place it allows the scent to fill the small entryway, part of the kitchen and the living room.

Overall, my experience with both the Mist and the Diffuser was great and I'll certainly be buying both products again.  I will, however, be staying away from the Lavender and Juniper Berry scent!  ;)

Smashing Pumpkins!

Friday night, when Dave got home from work, he informed me that we were going to see the Smashing Pumpkins on Saturday night. It was a total surprise! He bought the tickets and got a sitter all by himself. Awwww!

Unfortunately yesterday wasn't my best food day. I wound up sharing noodles and curry with Dave, going to the concert and then hitting up Taco Bell afterwards. Eeek! As disappointed in my choices as I am, I'm not going to dwell on it. I'm back on track (mostly) today and feeling good about the great time I had last night.

Anyhow, last night was the first time Dave and I have ever left our boys (who are 10 and 11) with a sitter that wasn't my parents. We see them once a year, so that should give you an idea of how often we go out. :P It was so refreshing to reconnect with him doing something fun and that we were excited about. I felt quite a bit like a kid again. We were both giddy and relaxed.

The show was great! Anberlin opened and though I'd never heard them before, I completely enjoyed their energy. They were fun, gracious, energetic..just perfect to get everyone warmed up.

After a short break, Smashing Pumpkins came out and did the whole Oceania album. Loved it. They then did a cover of Ziggy Stardusts Ground Control to Major Tom. It was wonderful! They made it their own but were able to maintain the integrity of the original. It was a really nice segue into their older early 90's stuff. Fan. Tas. Tic! Seriously.. I totally felt like a teenager again. Until this exchange happened on stage....

Billy Corgan (after a brief chat with the crowd): I'd like to play a depressing song now.
Crowd: roars
Billy Corgan: Oh! You like depressing music?
Crowd: more cheering
Corgan: Yeah..me too. It's been working out for me for the past 20 years.

My internal voice screamed at me.... "When did you get old enough to have been listening to anything for 20 years!!!?"

Wow...really gave me a huge dose of reality. Lol. Just the same, I was thrilled to be there listening to something I listened to 20 years ago.

My favorite moment of the night? (Apart from the kick ass music?) The band really didn't do too much talking and that is just fine by me, I'm there to see them perform, but they did take a short time to interact with the crowd.. here's how that went...

Jeff Schroeder: It's Saturday night, these people need to get out and party all night.

Billy Corgan: (sings a la Black Eyed Peas) Tonight's gonna be a good night...yeah tonight's gonna be a good, good night!

Crowd: roars with laughter and cheers

Corgan: (sings it one more time). Yeah. You guys know that's the club you're going to be at later.

It was hysterical. It likely doesn't translate to text very well, one of those "you had to be there moments". But seriously, if I hadn't enjoyed any other moment (which I totally enjoyed every other moment) that alone would have been worth the price of admission!

I Did It!

I had my yard sale!!  Third time was a charm.  I planned it for one Saturday and just wasn't ready, planned for the next one and wound up in the ER (with a kidney infection) on Friday night with bed rest prescribed for the remainder of that weekend.  Needless to say, when last Saturday arrived I was SO ready!  I woke up the hubs at 6:30.  He kept mumbling something that sounded an awful lot like "crazy lady".  Hehe, I've been called worse.  I also dragged the kids out of bed too.

Since this was my first experience with hosting a yard sale, I had tried to do plenty of reading on what to expect.  No amount of reading really actually gets you ready though, does it?  The hubby and I carried out the futon we were selling and immediately people started pulling over.  It was the only thing we had out!  I couldn't believe how fast it happens.  We had most of the items we wanted to sell stored away in the garage so we didn't have to keep running in and out of the house.  That was really good.  I seriously could not have guessed that people would be so receptive.  

Anyhow, we managed to pull things out of the garage and for the first 30 minutes or so, it seemed like every time we pulled something out, it sold within minutes.  Once that first half hour was over, it was a nice steady stream of people milling around, haggling and making small purchases.  My darling hubby thinks I was far too quick to agree to reducing prices.  I figured, we want to get ride of it and I tried to price everything with the knowledge that people would ask for a lower price, so I didn't mind.  

We got rid of nearly everything we had hoped to.  The only thing that remained (that would have been nice to see go) were 4 kitchen table chairs.  They were all the same style but 3 were one color and the 4th was different.  This put so many people off.  I was shocked.  Not a single person asked for a reduction in price nor did they attempt to break the set.   That's the way it goes, hardly a big deal since we cleared out so much space!

Some things that I learned...You'll never be able to get everything out before people start walking into your garage and looking around.  Hehe.  Being prepared with plenty of change is essential!  I went to the bank on Friday and had nothing but 1's and 5's.  It was the smartest thing I did with regard to this whole experience.  I couldn't believe how many folks showed up and wanted to buy something for a buck and had only 20's.  Being friendly is a huge benefit!  A smile and a hello makes a world of difference in the way people view you and respond to you.  (That is kind of true in all aspects of life though, isn't it!?)  Just when you think no one else is coming, another wave of people comes along.  This happened more than a few times.  I would just be saying.."I guess we should close up shop" and boom!  3 or 4 groups would show up.  Keep things off the ground if you can!  I notice quite often around here that a lot of our neighbors who have hosted yard sales drop everything into piles on blankets on the ground.  I was able to put most of my things laid out on tables and it seemed to keep people browsing longer, as things were bought (some of the tables for instance) and things were moved lower, peoples interest in those items waned.  

I'm sure there's more to tell but I'll spare you the details.  Hehe.  I had a great time, cleared out a lot of the items I needed to and put a few bucks in my pocket.  All in all, that's a success in my book.  

It looks like I'm going to move shortly before Thanksgiving...who knows, maybe if I find enough stuff that I don't want as I'm packing I'll give this another try?!

The Countdown Begins

After thinking for  a few months that we knew where we were planning to move, this past weekend we decided to take a look at a couple of other places.  One of them we looked at intentionally and the other was one we'd been intentionally avoiding.  I don't have to tell you that the one we'd been avoiding is the one we fell in love with.  All four of us, actually.  I think it winds up being slightly more expensive than what we'd looked at previously but it feels very comfortable and has some pretty good reviews.  The parking situation seems a bit better than at the other place, too, which is nice.  I'd love to get it at a slightly lower price, but I'm not going to bank on that happening.  The leasing agent tells us (as did all of the leasing agents at all of the different apartments) that the pricing changes every 24 hours.  I will keep my fingers crossed that it will wind up working in our favor.

What does all this mean?  Well, it means that Dave would like to move as soon as we can.  My timeline for...everything just got moved up.  I've been moving slow on the whole yard sale thing.  I think now I'm committed to having it this Saturday.  I'm going to need to spend my entire week preparing for it.  I'm totally not ready.

It also means I have to find a new commitment to decluttering.  Fast!  After getting a glimpse of these gorgeous apartments I feel like I have WAY too much stuff.  Doen't get me wrong, I know that they're made up perfectly for viewing and that no family of 4 has closets with nothing but fancy hat boxes in them, but still.  I want to go in with as little excess as possible.  The less I drag over there with me the less I have to look at when we're moved in.  My biggest challenge in all of this will be to release a lot of the paperwork and to not allow it to accumulate again.  I have piles of papers everywhere.  It's the most difficult thing for me to deal with. 

I'll be losing a large laundry room when we leave this house, so staying on top of the laundry as each load is done will be so important to making sure things stay looking good in the apt.  The new place has a room for the washer and dryer but nothing else, no table, cabinets, etc.  One wash in , dried and folded.  Period.

*Sigh*  I really need to get a move on!

Color Me Rad

I posted this blog about my experience with the Color Me Rad Run with my kiddo on another site not so long ago and I've decided to share it here as well. 


I didn't have the opportunity to post about our Color Me Rad experience on the 11th since my folks were still here.

We had a fantastic time!

Deac was very worried, we'd trained together for almost 7 weeks and about halfway through he peaked. Then his brain kicked into overtime and he started worrying every time we ran. He fretted about disappointing me, his dad, his grandparents. What if I can't finish, what if we have to walk part of it? I felt bad for him, this was intended to be something fun for he and I to do together. Two days before the run, he was doing better, but still not able to run a full 5k. I think it was taking us 40 minutes to run/walk 2.6 miles.

We talked about his fears and I told him to give it his best and not to worry about the rest. If we had to stop or walk, it was fine. I let him set the pace all through our training and told him I intended to do the same at Color Me Rad. He was still worried and Dave sat down with him too. He gave him a pep talk and gave him this advice.. don't stop running, slow your run if you need to, but don't stop, it's so much harder to start again. I worried.

Race day...clean white shirts, excited at the start line. 6:15 am. He was really happy and excited!! So was I. Lots of music, folks in costumes. By 6:50 Deac was near tears. He was afraid. Dad, Nate, Nana and Granddad would all be at the finish line and he was terrified he'd be disappointing them. I told him that the change of scenery, the energy of the crowd and his excitement would carry him.

At go, we started running, his fear faded. At 5 minutes in, grown adults around him were slowing down, walking and stopping. He kept going. I asked him over and over if he was okay, he was great. He. Never. Stopped. No slowing down, nothing. We crossed the finish line 30 minutes after we started. My 10 year old, who had been in fear for the last 2-3 weeks, set our pace and finished us at 30 minutes. He was a rock star and my hero! I was brimming with pride, but more importantly, so was he. He gained so much in those 30 minutes. I can't wait to do it again with him!








We rode the trolley home looking like this!

A Little Weekend Decluttering

Since I had some free time today I decided to tackle a couple of cabinets and drawers.  It wasn't a whole lot of work and I only remembered to take pics after I was done with the hall closets, but I still feel good about doing something.

After playing Munchkin with the kids, I enlisted their help to clear out some books from one of the cabinets in the hall.  We filled two large bags we purchased for Costco trips(nice sturdy bags!).  Oddly, the cabinet is still totally full.  I think everything we fit into those bags was just overflow.  I'll have the hubs sort through his.  I know he'll give me the freedom to get rid of most, if not all of his books.  Since he got his Kindle and then replaced it with his Kindle Fire the books are just collecting dust.  I think I'll be the one with the most difficulty, I parted with a lot, but I can't bring myself to get rid of my cookbooks.  And I have a lot more than I remember.  Not too long ago, I forced myself to whittle down my collection of cooking magazines.  Dating back to 2005.  I spent a week looking through them, pulling out the ones I couldn't imagine getting rid of and ripping out recipes I wanted for the rest.  Then I scanned all of those.  I keep telling myself I'll be happy when we move and I don't have all of this stuff (junk) weighing me down.  It may not surprise you to find out that when the hubs saw the pile I was keeping he was shocked.  That I was keeping so many.  *wince*  I pared it down a bit more, but I still have plenty.

While I was in the area, I took a moment and pulled a couple of holiday plates out of another cabinet.  I think getting rid of a lot of the holiday stuff is going to be key in making this move work.

Moving on to the junk drawer.  Every kitchen has one.  Sometimes more.  I cleaned one of 2 and took on one of the lower cabinets.

Before:  As you can see, my junk drawer, is very junky.  Tangled wires, picture hangers, batteries, fast food condiment packets (loads of those >.<), paperwork and more.  Pretty much, a nightmare.

After:  I brought all the paperwork together and bound it with a rubber band I found in there.  There was also a bag of zip ties floating around so I used a few of those for the cords.  Birthday candles found their way into a sandwich bag and I neatened the rest of it up.  All of the collected condiments got rolled in the bag and stuck on top of a spare kitchen towel.  It's not perfect, but it's a heck of a lot better than it was!

Looking at the two picures now, I wonder why I didn't take the first one from a slightly wider angle...shame, most likely.  hehe.

 Since that took just a few minutes I went ahead and did another cabinet.

Before:  In this spot are all of my cake pans and cookie cutters, icing tips, cake plate and other baking miscellany.  I also have some spare plates, magic bullet and other crap stored away.  What a mess.  You want a little bit of truth on this one?  When I opened the cabinet, that round cake pan came crashing out.  D'oh!

After:  I made a couple of cuts.  Two Wilton pans will be landing in the yardsale bin, I tossed a try that was chipped, but mostly I just took a few minutes to neaten it up.  Much better!

That's about all the hard work I think I'm willing to put in today.  Haha!