Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Single Digits... 9 days till our BIG move!

"We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us."
Joseph Campbell

When I heard this quote tonight it really hit me! I LOVED it! It just spoke to me especially with the big move and all.

We have 9 days till we leave. I am getting nervous and scared. Several questions going through my mind like... What is something happens to my mom and sister and they need me? I am going to miss them. I am going to miss the kitties. What if we need something, we are so far away, etc. I know this is all normal and we NEED this move but I am still scared. What if we don't find jobs? What if we have trouble finding a place? Will our families ever come visit?

Finally got my lien in the mail yesterday and went to the License Plate Agency. You'll never believe what they said? That I could sell the car WITHOUT the title and that the dealership might take my car without it as long as I have proof the car is paid car off... UGH! This would have been nice to know LAST WEEKEND.

On another note I work the next 3 days from 6am-2:30.... Wish I could be done with work now with so much left to do BUT we need the extra paycheck.

It is getting real.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Cleaning out my closet...


"Bottom line is, if you do not use it or need it, it's clutter, and it needs to go."
Charisse Ward

In preparation for the biggest move of my life I have been sorting through everything that I have collected these last 10 or so years! Through this ginormous task of going through EVERYTHING: throwing old stuff I don't even know why I STILL have (dating back to 2003), keeping things I know I will need and then looking at something for more than 5 minutes thinking to myself, "I could use this for A, B or C" or "Do I REALLY need this, or am I just having a hard time parting with it." I seriously feel like I am borderline hoarder... Thankfully Dustin was there to push me through the process and say, "Babe, we really don't need that." It so much easier throwing out someone else's junk!

Now, throughout the process of all this sorting, packing and donating to Goodwill has brought me the realization that when we move I WILL NOT keep as much stuff as I did this time. I vow to be more organized and throw the stuff away when I get it. Don't keep stuff for a rainy day. Some of the stuff I have kept is downright preposterous! I am still shaking my head at some of the stuff I found! Just to name a few things: Games with essential parts missing, clothes from middle and high school that I know I will never wear again, several books, purses full of crap, shells from the beach, etc. However, I did find loads of change to add to my change jar.

We thought we were going to try and have a yard sale.... that is a no go! We have WAY TOO much stuff. We made several piles "to sell" but then when we got done we didn't have anywhere to put that pile but the garage, but the garage needed to be sorted too! Sigh. So in the end, we bagged it all up. I will take the 4 bags to Goodwill tomorrow before work. We will Craigslist and yard sale the big furniture items and if we get no hits on them then we will Goodwill those too!

I know, no one said moving would be easy but damn... this process has been enduring, something like an epic journey. First we had to pick a date to move! That one wasn't too bad. We did it so I could get a few more paychecks out of the Kangaroo. We decided on July 7th or 8th if we need to push it back a little. We know Sally the Saturn is NOT going to make the trek to Florida so luckily my mom is letting us have her car and we are selling mine. Nope, not that easy! When we go to look for the title to my car- it is no where to be found! So then I have to go through the process of obtaining a NEW title. Little did I know it was going to take an ACT OF FREAKING CONGRESS! Everyone tells me to to go to the DMV, I go there and after an hour wait they say I am in the wrong place and send me to the License Plate Agency! UGH! I go to the licence plate agency and wait in line for approximately 30 minutes only to get told I have to have proof that the lien was paid off! I go back to State Farm because THAT is where we got my loan through and the agency calls the 800 number for the bank only to tell me that I have to wait 48 hours for them to send the lien out to me. (This could take another FREAKING week for it to come in the mail!) Then take it to the License Plate Agency and request my title which will take another 20-25 FREAKING days!!!! Why is everything a wait? I went to the DMV the same day to change my last name on my License but that was a 20 day wait too! Figured I would save time and money and just wait till we got to Florida. At the time we had 17 days! Here we are 14 days away from moving and I haven't even got the lien in the mail! I was told we could expedite the shipping with a little extra money, so that's ONE positive!

With all the packing and looking around my house I realize that up till now I am a pack-rat just like my mom. As I stated before, I will NOT be like this in my own place. I plan to be clutter free and everything will have its OWN place. This point brings me to the book that Dustin and I have been reading Crossing the Tracks for Love by Ruby Payne. In the book it talks about how people who have lived in poverty have a tendency to collecting things for a time when they might need it. Obviously we do not live in poverty now but at one point she did and it is still with her. Its normal when people switch classes but their mentality stays. Its like when someone loses a bunch of weight but still has the mindset they are bigger than what they are.

Things I learned in the last 30 days:
1. If you have something that you do not want, throw it away. If you wait 10 years to go through stuff then you are in for a rude awakening!! Cleanse yourself of junk and live Clutter Free!
2. You ALWAYS have more stuff than you realize!
3. Goodwill is the best thing! I would hate throwing all these clothes away!
4. Yard sales are smart when you have a few months to do things spread out over time. (Next time we will know!)
5. I hate waiting! Everything in grown up life has a wait on it. (Why is that?)
6. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree!
7. Organization is a subject I would LOVE to be stronger in!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Our greatest strength as a human race is our ability to acknowledge our differences, our greatest weakness is our failure to embrace them.


Quote from Judith Henderson.
I just finished reading "Sing You Home" by Jodi Picoult and I have to say that it was pretty much an amazing book. All of her books are controversial but this one hit on so many topics. All of them evoked feelings in me. The book touched on IVF, divorce, religion, and same-sex marriage.

Let's start with divorce... I grew up in a home with a single mother and I carried the role of mother, father, sister, baby sitter for several years. (Though I get NO credit for that now!) That divorce caused me a lot of pain. When my parents were married things were great (for me) I was daddy's little girl, etc. However, when my dad divorced my mom, he divorced me as well, coming in and out of my life for several years. I would go 6 months without talking to him at times. It really messed me up. I even blacked out about a year of my life. My mom tells me I saw a child psychologist- I remember nothing of this. I had to grow up faster than my peers to help take care of my sister (no regrets) but I didn't really have a childhood. This all brings me to the decision that I do not want to get divorced. I know ALL couples get married with the intentions of staying married forever but luckily I have married someone who agrees with me on this point. We will do any and everything to keep the marriage together, especially if we have children. We are starting early by reading books and doing communication activities to help us understand each other. (Sounds dumb but preventative measure, I guess.)

Next, In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is a new idea I just learned about. I feel like this is a good thing for people who want to have children but do not have the means (their bodies) to do so. I am scared that one day this may be me and pray to God that I do not have to go through some of the stuff I have read in this book or have heard several of my friends go through just to get pregnant. I pray it is a smooth process when we are really ready but somehow I do not think it will be that easy for me. This is a controversial subject for religious folks but I say more power to the people who want children and can use IVF. Their choice.... America is a FREE country.

Religion... the book touched on this a lot! I found SEVERAL things Picoult pointed out in her book that I agree with. For example, the character Angela pointed out all the things in the Bible that wouldn't make any sense to do now. This includes stoning a woman who marries but is not a virgin AND when a woman becomes a widow she marries his brother. These are all things I have questions about plus sooooo many more. Why do some religious people go against homosexuals?

After all, aren't they people just like you and I? Who are they to JUDGE anyone? I thought the Bible says to love everyone and that God was ONLY person to judge us. That being said why can't some people at least tolerate gay people without all the criticism and stares and protests. They are people just like you and I. I know several gay couples who have been together for 15 plus years. I admire relationships like theirs because they seem to last longer than some heterosexual couples. I say we just let people love who they love.

Mark 12:31- Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. Luke 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

All in all... I feel like NO ONE should judge ANYONE. No one person is better than any other person. Love everyone no matter what color, size, shape, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. Love each other for your differences. After teaching my ESL students this year, I find that the differences are the BEST things to learn from and you meet some REALLY amazing people!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

A hundred hearts would be too few to carry all my love for you. -Author Unknown


I am pleased to announce that I am happy in love with my husband! :-D Words cannot express what he means to me nor the happiness we have had. We have been together for 3 years but "marriage" puts a new perspective on things, believe it or not. You can no longer make decisions for yourself. You make them as a team. This is something that is truly important. One cannot make a big decision without the other.
As most couples.... especially couples where one is a man and the other is a woman, communication can be complicated. Dustin and I have been reading a book together (he is going to kill me if he finds out I am telling you ;-) )called Crossing the Tracks for Love by Ruby Payne and it is interesting to see how two people can see or hear something then both have two complete different views on it. I am happy to say we are starting to see "eye to eye" and understand each other more!
I have started the dreadful process of changing my name and such... its not NEARLY as bad as I thought it would be! LOL Went to the courthouse and got 2 copies of the marriage license (just in case). The went to the social security office... I will be getting my new social security card soon. And tomorrow I will be going to the DMV to change my license. The rest, I hope, will be a breeze!
5 1/2 days till school is out and I cannot say that I am sad about it! I will miss several of my students BUT I am looking forward to moving to FLA.
Speaking of Florida... Dustin and I have decided that we will be leaving for Florida on July 7-8!!! YAY! We have a date set that were leaving! I am glad about that! There is so much to do between now and then! On another note, I am hoping that Hurricane season is not as bad as the news is saying it might be, as it started yesterday!
Today is our 3 week wedding anniversary!!!
Until next time!