Day 632

Sorry for slacking this week kids. I've been so tired and haven't really gotten much more done to the house because work's been a bit crazy this week. One more day until RECESS!! Then two more weeks until Denver, then straight to Minneapolis, then straight to Vegas, then back to Minneapolis, then home. Ugh! I'm tired just thinking of all that travel in just a few short weeks.

So remember my post a few weeks back about the marching band? Well, I now have proof that I was not hallucinating during that whole experience. My friend Ashley texted me today to say she was listening to NPR while driving and they did a segment about a marching band from Eastern High School in DC that randomly marches around the streets of DC. That's my band! Eastern is down the road from my old house. Smash, I'm going to need you to forward that link on to me so I can post it here. I knew I wasn't going crazy!

Okay, my eyes are closing as I type...must go to bed immediately.

Day 629

Well, I'm finally somewhat settled in and have the Internet up and running again. The move went relatively smoothly, minus a few mishaps--mostly being that my couch, chair and table absolutely will not fit in through the front or back door of this tiny apartment. I've heard of a service that will come cut your couch in half and reassemble it in your room. Might have to look into that one. I think I'm going to have to saw the legs off the chair to get it in, and then glue them back on. Yes, this is my super cute red chair I posted about a few weeks back.

As for the table, I just went to IKEA and bought a knockoff Tulip table that I have been eyeing anyway. Of course, I have no wrench, so it's just sitting, half-assembled, on my floor until tomorrow. Thus, the apartment still has a ways to go until it is put together.

In fact, the only picture I'm showing right now is my built in that I've put together. The great part about it is the wrapping paper that I found and pasted as the backdrop. How fabulous does that look?!? I think it adds a bit of dimension to the wall, plus a touch of color.



Hopefully this weekend I will finally get this place all together. It's going to be a busy week, the last one until the Senate recesses for August break, so I may not get to do much work to it until then.

Day 626

Well, I am ALMOST done packing. So sad to see this space go, but I am really excited about moving into my new place tomorrow.

God, I am going to miss these closets...can you believe I have another one exactly this size PLUS another long closet, just in my bedroom? Yes, tears are falling right now ladies and gents.



This isn't even half of it...



Some of my pretty things.



Such a nerd...this is what most of my boxes consist of.





I'll try to do some before and afters tomorrow. Still will have a lot to do decorating-wise, but at least you'll get a sense of the place.

Day 625

I'm knees deep in packing, but I just had to tell this story real quick, because it is literally right out of a movie.

So just a few minutes ago, I am sitting in my room, eating takeout (I don't want to hear about it), when all of a sudden I hear this drum roll. Louder and louder it came to my window. Then trumpets, tubas, cheering...yup, a marching band just marched right past my house and down the street.

Wow! I have no idea where they came from, but it was fantastic! Actually, that's not true. I have a feeling it was from the public school down the road. But still, fantastic! Ever seen the movie "Drumline"? There you go...a bit younger and out-of-uniform, but other than that, it was just the same. The booty shaking dancers, the talent. Amazing!

Must have been God's way of making me get up and start moving all over again. Back to packing, just had to share...at least I have a little more pep in my step to last me the rest of the night.

Day 623

Not much to report. Still packing. Still not feeling so hot. Not sure why I can't shake this sickness, but I am guessing the stress and pressure of the move is wearing me down. Good news is, my aunt gave me a half day Elizabeth Arden spa package for keeping the kids while they were in Europe, and I intend to take full advantage of it as soon as I'm all settled in and the Senate goes into August recess. Ahhh...my muscles are aching for that massage already, and my toes, fingers and face is in desperate need for that TLC too. Need that day to get here fast. This week has already been a long one.

Day 621

I had the kids again this weekend--this time just Valeri and Ryan. The rest of the fam went to Richmond for a overnight baseball tournament, and Val and Ryan didn't get back from the Jersey Shore with friends in time to make that trip. So, they hung with me all weekend, which was fun. Poor kids were such troopers, because I was trying to get as much pre-moving stuff done as I could with them in tow.

So yesterday morning, I taught three swim lessons and then went to pick up the kids. It's funny; Friday night I was at their neighborhood pool teaching a lesson to a family friend, and this lady came up to me and talked me into teaching her two little ones as well. Not to boast, but it's amazing how fast kids can learn if they have the right instructor. I had her little girl swimming the length of the pool by the time her 30 minutes were up. I don't have too much time to devote to doing this, but it's extra cash, and an excuse to get a bit of a tan, and I feel like it gets me back to my roots. I always thought if I wasn't doing what I am doing, I would be teaching.

Anyway, after the lessons, I picked up the kids and went to my house. They napped and watched a movie on my bed while I finished cleaning out my closets for Goodwill. The only thing I have left to do is my shoes. Then I treated them to their favorite, sushi (isn't that so funny), and went home to watch a movie. They picked out "The Bucket List", which although funny, had all three of us crying at the end. Let me just put it this way...if you've lost someone, especially from cancer, recently, don't watch this movie. We were all boohooing so much that I had to let them stay up to watch "Hairspray" just to dry the tears.

Today we ran a million errands...Starbucks first of course, then Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, and The Container Store. Since my place is so tiny, I'm having to be really organized and efficient with every inch I have. So I bought bed lifts, under bed storage, storage boxes, etc. And I found this FABULOUS wrapping paper at The Container Store that I'm going to use to line the back of the built in shelves/entertainment center in my living room. It's going to look so good when I get this all together.

I have a very busy work week plus all my packing to do, so I may not be posting too much in the coming week. Hopefully I'll be organized enough to get all settled in well so I can at least post some progress until it's all put together. Until then...

Day 617

So a hodgepodge of things today...

1. The exhaustion and frustration and embarrassment of this week has all taken a toll on my poor body. Ugh, so sick today, so much so that I had to leave work early. I heard that a stomach bug was going around, but I think it's just my lack of sleep and nerves that has hit me. Whatever it is, it ain't pretty. Hopefully I can just sleep it off and be all better tomorrow, because it's another busy late night for me.

2. I have been steadily going through my closets and mess of a file cabinet. My once clean room has now been taken over with piles of magazines, clothes, photos, recipes, bill receipts. Hopefully I can get this all taken care of this weekend so that I can just focus on packing everything up next week. I can't believe it's almost time to move...I feel like I have so much to do before next Saturday.

3. It's almost time for my very favorite show to return...Project Runway!! I am so freaking excited to see Tim, Heidi, Nina and Michael again!! Right now I'm watching Christian win all over again. Fierce!!

I have many, many more things to write about this week, but I feel that they deserve their own post, so I'm going to wait until tomorrow to try again. I promise photos for the rest of the week too, so get excited people. I know I've promised to kick it up a notch with those and I've failed to do so...but really, I will be getting better about it soon.

I'm off to watch Season 5...lots to discuss tomorrow!

Day 616, Part II

Exhausted today, yes, but more mortified now than anything else. A DC friend today emailed to say she say me on CNN today on a segment on the Bernanke hearing this morning. Ugh. I try my very best to avoid getting in shots, but apparently today I did not try hard enough. Perhaps I was distracted by almost falling into a hole in the floor. Luckily, the fall didn't make CNN, but yes, my demure reenactment did!!!

So utterly embarrassed by this. It looks like I'm dancing on the sidelines of this uber-important Senate hearing. You see, as I just said, I try my best to avoid the camera shots and not be on film. This morning, as Chairman Bernanke passed me, I quickly walked backward to get out of the shot. Little did I know that there was a floor outlet right behind me, and the cover was slightly ajar. In goes my heel through the hole and the rest was almost (thank God!) history.

Luckily, some fancy handwork saved me from falling off the tightrope. But of course, I had to immediately tell a coworker about it to see if they noticed it got in the shot. Dumb me didn't think the cameras were still facing my direction. It didn't, but my reenactment did. See the idiot in black pointing and swaying below? Yours truly. So embarrassing!


Reuters video from You Tube

Day 616

It's 3:00 AM, and I've been lying here awake now for two hours. Too much on my mind, I guess, so I thought maybe some writing would be my warm glass of milk and somehow magically put me back to sleep.

This is killing me too, because I was so incredibly tired Monday and I have to wake up in three hours to be at work by 7:00 AM today. My body is exhausted, but my brain is still spinning and my eyes are wide open.

I've had bad sleeping issues the past few years now. Either I'm out cold or awake every few hours. This sleeping behavior is different though...usually only happens when I'm worrying about something and my mind just won't seem to shut off. Tonight, or this morning I suppose, my thoughts have been racing.

Packing, moving, to-do lists, things to buy, things to sell, how to make everything fit...and that's just one upcoming project. Upcoming trips, and how to pay for them all, paying my rent, paying my bills, relationships with friends and family and others, friends moving away, friends getting married, friends having babies. All in my head.

I've thought about how to become more organized, more spiritual, more responsible. Working out, work is so busy tomorrow, making some calls, make more to-do lists...all of these things have flashed in my head as I lay here. Flashed in, but I can't seem to get them to flash back out.

Maybe now that I work this all from my mind, down to my fingers and out onto the screen, I'll finally be able to steal back a few desperate hours before waking again. Wish me sweat dreams...today is another busy day.

Day 611

I'll be the first to admit it, I am not that great at picking up the phone and chatting it up. I can write until my face turns blue, but that's not the same. I'm talking about actually having a conversation with another person. Hearing their voice makes so much more of a difference. You detect a tone, feel their emotions. Again, not the same as a face-to-face conversation, but definitely the next best thing.

I come from a long line of anti-phone talkers. My grandmother, love her to death, but she has the phone down before you can say goodbye. I swear, no one has faster conversations than my Mema. And mom too...if I want to talk to her, I almost always have to make the call. Not unless there is something specific will she make a call. But that's how we all are I guess. I make the effort to talk to my family, because I have to if I want to talk to them, but my friends, well...I am just not that great at keeping in touch by phone.

I guess it is just easier for me to communicate by writing out my thoughts. I'd much rather sit down and write an email or letter; I suppose because I have more control over the message I am conveying. Silly, huh? Especially amongst friends. But I like to take my time, read through my words, and make sure everything is written out just right. Even my blog posts get edited two or three times before I can publish them. This is not normal though, and sometimes I feel like my inability to just talk something over hinders my social presence.

That being said, isn't it great to know that you haven't talked to an old friend for some time, and then you pick up the phone and it all comes back just as it's always been. Like we didn't miss a beat. You know that a friendship can sustain time and distance when you can just pick up after some time and keep on going. I talked to an old friend like that tonight, and am lucky to have her, and many like her, in my life. Good to know that through distance and absence, not much really changes.

Day 610

My 4th of July weekend trip was great, but whoa have I been tired the last few days. I didn't get any great pics though, because 1) it rained almost the whole time and 2) my batteries ran out as soon as the sun started to peak through. On top of just pure exhaustion from the trip, I have been the only one in the office the past few days because my boss is in Denver for a media walk through for the Convention. Therefore, no posts for the past few days. Sorry Charlies.

Anywho, not much to report, just starting to get things together for the move. I found these FANTASTIC silver and chartreuse bamboo chairs Monday on craigslist, and just went to pick them up today.




How great are they?!?! And only $75 for all three! The woman I bought them from is now searching for a round pedestal table for me, and I'm going to either have her paint it silver or black. I'm also going to have the chair cushions reupholstered, but not sure yet what direction I want to go in. I'll make sure and show them off when I get the set completed. She also had a great red accent chair that she said she'd give me a great deal on...I didn't ask how much because I wasn't focusing on that, but now I am regretting that because it was just so, so cute!

The only thing that I HAVE to buy for my new apartment is a wardrobe, because there is very limited closet space. I am most likely going to sell two or three side tables, a two drawer dresser and a large tabletop desk from IKEA. In turn, I'd also like to buy a small desk (with storage).

That's it. Oh, and some curtains...I've decided to hang them from the ceiling rather than the side walls to help give the walls more height. Eventually I am going to get a slipcover made for my couch too. Mom bought me this great black linen fabric for it, and it's been sitting in my closet now for almost a year. Shame, but I just haven't put aside the money for it. However, now that I'm getting so excited about putting my place together, I'm thinking about saving up for that as well.

Good news is, my aunt and uncle are going to help me move, and are enlisting some teenage boys to help. Thank God, because we spent WAY too much money on the movers last year. I really don't have too many big pieces to move, so hopefully we'll be able to take care of everything. Anyway, enough blabbing. Off to do some laundry now...still haven't finished unpacking/washing everything from my trip. Lots to do tonight.

**UPDATE**
I kept thinking more and more about that red chair, so I emailed her about it. Not only is she holding it for me, but marked it down from $150 to $85 to $65!!! I LOVE this chair too and think it will fit just fabulously with the design in my head. I think I may have just found a new BFF! Come Sunday this baby is mine!! Love it!!

Day 602

Whew! I'm not sure how all you mommas out there do it, but I am exhausted already. I've been keeping my cousins (well 3 of 4) since this weekend b/c my aunt is in Switzerland for work and uncle is in Italy with child #4 Ryan, who is playing in an international soccer tournament there. Anyway, tomorrow I am packing up the minivan, the dog and the kiddos (with friends) and heading to my grandparents house in West Virginia for the 4th.

The thing is, I really enjoy playing momma. I know I'm not quite ready yet, but I look forward to when I'm no longer playing, but living and breathing this life. Speaking of, I got news yesterday that my sixth, yes sixth, friend is pregnant right now. I'm sure there's even more out there that I just haven't learned of yet, but just want to give a shoutout to all you soon-to-be mommas and know you and your little beans in my prayers!

One more thing before I have to start packing...I'm sure most of you are unaware, or could care less, but the U.S. Swimming Olympic Trials are this week. I LOVE the Olympics, and of course especially swimming, and so I have been glued any news and coverage I can get of it. As exciting as it is, watching swimming and getting into this sport all over again, it's been pretty hard too. This is the time dad and I would share...I'd call and we'd discuss everything from the coaches to the technique to the new swimsuits. There have been so many things this week I've seen that's made me want to pick up the phone and call dad. Ugh. I guess it's been the first time in a while when dad's absence has really affected me.