Competition #1

So we have a few ideas to try to get our family involved in our move! It's nothing extravagant, and some may think it's silly, but we want you all to experience some of this with us so that we can feel our family and friends throughout each step! SO here goes.

 

COMPETITION NUMERO UNO!

 

For our first shipment we were allotted 900 lbs. We didn't have a scale or anything, we basically just put it all in a room and hoped we were within limits. Well, today we got the final "poundage" of our shipment from our movers and your job is to guess how many pounds we were at! Below is a picture of the room...

Now, I did add a few things, and there are a couple things you can't see so I will try to help you out there as best I can. On the far left side we have the big pack of toilet paper and paper towels, and we added a desk that we bought (semi-small from my IKEA trip!), and I also added an extension cord, and a pack of straws from WalMart. Can't tame me, i'm a wild one ;)

 

The way to submit a guess!

-comment on this post!

-comment on the link I have on facebook leading you to this post

-send me an email :)

 

Winner will be announced tomorrow night at 7pm our time.

What does this winner get?....

WINNER GETS THE FIRST PHONE CALL WE MAKE FROM JAPAN!

 

so you better make a guess!!!!!!!!!!! only one guess per person! and no changing your guess once it's submitted!!!!!!

READY, SET, GUESS!

 

ps.

we will have another competition soon, so keep an eye out! ;)

An insight into a crazy mind

This above saying rings so true with me right now! I find myself going absolutely crazy with all the things running through my mind lately...between work, school, packing, toddler time, life, bills, dogs...it all starts to pile up. So this post is two-fold. It will give you an insight into my [crazy] mind, but it will also allow me the opportunity to write down everything that has my mind on overload. And let's face it, sometimes making a list is just the easiest thing to do.

READY.SET.PREPARE YOURSELF

• Dogs gotta go to the vet tomorrow, gotta get them caught up on shots and all their records in order for my mom
• I have my dentist appointment tomorrow. last one. big YAY.
• movers Tuesday. nuff' said.
• [^I wish nuff' said...]
• gotta get the final things together...toaster, bedding in space savers, extension cord, toys,
• oh that reminds me, clean logan's room
• clean my room (like that's gunna happen)
• 2 weeks left of school, 4 papers left to write. lord help me.
• {screaming toddler, can't think}
• need to look at a stroller for our travels
• need to look for a fan
• water bill due this week
• gotta clean real good tomorrow (sending my mop and vacuum in our shipment Tuesday)
• oh crud. I need to borrow a mop and vacuum before we actually move so I can clean.
• need to clean out the jeep and take it to a dealer to see what they will buy it for

ok i'm done for now. may not seem like much, but if you could see my house right now, and then know that in 12 days it has to be empty and spotless...you would probably be like, "good luck, sister!" ;) It'll all come together, of this I have no doubt. Now that we are down to crunch time, it's just a little bit more stressful, like most moves are. But it'll all be great! and if my above worries are the small sacrifice for the adventure that lies ahead...I wouldn't trade it for a bit.

Down to the days

Well folks, we are less that 72 hours away before the movers arrive for our first shipment. The house has officially exploded into a hot mess. We figured we would put all our items for this first shipment into one room...which I still think was a great idea, but in the midst of it all I feel as though my house is a disaster. We spent most of today in the garage, organizing and sorting through what is going into storage, what we are taking, and what we are selling...which resulted in an impromptu garage sell, and while it may not look like it, the garage is pretty much set.

We put tape down the middle of the garage; one side is storage, one side is take. Anything we didn't sell today got loaded up and taken down to the Salvation Army. We haven't even started on the inside though. Since we know we are downsizing, we have lots to go through. I've pretty much sorted through my closet but now we have to sort through what we are taking during our travels and what we are putting in our "to check" baggage.

I've basically started to just take one day at a time, if I think any further ahead I freak out and become crazy overwhelmed. So as of now, we are putting the last minute touches on our express shipment items which will get picked up at the beginning of this week!

Today marks 13 days left in our home. So crazy. To know that in 13 days this house will be empty, kinda freaks me out! haha. It'll all be worth it, but good golly, this is a lot of work!

 

Also wanted to update everyone on our going away parties...

We will be having our party in Portales on Aug 10 and one in Abq on Aug 16. We will head back to Abilene on August 17th to finish up things here.

 

Getting closer...

As we head into a new week we are literally days away from this move becoming reality. Next week our mover's come for our first shipment. This entails about 900 lbs of the stuff we will want right away. Basically stuff that gets there faster as it is shipped by air and not boat! So about a week ago I made a list of some of the "basics" that I imagine we will want right away...pillows, pots, pans, hangers, shower curtain...etc. all the big furniture and stuff will come much later. Since Jon doesn't have any days off before the packers show up, we opted to get a head start on it all today...

We figured if we put everything in one room, we can just direct the packers into one place, rather than scramble all over the house that day and get something we don't need, or forget something we do. So the toy room is now packing central. May not seem like much, but we are just getting started. I imagine our 900 lbs will go fast! haha. Thankfully my mama is coming in this week to help!

Hope everyone is doing well. I know we haven't been the best at keeping in touch lately. As August approaches we become more and more crazy. School will come to an end around August 11 and start up again around the 26th. So much to do! So little time!

Happy Birthday Logan!

July, 11th marked our little boy's 2nd birthday. I am amazed (as most parents feel) at how quickly these past 2 years have gone by. This kid has changed our world for the better in so many ways that I wouldn't even know where to start. His smile and laugh can brighten my day no matter what, and that's a pretty awesome super power to have.

 

For his 2nd birthday, we drove down to Portales and celebrated with family. We had a "Hotwheels" themed party since this boy is all about cars right now. This kid can not go anywhere without displaying some sort of car...car sippy cup, hot wheels car in hand, car clothes...you name it. He loves cars!

 MY HAPPY BABY BOY....LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOU'LL EVER KNOW!

 

A BIG thank you for everyone who celebrated with us! For those that drove down for his party, for Gary and Sandy for letting us use your home while you were out of town, for the help making food and decorating, and for loving our sweet baby boy.... We appreciate each of you so much and are so thankful we were able to celebrate his birthday with you all.

My Bucketlist

Bucket lists. We all have one, or at least we all SHOULD have one. As annoying as the saying “you only live once” or “YOLO” is, it rings with truth! Which is one big reason we are so excited for our Okinawa journey that lies ahead. The things we will be able to do and see will be once in a life time opportunities and I count myself blessed to be accompanying my husband on this tour. Soon we can scratch “live in another country” off my list J

This month has already proven to be an awesome month as far as my bucket list goes. At the very beginning of the month I was able to attend a taping for one of my favorite TV shows, The X Factor (read post here), and today I crossed another item off my list….

Call me crazy but if you’ve ever been to an IKEA store you would understand. This is like decorating, home goods heaven! We went in today looking for a bookshelf that we can take with us overseas that will hold all our many books, but we walked out with a few other things ;)

  

My post of the picture on facebook prompted more questions as to what else is on my list, so I’ll divulge a few more that I WILL conquer one day.

-Visiting Ireland

-Renewing our wedding vows at The Voodoo Doughnut Shop in Oregon and celebrating with a maple bacon donut. Oh yes, it’s happening.

-having a flower bed in the front of our home

-NYC is on my list of places to go

-conquering Cupcake Wars J

-Visiting the Harry Potter set in the UK

-try sushi. I’ve never had it. The thought of it makes me wanna puke a little bit, but I’m determined to make this happen when in Japan

-Visit the Presidential Library (GW’s)

-visit the 9/11 memorial in NY

-eat a cannoli at carlo’s bakery

-ride a Ferris wheel. Never done it

-stay in one of those underwater hotels at The Poseidon Resort

-go to a flea market

-go to a farmer’s market

-get my nurse practioner’s license. (one day, if I get motivated! haha)
 

Those are just a few. Some realistic, some if I win the lottery. I count myself blessed to have done a lot of things so far and I know the adventure that lies ahead in Japan will just add more to my list. (for instance, learning how to [effectively] use chopsticks!)

So awesome that I was able to visit this store today. May seem random and crazy, but it was so awesome and I got to do it with my 2 loves by my side J Doesn’t get much better than this.

 

LOVE

My world.

So thankful for my beautiful family. Counting my blessings tonight.

Let Freedom Ring

This time one year ago, my sweet husband was deployed to Afghanistan, fighting for the very thing we celebrate on this day. I'm so proud of him and all he has done and sacrificed for this nation. I'm also so grateful for all of the other families who are without their loved ones as they are overseas defending our country. I thought of them often today and prayed for their comfort as they celebrate another holiday without their loved one. So often we get caught up in the BBQs, fireworks, and having the day off, when really this day represents so much more. With that said, I soaked up every moment of having my dear husband by my side today. We didn't do anything crazy special, but just having him home was perfect. We didn't grill or anything, in fact he had a PB&J, I had spaghetti, and Logan had a hot dog! ha ha. But at the end of our evening we gathered outside with our neighbors watching and lit the few fireworks we did buy. Logan got to stay up past his bedtime and throw "poppers" (which he absolutely LOVED) and watched as we set off our bigger fireworks. He was such a happy baby and was in such a good mood for it all. It was beyond perfect.

 

 

On that note, here is a sweet picture of our precious baby boy. So hard to believe this little ball of cuteness is going to be 2 next week. I just can't imagine a day without him. I hope you all had a safe and wonderful 4th of July. Happy Independence Day! :)

The X Factor

If anyone knows me they know my obsession for reality TV...yes, I am one of those people who watches that stuff, don't judge me ;)

Yesterday my mama and I had the opportunity to go to a taping in Denver for this season! It was such an awesome experience.

And in case you're wondering, Simon Cowell is even more good lookin' in person ;)