Moving Day(s)

It's been awhile, hasn't it?

Moving is a lot of work, as it turns out.  Thank goodness for my terrific friends and family.  I don't know what I could've done without them.

On Friday night, Ashley suggested that we go ahead and clean the floors and counters in my new house and move over all of my kitchen things to get them unpacked.   It seemed like a reasonable idea.  We met at the new house and made a list of things (cleaning supplies, mostly) that I needed to buy.

I headed off to Wal-Mart to get said supplies while my friends went to my apartment to start loading things up.  I was gone for maybe thirty minutes, and by the time I got back to my apartment, they had loaded up ALL of my boxes... not just the kitchen ones.  Also, they had loaded up clothing and knick-knacks.  My apartment was nearly empty.

This was my armada of movers:

Here we are, unpacking the kitchen things.

Keith kept Harper entertained.

So did Jeff...

Ashley and I did the cleaning and unpacking

While Harper played with the newspaper

And Kelli and Keith just hung out.

By the end of the evening, we were pooped.

On Saturday, my official moving day, I met my movers across town to pick up a washer and dryer that I purchased from an elderly gentleman who was moving.  After a minor mix-up, we were back at my apartment loading up the moving van.

The rest of that day is kind of a blur, but what I remember most is how amazing my friends were.  While the moving truck unloaded my things, I stayed at the new house to start unpacking and rearranging.  During that time, Ashley and Amber went back to my apartment to get all the random extras that weren't packed yet.

The only picture I have from that day is this one:

It's Jeremy hooking up my washer and dryer.  He did an awesome job!

When I got back to my apartment at the end of the day to do some final clean-up, it looked like this:

My old living room.

My old kitchen.

My old bedroom.

It felt really strange to be there without any of my stuff.  The last time my apartment was empty, I viewed it as a place of promise... the first place of my own.  Now, it seems like such a dump.  It really was a nice apartment, but compared to my brand-new house, it doesn't even compare.

It wasn't until I saw the place like this that I truly became excited for my house.

And so, I walked out of Apartment #105 for the last time...

And I haven't looked back since.

This is My Life

As it turns out, buying a house is a lot of work!  So much work that I simply haven't made time to blog.  Also, my puppy walks all over my keyboard whenever I get it out, which makes me not want to even try to open my computer most nights.

Spring Break
Oh, how I needed Spring Break.  I had a mountain of papers to grade on top of getting paperwork finalized on the house.  Though I could've used another week off, I am grateful for the time I had.

On Monday of that week, Harper went to the groomer.  I was unaware that it isn't like a human haircut where you go in, get cut, and leave.  Instead, you drop off the dog, wait for several hours, and then go pick him/her up when they call you.  It was nice to have her out for awhile, because it gave me some time to clean the apartment.

On Tuesday, I went to the dentist.  I decided it was finally time to break down and find a dentist in Lincoln rather than going back to my hometown every time I needed a check-up.  I found Cherry Hill Dentistry through a teeth whitening Groupon, and I couldn't have had a better experience.  Dr. Tanya and staff were excellent!  That said, I just love going to the dentist in general.  I've never had a cavity or any need for awful drilling, so I always just walk away with clean teeth.  I was surprised to not only walk away with a dental care kit (standard toothbrush, floss, etc.), but one of these:

An electric toothbrush!  With a charger and everything!  Granted, it's not the fanciest of models, but it retails for about $40.  I have great insurance, which doesn't have me pay a dime for a dental check-up, so I view this as a very profitable visit.

On Wednesday, I realized that I needed to kick it into grading high-gear if I was going to get everything done before 3rd quarter grades came out.  So, I decided to take Harper to Camp Bow Wow, Lincoln's premier doggy day care.  It is quite the business plan, let me tell you.  The staff was awesome, and as I filled out paperwork in the lobby, I made small talk with other dog owners, who all assured me that my dog was in good hands.  Even so, I nearly cried as I drove away.  I can now empathize with parents who have to take their child to daycare for the first time... absolutely heartbreaking.  My favorite feature of Camp Bow Wow is the camper cams, which allows you to watch online as your dog plays.  I picked her up at around dinner time, when they presented me with a digital picture of Harper playing with another dog named Frank.  Also, they fill out a D-Tails sheet to let you know about your dog's day.  Harper loved it (I think), and she was exhausted when we got home, which allowed me to get even more work done.

I had a haircut on Thursday and an eye appointment on Friday.  I took Harper back to Camp Bow Wow both of these days to allow me to get work done at school.  It was money well-spent, as I was able to get most of my grading done.


March Madness
I don't follow college basketball at all.  I don't fill out a bracket.  I simply do not care.  But, when some friends asked me to go to a local establishment to watch the Final Four, I agreed.  I didn't watch one minute of the game, but I did have a good time catching up with friends.  Afterward, we went to Red Mango, Lincoln's newest frozen yogurt place.  I am generally underwhelmed with the taste of the yogurt... if given the choice between Red Mango and Coldstone, I'd pick Coldstone in a heartbeat.  If given the choice between Red Mango and nothing at all, I'd take nothing at all.  But it was fun to be with friends and take pictures of them:

Packing
Ugh.  I loathe packing.  During college, I got pretty good at it.  I moved ten times in four years (being an RA during the school year and a summer conferences assistant).  After college, the move to my apartment was just as simple as the other dorm-to-dorm moves because I bought all my furniture new, so the furniture stores delivered everything and set it up.  Since moving in, I have acquired much more stuff, which is making this move a bit more tricky.

I have the best friends in the world.  So many of them have offered to help me move, which, in my opinion, is the worst kind of work you can sign yourself up for.  I've had to start turning people away because I know there just won't be room for everybody who has offered to help.  Too many movers is a good problem to have, I suppose.  In addition to moving, my dear friend Ashley came over last night to help me pack my kitchen.  By that time, I had already finished packing the living room.

None of this packing was easy with this little monster running around:

Poor Harper doesn't know what to think about all of this.  She does, however, enjoy chewing on the boxes and attempting to get her paws on the newspapers I've been using to wrap the breakables.

I hate the feeling of emptiness that packing creates - nothing hanging on the walls, nothing on the shelves, the lack of color.  It reminds me of the last few days of school when the classroom gradually starts to empty itself of color and decorations.  I always get such a sinking feeling when I realize that another year of school has gone by.  And I have a similar feeling as I prepare to move out of this apartment.  I never intended this to be a long-term living arrangement, but in the short time I've lived here, I really have enjoyed it.  I had just gotten to know all of my neighbors and had just gotten to a place where I felt like I had everything that I needed and wanted.

I'm still not confident that buying a house was the right decision, but now that everything is packed up and ready to go, my feelings of stress have finally been replaced by feelings of excitement.  And ready or not, I'll be picking up my keys in fewer that 48 hours.  I am really looking forward to having a place to call my own.

Falling Into Place

Some people think that the lady that lives below me is a little bit crazy.

I think she might have saved me.

On Thursday of last week, the lady that lives below me was outside with her dog when I took Harper for a walk.  She suggested that Ashley (her dog) and Harper could play together this Spring.  I told her that it was a great idea, but that we had to move because Harper was too young to live there.  She was very disappointed and said that she was sad to have to see me go.

In the letter that my apartment manager sent me, it said I needed to be moved out by March 23rd.  Since the builder of my house foreclosed on it, the house is currently owned by Citibank.  I submitted paperwork with my realtor to request to move into my house three weeks before closing and pay them a per-day fee.  Then, I just had to wait.

Coincidentally, last week, I was reading my assignment for my grad class.  Our book is Hal Urban's Choices that Change Lives.  Two of the chapters that were assigned to us were "Prayer" and "Scripture."  In the chapter about prayer, Urban talked about the different answers God has to our prayers.  They are:  "yes," "no," "be patient," and "I have something better in store for you."

Even though my timeline for moving was getting shorter and shorter, I remained surprisingly calm.  I just kept keeping in mind what I had read about being patient.  Admittedly, I sometimes have a hard time trusting that things will work out how they are supposed to.  I should have been stressed having only twelve days to find a temporary place in which to move for a three-week period.  But, I was patient.

On Friday (March 11th), twelve days before I was supposed to move out of my apartment, I received an e-mail saying that Citibank has a strict policy against letting people move into their home before official closing.

Dang it.  This was the option that I was really hoping for.  I could use my Spring Break to move, which would prevent me having to take time off from work.  I wouldn't have to move my things into storage, I wouldn't have to inconvenience friends or family by moving in and imposing upon their lives.

But, the answer was a firm "no."

Patience is what I kept reminding myself of.

Within a few hours, I received an e-mail from my apartment asking me how much additional time I needed.  This was after several attempts to contact them and request an extension.  I replied with a request to stay until April 12th (only two days after my closing date), and within minutes I had a response saying that I could stay.

Hallelujah!

I couldn't believe it!  Why had it taken them this long to respond?  Why the change of heart all of a sudden?


Well, on my way out the door on Saturday morning, the lady who lives below me came out in her nightgown to tell me that she had gone to talk to the management for me.  She said that she told them that their puppy rule was ridiculous and that it was rude of them to kick a young teacher out of her apartment with nowhere to go.  I thanked her, and I told her that I thought she was the reason I was getting to stay.

I think I shall bake this woman an abundance of food before I leave.  And maybe buy her some flowers.  Any other ideas on how I can thank her?

So, the lessons learned (or, rather, reiterated) are:
-Be nice to your neighbors.  You never know when you might need them to yell at management for you.
-Be patient.  God is in control.

Amen.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
   and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
   and he will make your paths straight.

~ Proverbs 3:5-6 ~

Well, Hello!

It's been a while, hasn't it?

In my last post, I described the day I was told I had to move.  Things since then have been a bit crazy.  I began a thorough search of every home for sale and for rent in this city.  I went to open houses, I went to private showings with my realtor, I looked up information on the county assessor's website, I met with a mortgage broker, I made an offer (followed by several counter-offers), and I did a lot of praying.

In the midst of all of this, I had two nights of parent-teacher conferences, more meetings than I care to count, and a minor pet emergency which involved an a trip to vet and a week of prescription food and pills.

I thoroughly believe that this whole ordeal is a God thing, and He has really come through for me, just as He always does.  I met my realtor through a girl in my Sunday school class - it's her boyfriend.  He has been great to work with, and has been so flexible and understanding given my timeline.  I submitted my mortgage paperwork online, and God sent me to Noelle, a wonderful woman at WellsFargo.  She stayed after hours one Wednesday night to answer all of my questions and to go over in detail with me all that a mortgage would entail.

After all of the searching and paperwork and meetings, I am finally a homeowner!  Joe, my realtor, brought the paperwork to church this morning for me to sign.  I don't know of many people who sign their home ownership paperwork in church, but I can't think of a better place for it to have been done.

That was the easy part, I'm afraid.  Now, I have to order an inspection, wait for an appraisor to visit, complete all of the mortgage paperwork, and beg Angie, the manager of my apartment complex, to let me and Harper stay here an extra two weeks.  Apparently, banks don't think it's possible to close on a home in fourteen days.

Whatever.

Then, after all of that, I have to actually do the moving.  I hate moving, and I'm not very good at it.  And, since I won't be able to close before my Spring Break, I'll probably have to take some time off of work in order to get it done.  Unfortunately, April is a big testing month, so the timing on all of this is going to have to be just right.  And I trust that it will be.

So, that was the chaos update of my life.  Luckily, I have wonderful friends who have kept my spirits up in the midst of all of this.

Harper is doing better with potty training, and she loves visits from her Aunt Ashley and Uncle Jeremy.

Harper looks so small in these pictures!  She must be growing.  Which means I must start taking more pictures of her.

~~~

Saturday night was a bit of an adventure.  My friend Kelli called at 5:30 to see what I was doing at 6:00.  I thought maybe she wanted to go to dinner.

Nope.  Her nephew got into some trouble, so she inherited his tickets to the "Blizzard Tour," which was a concert featuring artists Cali Swag District, Sick Puppies, 3OH!3, and Nelly.  So, I agreed to go with her, despite the fact that my grad school homework wasn't done and I hadn't yet showered for the day.

There were tons of people there, and it wasn't really my type of crowd.  This kind of music isn't what I typically listen to, but it was free entertainment.  These people were loving it, though:

It was general admission seating, so we decided to sit fairly high up and out of the way.  Once we found some open seats, I realized that I was sitting next to a girl who I used to babysit.  She's fifteen years old now, which makes me feel old.  At one point, she and her friend decided to go to the bathroom and asked if I would save their seats.  I agreed, but in doing so, I had to shoo away a herd of former students who asked if they could have the seats.

Awkward.

Attention, former students:  Please don't judge me for having gone to this concert.  I assure you, I am not nearly cool enough to have done so.  Also, this music is far too inappropriate for you (and me) to be listening to.  Let's just keep listening to Bieber, who won't corrupt us.  Furthermore, I hope you didn't inhale too deeply where you were sitting.  And I hope you're too naive to know what that smell actually was.

Kelli was mostly interested in seeing Cali Swag District because she is a huge fan of "The Dougie."  In fact, she referred to this event as the Cali Swag District concert, even though they were the least well-known earliest performance of the night.

Can you see how excited she was?

Sick Puppies performed next, but I only knew one of their songs from the radio.  Also, they swore an awful lot, so I was ready for them to be done.

Then came 3OH!3, who had a few songs that I recognized.  They, too, swore a lot, which I didn't think was necessary.

Finally, at nearly 10:00 (way past my bedtime), Nelly came on with his St. Lounatics.

He was actually a pretty good performer.  I recognized most of his songs from the radio... he's been performing since I was in middle school.

By 11:30, Kelli and I were yawning pretty heavily, so we left.  Also, we wanted to beat the crowd out of downtown.  All-in-all, it was a pretty fun night!  Much better than grading papers, which I should have done.

Sigh.

Didn't See That One Coming

I was so looking forward to today... getting to spend time with my family.

During class, however, I got a phone call that shook things up a bit.  It was my apartment complex office telling me that, "it has come to their attention that I have a puppy, which is a strict violation against my lease."  Apparently, it says in my lease that they only allow dogs over the age of twelve months.

They have seen Harper, and she is clearly not twelve months old.

So, I was a teary-eyed mess for the last hour of my class today.  I raced home to hug my dog and ask my family to help me problem solve.

I decided to go immediately to talk to my manager to see what my options were.  Basically, I have to give up the dog or move out within thirty days.

The lady was also kind enough to give me her husband's contact information.  Apparently, he is the best real estate agent in town.  How nice of her!  She kicks me out of my apartment and then wants me to buy a house from her husband.  Fat chance.

So, I am here to announce that I am moving.

My dear friend Kelli is going house hunting with me tomorrow, and I'm headed to the bank on Monday to see how much money they think I can spend on a house.  I hate making these kinds of decisions so quickly, but thirty days doesn't give me much wiggle room.  I only wish that I didn't also have to deal with parent-teacher conferences this week.

Oh, well.

I keep telling myself that this is happening for a reason.  And I am trusting in the Lord with all my heart and not leaning on my own understanding.  I am submitting to him, for I know that He will make my paths straight.

It's all I know to do.

Wish me luck!

Moving Day

August 10, 2009 was the day we had all been waiting for. We received an e-mail late the week before letting us know that we could FINALLY start moving in our things.

We started the day with a tour through the building. We were in awe of how beautiful our new school was - such rich colors, the elegant tiles, and the lovely woodwork that is everywhere! My favorite feature is all of the light that pours in from the outdoors. That natural lighting seems to bring in such a positive energy.

After taking in all of Schoo's beauty, however, reality set in. The construction was still not done. Construction workers were everywhere. There was plywood on the floors of the hallways, the academic connections rooms weren't finished, and the worst thing of all (in my germophobic mind) was that there was still no soap in the bathrooms. "It will all get done eventually," I kept reassuring myself.

The rest of our day was spend entirely on opening boxes. Boxes of books, boxes of suppplies, boxes of bookshelves... boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes. Opening and sorting, opening and sorting.

Overall, it was an exhausting day, but also a very good one. I'm finally able to picture in my head how things at Schoo will be this year. Things became more real that day, and I was just sure that it was going to be a great year!

In the Boxes on the Semis...

All of our stuff was packed up in boxes and loaded on semis. We had access to nothing. As I sat around enjoying the lazy days of summer, all I could do was think about all of my teachers' guides that were in the boxes on semis, instead of being in my possession. If only I could have had them during the summer, I would have felt so much more prepared. I could have planned out elaborate lessons with fun projects and experiments. I could have made PowerPoints and study guides. I could have searched for additional resources to share with my class. Instead, I sat around playing solitaire and chess on my brand-new MacBook.

I am a planner, and I need to know (rather, I think I need to know) what is ahead, both in the short term and in the long term. I had high hopes of filling the pages of my lesson plan book (which was also in a box on the semis) before school even started.

I longed to decorate my classroom with colorful posters. I wanted to stock the cabinets with the brand-new school supplies. I wanted to arrange the desks and write on the white boards and stamp the textbooks with the "Property of Schoo Middle School" stamp. The posters, the supplies, and the Schoo stamp were all packed up in the boxes on the semis, and these things just had to wait. To appease my need to be in possession of something that would eventually be in my classroom, I went shopping. I spent hundreds of dollars on school supplies for my students and packed my car with my new purchases. Those school supplies came with me everywhere I went as we awaited the day when we would finally be able to unpack the boxes on the semis.

Finally, that day came.