Rockin’ Rock Band and good friends June 19, 2008

For our last night in Richmond, we went over to our great friends house for dinner and to just hang out. M and Boom used to work together, and started at the same time after b-school - so we had all moved to RIC at the same time and lived just a few blocks away. K is such a great gal - she has an awesome sense of style (I always take notes when I see her!) and just is funny and a lot of fun to be around. She also is able to entertain in a casual, I’m-not-trying-too-hard kind of way that I am envious of.

Their 2 bambinos are adorable. G-man and Ollie - M and Boom were actually out of town together on a business trip when she went into labor with Ollie, so I was the one who drove her to the hospital! I remember being totally worried and freaked out, and looking over at K, she looked so calm and pulled together.

Here are the guys. “We are NOT twins!” - G-man. Clearly Ollie looks like K and G-man looks like M.

After dindin, we rocked it out playing Rock Band. So fun!

K only sings, and I am best on guitar. Drums is super hard. I did try singing once - wasn’t very pretty, but I managed to get through.

It was apropos that we spent our last night with them. Since we all moved here at the same time - and we actually spent our first 4th of July in Richmond with them as well!

Speaking of good taste…

I was so pleased to see my hostess gift of a silkscreen of The Fan was hanging up in their kitchen! I really am honored that K put it up, since she is rather particular about stuff like that.

Couple friends, where both hubby and wife get along with other hubby and wife, are hard to come by. So I am really sad that we left K & M - for many more reasons than just we got along great as couples.

K was one of my closest friends in RIC, not that we were on the phone constantly with each other, but that I knew I could tell her anything and depend on her if I needed anything. She was really great during the tragedy and really helped me get through it, and over it (as much as you can get over something like that).  and she sometimes surprised me with how much she got about me - like this move to H-town… one of the added benefits of moving was that people wouldn’t know about the tragedy and I wouldn’t have to wonder if they knew or what they knew of it.  Not that was a driving factor at all, but K got that it would be nice to kinda start over in that sense.  and it was something that I thought only Boom and I had considered.

Anyway, I digress… Rock Band was so fun and we totally miss M & K!

Scenes from unpacking June 19, 2008

I had the brainiac idea to paper our floors before the movers came.  It actually was a good idea, but took a really long time (esp. the stairs!  We did each stair individually!) - in the end it was well worth it.  I think our floors would have been a lot more hacked up otherwise.  I did start to complain at one point the night we were papering, and Boom reminded me that it was my ideal to do this.  Hrump.

Here the house is - all papered and ready for stuff!

Here’s Marmie - all ready to check numbers off boxes!  She and dad were so sweet to come down and help unpack and get organized.

Of course it had to rain on moving day.  A little reprieve from the heat (can you see the steam rising from the driveway?!) - and break from moving.  It stopped after about an hour or less, and then back to the grind.

Boxes everywhere!  Good thing there is a lot of space!

Mom working hard - busy little bees, we were.  We got the kitchen in good shape before moving onto the living room, bedrooms and craft room.

With all those boxes came a lot of packing paper and cardboard.  The movers took a lot of that stuff - but since they did not do a full unpack (like planned - they weren’t done moving in the boxes until around 7pm, and they were the same folks that were supposed to unpack.  No way they were getting it done before midnight.  and I was super tired of having strangers in my house.  I think the moving company should have sent other people to unpack while they unloaded the boxes.  Oh well - at least Marm and Dad stayed for 6 days to help with all that!) there was a lot left for us to deal with.

Here is some of the boxes and paper we had to contend with.  We decided to break down all the boxes and smooth out all the paper, so that Boom & I can put it out for recycling.  Not all at once (there is way too much!), but bit by bit get it out there.

My cutie patootie parents!  They are really such good sports.

I thought the supply of paper and boxes was never ending.  It was a daunting task, but the 3/4 (Boom was also unpacking stuff in the garage / putting together the plastic shelving to organize the stuff in the garage) of us made it go by pretty quickly.  Nearly done…

Yay!  That is the last of it (kinda).  We have more boxes and paper that I need to break down and flatten out.  We took a good load to the curb today (recycling is on Wed) but have a ton left.  A few more weeks and we’ll have our garage back.  (Aren’t Dad’s shorts a hoot?!  All the neighborhood men had a pair and wore them with tux tops and jackets for the Beach Boys concerts!  Too funny!  I love that my parents go out a bunch and have a good time with their friends still!)

And here is the lovely chandy - all cleaned and ready to be hung.  Marm and I cleaned every little nook and crannie, quite literally.  We had Q-Tips that we were using to get into the really tight spots.  It was so clean and sparkly!

Here are my folks - right before they left H-town.  Their trip down was great, not just because they were a huge help to Boom and I, but all 6 of us got together for dinner nearly every night!  And Yarbs would come over during her lunch break (she literally works about 5 mins away from me).

The handy man came over earlier this week to put up the chandy in the dining room.  Starting to feel a bit more like home…

Farewell, Richmond House June 17, 2008

Some scenes from packing / moving week:

The first large purchase I ever made as a married woman - we had no where to sit in our dining room, but I came home with the largest chandelier I have ever seen. Boom, to his credit, loved the chandy, but was wondering when we’d get furniture. All crated up…

And here is the crating man (how would you like to be know as that?!) padding all the large crystals - and then the crate is packed full of paper for the ride down.

Boxes boxes everywhere!  No space - anywhere!  And we didn’t have any hot water the whole time we were back in the house - since we have no more oil in our tank, and don’t feel like outlaying $400+ to fill it when we aren’t even there.  (and most all of our toiletries were packed up - so no soap for the last day that we were in the house).

Our teeny little couch - legless, getting all wrapped up for the trip down.  I felt like he was making a cocoon around the couch!  We really didn’t have much upholstered furniture in the RIC house.  Not a bad thing, but that means we need a lot for this new house!

There was a whole lot of drama with the moving van, as they didn’t put up “No Parking” signs (even though I called and emailed them days before the actual moving out of boxes and stuff).  Highly irritating, but we worked it out.  The cab had to be unattached and parked across the street.  Boom and I - we are over all the moving!  and likely kinda sweaty and dirty ;-)  Just call me pig pen…

So this is what they had to do to my bathroom wall to get into the wall to ascertain the damage - can you see why I cried?  and the toilet had to hand out in the shower for a while - very odd.

And here is the culprit - an 8-foot metal tube that had a huge crack nearly the entire length.  Evidently someone let the pipe freeze - way before we were ever the owners - and a tiny crack just got bigger and bigger.  and then we got to deal with it.  Fun times.

It was actually very sad to leave the house - the first house we ever bought!  and we were newlyweds in it and did a lot of growing up.  So a change of scenery is good, but always sad to leave the past behind.  We hope someone(s) will come and fall in love with it and be good owners.  It was a great first house and we want someone else to get to experience what we did in it (with an updated kitchen and custom built-ins!).

Packing - Day 1 June 4, 2008

Packing up of the house commenced today.  and it was quite an experience.  At the height of it, there were 7 people in the house - 4 packers, 1 handyman, 1 chandelier crater, and 1 moving company person.  Craziness.  Since I like to be in control, it was hard for me to see other people packing up all my stuff, all over the house, and not being able to watch all of them as they were packing.  But I just had to let it go.

I know that it is great that we are having the house packed up, but at the same time, it was very odd and overwhelming.   Every last thing was packed up in the bathroom before I could pull any of it out!  Note to self - make them tell you when they are moving on to the next room.  or put all your toiletries aside before they come (headed to the drugstore to buy travel sized items of most everything)!  At least I have learned some stuff for the next time we move (hopefully not for a long, long time) - I think the unpacking will be just a chaotic - esp if my mom and dad are there to “help”.  I just need to assign them a room and kinda what I expect them to do.  

AND we have a cracked stacked pipe from the upstairs bathroom.  Which means our handyman will need to open up the wall for the plumber to see where the crack starts and stops.  Then fix it and then handyman will need to patch the wall back up and paint.  Great.  This is when the tears started flowing.  I had kinda felt like crying all morning, and definately after I saw the water leaking on the basement floor, but when that news was delivered, I couldn’t help it.  I did prepare our handyman and plumber, as I knew the waterworks were going to start. 

Oh yea, happy birthday to me.  Fun times.  I need a drink ASAP STAT!

In the RIC June 3, 2008

I am here, my former home, which seems sometimes more like home than my current one.  It is weird to be in the house with nothing really in it.  I mean, all the furniture is there, but all the cupboards are bare of food and there is nada in the fridge.

I am currently in the library (putting my VA taxes to good use) using the internet. I didn’t bring my laptop down as we do not have the router in the VA house.  So I can come here and use the internet for 1 hour a day.  Pretty good rationing, I think.

Tomorrow I am a year older.  Not to sure if I am a year wiser, but a lot has happened personally in the last year.  Not all positive, but I have learned some and grown as a person.  Both Boom and I have been through a lot, so I am hoping that this next year in my life will be a better one!  Luckily for me, I have the best hubby in the world, and a lot of really, REALLY great friends.  I do consider myself very, very lucky and appreciate him and them all very much.

I hope all the packing up and the whatnot goes smoothly tomorrow!

never seen a car so full May 20, 2008

We really loaded the Accord down when we drove to H-town… Ruby had the best seat in the house! I was glad we did not stop - I would have been scared someone could have robbed us of many of our worldly possessions. As it was, I was scared that someone was going to rear end us (not sure why I had this fear) - which they did not, thank goodness, but that would have been a huge pain in the arse.

Backseat - behind passenger (moi) - so I was not able to put my seat back.

Princess Ruby - behind driver seat (Boom; he literally drove almost all 20 hours. I think I may have gotten behind the wheel for 3-4 hours. But, to my credit, I didn’t just snooze like I usually do on roadtrips. I stayed awake most of the time to make sure Boom was still awake! Really, I think he preferred to drive b/c the drivers seat was less crowded than the passenger seat).

Passenger seat - jammed packed! and those are my lovely knees…

Driver - this is definitely a fake smile on Boom, either that or he is grimacing so hard it looks like a smile.

Our trusty Garmin (that I like to call a Tomtom), Lorraine, that got us to H-town and is getting us all over this city. Tho pushy sometimes, she is usually right on.

We’ve been here now a full week - kinda almost surreal. But good. and warm… very very warm….

Almost Time May 10, 2008

We are headed down to H-town tonight - gonna drive through the night.  Fun times.  So I will likely be radio silent for a few days, until we can get our wireless internet up and running.

Wish us luck!

The Real Reason Boom wants me down in H-town ASAP May 9, 2008

Boom’s other co-worked down in H-town is somewhat of a partier.  And Boom gets brought into all of his plans of going out.  Last night they went to Rich’s - the largest dance club inside the loop!  And were out until 3am!!!

Boom called me before they left the hotel - he thought that it might be a gay club (but I hadn’t heard of it from Yarbs) so he thought he might run into Yarbs and Josephine.  Turns out it is not a gay club, he thinks there were likely some gay men there, but there were also a lot of ladies and straight peeps as well.  He said it was packed.  and totally crazy.  So his new fav spot

So Boom is hurting this morning - in part of his moaning, he was all like, I can’t wait for you to get down here to save me from going out!  My body can’t handle it anymore!

Ha, so now I know the real reason he is so anxious to get me down… somehow I don’t think that he will be exempt from all forays into Houston nightlife, but definitely think the wife card can get him out of at least a few.  As long as he doesn’t try to drag me out with him and his partying co-worker…

The Other Gals May 8, 2008

Last night I had dinner with Gretty, Cubby, Court and Ali. It was really great to see them, and I am proud to report that I held it together. No tears, though I was close to turning on the waterworks a few times (not sure if anyone noticed or not - I am not usually as smooth as I might think that I am).

I think I have a kinda uncertain, worried, stressed out vibe going on right now, and I don’t like it. I hope the gals didn’t pick up on it too much. I tried to push it down and be just regular Tingaling, like I prefer to be.

It does make me happy that I will be seeing most of them in the next few months (like Gretty said “The Summer of Us!” )- San Diego trip for Gretty and Cubby, and then Court is coming down for the Red Sox - Astros series. And I’ll def be back up to get the house packed up and Kandy A and Stevie’s weddings this fall, so hopefully I’ll be able to catch up with them all in person then. And I am promoting January and February for H-town visits, as it is so nice during the winter.

Gretty and Ali - so cute!

Court, Cubby & I - cute cute cute!

When I think about it, I met all these great gals through Gretty. Boy, am I glad I was in push up position next to her at Seals that morning! And I am glad that I basically forced her to be friends with me - I really don’t think she was all that fond of me in the beginning. But my perseverance paid off - she is great as are all the others.

Oddly enough, Cubs and I became closer when Gretty was on her 2 month adventure last summer between jobs. I guess we were both missing her, so hung out together. Which was great - as Cubby is so awesome. Sometimes (most times) I can’t believe that she is younger than me (4 years! born in 1980!!!!) as I usually feel like she is more mature than I (guess that isn’t too hard). I also think that since she is a big sis and I am a little sis, that somehow plays into the dynamic (perhaps subconsciously).

Court is the founder of wine club and a rabid Red Sox / Patriots fan, like Boom. So it is great because she and Boom have a real connection as do she and I - I love it when that happens! (and yes, Boom has a connection with the others as well: Cubs - their shared love of music / same sense of humor and wittiness, Gretty - they are great buddies - always have something to talk about, and he - as well as I - loves all the members of her family!) and she’s always up for having a good time, which is great.

{BTW - Ruby is tooting! Audibly! That dog…}

And last but not least, Ali (and Chuck). She is so great b/c she is always smiling and laughing, and just a great, genuine person. She and Chuck are one of my fav couples I have met in RIC. So nice, too, ’cause Boom likes them both - which sometimes can be tricky if spouses don’t get along. I wish I had had more time to get to know Ali, but I am hopeful that we can stay in touch.

I am really gonna miss everyone. But I guess we have to leave to move onto the next adventure…

Week of Friends May 8, 2008

This week has been great as I’ve eaten most of my meals (not bfast) out and with friends. So glad to get to see folks “one last time” before we drive off into the sunset. I realize that I have a random group of friends, but I have always been like that and I really love having all different friends.

Monday night I got to have dindin with Gentz (+ hubby) and Poindexter, two of my very dear friends. Gentz and I went to undergrad together, but really became close post graduation. Poindexter and I met through the Junior League - and as I always say, the 2 best things that I got out of the Junior League was meeting Poindexter and Stevie (another great friend).

Sadly, I was so beat down and discombobulated from traveling that I forgot my camera. Would have loved to have captured those two cats on film, but another time. Goodness knows I have many photos of them, so that is good.

Poindexter just started her new job and it is great! Which totally rocks and I am so glad for her. She is such an awesome person - so upbeat and always positive and ready to be your cheerleader. When her father passed away a year or so ago, I didn’t know what to do, so I didn’t do much and I feel like I was a bad friend during that time. Which stinks, as that is when people need good friends the most. Anyway, I jut was an idiot and wish I had been a better friend.

Here is a photo from a dinner out with Poindexter and her cutie pie daughter back in Feb. I meant to do a little posting back then about them, but never seemed to get around to it.

G-money is rockin’ it with her fine stationary and gift store. That girl is a hard worker! We weren’t able to get together as much as I would have liked (esp. for living in the same city) - but life and busy-ness always seemed to get into the way.

Here’s a photo of the 4 of us from our going away fete.  Gentz is looking stylish and cute as ever! She is always put together and just looks great. Gives me something to aspire to (I finally washed my hair Wed - hadn’t touched it since Saturday night! That may be a new record for me - and I really shouldn’t be repeating that anytime soon).

Tuesday lunch I had with Tucker. She is great. I haven’t known her for that long (met her at the job I took in Jan ‘07, but she was on maternity leave when I started - so she probably started back in April of last year). I remember asking one of our co-workers (who had worked with her) before she came back if we would get along (I was a little apprehensive, as the chemistry seemed to be working out just fine the way it was). And D was all like, Oh yeah - you guys are totally going to be friends. And he was right! She was the one that opened my eyes to the blogging world! And the rest is history

I think when you are seeing someone everyday, and you actually get along with that person, you end up sharing a lot. And she was there and in the thick of things when everything went down. She is really empathetic, among other great qualities. And the situation at work was less than ideal, so I feel like we really bonded under those circumstances.

Luckily today I don’t have lunch plans as I have lots I need to get done!  Of course it is raining, though, which stinks for running errands.  Oh well, what can be done?  I do kinda feel like a post Seals nap - will have to force myself to push on through!