Category Archives: Moving

May 16 2016

My First Cali-versary

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My First Cali-versary

I’ve been here a year.

One whole year. After a year of being in a place, it’s maybe supposed to start feeling like home, I suspect — but sometimes I still look around and think, Wait a second. I LIVE here? This usually happens while I’m driving, for some reason. I’m on the highway and at some point I inevitably notice I’m heading toward a mountain and there is this almost out-of-body experience. I have to actively remind myself, This is my HOME. There are mountains. There is not a whole lot of space or fresh water or lush green grass, but there are mountains, yes, and this is where I live now.

Am I weird? (I mean, yes, but am I weird because of this?) What’s the timeline for this kind of thing?

Maybe it’s because this alleged “year” actually feels like twenty minutes. Okay, three months. Four, tops. The other day I called someone to make an appointment for something and I said, “I’m not sure exactly where you’re located — we just moved here from Michigan a couple months ago.” Wait…what? That’s not right. “I mean, it’s been almost a year or something. Anyway. I have no idea where you are.” Continue reading →

Apr 19 2016

New House Update: T-Minus 5-ish Weeks

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New House Update: T-Minus 5-ish Weeks

We have a final walk-through date (May 26)!

We have a tentative closing date (May 31)!

Now that we have those things, and because people have been asking, I figured it might be the appropriate time for a new house update.

For the last few months, we’ve been driving to the construction site about every other weekend so we don’t miss any of the progress — and man, does it feel like crazy fast progress. These guys are TRUCKIN’. There are dozens of other homes going up in the area, too, and all of them at warp speed. Continue reading →

Nov 30 2015

No Negativity November: the Debriefing

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No Negativity November: the Debriefing

As this month wound to a close, I thought it would be funny to stage a meeting with Al in order to evaluate the efficacy of No Negativity November.

Earlier this evening, I approached him with an administrative-looking clipboard and set my phone on a nearby table. “It’s time to debrief,” I told him.

“What do you mean? Debrief about what?”

“It’s very official.”

“You’re still in your sweatpants.”

“Absolutely,” I said. “Now, I’m going to record this interview, okay? I will report this verbatim.”

He played along. I knew he would. I also knew he had exactly zero idea what was going on, as he doesn’t read my blog. Luckily, he seemed amused. I pressed record. Continue reading →

Sep 25 2015

Things Fall Apart

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Things Fall Apart

Literally. Things are LITERALLY falling apart in our rental house. It is raining things to fix.

By now, you might be wondering if there’s a chance I’m making all this up — because, really? If I didn’t have photo evidence of what follows, maybe some of this stuff might be hard to believe.

A couple weekends ago, there was a thunderous crash from upstairs while we were all in the living room. When Al and I looked at each other, there was actual fear on his face (something I’m not sure I’ve ever seen). Is someone in the house? we asked with our eyebrows, and he started up the stairs. Peaches went charging after him despite my protests, and a moment later she came running back out of our bedroom. Continue reading →

Jun 10 2015

Rodents and Spiders and Pests, Oh My!

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Rodents and Spiders and Pests, Oh My!

It’s taken half a month, but most of the boxes are unpacked. Most of the rooms are set up. The floors and cabinets and bathrooms are clean (for now).

When I first envisioned my We-Finally-Officially-Moved-In! post, I totally imagined that it would be this glittery, sparkly thing brimming with well-won optimism and hope. Fast-forward past two-and-a-half weeks of hands-and-knees floor scrubbing, steam-mopping, and breathing in bleach fumes at seven months pregnant, and it turns out I’m not QUITE in sparkle-mode yet. Sorry if you were expecting that. Like I said, I sort of was, too.

toddler dipping feet in hot tub

Testing the hot tub waters on our last day of temp housing.

We’ve been in the rental home for a few days now, which means we’re done with the whole temporary housing situation; for a while, we were driving back and forth between two “homes,” unpacking one, then going back to sleep at the other. So the good news is, eliminating one of those living spaces was a key first step to feeling settled. Check.

The rodent.
Then, early last week, I was in the garage unpacking some shoes. I was humming to myself — yep, literally HUMMING…for a minute there, I was determined to make the best of it — when I heard some rustling. Continue reading →