Friday, June 29, 2012

Trust.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6). I am trying to claim this promise today. Help me to trust, Lord!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Countdown - Zero days to Seattle

Today is THE day. Moving day, that is.

I am so excited. My stress is mostly gone after a long prayer session last night asking for strength. The only thing I'm having a hard time relaxing about is the prospect of our two car hater cats being cooped up in a carrier for two entire days. We are not looking forward to that aspect of the move.

I am indulging in a rare morning cup of coffee, waiting for the laundry to finish and making a list of the cleaning yet to be done. We hope to be ready to go in four hours, as that's when the office opens and we can drop off our keys.

Today - drive to L.A. and spend the night with hubby's sister.
Tomorrow - drive from L.A. to Seattle. Hopefully.

Seattle, here we come!

Friday, June 22, 2012

Countdown - Two days to Seattle

I so wanted to blog this week all about my adventures packing and getting ready for our move. There just isn't time!

Some statistics:

Two more days!
9 more boxes to the post office
Two more days!
16 boxes total shipped
Two more days!
1.25 bathrooms left to be cleaned
Two more days!
5 more meals before we leave
Two more days!
2 stressed cats
Two more days!
2 semi-stressed but very excited adults
Two more days!
104 degrees in Mesa, sunny
Two more days!
55 degrees in Seattle, rain

TWO MORE DAYS!!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Countdown - Four days to Seattle

Only four more days!! I am starting to get really, really excited. Can we move tomorrow?

Obligatory kitty photo

Does he look ready to move?

Today I accomplished a lot. I scrubbed down kitchen cupboards, the medicine chest, and the rest of the master bedroom closet. Hubby and I cleaned off his desk, packing everything that needed to be packed and getting rid of the rest. We dropped off a huge bag of hangers at the donation bin and had to buy more packing tape.

Sorry if these pictures are boring, but to me they represent accomplishment! Living in my house, it's harder to see the changes. Looking at these photos, I can see evidence of an upcoming move.

Kitchen cupboard

Second kitchen cupboard

Above the stove

Medicine chest

Closet

This morning we took a trip to the post office. We mailed off our comforter and a giant stuffed bear that my husband had as a child. Originally, the plan was to pack both in the trunk but we decided that since they are light enough to ship cheaply, we should clear additional space in the car. We also mailed a box of books and talked to the post office about media rate. We can ship the rest of our boxes media rate at an estimated $17 a box! That is way cheaper than replacing our library.

Boxes of books ready to ship

Tomorrow we'll take the remaining boxes to the post office and start packing the trunk. Our suitcase is almost full with all the clothes that we won't be needing in the next four days. I can't wait until we hit the road!

Monday, June 18, 2012

Countdown - Six days to Seattle

We've slowly been making progress with move preparation. Before I returned home, hubby got rid of the couch and chair. I keep forgetting that we don't have one anymore!

I've packed up six boxes of books, culled out my closet for clothes I don't wear, and started sorting through my kitchen. We are shipping a few boxes, packing our car, and getting rid of the rest. It feels freeing to eliminate most of our stuff! So much of it we don't use or need. Now we have the opportunity to start over and keep our purchases to what is actually necessary.

Despite the progress made thus far, our house doesn't look too much different. It's cluttered but small areas are slowly starting to empty out. Today I emptied out my side of the closet, scrubbed it down, and vacuumed the floor. Then I emptied our game shelves and scrubbed those down. Tomorrow I'll start consolidating the kitchen and cleaning the empty cupboards.

Game Shelf - everything packed up and shelves cleaned

And in the middle of it all, I feel the need to be creative. I'm trying to finish up my denim quilt before we leave. It's extremely hot here in Phoenix but Seattle has daily highs in the 50s! I might need that quilt sooner than I think.
Bucket of denim

Pile of denim

Cutting out blocks

Quilt in progress, inspected by local Quilt Police

Monday, June 11, 2012

Home again!

After nine weeks, I am back home. Whew! I'm still trying to get settled, though that's not really possible since we're moving to Seattle in 13 days! A much longer post is soon to come. :) I hope all are doing well!