Moving....

It's getting closer to the time that Nicole and I are going to have to pack up our house for the move. I'm dreading it. I keep trying to look at the bright side, that we will get the chance to declutter and start fresh. That we will have a smaller home, which seems easier to keep clean (at least in my mind), that we will get rid of all the things we don't need. But moving is such a stressful undertaking. I almost wish we could find the perfect house, move what we want to move and throw everything else in a giant dumpster and be done with it. I'm hoping to have a garage sale to rid of some things, and make some money for the move. I'll be donating a lot of stuff to Goodwill because I have a lot of clothes that don't fit me and if I were to ever actually lose the weight I want to lose, the clothes wouldn't really be in style anymore. There's no need to move them. I have some things I'd like to freecycle or give away and there are a lot of things that just need to be thrown away. Bill has taken most of his things to Oregon, but there are still many things in the house that belong to him that we have to either have him take, or have him store. I don't want to have a house full of unnecessary stuff. I want it to be clean and organized!

I guess the best we can do is start slow and move forward and hope that it all goes as smootly as it can.

Shooting Stars...

Last night, my daughter went for a walk with a BOY! They went up and sat on the levee and watched the meteor shower. Dear God...When did my daughter start liking boys!? I'm doomed.

I Wonder......

I wonder how my husband got to be 56 years old without managing to become self-sufficient? It's interesting that when he was planning his move to Oregon, he was really concerned about how Nicole and I would do without him. He put off leaving for several days because he feared we would not be OK. I kept assuring him that we would be just fine. We have, in fact, been just fine. I've managed to get on with my daily life, even without his constant nagging and complaining and the complete absence of nasty-grams left on post-it notes in various places around the house. Bill however.....he seems to be having a tough time. Let's go over a sampling of some of the things he has either called, emailed or text me about:

He couldn't remember where he left his wallet from the night before.
I think this was the part where I was supposed to magically know where he left it, even from 500 miles away.

He decided he wanted to get goats so he wouldn't have to mow the meadow, or hire someone else to mow it. He wanted me to check craigslist because he had no idea how much goats cost. He figured he would just tie them to a tree with a long rope and they would eat the meadow and life would be wonderful.
This is the part where I suggested he go to the library (he doesn't have Internet access at the house yet) and research goats before he goes out and buys a few. I also told him, that my limited amount of knowledge on the subject of goats, was that they would eat ANYTHING, including the "ropes" he intended to tie them to. I don't think goat farming is as easy as picking up a cat to get rid of your mice.

He couldn't figure out how to get his margin right on a Word document and wanted me to give him step-by-step instructions on how to get his entire document to line up the way he wanted it.
First...I have been using Word 2003 for a long time. He was using Word 2007. which I also have, but I hate it. Why can't Microsoft just leave stuff alone? Anyway...I tried to help him, but I was at work at the time and I didn't have a ton of time to walk him through it and try to get a document (that I couldn't even see) to look like he wanted it to look. He got mad, and said "FINE". Like I really did know how to fix it but just wanted him to suffer.

Every night when we talk he has to get his "Julie List" with a list of things he's thought of throughout the day that he either needs to tell me or needs me to do for him.
I'm still working 40 hours a week, raising a teenage daughter, taking care of the house and the dogs. Seriously, the man is retired. Why is he still so much work??

Remember When Summer Meant Vacation?

So here we are in August. I can't believe the summer is going by so quickly and it seems like I haven't seen much of Nicole. She's off doing fun summer stuff with her friends. Remember those days? When summer meant 3 whole months of just playing around with friends? Nicole went to Orlando for 10 days and had a great time with her BFF and family. She liked Epcot Center best. She tried all new kinds of foods and didn't do the vegan thing while she was there. She came home late on Thursday of last week and left Friday morning to spend some time with her Dad. She'll be home tomorrow and then she's going to Lake Tahoe for the weekend with the same BFF that she went to Orlando with. That's the way summer should be. Carefree and fun!