We Move Your Life...

The movers showed up at 8 am this morning - in a semi truck that said across the side of it, "We Move Your Life" Indeed they do. WOW.

We hit the road tomorrow am with the doggies...pray for no snow over the mountains! My car will do fine, but Steve's is not the best winter driving vehicle. The weather down here in Denver today was beautiful and 70 degrees (made us ALMOST not want to leave!) - but seriously, it was a nice day to pack the truck. Fingers crossed for at least decent weather in Seattle when we unload this weekend...

Patience is a Virtue

Impatience is a sign of hurrying; hurrying is a sign of worrying; worrying is a sign of fear; and fear is a sign that someone has temporarily forgotten that it's never too late to change their thoughts and therefore their "things." And for these reasons, time will forever be on their side.

Glad we could straighten that out...

- The Universe www.tut.com

Happy Easter!

Is anyone else alarmed that it is Easter already? Where is this year going? I know Easter came early this year (by the Lunar calendar) - but WOW.

Luckily for kids in Denver, Easter eggs are COLORED because if they were white, the kids would be totally screwed on their egg hunts since it SNOWED overnight. Seriously. I went out on the porch and took a photo of Luna this morning...and it eerily reminded me of the photo I took of Luna on the porch on Xmas morning!

As far as everything else - we are in the home stretch of packing up our house. The dogs are getting nervous because they see us packing boxes and hauling out the suitcases. We have also had several folks coming and going from the house this weekend. The gal who is renting our house here in Denver came by to measure rooms and take photos. We are also selling some of our furniture on Craigslist, so visitors have been coming by to look at different pieces and move them out of the house. Several friends have stopped by to lend help with projects and say their goodbyes.

Friday was Steve's birthday. We went out for dinner with his mom, brother, brother's girlfriend, and nephew at Texas Roadhouse - yummy - love that place! (FYI - when we win the lotto, we are planning to open a couple T.R. restaurants in the Seattle area...I can't believe they don't have one yet...people out there would LOVE IT!)

This has been a week of farewell parties. I had my work "Farewell Happy Hour" last week. Yesterday I met with my girls Ronda, Brit, and Jayne. Today we will have lunch with Alaina. Tomorrow I will have lunch with Betsy...it's all getting very REAL at this point.

Thankfully, while it seems a lot of things are chaotic and changing right now...some things remain the same...Killer reminds me of this every day.

Killer's favorite toy is a multi-colored, stuffed ring. His favorite game in the world is to set the ring on the arm of the sofa, and then push it over the edge with his nose. Then he proceeds to stare at it until one of us picks it up and tosses it for him. He is very focused - almost Zen - about the whole process. He will stare at that ring for a LONG time - almost like he is WILLING it to fly across the room! Love that little guy...

Househunters

We have been in Seattle the last few days looking for a house to rent. We've seen a LOT of houses! Older houses with tiny stairways and no closets to brand new houses with sunken master baths and Viking stoves...houses with no yard, to places with huge evergreen trees in the backyard...small places in the trendiest areas of "old" Seattle with spectacular views of Puget Sound, to larger ones with longer commutes and split-levels as far as the eye can see...

...all for about the same monthly rent!

And the winner is:
THIS ONE! It is on one block of new houses built within an older suburb of south Seattle, west of the airport and east of the Sound. We will be within 15 min. to my parents house to the east, and 15 min. of my sister's house to the west - and hopefully - just a 20-30 min. commute to my new job (fingers crossed).

Best of all - there is a big, fenced backyard for Luna and Killer - they are going to LOVE IT! Our place in Denver has only had a small, fenced frontyard area of shrubs and mulch - so they are going to freak with a big grassy yard to play ball in!


Yes, if you look closely to this picture (doubleclick on the photo to enlarge) - you will see flowers IN BLOOM - it is spring already in Seattle! What a change from the snowy winter weather we are still having in Denver. As you can see from these photos, we actually saw some sun while in Seattle and it did not rain the entire time (although it did rain every day for at least awhile...)

Oops! 11 months...

Can you believe I missed my own LID-versary yesterday? I am a bit preoccupied I guess...

Thanks Marcy for reminding me...(good thing there are folks out there paying attention!)

A Bit Overwhelmed...

Moving sucks. We all know that...and this will be my fourth time in three years! Or, to put it in even bigger perspective - my 11th time in 13 years! UGH. I sure hope this is the last move for awhile...

It has been a crazy week. Since we made our decision last weekend to make this move, emotions have been running high. I have literally cried at least once every day since last Friday (when I was offered the job!) Most of the tears are tears of joy - feeling blessed about how everything is coming together. But there is also a little sadness of leaving my friends here in Denver, and a little bit of fear about starting a new job after being at a job I have loved for the past four years...

On Tuesday I made my announcement to my co-workers at our department staff meeting. Halfway thru my announcement, I burst into tears. Seriously. Wednesday we had to tell our landlord we were breaking our lease early...(it was not up until July). Thursday we started making calls to people out in Seattle who have homes for rent - setting up appointments to see houses when we are out there next weekend...Friday we started cleaning and packing like maniacs because our landlord wanted to start showing the house...and Saturday we had people coming thru the house to look at it.

The good news is, it appears we have rented the house - so we will not be held responsible for the rest of our lease (and should get most of our security deposit back!) YAY! Since interstate movers charge you on your move by it's weight, we are now in the process of getting rid of stuff left and right - donating to Goodwill, selling items on Craigslist, and flat out throwing away a LOT of things! It feels really good to simplify. But it is also exhausting! I have literally 10 rubbermaid tubs of stuff just for Lia (and her room!) - what the heck?

Of course every time you move, you come across all sorts of old items - yearbooks, pix of yourself with ex's - as well as pix of yourself looking 10 years youngers and 20 lbs. thinner...talk about motivation to get back on track with your diet...

One of my good friends here in Denver announced on Friday that she will be moving to London in July. I am excited for her (and it makes me happy to think that I won't be leaving her behind here in Denver). I know she and I will stay in contact via email, just as I have with my good friends all over the country - (shoutouts to my girls in Philly, OK City, Des Moines, North Carolina!)

...and of course I am happy to have all my wonderful "cyber" friends who can follow me where ever I go - which is awesome. Somehow, knowing that all of you are out there encouraging and supporting me, makes all these big changes a little bit easier to swallow - thanks ladies! :)

...and now back to packing...

BIG News...

...no, I'm not pregnant.

...and no, I don't have an adoption referral yet.

BUT - I DO have a new job and will be moving soon!!! This is the news I have been holding back the last couple of weeks. I was really waiting for everything to come together - and it HAS!

I am leaving my current position at the pediatric hospital here in Denver and moving back to my hometown - SEATTLE!!! We have been considering this option for quite a few months - and it could not have come together in a more perfect situation. I have actually been offered a job within the adoption community in Seattle! I am absolutely thrilled - and so is Steve. Goodbye snow...hello rain!

Of course there are several friends I will miss terribly from my seven years in Denver. But in the long run, this seems like the perfect opportunity and timing for us. It is also a great chance for me to work in a field I am truly passionate about. You know what they say "do what you love, and love what you do!" My new job starts the first week of April - so there is a lot of stuff to do in the next few weeks...like pack - and find a place to live... eek!