The light at the end of the tunnel

I think I’m starting to see a glimmer – but it’s still off in the distance.  Almost all the kitchen is packed.  Garage sale is mostly set up, but nothing is priced.  I’m so nerdy that I bought labels that I can print on for pricing.  That way if I need a bunch of .25 stickers, I can just print a batch and not have to hand-write everything a million times.  My house is still a mess, but I’m slowly making progress.  I didn’t sleep very well last night.  I went to bed at 12:30ish, but am sure I didn’t sleep until sometime after 3:00.  Even then I didn’t feel like I slept.  At one point I was mad that I wasn’t sleeping, but then I realized that I had been dreaming so I must have been sleeping.  I got up a little after 8:00 in spite of the lack of sleep and got busy.  My friend Pam came over and helped for a couple of hours.  Even though I know I’m getting close, there’s still tons to do. 

Yesterday I met my fellow speech teachers for one of our “very important speech teacher meetings” at a local restaurant.  They were really nice and gave me money to buy something for my new house and they got me cards.  It was nice to be able to see them and enjoy a couple of margaritas and mexican food. 

Matthew also called me yesterday.  He was going to fly to North Carolina to see his youngest daughter but his flight was canceled.  So he wanted to let me know that he had more times available for dinner since he was going to be in town this weekend.  We’re tentatively scheduled to go out Saturday after the garage sale assuming I’m not too exhausted.  I told him I could use a drink or four. 

Even though I’m going to miss everyone around here, I am really looking forward to making a new start of sorts.  I have grand plans to get my house set up where I can keep things organized and know where to find stuff.  It’s amazing what you find when you finally pack and clean things out.  It’s almost like Christmas when you find an item that you didn’t know you had but would have used it if it hadn’t been hidden for the last seven years or so. 

Today’s agenda (not in any particular order):

Mollie to groomer (done)
Finish packing
Set up and price garage sale stuff
Take Mollie, Max, and Lucy to vet for shots
Get new collars & tags for pets
Pack car with clothes and stuff to take to San Antonio on Monday
Take a nap
Eat leftovers for lunch
Goof off on the computer when I need a break

Another packing blog entry

I’m sure you’re tired of reading about packing.  I wish had more exciting things to share with you.  In a few weeks you’ll be reading all about the unpacking.  I spent the entire day packing and am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  It’s getting to the point where I’m having a hard time finding things to actually fill boxes.  What’s left are obnoxiously big items that you can’t really put in a box.  I’m trying to keep the boxes full which helps with being able to stack them.  I barely started on the the kitchen tonight but have decided perhaps it is bed time.  The hard part will be getting ready for the garage sale.  I didn’t even put an ad in the paper, but I think I’ll get enough traffic without advertising much.  If I put a sign at the corner, I’m sure I’ll get quite a bit of traffic.  And by not putting an ad in the paper, I should be able to avoid those annoying early birds that come an hour before the scheduled start time while you’re still trying to get things set up. 

A few of my friends are actually wanting to plan some get-togethers before I leave town.  That is really nice of them.  We are having a speech teacher “meeting” this Thursday at a local Mexican restaurant.  Next week I’m meeting with friends from church at a local coffee house.  I’m also going to have dinner with Michael at some point.  I talked to him on the phone last night and told him that I was going to rent the house to my cousin.  I think he was relieved to some degree.  I don’t think he really wanted to move again – though he would probably have enjoyed living here with much more space than he currently has. 

What’s there to tell?

Can you guess what I’ve been doing most of this weekend?  If you guessed packing, you’re right.  Sorry – no prizes unless you want one of the lovely items that’s up for grabs in my upcoming garage sale.  On Sunday my brother came by with his truck and we went up to my old school to get a bunch of boxes and stuff.  We brought it back here and unloaded it.  I did some more packing and stuff and realized that I forgot to leave an elevator key that I borrowed.  So I went back up to the school and ended up staying about 3 hours finishing up with more packing and sorting of stuff.  I filled my car again with stuff and headed home.  I went to the church picnic for a burger and hotdog and visited with people there for about an hour.  Then I came back and did more packing and started organizing files on the hard drive that I still have from the school.  I need to back up all my files so I’m trying to get it organized before doing so.  I stayed up until 1 a.m. doing that.  I went to bed shortly thereafter but couldn’t fall asleep.  I don’t know why.  I haven’t slept very well in general the last few weeks.  Stuff dealing with the move tends to pervade my thoughts at night and I can’t get my brain to shut down regardless of how tired my body is.

This morning I headed up to the school at 9:30 and turned in my exit interview form and visited with the principal.  He still said that he hated that I was leaving but that he understood.  I met with the teacher that is taking over yearbook and gave her all the equipment and stuff she needed and helped her move it to her room.  Then I also met with the other speech teacher and it was like Christmas for him.  He made three trips with a cart full of stuff.  I left around 12:30 and came home.  Then Josh and I went to the ATT store because he needed a new phone.  We put him on his own plan that he will pay for on his own.  I reduced my plan so I’m going save around $40 a month and will save even more once I get to San Antonio because I found out that I can get a teacher discount that will cut another 15% off my bill.  I’m trying to cut expenses where I can in order to afford the rent on the new house!  In spite of the packing that never ends, I’m really excited. 

I have most of my bedroom and bathroom packed now.  The house is still a mess, but I’m slowly making progress.  I think I will take something to help me sleep tonight and try for a fresh start tomorrow.  I think I will go see my doctor and get my ambien refilled.  It helps the most with my sleep issues without making me totally drowsy the next morning. 

Packing is exhausting

Maybe I’m just old and fat, but all this packing stuff is exhausting.  I am making progress though to look at my house you wouldn’t think so.  This morning I headed to Home Depot to get some brackets to create a hanging rack for the garage sale so that I can start hanging up some clothes and get them off one of the tables I need to use.  Then I went to Lowe’s to get PVC pipe because theirs was already cut.  After that I went to Taco Villa for lunch (again).  I came home and got some sorting done in the garage and then it was too hot to continue so I came inside and did more sorting (photos and frames).  I continued to sort and pack most of the afternoon.  At 4:00 I was pretty tired so I tried napping a bit, but kept getting interrupted.  I got up again 40 minutes later so that I could change clothes for church.  I had to go to church this evening because my brother is coming over with his truck tomorrow and we are going up to my school to get all my stuff up there that is packed. 

After church I came home and did more packing.  I started on my bedroom and will hopefully get that finished by tomorrow.  I cooked some spaghetti for supper as I’m now trying to eat up what is left in the cupboards and fridge in the next two weeks.  I was continuing to pack when all of sudden I felt a headache coming on and exhaustion set in.  I took some tylenol and have decided to call it a night.  I intended to stay up packing, but I think I just need to get some sleep and have at it again tomorrow.

Thanks for all the comments on the new house.  I can’t tell you how excited I am.  It’s much bigger than my current house so I’m looking forward to spreading out a bit. 

I have a place to live!

I was approved for the house and will be signing the lease agreement tomorrow morning.  Now I’m in Austin hanging out with Marty.  We just watched the first Harry Potter 7 movie and are going to watch the last one (again for me – first time for him) shortly.  Then I’m going to stay with my friend Brent.  Tomorrow I will head back to San Antonio to update my address and such with the personnel department.  Then I will sign the lease and head home.  Here are pictures of the new place.

View Full Album

Another Busy Day

I slept in again this morning but eventually got up and about.  I headed out to the south part of town again and went to lunch, looked at some furniture, went to best buy, stopped at Sonic for a coke and then headed to the appointment to view the next house.  It was a great place.  Nice large living area in the front with a second smaller living area in the back by the kitchen.  The kitchen isn’t huge, but does have space for a dining table.  The master bedroom is pretty large and it is separated in the back part of the house.  It has an attached bath with a nice large walk-in closet.  The two other bedrooms are side by side towards the front of the house with a bathroom close by.  There is a utility room right next to the garage and it has a security system.  The garage has an automatic door opener.  The backyard isn’t very big – but I think that’s probably a good thing – less to maintain.  The community pool is just down the street.  They property management company was anxious to get the place rented since the last renter skipped out so they waived the application fee which saved me $50.  The pet deposit is also cheaper saving me $300 total.  So I’ve put the application in and they called me today to ask if I had any paperwork verifying my employment with SAISD.  I told them I did and they also needed salary information.  So I went to their office to give them paperwork to copy and showed them the online salary schedule and the person working my application seemed to think all of that would be ok.  She said that everything was looking good so far so hopefully I’ll be able to sign a lease before I leave to go back to Canyon.  Then I can get my address changed at my bank and with the human resources.  After that, I have to focus on getting it changed on all my bills and. 

After I went to the property management place, I went to Kohl’s and did little shopping.  I did well only buying on blouse.  Then I went to eat at Panera Bread and thought of my fellow blogger Cheryl who would always write about being at Panera.  I thought the place was great – but my sandwich was ok.  The meant and veggies were fresh, but the bread was kind of hard.  I think I will order something diferent next time.  But the chips and lemonade were really good.  I should have tried the french onion soup I think. 

So after dinner I went to Borders.  I found two books for me and one for Josh.  I don’t why I bought books when I really should be trying to get rid of some.  Oh well, I’ll just leave them in the car and unpack them from there.

Now I’ve got to figure out all the moving arrangements.  It’s going to be insane trying to get it all done in the next two weeks. 

Tomorrow I’m hoping to sign my lease and take care of the address changes.  Then I’m going to Austin to see Marty and help him with his resume.  Then I’m going stay at my friend Brent’s place.  If I don’t have to go back to SA for anything on Friday, I’ll head back home then. 

Well, the last 1/2 ambien that I took is starting to kick in.  I think I’ll see if I can get another prescription before I move.  It might be odd to sleep in a new place for a few weeks.  It’s really getting exciting for me.  As I drive around town I keep thinking “I’m really going to be living here soon.  There are so many shops, restaurants, and other things to do.”  I’m ready to enjoy what San Antonio has to offer.  And I’ll be ready for guests after a few weeks – so if you’re interested in visiting, give me a shout!

Starting to fall into place

Slowly but surely I’m getting things figured out.  Yesterday I drove around to a few more properties and then tried to get a local bank account.  I chose a credit union in the area because I have enjoyed using mine where I live now.  I went in to the credit union, signed in and had to wait an hour for someone to see me.  I told them I was interested in opening an account.  I was told that I qualified because I am working for the school district, but without a local address they couldn’t open an account.  It was a catch 22 situation because I needed the local bank account in order to get certified funds to put a deposit down on a rental – but they wouldn’t open an account until I had a local address.  So in frustration I went to have lunch.  I went to Johnny Carino’s and had shrimp scampi.  I regrouped and headed back to the hotel to check out some other bank options online.  I decided to go with a nationwide bank – figuring that not having a local address would be a problem.  Since I already had a credit card with Bank of America, I went there.  They were happy to do business with me.  I don’t believe in paying for checking accounts, but thankfully the fee is waived since I’m choosing direct deposit.  I also opened a savings account and am doing the “keep the change” thing where when I use my debit card, everything is rounded up to the next dollar amount and the extra amount is automatically put into savings. 

I had my interview at 4:00 and I was late to it because of opening the account.  I got to the bank at 3:00 and didn’t get to leave until 4:00.  Luckily the school was only about a mile away, but I hate that I was late.  I apologized and explained why, but was concerned about it all night.  In spite of that, I thought the interview was pretty good.  I think I impressed them with some of my answers, but couldn’t really tell.  This morning I got a call from the guy that originally interviewed me in the district and he said that I was recommended for the job – so that is a relief.  I got the middle school and I’ll be in one location rather than having to split campuses. 

Yesterday I viewed two potential houses.  One was in a great location – only 5 miles from my school and in a very new and updated community.  It was a 2 story townhouse, but kind of small.  All the bedrooms were upstairs and one of them was very tiny.  There was only one full bath to be shared between all the bedrooms upstairs.  The living room and kitchen downstairs were fine and there was a half bath.  It had a fenced back yard and a two car detached garage but no automatic garage door opener.  The price, however, was really good.  The agent then mentioned another property that they had that just became available so we went to look at it.  It was a single story and larger by about 200 more square feet.  It had a better layout, larger yard, and a great master bathroom and closet.  It also had a double car garage both with openers.  The price was about $150 more per month, however.  It was also another 5 or 6 miles west from the other house making it further from school – but still manageable.

Last night I had dinner with my ex-husband.  We had a nice visit and he said that he is very proud of me.  He and his girlfriend just broke up so he’s still dealing with that.  I found some stuff that belonged to him while packing so I brought it to him. One less box to move. 

Today I slept in and then went out driving.  My cousin that lives here loves living “inside the loop” and suggested I look at houses in certain areas so I did a lot of driving around town today looking at more houses.  Only one area was really a place that I thought would be great, but the house was as expensive as the one I’m looking at tomorrow which is much closer and has a garage.  But I did get more of general feel for the city and where things are.  I made an appointment to view one more house tomorrow.  It is $45 more per month than the second one I saw yesterday, however, it is 500 square feet larger.  I think it would be worth it for more space.  It also already has a refrigerator which is a plus.  The other house didn’t come with one.  The neighborhood is also the same one where the townhouse was, but it is just a single story home.  It is also near the community pool.  So I hope to get the house decision wrapped up by tomorrow.  That way I can take care of updating everything with personnel at work before I head back home to do more packing.

San Antonio got a nice rainstorm today.  I started just after I got back to the hotel and lasted over an hour.  After it stopped I ventured out to get food.  I went to Cracker Barrel for dinner but they were having some issues.  Apparently the storm caused a surge of some kind which took out their grill.  So you could order anything that was baked or fried, but not grilled.  I ordered the roast beef but then they ran out of corn.  But I guess they did the best they could and I still left a good tip for the waiter because most of the issues weren’t his fault.  (Though he was slow in taking my order.)

So now I’m back at the hotel and am thinking of going to bed soon.  I’ve just been watching t.v. and looking up stuff on the computer.  I think I’ll sleep in again tomorrow.

Back in San Antonio

I intended to get up earlier this morning but since I stayed up so late I slept in a little bit.  I got up a little before 8 and hit the road by 9:00.  I got into SA around 4:45 and checked into my hotel.  I then went through my rental housing list and made a plan for doing some drive bys.  I checked out several properties in the NE area and found 2 or 3 that were acceptable.  Problem with the NE area is that it would be a bit of a drive to school every day assuming I get the middle school position.  I have an interview at the middle school tomorrow afternoon so we’ll see how that goes.  After checking out the NE area, I was really starving.  I hadn’t eaten anything since stopping at Burger King for breakfast this morning.  So I headed south and stopped at Whataburger.  I then checked out some places centrally located in SA and ruled those out immediately.  I then found the middle school and checked a few more places.  One I didn’t even turn down the street because I was already scared driving down another street to get to it.  It had gang writing all over the place and was very scary. 

I did find a place closer to school than the NE areas that I really liked.  The community is new and very nice and clean.  I’ve emailed a request for a showing, but will call tomorrow as well and see if I can get in.  It looks like it is empty.  I have a few more to check out tomorrow as well.  I also have to open a bank account.  I cleared out my savings and have a cashier’s check to deposit so that if/when I do choose a place to live, I can make all the deposits and such. 

It’s hard to believe that I will be calling this place home in just a few weeks.  It’s all happening really fast.  I don’t know how I’ll get it all done, but I’m sure I will somehow.  It’s late and I should get to bed.  It’s going to be a busy day tomorrow.

So much to do and so little time

I went to bed before midnight last night and was awake at 4:30.  I got up and made my hotel reservation and did stuff online and then tried to go back to sleep.  I gave up around 8-something.  I went to Amarillo to get some boxes at Home Depot.  Then I went to Taco Villa and had lunch.  (I’m really going to miss Taco Villa – San Antonio doesn’t have them.)  Then I stopped at Walmart to pick up a few things.  When I got home I started tackling the garage.  I started piling up garage sale stuff on tables in the garage and cleared the storage shelves so I could store my packed boxes and get them out of the house.  It is still a mess, but not completely maze-like with most of the boxes out.  I worked until I was exhausted and then took a nap for about an hour.  I got up and worked a little more and then headed to church.  After church I picked up dinner for Josh and then heated my leftovers from yesterday.  My friend Carol took me to dinner last night and when it was time for the check we found out that it had been paid for by someone else (including dessert).  So we ordered two cheesecakes to go and I really enjoyed it today.  I continued to work on the garage, do laundry, and pack my suitcase for my trip tomorrow.  I’ve made contact with three rental listings via email to see if I can set up showings for next week. 

I’ve printed out the information for the top 10 houses I’m interested in and will do some drive-by’s when I get to San Antonio.  I probably shouldn’t have napped today.  It’s 1:00 in the morning and I’m not really tired yet.  I should try to get some sleep soon – got a long drive tomorrow.

Trying to wake up

It was a late night for me.  I spent the day packing as usual.  I’m really making progress though it may not look like it.  I’m trying to fill boxes completely full and am getting to the point where it is difficult to find smaller things to fill certain spaces.  Problem is that I’m running out of room to store the packed boxes.  I can’t use the garage as I need to set up for the garage sale in there.  Can’t use the extra bedroom because my roommate is staying here for the second summer session.  To get through my house is like walking through a maze at the moment. 

I donned my Hermoine Granger costume yesterday and went to the movie theater with Josh and my friend Kirsten at 10 p.m. to get in line for the midnight show.  We were in line for an hour and a half before they let us in the theater.  Luckily we did get really good seats as we were in a good spot in line.  Kirsten and I sat in the middle of the second to last row from the top.  I think we were probably two of the oldest people in the audience.  It was mostly made up of teens and college students.  But they were pretty good once the movie started. 

I really enjoyed the movie.  Sure the studio took liberties that weren’t completely true to the book, but I thought it was pretty well done.  Of course I cried – but that was to be expected. 

Today will be a busy day.  I’m meeting a fellow speech teacher at the credit union so she can give me a check to reimburse me for what I paid for the nationals t-shirts.  Then I need to get a check that pretty much clears my savings so I can take it with me to San Antonio and open up an account there.  Then I’m going to lunch with my old theatre friends.  After that I will probably go get my oil changed and tires rotated.  Then I’m having dinner with my friend Carol tonight.  After that I’ll do more packing and start sorting garage sale stuff.  I’m not sure how I’m going to get everything done in the next three weeks, but I guess I’ll manage somehow. 

I guess I need to get up and going though I’d really like to sleep for another hour or two.

Shredding, sorting, packing, and house hunting

That pretty much sums up the past few days.  I really planned to wait and pack after I found a place to live, but it is probably a good thing that I’m starting early.  I realize I have too much junk.  It’s not to say that I’m not packing any of the junk – but I’m slowly making progress.  My house looks like a tornado ripped through it right now.  I have stuff everywhere.  I mentioned that I was going through stuff that has been in the garage for a while.  I spent almost a full day going through old bills and papers and such and shredding them.  (Thankfully, I have a pretty good shredder.)  I filled about 3 large trashbags with the shreddings (not sure if that is a word – but you know what I mean).  As I pack, I’ve been sorting through all sorts of things.  I have a big box of cassette tapes that I need to get rid of.  Several are commercial copies like my Garth Brooks tapes, but many are those that I made.  I even have the special tape that I made for my true love in the 8th grade.  I created a montage of song snippets expressing my love (or infatuation) with him.  I also have probably about a 100 video tapes.  Again – several commerical tapes, but also a bunch of tapes that are not labeled and I have no idea of what is on them.  I do still have the copy of the time that I went to California and tried to get on The Price is Right.  I didn’t get called to “Come on Down” but you can see me in the audience at least 4 times. I found a bunch of stuff that belonged to the theatre company that Richard and I used to participate in.  I friended the person who had organized the group and told her that I had the stuff and wanted to see if she wanted it back.  She said she did and we’ve made plans to have lunch on Friday.  I have seen her or her now husband (he was just boyfriend at the time) in probably over 8 years.  It will be nice to see them. 

During my breaks from packing (and there are many breaks), I’ve been doing some online house-hunting.  I’ve created a spreadsheet of all the potential houses in San Antonio that are within my rent range and have the features I’m looking for.  I’m able to copy the file into a website that will create a pinpointed Google map showing where all the houses are.  It will even color code it for me.  I have it coded by area.  That way when I do go down there (probably next week), I can organize my search.  Want to know how nerdy and frugal I am? (As if creating the spreadsheet and map isn’t enough.)  In the spreadsheet, I put a formula that divides the square footage by the rent cost to see which house gives me the best deal in terms of space for the cost.  

Today Josh and I had our picture taken for the church directory.  I know that I’m moving in less than a month, but I really wanted to have a nice photo of us and it was with a professional photographer.  So we had our picture taken and I spent an arm and most of a leg ordering some.  But we’ve never had a picture taken together so I figure it was time.  I’ll try to post a copy when they come in. 

Tomorrow night is the final Harry Potter movie.  Josh got tickets for the midnight showing last week.  I’m really excited and sad at the same time.  I’m going to go all out and dress up as Hermoine Granger. 

Well, that’s all that is going on here.  So much to do and I just don’t know if I’ll get it all done.  I really need more boxes!!

I have too much stuff

Today I started going through boxes that have been in the garage since I moved in seven years ago.  I’ve thrown a bunch of stuff away, but I have growing piles here and there.  I’m getting close to getting my books packed.  I still have way too many.  I’m up to eight crates and two boxes filled and probably will fill at least 3 more boxes.  I found a box of clothes that I stored when I outgrew some of the clothes.  I washed them and tried them on and I can almost fit into one of the dresses.  I still can’t wear most of the pants so I’ll put them in the garage sale.  I still keep talking myself out of going up to the school, but I really need to go up tomorrow.  I need to see if I can find some more boxes to use – I know that I don’t have enough right now.  Not much to report here – have been starting the packing process and it is making more of a mess right now.  I guess it always has to get worse before it gets better.

Too Many Books

I need to start packing, but I’m already overwhelmed by the number of books I have.  See for yourself:

One – mostly favorite fiction – Janet Evanovich, Sue Grafton, JK Rowling, Ann Rule, and several other mystery fiction with a few romance.

Two – Yearbooks and other fiction.

Three – Book club books that I haven’t read yet (and one paperback book that I have read)

Four – mostly non-fiction and Catholic books.  Very top shelf are miscellaneous books I cleared out of my bedroom at one point.

Five – More non-ficiton and my library school books.

Six – Rare books that I got before an estate sale sold them.

Seven – All my books on the Titanic that I’ve already packed.

Eight – Books on the headboard in my bedroom.

Nine – Books under the bed in my room. 

I think I’m going to have to try to cut the number of books by about half.  I have a LOT that I haven’t read, but plan to some day.  and then I have favorites that I don’t want to give up. 

Family Visit

I got a call from my aunt today asking if they could come stay with me this weekend.  They decided to make a trip here to see their new twin grand-babies.  (My second-cousin’s babies)  So this morning I changed the sheets and bedding in the guest bedroom – which is technically my roommate’s room, but she is not coming here until Monday.  I went to Hereford today and had lunch with my former mother-in-law.  We had a nice visit.  She wanted to know if I had heard anything from Richard (my ex) but I told that I hadn’t really talked to him much other than a brief chat about me moving to San Antonio.  I then went to the admin office to turn in my laptop and it seems they shut down early on Fridays.  Luckily I was able to catch one of the computer guys and give him the computer.  I then went to the school and got all the boxes I had left in my room for packing.  I think I’m going to need a lot more.  I packed my Marvin the Martian stuff today and it filled four boxes already.  But that is one area that I’m not going to pare down.  I will need to go through the tons of books I have and try to limit myself – but I have several favorite authors and I like to keep the books.  I think my Kindle is certainly helping since the recent books I’ve been getting are on it, but I still have a lot to sort through.  My aunt and uncle got here around 7:30 so we headed to dinner at Feldman’s.  I had the chicken fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gray and some corn.  It was so good.  I only ate half of it and brought the rest home for lunch.  Tomorrow night we are going out to dinner again.  I’m not going to get much done this weekend probably – but it’s good to have family here – especially since I won’t be able to see them as much when I move. 

Nothing to Report

I’m still procrastinating, but that’s nothing new here.  House is still clean which makes me feel good.  I went to the movies today to see Bad Teacher.  It wasn’t a very good movie, but there was some interesting humor in it.  We then went out to eat at a really good Italian restaurant.  I had my old favorite of spaghetti with meat sauce.  But I also had a salad and an Italian Margarita.  I only ate half my dinner so I could have dessert which was a white chocolate raspberry ice cream truffle.  It was sinfully good. 

Tomorrow I’m heading to school as I have to return my school laptop.  Then I am going to meet my former mother-in-law for lunch.  Other than that, not sure what is in store.  Oh sure, I still have my to-do list – it is just slow going. 

So nothing much to report.  I’m taking a little bit of a break, but will have to get on task soon.

Stumbleupon, Inspiration, and Laziness

I know it seems like I’m always on the go – always doing something, but in reality, I am really quite lazy sometimes.  Sometimes I enjoy those days of doing absolutely nothing.  And that is what most of today was.  I really should have done other things.  I’m starting a to-do list on my iGoogle page, but only got a few things done on it today.  But yesterday I cleaned all day and I haven’t really had one of those do nothing days this summer.  So I figured I deserved a one-day vacation before I have to get my butt in gear.  After finally getting sleep after the insomnia bit last night, I slept until about 9:30 this morning.  I mostly played on my computer.  I checked out some banks in San Antonio and started looking at options for cable and internet.  I also looked at a bunch of rental houses that I might want to check out when I go back down there – assuming that they are still available.  I caught up on laundry, did the dishes.  I did get out of the house briefly to pick up McDonald’s for lunch and a coke zero.  But mostly I goofed off online and watched t.v. 

One of the things I do from time to time is click through stumbleupon which takes you to random websites.  You can customize it to some degree where it mostly finds things one might be interested in based on subject areas.  I have found a few new favorite sites because of this.  One of them is a blog called GoodMorning & GoodNight that is just a mish-mash of quotes, pictures, videos, articles, etc. I really like a lot of the quotes posted on the site.  Believe it or not, one of them is the reason why I ended up getting the interview in San Antonio.  I had submitted my application but was contacted by personnel for some additional  information.  I wasn’t sure if I wanted to submit it because I was kind of scared of actually getting a job there.  I wasn’t certain about moving and with it being such a large city, I thought it might be overwhelming.  But then I saw this quote on that site that day:

And so I submitted the information and files that they needed to complete my application.  Then they called me for an interview and the rest is history. 

I’m also a post secret fan and each week I save the images of the cards that mean something to me.  In the same vein, I also save inspirational sayings/images that I find using stumbleupon.  I’ll leave this post with a few of my favorites.

So tell me – have you ever been inspired by something or someone else that changed your life? 

Lame Laser Show

No fireworks this year due to dry conditions.  So instead we had a laser show at the park.  It was rather lame.  They played somewhat patriotic music and had cheesy graphics and it only lasted about 15 minutes.   The only cool thing was that they were showing a movie on the big screen they put up afterward.  But I didn’t stay for the movie.  I got my house cleaned today and even packed a box of stuff.  I made fettucine alfredo with shrimp and it was quite tasty.  Josh made a fruit salad for dessert.  My friends Kirsten and Pam came as did Josh’s best friend and girlfriend.  Matthew declined the invitation saying that he just wanted to stay at home and do nothing.  We watched Galaxy Quest before the laser show so that was entertaining.  The girls and I are planning a movie night sometime this week to go see Bad Teacher. 

I went to bed around 11:00 tonight and fell asleep but woke up an hour ago with some heartburn and haven’t been able to get back to sleep.  I took an acid reducer and half a tylenol p.m. and am waiting for the meds to kick in.  Since I was up, I typed my resignation letter and emailed it to my principal.  Tomorrow I have to focus on getting the yearbook finished.  That is the project for the next two weeks.  After that, I will focus on getting packed and moved.  I’m not sure how it will all get done!

When I had lunch with Matthew the other day, he said that if I wanted to try to rent my house out to someone else for more money, that I could take the month of July to do that.  I wasn’t really planning on doing that, but after he said it, I thought of someone that might be interested in it.  She is a high school classmate of mine that just lost her husband and home in a house fire.  I thought I might see if she is interested in it.  I thought I could help her out by offering a decent place at a reasonable price that she might be able to afford given the circumstances.  So I sent her a message and she said that she would like to check it out sometime.

Well, I think the meds are kicking in so I’m going to try to get some more sleep.  Hope you all had a Happy 4th of July.

Time to Clean

So what am I doing instead?  Surfing the web.  I went to church today and visited with my friend Carol who is happy for me about the job, but hates that I’m leaving Canyon.  I then went to Amarillo to have lunch with Matthew.  It was a nice visit – but I think all the romance that was once there is gone.  We are just friends and that’s probably a good thing.  I went to the grocery store after that to get stuff for the 4th of July.  I’m going to make shrimp fettucine alfredo.  I came home and was completely exhausted so I took a nap.  I must have slept well because I was dreaming hard just before waking up.  Can’t really remember the dream much, but I think it was interesting. 

Our county has banned all fireworks because the area is so dry.  That means no fireworks show tomorrow night.  Instead, they have some kind of laser show planned.  Since I’m only two blocks from the park, I guess we will walk over and check it out.  My friend Kirsten is coming over and Matthew may come as well.  Josh’s friend and girlfriend may also be here.  That means I have to clean house – which is what I should be doing.  I did just tidy up the kitchen, but I need to wipe down the counters, sweep and mop.  Then I need to clean the living room – especially my desk.  I did at least throw the couch cover in the washer.  I also need to clean my room tomorrow and catch up on laundry.  I need to wash my bedding and all the clothes that I took on my trip. 

Speaking of clothes – I got a very nice compliment from a stranger while I was in San Antonio.  I was at Barnes and Noble and a guy told me that he really liked my outfit and that it looked nice and summery.  That just made my day. 

We are about to get hit with some storms – thank goodness!  We certainly need the rain.  I’m sure there will be people that will violate the firework ban so hopefully the rain will help a little.

Busy, busy

I could use some down time.  I’m thinking about taking the 4th off from all the stuff I need to do – but not sure if I’ll actually do it.  I headed out on Wednesday with a stop in Denton to pick up a copy of my transcript.  Got it with no problem and then I went to lunch so I wouldn’t get into Austin too early.  Turns out I probably should have done some shopping or something as well because traffic was still horrible when I got there.  I got to Marty’s place around 6:45.  He hadn’t eaten so we headed to Whataburger to get him a burger and I got a salad.  We watched a movie (Hot Tub Time Machine) and I didn’t get to sleep until after midnight.  I didn’t sleep well but still had to get up by 6:45 a.m. to get ready and head for San Antonio by 7:15.  I made it to the HR department on time and did all the paperwork.  I filled out forms but some couldn’t be completed since I don’t know which campus that I will be at.  I gave them my transcripts and brought my SS card for them to make a copy of.  I still need to have my district send the original teacher service records.  I will make that request next week.  I chose my health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance and added some extra life insurance.  The cost for all of this is about 1/2 of what I was paying in my other district.  That should help with the paycheck a little.  Problem is that I’m going to have to pay 350-400 more a month in rent to get a decent place. 

I spent the rest of the afternoon driving around SA looking at some of the rent houses I found online ad just getting familiar with the neighborhoods.  I think I’ve narrowed down the area I should look into – but that means I’m probably going to have to pay $1000-$1100 for rent.  I was hoping to keep it between $850-$950, but if I want a better neighborhood, it comes at a higher cost.  It’s still a bit early to focus on specific houses.  I plan to head back in about two weeks to do some actual house tours and put a deposit down if I find something that works. 

Thursday was Marty’s birthday as well.  I made a stop at a bookstore earlier in the day.  I wanted to get a general book on San Antonio and while there I found a book on WWII for Marty.  He seemed to like the book and was appreciative.  Marty, his sister, her fiance, his brother, cousin, and I all went out to dinner Thursday night.  We ate at Saltgrass which is a steakhouse.  It was a nice time.  Thursday night I took 1/2 an ambien and slept much better. 

On Friday, Marty and I headed back to SA so that we could visit the Alamo.  We did that and then looked around the mall.  Marty found a toy soldier shop that he really liked so we checked that out as well.  We stopped in the Menger Bar for a drink.  Ok, I had a drink (Top Shelf Margarita which is the best) and Marty just had water.  My drink was pretty strong so when we left, I had Marty do the driving.  We checked out a few more houses and that made me decide that I wanted to focus on the NW area of San Antonio as most people have suggested. 

We headed back to Austin around 5:30 and met with our high school friend, Brent, at his house.  He grilled steaks for us.  We had drinks and great conversation.  I have to admit that I drank a bit much.  Don’t worry – I behaved (surprisingly).  We got back to Marty’s place sometime after midnight and I pretty much went straight to bed.  I slept in a little this morning and was on the road back home around 10:30.  It was a long drive and I was pretty tired. 

As I was going through Plainview, TX I witnessed an accident.  About 1/4 of a mile ahead of me, I saw a pickup truck barrel across the median at probably 70 miles an hour and flip over on the opposite side of the highway.  I pulled over along with about 6 other vehicles to see if the guy was ok.  Turns out that he was able to get out of the truck so he didn’t seem to be seriously injured.  He had a cut on top of his head, but it wasn’t bleeding badly.  A lady was there that seemed to have some good first aid training tried to keep his neck still.  The guy didn’t speak English but there was a person there that spoke Spanish and tried to give him instructions from the first aid lady.  They guy said his back hurt so she tried to get him to lie down, but he was insistent on trying to make a phone call to someone.  The police showed up and dealt with traffic and a sheriff deputy showed up as well.  Since a bunch of other people where there helping, I went ahead and left before the ambulance arrived. 

I got home about 6:30 and I’m planning on going to sleep soon.  It has been an exhausting few days.  I’m going to church in the morning and then having lunch with Matthew tomorrow afternoon.  Not sure about my plans for Monday – kind of just going one day at a time right now.  I think I need to get a list going of all the things I have to get done in the next month.