OK, so the past 2 months have been an absolute whirlwind for my family. I can’t even remember the last time I made a piece of jewelry or posted on my blog or updated my website. If you think you are busy or have a lot going on, this is what I’ve been up to the past couple of months.
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OK, so the past 2 months have been an absolute whirlwind for my family. I can’t even remember the last time I made a piece of jewelry or posted on my blog or updated my website. If you think you are busy or have a lot going on, this is what I’ve been up to the past couple of months. . . In late April, my husband got a call about a new job. As soon as I heard the words, “sure, I’m interested. . . “, I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I knew if I heard those words, the job would be one that he couldn’t turn down. So, we sat for a few weeks waiting to see what would happen with the job . . . turned out that the job was offered to someone else in the middle of May. Whew! I figured we were out of the picture and wouldn’t have to pack our bags . . . . well, No! Shortly after the first guy turned down the job (mid-May), Jeff flew to Milwaukee for interviews. He got an official job offer on Sunday, May 25. Here is a timeline of my life the past 2 months…..May 24 – Although we knew he was getting a job offer, we weren’t certain of the terms. At this point, I wasn’t convinced he was going to take the job. Plus, I figured it would take most of the summer to sell our house & I’d get to spend all summer in Oregon. . . . yeah right. May 25 – Jeff got an official offer for his new job. It was one he’d be insane to turn down. May 26 – We work feverishly to clean & declutter our house so we can officially put it up for sale.May 27 – Our house was listed at 3PM; at 3:45 PM (while I’m still doing some touch-up painting), a couple stops by to see the house; at 5PM that same couple officially tour the house with their real estate broker; at 9PM we have an offical offer for our house. June 6 – I get backed into in a parking lot. Not too much damage to my car, but enough to require a trip to the body shop. Luckily, the guy admitted complete fault & there is no out-of-pocket expense to me. June 7 – Family flies to Milwaukee to go house hunting.June 9 – Jeff & I find our house & make an offer.June 10 – Our offer is accepted. (I also turned 40 this day!)June 11 – Kids & I fly to Florida from Milwaukee for vacation to see Grandma Macy (we’d had vacation planned for a long time). June 13 – Jeff meets up with us in Florida.June 16 – Jeff flies back to Milwaukee for work.June 18 – Kids & I travel back to Oregon – I’m so glad I won’t have to make that trip anytime soon! Although I loved going to Florida, it will be so much nicer to only have a 2+ hour trip instead of all day, plus a 3-hour time change. West coast to East coast is no fun! June 20 – Packed up my jewelry bench with my friend, Marleah. Thanks to my neighbor, Frank, the gin & tonics made that job much less painful! (Actually, the Tepley’s kept the gin & tonics flowing all week . . . thanks, Caroline & Frank!)June 21 – Going away party in our neighborhood. I miss our neighbors so much. Thanks for organizing the great party, Caroline, Liza & Kirstin! The food & margaritas were great!June 23 – My van is picked up and loaded onto a car carrier for the trek across country.June 25 – Movers come to pack the house. Cat is starting to go crazy!! She knows something is happening. June 26 – Movers load our stuf onto a moving truck. Kids, cat & I camp out at our neighbors house down the street. Thanks, Sue & Eric!June 27 – Our house closed. Spent the day with my buddy, Karen, and the kids at Green Peter Lake in Oregon. Gorgeous day. I spent that evening saying many tearful “goodbyes” to all my neighbors. Claire spent her last night at the Tepley’s & Will spent his last night at the Vela’s. My last night was spent drinking wine & eating fresh crab with Toby & Kirstin & Alex. A perfect ending to my short stay in Oregon. June 28 – I took one last hike with Karen. I get teary-eyed just thinking about it. The kids, cat & I left Corvallis in the morning to head to the hotel airport so we could relax by the pool. June 29 – Kids, cat & I fly into O’Hare. Jeff picked us up and drove us up to the hotel in Milwaukee where we stayed until we got our house. June 30 – Drop off kitty at the vet to be boarded until we took possession of the house. July 1 – My car arrives on the car carrier with a big dent in the front! The semi was in an accident, and of course, my car just happened to be where he got hit! More hassles. . . . July 2 – Closed & took possession of our house. Yippee!!! During our closing, we got a phone call that the moving truck broke down in Montana and our shipment would be delayed for 2 days. Ugh. More time in a hotel room with no pool & 2 kids. July 5 – Moving truck arrives!! Now the work begins!July 9 & 10 – My brother, his wife & 4 kids stop through on their way for vacation. I hadn’t seen my brother & his family in 2 years, since we left for Oregon. July 11 – Jeff left for Las Vegas for work. Shortly after he left, my parents, my sister & her kids arrived for a week. We had 9 people in the house! Yikes. It went surprisingly well, actually.July 19 – Family leaves to go back to IL. Old neighbors from Chicago come up to go to lunch with the kids & I. It was great to see them and it will be nice living so close to our friends in Chicago & family again. July 20 – NOTHING! Kids & I hung out and relaxed. Did a little exploring around here. July 21 – Jeff comes home from Vegas. And, we’ll do more of NOTHING!!! Oh, I have to take my van to the body shop to get repaired. Still on my “to do” list . . . find doctors for everyone, a family dentist, start working out again, sign the kids up for school, find activities for them (gymnastics, soccer, etc.), and more. I have so much to do, but one of my main goals is to get my jewelry bench set up some time soon. I miss playing with fire so much! My mother-in-law is visiting us 8/13-18. I’m really looking forward to her visit so she can help me decorate. She has such a great eye for those kinds of things. . . . something I really lack!
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