{ Then this happened.... }

Sometimes unexpected things happen....and sometimes they leave you perplexed and wondering, just what in the world???

Aside from a few bruises here and there and some muscle soreness and tiredness, my husband and I have managed to make it through this move, pretty much unscathed. 

Then this morning, we went to the old house, loaded up a few more things in the truck, cleaned it out a bit and came home.

As we arrived back at the new house, my husband and I were trying to get the big washer out of the truck.  He was on the ground pulling it off, and I got on the back of the truck and was helping him by pushing.  I put my knees up against it and pushed, but that thing is really really heavy and it wasn't budging, so I braced my toosh up against the truck toolbox and pushed again.

I didn't feel anything at all, proceeded to do move some things out of the way and then went to step off the truck and noticed that my right knee did NOT look right.

It honestly looked like a bone sticking out but it didn't hurt, I could move my leg, just had this bulge.

The minute I stepped off and tried to walk it hurt a bit and felt weird.

Within a minute of my husband helping me inside to the couch, it started bruising and swelling.

This is what I am currently dealing with.

I've kept off the leg the whole afternoon, I've kept it iced, and it seems to be doing a little better.

But goodness, what on earth??? I really do think it's a Pressure Bruise or something popped in there from the force that was exerted on it.

My luck right???

Here's the thing though, as frustrating as it is right now knowing that I can't really walk too much on it and I still have so much to do at the other house and things to unload from the truck still, I am also thankful that it happened now and NOT during the big move.

That would have been awful. So yes, a little uncomfortable, but God works in mysterious ways.

Rest of the night I'm keeping it propped up, iced and taking some ibuprofen. I will see how it is looking tomorrow and if need be, will head to base to have it checked out.

Oh boy, the story of Sandra's life!!!

{ Spiders and cobwebs and dust....oh my }

Guess what I tackled today?

The garage.  Yep, the big ol garage.  As we brought things from the other house, we dumped them in the garage and then unpacked from there.  It worked out just fine, but as I stepped into the garage this morning, I was faced with a big ol mess that I just was tired of seeing.

Today was the day, and what a day it was.

This is what I started with.....

When I saw it, I actually thought about walking back into the house and pretending it wasn't there, but you know if I do that, then it will never get dealt with.

I set to work, cleaned, organized, put things in boxes for storage, for donation, for yard sale etc.

By the end of the day this is what it looks like.  A few things here and there, some stuff I still need to put away, but so much better, and I can park my car inside too.  Yay!!!

One thing we have in this house which I've never had in any of the others, is an attic.

I don't know, I'm thinking I watch too many scary shows because it scares the bejeebers out of me LOL

Every time I walk by, I look up and see the darkness and always think someone is there staring at me.  *shiver*  Ridiculous I know, but what I can do??

Something else that gives me the creeps, is the amount of spiders and cobwebs in the garage.  I don't understand, don't people ever clean their garages?

I've never had one, in all the base houses we lived, not a single one had a garage, so maybe this is all new to me, but I would assume people wouldn't want to go out there or have their things out there, with huge spiders crawling around.  At least I know I don't.

So one thing I also did today, before packing anything anywhere, I vacuumed the windows and corners and ceiling and sprayed and tried very hard to get rid of all the nastiness I saw.  It was GROSS!!!

I also worked outside with the hubby, he mowed the lawn in the front and back and helped me water the rose bushes, and set out some of our decorations.

The yards are looking wonderful, the grass is nice and green, the sprinklers are going and it's just a beautiful summer day.

Aside from my sore feet and back, it's been a very good productive day.

Yesterday I decided to bake in the afternoon, just got the urge to get in there and quickly whipped up some delicious Sweet Potato Biscuits with some Honey Butter.



My family loved it, especially my son who ate 5 in one sitting.  Good grief, where do tween boys put all that food?

Whew!!!!

Glad to have this day behind me, I'm now showered, in my pjs and sitting on my comfy couch with my feet up.  I am sore folks, like really sore and exhausted.

Nothing a glass of sweet Moscato wine, some crochet and some mindless tv shows won't cure.  Yes, I think that is exactly what I'm going to do.

Tomorrow......family coming over for a barbecue and the Portugal vs USA game.  Oh goodness, it's going to get tough around here, I'm Portuguese but my hubby and kids are American Hahahahah

Will let you know how that plays out :)

I'm here....

 
Hello my sweet friends!

First I have to apologize for the absence of our Happy Homemaker Monday.  I only got internet up and running about 5 minutes ago, so I couldn't get anything done on the computer until now.  Sorry about that, but I'm sure you understand.

Well, the move is finally over.  It has taken a lot of my husband and I, we are definitely no spring chickens anymore, and even doing it slowly, some of the heavier items have just broken us.  I feel pain in muscles I had no idea existed, goodness.

Over the next few days, it's just a matter of getting the house set up to our liking, moving things here and there etc.  One of the things that we quickly realized, is that our couches are so big for this living room, and finding the perfect place for them has been, well, quite interesting.

I think we finally got it figured out, but I won't share any photos until I'm certain they are going to remain where they are.  I do have a few pictures I've taken but I'll share everything tomorrow on another post.

I just wanted to come in and say hi, let you all know that it's finally done, we are in our new home, loving it, loving the neighborhood, loving the neighbors and really eager to make this our little nest.

Thank you to all who continuously stop by to see how I'm doing and to leave sweet comments.  You guys are the best :)

Now this girls is going to head into a very hot bath, try to soothe these sore muscles and catch up on the internet, have tons of emails to read and reply to and have quite a few reviews that need my attention.  But all in good time, right?

God Bless,
Sandra

{ Boys will be boys }

You know one of the funnest parts of being a mother, is being a mother of a boy.  They really do keep us on our toes don't they?

I like that the differences between the girls and boys are so huge, each alike in a way, but then so diverse in others.  It's these things that make it fun to be a parent.

My son is 11 years old and just as any boy, no matter what age, he is all about doing crazy things and going on adventures and climbing and trying things out.

This morning he got up, had breakfast, got dressed and then headed out into the backyard.

I followed a few minutes later and found this.....

Not a care in the world, just climbing the tree and waving back at me.

I can't be the only mom who cringes and counts the minutes until he climbs down, am I?  Goodness, this boy keeps my heart pumping fast.

When I mention how it makes me nervous, he just laughs and says "Geez mom, I'm fine".  Guess he is.

He is growing up so fast and is incredibly smart, constantly using words that even surprise me.  Yesterday it was the word Inconspicuous....today it was Effigy.  I mean, really???  HA!

While I was out there watching him, this one was watching me.  He is one of the baby Robins that flew the nest a few weeks ago.  How sweet!

So, move wise, we are very close to being completely moved in. Tomorrow morning, the beds will make their way, and then either later in the afternoon or Saturday, the couches will be taken. The rest of the time left in the month, we will use to come and get anything that is left over, and to clean the house, not that it's dirty, we've kept it clean but I always like leaving a house impeccable.

This morning though I woke up with some sort of stomach bug, so I spent the morning relaxing and drinking ginger ale, while working on my blanket.

This one is growing so much faster than the previous Corner to Corner, and I do love the simple yet beautiful granny stripe.

Oh and I have to show you this.  In my attempt to take everything to the new house, I end up taking things that I don't realize I'm going to need.

Tonight I was making Shepherd's pie for dinner and when it came time to mash the potatoes, I didn't have my masher.  What to do, what to do?

Do you know that a whisk works just as well?  I had no clue, until I decided to try it thinking that it is pretty similar to a potato masher, and wouldn't you know it, not only did it work well, I think it worked better than the actual masher.  How funny.

Right, so the to do list for tomorrow:

Pull apart beds and take the frames, headboards and foot boards to the new house
Set up beds
Keeping mattresses here until night, we are not sure if the internet and phone will be up tomorrow or not, if not, then we'll stay put two more days.
Have dish people coming between 12pm and 5pm (we know how that goes)
Finish unpacking at new house

Busy, busy day ahead, but one step closer to being completely done with this move.  Thank the Lord!

Now, time for some Star Trek Voyager, some English Breakfast tea and more crochet. 

God Bless,
Sandra
xoxoxo

{ Two days to go }

Well, two days until we officially move in, but thankfully we still have this house until the end of the month which gives us plenty of time to finish up and clean it etc.

I have to tell you though, my body is just screaming no.  It doesn't want me to keep going, it just wants to shut down.  It's actually quite comical, I find myself falling asleep at the weirdest moments, like this afternoon around 2pm, on the couch.

We had just returned from the new house and were having some lunch, right as I was done, I grabbed a blanket, leaned back on the couch and was out like a light.  Goodness!!!

Let me show you what my new garage looks like at the moment.  No matter how hard we try to get things moved into their places, we are getting to the point where we've taken to just bringing the loads in and dumping them in the middle of the garage to be deal with later.

Feeling it.....

We've taken our time with this move, and moved things slowly, but we still have managed to do a truck load a day.

I've carried big boxes, I've hauled heavy pieces of furniture onto the bed of the truck, and I've unpacked and climbed on chairs, and moved things here and there.

For the most part, I've been fine, but last night I really started feeling it.  I guess age is not forgiving of certain kinds of exercise, and trust me, I feel so silly saying that since I am only about to turn 40 years old, but the truth is the truth.

My lower back hurts, I have bruises on my arms and thighs from the boxes and I'm feeling so tired.
My body is telling me to stop, to slow down and to take a break, and that is exactly what I've done today.  No moving, no packing, no carrying, no nothing, just housework and a lot of sitting down and relaxing.

A tiny peek

First, I want to thank you all for the kind comments on my last post.  I appreciate them so very much :)

It's been so busy around here, we've slowly started moving things in and as I bring them to the new house, I immediately put them where they're going.  It does make moving that much easier when you can go at your own pace and organize and clean as you go, as opposed to moving in with a gazillion boxes laying around and then having to unpack every single one of them.

Slowly, the new house is starting to take shape.

I wanted to come in and give you all a tiny little peek at the progress so far.  One thing is for sure, I'm so ready to get in there permanently and start making it our own.

I am still smitten with the green wall color. For a girl who has spent the past 17 years with bland colored walls, on base housing, this is like a whole new world for me.

Makes me wonder how I ever survived with no color. I am thinking that is not going to happen again.

Like I said above, as things get moved in, they are placed where they belong. I love it because I can slowly start to see my house come together, and it provides a sense of home, a sense of accomplishment, and a very big temptation to just get in there and get settled.

Remember the pantry that I'm so excited about? I'm sure you won't be surprised to know that it was one of the very first areas I tackled the past few days.

I've never had a pantry, we don't have them in military housing, and this house we're currently in doesn't have one either, so it's something I've wanted for a long time.

Oh the joy it brings me just looking at it. Pretty baskets all ready to be filled in.

The top shelf is going to hold my cookbooks, or as many as I can fit up there because, trust me, I can not fit them all on that shelf. I may possibly, maybe, have a tiny obsession with cookbooks.

The rest of the shelves will hold baking supplies, snacks, canned goods etc. I can't wait to get everything in it's basket. I'm not sure that it will remain exactly as seen on these pictures, because once I move the food items in, I may have to switch things around here and there.

I will take more pictures afterwards and show you how it all turns out.

In my kitchen, there is this tiny little corner shelf which I am not quite sure what I'll do with. For now, it holds my Cath Kidston cups and glasses.

Looks quite cute as is.

So, the dining room window already has lace curtains up and my two plants have already found a home on it's window sill.

I am going to put up some shelf and drawer liners in the kitchen drawers and cabinets, before moving things in. If I have any leftover, I may use it in the pantry too, not sure yet.

The living room already has the DVD shelves up, with the DVD's inside. They're not organized, but that is something I will get to once we're in there.

My laundry room is out in the garage, I haven't taken a photo of that one yet, but I'll do it this morning when we take more things in. The good thing is that I noticed it had a tension rod just above the opening to the washer and dryer, so I've already put up some curtain panels that I had in my linen closet. Best thing about it, is that I didn't have to go and buy curtains, I just used some that I have had forever, but were just sitting in the closet.

I believe that is the best way to decorate, make use of things you already have around the house.

A tiny little peek at the moving process.

Oh and don't you just love my roses? They are all blooming in the front yard, and look not only beautiful, but the scent is amazing.

Right, now I am going to go visit all of you who left me a message on my last post, and then I need to get things ready to move to the house.

Have a wonderful Thursday my friends, and as always, thank you for taking the time to come by and leave me a sweet note, it touches my heart.

On to the next.....

We received some unexpected news this afternoon.

The owners of the home we're renting, have decided to move back to the area and want to move back into their house when our rent agreement is up in June.

Very unexpected news considering they weren't planning on returning for a while.

It threw us for another loop, but then our lives the past 6 months seem to be up in the air and a jumble of questions and decisions.

My first reaction was to have a mini panic attack. After all, we JUST moved into this house 6 months ago and moving so soon again was completely out of our minds. Our minds, not God's, but ours.

See we seem to keep forgetting that everything is done in His timing and according to His will....and this house?  This neighborhood, this area?  Apparently not in His plans.

I could very well take this little wrench and freak out, wonder why or how or where we'll go from here, but my husband and I have long stopped pushing and pulling and trying to force things to happen our way.  It never ends well and only makes things harder for everyone involved.

When faced with something like this, it's quite easy to see only the bad in the situation.

• Just moved here, have to pick everything up and move again.  
• Hubby still hasn't found a job. 
• We are still transitioning from active duty military to retirement life and it's not easy at all.
• Won't be able to buy house for another year or so and will continue having to rent.

Or, I can look at it in another way.

• Will be able to house hunt and find the perfect rental place for us.
• Will take the next year to get better acquainted with the area, hubby will get a job, will pay off my car and make buying a home that much easier.

While I like the house we live in, there are so many things wrong with it and so many things I would love to change.  The small kitchen for one, no pantry, unfinished floors downstairs, not being allowed to garden, and many other issues, certainly not worth the monthly rent we are currently paying.

The prospect of finding a nicer home with a much cheaper rent is very appealing, and honestly this is just one more step to our dream home.

Do I wish I could be moving out of this house and into my own place?  Absolutely!

Do I yearn to set down roots and begin the new chapter in our lives right now?  Absolutely!

But again, not my timing.  I don't need to understand why things are happening the way they are, all I need to do is continue trusting in the Lord and the knowledge that He is working on our behalf, finding the perfect home, opening the right doors, placing the right employment for my husband.

It's all there, right there for the taking, and maybe we're not meant to see it quite yet, because truth be told by the time we do get there, we will be that much more appreciative.

One thing I will miss about this house are the views, the nature, the animals and the fresh air. That is one thing that I will look for in our new home, wherever that may be.

So onward and forward, always with our heads held high. 

Oh I'm sure I'll stumble and fall and cry and stomp my feet during the next few months, but it will be temporary and short lived because it solves nothing, other than ruining my make up and giving me red puffy eyes.

And just the thought of a new home with a nice big kitchen to get me excited about cooking again, is incentive enough to get my butt back in gear and push for what will hopefully be one of our last moves.  Let's hope!!!

Moving - Day One!

Oh help me.....no matter how many times we do a move, I'm never prepared for the actual moving day and seeing everything just all over the house.

Movers arrived at 8am on the dot.  Punctual which is something I admire and am not used to with other movers.

There's two guys for the whole house.  Usually there's more but these guys are FAST, within an hour the outside storage area and Nic's bedroom were done, and half my kitchen is packed too.

For someone like me who likes having things neat and tidy, this is the worst part of the move.  Not to mention the fact that I don't like sitting around doing nothing and while the guys pack I am sitting here just watching them and feeling like I should be doing something LOL  It's driving me nuts!!

Isn't it funny though how your whole life just fits in these boxes????   Years of memories and mementos and your favorite knick knacks, all in there.

We always buy the moving crews lunch, but frankly I am sure these guys are sick to death of pizza, so we try to get them different things.  Today we opted for Subway Sandwiches and the guys were SO happy hahahah

Squirt has been moved from his huge tank, to his temporary home and he is one happy turtle.  I never thought he would be so happy in here.

We also moved the Betta fish to a small container for the trip, but he's not looking so good.  He's been kind of acting weird for a while now, then again he's pretty old so I'm just hoping he makes the trip

I have to share with you these two photos of yesterday's sunset, it's like Arizona wants to give us a farewell, I haven't seen sunsets like these in a long time and this week we've had them every single day.

I've said often that the one thing I'll miss about Arizona are the sunsets.  One thing I will NOT miss are the constant triple digits.  Hubby and I always say that Arizona is a great place to vacation but it's not somewhere we would want to live all year long.

Alright I guess I should get back to watching them pack, hoping this goes by fast so I stop feeling guilty of doing nothing LOL

So ready for this to be over with.....

Limbo. Just plain, boring, frustrating limbo and I'm not one to do well in these moments.

I guess because I'm a person who has to be constantly doing and moving and going, finding myself in the waiting period between leaving this place and moving to our new home, is driving me absolutely bananas.

Wanna see what's around me?

That is my Essentials box, what I'll be using until our household goods get delivered to the new house.  I'm taking the crockpot, or rather ONE of the crockpots and that first week in the house I'll be making slow cooked meals, just really simple things.  Other kitchen needs as well....coffee....can't be without coffee right?

I've become quite good at dodging boxes, they get jumped over, moved around, pushed from one side of the house to the other etc.  Will be nice when they're all gone.

Pantry goods, this box will go with us.

I have such a huge collection of jars of every shape and size.  Some will go with me, but the others will go with the movers.  And those empty boxes right next to them????  They're not going in the trash, they are used for packing and I'll show you what I do.

I simply cut one of the sides off, lay them on their side and pack all my spice bottles.

This was pre cleaning the tops, see that powdered sugar dispenser?  It decided to slip off my hands and pop open spreading a nice film of white powder all over my counter, stove and the spice bottles.  *sigh*

This wooden little crate came with 3 little pots of herbs that I bought, oh, I wanna see 2 years ago?  But it makes a nice little holder for spice bottles and they fit in there nice and snug.

Since I'm taking all the spices with me, they'll be packed in a box, stacked and that way they won't move.  It's an easy way to move spices without dozens of little bottles everywhere.

Another thing I've always done when packing, is to use my old phone books.  I don't need them anymore and there are tons of pages in there perfect for wrapping breakables.

So yes, I can tell you that OUR packing is almost complete, everything else that is left is what the movers will be taking next week.  Could it be next week already?  I'm just so ready for this all to be over and done with.

In the middle of all this chaos, we had a nice surprise yesterday.  Got some certificates for my husband's retirement, and of course being the wuss that I am, I burst into tears.

What can I say, other than you know how I've always told you that military life is not an easy life, and certainly not a lifestyle for everyone.  There's a lot of sacrifices not only on the military member's part, but the families as well.  It's nice to be recognized and acknowledge :)

The kids were each given a folder with a certificate on one side and a photo on the other.

See what I mean about crying?  I still can't read these without bawling, goodness.

That was the photo included, the kids with daddy's jet. :)

I received two folders, also with a certificate on one side and a photo on the other.  Love the one of my handsome husband, I'm so proud of him :)

This was the second folder :)

And my hubby got two as well, and there will be a few other things he gets next week before leaving :)

I am glad that they are recognized for their service and their sacrifice, after 22 years of service.

So there you have it, that's what is going on right now.

We are pretty much set to move, just a week and a few days left.

And as frazzled as I've been feeling lately, I was actually a little stunned to be able to get a photo of myself I actually like.  Looking at this photo you don't even realize the stress and craziness going on in that little brain lol

Alright my friends, it's time to get off here, go pack a few more boxes, get that laundry taken care of and make sure my ground beef is thawed for tonight's dinner....Spaghetti Pie.  Yum!

Have yourselves a lovely rest of Tuesday, God Bless,
Sandra
xoxoxo