Happy Homemaker Monday - 07/01/2013

Good morning from beautiful Idaho :)

Well here I am, typing up the first Happy Homemaker Monday from home, well, from Idaho, not exactly in the house yet.  As I type this up, my husband and kiddos are on the way to the new house to do a walk through and I'm at the motel with the pugs, paying bills and making last minute phone calls etc.

I can't wait to get into the house and get my stuff set up for delivery.  Anyway, let's get on with our HHM for today :)

BTW, I'm trying to get internet service set up at the new house so I'm not sure when I'll be able to get back online, I'm hoping it's just for a day or two but if you don't hear from me, it's because I still have no internet access.

The weather.....Well, we brought triple digits with us LOL  I can't get away from them no matter where I go, one thing I'll say though is that even though it's triple digits here it's still not as hot as Arizona.  Arizona is just on a whole different level of heat.

Right now I am....Sitting at the motel room with two pugs who are whining at the door because daddy just left. 

Thinking....That I can't wait to get into the house and not have to worry about motel rooms and living off crappy junk food.  I'm so ready to start cooking. 

On my reading pile....Nothing at the moment.

On my TV.....Absolutely nothing...though here shortly I'm going to go online and try to catch up on some shows from last week while I pack up our belongings and wait for hubby to return with keys to house. 

What I found while surfing the net....Nothing, haven't had a chance to sit and surf anything :)

On the menu for this week....I actually did make a menu for this week and then the movers packed it up with everything else, so I'm going to have to make it again.  Have to make a grocery run later. 

On my to do list....Move into the new house
Make a menu and grocery list
Set up phone and internet service
Arrange for our belongings to be delivered

In the craft basket....Nothing.  I miss my crochet so much.  I did bring one of the bags with me so later today I'll dig through the box it's in and pull it out, I'm thinking some crochet on the deck is in order.

Looking forward to this week....Setting up my house and starting a new life :)

Looking around the house....More like, looking around them motel room.  Luggage, clothes, kid's pillows and other personal stuff.  Oh and two pugs who have stopped whining and are now snoring on the floor. 

From the camera....
Last night's sunset taken from the motel room

On my prayer list.....Familes of the 19 firefighters who passed away fighting a fire in Prescott, Arizona yesterday.

Bible verse, Devotional....He answered: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
Luke 10:27

Home Sweet Home!!!

We're here, we made it to Idaho in one piece and I can't begin to tell you just how happy I am at the moment.

It is almost surreal to be back in our old town, to drive the streets and see the same buildings.

The drive was long, oh so very long and though quite uneventful, we did have a few things happen.

The Betta Fish????  Didn't make it.  :(

The pugs almost died of heat stroke.

We came across a car that had just rolled into a ditch, out in a long stretch of road in the middle of nowhere Nevada.  We stopped to help, so did quite a few other cars and semi-trucks, though many just slowed down to see what was happening and sped off on their way.

I was so scared that it would be a family with children in that car, but thankfully it wasn't, however it WAS a 30 year old male who was pinned in.  We were 40 miles from the next town so all that could be done was to keep him warm in the desert heat, wet him down with some water and provide some shade.  The worst part is that there's never cellphone reception in that area so most of us couldn't call for help, but someone was able to use a satellite phone to call 911.

We couldn't stay there the whole time while waiting for the ambulance as my car was getting very low on gas and the pugs were dying in the heat, it just wasn't possible to stay and since there were so many others around to help we decided it was best to get on our way.

Literally drove into town on fumes, gas is so expensive and it takes at least 3 full tanks on each vehicle to make the trip.  Ugh!

But I can't tell you the joy of seeing the Idaho State Line and leaving behind the brown ugly desert, to be welcomed to farm land covered in the greenest grass you could ever see, lightning in the distance and rain.

We drove through country roads lined with white picket fence houses, red barns, cows and horses.


It's one of those moments when you wish you weren't driving so you could be snapping pictures. I'll definitely have to get back to some of these areas for some good pictures.

Had to get out and stretch our legs which felt so good after almost 12 hours in the car.

First day we drove 7 hours but hubby and I were so exhausted after spending the past 3 days moving and then Thursday into Friday morning we were up until 12am cleaning the house for inspection, then up again at 6am to finish and then on the road without a break.

These kids were SO happy to be back in their home State.  It was so cute to see.

And then big sis leaned in closer and the faces started LOL

So she really went in for it and his reaction is priceless LOL

Even saw a wild chicken by Snake River

So, we are now in a motel, spent last night and will spend tonight here and then tomorrow we move into the new house. We're heading to the base here shortly to drive around and see how it looks now and then heading by the new house just to see it.

I'm going to take tons of pictures, of course and then I'll be back later to share them with you :)

Goodbye Arizona!

 
I am beat!

Emotionally, mentally, physically.  Just completely beat.

Finishing up the house for the inspection which has been a pain in the behind, but I'll tell you all about that later because as with any move there's always some wrenches flying around.

Within a few hours we'll be on the road to Idaho.

I am praying and hoping and begging God to help me with the drive because I'm so tired and SO sore, my fingers are swollen, I have bruises up and down my arms and I'm not sure I'm ready for a 13 hour drive.

But aside from that, we're fine, and we're excited to finally be going home.

Arizona hasn't exactly been my favorite place on earth but it's taught me so many lessons, some which I think I really needed to learn and hence why I've always said that God does things for a reason and he places you in certain situations so that you can grow.

And if there's one thing I can say that Arizona has done for me, is to teach me some very important lessons which will be with me for the rest of my life.

So I say thank you Arizona, thank you for the 7 years, thank you for the ups and downs, the hell scorching heat, the beautiful desert, the stunning sunsets and the ability to get closer to God.

See you in Idaho!!!!!

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

Happy Homemaker Monday - 06/24/2013

Well friends, here we are, the last week in Arizona.  Thought it would NEVER get here, come to think of it I vividly remember my first week here.  I cried, I threatened my husband with divorce LOL  I was soooooo miserable and I just really hated the base and the place and the people.

But 7 years later and I survived, now I won't say I grew to love it here because that would be a lie, but I grew to accept it and just go with it.  I will tell you that I never thought I would miss it, but I think I'm going to miss my house and some of the area around here, especially Flagstaff and Prescott, Tombstone and Grand Canyon.

Next week Monday I'll be moving into the new house, so I'm not sure if I'll have a Happy Homemaker Monday post up.  I may just because we'll be in the hotel and our walk through is not until 9am and since I wake up super early, it may give me something to do :) 

The weather.....Miserably hot.  Thankful that it's my last week in the constant triple digits.  Heading back home to some rain and cooler temperatures and I'm pretty happy about that :)

Right now I am....Sitting on my couch with a nice hot cup of coffee.  I JUST woke up to a sea of ants in my kitchen and living room....now you know my yearly struggle with these beasts.  UGH!  Got them taken care of and hoping I don't have to deal with them again.

Thinking....About everything that is going on this week, we have to finish all the packing today and make sure the house is ready for the movers who are coming tomorrow to pack, and then Wednesday to move everything out.  Thinking about the long road trip, thinking about how I'll feel when I see that Idaho State Line and just thinking about the future in general.

On my reading pile....Only the devotionals.

On my TV.....Been watching Unforgettable on the laptop, am almost to the end of the first season, and actually enjoying this show so I can't wait for the new season to start.
The White Queen - Episode 2

What I found while surfing the net....Everything I've searched lately has been road trip related.  I don't know if any of you know of this site, Gas Buddy, I'm sure most of you do, but it's a great tool to figure out how much gas you're going to spend on the trip.  Let's just say that between my car and my husband's gas guzzler of a truck, we'll be spending close to $400 just on the gas.  YIKES! 

On the menu for this week....It's an eat everything from the fridge and freezer week. Monday - Homemade Fettucine with Maple Sausage Spaghetti Sauce
Tuesday - Ordering Pizza while the movers are here
Wednesday - No clue
Thursday - No clue
Friday - On the road
Saturday - On the road
Sunday - Out to eat

On my to do list....Finish packing the back of the truck.
Remove all pictures, shelves from walls
Place everything we're taking in the hallway bathroom and make sign for door so movers don't touch any of it
Last minute appointments
Errands
Hubby is finishing the outprocessing< In the craft basket....Making some owl crochet projects, trying out some patterns for the Etsy shop. &nbsp

Looking forward to this week....Being done with the move on this side, getting on the road, and being one step closer to starting our new life.

Looking around the house....Boxes, boxes and more boxes.  Empty walls, tons of pictures and shelves up against the walls and a sad looking house.

From the camera....
Lots of this kind of thing going on

On my prayer list.....Me, praying for patience and for energy to keep going, I'm pretty worn out and I'm just ready to crash, but can't quite yet.
For my family, for this huge adjustment we're making.
Family and friends going through different issues right now. 

Bible verse, Devotional....“I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live,” (Psalm 104:33 NIV).