chaos and moving

This is a very quick post that will probably be the only one this week. Moving day is tomorrow! After that our communion begins and I will probably be too busy to update.

Plans have changed somewhat, and no doubt will change several more times before everything is done. We're going to rent a smaller truck and come back after the communion to get the rest. I've been working on packing the kitchen this morning, along with making phone calls and getting final laundry done and trying not to worry too much about the time that is rapidly running out and the mountains of work still left to do. And all on cheap coffee! I ran out of our regular coffee a couple days ago and managed to find a very cheap, generic brand of coffee in the pantry. Nicely put, it's rather distasteful stuff -- but I suppose it's better than nothing. ;)

I'd better run here! I need to run some errands along with a hundred and one other things. :D

(creative title here...?)

Please bear with all the "my dog" posts, I rarely have much else to talk about, and yet people insist I update so this is what they get! :D
Something I find a little annoying is how many people mistake my dog for a Labrador retriever -- I've had people actually insist to me that she had some black Lab in her, and I have to patiently explain that she really, truly is purebred. (Since when do Labs have upright ears, anyway??) People always ask what breed she is and are surprised to hear she's a German Shepherd. It's a little amusing and almost offensive. ;) So the other day I'd taken Neluska down to a creek so she could swim for a bit, and on my way back I was stopped at a very busy intersection, when a man in a truck rolled down his window and called to me, "That's a REAL German Shepherd, for you!" He also complimented how pretty she was, so I was pleased. :D

Well, I think we've got something planned for moving, finally! At last! I'm pretty sure I'll be renting a truck on Wednesday and Ben and I will load it and move down, whether or not closing has been finished with the house in Rosharon. At the very latest, closing should be done by next Friday, so we can just let the truck remain loaded for a day or two if necessary. I can't say I'm really looking forward to driving a 26 foot moving van through Houston, but I'll manage. (There's not really another choice!) There are various other details that make it slightly complicated: how I will even pick up the truck, the three dogs that can't all fit in the truck, the various things that will have to be finished up with the house here in Plano after the communion, and what to do with the car.

I'm rather disappointed I won't be able to see Rachel and Peter while they're over from Scotland. It's not likely I'll arrive down there before they leave, so unfortunately I'll miss them altogether. I guess this means I should just plan a visit to Scotland sometime in the (near?) future. :D

an uninteresting update

Sorry readers, but I really have hardly anything to talk about, so prepare yourself for some rambling, pointless blather. :D

Today I'm supposed to take Ben to the orthodontist because his braces are broken. I thought he went in an awful lot to correct a loose wire and such, and going by the receptionist's reaction, he really does have issues. (When I had braces I never had anything break!) I told the lady on the phone that I was calling for a patient who needed to come in today because a wire came loose and a chain broke. She asked for the patient's name, and when I told her, she laughed! As if, "Oh, him again!" Ben claims it's because of all the hardware that's in there -- chains and springs and etc, and though it's probably true, I like giving him a hard time. ;)

Here's a random picture of me in my kitchen, with my trusty laptop nearby.

I dare say these muffins I made today are simply incredible, and I have no qualms about saying so, because after all, it was the recipe that made them so good! I'll even be generous and share it for those of you who might like to try it. ;) Click!

Meanwhile we're still waiting on closing on the new house. The bank has to have a survey done of the property, so we're just stuck waiting. Feel free to visit me! I've not seen any family for about three weeks! :(

late night update of a sort

The offer my parents put on a house was accepted! I'm still not sure how long it will take to get closing taken care of, but I am hoping we will be moved and at least partially settled in by the time of the communion in Santa Fe.

The house is so quiet and empty here with just Ben and I, but we're managing the best we can. Out of boredom we started working on teaching Neluska to growl on cue. She will bark on the "watch him" command so I decided to teach her to growl when we say "suspicious". She tends to get carried away after a few growls and start barking. Understandably, this is when Ben is sneaking into the room and creeping around boxes while whispering "suspicious", which is clearly an action that deserves more than just a growl. :D

Oh, and after driving my dad's Saturn back from services on Sabbath, I'm a little bit anxious about driving it for long distances again. There were hissing and popping sounds coming from underneath the car that sounded like something extremely hot dripping on something dry. Ben had some complicated explanation having to do with the oil pump not spraying all the parts it should, but as far as I'm concerned, it was a horrible sound and I'm not even sure it's safe to drive the car!!

packing, headaches, ...

Who would have thought four people could have so much STUFF! And without Mom here sometimes we feel a bit lost as to what to do with things. But I can honestly say, even though the place is kind of turned upside down, we've come a long ways. That's a good thing, seeing my parents may have found a house to move into! There's still no set date that we'll actually move, but I'm optimistic.

I had food poisoning or something Monday night and have since had a continual bad headache, which hasn't been particularly pleasant. I've taken pain killers, gotten plenty of sleep, increased/decreased caffeine intake, and etc, and it's not helped at all. Today Ben and I took Neluska to a park down the road with hopes some fresh autumn air would "clear my head." (Autumn air being 90 degrees, but hey, I like it that way!)

Here's some pics from our adventure:

Ben isn't impressed that I'm posting the above pic, but I thought it was hilarious :D