Did you say something?

I am the oldest of five kids. This means that I am very good at tuning out noise, especially talking, and creating my own special little quiet place.

This means that at any given time I can be on the couch and suddenly realize that Chris is talking. He usually has been chatting away for quite some time before I realize it.

A moment ago I realize he is having a onesided conversation and I say "are you talking to me?"

He says "no, I was talking to Beau but expecting you to listen."

Oh.

No.

No. No. No.

Someone get me off this slippery slope.

But call my name first - otherwise I won't hear you.

NL

And here I am

all moved in to the new place finally...mostly.

Feet up on the new couch.

Internet all wired up (I install the server tomorrow) with PC's in every room EXCEPT the two baths.

TV in 3 rooms.

And HGTV on all of them.

It's a sickness I tell you.

NL

Confessions of an Addict

57 boxes of books.

Roughly 60 boxes of everything else.

My life is largely packed up and I can't walk through the apartment without bumping, tripping, or stumbling several times as I weave through the stacks.

Last Saturday I flipped on the TV for background noise as I packed a few more boxes. Somehow I tripped over a show called "Property Virgins" and that was the end of it.

HGTV has become my addiction. I am hooked. I am driving Chris crazy because it is ALL I watch. He tries to wrestle the remote away from me - I sit on it. He begs and I am without mercy. He tells me there are two TV's, I say "yes but I was at this one first." This one is the big screen.

I wake up, flip it on. We go to sleep to it. At work I think about getting home and settling in. I can tell you about "First Time Homebuyer" or "House Hunter International" or "Save My Bath" or "Cash in the Attic" and not only that but I've gotten pretty good at the price guessing and figuring out which house the buyer/renter will choose. Oh, and I am SO opinionated when it comes to those million dollar vacation homes.

We take possession of the new place tomorrow. We move into it on Tuesday. Maybe, just maybe, once these boxes are gone and we are settled in this craving for all things home will go away.

I hope so. Otherwise someone will need to come and rescue Chris.

NL

Ummm....Hi...it's Me

I have not blogged in nearly two months.

This is because I have done nothing and I hate the world.

Okay, not really. Well, sort of not really.

Since my last entry a brother, a nephew, a niece, and a sister have all had birthdays. I didn't visit them for any of these even though they only live 45 minutes away. When my niece had her birthday I was all the way in New Mexico. I have no excuse for the rest.

Except that I'm packing. Endlessly.

We picked our apartment. It is even more fabulous than the one I described in my last blog post - nearly 2 months ago. And cheaper. Oh, and no one has ever lived in it before.

Not only do we need to pack up everything we own BUT Chris has decided that we should get rid of a bunch of stuff and replace it with new stuff. So we've been packing, purging, and purchasing.

I am in hell.

This past weekend I sorted out our bar. It was a mystery.

Gin? Almost gone. I love gin.

Vodka? Barely touched. I hate vodka.

Single Malt Scotch? Do not touch. It's my favorite maker.

Lymon Cream? Ryan's Cream? Bailey's Irish Cream? Hey! How long does this stuff last? Is it real *cream?* It's three years old. Toss out.

Vioga Wine? Worst. Wine. Ever. Cool bottle. Toss.

Vermouth? Is this a kind a wine and therefore, does it spoil? I think yes. Chris says no. I'll keep it until he isn't looking then throw it out.

Creme to Cacao? Is it supposed to be *that* dark?

Aftershock? OMG! I love that stuff! I forgot I had it.

So went my waltz through our liquor cabinet - made better only by the fact that there is an ABC (Alcohol Beverage Control) store across the street from us in the new place. Just in case I decided wrong and Bailey's *doesn't* go bad.

But I am sober, and packing, and purging, and purchasing all while trying not to lose my temper at work and shout "you have JOBS people - can't you just do them and be grateful?" as I try to figure out why I am supposed to worry about whether they are also fullfilled. Fullfilled? Seriously?

A dear friend of mine is an older very high performing man with an amazing work history and has been on the job hunt for 10 months. Bad economy. Younger is cheaper. But you get what you pay for.

So I haven't posted because I'm busy. And sometimes I hate the world. Oh, and I'm trying to be fullfilling.

NL

Green Moves

I should have known better than to follow him into the elevator.

I should have said something when I saw him hit the button for the 18th floor.

Instead I stood there silently next to my daughter as we moved up, up, up.  The doors opened.  We stepped out to a neatly groomed, well lit hallway.  He chatted with us as he led us down the hall, leaned in past my too low cut shirt (thrown hastily on as I realized we had warm weather today) and slipped his key into the door.

He swung the door open and ushered us forward.  We stopped, momentarily blinded by the sun, and then bit back tiny little gasps.

There, in front of us, sprawled out in all of its patriotic glory was Washington DC with the Washington Monument standing there like the centerpoint in a compass.   As we stood there, blink blink blink in the sun and beauty, I quickly imagined a small group party on the 4th of July and realized at that moment we had the potential to be the very cool friends in our circle.  THE place to be on Independence Day.  

All for a the small monthly price of $3100 a month, excluding amentities.  For an apartment measuring less than 1100 square feet.

We are already thinking hard about how we can streamline. Wondering if we can make our carbon footprint a little smaller without having to expend much energy.  Looking at the book shelves that bring us comfort (and take up valuable square footage) and wondering if we move them to the low voltage e-readers we now carry whether that is the "greener" solution.  

We are picturing a network upgrade to a nicely secured Wireless-N solution with this little beauty hanging on the walls in each room.  I have a nephew dearly in need of a new PC desktop unit and I have a spare to offer him if we take it off the wall I have it hanging on as a glorified picture frame.  

A couple of terabytes of storage space stored in the den or work area of our new place will allow us, we think, to make efficient use of limited space.  Leaving enough foot space to enjoy RB 2 and stash the drums will be a challenge.  But we think we can do it.

And so we are wondering how to afford the luxuries, how to streamline our world but still have everything we love a touch away, and how, maybe, to actually recycle.  Live Green. Live Lean.  Live Full.

One thing is for sure, we are packing.  And we will be packing every weekend for the next several weekends.  Even if we don't know where we are going.

I hope it has a view.

NL