Move #1

Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

Almost there.....

We're there!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, I said move #1- you will see why! I was hoping to post what we did from our last weekend in NY before I went to Memphis. Unfortunately I don't even remember what we did! That weekend seems like it was a month ago! I can't believe it has only been 2 weeks. It feels like the longest 2 weeks of my life. The past 2 weeks have been a series of highs, lows, stress, happiness, and complete mayhem. I figured moving would be a lot like a wedding, no matter how much you plan and organize something will go wrong. And there were! So our latest adventure began on Monday the 27th when I flew back to Memphis to pack up our stuff. Blake was coming Friday with the rental truck so I had 5 days to get everything packed. That is plenty of time, right?!? Ummm... I have a lot of stuff! Those that know me well know I have over 20 totes of Christmas decor alone. So you can imagine how much stuff had to be packed and boxed up. Thankfully I had a lot of help from family. My mom was a huge help and came over every day. Not to mention making the long trip and dealing with frustration and melt downs along the way. And just when I started to get burned out and tackling the kitchen felt like climbing Mt. Everest, my sister came over and helped me get back on track. My dad, the ultimate organizer, helped keep moving day organized as best as one can when you have more stuff than truck. Since his surgery, Blake is not supposed to lift anything heavy. Oddly suspicious timing if you ask me ;) To help with the added muscle, our friend Jason was nice enough to come over on moving day to help out. I meant to get pictures of the house with all the boxes but even if I had remembered I probably wouldn't have found the camera! The house was a wreck and I don't do well in unorganized, chaotic situations. The fact that the house looked like a cardboard castle city was only adding to my stress. Blake and I have always moved ourselves but since his surgery we had to hire movers. We had to estimate how long the job would take. Blake thought 2 hours would be plenty. They showed up at 2:30 and got started. 7 hours later they were done! Boy were we wrong! To their credit they had every inch of that 26' truck packed. You literally couldn't slide a piece of paper in that thing! It was like putting together a massive 3-D puzzle and they would find boxes to fit any gap. It was a good thing because even with 7 hours and a 26' truck we still couldn't fit everything. Yes, that’s right. We are going to have to go back and move again! Making this Move #1 with Move #2 in the works.
So it is 9:30 on Saturday, the truck is packed and there are random boxes and furniture around that didn't make the first cut. We hadn't eaten in hours; we were all dirty and sweaty, and trying to find something to eat at 9:30. We have dinner smelly, dirty, and exhausted. We have to be up by 7 am to start the 15 hour drive. The next morning we met up with our families at IHOP to spend time with everybody before we left and to say goodbye. It was great to see everybody and enjoy their company. The goodbye was bittersweet. We were so excited to get to our new house but sad to say goodbye to everyone. The drive was long because the truck couldn't go faster than 65 mph and 50 mph up hills. Blake drove the truck while I took turns riding with him and driving the solara with mom. Dad armed us with walkie talkies which made the trip more fun. The drive was long but uneventful until we hit a large storm. Naturally I was driving the behemoth truck at the time. It was so bad everyone slowed down to 30 mph and you could barely see 2 feet in front of you. It was very intense! Thankfully it passed and the rest of the drive went smooth. We couldn't get into the neighborhood because it is gated and we have to register during business hours. Had we driven straight through we would have arrived at 3 am and the beds were in the truck anyway. We spent the night in Lake City, about 2 hours from Clermont. Monday we made it to the house just an hour before the movers. Other than the workers being 3 days behind schedule on the floors, the move in went great. The movers were excellent and had it all done in 3 hours. After the movers left and the workers were done for the day, we got ready to get something to eat. As we walked out the door we heard a loud honking sound. It was our truck! The horn shorted out and wouldn't turn off. After a loud couple of minutes I finally figured out the only way to turn off the horn was to press the brake. How the horn and brake are connected I don't know but I am just glad it worked. I'm sure the neighbors love us already. I sat with my foot on the brake for 30 minutes while Blake called the Budget emergency number. Eventually it died on its own. Thankfully, because my foot was falling asleep.
I thought unpacking would be the fun part. However, the floor installers were creating extra stress all by themselves plus trying to work around them. Also we would open a box and have a part of something but the rest would be in Memphis. For instance, I have the glass tops to my tables but not the bases. So the house is coming together as well as it can given that we are missing a few key pieces. Unfortunately Blake only got to enjoy the house for a few days. As I am typing this, we are in Miami for work. Blake flies back to NY on Sunday and I will fly back on the 18th after my family comes for a visit. I am excited to get back to NY and finish seeing the sites on my list and enjoying the culture but hate to leave the house so soon. We won’t be back until October so it will be like moving into a new house all over again. Especially after move #2!

I know you are surprised I forgot to take pictures in Memphis. You are not off the hook! I did get pictures of the road trip and new house. But since I am in Miami and the the thing I use to get the picts on the computer is at home you at least get a day of rest! I will upload the photo album Sunday so be ready!!