Yes I have been AWOL but with good reason????

It has been a very busy last few weeks and aside from reading several books between the crazy go go go times I haven't really done much of anything else. I got our PODS loaded and stored and I got myself and my dogs driven to New Mexico with a stop for a full day in Broken Arrow to visit my daughter and her family there. Now I am again in a short limbo waiting for the folks I need to talk to about housing to get back to their normal routine. I really want to get into a place as soon as possible so I can set up my office space and get back to writing and blogging. I also need to have a real address to give folks and to do all of the other things necessary for day to day living.
Tomorrow I am taking my beloved chihuahuas to a doggy daycare so I can drive around in the heat looking at potential homes for us to settle into. Wish me luck because I really want to get this part done. I have to settle in and then get over to the campus of the local Community College and get signed up for classes this fall. I feel I will lose all the momentum I have built up with studies in the last year if I don't get that done quickly.
Do I like New Mexico? I really don't know yet. I have not explored much because its too hot for the dogs to be out for long and they need to be walked every two hours which doesn't leave me much exploration time. Once we are in a house then I will get to see what this state can show me. I did like seeing the Southwestern designed overpasses as I drove into the state. They are truly unique and pretty. Right now because of all the fires around the state the air quality is bad. I understand that this is not the norm so once the fires are out and the air clears I will get a better concept of the environment. Wish me well and lots of luck. house hunting has proven a challenge so far.

Plans and Reality

Now that I am aware of how this move from North Carolina to New Mexico is going to go I at least can breathe a little easier and get on with it. It’s not perfect how we have to do it, but it will work. Seems I am to stay behind a month (approximately two pay periods) to take care of the moving details. Terry will go ahead and report for work on his scheduled day of June 13. He will have to make the drive alone but he will have ample time to get there leaving June 8^th or 9^th.  He will have to tough it out in temporary housing.

I will be renting a PODS unit and loading it up on this end myself. The PODS people will pick the POD up, transport it to NM, and store it until we have picked out and acquired housing. I will have a garage sale on June 4^th and hope to rid myself of a lot of clutter not needed. Then after that I will give anything I did not want to keep to Goodwill or Salvation Army. I am excited about having an opportunity (excuse) to purge. Even though the unit is a pretty good size (16’ by 8’ by 8’) It would not hold everything and I do not want to double the cost. In the past we have made moves where the company has arranged for and paid the movers for us. This was not a great thing to do because we dragged way too much stuff around the country. Now we have to budget and many things are just no longer needed. Of course I want to keep things like photos that are not yet scanned into digital format (a project that is worth taking on but will have to wait for after I get there). Now that we get to officially consider ourselves empty nesters (again) we do not need two thirds of what we have for our kitchen. We don’t need extra beds and furniture and I do hope to move into a smaller and easier to take care of place. More importantly I want a place that comfortably on fits two. Our children are all adults and though I adore each and every one of them I don’t really want to live with them anymore. Plus, they don’t need to live with parents and have parents disturbing there lifestyles. It isn’t right.

I am excited about the changes in our life. I get to explore a whole new part of the country and in doing so I will have much more to write about. I can’t complain about having income again either.

New Mexico Here We Come!

After a long two years of sending out hundreds and maybe even thousands of résumés my dear hubby finally landed a really good job. This recession we have all been experiencing has been difficult but we persevered and now we have finally gotten through it. Now our adventure begins. Health insurance comes with this adventure too. Oh boy!

We are moving to New Mexico and in less than four weeks. We have to have him there by the 13^th. Fortunately, there will be movers involved and paid for by the company. Yeah!…..Yikes! I can deal. We have done this before. So, for the next week I will be organizing things to get them ready for packing. I will be going through our storage space and pitching like a mad woman. I even have the good fortune of our storage facility’s annual ‘yard’ sale happening on the 4^th of June, so I might be able to sell some things and lighten the mover’s burden.

It will be so neat to go to a new place where no one will have known me as a fat woman. I will get involved with support there but outside of that I will meet people and they will all just see a somewhat normal looking person. Okay, once they get to know me they will certainly ascertain that I am far from normal but at least they won’t see me as fat. When I set up with dentists, doctors and other health care people I won’t get the dreaded eye rolling and lectures. For the first time in 30 years I will  not dread having to go get a physical, at least, not as much.

Next thing to deal with in this is a delay in finishing school. It is not that bad. I have to wait a year to get residency status to attend the college at the residency rate. I am allowed to take 6 or fewer credits hours a semester at the in-state rate so I can just take one or two classes for fall, spring and then summer and then be able to jump in full bore and take a full load beginning Fall 2012. I may be able to go right on in to the university after that year is done. There is a good degree program similar to what I was looking to complete here in NC. During that waiting period, I think I will work on learning Spanish. I have a start from taking it here in college so I might as well try to get better at it.

It is so nice to not be in limbo any longer. Now I feel I can begin to breathe again and start taking real action. I am looking forward to having new things to ponder and write about. Stay tuned.

The Waiting Game or AKA Limbo

I dislike waiting for anything. I am not a very patient person. To make matters worse I find myself waiting for several things and even though the end result will most likely be satisfactory, I just don’t like the edge of my seat feeling I am getting from this waiting.

First, I am waiting for my grades to be officially posted. I have a pretty good idea of what they are but until I see it in the actual can’t take it back transcript report in about two days from now I will absolutely drive myself crazy. I feel stuck in mud and cannot move forward. My family thinks I am a bit crazy because of this but it is my neurosis and dammit, I claim it as my own.

Second part of all this that is driving me a little crazy is, I do not know where I am going to school in the fall. I will not know for at least another week or so. My hubby has been out of work for the last two years and has had nearly zero interviews during most of that time.  Seems his industry has gotten a bit more productive and now his phone has not stopped ringing. He has interviews by phone set up with now several companies this week and two of them today alone. The locations include Utah. Oregon, New Mexico, here in NC, and Texas. Any one of these jobs would get us back on track and that is a good thing. It can take a month or more for the hiring process to complete so I feel I am limbo, not knowing where I will be living in two months and/or where to sign up for my classes. On top of that I have a great class schedule all lined up for fall right here so I do not want to drop those classes until I know what is next. I did drop my only two summer classes I had lined up though. No matter what happens, I am certain this summer will be way too crazy for school even if it is just an English and PE class. Still it breaks my heart a little to take this hiatus from classes for the summer. No matter what though, I will be back to it in the fall even if I have to pay out of state tuition.  Fortunately, for my dear hubby, he is a baby boomer and will be able to retire in just a few more years. I just want to complete my degree before he does so I can pay the bills with my degree.