November Book

Book club last night. So stinking fun, it was a little ridiculous, but exactly what I was hoping for when I started this venture. Even if our waiter DID steal his tip (probably because he knew with every ticking second it was getting smaller and smaller...).

For last month, we read Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center. It was good. Not as great as Everyone is Beautiful, but good. Considering how badly I wanted to slap Jenny upside the head through a great deal of it, I was clearly invested at what happened to her. And my favorite part was the clarity and truth at how she wrote about the first few months post-baby. Those, sadly, rang all too true. A few frustrating points (why should we care about Gardner? She really doesn't elaborate on why we should like him or why he's so taken with Jenny, who is CLEARLY a mess), but good. And we all decided that Aaron Eckhart should totally play Gardner in the movie. Because it feels as though there should be a movie.

For those of you playing along at home, December's book is The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. Meeting will be at Starbucks and I'm sincerely hoping GEB will be working to make it just that much more fun...

Music for a Friday:

(coin laundry, lisa mitchell)

Holly Jolly

I'm scrolling through the free Christmas music offerings on Amazon and run into one by Lady GaGa. Cause, you know, nothing screams "Birth of Our Lord" like Lady GaGa. Well, she is dressed up like a present half the time, so there's that... (on a side note, finding an appropriate link for Lady GaGa is a Christmas miracle in and of itself. I scrolled through several until I found one that wouldn't set my parents' computer on fire and have their internet filter chanting RED ALERT! RED ALERT! SAVE THE CHILD FROM AN ETERNITY IN HELL!)

However, I did download songs from Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas, so maybe I'm not really the end all be all authority of what is or is not top notch holiday music...

Or maybe I am, after all. Proper music to start the holiday season with:

(chris cornell, ave maria)

...And the Pay-Off

I've decided to name the house Penelope. We had a little heart to heart last night and a truce was declared (over spice drops and m&ms, of course) and I thought it fitting that this house o' mine was christened. So...Penelope it is. It feels like a girl house. Our last house was a boy house, clearly, but went nameless the two years we were there, sadly. Maybe I should name it NOW and put that in the ad listing! Or not...

We finally got the radiant heat working downstairs. I think that has a LOT to do with my mood lifting. It's finally starting to warm up in here, thank heavens. We also have our PO Box (blech) to temporarily hold us over until I can figure out a way to get real mail. And maybe add in a little time to decipher why everyone, down to a person, kept saying that I was the best person to fight this. In my mind, I like to pretend I'm soft and demure. I'm getting the feeling I'm the only one who pretends that.

Sammy and I popped over to the old house this morning to watch some tv (yes, we hooked it back up over there...yes, I know I'm pathetic). And I prioritized everything that was left to do. Gaining a little control back has lifted the feelings of nausea nicely, thankfully. Tonight will be all about putting together the rest of the rooms skeletons and electronics so that as we finish emptying the old house of the decor (which is pretty much all that is left), we know where it's going. Add in a quick trip to IKEA on Friday and I think by the end of the weekend, we MAY be pretty much done. Except for the cleaning and paint touch ups of the old house. Any extra prayers you all can spare to get it sold quickly wouldn't be unappreciated!

I was catching up on blogs today and kept reading lists and lists of Thanksgiving thankful posts. Health, happiness, family were recurring themes. And I thought of what I am thankful for. Family? Yup. Especially the willing and cheap labor sectors. No words thankful for that. Health? Sure. But I WILL still complain about it. Happiness? Yeah. Especially because it sometimes seems so fleeting. Reading back, two or three weeks, I was blissfully content. Today I'm slogging through and searching for the lost light. I know that most of it is stemming from the loss of control and as I settle and get a grip on things again it will return (and return even more fully once the house sells!), but happiness seems so conditional. Sammy is so fond of saying right now, "Mommy, you're happy?" and giving his cheesy fake grin. I really wish I could remember to be more thankful for it during the times it decides to stick around a little longer so the answer to Sammy is yes more than it is no.

Music for a new day:

(one step, ktp: by the way? this might be the best video EVER.)

There's The Rub

The thing about moving to a new house is that it sucks. Nearly always and to a fault. I hate moving houses. I hate not being able to find things. I hate the newness, the smells, the change. Oh, definitely the change. How I hate that. My husband, the saint, is being so patient with me while I rant and rave and complain about the new house. Because yes, apparently I AM 12 and an ungrateful snot. I have a pretty darn good life and yet...I still complain.

So. We're moved. Ish. There is still plenty to get from the old house, but it's mostly stuff from the walls and out of the storage closets. My brilliant sister and her family and my brother and his boys came and moved us Friday and Saturday. It was (IS!) insane. I do better on very methodical, color coded lists, plenty of time to plan, state to state moves. I didn't do so well on the throw it in the car and move it two blocks away move. I did find out that my books fit in the back seat and very back of my car and the back of my sister's van. With the seats taken out. Plus odds and ends. I really never plan on moving those books again...

After we moved in, we found out that we don't get cable. Or phone service. In addition to the aforementioned mail debacle. Two blocks away and apparently I'm in Amish country. Who knew? Internet / phone have been taken care of (God bless satellite internet!). And we are getting *cringe* a dish on Friday (that will be a week tv-less for you playing along at home!). Poor tivo, how I'll miss you and my saved shows until we earn our stripes and become a real, grown up house...

I ran over to the old house this morning to pick up our milk delivery and the rest of Sammy's toys and burst into tears when I walked in. It smelled like home. It FELT like home. I know I'm the only one who feels this way, but I loved our home. Yes, it was small and quirky, but I loved it. It was cozy and safe feeling. And I miss it terribly. I'm sure I'll grow to love the new house, but right now...right now we're not yet on a first name basis, this house and I. It still feels too new and impersonal and smells weird. It's big and I lose Sammy constantly and nothing is where it should be. It's quiet and will be until they finish building us some neighbors (my brother in law asked last night how much we would love it if they just didn't finish the development. I think I laughed so hard to keep from crying at the thought! Give me neighbors!). Getting to know one another isn't easy, but in the mean time, that sloppy grin on Isaac's face will get me through.

Music for a new house:

(you don't know, scarlett & black)