Awesome!

First, we are moved into our new place -- it's wonderful, despite all the packing, unpacking, cleaning, scrubbing, realizing that bleaching floors makes them stink if there's any dust about (there's something that makes the whole situations smell like dirty dogs).

So here we are. The kitchen, television, Internet, bed and a-little-bit-of-everything else are set up. To be exact, we're able to cook good food, put drinks together, take a shower (or a whirlpool tub! yes!!!), sleep, go online, watch television and walk about (since we put a lot of the stuff in the extra room) without too many boxes in the way.

We've got a long list of things to make this place excellent, but so far it's pretty great. When we left our old place it felt like we were ready for the new one. And even though I might get a little teary when I remember our view or how long we loved living in the old place, I'm really happy for this new, cleaner place. And that's not just my whirlpool buzz talking.

In further awesome news... I've been accepted into Loyola University of Chicago's Accelerated Bachelor's of Science in Nursing program for Fall 2011!

Loyola's nursing program is wonderful, a fast track to becoming a nurse, offers chances for advanced programs and is just what I'm looking for. I can't wait!

Things are turning up pretty great here --- hopefully on your end too.

A jolly good list

Here's a list of some things that are bringing me great joy despite my moving anxieties:

1. B has new shorts - they're red athletic shorts. And he continually pairs them with green t-shirts. His Christmas style in May always give me occasion to say something silly.
2. Windows open! Our new place isn't so window-heavy so I'm savoring the swift winds of Montrose Avenue. Will Damen Avenue be as breezy?
3. Dizzy (our disabled cat) finds moving supplies to be the best thing to play with. He likes to find bubble wrap, packing paper and boxes to knock around when he wishes for us to address his needs. This is mostly annoying but also funny and cute.
4. I've been working in scenic Evanston since January but just recently it's become a beautiful place to hang out. I've been seriously enjoying my walks -- even the ones with a troop of 2.5-year-olds. There are big houses, interesting houses, interesting big houses, beautiful buildings, flowers galore, tree-lined streets and eventually I'll stumble upon Northwestern University. Right?
5. A democrat just won in New York! Whoo!

That's enough out of me! Back to packing! Or something. GO CUBS!

Who do I think I am?

I'm having a moving-induced identity crisis, at least sort of. I've packed tons.

In fact, I was just admonished by B for leaving him zero rocks glasses, which are "what a man needs after he makes his wife rice pilaf." Both of us are living in the yucky mid-move land of packed stuff, boxes everywhere, piles of things to "think about" and strange things to finish up before we move (anyone interested in Julie's ramen noodles, some walnuts, or a strange variety of frozen fruit?).

Last night really did it for me. I've got some boxes, like five of them, containing important, unsorted stuff. Ticket stubs, greeting cards, maps, letters, newspaper clippings, buttons, stickers, photos, receipts, papers from school...

I'm not ever going to scrapbook this stuff. I don't think there's big money on eBay for random used tickets to college football games. Since I've worked with kids for nearly ten years without consulting my graduate school paperwork I probably won't consult it anytime soon (and isn't that stuff all online?). Beyond the obviously dated stuff in my files, containers and boxes (like all my paychecks from 2007 - what?!?), I've got to come to terms with either collecting something or not. I'm either taking the tickets and doing something with them, or not.

B's got some of the same stuff. We both have a beautiful, amazing and preposterous collection of Daily Illini paraphernalia. And all of it's pretty great. Quotes hung on the wall, old Blue Rice comics, awards, notebooks... We met at the DI, so it's not like this stuff doesn't hold something great in it, but there's got to be a way to not just toss it in a heap.

I don't want to forget any of this awesome stuff, but I don't want to lose my hope of an organized, streamlined clean present for my mess of memories.

This photo is from Moab, Utah, where I enjoyed an amazing peanut butter wrap (yes! peanut butter, granola, banana, berries wrapped up! heaven!!!). Such fuel might make this move possible.

Whoa. Where'd all this stuff come from?

Totally realizing that despite the large number of boxes packed, there's a ton of stuff in this apartment. It's only got to move four blocks, so even some of the maybes will be moving north just so we can figure it all out.

Seriously though, there's a ton of stuff here. There are chairs, blankets, coats, shoes, pint glasses and strange containers full of things I've sorted over the last four years. (I've got a container full of sunglasses! I love them all. There's also my pen case. And a case of non-pen office type things. And a box of paper, envelopes and cards. Lord help us.)

We've got lots packed -- for real, tons. More to do, of course. Tomorrow is judgment day for a ton of my clothes and a lot of the random crap that needs dealing with. We'll also do some serious cleaning, recycling, planning and probably some dancing to Taylor Swift music.

And we can't wait to be in our new place and unpack them. Right?

Here are the kitties. They're excited for the move - swear.

How much crap do we have?

A lot.

Like so much that I tossed a 13-gallon trash bag full of clothes today. I'm feeling guilty for buying so much and much more firm in my promise to only buy good stuff (as in nothing at Old Navy). I'm also feeling super excited about moving.

We just found out today that we can move into the new place before we get kicked out of the old place -- this is fantastic as we can move without being homeless for a Tuesday night or moving at warp speeds on a Wednesday. The new place has plenty of room, mind you, but not room for our junk. Purging the crap we don't need is refreshing. B and I moved in from separate places, both with plenty of opportunity to take more than necessary and zero interest in digging through stuff once it was moved in.

So today's (or rather, this month) the day for tossing, organizing and packing. We're glad it's here.

Road trip rundown

Julie and I had a fabulous roadtrip - six days of travel with my best friend through some of the country's best sights (save Nebraska)... here's the highlights, with some photos to help tell the tale. We made a few visits on our way -

• DeKalb, Illinois to see my brother.
• Moline, Illinois to see Julie's Grandma Jane.
• Omaha, Nebraska to see Julie's uncle, cousin and her sons.
• Edwards, Colorado to see my BFF Dana who lives in one of the most beautiful landlocked places to ever have delicious sushi.
  

After Colorado we were out of friends to see (and stay with) so we had to get thinking. We headed down Utah 128 -- one of the best drives there is, I think. We headed to Moab, Utah, a touristy hippy town situated near only beautiful places like Utah 128, Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park. The next day we explored Arches:
Arches was beautiful. As we drove to our next stop: Bryce Canyon, we passed through the desolate land of Southern Utah. It's completely gorgeous: rocky rolling hills, valleys, cows on farms and huge expanses of dry land. Julie shared her impression of Utah: "This is a beautiful area but I'm also sure people are killed here and never found." Totally. The desolation of Utah is both breathtaking and scary. Next, we upped the ante and headed to Bryce Canyon National Park, also in Utah. Bryce Canyon -- unlike Arches -- is like being on the moon, or something. It's a complete trip: Not the moon, just a canyon full of hoodoos here on Earth. Amazing. To counter all the good all that nature and beauty was doing for us, we headed to Las Vegas. I prepared for my endocrine exam poolside, drank cocktails, ate French food at Mon Ami Gabi in Paris hotel, watched the fountains at Bellagio and took full advantage of Vegas' open container law (what's better than strolling past a dancing fountain? Strolling past a dancing fountain with a cocktail!). We headed to Los Angeles after two nights at Bally's Las Vegas. We didn't deal with too much of that famous LA traffic and got to move Julie into her adorable little bungalow without any trouble. We did a little shopping and then I headed to LAX for my redeye flight back to Chicago/reality. I'm proud to say I came home ready for my test and got an 'A' on my endocrine exam! Just a few more things about our trip:

• Julie's new Ford Fiesta has a sweet Sync system - Julie's iPhone lead the way with its navigation system, I hooked up my iPad to play music (Taylor Swift's new album was a favorite).
• We listened to a lot of music, NPR, some country radio (we were in country radio territory for quite a while), several Stuff You Should Know podcasts and a audio version of Sweet Valley Confidential (hilarious and juicy).
• I did a lot of studying on the way -- it's a little tricky to get my setup of notecards, notebooks, a textbook and papers situated in moving vehicle packed full of stuff, but I definitely managed all right.
• I can't wait to go back to California, by plane, to see Julie! Despite Utah's beauty I don't think we'll be making the trek there by car anytime soon.

A parting shot of BFFs on vacation. Hooray!