Updating: Life in General

My last post was about my 'jammed nester' and I am happy to report that we are slowly making progress!  We actually had someone stay in the guest room this past week (though, it was just a queen size mattress on the floor surrounded with our stuff still)!  My husband also almost has his computer room all set up.  I am slowly, and I mean  s   l   o   w   l   y  getting the kitchen put together.  I cooked dinner last night and we ate at the table!  YAY! 

Concerning decorating, Michael and I are searching for posters we both like.  The one he already has that we both love would be a fortune to frame and dangerous to dry mount since it is no longer available in the size he has.  We'll get there. :)

So here I am at work, feeling much less productive than I imagine myself being if I was at home.  Laundry and dishes to do, messes to clean up, floors to sweep, boxes to unpack!  However, I also took a moment to look through some facebook pictures of my man and started to think about life as it was last year.  It was fun.  There are milestones to look forward to now.

In 21 days, we will have been together for a year.  (All of you who were aghast at our speed may now gasp).  It's neat for me.  Last time I was in an official long term relationship, it was officially over on our one year anniversary.  I'm excited to reach 1 year because I know Michael isn't going anywhere.  I'm excited to count the coming years as well. 

My sister and her family have been in town for a while which is awesome.  What's not so awesome is that they leave on Saturday and I feel like I've barely seen them at all.  Working stinks.  :/  My siblings get to spend all this time with her and her baby.  I'm here at work in front of a computer screen all week while they're entertaining the baby and interacting with my sister and her husband.  Boo.

It's been thunderstorms for several days in a row now, here.  It's just like it used to be when I was a little kid!  Afternoon thunderstorms over the mountains.  We used to sit and watch while eating popsicles on the back porch until it got closer and we ran scared.  For as much as the dog seemed to LOATHE fireworks, he doesn't seem to mind thunder much.

Speaking of the dog, he's starting to get bigger.  Not just in size, but also in mentality.  He's grown out of the puppy 'love everyone' stage and he's started to bark.  Not constantly, just more often.  We've determined I shall never be snuck up upon while doing laundry, or just facing away from the world.  He even barks at my husband, like he did this morning while I was making our lunch in the kitchen, when they approach or walk by when I'm facing a wall.  While I know I'm protected by him, we're going to have to work on that. 

He's also lost his baby teeth.  Michael said you never really see them, but Kuma decided to prove him wrong by losing 2 in front of us on different occasions.  His big dog teeth are coming in and they look much too large for his mouth at the moment.  Right now though, he's struggling with chewing a little bit because he's got his front teeth in, his molars in, and everything between is missing.  Cute puppy.

Well, that's all for now.  That's the update on life right now.  Until next time!

Houston, we have a problem...

There is this thing called 'nesting' to which I have been recently introduced.  Nesting is usually defined as something a pregnant lady does ("Baby is coming. Must clean!!!"), but it is not uncommon for newlywed wives to also have this urge to build a home.

Feminists would absolutely balk at this.  That would mean that women are instinctually mothers.  I wonder how they explain their sudden needs to clean and decorate.  I believe that women are generally hardwired to lean toward certain tendencies that define what is feminine.  Nesting is certainly one of those things.

Nesting is a LOT of fun if you can do it.  You clean and de-clutter and rearrange and decorate.  You make the space that is yours much more your own.  You get this sudden urge to make it better.  Make it perfect.  Scrubbing, painting, moving, selling, giving away, buying.  Revamping!

Just this past weekend, my hubby and I made the move from his grandmother's basement to his parents' house.  We are switching places with them.  I use the term 'switching' in the present participle because we are still in the process.  To give you an indication, my man and I agreed at lunch that moving into an empty house is much easier.  That's why I'm calling Houston about a problem.  My nester is jammed!

Part of my problem is that I've had a long time to imagine (fantasize?) about what I could do with the space once we decided we had made the trade.  I think I have arrived at many unrealistic visions for not only our current monetary situation but also the shape of the space.  Not to mention, my vision is not like my husbands.  We had a funny moment the other day about his posters.  Michael has quite a collection of posters.  We moved the TV into place and looked at the blank wall space above it.  Michael wanted something there, and he said he had something in mind but I wouldn't like it.  He was right!  It was a Simpsons poster that looked like the Soprano's logo.  I'm ok with that in the computer room, I said, but not the living room.

Yet, my husband is the best thing for me during this.  My jammed nester is both frustrating and overwhelming to me.  There is so much left to do!  Michael calmly tells me to take it one room at a time, assures me we will get it done, and instructs me not to take on the whole house at once or I will breakdown (like I did today at lunch!).  His logic is good for my emotions.  :)

Tonight, we go home to unpack some more and make room for our wedding gifts which have been sitting unopened in my parents' basement since the wedding.  At some point, we'll un-bury our boxes of kitchen stuff and we'll buy groceries so I can start cooking and baking.  SO EXCITED for that.

Until next time, I'll be nesting and packing and unpacking and trying my best to keep my nester unjammed.