The Move

Last year, our rent went up almost 10% and added some fees, too. We knew it would happen again (we heard rumors of $100-$150 increases in 1/1 units!), so we started shopping around. It had to be a Perfect Storm in a lot of ways. It’s not worth moving unless we can stay close to the same total expenses, get more space, get nicer fixtures and stuff, etc. Well, when we started looking around, there were a lot of ways we could make this happen. So, on 25-Feb, we’ll have a new place to live. We have until 22-Mar to get out of Riata, but we’re hiring movers so we can leave early in the hope that they can flip our unit quickly like they did for our neighbor. We have been quite happy at Riata. Unless they screw us over on move-out, I’ll give them a 5-star rating on Yelp. But, when we got this “shoebox” shaped apartment, it was an amazing deal we just couldn’t pass up while we still had a mortgage. We were so happy here that when the lease came around, twice, we just stayed. Now, we’re ready to face moving again to go for bigger/better.

We looked at ~20 places and had a very strong Top 5 list. I fell “in like” with two leasing specialists, one where an acquaintance of ours lives. We found: a lovely town home, an über quiet place up the road, hardwood floors, door-to-door valet trash service, amazing views, and a couple of places with a lot of rugrats. All of the options gave us more space (so I can use Daddy’s desk again!), better amenities for our lifestyle, garage options (so we can stop paying for a storage unit primarily for Daddy’s desk and “junk”), better fixtures, and a better layout.

Just like we did when house hunting, we made a matrix of all the “stuff”. And just like most brides do with a wedding gown, we ended up at the first place we wanted to see: Villas at Stone Oak Ranch. We have good/affordable access to a game room and a 30-seat movie theater. There is a “gift wrap” area full of paper and tape and scissors. All the standards are there too: gym, pool, business center, etc. We have a detached garage, a square balcony, “Romeo & Juliet” doors off the dining room (which I’ve re-named Rapunzel doors), garden tubs, a kitchen that is open on two ends, an excellent pantry, and data ports in all the rooms. The only things we didn’t get: gas cooking (REALLY hard to find) and a fireplace (again? dammit!). But the deal was just too good to pass up compared to the other places in consideration.

Aside: During the process we met an amazing woman named Wendie. She gave us the low-down on why so many communities are doing away with their hot tubs. Turns out, some really scary (as in: there is no known cure) stuff can survive even in 104?-temperature chemical-treated water. The report is new and we could not find it online, but it’s scary. Do not, I repeat: DO NOT get in a public hot tub. Feet only. No “sensitive” areas allowed. eeeeeewwww!

Don’t worry friends and family: we’re hiring movers. We are also cleaning out the storage unit and holding a big moving sale in their parking lot. What doesn’t get sold is getting donated. Goodwill is going to LOVE us! LMK if you are close and care about the few big-ticket items we’re selling.

Oh! And we were able to surprise a friend with the referral fee paid to REALTORs. She’s a single mom and a cancer survivor, so she was elated with the news.

(The) Grandaddy

Grandaddy is quite frustrated and bored. His hip is so messed up from the botched “Paris-effin’-Texas” surgery that he can’t sit up. He’s been laying down since Hallowe’en. The Longview/Tyler doctors have deemed all surgical options too risky. Health care is a joke from the beginning; but in a small town that is 20 years behind the times, 1 hour from an interstate highway, and 2 hours from anything you’ve ever heard of, it’s nothing short of tragic. Mama Bee is still fighting the residuals from the beotch who called APS on her (the witch has since apologized), but no one wants to take Grandaddy on as a client. They claim he’ll have a stroke if he stays in bed too much longer, but they won’t come help her get him the physical therapy he needs to get out of the hospital bed. It’s heartbreaking….worse so to be physically and financially powerless to help. If I could wave a magic wand, I’d care-flight him to one of those fancy-schmancy places in Dallas where he’d get all the help he needs. Again, I need to win the lottery for that. I don’t know what those places cost, but even the crappy Paris nursing homes are $6K per month…and for terrible care compared with what my Grandmother can do (even at her small stature).

The Fraud

In the midst of The Move, we got a call that we’d have to pay rent with “certified funds” like a cashier’s check or money order. We’ve been on auto-draft, so this would be a real pain in the butt. Today, I called the “ladder” of people to find out the cause. Some jackass spoofed my Texas driver’s license number when writing a bad check at Walmart in a town I’ve never been to in Oklahoma. Telecheck reported it to credit on my DL number without checking any facts like the name. So, now, I’m in the middle of yet another fraud mess. I’ve lost count of how many times this has happened. So, to all the people who gave me shit (my sorority included) for wanting to protect my SSN, DL, DOB, mailing address, and other “credit” information, Fuck You! THIS is why. Less than $300 of stupid means we have to get a money order for rent every month? Are you kidding? Since Emil was just frauded over Xmas, this is just another reason to try to get off the financial grid. I haven’t even owned checks in years and I’m still dealing with this kind of bullshit.

Dear Walmart: stop taking checks. They are not money. They are only theft.

“Dear” Telecheck, this a’int our first rodeo for something completely out of my control. I already don’t shop at any store that posts they use you. You have needed better processes since ~1993 when I bought <$10 worth of socks from one of your client stores. Your sign in the window means I don’t shop there. fuckers. Oh, and if you think I’m alone in my opinion, search “telecheck” on Twitter. You need to learn/use social media, too, BTW.

The Fun

Austin is about to ride the big wave of fun that is Spring. Right after we move in, we’ll have RISE (free workshops for entrepreneurs) and the four South by Southwest conferences. I’ve been invited to return tot he photo crew for SXSW. And, I’ve been selected to wrangle for another all-time favorite photographer at Texas School in May. It’s a fun ride, but it’s a sprint, so jump on board fast if you want to hang with us!

Oh, and for those of you close by, look for a party in April or May. The party room at the new place is stellar (pool, poker, shuffleboard, music, swimming, etc.)

In the first ~10 days after closing my facebook account, I noticed a substantial–journaled/documented–increase in productivity.  Now, let me be frank: I never played games on facebook. Furthermore, I was ruthless about junk posts and hiding stuff that wasn’t useful to me for the way I used facebook. (I’ll also admit that I was a timid user given my history of bona fide stalkers who used this information to find me.)

Productivity? What’s That?

In the week after I killed my facebook account, I lost count of the tasks in the productivity spike I had.

• I’ve cleaned up and cleaned out several areas of our home. I’ve done that once-a-year stuff like wiping down the insides of the cabinets and cleaning out the areas known as “I wonder what we keep in there.” I’ve kept up with laundry, dusting, etc. I even bound my computer cables to keep Marble out of them. I don’t know how many boxes of paper we recycled. I have another box to shred. And, I know have a “projects” box full of stuff I can do in shorter bursts…which means it might get done.
• I not only had the bridge installed, I’ve been working on whitening the rest of my teeth (all part of the plan).
• I’ve gathered a charity donation and made a lunch date with a friend so I can deliver it.
• I’ve been shopping (shopping!) for things I’d put off much too long.
• I set up some small marketing for our #CroKnit group.
• I’ve planned two small parties, attended another (& I took/processed/posted images), and prepped for a wedding (some bigger tasks within that, this time).
• I ran one marketing project for As You Wish, booked a client from it, and am prepping the next offer/message to go out in a week or two.
• I’ve done half a dozen administrative tasks for me, us, our home, and As You Wish.
• Shot a wedding
• Duped/backed up images
• Edited and posted the images
• ..and I still went to Miami’s watch party, #CroKnit, and other weekly routines.

What I Have “Missed” — that I know of:

• One person wondered why I unfriended her…and then immediately realized I must have finally deleted my account.
• One person wondered if I was the reason his friend count dropped by one. Yep, that was me!
• One friend said she’d invite me to her daughter’s birthday party, but never did. I’m guessing it went out on facebook. Other friends only use facebook to invite friends to events. I’ll be sad to miss the ones where they don’t think outside facebook.

What I Have Missed with Elation:

• Being invited to events in places like Toledo or San Francisco.
• The pure drivel of some. I had hidden most of those who wax poetic in ways other than those I can appreciate, but there is only so much you can do.
• Religion, I expect a “separation of church and state” attitude. Have your religion and enjoy what comforts and supports you. Do not push your faith onto me. I have friends/family who range from Jewish-to-Catholic-to-Christian/Evangelical-to-Hindu-to-Buddist-to-Agnostic/Athiest. I’m respectful–even celebratory–of holy events of others. I share others’ celebrations. I do not acknowledge anything shoved down my throat. (Funny how that’s always some form of Christianity, huh?)
• Politically, Emil and I don’t vote alike, but share a lot of views. Unfortunately for facebook, it’s the most prolific/asinine who use social media as a platform….and ruin the experience for the rest of us. I had to unfriend and then block the one terrible “friend”. If they don’t know me/us, then how can they dare get “upset” when I call them out for using social media cred for furthering someone else’s agenda. (Yes, that really happened.)

And Then There Is Time

Again, I didn’t play any games on facebook. I severely restricted the suck factor that drags you into viewing photos of people you don’t even know. I had all the gadgets and widgets to control my flow of information. I used fb purity and better facebook. I had blocked feeds from many apps and several people. I had blocked all “non-friends” so I wouldn’t see their stuff, but more importantly, so they wouldn’t see my posts.

None of it worked. When I quit facebook, I had the most productive week of the year. Even with all the “lock down” versions of content I was willing to read and friends I really wanted to connect with, it was a huge time suck. Losing access to facebook caused very few “I miss” moments, but gave a lot of “I’m kicking ass!!!” reasons to be proud of my work. If I had realized exactly how MUCH of a timesuck facebook was (even when I had it filtered like crazy), I’d have dumped it a lot sooner.

I read somewhere recently that fabric softener is environmentally one of the worst chemicals to have in your home…not because of the harm of the product, but because of how it’s made. They use a lot of terrible/harsh chemicals to produce it cheaply and then use a bunch of other chemicals to cover up the nasty smells. I used to make my own dryer sheets (sponges soaked in softener)…and since I remembered a method of using Distilled White Vinegar (for the same results but without any smell), I started “the Googleing”.

For the Budget

I found this recipe for softener. Other similar recipes add baking soda, but I’m going to try to skip that part at first. I can always add it in.

In the search, I also found this nifty little site: Being Creative to Keep My Sanity. She made laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, and some other crafty goodness. The ingredients for these two overlap, so I was off on an adventure. (And, with our grocery store in a full-on renovation, what an adventure it was!)

Shopping

At this moment, we have a full bottle of softener and a full bottle of dishwasher detergent. But the laundry/dish ingredients overlap, so I sought ingredients for all three.

We had these on hand:

• baking soda (why on Earth did we already have ~7# of this stuff??)
• Borax
• OxiClean
• TOTAL TO BUY THESE: ~$12, I’m guessing

I bought:

• Pink Zote laundry bar soap (Fels-Naptha works, too, but I couldn’t find it and she likes Zote better.) – at Home Depot
• washing soda
• a cheese grater
• lavender essential oil – $10 for a small bottle that will last forEVer – at WholeFoods or your local/favorite health shop
• TOTAL SPENT: $20

If we I make all three, I’ll eventually need:

• citric acid – wasn’t at my grocery store…going to keep looking
• epsom salt
• Lemi Shine rinse aid (powder) – $4
• distilled white vinegar
• TOTAL TO SPEND: ~$15, I’m guessing

Except where noted, all of these are at most grocery stores.

Now, if this were all me, I’d have bought all the stuff to make all of it and made a day of this. It’s a BYE week for both Miami and A&M, so what else is there to do on a beautiful Saturday when I don’t have a wedding? However, Emil is more than skeptical. He’s willing to try this, but has very low expectations it will work. The funny thing is that I do the laundry and dishes most of the time, and he doesn’t even like fabric softener. So, why should he care at all, right? Anyway, Ms. Creative Sanity swears these are both better and cheaper…and then there is the environmental impact, so I’m going to try.

For Blue Lime

Emil & I did our normal thing and compromised. (You can translate this to “she’s crazy, so he brought her down a little closer to Earth” if you’d like.) I’m only making the Laundry Detergent since that’s what we’re almost out of. I’m also making a half batch since the bars of soap were so cheap and I’d only be wasting cheap ingredients if it’s a big ol’ FAIL.

Step 0:

Organize the stuff and take a pic for the blog!

$2 for half the washing soda
+ $3 cheese grater
+ $4 OxiClean (in the ziplock)
+ $4 Pink Zote (for two…leftovers!)
+ $3 baking soda
+ $4 Borax
= $17 (if you don’t count the cheese grater)

Step 1

Grate the soap bars. I expected this to be difficult, but the soap is surprisingly soft. I counted grates for half a bar, ~600 on a new, medium-sized grater. So, 1800 for this batch, 3600 for a full batch.

Step 2

Because I was only using half of each box, I poured half of each into a mixing bowl.

Step 3

Mix well.

To be fair, I really did 1/3 of each product and then 2/3 of each product to help with the mixing.

I had a paint stir to mix, but it was too “slow”, so I just dug in with my hands and mixed it like meatloaf.

Make Time

~15 minutes from set up to storage

Step 4

Blogging…at least 30 minutes of time. Way longer than making the stuff, but also part of the fun!

Bonus

The OxiClean scoop is 1 Tablespoon. Free scoop!

Total Time

~45 minutes. Not bad

Ta Da!

It smells great and isn’t overpowering. I can’t wait to try it out! It’s very strong for cleaning…and only takes 1 Tablespoon per load.

If this works we won’t buy laundry detergent for a very long time!

The Ah HA! Moment

According to Google Shopping:

• the cheapest liquid with OxiClean is $5 for 35 loads
  $0.14 per load
• the cheapest powder with OxiClean is $11 for 95 small loads
  $0.11 per small load

Our math (yes, Emil helped):

• this homemade version is $17 for 224 loads
  $0.08 per load
• the full recipe is $27 for 448 loads
  $0.06 per load

Another Bonus!

Emil likes the smell and was surprised at how much cheaper it was, too. He’s already less skeptical than before!

Brenda’s hurricane preparation tips (seen & heard about, practiced from time to time, and thought about again since what happened along the East Coast with Irene) include:

• …Move more than 100 miles inland though even that doesn’t always work as we all have seen over and over.
• Dry cereal (small individual packages can make serving measurements easier)
• Nonfat dry milk.  Very helpful in dry cereal when all refrigeration (and electricity) has ceased.
• Old fashioned hand fans or battery operated ones.  They don’t do much but it provides a bit of comfort in the hellish and endless heat that will ensue.
• After his first few hurricanes my dad insisted on a gas stove (for the rest of his life) so while we had no power for two weeks post-Camille we did have regular meals.  He also had a camp stove that I have now.
• Tins of sardines and hand operated can openers (plural for when the first one breaks after years of trustworthy work)
• Milk jugs full of water
• Outdoor (charcoal) grill; gas okay, too, if you have a new propane tank.
• …Chocolate will melt but still tastes good.  I cannot remember ever wanting one post-hurricane.
• Wine does not taste good at room temperature when air conditioning has ceased & room temp is 95.  I have tested that one.
• Super-long electrical extension cords in case, as friends of mine did, you find that your neighbor on another grid across the street has electricity and is willing to share.  Not sure this is safe but it worked for them.
• Some people use generators.  That is how my neighbors didn’t lose the contents of their refrigerator during the last one we had.
• Wash a lot of clothes in case you have to survive for two weeks without washing any.
• Scan your favorite pictures and documents and upload them at least into emails and DVDs, if you haven’t done so yet, just in case.
  Seems to me this is when laminating back-up copies of pictures seems more important than archiving them.
• Refresh your first aid kit.
• Get extra sanitizers like rubbing alcohol.
• Have that pet carrier handy.
• Free extra ice
• Buy extra ice and put it in your usual picnic coolers
• Lots of batteries and flashlights as you would not believe how easy it is to injure yourself in the dark when no lights whatsoever exist.
• Return…library books so they don’t charge you…
• Buy new backpacks in Labor Day sale (seen advertised at Family Dollar for one)
• Do not feel guilty because that something in the air feeling made you momentarily anticipate the thing as though it wasn’t a pending disaster.  It is atmospheric.  I can sniff one out and stay awake in the night any time the least tropical depression is within about a thousand miles from me.
• Sometimes pictures can be salvaged, but do your best to keep them from any water damage in the first place.  See this Library of Congress discussion.” http://www.loc.gov/preservation/emergprep/ or http://www.loc.gov/preservation/care/photo.html

Thank you, Brenda, for sharing and being willing to offer a re-publish, too!

Please consider these things along with the typical hurricane-preparedness lists you’ll find to be sure you can endure not just a hurricane that might hit your city, but also one where your city might have to endure the fallout. In Austin, Katrina and Rita both caused population booms.

Last year, I honestly don’t remember what I ate. I probably took veggie patties and soy dogs.

This year, we were only going to be there for the one/big meal, so I opted for veggie packets and fruit kabobs. Along with chips, this was our contribution to the family meal.

Veggie Packets

prep:

• Chop onion into ~8 sections; with it’s natural layers, grabbing a wedge for each packet will be easy.
• Chop or slice vegetables for ease of scooping 1/4 cup portions.
• To make ~40 packets, this took me ~2 hours.

assemble:

• two layers of foil
• 1/4 cup diced potatoes
• 1/4 cup sliced zucchini
• 1/4 cup sliced yellow squash
• 1/4 cup sliced carrots
• 1 small wedge of onion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon rosemary
• a pinch of thyme
• salt & pepper

Double-fold the packets along the top and then fold in the ends.

cook:

• Grill over a hot fire for ~15 minutes.
• Our grills were VERY hot that day, so we put them on the top rack.
• In our case, they were done when the foil started to change color.

Fruit Ka-bobs

Thanks for my friends on Twitter and facebook, I knew what fruits would grill well!

prep:

Clean and cut fruit into wedges big enough to slide onto skewers and not fall between the slats on the grill. This took me about an hour.

ingredients:

• apples
• pears
• strawberries
• pineapple
• mango (given the size of the mango pit, this was by-far the hardest to work with)

prep:

Soak wooden skewers in water to keep them fire resistant. Some also advised soaking the fruit in water to prevent burning.

cook:

• Have each person assemble their favorites into a ka-bob.
• Sprinkle a little sugar on each ka-bob.
• Grill over a hot flame for ~5 minutes, turning one time.
• You know they are done when the fruit has grill marks.

The apples and pears will taste like bites of pie. The strawberries are unlike any I’d ever had.

I can’t speak to the pineapple or mango since I can’t stand the stuff, but it was quickly claimed when we packed up after lunch and divided all the leftovers!

YUM!

We have other friends we communicate with on an infrequent basis. We know that–regardless of distance of “time and space” [1]–they are dear friends.

Still, others come-and-go in our lives. We may lose touch for one reason or another. Technology is advantageous at this point. One benefit of linkedin/facebook is that we can reconnect with some of them.

So, imagine my surprise when a friend from several years ago sent me a message on linkedin…and lo and behold…she lives in Austin!

From ~2000-2005 I worked on a committee with Lara. I adored her and everything she brought to the program we supported. She got out when I should have. In hind-sight, I admire her for that, too.

Long-story-short, when we realized we were in the same city and both had flexible schedules, we started co-working. So far, I have been the one who is helpful, but she’s already scolding me for not letting her return the favor. I don’t care; she has a deadline that I do not. Plus, I know she’s good for it. She and I hold the same value of balance. Come to think of it, I need to see if she’s also a Libra-now-Virgo. (Zodiac changes or not, I still crave my balance.)

I’m glad to see that our professional-with-waves-of-personal friendship from several years ago can be completely resurrected now that we are both entrepreneurs who can help one another. Expect some grand things from As You Wish, now that I have her help!

[1] that one is for you, LL1

One time, we got a meal I didn’t like (but Emil loved it, so it worked out.) One time, we got one that we both felt was meh, but we ate it. We just didn’t plan to order that one again. Out of 90+ entrees we’ve tried, two were less than perfect.

I’ve changed the way I’m eating, so the last two trips to Dream Dinners have taken a bit more homework and planning, but we’ve made it work. One of my attempts was their Jambalaya. Bad move. They are a yankee-based company so they have a northern spin on some Southern dishes. (They also put stews on the menu much to early for Texas weather.)

So, I had six entrees of jambalaya that was more Italian than Cajun. I didn’t want it to go to waste, so a rescue was in order.

I dug through the freezer and found some a package of gumbo veggies with seasonings. I heated them and then started adding little bits of the jambalaya rice at a time. In that process, I deduced that there is something red or green in the jambalaya that is throwing it off. I think it might have been the red peppers. So, I searched for pockets of rice without as many peppers. Then, I added dumped cayenne pepper and Tony Chachere’s original creole seasoning to the mix.

SAVE! I salvaged the meal from “Mwah! Just like Mama’s. Capiche?” to “mmmm DAT is GOOD.”

Emil’s wish for supper was Torchy’s Tacos. We know not to go there until a bit later because it gets really crowded. And, while it’s not a kid-friendly place, a lot of parents drag their ill-behaved sex trophies along. We planned to go over there at 7pm.

We normally get terrible service but great food at Torchy’s. The counter staff don’t listen well and mess up our orders all the time. However, even a messed up Torchy’s taco is fabulous. So, we endure. Tonight, we were behind a group of four: a mom with her two school-age boys and their grandmother. They spoke more Spanish than English, but seemed to speak and understand English just fine. However, in spite of good language skills, they were really struggling to order. They had a million questions and kept adding more items after the counter girl had totaled the order. The kids were barking for chips and nachos and lemonade and whatever else. Mom just added it to the list. Meanwhile, the line had grown out the door. A whopping $41.38 later (for tacos!) [1], they were finally signing the credit card receipt. About this time the owner opened the other register and took our order quickly and accurately. We were getting our drinks before they walked away from the counter. Cue our jokes about people from Alvin, Texas.

We were home for all of about 5 minutes before Emil requested a trip to Fry’s for some RAM, a new hard drive, and a monitor cable. Please understand why he needed these things for his desktop PC: Dungeons & Dragons. His gang from BCS used to gather weekly for a live game, but after a suspension from the host’s wife, they found a really good online version.

At Fry’s, we got great service at the RAM counter and, while chatting about our Twitter conversation about “criss-cross applesauce”, met a funny guy in line. As we were leaving, Emil insisted that the good service and attention from the fellow shopper was because of my boobs. Thanks, Honey; I love you, too. It was a funny notion. About the time we were back in the car and done laughing about it, Islands in the Stream came on the radio. [2]

When we got back to our village, Emil drove the longest way [3] to our building, so he could hear the rest of Beat It. Damn we are old/nerdy.

So, the rest of our evening is spent with him doing serious computer upgrades. I’m updating some bloggy/site things while I listen to the live show of the week from http://www.keithandthegirl.com/. FTW!

Happy holiday weekend, everyone. Be safe and take a moment to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for USA.

[1] Two women & 2 young kids just ordered $42 worth (for here!) at Torchy’s Tacos. WTF? #tookforever

[2] LOL @emil285 said we got better service @ Fry’s b/c of my ta tas. Clevage FTW! Then Islands in the Stream came on th radio. #notmakingthisup

[3] Driving all the way around to our apartment so @emil285 can hear the rest of Beat It on the radio. (Must be 80s night on this station,)

Thursday, I drove over to Bryan to pack as much as I could. Of the 7 rooms to do, I got 3.5 done and felt good about it. Friday, I only made it through ~2 rooms, though. Emil joined me on Friday night in a U-Haul truck and we attempted to dig through the rest of our stuff. By Saturday afternoon, we were finally loading the truck. At about 2pm, I had a mini-panic, I could see a lot more stuff than we had truck. I could see a lot more stuff than we had time. I was frustrated that we had already had four garage sales in 2 years, had given/sold a ton of stuff, had planned this move to Austin for a year and had known about it for ~four months. HOW could we still have so much stuff we don’t need? I had to keep reminding myself that we weren’t just moving a household; we were also moving a business.

Between Saturday and Sunday, the following people were super-helpful and we wish to thank them:

• Charile: took some Hallowe’en decor they will use for their party; loaned us a jack so we could replace yet another tire on my truck; helped us move a credenza.
• Casey: helped us move Daddy’s (very heavy, large, solid) desk and later helped us clear out a bunch of stuff from the garage.
• Jes: helped us clear out stuff, took a bunch of half-filled containers of cleaners and yard chemicals (that we didn’t want to put into storage) off our hands.
• Mr. R: purchased several pieces of equipment from us; helped schlep stuff to the curb for the neighbors to pilfer, and will be making trash runs for us  by refilling our curb-side dumpster and refilling and placing it where it will be picked up tw0 times on trash day (“that” side of the street early am, and again on “this” side of the street later in the day when the truck makes another pass).
• Mom L: housed us for Thur-Sat nights, made cinnamon rolls, and helped me load stuff on Sunday morning (she didn’t lift, she manned the door!) when I was in a huge hurry to grab what I could and then catch up to Emil who was already on the road.
• Neighborhood “elves”: several neighbors we know from HOA events stopped by and pilfered our “junk” for their own uses. We are grateful that they found purpose for the items and kept them out of the landfill.

We resigned ourselves to staying over one more day and made a very detailed plan for Sunday. We accounted for every 15-minute time slot and planned to get the truck returned on time.

We buzzed through cleaning and packing the rest of the house as best we could. At ~9:15, Emil told me it was 10am, so we cranked things up a notch. We decided against trying to get the stuff at his mom’s. He got on the road and I went back to Mom’s to get our clothes. While there, I took 9 boxes I could fit into the pickup. During the drive to our storage unit in Austin, I caught up to him within about five minutes. We went to work on loading stuff into the storage unit, went without breaks, drove to the apartment, loaded the rest of the things that were to go there without a moment to spare, and went to U-Haul to return the truck. The truck was supposed to be back at 5:30. U-Haul had closed at 5pm, so we had to use the drop-slot. I was frustrated that we really pushed to be on time and could have easily taken more, but also relieved that it was almost all done. We had fabulous burgers at MooYa and then came back home to rest.

We have at least one truckload left at Mom’s, but we’ll be back in two weeks for closing. Whatever we don’t get then, we’ll make a weekend run for at another time. This whole move to Austin has been a long time coming (a year of planning and wishing) and seems like a longer time to process (May-August moving). We are grateful for the light at the end of the lo-o-o-o-o-ong tunnel.

At the end of the day, we were both exhausted. I was also in quite a bit of pain from head to toe. Still, it was worth getting rid of all that stuff and finding new room/space in our lives.

The next phase is for me to go to Bryan for a couple of days and pack the remaining stuff. Then, Emil will join me with the moving truck to take all our remaining stuff to Austin (to a storage unit.) That gives us a weekend before closing in case we need extra time for any projects. Hopefully, we’ll get to spend that wekeend in Austin just hanging out in our town.