Not all who wander are lost.

I have a new love! Pinterest! We have been busy working on some projects around the house. We have not decided if we are staying here for another year yet. I can't stand the house looking like a rental any longer though.

We have a Goodwill Outlet store close by. If you have access to these - GO! They are pay by the pound goodness. I needed a truck to get all my goodies home today, the 300 had to do.

This lovely art work was 2.00. All I wanted was the canvas and the frame.
Added an outdated atlas that was a nickle and some homemade Modpodge.

Total cost under 5.00. This momma is HUGE! it is over 4x4 foot. I forgot how much I liked to craft.

*sniff* I love the smell of burning couches

Likes and Dislikes

Since we have been here a little over a month in our FL home, I thought it would be a good time to sit down and make a little comparison as to my likes and dislikes...

Likes

• Sunshine
• lack of gloomy over cast days
• little to no allergies/ mid ohio valley crud
• the Gulf
• the change in the girls
• my new job and the one on the horizon
• watching Kar on the football field and her new discovered confidence
• Disney is only a hop away
• all the shopping opportunities
• the smell of the dirt in my back yard
• the family of squirrels in our yard- including the puny one "Bubba"
• the lizards
• the clouds

Dislikes:

• my incredible loneliness. I really miss my family and friends- someday are worse than others.
• the roaches (yikes!) but I will take them over the Wolf spiders back home.
• the hour drive I have to work and home
• since we are so active = I AM SO TIRED!
• I miss coaching and being involved in my community.

Bargain Hunting Superstars!

WOW- was that a move or what?! I am not going to go into all the gory details but I am looking towards our future as Florida residents. We took a day trip to Clearwater today and I will say that it was AMAZING!
The girls and I have been thrifting and making some great finds. We had to rebuy a lot of our things because we could not bring them from Ohio or they got damaged beyond repair in the move. I have been trying very hard to buy second hand as this move turned out to be way more expensive then what we had initially planned.

So here is a list of the the bounty...

2 couches (one with a sleeper sofa), 8 throw pillows, 2 love seats, a chair, coffee table and 2 end tables $350.00 - our living room furniture was molded after sitting in the uhaul for a week and we needed more then one set to fill up the family room.

a full size headboard, dresser with mirror, short dresser, full mattress and box spring, 4 lamps, 2 nice pots with lids, 25 glass tumblers, a serving set for 18 of vintage corelle dishes (made in the USA) a plastic hamper, 4 more throw pillows- $120.00 - this was out of a condo that was used for a snowbirding couple the bed still had plastic wrap on it.

a step 2 video rocker, a folding wood sand chair, a americana basket, a queen bedroom bedding set from bed bath and beyond including the pillows, shams, bedskirt, and curtains. Pier One wall hangings, a pottery barn bean bag chair (that Cooper has decided is his new bed), and 6 various planters for my lanai. $32.87

Now to convince Kevin that he likes to go with us! He is more of an "I don't want to look for it, just buy it kind of guy."

Big Wheels Keep on Rollin

Where do I even start to catch up? I worked my last week of work, it was very bittersweet saying my goodbyes to my work family who have helped me work through many of the skeletons in my closet. Seven years of psych will have you diagnosing yourself and all your friends.

We have been working at packing and cleaning out the house. I can not get myself organized. I have to sit down and make my lists out. HAVE TO!


We received some photos of the house. I had imagined things to be much worse than what the pictures are. The cottage has a lot of character. I am looking forward to getting my hands in there and fixing it up. I am actually excited learn how to do some of the things myself. Hopefully I make it out with all of my appendages.

What I have learned so far about our move:

1. We really need to "make it work, use it up, do without" I am just sick of all the stuff that we have that we really do not need.
   
   
2. Selling a home gym in today's economy is not going happen.
3. A 3000 square foot home is way to big for this family. We keep way to much stuff. For example I cleaned out our filing cabinet and got almost a half a trash bag of just random papers.
4. What I think is important to do and what everyone else thinks are often two different things.
5. It is impossible to pack on the weekends when you have decided to move over 14 hours away in less than a month.

Tomorrow's check list:

• finish kitchen
• finish laundry room
• go through totes packed and downsize again
• call insurance about transfer

YIPPEE!!

Finally! I am starting to see the pieces that were missing fall into place! I found a house, that is a total fixer-upper but no more being house poor! I am allowed to do what I want to it in regards to painting and possible remodel. There are some things that will for sure need fixed, but I am super super excited! I am sure it is going to be a challenge, but I am not afraid of getting dirty.

Schools are rated good and it is in a very small town. HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!!

Anticipation

The logistics of this move is killer. Trying to coordinate all that needs to be done is like the most intricate dance I have ever done. I would feel better if we had a house. I have decided to let Kevin deal with some of that hunt. It is really stressing me out. Of course, he will not check the school districts or crime data, or sex offenders those are the things that are daunting me.

We are slowly getting things packed up. I will be happy when we are all done with that. I still have no clue how we are going to fit it all in a Uhaul, but the man says it will work - so I will let him have that to be in charge of.

I am going over a thousand different scenarios and variables in regards to our budget. I would like to find something cheap, and suffer it out for a year and work on rebuilding our credit. It is hard not knowing if there is going to be a meth lab next door, or Chester the molester- you have that everywhere though.

The budget for the move is right now around the 4000.00 range.
So far- 228.00 to the Fl board of nursing

30.00 to Nursys for license verification from Ohio to FL. Leaves us with around 3700.00 to work with.