Time to sit still...

..sort of.

I've been quite a nomad for the month of August. I moved out on the first, lived at my parents house for a week, flew to New York to spend the day with Sarah, left JFK for Israel on August 10th, spent 10 days there, came back to Tallahassee, spent a few days at my parents house, and drove down to Miami on Tuesday. Wow. Included in that few days with my parents were two days with no power, courtesy of Hurricane Fay (or was it just Tropical Storm Fay?).

The drive down to Miami was long and tiring. I've been fighting off sickness (not very well, apparently) since midway through my trip to Israel. The trip was amazing, just really tiring. I have hundreds of pictures, but I have to say the one in this post is one of my favorites. That's me and Jon riding a camel through the Negev... we named him Marvin. Camels make really funny noises....

So now I'm in Miami, finally. I started class today at MDC. It's nice to be back in a classroom. The apartment is a mess, since we don't have furniture, which means it's tough to unpack with no drawers, shelves, or anything. We've already planned a trip to Ikea this weekend... stay tuned for pictures and stories from there!

Bye, Westwood!

I went back to my house yesterday to meet Kelli, the new tenant... she moved in on Wednesday.

As soon as I met her, she thanked me probably 6 times for renting them such a nice house... she went on and on about it being pretty, and quiet, and nice, and about how much storage there was... my response, of course, was "Thanks for paying my mortgage while I'm not here!"

She and Megan are both really nice, and I feel good about leaving our house in their hands. It made me feel better about the whole situation. Leaving Westwood yesterday, for the first time, I wasn't sad. I've been so sad and sentimental about the whole moving thing since we started packing, but I finally feel better about it. I know it's just a house, but it makes me happy that they love it and are excited to be living there... and their money makes me happy too!

I went back to my parents house, my temporary home for the week, with a Moo, Moo Mr. Cow from our neighborhood Moes (and the best one in town!), ate it, then packed for my trip. Oscar and I had our last slumber party before I leave for 2 weeks... it was glorious!

So now I'm leaving town... I fly to New York this afternoon, get to spend all day with Sarah on Saturday, and am leaving for Israel on Sunday.

I'm here.... my stuff is there...

Jon left on Monday to drive down to Miami with all of our stuff. I think I've said it before, but moving is quite liberating. Aside from being an irritating annoyance, it's soooo nice to get rid of things and sort of start new. Sarah and I probably got rid of 3 or 4 car loads of stuff at Goodwill, and an untold amount of stuff at the dumpster. Ahh... so nice to get rid of junk you don't need. Like the 7 bed spreads we had in our house- seriously, 7. For two people. I think I take after my mom, not wanting to throw still nice things away, even though I don't use them. I'm also pretty sure we had at least 20 towels. Crazy.

I went to Comcast yesterday with Megan to switch over the cable. They now owe us $2.46. They said they'll send a check soon. I'm relatively positive that it will cost more than the $2.46 they owe us to process the payment and mail it. What a waste. The utilities are set to turn off tomorrow. So many things to take care of before I leave!

I went to the new Walmart in town yesterday to get stuff for my trip. I love the "Tiny Stuff Aisle", as we call it. It's so fun to buy new travel bottles! I guess I'm easily amused.

Anyway, I'm leaving on Friday to go to NYC for the day (Hi Sarah!), and leaving for Israel on Sunday at 2. I'm so excited!.... now I just have to pack.... isn't that all I do these days?

And the best part...

The details....

Well, I'm making progress

My house no longer looks like a hurricane went through it. I spent a lot of time last night cleaning up, making sure the downstairs and common areas are clean for Megan, our new tenant, to move in on Sunday. Thankfully, she wants Sarah's room, and Kelly, the roommate, wants mine... and she's not coming until next week, so I have some time.

Before we stripped everything clean from our rooms and the rest of the house, we wanted to take some nice pictures to make sure we properly documented the fabulousness of our house. I LOVE that house. It has sentimental value as the first house I've owned, and where Sarah and I spent 2 and 1/2 lovely years.

My room...












Sarah's room...












the living room...












the kitchen (with 8 coats of red paint, applied lovingly by my mother)...












from the photo archives... Mom actually painting...














The dining room...












Our fun garden and front porch. We even managed to keep plants alive!....












Outside the house...