Getting rid of so much stuff.

All that's left! My dining room table posing as my desk, my sad little mattress, old office with crap on the floor and my lonely TV.

Who was driving the Mac Truck?

I was falling asleep at my desk yesterday, and when I got home I crashed hard. I did not wake up until the next morning (that's why no blogging yesterday). Today, I feel like a Mac truck has hit me. Every single muscle in my body hurts from all the lifting. I seriously feel 80 years old.

I won an award this morning from my department as being "the most helpful, friendly and dedicated employee". I almost cried. It is going to be hard to leave such a great group of people who actually like me. Speaking of work, I guess I better go do some.

Selling all my stuff.

Wow. I was feeling so sad and lost about selling most of my stuff, but as the garage became more and more empty, the more freedom I felt. Amazing. Life never ceases to amaze me. I made a ton of money too! Going to have another sale next weekend to shed the rest and then the new carpet will go in. I gave money to my neighbor today to fix the fence and do some minor repairs on the house, and then all the major stuff is done! I'm hiring a maid to scrub the house before I go, and the movers will pack my stuff. The rest is cake.

The very last episode of LOST is on tonight, I'm going to miss it so much! They'd better answer all my questions! No more LOST. How ironic.

Until tomorrow my peeps.

Garage Sale

Quick update, garage sale is going GREAT!! I am making WAY more money than I thought I would! Woohoo!!!

Finally, a Productive Day!

So I got my ass in gear Thursday. I took the day off work because the dogs had to get their teeth cleaned and the carpet guy came out to give me an estimate. So, took dogs to vet, got Windows 7 at Staples, went to the post office and bank, got a coffee, got garage sale signs, called "Geek Pros" to fix my computer (internet went down and I kept getting too many error messages), weeded through the house for all the sale items and put them in the garage, did the laundry, made myself dinner and crashed. Tonight I am pricing everything and rearranging the garage. I am DAMN tired and all sweaty. My neighbor came over and helped me move the big furniture out THANK GOD. My back hates me now, though, and I will be very sore tomorrow.

The house looks weird. There's hardly anything in it. I have my laptop on my dining room table because all there is in my office is books, DVDs and craft supplies (all on the floor). In my front room all I have is a small chair in front of my electric fireplace and TV. Nothing on the walls. By tomorrow, my bedroom will only have a mattress on the floor (because the mattress is new) and clothes stacked against the wall. I feel like a poor college student. LOL.

So there you have it. Progress. I even changed all the burnt-out lightbulbs, which I ever so gracefully dropped. They shattered all over the frigging place and I was screaming at the dogs to get away, which of course didn't work, and they walked right in the middle of it. *sigh*

I better make some money at this sale because everything costs a small fortune. A $900 vet bill, $1900 for carpet, $600 to get the fence fixed, 100$ for the computer guy, and yada, yada, yada.

Just Do It!

Yes, I am my own Nike commercial. I had to have a serious talk with myself after last night. I told myself to get up off my ass and JUST DO IT. I am going to be assuming a leadership role in my new job, and thus cannot be such a wuss.

Stuff is just stuff. It doesn't mean anything. People mean something, not stuff. Tonight's agenda is to move more furniture to the garage for the sale.

20 Percent

I'm overwhelmed with sadness tonight. As I sit here up against the wall, it seems like life is 80 percent pain and 20 percent pleasure, but we keep on going in life for that 20 percent. It sounds negative I guess, but it is how life works. I'm not sure what God is doing with me at the moment. Everything happening now seems good and exciting, yet I am having to pray for courage. I can't seem to move my limbs. Perhaps it is a night to rest.

They are having a hard time letting me go.

My boss in Seattle is making me stay a week longer before giving me up to my new boss. Also, I haven't moved, or even started my new position yet and I'm already scheduled to do interviews to put my team together. So, I'm now leaving Seattle on June 24th instead of the 16th, BUT I don't have to start my new job until July 12th, so that gives me more days off and more time to pack. There are seriously not enough hours in the day. I'm averaging 4 hours of sleep a night with all the things I have to do. This whole "independent woman" thing SUCKS at the moment. I have to move all the big furniture by myself (for the garage sale). Bah!

New Life, New Blog Makeover.

I am trying this blog skin out; I was getting sick of the old one. I'm starting to like making changes. I added music, which will probably annoy all of you, but that's my job. To annoy you. If you don't like it, you can go to the bottom and shut it off.

I am starting to go through all my stuff. Ug. I have too much stuff. I think I will like "downsizing" actually; it makes life simpler and more organized. First order of business is getting everything I am going to sell into the garage and throwing stuff out. That is the task this week, and I am having a garage sale the next two weekends in a row. This will be the biggest job, so I want to get it out of the way first.

I have to keep telling myself it will all be OK. To stop stressing. This is a lot for one person to handle, especially with all the crap that I've been through, but I have to do it. No choice. As soon as I start having a panic attack, I just sit down and concentrate on my breathing. Which I'm having to do a lot.

Better today.

After a good night's sleep, I am feeling a little better. Sometimes I have moments that seem to summarize things in a way that overwhelms me. That's normal, right? But we let go and push ahead! I must admit, it is hard to get rid of most everything in my life and start new. It is a necessary step in my life, however, but "pruning" can be painful. It will pass. Everything does. Life goes on and I am going with it. I think my problem is things are happening fast and I don't have much time to think about it; which is probably a good thing. The timing of how everything has come together for me is interesting, though. It is perfect. The order of events and their timing has been perfect. It is meant to be.

Laying in bed.

Everything just hit me. Everything. The past, the present, the future. I feel a little woozy. Sick to my stomach. I'm probably going to get sick, actually.

Why they call me "CrazyDogMama" and Happy Birthday to my Mama!

Took Mags to the Vet this morning. It is always an adventure to take her in the car. As you can see, she is nice and calm and relaxed while we are on the highway, but it's FULL chaos when I park and pull the emergency brake up. I asked for doggie Valium for the drive to California so that I don't chuck her out the window. Taking mom out for a lobster dinner for her birthday!

Gotta get my shit together, Day 1

Called my friend who is a real estate agent to start the home selling process. Made an appointment with movers to come give me an estimate on Monday. Started making a list of ALL the things I need to do before I leave and realized it is going to be a small miracle if I can do it. Had freakout attack. Recovered. Went to dinner with mom to discuss how I'm going to get all this done. Called lawyer because I still haven't received the deed to the house and I need it. Tried to figure out a good bribe to get my neighbor to help me fix the fence. Money and beer usually works. Thanked God for all that He has given me and all that He has helped me get through and proceeded to ask Him to not let me lose it during the next month of chaos. Got a little teary-eyed for who knows what reason. Recovered. Tried to figure out why I drank an espresso at 8pm at night when I have to get up at 5am. Sat in silence for a good 20 minutes trying to soak all of this in. Looked around the house. Put my hands on my head and groaned. Recovered. Answered emails. Talked to my ex's ex for an hour (I have an odd life) to give her the scoop and my new info because I will be living only an hour from where my stepson is going to college in the fall. (Yay!) Gave myself a pep-talk that everything is going to be great and that the best is yet to come.

Relocation Package

OK I'm semi-calm. Sort of. All of this is still very surreal. I've lived in WA since I was 6 years old (born in California), and even though I'm very familiar with the area I'm moving to, it is scary as hell to leave my whole life behind in such a short amount of time. On the flip side, it's gonna be so freakin' cool!

My company is giving me an UNBELIEVABLE relocation package. My jaw hit the floor. Won't be costing me a dime to move! I'm just going to hire movers and packers and kick back. I'm going to have a big garage sale in the next few weekends to "prune" my stuff. Only the good stuff goes with me, I will buy new later! My raise blew me away too. I'm not going to know how to act!

Anyway, I will officially be a Californian on June 17th (leaving the 16th) and I start my new position on the 28th. AAHH!

Thanks for all the great comments! I love you all. I of course will be blogging the adventures in moving.

I. GOT. THE. JOB. HOLY SHIT.

They want me there in about 3 weeks. Moved. In 3 weeks. To California. I got a 25K/yr raise. I am paralyzed with excitement and fear at the same time. I can barely think, let alone type. I will have to blog later when the shock wears off.

Just had the second interview.

Can't read this one. I don't feel 100% confident, but I think it went well. He was a tough interviewer, I answered some questions spot-on, and others I struggled with. ARG. I want to know right now damnit! Perhaps I need to work on my patience skills. Hurry up and wait.

Happy Mother's Day to All the Mothers!

I made my mom her favorite dish that I make, "Quattro Fromaggi Mezzaluna Ravioli" in a garlic parmesan cream sauce with jumbo shrimp and a Greek salad. It turned out pretty good. I also got her a mani/pedi gift certificate because she NEVER does stuff like that for herself. I also brought her an iced coffee. What did you do for your mother if you were able to spend time with her?

The picture of me is circa 1987 in the very backyard of the house I may be moving into this summer. I'm a little nervous about the second interview tomorrow. It seems like there is a REALLY good chance for me to get this job and I'm excited but terrified at the same time. It will be VERY overwhelming to sell my house, sell most of my stuff and move to another state, all while trying to start a new position with a lot more responsibility. Not only that, but I've decided to go back to my maiden name and there will be paperwork up the ying yang for that, PLUS moving to a new state. It will also be SUPER fun taking a driving test after 22 years. I haven't gotten the job yet, but just thinking about 

this stuff freaks me out. It will be a whole new life for me. If you had told me two years ago that 

my life would be at this crossroads, I wouldn't have believed it. I actually remember blogging over a year ago "I wonder what will be happening this time next year?" HA. It goes to show you that you can't know where your life is going to go. Never say never. Anything can change at any time. I 

never thought I would live in California, I never thought I would be successful in a career, I never thought I would be single at 38 and I never thought I would be able to get through 

everything I've been through. Maybe it's my time now. Maybe after all the struggles, all the heartache and all the loss, it is my time to live. I'm sure this is not the only change life has in store for me, just when I think nothing else could possibly change, BOOM! Who knows, I may NOT get the job, I just don't know. But I do know that no matter what, NOTHING stays the same.

You should do what I did. Right now. Write down where you think your life will be in a year, and then stash it someplace safe. Then, put in on a calendar to look at in exactly a year and see how close you were. I bet you are WAY off. You may not have big life changes like me, but I bet some things will happen over the course of the year you weren't expecting at ALL. It is interesting, try it.

I really AM a Badass.

It wasn't as bad as I remember. It hurt, yes, but when he said he was done, I was all "Really? That was nothing!" He laughed. I really love how it turned out, the cover-up is awesome. I let the artist do what he wanted, although I did say no to getting a snake going through a skull. ROFLMAO. I have SWIRLIES now! I like swirlies. I am very happy with it. Of course, the first thing that happened when I got home is the dogs jumped all over it and I screamed NO! OFF! OMG, OFF! They want to lick my wound, and, um, NO. Gross.

I have turned a few corners now, and am awaiting my Monday, or possibly Tuesday news. I think I need a glass of wine. My ankle is a bit sore.

Tattoo Parlour.

I'm waiting in the tattoo parlour. I'm the most normal person here, and that's saying A LOT. LOL! Everyone is nice, but I could have found the portal to hell, I'm not sure. It is however very sanitary and clean in here, but the music playing sounds like a mixture of a man screaming while someone is holding his throat with people throwing trash cans in the background. Hehe.

Pics later after the crying and cussing. I have to go act like a badass now, so please excuse me.

I'm bouncing off the damn walls!

I emailed the person I interviewed with today to thank her for her time and ask a few questions I did not have time to ask. Specifically, I asked when they want the position to start, if there would be anymore interviews other than this one and when she would be making a decision. She replied quickly with, "Need someone ASAP, there is an interview set up for you with another director on Monday at 10 am, and the decision will be made as soon as that interview is over." She also said she is hoping to have me join their team! HOLY CRAP. If this interview goes well on Monday, I will be transferring to the California plant ASAP as the new Supervisor of my department!

I can't sit still. I might be putting my house on the market next week! I would probably lose my ass in this economy, but how is exciting is this? OK, I don't want to jinx it so I'll shut up about it now.

I'm getting my tattoo redone/changed tomorrow at 4pm. I'm nervous. I'm not big on pain.

I have a new theme song for this week. I want to do it all. I AM going to do it all. (My way!)