1. My patient Jeffrey who helps me deal with stress
2. Time. There isn't ever enough of it, but I'm glad I have it...
3. Good friends.
4. Being productive
5. Saying goodbye to things I haven't been using
6. Clearing space in my living room so I have room to think and move
7. plans (as opposed to sitting there wondering how I'm going to do it all)
8. Mental breaks
9. cooler weather
10. decent health


Yea Thankful Thursday. Yea coming up with things to be thankful about instead of things to grump at or stress over.

Speaking of stressing over stuff, let's watch Jeri Lynn stress over flying with her breathing machine for the first time... Have any of you with breathing machines flown with them? Do you take them as carry ons or pack them? If you take them as carry ons, have you ever had a problem with them at security? My mom takes hers as a carry on and doesn't have problems, but the customer support person I talked to at Apria yesterday didn't think that most airlines would let you carry them on...

Also, do I need to worry about altitude and pressure settings when travel with my breathing machine? I'm going to be going up about 3000 feet... is that something I call my doctor to ask?

I have been productive in the give away department.

Jeff loaded up a bunch of stuff today and dropped it off at DI (the LDS thrift store). I'm still not able to get rid of everything (can you say my old cd player boom box that doesn't do tapes so well but plays CDs great still?), but we culled through a bunch of old games, some unused bed linnens, some kitchen appliances... Other stuff I'm sure, but it's out of the house and I'm going to forget about them so I don't angst about giving stuff away... :-) Can you say packrat?

It's kind of liberating to say good bye to an unused item. It's also nice to know I won't have to pack it up, move it, and find it a home.



The rest of this week is going to be just crazy.

• Paying work deadlines both tomorrow and Friday (good, but still deadlines)


• chorus performance on Saturday up on Samish Island (2 pm for anyone who wants to drive that far... ;-)


• church choir sings Sunday, plus the apartment has to be neat enough for the landlord to show to the first people


• be ready to leave for convention by the end of Monday night. That means having my swaps and packing all done. I'm so not ready...

In amongst all that is packing and decluttering.

Yes, life is crazy right now. Why did you ask?

ok. I should finish this mental break and get back to stuff. Mostly work today.

Feeling better after some nummy lemon garlic angel hair pasta for lunch and some work with Jeffrey to get some stuff out of the living room. The bikes are on their way down to Big Green Monster along with some of the gardening stuff and some other things that I can't remember. A shelf that is going to the thrift store is out on the side of the house in hopes that it will walk away. I mean, we have stuff we want to keep disappear; maybe stuff we don't want will also disappear. If not, it comes inside tonight (or if it starts precipitating) and will go down to DI tomorrow.

More up for grabs:
-a foot bath/massage tub thing
-several sets of queen sized (flannel and jersey) and twin sized (flannel and cotton) sheets
-A leaf table with edges that fold up and down that has some issues with one of the leaf supports. I use it for my stamping table. I havn't had any problems with stamping on it, but one of the leaf supports did break. I have the piece and it's possible that it could be glued and repaired. It would probably work best if the leaf was either in all the time or out all the time. The finish is slightly marred but it's a pretty table (honey colored). I'm sad to see it go but don't really have space for it.

I'm also kind of sad to see the foot massage thing go. Jeff got it for me when I worked retail and it was wonderful. But I haven't used it in forever because water and carpet don't mix and I inevitably spilled. I don't want to move and store things I'm not using anymore. Ditto on the sheets.

There will be more up for grab stuff as we find it...

I deleted the whiny post. So now I'll just leave you with moving whine, packing whine, stupid computers whine, fat lip whine, and just plain whine.

Does anyone who crochets want a half finished baby afghan and the yarn to finish it? I was given the project by a friend who has developed arthritis and can't finish it. I'd like to finish it, but I haven't even looked at it since it was given to me. Obviously it's not that important to me... I probably even have the hook it calls for and the directions.

Along the same lines, anyone want a whole bunch of craft ribbon? I've collected it over the whiles and it comes in occasionally but not often enough to actually make moving it worth it.

I just found out that I need to have the place presentable for the landlord to show it this weekend...

He found a couple that are interested but who can't move in until September anyway and they want to see it this weekend...

Biggest thing... Figure out what's going on with the shelves in the bathroom (ie, leave them or pull them down). If they are coming down, they need to be down by then...

Sigh. The place doesn't need to be spotless. They understand about boxes and such. But it does need to be more presentable than it is now...

Breathe... :-)

I currently have 2.1 speakers setup on my TV. I have 5.1 surround up on the computer in the office. At the new place, the TV and the computer are going to be in the same place. I think it would make more sense to have the 5.1 on the TV. The trick is that I don't have a 5.1 capable receiver on the TV. I had to trick the current receiver into using the 2.1.

So, since I can't really afford a 5.1 reciever, would it work to take my shuttle box computer that has a 5.1 surround sound card installed and route the sound into it through line in and then out the speakers? Would I need special software? Would a linux distro be better than a Windows OS? I'm not worrying about picture, just sound.

I'm thinking that I do a lot of my gaming on my laptop and I can hook my lappy sound output into the mix (I already do that occasionally with the current setup) and play with the surround that way.

Just trying to scheme on a budget using what I already have...

We've decided for sure that the furniture moving date is Sat, Aug 23. We won't be renting a large truck because everyone and their dog seems to be moving that day. we have several friends who have offered the use of their trucks/open trailers and a couple of mini-vans, though, so I think we'll be ok space wise. Jeff will be taking down small loads of boxes on his way to work over the next month, so we're hoping that the majority of the move will be furniture and not boxes. We'll have to see how things go, though.

At the moment, we're looking at meeting at the Everett place at noon or slightly before hand. Lunch munchies will be provided, as will soda (if you have any requests besides Dr. Pepper, speak up!). We'll also be doing the pizza thing at the other end of the move. Don't know yet if we're doing the take and bake thing or the dine in option.

I know that several of you replied to the last post. I didn't get back to people cause I was out of town and crazy busy. Not because I didn't want your help! :-) (I'm also slightly overwhelmed by all this...) For those doing the bus thing, we are more than happy to pick people up at bus stops or drop them off wherever. Let me know if you need to know which buses come near our place. (the 510 is a good one from Shoreline or downtown. If you take that route, let us know and we'll arrange to pick you up at the Everett park and ride by the train station)

Thanks to all of you in advance!

Since we were talking about home made pudding, here's my pudding in the microwave (OMG yummy!) recipe!

( we cut because we care )

I got this recipe when I worked in the special needs classroom down in Kent. My directions page is really big font with the simple pictures we used for our autistic kids put in. I think it's fun. And really easy to make! Bot that any of our kids were high enough functioning to do any of it on their own. But they had fun stirring and helping to measure. And it really is tasty! :-)

I found it going through my pile-o-recipes tonight. I figure I can cull a whole bunch of them. I've also decided how to store my cooking magazines. I'm going to photocopy the index page (with all the recipe names) and keep the photocopies in a binder. The magazines themselves will be in magazine boxes. When I decide I really like a recipe, I'll highlight the name in my index notebook. Go me! :-)

I think it's getting close onto bed time, though...

The day caught up with us. Class went well (if long, but that's the people who came and I know they are slow... ;-). The performance went moderately well, if disorganized. There were a few sour notes, but overall sounded pretty good.

And then we got home. And were tired. And Jeff went to lay down for a few minutes while I used the massage chair. Next thing we knew it was 8pm, and we decided we didn't want to go anywhere.

sorry, TaiPanners... We didn't mean to ditch you! I hope y'all had a nice evening!

In other news, the move is starting to ramp up. Jeff took the first load of boxes over to the new place. We've been using google sketchup to model the inside of the house and figure out furniture placement. The learning curve is kind of annoying, but once I get it figured out, it's really pretty nice. It gives me a much better feel for the space in there and how it will feel with the furniture than a birds eye view in visio gives.

I think I found a fairly ideal layout for the great room that gives me a stamping area and lets us keep the entertainment center we're currently using. Plus, as a bonus, it will be flanked with book cases! Never a bad thing... :-) The cool part is that we can print up the diagram and have it taped to the wall on moving day to make it easier to figure out where the furniture is being put! :-) Definite bonus. And it's a pretty cool program.

And there are brownies in the oven. A small batch to be sure, but brownies... I've been imagining that I'm smelling them all day!

Public Service Announcement... I planned too much today... If I'm really tired by tonight, that's why:-)

First up is a card class. I'm mostly ready for it, but I have to unpack the projects back into their boxes. Oh, and move a whole bunch of stuff from the living room to the bedroom. Dang moving.

After that I have a chorus performance. Two, really, but they're at the same place. 3:30 on the Family Stage at the Kl Ha Ya Days in Snohomish. Ya know, in case anyone doesn't have plans and wants to watch... It will at least be interesting...

Finally is writer's night tonight. I think I shall be ready to fall on my face by then.

In other news, I think I came up with a funiture layout for the new living room/office that I'm really going to like. We were having issues with the fact that our entertainment center is a corner unit and we didn't have enough corners that would work for everything we needed. Because of things like, ya know, doors and stuff... Anyway, I think we're going to end up making a corner and having my stamping area be a bit more enclosed than I originally planned. It will make the rest of the room feel a lot more open. :-)

Ok. Enough blather. Time to whip the house into a bit of shape...

It was a travel day, and I'm sooooooo tired... But I'm home!

I started out with a donut run to my favorite ever donut place, Every Day's a Donut Day. We timed it just right because they had all the kinds of donuts we wanted, and most of them were newly made and still warm. Mmmm... warm donuts... I cut my apple fritter and maple cinnamon roll in half and had half of each while they were still warm. om nom nom!

After getting all my stuff in the car, I went out to Ikea in Portland. I like that store layout. It's 2 floors with the room layouts and sofa/bed/dresser/blahblahblah bits upstairs. The cafeteria is also upstairs. Downstairs is all the small stuff like dishes/rugs/linens/self serve. Just for the record, I actually sat in a couch at Ikea that was comfortable... I like Ikea but not so much on their couches... :-) In any case, I bought a couple of pressies for our new place: a desk and table combo to make a U-shaped stamping work area. I'm really excited by the possibilities! To make it happen, the big stamping table I've been using will go away. It's too easy to clutter up, and wide enough that I can't reach the stuff being stored on the other side of the table. The desk part is 30 inches deep and the table is 23 inches deep, so that will be nice. The desk part clips to my Expedit shelf. The other thing I could do is use that part for a computer desk and use the table part for stamping. I'll have to play with things. In any case, new stuff and old stuff going away!

I also stopped at my friend Pam's house in Puyallup. They're getting ready to move back to the Shoreline ward as well. It's going to be nice to live near them again. They were one of my best friends at church in Shoreline! It was fun to visit with her. She fed me dinner and then I headed out. Well, I stopped at Walmart and got some packing tape and cleaning supplies. Then I headed home.

Oy. Long day!

But I'm glad to be home, and that cat is glad for me to be home! :-)

1. My Jeffrey. I miss you!
2. Making decisions
3. Supportive family
4. Card class
5. fun with friends
6. Safe travels (even if they are hot!)
7. Beautiful weather (even if it is hot!)
8. Air conditioning
9. Smoothies
10. Best chocolate sorbet evar!

OMG!!!

This week on the Smitten Kitchen Blog, The featured recipe was Chocolate Sorbet from a book called The Perfect Scoop.

My sister decided it sounded good and made it tonight. drool.

It was intense. If you don't like cocoa, you may not want to bother. If you do like cocoa... well, don't make it if you can't stay out of the ice cream! It's not sugar free, but niether is it as calorie-rific as ice cream either (water, sugar, cocoa, chocolate, vanilla...mmmm....)

We literally licked our bowels clean after. I don't think I've ever seen my sister stick her tongue in a bowl. Me on the other hand... :-)

Ok. Enough raving. I have stuff I'm still working on. But... MMmmmm...

Oh, and I watched So You Think You Can Dance tonight. It was very interesting. I can see why my sister likes it so much, even if the judges are kind of annoying (my dad called it 'so you think you can judge' :-)

Night!

Yesterday's drive was long and hot but pretty uneventful. There was the half-expected accident in Tacoma to slow things down. I got a bit of sunburn on the arm by the window. I stopped in Lacey and got a Jamba Juice cause dang it was hot. I stopped at the rest stop at mile post 14 in WA and spent a few minutes just sitting on the grass in the shade. I was sooooo happy to get home and go into the air conditioned house... :-)

Last night I played with the floor plan furniture layout ideas for a bit before going to bed.

Today's been pretty laid back. Slept in until 9. Talked with my brother and showed him my new WoW addon. Went to Curves with my mom and then had a nice visit with her while we ate lunch.

Now I'm about to finish getting ready for my card class tonight.

Tomorrow I'm probably going to go to Fry's with my brother and Friday I might go to the Portland Ikea before heading home. I have only been to the Ikea in Renton and want to see how they're different... :-)

off to do stuff!

ok. It's a pretty small road trip. But it will be nice to down and visit my family. I'm even almost ready! Go me! :-)

I'll be back Friday. Have a good week, y'all!

So, I realized tonight that I was angsting/panic attacking about moving. Somewhere in the last couple of days, I've mentally decided that it's time to move and that this is a good place.

So, we'll be moving to Lake Forest Park next month. We're going to try and set Aug 23rd (Saturday) as our rent the truck and move day. We're still trying to decide if we can afford movers for the heavy furniture, but that may not be an option this time around...

sigh. And eep at the same time...

Now to not stress about it while I'm down in Portland... There will be plenty of time for that later...

It was hot today. We spent the afternoon sometime in the 1800s with our gaming group. Other than being pretty dang warm, it was a good time. We even beat the pirate fleet. Fear us! :-)

Our cat thinks she's so clever. She managed to get out sometime last night and spent the night out. This morning at 4:45 or so, we hear her meowing, and it sounds wierd. Jeff gets up and starts looking for her. I open the laundry room door since she's gotten trapped out there before. It turns out she was underneath our bedroom window begging us to let her back in. Annoying, but clever.

Yesterday we went back over to the moving prospect and did some measuring. I realized later that I didn't quite get all the measurments I needed to do a basic floor plan draft, but I did get enough to get an idea of the space and if our furniture would actually fit. We also asked a bunch of questions about the prospect. Jeff's going to see if he can stop by again and get some pictures which I also forgot to take...

I'm still trying to decide, but we're leaning more towards yes. I have decided that for now I'm going to focus on my trip to Portland, let the prospect simmer, and decide when I get back.

I'm going to Portland this week. I'm going to have my card class (in 3 sessions... whew!) down in Portland and spend time with my way cool family. I'll be leaving Tuesday after lunch and coming back sometime Friday. Other than the trip in the car in the hot, I'm really looking forward to the trip! :-)

I think it's bedtime. I'm tired!

1. Jeffie. For everything.
2. Good times with friends
3. Creating cards I actually like
4. Getting computers to cooperate with me
5. Fun on computers
6. Possibilities
7. Supportive friends
8. Chorus
9. Portable air conditioner

Today I'm Headache Jeri Lynn the Inaction Figure...

I decided to email one of my health team members today because I've been having a bunch of headaches recently. I started with the sleep apnea doctor because my sleep apnea paperwork says to let them know if I start getting more headaches. I personally think these are more sinus headaches, but the apnea doctor is as good a place as any to start.

I'm tired of waking up with headaches or having them develop over the day. It's hard to do anything useful while they are around and I hate having to take pain killers...

I'm still going to try and go to Curves cause I need my 3 times this week. Sometimes the exercise helps, but sometimes the whole loud music thing just makes it worse.

grump...

public service announcement...

Overwhelmed Jeri Lynn = Jeri Lynn the inaction figure.

( blah, blah, blah )