The Chronicles of Moving: Part Four

This is the last one, I swear! It's been a long six months, but we finally have our own place again! It's nothing big, but its a place we get to call home for the time being.

Once everything is put away I plan to post some pictures. It currently looks like we're hoarders.

Our new place is smaller than what we had on the military base (also a lot nicer), so we had to put a ton of stuff into storage. We're also having a big yard sale next weekend we're hoping to get some money from.
You never really realize how much stuff you have until you're unpacking it.All I have are some cell phone pictures, but I'm loving how Aubrey's room is turning out. There was so much love put into it.

My dad drove across the country to bring us all of our stuff from our storage unit in AZ. Wow, we really sound like hoarders now-ha! I wish he could've stayed longer to visit, but in the short time he was here we went to the zoo.

 

I'm so, so thankful that we were able to live with my parents in Arizona and my mother-in-law here. It feels so great to have all of our stuff back! I can't wait to get back to sharing my crafting adventures with you all! 

Bestie Mugs

When I moved, I left behind my daughter's Godmother and one of my best friends. I've really been missing her lately. I've had this little gift idea in my head for a while and figured what better time than Valentine's day to send it to her! And in case you're wondering I kept the AZ mug for myself and sent the WV one to her. I apologize in advance for my lack of pictures.

What you need

• 2 microwave and oven safe mugs, any color
• Ceramic pen
• Rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover (to erase mistakes)
• Outline of states
• Tape
• Sealer/Sealant

*Please note that using a Sharpie will not work. You can bake it at any temperature for any amount of time and it will still come off. If you want to decorate a dish for decor purposes only, a Sharpie will work great! If you actually want to use your decorated dish you need a ceramic marker.

1. Print and cut state outlines. Tape to mugs.
2. Trace around states with marker.
3. Peel off paper states and mark city with a heart.
4. Write out verse (below). This step is optional.
5. I added a few extra touches to the handles and base of the mug. This is also optional. Let your creativity run free!
6. Finish off with sealant to keep the ink from wiping off. (At least, that's what the craft store employee told me)

Let me just say that I searched for a good ceramic pen, but I couldn't find one. When I asked a store employee I was led to a package of white markers with colored caps that looked like the cheap markers you let your kid play with. And they were cheap. I also bought the sealant I was told about to make sure that the ink wouldn't come off. Since I had already decorated the mugs with Sharpie (even baked it on) I tested the 'ceramic marker' on the bottom of the mug before starting my decorating from scratch. It wrote horribly and smeared. I even put the sealer on  it and it made it worse! To top it off, there were no directions on the marker case or sealant bottle that said how to make this permanent. Do I bake it? I still don't know. So, I left my baked Sharpie art on the mugs, put the sealant over that, and let it air dry. Just to be on the safe side I made sure I didn't decorate and seal anywhere on the mug that would come in contact with my mouth because I also couldn't find any label on the products that said 'toxic' or 'non-toxic'. I'm hoping this helps keep the decoration on the mug longer, but only time will tell! Make sure you hand-wash this to make it last as long as possible. Again, I'm so sorry for my lack of pictures and product knowledge. But I just thought this was too great of an idea not to share!

The Chronicles of Moving: Part 3

Well, I'm here in beautiful West Virginia writing this blog post. It's been a long four days, but let me start by explaining what I'm doing across the U.S.

Last time I had written about moving, we were heading to Phoenix, AZ to live with my parents. We fit almost all of our stuff into a tiny storage room and were waiting to hear back from either Tempe or Mesa Police Department. We never did. As our last paycheck was quickly approaching my husband began looking into joining the Air Force. You're probably thinking we're crazy! Why would you leave the military to join again? We're not really sure, (haha) it was just a backup option. But alas, that won't work out either! You see, the Air Force only takes about 250 previously enlisted military members per fiscal year (the 2013 fiscal year just began in October) and there are no more spots left. Sigh.

So, we decided to pack up our things and head over to the East Coast to live with my mother-in-law! There are lots of wives who don't like their mother-in-laws, I'm proud to report that I am not one of them!

It was hard to leave my parents who have gotten used to us being there and spending time with Aubrey. The day we left my mom started tearing up and it just broke my heart and made me tear up! I felt horrible separating her from her granddaughter. I will be sending lots of pictures to my parents whenever I get the chance!

Now begins our four day journey across the U.S. As we went through Arizona we stopped and looked at petrified wood, fossils, and Native American pottery.

When I was a kid my family made a trip from New Mexico (I believe) to Arizona. Along the way at the Arizona/New Mexico border there is a tourist stop called Yellow Horse. We missed the exit to it and there was no where to turn around so we had to skip it. Booooo! But here's a picture of me and my brother standing inside Yellow Horse in two states at once. He never did like pictures.

As we were entering Albuquerque, there was a beautiful (and distracting) tunnel that lit up colors of pink, blue, purple, and green. After stopping for the night, we were heading towards Oklahoma City! Our car was packed full!

Did you know that there is a city called Groom in Texas? I wonder if there is a Bride somewhere. As we were passing through Texas I learned that there are country singers who are famous and only tour there too. For instance we heard a song from some guy named Earl Dibbles Jr. Have you ever heard of him? Me neither! We had to stop and get gas at this little, tiny gas station and on the bathroom stall door people had written when they were from and where they were going. It was pretty cool! Apparently a lot of travelers have stopped there.

As we got to Oklahoma, we got very confused on the interstate because there were quite a few exits on the left instead of the right. Not to mention that the lines on the roads definitely needed to be repainted. We saw the lowest gas prices we have seen in years: $2.98per gallon! That was heavenly! We made our stop for the night in Oklahoma City.

Day three and on the road again, we were heading to Saint Louis! Not much to report about our drive there. We were all so tired of being in the car we didn't make many stops. Originally I had wanted to take our time and stop at various free tourist attractions, but that idea went down the drain quickly.

One thing that kept us occupied while Aubrey was sleeping was answering thirty questions that I found {here} on Pinterest. I learned a few things about my husband and we had quite a few laughs! So here we are in West Virgina spending time with family while we wait for the college spring semester to start.

The Chronicles of Moving: Part 2

Our Last Weekend in Yuma

Today we left Yuma, the Marine Corps, and our friends. The last couple days have been insanely hectic!

Sunday we had planned on packing up the rest of our house and cleaning. However, I had also planned on going to church in the morning, then visiting Zack's barber shop, then lunch with my friend's Cortney and Lyndsay, then going to the Yuma Family Pumpkin Patch. Yeah, we got no packing done that day!
Cortney and Lyndsay had planned a surprise going away party for us. It was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for us!

Aubrey's Godmother, Lyndsay

The gang!

Miss Sydney Sue!

 Afterward, we went to the Yuma Family Pumpkin Patch. Aubrey was an apple, I was Snow White, and my Prince Charming didn't dress up.

Godsisters...awwww

"Hi guysssss!!!"

Aubrey hanging with one of the pirates from the show ;)

BTW: Aubrey's Costume was made by Carly's Custom Creations!

Monday we had to get up early! We needed to pick up the moving truck and move everything off of the carpet for the carpet cleaning. Uggghh!
Lyndsay came over to save the day by watching Aubrey. Without her I'm not sure this would've ever gotten done! We had to reschedule our carpet cleaning because we were running way behind schedule! I've heard the carpet cleaners kick you out of your house while they work, which was time we couldn't afford. The guy was actually very nice, he gave us $20 for lunch when it should have been us giving him money for being so awesome. Such a sweet gift from a stranger!
You're also not supposed to walk on your carpets after they've been cleaned, but we did (Shhhhh,, don't tell!) because it was quicker than walking around the whole house.
I wanted to finish my half sleeve, so we headed to our tattoo shop, X-treme Ink, where Mikey finished it off for me. It took about 4 hours, but it's beautiful! I would post a picture, but my arm looks like it should be on someone 50lbs heavier than I am so that's not happening until it's healed haha

Goodbye Apt. A!

This morning, we still had so much to do! We had to finish packing, clean, and get the house inspected. Not to mention Zack had to check-out on his terminal leave. Once again, Lyndsay was a huge help and watched Aubrey!
I was so worried we would have to pay to get our carpet replaced because when we had pets, the cat peed on the floor a few times (I know, disgusting) and the dog had a little accident when we accidentally left the dog door closed all night. I scrubbed the carpet, but the stains were just stuck! The guy who did our inspection was also very generous to us and said he would have the carpet replaced at no charge to us because the carpet in the bedrooms didn't match the rest of the house. Seriously, such a blessing!

Junk food and caffeine to keep me going this morning! Why is everything King Size now?

And when we left, we left everything we've know for the past few years behind. Our first home, our military family, the Marine Corps, our church. But we're onto better things! We're not quite sure what yet, but God has a plan and this was all part of it.

The Chronicles of Moving: Part 1

It all started back in August. We met with a realtor to talk about buying a home, only to find out that we wouldn't be able to take out a mortgage to purchase one until my husband had proof of new income (since we're getting out of the Marine Corps). So, we began looking for a home to rent. After many, many e-mails with rentals from our realtor, looking on our own, inquiries, and no one getting back to us, we finally found three homes we could afford to rent!

Well, none of those ended up working out. So we continued to look! We came across these two homes that had no applications on them. So my mom went to the showings for us since we're hours away and trying to save as much money as we can to get into a rental home.

The bottom house, while it looks nice on the outside, was not so much on the inside. So we went ahead and applied for the top house. Only to find out that we can't rent a home because we're getting out and need proof of new income. I guess when we were told we couldn't buy a home we should have figured we couldn't rent one either.
So, here we are a week from moving with no place of our own to move into. We've wasted so much time and energy finding that home, only to be told 'no.' Its not that we won't have any income. My husband is taking terminal leave which is basically like a fully paid vacation. We're just waiting to hear back about more testing from the police departments he applied to. Our plan went something like this:

• Take terminal leave from the Marine Corps (about 30 days)
• Move to Phoenix (in our own place)
• Finish testing for police departments
• Get job offer and attend the Police Academy
• Collect last USMC paycheck and first Police Department paycheck (double payday, heck yeah!!)

Pretty smooth transition, right? Now we're still taking terminal leave, but have to either move in with my parents until further notice or stay in a motel/hotel until we get jobs so we can rent a home. I desperately want our own space so I can breastfeed without covering up, keep it clean like I want, walk around in my underwear if I please (c'mon we all do it at some point!), and not have to worry about pet hair/slobber/stink all over me and my baby. BUT realistically: stay with my parents for free or pay for a motel. Hmmmm....
All that sucks is that my hopes of an easy transition were crushed, we have to move about 3-4 times (Yuma > Storage Unit > Parent's House > Storage Unit > New Home), and pay to move from my parents to our own place (since the Marine Corps is paying for our move to my parents). On the plus side, God probably has something better planned for us, I'm just not sure what it is, and I have a great hubby who will do whatever it takes to provide for our family.