Late Night Installation

I'm a little torn. The installers for the new carpet are still here (it's 11:28 PM). I feel bad that they have such a long work day, but I'm annoyed with the level of disruption. Sinj is sleeping in the office downstairs because it's been so noisy upstairs. I need to get to bed because I've got to get up early. The bad news for everyone? The installers didn't have quite enough carpet to cover the area, so they have to come back tomorrow. Ugh. So we will have the locksmith, the cable install guy (his second trip to tweak one of the lines), and the carpet installers. I wonder when my house will stop looking like a war zone and more like a home.

Status Update

So many things going on right now . . .

1. We are leaving CT today. We're not sure what time. We STILL haven't gotten the final, final all clear for closing (although they keep on saying it shouldn't be a problem).

2. Closing should, theoretically, happen tomorrow.

3. We transferred our frozen embryo (aka "Brocicle" and "Fro Bro") into me yesterday for safe transport to New Jersey - tee hee.

4. Movers are coming on Wednesday with all our stuff, one day after we theoretically close on our house.

5. The Other J took the written portion of his specialty Boards on Friday. I had never seen him so nervous about an exam ever. I'm glad it's done, but he has only re-directed his neurosis and nervous energy toward the moving process. He's been jolting awake at 4 or 5 AM in the mornings, muttering about how he's going to send a sharply worded letter to some entity or another.

6. We still have to pack up the stuff in our furnished apt. It really shouldn't take long. But laundry, clearing out the pantry & fridge, and dumping out the contents of various jars and containers for recycling took a surprising amount of time.

7. The in-laws' visit over graduation weekend was hideous, hideous. I was hideously mean. Temporarily remorseful, I rashly agreed to a visit to GA with the spouse & the boy a week after we will have been in the new house. Duration of visit? 5 whole days! I must have been temporarily insane! I'm obviously not thinking very clearly these days. Must be all the trumped up hormones readying for item #3.

Wardrobe Malaise

Last night, I was struck by an observation that left me feeling a little sorry for myself. Really, it's nobody's fault but my own, but I couldn't help dwelling on it. I will be seeing an old friend that I haven't seen in a really long time next month and we had been out of touch during many of my life milestones -- including my marriage and the arrival of Sinjin. So she demanded that I bring "all my pictures of the husband and Sinjin" when I see her. Since all of our pictures are on our computer now, I figured I'd just bring the laptop & to hell with the pre-digital camera era of my life. So I started flipping through my pictures to see whether another person would actually be able to sit through the volume of images and I noticed some things . . . .

My brown sandals. It appears that I have had them for the entire digital camera era of my life (at least), which began right after my wedding. Also, I had been thinking that my "new" khaki shorts had been feeling a little snug ever since I've had my baby. But a perusal of my pics showed that my "new" shorts were at least 5 years old. Then I was reminded of a thought that I had recently. My cousin's wedding is coming up in July, and I know what I'm going to wear there and I was hoping that my other cousin doesn't remember that I wore the same shoes I'm going to wear to the wedding at my law school graduation (we had a conversation specifically about my shoes at the time -- although I'm sure it's unlikely). And those shoes weren't new when they walked across the stage to receive the diploma. I was never much of a clothes horse, but during our time in the furnished apartment, I brought over very little clothes. So I literally wear the same clothes all the time. I'm sure people have better things to do than think, "wow. She is wearing that top AGAIN?" But I wear all my clothes here so frequently, I'm getting a little self-conscious about it. While I was having these type of thoughts, I walked over to the closet and picked up a zippered jacket that I had brought over to the apartment and couldn't help but feel a little depressed about the fact that I've had that particular item since college.

The thing is, I actually like clothes and if I allowed myself more purchasing freedom, what I would want to buy would be . . . more clothes and shoes! During my tale of woe, the Other J interjected with -- "all my clothes are from college too!" This, of course, is not technically true, and moreover, the Other J's preferred purchasing category is electronics. And I assure you, the Other J's electronic items are not all from college. And I want to emphasize that I have no one to blame but myself. I value frugality. But this is ridiculous. One shouldn't be so frugal that it makes one sad and blue. The Other J said, "once we get to New Jersey, you can go shopping at all the outlets near us. And I'm not saying that you should go to outlets because I don't want you to go to non-outlet stores. It's because I know you and you won't allow yourself to go anywhere else." Hmmm. We'll see about that.

Yellow House

The house issues appear to have been resolved and it looks like things are going to move forward. So I'm actually going to post some pictures.

When it Rains it Pours

Just a quick note here to say, UGH!!! I need to keep myself together. The in-laws are here for the weekend for the Other J's "graduation" ceremony. I extended the invitation. Suffice it to say that I've been punished for doing so and will think twice in the future about extending invitations to spend time with us. Next, the Other J has been a victim of identity theft, although it looks like the jerk has been caught. And there are potential complications in wrapping up the house deal. We've taken some good pictures of the house, but I haven't posted them because I'm more than a little superstitious about jumping the gun and assuming too much. And it's raining. Oh. One more thing. This one's a little old, but when I briefly stopped by to see my brother while we were in DC, the first thing he said to me was: "You got fatter." Charming, no? So charming that it's not quite out of my head, even when there's lots of other stuff to occupy my mind.

Sweetest Place on Earth

I don't really know about that. But we visited the Hershey Gardens, then went to Chocolate World, skipped the amusement park figuring that Sinjin's too young for it, had lunch at Red Robin and decided that it was fine time to return to the hotel for the rest of the day. The Other J needs to study for his REI Boards, so he has dutifully packed the requisite books and binders for the trip. What a vacation, eh?

During lunch, I was thinking about the fact that while we were never truly young & hip, we have achieved new levels of lameness. Hershey, PA, is not the height of vacation excitement. But even here, we were pretty much done with the area's sights by lunch time. The thing was, I was really happy to return to the hotel. One, Sinjin needs a bath. And two, it was starting to get really hot and sticky. Given that I've lived in places that did not have central air conditioning for the last 3 years, I was looking forward to cranking up the A/C as high as I wanted, luxuriating in the feel of cold air blowing from the vents. The over-use of A/C is just one of many reasons why I would not make a proper environmentalist.

On a side note, I think the type of accommodations that we have patronized while we have traveled is one marker of the Other's J's & my life. When we were young and in school, we frequented hostels, or hotels/motels that were just a step above hostels -- you know, the kind of establishments where cigarette butts have burned holes through the bedding and you wonder if you should go ahead and lay t.p. down on the toilet before you sit down on it. Then after we married, were the "Hampton Inn" years. The Other J & I have had an unusual fondness for it. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we stayed in one on our way back from the honeymoon. We knew that the class of hotels that the honeymoon accommodations belonged in were too much for us to realistically book again. But the Hampton Inn, we could do. We especially liked the entertainment units that they had in the rooms. Good selection of movies, video games & console, etc. And now? The Residence Inn seems to be our choice. There's a little kitchenette, which makes it easier to get the baby's needs all met. And we've frequented them often enough now that we've started getting coupons from them. There's wireless internet and they always provide cribs (although neither was satisfactorily provided last night & the Other J unleashed his fury to the hotel staff). And I can't help but notice that it's basically other families that choose to stay here.

One constant through the various stages? We always get up early enough to take advantage of the free breakfast. Some things never change.

Roadtrip

The Js & Mr. Sinjin are taking a roadtrip. We're not going anywhere exotic. The catalyst for the trip initially was to go visit family in Ohio, but it looks like they're busy, but we're forging ahead with the roadtrip. And instead of Ohio, we'll be making a pit stop in Hershey, PA. I will determine for myself if it is indeed the "sweetest place on earth." Top of the list of reasons why we decided on this locale: it is conveniently located between here and Washington, PA. It also seems like a nice family oriented place with lots of activities for kids. Of course, Sinjin is a little young for it. But we'll scope it out for possible future trips. And who are we kidding? Despite the growing list of responsibilities that remind us that we ARE adults, the Other J and I are big kids. The Other J has just been waiting to give us a reason to make a near annual trip to Disney World. Yes. I was all for going there for vacation when it was just the 2 of us, but that was before I knew that he'd been there 7? times already. Anyway, from Washington, PA, we'll make our way to DC. I'm still not over the fact that we were unable to return. But at least this way, I'll only have fond memories of it. Who knows, maybe I would have found life with kids in the DC area to be a little overwhelming.

Anyhow, I hope we see lots of folks on the roadtrip and that people will have a chance to see Mr. Sinjin.