Adventures in moving

"Adventures in moving" is just a little broad.  Let's also file this one under (1) the poor kitty who couldn't fly (Harrison was supposed to fly out Wednesday...and then Friday...and now MONDAY!  Poor little guy) and (2) what happens when a door seal is broken during Snowy Icy Disaster Times (bazillions of cold air molecules rush into your home, creating a thermostat reading of...freezing.  Not good to see your breath in your house.  Heat is now on and the door seal is now fixed, phew). 

Possibly also file under (3) North Texas goes Super Bowl crazy (but at least the Pittsburgh and Wisconsin fans know how to drive in ice and snow, right?) and (4) reacquiring your four-wheel drive vehicle in place of rental car on the day The Great Melt begins (although in its defense, the little Nissan Versa did just fine as long as I went slooooowly - driving on the frozen equivalent of a Slip 'n Slide isn't exactly my idea of a good time.  Glow sun glow!  Melt that snow!).

Who would have thought that I'd need to worry more about snow and ice blanketing North Texas than attacking D.C. this time of year?  After powering through Snowpocalypse 2009 and Snowmageddon 2010, I sent up little prayers to Mother Nature for her to please go easy on the East Coast during late January, early February this year.  Too bad I forgot to account for crazy Texas weather.  Dallas has been blanketed by ice ever since Tuesday...and another six inches of snow fell on Thursday night.  At least I was fortunate enough to be traveling on one of the few flights that actually made it from DC to Dallas on Wednesday.  Egads!

However...I'm remarkably impressed that both the movers with my giant truckload of stuff AND the car carrier got here TODAY.  Thanks for battling the elements, guys!  And thanks for unpacking my ridiculous amount of stuff while I spend the day tethered in, knocking out things like address changes.  And blogging.  And wondering how the heck to arrange the living room.

It's starting to actually feel like I'm back here now and not just on a short visit.  Phew.  Now, if we could just get poor little Harrison here...

You might be moving REALLY soon if...

...the only things in your fridge are Diet Coke, milk (for cereal in the morning, obviously), and half a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips.  Don't ask why the chocolate chips made the cut (have you met me?) OR why they're in the refrigerator.

...your walls no longer have anything on them.  They look so naked and sad with their gaping nail and anchor wounds.

...you think "whatever!" about random carpet stains rather than try to actually get them out.  That's what the deposit is for, right?

...the DVR is only 16% full because you've been cleaning it out, trying not to miss those INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT shows you've had recorded for the last six months.  Which obviously weren't that important.  Oh, wait - I disconnected everything an hour ago, those shows are now GONE.  I think I'll live.

...you WALKED home from work for the last time on Friday.  Time to go back to the land of plentiful highways and gaz-guzzling cars.

...the thought of not sharing walls with ANYONE is consuming your every thought, given the noisy new neighbors who've moved in next door.  WHAT are you people DOING?!?

The movers are theoretically showing up at 8 AM tomorrow.  And I'm giving them a walkthrough, a rundown, a once-over, and then hustling Harrison over to the vet for a round of shots and a couple of days of boarding, which I'm sure he'll be THRILLED about.  So hopefully a lot of my stuff will magically disappear into a giant truck during that time.  Yipes.

One-way flight back to Dallas on Wednesday - a lot sure has happened in the last two years.

Challenges to the "eating well" portion of the healthy living plan

When it comes to the "hey, perhaps choose a vegetable over mac n' cheese!" debate that goes on in my mind, trying to figure out what to put into my body on a daily basis, it really helps to limit the whole eating out extravaganza.  Much easier to control myself and make healthy choices when a crisper drawer full of veggies stares me down.  However, there's a ploy out there from the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington known as Restaurant Week that kinda gets in the way.  It's hard for me to resist three course, relatively reasonably priced meals at some of DC's finer dining establishments.

• Masa 14 - Wednesday night helping of shrimp ceviche, pork buns, meatballs, and chocolatey goodness
• Cedar - Friday night helping of butternut squash soup, short ribs, and chocolatey goodness
• Oceanaire - Saturday night helping of clam chowder, pollock, and chocolatey goodness (I'm not predictable AT ALL when it comes to desserts)

Tack some wine onto all of those, of course.  Back on the wagon again shortly.  You know, after I finish this pizza for dinner.  And live without a kitchen for a week and a half or so as soon as this move commences, which is coming up remarkably soon.  Holy schmoly.

Holidayapalooza 2010, sweet babies edition

...and Dallas time is here!  Flew in the night of the 28th, jetted out the morning of the 31st, did a MILLION things in between.  A million things like...combing through all of our options and finding a really cute house to rent for the next year, checking out a couple of potential wedding locations (eeekk!), introducing Craig to the joy in my life that is Central Market, and stuffing our faces with deliciousness from the likes of Twisted Root and Chuy's and Smoke and Zorba's with some of my very best friends.  Oh, and a couple of their highly adorable babies.

Diana and sweet Gracie, just chillin' at Chuy's

Carolyn and tiny baby Rhett!  So glad I got to meet him and see his mommy!  And just to clarify...his mommy is Molly, not Carolyn.  Don't go confusing yourself on that one.

The baby transfer...always a delicate manuever.

Sweet Mr. Rhett is quite content with Kami

All the sweet baby pictures are here.  And I'm so, so glad I got to spend some time with my friends - I'll be back before you know it!

Holidayapalooza 2010, A-town style

...and now, landing in DFW the night of the 23rd.  And not going to A-town until the next morning.  Why is this, you ask?  Well, you try booking a flight from Norfolk to Amarillo within a day or two of Christmas and see what all you come up with.  That doesn't cost a bajillion dollars.  Hence a late arrival in the state of Texas, one night at the Hyatt Regency DFW (which was actually rather lovely and quite reasonably priced), and an early Christmas Eve flight into Amarillo...where I learned, in addition to the fact that baking adventures are generally always awesome, the following things...

Mexican food is, without a doubt, always delicious and guaranteed to produce a smile.  Love you, Abuelo's.

I love homemade Christmas ornaments, especially the bug-eyed gingerbread man.  He holds a special place in my heart.

I'm in need of some "keep calm" advice these days, for sure, as evidenced by the presence of this cute baby book in my stocking AND a "keep calm and carry on" coffee mug gift from my sister.  Deep, calming breaths...

Festive holiday socks are the BEST.  Thanks, Mom!

Nothing makes a man happier than beer, really.  Especially Shiner Holiday Cheer.  Doubly especially when it's cradled by a Seahawks koozie as gifted to my parents by Craig as semi-retaliation for their efforts encouraging him to become a Cowboys fan.  Oh dear.

A-town pictures here.  Enjoy.  Also, we spent a LOT of time playing with the Wii and generally chilling.  Also, I got to see some highly wonderful Sullivan gals who totally made my night.  Also, it's always, always nice to be home.  Really, really nice, actually.  Dallas time is coming...