One more week

It's hard to believe we leave WA one week from today- yikes! Packing is coming along pretty well- I'm down to a few kitchen boxes and a few other random things left to pack. We're getting really excited about our new home but also trying to savor our last few days in Albion. I decided to make lists and share them with you:

10 Things I am looking forward to at our new house:
1. A DISHWASHER!!!! I have not had a dishwasher for over 7 1/2 years (except for the time I was in NM). I can't imagine how much time will be saved by one this little appliance!
2. Multiple rooms with singular purposes- I am hoping to have as few multi-purpose rooms as possible. Example- our current dining room is also where the washing machine, hot water heater, and computer live. It also has the closet with all my clothes. Titus' room houses the chest freezer, dryer, and refrigerator. It will be nice when all these things have a home in rooms that are designed for such purposes. Along the same lines...
3. A laundry room! Currently my washer and dryer are in different rooms (granted they are just around the corner, but still). My new laundry room has lots of storage too!
4. A garage, not just one, but two! Our attached 2-car garage will house the 2 cars and our 2-car shop will house the truck (and someday, my doggie daycare). We've never had a garage in our married life, so this is VERY exciting.
5. A guestroom. That's right, if you come visit us, you will no longer have to sleep on the hide-a-bed in the living room!
6. More than 1 bathroom- we'll actually have 2.5 bathrooms- also VERY exciting.
7. Land- at least 10 acres, survey may say more. Just imagine what we can do with all that space! The pond will be pretty nice someday too!
8. Covered front porch with swing- need I say more?
9. Pecan trees- yummmm
10. Space- it will just be nice to spread out a little and have room for other people in our home. Yes, it means more cleaning, but I choose to focus on the positive

10 Things I look forward to in Abilene:
1. Being closer to family
2. Finding an awesome church that we can really get involved with
3. Cajun Cones- the BEST snowcones/shaved ice EVER! My favorite flavor is called "I don't know, but it's good." Come visit us and we'll enjoy one together!
4. Stores! We won't have to drive far to find everything we need. Abilene has 2 Lowe's and 2 Super Walmarts- what else do you need!?! (It has lots of other stuff too!)
5. Long growing seasons for gardening.
6. Wildflowers galore! WA seems a little limited in this area.
7. Reconnecting with old friends
8. TX BBQ- Betty Rose's, here we come!
9. Thunderstorms
10. Lakes with yummy fish- catfish, crappie, bass- no more trout!

10 Things I will miss about our life in WA:
1. Cool summers- we don't even have an AC and rarely feel like we need one.
2. Green grass all year long that doesn't need water.
3. My spice closet- this is truly the most special thing I will miss about our little house. There is a small closet with about 6 shelves for spices in our kitchen and we use every last inch of space in it. If you haven't seen it, you're missing out!
4. Friends- we have made some great ones here!
5. The Snake River- my favorite afternoon hangout (and Titus' too!)
6. Lentil Festival- I know it sounds silly, but we actually like this small town event.
7. Mountains- we have hiked in some really beautiful areas up here.
8. Snow- guess we won't need our snow tires or snow shovel in TX!
9. Winco- I actually like buying food from bulk bins and bagging my own groceries!
10. WSU- I really like this campus. It's so green and has some really neat buildings.

I'm sure I could keep going with these lists, but that's enough for now. Maybe my next entry will be from TX!

16 More Days- Just a little update

I can't believe we only have 16 more days left in WA. This summer has just flown by. Before you know it we'll be settling in to our new home and starting our new jobs. I haven't blogged about it yet, but I also accepted a job with ACU last week. I'll be the chemistry lab manager. Basically, I'll set up stuff for labs, make the needed solutions, maintain the chemical inventory, and keep equipment calibrated. It will be nice that we can drive to work together and even work in the same building! I'm excited that I don't have to apply for any more jobs and that I don't have to work evenings or weekends.
Last week was also my birthday. It wasn't a great day. It was the first b-day without my Dad and it marked 7 months since he passed away. Also, Josh is out of town, so I just spent my day working in the herbarium and crying- alone. Pretty sad, huh? I did, however, get phone calls from about 5 people and that made me happy.
So other than lots of packing, that's all going on here. Have a great day!

Cowboy party

Last Sunday our church threw us an early going away party- cowboy style in honor of us moving to TX. They also gave us a song book that everyone signed and a quilt with a square from each family. Here are some pics from that night.

Potluck meal with "Texas" food

Root beer at each table with personalized labels- way cute!

Fun table decorations- chips were in bandanas that were in upside-down cowboy hats and sheriffs badges were turned into napkin rings.

Cactus cake- very yummy!

Thanks everyone!

I found my drag queen!

Yes, it's another post about my hairstylist who happens to be a drag queen. I thought I had lost him. When I got back to Pullman in May, I learned that Fantastic Sam's had closed. So I have refused to get my hair cut all summer because I didn't want to find a new stylist. At work this week, a friend tipped me off that I might find my drag queen at SuperCuts. I checked it out today, and there he was!! I was so excited. He has only been working there 3 weeks, so I was really lucky to catch him. Now my hair is short and ready for the TX heat. Too bad I still have to find a new stylist in a few months. Sigh...

Our house is a very, very, very fine house!

Unless something really horrible shows up in the inspection, this will be our home in Abilene. We are really excited about our biggest purchase ever! This 2000 sq. ft. home sits on 10 acres about 12 miles NW of Abilene. It is surrounded by oak, pine, elm, and pecan trees. This is a huge difference from the usual mesquite that you might think of in the area. It also has a 1/2 acre pond (currently empty), a separate 2 car garage (that will someday be used for my doggie daycare), 2 sheds, and a small haybarn. The owners are fixing a few items, so we decided to put off our inspection until we could both be there in August. We are scheduled to close on Aug. 14th! We just want to give God the praise for bringing this all together. I won't go into detail, but my 10 days in Abilene were absolutely crazy. In the end, we feel very blessed to have found such a great place we will soon call home. There are a few other pictures of the house and land posted on our flickr page too. Won't you come visit and swing on our porch with us?

Are you a hoarder or a purger?

I have been cleaning out our house over the last few weeks and making piles all over the house for our yard sale. Yesterday, we spent about 7 hours cleaning out the garage and finally finished at 9pm. I love getting rid of stuff!! I am totally a purger. I will happily get rid of almost anything I haven't used in the last few months, and I get great joy out of having more space and getting more organized. Josh on the other hand, as I was reminded yesterday, is a hoarder. He keeps things for long periods of time and has a much harder time letting go. Case in point, we found 3 little 6 inch trophies yesterday that Josh won for math contests back in middle school. Middle school!! I had to work pretty hard to convince him that because I was never going display them (because I refuse to dust unnecessary items) and because they are from middle school (and he now has his Ph.D.), that he should get rid of them. Sorry, honey! I find it funny and frustrating at the same time. Each week I have these little piles that he must go through to decide what I can get rid of. Sometimes I feel like a lawyer arguing my case for pitching or selling all this stuff. So, I'd like to know... are you a hoarder or a purger?

Our week

It seems like soooo much longer than a week since we found out we're moving to Abilene. Each day seems to drag on for me. Why? Because I'm excited and worried and cleaning the house and working and should be packing and on and on...
We decided that we are going to try to buy a house and close on it as soon as we get to Abilene so we can move right in. I know things don't usually go that smoothly, so that's why I'm worried. I'm excited because I get to go to Abilene in 10 days and look at houses and spend 2 weeks trying to take care of all the details (and seeing lots of family). I'll feel much better once I'm there, but the waiting is already hard. In the meantime I have been working at the herbarium at WSU and building stacks of yard sale items at home. I haven't even begun packing since all our boxes are buried under stuff in the garage. We're hoping to dig them out tonight so I can really make some progress.
Pretty soon after I get home from Abilene, Josh is going to take off to CA to collect some plants. I'll stay home to pack and have a yard sale, and then we'll only have about a week before we hit the road. Crazy!!
It's hard to believe our time in WA is almost over. We have been trying to savor all the things we enjoy here that will be absent in TX- like cool weather, green hills, and no need for air conditioning. We are also excited to get to TX and enjoy the things we have missed for the last several years- real thunderstorms, snow cones, and long growing seasons for the garden. Moving always seems to be bitter sweet but God has plans far beyond what we can even imagine.
On a lighter note, Titus turned 5 this week! Hard to believe my little puppy is middle-aged. Here he is looking particularly happy on his special day.