I'm baaaack!

Thanks to everyone who has diligently been checking my blog to see if I've finally posted. Now you're in for it, though. Ten days, a lot to cover. =)

First, let me start off by saying that I LOVE my new house! It is absolutely wonderful. It's little things, like having my very own mailbox, that is right at the end of my very own driveway, where I can wash my car whenever I please, and which leads into my garage that shelters me from the rain so I can get into my car nice and dry. And having my own trash bin right in my garage, that I just roll out once a week, and don't have to drive my trash to a big nasty communal bin. Convenience rocks. And, it's things like looking at neighbors' yards to get ideas for my own, imagining what a flower bed would look like right there, or maybe over there. The possibilities are endless!

Moving day was Saturday, March 24. If you'll recall, I'd arranged for a mover through Craigslist, and then heard from my realtor that they were awful and had broken her expensive armoir. The "owner guy," who I arranged everything with, promised he would be there for my move to oversee everything. When the movers arrived (only 15 minutes late) the owner guy was not with them. And, they brought a dinky little truck, when I was told they'd have a 26-foot truck. I called the owner guy, and he said the big truck was in the shop. I said the guys would have to make two trips with the smaller truck, and he said that was fine, and I'd still be charged the same rate. So we began to load. To their credit, the guys were terrific. They made the most out of that little truck, packing everything in solid, like a 3-D puzzle. The forecast had called for mid-80's but it was still relatively cool at this point. After I'd say two hours, we were on our way to the new house.

On the way, I called Papa John's for pizza to be delivered. (P.S., How awesome is it that delivery is a cinch now that the drivers don't have to hunt for my apartment in a giant complex?) Right as we pulled up to the house, the pizza guy arrived. Perfect timing! We were all starving!

My parents had not seen the house in person yet, so I was very excited to give them a tour. I was pleased as punch that they liked it so well. My dad made a run to the convenience store for some bottled water, while the movers began unloading the truck. Most of this load was just boxes, and the bedroom furniture. After about 90 minutes, we headed back for the second load. It was pretty hot at this point. I let the movers do all the heavy lifting, but I was still involved, packing the last-minute straggling items, and carrying things like my computer and of course Comet in his travel crate. By the way, he was great during all this. I put him in the crate while the movers were in and out, and he meowed for a few minutes, but then just resigned himself to being locked up. He probably felt safer in there anyway (or at least that's what I tell myself).

Around 4:30, the guys were finished unloading everything, and it had all gone off without a hitch. They were champs taking the heavy big stuff upstairs, and only made one tiny scratch on the wall, probably when they were heaving the entertainment center up there. But all the furniture itself was unscathed. Yippee!

My parents and I went to dinner down the street at a restaurant that had just opened, Mimi's Cafe. They have them all over California, but this was the first one in the Triangle. Right across from it is a brand-new Circuit City, so we went there afterwards to look at the TV's. I'd been wanting a big-screen LCD for a while, and had been doing lots of research online looking for the best deals, compromising between price and quality. I had my eye on a Sharp 42", but when we got to the store, the Samsung 46" stole my heart. I had a 10% off coupon through AAA, and decided to splurge. It's hard to resist 18 months with no interest charges! We brought it home and set it up, and it seemed enormous! But it is so awesome! Monday, the cable guy came and hooked me up with HD, and it is truly mind-boggling. I cannot stop watching it. (Which helps explain why I haven't posted in a while!) And, it has a DVR, which to me is like crack. Mine is already almost full! I saw an episode of the Discovery channel's "Planet Earth," and it is absolutely everything everyone says it is. Words are insufficient. Breathtaking, amazing, spectacular, they don't do it justice. Many of the other shows in HD are equally stunning visually. I DVR'd one on the national parks, and it's just beautiful. It's hard to erase some of these things even after I've seen them!

Sunday was all about unpacking and getting things arranged, and even though I was exhausted from the previous day, I did a pretty good job. I had Monday off, so I did a little more that day, but once the cable was installed, unpacking took a far second in my priorities!

Yesterday my parents came over again and we did a Craigslist run. In a matter of 4 hours and driving about 100 miles around the Triangle, from Durham to Cary to North Raleigh, we picked up a wrought iron table and chairs set for the front porch, a kitchen table and chairs, a Nordic Track ski machine, a chair-and-a-half with ottoman, and a black bookshelf. They were all extreme bargains, yet quite nice, so I was very pleased. Afterwards we went to dinner at Ruby Tuesday, and then to Target to get things like garden hoses and towel racks. Fun stuff!!

So now you're pretty much caught up to now, and again, thank you all for being so patient while I got settled in here. Stay tuned for our next episode: Melissa Mows Her First Lawn!