12 Things

12 Things I Have Learned:

12. For some reason, stores and restaurants in Tampa like to crank the air conditioners incredibly high. This makes it so that people with glasses fog up when they exit the stores… into the parking lots… BLIND!

11. In Georgia, it is typical to see people wave at you from their car when you are in a neighborhood of any kind. Not in Tampa.

10. No matter what kind of a house you have, it is a pain in the ass to clean it. But the bigger the house, the bigger pain it is to be had.

9. Trying to budget a household groceries is an enormous headache and pretty much a full time job! It is a job that my darling husband doesn’t get… at all.

8. Public school is NOT private school. When my 2nd grade son is doing the math work that my kindergartener daughter was doing over the summer, there is a serious problem.

7. Shopping of any sort is cheaper, faster and less stressful without my children. I think that is a painfully unfortunate reality.

6. When you have your own pool it is just as disappointing when it rains. But, you get more hand and face prints on the slider door from children watching for it to stop.

5. Laundry multiplies like bacteria if you leave it alone in a dark room for more than 24 hours.

4. My feelings are squashed a lot less if my children do not like their “take out” dinner as opposed to my cooking. Why on earth do we cook? Oh that is right, refer to #9.

3. Telling a child “no” today does not equate to “no” tomorrow in their brains. Repetition is part of every parent’s routine.

2. Even though I couldn’t wait for school to start, I missed my children more than I ever thought possible.

1. I never ever want to move or sell a home again.

Knead a little help...

I have been on a bread making kick lately. I first made a cardamom braid that was a sweet, Swedish bread I had never heard of. It was GREAT but far too large for our family. Next time I will break it into 2 loaves and give one to a neighbor. The second recipe I did was a challah bread for Shabbat dinner last week. It was amazing! I will never buy store bought challah again! I actually had Ed take a picture of it. I think I need my own camera…
In all my years of baking, home ec classes and bread making I never imagined bread you didn’t have to knead OR FEED! I for sure thought when I saw the recipe it was a typo so I did a little research and found it is true! I then found a second recipe that was completed in less than half the time suggested on the original recipe. Needless to say, I decided to do the second recipe as I was SURE the recipe would flop anyway. I added ¼ cup of chopped kalamata olives and a whole head of pre-roasted garlic cloves. Next time, I will not pre-roast the garlic, only use ½ a head, not use olives and toss in a handful of fresh chopped rosemary or sage.

If anyone has a tried and true recipe for a sourdough starter (I like a STRONG sour… raised in the SF bay area ;)) I would be glad to try it!

Busy few days!

So, I moved to Tampa on Friday, July 17th. As I came down my new street, I could see the big red bow that my FIL placed above the porch to welcome us. I was so HAPPY to see my boys! The boy gave me a running, jumping hug and kiss, and Ed (who was working with the plumber) was able to break away for a moment to greet me and the girl. My in laws were also there to greet us! That night we had Pei Wei which is amazingly yummy!

The weekend was spent cleaning and prepping for our best friends to come and visit! We had a blast with them on Monday the 20th. I miss them tons… The rest of that week and following weekend was spent unpacking, cleaning, arranging and settling. Monday the 27th I woke at 5:30am to meet Ed’s friend from high school, Kim, to learn the ins and outs about a vegetable co-op. That was fun, but WAY too early for me! Wednesday the 29th I took the kids to a puppet production at the library called Micetronauts. They had a really good time! I also got them their own library cards and let them choose one book each to check out. Checking out a book earned them a coupon from the library for a free shake from Steak 'n Shake! HOW COOL!

The following day, Thursday the 30th, I took the kids to another library for a live play of Rumplestiltskin. It was a 25 minute drive to get there and as we got closer, the area started to remind me a lot of the area we left in Georgia. It seemed like there were many stay-at-home moms there and like the surrounding trees, yards and common areas, they seemed to be well manicured and taken care of! The area of the library that was showing the play only allowed for 80 people. They let all the children in first then whatever parents were left, they would squeeze in. Only 2 moms got in so you can imagine how packed this show was. I sat outside for the hour the play was going on and finished working on a knit scarf project. A woman was sitting across from me on a cell phone loudly discussing the details of a custody battle with what appeared to be her attorney. A gentle rain began to fall though the sky was still bright. Then it began to pour and oddly, the sky was STILL bright! It was really beautiful and had the obnoxious woman talking on her cell phone not been there, it would have been really peaceful. That evening we went out to Sushi Alive for their “Happy Hour”, sushi… not drinks. It wasn’t bad as far as sushi goes! That Friday, July 31st, we went to Longhorn. I was so disappointed after getting my steak, cutting into it and seeing it well done when I ordered it medium rare. I expected a warm red center as she described. When I sent it back the manager brought me out a steak that was cooked exactly how the first one was. He said he would cook another for me himself. I told him not to bother and let Ed eat the steak. After all, it would be free and I would hate to waste something free!

Saturday the 1st we went to Pei Wei for lunch, Jamba Juice for dessert, Bucs Heaven to prep for the evening and then Bucs training camp! We got to meet a few cheerleaders, hear the cannons fire and watch the players run around. WHAT A BLAST! Sunday we took the kids to Whole Foods where they got to join in a free cooking demo: sparkling lemonade, homemade hummus in pita bread and yogurt parfait! We got tenderloin steaks to cook for dinner that night. YUM! They were seriously fantastic. Monday I registered the kids for school, my MIL came over for dinner, took the kids home to spend the night THEN brought them back WITH lunch from Hungry Howie’s the next day! I had not had that since my days at Kinko's. How spoiled am I?!?!?

Coming up: Jennie Zuniga from high school is coming to visit me tomorrow. I haven’t seen her in 16 years! Uncle Greg comes to visit Friday-Sunday. I am EXCITED!

Update pl0x!

A friend of mine wanted an update so I will take a small break from my carnival of paper and boxes. Friday we arrived to a beautiful home adorned with a red bow above the porch. I got a leaping hug/kiss from my son that was the best ever! A plumber (or 2) was here doing something or other so I had to wait for a moment to kiss my husband. My in laws were here too, so the girl and I were greeted wonderfully by all the Tampa Rosens. I unpacked my car and an older woman walking a dog said “You can’t possibly lift that” to which I responded, “I am stronger than I look”. She chuckled as I hauled a huge roll of new carpet remnant into the house from my car and said “I guess so!” We had Pei Wei for dinner which is AWESOME! The next day we kicked ass and took names and got several boxes unpacked and the electrician came to install 8 fan kits. Sunday we bought a mattress for the boy’s trundle and unpacked more boxes. Monday I picked up the mattress from a warehouse and greeted our best friends. I got some help unpacking and we got to have lunch and dinner and play a little. 8 of us got to break in the pool while the other (me) got dinner from Pei Wei. Did I mention I love Pei Wei? Today is Tuesday and I have been unpacking slowly. I am running out of steam. The kids are going with my mother in law in the afternoon through dinner. This will help IMMENSLEY because the kids are driving me insane. I don’t have the time to invest in them right now and they are fighting a ton causing me to stop a lot of what I have been doing.

It is truly a castle… I cannot wait until it is fully unpacked. We have a long way to go! I will take pics when things are in the proper places. My uncle comes in about 3 weeks and school starts in about a month. Lots to do! Better get back to it ;)

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?

Today my heart is beating so fast I think it may explode. So MUCH is going on I cannot even begin to wonder what the hell I have gotten myself into. Last week I had 3 carpet companies give me in-home estimates. I weighed price against product and went with the lowest price since we will not be the ones enjoying the carpet anyway. It is a good carpet though

Also last week and yesterday I interviewed 3 realty agents/teams (I tried to set up meetings with 5 more but got no responses from them) so I could make a more educated decision about what path we should take in replacing our current agent. The first was a husband and wife team and when they left I felt like I had been drugged. They were strong minded, gave a powerful presentation and made me think I needed them and only them. They even called their carpet guy and undercut my lowest bid by $400! WOW! I needed THEM, right? Wrong… 2 days later I asked one of them to get the carpet guy to come over so I could see a sample of the carpet he intended to use. Somehow, it went from “We can get you a better deal than the one you have” to “If you SIGN with us we will extend to you the information. Until then, sit n spin”. And the tone changed in the conversation to insinuate that if we didn’t list our house at a price they deemed reasonable, they wouldn’t even offer us a contract. The GHB had worn off at that point and I needed a shower… Realtor #2 was a very nice guy but less prepared than the barracuda and her Boy Wonder. He had an idea of where he would like the house to be listed but no idea where he thought it may sell. He reminded me physically and socially of my father, which was odd but it made it easier to talk to him. He was cordial and seemed to know his stuff, he just didn’t invest the time in me or my home before hand that #1 an eventually #3 would. Before I met Realtor #3, #2 was it by default! When #3 came in I was worried. She was young and beautiful and I assumed maybe she didn’t have the experience. I should know better than to judge a book by a cover, but only time will tell if she can get the job done. She had prepared information in a similar fashion to #1 but didn’t offer the marketing #1 did citing specific reasons why; 0% yield is not the way to go and efforts/funds are better spent elsewhere. Just because a marketing plan seems grandiose doesn’t mean it is effective. She was very sweet, chatty (like #2) and seemed to care about all parties involved, including our current realtor. Sympathy and empathy go a long way in my book. I am not of the opinion that just because you need to get business done, you need to be brutal, pushy and step on others for your clients or for yourself. So, #3 is it and I will update you on that situation as soon as there is some to update.

The suggestion to repaint to neutral colors has been made more than once. Ed is not interested in spending the $ but I disagree. And instead of making this a 700 page essay I will leave it at that. So today I started getting estimates. One estimate was high, over the phone (didn’t even offer to see the rooms) and I wont be going with them. #2 is a friend of a friend and offered to do the patchwork for $50 when he came to do the estimate. #3 is a friend of my friend’s mother and he is coming tomorrow to give an estimate. I am waiting on 3 calls back for other estimates from recommendations from friends and neighbors. 6 estimates should be fine I think…

I cleaned the fridge, freezer and pantry of the junk but I still need to scrub the freezer and fridge next week. I have light packing to do of things that will be coming in my van as opposed to the moving van. I cannot start that until tomorrow when the pictures are done. I promised Jessie we would got to a movie tomorrow but as soon as that is done, hell begins.

Dinner will be out tomorrow with a neighbor, in tomorrow with another neighbor, at a friend’s home Friday, out Saturday and Sunday (more than likely) Then starting Monday I will be living with a neighbor for the week. Monday we get packed, Tuesday loaded (at this point I NEED to get loaded), Wednesday painting, Thursday carpet and Friday drive to Tampa…. Home… to my castle on the sand… with my BOYS!

Now, can someone buy my house in GA please?

Yesterday is lonelier

I wake where shadows are fewer
I sit where time is longer
I linger where days are harder
I lay where quiet is lonelier

I imagine the sighs are fewer
I remember the hugs are longer
I anticipate the kisses are harder
I hope that yesterday is lonelier

We are in for a LOOONG summer....

The girl and I said "see ya later" to the boys yesterday. Our house in FL closes on the 15th and the house in GA has not gone under contract so the girl and I will try to keep up a furnished home for potential buyers to view until it is sold. I think the hardest part about yesterday was when the boys were pulling away, my overly emotional and dramatic daughter looked up at me with wet eyes and a shivery chin and said quietly, "This is the worst day of my life". I could only reply... "Yep, probably". The only other time she ever said that was in an angry way when she got in trouble so it was sad yet sweet all at the same time. I know it is only temporary but we sure are going to miss our best friends.... I cannot get the song from Pink, Please Don't Leave Me, out of my head. *sigh*

We had a showing today which is good, but they were in and out in 8 minutes. The feedback was wishy-washy but the realtor said she LOVED the house and will be bringing another client to see it hopefully this weekend. At least the realtor liked it enough to bring someone else! I hope that means something.

The girl and I slept on couches last night for 2 reasons. First, it was a novelty for her... Second, I had the entire upstairs done for the showing before we even woke this morning!!!! SCORE! And I let her have ice cream for lunch.... Yep that is right... call DEFACS :P

Tomorrow I have to run around like a chicken with my head cut off correcting a lawyers mistake. I also promised the girl I would take her to the movies to see a Tale of Despereaux. I am taking our neighbor girl (teenager) as well. Should be a fun day!

OH! And my phone is starting to self destruct. I looked at the screen today and the screen spontaneously decided to change color.... but only in parts.... LOVEly...

Is it August yet?