fourteen years and 373 boxes
March 2nd, 2010
I know you guys want to hear about the new house, and see pictures, and all that good stuff. But because of all the moving-day craziness (being locked out, the previous tenants leaving stuff here including their very sweet cat, etc.) I didn’t get to take the photos I’d envisioned taking. [Edited to add: Yes, the previous tenants did come get their stuff and their cat that same day. It all ended about as well as that situation possibly could have.] The photos I got aren’t inspiring me very much. Honestly, you might not get to see many photos till after Brenda has the house whipped into shape in a couple of weeks.
The good news is, you’ll get to see photos in a couple of weeks instead of in six to eight months. Usually when we move our goal is to be completely unpacked by the following Christmas, but next week Brenda (and Bug) are coming to visit and help us unpack! I’m very excited about it, which is a first for me. I hate unpacking. I get overwhelmed trying to think of where I want everything to go, so I do nothing. Well, not nothing. I unpack and organize the kitchen right away, and then I stall on the rest of the house.
Given all that, you can see why it was SO COMPLETELY AWESOME when Brenda house-sat for us a couple of years ago and asked if we minded if she unpacked a few boxes while she was there, and then went and unpacked and organized the entire house for us. I told her that I would fly her to all our future homes if she wanted to help us unpack them all, and she enthusiastically accepted. That is why she gets free birthday cakes for life, people. Well, that and being one of my best friends. You know what I mean.
I’m sorry you won’t be seeing pictures of the house just yet. I’m sure I’ll get some of the “before” photos up on Flickr eventually, so keep an eye on my Flickr stream. Meanwhile, here’s a conversation that took place this morning as we were driving around trying to find a McD’s with a PlayLand:
“I guess there’s an election tomorrow.”
“On a Wednesday? Where did you hear that?”
I pointed at the election signs clustered on the median. “It says ‘Vote March 2nd’ on those signs right there.”
“That’s today. Which makes sense, because it’s Tuesday.”
“Oh. Oh! In that case, happy anniversary!”
Troy laughed. “Uh, happy anniversary to you too!”
Annalie piped up from the backseat. “What anniversary? What are you talking about?” I explained that it was the fourteenth anniversary of the day we got married. “Oh. Uh, Mom?”
“What, sweetie?”
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t get to buy you and Daddy an anniversary present.”
“Aw, thanks, but that’s okay. It’s been kinda crazy with all the moving and stuff, hasn’t it?” Annalie agreed. I winked at Troy and said, “Besides, I’m sure Daddy has a fabulous anniversary surprise for me. I can’t wait to see what it is.”
Without missing a beat, Troy said, “What do you mean? Isn’t the 14th anniversary the McDonald’s anniversary?”
Happy anniversary, Troy! Fourteen years, eight moves, six states, one Canadian province, two years of grad school, three cats, six years of parenthood, and countless remote controls…and you’re still the one who makes me laugh. Thank God for that!
p.s. New banner! What do you think?
RSS
Bring back the CHUCK banner.
Chuck!
Chuck!
Chuck!
Chuck!
Chuck!
I could hit command c for hours here….but I won’t.
:)
Oh darn.
My page hadn’t refreshed and I thought you were asking if we wanted to see a new banner.
Not what we thought of the one you already put up.
DoH!
It is cute by the way.
Katy & Lily, my other two cats.
I totally approve.
HaPpY AnNiVeRsArY!
*Many continued years of love and laughter*
As a cat lover myself, I think the new banner is wonderful :)
You are extremely lucky to have a friend such as Brenda- and not just because she can unpack and organize better than most and she throws awesome parties! You are indeed blessed.
Happy Anniversary!! Also welcome to the EC! How crazy to go from beaches to snow! LOL. Enjoy!
LOVE the new banner and you two at the end are CUTE too! Happy McDonald’s Anniversary. :)
I totally understand about needing help unpacking boxes. In fact, it makes me feel better that someone as lovely and cool as YOU stalls when it comes to unpacking…that fact about myself has always made me feel like a loser. I’ve used friends, my parents…especially when MOVING whilst VERY pregnant.
And, happy anniversary to you and Troy! Here’s hoping you get to do something special to celebrate, whenever you can.
lol, wow. Sounds like life has been crazy since arriving in MD. Lucky for us Brenda is flying in, since I’m sure we all can’t wait to see the pictures!
And Happy Anniversary to you and Troy and here’s to many many more happy years (and not quite so many moves? lol)!
Oh, P.S. I love the new banner. So do my three kitties.
Cute banner. Sounds like you are super busyyyy…but still stopping to smell the, um, chicken nuggets? :) Happy anniversary!
Love the McDonald’s anniversary!! Haha. You two seem like an ideally suited pair, and many more! Even with all the glitches, you still make moving sound simple and matter of fact. You guys are pros.
Oh Crap! All day I had a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that something was happening & your face came to mind. Each time I convinced myself it was just that your birthday was quickly approaching & that Troy’s had just passed. Duh!
Happy Anniversary, Bethany & Troy!
You two have been great marrieds role models for 14 years!
PS, yep love the banner!
congratulations! I’m sooooooooooooo excited about unpacking! (and all the other fun stuff too) :)
I love the whole anniversary…that’s the sort of conversation we would have without the stress of moving…lol.
Happy Anniversary!
Awwww, no pictures! Well I guess while I am waiting I can unpack some of the stuff I still have packed from 2 years ago! I would really rather make your “spiral squares” though! : )
Happy Anniversary!
As a pet owner of a very vocal cat, I love the banner!!
Oh Happy Anniversary!!! I hope you had a nice day together even with all the craziness that is moving.
And if I ever move again (which I hope never to do) I will hire Brenda to come and unpack for us too because yes, I hate that.
Lovely Banner, noticed it right away.
Love the new banner. But I want to know what you did with the previous tenant’s cat. Did you keep it? Or try and find them? That is SO weird. I can’t imagine just leaving my cat behind. Because I lurve them.
Totally jealous that Brenda is coming. I wish she’d come a bit farther north. Heck, we lived here almost 5 years and STILL haven’t unpacked or hung stuff on the walls. Maybe it’s because I hate my house and can’t wait to move South?
Margalit, one of the prevupious tenants showed up that morning to gather his stuff and their cat. They were always planning to come back for their stuff, they were just unclear for some reason on how long they had to clear out. It all worked out in the end.
So stinkin’ precious. Y’all stop being so cute. I LOVE THE ACTUALLY’s!
New banner is cute! And Happy Anniversary!!! You guys are so awesome!
Happy anniversary! She really is a great friend if she’s willing to unpack!
I can’t believe they left their cat. People are insane. What are you going to do with it?
Happy Anniversary, you two!!
Happy Anniversary! I love the new banner, very cool.
I love your new banner! Also, happy anniversary! You guys got married on my sister and mother-in-law’s birthday, so I will probably remember your anniversary forever. Chris and I will be fourteen years in May and it’s good to know it’s the McD’s year because we’re thinking about rearranging some walls upstairs which means our bank account will probably not be up to a larger form of celebration. Plus? Free playplace! We can neck behind a tray while the kids catch something nasty in the ball pit. :)
I am so glad I didnt’ read this in my reader… I would have totally missed the new banner, which btw, I love!
Happy Anniversary to you too!
Our 12th anniversary was of the Del Taco variety. Come to think of it so was our 11th.
Happy Anniversary you two!
The Banner is adorable and funny. And I believe the 14th anniversary is the “make other people unpack for you” anniversary. So great job to both of you!
Happy anniversary!
McDonald’s sounds so yummy right now. We went to pick up some diapers today and we could smell McDonald’s as we walked into the store. We didn’t get any though. And I forgot about it until I just read your post. Now I’m craving some fries. :)
Dear Bethany,
I know you are still in the throws of moving and unpacking and have a husband back from deployment and an almost 6-yr-old and probably need to buy a houseworth of groceries and learn your new neighborhood and all that, but it has been 2 days since your last post. I am sitting here waiting for the next one.
Still waiting.
Okay. Maybe I’ll do something else for a while. But I’ll be checking back. Soon.
–Erin (and Leo looking over my shoulder)
PS Dang, your hair is getting looooong!
I’m late to the game but Happy Anniversary! 14 years is nothing to sneeze at!
Oh, and the banner is superdupercute!
Congrats on the anniversary from ~Mad(elyn) in Alabama.
Random question: did the previous residents take their cat?? If not, that breaks my heart!
Happy Anniversary a couple days late. You and Troy make marriage look so wonderful, I can only hope to be a smidgen as happy as you two are. Blessings to you for many more.
Congratulations on your 14th Anniversary! The McDonald’s anniversary, hilarious. Glad to hear the move went well. I loved all the counting up of your different milestones. I would be hard pressed to count all of our damn boxes. I like the new banner too. Can’t wait to see the house, especially after Brenda hits it!
fab new banner. and happy anniversary to you both… :)
I’m concerned that Fish and I have moved almost as much as you have. All in the same state!!
I can’t wait to see pictures and hear about all the fun that you and Brenda have.