Um, could we go back to the haunted house? Cause, this is creeping me out.-Buffy the Vampire Slayer

It’s my fav bloggy day of the week, Talk to Us Tuesday with Impulsive Addict and Seriously Shawn.

• Last week I told ya we were heading to the Pumpkin Festival in Half Moon Bay with Sassy Family. Well, the problem is, so was the rest of the bay area apparently. It was a shoulder to shoulder crap fest. We tried to make the best of it, but it really was terrible. Here’s how much of the giant pumpkins I was able to see:

• The highlight of the day was getting to take Sassy Daughter through the haunted house. No one else wanted to go so it was just her and me. How cute is she in her little Alice costume? She was so shy when the pirate talked to her.

She was totally freaked out, even by the decorations. She grabbed my hand and held on tight. When we walked through the haunted house, she actually jumped into my arms and hung on like a little spider monkey! It was the sweetest thing.

• After the haunted house we parted ways with Sassy Fam. They were just as overwhelmed by the crowd as we were. So Match and I headed up to Marin and grabbed dinner at a pub. It was a nice evening and I was happy it was just the two of us.
• In House news, we heard back about the appraisal. The great news is that it appraised for more than we’re paying for it, so we have instant equity. Woohoo! The not so great news is the super picky FHA people are requiring that a small part of the outside be repainted before they’ll approve the loan (lame). But that is small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. I’m just so relieved they didn’t find any deal breakers. Next step is just to get the loan finalized!
• I’m so excited to move for what should be a very, very long time. I counted it out and I’ve moved 14 times in the last 10 years. How ridiculous is that?
• In  travel news, it will be just 11 days we’ll be leaving for Oregon to see my family!! I cannot wait.

Peace isn’t a permanent state. It exists in moments. Fleeting. Gone before we knew it was there. We can experience it at any time, in a stranger’s act of kindness, a task that requires complete focus or simply the comfort of an old routine. Everyday we all experience these moments of peace. The trick is to know when they’re happening so that we can embrace them, live in them. -Grey’s Anatomy

This week I feel like I’m running on auto pilot. Now that we’ve moved further from work I now have to get up at 545AM instead of 630. I know it’s not that much earlier, but a before 6AM wakeup time just isn’t natural. I shouldn’t complain because Match will be having to get up around 4 something to get ready for academy starting next week.

I’m still getting used to the house so inevitably I run into the walls or trip over things as I get ready in the dark while trying not to wake up Match. That’s going to be one positive about him starting academy so early-he’ll be up before me so I won’t have to tiptoe in the dark.

The commute time has gone from about 20 minutes each way to almost an hour. The good news is I love me some books on CD so I catch up on my “reading” while I cuss out the driver who cut me off. I have a sailor’s mouth in traffic, I just can’t help it!

When I get home, I have been immediately tackling the daunting task that is unpacking. We gained a house and some square footage but we also lost a lot of closet storage. We used to have a walk in closet at the duplex (sigh, how I miss thee!) and now we just have two standard closets, one in each room. We have more garage space so if I get creative I’m sure I’ll come up with a storage technique for Match’s 80 million grandpa sweaters. Seriously, that boy has a LOT of sweaters. You’re sure to see pictures of them when winter approaches. I love them, but I also love to tease Match when he wears them. They’re knit and he really does kind of look like a grandpa in them.
His uniforms are also taking up half of the spare room closet which is prime real estate.

While I’m in my unpacking frenzy, Match has been playing the dutiful house husband and making me dinner every night. I’m really going to miss that when he starts academy next week!! Not only does he cook for me most of the time, but he does it really well. I love to cook the fancy meals but I’m terrible with the day to day stuff. I get in a food rut and just cook the same thing every night.

I can’t wait to be done unpacking and back to a sense of some routine. I haven’t worked out in weeks and it’s driving me crazy. A combination of the move, the daily commute and this awful heat wave we’re having has drained me of any exercise motivation. I’m hoping to find it again soon because the holiday season is sneaking up on us. Speaking of the holidays, I’m so excited for Halloween. We’re in a prime neighborhood for trick or treaters. I’m trying to decide what I want to do for Halloween and I’m not sure if Match will even be around. I plan to dress up even if it’s just to pass out candy. Do any of you know what you’re going to be for Halloween? Are you starting to get back into the fall routine or are you struggling to find your rhythm like me?

Glen: Your family will be housed here for the first 100,000 years, then something might open up in a double.

Homer: Why even unpack? -The Simpsons

Victoria: I will tell you my most humiliating story.
Marshall: Yeah, Victoria! Way to step up.
Victoria: OK, it involves a game of Truth or Dare, a squeeze bottle of marshmallow ice cream topping, and the hot tub at my grandparent’s retirement community.
Future Ted: Kids, I tell you a lot of inappropriate stories, but there’s no way in hell I’m telling you this one. Don’t worry, it wasn’t that great.
Marshall: [staring goggle-eyed at Victoria] That is the greatest story ever! -How I Met Your Mother

Hello my lovely readers! I’m sorry it’s been awhile since my last post. I have been incredibly busy packing up our house and getting ready for our move to the East Bay. I’ve also switched over my hosting to a new, much better hosting site and I was afraid to post until everything transferred over. Let me know if the site is buggy for you when posting comments.

We move this Saturday and I’m so excited. We’re moving to an actual house. Not just a duplex, but a single family detached home! This is the first house I’ve lived in with Match and I feel like it is so symbolic as our first new place as a married couple. Of course I wish it was a house we were buying, but we still need to save for that and figure out if we like this new town enough to buy here. I have a feeling we will though.

Besides all of the moving preparations, we’ve been busy visiting with friends. We hosted our last party at the duplex, a surprise birthday party for Monica/co-birthday party for me on the 11th. It was also a PJ party and all of us girls got into the spirit by wearing pigtails and acting like little kids. It was such a fun night!

I’m terrible at secrets but I managed to pull off the surprise for Monica. I picked her up and distracted her the whole drive to my house with talk of her upcoming wedding next summer. When she walked in, Tahoe Couple were there, along with Monica’s Lil Sis and Match, all head to toe Pajamaed. She was shocked! We all donned party hats, and we had PJs ready for Monica and I to change into.

Here are just a few pictures from the night.

Me, Lil Sis, Monica, and Tahoe Girl

Me and Token Gay Couple. They’re getting married next!

Me and Geeky

Chandler brought me and Monica flowers. What a sweetie!

Monica and I also got cupcakes smashed in our faces by our men soon after this picture. I got frosting all over my face which will probably give me adult-acne but it was so funny. It was payback for Match and Chandler’s birthday!

We played I Never the board game. Yes there is a board game version, and it’s hilarious. Every time everyone had done the I Never, Token would say, “Suck it bitch!” before we drank. There were Truth or Dare questions mixed in with the game which really added to the retro feel of the party. At one point Chandler had to switch clothes with Monica which made for some great and embarrassing moments for Chan.
It was an amazing night and a great send off for Monica. I’m really going to miss that girl! Only 3 months til she’s back again. It was also a great last party at the duplex. We’ve had some great memories there.

When’s the last time you had a PJ party?

Miranda : Twenty dollars for a hamburger. Oh, that’s reasonable.

Samantha : Pathetic! When I moved to this neighborhood, the only thing that cost twenty dollars was a hand job from a tranny. -Sex and the City

Moving is such hard freaking work. I’m still way too frugal to hire movers or a cleaning company for the old place, so there is so much work involved. This move in particular was tough because it was just the two of us. For some strange reason, we didn’t call any of our friends. I helped Match with everything, including our couch! Have I mentioned I’m a whopping 5 feet tall? This was insane! But we did it, and besides our dining room table, we’re done moving stuff. (more…)