Anticipation

Yesterday was Steve's first day of work. While he was gone all day, I went to work on straightening up the house. Grant it we've only been here a week, and most of that time was spent unpacking and putting stuff away, there was still a lot that needed to be done before our firsts guests arrive. I spent the day doing laundry, putting away a few odds and ends, sweeping, vacuuming, and mopping. A lot of our house is covered in tile, so it requires a little more attention than just a quick vacuuming. Oh well, it gave me something to do in this big house alone.

Today, I am patiently (well, trying to be patient) awaiting 2 arrivals. First off, our new bed frame is to be delivered today. The mattress will arrive tomorrow. Which means tonight is the last night using the air mattress!!! With my family coming in today, tonight will be a little hard to coordinate the bed situations, but tomorrow will be much easier. The second arrival I'm waiting on is my family!!! I have no idea what time they are arriving, and they're ignoring my texts at the moment. I think they're plotting a way to get back at me for the long drive they've had to endure. My sister is driving with my mom as the copilot and stewardess to three little girls in the back (ages 6, 4, and 14 months). They pit-stopped in Kentucky last night to recharge the girls with a pool.

For those of you who religiously read this (my cooperating teacher from student teaching claims to read this three times a day; however, i'm guessing its all a lie and he never reads it. We'll see if he comments on this little statement), Steve caught a mouse in the attic yesterday. We haven't heard any more noises since that one night; however, that doesn't mean there aren't any more hiding up there. He left another trap set and we'll just see how many more critters he can catch.

On Sunday, Steve and I visited a church close to Jackson. It was a different experience than what we are used to. The church was in a warehouse that has been changed into a church which gave a very modern feel. The music was good with a 6 member band, but it had a "southern" feel. The message was really good and really taught Steve and I a lot. It was about making positive relationships with those around you (great message for a couple to a new area!) The average age of most of the people in the room was much higher than our age. This church is quite doable, but we have a few other churches we are going to try out before we settle.

Unwelcome House Guests :-/

Week one in our new house has almost come to a close. Steve starts his job in less than eight hours, which marks the beginning of me being stuck at home all day. We still only have 1 car and unless I want to drive and pick him up from work each day, I'll be a true "at-home" wife. HA. With all my free time I will do house work (it's amazing how much laundry and dishes two people make. Plus, we have a couple of different kinds of unwelcome house guests that make a mess.

First off, now that we're in the South, we get to deal with pests. Tennessee has a nasty fly problem as well as crickets and a few roaches. So far I think my cricket kill count is up to about 12. A few days ago Steve got some bug shield granules that you put outside and a spray to go inside. We are still living in the delusion that its just due to the doors being opened a lot that first day when we were moving stuff in. The fact that he just killed a cricket in the living room and found a dead butterfly on the kitchen floor does not help this delusion. Oh well... they're only little insects, I am much bigger than them (I have to keep saying that in order to prevent me freaking out. Did I mention how much I HATE bugs????).

Secondly, last night we discovered that we have another unwelcome house guest. . . Only it's still a mystery as of now. While watching TV last night, I heard a gnawing sound coming from the wall behind me. We're guessing its a mouse that must've gotten in the attic somehow and gotten into the wall (fingers crossed its only a mouse). Then last night while sleeping, I woke up at 4:30am to hear the same gnawing sound coming from inside the wall above my pillow. Excellent. All I could hear was it scratching and gnawing. Finally I couldn't take it and made Steve help me move the bed (thank goodness its just an air mattress!!). I got some traps today while in town and Steve set them up in the attic. He will check them tomorrow upon returning from work, upon which I will report back what we find. . .

While all these unwelcome guests are fluttering and scurrying around our house, I am preparing for some VERY welcome house guests. My mom, sister, and her three youngsters (age 6, 4, and 14 months) are road tripping down to visit! Their trip starts tomorrow with a pit stop in Kentucky (hotel with a pool should recharge the kiddos in the middle of an 8 hour car trip, as well as the two adults!) and will end at our house sometime Tuesday afternoon. Even though we've only been here a week, lots of vacuuming, mopping, and putting away tools and boxes needs to be accomplished. Good thing I have something to do while Steve's at work!

Little Things in Life

So yesterday morning I woke up super early thinking someone was knocking. I freaked Steve out by jumping out of bed and running to the window that faces the driveway. Of course no one was there and when I returned to bed Steve *kindly* told me that it was 7:30 in the morning. I couldn't fall back asleep so I read for awhile and then went and watched Law & Order: SVU (my favorite!). While watching tv I thought through the morning events and realized I had had a dream that our washer and dryer was being delivered. The air conditioner must have kicked on at the time the delivery men arrived in my dream. . . hence all the confusion in the morning. Oh well... I will just add this to the list of reasons I will be committed before 30. Luckily I have a gracious husband who laughed about it when he woke up (he is not an early riser and the thought of having to get up early for work in just a few days isn't a happy thought).

Something I've come to realize with our house is that its BIG and Noisy! One little sound in a back room echoes throughout the house and sounds very loud by the time it gets to me. I know it's just a matter of me not used to it yet. Wonder when I will be used to living in such a big house without a bazillion people walking through it all day (my parents' house).

Steve and I decided to venture out into town to see if we could find or create our very own laundry pedestal (the washer/dryer that we got are front loaders and sit really close to the ground). Well, the trip was a bust, resulting in me getting stressed (traffic is ridiculous and roads are not situated well in Jackson. . . ). After a melt down about being in a new area (it was bound to happen!) I realized how blessed we really are, and all was better again. (Again, I have a very gracious husband!).

Our new washer and dryer arrived and I quickly put it to work :). They manufactured by Samsung which makes a lot of cell phones. So they signal chimes on them sing little songs and the buttons are set to look like a video game. Ha ha, they make me laugh each time I run a cycle. Which so far is tallied up to 2. Have I mentioned how much of a house wife I am and how much I enjoy it?! I've made dinner almost every night this week, clean every day, and used the washer and dryer as soon as the delivery men left. I don't do any of this because I have to, but because I get enjoyment out of it. It's the little things in life :).

A New House

Well it's official, I have unpacked the last box and we are officially moved into our new house. I can't believe it took only 3 days to unpack everything and find it's correct place. I still have the decorating to do (which my sisters, mom, and nieces are gonna help with next week!! sweet!!).

Our house is located in an upcoming neighborhood just down the road from where Steve works. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, living room, den, kitchen, laundry room, and 2 car garage. We are renting it for a great deal. I am in love with this house, it's probably the one thing that is helping to make the move easier. If only we could move this house to Kokomo, IN everything would be perfect!

We got our satellite dish hooked up today and our washer/dryer arrive tomorrow. It's starting to feel like a real home for me. I am developing a routine of making dinner and keeping the sink clear of dishes. Oh, and did I mention the fact we have a dishwasher?? It's been my first one in 4 years not counting my parents!

Here are some pictures of our New House:

Here is Steve's Den (or Lair as he calls it). This picture is taken from the kitchen looking through the Den and into the Main Entrance and Hallway to the Bedrooms.

Here is the kitchen (Steve is lurking out of his Lair). Notice the normal-sized appliances. Our previous apartment had "economy" appliance which just translated into being WAY TOO SMALL. I am excited to finally get to use my normal size baking sheets I got from our wedding (almost a year ago -- man time flies!)

Here are pictures of the Living room. There are two entrances to the living room -- one from the kitchen and the other from the main entrance.

There are more rooms in the house, but I will save those pictures for when they are complete. A couple of days ago, Steve and I found a new bed and frame. We decided that we could no longer sleep on a full size bed, so we upgraded to a queen. The new bed is to arrive next week. Until it shows up, we are sleeping on my parents' queen size air mattress (which was the same bed we used at their house for the past six weeks). Our old bed now resides in our Guest Bedroom. Once our washer/dryer arrive tomorrow, I will get the sheets washed and it all set up (so that it's picture ready)!

Now that I am all unpacked, and I have my television hooked up... I am a happy camper :). Tonight will probably involve me camped out in front of the tv playing with my cricut machine and scrapbooking. . . or maybe I should find a job... I'll cricut first :).

Back from Hiatus!

So I guess part of the responsibility of having a blog is that you need to actually write it. These past 4 weeks have been absolutely crazy. I spent all of my free time either with family, packing, or trying to plot ways to not move to Tennessee. Steve and I have arrived to our house in Jackson (obviously my plotting isn't that good!). All this week, Steve and I have been and will be spent unpacking boxes and putting back together our Ikea furniture. Sorry this post is short, a longer one will be done later.

"Lazy... I wanna be lazy...

Not only does that is that a Bing Crosby song (Holiday Inn) but also the story of my past week. I know it seems like I have disappeared off the face of the earth, but it is not so. Over the hiday weekend, Mom and Pop Willis hosted some friends from NY. They come in each year and stay at our house over Memorial Weekend and go to the race as well. I went with them one year, but that was enough for me!

On Saturday evening, Steve and I went to Cheesecake Factory (using a wedding giftcard, score!) with our good friends Carl and Julie. Hanging with them always means lots of laughter and a good time. Hopefully we can find a good halfway spot from Indiana and Tennessee because I will miss our times together!

Tuesday was supposed to be spent repacking our boxes for the big move. Instead, it was spent with me feeling lowsy and comaining on the couch. Mom couldn't handle much more of my complaining and knocked me out with drugs so I slept most of Tuesday :). I finished off the day (after returning to the real world from the drugs) I got to watch a movie (Memento) with my good friend on hiatus from Israel.

You are probably wondering what Steve has been up to, well pretty much the same as last time -- rotting on the computer. My dad and brother-in-law can sometimes convince him into playing Red Alert (computer game) to pass his time. I think he secretly enjoys playing the game.

Well that's a whole bunch of nothing, but at the time it felt like something!! Sorry this post is boring. I guess it's because our past week has been normal Willis craziness as well as normal Ackerman laziness. We're trying to enjoy this fantasy we are living in at the 'rents house until we move into our own injust a few weeks!