Moving...

Okay…


Things have been a little crazy lately. Okay, things have been a lot of crazy lately. I’m just getting through my first full month at Job Service. Matt’s been very busy at the airport with airline issues but also with legislative projects. I know these projects can be stressful for him, but I haven’t doubted his competence and the job that he is asked to do and when you look as good as him in a suit, it’s just icing on the cake.

The big news is the condo. Last Friday, I spent my last night there, mattress on the floor and all. I moved in mid-March and was out the end of November. It was a beautiful condo and now I have to live with a boy. It wasn’t like other places that I lived in, it was brand new. I watched it go up, I picked out the cabinets, the floor, the paint, the counters, and the tile. I waited for it and it was so light and airy. It seemed like I worked so hard to get in there. In fact, I waited to move in longer than I lived there. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t not want to have moved to live in Dickinson with Matt, there was just something great about that condo for me. I did say my final good-byes, walked around the emptiness, and appreciated the place. I officially close on Friday. It was on the market for exactly 30 days.

The fun part of the “moving” weekend was Thanksgiving. We were in Lansford with Randy and Michele. Matt went out hunting in the morning and Michele, with my sad help, got the meal prepared. I loved the smoked turkey. I hadn’t had that but the more things that are made for me smoked, the more I like them! It was great to sit with the family, talk, and Michele shared some family pics with me. It was great to see their wedding pic and their family pics with younger versions of Matt and Eric. The only sucky part of the day was when I had to leave to drive all the way back to Dickinson to work. I didn’t want to leave. The roads and wind could have been better, but they’ve been worse too. Matt did get his deer before noon, did it in one shot too. He is willing to give Kevin hunting lessons as he appears to let lead fly a bit more freely.

Black Friday did not really involve any shopping for me, I did do some online browsing and I did pick up a camera, we’ll see what we think but I need to get to taking more pics again! My camera enjoyed Cabo a little too much and hasn’t been the same since! I did work in the morning and took the truck back to Bismarck in the afternoon. I did a little running around but I am so not used to driving that big honky vehicle around town and parking wasn’t fun at all! I tried to take some things into Plato’s closet but ended up getting irritated and now I’m boycotting them for 6 months (At least!). Because of my frustration with them, I accidentally donated a pumpkin pie, my mother’s scentsy, and a pound and a half of jerky to Goodwill, which was where I took the clothes that Plato’s closet told me was outdated. I was super irritated to lose my Pampered Chef Deep Dish, which had a lid!! It’s not that I used it a ton but I loved it because of the lid! I sure felt dumb because of that mistake.

In terms of being thankful, it was a weekend to be thankful for family. My mother was amazing and came on Friday night and we moved a bunch of the boxes down to the garage. Matt’s parents brought him back down from Lansford and then helped load things up and then unload it in Dickinson. And my parents helped load and then provided two amazing dinners. It feels very final to have everything (except what’s in storage) in Dickinson. Matt did tell my father that I’m worth it, kinda. The house is a mess, there’s boxes everywhere, the cats think it’s a giant maze, and it looks like a hurricane warzone. It’s a slow process to get things to “fit” just right and combine. Some days have been easier than others. Nike isn’t dealing with it the best but considering this is the first big change in her life, I’ll let her have a buy. I even felt bad for her this past week and let her sleep with Matt and I. TonyDanza and Lola are doing pretty well. TD’s happy that he got his chair back and Lola likes all the boxes and new places to crawl on but she’s pretty resilient and curious. What’s funny is the thing that brings me the best sense of calm in moving is the freezer. Michele defrosted the freezer, I was able to put in my dividers and then organize the beef and deer. I know that that will change as I get other things worked out, but it is a weird sense of accomplishment.

This weekend we put over 400 miles on my car and 500 on his pickup.

Best Meal: Thanksgiving dinner beats the Brickhouse! There’s something very comforting about that traditional meal.

“That cheese burger was good but it wasn’t Moser beef.” –Randy after leaving Kroll’s.

Fall Back. Winter Ahead.

Another quiet week in Dickinson, it would have been near about perfect if Brutus wouldn’t have showed up. It appears that they are naming more than tropical storms and hurricanes, they are now naming our winter storms too. Brutus was supposed to drop 5-10 inches on our door stop and maybe if the rain would have turned into snow we might have. Instead we have just an inch of snow over a thick layer of ice.

We got stuff done around the house, including some baking. I made homemade French bread, which almost turned out on Friday and then on Sunday I made peach muffins and banana bread. The banana bread turned out the best. Matt was no slouch either, he made jerky, which we made into a meal on Saturday night. The stuff is so addictive.

The big news of the week is that the condo is sold. It’s extremely bittersweet. Yes, it’s great that it sold, as we’ll start saving for the wedding and it cuts a cost but it was such a beautiful condo and I loved it. And I had picked everything out and I had my own bathroom and I had 2 walk-in closets. We have til Nov 30 to get out, so it’s a quick turnaround.

The other big deal is that Lola and Nike played for a good 5 minutes. Nike ran up to Lola and didn’t hiss and it seemed that neither of them knew what to do. It didn’t last long but at least it was a brief cease-fire. We haven’t seen any play since then, but at least we know it’s possible.

Best meal: gyros

“I’m not ready for winter.” ALM
“I don’t think you have much choice.” MJR

P.s. Matt's dear uncle Kevin would have made the blog, but I'm mad at him for coming 2 weeks too early. We didn't get to Lansford for opening deer to see his face or listen to his new line of bull.

Reinventing the weekend.

First Tuesday in November marks election day on the calendar. It’s a bit interesting in the house that I live in. My mother is a vocal Republican (Mom, when you read this, don’t gasp, it’s okay), and Matthew is a bit more Democratic than I’d like some days. I feel like I walk this interesting party line sometimes. Working for the agency did leave an interesting taste in my mouth regarding politics though. Needless to say, I voted but as I get older, voting gets harder.

This past weekend we went to Aubrey and Jerry’s wedding. She looked beautiful and I know the weddings been a long time coming so it was great to see her happy and she looked beautiful. Mel came up to celebrate the wedding. She has a little trouble getting to Dickinson so we were robbed of her time so I’m hoping for a good old fashioned wine session at another time.

Only thing I'd really like to see is my nasal drip and sinus infection disappear, I'm still stuffy and yucky. And officially tired of it!

I’m the most excited to announce that for the first time in a year and a half, Matt and I had a travel free together weekend. Usually we never get both of those things, meaning, we either have to travel or we didn’t get to see each other. But this weekend, we slept in, we didn’t drive 200 miles, and we had a lazy Sunday. It was so nice.

Matt did do some traveling the beginning part of the week, I was glad he got to use his time doing something he wanted. He went home to Lansford and spent some time with his parents and did a bit of goose hunting. Even bagged himself a bird.

Here’s an updated item to the wedding checklist:
-Wedding cake topper (and this time around the groom has a head)

Most Unique Meal: Barbecued Goose….main ingredient (aside from the goose): apple juice

“If you don’t like it we can go buy a pizza.” – MJR regarding the “cooked goose”

After the election results were reported:
"I'm depressed...this isn't good. I won't yell at (Matt)..I only wish him good because his life is yours now...you're his redeeming quality. Tell him to thank you." - Sara, card caring Republican. I love her!