Kicking off the Christmas Season

As it is now officially past the day after Thanksgiving I can finally start enjoying the Christmas season without feeling like I'm giving in to the corporations that put the Christmas decorations out before Halloween. I confess that I did listen to Josh Groban's new Christmas CD before Thanksgiving, but it was all Wendy's (my sister-in-law) fault.

I began my celebrations by not doing the laundry or finishing the pre-move-in survey of the house. Nor did I actually put up any decorations. In fact, I'm not even sure I know where they are. I did, however, purchase a pine-scented candle for $1.00 at Wal-Mart and start candle-warming the house today (although this was more of a desperate attempt to cover up the smoke smell than any sort of holiday cheer).

The bulk of my celebrating consisted of listening to Christmas music on the radio. For me, the Christmas season isn't complete unless I've heard the following 4 songs (on the radio, not on my CDs):
1.) All I Want for Christmas is You--Mariah Carey
2.) O Holy Night--Josh Groban
3.) Last Christmas--Wham!
4.) I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas--Gayla Peevey

Last Christmas was technically a failure since I never heard "Last Christmas." But I think this year is off to a good start: just as I was getting out of the car to haul my groceries up two flights of stairs, "I Want a Hippo" started playing. Did I sit in my car and listen to the entire song while my neighbors eyed me strangely? Yes. Yes I did. One down, four to go. Um, I mean three (thanks Adrian for pointing out that my math skills still stink after all these years). Let the holidays begin.

Okay, okay...

This is for you, Amber, Precious. And you, Christine. Oh, and Ms. Hanamaika'i--my invite to your blog has expired. Whatever that means.

6 things you probably don't know about me:

1). I can't sleep unless I am in my "cocoon" (Jon's name for it). This involves me wrapping my blanket around my body so that no air can get in. I especially have to make sure that my neck and ear are covered. I think this goes back to my younger days when I thought the monsters couldn't get me if I was entirely covered up. Except my face. That just makes me feel like I'm suffocating (which apparently was more of a threat than the monsters because my face always remained uncovered).

2). I'm super paranoid that I'm getting a double chin. In fact, I've even given up eating Ranch dressing for the most part (I'm sure my mother is dying of shock). And don't any of you send me these nice little notes saying how skinny I am. Skinny or not, I deleted 85% of my pictures from Chicago because I looked like I had a double chin. Basically this means eating more spinach salads for lunch and less mashed potatoes for breakfast.

3). I have a strange dearth of maternal instincts. I have had exactly one baby-hungry moment in my entire life. I also make newborns cry just by touching them. And yes, Sister Beck's talk did make me feel guilty.

4). When I have long fingernails I can't stand the touch of paper. It gives me the creeps. Short fingernails? No problem. I also can't stand touching wet popsicle sticks. Blech.

5). I'm a total book snob. I won't read it unless it comes from a highly trusted/recommended source (meaning Lynda) and I won't touch anything that Oprah has plastered her name all over. I refused to buy 100 Years of Solitude because it had her name on the cover (I read a different edition later). Just for the record--loved Harry Potter, barely tolerated the first book of Twilight and will not read any of the rest of them. Sorry girls.

6). My mom once described me as a "renaissance woman." Basically this means I can competently participate in a variety of activities without actually excelling at any of them. I can play sports, paint, sculpt, decorate cakes, fix appliances & vacuums, speak Spanish, cook, write papers, clean, sing, play the piano/organ and sometimes beat Jon at Mario Kart. Can I do any of those things really well? No. The last award I got was for writing a story in 4th grade. Oh, actually I think our soccer team took third in 7th grade, but that was because there were only three teams.

And now 6 for Jonny (this is his blog too, allegedly):

1). Jon can't talk on the phone without pacing around the room. Nor can he sit still without flipping his pen, chapstick, or wedding ring. This makes life exciting when I'm trying to take a nap in the basement and he's pacing around our squeaky living room.

2). He's anti-cinnamon. He claims that it's "overused." This has put quite a damper on my snickerdoodle making.

3). When Jonny is bored at work (a.k.a. when Jonny is at work) he entertains himself by writing Excel programs to solve the peg game from Cracker Barrell and teaching himself programming languages. I married the ultimate nerd.

4). Jonny is a very good writer. I know the assumption is that engineer=inability to write a legible paper, but Jonny somehow figured out how to make it work. I think it has a lot to do with his brilliant English major older sister.

5). The boy can dance. I don't know where he got it from, but it still gives me a good laugh. My personal favorite is the Texarkana "Dishwasher Dance."

6). When he gets angry or frustrated he gets itchy and starts scratching his scalp vehemently. This is generally how I know when to turn off Mario Kart or stop mocking him when I'm trashing him at Sorry.

By the way, we are having a wonderful time in Hurricane, WV. I have the best in-laws! Oh, and there aren't any pictures because I still haven't put everything back on my lappy. Stupid virus...

The Move

I'm avoiding cleaning, so I'll update this instead.

Oct. 31--After a successful checkout with Glenda, we passed the last of our food off to Spencer, shoved the last of our belongings in the car, and took off. I tried to get some last pictures of the Mississippi as we drove across it, but it's hard when you're going 55 mph. Thanks to the benefits of working for the government, we got a free hotel stay that night in Danville, Illinois (only a 4 hour drive from Davenport). We thoroughly enjoyed the pool and hot tub; the Mexican food, not so much. Jon also left with the grand idea that one day we will be purchasing a king-sized bed.

Nov. 1--From Danville it was a 6.5 hour drive to Hurricane, West Virginia (Jon's family). At least the scenery was better during this stretch. We hit the fall colors right on time. It was great fun to see Jon's family, if only for one night. It may have been the first time we weren't woken up by a little Bloodling shrieking at 7 am.

Nov. 2--So Dad Blood gave us a car. It may be a teal, 10 year old Escort with 100,000+ miles on it, but it's a FREE CAR. And we will love him forever for it. We said goodbye to Stephen, Jon's brother who's leaving on his mission to Spain, and took off. Jon let me drive the Taurus, which has better shocks and cruise control. After another 6.5 hour drive, we showed up outside our condo here in Belcamp. Our landlords gave us the grand tour, repeatedly emphasizing how they'd "done the cleaning themselves" because they "like to do those kinds of things for you." Yeah, real sweet of you to clean the apartment before a new tenant moves in. At least they replaced the rainbow light-switch covers.

We really like our ward. It's a surprisingly large family ward--it reminds me of my ward in Arizona. People were really friendly and seemed excited to have someone new. Of course, we're still in that awkward minority of married couples with no kids, but that hasn't been a problem in the past. Most of my friends are toddlers by this point. My favorite thing about this ward so far: the first thing they asked me wasn't, "Do you play the piano/organ?" In fact, they already have a pianist for the priesthood, which is a rare thing. Is it possible I may NOT be called as ward organist?

The movers brought our stuff on Monday, and they did an excellent job. The only thing that was broken was a tiny piece off our air mattress pump. I'm telling you--Mayflower is the way to go. The movers were NOT pleased with hauling my piano up two flights of stairs and used a few choice words to let me know. They seemed a little more content with the idea once I explained that yes, I actually do play it, and no, it's not just a status symbol.

I spent the next few days trying to figure out where to put all our stuff. Never, ever move from a two-bedroom home with a basement into a one-bedroom condo with a storage closet smaller than the average pantry. I just have to keep repeating to myself, "6 months, it's only for 6 months...".

Now that we're all settled in, I'm in the midst of cleaning this nasty place. I don't know what our landlords cleaned, but it certainly wasn't the walls, floors, doors, blinds, or cupboards. Basically, our condo reeks of cigarette smoke and is covered in some kind of animal hair. It seems better today after I sprayed down the entire kitchen with vinegar. Not that vinegar smells much better, but at least it will fade.

Jon seems to be liking his job so far, although he is still phoneless. He's even got a business trip scheduled for December (which I am not thrilled about. Sure, leave me here all alone with no friends for 3 days). Basically, I think we're going to be really happy here. We both feel like we're supposed to be here, though we're not sure why. Now I just need to get used to the idea of milk costing $4.11/gallon. Gah!

House pictures (yes, there are lots of them--this is for my mother):

Living room: view #1 (the blank wall is for the projector)
Living room: view #2
Our slightly larger kitchen
The be-mirrored dining room
Bathroom
Laundry room
Bed & Jon's nightstand (I don't get one this time)
My dresserOur be-mirrored closets and window seat
Jon's office/half of the bedroom

Sorry for the delay...

I know you're all waiting desperately for updates about the trip, apartment, ward, etc., so I need to apologize for the delay. Unfortunately, I have a very good excuse: My poor lappy caught a virus. No, sorry, it caught SEVERAL viruses. Stupid Internet company guy who turned off my firewall and didn't turn it back on... I've been playing virus hunter all day, but we're afraid there's still some extra sneaky ones hiding where we can't find them. So, sadly, the lappy is going to get a lobotomy tomorrow. Luckily I felt prompted to back up all my information right before we moved, so I'll only be losing a few pictures and some music. But I'll survive. Sniff, sniff...

Still alive...

Yes, we made it to Maryland. Yes, we got our stuff. Yes, we have been without Internet for a week, and yes, it has been extremely painful. Our stuff arrived on Monday and we are still in the process of shoving everything we can into this tiny, tiny, apartment. I'll fill you in on that later, but first--a blog that I've been contemplating for a while now--50 things about Davenport. Note that this is not 50 things we'll miss about Davenport (because some of them we certainly won't), but just 50 things.

A slight disclaimer: I realize that most of you will not appreciate this since you haven't had the joy of living in Davenport, but this blog is for my benefit as well as yours, so deal with it. At least Adrian will like it.

50 things about Davenport
1. The awesome pitch-black squirrels. I want one.
2. Glenda's meticulous care of our apartments. I miss this one especially now.
3. The massive toddler parties that happened each summer evening behind Candice & Aaron's apartment.
4. Having a Wal-Mart literally in our backyard.
5. Watching Glenda run people off her property who were trying to shortcut to Wal-Mart. This was especially amusing when the people were big, wannabe gangsters.
6. 3 sets of twins under the age of two. No Wal-Mart spring water for me!
7. "Lookame. Trains get me."~Maddie
8. Driving across the Mississippi River all the time.
9. Living in the Nauvoo Temple District.
10. Incessant wind.
11. People in passing cars playing music so loudly that our windows shook.
12. Everyone thinking Yoroko was my daughter. It's the red hair.
13. Spontaneous lunch dates with Mindy.
14. Living in a neighborhood ("Mormon Manor") with so many young LDS couples.
15. Being within driving distance of Chicago. I love Chicago.
16. The sneaky gopher-thing that ate all of Adrian's plants.
17. Relief Society Game Night. Sounds lame, but is AWESOME.
18. $60/month for Internet. Why Mediacom needs competition.
19. Being so cold that my joints hurt.
20. Jon's sweet deal on a carpool. I think Nathan saved 4 different families from having to buy a car when we got to Davenport.
21. Teaching Primary. We may have had a tough class, but it was so much fun.
22. Box elder bugs ALL OVER our back door.
23. Creepy centipede-type bugs in the basement.
24. Cheap gas. $1.89 last winter.
25. Getting fed gourmet meals by the Browns almost every week.
26. 3-4 hours of choir practice every Sunday.
27. Always losing to Nathan, regardless of what game we were playing.
28. Palmer students. They're everywhere.
29. Knowing that around 5 girls in our ward were pregnant at any given time.
30. Having two bedrooms and a basement. Oh, how I miss it.
31. Exploding pumpkins with seal bombs. Legal? No. Extremely loud and thus, fun? Yes.
32. 30 kids in the nursery, 10 Sunbeams.
33. Living 3 hours from the nearest airport.
34. Spelunking at Maquoketa Caves in the rain.
35. Sleeping in the cool, quiet, dark basement during the summer.
36. Driving (aka "sliding") in the snow. Not fun.
37. Finding out my two "safety buffer" friends were having babies. Thanks a lot, Mindy & Jacque! :)
38. Trick or treating on the day before Halloween.
39. The irony of having a bunch of Mormons on one side of the street, and a bunch of people who occasionally took shots at each other on the other side.
40. Corn.
41. Hearing Jaden crying in her time-out corner through our wall.
44. Girls' Nights Out!
45. Holding the first newborn who didn't scream as soon as I touched her.
46. Speculating as to whether or not the absence of a certain car meant that somebody had gone into labor.
47. The poor elder who prayed that Jon would "do well in his studies." We were one of the 5 or so couples who actually weren't at Palmer...
48. The nice bike/jogging/walking path just down the street.
49. Repeatedly asking the Thornocks if we could borrow some tuna.
50. Game Nights with the Lees & Browns. Our Sunday evenings are so boring now.

And one extra:
51. Getting fed almost every night the week before we moved. We have the best friends in the world.

As much as I whined about baby showers, bugs, wind, and lack of scenery, I really did enjoy our time in Davenport. Jon and I have had several conversations about how much we're going to miss that neighborhood. It's possible we'll never live in such circumstances again. I loved being able to walk just 50 feet to my friends' houses. I loved knowing that if I ever needed help, there were so many people nearby who could, and did, help me. I loved living somewhere where you could just let your kids run around outside and know that they would be just fine because everyone in the neighborhood was watching out for them. Sorry to wax sentimental on you, but it really was amazing. If Zion is going to be anything like that, I'm all for it.