Monday, August 13, 2007

Moving - Part I and I


yes. the moving saga continues. Because moving, in my life, never seems to be a one time, pack some suitcases and the dog and move on kind of thing. For one thing...I got too comfortable. I collected holiday decorations and crafts and scrapbook stuff and ....well stuff. And I threw a lot of it into my guest room and basement. And now i have to clean it out while I am moving.


So last Saturday I hired two strapping young junior high boys (and bribed niece number one and her boyfriend) to help me move. ALl of the furniture and a trucks load of boxes disappeared into a storage space. The MOST WONDERFUL BLOOMINGTON FRIEND EVER Cheryl AND her two kids locked themselves in the basement and packed for four hours. Cheryl -- in her role as move coordinator -- then coordinated the loading and unloading of the second 24 foot truck with boxes.


I drove the truck...just like a big mac daddy truck driver. (Christi says I have a career as a truck driver if I ever want to give up my day job.)


Now the first space is full and this week I am finishing up the loading of the second space. Saturday I get to move into a new, more compact space with a few things while I try to divine my future....


Oh yea...and maybe catch up on some scrapbooking!!!

Friday, August 3, 2007

St. Louis Photos







St.Louis with Teenagers

This is about a week old but life is flying these days. On Tuesday morning July 24 I got in my car and "endeavored" (Tee Hee...) to Edwardsville to pick up Jess, Em and Tommy for a trip to downtown St. Louis. We were to hook up with Jess's now on-again boyfriend, Adam, and his family, and motor to the St. Louis Zoo. Which we did, after a few wrong turns and mishaps....and man is the St. Louis Zoo awesome. I do not remember ever seeing more beautiful wildlife in a more beautiful and natural setting. I have been to the National Zoo in Washington and seen the pandas which I thought was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. Trust me...the giraffes and zebras and the Polar Bear at the St. Louis Zoo outdid them all.

It is however, not "free" as they advertise. I feel like a MasterCard ad as I note: parking - $10.00; bottled water - $4.00; cheeseburger - $7.50 - feelings...priceless.

After a day of running around in the 88 degree weather we run back to the hotel with the Wakefield's, change and go to the great rivalry St. Louis Cards versus our hometown Chicago Cubs game. The new Busch Stadium is awesome...if it were not for all of that RED!!!! (gotta love it...most of the time). Adam's sister Ana particpated in an exhibition dance with her dance team and then we watched the game...Emily feeling so proud in her St. Louis Cardinal's Rolen shirt.....!! Cubs win and then we experienced the best of St. Louis by sitting in the I-64/40/55 traffic meltdown which included a five lane interstate narrowing down to ONE LANE!!!!!!! (this was a two hour experience in which Jessica informed us she hated people, Tommy was looking for a pillow and Emily told me every two minutes she had to go to the bathroom. Home to Aunt Mary Jo's at 1 a.m. Talked for awhile, to bed at2:30 and back up at 7:30.

Day 2 found us meeting at the awe inspiring St. Louis arch. Truly a very cool place. Also a bit pricey as it turns out it is free to walk in the base of the arch but about $50 for a family of five to go UP into the arch. We chose to go to Union Station instead and ate, walked around and some of the kids did bungee jumping!! Too wild! We had a few hormonal teen meltdowns when we tried to leave, though evantually we did. Jessica even made it home later on (and not at her father's or Adam's or her friends or any of the thousands of places she threatened to stay since none of us loved her and wanted her to be "in love..." blah, blah, blah. For once, returning to my insanely chaotic home with boxes and stuff all over the place was very comforting. Ah.....messy, quiet bliss. As Amy and Tony say...."just dogs."