Note to self: it's not a good idea to try to pack up your life and move halfway across the country during the holidays.
Geez! After I accepted the Kohler offer, I thought I would be able to relax and enjoy the holidays. WRONG! The entire time, I had all the usual Christmas pressures, PLUS I was trying to get the house ready to go on the market, say goodbye to all my peeps, figure out what I needed to take with me for the first 30 days, visit with Chicken Little, and do all the pre-job prep. It was not relaxing - to say the least...
Humph - well, at least it wasn't relaxing for me! The man seemed to be pretty chill - wearing shorts in December - don't think I'll see that again any time soon!
I started gathering winter 'gear'. The hat - not so functional, but cute. And the boots...
...not so cute, but oh, so functional. No, I did not buy these at a store in Texas - I had to order them online. Was very happy they arrived before I left town! They are cold rated down to -25 F. Although, I have to say that if it gets that cold here, I won't be wearing these because I will not be leaving the house! They are GI-NORMOUS. I wanted to make sure I could wear thick socks with them, so I ordered a size and a half bigger (they only came in whole sizes). Yep, they're a bit floppy, but they keep my feet dry and warm so it's all good. :-)
Let the packing begin:
I had to pay overweight, checked bag fees for this big boy. It was 75 lbs! But it was nice to have so much stuff with me when I got here. I ended up checking three bags and carrying on two - thought I might have to take out a second mortgage to pay for it!
Then, I packed up about 5 boxes and Joe shipped them to me at the hotel. You never know what you're going to need, it was really tough to decide what to take and what not to take. If I thought I might want it, I packed it - I figured it would have to get up here at some point, right?
Yes, I did bring the slippers, but I haven't used them. My big super wool socks don't really fit in them, and I'm not giving up the warm socks for nuthin'!
I wish that I had left the slippers and brought a couple more pairs of work shoes. I don't know why I decided to be prudent when it came to the number of shoes I packed - I only have one pair of black flats. Really?! What was I thinking?! I wear black flats almost everyday. I would have bought another pair already, except that the closest DSW is about 50 miles away.
I don't think my closet has had this much open space since I moved into the house. I'm concerned that Joe has filled it all up with his stuff since I've been gone.
Last, but not least, I had to make sure I packed all of my study materials so I would be ready on my first day. :-) And on January 2nd, I loaded it all up and flew to Milwaukee so I could start work the next day.
Another note to self: when moving and starting a new job, allow more than 10 hours between the arrival of your flight and showing up to the office.
That was it - bye bye house, bye yard, bye pool, bye Mexican food and normal donut stores (OMG!), bye warm, bye green almost all year. Bye craft room and art supplies (for now). Bye peeps - that part was really tough!
It was so hard to leave my home, but it just felt like I was going on a really long business trip. Denial? Maybe, but whatever it takes to make it through the day, right?! I still don't know if it's sunk in that this is really happening. However, I will admit that the first snow storm up here, was a bit of an eye-opener (not so much in a good way.)
And I'm shufflin', shufflin'.... (that is shuffle, not shovel - no shoveling for me yet as long as I'm in temporary housing someone else handles the shoveling - thank goodness!)
