You've got a friend in me

Today was filled with more unpacking, organizing and the Comcast guy. We're almost done with everything - there are just a few loose odds & ends to find a place for and boxes to throw out. Speaking of throwing out boxes, Justin and I were doing just that this afternoon when we came in contact with someone in our parking lot.

We were flattening boxes and when someone came towards the bin with boxes and other recyclables of their own. There was initial eye contact and the standard unspoken pleasantries, and then he said, "well since you're doing this the right way, I guess I better too!" We all laughed somewhat awkwardly, and then Justin and I looked at each other. We knew exactly what the other was thinking. This is a normal looking dude, implying that he lives with someone, he is about our age, he lives in our complex...could this be a possible new friend-couple??

So I say, "Oh well, we've been filling this up a lot lately because we just moved in!" And he said, "Oh, you're just moving in...we're just moving out, right down the street actually. Where did you move from?"

Moving out... :(

Suddenly I felt like a Doug and Carrie from "King of Queens" when they find out that their one friend-couple found a new friend-couple to hang out with, which led Doug and Kerry to go to Home Depot on a Friday evening in search of another couple to befriend. It didn't turn out well, to say the least. I also had a flash of the "Friends" episode where Monica and Chandler are pumped about their new friend-couple, but it turned out in the end that the new couple had given them a fake number.

So we answer his question about where where from, made a little more small talk, and then (we think anyway) we all three stood there looking like we wanted to say something about getting together later to hang out, grab a beer, have a bbq, etc. But alas...nothing more was said. Off he went, back into the complex, and we went back to flattening our boxes. We never even exchanged names.

Justin later said that at the moment the guy turned to walk away, he had an overwhelming urge to yell out, "Will you be our friend??!"

But he stopped short, thinking: "It's too soon. Too soon."

Maybe someday we'll pass their new place while we're on a walk or perhaps see them at our neighborhood grocery store. Not that we're going to stalk them (similar to what Monica and Chandler did), but there's always hope. HA!

Twitterpated?

Oh the weather outside is...wonderful! This past weekend was very nice and Justin and I were excited to spend a little time outside! Though the majority of my outside time was actually spent at work, it was outside time nonetheless! We also got in a really nice walk around our new neighborhood -- no heart-spraying hoodlums in sight -- and discovered Castro Street, the main drag through Mountain View that is PACKED with indoor/outdoor restaurants, shops and sights. We're definitely excited to try out all the yummy-looking restaurants!

Since spring is in the air, maybe the hearts on our moving van were a sign of people being twitterpated! Awww ;)

I worked over the weekend because we're trying to get more members signed up for a preferred customer membership. Working out in front of the store was a nice change from working in the frigid backroom where I normally spend most of my time. It was such a delight to stand in the sun - I actually got a little sunburn (shocking, I know) even though I slathered on the sunscreen.



Pretty blossoming tree in the parking lot at work.






I want to apologize to our friends in and family trapped in the freak Chicago snow storm that hit over the weekend...it is even spring break for some :( And speaking of Chicago, I'd like to give a special shout out to our friend Sara Gray as one of her articles for Travel Muse was published in the Chicago Tribune, sweet! You can give it a read here: http://tinyurl.com/d4bjla. As a member of the PR/Mktg world, this is very exciting!

In other news -- extremely LAME news, actually -- The Seattle Times has reported that WSU basketball coach, Tony Bennett, has given up on the Cougars and is taking a position with the University of Virginia. Boo Tony. Boo.

Boo.

"Gadgets and gizmos a-plenty"

Whew! Moving...I've never moved all my stuff - every last item - all at once. Well, perhaps I should rephrase...I've never unpacked all my stuff all at once (the boys and Karen did all the packing and heavy lifting).

Unpacking has helped us realize once again that we have very gracious family and friends - we're so grateful for you! With every box I open comes a squeal of excitement as I pull from it another beautiful and thoughtful wedding gift. We received many fabulous gifts from you and are excited to put them to good use...again. I've already made quite a few meals for only being a 1/3 of the way unpacked, but I just can't help myself when I see all of my cooking gadgets and gizmos...plus all of the fresh and unique ingredients I see all day at work. I spend most of my time in the kitchen because that is where I feel best! In fact, last night I was frying up some bacon to have on hand for breakfast, while cutting out ideas from the latest Rachael Ray magazine, when Justin came in to say, "I can hear you humming from the other room...you must be happy!"

And I was.

Nothing like clipping out recipes and fun party or pairing ideas while listening to bacon (or whatever is cooking) sizzle away in a PLACE OF OUR OWN!

More soon...we're still buried in boxes!

PS -- can you guess what movie the title of this post is from? Extra credit if you know the next line...

Tag! You're it!

There are many, many stories to share from Joe and Justin's moving adventure - we're even going to have Joe pen a guest column for the Team Thompson blog - but this story in particular simply cannot wait.

Last night Justin and I met at the new place to finish unloading the truck as it was due back at the dealership early this morning. We quickly ran inside to change into our moving clothes and then ran back out move the truck into our parking area...

Let me backtrack just a hair here. The previous night while unpacking, the boys and I noted over and over how many "normal" people were walking, running, biking or pushing strollers through the neighborhood. From the first time we saw this neighborhood we thought it looked safe and normal, and we were excited about that, but we were overjoyed to see so many people out for their evening stroll!

Back to last night...

On our way into the truck, Justin and I were busy discussing the plan and where the return center was. He hopped in the cab and then leaned over to unlock my door. As I opened the door to get in, something caught my eye:WE'D BEEN TAGGED!! After all the warm fuzzies about how great our neighborhood was, the moving truck is attacked in the night. So, now I'm in hysterics and Justin is fuming - don't get me wrong...if it were anything other than the moving truck I would have been fuming and the cops would have been called. I mean really, you just have to laugh at something like this.

I posted the event as an update on Facebook last night and some people asked me if I had parked the truck in Grandview! It would go well with the motif of the grange hall at the corner of Euclid and Mountainview Road in Grandview, wouldn't it!

Can you even read that? HA! I'm still laughing about it. To take a line from my friend Amelia, "you know someone is gangster when they tag hearts on stuff."

Hello from San Jose International Airport!

Hi everyone! Right now I'm sitting at my gate in the San Jose airport, waiting to board my delayed flight to Seattle. Last Sunday we finally found an apartment in Mountain View, CA and it's time to move out of what has been a very expensive storage unit in Lake Forest Park, WA.

I'll be flying in late tonight and packing everything up with a bunch of help from my brother Curtis, my brother-in-law Joe and whatever other friends I can convince to help me move and get paid in beer. We'll have everything out by Sunday and then Joe and I will start the Magical, Mystical Rental Truck Tour of Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. It's a 14 hour drive to Mountain View and I'm sure when we get there, both of us will want to kill something!

Christine has to work so I'm flying this one solo and since I don't have much time to pack and get back to my job, I apologize in advance to those of you I don't get to see. Hopefully my flight doesn't get delayed again or there's going to be a coup!


Justin

Mountain View: Home sweet home!

WE GOT ONE!!! Justin and I went apartment hunting for the 2nd weekend in a row and got the good news from our new manager when we were about 4 miles from ol' Coyote Valley RV (& golf!) Resort. Last weekend we got our hopes up about one in Menlo Park, but apparently it wasn't meant to be.

The one we found in Mountain View is a bit smaller than our place in Seattle, but feels giant because we're used to the motorhome. I'm over the moon about it because rent isn't too much more than an arm and a leg, and it is muuuucccchhhh closer to where I work - the 1.5 hour commute, complete with a bunch of dummies, cars on fire (I've seen 2!) and the amazingly twisted and cockeyed freeway system that makes up the South Bay area has really gotten to me...not to mention the extreme waste of gas that comes as a result of making complete stops every 45 yards for 40 miles.

Also, it's also mostly equidistant to many of the locations Justin travels to for work!!

The new place doesn't have a dishwasher, but has ample closet space (a big plus) and extra storage in our parking area. This is a junior-style apartment, meaning that the bathroom/vanity area is in the bedroom area instead of out in the hall area. That's really the only difference between a "regular" 1 bedroom apartment and this little guy.

Best of all, we think, is that we get free wireless internet. Actually, the whole of Mountain View does, compliments of Google and its creative and caring spirit. We don't have pictures to post yet, but we will soon. Here is a map of the area though - we've circled Redwood City (where I work) and Morgan Hill (where we live). The "A" indicator shows Mountain View, and we've also outlined, in yellow, Henry Coe State Park - the park we blogged about a while back.

As you can tell, it's no quick jaunt from Morgan Hill to Redwood City. Hwy 101, 85, 280 and some "lets see if this is a short cut" roads along the way have seen another side - a suppressed side, if you will - of Christine that not many see. If mom and dad were passengers in the car, I must admit I probably would have had my mouth cleaned out with soap long, long ago ;)

Now all we have to figure out is how and when to get our stuff down here from Seattle. Something we'll deal with later - right now we're celebrating!!

We get the keys on the 10th, so plan your vacations to Mountain View now, kids!

Holla!

She sleeps like a log, he sleeps like a chainsaw

I've always been a very heavy sleeper and poor JT has always had rough go catching a few Zs, or even feeling rested, for that matter. Most days, he'll think he has slept most of the night but still feels worn down. Much to JT's chagrin, I can fall asleep almost anytime, anywhere - and most definitely can't put in more than 10 minutes of consciousness as a passenger in a car unless engaged in conversation. We've tried many different remedies for JT, but have yet to find one that works. Sleeping pills have the opposite effect, warm milk doesn't do anything, and night caps don't do the deed. NyQuil? It just turns him into a lunatic. He's spent many a night extremely exhausted, but wide awake just laying in bed (and me sound asleep next to him probably doesn't make him very happy).

I sleep so soundly that I've slept through several loud and rambunctious events, such as the time a drunk woman came screamin' down Cherry Lane (the street on which I grew up) at 80 mph, lost control of her car, and severed off 2 pear trees, a telephone pole, our mailbox and at least one of our arborvitae before coming to a stop in our front hedge. I forgot to mention that this was during the summer so I had my windows open, AND my bedroom faced the street. In addition to the accident, which I can imagine was loud itself, I slept through the commotion of everyone in the house jumping up from bed and running down the stairs, half of the neighborhood conversing in our front yard, police and ambulances, search parties (because the crazy woman wondered off) and even the sun coming up.

About 8 a.m. in the morning, my bedroom door flew open and my mom, it quite a frantic state, said, "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!?!" I just looked at her for a minute or two wondering myself where I'd been because I thought for sure I'd just been sleeping. She then started to laugh, saying, "you slept through all of that, didn't you?" and had me look through my window at what looked like a bomb had exploded in the front driveway. I had missed whole thing - I still can't believe I slept through it all. Who knows what else I've missed in the night.

As most of you know, the majority of our belongings are in Seattle - including my pillows (yes, pillow with an s). Now, it may sound silly, but I never realized how much my pillows contributed to my good night's sleep. Upon arrival in Morgan Hill I bought a new pillow, which just doesn't compare to my old ones. I'm getting more used to it, but do find myself waking up from time to time in the middle of the night (it could be because of the train, or the wind, or the rain, or the cold, but I'm blaming this one on the pillow).

When I wake out of uncomfortableness, I sometimes find Justin snoring away. Has he always been a snorer? I do not know. Maybe our motorhome neighbors could tell us? It's possible he has always been, considering I sleep through most anything. The snores that come out of JT aren't just any old snores, but more like the world's loudest snores - like that of an amplified chainsaw that is hard to start and is stuck in a jello mold. As I'm writing this, I'm beginning to wonder if maybe he has sleep apnea or something else we should have evaluated...maybe we should get a recorder. That very well could be why he doesn't ever feel rested...?? Humm...

Anyway, the reason I felt inspired to do this post is because of Justin's cockamamie (and I mean that in the most loving way possible, dear) chainsaw chain tattoo around his upper right calf. It just seemed too ironic that he sounds like a chainsaw when he sleeps and I sleep like a log! JT has a liking for tattoos and says he got the idea for this one while contemplating items/ideas that would be a tribute to his Grays Harbor roots (it took a lot of convincing for him not to get a Nirvana tatt on his bootie - I'm totally kidding, that never even crossed his mind). It was either a Grays Harbor tribute, or he caught a glimpse of his sleeping-like-a-chainsaw future. I forget most of the time that this wonderful piece of art graces his leg, but when he wears shorts and I see it, I can't help but chuckle. I must give him credit, however, because it is a most creative tattoo - definitely not your run of the mill (no pun intended) "barbwire around the arm" tatt. He has two others, but we'll leave those off this post for now - they could spark more blog ideas later on!!

I'm tatt-free, but know quite a few folks who have one or more - do you?

Too Sexy

(I fear this is the only shot we have of said tattoo...I know, I can't believe it either.)