Soon

Life around here's been a-changin'. We now have less than a month before we move to Knoxville to start over. Boxes are being packed, every room is a shell; dismantled piece by piece.

Part of me is terrified; terrified that our life won't change enough, will change too much, that we are making a bad decision. I've always ignored that terrified little voice when I've had a chance to visit or move somewhere new, maybe because I've not had that many chances to do so. Now that I have lives to consider beyond mine, are we making the wrong decision?

San Jose, Costa Rica

Backstage at Carnegie Hall, NYC

Annnnnd then the excitement takes over. Living closer (too close for them, probably ;)) to all of Matt's immediate family, closer to my sister and her husband, close to a part of the country that I've always wanted to live... well, that takes most of my concern away. I'm still left with a teensy bit of guilt for taking my parents' grandchildren so far away from them, but even that can't temper all of my hope and excitement.

I've been trying to not get my hopes up, not expect anything, and just focus on the present in terms of moving. Nonetheless, I have no doubt that some of my depression and worries will alleviate with our new locale.It will be so nice to get move on, work towards a stress free point where we can start reaching for our ideas and dreams again.  Matt has been super excited too; he has missed living close to his family. Aly asks nearly every day when we're moving to "Ten'see."



House wise, things aren't looking so great. The Realtor we had appraise the house gave us a figure that would mean we would still be paying for it long after it sold. With that option out of the way, our only recourses are short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure if short sale doesn't work, or foreclosure if that happens first. Life becomes exceedingly humiliating and depressing when you can't afford your own home.

Despite of the financial sadness, there are been quite a few happy occasions. Matt's birthday was last week. The girls and I colored a banner for him, stuck up a few streamers, and made his favorite cupcakes. He ate them so fast I didn't get a picture in!

My brother's wedding is in three weeks to the lovely April. Thinking of all three of us married definitely strikes me as weird, and makes me feel old. 26, blargh.

We've also found a home for Mr. Darcy, our yellow lab. He will be moving to Alabama to live with one of my sister's high school friends and her family. I'm so happy that we've been able to find him a good home, much better than the one we've given him. He will be leaving us next weekend. :(

I've been keeping myself busy with other activities besides packing. I've been making a few "remember me" gifts for friends as well as making costumes for Halloween :D.

Laurel Falls Scarf for Jessica :(

I've never been excited for Halloween before this year. Aly is finally old enough to grasp door+"Trick or Treat"+costume= candy. Her only problem is that she hasn't quite understood that Halloween is a day, not a place or an event. She asks everyday if we're going to have Halloween (right after she asks about going to "Ten'see" and before she asks about Danny's wedding), sigh. At least this will excite her for when it is Halloween.

I found a dress on Etsy that is perfect for Aly's Halloween costume. She is going as the Princess from "The Princess and the Pea" fairytale. I've been making her amigurumi peas to carry with her, and plan to make a little tiara as well. Thinking about letting her carry around a pillowcase as her candy bag, what do you think? Matt finds the dress cute, but doesn't think anyone will get it. Bah, men.

Princess and the Pea Dress by minimooh on Etsy

Amigurumi Two! Crocheted Toys for Me, You, and Baby Too by Ana Paula Rimoli

Lorelei is a bit harder, as she's not quite old enough to have let me know her wishes. Maybe, I should say, not quite forceful enough. Aly, it seems, has been saying "Princess" for as long as I can remember intelligible words coming from her mouth. We're going to carry on the animal tradition with her, and she shall be... Catarina! She's got the meow down pat, as long as one doesn't need to hear the "me" part of that onomatopoeia. I guess I'll make her a kitty bag, so I don't feel guilty for not handmaking part of her costume.

Matt will go as Cthulhu. We found a mask for him that I can make and I think I've figured out a way to crochet some scary wings, as scary as crochet gets. I'm going to let him figure out the claws part ;).

Mine is already mostly done, all I have to do is sew it to a headband. You'll probably just think I'm crazy unless you've seen Futurama.

Futurama's Brain Slugs pattern by Alicia Ramirez