Obviously alot has happened over the past two weeks. I got my boxes packed, organized my work 'stuff', said some 'See ya later's' (since this is definitely not goodbye for anyone) and Pete and I hit the road. He flew into Pittsburgh last Wednesday evening, I went to pick him up, he made a science project out of packing my car and we said PEACE OUT. Not really, hehe :). Man, I wish I would've taken a picture. The arrangement of boxes was definitely a work of art. But don't tell him I said that; I rather enjoyed teasing him about taking an hour to throw a few boxes in the car.
More than 30 hours of driving later, we arrived safe and sound, with everyone intact, in Sunnyvale, California. Don't worry, of course I have more to say about the trip :).
If you recall, much of my anxiety over moving was how my furry children would do. Well, smack my ass and call my crazy, they did fine! We had a pretty sweet setup, if I can give Pete some credit. Again, don't tell him. We don't need him getting a giant ego over this. We put the diva-kitties in their travel carriers with their harnesses and leashes. And we tied the leashes to the cargo hooks in the back of my Xterra. They travelled all the way in the back, right by the back hatch, so I could get to them somewhat easily when we stopped. We left their bags open a little so they could get to the litter box, but with their leashes on they couldn't go too far. To the left: Ms. Nikki, sleeping on top of one of my boxes.They were pretty freaked out for the first several hours. Everytime we 
stopped they were terrified, scrunched up in the back of their carriers anytime they heard a loud noise. They wouldn't eat or drink which started to worry me. Then, sometime after about 9 hours on the road, it was dark and Pete saw two little ears poking up over our boxes and luggage! Paris sprung herself and Nikki followed shortly. They found comfy spots on top of everything and laid there, so they could see out the windshield. I'm sure you had to be there, but it was pretty funny. And everyday after that, they did not stay cooped up in their carriers. In fact, Paris kept popping her head right up through the top zipper, even if we zipped them up as tight as we could! This picture to the right is of Paris. She loves Pete. He's her person. So once they were out of their carriers, Paris wanted to be close to wherever Pete was. If he was driving, she'd be stretched out just so she could put her paw on him somewhere. If he was in the passenger seat, she'd sprawl herself across our Wii BandHero drumset and rest her head on his seat. And this picture was just too much to resist. Damn cat!
stopped they were terrified, scrunched up in the back of their carriers anytime they heard a loud noise. They wouldn't eat or drink which started to worry me. Then, sometime after about 9 hours on the road, it was dark and Pete saw two little ears poking up over our boxes and luggage! Paris sprung herself and Nikki followed shortly. They found comfy spots on top of everything and laid there, so they could see out the windshield. I'm sure you had to be there, but it was pretty funny. And everyday after that, they did not stay cooped up in their carriers. In fact, Paris kept popping her head right up through the top zipper, even if we zipped them up as tight as we could! This picture to the right is of Paris. She loves Pete. He's her person. So once they were out of their carriers, Paris wanted to be close to wherever Pete was. If he was driving, she'd be stretched out just so she could put her paw on him somewhere. If he was in the passenger seat, she'd sprawl herself across our Wii BandHero drumset and rest her head on his seat. And this picture was just too much to resist. Damn cat!On Friday night, 
we ran into some pretty scary thunderstorms, which was not fun. Going through Nebraska, it was so flat, you could see for miles and miles, but there was ZERO shelter and may not be any exits from the interstate for miles and miles either. There were severe weather and tornado warnings on the radio every few minutes, warning listeners of storms capable of producing golf ball-sized hail. NICE! So, long story shorter, we had to pull off under an overpass to escape from the hail, wind and hard rain. Then came the flash flood warnings! The picture here is of part of one of the nasty storms. That's rain, not a tornado, but I was freaking out a little. I'd never seen rain like that. That night, we made it all the way to Cheyenne, Wyoming.
we ran into some pretty scary thunderstorms, which was not fun. Going through Nebraska, it was so flat, you could see for miles and miles, but there was ZERO shelter and may not be any exits from the interstate for miles and miles either. There were severe weather and tornado warnings on the radio every few minutes, warning listeners of storms capable of producing golf ball-sized hail. NICE! So, long story shorter, we had to pull off under an overpass to escape from the hail, wind and hard rain. Then came the flash flood warnings! The picture here is of part of one of the nasty storms. That's rain, not a tornado, but I was freaking out a little. I'd never seen rain like that. That night, we made it all the way to Cheyenne, Wyoming.
That second night was the most exciting/stressful of our trip, and we drove through crappy rain and wind most of the third day, but the scenery on day 4 was nothing short of breathtaking. The mountains in the distance when we stopped in Reno, Nevada and the Sierra Nevada Mountains coming into California were every bit as spectacular as the best photos you see. Unfortunately, Pete doesn't know how to work my I-phone and I was driving for that part, so I only got this one picture of our drive through the pretty parts :(. This one is in the parking lot of the hotel we stayed in Saturday night, just East of Reno, NV. Finally, we saw clear, blue skies!
In the end, we arrived in Sunnyvale, somewhere around 12:30
pm on Sunday. We hit the grocery store, unloaded some boxes and finally were able to relax a little. My cats were freaked out, but still not as bad as I expected. Paris has been hiding out in my desk drawer. She found a way behind the desk to jump into the drawer, so if I can't find her, she's usually in there. This picture is Paris in her drawer and Nikki peeking in to see if there's room for her. Nikki found a cabinet she's particularly fond of. I couldn't find her yesterday morning and was starting to panic. I yelled out her name and she came out of the the bottom shelf of one of the kitchen cabinets, yawning and looking at me like 'What?!' Crazy cats and their hiding spots. I wish they were as interested in the new, automatic litter box I bought!!
pm on Sunday. We hit the grocery store, unloaded some boxes and finally were able to relax a little. My cats were freaked out, but still not as bad as I expected. Paris has been hiding out in my desk drawer. She found a way behind the desk to jump into the drawer, so if I can't find her, she's usually in there. This picture is Paris in her drawer and Nikki peeking in to see if there's room for her. Nikki found a cabinet she's particularly fond of. I couldn't find her yesterday morning and was starting to panic. I yelled out her name and she came out of the the bottom shelf of one of the kitchen cabinets, yawning and looking at me like 'What?!' Crazy cats and their hiding spots. I wish they were as interested in the new, automatic litter box I bought!!We also w
ere able to spend a little well-needed time, resting by the salt water pool in our apartment complex Sunday afternoon, which was heavenly. And let me tell you, the sun here is WAY different than the sun in West-by-God-Virginia. I usually use SPF 30 on my face and 15 everywhere else and using 30 all over here still got me a little pink. So, I bought a two-pack of 45 yesterday :). And yes, I did say 'salt water pool'.
ere able to spend a little well-needed time, resting by the salt water pool in our apartment complex Sunday afternoon, which was heavenly. And let me tell you, the sun here is WAY different than the sun in West-by-God-Virginia. I usually use SPF 30 on my face and 15 everywhere else and using 30 all over here still got me a little pink. So, I bought a two-pack of 45 yesterday :). And yes, I did say 'salt water pool'. The swimming pool here is filled with salt water, instead of chlorinated water. I'd heard of the YMCA doing that for their swimming lessons because people are more buoyant in salt water, so it's easier for them to float without being as afraid. But I've never experienced it. Pete had told me the pool seemed saltier than a normal one, and by Gosh he was right! I jumped in and it tasted like ocean water. And, in 4 1/2 feet of water, I couldn't touch to bottom, which felt weird. No, peeps, I'm not that short. Talk about buoyant! So, I looked up online this afternoon the benefits of salt water vs. chlorine. Apparently salt water pools are used in lots of cases because in the end, they're less expensive to maintain. Finally! ONE thing in this state that's less expensive! And, apparently it's 'greener' and the PH balances don't fluctuate as much as in chlorinated pools. So there's your lesson for today!
After taking yesterday off to get my home office all setup, I was b
ack at it this morning, at the VERY early hour of 4:30am! Part of the 'deal' for me to work from California was that I needed to be up and working during our normal work hours in Fairmont, which start at 7:30am Eastern Standard Time. Translation: I roll out of our air matress bed at 4:30am. Of course, this isn't a 'Do or die' rule, but especially on my first day, I wanted to get started strong. And, starting that early means I'm done by 1 or 2pm, which means a nice afternoon for You Know Who :). This is a picture of my nicely appointed office 'area'.
ack at it this morning, at the VERY early hour of 4:30am! Part of the 'deal' for me to work from California was that I needed to be up and working during our normal work hours in Fairmont, which start at 7:30am Eastern Standard Time. Translation: I roll out of our air matress bed at 4:30am. Of course, this isn't a 'Do or die' rule, but especially on my first day, I wanted to get started strong. And, starting that early means I'm done by 1 or 2pm, which means a nice afternoon for You Know Who :). This is a picture of my nicely appointed office 'area'.This afternoon finds me very content, having had a very productive first day of working from home. I may have even gotten more done than I do when I'm in the office. No one is here. Of course, I do like being social and I love talking with everyone. My work 'peep's are the bestest. But with the quiet here, I can do what I need to do quickly. I even got in some laundry and went to the grocery store! So, don't hate me, but this is pretty cool so far. And, on the 30th, I'll hop on a jet plane and head East for 10 days in the office.
So, that leaves me here, updating my blog with the story of our trip West. We made it over 30 hours in the car, using 98.124 Gallons of gas, for a total of $272.03. And the best part is Pete and I still like each other! Can I get a WOOP WOOOP?!
Before I go, I need anyone reading this to give me some feedback. Pete and I are starting to talk 'weddings'. I thought about starting a new blog for my wedding planning stories. What do you think? Or should I stick with the Easily Distracted route and tell all my stories with this blog? Email me or leave me comments! I like to know people are out there!
Thanks for reading,
Easily Distracted
Posts
Glad you made it safe and sound to CA....and that things are working out well. May that continue! As for one vs two blogs, I've found it hard to maintain two blogs. I would suggest using this one and using the label feature in the bottom right corner of the posting area (where you type your posts). You could have a label specifically for the wedding. Posts are searchable based upon labels. Just my two cents....
ReplyDeleteKeep it together. It will be much more fun to look back on it if the wedding talk is all mixed in with regular adventures!
ReplyDeleteThanks girls!
ReplyDelete