Packing and Purging...Let the Fun Begin!

So now we're officially on the journey to go abroad in a couple of months.  Even though I feel like April is a long time away, I feel certain it will be here in no time.  Not to mention that BK's travel schedule is CRAZY- Switzerland (of course) Bangkok, Miami, a couple of leadership conferences- all before the middle of March.  I like to give him a hard time about how I'm pretty much going to get us ready for this move by myself while he's globe trotting around the world.

Even though it seems really early, packing and purging has begun in our house.  Right now I'm more in about getting rid of excess things that we have and won't need overseas.  Some things are staying with our house since our good friend KR will be living here while we're gone and has agreed that things like my china, our bedroom furniture and BK's wine fridge can stay with her.

I wouldn't go as far as to say that I "pride" myself on not keeping a lot of random stuff, but it's pretty close.  My theory is typically that if I'm going to throw it away in five years, I might as well throw it away now.  I don't need a lot of stuff cluttering up my life.  I deal well with chaos in life much better if my house and life are in order.  Hence, no clutter.

As I say all of this, for two people who don't keep a lot of stuff, there is a lot of stuff to get rid of!  It started with the coat closet.  BK and I bought new ski clothes this weekend and before I stuffed them in the closet with the other coats I decided I had to see what else was in there.  I would say we got rid of about 10 coats and jackets- just ones that we never wear and don't want to take.  I also found that if it is stored in another room (outside of seasonal clothing being rotated out) we don't need it and never, ever wear it.

I've discovered my next quandary is what to do with the various piles of clothing and items that are now in my life.  There is the donate pile, which will obviously go away, but will have to be done through numerous trips, as I can't deal with piles around the house.  The one that tripped me up is that the clothing we want to keep- some of it will be shipped to Switzerland, but the other stuff we will need to pack and take with us on the airplane.  I really don't want to put it back in the closets or furniture that I just cleaned out, but I also can't deal with the mess.  If you visit us over the next couple of months, don't judge- it's only because we're in a transition period!

To all you pack rats out there- I sincerely hope you never have to move.  If you do plan on moving, I would give yourself at least six months to go through all that stuff!

Normally I post at least one picture with each blog, but as I don't like when our house is a mess, no picture on this one.

Learning to Love a Coat

BK and I have two weenie dogs that I lovingly call “the brown dog” i.e. Tanner, and “the fluffy dog” i.e. Toby.  They seriously could not be more different from one another.  I like to tell BK that Tanner is his dog, as he is a total pain in the ass, and Toby is my dog, mostly because BK got him for me for my birthday and he’s really laid back.  

Tanner is extremely high maintenance, high strung and absolutely the alpha dog in our house.  He is a short-haired dachshund who makes his presence known by barking incessantly at anything that moves or makes a noise. He’s hard not to love when he is just so darn snuggly all the time.  Toby on the other hand is super laid back, doesn’t bark if Tanner is not around and all he wants in life is to be with us.  Tobs is a long-haired dachshund who is a little bigger than the miniature than we thought we were getting.  He’s like the gentle giant, even though he does only weigh 16 pounds.  The other huge difference is that one loves the cold and snow and one despises it.  

Toby, assumingly because of his long, fluffy coat, loves the cold and even likes to go frolic in the snow (as evidenced by the picture with his friend, the snowman).  The snow gets all tangled in his hair because it's usually up to his body, which tends to happen when your legs are six inches long. I have no doubt that Toby will have no problem acclimating to a colder climate and will be great to have in a dog friendly culture (picture us on the tram, strolling around town, or eating at an outdoor cafe- all calmly with no barking).

On the other hand, I’m a little worried about Tanner.  He hates the cold, and not even just the cold, he does not appreciate when it rains and he has to walk in wet grass.  I keep telling BK that the dog is going to have to learn to love a coat.  Now, I’m usually against dressing pets, but I really think that Tanner is going to freeze when we move.  It’s not cold year round, but it’s a lot colder than it is in Texas.  Even in the winter here, he shivers all the time if he’s not snuggled up in a blanket or with someone…it’s that short hair.  

The problem is the dog is stubborn.  He refuses to keep a coat or any kind of sweater on that might keep him a little warmer.  Every time I try to put one on him it always ends up like a tube top- he manages to get his arms out so that then he’s just wandering around with a tight piece of fabric wrapped around his chest.  I’ll continue to try and “train” Tanner to wear a fleece or something that will keep him warm.  He’ll hate me at the time, but hopefully he'll come around at some point.

Next challenge: getting him to wear those little booties that will  keep his feet warm…

The Move is Officially On!

So I initially started this blog so that when we moved overseas we could keep our family and friends updated on what was happening in our life while we were across the globe. I'm happy to report that the time has finally come!  

Basel is northwest of Zurich on the northern border

BK and I will be booking a one-way ticket to Basel, Switzerland to arrive sometime in mid-March to April to stay for good.  We are headed over for BK's job, and yes, our furry friends will be accompanying us on this journey.  I'm not quite sure what I'll do while we're over there...learn German and figure out how to function in a new country to start.  Then I have some other things I'd like to do including get involved with the International Federation of Social Workers, possibly get my PhD, and work in social welfare there if possible.  Of course, there's A LOT of travel in our future as well.

Your mind may be flooded with questions about what happens next, as most people's are.  We have a little more than three months to go and lots to do.  But have no fear, as usual lists abound at our house, so we're on our way to being ready. 

We can't wait for our journey to start, but know we have a long way to go before we actually get on that plane.  Lots more to come about how we'll get there and the new experiences we'll have!

Showing Our Age: A Young Team and Frogs Getting Older

Pre-game festivities

Well, unfortunately we've just signaled the end of another Frog football season, and it didn't quite have the ending that Frog fans had hoped for: we lost the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl to Michigan State (17-16).  Everyone says we're a young team, so we're moving on and looking forward to what next season brings!  This season was exciting...our first one in the Big XII, with many of our old Southwest Conference opponents making a reappearance in Amon Carter Stadium; a remodeled stadium; a sold out stadium; and more support than ever from the community (i.e. purple EVERYWHERE).  BK and I were also proud of ourselves for attending more away games...Baylor and Texas in addition to the Bowl game. It helps that our games are not scattered all over the country. We've decided that we're going to try and go the games in Oklahoma in the future too.

AH and Sam on Christmas

Being the avid Frog fans that we are, BK and I travelled to Scottsdale, Arizona to cheer on our favorite team.  This year was a bit different for us in traveling to the bowl game- for the first time in the 10 years we've been together BK and I did not go with my parents.  Surprising, I'm sure, considering that we're in our "early-ish" thirties, but it's just what we've done.  This year a new baby arrived right before Christmas and the other one had her first birthday right after- a busy time for the grandparents.  I couldn't resist adding a pic of AH here, as she's pretty much the cutest thing ever!

Drinks at Citizen Public House

Back to the Bowl game!  We had a number of friends who were going, so there were about 10 of us that hung out for the weekend.  We went in on Friday afternoon, hung out in Old Town Scottsdale, then went to the TCU pep rally.  The pep rally needs more pep to say the least- it was by far one of the worst that I've attended.  I get why the TCU team can't be there, but give the fans who have travelled so far SOMETHING to cheer about besides an awkward radio host who did not not know how to get fans into it.  The highlight of the night was definitely dinner at Citizen Public House (Surprise...One of my favorite events was around a meal!).  We dined with close friends and had lots of good laughs at one an other's expense late into the night.

Arizona Biltmore

Saturday was fun, but where we really showed our age.  Bowl games have changed some since the early 20s when we wanted to party the entire time.  We all met in the lobby then headed to the Arizona Biltmore for lunch.  They have an amazing brunch/lunch menu and the food and drinks were really good.  Duck fat poached fries, chicken salad sandwich and tortilla soup were some of the highlights.  After lunch we walked around for a bit, then all agreed that we should head back to the hotel for a NAP.  You read right, we all needed a mid-afternoon nap after our day drinking.  That would have never happened before, and we probably would have powered through (not the best idea either).  We'll call it a rebound; most felt that it would be "clutch" later in the night.  This theory proved to be somewhat true.

ASU Stadium

As we journeyed to the stadium, I can see why ASU is the biggest party school in the US. There are bars surrounding the stadium, making it quite the party atmosphere.  We enjoyed some beverages at Gordon Biersch then headed into the game.  Apparently pretty much everyone in Fort Worth fell asleep by half time since it started so much later than normal.  They missed the painful part of the game.  After the game was pretty much a fail, and I've decided that Big 10 fans might be some of the worst I've seen.  Wisconsin fans were absolutely terrible before and after TCU beat them in the Rose Bowl and Michigan State fans weren't much different.  Constantly yelling, cursing, shoving and pretty much just acting like jerks the entire time.  No clue about southern hospitality or manners!

That pretty much ended the Bowl journey 2012 for us, as we headed home the next morning.  A couple of other random things I learned on this trip: Hertz NeverLost navigation system is great for our relationship, and it is surprisingly cold in Arizona in December- take a coat if you go.  

One of my new year's resolutions is to blog on a more regular basis.  BK and I got exciting news about our move abroad at the end of December, so I see that being pretty easy! More to come on that soon!