What a month...

All of June I was out of blogger commission and here I am July 4th and just getting around to telling my reader about what I have done. I will try and do this in an organized way with topics in bold and colorful out to the side, consider each one a different post just combined for ease on writing and not repeating myself! So to start!!
July 4th: This is my first holiday in Hendersonville ever and it has been amazing! Yesterday we went for a walk and explored a lot of the area that is a little off the beaten path. There is a big old hotel that sits on top of the hill looming over all things that occur on the lake. Unfortunately the hotel is in foreclosure or something that keeps it closed. When we got back we started herb shopping so I could plant my garden in the backyard. I took a little break to swim in the lake before getting dirty!! Then movie watching to lead us to the big finale. The BF and I then sat out on the deck and watched our nieghbors set off fireworks. Thank goodness for neighbors who have the desire to start little fires, I like the pretty boom and surprisingly so did Cricket.
As great as this day was it make me think of 4th's of the past and what a ton of memories are tied up in this happy day. My earliest memories are of Mom giving each of us $10 for firework money. We were responsible for choosing what we wanted and budgeting how to spend. Then the evening we would set off the pretty night ones and take turns with the punk! I personally loved sparklers and I remember mom always made me stick the hot end into the ground so we would not start a fire.
As we got older the boys got to cool for setting off the little cones and fountains, and I started spending time in Texas with my Great Aunt Jane and her daughter Beth's family. This is where most of my 4th of July memories come from. We would play in the pool all day, Aunt Jane would cook brisket, and then walk over to Paschall Park in Mesquite, TX for the fireworks show. They would have the all day carnival and music (the Dixie Chicks played one year) and vendors all over. It was so much fun. These memories are the best!!
As I got older and in college I didn't go to Texas as often to visit family so I started spending the 4th out on Lake Eufaula with friends. Well those were some crazy times, that might be all I remember about those summers.
Then we have 2003. This year for my family saw the end of a generation. I don't know if it is better to lose a generation in a year, or have them all spread out over time so you spend time greiving over and over. Anyway, in 2003 holiday's took on a whole new meaning. It seemed like no matter what holiday someone was going to die. The Fourth of July did not escape the 2003 curse, but I will always remember and honor Aunt Jane of the 4th of July. Every firework that goes off reminds me of Aunt Jane. I guess Katy Perry is right about fireworks, who knew!

Moving:I guess I should use a dreary color for moving due to the way it makes me feel, but I choose to be happy and at least try to make this fun! For those of you who have never moved with a significant other, how should I say this? DON"T DO IT! I really thought I was going to get out of most of the crap, which comes in the next heading, but no I did not get out of this adventure.
First, we tried to have a garage sale of all of our stuff we don't want to move. I had been sort of planning a garage sale for at least a year and getting my stuff piled up and asking The BF to go through his old stuff and get rid of it. I know there are things in his room that he has kept since college that will never fit him again, it is almost like a hoarder but not quite.
So garage sale day comes, and I did convince him to add quite a bit to the party. Mostly it was furniture and other huge items. He did let me finally sell the lawn mower that has been broken for a year now and let me tell you something about a garage sale ad: if you want people to show up put lawn mower in the ad! FOR SALE: Lawn Mower (if you put it, they will come). We were on 2 different pages with the garage sale pricing. My idea was that we do not want this stuff, we do not want to move this stuff, sell it for the price that gets people to take it away fast! The BF comes outside and freaks out that I am giving this stuff away. Note to reader, what we don't sell we are donating. I had to release control on this one, the beginning of my having to release control during this move.
Next, I realize I am leaving town the weekend of the big move out so I have tons of packing and planning to do before I can leave without feeling guilty. I went to the grocery stores, stole boxes fromthe side of the road, combined already packed things to steal those boxes, and I tried to get all of my stuff organized. So we rented a fully furnished house in North Carolina and this meant that we had to get all of our stuff into storage in B-ham, decide which things we need in the house, and I had to pack my car for a weeklong bike ride/wedding reception trip. This was lots of organizing on my part.
Well we spent 5 days toting things to the storage unit and tried to keep it as organized as possible, I knew that this was going to be a disaster once I left, but we could start out on a good foot at least. The thing was even though we were kept busy the boxes that went were mostly mine. I kept trying to get The BF to pack boxes of his stuff and get it moved, but he was on a different schedule than I was so I had to let go of some control (again).
As I have previously blogged we had the tornado damage, and during the garage sale I had to explain over and over about the damage to the house and about the trees that are still down. This is another control issue of mine, a storm comes in and damages stuff but then there is the whole clean-up process. Let me be clear, it is a process. And I could not control any of it. Just living there was actually causing anxiety for me, every day there would be a new tree cut off something, or another huge load of branches moved so that more damage could be seen from the road.
Needless to say at this point the move, and my having to let go of control in so many different places really was not my favorite thing to do. It would put it up there as my least favorite things ever with the year 2003. That just made the disconnection the following week all that much sweeter...

Free Wheel:

New House:

Planning a Summer:

OK I said that I would write about all of these in one sitting, but I changed my mind. This gives me a little time to walk the dogs and let me contacts keep from drying to my eyes from looking so long at this screen. I have to admit another thing, I have been watching some Real Housewives as I have typed and I have finally caught up on the episodes I have recorded so it is outside I go (for now).