Change

I finally have time for an update! It has been such an overwhelming and stressful move! We packed 2- 26ft Penske trucks to the brim, both towing 2 vehicles, and me driving a car also. The trucks could only go about 60 mph and we spent over 24 hrs driving. We stopped for occasional naps in random truck stops and McDonald's parking lots. It was torture and having spent 3 days in the same clothes without showering we finally made it home to Kansas! We are still exhausted, but are finally getting somewhat settled. Being in Arizona for 4 1/2 years I'm trying to get adjusted back to KS again. We've been going thru a lot of changes....some good, some not so good.
#1. Weather: It's cold!! I'm not used to having to wear a coat and have forgotten several times. We've had to dig out what winter gear we had left....which isn't much. The dogs have sweaters and coats as well. I don't think they like the cold either, although they did enjoy wrestling in the snow. Our bodies are chapped, cracked, and dry.....just can't seem to get enough lotion! I also haven't learned to account for weather when driving to work. It was snowing one morning and they decided to only drive 15 mph on I-35 so I didn't open the pharmacy until 8:40....oops. I felt horrible.
#2. Home: We have a basement!!! No longer is our garage and spare closets packed to the brim! We finally have storage which is a must! My boy can't seem to get rid of anything....."it's a collectors item" he says....hmm.. We have a big back yard that is full of grass which is great for the dogs. They love to run and run.....but we have no fence so we are often found chasing them around the neighborhood in robes and house slippers. The fence will have to be built soon! My kitchen is smaller with less storage which is sucky, but overall the house is a little bigger than my home in AZ. We have stairs in this house which we aren't use to and often find ourselves being lazy and not wanting to climb them. We have some changes to make, as well as painting to do to give it our personal touch and make it our home, but it all takes time.
#3. Work: I was at store #5568 in Sun City, AZ for over 4 years and knew it like the back of my hand. The staff there was my family and I knew the patients well. It's so hard to start over. I've been floating here in KC. I've run into a couple classmates, but for the most part nobody knows me, they don't say much to me and they think I'm a newbie and don't give me much credit. Again, it all takes time. It's a little different practicing in KS than AZ as far as the laws, so I'm having to remember all the changes. I'm not too excited about the schedule. I just got done doing 5 shifts of overnights. I'm not a night person! I'm so glad to be done. The frustrating part is I don't even know my schedule for tomorrow!!! I'm a planner and how can I plan anything when I don't know when I'm working!!! grr....I hope I get placed in a store soon so I can have a consistent schedule and know when and where I have to be each day.
#4. Life: Arizona was nice. The weather was perfect 8 months out of the year and there was a lot to do. It was a great location for weekend getaways to Mexico, California, Vegas, etc. I bought my first home there and accepted my first real job there. I've made some great friends in AZ and will definitely be back to visit, but it just wasn't "home." There are things that I miss, but I'm so excited to be back. I'm glad to be close to my friends and family again. I've missed so many holidays, wedding, birthdays, and many other special occasions. I can't wait to be a part of it all again and catch up with all my friends. It's also nice knowing that if you want your mom to cook for you I can just jump in the car and drive home! I thought it would be hard to leave my house, but I found some great, reliable tenants to take care of my property.....and pay the rent on time!! You don't find many of those.
So as you can see, lots of changes going on, but in due time it will all be change for the good. There's no place like home!! (oh.....and all the Dorothy and Toto and yellow brick road comments were getting old. The fake chuckle I used in response was getting a little lame!)

Mystery Solved

Hi Everyone!!.......I finally found out what all the craziness has been about! We're moving!! Two big yellow trucks arrived today that will be carrying away all of our things. Mom says the trucks will be following a yellow brick road to our new home:

What's all that green stuff??? See you in Kansas!! Wish us safe travels!

WANTED:

Hi guys! ......it's Klowee again. With even more and more boxes filling up our house I can't imagine we would need anything else, but mommy says there are a few items we are missing that will be very necessary in the weeks to come..........

• winter coats, hats, gloves, scarves
• snow boots (snow???.....what's that???)
• long sleeve shirts, sweaters, sweatshirts, thermal underwear
• warm blankets
• space heaters
• shovels and ice scrapers
• chapstick

I have no idea what mommy is talking about. We don't need any of that here in Arizona. WAIT!!! .............. Are we leaving Arizona????...........

Insight Bowl Fun

Taking Over

Hi....I'm Klowee...or "monkey" as my mom and dad like to call me. My mom says I will be taking over her blog since she is too busy to keep up with it! I must be getting punished from earlier. It was an accident!! I promise!! I had diarrhea and couldn't hold it!! Anyway, mom and dad have been very busy. I'm not sure what is going on. There are boxes everywhere which is sooooo annoying! Me and my 3 other peeps love to run in the house but it just isn't the same with all these damn boxes!! BUT!!! There is a TON of newspaper lying around we get to tear into.....and boy do we ever!! We love to eat it too! Grandma and grandpa and that silly RJ were just here visiting for some sort of holiday, but I really don't know when the holiday was because there were no decorations, lights, or presents?? Didn't seem like no holiday to me!! Besides...mom says we aren't celebrating until we get home in January??? I'm so confused!! Me and my gang had such a good time playing with RJ, though. They took us to the park and we ran and ran!! We played with toys and chewy's and chased each other in the house too! Grandma and grandpa went about the city while mom and dad played with the boxes again. My mom is such a good colorer too.......she was painting over all the white spots on the walls and stayed in the lines!! It wasn't all work, though. They left us yesterday all day long to go to Mexico!! I guess it was better we didn't go because mom said we might end up in a taco. They had a great time in Mexico and we were sooooo excited when they got home. Mom couldn't go to work today, though, because of Mexico......I guess it's a bad idea to eat there sometimes! Grandma and Grandpa are half-way back to KS; and daddy was making my neck hurt today watching him go up and down the ladder a hundred times painting and changing out light bulbs. Things definitely are different around here.........the whole gang can tell!! It's not just me!! But we're usually always the last to know......I'll see if I can squeeze anything out of them for next time!

I thought this was such a pretty picture. I took it the other day on the way home from work after a short rainfall.

The Little Garage Sale That Could

After much success with our first garage sale (over $450!!) we decided to participate in our community garage sale held yesterday to sell our remaining items. (Yes, a garage sale in December! That's the advantage of living in AZ) We had quite a comical day. The sale began at 7am....but of course everyone shows up early. It was pitch black outside and so cold!! It was in the 50's!!!! ha! But that didn't stop the dedicated garage sale goers. The porch lights gave off enough glow for them to hunt for their new treasures. The first 10 people or so to come all asked...."hey are you the ones with all the hunting and fishing equipment?" Seriously.....does it look like I have a bunch of guns and fishing poles!! The cars would slowly approach....get close enough to see that our 1 slab of concrete didn't amount to crap....and then sped away. Devin and I would make bets to see if they would stop. I think we even had some sympathy lookers because they felt bad nobody was stopping. I even had a guy drive by and yell...." hey, lady! that's the smallest garage sale I've ever seen!!!" Thank you sir!! We gave up about 11am. We loaded the rest and dropped it off at Good Will. I'm done with garage sales for awhile. Total profit for the day........a whoppin $43.75.