only the lonely

being an Army wife is very lonely sometimes.

we've moved twice since December - it's been almost eight months since I've had a friend in the same physical location.

aside from the moving,

most Army wives don't work, especially not full-time.

they have time for spouses' clubs

FRG meetings

hey, let's get together for lunch or work out together some time
it hurts to see all the other wives of the unit getting to hang out together,
without getting so much as a text message invitation.

and now almost all of my friends are pregnant or parents,

which seems to isolate me even further - 

let's get together for a play date

I met her in the OB/GYN clinic, we were due the same month

sorry we haven't been in touch, life with kids is so busy

at least I start work again tomorrow.

where is my mind?

... certainly not on blogging right now.
then again, if one has nothing to say, why say anything?

the last week(s) have been full of me doing pretty much nothing - settling everything in to the house, hanging pictures (finally), getting used to my new car, and impatiently waiting to start my new job on MONDAY!

today I did a trial run of my commute at the time I would be heading to work. this means that your favorite late riser had to drag herself out of bed at 0645 - which is still not that early, but when one is used to 0900 wake up calls, even the enthusiasm of a new job is not enough motivation to pop out of bed like a toaster pastry.
the drive was easy, but long (66.3 miles each way! I could take ten miles off that by going a different route, but it wouldn't have any affect on the commute time-wise); having a book on tape made the drive go by quickly enough. I am a bit anxious about becoming disenchanted with the drive, but at the same time, anything I would be likely to find in Fayetteville would take almost as long to get there due to traffic and lights. for example, tomorrow I have to go in to the dealer and pick up my North Carolina license plate (BOOO! HISSS!! Bring back the Washington plates!). the dealer is only 20 miles away, but it is going to take me at least 45 minutes to get down there, and it's still closer than a lot of businesses I initially applied at.

anyway. it's still weird to not be driving my Jeep any more. I'm surprised at how emotional I've been over the situation, because I've wanted a new car for months now. I miss having a 6 cylinder engine - I've had to readjust my expectations of how quickly the car accelerates and when the distance between oncoming vehicles is too short for me to pull out into traffic. I miss being up high, and having the ability to get out of blocked parking spots by going over the curb in front of me without worrying about damaging the trim. since I wanted something under $12,000 that we could get paid off in four years, even without my future income, I didn't hold out for any of the bells and whistles that I was hoping for besides a sunroof. it has been very nice to have my iPod again, though. and, without a doubt, the gas mileage is exceptional. ... but I still miss my Jeep. I hope I'll start to like my car soon.

and that's the news from Lake Wobegon. 

settling in

Whew! We seem to be pretty much moved in. At least, as much as we can be without a dining table and down one dresser.

Want to see pictures?
: )

Hello, house. Hello, new car.

The porch could use a bit of work - I am looking for a patio set I like.

This is the living room as of this moment.

I took a poll on Facebook and Instagram about the furniture arrangement - as much as I love the chair in the corner, having the sofa where it is really cuts off the kitchen and dining area. I think I am going to rearrange back to the original arrangement (sofa against the wall, floating the chair) before our dinner company arrives tonight. 

Another teensy kitchen, another repurposing of existing furniture. These bookshelves are supposed to go on either side of the entertainment center; however, since we have the TV above the fireplace, there is nowhere for them to go. I needed a bar area and to expand my pantry storage, so I threw this together. I want to paint the tension rods black, and probably need to hem those curtains, but I quite like this arrangement. 

I put this basket on the stairs as a collecting spot for items we need to bring up with us.

So far, it has only contained cat.

I can only show you one room upstairs - the master bedroom. 

 I love the color on the wall!

Due to my lack of a second dresser, my bathroom is a wreck; my craft room is pretty much always a wreck and I've got a lot of fabric out for cutting a quilt kit; and I didn't get Greg's permission to take any pictures in Bear Country, but we've got a workout room with a treadmill, weight bench, and all of the free weights, and there's a spare room above the garage that is spacious enough for the sofa AND reclining chair we had in the Columbia apartment.

Come visit in a few months and you can have pear wine!

mission: accomplished!

Yahoo!

We are (pretty much) all moved in!

As with all military moves, there were a few hiccups:

broken dresser

cracked dining room table legs

TV must have fallen off the truck
manufacturing issue with the chair and ottoman I initially chose
no news on the job yet : (

and, of course, I can't figure out where I want my pictures, not to mention that we need to print out new pictures and update some of our frames.

I'm debating whether a few windows need drapery, and a few existing panels need to be hemmed.

There's a chair that desperately needs the assistance of this tutorial - which I will be attending to first thing in the morning.

Once I get all of those ducks lined up I'll post pictures : )