One foot in Illinois the other in California

Wow I am slacking! My last post was on the 7th? Opps! What’s new with me? Well let me tell you...

Since last time I have seen Despicable me twice, once with Angela on our usual Tuesday night movie and once this last weekend with my cousins and Maddy. This brings me to the point that Maddy is here in Illinois for two weeks. By now she is only here for one more week but she got here on the 13th. Maddy is my 12 year old niece from California (the soon to be teenager I will be moving in with – yikes!). She spent the first week with my dad (Grandpa Teddy) and she will spend week 2 with my mom (Grandma Di). I wish my parents luck…lol Maddy is a little out of control but what 12 year old isn’t?

I have been running around like a crazy person getting ready for my move to Cali. My mother convinced me not to rent the trailer from U-Haul for the drive. She is worried that it will do damage to my car. This change in plans creates a lot of new variable. I will now not be bringing my bed, which suck by the way because my bed is freaking amazing! I am trying not to dwell on this though. Not taking the trailer also means that I have money to ship some things ahead of time. Surprisingly, it costs less to ship a big heavy box then a couple medium size/weight boxes. I sent 3 boxes on Monday (30, 35, 38lbs) and it cost $112 but today I shipped 2 large boxes (67 & 80lbs) for $133. Much more economical to ship that way!

I figure that if I can ship enough of my crap then I can get my TV console in my car. In case you don’t already know I adore my TV console. That and my bed are my two favorite pieces of furniture! So if I can’t bring one I want to try and bring the other. The TV console will fit in my car no problem. The issue comes with putting a bunch more then that in there. This is why I had to boot Ashley from the road trip portion of the trip. I will not be making the drive solo. Well… not really solo since I will have the dogs with me but it’s not like they can have a conversation with me for the 26 hour drive. Although being stuck in the car with the dogs for that long could drive me crazy enough that I start to have conversations with them. Anyways, the point is that I am going to ship as much as I can [afford] so that I have a shot at taking it with me.

I have been very productive so far this week. I am really far on packing, shipped 5 boxes so far, and change my mailing address on a lot of stuff. I also have cancelled my cell phone. So as of Aug 15th I will no longer have my 815 US Cellular number. I will have a 562 AT&T number complete with awesome new iPhone 4 to sweeten the deal! The phone is on back order so I will be waiting for a few weeks. This is actually a good thing though because the less time I have double service the better (cheaper).

You know that expression about having one foot in and one foot out? I feel like that explains my very existence these days. I am still here in Illinois but I am mentally in California. All I can think about is the move and watching the calendar willing it to flip to Aug 28th (when I hit the road). Only 38 days to go.

Dad says "NO!"......but....."NO!"

So I broke the news to my Dad about the move to California this last Saturday. I waited until he was leaving my uncles so that I wouldn’t have to deal with his reaction all afternoon. I knew he would not be happy but I also didn’t quite know how he was going to take the news. See there are some things about my Dad you should know. He is…..unique! That is really the best word for him. He is a little quirky, extremely opinionated, and really funny. People tend to like him…the problem is the my dad doesn’t like them. Ok he has friends and family and stuff but other then that he thinks that all people are idiots or assholes and are out to shaft you one way or another. This is not an exaggeration. I know I am his daughter but sometimes I am shocked he likes me. Lol

FYI: I totally love my dad and think he is awesome but I know how he is so telling him that his “baby” is moving 2,000 miles away was not on the top of my “thing I really want to do” list. But with the move only 8 weeks away it was time to bite the bullet so I caught him in the driveway and just blurted out “Dad I am moving to California with Sara,” and paused for reaction. He literally just turned to me and said “No” then pretty much walked away, which I guess in hindsight is better then him crying, yelling, or having any number of other awkward reactions to the news. I tried to tell him that me being 26 kind of hinders his ability to tell me no but he just laughed said “No” again and continued to walk toward his car. Poor Becky….I can only imagine that drive home with him. Becky is my step-mom and I love her to death. Anyone who can help me keep my dad in line is a saint in my eyes :)

To tell you the truth I really haven’t talked to my Dad since Saturday. He called me briefly on Sunday to ask if I had fun with my cousins and how the hot tub at my uncles was but other then that nothing. I guess I will just let it sink in a little. On related news: Plans for the move are still coming along. I still have to make an appointment to have the hitch installed. Sara is looking at flights and I am trying to pack and pitch stuff whenever possible.

On the Dawn Front: I have been trying to focus on the book I am writing but have been so torn on a few plot twists lately. But I found this online conference that allows you to post content for critique. It kicks off in August so I have 1 month to get a good chuck of it done. I am really going to try to focus on it. I mean planning is great but there comes a time when I have to just sit down and type it out. I can always change things later but having 10-20 pages of notes and scenes isn’t helping me.

I went to see The Last Airbender last night with Angela and Ann. It was good but I was a little annoyed by all the interpretive dance going on. When you see it you will know what I mean. OH! and I was so excited to find Linger on the shelves and Borders last night! It is not scheduled to release until 7/20 but Borders had it early. So I bought it and then sat at Borders and read the first 50 pages before picking Ann up for the movie. I planned to go home and cancel my preorder for Linger from Banes and Noble but by the time I got home I had an email saying it shipped. The book is not supposed to release for two weeks and now I am going to have two copies. Maybe I will have to give one away on the other blog. Or I guess I could return it….decisions decisions.

Cars, Cali, and other neat shhtuff....;)

So I have been having some car trouble for like two months now. My check engine light came on at the beginning of May and I took it to Midas. They did there thing with the little thingamabob and it turns out that I need to go to Toyota to have the main computer looked at. Well that sounds nice an expensive so I was like…. “um….I will just wait and see.” Flash forward to two days ago when I finally took it into Toyota. I was freaked out all day at work worrying about how much it was going to cost. So when the guy called and said they need to order a new computer for my car I almost fell over right there and then. So after I regained my ability to breath I said “oh no how much is that going to cost?” Then the guy told me “Nothing, it’s under warranty.” This is the part in the scene where the music halts and some random dude in the room says “Say What??” That is how I felt. Anyways, they ordered the part and installed it yesterday. I asked how much it would have been and the lady at Toyota told me I don’t want to know, but it would have been over $1000. I guess I must have been good this year since the warranty fairy decided to grace me with her presence.

Tonight I will be heading to Oak Brook to meet Alyson Noel. She is an author of one of my favorite series. The forth book came out yesterday so she is touring and I am going to the signing tonight. So excited by the way!

I am getting really anxious for this move to California. I just want to get out there. Not that I don’t want to be here at all, but I just want to start over. I really hope that my parents end up ok with the idea. I know that my Dad hates the idea, my step-mom wants me to do what’s best for me, my mom will support whatever I decide but not so secretly hopes I will stay. Sara of course can’t wait for me to get out there. I figure since the move is three months away I might as well drop the subject and let a little more time pass. I mean there is no sense in having the ‘rents freaking for the next few months. I will bring it up again about 2 days before I leave. lol

To tell you the truth I think I am most excited about getting to spend more time with Sara and Maddy. I mean we see each other a couple times a year for a week or so but we have not spent a significant amount of time together for like 12 years. Sara and I are so different but completely alike. If you have siblings you probably know what I mean. I also am excited to get the chance to be around for Maddy. Although I do admit that moving in with a soon to be teenager (turns 13 in December) is a little scary.

Don’t let all that sappiness fool you I am also completely in love with the idea of the beach, 60 degree weather on x-mas, and the possibility of running into “insert hot single famous dude” and falling madly in love! – Hey a girl can dream cant she? lol