You must read this.

Um, not this post. I think I need to learn how to title better. Or stop over analyzing. One of those.

Anyway.

This is going to be a throw back to world events that happened in 2003. You know the whole we invaded Iraq based on a flimsy accusation of WMD.

I never agreed with the war in the first place but I pretty much tuned out the nitty gritty details of it. I knew it was going on, saw the night fire fights in Baghdad and the city burning. I knew the whole cluster fuck we made of their government but that's where I stopped. I didn't want the view point that the tv was going to give me of the politicians involved because our government was going to give us their version and not necessarily the truth.

I remember having a discussion over dinner with my family during the summer that this was all going on and I expressed a point of view that really got me nailed to the wall. I'm going to share it with you in a second, but first I want to give a disclaimer.

I am very highly supportive of the US troops, several are dear close family friends. I appreciate and am in awe of the sacrifices they make every day to keep us here safe.

With that said, I think that the other side of war needs a voice too. While our troops protect us, they also cause what we have benignly termed "collateral damage". These are people's lives, not buildings or other inanimate objects. Living breathing people.

So anyway at dinner I stated that I felt badly and really abhorred all the innocent lives that we had taken simply because we were looking for WMD. I know it's not that simple, I really do. But it makes me angry that we raid people's homes, take their possessions, and mistakenly shoot people or create situations in which innocent people are killed which wouldn't have happened if we weren't in that country. My family took this as I didn't support our troops because I said that I hated what they did. These are two different subjects entirely in my mind.

Please don't mistake my support for our troops, I just really hate war and all the horrible atrocities that happen because of it. No matter what side it's on.

Well, (I know we're finally getting to my main point, sorry for my long winded POV) I'm finally getting an inside view of Iraq during that period of time. It was written by a Iraqi woman (who anonymously named herself Riverbend) during the Iraq war and part of her blog has been made into two books (which I recently found, obviously). But you don't have to buy the books (you can to support her) but you can still read everything she wrote on her blog because it's still up at http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com.

I encourage you to read it, even just a little. I've just started and I really want to read the whole thing but I can tell you it's going to be an undertaking.  For me it's important because I find it riveting, I love reading her honest point of view and I can see what actually happened during this period of time. She's not always going to write nice things about us as American's and I'm okay with that. I don't mind seeing both sides of the coin. I hope you do too.

Also as a complete side note I recently joined a site called www.goodreads.com where you can post the books you've read and are reading and find good suggestions for next books to read. You can link up with friends profiles to get more suggestions and to see what they thought of books. If you already are on good reads and want to link profiles or want to join and do so just let me know.

Happy New Year. Here's to a fantastic year.

In which we talk about chicken

I know, I know. We're so close to the holidays and I'm sure you're thinking "why the @#$% are we talking about chicken". Well my friends, this year the holidays seem a bit surreal, as in it's the 21st today and I still cannot correlate that that means Christmas is literally four days away.

I chalk it up to that we have moved this month, I started a new job, and in putting stuff away we've pared down and donated a lot of stuff we didn't use. All which has taken a lot of time and my tree is still in a box. Don't get me wrong, I love the holidays but this year there's been so much upheaval (not to mention the close to 60 degree weather we've had of late (and I'm so not joking) out here on the East Coast) that there really hasn't been enough time to absorb that Christmas is practically upon us.

But now, back to the chicken. (I know, this is so not important to you)

The West Coast knows what a real chicken looks like. One that's a good size with normal size portions of white and dark meat.

The East Coast... not so much. Our choices have been between Cornish Game Hens, chickens that look like Cornish Game Hens or turkeys. (They do give us the option of large and small turkeys, but they're still the size of well, turkeys.) How generous of them. No one carries normal looking chickens.

And now I know what you're thinking. Why the hell doesn't she just buy the boneless, skinless chicken breasts like the rest of us?! Because, I have a chef for a husband and it's easier (and cheaper) to break down whole chickens. He's shown me numerous times but I pretend to have amnesia every time and still make him do it.

We have gone to numerous grocery stores trying to find normal looking chickens where the meat isn't tough and old when you cook it. We're still looking, pray for us, it is Christmas time. ;)

Normal West Coast Chicken:

Abnormal East Coast chickens:

Okay fine, that is actually a Cornish Game Hen, but this is simply a visual example.

Well looky at you.

You're so special you're getting two posts tonight.

This might be more of a bitch session, just fyi.

I have to say that Jersey drivers are some of the craziest I've seen. This is not made better by the lack of cops on the road. Also the cops might be worse drivers than the normal Jersey drivers. This is also not made better by the fact that the lanes are super narrow (like just a car's width wide) and people don't know how to a) stay in their lanes and b) stay in their own lane when they turn corners. If you visit please plan on doing at least 15 over the speed limit. You might get run over otherwise. Also? (and this is to their credit) They honestly don't give a rats ass on what you think of how terribly they drive, they don't look at you and they don't make apologies. This is better at least for me because it helps me not get angry and let it go because there's nothing to react to. Also, they are so set in what they're doing (even if it's wrong) you can't argue with them.

Actual story.
I was going to the grocery store the other night and as I was walking up to the store I heard a guy in his car yell out the window at a pedestrian walking in front of his car to get to the parking lot "What are you? A fucking moron?" While yes it is offensive it honestly makes me crack up because it's such an East Coast thing. The answer to this rhetorical question was complete silence, which is again, so East Coast. It reminds me to brush it off on a daily basis. On the West Coast it feels so personal when anything rude happens but out here it is what it is and you get over it, it's not personal.

Also, I'm homesick for stuff that I love. I'm slowly finding the products that I had at my fingertips on the West Coast. Nothing is more frustrating than going to a store and not finding 3/4 of what you're looking for. I'm trying, lets just say that.

Okay now you have to wait for a little while.

Night.

Yup, still here.

So yes it's been a while since I last posted and I've been thinking for days now that I really need to post so here I am finally doing it.

Let's see, so much to catch up on.

First is the last week I was in Washington. This mainly consisted of a lot of packing, Jilian coming up one last time to help me once and for all vanquish the garage, more packing, the last day of my previous job, (Man am I glad that's over, it was starting to go to shite when I left and really has since.) and having the movers pack the van so our stuff could be moved out here. I also watched a shit ton of Vampire Diaries (I am now caught up and waiting impatiently for January when it starts again). Noop (my brother from another mother) tried to get me to start watching it two years ago but I was literally in the process of moving then and had no cable. So I waited, because I didn't want to jump in in the middle and get confused about how it all started. But right before I moved they put the first two full seasons streaming on Netflix so I had no excuse. (P.S. it's really awesome)

Oh and I just have to say that the movers that we used are awesome. I still had a lot of stuff to take to the goodwill and I was actually becoming a little worried about how long it was going to take me but they offered to take it to the goodwill for me for free. Also I donated furniture to St Vincent De Paul and they rescheduled on me twice so they also came the last day I was there. Luckily it dovetailed nicely with when the movers got done packing the truck and then I was just left to clean and make a few last trips to the dump. I was so tired at the end of that day but I managed to get it all done.

Then came the actual drive which was nice for the most part was good. We had some icy nights which weren't that fun but for the most part the weather wasn't bad. It was really great to see two of my sisters and my parents. It was like a roadshow traveling family reunion. I first saw my parents along the highway (not as strange as it sounds) as they were driving back home and we were driving out east. We sort of planned to meet up if events coincided and by chance they did. Then we saw my little sister Corey who we met up with for dinner and then we also had breakfast with her too which was really great (the sister and the food). Then we saw my older sister, my brother in law and my nephew and we actually stayed the night with them (this was also pre-planned). We made really good time and the traffic really only started to get bad once we hit Indiana so only about a day and a half.

And then we (my father in law and myself) were finally here. Our stuff was delivered last Monday and we've been working on unpacking and paring down more (It's amazing how much crap you think you need and you really honestly don't. It's also amazing at how this stuff can stay packed between move to move and a) you still lug it around and b) when you finally unpack it, you think "just get rid of it") to really just what we need and we'll actually use. I recommend everyone every couple of years purging, it feels good, freeing and it's nice to only have around the house stuff that is actually practical.

I also started my new job and I love it. Everyone I work with is super nice and helpful and yes you get an occasional bitchy phone call but you have others that understand and that you can talk to. Every job that I've loved has honestly been because I love the people I'm around. I know I would not be able to stay in a job that I dreaded going to everyday just because I made a lot of money. I would stop showing up, easy.

And that's where we're at now. We finally got cable and internet Friday and I was really worried that this CABLEcard experience would be a lot like the last one (you can read that here.) but it wasn't! Although Comcast hasn't changed because I told the service representative on the phone we needed a CABLEcard, not a box and that the installer could come between 11 and 1pm Friday. Isaac calls back to confirm and he's told our appointment is between 3-5 on Friday (which actually worked better) and when the installer guy comes he brings a box and no CABLEcard! Luckily we got the internet working but we had to make ANOTHER appointment (luckily they came out the next morning) to get a frickin' CABLEcard. But once it was in our Tivo and the guy called it into Comcast it's worked ever since (knock on wood). I guess it's nice to know that Comcast is just as reliable no matter what coast you're on and all their contracted installers hate them too. :/

Okay, off to finish unpacking/throwing stuff in the goodwill pile.

So much better.

Today was so much better and I literally stopped working (for the day) 15 minutes ago. *And I just realized I don't have the post times at the bottom of each entry so it was 8:15pm. (in case you were wondering)

Yes the stress is still there but I got some more concrete answers about the moving truck and the movers we've hired to pack the truck, and that made me feel a lot better.

Also I packed for quite a while last night and cleaned up a lot of stuff. And I finally sold the two twin beds we have. Granted it's for a lot less than they're worth but I don't think people are used to finding quality for sale and also it's a crap economy and people like a deal. It's finally gotten to a point that I have to sell them for anything otherwise I'd have to pay to get rid of them. They're the one thing I can't donate because of the possibility of bed bugs (not in my beds mind you, in general) so I'm glad that another thing is sliding into place.

I just can't think about how short the time is or it's back to head between the knees hyperventilating and then having to go for a run because movement is honestly the only thing that calms me down.

I know weird right?

This is not funny.

I might be going crazy.

I was going to write on Monday but that really felt like a day I would just rather have my head between my knees so I wouldn't hyperventilate, and so I didn't write, the anxiety was too much.

It just feels like there is so much to do and since I am a person of action this waiting in between (aka. having to work and not being able to pack all day), fretting over money, timing and packing is about driving me out of my mind. (I appreciate that my husband is a strong person and can handle when I snap at him in moments of stress) It will be such a relief even just when the truck is packed and on it's way and all I have left to do is clean the house and pack my car. I'm pretty sure I'll feel a huge sigh of relief. That or I'll start worrying about the drive and expenses while driving.

Have I ever mentioned I'm a type A personality that desperately tries to be a B and fails miserably?

Yeah, that.

Also it didn't help my nerves that I was sexually harassed in my office on Monday. All I have to say is that Noop has great timing and walked into the back office mere seconds before it got any worse.

I can get through this. Now to just repeat this to myself about a thousand times while I pack faster the rest of this week and clean my house.

Yes I have to do a cleaning before I clean it all because my little sister is coming into town tomorrow and I'm so frickin' excited to see her because it's been too long.

Oh also I've figured out the whole furniture situation, I'm donating it. St. Vincent De Paul will come pick it up not this weekend but next and now all I have to sell is the bed, at least that helps.

Okay back to work people.

I need some coordination... Oh wait, you already knew that.

So two nights ago I ran my left knee into... something I can't remember what (this is apparently how often I do this). And tonight I ran my right knee into the coffee table (it's fresh in my memory because I'm still trying to not curse about how much it hurts) because I was gifted with so much coordination... Oh wait that was flexibility which apparently means all my coordination was taken away because you don't get both.

This is the point where you keep your examples that prove me wrong to yourself because I have lovely red marks across both my knees. (No one cares about Ginger Rogers.)

I told my boss this evening that I'm formally giving my notice tomorrow because I'm moving (and moving is said in a really high sing song voice, fyi) and so tomorrow evening when I get home I'm going to post that crap on facebook. It will be nice to not have to keep such a secret anymore because it's gotten harder as the weeks have gone on. I've caught myself from slipping so many times.

And I'm currently addicted to knitting Alice gloves. I've knit 5 pairs so far in the past three weeks.

These are Alice gloves.

Picture from Ravelry dot com

Apparently I'm in love with them.