The Ultimate Game of Tetris

So our pods showed up on Friday so we can start packing. We chose to go with the same company we moved from Vermont with. However, when you can drive to your destination, you have a choice of different sized trucks. When moving across the ocean, you only have the option of adding more pods. It adds about $2000 every time you add another pod. We decided to go with only 2 pods. This is why we've been selling all of our possessions.

When the pods showed up I thought we were in big trouble! The dimensions of the pods are 6'X7'X8'. That's LxWxH. And we only have TWO of these pods (the other is in the back of our house). We'll see if my years of loading airplanes will pay off here. The Tetris challenge has begun!

On a side note: Why did the Bishopric suddenly feel like they needed to hear from us? I have to repent of my bitter feelings about having to talk today. I'm a little stressed out and overwhelmed. But it went well and I told my Bishop that I forgive him. I think we're still friends.

Our precious primary class was completely out of control for our last Sunday. They were loud and wiggly beyond control. I don't think the one marshmallow they got during sharing time could have started that sugar rush. I don't blame them though. We didn't want to be there very much today either. They must have been feeling our vibe! We will miss them all. They are adorable and we love them. Aloha!

The 8 tag!

Thanks for tagging me Katie Jane. I loved the comments on my nieces' blogs. Very few people have access to this blog so it could be totally pointless. Then again, if I enjoy the journey (the typing) it's not pointless after all.

Oh, I think 8 is a weird number so I'm rounding up and making it an even 10! And these are not in order of importance.

10 Things I'm Passionate about:

1. Being meticulously organized (am I? NO, but want to be very badly)
2. My family (I have the most amazing husband a.k.a. McGiver, and a daughter who makes me laugh daily)
3. Manners (oh to be raised in the south and taught to say "yes sir, no sir", "yes ma'am, no ma'am").
4. Quilting (however, I'm lazy about getting the darn things done.)
5. Old fashioned hard work
6. The smell of freshly cut wood
7. Traveling to cool places with my family
8. New England in the fall, it's so beautiful right after rain
9. My brothers and sisters and parents (I miss you Dad and David)
10. The Gospel of Jesus Christ


10 words or phrases I say often:

1. "you're such a dork"
2. "Continental Airlines, this is Tauna . . ." (waaaahhh, I'm going to miss that amazing job)
3. "Camille, wake up, it's almost noon!" (she'll wake up on time in Hawaii!)
4. "Be quiet, it's my turn to talk" (those precious 6 yr-olds in our primary class)
5. "Let's watch Ghost Hunters!"
6. "I don't know, what do you want for dinner?"
7. "Camille empty the dishwasher!"
8. "Camille scoop the cat box!"
9. "Where's my glasses?"
10. "Love you too!"

10 Things I want to do before I die:

1. Lose those extra pounds that are stuck on with super glue!
2. Be meticulously organized.
3. Travel as much as possible.
4. Learn spanish fluently.
5. Yoga every day. (I better get started)
6. See my whole family active in church, and endure to the end.
7. Get over my fear of the ocean so I can scuba dive. (here I come Hawaii)
8. Complete my 'cathedral window' quilt
9. Teach my daughter the importance of hard work and a strong testimony.
10. See a ghost!

10 Things I have learned:

1. How to push back an airplane (you know, when you just board the plane and they close the door and then you start to roll back? That's not done by the pilot, it's a person like myself, in a tug pushing you back!)
2. That people from Asia have the heaviest and most obnoxious luggage in the world.
3. It's great to be 40!
4. Utah has the rudest drivers in the world.
5. America has the best hotels.
6. Obedience is the key to all freedom.
7. Vinager cleans hard water spots in the shower (thanks Kim and Aggie from How Clean is Your House.)
8. You can accomplish amazing amounts of things if you stop watching television and do something.
9. Don't judge people too quickly, they may surprise you and be your next best friend.
10. You're never too old to learn something new.

10 Places I'd love to go do or see

1. Central and South America to the "Book of Mormon" ruins
2. Jelly Fish Lake (in the Pacific Island of Palau - they don't sting! Check it out on Google)
3. Scotland Castles! (Neerings are decendants of Scottish royalty. I hope they call us and tell us we inherited one of the castles!)
4. Savannah, Georgia
5. Luxembourg
6. Germany (Sarah - let's go sistah)
7. Paris
8. Treasure hunting/digging for gold, diamonds or precious stones
9. Any quilt store
10. New York City . . . again!

10 Things I currently need or want:

1. A hair cut and color (Jen, can you meet me in Hawaii?)
2. To sell a lot of random junk I've collected over the years
3. To buy cool stuff in Hawaii when I get there
4. To design and build my own house and have it my way!
5. Stylish clothes
6. A quilting machine
7. My own iPod
8. Millions of dollars at my disposal (Lunch is on me)
9. Pottery Barn furnishings
10. A Williams Sonoma filled kitchen (in the amazing house I'm going to design and build)

I'll tag 10 people - but they won't get it so . . .

1. Dalene Griffin (the reliable and smart one)
2. Tracy Davis (the rebel without a cause)
3. Jessica Hall (and the other Bryner sisters . . . perhaps you've heard of them)
4. Shannon Hale (yes I know her personally)
5. Katie Jenke (the dependable one . . . smell anything good lately?)
6. Holly Balsamo (a.k.a. the Easta Bunny)
7. Kim Raffield (a.k.a. Budda-bean)
8. Dana Feitelberg (my sistah from anotha motha)
9. Wendi Dismuke (a.k.a. Wendi Darling)
10. Summer Barnett (why didn't we spend more time together?)

Moving Woes

So we're trying very hard to get things packed and organized before our move. We're only taking certain items like our beautiful dining table and chairs that we recently purchased and love. Our piano is an heirloom and we can't decide whether it will cause too much damage to it (it was built in 1928) to ship it in a container across the pacific. We may send it to Arizona for storage at Oma's house. We're keeping our bed because I finally found one that I love and actually sleep well in. And then Scott's tools and stuff from the garage. All the rest of the big items need to be sold. Of course we're going through the "stuff" to make sure we don't ship anything that isn't necessary. We're cutting way down but we still have tons of stuff. WHY? I feel like I'm not getting anywhere.

So I sent an email to our ward yahoo group emailer with an attachment listing all our big items with pictures and prices saying to come to our house on Sept. 1st for a "tag" sale (that's a yard sale to you westerners). But here in Daybreak we're not allowed to have those so I had to keep it all indoors. Well, I guess she didn't send that email so our Relief Society President sent a reminder email. We had a total of 4 people come by, they snooped around and left. NOBODY BOUGHT ANYTHING!!! This stinks.

Not only are we in a horrible mess trying to purge, pack and sell things, we also have to show the house to people. How embarassing. It looks like we're such slobs. I'm so ready for this move to be over with! Once I get to Maui, I'm sleeping on the beach for a week.