Glamping
Well, here we are, glamping it up in our almost-empty house.
Glamping = glam + camping = not roughing out in the woods but roughing it with air mattresses and camp chairs pulled around the 32" TV. Hot water and a full kitchen replete with paper plates. We are using a packing blanket as the luxe rug in the living room.
A 32" TV people...we are truly, truly roughing it. AND, no Wii.
I write this surrounded by three children playing iPad, iPhone and Nintendo DS...I think they'll survive. They are patiently waiting the bestowment of their new Kindles, which they will get at some point just before we leave Seattle for Japan.
I have little doubt that I will get my money's worth out of those Kindles. I've set them up with some cool educational apps, some not-so-educational but damn funny apps and a bunch of books. Set up the parental controls and passworded purchases. We will load a few more TV shows and movies today and then we should be good to go.
Thank you AMAZON, for making my life SO much easier. If I had another baby, I would name him or her Amazon Prime De For. Amazon has replaced Target as my #1 retailer. Blasphemy? Perhaps, but I know that even in Yokosuka, Amazon will get my Prime purchases to me within a week.
I'm writing this blog entry on this gigantic old red dinosaur of a laptop that I bought for Hans back in...2008, I think. I swear this thing weighs 28.7 pounds. It's got early onset Alzheimer's and has to stop and think between loading pages. I mean, I remember when I had dial-up and it didn't seem so bad, because hey! the internet was new and cool and amazing! Now if I have to wait more than a blink between page loads, my blood pressure rises. Super slow speeds and yet the touchpad is as sensitive as a woman in the throes of PMS. I have to type with my elbows splayed out so as not to disturb the stupid touchpad. THAT is quick to react.
I ordered mahSELF a new laptop...and I'm not sharing so...pbbbbttttt. This one weighs something like 2.6 pounds so I can tote it around without dislocating a vertabrae. I just finished up my first course at Gotham Writer's Workshop...it was pretty interesting and I enjoyed the assignments. I really needed someone to give me some direction, as in "Here, write about "x"". I need to Google and see if there is a site out there that will give me a daily cue. Anyway, I'm excited about getting my own computer which I will password so that no one but me can read my ramblings...
What a cacophony down here, with no rugs and furniture to absorb sound. Annika playing Dragonvale with its Renaissance Faire music, Josiah playing Pokemon, William playing Angry Birds (in its 1,258th reimagination). They're like 90-year-olds (hi Gramma) that need to have the volume up full blast. Sigh.
The move on Friday actually went well, as far as moves go. Slight snafu in the beginning. Very long story short, we had two moves scheduled for the same day, so I had four trucks show up at the same time. The movers for our stored goods ended up leaving because they "aren't allowed to be there at the same time as other movers". This is actually good because the Navy had screwed up this move and scheduled it for Friday and I was super-stressed worrying how we would keep everyone separated. The storage move has been rescheduled for 8/1. This was really a blessing in disguise. The regular move went well--took them around six hours to load all the boxes and wrap all of our furniture, then Tetris it all into the wooden crates. I said a small blessing as I watched all my earthly goods drive away...again. Hopefully I'll see everything in good condition in September.
So now, we wait. We went to the beach yesterday. Today I'll do a little cleaning and a little touchup painting. We go to the hotel on 7/31, when they come to take our unaccompanied baggage, which is our bedding, kitchen things, lamps, extra clothes. Those things will be boxed and flown to Japan and should be there at the latest August 13th. I'm hoping that date holds and that we will get into housing quickly and be able to take delivery.
I'm going to miss my coconut pillow until then.
Sayonara from our glam camp out!
Glamping = glam + camping = not roughing out in the woods but roughing it with air mattresses and camp chairs pulled around the 32" TV. Hot water and a full kitchen replete with paper plates. We are using a packing blanket as the luxe rug in the living room.
A 32" TV people...we are truly, truly roughing it. AND, no Wii.
I write this surrounded by three children playing iPad, iPhone and Nintendo DS...I think they'll survive. They are patiently waiting the bestowment of their new Kindles, which they will get at some point just before we leave Seattle for Japan.
I have little doubt that I will get my money's worth out of those Kindles. I've set them up with some cool educational apps, some not-so-educational but damn funny apps and a bunch of books. Set up the parental controls and passworded purchases. We will load a few more TV shows and movies today and then we should be good to go.
Thank you AMAZON, for making my life SO much easier. If I had another baby, I would name him or her Amazon Prime De For. Amazon has replaced Target as my #1 retailer. Blasphemy? Perhaps, but I know that even in Yokosuka, Amazon will get my Prime purchases to me within a week.
I'm writing this blog entry on this gigantic old red dinosaur of a laptop that I bought for Hans back in...2008, I think. I swear this thing weighs 28.7 pounds. It's got early onset Alzheimer's and has to stop and think between loading pages. I mean, I remember when I had dial-up and it didn't seem so bad, because hey! the internet was new and cool and amazing! Now if I have to wait more than a blink between page loads, my blood pressure rises. Super slow speeds and yet the touchpad is as sensitive as a woman in the throes of PMS. I have to type with my elbows splayed out so as not to disturb the stupid touchpad. THAT is quick to react.
I ordered mahSELF a new laptop...and I'm not sharing so...pbbbbttttt. This one weighs something like 2.6 pounds so I can tote it around without dislocating a vertabrae. I just finished up my first course at Gotham Writer's Workshop...it was pretty interesting and I enjoyed the assignments. I really needed someone to give me some direction, as in "Here, write about "x"". I need to Google and see if there is a site out there that will give me a daily cue. Anyway, I'm excited about getting my own computer which I will password so that no one but me can read my ramblings...
What a cacophony down here, with no rugs and furniture to absorb sound. Annika playing Dragonvale with its Renaissance Faire music, Josiah playing Pokemon, William playing Angry Birds (in its 1,258th reimagination). They're like 90-year-olds (hi Gramma) that need to have the volume up full blast. Sigh.
The move on Friday actually went well, as far as moves go. Slight snafu in the beginning. Very long story short, we had two moves scheduled for the same day, so I had four trucks show up at the same time. The movers for our stored goods ended up leaving because they "aren't allowed to be there at the same time as other movers". This is actually good because the Navy had screwed up this move and scheduled it for Friday and I was super-stressed worrying how we would keep everyone separated. The storage move has been rescheduled for 8/1. This was really a blessing in disguise. The regular move went well--took them around six hours to load all the boxes and wrap all of our furniture, then Tetris it all into the wooden crates. I said a small blessing as I watched all my earthly goods drive away...again. Hopefully I'll see everything in good condition in September.
So now, we wait. We went to the beach yesterday. Today I'll do a little cleaning and a little touchup painting. We go to the hotel on 7/31, when they come to take our unaccompanied baggage, which is our bedding, kitchen things, lamps, extra clothes. Those things will be boxed and flown to Japan and should be there at the latest August 13th. I'm hoping that date holds and that we will get into housing quickly and be able to take delivery.
I'm going to miss my coconut pillow until then.
Sayonara from our glam camp out!
