Semi-Normal

OK so things around here are getting back to semi-normal. I say that because I managed to unpack all the boxes that were blocking our upstairs hallway and it looks "normal" I say semi because it is a bit misleading considering we have A LOT of boxes hiding in the garage. But that's OK, I can't see them so it allows me to be in denial a bit longer. I have all the stuff I need, until I need something and I realize it must be buried in the plethora of boxes in the garage..UGH.
This weekend my husband finally went out and purchased himself a new truck, I am so happy he finally did because honestly, the guy never does anything strictly for himself and this is something he has been talking about doing for a long time and he wanted a nice truck, you know all the bells and whistles and well he got one! I kind of had to strong arm him into getting it but its done.
On another note, our son is leaving for college in 2 weeks and I haven't really had a second to sit with this and let it sink in, I think if I do I might break down and I really want to keep it together for him, it will break his heart if he sees me sad and thinks he is the cause of it. We spent some time last week together at Universal Studios and we had the best day, it was worth more to me than diamonds and gold or anything in the world, just a day with him to myself. His dad spent the day with him yesterday, they went out and played with their guns at the range..not my kind of fun but I know they had a blast.
I really just wanted to check in and let you all know a little about what has been going on. Your blogs have been great as usual, I try to keep up a few times a week to see what is going on with everyone, I know everyone is busy with getting kids ready to go back to school and doing their own PCS'ing. Ah..gotta love the summer.

ARRIVED

Just a quick one!
Just to let you all know we arrived yesterday. We are in the good ole TLQ...it's just as average as I remember, WiFi is terrible, currently hooked up via my cell phone which leaves a bit desired but it will do for now. Ride was pretty uneventful with the exception of my windshield getting cracked on Amboy Road, those of you that know the area will not be surprised. We HAVE to get out of the lodge, the pets are cranky and we are too. Hubs can't check with housing till Monday so he we will sit till at least Monday. We will go out today and look around at some temporary places. I have no access to all my clothes since they are in the back of trailer and hubs has to weigh it on Monday so we don't want to unpack it. So till than I am relegated to travel clothes which are basically PT clothes..ugh, gotta love this life.
29 Palms hasn't changed much, base has a little, seems it has grown just a bit which is a good thing. Trying to stay upbeat and optimistic, we all know how hard that is during a PCS. My hope is the wait isn't too long for housing but we are prepared for the worse. Be checking in when I can...thanks for all the great comments, can't wait to get settled and catch up on all your blogs, I really miss them.

Truth Can Be Stranger Than Fiction

So...I know I blogged about all the drama of our home sale..I know I told you all I was letting the Universe do her thing, I know I told you all we were putting our house back on the market...I know that, I meant that, and I believed that..really I promise, I wasn't making any of this stuff up. I had a terrible Saturday, I came to the realization that our house would sell, but not to this person and not at this time..it was over, as in O-V-E-R over.
I started to smile again, I trusted my hubs when he assured me we would be fine, just a bump in the road and things will turn around all before we leave. I read all the encouraging words from all my well meaning a fabulous friends. And last night I found myself laughing and having fun and believing it all. And than the Universe did her wonderful dance all over again...at about 2130 we get a text message from our Realtor and it was a forward from the "buyer" to her Realtor and it say...FWD: "Hello redacted this is redacted hope you had a great Easter. Tomorrow I should have sometime to come by and sign the papers. And by the way, who do I need to drop the check off with?" ...that was it, out of the blue and after 2 weeks of NOTHING from her..NOTHING..just like that. So of course I acted just the way I always due when I have totally resolved myself to something and it all of a sudden changes, I went in the bathroom and puked my guts out. I know dramatic, but what can I say..my body does not like stress of this magnitude. So today, she really did everything she was asked to do, she went in and signed the last part of the paper work and went by the attorney and produced Verified fund proof. I know..totally insane. All we can chalk it up too is a seriously young person, oblivious to the chaos she was leaving in her wake..due to her inaction for the past 2 weeks.
So really, I am still really worried, I guess I have cause to be, but our Realtor said we needed to relax, she also thinks her Realtor may not have done her part in making sure the buyer really understood the urgency for proper timing and getting things to where they needed to be..so that in a nutshell is the whole last 20 or so hours. I will hopefully be blogging about the end of this in about 14 days! Again thanks to all for keeping me above water!

OK, Not so much a Wordless Wednesday

Just got off the phone with the contractor and the realtor in regards to our home sale. As you all know (that have been reading my blog) we received an offer on our home, a great offer by the way and we are now under contract. Friday we had all our inspections and everything went well with the exception of a few minor things that are all easily correctable. Spoke to the contractor and he said that is should be no problem fixing all the stuff before closing and the realtor is waiting for the appraisal to be approved. As you all know in this market a lot of homes are not "worth" what they once were. Our home hopefully will not fall into one of the catagories. So looks like all is moving forward and we should be moved out in a few weeks. Thanks to everyone that had sent us great thoughts on this..we're almost there.

Update on Home Sale

So as promised by our realtor the traffic has picked up a bit in terms of potential buyers for our home since the weather has turned to a bit warmer . We have had two buyers this week. The first ones that came this week came back today and our realtor said that they were going to submit an offer to us on Monday. As you can imagine I am quite curious to see the offer. I hope it is a fair offer since we are not about entertaining anything less at this point in the game. We also had some buyers come out on Thursday as well. The realtor said that our house made their top 3 and they were going back to Vermont to think about it and will return in April with their decision. So all and all I say that is good news, two potential buyers and both interested. Keep your fingers crossed for us, hopefully this won't be too painful...lol.

Random Thoughts

Well this has been a pretty eventful week....NOT. I just haven't been too motivated as of late and last night my hubs went to my blog and said, "What? No new blog?" Apparently he enjoys reading my blog..tee hee hee. Well this past weekend we went to a little get away planned by all the 1stSgt's to see the SgtMaj off to his new duty station. It was nice and we had a really good time, sometimes you really forget how funny a group of Marines can be. I enjoyed sitting around with the wives hearing some of the "funnier" things that happened during their last deployment.
So besides that not too much going on. The house selling seems to be going S_L_O_W. Our realtor called and said due to the weather the traffic has been slow, and I agree with her so maybe once the weather warms up things will pick up.
I think we are all a bit in denial about the move or just too tired to think about it. We have been looking at some short term lease apartments in 29 Palms and I have to say we found a really nice, yet expensive one we will consider. The website said that the waiting list is 3-6 months. One thing that has me a bit nuts is how they are now grouping Jr. Enlisted in with Sr. Enlisted, and not for the reasons one may think. I think it is unfair based strictly on the housing allowance difference. How an E-4 can live in a house that an E-8 also lives in is not fair because our BAH is higher, but like I tell my son, life is not always fair. Regardless, when my hubs was an E-4 the last thing he would have wanted is to live near and E-8. Talk about never having any "down - time."
I sure will miss our house, wish we could pick it up and just sit it down at our new duty station.

Sometimes You Catch A Break

Yesterday the Marine Corps decided to cooperate with our family. As most of my military friends know, this is not something that happens a lot. My husband (the pro-active man) decided as he usually does to take things into his own hands. He learned a long time ago that if you ask for what you want, and if it is in the best interest to the Marine Corps you can usually get it. He hears a lot of people complain about how, "the Corps/Army..IE is screwing me over". He usually never agrees. He tells his young Marines that he sees in his office everyday that there are certain criteria you should understand about the military. If you need something and it serves in the best interest of the Corps and you can explain that, it can happen. So that is what he did. He found a way to explain to the Marine Corps why it was in the Corps best interest and his that he didn't report until June instead of April as they originally asked. I won't go into too many details but most people would never dream of going up against the monitor to ask for a delay in orders, they would just complain about it, never realizing they could have possibly changed their circumstances. The point I am trying to make is, before you complain about the Military screwing you over, try to come up with a plan for yourself that makes sense and is in the best interest of the Corps or whatever your branch of service. Most things aren't written in stone. It was amazing how in the span of a few hours my husband convinced 2 SgtMajs to see why his plan made more sense, and they didn't even get shitty about it. So now we can all enjoy my sons last few months of his Sr. year and my husband doesn't have to miss a second of it. I am so happy that sometimes you catch a break.