How's it going?

[amaristella]

How is everyone doing? I think we are going to visit relatives tomorrow but have to make it a day trip because for the first time our kennel had no open reservations and no way am I driving that far with Amaristella party of 6 in my car.

Also A would like to show everyone his balloon cat.

[meltoine]

So cute!

We are settling in. DS3 is doing well, but DS1 is having trouble adjusting. He's acting out all over the place. Even my mom is losing patience with him.

H bought new ceiling fans for every room in the house and is spending the entire weekend installing them.

[amaristella]

Sept 12, 2015 21:04:22 GMT -5 meltoine said:

So cute!

We are settling in. DS3 is doing well, but DS1 is having trouble adjusting. He's acting out all over the place. Even my mom is losing patience with him.

H bought new ceiling fans for every room in the house and is spending the entire weekend installing them.

It must be bad when grandma has to count to ten.

Ceiling fans are excellent, though. Especially if they are quiet.

[audette]

We went out to see a local band last night, and the bar they were playing at had all their draft beers at $9/liter (prepping for Octoberfest stuffs, it's a german-themed bar). So, DH got well and truly hosed. But, he's a cute drunk, and I was DD, so it was ok. He's still sleeping it off.

Me, I'm in a flurry of sewing and crafting. Apparently I've suddenly found new inspiration and want to make all.the.things. Two pairs of pants sewn for DH this week, last night I cast off a pair of tall socks I'm knitting for a buddy (why, yes, I was knitting at the bar). I'm about to head out to pick up some thread for another sewing project, and have a bag of proto-projects for knitting up by the swift so I can pick and choose which one to tackle next. I'm thinking lace. I've also been using my AKL loom this week, and have woven a yard or two of a table runner I'm working on. I also want to grab some yarn while I'm out picking up thread so I can get started on the Christmas slippers I knit every year for the family. I always whine about knitting them, but I'm not sure it would be Christmas if I wasn't cramming to get them all done in time... And I have this urge to dye up some roving so I can get back to spinning, too. My LYS has asked if I'd be interested in bringing the wheel and loom out a bit more often when I come in for social knitting.


I think it's a reaction to dealing with an overwhelming amount of stress. Sort of a distraction by crafting deal. I'll take it. At least I'm feeling productive in one area, and it's one I can control...

[kpol]

You know how there are stages of a PCS? First, you're excited to move, excited for a new location. Then you're stressed with the logistics of it all but excited to move out of TLF and get settled. Then once you're settled you sit back and realize you're in a new place with new things and you miss all of your friends and don't know how you'll make new ones? I'm at that last stage and it's not fun. Our house is super awesome, we have a great pool in the backyard but floating around with a cocktail gets old when the only song in my head is "All by myself, don't want to be all by myself annyyymooorreee"

[kpol]

Sept 13, 2015 12:41:58 GMT -5 Stan said:

Sept 13, 2015 12:29:26 GMT -5 kpol said:

You know how there are stages of a PCS? First, you're excited to move, excited for a new location. Then you're stressed with the logistics of it all but excited to move out of TLF and get settled. Then once you're settled you sit back and realize you're in a new place with new things and you miss all of your friends and don't know how you'll make new ones? I'm at that last stage and it's not fun. Our house is super awesome, we have a great pool in the backyard but floating around with a cocktail gets old when the only song in my head is "All by myself, don't want to be all by myself annyyymooorreee"

What general area are you guys in now? I'm not home right now but I'm in rural SC when I am home and it's the worst. So lonely. Hope you find friends soon!

We're in South Florida. Right in the center of the oldz! On the bright side, I get to go to Disney World in November!

[nsl]

Sept 13, 2015 12:29:26 GMT -5 kpol said:

You know how there are stages of a PCS? First, you're excited to move, excited for a new location. Then you're stressed with the logistics of it all but excited to move out of TLF and get settled. Then once you're settled you sit back and realize you're in a new place with new things and you miss all of your friends and don't know how you'll make new ones? I'm at that last stage and it's not fun. Our house is super awesome, we have a great pool in the backyard but floating around with a cocktail gets old when the only song in my head is "All by myself, don't want to be all by myself annyyymooorreee"

We're in that last phase too, though it's somewhat mitigated by the fact that we lived here ~10 years ago and still have a few friends in the area. 

Other than that, things are really settling down, FINALLY.  The boys have settled into their new schools better than I could have hoped, H is enjoying his new job as much as he ever enjoys work, and I'm getting into the groove of working from home.  I can't say I love it, and I can't say that I'm going to do it longer than I absolutely have to, but it's nice to be able to bring in some money (and stay busy during the workday) even if I'm not teaching face-to-face students.  We LOVE our house and neighborhood, which helps a lot.

This move has really made it real that H only has four years and change left in the Army.  He enlisted when he was 17, and is 35 now, so four more years is really nothing in the grand scheme of things.  We've been talking a lot about our game plan, and about where our final PCS (and hopefully ETS) will land us.  I used to think I wanted to settle down here in the DC area, but now I'm not so sure.  I adored living here when I was in my early 20's and had no kids, but now that I'm in my mid-30's with two children I really don't know anymore.  Going "home" isn't an option for a number of reasons, so that leaves us with a few places we think we like, but haven't lived in on a long-term basis. 

[G22]

I'm in PCS hell. I'm between kpol's stage 1 and 2. I'm past excited, but not yet to the TLF stage. In fact, I should be on a red eye over the ocean on my way to that lovely TLF right now. Instead, I drove 2 hours to the airport to not be able to fly since I had my pets and it was too hot. And I couldn't get another flight with AA to save my life because they suck. And we scrambled to find another airline who could get us over there by Friday before the pet health certs expire. And now I get to drive 4 more hours to a new airport tomorrow, to not fly out until Thursday evening. And dear Lord we had better fly out then otherwise I will lose it. As in I will probably bawl in the middle of the airport. I'm 7.5 months pregnant, I don't have the patience for this. Ugh, I just want to get on a plane. And get out of here and away from the heat which is the root of our problems right now.

Obviously, I've been better. lol

[audette]

Blargh for the folks going thru PCS craziness. As we all know - it gets better, but the time waiting until it does can kinda suck.

[Deleted]

I think we are FINALLY settled from our most recent PCS. And we're expecting another baby in late April :-) Which means I currently feel like puking my guts out!

meltoine, we had my dad help us with a few ceiling fans when we moved in, and we hired a handyman to do the rest. My H and I have installed a few by ourselves and I swear it's a miracle that we're still married! It was WELL WORTH the few hundred dollars we paid the handyman.

[pennylane]

After being here for about 8 months, I have finally started making friends and finding things to do to get out of the house. Thank goodness. I was starting to get a little nutty, since I'm basically solo parenting for the year. DH is really only home to sleep and shower most days, which sucks for everyone.

[amaristella]

Sept 13, 2015 11:34:41 GMT -5 audette said:

We went out to see a local band last night, and the bar they were playing at had all their draft beers at $9/liter (prepping for Octoberfest stuffs, it's a german-themed bar). So, DH got well and truly hosed. But, he's a cute drunk, and I was DD, so it was ok. He's still sleeping it off.

Me, I'm in a flurry of sewing and crafting. Apparently I've suddenly found new inspiration and want to make all.the.things. Two pairs of pants sewn for DH this week, last night I cast off a pair of tall socks I'm knitting for a buddy (why, yes, I was knitting at the bar). I'm about to head out to pick up some thread for another sewing project, and have a bag of proto-projects for knitting up by the swift so I can pick and choose which one to tackle next. I'm thinking lace. I've also been using my AKL loom this week, and have woven a yard or two of a table runner I'm working on. I also want to grab some yarn while I'm out picking up thread so I can get started on the Christmas slippers I knit every year for the family. I always whine about knitting them, but I'm not sure it would be Christmas if I wasn't cramming to get them all done in time... And I have this urge to dye up some roving so I can get back to spinning, too. My LYS has asked if I'd be interested in bringing the wheel and loom out a bit more often when I come in for social knitting.


I think it's a reaction to dealing with an overwhelming amount of stress. Sort of a distraction by crafting deal. I'll take it. At least I'm feeling productive in one area, and it's one I can control...

Sounds like you've been busy. I just bought a Schacht Flip loom recently but have only done one project on it so far. Some place mats for A's little table are going to happen soon hopefully. There's a yarn crawl this weekend and I'm dying to take A and go meet the Alpacas at the two Alpaca farms. So excited! And hoping that they sell some spinning fiber so I can finally try my drop spindle.

[amaristella]

Sept 13, 2015 12:29:26 GMT -5 kpol said:

You know how there are stages of a PCS? First, you're excited to move, excited for a new location. Then you're stressed with the logistics of it all but excited to move out of TLF and get settled. Then once you're settled you sit back and realize you're in a new place with new things and you miss all of your friends and don't know how you'll make new ones? I'm at that last stage and it's not fun. Our house is super awesome, we have a great pool in the backyard but floating around with a cocktail gets old when the only song in my head is "All by myself, don't want to be all by myself annyyymooorreee"

I know what you mean and I'm sorry. I feel like it only gets worse over time as you end up with friends all over the world and sometimes you really just want to nestle into a developed friendship. I get a terrible anxiety the first time I meet a new group of people.

[amaristella]

Sept 13, 2015 20:04:18 GMT -5 nsl said:

Sept 13, 2015 12:29:26 GMT -5 kpol said:

You know how there are stages of a PCS? First, you're excited to move, excited for a new location. Then you're stressed with the logistics of it all but excited to move out of TLF and get settled. Then once you're settled you sit back and realize you're in a new place with new things and you miss all of your friends and don't know how you'll make new ones? I'm at that last stage and it's not fun. Our house is super awesome, we have a great pool in the backyard but floating around with a cocktail gets old when the only song in my head is "All by myself, don't want to be all by myself annyyymooorreee"

We're in that last phase too, though it's somewhat mitigated by the fact that we lived here ~10 years ago and still have a few friends in the area. 

Other than that, things are really settling down, FINALLY.  The boys have settled into their new schools better than I could have hoped, H is enjoying his new job as much as he ever enjoys work, and I'm getting into the groove of working from home.  I can't say I love it, and I can't say that I'm going to do it longer than I absolutely have to, but it's nice to be able to bring in some money (and stay busy during the workday) even if I'm not teaching face-to-face students.  We LOVE our house and neighborhood, which helps a lot.

This move has really made it real that H only has four years and change left in the Army.  He enlisted when he was 17, and is 35 now, so four more years is really nothing in the grand scheme of things.  We've been talking a lot about our game plan, and about where our final PCS (and hopefully ETS) will land us.  I used to think I wanted to settle down here in the DC area, but now I'm not so sure.  I adored living here when I was in my early 20's and had no kids, but now that I'm in my mid-30's with two children I really don't know anymore.  Going "home" isn't an option for a number of reasons, so that leaves us with a few places we think we like, but haven't lived in on a long-term basis. 

How excited to think about getting out. But I'm totally with you on location tastes changing as you get into different parts of your life. If you think about it you're not really locked into a place permanently. If something turns out badly you could always move later.

[amaristella]

Sept 13, 2015 21:09:59 GMT -5 G22 said:

I'm in PCS hell. I'm between kpol's stage 1 and 2. I'm past excited, but not yet to the TLF stage. In fact, I should be on a red eye over the ocean on my way to that lovely TLF right now. Instead, I drove 2 hours to the airport to not be able to fly since I had my pets and it was too hot. And I couldn't get another flight with AA to save my life because they suck. And we scrambled to find another airline who could get us over there by Friday before the pet health certs expire. And now I get to drive 4 more hours to a new airport tomorrow, to not fly out until Thursday evening. And dear Lord we had better fly out then otherwise I will lose it. As in I will probably bawl in the middle of the airport. I'm 7.5 months pregnant, I don't have the patience for this. Ugh, I just want to get on a plane. And get out of here and away from the heat which is the root of our problems right now.

Obviously, I've been better. lol

Oh man I hope the weather cooperates soon. It's been unusually warm where I live for September. That was my living nightmare when we moved to Hawaii in July that our cats would get grounded due to weather. I will be thinking of you. Come back and vent as much as you need!

[nsl]

Sept 14, 2015 20:29:33 GMT -5 amaristella said:

Sept 13, 2015 20:04:18 GMT -5 nsl said:

We're in that last phase too, though it's somewhat mitigated by the fact that we lived here ~10 years ago and still have a few friends in the area. 

Other than that, things are really settling down, FINALLY.  The boys have settled into their new schools better than I could have hoped, H is enjoying his new job as much as he ever enjoys work, and I'm getting into the groove of working from home.  I can't say I love it, and I can't say that I'm going to do it longer than I absolutely have to, but it's nice to be able to bring in some money (and stay busy during the workday) even if I'm not teaching face-to-face students.  We LOVE our house and neighborhood, which helps a lot.

This move has really made it real that H only has four years and change left in the Army.  He enlisted when he was 17, and is 35 now, so four more years is really nothing in the grand scheme of things.  We've been talking a lot about our game plan, and about where our final PCS (and hopefully ETS) will land us.  I used to think I wanted to settle down here in the DC area, but now I'm not so sure.  I adored living here when I was in my early 20's and had no kids, but now that I'm in my mid-30's with two children I really don't know anymore.  Going "home" isn't an option for a number of reasons, so that leaves us with a few places we think we like, but haven't lived in on a long-term basis. 

How excited to think about getting out. But I'm totally with you on location tastes changing as you get into different parts of your life. If you think about it you're not really locked into a place permanently. If something turns out badly you could always move later.

This is a really good point, but at the ages our boys are now we're going to need to stay put for at least 10 years after ETS in order to give them stability until they're both out of high school.  As it is I feel a lot of guilt for making DS 1 change schools at least three times while he's in elementary. It's a big decision.

[audette]

Sept 14, 2015 20:24:07 GMT -5 amaristella said:

Sept 13, 2015 11:34:41 GMT -5 audette said:

We went out to see a local band last night, and the bar they were playing at had all their draft beers at $9/liter (prepping for Octoberfest stuffs, it's a german-themed bar). So, DH got well and truly hosed. But, he's a cute drunk, and I was DD, so it was ok. He's still sleeping it off.

Me, I'm in a flurry of sewing and crafting. Apparently I've suddenly found new inspiration and want to make all.the.things. Two pairs of pants sewn for DH this week, last night I cast off a pair of tall socks I'm knitting for a buddy (why, yes, I was knitting at the bar). I'm about to head out to pick up some thread for another sewing project, and have a bag of proto-projects for knitting up by the swift so I can pick and choose which one to tackle next. I'm thinking lace. I've also been using my AKL loom this week, and have woven a yard or two of a table runner I'm working on. I also want to grab some yarn while I'm out picking up thread so I can get started on the Christmas slippers I knit every year for the family. I always whine about knitting them, but I'm not sure it would be Christmas if I wasn't cramming to get them all done in time... And I have this urge to dye up some roving so I can get back to spinning, too. My LYS has asked if I'd be interested in bringing the wheel and loom out a bit more often when I come in for social knitting.


I think it's a reaction to dealing with an overwhelming amount of stress. Sort of a distraction by crafting deal. I'll take it. At least I'm feeling productive in one area, and it's one I can control...

Sounds like you've been busy. I just bought a Schacht Flip loom recently but have only done one project on it so far. Some place mats for A's little table are going to happen soon hopefully. There's a yarn crawl this weekend and I'm dying to take A and go meet the Alpacas at the two Alpaca farms. So excited! And hoping that they sell some spinning fiber so I can finally try my drop spindle.

I'm pretty sure it's avoidance of other stuff at this point.  But, at least it is productive...


As a word of caution, alpaca might not be the best to learn with.  It generally doesn't have the crimp that you find in most tools, which can make it more challenging to spin.  I would recommend looking for a wool/alpaca blend if you want to source it at the farms...

And, yay, yarn crawl!!!!

[G22]

Sept 14, 2015 20:32:01 GMT -5 amaristella said:

Sept 13, 2015 21:09:59 GMT -5 G22 said:

I'm in PCS hell. I'm between kpol's stage 1 and 2. I'm past excited, but not yet to the TLF stage. In fact, I should be on a red eye over the ocean on my way to that lovely TLF right now. Instead, I drove 2 hours to the airport to not be able to fly since I had my pets and it was too hot. And I couldn't get another flight with AA to save my life because they suck. And we scrambled to find another airline who could get us over there by Friday before the pet health certs expire. And now I get to drive 4 more hours to a new airport tomorrow, to not fly out until Thursday evening. And dear Lord we had better fly out then otherwise I will lose it. As in I will probably bawl in the middle of the airport. I'm 7.5 months pregnant, I don't have the patience for this. Ugh, I just want to get on a plane. And get out of here and away from the heat which is the root of our problems right now.

Obviously, I've been better. lol

Oh man I hope the weather cooperates soon. It's been unusually warm where I live for September. That was my living nightmare when we moved to Hawaii in July that our cats would get grounded due to weather. I will be thinking of you. Come back and vent as much as you need!

If yesterday was any indication, I'm sure some other kink will pop up during this move and I'll have more to vent over. I've never been so jealous watching planes take off at the airport next to our hotel as I was last night and wishing I was on one. I'm just praying everything goes off without a hitch and we can get out of here on Thursday.

[amaristella]

Sept 14, 2015 21:14:59 GMT -5 audette said:

Sept 14, 2015 20:24:07 GMT -5 amaristella said:

Sounds like you've been busy. I just bought a Schacht Flip loom recently but have only done one project on it so far. Some place mats for A's little table are going to happen soon hopefully. There's a yarn crawl this weekend and I'm dying to take A and go meet the Alpacas at the two Alpaca farms. So excited! And hoping that they sell some spinning fiber so I can finally try my drop spindle.

I'm pretty sure it's avoidance of other stuff at this point.  But, at least it is productive...


As a word of caution, alpaca might not be the best to learn with.  It generally doesn't have the crimp that you find in most tools, which can make it more challenging to spin.  I would recommend looking for a wool/alpaca blend if you want to source it at the farms...

And, yay, yarn crawl!!!!

Oh. Believe me if I can't find any pure wool at any of the 10 other stops for spinning I will buy some online. I have spinning books but haven't even cracked them yet.

[audette]

Blargh. DH let me know this morning that the promotion list we expected last month might not get released until late next month. It's all rumours and conjection, because no one official has said anything about the timing - last month's expectation was based on prior years releases of the list.


Ugh. Maybe this means I'll continue to have a productive month, at least.

[amaristella]

Sept 15, 2015 10:10:26 GMT -5 audette said:

Blargh. DH let me know this morning that the promotion list we expected last month might not get released until late next month. It's all rumours and conjection, because no one official has said anything about the timing - last month's expectation was based on prior years releases of the list.


Ugh. Maybe this means I'll continue to have a productive month, at least.

That sucks. Wonder why they would delay.