Eric’s Blog

It’s been another busy week for us. I’m quite ready for things to slow down a bit, but we’re not quite there yet.

I had to work extra hours this weeks to make up for the time off that I took last Friday and this past Monday. Ten hour days aren’t so bad if I take an extra hour in the morning and an extra hour in the evening. If I go to work at normal time (7:30-ish AM) and try to do ten hours that day, it’s miserable. At some point, I realized that PTO (Personal Time Off) is there to be used and I shouldn’t feel bad about using it. So, I took my required holiday on Thursday, and I decided at the last minute to take a floating holiday off on Friday to spend time with my family.

Turkey day

Adrianne and I went out to dinner at the Indian food place next to the house and I ordered curry that was slightly spicier than I’m used to eating. It kept me up all night and I wound up falling back to sleep as Adrianne was getting out of bed to get the bird prepped and in the oven.

I woke up around 10:30 AM and made my way downstairs to see what I could do to help. Adrianne is a rock-star and didn’t need anything from me, so I just unboxed a few things around the house, played on my phone, and tried to set up the television above the fireplace.

I found out that the TV had been broken during the move even after being wrapped up in bubble-wrap, a moving blanket, and plastic wrap. I jumped on the newly arrived internet and started research into a new flatscreen. I found a 55 inch set at a reasonable price and ordered it for pickup the next day. It’s not the most high-tech television available, but for $300, it’s a nice 55″ TV that fits nicely above the fireplace.

Sarah was originally scheduled to work a late shift, but she was able to switch with someone for their morning shift. She worked that morning and drove over from the ‘Burg in the afternoon. She and Brooks made it to the house with plenty of time to be able to bake cornbread and make homemade macaroni and cheese to complement the already extensive feast that Adrianne had prepared.

We had dinner and turned on some holiday movies on the little TV set I propped up on the mantle until we could pick up the new TV the next day. Everyone lent a hand in cleaning up from dinner and even though we didn’t have a table to sit and dine at, it was one of the most memorable Thanksgiving dinners we’ve ever had. We definitely feel at home in our new home.

Black Friday

The next day, Adrianne wanted to go to Fred (short for Fredericksburg, also sometimes called Fred-Vegas because that’s where all the fun stuff is.) We drove out to the furniture store and ordered the kitchen and dining room sets that she wants. We stopped by Lowe’s and picked up matching ceiling fans for each room that needs one. I also picked up a dehumidifier for the basement and some other odds and ends. Finally, we picked up the television that I’d ordered from Best Buy. We got out of town quickly after that because it was a bit crazy with all the people running around.

We got home and set up the TV (you gotta have priorities)! Then, we got the Christmas stuff out of the garage and the kids set up the tree and some of the other decorations. We’re not done yet, but the kids were able to give us a nice start. Sarah had to be back in the ‘Burg the next day for the football game and wanted time to herself in the morning to do a few things, so, the kids left after supper to head back to the ‘Burg. It’s only a two-and-a-half hour drive from here to there. They called to let us know they made it in safely, and the next day, Adrianne and I got up, packed our overnight bags, and went to the ‘Burg for the game.

JMU v. Marshall

I can say without a doubt that yesterday was the coldest I’ve ever been in my life!

We met Sarah at noon and walked over to the football stadium where the band had pizza for all the parents. It was senior night, alumni weekend, and band-parents weekend.

After pizza on the floor of the most purple gymnasium I’ve ever seen, we went into the stadium to watch the band’s rehearsal. The sun was out, but we were on a side of the stadium where there was no sun, and we weren’t wearing any layers yet, so we were frozen by the time it was over. We left and went to our hotel to thaw out and get changed before the game.

We met Sarah for warm-ups on the quad. After warm-ups, the band marched down to the stadium and performed their pregame show. We got there a bit before the band to get food, hot chocolate, and find seats.

The game was great; JMU dominated during the first half. Marshall came back during the second half with a touchdown immediately followed by a pick six, and we think that the refs were paid-off by Marshall during halftime. The game went into double overtime and Marshall clinched it on the last play of the game. It was devastating to see them lost at the last minute like that, but we were secretly thankful it didn’t go longer because of how cold it was.

After the game, the band performed their post-game show and they recognized all the Seniors who would never step onto the field again as a Marching Royal Duke (MRD). Parents and guests are invited onto the field as the MRDs wrap-things up after every game. It’s cool to be there, but we were so cold at the end of the night that we were just thankful to get out of there and back to the car where it was warm. I think one of my toes broke off in my shoe as we walked back to the car.

Camper

After breakfast at the hotel this morning and checking out, we drove back to the house here in King George, got the tools and supplies that we thought we’d need and went down to Fort Walker (old Fort A. P. Hill) to move the camper. We were able to retract the camper jacks and move the camper to the storage lot on the far side of the base. We have an appointment in a few weeks to get it serviced. I’m not sure what we’re going to do with it once we get it repaired. It’s great when it’s working properly and it’s a pain in the ass when it’s not. I suppose we’ll have to wait and see and discuss it once we have more information about what’s wrong with it.

Moving Forward

There’s still plenty to do around the house and we need to collect some of our things from a friend’s house and our storage unit. Now that we’re in the holiday season, I think it’s going to take us more time to get the house unpacked than we thought. We’re balancing all the things that come with the holidays as well as all the things that come with moving into a new house. Some weekends will be spent at the house unpacking and setting things up, some weekends will be spent doing holiday stuff and others will be spent doing family things. It’s all a balancing act, we’ll just have to Keep Moving Forward.