Tuesday, July 31, 2007

A few steps closer to Spamalot... I mean, Alaska!

Yes, O Queen of Geeks, I am finally listening to Spamalot. And it's cracking me up. I'm going to have to learn a couple of these songs for the next time I audition for something!

We've moved one or two baby steps closer to Alaska. I was offered a rather low salary, but I took it on the promise of a raise around December. At least it gets us up there.

Also, today was my last day at my current job. I didn't say the "G" word, but promised W. I'd keep in touch. That should be pretty easy for most of us because my email will be the same, this blog will be in this same spot, and we are very likely to have the same phone numbers as we do now, since Cingular bought out the Alaska cell phone system.

So I now have time to devote completely to the yard sale happening this weekend. There's a small possibility we may move it to the next weekend, but I really think this weekend is best, since we have to move everything else out the week after that.

I seem to have run out of witticisms today. I spent a lot of time stuck in the gridlock of Cameron Park and Shingle Springs. (A CHP was struck when he was putting out the spikes to stop a guy fleeing arrest. My heart and sympathy goes out the cop's family) My car nearly overheated because it was mostly standstill and it was really hot this afternoon. When I went to visit my parents, normally a five minute drive, I had to go the Wine Country Scenic Route. I took Salmon Falls out to Coloma and through Placerville to get to Shingle Springs from the other direction. Wow, that's a long loop!

Anyway, I'm exhausted and my clothes are still sticking to my body. So I'll try for more Whitty humor later.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Send in the storms

I was just looking at the weather in Wasilla, noticing that it's raining most of the week with temps in the high 60s and low 70s.

Then I remembered how the Northern California weather people are always talking about storms coming down from Alaska.

So I had this cute little scenario run through my head:

Me picking up the phone and dialing my mother's number.

"Hello, Mom? Yeah, it's your daughter. I'm sending you a gift wrapped storm straight from Alaska for your garden!"

And now for something completely different...

I know this is totally off the Alaska subject, but I felt the deep, dividing need to blog today. So I'll share this totally off the subject random stream of consciousness because I'm totally off my nut (cashews, please.)

If you could meet one celebrity face to face, who would it be? What would you say? What would you do?

I never really contemplated this until the last few years, though I've had my favorites. I've always wanted to sing a duet with Billy Joel. I had the biggest crush on Keanu Reeves in high school. In junior high it was Fred Savage from the Wonder Years. (He's still as cute as a penguin's ear.)

But I never really considered the reality of meeting a celebrity in some totally normal every day place and having a totally normal conversation with them like we could be really good friends.

So I can hear you saying wow, I wonder which celebrity has got her thinking about normal, boring, sitting-round-the-cafe-table-like-they-do-in-France conversational things? Don't people usually just lust for the ultimate unattainable one-night-stand with their current flash in-the-pan fantasy?

And when will she stop hyphenating and get to the point!

Anyone want to guess who it is? Anyone? Anyone?

Melly bean, stop waving your arms in the air and jumping up and down like you have to go to the toilet. You'll give yourself a black eye.

Okay, here it is:

Nathan Fillion.

I'm sure plenty of people would be saying WTF? Who's that?

Hello. Firefly freak. Serenity psycho here!

For some reason, I have this raging urge to meet this guy. Not just because he looks great in his Captain Tightpants.

When I see the outtakes on Firefly and Serenity, I see what a funny, friendly guy he is. The kind of guy you'd have three pages of inside jokes with. The kind of guy who'd make Dr. Pepper shoot out your nose and ears like a fondue fountain. Makes my brain fizzle just to think about it.

Also, I recognize how human he is. You can tell he's a total attention hog because whenever he's on camera, he grabs center stage for himself. And stage left. And stage right. And upstage and downstage. Heck, he's got the whole backstage and greenroom right along for the ride as well.

But at least he makes it well worth our time to put up with a bit of performance ego.

I've got problems whenever I envision meeting him though. I read other people's blogs who talk about going to the conventions and meeting him, playing the Serenity RPGs with him, getting autographs and pictures with him.

But I don't want any of that stuff, really (well, except playing RPGs with him.)

However, whenever I try to picture what I would say to him or how I would behave, everything comes off as being psycho-stalker-one-woman-obsession-club. How could someone like me ever be interesting to someone who has more than 30,000 friends on his myspace page? I've never even attempted to try to be one of his myspace friends because he doesn't need one more drooling female begging for a few words and a scattering of largess. What could I possibly say or do that would make me stand out as someone Nathan Fillion, aka Malcolm Reynolds, aka Captain Tightpants would be interested in getting to know more about?

It sounds weird, I know. but I would just like to be his friend. Truly.

Goddess help me. This entire blog entry sounds psycho-stalker-one-woman-obsession-club to me. I'm totally hopeless.

Oh, well. Gods all bless, cast and crew of Firefly. And all the people out there who get as much of a kick out of them as I do.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

The Afterthought Burn

Yeah, you can tell I'm bored because I'm already posting again.

I forgot to mention that my sweet older brother gave me a web cam a day or two ago! Logan had promised we would get one so that people can still see me even all the way in Alaska. Well, Roy had one that came with his laptop and he'd never used it, so he gave it to me! Woohoo! I can't wait to play with it. I hope it works with our laptop.

Also, I think I may get a new weather button. This one doesn't seem to be changing! I'm avoiding the possibility that Wasilla weather is always like that, so don't burst my bubble!

Okay. I'm going away to figure out the Firefly Theme on my guitar now. Melly Bean promised me that I could play it on the last night of our show and I still don't know the chords! Arrgh!

A drop of refreshing rain...

Yeah, it actually sprinkled on my car today. Amazing.

Well, we've gotten a couple more drops of information about our grand and glorious move. Logan got a salary offer yesterday. He wasn't totally happy with it and will be renegotiating, I'm sure, but he's definitely going to be Floor Manager in Wasilla.

Supposedly I'm going to hear something today myself, but so far nothing, zero, zip, zilch. But I'm definitely ready to negotiate my salary offer when I get it. After all, I've been told having a Masters Degree in anything is worth bragging about.

And even more confidence inspiring is the fact that I will always have the transcription job to fall back on, even up there in Alaska. Thank you, W.

Anyway, now it looks like official "Moving to Alaska" day will be October 1st. We'll be conducting interviews by our first weekend there. Wow -- Me interviewing people. That boggles my mind, it does.

So I'll still be here for a particular 30th birthday bash at the end of September! Wink, wink, nudge, nudge!

Boy, I need to get new comedy writers. I think my blog is starting to repeat itself! (Or maybe it's an alcoholic blog.)

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Searching other blogs and new cars...

When I'm taking short breaks from my work, I like to search and discover other blogs written by people who live in or visit Alaska. This one cracked me up. I hope the link works.

http://realtravel.com/anchorage-journals-j4341504.html

His description of regular Americans versus Alaskan Americans makes me think Logan and I will be right at home.

Also, his description of different animal poo is quite informative, not to mention high-larious.

And as usual, I haven't got anything new to tell you about as far as moving. I did have some fun comparing general costs of living for Placerville, CA and Wasilla, AK. Alaska was actually cheaper in most areas (though not by much) and had less crime. (Is that what happens when everyone is packing? You never know when the person you rob is going to have a bigger gun than you!)

What really tickled me was when I checked out the prices for two bed, one bath homes. Not only were the homes in Placerville a bit shabbier, but they were at least $100,000 more than the same size homes in Wasilla. And the homes in Wasilla were nicer looking. That's a very weak way of putting it, too.

Now Logan and I are sunk in the debate of what kind of vehicle do we want after we move up there? Do we want to sell the Yaris, even though it would mean losing all the money we put into it? Do we want to get an older used truck or by a new SUV? Do we want two vehicles or just make do with one, since we'll be working at the same place and it will be pretty close to home?

We're looking at the Toyota FJ Cruiser for a four wheel drive new SUV choice. It looks goofy, but it is supposedly one of the best new off-roading SUVs on the market right now. We watched videos of people taking them rock crawling and stuff.

Too many choices, too many decisions, not enough direct and specific knowledge to do anything!

All we know is that we're moving out of our apartment August 15th and in with my parents for the last couple of months before we actually move to Alaska. Since I'll be training in Reno for a big part of that time, there seemed to be little point to shelling out nearly $2,000 for one person to live in a two bed, two bath apartment for two months.

And we're holding our yard sale first weekend in August, which I've already mentioned several times.

I guess I should stop all this playing around and get back to work. I have a show tonight.

Wowza, last night's audience was crazy! They were having a blast and the actors were eating it up. A couple of characters were doing things they've never done before, such as chasing each other across the stage when they weren't even supposed to be onstage in the first place, and I turned to Melly Bean and said, "This show is officially out of control."

If people were that nuts last night, I can't wait to see what antics occur on closing night!

Thursday, July 19, 2007

New Weather Button!

I added a tiny weather button to this blog so I have a daily reminder of what the weather is like in Wasilla!

Also so my friends and family can poke fun at me about how long the sun is out right now and how often it rains.

Why is it the first thing people say when I tell them where we're moving is, "It's cold up there"?

Don't you think I know that by now?!?!

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Yard Sale Weeding Continues

We finally had to move one of the cat trees out of the corner to make room for all the things we're weeding out for our yard sale.

Wow. I'd swear we're getting rid of almost half our stuff. True, a lot of it is old clothes that probably no one would want for free, let alone buy, but still. It's a ton of stuff!

As I was glancing through it all, something dawned on this blonde marble head of mine. I want to lay it out flat to all our friends and family members in case they end up coming to the yard sale and seeing certain things with price tags on them.

Yes, it's true. Unfortunately we are selling off some things that people have given us in the recent past for birthdays and Christmas presents. I beg you please, please, please don't be offended. It's just a necessity for this move that we're making. We want to make it as simple as possible.

Some things I'm worried will not make it up to Alaska to begin with. I'd rather have someone else here enjoy them intact than have to throw them away up north because it got broken.

We're planning to start off really small, as in a studio apartment. We're still debating on if we even want to take the bed because it's so huge. Sleeping bags take up less room (and Logan has collected so many over the years). So we won't have room for a lot of stuff.

Also, I've got to tell you how liberating it is to pull out all the things that don't get used or worn and give them to people who will use or wear them. There were a few large items that got put in the closet when we moved into the apartment in Cameron Park that have not budged since then. I know I can live without them.

We're going to see how close we can get to putting all our stuff that's going to Alaska into Rubbermaid totes.

And by the way, all our friends are invited to come root through the stuff and take whatever they want for free. Like if you gave me something that you thought was really neat and want it back, now's the time!

Melly Bean, I have a hatbox you may like.

Yes, Tiffy, you're still getting the round chair.

Matthew, I will get your birthday bear done before we leave for Alaska, I promise!

The yard sale will be held first weekend in August, the 4th and 5th, at my parents' house in Shingle Springs. For those who want directions, please email me or post to this blog entry and I will email them to you.

We're selling a lot of clothes, furniture, craft fabrics (I cleaned out my teddy bear making supplies), and a bunch of odds and ends.

Well, that's about all that I've got to write about. Nothing new about when we're leaving or when my training starts or anything like that. My posts are starting to spread out now because if it. Even my closest friends will stop reading since my blog is getting boring.

Maybe I need to spice it up a bit...

"Dear Diary, today I was pompous and my sister was crazy."

Sunday, July 15, 2007

I need a good rant...

Do you ever feel like you're the only one who likes to plan things out in advance so you're not rushing to get things done at the last minute?

I want to plan out this whole going to Alaska thing. I want to know when I'm leaving for Reno to train for my management position so that we can figure out when to move out of the apartment. I want to know when the best time to hold the yard sale will be. I want to be able to plan some time to go to Alder Creek with my family, celebrate my best friend's "29.95 plus shipping and handling" birthday (at least she's creative about the horrifying fact that SHE'S TURNING 30 THIS YEAR! HAHAHA!), and have a last hoorah in California party to say goodbye to all the people I'll love and miss.

I like to know things ahead of time so I can be ready when the fit hits the shan. Then I can duck and let Logan take it in the face.

Wait, I have to kiss him, though. Maybe not such a hot idea.

I'm so agitated by this not being able to plan snit of mine that I'm biting my nails again. Most of you know that I've spent three-quarters of my life trying to knock that off, but it sneaks back up on me every once in a while when I get stressed.

I think I'm beyond stressed. My brain is bulging through the seams of my skull. I'd make a neat Anime movie. Something creepy like Akira.

Spouse creature is home and wants the computer. So... I'm going to bed. Blessed be!

Friday, July 13, 2007

I may be a Taurus, but this is ridiculous...

Okay, totally unrelated to moving to Alaska, but as there's nothing new to report on that front, I simply couldn't leave this one alone.



Did you see those pics of the guys getting gored during the running of the bulls?! It's enough to turn the stomach of the strongest among us. I got this pic from the Drudge Report where they're calling it "The Day the Bulls Won."




"I just got back from running with the bulls. I tell you, those bulls aren't running away, they're running around looking for people. Growl, snort, snort. I had a close call, I almost got gored in my frijoles. Oh, the pain in Spain!"


"I could help, big Al!"


Couldn't resist the Laugh-In reference. It's too, too perfect.


And now, back to our regularly scheduled chaos.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Told my boss... and lived

Today I told my boss that I was going to be quitting soon. I'd been dreading it for about a week. She has such a fiery temper, you never know what parts of you will be singed in her presence. I didn't know whether to pray that she was in a good mood (my news would ruin the good mood) or a bad one (she'd bite my head off, chew it up, and spit it into a herd of stampeding cattle.)


Not only was she cool about it, she told me that even in Alaska I would still have a job with her if I needed one. She said I could send and pick up work over the email. Wow, she really is a nice lady, though she tries to prove that wrong most of the time.


Just kidding. You know I love you, W.


Other than that, no new developments. I looked at cat carriers today with airline regulations in mind, took some pictures of Dusty curled up with his head on one of the sneakers, and generally wasted the afternoon.


I know, I know, W. I should be working. Sigh.


But first, some adorable Dusty photos, just for the halibut.



Okay, we'll settle for one photo. It's past my bedtime. Yawn.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

All dressed up and Alaska to go...





So I had mentioned earlier that I picked up a pair of harnesses for the cats so that, in the event that we drive up to Alaska, they will be able to go outside on leashes at rest stops. Asuka hated the harness, but loves going outside. She sits at the door and meows to go out now instead of gazing longingly out the windows.



That's Asuka above, aka Pretty Girl, sporting her stylish nap time look to complement the hot pink harness.









And here she is fully awake and snubbing the camera in true feline fashion.





This is Dusty, aka Tubby Kitty. I was so relieved that the blue harness fit him even with that huge belly of his. He didn't even notice the harness, but he's more freaked about being outside than Asuka is. He'll wander by the door for a second, then dash back inside the moment the door opens. Logan says Dusty knows a good thing.





Don't blame me for how fat Dusty is. He came to us that way. He arrived at the dinner table with the other cats, announcing himself with a huge thud as he landed on the porch. With all that fur, I couldn't tell if he was a boy or a girl, so we thought he might be pregnant. We took him to vet to get fixed and shots and the vet called a few hours later.


"Uh, yeah, he's a boy and he's already been fixed."


I blushed red as a stop light. All those years working in a kennel and I still have trouble with the really fluffy neutered boys. And now I'm sharing it with the world.


I need to get my head readjusted.


Anyway, Asuka was much quieter. My mother-in-law Beth said, "There's this cat on the back porch railing I've never seen before."


I peeked out the back door window. There she was stretched out on the railing as if she'd lived there all her life. I expected her to bolt when I opened the door. She started, but then she looked right at me with those greeny-blue eyes and mewed at me. I picked her up, took her inside, and she spent the next few hours curled on my lap.


Now you see why we will not give these guys up for anything. They chose us, so I'll brave post-9/11 airline flights to make things easier on them.

Friday, July 6, 2007

The Details Drag Slowly Northward

Little by little I'm getting more information about when we'll be leaving and the circumstances around that auspicious event. (Though I'm sure some of my family and friends would refer to it as an ass-picious event. Those with dirtier minds would, anyway.)

I wish I could find out everything at once. Then I wouldn't be chomping at the bit. I want to talk to my current boss and let her know what's going on, but I don't know what's going on yet!

After talking to the Wasilla Store Manager today, I was told to expect to begin training for Office Manager in Reno about the middle of August. Then interviews for the Wasilla store will begin around the 28th or so of September, so we'd be flying up a few days beforehand to get our bearings and look for apartments to live in. We'd be going up for good probably a week after the interviews.

I've been searching online and there are at least two apartment complexes with decent rent prices within five minutes of the store. We plan to start house hunting in January after all the holiday hullabaloo falls off.

Anyway, it looks like I'll be holding the Moving to Alaska Yard Sale within the first couple of weeks of August. I'll just have to live without my PlayStation until... next year maybe? Eek, what a dreadful thought! How will I get my Grand Theft Auto fix?!

I've already started rooting out stuff. Got a big pile of clothes and craft goodies next to the front door that's growing every day. Don't know how Logan is doing with selling the extra cars yet. Perhaps I should start bugging him tonight after the show.

Holy Marinated Mother! I've got a show tonight! I need to go eat my dinner and get my "Chrissy Mae" on.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

After the "day off"...

Happy Day After Independence Day!

Yesterday was quite full. I went with Logan to the store to have my official informal interview.

Informal. Basically the Wasilla Store Manager just wanted to make sure that Logan wasn't bullying me into going to Alaska. I said, "Are you kidding? I'm the first one who thought about it!"

And then we spent the rest of the time talking about Alaska. You know, the gangs in Anchorage with the occasional drive-by, the booming dope gardens, the crystal meth labs ...

Oh, wait. That's the kind of thing my mother wouldn't want to hear about. (Sorry, Mom.)

Yeah, we've heard Alaska has it's own fair share of problems. People move up there for the freedom, but then they try to make it exactly like where they came from. We're going up there because it's different, not in spite of it.

After my "interview", I spent the next couple of hours talking to people I used to work with. Boy, news travels fast along this grapevine. People were already calling me Officer Manager when I ran into them.

I also ran into Karen, my first martial arts instructor, and told her all about it. She seemed very excited for us and again reiterated the karate curse of triplet boys on us. Is it any wonder I'm afraid to have even one kid?! That one could very easily be three at once!!

When in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout.

Well, I went home and tried to get some work done. I had to stop sooner than I wanted because I started getting a migraine. I think I've reached the point my eye doctor warned me about. I can't do work wearing my contacts without getting a headache. I guess I'll have to wear glasses 24/7 very soon. How depressing. But those are issues I'll get into some other day.

Went to the family party at my cousins' house after picking Logan up from work. What fun. Tons of food, music, and talking with family. Not exactly Logan's cup of tea, especially when Mom breaks out her camcorder (scrapbook freak), but then he grew up in a very different type of family than mine. He's handling it so well though. He's got a good attitude.

The fireworks were beautiful. My brother bought out the stand because he'd gotten paid right before buying fireworks, so he brought the mother lode with him. It was a long, crackly night.

My brother and my cousins jumped the shower of sparks from the cones, crashing into the ladder and each other on occasion. The Three Stooges on the Fourth of July.

I was playing with Nino and another younger boy and a big inflatable ball. I had just lunged out wide and grabbed the ball when someone set off the first firework of the night. It was one of those screamers. When I heard it, I thought it was the ball in my arms exploding so I dropped it with a squeal. My mom got it on camera. That's one for America's funniest home videos.

A bunch of us used the sticks to write our names on the sidewalk. That's one thing that the new sparklers have over the old sparklers. I still miss the old ones though.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Independence Day as much as I did. Blessed be.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

It's Official..

We are moving!

(Theater brats, name that line!)

Here's the hilarious part. This whole thing came up with Logan having been working his butt off and now people are finally noticing what a great employee he is. So we were waiting on the final word on his management position before selling our stuff and throwing what's left into Rubbermaid Totes.

Well, we're still waiting for word on whether he has the Gun Room Manager slot or not.

I'm officially Office Manager.

I'm shaking so much, it's hard to type@$(j392dw)(&%#

See?!

I've never been a manager before. I have no idea what to expect. I'm scared witless.

But moving to Alaska doesn't phase me one bit. Isn't that a laugh.

(Crickets chirping)

Well, maybe not.

So now it begins. Lots of furniture to move, cleaning and packing and dusting and polishing...

(Okay, even die hard theater brats won't know that one unless they've visited Olde Coloma Theatre recently. http://groups.myspace.com/oldcolomatheatre
That should give you a better idea. Good lord, this is the last show I'll be doing in California for ... uh ... a long time!)

I'll be going in for a formal interview tomorrow. Holy Mary Mother of Moonbeams, I have to tell my current boss I'm quitting! I hope there's something left of me after the blaze dies down.

So maybe we won't be leaving as early as the end of August after all. Logan said something about possibly staying here until the end of September, flying up there to do interviews for three days, coming back for a week, then going up for good in October.

But as annoying as it is, everything is still up in the air.

Oops, may mac and cheese is done. Now if only I still felt like eating.

Monday, July 2, 2007

How to move the cats

My cats are very important to me. There's no way I'm giving them up when they chose us to begin with. So they must come to Alaska, too.

They are indoor kitties, so living in a wild, cold place like Alaska isn't going to be a problem, especially for Dusty and his big belly and thick coat of long fur. And he'll keep skinny Asuka warm by pouncing on her every five minutes.

But I've never traveled such a long distance with cats before. An hour at the most. And that was difficult enough as it was.

So I've been pondering the different ways we could be moving. Logan said the traditional way for the company is to ship our stuff, ship our car, and we fly up.

Ugh. I hate flying. No way.

So then we considered driving up through Canada, which could take like four or five days, or driving up to Washington and taking the ferry up.

Either way, that's a lot of time spent in the car. A vast potential for a lot of problems as well. What if they don't eat, drink, or go potty that entire time? They could make themselves really sick. Starting as a new manager and speaking completely selfishly, I don't want to have sick kitties on my list of things to freak out about.

After some Internet research, I decided to buy a couple of harnesses and leashes and teach them to walk around outside safely. I found a dark blue one for Dusty and a hot pink one for Asuka, with matching leashes.

I put the harnesses on them as soon as I got home. Having worn collars for a year now, getting them on wasn't the problem.

Dusty didn't even notice his, of course. He is so laid back he spends most of the day on his back with his paws in the air. That big belly of his keeps him well balanced. He did roll around for a few minutes, but that was it.

Asuka acted like a fly was buzzing in her ears. She lashed her tail, sprang in the air as if zapped with a cattle prod, and twitched her ears back and forth a lot. This went on for a few hours. She kept licking and scratching at it, too.

But she's used to it now. And I took them both outside for their first airing yesterday. Asuka acted like I had attached a 30 pound weight to her back when I clipped on the leash; she flattened her back and walked with bent knees for a bit.

Dusty thought it all was just soooo cool. But of course, neither of them wanted to go in the same direction, so there I was with my arms way out at my sides like I was trying to fly to Alaska on my own hot air. We were only out on our back area, which is enclosed with a chest high wall, but with gaping spots underneath for any and all creatures to slip through.

After a bit, Dusty got tired of not being allowed to go any further, so he started trying to back out of the harness. I used his distraction to get him a little closer to Asuka so I could scoop both of them up and whisk them away back to familiar territory behind doors.

Today, I took them out on the walkway in front of the apartment one at a time. Dusty,being the cooler head, I took first. He hovered by the door a bit, but then walked right next to me partway down the walk. I swear he was a dog in his past life.

But after a couple of feet, he lost his nerve and turned back for home. So then I took Asuka out. She jumped into the nearest bush and would not come out. Oh, well. I had to step into the foliage next to our front door to extract her from the bush and take her back in.

Actually, I think they both handled it okay. They'll get better over time and this way I'll be able to take them for walks at rest stops on the trip up.

Though now I'm starting to think flying might be better after all, for them. More on that later.

Sunday, July 1, 2007

My Reasons for Moving (clears throat) ...

Okay, so I said yesterday that I had some reasons for wanting to move to Alaska. So here's my list:

1) I don't tan, so my time in California sun is wasted anyway.

2) I have a fantastic spouse creature that will keep me warm.

3) California laws suck.

4) There are more Libertarians in Alaska.

5) I'm obsessed with "Little House on the Prairie" books and have always wanted to be closer to nature and live a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

6) There's a fantastic growing season for gardens. With 20 hours of sunlight a day, I've heard people can grow the biggest vegetables!

7) I won't have to wear shorts anymore, so I won't have to shave my legs. (Logan cringes when I mention that.)

8) We will actually be able to purchase a house, a near impossibility in California.

9) Upon purchasing said house, we will finally be open to the idea of having kids. (My parents are probably shouting hallelujah right now and dancing a jig around their living room.)

10) We're both being offered fantastic jobs, a must have before even considering a move to Alaska.

There's probably more, but those are the ones that stick out in my mind right now as I write this.

I just hate waiting for everything to be settled. Technically I still don't have the job that I was offered (waiting on one higher-up who's never met me to give the okay), but Logan's is solid.

And I think I may actually be willing to climb on a plane to get there, at least for the sake of my cats. But more on the cats tomorrow.