ready for the movers...

So the house is ready for the movers tomorrow... Doing a few last loads of laundry, gotta pack up my toiletries, and then I'll check in to the hotel. Departure on Saturday if the weather looks good, and it does so far. I've had some good times in this home, made some good friends great friends here. I'll miss it, but am looking forward to the return to Europe. I just wish I could fast foward a week. It looks like we'll be arriving in Germany on my birthday if everything goes as planned...

auf weiderbarken...

the girls had a little going away party tonight and got to say goodbye to a few four-legged friends. m had a special going-away present... a big white/brindle boy who calmly stood while she molested him with her nose. it was quite a sight for a not-so-proud mother, but it had been a long time since she had been around a boy, so i turned the other cheek and let her do her thing. she always was a little slutty, that girl.

it seems like the closer i get to the move date, the more people i realize i wish i had had a chance to get to know better and spend more time with. p, j & j, for example. tonight i'm happy that i will, at least for now, still have a strong tie to this town and the wonderful people i love who call it home.

just a week or so left...

the movers come in 5 days. we'll be spending a week in a hotel (with three big dogs, mind you) while they work their moving magic, then we're off to catch a flight back to the vaterland. deutschland. after having lived there for three years, returning to the us for nearly two, we're doubling our steps and returning for another few years. i'm excited. this is the second chance i wanted, the chance to see things i missed, learn things i didn't have the effort for the first time around. i get to go back home, and it is home, in a big way.

there are a lot of things i'll miss about being here (and a lot of things i miss about being there, which i'll bring up later). so, without further ado, while they are fresh in my head since i'm taking advantage while i can...

1. friends (c & s specifically. i don't know what i'll do without you girls. lots of phone call, and thank goodness for airline miles.)
2. family, and being close to you. it's hard leaving you, even though you're all still just a plane ride away.
3. mexican food. i debated putting this above friends and family... ; ) here's hoping our stuttgart recommendation turns out to be worthwile.
4. shopping. the clothes. i'm moving to the land of ugly clothes. sorry but it's true. nordstrom, anthropologie, jcrew... i'll miss you all.
5. town lake. sorry, lady bird lake. you've been a good friend in a time of need. pounding your track this year got me, well, through this year.
6. my car. i'm trading you in for a bike. incidentally, this is something for the 'things i miss about there' list as well. no matter how much i'm looking forward to not driving on a daily basis, i will miss you.
7. small talk. yep, small talk. and though i love the deutsch and europeans in general, i will miss the friendliness of americans, even if some of it is superficial.
8. live music. yeah, they have concerts in germany, but it's not like here. no place is.
9. the alamo drafthouse. well, all movie theatres. and movie theatre popcorn. why, oh why, am i moving just before the SATC movie comes out??? here's hoping AAFES takes care of it's military wives (not that i am one. i'm not, but i do have some post privileges thanks to s).
10. i'm actually having trouble coming up with number 10, but 10 is such a good number, so i'm going to go ahead and say it one more time. mexican food. how am i going to live without you again. it was hard enough the first time.