Oh, Trader Joe’s, How I’ve Missed You So….
Made my first trip to Trader Joe’s today since being back. I have missed it so very much. It was just as I remembered, and I even got my favorite parking space. The one in front of the store next to it, but is still close, so I don’t have to tromp Charlie through the dangers of the parking lot to get into the store.
We didn’t get much; I was in a bit of bad mood, truth be known. But I did get a few of my favorite things:
- 2 Greek Honey Yogurt
- 2 Organic Gala Apples
- A bottle of Trader Giotto’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 bottles Italian wine
- 2 packages Trader Joe’s Mountain Spring Water at their insanely low every day price
I think that’s it. I wanted to get their freshly-prepared Italian stuffed chicken breasts, but they didn’t have any. Hopefully they haven’t stopped making it. That’s ok. We just came home and had the turkey meatballs from yesterday in the homemade pasta sauce I made. Can you tell I’m a bit of an afficiando Italiano?
I was so homesick while living in Iowa that I made a 9-hour round trip drive to the Trader Joe’s in Minneapolis, Minnesota one Saturday. Des Moines has no Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, or anything of the like, sadly.
The movers arrive bright and early tomorrow morning with my furniture, and more importantly, my kitchen stuff. I can’t wait to get cooking in my new kitchen. It is so nice. That’s the difference between renting from a private owner and a corporate-owned apartment complex. The quality of all the “little things.”
This place is especially nice because the owner used to actually live there and made it his home. So now that he’s moved on and is renting this place out, I get the benefit of his good taste and better choices!
The townhome is described as a “San Francisco Style Victorian.” I’ve been in a couple of true San Francisco Victorians, and this place really does have that feel, especially in the kitchen area. It’s very spacious-yet-cozy and just has a great feel. I’ll post pics once we get settled in a bit.
Charlie loves it, too. The room that is his has a ceiling fan and they painted the walls blue with clouds all over them. The bedrooms are on the top floor, though. Hopefully he will stay safe on the stairs.
I guess now I’ll enjoy my last night in my sister and brother-in-law’s condo. I will sleep well tonight, for in the morning, I unpack!
RoadBlogging Day 4 - Pendleton, Oregon to Bellevue, Washington
We have arrived! Yay! Super easy and quick day. Charlie was quiet and absorbed the scenery the whole way. It was actually kind of eerie! But very nice for me. It was great crossing back into Washington, heading west, seeing things become familiar again. Then I caught my first glance of Mt. Rainier about 40 miles east of Yakima and that put the biggest smile on my face! I knew I was home then.
Actually I knew I was home when I got to Bellevue and saw my sister and Erik! They were supposed to have left already (I misunderstood, actually), but fortunately we got to see them for a few minutes before they left on vacation.
Anyway, I’ll post more later today or tomorrow. Will eventually get pics and video up here. For now, I’m going to go take a look at the townhome I’ve been renting since May 1st but never seen!
Also, what is up with this heat, Seattle? I know I complained about the long, cold, bitter winter in Iowa, but you didn’t have to turn up the furnace quite this much! I don’t know what it is out there now, but when I drove in to Bellevue at 11 a.m. Pacific time, it was 86 degrees already!
RoadBlogging Day 3 - Tremonton, Utah to Pendleton, Oregon
Wow, currently ranking number one in reception and greeting at a hotel is the Oxford Suites at Pendleton, Oregon. I walked in to a sign on the reception desk for all to read which said, “Guest of the Day: Sherry Dedman,” a personal note, and a large discount on my rate! It seems the person booking my room used to live in Iowa and wanted to give me a big welcome! That was very nice. See below for a picture of the sign. That was really unexpected and slightly strange, but certainly a nice break in the monotony.
Today’s driving went pretty quickly, and we got in here about 2 p.m local time. We went swimming and took showers. Now we’re about to head downstairs to the appetizers and such. Mainly I’m just really thirsty.
Saw some amazing scenery but unfortunately didn’t get many good pictures of it. It’s hard to take good pics from the car, and Charlie has absolutely had it with riding in the car. And I’ve had it with trying to wrangle him by myself plus take pictures or enjoy whatever is going on. So what I got from the car is pretty much it.
Nice relaxing evening tonight and a super-short day tomorrow. 4 hours or so, I believe. And the mover called and said my stuff should be there Tuesday or Wednesday. Yay! We’ll be settling in before you know it, and I can get back to work! In the meantime, here are some pics: Click to make them bigger!
RoadBlogging Day 2 - Sidney, Nebraska to Tremonton, Utah
As I recently said, “Wyoming is always interesting…” Wow, was that an understatement.
We gained an hour yesterday, so we actually wound up getting on the road about an hour early this morning. That gave us a really good start while Charlie was still in a good mood. On the other side of the coin, we hit peak altitude in Wyoming pretty early - While it was still, like, REALLY COLD!
As in 31 degrees and snowing. For the love of God, I just can’t get away from the stuff. Charlie was really mad because he thought it meant we weren’t going to be able to go swimming. I was not thrilled because it got pretty bad in places - low visibility and just enough to slush up on the road and make you think it could be pretty slick if you had to brake or quickly maneuver. Fortunately we got through safely and as soon as we started to descend, altitude-wise, everything was fine.
But after that we saw the most amazing scenery. I’ve only ever been “through” Wyoming, never “to” Wyoming. And I really want to come back some day to Rock Springs and Green River to see the Grand Tetons and the Flaming Gorge. I just kept looking at that scenery and saying, “That is just so unbelievably beautiful.”
I did stop a couple of places with Charlie but not too many. The travelling is just so hard on him. He had a pretty bad episode today. So as much as I’d like to draw out each day and do fun stuff, it’s almost like it’s just better to do it like tearing off a band-aid - Best just to do it quick and get it overwith!
I hope to post pictures later, but I took a LOT plus a lot of movies. So they might be posted after we get back. The movies certainly will get posted after we get back. My old laptop + hotel wi-fi = NoYouTube Uploading. LOL (Just because it would be painfully slow to do so.)
Utah is really beautiful as well, but we had some trouble with our Hotel so had to spend some time on that. Then I promised Charlie swimming so we put in some time doing that. I’m thinking that since we will gain an hour again tomorrow that maybe we will drive around here a bit in the morning to take a few pictures and see if there is anything to see.
I may add more later if I post some more pics. But that is pretty much for the day. Oh, except that I nearly ran out of gas and virtually coasted into Clearfield, Utah on fumes (I think that was the name of the town). That was actually really annoying and kind of scary, because there weren’t many good places to pull over. I won’t let that happen again. Fortunately it was in the all-downhill ride to the 80/84 interchange.
RoadBlogging Day 1 - Ankeny, Iowa to Sidney, Nebraska
We got started on schedule at 8 am. It was a pretty boring and uneventful day, in that all we were doing was crossing Nebraska (Sidney is nearly to Wyoming). But it was just great to get on the road and get started. It was a welcome change of scenery.
Charlie was really good for a hyperactive 5-year-old. The best part of everything was that the speed limit in Nebraska is 75, so you can easily go give-or-take by 5 mph and really make some time, if you know what I mean. 
Oh, I don’t know if it was the headquarters or what, but I saw a huge building in Omaha near the freeway with a big sign on it that said “PayPal.” That was kind of exciting. I guess that is about as exciting as Nebraska gets! Oh, we did stop at a “Stagecoach” souvenir shop with an authentic stagecoach wagon on it, wooden sidewalk and the usual souvenir fare for the MidWest. Amusingly it was playing really loud Mexican pop music on the porch!
Here are some pictures. Not very exciting, but they give you a feel for the road. There should be some more interesting pictures tomorrow night, as we will go through Wyoming tomorrow and up to Ogden, Utah.
Click On A Picture To Make It Bigger
And The Trip-Blogging Begins….
…Now!
My new friend Brian made me a mix CD for my trip, so I don’t know what is on it. But I also made a mix CD for myself, and here is what I picked:
“Unfinished Sympathy” by Massive Attack
“Clubbed to Death” by Rob Dougan
“Crockett’s Theme” by Jan Hammer
“Diamonds and Guns” by The Transplants
“Crocodile Rock” by Elton John
“Enjoy the Silence” by Depeche Mode
“The Way” by Fastball
“All My Life” by Foo Fighters
“Me, I’m Not” by Nine Inch Nails
“While the City Sleeps” by MC 900 Ft. Jesus
“If It Makes You Happy” by Sheryl Crow
“Redemption Day” by Sheryl Crow
“Soul Meets Body” by Death Cab For Cutie
“South Central Rain” by R.E.M.
So now you know what I’ll be listening to as I drive along. Can’t wait to get on the road!
Lunch Break
Taking a bit of a break from my last day of packing and thought I would catch up here a bit! If I owe anyone an e-mail, please know I am not ignoring you. I just finally had to stop and say “no more” computer stuff until I’m ready for the movers. I’ve even had to turn down and put off business offers that have come in over ther weekend. I *really* hate to do that, but it’s just gotten crucial. I love how much business I am getting; I even had an offer roll in last night. But I’ve just had to “close the shutters” until May 20.
I have a laptop and plan to blog from the road, which I think will be fun! The battery won’t hold a charge, so it will probably only be in hotel rooms at night. But I made sure that each hotel I booked had high-speed internet, and I’m even going to try to post pictures each day, if I can manage it. I’m really trying to get ALL packing and cleaning done today, so that tomorrow, after the movers come, I can concentrate on getting my laptop prepped.
My laptop is pretty old (I bought it used last year), but I’m pretty sure it has a USB port, in which case it will be no problem to connect it to my camera. I just have to make sure it has the right software in order to enable it to “talk” to the camera and get the pictures off of it. I do already have an FTP program and photoshop on there, though, so that part is all set.
I also made sure to book hotels with pools for Charlie’s sake. He loves to swim, and he deserves to have fun. This trip is going to be really hard due to his age, but I’m going to try to make a few fun stops in addition to the swimming.
Well, I should probably get back to it. In addition to the packing I have a couple of errands to do before Charlie gets out of school. It is his last day at that school, so he is getting parties in both his kindergarten class and his Special Ed Pre-School class.
Which reminds me, Naomi, the IEP meeting went pretty much as I’d expected. He has maxed out what he can get out of special ed pre-school, but was not able to pass kindergarten. They are recommending summer school and full-day kindergarten for him next year. He either needs to have a full-time, one-on-one helper if he is mainstreamed or to be in a special ed class/curriculum.
I will have to see what is available when I get to WA, which I intend to do immediately. I’m almost leaning towards hoping he gets into a class that is entirely special ed, at least for now, because of what they told me about the social skills part of it. He really needs that help right now!
I could go on and on, but I really need to get back to work. I can’t believe how long it can take to pack only two people’s stuff from a two-bedroom apartment! It’s kind of ENDLESSSSSSS………………….
Annoyed
In about 3 minutes I get to leave for an IEP meeting with my son’s teachers. I absolutely detest these things. I get to sit and listen to a team of 6 highly educated and experienced teachers, counselers, therapists, specialists, etc. tell me how they were not able to get him through kindergarten his year and that he’ll have to repeat next year and what the plan is for that.
Well, they have their plan, and I have mine. One of the reasons I’m trying hard to make good money is that I want to hire some specialists of my own. Private school with programs for kids just like him, a tutor for kids with special needs at least 3 times per week, and a behavioral therapist.
I honestly think those things will help more than the special ed process he is in now. He just needs more than the public school system can give him, even as hard as they’re trying….
Anyway, I have to go listen to depressing things about my child now….. grrrr…….
Charlie and a Cow
Ok, yet another post today. Here is Charlie and a cow we saw today. He was asking about the udder and now knows where milk comes from!
Charlie On The Swings
Here’s Charlie swinging really high, the dismount is amazing! Especially when you compare this to the video just below it from last fall, when he didn’t even understand what I meant when I was telling him to pump his legs!
He has changed so much over the winter: