Trying to Unbury Myself

I know I have been a horrible blogger lately. And I feel really bad that I am so far behind on reading my favorite blogging buddies. I am trying to play catch up from being gone in Japan for a week and all the stuff that suddenly has been thrown my way.

Add on top of my stack of to-do items, Matt booked his ticket today and if his Visa comes back as we have been told, he leaves in **gulp** 21 days. He is booked on a 6 am flight on October 22. I am trying really hard to not think about that right now. The whole reason we are choosing to go at separate times is to help make the transition easier on the kids, and to be honest, me as well. Right now the anticipated departure date for the kids and myself is either January 20 or 27, giving us basically 3 months apart. I actually feel sorry for Matt. At least I will be back here surrounded by friends and family, especially during the holidays, and he will be alone in Japan.

So what do I need to get done before I am back in full-time action in bloggy land?

• Fill out and turn in expense reports to our relocation coordinator. This consists of scanning every receipt, documenting it on the proper expense sheet and then emailing it off. Right now I am anticipating this to take me about 2 - 3 hours.
• Revise a 50+ page document for my Caterpillar client. Oh did I mention by end of day Friday?
• Write at minimum six web site copy blurbs for a local client. Another 10-15 are due by the end of next week.
• Email and call a contact list of 12 people for another Caterpillar document that I just started Monday.
  
• Taking the whole family to get a dozen each passport photos made. No joke about the number we need either.
• Make an appointment for the kids passport authorization session. We have to do this through the post office, which means we are limited to times and days. This HAS to be done in the next week.
• Fill out the kids school application for Japan.
• Send out emails about Matt's going away party.
  
• Clean and organize my house for the Camp Family's visit! They will be here in FOUR days. I am ecstatic. Val has never been here and I cannot wait to show her everything. (Well and do some shopping)
• Go to Sam's Club and purchase all the stock up items before Matt leaves and before our membership expires in 18 days.
• Back up my laptop. I am having an issue with it and terrified that something is going to happen.
  
• Locate and call a rental company to help with our house here in NC.
• Get Matt's international drivers license.
• Figure out what keylogger is. It seems to be the buzz word of the week to learn.
  

I think this is it for this week. I have a whole new list for next one. (No joke.)

I promise I will be back soon. Thanks for being so understanding!

Making a list and checking it twice...

I leave in 36 hours and I do not have a single item packed. Not. One. Item. (Can you sense the panic setting in?)

I just finished making meals for my mom. I decided on: Chicken Delicious, Beef and Broccoli Lo Mein, Sloppy Joes, Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes, Baked Ziti and Three cheese chicken pasta and veggies. I figure those meals, plus leftovers and a trip to the local pizza joint should be good, right? And if not, well I guess they won't starve before the 14th.

United just pulled their flights today for safety checks. Thank goodness it wasn't Friday or we would be in deep doo doo as we can't miss our flight in Chicago or we will miss our flight from Singapore to Thailand.

Have I mentioned that I have not added a single item to the new suitcases that my darling husband bought for me over the weekend? Not. A. Single. Item.

Matt managed to get a really cool phone from work that will allow people to call into his work line and for us to call out via wifi and not use a calling card or any international fees. We tested it this afternoon, so fingers crossed that it works once there. I think I will buy an International calling card just in case.

And work... argh... I have so much to get done. I really do not want to take it with me, but I think I will have to. At least to be able to manage emails and such for some projects I am working on and waiting back information. As Val said in an email yesterday, being in business for yourself sometimes stinks because there is no escaping work. There are no "vacation days". Just like a mail man, come rain or shine, at home or in Thailand, work still needs to be done.

So overall, minus work items, getting the second shot in the hep series that is due (oops) and well of course packing anything (not sure I mentioned that yet), I have worked through my to-do list pretty well. I am contemplating pulling an all-nighter tomorrow so I will sleep on that 19 hour flight. I am not sure how to handle this time difference and flight yet, plus my already there insomnia. Matt loves to sleep on planes so he has no worries about his sleep. Heck he can sleep anywhere -- chairs, platform beds, the ground.

I will have limited computer access and our rooms are supposed to have high speed so hopefully I will be able to stop in a time or two. After all I need to feed my online addiction somehow.

Happy hump day!

Holiday Stress

Sorry I have been such a bad blogger the past few weeks. Things have just been crazy between holiday activities, work, the kids and school functions.

Other than a gift card and a few small items I am DONE with Christmas shopping. Sounds great huh? Well it is except I am waiting for 12, yes TWELVE, items to still be shipped. They are all supposed to be shipped in the next few days and have a promised delivery of December 24, but honestly I am starting to worry that they will not be here. And believe it or not, I did not wait until the last minute either. They have all had been ordered a week or more ago. Plus I still need to pick up an item that was backordered at Sears and finally came in.

Then wrapping... ugh it stresses me out even thinking about it. I have so much to wrap. And when will I find not only the time, but time when no one will be home? Add on top of that I still need to hit the post office and that idea stresses me out even more than wrapping and the shipping combined. Maybe I will just send UPS and avoid the whole post office scene.

My holiday baking has not been done, nor even thought of yet. I had plans to send stuff to my clients and some friends in Illinois, however I honestly don't see that happening. Maybe I will do "Welcome 2008" baking instead. How cheesy would that be?

I need to just slow down and take a deep breath. Holiday's don't need to be an elliptical that we never seem to get off of. I need to remember that Christmas isn't about gifts and cookies and pretty wrapping paper. It is about the birth of a special little boy. A little boy who was sent here to save us –– Jesus.

Saying "Hi"

Well I made it back about 2 am Friday from Illinois, after being delayed and then sitting over an hour in the plane while we were being deiced. (Note to self: Try to plan Cat meetings in non-snowy seasons only) Luckily I came back to some awesome weather to make up for it (74 degrees today and high 70s all this week).

I have been busy hanging with the kids and Matt and just doing some family stuff together. The kids begged me not to leave them for 4 days again with dad. Makes me feel loved. But seriously Matt did awesome with the kids. So what if Chris drank 10 juice boxes in a matter of four days and the kids ate Papa Johns pizza every night.

I am swamped with work right now. While it is a good thing, it is also a bit stressful, considering it seems to all be due yesterday. So between my projects, the holidays, the last few weeks of the kids school and some other things my head is going to spin off.

I have a bunch of pictures to post from this weekend. Hopefully I will manage to get that done in the next few days. After all, I would much rather blog than write about chicken vaccinations, mining trucks and Wilmington NC real estate.