Last Week in the U.S.

Monday, July 23rd, 2007
Newport News, VA

My coworkers threw me a going away luncheon at Smokey Bones. Ed Kist organized the whole thing and presented me with 2 MREs, 2 rolls of toilet paper and a can of sausage... things people thought I would need. My office was also very generous with gift certificates to local resturants so that C.J. and I can eat well for our last few days in NN.

In the evening we worked to organize the rest of the misc. items and we started cleaning up a lot. There is not much left to do, but still A LOT left to do. We had a huge Ruby Tuesdasy´s feast, carryout of course, which was a great break from all the hard work

Tuesday, July 24th, 2007

Rick and Melissa wanted to take us out for one last hurrah and to celebrate their recent engagement, but we had too much work to do. Instead, we invited them over to have Olive Garden takeout, again courtesy of my office :-) It was great to see them, and plus they helped us out big time with the cleaning.

After R & M left, we packed our "bring with us" stuff into our luggage for the first time. The books that Richard Komp (of Fenix) sent us completely filled C.J.s carryon, making it about 50lbs, and thats not to mention the tools and liquid items that made our other bags rediculously heavy. We decided we would redistribute the weight later and just went to bed.

Wednesday, July 25th, 2007

We woke up really early to pack up the car and quickly realized that we had about twice as much stuff as would fit into my PT cruiser. I started to freak out, but C.J. suggested that we just put a car-load into Grandmother´s shed for Mom to pick up when she comes down next. Of course, both Mom and Gmom were happy to help us out, but I was stressed about the whole process and was feeling like a huge burden on everyone. I had a little break down, but the worst is over... at least I´m pretty sure it is. Moving has to be the worst part, right?

Once I got to work, an hour and a half late, C.J. called to tell me that the extra keys to his car, which he is leasing to Isabel Cadillo, are in Gmom´s shed. Crap. I went to get them during lunch, and it actually worked out nicely because Uncle Tom and Mike were there having lunch, so I got see them one last time! The rest of the day was uneventful; we made the drive up to NOVA with ease and spent the evening with my parents.

Thursday, July 26th, 2007
Great Falls, VA

Our main goal for Thrurs was to sell my car and our plan was to take it to Carmax. We cleaned it all up, and Mom even helped us polish the crome, which went from black to bling. Carmax found the car to be in good condition, but they only offered us $2500, which is practically a crime! With a huff, we went home and posted it online. Since we only had a day left in the US, we signed the title off to Mom, who agreed to sell it for us. It´s not the outcome I was looking for, but I am so grateful to have such wonderful parents who are always there to catch me no matter which way I fall!

We also bought Harry Potter (for my birthday), but I haven´t had a chance to start it yet!

Friday, July 27th, 2007
Great Falls, VA

Today we finished up our last minute preparations and shopping before flying out. I think we repacked our bags at least twice to make our weight limits... I was right about the tools. We had to ditch a few books Richard sent us, but the rest made it.

Our going away party was in the evening and we had a great turn out - even some friends we haven´t seen in over a year. We really appreciate that Mom C put the whole thing together and we had a great time talking to everyone. Unfortunately we had to leave early to repack the bags again.