Tuesday, September 25, 2012

One Last Night (reprise)


One last night in this motel room that we've made a home.  One last night to sleep in a hard, crappy bed that makes my back twinge every morning.  One last night to kick my sandals off in a stark, lifeless room slightly afraid of the years of soil and who knows what buried inside this icky carpet.  One last night to look out at the concrete jungle of I-10, listening to the car crashes, sirens, yelling, toddler meltdowns (ugh I swear our neighbors were running a nighttime child care for "working women" who were "working" throughout the night), and door slams.  One last night of uncomfortable living for Harleigh....our traumatized bulimic cat that paces these two rooms crying and moping.  One last night of memories to be forgotten in this motel that we've made a home.

Tomorrow begins a completely new adventure that will last years.  One last day to pack up the few odds and ends we've accumulated in this motel.  Our belongings in Colorado are on the truck and heading to their new home.  One last night of 14 channels of nothing on TV and no DVR...unable to fast forward through commercials.  I hope to never hear Honey Boo-Boo or Wheel of Fortune again,  We appreciate our dear friends and family who entertained us when we just needed to get the heck out of here, or crash at their place when we needed a break from the God awful bed, or just have a meal with us and sharing good times...knowing there are many more to come.  We truly appreciate them, more than they will know.

One last night until we make our house.....Our Home!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Snot, Honey Boo Boo, And A Word About The Weather...

The last few weeks have flown by and I am quite thankful for that.  We are now down to less than 3 weeks until our closing.  Only 20 more nights at Chez Motel Beckelheimer.  We have so far survived 27+, so we're over half way there.

This past week we traveled to Austin and Dallas for a bit of a respite and a much better bed.  Sadly, I came down with a horrible case of crud.  My guess is that I picked up something from one of the petri dishes (aka kids) at the aptly named Grossology exhibit at the museum on Monday.  Lots of kids, most of them well behaved, but there were the few running around unattended, likely their parents hiding from them for a few moments of quiet solitude.  I had one kid actually come up and push me out of his way when he was on a dead run to check out an area dedicated to snot.  My guess is that he wanted to compare his own to the pictures on the display.  Later that night, the sore throat started and I hoped and prayed it was just allergies.  Within a matter of a few hours, I was rendered useless, thrown in to bed and left alone for most of the next two days.  Part of my being in Dallas was to visit my customer onsite.  That did not happen.  In fact, if it didn't involve sleeping or blowing my nose, it just didn't happen.  At least I was able to be in a comfy, cozy bed.  And now just as quickly as it came, it is starting to go.  Just in time to make the long 5 1/2 hour drive back.  I did enjoy being able to watch some TV that did not involve Judge Judy or Honey Boo Boo.  With only 14 channels in our motel in San Antonio, the viewing is limited to the major networks, TLC, and TBS.  Whoever thinks the Honey Boo Boo is entertainment needs to seriously get a grip on reality.  I cannot believe that it got more viewership than the political conventions.  It's sad to think that the nation finds an precocious, nearly illiterate, and mis-mannered 6 year old better viewing than seeing what our leaders have to say about the state of our country.  In a day and age when you can only believe half of what you see and none of what you hear, you would think that US citizens would rather be fully aware of what both sides are saying, than to hear about Honey Boo Boo's mother's forklift foot.

And now a word about the weather.....while I was laying in bed I was also able to avoid the 100+ degree temps in Dallas.  Oddly, it is hotter in Dallas than in San Antonio and more humid.  When moving to San Antonio, I had many friends tell me I was crazy to move to a place as hot and humid as San Antonio.  It has actually been very dry.  Of course, not Colorado dry, but not far from it.  It is just dry across the country.  Whether it is from global warming, or just a cyclical weather pattern (remember the Dust Bowl?), it is just so dry this year.  Where we've had some warm days in San Antonio, it is not the weather many expect it to be.  It is an area that does not typically get a lot of rain.  We are hours from any coast and many of the lakes and rivers in the area are slowly losing levels or drying up.  Our first week there, we had a wildfire south of town.  I had just left an area that just dealt with major wildfires and was not looking forward to dealing with that again.  We have had a few days in the 100s but most days it is in the mid 90s and it does not seem bad at all.  I've actually quite enjoyed it.  I will take heat over cold any day.  The cold/snow was my only real complaint with Colorado.  When we return to San Antonio tomorrow, we'll be facing 80 and 90 degree temps and hopefully a few rain showers.

The house construction is complete for all intents and purposes.  Now it is 2 1/2 weeks of inspections and finalizations.  The sprinkler system and sod had not been laid when we left last week and there were some places on walls and such that needed patching/repainting.  All the little things like knobs and handles on the cabinets were done and all the light fixtures and ceiling fans were in.  Now it just needs us...

Our House...soon to be our Home

I am anxious to get back and see progress on the house...just 20 more days...