Home (?) Again

I am back in BG. It took me 12 hours to get from Iowa to my front door. I only stopped once... for gas and a burger. Total of ten minutes stopped time. I almost stopped at the outlets in Iowa... but thankfully I didn't or else the trip would have probably made it up to 14 hours from door to door. Yikes.

The drive is really beautiful. Iowa - as many don't know - is very hilly and lovely. Indiana and Illinois on the other hand are not. Currently they are covered in construction and repetitive billboards for fireworks places.  Not beautiful.

Traffic was so slow it was actually safe for me to take photos with my phone... see:

Pretty good quality for a phone camera.

So yeah. Lots of driving. While on the road I listened to books on tape about the transcendentalists of the 19th century (the book is called American Bloomsbury) and Ke$ha and Gaga. Of course.  I always think of Louisa May Alacott, Margaret Fuller and Gaga in the same category. Bold American women. :) I'm so so sure I'd go so far as to call Ke$ha bold in a positive way... but I love her!

Now that I am home I have to pack pack pack and write write write. Yesterday, Saturday, I was exhausted. Headache because you are so tired exhausted. I did a lot of sleeping and walking around my apartment looking at the mess and not really doing anything about it. You know that point where you move stuff around... its not really cleaning its just moving the mess around... yeah thats what I was doing. I watched some Hoarders and NCIS - surprise surprise- and got my check from the Consignment store. Made a 100 bucks! Its all going into the ChaseWeddingBandFund. I decided to focus my freak out about money issues towards saving for Chase's ring. Its very cool. He has an idea of what it looks like but doesn't know for sure. So of course I'm not going to post it on my blog till after the big day!

I have made a good deal of money by selling my possessions on Craigslist. I am diligently saving that money to decorate our new apartment. Which means I have been doing lots of Craigslist hunting myself, DIY Tutorials, and going to vintage/antique/salvage stores. I want projects! As my faithful readers know I am hunting for the perfect dresser and have resigned myself to not buy anything dresser-esqe until I actually find what I want-- even if it means living out of boxes. :)

My first purchase was this awesome stained glass window with the big glass pane in the middle missing. So its kind of like a frame with in a frame that I am going to fill in with a chalkboard for our kitchen! Very very excited. Its hard to describe, but since its in Iowa I cannot take a photo for you... but I do have this little treasure to share. As I was wandering around Architectural Salvage in downtown Duh'Monies I came across this little piece of theatre history.

I don't rightly know what to say about that... First of all - Who buys something like this just to have in their home, Second- who has saved it in such good condition for all this time, and Third- how much do you charge form something like that? Interesting. I was glad I stumbled across it, but think I made the right purchase a window rather than a drum...

So yes. Architectural Salvage advertised Junk Bonanza and I desperately want to go! I might have to go to Iowa a little early for my September visit and road trip up to Minnesota. I've never been there. First time for everything!  Do I have any readers in MN? Want to go shopping?  Chase just said he'd go with me... anyone else?

In one hour (1pm) I have to start working. I have made a deal with myself. 45 minutes of uninterrupted work then a half an hour off. If I break that 45 minutes the timer has to start over!  I also will start house sitting tomorrow for one of my professors. The one who has the really great kids who I babysat earlier in the summer. So I figure I can write there as easily as I can write here and walking over there will be good exercise. So yes. Some work today but tomorrow-- really hunkering down. What does that mean hunkering? Anyway.

My dad will arrive on the 4th and we'll finish packing everything up and get on the road. Hope it all fits... :/ might have to mail myself some stuff...  am using the rooms of my apartment to sort my stuff. The things that go to and stay in Iowa are in the office, the things that travel all the way to Jvegas live in my bedroom. Brilliant I know. Haha.

I am trying to eat all of the food in my fridge... anyone want to come over for some Spaghetti and... um.... frozen corn? :)

I'll update tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be able to report back that my plan is working!