Catch up from January...

I forgot to fill you in about what we did once we got here with furniture and such. :) Let's pretend this is from the first week in January.

We got our van unpacked and our mounds of junk into the apartment the day after we stayed with Corey. It's a pretty nice place on the top floor which is good because we don't have anyone making noise above us, but bad because everything had to be hauled to the third floor. We came with totes full of stuff, and a giant air mattress we had delivered to Corey. Home sweet home, lol. Most things were unpacked and organized the first day: our clothes, computer, box of kitchen stuff, bathroom stuff, etc. It was looking pretty empty but we were determined to make it into some sort of home.

Unloading the van was followed by a trip to the nearest Wal-Mart and Family Dollar. There we got extra hangers (we are lucky to have a large closet and since we don't have a dresser like they had for us in Sandpoint, the hangers have been a much needed addition), a garbage can, FOOD, a couple camping chairs, toilet paper, a few plates and bowls, sheets, towels, etc. When we were in ID, our place was fully loaded as you might say. We had dishes, towels, sheets, extra blankets and new pillows, a television/surround sound, etc. We were extremely lucky. There we only brought our clothes and necessities as well as a few spices, coffee pot, our wok, and a few other things. So we expected to need these items when we got here.

The evening was spent looking for rummage sales and steals on Craigslist, as well as local thrift stores. We were looking for things like lighting, a TV, furniture, a desk, etc. After breakfast the next morning, we were off. The temperature was in the 60s so that was a much welcomed change from the subzero temps in ND we had just experienced. We went to a couple garage sales and multiple thrift stores in the Midcities area. That's the area between Dallas and Fort Worth, which we are a part of. At times we wanted to kill each other, as you can imagine, but we ended up ahead of where we started. Andy needed a bit convincing that some of the things I found were really great deals, and I also needed some restraining when I thought I found one. :-) Good thing we balance each other out. I am a supporter of thrift stores and especially loved the Salvation Army with the extremely friendly staff and the blaring Christian rock, but it may not always be the best place to find a TV or furniture. Many of the TVs said 'as is' and had a tube missing or broken. Where would I find the tube inside a TV and how do I even get that thing apart besides using a hammer??? And for the furniture, some were decent and giant, and some were torn and stained. I'm not saying that getting furniture from a thrift store is a bad thing. There are some great finds that you could clean well and then update with new fabric, patching, etc. But thinking of hauling these things up 3 flights of stairs with Andy and my out of shape self just wasn't making me very excited.

We ended up going to a few more stores to get more things like drinking glasses, rugs, and a shower curtain. Across the stripmall was an Aaron's Rental, and we decided to run in to see if they had any options that were affordable and a bit of an upgrade to our camping chairs, totes, and blow-up bed. They ended up having a few options that we could choose from to rent while we were here, and we were pleasantly surprised. We ended up choosing a package that included a couch, love seat, coffee table, two end tables, two lamps, and a rug for $100 dollars a month! They also had free delivery and pickup at any time and could get it to us the next day. It was a like a dream come true just imagining them haul it up those stairs instead of me. So obviously we were sold on the deal, and partially regretted all of the running around the entire day from suburb to suburb.

So that's pretty much it for us settling in. We are enjoying our place, and I can put up pictures later. Our photo uploader is MIA so we have been on the lookout for it for the past few weeks. And by the way, our air mattress is awesome. We had a little well deserved fun poked at us when we told people that we were doing it, but it's actually pretty nice. It's a queen, and it's one of those raised ones that looks like it's two mattresses on top of each other. You only have to put a little more air in every few weeks, and the pump is inside it. Anyway, it's way better than we thought it would be. We have been streaming TV shows from time to time on our computer which is in our room, so it has also been doubling as a couch.

So sorry about this post being way too long, but I'm on my second cup of coffee and words just kept coming out. :) Enjoy your Saturday!!!