Last Days at MAF

There are sometimes posts that I don't want to write and this is one of them. I love MAF. I love the people and I loved majority of my job (yes even the childcare). But over the summer there were a lot of tears shed. It started in June when I posted my job. Below is all the paperwork that goes into just getting a job posted.

It's crazy that this is the only picture I have from family conference this year. God totally got me when Alissa and I got dirty looks throughout Wal-Mart with buying all these chips, because I totally judged someone just a few days prior to this shopping adventure, who had soda stacked sky high in her cart. I titled this photo, What? We just like chips!" :)

Another behind the scenes look into HR, Personnel Change Notices (PCN's) - surprisingly Lithia's and MAF's were very similar. I wrote my own PCN to terminate me from MAF :(

All smiles going to my goodbye luncheon (Jessica, Alissa and Becky).

My goodbye lunch with all my HR peeps. After this lunch the tears started and didn't stop until hours later, when I was at Stacy's. There are many stories I could say about this group and many of them, that I have told on this blog for the last 4 years. But some of these people have truly been my strength for the last 4 months. I have grown closer than I could imagine to a few of them and two have even visited me. I am so beyond blessed to have had the pleasure and honor to work at MAF. MAF will always be with me.

Left side: Hilda, Mike, Zach, Bonni, Debbi, Paul, Barb,
Right side: Alissa, Mere, Becky, Bev, Jessica, Pauline, Kay, Carol, Gene

Hanging with Friends

In July a group of us went paddle boarding and kayaking. There were a few people in the group that had never gone paddle boarding before but everyone tried it. It was so much fun! I totally stink at paddle boarding - I more like to just sit on the the board and talk...yeah, I know I should totally just kayak. But I did stand on the paddle board for maybe 10ish minutes one time.

With only a week and half left before I was going to to move out of my apartment I should have been packing. But instead I went paddle boarding!

Then had breakfast at the Pancake house.

Then had fro yo with this adorable little boy (Finn) and his wonderful mom, my friend, Cristi!

Then had pizza with this little boy (Jackson) and friends in Nampa!

Miriam, Taryn, Jackson, Ri and Mere

This is a random blog post but that's what happen when you don't blog for 4 months. A week before I left Idaho, my dear friend Lisa made me pansit and egg rolls. Pansit is a Filipino dish that Lisa makes amazingly well. I honestly don't know the last time she made it for me. But there is one time that I remember when we lived together and I was helping Lisa make pansit and all I really remember is here telling to to chop the vegetables into smaller pieces.

Ri made cupcakes and brought ice cream...yum, yum, yum!

I also spent a lot of time with my best friend Ri and her adorable babe!

Another night I had the pleasure of having dinner with one of the most amazing and thoughtful people I know. Kathie is simply wonderful. She just makes you want to open up and tell her everything that you have never told anyone else.

I love and miss all my friends so much.

Moving Day!!!

Before I can blog about the east coast I need to go back to 4 months ago when I stopped blogging and catch up on my final months in Idaho.

 As I started packing I had to take progress photos of what I was actually doing, because I was a super slacker packer for awhile.

I used a crazy amount of bubble wrap and plastic wrap to pack all my belongings.

Random, but a few years ago, Ri gave me this frog that when you add water you have your prince charming. As I was packing I dropped the container and the frog broke in half. So, I added water and the frog disappeared and there was my prince charming :)

I should back up and explain that my original plan was to have Anthony fly to Boise and together we would drive a Budget truck while towing my car to DC. However, at the beginning of July, Anthony got a job offered and they needed him to start at the end of July. Yay for him having a job. But now how was I going to get my stuff across the country? After a mild freak out, Karen told me to look into the moving cubes and so I did. The next day I scheduled to have 2 moving cubes delivered to my apartment on Thursday, July 24.

I asked everyone I knew to help me load the cubes and boy was I blessed. Corinne and Jake came over early and helped me wrap all my furniture and than we started to load stuff into the cubes. Others started arriving around 5pm and by 6pm the cubes were loaded and locked. Wow! I was so thankful to everyone that helped. Since I had so many people help some of them even started cleaning my apartment. All in all I had 16 people help me (Casey & Lisa (and their kids), Ron,  Doug, Corrinne & Jake, Ri & Jackson, Twaan, Cristi & Finn, Craig, Danielle & Allison, Roy & Sue, Yesenia, Kathie and Becky. Barb brought over the most giant bag of M&M's ever! After everything was loaded and most everyone left a few friends stayed behind and we had a great couple of hours girl talk. I have the bestest friends ever! 

They look small...

 

But everything fit with room to spare! 

 

And this is where all my stuff went, to my new home in Alexandria, Virginia (more on that in later posts...)

It took the cubes about a week to get to Virginia and then on a hot day in August, Anthony unloaded both cubes by himself into our new home. 

Throughout this entire move I have been blessed by so many wonderful and amazing people and as I start the blogging back I truly hope that I can honor everyone that truly supported, loved and cared for me, because without the all of you I could not have done this.

Back Soon!

I am mailing out my Christmas cards tomorrow and like in years past I have put my blog on my Christmas cards. However, unlike in years past my blog has been private for majority of 2014. But in my journey to stay connected with all things Idaho, while falling more in love with DC each day, I am going to make this blog public again.

It is hard to believe that I have been away from Idaho for almost 4 months. While the task of blogging does haunt me (because I have well over 30 pending posts), I am hoping to start catching up soon. So, if you are checking in on my blog, don't give up hope that I will never post again. Please continue to check for new posts and I promise that at the latest I will start blogging again in January 2015 (hopefully sooner). 

Much love, Mere! 

Last Night

This is my last night in my adorable apartment that I have loved since I have moved in almost 4 years ago. While majority of my belongs are currently in Salt Lake City and what little I have left behind is at Stacy's house. I am here in my apartment, on an air mattress for the 3rd night in a row. I have many places I could stay that would let me sleep in a real bed, but I need to be here. Leaving this apartment is hard. Leaving my friends and job will be harder. But leaving my apartment is the first step, in this me chasing my dream to live on the east coast.

So much has happened to me in the last 4 years and the one of the places I always felt at safe and secure was here in my apartment, my home. I love every aspect of this place from the amazing kitchen with great counter space, to the garden tub in the bathroom, to my quite neighbors. I am thankful for my time in my apartment. But I am also eager to see what my new home will be like in Alexandria, Virginia. We do have a home there. Anthony is currently spending his first night there as I type this. My first night in that home will not be for a month. I am spending the next 2 weeks at Stacy and Robert's home in Boise. From there I will leave Boise, my home for the last 13 years, on Tuesday, August 12 and travel to Loveland, Colorado with my cousin who is graciously flying in on the night of the August 11 to drive with me to Dallas, Texas. After Loveland, we will continue onto Dallas. We will be in Dallas for just 4 days where I will see my cousin graduate with her Doctorate in Chiropractic and then the very next day we will start the journey to DC. We will stop somewhere around the Nashville area for the night and hopefully be in Alexandria late on Monday night.

The next 3 weeks are going to stretch me. But I am ready for this. This experience has grown me so close to God. I am so thankful that I prayed and truly sought His guidance during this entire process. Thank you to all my friends and family who also have been praying for me.

I have photos I could post and I will. But I am emotionally and physically exhausted and will hopefully post photos soon along with other awesome things I have been doing in Boise soon.

My favorite Holiday!

I love the 4th of July! It is hands down my favorite holiday. I feel blessed to be an American and I love celebrating our nations birthday. And I also like fireworks. I don't particularly like lighting them myself, but rather I enjoy watching them. It is a tradition for Stacy and I to go to Ann Morrison park in downtown Boise a few hours before the fireworks. We lay down a blanket under a tree and play games and eat and talk and just have a great. I sure love Boise at the 4th!

I had a 4 day weekend so I spent a lot of time at the pool. On Thursday night Marie, Jackson and I swam at Bonni's community pool. On Friday and Saturday, Stacy, Robert and I had Stacy's brothers pool all to ourselves. It was lovely.

 Also during the long weekend I watched Alissa's cat Illiden. Illy stayed with Princess a little less than a year ago when Illy was a kitten. He is no longer a kitten and is huge! But the sweetest cat. I also watched Harley but I didn't get any photos of him.

I had a wonderful 4th!