our notice is turned in. anything goes wrong now and we are totally screwed. (yes, still working on trusting this and not worrying about it too much.) i did get a rather pleasant surprise when i turned in the notice. she told me to make sure to give them the new address so they can return our deposit, minus the prorated rent. i told her we probably weren't going to have any deposit left. and she told me that we've been here so long, they won't charge us for most the clean up - it's all considered part of the wear and tear of the apartment. so, unless we knocked holes in the walls or something, we should get most everything back. i'll take that.

yesterday we put the deposit down on the moving truck. and we decided we want to pick the truck up early, get it loaded, then send the kids to dad's while saxy and i sleep for the afternoon. we'll leave in the evening. it's not the best time to get started but it misses the heat of the day, which is probably going to be the smart thing to do. it's already been hitting the 100s in some places out here. that's a month early. heck, a lot of places were getting into the upper 90s last month - 2 months early. which means this summer is going to be one hell of a killer out here. we have to get through california, arizona, new mexico, and texas in the middle of the summer heat. we're aiming for lake havasu for our first stop.

i've also started warning the communities i'm a part of that i won't be around as much this month, and probably not around at all next month. the dii members have been told to get a hold of me only if it's an emergency and they need a quick response, but also to contact the other admin if i don't get back to the the same day. we're planning to disconnect either june 30 or july 1. after that, i have no idea when we'll get back online. i need to email the staff of tfl who have apps of mine that any approvals given in july might need an extension for completion because of the move. watch, i finally get the episode of joan of arcadia i want and lose t because we're moving. *rolls eyes* (yes, i am a little fan girl, thank you very much!)

my brother suggested thinking of this as a vacation to help relieve the stress a little, and i'm trying, but i'm not very good at it. we're down to getting the last little bits for what we'll actually be carrying with us as accessible in the cars. i need to get the kids some activity books and maybe some new reading to help them with any boredom they'll experience along the way (hey, i did this as a kid too, i know what they'll be experiencing, lol), which i'll probably do at amazon.com just to get it done. we have the trip and stops fairly planned out, including the rest stops to sleep at. so all we have is a few things left in terms of the prep list, to finish up the packing, and then be off.

scary. good, but scary. and exciting. so many people have told us how good it is out there.

i've also told my brother not to worry about us liking the place he finds for us. it'll be a house and out of this neighborhood - we'll be happy. i've been saying, after living here, we can live nearly anywhere, and i mean it. a neighborhood where we don't have to duck from gunshots several times a week, we don't risk getting propositioned, ad don't get asked if we have or want to buy drugs? i'll take it. i did forget to tell him that if anyone tries to give them trouble about the dog, by law they can't refuse her since she's a service dog. i'm sure if they run into a problem, they'll call and i'll let him know then. i'd hate to have to pull that on a prospective landlord - it's not a very good way to start the rental relationship, but sometimes you have to insist on your rights, and taz has a right to his dog. gosh it'll be nice to have a safe yard to train her in. out here it's so hard to do the training - it's just not safe.

so many changes coming our way. so, scary, yea, but definitely good and exciting!