It's final!

I put in my resignation at work today - it seems very surreal!  Makes me realize how quickly these next couple weeks will pass.  It seems like just a day or two ago when I was counting from 19 weeks til the move.  It's still a bit early to do final preparations for transfer on my cases, but that will really be when it hits me that I'm leaving and not coming back (at least not planning on it!)

Keeping the Puppy Safe

Traveling across the country with a dog is going to make this adventure even more interesting.  Luckily, Willow loves the car so I'm hoping that will translate into only being a little aggravated with being stuck inside it for 8 days.

We ordered a doggie seatbelt for Willow yesterday to hopefully keep her from falling off the seat or getting hurt.  In 4000 miles, it's pretty likely that we'll have a sharp turn or two, or have to stop quickly.  Definitely don't want Willow going face first into the window!  We'll see how well she puts up with wearing this...

Bergan Dog Auto Harness (Amazon)

Speaking of Willow getting aggravated, the muzzle we ordered will sure do it if the harness doesn't.

Guardian Gear Lined Muzzle (Amazon)

Willow doesn't play very nice with other animals (although she loves people and kids to pieces).  I'm nervous about rest stops and campgrounds along the way, because there is the definite potential for lots of other dogs to be around.  People don't seem to have any interest in keeping their dogs leashed, so I want to make sure that we avoid any unpleasant encounters.  Hopefully it will be a non-issue, but I think it's better to be safe than sorry in this instance.  I really like that it's black, so it won't really look like she's wearing anything from a distance.  I don't want people to think I have some crazy aggressive dog that is going to eat them and their children, because that is the furthest thing from the truth.

Karl got another free trial of Amazon Prime, so we got free 2 day shipping.  I hope we ordered these things in the right size, otherwise we'll be in a rush to send them back and get new ones before we leave!

One month to go!

We leave for Alaska one month from today!  I'm really starting to feel like it's crunch time - there's still so much to do.  We have way more furniture left than I would like, and four little weeks isn't a lot when half the people on Craigslist are just screwing with you.

The pile of boxes in the corner of the dining room seems impossibly large, but it started looking a little less unrealistic once I taped out the size of the trailer.  (Am I weird for doing that?  Cause it seems totally reasonable to me...)  Too bad we still need to fit the dining room table and bed into that little square!  I also packed up most of my knick knacks, so the house is starting to look a little sad.

Twenty days of work left!  I think I might put in my notice tomorrow...

I love me some moosies

My good friend, Terese, gave me the greatest going away present.  She guaranteed I would squeal when I unwrapped it, and she was right!

These placements and kitchen towels will look absolutely perfect my Alaskan cabin!  I would love to put them out now, but I think packing them up and using them for the first time in AK will be such a wonderful reminder of Terese.

My dear friend, Erin, also got me (Willow) a collapsible doggie water bowl for our trip.  The bowl has a carabiner attached, and my first thought was "Hey, I'll attach it to my belt loop!"  Erin pointed out that it was actually there to hook to the pup's leash.  At least I felt a little better when I showed it to Karl and he said "Hey, there's a carabiner on it - I'll attach it to my belt!"  At least we're both goofballs...

        

          







This was such a great gift idea, and something I somehow hadn't even considered.  We were just planning on using old Cool Whip containers, which isn't much of a space saver.  This bowl will be perfect for our traveling bag.  Willow gave it a lick too and seemed to like it!

Getting such thoughtful gifts really remind you what wonderful friends you have!

Can I send you a letter?

I wanted a special way to collect all of the contact information for my friends I'm leaving behind in Pennsylvania.  Getting a boring old address book and writing everyone's address and phone number in it just wasn't going to cut it.  Instead, I made these cute little cards that I could pass out and have everyone fill out.

Having everyone hand write their own info was really important to me, too.  I wanted to be able to look at each card and see a little bit of my friend in it.    The cards are the perfect size to put in a photo album, and this was my selection:

I'm usually of the mindset that the whole "live, laugh, love" phrase is overused, but I thought it was appropriate for my project.  The cards look so great inside, too.  It's so bright and cheerful, and will hopefully always remind me of how important all of the people inside have been to me.

I can totally see myself pulling this out when I get a little homesick, just to remind myself that all I need to do is pick up the phone, write a letter, or send an email.  I'm so glad that I thought of this before I moved, so I am actually able to put it together!

Butterflies!

Butterflies are one of my favorite things ever.

Check out my butterfly treasury list on Etsy.

I kind of want every single one.  Too bad it's not my birthday!

Spearmint Soap

I had some leftover dried spearmint and peppermint leaves from my garden last summer, and I knew that I should use them up before we moved.  I decided to go with spearmint soap, since everyone seemed to like the peppermint soap I made at Christmas so much.

Well, I totally hit it out of the park on this one!  This may possibly be the most refreshing bar of soap in the history of the world.  I kind of want to keep the entire batch for myself!  It also turned out such a lovely shade of green due to the french green clay in the recipe. 

My peppermint bush is back stronger than ever in the front yard.  You can see how large the leaves are in the picture above.  Seriously, it's starting to look more like an oak tree than a peppermint plant.  I think I'm going to let it grow for the next couple weeks, then cut it all down, dry it, and bring it with me with the rest of my botanicals.