So much to do!!!

Anybody wanna buy a house in Johnson City, TN? Asking price $87,500. *read the following out loud in happy lady advertising voice:* "Walking distance from the University and in a very friendly neighborhood! 2 bedrooms and an office or 3 bedrooms. Great for first-time home-buyers or investment property. New interior paint, full basement for extra storage, large fenced yard, and a relaxing front porch, complete with swing! With a spacious eat-in kitchen, welcoming entry parlor, and architectural details like 6-inch ornate baseboards and multiple built-in bookcases, this charming 1930's bungalow is just what you're looking for!"

Gonna put out a For Sale By Owner sign and an ads in the paper and online while we get it ready to sell. Hopefully we'll get some bites during that time. Then, in a couple of weeks, go to an agent if I have to. An agent's commission would probably eat up any profit I might make. I'll have an open house, too, once I get it ready.

IN OTHER NEWS: Eric and I had a mostly wonderful time at Disney World. I shouldn't have spent the money, but I'm still glad I did. We stayed at the All-Star Movies Resort inside Walt Disney World. It's one of their "value" resorts. I really liked it, though Eric wasn't as impressed. I loved the theming- we were in the "Mighty Ducks" section, but he was underwhelmed. The room was small, but comfortable, and housekeeping was darn good and the sheets were not scratchy. I hate scratchy sheets.

Wednesday morning we went to Hollywood Studios, which isn't as good as I'd remembered. Since the Tower of Terror now goes up AND down a random number of times, the first drop is nowhere near as intense as when it was only one 13-story drop. It was disappointing. The Rock-N-Roller Coaster was better than expected, Eric didn't care for Star Tours (though going into "Star Wars Hyperdrive" is more than enough excitement for me). Muppet Vision 3-D was still the best attraction in the park, I think. So we left there around lunchtime and hit Future World at Epcot, and had a great time. Let me tell you, Mission Space (the one the guy died on from intensity) is AMAZING. Easily the best non-coaster ride I've ever done. I mean really, really incredible. Test Track is a lot of fun, too. Eric wished there were more "thrill" portions, but I enjoyed the whole thing. We also went to Animal Kingdom on Wednesday. Since we'd heard that it wasn't that great a park, we only hit the three rides we'd expected to be really good: Expedition Everest is FANTASTIC; Dinosaur is the best dark ride we've ever been on, and the spinning mad mouse was a lot of fun.

Thursday morning we were at the Magic Kingdom at 8 am for the Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Peter Pan's Flight, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and It's a Small World. I made a mistake with Small World. We did it first. I love love love love love It's a Small World for two reasons: It is the PINNACLE of mid-century graphic design. I think it's visually BEAUTIFUL. AND I love it for its place in Theme Park History and entertainment history, two subjects I love to explore. Eric HATED It's a Small World. I mean HATED. It tainted the rest of the day and neither of us think he'll ever recover. It was enough to make him denounce the entire Walk Disney Company until we were nearly home the next day. After lunch, we went back to Epcot for World Showcase and Soarin'. Our fastpasses for Soarin' gave us 2 and a half hours to kill, so we went to World Showcase. Eric hated it, I got tired and cranky, we snapped at each other for 2 and a half hours, and even though Soarin' was really good, it wasn't worth the misery we went through for it. Eric was sick of Disney enough that he didn't want to go back to the Magic Kingdom for Space Mountain and Tomorrowland and the fireworks, but after a nap, I decided I would go alone. So I went back and as soon as I walked in I found myself in a great spot for the SpectroMagic parade, which rocks (Eric wouldn't care for it) and for the fireworks. The current fireworks show, "Wishing," is amazing, timed perfectly with the audio, and more than made up for the miserable afternoon.

All in all, it was a good vacation. It would have been great if I hadn't fallen into the trap of "IpaidalotofmoneyforthiswehavetoGOGOGO!" I think the best thing to do would be to go every 5 years for 3 days each time. 1st morning, park for 4 hours, then long break, then 4 hours at night, maybe at a different park. 2nd day no parks. 3rd day, 4 hours in the morning, then break, then go back that night if you feel like it. Leisure time should be leisurely.

So, back to the move. On the way out of town, we stopped at IKEA in Orlando for a couple hours. I've never allowed myself to order furniture from their catalog because I was afraid it would be crap. How comfortable can a $150 sofa be? How good can a $30 coffee table look? The answer is VERY comfortable and VERY good. We'd planned to have a yard sale before we left. Comedians have said that IKEA is Swedish for "cheap crap." It IS cheap, but it's NOT crap. And if your $30 bookcase falls apart after 5 years, so what? It was $30 and lasted 3 years longer than the more expensive one from Target or Wal-Mart. Since IKEA is 3.5 or 4 hours from Tallahassee (in Orlando or Atlanta), we're now going to have a HUGE yard sale. Big enough that there will be stuff in the yard, and we'll invite people inside like an estate sale. We're going to sell pretty much everything we own, and use the money to get new stuff at IKEA when we get there. We don't need 75 plates and 30 coffee cups. We don't need a couch and 2 recliners and 3 other chairs. We need one couch and ONE chair. We've decided we're only going to take what we can fit in my car and his truck. No U-Haul this time. SO if there's anything you've seen at my house that you want, come up to Johnson City in a couple of weeks and take it home with you. You're welcome to sleep on the floor (since we'll hopefully sell one of the beds and the sofabed and the air mattresses). Like my recliners? They're YOURS. Though with gas prices what they are, that cool round mirror for $3 might not be a bargain if you live in Cookeville.

That's all from here. I'm absolutely overwhelmed. Enough so that I'm sitting on the porch freaking out with a beer instead of, like, pressure-washing the front of the house. Again, wish us luck. There's a slight chance Eric might be able to wangle a transfer with the company he works for to their Tallahassee office, which would be the best thing in the world. Oh, and did I tell you I got a tuition waiver, an assistantship, AND I get to keep my job? I'm sure I can drop down to 20 or so hours a week for work. Whoo hoo! I got a daruma (look it up) from Mitsukoshi at Epcot- put your wish-making powers into it for me!