Big day today!  It's the first of probably many DUMP  RUNS! We loaded up the truck last night...wish I had taken video of me wrestling the couch into the truck all by myself. It was pretty funny, especially when it was halfway up there and it fell off, with me jumping out of the way just in time to avoid being crushed. When I finally beat that sucker and got it loaded, I let out a victorious war cry...HAZAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!! Rain pouring down, handling all the stinky carpets our dogs have gone crazy marking on, plus all kinds of gross, soggy boxes of crap, I was one lovely lady, in my flannel pj bottoms,  soaking wet shirt and my paddock boots. Good thing our house is set back far from the road, eh? This was no beauty parade, that's for sure.

Anyway, it's loaded, and we're ready to head to the dump, dressed in my Carhartt's from head to toe. It's a cold morning, so I have the flannel lined pants on and it feels wonderful.

I love our truck!

Of course I'm smiling...I'm getting rid of more junk! Gotta love it!

Our very own dump permit!

Later:  What a liberating feeling! Chris is so proud of our dump permit and we got rid of 400 pounds of stuff. Yay!

Then, I rented the Rug Doctor and cleaned the rug in the studio and everything smells wonderful! What an improvement!

Axel got his California haircut this afternoon too, and a bath, and he is adorable! He smells delicious...Garnier green apple shampoo and conditioner. Ahhhh.......

Axel's new 'do.

My goal is to do at least one thing every day that gets us toward our goal of moving. We sure met the goal today.

The fact that I do not have a job yet is the biggest stressor right now. Everybody say a little prayer for me, will you? I can use all the help I can get. I have an interview on July 15th to be a teaching artist with Mariposa's Art, part of the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County. They have a pool of artists who go into the schools to do artist-in-residencies and workshops, especially in schools that cannot afford to have full time art teachers. It's nothing full time, but it would be a great way to get into a variety of schools, meet some important people and get known as an artist and a teacher, so wish me luck! The woman I'm interviewing with is from Ithaca. Her name is Sarah Brothers. I do not know her, but I'm really looking forward to meeting her.

The week after that, I start my gig as the art teacher at the Gateway School for their summer program. It's a private school, and I'm really looking forward to the job. I'll start working on writing my lesson plans as soon as my current school year is over. I get to design the whole curriculum, which is always exciting. I'll be teaching Art Around the World, Art of the Masters and Mural Makers. Great fun, for sure!