We made it and all of our things made it! We’ve been spending the past few days getting everything unpacked and set up.
Here’s our apartment so far:
Author: strongmadchen
Goodbye, Ohio!
Moving day has arrived!
I left at 6am today and Melissa left after the moving truck.
Goodbye cute little house. You were full of so many happy memories and first. Thank you for being the perfect first home for us. I’m going to miss you.
Hello, Raleigh!
I’m ready for new adventures!
Ann Arbor Adventure
Melissa has never been to Michigan and we had been planning a trip up there for months before the pandemic hit. We decided, since we won’t be back to Ohio anytime soon, that now was the time to go, if we were going to go. So we decided to visit Ann Arbor with our friend Faye. One day we’d love to come back and visit the Upper Peninsula because neither one of us have been up there. Ann Arbor was really cool and we are at a super yummy Vegan place.
Busy, busy, busy.
We’ve been pretty busy lately with packing, hiring a moving company, finding an apartment in NC, and spending time with friends before we leave.
Only 4 more days until moving day. It feels like we still have so much to do before then. It’s all so overwhelming. I told Melissa that she better be okay with living in NC forever because I’m not moving out of state ever again. Unless of course her job pays for the moving company and it’s a company that packs everything for you!
We are at the point where we are just ready to be down there and unpacking in our new place. It feels like the 30th will never come!
BIG Announcement!
So, Melissa and I have a VERY big announcement…
July will be our LAST month as Ohioans.
The Merritt’s are heading SOUTH!
Melissa’s transfer request was accepted and she was offered a position with her current company in…
NORTH CAROLINA!
This was a move that we knew would EVENTUALLY happen. With my thyroid disease Midwest winters are incredibly painful and difficult, we both love warm weather, and we both wanted to be closer to her family. But we decided it would be smarter to make the move before we started a family so, we bumped it up a couple of years!
There are so many things I love about Ohio. It’s been my home for 24 years. It’s where I grew up, where I became who I am, where I met my wife, and where we got married. But we are both ready for a fresh start somewhere new. A new place to create many happy memories and raise a family.
I will miss all of my Ohio peeps but we will be less than 2 hours from the beach so pack your bathers and come for a visit!
Indian Mound Reserve
Today we took the boys to Cedarville OH to the Indian Mound Reserve.
They LOVED it.
Outdoor Adventures!
I’ve always wanted to try kayaking but have always been too nervous to try. Well, our friend Faye wouldn’t take no for an answer so while Melissa was at work I conquered a fear.
And found a new love.
Faye’s boyfriend went on a fishing trip with a buddy so we took Faye on a hiking trip! We visited John Bryan State Park and explored Yellow Springs after. Then we went and had ice cream at Young’s Jersey Dairy.
It was an amazing day!
“I’m the comic relief. It makes up for my lack of hiking skills.” – Melissa 
“Now duck face!” – Melissa 
This is my happy place. 
“I’m finally taller than you!” – Melissa 
Outdoor Projects
With summery weather now here to say *crosses fingers* I’ve been busy doing ALL the outdoor projects.
The previous owners of our house LOVED statues. So much so that they built little rock mounds for them. There are two in the backyard. I removed one and planted grass seed. Depending on how the grass grows (if it grows) I’ll remove the other rock mound. If not, I’ll figure out a plan B.
I also built a stand for our little grill. It’s not my best work (warped boards) but it’ll do for now. In our “forever home” we want to build a nice stone BBQ and pizza oven station. So until then, we have this super fancy stand.
*Toby says hi*
Our garden is coming along nicely! I am in the process of replanting the summer squash and zucchini so hopefully they’ll expand nicely once out of the pots.
It’s not an “outdoor project” but I did make it outside so it counts. My desk was getting super crowded and cluttered so I decided to make an expander out of 2×4’s and leftover pallet pieces. It’s given me a good 3-ish feet of extra desk space so I’ve been able to regain my sanity.
All the LEGOS
Melissa and I LOVE LEGOS. We have bought MANY kits and built them. So many that we had to buy a shelf just for LEGOS. AND IT STILL WASN’T ENOUGH SPACE. So Melissa made THREE extra shelves for our LEGO shelf so I could have my buffet back for non-LEGO “pretties”.
We still have 4 unopened LEGO kits. We are going to need another shelf.
Burmese Tofu
I like tofu but due to my thyroid disease I’m supposed to avoid soy as it is a big “trigger food”. I found a recipe for chickpea tofu, also known as Burmese Tofu, and decided to give it a try. It’s really easy to make and the taste is very mild but good. I made a batch and used it to make Sesame Tofu.
Ingredients
- 3 cups water, divided
- 1 cup chickpea flour
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground tumeric
Mix chickpea flour, salt, and tumeric with 1 1/2 cups of water. In a saucepan, bring the remaining 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and add the chickpea mixture, mix constantly until thickened and glossy (this took me about 6 minutes).
Pour into a greased 8×8″ pan and let cool to room temperature (this took about 1-2 hours).
If you prefer firmer tofu, carefully remove from pan and place tofu between a few layers of paper towels (I did 3 towels on the bottom and 2 on top). Place a heavy pan or pot on top (not so heavy that it squashes the tofu but enough to add a little pressure). Allow to sit and drain for 2-4 hours. You may need to change the towels about halfway through. The longer it drains the firmer the tofu will become.
Prior to mixing the tofu with the sesame sauce and broccoli, I baked the diced pieces in the oven for about 40 minutes (turning the pieces over after 20 minutes). I lightly coated them in sesame oil and tossed in cornflour. However, I didn’t cut the pieces small enough though so not all of them firmed up. I think if you cut the pieces into dice-size pieces vs “bite size” pieces they’d crisp up nicer.
An Awfully Big Adventure 