After two days, we've made quite a bit of progress in the new apartment.

And at least two people who matter think Notre Dame is the best football team in the country.

Yes, it was a great weekend.

Casey doubted me yesterday when I said I could watch the entire Notre Dame-Florida State game and still make a dent with the moving. By about 12:20 p.m., I had several boxes in the living room ready to go down to the car, and Notre Dame had a 7-0 lead after one play on offense. I knew from that play that the Irish would not lose. A 65-yard TD pass from Carlyle Holiday to Arnaz Battle on the first snap, and Battle not only out maneuvered two defenders to catch the ball, he outran the one who stayed on his feet. Notre Dame doesn't do that often ? in fact, the Irish hadn't scored on their first offensive play since 1985 ? so you figure that when that happens in a game where the No. 6 team in the country is a 10 1/2 point underdog, things are going to go their way.

I called my parents just because I needed to celebrate with someone, and just as I hung up the house phone, Heather called on my cell phone. We celebrated and then went back to our respective moving chores. I watched the game on both the living room and bedroom TVs while I packed books and files and knick-knacks and a few clothes into boxes and moved them into the living room. At halftime, I moved the car from the lot across the street to a curbside spot near the building. When the game was essentially over ? Notre Dame 34, Florida State 10 with something like six minutes to play ? I began loading up the car. For excercise, I took the stairs two at a time coming back up, sometimes even at a running pace. Oh, I feel it today. It's like the day after the first day of baseball practice in high school when we'd run a mile in the cold March air, then end the day inside with a series of shuttle sprints on the basketball court.

I made good time with packing the car and met up with Casey over at the new apartment, where we emptied my car and worked on cleaning the rest of the blinds in the living room. And man, there was dust caked on those blinds.

Today, we awoke at 7:30 because Casey set the alarm for 8:30 and we both forgot about the turning back of the clocks. I did remember, but not until I woke up on my own at 7 a.m. and, looking at the clock on my VCR, wondered if it went back an hour automatically. When the alarm went off half an hour later and I asked her what time she set it for, that's when I knew the VCR had updated itself.

So, anyway, we laid in bed a little, showered and had breakfast, and then headed out to IKEA for a little shopping. We arrived in the parking lot at 9:50 a.m. and realized the store didn't open until 10 a.m., because of all the people standing outside the doors. So we sat in the car and watched some dude in the car facing us step out of his Explorer, drop his knit hat on the ground, then get back in the car looking for something ? the aforementioned knit hat, we presumed ? for a good minute. He looked behind him, in the visor, in the back seat, under his feet, under his butt, all with the door closed; then he opened the door part way and looked on the ground. Still didn't see it. I wondered aloud if I should tell him where it was, but it was too amusing. He finally opened the door all the way and saw the hat lying closer to the car in the next spot.

By then it was 10 a.m., so we walked into IKEA. When we walked out a little after 11, we had ourselves a coffee table (with compartments beneath it for good storage), a floor lamp, one hanging one, 100 tea candles, two shelves and some Christmas ornaments. From there, it was over to Jersey Gardens mall to hit Illuminations for some candles, but the kind we wanted were sold out. So instead we got about six others, plus a wire candle "tree" that hold about eight or 10 tea candles, making our previous purchase seem a stroke of clairvoyance.

While eating lunch at Johnny Rockets, a young couple and their young, stroller-traveling son, sat down in the booth next to us. They looked over the menu and told little Tommy there was grilled cheese and hot dogs among the available fare, and about a minute later, they were gone. Brat. Casey and I vowed that any potential children of ours (or any niece, nephew, family friend or random kid in our care) will never prevent us from eating at Johnny Rockets.

From my seat, I had a clear view of the food court, and while we were sitting there I saw no fewer than three young Asian girls ? between the ages of 3 and 5, I'd say ? all running around in a fit of hyperactivity and forcing their respective mothers to chase them down and reign them in. We'd also seen at least one at IKEA, and I wondered why all the hyper little Asian girls. They were all quite cute, too. It was fun to watch, especially the looks of frustration on the mothers' faces.

At the new apartment afterwards, Gilbert the landlord was there working on the basement apartment with his brother, so I asked him about some of our concerns ? primarily the front door that does not fit the door frame, so that there is a space between the top of it and the frame as well as along the side so that you can see whether the deadbolt is locked or not. He said, "No problem, I will replace it," and then took measurements. Nice landlord, particularly in comparison to the current one.

By the time we left, we had contact paper down in all the kitchen cabinets, plates and pots and pans put away, and four boxes cleared out of the kitchen. I also put up the rod for the shower curtain, Swiffered the bathroom and living room floors, and learned where the fuse box was.

Oh, and I'm S0 getting the Swiffer Venom!