I kept thinking throughout this week that I needed to get another post up so that my dearest and lovliest cousin wouldn't think I was slacking again :)
Then I realized it hadn't even been a week yet and I tried to relax. Even my boss says it feels like it's been longer.
Tucson is going well.
I was able to return the fan and walls in our room and bathroom to their natural white color, and my next goal is the kitchen area. My mom has a bunch of high nooks that are . . . not their original white color.
Work is also going well. I've been doing a lot of research and it's been really fun and interesting. It's amazing how much they don't have time to teach you in school.
My boss has been great with allowing a flexible schedule and for that I'm really happy. I think I've got the schedule down now though, so hopefully we won't have to change it all up again.
Monday I started at noon, but that was WAY too late to start. I was too anxious that morning. My mom adjusted her work schedule so that on MWF she gets off earlier so that she can come home and take care of Alisabeth for me, so I called the baby sitter and asked if she wouldn't mind moving the time up. Wednesday was a bit of a weird schedule I think I got in by 11:00 but that wasn't right either. Yesterday I got in at 10 and that seemed perfect. I got in 10 hours of work and still got home with enough time to relax a bit before I went to sleep.
As for the small munchkin she seems to be taking everything in style. I've noticed that if I am not home to put her to bed she wakes up a bit earlier than normal calling for me, but she seems to calm down and go back to sleep if she hears my voice. On Thursday she came out and snuggled up next to me and went back to sleep. It was really nice.
She also had a really fun experience this week. I have been wanting to try her out in tumbling classes for a while because she just has so much energy so we went to one this last week. It was a lot of fun. There were 4 other boys in the class, all her age-group. The instructor was really good. He had activities every 5 minutes for the whole 45 minute session. The gym was equipped with a balance beam (extra wide), a mini climbing wall (with a slide attached to the other side) and even/uneven bars. There was also a lot of padded areas and places for them to run and jump. The instructor also showed me how to help her gain confidence on the balance beam. She loved everything. At first she was a bit shy, but after about 5 minutes of watching the 4 boys running in every direction she began to join them.
I really enjoyed the experience and she seemed to love it, so once we get settled a bit more I think we'll definitely invest in that experience for her.
That's about all of the excitement that we had here in Tucson. I was invited over to dinner by one of my best friends and we had a little bit of time to catch up and enjoy each other before I had to drag Alisabeth away screaming in such a loud voice that I saw several curtains pushed aside as I strapped her into the car for the ride home.
And now, the addition:
After writing this on Saturday I went through the normal routine, Alisabeth wouldn't go to sleep until midnight, woke up early to get a pot roast in the crock-pot and give a ride to a friend to church, and then fell asleep exhaustedly during her nap, which she fought for about 1/2 an hour.
After I groggily woke up to make it choir practice I decided to give a shout out to my husband. I knew he was in the car when he answered, but I couldn't imagine where he would need the car to go to on a Sunday evening (all of our friends live within 100 feet of us)
So I asked him where he was . . . the reply?
"About 2 hours outside of Tucson"
So my big surprise this week was getting to see my husband. . . it's at the expense of a day of work and 2 days of classes, but hey. . . I'll take it.
Here are his additions:
"The transmission we're working on is all back together, but one of the shafts sticks up about an inch above the case (it should be flush with it). We took it apart twice and when you move them up and down you can feel it bottom out on the metal washer. We checked it twice and even the teacher checked it and said it feels good, so he finally said "We'll leave it till Monday, when we have fresh minds." "
(Of course my husband won't be there so. . . )
He also sold the Mitsubishi for the original cost plus the parts and time he'd put into it. Then a friend gave him a new car for the cost of registration. This one has a few minor problems that Jason knows how to fix so he should be able to turn this one around for a much better profit :)
"I'm almost done with the model car that I received for Christmas, I've even decided to put the stickers and decals on this time, so it's looking pretty good.
I think that's it, school's been really good. . . life is going well."
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Back. . . Home?
I find myself conflicted as I write this.
We are finally back in Arizona, and as promised the weather is gorgeous. We have blue skies, shorts on and the doors and windows open to let the cool breeze in. Everything I wanted. . . right?
At the same time my mother asked me, excitedly, "Who is the first person you're going to tell that you're back?"
I just looked at her blankly, not understanding her enthusiasm. Who would I tell? I hardly know anyone here anymore?
After 3.5 years away I'm going to have to learn who everyone is again. Besides family there wasn't anyone dying to see us, or waiting with baited breathe for us to come home.
I've got lots of people to catch up with, and lots of old friends to look up, but sadly, with tax season and single parenthood for the next two monthes I doubt I'll be able to do much of that either.
Can you tell I'm depressed?
On the positive end of the spectrum we had a great trip down. Hardly any bad weather and Alisabeth was amazing. She conked out the first day with no issues and slept quite well until we stopped for gas two and a half hours later. Then on Friday she stayed awake for the whole 8 hr trip but was amazing with hardly any complaints.
I got her bed together yesterday (Friday) night and made plans for this morning and then we both crashed. (She was so tired that she fell asleep on the way home from the store, woke up when I got her out but went back to sleep when I put her down to change her diaper and get her in pajamas. When I finished changing her she lugged herself into the closet (which has become her small bedroom) and by the time I got the milk in to her about 10 seconds later she was dead asleep.
Today we woke up at our normal time and started really getting down and dirty. I pulled out the vacuum, rearranged the bedroom and unpacked everything we had brought, then started scrubbing the walls. (After being on a cleaning spree at my apartment I couldn't just sit around looking at my mom's dust bunnies)
Oh, by the way I have to give a shout out to my husband who packed the car for us, he did an amazing job even finding safe places for my four plants. However, after we checked out of the hotel in Hendersen, NV I tried to duplicate his efforts and before we could drive down the road to the gas station two of the plants had already fallen over. You're amazing honey! (I won't mention who the crazy driver was at the time :p)
I wish I had taken a few before/after pictures of the apartment. I never thought of the walls/doors as dirty until I got up close to them, but I was amazed to see that they were in fact still white and pristine once cleaned. Instead I've included a couple of family shots right before we left and one priceless one.
This last one was taken on one of our last gaming nights at our friends house. While we were busy killing monsters and destroying aligator-men the babies were awfully quiet in the back room. On investigation this is what Jason found. All three of the toddlers looked like this. . . She's wearing black pants by the way.
Evidently they found a large container of baby powder and were determined to dress up for halloween. . . I think she did a pretty good job!
Well, I start work on Monday and that begins day 1 of the waiting time to start the home-loan process. They said they needed at least one month's worth of income in order to evaluate our potential. Hopefully they'll approve us because that gives me one more month to find a home and get the process started. I have to be able to put in a hard offer before April 30th so that we can qualify for the federal money, and that would mean a new washing machine and money for potential repairs/new home expenses. Pray for us if you can. There are A LOT of homes in our price range on the market right now, and most of them are move-in ready, so all I need is a bank to believe in us!
Jason is doing well too. I'll have to have him do his own posts for the next couple of months since I don't know all of the cool news in the great white north.
We are finally back in Arizona, and as promised the weather is gorgeous. We have blue skies, shorts on and the doors and windows open to let the cool breeze in. Everything I wanted. . . right?
At the same time my mother asked me, excitedly, "Who is the first person you're going to tell that you're back?"
I just looked at her blankly, not understanding her enthusiasm. Who would I tell? I hardly know anyone here anymore?
After 3.5 years away I'm going to have to learn who everyone is again. Besides family there wasn't anyone dying to see us, or waiting with baited breathe for us to come home.
I've got lots of people to catch up with, and lots of old friends to look up, but sadly, with tax season and single parenthood for the next two monthes I doubt I'll be able to do much of that either.
Can you tell I'm depressed?
On the positive end of the spectrum we had a great trip down. Hardly any bad weather and Alisabeth was amazing. She conked out the first day with no issues and slept quite well until we stopped for gas two and a half hours later. Then on Friday she stayed awake for the whole 8 hr trip but was amazing with hardly any complaints.
I got her bed together yesterday (Friday) night and made plans for this morning and then we both crashed. (She was so tired that she fell asleep on the way home from the store, woke up when I got her out but went back to sleep when I put her down to change her diaper and get her in pajamas. When I finished changing her she lugged herself into the closet (which has become her small bedroom) and by the time I got the milk in to her about 10 seconds later she was dead asleep.
Today we woke up at our normal time and started really getting down and dirty. I pulled out the vacuum, rearranged the bedroom and unpacked everything we had brought, then started scrubbing the walls. (After being on a cleaning spree at my apartment I couldn't just sit around looking at my mom's dust bunnies)
Oh, by the way I have to give a shout out to my husband who packed the car for us, he did an amazing job even finding safe places for my four plants. However, after we checked out of the hotel in Hendersen, NV I tried to duplicate his efforts and before we could drive down the road to the gas station two of the plants had already fallen over. You're amazing honey! (I won't mention who the crazy driver was at the time :p)
I wish I had taken a few before/after pictures of the apartment. I never thought of the walls/doors as dirty until I got up close to them, but I was amazed to see that they were in fact still white and pristine once cleaned. Instead I've included a couple of family shots right before we left and one priceless one.
This last one was taken on one of our last gaming nights at our friends house. While we were busy killing monsters and destroying aligator-men the babies were awfully quiet in the back room. On investigation this is what Jason found. All three of the toddlers looked like this. . . She's wearing black pants by the way.
Evidently they found a large container of baby powder and were determined to dress up for halloween. . . I think she did a pretty good job!
Well, I start work on Monday and that begins day 1 of the waiting time to start the home-loan process. They said they needed at least one month's worth of income in order to evaluate our potential. Hopefully they'll approve us because that gives me one more month to find a home and get the process started. I have to be able to put in a hard offer before April 30th so that we can qualify for the federal money, and that would mean a new washing machine and money for potential repairs/new home expenses. Pray for us if you can. There are A LOT of homes in our price range on the market right now, and most of them are move-in ready, so all I need is a bank to believe in us!
Jason is doing well too. I'll have to have him do his own posts for the next couple of months since I don't know all of the cool news in the great white north.
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