Well, I have a new job! And yes, it was all thanks to the very nice cable guy. Shortly after my "interview" where they really did most of the talking I was called in for my orientation. There was one other girl getting hired with me. The owner came in at the end (who was the person that the cable guy told me to call). She said that they had looked at thousands of resumes, did a bunch of interviewed and picked TWO people to hire. She looked right at me and said "as soon as I heard that Robert told you to call me I said 'call this girl now, because Robert knows what he's talking about'". I really truly got my job because of the cable guy.
I met my first client on Christmas eve. Had my first shift on the day after Christmas sleeping over until Sunday. She was very nice, very funny, and appreciative of me. It felt nice. I don't think that direct care is for me, but God put me here for a reason, so we will see what's in store for me.
I will really only be working 2.5 days a week through January :( And as soon as E gets into the academy I won't be able to do overnights because I can't leave my puppy locked up. Which is fine with me because I'm such a homebody that I really need that time to come home and just relax.
This month will be tight with neither of us making many hours, so we would appreciate prayers. Still no word from the troopers for E. Although we know the background check is done. We are basically just waiting for someone to look at the report and make an offer. Yay!
E seems to really be enjoying his job at Starbucks for now. He comes home often just rambling on and on excitedly about all that he is learning. He brought me to the store he works at on Sunday and kept referring it to as "his" Starbucks. How sweet. I'm happy for him that he is enjoying his time.
Lately I have been doing some problem solving with the pets. First, with Katniss I was just so tired of that dusty stinky clay litter. It smelled bad, I really disliked scooping it, and no matter how often we swept it still got everywhere. Because we live in a small apartment there is no convenient place to hide it, so it has to sit in the bathroom. A friend of mine recommended a kitty litter alternative. It has pellets which are big enough that they don't track, the urine goes into the bottom where there is a removable tray and a pad. You replace the pad every 1-2 weeks (probably closer to 2 with our tiny kitty) and replace he pellets every 1-2 months. It's no more expensive than what we were doing before and there is NO MESS!! NO STINK!! I LOVE it. Our bathroom will no longer feel like one giant litter box. How wonderful.
As for Harper, I finally decided to start getting serious about her crate anxiety. She's been having a hard time going to bed and in the morning when we wake up before we have a chance to get out of bed. She whines and barks a little (the shock collar doesn't work very well). She also hates it when we leave. We had been keeping her crate in the spare bedroom mostly to keep it out of sight, but also thinking maybe it's better if she's more isolated and can't see us when we are up before we get her out...wrong. I moved the crate to the living room. This way it will bother the neighbors less (if they were bothered at all) with her whining all the time. It also gives me a chance to teach her that the crate isn't a prison. I have been putting treats and toys in there and even feeding meals in there (upon the advice of a friend in vet school). Last night I also decided to give "down" another shot. She never really had been able to grasp the concept of laying down on command. She always backed up or stood up. Maybe being a little older and able to focus and problem solve helped because we got it down solid in 15 minutes! Now we are excited to start trying other commands. She recently has gotten very good at fetch. She loves it and will play for hours if you let her. A couple of nights ago E brought the laser out for the first time in a long time and Harper LOVES it. We wore her out good this morning running around the apartment. So good to see her happy.
Harper likes to chase Katinss, mostly Katniss will just swat at her face to see if it will make her go away, but sometimes Harper is a little too persistent. I felt bad that I had to take away all of Katniss' toys because Harper finds them and swallows them whole. So I got her a kitty play mat that you can put catnip in and has little mice an feathers attached to it. She was in love right away. I'm glad to have found something to keep her entertained. Harper got a Kong for Christmas. We are going to have to get more creative to get stuff stuck in there though, she's getting fast.
I almost forgot to mention some of our Christmas gifts! We had a lot of help this Christmas in purchasing a dresser. Oh how wonderful it is not to live out of Ikea bags on the floor of our closet. Our room is much cleaner and it's so much easier to find stuff. I will never take a dresser for granted ever again. It is a huge blessing. E and I also got some help purchasing rain jackets! Now we can be proper Washingtonians with our rain gear. We have gotten some good use out of them already taking Harper for walks an exploring. We had a quiet Christmas and hope to see family next year.
I have to say that I am glad that the holidays are almost over...It's been kinda hard this year not seeing family, especially in the middle of the stress. It would have been nice to see them again.
Today is sunny, like yesterday. There is actually frost on the ground today...The radio said it's 36 degrees out right now...this is maybe the coldest it's been here so far. But it means you can see Mt Rainier from our window!
Tonight I will make copycat Panera bread bowls to go with the Panera broccoli cheese soup I picked up yesterday. Yum!!
I suppose I'm done now. I did a lot of rambling on and on this time. Oops.
Until next time!
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Monday, December 22, 2014
Surprise!
Surprise!! That's what I imagine God saying to me. Last weekend we had the cable guy show up at our door. He wasn't even our area rep. He was filling in for the normal guy. We think he knocked on our door to try to sell us internet, not realizing we already had internet with them. Instead of leaving it at that he struck up a conversation with us. Told us about a cool Christian youth organization where they spread the word through sports. He then asked us about our job situations. Upon hearing that I have a degree in social services he offered me two phone numbers. He told me to call them and tell them who I talked to. He also said to tell them that I'm normal haha. As it turned out he worked in Child Protective Services for 15 years and his wife still does. As we closed the door we just felt bewildered. We really have no connections here in WA. He didn't need to stop at our door, talk to us, or offer us numbers.
The next day I got over my fear of talking on the phone and called one of the numbers. Nobody picked up so I left a message. And then I waited. I had almost forgotten all about it the next day when my phone rang. The woman on the phone told me she heard the message and would like me to come in for an interview. She told me where to go and what to bring. I had to quick catch her before she hung up...the thing was, I didn't even know the name of the company or what they did!
The next day I went in for an interview. There is just something about small businesses/organizations that I like. I feel more welcome. I walked up to their tiny little office and was welcomed warmly. The interview went like this: "How long have you been a caregiver?" I then proceeded to explain that I didn't really know anything about this position, I just called. And when I called I really was looking for more information. She then proceeded to tell me all about what they do. They are a home care agency that works primarily with elderly. I told them the closest thing I'd done to that was residential care. Upon hearing this, the other woman in the office popped in and told me she had done that for years. We had a nice chat about that for a while. She looked over my resume and told me that she would call around and see if she could find me a social work job, since that was my background. They told me that this company really likes to help ALL people to reach their full potential. How sweet, and totally unnecessary?? They told me that they weren't trying to push me away from my company, but wanted to make sure I had a job that I could grow in. They said they would call around.
This morning I received a call asking me to come in tomorrow morning for an orientation! God works in mysterious ways.
Just yesterday E and I were talking about this in the car. We realized that since we've moved out here, nothing that we have actually tried has worked out. I haven't gotten any calls or replies from any places I sent my resume into, neither has E. But here comes the cable guy handing me two phone numbers and just like that I have a job. And as far as E goes, it feels like God has been flashing bright neon lights saying "APPLY TO BE A TROOPER!!!!"
On that note, still no word back from the WSP with an offer. Although E has been in contact with the background check guy who says it should be done soon! Maybe we will hear back this week! We have had so many people here encouraging us. There are several people at church looking out for us and checking in each week and cheering along with us. How comforting.
Speaking of church, a family has invited us to their place on Christmas in the evening because they heard we had no family here. How kind. I do miss family.
Yesterday on the way to church we got a call from Italy!! My dear friend called using FB. We met in Missouri and have been staying in contact. It was so nice to hear her voice. I really hope to get to visit them in Italy someday!
This weekend E and I got rain jackets! Now we are set for hiking in the rain! Or even just walking. This weather is so different from MN winters. The rain was really the only thing keeping us inside at times, now that we have jackets it makes it a lot easier to be outside. We took Harper for a walk by the sound, discovering new paths. We decided we wanted her to be a hiking dog. When we were out getting our jackets in Seattle we saw saddle bags. We decided if Harper was going to hike, she'd have to carry her own water :P Someday.
We also visited the space needle and the glass garden this weekend. We went at night and were so glad we did!! It was really pretty and so much fun! It was a little pricey, but worth doing at least once! We are hoping to do some more exploring this week.
That's all I've got for now!
The next day I got over my fear of talking on the phone and called one of the numbers. Nobody picked up so I left a message. And then I waited. I had almost forgotten all about it the next day when my phone rang. The woman on the phone told me she heard the message and would like me to come in for an interview. She told me where to go and what to bring. I had to quick catch her before she hung up...the thing was, I didn't even know the name of the company or what they did!
The next day I went in for an interview. There is just something about small businesses/organizations that I like. I feel more welcome. I walked up to their tiny little office and was welcomed warmly. The interview went like this: "How long have you been a caregiver?" I then proceeded to explain that I didn't really know anything about this position, I just called. And when I called I really was looking for more information. She then proceeded to tell me all about what they do. They are a home care agency that works primarily with elderly. I told them the closest thing I'd done to that was residential care. Upon hearing this, the other woman in the office popped in and told me she had done that for years. We had a nice chat about that for a while. She looked over my resume and told me that she would call around and see if she could find me a social work job, since that was my background. They told me that this company really likes to help ALL people to reach their full potential. How sweet, and totally unnecessary?? They told me that they weren't trying to push me away from my company, but wanted to make sure I had a job that I could grow in. They said they would call around.
This morning I received a call asking me to come in tomorrow morning for an orientation! God works in mysterious ways.
Just yesterday E and I were talking about this in the car. We realized that since we've moved out here, nothing that we have actually tried has worked out. I haven't gotten any calls or replies from any places I sent my resume into, neither has E. But here comes the cable guy handing me two phone numbers and just like that I have a job. And as far as E goes, it feels like God has been flashing bright neon lights saying "APPLY TO BE A TROOPER!!!!"
On that note, still no word back from the WSP with an offer. Although E has been in contact with the background check guy who says it should be done soon! Maybe we will hear back this week! We have had so many people here encouraging us. There are several people at church looking out for us and checking in each week and cheering along with us. How comforting.
Speaking of church, a family has invited us to their place on Christmas in the evening because they heard we had no family here. How kind. I do miss family.
Yesterday on the way to church we got a call from Italy!! My dear friend called using FB. We met in Missouri and have been staying in contact. It was so nice to hear her voice. I really hope to get to visit them in Italy someday!
This weekend E and I got rain jackets! Now we are set for hiking in the rain! Or even just walking. This weather is so different from MN winters. The rain was really the only thing keeping us inside at times, now that we have jackets it makes it a lot easier to be outside. We took Harper for a walk by the sound, discovering new paths. We decided we wanted her to be a hiking dog. When we were out getting our jackets in Seattle we saw saddle bags. We decided if Harper was going to hike, she'd have to carry her own water :P Someday.
We also visited the space needle and the glass garden this weekend. We went at night and were so glad we did!! It was really pretty and so much fun! It was a little pricey, but worth doing at least once! We are hoping to do some more exploring this week.
That's all I've got for now!
Monday, December 15, 2014
Long weekend
Last week I had Friday off...as some of you know, this is a little frustrating. Working out logistics with the family I nanny for has been tough. However, I did nanny for them last Sunday to make up for it.l
On our Friday off we decided to make a trip to the mall. E had to get some black shirts for working at Starbucks and I'd never been to the mall here. While out and about we had lunch at this cool pizza place where all the pizzas are personal sized and made to order...and very yummy :) While sitting down for lunch I glanced at my phone and noticed I had a missed call and voice mail. It was the background check guy! I called him back right away but no answer. So I left a message and turned my phone up all the way loud while we continued to walk around the mall. I eventually got the call back and spent about 20 minutes on the phone. Wooo! Yay! My part is over! One step closer!!
One of the guys from church who works at the academy told E in an email that considering how far along he is in the process that he should expect to be in the next round at the academy. How exciting! I know it seems like I say the same thing every time I post, but it is finally starting to feel close to possible.
On Saturday E was gone for drill during the day and then came to get me in the evening for the dinning out. We went to the VA in Tacoma and I finally got to meet more people than the Captain and his wife. This was also my first experience being a part of a receiving line (if you ever go through one, please don't stare deeply into people's eyes even after you finish shaking hands...) and also my first time seeing a grog bowl. For any of you who do not know, a grog bowl is a giant drinking game/mockery of Army buracracy (I heard someone else point out the whole mockery of Army buracracy part). There are three bowls at the front of the room. Two are filled with punch and alcohol, and the other has no alcohol for those who choose not to drink. They even do this little ceremony where they tell you the significance behind each item they put in the bowl as they do so. The president is the company commander, and there is a Mr. Vice president and a Ms. Vice president. And then there are rules. Such as if any guest gets up all the soldiers at the table have to get up. The lowest ranking soldier has to charge all the glasses at the table. If anyone wishes to address the president they have to address him as Mr. President and request permission to speak. You may not leave the room (even to go to the restroom) without asking permission. And the president can make up any rules at any time for any reason. If you break a rule you have to go to the grog bowl salute it and every corner of the room, drink and hold the cup over your head. Thankfully guests did not have to participate/go to the grog bowl. Only their soldiers did if their guests messed up. I didn't mess up for E's sake. Overall the night felt silly and fun. The president had a lot of fun calling people out for silly infractions and coming up with other punishments as well...like singing the itsy bitsy spider in front of everyone, or making someone taste the food before we ate to make sure it wasn't poisoned. The night was much less formal than I had expected it to be. It was nice.
Sunday E had drill again all day. He didn't come home until late in the evening. So I watched movies and crocheted! I made chunky slipper socks and almost finished before I ran out of yarn...poo.
Now I'm nannying...and both parents are home for the WHOLE day. It's weird enough with one parent, now I have two watching every move I make. But I am thankful for the job that I have. That is for sure.
Hopefully the next time I post I have something really exciting to share!!
On our Friday off we decided to make a trip to the mall. E had to get some black shirts for working at Starbucks and I'd never been to the mall here. While out and about we had lunch at this cool pizza place where all the pizzas are personal sized and made to order...and very yummy :) While sitting down for lunch I glanced at my phone and noticed I had a missed call and voice mail. It was the background check guy! I called him back right away but no answer. So I left a message and turned my phone up all the way loud while we continued to walk around the mall. I eventually got the call back and spent about 20 minutes on the phone. Wooo! Yay! My part is over! One step closer!!
One of the guys from church who works at the academy told E in an email that considering how far along he is in the process that he should expect to be in the next round at the academy. How exciting! I know it seems like I say the same thing every time I post, but it is finally starting to feel close to possible.
On Saturday E was gone for drill during the day and then came to get me in the evening for the dinning out. We went to the VA in Tacoma and I finally got to meet more people than the Captain and his wife. This was also my first experience being a part of a receiving line (if you ever go through one, please don't stare deeply into people's eyes even after you finish shaking hands...) and also my first time seeing a grog bowl. For any of you who do not know, a grog bowl is a giant drinking game/mockery of Army buracracy (I heard someone else point out the whole mockery of Army buracracy part). There are three bowls at the front of the room. Two are filled with punch and alcohol, and the other has no alcohol for those who choose not to drink. They even do this little ceremony where they tell you the significance behind each item they put in the bowl as they do so. The president is the company commander, and there is a Mr. Vice president and a Ms. Vice president. And then there are rules. Such as if any guest gets up all the soldiers at the table have to get up. The lowest ranking soldier has to charge all the glasses at the table. If anyone wishes to address the president they have to address him as Mr. President and request permission to speak. You may not leave the room (even to go to the restroom) without asking permission. And the president can make up any rules at any time for any reason. If you break a rule you have to go to the grog bowl salute it and every corner of the room, drink and hold the cup over your head. Thankfully guests did not have to participate/go to the grog bowl. Only their soldiers did if their guests messed up. I didn't mess up for E's sake. Overall the night felt silly and fun. The president had a lot of fun calling people out for silly infractions and coming up with other punishments as well...like singing the itsy bitsy spider in front of everyone, or making someone taste the food before we ate to make sure it wasn't poisoned. The night was much less formal than I had expected it to be. It was nice.
Sunday E had drill again all day. He didn't come home until late in the evening. So I watched movies and crocheted! I made chunky slipper socks and almost finished before I ran out of yarn...poo.
Now I'm nannying...and both parents are home for the WHOLE day. It's weird enough with one parent, now I have two watching every move I make. But I am thankful for the job that I have. That is for sure.
Hopefully the next time I post I have something really exciting to share!!
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Almost there!
For anyone that didn't already hear, E passed the oral board! It took a lot less time that either of us expected. That same day he got to do the polygraph and passed that as well! Now we wait for the background check to go through and he's as good as gold! They said the background check should take 1-1.5 months, which sounds like a long time, but not compared to the usual 2-3 month wait. Because they are so busy trying to hire a bunch of people they're doing something to help the background checks not take so long. Yipee!!
Today E is going into Starbucks to get his schedule. As much as we are thrilled that he has something to do until the WSP comes through, it's a bummer that we won't be able to come home for Christmas. I have to say, I've been feeling a little homesick this last week. I miss traditions and family of course, but I think the weather and the lack of snow are really making it harder. Yesterday I wore a fleece sweatshirt and a light fall jacket and was too warm, so today I wore a light sweater with my light jacket and today was even warmer! The weather is a little big gloomy, which I don't think I really mind, I just miss the snow. When it rains it's warm. As in, you could probably get away with shorts (I did see a dad in shorts bringing his daughter to the bus stop today). Even Christmas songs don't feel right. How in the world can I sing about sleigh rides when there is no snow? Just weird.
This last weekend E and I went to IKEA. We miss the one in Minnesota. This one was all on one floor and it all felt cramped. I don't mean to complain about everything, though. We did feel like grown-ups buying curtain rods and curtains (for our bedroom window that lets in so much light it's hard to sleep in the morning) and a lamp for the living room (yay for no more dungeon!!). We set up these things and also picked up a little tree houseplant thing instead of a Christmas tree this year. I got the idea from the family I nanny for K (the mom) told me that they got one last year when they didn't want to buy a fake tree, but couldn't get a real one just yet. So now we have our little plant lit up with Christmas lights! It's too small for ornaments though, boo. We also strung up a few lights around our sliding glass door. So our little living room feels nice and festive.
On Sunday I babysat for my nanny family so they could take their boat out. E made gingerbread cookies from his favorite recipe while I was gone. He rolled, cut and baked them when I came home and I watched. He wanted to give some to our neighbor (who we couldn't remember his name...) so I decorated a festive bag to put the cookies in.
Other than that, there is nothing really exciting. I finished a book yesterday...so now I have that happy/sad feeling. I have a three day weekend this coming weekend, so we shall see what this weekend brings.
Thanks for thinking of us and praying for us. Especially since we are so far from home, family, and friends it's nice to know how many people are thinking of us right now.
Love to you all!
Today E is going into Starbucks to get his schedule. As much as we are thrilled that he has something to do until the WSP comes through, it's a bummer that we won't be able to come home for Christmas. I have to say, I've been feeling a little homesick this last week. I miss traditions and family of course, but I think the weather and the lack of snow are really making it harder. Yesterday I wore a fleece sweatshirt and a light fall jacket and was too warm, so today I wore a light sweater with my light jacket and today was even warmer! The weather is a little big gloomy, which I don't think I really mind, I just miss the snow. When it rains it's warm. As in, you could probably get away with shorts (I did see a dad in shorts bringing his daughter to the bus stop today). Even Christmas songs don't feel right. How in the world can I sing about sleigh rides when there is no snow? Just weird.
This last weekend E and I went to IKEA. We miss the one in Minnesota. This one was all on one floor and it all felt cramped. I don't mean to complain about everything, though. We did feel like grown-ups buying curtain rods and curtains (for our bedroom window that lets in so much light it's hard to sleep in the morning) and a lamp for the living room (yay for no more dungeon!!). We set up these things and also picked up a little tree houseplant thing instead of a Christmas tree this year. I got the idea from the family I nanny for K (the mom) told me that they got one last year when they didn't want to buy a fake tree, but couldn't get a real one just yet. So now we have our little plant lit up with Christmas lights! It's too small for ornaments though, boo. We also strung up a few lights around our sliding glass door. So our little living room feels nice and festive.
On Sunday I babysat for my nanny family so they could take their boat out. E made gingerbread cookies from his favorite recipe while I was gone. He rolled, cut and baked them when I came home and I watched. He wanted to give some to our neighbor (who we couldn't remember his name...) so I decorated a festive bag to put the cookies in.
Other than that, there is nothing really exciting. I finished a book yesterday...so now I have that happy/sad feeling. I have a three day weekend this coming weekend, so we shall see what this weekend brings.
Thanks for thinking of us and praying for us. Especially since we are so far from home, family, and friends it's nice to know how many people are thinking of us right now.
Love to you all!
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Thanksgiving and a birthday
As of the last time I blogged, I wasn't sure about a lot of things. For starters, E got the job at Starbucks and will be starting Dec 15th! He also got a call back from the Washington State Patrol telling him that he passed phase one of testing and they scheduled phase two, which is an oral board, for Dec 4th. Wish him luck! Once he passes this it's just the polygraph and background check standing in his way.
E also got a call last week about doing a ride along. He went on one already, and as I type now he is on another one. He came back at about 3am from the last one, more sure than ever that he would love to be a trooper. He was very excited to be going again tonight.
I continue my search for a job to replace my nanny job. I'm not even sure what it is I even want to do anymore. Really all I want to do is craft...
For Thanksgiving we stayed home. We made a turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and stuffing. It was nice. Before we got our cooking on we thought we would try to find one of the dog parks that people say were close. We picked the closest one that google came up with which happened to be about five miles away..but SO worth the little drive there. It actually lead us to a part of a huge golf course and to the sound. We walked along the beach with the dog. At the end there was an off leash portion. Harper was too scared of the water to want to play anyway. We ended up playing fetch for the first time with her outside. Never has she shown so much interest and stayed focused on one game for so long. It was fun to play with her like that. We both had images of the cool tricks we will be able to teacher...as soon as we can master come, stay, and no of course.
After that we just relaxed for the rest of the day and watched netflix late into the night. On my birthday we had plans to go to the beach and see the open ocean. We wanted to build a fire and roast hot dogs...but as we were researching good beaches, it started to rain. After looking at the forecast we realized it was supposed to rain all day. So we had to plan something else....ah, but I was getting ahead of myself. I opened my gift from E right away. He was so excited about this, because I had no idea what it was. Some of you may know this, but surprises are not always E's strong suit. So this just made this gift even more exciting. I told E all I wanted for my birthday was a homemade meal. He got me a beautiful cast iron tea pot with cast iron tea cups. I've wanted one of these for a long time. He even picked out my favorite color. I can tell he put so much thought into this gift, making it extra special.
Anyway, we decided to go see Catching Fire instead. We had to go to an evening showing since the early showings were sold out. So we went on over to buy our tickets and then we had about five hours to kill. Across the street we went to barnes and noble where we sat and sipped for a while, E had coffee, I had peppermint hot cocoa. We browsed and picked out one book each, feeling pleased to take advantage of the black Friday bargains, of course. Then I remembered the Christmas CD I was dying to get E. It is the Pentatonix CD. I saw them perform on TV, heard they had a Christmas album, knew E loved it and really wanted to get it for him. So I kept it a secret until we found it in the store. Sometimes I think that it is just as much fun to give a good gift, if not more fun, than to receive one. The feeling of anticipation, just knowing how happy it will make someone else.
After shopping we still had time to kill. E took me out for late lunch/early dinner. We even got a free ice cream cake because it was my birthday! After this, with more time to kill we drove over to the movie theater, pulled out our books, and read in the car with the sound of the rain plinking on the roof.
We enjoyed the movie. I think I enjoy movies in movie theaters now more in general just because of the reclining seats. The normal/old seats always made my back ache. I really like these new seats.
When we came home, the party was far from over. We turned on the new Christmas CD, played some UNO, which E creamed me at every time, and then watched movies all night long.
Today was a day filled with Thanksgiving leftovers, a haircut, and more netflix. E has been plugging away at paperwork that needs to be filled out for his background check. They sure want to know EVERYTHING. Now I just sit here eating cookies from the giant batch of frozen cookie dough balls I made when E was at drill while E is out cruising the streets of Tacoma soaking in everything he can about being a state trooper.
I almost forgot. We bought a small folding table. It's amazing how much more at home I feel here having a place to eat meals...other than the coffee table. I think our next goal is to buy a lamp or too. Our living room feels like a dungeon.
Until next time!
E also got a call last week about doing a ride along. He went on one already, and as I type now he is on another one. He came back at about 3am from the last one, more sure than ever that he would love to be a trooper. He was very excited to be going again tonight.
I continue my search for a job to replace my nanny job. I'm not even sure what it is I even want to do anymore. Really all I want to do is craft...
For Thanksgiving we stayed home. We made a turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and stuffing. It was nice. Before we got our cooking on we thought we would try to find one of the dog parks that people say were close. We picked the closest one that google came up with which happened to be about five miles away..but SO worth the little drive there. It actually lead us to a part of a huge golf course and to the sound. We walked along the beach with the dog. At the end there was an off leash portion. Harper was too scared of the water to want to play anyway. We ended up playing fetch for the first time with her outside. Never has she shown so much interest and stayed focused on one game for so long. It was fun to play with her like that. We both had images of the cool tricks we will be able to teacher...as soon as we can master come, stay, and no of course.
After that we just relaxed for the rest of the day and watched netflix late into the night. On my birthday we had plans to go to the beach and see the open ocean. We wanted to build a fire and roast hot dogs...but as we were researching good beaches, it started to rain. After looking at the forecast we realized it was supposed to rain all day. So we had to plan something else....ah, but I was getting ahead of myself. I opened my gift from E right away. He was so excited about this, because I had no idea what it was. Some of you may know this, but surprises are not always E's strong suit. So this just made this gift even more exciting. I told E all I wanted for my birthday was a homemade meal. He got me a beautiful cast iron tea pot with cast iron tea cups. I've wanted one of these for a long time. He even picked out my favorite color. I can tell he put so much thought into this gift, making it extra special.
Anyway, we decided to go see Catching Fire instead. We had to go to an evening showing since the early showings were sold out. So we went on over to buy our tickets and then we had about five hours to kill. Across the street we went to barnes and noble where we sat and sipped for a while, E had coffee, I had peppermint hot cocoa. We browsed and picked out one book each, feeling pleased to take advantage of the black Friday bargains, of course. Then I remembered the Christmas CD I was dying to get E. It is the Pentatonix CD. I saw them perform on TV, heard they had a Christmas album, knew E loved it and really wanted to get it for him. So I kept it a secret until we found it in the store. Sometimes I think that it is just as much fun to give a good gift, if not more fun, than to receive one. The feeling of anticipation, just knowing how happy it will make someone else.
After shopping we still had time to kill. E took me out for late lunch/early dinner. We even got a free ice cream cake because it was my birthday! After this, with more time to kill we drove over to the movie theater, pulled out our books, and read in the car with the sound of the rain plinking on the roof.
We enjoyed the movie. I think I enjoy movies in movie theaters now more in general just because of the reclining seats. The normal/old seats always made my back ache. I really like these new seats.
When we came home, the party was far from over. We turned on the new Christmas CD, played some UNO, which E creamed me at every time, and then watched movies all night long.
Today was a day filled with Thanksgiving leftovers, a haircut, and more netflix. E has been plugging away at paperwork that needs to be filled out for his background check. They sure want to know EVERYTHING. Now I just sit here eating cookies from the giant batch of frozen cookie dough balls I made when E was at drill while E is out cruising the streets of Tacoma soaking in everything he can about being a state trooper.
I almost forgot. We bought a small folding table. It's amazing how much more at home I feel here having a place to eat meals...other than the coffee table. I think our next goal is to buy a lamp or too. Our living room feels like a dungeon.
Until next time!
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Settlling
Settling. That's a good word for where we are at. I am on my second week nannying. E looked for jobs, took his test for the Washington State Patrol last Saturday. He thinks it went well, and things are looking very hopeful in that way. It sounds as though they are hiring a lot of people right now, so E has a very good chance. Not to mention the friends we met at church that offered to be E's "inside man" and answer questions and offered to help him prepare for the oral boards. How nice is that?!
As it turns out, yesterday E also had an interview at Starbucks. It's not really what he wants to do, but it would be nice to have something while we wait to hear back from the WSP. He got a call back later yesterday afternoon asking him to go to the store where they want to have him working and do an "interview" to see if it is a good fit. We are assuming it's a go for that job. So starting next week, E will have a job too!
E has drill this weekend, so I will be all alone. That's okay. I have Harper and Katniss to keep me company.
We have been feeling unmotivated to decorate or continue to unpack the last few boxes. So we have a couple of boxes in a few corners. Taking up space where there should be furniture.
We were invited to have Thanksgiving at the company commander's house...I have mixed feelings about this. This will be my first Thanksgiving apart from my family. Thanksgiving has ALWAYS been my favorite holiday, and has always been connected/associated with my birthday. So many feels. It's always been a relaxing holiday. No expectations, no pressure, no plans. Just show up, eat, nap, watch movies. I know it might be good to go to the company commander's house, but I want to just make a turkey, potatoes, stuffing, and just watch netflix all day. Is that wrong? Hmm. E said we can do whatever I want. We will see.
We are still in a wait and see period, but things finally feel like they are coming together. For this we are oh so thankful.
As it turns out, yesterday E also had an interview at Starbucks. It's not really what he wants to do, but it would be nice to have something while we wait to hear back from the WSP. He got a call back later yesterday afternoon asking him to go to the store where they want to have him working and do an "interview" to see if it is a good fit. We are assuming it's a go for that job. So starting next week, E will have a job too!
E has drill this weekend, so I will be all alone. That's okay. I have Harper and Katniss to keep me company.
We have been feeling unmotivated to decorate or continue to unpack the last few boxes. So we have a couple of boxes in a few corners. Taking up space where there should be furniture.
We were invited to have Thanksgiving at the company commander's house...I have mixed feelings about this. This will be my first Thanksgiving apart from my family. Thanksgiving has ALWAYS been my favorite holiday, and has always been connected/associated with my birthday. So many feels. It's always been a relaxing holiday. No expectations, no pressure, no plans. Just show up, eat, nap, watch movies. I know it might be good to go to the company commander's house, but I want to just make a turkey, potatoes, stuffing, and just watch netflix all day. Is that wrong? Hmm. E said we can do whatever I want. We will see.
We are still in a wait and see period, but things finally feel like they are coming together. For this we are oh so thankful.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Looking up!
Well, I write to you all with good news! I landed a short term nanny job for a precious little 7 month old baby girl. I will be here until the end of December we are guessing. The family is undergoing some changes and the mother is looking to find a job where she can be home more. This works out for me because it's a good chunk of time for me to be looking for jobs!
E is still waiting to hear back from any of the jobs he's been applying to. Yesterday at church we were informed that E could possibly get a job as a dispatcher for the state troopers. This would be like an internship, we were told. It would be a good foot in the door and good connections to hopefully get a job as a trooper sooner! All he has to do is send a quick e-mail to follow up on that lead. That would be nice.
We are almost done unpacking things in our apartment. We are still missing a lot of furniture, like a dresser, a dinning room table, shelves, a couch...These things will have to wait for a while.
This weekend we went on an adventure to Point Defiance Park. It's about 5 miles from us and it's awesome! It's right where the Tacoma Zoo and Aquarium are! There are hiking paths everywhere and it just runs along a peninsula on the Puget Sound. Oh, and did I mention the spectacular view of Mt. Rainier from our apartment?? That is also way cool.
While we did exploring this weekend we began to realize that we picked a place that seemed to be near everything. We had no idea how close we were to so many things when we picked this apartment. We are near several grocery stores, and 5 miles away from a Target, Walmart, Hobby lobby...and several other small stores, and then only a little bit further to the Tacoma mall! (Where they have Krispy Kreme!!)
Of course, it is also important to note that we are close to a Cabelas AND a Bass Pro...Ethan loves that.
My nanny job is in Gig Harbor. My drive takes me across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. I say, if you can afford to live in Gig Harbor, do. It's so nice out here with all of the lush green everywhere. It's also only 11 miles away from where I live now! How convenient! (aside from the hefty toll I'll have to pay when I leave every day...)
Thank you everyone for your prayers and support. Things are finally beginning to settle into place. We can relax a little bit.
Oh! I forgot to tell you about our neighbor! The first night as we were unpacking we got a knock on the door. I opened it to find this nice looking middle aged man with a bag of popcorn and some napkins in his hands. Before I could say anything he said "Hi, I'm your neighbor, eat!" and he shoved the popcorn into my hands and dashed back into his apartment without another word! He seemed very nice, even if he came and went so quickly. Then just yesterday E was taking Harper out to the bathroom and he must have been coming home from work. I didn't see this exchange, I could only hear it. He started going crazy about Harper. "Puppy! You're a nice puppy" and on and on. E found out his name, I forgot what it was, and he mentioned that he was a mailman! A mailman who likes dogs, a lot. And Harper seemed to like him too.
Anywho, I just figured I'd give you all the exciting update on our lives. Hopefully there will be more good news in the future!
E is still waiting to hear back from any of the jobs he's been applying to. Yesterday at church we were informed that E could possibly get a job as a dispatcher for the state troopers. This would be like an internship, we were told. It would be a good foot in the door and good connections to hopefully get a job as a trooper sooner! All he has to do is send a quick e-mail to follow up on that lead. That would be nice.
We are almost done unpacking things in our apartment. We are still missing a lot of furniture, like a dresser, a dinning room table, shelves, a couch...These things will have to wait for a while.
This weekend we went on an adventure to Point Defiance Park. It's about 5 miles from us and it's awesome! It's right where the Tacoma Zoo and Aquarium are! There are hiking paths everywhere and it just runs along a peninsula on the Puget Sound. Oh, and did I mention the spectacular view of Mt. Rainier from our apartment?? That is also way cool.
While we did exploring this weekend we began to realize that we picked a place that seemed to be near everything. We had no idea how close we were to so many things when we picked this apartment. We are near several grocery stores, and 5 miles away from a Target, Walmart, Hobby lobby...and several other small stores, and then only a little bit further to the Tacoma mall! (Where they have Krispy Kreme!!)
Of course, it is also important to note that we are close to a Cabelas AND a Bass Pro...Ethan loves that.
My nanny job is in Gig Harbor. My drive takes me across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. I say, if you can afford to live in Gig Harbor, do. It's so nice out here with all of the lush green everywhere. It's also only 11 miles away from where I live now! How convenient! (aside from the hefty toll I'll have to pay when I leave every day...)
Thank you everyone for your prayers and support. Things are finally beginning to settle into place. We can relax a little bit.
Oh! I forgot to tell you about our neighbor! The first night as we were unpacking we got a knock on the door. I opened it to find this nice looking middle aged man with a bag of popcorn and some napkins in his hands. Before I could say anything he said "Hi, I'm your neighbor, eat!" and he shoved the popcorn into my hands and dashed back into his apartment without another word! He seemed very nice, even if he came and went so quickly. Then just yesterday E was taking Harper out to the bathroom and he must have been coming home from work. I didn't see this exchange, I could only hear it. He started going crazy about Harper. "Puppy! You're a nice puppy" and on and on. E found out his name, I forgot what it was, and he mentioned that he was a mailman! A mailman who likes dogs, a lot. And Harper seemed to like him too.
Anywho, I just figured I'd give you all the exciting update on our lives. Hopefully there will be more good news in the future!
Friday, November 7, 2014
Home
Ahhhhhhh. Finally we are home.
It took us quite a while, and through quite a range of emotions, but we are finally home. We were originally told that we would be able to move in on 11-7, that's today. Then we were told 11-6 which made us excited. THEN we were told we could possibly move in on 11-5. E told me not to get my hopes up, but of course that's exactly what I did. Then we found out they had to clean the carpets. I misunderstood E the first time he told me and I thought he said they were cleaning them 11-4, but they were really going to clean them 11-5. So all day 11-4 I thought, maybe we can just sleep on the kitchen floor while the carpets dry? Then at the end of the day I was informed about the actual date. No worries, I thought we will just wait until 11-5 and sleep on the kitchen floor then....When E called to confirm he was told that the carpet guys came too late in the afternoon to start...so they weren't even going to start cleaning them until the 6th! OH NO!! I was so ready to move in that this news really did make me cry. So we spent one more night at the company commander's house.
Bright and early yesterday morning we went and got the truck. We estimated that it would take us about three hours to move everything into the moving truck since we were doing it all by ourselves. Our first hiccup happened when we realized we accidentally rented a truck from a different facility than the one we have our storage unit...bummer, but no biggie. It was only a couple of miles away. Then we proceeded to load the truck in almost exactly one hour...so we had a lot of time to kill. We finished at 1100 and couldn't get our keys until 1500. So we finished paperwork early and got a few groceries while we waited.
Let me say, unpacking the truck was much harder. No carts and a flight of stairs...I tried not to think about it too much. We did it! And we returned the truck that night and proceeded to open boxes. It sort of felt like Christmas opening our boxes because we hadn't seen most of our stuff in 6 months! Katniss was so excited to finally have space to roam, and of course Harper loved exploring.
Our place feels enormous. It's over double the size of our old apartment in Moorhead. We just keep commenting on how awesome it is to have space. I don't have pictures to share just yet.
Now we just need to find jobs. E has taken his test for law enforcement/public safety and is just waiting now to hear back from the department of fish and wildlife or a police department. He will take the test for the state troopers on the 15th. Prayers for that one. This is the job he seems the most excited about. Among waiting on these jobs he's also been applying left and right for just about ANYTHING.
I have been applying to at least one job a day. Today I have an interview at a mental health facility. Prayers are appreciated. It's only 5 miles away from our apartment!
I guess that's all I've got for now! We still don't have internet, so it might be a while before I get to post again.
It took us quite a while, and through quite a range of emotions, but we are finally home. We were originally told that we would be able to move in on 11-7, that's today. Then we were told 11-6 which made us excited. THEN we were told we could possibly move in on 11-5. E told me not to get my hopes up, but of course that's exactly what I did. Then we found out they had to clean the carpets. I misunderstood E the first time he told me and I thought he said they were cleaning them 11-4, but they were really going to clean them 11-5. So all day 11-4 I thought, maybe we can just sleep on the kitchen floor while the carpets dry? Then at the end of the day I was informed about the actual date. No worries, I thought we will just wait until 11-5 and sleep on the kitchen floor then....When E called to confirm he was told that the carpet guys came too late in the afternoon to start...so they weren't even going to start cleaning them until the 6th! OH NO!! I was so ready to move in that this news really did make me cry. So we spent one more night at the company commander's house.
Bright and early yesterday morning we went and got the truck. We estimated that it would take us about three hours to move everything into the moving truck since we were doing it all by ourselves. Our first hiccup happened when we realized we accidentally rented a truck from a different facility than the one we have our storage unit...bummer, but no biggie. It was only a couple of miles away. Then we proceeded to load the truck in almost exactly one hour...so we had a lot of time to kill. We finished at 1100 and couldn't get our keys until 1500. So we finished paperwork early and got a few groceries while we waited.
Let me say, unpacking the truck was much harder. No carts and a flight of stairs...I tried not to think about it too much. We did it! And we returned the truck that night and proceeded to open boxes. It sort of felt like Christmas opening our boxes because we hadn't seen most of our stuff in 6 months! Katniss was so excited to finally have space to roam, and of course Harper loved exploring.
Our place feels enormous. It's over double the size of our old apartment in Moorhead. We just keep commenting on how awesome it is to have space. I don't have pictures to share just yet.
Now we just need to find jobs. E has taken his test for law enforcement/public safety and is just waiting now to hear back from the department of fish and wildlife or a police department. He will take the test for the state troopers on the 15th. Prayers for that one. This is the job he seems the most excited about. Among waiting on these jobs he's also been applying left and right for just about ANYTHING.
I have been applying to at least one job a day. Today I have an interview at a mental health facility. Prayers are appreciated. It's only 5 miles away from our apartment!
I guess that's all I've got for now! We still don't have internet, so it might be a while before I get to post again.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Discouraged
Well, today marks day three sitting in Starbucks all day applying for jobs. Let me start by saying that I hate writing resumes...If I could pay someone to do it for me I would. I've been applying to places left and right.
E and I walked around the neighborhood where our soon to be new apartment is and asked for job applications. As it turns out, everything is done online. So after looking at all of the websites, we found that nobody is hiring...not even the grocery store. I am feeling mighty discouraged. It feels like I will never find a job.
I recently updated my nannying profile, and I applied to the Target here in Tacoma, hoping that my experience would get me into one of those two. I am getting desperate. Everyone keeps telling us there are lots of jobs here. They ask what my degree is and tell me it should be easy to find a job in my field. They are all wrong. The next time someone asks me what kind of work I'm lookinf for I'm going to say "anything I can get" Through all of this we just keep reminding ourselves that this is all a part of the plan...but it's stressful...It's also frustrating to know how much money I paid for a degree that I can't even use now. Everyone wants you to have years of experience, but how do you get experience if nobody will take a chance on you? k
E is on orders doing what he thinks is just a pity job this week so that he can have a little bit of income while he continues to look for work. We have met a lot of people who are state troopers, so E just needs to get his act together and finish his resume (which he hates doing more than I do, if that's even possible) and submit his application. The state trooper opportunity looks promising, seeing as so many people are retiring right now...but the application process takes about 3-5 months I guess...so we still need to find something temporary.
I am feeling so discouraged. I started looking for jobs over four months ago...and nothing. I have spent all day long the last three days in a coffee shop looking, applying, writing resumes, writing cover letters...and I have nothing to show for it. It feels like we will never have anything.
I will try my best to be patient. To keep applying. Keep trying...
We both agree that we have a new appreciation for homeless and unemployed people. We are qualified individuals, with education, and even WE can't find anything...
Please pray for us. We can use all the help we can get.
E and I walked around the neighborhood where our soon to be new apartment is and asked for job applications. As it turns out, everything is done online. So after looking at all of the websites, we found that nobody is hiring...not even the grocery store. I am feeling mighty discouraged. It feels like I will never find a job.
I recently updated my nannying profile, and I applied to the Target here in Tacoma, hoping that my experience would get me into one of those two. I am getting desperate. Everyone keeps telling us there are lots of jobs here. They ask what my degree is and tell me it should be easy to find a job in my field. They are all wrong. The next time someone asks me what kind of work I'm lookinf for I'm going to say "anything I can get" Through all of this we just keep reminding ourselves that this is all a part of the plan...but it's stressful...It's also frustrating to know how much money I paid for a degree that I can't even use now. Everyone wants you to have years of experience, but how do you get experience if nobody will take a chance on you? k
E is on orders doing what he thinks is just a pity job this week so that he can have a little bit of income while he continues to look for work. We have met a lot of people who are state troopers, so E just needs to get his act together and finish his resume (which he hates doing more than I do, if that's even possible) and submit his application. The state trooper opportunity looks promising, seeing as so many people are retiring right now...but the application process takes about 3-5 months I guess...so we still need to find something temporary.
I am feeling so discouraged. I started looking for jobs over four months ago...and nothing. I have spent all day long the last three days in a coffee shop looking, applying, writing resumes, writing cover letters...and I have nothing to show for it. It feels like we will never have anything.
I will try my best to be patient. To keep applying. Keep trying...
We both agree that we have a new appreciation for homeless and unemployed people. We are qualified individuals, with education, and even WE can't find anything...
Please pray for us. We can use all the help we can get.
Friday, October 24, 2014
Crazy, but blessed
Crazy, but blessed. That's the best way to describe how we feel about our life here. Although we still haven't moved out of the company commanders' house, we have a lead on an apartment. Just waiting for things to go through and we can potentially move in the first week of November...feels like forever away.
We have spent a lot of time looking for jobs as well. We went and got help on our resumes, and have had lots of help finding opportunities. To start, the company commander asked around and came home with a couple of leads for me. He also got E to talk to someone about jobs as well. E had an interview when he didn't realize he was being interviewed until later that night when the company commander was talking about the job that was supposedly offered to E. E called the guy back yesterday to get more information. That would be a security job for Starbucks...Not perfect but a great temporary job! He also called someone in the State Troopers and got to talk to a guy who encouraged him to apply for a position there, since there are many people retiring now.
On top of all of that E went to work with the company commander today because there might be a way to have E do office work (active duty) week by week until he finds another job. E just told me that he might be able to even get a more permanent job there...wouldn't that be nice?
It seems as though we have a lot of people trying to help us out, and lots of opportunities to pursue. One of them is bound to work out!
I am so glad I have E through all of this. His positive attitude and outlook on life has really helped me to stay calm throughout all of this. Today I am taking a little breather. We really hit the ground running and it hit me today. I woke up feeling like I just needed to breathe. So I am. I'm hanging out doing nothing. Worrying about nothing...at least for a little while.
Some things we think are interesting/cool about Washington:
We have spent a lot of time looking for jobs as well. We went and got help on our resumes, and have had lots of help finding opportunities. To start, the company commander asked around and came home with a couple of leads for me. He also got E to talk to someone about jobs as well. E had an interview when he didn't realize he was being interviewed until later that night when the company commander was talking about the job that was supposedly offered to E. E called the guy back yesterday to get more information. That would be a security job for Starbucks...Not perfect but a great temporary job! He also called someone in the State Troopers and got to talk to a guy who encouraged him to apply for a position there, since there are many people retiring now.
On top of all of that E went to work with the company commander today because there might be a way to have E do office work (active duty) week by week until he finds another job. E just told me that he might be able to even get a more permanent job there...wouldn't that be nice?
It seems as though we have a lot of people trying to help us out, and lots of opportunities to pursue. One of them is bound to work out!
I am so glad I have E through all of this. His positive attitude and outlook on life has really helped me to stay calm throughout all of this. Today I am taking a little breather. We really hit the ground running and it hit me today. I woke up feeling like I just needed to breathe. So I am. I'm hanging out doing nothing. Worrying about nothing...at least for a little while.
Some things we think are interesting/cool about Washington:
- E just can't stop talking about how nice the roads are, since they don't get snow here
- I am amazed at how nice their cars look, since they don't get snow
- They have big slugs!!
- They must like Teriyaki, because they have restaurants everywhere that say "Teriyaki"
- There are a lot of "bikini bar" coffee shops...which I think is odd
- People are very friendly, nicer than the MN nice so far!
- OCEAN
- MOUNTAINS
- Weird names that don't sound like how they're spelled.
- http://www.cohp.org/wa/notes/placenames_pronunciation.html
- If you want to ask about the weather, your answer really depends on who you ask. Some say it never snows and hardly gets cold, others say it gets cold and complain because it snows...
- If you go to to Seattle, carpool so you can use the expressway that goes under the highway.
- Speed limits change. They have electronic speed limit signs along I-5 that tell you how fast you can go in that lane (usually faster in the HOV lanes)
- It might rain a lot, but that just means super cool rainbows
- People still say "MinneSOOOOOOTAH" when you tell them where you're from
I guess that's all I have for now. Hopefully by the next time I post we have a job and a place to live!
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
New beginning
For all you followers old and new, my husband E and I just embarked on a grand adventure. We moved to Washington! (Washington state) Before I dig in, I need to explain the title of this blog. I chose "getting lost in the woods" for a couple of reasons. Reason number one, we are in Washington, where there are woods...hmm...clever. Reason number two, it ties into my last blog "fort not-so-lost in the woods". We moved out west for a grand adventure, figuring if we didn't do it now, we probably never would. We picked a spot that reminded us of Minnesota, only with more adventures. This is a fresh start for both of us. Neither of us have jobs, and we don't have a place to live yet (which I will get into more later). I think that this chapter of our lives is aptly named "getting lost in the woods" as we aim to "get lost" or immerse ourselves in this new phase of live.
Now, from the beginning!! We spent the last week at my parents house and left Saturday. Our adventure started out with a bang when E came back with the UHaul saying that the guy who booked our truck messed up our departure date, resulting in them not having a truck the size we thought we reserved. We were mildly nervous that we wouldn't have enough room, but on the bright side, they gave us a discount. As we began loading our stuff into the truck we came to realize that this truck was actually still too much room for our stuff! Someone was looking out for us because we would have been in trouble if the truck was any larger.
Departing on our journey we scooped up our cat and packed up the dog, said our goodbyes and drove off on a cloud. It really didn't feel real. It took about two hours in the car for it to sink in that Minnesota was no longer our home. That we were now those relatives that lived far away and nobody sees. We won't get invited to dinners, bonfires, bowling, movies, or yard games...This was sad for me.
We arrived in Fargo at around 8pm. We unloaded the dog and cat and took our friends out to a German restaurant for the evening before going to bed. Our friends were so happy to see us and it was really nice that they allowed us to stay at their place.
We woke up at 7am and got our day going. Loaded the dog and cat up again and hit the road. When we stopped to get breakfast at Panera, Harper (our 5 month old puppy) ate the whole bag of calming kitty treats...poor Katniss...For a while we couldn't decide what to do with the cat. She really hated the cage, and just wandered back and forth looking out the windows, behind the chairs, in our laps...on the dog.
We drove all the way to Billings, MT where we stopped in a hotel for the night. We arrived sometime around 9pm. We thought about going to the hot tub, but I couldn't find a bathing suit top in all of my stuff. We also tried ordering a pizza since we didn't stop for dinner, but the ordering process got too complicated so we gave up. We fell asleep just about as fast as our heads hit the pillow. Katniss enjoyed her night of freedom roaming the hotel room. So happy to see us and snuggle with us.
We woke up at 6am to shower, get our free breakfast, and hit the road again. This time we kept the cat in her crate and let her cry it out. We drove and drove and drove and drove. The drive was so pretty through Montana. I have to say, although it is a long trip, I would recommend the drive to everyone at least once. You won't be disappointed.
We thought about stopping for the night in Spokane, but after thinking it through decided to push on. Our entrance into Washington greeted us with a light mist that turned into a medium drizzle. Washington looks so clean! And the people are so nice! Someone pulled up along side us to tell us something, and then stayed behind us until we pulled over. Apparently a chain was dragging on the ground, she was concerned for us. How nice. We plugged along and came to a town called George....as in George, Washington. I think we should live here. Just so I can tell people I live in George, Washington.
We kept driving and arrived in Lacey at 10:30. We were greeted by gracious hosts who fed us and gave us a tour. After a good nights rest E and I begin our search for jobs and a place to live.
We would appreciate any and all prayers at this time. I will post pictures that go with our trip later!
That's it for now, I gotta go get lost in the woods...
Now, from the beginning!! We spent the last week at my parents house and left Saturday. Our adventure started out with a bang when E came back with the UHaul saying that the guy who booked our truck messed up our departure date, resulting in them not having a truck the size we thought we reserved. We were mildly nervous that we wouldn't have enough room, but on the bright side, they gave us a discount. As we began loading our stuff into the truck we came to realize that this truck was actually still too much room for our stuff! Someone was looking out for us because we would have been in trouble if the truck was any larger.
Departing on our journey we scooped up our cat and packed up the dog, said our goodbyes and drove off on a cloud. It really didn't feel real. It took about two hours in the car for it to sink in that Minnesota was no longer our home. That we were now those relatives that lived far away and nobody sees. We won't get invited to dinners, bonfires, bowling, movies, or yard games...This was sad for me.
We arrived in Fargo at around 8pm. We unloaded the dog and cat and took our friends out to a German restaurant for the evening before going to bed. Our friends were so happy to see us and it was really nice that they allowed us to stay at their place.
We woke up at 7am and got our day going. Loaded the dog and cat up again and hit the road. When we stopped to get breakfast at Panera, Harper (our 5 month old puppy) ate the whole bag of calming kitty treats...poor Katniss...For a while we couldn't decide what to do with the cat. She really hated the cage, and just wandered back and forth looking out the windows, behind the chairs, in our laps...on the dog.
We drove all the way to Billings, MT where we stopped in a hotel for the night. We arrived sometime around 9pm. We thought about going to the hot tub, but I couldn't find a bathing suit top in all of my stuff. We also tried ordering a pizza since we didn't stop for dinner, but the ordering process got too complicated so we gave up. We fell asleep just about as fast as our heads hit the pillow. Katniss enjoyed her night of freedom roaming the hotel room. So happy to see us and snuggle with us.
We woke up at 6am to shower, get our free breakfast, and hit the road again. This time we kept the cat in her crate and let her cry it out. We drove and drove and drove and drove. The drive was so pretty through Montana. I have to say, although it is a long trip, I would recommend the drive to everyone at least once. You won't be disappointed.
We thought about stopping for the night in Spokane, but after thinking it through decided to push on. Our entrance into Washington greeted us with a light mist that turned into a medium drizzle. Washington looks so clean! And the people are so nice! Someone pulled up along side us to tell us something, and then stayed behind us until we pulled over. Apparently a chain was dragging on the ground, she was concerned for us. How nice. We plugged along and came to a town called George....as in George, Washington. I think we should live here. Just so I can tell people I live in George, Washington.
We kept driving and arrived in Lacey at 10:30. We were greeted by gracious hosts who fed us and gave us a tour. After a good nights rest E and I begin our search for jobs and a place to live.
We would appreciate any and all prayers at this time. I will post pictures that go with our trip later!
That's it for now, I gotta go get lost in the woods...
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