There's no turning back now!
We officially handed in our California Driver Licenses for Texas ones! (which also means that for the next 30 days we have NO PHOTO ID'S!!!) What if something happened? What about cashing checks? What about flying on an airplane? What about simply having identification available? What about buying a drink? What about....
So the legal process of registering our cars and getting our licenses was semi-complicated... We started the process a few days ago. We went to the "DMV" Driver's License office (it's an office that deals with DL's only), we waited in line just to be told that we had to go and register our cars first. So we drove across town to that office only to be told that we had to have our cars inspected which was located back near where we had just come from... along the way we also realized we needed C's birth certificate for his driver license...
We got our cars inspected-- they both passed. $$$
Then today we went and registered our cars. We paid a "Welcome to Texas Tax" which was 4x the normal amount they charge to register a car. Thanks. Welcome to Texas. $$$$$ We got our license plates and now our cars are one digit from each other! kind of silly.
Then we went and got our drivers licenses. We ordered C's birth certificate and that arrived yesterday! yay! (This also means we are going to be applying for passports soon too!) We had to wait a long time in a room full of people. It was not fun.
The worst part of this is that Texas changed my name. I am upset that they would do this and it still makes utterly no sense to me. What?! How you might ask? Well, they said that they only have room for 3 names, and since I have 4 names (2 first names, 1 middle, 1 last) they would have to leave one of the names off of my license. I stared at them and said, well what do you want me to do? This is my legal name. That's my legal first name(s), my middle name and my last name. So the lady went and talked to the deputy in the office and he said I could use my first name (2 names) and last name, or I could use my first, first name, my middle name, and my last name. I'm irritated by it because it's not correct however they do it! I would think they would want the person's real, legal name, right? I mean, that's the point isn't it? So I ended up with my 2 first names and my last name.. although they put my 2nd first name in the middle name section which is totally incorrect! Ugh. I hate stupid things like that. They drive me *crazy*-- especially because it makes no sense whatsoever.
C got sick 2 days ago and he's been as sick as I was last week. Boooo! My folks and 2 bros are still here so unfortunately C has been in bed and hasn't been able to hang out with us. He's feeling a teeny tiny bit better, but since I just got over this same stupid sickness, I know he'll be down and out for a few more days. :-( Hopefully he'll recover quicker than I did!
We're still battling with Time Warner (which is essentially Comcast) and they are just awful. Terrible customer service, terrible service in general, blah blah blah. We've been having issues all week and everytime C calls, he's told one thing and then I call to follow-up and I am told the opposite of what C was told, and vice versa, blah blah... I don't even understand how it keeps happening except someone is just flat out lying to one of us. It is so weird.
My computer isn't working right now. Ugh. I have to take it in on Sunday. It just stopped working yesterday. So that is really difficult for me!! I want my computer!!
I need to go to the Mall. I am still looking for some work clothes and some shoes. I desperately need a few things!!
I continued to find my way around my new area. It's pretty cool.. things are coming together so well and I am getting my bearings pretty quickly.
We have some awesome food around here. C always told me about these places he used to go to while growing up (when he used to live here) and wow! they are so good! Taco Bueno is like way superior to Taco Bell, and WhataBurger is also pretty awesome. Rudy's BBQ is delicious-- especially their creamed corn. Kroger's cherry amaretto ice cream thing is delicious-- (THANKS MOM!!)
What else to say?
It doesn't seem quite real yet.. I mean, I know we're in Texas but the reality of how far away family and friends are.. well that part hasn't set in yet. I haven't figured out when we're going to be back in California,.. how often we can visit, and all that stuff.. so I am trying not to think about that just yet because it will freak me out!
Okay, have a good day y'all!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Settling in...
It's been less than a week and we're almost all unpacked, organized and moved in! We have 5-10% left to do. Woohoo!! I'm so proud of us. :-)
We have mainly stayed in our apartment this whole time minus a quick run to the store or cable company. We all got sick right when we arrived.. I am still recovering. It sucks. I lost my voice, have felt like crap, I'm coughing and coughing...
We found a grocery store that we like. It's Tom Thumb which is essentially the same exact store as Safeway. It's the same company, the same set-up, the same store!! It's definitely a comfort being able to walk into a grocery store and see familiar things. I am still missing Trader Joe's and haven't quite figured out what I'm going to do without it.. but I am sure we'll figure something out.
Our apartment is very cute. We are really happy with how things are coming together. It feels nice and familiar and "normal." The only thing I wish we had was maybe a second bedroom and a pantry in the kitchen. We were spoiled at our other apartment by having a second bedroom. I like it because guests have their own space, we have our own space, and we have a living area to share.. it's just more difficult to have the living area also be the area for guests to stay. It's not too bad, just one of those things that I miss. The kitchen pantry.. we didn't have one before, but some of the other apartments in this complex have kitchen pantries and I wanted one! We definitely could use the space... oh well.
There are so many good restaurants here! We are going to have to budget an "eating out" category just so we can explore the town! Yum!!
We have mainly stayed in our apartment this whole time minus a quick run to the store or cable company. We all got sick right when we arrived.. I am still recovering. It sucks. I lost my voice, have felt like crap, I'm coughing and coughing...
We found a grocery store that we like. It's Tom Thumb which is essentially the same exact store as Safeway. It's the same company, the same set-up, the same store!! It's definitely a comfort being able to walk into a grocery store and see familiar things. I am still missing Trader Joe's and haven't quite figured out what I'm going to do without it.. but I am sure we'll figure something out.
Our apartment is very cute. We are really happy with how things are coming together. It feels nice and familiar and "normal." The only thing I wish we had was maybe a second bedroom and a pantry in the kitchen. We were spoiled at our other apartment by having a second bedroom. I like it because guests have their own space, we have our own space, and we have a living area to share.. it's just more difficult to have the living area also be the area for guests to stay. It's not too bad, just one of those things that I miss. The kitchen pantry.. we didn't have one before, but some of the other apartments in this complex have kitchen pantries and I wanted one! We definitely could use the space... oh well.
There are so many good restaurants here! We are going to have to budget an "eating out" category just so we can explore the town! Yum!!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
We're home!!
We did it!! We arrived safe and sound late last night.
Our apartment is great! We are surrounded by boxes and boxes of stuff. We hope to be all unpacked and moved in by this weekend. Wish us luck!!!!!
The drive was pretty uneventful... there was a whole bunch of nothing between here and there. We drove 12-13 hours each day. That first day was really tough-- it was raining like crazy. We made it to the Arizona border and then crashed at a super 8 motel. The second day we made it to El Paso, TX! We stayed at La Quinta for the night in a smelly smoking room! Thank God for our air purifier that night. The third day we drove all the way to Plano, TX. It was an interesting day... we were both pretty spent by that time and I desperately just wanted to be out of the car even if that meant I had to jump from it while driving it! I had to pace myself.. I would look at the clock and say, "Okay, in 30 minutes it will be X time... then I will re-evaluate and give myself another time to look for..." it sounds lame, but I was desperate. The other lame thing was that all the different talk radio shows were repeats and after 3 days I had heard them all atleast twice!
We are happy to be here... C and I feel really good about this move and I have to say it really does feel like home. It feels really normal and familiar (even though I still get lost pretty easily).
Anyways, email me if you want our address and stuff. I still have my usual cell number from California. I won't be changing it.
Love everyone!
Our apartment is great! We are surrounded by boxes and boxes of stuff. We hope to be all unpacked and moved in by this weekend. Wish us luck!!!!!
The drive was pretty uneventful... there was a whole bunch of nothing between here and there. We drove 12-13 hours each day. That first day was really tough-- it was raining like crazy. We made it to the Arizona border and then crashed at a super 8 motel. The second day we made it to El Paso, TX! We stayed at La Quinta for the night in a smelly smoking room! Thank God for our air purifier that night. The third day we drove all the way to Plano, TX. It was an interesting day... we were both pretty spent by that time and I desperately just wanted to be out of the car even if that meant I had to jump from it while driving it! I had to pace myself.. I would look at the clock and say, "Okay, in 30 minutes it will be X time... then I will re-evaluate and give myself another time to look for..." it sounds lame, but I was desperate. The other lame thing was that all the different talk radio shows were repeats and after 3 days I had heard them all atleast twice!
We are happy to be here... C and I feel really good about this move and I have to say it really does feel like home. It feels really normal and familiar (even though I still get lost pretty easily).
Anyways, email me if you want our address and stuff. I still have my usual cell number from California. I won't be changing it.
Love everyone!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Second day of travel...
We left yesterday.
We had quite a journey. The grapevine and route 58 (the alternate route for the grapevine) were both closed due to snow! So we ended up driving 101 all the way around (our last goodbye to the ocean!) got the 134, 210, and now we're on the 10. We drove for approx. 13 hours. We stopped right over the border of Arizona.. I desperately needed to get the heck out of the car.
We only got stuck in one gas station which was a bit frustrating but we got out of it!
We are staying in a super 8 motel and let's just say it's not terrible but it's definitely not super.
Anyways, we're going to pack back up and see how far we make it today!
We're hoping to make it to El Paso, but we'll see.
We had quite a journey. The grapevine and route 58 (the alternate route for the grapevine) were both closed due to snow! So we ended up driving 101 all the way around (our last goodbye to the ocean!) got the 134, 210, and now we're on the 10. We drove for approx. 13 hours. We stopped right over the border of Arizona.. I desperately needed to get the heck out of the car.
We only got stuck in one gas station which was a bit frustrating but we got out of it!
We are staying in a super 8 motel and let's just say it's not terrible but it's definitely not super.
Anyways, we're going to pack back up and see how far we make it today!
We're hoping to make it to El Paso, but we'll see.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
We're Leaving!!
We're leaving at 4:30am tomorrow morning. Yikes. It's late, we're tired and we have just begun!
We'll update as we can.
We have Uhaul towing C's car, and I will be following behind in my car. My two youngest brothers are going with us...
please pray for safe travels and a peaceful and joyful trip.
And of course prayers for us as we start our life in Texas...
We'll update as we can.
We have Uhaul towing C's car, and I will be following behind in my car. My two youngest brothers are going with us...
please pray for safe travels and a peaceful and joyful trip.
And of course prayers for us as we start our life in Texas...
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Why can't we get all the people together in the world that we really like and then just stay together? I guess that wouldn't work. Someone would leave. Someone always leaves. Then we would have to say good-bye. I hate good-byes. I know what I need. I need more hellos. ~Charles M. Schulz
How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.
~Carol Sobieski and Thomas Meehan, Annie
Saying goodbye is one of my most unfavorite things to do. It's a strange place for me to be. I've had to say goodbye many times before but this time is different. This time I am sad to be leaving the people that I am saying goobye to, this time I am sad to be leaving my tasks, this time is different because I'm happy where I am and I am not leaving to change an unsatisfactory situation.
I am saying goodbye to a pleasant, successful part of my life and saying hello to an exciting start to the next phase of my life. I think I am able to leave with the peace and knowledge that I am leaving this place to go to a place that is going to be my home.
See, I've been homeless for many years. When I moved away from my parents' home at age 18, I was without a home. At that time I didn't feel that even their home was my home any longer. I have always been sure to find dwellings that resembled a close-to-home feeling, but nothing ever was truly my home. It wasn't until I met Chris that almost instantly I was able to refer to my parents' home as my home again. I haven't looked into the psychobabble explanation of my reasonings but I can't deny the correlation of re-defining home with meeting Chris.
Chris and I have created our little family, and even created a mini-home in our Lafayette apartment but it hasn't felt complete. We have used this time to grow, learn, and strengthen us, our marriage, our individual selves, and I have to admit that I am pretty darn proud of us. We have weathered several storms but we are stronger and more in love because of it. We are where we both want to be and not simply because it turned out that way, but because we committed and worked through some of the most difficult times of our lives to be where we are today.
We are only able to make this big change because of where we are today.
We are ready to be home.
How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.
~Carol Sobieski and Thomas Meehan, Annie
Saying goodbye is one of my most unfavorite things to do. It's a strange place for me to be. I've had to say goodbye many times before but this time is different. This time I am sad to be leaving the people that I am saying goobye to, this time I am sad to be leaving my tasks, this time is different because I'm happy where I am and I am not leaving to change an unsatisfactory situation.
I am saying goodbye to a pleasant, successful part of my life and saying hello to an exciting start to the next phase of my life. I think I am able to leave with the peace and knowledge that I am leaving this place to go to a place that is going to be my home.
See, I've been homeless for many years. When I moved away from my parents' home at age 18, I was without a home. At that time I didn't feel that even their home was my home any longer. I have always been sure to find dwellings that resembled a close-to-home feeling, but nothing ever was truly my home. It wasn't until I met Chris that almost instantly I was able to refer to my parents' home as my home again. I haven't looked into the psychobabble explanation of my reasonings but I can't deny the correlation of re-defining home with meeting Chris.
Chris and I have created our little family, and even created a mini-home in our Lafayette apartment but it hasn't felt complete. We have used this time to grow, learn, and strengthen us, our marriage, our individual selves, and I have to admit that I am pretty darn proud of us. We have weathered several storms but we are stronger and more in love because of it. We are where we both want to be and not simply because it turned out that way, but because we committed and worked through some of the most difficult times of our lives to be where we are today.
We are only able to make this big change because of where we are today.
We are ready to be home.
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