Deep Breath

Almost down the home stretch. After 2 weeks of pure chaos, I am on the precipice of a much anticipated 4 day weekend. Weekend. It could be just about the sweetest word ever whispered upon the lips of a weary worker.

You know what? God is good. He is faithful to me. He has totally provided for our family. The transition from working at home into a typical workplace has been relatively painless. I am not quietly sobbing tears at my desk. I am not muttering curses under my breath (well usually not!). For the most part working in a team is very natural for me. My new company stretches my creativity and challenges me in ways that I could only dream possible.

Three cheers for the weekend! It's finally time to eat some Turkey, unpack more boxes and cuddle my kid!

Our Cottage Near the City

We are here. The disarray of our new house makes me want to hyperventilate but I am too tired to do anything about it. A couple of life lessons learned in this move:

1. Stop accumulating misc.crap. It's seriously lame moving boxes of junk from one place to the next.
2. 2-year-olds adjust way quicker to their surroundings than their elders. They are ready to run around the house naked and switch on the gas stove within the first 24 hrs. of residence.
3. Heating a 70 year old house is a daunting task. No central heat means getting really creative with warmth. Never pictured myself using a wood burning fireplace on a daily basis.
4. Old oak floors don't show dirt. I have not even touched my broom yet and they look pretty darn great. Just don't wear your bright white socks in my house.

I would just like to throw it out there that I am in denial that I will be returning back to an office setting for the first time in 2.5 years on Monday morning. Excited about trading in my ratty lululemons for some sleek threads. Not super excited about waking up in the wee hours of the morning just to share my air with passengers on cramped public transit. Thrilled that Lil will be able to spend lots of one-on-one time with her dad over the next couple of years. Bummed that I couldn't be there every moment too... but I will deal. The fact that I have a free lunch at a swanky restaurant my first day on the job helps with the pain, just a little bit.

On with the next life Chapter... stay tuned.

One Week!

We got it! We got the house that we were hoping for in the town of Lafayette. It's quirky but it's cool.
The house was built in the 1940's, so it has a lot of the original features-but it also has an awesome remodeled kitchen. The best part about the place is it's walking distance to everything-including public transportation that will take me to work.

Because we live by the seat of our pants, we decided that we're moving in one week. So I guess that means packing this weekend! Life moves vey quickly.

All We Do is Move!

So the Title pretty much sums up the last few days. We have been furiously looking for a new home. Between nutty landlords, tiny spaces and indecision this process has proved to be taxing. Craig and his list have become my best friend.

Because by nature I tend to be high energy (and maybe a tiny bit intense), I am losing sleep over the big hunt. I wake up in the early hours of dawn eyes wide awake with my mind racing over which house we will be living in. We just sent in a rental app for a quirky, old house that has sort of a hippy living vibe in a quaint little town last night. But we still have a couple more options in the works.

I know that we will be taken care of, I just get jittery (as though I am constantly hopped up on caffeine and uppers) throughout the process.

Making it Count

I am sad to say that I voted for the first time.... ever. I know, don't give me your lectures about the importance of contributing to the electoral system. Cut me a little slack, I have been in Canada for 10 years and those guys didn't allow me to vote.

So with a little pressure from my highly political husband (I guess that's why he is going into law), I dragged my sorry butt over to the voting 'pool house.' That's how we roll in California. It was 75 degrees today and I voted at a subdivision pool house.

I felt a little overwhelmed since I didn't do a whole lot of research beforehand and I am not big on voting for an individual based soley on the party with which they are affiliated. So I just started voting for people who sounded credible because of their past experience. It was a little bizarre, the candidates running for office came from vastly varied backgrounds- retired nurses, accountants and business owners (whatever that means). I later learned from my intelligent husband that I could have left some of the bubbles blank and vote for only the few candidates I actually knew. Sigh... live and learn.

As a walked out of the pool house I felt strangely giddy and a little bit excited. Proud to be an American. Well at least today I did. Other times I feel embarrassed by what my government inflicts upon others and my fellow citizen's over-inflated sense of self-worth. Ahh.. but that it is a whole other my friends!

Secret Language

Lil has gotten pretty decent with her 'words,' but she still finds the word 'coloring' a little tricky. Check it out....

Fall Recap

Here is a big fat re-cap of all of the fun we had in October! Daily Princess Costumes, Multiple Pumpkin Patches, Cousins from Canada. Does it get better than that?