We're here!!

Metropolis, home of Superman!

Viva Las Vegas!  This is all 6 of us:)

Somewhere in a desert ...

Home, sweet home!

It is hard to believe I'm officially LIVING in the big, beautiful state of California!  The days have been sunny and blue, the weather has been DIVINE, and amazingly enough, I'm loving apartment living.  I really was unsure whether or not I would like it.  Lack of privacy, lots of noise, living somewhere other people had lived previously ... it just seemed like a great big step backwards from owning a house.  But ... it's pretty cool.  First of all, the place was SPOTLESS when we moved in.  Not a blemish on a wall, not a cobweb to be seen, sparkling bathrooms ... when we rented a house years ago right after I got married, it was GROSS.  I mean, we were cleaning while we were trying to move in, and it was AWFUL.  Now, here we were trying to stuff 10lbs of mud in a 3lb bag, but at least we weren't having to paint/dust/fix stuff while we were at it!

The good thing is I got rid of a LOT of stuff.  I mean, we threw away tons of crap before we even left, and as I was unpacking here, threw away MORE crap:)  When we started loading up the moving van, the hubs was seriously worried everything wouldn't fit.  Like, he was really freaking out about it!  But, because he is a wizard at the game of Tetris, it all fit, and we made our way west!  What an experience.  My in-laws went with us and drove our truck.  We pulled the car behind the moving van.  Little dog rode in the van, big hairy dog rode tethered in the back of the truck.  She did GREAT until we hit Nevada with the literal 121 degree temps.  At that point, we pulled her big, furry butt into the truck with us, and squeezed her into the floorboards with all of us 4 people and all our stuff.  It was NUTS how cramped we were the entire time!  But we made it happen:):)

I was honestly surprised that the Vegas heat didn't go away at night.  I truly thought the temps would go down to the 60's or so.  Not there!  It got down to around 95.  Wow.  I have never experienced that kind of heat, and I don't care to experience it again!  Next time we head there, it will NOT be in the dead of summer.  Rifle, Colorado was a little hidden treasure that I would LOVE to see again.  It's just outside of Vail, and is so raw and beautiful, but not as touristy as some of the other places.  Gorgeous!  The Rockies would have been fun to drive had it NOT been for that danged moving van.  That thing was affected by the altitude, and the weight.  It was driving so badly, David had to unload the car, and I had to drive the car through the mountains.  We STILL had to chug along at about 30 mph, but at least we didn't blow an engine, phew!  Speaking of blowing an engine, I was definitely worried about tires.  God was with us, though, and we actually made it 2800 miles with OUT blowing any tires.  Thanks to the hub's vigilance, though, we ALMOST did blow 2 on the trailer.  We had stopped in St. Louis Missouri to sightsee at the arch, and he glanced down at the back trailer tires.  Both back tires were in seriously bad shape.  One had a huge flat spot, and the other seemed to be separating, so we called Penske, they sent a mobile repair unit within an hour, and they were quickly and with no hassle replaced.  Even though the van was loud, cumbersome, and had a crap engine when it came to "pulling the mountains", I would recommend the company again.  Great price, great customer service!  We took time to stop at all the rest areas in each state to get pictures with Piney the pine cone, as well as some cool family pics.  We never plan to make that trek again, so we had to document for sure!  It was exhausting, it was stressful, but at times it was pretty cool.

It's now Thursday, we REALLY began to unload boxes last Saturday.  We arrived late Tuesday evening, unloaded the van, then returned the van Wednesday morning.  We then took day trips to the Avenue of the Giants, Lake Tahoe, and San Francisco.  The in-laws had never been west of Alabama before, so we tried to squeeze in as MUCH as possible on this trip!  It was exhausting to drive 5 hours one way after we'd spent 5 days driving across the country, but hindsight is 20/20.  In the end, I think it was worth it!  It was great to see the sights again, and to witness the in-laws' shock and awe.  Saturday morning, we took them to the airport, and then came back home and began to demolish the towering stack of boxes.  AND to put back together every little dinky piece of furniture we'd had to take apart.  Wow.  What a task!  I'm proud though, by Monday things were a little less chaotic, and by today things are 100% done, finished.  All that's left to do is hang a few more pictures here and there, but it's ALL DONE.  And I'm happy!  The apartment in many ways is nicer than my house was.  WAY cleaner (guess that's my fault!).  Nicer counter tops.  Better walls.  Crown moulding.  Better (and cleaner!  and no holes in it) carpet.  Better tub.  Bigger bathrooms.  Bigger 2nd bedroom.  Better washer/dryer.  WAY worse fridge though, that's a bummer:(  I loved my double door/ice and water in the door combo and we traded that for an el cheapo basic model.  Oh well, I will get over that!  We have de-junked so much that everything feels so much cleaner and fresher.  We tend towards clutter, so trying to get away from that.  We HAVE to with our limited space!

I will post some more stuff later.  This is already a novel!  I only just now today turned on my computer for the first time which is why you're seeing this blog post:)  I will get back into the swing of things, it just takes time!  Trying out having no cable TV for the first time ever ... we bought an antennae, and will be using Hulu and Net Flix.  I will let y'all know how that works for us.  So far so good ... Just grateful and thankful we're here!  Not sure why yet, but I know this is where we're supposed to be.  We will go enjoy the pool/hot tub after dinner and say our thanks as we fall into bed:)  This is an exciting adventure so far, I will keep y'all posted.  Night night you east coasters!!

Epic Awesomeness

I want to talk about this whole moving thing for a moment.  I'm not going to lie.  Since around ... Halloween of last year maybe, I've been in a weird place emotionally.  I don't know why.  Hormones?  Dissatisfaction with my life?  Depression?  I don't know.  I have NEVER been unhappy in my marriage.  Unhappy with finances, yes.  It's hard to make a living as an independent contractor when you don't work 24/7 at your business.  I have no desire to live, eat, breath, and make my job my entire life.  When I come home to my family ... I want to come home to my family!  So in the last few years, business has really dropped off and it's been impossible to pay my bills on time.  I HATE that.  It's stressful, and has probably built up and built up to the point that I snapped, I guess you could say.  My weird emotional place was not helped by a huge blow out with someone that was one of my best friends, and I just started to feel sorry for myself, feeling in general unloved, unappreciated, and just burnt out.  Even with my own PARENTS ... we had a huge fight at Thanksgiving, what the HECK was going on?

The hubs and I went on our west coast trip last Spring Break, and it was the Best Time Ever.  We enjoyed it more than anything we've done!  It was so wonderful.  Around January, after all the fights with friends and family ... and the struggling to make ends meet ... we began to talk about actually moving to the West Coast. I've tried multiple times over the past few years to pick up a part time job in addition to my teaching to try and supplement our income, but it was impossible with my schedule.  And just to QUIT, to walk away from Joyce, and my teaching job I've had for 10 years with all my amazing clients ... seemed wrong.  And in a weird way, I began to feel "trapped" in my life.  On one hand, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my life.  Great hours, great kids, doing what I love.  But on the other hand, there was stress and uncertainty not only with money concerns, but with keeping my job in general!  People have NO idea the roller coaster I've ridden over the time I've done what I do, and I'm just ready to get off, really.  So, I am!  Go big or go home, that's always been my motto.  If I'm going to take the step to walk away from a life I've built for myself, a business that even though was dwindling, was filled with LOYAL and long time clients, and my first home that I've even owned ... I am going to do it in a BIG way.  My husband and I are so excited to turn this page, and to basically start over in a completely new place, on the other side of the country.  Is it crazy?  YES!  But everything is falling into place.  God works in such mysterious ways, and he put this seed in our minds to plant, and water, and now to watch it grow.  I need to be a CA resident for a year before I'm considered a resident, so I plan to enroll in UC Davis next year and go to nursing school.  I'm planning to work as a pharmacy tech starting out, that's one of the jobs I've tried to get over the years, but it's never worked out.  I do NOT plan to teach right now.  MAYBE the opportunity will arise again to get back into it; but STRICTLY on a part time basis.  An extra money type of thing, if you will.  I refuse to count on contracting out in any way to pay my bills ever again.  "Real", steady, and non 1099 jobs pay the bills better.  They may pay a little bit less initially, but the steady never changing income and the tax refund makes it all worth it!

So, there it is.  The "WHY?".  Lots of people have asked, genuinely trying to understand.  It's so hard to explain, I hope I've done an ok job of it.  At the end of the day, this is absolutely a walk of faith.  I am trusting in God to guide this path we're taking, and I believe this will further strengthen my marriage and relieve some of the stress because I believe with ALL my heart and soul our job situation is going to be amazing.  What they will end up being in the long run, I don't know, but I believe our life is going to improve beyond even OUR wildest dreams!

Really great blog articles!

Though things are beginning to feel a little flabby, the OLD me is a thing of the past!  Pic taken a year ago

So, I wrote a GREAT blog this morning ... in my head ;)  By the time I roll on home after working for 13 hours, the smooth words, seamless flow, and highly entertaining prose is gone.

I've got a lot of stuff going on in my head!  I haven't really had a burning desire to get it all out necessarily, which is why I've been a little bit quiet as of late.  Something that's been starting to bother me a little bit is the fact that I need to get fit ... again.  The good news, is I am NOT "fat".  I donated ALL of my "fat" clothes, and everything I have purchased in the past year fits perfectly still.  No, what I'm feeling is a loss of muscle tone.  While my SIZE is still smile inducing, the flab is beginning to come back.  I promised myself I would stay in tune, and keep on top of any weight gain.  I haven't done much in the way of exercise beyond my usual stall cleaning because 3 weeks ago, I went from running 4 1/2 miles in a week to running 12 miles in a week.  I did that 2 weeks in a row.  Not surprisingly, I began to get not only a twinge in my knee, but also an ache in my ankle.  Right knee, left ankle.  Ooops.

So, I took a week off.  Then 1 went to 2.  Then summer camp happened, and I'm up at 4:00, to Joyce's by 5:00, to Patchwork by 9:30, then home around 7:30.  So now, 2 weeks has become 3, and this is the beginning of week 4 with no exercise.  I've still been making decent food choices; I eat a sandwich with only one slice of bread, I drink LOTS of water, I'm still sworn off sweet tea and sodas, but I do eat dessert.  Every night.  And sometimes after lunch.  I've recently forced myself to eat a 'fake brownie' for my lunch dessert (the Kashi chocolate squares), and a serving size of no sugar added blue bell ice cream with some extra Andes candies crumpled on top.  So I'm eating too much bread.  I still have my Cheerios every morning, but I've added a slice of sourdough toast, AND a banana.  It's the super, crazy, early morning.  Banana on the way to barn #1, toast and cereal on the way to barn #2.

I'm actually quite sore today.  I'm teaching Advanced horse camp, and my assistant is doing 15-20 minutes of yoga, and then I'm doing about 15-20 minutes of Insanity.  I've pulled the easier exercises from 'Core Cardio and Balance', and we're knocking them out every morning!  So that's something.  Next week is my final week as a riding instructor.  The week after will be a whirl wind of packing.  Then the 5 days following will be our epic journey across the US.  11 states!  I have a job interview tomorrow, thank you Jesus.  I have someone looking at Tiki Saturday, please pray that goes well for me.  Pray even HARDER I win the Mega Millions tonight instead, because chances are if I know you, you'll benefit from it;)  Look for blog posts detailing our epic move to Cali!  You all will be dealing with picture overload:)  God bless!!

The News

Well, now that people have been told, leases are being signed, and jobs are being seeked, it's time to tell the tale.  We are moving to California.  Sacramento, to be specific.  Yes, it's crazy.  Yes, it's a HUGE leap of faith.  But what is the title of this blog?  The FIRST day of the rest of your life.  We will be living a dream by moving out of GA and relocating to the west coast.  It's so weird to think that soon we will be southern transplants, but it's a new beginning.  The first thing we've promised our son is to get him signed with a talent agent as soon as we get moved, so hopefully by August 1, he will be on his way to stardom!;)  We leave GA June 27th ... The journey will be documented!

But ... WHERE is God?

In my most favorite place!

So, in my mind, I'm an amazing writer.  I'm witty, articulate, and can weave an amazing blog post at a moment's notice.  Well, we all have to have a fantasy, right?  I've had this blog post rolling around in my mind now for almost a month, but I'm having a tough time putting it out here on the web.  Why?  Because I'm not sure I can truly articulate what it is I'm feeling; I sometimes have a difficult time making a point, but I'm going to try!

Where do you find God?  In church?  Do you go to church faithfully every Sunday/Wednesday?  Do you go both in the morning and evening? Do you feel like a better person for having gone?  Do you tithe?  Or just give offering?  Sunday school?  Now ... how does all that make you FEEL?  Do you cry?  Do you get goosebumps?  Or do you try your hardest not to check your e-mail and try to be discreet when you yawn?

I feel God.  I don't feel Him very often in church.  I HAVE.  But there is some wall inside of me that prevents demonstrative hand raising, voice raising, and a flood of tears.  I'm always grateful when He DOES break through while I'm in church, but I think all the material/obligational distractions prevent my heart from receiving the necessary message.

I feel Him when I stand on the edge of the Smokey Mountains and peer through the mist on a cool Spring morning.  I feel Him when we drive through the Zion National Park, in the amazing rock formations.  I feel Him as I stand on the balcony of a cruise ship and see the frothy waves churning in the wake of the giant ship.  When I'm hiking through the woods, when I'm galloping across a field on my horse, and when I'm nervously leaning over the edge of the Grand Canyon, trying to just take in the vastness of it.  I get tears in my eyes, goosebumps on my arms, and the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand up in electric ecstasy.

Enjoy these moments, embrace them.  My mom recently had a discussion where we were talking about "real life", and she said, "This is all there is.  Get up, go to work, come home, go to bed.  Get up and do it all over again.  Grow up, Honey".  Well, I respectfully disagree.  Do what you have to do to live, to survive.  Then get out there and enjoy the gifts God has to give you.  Do what makes you happy, enjoy those moments when the goosebumps appear, and ALWAYS be thankful when He makes His presence known:)

Post holiday

Grand Canyon.  Breathtaking!

Well, hope all y'all had a fantastic Christmas!  I have enough gift certificates to buy me some new clothes, so I'm super happy:)  You know, I sure hope 2013 is a better year for me than 2012.  Other than my weight loss success, I feel like I've gone backwards in every other aspect of my life:(  I have less friends, less money, and more responsibility:(  Sigh.  I thought that theoretically what you "put out there" in the Universe will come back to you.  Well ... I honestly try to put positivity out there.  I try to be nice, and kind, and thoughtful, and honest, and ethical, and I try to do things for people.  What do I get back?  See the aforementioned groan.  I feel like I've had a "no good deed goes unpunished" sort of year.

I don't really know what to do about it.  All I can do is pray, reflect, and trust that things go UP from here.  I certainly feel somewhere around the bottom right now, just searching for my ladder.  I will continue to try and put positive energy into the Universe, and shake off these negative nellies.  At the end of the day, I have a fantastic marriage, a fantastic kid, a (few) job(s) that (mostly) pays the bills, we ALL have excellent health (knock on wood), and there's 40 lbs less of me!  Hope everyone has a wonderful New Year's!!  I will for sure be in bed long before midnight:)