I found it: The bakery

Please forgive me for not writing back right away.  Someone smashed into our van.  We found out today that it is totaled.  It’s highly inconvenient and it put a small damper on my explorations.  I did find a bakery, but I was not too impressed with the inside or the baked goods. I have also found my variety store to browse in–two actually.

Saturday, Nathan and I drove around the city and I got a bit of a feel for the area and the culture.  We went out to eat at this Polish place that has a polka bar and a piano bar that they use kind of like karaoke.  It was a hoot! Nathan sang two songs *swoon* and we enjoyed hearing the others sing songs as well.  There was one lady who said, “I’ve never done this before.” So as she began to sang I finished her sentence, ” but I just cut my first album last month.” She was really good.  There was also a crooner there. He didn’t even have to write down his songs, or read the lyrics from the book,  he just told the lady at the piano what he wanted to sing and she played it.  The atmosphere was quite interesting and if you go there expecting anything but interesting, you’ll be disappointed.It was a great date for us that we ended by watching Roman Holiday.  Very sweet.  We’ve really enjoyed our time together these past few weeks even though Nathan’’s been working late.

Sunday, I met up with my sister-in-law and nephew (what a cutie) and we ate a great place for pancakes, went to an indoor global market and she showed me a quilter’s fabric store. Tonight I’m going to a new advisers and spouse’s cocktail hour at Nathan’s office, then we’re off to network with some guy that does a Bible study in a bar!  I actually, like this kind of stuff.  The hard part will be putting on a suit…and the small talk. We pick up our children on Friday and I’m pretty excited to see their sweet faces again. I wonder how long it will take to transition to being together again.  I pray that there are minimal bumps. My goal is to keep them so entertained it won’t be much of an issue, but now that we won’t have a car, it might be harder. I guess I’ll have to learn to ride the bus sooner than I hoped. I won’t be such a socialite once the kids come back, and that’s okay. We’ll have boxes to unpack, lots of reaquainting to do, and our normal routines to begin.

Our circumstances are really no different than they were before we moved, and in some cases they are worse.  But as I walked yesterday I realized that I feel more contentment, joy and happiness than I’ve felt in a long time.  I am so glad we made this move.  It is just right for us at this point in our lives and I’m excited to take part in what God has in store for us.

I found it!

After writing yesterday’s post I got really motivated to explore.  My goal was to find a co-op close to our home.  I found one! It is only about five minutes away.  The perk is that the co-op is in an area that has several other neighborhood places that I wanted to find.  A nice, quaint library (think Music Man, only smaller, but just as quiet and minus the singing), a bread store (we had the same one in Fargo, and I rarely actually bought bread there, but it’s good stuff for special occasions like feeling obligated to buy after eating the free sample), a coffee place (it’s not a shop, but they have over 100 varieties of coffee beans that they roast fresh daily and over 100 varieties of bulk tea), a children’s bookstore (complete with live animals in cages, Noah will hate it, Moriah will love it), etc.  It’s a really cute area, and I did not get lost!

Recently, Nathan and I discovered that he feels more comfortable in an area of town (shopping district) where it’s almost like there’s a dress code to walk on the sidewalks.  I feel more comfortable in an area of town (shopping district) that has people walking around with purple hair and holes in their ears big enough to stick my elbow through.  The part of town I found yesterday is a nice blend of those two atmospheres.  That’s our neighborhood.

Today, I’m going to look for a bakery.  I’ll report back tomorrow.

Exploring new territory

Life is pretty boring for me right now. I didn’t expect it would be.  I’m in a new place, which I tend to enjoy, but my husband works until 8pm and my kids have been gone for two weeks.  Metropolitan areas are not as simple to explore as small cities.  Pretty obvious, but I’m one of those people that thinks she can do anything.  Exploring this area will take a lot  more planning and a little less spontaneous travel if I want to minimize getting lost. Since being here I’ve learned that if I end up in the sister city or at the airport, I’ve probably made a wrong turn and I’m not where I need to be.  Thankfully, I’ve found a really nice map that has addresses and every suburb in the area.

At any given time I am totally and completely lost.  I know how to get a few places, but any sense of direction I gained in Fargo has fled. So, though I know how to get to the lake, my house, the grocery store, the post office, the library, etc. I have no idea how to tell anyone how to get to those places and I have no idea what direction I’m facing.  In the past I would have not cared what direction I’m facing, but now I live in a place where if I ever want to truly explore and go somewhere other than the places I need to go or the places that are right next to my house, I need to understand what direction I’m facing.

Here are things that are on my list to discover:

1. A bakery

2. A cutsie clothing store that I only window shop in

3. A cutsie variety store that I only window shop in

4. The perfect thrift store

5. A health food store

6. The farmers market–there are at least 10 so I should be able to find 1

7. Indie fabric (and craft) store–it would be wise to NOT find these until I own my own sewing machine or there will be trouble

8.  Great mom and pop shops to take people when they visit. Breakfast diner, great place for dinner or lunch

9. Coffee shop we found one! I don’t remember how to get there and I don’t drink coffee, but their stuff is so good I would start

In addition to the discoveries, I need to memorize how to get to the museums and find one that is my favorite. In the future we’ll need to find a dance studio for the three of us.  There is just so much to do here! Options, options, options! And I love to have variety at my fingertips.

That’s what I’m supposed to be doing this week, but I don’t really have the energy to do that much planning.  Maybe next week.  I’ll be living here a while, and hopefully starting a new job in the next few weeks, so exploring can wait. In the meantime, my goal is to stay found.

Just checking in

We are still here and things are going well for us.  Nathan loves his new job. We are both excited to get our kids back and to move into our new place.  Our place opens up July 1 and we get our kids July 4th weekend. They have been able to spend time with my family for the last few weeks while we get adjusted to our new city.  They are having a blast, but we all can’t wait until our family is together again.  There are so many things I want to show them!

Job Update

This is a quick update, but I really close to having a job. More details to come once it’s final.

A spoonful of sugar

We’ve moved most of our belongings and our children are living it up with their Southern grandparents. I’m so glad that our kids are with my parents.  It is such a blessing to have them away during the move.

Nathan found a place for us to live.  I haven’t seen the inside (it isn’t available until July), but I LOVE the neighborhood.  I hope that we will one day be able to buy a home in the same area.  In the meantime some wonderful friends have agreed to put up with us until we can get in. Nat’s first day of work was today.  This week is all training.

I had an interview with a headhunter.  I think it was a waste of time.  The saga continues, just in a different city.  On the plus side, the only time I’ve gotten lost so far was in a parking garage.  My level of boredom is surpassed by my level of apathy and overwhelmedness.  Overwhelmed to the point of making up words, mind you I’m not overwhelmed by what I expected to overwhelm me–the driving.  I am simply overwhelmed by the details of our circumstances and it all seems to hinge on my ability (which has yet to be proven) to get a job.  No joke, I’m going to need lots of inner healing after this.

In the meantime, my sugar will be relaxing by the lake, people watching, exploring  and simply ignoring the white elephant. I’m not going to let job hunting get me down. Well…not tomorrow anyway.

Trust

Today Nathan is away looking for a house/apartment/condo/townhouse in our soon-to-be-new home. I appreciate that my husband knows me well enough and that I trust him enough to find a place for us when I’m not around.

Throughout all of these decisions about jobs and moving I have taken great delight in how much I trust my husband. And in this rare instance, my trust in God has come through my knowledge that Nathan seeks to follow the Lord and what he has for our family.  During all of this, I have not always held on to the fact that God is leading me somewhere, but I have been able to hold on to the fact that God is leading Nathan somewhere, and that Nathan is leading his family into what God has for us.  In this backwards occurrence I am trusting God because I know that Nathan is in his hands. I look forward to the moment when I’m not so insecure about these decisions and can walk with God on my own (that is side by side with Nat). For now, I get a piggyback ride on the faith and trust Nathan has right now.

The transition that never ends

I think that most of our friends and immediate family know this by now, but if not and this is the first you’re hearing of it, we apologize.  We’re moving. In about two weeks. We have moved every two years (or less) since we were married 9 years ago. This move is the largest move and will take the most faith. This is the hardest move and the scariest move. Nathan won’t be dragging me behind kicking and screaming, but I’m a bit reluctant to say the least. But only cause, for my taste, there aren’t enough details pinned down.

After much prayer, circumstances and a whole host of other things that drive me completely insane, we are moving to a major metropolitan area (most likely a suburb).  Nathan has a job in the heart of downtown and he is quite excited. I am too, but I remain unemployed and he remains in a job that requires me to be employed until business picks up.

We are looking for housing and we have found a wonderful school for the kids. They will continue/start learning Spanish at a charter school.  I have so much more to tell you, but not now.  Keep checking in, cause now that I can tell people we are moving, there is plenty to write about to keep you updated on our family.

The Problem-Solver

My daughter loves to read and she loves to buy things. This combined with our tight budget tends to pose a problem when she brings home book orders. We’ve had the same conversation in a different context–usually Claire’s.

One child seems to understand that, in his words, “we can’t buy that because we don’t have any money, but maybe when we get some money.” The cute thing is when he uses that reason for other things, “we can’t go outside because we don’t have any money.”  The other child does not seem to understand, “I only pretend to not want anything so I don’t have to keep hearing you say, ‘why do you keep asking for stuff when you know we don’t have any money?’”

Last month she brought home the book order, then we had the same conversation, “we can’t because we just.don’t.have. the money.”  She really is tired of hearing that and I really am tired of saying it. So, here’s what she did to solve her problem and mine:

She posted a job wanted sign in our window. Too funny! This was all before they started earning money.  I think her love of shopping might be motivating her to do her chores.

Week 1: We need to think of a cute name for it

We are on round two of our financial lesson with our kids.  I must say that I am quite surprised at how things are going.  We decided to count their money at the end of each week to encourage them for the next week.  We altered our percentages a bit, because we want them to actually be able to buy their “presents” before the end of the year. So now our categories are giving, long term savings (which is really just for educational purposes, but it will go in a fund toward college or a house or something), spending, and present.

Here are the things that have encouraged me about the project:

1. Without prompting from us, both kids chose to put their immediate spending money toward their short-term savings goal (i.e. the present–iPod, Chick’s Hauler).

2. Yesterday they were cleaning their room and said, “this is fun!”

3. They are just doing an awesome job.  I thought there would be more complaining.

At the end of the month, we’ll revamp by changing any chores. They both said they like folding towels, so maybe we’ll add that and take off one of the ones they have succeeded at fairly consistently.  They would get more than a nickel for folding towels, though.

Also, computer time is 1 cent per minute, movies are 50 cents, and they have to pay me five cents/ minute to clean their room. Although, (don’t tell the kids) I sneaked upstairs to clean up a little so it wouldn’t seem so overwhelming to them. It worked, now they are super encouraged and excited about keeping their room clean.

William, I didn’t realize the reply to your question was so long. Sorry.