Good news! I got the job! Starting on 9/8/08, I'll be the new Director of Development at the California State University at Stanislaus. I'm soooo excited! The campus is beautiful and I'll be working for a woman, about my age, who has a 2nd grader and kindergartner. When she learned that John wasn't here in CA yet, and that I was alone, she said, "Don't worry about schedules. We'll make it work."
I'm excited too about raising some serious money. This position is just focused on fundraising (from individuals, corporations and foundations.) I've always been responsible for fundraising and communications, so this will be great to just focus on one.
Today we're going to a rodeo. We're going to cheer on Mary Joe, the woman who takes care of the horses here at on the horse farm/ranch where we live. She's going to be barrel racing. Will try to get some shots and post them. Last night, as the sun was setting, I saw two yearlings (horses that are one year old, right Amy?) that were just released into a paddock, running through a sprinkler and having fun. The water was back lit and the horses were shiny from the water. It was 101 or more yesterday. I thought it looked like a great way to end the day. Glad I just happened to catch that bit of joy and life taking place right in my back yard.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Amy's Dog
Forget the horse whisperer... Amy's the chicken whisperer. Here's a video of Carmaleena, Amy's chicken that she's trained to 'come,' 'jump' and they are working on 'speak.' I've been trying to decide if we should get a chicken or two... Fresh eggs for free sounds good to me. I doubt I could do the same wonders as my sister...
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Just Waiting
There's nothing like waiting for an employer to call you to let you know if you got the job or not. On Monday, I had what I thought was a very good interview with the development team at California State University, Stanislaus. The VP of Advancement said she'd call me by the end of the week to let me know. It's for a Development Director position.
So, here I wait. And wait. And wait.
So, here I wait. And wait. And wait.
Thanks everyone for the great comments on these posts. I feel so cool and loved to have that many people post a comment. It also makes us feel a little less homesick. The kids love hearing about their friends and talk about them often. I read Jackson an email today from Jen Danzig, his friend's mom. After Jackson smiled and said, "If we went back to Maine in a few weeks, I could have my birthday party there and invite all my friends." Then he said, "but I won't be in Maine." He didn't look sad, more like he was just clarifying that to me and himself. Alden chimed in, "You'll have to get together when we go back for a visit."
I also showed Alden some great photos from the pool party that his friends' (moms) threw for him. We loved them. I'm so amazed at how well they are adjusting. It's hard to have your heart in two places.
Today, Alden showed me a note... didn't actually show me, more like let me read it over his shoulder... that said, "Alden, I like you. You are my best friend. Cameron" Cameron is my new best friend. Thank God for nice boys. Then a girl from his class saw me with Alden and said, "He had a really good day." Thank God for nice girls! They keep you in the know.
Update on Oakdale. I like it now. It's not the hick-ville I thought it was at first. Since my earlier posts, I've found a yoga studio which I intent to use, a good coffee shoppe and have met some very nice people.
Until I am employed, I'm have a great time being a stay at home mom. Starting tomorrow, I'm bringing one of Jackson's classmates to his daycare, to help out his mom. She leaves work everyday to pick him up at school then drop him at daycare. I'm hoping that I'll earn some karma points and that a real 'stay-at-home-mom' will help me out. Actually, today one of the moms I was chatting with offered to bring Jackson to his daycare once he switches to his lame-o half day afternoon kindergarten class. Lame only because its half day...
She seems really nice, she has a daughter in kindergarten and a younger child too. Hmmm, how do you do due diligence in a situation like this? The daycare is only 5 blocks from school, but the daycare can't transport kids to and from school, because of a CA law that says only daycares within 4 blocks can transport kids to school. Ugh. And the bus can't take him there because its not in our bus 'pocket.' So, even though it would be way less gas for the bus to pick Jackson up and drop him off at his daycare, they won't, because of their policies. Maybe CA wouldn't be in such a budget crisis, if their many laws had room for common sense.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Road Trip Tips from Jackson and Alden
When your parents wake you up at 4:00 AM to hit the road, just sing, sing a song!
Try gas station yoga.
Watch where you play at rest stops.
Stop in time for an evening swim.
Travel pillows are a must. Snuggly labs are also good. 
Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys
Well ya'll, we're in sunny Oakdale, CA. Day two of a heat wave with temps over 100 degrees. Thank goodness our little 'palace' has AC. So, we're living in a little house, on a 20 acre horse farm. There is a big barn with stables, many smaller barns, several paddocks, a big house next to us, and an outdoor riding arena.
From the kids' window this morning, we watched a horse that was just let out into the pasture gallop around. It was beautiful to watch. They are western/pleasure horses, chestnut color. The woman that we rent from breeds them. We met the 'cow girls' (really) that take care of the horses and the barn, Mary Jo is the leader, her daughter Crystal helps out and so does her mother, Dixie. They were nice. Crystal was a rodeo queen 3 years running. The horses and barns surround our house on three sides. In front of our house is a busy road, and then directly across the street is a large cow pasture.
Holy shit. What am I doing here?
This house and this community are a little more rural/agricultural than I bargained for. Everyone that we've met is very nice and welcoming... but I just don't think if its a good fit for us. We're only five minutes from town, where there is just about everything we need--and some things we don't, like tractor sales and three big ag stores. Our house is kind of rough. It hasn't been lived in since February, so its pretty cobwebby and dusty. Also, as Jackson wrote in his one sentence letter to Pierce, "Dear Pierce, We have an ant problem."
I've been cleaning as I unpack, so its slow going.. Doing so has made me remember how much I hate cleaning. On the bright side, it's got three good sized bedrooms, two baths, a wood stove, and a fenced yard for Hannah. Also, except for the spiders on the porch, I feel safe.
At first, both John and I were unsure about staying here. (We took it sight unseen.) But we've decided to stick it out, try to save lots o money while we're here, and then buy a house right after.) I'm treating this like a social experiment. I mean, I did say that I wanted to live in a more country setting, teach my guys more about gardening and maybe even have some chickens. We certainly could do all that here. (Really--our landlady said having chickens would be fine... just have to keep them in a coop to keep them safe from the wild dogs that occasionally come by.) Alden saw a coyote in the cow pasture across the street the other night. We watched it slink through the pasture, and disappear over a hill.
Yes, a social experiment. I must say, I'm having some identity issues. I went from being a successful nonprofit director, living in a beautiful, custom built home, having great friends and family nearby and feeling very comfortable in most ways...to a woman without a job, living in so-so house, surrounded by cows and horses, driving (John's) pick up, all without clothes/foot ware that are appropriate for the climate. Nothing like stripping away all of the things you use to identify yourself by, to figure out who you really are. (Not that I've got THAT figured out yet...)
Today, we finally found out where the kids will go to school. It's not the school that our neighborhood children go to, because they were full, but one just down the street. Both a really good. Tomorrow will be their first day. Jackson is going into Kindergarten and Alden is going into third grade. I can't believe it. Kindergarten is only half day, which is a bummer. I've got to find daycare for Jackson for the other half of the day that's stimulating for him. He's such an experiential learning--he's not going to be content with coloring, or some lame craft. After being at Mayberry Hill Preschool, any school or daycare is going to have a hard time measuring up.
I'm so exhausted... Dropped John off at Oakland International Airport today at 5:00 AM. He's flying back to ME for two weeks to finish up some jobs and button up his business. Was proud of myself that I got home (about 1.5 hours) from Oakland without a hitch. (OK, one little hitch, but I knew I was going the wrong way and turned right around...) He'll be back here in early September. It's going to be so hard without him.
On Tuesday, John took his electrical test to be a licensed electrician in CA and passed it! He got an 85%. Pretty impressive given that he studied about 30 mins to prepare. So, now when he gets back out here, he'll be able to get a job as an electrician. I have a second interview at California State University at Stanislaus on Monday at 9:30 AM. Please send me good vibes, keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer for me! I think my biggest downfall as a candidate is that I'm new to the area and that I don't have an existing network. If anyone has any suggestions on how to mitigate that, please share! Also, I think I'll need to take Spanish lessons so I can pronounce people's names correctly. Tomorrow, I'm going to get my new cell number for CA, and will order a GPS service for my cell that will help me get around.
Onward...Yawn, onward...
From the kids' window this morning, we watched a horse that was just let out into the pasture gallop around. It was beautiful to watch. They are western/pleasure horses, chestnut color. The woman that we rent from breeds them. We met the 'cow girls' (really) that take care of the horses and the barn, Mary Jo is the leader, her daughter Crystal helps out and so does her mother, Dixie. They were nice. Crystal was a rodeo queen 3 years running. The horses and barns surround our house on three sides. In front of our house is a busy road, and then directly across the street is a large cow pasture.
Holy shit. What am I doing here?
This house and this community are a little more rural/agricultural than I bargained for. Everyone that we've met is very nice and welcoming... but I just don't think if its a good fit for us. We're only five minutes from town, where there is just about everything we need--and some things we don't, like tractor sales and three big ag stores. Our house is kind of rough. It hasn't been lived in since February, so its pretty cobwebby and dusty. Also, as Jackson wrote in his one sentence letter to Pierce, "Dear Pierce, We have an ant problem."
I've been cleaning as I unpack, so its slow going.. Doing so has made me remember how much I hate cleaning. On the bright side, it's got three good sized bedrooms, two baths, a wood stove, and a fenced yard for Hannah. Also, except for the spiders on the porch, I feel safe.
At first, both John and I were unsure about staying here. (We took it sight unseen.) But we've decided to stick it out, try to save lots o money while we're here, and then buy a house right after.) I'm treating this like a social experiment. I mean, I did say that I wanted to live in a more country setting, teach my guys more about gardening and maybe even have some chickens. We certainly could do all that here. (Really--our landlady said having chickens would be fine... just have to keep them in a coop to keep them safe from the wild dogs that occasionally come by.) Alden saw a coyote in the cow pasture across the street the other night. We watched it slink through the pasture, and disappear over a hill.
Yes, a social experiment. I must say, I'm having some identity issues. I went from being a successful nonprofit director, living in a beautiful, custom built home, having great friends and family nearby and feeling very comfortable in most ways...to a woman without a job, living in so-so house, surrounded by cows and horses, driving (John's) pick up, all without clothes/foot ware that are appropriate for the climate. Nothing like stripping away all of the things you use to identify yourself by, to figure out who you really are. (Not that I've got THAT figured out yet...)
Today, we finally found out where the kids will go to school. It's not the school that our neighborhood children go to, because they were full, but one just down the street. Both a really good. Tomorrow will be their first day. Jackson is going into Kindergarten and Alden is going into third grade. I can't believe it. Kindergarten is only half day, which is a bummer. I've got to find daycare for Jackson for the other half of the day that's stimulating for him. He's such an experiential learning--he's not going to be content with coloring, or some lame craft. After being at Mayberry Hill Preschool, any school or daycare is going to have a hard time measuring up.
I'm so exhausted... Dropped John off at Oakland International Airport today at 5:00 AM. He's flying back to ME for two weeks to finish up some jobs and button up his business. Was proud of myself that I got home (about 1.5 hours) from Oakland without a hitch. (OK, one little hitch, but I knew I was going the wrong way and turned right around...) He'll be back here in early September. It's going to be so hard without him.
On Tuesday, John took his electrical test to be a licensed electrician in CA and passed it! He got an 85%. Pretty impressive given that he studied about 30 mins to prepare. So, now when he gets back out here, he'll be able to get a job as an electrician. I have a second interview at California State University at Stanislaus on Monday at 9:30 AM. Please send me good vibes, keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer for me! I think my biggest downfall as a candidate is that I'm new to the area and that I don't have an existing network. If anyone has any suggestions on how to mitigate that, please share! Also, I think I'll need to take Spanish lessons so I can pronounce people's names correctly. Tomorrow, I'm going to get my new cell number for CA, and will order a GPS service for my cell that will help me get around.
Onward...Yawn, onward...
Sunday, August 10, 2008
We Made It!
Last night around 5:30 PM, we landed in Atwater, CA, at John's parents' house. I can't believe we made it in just four days. The night before we wanted to stop and sleep in Salt Lake City. We rolled into town at about 9:00 PM, and pulled up to our favorite cheap hotel that takes dogs, Motel 6. The boys were in need of a break and John was getting tired. Turns out almost every hotel room in the city is full due to some big convention. The guy at Motel 6 suggested we go the next stop--some 80 miles down the road. Two+ hours later, we stopped for the night. That was our longest day of driving--5:00 AM to 11:00 PM.
When the boys get cranky, they ask to go swimming. (It's hard leaving the Lakes Region, where you get to swim just about every day.) Yesterday around noon, Jackson got on a "I want to go SWIMming" kick. Even he started to giggle, as we looked around at the desert like landscape of Utah, with not a drop of water in sight. Luckily, we've been able to swim twice on the trip, in the lovely Motel 6 pools. (Did I mention its our favorite cheap hotel that takes dogs and has pools!) Maybe today, we'll get to visit John's sister, Lin, and take a drip in her pool.
Although John and I missed it, the boys reported seeing lots of interesting wildlife on the trip. Alden saw many bunnies, a black bear and some sort of unidentified creature. Jackson saw a antelope. We weren't sure what it was, but then he drew a picture of it, and we decided it must have been an antelope due to its many antlers. One thing I did see that kind of freaked me out, was in Nebraska at the rest stop. A sign that said, "Beware of Rattlesnakes." Especially near the pet area. Yikes.
John is a rock star when it comes to driving. I think I drove about 3 hours tops on this trip. We only got turned around once when getting out of Salt Lake City. But he got us right back on the highway. Whew! Our dog also gets kudos. She's really stiff now (she's 11) and tired. I'll be happy to get her into our rental house and settled.
I just remembered, the house we're going to rent doesn't have a refrigerator. (Details. Details.) Oops. Will have to buy a used one I guess, along with the other furniture that we were not able to fit in the trailer (which I think is just dining room chairs.) We fit way more into the trailer than I thought. We got our table, two kids dressers, our dresser, our bed, the kids' bed frames (John's mom found us some new mattresses to buy out here for them) our couch, bikes, and tons of boxes. I think I got all the boxes I wanted and almost all the boxes that were in the 'bring to CA if room" category.
We're going to sign the lease with our landlord this morning. I can't wait to check out Oakdale. I hope it like it. It's the (gulp) cowboy capital of America. Yeee haw!
When the boys get cranky, they ask to go swimming. (It's hard leaving the Lakes Region, where you get to swim just about every day.) Yesterday around noon, Jackson got on a "I want to go SWIMming" kick. Even he started to giggle, as we looked around at the desert like landscape of Utah, with not a drop of water in sight. Luckily, we've been able to swim twice on the trip, in the lovely Motel 6 pools. (Did I mention its our favorite cheap hotel that takes dogs and has pools!) Maybe today, we'll get to visit John's sister, Lin, and take a drip in her pool.
Although John and I missed it, the boys reported seeing lots of interesting wildlife on the trip. Alden saw many bunnies, a black bear and some sort of unidentified creature. Jackson saw a antelope. We weren't sure what it was, but then he drew a picture of it, and we decided it must have been an antelope due to its many antlers. One thing I did see that kind of freaked me out, was in Nebraska at the rest stop. A sign that said, "Beware of Rattlesnakes." Especially near the pet area. Yikes.
John is a rock star when it comes to driving. I think I drove about 3 hours tops on this trip. We only got turned around once when getting out of Salt Lake City. But he got us right back on the highway. Whew! Our dog also gets kudos. She's really stiff now (she's 11) and tired. I'll be happy to get her into our rental house and settled.
I just remembered, the house we're going to rent doesn't have a refrigerator. (Details. Details.) Oops. Will have to buy a used one I guess, along with the other furniture that we were not able to fit in the trailer (which I think is just dining room chairs.) We fit way more into the trailer than I thought. We got our table, two kids dressers, our dresser, our bed, the kids' bed frames (John's mom found us some new mattresses to buy out here for them) our couch, bikes, and tons of boxes. I think I got all the boxes I wanted and almost all the boxes that were in the 'bring to CA if room" category.
We're going to sign the lease with our landlord this morning. I can't wait to check out Oakdale. I hope it like it. It's the (gulp) cowboy capital of America. Yeee haw!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
800 A Day
For the past two days, we've gone about 800 miles a day. Not bad for a family of four and one dog. John is a little frustrated with our numerous stops, but I think we're making good time. He's driven almost the entire way. I think I'm the worst road trip partner ever. I drive for 20 mins and I get sleepy. I can't help it!
Today we started driving at 4:00 AM. The boys have been doing so well. Like yesterday, we took a nice lunch break at a rest stop, made lunch, took a walk, played a little football and soccer. Things got a bit 'squirely' around 7:00 PM, as we were entering Nebraska. Alden and Jackson were in the front seat with John, and I was in back with Hannah. Alden was the head navigator, with his map book in his lap, following our path down I-80, counting every mile marker. Jackson went to his 'happy place' and announced that he needed some quiet time to meditate. He sat cross-legged in his booster seat, thumbs to forefingers, eyes closed. After several minutes, he announced, "Meditating is useless with a seat belt on!"
Except for Alden's disastrous peeing-in-a-bottle incident, and a few wet-willies, all has gone smoothly. Even Hannah is being a trooper. To keep occupied, we've been reading Harry Potter, the Chamber of Secrets. We finished it today. Alden read a little bit of a Pokemon book to us. Thanks Walter, for the reading material! Jackson drew a picture and the boys played travel checkers.
Leaving Raymond (two nights ago) was sad. We said good-bye to Pierce's store, Walter's road, Allaister's road and so on... Many tears were shed.
Today, I just realized that when John comes back to CA, he's going to have to take this l o n g route again. That's going to stink. (He's coming back to Maine for the last two weeks of the month, to finish up a bunch of jobs. Then he'll drive out to CA with the boat.)
The joke of the day was, "Look, over there.... corn!" Lots of corn fields and rolling hills. We also saw several huge windmills, which I think are new since we rolled through almost exactly 8 years ago when we moved to Maine from Denver.
Today we started driving at 4:00 AM. The boys have been doing so well. Like yesterday, we took a nice lunch break at a rest stop, made lunch, took a walk, played a little football and soccer. Things got a bit 'squirely' around 7:00 PM, as we were entering Nebraska. Alden and Jackson were in the front seat with John, and I was in back with Hannah. Alden was the head navigator, with his map book in his lap, following our path down I-80, counting every mile marker. Jackson went to his 'happy place' and announced that he needed some quiet time to meditate. He sat cross-legged in his booster seat, thumbs to forefingers, eyes closed. After several minutes, he announced, "Meditating is useless with a seat belt on!"
Except for Alden's disastrous peeing-in-a-bottle incident, and a few wet-willies, all has gone smoothly. Even Hannah is being a trooper. To keep occupied, we've been reading Harry Potter, the Chamber of Secrets. We finished it today. Alden read a little bit of a Pokemon book to us. Thanks Walter, for the reading material! Jackson drew a picture and the boys played travel checkers.
Leaving Raymond (two nights ago) was sad. We said good-bye to Pierce's store, Walter's road, Allaister's road and so on... Many tears were shed.
Today, I just realized that when John comes back to CA, he's going to have to take this l o n g route again. That's going to stink. (He's coming back to Maine for the last two weeks of the month, to finish up a bunch of jobs. Then he'll drive out to CA with the boat.)
The joke of the day was, "Look, over there.... corn!" Lots of corn fields and rolling hills. We also saw several huge windmills, which I think are new since we rolled through almost exactly 8 years ago when we moved to Maine from Denver.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
The Big Day
We're off today, to move to California. I can't believe it, but I'm alone right now, so I'm grabbing this quiet moment to send out a quick note.
Wanted to thank our amazing family and friends for all the help and support during this past summer. The going away parties, cook outs, well wishes, cards, prayers, gifts for the kids, banana bread and chocolate chip and coconut squares are so appreciated and make me feel like its going to be hard to find a community as wonderful as Raymond.
At 3:00 or so my awesome family is coming to load the 6x12 trailer we rented. Thankfully, we're going to haul that instead of the boat. I can't believe how much 'stuff' we gave away or got rid of. I think we got our whole house, not including John's tools and garage contents, down to 70 boxes or so.
As for our spirits...
Alden is excited. I heard him say to Jackson this AM, "Jackson, this is the day we're moving! to a place we've never been!!"
Jackson is not happy about going. He doesn't want to leave his garden. We're going to pick a bunch of tomatoes and bring them with us, even though they are green.
John is working hard these days, but oh so happy to be headed West.
And, I'm holding up. Feeling beat emotionally and physically, so I'm looking forward to getting on the road so I can sleep. But, all in all, I'm feeling really peaceful about things, and know that everything is going to work out. (Bri, remember when I said that a month ago, and then the next day was in tears over every little thing, i.e. Modesto.)
That's how its been lately, one moment we're excited and happy, the next so sad to leave.
Thanks again to everyone for all your help and prayers. I'll post again later if I can logistically from the road.
Wanted to thank our amazing family and friends for all the help and support during this past summer. The going away parties, cook outs, well wishes, cards, prayers, gifts for the kids, banana bread and chocolate chip and coconut squares are so appreciated and make me feel like its going to be hard to find a community as wonderful as Raymond.
At 3:00 or so my awesome family is coming to load the 6x12 trailer we rented. Thankfully, we're going to haul that instead of the boat. I can't believe how much 'stuff' we gave away or got rid of. I think we got our whole house, not including John's tools and garage contents, down to 70 boxes or so.
As for our spirits...
Alden is excited. I heard him say to Jackson this AM, "Jackson, this is the day we're moving! to a place we've never been!!"
Jackson is not happy about going. He doesn't want to leave his garden. We're going to pick a bunch of tomatoes and bring them with us, even though they are green.
John is working hard these days, but oh so happy to be headed West.
And, I'm holding up. Feeling beat emotionally and physically, so I'm looking forward to getting on the road so I can sleep. But, all in all, I'm feeling really peaceful about things, and know that everything is going to work out. (Bri, remember when I said that a month ago, and then the next day was in tears over every little thing, i.e. Modesto.)
That's how its been lately, one moment we're excited and happy, the next so sad to leave.
Thanks again to everyone for all your help and prayers. I'll post again later if I can logistically from the road.
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