Our new house

We finally had our internet installed today! Yippee! I no longer have to bum it off my phone which is a little sketchy at times.

Before we moved here, I was convinced that we were going to live off base. I do not have anything against base housing as there are TONS of perks to living on base. The main issue I had with base housing here is that they are in the middle of a reconstruction process. Therefore, we would have to move into an older home and then move again in less than a year when the new homes are built and they are ready to demolish the older homes.

I did a bunch of research and bookmarked various homes to tour when we arrived in town. As we got closer, our options dwindled to very little. The homes that were available where very cute and nice homes. They were actually the nicest homes we have ever considered for ourselves. However, the section of town is up-and-coming and far away from restaurants, grocery stores, etc. The town literally had a gas station and Walgreens. Plus the rent was basically the same as living on base.

In the end, after a couple long conversations, we decided to go with base housing. We were given a couple homes to pick up and chose one that doesn't back up to anyone else and has a view of the new houses being built (in the distance). Someone told me that the home looks retro and I loved that description. It immediately made me think of myself baking in the cute apron my lovely previous co-workers gave me.

Getting settled

The last couple of weeks have been a little bit of a whirlwind. We overcame a long week in the car (with two cats) and made it to California!

Highlights from the car ride:
- the first couple of days with the cats was not too bad. They were too afraid to move. It all went downhill after that. Hobbes was especially annoying since he wanted to explore the driver's area and would not sit still or be quiet. We gave him a whole pill of the sedative one afternoon. We were only supposed to give half. He was out for a few hours and loopy for many more after that. It was quite entertaining once you stopped feeling guilty.

- it was SUPER windy on our drive through Oklahoma and Texas. We got caught in a mini dust storm where visibility left much to be desired.

I am using zero strength to hold this tumbleweed. The wind was doing it all.

- I had super awesome gas mileage on the last couple days of the ride. It was amazing!

- We stayed in some pretty crappy motels. There are no funny or horrifying stories... I just appreciate the finer hotels a little more now. It is just amazing how much of a difference there is. You would think a business would take a little more pride in their product. I guess you get what you pay for.

- We paid $4.99 a gallon for gas one day because I totally wasn't paying attention. We had to stop in the middle of nowhere; I guess they like to take advantage of us stupid drivers. I have to take solice in the fact that we were not the only ones. A couple of ladies pulled up around the same time and were in a similar predicament.

- We saw a ton of wind turbines after we entered California. There were hundreds. It was cool to see.

I'll post again soon about the search for a house and our final decision.

Bored out of my mind

Without working, I am quite bored. Each day I've been doing a little off my to-do list and making trips around town. Usually I try to bunch together any trip I have to save gas, but at this point, I am just trying to kill some time.

I briefly looked at job postings yesterday for our new area and was disappointed by my findings. I hope the perfect job opens up for me at the time I need it.

I've been getting rid of quite a few things in preparation for the move. We've been holding on to all the boxes we used when we moved ourselves up here. Since the military is moving us, we didn't need to save them anymore. It feels really good to look at the empty space all those boxes took up.

There is one house that we have on our short list that (I think) I really want. I say I think because without seeing the neighborhood and the surrounding area I can't be 100% sure. But it has several fruit trees. It is a little more than we want to spend, but it looks like a lovely house from the pictures. Plus I think it has a swing set in the back. I love swinging. I told Charles that since we don't have kids, maybe the kitties can play on the play set. :)

Today I have our pre-move appointment. I'm not really sure what that involves, but it's the first step. On Tuesday the movers come to pack everything. And on Wednesday they load the truck. Plus, my husband flies into town on Wednesday! I'm most excited about that. Next Thursday our long drive to California starts. I am not looking forward to that, but it will be an experience.

The countdown begins

We finally received our orders for our upcoming move to California! When you're in the military, orders rule your life. You cannot plan anything without them because they tell you when and where you need to be.

We knew the move was coming, but we weren't 100% sure on the time frame. Now we know we'll be moving in about three weeks.

Needless to say, I am just a tad stressed out. Luckily, I do not have to pack and load a truck. Thank you military movers! I have never done this before so I am a little nervous about having other people pack up all my stuff and move it for me. Call me a control freak.

I have started a lovely To-Do list. One of my top priorities is to get some anxiety medicine for my two kitties. They hate riding in the car. This past weekend I went for a little ride with them to start getting them acclimated. Hobbes yelled at me the whole time and was panting. I was told this is a nervous behavior in animals. After being on hold with the vet clinic for what seemed like forever, I was able to make an appointment for next week. It will be nice to cross that off my list.

The biggest unknown is where we are actually going to live once we get to California. I do not have the luxury to visit beforehand, so it may be a last minute scramble to find a place that we like, that is in our budget and that allows pets. I've never moved without knowing our new address beforehand so this is a new thing for me.

Bad attitude

I've had the worst attitude towards work lately. I don't want to go. I am annoyed by everyone around me. I'm just not into it. It is a horrible feeling that I do not like. But I don't know how to get out of my slump.

With our upcoming move, I will have to start the job search all over again. I am trying to decide what I want to do (with my life). I currently work as a Leasing Professional for military housing. There are definitely wonderful parts of my job. But there are so not so wonderful parts, just like in any career. I am not sure what other career field I would like to go into and have not done any research about what my possibilities may be in California.

When I graduated from college, I wanted to go into Environmental Politics. I think I would highly enjoy working for a company that provides renewable energy. I am hoping there are some more options in that field in California.

I also love crafting (scrapbooking specifically). It might be nice to do something along the creative lines. The problem with that is finding a good paying, steady position in that line of work.

I think I would also make a great assistant. I've been watching Drop Dead Gorgeous on Netflix. The show makes me want to work at a law firm. Although I know the show is fictional and working at an actual law firm would be less glamorous.

My inclinations are all over the place. It's tough moving.

Our next adventure

With Charles in training and graduating in the next few months, a new assignment would be forthcoming. The list of available positions came out a few weeks ago. We carefully ranked our choices and ended up with Alaska and California at the top of our list. We patiently waited for the final announcement and heard on Friday evening.

We are going to CALIFORNIA!

I must say that I prefer this to Alaska. From the very limited research I have done so far, I'm getting pretty excited. I've also learned that I am going to have to start liking exercise. California is like food heaven. We'll be in the Sacramento area and there seem to be tons of yummy restaurants that have been featured on the Food Network and other channels. I have started my Pinterest board to keep track of everything.

While in California, we want to visit Oregon, Washington state, Hawaii and so many other states we have never been to. It will also give a chance to go back to San Francisco and see the things we didn't have time for last year.

The only downside is that it is on the totally opposite coast as my family and friends. But hopefully we'll make friends faster than we did here.