Being that I am from the Northwest, I, of course, am very much addicted to coffee. My small home town that I grew up in had 4 coffee shops in a town of 10,000. Moving down here, there are a total of one, and it doesn't even have a drive-thru!
A drive-thru might not seem like such a big deal, but remember that I have 2 small children, so to have to walk inside to get a coffee on my way to grocery shop, is a pain in the rear. Although I should be thankful for what this small town has.
When I go to the neighboring larger city of Hobbs to grocery shop about once a month, I will sometimes get a coffee at the local Starbucks. Unfortunately, Starbucks has gone down hill and they just aren't as good as they used to be, not too mention that they are extremely expensive. The really funny thing is that not many people knew what Starbucks was and that little shop has only been there less than a year.
Coffee is an important part of my life, especially with having 2 small kids. So to combat the problem of a lack of decent coffee, I have had to order it in. At the present I think that I am the farthest person that Sorbenots has ever shipped coffee too. Thank goodness for their House Blend! We tend to hoard it when it comes in and use it sparingly.
My coffee addiction is so bad that I finally broke down and bought a Keurig to use along with our drip coffee maker. Sad, I know. But a mommy's gotta do what a mommy's gotta do when it comes to survival! So until this small New Mexico town acquires a Dutch Bros. or some other decent drive-thru coffee shop, I will continue to order my coffee from home and remember how wonderful it was to be able to get a coffee while my butt stayed in my vehicle...such dreams....
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Traveling with Children...
Can I just say that travel is never an easy feat for me. I love to fly about as much as I love going to the dentist. Add in 2 children and I might as well be having my wisdom teeth pulled again. At least I was able to sleep afterwards with some good drugs!
Right before Christmas I was to fly to Nevada to visit with my Dad, Step-Mom, and two brothers. Dad was in a rehab facility after having brain surgery and several set-backs since the surgery. Basically not doing the best and it had been almost a year and a half since I had seen everyone so I was really needing some family time despite the circumstances.
The bad part was I had to fly from Lubbock, Texas to Reno, Nevada with my two children...by myself...What the HELL was I THINKING?!?
I apparently wasn't and so agreed to the flight not thinking about how big a pain this would be. I wasn't worried about my 3 month old. Just stuff a boob in his face and he was a happy camper. When he wasn't eating he would sleep in his carrier on my chest. My 2 year old is a bundle of energy and I worried about keeping him close in the big airport in Vegas that I would be changing planes in and keep him from getting too bored while on the plane.
Two words: Monkey Back-pack! That thing saved my life. Even though it looked like I was walking my kid on a leash through the airport, I didn't care. At least I knew where he was at all times: stuck to my hand like glue. I never let go of that leash until I was strapped into my step-mom's car and heading over to see my Dad.
My other big mistake, besides traveling with kids, was on the flight over I had waaaaaaaay to many carry-ons. What can I say? I was a kid-travelin' virgin. Ended up over packing with those bags and on my return trip had it streamlined all into one bag. Much easier. The next time (God I hope not anytime soon) I travel with my babies I will know how to handle it so much better.
I have to give a shout out to all of the nice people that helped me when I looked like I might fall apart. There are a lot of very nice and kind people still in the world and I was extremely grateful for all of their help even if I didn't have the breath or energy to express my thanks. People, for the most part, are inherently kind and want to help. It made me feel as though there may be hope for humanity after all.
I survived my trip and my husband survived, for the most part, without us for almost 3 weeks. Even though New Mexico isn't where I grew up, it was sure nice to be able to come home to it. The trip did me good and I hope helped to lift spirits in Nevada.
Right before Christmas I was to fly to Nevada to visit with my Dad, Step-Mom, and two brothers. Dad was in a rehab facility after having brain surgery and several set-backs since the surgery. Basically not doing the best and it had been almost a year and a half since I had seen everyone so I was really needing some family time despite the circumstances.
The bad part was I had to fly from Lubbock, Texas to Reno, Nevada with my two children...by myself...What the HELL was I THINKING?!?
I apparently wasn't and so agreed to the flight not thinking about how big a pain this would be. I wasn't worried about my 3 month old. Just stuff a boob in his face and he was a happy camper. When he wasn't eating he would sleep in his carrier on my chest. My 2 year old is a bundle of energy and I worried about keeping him close in the big airport in Vegas that I would be changing planes in and keep him from getting too bored while on the plane.
Two words: Monkey Back-pack! That thing saved my life. Even though it looked like I was walking my kid on a leash through the airport, I didn't care. At least I knew where he was at all times: stuck to my hand like glue. I never let go of that leash until I was strapped into my step-mom's car and heading over to see my Dad.
My other big mistake, besides traveling with kids, was on the flight over I had waaaaaaaay to many carry-ons. What can I say? I was a kid-travelin' virgin. Ended up over packing with those bags and on my return trip had it streamlined all into one bag. Much easier. The next time (God I hope not anytime soon) I travel with my babies I will know how to handle it so much better.
I have to give a shout out to all of the nice people that helped me when I looked like I might fall apart. There are a lot of very nice and kind people still in the world and I was extremely grateful for all of their help even if I didn't have the breath or energy to express my thanks. People, for the most part, are inherently kind and want to help. It made me feel as though there may be hope for humanity after all.
I survived my trip and my husband survived, for the most part, without us for almost 3 weeks. Even though New Mexico isn't where I grew up, it was sure nice to be able to come home to it. The trip did me good and I hope helped to lift spirits in Nevada.
The beginning...
How did I end up down here in the South West United States of all places? Crazy story that, and I blame my husband. Although, it was only partially his fault.
This crazy journey began a little over 2 years ago in Umatilla, Oregon. My husband worked for a company that finished up the work they were contracted for with the Government. He had always wanted to be a power lineman and this would give him the money to go along with the time.
So we moved in with his parents while he went to school for those 5 months. As graduation neared, the race was on to try and find a job that would hire a person straight out of school, along with competing with the 100+ other students for those said positions. While he studied, I was tasked with applying to all of the jobs that sounded interesting.
As the days started to tick by and we began to receive "We regret to inform you..." letters and emails, I had to start branching out locations on the applications. We eventually landed on a company in New Mexico that was hiring groundsman/apprentices. I thought "What the Hell! Let's send it in!" and received a phone call a couple of days later. Since we didn't have any other prospects for jobs anywhere withing 500 miles of Oregon, this seemed to be the best option.
Off we went for lands unknown a week after T graduated. We landed in Roswell, New Mexico 3 days after we left Oregon. It's a long drive, but it feels even longer when you are moving and have a toddler to take care of. Our son probably handled the trip and move better than we did!
Roswell was HOT! Even in September when it had started to cool off in Oregon. The 90 degree weather about killed us. We had arrived on a Friday, had enough time to unload the U-Haul truck, unpack a little and to attempt to find T's new place of work in this unfamiliar territory before Monday.
What people don't bother to mention, when talking about New Mexico or any of the South West states are the "pests". I prefer to call them the enemy and stomp them out as often as I can. Our first morning in our new house in Roswell about caused me a heart attack. Something decided to check on the new occupants:
This crazy journey began a little over 2 years ago in Umatilla, Oregon. My husband worked for a company that finished up the work they were contracted for with the Government. He had always wanted to be a power lineman and this would give him the money to go along with the time.
So we moved in with his parents while he went to school for those 5 months. As graduation neared, the race was on to try and find a job that would hire a person straight out of school, along with competing with the 100+ other students for those said positions. While he studied, I was tasked with applying to all of the jobs that sounded interesting.
As the days started to tick by and we began to receive "We regret to inform you..." letters and emails, I had to start branching out locations on the applications. We eventually landed on a company in New Mexico that was hiring groundsman/apprentices. I thought "What the Hell! Let's send it in!" and received a phone call a couple of days later. Since we didn't have any other prospects for jobs anywhere withing 500 miles of Oregon, this seemed to be the best option.
Off we went for lands unknown a week after T graduated. We landed in Roswell, New Mexico 3 days after we left Oregon. It's a long drive, but it feels even longer when you are moving and have a toddler to take care of. Our son probably handled the trip and move better than we did!
Isn't that a rather boring view? Very flat country!
Roswell was HOT! Even in September when it had started to cool off in Oregon. The 90 degree weather about killed us. We had arrived on a Friday, had enough time to unload the U-Haul truck, unpack a little and to attempt to find T's new place of work in this unfamiliar territory before Monday.
What people don't bother to mention, when talking about New Mexico or any of the South West states are the "pests". I prefer to call them the enemy and stomp them out as often as I can. Our first morning in our new house in Roswell about caused me a heart attack. Something decided to check on the new occupants:
That is T's hand next to the window and I took the picture...not willingly I might add.
That was the first and last time we saw this giant. I lovingly nicknamed him Aragog. After this, I was in constant battle with the cockroaches. Nasty little things. It is true what they say, one can never get rid of them permanently. And dirty tough!
We lived in Roswell for about 6 months before T was given an opportunity to continue his career at an electric cooperative in a neighboring county.
REALLY sick of packing and moving by this point, but I want T to advance his career as much as possible. The rent in Lovington, New Mexico is awful and hard to find anything to rent. Thankfully a co-worker had a house he would rent us until we could close on the house we decided to buy.
Lovington is a cute town, but it feels as though one has stepped back in time. Hardly anything is open on Sunday, and if it is, not for very many hours. The people still address each other in "Ma'am" and "Sir" with a slight Texas drawl. The first month for me there, it was extremely hard to not crack a smile or giggle depending on the amount of Texas in their voice.
We eventually closed on our house after what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was a little less than 4 months. At this point I am nearly 7 months pregnant trying to get our new house washed and ready to move in all while juggling a 2 year old. Not the most fun in the world. My biggest surprise about our new neighborhood are my neighbors. They are the sweetest people ever and have made not having family close a little easier to deal with.
Basically my plan for this blog is to be a bit of a record of my time down here in the Land of Enchantment and to show what interesting differences I have noticed since living here. This first part is just a brief explanation on how we got here to New Mexico and I will continue to expand on different parts of the story. Along with explaining how I am still (somewhat) sane raising 2 boys under the age of 3 without much help except from T when he is not at work. My days are interesting to say the least and I wouldn't have it any other way!
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