Frozen Tundra, we have arrived!

My goodness, what a week it has been. {to say the very least}

After a horrific bout with the vehicular devices back in my beloved Texas, and getting the call from my new home that, "all systems were go!" Faja and I set-off on the looong road ahead of us...to the Frozen Tundra, my small menagerie (BigBoy, Jake, and Tevye & Little Bubba) in tow. {well, after a slight detour to BRAC for some pain killers for Jakers...his toesies hurt after his traumatic resecting of the toe nails way back - no worries, we knocked him out, but he was definitely feeling it the next day, poor puppy}

Our first stop along the way was at a rest stop just across the OK border from Texas...it was kind of depressing looking back the way we came and knowing that I wouldn't be setting foot on that piece of land for a long time. But, my thoughts were pleasantly distracted by a perfectly timed phone call from Kristen! So great. We stopped another time or two in OK, and then once, I believe, in Kansas. {"stupid Kansas..." - that's for Elaine and Brandon...ah, the great trek to CO!}

Kansas, oh Kansas. I kind of wanted to die whilst driving through that state. {sorry, Sally, the roads are just awful...} I believe we ended up having to take two detours that added, overall, a good 2hrs to our trip for day one, thus placing us at our hotel in Kansas City circa 3am...neat. Ok, a note about our hotel: I don't know if this a Kansas thing or if we just got a crumby Best Western, but they had no bath towels. Dad even went down to the front desk to see if they had any and, nope...they call hand towels bath towels...annoying. My hair took up an entire "bath towel" all to its self! Oh well, it was pretty humorous the next morning, but that night, we were both just thinking, "Really?! You've got to be kidding me..."

So, we set off the next morning sometime around 9am. {we decided sleeping in a little was allowed after the fiasco that was Tuesday's drive} From there we passed through Missouri, then Iowa - the state welcome center was basically a modernized ode to the Amish...kind of weird, I'm not gonna lie. It really wasn't all that Amish, other than having Amish in the name...it was more country knick-knack store. Oh, and this huge German Shepherd {which I'm pretty sure was crossed with wolf}, being handled by this little old man using a gentle-leader, decided he wanted to eat Jake... Puppy dog, as much as I love, and I mean that with all of my heart, shepherds and wolves, I do not take kindly to other critters wanting to eat one of mine. No worries, though, I just took Jakers around to the other side of the u-haul and all was well.

From Iowa we headed to Minnesota... Ok, I must admit that I am most definitely in beautiful country. Positively gorgeous state to drive through, and WAY NICE roads.

Here are some views from the trip:

Choctaw Casino...Ooooklahoma!


Gorgeous sunset in Kansas


Can't see it too well, but that says Fort Dodge and Waterloo!!!
I just love the way they name things...silly Iowans.



Ok, it doesn't come through too well in this, but this is of the gorgeous
fields in Iowa...I was blown away.



Welcome to Minnesota! Love the old grain silos...so neat!


ALMOST THERE! Yuh, that is indeed the u-haul in front of me you see.

We fiiiinally arrived at my new home around 5:30pm Wednesday, August 18, 2010.

We were met by Mark, my new maintenance guy! Way nice - has a direct view of my building door from his unit across the lot, so I know I'll {well, me and the rest of my building, that is} be in good hands should anything happen...not likely, but still. Mike, my property manager came and met us a little while later - he also lives on-site, but he's at the back of the building across from me. He's super cool - we get along great. Liking the on-site staff is always a plus. Just this morning I was taking Jake out for a spell and Mike was sitting on the patio outside his office and we exchanged a nice friendly/neighborly "good morning" wave.

I love my apartment complex. Within an hour or so of being here we met one of my neighbors on my floor. Super nice guy, with two gorgeous puppy dogs, actually moved here from FL to start a Christian non-profit! We ran into each other again this evening when I was on my way down to take Jake out and he asked me if I had found a new church here yet and told me I was welcome to attend with him whenever I wanted. I might go with him next Sunday. This week, I think I still want to lay low and just kind of observe on my own...haven't quite decided which church I'm going to try out, but that is next on the agenda per completing this post! This awesome looking old guy from the garden level hollered to me and Faja at one point to just prop open the doors while we were unloading the truck {we had opted to not do that since it's a secured entry door system...}...we came downstairs from dropping that load of boxes/furniture/whatever it was to find the doors nicely propped open for us - we had to laugh and decided to let it be. {goood decision - made the remainder of the moving-in process so much easier} Another guy from the second floor helped us move the last two {also the heaviest} things in the truck: the kitchen table {solid oak} and the TV {heaviest hunk of electronic ever...ok, maybe not ever, but pretty close}.

That is something I must note, the people here are indeedibly fantastic. As much as I may go on to complain about the place {and the, ehem...drivers}, I don't know that I will ever have a bad thing to say about the people as a whole. Absolutely wonderful. Take Mike, for example, he let me move-in before signing the lease since we got in a little later than we had hoped, "There's no need for you guys to get a hotel when you have a perfectly fine apartment that is ready for you to move-in to...we'll just take care of the lease whenever you guys want tomorrow. Just swing by the office when it's convenient for you." Ummm...my jaw kind of dropped to the ground when he said that. Who does that?! What property manager have you ever known who has been willing to allow someone to move-in before signing their lease?! We were more than appreciative, to say the very least.

I think we finally finished unloading somewhere between 9 and 10pm...yeah, it took the two of us forever. And, we really didn't stop but for a minute or two here and there to catch our breath and guzzle some water. Oh yeah...I chose the "hot" and "humid" week to move up. More like warm and slightly moist, haha. Not awful, but not pleasant for labor intense activity...ah well, we got it done. We thought our bodies were going to fall apart afterwards and for the next day or two. {I'm still a little sore in my arms and back...good indication that I am beyond out of shape...something I already knew, but was not so pleasantly reminded of...}

I didn't do too much unpacking that first night - we were simply beat. But the next day daddy-o and I ran a lot of errands and he hooked me up with some of the home things I was lacking.

P.S. - I have the best dad ever...I mean, he drove across the country with me and then continued to help furnish my remaining needs once we reached our destination: including, but not limited to a full supply of groceries that will definitely get me through the next month or so and my very own vacuum...Lindsey and North Bardell ladies, I returned the qirby to its rightful owners, and so it stayed in Arlington, sad, I know.

So Thursday was busy with errands and attempting to begin to get acquainted with the area {another way that Mike is beyond awesome - he's been telling me/us where to go and how to get there all week - so awesome!}, along with starting the process of washing all of the dishes, cookware, etc. and unpacking. I still have a ways to go in the unpacking realm, due to yesterday being busy and me, essentially, taking today off - much needed.

Friday was awesome and super sucky all at the same time. Our day got off to a great start with Faja dropping me off on campus so I could meet up with some of the new grad students and those faculty members who could make it. So great. I mean, really, really great. SW, my new boss/mentor/adviser/major professor was there, too, so we got to chat and visit. One thing I absolutely love about this woman is that she has, since meeting her in Indianapolis last December, greeted me with a hug every time we have seen each other. I love that, since, as I'm sure most of you know, I am a huge hug person...I kind of, in some ways, live for hugs - they're just great! But anyways, lunch was awesome, and it was really nice to see some semi-familiar faces, as I met a good number of the grad students who made it lunch, back in March at our welcome week(end). Miss Felicia, who has definitely taken on the "mother hen" role for all of us new kids helped me get all of my new employee paper work and health plan paper work settled and we also had a nice little chat...she's great. We hit off really well back in March and she spent a few years in the Austin area, so we have that insta-bond that living in Texas and loving it brings. SO great.

After all of that the pops and I ventured off to find a redbox, to return our rental from the night before, and a petsmart with a Banfield so I could get my city licenses for BigBoy and Jake...fml. Worst adventure ever. We wanted to throw Dad's blackberry/gps our the window so many times! She kept telling us we had arrived and we were in like the middle of an intersection with no Petsmart to be found anywhere...so lame. We finally gave-in to hunger and grabbed some Quizno's. We decided we give it one last go and ask the guy behind the counter if he knew where a Petsmart was, since the gps told us we should have been at one... Not only did he inform us that there was down the road about 1.5-2mi away, but he also gave us free drinks!! See? Minnesotans are nice :) Well, we made it to the Petsmart...only to be informed by befuddled receptionists that you could not simply walk into a clinic with your rabies/vax certificates in hand requesting a city license, but that you had to go City Hall to do that. Well, that's juuuust great. We spent over an hour looking for a Petsmart, and it was now well after the 6 o'clock hour, on a Friday, so City Hall was most certainly closed. We were done for the day. Except I got on a bit of an unpacking kick last night and got a bunch of stuff done around the apartment :)

Today was weird...it almost feels like it was two days. I dropped Faja off at the airport around 5am so he could head back home to the DFW...I was jealous, to say the least. Upon my return, umm, home (still weird), I went back to bed and somehow didn't get up until about 10am when BigBoy decided he was hungry and Jake wanted to go outside. Fair enough. Had I not slept-in so late, I probably would have been much more productive today, but I decided that I would take it easy and just do some research on vet clinics, churches, stuff like that.

I did call Mike and ask him about the city license stuff, and he informed me that he had just gotten his city licenses at Petsmart on Wednesday...and that, no, I do not have to go to City Hall to get them...he was very confused. So, he told me to just run by a regular private practice vet clinic and get one there. I found one I like {and it's only ~5min away!} - the doc seems legit and the staff seem to have a heart for their work - and it says right on their website that they do the licenses! I'm totally a vet clinic snob after working in one for over 3 years...oh well, my pets generally thank me for it ;)

I also chatted with Comcast about my interwebs, 'cause I had forgotten to ask them about compatible wireless routers. The guy was way helpful, and so, post Monday, I just have to wait for the box of stuffs I forgot in TX to get here, complete with router so I can have the wireless interwebs!

Today was good, too, because I actually managed some skypage alllll the way to Africa for a spell before the interwebs I'm currently stealing kicked the connection. I also got to chat with some of my lovelies back home in TX.

Peeps, I miss y'all like you would not believe. In some ways it hasn't quite sunk in that I am in a completely different state on the other side of the country, and in some ways it feels like I have already been here for my 3 year stint, and I am so ready to come home to you. I sorely miss College Station. Like, you would not believe. Kreutter, I am simply not wired for big cities - you would definitely love it here. I, in no way, feel confident enough to make it in this town. It feels like I stick out like a sore thumb no matter where I go. Especially at Cub Foods...ok, I am just not a fan of that grocery store. HEB has definitely spoiled me. When Dad and I were walking around Cub I seriously almost started bawling right in the middle of the store. They don't have the soy milk I buy, the store was less than clean, I felt like I was shopping in a shady Wal-Mart, the layout was ridiculous, they didn't even have the salad dressing I like...it's a Kraft product, for crying out loud! But...to their credit, they do have Dr. Pepper. I am definitely going to try Rainbow Foods next, though...I'll probably go tomorrow, after church, as I forgot to pick up some staples while we were at Cub.

On the bright side, Jake is absolutely loving it here. I think he knows that he is kind of in charge of the safe-keeping of everything, as he is always running a little patrol - checking the balcony door, the front door, the hallway leading to the bedroom...and then finishing it up by coming back over to where ever I am and plopping down at my feet. Have I mentioned how much I love this dog yet?? He got to meet my neighbor who started the Christian non-profit today, when we met in the hall earlier, and Jake seemed to like him - my neighbor cracked me up, "aww, he's so cute...you're a good little cow dog, aren't you, Jake??" Love it! And Jake seemed quite proud of himself, haha. Oh, he had a bit of fun today - my living room now looks as though a snow storm blew through...check this out:

He absolutely devoured his stuffed toy today - so funny to watch


Nom, nom, noms...


Look what I can do, Mom!


Oh...I'm gonna get it!! I'm gonna get it!!!!


Bam! Told ya!


How'd I do, Mom?! Did you see me??

Yeah, we had a good time with that.

He is quite the tuckered pup at the moment...too cute.

Well, tonight I actually, really cooked my first meal here. {the frozen pizza on Thursday doesn't count...} Mmmm, jambalya! So good. A little taste of home :) I also made myself a pretty little salad. Tasty!

Sorry about the cucumbers and mushrooms, B, but some people
actually like things that taste good ;)

Ok, so maybe it wasn't the most complete of meals, but I had proteins and veggies {and fruits, thanks to the tomatoes!!}...that's something, right?

Finished it off with a little bowl of this stuff:

With a name like that, I had to try it out...it's pretty tasty, yo.

Well, kids, I'm calling this post, as it has definitely hit novel length. Happy Sunday to all of you - and thank you all so, so much for the prayers, phone calls, text messages, and comments here and on facebook. What ever would I do without you?!

With love from me, the FT, BigBoy, the hissers, and of course...the happy pup, Jake

Shalom!
~MW

P.S. - I'm hoping that my next post will include "the things I love about my apartment" :)
P.P.S. - My darling Ricci, we have lots of work to do when you get here in October for our best friends-frozen tundra-palooza-extravaganza of 2010 =] Just wait 'til you see what we have to work with...the possibilities are endless!!