Hello!
I have not blogged in a long, long time.
So much has happened since my last post! I haven't cared to blog about it until now,
but you'll get a pretty good synopsis by viewing the last few months' facebook statuses.
Most importantly, I moved to Chico!
I love it here.
Natalie and I have been here for over a month and a half, and are pretty well settled in.
Classes started two weeks into our stay here, and have been keeping me busier than I had expected. I left home on the night of Friday, August 6, and headed to the Palmer's house in Apple Valley for the big send off the next morning. After much dispute, the traveling party consisted of Grandpa, Grandma, all the Palmers, and me. None of my family; it would have been great fun to have them along, but could not be worked out. It took 8 people, 3 cars and a whole trailer and pickup's worth of belongings to arrive at our final destination, 10 hours later: 1310 Greenwich Dr. The cute little "college cottage" as it had been dubbed, was complete: all four roommates were there!
My new home is settled in a nice track neighborhood right outside of the heart of town. It's relatively quiet, but from Thursday night to Sunday night there's some hard-core partying that goes one. Nicely enough, our cute little house full of girls is situated on a street full of boy houses. Yes, boys. Not men. These boys really like their alcohol. Before school started (and even harder the first few weeks of school) there was a party every night. Every night, from 5-sometime past midnight. Beer pong, loud music and all sorts of foul. (I sound like a 90 year old when I say that, but it has substance and a well-founded accuracy, I assure you!) More on them, later.
The girls are:
Natalie, 20 1/2-cousin and actual room-mate
Megan, 19 1/2
Anna, 19 1/4
We are all very different and live our lives differently, but have been working out our differences and idiosyncrasies as best we can.
It is fun living in a house of my own.
I have really enjoyed being able to cook for myself, set up a nice kitchen, decorate, and have my own "area" at least, of the room. Natalie and I share the master bedroom, and it has been a great thing. We don't mind being around each other almost constantly, and our belongings fit well together. She has all dark wood furniture, like cherry and I have happened upon all lighter woods, like oak and pine. It's a nice set-up. She's got one side of the room and I the other. The bathroom is a nice size and there's a little walk in and rolling door closet. We split both. It's a very comfortable fit for the both of us, I think.
There's a little lawn in the back and a nice sized one in front, which Megan and I take turns mowing. I'm going to plant some Shasta Daisies and Sweet Peas in front and back, and there's already a pretty Sterling Silver rosebush on our front walk. The vine by the front door goes a little crazy and tries to take over the siding (and all who pass by), so I'm going to try and tackle that, as well as the four huge cactus in the back.
Here's a run-through of my weekly schedule:
Mondays and Fridays:
6:10-wake up, get ready for the day.
7-prep 3 egg whites, 1/2 cup oatmeal and 1/2 cup frozen blueberries for both of us.
8-English class
9:30-I do homework in the library or outside until...
10:30-Natalie picks me up from Butte Chico campus, after she finishes her math class at Butte main campus.
11-eat 10 almonds and a small fruit. We're always famished after class.
12:30-Lunch. 1/2 cup beans or brown rice or quinoa. 4 ounces lean protein: chicken, or salmon. Unlimited vegetables.
2-snack. 1/2 cup cottage cheese or 2 low fat string cheese.
3-5 or 6-EDC.
Extended Day Care at CCS. Chico Christian School. I love it! The kids are precious, and so are my coworkers. I'm learning a lot and being loved on even more.
-Natalie picks me up from EDC. Depending on the time, she's made dinner for us and brought me my portion in a tupperware container: 4 ounces lean protein, an unlimited amount of usually cooked vegetables.
6:30-WORKOUT! Our road to fabulous, that's definitely not easy, but pretty darn simple. (also on Fridays)
7:45-home from workout. Eat a little protein and veggies.
8-?-Who knows what.
Tuesdays and Thursdays:
Breakfast.
I often have breakfast made for Nan when she comes back from her Math class at about 10:30.
Lunch.
2-3-Happy Hands.
I teach Sign Language to 18, 2nd and 3rd graders at CCS. 14 2nds and 4 3rds. My precious little cousin Kendra Johnson is in the class, too. I love it! Lesson planning is hard and completely undesirable, but the kids' eagerness and ability to pick up a language so quickly keeps me going. Oh, and the excellent pay. My students are so cute and getting so good, after only 2 weeks! A few EDC kids are in it, as well. It's special seeing them through two different eyes and in turn, they, me.
3-5 or 6: EDC. (This is Fridays, too)
Dinner.
7-9:30-Math class. Disgusting. 2 1/2 hours of Math I hardly understand. I have to eat something or drink something during it in order to stay awake. I think, though, that that goes for all of us in it.
It's a Butte class, but is on the Chico State campus. Love that. Chico's only like, 3 minutes away from the house, so I could bike when the nights are lighter. When they're dark, no way in the world I'm going to walk more than a few blocks to meet Natalie at our usual spot behind the Mansion.
10-?-who knows what.
Sundays, Natalie and I have chosen Chico EV Free to be our home church. We love it! The teaching is excellent, and the worship is so rich. they've made us feel so at home--I'm pretty sure they all have the gift of hospitality. We've already met with the junior high pastor for Natalie to work with the youth, and I'm in touch with the children's ministry director.
You might have noticed (or even started to count) a few 'we's". Yep--Natalie and I sure do a lot together. She's the one with the car, so that adds a lot of time together right there, but we're both on the same regimented nutrition plan and workout schedule, almost identical class schedule, same church, same friends and family...it really is lovely. We haven't tired of each other! And we even still love each other. How's that for fabulous?!
I have an entire list to "blog" about, but I'll leave that for another time.
For now, I hope you have a good week.
Pictures of the new place will be posted soon.
It's two weeks until I'm a sister-in-law!!!!!!
