One month later...

We have been here a month. Well, I and the dogs have been here a whole month. J and the cat are working on 11 days. But with more and more of our stuff unpacked, we are finally able to explore this new town around us. And what better timing, with Fourth of July just around the corner? I'll have a three day weekend. YIPEE! We might check out the FreedomFest2008 (hopefully it will have a unity vibe and not a redneck one!)

Speaking of happenings around town, here's an interesting article in our local lifestyle magazine, Tulsa People: What Tulsa Make$

Look Inside >> July 2008

Suprisingly enough, salaries here are competitive on the National Average, yet the cost of living is so much lower. We have the lowest gas prices in the country right now, $3.76 (which is still insanely high, IMHO). Food for thought.

And speaking of food, we're thinking of joining a food co-op that supports local farmers. And we want to check out the local farmer's markets.

This week we are also going to check out the free band concerts in the park that allow dogs to attend: Starlight Concerts. We'll see what that's all about.

J signed up today at Gold's Gym and will start his spinning classes again, which he make him so happy. They had a killer deal and he loves going to the gym (I don't, which is why I have a treadmill and exercise ball here at home). Our goal is to start eating better and living a healthier lifestyle. We've done okay in the past and now we want to step it up. So shopping locally grown, organic food, exercising daily and getting out in our community are high on the agenda. We can do it!

Food in the house is a great sign...

What is it about a fully stocked fridge and pantry that make a house feel more like home?

It has been weeks and aside from the random take-out container or box of cereal, the kitchen has been pretty empty. But now, since we have found our dishes and pots and pans, we can finally starting cooking and eating at home. Thank goodness! The "where are we going to eat tonight?" was starting to get old. And you can only eat out so many times before you feel like all you want is a nice, homecooked meal.

We hope to get a grill soon, so we can enjoy cooking outside...it's too hot to heat up the kitchen stove. And Joseph is a grillmeister...so we have got to get one soon. First we have to decide...gas or charcoal? Oh, the decisions. We did get a lawnmower, so now our lawn is a nicely groomed as the neighbors on either side. Who knew we were so domestic? Joseph mows the lawn and I vacuum the inside. And do the laundry. All of this is "fun" right now with our new "toys". Hopefully the novelty won't wear off anytime soon.

Happy Weekend!

Ah, Sunday! Today is a glorious one. The weather is a nice 78 degrees and breezy so we have turned off the A/C and opened all of the windows and let the fresh air in! The furbabies are enjoying the backyard and we are slowly making our way through the boxes. We did find the wireless router, so I am happily blogging wirelessly now! YAY!

Yesterday we made the 2.5 hour drive southeast to visit J's mom and pop. It was a stormy day and we got quite a show of ominous clouds and lightening along our way. We sat and talked for hours, gave their inside dog a bath and fixed a yummy dinner of grilled steaks, red potatoes, green beans and salad. This is the first time we've both seen his folks since we were back here in Decemeber when his mom has ailing in the hospital. So it was nice to just have the time to sit and talk and visit. Hopefully we'll be getting together with them and J's Aunt next weekend for the Fourth of July. I have the day off from work, which makes it a nice three day weekend! I am curious to know how the 4th is celebrated here...already we see firework stands in the areas outside of Tulsa. I believe they are illegal here in the city, but beyond the city limits, I think they are legal. Hopefully no one in our neighborhood plans to fudge the rules.

We have furniture...

I haven't blogged for a while because we have been SO busy unpacking. Our furniture arrived on Wednesday and we have been unpacking ever since. It's so nice to finally have a place to sit besides our guest bed! J has been unpacking a little more each day while I am at work. Then I come home and organize it all. Our kitchen almost has a semblance of normalcy. Why is it that it never quite feels ready until the contact paper is lining the drawers? I swear! I must be a contact paper specialist by now! We still need to locate our untensils, but I have about 5 boxes labelled kitchen that are yet unpacked, so I am pretty sure they must be in one of them.

Pretty soon we'll be sleeping in our bedroom rather than the guest room that I have been living in for the past month! And the furbabies are happy to have other areas to lounge and rough-house. Oddly enough, today was the first day we had rain or thunder since J's arrival. I guess I got all of the rough stuff and now the season is passing us by...go figure! I am thankful though.

Friday is here and we're going to continuing opening boxes and putting things away and making our house a home. And we're finally going to head southeast for a visit with J's folks.

Catching up...

I haven't posted in a few days...since J arrived I have been super busy! He and Bella came in right on time on Thursday night. We were thrilled that there were no delays or travel snafus...especially given the weather in Texas, where he connected. He managed to miss it, which was awesome! As soon as we got home I had to get ready for bed, since Friday I had our big board meeting. I was there all day!

The meeting went really well and I finally met all of the "movers and shakers" of our organization. They were all super funny, intelligent and outgoing. And most of all they seemed to like me too, which is great! I was nervous coming into it, but at the end of the day, I was sure that they liked me and I liked them.

I got home and changed clothes and we went to dinner at IHOP. We got home and walked the dogs and met some of our neighbors. There are a lot of young families in this neighborhood. We got home and I was exhausted and fell into bed around 9 pm. J stayed up a while, I think he's still on California time.

Saturday, I had to be at work by 9 am for more meetings. J slept in and I came home around 1 pm. We headed to the Brookside neighborhood for lunch at Oliver's Twist, a little bistro. We had the black and blue fries, which are to die for! They are french fries smothered with blackened chicken and blue cheese. YUMMY! After that we headed to Sears. We were looking for a treadmill. We found a great deal on one with a built in TV...marked down significantly since it was the last one in stock! It will be delivered on Wednesday! YAY! No excuses not to use it, with all of its convenient features and it being right in our house!

Then we headed to the Home Decorator's store to buy a rug for the living room. After looking at each and EVERY rug they had in store (over 100) we settled on this one:

It's a little dark in this photo, but it has beige, red, gold, navy, tan, sage and teal green in it. Perfect for our decor. And the price was right since it was also the last one in stock, in this size. So we scored!

After a day full of shopping we had a little nosh at TGIFridays and headed home. I was pretty tired and again fell asleep around 9 pm. J stayed up surfing the net and watching SNL, which comes on at 10:30 pm here.

Today, we'll take it easy, do some laundry and vacuum and get ready for the work week all over again.

The day has finally arrived...

Three weeks to the day we loaded up the CRV and headed east to Tulsa. Now, finally we'll be all together in our new home. Baring any weather delays, J and Bella arrive tonight around 10:30 pm. Unfortunately, I will have to head straight to bed after picking him up from the airport because I need to get up early for work. I have all day meetings tomorrow and Saturday, so hopefully Sunday we'll get some quality time together. I know he must be exhuasted, so I hope he just gets to rest and relax for a few days.

Hump day!

This morning started with an emergency warning alarm on the radio for flash floods, high winds and severe thunder showers. The sky turned charcoal gray even though the sun had already risen. The dogs were going nuts and I was just trying to get ready for my day. Unsure of the road conditions, I left for work later than normal since the weather warning was supposed to be lifted by 7:30 am. Finally, at 7:45 am I headed to work and made it there in about 20 minutes. The rain was coming down so hard! I parked the car and got drenched in the 20 feet I had to walk from the car to the front door at work!

Work was busy as we are getting ready for one of the triannual international board meetings that is happening this Friday and Saturday. J called in a near panic. He had been contacted by the auto transport that our Accord was arriving TODAY! We were expecting it next Tuesday! So, after a few phone calls and a trip to the bank, I made plans to delay my lunch break so that I could meet the truck driver and receive the car. By then, the storms had passed and the sky was bright blue and polka-dotted with white, puffy clouds. It was about 85 and nice. Not too humid and not too hot. I left the Accord in the parking lot at the mall across the street (that was only space large enough for the 18-wheeler to park to deliver the car) and I will walk over there and drive it back here later tonight.

Tomorrow's weather is supposed to me more of the same...UGH! I just hope it doesn't delay J's flights. He's travelling with Bella in a carry-on, soft-sided carrier and she will probably be a little freaked out. He has been taking her in the bag in the car to prepare her somewhat for the trip. And the vet said that we can give her half of a baby Benadryl to mellow her out for the flights. So we shall see how that all goes. They are slated to arrive in Tulsa around 10:30 pm. I am SO excited! He finished packing up the relo-cubes (like PODS) today with the help of my brother. And the cleaning crew came to do a final once-over before we turn the keys back over to the landlords. We hope to get all of our security deposit back...but we shall see. We're pretty sure they are hurting for cash right now. So I won't be surprised if they find some reason to retain some of it. I cannot wait until we are no longer renters! Hopefully, that will be about this time next year! Until then, I just cannot wait to have Joseph and Bella here and then our furniture and belongings so we can finally settle in here in our new home in Tulsa.