Oh! My! Gosh!

IT'S SNOWING! Well, of course, it's snowing.........WE LIVE IN PENNSYLVANIA!!!

So, John and I slept on an air mattress in the living last night - something that we do periodically throughout the year just for fun.  During this time of year, we do it so that we can sleep in the magic glow of the lights on the Christmas tree.  Multi-colored Christmas lights are my favorite - and they're even better in my fuzzy vision without my glasses!

Waking up this morning, we opened the living room curtains and watched the snow begin to fall.  It was - and still is - glorious!!! It's so continuously, moment by moment amazing that we live here now where it snows as a normal part of the everyday of every day!! And - holy shit - when the wind picks up and blows the snow off the roof right in front of the living room window - it's stunning!!!!  I CANNOT get enough of this!  Nor will any of you 'brave' enough to read anything I write for the next few months..........:)

Anyways, as I lay there on the air mattress - and it's a good one, it held the air really well, and wasn't squishy at all - watching the snow, I had some thoughts..........

First, I imagined the first snowflake to land on one of the tree branches.  Here was that first little guy out of the clouds eager to jump on a branch as opposed to landing on the ground and immediately melting (as he'd heard so many stories about).  And he sits there alone for awhile looking as other snowflakes come and pass him by.......no one landing on the same branch with him.  "Hey," he calls out.  "Wanna sit here......?" And he begins to wonder if anyone will ever join him on the branch, when all of a sudden a fellow snowflake lands a few inches away.  "Hey! Nice to see you!! Glad you could join me!"  And then another, and another and another - until the branch starts to fill up.  And the first snowflake is so happy that others have joined him and he doesn't feel alone or insignificant anymore.  This goes on for a few minutes, the branch getting more and more crowded with snowflakes.  All of a sudden the snowflake realizes that it's getting really crowded and no one is really paying any attention to him.  "Hey...........what are you talking about? What are you guys doing over there?"  And then the branch gets so full that the snowflake feels alone and insignificant again.............

Later, while John and I were watching the newer "Miracle on 34th Street" - the one with the adorable Mara Wilson - the snow was coming down faster in a swirling pattern.  And it occurred to me that another snowflake story could be happening.....

Again, a first snowflake lands on a tree branch and invites other snowflakes to join him.  They do right away - and it's a party! They're having a great time - inviting lots of other snowflakes, who gladly land on the branch crowding in to the fun!  Pretty soon, it's really crowded and the first snowflake is starting to feel squished.  "Hey, guys, maybe some of you should blow over to the other branch.  It's getting kinda crowded here."  His face was getting smooshed so that he couldn't talk very well, "Thish ish a great pardy everyone but its gedding hard to breave and tak......"  And the last thing we see is his little snowflake point getting buried in the rush of party goers crowding on top of the same branch..........

But what a way to go!!

A Magical Promise

While 'it' doesn't happen every day anymore - 'it' does happen at least 6 times a week - that awareness of "Oh, I actually, really live here!! I'm not just visiting someone who lives here or on vacation or traveling through this part of the country on my way to somewhere else. I really, truly live here now!!!"

This morning was one of those 'it' days - acute awarenesses - the first snowfall of the winter season! I'm having all kinds of wonderful, sentimental, cozy, familiar, totally welcome dejavus!! The first peek out the window, the rush of throwing open the curtains to get the whole picture, throwing myself back on the bed in amazement that it finally happened, getting up and putting on some extras so that I can step outside in my flipflops and take some quick pics of the awesomeness! And as I stepped out this morning to takes some pics, I was struck with the 'wonder of the quiet' that always accompanies snowfall.  Why is that?  Is it simply because the snow covers the ground? But why does that make all the other sounds around seem muffled or far away? I'm also struck by the crispness of the air. It could be the same temperature it was the day before when it didn't snow - and yet, with the snow the air turns marvelously clean and fresh!

(cue harp sounds into memories:)
I'm at my mother-in-laws house, waking up during the holidays, drinking that first cup of coffee watching people rush up and down the street on their way, and amazed at the beauty. And then Grandma's house at the farm! Coming down the very steep stairs from the cold upstairs bedrooms and feeling the rush of the warm air from the kitchen as the door opened.  All rooms led to the big kitchen - with it's almost full wall window that gave you a great view of the farm buildings covered in fluffy whiteness.  Or at Grandpa's house looking out the front windows at the HUGE tree in his yard looking like Atlas holding up all the snow that's piled on it's branches.  And then dressing quickly to rush outside and go see the frozen pond just down the hill from his house! 

Now, I, of course, know why this happens..........It's magic - simple and true - magic!! The magical promise of a season filled with new wonders. (Sounds like a card or a tv commercial or the beginning of some great story, eh? Anyone throw up a little in their mouths?? :P)  However, the 'wonders' don't come from something brand new that never existed before -- it's what happens to those everyday things that I've looked at a hundred times miraculously changing when draped in frosty, frozen precipitation.  It's the antidote for those doldrums that come from grey skies!

And now, a jolly Christmas romp to get the season started!! And hopefully to ward off any
'Scroogeness' that might try to take hold!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ChayT4uNLM

Oh the first snowfall of the winter,
Was a day that we all waited for
When it drifted to and fro,
Why you should have seen the snoooow,
It was near 7 feet or more by the old barn door!!

Oh the first snowfall of the winter
What a joy for a boy to behold
In each house you'll find a sleigh
That was waiting for this day
And, of course, down the road a hill for each Jack and Jill!!

Every winter breeze that scurries
Sets the snowflakes up in flurries
It's the good ole sentimental season when
Folks put runners on their surreys
And forget about their worries
When a man becomes a boy once again.

Oh the first snowfall of the winter
Jingle bells bring us spells ever dear.
Under wintry skies of grey
It was snowing all the day,
And it showed no signs of stopping
Every kid with eyes of popping
Will be soon deep belly-whopping on his ear.

On the first snowfall of the winter!
Oh that first snowfall of the year!!!
The first snow of the year
Is just about the best snow!
Well, I'll say any snow
Is a pretty good snow!
(Lead into 'Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!')

Dukat and the DOT

So, it occurred to me that the character of Dukat in the Star Trek series, Deep Space Nine, could have changed the whole course of his life if he'd just had a friend that loved him unconditionally.......now, just hear me out.

If you watch the whole series, there are several times during the course of the series that Dukat displays kind, generous characteristics: for example in episode #77 "Indiscretion" we learn that Dukat had a B'joran lover during the occupation and that he fathered a child - a daughter.  In the beginning of the episode when he thinks that she has died along with her mother, he weeps and we feel compassion for him.  Then later, when Kiera is able to talk him out of killing the same daughter to save his reputation and he decides to take her home with him to Cardassia despite any consequences to his reputation, we again feel real compassion for him. 

There are several episodes in which we see him reconsider an initial choice or rash decision, we see him attempt to mend old relationships and, in fact, make new ones, we see him display compassion.......and I think it begs discussion to point out that, like many people who are given a second chance, all Dukat needed was someone who was willing to look beyond his faults and love him no matter what.  A friend willing to give him a safe place in which to fail and still have love.....

And we see later in the series that, possibly because he didn't have that very thing, he actually becomes so much worse than he might have been.

Screeeeeeeech -- and total shifting of thought:

After driving to New Jersey last Friday and experiencing a couple miles of construction traffic, I have had an epiphany: the DOT's of America exist to piss off the PEOPLE of America!!!  Why do they have to start narrowing the lanes of traffic a mile or two before the construction?  If the drivers are doing the narrowing correctly, they won't get over until the lane they're in actually ends - which is the way it should be!! That way the traffic keeps moving until the last possible minute.  So, why can't they just wait to shift everyone until they're only a couple hundred yards from the construction?? It's not like it's going to slow the traffic down any worse - and it might, in fact, take less time to get through the narrowing.........sooooo, since the DOT's can't come to this very logical conclusion, I have had to surmise that they do occasionally get some construction done - but for the most part exist to piss people off!!!

Everybody Must Have Googled It!

I finally found a psychiatrist/counselor up here - but I had to go to New Jersey to find her.  It's a beautiful drive to Chester, New Jersey. And I was looking forward to my second trip there not only for the scenery but for the chance to listen to an hour and a half of the 155 songs that I've downloaded on my iphone! (I actually didn't realize I had that much music until my Minnesota trip in July.  After 5 hours of driving and still listening to music on my phone, I looked at how many I had......115 at that time.  Wow! If every song was only 3 minutes long - and most were longer - that would be 345 minutes of music or 5.75 hours!! And I've added to my collection since.)

Anyway, I was happily singing along and doing a bit of mild car dancing when I saw traffic on the other side of the road and thought to myself, "Wow, I'm glad I'm not on THAT side of the freeway."   I spoke WAY too soon.  All of a sudden, I noticed that there were a lot more cars on my side, and we were all slowing down. Damn! Whatever had happened was probably on my side too!

At first, I just thought it was slow due to some kind of construction. I mean, there's always construction somewhere on some road all across the US at any point in time.  But then I realized that not only were I and the other drivers slowing down, we were, in fact, completely stopped! (I was in the left lane of the two lane highway.) I sat for a few minutes and realized that this was a serious traffic jam and that I probably wouldn't be getting to my appointment on time - if at all!  I called the doctor (actually she's a nurse practitioner psychiatrist - with a great website and even better 'bedside manner'!) to tell her that I wouldn't be making it and how did she handle canceled appointments.  Still sitting completely stopped, I decided to put my car in neutral and open the windows. There was a beautiful breeze that I hadn't been able to appreciate at highway speed because I didn't want to create drag with the windows down that would cut fuel efficiency! :*)  (Thanks, Peter!!)
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/hybrid-technology/driving-with-windows-down1.htm

In between hearing back from her, I called John to see if he could investigate what was going on.....he did and it was not good.  A multiple car accident with, at that point, at least an hour delay.  Wow! What kind of mess and how many people were hurt??  The 'doctor' (I'm going to call her that because it's shorter to type 'doctor' than 'nurse practitioner psychiatrist' every time!!) - called me back to tell me not to worry. She gives all of her patients one 'free pass' - one canceled appointment with no monetary setback. Sweet!! She also encouraged me to relax, be thankful that I wasn't involved in the accident, put on some great music (already there!) and to sing outloud with the music!! Permission to be 'one of those people' singing outloud in their car even when passing others from a medical professional!!

In the meantime, several people had gotten out of their cars to try and look ahead to see what was going on. Some had even started walking down the shoulder.  Several cars also pulled out on the right shoulder to take the exit going in the opposite direction of the jam.  I contemplated this for several minutes and then called my handy-dandy live 'road atlas' (John - who is always calm, connected to the google maps of wherever I'm going and helpful when I get into a traffic mess that Soki cannot help me out of!!) to see if I could take this exit as an alternative way to get back home. And, yes indeed, I could!

I carefully made my way across the right lane and onto the exit ramp.....AND HERE'S THE POINT OF THIS WHOLE STORY........(What? You say? All this other information has just been buildup?? YEP! :*P)  As I exited the freeway, I saw more people who had gotten out of their cars - and then the most incredible thing of all -- not only had a couple gotten out of their car with their baby - but they had gotten out the stroller, set it up, put the baby in it and were headed down the right shoulder to join the crowds!! It was like everyone had parked their cars for an event!

Apparently, EVERYONE had Google searched and knew that the traffic would be stopped for a while! I mean, why else would they all be getting out of their cars - and I mean there were LOTS of people out of their cars - if they didn't know that they would be there for a while?? Seriously, a stroller!!

I was almost jealous that I had decided to defect and take the 'easy' way out............

Focus on the Few

So, I was going to do this review as a comment on my fb wall, and then I thot I should just do a note because a note gives you more space to write your thots, and then I realized that I've been trying to get back to blogging since I moved and this 'article' would be the perfect theme to blog instead of just note. :)  Don't you just love that I give you the whole background story - don't you feel so much more involved in my life?? I know, right?!!

This was just going to be a review of the restaurant that we visited tonight but I realized I have more thots about this topic than just this eatery's specific notes.  So, John and I have come to realize - since we've eaten out more in the last month than in the past year - that the more a restaurant tries to do the less effective they are at it.  In other words, the more items they offer on their menu, the worse the food is.

Of course, that's really a true axiom for most of life. The more a person tries to do, the less they do well.  You know there are life principles all around us if we're just open to seeing truth in 'out of the way' places.

The Royal Buffet restaurant was okay. John tried their sushi - he said it was good but he's had better.  In fact, there's a little 'hole in the wall' sushi place between here and Wilkes-Barre (where the company apartment John lived in is located) that is amazing.  And, why?  Because that's all she does there - sushi!  Anyway, this restaurant had 7 buffet stations - wow! I hadn't realized it was so many until I just thot through them! - so 7 buffet stations: salad (which was actually the best part), dessert, soup, sushi, 2 different sections of hot foods (not sure how they were divided) and a stir fry part.

One thing in particular that I noticed about the hot foods was that their meat choices were obviously not of the top quality.  When you're offering over 100 items on a buffet, it's not cost effective to use the best cuts of meat.  In most of the chicken dishes, the chicken was small and tough - cooked too long and sitting too long.  In fact, as we were eating I realized that the food at Panda Express (a very good Asian fast food restaurant) is so much better -- and why?  Because they're menu is limited so that they can focus on what they do best.

Sad thot: I just looked up the closest Panda Express and it's 2 1/2 hours away near Harrisburg. Guess I'll have to wait until I visit my aunt in Minneapolis or my friends in Houston!

Anyway, back to the review of The Royal Buffet. I tried a few dishes (coconut chicken, general tso's chicken and chicken and broccoli) and discovered that while they were okay - but all of them were bland by comparison with most other Asian-related cuisine I visited.  The coconut chicken and the chicken and broccoli were slightly slimy and the general tso's chicken was very sweet with none of the expected heat for which the dish is known.  I also sampled their wonton soup - and the broth was very good, however, the dough of the wonton was very thick and dough - a quality that I enjoy in most dough things but which does not serve wonton soup well at all.

Restaurant Impossible is one of our favorite shows. 1) Because Robert Irvine is so ballsy in his comments to the restaurant owners - I know, he gets paid to do that but still.....and 2) There's so much hope in what is accomplished by the end of the show.  And yes, I know that it's not all magic and fulfilled dreams - some of the restaurants have not succeeded after the 'intervention'.  However, one thing we've learned - and yes, this paragraph is related to the rest of this article:) - most of the time the restaurant redos include a simplification of the menu.  He tells them to choose a few things to do well instead of trying to offer every kind of recipe out there.

And I would have to agree - if I could tell most of the restaurants I've visited one piece of information to improve their place - choose a few things to do well, do those and keep your environment simple, clean and bright.

Catch Up!

I'm wanting so much to get back into my almost daily blogging - but I'm struggling to compose freely without having to edit myself.  You would think I'd taken care of all of that over the last couple years - but last year's frequent hospital stays sent me back to a bit of self-editing........gonna "lean into that" - push through for those who don't know the psychological lingo! :*)

so, I'll just stop the intro shit and get into it!!  I'm really going to be 'rambling' - lots of thots about lots of things........some of these thots may not translate well to actual words. 

 I was coming back from Dallas a few weeks ago and traveling on I45 south when one of those "how cool is it to imagine the whole of the human race as separate individuals and feel the connection to them because we're doing something similar" moments.  I was driving on I45 south in the city of Dallas and at that same moment there were people on I45 south in Houston!!  At the same time!!  I'm not alone - there are others out there making the same 'journey' I am.

It is INSANE how fast everything about moving to Pennsylvania has happened!  To quote myself in a note I posted on fb last week: "Everything is happening so fast that it feels like when I'm snow skiing and I start really picking up speed and I'm so terrified of crashing into a tree that I no longer can think coherently and so the thought of just falling over to stop my momentum doesn't even come close to occurring to me.................."  For those who don't know, this whole process started on January 24th -- January 24th!!! By the time the moving company comes to pack up my house, it will have been (just short of) 4 months!!

It's really irritating........to get 2 samples of a beauty product that says in it's instructions: "....clinically proven to visibly restore youthful volume and fullness over time by helping to build your skin's own natural collagen! After just 8 weeks of twice daily use ----- URRRRKKKK!!! ----- You're kidding, right???  I have to use it for "just 8 weeks" to see any results, and you only gave me 2?!?!!!!  Why bother!

That's like my recent experience with Barnes and Noble.  We (my husband and I) recently bought a nook hd+ ereader for me, my daughter and my daughter-in-law - I bought mine one day before they did.  The special running at that time stated that we would receive a $50 digital content credit for buying the nook hd+.  As I read the small print on the email telling me that I had gotten my $50 credit, I got more and more concerned.  The small print informed me that there would only be ONE credit per BN account..........wtf??? Was this really true??  Immediately, I called 1-800-the-book, BN 24/7 customer service.  Really?? Was BN really that cheap??  I was assured that we would all 3 receive a $50 credit! Sweet!!! Thanks so much, customer service!!

A couple days later when neither my daughter nor my daughter-in-law had received emails, I called customer service again.  And after being on hold for about 20 minutes and hearing that the customer service rep "understood that I was saying that I was upset about them not receiving their emails" and then being transferred to a manager who the customer service rep was "sure would be able to help me" and that same manager regrettably not being able to do anything about BN cheap ass policy, I ended up being promised a physical $25 gift card for my distress.............REALLY?????  I told the customer service manager that I knew it wasn't her fault - that she didn't make the policy -  but that I would really appreciate her passing on to her superiors that I thought they were cheap!!!! I mean, I just spent $1,000 dollars and they're too cheap to give us $150 in digital content.  I sent an email to the online customer service as well.

Not sure why some companies get the whole "go above and beyond the call in customer service" and others are so cheap!!  And it's usually the generous ones that are more successful!

And one final "ramble": I love the movie "The Proposal" - Sandra Bullock and adorable Ryan Reynolds.  Also, Betty White, Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson and the fabulous Oscar Nunez (Ramone "God Bless America! Mama Cass!!")!!!  It has the most excellent credits scene I've ever seen in a movie!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuOQwpxgbvw

This movie is a great example of truth being evident anywhere you look.  One of the predominant themes is unconditional love......Because Andrew loves her, his family decides to accept Margaret (despite the fact that she's a bitch in the beginning) unconditionally into their family.  And it's that unconditional love that eventually softens her heart and changes her.  She is overwhelmed at the love she so freely gets from people who don't even know her!!

Alright, enough for now! I have to watch the opening episode of "Beauty and the Beast" - it's on Netflix!!!!

Bioluminescent pools above the clouds......

It was night when I flew into Wilkes-Barre, PA last Tuesday.  As we were beginning our descent and came down through the clouds, the stars magically 'popped' into view and twinkled (actually and not 'clicheishly') like diamonds!! So many beautiful, crystal clear diamonds - the most flawless, perfectly cut!  And what made them even more stunning was that the night sky was so dark - like driving on a road outside 'civilization' .........somewhere in Montana or the Ozarks or New Mexico or (as I now know) in the mountains of northeast Pennsylvania.

I realized at some point as we were descending that despite the absolute blackness that surrounded and 'supported' the plane, I was not frightened.  Wow! I really wasn't afraid or freaked out or nervous at all.  Why would my thots go there, you ask?? (I'll answer that - even if you weren't really wondering!) I have always, always been frightened by dark water - really any water that I couldn't see through.  I've had nightmares about sinking into dark water, about something getting me in dark water, about being swallowed up in dark water. I don't know where the fear originated - whether from something I actually experienced or maybe something in connection to a scary movie that I watched or a frightening story that I heard and then magnified in my over-the-top, worse-case-scenario-always, what-happens-in-the-movies-could-happen-in-real-life imagination......so here I was 'surrounded' by darkness - darkness that looked like dark water - and I wasn't frightened.

In fact, I was using my hands and my nook to try and block out the lights from inside the airplane cabin so that I could really see the darkness, the stars and -- wait, what are those flashing lights? Were the stars really twinkling that much?? No, wait the lights were moving...one up there.....oh, and one over there....and one down lower....and one close to the front of the plane. They were the lights of other planes - very cool to see them 'winking' at us from their place in the darkness!  Very 'grounding' to know that there were others on similar aircraft just like me, just like my companions on United flight 5953, flying through the dark sky.

Occasionally, there were 'ponds' of light in the darkness - perhaps bioluminescent pools like the area around the Tree of Souls on the moon Pandora in the movie Avatar.  They were scattered here and there in the night sky - eerie and beautiful at the same time.  I wished I were able to step into them as the Omaticaya did - using them as lighted pathways to guide me through the darkness.  (In reality, I know they were the lights from cities below us reflecting through the clouds.)

I wish you could feel what I saw..............

So, guess what's happened to us over (literally) only the last 3 ½ weeks? We’re moving to Pennsylvania! I’ve been waiting to say anything until we knew for sure. Well, we know for sure! (The photo above was taken from a bridge in a small town near Clarks Summit - and it really does look like that almost everywhere! At least, this time of year!)

Here's how it happened........John has had his name on the list to relocate to the Pennsylvania office of his company for over a year. They have been putting it off – needing someone with John's skill set but not really ready to hire a 'whole person' for the position......

January 18th: An employee at the Arkansas offices of John’s company quits all of a sudden. On January 21st, John told his boss that he was interested in the position. He also sent an email to the person in AR in charge of filling the position. She emailed John right back that they wanted to fly him up on Thursday, Jan 24th, to interview for the position.

January 24th: He takes the corporate jet (sounds more impressive than just saying the ‘company’ jet) to the AR office and has 3 total interviews that day. On the way back to Houston that afternoon, John’s boss tells him basically, ‘Choose’ Arkansas or Pennsylvania. It was a euphoric evening – really, he just hadsto choose?!! We’ve never been at a place where John got to choose what position he wanted!

We decided that if AR was available (it hadn’t even been on the table before) then we would choose AR because it is more centrally located to our family – at least for the next year or so: Katie has a few months left of grad school and then she’ll be working somewhere – btw, she’s doing AMAZINGLY – 4.0!! You couldn’t have found a more perfect fit for her than grad school at Baylor!! Peter is a junior Mechanical Engineering major at Baylor – he’s also doing great – 4.0!! So, AR looked good.

Well, the next day was his Friday off. He called his boss and told him that if AR was available that we would relocate there. Later that day his boss called him back and told him that after talking with all the ‘higher ups’ of Houston, AR and PA, they believed that his skills were more necessary in PA. Would he still be interested/ willing to go to PA??

Well……..yes, we were! He talked with the VP of the PA office – who told John that he believes John is a perfect fit for that office - and a visit to the PA office was scheduled February 5th-7th. In the meantime, John’s current boss had already announced to the department that John was being relocated and moving to the PA office.

Monday, February 4th, John called me and asked if I wanted to go to PA – WOW – I wasn’t scheduled to go on the trip, but there was room for me on the corporate jet :), if I wanted. Well, sure!! I’ll just scramble and get ready to fly to PA in the morning!!

It was a great 3 days getting to see the area – it’s all mountains! Everywhere! The houses/ businesses/ apartment complexes, etc are all built in the mountains – and the roads are up and down and around big curves. The company is in the town of Tunkhannock, PA – most of the people there live in either Clarks Summit/ Scranton or Wilkes-Barre, PA.

So, we’re moving to PA! We went from John's name just being on the list of interested parties (a very small list:) to setting up appointments with inspectors so that our house can be relisted as a new property for sale!  We’ve gotten communications from the Relocation department of the company – and man, do they do relocation well! Basically, they do whatever it takes to make relocating as easy as possible!

Our current time frame: John will be working for the PA office (here in Houston) beginning next Monday.  However, they want him in PA ASAP - Yikes!!!  It's all moving WAAAY fast!!  It's possible he could be in the PA office in the next 2 - 3 weeks - Yikes!!! Yikes!! ("Yikes", of course, in a totally cool, really impossible dream, 'holy crack this is happening fast' way!!)  It's probably a good thing that it's all coming down so fast - that way I don't over think things.  Not that I EVER do that, amiright?  Right??  :*p  I don’t know how long I’ll still be here – at least a couple of months probably. But everything has been happening so fast – who knows!

We’re excited and a little anxious – we’ve been here 23 years – despite not realizing it, we’ve got some roots here. (duh? Right? :p) However, it’s a great time in our lives to be embarking on a new ‘adventure’!! We’ll be only 6 hours from John’s mom, 2 hours from one of John’s brother’s and his wife, only 8 hours from Josh and Lynette!!

And since Katie and Peter are both in transition periods of their lives and will probably not end up living in Texas permanently, we're a little more 'okay' leaving them here for awhile.......Besides, we know that no matter where our family is, we can always travel to see them!!! (That sound you just heard was our kids groaning that they can't ever get away from us!! :p)  Unfortunately, I’ll be 17 hours from my favorite Aunt – but, heh!, I love to fly and drive!!!

We'll - well, probably just me because John will already be there - I will probably be headed up there in a couple of weeks to begin looking for housing…..oh, and the company helps with that too!! (Of course, they do!!) They provide housing for a family for up to 90 days if you need it. It looks like John could be 'batching' it for a while...........good thing he knows how to cook!!!

So, it was a long read but you totally loved it and raced through reading it, didn't you, riding the wave of excitement at the prospect of this new 'journey' for John and I??................And..................you're welcome!! :)