First completed week living in Arnold, CA

Well, i have failed miserably at writing on my blog on a daily basis. Maybe i should shoot for a more realistic goal of writing once a week? hmmmm
i finally made the move from la la land to arnold, cali and i have to say that i am so much more convinced that this was and is the right move for my family and i. leaving the glenway apartment was super hard to do and i had a few melt downs last saturday but all is better now and i am definitely in a much better space emotionally.
i have always thought of myself as very independent, emotionally and physically but the last week of being in los angeles ALONE was really starting to wear on me. my routine was becoming very redundant; get up at 7am, get ready for work, go to work, get done with work, go to trader joes to pick up yummy finger foods and wine, go home, pack some more, throw away some more, clean some more, eat, drink, watch tv and fall asleep. wake up and repeat...
it was difficult. thomas was a trooper himself being all alone in arnold with a house full of boxes and a dog that was totally confused as to why he was without his mommy and just his daddy. all of us missed each other.

so with a little help from my friends in los angeles i drove away over the grapevine with a VERY VERY VERY packed vehicle. did i mention it was VERY PACKED. lol. there was literally only room for me and my cd's and drink of choice. unless you were small and squishy you were not getting into my car. it took 6.5 hrs to get HOME and i made a small pit stop in murphys to pick up a few things for dinner. thought i would do my part since thomas was getting the homestead ready to welcome me. while at the check out counter i asked the clerk if all of my groceries could fit into my one recyclable bag. i explained that i was relocating from los angeles and moving into arnold today. he smiled and said "welcome." i went on to say that i wasn't originally from los angeles, i was a transplant (what they call non angelians) from san jose, more specifically almaden. that is when his eyes got big and said "leland?" i answered "class of '93", he said "class of "89". wow really? he knew some of the same people that i knew and i walked out of the store saying "see ya later, nice to meet you."
MY WORLD JUST ISN'T THAT BIG

so thomas and i have tirelessly worked on unpacking and making this home feel like ours. it really is taking on a transformation. on thursday night of last week it took on the biggest transformation thus far. IT SNOWED 4 FEET. Welcome to Arnold, California hein family!!!
Holy shiznit how beautifully back breaking it was to shovel a wide enough walk way for vehicles to maneuver in and out of, but we did it in 5 hrs and we did it together. it was great team work and it was one of those moments that my husband looked at me and said "you are amazing. most women wouldn't dream of helping out or even be able to shovel the amount of snow that you have just shoveled." that made me feel really good and i told him so.
so thanks to my dad and mom for teaching me about endurance and to those very few and very special women in my lifetime, thus far, that have upheld the superb example of endurance.
the workout was awesome and much needed so guess what, on friday night it decided to snow two more feet and yep, you guessed it we got to shovel two more feet to make the same wide space for the vehicles. LOVELY
so now it is onto another successful work week. working remote is awesome and i enjoy it a lot. this week i start working my two days out of the week in murphys where i have been hired on as an executive assistant. i suppose i have perfected that craft since i have been assisting like FOREVER. i enjoy it and i hope that i can bring something useful to the table at my new job. i will keep this updated as to how my first day, wednesday, turns out.
well, i am off for now. hello to my one follower on this. by the way...YOU ROCK. ciao for now.

1-14-11

I posted a quote on fb today, as i do most days, about passion. the quote is from a Nicholas Sparks movie. in a moment after posting i realized that i was passionate about most things that i touched but most passionate about voice, singing, even competing. hmmmm

then i went and took a quick look at perezhilton.com, i don't know why. i read that carson daly was going to be the host of this new singing show that is launched to rival american idol. interesante. i went and googled. i read. i pondered. i looked for the los angeles audition date and there it was, 2-4-11. i will still be here, in los angeles. i could do this. double check no age requirement...none. so i registered and i completed the application. now to pick two songs. acapella.

not like putting one more thing on my mental plate. if it works out it works out. if not, move on. :)

"and that's ok"

Chapter One Million

I know, curious title! I have just had so many imaginary chapters coasting through my head for so long that Chapter One Million seemed appropriate. A long time ago I made a promise to myself and to my dear friend Rachel that I would document the journeys in my life. Up to this point the journeys have taken shape on post it notes, quick scribbles, dictaphone chats, memories...LOT'S OF MEMORIES. Well today, January 13, 2011, that is going to change.