It's been one week.

And what a week! I've celebrated a few times having several wonderful days in a row, but this weekend, I realized that I'm not having many series of good days in a row; I'm having a good life. Everything is falling into place. When you prioritize correctly, it all works out. Amazing how that happens!

The Good Things:

• Wednesday, coffee with Tracy was great. We had an awesome conversation, but I realized very quickly that this was an informal interview, and I was so nervous! Thank goodness that didn't shine through; Tracy actually commented that I appeared very relaxed and composed. We sat on the patio, enjoyed a beautiful day, saw several of my former regulars, and even a guy that I went to elementary school with!
  
  
• After closing Wednesday night, I got up early to do chores and shower before heading home on Thanksgiving morning. Home was relaxing. My grandparents (all 3) came over, and my brother was home. We watched football, visited, and enjoyed great food. Oh yeah, and I ate olives off my fingers for my sister.
  

• I had to head back to Fresno Thursday because I opened on Friday. Work was quite slow; we did a lot of extra cleaning. Around 9a, Autumn (my district manager) called to say she would be by later that morning. Linda and I immediately did two things: a) cleaned like crazy; and b) started speculating about me leaving. Autumn finally around around noon, and we had the chance to sit down just before I was off. Drum roll, please -- she offered me a store manager position!!! At the time, she couldn't tell me much about the store, but since then, I've learned that, as of Monday, December 3, I will take over the Starbucks at First and Shaw as Store Manager. I don't think I could be more excited (and nervous, but mostly excited). There are challenges in every opportunity, especially starting in the middle of Holiday, but I'm confident that it is going to be good. So come by and visit!
  
  
• Friday night, Jess and I went to dinner at BJ's (fabulous cobb salad for me, delicious-looking burger for her) and then to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert. Let me just say, if you ever have the chance to go to a TO concert, do it! It was amazing, incredible, ridiculous, and wonderful. I had a blast. There was a mild debacle with my camera, but the second time around was fine, and afterward, we had a guy outside take our picture. Two hot mamas!
  

• Saturday morning, I went shopping then met Justin, the elementary school friend from Wednesday, for lunch at Chapala Grill. It's new since I was in Cleveland and is really good. We had a nice time catching up; I'd only seen him once since his high school graduation. Saturday night, I closed at work.
  
  
• Sunday, I drove home to spend the day with my parents and friends, guiltily leaving Giada at home. We went to church, and Pastor Wayne gave a great message about being thankful, and I realized that, I'm not perfect, but I am living a life of gratitude. I love my life right now. Everything is falling into place. If someone had told me three months ago that I would be in the place that I am today, I probably wouldn't have believed it. Three months ago, I knew I would be fine, but I didn't know I would be happy and vibrant and socially active and thankful.
  
  After church, I met Andrea and Jess for a relaxing lunch at Vallarta then went shopping again (still no perfect jeans, have to keep looking) and met my parents at the mall. When they headed on to Target, I went to the Lenzes and enjoyed catching up with Mrs. Lenz and Robin (thanks for having me over!). That evening, Dad and I watched the great Patriots/Eagles game, or rather, Dad watched the game, and I took a nap on the middle through the second and third quarters. Soon after that, it was time for bed.
  
  
• Monday morning, I went to Dad's shop to say goodbye and drove back home for more chores and a lot of cuddling with the kitten to make up for leaving her alone. I think I'm going to get another cat to keep Giada company; it's just a matter of when. She needs a little brother or sister named Duff (if it's a girl, I'll just call her Duffy!). Then I went to work for a fun last close.
  
  
• Which brings us to today, my day off. The planner was full of errands to run, and the day started with promise because I got a lot of chores done. But around noon, my energy waned, and I spent most of the afternoon with Giada on the couch. There will be plenty of time for errands the rest of the week, and after such a full schedule of events, I needed some downtime. Plus, I think it was good for me to stay home and spend some quality time with her after being gone so much.

Well, that was more of a weekly recap than I'd planned for it to be. If you didn't make it through the wordiness, in brief:

I had a great Thanksgiving! I got promoted! I saw Trans-Siberian Orchestra! I wasn't sad at all on my would-be five-year anniversary! I love my life, and I love God for giving it to me! Have a great week, y'all.

Thank you, Consequence.

Two entries this week: This Thanksgiving post, and the previous Apartment Tour. Check it out!

You know how sometimes you just have a few great days in a row, and it restores you? I had one of those weekends. By Friday, I was pretty exhausted from closing, working at 8a, then opening in three days. I was supposed to go to dinner at Claim Jumper (would have satisfied my craving for a big, juicy burger) with some of my new partners at 8p, but around 5p, I suddenly felt like I'd been hit by a train. Thinking it could be the effects of my flu shot, I went to Target for Nyquil. To my surprise, I also found Grey's Anatomy Season 3 for only $30! So that was my night -- I passed out on my couch by 9p watching Grey's.

Saturday, I wake up mildly refreshed, took some Dayquil, and went to work at 8a. After work, Serena and I had coffee at her store, then I quickly went home to feed the cat and change. At 730p, I met Pat and Becca for ice cream at Riverpark. We had a great night of catching up, talking about the future and checking out their new Toyota Camry (gorgeous --I want one, and I don't even really like cars!).

Sunday brought a lazy morning, an amazing message at church, the newspaper and lunch at Starbucks, shopping at Target, and an afternoon of chores and Grey's. Then back to work on Monday; it's been a slow week. Today, I'm meeting the regional director, Tracy, for coffee, just informally for us to have face time before the many changes in Starbucks In Fresno's future. Here's to hoping I say all the right things!

I'm closing at work tonight so I won't head home to Exeter until tomorrow morning for an afternoon Thanksgiving dinner with my family. This weekend holds some exciting happenings -- TransSiberian Orchestra on Friday! Also, planning to make Sunday a busy day because it could be a difficult day, but being surrounded by loving friends and family will keep me whole.

Things I'm Thankful For:

• God's amazing grace, peace, and love.
• My family and friends.
• That I am doing so well.
  
• Lessons learned -- what I need and want from life; how to act in the longterm and big picture, even if it means I won't do what makes me happy in the short term; that my family and friends are unequivocally there for me; I am a strong, resilient, fabulous woman.
• Giada.
• Sunshine and mountains.

What are you thankful for?

The old apartment.

There are two entries this week: this Apartment Tour and the next Thanksgiving one. Be sure to catch up on both!

It dawned on me last week, after posting adorable Giada pictures, that you haven't gotten a virtual tour of the Apartment o' Awesomeness. Let's take care of that, shall we?

Welcomed home by the cool braided doormat:


Living room:


Dining room, home of Hamlet and Giada's Captain's nest, and Giada playing peekaboo:


A kitchen that's bigger than a closet:


Bathroom and laundry facilities (!):


Bedroom shots (it looks messier than it is):


Walk-in in closet (!) and eventual reading nook:


Cute, isn't it?

Tryin' to fit the world inside a picture frame.

Monday was my first day of work, and it went very well. We weren't busy thanks to Veterans Day Observed so my re-introduction to drive-thru wasn't painful. I think the store and I will match just fine.

Otherwise, it's been an uneventful week. Dinner with Ryan on Sunday evening was excellent. He drives a pimped out Dodge Neon (I think, a Dodge something) with racing seats that hug -- a little fresh, if you ask me. A seat should get a girl's phone number before we get that close, if you know what I'm saying. And I still think we should trade cars. :)

Jered brought the cabinet Monday evening, and it looks great next to the front door. I had yesterday off, and it was a pretty boring day. So in lieu of nothing to write about, Giada pictures!

Helping Mom set up the apartment:


See that tiny ledge? I know I should be able to fit on it! (But there's no way she will.)


Relaxing:


Checking out the neighborhood:


Playing with my chic cubes because I'm a hot kitty:

It's been one week.

Hello, people, hope all is well with everyone. It's been a full week since the last blog. After our long drive across many states, Dad and I spent Saturday watching football. That's literally all we did. It was wonderful, even though Notre Dame lost to Navy. Next year, boys, there's always next year. And I will always love Charlie Weis.

The day before, I came up to see my apartment and sign the final paperwork. I'd been feeling blue and bittersweet until I actually saw the place. It's adorable, and I love it.

Sunday brought church in Exeter, a visit with my aunt and grandmother, writing at Starbucks, coffee with Jess, and a soup dinner fundraiser at church. The night was a lot of fun. There was also a silent dessert auction, and my dad won a dessert called Scrumptious: Better Than Sex. It was very tasty; I have no opinion on the subtitle!

Monday morning, I had a dental cleaning that went better than expected (short and sweet is how I like it) then met Dad at the shop to drop off some stuff still in my car. Tuesday, Giada and I headed up to Fresno for good. She did not enjoy the car ride; apparently, the drive from Kingsburg to Fowler is the most traumatic strip of highway ever.

As soon as I got here and unloaded the car, it was time to set to work. I filled kitchen cabinets, set out spices, put together furniture, organized the pantry that doesn't have room for food. I tried to put together the Target bookshelves but can't do it alone so Dad will have to come help sometime. For now, the books remained packed, and I don't like it. Having my books set up around me makes me feel better. Is that silly?

Also went Target shopping. Spent more money than I probably should have, but I got lots of cute, useful things for the apartment. It's starting to come together, and I think I'm going to like living here.

Wednesday morning was my first regular doctor's appointment in years, and it went very well. I got a prescription for Qvar for preventative asthma maintenance and learned that I am in apparently good health -- woo. It's been a while since I've been in apparent good health, and it can go to your head a little. But I've also lost 30 lbs in the past two and a half months, which does good things for your body.

After the appointment, I went grocery shopping then went home to put away the food and organized my closet. For those who know my lack of affinity for hanging up clothes, it was no small feat. But it's lovely now, a walk-in closet that's useful and put-together and color-coordinated.

That afternoon, Mom was in Fresno for an appointment so we met to shop at Nordstrom Rack. At 7p, I headed to Macaroni Grill for an absolutely wonderful dinner with Jered. We hung out for a while, walking to Borders then Starbucks. It's really good to be back among people who know and care about me. There were so few of those people in Cleveland. It bites that he's moving soon, but at least LA isn't too far away.

Thursday morning was the first time I went running since before the move. My lungs were ready to burst at the end of ten minutes, but it felt great to move again. In the afternoon, I met with a graduate studies adviser at Fresno State to get information about graduate school. I don't know what I want to study or where I want to go or what future career it will help me with; that's why I needed the information.

What I do know is that, for the first time in my life, I actually believe I can do anything I want to do. I want to go to grad school. I want to prove to myself that I can do it. I want to enroll in a university, give it my all, and have it be good enough for me. Because I wanted it before, but most of me figured I would barely make it through like the first time, and I think the person whose opinion mattered most to me didn't believe I would do it. But I will. And if I don't, it won't be because I can't.

Friday, the cable guys came for TV and internet, then I went to lunch with Serena, Bill, and Autumn (Starbucks people) in Tower. Lovely to see them all. Serena and I had coffee at Friant and Fort Washington later, and we talked, and it was good to have a friend. Aren't friends the best?

Yesterday, a friend from the dorms a long time ago, Chris, was in town so we drove up to Yosemite and hiked to Glacier Point. It was a bit chilly, but the view and the peace were worth it. Took pictures, of course; here are some of my favorites:





Once back down in the Valley, we had dinner at In 'n Out and watched True Lies here at the apartment. I'd never seen it, and it's a really funny movie. Go, Governator!

Which brings us to today. I attended the 930a and 11a services at Northwest Church this morning (think I will start going to the 11a one if I don't work Sundays) then got coffee and the paper at Starbucks Blackstone and Barstow, where I saw a couple of girls I worked with at Shields and 41. Back home, I ate lunch, cleaned up, and watched Grey's Anatomy on DVD until Jered came for boxes. Now, I'm going to post this, read the paper, and wait for another friend from the dorms to come into town for dinner tonight. It will be great to see him.

I start work tomorrow, wish me luck. Looking forward to a drive-thru again. I enjoy it. Wednesday updates will commence next week.

In the down time, it was a touch of a lonely week. But there wasn't much down time, and I am not alone. Isn't it nice to know that you are not alone.

Road to California, part three.

Did you start with Part One? If not, go here! Then on to Day Two! Then you'll be ready for Part Three. :)

Day Three: I'm going home.

Thursday morning, Dad and I left Grand Junction at 630a. A couple of hours down the road, we ate a breakfast of champions at McDonald's (parfait and nuggets for me), and if I never eat at McDonald's again in my life, I will be a happy woman. In fact, I ate enough fast food over those three days to last me a grease quota of at least five years. Ugh ugh ugh.

Day three felt the longest because the closer we were to home, the more we still weren't there. Utah's desert isn't my favorite type of terrain, but it was golden and pretty in the light of sunrise:


St. George was a welcome surprise (houses instead of brush), and the road to Las Vegas was uneventful. Vegas itself was another story. We pulled into a gas station and got stuck in the semi-truck part of the station because the parking lot didn't connect to the front. After managing to fit through a driveway going the wrong way, we pulled up the regular diesel pump, and it wouldn't read the card. Dad took the card in while I went the washroom and when I came out, he was in the truck ready to go to another station. Apparently the cashier had to reset the pump three times and it still wouldn't work. We do need more than thirteen cents worth of gas .... So we pulled into a station across the street and thought that the ten-cent price difference in diesel must be a good sign.

We were wrong. The card reader also didn't work, so I went in and paid for $100 worth of gas. Went outside, Dad said the pump wasn't reset. Went inside and had to wait in line; by the time I got to the counter, I looked like an idiot when I said it wouldn't work and the cashier told me we'd pumped $17 worth so far. Went back outside, Dad only used $50, went inside for a credit and had to wait in line again. When I finally got back in the truck, Dad was waiting and had apparently almost gotten in a fight with some idiot who cussed him out for using the pump the other guy wanted to use. We got the hell out of Dodge as quickly as possible. And to think that I could have moved there in a few years -- too hot, too ugly, and no freaking way. Vegas, I bite my thumb at you!


The rest of the drive home was uneventful, save for the fog as we drove into the hills before Tehachapi. We thought it must be smoke from a fire because it was so thick, but the whole Valley was blanketed with fog.


Finally, just before 8p on Thursday, November 1, we pulled up to my parents' house in Exeter. It was a bittersweet moment, being so tired and all, but god, did it feel good to get out of the truck and know I didn't have to get back in any time soon. In the next hour and a half, I watched Survivor with my mom, checked email, did laundry, talked to Rachel, and crashed into bed.

Highlights from Day Three:

• Things I learned from my dad -- Any hotel that doesn't provide an alarm clock is chintzy. Classic rock stations are always The Fox, The Eagle, or The Hawk. The Beastie Boys are tolerable for ten seconds longer than Earth, Wind, and Fire or Sublime.
• In some states, UPS and FedEx trucks pull three trailers! It's pretty freaky-looking but very cool.

It feels good to be home.

Because even if your life is too unsettled for any place to feel like home, home is still where your heart is.

Road to California, part two.

Did you start with Day One? If not, start here!

Day Two: Rocky mountain high.

Wednesday morning, we awoke in the truck around 430, drove for an hour, slept again, and started up for good at 7a. Doesn't make for an attractive Erica:


Breakfast was Burger King at a rest stop that made me sleepy so most of my morning was spent in dreamland. We passed through the remainder of Iowa into Nebraska (which looks like Ohindillinowa, but with less trees :) and into Colorado. Colorado is beautiful. The first part is high desert (eh) but the west of Denver took my breath away. Mountains inspire awe in me; I feel more centered near mountains. I knew that about my mountains (the Sierra Nevadas of home) but, no, it's true of all mountains. So someday, I think I should like to live near a beach and mountains.

Also, if one has to live in snow, one should live where the view makes living in snow worth it. Like this:


Dad and I stopped for dinner and fuel at a Qdoba in Glenwood Springs then continued through Glenwood Canyon -- beautiful even in the shadows of dusk. I've driven the road from Denver before, but this time I remembered more of the scenery. We did see Vail in the daylight -- I can see why it's so sought-after. (And I hear the skiing is good, too.)

Wednesday night was spent in a real building (showers and beds and electricity, oh my!) -- the cheapest Motel 6 in Grand Junction (the room was already cheap and Dad got a senior discount because the early-twenties-something receptionist considers 50 old). Oh, it felt amazing to be fresh and dressed in clean clothes. When we left Thursday morning, I felt like a new woman, even if I looked more like a drugged one:


Random highlight of Day Two: Grundy County! For any lover of John Michael Montgomery, there is an actual Grundy County of "The Grundy County Auction" fame. :)

Reading on ... Day Three!

Road to California, part one.

We've made it back to California! And now for highlights with pictures.

Day Zero: It's a big ol' truck.

Dad and I loaded the truck on Monday. It only took seven hours ....


Still, nothing was getting in there. For dinner, we walked to Shaker Square and had pizza at Captain Tony's, which was really good. I wish I'd eaten there more often instead of Papa John's (though Captain Tony's would have been too expensive before). Later, Erin came over and took lots of my unwanteds home so that I didn't have as much to feel bad about throwing away -- thanks, Erin!

Day One: Land-locked and alone, she hangs up the phone.

Tuesday morning, I got up, disconnected all of the cable, and returned the box, etc. to Severance. Note to Clevelanders: The Severance Time Warner Cable building is across the road from the IHOP, not somewhere in the actual shopping center. Good to know .... Learned that I get a $52 credit, yay.

Back at the apartment, Dad and I crammed the rest of my earthly possessions into my car -- no small feat. While Dad hooked the car dolly to the truck, I met Jeff upstairs for a three-minute "walk-through." There will be a $50 charge for not cleaning the oven (never even crossed my mind; I hadn't used the oven for at least six weeks) but I should get the rest of my deposit back -- woo. Now if they'll only rent the apartment quickly; paying for rent in California and half of rent in Ohio is not my idea of a good time.

Apartment before and after:


As soon as the walk-through was done, we hit the road (1230p). There might have been a set of teary eyes in the passenger seat as we drove past downtown; it was a bittersweet moment of everything that the past ten months have held. Will I see Cleveland again? Only time will tell.

Downtown Cleveland:


Giada wasn't thrilled about the first leg of the journey, but she settled in quickly once she had the chance to sniff around the truck. Dad and I were both amazed at how well she traveled, not that I ever want to do it again!

Giada at the beginning, middle, and end stages of relaxation:


Highlights of Day One on the Road to California:

• Ohio to Iowa looks exactly the same: corn fields and orange trees. It's pretty for a couple of hours, but even four states of rolling countryside gets boring.
• There is a town in Illinois or Indiana called Chesterton. I guess "-fieldville" wouldn't fit on the sign!
• A billboard in Iowa advertises "Bob's Your Uncle" Pizza Cafe! If you've ever seen the best infomercial ever, you know why this was so cool.

Dad drove until 1a, with a couple hours break when I took the wheel, then we pulled over and spent a few hours at Motel du Truck. Not exactly recommended -- the truck got cold, my seat wouldn't recline because the backseat was so full, and Giada wouldn't stay in her carrier. Still, much cheaper than a hotel room.

Next entry = Day two!