God is so good

I just have to sit here for a second and revel in all the ways God has provided for me, especially in the last few weeks. I'm pretty much amazed.

First, He brought me the housesitting job at Ciel's. Not only did that put some money in my bank account but it provided me with a relaxing place to stay for three weeks and some really wonderful quality time with my boys. I feel like part of my decision to move in with Dorothy came from having that sane, quiet place to live and feeling like my brain got to slow down a little bit and relax.

Also, do you remember back in October when I posted that I really wanted to finally live somewhere GOOD? Somewhere quiet, somewhere safe and somewhere healthy. I said that I wanted to wait until after the holidays but that I would start looking for a new place. This opportunity totally fell in my lap. People came to ME and asked if I would consider being a caretaker. I had never even thought of that before.

Dorothy and I click. She is so easygoing and I am very flexible. We seem to work really well together. I'm looking forward to being as much her friend as I am her caretaker.

And then there was the fact that I had been feeling like I would never get my car paid off because I can pretty much only afford the minimum payments every month. Living with Dorothy will allow me to pay it off completely, probably before a year is up.

God has given me great bosses at work who totally support my role with Dorothy and have encouraged me in that. He's given me wonderful people to babysit for who have pretty much said, "Hey, whatever makes your life easier." He's given me friends and family who have done NOTHING but support me in this, praying for me and encouraging me.

He threw a dance class my way that I am LOVING. It's an hour once a week to do something entirely for me. Something that I really want to get back into and something that I am passionate about.

And now He's giving me a peace of mind that maybe this will be my most stress-free move yet. I was talking to my mom last night about the logistics of moving and when I should give my notice and I was saying that I'm really unsure about that part. I don't want to keep paying for an apartment for longer than I need to, but at the same time, it might work really well for me to move most everything I will need to Dorothy's and then take a couple of extra weeks to pack up my apartment and see if there's anything extra that I decide I don't want in storage. It's kind of living in limbo but it might keep me from packing like a maniac and then realizing that I put a bunch of stuff in storage that I now want at the house. Plus, if I disconnect my internet and I'm not there very often, my bills will be close to nothing. (Now I'm thinking out loud again.)

Basically I'm just feeling really good about things. I have my moments of stress (like the fact that I get off work at 3:30 today and I told Dorothy I'd be over at 4:30 but I have to go home and pack for several days first, dig up my previous storage unit info [actually, I know right where that is] and run by the store before getting to her house) or the fact that I pretty much have NO CLUE how I want to divide most of my stuff (storage or not), but all of that seems pretty petty in comparison to just HOW MUCH God has blessed me lately and all of the loose ends that he has tied together. Wow.

And can I just say that I am SO proud of my boyfriend? He has been absolutely amazing through all of this, supporting me 100%, even though he knows that it will mean a little less time together. And on that same note, even Jordan has been supportive of it all.

Life is good.

Monday Madness

I think I'm on plan J or K for today! It just keeps getting crazier.

Last night I packed up most of my stuff from Ciel's and made a trip to my apartment. I saved out my clothes for work today, my bathroom stuff and today's lunch. This morning I wiped everything down, set her mail out, did a once-over, said goodbye to the doggies and headed to work. I get to work and find an e-mail that she's still in Canada! lol What a surprise! After exchanging several e-mails this morning she called and we nailed down a plan (because it turns out her roommate is coming home today too and needed a ride from Albany!).

Long story short, I may or may not be picking Todd up in Albany (he thinks he can get a ride home or at least a ride to Corvallis) and Ciel is planning to be at work tomorrow so she'll make it home at SOME point today. :) Madness! (And I still have her garage door opener!)

This morning I was on my morning break in the library and I hear, "THERE you are!" and thought, "I recognize that voice..." I turned around there was my grandma! She was over from the coast for an appointment and had stopped in to say hi (and found me in the third place she looked, haha).

I had just been talking with Dorothy (who works in the library part time) and the other librarians and she had told them that I'm going to be one of her caregivers and will be living with her. They were VERY excited (yay!) and one of the first questions was, "Can you cook?" Good thing I can! :) Apparently Dorothy has a list (which I have not yet seen) of things she wants me to cook for her. :) She came by my office earlier this afternoon to tell me that she just learned that the hospital offers free training of caregiving skills (such as lifting, suctioning, etc.) so she came to find out how to spell my name so she can sign me up! I'm excited to learn that stuff.

Tomorrow night is my first line dancing class (woo hoo!) and then I'm spending the night at Dorothy's to help her out on Wednesday morning, which is the only day she doesn't have someone to come by and help her with her morning routine. I'm anxious to see how that goes and to find out how early I'll need to get up in the mornings. :) I'm thinking about surprising her with a set of baby monitors because she was talking about needing a way for me to hear her from my room in case she needs help turning over in the night or is having trouble breathing. She mentioned that she thought baby monitors would be a good idea (and I can't think of a better one!).

You may not hear from me for several days! :) Happy Monday!

Life at Raven House

Ok, I admit, this first picture isn't up at the house, it was taken out the window at work. But it's pretty! :)

This was taken out the back door:

I think this picture was taken on the day with the most snow. It was so pretty outside...

Eddie and Dakota got new tennis balls and you'd think it was raining peanut butter, they were that excited. Eddie will play fetch for hours (as evidenced in the next picture - he and Jordan are best buds) but Dakota will take her ball and go sit with it somewhere, perfectly content.

All toasty in front of a nice, warm fire

I head home tomorrow but it sure has been relaxing up here! I probably won't sleep as well as I have in this bed until I move out of my apartment. (Which is another post entirely - things are coming together with Dorothy. I officially took the job this week.)

Happy Christmas Eve!

Here I sit, in my parents' living room, smelling the roast cooking in the oven, my brother sleeping on the couch and my parents talking in the kitchen while they cook.

Yesterday I had a bit of a surprise. The plan was for Steve to go up to the house where I'm staying and drop off a couple of gifts for me to wrap, let the dogs out and wait for me to get home. He walked in the door and heard... the dryer running? He poked his head around the corner and saw Todd, Ciel's roommate. What a surprise! Steve quickly introduced himself and explained why he was there. Todd's job keeps him out in the wilderness for several weeks at a time and he had a day-long break and was home to do laundry. Well!

When I got home he was making use of the new hot tub and drinking a beer. :) I asked him if he would mind taking care of the dogs for the night if I took off (not being comfortable staying in a house with a man that I don't know!) and he said no problem at all. So I went and hung out with two of my friends/co-workers until the wee hours of the morning. :)

I slept at my own apartment last night which was totally weird. I almost felt like a stranger in my own place.

I read something on a couple of blogs this morning that I think I will post here. A list of my favorite things about Christmas!

Smell: Mom's English toffee! And cinnamon.

Song: O Holy Night

Food: Aebelskivers at Christmas brunch! (And, of course, Mom's English toffee.)

Symbol: Snowflakes/snowmen. I'm not a big fan of Santas but I love snowy things. :)

Tradition: Having family night on Christmas Eve! Mom makes a great meal, we open all of our gifts (because on Christmas morning we do stockings and head over to Stacy's for Christmas day!) and play games together. It is so fun and relaxing.

And on that note, I'm off to enjoy it! :)

Merry Christmas everyone!

Totally stressed out... but with internet!

Ciel and I have been in e-mail contact this week and I mentioned that I wasn't able to get online, but oh well. She wrote me back and told me where she thought I could find the code to the internet. I came home and aside from the folder being a different color than she had though, it was a piece of cake to find. YAY!

Now I won't be quite so secluded for the next two weeks!

For some reason I feel really stressed this week. I think part of it has to do with the weather, part of it lack of sleep and part of it the Big Decision.

It has been snowing off and on for SEVEN DAYS! That has got to be some sort of Oregon record. It never snows that much! Today it snowed another half inch or so up on the hill which was enough for me to shovel the driveway when I got home. I was finally able to take my chains off and park in the garage yesterday which was a total relief. I was so tired of driving 25mph everywhere and listening to kthunk, kthunk, kthunk the whole way.

I need to go to bed way earlier tonight. I have been sleeping SO good out here, just not enough. I will never be able to get used to my apartment again after this. My sister and I went by my place yesterday to pick up a couple of things and it was SO LOUD!! When I turn off the lights to go to sleep out here there is no porch light streaming in the windows, no TV or hacking downstairs, no road noise... It's wonderful.

Big Decision. I think in the back of my mind, I've pretty much decided. However, I need to realize that in the rest of my mind. I've been almost forcing myself not to think about it because I REALLY hate the idea of moving again. I don't like the idea of deciding what to put in storage and what to keep out. I don't like the idea of asking my friends to help me move again because I know they're getting tired of it. Ok, it's time to do this:

Cons:

• Packing everything I own (when I just unpacked my very last box a month ago) and moving for the 6th time in 2 1/2 years.
• No longer living alone. (Oh, how I love living alone...)
• Feeling like I might have a lot less time for Steve and Jordan.
• Having to tame my social life a little bit and becoming a little more of a homebody. (This could actually be considered a Pro as well.)
• Worrying about Jordan not adapting well to the situation.
• Living with a dog again (I just may train that soft, furry guy).
• The whole thing being somewhat temporary (and not knowing exactly how temporary).
• The end being terribly sad.

Pros:

• Gaining a new friend through Dorothy.
• Being there for her to help her however she needs and to ease her mind about who's going to cook for her, etc.
• Living in a great place rent-free, with a stipend.
• Living in a quiet neighborhood.
• Having this be a learning experience for Jordan (in a lot of ways).
• Blessing someone beyond what I probably realize.
• The spiritual impact that several people have said they think this would have on me.
• Expanding my cooking skills.
• Growing in numerous ways.

I think I'm gonna do it.

Oh gosh, yikes! This means I actually have to think about the moving part...

Adventures on the hill

Before Ciel left for her trip we checked the internet at her house and determined that I would not need a password to use it. I was all excited to do lots of blogging while I'm up there.

I got up there yesterday and went to sign on...

You guessed it.

Password protected.

GRR! I tried to find the passcode on the internet box but to no avail. I have AWFUL cell phone reception up there, and now no internet. Guess I'll be doing a LOT of cross stitch in the next two weeks! Which is actually good because I had planned to do that anyway. :)

Here are a few (poor quality) cell phone pictures I took.

Eddie (bottom), Dakota and I watching a movie last night:



The back deck! It snowed hard all night and there are now about 9 inches up there. I had no problems getting to work today with the chains on my car so we'll see if it keeps snowing and if I have any trouble getting home. ;)



This is the patio of the hospital cafeteria this morning. So pretty!!



I'm hoping to take some more pictures of the yard in the daylight today. I'm also hoping to shove enough snow off the hot tub lid to open it and hop in. :) (All this after I chop some kindling to build a nice, warm fire. Mmmm...)

I tell you what, I slept SO good last night! No porch lights coming through my window, no road noise, no coughing neighbor... I feel so rested!

Packing

Oh my word, I have too much crap!

I started packing for house sitting because after work tomorrow I need to come home, load my car, pack the fridge/freezer food I'm taking and head up to the house to let the dogs out and get settled.

I don't want to be coming back to my apartment every other day so I threw in everything I'm going to need for the next 2 1/2 weeks. Also, I'll have free laundry facilities so that means a LOT of clothes.

Couple a big bag of clothes with 4 pairs of shoes, my laptop bag, a jug of laundry soap, a bag with movies, books and my cross stitch in it, a box of dry food (my favorite pasta, a big squash, cereal, etc.) and you have a LOT of stuff. And that doesn't count my bathroom bag, my winter clothes (coat, scarf, gloves, boots) or the food in the refrigerator (which is a lot because I went grocery shopping yesterday and planned a couple of meals that (annoyingly) include a lot of ingredients).

Oy!

Ciel has been sending me weather-on-the-hill updates this week and at the end of each one she says, "The hot tub is still hot!"

I can't wait! :)

House on the hill, here I come!

Last night I went and met the dogs and saw the house where I'll be staying for 2 1/2 weeks (starting next week, ahhh!).

The dogs? HILARIOUS. They are these tiny little things who just want to LICK YOU TO DEATH (which actually drives me crazy but they'll learn not to lick me in the face). The entire time I was there they wrestled with each other and cracked me up. They are the cutest things ever. (Remember their pictures in this post?) I already love them.

The house is great. It's really big (too big for one person but I'll enjoy it) and it has a HOT TUB!!! That is, by far, the best part about staying there. I've gotten into the habit of taking a hot bath every night before bed (let me tell you, it does wonders for my sleep) and hot tubs don't get cold if you sit in them for half an hour. :)

My only hope is that it doesn't dump snow while I'm there because I'm waaaay up on a hill with an insanely steep driveway (which I will not ascend if it gets icy, thankyouverymuch). But I'm really looking forward to movie marathons, cross stitching and ice cream, all while sitting by the fire. :)

That is, when I'm not at work or at my million evening functions this month.

P.S. I'm not adding any more of those. I'm maxed.

House sitting

I got another house sitting job! From the middle of December through the first week of January I get to escape my apartment. Don't get me wrong, I love my apartment. It's my own place with my own stuff and I don't have to share it. But as soon as my downstairs neighbor comes home, the novelty wears off. This job is seriously going to be like a vacation for me.

Obviously it's not going to look like this in December, but check out the back deck! (She said she's trying to get her hot tub working by then and that alone makes it 100% worth it to me. I need a new bed so bad.)

And the little guys I'll be taking care of:

Are they not the cutest little dachsuands you've ever seen??

I can't wait.