OK... I'm an idiot. I thought there was something wrong with the trees. They're changing. I definitely stayed in the tropics and sub-tropics too long!
In the meantime, we are doing GREAT! I'm still sleeping 7 or 8 hours and now that the weather is cooler, I'm really enjoying it! In fact, I sleep with the windows open and the fans on and it's REALLY cold by morning! More quilts for me and the yellow lab is happy on the bed!
The business is really launching! We did our first staff interviews and hired about six ladies. Then we starting making marketing calls to the senior centers and some independent living facilities. Holy crap! I hope I can afford some of those we saw. Movie theaters, valet parking, 1,2, or 3 bedroom apartments, wonderful food or cook for yourself! So fancy! I was afraid to ask how much it costs! Next week we start on the harder nuts, the geriatric practices and physical therapy offices... neither of us want to do it so Jacque and I go together and take turns! Oh for the days when we can hire a marketer! LOL
We're set to go... just need a few clients! Send up a prayer for us.
Mac is doing fine. He lost TV privileges due to a beginning addiction to Cartoon Network so I thought I'd just nip that in the bud and ban TV on school nights. He's going through withdrawals but he'll be ok in time!
Big fight with CPS because they wanted me to drive him back to Houston to have his fingerprints done for his INS application! Do you see what I mean when I say they have no common sense in that entire department! So I squawked and raised dust and they agreed it might be ok to fingerprint him here but I'd have to take him back for the interview. He's flipping SIX! Really?!?! So I have another battle to do for that phase.
We're still poor. There are a lot of expenses in starting up a company. But I should be doing ok IF my unemployment is extended. If not, who knows. God will provide.
Until Halloween!
Tisa
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
An entire month FLEW by
We're here and doing great!!
We ended up loading 2- 28' trucks! The kids flew down to help and lots of friends stopped over to help so we got it all loaded fairly quickly. Jacque drove one truck and I drove the other. That is something I never want to do again! I think it shook my liver loose! Jake drove my SUV with the kids and dogs. Jacque and I had the cats and sugar glider.
Jake left a couple of hours ahead of us. Jacque and I had to stop to rest. But we arrived the next evening coming into town with one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen. I considered it my own little personal sign that I was doing the right thing.
Everything made the trip north with very little damage but I'm only half unpacked. Well, maybe more than half but half the garage is still full of boxes! (a lot of them are my book boxes so we're putting those off until last!) I paid a couple of guys to unload the trucks and they were fast but there was no organization in the unload so we're sifting through stuff and finding things I had in my high priority boxes. But it all came out remarkably well, so far.
I ended up leasing my house to a friend of mine. It doesn't cover the entire mortgage but it certainly does help. If she can keep up the payments, I may let her buy it in a year or so. Working on selling my mom's house, too. I need to replenish my savings!
Mac has started school and likes it a lot. He has new friends and seems to be enjoying his time at school. SO much smaller. It's seven blocks from the house so it takes me 5 min to drop him and 5 min to pick him up. No complicated security system with numbers on cars and kids needed like the system in Houston.
Jacque had done so much by the time we got here. Everything was painted except one bathroom, one set of baseboards and some touch up. And I need to make the curtains but she has all the fabric. That was a ton of work since there was old wall paper on a great deal of the house. They also demo'd the tile in the kitchen but nothing is back up. But a little at a time. She comes over most days to help bring up some of the heavier boxes and then leaves me to unpack them! Make a mess and clean it up... make a mess and clean it up. I should have most everything in place in a couple more weeks.
I love the house. My only complaint is that the kitchen is teeny tiny! It's a 'one butt' kitchen so we'll have to do a remodel at some point. But that's a while off, too.
I've started working on the business stuff between unpacking but August was my 'poor month' with all the moving expenses AND I got a $1100 final bill from Reliant Energy AND I had to buy a new washer and dryer. But even working on a shoestring this month, I think we'll be ready to start interviewing staff and doing marketing this month. We need to put our plan into motion. Jacque is running out of unemployment this month so I need to pay her something. It's going to be really tight for awhile but I know the Lord sent me the message to do this so I also know it's going to work out.
And speaking of HIM! I checked out the local Methodist church. Lady pastor. Not as good a musical group in the contemporary service but I was spoiled by the one in Cypress. They were superb. Seems like a nice bunch. And the first sermon was on hospitality! I was the only visitor so it was very fortuitous! We'll find us both a Sunday School class next week.
I've started my foster care license transfer process and should have a placement in October. Again, it's a lot less complicated here. And there are a lot of kids so I'm told I'll seldom have a vacancy. That will be different than waiting months between placements in Houston.
Had to make a mad dash BACK to Oklahoma to give Savanah back to her mom so she could start school on time. We brought her with us to help Mac settle in and give her Mom a 'vacation'. She's my daughter in law's sister's girl . I've been keeping for several months now, since my layoff. Mac's best friend... So we met in Guthrie (half wayish) and swapped her. Nice little town with antique stores so we may make that the swapping place of choice.
The horses are fine. Jacque and I gave them a bath and made them pretty. They've been neglected the last few weeks. Rastafarian curls instead of manes and tails. But they're better now. I'm still being sued and I had to do a deposition the week before I left. And now they've dragged Jacque's Grandma into it. Jacque lives with her so they're going after her insurance as well. The horse really belongs to Jacque so they're going every direction they can think of to get money. Sad to think someone needs money so much that they'll target an 80 year old woman.
Overall, August rushed past me so fast I wonder what happened. But I'm happy where I've landed. Looking forward to spending some time out at the lake with the family this weekend. It's cool enough for a campfire and smores!
So.. that's us in a (not so small) nutshell!!
We ended up loading 2- 28' trucks! The kids flew down to help and lots of friends stopped over to help so we got it all loaded fairly quickly. Jacque drove one truck and I drove the other. That is something I never want to do again! I think it shook my liver loose! Jake drove my SUV with the kids and dogs. Jacque and I had the cats and sugar glider.
Jake left a couple of hours ahead of us. Jacque and I had to stop to rest. But we arrived the next evening coming into town with one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen. I considered it my own little personal sign that I was doing the right thing.
Everything made the trip north with very little damage but I'm only half unpacked. Well, maybe more than half but half the garage is still full of boxes! (a lot of them are my book boxes so we're putting those off until last!) I paid a couple of guys to unload the trucks and they were fast but there was no organization in the unload so we're sifting through stuff and finding things I had in my high priority boxes. But it all came out remarkably well, so far.
I ended up leasing my house to a friend of mine. It doesn't cover the entire mortgage but it certainly does help. If she can keep up the payments, I may let her buy it in a year or so. Working on selling my mom's house, too. I need to replenish my savings!
Mac has started school and likes it a lot. He has new friends and seems to be enjoying his time at school. SO much smaller. It's seven blocks from the house so it takes me 5 min to drop him and 5 min to pick him up. No complicated security system with numbers on cars and kids needed like the system in Houston.
Jacque had done so much by the time we got here. Everything was painted except one bathroom, one set of baseboards and some touch up. And I need to make the curtains but she has all the fabric. That was a ton of work since there was old wall paper on a great deal of the house. They also demo'd the tile in the kitchen but nothing is back up. But a little at a time. She comes over most days to help bring up some of the heavier boxes and then leaves me to unpack them! Make a mess and clean it up... make a mess and clean it up. I should have most everything in place in a couple more weeks.
I love the house. My only complaint is that the kitchen is teeny tiny! It's a 'one butt' kitchen so we'll have to do a remodel at some point. But that's a while off, too.
I've started working on the business stuff between unpacking but August was my 'poor month' with all the moving expenses AND I got a $1100 final bill from Reliant Energy AND I had to buy a new washer and dryer. But even working on a shoestring this month, I think we'll be ready to start interviewing staff and doing marketing this month. We need to put our plan into motion. Jacque is running out of unemployment this month so I need to pay her something. It's going to be really tight for awhile but I know the Lord sent me the message to do this so I also know it's going to work out.
And speaking of HIM! I checked out the local Methodist church. Lady pastor. Not as good a musical group in the contemporary service but I was spoiled by the one in Cypress. They were superb. Seems like a nice bunch. And the first sermon was on hospitality! I was the only visitor so it was very fortuitous! We'll find us both a Sunday School class next week.
I've started my foster care license transfer process and should have a placement in October. Again, it's a lot less complicated here. And there are a lot of kids so I'm told I'll seldom have a vacancy. That will be different than waiting months between placements in Houston.
Had to make a mad dash BACK to Oklahoma to give Savanah back to her mom so she could start school on time. We brought her with us to help Mac settle in and give her Mom a 'vacation'. She's my daughter in law's sister's girl . I've been keeping for several months now, since my layoff. Mac's best friend... So we met in Guthrie (half wayish) and swapped her. Nice little town with antique stores so we may make that the swapping place of choice.
The horses are fine. Jacque and I gave them a bath and made them pretty. They've been neglected the last few weeks. Rastafarian curls instead of manes and tails. But they're better now. I'm still being sued and I had to do a deposition the week before I left. And now they've dragged Jacque's Grandma into it. Jacque lives with her so they're going after her insurance as well. The horse really belongs to Jacque so they're going every direction they can think of to get money. Sad to think someone needs money so much that they'll target an 80 year old woman.
Overall, August rushed past me so fast I wonder what happened. But I'm happy where I've landed. Looking forward to spending some time out at the lake with the family this weekend. It's cool enough for a campfire and smores!
So.. that's us in a (not so small) nutshell!!
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