Happy Blustery Friday

Hello folks!  Happy Friday to everyone.

It is 62 degrees outside right now and for that I am crazy happy.

I am celebrating the blustery wind outside with pumpkin bread in the oven and warm apple cider in my mug.  I am in heaven.

I am crazy in love with fall.  To me it represents fresh starts, clean slates, and all that jazz.  Which is good considering the moving boxes stacked all around me.

Our Austin adventure ends and our Fort Worth begins in exactly two weeks.  Holy smack!  I am excited and nervous.

But I am not going to think about that right now.  Instead I am going to savor the chill in the air, sip on my cider, and go run around outside with Little B without breaking a sweat.

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From my bookshelf: The Red Tent

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I actually read this book a while ago.  But as I was looking through my list of read books, I realized that The Red Tent was missing.  That just did not seem right given how much I love this book.

The Red Tent was actually one of the first books that I read with my book club way back in 2004.  Before then, I would always pick it up at the bookstore, intrigued by its cover, only to put it back up on the shelf.  I feared being fooled by a fancy cover.

Well, once it was chosen for book club, of course, I had to read it.  And wow, I am so glad that I did.  I will tell you that this book led to one of the best book club conversations that I have ever had.  Of course, we had great wine and a diverse mix of wonderful women, but the book for sure played a role as well.

The Red Tent tells the story of Dinah, a woman briefly mentioned in the Old Testament.  She is the only daughter of Jacob, born of his first wife, Leah.  Dinah tells a story of the traditions and troubles of ancient womanhood in biblical times... the world of the red tent, a space reserved solely for women and the mysteries of the menses, childbirth, love, marriage, aging, life, and death.

She begins with the story of her mothers - Leah,  Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah - the four wives of Jacob.  She then follows with her story, heartbreaking and beautiful all at the same time.

I LOVED this book. This story stuck with me long after I finished reading it.  Love, loss, betrayal, the importance of family and the bonds we choose to keep or sever provide so many different discussion points.  If your book club has not read this, I would strongly encourage it.  Or if you are looking for a good gift for a book-lovin' woman in your life, this would be a good one.

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Our quest for a Fort Worth house

We are back from a long weekend in Fort Worth.

We went up on Saturday in order to find a place to live.  Let me just say that our search was quite the adventure.  We got a great tour of many Fort Worth neighborhoods and saw some "interesting" houses.

With one house, we set off the security alarm with no way of turning it off.

Another house either still had tenants that were moving out or someone was squatting there.  Not quite sure.  But it was obvious that either way, they were not expecting company.  The underwear all over the floor and bong in the middle of the living room gave that away.

We saw houses that looked like caves, others that had legendary wall paper, and others that had the original mustard colored oven from 1971.

Yes, it was quite an adventure.  We put in an application on one with an amazing kitchen and is in a very quiet neighborhood with old trees.  Fingers crossed that we get it.

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1st Thing on the To-Do List

Woohoo!  Our house is sold!  Well, kind of.  We close Nov. 14.  But anyways... Woohoo!

With that out of the way and David's job opportunity in Fort Worth, we are officially moving. 

Whew! My head is swirling with all the stuff that has to get done over the next few weeks...

• Go find moving boxes, tape, bubble wrap, etc.
• Start packing (ugh!)
• Cancel utilities
• Eat all the food in the fridge
• Start saying my "so long for now" to my beloved Austin friends
• Find a new place to live in Fort Worth
• Find a new Mother's Day out program in Fort Worth
• Make new friends in Fort Worth
• Discover Fort Worth's best pie shop

The list could go on and on.  I am overwhelmed by it.  So I think I will start with that last bullet -  Discover Fort Worth's best pie shop.  This place is for sure going on the list.  They are famous for their Chocolate Pie.

 

Bon Appetit rated The Paris Coffee Shop as one of the nation's Top 10 Best Places for Pie.

The way I see it is that it would be rude for me to not drop by and say hello.  Don't you agree?  Have any of y'all been there?

Well, I feel much better now that one thing has been crossed off the list.

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From my bookshelf: Isaac's Storm

Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Isaac's Storm is one of those books that reads documentary style.  Based on historical facts, public record, and interviews, Erik Larson inserts an additional commentary layer that transforms all of this factual information into a story with character depth, suspense, and more.

Isaac's Storm weaves together 3 main "story lines":

• The life of Isaac Cline.  He was a medical student, scientist, Sunday school teacher, family man, and respected man of society.  But he was also a proud man that did not understand the limits of his knowledge, especially when it comes to weather.
• The history of American weather forecasting and the politics that go with it.  Science, gut feelings, and human ego were all involved when developing a forecast.
• The tragic hurricane that it Galveston in September of 1900.  Upwards of 8,000 people were killed.  

While I have never been particularly interested in the weather and science of forecasting before, I found it fascinating in this book.  This book gave me a new appreciation for all that we know about the weather... and all that we do not.

It also made me never want to live in a coastal town.  Hurricanes are definitely scary and unpredictable, but the politics that go into what is and is not communicated to the public is even scarier.

And the storyline surrounding the actual hurricane and its devastation is haunting.  Larson is gifted in telling us enough about the historical characters that you feel like you know them and therefore feel their losses.

This was a very easy read.  Educational and suspenseful, I read it cover to cover within a couple days.  I really, really liked it.  I felt like I got a great story and learned something in the process.  I would definitely recommend it to others... but maybe not during hurricane season.

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Growing up a little too fast

She is growing up a little too fast for me.  Gone is my baby.  She has been replaced by this "big girl" that is fiercely independent and wakes up each day with an agenda that she wants to accomplish.

Today the agenda includes a walk with her "big-girl" backpack.  She loves her backpack.  She is adamant that she has to go "bye-bye. walk".

She is packed and ready to go.  Her backpack is filled with all the essentials - her toy phone, a book, some crayons, her Elmo, and her Tonka truck.

Not quite sure where she is going,  but the backyard seems like a good enough starting place for her journey.

She gave me a hug and a kiss goodbye and went off to her destination.  I told her to be back by lunch time.

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What I am loving...

 :: This crazy girl.  She is a bit of a wild woman these days.  But she makes me laugh like no one else. As I type this, she is supposed to be napping.  But instead she is sitting in her crib, putting her cat in time-out and scolding him for not listening.  I wonder where she got that from.

:: Our house went under contract for full asking price within 4 days of being on the market.  WOOHOO!  Keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes well during the inspection period.

:: Just picked the last poblanos of the season.  I love their smoky smell.

:: Cool front is coming in tonight and will put the highs in the 70s.  I have been waiting for this all summer!

:: Now that I know we are moving, I am doing my best to not buy anymore food and use up everything that is already in the pantry, fridge, and freezer.  As silly as it seems, I feel quite accomplished as new shelf space is cleared out.

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Woohoo!

We have multiple offers on the house!!!  And for full asking price.  Can I get a a "Hooray!"?

This is what we are doing in our house right now.

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Fall Weekending

This past weekend, fall came to visit Austin for the first time all year.  And with it, it brought many friends in the form of much-needed rain, impromtu family and friend gatherings, and house showings.

Anyone that is not from here would probably think that we were all a bit off our rockers because of how excited we were to see rain.  You would have thought that we got snow.  Everyone was outside just staring at it with huge smiles on their faces.  Women walked proudly with frizzy hair and puddle stained shoes. 

Our house officially went on the market on Friday.  You would have thought the rain would deter any home buyers but that was not the case.

After I primped and poufed my house on Saturday morning in order for it to look its best, we headed down to my parents' house.  2 of my 3 brothers ended up there too due to a rained out camping trip.  Then even more family unexpectedly dropped by.  As Little B played with her cousins, the adults had a great time drinking wine, eating steaks, and watching the dark rain clouds roll by.  It is funny that something as simple as rain clouds can get adults so worked up.  And of course, the A&M game was on TV.  My lone Texas Tech brother was outnumbered by Aggies.  Whoop!

Sunday brought more house showings.  So we spent the day with my friend, Pansy, and her little girl.  And with the temperature in the lows 70s, it was down right chilly.  Nothing better to celebrate the chill in the air than open windows and the best chicken fried chicken and fried okra in town.  I love me some Hoover's Cooking!

Seriously, if you are ever in Austin and need some good southern soul food, Hoover's is your place.  They don't mess around.  Just be sure to wear your stretchy pants.

And while the babies slept, Pansy and I kicked back for a Pioneer Woman cooking show marathon.

That may have been the best weekend I have had all year.

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The next chapter

The last few weeks have been absolutely crazy ridiculous.  I feel like a snow globe that has been strongly shaken up.  Little B, David and I are the figurines firmly planted on the bottom of the snow globe while everything else in our lives is represented by the snow flakes that are chaotically fluttering around and landing every which way.

You know what they say.... Just when you start getting comfortable in your life, life throws you a curve ball.  And in our case, it has been a lot of curve balls all at once.  Or my new saying... just when you paint your house and love the color, it is time to sell it.  Doesn't it always just seem to go that way?!

Right after the miscarriage happened back in August, my husband and I decided that it was time to close down his company, Duarte Construction.  A shaky economy, lack of good health insurance, and insane working hours drove us to this decision. The glory of running our company was just not worth the headaches that go along with it.  At least not for right now in this economy and where we are in our lives.

With that decision came a job search for both of us.  So much of our energies over the last few weeks have been focused on pounding the pavement, making phone calls, and going to interviews.  David has been looking at opportunities in the IT and Landman industries.  I have been working the marketing/project management/business consultant angles.

And after some really promising interviews, it looks like there is a strong chance that we will have to pack up and leave our beloved Austin for the promise of a new city.  It looks like our new city will either be Fort Worth or Houston.

I wish I could say that I am really excited about all of this.  I wish that I was one of those people that would look at this situation like another adventure to file away in my life folder of awesome experiences.  But if I am really honest with myself, I feel like a little girl at my first day of school that does not want to let go of my mom's hand.  I am scared, anxious, and really hope that everybody will like me.

Now I love me some adventure when it comes to trying new food, visiting far away places, meeting interesting people.  But in other areas - like the friends I see everyday, the place I go to sleep at night, the kitchen that I cook our meals in, the path that I run in the mornings - I like those to be constant and never changing.  They serve as my calm center when the world outside is going bonkers... because we all know that it is.

I probably sound so dramatic right about now.  I know that I will make new friends and we will find a house and neighborhood that I will love just as much as my current one.  But the unknown right now is killing me. It is daunting in that we will be starting from scratch in building our support network and putting down roots.  Much like a garden, those good things take a while.

Plus when you add the logistics of selling a house (with a toddler running around!), packing everything up, finding a new place, landing a new job, finding a new pediatrician and school for Little B, etc, etc... I get overwhelmed just thinking about it.

Our house goes on the market tomorrow.  It is very bittersweet.  I really like our house.  But I hope it sells fast. Much like pulling off a bandaid, you just gotta take a deep breath, scream "Holy S*%#!" and give a solid yank like you mean it.

I really hope we love the next chapter/city/house/neighborhood even more.  And I hope will meet even more amazing people to pull into the fold of our great group of friends.  I know I will be super excited once a few decisions have been made.  Until then lots of deep breathing and Nutella.

So I want to hear from y'all - Any words of wisdom on the adventures of moving and starting over again?

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