I've put the word out

I've told a bunch of people about my blog-we'll see what everyone thinks. I found this wonderful picture of Chuck and Melissa which pretty much tells everyone about our family.

A Change In the Air

Sometimes it takes the chance of a change to make the things that have kept you in one place seem unimportant. My husband has the chance to make a big change in his career and thus our lives.  Not only is it a change in jobs, but it is also a change in location, style of living and proximity to family. It is a move to a place I've never been with climate as opposite as possible from Tucson.

North Dakota.

Ok, I can do this.  The move for him will happen sooner than my move due to living accommodations. He can live for free in company apartments that are set up for singles only.  Once we are able to set up house for both of us and the dogs I will join him.  I am not looking forward to being a bachelor for a couple of months, and there is much to get ready before he leaves. 

At my age I wonder how I will make this transition? I'm not young, but certainly not old, yet things will be very different. We have grand plans for this time and the money we can make. I hope for stability and freedom after this experience. It will be profound and unsettling, exciting and challenging and will test us in our ability to adapt. For our relationship we will depend on each other more than we already do and I'm sure the encouragement we give each other and our mutual faith in God will be foundational in finishing this course of life.

My children are excited for us and I think a bit concerned. We will keep our home in Tucson for the time being, it will be the touchstone for us as we abide 1800 miles away. I won't have to sell my possession, store the keepsakes and put myself out there with no home base.

So here we go-our adventures are ahead.

-N

It's all about greed!

I am appalled at the NFL talks. Who do these guys think they are? They make entirely too much money, and that includes NBA and MLB players as well. They play a game. Just a game. Their skill at this game does nothing to improve humanity. Instead it creates the opportunity for many of these idiots to get away with acts which the rest of us would never have the chance of escaping punishment. The average salary for a teacher, engineer or scientist is minimal in comparison and the impact on the community is immeasurable. These athletes are greedy, narcisistic, immoral and have no redeeming factors other than the fact that they can play a game. I admit there are a few of them who have shown themselves to be above the others, however they are in the majority. I just read of a player for the Vikings who blew $100k on a party! How many children who are starving and freezing in Minnesota could have been fed and clothes by that money? I like football as much as the next person but this situation with overpaid athletes is intolerable and until we, the individual fan, quit paying the prices for tickets this will not stop. These people are NOT heros!!!

It's cold out there!

The Tucson area is being hit with a really bad cold spell. People have no gas, water pipes have burst, vegetation in this area is not prepared for this kind of cold and Tucson Medical Center where Chuck works has had several major problems today. It's 7:15pm and he doesn't expect to be home for at least another three hours! I thank God that our heater works and the water is running. This morning when I was getting coffee I looked at the weather station readout and the air temp was 16 degrees with a wind chill of -02. Wow!!! Chuck had to break the ice on the pond. Mocha and Sasha were very disinclined to venture outside to do their business. I'm going to settle down with a couple of good chick flicks and wait for my honey. Hope everyone stays warm. -N

Catching up

Things pass quickly and before you know it nearly a year is gone. We have been busy, but happy. Aaron and Chelsea stopped in on their way to Oklahoma. It was so fun to hang out and be silly, we missed Melissa though. Chuck "celebreated" 31 years with Tucson Medical Center in August. He's one of the old guard, staying at a job forever. People don't do that anymore. We spent Labor Day in Greer AZ using the cabin of my work friend Beatrice. It is beautiful and was the perfect size for the two of us. We were able to stay for five days which was perfect. The only glitch was having to have some seriou$ work done on the truck, but Show Low Ford was great to us. We started planning our big trip to Oklahoma for Christmas and that turned into a very fun time. We spent ten days there and it was really cold and perfect for me. Chuck and I walked alot, we brought lots of presents shared a very Merry Christmas. It was nice to see Aaron being the man and cutting the absolutely amazingly good turkey. He's a lucky man because Chelsea cooks a mean Christmas turkey. We had a very fun time with Melissa too and by the time we got back to Tucson the winter had showed up!! It snowed the morning she left! Check it out.

All in all we survived and enjoyed family and good food. After the holiday I managed to get the flu and have only just started to recover. But then again it will be 12 more years until I get it again.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

(Holy crap it 2011, only one more year until the world comes to and end!!)

;-) -N

Lots of craziness going on. Aaron and Chelsea came though on their way to Durant, OK. They are settling in and Aaron is already working!! Yay! Chelsea is interviewing so hope that comes through soon. Mom had her 80th birthday on May 24th and we surprised her with a party. It was so fun and she felt very special. She will be leaving on the 15th for her annual pilgrimage to Texas and will return on July 16th. While she's there Aaron and Chelsea hope to come down to Arlington to see her, they want to take her to see the new Dallas Cowboys stadium-I know she will love that. On the 20th I am going to Boston for a conference. Poor Chuck will be all alone with only Mocha and Sasha to care for him. I just hope he doesn't make too much of mess while I'm gone. Before I leave I have to settle with Pima County Courts and Diving School to take care of a speeding ticket I got on River Road. That's what happens when I go south of Ina Road. I hate going into town. If I have to go south of Ina I get pissed off. We are all very happy that the In 'n Out in Oro Valley finally opened. I have to stay away from it or I will weigh 500 lbs. I love their fries and milkshakes. Yum! Chuck cannot get on his farm on Farmville, consequently he got a lot of work done around the house today! Oh well.

Year end

It's time to reflect and consider all of the things that happened in the last year. Here goes-It started off with a cruise on the Carnival Victory in the southern Caribbean which was wonderful and beautiful and one of the most relaxing vacations I have ever had. I heartily recommend it. February was fun with a big wedding shower here in Tucson for Aaron and Chelsea. So many friends and family who wouldn't be able to come to the wedding were here and blessed them with a wonderful array of gifts. We hosted Chuck's brother Rick and niece Tenney for a few days and that was so much fun. It was a great chance to reconnect and get to know them better. Melissa and Nick surprised mom with a visit here and that was the best. Mom was so surprised and happy. We also got to spend time with Mary, Rick, Steph and Kali which made it perfect. Chuck and I had a fun trip to San Carlos, Mexico for diving with some friends from church-strange weekend because it was punctuated with the deaths of Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Still we did some great dives. In October we traveled to Southern California for Aaron and Chelsea's wedding which was a wonderful treat. The whole experience was wonderful with lots of family on both sides in attendance. I think theirs is a good match. The newlyweds came to Tucson the week before Thanksgiving for an early holiday dinner. Early or not it was a great visit. Christmas was so fun with Melissa here for a week. My friend Jennifer Boone and her lovely family joined us for Christmas dinner, it's always fun to have the little ones around. Melissa, Trinity and I went to see "The Nutcracker" ballet and it was so fun to get dressed up and go to town!! So here I sit on New Year's Eve, champagne in the fridge and illegal fireworks in the closet. I consider that probably the worst thing to happen was Arizona getting destroyed in the Holiday Bowl. That is not important compared to the safety and health of my family and the blessing of salvation. To everyone I wish a blessed new year! Nancy