Surprises

Over the last week, we finally moved into a house! I use finally so emphatically not because it's been a month since we moved but we've been waiting for it for over a year. A month I can handle. 13 months is a little much!

It's been approximately 405 days since I've seen all of our belongings besides clothes and a few daily needs. It's been that long since Tyler and I have lived - just the two of us. I counted up the times that we loaded and unloaded all of our boxes in vehicles to be moved from one place to another. It all started last July when we moved most of our stuff from Webb City to Owasso. Then a little over a month ago we moved them from Owasso to a garage in Tracy. Finally last week we moved them in to our house. I was very thankful when I realized I don't have to stare at the boxes anymore wondering what's in side of them.

Yes there have been a few surprises, random things I forgot about. One thing in particular I have to mention specifically. These gloves:

Not very long ago my sister (Lydia) surprised me with these gloves. One thing my family learned about me over the last year is that I cannot stand for my hands to be wet. I hate the feeling of it- even worse I hate how dry my hands feel after. So I used gloves for dishes...but also for laundry. The transfer of wet clothes to the dryer or to hangers to be hung, drove me crazy. So she bought me these super cute gloves! I finally opened them up today to start using. This is the biggest and best surprise because of this:

That's right- no dishwasher. It wasn't ever something I considered not having, it just so happens the house we ended up liking most just didn't have one. So thank you so much Lydia, you win the prize for best idea: cute and fun gloves! Because boy oh boy, am I doing a lot more dishes than normal.

Another great surprise I had was this:

Last fall/winter, I searched everywhere for my scarves! I was just so sure that I clearly labeled the boxes. I could picture the boxes with labels in my head but could not find them anywhere. We even went to our storage unit once and looked at every single box because I was so sure that we could find them since it was labeled. Well. Clever me, I then put these shoe boxes into a bigger box. Not labeled scarves but simply "storage". So I have been waiting for this day for a long time, to finally find my scarves! I can now wear them with more joy than ever before.

So far those are the highlights of my unpacking. I have made a ton of progress but still have a ways to go. We are only painting one room in this house and it happens to be our bedroom so right now I am at somewhat of a standstill until we paint and get moved in. Only having one car and then the fact that we have youth events on Tuesday and Wednesday has hindered us from getting all the paint stuff figured out. So once we've painted and I get this house all put together, there will be a post dedicated to the house and all it's glory and quirks! 

California Is Weird

I guess it's all relative, right? In comparison to where I spent the majority of my life, life out here is pretty weird. So today I will share with you the top "weirdest" or most interesting things I have learned about California so far.

1. I can't say this with enough emphasis - It is BRIGHT here. It is seriously painful to go outside without sunglasses. With sunglasses it is hardly bearable. Let me tell you, that 5 o'clock sun is brutal. I seem to find myself traveling to Walmart between 4-6 a lot of days which is on the west side of town. Who cares about traffic, that sun is the worst part of driving around here. Also, an interesting fact I learned... Because of the humidity in the midwest, your skin is more protected than it is here. As if I needed to have less protection for my pasty, sunburn-prone skin. Thanks, Cali! And I thought little humidity was going to be a good thing...

2. U-Turns. Here's the thing- I am sure many of you were raised in places that u-turns were acceptable. But I wasn't. In Owasso and Joplin- the two places I have driven most of my life- you don't pull u-turns. Whether it's illegal or no one does it, I'm not really sure. But by day 2 living in Cali, I am a u-turn fanatic. Especially when I am learning a new area and driving down wrong roads daily. Quick u-turn at an intersection and we are good to go! And trust me, it's not like you just pull it once in a while because you have to- it's a daily, almost encouraged move. Weird, but I am kind of liking it.

3. Sometimes people think we moved to a different country because California is this foreign, strange land no one understands. Well it's true, it's a weird place. Sometimes it feels like we are in a separate country. For instance, when we crossed the border in to California, there was an inspection station. For every single car. Most cars were waived through, but with our Penske truck, we were stopped. This inspection consisted not of anything you would expect- drug check, suspicious items... no. It was a check to make sure we didn't bring any plants from Oklahoma. Why? To make sure we didn't bring any flies that would ruin vegetation out here. Because flies would naturally want to hide in our truck to sneak across the border. They probably need to build a wall higher than flies can fly because hello- they can fly. They can cross the border if they'd like. I get it, here in Cali, they are growing a lot of food that can't be grown elsewhere right now because of the drought... They don't want their vegetation ruined... But come on. What's stopping insects from just waltzing on over? (If you ever feel the need to tell me the scientific process or reasons of why insects wouldn't come on their own but only come on plants from Oklahoma, don't bother. It completely ruins the humor of that inspection station. I prefer humor to boring answers.)

4. Texas Roadhouse is all the rage. Believe it or not Californians, Oklahoma has those too! Seriously, I've never heard a restaurant mentioned so much- albeit, a chain restaurant. It's pretty humorous every time someone asks if we've been there. Many a time, my friends... many a time.

5. I really can't think of a 5th one, but I don't like ending on 4. So again, I declare it is really bright here. Please do not forget your sunglasses when you come visit =)

While it's a weird (relative) place, I really do love it so far. Perhaps soon we will have a top 5 best things about Cali post soon!

Again, it's all relative to where I've been before. I'm sure as time moves on we will discover more and more strange aspects of living in Cali, and don't worry I will be quick to tell you all about them. But for now, I leave you with a concept to ponder: The Dry Bean Festival. You can't make these things up, people!