snowed in

I haven’t been able to get on the Internet much since we got to Asheville because Jef’s brother doesn’t have internet at home, so I’ve been tethering my phone here and there but otherwise been offline.  We’ve been holed up here for two days, waiting for the snow to melt so we can go get our car.  It’s been parked at Jef’s parents’ house since Christmas, as the snow started pretty much as soon as we got there and fell for about two days continuously.  We got stuck there Christmas night, then Jef’s brother was kind enough to come pick us up so that we’d have a bed and a change of clothes.  We’ve been hanging around at home, reading, playing with the Wii (I’m really glad we decided to bring the Wii!), eating Christmas candy and watching the dogs play with each other.  The snow was a nice touch for Christmas but starting to feel a little stir crazy at this point and am really looking forward to getting out of the house tomorrow for a bit.

It has been nice to be sort of forced to sit around and read and do nothing, I must admit.  It’s given me some time to decompress and rebuild my brain cells after the mental workout of the semester.  And I’m looking forward to seeing family and friends in a few days in Baltimore.  i haven’t been home for a year and a half so it’s exciting but I’m nervous too in a way, kinda wondering what it’s going to feel like to return after so long.  I feel tired, strangely enough.  I dont know how to describe what I feel, exactly, it’s a weird feeling.  Anyway I am tired right now and feel like I’m going to stop making sense soon so I’ll end here and leave you with  picture of a snowy hound

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Rolling through the Ozarks

We left Oklahoma behind us a few hours ago and are on the way to Memphis for the night. Tomorrow will be our last day of driving and I’m reaaaaallllly looking forward to being able to relax in asheville for a few days.
Last night we went to a drive through light display that was surprisingly creative, it was really nice and got us into the spirit.

 

Texas

 

Drive from Sedona to Flagstaff

I never got a chance to blog this, but it’s one of the nicest drives in the SW US.

 

Santa fe to OK

Ok so we survived the treacherous roads of Santa Fe. It was pretty icy last night but we managed to get downtown where I took this pretty picture of the lights in the plaza.
We’re on our way to OK City now, looks like it’s going to be pretty snowy and cold the whole way.

 

Heading into snowy Santa Fe

Supposed to be ~6 in of snow on the ground when we get into. If we can get into town. We already made a reservation that we can’t cancel so this presents somewhat of a dilemma. I guess we’ll have to see what it’s like when we get closer. At least it’ll be pretty!
The dogs were awesome during our first night in a hotel. They wouldn’t let us leave them there alone without a lot of whining, but they slept great.

 

Red Planet Diner

We ate at this semi-shady diner in Sedona because nothing else was open. Like a few of the other establishments we passed it oddly enough has a UFO theme going on. The double bacon burger was surprisingly good.
Note: the label below the bust reads “Princes Leiah”. It was a nice touch.

 

Cabbin it back east

Not really cabbing it, right now we’re making our way around Phoenix towards Sedona, which is about another two hours north of here. I’ve got both dogs on my lap and we’re feeling great. It feels awesome to be out in the wide open desert. Also it’s supposed to snow this evening so hopefully I’ll have some beautiful pics to post soon!

 

on the move

Jef and I are (hopefully) one week shy of moving to our new place in Orange. I am very excited about this, especially considering that our air conditioner is no longer working and Santa Ana is the closest place to hell I’ve ever lived. Yes, even more so than Charles Village. I said that. Santa Ana is what hell would be like if it was built by the Waltons. The Walmart Waltons, not the TV Waltons, though that would also be hell but of a very different flavor.

I’ve been here almost a year and haven’t been lobotomized yet. I guess that is a measure of success. It is boring and expensive and right now pretty hot and unusually humid. So yeah, I do want to move eventually but we will be alright for a year or so. We have settled into a pattern here that is somewhat, not comfortable, maybe just stable is the right word. We are stable and that is good for now. I can deal.

I don’t want to seem like I always complain, but I guess I only get the urge to update this thing when I’m in a complainy mood and some change in occurring. So, I should mention the beautiful sunset I saw today on the way home, the sky was orange at the horizon and above the sun was shining off the clouds and it was golden, all mixed in with blue and orange and pearly white. It was beautiful. It was the first nice sunset I’ve noticed here, so maybe it is a sign. And I found a snowball stand, where they put softserve in the middle and fruit on top and the syrup is sweet and delicious. Fezzik is always a joy and manages to remind me to put things in perspective. I look in the mirror now and actually for the first time in my life think I look pretty six days out of seven. I’ve lost weight. Jef is a savior and keeps me sane and amused. I’m almost done with my psych classes and I’ll be getting As in both. I will start school in a month and it’s going to be interesting and hopefully will lead me to my life’s purpose. And I will have a garage for pottery making soon!

So yeah I guess things are much better than I think most of the time, and I just have to remind myself sometimes.

 

The sun sets over the Pacific yet again