Where Do I Begin

It's admittedly cliche to begin a written piece with "Where do I begin." But really, where do I begin when something is coming to an end and so much has happened that the idea of writing about it is overwhelmingly confusing?

Where do I begin.

I'll start with the date. Today is Sunday, June 26, 2016, at 8:22 pm. Next week at this time, my family and I will be en route to Ferndale, Washington, which is just north of Bellingham, which is just north of Seattle, which is significantly north of where we are currently.

That's a lot of road construction.

That's a really boring beginning, but it's something that should be said. My family and I are leaving Texas, and this blog (which hasn't been tended to in over two years) will no longer be relevant. I haven't read any of the previous posts in that same time period, and I'm interested to compare the beginning to the end.

Where do I begin.

We've met a lot of friends here. At first, it was hard to meet people. We were stuck in the world's tiniest apartment, Nolan wasn't yet in school, Brian was working a lot, I was depressed. Nolan and I tried to find adventures (the Heritage Farmstead Museum was fun), meet new people (that's how I was first introduced to the joys of meetup.com), and find a little bit of beauty in an ugly place (no offense, DFW, but you're kind of boring to look at).

And then we made our first friends: Cristi and Federico.

Federico

Cristi

Suddenly, we actually had people to whom we could relate. Cristi is un-apologetically honest, funny, and blunt--in different ways than me. Federico is an Italian who knows more about the United States than anyone else I know (except for maybe my dad).

Our first Thanksgiving in Texas was celebrated with our new friends, and we had great conversations, food, and laughs. That particular holiday was everything Hallmark says it should be, complete with Black Friday shopping on Thursday. When we leave Texas in a week, I will miss our first friends here.

Where do I begin.

I love our house. I don't like our house. I love it because it's new and brick and spacious. I don't like it because the garage is small and my stuff overflows it. I love it because of the engineered hardwood floors, porch swing, and the paint I chose for it. I don't like it because it's too dark when you walk in, the bedrooms are on separate floors, and my neighbors can see in my windows.

I'll miss the brick.

This actually wasn't supposed to be our home. We were supposed to be in an entirely different city, about 35 minutes from where we are. We put an offer on the other house, it was accepted, but we backed out after it was discovered there were foundation problems.

About once a month, I wonder what our lives would have been like had we lived in that house. Would Nolan have done as well in school? Would we have had nice neighbors? Would we have been happier? Would we have regretted it? Would my business have been any different?

Where do I begin.

Ah, my business. My beautiful, amazing, creative, frustrating, joyous, satisfying business. In case you're completely clueless, I own my own business. It was launched right here in Texas in August of 2014.

Grown in Minnesota, Made in Texas

Log Slices By Margie has shown me more of Texas than anything else. I've met wonderful people, learned a lot about the area, and discovered just how hot it can be in July.

When I first started making ornaments out of log slices, I wood-burned images of moose, deer, pine trees, and black bears on them. At my very first event, a woman asked me if I had anything with Texas on it.

"No," I replied, smiling apologetically at her, "but I can make one for you."

She studied me for a moment, and then asked, "How long have you lived in Texas?"

"Well," I said, "I think it's been about 15 months since we moved here."

Work in progress

She laughed and declared, "And you haven't figured out yet that Texans love Texas?"

That one comment stuck with me, and it's what completely changed my product line. I went from acorns to A & M, owls to 5-point stars, forest green to bright red, mountains to cowboy boots. At some craft shows I couldn't keep Texas-related ornaments in stock. When I move back to Washington, I'll sell my Texas stuff at clearance and hope I can get rid of it.

Where do I begin.

DFW is surrounded by suburbs. Some are very rich, some are very poor, but most are right in the middle. We live in a bedroom community called Little Elm. It's a nice town with nice people that is trying to find its identity while competing with its fancy neighbor to the east, Frisco. Good luck.

The best part about living in the 'burbs is the people. The worst part about living in the 'burbs is the people. I made many friends, but I was also exposed to some nasty drama. Unfortunately, I got sucked in. Fortunately, I pulled myself out.

'nuff said.

Living here has taught me many things about people. The biggest thing is that we never really know anyone. Behind the pretty faces, clean houses, and shiny mini-vans lurks drug addiction, divorce, backstabbing, infidelity, money problems, theft, racism, and more.

I'm grateful I'm being given a second chance at living in a close-knit neighborhood in Ferndale, but the things I've learned around here have (sadly) hardened me to the truths of this world. I won't be as trusting, naive, or open with new friends. I'll still be me... just a little more guarded.

Where do I begin.

Blue bonnets are a thing. Like a THING.

I'm going to miss living in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. I'll miss the food, hanging out at the pool in September, the slight accents, driving fast on the North Tollway, the brick houses, my amazing vegetable gardens, the fantastic schools, the booming businesses, hardworking Hispanics building houses, small town football, the expansive infrastructure, polite people holding doors open, blue bonnets, and my friends.

I won't miss the heat, lack of culture, the 90% of drivers who refuse to use their turn signal, lack of recycling, two-faced people who go to church on Sunday but are against helping refugees, lack of acceptance towards marijuana, and the general ugliness that is DFW. Seriously, the song "Big Yellow Taxi" is a perfect description of this area.

Where do I begin.

I hate good byes. I really can't stand this awkward time when people are saying goodbye to me and we don't know if our paths will ever cross again. I don't like thinking that this is my last full Sunday in Texas. I don't like selling my home to people who are really nice, will love it, and will make it their home in just a few days.

Nothing quite like paying a lot of money to be really cold.

I don't like thinking that this could be my last "Overhausers in Texas" blog post. Not even "could" be. It is.

To Texas I say "Thank you." Thank you for being my home for the last 35 and one half months. Thank you for everything you've shown me and my family. Thank you for the good times, the bad times, the friendships, memories, and moments. Thank you for being everything I thought you'd be and nothing I expected. Thank you for the pride

Overhausers in Texas

you've given me, the smile on my face when I hear a song with "Texas" in it, and the license plates I will joyfully hang in my new home's garage.


Thank you, Texas. Good bye.

Some Goings On

Greetings, neglected readers and random internet stalkers!  Please accept my sorta-deep-but-not-really apologies for the long break in-between blogs.  Yes, I suck, but the last couple of months have been busy and I've been lazy.

Die Schule

First, it's important to note that I'm not saying "DIE, SCHULE!" but am actually saying "The school" auf Deutsch.  Second, I had to Google which gender "schule" should be.  Third, I suck at German.

As many of you noticed via Facebook, I am a college graduate.  Huzzah!

I finished my degree at the end of March.  No clue what the future has in store for me, but standby for either really exciting things (jobs! more school! winning the lottery!) or not-so-exciting things (hanging out by the pool! driving Nolan to preschool! mowing the lawn!).

Future MLB-er

Nolan is making like another Texan with the same name: He joined a baseball team.  

The league he's in is called blast ball; it's like tee-ball, but simpler.  The players only have to run to first base, there are no outs, and nobody keeps score.  Of course--being that we're in Texas--some parents keep mental score.  I imagine that if Nolan continues to play baseball up through high school, I will encounter a parent who will be more than happy to remind me of his/her son beating my child at blast ball.  

One of the best parts of the whole blast ball thing is player of the week.  Every week the coach picks one player who had a great day, or improved, or listened, or didn't poop his pants, and gives him a baseball. That player's name is thrown into a pot (with other players of the week from different teams in the same league) and a blast ball player of the week is chosen.  A couple of weeks ago, Nolan was picked by his coach AND he won the player of the week.  He received a medal, a certificate, a $10 Applebee's gift card, and a free scoop of Baskin-Robins ice cream.

The reason I think it's one of the best parts of blast ball is because only one player per week gets chosen.  No trophies or accolades are handed out just because the kids showed up. It's a fair guess that every player will get one during the season, but the kids don't realize that.  It's a good life lesson for everybody.

Social Butterfly:

I started up a meetup.com group in order for Nolan and I to meet more friends.  Not only has it kept us busy with making crafts, but Nolan has made some good buddies.  As a bonus, I'm making some good buddies too!

Nolan, Ayla, and Camden

Brian, Nolan, and I all enjoy meeting the neighbors and relaxing in the sunshine.  Our street is filled with children, and Nolan loves playing with them.

Nolan and DJ

That's all for now folks.  Stay tuned for more updates!

A Cleaner View

Just a quick blog that captures the fact that our house CAN be clean (on occasion).  We're getting more settled... yay!

I am in love with the open-floor concept.  It's so welcoming.

Nolan wanted to get in on the photo-taking action.  Even
he's a little clean!

CHEESE!!!!!!!

Technically this is a formal dining room.  We are using it
as an office/den.

Guest bedroom

Kinda blurry, but this is in Nolan's fort.  It's his daily schedule.

Waiting on the duvet to come so we can cover up the dirt
stains on our 3-week old down comforter.  Hurry up, Macy's!

Our beautiful painting we purchased in Honduras.

And the clean laundry room.  Wow!
We are amazing!

Proof

The Washington State Student Services Commission (WSSSC) is requesting community college student applicants to speak at its annual event in May.  If I'm accepted, they'll pay for my travel expenses and give me $150 stipend (huzzah!).  I just think it'd be cool to win. :)

Here's my essay!

I’m too smart to not have a college degree.

In high school I was on the honor roll, lettered in varsity golf, took college-level algebra and psychology, played in the marching band, starred in school plays, was a conference champion for the speech team, was a state champion in BPA (Business Professionals of America), and a national scholarship winner for the VFW’s Voice of Democracy program. 

I got a partial scholarship to South Dakota State University and I picked journalism as my major.  In August of 2002, my parents dropped me off at college five hours from home; I unpacked my stuff, met my roommate, and went to a party and got drunk.

I went to the first day of classes.  I missed the second.  I showed up for the third, but skipped the fourth and fifth.  Pretty soon I was staying up all night partying, drinking cheap beer, eating like crap, and irritating my roommate.  At the end of the first semester, I managed to get an A in English 101, but failed algebra (the same class I took in high school and passed).  My other classes were Cs and Ds.

The semesters went on and I continued my ways.  Occasionally I’d go through good-student spurts and I’d get an A in some random class, but would barely pass my journalism courses.  By December 2004, I had no money and moved home.  I dropped out of college; I watched my high school classmates succeed and I felt like a failure.

A few months later—on a whim—I moved to Spokane.  I fell in love with the city; a year after moving there I fell in love with my husband.  We married, had a son, and I became a stay-at-home mom.

And then one day it happened: I realized I wanted to go back to school.  The idea had popped into my head every few months in the years since I dropped out, but this time was different.  I got online, Googled “community colleges,” and clicked on SFCC’s link.  Right at the top of the page was the application. 

I applied.  I was accepted.

Telling my friends and family that I was going back to school was awesome.  Everybody was excited for me. 

“Good for you!” my friends said.  (Thanks!)

“We are so proud of you!” my parents said.  (Thanks!)

“Don’t screw it up!” my brothers said. (Thanks?)

I started off light and took two classes online during the summer.  My son was a toddler and I didn’t have child care for him, so it made sense to take the classes while he napped or when my husband came home from work.

When the summer quarter ended I learned I had gotten A’s in both of my classes.  I decided to go for a full load in the fall and I took those classes online, too.  I got A’s in all of them, I was happy, and I continued studying online.

And then a really wild thing happened: My husband accepted a job in Dallas, Texas.  In July of 2013 we sold our house, loaded up our stuff, and made the 2000-mile trip to the land of longhorns.  We mourned the loss of mountains, but embraced the adventure.

What happened to my education at Spokane Falls Community College?  It continues.  Thanks to the internet, I am able to take classes halfway across the country from my classmates and instructors.  Right now I’m enrolled in my last four classes before I receive my associate of applied science in general business.

It hasn’t been easy; at times it’s been really frustrating.  I’ve missed out on bonding time with my son, dates with my husband, and restful weekends with my sofa.  Last fall was particularly hard because of our adjustment to living in a new state.

But it’s worth it.

It’s worth it because I’m making myself better.  It’s worth it because a two-year degree is exactly what I need.  It’s worth it because my confidence is soaring. 

I don’t know if I’ll continue my education beyond an associate degree.  I’m not sure if I’ll get a job right away, or if I’ll wait until my son is in school.  I plan on doing some freelance writing, and I’ve started working on my first novel.  It doesn’t matter what I do or don’t do, because simply having a degree creates opportunities for me that I didn’t have before.

I’ve always known I am smart.  In March I will have proof.

Squatting

Greetings, friends and followers!  After almost two weeks of living in our new house, I am just now putting up the "official" photographs of the final result.  I also put up a post earlier today, so read that one for more updates on December.

Enjoy the pictures!

Home sweet home!

The kitchen area.  It looks really, really messy, but it's
actually coming along quite nicely.

Eat-in kitchen.  Notice all the mud prints on the ground from
our three fabulous dogs.  (The reason our back yard is so
muddy is because the dead dormant sod is being watered
twice per day.  It is very wet.)

We need to get a new maid.  Our non-existent one sucks.

Chip looks creepy as heck in that shot. (Special
shout-out to my dad and friend Brad for getting
the TV installed.  Holla!)

Master bed room.  Still need to get a king-sized
bed frame.

Master bath.  This actually looks reasonably
clean.  Maybe we'll keep that maid after all...

I took a bath for the first time in this tub Friday evening.  It was
AWESOME.  There's something about taking a bath in a brand
new tub that doesn't have hair balls floating around in it.

Master closet.  Love the Container Store's Elfa
storage system.

This closet's so big.  I better go buy more clothes
so my current clothes don't feel lonely.

Master bath looking into the bedroom.

Formal dining room, which we are clearly using as a dump.  

Formal dining room, which we will actually be using as an office/den.

Nolan's Harry-Potter fort.

This sucker wraps all the way under the stairs.  It's finished
with paint and carpet and trim.  Pretty sweet fort, I think!

Laundry.  Our dryer finally came yesterday (Jan. 11).

Guest bedroom.

Guest bedroom.  Sad that this is the neatest
room in the house.

Front coat closet.

Guest bath (definitely LOVED picking out bath accessories)

Biggest challenge?  Going from a 4+ car garage down to 2.

Heading upstairs, looking down at the main living area.

Going up the stairs.

What I call our rec room.  Texans call this a game room, or a
2nd living area.  

Fabulous elliptical trainer.

Nolan in the rec room.

Storage in the attic.

Storage in the attic

Nolan's room.  Surprisingly (eerily?) neat.

He and Sophie both have walk-in closets.

Sophie's room.

The kids' bathroom.

All those darker spots in the grass?  That's where it's wet.
Really, really wet.

Our back patio. 

I will post more pictures as we finish unpacking, decorating, etc.  Thanks for reading!