Day two and three of my trip - long post

Day two of driving to California, we started off from our hotel in Clinton and started into Texas. Apparently, as my dad was sore to find out, you aren't supposed to drive in the left hand lane because that is ONLY to pass. And, if you drive more than one mile over the speed limit you get pulled over. We were promptly informed of this upon driving about 10 miles on I-40 in Texas. The highway patrol stopped us, but was nice enough to let us off with a warning. Apparently, the officer was from Charleston, who knew!

We went through Amarillo and driving the strip of I-40 at the top is very decieving compared to the rest of the trip as it only took about two hours to get across, whereas every other state was four to six.

Going through New Mexico, it was almost like we could feel the heat come through our car. I love New Mexico and Arizona, the colored deserts and overpasses. It seems like a different world. We passed through a very small town with numerous Adobe-style huts.

As we hit Arizona, we started to come out of the desert and into the forest parts of Flagstaff. It was so beautiful. We felt like we were back in Tennessee with the tall pine trees and how green it was. It also dropped in temperature about 30 degrees. We made the exective decision to continue on for a full 15 hour drive to Needles, Calif.

The funniest part of the whole trip occured when we crossed into California at the agricultural check point. They stopped us and of course asked if we had any produce or livestock/animals. We said we had two dogs and the guy told us the reason he asked was becuase we are prohibited from bringing in sugar gliders and quaker parrots.

Once we got through the checkpoint (we were nervous) we stopped at a small hotel. The dogs, again, decided it would be the most fun to make a sandwich out of me rather than sleeping in their beds. It was surprisingly comfortable though.

We awoke the next day to only eight more hours to drive. We stated driving through Mojave and passed Edwards AFB, into Tehachapi Pass. We started seeing the wind turbines on the mountain and then quickly discovered we were going to drive through the mountain.

This wouldn't have been daunting if the atmosphere hadn't dropped the tempurature from 80 to 40 degrees and we were subject to driving through . No that was not an omitted word, that was the word "this" behind the fog on the mountain. It was crazy!

After getting through the pass, it dropped us out into the farm country. We drove up 223 just below Bakersfield that took us through the farms and milk country. It was pretty interesting to see the dairy farms, I had never seen one before.

We took a break from eating really bad food and stopped at an IHOP, which was apparently the busiest IHOP in the country. When we got on I-5, it was smooth sailing. We got to drive through Gilroy, AKA garlic country, and the rural areas south of San Jose before passing the illustrious welcome sign, "Welcome to San Jose Population 1,023,083".

I can't even express how excited the dogs were to see Corey, and of course I was too:). It was great to be a family again, but I did cry after dropping my dad off at the airport. It is overwhelming to think that you are that far away.

I am happy here and glad to call San Jose home, as are the dogs:

Drive to San Jose - Day One

My plan was to write a blog post each day of travel out to San Jose, but of course the hotels that allowed dogs didn’t have Internet for free, so needless to say it hindered my writing!

And as life seems to go, once I reached the Left Coast (as people like to call it out here) my days were filled with unpacking, figuring out the area, bills, contacting old landlord and new landlord, etc.

So here we go – a recap of Day One.

We started in Nashville, Tenn., taking I-40 all the way to California. It was smooth sailing in the beginning, until we reached Memphis. We immediately hit road construction on the outside of Memphis that set our trip back about 45 minutes. Finally on the road again, it was pretty smooth through Arkansas. I quickly learned, from viewing the landscape, that if you eat soy beans, they probably came from Arkansas.

Passing Fort Smith into Oklahoma, it was time to plan on where to stay for the night as we figured we would be heading through Oklahoma City upon reaching about 11 hours of driving. There is a microscopic town outside of Oklahoma City named Clinton we decided to get a room (the hotel did not care that we had dogs or what kind they were). Pulling up to the room, outside entrances of course, we put the GMC Acadia in park and proceeded to unload the car. I popped the back to let the dogs out, Mischa (the angel she is) waited until I grabbed her leash to hop out of the car. However, Bowden decided he wanted to get out at the same time and just jumped out of the car! He immediately discovered he “wasn’t in Kansas anymore” and ran for the closest open door, thank goodness it was OUR hotel room.

The town of Clinton was very interesting, apparently everything closed in the town at 8 p.m., causing us to eat the hotel’s restaurant food. It actually turned out to not be that bad.

I took the dogs’ beds in the room, but like I figured, they decided to sleep in the bed with me, Mischa on one side, Bowden on the other.

And we’re off!

I decided to drive straight through to Nashville on Tuesday, a full nine hour drive that included a 30 minute detour right outside of Murfreesboro.

I guess I should start at the beginning of my eventful move.

Tuesday morning, I let the dogs our in the backyard. They promptly ran over to the fence growling, so I went out to see what the commotion was about. A baby opossum was lying on the ground, "dead". I put the dogs inside and looked for any bites or blood on them. Free from any incident, I thought I would get rid of the animal the best way I knew how, which was calling my dad. I opened the door to go outside and looked at the little baby. At the same time, the opossum had flipped over and started hissing at me! I jumped (and screamed) and ran back inside. It was actually playing dead with the dogs! I had always heard they did that, but have never actually seen it. Needless to say, I waited a few hours before I let the dogs out again.

The movers got everything packed up and on the truck Tuesday afternoon. However, they informed me that our stuff won't be at our new house until May 24. Of course, this is the end of the week long window they gave us.

I have had a great time with my parents though. We went shopping, to a winery, to get manicures, to a dog park, etc. The dogs have been getting TWO walks a day thanks to my dad.

Even though it has been fun with my parents, I am anxious to get out to California to be with Corey and start our family adventure! I know the dogs miss him too:).

First trip to San Jose!

I have to admit the trip started a little crazy. My flight from Charleston came in an hour late, causing me to be late for my connector in Houston. However, I have to give props to Continental Airlines because they held the plane in Houston for me! I was literally sprinting through the airport, hopped on a courtesy cart and got to the gate at the exact time the plane was scheduled to take off. It was nuts. The plane was nice and big though. Continental offers DirecTV on the back of every seat, which is pretty awesome. I was so tired though, I didn’t not take advantage, so I napped.

My first day in San Jose was really fun. First of all, every street I drive I can see the mountains, which are beautiful! I woke up, took Corey to work, worked out, then went back to Corey’s work for a cookout. The plant manager at Flowcardia introduced both Corey and me and sat and talked to us for a bit. After the cookout, it was time for the house hunting!

I will spare all the fine details, but we really liked a place in Sunnyvale. It is a decent size and the price is good. It is also close to downtown Sunnyvale, lots of shopping and things to do. We also looked in Mountain View, Santa Clara and a last stop in Los Gatos. Los Gatos is such a cute area, it reminds me of Decatur, Ga. We ate at the Los Gatos Brewery.

We will be looking in Campbell today and hope to sign this afternoon. I hope we get to watch the Derby!

West coast baby!

So Corey found out a little while ago that his company wants him to move to Sunnyvale, Calif. I have to admit, I almost fell out of my chair when he told me that! My friends and parents are completely excited, and I can't wait to start getting visitors.

So the plan is for Corey to move out the weekend of April 23. I will come out the weekend of April 30 to help try and find a place, finish out my last week of work and then head out.

My first stop is going to Nashville to visit my parents and then my dad and I will be traveling out to California together. I am really excited to spend some quality time with my dad, wish my mom could come too, but she's not much of a road tripper.

I am excited about this new adventure and hope to start posting more than just one every six months!

I don't have a job yet, but will be actively looking. My position at the Charleston AMA has been filled and I will spend my last month in Charleston making sure everything is in order there, as well as at my current employer.

Wish us luck! Stay tuned for updates. . .

When in the makeup aisle. . .

Growing up with two brothers, I was never the “glamorous” little girl every parent probably dreamt of. Granted, I did like getting into things, like my mom’s makeup and nail polish and, of course, the closet. I would watch my mom put on her makeup, fix her hair, find out which outfit to wear. But, I also watched my dad shave and put on his cologne, which I always asked for a little bit on my own face before I ran off to school.

As I have aged, I have realized my slow growing obsession with makeup, facial products and hair products. In about sixth grade, I started developing some acne, not debilitating but bad enough to be self-conscious. I tried all the over-the-counter remedies but nothing seemed to work. Throughout high school it got better. In college, I tried the basic Murad solution set, cleanser, toner and moisturizer with tea tree oil. The combination seemed to make my face incredibly oily.

Then came the incredible Proactiv solution – this felt like it was heaven sent! My face cleared the tone and texture improved and I felt like I could finally leave the house without makeup. Of course, at $45 a set, that can get a little steep.

As I started trying every over-the-counter regimen available to compensate for breaking up with Proactiv, I completely stumbled on my new product by chance. One day as I was looking for a cleanser that would double as eye makeup remover that wouldn’t make my face oilier or cost me a fortune, I found it. On the bottom shelf at Publix, the little blue bottle looked up at me – Purpose face wash. The “Gentle as Water” facial cleanser runs about $5 at any grocery or pharmacy and is as effective at cleaning pores as the more expensive brands.

I was mystified as I started using it and my pores began to shrink and skin tone evened out. Purpose even proved to me that as I thought I always had troubled skin, it was just that I was using products that were too harsh for my skin.

Granted, I still swear by Proactiv, but if you are looking for a non-expensive alternative and your skin can handle no salicylic acid, Purpose is definitely worth a shot.

All women should consider themselves a Duchess

Long time no post! Friday night Corey had to work late so I thought I would catch up on my chick flicks. The first selection was Keira Knightley in The Duchess. Knightley plays Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire, who is “sold off” to marry the Duke on Devonshire by her mother. Blinded by the thought of a rich house, title and living in the public eye, Georgiana assumes she and her husband will grow to love each other, considering they had only met twice. Knightley was captivatingly beautiful, as always, in this period piece and I was pleasantly surprised at the movie’s blunt transparency into the time. Not only was the Duchess raised to assume being sold into a marriage was OK, she was also told to ignore her husband’s indiscretions.

The movie really made me think about the mid-late 1700’s and what a modern woman in today’s society would do if placed in the similar situation of Georgiana? I know what I would have done.

As someone who considers herself a modern woman, I have had my share of heartbreak, men who were unfaithful, mean to me; I could go on and on. But to my defense, I never lived in the same household with my boyfriend and his lover, nor pretended it wasn’t going on. To Georgiana’s credit, she did confront the Duke and Lady Elizabeth. I don’t know if they ever reconciled their relationship as friends (Even though in the movie they did, I have yet to read the book), but I believe she was rightfully livid and her husband was repugnant.

Now, in all fairness, we do have to give something to the Duke. The story wouldn’t have made headlines, been made into a book or a move if he didn’t act the way he did. And to Georgiana’s mother, who was equally disgusting, she wanted her daughter to remove herself publicly to lower the chance of rumors. Well, Georgiana showed her with several published works about her, numerous paintings and is still being talked about in the 21st Century.

So every time I think I am being outspoken, too opinionated or quick-witted, I will think of the Duchess of Devonshire and how she turned her tragedy to her favor by being in the public eye and not bowing down to criticism or speculation.

I loved this movie and can’t wait to buy it on DVD.