Well, we finally made it to North Dakota and are somewhat settled in. I've still got some work to do on the house but it's going well. There are some ups and downs to being here but I will try not to complain because life is still simple and we are all healthy and happy. So, Girls Weekend was great and I hope you all make it next year. I went and left for ND the day after getting home. It was way worth it. We stopped in the Black Hills of South Dakota on the way and if you ever get a chance to go through it, it is beautiful. I was really surprised...it reminded me of Yellowstone and we stopped at Bear COuntry USA and there were bears and cubs walking 2 feet away from our van... it was insane. Ofcourse the boys loved it.
So, we've been here just over a week. We live on base which has its perks but the house it quite old and is a duplex. My kitchen is the size of my previous bedroom closet and our master bath is only a toilet and shower...no bath. Only one body can fit in it. We have no dishwasher and no A/C (and yes it has been in the 90s and humid so it's warm enough to need one). Fortunately, it starts to cool down in Sept and everyone says expect 50 below in Jan and Feb. We are colder than Alaska here!!! Well, the good news...ITS FREE!!! Trent is one mile from work and comes home for lunch, we don't have to pay much for gas and all our utilites are free. So, besides my 600 bucks a month for my student loan payment, we don't have many bills. However, we are saving it all for when we go back to residency in 3 years. It will suck to go back to poverty (or no income if Derm with the Binghams work out) after having it easy for a while.
Our neighbor--5 yr old boy---thinks he lives here and is over from 8am to 8 pm. I finally started to set some boundries and kick him out.
Trent has to go to training for the next 6 weeks in San Antonio and then may be deployed to Guam for four to six months. He would go in Oct if they say he's ready. They just had a chopper go down there and a flight doc was on board so my stomach is in knots. It is supposed to be a safe place to go so I guess it's better than the Middle East but still makes me nervous.
Well, that's the news from up north.
Kami and Megan...thanks for getting me back on the living foods kick. My family has loved it this week. I ordered Ani's raw Food Kitchen this week and bought some jicima and made your salads...we are loving it. Next week I hope to start my training program. Megan, I need your raw mayo recipe and the one for you banana chips you made. I don't have your email....mine is webbee03@hotmail.com. Okay, Amelia is screaming. Gotta run. Here's some pics.
Karie
So, we've been here just over a week. We live on base which has its perks but the house it quite old and is a duplex. My kitchen is the size of my previous bedroom closet and our master bath is only a toilet and shower...no bath. Only one body can fit in it. We have no dishwasher and no A/C (and yes it has been in the 90s and humid so it's warm enough to need one). Fortunately, it starts to cool down in Sept and everyone says expect 50 below in Jan and Feb. We are colder than Alaska here!!! Well, the good news...ITS FREE!!! Trent is one mile from work and comes home for lunch, we don't have to pay much for gas and all our utilites are free. So, besides my 600 bucks a month for my student loan payment, we don't have many bills. However, we are saving it all for when we go back to residency in 3 years. It will suck to go back to poverty (or no income if Derm with the Binghams work out) after having it easy for a while.
Our neighbor--5 yr old boy---thinks he lives here and is over from 8am to 8 pm. I finally started to set some boundries and kick him out.
Trent has to go to training for the next 6 weeks in San Antonio and then may be deployed to Guam for four to six months. He would go in Oct if they say he's ready. They just had a chopper go down there and a flight doc was on board so my stomach is in knots. It is supposed to be a safe place to go so I guess it's better than the Middle East but still makes me nervous.
Well, that's the news from up north.
Kami and Megan...thanks for getting me back on the living foods kick. My family has loved it this week. I ordered Ani's raw Food Kitchen this week and bought some jicima and made your salads...we are loving it. Next week I hope to start my training program. Megan, I need your raw mayo recipe and the one for you banana chips you made. I don't have your email....mine is webbee03@hotmail.com. Okay, Amelia is screaming. Gotta run. Here's some pics.
Karie
Their babys--
My baby--
5 comments:
Hey Karie!! Love the title- Why not Minot?!!! So funny ;) I have been to all those places- a long time ago, but I remember it was awesome. SO beautiful. I actually got colitis on our long drive through the black hills forest, so that's a whole other kind of memory ;)
Love the pictures. It was so awesome that you were able to come! Good luck adjusting- I wish you had AC!! That's miserable! Wow- 50 below is insane! You'll have to keep us posted - we'll be thinking of you!
((HUGS))
karie, first of all, that picture doesn't do amelia justice from the trip! i thought she was SO good the whole time! that must have been a rare moment of her crying. all the babies were so good and adorable.
good luck in minot...the house sounds "do-able" but not ideal. but you are resourceful and will make it work, and yes, free is great. yes, kick that 5 yr old OUT. we have our own neighbor issues here, and i've decided you just have to set some boundaries and be firm, but smile and they will eventually get the clue.
good for you for getting that book!i love that book. actually my raw mayo recipe is from that book, but i will email you later with my modifications to it and with my banana bread/chips recipe. (i don't have an exact recipe, i kind of eyeball it so i'll have to think about the amounts.)
keep us posted on how life is going up there!!! so great to see you at the trip.
I hope you get all settle in. I will be doing the same thing in a few week. I can't say I am excited about it. Good luck with eating healthy, training, and all the new thing that come with being in a new place. Loves
Karie- Sounds like quite the adventure! You're smart and resourceful and I'm certain you'll figure out a way to make your little space homey and lovable.
You need to get connected with our connections up there. One LDS family is the Stucki family. The husband is a brother to a good friend of ours down here in Columbus. The other is the Hall family. The wife is the sister of another close friend down here. We of course are all friends because we're all LDS and in the Ortho residency program here. Anyway, I know I have brought this up before,but in my experience being able to build a quick connection helps the adjustment to go more smoothly and seems to make the transition much more bearable. Aside from this, the latter family I mentioned have been in Minot for only 8 months so I'm sure they would be more than understanding about your new circumstances and surroundings.
Hope this helps! I promise I won't mention it again! Glad you had a good time at the girls' getaway. The pics. are fun to look at!
Britt
I am glad that you made it through the move. I don't know if you had the military move you but from what I hear around here the military has it's own craziness when it comes to moving. Our home teacher told us that they packed up his garbage can, garbage and all. It was a fun treat to unpack. I really hope it doesn't get that cold. Good luck and thanks for the pictures.
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