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We are finally getting settled in our new home in Lubbock, Texas. We are quickly getting acquainted with all things Lubbock and have received definitive answers to the following questions:

Are people in West Texas really as nice as everyone claims?
No. They are nicer, by a long shot. (See how I'm already using some western lingo - nice, right?)

Can it really be that windy?
No. It is windier. (Is windier a word or should I say more windy? Somehow when I right 'windier' I feel like I'm describing a country road that curves a lot.)

How will the kiddos adjust?
Considering we've already had a sleepover and are making dinner plans with their new friends, I'd say they're transitioning well. Perhaps I can shave a couple years off the therapy sessions for which we save...

All in all, the move has gone well and it is starting to feel like home rather than an extended vacation. Not to the dog, though. I'm pretty sure she's waiting for us to go back home. I'm trying to resist using the phrase "back home."  When I say that it makes Texas sound temporary and somehow not worthy of being called home. So, while Arizona was home (and a great one), this is home.

It's home because we're here. Wherever we are, when the four of us (five, sorry Bella) are all together, we're home. So when we arrived at our new house on that first day in Lubbock, we were "back home." Okay, I'm tired of the word home. Let's move on.

Random Thought Time (RTT):

We don't have cable here. I used to say we didn't have cable in Arizona but that wasn't exactly true. We had 23 channels, mostly so I would have access to Fox, CBS, and NBC during football season and PBS for my Doc Martin addiction.    But here, when I say we don't have cable, I am being truthful. We did by an antenna (I'll wait until you get back in your chair from laughing so hard) for sixty bucks and we got...drum roll please: one channel. At least it is NBC so we get some news in the morning. I was missing Matt Lauer.
Matt + coffee = tolerable mornings.

We do have Netflix and through this happy medium I have discovered two new favorite shows. My first is Take Home Chef with Curtis Stone. Have you seen this? You must. Curtis, an Aussie chef, approaches people in the supermarket and offers to buy their groceries and help them cook dinner to surprise a special someone in their life. I like it because I like listening to him talk. I like it because the episodes are only 20 minutes - easy to squeeze one in while I fold laundry. I like it because he makes stuff I will never in a million years cook for my family.  But, during one brief episode I imagine that I will in fact start buying fresh groceries everyday and make seared swordfish over sauteed fennel with layered chocolate mousse and creme brulee for dessert. Because, how hard could it be? Then the episode ends and I remember to put my hotdish into the oven.

My other favorite show is The Last American Cowboy. If you think you have a really hard job or your day with the kiddos has been extremely exhausting, watch this show. If, at the end, you don't feel like you have it pretty darn easy,  you must have the worst job ever. Because unless you are birthing 20 calves and shoveling poop in a blizzard, you, like me, live close to luxury my friend. This show chronicles three ranchers in Montana and brilliantly displays both the brutality and attractiveness of a simple life lived off the land. Note I said simple - not easy. While this show makes me appreciate my life, it also inspires me to work harder and do more with my day. I feel silly when I say I ran out of time to do yard work or squeeze in a workout when there are families who work sunup to sundown to put food on the table. 

Well, that's all for now. My new couches will arrive on Friday at which time I will finally post pictures of our new Texas digs. BTW - I am writing today in my new studio. Okay, from 10-3 it's a school house, but after they leave I am happy to call it a studio where I can write, sew, scrapbook, etc. OMGosh, I kind of feel like a real crafter/artist. HeeHee

Until next time y'all! (I did it again, did you catch it?)

In His Service,