Virginia Coast

We moved again! Hello East Coast! Hello to the beautiful landscapes and the gorgeous weather! Hello low-flying jets and helicopters!
We made it here with a few bumps in the road. My car decided to have a hiccup as we left the last city of Texas, having us get to our new home just in time to see the moving truck unloading our boxes, without having the door open. They were early, and decided they would unload anyway. I was NOT delighted with this situation, since we could not get the key to our house, and I don't know if anyone would be daring enough to take any of our boxes. I mean, they were sitting out in the open while we were a few blocks away, speaking with the property managers about getting our key early.

Anyhowwwww... We moved in, unpacked, and tossed stuff in the little cuartito in our yard. Pretty awesome to have our own little storage room right outside our home. We haven't met our neighbors yet, but I hope to soon. I have a lot of space to keep from going stir crazy. I have my yarn to keep me busy. Everyone else has somewhere to go throughout the day, school and work.
We've gone to check out a couple of vehicles, since my car is on the fritz. My husband wants a truck, SUV, or cross-over. I prefer having smaller cars to save us from expensive fill-ups. I also like the cross-over he wants, as it would be great for installing racks for bikes or kayaks. We've walked around our neighborhood and taken Mikey to a playground (located just outside of our yard). The area we live in is pretty cool since it has all we need: clinics, grocery store, restaurants, post office, pharmacies, etc. It's like a small town, but it's actually only a portion of a rather large city lol! I'm exhausted. I better get back to putting dishes away. I will try to use my blogger more often.

-Esther Marie

Summer 2016

As a mother, my duty is to make sure my child is taken care of (clothed, fed, and housed) properly. This summer, my son is back in TX to be with his biological father for a month and a half. I was hoping he'd prepared for my son's arrival and stay beforehand. Instead, specifics were requested from us, things that his biological father could have purchased in preparation. Yes, I'm still sore about it. Let me moan and groan. Well, my son phoned me on the first day, and he broke my heart. He repeatedly asked to come back. He said he was sad. All I could say was that his bio father wanted to spend time with him. I was able to video chat with him the next day, and we were completely excited. My husband and our dog also got some camera time. My son was in his bedroom, but wasn't allowed to leave it. That made me feel uncomfortable, but I assume it was to keep the other family members from being seen on the live camera feed. The first weekend, he was able to spend with his grandmothers. They took him fishing, they took him to eat and.. you know.. spoiled him a bit.. lol! I'm hoping to video chat more often with him, I sent an index card holder full of index cards with a 3-letter word written on each. I like to ask him to read about 6 of them. He's doing so well, I really do not want him to lose any progress.
After dropping my son off at the airport with his biological father, my husband and I went walking at a popular park for a few hours. It was a great way to keep my mind off of things. I was able to enjoy a visit to an art museum and a botanical garden. That night we invited our neighbor to come out to a nearby bar&grill. It was pretty neat! They hand you your meat raw, and you grill it on a shared indoor grill. My husband and I had smoked sausage, potato salad, and we each had a couple of drinks. Our neighbor had to leave, she had to work the next morning. We stayed a bit longer to finish our drinks, then walked home. It was a nice quiet walk. That week, I kept on top of dishes and cleaning, working out.. The house has been quiet and lonely without my runt. Our dog has been kinda blah, also. We've been walking more often now, and I don't feel any anxiety. I actually drove to get groceries yesterday! I was so nervous at each stop sign, and the cars made intersecting traffic hard to see! I kept replaying the part in Finding Nemo where the dad repeatedly tells Nemo to go out, then come back in. I was looking each way 3x probably lol! I made potato salad and homemade tortillas for our Memorial Day BBQ. I am exhausted and have a full kitchen to clean. I also feel pretty drained right now due to having mixed drinks. I don't have much tolerance, since we don't drink around our son. It's been awhile since I have had more than two drinks. Last night, I had three. I was so tired, too. I think we came to bed around 10 p.m. lol! We're in our late 20's, and have a 5year old; there's no room for partying and staying up late.
I want to go walking everyday, get our dog used to being at the park. She gets too excited and chases other dogs around/ has other dogs chase her around. She LOVES playing, but I know not everyone is as excited about her. Yesterday, a lady lifted her dog so our dog couldn't smell it, and proceeded to wail as if my dog attacked her. Our dog ran large circles around her, tail wagging, tongue hanging out and ears flopping around. I feel bad for my dog, though. She just wants to play! As responsible dog owners, we intend on getting her used to being around other dogs without needing to play with them. Speaking of responsible dog owners, I have yet to meet a responsible cat owner around here! I see all these damn cats loose and fighting, mating, lounging in our patio, or the rooftops by our second story windows. I wish I could trap them and send them to the shelter. They aren't even helpful! We had a baby opossum living on the premises for a few weeks.. I was wondering why the cats hadn't done away with it. There are so many of them! I literally let my dog run them off, purposely. Yet they don't learn. They reappear as if they were our pets. No one wants them here, I can only assume other neighbors have been feeding them. I wish they'd get these damn cats fixed, instead of doing a half-assed job of caring for them. The cats are relentless with their territory claiming and mating. Anyway, I better go make some coffee and catch up on my knitting. I need to finish this curtain so I can start on other creations to sell.

-Esther Marie

Southern California

    Well, here we are! Settled and striving! What a change, from so much countryside and flat land to mountains, hills, and congestion. I was so excited to move here, just to get out of our "valley." Now that I'm here, I just want to go back, to have family and friends nearby.

    We live in a large double story home which has been unequally divided into 4 units. The front, bottom unit is rented to an older couple, their daughter, and their grandson. The unit above them is rented to a couple who seem to like our company to hang out and bbq with, in the rear patio of our shared house. The rear, bottom unit is rented to a woman in her mid-twenties, who is pretty chill and just started nursing school. I like her, she's pretty cool to talk to. Then there's us.. the rear, top unit. A family of three with a dog.

    When we got here, I cleaned the empty, dirty, abandoned, back patio. There was a table that had been used as a saw horse, I guess, along with scrap 2x4s, plywood, and even some granite countertop pieces. So, I moved the table from the scrap wood area to a sunny place. I put a granite slab on it, and placed my plants up there. I placed my plants around the area and was excited to start a new garden, having had to rip out the one at our previous home. So, my husband took me to a Home Depot here. I picked up a few plants, and I was hopeful.. until feral cats started throwing them around. It happened for a few months, so I recently gave up. I've been keeping succulents inside, and my larger plants (which are doing well) are still outside.

    I miss gardening. It was such a stress-relieving hobby! I have kept up with crocheting and knitting. I filled my first order in two days, and waited for my husband to take me to send it off. I was so happy to be sending something, I decided to send packages to my sister and my best friend also. I have been struggling with going out on my own, so I wait for my husband to take me after work. I have gone out by myself a few times in the beginning, but I felt incredibly vulnerable to be out, alone with my son. It's so uncomfortable. I have literally turned myself into a hermit. My son and I are home until my husband gets out of work. We wait for him to take us places. My anxiety is through the roof! I know how to get to several places, but I'm afraid to drive. I feel that other drivers may become impatient with my slow pace and make a ruckus. Having been bullied, I feel that if one person has an issue with me, everyone else will join. I want to be back where I know my surroundings, where I know if I'm in trouble, I can call on someone and they will be 10 minutes away. The only people I have befriended, so far, are the neighbors.. only slightly.

    My son will begin school this year, and I am hopeful to find any work.. Part-time. I'm so afraid of putting him in after-school daycare, and we end up on the news that the daycare cams caught him being beat up or something.. I can't even imagine what I'd do. I would rather be able to drop him off in the morning, AND pick him up after school. Anyway, I better get going. It was nice to be able to let my thoughts out.

-Esther Marie