"Homesick"

Lately I have been feeling really homesick for New Jersey. I really miss all of our friends and family back there. I miss working at WhiteWave (at least it got me out of the house for a few hours each day and I got to have adult conversation, not to mention the friendships I formed there) I really miss our ward. And the list could go on and on. The ward here is nice and everything, but it really doesn't feel like home. I guess the fact that I'm in primary and don't get to know many people doesn't help either. I wish I was more outgoing and it was easy for me to get out and make new friends. But I'm too shy when I don't know people. But I really miss just having friends to talk to. I miss walking into church and getting hugs from the young women and from other friends. I miss having people know who I am and really care that I'm there and how I am. I know it will eventually come here, but right now it's just hard. I feel so isolated most of the time. . . and keep having to remind myself to be patient. Enough of my pity party.
I'm really excited for Thanksgiving. Milt, Cami, and the kids are coming up from Virginia to spend the holiday with us. It will be so good to have them here. I can't wait!

18 months

Toma is now 18-months old. I can't believe how fast time flies. She had her doctor's appointment yesterday. She weighed 24lbs 13oz (56th percentile) and was 33.5" long (93rd percentile) so she is tall and skinny . . . two things that I never have been, and probably never will be. She takes after her dad in body type as well as looks. She cracks us up. She has such a sense of humor and loves to make you laugh. She is very ticklish and her giggle is one of my favorite sounds. If I could put a customized ringtone on my cell, that is what it would be. She enjoys dancing, or stomping her feet and turning in circles. It is so cute to watch. She does have an attitude though. She gets upset if she doens't get what she wants, when she wants it. Sometimes I wonder if the terrible twos have hit a little early, but I know that it could be worse, much worse. So for now we'll just deal with the tantrums and enjoy the smiles and laughter.

Halloween

Happy Halloween Everyone! Yes, I know I'm a few days late. I got a call yesterday from Briana and she complained that I didn't have Halloween pictures up yet, so here they are. It was an interesting Halloween. We didn't get any trick-or-treaters. Nope, not one. I had actually been expecting that since I talked to our neighbor the day before and they told me that they haven't bought candy in 15 years because they never got any trick-or-treaters. But still, it was odd. Last year we only got 5 or 6, but none this year. CRAZY! John only worked a half day. He'd been sick the day before, so they sent him home even though he was feeling fine. I wasn't complaining. We decided not to take Toma trick-or-treating, but we dressed her up and took her out running errands. We got a lot of oohs and aahs from people at both Walmart and Shaws (the grocery store). She was a darling little lion. I was surprised that she kept the hat on as much as she did since she normally throws hats on the floor when we try putting them on her. Next year maybe we'll take her around to get some candy.
We're slowly getting settled into our new house. I don't consider us surrounded by boxes anymore, but not quite organized yet. Once we get it organized, I'm going to try to put a virtual tour on the blog so you can all check it out. But give me some time for that one.

Finally! Our new house!

YEAH!!! We finally have our own house here in Massachusetts. After signing about a million papers today, we're finally officially residents of MA. We are the unit on the left. We have 3 bedrooms (so yes, an extra bedroom for all who want to come visit - hint, to all of you) and 1 1/2 baths. We also have a basement, which we hope to finish off, and a deck in the back with a decent backyard. It is brand-new construction. The other half hasn't sold yet, so we don't have any neighbors for the time being. Hopefully we'll get some great neighbors. We are also walking distance to a park, and I think we can walk to the library too. The movers are coming tomorrow to bring all of our stuff up from New Jersey. So give us a week or so, and we'll be functioning there. We are way excited to finally have our own place here and to finally get settled in! We'll post some inside pictures when we get our stuff in.

I've been Tagged

Chandra tagged me, so here we go

Six Unspectacular Things about Myself

1. Unspectacular. Well, everyone always thinks I'm weird because I don't like chocolate, so that is probably considered unspectacular by most people.
2. I took three years of tumbling when I was little, and looking back at the home videos, I was REALLY bad!
3. I graduated as one of the valedictorians of my senior class, and ten years later, I haven't even finished college.
4. I'm the odd-man out in my family for a few reasons: I'm the only one who is not "into" or good at sports. They can all catch, throw, run, hit, etc. and enjoy doing it. Me, not as much. I've also been the only one to not live in Utah, until now (Thanks Milt and Cami) Hopefully we'll get back there someday.
5. My Ford Contour, which I bough 8 years ago, has had 3 different state licence plates on it since I bought it. Kind of sad for a person who hates moving.
6. I'm so unspectacular that I can't even think of anything else unspectacular about me.

What was I doing 10 years ago?
I had graduated from high school in May (yep, 10 years ago) and by October I was up at Rick's College (good old Ricks) studying away and having a grand old time.

Name 5 things on my list to do today (I changed it to tomorrow since today is almost over)
1. Go on a final walk through of our new house
2. Sign my life away (Close on our house, YEAH!!!)
3. Take a breather
4. Deal with a cranky Toma (we close right during her nap time, so she'll be ornery)
5. Sit in my empty new house and relax for awhile (probably only about 5 minutes, but it will be nice)

Name 5 of my favorite snacks
1. grapes
2. fruit snacks
3. chips and salsa
4. cherry tomatoes (or any kind of tomato)
5. Chex mix

Name 5 things I would do if I were a millionaire
1. Pay off all our debt and the debt of my family members.
2. College funds for Toma and any other kids we may have
3. Get our food storage stocked
4. Take a trip with John back to Russia
5. Take a trip with John to Scotland (he's always wanted to go there)

Name 5 places I have lived
1. Morgan, Utah
2. Rexburg, Idaho
3. Russia (a couple different cities)
4. Bridgeton, New Jersey
5. Bellingham, Massachusetts

Name 5 jobs I have had
1. Pretzel Maker, made pretzels and cashier
2. Godfather's Pizza, made pizza, waitress, cashier
3. Nanny
4. LDS Family Services, secretary
5. Whitewave Foods (make Silk soymilk), clerk

I now tag Briana!

Short, Short, Short

Even those of you who have known me the longest probably don't remember me ever having short hair, probably because I haven't had it shorter than shoulder-lenght since elementary school. (I did cut it to my shoulders when I was around 16) Well, I decided I was ready for a change. Toma kept pulling it, and I was sick of pulling it up all the time. I decided to cut it off and donate it to Locks of Love (they make wigs for cancer patients). So here is my new look. I'm still not 100% sure what I think about it, but I guess it just takes some getting used to.

The Waiting Place

One of my favorite children's books is Dr. Seuss' Oh, The Places You'll Go. It talks about life and the ups and downs we have and the opportunities we each face. It also talks about the Waiting Place, how people there are just waiting for things to happen. Well, right now, I feel like I am in the waiting place: waiting to be rid of our house in New Jersey; waiting to close on our house here in Massachusetts; waiting to start this blog because we don't have our computer set up, just the laptop; waiting for John to get home from work. :-) It seems like we're just waiting for our lives to "start" here. I'm not sure I like the "waiting place." Since there is nothing I can do about most of the things I'm waiting for, I can do something about starting the blog, and I got some motivation from seeing the adorable blogs posted by my awesome sister-in-laws Chandra and Cami.
To get everyone "up to date" on us: John got a new job at Saint Gobain Containers in Milford Massachusetts. He started June 30, 2008. We've spent July and August living in a hotel (Yuck! definitely don't recommend it to anyone, especially with kids) with Toma and I traveling back and forth between NJ and MA. (another Yuck! 6 hours in a car each way) We've been trying to sell our house in NJ, but with no luck. Thankfully, John's company is going to buy it from us. They aren't giving us the best deal, but in this market, we are just grateful to be able to get rid of it. We consider it a HUGE blessing. Now we are just waiting to finalize everything with them.
We found a fully furnished house to rent in the beginning of September, so Toma and I came up here to stay (at least until we have to go back for the movers.) We've also been looking at houses to buy for the last few months. We had an offer on one that we really liked, and after waiting for three weeks, we ended up being out-bid on it. It was a huge disappointment. But we found another one we liked (not quite as much, but it's still great) We are now under agreement and waiting to close on it on the 23rd of October.
Our first Sunday together in our new Franklin Ward, the ward was split into a ward and branch. We asked the bishop if it was a bad time for us to transfer our records into the ward, and he just laughed and said we were just in time. I got a calling the next week. I am teaching the 10-12 year-olds in Primary. So far I've only taught one week, but I enjoyed the 4 kids in my class. John is still waiting for a calling.
The last two Sundays I've been in Utah. My grandma, June Warner Poll, passed away on September 30th, so I flew out for the funeral and spent some time with my family. I am very grateful for my brother Rick's friend Julie who let both Milt and I have buddy passes to fly home for the funeral. It really meant a lot to me.
Hopefully all will go well and we will be able to get out of this "waiting place" next week. The movers are scheduled to pack up (yep, I don't even have to pack) next Monday, the 20th. The 21st they are supposed to load up all of our stuff. Once our stuff is out, we can close the deal with St. Gobain and be done with our first house for good. It is very bitter-sweet. I love that house! We are set to close on our house here in MA on the 23rd, and the movers are set to deliver our stuff on the 24th. Yes, next week will be very busy, something very different from just waiting!