I'd go with movers 10 times out of 10

So we're here! Yey. Rochester, MN that is.

The past week has been a whirlwind, as you can imagine. I'm calling today my first "normal" day, although you can hardly consider getting lost on the way to the neighborhood Target, running through HEAVY rain because your umbrella is God-knows-where, and tripping three times over the ridiculously sized stack in the hallway marked "Goodwill" NORMAL. But, for being in a new place, today was as normal as it gets.

Scott has his first day of work well underway and Jackson is sticking to his typical nap schedule. Normal it is! I was glad to get a little time today to think and construct my own to-do lists.

Lynette arrived here in Rochester the same evening we did (last Sunday). We drove with Lilly the kitty. She flew with Jackson the toddler. Not a bad deal, the way I see it. What a gift to be offered the opportunity to NOT travel 12 hours with a 1 year old! Scott and I had to drive separately in order to transport both our cars here. So it woulda been a test of patience to keep Jackson happy the whole way. We all hotel-ed it the first night since closing and possession of the house wasn't until the following day, Monday. 5 beings in a hotel room doesn't provide much sleep, just fyi.

Tuesday our worldly possessions arrived. And Wednesday through Saturday was a haze. Lynette was our savior - the woman who as a Methodist pastor never planted her feet in one Ohio town longer than a couple years knew far better than I how to navigate the process. She was charged with the kitchen. I never knew a kitchen could be so organized! It doesn't hurt that the previous owner redid her kitchen a few years back and planned it very cleverly (it's not big, just SMART). EVERYTHING has a place! Yey! No more running up and down the basement stairs for the mixer. Or that salad bowl. Or the special glasses. My mom would be very proud for me.

Anyway, we're close to having everything where it belongs. A couple trips to dump trash/boxes and to the Goodwill will pretty much end the cluttered period. And enter us into pretty-darn-put-together house mode. By week's end, I'm anticipating great things.

Our digital camera is MIA. Not to fret, it WILL be recovered. But until then, you curious souls won't get a sneak peak into our home.

Scott is both excited and nervous about work. He feels the intensity of Mayo and the commitment to excellence which makes it the leading medical institution in the country (and arguably WORLD) carries over the the development world, for sure. My beloved husband works very well when high standards are expected of him. He absolutely NEEDS to have a working environment that appreciates drive, ambition, excellence and efficiency. Purpose is a requirement to make his work meaningful. And Mayo offers all that and more. So, although it feels intense and likely is a bit intimidating and nerve-racking, I have NO worries about the match. I think Mayo will fit him like a glove.

As for me, I'm soon-to-be an employee of Rochester Public Schools! Yey. I had been surfing the web while still in Columbus for positions... not seriously, just curiousity got the best of me and I was poking around. A couple half-time math positions surfaced. And I passively checked almost daily to discover whether they were still posted. Then it suddenly dawned on me, I will never get a teaching position unless I actually applied for it. Novel thought.

So I did, taking on the "let's just throw some spaghetti on the wall and see what sticks" philosophy (which, by the way, is how we landed here in MINNESOTA! Damn philosophy!). Anyway, I applied, had a phone interview on the day we closed on our house in Ohio. Then a second face-to-face interview on the day after we moved into our house here. And the rest is history! As long as I can obtain my Minnesota Teaching License - which requires essentially 80 bucks, college records, and a copy of my Ohio license - I'm in. So, I'd be teaching one 6th grade class and one 8th grade class this Fall at Kellogg Middle School here in town. I'm pumped, but a bit concerned about Jackson-care. Pray the RIGHT child care situation just LANDS in our laps. We're doing our homework, but I'd like to just KNOW which route to go.

More info to come. For now the thunderstorm has now awoken my babe. Need to rescue him from his crib, where he is frightened!!!!