Joys!

When I was still attending a Methodist church we had this thing during the service called, "Joys and Concerns" which was a time for the congregation to raise the hand and share something good that has happened that needs praise (Joy) or something that needs prayer (Concern). Lately, I've been having a lot of joys so I wanted to quickly share them because I know I get awfully full of complaints!
First, this last Saturday my little sister celebrated her 11th birthday! This is so surreal for me because unlike my older sisters, I was there the day she was born and watched this little baby grow into an 11 year old! I think about this every birthday because I'm so fascinated by the miracle of life. This must be what it's like to be a parent watching your baby grow up... Scary! I wish the best for her in her 11th year of life and I hope she can also survive her first year of Middle School!
Second, the joy of being BUSY! I've been helping Adam's aunt, Tia Patty with her son the past few weeks. He had about a month of no full time camps to go to and he's still needs a little bit of supervision and chauffeuring to tutoring and football. All I have to say is Portland was not built for traffic so driving across town to football practice is like a part time job! However, another joy has come from this which is that I'm really getting to know how to get around town! For the longest time I only knew the most direct route from getting from our apartment to Tia Patty's house but now I'm finally figuring out which streets go through and which don't!
Third, making new friends and connecting with old! This month has been the most social month I've had since I moved here. I met a new girl at our House Church who is also a CA transplant and we've managed to meet up about once a week. She's a pretty cool chick. I also received an e-mail from a girl who lived in Tucson, AZ who was family friends with my Aunt Jan's family who lives in Tuscon. She's new to Portland so we're going to meet up at some point! Lastly, my good friend from high school moved up here to live with her Aunt and Uncle and we got to meet up for dinner and gelato which was fun!
Adam told me a couple weeks ago when I was having a really bad day that I needed to create a list of short term goals for myself. Just about all my joys were in some way my goals. Even better news is that he worked a ton of shifts last week and he ended up getting an overtime shift today and works his normal shift tomorrow. We were worried that I would be sitting at home depressed with nothing to do but I'm actually needing to stop blogging to get ready to go do my drug test for The Container Store and head up to Tia Patty's to check on Leo (Adam's cousin).
Once last thing, I spoke with Adam's Abuela (grandma) on the phone the other day and she was congratulating me on the job and she said, "See! Your patience has paid off!" Yes Abuela, my patience, prayers, and pleas to God have paid off/been answered! I love her tid bits of wisdom! All for now, have an outstanding week everyone!

Finally!!!

I got a job!!! Finally, all the months of searching and applying for jobs has paid off!!! I applied and had two interviews with The Container Store and they called me the other day and would like to continue on with me. I have to pass the background check and all that first but it's looking good! I'm still nervous because I haven't signed anything yet. After I go in and fill out all the paperwork and stuff I'll feel a lot more relief.
I was not looking forward to going back into retail but I learned a lot about the company and they're extremely reputable and put their employees first. They treat employees very good which I'm excited about this because I've always worked in retail stores where they pay badly and you get in trouble when you don't sell anything when it's completely out of your control. The Container Store is very career oriented and they give their employees a lot of training. I'm excited about the training because I'll get to learn some new stuff and feel like I have a real job. The employee turnover in the store is also very low which is proof to me that they take care of their employees and I should be happy there.
Other then that Adam and I are a few weeks from closing on our house! I can't wait!!! We've met some more neighbors who have convinced us that the carpet in the house HAS TO GO!!! We obviously knew it was dirty so we were going to save money and have it cleaned. But now we know that the previous tenants had animals pooping on the carpet, dirty diapers laying on the carpet, and worst of all edible underwear mashed into the carpet by a small child! Adam and I are going to bite the bullet and get rid of it! Since we decided that the carpet has to go this means that we have to replace the hardwood before the carpet goes in for everything to match up correctly. We're looking into a nice laminate hardwood. We also have to paint before all the flooring goes in. Not to mention window treatments and a washer and dryer. Needless to say, it's a good thing I finally got a job!!! I'm so excited even though it will be a lot of work, I'm ready to move into my house!
Adam and I also started going to a new church... Sort of. We found a church closer to our new house called Solid Rock. We showed up on our first Sunday on time but we didn't know that there were so many people who go to the church so we ended up leaving because there weren't any open seats. No hard feelings though! We decided to start smaller because we really need to meet people are create genuine friendships so we have been going to a House Church through Solid Rock. A house church is like a Community Group or Bible Study. We do a little discussion about the scripture and lesson from the previous Sunday and then break into small groups and pray and then take Communion. The House Church we chose is really close to our new house and has a good mixture of people close to our age and walk of life. They're pretty tight knit from what they've told us so we were really encouraged to join a group that seems to run together outside of House Church. We have yet to actually attend a service at Solid Rock but we're very encouraged by the sense of community thus far! Thank you God!

The Thrill of Victory!!!

Adam and I got to go home to California for a little vacation last week and we went on a camping trip to Lake San Antonio. This is an annual camping trip that a group from Alicia's (Adam's mom) church goes on every summer and this is my second time going. Everyone in Adam's family was able to make it at one time or another, it was really great spending time with them. It was really great getting to spend time with our nephews because now every time we see them they have changed a lot. A few of the people that come have boats so a lot of the kids do a lot of wake boarding, tubing, and "wake skating", among other water sports. We decided to go on a special young adult ride so Adam, Brandon (my bro-in-law), and I could do some wake boarding. A friend of ours, Jon, was driving us on his boat and he asked me if I had ever tried wake boarding, I told him I've tried many times and cannot get up to save my life. I'm hopeless! Jon asked for 5 tries to get me up so I said fine, but I doubt it will happen! I let Adam and Brandon go first since they're pretty skilled at the sport. We got a nice show of them jumping, catching air, and even a nice back flip from Adam! Then it was my turn... Now, I'm not afraid of eating it because I've been there and done that many times. But I was still nervous about trying and failing again! I jump in yell to hit it and BAM! I popped up!!!!!! So amazing!!! Of course, I didn't really know what to do once I got up so amidst shock and excitement, I let go! After a few tries I finally stayed up and decided that staying outside the wake was easiest. I was so ecstatic that I was laughing and screaming because I finally conquered my long term goal of getting up on a wake board! My legs were starting to get wobbly so I decided to call it a day. I was so soar the day after but it was so worth it! I just wish my family could have been there to see because they're the ones who have put in all the effort to my previous attempts! I also have to admit though, that I think there were a couple of factors that helped me get up. First, the boat is smaller and faster then the boat I'm used to trying on. Second, the rope was connected to a canopy at the top of the boat rather then in the back of the boat. My cousin pointed this out to me. No matter what, I'm glad I was able to hold on! This isn't the greatest pic, I'm still trying to figure out how to save the images from the photographers Facebook.
Other news on the Nunez Front, we had our home inspection after getting back from CA and we passed! Now we have a large stack of paper working to go through for our financing. I'm sure our loan coordinator will be getting to know us well by the end of that!

Welcome to Home Ownership!

Adam and I have officially entered escrow on a home! The search was a little long but we knew what we wanted when we found it! I have to say that home buying in a state and town where you don't have much family or influence on where exactly to live is very hard! I feel that if you're living near family you choose a home near them. We were really working with a clean slate here! The whole Portland Metro area was at our feet. The first question to answer was, "West side vs. East side". We have received strong advice from many friends giving good advice on which side to live on. We spent a long time driving around every area and decided that the West side was best for us. We particularly liked Southwest Portland because we could enjoy suburban life and still be close enough to the City for entertainment. The first thing that sold us on our house is that it is in SW Portland and borders the suburbs of Tigard and Beaverton. It's perfect! We'll be close to everything! The only other question we had to answer was "Old house vs. New House". Originally, my answer to this was, "NEW! NEW! NEW!". I think most of my life I've wanted to live in a new home. But after seeing some of the great architecture of the homes built between the 1920's and 1940's I had a change of heart! However, we still chose a newer home. The neighborhood is close and a little unconventional but I think we'll be happy there!
The negotiations went well and we got a great price! The main reason we got such a great deal was because the home was in foreclosure and the bank is more interested in unloading the property versus a home owner who has sentimental value in the home. We had a little excitement with getting the paperwork done and starting our 10-day inspection period. We're going on a mini vacation and won't return till day 10! Luckily, the contract from the bank actually states that we have 12 days. The other piece is that the bank will most likely not repair anything unless it's something that will severely cause the property from not selling such as a broken sewer line. Anyway, I've been holding down the fort because Adam has been at work for two days. I had to work out with our realtor when to get our inspection done which resulted in shortening our trip to CA. I'm sure it will be well worth it! Below is a link to the listing for our home, you can check out all the details and pictures!
http://www.redfin.com/OR/Tigard/8955-SW-Nordic-Dr-97223/home/26671522

Pleasantville

I think God new that today was going to be laundry day because it's the perfect temperature outside to be running my dryer. A little cloud cover makes a huge difference!
I've found myself repeating a line from this movie that came out in 1998 called "Pleasantville" with Reese Witherspoon and Tobey McGuire. Most of you may know what I'm talking about but for those who don't it's about two teenagers from the 1990's who travel through their television and end up on a 1950's sitcom called, "Pleasantville". It's very stereotypical 1950's, black and white, wife vacuum's in pearls and husband comes home from work with dinner waiting for him. The town is really small and quaint and reminds me a lot of where we live in Wilsonville! The city of Pleasantville has two streets and Wilsonville has about 5 main streets. The line that makes the connection for me is when Reese Witherspoon is in a geography class and the teacher is giving a lesson on Elm Street, the dialogue is:
Miss Peters: Last week, class, we discussed the geography of Main Street. This week we're going to be talking about Elm Street. Now, can anyone tell me the difference between Elm Street and Main Street? Tommy. Tommy: It's not as long? Miss Peters: That's right, Tommy, it's not as long. Also, it only has houses, so the geography of Main Street is different than the geography of Elm Street. [Jennifer is frowning in bewilderment. She raises her hand] Miss Peters: Mary Sue! Jennifer: Yeah. What's outside of Pleasantville? [the entire class turns to look at her] Miss Peters: I don't understand. Jennifer: Outside of Pleasantville? Like, what's at the end of Main Street? Miss Peters: [chuckles and shakes her head] Mary Sue. You should know the answer to that! The end of Main Street is just the beginning again.
The reason this is so hilarious to me is because there are streets in Wilsonville that ultimately start and end at the same street. That's how small our town is!!! Adam and I agree that this was a nice place to start in Oregon but we're a little tired of this small town!

Catching up

Well, I haven't posted for a while because I had a sneaky suspicion that no one was really taking interest in my random banter but I've decided I don't care, I just feel like writing! I don't have much to update because things are almost the same as they were the last time I posted. I still don't have a job. I'm probably rounding application number 50 or 75 and still nothing! Not even a phone call. Although I have gotten e-mails saying the position I applied for has been filled. When was my interview? Oh right, I didn't get one. The only logical explanation that Adam and I have come up with is my lack of connections. The people getting hired are probably people who had connections. To remedy this factor I have decided to volunteer with a social welfare agency that helps families in need in the Portland area. I'm looking forward to this because I get to mentor a young female. This will be hard. I've volunteered in similar atmospheres and one thing I know is that at-risk youth are tough to get through to. But I'm up for the challenge! I would also like to volunteer at a local hospital but I'm holding out for a job a little longer before I put too much on my plate. I have extended my job search to restaurants and retail stores.
I had an interesting encounter a few weeks ago with a prospective connection. Adam and I signed up to do a stress study at the College of Natural Medicine in Portland in exchange for $20 gift cards to Fred Meyer. Desperate for a break much? I got to the school early and ended up poking my head into the office of one of the faculty members while searching for the study administrator. She let me sit in her office while I waited for the guy to get there and we chatted about jobs and my current job outlook. She mentioned that they would be having a position opening up in July for an administrative assistant and if I'm interested I should apply and e-mail her my resume and a cover letter and she would make sure that my application at least makes it to the top of the pile and is seen by the hiring manager. Yay! At least I will know that my application is seen. However, I haven't seen the job posting yet.
Aside from the job outlook, the only other note worthy observation I've made lately was at church. Earlier I mentioned that Adam and I have been attending a church close by called, Athey Creek Christian Fellowship. One of my first observations at ACCF was that they don't use screens to project the lyrics of the worship songs on. Instead, they hand you a small piece of paper with the lyrics on it as you enter the building. At first I thought, "Not very Portland-like, they're not saving trees!" but I also thought that maybe they can't afford screens and a projector yet because they are in a new building. I admit this question came across my mind every single time we went to church because I don't really care for holding that little piece of paper while I'm trying to worship. Finally, at last Wednesday night's service the pastor brought up the subject! Yes, finally!!! I was kind of disappointed with the answer. Not to say it's a bad answer though! He explained that he (and some other pastors) feel that the screen thing is too "churchy". Wait... What? With my upbringing "churchy" is an organ, a choir, and a hymnal! Screens and projectors are new and contemporary! He was explaining how the church strives to keep things as simple as possible so that's why they don't do any announcements and the service is strictly worship, a message, and communion. That sort of makes sense to me, I don't really agree with the "churchy" concept mentioned earlier, but that's merely my perspective on church. The point he made that I really agreed with was that it helps people actually learn the songs. The purpose of the little piece of paper is for new comers or visitors who don't know the songs. But they play a lot of the same songs, rotating in new songs, so people can actually use their brains and memorize the songs. This way they can fully be consumed in worship, hands free and eyes free. What a concept... For the record, the band doesn't use any sheet music either. A cool concept but I'm still not completely for it. This brings up the generational difference of the church goers who insist on keeping their organs and hymnals and now us who insist on having our screens and projectors! Very sociological! Haha... I could go on and on about this but I'm afraid I may have already lost my viewers. If there are any!