A Texas-Sized Post: Part 2

Now that I've covered our "physcial" moving in, I'll move on to what life in Texas has been like so far.  Let's just say that J and I did a complete flip-flop in our every day schedules. When J wasn't traveling in Florida, he would work from home, and I was commuting every day to work. Now J is the one who has to crawl out of bed before the sun comes up so he can beat the Dallas traffic. (One car on the side of the tollway with a flat tire can cause a straight up deadlock.)  I did milk my morning freedom for a week or so and slept late, but now I'm trying to get up around 7:00 to get the day started. And yes, there have even been a couple mornings that I've ironed J's shirt and packed his lunch.  How Cleaver family is that?  

I have to admit, the first couple weeks of staying home and playing housewife kind of freaked me out.  From piano teacher, to pooper-scooper, to cotton-picker, to Loan Officer, to Project Manager, I've had a job since high school.  My inferiority complex got the best of me when my friend Lauren and I were shopping at a little dog boutique and the owner said they hired out the stay-at-home moms to hand cut their homemade dog treats. That afternoon, when J walked in the door I just burst into tears and told him that I was now one of those stay-at-home wives who people hired to cut dog treats. I also felt like I didn't have any exciting conversations anymore, because I no longer had work stories to tell him.  AND, after my 4.5 year education and 5 year career, that I was back to doing what I did in Jr. College:  scooping poop.  (When I take Manny on walks in our neighborhood, we of course have to bag up his poop.) Thinking back, J was probably holding back laughing hysterically, but true to form, he sat me in his lap and let me cry it out.  He also encouraged me that I would get busier as we get involved with things and if I really felt like I needed a job, I was more than welcome to look for one.   

I think the suddenness of ALL the changes just got the best of me.  The last couple of weeks have been much better.  I joined a gym, which I really enjoy, and have met lots of nice ladies.  I also have been able to do some organizing that should have been done years ago, and keep busy running errands during the day.  I have to admit, it is nice to have ALL the grocery shopping and cleaning done by the time J gets home.  And I actually have the energy to cook dinner at night and clean up afterwards.  ; ) 

For those of you wondering if I AM going to get a job-no-I am not planning to seek out a full time job.  If we are thinking of starting a family within the next year or two, I hope to be able to stay home with the baby! I AM looking forward to a new venture though as a Thirty-One Consultant, that I hope to be starting soon! This would be a part time job that I could do from home.  More on that as it progresses.  

Okay-so enough of the personal stuff--let's get to the fun stuff.  Dallas totally meets some of the stereotypes  it is acclaimed. Here is a totally RANDOM checklist of some of the good, the bad and the ugly observations of our life here:  

1. We receive a different church flyer in the mail about every other day. 
2.  I am 20 minutes away from a Premium Outlet.  
3. The land is flat as a flitter. If we get on a bridge, I think I can see my parent's house in Mississippi.
4. Quite the opposite from Tallahassee-there are not many trees at all.  In fact, I don't think I've seen a pine tree since we left Mississippi.
5.  Most of the stores here have front parking spaces for Expecting Mothers. I asked J if I could go ahead and use them because I DO "expect" to be a mother ONE day, but he told me NO.
6.  Everyone-EVERYONE has some type of Texas Star paraphernalia in their yard. Except us. That will change soon. 
7. Did I mentioned TEXAS PRIDE?
8. We just thought we knew how to rock big hair in MS---everything IS bigger in Texas.
9. I was passing by a school the other day and the moms picking up their kids had football jerseys on....no joke. I won't lie, I will be one of those mothers. My jersey might even say: "Wells Mom". 
10. One of the ladies in my gym class thought it was atrocious that I was going grocery shopping in my  work out clothes after class.  I put a cap & hoodie on and didn't give it a second thought. 
11. Handmade tortillas are quite popular here, and we are very happy about that. 

More Texas fun:  our fabulous Realtor sent us a welcome package the other day that included some typical "Texas sayings".  Here were a few of my favorites that had me rolling:  

• "Big hat, no cattle" (Means all talk and no show) 
• "It's so dry the trees are bribin' the dogs" (Means we could really use some rain)
• "They ate supper before they said grace" (Means living in sin)
• "Time to paint your butt white and run with the antelope" (Stop complaining and do what you're told) 
• "You can put your boots in the oven but that doesn't make them biscuits" (You can't make something it's not) 

So I'll end the post with a couple pics of our trip to Downtown Dallas a couple weekends ago. It was really fun and I look forward to going back to explore the aquarium, museums, etc.