Cart Before the Horse . . Or worst kept secrets.

This post has been a long time coming. And it might just be the most delayed post I have ever written. I wrote it MONTHS ago. I mean, MONTHS, but I am finally ready to post it. And so. . .here it is. It is probably the worst kept secret in my life, but I am ready to put it out there for everyone to see.

I don't think it will be shocking to ANYONE. Especially after my LAST post, but here it is.

Spring is my favorite time of year. Maybe it is because it is my Birthday! Maybe it is because I love the blooming flowers. Maybe it is because my Anniversary is in the spring! Maybe it is because the world seems to start anew. Maybe it is all because of new beginnings I have had, and I have had lots.

If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you would know that the past couple (3) years have been a big challenge for our family in many, many ways. If you don't know, you can read about it HERE.

Things seemed to calm down right around the time that Kaylie was born. However, they really didn't. That year Peter started a new job, we moved (for the 9th time in 10 years), and Peter embarked on doing a Master's Degree along with working full time. With a brand new baby, it was a lot to take on. Extreme stress and long hours became the name of the game. Not to mention, there still seemed to be a bit of "un-rest" with our new situation. It didn't sit well with Peter and he was uncertain our lives were moving in the right direction. Oy.

That was hard for me. (And him) Because we had been trying to get back on our feet for several months. Trying to re-group. Trying to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. Trying to "buck-up". But even though he got a job (not a great one) and was re-careering, we still felt like we weren't quite there yet. We figured it was just because we were busier than ever, and in a job that was several steps backward. He interviewed, and interviewed, and interviewed. We even had several "final interview"s and we never got the offer. Something was still standing in our way, and we weren't sure what.

In November, Peter was laid off.

It wasn't what we were expecting.

He was only a year into his Master's Program, that his job was paying for.

It was the main reason we were at that job.

At first, it seemed like a curse.

Then we realized, it was a blessing.

This was our big chance.

To make it right.

Our family was reeling from the news, and once again faced with uncertainty. Or, continued with uncertainty, or increased our uncertainty. Been there? For three years? Really? It's not fun.

We have earned our stripes, and made it through. I am not going to say it was completely without scars, but I can say, we are stronger. We have finally chosen a direction to go, and almost feel compelled. Which is such a relief after years of uncertainty and question. Our new "trajectory" is taking us to a new place. A new STATE.

California.

I can hardly believe it as I type that. Peter and I have lived in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Washington, Arizona and now we are going to add California to our repitore. I can honestly say that neither one of us has EVER had a desire to live in the state. Don't get me wrong, it is a great place to visit, but I can honestly say, it wouldn't be our first choice, but it is now.

And we are going.

We feel peace. More peace that we have felt in a long time. We were scared, and took painstaking measures to make sure this was the right thing for our family. We have done countless hours of research and know exactly what to expect, and how it is going to go down.

But it has been decided, and it is final.

We are going to California.

And we are going to open a new franchise in a little town called Temecula.

And that franchise is one that we know well, and love, and have researched a TON.

It is:

Ever heard of it?

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!

I HAVE A WINNER FOR MY BANNER! YIPEE! Thanks for participating ya'll. I even scored a few new followers YAY!

Thanks to RANDOM.ORG for my "random number selection" and the random number generator picked LUCKY NUMBER 13! If you didn't think that number is lucky, you got proven wrong today! I counted down to the 13th comment, and lo-and behold... IT IS SOMEONE I DON'T KNOW PERSONALLY!

A de-lurked lurker... and I TOTALLY believe that a de-lurker SHOULD be a winner because I love it when people de-lurk. :)

So to "THE PLATT'S" Please e-mail me with your info and I will sent the banner to you forth-with! You can e-mail me at lindzstew(at)hotmail(dot)com. Thanks soooooooooooooo much for playing... just for fun ms. platt, can you tell me how you found me? I would love to know. Thanks!

And just because I had so much fun, I am going to have ANOTHER giveaway... Stay tuned!

It's a baby.........

GIRL!

Wow, you bloggers really know your stuff! Or you are all just wishfully thinking for me. I really wanted a baby girl to just even things out, and that is what we got. Of course, we are thrilled with whatever we are having, but I am thrilled to be able to look in the "girl" section for clothes again. I am also thrilled that Abby will have a baby sister. I grew up with 4 sisters, no brothers, and I know the joy and happiness that my sisters bring to me. I think they will be far apart enough in age that they won't roll down the stairs ripping each other's hair out... (did I do that?) But close enough like me and my little sis Hillary (private blog) to love and enjoy each other through the mommy years.

This is her waving to all of you bloggers... she will see you on (or hopefully before) February 2nd!

We are so excited! :)

BLOGIVERSARY ANNOUNCEMENT

Ok, I know I said I was going to do a giveaway, but since I am on Vacation.. I am going to wait until I get back to do my giveaway.. I want it to be good and proper and all... So, instead, I will make an announcement....

Remember when I was doing this and this and this???


Well, I was this:


You might ask, What on EARTH? Who is crazy enough to have a baby while they are MOVING to another STATE, and BUYING a NEW BUSINESS and under EXTREME AMOUNTS OF STRESS????? Well, I guess we are.

Here comes the Sun.

That is right... we are moving to sunny ARIZONA! Here is the scoop. The entrepreneur aka "Peter" has long since wanted to "be his own boss." He has been working for his Dad's company for the last 9 years (on and off, but mostly on) and has generally been in the hotel business. His long term dream involved working with his Dad developing hotels in cities all over the West. He has been able to do this for the past two years or so. HOWEVER, Peter's dad is retiring and although we THOUGHT we would be venturing off to do "this sort of thing" in a couple of years... the OPPORTUNITY presented itself a little "early"...

We are excited, scared, nervous, thrilled, anxious, overwhelmed, stunned, happy, and pretty much every other adjective in the book about it. We never thought we would leave here. We have family ties, we have real estate investments, we have a home that we love... we have everything.... except.... "our own thing" which we just happened to find in PHOENIX.

You might ask, WHY PHOENIX? Well, the long and the short of it is just plain OPPORTUNITY. There just happens to be more of it THERE. (It might have something to do with the fact that Phoenix is the 5th largest city in the US or something- Not to mention the FASTEST GROWING city) Anywho... my sister lives there as well and my parents have been there to "visit" (i.e. get warm) at least 4 times already this year. As a matter of fact, my mom actually said, "We are glad you are moving CLOSER." Apparently my mom thinks that being warm makes you PHYSICALLY closer because in actuality Phoenix is only 69 miles closer in driving miles. . . (Love you mom).

If you need a "sunny place to go" in lets say... January? Or February or.. if you are from the Northwest like we are... APRIL or MAY? Please remember us.. we will be warm... we will have a pool (and air conditioning).. and we love visitors. :)