Wednesday, August 24, 2011

It is now day 2 on my own

Ok!!! So we left on Friday morning, after having a lovely breakfast of Santiago's breakfast burritos! We were going to have Santi's for dinner the night before but my favorite is the breakfast burritos,... plus it would have interrupted all the fun we were having trying to load all of my stuff into the trailer and car. We hit the road and saw hot air balloons flying high on the way out of good 'ol CO. I got some pictures of the buffalo on the rocks in WY that everyone has to double take, thinking that it's real. Then... everything looked the same... I mean, come on, it's Wyoming!

We hit South Dakota and stopped to take pictures at the state sign. Getting out of the car, I was already ready to run back to CO. There were hundreds of grasshoppers flying around, so I used my mom as a shield as we ran down the side of the highway, back to the sign. We drove up to Mount Rushmore, which was not what I expected. They call that a mountain?!?! haha It was like a hill with faces. Pretty cool how detailed that artist was, even getting G. Washington's coat and collar in the details. My poor mom didn't get a good view of it since the driver's side of my car was packed full. We had to drive back around it and got a little but of a better view coming back around, but I got kind of distracted by the goats walking down the road (immediately thinking of Amy, Vince and Ryder). We stopped for lunch as we were coming down the "mountain" and got some pictures from the President's Hotel (very poetic with the flag in plain sight).

After hitting the road again, we drove to Chamberlain, SD and called it a night. I decided I'm not a big fan of driving with a compartment on top of my car and a trailer hooked to the back, down a highway where the speed limit is 75 mph (oofda). We got off the highway, looking for the hotel we were going to stay at, but this dumb GPS took us through some random neighborhoods and got us lost (how convenient). We got back on the highway, found the RIGHT way, and ended up passing over the Missouri river a few time, which was pretty big, kind of cool. We were going to head down to the hot tub to relieve some stress and just relax, but instead we sat down on the beds for a break and passed out! LONG DAY! (On top of this, I still hadn't heard from the people I was moving in with... making me very nervous about the next day)

Day two, we woke up to rain, showered, had breakfast, got gas (where super unleaded was cheaper than regular) and hit the road. We didn't even make it out of SD on that tank of gas the the "check engine" light came on, causing some frustration in the car. Then, inevitably, we missed our exit to stop for gas. Turning around a few times, we got to Sioux Falls, SD and stopped at Auto Zone to get things checked out. I guess that Super unleaded wasn't so super after all. Ron bought some fuel injector and we refueled, got some lunch, and crossed out fingers that we would get better than 10 mpg on this tank of gas.

About 15 minutes later, we got to the Minnesota state line. We couldn't just bypass it, so we stopped to take pictures, where I saw some huge spiders and got hit with more humidity. When people say "it's like hitting a wall of water" they aren't kidding! You could take a breath and rehydrate yourself haha. We got to the house around 4 pm and got everything out of the car.

The couple I'm living with are probably in their early 60's, Donna and Lee. Donna is an acupuncturist and a retired pharmacist. Lee has a gardening business in the summer and from what I understand he drives the bus in the winter. They are very nice people and very accommodating. We walked into the house and the smell reminded me of Grandma Confe's house, kind of. I smelled beans, which I think was a mixture of cooking and house... Before we headed out here, Donna and I had been exchanging emails so we could kind of get a background on each other. I don't think she knew what I meant when I said that I'm very OCD.  First thing we did was head to target for cleaning supplies. I think Ron and I vacuumed for over an hour, not that it was a super dirty living area, but I always need a clean and fresh start.

Day three was a matter of getting settled and getting everything out of boxes. We went around to a couple of stores, getting the little things that we noticed were necessary, as well as groceries. We looked for a cheap little dinner table just so that I could have a little place to eat, not in front of the TV. My mom and I cooked dinner and the three of us sat and had dinner together. Frankly we were shot! Ron fell asleep half way through a movie, while we were trying to bake a pie in my toaster oven (btw a whole pie fits in that thing!).

Day four, we woke up and went on an 8 hour long adventure. We hit Burnsville, Edina, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington,....etc. It was rough. The GPS sent us to at least two places that didn't exist. We stopped at a mattress store to ask for some thrift stores (or SOMETHING). They gave us directions to a store that was closed. All of our nerves were on edge by this time... then, we get into St. Paul and there was construction being done on one of their main roads. Stop and go traffic just to get to the wrong Goodwill, super fun to say the least. FINALLY, we got to the right place and found the table right away! Like Ron said "It's always the last place you look," to which I raised my eyebrow at! We got it back to the house and went to Red Lobster for appetizers and drinks, much needed after the day.

In this middle of all this craziness, we stopped at my school to meet with an advisor. I just wanted to make sure everything was in line and ready to go before my parents left. It eased our minds after the trip and the stress filled day.

Tuesday I dropped Mom and Ron off at the airport, where Mom's waterworks began. I think Ron might have even teared up a little bit too :)   I was going to cry too, but instead I took a deep breath and hugged my mom for a while. I could be sad and let the tears fall, or I could be positive and show her that I'm not scared! I am very excited for this adventure ahead of me and everything that I will be doing. I could dwell on the fact that I'm not at home and I'm missing out on so much, but I know that this is such a huge step for me and will benefit me immensely. I'm looking at it as a new chapter in my life. It doesn't have to last forever, but it will influence who I am and what I can be. I am looking forward to school and I just want to get it going! I can hardly wait until Thanksgiving, to see everyone again!

After dropping them off, I took a nap and I went on a drive. I had to see "New Brighton" haha, turned my GPS off and tried to get home on my own (crossing over the Mississippi River), which I did successfully! I stopped at a gas station where I heard "Colorado huh?" I turned around and said "You betcha!" This guy started telling me how he lived in CO for 3 years in the 70's. I asked him how he liked it and he said "I hated it! You look one way and see blue skies for miles, you turn the other way and you see mountains. It was terrible." I was flabbergasted.... who could hate seeing the mountains. I said "Interesting, I went to school in Boulder and my favorite part was waking up to the flatirons every day! Come sun, rain, clouds or snow the mountains always look gorgeous!" He called me crazy and I just smiled and told him to have a wonderful day. Gotta kill 'em with kindness! Although this is not my home, it's very similar to CO. It's green and even if there were mountains, you wouldn't be able to see them because every direction you look, you're surrounded by trees. Other than swallowing water that fills the air, Minnesota summers seem very similar to good 'ol Colorado.

I promise my posts won't always be this long, I just don't have internet at my house right now so I had to come to a coffee shop to try to get this all out and let you all know what's going on. I have to say thank you to all of you for supporting me and motivating me to make this huge step. I have a wonderful family. Mostly I have to say thank you to Ron and Mom, I couldn't have done it without you. I love you both very very much and I am so privileged to have such wonderful parents. Even though Ron doesn't verbalize his feelings much, I know that he's very proud of me and will miss me. I could see it in his face when they left. Mom- you're my anchor... you keep me sane and grounded, supporting me and motivating me to do things I never thought I could! Derek sent me a text, telling me how I'm his hero and how he is so proud to call me his sister and of course I cried. I am so proud of you Derek! You are a wonderful brother, son and dad! I couldn't be prouder of you! Vince, Amy, Veronica and Jered- you guys are always in my thoughts and I love you all very much. I am lucky to be able to call you my brothers and sisters and I couldn't have done this without you either. I can't imagine my life without you! Grandma and Grandpa- Words can't explain how much I love you and how much your support means to me. I don't know where I would be without you and I appreciate everything you have done for me! I love all of you, what a wonderful family I have. I miss you all and like I said, I can't wait to see everyone for Thanksgiving and Christmas!!! Feel free to skype, chat, mail or call me... keep me in the loop and I'll try not to type too much next time :)   I LOVE YOU!

3 comments:

  1. Good luck Hermana!!! I'm proud of you!!! :)

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  2. Im really glad that you made it there safe. I am very happy and proud of you , Shahlaye. You are going to do some amazing things; amazing people always do. Hope this fresh start is exactly what you need. Get what you need to get done and come back home!!!! Love you, Chick!

    Vincent

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  3. Shahlaye, I love you more than you will ever know. I am so proud of the woman you have become! You are my inspiration and always make me want to be a better person! I know this chapter of your life will be challenging, but I have never seen you back down from a challenge. Have fun, work hard, and enjoy every minute of your life! --I don't mean party, party, party... but wake up every day with a goal and vision that will give you strength, enjoyment and a sense of accomplishment. You are an incredible person! Your drive and determination will continue to inspire others to believe in themselves too! Keep blogging!
    Love you!
    Mom

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