August Is Here!

..and way to fast.  I haven't posted in quite sometime so I have lots to say.

Little Kitty has a name... Tyson Warner.  And no not like the boxer..ha ha.. although he is quite a fighter.  Since we have Oscar and that's deli meat, we had to have another food named kitty ..ha ha.  The growling and hissing has finally come to an end, and that playful banter I was telling you about has begun thank goodness.  Days are now filled with the two of them running through the house.  They'll play chase, then tag, then wrestle, eat a bite, and then nap a little.  They are quite entertaining.  Once the kitties started getting along Oscar started rejecting Mr. W and I however after the last week he is starting to come around again, which makes me smile :)

The BIG event since our last posting is ..we took a surprise trip to Kentucky!!  It was a great success.  The only person that knew was my grandma, after all we had to have someone pick us up from the airport.  Surprising my mom was absolutely priceless, it was the first time EVER I've seen her speechless, which was completely worth all the secrets.  We also got to surprise Rob's family which a bit more hilarious, well for me anyway.  We went to Cracker Barrel in Owensboro (oh how I missed Cracker Barrel..ha ha) where his mom and two sisters were waiting.  Long story short I was sure his sister had dropped a baby and turned over a chair to get to him when she saw us.  But apparently baby was in a chair, whew! 

It was so exciting to see everyone again.  We did miss seeing family, but we are NOT missing Kentucky.  Being here in California we are Amanda and Rob, The Warner's, Newlyweds, Cat People, Weekend-Tripper's, Sunshine and Blue Sky People.  Back in our hometowns' we don't have that independence.  I'm a Daughter, a niece, a granddaughter, someones' grown-married kid, it didn't feel the same as our new home. Not that all those titles didn't make me who I am and I cherish them, I've just grown to be more than them.  We love our independence here and everything moving to California has done for us.  Until our visit back to our hometown's we didn't realize how much we had changed since moving to The Golden State, now how much all that sunshine had changed us.  After our trip we have decided, We are here to stay!

Cookout, Birthday, Adoption

It has been one amazing busy week here at the Warner's.  To update from last post, Farmers Market is STILL amazing, I'll make sure to post pics of my findings next week. Rob did get that promotion at the hospital, and is now a Charge Nurse.  I'm so proud of him.  He's only been a nurse for a year and a half at the hospital in Cali for only 8 months and has already gotten a great promotion. 

Speaking of Rob, his 29th birthday was this week.  I love to make a huge deal of birthdays so to me it was a big deal, however he does not share my enthusiasm.  Needless to say we had a bunch of friends over for a wonderful cookout. You ask, what makes it wonderful?  I didn't burn anything (lol) that's what.  The grape salad was devoured as were the potatoes.  Rob cooked the kabobs with steak and chicken and they were glorious!!  Also we made Ice Cream Cake (my naming) my fave!! And just to show how much I think ahead, I forgot to get birthday candles so I used two (tall romantic) dinner candles instead..lol.  It was all the same, we sang and he blew out candles.

To top off our wonderful week we have decided to add another to the Warner House, after all we are a house filled with love.  Yesterday we rescued/adopted a kitty from the CCSPCA.  He is a grey tabby, about 2 months old (we'll just say his bday is April 1st), and VERY rambunctious.  So curious about EVERYTHING.  Currently he doesn't have a name so he's just kitty.  We're hoping to accomplish that by this weekend.  Oscar is beginning to adjust, however last night was a fiasco.  I am doing some research and apparently what is happening with the swatting and growling is Oscar needs to teach baby kitty that he is Alpha-Male and when baby kitty learns only then will the rough play cease and play banter begin.  Although Wikipedia says sometimes cat's never merge I'm thinking positive.  I know Oscar will enjoy being a big brother as soon as little brother accepts it.  You can see from the pic, it took quite a while and strategic hand placement to type.  All I can say is all this hard work will soon pay off.

Month of May

Nothing spectacular has occured at the Warner household this month.  Just to highlight, Rob put in for a promotion, and still no word. I started a part time job at Michaels, .. ha ha let the crafting begin. The Old Town Clovis Farmers Market Friday is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!  Frest veggies..YES PLEASE!! Wikipedia says Fresno is one of the largest distributors of fruits and veggies for the entire country.  Which I'll have to say is pretty awesome.  I'm used to seeing fields of corn, tobacco, wheat and the occasional soybeans so driving by vinyards and orange groves are pretty amazing to me.  The Farmers Market had everything from potatoes to carrots, strawberries to cherries, oh how I can't wait to see what the Farmers Market season holds.

Exercise, Dentist and Fresh Squeezed OJ

The last two weeks have been ..just WOW! First off, P90X, yeah right.  Apparently I had been drinking a little too heavily, grape juice that is, the day I made that decision .  What was I thinking? After 4 days of brutal misery I had to give up. FYI Wikipedia was 100% correct, this is extreme exercise for CRAZY people.  Not only was my body completely worn out, I couldn't even get out of the bed. I think I'll just stick to the treadmill. However, I'm still on my eating healthy kick, well other than tonight's dinner, ha ha. 

Continuing on to the eating right part, I have been doing exceptionally well in that area, considering I've had nothing but soup to eat for the last week and a half.  That would be due to a terrible visit to the dentist.  To keep you from the very long, painful story my tooth feels better.  Temporarily I have this "stuff" on my tooth that has a slight clover, cinnamon, and earthy taste.  I'm sure after eating a vast array of soups for the last 10 days I have at least dropped a pound or two.  However, my wonderful dinner tonight, which is my favorite!, probably worked against me..lol. Brats, onions, and squash..YUMM!!

Almost forgot about my Fresh Squeezed OJ, note squeezed by ME!  Just in case you were curious you can buy a 3 pound bag of oranges for $2.50!! I've been eating so many oranges I'm surprised I don't have a nice orangy glow. After eating on this bag of oranges for about 3 weeks, I didn't think I was going to be able to eat them all before they went bad, so I had the idea to make Orange Juice.  Ok well a couple things you should know. One, eating an orange is very sweet however the juice from an orange is not. So you definitely need to add sugar.  Which I'm sure completely defeats the purpose in having fresh squeezed OJ. Number two, make sure you have a super strong juicer.  I had one of those on a stick (you hold it in your hand) and after juicing my second orange...it broke..ha ha then it was squeezing the old fashioned way. Number three, all that squeezing really works your muscles definitely recruit a partner, apparently I'm not a good recruiter because Rob was using his facial muscles to eat the left-over orange pulp instead of those arm muscles for squeezing.  Number four, about six oranges yielded one pint of juice.  So if you're a heavy juice drinker I would probably just buy it in the jug.  However what I'll probably do from now on. But hey when life gives you oranges make orange juice.

Changing My Lifestyle--P90X Style

I have been contemplating changing my lifestyle for the last few weeks, however now I have decided to put a plan in action.  Since the hubbs and I exchanged vows I have put on a hefty pound or two all from the fact that I eat what I want and I'm constantly lazy..good going 'Manda.  But today.. actually right now I am putting a new plan in place.  We have the P90X workout videos which I have tried to do twice before, however after the first week I was so tired I could go on no longer.  But today I make a change.  Today I'm changing my lifestyle to be lean, mean, go-get-'em machine.  Boy this will be tough, I'm gonna want to quit, I'll hate every minute of it, my body will ache for days, but I'm not going to let it get the best of me. I will accomplish this!!

Wikipedia states this is an extreme exercise program and blah..blah..blah.  Basically only for the insane.  But why not set insane goals. And to have a goal you must have a date of completion.  So as of July 10th I will be finished. Please look forward to my insane posts as I begin my new lifestyle, after all this is a change FOREVER!

Re-organization Drama

I was super excited because I was finally going to get to sleep in.  Thank you Jesus. Did some work stuff.. and worked on a baby quilt I was quilting on the machine (first time!!..YAY me!) [Check out my other Blog for lots of pics]. 

I decided the spare bedroom needed to be straightened up so I was just going to do the closet, and well, you know how that goes.  You start with something small and it turns into a HUGE project. I was just going to straighten my quilting stuff..ha ha.. yeah right.  So I'm knee deep in crap I hardly ever use, like scrapbooking-box-o-fun-ness, and the dryer dings.  I check the clothes and they're not dry.  This is very aggrivating because for some unknown reason our micro-dryer gets hot but the clothes never dry. So I start the load for the 3rd time..yes 3 times!!, and cross my fingers they will be dry in a bit. At this time I notice my tiny little straightening/organizing project has turned into a huge debris of junk. As I'm going through the closet, which gets straightened more than any room in the entire house, I am thinking about what kind of space I want to make it.  The purpose should be a craft/guest/storage/fun room. Wow .. what a multi-purpose room.  FYI there is no such room according to Wikipedia. So fast foward a few hours and the closet is finished. YAY.. I conquered the closet.  Now that the closet looks perfect, the floor is full of things that need new a new home. Great job for planning ahead, Amanda. ::rolls eyes::

Random Midnight Thoughts

Today/yesterday seemed to be a day for lots of thinking.  And you know thinking isn't always a bad thing.  This all actually started when I was getting ready this morning.  I had my hair dried, my teeth brushed, and was in the process of applying make-up when the thought hit me; "Why do we wear makeup?"  Just go with me for a minute here.  This would be addressed to ladies only, however here in the fabulous state of California some men wear make-up too.  Yeah who knew.  We wear make-up to make us look "pretty or more desirable", apparently our natural beauty isn't enough.  All of these chemicals and groady (yes it's an Amanda word) smelling concoctions on our face to make us look pretty.  Seriously what is the point in that.  It just sounds like someone wanted to make a but load of $$ to put gross smelling stuff on our faces.  Yeah, they're a winner.  Natural beauty is what makes you, well, you.  The sun spots, chicken pox scars, acne blemishes, stubborn freckles all of that makes you complete. Who wants to hid that? Maybe because society tells us "pretty" women look perfect, when that's actually not reality at all.  So technically, when you apply your morning face routine are you applying a lie??  Everything that goes on your face is fake, so now when we meet someone and put our "best foot forward" we're beginning on a lie. Maybe I'll boycott makeup next week..hum..

Next thought.. It's funny how life changes.  You go living your life making day to day decisions and most of the time not taking a second thought about where those decisions may take you.  Where were you 5 years ago?  I, myself was in college, finishing my junior year, still confused about what my future would hold.  The little decisions that I made then ultimately reflected my life to end up where I am today.  Think about it in more detail though.  How was your family life, what about friends, your lifestyle, finances and these are just to name a few.  Everything I have now is a reflection of the decisions I made then.  And ask yourself, do you like the way your life is now?  What can you do to change it, so it isn't the same 5 years from now? A little inner reflection isn't always bad but maybe it's something you should think about.

Well that's about all the thinking I can handle for one night.  It's time to put those rusty, smokin' gears to sleep.

My First Rescue

There were lots of different reasons why we moved to Fresno, one being to gain new experiences and to find a new way to love living life.  One new experience is I am starting my own financial business at World Financial Group (WFG).  The job market in Fresno is almost non-existent.  The employment is something like 12%-18% depending on what month it is.  Needless to say an opportunity arose to work at WFG, and it seems like a great opportunity so we took it. 

The WFG office is in an office complex in a neighborhood about 5 or so miles from our home.  While there Tuesday night a little kitten was scratching on the door and trying to peek inside.  During our meeting you could even hear the little one meow-ing desperately outside.  I'm a cat lover so it broke my heart to see this little one on a cold night outside alone.  After hearing the poor thing meow for about two hours I just couldn't handle leaving it there with no food.  As soon as our meeting was finished I rushed outside to check on the baby kitten, which was very affectionate.  He started nibbling at my fingers and biting at my sweater, all of which I'm sure was because he was hungry.  Needless to say I had to bring him home, even if it was just for the night.  I tossed the little booger in the car and was on our way home.  Note: I did check him for fleas before bringing him home because that would have been one awful mess.

I brought little booger into the house in a cage because I wasn't sure how Oscar would respond.  Very glad I did because he didn't like it much.  I took new kitten to the bathroom, got him fed and warm and boy was he happy.  Next on the agenda, give the little one a bath. Yes, I am completely aware that you must think I'm nuts to give a cat a bath, however some things just must be done.  Poor thing stunk to high heaven which I'm sure was all from being outside during the last couple weeks when it was raining like every day of the week.  Long story short cat got a bath and I didn't get scratched.  Yes please read that again, "I didn't get scratched."  I left new kitty alone for a couple hours to get warmed back up from the bath and then boy was his coat shiny.  New kitty was proud of his "wash, dry, and style."  Oscar was very upset that a new kitty was here after I tried to explain his "cousin" was only staying for the night and would be going to the shelter in the morning.  In a nut shell the two didn't get along.  But what do you expect Oscar rules this roost.. or maybe rules this cat house.

I was quite concerned that I may be taking someones new kitten when I brought him home, however the poor little thing didn't exactly know what the litter box was for, so then I was sure he was 100% stray.  New kitty ate quite a bit, so much that I actually took food away afraid that he would make himself sick.  The little one got locked in the cage which was then in the bathroom with the door shut so Oscar couldn't harass him all night.  The next morning I was all excited to get new kitty to a shelter as soon as possible, I wanted to get the little one adopted ASAP.  He is very lovable and affectionate and definitely playful.  But I found great difficulty in finding a shelter for him to go to.  Actually the only one I could find was a "kill" shelter.  And lets face it there's no way I'm sending his cute little face to a kill shelter.  After searching and searching we finally found a friend to give him a home.

Again, another new experience for this Southern Kentucky Gurl.  I thought it would be difficult to give little one away, however it wasn't I guess because I knew from the beginning I was going to take him to the shelter.  Oscar is The Warner's kitty, he makes us a family, and that's what I like.. just the three of us.

Jury Duty

Who would have guessed...we're in Fresno for all of 3 months and I get stupid Jury duty.  I do feel as though my PO Box was selected on purpose and not "at random" as stated by the form which I found inside lovely box number 46.  The previous apartment attendant has failed to change his forwarding address seeing as though he also got jury duty.

While I'm on the subject previous stated resident must have had 3,4, or 27 other people living here because we get their "un-forwarded" mail on a daily basis, usually of which is addressed to different people.  Which is quite aggravating.  The reason so.. I can't just dump it back in the "send mail" slot because then the lovely postal worker just circles it 50 times in dark black ink and shoves it back in my box.  I am more than happy to walk a whopping 50 steps to take it to the office, however the office is probably closed.  Reluctantly I stomp back to my lovely abode trying to open my mail, while not getting a paper cut, juggling my keys, dropping said previous tenants mail, hit by a car or stepping in dog poo.  Come to think of it .. maybe it would be best if I just got inside before I opened the mail.  Anyway, typically it takes 4 or 5 trips to the office before the door is ever unlocked.  Of course by this time I have 2 hands full of mail and some bystander probably things I've been hoarding mail like a crazy person.

Ok, so back to my jury duty experience.  So to get to the actual building I had jury duty in it was quite a journey.  I drove my car "downtown" which is in no way somewhere you WANT to be..EVER.  Of course, on this day said trolley was running late and it was filled about 10 people over capacity.  Took an overstuffed trolley, because Fresno's judicial system is awesome and they have jury duty in something like 3 different buildings.  By the time trolley gets to my stop I've been tossed-and-turned, jiggled from side-to-side, and my keister is numb from landing so gracefully on the luxurious wooden seat due to the wonderful Pothole Bureau of the California road department.  Because the trolley was late and super stuffed we all look like a herd of cattle going through the front doors of the judicial building.  Here we must go through a metal detector and scanner, because it's Fresno and you know somebody's packing.. ha ha. 

As I enter this lovely jury duty selection room there's like 200 people in here already, so finding a seat is difficult.  Finally my keister has something more luxurious to rest on.. a nice cheap plastic chair, and over my head 5 (yes, FIVE) 52" flat screen tv's with a running "Welcome to Jury Duty Selection" presentation.  Really, 5 NEW flat screen tv's.. no wonder California is in debt!!  After the short tv slide show this snobby lady got up and told us about what to expect.  It was all a blur until I heard "This case is to last until Feb 22"  I was like "Holy Cow," you could start to hear the shuffle and murmurs inside the technologically advanced jury duty selection room.  Snobby court lady then gave a list of reasons why you could be excused from jury duty...needless to say thank goodness I already bought my ticket to "The Big Event"..or else I'd have to stay.  On another note my future jury duty is already scheduled, however I'm sure it will be shorter than 3 weeks.

Needless to say my first jury duty experience has left much to be desired for.  Definitely more to come at the end of April on what jury duty is really like.

3 Months of Challenges

I have decided to make a list of things you should keep in mind if you ever decide to move to California.  This list it compiled of the things we have quickly been introduced to in our first 3 months here.  So take a gander and have some laughs along the way, we sure have.

1. King bed please. Oh, Ok what size???:  We sold our bed (well practicly everything) before we moved so a bed was THE FIRST item on our purchase list, however we had no idea what we were getting into.  In KY your options are Twin, Full, Queen, or King that's it you get 4 choices it's not complicated, much to our surprise this would be much more difficult on the west coast.  Here there are two options in the King bed category Eastern King or California King; what is the difference you say.  Well about 8 inches length wise and 12 inches width wise; let me explain.  An Eastern King is the standard King size (we had no idea there was more than one) approx. 76"x72". A California King is skinnier and longer. I have no idea what "California" was thinking when they decided they needed their own bed, what the crap, I guess they just wanted to confuse everyone.
2. *At the supermarket*, I'll have Ham & Cheese Loaf. *Gets very strange looks from deli worker* You mean you want ham and cheese, what kind we have honey ham, baked ham, hickory ham?:  Ok so I'm looking at this lady like uhh no and after a long discussion and the feeling of complete embarrassment, they don't have ham and cheese loaf, they've actually NEVER heard of it.  So going to supermarket after supermarket, deli after deli, meat market after meat market they literally do not have ham and cheese loaf in a 20 mile radius.  They have olive loaf, which I have never heard of.
3. *Getting Directions*, It's at the NW corner of Herndon & Blackstone *looks dumb founded*:  I had no idea what a cross street was much less the NorthWest corner.  So in KY the roads are twisty and turny and sometimes the same road will pass through the other multiple times, NOT here.  The roads are either vertical or horizontal, with the exception of HWY 168 which runs diagonal.  So when you go to find a business someone will give cross streets, then you just have to look for it.  Something may actually be in the middle the road not on the corner at all but it's still considered at the crossroad.  Confusing!!!  Then if you ask what is it next to (because this is how normal people give directions..lol) you get the response at the cross streets. WOW, what an experience.
4. The DMV line is how long!!??: Note getting licensed in CA is one thing but the line OMG.  Even if you get there at 7:45, 15 minutes before opening the line is already wrapped around the building. NO JOKE. I have been to the DMV 2 times already and have waited no less than 2 hours to get seen.  Then you might have to wait 3 or 4 times after that just to get what you need.
5. Smog Check??:  So after you wait in the line (see previous number) you get to the counter and they say I need your smog check certificate.  Of course I have no idea what a smog check is the lady, who is apparently aggravated because she has some attitude, tells me to go to "cross streets" pay to get my car checked for smog, then come back to said DMV, wait in long line to get my car licensed.  Also note: I have already paid $250 (yes two hundred and fifty dollars) just to get my car registered in CA. OMG I almost passed out.  I think I like my $98 registration fee in KY much better.
6. Sweet Tea:  They have unsweet but you can put sugar in it.  Wow because that tastes the same...lol.  The only place we have been that has sweet tea is McDonald's, however it is as good as back home.
7. Which red light do I look at?:  Ok so when you go up to the light there is one red light for every lane, however placed slightly differently.

8. U-Turn: in one word AMAZING!!  Having never experienced u-turns it was a hard concept to comprehend however it's great.  They have medians in all the roads and then when  you want to turn across the street (not at a cross street) or go the opposite directions you get in the median and you just turn around.  It is very nice since you don't have to pull in some where then turn around then wait for traffic, and that whole process.  They also have uturns at red lights which is also great.
9. The people are really nice: Other than cranky lady at the DMV in a previous number these people are so very nice, which is not something I expected.  Everyone is so willing to help you in any way necessary it's almost unbelievable.
10. Savemart is wonderful: We don't have any of the typical grocery stores (aka Food Lion, Kroger, Publix, IGA, etc.). There are 3 I have currently found Savemart, VONS, and FoodMaxx.  Savemart is closer and on our side of the road so it was our first choice.  After finding they do not carry numerous "Midwest (yes apparently KY is located in the Midwest, that was new to me too)" items we finally make our way to the checkout.  They ask paper or plastic, I didn't know there was a choice, but I chose plastic because we reuse it.  Then you'll get a kick out of this...they offered to take our groceries to the car AND load them.  How sweet is that.  I was instantly sold, so now I grocery shop no where but Savemart.  Not that I always use the "sack and load" option but I know it's there so they've made a customer for life.

Well that's about all I can come up with at the moment.  I'm sure there are more, but my brain is exhausted at this point.  So look for new lists soon :)

Why Fresno?

I'm new at this so it may take a few posts to get the swing of this...here goes.

At the end of September my husband and I moved from a small town in Kentucky to California.  Now don't get your hopes up, we're not talking about San Francisco or San Diego--we moved to Fresno.  If you're not aware of the location just draw a line from the KY/TN border straight across the US until you get to the middle of California and well...that's Fresno.  So far we're about 3 1/2 months in and we love it here.  We couldn't have imagined how wonderful it would be, but I think we're gonna be her for a long time.

Lots of people as why did you move to Fresno; couldn't you have picked some place better?  We actually moved here because the hubbs got a job at the Fresno Community Hospital which is known for it's Level 1 Trauma Center.  It is going to be a great learning experience for him and he is loving it.  Rob (the hubbs) is a Nurse in the Emergency Department and eventually wants to become a CRNA a Nurse Anesthetist.  And since I have no idea what that is I Wikipedia'd and basically it's the person that puts you to sleep when  you have surgery.  They just sit there on a stool watch the monitors and make sure you're asleep when you're supposed to be and wake you up when they're finished.  This is a long time goal probably something achievable in about 10-15 years.  But you have to put in a lot of clinical nursing hours to be accepted into the program.  Thus why Fresno was a wonderful opportunity for us.

So I wanted to start this blog to basically journal our time here in California.  We have learned so much in the short time we have been here I can't possibly catch you up right now.  So more to come later...