Currently, Auggie is sleeping and it is snowing outside. Snowing, yes, I know. I was told it only snows twice a year deep in the heart of winter, but apparently Dan, Auggie, Stella and I brought a little Illinois with us in the moving truck. Honestly, I'm loving it. It seems like just about every day in Albuquerque is filled with beautiful sunlit blue skies, and I love them, but being the midwestern woman that I am, I also love that rain and snow bring cozy days filled with hot tea, fuzzy socks, and movies. And the snow itself is stunning; I can't wait for the clouds to lift off of the mountains revealing snow-covered peaks. Ahhh... :)
Our backyard:
Pros
Albuquerque is a pretty cool city and we're very happy here. In thinking about how we ended up here, Dan first interviewed back in November 2008 when Auggie was one month old. It didn't end up working out then, apparently they were on a hiring freeze, but I also think that our hearts weren't in the right place. For whatever reason Dan and I sincerely thought that Albuquerque was a second-rate city, small and dingy, in the middle of nowhere (which is true), and would be an awful place to live. Some attitude, right? In April 2009 Dan once again heard from his current boss saying they might still have a position for him. Once again we thought, eh, well... I guess we could move to Albuquerque. Bad attitude again. And then it didn't work out. ... I think God was waiting on us to have the right attitude and view this move as a blessing instead of an Option B. Finally in the middle of June when it became an option once again we had the right frame of mind, and suddenly Albuquerque became an amazing, desirable destination. Everything fell into place, and God blessed us with this city.
Living in Albuqerque has been a gift. We can reach amazing hiking trails in a 5-minute walk from our front door! Dan can go mountain-biking every Saturday morning, Stella is in doggy-bliss in the foothills, and Auggie loves the view from our kid backpack. The view from our street is spectacular - we admire the glittering city lights every night and the sinewy sun and shadows of the foothills every morning. We have yet to repeat a trail on our major hikes, and most-likely won't repeat for years to come unless by choice.
Drive outside Albuquerque in any direction and prepare to be delighted by unique landscapes that change as soon as you turn past the next curve in the road. The valleys and mountains are incredible and the eco-systems are constantly changing. We have desert, high desert, valleys, and even little spots that look exactly like Southern Illinois and feel like home.
Lots of great things are at our fingertips in Albuquerque. We have a Trader Joes, a Whole Foods, and this great store that's just like Whole Foods but cheaper called Sunflower Farmers Market. We joined a CSA (community supported agriculture - it's like a farm membership) and I love it, although I haven't figured out what to do with all of our radishes. One can only eat so many radishes at a time. A big plus is that Dan is slowly gaining in his ability to consume hearty greens. :)
Cons
Haha.. Yes, there are major cons. ... We have all of about 5 friends. Okay, maybe a few more, but we are lost in a city of strangers here, and we have no one to play Settlers of Catan with. No words can describe how much we miss our friends and family back home. On the flip side, Dan and I have gotten very used to hanging out with only each other. And I should add that people are very friendly here, we just haven't been around long enough to have good friends.
OMG! (G for goodness ;) No one picks up after their dogs here and it drives me nuts! At any entrance into the mountain open space there are about 8 signs telling people to pick up after their dogs, often even providing the poop-bags, and no one does it! I've also found poop on the corner of our lot.... And, no one leashes their dogs either. Arrgh!!!!!! I have a dog that isn't too keen on other dogs and I can't tell you how many times I've had some other dog off-leash coming up to Stella wanting to do a sniffing pow-wow with their owner yelling from 50 meters away, "My dog is friendly!" Well, my dog is NOT! Sure, she can behave herself on a leash, but I don't want your dog anywhere near my dog unless yours in on a leash too and we're discussing it. I'm doing my part, so leash your dog!!! .... Okay. I'll step off my soapbox. I know some dogs do exceptionally well off-leash, but at least obey the rules, right? ... Once I saw a woman walking in the foothills with a leashed dog while carrying a bag of poop. To borrow a phrase from my wonderful friend Joel, it warmed the cockles of my heart.
Another drawback: Albuquerque is very spread out and you have to drive to get anywhere. I'm sure you could live close to grocery stores if you wanted, but to have a library, grocery store, health food store, shops, restaurants and parks all within walking distance is simply unrealistic. I wish we didn't have to drive to get anywhere but that's just the way it is. I'd sure like a hybrid but we aren't too interested in having car payments. Blek.
Speaking of libraries, our library doesn't have nearly the DVD collection that the Champaign Public Library had. But there's a Redbox nearby which occasionally fills that void.
We still haven't found a church yet. Actually Dan thinks we have, I think we haven't, and that right there is a big problem. Where are you perfect church?? (Daniel and Katie - church plant in Albuquerque????!!!! Pray about it!)
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All in all, we really like it here but we miss our friends terribly. We've decided that our new social calendar strategy is to bring our old friends here. So far we've had family and friends visits at least once a month and will have that continue through December. Please join our social calendar and come out for a visit! Please!!
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