We got a new Truck...??? ...

But we cannot drive it until Monday. We were not very prepared...




Apparently when you go to buy a vehicle at a dealership you need a few things:

1) Verification of employment (which I didn't have because I don't start my job until Tuesday. I didn't even know the phone number... he he he)

2) A valid GA drivers license (we just moved here and since we didn't know we were going to do it Monday before we pick up the car, but wouldn't you know it.. DMV is closed on Mondays. So we will see how that goes)

AND 3) Proof of insurance (guess what our CA policy expires midnight Sunday so we arranged a new one, but being that we are dropping them they will not want to rewrite our policy for 48 hours. Even if they did they are not open on weekends to call and ask)


My New Truck from alyssa culin on Vimeo.

So we will try to pick up the truck on Monday. Hopefully we will not have to sit behind "the desk" very long again...

Next thing on our list.

I am overwhelmed at how wonderful all my readers are!! Thank for loving us, thanks for praying for us, and thanks for caring enough to follow my blog.

The next step seems to be difficult for us. We spent the whole day looking for a car. We want a small truck. We are not asking for a lot, but we can;t seem to find what we are looking for. Tomorrow is another day. And I am not very fond of car sales men right now.

Here is a video of James' randomness. he had fun with this...



I didn't want to leave you hanging about James' job perspectives. He had a third interview and they really like him, but they had already committed to interviewing two other applicants this week. Lets hope they are not right for this job. He will find out for sure at the end of next week.

I got a job

This was James last week rushing through his lunch between interviews.

Yes that's right, I Have a Job!!!! I was officially hired today. I start next Tuesday bright and early. I have crossed over to the adult world. I am a chemo infusion nurse in an outpatient cancer center. It is 10 hours a day, 4 days a week (the day off rotates). I am so excited for no more weekends or holidays or night shifts. I can be a normal person :P.

And I owe it all to my wonderful brother Jeff Koning! Thanks for lookin' out Family.

Another week

Another week begins and James and I have no jobs. Although last week was not a complete waste... we have high hope for this one.

James had an interview with a corporate events company and they liked him so much they had him come back later that afternoon for a second interview. It also went well, but no one here seems to be in a rush, so we are waiting for an interview with another company and a follow-up for this week.

As for me, I went to the interview at the out-patient chemo clinic for adults. I was about 2 hours long and they want me to come back this week sometime for a few hours to shadow a nurse and see if it is a good fit for me.

Church today was again amazing! It has been so refreshing to go and just WORSHIP Him. The God that has called us to encounter His mercy and peace met us there today.
Thanks for listening Cheryl to the crazy emotions today, miss you sis.

Goodbye Batmobile

Thanks Eddie for all the hard work of showing this car and taking the phone calls and collecting and depositing the cash for us! Last night we sold the Acura. It went for way way below blue book, but it was still in the price range of what we wanted. This is one small step towards making ATL home. We are starting to look for our own vehicle to buy out here now. Thinking of a truck to move all our stuff. I am sure there will be pictures later.

Problems in the fish bowl

So this is just a random picture of the Whittaker's Fish. I am sure that Carlos will be updating everyone soon, but I just love putting pictures up here. In case you couldn't tell... this fish is upside down (which is not a good thing). They are in some mild respiratory distress sue to a small misunderstanding on how to clean the fish tank. Glad to report they are getting better. And all are still alive.

Tonight was our first small group meeting and I loved it! Heather and I made dinner. She whipped up some amazing grind it up in the food processor, invent it as you go, use only fresh ingredients, enchiladas. And I made my white girl, white sauce, (shout out to Cheryl) casserole style enchiladas. We laughed, talked about moving across the country, and kids. I am so excited for what God has for us with this group of special people. There is even another couple (Heather and Jeff, Yea!) who moved to ATL from the riverside area recently. Thank you Lord for blessing me tonight! I feel like I have some friends.
"My cup runnith over"
(smile)

Allergy Attack

So James and I left the house at 1pm and by 6pm there was a huge cover of pollen everywhere!! James does have pretty bad allergies, but surprisingly they have not been very bad even with all the pollen. This id the front porch covered in tracks.

I have an interview with a nurse recruiter tomorrow, so we will see. James and I also went around looking at houses... the farther out of the city the less expensive it gets and for that we are excited. We will see what happens if and when we get jobs. I hope you are all planning on coming out and visiting when we get our own place. I will be asking for the dates! Can't wait to see our family and friends.

Below the street is covered in pollen as well, but don't worry, I have not sneezed once, yet.

Asian Food

Today was so much better than yesterday. I know that it is cliche, but it is amazing how much better I feel today (when I put my mind up to being in a better mood). Part of that reason might be that it is Saturday and no one will give me a job on Saturdays, so I took the opportunity to relax. But today was fun and exciting. We played with the kids and the guys played video games.



First we have the best roommates. Heather is an amazing cook, but she allows us to humble ourselves (he he he) every weekend and cook for them. So, I busted out my little white girl recipe book my Mom had made for me for Christmas years ago and selected this weekends dishes. Tonight we had Korean food. The Whittakers are like myself, having one person in your immediate family makes you Korean. James and I went to 5 different grocery stores today looking for the items that we needed to make my selected dishes. We still didn't find everything we needed, so we ended up going to our storage unit to locate a few other random items. But they all liked the Korean food we made (sorry friends you could not be here to help us enjoy it). Here is Losiah enjoying the zucchini pancakes- so you can feel like you are here with us. He is saying cheese in this photo. James was a bit distraught who states that he failed in his Asian-ness, so he heated up Mexican rice because we forgot the white rice. And the wrong rice is better than no rice at all.

I had another "what have we done" moment in one of the many grocery stores when we could not find this one random seasoning. One more thing to add to the list of things I am learning is that not every grocery carries the same stuff that the Good Ol' Stater Bros. does. That reminds me, Mom you might be getting a call to send me a few things from the store, love you.

I miss things being familiar..... like where things are at the store and how to drive to different stores. I did drive everywhere today without consulting any maps :P yea me.

Still Looking for Jobs

So James has had 2 interviews. One with a company that he wouldn't really want to work for and the other for a head hunter that is looking promising. Good for him.

As for me.... PEOPLE, is there a nursing shortage in this country or not? There has got to be a better way. So I cannot go to a hospital and talk to nurse managers and inquire about the different ward/unit that I wish to work on- I am stuck in Red tape land! Apparently how they do things out here (this is not how it was done in the CA) you have to fill out an application online, then submit your resume, then wait for a nursing recruiter to call you back (which can take weeks). Then they forward my information to the nurse manager who reads it when they get a chance. Then they may call me or may not. By the way one online application took me 2 hours to complete and I am not slow.

Needless to say... I am trying to enjoy my time off.

In other news, it rained a ton, flash flood style with thunder and lightning and everything and there was a tornado warning for the state of GA. That was exciting. We watched the crazy two lane hwy traffic and decided to stop and see a movie.

I promise I will be in a better mood tomorrow.

We have no Jobs

and what do you do when you don't have jobs... you look for a job so you can live life. Life is so empty without things to do and people to see. We are on limited funds and really don't know anyone out here. Which is why we are babysitting for Carlos and Heather tonight. We had a wonderful night of dinner and Enchanted, right before the meltdowns began. Tomorrow is another day of job hunting. These darn nurse recruiters are not calling me back. Honestly though I am enjoying my time with Heather living life as a stay at home mom.... maybe someday.