Hi there! First time blogger here. I never felt the need to blog till recently. I moved to Iowa from sunny California just under a month ago. My husband, my kids, and I moved here because of my husband's job.

Let's back up a little and let you know a little about myself before all of this . . . . . I was born in Germany but grew up in good ol' L.A. I went to elementary school, junior high, high school, and even college in the valley. I lived in the valley for 25 years of my life!!! I know the area, the roads, and the surroundings in the back of my head.

My husband and I were married back in 2003 and living with my mom and sister. We had our first son in 2004. Went to Ohio to visit my brother's family in 2005 and fell in love with the lifestyle they had. It was very, very different than L.A.'s lifestyle. Back in Ohio it was a family-oriented community . . . you felt safe to have your kid's out and about playing in the front yard . . . the people was genuinely nice . . . it was a slower pace of life . . . you get to focus on what's important in life, which to us was our son. After that trip, my husband and I knew that was the "perfect" lifestyle we wanted.

In 2006 my daughter was born. 3 years gone by since we've been married and still living with my mom and sister and still dreaming of that "perfect" lifestyle. While I was on maternity-leave with my daughter, I received news that my department was closing so . . . . I was laid-off from my job and my husband and I decided to use the opportunity for me to stay-at-home with the kids. In the summer of 2007, my husband came home from work and ask me what I thought of Iowa? Well, to be honest . . . I don't think of the state Iowa. I don't lose sleep over it and I really don't think of it. Let's just say after that question, I did think of it because my husband had an opportunity to transfer job there. The thought of moving to a state that we've never been to was beyond scary and crazy I thought. I did my research and was open-minded that it would be a great move for us, raise our family there, a slower-pace of lifestyle (crossing my fingers at that time!) . . . . just what we've always wanted. In October of 2007, the whole family visited Iowa for the very first time. We there for only 5 whole days and we fell in love with the place. It was like Ohio but quieter and much, much slooooooooooooooooower!!!

In the beginning of 2008, we left good ol' fast-paced, overly-crowded, always traffic, sunny-warm L.A. to start our new life in quiet, slower-paced, family-oriented, five-season Iowa.

At the present moment, we are playing indoors. Actually we are mostly indoors since we've moved here because it is COLD-COLD-COLD outside. It is heavily snowing at the moment with a temperature of 11 degrees out. See what I mean by . . . . . COLD-COLD-COLD!!!!

With being indoors alot, I'm hoping to get alot of unpacking done, catch up on my scrapbooking and maybe crochet here and there . . . but with the kid's it's sort of tough . . . . my days are pack with their daily routine schedule so hopefully when I get a moment or two in between of their naps :o) . . . . . I will blog some more . . . till then!