A lot can happen... ~ Gee and Sis

4/29/2013

A lot can happen...

Posted by Amanda P | Monday, April 29, 2013 |

Well. Okay. Hi.

For those of you who follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you know that a lot has happened in the Parker household in the last few weeks. In all the hoopla and craziness, I haven't really had a chance to sit down and document it all into a cohesive, comprehensible story.

So, while I have a moment, I'll fill you in.

In mid-January, Geoff and I made the decision that we felt it was important that we start looking for employment outside of North Dakota. The San Francisco Bay Area, to be specific. This is where I grew up and where my family is located. We felt strongly that this is where we wanted to be and what would be best for Will and our family going forward.

So, we started looking for jobs. We determined it would be kind of a "first come, first serve" situation job-wise. If I got a good offer, we'd go and Geoff would keep looking and vice versa. So, after a somewhat long interview process, I was offered a job as Manager, Customer Support with LiquidSpace, Inc the final weekend of March. LiquidSpace is an exciting start-up based out of San Francisco and I'm thrilled be on board with such a great team.

I put in my (short) notice with Allegiance on the 1st that my last day would be the 8th (so I could attend a quarterly conference with my new company that next week). Geoff and I, foolishly, undertook the task of moving in 7 days. We sold nearly everything we owned and gave away most of the rest because we opted not to bring a moving truck. This was a good and bad idea as I really didn't care about most of my stuff enough to carry it across the country - but it's also really hard to prioritize your stuff in that way. I flew out to California on the 9th with Will and we left Fargo. Geoff stayed behind to finish emptying our apartment and load up the car with the belongings that were coming with us. He then drove the 24 hours to California (with a pit stop in Utah) and joined us in California on the 12th.

We went apartment hunting that weekend and didn't find anything we could settle on. But, I had to travel the following week for training (back to Minneapolis where winter was refusing to let go!). So, I left while Geoff continued house-hunting and selected a three-bedroom townhouse for us in the town that I grew up in.

I came back on the 19th and we moved into our new place on the 23rd (less than a week ago!). The place is perfect! It's a large three bedroom that gives me room for a dedicated office (I work from home, primarily), lots of room for Will to play, and a two-car attached garage. We are pretty much settled in now and really happy to be in such a cute town by the water (and about 20 minutes from my parents).

It's a little surreal to me to be back in the town that I grew up in (although my parents moved the year I went to college, so it's really been about 9 years since I've been back). It's a wonderful, beautiful, safe, and happy place to be, however, and I'm very happy to be back.

I've got lots more to share about our adventures and, especially, Mr. Will as he hits his 18-month mark. He's a hilarious little man and the absolute light of our lives. Here are a few pictures to catch you up, and I hope to be much more present on here going forward!