Upside down...

That's the way my world has been for the past few weeks.

But it seems that things are turning around. Of course, that may be because we've completely re-arranged our world.

Chris and I moved to Portland, Oregon this week. Surprised? Yeah, a lot of people are. We didn't mean to keep so many people in the dark, but we weren't sure that everything would come together, so we were pretty quiet about it.

And then, everything did come together. So we're here. Which means I missed saying good-bye to a few people. But I hate good-byes, so maybe that's ok. Unless you are one of those people, and then it's not. And I'm sorry.

Portland is great-- our new house is amazing. But I have to say, I don't really feel like explaining myself to a whole new group of people. You know, "Hi, I'm Jolie. An artist. Who paints toys. Who lived in Africa. On a ship. Yes, a ship. Well, it's a hospital ship... Oh, that's my husband. He travels a lot. Yes, I'm ok with this. Well, he's trying to go to every country in the world. Why? Umm, well... because he's... because it's... well we have these goals..." You see my problem. I don't really want to explain this crazy life we live anymore.

I guess I'm just mourning the loss of my peeps in Seattle. My wonderful, hysterical friends that took me to get a nose ring on a Wednesday evening, and helped me procrastinate my painting, or were always up for sushi when Chris was away, or cried (and cussed) with me when my world there turned upside down.

Sigh.

I can see that we're here for a reason and it's going to be marvelous. (Except for the snow, but it's snowing in Seattle, too.) I'm glad to be on a new adventure. I actually really love moving-- making a fresh start in a new place, going through all my stuff, getting rid of things I don't need, unpacking boxes and putting things away in a new place. Chris was freaking out about loading the truck, but I was pretending it was a game of Tetris-- if you got the boxes in the right place, then you scored extra points and your stuff didn't get broken on the drive down. (See? I can't even explain myself to me...)

And once those boxes are unpacked, I'll even put up some pictures of our new place. (I know, I know, but I really will.) It's going to be so pretty, I can't wait to show it to you.