The Commute

Good morning! So, blogging is still sporadic, but it appears that Sunday will be my best day. And, since Reina has decided 6:30 am is the best time to... um... use the bathroom (eww! stinky)... I think morning blogging will now become my thing. I finally found my wireless connection in the house (fortunately, on the recliner in the living room) so it's not as bad as it could be.
I have a ton of pictures, but not much to say about them. So, I'll mix up my regualar text with the pic descriptions. (Oh, and thanks so much for all your comments! Although I'm not blogging much, I do get my comments in my email and I check that several times a day.)

Every morning I drive from Rio Rancho to Albuquerque. As the crow flies, it's probably 5-7 miles. Following the legal roads, it's 15. This is at the top of the hill just outside of my parent's neighborhood. Way off in the distance you can see the skyline of downtown Abq. I can even just about pick out the exact building where I turn to go to work.

When I hit the road on time, that is, by 7:00 sharp, I get to experience a beautiful sunrise. As far as sunrises go, I've never been especially interested in watching... the sun... rise... but watching it come up over the mountains makes my day start out a little bit nicer.


I drive through part of Corrales, the part with backyard vineyards and horse corrals. With a strictly enforced speed limit of 30mph, I have ample time to observe the small vines and playful horses.


Sometimes I see a hot air balloon or three. That morning there were actually three, but the 2 already up were so far off that they didn't really show up in the picture. In fact, I had to take this picture 3 times to get it this good!


Then I hit the traffic. This little road is the worst of my traffic--especially if I leave the house late (even just 5 minutes). The constant stop-and-go is so frustrating (and bad for my brakes)!
I do actually work downtown, and I have to drive through here, too. The building are mostly courthouses and "municipal buildings," but they're very pretty--all stucco/adobe-like and very new and clean.
Work is going great and I was actually really, really busy last week! I'm learning to enjoy (and appreciate) my weekends. I signed up for a bank account (old bank was regional to the SE). And, I miss R like crazy! We're down to less than 4 weeks until he comes here, so that makes me feel a little better. I'm doing good here with the family (although getting used to dad--who is so different than R--will take some time). It's hard for me to imagine how different things will be once R does get here. I mean, I feel comfortable and everything, but I just know that something is missing without him. I think it will actually feel like home when he is here to make it feel right.