Annnnd I'm back!

Good day friends! Has it really been 2 months since I've written a blog? What the heck am I thinking? My apologies. After an "indefinite break" from blogging (see Tiger Woods), I have decided to begin writing again. I'm not even sure why I stopped. Maybe a major life change got in the way. Maybe I should have written my way thru it! None the less, my writers block has been lifted and the creative juices are flowing again! Well, time will tell on that one. I do ask one thing if YOU, however...I like ideas, I need ideas. I will be asking for topics to write about. More on that later. On to a quick update, and topic #1.

Some last-60-day highlights in the life of Alex and Ashley...
- Found THE PLACE that will be our first dwelling as a married couple. Check it out... www.livepark19.com. It is very cool and in a great location in NW Portland!
- Finalized the HONEYMOON plans! Bring it on, Antigua! (hermitagebay.com)
- Have been going to a cool church in Beaverton, OR called Solid Rock. We haven't decided quite yet if this will be "the one", but we like it so far.
- I have sold 25 cars so far...5 this month...we will see how I end December!
- Ashley is leaving me for 3 weeks starting Tuesday...aka "the longest 3 weeks of my life"
- Been slowly making friends, reconnecting with old friends, and spending quality time with my brother and his wife. Baby Neice countdown: 60 days.

Overall, life is hectic, busy, but slowly getting better here in Oregon. Hopefully my job situation will stabilize a little bit and Ashley and I will actually be able to spend more time together! Looking forward to 2010...

Ok, now for my "back to blogging" topic #1: The Christmas Spirit. Are you in it? Has the spirit come over you? Do you even like the Christmas spirit? Here are things Ashley and I have done that contribute to the spirit of Christmas.

- Pioneer Square Tree Lighting Ceremony. Big tree. Lots of lights. Hot chocolate. I mean come on, if THAT isn't in the spirit what the heck is?
- The Nutcracker Ballet. We are going tonight and we can't wait!!
- Limiting myself to only Christmas music until Christmas is over. People, grin and bear it. It's only about 27 days.
- Peppermint Lattes. I probably need to stop ordering them......
- Soup. Has nothing to do with Christmas, but we seem to eat more soup this time of year.
- Christmas parties. Ashley and I went to my first ever company party. It was interesting...at a Lebanese restaurant, with a really tacky speech by the company owner, and really crappy gifts. Other than that, we really enjoyed the free drinks and food!

Some downfalls to this season...no tree (lack of space and Ashley is leaving), no lights (I mean, can you really put lights on a basement apartment?), spending Christmas apart (I hate my work schedule). BUT! 2010 is going to be the best one ever, because it will be our first one married!

Ok so I'm back. But I need and want your help. What is my next topic? I will write about the best one received, so put in your votes!! Thanks!

Love to you all, and keep Christ in Christmas please!!

Read all about it!

“Are you ready to play Oregon vs. Washington: Who is smarter?” Yes I am! “Do you think you’ll beat Washington today?” I hope so, I’m not very smart! “OK Alex, you are up against Diane today. The topic is: Babies.”

This was the scene yesterday morning while I am driving to work. I called in to 99.5 The Wolf (hoooowwwwllll) radio station and was chosen to play their daily game show “Who is smarter, Oregon or Washington?” Little did I know that the topic was babies and I was going up against a 62 year old woman! I mean, talk about your all time underdogs!! Diane went first and got 2 out of 3 questions right, and I went second and matched her. OVERTIME! I am feeling pretty excited about this already, seeing as how I was pretty sure I would go 0 for 3. Anyway, the OT question was this: For every 100 girls born, how many boys are born? Fat chance. Diane guessed 108, I guessed 91. She was closer, it was 105. A loss, as expected, but a great way to pass the time on a trafficy freeway!

BREAKING GOOD NEWS UPDATE: Ashley got her first 2 sub jobs! This is an answer to frustration, prayer, tears and hope. She needed something positive to happen, and lo and behold, she’s teaching today and Thursday. We could not be happier!

MORE BREAKING NEWS UPDATE! It turns out I can sell cars after all. After selling one on my first day on the sales floor, I have now sold 6 this month, and am 2nd on the Salesman of the Month leaderboard. This matters for 2 reasons: 1) Pride. 2) Free car and gas for a month from the dealership! I’ll keep you posted.

EVEN MORE BREAKING GOOD NEWS UPDATE!!!! Ashley was offered a FREE place to live until we get married! And it is SWEET. It is in the basement of a friend’s parents house, BUT has separate entrance, alarm system, and brand new everything. Carpet, stone tile floors, granite counters, stainless steel appliances…I mean it is awesome. And it is free. And we will finally be able to hang out together somewhere other than a stupid restaurant.

NEWS UPDATE! The Oregon Ducks have won 5 in a row, ranked 13th in the nation. Bring it! Although my favorite down-to-earth quote from their coach: “This only guarantees that we could end the season 5-7”. Buzz kill!

Things are on the up and up folks. God wins, again. It is funny how sometimes He lets you get right to the end of your rope, and then makes His strategic move. He has our attention.

In other totally unrelated news, my brother and wife found out they are having a girl! This is monumental. Casebeer’s don’t have girls. This family is riddled with boys. My mom marries Peter, who has 4 boys. My dad and mom both have 2 bothers. I have 1 brother (except for the Halloween where we dressed up as sisters). This is HUGE. There is going to be pink appropriately worn. Ashley will be able to show off at how good of an aunt she will be. My mom is already freaking out. My dad has uttered the word ‘cute’ numerous times, and Carrie has started knitting booties, hats, and pink scarves. Times are a’ changin! I love it, and can’t wait for February 16th! Name is thus far unknown, but I am going with Scarlett. What’s your bet?

The moral of today’s blog: Keep pressing on. You never know what is going to happen. You never know how “it” is going to turn out. You never know that just because you are headed in one direction you may end up going in an entirely new one. Until next time, turn your headlights on and buckle up!

First week of work. . .very interesting.

Here are some highlights from my first week of work. We'll call this part of my life: Welcome to Reality!

- Monday thru Friday I was busy taking tests learning Toyota's products and processes and engines and all that jazz. I have to become a Certified Toyota Salesman, so this testing is necessary. Arduous and long and seemingly meaningless, but necessary none the less. It actually does help me learn my products!
- Had a random bloody nose on Wednesday. Thankfully no one knew!
- I am actually enjoying wearing a suit to work. Ashley likes it too!
- Working 65+ hr weeks is tougher than I thought. . .makes me really enjoy 2 days off!!
- Decided to make Saturday my first day on the sales floor, and what do you know: Sold my first car! A 2005 tC Scion. Will never forget it!
- After 6 days of work, I got 2 days off. This month my team gets Sunday's and Monday's off. Ashley and I decided to head to the beach for some MUCH needed time together and relaxation. So we are at Neskowin now - Ashley is knitting (her new found interest), I am blogging and loving the sound of the ocean. We are eating good seafood and being bums. And we love it.

Ashley just informed me that my last few blogs have been mostly about me (except for Jamie's email!). So now it is up to you. I need topics. I will discuss. I will get interesting. Let's take this blog global! (Ashley just laughed at me).

Should I be an Auto Industry blogger? A Portland blogger? A Jesus blogger? I'll take suggestions! Until next time, enjoy some crab!

First week of work. . .very interesting.

Back on the blog train. . .plus Day 5 tribute!

To all of you 11 faithful followers, I apologize. I have been absent for way too long and there is no excuse! Actually, there is a pretty good one. We moved across the country, thus making it difficult to keep up. We radically changed our lives, we took a huge leap of faith, and we are stepping way out of our comfort zones. So far, it is tough. But here is a little of what has happened over the last few weeks.

Early September:
- Packed up our crap, rented a trailer, and started driving to Oregon from Georgia. Tears were shed, hearts were broken, something loomed in our future (still to be determined!).
- Our route? LONG. Here is the gist of it: Baton Rouge, LA. Austin, TX. Tucson, AZ. Flagstaff, AZ. Santa Barbara, CA. San Francisco, CA. Black Butte Ranch, OR. Salem, OR. Now Portland, OR.
- We saw great friends, had amazing food, and great wine along the way! I would say the trip was not as bad as we both thought it would be. Some highlights included: Ashley reading out loud to me (way better than book on tape!), podcasts, dipping our toes in the Pacific, wine tasting in Santa Barbara County, San Francisco in general, and 2 days of relaxing in Black Butte.
- Low lights in included: the drive from Austin to Tucson (18 hour day), leaving GA, living out of a car for 2+ weeks, the last day on the road (felt SO long).
- But we made it, no tickets, no flat tires. All in all a "successful" trip.

Mid-September (NOMADS)
- Bounced from house to house, town to town, family to family, trying to get organized and "settled in". I don't think you ever get settled in when you live in someone else's house, but for now, until we find something, we are as settled as we are going to get. And it is not ideal. But we press on!
- Alex started working. Welcome to reality.
- Ashley looking for work and getting on as many substitute lists as possible. Welcome to reality.
- Reality sucks.

Late-September
- Highlighted by the Wade Wedding! A great weekend long full of activities, punctuated by a great ceremony and reception!
- Alex and Ashley adjusting to life in another city, living apart, working, struggling.
- Looking for a place to live when we get married (which is very exciting). As soon as we find that baby, Ashley will move in immediately! Hopefully that will help things. . .
- Adjusting to the daily routine, life change, and missing GA.
- Looking forward to: THE FAMILY VISIT in ONE MONTH! Less, actually. We can't wait. It needs to happen sooner, and more often!!

So I have to admit I was reluctant to finish my Tribute to the South. Mainly because I knew it would be hard to write. But here goes. What I miss most about the south is the family (included 'extended' family...). I miss Danny's antics, I miss Taff and Spanky, I even miss Buddy (I wonder if he has kicked the can yet?) I miss Nana's insisting on doing my laundry and always cooking chicken salad for me. I miss Patti and how she falls asleep watching TV curled up in a blanket even though it is 101 degrees outside. I miss the Aunts - Kim and Lynn. I need Lynn's food immediately! I miss Jamie - but hey, she's off at college and loving it, so I'm not feeling to sad. I miss everyone there! It was very hard to leave, and even harder (especially for Ashley) being here without them. But it is life, and people do sometimes move away from close ones. It's not like we'll never see them again (28 days), it is just a very hard adjustment. But life will go on and Ashley and I will create our own family. We will thrive on being together and truly relying on each other. We are growing. Not growing away from family, but growing into who we are going to be as a family. So far, that is about the only positive!

But honestly. If you have never met someone Southern, you are missing out. The people are great! They are friendly, they talk funny, they drink lots of beer (have never heard of a micro-brew), they cook way better than yo momma, and they love church. They are laid back (except for Dan-O), love golf, drive trucks, and love Nascar. In one hyphenated word, they are : one-of-a-kind. And I love 'em!

So there you have it. The conclusion of my 5 day Tribute to the South. What a great place to live, a great season of our lives, and someone we will always have to go back to and love and enjoy. Until next time, Roll Tide!