Our original move-in date for the apartment was... uh,... not going to happen.
So while we were "on hold," our plans continued to shift.
From plan A... to plan B... to plan C... to plan D... until we were officially on Plan E.
We had to work through a lot of different scenarios to figure out WHEN to come up north, and WHERE we were going to LIVE when C started work.
Thankfully,
Plan E has worked out so far.
(until we actually moved up here.)
(since then we've gone from E, to F, to G.)
(and now we're on H.)
But before I fast-forward to November... I'll try to catch you up on our weeks in October. We spent most of our down time in my home-state of North Carolina... watching the leaves change, watching our plans change, and trying to make some fun memories with family and friends before we head north for the winter.
Here are some of our October adventures...
...we said goodbye to our Virginia house,
...stuffed our U-haul full of things to take to storage,
....drove home to North Carolina (where I grew up... so many memories here!)
...had an awesome unloading crew of family and friends to help us unload the Uhaul stuff into storage,
...sorted through a bajillion storage bins (and labeled. every. one.)
... spent some wonderful time with the Fam (yay!) (we make the best memories with each other!),
...spent a day at the NC State Fair with the fam. (
Oh yes.) Being the FIRST time C and I had been to the NC fair together (
whaaa?), and the last time to do something totally
country-fied before we head up to be
yankees,... we had to embrace our southern pride and wear some
major plaid.
...visited Fayetteville to see the Grandparents and the Aunties
(love you G!!!),
...traveled to Charleston to see THE MOST WONDERFUL PEOPLE,
...bought a new suit for C
(Mad Men here we come),
...walked in 'Walk to School Day" with the 3 smartest, most beautiful, and most talented nieces in the world (
so proud to be your aunt!)
...held and played with the most lovable, squeezable baby in dee whole wide woooooorld (my sister's 3rd baby girl!),
...saw Footloose (2011) and LOOOVED it,
...had lunch with another wonderful Auntie,
...traveled to Lillington to see my talented cousins in their local musical
"The Wizard of Oz
" (bravissimo!),
...caught up with some dear childhood friends (
xoxo!),
...a little shopping trip with the Sisters,
...a special dinner out with the Sisters,
...ate homemade waffles (a family tradition)(thanks Dad!),
...went downtown Raleigh for dinner at Irregardless Cafe,
...pretended to be G.I. JANE and got in some shooting practice at a friend's BEAUTIFUL farm.
(
I just learned to shoot this year.)
....had a dancing party with the Sisters and the nieces. Created our own interpretive movement to Gaga's "Edge of Glory."
(heehee. yes we did.)
...laughed and cried while leafing through old family photo albums. Mostly cried because the pictures were so disastrously funny.
(Ahh to be home-schooled.)
...were invited to a Bonafide Bonfire at our neighbor's house! We roasted marshmallows, drank hot spiced cider, and had an EPIC DRUM BATTLE with a neighbor's wicked collection of African drums (bongos, congas, and a djembe). We jammed for 3 hours! It was totally tribal. And totally fun. We have the BEST neighbors.
...Then on our last day... we spent the night-before and the morning-of,... s-t-u-f-f-i-n-g our car with things to go to NYC,
...and I cried when my Sister gave me a copy of "The Help," and some beautiful, hand-made, hand-painted bookmarks,
...and cried when we finally drove out of the driveway,
...and cried all the way till we got on the interstate.
My heart felt so very blessed by all the genuine encouragement and support
we received from friends, neighbors, and family.
...I just didn't expect...
...the overwhelming, out-pouring of SHARED JOY.
So to all my friends and family.
THANK YOU FOR CHEERING US ON.
I will carry your joy with me.
