Winter Wonderland

Me and my coworker, Sweet Mary, enjoying the snow storm!

Rock and Roll!

This present came with the crucial instruction of how to shout, "Rock and roll!" Oh, and of course, a nice loud amp. You're welcome Mommy and Daddy.

Peace and Love to You this Holiday Season!

More of our sweet sweet boy.

Elvis by the fig tree.

Sunset

Contented sigh.

Full Moon

For a moment, the universe felt a little bit smaller, and it was a comfort. For a moment.

Sweet Sweet Boy

Elvis strikes a pose.

Plethora of Pecans

Rod and his new favorite activity - picking pecans! It has been a very cool thing to watch him get excited and work so hard. It always makes me miss my Granddaddy, and the pain resurfaces as I'm reminded that he and Rod will never get to pick pecans together. Not this side of heaven anyway. Everybody knows heaven has big, beautiful pecan trees like the one we inherited from my grandparents. If there were none before, there are now that my grandparents are there.

The Birthplace of the Blues

Mom accompanied me on a business trip to Memphis, TN, and we had a blast! In the top picture, we're dining on ribs and mac 'n cheese at B.B. King's club. The next is us on the roof of our groovy 1940's restored hotel with the mighty Mississippi River in the background. It was our first mother/daughter trip in a long, long while. And I must say, hanging out with my mom as an adult was pretty awesome!

Beach: Part VII - Nothing compares to Grandmommy.

Its a simple and hard won truth. Don't challenge it, or you'll just feel stupid for trying to disrupt the laws of the universe. I will say this, watching your mom be a grandma is one of the coolest things ever. I spent most of my early and mid twenties wanting to somehow "pay back" all the ways my mom blessed me growing up. My late twenties are teaching me a sobering, yet somehow comforting fact - It would be completely impossible to accomplish that feat.

Beach: Part VI - The Jam Session

T-Bone rocks out on the harmonica, while Uncle Rod plays the acoustic bass. My sister can thank me later for not posting the one with Mommy as "dancer." :)

Beach: Part V - Summer Romance

Sweet Elvis and his new girlfriend.

Beach: Part IV - The Bigger Stud

Beach: Part III - The Big Studs

Beach: Part II - What a difference a year makes...

Our second youngest member of the family. Run. Play. Run. Crash face first into the sand. Wait. Get up, cry for a moment, then laugh hysterically, and keep playing. More lessons in wisdom from those who know more than I.

The Beach Trip: Part I - First Time at the Ocean

Every year we head to the Emerald Coast with family. Its a tradition that has become THE tradition for many of us :) This photo captures the youngest member of the family encountering the ocean for the first time. Step. Wait. Step. Watch. Step. I can do this all by myself. Wait. Step back. Actually, this is kinda big and scary. I'm not ready for this. Lessons in wisdom from a toddler.

NEW JOB!!!

Well, Rod and I had been in Buies Creek exactly 11 days (almost to the hour) when I received a job offer! Hallelujah!!! It is really amazing how things have a way of working out. The people of our new community (my old community, but new to us as a married couple) have come out of the woodwork to help us find jobs. I will start my new job as an Admissions Counselor at Campbell University this week. I am very excited to work with students again. And as you can see, it is a beautiful campus - lots of green grass and old brick buildings. Love it! And my commute is only 3 miles. Really love it!!

The southern life.

What up people, I thought I would give an update of our move from a native So Cal perspective. North Carolina is treating us very well. We have the house almost put together (pics to follow soon), and we are just overwhelmed with love and generosity. I have also discovered this is an awesome place to ride my road bicycle..excellent roads, very little traffic and nice drivers that are safe and friendly.

We don't however have Internet service yet, ( I am at my in laws right now) so we do feel somewhat isolated...which I LOVE! There is something about this area that is very relaxing....people wave from cars, folks bring you home-made food, fresh locally grown veggies, and the scenery is amazing.

Enjoy these pics and stay tuned for more updates.

Rod

Best Buds Part II

Rod is now best friends with John Deere. Here he is mowing the lawn for the first time. Sweet hardworking man, how I love him!

Generations of Wisdom

Granny gives me advice as we look out over the fields.

The Welcome Wagon

They welcomed, and they unloaded our truck in under an hour! Thank you!!! I have to include that the WONDERFUL Rebecca is taking this picture. Thank you too!!!

Dreams realized...

I have always dreamed of having a front porch with a big white swing. And this was waiting for me. I am continually overwhelmed with thanksgiving.

HOME SWEET HOME

The Arrival

Happy happy happy moment, so two pics to capture it!

Almost there!

I took this picture somewhere in NC. Elvis was a champ and never complained about his harness. We are happy in this pic cause we're sooo close!

We made it!

Just a few more miles to go (actually, a few hundred, but anything less than 2,000 seems like a "few").

Best Buds

Catching up on the blog a bit...During the drive from CA, we spent one day and night at my sister's. It took about 5 minutes for her son and Elvis to become best friends. Sooo sweet!

The adventure continues...

OK people, lots to tell you about. It is currently 1:49 est and I am writing this from Knoxville TN after a couple of long days...update:

We arrived in Gallup NM at my sister and brother in-laws house, Seth and Amanda and spent a day with them and their 2.5 year old Tanner. We had a blast relaxing and playing with Tanner...this kid is on fire! I forgot how cool it is to spend time with a child whose mind is literally developing as you hang out. This was his first real interaction with a big dog too. The "boys" really took to each other, and Tanner and Elvis are now officially buddies. Can't wait to see you guys soon, thanks for having us.

We left Gallup NM on sat, Aug 2nd headed toward Oklahoma city, 680 miles. The drive was going well until we blew a tire on the trailer in Sayre OK. As is happens, the first off-ramp we could get to led us to a tire facility approx 200 yards off the freeway. Come to find out, this shop is the official Budget "rescue" company for Amarillo TX to Oklahoma City...so Don, originally from Memphis, says he can fix me right up. He installed 2 brand new tires on the left side of the trailer to make it safe for highway use. He even had these premounted...total time of this disaster: 45 minutes. It could not have been any more ideal, unless of course it did not happen, but that goes without saying...or does it?

So 12 hours later we arrive at our "hotel". I booked this room on expedia and it was a dump. After getting into our room, I took Elvis for a walk and noticed a lot if riff raff milling about. I went to check our truck and more riff raff. I had a decision to make, my gut told me this place was not safe, or at least that is how I felt. I informed Melissa of my thoughts and she agreed that we should press on and find a decent hotel. We showered and headed out. Forward to 7 am the next morning...I am still driving. We decided to get a hotel in Conway OK and get some shut eye.

We slept for about 6 hours and back on the road. Today started out wonderfully ;). The rest of the day is a different story. Things got sour when Melissa made a profound statement: "Haven't we already passed Carlisle?" Yes indeed we had, I, in a brief moment of Bone-headed-ness had altered our schedule by about 2 hours. That is to say, I added 2 hours due to getting on the 40 West...when we all know North Carolina is on the EAST COAST Rod!!

This day also marked a special event....Melissa's first time behind the wheel! She drove the rig like a champ, dealing with rumble strips, passing big rigs, down shifting on the climbs all while drinking a large Red-Bull.

Tomorrow we head from Knoxville to our destination, Lillington NC. I can't wait to settle into a slower paced lifestyle and get to know my family on Melissa's side. I am also already missing my family, all of whom I left in California. Mixed emotions for sure.

That's enough out of me. Enjoy

RH

In Route...

We drove out of Torrance, CA at around 4pm Thursday afternoon, and FOURTEEN HOURS later, we arrived to my sister's home in New Mexico. We seriously overestimated the trucks ability to pull the Kia to 6,000 feet in elevation. But, we had a WONDERFUL day playing with my nephew and relaxing. No time to post photos now, but we will tonight!

NOTE TO SELF: Earthquakes make me nauseous.

The 28th floor of a high-rise in downtown Los Angeles is NOT the place to be during a 5.8 earthquake. I don't know which is more disconcerting - that the notice released by authorities has 3 spelling errors or that the people responsible for helping me are the "Purple Patrol." Now I feel safe.

A personal note about population density...

We love people. But, we love them more when there are fewer of them. So, it looks promising that we'll be able to love our new neighborhood - 9 homes - more than our old neighborhood - over 400 homes.

Sigh...one thing I will definitely miss about California...

...but, what you don't see is the other 50 million people on the beach!

The Most Beautiful Dog in the World

Elvis enjoying his last few days in his lovely (but small) yard, before he moves to his big yard!

Who are we?

Okay, so we've gone back and forth for thrity minutes as to which photo to post. As my husband has just pointed out, Christmas was "like six months ago." Well, I look good in this picture, so we're going with this one. Since we've just wasted an hour trying to "blog," I have NO IDEA how we're gonna make it across the country in one piece. This is ridiculous.

Its now 10pm and we're an old young married couple, so I gotta wash my face and go to bed.

I promise something more profound later. Maybe. Hopefully.