Is This For Real?!

Well hello there!  Thomas and I have been moving since Friday night, and we just got internet today!  Yay!!!  So, I guess this is update #1 on the move... with many more to come!  There is so much to tell, so much to be excited about, that it's going to take numerous posts to get it all in!  So, here are the first three things that are amazing about our new life!

#1 -

This is the view from the road we live on!  (And for those of you who aren't familiar with the Florida Space Coast, that is pretty much a huge ocean inlet.)  Need I say more?!  I mean really... we cannot leave our apartment without driving past this.  So basically..... AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!

#2 - Our apartment is HUGE!  Literally, it is DOUBLE the size of our old apartment!  Yay!!!  We are getting all the furniture arranged, and we still have room for more!  It's incredible!

#3 - My new washer and dryer will be delivered on Tuesday!!!!!  Yay!  I'm pretty much completely head over heels with having my own washer and dryer!  No more treks to the laundry room.  No more quarters.  No more setting a timer on my phone so I remember to go get my laundry at the exact moment that it gets done.  YAY!!!

And since there are many more fabulous things about our new life, the list will just keep going!  Stay tuned...

Random:  Tomorrow we're going to the beach for the first time since we got here!!!

"Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Will There Be Enough Room?"

(Quoted from Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault)

Well, last night a had a nightmare... (Before I start this story, I must warn you that I have very random dreams that are very detailed and complicated and just totally weird me out sometimes, but I will give you the short version today)  So, I had this dream.  And to preface: my parents are coming to town on Saturday to help us load the 16 foot moving truck with all of our belongings.  So, in my dream, my mom and I were taking a walk while Thomas and my dad went to pick up the moving truck.  All was fine until we got back from our walk, and lo and behold... our moving truck was a fifteen passenger van!!!  So, I started crying hysterically, and the one line I remember from the dream was, "Our couch won't even fit in there!"  And the funny part is, we're not even that attached to our couch.  Just tonight actually, after I was telling that story to Thomas, we decided that if everything didn't fit, we would pitch the couch first.  But, before last night, I really hadn't worried about whether or not all of our stuff was going to fit into a 16 foot truck, but now...  I'm not so sure.  So, maybe we can all hope together that my dream is not indicative of how Saturday is going to go! (And this morning, when I was getting ready for work and planning out this blog post, somehow, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom popped into my head, and I am very excited about how it fits as a title.  I LOVED this book as a kid!)

So, only two more days!  Wow!  And I haven't gotten anything done yesterday or today, so now I'm feeling behind.  Yuck.  So, I should probably stop writing this post, which has no more interesting or uninteresting information to impart...  but...  It's nice to just sit down for a few minutes.

OOOHHH!  I should tell you the other interesting (HORRIBLE) part of my night.  Well, last night when Thomas and I were going to bed, a cicada decided that it enjoyed sitting on top of our air conditioner (we have a wall air conditioner in our bedroom, so the cicada was sitting on it on the outside).  He wasn't too loud, so we were both able to get to sleep alright.  But at 1:30 AM, he decided to have a stinkin' songfest!!!  And of course, I'm the light sleeper, so it woke me up right away, and it was immediately driving me NUTS!!!  So, I started banging on the air conditioner to make him go away.  However, apparently, Thomas was still asleep before this, so he got mad at me that I woke him up.  And I got mad at him because if I didn't get the bug off the air conditioner, I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep.  So, we were both tired and angry, so we came out to the living room, and I turned on "Beauty and the Beast" (my go to Disney movie, and since I know it by heart, sometimes it helps me sleep) to try and drown out the noise.  But, it didn't work, and I was just frustrated that we were kicked out of our bed by a BUG.  So I went to bang on the air conditioner some more.  And... about 45 minutes later, I FINALLY WON!  So, I woke Thomas up again, and we went back to bed.  And the moral of the story is: cicadas are evil.  Lol.

So we just had a *great* night all around.  Yay.  Anyway, I should probably go now.  Ok.  Bye.

Random:  ONLY TWO MORE DAYS!!!!!!!!!

Countdown Initiated

4 days to go!  4 days of work... 4 days to finish packing... 4 days to say goodbye... 4 days until we're "homeless"... 4 DAYS!!!

And of course, I'm FREAKING out!  I've got so much stuff packed, but there is so much to go.  I can't believe that I haven't woken up from this crazy dream yet!  I mean, in four days, Thomas and I will be packing our lives into a truck and moving to Florida!  Wow!

And in 7 days, we will be living in our new apartment!!!  Yay!!!  So, I don't think I've mentioned yet, but WE HAVE A PLACE TO LIVE!!!!!  And its AWESOME!!!  Totally cool!  So, its almost twice the size of our current apartment!!!  It's in a complex that has a pool!!!  It has a DISHWASHER!!!!!!!!!  And washer and dryer hookups!!!  And a screened-in patio!!!  And a master suite!!!  And it is right across the road from the inter-coastal waterway!!!  And have I mentioned... its in FLORIDA!!!!!!  YAY!  Basically, its like everything I could ask for!  (Besides a mansion that has its own private beach, of course)  Can you tell I'm excited?!  It's gonna be awesome!

So, it's really crazy around here, but I'm really getting to enjoy the excitement too!  Yay!  Anyway, I should get back to either packing or writing lesson plans!  So, too-da-loo!

Random:  I don't think I mentioned that it is Thomas' and my wedding anniversary tomorrow!  Yay!  We've been married for three years now!  And boy, has it been amazing!  Getting married to my best friend was the best decision ever!

Are We There Yet?!

Just kidding... but seriously.  This weekend was the official start of packing.  Thomas brought home about a bajillion boxes, and I got to it!  So, would you like to see my progress?!  Please say yes, because I would very much like to share!

Ta Da!!!  Lol.  I've packed quite a lot, but still have more to go!

So now, its time to start doing things like taking our desks apart because I have nowhere else to put the boxes that I pack!  It's pretty crazy.  However, I did have "help" in packing yesterday!

Once I started packing, Lolo decided that it was her job to be in my way just as much as she possibly could!  She's pretty good at it too!  Look at that dedication!

Also, I forgot to show you one of my other bday presents when I blogged about Thomas' the other day.  My mom, who is very skilled in the arts of sewing and embroidery, got/made me this for my birthday!

It's my teacher bag for school!  Isn't it totally cute?!  I love it.  Thanks Mom (and Dad)!

Anyway, I should probably go wake my napping hubby up so that we don't miss our Sunday afternoon movie!  We're going to see "The Green Lantern", and I'm so excited!  Normally, we would've gone to see this the week it came out, but we have been waiting a couple of weeks so that we can use our last free movie ticket!  So, now its time!  Yay!  "Speak the oath... because everybody knows the oath!  I pledge allegiance to a lantern... that I got from a dying purple alien..."

Can I Please Sleep Through This?

To say that the past few weeks have been an emotional roller coaster would be an extreme understatement.  But, I had it all under control... until yesterday.  And you may have noticed from yesterday's post that I was (ahem) in a slightly bad mood.  Yesterday just jumped on top of me and pounded me into the ground... and then kept going.  So many things shook my very fragile self control, and I just lost it.  You see, since this whole process started, I have been closer to God than I have been in a while.  This is taking so much faith and trust that I am constantly in prayer about something.  And I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this is God's plan for me and Thomas.  I have not had any doubt about that since the first moment we prayed about it after I was offered the job.  And along the way, God has so blatantly opened and shut doors that it is so clear that He is 100% shoving us down the right path.  I mean, He has just slammed a couple of doors for us, and He has thrown so many open and pretty much thrown us through the door.  He knows that we are trusting Him to lead us on our path, and He could not be anymore obvious unless He audibly spoke.  But yesterday, my confidence in all of that shattered.  The devil was absolutely determined to make me doubt what God is doing in our lives, and he succeeded.  Last night was a pretty low night.  But... the Lord is faithful, and He has not given up on me.  Today, I am just as stressed out, but I once again have no doubts about our path.  I wish that I could say that the devil couldn't get to me, but he did.  I am pretty weak in the faith area, so this experience is really growing me in that area.  And partly, I think I just really needed to cry.  Sometimes you just have to get it all out.  However, today I am extremely exhausted.  So, I think I'm going to start off my birthday by sleeping all day tomorrow!  :)

Ok, enough with the heavy!  I would like all of you to know that I have the absolute best husband in the world.  I don't care how awesome you think your husband is, mine is better... hands down!  ;)  Well, since we are going through this really sudden and expensive move, I told Thomas that we weren't going to celebrate my birthday with any presents right now.  But... he just couldn't help himself, so he found a very budget friendly way to get me a wonderful present!  Today, on my lunch break from an absolutely crazy day at work, he took me to Barnes & Noble and told me to pick out any journal I wanted.  (He knew I'd been wanting a beautiful journal for a while, but just hadn't gotten one yet.)  So, he managed to get me a wonderful birthday present on a very tight budget!  Awwwwww.

So here's my beautiful new journal!  Thanks honey!  I love you!

So, this is the start of the packing weekend.  Here we go!

Random: I watched "Wicker Park" two nights ago.  And it has been forever since I've seen that movie, but I have never forgotten how amazing it is.  It is a wonderful, yet annoying love story.  And it is a story about how you will never get over or forget "the one".  Watch it!

What should I name this post?

Alright yall... this is a blog post.  A blog post about everything and nothing.  A blog post because I feel guilty for not blogging.  A blog post for the sake of talking about myself...  Sounds great, right?  I know, but if you're really that bored already, just stop reading.  No one's forcing you to stay.  Anyway...

So, I'm going nuts!  We are packing up our apartment and moving in t-minus 8 days!  (Side note: isn't it weird how "t-minus" technically has two minuses... the "-" and the "minus"?!  Yeah.)  So, my life has been turned upside down.  I walk around the apartment just looking at stuff.  And we now have a huge portion of our study filled up with boxes that don't even have anything in them yet.  And we have totes and boxes just sitting in the middle of our living room on the floor, and we walk around them and kick them all day long.  But we can't move them because there is nowhere else for them to go.  But it's not really time to start for real packing yet, because we still have 8 days.  Aaaaahhhhhhhhh!  And we have so much to do before we move (you know, minor things like FINDING A PLACE TO LIVE!) that I just can't figure out what to do first!  Did you catch that?  We don't have a place to live yet... awesome.

So, this is a very stressful time for me, and even though I could (almost) not be more excited about this move, I find that I'm in a bad mood most of the time.  I don't really know why, but I guess I'm just so stressed that even the little things are making me snap.  And my brain will not shut up.  I've laid in bed the past few nights for at least an hour trying to sleep, but I just can't calm down enough.  How stupid is that?!  I know, right?!  I'm getting the chance of a lifetime, and I'm wasting the experience by being crabby all the time.  Like right now... why can't I stop complaining.  This is ridiculous.

Moving on!  So, I finished up all that yarn a couple of weeks ago.  And I was so eager to get it out of the house that I didn't even photograph it first.  So, I had to snap a couple of pics at work one day.  I haven't even looked at them yet.  In fact, I need to go get my camera and download them so that I can finish this post!  OK, all done!

 Corriedale Cross Top - about 70 yards

 Romney Cross - 120 yards

 South African Fine - 125 yards

And more South African Fine - 97 yards

So, those were one of my last projects before the move.  Now everything is taken apart and ready to be packed up.  :(  But, as I mentioned in an earlier post (I think), these yarns were bound for Lisa of Tri-Bec Creations so that it can all be made into something cute!  So, she posted this photo on facebook the other night, and I just had to share!

Here are two hats that she made from some of the yarn!  Aren't they so cute?!  She is so talented, so you should follow her blog and like her facebook page!  She's got this adorable crocheted, stuffed giraffe that she just started making, and it is ADORABLE!!!  So, go check out Tri-Bec Creations!

Well, the to do list is glaring at me, so I'd better get going!  I hope everyone has a quick Friday so that we can all get to the wonderful weekend!!!

Random note:  MY BIRTHDAY IS ON SATURDAY!!!  Woohoo!

The B-I-G Announcement

Hey everyone!  I have an announcement to make!!!  Are you ready?!  (I bet not!)  Ok...

WE'RE MOVING TO FLORIDA!!!!!!!!!!

AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!  Can you believe it?!  I almost can't!  But it's TRUE!!!  I'm so excited that I can't even figure out what to say!  So, here's the story...
As some of you may know, I double majored in French and History in college.  So, kind of on a whim, I applied for a French teaching position at a high school in Florida.  And, long story short, a lot of things went right, and they offered me the job!!!  So, I will be the new French and World History teacher, and also the assistant band director!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!  So, in about three weeks, Thomas and I are packing up and moving to the East coast.  And the best part is... we will be living our entire lives 10 minutes away from the BEACH!!!!!!!

And for those of you who don't actually know me, it has been a life-long dream of mine to live at the beach, so this is 100% a dream come true!  And remember how last week, I told you that Cocoa Beach is my heart's second home?  Well, we will be living in the Melbourne/ Palm Bay area which is pretty much the next town South of Cocoa Beach!  So, I'm finally coming home.  As the movie "The Mechanic" observes, "your heart's telling you that you're homesick for a place you've never been."  And even though I have been there, I am homesick for the beach all the time.  Everything just feels right when I step onto that sand and smell the sea and watch the waves crash on the shore.  Just the way it feels right when Thomas holds me in his arms.  And so, I could not be happier that this is God's plan for us right now.

So, that's my big news!  And now I'm just freaking out, trying to figure out all the details.  Even though I know that God has it all worked out, I just can't help but worry.  This is definitely a huge test of my trust in Him, because I see so many things that could go wrong in front of me, but I know He will work it out in His perfect way.  But still, I keep waiting for something to go wrong or wake up to find it was all a dream.  But no, it's REAL!

So, obviously this will bring about some big changes in my weaving world.  For one thing, my shop is going to have to be shut down until I get get everything moved over to Florida... which may be a while since I will have lesson plans to make, homework to grade, not to mention band practice and Friday night football games!  So, my life is getting really crazy, and I'm just along for the ride!  So please, bear with me, there will probably be a gap in the fiber arts for a little while, but I'm pretty sure I can more than fill that gap with all my personal musings.  ;)

Speaking of lesson plans and such... I should probably be doing that instead of this... so...

Random (or not so random) quote:  "Every dreamer knows that it is entirely possible to be homesick for a place you've never been to, perhaps more homesick than for familiar ground."  ~Judith Thurman   (So true!)