Bittersweet #4

Holy smokes ya’ll… Moving is no joke.  The last 2-3 weeks have been a whirlwind!  I am currently taking a packing break to watch Teen Mom 2 (guilty pleasure – no judging!).  I cannot believe that Paul and I are moving TOMORROW!  That just seems crazy!  The last 5 years in Tallahassee have flown by, but these years would not have been the same without my favorite people.  Which leads me to the final bittersweet post.

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This is by far the worst part of moving out of Tallahassee.  So awful, that I’ve been pretending it isn’t happening for the last 2 months, because when I think about it I cry.  My sister is my best friend.  I have never looked up to someone more in my entire life.  Her faith is so strong, she is so incredibly smart, she always knows what to say to make me feel better, and we ALWAYS have fun together.  We bake things we shouldn’t be eating, we laugh and shop and do sister things.  As we’ve grown up and moved to Tallahassee, we have always talked about how awesome it would be to live close to each other and our kids can be BFFs and we will live these happy little lives near each other.  Up until a couple months ago, I still saw this little plan working perfectly.

Not only is my sister one of my favorite people, but her husband is my other brother.  He has come to my rescue on more than 1 (or 5) occasions.  His sense of humor never fails.  There is never a night where we aren’t laughing with him… or at him.  Some of my favorite nights consist of my sister, David, Paul and I sitting around the table talking for hours.

As if Melissa and David weren’t enough for me to move away from, they have the 2 most perfect little girls… my nieces.  I am obsessed with them.  I talk about them like they are my children.  I whip out pictures and everyone knows I am such a proud auntie!  The thought of not being able to stop by and see Reese slouched in her high chair like a “G” and Kennedy running around listing off her trains from Thomas and friends makes me so sad… and now I’m crying while I type.  Kennedy is at the cutest age and she LOVES me and I LOVE that!  When I hear her call me “auntie’ it makes my heart happy… I don’t want to leave that!  They are so tiny and I don’t want them to forget me!  I realize that is completely irrational.  We will only be 4 hours apart, we will FaceTime, and I know Melissa and David will talk to them about us, but that’s just how I feel.   So anyway now you guys can tell me you’re moving home to Orlando too, and everything will be right in the world… Wishful thinking?

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That being said,  I am super excited to be moving home and living 10 minutes from my parents!  I’ve officially reached the age where my parents are my friends, not just my parents.  Well truth be told, I reached that stage a few years ago, but now that I’m married I see it even more.  I am excited to be around my mom’s cooking more! Maybe now I will actually take her up on spending time with her in the kitchen.  Paul already requests a few of her recipes, and I’ve learned them but my mom’s cooking is top notch.

I may be getting ahead of myself, but eventually Paul and I will be having a baby (or 2 or 3…), and I have seen my parents with my nieces and I cannot wait for them to be those amazing grandparents to our kids.

Then there is always my baby brother.  I love him, but I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that he is a grown up!  He’s smart and witty and I still find him taking me by surprise.  The downfall now of living so far from my brother is that we both suck at talking on the phone.  I don’t call.  He doesn’t call.  We text here and there, but unless you’re Victoria (his girlfriend) you can pretty much expect a very concise answer and very little effort to carry on the conversation.  SUCH. A. BOY. Now that we are living closer, I am super excited we will actually get to talk and hang out!  I am also really glad that he and Paul will get a chance to know each other better.  Paul has fit right in with my sister and David especially since we see each other so often, and I’m glad he gets that chance now with Travis.

I’m a bundle of emotions, and they are all over the place.  From happy and excited to sad and dreading leaving.  I leave my sister’s perfect little family, but I get to be closer to the rest of my family.  Can’t be too upset about the way this has worked out!

Bittersweet #3

Two weeks from today, Paul and I will be heading down to Orlando for our official move.  The thing we’ve been discussing for weeks now is getting closer, and it’s finally starting to feel real.  We’ve gradually started packing, and our living room is slowly being overtaken with boxes.  In case you didn’t know, packing sucks.

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Over my last 5 years in Tallahassee,  I have met some amazing friends.  Many of them I’ve met through my jobs, but they have made me love living here even more.  Many of us are in the same spot in life, or somewhere close: young, married, no kids.  It’s so nice having friends in the same place in life.  We don’t all have to hang out everyday, but when we get together it is an amazing time.  I have truly been blessed by some amazing people.  People who give me advice, who care about me, who support me, who share my beliefs, who respect and encourage me.  Leaving these people will not be easy.  Thankfully for me, I will be back in Tallahassee often, and they all know our home is open to them anytime they are in Orlando!

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One of the more exciting parts of moving is that Paul and I will be able to meet people together.  My hope is that we will get plugged in to a church, and we will meet people that way.  The hard part about this is that we will both be working from home.  Not being in an office will make it a little more challenging for us to me people.  I am thankful that Paul and I do have some friends in the area already, and we are looking forward to being able to spend time with them.

Moving to a new city is an adventure.  It’s scary and exciting all at the same time, and it’s only 13 days away…

Bittersweet #1

We have officially entered moving month.  In 21 days I will no longer be the Tallahassee resident I never knew I would be.  I always assumed I would move back home after college, but life happened.  I got a job, I met THE boy.  We got married and settled in.  Tallahassee has worked out pretty well, and we saw our future here.  Well life threw another unexpected curve ball, and we are about to start a new adventure. There are times when I get really excited, and then times I get sad to leave.  So here’s my new mini series of posts of our bittersweet move.

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I am pretty sure there aren’t too many things I love more than game day in Tallahassee.  The atmosphere in this small town is just amazing.  EVERYWHERE you look you see Garnet and Gold, FSU flags, FSU car stickers, FSU signs at businesses, and weekly “tailgates” downtown Friday nights during football season.  The entire community goes all out, and I didn’t realize I would miss it, until I realized we won’t have it anymore. I’m sure it is like this is most big college towns, but this is MY college town.  I’ll miss being able to go to the mall and find stores full of FSU things or hearing our Pastor talk about the Seminoles at church and cracks little gator jokes. I can’t get that in Orlando!!! Luckily, we will be back for home games, but during those away games when the atmosphere is still amazing and every sports bar is packed, there are house parties, little get togethers and everyone is rooting for the same team.  It just won’t be the same.  Don’t even try to argue that UCF is the same. It’s not.

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I have some great friends back home that I’ve stayed in touch with, two of them were my bridesmaids.  I am super excited to be able to see them on a regular basis!!  Leaving them was one of the hard parts of moving away to go to school, and now they get to be a reason that I’m excited to move back home.  When the new T. Swift CD comes out next month, I know I can call Megan and we will go to Target at 8am to buy the DELUXE version and then we will stop at Starbucks or Chik-Fil-A and drive around screaming her album at the top of our lungs like we are still 16.  Only to go back to our houses to decode her lyrics to figure out who the song is about, because that’s our tradition.  I will also have my personal stylist, Anna, back! Which is just happy, because we all know shopping and fashion are not my strong points.  That’s why I shop online and win the award for worst girl ever.  I have a lot of other amazing people I’m excited to move back and see, and I know that will help me with the transition.

There you have it.  The first bittersweet of our move.

We’re Moving!

Now that this information has been given to our bosses and co-workers, Paul and I can officially publicize that we will be moving next month!

Paul was recently approached by one of his manufactuers for an internal sales position with them.  This was a long 2 month process, and if you know me it was a TORTUROUS secret to keep.  From the very beginning, we thought he had a great chance of getting the job.  He was told he was the “top candidate for the position”  (yes, that’s my husband that was APPROACHED as the TOP candidate for a position – super proud wife moment so I have to brag!)  Originially we were under the impression he could stay in Tallahassee and work.  As the weeks progressed, he learned that was no longer the case.  Due to his new territory, and the amount of business in Orlando, we decided the best place for us to relocate to within his territory will be Orlando!   This new job is a huge blessing, and with Paul covering less territory and the majority of it in Orlando, it means a lot less traveling for him!  Which makes us both happy!

This past weekend in Orlando, we started looking for places to live.  Our next hope will be to find a house to rent that allows 3 dogs… call that landlord crazy but I will love them forever if it means we get to take our 3 babies with us!  Luckily for us, my parents are in Lake Mary, and so we have a place to stay if it takes a while to find a place (thanks mom and dad!).

We are extremely excited about this opportunity for Paul, but it is definitely bittersweet.  Tallahassee was home to each of us before we met, and now it holds all of the memories we have created together.  Paul and I both really love our jobs, and not just our jobs but the people we work for!  Which only makes the decision that much harder, but we know it is the right one for us.

God has really outdone himself on this one.  It just goes to show that God’s plan will prevail. Without the job opportunity Paul was given two years ago, he wouldn’t have the opportunity he has now.  He has gone above and beyond when answering our prayers! We even already have someone to rent out our house when we move at the end of September!  Whew!

Paul starts his new job on September 1st in Orlando.  We will basically have a long distance marriage for a month, and we will move at the end of September.  September will be busy… and stressful!

We are sad to leave Tallahassee, but since it is the Home of the Florida State Seminoles and football season is approaching… so there is no doubt that we will be back regularly! Well back for football… and our adorable nieces and their parents 🙂