The hunt for basketball shorts....

Not too much going on this week. Just fiddling around. We spent a better part of yesterday cleaning up our place. It looks great... now I just need to finish hanging art work and finish putting up pictures to make it feel a little more homey.

We discovered yesterday that I have somehow misplaced my one and only and favorite basketball shorts Greg gave me. We spent like 30 minutes searching for them last night before we went to bed and then more time today. So.. due to my heartbreak we went on a search for new basketball shorts. We went to Dick's, Target and Wally world. I must have tried on dozens of basketball shorts .... alas, nothing felt quite as good as my last pair but I finally found a pair I could settle for. I know they will work, I just keep hoping my other pair will surface.

Last night and today Greg and I have gotten into a few tiffs ... I think mostly its due to our frustration with searching for work. We have spent quite some time on the net filling out apps and emailing people and then... nothing.. or we get rejected :( Then all that frustration gets taken out on one another :( :( For the first time along our trip I started to really question if we made the right decision to pick up and move. It officially took 4 weeks and 3 days for me to start questioning. Is that a fair amount of time? I mean, I figured those thoughts would cross my mind at some point. It is not surprising. A big part of me feels guilty. If Greg doesn't like it out here I fell as though it would be my fault somehow -- despite the fact that we made the decision together. At the same time I'm having all my doubts, I feel that even though we are a little worried about employment we should try and enjoy the time we have together as we probably won't have an opportunity to have time like this again. I also wish we could enjoy Raleigh more but we are trying to stay on our budget (which is tight) so that can be a hindrance when trying to figure out things to do. Okay... enough of my ramblings.. I have FAITH that it will all work out and the good Lord will put us where we belong!!!

Getting Settled In...

In the last week we have been somewhat productive. We went to the DMV and got our licenses, opened up new bank accounts and have gone around town trying to figure out how to get from point A to point B. On Friday we went to the art museum and on Sunday we went out to a local lake for a swim and a picnic. Its nice to start feeling like this is more our home and less like we are on vacation somewhere. I think now that we are more settled, we are ready to have jobs so that it can really feel like reality.

Greg and I have overall been doing okay. For a few days there it felt like we were a little disconnected from each other which is odd since we've been inseparable since we've been here. However, I think its just the overall feelings of being somewhere new and different. I know both of us have been experiencing a range of emotions since we've landed... excitement, fear. I know I am personally getting a little home sick for San Diego. This has happened to me every time I move. I know its just got take some time for adjustment.

Raleigh has been nice so far and there isn't much we've discovered that we haven't liked. Greg had one interview last week but he's not sure he will take the position if they offer it to him. Guess we'll just be plugging along on the job front.

This weekend we will see some friends of ours for the first time since we've arrived and I'm very excited. Being able to see them is partly why we moved so I can't wait to see the familiar faces and spend some quality friend time :) :)

Unpacking.....

So its been almost a week since my last post! A lot has happened... well, sort of. First, we got our POD as scheduled :) So that was exciting. We spent last Wednesday and Thursday unpacking. Phew... I am so glad that is done. It really took a lot out of us considering we unpacked everything - the boxes, couches and dressers all by ourselves! And we carried everything up three flights of stairs. Needless to say.... the rest of the week we were tired and pretty sore. They picked up the POD on Friday. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the experience. Nothing seemed to have broken and pretty much kept in tact.

The last couple of days we've just been unpacking and running to the store to get stuff we need. Some of the rooms in our apt are a little awkwardly shaped causing us to have some issues with rugs and such. But I'm sure we'll work it all out.

Today we went to the DMV to get our new licenses. So when they arrive in 8- 10 days - we will officially be North Carolinians! Craziness.

This past weekend was our first weekend in Raleigh. We honestly didn't do much but unpack and run errands. I think now that we are a little more settled we are ready to be working. I think we are also ready to spend some time apart since we've spent every waking moment together over the last three weeks. I am glad to have our stuff and to finally be able to feel more like we are actually home.

Snap back to reality

So... we are back from our trip to FL for my cousin's wedding! It was fun to see the family and to see her wedding. The actual trip to FL was much less than fun. It was about 11 hours one way - yikes!! So needless to say it was very long and tiring. The time it took for us to get to Florida was actually longer than any legs of our trip coming across country! But it was worth it of course to see everyone and see my beautiful cousin walk down the aisle. Toward the end of the weekend, Greg and I were getting on each other's nerves a little bit. I'm not sure if it was because we've spent so much time with each other (we haven't left each other's sides now for like 3 weeks) or if it was the heat. We are doing better today now that we are back in Raleigh.

Today we didn't do much. Ran some errands and such. Our POD should be arriving tomorrow- yippee :) We will actually have stuff to sit on and a bed to sleep in! As we were doing our errands today it hit me a little bit that okay.. its now crunch time. The party is over and we seriously need to find employment! Don't get me wrong, we have saved for this move and anticipated it taking time to find jobs but I got a little scared realizing all the money that's gone out and we have nothing coming in :( We will definetly be tightening the belt buckles (as if we weren't doing that already). I have faith -- I know it will work out for us - it has to. However, from time to time I do have pangs of anxiety and concern about what the future holds.

On a happy note, we were able to get outside and go for a walk on one of the "greenway" trails they have out here. It was really nice! We were surrounded by lush, green vegetation and a small creek. I'm glad we found it because in SD I loved to walk around the bay so now I have something comparable to do here :)

I will write again to let everyone know how much stuff got broken in the POD during its transportation to NC!!!

Our New Place

Yesterday we received the keys to our new place!! When we walked into our new apartment we discovered its smaller than we remembered. I am actually questioning how the heck we are going to fit in all our living room furniture... but I'm sure we will figure it out. One plus size is all the closet/storage space. There's actually more storage than I remember so I guess our new place is a little give and take. We only signed a 10 month lease so if we hate it.. we can always leave pretty soon. Another positive about our place- we are only sharing one wall with our neighbors so that's good.

We have kind of putzed around town yesterday and today -- library, DMV, grocery store -- nothing too crazy. Tomorrow we are actually leaving to go to my cousin's wedding in Florida so I probably won't be blogging until next week! I am actually excited to see my family and Greg and I can have some social interaction other than each other! Its been quiet at our new place since we have no TV and no furniture. The POD isn't scheduled to arrive until after our trip to FL. So its still paper plates, aero bed and beach chairs as our main staples in life! It still feels as though our life is a little chaotic and we are really not in reality. I'm sure it will help when we get settled next week :)

I thank everyone for all the emails/texts/comments welcoming us to the east coast. I can't wait to see the familiar faces and feel more like this is our home.

Final Destination....

We made it to Raleigh... yeah!!! FINALLY! We spent last night with Greg's family who were wonderful. They were very nice and super hospitable :) It was so nice to sleep in a house instead of a hotel and it have a home cooked meal rather than eat at a restaurant. We chit chatted late into the night and then again this morning. With all the stops we took today to eat and rest it took us almost 12 hours to get to Raleigh from Nashville so needless to say its been a looonnngg day! We got into to town around 11:30 pm exhausted. We are about to go to bed now. I will right tomorrow after we get the keys to our new place and let everyone know if our place turns out as cute as we remember!!!

The Delta Blues....

So Greg and I finished up today in Memphis by visiting the infamous Graceland. To my surprise, it wasn't as extravagant as I expected. The actual structure of the mansion was smaller than I was expecting. Of course, the compound that its located on was very large with stables, a seperate racquetball room, garage, etc. At Graceland they only allow you to tour the first floor of the mansion - which again wasn't as impressive as I was hoping but we did see the infamous "jungle room" and Elvis's "media room" which I am sure was probably impressive for his day but pales in comparison to the media rooms of today. What I enjoyed about the media room was that it was decorated in charger colors (no lie!) - yellow and blue! After the mansion we saw his burial place, his cars and even toured his private plane. All in all it wasn't too bad. There was way more people than I was expecting and we only saw one Elvis look alike! What I found the most interesting was seeing all of his gold records and realizing the impact that Elvis had on the music world. Obviously I knew he was like the best selling record artist of all time but I had no idea how many number one hits he had, how big his movie career was, or how many records he broke with his concert attendances and such. I also didn't realize he died so young- 42 years old. I imagine that his celebrity must have been a heavy burden to carry.

After Graceland we went down the Beale St- home of the blues. We waked around and ate lunch at BB Kings Blues Club where while we dined ,we were entertained with a house blues band. The band wasn't bad and had an 88 year old steal guitarist!! After Memphis we took off for Franklin, TN ( where Greg's family is). We are currently in a restaurant before we head over to see the fam.

Overall, Memphis wasn't too bad - however, I don't know if I would return. I had heard that it was kind of a dirty city and there were sketchy parts. I most certainly agree with this assessment. While downtown seemed to have much potential to be a thriving city- it seemed bare (possibly b/c it was a Sunday) and there were police everywhere which instead of making me feel safe, actually confirmed my sense of sketchiness to the city. The city does have a rich music history which made it cool for our visit.

Tomorrow we will be making one of our longest treks (9 hours!! eeekk) to our final destination --- RALEIGH!! I can't believe the time has almost come for us to be back to reality. This whole time it has felt as though we were on vacation and will be returning to sunny San Diego. I think it will really set in once we are in Raleigh and we see our new place. Despite the long drive, I hope its pretty since we will be going through the blue ridge mountains and Ashville.

I will write again tomorrow to let everyone know we made it :) :)

Central Time Zone

So far so good on our road trip! I must admit that I am starting to get a little sick of the car after 6days though!

Yesterday we drove into Oklahoma City. The drive was uneventful. We passed rolling hills and lots of cow farms. Oh wait... did I say uneventful? I forgot we saw the largest cross in the western hemisphere!! (See Picture) That was probably the highlight of our drive! We got into the city kind of late because we got a little bit of a late start. However, the woman at the front desk of the hotel gave us a brochure of the city and the downtown area looked cute. Since it was a Friday night we decided to check it out despite our late arrival. I am so glad we did! Oklahoma City is a lot more happening than I would have thought. Their "bricktown" area is super cute - it has a little river running through it with restaurants and shops lining it. While we were down there, a free reggae festival was going on so we walked around that for a minute. We also got a yummy dinner at an Italian place on the river. It was nice to have a "night out" since we've been couped up the car. This morning we went and saw the Oklahoma Memorial (Other picture). It was a very cool thing to see. I was only 13 when the Oklahoma City Bombing occurred so I didn't remember much but seeing the memorial and the museum was very touching and I did get emotional as I walked through the museum. I think the memorial (which is outside) was very well done. Overall, Oklahoma City really surprised me and Greg and I think we might even come back one day to see it when we have more time.

After the memorial we drove to Memphis. Again, an uneventful drive. Although we did see more forests and rivers -- Arkansas, as predicted, was kind of boring and we didn't drive through any major cities. Tonight we got into town and went for some BBQ-- it was delicious!!! And earlier today we stopped for lunch where I got sweet tea!!! Yeah- getting back to the southern food and drink that I so dearly miss and love. All too soon, I won't have to miss it so much as it will be apart of my life.

Over the last two days Greg and I have been listening to a book on tape about a guy who climbed Mount Everest. It was pretty interesting and made the drive go by pretty quickly so that's good. Toward the end of today though I definitely started to get delirious. I think Greg was too considering he almost killed us twice with his driving! Thank goodness our final destination is only a few days away! Tomorrow we will be visiting Graceland and then its off to Greg's aunt's house for a family visit.

I don't believe this journey has tested our relationship as much as I thought it might. As a matter of fact we are doing really well... and haven't really gotten on each other's nerves too much. We have fallen into our prescribed roles as Greg as the pilot and me as the navigator - we discovered rather quickly that I am much better and reading maps, finding hotels and figuring how to get from point A to point B - and Greg is much better and navigating all the crazy amounts of construction we have encountered on the roadways. Our little arrangement has worked out quite well and our teamwork has paid off up to this point as we have arrived to our destinations pretty much on schedule and under budget!!! Woo hoo!!!

This trip has warped our sense of time. We often find ourselves asking each other what day it is? What time is it? What time zone are we in? Even -- what state are we in? I seriously have lost concept of time.... sometimes its like the corolla is like our own little world and we are out of touch with realty. Then I get a flash of anxiety about what our new life will be like in Raleigh: will we like it? are we making the right move? God, please, let us find jobs!! Then I push those thought temporarily aside, look over at my new husband and smile - I think to myself: we will create our own destiny. I then focus on the moment at hand so I can enjoy the adventure we are currently undertaking.

According to the weather channel, over the next few days we will probably be encountering the first major rain of our trip. So keep your fingers crossed that we don't get too bogged down!!!

Hope everyone is doing well!

PS - The fish is still kicking :)