Not as they seem...

Things are not always as they seem. Like when Juanita, our GPS device, tells us that a Starbucks is five miles away, and then commences to take us on a 30 minute joyride through the West Virginia countryside. This would all be fine and well, except my husband is behind us in a very large Penske truck, and Juanita wants us to take curvy, up and down side roads that are clearly marked with signs that forbid trucks. We made it, though, and had our coffee. Also, come to find out that the coffee shop was inside a Target, so we had a little shopping break, too. Once we made it back to the interstate, we were a little disappointed to see that the next exit had both a Starbucks and a Target, visible from the road.

Being carried across the threshold

So, when I was fighting tears on the day that we moved into our new apartment, it was not as it seemed. I wasn't sad, well I was sad to be leaving home, but that wasn't really the emotion that was coming out of me. It was everything--the move, the fact that our sofa couldn't fit up the stairwell into our apartment (which in reality means that I get a new sofa, so really cause to celebrate), the fact that our box-spring wouldn't fit up the stairwell into our apartment--hmm, I could have done without that one, and the fact that I had been up half of the night before worried about all (or most) of our possessions in a truck and wondering whether I had locked the car, which contained three computers and my new camera. All of these things set me on this emotional coaster; I always get emotional when I am lacking sleep. When the tears came, in the midst of moving boxes and furniture up to our third floor apartment, I tried to escape to the kitchen to clean the new refrigerator, so that no one would see me!

Our Kitchen

I really felt bad for the guys who were helping us move in--I think that they may have thought it was their fault that I was so emotional. Does anyone else ever do that?

All of that to say, that we really do love our new apartment. It is in a wonderful neighborhood, it is much bigger than we anticipated, and we are happy here. It is an adventure that my husband and I will be able to enjoy together, and I think that our marriage will be truly enriched over these next four years.

The Living Room (and my adorable mom); Our Bedroom

The thing that we needed that first night was a good meal and a good night's rest. The tenant who lives on the floor below us recommended a tavern just up the road. We ignored the fact that we were dirty and shabbily dressed, and went to the tavern, which was just what we needed! Mom and I both enjoyed a wonderful portabello sandwich, topped with spinach and cheese (I may try making that one later), and my husband ate a cheesesteak and sweet potato fries, which he said were divine! Two beers for my husband and a glass of wine for both me and my mom put us in dire need of a bed. Sleeping in the apartment was out; without a sofa for my sweet mother to sleep on, and with our sheets boxed up somewhere in the apartment, we headed around the block to the local boutique hotel, leaving all of our "baggage" behind us. After all...tomorrow is another day.