Friday, February 28, 2014

Friday Mishmash

The winner of the Goji Play system is:

higailann!!!

Congratulations!  Please email me (40somethingsjourney@gmail.com) with your contact info so I can get your prize to you.  If I don't hear from you within a week, I'll have to draw another winner. 

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If you haven't read the escalator story on Debby's blog, you should...we had quite an adventure last Saturday when we got to the D/FW airport.  It was so funny that two nights later, I started thinking about what happened and got the giggles all over again!

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I got a kick out of Debby taking pictures of my familiar haunts, so I started taking pictures of her taking pictures:
Quilt store, yarn store, scary statue park...we bloggers know how to document everything!

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As a matter of fact, I WAS there...

I've alluded to a bit of craziness going on in my life lately - actually, it was more in our son's life, but of course that affects us as well.  About six weeks ago Sam got an offer to make a job change, which would involve moving to North Carolina.  As you can imagine, it was a huge decision for him, and in the end, he decided to go for it (I couldn't say anything publicly about it until now as he only gave his notice at his current job yesterday).  We are really excited for him (and of course just the tiniest bit sad that he won't be a mere three hour drive away), and last Saturday he and I flew to NC to find a place for him to live.  This was the first time I've been in North Carolina (Sam spent several weeks training there last year) and I have to say, it's really pretty!  What's funny is that everyone kept saying "oh, this is not very nice right now, just wait until Spring" but we were impressed.  

We hit the ground running - I think on our first day there we saw 10 places to rent.  It's kind of hard to know where to live when you don't know the area; he pretty much went by where his future boss and some coworkers live, which is a really nice place.  Toward the end of Sunday I happened to check the online listings once more and a new place had just come up - we jumped at it and that was the one Sam ended up liking the best, so he's all set.  Between all of the rental viewings and lease negotiations, we had a little time to explore, but I can't wait to go back and have time to really check out the area better.  Here's just a few pictures of our trip:
LOTS of great food!
 We found two sweet yarn stores...a couple skeins of yarn came home with me.
He may not look thrilled at being made to pose for a picture, but I swear, Sam's favorite store is Target.  We went there the first night to get a tape measure, and after he decided on THE place to rent, we discovered that a brand new Target is very close to it and will open just in time for him to move there!
 Pictured with a cell tower, which is what he'll be dealing with...something something RF engineering something.  My kid speaks another language, and even though it's in English, it's all gibberish to me!
 
Celebrating with a North Carolina beer after he got the news that the place was his to rent (rentals go very quickly out there...this one was his less than 24 hours after it was listed).

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It's good to be home and get settled back into a normal routine.  I'll be catching up on my blog reading (and commenting) today, spending some time with Paco (Jeff said he would just randomly go lay in his crate, like he'd given up since I wasn't there), and knitting - although I brought a project with me, I was either too busy or too tired to knit.  Time to get back in action!

Have a great weekend!

22 comments:

  1. Congrats to your son, Shelley! North Carolina is a beautiful state with everything from beaches to mountains. I consider it a plus that you all will have reason to get east once in a while now! I love your yarn store expeditions…anytime I go to a new place, yarn stores are always a destination. It's fun to research ahead of time and have the anticipation of new meccas everywhere!

    Enjoy being back to home turf.

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    1. I'm excited for Sam, and also pleased that we will have a reason to head out there occasionally - and not just for the yarn stores (but they are a sweet bonus)!

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  2. I love North Carolina! Of course Little Helen went to Duke University so we spent four years carting her back and forth. I distinctly remember feeling a bit melancholy when she graduated because I knew I'd have no reason to go back there on a regular basis. It's a great up and coming place for Sam to live and develop his career!

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    1. How fun - you'll be familiar with some of what we're getting to know!

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  3. How exciting! Congratulations to Sam :)

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  4. Shelley, I just sent you an email with my contact information. So excited I won, as I rarely win anything. It will be fun to use this (instead of the children's puzzles I currently have taped to my wall) to stay motivated. Congrats to your son on his (and yours) new adventure. What an awesome opportunity. Have an awesome day! Gail

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  5. Congratulations to Sam and his new job. North Carolina is a very beautiful state especially around the Blue Ridge Area. I'm sure Paco was beside himself while you were away.

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    1. Looks like there's a lot of the state that needs to be explored by us!

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  6. What a cool opportunity for Sam! I remember when I first moved to Chicago, my roommate and I had NO CLUE about where to live, and we didn't know anyone who didn't live in the suburbs - we worked with an apartment hunting agency and ended up in a kind of shady neighborhood just for lack of knowing any better. If either of our moms had joined us, I'm pretty sure they would have shot that down. So yes, it can be tough to find a home in a new town, and it's good that you went along to help!

    Awww, Paco! I'm sure he's happy to have you back home! When I go out of town I guess my dogs are constantly looking out the window and rushing to the door whenever they hear any noise.

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    1. I even have a cat resting his head on my arm as I type...geez, I didn't realized all the animals liked me so much! I should leave more often, lol.

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  7. So happy to hear you had a successful trip--chocolate, yarn, and a new home for Sam! Hope things will settle down for you for a while now! There's knitting to be done!

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  8. Haha the boys language.
    Well it would be hard for me to live far from Target now too. I think he'll probably need to locate an ikea also.
    Aw, & he's all tolerant of yarn stores just like his Pa. Good men.
    What a good feeling to have confirmed his housing so promptly. That's great.
    Nice you could go along; I'm glad it was so successful.
    It will be fun to hear about your trips there. Well done, Sam on moving into an acceptable climate. Some Northern states maybe Mom would be visiting rather seasonally. Haha
    Chrissy

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    1. Acceptable climate - LOL...everyone kept telling us that NC has four seasons. Wonder what that will be like for my (mostly) Texas-raised kid??

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    2. True, I guess that will be an adjustment. He'll need a good coat & boots. You could prob make him the headgear he needs, a nice beard hat perhaps?! Haha! The Minion hats are cute too. Guess my suggestions aren't very professional, though.

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  9. How exciting for Sam!! I sort of envy him - the excitement of a new adventure in a new place! (I think maybe I need a vacation!)

    A shiny new Target? *swoon*


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  10. How exciting for Sam and sad for you to have him so far away. It's hard to be far from loved ones when you can't just pop over or have them be a short drive away.

    We sort of had NC in mind if we were thinking of moving further south to get out of this winter zone. I said fall foliage is a must have.

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  11. That's so exciting for him! When my brother lived in DesMoines it was a nice 5 1/2 hour drive - not too bad - um, its 20 hours from Chicago to Austin! :(

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  12. Congrats to your son! NC is a wonderful state--mountains and beaches within a short drive.

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  13. Congratulations to Sam with his new job. Exciting for him! I had to check where North Carolina is compared to Texas and it isn't all that close. That must be strange for you and Jeff at first. But on the other hand, you have nice trips to look forward to in the future. For us these distances are huge, you can drive in 4 hours from the north to the south in my country, that's how small our country is.

    I hope he will enjoy his new job and new life and wish him all the best.

    Ah poor Paco, he really has missed Mom. I bet he hasn't left your side all weekend.

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