"We run on fumes, your life and mine, like the sands of time"

Well I now have officially experienced one whole week of the packing up Sunday night, driving to Charleston Monday morning, and staying until Friday after work then heading back to Columbia for the weekend. Luckily Kassie gave me today off work since I am leaving tomorrow for IFI (Interfraternity Institute, a new professionals conference for those of us working in the Greek world). Now as most of you know the long distance thing is nothing new for Timmy and I. We spent the first 7.5 years of our relationship together long distance, it was not until we were married that we lived in the same zip code let alone the same place. And last summer I spent two months living in Blacksburg for my internship. So it's not that we can't do the long distance thing, it is just that the longer we are together the harder it gets to do it. I have a new found respect for my friends who have spouses in the military who spend months/years apart. I am grateful that Timmy and I still see each other on the weekends (well at least a few between now and when we move) and that I know that there is an end in sight once our place is done being built and we move.

Speaking of the new place we ventured out on Saturday to do some more looking for bedding for our guestroom and to pick up more paint samples. We are getting the twin beds that I grew up with back from my dad's attic when we move and are going to put them in our third room so that we can have two guest rooms in the new place (so hopefully we will have lots of visitors). We decided to push them together to make them a king so we have been hunting for king sized bedding. In addition, our friend Tory bought us an Ernest Lee painting (better known in Columbia and around SC as the Chicken Man) before she left to move back home, and I really wanted to be able to hang it somewhere in the new place. So while I was not necessarily looking for bedding for a room to match the painting, it would definitely have been a plus. Well I found a comforter set that I loved at Macy's but of course it was very expensive and even their great One Day sale wasn't helping my cause. So we wrote down the name and searched for it online when we got home. Lucky for me we were able to find it for a GREAT deal on overstock.com so I am getting the bedding I love and it matches the picture Tory bought us. Today we went and picked up a few more to hang with it over the bed, but overall I am very excited about our new room and our new art. It will be a very SC/Beachy room and it will be waiting for people to come visit and stay in it! Check out the pictures below of the comforter set and the paintings we bought.

This is the bedding we got for the king bed

Here are our 3 new paitings (the one in the middle was our gift from Tory)

Here is another actual Chicken Paiting we also got, this one will also go somewhere in the new guest room, just not with the palmetto trees

Like I mentioned I had a nice day off work today and was able to grab lunch with Lavina and Anna, two of my past co-workers who I really miss at my new job. It was great to catch up with them and to have an extra day to get my stuff together and pack before I leave tomorrow morning for Indiana. Timmy is also going to go to Chester this weekend while I am gone to visit since it looks like between the move and my crazy fall schedule at work that we probably won't make it back there together until the end of October. With that said though, the job is going great, I really love everything about it so far- I have great co-workers and the students I have had a chance to meet are awesome, and really, who can complain about the gorgeous views I have on my morning runs around the city? I think I made a great job decision and am actually looking forward to getting back from my trip (that I haven't even left for yet) to get back to working on things there. So other than the craziness of traveling and being apart, life is pretty good right now and it sure does make Timmy and I grateful for the few days we do get to spend together, even if they are few and far between for the next few months.

"Salute the one's who died, the one's who gave their lives, so we don't have to sacrifice all the things we love"

Happy July 4th Weekend! Having a nice long weekend is always a treat, especially just after starting a new job. Well ok I have only worked two days so it wasn't really like I needed the long weekend, but it has been a nice way to ease back into work after a month and a half off. So far the transition to the new job is going great, I was able to get my new office set up and am slowly but surely figuring everything out. The HR lady I was scheduled to meet with on my first day was not there when I showed up to meet her, so I filled out the paper work but unfortunately have not been entered into the system yet, so I still have no email, ID (which gives me access to my new on campus apartment), or parking. So keep your fingers crossed that she is in tomorrow so I can finally get all of that set up. Timmy sent me beautiful roses on my first day and they have been a nice addition to the new office.

Some Pictures of the New Office and the Flowers Timmy Sent

I also got moved into my new on-campus apartment which is a decent space. There are a few extra things I have picked up this weekend while I have been home to add to it to help add some comfort and to avoid carrying too much back and forth each weekend other than clothes to wash. Overall I had a great first two days, met several great people who also work in the department and I think I am really going to enjoy both the people I am working with as well as the students.

Timmy and I had a pretty low key weekend. Even though we both had Friday off, I stayed in Charleston Thursday night and met up with Liz and her mother-in-law on Friday to shop and get lunch while Liz and Adam were in town. We had a great time walking through the stores and market and Mrs. Hall treated us to a great lunch at Magnolia's. I am super excited for all the great restaurants and shops in Charleston to start exploring more. Saturday Timmy and I went to the pool for a few hours and then we went to the Columbia Blowfish baseball game that night. The game was pretty uneventful for the most part, the only runs scored by both teams were in the third inning when they each got 4 giving us a tied game. Well needless to say it took until the 13th inning for the other team to finally get two more runs and then we still had to play the bottom of the inning. At this point it was already past 11 and as much as I wanted the Blowfish to win I was glad that they weren't able to get their two players on bases into home. The fireworks after the game were great and worth the wait, I always enjoy watching them at stadiums because I love the music they play with them. Even though it was midnight by the time we got home we still found time to enjoy the banana pudding Timmy made earlier in the day, all in all we really enjoyed our low key day.

Timmy & I on the 4th!

Today we had to run some errands and we did our first visit to Lowe's to check out light fixtures/fans, refrigerators, and to look at some paint samples. I am getting excited to start picking things out for our new place! Now its time to finish up laundry and to pack for another week of work in Charleston, I still don't think I am crazy about the back and forth but hopefully it will go by fast and we will be moved before I know it!