Breaking News...

Well friends - the moment I have been waiting for...well, for what seems like months and months (it's been over a year - I do know that) has finally come to pass. Drum roll please.....

I AM MOVING TO VIRGINIA!

Yes indeed, you read that right! In just 20 shorts days, I will be making the permanent move to Virginia; the tenth state of the Union, nicknamed "The Old Dominion". In less than a month, I will be waving good-bye to Mississippi and heading up the road to Virginia! As mentioned, I have been waiting for this for quite some time now and my heart could not be happier. So, this week's "recap" is actually a fairly accurate replay of what I've been doing all week - packing, packing, packing! Whoosh! 

Did you know that hot cardboard boxes smell a bit like garbage? Well...they do!

Packing is a form of organized chaos - & I don't handle chaos well; organized chaos is just chaos to me...

I promise - you never realize how much stuff you have until the time comes to have to consolidate it all in to boxes; and then comes the realization that there is way too much stuff. Way. Too. Much. Especially considering that it's only me and an 18 pound dog living in my house...but I somehow have enough stuff for, I swear, numerous people. I have discovered that I am much more like my Mom than I ever thought - everything has a place and everything needs to be in it's place...and when packing starts, you have to snatch everything from where it's neatly stored, stuff it (gently and safely) into boxes and those boxes stack up and up and up...and it's chaos. Organized chaos, yes...but chaos. And it drives me absolutely crazy. In the best way possible.

An empty guest bathroom...progress is being made...

This fell out of my bookshelf in the midst of packing - ha-ha! Virginia here I come!

Do you see what I mean? It's basically just chaos. There is no method to the madness...

Boxes & tubs & tubes...oh my!

Essentially - as if you can't tell, I spent almost every night this week packing. I know, absolutely thrilling. I'm sure you're falling asleep reading this, ha-ha! I know that I've probably induced sheer panic in Watson, he has followed me around watching to see what I am doing and then gives up when it stays just as boring as it was to begin with and then finds a spot on the couch where he can sleep and pretend I'm not boxing up his home. Bless him. He's excited about going to Virginia...he just doesn't know it yet.

Thank goodness for bubble wrap & cardboard...a packing woman's best friend!

Look at my table...all scooted out of the way!

Boxes, boxes everywhere....

I'm going to go ahead & say that I've got quite a mug collection going...

Empty cabinets - crowded counters. Whoosh.

So beyond the thrills and chills of packing up my entire life, there were a few more things going on this week besides packing - and I've put those pictures below all the excitement of packing. Ha - I know, what excitement, right? I'll do my best to keep calm if you can do the same, so moving on - to things beyond my impending move.

Wednesday workday shoe blow-out....& replacement shoes!

On Wednesday I wore some incredibly cute wedges that have honestly probably been in the family (and by family, I mean Lindsey and I) for about ten years. They were Lindsey's first and then she ever so kindly passed them on to me and I made perfectly good use of them! I thought that on Wednesday they felt a little more floppy than usual but didn't think too much of it until I happened to look down and see that the wedge was separating from the sole of the shoe...which didn't look great, but it didn't look so bad...or so I thought. I had to run to Wal-Mart during my lunch break to get some small toiletries and....apparently new shoes too. As I walked past the trash can at the entrance of Wal-Mart, I took a step and the sole of the shoe completely came away from the wedge! I just sighed, picked up the wedge and tossed it in the trash and casually limped to the shoe department where I thankfully found a cute pair of brown sandals for all of $12! Nothing wrong with that, right?

A frog friend hanging out on the glass door; I named him Sticky Fingers...

It's not downward facing dog - but he was feeling very zen. Can you hear him saying "ohm...."

Yuck - is this heat for real?

Chocolate chip muffin breakfast - a good start to a Friday morning!

An early good-bye from a sweet friend; from my work friend who became a friend...no other label needed.

Loving on my favorite new 1 year old - time flies by!

So - there you have it. As I said, it was mostly just a whole lot of packing this week. I feel fairly certain that will take most of my time for the next two weeks...at least, for the next two weeks after the one ahead: the one ahead is devoted to Colorado Springs, Lindsey's graduation and spending time with my family. Except daily or every other day photo dumps from all the celebrations we'll be attending. Life is about to get very interesting...and I can't wait!