What A Week!

Oh my gosh - I can't even believe it; I started this week in Mississippi and I'm ending it in Virginia! I feel like this week has been at least twice as long as most other weeks; seriously. Granted while it seems extremely long, it also seemed like everything happened very quickly - I will never understand how time works like that. It's crazy...

Monday evening storm skies...good gracious. 

Monday started off the week with a bang - literally. I drove to Jackson after work to pick up my Dad from the airport and the weather was less than splendid. I drove through spots where the rain was coming down in sheets and was absolutely horrific; I was creeping along at about 50 miles at some places and I was also praying that my Dad's flight didn't get delayed or even cancelled because of the crazy weather moving through the area.

Once I got to Jackson, I was lucky enough to get to stop in and see my sweet friend Lisa and her husband Ben for about thirty minutes; she was the one person I hadn't gotten to see that I wanted to see and I was so thrilled to get to spend even just a few minutes catching up with her. After leaving her house, I met David at Mugshots for supper and coffee at Cups after while I waited for my Dad's flight to get in at 9:15. I so sweetly got my Dad a cappuccino to sip as we headed towards Collinsville and we both finally got to bed about midnight. Whoosh!

A peace offering of sorts, ha-ha!

My whole life, stuffed into a truck. Holy cow...let's do this!

Tuesday it rained all day...and yet my Dad still managed to be awesome and load all of my things into the Penske truck that he'd rented; I'm telling you that my Dad is basically SuperDad! While he was doing all of this, I went to lunch with another sweet friend - Melissa. She also introduced me to Margie's Mixing Bowl, a cupcake shop that just opened in Meridian and I decided to get a few cupcakes...especially the Cookies & Creme cupcake that I just knew my Dad would love. He'd been busting his rear end all day loading the truck with all my junk! Once I got home, we ate supper with my Nanny and then I cleaned the house from pretty much top to bottom - I swept, mopped, vacuumed, cleaned bathrooms, dusted, wiped down all the counters. I crashed into what was left of my bed on Tuesday night at about 10:30! Eep!

Wednesday afternoon....

Thursday afternoon - talk about a major change, right?

Nothing really sticks out in my mind about Wednesday except that my Dad would randomly text me throughout the day to let me know where he was in the progress towards Virginia...and I crack myself up because I say nothing sticks out but I guess it should stick out in my mind that it was the last morning in my house. I woke up, gathered up what few things I had and around 7:10 I left. I didn't dwell on it too much and thinking about it now, I don't feel any differently about it all. I was happy to be moving and while I have loved my house, I was ready for my new adventure - so when I walked out of the house, I walked out with no worries or sad feelings because I was ready to see what the future held!

Thursday after work, my friend Hope took me out for what she called my "last supper". At least that is what she called it on the phone when she text me about going. We went to eat at Weidmann's and we really did it up good - we started with a drink; I had a Scarlett O'Hara and she got a Hurricane and I think we both decided that mine was the best, ha-ha! Our server Wesley suggested the Chicken Florentine and so that is exactly what I got; served with Au gratin potatoes it was delicious and I finished off the night with a slice of Black Bottom Pie, which I've never had. I went back to my Grandma's stuffed to the gills so I could scrub Watson clean for our journey the next day and fell into bed about 9:30.

A delicious, delightfully good meal - eaten with excellent company!

Friday at work they had a farewell lunch for me - we all had Olive Garden to eat and they gave me a very sweet card and three beads for my Pandora bracelet; it was really unexpected and kind of blew me away. One of my co-worker's has a little son that always comes to visit and he stopped by on Friday to say good-bye to me and gave me a rose! I worked (or trained the new girl and watched her work) until 2 and then my Nanny arrived with Watson. I loaded him into the car, hugged my friend Melissa good-bye and we set off on our journey. I won't chronicle that too much here because I devoted a whole post to it, but everything went really well and Watson surprised me with his road warrior capabilities! I know I was thrilled to arrive in Front Royal on Saturday afternoon at a little before 3 - I was so glad to escape the car!

Road trip picture group #1 - taken on day one of our travels.

Road trip picture set #2 - from Tuesday.

Checking out the view of the mountains from the back deck....

My rose made it all the way to Virginia without spilling or getting hurt - victory!

Saturday afternoon and evening were devoted to getting the things I needed to have in my room up to my room and organized. I have way too much stuff because my parents basement looks like a very well organized bomb exploded...there is just a stack of boxes in the center. Yikes. I did manage to get my room organized over the course of Saturday and Sunday evening and now I'm happily settled in to my room for the next few months. Saturday ended with some of my Dad's delicious grilled burgers for supper, watching the episode of Fargo my parent's had so kindly remembered to set to record for me and crawling into my bed, where I slept better than I had all week - it's a good feeling to be home.

Watson thinks it's a long way down off the deck....

Sunday morning I went to church with Mom (Dad was at work) and I was greeted with lots of hugs, which was really nice; it's nice to feel so accepted and loved the minute you walk through the door. After a quick lunch and a Target run (yes, I'd been here less than 24 hours and went to Target...so sue me) we waited on my Dad to get home and then we set off on our Father's Day adventure. We went over to Long Branch plantation, which is about 15 minutes from the house and toured the house - I guess it's newly open for tours and because they were having an event, the tour was free! Once we'd explored Long Branch, we drove back towards the house, stopping at the Virginia State Arboretum and the Mt. Airy Farm Store...where we got the most delicious loaf of fresh made zucchini bread I have ever tasted; absolutely heavenly! We checked out some dog runs at Lowe's and looked over the cooking tools in Nibblins before meeting Doug, Jen and Emily for a Father's Day feast at Texas Roadhouse. I ended my Sunday night watching Game of Thrones because I have an awesome friend who worked that out for me...and that's all I'll say about that.

Exploring Long Branch Plantation - so beautiful! 

Long Branch Plantation!

Checking out the Arboretum - only for a wee bit because it was getting warm outside!

Emily being her silly self at supper! 

This week has been crazy and a little bit long but I'm so glad to say I've tried to enjoy and take in every minute of it! I'm so happy to be in my Virginia home, even if only for a few months until I find my own place. I'm very glad to be able to call Virginia my permanent home though - there is so much I can't wait to do and see all over the state....as well as nearby! I think the next few months will be very exciting indeed!