It has begun...

The past few days have been an absolute whirlwind, and I'm happy to say that I have made it to Day 2 in Nash with success. We don't have wifi set up at our place yet, so I am at a cute coffee shop down the street from us called Eighth and Roast, enjoying an iced mocha {probably the best I've had to date} and taking advantage of their free wifi to balance my checkbook (back to real life), pay bills, edit photos, and write this post.

Here's a shot of the cute street it is located on (it's where the brown wall is)...

And here's a shot of my set-up for this blog...

Alright, my escapades to date. I'll start in California..

Sunday, June 30, 2013

I had an incredible going-away party with my friends and family. It felt like all of my "worlds" had collided; it was the party I always wanted. My mom did an absolutely amazing job creating a truly "country" party.

I don't have room to include all the photos from the party, but I have included a few on here to give you a glimpse into it. The rest will be on my Facebook page shortly, so feel free to take a gander there...

My family is the best. Seriously.

And my girlfriends are stunning!

Two of my best gals I taught with at San Juan Hills.

I even had a bunch of my kids come!

The time I got to spend with everyone there, and in the days/weeks leading up to my departure, is invaluable. I am so glad to have had the chance to see you all!

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

By 6:45am, after saying bye to my parents, I was on the road heading to pick up my friend, Jordan. He is a great friend and a perfect travel buddy. He was super easy going, and our trip was eventful, but only in the adventure sort of way (nothing crazy happened, which we were both incredibly thankful for!).

After we left California, we headed straight for the Grand Canyon. We knew it was going to be an hour off I-40, but we also knew it would be worth each minute. We drove through some pretty intense rain and hail, but those only added to the majestic beauty of the Canyon. As we looked out across it, we could see several storms (rain and lightening...I love lightening and can't wait to experience some real storms here!...but I may take that statement back after actually experiencing some real weather) at one time. These pictures don't do it justice. If you have never been, you should definitely make a trip.
*There is a $25 fee to get in (totally worth it), but if you plan on going to other State Parks, it will work on those for 7 days. 

I thought sitting on the rock (below) was scary...

...until I climbed down a little slit in a rock and pratically crawled out on this ledge! Don't let me carefree pose fool you; I was terrified.

We loved the Grand Canyon!

After this, we drove several more hours and made it to Gallup, New Mexico, to stay the night.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

We left Gallup and headed to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I actually think New Mexico is beautiful and fascinating, and we would have made three or four stops along the way (Ice Caves, Meteor Crater, Carlsbad Caverns, and something else that I'm not remembering the name of), but everything was really far off the Interstate. So, one day, I will go back and explore all of it.

We did, however, stop at a cute little Dinosaur Museum, because why not!

And we got to touch the bones that were "bronzed"...

It was cute. And it wasn't expense. A win-win.

We finally arrived to my Uncle's house in Mustang, OK, around 9:30pm, and we were so glad to be done driving.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

I got a chance to see some of my family for a couple hours before heading out, and it was awesome. Not only my immediate, but my extended family is incredible, too.

We drove through Oklahoma and Arkansas with ease, and enjoyed the incredible beauty of Arkansas. I lived there for one year when I was in 6th grade, and I'm glad I got the chance to drive through it again. That year left a bad taste in my mouth, and now I can think of it as beautiful.

I won't lie, the last 3-hour-stretch through Tennessee was definitely the hardest part of the trip. So, when we got to my place (for July), and were welcomed with fireworks from the neighbors and a sign from my roommate, we were ecstatic! My roommate, Traci, is a doll, and I'm so glad to get to live with her for this month.

Friday, July 5, 2013

My first official day in Nashville was packed! It started with unloading my house-stuff from my car (basically, clothes and toiletries), going to a cute cafe called Bongo Java before taking Jordan to the airport, driving to my new school and starting to set up my class...

(no windows because it's in the middle of the building)

...driving through some intense rain to Target to pick up shampoo and conditioner...

...getting soaked along the way, and finally having dinner with the two other cheer coaches from Summit. It was a great day, and I welcomed sleep at the end of it.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Unfortunately, today was a rougher day than I anticipated when I woke up. It started out pretty good with breakfast and coffee with my roommate and her mom (she's visiting until tomorrow), but it went downhill. Really, when I think about it, it's not even that big of a deal, but possibly the realization of my being here alone started to set in.

My sweet, selfless parents are currently at my storage putting the last little bit of my stuff in it and realized that there is no way that all of my stuff is going to fit on my moving truck. It is just stuff, but it brought tears to my eyes knowing that I won't be able to bring it all with me. When I was "purging" my house and classroom items just a few weeks ago, it was no big deal because I was in control of what I kept and what I gave to Goodwill and San Juan Hills' art teacher, Jan. But, knowing that the rest of my stuff possibly won't all fit on the truck, the stuff that I didn't want to part with, and that it is out of my control (unless I want to pay several hundred dollars - which I don't have - to bring it over), was much harder to grasp than I had anticipated.

Over the past few hours, as I have sat at this little wood-topped-brick-walled bar, organizing my life, I have come to realize that I really did leave my life behind in California. This is one of the first times that it is truly hitting me, and though it was {surprisingly} hard initially, I am confident that this is where I am supposed to be, and I am not upset.

With my new life will undoubtedly come new stuff. It is hard to let go of some of my favorite things that I have collected over the years, but {English teacher in me is coming out} I know that this is metaphoric of what my life is right now: a new place to live, a new school to teach at, a new church to go to, new friends to make, etc. I had to let go and leave behind everything that I knew and start fresh; and, if I have to do that with some of my stuff, then it will all be okay in the end, and I will look back and laugh at my overdramatic self!

I know that there will be a grieving time over the next few weeks and months of missing my family and friends, but I also know that there are going to be incredible times with new friends and memories made.

So, with that, I welcome what is to come with open, excited arms!

And, I have made my first friend at this coffee shop! This is Tim, and he is responsible for making this brick wall, wood-topped counter, and the coffee bar. What a stud.

Until the next blog, y'all!