weekend news AND the last phase: last the best...

So we moved on Saturday.

Many, many, many, many thanks to all those who helped. We seriously couldn't have done it without you guys. It went off without a hitch, for the most part. I will post pictures as soon as I'm able. We don't have the internet right now.... or t.v. for that matter... and I think I might just die. It might be good for me (so Dave claims) but a small/big part of my heart thinks he's lying. At least I can still watch movies. But oh to loose t.v. right when my shows are starting up again! (Yes, Gretchen, I'm addicted and it's official. Ummmm since we have no t.v., can we come watch it with you peps? I'll bring treats or something to entice! Pruddy please? Do I sound desperate? I'm not. Well maybe a little). No internet is hard too. Sigh.

Dave wants to do some crazy thing where you hook up your internet to your t.v. so you don't have to pay for cable, save like $50 a month and watch your shows from like Hulu or some such nonesense. Has anyone else ever done this? For the record, I'm against it.

Well folks, since no pictures of our new pad are currently available I will show you our last, glorious day of the trip.

Mount Vernon.

{I want lots and lots of gardens just like you.} This place was breathtaking. I loved every minute of it. I wished it weren't quite so hot but... beggars can't be choosers and all that.

If only I had a home and property like that... oh and about 250 slaves to maintain it like G.W.... ahem.

Dave was kind hot and tired. So when I made him pose for another pic showcasing the Washington's beautiful gardens he gave me this *great* face ;)

a blissful evening, many thanks to Mr. Smith

So I'm stressing out. I'll admit it. Moving s.u.c.k.s., in case you don't know. So Dave and I mapped out what exactly we'll be packing each day to have some order in the chaos which is our home.

Yesterday began with getting up at a the ungodly hour of 5:45 (I know those of you with kids are mocking me right now but hey, you're the one who decided to have kids and get up at that time!), and Dave and I met with a mortgage rep to close on our house. Huzzah! Can you believe it? I really can't. My manager asked me if I was nervous and felt like I was signing my life away. Not really, I'll admit. I think it was so long in coming that I was like "ok grab me the pen and let's start signing before I fall asleep and drool on this nice marble table."

Work was one long glorious day of tedium and disgruntled customers. Don't you love those days? Oh and to top it off we had to stay till 6:45 PM to have a 'call-night.' If you've never had to do one of those, count your blessings children. It's cold-calling. To put it bluntly: sales over the phone. Do I hate that about my job? I despise myself when I have to do that. UGH. 'Nough said.

So when I drove home with the despairing expectation that I still had to pack up the specified rooms in the house I kind of wanted to cry. But 'lo and behold' I came through the door and Dave had packed it all!!! And not only that but he let me complain about work, without complaining about my complaining! It was amazing.

THEN he hugged me and asked if I wanted a back rub. Eschoose me? Yes please mi amore! And with that he rubbed away all my stress. I was a new woman.

And because he did all the work we were supposed to do for the night we were able to watch some obsessions of ours, Glee and Modern Family.

And then (really it does continue), Dave sweetly consented to and watched Gone with the Wind, AND he enjoyed it!!!! When I thought we were done for the night at the half way point, I was not the one who pressed on to continue watching folks.

I think he might have been on drugs last night. Seriously.

But I'll take it :]

My. Husband. Is. The. Best.

Neener, neener ;)

phase 6: the cutest little 'ol town

Williamsburg: I love you.

Dave bought me the 2nd piece of jewelry since he proposed, see that necklace I'm putting on? Love it. I'm not really a jewelry person so when I really liked something I saw at the jewelry shop and kinda said I wanted it, Dave gave me a suprised look, asked if I really did want it and quickly bought it for me. What a sweet guy.

Thanks hon. Wow my face looks like it's made of plastic in that pic, squished up to my honny.

phase 5: SVU, goats, beautiful 'little mountain'

Southern Virginia University, a quaint little uni. Look at those porches! Seth made us stop here to reminisce his old college days...

A stop at Virginia's Natural Bridge...

...where I got attacked by that black and white goat. She was eating every leaf in site and cantered over to me, licked my arm and started in on my sleeve. I {kinda} screamed, she reared back and put her head down ready to attack, then decided I was waay to intimidating ;) and jumped off the rock fence, bringing a big chunk of it down. Random, kinda frightening and totally funny.

Monticello: meaning 'little mountain' in Italian.

It was one of my favorite places. Gorgeous. I now want to read a biography on Thomas Jefferson; what a conflicted, interesting, brilliant man. He really made me want to garden, more than I already do! Someday...

phase 4: the bloodiest battle, the hottest day

antietam: the bloodiest day of the entire war (not the bloodiest battle, but the bloodiest single day), 22,717 casualties. I didn't take too many pictures of that place except the one below at the visitor's center. The whole group absolutely loved our guide who made the battle come to life - go Keith Snyder!

This bridge was called Burnside's bridge where many, many men were killed and hardly anything or any ground was won from the battle.

Harper's Ferry: the hottest day of the freakin trip. That day was rough. But the town was cute and so much history took place there. So I was glad I got to see it.

I just liked these two pictures. That's all :)

See - cute town.

oy vey

I found out a little bit more about my back. My MRI showed NO arthritis! Hurray! However, it does show a slipped or herniated disk in my lower back with a tear in it. So that's no fun either. Sooo.... treatment; apparently it's kind of a crap shoot if it ever heals. What he said we're going to try first is a epidural cortisone shot. Sounds fun doesn't it? I'm a tad worried. Because I just went on a long vacation, I'm trying to close on my home, and I've had a few doctor visits, I'm reticent about taking more time off. So I will be getting my cortisone shot and heading straight to work. Apparently I have to have someone else drive me to and from because my legs will be a little numb. So thanks mom and hubby for offering!

Happenings on our new home. We're not moved in yet.... boo!! Although it was nice to be able to have a few extra days to pack, this delay is verging on ridiculous. Apparently now we can't move in this Saturday, due to the underwriters asking for more and more stuff. Now they have all their paperwork and we're just waiting on the appraisal or some such nonsense? Aaarg. Either way, now it looks as though we'll sign Friday which means the home has to have 24 hours to fund and record, then we'll potentially move on Monday. Who moves on a Monday? Geesh.

Instead of moving on Saturday like planned, I'll be packing more, and finally making my way to Wally-world (Wal-Mart for those of you who aren't down with the WT lingo) for groceries that I wasn't going to buy till after we moved but when you are eating solely canned stuff every night it means you've reaching critical mass.

But yay for a new home! Someday...

phase 3: gettysburg

Gettysburg: I fell in love with you.

This town was so quaint and lovely, here's a few pics to get an idea.

Peaches for sale? How adorable. I'm in. Love peaches and nectarines. Both favorites.

A malt shop too? Are you kiddin me? Loving it.

This ball underneath the window was an actual cannonball from the battle at Gettysburg. Crazy.

Lincoln head, "Four score and seven years ago..."

This is the section of the battle from the South's point of view; where the fatal Pickett's charge took place and changed the entire course of the war.

These next few pictures were taken on or around Little Round Top hill where Colonel Chamberlain, played by Jeff Daniels in the movie Gettysburg, solidifies the North's win. LOVED that part in the movie. Watch it if you're going there.

These two pictures were taken on the North's side of Pickett's charge, again, the movie made this part of the battlefield really come to life because you knew some of the stories that made this such an instrumental, horrifying, and touching piece of ground. It was really special to be able to visit that sacred place.

part 2: phili and amish country

Philadelphia, a huge, wonderful surprise. From my friend, Kaesha, who went to school out there I kind of assumed Phili was the ghetto. Probably just where she went to school was because historic downtown was the cutest and hippest little 'ol place. I wished we'd had more time to spend there, not just in the historic part but out and about.

The liberty bell and us.

Independence Hall (where the Declaration of Independence was signed) and us.

The best Phili cheese steak I've ever had. Bravo Sonny's!

Us at the former house of Benji Franklin (there really is only a wall left).

Amish country, (Lancaster, Philadelphia), I will see you again soon. Promise. I loved this place. Unfortunately we only got to spend one evening there and didn't really see anything Amish, other than the occasional horse and carriage rushing past with me frantically fiddling with my camera to try and snap a picture. Sadly the best picture I got was from inside the car zooming by.

Dave and I went 'Amish hunting' that night, with not much success. We saw several Amish carriages but my camera just really couldn't get a good one that late at night. Instead we tried to entice the cows with some grass. It wasn't until Dave shocked himself that we realized it wasn't us they were afraid of, but the fence!

Please forgive the rat's nest at the back of my head...