Pascagoula Country Club Ball-Mardi Gras 2009-Valentines Day "Love Boat" Theme

So, Robert's mom was in the ball at the Pascagoula Country Club and we all got tickets. It ended up being Me, Robert, Trent, Laura, Jenny, Bryan, Lanell and her boyfriend Darnell, and Sandy and Matthew showed up later...and it was SO MUCH FUN!
I haven't had this much fun since our wedding! Seriously, I was so carefree and happy and just felt great! I even danced some! I haven't laughed and smiled so much in so long...my face HURT from it! There wasn't anything really spectacular that happened, but I got to spend time with Robert's family and have fun and the fact that, for once, I wasn't tired or feeling sick was just great.
It made me realize how much I am going to miss some of my Southern Folk, though. I mean, granted, we don't have a great ball to go to every time we get together and I really don't see anyone that often because we are all so busy, but last night was the quintessential night of fun-just couldn't ask for anything more, you know? Singing "Paradise City" with Laura and Jenny at the top of our lungs at the end of the table, drinking Midori Sours from plastic fish cups, wearing ridiculous beads and leis, dancing without feeling stupid, watching Robert's mom have the time of her life and be the absolute coolest grandmother EVER! It was all just so great...sad to think I'll be missing it, but wonderful at the same time.

One of the top 10 nights of my life!

I WILL miss the South.
I Had to make a slide show because there were too many photos to choose from.

Luke and Katy visit the coast

I can't believe that I didn't blog about Luke and Katy's gigs here on the Gulf Coast-I guess I was too distracted by the whole moving thing. So, anyway, The Loblolly Boy and Bearkat (as they are known) came to grace us with their musical talents...and I am not feeling very descriptive or elegant tonight, but I wanted to share some photos from the 2 nights they played...

first night in NOLA (at Neutral Ground Coffee House):



























































































Their 2nd gig was in Mobile (at The Alabama Music Box):
















They really are AMAZING together...the combination of so many instruments-do you see all of them in the photos? They play a box for a drum, a toy piano, something that is like a mini keyboard cazoo thingy, banjo, ukelele, and so much more! And their voices, the interesting and original sounds that they have both created...it is absolutely amazing.
Also, although I would LOVE for them to have played on each other's albums too, I absolutely enjoyed both of their CDs as well. The sound on "The Selfish Years" is so raw and original...WOW! Seriously, check it out, buy it, man. Also, Luke is blogging at:

http://theloblollyboy.blogspot.com/

Check it out! Support the music.:)

Moving updates

Well, time seems to be flying in the moving process. It looks like the store in Maine is ready to take me anytime (I didn't count on them having 3 department manager openings and wanting me to TAKE ONE!), so we are trying to decide how soon we can move! In one way it's all very exciting to think about being there sooner than we thought, but, in another way, I am feeling massively guilty about all the things I said I would do before I left. I wanted to go to Birmingham one more time to visit Perry, Janet, and the girls. I wanted to spend a weekend with Dad and Lisa at Middle Earth. I wanted to be able to train my replacement so I don't leave Ryan high and dry during the 100 days of hell. I still want to take an Airboat Alligator ride...some of these things I hope I can find time to do between packing, going to Maine to find a house, changing addresses and bank accounts, getting ready to transport the cats for 3 days, packing MORE stuff, renting the moving truck, and all that other little stuff I can't even think about right now. But, I know I'm not going to be able to do it all.

This really made me think about all the things I never did that I wanted to do: like have dinner once a month with Faith and David (they only live 45 minutes away!) or get to know Lacey's daughter better or spend more time with my sister-in-law Laura because she really IS such a cool person. And now I'm here, getting ready to move, and haven't done any of those things! Am I going to be so horribly antisocial in Maine too or is because I've never really been comfortable here and because no one here ever reciprocated the effort to hang out? Will it make a difference knowing that my friends in Maine have been there my entire life? And will it be weird for Robert if I DO have that level of comfort? So many things to think about.

The bright side is:
1) that I am so excited (and only slightly nervous) about moving that it is hard for me to sleep at night (the lack of sleep isn't good, but the excitement is).
2) Robert and I have almost saved the amount of money we were hoping to save before we moved (even though I haven't paid of quite as many bills as I was hoping to).
3) Looks like renting in Maine will be relatively easy in today's market.
4) PJ IS most likely going to fly down and drive back up with us!

So, in the next week I should have a moving date...and it may be as early as the end of March instead of the end of April. We will see!

Memory Moment

This one is not such a positive memory, but one that stands out in my mind for sure. I do not remember the actual event in a stream of consciousness, but I remember it in a stop-motion sort of way. I think Luke was about 5 years old and we were sitting at the picnic table outside our old house. The table was on the concrete square that we used as a basketball court. I think Luke leaned back to laugh and lost his balance and then, BANG the back of his head slammed into the concrete. Like I said, I see it in slow motion, but I think it must have happened pretty fast. I believe mom as sitting on the opposite side of the table and didn't make it to Luke in time. I think I was sitting next to him because that's the way I see it. I don't remember him being picked up or how we got there, but I then remember being at my grandmother's house because of the way the light shines through her big windows onto the dark tile floor. I remember someone stitching the opening in the back of Luke's head back up-right there in my grandmother's kitchen! I don't remember him crying, which must have been me blocking out the fear of something so horrible happening. I'm pretty sure Luke has a scar still. It is one of Luke's many injuries from being a normal boy when he was growing up.:)

So, how accurate was that, mom?

Moving

This is the e-mail I sent out last week to let everyone know we are definitely moving to Maine...just wanted to commemorate the moment and note some of the most awesome responses to it, the best being from my Uncle Josh: "Fucking Awesome." I Love my family.

Hey Ya'll~! I know, it's been a long time since I have written one of these group e-mails, but now is the time, if no other. I'm sure some of you have heard inklings of an idea that Robert and I have been thinking about moving to Maine. Yes, we have been thinking, worrying, wondering, sweating, and fretting over it...and the sweating finally won out. We have officially decided to try to move to Maine sometime this spring. Every bit of the move depends on whether or not I will get a transfer within the company of Lowes because I really have no other job options up there, but I think it will happen. I put my transfer in last week and figure they will start hiring in April for their "100 days of hell" in their garden center/ISLG. I have recently been promoted to Department Manager of ISLG/Seasonal, so I'm hoping that I will be able to get a position in the same department, whether it is as Manager or not, I really don't care. Anyway, so that's what we are hoping for. Robert thinks he will be able to get a job in one of the shipyards along the coast and we are hoping to settle in the Brunswick/Bath area. We will be renting for a year, to see if we really CAN make it through the LONG winter (Robert assures me he has NO problem with the cold weather and I tell him that HE isn't the one I'm worried about!)...I'm hoping the beautiful summer will tide me over through the winter.:)

Yes, we will miss all those wonderful people that we have in the South: Robert's family, Dad and Lisa, our friends, my co-workers, but there are many people that I miss in Maine, too, and I miss the state of Maine, itself (which I never thought would happen). So, we hope that everyone understands that we are moving for US and will miss everyone terribly, but look forward with great excitement to spending time with those of you we will be closer to when we make it to Maine! Ah, the GREEN of the North and the summers that only get up to 80 degrees until August and the smell of the cool, coastal Maine air! We're on our way! Wish us luck! And y'all BETTER come visit us now, ya'hear?!
Love A*F,
Lane