I’ve been more or less absent for about a month now. Between moving from Boston to Atlanta, my friend’s wedding, and being sick for the past week I just haven’t had the time or the inclination to write a post.

Here’s a brief update on everything that’s happened:

The move was a nightmare. We used United, who farmed the job out to T.E. Andresen. They didn’t know that they were supposed to be packing my stuff, didn’t bring enough boxes, didn’t pack things well and broke at least 15 items of furniture on their way here. Total. Nightmare. We are filing an insurance claim with them, but it’s just insanity.

We are working on getting ourselves settled in and Jack started his new job this week. Between my being down for the count last week and Jack’s new job, we still have a ways to go on the settling in front. Lots of boxes still need unpacking and a lot of stuff needs to go to Salvation Army. What a process, but hopefully we can get some of it done this weekend.

My good friend Christie got married in Richmond, and I had a wonderful time with my college friends. It was just awesome.

I think that gets everything up to date. Hopefully there will be more frequent posts as things start to settle down.

A little over a year has come and gone during my “Great Northern Adventure.” The winter up here about did me in and I’m pretty sure I experienced a little bit of what’s known as seasonal depression. How people stand all that grey and snow on an everyday basis… I’ll never understand!

For a few months, Jack and I have been kicking around the idea of moving back to Atlanta. He’s been gone from the South for 3 consecutive years and I’ve been hopping back and forth for two and a half. We came to the conclusion that we wanted to live in a place where we knew we would be staying… and for us that’s Atlanta.

Being a Cornhusker Jack isn’t originally from the South, but since he spent two years there for grad school and it’s where we met he has a fond spot for Atlanta and has voted that it’s going to be a pretty good place for us to settle down.

Neither of us enjoyed our experiences with moving in the past, but we have our fingers crossed that it will be a little less painful than before.

We’ve officially put in our notice with our companies, all the hard decisions have been made and as of the end of August… we’ll officially be on our way home.

Jack and I went to the 11:30am showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, pt. 2 this morning. It was incredible. Even having read the book series, I was on the edge of my seat. I literally got goosebumps during the parts of the movie.

I was telling Jack that I can remember reading the last book and having this moment where I wanted to turn the pages as fast as I could to find out what happened, but not wanting to know because then it would be over. I felt the same way throughout the movie. Desperately wanting to see how they played the whole thing out, but knowing that I would be sad to see the series finished.

I could honestly go see the movie again in theaters. It was that good. I love when a fantasy movie is so well created that suspension of disbelief just happens naturally. Dragons? Of course. Ogres? Why not. Elves and Goblins? Obviously. Wizards and witches and wands that cast spells while battling over good versus evil? Absolutely. 

Pretty sure I’m gonna have to make a special trip to Disney for the Harry Potter park & Olivander’s Wand Shop. I think I need a wand, since I may have just been convinced that it’s all possible.

Now I just need to work on my spells. Stupefy!

Jack and I had a great weekend out of the city for the 4th. We headed to Rhode Island (Charlestown) to stay with a friend and hang out on the beach, cook up some seafood and do a little fishing and boating.

We may have been the youngest couple in the group age-wise, but the beach made us realize that we may be the oldest in terms of actions. We were the two that sat under an umbrella, with the most skin covered reapplying sunscreen on a regular basis. When everyone else went swimming, I stuck a toe in and proclaimed that 63 degrees was not NEARLY warm enough for me to get in the water, no matter how hot the air.

That night was for steaming lobsters, grilling hotdogs and cooking up some delicious scallops. We ended the night by curling up on an air mattress to get some rest.

Upon awakening, my neck and back let me know once again that perhaps I’m older than my years proclaim. After stretching out the kinks, we headed out with our friend Jeff to do a little fishing on the jetty while the rest of the crew slept in. I re-learned how to cast a line, almost broke an ankle climbing around the rocks and caught not a thing… but it was a fun way to pass the time.

After a late breakfast of eggs and sausage, we headed back to the sea to climb in a Boston Whaler and head out to try a little more fishing. The day before, Jeff had almost caught “the big one,” and we had to head out there for him to give it another go. While it wasn’t successful, we did get to see a little more of the coastline from a different point of view.

Jack and I headed back to Boston on Sunday evening to relax and get a few things done. Monday was for picnicking by the Charles at lunch and reading books in the shade. After a hot dog that night we called it quits early, wished each other a Happy 4th of July and headed to bed.

All in all, it was a much needed weekend of perfectly balanced fun and relaxation.

It’s been a great week and I have been extremely busy (hence the lack of posting)! My mom and dad were up for a week and we had a great time exploring and eating in Boston and heading to Nantucket with Jack for the weekend. I have loads of pictures and stories, so be on the lookout for updates over the next week!

While I’m a little bit annoyed that it’s 50s and raining here in good ol’ Beantown, I have to say that this weekend was some kind of wonderful. It was perfect in that relaxing, quiet way, when there is nothing to do but a few chores and enjoying some peace and quiet.

There was Chihuly on Friday night at the MFA with friends, fajitas and beer.

There was spinning and yoga, to get the heart pumping and the blood moving.

There was sneaking in your own (healthy) snacks to the 3D showing of Pirates.

There was making barley “risotto”, watching animated movies and going to bed early.

There was laundry and errands. Nails were painted and grocery stores visited.

Books were read and finished. Decisions were made and pep talks were given.

And now, with 6:30 approaching quietly on a Sunday night in June, I am sitting happily in my apartment. Soon I’ll get up and get out the chicken that has been marinating all afternoon and begin the process of making Chicken with Key Lime Salsa (recipe to come, because it’s delicious and amazing). Perhaps a movie will be watched, or a new book started.

Some weekends are for being busy, seeing new things, having new experiences and exploring. But some weekends are for moments like this.