thursday three

Thursday Three

Samantha Gratton

This week has been…eventful. We crossed the year mark, crossed the threshold and crossed off about a tenth of the things on our to-do list. It’s been a little nutty, but oh, so good. I’m really excited for this new chapter in our lives and also pretty excited to jump into September and put some of the stress of August behind us.

1. Moving = interesting mishaps + creative solutions. This last week/weekend was the big move. We had friends help and by the time they arrived, we were ready to just shove everything into any box, container, blanket or backpack you could find. The truck ended up being one shared with someone else moving on Saturday, and we had a few little mishaps that brought about some interesting solutions. For instance, the dryer ended up being a three-prong plug when it should have been a four. Unfortunately, the one we purchased to fix it was for an oven, not a dryer…a small detail that was only realized after it was completely hooked up. Whoops. A wheel from our bed frame broke and in effort to retain the bed frame and keep it from breaking, we substituted with a can of tuna. Yes, really. I half expected there to be some sort of hole in the tin can one morning and a stench to greet the neighbors. Thankfully, that has been amended as well. Finally, the day before we thought the lease was up on our apartment ended up actually being the last day on our lease, requiring quite the rapid clean-up in the end. Whew. This move has kept us on our toes and provided some sleepy eyes and tired feet.

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2. Our house is the cutest. I know I’m biased, but it just is. The inside isn’t exactly much to look at right now, so let’s just focus on the outside.

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See?? Also, have I mentioned that directly across the street there is a chocolate shop? Seriously. If I gain weight, we’ll know that the little yellow house is to blame. But really, we are incredibly glad to have moved here and to have friends nearby. At some point maybe we’ll get ourselves together enough to show some bits and pieces of the inside, but for now we’ll just live out of boxes and plan our trip to Ikea.

3. Timing is a big deal. There are certain things in our life that never would have worked if they had happened a few years ago or even a few months ago. There are still a lot of things that seem to be in the works right now, but it feels like the right timing for them. I promise to elaborate later, but all I know is the God’s timing is always better than mine. It really is.

3. (part B) I read this recently and was struck by it. I know I’ve read it before but it was good to have a reminder. Not to mention, it’s a really funny visual to hand a kid a snake…

9 Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Matthew 7:9-10

Thursday Three

Samantha Gratton

It’s here! It’s finally here! That week of crazy we’ve all been waiting for!! Work has been nuts-o, school has started, we’re moving and why not throw a couple of curve balls in there? Bottom line, God is good.

1. Writing allows me to work it all out. Saturday I got the chance to go to a half-day more or less writing seminar. It was good to get a little nudge to keep doing what I love and maybe even dream about using my voice beyond the Thursday Three and my 15 faithful readers (you are the best though, of course). An author from Nashville gave some pointers and had some good things to say, but mostly it was just good to have a little time to think and dream. I was surrounded by others who had a passion and a voice and somewhere in there, I have that too.

2. Station wagons continue to be my dream car. Okay, practicality aside, I’ve always oddly loved Jaguars. Not really sure why, maybe it’s that tiny little leaping figurine at the hood of the car, but regardless, it ain’t in the cards. Hence, the station wagon. As long as I can remember I’ve thought it to be the best of both worlds and the car for me. This week, dreams really do come true, as we have borrowed someone else’s to move boxes across town to our new little abode. All of our dishes seem to be in one place while all of our clothes are in the other. Good luck guessing which is which. Slowly, we’re chipping away and trying to ready ourselves for this weekend which I lovingly call, “major haul” during which the remainder will be toted over. 

3. Everywhere I turn, it’s back to school! Granted, yes, I work at a school. But still. The hubby starts his class this week, my sister started at her new university, my sister-in-law started teaching at her local college this week and a few friends are going back for various programs, classes and degrees. If all goes well, I might be joining in next week with one night class on nonprofit management. I figured I might as well get a graduate level course under my belt, and I’ve gone back and forth between excitement and apprehension. It’s only been a few years but after seeing the syllabus and realizing the homework I’ll have to add to my routine I wasn’t sure what to think. I’m hoping though to learn a little and gain some understanding and just take it one step at a time.  Who knows what life will bring.

Thursday Three

Samantha Gratton

Despite leaving my school days behind with a toss of my hair and seldom a look back, I’ve found myself plopped down in the middle of a university surrounded by students. August is often a crazy month in our lives, so it seems, and this year has followed suit. Between work and home and just plain life we are struggling to keep up. Do I always sound exhausted by Thursdays? I hope not. But this week (and quite possibly, this month) is a big and busy one for us. Here’s the three for the week…

1. My sister made it all the way to NC. We got to show her around Raleigh and love on her little dogs. Not to mention, a few other pets which were here as well but locked up in their respective cages. My puppy fever persists however. So much cuteness in a four-legged creature! I’ve dropped plenty of “hints” so we’ll see how many months years it takes to get one of our own.

2. We are both worker bees this month. As I mentioned, for me, working at a university has really ramped up. I keep being told this is the craziest week of the year and I’m not arguing. There’s some definite stress and it’s not much quieter for the hubby. He’s working hard on a building move for our church and prepping all sorts of equipment. By the end of the day we are just wiped. But we don’t have too much time to sit still because…

3. We are moving to downtown Raleigh! On Monday, the place is ours and we’ll load up our stuff once more. We are renting a tiny little house near friends and inside the city we’ve come to love. Once we get all settled in, I’m sure there will be photos and stories to follow!

Thursday Three

Samantha Gratton

This might not be too wordy, but it’s here nonetheless. It’s been a long week between coming back from vacation, a pile of files waiting for me at work and looking out into the next month of things to do. I’m a bit tired and this month’s just getting started. Pray that I make it through. Here’s some of the tops from the past week.

1. My mom did indeed get married last weekend. Here’s a snapshot of the pre-wedding prayer with her friends.

2. The first thing we did upon landing in Raleigh was eat at La Farm Bakery. Best French bakery ever. And even better when we were celebrating the new engagement of friends who had just returned from their trip to Hawaii. The fact remains, this is home. White chocolate baguettes just happen to sweeten the deal.

3. We had a finance talk this week. I know, this isn’t really something to blog home about, but it’s a really great thing (even if not always a fun one). We feel about ready to put a little money away for when we’re old and grey (I have no plans to dye my hair as of yet), and it’s good to get that going now. It was a new year’s resolution of ours to get something saved away this year, and I feel it’s a bit of a milestone to be putting that in motion. May I look back in 50 years and appreciate my young self.

Thursday Three

Samantha Gratton

This has been an incredibly full week, it might even bring me to tears. So many people and thoughts and memories and moments—I couldn’t possibly fit it into a Thursday Three. I’m afraid though if I don’t say something, I’ll never manage to figure out what to say at all. After almost a week in our former home state, here’s the three.

1. Living in the moment sometimes means no photos. We’ve seen so many people that I’m tempted to just name everyone off. It has been wonderful to see people, to eat with them, do life with them. I want to breathe in every moment we have together and store up all the memories for a rainy day. And of all of those sweet memories, I might have two photos from the week because I didn’t want to break the moment for a photo. Call me crazy, but it was almost as if I have been holding my breath the whole time, not wanting it all to end, even if for a quick snapshot.

2. Hello, it’s been a year, goodbye. Most of our visits have basically consisted of these three phrases during our minutes or hours we have with friends, and it hardly seems to be enough. How do you explain everything that’s happened over the past year since we started this crazy adventure? How do you even begin to understand what the year has been like for them? Do you go straight for the direct questions or small talk your way there? Our time with friends has felt so fleeting, making it hard to have time to get to everything, much less process it.

3. We aren’t moving back any time soon. We’ve gotten this question a lot, whether or not we’d consider moving back to Iowa. I can’t say it’s altogether off the table, but we just don’t feel led to do that right now. We’ve loved our time here to visit. It hasn’t always been relaxing, but it has been rejuvenating as we were able to tap into friendships and hobbies that were almost forgotten. But Des Moines doesn’t have any holes with our name on it. It’s moved on, as it should. While bittersweet, it’s true. Our home is somewhere else now. 

Thursday Three

Samantha Gratton

It’s that time of the week. The time when you look around and say, “hey! I’ve almost made it to the end!” This week feels especially that way because in a matter of 20-some odd hours we will be IN IOWA. After work tomorrow we will head straight to the airport. I am super excited and also a bit overwhelmed by it all. Am I packed? No. Am I blogging? Why yes, it appears I am. This whole trip managed to sneak up on me. Lately it seems like we’ve had to take one day at a time and it might be that way through September or October. Here we go!

1. We went apartment hunting—for my sister. That’s right, folks. One of my little sisters is heading to the East Coast in a matter of weeks so we went to check out a few places for her. Official details are still being sorted out, but it’s really happening! She’ll be living about 85 miles east of us and even closer to the beach (lucky girl).

And the winner is…

2. We had a few visitors throughout the week.The hubby’s parents came for a day and half to check out where we live and we had some couch surfers who stayed a night after playing a gig as a folk duo. It was fun to host a bit and show off the place that we live in and love. I think we’ll try to host more couch surfers in the future. It’s fun to hear stories from others as they travel around and also to hear what they want in a place when it’s time to put down new roots.

3. We tackled a closet. Quite the accomplishment if you ask me. It was beyond time to go through some boxes that were never unpacked so we spent Saturday night going down memory lane and found a few good photos and some items we didn’t even know we had in the first place. I can’t wait to donate some of these things we no longer need and clear some space. It’s amazing how much a person can acquire in life yet go on thinking you still need more stuff. Here’s a look at the mess we created.

Alright. Time to pack! IOWA TIME!

Thursday Three

Samantha Gratton

Sometimes, you just need a break from the bad days and frustrations. Today managed to squeeze its way in and be that break. Nothing particularly awesome happened today, but it was just a good day. That is surely something to be glad about, so I will take it for all that it is. 

1. Startups = crazy + awesome Over the weekend we got to go see the final pitches for 14 startups that participated in Triangle Startup Weekend. Teams put together a business (mostly online tools and apps) and had 56 hours to put it together and present it to a team of judges and potential investors. It was interesting, exciting and just a good reminder to keep your imagination alive.

2. Dressing up like cows is always worth it for the free meal.  The hubby and I dressed up for Chik-fil-A day and walked away with full bellies and a bit of laughter over which customers managed to look the most like bovine. Since I was forbidden to post actual photos of our attire, here’s proof of our level of commitment.

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3. I realized how jam packed the next 30 days will be. We have people coming to visit, a couple of trips to take, packing and planning to do and a move to make, all in the middle of a busy month at work for both of us. So, although this past weekend/week was supposed to be a time for us to dive into all of that, I’m glad we didn’t. We kicked back a bit and did a few things that needed to be done. Any time with my husband is time well spent and I am grateful to have him in my life.

Thursday Three

Samantha Gratton

This week has felt incredibly long. Perhaps it was the mini-vacation we had in there or the fact that my shortened work week has dragged on in all of the worst ways. Thankful though for a weekend coming our way and time to clean house a little. Here’s the Thursday Three…

1. Did I mention a mini-vacation? Why yes. That happened, unexpectedly. We have some amazing friends who called and said they were flying standby and would be at our door the next day. They wanted to take a little babymoon before she was no longer allowed on airplanes (35 weeks preggo!) and I could not have been happier to see them. Seriously. I was getting a little Iowa-sick (like homesick, but when you feel at home where you are now) last week and they were just the ticket. We did our best to be good hosts and took them to some of our favorite spots in the Triangle and then headed out to Nags Head to hit the beach! Love, love, love them.

2. We ate like foodies. I am not a foodie, generally speaking. Between a long list of allergies and a weakness for nibbling, I mostly survive on fruit and cheese. While they were here, we went all out and ate so many amazing things I think I could write about those meals for the next ten posts and still be licking my lips. French bakery goods, specialty pizza, fresh seafood, more seafood and local ice cream…what more could a girl want?

 

3. We balanced the weekend out by looking at the budget. I know, super lame sounding compared to all of that wonderful and epic fun we just had. But it was time to look over our spending habits, make some adjustments and talk about what was most important. I think something I’ve learned with budgets is that it doesn’t actually have to be restricting. It’s almost more freeing to say, “I am going to spend this amount of money and not feel guilty about it because it is in the budget” as opposed to being oblivious to what spending is happening and feeling like you must be doing it wrong unless you avoid it altogether. It made me feel more relaxed once it was done. I’m definitely thankful for a hubby who is on the same page with me as we strive to be good stewards of our money, not to mention, glad he was willing to allot a fair amount for vacation money!

Thursday Three

Samantha Gratton

We’ve hit July. Growing up, as soon as we got to the first week of July it felt like the summer was practically over. This year it feels like it’s hardly begun, but perhaps that’s due to a lot less time outdoors with my leg up on a couch. But here we are nonetheless.

1. I had another birthday. The hubby and I went paddle boating for a bit and then met up with friends and enjoyed some cake and ice cream. All in all, a good day. Birthdays can be weird, all mixed up with hopes and expectations from when you were little and it was the ULTIMATE. I never know, do you tell people it’s coming? Or is it considered lying by omission to just go about the day without mentioning it?

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2. That leg of mine is healing. I can even walk a little without the crutches. Woot! But somehow during this time of healing, my other leg started to show some of its woes and weakness. Perhaps it had some of the same strain the left one did before it really tore. It’s getting a bit bruised and a little more love now. At physical therapy yesterday they worked on my right leg just as much as the leg one. That’s what I call “getting your money’s worth.”

3. Happy 4th of July! I don’t know if I knew quite how much I loved celebrating the 4th in Des Moines, but I’ve got to admit, I’m a little homesick for it right now. Between the music festival, parades, symphony, fireworks and festivities, I can’t seem to adapt to much else. Raleigh, I love you, but today I wish I were there instead. The 4th of July is simply a day/week where Des Moines truly shines, and I’m glad we got to be a part of it for so many years. We will don our red, white and blue though and hit the streets to soak in today’s sunshine and patriotic spirit. Don’t worry, there’s still friends and fireworks involved, and I can’t imagine they will disappoint.

Thursday Three

Samantha Gratton

A lot of people do the “Friday Fives” post on their blog. You know, write about five things that are happening and maybe throw in some energetic photos from the week. I love reading those and seeing those smiling faces, but it’s just not me. Because you know what? On Fridays, I’m just happy to have made it to the weekend and would rather sip a Bellini or margarita at the end of the day with no more obligations, if even for a few hours. Solution: Thursday Three. The perfect time to give a little update with a few less items to list off. It even has some alliteration (th + th) and that’s when you know you’ve officially made it as a writer. So here it goes—

1. My leg still hurts. I know, with all the pressure of this first listing on the very first ever Thursday Three, number one fell a little short. But that’s the truth. If you weren’t aware, I tore my calf almost three weeks ago. One week ago they gave me a sweet boot to match my crutches. The accessories are just amazing. There has been some progress though and physical therapy seems to be helping quite a bit. Quote of the month, “Maybe you can find a project on pinterest to do something with these crutches when you are done using them.” -Hubby.

2. Hole-in-the-walls have the best pie. But for real. Maybe I’ll get better at grabbing a photo next time, but let me just say that black bottom pecan pie in the south does not disappoint. The hubby and I had an impromptu date night on Tuesday to discuss some upcoming life decisions (details to follow) and ended up at a new favorite called Side Street Cafe. They have some sort of charm and a ridiculously long and spectacular list of sandwiches.

3. We really love Raleigh. There’s a lot of new discovery each month as we get more acquainted with our surroundings and every once in a while, we look at each other and comment on how glad we are to have moved here. New restaurants, new concert spots, new neighborhoods, new routines. As of yet, it seems we will be here for awhile and we’re really excited about it. That said, Des Moines will always have a piece of my heart, so I am excited to be headed back for a visit next month!