Road trip!

Just in case curiosity was getting the best of you...I thought I would post a picture or two of Chris and me. He will be leaving on Wednesday to go home to Tennessee for a month until he starts his new job here in Fayetteville. And actually...I probably won't see him for about two months, because I'll be gone when he gets back. Which....is what the rest of my blog will be about!


I don't think I've stopped thinking about the upcoming time with Willemijn/road trip/Kristina's wedding/potentially seeing EVERYONE I love and miss back in Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri! I'm down to 5 weeks before Willemijn gets here. And I just found out that my freshman roommate, Kara, will be at the wedding! I'm so excited! So...with my excitement out in the open....here's my plan thus far...

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&ie=UTF8&ll=34.813803,-90.263672&spn=15.952883,29.619141&z=5&om=1&msid=111610438810755447929.00043f4b3a5e80f6bfc20

Willemijn and I will leave from Fayetteville and drive to Atlanta, GA on our first day. Our short-term goal is to spend New Year's Eve in New Orleans, and Atlanta seemed to be the "coolest" mid-way point to stop at on the way. From Atlanta, we'll drive to New Orleans and spend two nights there, ringing in the new year! After leaving New Orleans, we'll head to Dallas, and will spend 2 nights there (hopefully with some friends!). Willemijn will fly out of Dallas on January 4, and then I will head to Wichita Falls for Kristina's wedding! After the wedding, I'll drive to OKC to pick up all the belongings I left behind when I moved to Eindhoven, and spend a few days catching up with friends there. When I leave OKC, I'll more than likely head to Missouri to visit my long-lost friend, Teresa, for a night. The rest of the trip home is a bit shady, possibly including a visit to my brother and/or grandparents before getting back to Fayetteville. I'm extremely excited...and it'll be a LOT of driving...but I'm trying to chop it up a bit so it's not so bad! Am I crazy or what?

Chugging along

It didn't hit me until last night that there are only 2 weeks until Thanksgiving. And after that...Christmas is right around the corner! And then Willemijn comes! Hallelujah!

Well...both jobs are treating me fairly well. I can't say I'm getting used to the alarm going off at 6:30 every morning...but I CAN say that I haven't been late yet. And that's an achievement even I didn't think I could master! My boss and I get along great, and the other professors in the department seem to like having me around. Just an hour ago, Dr. Walker (who couldn't stand the secretary before me) brought me some homemade cookies, making sure I understand that "no cookies have ever been brought to this office before!". So things are going well! I like the job a lot! And Red Robin continues to keep me busy at night. I just look forward to the day when I don't have to rely on tips to get me through the month!

Chris is doing great, as well. He gets out of the army tomorrow and couldn't be more excited. He was planning on going to school in Tennessee to work on his master's degree in January, but the doctor told him he probably shouldn't consider going back to school until next fall. So Chris has accepted a job here in Fayetteville, until he can go back to school. He'll be leaving in two weeks to go stay with his parents for a month in Tennessee, then will be back to start work at the beginning of January. It sure will be weird not having him around for a month! But I'm sure *hope* I'll stay busy enough not to think about it too much!