That dreadful first look at our new home…and a few other things we like & don't like about NC

Ok so it is day two of my blogging journey! I am trying so hard not to be super obsessed and annoying, but I can't help it! I have so many things to write about in order to catch up on our lives. I actually started a list, and a board on Pinterest, and I keep annoying my wonderful friend Brooke with wayyyyy too many questions :) Those who know me well know that I have a little bit of OCD… ok maybe more than a little. BUT that is what makes me who I am :) Therefore, I get a new toy (in this case a blog), and I just obsess over it! I don't see any bad in this, but as I said in my introduction, this is to serve as a mental outlet and journal of our lives. Therefore…. I bring you post 2!

Since we are living in NC right now, I thought our family and friends back home would like to hear a little bit more about our time here. I will dedicate a post to our journey to NC in the near future, but for now let's fast forward to that first moment we laid eyes on NC. We needed to stop for gas, but I am super weird about gas stations. I only like to stop at really nice looking places :) Sorry if that is biased… I have watched way too many Lifetime movies! Anyways, we were off the interstate traveling on a super narrow highway. It was an interesting/beautiful drive. This was our first experience of the state so we were just in awe. We kept driving and I hadn't approved of any gas stations yet, and finally Josh says, "I think we better stop here. It doesn't look like there will be any more places for a while." I went inside to find cold, burnt coffee, a one stall male/female restroom, and a kind of sketchy & overly nice Indian guy working. I was not impressed. Well it didn't get much better… we continued on the same highway for some time. Yes I now know were those moonshiners live! Yikes! When we arrived in Franklin we came straight to our house we had rented over the phone. I was sure we had the wrong address! Every turn we took I got a little more nervous. We finally find it after traveling down one lane some dirt/some paved roads. We drive up the hill, I see a few neighbors, but it was NOT what I expected! I was starting to panic. Worst of all… we had no cell service!! I am going to be home alone all day, everyday with no cell service???? What did we get ourselves into? Josh on the other hand, was in awe and full of excitement! We get to the house and I tell Josh to just keep going and turn around in a little bit. I tell him I'm not ready to face the little old lady we rented from just yet. He does as I ask, but I couldn't hold back. I immediately started bawling and thinking up every possibility. Maybe we could find a motel room to rent until we got another place? I didn't even care about the deposit! Once again, those who know me well know that I am a thinker! (Thank you Nancy Heideman for the lovely name :) Therefore, I knew I had set myself up for failure. I had this wonderful picture in my mind about living down the block from the grocery store. I would walk to the park every morning to read my latest book. Then buy my groceries and walk home while watching all of the neighbor kids play. I would cook my husband a good meal and be waiting with a smile when he got home. Well let's just say…I set myself up for failure. I am not sure where the misunderstanding happened, but it turns out we live 10 miles out of town, up in the woods, with a lot of "country folk". So as I am balling Josh kind of freaks out. We moved here for him, for his school, for his dreams. Naturally he feels his is to blame. NOT TRUE!!! This NEVER crossed my mind. Now I feel bad for making him feel bad. Oh boy this day is not getting any better. I promise him it will all be great once I get used to it. I had an idea in my head, and now I need to "think" about the reality. That is what I do after all :) We drive around the town for about an hour. Turning down every major road searching for the moment when I recognize this as our new home and I can be at peace. It finally worked..a little. I realized how much was here and that we weren't living in the Podunk boonies haha. By this time we hadn't eaten since breakfast and it is late afternoon. We find a nice looking restaurant and decide we will "move in" after getting some lunch and letting the (my) tears dry. Of course being the small town girl that I am, I immediately sneak away to call my mom. I wanted to let her know we were off the road, but I also needed to hear a familiar voice. Who doesn't when they are scared right?? Well I think I officially freaked her out. I told her what my first impression of our house was, that I immediately started crying, and that Josh and I were now at odds over our new lives. (Sidenote… this is all intensified because I'm a girl :) I am sure Josh remembers it very differently!) When we got back to the house we met our new landlord (she lives above us), unpack all of our stuff (we are very efficient movers!), and I decide to look at my phone. Guess what! I have service!!! Hallelujah! This won't be so bad after all. I call my mom as I promised I would and tell her that my emotions had gotten a little out of hand. The road we live on, although one lane, is not so bad after all. The neighboring houses actually look pretty nice. We are still 10 miles from town, but only 1.5 miles from Josh's school. I finally relax and admit I had way over exaggerated the fate of the next 4 months of our lives. (I think my mom was on her knees praying the entire 2-3 hours between phone calls lol) Looking back on that first day I can't believe how upset I was. However, I had never moved away from home before (except for college which I had my boyfriend and his family there to keep me safe.) This was more than just a drive away. There was no turning back, no going to Mom & Dad's for dinner, no going to the store to be stopped by nearly every single person you see. This is going to be fun right? Who doesn't love a little adventure?? Looking back I will never regret this move. We are so grateful for this opportunity, and we wouldn't change a thing :)

Us on day 2!

Despite our first day here, most of our other experiences have been pretty neat. We absolutely LOVE the scenery and the weather. Just look at the picture of us on day 2! We were loving that 60 degree weather in January!! It is March and I am sitting outside writing this post :) We have a screened in porch with a swing that I spend most of my time on. We have deer and/or turkeys in our front yard nearly every morning. The grocery stores double & triple coupons! We are mesmerized by the southern charm. Josh gets to shoot hundreds of dollars worth of bullets on a weekly basis. I have read more books in the last month and a half than I have in the last 4 years of college.

Our house

My cute little porch swing!

I could go on and on about what we love about our lives right now, but unfortunately there is some bad too. Just like any other place in the world, there are some weird people. We love to take drives in new neighborhoods to look at all of the houses and talk about what we want in our future home. Unfortunately every time we have "taken a drive" here, we end up in the mountains were I am sure there is plenty of moonshine being made. These people are scary! Every yard is a junk yard. When you pass people sitting on their "porch" drinking from a mason jar wearing half buttoned overalls… you don't make eye contact. Just keep driving. Turn around as soon as possible. Don't forget we have Utah plates. Yikes! However we did find the extinct bear/cow on one of these drives!

The extinct bear/cow

(Another side note… we got a business card left on our car while I was shopping from some sister missionaries from Utah! It made me feel a little more at home :) Also, the town of Franklin is built on a hill in a circle. Literally if you get lost… just keep turning right. You will be at your destination sooner than you think! We are starting to get a feel of it after living here for nearly 2 months. That being said, we have taken "the scenic route" more times than I can count :) All in all, it's not a bad place. It's just not for us. We are so glad we have the opportunity to live on the East coast for a few months, but we are about ready to head West again.

Stay tuned for more past and present posts :)