Home Sweet Mississippi, Home Sweet DC

I know its been awhile since I posted, but I was in the South, celebrating the holidays with those I love!

It was so fun to be back in Mississippi last week.  We enjoyed many of the wonderful aspects of Mississippi -- homecooked meals with families, joyful reunions with friends, coffee, desserts and gifts by the tree, christmas eve communion at a small country church, meals at favorite local restaurants, drinks and laughter at small cozy bars and mornings spent in the woods hunting for big bucks (well, for Dave atleast)

Our week was full, happy, joyful- but not restful.  I was on the road the whole week and then wrapped the week off with a weekend full of wedding activities for a dear friend! Dave and I spent the holidays together, but spent a good portion of the week apart - while he hunted and we both saw family and friends. Then we had a LONG travel day including cancelled flights, delayed flights and finally got home at 12:30 am on Sunday evening/Monday morning. Yes, a HAPPY TIRING holiday!

I always hate January --its a dreadfully boring month and I always turn a year older despite my best attempts at preventing it.  It's cold and dreary and the holidays have ended.  The lights come down, the trees are packed away and there are less outings, parties and events.

And yet....this year, I am excited for January! I am imagining a month of movies and sweats and cuddling, cooking new recipes, curling up with good books and warm steamy cups of cocoa,  possibly a little organizing . WE ARE WORN OUT FROM THANKSGIVING AND CHRISTMAS-- and a slow dull month is just what the doctor ordered! I already have a list of movies I want to see and books I want to read!

Going home to Mississippi was good. The first few days were hard as I realized how much I missed my life there.  I also teared up numerous times with the realization that I didn't have time to see or enjoy everyone and everything I love about home!! But, even so, at the end of the week, Dave and I both admitted that although a few more days in Mississippi would have been nice, we were ready to get back to DC.

DC doesn't have as many people we love and it doesn't have as many memories, but it is the life we are making together- and we love having a life that is "ours". It is good to go home to Mississippi, AND its good to come back home to DC!


A few pictures from our time in the hospitality state!

Annual Game night with 2 families in town!



Sunday Christmas lunch with one side of Dave's family

Sunday Night Girls Dinner

Mele Kalikimaka party (including a round of "cards against humanity")

Jack's first Gingerbread House which he claims he built, but I think Uncle Bubby may have done most of the building!



 Christmas Eve with Dave's family at the Cedars Plantation (This picture should sum up the differences in our two personalities -- Dave's festive wear includes a green polo, mine includes a sequin skirt ha!)

Christmas Morning with Dave's family

Christmas Afternoon with my family



Lunch with some of my favorite Highlands Pres folks!



 I couldn't help but take a pic of Jack napping. Adorable.

 Lindsey's rehearsal dinner

 Drinks at the Library Lounge after the Rehearsal

 Wedding Day! (Isn't she lovely??)

By the way, Dave and I celebrated 6 months of marriage at the wedding. 6 months sure seems like it went by quickly! Excited for what the next 6 months, 6 years, 6 decades bring!

 I know it's 2014 already (Happy New Year!)  so I am a little late on the "2013 memories" and "2014 goals" blog posts, but they will be coming soon....just a little late. Bear with me, its  been a busy month!

Missing the South: College Football

I love college football.  I love the SEC.  I love weekends spent in Auburn or Oxford cheering on my Tigers and Rebels! I love game days spent in the grove with my family and friends.  I always loved tailgating in Auburn at my friend's family's tailgate.  I love Tiger Walk and Walk of Champions and rolling Toomer's Corner. I love breakfasts grabbed on the square at Bottletree Bakery before heading to tailgate in the grove

And, honestly, as silly as it may sound to some, I'm feeling a little blue and a bit homesick this week because Football starts and I won't be there! And, at this moment, I have no plans to be there at all this year unless I can squeeze a game day trip in later this fall.  COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS HUGE WHERE I AM FROM, SO MISSING A FOOTBALL SEASON IS ALMOST LIKE MISSIG A HOLIDAY. And, for those who didn't grow up with college football as such a big part of your lives, this sadness probably doesn't make sense...but it is a HUGE part of my life that is changing this fall.

In the South, College Football...

....is one of my family's main hobbies, way to bond, and way to spend time togethers. We have so many memories of weekends spent in Oxford, so many pictures, so many traditions, etc.

....is something that the SOUTH does best.  In a country that hates on the South, full of people who automatically assume we're lacking in many ways, I LOVE that when it comes to football, there is article after article about the SEC and how dominant it is, about how tailgating in  the South is SUPREME, about how football Saturdays in  the south is like no other place in AMERICA.

....signals fall in the South. Trust me, if there was no college football, we wouldn't know it's fall til the end of October.  College football signals a time for mums, fall colors, the -ber months, and occasionally a slight breeze. (It does finally cool of by late October/early November!)

....introduces the BEST time of the year: football weekends then the HOLIDAYS!

....was one of the predominant ways in overcoming racism.  Integration in Sports helped integration in life.

...is a way to escape, atleast it is for me.  If you had a rough week or if you have a rough summer or fall, every week you get to tune out and focus on football! True, I don't think you should always tune out of reality, but we all need a break at times, and checking out to watching football is probably a lot better than other forms of "checking out."

....unites you with others.  I believe in AUBURN. I love what the school stands for. I like the spirit of overcoming and desire to work hard. I like standing there and cheering on our tigers with a group of people who feel as I do.

....is a form of hospitality.  WALK AROUND the grove and you will likely be invited into someone else's tent to tailgate.  You will run into someone you know or meet someone new and be invited in.  The South is known for hospitality, particularly my home state of Mississippi, and tailgates at various schools are a huge vehicle for southerners to show hospitality to others!!


CREATING NEW TRADITIONS

When we were planning to move, we assumed it would be Alabama, most likely Birmingham. One of the biggest pros for Birmingham (for me, atleast) was it's proximity to Auburn (1.5 - 2 hrs) and Oxford (2.5 -3 hrs).  I had visions in my head of football saturdays, tailgates, season tickets and eventually children in cheerleading uniforms and jerseys!

DC was our first choice of places to move (so we were thrilled when we got the chance), BUT one of the top items on the con list was the lack of proximity to SEC football :(  And, so, we are having to come up with alternative ways to enjoy gamedays and "pluses" to being away.

My main plus is COLLEGE GAMEDAY on ESPN. I usually only get to watch a portion of the show, if any, because I am headed to a game. Now we can leisurely watch the pregame show while doing chores.  Another plus is the ability to watch a LOT of games.  That only happened on the Saturdays I stayed in Jackson. ALSO, I love the idea of going to a sports bar to watch a game.  I haven't done that but once or twice since law school.  I usually fill up on tailgate food on gamedays and never sit down for a real meal, so I am excited to cook chili and hamburgers and hotdogs and other "football watching" meals.  I'm eager to plug in with the Auburn, Ole Miss and MSU (yes, its true, but I did marry a grad!) DC alum groups and going to their respective sports bars to watch the games, maybe meet some other alums! 

So, it will be different, BUT even so, we are planning to celebrate this upcoming weekend, beginning with hotdogs, beer and chips for the Ole Miss v Vandy game this THURSDAY!! (yes folks, 4 days til college football!!!!)  I already have an Ole Miss decorative hanger in my kitchen and an Auburn hanger on the front door.  I even unpacked some of my gameday clothes last week! 

so it will be DIFFERENT, BUT STILL GOOD. I can't help but be excited because even in DC, it's football season! WAR EAGLE AND HOTTY TODDY!

Oh, and luckily, I still have my favorite football date.... (and yes, that's an ole miss hat in the pic below...when you are planning to ask someone for his daughter's hand in marriage in the near future and that same person hands you an Ole Miss cap to wear to the game, you wear it !!!)

Moving!

I've had a busy 2.5 weeks.  Flew home to pack, say goodbyes, load up and then made the 2 day journey to DC where we unloaded our stuff. I spent the trip in the car with Marley and Jack -- and Jack was always very excited to get in the "Big Truck" on gas stops!

 hanging out with friends in Jackson

Playing in the BIG TRUCK

 Saying goodbyes was tough, but I am glad I had the opportunity to do it. Otherwise I would have had to say goodbye to everyone at the wedding.  Mississippi is a special place and it was hard to leave, but I was eager to see my Mississippi boy after 9 days apart so I was eager to get back to the city.

Enjoying friday night with my FAVORITE guy

After unloading, we spent one day in DC where everyone was able to recover and I had an interview. We then had Friday night tapas and sangria at one of my favorite DC restaurants, LA TASCA. 

Jack loves hanging out in the neighborhood with Uncle Big Dave

The next day, we headed to a small town near State College, Penn to help Marley and Bech move their stuff into their new house.  Their house was cute and HUGE -- we all got a laugh out of how much more your money will get you in a small town v. DC. It's a precious little town that I think they will enjoy.....BUT the one drawback is..... its hilly (which is adorable but not the most fun when moving!!)  We ended the night by trying out a restaurant in State College (the town ten minutes away where Bech will be attending school)

Unpacking in Pennsylvania

Dave and I spent the night before driving back to the city.  We took a different way home so we could see more of Pennsylvania and we made a pit stop at Hershey, Penn. (more on that stop later) 

Hershey, Penn

Since getting home, I've done a lot of unpacking and settling back in, and I will be honest, it's been tough. Dave and I were just starting to get settled into our life here in DC, but going home made me aware of how much I miss Mississippi.  Part of me didn't want to go home for a week for this very reason---- I haven't been here long enough for it to be home, so going back to my former home was just confusing.  However, I missed Dave the entire time I was in Mississippi and was eager to see him again...so my trip to Mississippi made me realize that he is my home now, wherever we live.  Even so, coming back to a house full of boxes, no job and days that weren't busy with friends and family was difficult.  I've had my moments of doubting the move, but have mostly tried to enjoy our adventure, but this week I was a bit less positive. Finishing unpacking some boxes helped: its amazing how much happier you feel when you can see your floor!!! Also dinner plans with friends from MS and a camping trip this weekend with church friends has my spirits high again.  And as much as I love sweet Mississippi, it is good that I won't be going home for a few months....by then, DC will be home and involve a job, friends, a decorated apartment, a routine.  

UNPACKING....halfway there!

HOME SWEET HOME

I am in an "in between" phase of life and also in an "in between" phase of home....

I teared up when we got in the car in Memphis and headed to DC, not back to Jackson.  My life felt like it was in Mississippi and we were headed the wrong way.  The only thing that would have been harder would have been getting in my parent's car and heading to Mississippi and not going with Dave to DC.

Possibly the best thing that happened to me recently is Dave moving to DC without me...because we spent a month missing each other!  It changed the move to DC from "a move away from people I love" to "a move towards someone I love"  It's much easier to move towards something or someone than move away from something or someone.

Next week I go back to Mississippi.  I love Missisisippi. I love the South. I love my family and friends...but I kindof wish I wasn't going.  I have adjusted fairly well to DC despite not having a job....and going home will remind me of all the wonderful parts of my old life....and going home is going to involve a lot of goodbyes!! That's hard.

But, yet again, Dave will be here for 9 days without me and I think that will make things a bit easier...because I can come back to him!  And, Marley, Bech and Jack will be making the journey up north with me and its such a comfort to know we will have family 4 hours away now!

But still, this may (I'm hoping not) be my only trip to Mississippi until Christmas (say it ain't so!!!) (ACTUALLY I am anticipating some winter/fall weddings so I may have another trip(s) home!!) ANYWAYS, I am making an "I love Jackson" list of things I have to do while home:
- family time
- friend time
- coffee from CUPS
- eat at Kiefers
- sushi at Sakura Bana
- SONIC drinks possibly every day
- finish with gift exchanges (we have a few duplicate gifts, etc)
- church at HIGHLANDS PRES
- visit Kroger and enjoy the comforts of a LARGE grocery store
- maybe lunch at Walkers, after all it is my fav and I won't see it again til December....
- eat Watermelon -- I mean, I can do that here too, BUT it tastes better in MS
- get Doc Dave (daddy) to grill out one night
- go to the Neshoba County Fair --- JK, I do not have time for a weekend in the cabins at the fair, but I so wish I did!
- visit my Nana and Papa

Thats the list thus far... it may grow, and its only 9 days!