I would've never guessed that one day I'd be calling the King's hometown my own. Anyone who knows me well knows that the only place I vowed to ever leave Texas for was New York City (and that was clearly only a fantasy spurred by watching countless episodes of Sex and the City). So when I was informed that Cody might have his dream job opportunity in the great state of Tennessee, one can only imagine my reaction as I dug my heels into the rich, fertile Houston soil and made it very clear that I was not going anywhere. I know, I know--a bit dramatic, but would you expect anything less from me?
So here we are, mid-October, my mom is in town, and I'm due for my very first upper endoscopy (the beginning of the Crohn's diagnosis). Imagine my surprise as I come out of the procedure, high as a kite on anasthesia, only to find out that yes, we are in fact moving to Memphis...in 2 weeks. Cody was probably thankful for my drugged up self at that moment...I'm sure he was glad not to have to pull out the tranquilizer gun himself. :) A couple of hours later, after coming out of my zombie slumber, I asked my mom and Cody "So, did anything eventful happen while I was knocked out?" They did their best to hide their laughter as they broke the news to me again that in about 2 weeks we'd be leaving my homeland, as Cody had gotten the sales specialist job with Bayer Chemical's Crop Science division. I took it surprisingly well...at this point I realized that neither Cody nor I were really satisfied with our jobs and quite frankly, we were getting a little tired of the traffic and lack of oxygen in Houston. So, on November 1st our next adventure began.
It was a whirlwind of a move, that's for sure. We flew to Memphis on a Monday, found our apartment in one day, returned to Houston on Wednesday, and were packed up and on the road in a moving truck on Friday. My sister Kirby was relieved to discover that we wouldn't be hindered by the border patrol or any kind of check station when we hit the Texas state line. By the end of that weekend, we were all moved in and Cody was headed to Orlando for Bayer Chemical's national sales meeting. Thankfully, my mom's resume includes professional mover, unpacker, and decorator, so our apartment was completely set up before Cody returned at the end of the next week.
All packed up and ready to hit the road in our awesome moving truck!
I must admit that moving to Tennessee has sent both Cody and I into a bit of culture shock. First, let me point out the fact that the suburban area where we live, Collierville, can best be likened to Fairview, home of ABC's Desperate Housewives. It is beautfiul and picturesque, but definitely lacks the grafitti and homeless friends that we grew accustomed to while living in inner-city Houston. Not to mention the lack of Mexican food...I won't even torture you with those details. All in all though, Cody and I have enjoyed our time here so far and have gotten to know some of the couples that he works with well. They are great people, and like us, their hearts are in Texas, and they were just as traumatized as we were when watching the Tennessee DMV drop our TX drivers' licenses into a paper shredder as if they were nothing more than an old receipt. Life is good in Memphis, and I was even blessed with a job that pretty much fell in my lap! I started work at Bella Vita, an upscale home decor boutique right around the corner from where we live about two weeks ago, and I absolutely love it. (Check out the website, it'll be worth it: http://www.shopbellavita.com/.) Cody was born to work in ag sales, and is the spitting image of all the guys in his office (the daily uniform consisting of Dockers, a blue or green plaid button-down, and boots). I can't wait to see him grow in his new career, and am so proud of him.
Here are a few pictures of the new crib:
Dining room
Entry way
Guest room
Kitchen
More kitchen--it's huge!
The gorgeous lake view
Living room
Our room (well, part of it)
Outside our building. If you look closely you can see the gorgeous fall colors on the trees. That was definitely a new sight for us!
