Thursday I took my niece Breeann to see Nikki (who works at the Clinique counter at Elder Beerman) and have her makeup done for her 14th birthday. We had such a great time because it's very seldom that I ever get any one on one time with her. After that, I ran by my mamaw's house for a little bit to visit with her and say my goodbyes. Then I headed out to Sarah Beth and Paul Boekell's house to see them and meet their little angel, Isaiah (who is one unbelievably adorable kid with some pretty impressive gas). I finally ended up at my parents' house and got to have dinner with my dad, which was perfect because he's another person I don't get one on one time with often. After that, I went by to visit Nick and was so very pleasantly surprised that Matt Skeens, one of mine and my husband's dear friends, was there, too. So despite feeling rushed and driving all over creation, I got to see like, 10 really important people in my life in one day. Victory!
Friday, I worked on packing some and then Shelby headed down for the evening. We had some delicious dinner at Cheddar's (where I got my very favorite thing in the world, strawberry tea, which I've tried recreating 2740270428 different ways and have failed every time). We ended up just hanging out at my apartment watching "New Moon" and talking like usual. Thankfully, this time saying goodbye wasn't quite so hard. Four years ago when we said goodbye before I moved to Chicago I thought I'd die of hyperventilation from crying so hard. I got a bit choked up when she left, but I stayed pretty calm all in all.
Saturday I got to head up to Liz's to spend time with her and the Castle and Niebauer families for Mason's first birthday party, which was absolutely fabulous. It was puppy-themed with little dog bone cupcakes and the cake he got to dig into had a little dog house - so cute! Nikki came up, too, so I got to say goodbye to her and Liz together, 3 Musketeers style. Of course, I cried the whole way back but we made it a point not to say the word, 'goodbye.' We said 'I'll see you later' instead, which is true. I'll see them later, in just a few short weeks when I head home for Christmas.
After that, I met my friend Travis at the Huntington Mall and we sat in my car for a half hour just chatting and catching up, somewhat trying to pretend I wasn't leaving. But, we said our goodbyes and both cried like little bitches, as I expected. It's all good though, because he's another one of those friends you just don't lose touch with ever.
Aunt Boo Boo and the birthday boy.
Mason daintily eating his birthday cake.
Liz, Mason, and David Castle in front of their little house :)
After seeing Travis, I headed over to my parents' house for a few minutes to visit with them. I tried to keep it short and sweet because I knew if I stayed too long, I'd get all emotional and it would make it harder to leave. So after that, I headed on back down to Ashland where Bentley and Durb were waiting to load up the car and Natalie came down to hang out for a while. One of our best friends ended up having a major medical emergency that night so Bentley and Durb tried to help out with that at the hospital while Natalie tried to keep me calm and from getting too emotional. Our goodbye at two in the morning was pretty rough, let me tell you. Natalie and I have been friends for literally twenty years, but we've only really gotten super close in the last few and watching her leave my apartment just devastated me. Thankfully, she's already got two flights booked down here so I'll be seeing her sooner than later.
After sleeping from about three to four in the morning, I got up, finished getting my stuff organized, got Bentley up, said goodbye to Durb and Coco (which was awful, let me tell you) and we hit the road. But, that's all a story for another day, and I promise I'll try to do it very soon. And I'll try to get the pictures from the last few days up soon, too. I've got to find a new memory card reader that's compatible with my Mac because I lost mine at some point, so as soon as I've done that, I'll get up pictures from the road trip, the event I worked Tuesday and Wednesday in Port Charlotte, and the condo we moved into.
Tomorrow's my birthday, so I'm planning on heading to Tampa with my friend Jeremy and my NEW friend Jose (he's a Prevage Specialist for Elizabeth Arden and we worked at the event in Port Charlotte together) to have dinner at Giordano's, which is my favorite pizza place from Chicago. Who would have known they'd have one down here? Anyway, we're doing that and then searching for a karaoke bar because I've just got to let off some steam Miranda Lambert-style. I'll update more soon, I swear!
