The one where they move to France

April 6, 8:40 a.m. EST: I woke up...against my will. Hubby is a persistent alarm clock. He has no "off" button.

April 6, 9:25 a.m. EST: McDonald's coffee and birthday cake for B's mom and my dad. Breakfast of champions.

April 6, 9:51 a.m. EST: Sobbing like babies in my parents' yard hugging the dog and each other. Ugh, why couldn't we bring her again?

April 6, 10:34 a.m. EST: Everyone's on their electronic devices. B finishes a report for work and calls a coworker. I finish and publish a blog post. Dad plays solitaire.

April 6, 10:54 a.m. EST: Call to cancel Sirius radio on my car. "Christine" tried incredibly hard to convince me to keep Sirius XM Internet radio. Um, no. That's what Pandora is for.

April 6, 11:08 a.m. EST: Time to shower. Last one for a while - better make it count. Planes make you feel all...ugh.

April 6, 11:39 a.m. - noon, EST: Watch Gilmore Girls with Mom. It's the episode where Rory and Dean...you know. The only better episode is the one with Richard and Emily's vow renewal. So many good quotes from that one: "When a woman gives birth to a crack baby, you do not give her a puppy."

April 6, 12:06 p.m. EST: Did a few stretches in hopes of curing the ache in my left knee. Liz, my quads and hip flexors are still tight!

April 6, 12:29 p.m. EST: Nap attempt #1. Not successful. Too much going on. My parents' house is like Grand Central Station...constantly.

April 6, 1:54 p.m. EST: We hit the road to Charlotte after much spastic last-minute packing. Too much stuff, too low weight limits with U.S. Air.

April 6, 2:05 p.m. EST: Stopped at the nursing home to say hello and goodbye to Mammaw, my 98-year-old great-grandmother. More crying. She's just so tiny. But she lapped up the vanilla ice cream Mom brought her.

April 6, 2:17 p.m. EST: Back on the road to CLT. Dad's doing emails, Mom is knitting, and I'm typing this update. Poor B is driving.

April 6, 3:26 p.m. EST: We finally make it to the outer edges of the airport. In the words of my husband, "Shit's gettin' real."

April 6, 4:04 p.m. EST: Standing outside security chatting. I am 31 years old, and I do not want to say goodbye to my momma and daddy. No judgment please.

April 6, 4:41 p.m. EST: Say goodbye to my parents and head through security. Had to put phone up...of course. A little choked up to say goodbye to my momma and daddy.

April 6, 4:55 p.m. EST: Made it through security (despite the security lady yelling things at me the entire time). Time for some much-needed nachos and beer (and last-minute calls to credit cards to issue our travel alerts).

April 6, 5:23 p.m. EST: Chug beer because apparently we're boarding...now. Aaack. This is fun.

April 6, 5:43 p.m. EST: Comfortably settled on the plane.

April 6, 6:28 p.m. EST: Still sitting on plane because some dimwit checked his bag but didn't get on the plane, prompting a slowdown while the crew finds and removes his baggage. I have some choice words for this fellow. I want to GO.

April 6, 6:41 p.m. EST: Wheels up, party down!

April 6, 6:52 p.m. EST: Time for a little Eric Church and Luke Bryan.

April 6, 7:18 p.m. EST: Switched seats in the (thankfully) sparse plane so that the audio will work on our seatback TVs. Correction: So the audio would work on B's seatback TV. I could care less - it's book time!

April 6, 7:44 p.m. EST: Free wine...score!

April 6, 7:48 p.m. EST: I drip wine on my new yoga pants. Good thing they're black.

April 6, 7:59 p.m. EST: While shaking the salad dressing packet to make sure it was mixed, I accidentally let go of it and it flew into my wine cup, knocking it to the floor, my feet, and the strap of my camera bag. Emily "Grace" strikes again. My daddy would be so proud.

April 6, 9:12 p.m., some time zone or other: Time for my eye mask and a little Eric Church. Can you ever have too much Eric Church? I think not.

April 7, 1:12 a.m. some time zone (France time?): Wakey wakey...after the world's most uncomfortable, useless sleep, we are awakened by the loudspeaker for breakfast. Breakfast is terrible, but the sunrise is gorgeous.

April 7, 2:31 a.m. EST/8:31 a.m. Paris time: Touchdown in our new home country! It's a BEAUTIFUL day here!

April 7, 9:05 a.m. Paris time: Made it through Border Patrol in about 2 seconds. Now waiting on our massive amounts of luggage. No fun in any country.

April 7, 9:48 a.m: Standing in the cold in a semi-outdoor train station waiting our TGV train. HAWNGRY. Seems strange to want a sandwich, considering my body thinks it's nearly 4 a.m., and the local time is breakfast, but I would kill for a big ol' ham and cheese on French bread. That, and a good cup of coffee. Ah, well, must wait.

April 7, 10:04 a.m.: Had to drag ALL our luggage upstairs and over to track 6 to wait for our 10:16 train. If there is a next time for this, I'm shipping EVERYTHING and carrying only my toiletries. My arms may be broken.

April 7, 10:18 a.m.: On the train. Getting on and off that thing with all our luggage is a bitch...especially since most of the other passengers have luggage, too.

April 7, 12:13 p.m.: Safely in a taxi with all our crap, and headed to B's company. Next time, we're totally shipping this stuff.

April 7, 12:20 p.m.: Made it to B's new office. Yawn.

April 7, 1:27 p.m.: In our new little rental Peugot after meeting many of his new coworkers and having lunch in the company cafeteria. I had yummy beef stew with pomme frites (French fries) and Brussels sprouts, and pistachio mousse. My belly says, "Merci beaucoup! I was hungry!"

April 7, 2:00 - 4:15 p.m.: See apartment. Drag stuff up 4 flights of narrow spiral stairs (oh God). Wander. Buy dish soap and toilet paper and stuff. Pass out.

April 7, 6:30 p.m.: Wake up. Realize we need sheets; they only provided us a duvet cover.

April 7, 7:30 p.m.: Realize Monoprix does not sell sheets. Make a FRANTIC dash to our car and drive like maniacs to IKEA for some sheets. Arrive five minutes before closing time. Why does Europe not sell sheets in packages? Not sure we bought the right size, but we're going to make it work.

April 7, 9:06 p.m.: Safely home, sheets in hand. Having a celebratory glass of sparkling Vouvray (my FAVORITE) and connecting the Wi-Fi before sending this to you and going out to dinner.

We have MADE IT! It still doesn't feel real to either of us. All throughout today, we've been asking each other, "Does it feel real to you yet?" and the answer is always, "Nope, you?" But we're here! And our flat is incredible, our neighborhood is medieval and beautiful, and Caudalie divine oil is only 14 euros (versus $40 US dollars). I might not come back. You jest, but seriously.

Again, many thanks to my parents and B's parents for their unfailing support, their invaluable help, and their unending love. Without your help, this voyage wouldn't have been possible, and for that, we are forever grateful.

Now, I'm hawngry again, time to go eat.

xoxo,
E & B

***Please excuse any formatting issues with this post. For some reason, when I go between my computer and my phone to type a post, it messes everything up. I'll try to keep it together :) If any graphic designers/web people can explain why this keeps happening, let me know.