The last time I moved to a new town was when I took the job to work at Verizon Wireless and moved to Wilmington six years ago.  I was lucky enough to meet some great people and start making friends and socializing.  The people at my new job seem nice but I don’t feel like I have anything in common with anyone, it’s a very different culture than at VZW.  It’s also a much smaller center, and doesn’t have the same kind of diversity as far as its employees.

It’s funny how the things you have to deal with as a kid never really go away, like feeling self-concious or being shy.  It’s nowhere near as bad anymore but I’m still not the kind of person who is comfortable being surrounded by strangers. I think I just miss having time with my girlfriends, the order pizza and paint your toenails nights, and the dinner and gossip nights.  I also miss going to Firebelly and getting dollar tacos with what seemed like half the tech support dept, lol.

Tom and I have a lot of fun together, he’s truly my best friend, but I don’t want to be dependent on him to entertain me all the time either.  I’m sure it will just take some time, but I hope I can find somewhere to meet interesting people soon. I guess I just forgot that it can take a while to get adjusted in a new town.

In less than a week I’m quitting my job at Verizon Wireless and moving to Raleigh.

Tom and I started dating a couple months ago and have been dating long distance, but we knew it was just a matter time before one of us moved to be with the other.  With Tom’s business being in Raleigh it made more sense for me to move than for him to. I also love Raleigh, more than I thought I would, so the decision wasn’t that hard. So now I’ve found a new job in Raleigh that starts mid-April and my last day at Verizon will be March 31.

It may seem strange to pick up and move to be with someone you’ve only dated a short while but Tom and I have a 10 year history… We dated for 4 years then broke up, he moved to Raleigh and I moved to Wilmington. Even though we were with other people over the years we never stopped caring about each other, and remained friends. Earlier this year we were both single at the same time and realized that we wanted to be together again.  Tom and I know each other better than anyone else and we’re each other’s best friend, it just doesn’t get much better than that.  =)

Tom and I shortly after we started dating, around 2000

And a couple months ago

The greatest blessing in my life right now is being with Tom again. We’ve had a crazy journey but both feel that everything we’ve gone through has prepared us to have a future together.  I never thought we’d get back together, but here we are, happy and in love again.  The funny thing is, no one else seemed to be surprised, our family and friends have been really supportive and happy for us.

There are times in your life when the universe comes together and things just seem to magically fall into place… This is one of those times. I couldn’t be happier with the way things are happening.  I know that this is just part of the journey and there will be bumps in the road ahead, but I’m confident that Tom and I can handle anything together.

Last night Tom and I went to see Little House on the Prairie with his parents.

Downtown Raleigh is so beautiful at night, and the weather was perfect.

The musical was great and it was nice spending time with Sam and Sandra

Just went to the Raleigh flea market with Tom and his parents, we try to go whenever they come to visit us. I always seem to buy something right when we get there, this time it was a plate. I saw it and recognized the Portuguese national emblem, the same that’s on the flag. I just had to get it.

Yesterday Brandy took me on a little walking tour of downtown Raleigh.

I love seeing the mixture of historic buildings with modern ones.

One of the places we went was a thrift store called Father and Sons.

They had some pretty weird stuff, lol.

And some pretty familiar stuff.

I’m really enjoying exploring and learning about Raleigh, the more I find the more I love.

Also: warm weather for exploring, Earl Grey #13 from TeaGshwendner with milk, shopping in Cameron Village, meeting neighbors who also have a little dog, finally starting to learn my way around Raleigh,  cute refrigerator magnets, watching LOST while sitting in a comfy recliner, finding yummy a Japanese take-out place 5 min away, and being reminded of my blessings.

While I was in Raleigh this past weekend Tom took me to Edward McKay, a really great used bookstore. They’ve got tons of well organized books as well as CDs, records, movies and video games.

I picked up a couple books and The Phantom of the Opera on DVD.  I got two of the books from the free shelf, a poetry book and a book of plays. (Free Books! The only thing better than free books is free chocolate, lol!)

This book has a print date of 1915, it’s got a little wear but I still think it’s beautiful.

What a gorgeous title page, you don’t see things like this in books anymore.

All in all, some great books.  I can’t wait to have time to sit down and really enjoy them.

Took a drive around Lake Wheeler today after lunch, I’ve been by Yate’s Mill before but today we went by the other side of the lake.

The sun was just starting to set, the afternoon light on the lake was really pretty.

Sometimes all you need is a fast car, and a setting sun

It was hard to take good pictures at night but I got a few.  We got sooo much snow!  I wish it would keep snowing all weekend.

It had all started to melt by the next morning, Pids wasn’t too crazy about it. I guess it froze his poor little feet, ha ha.

Even with all the snow the roads were in good condition last night.  I met up with Bernie and we went to Oliver Twist for a little while, then headed back to O’Malley’s to see Rockzilla play. It was a fun night, I’m glad I went out and enjoyed the snow while it was here.

Enakei artwork. I love the pictures by this artist, I think they’re just so pretty and girly.

Blogging with Wordpress – this was probably the best thing I’ve ever done concerning my blog. It’s sooo much easier to use than blogger, vox, or anything else. I wish I’d done it ages ago.

Discovering Raleigh – I’ve always loved visiting the mall and museums but now I’m learning about all the interesting little places that make Raleigh unique. Places that I would frequent all the time if I lived up here.

Battered and Fried Mushrooms with Tom’s Wing Sauce – my new favorite vegetable. Probably not too healthy but they’re delicious!

Letting go of my seriousness and acting like a kid, root beer floats, my cat greeting me at the door, new beginnings, Samurai Matte chai tea from Teavana, awesome deals at the thrift store, old Eddie Murphy stand up shows, and making a photo album for the first time in a long time.

]]> http://www.nicolecarina.com/2010/02/09/things-i-love-tuesday-292010/feed/ 0 http://www.nicolecarina.com/2010/02/07/superbowl-party/ http://www.nicolecarina.com/2010/02/07/superbowl-party/#comments Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:46:37 +0000 Nicole http://www.nicolecarina.com/?p=158

I was in Raleigh for the Superbowl this year so Tom invited a few friends over so we could all watch the game on his new flat screen HD TV.  Bernie, Jay, and Corrado came by.

Tom made his famous wings and for the first time, made battered and fried mushrooms. They were so good! I didn’t even get to take a picture of them I ate them up so fast, ha ha. Bernie and I don’t eat meat so I was so glad that he came up with an alternative for me to dip into his homemade wing sauce.

For dessert I decided to make some Superbowl Sugar Cookies. I’ve got cookie cutters shaped like footballs, helmets, and trophies so brought them along with my favorite apron, Hello Kitty of course. I think they turned out pretty cute, even though my icing/decorating skills are severely lacking, lol.

If I make a cookie it’s probably going to have a heart, smiley face, star or something, ha ha!

Piddles had a great time, he thought everyone had come just to visit him.  After he got done barking at Jay (who kept forgetting his name and calling him Skittles, Pickles, and Puddles) he got petted by everyone and was in heaven.

It was great to have Bernie stop by, we’ve been friends since 1st grade and I’m so glad she’s living in Raleigh now so I can see her when I come up to visit.

I had such a great time, I love entertaining even if it’s just a few friends, food, and beer.  I can’t wait to have another excuse to get together and do it again.

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