Buzz.

If you keep up with me on Facebook, you've probably been noticing a lot of cryptic messages saying something huge is about to happen.

Well, something huge is going to happen. We're moving to Belfast. For real. For good.

Over the past few days, I've been trying to piece together everything I'll miss about the L/A area. Although there are very few things, there are parts of these cities that I will miss. Matt's family is here. Although we'll be less than 2 hours away, it can feel like eternity when it's your family. I will miss the random nights we say "let's all hang out and watch old home movies and listen to records". Or "are you coming to the superbowl party? See you in 5 minutes". Although those evenings are usually planned at least a few days ahead of time, it's always nice to know that we will almost always have bowling partners near by.

This was the first place we lived as a couple. Our first apartment was here. Our second apartment was here. We've been here for about 3 years now and it has become home. I know the stop light count from our apartment to almost anywhere within L/A. I also know the order the lights turn green and the approximate speed you need to travel at all times to hit almost all of them at green. Miss one, you miss them all. Driving by the Basilica at sunset- breathtaking. Yes, I still wish I could swim in Lake Auburn. And there is nothing like eating at Mother India. Nothing.

Our friends. Elise and Jeremy- we call them Ethel and Fred, they are here. So many of our weekends have been filled with "wanna call Elise and Jeremy and see if they want to go to Portland for insert fun thing to do here?" or "hey get on Facebook and see if Elise and Jeremy want to come play board games" and then we sit around for hours arguing over trivial pursuit and watching Eddie Izzard. And of course- epic halloween parties.

Another thing I truly do love about the L/A area is the ability to hear the French language at almost anytime. The other day I was shopping and an older man was helping his even older mother buy groceries. He spoke to her only in French. There are ladies at the grocery store who wear pins that say "Je parle Francais". I always smile when I see them. When we were in our first apartment and I was working the night shift, I used to open all the windows and listen to Auburn. It was usually sirens, honking horns, cars racing by...but, every Wednesday at around 1ish there were 2 ladies that walked by, always giggling and ALWAYS speaking French. They were my favorite part of that apartment and I still miss them.

But, although I will miss these things, I'm looking forward to being back home. My haven. Closer to the ocean and further from the river. Closer to the stars and further from the stop lights. The cats can go outside, we can get rid of the disgusting cat box. We'll be closer to my family. Closer to the lake, barbeques, family picnics, my parents boat ;). We'll be further away from people, further away from Wal Mart. It will be nice. Although there are a few precious things I'll miss about living in L/A, I'm welcoming the opportunity to move home with huge open arms. I have missed my town.

The one thing Belfast isn't is a city. There are only 3 or 4 stop lights, Main St. ends at the ocean and the Weathervane simultaneously. Main St. is also littered with little shops filled with paper lanterns, post cards, fun books to read, lomo cams, and of  course, the token Maine memorabilia. During summer, the town is buzzing with tourists from all around the country. Belfast is a popular pitstop on the way to Camden or Bar Harbor and people usually pull off to enjoy some authentic small town goodness. I'm approaching the tourist aspect of town in a guarded fashion. I always loathed outtastaters when I was growing up. 10 mph trips up Main St. hill is never a good time on a 90 degree day. I want to embrace every part of moving home...but tourists are hard. It's a tough thing to explain unless you've ever lived in a hard core tourist town. I remember I used to count all the cars from out of state parked on Main when I used to live there. About 95% of the time, they outnumbered Maine plates. But, Belfast is a tourist town and it was a part of my life for 20 years. So, we're taking a risk and moving away from what has been so comfortable for so long. It's scary...but so needed. Not just the move, but the thrill. The excitement of moving. It's all needed.

It will be nice to have more of this:

and less of this:

So there it is. Our big announcement. We hope everyone is as excited as we are :). Although right now- we are a bit nervous. Things are falling together but, as usual with life- I'm not in control and hating it. I've got myself an interview lined up and we're looking at apartments this weekend so things are going okay considering we won't be moving home until April 14th. We've still got time...but not much really.

But I'm elated.