Monday Monday

It's been awhile, right?  At first, I wasn't going to acknowledge my blogging absence.  Actually I was considering deleting my blog (a whole separate tale of adventure and drama) but decided to keep it.  Then I was trying to decide what to do with it.  What do I want my voice to be?  What could I put into the world that was adding some sort of value?  And is anyone reading this thing anyway?  Who know that blogging could be so philosophical?!  While I ponder these important questions, I figured that I would just get back to writing...something, anything.  

So I figured I would share all of the other people's writings that I had been reading lately!  Not quite what you were expecting, I know.  But this is my first post in over a year.  I can't just start cranking out thoughts and hopes and dreams.  Anyways, here are some of my must reads....

Does Life End at 35? -  I celebrated my birthday last week and as I round age 30, I can't help but put a tremendous amount of pressure on myself for the things that I think I should be accomplishing.  Ever want to feel truly bad about yourself?  Google your age and see what all kinds of great people had accomplished by then.   This post reminded me that your great life's work happens at it's own pace and to stop stressing so much.

The Dog Lived (and So Will I) - Warning: if you are a pet person, this book will make you cry.  The author gets a dog after her divorce and finds that her dog has cancer.  Sparing no expense, she pays for his treatment and he lives.  Then she finds out that she has cancer.  It's such a touching story about how they both survived and the lengths they went through to do it.

How Should We Account for Me - My accountant and auditor friends probably have this bookmarked.  Even though I never worked for a Big Four accounting firm, a lot of the posts on this website relate directly to the last five years I've worked as an auditor.  But a lot of these will also work well for anyone in Corporate America.

  

Overcommitted

Queen's Under Pressure is probably stuck in your head now.  You're welcome for that little bit of 80s in your life.  I promise, it's relevant.

Back in the spring, I was so homesick.  I loved my job and the work I was doing but I was so desperate for home.  I wanted the annual Cherry Blossom Festival.  I wanted cupcakes from the Red Velvet Cupcakery.  I wanted to get on the Metro and go to any museum or monument my little heart desired when I needed to just escape.  Most of all, I wanted to spend time with people that already knew the idiosyncrasies of my personality.  I didn't want to have to explain that you have to text me nasty things after the first time I tell you I'm running late because I'm actually just on my couch watching TV.  I didn't want to explain that sometimes I will wear my pajamas in public to "go to Wal-Mart" and end up going to 14 other places, perhaps even your house (and btw, I'm sorry I'm not sorry). 

But as summer and my one-year Atlanta anniversary approached, these feelings started to wane.  I made many more friends and strengthened the friendships I already had.  I joined the Junior League of Atlanta.  I took on more responsibilities at work.  I continued and even increased various church commitments with some amazing women.  I moved to an area that was less urban and more like the trees and green I loved in Virginia. 

As summer faded to fall (love country music, much?), somehow my schedule become overflowing.  I got promoted at work (OMG!) so there have been longer hours.  Church stuff is in full swing again.  JLA provisional members are required to perform a certain number of things to become a full member.  Then there have been my DC commitments that I've been traveling for...my Dad's birthday, a friend from college's wedding, a BFF's baby shower.  (Three weekends this month for those of you counting) On top of all of that, fall is when I have my physical and dentist and other miscellaneous appointments.  Am I coming or going?!

No, but for realsies, I can't figure out what day it is or how many bags (gym, lunch, laptop, purse, after-work activities) I need that day or what I need for travel that weekend.  As a result, some (read: all) things have suffered.  I've been the black hole of texting, emailing, and voicemails (I'm sorry!).  I've gotten to work late every day this week.  Ok, to be fair...today I was late because I stopped for coffee.  I have approximately one container of hummus and a Mexican Coca-Cola in my fridge.  I am only getting to the gym once a week instead of three.  You have to step over mail, a suitcase, a carry-on, and two bags from Target to get into my apartment.  My cat is sad.  That last one might be a lie....still with me?

So September was officially the month of too many commitments.  October?  That might be the month of sitting on my couch.

Happy (Belated) Birthday Laurel!!

Many of my favorite people are having a birthday this week!  But of all these favorites, only Laurel has tolerated my nonsense since 1999.  This nonsense may or may not have included marching band, begging for her to braid my hair on a moving bus (why did she always say yes?!), math class, boy drama, vacations with my crazy family, more boy drama, taking shots until someone pukes, road trips, way too much boy drama, and even bingo!  Laurel, you're awesome and so I'd like to publicly wish you a happy birthday since I can't be in Maryland to celebrate!!! 

I tried to find some embarassing pictures of us from "back in the day" --- remember mulch sales in high school?!  we were literally selling dirt.  oh, memories. --- but it was during B.C.P. (before camera phones) so I don't have electronic copies unless I want to go through old scrapbooks and take pictures with my iPhone.  Luckily for everyone, I was more focused on getting Starbucks this morning instead of reliving high school (read: crying).

One Year in Atlanta (part 2)

Shortly before I moved to Atlanta, I had the following conversation:

"I'm moving to Atlanta"

"Really?  Why?"

"I took this great new job!"

"Have you ever been to Atlanta?"

"I've flown through the airport..that counts!"

I honestly had no idea what to expect.  Ok, that's a total lie.  This is what I expected:

source:  http://www.movies-wallpapers.net/Movies/Atl/Atl-12.jpg 

Luckily for me, Atlanta offered more than just it's name to this (terrible) movie.

One Year in Atlanta (part 1)

Source: http://banglesandcrow.typepad.com/

It has been approximately one year and six weeks since I arrived in Atlanta with my brother ready (and scared) to take on Hot-lanta!  It was my first big move away from my friends and family.  To give you some perspective, before I moved in 11th grade I had gone to school with the same group of kids since nursery school.  While most of my friends went to schools far from home, I went to college about 20 minutes from my mom.  Then after college I moved within an hour of my dad's home.  While I thought I was *really* independent, I got a reckoning within about 2 days of my brother waving me goodbye as he got on a plane and left.  But enough of the sentimental talk....lemme give you the 4-1-1 (ha-ha, aren't I hilarious) on the last year of my life:

Moving!

With the exception of my final walkthrough at my old place, I am officially moved!

The moving itself went a lot smoother than I expected.  This is my fourth move since graduating college and my first move since making the trek from Virginia last year.  Using a freight service for a long distance move really changes your perspective on moving.  Before last year, I always just used the "anything goes" method of packing.  "Just throw it in the back seat!"  "Don't wrap those pictures!"  "A laundry basket and trash bag ARE acceptable packing materials!"  When you have to use a freight service (like an Atlas or a Delta Van Lines), EVERYTHING has to be packed in boxes or they won't take it.  When I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING -- including dirty clothes!  If it's not wrapped correctly, then they will charge you extra to crate it or they simply won't take it. Originally I had the "oh I'll just take it in the car" mentality but quickly realized that my car was too small for, um, basically anything.  Unless you're moving from a mansion, you have to share the tractor trailer with other people's stuff, so the moving company will tag it and then you hope it gets unloaded at your house (and not someone elses).  Fortunately I grew up in a small (slightly redneck) town in Maryland, so I put neon duct tape on every single box so that there was no mistaking my stuff.  Instead of hoping that I had made enough friends to help me move, I hired movers but I may have gotten over-zealous in this year's packing.

What resulted was a minor freak-out when I got to the new place and couldn't even see through the mountains of boxes.  My new place is a few square feet smaller but with a much different layout so there was a lot of "OMG WHAT DID I DO?!  ITS TOO SMALL!".  I unpacked the bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom within the first 24 hours and then realized that it wasn't as small as I thought (and I'd be ok).

With all of my IKEA furniture, I figured I'd have a few fallen soldiers but I (surprisingly) had none!  The only hiccup I had throughout the entire process was with the furry one.  She has a new trick of opening cabinet doors from the front.  Unfortunately she hasn't figured out how to prop them open or open them from the back so she sometimes gets stuck.  On moving day, she got stuck in a bathroom cabinet for EIGHT hours at the old place.  Whoops.  Don't worry.  She recovered quickly with lots of treats.

I had a pretty strict budget for this year's move and I stuck pretty closely to it for all the major things.  I always forget though how much the little things add up.  For instance, you have to tip the movers (usually in cash and at a per person rate).  Also there's the household things like curtains.  Usually curtains are the last thing I buy but my new blinds are flimsy (read: see through) so they jumped to the top of the list.

All in all, I think the move was a success.  My new place has much more a 'neighborhood' feel and it's certainly quieter.  But that's to be expected when there isn't a freight train 500 feet from your back door.

Friday Favorites

Can I double plagiarize?  It's my blog so yes!  I stole Shannon's Friday Favorites...

I recently moved --- that's a whole separate post --- and I was so impressed by southern hospitality!

Seriously I talked about moving enough that everyone in the entire southeast knew.  Most of you reading this are probably in the mid-Atlantic region of the US and thus make up any excuse possible not to help someone move.  In fact, you've probably spent most of this past spring with your phone off for this very reason.  Remember The Oatmeal's comic about it?  It's funny because it's true!  But I can't even tell you how many people texted, called, and offered to help me from everything from packing to disassembling to transport and moving to reassembling and even rearranging furniture.  I just figured everyone was being nice pre-move but then people called and texted the day of and after!  Southern hospitality is real, ya'll.

Like I noted in my last blog post, I've been a little technology challenged recently.  In addition to these woes, I've been sick of all my standard wallpapers for my iPhone.  First world problem, much?  Luckily, the app Paper'd provides me with a little dose of modesty for the day AND provides both a matching lock/home screen:

People who don't know how their Facebook privacy settings work and allow me to see their entire life without being friends with them.  No, but for real.  This wasted like an hour of my day earlier this week.  For those of you who do not wish to be stalked by the bored and creepy --- (or worse, get robbed like one person who posted pictures of cash) --- Do yourself a favor and read this.

Last but not least is SUMMER!  I am so happy that summer is OFFICIALLY here.  Bring on the BBQ, baseball, beer, and FUN here in Atlanta: