Has it only been a year?

A year ago today I was flying out to Baltimore to interview for a job at BELL.

Frequently (more frequently than I'd like) I can look back at a year and think that nothing too impressive has happened - no major changes have occurred. But this year... this year there seems to have been a lot! Jobs, cities, living arrangements, relationships, family.

In some ways I can't believe it's only been a year since I was just starting the process of moving to Baltimore and in other ways it feels like a lifetime ago. And I think what really impresses me is nothing bad came of it. It was a total shot in the dark and lots could have gone wrong. But in fact lots of good came of it instead! I didn't totally screw up my professional life - and I think I'm now in a much happier place with my job. I got to spend a lot of quality time with Carl, Kathleen and, of course, Lily. I got to learn that I can happily live somewhere other than Chicago and make new friends. I met a great boy. All in all, I'd say it was a pretty successful whirl-wind move!

And now I'm about to do it all again. On Thursday I will be moving to St. Louis to start the next phase of life. Ryan will be joining me for the actual moving part, but will be coming back to Baltimore to continue looking for a job for at least a little while longer. We're both hopeful it will be a short lived separation. I think we're both really ready to be living together and taking that next step. I'm definitely ready to feel a bit more settled and back to having my own furniture and more of a sense of permanence!

I was saying to Ryan last night though that I think I'm, in some ways, sadder to move from Baltimore than I was Chicago. I'm excited about moving, but I think when I was leaving Chicago I knew it would always kind of be home and I could always go back to it. I know I won't be coming back to Baltimore. I mean, sure, maybe for vacation here and there, but probably not too frequently and not to live. So saying goodbye to people and things here just feels a little more permanent.

Don't get me wrong - I'm really excited to be moving, it's just a little harder than maybe I thought it would be.

But on that note, I must get back to packing. How I'm going to fit all this stuff into my car, I have no idea. But one way or another it will work out. It always does.

Eureka!

After reviewing hundreds of ads for possible houses in St. Louis, making dozens of phone calls, multiple site visits made by Kathleen and feeling like I was going to pull my hair out daily - we finally have settled on a place to live! And how did we end up finding it? Oh, Kathleen just happened to be driving by and saw a For Rent sign in the yard. Go figure.

It's a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom house with a fenced in backyard in Webster Groves. From what Kathleen and Carl say, and the pictures show, it's a really nice place. Seems to be very well kept and has all the features we were looking for. Well, except for including a washer and dryer, but we should be able to get our hands on those pretty easily.

The landlord is very particular, but has approved our application and the signed lease and checks are officially in the mail. I guess it takes a particular landlord to keep a property in tip-top shape!

I'm still trying to figure out my exact process of moving from Baltimore, picking up my stuff in Chicago and Freeport and transporting it all to St. Louis, but I'm working on it. Ryan won't be moving until later in October or November so there are some quirky overlap issues (like a bed) that will also require some thought, but I'm sure it will all work out.

Anyway, I'm mostly just super relieved to have a place to live as of October 1st! And one that I feel good about at that! I can't wait to have a backyard! (And to be closer to almost everyone!)

Welcome to my newest little quasi nephew!

Sarah and Michael added another little boy to their family early this morning! Unfortunately I only have one picture (from a camera phone), so he's a little hard to see, but it's the best I can do at the moment. Congratulations, guys! I can't wait to meet him in person!

Introducing... Preston Michael

And not to be outdone...

Proud big brother, Payton Ray. (In his halloween best!)

My happy place...

On a much happier note, I wanted to share with you all that this past weekend I took Irie to an Ice Cream Social that her doggie daycare was putting on. She got to indulge in peanut butter flavored, doggie approved ice-cream, play in the nearby river and participate in dog games.

She loved every minute of it. Especially the ice cream that she woofed (hehehe) down. But the highlight of the day for me was when she won the "Longest sit" contest.

Granted it was a three way tie, but she was still amazing! She sat by my side without moving through little kids jumping around in front of her, other dogs walking by, a tennis ball being thrown and more. I was super impressed! The other two dogs that also won were being coaxed by owners who had treats in hand, so I consider her the real winner.

We've still got plenty of work to do, but we've come along way from beginning obedience where I couldn't get her to stay for anything. :-)

And so it begins...

I've been keeping a bit of a low profile surrounding politics lately. Mostly because (and some of you will laugh at this), I don't like to fight about politics. I'm happy to talk to people that share my views, but at the slightest hint that people don't - I would much rather walk away. I'm not entirely sure why this is, but I do know that politics get me heated up quicker than just about anything else. It actually makes me physically ill to hear people say things that I vehemently disagree with.

Anyway, after Sarah Palin's speech last night - I was definitely sick. Not because of anything she really said - there wasn't much substance there in my opinion, but over how people reacted. "Oh what a great speaker she is." "What a good choice McCain made." Seriously ill.

I just don't even understand how people can say it. I didn't find a single thing she said even slightly awe-inspiring. She's governor of a minuscule town in Alaska, she has no real experience in politics, she's completely anti-choice, she's into banning books, and she didn't say ANYTHING except to deliver snide remarks about her opponents. And I'm sure that's not even the worst of what we will come to find out about Mrs. Palin.

Anyway, nothing has been able to make me smile about last night's speech until I watched this clip. I love the Daily Show. I know it's silly, but I do. Anyway, I really hope that people will do a little more research and base their opinions on more than one speech... and maybe see that being a pitbull (I'll be it with lipstick) isn't necessarily what this country needs.

Oh, and by the way, republicans... get your own slogan rather than playing off the democrats. OK, I'm finished... for now.