Welcome to 2019!

FINALLY, 2018 is officially over. I have to say that this has certainly not been the easiest year of my life. I have felt incredibly stressed and broken at points and occasionally have also felt blissfully happy. (The prior more frequently than the latter.) To start the New Year off, I thought I would do a recap of the last 12 months.

At the very beginning of the year, I already knew that a lot of changes were about to happen. While I was finally getting comfortable in a job, Nick was finishing up his last semester in grad school. I was definitely stressed about it because I knew I would be moving out of my home state (Michigan) and to Illinois. I knew I was going to be leaving family and friends, but I also had my best friend with me, so that was a bit easier. The transition wasn't easy. I hate moving and I had to do it two years in a row. Taking all of my belongings out of my childhood home was hard enough, but then moving to a brand new state was extra difficult. For anyone who knows me, you know that I am not a fan of change. Change totally throws me for a loop. (Crazy to think that the career paths I have chosen are constantly changing, but that's another conversation for another day.) I am the type of person who over prepares at the beginning, when I know the change is going to be coming, and then I fall off at the end and feel like I can't keep up. Which is exactly what I did while moving. I was ready to be packed months before the move, and then when the month of the move came I felt like I was moving like a turtle, too overwhelmed by what was about to come. I wish I could say I'm better about it, but the honest truth, is that I'm not. I'm a nightmare to move with and I'm incredibly grateful that Nick put up with me during those few months and is still by my side.

I think the hardest part of this all is the fact that the transition was not going to be a smooth one. We already knew that going in. In May, Nick's family came out for his graduation, which was a long and busy week. As wonderful as family visits are, there is no denying that there is certainly stress associated with it, whether you and your family get along great or not. Not too long after that, we had to start apartment hunting. For those that don't know much about renting an apartment and think I'm crazy saying that we were looking for an apartment a month before the move, I will preface by saying that landlords would love to find someone to move in the day after a current tenant leaves, and don't want their rental open for a few months prior to the new move in. After visiting a wopping 14 apartments (yes, 14) in one weekend, we finally found a place that we loved and began the struggle of trying to get approved for an apartment. As two adults with renters history, who had both been in long term full time jobs prior to the move, and had promises of jobs when we moved to the city, we did not think that we would have much struggle. It was, however a bit more stressful than anticipated. But, after getting a cosigner and paying all our fees, we finally got approved.

That, however wasn't the end of our crazy summer, only just the beginning. Before the move we had two weddings, one Nick stood up in and one I stood up in. And then, at last we were off. A five hour drive in a moving van with two crying cats, was certainly an interesting start. And then there was the move in, where we got everything into the (powerless) 3rd flight walk up apartment in 96 degree weather. But, with some help from some amazing friends, we had everything inside in about three hours. Then, I was off to Michigan, again. My mother's wedding meant that I had about a week and a half in the city to do some serious unpacking, while Nick started his job at the bar, and then I had to head out for a week to celebrate. Finally, once I headed back to the city it was my turn to look for a job, which didn't go as quickly as I had hoped. I took a part time job at a retail boutique, which lasted all of two weeks and then I headed across the street to work as a host at an upscale Irish Pub.

The last few months have consisted of mostly working and getting acclimated, as well as making sure to get in a Michigan and Colorado holiday visit. It has certainly not been an easy time, but I will certainly say that getting to do this all with someone by my side has been a tremendous help.

I figured that the best way to end my summary of this year is to say how grateful I am for the wonderful people in my life. The friends who have supported us in this journey, both of our incredible families, and the new friends we have made. It hasn't been an easy year, but thank you to everyone who has been a part of it.

With that all said, no more talking about last year and what we didn't do or what went wrong. From here out, it's going to be about what we are learning and doing for our future. Check out my post later this week for some plans for the new year!

Bye Witches!