Wednesday, January 30, 2013

The New Crib

Monday I signed a lease for my new apartment in Washington.  Woohoo!  Being that I only brought a carload of my belongings from Pennsylvania, I wasn't able to bring any big items with me.  Therefore, I feel like I am reverting back to my college days and I only have a futon as of right now.  In a sense, it is like having a blank pallet.  I've been going to the goodwill frequently in hopes that I fill find a few treasures to make this apartment more homey.  I have also been looking for a few diamonds in the rough at the goodwill so that I can give these items a make over for a new (and hopefully improved) look.  We will see what things I come up with! :)

Monday, January 28, 2013

The Road Trip

Well, you must forgive me for not updating the dear ole blog in a while - it's been hectic!  But don't you worry, I'll make up for my absence by making this one extra long! :P If you have, by chance read the entry below, you know that I have accepted a job in Washington State and I had two weeks to spend packing and being with family and friends as much as possible.  The past four days have been spent driving across the northern states from Pennsylvania to Washington.  Boy am I glad to finally by here and not in that car!! :)

Thankfully the route is fairly simple: the PA turnpike and the route 90 from Ohio to Washington, with a few tolls from Ohio to Illinois.  Through the course of the trip, we went through eleven states (Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and finally Washington).  The first day of driving, we went through PA - Illinois.  Although I am sure that the Midwest states have beauties of their own, there wasn't much to see from the highway.  However, toward the end of day two of driving, I spotted the Black Hills of South Dakota.  Oh my, how beautiful!  I think that I was giddy with excitement when we first entered the Black Hills.  Truly, photos do not do it justice!

Thursday, January 10, 2013

To The Next Chapter

Whelp, There are going to be several new changes in my life within the next few weeks.  Now that my family knows, I feel like I am free to share my news to the world: I'm moving!  With the exception of my 4 years in college, I have lived my whole life in Pennsylvania.  But now I am heading west, to begin a new adventure!  In truth, it is very bittersweet.

You see, I have this boyfriend that I have been dating for well over a year now, who relocated to Seattle.  When we began to date, I told myself that I would not do anything hastily, so if we could manage long distance dating for a year, I'd consider relocating.  When I first said it, I didn't realize how difficult that it would be: my family, friends, job and home are all in Pennsylvania.  However after the 1-year mark, I started to casually look for jobs and the week before Christmas, I applied for one on the outskirts of Seattle.

I never thought things would progress so quickly!  Within 3 weeks, I applied for this job, had a phone interview, had a job offer and subsequently, accepted it.  When God opens a door, He certainly throws it wide open!  The craziest part is that I am to start February 1st!  That gives me just enough time to give a 2-weeks notice and drive cross country for this new adventure!

[caption id="attachment_58" align="aligncenter" width="249"]Space Needle Space Needle[/caption]

Thursday, January 3, 2013

New Years Pizza

I don't know what your family has as their traditional New Years day feast, but the traditional meal for my family is pork and sauerkraut.  I know several others who eat black eyed peas and cabbage or hog-maw (if you don't know what that is - it's probably for the best... ! :P) each year on New Years day. This year I was on my own for New Years day, so instead of doing the classic feast, I decided to make PIZZA!  Now, I have never made homemade pizza before, and some may argue that it wasn't technically homemade this time since I used a box mix for the dough - but hey, it was homemade to me! :)

I knew that I had one of those Pillsbury crusts in the refrigerator, the kind that all you have to do is roll it out, but check out what I found when I went to get it:ruined pizza dough

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Holiday Recap

Tis the season... to be busy!! I am serious and joking all at the same time!  The time between Christmas and New Years is crazy-busy for me, but I love it just the same.  It is full of spending time with family and lots & lots of eating!  On the actual day of Christmas, I visited both sets of my grandparents, with a trip to the airport in between.  You see, my special man friend (aka boyfriend) was able to fly in for a visit, but the only way to find a decent priced ticket was to fly on Christmas day.  Did I mention, that long-distance relationships stink! :P  I was very glad that he was able to visit and stay the week.  Santa even left him a present under the tree!

[caption id="attachment_238" align="aligncenter" width="640"]Sticks for Christmas Someone must have not been good this year! :P[/caption]