Moving is a daunting task. Boxes upon boxes of stuff, stupid items you thought you lost. Photos that bring back millions of memories and bounds and bounds of broken stuff. I luckily have experienced this tenfold in the process of moving on out to the windy city and let me tell you what an experience this has been. A definite learning experience with trial and error and laughter and frustration abounds. The first weekend in the new place was interesting with boxes and crap all over the place and twice we forgot to get garbage bags for the trash cans and were left sticking all of it in boxes. On move day we woke up bright and early (too early if you ask me) to finish preparations for the new place. We completed everything a couple of hours before we needed to and sat for hours waiting for the movers to come. Nothing is more agitating than waiting for the moving to begin. I ended up stuffing my little eclipse full of crap and driving back and forth to move some items in to feel like I was doing something. The apartment is a part of a large home. With three stories, I live on the second floor up a very large amount of stairs. (Time to get this needed butt lift.) The place is full of a lot of natural light if you are on the North side as the South side is facing the alley way and the house next door. This though makes me happy because the bedroom stays dark for much longer and on the weekends that is greatly needed! We also have a skylight which I have always wanted which brings a lot of light to the very long hallway.

I love my hallway...

The second weekend my family came by to visit and enjoy my new home with me it was comforting to have my parents fall in love with my place as I did. We followed this experience up by going to the Ribfest at Six Corners on Saturday. So much food and sooooo many people it was a clusterf**k haha. Nothing like hot sweaty people on top of each other. Chicago congestion at its finest.

Still so much to post on and about, but must continue school work nothing like trying to manage everything at once! I am superwoman!

C-c-c-c-counting down!

This is how much time currently left until the big day. What an intense amount of stress comes with moving to a large city. So much registration for about damn near everything I own! Moving addresses over to the new place and on top of that trying to work and go to school. Here is where I wish I had some fairy godmother who would wave her pretty little wand give me tiny hips and magically move all of my items and unpack them while she was at it. If only....

Oh fairy godmother...can I have killer thighs and all the Coach purses in the world?

Fortunately, I have a great little brother and friend who are willing to help me move my items for the small sum of 50 bucks. 50 bucks you say? Shouldn't your brother want to help you out of the kindness of his heart? Probably not, and I probably wouldn't help him for free either. ;) I also charmed him with the offers of cold drinks afterwards yum!

Where is my blender?!

Moving definitely isn't my favorite thing in the world to be doing. But I think even more so I hate the count down. With this impending move I over think EVERYTHING! Did I forget this or that, hoping that my car will hold all the items that I need it to hold. Or that I didn't break every fragile wine glass that I own. (Sorry in advance Kristen and mom ;) ) If you have any tips to make moving as effortless as sitting on my bum and reading a great novel please do share. As long as it is before my 90 something hours is in effect!

Okay okay okay. I have to get back to the grind. Only 28937428374 more boxes to pack. Sorry Shane! :)

Wish my packing was this organized....

Goodbye negativity, hello proactive growth!

I have always believed that when you want something, you just go out there and grab it. This includes all aspects of life. Whether you really freaking want that crème filled doughnut or wanna snag the digits of the cute guy at the bar you have to be proactive. Without it, you live a life full of “what ifs?” I am not new to my way of thinking, sadly I have thought this way for a long time. But you know when you get to that point where it is just soooo much easier to say “I’ll do it later,” or my favorite “I just don’t have the time!” pushing it off to the following week, month, year.  I am super at doing this. As the quote goes “Procrastinators unite…tomorrow!” Oh yeah! Then I get into a funk of bad habits, stressing out over things I really have power to change and blaming myself. I am pretty sure we have all been there. The never ending downward spiral of negativity and angst.

I lead this group...no seriously.

2012 has really shown me that what I want I have to be proactive about. I obtained a job in January of this year in life insurance doing some accounting based work for a small startup company.  I loved it, felt like I really found a place I fit in. The job was so accommodating, my bosses were great and when we hit our marks it was awesome.  Then there came a point where instead of growth for me, they hired an old co-worker they use to work with at a previous company. One by one my tasks were handed to her and next thing I knew, I got the “We have to lay you off call.” I was astounded! Even worse this job was a 45 minute commute from my home and I was in transit when I received that call. Nothing is more frustrating than being half way to the office when you are let go. What a sincere feeling of rejection, no matter how impersonal it was, I just felt like I was not good enough. Never good enough to appease my self, my bosses, my friends....

"In the mornings

I was anxious
It's better just to stay in bed
Didn't want to fail myself again

Running through all the options
And the endings
Were rolling out in front of me
But I couldn't choose a thread to begin"

When I was let go from my position with the company I was two weeks away from a vacation with Shane and our friends to Vegas. I was frantic, not knowing if I would be able to go and not feeling I should go without having something  lined up for me when I came home. You all know that scary feeling of not knowing if you can pay your bills or anything else of that sort. I felt it. Bad. That was a point where I knew I had to be proactive. I updated my resume with my new credentials and references (at least my previous employers allowed me to use them as references) and sent copies out in masses! Luckily because of Facebook I was able to reconnect and network and landed a job the day I was leaving for my vacation! (Vegas was a blast, felt like I should include that.)

You know you want to take your photo in front of that sign...

After all the stress of that situation, I sat down. I needed to know what I wanted in life; it wasn’t acceptable for me to just work a dead end job somewhere that I wasn’t happy. I needed to finish the schooling that I had started and go for the career I wanted, and the lifestyle that appealed to me.  I wanted a vibrant world around me. Where could I get that? I did some soul searching connected with the people who knew me best and decided the best thing for me would be to move forward in life, move from my comfort zone and figure out who I am and whom I am supposed to be.  

Pretty sure I used this...often....

Chicago, I look to you for new growth, life and experiences. I come with open arms and open mind with my furry boy Milo, my tiny sports car, and absolutely no savings. But the desire to find out what is out there. I want to experience the unbridled love and passion you inspire in so many.

I believe I am on the right track, finally. 

New life?

I believe we all get to that point in our lives where we have to truly decide where we want to go, who we want to be, what we want in life. As I come up to my 24th birthday and recall the last 6 months of losing my job, deciding to return to the schooling field to finish my graduate degree, and deciding it is time to become an adult I figured maybe, just maybe, I needed a new place to start over.

I have been a suburban raised girl for all of the years I've had on this earth. I lived in the suburbs of Chicago and any other large city that I was around. Always a fan of the loud noise of the cities, but just not ready to take the plunge. Not knowing what to expect or what I could take from the experience of big city living I tended to avoid the desire to move. After the past few months of riding the highs and lows of life (which by the way suck) I finally decided to take the jump, why not I tell myself I won't be getting any younger and I am at my prime to take any chances now and bounce back from any downfalls I may have.

I recently decided on a place in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago, a younger area full of shops and restaurants and bars. All the delights in one area, close to transportation and downtown Chicago and a bus ride from the beach. Here in my Windy City Living blog I will share the ups and downs of living in one of the largest cites in the United States.

My move starts this weekend keys will be obtained Friday. Moving is always an experience....