Introduction to Minnesota

I spent last weekend in MN apartment hunting. I was really, really nervous to arrive since I accepted the job prior to ever visiting the state. My biggest fear was getting there, hating it, and feeling consumed with regret about my decision.

My first impression breaking through the clouds on the plane was "holy cow - water!" Everywhere. It was beautifully green, and whatever I had imagined the Twin Cities looking like, they weren't quite as intimidating or concrete as I had envisioned.

I drove through downtown Minneapolis before dinner, and got a feel for the city. It's absolutely lovely. The newer buildings are surrounded by much older, worn architecture via churches, and apartments, and the intricate detailing is breathtaking. I have the urge to photograph everything, but I know that even the most skilled photographer couldn't appropriately capture the details that make the things I love exquisite. The landscaping is old, and up from the middle of the concrete tower big trees that command attention. The side streets remind me of the street my grandparents lived on while I was growing up - older homes, all unique, with tree lined streets and sidewalks, and alleys in the back. I could have spent hours strolling them and admiring the ivy covered homes, and I'm sure that I will before long.

I ate dinner outside on a patio in the most perfect weather, with really good company. And I ended day one absolutely in love with my new home.

Over the weekend I went to a food and music festival with some new friends, and enjoyed awesome food, beer, and really good music. People here are expressive - tattoos, piercings, crazy hair and hippie style everywhere. My braids and do-what-they-want curls will fit right in. I also had a bit of fun with my overly worried daddy, which I'm sure I enjoyed more than he did!

Sunday I explored some more. I tried to find Minnehaha Falls, but wasn't successful. My GPS wasn't taking me there, but I ended up at Lake Nokomis instead, which was fantastic. Parking is tricky here. I'm not used to being in a place where there is ample street parking, so I'm not sure where I'm allowed to park. I drove around for a bit and finally found a parking lot, and a trail right by the water. I walked for quite awhile and stumbled upon a little restaurant right around lunch time, which was perfect. Not a bad view at all!

On the way back to my car I passed a pier and saw several men fishing so I decided to go talk to them. I chatted it up for about twenty minutes, and they showed me the fish they had caught, and even let me cast the line. Everyone here is ridiculously nice - very much like home. These accents though! I must sound as foreign to them as they do to me.

Being there helped me narrow down the area I wanted to be in, so as I was driving around I added several places to my list that hadn't originally been on there. Two of the places didn't have openings until the November/December timeframe, and that just didn't work, but one place had an opening in early October, so I made an appointment Tuesday. I had already looked at five places, but this was the one I wanted to love. The location was absolutely ideal, and just south of the city, which is exactly what I wanted. I walked in, and breathed a sigh of relief as I realized that it was absolutely perfect. Bay window, lots of kitchen storage, stainless appliances, washer and dryer in unit, underground parking, and a great big closet. I put a deposit on it within 15 minutes of walking in. It should be ready by October 10th, so I will be camped out in a hotel for a couple of weeks since I'm moving sooner, but that's totally okay.

I'm feeling so very excited about this move. I can't believe I'm even going to say this, but I already miss it. I have so much exploring to do when I get back, and I.Cannot.Wait.

Big BIG Changes

One of the things I’ve learned about myself this year is that I tend to operate out of fear of the unknown, to a certain degree. I guess we all do a little. We create safety nets full of self-imposed rules and regulations that give us a false sense of security and comfort, and we fight with everything we have to stay there.

A few weeks ago a potential job opportunity unexpectedly landed in my lap. It’s working under someone that I adore personally, and someone who I think I’d be able to learn from. It’s doing something in an area in which I have no experience, but know I need the experience. But that’s just the tip of it. There are so many other positives, and things I would have hand-picked about the situation, that it feels like it might as well have a bow on top. The only downside is the location.

I’ve been planning to move for awhile, and I’d mentally prepared for that. But I was only prepared to move into what I deemed the safe area – driving distance to home, Southeast region, and warm.

This job is none of those things. I spent days over-analyzing the situation in my head…

It’s too far from home.

I’ve never lived anywhere cold.

What if I hate it?

What if I can’t drive in the snow well?

I’ll be alone on my birthday.

How often can I come home?

Will people come visit?

And perhaps the most scary question of all, what if I fail?

All of those questions and concerns though, they aren’t really valid. I can call it whatever I want, but what it really is, is my desire to stay in my comfort zone of familiarity.

“I’m totally brave!! I can do anything…. as long as it falls into the approved list of things I have thoroughly planned on doing.”

I have a friend who has moved all over the country, and I asked him this week how he does it - how he just picks up and moves, and leaves everything he has known. He asked how I would ever know what was out there if I never went. And he’s exactly right. I vowed earlier this year that I would never again make a decision based solely on my fear of the unknown. But it IS scary! Moving to a place far away, where I don’t know anyone, in weather I’m not familiar with, is absolutely the most terrifying thing I’ve ever even thought of doing!

I called my mom pretty early on to talk it over with her. I value her opinion, and I wanted her to see the opportunity in it. I wanted her to grab my ankles and pull me down from the clouds if it was absolute craziness and she didn’t see what I was seeing. She told me that while it is scary, what is scarier is living with the regret of not doing it, and getting stuck in a professional rut. Packing up and moving away isn’t an opportunity that often presents itself at an opportune time. So with my heart beating fast, and my hand shaking a little, I sent a message to the hiring manager, and told him I was interested. 

Things moved very quickly, and I had an interview before I knew it. It was detailed, and lengthy. But I felt really good about it. Then a second interview, which I felt good about. Then an offer, which I accepted.

I spent the past week telling my family and friends, and though everyone was supportive, there were many tears, both theirs and mine.

I have four weeks to move. Four weeks to downsize from 2750 square feet into a tiny apartment. Four weeks to pack 8+ years of stuff. Four weeks to secure movers. Four weeks to familiarize myself with an entirely new state. Four weeks to find somewhere to live that I love enough to sign a lease. Four weeks to prepare myself to go into a new job that I’ve never done before. Four weeks to calm my nerves, and convince myself that I’m not nearly as freaked out and panicked as every single cell in my body feels. And the most difficult… four weeks to prepare to say goodbye to my family and my friends, my comfort zone, my home. Not goodbye, I suppose, but just see ya later.

Let the countdown begin – I’m moving to Minnesota.

Sunday Meal Prep

In October, when I turned 30, I vowed that by my next birthday, I'd be at my goal weight. I'm thirty pounds out now, and I have about three months to go, which means I have to really get on top of it. Ten pounds a month is completely doable though.

One of the consistent challenges that I have is around meal planning. If I don't have something ready, more often than not I'll choose convenience and that means a choice that isn't as healthy. I saw an account on Instagram this week, and the guy meal preps 10 meals every weekend for the upcoming week. He preps lunch and dinner, but I decided to start out with breakfast and lunch.

I stopped by the grocery store yesterday to pick up my groceries, and spent today cooking. It didn't take long at all, and I'm so glad that it's done! I think it's a good system, and I'm going to try and keep up with it.

This week's menu is as follows:

Breakfast - green smoothie
Lunch - roasted carrots, swiss chard, brown rice, and black beans with mushrooms, onion, and garlic

I'll also be eating an afternoon snack of fruit. Since strawberries were on sale, that's this week's choice.

The recipes were uncomplicated. I make a lot of green smoothies, so I have a base recipe, and then modify it from there. This week I used half a banana, half a cup of berries (I used cherries and raspberries), a big handful of spinach, a combination of flax meal and flax oil, an ounce of walnuts and protein powder. I added water to blend it. Almond milk is my favorite for smoothies, but I forgot to buy it this week. I put individual servings in mason jars and stuck them in the freezer. I'll just pull one out the night before to stick in the fridge to thaw. A little shake in the morning and it's good to go. In the past when I was making smoothies for more than just myself, I'd put all of the ingredients in a freezer bag. Then in the morning I would only have to dump the bag in the blender and add water or almond milk.

For lunch, I bought a bag of black beans (way cheaper than canned), and that made 12 servings total. I soaked them overnight, so I put them in water before I went to bed last night. This morning when I got up I threw them on the stove for about an hour and a half, and made the brown rice as well.

What took the longest was the chopping, and that really wasn't bad at all. I chopped up the carrots, swiss chard, and onion/mushroom/garlic mixture.

 

The carrots were tossed with olive oil, cinnamon, and red pepper flakes and then roasted in the oven until they were tender. The chard I steamed and then tossed with apple cider vinegar (which I'm convinced is the only way to eat greens of any kind), and once the beans were finished cooking, I added hot sauce and liquid smoke. Then I added the sautéed onion, mushroom, and garlic mixture right on top. I didn't do anything special with the brown rice - I had a lot of flavor going on already, so I figured it would just pick it up. I froze the meals in freezer/microwave safe Tupperware, so I'll be able to pull it out the night before and nuke it at work.

 

 

After all of that cooking, this is where Millie and I ended up, and where I intend to stay. I'm starting PiYo tomorrow, so I'm using that as an excuse to be lazy tonight! Ha!

 





Saturday Randomness

Tonight I had dinner and dessert with some friends, and this Greek salad happened. YUM! So much fun!

I've been working on a preso this week. I noticed as I was rereading it for the 47th time today that I typed, "excellent oral skills". It seems to me that choice of words may be frowned upon. I mean, I'm no expert though.

This week I've been a bit...unsettled, maybe? There is a lot going on, at home and at work, and my inability to control any of it is driving this control freak crazy. I've been having dreams about people from work!

I have exceeded my 1-2 Christmas song maximum for the summer. I listened to 3 songs today, in addition to what I listened to on my way home from Louisville. I've vowed I won't listen to anymore until at least mid-October, sooo... we will see how that goes.

I had a house showing today and left a bra hanging on the back of my closet door. I didn't see it until I opened the door tonight to pull out my hamper. So now, some nice family knows what my undergarments look like. At least it was a cute lacy one, right?

I want to go swimming. At night. In a pool. ASAP.

If I ever say I want to get bangs, please remind me that I'll spend the next six months trying to figure out ways to get them off my face. Also, remind me when that happens that I always forget how much I adore 70s feathered back hair.

I love when I'm on the interstate and all of the drivers band together to not let the jerk in that tried to go to the front of the line. I want to high five them all.

This. This x1000.