Hello again, friends. It sure has been a while. I'm not sure where to start so let's just dive right in.
It's been what, like 2 months since I last posted? So many things have changed since then. Thanksgiving at home was lovely. My house in Greensboro looked really pretty with the Christmas decorations up. I spent many nights in December hanging out with some lovely amazing people eating Mexican food and watching movies.
I finally decided at the very end of November that it was time to end the failed experiment that was living in Greensboro and get out of a situation that was making my depression a million times worse. I know I'm happy in Tuscaloosa and the chances of getting a job would be way better. I tried so hard to find something in Greensboro and it just didn't happen. So I found an amazing house on craigslist with some amazing roommates and made the move. I spent the first two weeks of December packing everything up, while also driving back and forth to Tuscaloosa every day during that second week to help out at the CBH office. That actually worked out well because I got to bring some of my stuff up and move it in during that week. Then, God bless him, Kevin helped me move aaaaaaall of my stuff in one day. I picked him up, picked up the Uhaul, we loaded everything up, drove it up to Tuscaloosa and unloaded it. LONG DAY. And basically I owe him everything ever. I am so so blessed to have amazing people in my life. Amber helped us move in the last couple big things, which was good, because I couldn't bring myself to carry the couch down the ramp as the truck was parked on a hill.
So anywho. Drove back to Florida the next day and had a great time at home for Christmas. It was nice to have the weight and stress of living in Greensboro off my shoulders. I finally got the courage to leave a place that just wasn't what I was expecting it to be. After Christmas I drove back to Tuscaloosa (technically, I actually live in Northport) so I drove back to Northport, dropped Tux off at the new house, then drove up to Birmingham to pick Heather up, then we went to Atlanta for New Year's Eve. Had a serious blasty blast. Then it was back to Bham, then on to Northport. I spent my first night here moving stuff from the basement into my room, then I cried a bit cause it's super overwhelming to move in with strangers you met on craigslist!
I spent the first few days moving everything where it should go and organizing. I own A LOT of stuff. I realize this every time I move, but I don't seem to be able to do anything about it. Oh well. It took a very long time to get everything organized but I think I'm nearly there.
The past few weeks have been spent going to the gym and job hunting. I'm fairly certain I have applied to over 100 jobs. It's really frustrating to not get calls back or to be way overqualified for everything you apply for. But I have been so much happier living here. It's amazing how different I feel.
So anyway. Now for the cool news. I got a job at Mary's Cakes and Pastries! It's part time, but it's amazing. I know I'm going to learn so much and the people that work there are amazing. Why am I working at a bakery? Because after all of my uncertainty and not knowing what I want and thinking maybe I want to go to grad school, no maybe I don't, a PhD sounds good, but what on earth would I do with it? Yeah, after all of that, I've realized that I really, really love to cook. And I'm really quite good at it. So eventually, maybe in August, maybe next year, who really knows when, I would like to go to culinary school. I can still sew and design and all of that, but I would love to go to culinary school to actually get trained. I have a nice plan for what to do with that training, but now isn't the time to share that. ;)
Since I got that job I've gotten a few other offers for full time employment but honestly, learning from Mary and seeing what it takes to run a bakery is worth so much more than whatever extra money I'd make working full time instead of part time. This past week was my first week and while it's utterly exhausting, I haven't been this happy in a long time.
I'm also taking the Wilton cake decorating classes at Michael's. It's been fun and it's cool to learn some of the tricks. My roommates are also pretty happy because it means the house is constantly full of delicious cake.
Speaking of my roommates, I got so incredibly lucky. They are both absolutely amazing and living with them is such a blast. We are all completely different people, and we have insane schedules, but we get along so very well. We had roommate bonding night last night and it was so much fun to just get to hang out. I've lived alone for so long I forgot how nice it can be to come home to people. Even if we don't see each other it's just nice to know they are here. Our lease ends in July, which suuuucks, but the next six months are going to be amazing.
Let's see, what else. Ah, the never-ending weight loss saga. Yes, friends, I'm at it again. This time I'm going to Curves every day. Yep, the old lady gym. But it's going well, and it's nice to have a focused work out. It's improved a lot since the last time I went to Curves and it really kicks my ass every day. I'm still eating healthy (honestly, I pretty much always have) but making sure I'm not eating too much of the healthy stuff. I'm going to try to see a nutritionist soon because I think my body hates me, so we will see if that makes any difference. Honestly, I just want to lose weight because I know it'll make me happier. I know no matter what weight I am I will always be ridiculously awkward and that really, there isn't anything I can't do now that I will suddenly be able to do when I lose weight (well perhaps running. Bleh.) but I want to (literally) get the weight off my shoulders. I want to be confident in who I am and I want my outside to match my inside (ugh cheesy). Also, I want to look rockin' for Annie's wedding. :)
So there's life. I miss my friends in Greensboro and volunteering with Horseshoe, but I can always go back to visit. That way I get to have the happy times in Greensboro, not the lonely, depressed times that seemed to be the majority there. I'm excited about the idea of culinary school and I honestly think it will make me very happy. But don't hold me to that; I'm prone to changing ideas every few days and I've tried to promise myself I won't go planning my life. I may have no idea where I'll be living or what I'll be doing in six months, but I intend to have an amazing time and try my best to just live for right now (cheeseball. seriously.) and see what happens.
