Exciting Moving Update!!! Bye bye U-Haul

So... my sister is a saint. She asked some people from her church if I could use their trailer to move and they said yes. It is 6' by 12' and 6' high. Now we can move my crap into the trailer Thursday night and park it at the church. I will clean my apartment and take the straggling items on Friday morning, and then move into my new apartment on Saturday. No more unloading into the garage and a week later reloading to move in. No more being displaced for a week. No more U- Haul Rentals on two days. I will be saving serious money. I plan on getting the couple a gift card for their kindness and generosity. After all, they barely know me. But to use a trailer and covered pick up truck without fees, that is seriously hot. And I am 80% packed. It's all coming together and feels great.

Keeping in Touch

Now that I have lived in Minnesota for over two years, I am starting to be comfortable only talking to my friends back home every couple of months. It's strange. You have "catch up" sessions and only fill in with the juicy highlights of the missed weeks. And when you get off the phone, you feel refreshed because you are reminded of why this person is your friend and why you must keep in touch. Being in different parts of the country doesn't matter when the person is worth the effort.

Stress, Mood Swings, and Sturdying Sighs

So for over a month I have been having back pain on and off. I am also beginning to hate my job. These two things have seriously effected my ability to maintain a chipper mood among other contributing factors. I feel weak because I actually had to go to the doctor for medication last week to control the pain in my lower back and spasms. I was missing work and just miserable. The last few days have shown a marked improvement but the stresses of work and moving in two weeks is taking its toll. I haven't been able to pack because of back pain and now I've just learned I am going to have to move my things twice. I can explain. I have to be out of my current apartment on June 30 at noon Friday and can't move into my new apartment until July 1 at noon on Saturday. That is a lapse of 24 hours. I can't expect people to help me move on a Friday morning, so I will be moving my things next Sunday and putting them in my sister's garage. I will either borrow an air mattress or stay with my boyfriend for the week and then move all the stuff from the garage to the new place on July 1. Wow, right? So anyway, I have to get a crew together on both days. I don't have much stuff but the more the merrier and faster the progress. But renting two U-Hauls when I am certain moving will aggravate my back again right when it's calming down... It's been a stressful time for me. I have been having fun with Brent as usual and actually went to two Minnesota Twin's games this past week... They were playing the Red Sox and they swept it. (David Ortiz got robbed in Game 3). So by all standards life is good. But I am finally starting to understand why my mom struggles so much to stay happy. She is in pain. I am convinced I've just pulled a muscle, but the realization that I could be my mom all over again is intense and pretty damn scary. And sitting on my ass for 8 hours at work is brutal on my lower back and the job itself is not worth it anymore. So yeah, even with a great boyfriend like Brent and extracurricular activities, it's been tough lately. I know he has noticed, just hope he continues to give me room. Life continues to change and I know this is a phase, I have never allowed circumstances to beat me and I will not start now.

Being Spoiled

Yesterday was my 25th birthday and I was treated like a queen the entire day. With recently manicured nails and toes courtesy of the birthday check I received from my parents, I was served breakfast in bed... I had fluffy scrambled eggs, a biscuit, bacon, and a pastry served to me on a tray with orange juice and hot coffee. It was amazing. I dressed in sandals and a summer dress for the occasion. When I got to work, I noticed my sister's car in the parking lot and became instantly nervous. Last year she decorated my cubicle so intensely there were streamers hanging from the ceiling! I sighed in relief when I got to my desk and everything appeared normal. Not ten minutes after clocking in, Georgia arrived with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, a cake, and a camera. Of course I turned beat red especially when she sang/whispered "Happy Birthday." I love her- she's good to me. All day I passed out cake (it was a buttercream sheet cake so I felt the need to share) and people wished me a merry day. Brent was super sweet to me reminding me often it was my special day. He even threw out the cake box for me since the sandals I wore were trying desperately to rub a blister on my pinkie toes! I had a choice to make for dinner. We could go to McCoys, which is a great place in uptown Minneapolis with food fit for a king that's kind of spendy... or get pizza like I was craving at some trendy pizza place. Since my back was aching and all I could think about was going home and getting delivery and into my pjs... that is exactly what we did. All I wanted was Pizza Hut pizza (my choice of toppings), a movie, and some beer. Brent made me pick out the movie and opted to get me Honey Weiss instead of the Bud Light I suggested because he knows it's my favorite. I got a back rub last night and was just treated like a princess. So many of my friends from Virginia called to wish me a Happy Birthday as well. I really did feel spoiled, but to be honest, with the people in my life I often feel that way.