Here we go again!

Another summer is approaching and so is another move. Although I am significantly more excited about this move than most of the previous ones because we will be moving closer to family, back to our home state, and hopefully to the area where we will be buying a house in the next 12-18 months!!! Yay for the future!

Since graduating from college (5 years ago) we have lived in five different apartments in four different zip codes and three different counties/towns. We are basically professionals at moving. Or we should be. Every time though I always feel overwhelmed at the massive to do list, and actually remembering everything that I need to do. Because this move is bigger and farther than we have ever moved before, there are a lot more moving parts that are going into the move and I am going to do my best to make sure that I don't miss anything, and that every step of the moving process is as smooth as possible.

I hope to be able to share with you some moving tips, and also maybe a few things to avoid (five moves is enough times to realize that there are somethings that you just should not do).

Because we are still very early on in the process I don't have too many tips to share today, but I can share what I have set up for the future.

Eric technically doesn't even have a starting date yet for his new job. This means that we still don't really know when he has to be moved. Because I will be finishing out the school year at my current school Eric is moving on his own first, and then I will follow. Unfortunately this means a few more months of double rent, and we are trying to make this overlap period as small as possible. This means that we haven't signed a lease because we want to put it off for as long as we can until we know his start date.

This past weekend, because we knew we were not going to be signing a lease, we did some online research instead of driving the 2.5 hours to physically go to the places. We used Apartment Guide, as our primary search engine. One suggestion that I would strongly encourage anyone who is moving to do is to drive around the area that you are planning to move to so that you have a general understanding of the layout of the area. We are by no means experts on the city we are moving to, but because we took a whole day and drove around we have some general landmarks in our minds when we are looking at a map. We drove past high schools, malls, shopping centers, etc. This has been extremely helpful when we find and apartment and are wondering where is it in relation to other businesses in the city.

What also really help us is that I have a cousin who lives in the area and we were able to get some inside "scoop" from her on good vs. bad places to live, and she also came with us on our tour to provide a little more information. Obviously not everyone has this luxury, but if you already have been hired in the place you are planning to move, ask your company if there is someone who would be willing to at least talk to you about the area, even if they can't drive around with you (and then make sure to treat them to lunch!).

Even today, with all of the technology that is around, I am still a pencil and paper girl at heart. I am not sure what it is, but I keep myself much more organized if I have a physical copy of whatever I am working on rather than just electronic. I mention this because everyone's organization system is going to be different. For us, we are using a 5-Subject spiral bound notebook to keep all of the information and lists that we are starting to collect/create.

So far we have a section for all the apartment information, contact numbers, rent prices, square footage measurements, amenities, etc. I have also begun a section about my job search/change. Being a math teacher there are a lot of moving pieces that I need to make sure I have in order when I begin my job search/application process. I need clearances to work in the schools, I need medical tests/records to prove I don't have contagious diseases, I need my teaching certificate to transfer to a new state. The list is quite extensive. Then I have also created a section to hold the information about the various schools that I may be applying to. I have so far created a list of all school districts within driving distance of our anticipated location and have begun my initial research on those districts.

Later in the process I plan to have sections of the notebook dedicated to moving/packing lists, address change lists (this list really is endless), etc. For me that is what works. If you have an app or an electronic organization system that works for you, then that's what you should use. I have found that if it doesn't work for me, I'm not going to use it.

Once Eric has a start date I am sure that I will have many more tips to share.

Until next time,
~C

Same Recipe, Different Outcome

Have you ever had this happen? You find a recipe, you make it, you love it. Then you make the same recipe again at a later point in time and it just doesn't live up to the memory of the first time you made it.

I had this happen to me last night. I had found a recipe for Cincinnati Turkey Chili a while ago (like months) and I had made it, and Eric and I loved it. Then I had made it again for my parents when they were visiting, and we loved it then too. But I made the same recipe last night and I just did not think it was as good as I have made it in the past, and I want to know WHY!?!

So I have been thinking back over what I may have done differently. Here is what I have come up with:

1. I used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth 

2. I used 80/20 ground turkey instead of the 93/7 that I usually buy

3. I didn't measure the amount of chocolate I added at the end

Now, I am not a food expert. I typically struggle to understand the way that things work together and "flavor profiles" and fancy cooking terms (I have been watching a lot of Worst Cooks in America lately), but if I had to rank those in order of impact on the taste of my dish I would guess that the fat content of the meat probably had the biggest affect, followed by the broth.

Tonight I am planning on making baked ziti with Italian sausage. We need to get our meat fix in before Lent starts and then we can't eat meat on Friday's (or I guess this Wednesday). 

Anyway, if you have ever had the issue that I am having (making the same thing multiple times and having it taste different) let me know why, or what happened.

Until our next adventure,

C

Excitement and Fear: Two Sides of the Same Blade

One of the most exciting times in our lives began about a month ago and will be continuing for the next... unknown number of months. Something that I have been wanting so badly for the last five years is finally starting to become a reality. And although I am extremely excited and grateful at the way that our lives are headed, I am also terrified.

Eric and I have always wanted to move back to Pennsylvania (more specifically out of Delaware) and now it would seem that will be happening within the next six months. Eric has been applying to new clinics and going on very successful interviews. We have explored cities and towns where we could potentially be moving to, and every adventure has been filled with excitement and anticipation. 

This is what we want, this is what I want, this is what will move us on the path toward our future: a house, kids, being settled closer to family and friends. And yet in the quiet moments when I am by myself my excitement and anticipation is coupled with a near crippling fear. This is it. I have felt stuck in limbo for so long, an adult on my own, but not truly grown up. And now that the fog is lifting I'm afraid? How does that make any sense? 

Part of my fear stems from the daunting task of moving so far, to yet another new place. I have never been a fan of change (even when it is something that I have wanted). The uncertainty and uneasiness of it all is just uncomfortable for me to deal with. I do not enjoy having to learn new roads, new businesses, new rules about new places, and meeting new people. Beginning over again is not something that I was good at because it was not something that I ever really had to do before I moved to Delaware five years ago and got my first "big girl job". Even with transitioning between three school, five apartments, and three cities/towns it is still scary and uncomfortable for me.

But I am trying to look on the bright side, focus on the positives, and trust that this is the right move, the right path to follow, the last real transition. And that is exciting.

I will likely post more updates as this process continues and of course still try to continue my cooking/baking/crafting posts, but I am looking forward to this journey and I hope that it is quick, smooth, and as painless as can be.

On a Pinterest note, I tried making mug french toast this morning. FAIL. Well, not a total fail, but I would not ever make it again. Real french toast is the only way to be.