Naps.

This seems to be a very popular theme in my life as of late. I think I have fallen asleep on the couch almost every weeknight the past two weeks. Work is kicking my butt still. Fortunately, my weekends have been very low key, so I have been able to take the time to recover and get some things done that I have been missing out on during the week. It's a big adjustment, but I'm ready to be adjusted so I can stop missing out on my precious time in the evenings. We'll see how many naps I take this week.

Things are becoming routine quickly though. I feel settled at work enough that some of the new excitement has started to wear off and the harsh reality has started to take its place. I felt very overwhelmed this week, but dealt with that and am using the weekend to recharge. It's been a nice and quiet weekend. Alan has been gone diving for most of it, so I've been holding down the fort at the apartment (and by 'holding down the fort' I really mean holding down the couch). I've been able to get some things done and I've done lots of relaxing. The weather has finally broken a bit. It was crazy hot at the end of last week. We were working on breaking a heat record. Boo! I'm SO ready for fall temps to get here so I can bust out my pants and cozy sweaters. I love fall!

This week I'm fending for myself. Alan is headed to North Carolina for work this week and then we are meeting up at Midway on Friday night. We are headed back to Indiana briefly for his cousin's wedding this weekend. I am very much looking forward to it. I am excited to spend some time with his parents and family. Should be a great weekend! Now I just have to survive the next 4 days until I get there. They are jam-packed with clients and all kinds of things. So, I'll certainly be ready for that plane ride on Thursday night!

I think that's about it for now.

Working girl.

My first official work week has come and gone. Week two has just passed as well. It is an absolutely gorgeous weekend, and I'm enjoying it! It seems hard to encapsulate the past two weeks into the words on this page, but I will do my very best. First off let me try and describe how I feel now that they have come and gone. Just the other night I was remembering back to June and July when I was scrambling around trying to finish up my degree and get things in order to move my life 700 miles away. It was craziness as I'm sure most of you remember me describing to you. I remember wishing to myself at times that the next few months would just simply be over and I could be past all of the upheaval and roller coaster of emotions that I knew would accompany it. But, alas, that is not how life works. You can't just skip time and fast forward to the good parts. Without all of the dissonance and uneasiness in between, the relief that comes wouldn't be nearly a greatly appreciated. So, that being said, I have felt a great deal of relief in the past few days. I feel at home in Maryland and at my new job in D.C. The job was the last big piece of the transition puzzle. Now it has fallen into place and into my routine. I feel more at peace than I have in a while. I also want to say a special thanks to all of my amazing family and friends who has helped me through this. I wouldn't have been nearly as successful without all of your love and support. It means the world to me. And my dear Alan is amazing. He puts up with the waves of emotions, the crankiness and the random tears, like a trooper. He's such a huge help and support. My best friend. Thank you.

The job is going really well. So far I've been doing a lot of trainings and shadowing my fellow teammates to see what they do and how they do it. I have my own caseload now. Three new clients in all. Things are starting to get busy, which is nice. I'm enjoying the down time when I have it because I've been told that it doesn't last long and I'll probably never get it back once it's gone and I have a full caseload of 25-30 peeps. I really love my supervisor. She is great. She gives me space to work, but is always there if I need her. I also really enjoy my teammates. They are crazy busy women, but we've had some chances to talk and get to know one another. We are all about the same age and that's nice too. I'm learning DC and what it's like to work in the big city. It's a scary place at times, but I'm getting used to it.

I've been adjusting to a schedule and just being up and doing something for 8-9 hours a day. It's a big change from the past two months of vacation. Being a working girl absolutely got the best of me several nights this week. I was passed out on the couch by 9 on several occasions. To try and curb that, Alan and I decided a date night was necessary last night. So, we went to see Eat, Pray, Love and then to our favorite Italian place for some grub. The movie was marvelous! It was everything I expected and more. The book is probably in my top 5 favorites of all time. Now that's hard to do! I love Julia and she was perfect in the role. So, it was a great ending to a long week. Today, the weather is beautiful and we have been farting around doing a little bit of this and that but mostly nothing. Just the way we like it. Tonight Alan is off to dive at the National Aquarium and I'm spending the evening doing what I please. Perfect!

Life is great! :)

Last day of freedom.

Quote of the day: "Life is not merely a series of meaningless accidents or coincidences. But rather it's a tapestry of events that culminate in an exquisite, sublime plan." – Serendipity

This is a quote that I absolutely love. It helps to remind me that life has a direction and that all you need is a bit of patience sometimes to let it run its course and go wherever it's taking you.

Today is my last official day of freedom. I start my new job tomorrow! I'm ready! It's funny how when I was in school, I would have given my right arm or pretty much any body part just for a day of pure, guilt-free freedom. Well, now I've had about 5 weeks of it. I'm absolutely thankful for that. It has been wonderful. BUT, I am indeed a creature of habit who needs structure and a regular routine. It's time to get that in place and start this last big piece of the new chapter puzzle. Time to make some of my own friends and build my own network out here in Maryland. I miss that terribly. Tomorrow. Tomorrow.

It's been a nice, relaxing weekend. Today should be more of the same. The weather has been amazing. Come on fall! Yesterday Alan and I spent some time downtown Annapolis and just wandered. We visited the state house and there was a little art festival going on. Basically we just wanted to get outside and enjoy the weather. It's another gorgeous day today, and we have nothing specific on the agenda except a batch of waffles for breakfast. Speaking of which, my stomach is growling and it's time to go cook!

Enjoying my last day of freedom before work starts tomorrow! Hope everyone else is enjoying their extra day off!