Life Lately

Happy Monday Friends!  This time next week, we'll be living here:

What's Up Wednesday!

I missed October's link up because of the wedding, but I'm back!  Here's what we've been up to this month (and I can't even believe I am already at the point where I am doing the November post).

What We're Eating This Week

We are going to be pretty boring eaters until the move.  We're starting to pack up the apartment so we're relying on some standbys until we're moved and settled.

Monday: Zucchini Burritos

Tuesday: Fish and Cauliflower

Wednesday: Grilled Chicken and Brussels Sprouts

Thursday: Thanksgiving!!!

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday and Sunday: not sure yet

A Little About Me - What I Do

For those of you who are newer to the blog, I thought I would start a mini weekly series to help you all get to know me a little better.  As I am about to transition from one job to a new one, I thought I would tell you a bit about what I do and where I've done it!

To start, when I was a little girl I wanted to be a majorette.  My grandmother fundraised for the high school band and my uncle was the football coach, so I spent my younger years around the cheerleaders and majorettes and color guard.  I was like a mini mascot and thought it was what I wanted to be when I grew up.

And We're Back...

Sigh. I am finally all unpacked and settled in the new apartment in Texas. I have so much space. It's hard to believe I had everything crammed into a smaller place. I am overjoyed at the amount of cabinet and counterspace. There is so much more space to cook and keep things and I don't feel like it's cluttered. I hate clutter. I love this place. Such a good find. The cats like it too and are settling in okay as well. There is a vet who comes highly recommended right around the corner. And since we're talking about location - my apartment is in the best spot. The gym is right across the road. I live within 2 minutes of the grocery, Target, Lowes, Petsmart, IHOP, Chili's, 7-eleven, gas stations, salons, restaurants, tailors, dry cleaners, and access to the major highways in and and around Euless, TX. I could not have asked for anything more.


If there was one thing I would change, it would be to dial down the heat a little bit. It is so dang HOT. Hot as in 80 degrees out when I leave for the gym at 5:45 in the morning. Yes, that is AM. 80 degrees! But on the flipside, I will almost never have to shovel out my car from the snow.

The new job is good. The first couple of weeks at a new job are always the hardest. You're learning about the institution, getting your access set up and starting to train on things. It's not the most exciting time in the job. That comes later. But for now, I like the people I work with and I like the staff who works for me. So we're off to a good start.

The first week has been good - I'm sure the ones to come will be even better!

Two Weeks

Two weeks, two weeks, two weeks! Two weeks from now I will be in Texas. Everything is just about packed up and I have hired a moving company. All that's left is to load it up and move out. So for now, I am signing off. I'll post again once I am all moved into the new place in Dallas.

Not Gone

Ah, faithful readers, I haven't disappeared completely. I've just been swamped with packing, prepping to move, end of semester wrap-up (both at work and at school), etcetera, etcetera, etcetera...

The apartment is almost completely packed with the exception of pots and pans from the kitchen and the rest of my closet. I've actually run out of room to put the boxes that I've packed, so I will be taking my bed apart this weekend and using the extra space to stack the rest of the boxes. I will be sleeping on the couch for the next couple of weeks. Fortunately, I have a very comfy couch.

Updates on the random stuff:

The injured foot - it's doing better. I go back to the doctor on Monday for a follow-up. It doesn't hurt to walk or climb or anything, just side impact hurts (it's an oddly placed fracture, go figure). I'm hoping he gives me the all clear to work out again.

School - semester is done, I managed another 4.0 and I learned that UNT will accept the classes I took at NCSU, so I will be able to complete my doctoral degree in Texas.

Work - just trying to wrap everything up and make sure I leave everything in good order for the next person.

Jack and Kate - are handling all the boxes and chaos as I expected. Kate is curious about everything and Jack is content so long as there is still a place to nap.

And finally - today is D's birthday! He has the best birthday gift of all - two whole weeks off from school (translation - two whole weeks of leisure time). Happy Birthday!!!

The Stars at Night...

If you can finish the line, you know where I am heading next. Indeed, I am moving to the Lonestar State - Texas. It was a very hard decision. I was offered the position of Registrar at a new campus in Dallas, the University of North Texas at Dallas. I would be their first Registrar. It was a great opportunity. The chance to start your own office and be the first anything at a college is a rare thing. It would mean an increase in salary and the opportunity to be closer to D. Which made the offer that much more appealing. Sounds like an easy choice, right? Go to Texas! But I really really loved my job at Duke. I had a wonderful staff, it was a great place to work, I loved where I lived, I have great friends, I was working on my doctorate...so many reasons to stay. I was really on the fence and I talked to a lot of people and ultimately decided that the opportunities in Texas were too good to pass up - both the personal and the professional.

I'm already looking forward to life in Dallas - visiting D in Austin (and vice versa); the Red Sox playing at Arlington Ball Park; shopping at Neiman Marcus...I may actually get out to California to visit my sister since it's a little less expensive to fly to CA from TX than it is from NC. More good news, I've been in touch with UNT. They have an EdD program and will accept my work from NCSU, so I can transfer into that program pretty much where I left off. I won't rule out a return to NC in the years down the road. I really loved living here and would love to come back someday.

On the Move

I found a new apartment - woohoo! The complex I'm moving into is so nice. I think it's nicer than the one I am in now. It's new too - It's less than 2 years old so all the appliances and such are brand new. I'll have roughly the same amount of space. It's located in Morrisville, whic puts me in a nice proximity to both Duke and NCSU (I've decided to go back for another semester in the spring - more on that later). Mid to late November is my projected move date. I still have heaps-o-stuff to pack and some weeding out of my closet to do. I force myself to purge my closet everytime I move. I don't think I'll need to purge shoes and handbags - I just did that awhile ago. I think I could stand to give up a few of the 6729 black shirts that I own.

Hmmmm...

Ahem. Excuse me, but what are all of these things that are in the way of where I play?


I can't seem to get to my favorite spots anymore, although these make for a nice place to perch and watch Jack meander around the living room.


Ah yes, they are boxes. And yes, Kate, we are packing up everything and finding a new place to live.


Moving! Where will we go? Are you bringing all of my toys? You won't leave any behind will you? Yes, Katia, we will bring all your toys. I don't know where we're going yet, but it will be someplace nice. I promise.

Kate is a little traumatized by all the boxes. Jack (having moved with me three times now) is somewhat of a pro and doesn't really seem to care that there are boxes stacked all over the place. My lease is up at the end of November and since I don't trust my management company, I think it's time to find a new apartment. With school and all, I've been trying to pack up a little bit at a time so I don't get inundated all at the end, when I'm trying to move and finish the semester at the same time.

The New Apartment

I love it. Hands down it is the nicest place I have lived in over the course of my adult life so far (I do not count my mother's house as it isn't "mine").

Here are some pics...



Can I just say, I forgot how glorious it is to have a dishwasher! It makes cooking and baking so much easier. I used to hate scrubbing the pots and pans after making a batch of cookies.

On to the bathroom...



Yes indeed my friends, that is a garden tub. Being a tall girl, this was a huge bonus for me.

And the living room with my comfy new couch...



Jack and Kate have already settled down for a long winter's nap in the bedroom closet...they like it a lot in there.

Update

With moving both at the office and at home I have had little blogging time. I promise some news and some pics of the new place hopefully tomorrow!

The Apartment

I thought I would have found it by now...I haven't. My blog is not intentionally devoid of pictures of my new apartment, my new office, or the glorious structure that is the Chapel here at Duke University. No, no, I just can't seem to put my hands on the darn cable for the camera. I had it in Louisiana because when I moved there I took pics of the apartment and uploaded them to Snapfish. Everything from the apartment got packed and moved to Durham. My mom and I did a walk-through of my apartment before we left Louisiana and there was nothing there. It has to be here...it just isn't in any of the places I have looked. Inevitably it will pop up - after I plunk down $30 for a new cable of course.

So for now, suffice it to say that I love my apartment - it reminds me of the apartment I grew up in on Dora Street, just half the size, as if they took out the hallway and the upstairs bathroom. It is in a cute little neighborhood that is 0.7 miles from work, making it quite possibly the best commute ever (not counting the jobs that required me to live on campus). Jack loves it too - so much more space to explore, although as usual, his favorite place is something a little different. His current space du jour is a box I have in my home office that is not quite done being unpacked. He just curls up in there and chills for hours at a time. He'll have to find a new one soon - I plan on unpacking the rest of that box next week.

Hiatus

Tomorrow I set out for North Carolina and I can barely contain my excitement. I am so thrilled about my new job and being closer to my friends and family. My internet and cable won't be hooked up for 2 more weeks. So...aside from going to work early or staying late there will be no e-mails and no posts until Thanksgiving time. No General Hospital, no Gossip Girl, CSI, or Grey's Anatomy :( This does leave me time to get acclimated, get back into my work-out routine, and catch up on my reading. This will be the longest I go without tv or internet. It will be an interesting experiment to say the least.

Fugitive Pieces

My apartment is in complete and utter disarray. I can't stand it. Granted, its all essential to the moving process. My life in boxes...again. Hopefully this next move is the last one for a long time. This does ring somewhat hollow since this is what I said when I moved to Louisiana just 9 months ago. I just didn't realize Louisiana was going to be so far from home.

When I first moved to Louisiana I got many questions from well-meaning people about adjusting to the weather and I am sure some of the people I leave behind will think that I couldn't take the heat...literally. That's not it. Yes, the summer was interminably long and humid. I have to say, I have read a great many books in my time and more than a fair few describe this humidity as sultry; as if there was a sensuality and steaminess to it. I can tell you that the humidity I experienced was nowhere near sultry. It's just heavy and it hangs there. I won't miss it.

I also got several questions about culture-shock. There were some things that I needed to get used to, I readily admit to that. I was born and raised in predominantly Catholic Rhode Island. Religion here is a completely different thing. It's advertised everywhere, there are billboards and commercials and tv spots. It sponsors the morning weather. There are a lot of guns...rifles, etc. I saw a television commercial for something called "the back-up" which essentially is a gun rack that attaches to your bed. There is nothing wrong with any of this, it was just new and different. The food is different. Cajun, creole, its all excellent - there is catfish instead of cod, crawfish instead of crab, and lots of shrimp. None of it ever clicked though, except for the cooking.

I never felt home. Short of actually being home, the place I like the best is North Carolina. So I decided to move there. This is why my apartment is in disarray. In two weeks I head out for Durham, North Carolina, for a new job, and a new place. Two weeks to wrap up too many things, say good-bye to my wonderful staff, and put the rest of my life in boxes.