Birthday's are so much fun to celebrate with friends!
When I was in Dallas, Tuf & Anthony had an awesome Boston Terrier blanket and I had to get for Bonni. One day Tuf & Anthony stopped in at Pet Smart to grab some dog food and came out with this blanket for Bonni. I gave it to Bonni on her birthday and she loved it!
For Mike's birthday we celebrated with BACON! Majority of the time I make monkey bread as a treat to bring in because I can prep it all the night before and just throw it in the oven when I am getting ready for work. Plus everyone loves the monkey bread. Well this monkey bread requires that you prep everything the morning of, so I woke up at 6:30am. All credit goes to this blog that I found the bacon monkey bread on.
Bacon Monkey Bread Recipe:
One can of Pillsbury Grands Flaky Layers Biscuits
One pound of crispy & slightly crumbled up Bacon!
4 tbsp. Melted Butter
1/2 Cup packed Brown Sugar
1 tsp. – 1 tbsp. Cinnamon…to your liking.
1/2 Cup Maple Syrup
A 9″ round baking pan..a Bundt pan will work as well!
Directions:
Spray the baking pan with non-stick spray..
Combine
the melted Butter and Syrup in a small bowl and set aside. In another
small bowl combine the Brown Sugar, and Cinnamon...mix
well!
Pour a enough of the butter mixture in the bottom of the pan just to
coat, and sprinkle some of the Sugar onto that. Top with a nice layer
of Bacon shards! This will end up being the gooey top of the Sticky
Bacon Bread when you flip it out!
Layer each Biscuit in a circle around the pan, making sure to top each
one with some Syrup, Sugar & Bacon! Really ‘goo’ that baby up, use
every last drop of the Syrup and Sugar mixtures!
Bake it at 350 degrees, uncovered for approx. 30 minutes
It will be golden and puffy when it’s done! Let it cool a bit to set up, before flipping it out onto your platter!
Next up is Ri's Birthday! We spent the afternoon of her birthday together doing some shopping and having lunch at Olive Garden. We had a grand time and as always it is fun to hang out with one of my best friends! I am so excited for her becoming a mommy in just a couple short months. I know she is going to be a wonderful mom! I feel blessed to have such a wonderful friend. She knows everything about me and still loves me, that is a great friend! We have known each other for 10 years now and have been friends for almost 9 years. I thank God for our deep friendship.
Well as I have hinted a few times before in the last few months on this blog that 2014 has the possibility of a major change for me. The major change is that I am planning on leaving Idaho sometime in August or September. For my close friends and family this isn't news as I have been talking about it for few months but now everyone will know.
This isn't a quick irrational decision. I have been thinking about this for a long time. During the fall of 2013 is when I really started thinking and praying a lot about it. I have been praying and will continue to pray for God's guidance. He knows my future and I am trusting in Him. If this is not meant to be than I pray He will show it to me.
I am sure there are questions, so let me answer a few of them.
Why the August/September time frame? Many reasons, but the main one is that Tuf graduates from Chiropractic school on August 16. Plus an added bonus is my year lease on my apartment is due for renewal on August 1. So, the August/September time frame seems to fit well.
What does Tuf have to do with this decision? Her and Anthony are willing to move with me! They like an adventure :)
Where are you thinking of moving? Not really a shocker but Washington, DC. We would probably live in the suburbs of Virginia or Maryland. DC Proper will always be to expensive for me to live in.
Why DC? I was open to moving to Boston, DC or even
Providence. I am not moving just to move. If Tuf and Anthony had decided
to move to Nashville, I would have said have fun, I will visit but I
am not moving there.
While in Texas we did some research and it
seemed that the easiest place for us to all find jobs and fit in would
be DC. I read a blog that said DC is easy to make friends in because nobody
is from DC so everyone is in the same boat as you. Plus while DC is
east coast, it is not New England and I feel that us west coast grown
humans might fit in just a little better in DC.
Why the east coast? Long story short, Tuf said that when she went to Chiropractic school that after she was done that they would move to Boston with me. At the time I just laughed and said sure. Last April my grandma died and throughout the year I felt the need to be closer to family and Tuf is my closet family member.
So, you are moving because your grandma died? No. But now
there is nothing holding me to the west coast. This has been a dream I
have had for about 10 years now. When I was laid off from Lithia I seriously considered packing up and moving to DC on my own. I didn't because I didn't know anyone there and I was scared. I
am moving because I don't want fear to hold me back. And I want to be
closer to Tuf.
Couldn't you move somewhere that isn't the east coast? Yes, but why? I feel like I am an east coast girl at heart and if I am going to stay on the west coast the only place I would want to live is Boise.
The east coast is expensive, are you sure you can live there? Yeah, I know the cost of living is higher, but guess what, wages are higher as well. I am fully aware that it is more expensive to live there (Groceries 26% higher, Housing 193% higher, Utilities 17% higher, Transportation 1% higher). Therefore, last summer I started saving money and I will continue to save. Plus, Tuf, Anthony and I will live together for at least the first 6 months.
DC?!?!? You will hate it there. Not really a question but rather something I have heard. To that I say, maybe I will but maybe I won't. I won't know until I try. This is my life and I am not asking you to move with me. While you may not like it there it doesn't mean that I won't like it. There are roughly 3.5 million people in the DC Metro area and when you add in Baltimore it is closer to 6 million. So obviously some people do like it there. Remember, I like big cities compared to small rural towns. And maybe, just maybe I need to get the big city hustle and bustle out of my system to realize that I like smaller cities. Or maybe I will realize I do better in larger cities. Who knows.
It snows more in DC than Boise. Probably. Another statement I hear a lot. And my answer to that is, I am not driving in it. I love, love, love public transportation. I have the DC metro app on my phone and I have never been to DC with an iPhone. I have the DC metro memorized. When I was in DC I fell asleep while going from Alexandria to Union Station (I was with Kimberley, but that shows how comfortable I am on the metro). That same trip, I was talking to Kimberley about how we were going to get to her hotel and a lady asked me how to get somewhere and I told her. I have even rode the metro alone. I am super comfortable riding the metro. I will however have to get more comfortable with buses, but I am actually looking forward to public transportation!
Will you have a job before you leave? I would like to say yes, but in reality, I doubt it. My profession is not one where they relocate people. I am a dime a dozen. I do however have a degree, a certification that is preferred but not required, a membership to the national HR association, excellent work history, and amazing references. I will also do temporary work until I find a HR job. I also think my nonprofit experience will help out in a city where there are nonprofits everywhere. I have started putting my resume into bigger organizations job banks and I will start applying for jobs around the June/July time frame. I have updated my resume and will be working on my cover letter soon. However, I am prepared to move without employment.
You have a great life in Idaho, why do you want to give that all up? Am I giving it all up? Once I drive out of Idaho are my friends no longer my friends? If it doesn't work out, I can come back. And guess what, it is not failure. Failure is not trying. I do have a wonderful life in Idaho. I have amazing friends. I have a great church that I finally feel connected to. And I have a job that I absolutely love with coworkers that are more like family. I do not take any of that for granted. When I leave it will be hard. I will cry and I will doubt myself and fear will creep in and tell me to stay. But God will always be with me. I understand it will be hard and I don't look forward to the day of saying goodbyes. But my life is content, which is not always a bad thing, but it has been content for awhile now. I am not moving forward. I feel as if I am standing still. I think I have to leave in order for my goals to move forward. Don't read into that. What I am saying is that I like my comfort zone and I don't try very hard to get out of it. Moving will force me out of that comfort zone, not only personally but professionally and also spiritually.
I hope that people close to me see that I am doing this because I feel like it is my time to do this. I am doing this because I want to do this and I am tired of fear controlling what I do. I trust God and I know that He goes before me. I hope that as this year goes on that my friends will pray for me. Pray that I am listening to God. Pray that I don't let fear take over. Pray that if I do move that it will a good experience.
