Tuesday Photos: Man, it's been awhile

Wow has it been awhile since I was here last. Why is this? I've been all over the place. Well, not really. But it feels like it. I spent some time at home and then, just days later, we scampered off to Temecula, aka Southern California wine country, for a Valentines Day getaway. We stayed in a camper! On a horse farm! It was a really lovely time and we even joined a wine club while we were there.

I've been knitting all of the socks, but I got majorly distracted by crocheting while I was home. I've been dreaming of a giant granny square blanket for the longest time, but whenever I sit down to crochet I get so bored. All of the time. And I only ever manage to make one granny square, so I always have to look it up and refresh myself when I pick it back up again. Not this time though! I've used up 5 balls of Lion Brand Amazing that I dug out of my stash while I was back home. Yarn from Joann? Who am I? Seriously, this yarn is actually pretty nice and this comes from someone who really HATES acrylic yarn. So you can trust my judgement here ;) The colorway I'm using is Strawberry Fields and I'm really digging the color combination.

(29): View from a run//(30): FINALLY finished Christmas socks//(31): ...and started 2 more pairs

(32): Fabric junkie//(33): Farmer's market breakfast//(34): Beach run//(35): Local stout in Arizona

(36): Reunited w/ my monster//(37): Second socks. Ugh//(38): NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL//(39): Wandering Chicago...where's Caleb?!

(40): These two//(41): So I started crocheting. And I'm a monster//(42): Last morning with her

(43): Back in California, beat the Vortex//(44): More running, foggy pier//(45): Immortal love for V-Day

(46): View from our camper at 7am//(47): Too much time together/hatechu faces//(48): Rough run & still gimpy

So far this month has been a lot of outside time, crafting & ODing on suck-you-in TV shows. I managed to marathon both The Middle & Scandal while I was home. Since I ran yesterday, today I'm locking myself in with all my neverending WIPs and taking a long walk after lunch. Gotta stretch those legs! More on those WIPs tomorrow.

Leaving Pt. 2

I kissed my boyfriend goodbye last night and put him on a plane to California. Knowing I would make it there eventually, but the lack of a set reunion date on my calendar was the hardest part. I'm starting from scratch (again) in Long Beach, so that struggle of how I'll fill my days is keeping me here. At the end of the day it will just be the same type of existence in a different place. Why not just go?

I matured a bit while I was in Philly. I still don't feel how I imagine an adult to feel, but, as a person, I grew. It was my first time living away from home and I really didn't know anybody (aside from Matt) when I moved there, so I was forced into becoming more of an adult than I'd ever been before. Eventually I made friends, great friends, and discovered that the shy girl of high school didn't exist anymore. Being afraid of putting myself out there didn't get me anywhere and I was "rewarded" me with fake relationships and friendships of convenience. And ain't nobody got time for that.

In moving forward I need to realize that I will make friends again, I will find my way in Long Beach, and I shouldn't put off moving there because staying here is safe. This is still my home, but Chicago has become more of a place to visit than anything else, a place to pass through. New things are scary and heartbreaking (sometimes), but isn't that the way life should be?

As scared as I am, good things will come. The great thing about this not being a permanent situation is that I'm forced to live in the now because we might not be living there after six months. In the year and a halfish I lived in Philly I traveled to 3 countries (2 of them new) and 10 new states, not including those I just passed through. The goals I've set for my California months might be ambitious, but I'll be happy with whatever I may accomplish.

Travel

July: Ghey date with my Austalian penpal of 8ish years. I will have met all of my penpals IRL.
August: Visit Sedona, AZ//Weekend in Vegas?
September: Sheep & Wool festival in Portland, OR//Weekend in San Francisco
October: International Hot Air Balloon Festival in Albuquerque, NM//Friend's wedding in Chicago
November: Visit to Philly for the half marathon
December: ALASKA//Home for Christmas

General

Get back on track with running. That half-marathon isn't gonna train itself.

Try yoga. It's free, it's on the beach, it's everyday.

Write, in some form. No other requirements

Home brew.

Try cooking new things.

Learn more about wine & wine culture.

Design a new pattern every month.

(...don't buy a car full of yarn...)

I leave on Saturday.

On Moving On

Life has been dealing me a couple of hard blows lately. I keep meaning to blog about my recent trip to Iceland, but that is a story for another day.

Earlier this week Matt was informed that he is relocating to Long Beach in California...next Friday. We've spent the past three days scrambling around looking for an apartment for me in Philly, but it looks like things aren't destined to go that way and I'll be leaving the city I've fallen in love  (not quite) like with in just over a week.

Being a tourist two days after I moved here

It's hard trying to figure out what I want to do. If I do go to Long Beach, I don't want people to judge me for following Matt. We're trying to figure out what we want in our future and why shouldn't I tag along and travel as much as I can in the meantime? I'd love to stay in Philly for awhile longer, but I don't want to scramble and settle on an apartment that I don't love just to have a great summer with my friends. And one of the reasons I love Philly so much is because Matt & I travel together so much. What's the point if my #1 travel buddy is nearly 3,000 miles away? I've made some of the best friends during my near 2 years here, but I'm sure I can guilt them into visiting me one way or another :)

As much as all of this sucks I'm going to try to make the most of it and look at this as a time to figure out what I want. The hardest part is remembering that nothing is permanent and I can always go back.

Philly, you'll be missed.

(But cheers to never paying $18 for a 6-pack again!)

Facing Fears: Flying Solo to Iceland

I am not an independent person; I am only adventurous in the loosest sense of the word and I can be a big baby when it comes to traveling arrangements. I'm not afraid to fly, but my muscles tense up when it starts raining and I'm on the Bolt Bus three hours from home. I fear walking through airports and missing connections more than anything else. When I get there, and I always do, eventually, that's when I'm fine.

Packing up three weeks worth of clothes and yarn and heading East without a ticket home was probably the most daring thing I've done thus far. I knew I probably wouldn't be back, but I didn't tell anyone anything. I didn't want to wuss out and return to Chicago in two weeks. I knew I would love Philly, but I didn't think I would still be here and I didn't think I could think of it as home. I may have hurt some people and my mother still guilts me sometimes, but in order to grow you have to leave. Staying stagnant in the Midwest was a fear greater than "what if..."

Now I'm addicted to traveling, even if it's a quick trip to New York City that will be over in a few hours. $50 and 2 hours on a bus each way for a day in Manhattan. But why wouldn't you? I've made it a game (a very expensive one) to see how many weekends out of a month I can spend in a new city. Some months I can even be out of town every weekend and those are the most exhausting and exhilarating of the bunch. I haven't traveled much this month because I taught a class at the Shop and that put the kaboosh on any kind of long weekend I might have had in mind.

So you can blame restlessness on what I did this weekend.

Woohoo! Thanks, Delta

I booked a ticket for a solo trip to Iceland, a place I've dreamed of visiting for years. I booked a trip by myself to a foreign country on a whim and decided that I would figure out the rest along the way. I leave in two weeks and this will be the first ever trip I fund and go on by myself. It's terrifying.

After making Matt click the "confirm" button, I felt waves of terror and relief wash over me. I found the deal around 12:30 on Saturday afternoon and hemmed and hawed over my decision for a good 4 hours before I finally accepted that I could do this. I would be alone for almost a week, but so what? I could see what I wanted to see, make friends along the way and just have a great time. I may be poor as anything when I come home, but I will spend 5 beautiful days in the land of fire and ice. If I really do hate it (impossible?) then it will be over in 5 days and I will be a bigger weenie than I thought.

Now to answer the most important questions: 1. Which hat(s) do I knit for the trip? and 2. PUFFINS or WHALES? Puffins AND Whales? Glaciers OR volcanoes? If you've been to Iceland, dear readers, please share some of your favorite things to do in the Reykjavik area. See, I can spell it right now.

Seriously. How can this be real?

For more breathtaking photos and an awesome introduction to sell you on Iceland, check out the photographer's blog (linked under the photo & here). I suggest you listen to this Sigur Ros song while you flip through. It's an oldie, but still my favorite. And the video is equally beautiful.

Disclaimer: I really am super excited about this trip. I'll try not to let my weeniness interfere with what I'm sure will be an amazing experience.