30 Days

30 days since my last post, but I'm baaa-aaack!

Boy, what a slacker I've been, right? But only in the blogosphere, really.

In the everything-else-o-sphere, I've been in overdrive. Now with a move to the District of Columbia, a wedding reception, a holiday, two out-of-town guests and lots and lots and lots of words for magazines, I can come back and tell you about it all.

That's right, our wedding party burst open with fun and love. Eric and I are very, very lucky. Nearly 90 people shared and celebrated in our love and happiness-- and we pulled it all off ourselves. Well, not totally. But, without paid caterers, bartenders, cleaning staff or space. It was perfectly perfect.

I've been writing, writing, writing for Northern Virginia and Hagerstown. I've struck up some relationships with a couple other publications and assignments pop up here and there. The dream that someday I might be able to write full-time and still eat food and have a home seems more like a reality each month. Yahoo!

I saved our move for last to tell you about because it has been GREAT! I can't believe I stressed about it so much and am 100% confident we did the right thing. I have lots and lots of reasons-- been saving them up in my head just for this post-- and want to share them all right now:

1. Our place is HUGE. This is the biggest apartment I've ever had. We have tons of closet space. We're on the tippity-top floor of a DC apartment building with 18 foot windows and 20 foot ceilings. Amazing!

2. Everyone in our building and neighborhood who I've met so far-- neighbors, coffee shop employees, bums, grocery clerks, random people on the sidewalks, waiters and bartenders-- are so NICE! Whoever thinks people in DC are rude should move to my neighborhood and think again.

3. The best, BEST, yoga studio in DC literally backs up to my building. I've been 2 to 3 times a week in the past month and I feel OMazing!

4. On just our block alone, we have Whole Foods, CVS, a hardware store, a dry cleaner, a 7-11, a liquor store, a burger place, a nice restaurant, a bar, the yoga studio, a paint store, a Subway restaurant, and a Thai place. I honestly can't imagine what more I need right outside my door.

5. Though we're in the middle of the city, our bedroom is quiet at night. Haven't heard one siren. Not one.

6. We have a roof pool. A ROOF POOL!

7. We're half a mile from every color Metro line, including the one I take to work. My work pays for the Metro. So now, I'm not driving and it's free. I walk two miles a day now in my commute, listening to music or (more safely) talking on the phone. This cannot even compare to the hour to two hour commute I faced daily just a month ago.

8. Two of our very good friends live within walking distance.

9. There are a handful of organic/locally grown menu restaurants within walking distance. Yum!

10. Ultra-yummy hand churned ice cream can be in my mouth within fifteen minutes of leaving my front door. Important, very important.

11. We have a dishwasher. This is our first dishwasher since living together.

12. I shopped all over DC today and did not drive once.

13. Speaking of cars, we now share one! Less cost AND less pollution.

14. Speaking of shopping, watch out! Some of the best is, as I mentioned above, within walking distance.

15. Our utilities are included! One less worry. One less plan.

16. We have a security guard all night long in the lobby. Like that.

17. Since my couch wouldn't fit in the apartment (this is a positive post, so I won't share that story because it made me very sad), we bought a cool futon. No really, a COOL futon. So now, our out of town guests have somewhere to sleep.

18. We have an elevator. Convenient.

19. There is a brass band that plays some evenings outside Dupont Circle, which is very close to my house. They're just all these guys and they jam out, playing amazing music that's so fun and entertaining. Some nights, I dance on the sidewalk with all the other people watching. Sometimes, they even let me play the cow bell. Now, c'mon. What could be better than THAT?

20. There is a fresh flower stand right behind our building.

21. We live near some of the best thrift, vintage and reincarnated "junk" stores ever! I could spend hours upon hours in some of the shops just down the street.

I'm going to wrap it here because I could go past 100, but the most important thing of all

22. We're HAPPY! We LOVE it here. We LOVE our neighborhood, our apartment, everything.

Yep, yep. So that's that. I got a lot going on, but I always do. I'm going to do my best to be a little less of a slacker in the blogoshphere and get back to my 2007 Resolution of slooooowing down. (Disclaimer: I was unaware at that time that I'd be getting married and moving again in 2007. So, I get a free pass. But now, I'll get back to being slow. More slow, anyhow.)

Plus, I have some new things in the works and I'll certainly want to share all the details and good news along the way!

Stay tuned...