Are you moving again?

Yes. I am. 

Last time I moved, it was to a place 750 miles away and I did it in a week. This time it's 7.5 miles and I'm going to take at least a month. Maybe more.

I'm hoping the process will be way less painful this way.

Here's what happened. I knew when I moved here to Utah that I'd only be staying in my current place for the summer. So as soon as I moved, I started looking for my next place. Have I mentioned how much I love house hunting? Well, I do. I get the itch to look all the time, even when I'm perfectly happy in my current living situation. I still love looking. That's why I'm a huge fan of those house hunting shows on HGTV.

Anyway, I was looking around, not really planning to move until the fall. But then... it happened.

All the stars aligned and I found this awesome duplex in a super old house in Springville, really close to work, that I can have all to myself instead of doing the roommate thing, and I just knew it was the one. So I prayed about it and decided to move early. 

I love old houses, and this one is rad. It's got original wood floors in the living room, lots of old glass windows, an arched doorway, radiators. Pretty much everything you could ask for and then some. And since the duplex is on a corner, the front side of the house faces one street, and the side of the house--where I'm going to live--faces another. Which means I get my own front porch and carport and garden space and a perfect spot to park Daphne. Heaven.

But since I left all my furniture in California, and since I didn't have much furniture to begin with, I'm going to take my time moving in and getting settled. More specifically, I probably won't start sleeping there until I have a bed. Or at least a couch. I might even cave and buy the magic couch from IKEA I've been wanting for years. I still haven't forgiven them for discontinuing the Manstad, but I'm starting to think the Friheten might be an acceptable substitute.

I was actually hoping to find something smaller to live in. I'm a fan of small spaces. (See this post on Tiny Houses), and I've always wanted to live in a studio. But since this place was cheaper than the studio I was looking at, I figured it wouldn't kill me to have an actual one bedroom. I may just sleep in the living room anyway and use the bedroom for guests/writing. I haven't decided yet. All I know is I'm really, really excited. 

Which reminds me... What should I plant in my gardens this summer?

I'm thinking...

corn (I already have the seeds, so this is a definite yes.)

tomatoes

peppers

watermelon

pumpkins

raspberries? (I've always wanted to try doing these because my great-grandmother had them in her backyard.)

Obviously I'll need some herbs

basil

cilantro

and maybe oregano?

I'm also considering

garlic

onions

carrots

and snap peas

Oh, and I want some flowers too, for looks. Probably thrifts, salvia, and columbine.

Thrifts

Salvia

Columbine

In other news, I made salsa this week. It was yum. I was going to make pesto, which I like even better, but I couldn't find basil at the grocery store. Well, not good basil.

This is the part where I lament about how much less appealing the produce is here than it was in California. Except a few days after the basil mishap I went to Sprouts because I forgot to buy the cilantro for the salsa, and it turns out their herbs looked just as good as the ones at the grocery stores in California. Plus, they were super cheap. Lesson learned: Sprouts has the good herbs.

Not to be confused with The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. Which is an excellent book.

And... where was I? Oh, yes. Moving. And the garden. 

I wish I had taken pictures when I toured my new place, but I'll post some soon. And I'll keep you all posted on my success in the garden. I'm always so ambitious in the spring time, then in the summer my enthusiasm wanes, and by fall I'm just happy if I get one edible thing out of all my hard efforts. Sigh. But not this year! This year I will win at gardening! Positive thoughts!

For everyone who's been worried about me, work is getting better. Still busy. And I still have a lot to learn. But I'm feeling up to the challenge. My social life is a little lackluster lately, but that's my fault for not making an effort. And honestly, I'm kind of loving the alone time. I'm sure once I move, I'll get sick of being on my lonesome all the time and I'll force myself to go out, but at the moment I don't feel like pushing it in that area just yet.

Sorry this post is so long and rambling. And kind of pointless. Hmm... I feel like I should have some all-encompassing moral of the story to put here at the end.

Okay, how's this?

Evaluate your life. Think about what makes you happy and why. Then eliminate the things in your life that don't make you happy, so you have more time for the ones that do. Don't think about what makes other people happy or what you think should make you happy. Just go after the simple pleasures you can find all around you. Things like radiators and good books and the corn seeds you bought at K-Mart.

That is my lesson of the week. Oh, and one more thing...

Lately I've started doing this in my journal. I think I'll do it here sometimes too. It's fun. You should try it.

Eight Great Things to Be Grateful for Today

1. It's been super sunny and warm here lately.

2. I got to ride Daphne on the Provo River Trail with my friend April on Friday and it was beautiful and so much fun to catch up with April.

3. Some of my family is in town this weekend and it's been great to spend time with them. Especially Alecia, for whom we had two baby showers yesterday!

4. I'm making new friends at work.

5. I slept in this morning and then stayed in bed being lazy.

6. Veggie chips are delicious.

7. The Atonement really does make it possible for people to change--including me.

8. Aside from allergies and a possible slight cold, I am healthy and capable of doing great things.