It's about time!

Being in PR, I have come to know and appreciate blogging as a "new" innovation in communication technology. It wasn't until I became addicted to my friend's wedding/life blog (Way to go, Stacy!) that I realized the shear easiness and benefits associated with being a blogger myself. So, here we go!

Recently a lot of changes have happened in my life--and they all happened very quickly. Earlier this spring, I was floating along as a normal college student: completing an internship, applying for every job under the sun, and counting down the days until graduation. My wonderful boyfriend Matt (which I'm sure I'll type about frequently--that boy is the love of my life!) had been offered (and accepted!) a wonderful job with Cherne Contracting Corp. at the ConocoPhillips Refinery in Roxanna, IL, and was quickly transitioning from recent college grad living at home to a career man in desperate need to finding a place to live on his own---with his girlfriend.

We set out on our house search (to be renters, of course) and spent an endless amount of frustrating hours looking for something that would fit us and our dog Bandit Allen perfectly. Finally, we came upon a duplex in a nice little neighborhood in Collinsville, IL.

Throughout the house hunt, I had been feverishly continuing my job search, but now narrowing the target area to the Metro-East. To spare too many details, I came upon a listing for "Coordinator of Special Events & Volunteers" at the Hoyleton Children's Home Foundation--and the rest is history. I have been working at Hoyleton since the middle of April and have experienced so much already (more to come on that later!).

Before I knew it, I had moved in with the love of my life (to a new town we were both unfamiliar with), taken the first step in my career, separated from all of my closest friends, graduated from college, and started life as an "adult." Of course, it was a little overwhelming at times, but I wouldn't take back anything or change any of those decisions.

That is where you find me today, workin' the 9-5 job (which entails a two-hour-round-trip commute), settling into our new home, making payments on my new car (goodbye beautiful Mustang!) and preparing for the future. Now, if I can just get that boyfriend of mine to pop the question, I can continue on with all of the planning. What can I say, I was born with an organizational mindset. It's a skill and a curse.