Just jump! But don't forget your parachute.

Here I am, sitting in a coffee shop again, this time: Starbucks. I'm here because the neighbor I had been stealing internet from for 8 months must have either moved away or gotten smart and put a password on his Wifi.  I'm also here because I had 6 unused gift cards to Starbucks and I felt I should start using them. Bonus: Awesome people-watching. My most favoritest hobby.

Anyway, in case you haven't been paying attention, the New Year is coming soon and you know what that means: Sparkly dresses, resolutions, tons of weight loss commercials, overly full gyms, NYE parties, and of course--the never ending Top Ten lists.  Top Ten songs of 2012! Top Ten celebrities of 2012! Top Ten toys of 2012! Top Ten pet fish names of 2012! Seriously, it doesn't matter what it is, there will be a Top Ten list of anything and everything.  

So to keep up with culture and be a good, holiday-embracing citizen, here is Kirsten's Top Life Lessons Learned in 2012!!  Instead of doing 10, I'm going to shake things up a bit and do the top 3.  Because 10 is excessive.  And because 3 is my favorite number. 

Kirsten's Top Three Life Lessons of 2012!!! [Part One.]

"If you're willing to take a leap of faith, moving doesn't have to be hard. 

But don't jump without a parachute." 

I know I talk about moving a lot, because that seems to be my season of life right now.  Moving might not be on your radar at all.  But are you thinking about switching careers? Buying a house? Going back to school? Taking a year off to travel? The type of faith and practical steps needed to make a big move exercises the same faith muscles as many other big life decisions. 

If you feel unsettled where you are, and if your heart is leading you to something new, and the timing isn't HORRIBLE (there will rarely be a "perfect time" to make any huge life decision)...then take the leap of faith and just do it!! 

Specifically with a move, take the leap now--especially if you're young. Because seriously, if you move and you hate it, give it at least a year...and if you still hate it, you can always move back.  And once you're more settled down I'm sure it gets WAY harder to just pick up and move a family. 

But here are the top three lessons I've learned in preparing for a move:

1. Pray. If you're not the praying type, then hardly anything I say will be too relevant.  I have NO idea how I would get through life or have an ounce of joy without my faith.  I would be an anxious, worrying mess.  But if you pray about it, feel peace and excitement about the move, and your family doesn't seriously threaten to disown you, then just do it! 

Also, prayer goes very well with the whole 'finding a job' aspect of moving.  It's up to you and your own personal wisdom whether to wait to move until you have a job in your new city, or REALLY take a leap of faith and move without a job. Sometimes it's honestly easier to find a job once you're in the new city.  But that doesn't work for everyone.  

One thing I will also say, is sometimes the adventure of moving takes a bit of sacrifice and you have to take a not-so-glamourous job temporarily.  For the most part, getting a job is all about who you know.  Move to a new place, work a job to pay the bills and start meeting people.  Then you will have a much better chance to find your dream job once you've made connections. 

2. Get rid of your stuff!  This is something I've really embraced lately.  Even if you're not moving...it feels so good to get rid of all that extra stuff you don't use! My rule: If I haven't worn it or used it more than once in the past year, get rid of it!! Don't be a hoarder. Also, donate when you can...but don't donate your garbage.  Non-profits like Goodwill have to pay a lot of money to throw stuff away that people donate that is literally just garbage--stained clothes, broken appliances, etc.  Just throw it away. Or recycle it if possible. 

3. Save your money.  Moving isn't cheap.  Moving trucks are expensive.  Down payments on apartments are expensive.  New 3M hooks to hang up all your pictures are expensive. (Seriously it's like $8 for 4 hooks!) Always overestimate how much things will cost.  Sometimes you need to make sacrifices that may seem irresponsible to others, but ultimately that's between you and God--who has given you the abilities and opportunities to acquire those resources in the first place. 

So there you have it.  

Recap: Pray for guidance and peace about the decision. Make practical, tangible steps towards your goal. Make wise financial decisions so you can be a good steward of the resources you have been trusted with.

I call that the parachute of preparation. Okay I don't call it that, I just made that up now. But although you should adequately prepare, eventually you just hafta jump! 

Don't be the one that just sits on the edge. Don't spend your whole life perfecting the parachute. 

That's boring.  And pointless. 

Jump and be the one that inspires other people to jump, too. 

Packing Procrastination and COFFEE.

I'm sitting at Caribou, looking over my laptop at another guy's laptop. No, I'm not being creepy. It's just right there in front of me.  He has his calendar up.  And it's like a bright screen full of rainbows in grid, table, and chart form.  Each day has at least 8 different color coded blobs of text.  Maybe he's really important.  Maybe he lives a very busy life.  Maybe he's just neurotic and schedules every single thing for his day.  "Pet the dog." "Brush my teeth." "Go to Caribou and buy a Diet Coke like a weirdo."

But seriously...who goes to Caribou and sits and sips on a Diet Coke? Maybe he doesn't like coffee, Kirsten.  Ok fine, no judgment.  (But they even have SMOOTHIES here!)

Anyways, here I sit at Caribou Coffee, planning out the next month of my own life.  I'm not one for keeping a calendar.  But now realizing that maybe I should be.  I don't have trouble remembering stuff, but when it's not written down it just seems overwhelming.  This next month is going to be crazy. It's going to be stressful. But it's ultimately going to be wonderful.

Kirsten's life for the next 4 weeks:
1. Packpackpackpackpackpack

2. Parents come next weekend to load their truck with EVERYTHING that won't fit in my Subaru and temporarily store it at their house.  That pretty much means for my last few weeks in Denver I'll be living the life of a minimalist.  I'll have my winter clothes, air mattress, only my cheap kitchen items that I will end up just throwing or donating before the move...and Quincy.

3. Weekend after that I get to go to Miami for a work event.  Wahoo, Miami! Too bad I already packed ALL my summer clothes...

I'm really good at packing.  Packing strategically?  Not so much.

4. JobSearchJobSearchJobSearch.  Still no job lined up in WA. I've applied for 15+ so far, and have either heard "Unfortunately...." or nothing.  It's weird because usually that would FREAK ME OUT not having a job lined up yet.  But I really have peace about it. I think that's a God thing. I have a lead for a part time job that I would love, but like my dad always says..."Don't count your chickens before they hatch."

But here's the thing, He always provides! And He's been paving the way for this move before I even knew I was moving. He's provided with PERFECT timing and just so many answers to prayer already.  He's so faithful, it blows my mind!

All that to say, I'll stay faithful on my end by applying, praying, but also not stressing out over the job situation.  And I'd love it if you'd say a little prayer for me too, if you think of it :)

5. December 22nd I fly all the way to my hometown in Northern MN for Christmas.  From there I fly to St. Louis for another work event (boyfriend will be there too). From there we both fly back to Denver, and the same day we land, we load up the Subaru and "Roll My Windows Down and Cruiiissseee."

Okay maybe the windows will stay up.  It will be December 30th. But that's a glorious song. Thank you, Florida Georgia Line.   Anyway, we will then be making the 1,340 mile drive to Renton, WA.  We hope to be there in time to celebrate New Years Eve with his friends.  Ideally with high energy and low crabbiness after a 21+ hour car ride.  Possible? We're optimistic.

6.  Amidst all of that craziness, my last two weeks at work I will be training in the new Volunteer Coordinator who will be taking my place! I'm actually really looking forward to meeting her and teaching her about the awesomeness that is, the World Vision Denver Global Distribution Center, but it's just another thing to be thinking about.

So the moral of this story is, I need to buckle down and just get to it.  Plan it out.  Write it in a Calendar (blegh). And get off of Pinterest.

Really, I spend so much time on Pinterest and I don't even really like it.  I just...can't...stop...scrolling...

Because the great ideas never end! Even though nothing on there even applies to me right now.  If it could give me advice on how to strategically pack for the next month, that would be great.  But nope, all I see are 239,846,296 ways to paint your nails.

The good news is, my Crazy Month of December (yes it all needed to be capitalized) started out great with a visit from my boyfriend! We wore ugly Christmas sweaters, he bought me nice dinners and took out my trash (major boyfriend points). We took a bunch of my stuff to Goodwill.  We made a lil fire in my fireplace and he even cleaned it out for me afterwards (more major boyfriend points). And on Sunday we watched football and ate nachos like good Americans.







Okay, so I suppose I should put words to actions and stop blogging about how much I have to do and go Nike style and JUST DO IT.  This will be easier as I'm adequately caffeinated now, thanks Caribou for your free Wifi!! And delicious Hazelnut Latte!! And beautiful fireplace!! And Christmas music!! And for my free glass of water!! And for your cool snowflakes hanging from the ceiling!! And...okay leaving now.