How did I end up here?!

I suppose all of this started in August of 2010 when my mom passed away. We were very close and because of her sickness I felt tied to being within a few hours of her at all times. I never felt comfortable moving long distance, which is why I turned down a dream job in Holland in April of 2010. Once Mom passed, I no longer felt tied to the Carolinas, even though Dad still lives in SC.

For Christmas last year, my Dad and I decided it would be too painful to spend Christmas at home. Instead, we decided to visit Mom's oldest friend Shauna in Colorado. It was both of our first time out here. I instantly fell in love. After spending a wonderful week here, I told my Dad that at some point in my life I would live here. Little did I know, that would be 8 months later.

Christmas 2010:

Dad and I

Shauna and I, obviously freezing out asses off

Shortly after New Years, my boss in NC began divorce proceedings. Due to this, the future of my job there was uncertain. We knew I had through the summer, but after that things were unknown. In April, TJ (my boyfriend of now 1 1/2 years) got a job in the oil fields of North Dakota and left North Carolina. While I knew that I was NOT moving to ND, this was the beginning of me thinking that a move may be in my future. One month later, he got a job in the oil fields in Colorado and I began to seriously consider moving. I gave notice to my boss on June 1 that I would be leaving at the end of August. While it was a BIG and SCARY change, I felt like it was necessary. Things weren't going great in NC and once TJ left I almost felt like I lost my connection there. 

I left my job in NC in the beginning of August. I went down to my Dad's house in SC for about 3 weeks. Then came THE DAY. I left SC for my new life on August 23, 2011. This will be the subject of my next post.