More Pictures...

Welcome to the Jersey Shore!

I have internet access in my house. FINALLY. This means that I can share some pictures of my new place with those of you who haven't seen it yet. The house is right next to the church I'm serving for my internship. It previously housed offices for an NJ social services organization, and was completely gutted and renovated, and also received an addition. Now half of the building is my residence (kitchen, dining room, living room, bathroom, two bedrooms, basement) and the other half is church/public space (two large meeting rooms, restrooms, kitchenette, food pantry, and storage), with a sunroom/breezeway/small meeting space connecting the two halves. The house was completely furnished and decorated with all new items, as well as a fully stocked kitchen and other household items such as towels, sheets, and cleaning supplies.

The people have been very welcoming and helpful. The community the church is in is small, but nice. It has a population of only about 8,000. But Toms River is right next door, which is a pretty large area, and Ocean County is the fastest growing county in NJ. AND I can be at the ocean in just 15 minutes! In my opinion, that's the best part. ;) I've already made it to the beach a few times. Sadie and I have been settling in nicely, and enjoy walking through the neighborhood on a nice path not too far from the house.

Enjoy the pictures... in my next post I'll share about my birthday surprise. :)

Quick update

Just a quick post to let you all know that I'm now a resident of New Jersey! After a few long days of lifting, moving, cleaning, and driving, I am settled in to my new (beautiful!) house. I will be unpacking and arranging for a few days I'm sure, and also taking some time to get to know the area. I also don't have internet access at my house yet, but once I do I'll write a longer post and maybe even include some pictures of my house. More to come later!

Please allow me to continue complaining

Boy am I sick of packing. I've been at it for at least a week now, and still have a little more to go. As annoyed as I am with packing though, I hate the actual lifting and moving of my furniture and stuff even more. And I have that to look forward to in just three more days! I'm sad to leave Philly, but at this point, I just want to be in my new place in Jersey already!

I was able to take a break from packing on Sunday and go down to the Baltimore area to visit my cousins. It was fun and nice to get away for a bit. And I always enjoy spending time with them. I'll have another break tomorrow for my birthday. I don't know what I'm doing yet, as the itinerary has been planned for me and is a surprise, but I look forward to being able to relax and enjoy my special day!

The pile is growing...

I've made some decent progress in my packing today, so my pile of boxes is growing. This makes me feel both successful (because I'm making progress) and annoyed (because there are more boxes taking over my apartment). My bedroom stuff, except clothes, is packed up. The next room to tackle is the kitchen.

I had dinner with some friends last night and said goodbye as it will be the last time I see them for a while. It got me thinking about friendships. I've loved living in Philly but it's been hard to be so far away from many of the friends I've made over the years, and from my family. I've made some wonderful friends here at seminary, and now we'll all be separated for a year. I know I'm not always the best at keeping in touch with people too. But I've also learned over the years to be more realistic about how temporary or lasting different relationships are, and that some friendships are able to be maintained even when you can't talk on a regular basis. To my friends who are reading this: I hope you know that even if we don't talk often, I sincerely value the way you've touched my life. And to my family: I love you and am so thankful for your support! And speaking of friends and family, my mom recently went on her annual "buddies" trip to Richmond, and it makes me hope that when I'm her age, I'll still be going on trips with my friends! My mom's pretty cool like that. :)