41 days left

It seems surreal that in 41 days I will be preparing to leave on my big adventure.  I know August will fly by with work, packing and plans almost every weekend.  With the trip planned, my thoughts wander to December and what I will do when I get back.  I can hopefully return to my current job here in Des Moines (which I am enjoying) until I can land something permanent in Chicago.  Not knowing what December holds was starting to stress me out since I am such a planner.  Planners have a hard time dealing with the unknown and not being able to put a plan into motion for December yet really had me stressed. However, after a great conversation with my good friend Holly the other night, I realized that I just need to live in the now and enjoy the anticipation on my trip. 

In the meantime, I have had a lot going on:

• My dog KC - A few weeks ago, after a lot of tears and thought, I made the very difficult decision to give KC away to a new loving home.  I knew she wouldn't do well in Chicago and also didn't want to burden my family with her while I was gone on my trip.  Shortly after putting the word out, I found a fantastic new home for her with a local family.  All was going really well until she nipped at their 6-year old son.  Like any good parent, they couldn't risk that happening again which I completely understand.  So now, we are again on the hunt for the perfect home for KC.  I can't begin to explain how difficult this whole situation has been for me - missing her, knowing she must be confused and scared, not knowing what her future holds at this point.  I have re-considered my decision a million times but still think in the long run Chicago is not the best place for her.  I hope we can find a great, loving home for her soon so my mind can be set at ease and tears can stop flowing. 
• Packing - Since my weekends have been pretty full, I have been trying to pack a little each night.  My house is currently a disaster with boxes and packing materials everywhere.  It's both exciting and weird to be packing up again.  My storage POD, movers and carpet cleaners are all coming August 27th - barely a month away. 
• Garage Sale & Craig's List -  We just had a garage sale this weekend which went very well.  I was able to purge stuff as I have been packing and I was able to sell quite a bit of stuff on Saturday.  A few things that didn't sell went up on craig's list and have now gone quickly.  I was on a high Saturday evening having purged my house of non-essential items and having some extra money in my pocket.  It felt so good to get rid of stuff I haven't used since I moved to Iowa and make a little cash while doing it. 

A big thank you to my family and friends who are ever-supportive and loving.  I don't know what I would do without your help and great advice.  I love you!