Baby, It's Cold Outside

When Matt and I moved to Colorado almost three years ago we were most excited about the weather here. 300 average days of sunshine per year, mild winters and mild summers. Since we moved we've been so happy about the weather here, but for whatever reason this year has been particularly rough. Over the summer it was well into the 100s for a few weeks (typically we only hit 100 a few days out of the summer) and now we're feeling Minnesota-like temperatures this winter. It's currently -9 degrees outside and the high for the day is only 3 degrees. Thankfully it's supposed to warm up on Thursday, back into the 40s.

The weather did cooperate on Saturday, which was Moving Day 2011 for us. It was warm, but there was a nice, brisk breeze that kept us cool while lifting and loading. The day was very long but we're so happy to be moved. As per tradition we started the day with McDonald's breakfast (we ONLY have McDonald's when we move or have an early trip to the airport/road-trip, so maybe two or three times a year) and we started loading the moving truck at about 8:00 am and were able to load up all the big stuff, drive to Aurora, and unload everything by 2:00 pm. Then, after a pizza lunch (I may have eaten 6 slices... I was so hungry!), we made a couple carload trips and got almost everything moved over. Angela and I went over and cleaned the old place top to bottom (Angela's the best cleaner EVER) and then we went back to our new place. By the time we were "done" we were so tired and just put our bed together and went to sleep.

The new place is really nice, and we're settling in. We still have a ton to unpack, but after moving on Saturday Matt had to go back to work and I went back into class mode, doing homework all day on Sunday and Monday. Thursday should be a big unpack/organize day, including a trip to Target to get some organizational stuff like storage boxes. The only complaints about the new place have to do with the bitter cold: there's a bit of a draft through the windows (which makes me nervous considering we are paying the gas bills) and the hot water runs out SO fast. I tried turning the water heater's temperature up, but yesterday I got my hair shampooed and that was it before the water turned frigid. I'm hoping that once the outdoor temperatures improve that these issues will be less severe. Regardless, we're happy to be here. We've met several of our neighbors and they are all very friendly, the complex is quiet and beautiful (studying was incredibly difficult on Sunday since we have 4 large windows in our office and there were tons of birds and squirrels outside). There are a lot of dogs here as well, which makes me feel really good to know our dogs are welcome here rather than despised like at the other place.

School is going really well, and I am feeling a lot better about my choice to study Marketing. It seems to be a good fit for me, as it is a sociological study of consumers and their buying behavior, but also a good degree of data interpretation, which fulfills the nerdy part of me that likes filling out forms and filing and alphabetizing. I find both of my classes pretty interesting, which has made studying a lot easier. The workload is very heavy, which I'm not surprised by considering these are Masters level courses, but I've always been a bit "overkill" with my study habits... I take pretty intense notes, so reading a 30-page chapter can sometimes take three hours. I'm just hoping the projects and reports go well.

But I suppose I should get off my butt and do something, like unpack a few boxes. I need to get a load or two of laundry done (we have a washer and dryer now, YAY! No more walking down two hallways every 30 minutes!) and start sorting through my clothes and sending stuff to Goodwill. I may be meeting someone this afternoon to sell my Beetle (which I'm excited about, but also a bit sad to lose my little bug) but have to unload a few things from it before then, which I definitely don't want to do in this weather... but I suppose it all needs to be done eventually.