All moved in!

This past week has been busy! On Saturday I returned to Pittsburgh to move into our new apartment. I wasn't able to get a flight till the evening but our help was available during the day. Well, my wonderful roommate and a group of friends moved EVERY single thing of mine from one apartment to the next. I got in at 8:00 at night and came home to a bed already made for me. Isn't that sweet? I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends.

The first few days were spent cleaning and organizing. It's slowly beginning to feel a bit more like our new home. We still need furniture and decorations but on a tight budget we'll be patient till the right things become available. Though we are still close, we are outside of the busy college city of Oakland and it's great! The past two years I spent living above a pizza shop where being serenaded by drunks outside my window after 12 was not uncommon. Now I can stand outside at night, see the stars, then fall asleep peacefully and wake up to the birds chirping in the tree outside my window. Somehow...this makes me feel like an adult.

Once things were put away, I went for my first run in the neighborhood. After 4 years of running around the city, I knew it was hilly but now I have a whole new perspective. I took this picture with my ipod after running uphill for half a mile. Downtown was not visible when I started. Yes, it's beautiful but my legs were burning when I got to the top. It reminded me of running in the mountains in Colorado last summer and battling a love for running with a hatred of hills. At least in Colorado I knew I wouldn't get lost in the loop that went around camp. Getting lost yesterday didn't take any work. Not a single street in our neighborhood is straight and though logically I know some streets must go downhill, I felt like I was stuck going uphill the whole time. Luckily the beautiful views of downtown Pittsburgh and the Cathedral of Learning in Oakland give me something to look forward to at the top! It's great to be back in Pittsburgh.