Bittersweet Farewells

This week was my last week at my job here and I had to say some "keep in touch" farewells to some great friends I've made here. Thankfully, with all of the ways we have to stay in touch these days, we won't be "far" away in the social media world, but it's a change for sure. I'm a very relational person so my friendships are dear to my heart so the good news is we can keep in touch. Friends - if you're reading- you all mean a lot and have a piece of my heart:)

Minnesota and I on the other hand, aren't good friends at the moment. This week has been dreary, rainy, gray skies and chilly. I'm ready for summer warmth and it isn't here in the Twin Cities yet! We've seen a few glimpses, but it's been back and forth. And remember, our apartment turned off the heat (with no going back) early in May. We've had some of the coldest nights in our apartment since then without heat! Texas has plenty of that warm air for us though, so I'm preparing to jump right into summer this coming week.

Minneapolis vs Dallas:

Notice the Minneapolis highs are just about the Dallas Lows. I cannot wait to feel the warmth! 

Here are some of our rainy dreary (April-like!) days in photos lately...

Last Saturday:

Wednesday:

My body doesn't love this type of weather either. Too many rainy {and painful} days for me lately.

Signs of spring are still happening around here though. These little buds from last weekend...

 ...Turned into beautiful blossoms this weekend. So precious and full of life.

That's the blessing of spring we've waited for during our {LONG} winter months. New growth and everything coming back to life. It's a beautiful process (...minus the long winter part...).

Back to the farewells - my co-workers joined together for a going away happy hour that made my heart happy! These friends are great and will be missed. 

 I also had a great dinner {that was nearly rained out toward the end - ha!} with two sweet friends I met within weeks of moving here nearly a year and a half ago. These girls are funny, are adorable fashionistas and have such big hearts. 

I hope you all know you're invited to Texas anytime you want ;) Friends grow the heart bigger and deeper, I've definitely felt that living here.

I have to throw in a photo of this adorable dog that belongs to one of my friends from work. Does he not melt your heart?! Oh my goodness, that face. Someone help me convince Nick that we need a dog when we get settled into our new place ;)

 

Take-out cashew chicken we enjoyed last weekend. Oh my deliciousness, it was so good. 

This post has already gotten long, but I can't pass this week without mentioning the devastating tornado in Moore, Oklahoma on Monday. My heart completely broke watching coverage of the recovery efforts that night, the clean up as the week as gone on, etc. We've driven through Moore so many times on our way to and from Dallas and it's just hard to imagine living through/in that area right now. They're in our prayers.

My aunt and uncle were visiting my parents in Dallas last week for a vacation and actually drove home (back to Iowa) on Monday. They passed through Moore (driving on I-35, which the tornado crossed) a few hours before the tornado touched down. Too close for comfort. 

I watched many videos this week (I'm sure many of you have too), I thought I would share these (from youtube) if you hadn't seen them:

A blogger I follow lives in Oklahoma (I think about an hour from Moore) and posted this post with photos that show more of the devastation. Not to mention the lives lost in that tornado. So hard to grasp. Our prayers have been going to all of the families affected by all of this severe weather, especially in Moore. I read that more than 13,000 homes are damaged or destroyed from that tornado. It heavies my heart, but I know how communities can rally together and that sounds like what is happening in Moore. 

Now, I have to get to packing/organizing, etc. Honestly, I haven't started, I've been so exhausted. We have some time in our timeline before we're out of here completely (though I'll go down earlier to start my new job), but we have some work to do:)

Today's Pinspiration:

(Pinterest source)

(Pinterest source)

Green Life

 I have been so entertained these past few weeks watching all of the green life growing outside. It's just gorgeous! These green tree buds have never looked more fresh than they do this season.

I took these photos earlier this week, on one of our many rainy days lately. I told Nick, "March showers bring April flowers" and he looked at me like I was crazy. We've had showers so much in the past few weeks, it feels like the timeline is moving up this year!

Don't these little buds look so precious? 

 I was able to enjoy Caribou with a friend earlier this week too - Caribou is my favorite coffee and favorite coffee atmosphere.

 Here are a few I snapped this morning, on a much brighter, bluer day. I swear these photos show many more green buds sprouting then the ones above too. 

Nick has always said spring is his favorite season and it's starting to win me over this year!  

I also had a fibro checkup with my doctor yesterday (my second time seeing her) and this time, my blood pressure and pulse were "beautiful" which was great to hear. Last time, they were very high which concerned them (which then concerned me a bit), so I weaned off Savella and have been off for a few weeks now, and it seems to have been the culprit! I had high blood pressure every time I was on that medication, while it was never high before that. So we fixed that issue! I also let her know going dairy free has significantly reduced my bloating which is great. Other than that, no other noticeable changes (still same symptoms I listed in this post). 

She also referred me to see a rheumatologist to further help manage my symptoms since I've still got many of the bothersome ones (daily headaches, morning stiffness, radiating pain, fatigue, etc.). I see that doctor next Tuesday and am so hoping that doctor is much more familiar with fibro and will help me get rid of these nasty symptoms. We will be praying.

Since my diagnosis about a year ago, I've had maybe a half day or so tops that I felt well, otherwise I just don't feel well. One way to describe fibro is encouraging others to think back to when they had a bad flu and how it felt - body aches, fatigue, more sensitivities to stimuli, and just not feeling well. That's the basis of how I feel and I have other add-on symptoms each day in addition to those. I'm hopeful about the appointment next week - and I'm thankful we could schedule it then since our health insurance will be changing after next week. 

The hope remains.

(source)

Spring has Sprung!

(source)

It suuure has! Spring brought some temperatures of summer with it lately too. As mentioned in my last post, I've been taking tons of outdoor photos lately and have more to share. It's been incredibly gorgeous outside so we've been out on walks more and I've been able to have fun soaking up the sunshine.

I also have some fun spring inspiration in store for you in this post!

(source)

(source)

These next few look more summery really - it was 80 degrees that day! 

I think the warm tones make them look dreamy.

Showing our team spirit prior to the ISU/Kentucky basketball game

 We also took in the fresh new growth of plants - that's one of the beauties of the midwest - the hard freezes and dormant winter season, followed by the new life of spring. It's pretty amazing when you think about it.

(source)

There are lots of cute spring things on Pinterest right now by the way! Here are a few cute printables:

(source)

(source)

(source)

Lastly, I'll leave you (and me) with some more inspiration.

(source)

Wonderful things are happening as new buds sprout in plants and flowers all around us, let's believe something wonderful is sprouting soon in our lives. We've got nothing to lose by believing.