Hey there, everybody! A tiny part of you might be wondering what the heck we have been up to that has been keeping me from posting on the blog as often as normal. Maybe you haven’t. Maybe you don’t even know we moved? Ha. Well we have. (Where have YOU been?) All the way up to Detroit, Michigan!
When I say Detroit, I really mean the suburbs located about thirty to forty minutes north of it. To be honest, I have yet to see the city of Detroit. Funny, huh? From what I have heard from the locals, I don’t really need to.
I can’t deny that the initial thought of moving up here had me a bit concerned. In my head, I could only picture busy streets full of drug deals, crime, struggle, and anything anything related to the Eminem movie, 8 Mile. After doing some research online and realizing that a very little percentage of anything having to do with the Detroit Pistons is even near Detroit, I slowly started welcoming the idea of moving into our lives.
As it was getting closer to our moving date, I somehow kept running into people from around this area. I had more than a handful of conversations with different people assuring me that I was going to love it. For those of you in Orlando, I was told there are plenty of Winter Park and Dr. Phillips types of areas around where we were going to be. That made it all better.
Arriving to Auburn Hills just a week and a half ago has assured me we are going to be just fine. Although we have been living at a hotel, we have started to settle into the area and get into somewhat of a routine.
Michigan, So Far
As you can probably guess, Scott and I are okay where we are, but are more than a little anxious to find a new home and get our stuff up here with us. Oh boy, has that been a task. Having a dog attached to our names eliminates the majority of nice, yet affordable places in the areas we have been looking. Here, leasing is more expensive than buying (by a landslide) and we are going to end up paying more rent than we are used to for less space.
With that said, keep your fingers cross that the place we put our third application in for goes through soon. It was perfect for us, and had no issue with our main man, Roadie.
Speaking of Roadie, a lot of you have asked me how he is doing. He’s good! I can’t say great, because it is very obvious to me that he is confused, bored, and almost as over the process of moving as we are. We haven’t encountered walking him in the snow yet, but has certainly noticed a change in scenery.
Since he is pretty much locked in our hotel room for the majority of the day, I feel for the guy and take him on about four walks a day.
We haven’t attempted to run outside together, but that is one of the first things I am going to do once we move into a neighborhood. I hope that day comes sooner than later, because I can not get over the colors of the leaves here!
Living in Florida for my entire life has never allowed me to see the changing of leaves in person. Fellow Floridians: let me just say it is absolutely gorgeous!
Day by Day
If there is anything I have learned over the past year of uncertainty, it is to take overwhelming situations (like moving) one day at a time. Set up check-ins and weekly to-do lists, rather than thinking about everything that needs to be done all at once. Focus on what needs to be done by the next day, then week, and so on.
Right now, my focus is finding a home and keeping up with my regular work schedule. Fortunately, everything I am responsible for writing and running is online and can get most of it done in our hotel room… when the Internet is working.
Is an inconsistency of Internet connections in all hotels, or just the ones I choose to stay at? I seem to somehow encounter it during every stay away from home.
When I am not out and about looking at properties, running errands or going to events with Scott, I am enjoying some time at the gym. I have been doing a lot of treadmill runs and teaching myself as much barre as I can.
For those who were wondering, I haven’t been able to find a barre studio anywhere close to the area. The closest one is about an hour and a half away in Ann Arbor, so any hopes of teaching in the near future isn’t an option. Super sad face.
For now, it’s just me, the gym and our hotel room barring it up!
Eating healthy has been a little bit of a challenge. I don’t want to buy too many groceries and then have to throw things away when we move, so I am strictly sticking to having a few staples around.
A chocolate peanut butter and banana sandwich on whole wheat bread has been my go-to this week, along with apples, oatmeal, and hard-boiled eggs from the complimentary breakfast. Oh, how much we take the concept of grocery shopping for granted.
A big perk of Scott’s new job is complimentary tickets to a lot of the events held at The Palace. Besides going to two Pistons games, we have already gone to the see the Tennis Legends Championship Classic, Smashing Pumpkins, and Yates Cider Mill in the past week and a half. If that is any indication of what the next year is going to be like, I am guessing that we are going to be busy little bees!
I don’t mind one bit.
I have absolutely loved the weather so far. I say that now, though when the lowest it has gotten is 41 degrees. I know it will get a lot colder, but for now I am really enjoying building and sporting a new fall wardrobe.
All about the comfy boots and cozy scarves!
Day by day, we are somehow pulling everything together and are getting closer and closer to feeling at home. Of course I miss my family, friends and things about Orlando every day, but it is difficult to be too sad when you run into this every time you step outside.
Sigh. Could it just stay like this forever?
Wrapping it up, I agree with anyone who says that moving is not easy. It’s not. It actually stinks. A lot.
I also agree with anyone who told me I am going to love the seasons and areas around us. I do. A lot.
After living “up north” for about a week and a half it doesn’t seem to be as scary as I thought. I am very excited to get through the next few weeks, and get into whatever our normal schedules will be here. I have high hopes and big plans for our future here, and I couldn’t be more anxious for it to start.
Until then…. I guess I will have to keep finding my spot.
In, and out of the hotel room that is. 😉
Have a great day!
Amanda H.
I have a friend who lives near Auburn Hills and I asked her what studios teach Barre classes nearby. She emailed me a couple. Hope this helps!
http://www.pureelementpilates.com/BarreBIT.html
http://www.equilibriumstudio.com/xtend-barre/
Heather
Oh my gosh Amanda – YES! That is such a huge help! I looked at both studios and they are both around thirty minutes away from me. Can’t wait to try a class! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Amanda H.
You are SO welcome! Good luck!