Note to Self: You'll never be satisfied.

I want a new purse. More dresses. Cuter shoes. A bigger apartment. A new car. More friends. A better job. To make more money. To be successful.

At camp, we do this skit where the main character feels really empty inside, and so they start trying to fill themselves up with all this stuff. They go on a crazy shopping spree, make the team, and even get a new boyfriend/girlfriend. But they still feel empty. As they confide this information to a friend, the friend introduces them to Jesus. And suddenly, that hole in their heart is filled.

I think this story can ring true in a lot of different ways. It is the undertone to my story of reencountering Christ, and I think all of us deal with this to some extent.

Right now, this struggle is manifesting itself in the form of location. Whenever I travel somewhere new, whether that's a new area in Denver or a different city, I say to myself, "gosh, I could live here!" I have a restless heart that wants to explore and travel and live in the trendiest areas of the trendiest cities.

This happened again last weekend. Friday, I was walking through The Highlands and saw all these apartment buildings with an incredible view of Denver. So I started googling them to see how much rent was (note: $2,000/month for a studio is out.of.control). Saturday, Jess and I were walking around downtown and I started to take note of where the different apartment buildings were.

No matter where I live, something always feels a little out of place. Sometimes I wonder if this is because I moved around so much.

But then it dawned on me. Or, to be more accurate, it smacked me right in the face.

I will never be satisfied with a new house, a new apartment, or a new city.

I will never be satisfied with my roommates, no matter how great they are.

I will never truly be home.

Because this place, this world, is not where I am meant to be.

I am meant for Heaven, for union with Christ.

So the next time I feel myself lusting over that high-rise apartment that faces the I-25 bridge and the beautiful Denver skyline, I will remind myself that no, this apartment will not make my life better. I will turn to Christ in the Eucharist and continue to look forward to the day I will truly be home.

February In Review

I set some pretty specific goals that had to do with budgeting this month. I even made this fancy image:

Which came first: the image or the goals? We may never know.

Let's talk about how I did:

1. Actually read Dave Ramsey's book. 

• Fail. Didn't do this. But I did sit through a very long heated debate on my way to Asheville about Dave Ramsey and his methods. So that kind of counts, right? No? Shoot...

2. Read one of my fundraising books before I go home to fundraise.

• Again...fail.

3. DEAL IN CASH. 

• Semi success? I did this for 2 weeks and then I stopped and then I did it again this last week. 3/4. I stopped mainly because I don't have a bank in Colorado and getting cash is hard. Those weeks I did have cash, I stuck to my quasi-budget, which is good!

4. Do a budget analysis.

• nailedit. I feel like I have a pretty decent idea of where all my money goes. I'm overall pretty happy with it, but now I've identified areas that I can cut back and put that money towards some of my financial goals! Hooray, being informed!

5. Set some financial goals.

• naileditagain. This one was really fun. When Emily visited at the beginning of the month, we talked about taking a trip together in a year or two. So I spent some time with that goal, which was fun to start dreaming up. Unfortunately, the rest of my goals looked pretty much like, "save money," "don't go into debt," and "don't spend all your money on things you don't need" because I have no idea what I'm doing with my life. 

Moving forward...I definitely want to keep moving on some of these. Like reading Dave Ramesy's book and dealing in cash and making progress on my financial goals. I think the main big next step is to set a budget and stick to it. Doing this will allow me to implement some of these goals that I want to turn into habits. 

Some February highlights:

• Emily's visit
• The Smokies Greek Getaway
• My dating fast post
• Speaking at my parish about FOCUS
• Working from home this week
• Cinderella, the ballet
• Visiting Tommy at KU

Cheers, friends. March is my birthday month, so it's about to get real.

7QT on moving and traveling [17]

--- 1 ---

I've been moving this week, so I've been MIA. I found an awesome Living Social deal that allowed me to pay $50 for an hour with 2 movers and a truck!!!!!! Seriously, it was the best decision I ever made. They carried all my heavy things and then brought them to my new apartment. Praise God for movers, because I hate carrying boxes to/from the car.

--- 2 ---

Speaking of things I hate: packing/cleaning is another big one. It is seriously the worst. But...it's been my life the past 2.5 weeks and it will continue to be so the week following this because I'm not unpacked yet. Ugh.

--- 3 ---

Things I like: being home!! This post comes to you from Kansas City, where my family resides. I made the 9-hour journey today (it actually went pretty fast) & I will be home for the next week-ish. I'm here to work - I've been blessed with the opportunity to speak at my parish about FOCUS, so I'll be spending the week doing some fundraising. #pleaseballa

--- 4 ---

Today, I officially crossed into the realm of being a cat lady. One of my new roomies is allergic to cats (sad day), so my kitty needed a temporary home until the roomie gets married this summer. Megan, my big in DG, is going to keep her for a few months, so I didn't have to give her up. I was not looking forward to 9-hours in the car with a cat, but she did pretty well.

someone is not pleased.

How does this make me a cat lady, you ask? Please view the pictures below from when I stopped for lunch and gave the cat a chance to stretch:

I was totally being judged by some high school girls in Hayes, Kansas. #catonalease

--- 5 ---

This morning when I checked twitter, I had this awesome notification:

Yes, that is my mother below.

I was pretty excited/flattered to be noted as an "upcoming event planner." I love this career, so it's fun to be recognized by others in the industry! Way to go, twitter, for helping me grow professionally.

--- 6 ---

Speaking of event planning, I discovered this hilarious joke on the Pinterest that I am so obsessed with, I made it my twitter bio. 

HAHAHAHAHA.

--- 7 ---

Christina sent our team this video, and I am obsessed! Talk about talent. I'm currently watching it non-stop.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!