#28 Buy myself a really nice piece of jewelry.

Check!

So, first the why. I don't tend to wear a ton of jewelry, and most of what I have is from Target or other cheap places. Because when I do get a new piece, I tend to break it or lose it. Unfortunately, the amethyst stud earrings that my grandparents got me for my first communion (confirmation?) managed to find their way through the vacuum cleaner back in high school. Sad day.

As a "grown up," I am now wanting to build a collection of jewelry that I can wear for both work and play. Nothing super fancy or pretentious, just some nice pieces that I can wear every day.

I made a promise to myself that if I got the job offer at UWM, I would get myself something special. We're not talking about anything from Tiffany or anything like that - I'm poor and a girl's gotta eat. However, I wanted something that would remind me of this opportunity that I have been given.

A good friend sells jewelry for Stella & Dot and I had gone to one of her parties earlier in the spring. I had my eye on a certain charm necklace....

And now it's mine! It's the On the Mark necklace and it's adorbs. I love little delicate necklaces that go well with a lot of different outfits. 

Was it expensive? Nope. And that's okay with me. Because my measure of success is not in how much money I spend, but rather how something fits me. And I feel like this necklace is pointing me in the right direction. : ) 

 

Put a fork in it. I'm done.

Yesterday was my last day at SLU. At the end of the day, I left my office looking like this:

Perhaps the cleanest that it's ever been.

It is hard to describe how I am feeling now. I spent the last few weeks under a cloud of stress, trying to make sure that not only did I leave good transition notes, but that I also planned ahead as far as I could. I would hate to leave the next person a mess.

And yesterday, well, it was hard. Final wrap up tasks, plus saying goodbye to colleagues and friends. Because I'm not just headed down the block. I am headed north...six hours away. While I know I will be back in just a few months for some class commitments, I am still leaving. There were promises of lunches and dinners next week before I leave. And there were tears. Lots of tears. Because leaving is sad.

I woke up this morning with a migraine. I attribute it to my stress finally breaking. That seems to be a regular pattern for me. My body decided that it needed a break before proceeding with more packing and moving tasks. I took the hint and was a lazy bum all day.

I will get back to the packing tomorrow. And cleaning. I may even spare a few hours for the pool. Because I don't really think it is going to hit me that I'm done until Monday morning. When I am still off. At least for the week. I suppose I should try to enjoy some of it before I head off to the next job.