Just Breathe

Y'all remember how I was so crazy stressed not so long ago, because I was getting ready to pack up a U-Haul with everything I owned, haul my car behind me, listen to my two cats cry the whole way, and move from Texas to North Carolina?

Yeah?

Well, it's done. Finished. Put it in the books.

I've been in North Carolina now for almost a month. I'm all settled in (there are only three unpacked boxes left to go!), I have furniture set up and things on the walls, I've passed the test and got my North Carolina drivers license, and I even have a NC plate on my car. Yep, it's official. I live here now.

And suddenly, that stress is all gone. It feels amazing.

What feels even more amazing is that, about a week or so after I got here, I realized my chest wasn't all tight, and I didn't have a constant headache, and air could move through my lungs. Yeah, that was the stress doing all of that...stress from the move, on top of major stress going on within my family in Texas. And now? It's all still in Texas. It isn't sitting on top of me, weighing me down.

Now, I can breathe again.

I guess the only thing left to do is get back into my writing routine. Or set up a writing routine. Something like that. LOL. That, and make sure I'm taking time to relax--whether it is through getting a massage, or going out with some friends, reading a good book, or even having someone do my nails.

Time to move on to the next thing that will add stress to my life. :)

What do you do when a heavy weight has been lifted out of your life? How do you celebrate? Do you have any advice for the next time I'm feeling like the world is going to crush me?

**Originally published at Lady Scribes**

Ack! Stress

There are few things in this world that I hate worse than moving. One of those few is probably moving in the summer, when the temperatures are soaring and everything takes more out of me. Another is planning a big move on short notice.

It should be no surprise, then, that I'm now planning a cross-country move to take place within the next month.

Yes, that's right. I'm packing up everything and moving from Texas to North Carolina. In August. With only about a month to plan and execute the whole thing.

I should probably be committed.

So not only am I trying to finish writing a novella that is due at the end of this month, and a novel I should have finished more than a month ago. No, that would be too easy. I'm also packing up my possessions that need to be moved; sorting through what should be tossed, what should be donated, what should be sold; trying to find an apartment or townhouse that meets my needs and has availability; flying to Raleigh to do some of that; arranging for a moving truck and movers; picking out furniture and planning decorating schemes; and trying to remember how to sleep.

Oh, yeah. And I'm also trying to figure out how I'm going to move my cats. One of those cats, you might remember, is a bit of a problem child. Since I blogged about her two months ago, she sent the vet tech to the hospital. Seriously. She is so scared of the vet and what they do to her, that we now have to tranquilize her and hope for the best.

And I'm going to take her on a two-day drive across the country. Please, send your prayers, well-wishes, and good ju-ju my way.

While I sort through all of this mess, have any of you planned major moves like this in the past? How did you survive without committing a crime? Do you have any packing tips for me?

**Originally published at Lady Scribes**