Greetings from Winston-Salem

Well, I am finally all moved in and (mostly) settled into my new apartment in Winston-Salem. Matt and his two brothers helped me move in last Saturday.I can honestly say, with the exception of NOT getting the 24' truck that I specifically requested in my order placed three days in advance, the move went smoothly. Matt calmed me down, which was good, because the guy at the truck rental place was rude and kept telling me I "didn't need" the largest truck that they had. Regardless, Matt made it fit. I think I lucked out because I didn't actually MOVE any of the furniture or boxes in the truck because I had to keep an eye on Coleman.

So after we got all moved in, we went back to Wilmington (truck was one-way). Matt and I got our engagement pictures done by a friend on Tuesday, and even though it was cold and windy, I thought they turned out pretty great!! I'd like to get some "professional" ones in Winston, but I might wait a couple of months for that.

I came back to Winston on Wednesday, and have spent the past few days unpacking, getting settled, and buying essentials (such as groceries). I have a rather lofty goal of eating out as little as possible, and cooking dinner and packing my lunch for work on a regular basis. It shouldn't be that hard, since I'm just by myself right now, and can use leftovers, too. I'm excited that there's an Aldi's only about two miles from my apartment--I got a ton of stuff there for under $200! :) While I did have to go to Food Lion to pick up a few other things, I was happy that I could get my kitchen pretty fully stocked relatively inexpensively. Since the only apartment I've lived in was a townhouse, I was a bit unsure as to how I would like "apartment living." Surprisingly, even though I am very close to Wake Forest, it is relatively quiet here. I have now spent a Friday and a Saturday night here, and I hardly hear anything. There are 10 miles of trails which start behind my apartment and connect to trails across the street. Coleman and I have explored them a little bit, and he seems to like them! I've had confirmation from a couple friends in the area that I'm in a good area. And to confirm it, there are several large, expensive houses off of the Bethabara Trail that runs to my apartment. I like that there's a library, and a Dollar Tree about a minute or two up the road from here. I also like that there's a Family Dollar, Target, Aldi's only a few miles away. I'm only a fifteen minute drive to work. I'm only a few minutes away from my friend, Katie. I'm even close to the Reynolda Gardens and Reynolda House, which I plan on checking out at some point. Also, apparently there is a historic park at Bethabara where the Moravians settled. Should be fun checking out sometime soon. Hopefully the weather will be warm tomorrow (supposed to be 72), so I can take Coleman to Pilot Mountain tomorrow!!:)