Here I am in NYC! I enjoyed spending the 4th of July with my family in Atlanta. This is a BIG family holiday for us. It was my dad’s 33rd Peachtree road race, if that tells you how strong of a tradition it is for us. Here’s a screenshot of our family photo from marathonfoto.com

It was a pretty hot morning, but I was satisfied with my time, especially since I haven’t run over 3 miles in a couple months, and that I conquered all of the hills. The race was followed by a day of fun at the pool, and the fireworks show at Lenox. This show seems to get better every year.

That’s the whole family! It was perfect seeing everyone before I left!

I slept pretty well my last night at home, and was so excited and ready to go Thursday morning! The flight went smoothly, and the best part of my day was when one of my new neighbors carried by 53 lb suitcase up 6 floors. What a sweet guy! My arms and legs are sore from moving, but I’m excited about the daily exercise I’ll get here just walking around (and up and down the steps.) The most challenging part of the day was carrying up and installing an AC window unit. My roommate was a huge help with this as fortunately she had recently installed one. It hasn’t fallen out of my window yet!

I’m very lucky to have friends from all walks of my life that live here. Allison encouraged me to get up this morning and run with her. Two runs in three days, that’s impressive for me! I didn’t sleep too well my first night. New place, it was hot, I was anxious and overly tired. I kind of felt like I was at summer camp. But I got up anyways and met her for a great run/tour. We headed to Brooklyn across the Manhattan Bridge and made our way back to Manhattan via the Brooklyn Bridge. It was hot but gorgeous, and of course it felt great to sweat!

Such a bright sun! We followed up with coffee and breakfast at Kaffe 1668.

Nothing like iced coffee in a mason jar! Mmm! I am so grateful to be in New York City! I walk down the street and really can’t wrap my head around the fact that I live here. I can’t wait to get started with work because I know that will make it feel really real.

Here’s a few from my kitchen at night. Pretty unbelievable.