My friend Paige came over for dinner and The Bachelorette the other night and I wanted to make something delicious but low-key and easy to make ahead. I make a thing I call "salsa chicken," but haven't posted the recipe here because it's a little simple: you literally just throw chicken and salsa in a crock-pot and cook it for 8 hours. Add a few toppings and some corn tortillas (or lettuce leaves if you're keeping in Paleo) and voila! Crock-pot chicken tacos.

Ingredients:

• About 2 pounds of chicken thighs or breasts
• 1 medium white onion, sliced thinly
• Half a jar of salsa
• Juice of 1 lime
• 3-4 tablespoons Mexican or taco seasoning
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Corn tortillas or lettuce leaves
• Toppings: avocado, red onion, cilantro, lime wedges, lettuce, salsa, shredded cheese

Instructions:

1. Put sliced onion and chicken in the crock-pot. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and taco seasoning, then pour half a jar of your favorite salsa on top. Cook on low for about 8 hours--after 5 or 6 hours, remove the chicken, shred with two forks, put it back in, and give the whole thing a stir.
2. Set up your taco bar by placing all toppings in separate ramekins, or just make little piles of them on a cutting board (or some combination of the two). Assemble tacos and enjoy.

We signed the first two-year lease of our lives and later that exact same day, someone emailed Rob about a dream job in California that he had applied for in November. The timing felt like a slap in the face, and I resented myself for dreading what I knew would end up turning into a job offer. We had planned to stay in Charlotte, probably for good, and settle down, continue to nurture the wonderful friendships we've made here, have kids, stay close to our families, easily make weekend trips to Virginia or South Carolina.

But the opportunity was great, and after a few calls, an offer was made. Rob and I talked about nothing else for days, and finally we decided that it wasn't something we could pass up. My heart felt broken--one half was overflowing with pride for my husband and his work, and the other half was, honestly, straight up devastated. I thought about the new friends, coffee shops, hair salons, and doctors I'd have to find again. When we moved to Charlotte I thought okay, this is it. And I put down roots for the first time in a long time.

When we left for Minnesota, I was ready for something new. I looked at it as an adventure, and I was excited to make the move. This time, it felt less exciting, but over time Charlotte became our home--I have friends here and a coffee shop where the baristas recognize me. We're regulars at several restaurants and on Friday nights the manager shakes Rob's hand as we walk back to our table on the patio. I teach SkillPop classes every month and when I miss my mom one of us drives only three hours to see the other.

But Rob and I are 26 and 27, respectively. We don't have kids yet, and in so many ways we are still so young. Now is the time. I still feel overwhelmed about it, but after a few weeks I realized that, as usual, my reservations were rooted in fear. At the age of only 27, I had lost my sense of adventure and replaced it with a need for consistency, even if it got in the way of dreams coming true.

So for now, until September, Rob is doing a lot of traveling back and forth between North Carolina and California. And then, probably right around the time summer is winding down, we'll pack up and head west.

I wrote most of this post in April, when we had just made the decision. Since then I've found myself feeling more and more enthusiastic about starting a new adventure. 

"I just want to be normal," I told my friend Daci a couple of months ago, as I tried to figure out if I was excited or scared. I didn't want to keep moving every year or two. I didn't want to constantly have to make new friends and miss my old ones. I wanted to be able to hop in the car and see my brother. And yet, I want more for us. I want Rob to be happy at work. I want us to both be able to chase our dreams and create exactly the kind of life we've always imagined, because it's out there for the taking.

"You have plenty of time to be normal," Daci said.

I think she's right. California, here we come.

I've mentioned a few times that Rob is traveling for work these days (more details on that later!), which means that our weekends are extra-special now.

On Friday we slept in before grabbing a late breakfast/early lunch at 7th Street Public Market, which is one of our favorite places in Charlotte. We got nitro cold brews and I had a breakfast burger. Rob always gets this thing called "The Chicken and the Egg" from Local Loaf and it is amazing--it's kind of like an egg Benedict but with fried chicken and a biscuit instead of an English muffin. So delicious.

Saturday morning we dropped Ender off at daycare and headed to Norfolk, Virginia for a wedding. It was a lot of driving in two days, but it was nice to see some college friends and we had a great time visiting Rob's aunt, uncle, and cousins who live in the area.

I went to a food photography workshop the other day which encouraged me to finally try to start taking some photos outside of my automatic setting. We'll see! I usually get too impatient and just switch it back. Patience is a virtue that I don't really have very much of.

I've been really bad about not bringing my camera with me the past few months, so now I'm starting to carry it all the time. Hopefully I'll have more photos to share with you here on the blog--I used to love that!

It feels a little weird to be constantly counting down the days until Rob gets home--it's been a while since we did the long distance thing and I'm trying to remind myself that it always takes a little bit of adjusting. Working from home and being on my own all evening gets a little lonely though, even with Ender, so I'm trying to be better about scheduling some time with friends, since I can sort of be a hermit if I don't have anything planned for a while.

How was your weekend? I hope you had a good one!