Back in November of 2011 my always outgoing and up for anything co-worker and friend came up to my desk one Wednesday morning and said, "Kelly! I just did something that literally made my palms sweat!" My immediate response was "You? Something made YOUR palms sweat?" Then, I thought to myself,  "Gosh, I could go for some sweaty palms.  I guess they never really hurt anyone."  She proceeded to tell me about Toastmasters, a group that gets together every Wednesday to work on their speaking skills.  The following week I tagged along with her for my first meeting and the rest is history.  
Although I am no longer a member of this amazing group, I am still so thankful for this opportunity that popped up in my life and the courage I had to step out of my comfort zone.  Not only have I made efforts in improving my speaking and writing skills I also met some incredible people.  When deciding to join this group, I thought I would just get better at eliminating "umm," "kinda," "so," and other space fillers from my vocabulary.  Well, little did I know how much more I would get out of this group.  I learned more tips than I'll probably ever use about fishing from our fishing enthusiast, politics from an avid C-SPAN viewer, how to deliver a meaningful apology, how to train your puppy and other topics about each person's interests, our world, and the city we live in.  By stepping out of my little comfort zone, I got much more out of this group than I ever expected and my life has been enriched in ways I couldn't imagine. 
Now, it's time for me to get sweaty palms again.  I'll be stepping out of my Minnesota comfort zone and heading south to Kentucky.  Why would I move to Kentucky, you wonder? Well, for a boy of course.  My boyfriend was offered a great career opportunity to coach baseball, and when you get those opportunities you have to snatch them up before they pass you by.  While we talked, and talked, and talked, AND talked  about moving, "What are the pros and cons? What about my job? What about the holidays and getting home? Will we have to move again?,"  I already knew in the back of my mind that there was no question about it.  He would be silly not to accept this position and of course I would be right by his side going there with him.  Knowing his profession when we first met, I always knew there was a possibility of having to relocate in order to advance his career but I still let him chase after me anyway. ;)  Secretly though, I think that is one of the things that attracted me to him- our mutual desire to step out of our comfort zones and try new things.
This move could either be awesome or we could hate it, but the only way to find it is to give it a try.  I would much rather take this leap and fail going after a passion and dream then settle for the safety and security of our comfort zone.  I can only hope that moving to Kentucky will be like joining Toastmasters-- a good experience but will get so much more out of it than I could ever imagine.
So, with sweaty palms I'll pack up the moving truck, look for a new job and do some other scary things (maybe some new blog posts about those to come soon).  Every time I have stepped outside that zone of comfort I have never looked back and have always been pleasantly surprised about the outcome.  While I will miss my family and friends I am excited about the adventure that lies ahead.  Sweaty palms never hurt anyone and they certainly aren't going to stop me.  

**If you are interested in joining Toastmasters or just going to a meeting to see if you like it, I highly recommend it.  To see if there is club in your area check out this link: http://reports.toastmasters.org/findaclub/ 

I'm trying something new and that is to be very thoughtful in the purchases I make, especially in the clothing department.  I decided that when the bar in my closet started bending with all the clothes hanging on it, and I had use my body weight to hip check the dresser drawer shut thenI probably had enough clothes.  But, the question remains, do I have GOOD clothes?  By good clothes I mean versatile, staple pieces that are well-made and can complete multiple outfits.  I just did, in my opinion, a stellar job of cleaning out my closet (a post to come later) and faced reality-- what do I actually wear?  

Recently, on an impromptu shopping trip with my mom I made a purchase of a "good" piece of clothing.  It was a tank top that fit nicely, was a neutral color that could be worn with many different outfits, and was oh-so-soft.  I loved it!  After checking out, I said "Shoot! I should have got one in a couple other colors!"  I wore the top and a few days later I did laundry (ok, who am I kidding? I wore it twice and about a week and a half later I tackled the huge pile of laundry I was sick of looking at).  Since I loved my new tank top so much I wanted to take really good care of it and not put it in the dryer for fear of it shrinking.  Well, after taking it out of the washer I was surprised at how not oh-so-soft it was anymore and it seemed to have shrunk upward slightly.  I was a little disappointed, but also relieved that I didn't put it in the dryer and I didn't splurge on buying a whole bunch.  After the tank top dried I tried it on again, tugged on it a little bit to get it back to it's original length and love it just as much as the first day I bought it.  

So, what's the point of this story? Don't go crazy and buy a whole bunch of a piece of clothing that you love, at least not right away.  To make sure it's not a waste of money and that you love it more than just the day you bought it see how it washes and see how it looks with all the other clothes in your closet.  If you really love it after washing it and want more colors, then have at it!  As for the tank top I bought, I'll probably just stick with the one I bought and will get good use out of it but am glad didn't buy it in more colors.