Moving & Shaking

At the end of May, my husband of now 3 years graduated seminary with his MA in historical theology (with an emphasis on ancient languages). He also passed with distinction when presenting his thesis earlier that month. (Congrats, hubby!) This officially moved us from the first phase of our married life into the next; it was now time to transition from the world of academia back into the workforce. This time he would be looking for work as a writer/editor at a Christian publisher, or as a Greek/Hebrew/Latin teacher anywhere a PhD was not required - putting his hard earned degree and God-given talents to use.

There are a few things that come with finishing college: relief, wisdom, a proud family, credentials - and student debt. The last one is not the most appealing of the list... And while we had always assumed we'd move wherever he found work, due to the financial outlook we decided it'd be wise to move somewhere with a lower cost of living even for non-field work. This would allow us to pay down loans faster and have more financial freedom.

Where we currently live is affordable, but it is by the grace God's sweet people that we have lived so comfortably, paying only a portion of what the market around us would demand. But we can't stay here forever... I moved in 9 years ago when single, and while it is great, there is not much room for growth. Now married for 3 years and 36 years old, we're ready to leave the nest and live in the adult world, so-to-speak. If we moved anywhere else in San Diego though, our living costs would double... Staying in California would pretty much mean inflexibility with jobs and housing: pay as little as possible and earn as much as possible. But how far were we willing to go for non-field work to save money?

The main two options for us appeared to be the Las Vegas metro area (outside of the Strip, of course), and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Both have similar living expenses. Las Vegas would be a quick and cheap move, not such an investment that we wouldn't be able to move again in a year or two when hubby found ideal work. He lived there a year with his dad when finishing his undergrad before moving to San Diego for seminary - so he has family, friends, and a church back there. It's also within a 5 hr drive back to SoCal, so visiting California family periodically would be easy and cheap. It's hot and deserty, but the low cost of living means you can afford A/C. And it would be temporary until he found work in his field, so the more unfavorable bits of it would be bearable.

Grand Rapids on the other hand... This place is the hub for Christian publishing in the states. There are 5 publishers (a few big, some small), several Christian colleges, and a few other ministries - so there is no shortage of places to apply for field-work. He could take pay-the-bills type jobs until he found preferred work, and when he did we would not have to move again. But, it's so far away and would cost quite a bit to move there, so we'd not be in a position to move again for a few of years. Hubby has family within a few hours drive, but flying would be necessary to visit California relatives (any of my relatives). The weather seems more favorable than Las Vegas, though I am under no delusion that 20" of snow for 3-4 months is fun - but at least hubby is used to snow.

There was one job prospect in Grand Rapids (GR) that seemed promising at first, which was a shipping position at a smaller publisher. He had a positive conversation with them and we were hopeful - but after 2 weeks of waiting we learned they had chosen a local candidate. But GR still seemed to be a wise course of action. Low cost of living (except for high auto insurance rates) and a very low unemployment rate of 3-3.4% made it promising.

Knowing that staying here looking for work will cause savings to dwindle, and that finding non-specialized work in GR while still in CA might be challenging (on top of seeing a very cold and snowy winter approach), we decided that we would pick a time frame and move out there whether hubby had found work yet or not. There are quite a few plans we had already made for September that make the end of the month a better choice (not the least of which is a Red Sox vs. Padres baseball game my husband is eager to see), so we've picked "end of September" as our official move-to-Grand-Rapids date - unless something changes between now and then that would reroute us.

Two months.
That gives us 2 months left in Cali. Two months to plan, two months to pack, two months to visit family and friends... Two months left in my home of 9 years, two months left with my wonderful church family, two months left with my fishies and plants... It will be a bittersweet two months. Excited for the upcoming adventure, but sad to leave my home state with all its comforts and people.

Sigh. So there it is. Wow! I've never lived anywhere but CA - born in L.A. County, raised in Orange County, and the last 11 years in San Diego County... I'm a coastal Cali girl by nature. Cold weather never bothered me though, probably due to my family's midwest roots and German-Irish heritage. I look forward to 45° fall and wearing clothes without sweating.

Traveling for work for the past 8 years has made the country seem very small, and has semi-acclimated me to various kinds of weather environments. It'll be entertaining for my FB friends to watch me deal with the weather changes I'm sure - and I will certainly be thankful for an apartment complex that de-snows the parking lots for us!

Peace out for now! ~D~

Annual Update?

Apparently I tend to update my blog in early Spring every year! Or at least the past 2 years that has been the case. Now, how to write an entry without making it sound like an overdue annual Christmas letter?

Life has been going on and on at its usual pace with its usual turn of events. Some more recognizable changes include my boss of nearly 7 years retiring and my work changing from an audit nature to a risk assessment nature. I've also started my own business with Arbonne, Inc. to build a foundation for a good income once my husband is out of school and we seek to start a family. Both professions are in training mode at this point - I'm at the base of the mountain just preparing to start my climb, as it were.

Of political interest, there is going on in the media right now an unprecedented flurry of hostility over Indiana's recent passing of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The apparent blindness and hypocrisy over the issue is mind numbingly incomprehensible to me... It gives me a headache. I hope that it calms down soon and people can start to see things through lenses of reason and logic rather than via this insane emotional frenzy...

On a personal front, not much has really changed. I've been happy to be stationary this past month (no work travel), and have been able to partake a bit in some hobbies. This Sunday for Easter service I'll be participating in a vocal ensemble for our service prelude - It's my first time singing in a vocal ensemble with 4 parts (I'm alto). It's a lot of fun and sounds great - I'm excited! Also I was commissioned to draw a picture for my boss' retirement gift, an idea my senior coworker came up with. I don't know if I've ever drawn something that took so much time and effort... It was kind of stressful but once it was done I was happy with the final product and glad we did it.

Well... That's all I've got for now. Until next year, I guess...! ;)
Happy Easter! HE IS RISEN - HE IS RISEN INDEED!!

Overdue Update

So it's been just about a year since my last post - 2 days shy, in fact. Wow, a lot has happened in the past year!

Firstly, in March last year I started dating my now-husband! (That might explain the curious lack of posts from that point on...) Our first date was March 17. I wasn't sure to think of him at that point, other than a respectable Christian man, but by March 18 he had me hooked.

By mid-April we knew we wanted to be married. Our minds were made up. The whole dating process, for us, was an elaborate interview to discern whether we were in fact the kind of people each of us wished to marry, and once we'd determined the answer was yes, we didn't see any reason to put it off. Of course, it took a week or so until we were actually engaged, as well as seeking out some godly council to make sure we weren't (too) crazy... We were engaged April 23.

With my work schedule, and my husband's school, we figured June would be the best month. I had a break in travel plans, and he would be out of school for a few months, allowing us to adjust to married life before school started back up. My parents being on vacation the 2nd and 3rd Saturdays of June, and my husband just having finished school the first weekend of June, we chose the last Saturday in June. This gave us just about 2 months to plan our wedding.

And in a whirlwind of divine orchestration, family and friends came together and helped us in a way that I could not have conceived, and everything just seemed to fall into place. By May 11 I had my dress, and it was altered (hemmed) by the next week. The bridesmaids all had their dresses, off the rack in original colors I'd picked, in their sizes, on clearance no less, within another week or so. We didn't even have to go to a second store!

The honeymoon was booked (thanks to my awesome parents) by the following morning, the church and pastor confirmed within a couple weeks. Invitations took a while because I hand-made them, but we informally invited all our guests beforehand to make sure timing wasn't an issue. Food stuff was the hardest part, but a generous and amazing lady from church took over that project and saved my sanity! Everyone was so amazing, I still can't believe it.

Now things have settled down into a quiet home life, and I love it. Being married is awesome. I'm still super busy with work and taking care of the home, and my husband is still super busy studying (historical theology! Oy!), but we get to enjoy the daily routines of life together, and it is oh-so-sweet and wonderful.

That's all the time I have for this brief update, but I hope it explains a little about my disappearance after March 2013! The Lord's plans are indeed good... :)