Back to the Search

Well, it's been a fun month of playing and enjoying the summer. A few job leads. None that I wanted to pursue. A lot of vacation days. And more to come. With the big vacation of the summer later this month -- four days in Chicago with Mazy, mom and maybe nephew Kael. But, I must now rally my efforts to change my life for the better!

I haven't really been looking for western Iowa jobs too hard. I have been thinking about it. And dreaming about it. But that's about it. So I'm back to setting some goals for myself. I'm going to find three companies in western Iowa in the next week and send them my resume and a nice cover letter of why they should hire me.

I'm also going to get back to the gym! I made excuses this week and didn't go Tues. or today. Tomorrow I have a client meeting from 10 to 3 or so, and won't be able to go. But Friday I am back at it.

Also, I've done the unbelievable and started cleaning our basement! It is a disaster. Truly. Each night I'm going to organize and haul out one bag of trash/recycling/garage sale items. Some nights I'll hopefully do more, but small goals seem to work best for me when cleaning is involved.

One more chore, we need a new digital camera. Ours went kaput tonight. It's been acting funny for quite awhile. I knew it was on its last leg. Luckily I've been doing some research and have a few in mind so it shouldn't be too hard to get one ordered and shipped this week.

And actually, one additional chore: call the DSM public schools and find out where Mazy is going to school this fall!! This is a big high-stress issue for me. He's on the open enrollment list but they won't tell you anything until August! I need answers and decisions now! Sometimes I second-guess my decision not to go for that agency job in Johnston. My new salary would have given us a lot more money to buy a new house and move into a good school district. It would have been a smart thing to do.

But, I am not trading in my rural community dream for a house in the burbs. We're not Johnston people. No offense to Johnston. It's a nice community filled with prospering businesses and well-manicured neighborhoods. But it's too "burby" for us. And there's not going to be an old farm house with a barn on the property for us in Johnston.

Today I was thinking about our dream acreage and the old barn it will have so we can build an awesome haunted house each Halloween. I can totally see Mazy dressed in old-timey clothes, our story teller, leading guests through each area of the barn and telling them an awesome haunted story about our acreage and the resident spirits. Bobo will be the wild man dressed as a monster of some kind, swinging down from the hayloft at the guests, scaring the bejesus out of them. Shawn will be behind-the-scenes, the puppet master running the special effects department. And I will be at the end. Smiling and gesturing to the guests to follow me down a candle-lit path to a festive and delicious Halloween feast behind our house. Jack-o-lanterns around every turn. Fall leaves rustling beneath their feet. Strings of lights in the trees. Platters of homemade cookies and bars. A huge pot of spicy chili. Warm cider with cinnamon sticks. Oh what fun we will have! And you are all invited!!