Not that anyone notices if I put stuff up or not, thank goodness... but if anyone's wondering, I have had many adventures since last updating this journal.
1) I moved to Phoenix in January 08, and was there exactly for 1 month. It's difficult to get a well-paying job there doing anything in my field of specialization (8-10 an hour PHX as opposed to 12-15 an hour SLC) and I was too stubborn to settle.
2) From there, I went to BTV- Burlington, Vermont. I was there for 2.5 months. It was great to see family, but the state is in a recession, and with no car, it's virtually impossible to get a job that pays better than minimum wage (and is not food service- which I have never done, and refuse to do) because I have no degree and Vermont is an incredibly educated state- so basically they ask for 4 year degree PLUS experience. Unlike Utah where they ask for degree OR experience. So it was great to see the fam and to spend time hanging out on the streets and chillin' at the homeless shelter, but in all, I needed to get back where I can be a moderately successful human being.
3) Back to SLC in April! My husband was super nice and bought me a ticket to fly for $120. So I dogged it to Manchester, NH and then flew it to SLC. It was great to see my man and my lil girl after a 3 month hiatus.
4) SURPRISE OF A LIFETIME. After having had tried unsuccessfully for 2 years to get pregnant again, my husband and I managed it with one ovulation and no real effort. Weird, it was like throwing the dart and hitting the bulls-eye. I was so unaware that it had happened, it took a month and a half to even think that my fatigue and nausea were due to anything except the heat.
5) Spent the summer working various temp jobs and growing a baby. We found out in September that we're going to have a boy. Then we'll have one of each together, which will be an interesting experience.
6) I recently got a great temp job at a great company. I love the environment, the job itself, and the respect with which I and the other temps are treated. There is an opportunity to possibly be taken on as permanent, which would be completely awesome, but as my baby is due in February, I am not holding my breath. If it happens, then I am truly blessed. If not, it wasn't meant to be.
7) Oh yeah. Baby is due on Feb 19th. One week from my birthday. Anyone who knows me, knows that my babies are born exactly 1 week early. Which would mean that Simon would be born on my birthday! HA! We'll see...
8) All in all, this year has been full of many ups and downs. But I wouldn't trade any of my experiences for anything in the world. I have seen one of the most beautiful cities in the world (PHX), I was able to live near my Mom for some time, and I am now happily back with my husband and daughter, and loving every minute. The past two years I was filled with repressed rage at my fate, and feeling as though I was trapped in Utah and stuck with my life. I have learned this year that it is just not so- I can change anything I want to change, I have the power over my life to do so. The best part, though, was the realization that not only am I perfectly happy in my life, but that I really don't want to change much at all. It makes me happy to go to work and come home each evening to smiling faces, to cook dinner and clean up the kitchen. To tuck my little one into bed. To sleep next to the only guy in the world who I ever truly loved, and who loved me enough to want to spend his life with me- come what may. I know that really doesn't seem like much on the success scale, and considering other peoples' lives, it isn't much. But for me, it is golden. And I am writing this down as if to remember that each moment is to be treasured and each experience to be remembered. Life is for living, and I am finally, truly living MINE.