waiting

So, I feel like my life right now is all about waiting.

Joseph has graduated, now we're waiting to find out where he'll get hired. Most likely-as he's in education- job opportunities won't pop up until the late spring or summer, so right now we're just waiting and hoping for a good position.

We talk all the time about the positives and negatives of different locations: big town vs. rural, near vs far, state vs state. But really when it comes down to it, we only get to choose where he applies for a position, then we just see who wants us.

Because it will probably be six months or more before we move, there isn't a ton we can do until we know where and when we're going. And hopefully it IS a matter of "when" not "if".
This drives me nuts. I'm all about preparing for things beforehand, and I am itching to organize and pack all of my belongings, even though its ridiculously too early. So to compensate, I find other ways to organize, so at least I feel I'm doing something. I'm pretty sure this was a big motivating factor in my cleaning out the recycle shed!

One place that we hope will send us an offer is Star Valley Wyoming, mostly because its got awesome pay and benefits, isn't too far from my family, and they've already interviewed Joseph and seemed to like him...but they don't have any openings right now. Even though we may not end up there, we have spent time studying out a special housing deal for which we'd qualify if we moved there. (One of our former neighbors had the same deal so we've been talking to her a lot!) We've also looked at houses there....which is silly considering they might all be off the market in six months and we may not live there. But at least it feels like doing something!
I like this one , mostly for the colors I admit.
Joseph likes this one- which I like except for the kitchen.
Its fun to pretend.

We also spend a ridiculous amount of time on google maps, walking down the streets of towns we might live in. And I must say, I can't believe what the current owners have done to my grandparents nice house in Lander, Wy. They ruined their immaculate yard!

Yesterday, I decided to organize all of our magazines and take them to D.I., so at least something would feel finished. Now I am the exact opposite of a hoarder when it comes to most possessions - I enjoy rooting through my family's clothing at least twice a year and taking things to D.I. or goodwill. Same goes for old toys, shoes, etc. But when it comes to magazines, I have the hardest time getting rid of them.

I'm not talking about stuff like Parenting magazine (which I've had a free subscription to in the past), Fitness magazines (which may have been sent to me on a promotional basis), or those type of periodicals- I can trash those without a backward glance. But my Artists Magazine, old Smithsonians, and our three Church magazines feel like they're worth so much more and shouldn't be discarded lightly.


Last time we moved, almost three years ago, I did part with everything but my Art mags, which I packed up and brought with me. But I realise that I haven't even looked at them since, so I decided to give them up. But I can't bring myself to just throw them or the current issues away, so I organized everything by date, and separated them by periodical. I know our church mags will probably get discarded (I'm sure D.I. gets more than enough of those) but I'm hoping they'll sell my Art ones- theres some good stuff in there, and about five years worth at that!


One other thing I found I could do in preparation was work on food storage. I admit we haven't done much before this point. But I know for a fact that a teacher's contract usually starts in August, but they don't get their first paycheck till the end of September, leaving a sizable amount of time we'd be living there with no income! So while we can, we've started stocking up on diced tomatoes, rice, black beans, noodles...you know, the stuff we use all the time.

At least I can feel like I'm doing something!