A New Home

I guess I will come back to the blogging world for a moment. Still deciding how much I want to keep blogging! I have a very specific reason for leaving but I better keep it to myself. However, since we have made a pretty giant life change, I thought some people might want to know a little bit more!

So Mathew got a real job. It's probably the most awesome thing ever. This is the first time we have worked without having to save to go back to school and not have jobs again. For once we can create a budget that doesn't involve a "save-as-much-as-humanly-possible-so-we-don't-go-broke-during-the-semesters" fund.

Here's how it all happened. If you remember, we were pretty sure we were going to be in Layton where Mathew did his internship. Mathew touched base with them every so often to see if they would have room for him. They wanted him to come back very badly. The only problem was that they are a contract type company so the kicker was waiting for them to get contracts and then they would hire him right away. Well, the contracts they were waiting on kept getting pushed back further and further. We knew that eventually he would have a job with them, but it was looking pretty iffy on the when, so Mathew started job hunting. I did a lot of the work at first. I searched and filled out applications and stalked his email waiting for interviews. I was getting obsessive and out of control and finally had to force myself to let go-this could be an entire blog spot by itself so I'll just leave it at that.

Mathew took over the job hunt. He worked really hard but finding a job is SO HARD! Companies wanted someone experienced and even the entry level jobs said at least two years experience required. So stupid. Then one morning, Mathew was woken up by a call from a recruiter in Iowa. He had found Mathew several jobs to look into and began working to get Mathew interviews at AGCO and CNH (farming equipment companies for those who don't know). Mathew had interviews set up for one in North Dakota and one in Minnesota. We were beyond excited. This recruiter made it seem like such a sure thing, so when both companies came back with "no's" we were kinda shocked and I cried. I pulled myself together and tried to have faith that something better would come along. Sure enough, Mathew gets a call from yet another recruiter who found a job in the Portland area. The interview was set up and Mathew got a job offer the morning after the interview. He didn't immediately accept it because he had a second interview with a company in Bend, OR set up later that afternoon. That interview went really well too but their hiring process was going to take a while so they recommended that Mathew take the other offer. So he did and here we are in Wood Village, Oregon!

Mathew came here for a week by himself to start work and find us a place to live. He spent all day looking and found a townhouse for a really good price with new paint and carpet that is owned by a member. He took a video of the place and sent it to me and I was SOLD-loving the fact that we would be able to save even more money. However, Mathew didn't notice some details that would have been red flags to me and I cried when I walked in the door. I cry a lot I know. It smelled awful, the drip pans on the stove were caked in burnt food, the bathroom was dirty, the kitchen drawers were dirty, and there are words starting to show through the paint on our bedroom walls.

I was ready to throw in the towel within minutes of being there. I had been so excited to be in a place for more than five months and it seemed like my dreams and hopes were crashing down! I didn't care if I lost our deposit, I just wanted out. After giving it some more thought (and having many chats with my dad), I realized that I needed to make the best of this situation. No, it's not the perfect place, but with the extra money we are saving on rent, we were able to go to the store and buy things to fix it up. I spent $40 in cleaning supplies and scrubbed the bathroom like I've never scrubbed before, I scrubbed the kitchen cupboards and drawers and lined them all, bought new drip pans, and I bought lots of baking soda, air fresheners, candles, and scentsy bricks. We have decorated as well and I really feel like it's home now. I'm so glad we didn't give up on the place. There are still things that need improving but it's nice to know we now will have the ability to put some money into decorations and anything else we will need instead of putting all our money in rent.

Some other tidbits about our lives here so far. We live two minutes from Target, and are very close to lots of other awesome shopping. Everyone is SO NICE here! It's beautiful. I feel like I am living in the city of Idaho Falls with the scenery of Island Park. Our ward is incredible. We wasted no time in buying raincoats-yay for a Columbia outlet store nearby! We got to buy a new washer/dryer. Ellie has her own room with a crib and everything! I am still working for the Idaho carpet cleaning company-my boss is awesome. Mathew has a really great job with a really really great company. We also live just down the road from a greyhound racing track haha.

I have to say, I was hoping we would end up in Idaho or Utah, but I really feel at home here. I love it, even if our townhouse isn't perfect. I'm so glad we are where we are. Sorry Utah, but I don't miss you, but I do miss Idaho. I can definitely see us staying in Oregon for a long time!