Transitions

I know I haven't been posting much lately but here's the latest update.

We're about 5 months out from rejoining the civilian world. It's exciting and nerve racking at the same time. Monkey pretty much had his path figured out; then he went to TAPS class. Now, he's discovering all the opportunities available that he wasn't aware of before. He's also learning how to utilize his benefits.

So, we're slightly less concerned with money in the long run, but just more about the timing of things during the transition. We have a sustainable chunk of savings we can float for a little bit, but that's also earmarked for other things, so we'd obviously prefer not to spend it.

The goal is to stay in the Portland/Vancouver area. He's looking at all kinds of jobs but has his sites set on a Federal job at this point, but obviously keeping his eyes and ears open for every opportunity.

We're so ready to get settled and start moving forward with our lives as we've been stuck in this holding pattern for the last few years knowing he wasn't making a career of the military. We didn't fully commit to the military life and we've been living hundreds of miles apart trying to keep roots in Portland and money in our bank account.

Obviously, we'd love if he could land some amazing job so we can easily transition into starting a family and maybe an eventual career change for me. I love my job, but I'm finding a passion in fitness which would also allow me more flexibility to be at home with kids while still working.

It's all up in the air, but we're very ready to take on this next challenge/stage in our lives. Excited beyond believe. It's actually starting to feel a bit surreal.

On a slightly different note, Monkey recently had a couple weeks of leave so he was home in PDX and we went a little crazy nesting. The new house is finally starting to feel like a home. We finally have a TV, which needed an entertainment center, of course. Then we went to Home Goods and picked up a couple other pieces of furniture. The empty corners are finally starting fill in and we're getting some warmth in the living spaces. We are badly in need of storage, but unfortunately attractive storage furniture is expensive! Our new project is to get a modular corner shelving somethingerother that has to look nice because it's going to end up being a main feature in our living room. But we desperately need attractive storage and some place to put photos and decorations, etc.  We have our eye on something at Dania, but it's expensive.

So, the next few months are all about transitions. We finally get to really start our lives together, after 4 years of marriage. Holy cow! :D