OK, so I've been a little distracted . . .

I started this blog with good intentions, and we know where that road leads . . . Sheesh - last post was September 2009?? Seriously??

2009 was a really tough year. Not the toughest I've ever had, but it's up there in the top ten, maybe the top five.
My wife, Kim, and I just started new jobs. Kim was unemployed for over 18 months. I was unemployed for almost 9 months. Kim's job is temporary, but has good potential to lead to something permanent. My job is the worst!! I'm making less now than while on unemployment, and the benefits are the worst I've EVER seen. So why are we doing this???? Well, we're doing this to try and save our house. Let me first say that while it may seem that I'm seeking a pity party - I AM NOT. Let me explain.

We really like our house. We've lived here for over six years and are very settled in. I get to grow a nice sized garden every year. Kim has flower beds and the garden to work in. We are very close to the river green belt, and less than ten minutes from downtown and less than ten minutes from the freeway - but our neighborhood is developed, quiet and friendly. Our house is a small tri-level - so not a lot of upkeep is needed, but we have room for the grand kids to come over and spend the night - or for out-of-town family to visit. We really like our house.
So, we are driven. Funny how that works. We have tried really, really hard to get jobs comparable to what we've had before - very hard right now. So, we made a decision that if we couldn't get what we wanted by the first of the year, we would take what we could get. After all, we were making more on unemployment than most of the available jobs were offering.

Well, we both started out in a call center. I gotta tell ya, if you think you've seen it all . . . and you haven't worked in a call center . . . then you haven't seen it all. Well, Kim got out before her training was even over and went to work for the Idaho Legislature. Sweet deal, but no long term and no benefits - but good potential to lead to something better. I'm still at the call center. I get up at 3:30am to start my training class at 5:30am. Man . . . I must really love my house.

As I said, this isn't seeking a pity party. What I've been thinking is this . . . The natural man is usually driven to take the easy path - to seek the easy results . . . but when we want something bad enough it's amazing what we are willing to do . . . no matter the sacrifice, the effort, or the trials, to get the results. I guess that's what Kim and I are going through right now. We'll see how long we last. We'll see just how bad we really want to keep this house.