Feeling blessed

In the last few weeks I have gone from being unemployed to being back at an old job that was near and dear to me....from just 'knowing' that I was pregnant to feeling our baby move, seeing the little one on ultrasound (and find out that everything is as it should be), and starting a childbirth class... and from being uninsured and un-insurable  to having full medical coverage (starting Dec. 1st!!) that will completely cover the pregnancy and delivery! Wow- much has changed that I am very thankful for...not to mention that coming up next week is Thanksgiving, which, by the way, is also my mom's birthday. How apropos is that to celebrate the birth of the woman who gave me life on the day of thanks...

I guess all I can say is that I feel blessed.

It's alive!!!

Well, at first I thought it was gas...but no, those little flutters I've been feeling in my tummy are proof that this little peanut is real and that I have a living human being inside me! I really noticed the first movements on Monday, which was the day I turned 19 weeks and once I realized what I was feeling I was pretty sure that I had been feeling it for a few days before that. Next week I'll have the first ultrasound, so we'll get a chance to actually see this little guy or girl and make sure all of it's parts are as they should be...but we'll wait until he/she comes out to find out what the sex is...so....don't ask 'cause we won't know ;)

Fall in Utah

We managed to have an actual fall (you know, the season between summer and winter) in Utah! It only lasted about 3 weeks but it was great to enjoy. I love fall; the changing colors of leaves, crunching through them on the sidewalk, the crispness in the air, and the energy of the upcoming holidays. The past couple of days have cooled off and become rainy and windy and snow is expected tomorrow, so we may be done with the warm fall and on to the cold. We managed to make it up to the cabin last weekend, and the weather was perfect! We'll try to make it up there this winter if I can waddle up that far...

Last night was the 2nd annual Hickenlooper Halloween Party at Jake's brother's house. We dressed up as zombies this year...and if I may say so myself...looked pretty convincing!

The dogs and Sandy have settled into our new place pretty well, enjoying every bit of sunshine they can- even if that means sharing the same area!

I'm still job hunting and have had 1 interview...still trying to figure out how everyone else makes ends meet while still having time for family... guess we'll see what happens. :)

Slipping through the cracks

There are a lot of cracks in our 'system' and it seems that we are all averting cracks as we go through our lives...most of us stay out for most of the time, but being the imperfect 'system' that it is those of us who do fall through the cracks do so at the most inopportune time.
I spent the time that we were in Oregon working with the system; filling out paperwork, proving that we didn't work and didn't earn money, standing in lines and waiting on hold for calls I made and calls I received, watching an hour long video on nutrition to get a $10 fruit and vegetable voucher...and so on. Now that we are in Utah and contributing to society (well, at least Jake is at this point- hopefully I will be soon) we've been kicked out of the system. Not only are we not allowed to take back some of what we've put in from all of our years working but we're also denied to be let back into the working people's club (by not being able to get insurance since pregnancy is a pre-existing condition). So, to sum things up, we were rewarded...no, let me rephrase that...rewarded handsomely for being unemployed and living off the gainful employment of others, but the moment we were able to jump back into the 'gainfully employed' sector every one brushed their hands of us making it well known that we were no longer their responsibility. Now, I'm not saying that we should still remain covered under medicaid for all of our medical expenses or that some insurance company should welcome us with open arms...but it seems like there should be something out there that is available to those who fall in the cracks. As was stated repeatedly during the debate, healthcare is not a political issue, it is a moral one...

Settling in

We've been back in Utah for little over a week now and have been lucky to have family to help us along the way. We found an apartment in the avenues while still in Oregon, were able to look at it the day after we got back, and moved in a couple days later! It is a nice feeling to get settled somewhere...as much as I'd like to think I'm an adventurous traveler, I really like having a home base and being able to know where 'home' is. Jake is back at his old job, getting into the old routine while I keep searching and applying for jobs near us. We're still trying to figure out the world of health insurance but are otherwise just being our boring old selves. :)

New look, new name, same blog

 Closing the circle

We started the new year living in downtown Salt Lake City, planning our adventurous year ahead. Little did we know that we would end up back in SLC; Jake back at his old job and me...well, pregnant. From SLC -> Leiter, WY -> Portland -> and back...it's been a year full of traveling and since we haven't made it back to SLC yet, there's still a long trip ahead. We gave it a try (albeit a short one) to make a go in Portland but after hearing time and time again of how bad the job market is here in PDX and not hearing back from any of the places we submitted applications/resumes I started getting antsy. I wanted some stability, a place that was ours, and a way of supporting ourselves... and it didn't look like that was going to happen any time soon so we decided to start looking into jobs in SLC as well as Portland. As soon as Jake's old work heard that he was looking into Salt Lake they had a job available for him. Although we were just starting to get used to Oregon and were enjoying being around my sister and her kids, finally hearing a job offer was something we couldn't turn down. So...here we are, moving back to Utah this weekend, and closing the circle of our journeys this year...as far as we know...

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Sitting, waiting, watching

After a summer full of working I sure have been doing a lot of sitting in the past few weeks...and doing a lot of waiting. Waiting to regain some energy and a somewhat normal appetite, waiting to hear back on job applications, waiting for approval on health insurance so I can wait to get an appointment with a midwife...waiting is so much fun!

We did get a little escape from our normal day to day waiting by going to the coast on Wednesday. It was a great day weather-wise, but a not so great day nausea-wise and I initiated our arrival on the coast with a trip to the porcelain throne (luckily I made it to the public restroom though). The rest of the time I hung out on the beach laying around on a blanket while Deborah, Jake, and the kids played around in the ocean.

For all of you women out there who worked a normal job during your first trimester, I salute you! I seriously don't know how I could/would have done it while feeling the way I have... I guess there is good reason why pregnancy is usually left to 'younger' women ;)