Not Sure What I’m Doing….But Here I Go Anyway

So I have decided to jump on the blog-wagon. I've never kept up with someone's blog or even know how to get whatever I am writing on the internet, but I love to write and so here I am. My name is Jen and I am a wife, mother of 2 boys, a 2 and a 3 year old and a master of picking up random hobbies. I was a floral designer for years until motherhood, now it too is in my catalog of hobbies.

I know that these things (as far as I can tell from various movies) are supposed to have some kind of story line, goal or something like that. Well mine, I suppose, is my journey with my almost 30 year old husband as he goes back to school to complete a degree (of "unknown" as of right now)…but I'm sure unknown is going to be something on the other side of the spectrum from his 1^st degree in Marketing. This journey has taken us from my beloved Texas to his home state of Iowa. All of this came about when day after day he would come home unhappy, overworked, underpaid and unfulfilled (sounds like a lot of husbands, and hell, wives too). One day, very casually I asked, "Hypothetically, if you could do anything in the world, no matter what you would have to do to get there, what would it be….what's your dream job?" He thought about this for a couple of days and came back with response of…wait for it…"Chiropractics". Guess the 'wait for it' was a little unnecessary cause if you don't know my husband, how could that surprise you and if you do know him, well you've already heard our story. Fast forward a few spring and summer months….Iowa fall is upon us, we are snug in our (well really his parent's) basement. My 3 year old is in preschool and loving it, my 2 year old is, well 2 and my husband is a straight A student at a community college, still not 100% positive what he is going for. The Chiropractics turned into Physical Therapy (thanks to some internet research and a lot of skepticism on my part), and that now has done a 180 and we currently looking into a career in Occupational Health and Safety (like OSHA stuff). We shall see where the next fork in the road leads us.

Right now, we have managed to let me continue to stay home with the boys. It kills me to think about a daycare getting to spend more time with them than I do, but we can't live off student loans for much longer. It may do me some good to have a job again though…I haven't had consistent periods of time without children and with adults since my 1^st was born. We shall see….if Nate (my husband) does in fact go the safety route, he may be starting by getting an entry level position then working toward his certificates and degrees at night, money issue solved. I spend a big portion of my day cooking. It has become a slightly surprising passion. I have tried probably over 50 recipes since May and cannot wait to get into the kitchen every day. Everything from Mexican to desserts to comfort and soul food…I just can't get enough. So, with anyone that finds a love of food, my weight has bounced back and forth since the big move from Texas as well….which leads to my next new hobby, I love fad diets. It's silly, I know, but there is something fun about finding a new quick fix and seeing if I have the will power to not cheat for the allotted time and see how the pounds I lose compare to what they promise. Right now it's the infamous Grapefruit Diet from the 70's. It's very similar to the Atkins Diet, which I have done off and on for years. I will probably have a heart attack at a very young age, but hopefully all the red wine I drink will counter some of the damage I have done : ) . This is actually day one and yes, I have cheated...5 jelly beans, 3 saltines and 1 yummy-oh-so-worth-it Dove white chocolate. Maybe tomorrow will be day 1. Very much craving a big ole slice of the caramel apple cheesecake that was one of my projects this last weekend…it's still upstairs in the fridge sweetly calling my name. But not going to give in….not tonight. They say you can lose 10 lbs in 12 days…we shall see. If I could drop 10 from where I'm at now, I would almost be at a before babies weight…..I've always heard it, the last 10 are the hardest to lose.

 

So, with some of the back story done, now the real writing can begin.

My name is Jen, my family is my everything, I love big and try to laugh often….I probably drink too much wine and I am just trying to find happiness in this crazy world. Follow me through my days in Iowa and where ever else we may end up.