Why February is Already Better

So, if you didn't read my post about January, all you really need to know is that January was a waste of calendar space.  The kids were sick for the first few weeks, I was sick for the next few weeks, and then the month was over.  No fun.

But this is why February is already better, listed in ascending order of importance:

1.  I purchased this really cool US puzzle for the kids.  I'd been wanting one, and was thinking about making one for my first-ever difficult woodworking project.  "Extremely difficult, you say?  Ha!  Who cares?!"  Instead, though, I found this Melissa & Doug one for $10 and couldn't pass it up.

Next, I think I will purchase this world map puzzle for them:

2. Our family got to spend some time with Rob's famous Aunt Lisa.  It was hilarious to watch Lisa get adored and tracked down (seriously:  TRACKED DOWN) in Middle-of-Nowhere, Ohio.  Pictures, and holding kids, and signing magazines. ...  Sometimes I remind myself that this is all about scrapbooking and it's too weird.  I told Lisa that her life is bizarre and then I thought to myself, again, that I wouldn't want to be a celebrity of any type. 

If you are unsure who Lisa is, you probably aren't a scrapbooker.  But you can check out her website here.  And yes, Lisa truly is as charming and likable in real life as she seems on TV / in her blog.

3.  The Ohio tax return is in the bank!  It's not much, but we'll take it.  By the end of February, the Fed. return should be in there, too, and that's more money to pay off debt faster.  I told Rob that I can't think of a single thing I'd like to do with the money that's more important to me than paying off our debt faster.  We have committed to being debt-free by 2013, and I think we can do it.  We're already making huge strides.  Hurrah!  (And we are maintaining a decent standard of living at the same time.  No, I don't think we deprive ourselves of "good" things.  It's a good financial place to be, actually, and I wouldn't mind maintaining this standard of living for the rest of our lives.)

4.  Rob has a job for Fall!  ...  This last week has been craziness.  Last Friday he went and talked to someone about a possible 2nd post-doc.  She was very interested in Rob.  This was meant to be a slow affair.  I mean, this isn't until July or August, so there was some time to think about it, etc.  Well, crazy things happened all in about a day's time, and after spending all his time running around talking to people, Rob has committed to be in this woman's lab for the next 2 years, starting the beginning of July. 

It's amazing the way the Lord works in our lives.  Even a few months ago, a 2nd post-doc looked like not a really good deal for us.  Rob went and talked to this lady almost on a whim.  It was sort of a fall-back plan for us.  But then we sat on the idea for a few days, and Rob came home from work on Monday and said what I'd been thinking during the day, which was, in essence, "This could be what we've been waiting for."  This was an unexpected occurrence for both of us, but after that we just went with it.

As Rob has not yet signed any official papers, the job is not "official."  But in all other ways, it is (commitments were made, both ways; salary was negotiated; a start date was set).  So we're done worrying about the job situation for Fall, and that's nice.  We can breathe a little easier and get on with worrying about other things, thank you.

...  I'm pretty sure the rest of February is going to have a hard time topping that.