Georgia

   McKay applied for a job offhandedly months ago. Mostly for a lark. Sure, the work looked interesting, but we weren't really looking to move. And when they offered it to him back in November, he said the timing wasn't good. Right before the holidays and all that, not to mention a baby due in January. Plus we couldn't get out of our lease. No, not good timing at all. And, anyway, it was in GEORGIA. As in, the SOUTH. That wasn't happening.

  They called back about a week ago: How's the timing now? We still didn't take it seriously. No, we were definitely not moving to Georgia. But it was flattering to be asked. McKay didn't turn them down, but didn't give that much encouragement, either.

  Before the company even gave McKay a formal interview, they called his lab for references. Man, they were taking this way more seriously than we were. We were so NOT moving to Georgia.

  And then they asked him how much he wanted, salary-wise. McKay gave a ludicrous-sounding number. We weren't moving to Georgia. That would be silly.

  They accepted the offer December 29th. They had to know by the end of the 30th if we would take it or not so they could do paperwork for the new year. We've been struggling financially for months, sometimes barely scraping by in the black (very new for us).

  Maybe . . . Georgia wasn't SO bad? The cost of living is low. SO much lower than Virginia. We could actually save money! (a novel idea after this last year). We could probably afford to go to Disney World!

  I have to admit, Disney World factored into my decision more than it probably should.

  So that's how we accidentally got a job in Georgia. McKay starts March 1st.

  Since we accepted, I can't NOT pack; it's basically a compulsion. But a month and a half ahead of time, there's little I can pack that we don't use in our day-to-day lives. So I've limited myself to books for the time being. Luckily, that's plenty for me to focus on. So far I've packed six boxes of books, and have only finished up the first of our three bookcases. To be fair, they're small-ish boxes so we don't break our backs lifting them. McKay makes fun of me.

  My other favorite past time: Zillow. I check it multiple times a day for new listings, even though I know that 90% of the ones I have saved will be gone by the time we move. My heart breaks a little each time one goes. I don't know why I torture myself.

  Oh, and I'm due in a week. We've finally (mostly) decided on a name, but I'm afraid to say it out loud. If people tell me they hate it, I'll probably feel compelled to go back to the drawing board. I'm too tired for that. So many baby name lists.

  2016 looks like it should be interesting, to say the least.

  I felt like this post could use a picture. I had a nude-colored body suit on underneath the tulle, it wasn't as scandalous as it may appear. Thanks again for the photo shoot, Jen! And for reminding me to keep my chin jutted out!