Crossroads

So, today at my career counseling meeting, Cindy and I put a huge dent in the overhaul of my resume from generic blah administrative all-over-the-map-ness to laser-focused marketing guru-ness. There is still a bit of polishing to do, but the foundation is there, and I'm actually eager to start sending it out (who'd've thunk it?).

And therein lies the next challenge...Levi and I have to decide whether I should keep my job search local, or if we want to take the plunge and relocate out of Minnesota.

It's an idea we've been kicking around off and on for a while - we're both really, really tired of winter. California sounds lovely, even if the COL difference is intimidating. Neither of us have ever lived outside the state except for college, and how many people really take the chance to start over in a new place once they've got families, mortgages, etc.?

On the one hand, the timing couldn't be better for us...I'm actively looking for a new job, Levi also wants to explore other options and - well - we're going to have to move out of our house before the end of the year anyway (both of our families know that we're allowing our house to go into foreclosure, so I feel like I can finally talk about it "in public"). If we're going to have to move, why not go big, right?

On the other hand, we have to move out of our house in 6 months. Which means we need to start figuring out ASAP where we're going to live instead. Can I really squeeze a nationwide hunt for the perfect job, and a cross-country family relocation, into that time frame? Never having done it before, I just don't know.

Also in the back of my mind is the what-to-do about the horses. I'm extremely blessed that horseback riding has been a nearly expense-free hobby for all of my life, thanks to the fact that my parents are in the business. But if we moved out of state, either we'd have to increase our household income by an insane (and probably unrealistic) percentage in order to start paying all the bills for two horses - after all, I couldn't keep Twinks but tell Brianna that Merle has to go! - or we'd have to make arrangements for the horses to stay at home for an indefinite period of time, which, in addition to being its own kind of challenge, also makes me sad. (Selling them is not an option I'm willing to consider, but fortunately I don't think I would have to. I've told my mom that when her farm sells and my horses are finally homeless, I don't want a cash payout, I need a horse-maintenance trust fund - ha!)

Decisions, decisions...