Hi ho, hi ho....

...it's off to work he goes. (whistling happily in my head here)

On Monday, Dan is going to start working with Hewlett Packard out in Vancouver, WA (which actually isn't far at all - maybe 30 minutes commute total). He won't be working for HP directly, but with a group that works with them. The pay is what he got at his last job, with better benefits and far more potential for moving up. Also a lot more to learn and gain in terms of marketable skills. The really nice part is that for once he was able to really think about the job and decide if he wanted it instead of jumping at any job opportunity that presented itself, since there just weren't that many jobs out there for him where we were in California. He'll still be doing consultant work on the side with his CAD software and networking skills, which means even more of a cushion financially.

It feels so good to finally be in a place where we aren't just barely getting by, where we can actually make choices. We've given up a lot financially to have me home, and that has been an important choice, but it has meant living on very little at times. I know Dan has felt like he was a lousy provider because we didn't have extras that he felt were important (even though I don't really care about having "stuff" in general). Nice to finally see him feeling like he can do all the things that he feels are important - and just to see him so happy.