Rant

I am hating my job right now. I don't really want to blog about work, so I'm going to keep it generic. I thought that working from home would give me some distance and perspective. Instead, it's put my natural paranoia into overdrive. I haven't heard from the boss in days, I feel disconnected, I STILL don't know what they're going to do about my health insurance when I shift to part-time, and I'm afraid of being canned. Although being canned would mean I wouldn't have to worry about child care in September, it would also mean that I'd lose my insurance, and that's not part of the plan right now. I've always been worried about not having health insurance, but now that I'm knocked up again, I feel like it's mandatory. Sure women have had babies without it, but I really don't want to be $10,000 in debt for having a child.

Should I look for another job? Who would hire a visibly pregnant woman? Even if I found another job right away, I wouldn't be there long enough to qualify for FMLA, so I'd lose that job too. Should I just wait it out until something happens? Work doesn't know I'm preggers yet - should I tell them sooner rather than later & hope it helps me keep my job?

What do I do?

And PS - Jake Gyllenhall is GAY? Dang it, I never saw that one coming. I would have thought Peter Parker would come out of the closet before Jakey boy (then again, I still haven't seen Brokeback Mountain). What is the world coming to?

Baby It's Hot Outside

Although it's only 70 outside, the humidity is at 96%. Ick. I tried turning off the AC and opening the windows for a bit, but that only lasted an hour or so. I hope the weather gets cooler ASAP.

We went to the State Fair on Sunday, and it was an eye-opener. I actually had fun, although it was also about 85 and 90% humidity. My hair didn't appreciate the weather, but my tummy enjoyed the Fair food. I restrained myself to just a gyro, and enjoyed every bite of it. It's a wonder I didn't get salmonella, but all was well. Peaches wanted to ride every ride she saw, but enjoyed the ferris wheel most. She also enjoyed her popcorn and cotton candy lunch. (yes, I'll be accepting my parent of the year award later this month).

Some of my observations from the fair:
1. Des Moines isn't as white as I thought. I saw a few African American families walking around, and was pleasantly surprised. I don't think I saw any Asians, but I've seen some at the mall. Don't take any of that the wrong way - I'm glad to see a little diversity here.
2. The fair definitely brings out the lowest common denominator of humanity. I feel grateful that I know how to match my clothes and that I have the decency to force my child and husband to wear a shirt in public.
3. The ugly shoe reigns supreme here. Seriously, they may be comfortable, but I have seen some of the ugliest footwear EVER since I've been here. Ladies of Iowa, here's a tip for you - Nordstrom has a great online shoe department. Try it out, you won't be sorry.
4. The pork chop on a stick was the most popular fair food (not that I tried one, but everyone else did). It's been a while since I've been to a fair of any sort, but this was a bit unexpected. These chops were huge, grilled, and speared on a massive piece of wood. Nothing like meat on a stick to bring out the caveman in you.

Otherwise, we haven't left the house for more than a few hours all week. I did go grocery shopping and was both massively disappointed and frustrated. Seriously, who puts the bread crumbs with the bread? And do they not make Panko in the mid-West?? I may have to turn to Super Target for my food shopping needs. At least I can find what I want there.

Part of the joy of not leaving the house is acclimating to the new apartment. I'm getting to know our neighbor quite well - or at least what she likes to do at 4:30 in the morning. It's not every night, but seriously, YOU'RE WAKING ME UP WITH ALL THE SCREAMING. I always thought rule #1 of apartment living was to 'keep the noise level down'... but how do you tell someone you've never formally met that she needs to buy a muzzle?

I was also dumbstruck to discover that we can't have a live Christmas tree here. Wha? I've never lived in an apartment that didn't allow a real tree. Why don't they tell me I can't have houseplants either? I will have to decide if I will be subversive and risk getting us kicked out or if I'll will rustle up a fake tree from somewhere. Not really - I'm too much of a chicken to the fight the Man. Maybe I can find a really good Pine Potpourri.

In the DSM

So I'm back - after several weeks gone, several thousand miles travelled, and multiple temper tantrums (only one of which was mine). We're in the DSM, wallowing in a pig-mess of an apartment, and cranking the AC to epic proportions. Sweet Husband has been here for two weeks and didn't unpack a single box, so I get to spend the next week trying to organize this place while working from home and wrangling a 3 yo. Good Times.

It's not too bad thus far. The apartment is small, but the kitchen is huge. At least we can spread out there even if we don't have space anywhere else. Des Moines is... humid. That's the best I can say thus far. I haven't seen much & probably won't for another week or so. I have to conserve my energy for cleaning this mess, organizing and restocking the house. It is astonishing how much food you have to buy when you move cross-country. I may as well walk into the grocery and tell them to add one of everything to my cart.

Other than that, things are OK. The house fell through, so that's not great. We're fortunate that we can afford to pay the mortgage for a few months and not feel the pinch too badly - but that's not going to last forever. It's certainly been a learning experience. Hopefully the Salem market will remain strong, and we can move the house in the next few months. Wish us luck.

I'll post more DSM observations as I can. I'll be working from home now, so I'll be able to update more frequently.