It's all happening...

A quote from one of my top five favorite movies to be sure.

Take a gander:

 I love the way Penny comes up with these elaborate plans and everyone thinks she's crazy until the last scene of the movie when homegirl is buying a plane ticket to Morocco.  This is the running theme for this blog post.
 
As predicted, Eric and I are still reeling from our vacation to Portland this past October.  By reeling I mean we can't stop thinking about how much we loved it there and that we know we need to live there.  So we're moving.  March 15th.  *gasp*  Well, that's officially Eric's last day of work.  We'll keep you posted on the exact date we are throwing all the critters in the car and hightailing up to the PNW.

The last few months have been interesting around Casa de Lamer.  Two days before Thanksgiving I walked out of my job of four years.  A job that paid well in this economy, a job that provided enough security that Eric and I rarely worried about money, a job that made me all kinds of miserable.  I just walked out.  Quietly gathered my belongings, put them in a box, and walked out without a moment's hesitation.  I came home that morning and sat in the sun on my back porch waiting for the panic to set in.  It never did.  And I've been cartwheeling through my days ever since.

Odd that I would choose to walk out of a job four months before we are picking our lives up to head for greener pastures (figuratively and literally!), no?   It's absolutely odd.

All I can say is, I knew it would be okay, Eric knew it would be okay, and I'll be damned if things aren't working themselves out.  We've started our own business and are anxious to hit the ground running when we get up there.  It's the same line of work Eric's done in Fresno for the last ten years and we're anxious  to see where it goes.  We're both confident that it's going to be fine and since we've worked together before, we know this is going to be the ideal professional situation for us.

We've shared the news with everyone we're close to, and everyone is supportive of course.  It's been interesting.  We often get asked "What's Plan B?" "Have you considered what you'll do if this doesn't work?" and different questions with the same theme.  Here's the thing.  We don't have a Plan B.  We can't put all of our focus and energy into Plan A if we're planning the what-ifs if something doesn't meet our expectations.

We've carefully looked over our finances in the last several months.  We've saved, paid off, budgeted, and done all the things responsible adults do when they are making a huge life decision in the direction of change. At some point when all the responsible adult research has been done you have to come to a place where you say either "Fuck it.  Let's do it, and do it now!" or "It doesn't feel right, I'm afraid what will happen if..."

Needless to say, we're going with the first option.  And we're beyond secure in the decision.  We followed our instincts that it was the right thing to do, and things have been falling into place ever since.  Including me quitting my job!  We've had some unbelievable moments in the last few weeks that confirm that we made the right decision and that things will be fine.  Things that I'm convinced wouldn't have happened otherwise.  Some might call them coincidences.  I say there's no such thing.

So we're putting Casa de Lamer up for rent, exploring rentals in Portland, and seizing the damn day!  Boxes will be packed soon, closets weeded out, and what I predict will be many trips to Goodwill getting rid of the things we don't need anymore.

I'll keep everyone posted on our updates as they come.  Right now we're doing all the the paperwork and planning associated with opening a small business (see, we CAN be responsible!) and dreaming of the day we pull into our town.  A place where it's rainy, green, and not 115 degrees four months out of the year.  Desert living has dried us out and we are going to soak up the rainy goodness that is Portland like sponges!

Carpe Diem!  It feels amazing...promise!!!!