Greetings!

So, when I said I was going on hiatus, I wasn't lying.  BUT, I'm finally settling into my new home, 2400 miles from where I was.  Things are still at loose ends since my belongings are still back in Michigan, but my best friend has been an absolute godsend and has done her best to make my transition to Oregon a smooth one.

My trip was actually really lovely.  I took the train a week ago Monday from Dearborn to Chicago and then transferred to a sleeper train in Chicago.  If I hadn't been so completely exhausted from everything that had happened the week prior, I probably would have enjoyed the train ride a LOT more.  Sadly, I was so tired that I basically spent the entire trip as a zombie and barely looked out the window.

It was absolutely gorgeous scenery.  The train went from Chicago up to St. Paul/Minneapolis the first night.  When I woke up the next morning we were halfway across North Dakota.  Got into Montana on Tuesday and spent the majority of the day going thru that.  We reached the Rockies around 7 pm Tuesday night, which was a trip.  They start out as these itty-bitty little bumps on the horizon and the closer you get, the bigger they get.  Absolutely gorgeous and so green!!!

Got into Washington State around 1:30 in the morning on Wednesday and spent the morning going down the Columbia River Gorge.  I'd forgotten just how beautiful this part of the country is.  Got into Portland early and my best friend picked me up.

I currently live in Salem, which is about an hour south of Portland.  I seem like I'm out in the middle of nowhere, but I'm only fifteen minutes from the city center.  It is absolutely gorgeous out here.  We live on three quarters of an acre and are completely surrounded by trees.  Every night I go to sleep to the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze.

So far, things are good.  I still haven't started looking for a job because my best friend told me not to.  She wants me to be rested and in a good mindset before I start looking so I don't snap up the first job that comes my way.  I honestly have no idea what I want to get into.  I'm at a standstill because with my last job I just worked.  It wasn't what I WANTED to do.  It's a bit daunting to think about because I'm in total limbo right now and don't even know where to start.

That being said, I AM happy with my choice.  Right now I feel like a housewife because she's working and I'm not, so I make sure the dishes are done as well as the laundry.  I don't want her having to do more than she already is.  The house we live in is great.  Two huge bedrooms and 1.5 baths.  Wide open and if the doors are open, there's an amazing cross breeze that keeps the house cool.

She has two cats, a dog and three goats, which is a bit to get used to.  We'll more than likely be moving into Portland in January when her lease is up just to be closer to her work.  I'd LOVE to find something close to here with good pay so I can just take over her lease, but I have a feeling that isn't going to happen.

The sad thing about Oregon is how high the income tax is, so that makes it hard to find a really good paying job that will actually give me good take home pay.  I'm hoping to find something in the $20 an hour bracket since minimum wage is $15 here, which is ridiculous.  Thank God for no sales tax!

I hope to start writing soon.  I'm sorry I've been AWOL for so long.  With working more than full time + cleaning out my apartment, I just didn't have the wherewithal to be able to think, let alone write.  At least write anything coherent, anyway.

I hope y'all are doing well and I hope to have something up for you very soon!  :)