St. Patricks Update!

Hello Everyone! Happy St. Patricks' Day! We wanted to give you an update and let you know how things are moving along. We have both been interviewing for jobs since our return to the United States on March 1st. So far we have had several interviews with many different companies and are expecting to entertain some offers in the next two weeks. The process takes some time, as you know. An initial interview, an assessment test, a second and sometimes third interview, a ride along, the negotiation, blah blah blah. The most important news is that any worries we had about how quitting our jobs and taking a trip around the world and how that would appear to prospective employers have been laid to rest. Everyone we talk to thinks what we have done is great and would make us valuable employees. Julie says "I told you so." Melissa says "Whew." We will keep you updated. What else to tell you? We are getting ready to start selling our import items. If you are looking for some great jewelry, scarfs, Thai silk, fisherman trousers, handmade paper lanterns, etc... we have them! It's been fun to go through what we brought home and relive the memories of finding them. We are also printing several of our pictures and look forward to matting and framing them. We are still based in the little house in Olympia, Washington, but looking for work and permanent housing in Portland. We have yet to get Internet service, just drive until we find someone who has wireless and pick up their signal. For now it's manageable but we do feel a bit funny sitting in the car for any length of time with our laptops out - typing away. We have found some great possibilities for housing in Portland and are just waiting to firm up employment. We hope to get back into the Pearl District or Northwest 23rd. Last, we promise you the final budget update. The tattered budget book has temporary disappeared but when we find it we will break down all costs, per country. The total for the trip was right at $23,650 for both of us. Shockingly cheap, we think. We learned so much, we have been affected so much, and really as MasterCard says, it is priceless. (no we didn't charge it Mom!) 12 countries, 5 months, and a lifetime of memories. Not bad.

Mom's Home!

Here is a picture of Melissa with Minnie the chihuahua and Bella the Golden Retriever. Everyone is very, very happy to see one another. It was a bit difficult to leave them for five months, but everyone remembered each other and seems to have picked up right where they left off.

The Mysterious Lynn!

For those of you following our travels, you know that one of our best "commenters" was Lynn. She was faithful in checking the blog, keeping us updated, and providing feedback. We enjoyed her comments so much - only - we don't think we know Lynn. Lynn, do we? Who are you, how did you hear about us? Can we buy you a drink? Can't wait to hear...

Home Sweet Home

It was a really long flight, but we made it home. The first thing we saw was light snow and we weren't happy about it. Our toes immediately froze and we found it necessary to dig out our sweaters, boots, and flannel pj's. So much for showing off our great tans! If you know Melissa you will understand that she's been up at 2 AM both nights since our return unpacking boxes and getting us organized. She's gotten so much done that it looks like we've been here for weeks. I guess you can say that we aren't exactly adjusted to the time difference yet. Julie headed to Portland to visit her family and they welcomed her with smiles, a delicious feast, and great wine. Our job search starts this week and we are are actually looking forward to it. We will do a couple more blogs before signing off for good. Thanks for joining us and for all of the comments, they really did make our day.