My incessant efforts to find a job have finally paid off! I am now an employed woman once again!

Starting December 1st, I will be the Family Interaction Specialist for Visiting Nurse Services, a local non-profit organization, providing remedial services to children who have been diagnosed with psychological disorders. I'm nervous about the unknown aspect of a position I haven't worked in before, but excited about the opportunity to learn and to finally be busy again!

Last night, to celebrate, we shared a peppermint mocha while we browsed the aisles of Target and then got take-out from my new favorite eatery, Z'Mariks, to eat while we watched One Tree Hill. And then, just when I thought the celebration couldn't get any better, John's sister Casey brought me caramel apple and triple chocolate cupcakes for dessert! I couldn't have asked for a better day!

A couple weekends ago John and I decided to embrace our new town and get out and be festive with the locals. Our first stop was the Des Moines farmers market, since it was the last outdoor one of the year. Now, I can't say I went to too many farmers markets in San Diego to compare this one to, but it was pretty neat. It seemed more like a street fair to me though, which I guess is to be expected since freshly grown local produce is pretty scarce around here in late October. After all was said and done we had shared a delicious breakfast burrito and purchased some homemade root beer, fancy pasta noodles, and my personal favorite: banana marshmallows. Lets go ahead and chalk this one up to a success.

After the farmers market we went out to one of the area's pumpkin patches, since Halloween was just around the corner. Being newbies, we didn't know which pumpkin patch would be at the Bates Nut Farm level of awesomeness so we just picked one and went. Now, let's remember friends: we are in Iowa. Surely there are corn mazes, plentiful patches of pumpkins, and tractor hay rides, right? Not at our selected patch. Well, there was a tractor ride, but that was about it. I'm not really sure if people are just over zealous with their pumpkin purchasing around here or what, but we could have counted the total number of pumpkins at this place on our fingers. Needless to say, the pumpkin patch was not quite a success. Although, it did have one redeeming quality in the form of marshmallow roasting station, so not all was lost.

We haven't really done anything too exciting since. John has been busy working, and I've been busy applying for just about every job I see. This weekend we're off to the Quad Cities to dig through our boxes of belongings for winter coats, since it's already snowed once and the temperatures are rapidly dropping. I do have to admit, as much as I don't like being cold, it does feel more festive and holiday-ish with the colder temperatures. I wonder how I'll feel about being frozen once the holidays are over...