As Andrew and I consider our options in looking for a new home, one thing becomes immediately clear: we’re not making enough money.  While neither of us is expecting or even wanting to get into a million dollar home (more square footage=more area in need of housekeeping), we do have some things we want in a home that would make it more comfortable and, dare I say, more beautiful.  I’ll admit it, my desire to move is not entirely motivated by practicality issues.  To put it bluntly, I want a prettier house.  And I’m sorry, there is no way to make over this house into the beautiful house I envision in my mind.  I’m not necessarily looking for a mansion, just something with attractive features, both in its materials and in its design.  Unfortunately, it seems like most of the houses that I would place in my desireable yet reasonable category are just a hair out of our financial reach.  We’re talking like $25,000 to $50,000 over our budget.  That ends up being like $200-$300 more a month in the mortgage.  Not a huge margin, in the grand scheme of things, but in our current situation, that’s $200-$300 we don’t have.

Of course, there’s no way to know how much Andrew will be making in his new job, since much of it is based on performance, so the possibility of our making more money is there, but we certainly can’t buy a house based upon the hope that his income will be larger than it currently is.  So, what’s a girl to do when her eyes outpace her wallet?  Well, since Andrew’s doing all he can to bring home the bacon, I only think it reasonable that I start thinking of ways I can also contribute to the family economy.  Now, of course I have added a few dollars here and there, through piano lessons and the occasional editing job, and then there was that whole Kohl’s period, and the amazing $7.50 an hour I made there, but really folks, I haven’t had a real job in nine years. 

I always expected to go back to work once my children were in school, for both financial and personal reasons.  So, the question becomes, what kind of a job do I want?  I have had enough low-paying, unskilled labor jobs to know that I could not stand to do that for any real length of time.  And, sadly enough, I have come to realize that my despite my four-year degree in English, I really have no desire to spend my day sitting at a computer writing, either novels or newsletters.  And I don’t really have much interest in teaching English, either. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that it’s time to decide upon a future career in a totally different area than I previously anticipated for myself. 

So, which path to take?  I’ve had nine years to really think about what I would enjoy doing, and what I would be capable of doing, and what I could actually make money doing.  And the more I think about it, the more I realize that I am happiest when I am doing something creative.  Although many of you might not know it, I have a lot of artistic leanings that I have never fully developed.  Those of you who know my daughter Brianna know that her favorite thing in the world is drawing and coloring.  She will spend hours creating detailed pictures with her crayons or markers.  She gets more excited about getting a new art set than she does about a new doll.  Well, that was me when I was a kid too.  I used to take a sketch book on family vacations.  I still am a compulsive doodler.  Give me a pencil and paper and a long stake conference and I’ll sketch you out a full landscape! 

Anyway, I’ve been trying for a while now to figure out how I can apply this artistic side of me to making money.  I don’t think that illustration is my thing.  My brother does that for a living (he works for Del Sol, the color change T-shirt company, drawing their designs), and it’s just not what I see myself doing.  I’m really more interested in something three-dimensional.  I considered maybe getting into the wedding business, but I think the path I’ve decided to take is interior design.  I’ve always enjoyed decorating (and redecorating) my house, and talking about decorating with other people.  I love analyzing color schemes and fabrics and architectural details and lighting.  I love watching HGTV makeover shows.  I love the idea of turning a bare, uninviting white house into a cozy, personalized, welcoming home.  As I’ve looked at house after house on the internet, it has really struck me how few people really decorate their homes, and how even fewer of them do a good job of it.  So, my thought is, I can do that!   And my other thought is, I can get people to pay me good money to do that!  And then I get all excited and happy inside, much more than I ever did at the thought of editing and proofreading someone else’s writing.

So, obviously, innate talent and desire won’t get me a real job in the design industry.  I will have to go back to school.  There are two or three colleges in the area that offer some interior design training.  I just have to figure out what kind of schooling is appropriate for my situation (I don’t really have to go back and take freshman math, do I?).  And then we’ll have to see how we’re going to handle the classes with finances and child care.  I’m probably going to have to go kind of slowly, like one class at a time. But the ultimate goal is to have all of my schooling completed by the time James is in Kindergarten.  I’ve just gotten kind of excited that I’ve finally made a decision and have a goal to pursue.  It’s something I can really see myself doing throughout my life and not getting bored.  It seems strange to be planning a career again, but it’s really only a few more years down the line, and I look forward to trying something new in my life!