A new town, a new job...& a baby?

"You'll spend half your life trying to get out of Montana & the other half trying to get back in." -A very wise high school science teacher.  I have never forgotten those words.  He's now principal of said high school, so I should send him an email & let him know it only took me about 12 years to figure that out.

We've neglected the blog & now we're back with a vengeance.  I think the title sums everything up - we've moved (or we're in the process of moving), we both have new jobs, & we have a baby on the way.

The end.

Just kidding.  So yes...let's start with the move/new jobs.  For some time, we've held a small flame of desire to move to Helena.  Despite my haughty 18-year-old complaints, Helena is a pretty cool place.  It has so many things we've desired of late: amazing outdoor community, strong economy (now THAT makes me sound old), four-year university (Fighting Saints!), larger population (~30,000 immediate vicinity, ~70,000 with outlying areas), centrally located (yay for an airport with more than one airlines!) & surrounded by many mountains & lakes to explore.  Not to mention, we're closer to family, which you reach a certain age & realize it is nice to be near family.

Spurring the move was my job offer of HR Director for a wonderful non-profit (read: not amazing pay).  *Sigh of relief*  What a change of pace from my previous prison position in which I was stuck with a dictator supervisor with strong Cruella resemblances.  I am very much enjoying my job & it's refreshing working for an organization with a passionate commitment to their community.  Not to mention, this is an amazing opportunity for someone my age & it builds my resume handsomely (something I was NOT getting in Sheridan).

If we didn't already believe in God, we most certainly would in this situation.  I won't drown you in details but we took a big leap of faith when I accepted the position (would Hubby be able to find work?) & before too long, we had our answer.  He was offered a part-time Assistant Brewer position with a local brewery & his engineering firm in Sheridan (which has an office in Helena), has several projects lined up with his name in the proposal.  The firm does not have an engineer onsite with his specialty & in the past, outsourced the work to another of their offices in Montana; with his move to Helena, he fills a much-needed gap.

The end.

Wait, you want me to tell you about baby Lipetzky?  In a humorous turn of events, exactly two weeks before I was to move to H-town & start my new job, we found out we're pregnant!  Ta-da!  God also has a sense of humour.  We're calling it the Lipetzky Trifecta.  We just knew it - as soon as we planted asparagus in our garden, we'd move.  As soon as we took new jobs, we'd get pregnant.  (The asparagus bit is true...we've held off planting asparagus because we were just sure we'd end up leaving, since asparagus takes about three years before it can be harvested, & sure as sh*t, we planted asparagus last summer)  Little Bean Lipetzky is due September 27, 2014.  Sorry honey, we can schedule our wedding around hunting season but Baby is already dictating our time.

With that being said, I have every intention of being more diligent with our blog updates.  Although we've moved closer to some family, we've moved farther from other family.  I'll keep up the blog so they can watch the changes to our lives.  And let's be honest - this wouldn't be a good blog if I didn't give you the honest, non-glamorous version of pregnancy, no?  Let the games begin...

A random collage

We're rapidly approaching winter.  *Sigh*  I love living near the mountains but oh dear, I go into winter kicking & screaming.

Since we're so behind on blog posts, here's a random collage of pictures:

 "Hi Mom.  Just waiting from someone to drop something on the kitchen floor for me to eat."

Sometimes you have to snuggle with your yogurt cup.  Or wear it as a top hat.

Someone stole a stick from the wood pile...

 This is a very typical picture...

Busy bees soaking up the last of the nectar from our Russian Sage.

Our potted clover showing off its floral beauty.

And the post wouldn't be complete without a few of our favorite little guy...

We will be the coolest aunt & uncle.  So we start them young learning to order craft beer.

 "This guy must not be a Ramirez because he's really tall."

 "This is my Blue Steel look"

Ireland - Arrival in Dublin

Let's forget the fact it's now July & we took our trip to Ireland in March.  *Ahem*

We landed bright & early in Dublin at 5 a.m.  After getting our bearings with a map & picking up our (first) vehicle, I bit the bullet & started the drive.  Notice my look of panic/fear/"what the hell am I doing" look on my face.

 Glad we brought our GPS.

It began snowing as soon as we landed in Dublin...of course!  Weather cleared up (somewhat) but I was not excited to be driving in the icy slush snow.  According to the locals, it was the coldest March in 50 years.  Totally believable.

Drogheda was our first destination, en route to Donegal.

 Sheep!

 

 May we now show you our amazing first breakfast Ireland:

I kid you not.  According to the car rental agency employee, we'd have no trouble finding a place for breakfast in Drogheda.  After driving around for 45 minutes (following an icy 40 min drive from Dublin), we came to the very sad realization that Micky D's was our only option.  By the time they opened (8 a.m.), we were exhausted, cold, hungry, & very very jet lagged.  Although we were unable to enjoy a true Irish breakfast with a pint of Guinness for our first meal, McDonald's was warm, dry, staffed with extremely friendly employees & good, strong coffee...enough to make it worth our while.

 We loved all the beautiful farmhouses.

Our reason for stopping in Drogheda was to see Newgrange, a historic site highly recommended by a friend.  When we pulled into the parking lot, the car began making a terrible noise when making a left hand turn.  After a few calls back & forth to our car rental agency (I cannot say enough about the friendly & helpful employee I spoke with - she was awesome), they decided to send us a new car, free of charge.

This smile was a struggle.  May I remind you, we were delirious with exhaustion & not entirely excited with the start of the trip (first snow & then McDonald's?!), so the car issue almost made it too much.  Instead of taking the shuttle out to see the tomb (& risk missing the new car we were waiting on), Steve masterfully lined up the camera with a telescope in the visitor's center & snapped a pic.

It was time to move on & get to our B&B in Donegal.  Although it stayed cold & breezy during our trip in Ireland, the snow eventually stopped & we enjoyed an amazing vacation.

Home

I have to dance around the house every time this song comes on Pandora.

Fun

In case you need a good laugh...