I believe it was John Lennon who first penned this quote and I think it perfectly outlines the past few months for us. Last July, my husband and I decided to take a leap of faith and move back to Pittsburgh after living in what sometimes seemed like a foreign country.  Finding jobs in this economy is no small task, especially in the fields of teaching and engineering but we were determined to make it work.  To that end, I started writing this blog about the trials and tribulations of our quest to return to the City of Champions.  I used the nom de plume, West End Girl, and fully intended to file biweekly updates on our progress.  Things went well for a while and I found the writing very therapeutic and relaxing.  And then someone new came into our lives – someone who we had given up hope of ever meeting.  Here is one of our first sightings . . .

Speck's first photo op

Discovering that Speck was on the way was a joyous occasion for our family, but also proved to be a bit of an obstacle in keeping up with my new writing hobby.  Morning sickness, well, actually it was all day sickness plagued my days and insomnia haunted me at night for several months.  As you can imagine, neither of these conditions are conducive to running a family and household while working full time.  I also thought cleaning vomit off of a computer keyboard was a skill at which I did not want to become a pioneer so I hung up my mouse for a while.

These minor setbacks did not deter us from our primary goal: Moving back to the Burgh.  You may have read this article from Wednesday’s Post-Gazette.  If you didn’t read it yet, go a head and read it now – (Seriously, the rest of this posting will not make sense if you do not read it so just go ahead and click – just make sure you come back 🙂 )

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10104/1050136-294.stm

So, now you know where we have been and where we still plan to go as soon as possible.  The job hunt is more intense than ever with positive prospects bringing very high highs and disappointments bringing very low lows.  I was just in town this week working on making connections and pursuing as many leads as possible.   Though I have not found a job just yet, I remain very optimistic about the possibilities for upcoming school year.  Mike is following up on several leads, too, and has the advantage of being in a field that does not use an academic calendar.

As for TBFKAS (The Baby Formerly Known As Speck) he or she is as healthy and perfect as can be and will be arriving soon.  We have Magee Women’s hospital programed into the GPS . . .

Since my cover is blown now, I’ll just sign off with my real name.  If you have any great ideas for our quest to move back to the Burgh – please let me know.

Jenn  – Forever Your (West End) Girl

(’80’s song references, will I ever get tired of them?)