Life is a journey, but no matter how far you travel, all roads lead to home. After two years of traveling across the country west-to-east and north-to-south and back, living in five different states, and having some wonderful experiences, we ended up back home in Texas.

In September 2009, I accepted a position as a Senior Auditor with the Texas State Auditor's Office in Austin. The work is similar to what I did with the U.S. Government Accountability Office in Denver, but with state instead of federal government. The work is good and the people are nice, and it feels good to be auditing again.

RJ enjoyed having some time off after spending so long in training, but is now eager to get back to work soon. He's searching for a job near Austin, hoping to find something in the recreation field where he can use his experience and training.

After staying with my parents for several months, we rented a house near the Austin airport and moved in over New Years' weekend. It is very odd to be renting a house after years of home-ownership and doing extensive remodeling, but we're waiting to buy after RJ gets a job so we can split our commutes. We're really enjoying being in Austin. It's a great city with an awesome vibe. The people here are very accepting, there's fantastic music and culture, great recreation places, and wonderful (too wonderful, really) food. The green belts and trails are wonderful, and we've been enjoying them as often as possible. The best part, though, is being close to friends and family.

We're close enough to my parents' place that we can easily visit most weekends; as great as Austin is, it's nice to get out in the country and enjoy the fresh air and open space. We've spent a lot of time riding their Morgan horses, and are especially proud of the progress we've made in training Rogue, a three-year old gelding. My parents live next door to a cattle ranch with several hundred acres where we can ride. The neighbors are happy to have us there, but a territorial wild turkey has a different opinion and likes to run at the horses while ruffling his tailfeathers and gobbling menacingly -- although Bella has recently discovered a talent for turkey-chasing, and likes to trot up behind him, shoving his tail-feathers with her nose while she chases him back to the trees.

RJ on Rogue, 5/2/10

Bella staring down her nemesis, safely across the fence, 5/2/10

Always,
Nik