change of plans

Well. It's been a while, but I'm feeling semi-productive tonight and thought I'd make use of the motivation.

SO... J has decided he wants to stay here for another 4 years in order to gain another year of employment and then do 3 years of business school. He plans to stay with his company for the duration of his schooling, which will theoretically work because the program meets only at night and on select Saturdays.
This means multiple things:
1) We need to figure out where we want to live... we love our current apartment, but J wants to live closer to where he works. (And I don't blame him-- a 25-35 minute drive to get to work, and then another 25-40 to get home is certainly a drain on his time and energy.) This means we have to find somewhere new, with hopefully a little more room at a decent price, and we'll have to move in August. Since we were planning on moving in August anyway, this shouldn't be too bad... but I'll be sad to leave this place. I love the kitchen, even though it's small, and I finally have the place looking more or less how I wanted it to.
2) I have to find a job... I'd be more than happy to continue working with my current families, but will need something else to fill the time and (hopefully) make some more money. We have talked a lot about wanting to pay off my school debt ASAP and then starting to save up for a house. (Though I'm years away from wanting to take on the responsibility of owning a house... there is simply so much to have to consider and take care of. I'd rather spend my time living.) I've been thinking of working at a department store or a book store... although in both cases there's a danger of spending more at work than I make. :)
3) We'll certainly have to buy another car... especially if we move to the suburb-y areas that are not regularly serviced by the metro system. I am definitely not opposed! :)
4) (BY FAR THE BIGGEST CONSIDERATION) We'll have to live in this weather for another four years. Though J is signing a contract with me that ensures that we'll be leaving for warmer weather when he's done with school, I'm not thrilled at having to stay in a place where it's so miserable so often. I will certainly have to continue going tanning, and perhaps we'll have to go on vacation more often (once every two years is not quite enough to keep the winter blues away). And I'll have to work on becoming more active-- I honestly feel unable to do much in this weather, but perhaps moving into an apartment complex with a fitness facility will be enough to spur some movement.

I want to be happy here. There is a lot about the city that I love, and I'm sure I haven't experienced even a tenth of what it has to offer. However, it will take some work on my part to make sure that I stay involved and active. I don't want to lose all motivation to make something of my life simply because I have a hard time dealing with the winters here. If nothing else, I'll have to get a job that I'm excited about... if I have something worthy to work on, I'll have fewer reasons to mope around. :)