Kimberly’s Place

My last post was about my layoff, and our being approved for our mortgage. After that, life got very busy. No, hectic. Chaotic. Overwhelming. I could have written entire blog posts about everything that happened, and maybe later I will. But for now, I’ll give you the very, VERY brief overview:

Got approved for the mortgage

Had 14 cavities filled by a dental specialist in Denver

Closed on the house

Moved the little things by car over a period of 2 weeks

Moved the furniture by van

Started unpacking

Arranged our life-long dream trip to Ireland

Went to Ireland for 2 weeks

Unpacked everything else

Resumes, interviews, temp jobs

Finished unpacking and threw a housewarming party

Yeah, it was a lot. I stopped blogging because between one event and the next, I didn’t have any chance to think or process my thoughts about. I like to take time to “process”. Time to think, time to understand how I feel about things. Over the past few months, I just haven’t had time to do that.

But now, life has settled down. All the activities are completed, all the trips taken, and my job hunting efforts have yielded the result of a job offer with a good company. I feel relief. It’s like the sun has risen after a long and uncomfortable night.

Myles and I have been very concerned about our mortgage ever since my layoff. We didn’t know if we would still be approved based on his income alone. But we heard from our mortgage lady this week, and she told us we are still approved! I am so relieved… if we had lost the house I would have been devastated. But no worries now- the house will still be ours! We sign the papers on May 1… it’s almost here!!

Happy Easter!

I was laid off yesterday. It was a shock. I knew that the company’s business was slowing down, and I had considered the possibility of a cut in my hours. Maybe a cut in pay. So when I was called into the owner’s office and discovered my supervisor and our HR person were there, too, I knew something bad was about to happen.

I was surprised, and emotional. But I recognized that they were upset, too. It wasn’t fun for anybody. And I am not taking it personally, because I’m not the only person being fired. Apparently 40% of the company is being let go this month. I did my best to respond professionally, and took my layoff notice and last paycheck with the best grace I could. Then I packed my personal things, gave my unfinished projects to my supervisor, said my goodbyes and left. It was over in about an hour.

This morning I am sitting and thinking about where to go from here. I will apply for unemployment, which I have never needed to do before. But I can’t admit that I won’t need it - it is uncertain how long it will take me to find a new job in the current climate. There is also a certain blessing in that I’m now free to prepare for our upcoming move. Of course, that’s bad too, because losing my income is a concern for our pending mortgage application. We think we’ll still be ok, and our mortgage broker thought so too. But I’m not going to feel easy about it until the mortgage is actually approved and the contract for the house has been signed.

So I’m planning to take things one step at a time. Today, I will apply for unemployment, spruce up my resume, and start the job search. I will also take advantage of the extra time I now find myself with, and do those things I never really quite had time to do while I was working - things around the house, cleaning, packing, etc. I’m going to consider ways I might help us save money to offset the impact of my lost income. And I’m going to keep the faith that everything’s going to be ok.

Let the new chapter begin!

I really enjoyed sleeping in this morning. Snuggled in bed, nice and warm. I woke up thinking about our new house and I walked through all the rooms in my mind, imagining what they will look like with all our furniture moved in. It was very nice.

Then I came downstairs to make some breakfast, and I was greeted by this sight out the window….

It’s snowing! So beautiful, and I’m snug and cozy in my house… I love Colorado!

Myles and I are buying a house! We are so excited! We’ve signed the contract, and everything is underway with inspections. I keep dreaming of all the things I want to do… no more white walls! No more icky appliances! No more noisy neighbors sharing the wall with us! A yard! I’m going to plant flowers and roses and a garden… there’s a producing apple tree in the backyard and I’m looking forward to making goodies with our own fresh apples…. it’s going to be great! Myles is looking forward to using the garage for his workshop, and he wants to finish the basement into a media room with a big, comfy couch, a big screen tv and surround sound. I am really, REALLY looking forward to owning my place. Renting is so frustrating… low quality everywhere and no authority to improve at all. I’ve always made the best of it, but now- I have a place of my own! I’ll have the freedom to do whatever I want- paint, refinish cabinets, change light fixtures, update kitchen hardware, have pets… all the things we were never allowed while in rentals. This place will really be ours. We’ve waited and planned so patiently for this day, I am thrilled that it is finally becoming a reality!

Here’s a view of it on Google Streetview.

View Larger Map

We close on May 1st and move-in day is May 9th. I can hardly wait!

If you look at the top of my sidebar to the right, you’ll see the “what I’m doing” gadget. That is my Twitter feed from twitter.com. I like using Twitter a lot… it’s like blogging but on a much smaller scale. I can tweet about my day, things on my mind… it’s fun. If you’re not using Twitter, sign up and add me to your list! My username is kbostwick.

I haven’t posted about this before, because Myles and I have been trying very hard to decide if it’s the right thing to do. But after three weeks of discussions, we’ve made up our minds - we’re making an offer on a house! It’s a house we saw on our first day out… and we’ve had it on our minds ever since. We waited because it seemed imprudent to offer on one of the first houses we ever saw… but we’ve been looking at the rest of the market and we keep coming back to this one.

Today we meet with Tim, our agent, and we’re going to sign the paperwork. I’m very excited! The offer may or may not go through… but just to be making it is a very big deal.

Fingers crossed!

But only just a little….

I went to see a personal trainer at the gym for a fitness assessment a few weeks ago… these were my results- Read the rest of this entry »

After 2 weeks of half-hearted effort, I have once again found my motivation to get to the gym every day. Even though it’s difficult, I am waking up at 5 in the morning (that’s 4am CA time, family!!) and going to my weights class. I’ve also committed to a bicycling class every other morning that I find very difficult. I feel proud that I managed to pull out of the slump and get myself moving again!

I just finished reading this article, and I found it very interesting. I often do exactly what the lady in the story did- I slip a little, get really depressed, and then completely lose my motivation and self-discipline. I do this with food, and with exercise. I recommend the article, it is very thought provoking.

It was a great experience to go house hunting yesterday. We saw some good houses, we saw some bad houses and there was one… well, let’s just say it was the definition of ugly.

Myles and I are very encouraged by what we saw… I think this is the year we get a house of our own!