A Moving Story

Literally. We are moving again. However, we're moving because the hubs found a job! WOOHOO!!! And we'll ironically be moving back to the city from which we moved (17 years there only to return for a few more I guess)...so he can work for the company that cut his job...but this time as a contractor/consultant. If you're not confused, I give you kudos. Seriously. It took me two days to realize what was going on and what it meant. I think I said to the hubs a few times, "Now explain this to me again..." - he must think I'm crazy. It's like we took a 7 month vacation with our recent move out of that city last Fall...as the hubs reminds me, it was anything but a vacation (unemployment is not fun - we've crossed it off our list hoping we don't have to venture down that path again)...so, let's call it a sabbatical.

We took the crash course in frugality and budgeting...and yes, the art major who always runs away from numbers has become a budgeting queen and 'save' has replaced 'spend' in my vocabulary. My family doesn't know who I am. But I am OK - no more than OK - with this revised thinking I have adapted. God works in funny ways, let me tell you. The lessons He wants us to learn are sometimes the longest roads we take in life. We all need to be refined in different ways and who better to know and guide us than the Heavenly Father. I am grateful for that even though we may not know exactly what His plan of course may be or the paths He takes us down.

Thank you Heavenly Father for blessing us with the security of new employment. Help guide us in the future with decisions we need to make with housing and give us strength to embrace the lessons of frugality when temptation comes our way. Teach us to trust in You as you have shown us time and time again that with You (God), anything is possible.

My blog posts may be sporadic in the next few weeks - I'm apologizing in advance...I'm going to try my best to post every couple of days, but please understand I need to start packing up this family for our next adventure! Thanks for taking the time to follow my blog - I appreciate all of my readers!

Long time, no see...we're back!

Where does the time go? Well, last you heard we were packing up, had sold our house and moved. We are settling in...but not too much as we're unsure of whether or not we'll have to move because of a job offer. There are a few things in the works, some local or close where we would not need to move in the short term...and some are quite distant (out-of-state) to where it would behoove us NOT to unpack the non-essentials for every day living. So, we wait. And wait. And wait. Hoping some news will arrive much sooner than later...but for now, here is where we are holding camp. We love our Craftsman bungalow home and we are so blessed to have the world's best friends (old and new) - especially the builders who are renting this beauty of a model home to us. It is wonderful to be so close to family again and in familiar territory - we're sure going to enjoy it while it lasts. Updates to come once we hear more, I promise!

SOLD! SOLD! SOLD!

We cannot believe it. The house has sold in 8 days. We accepted an offer yesterday and are elated! We had multiple parties interested with a possible secondary offer to our accepted offer and a crazy, chaotic day of showing the house from morning through evening. We have mixed feelings to be leaving our home, but are soooo excited about what the future holds and our new adventure of where we may end up. Thank you to all for the wonderfully supportive emails and all the prayers - they sure did help! Eight days in today's housing market is more than we could ever expect - plus the offer was a full price offer, so we are truly blessed.

Here's the slideshow of the property again:

Now all we need to do is find a job for the hubs. And I'm not opposed to finding a job again too - we just have to line up care for our daughter during the day. Who knows, maybe I have a future back in real estate or staging (or a combo of the two)!?! I'll be keeping you updated on any new developments - again, thanks for all the support!

Hello Strangers! Where in the World Have We Been?!?

Well, some of you have emailed me since I haven't posted in quite some time...and I wanted to give you an update on what has been going on behind the scenes here. All is well (thanks for the concerns), but quite busy. At the end of July, my husband's company identified positions they were eliminating with their corporate restructure and unfortunately, his position was one of them. It is sad - I know so many people, many with families, that are in the same situation that we are now in.

Soooo, in addition to looking for new employment, we have decided to put our house up for sale so we can easily relocate to wherever we find new employment. It's been a little crazy trying to get a house prepped to show in two weeks...with a very active toddler. The sign went up in the yard today and the listing is online locally here, so it is OFFICIAL. Yikes. Talk about mixed feelings and emotions. At the same time we are sad to be packing up and moving from our house here that we love, love, love, we are very excited as to the new journey we now will begin in pursuit of finding our next home and work.

If you know of anyone who is interested in a very well-maintained character home that is 2.5 blocks from a wonderful park (lots of gorgeous mature trees, outdoor heated pools, lighted tennis courts, tons of kids gym equipment and outdoor pavilions), please let me know and I can send you more information. The photos of our house can be found to the right on the moving slide presentation. Feel free to take a peek and leave us a comment in this post- we would love to hear from you!

Lastly, if any of you know of a position for a Marketing Communications professional (5-10 years experience) with project and product management experience in a CPG (consumer packaged goods) or creative environment (the hubs also has graphic design skills) - PLEASE email me or leave a comment (seriously) - we are open to relocating within the US. Thanks so much!

Hopefully I'll be able to keep a semi-regular blogging schedule, but I'm not making any promises...I forgot how much work it is to prep a house, prepare for a move and still have a somewhat normal life with a family - yikes! Wish us luck!