One Week in Louisville

We have officially been in Louisville for one week...and I don't really know how exactly I feel about that.

I know that I don't have a choice to be here, so I need to be okay with it, so I guess that is how I feel.

This week several things occurred that were difficult:
*our Missouri home closed and the new owner took possession
*my friends all went back to work...where I would have been if we hadn't moved...where I have been going for the past ten years
I knew the first would be hard.  The second?  I thought I would feel relief.  Instead I felt a sense of loss.  They are moving on without me, which is the way it should be, but still...

I met my Kentucky obgyn, and she is very similar to my Kansas City one, which is great because I loved that doctor!

Claire started school this week as well, leaving me with hours during the day to fill.  I love to feel productive and I want to feel like I am contributing to my family's finances, so here is what I have been working on:
*I applied for an online tutoring job.  I have a second interview tomorrow.
*I have been working on my YouTube channel as well as this and another blog, with the hopes that one day I could maybe make some money
*Using opinion outpost and swagbucks to earn gift cards
*Working on my Cat Facts Facebook page (hey, you never know where an opportunity to make some moula will arise)

Also, I have been utilizing apps that will help me save money when I shop.  These apps are ibotta, shopkicks, and ebates (not an app, a website).  So far I have saved $2.20 by doing virtually nothing.  Not much, I realize, but it's something.

Claire has been adjusting well to school and Chris seems to enjoy having us here with him.  Truly, I am the one struggling the most with the transition.  I feel a little lost and I don't really know what to do with myself.  I have some plans for the upcoming week, and I will keep you posted as things develop.

Changes

This summer my life exploded.
Now, I don't mean this literally.  I did not spontaneously combust.  My home was not an erupting volcano.  There was no freak chemistry accident.
No, what I mean is that pretty much anything that could change did.
I have heard - don't ask me whom I heard it from - anyway, I have heard that the hardest things that can happen in your life are as follows (in no particular order):

• loss of a loved one 
• moving
• pregnancy/birth of a new child
• changing jobs
• end of a relationship

From that list three of the five are happening to me right now.  I am pregnant with my second child.  My husband was relocated from Kansas City to Louisville, thus causing me to quit my job, sell my house, and pack up everything and move eight hours from friends and family to a city I had only heard of before.

This has been devastating to myself and my daughter, because, let's face it, change is tough. 

I realize that this move is for the best.  It is an excellent opportunity for my husband.  He has been stuck in a rut for years and is finally making progress in his career.  I am able to try my hand at working from home, allowing me to stay home with my new baby.  I am very excited about being home for my first grader as well.  A latch key kid myself, I always dreamed of my mom baking me cookies and listening to my tales of elementary school.  This is a gift I now have to give to my own child.  This is a new adventure for my entire family.  We will get to explore places we have never been to before.  I will tell my husband that I am obligated to purchase a fabulous new hat for the Kentucky Derby.  And, of course, I will meet Jennifer Lawrence and we will become fast friends (she's from Louisville, y'know).

 + 

= BFF

But, this is not without heartache.  I miss my home in Kansas City.  I miss leaving my house and knowing how to get around town.  I miss my job.  I miss my doctor.  Most of all, I miss my family and friends.  Though I try to stay optimistic, I admit that I cry every day.  And that is okay.  It is okay to feel sad - for a bit.  So I try to give myself a time limit (like 30 minutes), and then I take a deep breath, and try to do something productive. 

Things will get better, I am sure.  

My plan is to post weekly on my progress toward feeling at home in my new town.  I wish I had found something like this before I had moved so that I had been prepared.  Hopefully I can help someone else.  

This Blog

Hello there and welcome to my blog!

I have been a blogger and blogger on and off for about seven years.  Like so many others I start out gung ho ("I am going to blog every day!") and a week later (sometimes days) I fizzle out ("Why should I blog?  No one reads it anyway.").  

Well, I am starting anew!  And this time I hope it sticks.  

Here is what you can expect from this blog:

• life updates
• commentaries
• diet/weight loss updates (these will begin after my baby is born in October)
• craft projects and recipes
• home decor
• whatever else I feel would fit into a lifestyle blog 

Pressure is low: one post per week.   If I do more, great.  If I do less, well, I need to hop right back onto the saddle the next week (or two weeks...or three).  

And if no one reads it, well, that's okay.  I guess.  My musings will be posted online for me to reflect on in the future.

Please read my blog.