I apologize for my absenteeism over the past few days, and I know I phoned in the past couple posts, but quite frankly I’ve been completely overwhelmed. Mr. MT and I took a recent trip to Portland, OR to visit family and friends. While there, Mr. MT went to a job fair, and was immediately offered a position…. full-time…. with benefits…. and the opportunity to go into a supervisory position quickly. Did I mention with benefits? In all honesty, eating has taking a priority to health and dental insurance so Mr. MT and I are both well overdue for a physical and a dental cleaning. So when faced with this good fortune what did I do?
I sat down on the kitchen floor and hyperventilated. I know, I know. Real smooth.
Shortly thereafter I started bawling with the shear panic of everything I have to do. I’m trying to congratulate my hubbin on this wonderful thing, and it’s coming out through sobs. We’ve been hoping for a full-time position for him for so long, and it always takes a special type of bravery to walk up to someone with a resume and ask for a job; I didn’t want to rain on his parade, but I was scared.
Was my Mr. MT surprised by this? Of course not. In fact, if I’d checked Mr. MT’s facebook page it said “Just got a job. My wife is gonna kill me.”
I have an awful tendency to turn lemonade into lemons. I wonder if I have lost the capability to appreciate the good things that happen, possibly because I’ve been operating under Murphy’s law for way too long.
There were so many things to decide that we sat down and made a list of things that needed to be done and decisions that needed to be made. And some of these decisions are hard ones. While it might not seem normal to the rest of the world, Mr. MT and I haven’t been apart for more than two nights since we’ve been married (four years). In order to maximize our income during the transition, and secure decent housing, he’s going to move up to PDX and stay with family two weeks prior to FrugalPup and I joining him. I will be going insane.
Leaving Las Vegas will be extraordinarily hard for me. My mother and step-dad live here, as well as my grandmother and cousin. While all of Mr. MT’s family lives in Oregon, it will be a bit lonely for me. (While I have great and wonderful friends there, I’m temporarily reserving the right to be a big baby who will miss my family.)
In addition to the emotional side, the gray-skied winters can be a lot to handle. So, added to our new budget is a travel category, as we’ll be coming into Vegas quite often. If there was a way for us to spend half our time in Vegas, and half our time in Portland, that would be great, but currently that’s not possible. Something to look forward to, right?
We will have to suspend debt repayment until I get part-time work, but Mr. MT’s job should cover all of our bills, and we will be utilizing some money set aside for Nevada state bills that we won’t have in Oregon for a cushion. My profession has different educational requirements in different states, so I will probably have to incur some initial debt to cover a few classes.
Also, I now get to focus on my blog and some creative business projects. We will need a supplemental income, but I’m hoping to be able to focus on using MT tips to keep our expenses low enough and maybe etsy.
It’s time to start squeezing lemons and adding sugar.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Yeah, I think you can make some yummy, refreshing lemonaide out of this situation. Leaving home is hard, but it sounds like a wonderful opportunity! Oregon is gorgeous, so I think you are one lucky frugal family! My family is in a similar situation… it’s is tough to decide, but it is good that you guys were open so opportunities like this came to you.
Best wishes!
argh! I stop keeping up with blogs (consistently, at least) for a few weeks and everything changes up!
I’m actually thrilled that you guys will be closer! If I end up anywhere near Portland, I’ll let you know. And you guys should take a trip up to Seattle at some point!
On to the other side: Be a baby. It’s hard to leave your family. You have a right to be sad about it. If you don’t get it out now, and deal with those feelings, they’ll come back to haunt you later. I think we can agree that I’m a relative expert on things like this.
As for gray skies, get a lightbox. Save up if you have to. They have made a huge difference for me, even here in WA. (Given that I grew up in AK, they should be negligible, but winters still affect me.) They run $200-300 so start saving now! But they’re worth it. And I believe that if you get a doctor to suggest it, you can write it off if you itemize.
Also, don’t know if you’re considering this fact: Oregon has no sales tax. At all. That alone could save you a pretty penny!
@Jules: Thank you for your well wishes! We may be going up to Oregon, but Vegas still has my family and will definitely be my home away from home in the winter.
@Abby: Frankly, this happened so fast it really knocked me over. We do want to get up to Seattle. Hubbin and I lived in Portland before, but we never made it further north, and there’s a lot I would like to explore.
I hadn’t heard of a lightbox. My husband’s family goes tanning, but not only is that not my style, it gets expensive too. I’ll have to look up some more info. And I love that sales tax. I look at it as an 8% discount on my groceries every month.