Interviewing

Well, it's been awhile since I've been through the interviewing process. I'm a little bit rusty. I've been scouring the Internet for job openings that I'm qualified for for the last 2 weeks. It's a difficult process because I'm not yet Colorado Teacher Licensed and I didn't get to Colorado until July. Most schools do their hiring in spring. Last week I found a great job listing. It's at The Ricks Center for Gifted Children at DU. DU is the University of Denver. It's a small, private university (reminds me a little bit of the Claremont Colleges. The Gifted Center is hiring a part time preschool teacher. I taught preschool during college and just after I graduated. I enjoyed it, but it usually doesn't pay as well as elementary. So, I left it. However, this school is prestigious and requiring a degree in education for this job. It's also a salaried position, I'm assuming that they pay better than most preschools. So, I applied and went into my first interview on Monday. I found out that they apply the Reggio Emilia approach to learning. I wasn't too familiar with that, but I did a little bit of research. It seems to be a more natural, child-directed, teacher as learner philosophy. It seems to be working because The Center has an outstanding reputation. The approach is very different than what I'm used to though. Due to that, I wasn't really sure how I did on Monday's interview. However, I was called back for a second interview on Thursday. I really felt like I bombed that one, but they called back today with pretty good news. I've been scheduled for a phone introduction with the founder and director on Monday. She seems to be a pretty important lady. So, I don't feel like I'm out of the running yet. I guess that I'll know more on Monday. This would be a great part-time opportunity at a really fascinating school. I'm excited. Fingers crossed.

We have yet to choose our "dream house" yet. We're going out with our Realtor one last time on Saturday morning. This is it! We've narrowed it down to 5. I created a spreadsheet/checklist for Saturday. I really want to make sure that we're making the best choice. WS is all ready with his pre-approval. We'll be set to make an offer! We should know more by Saturday.

Coyote Madness

Well, first we had moth madness (which is still going on, but not as extensive) and now we have coyote madness. I've never lived in such a wilderness setting. We are very much in a country type of area. We are on 5 acres and most of the homes around us are on very large lots as well. Additionally, we are located on a dirt road. E calls it our "sandy, dirt trail." Needless to say, we have many wild animals that live in the area. Rabbits, lots of birds, small rodents, and coyotes. The coyotes haven't really bothered me in the 2 + weeks that we've been here. I've heard them howling and I saw three in our yard one morning, but they were just passing through. 2 nights ago was a full moon and that's when the coyote madness began. We woke up in the middle of the night to a noise that I've never heard before. It sounded like a coyote pow wow. There must have been between 10 -20 coyotes and they were howling, yipping, barking, and screaming. It was so loud. Not in our yard, but maybe across the road. I think that they must have been hunting or just had a kill. Then we heard it again last night, but not as loudly (they were farther away). I can't describe the way it sounded...it just sounded so primitive. It's something I have to get used to.

I'm going out again with the realtor to look at 10 more properties. We want to rule out everything in this area before making a decision. WS is going to speak with a broker today. Maybe we'll find some more good stuff!

Good Stuff

Well, we went out with one of WS' old friends from back in the day. He took us out to look for houses. Now that our house in LA is officially sold, we can actually look for a new place to live. We know the area of Denver that we're interested in. Although we really like the area where we are living now (Greenwood Village), we could never afford to buy a house in this area (unless we win the lottery!). So, we're focusing our search on the Centennial area of town. Centennial is south of Denver. The drive would be about 30 minutes for WS to get to work (He's in the Northeast part of Denver). Centennial is made up of lots of families, great schools, parks, open spaces, and covenant communities (you pay a monthly fee and can use tennis courts, a pool, and a clubhouse). Centennial is where WS' sister lives and we just really love the area. It's very similar and nearby to where we're living now.

We viewed about 7 homes today and found 2 that we really like. There are pros/cons to each one. The first one that we liked is in a community called Piney Creek. It's a little bit more east than where we are living now and it seems a little bit newer. The trees are less mature and there is a little bit less character. However, it's still a great neighborhood. Lots of walking trails, parks, etc. It's a little bit farther away from downtown Denver, but it would still be about a 30 min. drive to work for WS. House #1 You can check out the listing on Realtor.com for yourself. What we really liked about this home is that it's very large. It has 4 bedrooms upstairs and an office downstairs, but also a finished basement with a bathroom. We would have ample room for guests and a growing family (you never know ;)!) I'm just not sure if it would feel too far from Denver metro. But a beautiful home.

The second home that we loved is a little bit smaller. It's been updated and is really beautiful. It's a very open floorplan and it would not need any work. Updated kitchen, bathrooms, new windows, roof, etc. Another positive is the very large, private yard. Additionally, this is located in the older, more established part of Centennial. It seems a little bit closer to downtown and the neighborhood has a little bit more character. This is also a community with a pool, tennis courts, great schools, family oriented. The home doesn't have a finished basement, but the trade off is the location and the homes seem to demand a little bit more money in this neighborhood. I would never worry about my home losing value. House #2 This home is a block away from a great park and walking/jogging trails.

We both really like both of these homes. Our agent also has a few more listings he'd like to show us this week. I think that we're also going to meet with a mortgage broker this week to discuss our pre-approval. I'm hoping that we can really narrow things down and be able to make an offer soon.

Tonight we're having a few people over for a barbecue. WS went out and bought a Weber Kettle grill. It's our first grill! Everyone said to go propane, but this isn't our permanent grill, it's just something to get us through. We'll definitely go propane when we are looking to buy something nice. Also, we had a new babysitter come over to watch E while we were looking at homes. That went really well. Things are going well. I see a light at the end of the tunnel!

Done...

Well, our Realtor just called and our escrow has been funded and is set to be recorded tomorrow. Basically, our escrow will be closing tomorrow!!! Yea! This has been a long process for us. It started when we listed our condo in April. After one escrow fell through and the second one almost falling through, I never thought that this day would come. I'm so glad to be done with it. Selling a home is truly an emotional roller coaster. It is so much more work than buying a place (at least from what I remember when WS bought our condo).

So, that means that WS and I will have the funds in our account from the sale of our condo. When we go out looking at properties this weekend, we won't feel like frauds. We'll actually be able to present ourselves to a lender. We're heading out with one of WS' friends who is an agent for ReMax out here. We're looking at 8 properties. So, maybe we'll find something that we really like. We've been out in the neighborhood before. We went out with another agent over Memorial weekend, but our first escrow had just fallen through and we were still not sure when we'd even sell our place. This is going to feel much more legitimate to me. We know the area that we want to live, basically all within 5 miles of where we're living right now. The area where we live is amazing.

Quick update

We are still settling into our rental. I'm still pretty unsettled about our place, but I'm enjoying the yard. We had all of our boxes and furniture dropped off by the movers on Sunday. We found out that the movers who picked up our items in Sherman Oaks definitely scammed us by 500 cubic feet. WS is in the process of trying to get our money back.

Our escrow is still in the final stages, although I'm feeling pretty good that we'll close by Friday (you never know, but it's almost done). I'm trying not to worry about it. These things are just taking longer than ever. Although I just want it to be done. It's dragging on and on.

We've been exploring our neighborhood. We have visited the Streets of Southglenn (outdoor lovely mall), the park (multiple times), the library, The Children's museum of Denver, and the Aquarium of Denver.

I've begun my job search process. It is in the early stages, but I'm pretty limited because I don't have my Colorado Teaching License. I probably won't have it for a few months. It takes awhile to process the paperwork (I heard potentially 4 months). I can't apply for a teaching job until I have the License. Even substitute jobs require a substitute license. I'm not sure if I'll apply for a sub license. I think that it would probably take the same amount of time as a regular teaching license, so I might as well just work on the teaching license.

Still Adjusting

Well, I am still trying to come to terms with our rental house. During the day I'm okay with it. It's old. It's kind of like a barn/cabin/old house all rolled into one house. There aren't many bugs during the daytime. We have some wildflowers outside of our front door that the bees love, but otherwise I don't really see many bugs. However, once the sun begins to go down, the bugs love to come out. Our main problem is the very large, bat-like moths. They are mainly a nuisance, but they are pretty loud at night. They thump around the house. They even can knock stuff over with their wings! There are other strange fly bugs that look like pincher bugs with wings. Also, there are these tiny little bugs that crawl out of the drains into the bathroom sinks and tubs. E has yet to take a bath (she has been exclusively showering) because there are all of these little bugs in the tub whenever I go in there to start the shower. WS tried to kill them before we came. He pored bleach in the drains and of course cleaned everything with bleach cleaner. He also sprayed very strong bug spray all over the perimeter of the house and the windows and doors. The spray works very well on bugs (we've used it successfully in our condo). Needless to say I am covered with bug bites. I don't know which bugs are biting me, I haven't been bitten by mosquitoes, so I don't know.

Just one more complaint and then I'll move on to some positives. I can't sleep at night. The house creeps me out. There are strange noises, moths flying around, and just a creepy feeling. Also, we sleep right in the front bedroom and we're just a few steps away from the road on the first level. I feel very vulnerable. There would be no witnesses since we're out in the middle of nowhere. I know, I know, nothing's going to happen, but it's always on my mind. There are also wild animals outside. I know it sounds silly, but I hear coyotes (I saw them walk into the yard yesterday during the day!) and I hear other animal sounds. I heard some strange animal yesterday. It sounded like a really loud squirrel. WS said that it was a bird, but what bird is making crazy noises at 11 pm? It definitely wasn't an owl.

There are a few really positive things about where we live. The best thing is the huge yard. The main house is surrounded by grass and a few gardens and our place has a yard with grass, too. Our yard is huge! E loves running around and chasing the rabbits. There are rabbits all over the yard. I know that they're bad for the yard, but they are very cute. E picks grass and tries to feed it to them. They let her get within about 10 feet and then they hop away. It's great to sit out on the patio in the evening with a glass of wine and just enjoy the yard.

Another big positive is our neighborhood. Greenwood Village is a pretty upscale neighborhood. There are trees and huge houses. We could never live here under normal circumstances. It's so beautiful. I took E to our nearest park. It's called Dekoevend park and it was picturesque. It's huge with a big rec center and a play ground, hiking trails, and a creek. E ran around on the playground (it seemed brand new) and had a great time. Also, it wasn't crowded. All of the parks that we used to go to in Sherman Oaks always seemed pretty crowded. This had a very large playground and maybe about 5 other kids playing. I also took E to the local library (Koebel Library) for story time. The storytime was great! It was not only stories, but also songs and music shakers. She had a great time and it was free! The library itself was wonderful. It was huge and had a great children's section (this alone was about the size of our old library in Sherman Oaks). The library has a little bookstore, cafe, and anything else you could want.

Needless to say, I have been very impressed with our area.

I also have been enjoying the ample parking, lack of traffic (it doesn't take me an hour to go 15 miles!), and the friendliness of everyone (except while driving because of my California plates). All of the people that I have run into at stores or out and about are just calmer and very friendly.

Our escrow is getting to the final stages. We are hoping to close by next week. It seems pretty certain, but I'm not going to breathe a sigh of relief until the money's in the bank.

Pictures of our Arrival

E discovers a pine cone.




Running around the yard.

On the stairs exploring.

Big Adjustment

Well, we made it into Colorado on Sunday night. I'm surprised that my car made it. It's 7 years old and hasn't been running very well lately. It actually did pretty well. I definitely don't feel settled in yet. It's a huge difference than our condo. I knew that it would be older and I might have trouble, but I'm having a tough time feeling okay here. There are a lot of bugs. I'm talking major! I saw and killed more than 20 today. The layout of the house is very strange. There are random stairs in odd places. Some of the closets are really dirty and there are strange things inside. There are no window coverings anywhere. I know that's an easy thing to fix, but it can get to be pretty pricey. We are also in the middle of nowhere. Even though we're close to stores and Denver is just a few minutes up the road, our neighborhood is very desolate. It kind of creeps my out a little bit. It's like a horror movie. So, we'll see how long we can stick it out.

There are a few benefits. We have a great yard for E to run around in. The price that we're paying for rent is pretty low and we're in a great neighborhood. I took a few pictures of E running around the yard, but I haven't had the chance to upload them yet. I'm hoping to this week.

Escrow Update: All I can say is that we're in a period of waiting. It's almost like our escrow started all over again when our buyer went to the second lender. We're definitely making progress. Best case scenario - we close at the end of the week. Worst Case - Possibly closing next week.

Not a Good Day

All I can say is that I feel very disappointed about the experience that I had with the movers today. WS was quoted a certain price on the phone. Granted, it was an estimate, but customer service is supposed to be pretty knowledgable about how many cubic sq. feet an average 2 bedroom house/condo is supposed to have. How is it that we had almost triple the amount of stuff that they estimated that we would have?! Everyone who knows us knows that we are not clutter bugs. We really don't have a lot of stuff. We're pretty minimalist. Even E doesn't have that many toys compared with other kids. I did have about 20 boxes that I brought from my work, but they were medium sized boxes. Our total moving bill is more than double what they quoted us based on their estimate. I was pretty upset about the whole situation. Additionally, I was having to deal with it without WS.

I feel pretty mad about how the movers handled things. The foreman kept commenting to me that there was sooo much stuff. He told me at least 3 or 4 times that it was way over what we should have had. Then, the foreman actually had the nerve to flat-out ask me if I was going to give them a tip! This came after he gave me the huge bill. I told him that I felt like I had paid enough for one day. I felt very unprepared for today's dealings and I really feel pretty bad about the whole thing. WS is going to call the moving company customer service tomorrow and try to discuss the way that today was handled. All in all, I feel pretty ripped off.

Today's lesson learned...Don't use Best Movers California ever again.

Moving Day is Upon Us

Well, tomorrow is moving day. The movers are set to arrive between 10-12. I feel pretty ready for them. I truly cannot believe the amount of things that we have! Boxes and boxes. I had to keep running out to public storage for more boxes. It's amazing how much people charge for boxes. We did have a lot of boxes already, but we kept running out. My mom and stepdad will be here tomorrow to help supervise the move. I've never had movers before, so I'm not really sure what to expect.

Once the movers move our things, we're going to spend 3 days at my mom's house. WS will fly in on Friday night (yea!) and then we'll leave for CO early Saturday morning. I've had a few goodbyes recently that have been a little bit tough. I saw my dad and stepmom on Sunday and I was very sad as I was driving away. I know that I'll see them soon, but there will be more distance between us. I also saw a close friend on Friday and one yesterday. It was difficult. I will definitely visit soon to see my mom and stepdad, so I'm sure that I'll see my CA friends when I do that.

On a side note: We have heard some promising news on our current escrow situation. Our buyer went to a second lender last week and she has been approved for a loan. It's not a totally sure thing yet, the buyer has to look over the conditions of the loan before she decides. I'm really hopeful, but I'm trying to be cautious. We will definitely know more by tonight.

Pending home sales 'fell off a cliff'

Pending home sales 'fell off a cliff'

Interesting article that supports what I had sensed with our house being on the market after the tax credit. It was also on the market before the tax credit expired and I noticed a huge difference.

Zoo Day

Well, E turned 4 today! We really didn't have much planned. We're going to have a small celebration with my parents this weekend. She wanted to go to the zoo, so I took her to the LA zoo this morning. We had a pretty good time, but it was a little crowded. I think that she really liked seeing the chimpanzees and the komodo dragon. She thought that the dragon was fake because he really wasn't moving at all. It was pretty funny. She also liked this cave that is in the children's zoo section. It's not really an animal exhibit. It shows what a natural cave would be like inside. E kept talking about it and she wanted to go back again to see it. I don't know why she liked it so much, but she did.






Escrow Update: We have received upsetting news again. Although our escrow hasn't fallen through yet, it seems that there is a strong chance that it could. The buyer is going through a divorce (which we didn't know about) and the lender is concerned about this. The lender has put forth additional requirements that the buyer will likely be unable to meet. I didn't even know about the divorce, I thought that the buyer wasn't married because she was buying the place on her own. The buyer is going to be meeting with a second lender today. We'll see what happens, but I'm not holding my breath. I'm pretty disappointed. I wish that the loan approval wasn't the last step of escrow. By the time that you find out that the loan hasn't been approved, the escrow has already been underway for nearly 30 days. It's such a setback! And pre-approval is really a joke! Both of our buyers have been pre-approved. What a waste of time!

Well, the deal hasn't fallen through yet, so maybe there will be something positive that happens within the next few days.