Back, But No Promises...

Hello weary travelers!

I think I want to revisit my old blogging habits, but rather than start a brand new blog, I thought it might be easier to resume one of my previous ones. Also, there's no guarantee I'll post more than one or two entries, so why waste the time with formatting a new blog??

What's new? It's been a couple of years, so I'm sure there's plenty, but maybe it would be easier to start with what all is still the same...

- Still married ✔

- Still living in the same house ✔

- Still working as a real estate appraiser (but there are updates on this!) ✔

- Still parenting ✔

- Still nerdy ✔

Ok. 

I got a new job last year (Oct 2022). I appraise real estate, still, but I now work for one of the "big banks." Honestly, starting my own appraisal business was a good idea. And very necessary towards working on my own and no longer working for my parent's business. However, a few months into having my own business and it became very clear that obtaining clients and enough work flow was going to be a huge challenge. 

I started my LLC just as the housing market was starting to cool and there was a significantly lowered need for home appraisals. (Perfect timing, right?) Since I have a family that I need to help support, there's no way I could accept a career where my income wouldn't be predictable. Some months, you may have more work than you could feasibly do and then also have the income to go along with that workload! But the huge downside is that you will also have months when you don't have enough work and your income could be almost nothing! (Especially after software fees, membership dues for databases, and processing fees)

Accepting the appraising position with the bank was a huge positive step for me and my family. The new job came with a sizeable pay raise, health insurance, retirement benefits, and (best of all) a steady and predictable pay schedule. Plus, my job title is "Senior Valuation Specialist." How official sounding is that?! 

I've been at my new job for a little over a year now. It has its challenges, but I'm very glad that I took the chance and submitted my application back in 2022!

Other areas in my life are proceeding as one probably would expect...we celebrated our 6 year anniversary this year ^_^  My kiddo started high school and successfully completed his first year of marching band...My husband still works hard at his desk job and still maintains his "side hustle" of running his own yard maintenance business...and our cat is still adorable and has become a master at swindling me out of cat treats.

It blows my mind to realize that 2023 is nearly over. What will 2024 bring? More blog posts? Maybe!