a new year and a new beginning

Monday, January 17, 2011

It's 2011 and I am pumped. My favourite number has always been "11." I remember in highschool, my nickname was "Eleven" because it sounded like "Evelyn;" I think it originated from the time when I taught swimming and some of my kids could not pronounce my name and ended up calling me "Eleven." It was cute.

2010 ended with big changes in my life. I FINALLY bought my own house!!! Everyone who knows me knows how long it's been a dream and goal of mine to own my own home. It was a difficult goal to accomplish because I had to buy it on my own! I did not have a partner nor a co-signer. Besides, I wanted to do it all by myself. So it took a long time but I did it!

I bought a tiny little row house in Leslieville, an amazing, burgeoning neighbourhood in the east-end of Toronto. I am right on the west-border of The Beach. The summer is going to be amazing because I am so close to the waterfront. I feel so fortunate to have found a great home in the area that I'm in.

I've only been in the home for about a month and I can feel a sense of happiness and independence that I haven't felt in a long time. It was difficult living in Milton. It wasn't my home and I always felt like a guest. A guest who ended up cooking every night and doing all the groceries. I paid too much in rent but who was I to complain. I chose to move in with the BF. I could have moved out anytime but I wanted to make sure that when I did make that move, I would never pay rent to anyone again.

What a great way to begin the new year. Of course it has been scary and quite an emotional roller-coaster. After living with someone for over a year, it takes some adjustment to being on your own again. Four days after I moved in, I came home to a flooded basement. Long story short, the neighbour next door did not turn off the valve to the outside tap and the pipes burst when the temperature went up that day. I remember sitting in my kitchen after I called my real estate agent, thinking what did I do.

It ended up not so bad after all. Things could have been much worse. The situation taught me that, yes, I can do things on my own. It reignited the sense of independence in me. I always knew that having my own home will allow me to be more adventurous in my goals of being an independent business owner. I knew that I needed a steady job to qualify for a mortgage. Now that I have one, the sky is the limit! I am free to pursue my dreams. Well, to an extent because now I have to make sure the mortgage is paid :)

I had previously wrote about how I was planning on making an effort to start on the business idea I've had for years. Well, it wasn't the right time or place a year ago. Now it is and I am excited again. And we can tell because I'm writing again. I have lots of ideas and this time I know it's going to be different.

What are you excited about for 2011? Do you have any dreams or goals you have put aside in the past? Could 2011 be your year as well?