We are officially homeless!!

Well, not really since we are still in the cottage, but you get the idea. Our house closed yesterday, and I have verified that the check is sitting in my account. Whew. I never thought I'd ever be so excited to not be a homeowner in all my life. It's still quite surreal, but it's a nice feeling knowing that we can concentrate on the future now, rather than feeling like we are tied house-wise to one zip code, and family/work-wise to a completely different zip code. At least now is the time to buy a house....and it doesn't seem to be turning around anytime soon. :)

Rude

What sort of dog is so incredibly insensitive to his owner (that allows him to take over half of a queen size bed every night, I might add) that he PEES on the bed in the middle of the night.

Rude.

One lesson learned here - make sure to monitor Carrie feeding Bailey as she apparently dumped his food in his bowl then went back to get two more handfuls which she dropped into his water bowl. This causes said dog to drink water excessively in hopes of retrieving the few little pebbles of kibble floating in the bowl.

Things I am Thankful for....

So I'm having one of "those" days/weeks so far. The woman that runs the little cafe here at work said it perfectly this morning - "Do you ever have those days where you feel like everything you touch turns to sh*t?" Well, Deirdre, funny you should ask because it sounds like you and I are in the same boat with no paddles! The old me would sit here and wallow and whine and complain, but I am truly trying to make a conscious effort not to do that because, really, what do I truly have to complain about? Nothing. So here are my reasons why I am thankful today....

1. I am thankful that I didn't have to take yet another day off work today and my rock star in-laws are supervising the unloading of the Uhaul trailer and Penske truck into the cottage and the storage units. My boss' head would have spun around most likely had I asked for another day off, so I'm glad that I'm not responsible for that episode.
2. I am thankful that I have a roof over my head, again courtesy of my in-laws (Do we see a pattern emerging here? Could it be called mooching off the in-laws? I think so.) Carrie and I are currently in a pretty cool little cottage that was on the property before they built their own house. Good thing they had the foresight to think "Gee, perhaps we should just move the cottage rather than tearing it down since one of our children/his wife/his toddler/his dog may need to come back home one day for whatever reason."
3. I am thankful that my husband and I are both gainfully employed. That's quite the feat these days. It definitely sucks that he's halfway around the world for most of this year, but we're hoping he'll be able to secure a great position in his new company. In explaining it the other day to some friends I likened it to a season of "The Apprentice." It's like they are all over there in Portugal fighting their way to the top of the corporate food chain. Although he's already heard "You're hired!" from them, I'm hoping at the close of August he'll hear something like "You get to run the place!" Although, something along the lines of "Congrats - you get to keep your job unlike million of Americans" would be just peachy too.
4. I am thankful that I have a very healthy, spirited toddler. Although she drives me to want to drink some days lately (like 5 or 6 out of 7), I realize it could be much worse. She could be very sick or have any number of issues, and so far it seems the only issue she has is attitude-related (but honestly, what did I expect? She comes from a long line of fiery Walker women!!)
5. I am thankful that, all fingers and toes crossed, we will have officially closed on our GNV house on 2/23. I can hardly believe that chapter is truly coming to a close....
6. I am thankful that I truly can start looking for another house now :) I never even wanted to Google homes for sale in this area until the sale of the GNV house was completed. I looked a tiny bit last night, but stopped for fear of jinxing it. Stupid, yes. It will most likely be awhile before we can actually purchase our next home, but that means we have the luxury of shopping around and making sure we get exactly what it is we want, and in this economy, the price/interest rate we want.
7. I am thankful that it's almost lunchtime.

See, it's the little things in life :)

This is what I get....

For asking a 2 year old to help me bake brownies :)
I believe at the precise moment I took this picture she said "A mess!" She was quite proud of herself that she dumped the cup of flour on the floor instead of in the mixing bowl. Thank goodness for the Dyson.