Life, in a nutshell

... is that I'm nuts. I've been feeling really stressed out and down lately, with everything that's been going on in my life, so things have been neglected. One of those things, obviously, is this blog. I can't promise that's going to change any time soon, but I think I'm going to make an effort, because writing makes me feel better.

Last post, I mentioned we had made an offer on a house, and sold our house. Well, closing came and went (with a LOT of stress - we had to do some things to our house to make the sale that we weren't expecting). We managed to move most everything ourselves, and had the pros move things like the piano and some big furniture. We're still not completely unpacked, though. I'm not sure when that will happen - we need bookshelves for our books, which we don't have the money for at the moment because we just moved. Vicious circle. My best bit of advice though when buying a house is GET THE HOME WARRANTY. Our AC went out, and to replace the whole thing is only going to cost us the $60 call-out fee.

Overall, the move has been positive. Very stressful, but positive. Our new neighborhood is fantastic. There are a lot of kids around, and Kieran has integrated into their group fairly well and is having a great time going outside and playing. The backyard is more kid-friendly than our old one, and both kids love being outside in it - it's hard to get them to come in sometimes when we need them. We can walk to the grocery store, and to a couple of different places for dinner. We already know more neighbors than we did at the old house.

One way we got to meet more neighbors was at a neighborhood open house. Apparently they have these periodically just to spend time together. Every summer, they even have a crawfish boil for the whole neighborhood, which I'm looking forward to. Going to the open house made me feel very adult. I may be in my mid-30s (ack!) but I don't always feel like a grown-up. This was a very grown-up sort of party. This latest open house had the added benefit of being able to meet one of the candidates for an upcoming city board of education election. It was good to actually talk with the candidate and find out what she thought.

And it's good to get to know the neighbors. They look out for each other, for the kids in the neighborhood (even the ones who don't have kids), for each other's property. They're good people, it seems. Friendly, and welcoming. Primarily academics or academic-like, they also genuinely seem to care about the community and what happens. It's a nice change.

So, like I said, overall, the move has been positive, just very stressful. Not something we need to do any time again soon. But luckily, I think we've found our place in Tuscaloosa for as long as we're here. At least, it feels like home, moreso than our old house did.

Well, hello there, blog. I haven't been by in a while. Let me sum up what's been going on.

1) Went to a conference in St. Peterburg, FL. Had a great time.

2) Went casually house-shopping. Found one we loved, made an offer, had offer accepted.

3) Freaked out.

4) Kieran got accepted to the Magnet School.

5) Put our house on the market.

6) Frantically painted the interior of the house.

7) Took cat to vet for a large unexplained wound on her belly.

8) Had an open house.

9) Dealt with tornado/severe t-storm warnings with screaming cats in the car during the open house.

10) Received offer on house.

11) Freaked out again.

12) Andy got tenure.

13) Normal kid's lives somehow kept functioning.

So it's not you, it's me, blog. Life has this way of getting in the way of life.

Love,

Denise

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So yeah, lots going on here. We've been casually looking at old houses in the historic district near campus off and on for a couple months now. A house that we really liked the look of and we had seen on the market about two years ago came back on the market just recently, so we arranged a showing. We put in an offer the next day, and it was accepted, contingent on us selling our house. There was definitely an OMG WE'VE GOT TO SELL OUR HOUSE NOW feeling. 

Our house went on the market about three weeks ago, and we've had a couple of showings and an open house. We fully expected the house to be on the market for several months, because that's about average around here. But after the open house we had yesterday, we received an offer. It's not final yet, but it's looking good. I'll try to keep you posted.

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We had to take Mollie to the vet about a week and a half ago for a lump on her belly that ended up being a large wound that we have no idea how she got. She's back at the vet today to get it checked, and I'm now waiting on the vet to call with how she is. It still looks raw, but better than it did. The vet was concerned because it had a hard center to the wound, which could mean something more serious, so if that hasn't gone away, they'll have to do a biopsy. Again, I'll try to keep you posted.

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So Andy got tenure! We've known unofficially for a couple months, but word hadn't been officially handed down from the provost until yesterday. So that's a relief. We got the word about his tenure in the midst of all the thunderstorm/tornado warnings that were happening yesterday, and an ant swarm, and the offer phone call. Overall, a hectic 45 minutes there.

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And amongst all of this, the kids are still doing swim lessons, Kieran still has soccer, they both have school. Kieran is excited (and a bit scared at times) of going to a new school, but I think once he gets started there, he'll really love it. A few of his friends from his current school have also been accepted, so he'll have some familiar faces.

So, my friends, what's been up with you?

Off to the races...

Well, actually, St. Petersburg, FL, to attend a conference so I'll be scarce for the next few days. Conference prep has kept me fairly busy, too, but am looking forward to a few days out of town. I'll be back after the weekend.

Giant Mice are Scary

Whoever thought up Chuck E. Cheese's (where a kid can drive their parent crazy(TM)) needs to DIAF, because there is nothing pleasant about the experience, really.

The kids love it, so we put up with it for the occassional birthday party that we attend there, but wow, I always leave that place feeling dirty and headachy and gross. Do any adults actually enjoy the experience? The only way I might be able to would be if I could drink vast quantities of beer while there, and as the past few parties we've been to have been on Sundays, I haven't been able to have one. Yes, CEC actually gets one thing right - they serve beer, or at least most of them do. Except for on Sundays in Tuscaloosa because we've got arcane blue laws! 

I don't have much point to this, other than whinging about how horrible a place it is. I don't envy those who work there.

Must keep reminding myself that the kids have fun there, though, so it isn't ALL bad, right? RIGHT?!?