FINALLY we have the INTERNET AGAIN!!!!!

Certain Utilities..... I don't know what they are smoking... but anyway. WE ARE BACK!!!

We moved in on Sept 5th but we have been here living here without Internet or phone service until today. We had our cell phones, and I was able to get email and stuff on my Blackberry but it is impossible to post to the blog pretty much with a BB. On Tuesday they installed the Direct TV. We still have a few light fixtures back ordered, and two faucet things for the showers but that is about it! The Sod is growing in nicely despite the very hot weather we have been experiencing. The kitchen is pretty much all organized and I am back to my Hideous Experimental Cooking again, which is a relief to me only. I am missing a few annoying things: I cannot locate the blade for the inside of my small mini Cuisinart, despite that I have a box full of at least 19 blades from different Cuisinarts, including I think the one i inherited from my mother, which is long gone. This is annoying. I would use the other one I have but of course I cannot find the lid for that one. Then also I am missing the insert for my salad spinner. I know I am gonna find it, but it is driving me crazy. it is GREAT to be home. There are a few kinks to work out.. The dog keeps escaping from her little dog run we built, and we fixed that problem but now she has figured out how to escape from the regular back yard, not just her area. We are working it out and even Builder Nick is scratching his head on how to contain this sweet dog who is not much trouble but seems to be having some trouble adjusting to life in the city after living on two acres.

I cannot even describe what it is like to be home. The first amazing thing when we got home was that Morman Dave detailed the inside of my Toyota as a Welcome Home present. He said that he and his kids did it as a surprise for me. I had given him the keys for it while we were gone for the month, to move the car around in case it looks weird that my car is sitting on the street for a month. I could not leave it in the driveway because all those guys were working. It was such a nice surprise!!!!

It is great to be home and just to do the simplest of things. We are slowly unpacking, washing dishes and clothes and slowly getting things organized and put away for good. I washed every single dish as I unpacked it, and some of them were very dirty because the Goat Farm had a terrible dishwasher, and there were like two very ineffective lights in the kitchen so you could not even see if your dishes were clean or dirty or what. We did the same with all of the clothes.

Now that I look back on our 504 days out of our house I really honestly do NOT know how we got through it. It was terrible, for the most part and I am so very very glad it is over. The Residence Inn part was not so bad but then we were just shellshocked at what had happened and it seemed that we were in such turmoil that we were just glad to be anywhere. Then, Occupied France in the Faux Chateau was honestly just pretty horrible from Day One and I never really wanted to live there. Whatever Then the Goat Farm, don't get me started about that place. An entire summer there that seemed just endless, hot, humid, weird smells, ancient appliances, and lots of smelly water and brown shag carpeting. It was a picture of my life had I married Greg Brady. I can say it was truly terrible. THEN not only that but we were completely homeless the past month when they were not done with the house. We lived in crappy hotels for like 20 days and then stayed at Bill's parents house for two weeks, which was nice and restful but again, 17 hours away by car. I thought we would NEVER get back here. I really did not. I mean I REALLLLY thought "I am NEVER gonna live in my house again, sleep in my own bed, etc." I can totally sympathize with all of these hurricane victims all over the US, but then their housing crisis was caused by nature, not negligent stupidity.

I am sad that Riley did not make it home with us. We had to put him to sleep (send him to go "live with the Vet" is what we told Spencer) and he never made it back to the house. He would have loved the new house and the back yard.

We do not really have any furniture to move in with and we are living with free stuff, Craigslist specials some of the stuff we salvaged of our own and things that have been kindly given to us by people. It makes for quite an interesting decorating scheme. We did get an excellent sofa, chair and bed from a friend of ours, and we are getting another couch from a neighbor. We got a free coffee table from a garage sale and Landlord Dude insisted we take his ginormous hideously ugly but VERY comfy chair from the goat farm. I will include pics of some of these beautiful pieces. We are using our old kitchen table but with three different types of chairs, none matching. We have no rugs, lamps etc stuff like that.

To be honest I don't care a thing about any of that stuff. I love my house, I missed our friends and neighbors most of whom were SO GREAT to us. I can call up Siri and hit Curves without having to drive there from Green Acres or a hotel. I can walk across the street and get Melinda's recipe for banana bread, I can talk to Joel next door while he is digging up his front yard trying to put inground sprinklers in.

Its just reallly great to be back here. We hardly drive anywhere, I cook dinner every night. I have not been to a drive through in like two weeks. I cannot wait to get home from places. I used to DREAD going back to the Goat Farm. Now, I never want to leave. SO... BACK!!!!!!

Ph and Spencer is back in Preschool starting Thursday. They are starting late this year in part because Teacher Gina is building a ROCK WALL in the classroom!!! How fun is that??? SPencer can have playdates with his friends again, and hang out.

We are looking into a school to send him next year as an alternative to the Public school here. You kind of have to do this Language IUmmersion thing for his school and I am not sure I want him to do it. I dont have anything against him becomeing fluent in Spanshi by fifith grade all of that BUT I am wondering if it is the right choice for HIM. I am looking into it.