Two Weeks in and Couting

The first two weeks in the new house are behind us, and I have to say I am so glad. I'm glad because the only boxes left to unpack are garage goods and pictures. I'm glad because most of the projects we could afford for the house are almost complete. But I am mostly glad because I realized this week that I really do love this house, despite its very strange quarks. The best news of all is that only a couple of things have come up missing, and its not the mover's fault. I also have not yet found anything else that was broken or damaged and can now finally submit my claim to get my antiques repaired.

It is so refreshing to have finally found a place for everything and to finally see that this house is ours. It has been fun to see all of our projects transform our house into something outstanding. We're still a long way away from being done, but the little things we have done so far have just made it a wonderful experience for me. I found that even the smallest things, such as changing a door knob, just made me giddy with excitement and happiness. The only down side is that the money has temporarily run out. The upside to that is that even though I can't afford to do 100% of everything I want to do, I was able to get in the things that were most important to me. My last big expense for the next few months will be to buy new blinds.

This next week will be full of hanging pictures, finishing the floors, cleaning up, finding homes for the remaining items, and replacing the last of the electrical outlets. I just can't wait to have everything all done so that we can sit back, relax, and enjoy the fruits of our labors, or spend our free time taking Mags for walkies.

Work has been going really well too. I gained another new friend when my newest coworker started two weeks ago. Together we learned the ropes of the company, met all of the important people, and went through training. The addition of this new friend also helped me feel like I fit in. I no longer felt like I was the new person on my team who was on the outside of their friendship looking in. We share many things in common, such as the fact that we were both relocated and are trying hard to sell our old houses in a less than stellar market.

The stress from the move is finally starting to ebb, and I am really starting to feel like this place is home. I just love it here. The humidity even makes my hair curl, which is awesome because it cuts way back on my styling time in the morning. :D I also just can't get enough of the awesome food around us. We actually just went to the grocery store for the first time today. That's right, I have not cooked one thing in my new kitchen yet. We have eaten out for every meal for the last six weeks! I'll give the home cooking a try for a bit, and if it doesn't take, we'll go back to eating out for every meal.

Mags is also starting to get her feet under her. She still stresses a little bit and has taken to hiding under beds a lot, but she is also starting to realize our gigantic back yard is her personal play ground and grazing ground (yep, she grazes just like a cow). Every time we move past the front door at all, she gets all excited because she thinks we are going to take her outside to play ball in the massive green field next to our house. We take her with us in the car whenever we can, and sometimes take her places we probably shouldn't, like the home improvement store.

Our lives are finally starting to settle down, and our house is finally starting to feel like a home. We are certainly in the home stretch, and then I will put together my little slide show of the before and after photos. But now its time for a little Me Time. I think tonight I will read some blogs and then I am going to play the Sims until bed time!