Houses.

I love to look at other people's houses. I think every house has a personality and it's really interesting to see what other people do with the space they inhabit. 

So I watch house buying, decorating, and renovating shows every chance I get.

This time around, though, we were the buyers, and we were looking. So, much less fun and much more stress. Although we did find the house we are buying, which I absolutely love, we found some other stuff, too.

Not good stuff. It was kind of gross.

Our very first house tour was of a place I'd been eyeing on Trulia for ages. Even before we'd decided on the move. It just looked so neat...out in the middle of nowhere with a gorgeous view, solar power (it's free energy FROM THE SUN...don't even try to talk me out of that one, because I love it), and kind of weird and quirky. Well, we drove down this beautiful road with all these ranches and stuff, and I was feeling very excited and then we got to a dirt road that was incredibly bumpy. And we drove. And drove. And drove. For like half an hour. On this horrible road. And then we pulled up to the house and there were some people who looked a teensy bit high sitting on the porch.

Yep. The owners were there. And they'd just finished smoking a whole lot of stuff in the house.

Quick walk-through. Whoever took the online pictures for this one should've won an award, because it was nasty and looked really bad in person. Also, the smell. So much smoke (cigarette and other kinds, too). Also, no one had remembered to flush the toilet after using it, so there was that.

We were gone in five minutes, but we got to enjoy the aromas which clung to our hair and clothes for hours. Sweet!

We drove back into civilization, to the next house. This one looked pretty nice from the outside, but again, the owners were there, so it was awkward. Also, cats.

Did I mention cats? Oh, yeah. SO MANY CATS.

I kid you not, there was a crate full of a mama cat and her brand new babies in one room, and two really old cats in another room who were territorial and hissed at us when we tried to go in, and the lady said they were, "watching their show."

Yeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh.

And the owners had set up the living room as an office/bar. Great idea. I'd drink and do paperwork all day long, too, if I could. With cats, of course.

Naturally.

Then we saw the house we were going to buy, except there was some kind of issue with the water, and then we went out another time and saw a beautiful tiny house that was very expensive and very lovely, but laid out weird, and another house that was so unloved and sad, but could've been gorgeous...with about ten years and a couple hundred thousand bucks.

Then, we saw our house. I swear, I almost cried because at that point I had given up. I'm not a real intrepid house hunter, after all. I just like to watch that stuff from the comfort of my living room. At any rate, I am so glad we took a shot at it, because the thought of having to look at any more houses makes me want to barf.

And we still have a month to go before we can move into our house. Blergh. Who decided moving was a good idea? Geez. 

Oh, yeah. That was us.

My last post got eaten by my iPad. Maybe that's the universe's way of telling me it sucked.

It kind of did suck, though. So that's alright.

At any rate, we just finished appraisals and inspections on both house and are at the stage where you just wait for reports and then either hear what the buyers want or, as the buyers, decide what you want.

Ugh. Waiting.

So I am just planning out my next packing spree. I've gotten four rooms, two closets, my dresser and my bathroom all packed, so the kitchen will be next. Unfortunately, we're out of boxes, so I'm waiting on that, too.

More waiting. 

It's good for my patience, but not so good for my nerves.

I am getting pimples and I swear my white hairs have tripled in the last month. It's pretty sweet.

I will just keep reminding myself that we chose to do this and once it's over, it'll be great.

It will, me.

I swear.

For reals.

Adventures in moving. Well, not that adventurous, but holy crap it's never been this tricky before.

We have lived here for around 8 years, and it's time to move on. We want to try something a little less suburban, a little closer to performing/music opportunities for me, and a little larger so we have some room for guests and a music room.

That's it. 

I have been asked all sorts of questions about why, so here's my blanket answer, which applies to all of them: No, we're not getting a divorce, no, we're not adopting several children from an impoverished country, no, we don't need to get away from our family (we will definitely be seeing more of them than we do now), no, we're not adopting all the puppies in the pound and letting them go free on an acre of land (no one actually asked that, I just wish we could), and, finally, no, we aren't going to go live on some weird commune thingy in the middle of nowhere, although one of the houses we looked at was pretty much one of those, I'm almost positive.

Phew. That's over. 

Why so many questions about why? Is moving really that big of a deal? Can't people just want to try something new and/or different? Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

(Also, ladies, no babies up in here. No matter how high your eyebrows get when you ask me that question, the answer will remain the same. I love babies, bring me your babies to kiss, I'll sit on the floor and play princess or trucks with your kid for hours, but I don't need my own. Too much chaos to add to my chaos. For reals.)

Okay, I get it. I'm usually resistant to change. But seriously, this is a good thing. I swear. This is a change for the better for us. And we're really happy about it, too. Stressed, exhausted, and worried, but happy. Underneath the angst. JUST BE HAPPY FOR US AND DEAL.

Wow, I failed at blogging in April. But now it's May, so I can do a quick recap for everybody, in case you're wondering what April was like in my neck of the woods:

CHAOS.

Ha ha ha. Yes, April has always been a tumultuous month for me, for some odd reason, and this year was no exception. I started the month off with a horrible chest cold that turned into three weeks of coughing. I'm still having to sleep with a cough drop, because I still have a cough or two here and there. Yeah. Not great for a singer.

The other big change has been our new cockatiel, Lulu. This is a wonderful change, though. This girl is the sweetest, cuddliest, most lovable bundle of feathers you've ever seen. I can't believe we've made it through this much of life without this ray of sunshine, but there you go. She just makes our hearts happy in ways we never expected. Awesome.

And, finally, the big news is that we're moving.

I'll let that sink in.

Yes, we are choosing to leave this house that we put all our blood and guts into and move a town away. The market is good, there is way more work there for me, and it just seemed like the right time. Thought about this one pretty hard.

So for the last four days we've been cleaning and showing and cleaning and showing and cleaning and showing. I hope we get an offer on our house soon, because it is exhausting. Not to mention all of the looking and looking and looking for a house where we can live, which is hard because the market there moves pretty darn quick, too.

So yep.

That's our April.

Bring it, May.