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.

This past weekend, we needed to go to another town to get a spray-on liner for our truck. We stayed in a hotel all day while the truck was being worked on, and because we didn't have transportation for the day, we had breakfast in the hotel restaurant, which was actually pretty good. The point to all this? There is one, I swear.

At breakfast, we were seated by a table of teenagers who were all there on some sort of training program trip thing. Not quite sure, but that seemed to be what was going on. They were all around 16, and there was not an adult in sight.

These kids were all bragging about how they were blowing off school and activities because they were so smart it really didn't matter anyway. And how they didn't even have to try, and they could still pass through.

It was all I could do to keep myself from going over to their table and telling them to enjoy their smartness in a few years' time when they didn't get to do any sort of college or training after high school because of their bad grades and lack of effort, so their only available careers would be at fast food restaurants. And even there, since they obviously don't enjoy working, they have no potential for advancement.

Yes, kids. Laziness is just the best. And it's even more fun when you're an adult and your parents aren't paying for you to go to a weekend convention at a fancy hotel with a nice breakfast restaurant.

Which you won't be able to afford in a few years.

So enjoy that.

But I didn't say a word. I merely chuckled to my husband and kept my judgment to myself. I really wanted to throw in a, "You little turds better stay off my lawn!" but I kept it to myself.

#curmudgeonlife

The struggle is real.

Well, we did it. We actually did a thing.....we have a new family member. This kiddo, right here:

                                    

                                   

We have been missing our Bruce so much, but, as anyone who knows me will tell you, I am really good at talking myself out of things. Anything, from eating a piece of cake to buying a pair of shoes.

Seriously. It's highly irritating. Sometimes I want to slap myself. I basically decide I want to do something, and then I take some time to think about it. I make a mental pros and cons list, the cons list gets astronomical, and then I decide not to do it.

All the time.

So, although we've been emailing breeders and looking around at birds, we didn't actually plan on a baby anytime soon. And then I saw something about a small pet store in Albuquerque, and while we were down getting my husband's truck worked on, we decided to swing by.

We walked in and saw a white cockatiel in a cage with a sold sign, and I thought, "Hey, that's too bad, but he looks really pretty and well cared for..." and then I saw a little grey head.

And I was hooked.

The woman went to the back and got her out and she wasn't scared or nervous. And, as you can see from her picture, she is just beautiful. 

So, yeah, we are in love. Her name is Lulu.

It's bananas. 

Happy Monday!

Last night, I went to a rehearsal at someone's house. It was mostly people I don't know, with one or two people who are casual acquaintances. 

So, yeah, it got real awkward, real fast.

For those of you who haven't seen me in situations like this, let me explain. If I don't know you, I don't talk. Well, I guess it's more accurate to say I can't talk. It's like my voice freezes up and I just can't make it do anything. Also, I have a food issue.

Yes. Along with all the others.

I don't like eating in front of other people. I eat in front of my family, but it's really hard for me to eat in front of other people. I don't know why. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with being a fat kid, but I'm also pretty sure people can tell I eat from the way I look, so there you go. My brain is a weird, mysterious place.

Anyway, about halfway through the evening, the host turns to me and says, "Are you always like this?"

That's when I knew I'd wowed him with my sparkling conversational skills.

So I make the usual jokes about not being a real soprano inside and all that. But seriously, holy crap, how did I decide to sing in front of people? Where did I go wrong? Why do I not live in a cave somewhere, only making occasional trips into town and never, ever speaking to another person (except myself, of course, because myself and I have some scintillating convos)?

Gee whiz.

There is no moral to this story. I just think it's funny that someone came out and asked the question we all wanted to ask but were afraid to. Am I always like that? You know, socially awkward, a mass of neuroses, and completely bonkers?

Yes. Yes, I am.