Au Revoir 2006

Ah, 2006.

2006 started out with such promise. The first new year as a married couple. The first year together in our little trailor home. Happily living with our two cats (who's gay love affair would make any true romantic turn green with envy)and the Wiener, a new year seemed full of promise, fun and adventure. And boy did 2006 deliver!

DH started his first employement since moving here to marry lil' ol' me. On a number of levels, this was a good thing. For one, it helped financially, but the underlying fact is that I think it made him feel useful. We married in September and, due to immigration issues, he wasn't given authorization to work until late December. Although he cleaned house (!!), had dinner waiting for me when I returned from work each day (!!!!), and in all other ways was a wonderful man-slave, I think he was relieved to finally bring home a paycheck and feel like he was contributing to our well being.

Summer 2006, DH was accepted into the University and began school a short while later. Full time work and full time school makes for a busy combo. It didnt' help that we got bit by the "house bug" at roughly the same time and began looking at properties around town.

Reasons to Buy a House:

#1: We needed more space. A 2 bedroom manufactured home was ideal for a single girl. Not so much for a married couple with twice the "stuff". (And we NEED our stuff. NEED IT!!)

#2: Wiener seemed a little listless and lonely. The cats love each-other and tolerated her just fine, but I could tell she would really benefit from some companionship. Unfortunately, the regulations in the trailor park prohibited having a certain number of animals and since we already had a zoo forming... it wasn't gonna happen.

#3: My parents were the owners of the trailer and, although they made great landlords, I knew that eventually the hassle of selling it would rear its ugly head. Re-sale on mobile homes can be a real bitch. No other way of saying it. Since our particular home was on a corner lot and we'd put a LOT of time into making it absolutely adorable, I felt that the time was right for passing it on to someone else to enjoy. Someone else who had less STUFF!

#4: A new home would give us lots of space. Room for storage, room for another office. Room for a new puppy for the Wiener. Room for babies.

#5: I WANT I WANT!! It would be ours. We could decorate exactly how we wanted and put our own touches here and there and everywhere.

The housing market across the country is reported as being a buyers market. Many cities have had values taper off or falter recently. In our neck of the woods, however it is exactly the opposite. After years of just maintaining value with no great increase, the area is suddenly developing. "Housing Explosion" might be a good description. What this means is that values of homes here have gone up anywhere from 17- 30% and prices are steadily climbing. For the average layman (or laywoman, if you were to refer to me), finding a home can be a nightmare. Only a handful of areas (if you want to live somewhere without fear of being mugged while checking the mailbox in front of your house) are affordable. And, since about 85% of the world falls into this 'average' category, the battle to find a place, put in the offer, and be the lucky bastard who's bid is accepted can be quite a challenge. After a short, but exhaustive search we found The Haven. We received the keys on the first anniversary of our wedding. In all honesty, I still look around and wonder how we got so lucky. The Haven is a charming little brick rambler with 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a car-port AND a huge garage (3 cars could easily fit) as well as a yard for the babies to play in! It even has a garden area, complete with picket fence and gate around it. BLISS! Of course, every rose has its thorn. The Haven's thorn is that the people who owned it prior to us had NO sense of style. Wait, I take that back. They had a sense of style. It was bad Bad BAD! The paint on the walls was a nightmare. Luckily, with a little elbow-grease, we've managed to remedy the issue. My current project has been peeling off the wallpaper mural (pine trees complete with river full of dirty water) in our guest room, priming the emerald green walls, and preparing to paint it a nice, soothing, calming color. Dark green walls and carpet, complete with mural wasn't soothing to me. It made me feel rather angry. Luckily the main living area (i.e. Kitchen, Dining, Living Room) is all painted and complete. Finishing that monster of a job made the Haven feel like home. Ours. happy sigh

How appropriate that 2006 was the year of the dog according to the Chinese Calendar. In addition to having Shelly the Sheltie (aka Granny Dog) come down from Canada to join us, Sir Gus Pugsalot joined the family in mid-October. Small, fury, and full of spunk and spitfire, he has changed life in ways before unimaginable. It may seem odd to anyone who isn't an animal person to hear this, but Gus (my Monkey) has somehow filled a maternal void for me.

DH and I have been trying to have a child from the first month that we were married. Though I can't deny how convenient it has been (can wear white pants without fear!), I've never had a regular menstruation cycle. I found the most wonderful doctor who put me through a bunch of tests including medications as well as (horror of horrors) NEEDLES!

Ms.B's Deep Dark Confession #1: I experience great angst when it comes to needles. I have my theories as to why this is, but that's another story.

The deeper part of this critical fact is that it took great strength of will to go through the process and when, in the end, I was told I am infertile and that meetings with doctors who specialize in In vitro fertilization would be the next step, depression set in and I gave up my hopes for a child- for now. I won't even begin to describe my feelings of failure when I found out that my new sister-in-law, who married my DH's older brother in late November, is already expecting their first child. sigh

Fertility issues aside, this has been a banner year. First anniversary, new home, new additions to the family. I am truely blessed. Poor 2007, you are coming with gusto, and honestly, I am not sure you will be able to deliver the way 2006 has. But, venture forth, bring it on. I am ready.

Ms.Behaved