Surgery and Stuff

Okay, so the surgery is tomorrow. I've got an appointment set for 4:00pm, our time, that's 2:00pm California time. I'm not sure what to say about it at this point. I just know that a lot of you have been so sweet in loving on me and praying for me, and are wanting to be kept up-to-date. The doc says based on the new ultrasound and an oncologist's opinion, I probably don't have cancer. YEA!! He does say that I have probably 3 or more cysts on each ovary that he wants to try to remove, and very likely a bunch of endometrial tissue that's in places where it doesn't belong. Must've gotten wrong directions from my brain - probably the same part that told the Mutiple Sclerosis it could reside in this body. As far as the surgery goes, I'm feeling "okay" about it at this point, but I've got real fun preparations that include not eating since yesterday and colonoscopy-like beverages. Yum. I'm a little cranky at this point. And I want an In-N-Out burger. They don't have those here. Crankier. Grrr...

On the up side... drumroll, please... we have finally found a house, and had our offer accepted!! Yeah, I know we haven't even once mentioned the whole house thing on the blog. Sore subject. First we had to sell the California one - that took a full year. God is good, and though we didn't sell for what we originally wanted, we did sell before the "you-know-what hit the you-know-where". We got out of the house more than we put in, and therefore, had money to put down on something here. We made offers on two houses that didn't go though. We decided to wait until after Jonathan's busy time at Christmas. We put an offer on a house in January. (By the way, turns out a short sale on a house is anything but "short".) They took another offer. (We offered full price and have good credit with money to put down. We figure the other people must have offered their firstborn or something.) At any rate, we had prayed that if it wasn't the house, our offer be rejected. It was rejected. Clear enough answer to a prayer for ya? We kept looking.

We've learned that for some reason, Realtors will always show you something just out of your price range, and something that doesn't quite meet all the criteria you set. Enter Sharon, our absolutely fantastic Realtor who does all that because she knows us better than we know ourselves! I met Sharon at an open house before we even took the job here, she's been working with us ever since. She even found us this rental we've been living in. (Remember she doesn't get paid for that, folks. That's how decent a person she is.) We've spent many, many hours with her, she's practically family, and we absolutely ADORE her! Anyway, she's probably shown us about half the homes in town by now, and pointed out that lots of people here have a one car garage, and that would give us even more options. So, we decided to see the other half of town...

Our criteria:
2 car garage
at least 1500 square feet
3 bedrooms
2 potties
fireplace, preferably wood-burning
dining room (we didn't even have a dining AREA in California!)
good-sized backyard, preferably fenced

Simple enough. So we thought. We actually did see lots of houses that met all the criteria, but it was too far, too ugly, weird layout, too dark, you fill in the rest. So one day, on a marathon home tour, Sharon shows us this house. "Cute" would be the best word for it - any other word would be too long for this little cottage.

It had the following:
1 car garage
1450 square feet (INCLUDING the basement)
2 bedrooms (with a 3rd almost complete)
1 potty
NO fireplace
dining room
good-sized fenced backyard

In other words, PERFECT! I guess that's love - you can't always define it, you can't dictate it, it just is. That was this house for us. It's light and bright and cheery, and fun, and has personality, and it backs up to one of the longest bike paths in Madison, and is close to tons of stuff, without being in the middle of the city. We loved it. After some discussions with the owner, we came to an agreement that had us beating out at least 2 other offers. The house was on the market for less than 2 weeks. That part is almost a sale in itself - the thought of selling another house after our last experience left a bad taste in our mouths. Obviously, this house (or neighborhood, or a combination of the two) are desirable, so all we need to do now is not screw it up before we want to sell it. (A looooong time from now, I hope!) We look forward to sharing it with all of you! Congratulate us - after three years, we are finally HOME.

Snow - What Else?!

I read something in the paper a few weeks ago. It read," Snow... is intelligent and sentient... and it hates us."

I tend to agree.

It's coming.

Again.

In two days.

It's spring.

For All You Couples Out there...

I just wanted to say that today is my parent's 39th wedding anniversary!! We are so blessed that we have parents who love each other so much and can provide such a good example to us. They've shown us, through the years, how to handle the ups and downs of life, the hurts and the healings, and the hellos and goodbyes. They still regularly go out for their date night, and make sure to never go to bed angry. We should all be so blessed. Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!!

Freecycle... Chickens?!

So, here's an add in Freecycle I doubt you'd find back home in SoCal...!

Have 2 free pretty large roosters that my sneaky hens hatched. They are approx 5
mos old. One looks like a giantic barred rock.(mother was a barred. Father a
buff orpington) The other is solid white with a colored tail.(Father Wyandotte.
Mother New Hampshire,Production Red, or Wyandotte) Also have 2 little cochin
banty roosters that are purebred. 5 mos old as well. They have the feathered
feet and a very sweet temperment. I may eat their eggs, but I cant bring myself
to eat my chickens. lol. Im just outside Lake Mills.