Happy Friday

Well. IHA called and my inspection is set up for next Thursday; she is already familiar with the home and doesn't anticipate any problems, was almost as equally excited for us as WE are, and get this: I am going to be paying $11.00 less a month than I am currently paying for, let's face it, a dive. The utilities are a little bit more expensive there, but there is natural gas heat (which we have here in our office, and it runs less than $100/month for this big place), so they will probably be pretty close to the same. I will be paying more in actual gasoline as I will be "commuting," (come on. In Idaho, 10 miles IS commuting, thank you very much), but I think that I am going to be okay from a financial standpoint as well. Not great, but I think we will get by all right, which is a huge load off my mind. Huge.

I got the power and gas turned on, and with neither of them did I need to have a deposit, which is most excellent. This is how far I have come, in that when we moved here five years ago I had to put down a deposit for EVERYTHING, so I gave myself a little pat on the back. Tonight, we are headed back over there to see it again in the full light, and Jacquie is going to come with and we can measure the windows...as a "housewarming" gift, she is going to make curtains for me, which is awesome. Her husband Jim is pitching in and we should be able to get fabric and rods for all the windows and a new comforter for my bed. How wonderful is that? April told me on the phone last night (after making fun of me for having a sack of potatoes on the kitchen table!) that as much as she loves me, SHE wouldn't do that for me, so it is especially thoughtful and sweet. She is also going to help me find some decent used furniture, stuff like that. I did sign up for FreeCycle as well, and with hope I will find just what I am looking for at just the right time.

So that is where things are right now, moving forward. I feel a huge wight off my shoulders about the housing issue, on a lot of different levels, and what I have loved the most is that last night, all of the kids were so excited and HAPPY that it was the best, most fun-filled night we have in awhile. Every time I would try to ignore them I mean try to READ, one of them would pop up with,"Mom. Guess what? We're moving!" or "Mom. I get my own room." And by time I finally got them to be quiet and go to bed, we were all laughing like maniacs. I got to talk to April on the phone last night as well, and that was lovely as always. All in all, I am feeling better about things in general. It isn't, as usual, as if anything outward has CHANGED so much; I mean, there is still a lot of shit going on, and that isn't going to go away for awhile-but this one big thing, this one really GREAT thing, has happened, and I am at least to the point where I can genuinely be happy about it instead of letting the rest of it drag me down.

On that note, I have some decorating websites to look at, so if you will excuse me.....