OK, so maybe "soon" is a relative term

I still haven't gotten it together enough to manage to get the darn pictures onto my laptop. Add that to the fact that I have only found the time to get on the computer at all about a handful of times since I posted last. Each of those times I opted to read blogs instead of posting, partially due to the fact that I felt so lame for promising pictures and then not being capable of following through.

Ah, such is life.

I've been painting and getting rooms (slowly/partially) furnished. It seems that by the time I get around to posting pictures they may be before-and-after shots. Mr. C is out of town until tomorrow night (he went for a long-weekend to Vegas with a friend) so I have been spending every spare moment painting. It isn't that I cannot do it when he is here, but he does reel me in and keep me from going overboard. I reeled myself in last night, though, since I no longer have a schedule that is wide open. Our activity director quit last Thursday and we decided that I will run our activities instead of hiring a replacement. This means that I run our exercise program every morning and our afternoon activity. I love it. At exercise we sit in a big circle and do deep breathing, stretching and arm and leg exercises. We start the whole thing off by kicking a big yoga ball around the circle. The afternoon activities are different each day. Today we had an ice cream social, Friday we had a tea party (complete with fun hats to wear, it was a blast), Thursday we played bingo, tomorrow we are doing community service and Wednesday is spa day.

I need to share something. I've decided not to talk about it with anyone IRL but I feel like it is OK to write about it here. On Saturday, which was 5 dpo, I had a tiny bit of red spotting. I thought at first that I was having an extremely short LP, but I would be lying if I said that it hasn't crossed my mind that it could have been implantation bleeding. There. I just needed to get that out.

The meme where you post about six things about yourself has actually made it's way to me. Brenda tagged me and, like Brenda, this is the first time I have been tagged for a meme. I've already had a mental draft of something like this for quite some time, so it gives me an excuse to actually write the post. For now, though, I am off to read blogs.

pictures coming soon

We don't have an internet connection set up at home yet, and I don't know when it will happen since this is in Mr. C's domain and so far it is not very high on the priority list. But here I am helping out at the office so he can get a break and I am taking advantage of the opportunity to get online. If I had known I would be here I would have brought the digital cameras to download pictures of the new house.

It is still pretty empty, as the move is happening slowly. Gracie and the cats seem happy with their new home. There is plenty of room to run around and an abundance of hiding places.

We have been welcomed to the neighborhood--something that has never happened to us before. Yesterday when I opened the front door to take Gracie out for a walk I found a package containing a plate of cinnamon rolls and a note from one of our new neighbors. Soon I will summon up the courage to make my way over to their house to say thank you. Later in the day the phone rang and to my surprise it was the woman we bought the home from. Mothership ran into her a few days ago and mentioned that it was her son and daughter-in-law that were the new owners of her home and she gave her my number. She phoned to introduce herself and to ask if she could stop by to say hello. A little while later she and her husband came by with a basket filled with goodies for us. To my relief Gracie didn't maul them with kisses while we visited. They are a lovely couple who are originally from Brazil and they have five children. I knew they had children, but had no idea that there were five. The house is so quiet right now that it is hard to imagine so many people filling it with activity and noise. They are still in the neighborhood but built a larger home a couple of blocks away. It was very clear to me how much they loved the home and how many good memories it holds for them.

I was very impressed by the fact that I made it through the entire process of looking for a home and all of the home-buying experience without getting anxious. Then Saturday morning it snuck up on me. Hmmm...what is that clenched, acidic feeling in my solar plexus? It was still with me yesterday, like a gnawing in the back of my brain, all-the-while my insides were churning. At first the rational part of my mind tried to sort it all out. This can be a big problem. A person who has never struggled with anxiety might not understand this, but it is the thoughts that can be the true undoing.

Well, I have to run before I can really finish where I was. I will just say that overall I am doing OK. I will try to write again before too long.