Funny, but a bit of a letdown...

I have always vowed that I wouldn't buy baby clothes until Im pregnant, just like I said I wouldn't look at wedding gowns until I was engaged. Well, yesterday I went out with the Queen to buy clothes for the Almighty Feet because Q was feeling that the few little outfits she had were not nearly enough to keep the cold hard world at bay (and she was right...). We hit a thrift store and the consignment store and got some REALLY cute stuff. Among the things we found was a little outfit that I decided was too cute to pass up and that I would get it as a shower gift for one of the many pregnant women in my life right now. I got it home and showed the Hubband and was greeted with a stare of shock and horror. Thinking that he maybe mixed up the person I planned to give it to with someone he doens't like very much, or something like that, I protested mightily and confusedly. He then said... BUT ITS A BLUE ELEPHANT! Now, for those of you who dont know, my mother-in-law collects blue elephants and has pretty much since Hubband was born 32 years ago. It all started with a little elephant that traveled with various members of the family and was constantly sneaking into suitcases during visits. Well, once I realized that what I was holding was a BLUE ELEPHANT outfit, of COURSE I couldn't give it away (I actually was forbidden even to TRY by Hubband.... he did say that I wouldn't jinx myself though cause Id BOUGHT it with the INTENTION of giving it away). Well, once he got past the shock, he thought the whole thing was hilarious and called his mom to share... only I dont think he QUITE got the joke part of it across to her soon enough because we heard some chuckles and then after a pause she said...

"So, you're not calling with REAL news?"

Soon... C-Mom... Soon. :-)

The Best for Last

And now, oh blogosphere... the BIG NEWS! I was so sick this posting is QUITE DELAYED, but I HAVE to welcome my newest nephew!

James Richard Sikora was born on April 5 at 6:55 pm!!! Pictures below of our precious baby and another of Jaime and his sister.

Posting... finally!

Ok, so that whole post I thought I was going to do about our trip to Vegas and Memphis is going to just be condensed into this post because Im too busy (lazy?) to dig out all the photos and post them right now. That being said, we DO have some great photos of Graceland, the roads in AK, and the Memphis skyline... if you're interested, ask me to post 'em and I'll find the time. I just am still wanting to keep some distance between me and the memories of Strep throat + acute sinusitis for 6 miserable days of high fevers, stabbing pain, and vomitting. Im DONE with that. >shudder< (Yes, that is why the acute care center and pharmacies in Vegas... and did I mention how nice and clean our bathroom was in the hotel at Memphis? I felt quit comfy sitting on the floor of the bathroom with only a bath towel between me and the porcelain throne...)

Right, moving on.

WE'RE BUYING A HOUSE! You heard me right... Hubband and I are currently in the process of composing an offer for a house we saw while we were down there. I think we went through something like 120 listings, viewed about 100 of those during driving tours of the town, and actually walked through about 20. The one we decided to make an offer for is a great little 3 bed 2 bath, with nearly a quarter acre of land, a fenced back yard and beautiful patio. There is an above ground pool (Hubband and I aren't sure yet about that... he wants to keep it, Im thinking mosquitos and cleaning duties....) and a separate laundry area. That may not sound so important, the laundry area thing, but I have this pet peeve about my laundry being in the kitchen and laundry in the kitchen is a big thing in the south...(at least it was at the time most of the homes we looked at were built). Anyway, the only issues we have with the house is that there is basically no kitchen at this point (one wall of cabinets with the sink, and then they had like rubbermaid type drawers scattered around the walls...and an island) and the carpets and pads are really worn on the traffic patterns. We'll see if we get it! Ive been using online kitchen remodel tools to design different layouts. hehe.

In the process of the house hunt, we got ourselves a lender and were preapproved for our mortgage. Our lender is great, and gave us a copy of our combined credit report (with info from all the agencies) and holy COW! Have you ever imagined what it would be like to have at least 10 accounts each that you had closed, or thought you had closed, suddenly back on your radar? Now, our credit is really good, so don't get me wrong, but we have had a devil of a time trying to figure out what some of these things are. We determined that while it LOOKS like hubband has about 100K in student loans, that's only because half of them are double reported and/or not showing the changes when they were combined/transferred. So far, my favorite has been the account that neither I, nor my father, nor the actual creditor, figure out. None of us remember it or show it actually existing. Isn't that FUN? >sigh<

Anyway, enough of my trials and tribulations with credit agencies... I have packing and sorting and abstracts to edit and lunch to make.

Im out.

Dateline: Memphis, TN

I was going to do a really long informative post about our trip (just wait until you hear about the sites of Vegas that I saw...urgent care center, pharmacy... it was thrilling) but have decided that should wait. You see, while we've been in TN/AK for the last 3 days and have been raving over the food, the weather, the scenery, etc., we finally felt we had actually arrived in the SOUTH this evening. Hubband was browsing through the classifieds looking at jobs and puppies (our priorities are set, you see) and suddenly whooped with laughter. He turned to me and said "You know you're in the South when..." and showed me an ad for a "Goldern Retriever". Those Gol-derned dogs. We just might have to get one in a few months!