Since it’s been awhile, I figured it’s only proper to update you all on what has happened these past several months. Actually, I don’t know who I’m kidding since nobody will be reading this, but here it goes anyways….
As of the end of last year, November I believe, Donnie was no longer with us. I should probably clarify that Donnie didn’t die, but he was re-homed to a wonderful family. Donnie wasn’t reacting too well with Moogle, he was having terrible anxiety problems, and apartment living just wasn’t for him. Since Chris and I weren’t too sure when, or if, we would be moving out of the apartment, we put Donnie up on Craigslist along with some pretty heavy prerequisites. One of them was that they lived in a house with a front and back yard, because he loved being outside and running around. Another was that he would go to a good home. Fortunately we found this really nice family that had children, they had another dog similar to Donnie, and the womans mother in-law was in school to become a vet. Before leaving Donnie at their house, we spent some time to get to know them, and when we saw that Donnie would be in good hands, we knew it was time to go.
In no way, shape, or form was it easy for me. I cried so hard because I genuinely loved Donnie, but he was going to a better home. For a few months I stayed in contact with the woman, and Donnie adjusted very well. He learned how to use a doggie door by watching the other dog they had, he had been fantastic at alerting them when people were near the house, and he bonded with their son so much that they would sleep together at night. I still get sad about Donnie, I still miss him, and I still cry about him being gone, but I know that it was for the best and that gives me comfort.
Moogle is still around, unfortunately, and she is as shitty as ever. We tried getting a new dog twice, and each time she attacked them so we promptly returned them. She is now over a year old, and pretty much rules the house…. as a mega bitch. Back in January, when we were still at the apartment, we were having problems with her. She kept attacking people, went after Chris in the face a couple of times, and was heavily clawing on our furniture, in which we had just purchased a brand new couch and chair. Another huge problem was that she would attack children. For awhile we were babysitting a cousin’s son, who was a little over a year old, and we had to always keep Moogle in the bathroom. If we didn’t she would stalk the poor boy, wait for him to walk on by, and would bat for his face… with her claws out. Nothing would work with Moogle either. Spraying her with water wouldn’t work, using sprays that are supposed to keep a cat from scratching didn’t work, special anti-scratch tapes didn’t work… and we were pouring out money we didn’t have to try and find a solution.
Finally it all became too much, because we were looking for a new place, a nicer place, and the last thing we needed was a destructive cat (oh, did I mention she was fucking up the carpet too?). So, again we tried to re-home an animal. I described her personality, described her needs, and I was shocked at how many people responded. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she was free… I don’t know, but out of all the responses I received, I chose a family who had just lost a cat. They had another cat at home, a little girl who was either 4 or 5, and the cat they just lost had the same personality as Moogs. Perfect fit, no? No.
Within 16 hours of having Moogle, I received a phone call from them saying that they had to bring her back. Apparently our little bundle of terror was in demon mode the entire time. Every single second that she was at their house, she was hissing, screaming at them, trying to attack them, and being a fucking monster. What made me laugh so hard is that when they brought her back, which was in one of those cardboard cat carriers, as soon as she stepped out of it and was back inside our apartment, she acted like everything was just fine. Like nothing had happened, like she never flipped out and became the spawn of Satan…. nothing. So, thank you Moogle for forcing us to be stuck with you for the next 20 years. It’s going to be wonderful, ugh.
So yes, we are living in a house, although we don’t own the house. We didn’t have enough time to properly come up with a down payment to go towards a house, and our credit is shit. The house we are in now is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage. It’s close to 1,700 square feet, and it’s fantastic. We have a front yard, which is a very nice size, and a backyard that overlooks a small lake and golf course. On the inside, it’s perfect for us. I have a lovely kitchen with all new appliances, and a gas range. Loads of counter space, and we finally have enough cabinets for everything! We have a separate dining room, which is a first, and that room has windows overlooking the backyard. The sliding glass door to the backyard is right there as well. The house has two living rooms, but right now we only use one room. The room we are in is right next to the kitchen, has a lovely gas fireplace, and is a great size for the furniture we do have. The other room, which is in the front of the house, and behind the kitchen, is a large space, and could easily be used as part formal dining room, part formal living/entertaining room. Currently it’s being used as a Moogle room since we lack furniture for it, and also lack the money for furniture.
Our Master Bedroom is massive, and the closet is another room in itself. We even have an attached bathroom as well, and I like that because now we don’t have to worry about people coming in our bedroom to use a restroom. The bathroom has two sinks, a decent amount of cabinets, but the great part is the shower… more specifically the tub. It’s a garden tub. It’s a JETTED garden tub! Oh my stars, I can’t even properly communicate how freaking amazing the tub is. The jets feel so nice, especially when your back hurts, and it’s fun to put bubbles in it as well (yeah, I’m a big kid when I take a bath, so what?).
The other two bedrooms are a very nice size, and the second bathroom was recently redone. One amazing thing about the house is that we have a proper laundry room. At our old apartment our washer and dryer were, no joke, in our living room. Granted the space was covered and had two doors that closed it off, but could you imagine trying to watch TV with your washer going? It was annoying as hell, and pretty tacky. Now we have it on the opposite end of the house, there is the entry to the garage right there, and there are even cabinets so we can store the detergent and other items up there. Some other things are that the exterior of the house was freshly painted before we moved in, the carpeting is all new, the entry way, kitchen, dining room, second bathroom, laundry room, and entire hallway is all brand new, gorgeous tile. The garage door opener is brand new as well. We pretty much moved in to a brand new house, so it’s fantastic.
A couple of downsides, that we forgot to consider before moving in, are things in the backyard. I’m allergic to mosquitoes, and since the water in the lake doesn’t have anywhere to go, it’s a prime breeding spot for them. Almost the entire back section of our house is covered in mosquitoes, and you can see them on the window screens, sliding glass door, and all in the air. To say that there are easily over a thousand mosquitoes back there is not an exaggeration. Another thing is that there are a lot of plants in the front and backyard that attract bees. People in my family are heavily allergic to bees, and since I’ve never been stung before, I am not sure how I would react. Add that to the fact that I have no Epi-Pen, no Benadryl in the house, and that Chris is close to a 45 minute drive away from the house…. I should avoid getting stung because I could end up dead. That limits the amount of gardening I can do while he is away at work as well.
Even with all of the negatives, we’ve been loving it here. We were so unhappy at the apartment, and now we have a house where all of our stuff can fit, where we have room to grow and be settled for a couple of years, and where we don’t have to worry about crazy drunken bastards like we did with the apartment.
Another fantastic thing that has happened is that Chris and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary back on March 28th. It seems like yesterday we were in the apartment asking each other “hey, do you want to get married tomorrow?” This year with Chris has had it’s ups and downs, mainly coming from external sources, but I’ve never been happier. This is the first time either of us has been married, and it’s been everything we could’ve hoped for. He has been supportive and understanding with everything I have had to go through in my personal life, and he is the one person I know I can count on no matter what. I feel confident in saying that, in the many years to come, Chris will continue to make me happy, and I look forward to creating so many memories with him.
Finally, my daughter turned 7 a couple of weeks ago and that was fun. Her party was a blast, and all of the children loved it. It’s crazy how quickly they grow up. Sometimes I wish she was a baby again so I could just hold her, but now she is a big girl and I love the time I spend with her.
Other than that, I cant’t think of anything else major that has happened. Nobody close to us has died, I’m not pregnant, we don’t have any illnesses that can kill us, and even though the economy is complete and utter shit, things could be a lot worse. So… hopefully that catches you all up to speed, and if anything else important happens, we will be sure to share it with you all.
– Me
