Home, Sweet Home: It's about time.

Let's rewind to find where we last left our heroine screaming at her phone and the unfortunate loan officer who was on the receiving end of that conversation. What has become of her? Did she finally find a home? Is she homeless? And, will she ever post anything remotely interesting?

---
Indeed, I have FINALLY gotten the house that we originally wanted. Though it was a rough and emotionally exhausting road. Between the closing, moving in and the incoming train of holidays, our little family has barely had time to breathe. But, (big cheer) we HAVE a nice new home in a coveted, quiet and hidden part of Northeastern Houston in a lovely town called Kingwood (also known as 'the livable forest'). Nice ring to it, don't you think?!

Well, what I and many of my friends did not know about Kingwood is how beautiful it is. How did I not know about this place after living in the Galveston/ Houston area for 6 years prior to Peace Corps?  Kingwood is a suburb of Houston to be exact. Though residents don't like you bringing that up. Their annexation into Houston is a sore subject. I can understand why. There is really nothing like it around. When Kingwood was originally developed it was the 70s, clear-cutting was the ideal form of economic development. It cost less and allowed for faster land development. Cue the visionaries. In walked King Ranch, owners of the track of land who wanted a community that was literally built in the Piney Woods area of Texas with as little clear-cutting as possible. Then Friendswood Development Company stepped in to assist and eventually bought Kingwood. The community is nestled amongst old forests of tall pines, sycamores, magnolias and around 20 other types of trees. It is home to deer, fish, birds, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits...you get the picture. There are nature preserves, parks and over 75 miles of walking and biking trails amongst the woods known as the 'greenbelt'.  Don't believe me? Come and visit and see for yourself.

I've found my own piece of paradise.

As frustrating as the last couple of months have been, I can honestly say, without a doubt, that I'm happy with our decision and it was totally worth it. Every morning I enjoy my coffee, get online from my kitchen table and look out my floor-to-ceiling windows (yes, we like everything ridiculously big in Texas) to watch Blue Jays (and their mates), Cardinals (and their mates) singing and courting in my backyard which backs right up to one of the many 'greenbelts'. Bragging?  Heck ya!  Thankful?  Amen to that, too. We have been blessed, lucky, how ever you choose to see it. We have had amazing help through this process and things can only get better from here.

Here's hoping you find your own piece of paradise out there.

Houston or Bust.

You probably have already heard the news but if not, we are moving yet again. This time back to the Texas Gulf Coast.  It's a bittersweet moment. We've only been in our new home in Colorado for a little over a year.  We've put a considerable amount of 'sweat equity' into it and we hope that we will be able to afford another home in Houston.  Foreclosures are rampant here in Colorado, thus our first true home was a foreclosure as was the condo just before that.  But, we like it that way.  We love projects (yes, we're sick in that way).  What's so disheartening is that we're just beginning to see the fruits of our labor and the house really shines (even though it still needs some loving here and there) but now we won't be able to really enjoy it.  Thus, I've immersed myself in what to look forward to in Houston. 

  

I've never really lived in Houston, just the outskirts.  Chris and I did live close to NASA at one point in a run-down apartment building that was lovingly called Casa Bonita (though there was nothing bonita about our little casa).  We just liked the vague connection to a happy childhood memory of the famed Casa Bonita Restaurant in Colorado (termed by a local Austin writer as Casa-Oh My God, I'm in Valhalla- Bonita").  From there, we lived in Bulgaria for two years on the Black Sea Coast as Peace Corps Volunteers before returning to the States and eventually moving to Denver, Colorado.  Several of our friends are happy that we're moving closer to them and several are sad that we're leaving them.  I will miss the lovely mountain vistas and amazing sunsets over the Rockies.  I will miss cool summers (seriously, I'm wearing a turtleneck for Pete's sake and it's July) and gorgeous alpine flowers.  I'll miss the eclectic, hippy mountain towns filled with gentle mountain folk and excellent breweries.  Things I won't miss: income tax, dryness, cracked lips, blizzards, and nosebleeds.

And, so the adventure begins.  Our house is on the market and showings are already rolling in (which is a good sign but not a sure thing).  We're already looking at new homes in Houston and slowly saying goodbye to coworkers and friends and our lovely home.  My new goal: to find out all I can about every corner of Houston that I didn't know before.  First things first, Houston Theatre District, here I come! http://downtownhouston.org/district/theater/