It's that time of year again

It’s that time of year again. You know what I’m talking about.  Every radio commercial now has a Christmas song playing in the back ground.  I swear there is a jewelry store ad with “Away in the Manger” playing in the background.  Seriously?  When did the Sweet 8 lb 6 oz baby Jesus sell out? There are hundreds of pieces of paper laying around the house all of them titled “My Christmas Wish List” and all of them with a list of at least a dozen different things each of the girls wants.   And yet, whenever anyone in my family asks them “What do you want for Christmas?”  Their standard answer?  “I don’t know.”  Or worse yet?  “Clothes”.

Of course it’s this time of year I start looking for places to sell my soul to pay for the items the girls want for Christmas.  Although there isn’t much of a market for a slightly over used 42 year old beat all to hell soul.  Surprisingly.

I am almost afraid to ask for anything this year because lately so many things have been going my way, I’m afraid to overtax the system and crash the Good-Things-Fairy.  Not that I’m superstitious or anything.  (Knock on wood).

A few months ago (Like back in April) a promise was made.  A promise of a ring. Of course there was the whole take care of a few things, blah blah yada yada.  At the time I glossed over the take care of a few things, and rushed right on through to THE ring.

Turns out, he was pretty serious about that shit.

Know what? Apparently so was I.

Only I didn’t know it at the time.

Taking care of my legal issues?  Done.

Find a better place to live.  Done.

Due to an agreement with the girls’ Dad this week, I will be financially able to stand on my own two feet if I am really careful with my money.

That was another thing on the list of things that needed to be taken care of.

I don’t know where this is going.  I’m just rambling here.

The point I’m getting at, I think, is back in April I would have gone through the motions, checked things off the list, whatever it took to get to that damn ring.  Somewhere along the way?  The ring became minor.  I got the satisfaction of living my life, making a good life for me and my girls.  In the process of making a better life I found some pride, some self respect.  All of which you would think I would have already had at age *cough*42*cough*.   Apparently not.

Last night Tate cheered at her first game.  Last night I saw myself in the roll of cheer mom.  I never thought I would be one of *those* moms and yet, here I am.  And I couldn’t be more thrilled.  I was so proud of her last night.  (I am pretty damn proud of all three of us to be honest.)  She has games Monday and Tuesday this next week, and that means our nights are going to be busy. Really busy.  And I relish that.

So, Christmas… my girls have their wish lists scattered all over my living room.  On my wish list?  I sort of got it already.

Just a sneak peek at the place I call Home.

I don’t have any pictures of the house I moved out of.  For a whole lot of reasons. Chief among them? I *hated* that house.

But it was what I could afford at the time.

It was a roof over our heads, a place to sleep.

It was an embarrassment.

Or a stepping stone on my way to where I am now.

I only have pictures of the new place taken with my cell phone.  Taken the day I signed the lease and got the keys.

My kitchen with the rockin' cabinets that everyone loves.

This is my kitchen with the cabinets that everyone loves.  It has a double sink, which may not seem like a big deal but it makes doing dishes more likely to happen.  Don’t ask.

To the left of the green door (which goes out to a really cute deck, big enough for a bbq grill) is washer/drier hook ups.  So I will be looking for inexpensive bare bone washer/dryer to put there after the first of the year.

The bathroom with awesome checkerboard tile flooring

The bathroom is seriously twice the size of the one we left behind. It has a sink with a vanity and a shower.  Yes, that is a big deal because the previous bathroom? No shower. Seriously.  Told you it was a shit-hole, embarrassment.  This one?  10 times better than where we left.  The shelves over the toilet? Came with.  Just outside the bathroom is a hall closet, that with a set of shelves put in there will work as a towel closet.

My bedroom the first night, bed ready

This is my bedroom the first night.  The bed is there and set up.  The dresser was there, but no drawers yet.  The next day?  All moved in. Not settled. Not anywhere near settled.  But everything we own is there.  Most of it in my living room right now.

So, this is just a sneak peek at the new homestead.  I am so freakin’ proud of this one.  Once I get settled, and find my living room, the floor, the furniture, I will get new pictures put up.