big news . . .

so big changes are a-foot . . . what else is new, right? well, the big news is that mac and i bought a house together and we've moved in. my house is days away from being finished and listed by our fabulous real estate agent and mac's house seems to have rented. we moved in last weekend and are doing our best to settle in as we split our time working on our respective places. the new house is very cool and has a great story. it's only a few blocks from each of our current homes so it's nice to stay in the 'hood. we found it while out on a dog walk one night. mac will tell the long-winded story that makes me look bad but i'll keep it short and say i wasn't pleased to be walking as far as we ended up walking that cold rainy late night. but in the end it all worked out since we, in fact, now the owners of that cute house we happened upon. it's a super-cute 1924 bungalow that has only been owned by 3 families (including us). it was built along with the house next door by a brother and sister with their families in the middle of what was an apple orchard then. most of our neighbors have lived there since before i was even born so it's nice to live on an established block. the dogs seem to be working out their issues in a new space which is nice to see as well. i promise to post some pics soon and for those of you that are local, i'm sure the summer bbq season will be happening very soon.

in other happenings, mac and i took the opportunity to get away for the weekend for some much-needed r&r/quality time. my officemate was nice enough to take the pug for the weekend and boo came along for the ride. a friend of mine scored me *fantastic* seats to the storm home opener and we had a blast at the game. drove up on saturday and explored some of mac's old neighborhoods after having lunch at red mill burgers. after a quick stop at the hotel to shower and drop off the dog, we headed over to the kingfish cafe for a cocktail then off to key arena for the game. one of mac's friends met us for the game and then we headed back to the kingfish for dinner. we had a brief heart attack when boo was nowhere to be found in the hotel room upon our return. turns out he'd been a bit of a noisy nelly and they'd taken him to hang out at the reception desk. he was in his glory and just having a ball. we enjoyed a lazy morning on sunday before heading to meet some of mac's friends for brunch at a mexican place in the fremont 'hood (forgive me for not remembering the name). then headed back to portland.

we're already making plans for our next trip up so we can go to another game and check out the "American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music" exhibit at the experience music project. all in all, it was a great weekend and has been a whirlwind of a couple of weeks. the work has been hard but the house is coming out great and our new house is amazing already. we are so pleased.

today i'm grateful for . . . an amazing partner which whom i get to share a home and many adventures

tick tock . . .

so the clock is ticking on my departure date and it's starting to get a bit overwhelming. the very thought of being away from mac for 3 weeks seems unbearable at the moment ... and then i have the thought of being away from my dog and it all becomes too much. i know it will be a blast once i get there but, to be honest, right now i don't even want to go.

on the house front, there's lots of activity. the floors have been installed. the orange marmoleum was a fantastic choice. it looks great and will look even better once the cabinets get installed on tuesday. then on thursday they come to make the template for the corian countertops. i won't see them installed before i leave but i'm sure the cabinets will make a huge difference. of course, if this were the only thing going on, the stress level wouldn't be so high but it's not! once we finish my kitchen, we'll be starting on mac's. we're suckers for punishment, i know. but hers needs it badly and we figure we'll be in practice.

the car has gotten some interest on craigslist and a woman came by last night to leave a deposit so she could take it to her mechanic today. am waiting for the phone to ring with her answer. it will be nice to have the $$ for the trip and house stuff. i love rosebud (my neighbor, wilson, named her - it fits) but i just can't justify owning a car when i drive all of 2,000 miles in 9 months . . . and that includes a trip to the coast! besides, the bike will get more action if i don't have a car to fall back on all summer. so keep your fingers crossed that her mechanic gives it his blessing and she buys it!

sunday is the season finale of the l word and the girls are coming over for a 3 episode extravaganza. great timing for me. i was worried i was going to miss the last episode. worked out nicely to move the yard sale to the following weekend. was just going to be too much.

almost forgot, we're going to see some roller derby this weekend. neither mac nor i had ever been so we got tickets and it's our big date night this weekend. should be fun. a full report will follow i'm sure so stay tuned.

been watching some march madness but not sure how much of the tournament i'll be able to see. my brackets are already shot so i'm not too bummed.

so today i'm thankful for . . . an early closure for the easter weekend at work (was a pleasant surprise to find that e-mail this am. gonna go pick up my taxes and run some errands ... lookout! i know how to have a good time!)