Getting settled in

   Well, we finally have a new house. It has been a long and tedious road, but we are happy with where we have landed. House hunting is not fun. It can actually be overwhelming. I am thrilled to be done with the entire process.
   The real work begins after you find the house though. Robert and I moved the house by ourselves in less than a day and a half! I felt like I had been run over by a semi-truck after it was all said and done. Thanks to my compulsive side and Roberts military side, we had most of the  house unpacked before we even left for Christmas vacation. Within a couple of days of returning from our Christmas trip we finished up the last of the unpacking.
   My next goal was to do something that we normally skip.  Actually decorate! We are a simple people and usually just put up whatever curtains we've been lugging around for the past ten years and hang what ever pictures we have on hand. There is usually no rhyme or reason to anything. I wanted change though.
   Some people are just good at that kind of stuff. I've mentioned in my previous blogs that my best friend is great at this. Unfortunately, we live several states away so I have had to try to channel her vibe instead! lol! What would Pascha do? lol! 
   Well, for starters she would toss those worn out duck pictures and kick it up a notch. Let's be honest, I don't dig ducks and Robert (the duck hunter) hasn't duck hunted even once in our sixteen year marriage! Good bye birdy, hello scenic picture.  With that "fresh start" attitude we hit the stores looking for design on a dime. We found curtains to actually match our bed, a table for our TV so it no longer sits on the floor, an area rug that for once is size appropriate and matches the rest of the living room decorations, a beautiful painting for the wall and a real lamp for the living room that isn't small enough to be in a smurfs house and can be turned on by the switch and not by plugging it in and out of the wall because the switch broke six years ago.
     Now that is a lot of shopping and could have cost a small fortune, but being the thrifty, never pay full price kind of person I am... I can honestly say we did not pay full price for any of it! We used Craigslist ( my favorite source of everything!!), coupons, OF COURSE!!!, and sales. If it wasn't on sale or using a coupon it stayed in the store. We were able to put the new house together with a little style and save money doing it. There are still a few things left to do like new bedding in the kids rooms and eventually a full size bed in Nathan's room, but we reached our limit for now. I have my little tootsie roll bank filling with change to tackle each new project one at a time.
    I knew the bulk of it had to be tackled right away or we would fall into our old habits of anything goes. Now that we have a good start I know I will be able to keep it going.
   So, I finally did it. I pushed myself to put forth a little effort and it paid off. I am happy to be in our new home and settling in comfortably. And even happier that all the boxes are empty!! lol!