The Aftermath

I just realized that I never made the obligatory Christmas post! It was a very good year. First off, I got my baby back-- which is really all I needed-- and then I got to see my parents and got extra presents on top of it! Best. Christmas. Ever.

I found some killer sales and used my work discount to my advantage when shopping, so recession Christmas actually ended up being more fruitful than 'good economy' Christmas.

For my husband, I got him a Flip video and a 14 piece stainless steel cookware set (then a few small things like a version of Jenga that's got the pieces shaped like bones and a stuffed, mounted Cthulhu head), and then he got a buttload of giftcards. I got a metal detector, an awesome ring with Ally's birthstone, matching earrings, the Wizard of OZ 70th anniversary collectors limited edition set, and Princess by Vera Wang.

From a coworker, I got a muffin pan that makes dino shaped muffins! How awesome is that!?

Then there's Ally. She hit the jackpot. I think she has just about every toy made for her age range that V-Tech makes, plus the Fisher Price educational toys. She got a high chair, a bunch of books so that she can have bedtime stories, and several stuffed animals larger than she is.

Plus clothes. She got lots of clothes.

Naturally, about the time we give up on the move and start settling in to our household again, my husband finally gets his order. They are supposed to arrive tomorrow.

Awesome!

We think we found a house (well within our price range. With my husband's living allowance, we will actually be making money by owning a home.) it's modest but it has a really great backyard!

Thanks to the internet, I found instructions on how to make a solar panel and wind turbine, so if we get the house we're going to give that a shot and take advantage of the eco friendly renovation tax break. We have also decided that with me staying at home, we can save on certain expenses by doing things the old fashioned way. For instance, we will be line drying our clothes rather than using the clothes dryer. We will still have one in case of emergency (I need pants in an hour! Why are there no clean pants!) but since the house uses an evaporative cooler rather than refrigerated air, it is in our best interest to keep the house as humid as possible.

Plus, I will finally have a garden.

The goal is to be as resourceful as possible, so we will be building rather than buying and upcycling whatever we can. Fortunately, this will lead to greener living and hopefully give Alyssa a better appreciation of the world around her.

Or she may just thing that we were cheap.

Either way, it'll be a good thing for us, I think.