my childhood home

water damage at my parents house, a photo by Digital Heather on Flickr.

January has been so weird.

We had some very unusual weather in the Arizona valley. For about a week it was colder here than where my husband is originally from in New York.

The cold weather broke our heater and also froze and burst a pipe in my parents attic. While our heater was super easy to repair, my parents house is another story.

The water damage caused the ceilings in the kitchen, dining room, and two bathrooms to cave in. The carpeting throughout the entire house was soaked.

I grew up in that house. In fact-- I lived there for 28 years. I went there the other day and it was completely gutted. It was a strange feeling. It was very cold inside. The floors were bare down to the cement but curtains still hung on windows. It seemed smaller. We spoke in echoes that I never heard before because I never once saw it empty. The house is three years older than me and my parents are the original owners.

Thankfully, the insurance company is taking care of everything but sadly, a lot of stuff was ruined. I know that in the end, the house will be lovely, but not the same. My mom actually gave me a rocking chair that she and my father received as a wedding present in 1968.

We took it last month when my husband and I were moving into our second home as a married couple. I felt bad taking it because I know how much she loves that chair. She used it to rock the three of us girls as babies and her offer to take it was very out of the blue. For over a month, I still felt funny taking the chair. I would pass it in the living room, loving the look of it but still feeling like it wasn't mine or I should have insisted that my mother keep it. When I saw first hand the damage at my childhood home, I was finally happy I accepted the chair. My mother kept in the kitchen for the last decade or so and it surely would have been ruined.

being new in a small town

humming bird feeder, a photo by Digital Heather on Flickr.

Finally unpacked/hung our hummingbird feeder this weekend which was perfect timing for feeding the birds for Tu B'Shevat.

Found a hip Temple and went Friday night. It's kind of far away, but we'll see. Our neighbor friend is converting and invited us along. I still haven't checked out the local Catholic church. I'm lazy and small towns scare me. Well I guess I should rephrase that to, being new in a small town scares me.

another ten years

jason and Bowie, a photo by Digital Heather on Flickr.

I'm not sure how she did this, but she did. There's no mistake that she is our child-- she's a hairy spaz.

I can't sleep. My entire face and head are congested. I refuse to take anything to clear it up for fear of inadvertently drying up my cervical mucous too. I started having allergies right around the time we started trying to make a baby (over a year ago but who else is counting besides me). I was going through allergy medicine regularly until browsing a common infertility FAQ. So now I suffer. My precious mucous. I felt guilty and stupid but not for long since it wasn't ever the culprit anyway.

Who blogs about cervical mucous? Who blogs about their OWN at least? Jason and I celebrated our first decade together. We met when we were twenty and in a couple days, Jason will turn thirty. My turn isn't until summer. But if you told me at 20 that I'd be blogging about my mucous by 30, I would have said, "You've got the wrong Heather. That's gross. I'm not a mom."

I stopped dying and pulling my gray hair out so my husband won't feel so bad about his. I wonder what my priority at 40 will be. I hope not still mucous. I'll laugh at myself in another ten years but I really feel so old. I'm sure there's more to it. I bet I wouldn't feel so old if I was healthier. And it would probably help if everyone I know didn't just have a baby and my entire newsfeed is just adorable babies all the time.

for business or pleasure

christmas spritz cookies, a photo by Digital Heather on Flickr.

Christmas came and went. It's been far too long since I last blogged-- for business or pleasure.

My husband and I spent the entire month of November preparing to move 72 miles west of where we were currently living. The homeowners decided to put their home on the market and we began a tedious search (no stairs, enclosed backyard, etc). We moved into a new house on December 1st and we still aren't even fully unpacked. It's a lovely house and only about four years old with one previous owner. Sadly, it's out in the middle of almost nowhere. We live one street away from some of our favorite friends and technically we live an hour closer to Disney. Otherwise, it's a gas-hungry commute to the east valley to my husband's job and my mom's house.

I had to quit my job at the bookstore which was pretty upsetting. I'm applying for anything I can find out here in the west valley and also hurrying to get my office/craft room set up so I can get back to projects and blogging until I find work.