Hello everyone!!
Sorry its been awhile since my last blog but there just hasn't been a lot to talk about until recently. Well that has certainly changes as a lot has happened in the last week especially. First off the family flew back home to visit the family. We always split the visit between my parents and the in-laws. Life at my parents is pretty slow going. Really the whole visit in general was just lazying about and eating; catching up on the last few years. My mom kept asking me if there was anything special I wanted to do while in town. I lived there 35 years....there isn't much that I want to do I haven't done yet but that's mom for ya. She ended up just taking my son to a movie and its probably nice she got some alone time with the grandson. I know my wife and I definitely needed some and used the chance to have a quickie in the guest bedroom, probably the highlight of the vacation lol. My dad has been doing construction and remodel his whole life and is currently building a sunroom for my mom. Here's a few shots of me and the WIP.
My mom isnt very happy with the progress because she has been without her spa for 3 years now. It is indeed very nice as I have fond memories of soaking in it nude when I have the house to myself, a rarity. I should say that this is NOT the whole I grew up in so I have no real attachment to this house but will most likely inherit it many years down the road. Hopefully many many years. But hey people get old and not just people too. I took the liberty of snapping the pet turtle I grew up with that my mom has been a caretaker for for many long years now. We aren't sure how old he really is but we do know that hes is well over 30. Keep this in mind if you ever plan on reptiles as pets. I do still love little Cannibal to this day and have always promised her to take him home someday. Maybe someday when we own our own home, which may be soon but more on that down below. Anyway here's my "baby" Cannibal who is older then most people who are going to read this haha .
Sorry for bad pics. Hes a tad shy and well......a turtle lol. After my parents house we zipped on over to the wife's family. Her mom lives with her son and his wife. Not sure how the chemistry is there but I still feel awkward around my sister in law even after I think 8 years now. Shes nice and all I think are personalities don't click. They don't clash at all either just not a real connection. Anyway my mother in law has a few dogs ever since her husband passed and they are so fun. I'm very ashamed to say I forgot to keep a pick of one of them, total fail on my part, but here's a few pics of the smaller and far more dominant one who loves attention.
In case you don't know I absolutely adore dogs but haven't had my own for about ten years now....maybe when I own a home someday after the cats pass. That's basically the jist of our vacation in a whole but another thing we were doing the entire time we were here was.....looking for work.
This brings me to the next part and the BIG news haha. We are moving back home. I don't want to offend anyone when i say this but we hate Oregon and Portland in general. I still believe visiting Portland is a must and is a very fun time but living here and experiencing the day to day is not worth it to us. From the traffic, the high property/income tax, the very high price of housing, especially for buyers, and the fact that my wife just plain doesn't feel safe here. Never before have I lived less then ten miles from where riots are not the norm but not rare either. Really? Riots? I'm all for free speech and all but I draw a line somewhere. Anyway like I said I don't want to offend and I'm getting off topic. So, while back home ((( I'm torn between mentioning where I'm from and not because it's already top 3 fastest growing places to live in America and I'm trying to buy a house))) we were looking for work. My wife got her old job back instantly and will be back home by the end of the month. I have already applied for the same position I do now at a different store and its about a 99% chance I'm going to have a job as well. Because this is all happening pretty fast, faster then all my coworkers predicted, we are going to be living with my parents for awhile. The length of time is up in the air really. Ideally I should stay there until I get enough saved to buy a house, 6-9 months I'd estimate, but living with the folks at my age can be conflicting. We shall see.
Anyway I feel I have rambled on quite a bit so I think I will end this here. Sidenote: I have just passed over 200 days learning German and i have had a few clicks in the last week, having lots of time with family to practice. I am now determined to go to Germany before I'm 40, hopefully next summer!
Take care all and have a Fabulous day!
Yaoth