Where have I been?

Obviously not on the blog.

I'm sorry dear readers.  Sincerely sorry, but sometimes it's hard to figure out what to say.  I'm not going to harp on an on about my lengthy absence, but instead move forward and hopefully make up for it in posts!

Sooo...what brings about the sudden return?  Other than the massive guilt trips?? (you know who you are....)  How about some down time due to "snowpocalypse" hitting the east coast?  Yes, even though I'm plenty far from the coast, the mountains of Virginia are getting a nice dusting of snow courtesy of H. Sandy.  It's not that bad in my immediate area largely due to the fact it's been balmy up until two days ago and what is hitting the ground is melting.  We'll see what happens tonight when the temp dips further!

In the interest of brevity (and keeping this from turning into a novel) here's what's been going on since we last chatted:

1. Spring semester ends with a...bang?  My dad had a major health scare, prompting me to head north to smack him upside his head in person for scaring me, but in the midst of my finals.  My professors were incredibly understanding and let me post-pone my assignments and exams.  My dad stabilized and was discharged from the hospital and I headed back.  That meant that after a week of brain-melting anxiety I was stuck tackling grant writing/papers/finals....it was painful, my profs were patient, and we all survived.  THANK GOD it's over.  My dad has totally recovered and is doing GREAT!  Moving on...

2. We buy a house.   Immediately after finishing my makeup finals hubby and I dove into the exciting realm of home ownership.  That's really a story for another post, but it's a great place that didn't need any significant work to be totally livable, but has tons of potential for upgrades/updates.  Perfect kind of investment place for two people who have limited resources but lots of tools and know-how (well, at least hubby has the know-how.  I know how to hand him tools.  Many years of training with my father :-) Huge yard, lots of light, much more space.  All the furries are happy as are we!

3. We move out of the appartment and storage unit into the new house, then turn around and drive to Michigan again.   Yeah, not my best idea, I'll admit.  We spent 10 crazy days traveling, helping my dad catch up on stuff that his health had kept him from, had lots of emotional time with family at the memorial for my uncle who passed away, spent quality time with my two nephews, dealt with a 90* heat wave with no A/C, dealt with Haley getting a staph infection due to heat then throwing up in the truck due to meds on the way home, staying in the SKETCHIEST hotel and deciding leaving at 5am was better than catching something from the room, and finding out that Va got hit with a crazy-ass wind storm (a derecho) while we were gone and our house/cat sitter found the doors of our new house blown wide open for who knows how long (nothing was taken, neither cat ran away).
Whew!  Makes me exhausted just to type it all.  As for the move itself, we were prepared, we were organized, and we had some awesome friends to help us so it went as smoothly as we could ask.  Except for Haley discovering a bunny nest in the front yard, eating a baby bunny, then regurgitating it onto the linoleum of our new kitchen.  In front of our friends.  Ah, pets.


Bed is calling, and with the crazy weather I think I'm fighting something off, so this is TO BE CONTINUED SOON.  I promise!