Where to begin...

Well, a whole lot has happened since August 19th. And being that my last post before that was when FMD and I were buying a house, well. Hmmm. When you don't know where to to start, go back to the beginning.

I'll do my best to recap things for you in the 11 minutes I have of my lunch break. If I don't make it through what all has happened, well, I can't promise when I'll post next. I'm feeling the blogging itch come back a bit, and with the colder weather and the warm wood stove I now have, I imagine sitting next to it grinding out a blog or two through the winter. Onwards and upwards.

FMD and I bought a house. This you know. What you probably don't know however, is that this is one of the pimpest houses ever. I love it. I love it. I love it. No, it doesn't have all the bells and whistles and drywall that all houses have, but it really is its own entity, if in fact a house can be such a thing. We love it. Its finally starting to sink in that its really ours. The smell of the 10" pine logs permeates my senses and makes me just relax. Its amazing. The "Lucky 18 Basset Ranch" now has a corporate headquarters. Now about building that 2 foot high fence...

In other homestead news, well, we built a barn. Or should I say we had a barn built for us? In either case, a steel barn has been erected, and through the help of our family and friends (especially my dad), we've assembled everything and it is in full working order. Horse stalls made out of 2" oak and stall fronts made out of 1" iron make for a pretty sturdy place to keep horses is so happens. We like it. The horses like it. Heck, even the cats like it! Yes, we do have cats... I know I said it'd never happen, but we just have too many mice not to have cats. And well, they're kinda cute.

FMD and I are holding down steady jobs and are enjoying life as a dual income family. With two mortgages and three student loans, its pretty much a necessity. Things otherwise good on the respective job fronts. FMD is finally working full time in the ER after completing her residency and I finally got hired on full time with the company I'm working for.

This concludes post one of ??? as time has run out for my lunch break. Check back next time to see what else is happening new on the Lucky 18 Basset Ranch!

Debanded

Welll, at least for now. I hate thinking of it, but the fact of the matter is that I don't have a ton of time to write at work now and w/o access at home, well, somethings just can't continue, like this blog. I plan to get back into the swing of things once things settle from our move and once we get an internet connection at home, but until then, its been fun everyone!

Landed

Well, FMD and I have landed in Marshfield now and are slowly getting settled into our new home. The fence for the horses is up and the new barn site has been staked out. The two foot fence for the hounds is also on hold for the time being because well, we only have one and he's been staying around the house real well. I've found that it takes two and a half tanks of gas to mow the yard and that we have over 40 trees planted in one of our fields. Things are going great for us and we couldn't be happier. I know I'm back to blogging a day earlier than I said I would be but its mainly because I made a special trip into town to day to log onto the internet at Culvers because we're finding it very difficult and very expensive to get the internet at our home... Such is life. Anyways, I hope to post more frequently now but I can't promise anything. I start work tomorrow and I'm not sure how busy I'll be or how often I can afford to come into town and eat Culvers :) I hope all is well with everyone out there and I'll see you all later!

Out Of Here!

So... About the lack of posting lately... Do you remember when I said FMD and I put in an offer on our house and we'd be closing on June 27th? Yeah? Good. That should explain everything for you. If not, let me spell it out for you a little more. Moving = No Free Time. Also, Moving = Tons of crap to do at work before they'll let you leave. Better? Good.

Anyways, this will likely be my last blog post for a while. As I said earlier, FMD and I are closing on our house this Friday and we've found it hard to get high speed internet at our new house. Since my new job doesn't start until July 14th, its likely you won't hear from me before then. I know, I know. Don't cry for me Argentina. I'll be back with true stories from my very own Basset Ranch before you know it!

Un-Jobless!

Its official! I'm un-jobless! This afternoon I accepted a position as a Technical Support Specialist with a manufacturing company in Stratford, WI. Sorry for leaving the name of the company out but I don't think it necessary to put my random thoughts about the world into this blog and have their company name tied to them... Anyways, it sounds like an exciting position where I'll be able to learn and experience a lot of things I haven't been able to do before because the staff is pretty small and I'll need to wear a lot of hats!

Gone are the days of job-less, mortgage-full days that I called my life. Now I guess you could say they're just mortgage-full! Thanks to everyone who showed their support for me during my job search!

Job Interview

Well folks, ask and ye shall receive. Tomorrow I'm heading to the Marshfield area because I have a job interview with a manufacturing firm in Stratford. I'm excited because I've had terrible anxiety lately about having a large mortgage and no job, but if everything goes to plan, I won't have to worry about that at all. The job sounds interesting and the company is growing like crazy and has emerged as an industry leader so thats great too. The only hurdle I have to overcome is my thought process that I should work for the medical complexes in Marshfield. For the past year and a half I've really been grooming myself for work in the medical industry, but try as I may, I can't get anyone to get a hold of me so I can schedule an interview! Its frustrating and exciting all at the same time. I feel as though I'll have a deeper connection with the company and the employees I'm interviewing with but I just still have that small mental block. I don't like the feeling of settling and I think thats the spot I'm in right now. In reality, I'm not settling, I'm doing what I want and I'm in control of my future. Right now, the future gets brighter every day!

Oh, and the official countdown is down to 10 days now!

Vacation Update Continued

On Sunday, we got up early and had dinner with FMD's great aunt and we set out for fabulous Hollywood, CA! We cruised Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards and stopped in to see the famous Chinese Theater. After walking along the star walk and taking a photo of the Hollywood sign, we headed for the coast. We passed through Beverly Hills and Bel Air and Brentwood and such and all I can say is that some people have too much money.

Sunday night brought us back to La Jolla for the night and we struck out to find an Italian restaurant. The one I found online turned out to be 2+ miles away so we settled for a place run by a bunch of surfers. Things certainly run at two speeds in CA, surfer speed and California speed. I'm not qualified to say how these compare to the infamous "New York Minute" but I'm certainly happy to be living in the midwest. You can keep your surf and your smog, I'll stick with the corn and the snow.

Monday we were a bunch of bums and just toured La Jolla for no other reason that we had nothing to do. FMD's dad and I drove down the coast checking out surf shops and found they were pretty much a dime a dozen. What can I say, its CA!

Tuesday found another 3:30 am wakeup and flights from San Diego to Minneapolis to Madison. I'm happy to be home, thats for sure. Glad to have visited, even more glad to be home.