New home, new life

     It took three years of effort, but now my husband and I are homeowners.
No, not the home we were in before, with his grandparents. There were too many broken promises, too much money we were putting into a house that we would have never gotten. We were being used, first as a way to avoid foreclosure, then as a tool to allow others to not take care of themselves or others.
     I'm not actually bitter, just sad that we had to stay for five years before we had to take care of ourselves first. I do not dislike his family, although it was incredibly hard on my husband to deal with at the time.

     Now, we live just down the street. Our house is tiny (and yellow!).
We have only one bathroom, with space in the basement to add a half-bath in the future.
Full privacy fencing in the backyard, a decently sized garage, and my own office! I have a bath tub! And not a tiny one, this is longer than a standard shower curtain, deep enough to soak in, and absolutely wonderful.


     My husband is prouder than I've seen him in years. He's had to fix appliances, install new light fixtures, and even has a finicky furnace to tinker with. Nothing like taking care of your own place to give life deeper meaning. I've been losing weight, since there's no need to eat food to keep it from being taken, and not as much stress to make me crave unhealthy things all the time.

     We did give our youngest cat away to move, she was bonded with the roommate's cat too closely for us to bear breaking. She certainly seems happy living with them, so I'm not as upset as I was when we decided. Our big former-stray tabby is queen of the palace, since she's able to jump on the bed where the dog cannot. She's even losing weight and plays with the dog, which I never would have even guessed she'd tolerate wrestling and racing around.

     Our dog has something to guard, and being a Miniature Pinscher, she needs work to prevent becoming restless and neurotic. She's quite fond of the place, it's small and she is allowed anywhere she can take herself. Housetraining will always be an issue with her, since she was not well-bred or properly socialized. She does pretty good though, and we've gotten accidents down to only one or two a week.

     As a homeowner, the pride is incredible. I can make cookies at 1AM if I want to, and I certainly have! Cleaning is as often as I wish, nobody complaining that I clean all the time. Dishes are another beast, but there's a dishwasher to take the brunt of it. I greatly dislike dishes, the water makes my skin and nails peel, and I can't stand things in the water touching me, especially if I can't see them!
    
     Our reptiles live a life of honor in the main area, not hidden away in a side room. The bearded dragon is able to see the entire living and cooking space, he's been more colorful than I can recall him being before. I can pull any one of the snakes out and let them get some needed exercise and enrichment. I finally have an aquarium! With plants and shrimp in it!

     On the downside, my body is struggling with all of it. Having a compromised immune system has always made me get sick easily, and I can remember only about ten days since I moved in on January 9th where I was not experiencing some symptoms or another. Thankfully my bathroom is comfortable, the couch is great for napping, and the dishes can wait.