Home again, home again. Jiggety-jig.

The day AFTER the buglarizing of the Sexy Minivan, Mr. Mac, Miss Baby and I all went on a ROADTRIP. A massive one in the case of Mr. Mac and me. Miss Baby was taken to the Farm and deposited in the loving arms of her Mama-nette and Papa-bill. Needless to say, there was not a whimper uttered when Mr. Mac and I headed out the door Saturday, bound for Atlanta and the REAL ESTATE EXTRAVAGANZA!!!!!

Y'all, there are a BUNCH of small, crappy houses inside the perimeter in Atlanta in my price range. There are NOT a lot of houses with "bearable" storage space and "adequate" room in my price range that are not in cracktown. There are NOT a lot of houses that have a finished out basement and a nice back yard. There certainly are NOT many with a master bedroom large enough for a king-size bed AND with TWO closets. There are NOT a lot of houses that are near a big ole park with two jungly-gyms and swingsets and a train/car play thing and a bike path, soccer fields and tennis courts.

However, there is ONE. Or at least there WAS one yesterday. I've instructed Elsie the Realtor to make an offer.

EEEEEEEEEK!

So, I'm about to lose possession of my home here in Hellorida. And gain possession of a new home in Hot-Lanta. It needs a little work (floor finishing, paint, a roof, and appliances), but not that much.

It has wall to wall hardwoods upstairs, and I'm tiling the downstairs. Holy cow this is amazing.

Now, this decision to purchase said home did not come lightly. I do NOT, repeat NOT, have a job. I do not know when I would need to be up there. I have a LOT of uncertain things hanging over my head. However, I know one thing - I will soon be calling DeKalb County home. I will soon be living 10 minutes from my sister, and 20 from my brother in law. Not much else, but AT LEAST I WILL HAVE A ROOF OVER MY HEAD!!!!

The conversations at my company's division went very well, and I am confident that I will have a job landed by the end of June, which is when I need it to be landed. They tried to coerce me into taking a position that's open now, and below my level (they being HR, which is normal for HR folks). But I said "Nope - to get me, you will have to woo me with riches and power and a tiara". Actually, the tiara part is literally true.

After all this gallyvanting around Atlanta this weekend, we headed out to Athens Monday night. Mr. Mac had gone to visit the lawyer college at Emory, which is very nice and also very, very, very expensive. However, he did like it a lot, and he felt that he could be happy there. I, of course, would be ecstatic because Mr. Mac woudl spend his 3 years of lawyer college at the HOME that we are trying to buy, and I would like that very, very much. So would Miss Baby who loves him dearly. Athens was, well, a lot the same. Even found Mr. Mac a place in my old apartment building. However his "application for admission has entered the committee review process. This process usually takes several weeks." Still. Damn.

BUT - Speaking of Miss Baby, after our trip over to Athens, we picked her up Tuesday afternoon. We stopped off at the farm and had an early dinner. Now, let's remember back to Saturday morning. Mommy and Daddy leave - Miss Baby giggles, runs around, and waves bye-bye. No tears. Nothing. Just "Seeya folks - don't let the door hitya on the way out!"

On Tuesday, Mama-nette has to leave to to to town. Miss Baby pitched a lay-in-the-floor-and-cry fit. We put her in the DVD-less but still Sexy Minivan to return, and she was okay. Until Papa-bill got out of the car and didn't take her with him. Again, inconsolable for a good 3 or 4 minutes.

So we know that she knows where *her* bread is buttered. And I guess that Daddy and I will do, in a pinch, if needed. But really, what she'd love for us to do is find a house too small, and leave her at home, on the farm.

But it's nice to have a home. Even if it's long-term getting there. Home is good.