"Uh, yeah, Peter...did you get the memo?"

Andy did get the memo today. But, it was an esoteric, poorly written piece of acronym-laden mumbo-jumbo. The good news? It's prompted a conference call with Andy's boss and group tomorrow morning. (Or, for those in the industry-know, a "tele con.") So, we are really hoping we get some information tomorrow. The memo was global, so we shouldn't read into it too much, but the one part that really stood out to me was the line that they "hope everyone will have their plans set by the end of June." I really hope we know what's going on before then. June?! Because of the wide audience of the memo, I am really hoping that the idea was to spell out a sort of worst case scenario. After all, some people will be finding out they no longer have a job. (Andy's been assured that his job is fine.) I hope I will have some news tomorrow, and I really hope it's more than "We'll tell you in June!"

It's in the Stars

Here was my horoscope yesterday:

Changes in both location and outlook are probably on your agenda. More information about those (and their effect on your relationship and residential situation) is pending.

Hmm....

The Week Ahead

The rumors have really been swirling around Andy's office, so it's really looking like this is the week that we'll be getting some more information about our move. I really hope this is the case because I've already let myself get excited, so I will be disappointed if we learn nothing. The rumors are looking a bit more reliable, however, because the BP America big whig, Bob Malone, is scheduled to be in Chicago later this week. This is a good sign because he usually shows up after a big announcement. I must say there was a sense of excitement and relief around our house this weekend. I just hope that those feelings don't prove to be premature!

Could it be?

According to Andy, there have been some murmurings about the office of an impending announcement with relocation details. He seems to think that Monday, Feb. 11th is the day. We'll have to wait and see. It would be nice to have a bit of direction with this whole thing. Like I've said in other posts, the emotional roller coaster is the frustrating part. We are trying to have a good attitude and be adventurous, but it is hard to maintain that feeling when there are no answers. Last night, Andy and I were talking about the move, once again. We still feel that the ideal situation would be to move in September. We would really like to have one more Chicago summer, while avoiding the worst of the Houston heat. Plus, that timing would give Andy the chance to finish his MBA at DePaul with no worries of needing to transfer a final class from a university in Texas. We'll see what happens. They could tell us we need to be there in 60 days! Yikes!

Bunco anyone?

Apparently, if I am going to have any friends in Houston, I have to learn to play Bunco. It's a dice game, right? If anyone knows how to play, please teach me so I can have friends. I don't want to be the woman walking around the neighborhood with the Texas ladies snickering in hushed voices: There's that Emma again. I mean, who does she think she is? She voted for Obama AND she doesn't know how to play Bunco!

Welcome to Chicago--It's -2 degrees

We've been on vacation for the last week in the Dominican Republic, and, when we flew back to Chicago last night, we were greeted with sub-zero temps. (We were also greeted with a man rolling his eyes on the plane when we sat down with Henry, screaming from our over-tired 15-month-old on said plane, and, once at baggage claim at O'Hare, the knowledge that our checked car seat never made it from Miami.) After being in warm weather all week, not having to bundle up the kid, I find myself getting more excited about the idea of being in a warmer climate. Yes, I know that Houston is a sticky, hot mess in the summer, but, I don't know many Chicagoans who are willingly hanging out outside today. Hot or cold: there are times of the year that just plain ol' stink in certain places. While we were on our vacation, the "Texans are REALLY friendly" belief once again held true when we met a nice couple and their son, who were also vacationing at the resort. This family currently lives in D.C., but they are originally from Houston. After determining where Andy would be working, and us telling them where we'd be interested in living, the woman was very excited, telling me about a nice area where her sister lives. She even went so far as to offer me her sister's email address. While I didn't take her up on the email offer, I did gather as much information from her as I could. She was clearly excited for us.

As for when we'll be moving, well, that's still an unknown. And, the minute we know anything, I will surely post about it. Until then, I am going to curse the weather and all the winter gear I have to worry about. No more sandals and sunscreen for Henry now--we're playing inside!!

It's that New House Smell

Lately I've gone back to looking at Cinco Ranch (www.cincoranch.com) , rather than Bridgeland (www.bridgeland.com), because we've learned that the commute is better from Katy (where Cinco Ranch is located) to BP's campus in the Energy Corridor rather than Cypress (where Bridgeland is). Now, unlike Bridgeland, Cinco Ranch is a well-established area; development began in the early 90s. That means it's unique in that there are older homes with lots of 90s features (oak, brass, lots of white) that don't appeal to us cosmetically, but these homes are in neighborhoods that have large trees and mature landscaping, which is nice. On the other hand, there are newer sections of Cinco Ranch that are still being built out, so we could have a new home, complete with our choice of finishes. When we first looked at Cinco Ranch, we really thought we'd want to be in the older part, but now we're opening our minds a bit. After all, it is appealing to think that all the neighbors in the newer area will be new, so it may be easier to meet people. We'll have to see what it means for resale, etc. What would be nice would be to have some idea when all of this is going to happen! Happy New Year!