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!

My Vendetta Against People Who Don't Shovel

What is it with people who live in the city who don't shovel their piece of sidewalk? It's their civic duty (or their landlord's or condo association's duty), and it's the proverbial thorn in my side (my dog-walking-stroller-pushing side, that is). I have been lugging Henry around in the Ergo (our souped up baby carrier), but today I decided to give the stroller a go. After all, the snowstorm was on Saturday night. You'd think people would have had time to shovel by now. Big mistake. I want to make fliers that I post on the fences/doors of the offenders that say "Please shovel." Then I thought I could be even more threatening by spray painting a red, menacing snowflake on the lawns of the offenders. Ah, to dream. This, of course, will never happen, but I do fantasize about it. Just for kicks, I checked out the weather in Houston on the Houston Chronicle website. You know what the current temperature was? 74 degrees. So, I can add another item to my "pro" list for Houston: there will be no risk of me defacing my neighbor's snow there!

Moving Mood Swings

I have been going back and forth about how I feel about the prospect of living in Houston. This is thanks to a recent real estate search I did where I found my new favorite home. (Yes, I am back on the house hunting wagon!) It's also due to Andy's building enthusiasm. It's funny how we feed off of each other. On Sunday, we were eating lunch at Winston's Market on Southport Ave. (For you non-Chicagoans, Southport is a mecca of cute boutiques, cafes, bars, etc.) Andy said, "We won't be eating at any places like this when we move. We'll be stuck at Chili's or Applebee's" I looked out the window, forlorn. Sitting and eating lunch with Andy and Henry, as the holiday shoppers passed with their bags, dressed in their chic winter wear, I felt pangs of sadness about leaving this city I love so much. Then, the next day, Andy received an email from a friend who used to live in Chicago, who now lives in Austin. He talked about returning to Chicago over the previous weekend, excited to visit, but he also described how it was nice to return to warm weather. (He and his wife grilled out and relaxed on their patio upon their return home.) It seems he's assimilated, and I know we will too. Andy, in turn, has caught TX fever again. It's funny--when Andy's excited about it, I am too, and vice versa. The mood swings of this move are indicative of a bigger point that we've been saying all along. There will be good and bad things about moving, and I've found that it's a lot less exhausting to focus on the good. Isn't that the way it is with most things in life?

Finally-- A House Hunters Match

Andy is really to strangle me because our DVR is clogged with House Hunters, the HGTV show starring the lovely Suzanne Whang. If you know the show, you know it's on a bazillion times a day, and I have our DVR set up to capture every episode. Well, after last night, I can remove House Hunters from the queue in peace. I finally saw an episode of a Chicago couple moving to Houston! It was fabulous. Now if Andy could find someway to get me to stop recording Project Runway....