Still Alive and Kicking . . .

Ok, so you haven't heard from me in four months. Yes, I have missed you, too. So let's recap a bit and then I will blog in more detail about certain highlights.

Former Maselli Home - 

We have sold our house. It was exhausting work but it's officially no longer ours. It only took 2 PODS worth of storage, one full 12' truck worth of donations, 1 truck full of consignment items, 1 flatbed hauler and 1 small moving truck (mix in 12 relatives), 3 friends, 2 hauls of donations to Lakeview Elementary, countless (and I mean countless) trips to our church's thrift store and the local Goodwill and Salvation Army drop-off centers, one ridiculously large trash dump, 2 emergency repairs from the A/C man, one termite tenting and we are out! It was definitely bittersweet. This was really the only house our children knew and while they are super-excited to look for a new house, the reason we had to move was in the back of all of our minds, even though I keep trying to focus them on the adventure aspect of it all. Being 12 and 16, it's a little harder.

Here's where we currently rest our heads (These photos are from Zillow and are pretty much what the house still looks like with us in it. It came completely furnished and is exactly what I wanted so I didn't have to pack, unpack, pack again for our permanent home, and then unpack again! We have made some small changes but that is it). -

Isn't it charming and we can keep our dog Hattie with us!

Our living room - we did have the landlord
remove a bunch of the little trinkets so we had room for
our things. I love the British Colonial feel,
it's like we are on vacation.

Our cute kitchen. I have come to find out
I love the big sink and the Bosch dishwasher.
I want both of those items in my new home!

The master bedroom -
something awesome about having the whole bed
to yourself!!

I actually have a fireplace in my bedroom!!
The landlord was kind enough to remove the
naked man painting from the fireplace
seeing how I have "quit" men for the time being!

My youngest's room - she has added some of her
photos on top of the headboard to make it her own.
The French doors lead to the screened-in pool.

My oldest's room - she has added a desk in the corner
and  has a huge closet so she is perfectly content for now.

We brought in a larger table with 3 chairs so
this is where we eat dinner.
There is also a washer and dryer in a closet.
The chaise is gone and we added some extra shelves for additional
storage for misc items and pantry supplies.

This is my favorite part of the house.
I have started swimming everyday and yes,
I do get excited when I swim 100 laps
(please no mention of the size of the pool!)

This is the Gulfport Marina, just about 6 houses from our home.

We have settled in nicely and are really enjoying our summer break. It feels good to be back, healthier, stronger, and more importantly, happier! This journey is just over a year in the making and I know I still have a long way to go but I am excited about all the possibilities in my future. Lots more to share but that is for another post!