Skipping to say that we just made an offer on a house and now I feel like puking.

Yikes, Stephanie! No puking. It'll be OK- good luck!!

Oh, yay, Stephanie! Fingers crossed for you!

We've had cake. It was very, very, VERY chocolate.

We also had champagne (my best friend came over with her two kids and brought a bottle to celebrate my book deal) and it was gooooood champers. Goes verra well with chocolate. I am tipsy. Woo hooooooo

Good luck, Stephanie!

Thanks, everyone. I keep telling myself that the *worst* thing is that we get a house that we really like. It's at the very top of our self-imposed limit, which is why I'm so stressed, I guess. I keep telling myself that if we have to, we just take the kids out of daycare until I find a job working for someone else. I don't think it will come to that, but I do all the financial planning in our house, so I tend to feel lots of weight on my shoulders about it. (It's funny; Joe would say that his total trust in me is a firm vote of confidence, but I also tend to feel lots of pressure not to make mistakes.)

Anyway, it's a beautiful house in great shape and is less than a mile from here. It's an interesting deal. They are building a house right down the street and don't really want to move until June when their house is completed. We have a lease here until July 1. So, we are discussing closing by Nov. 30 (to get the homebuyer's credit) but then renting to them for 6-7 months. It will work well for everyone and we are offering them basically their asking price minus 3% (we have no realtor) so I would think they would accept, but we will see. I put the deadline for tomorrow at 6pm, so I guess we will know by then.

That is an interesting deal, Stephanie. I hope it works out for you.

Wow, that sounds like a win-win!!

the first show in the brand new theater has begun. I'm in my office (well, what will be my office when I move in) watching on the monitor. A new stage is open for the world! May it's boards only have quality productions.

Lots of let-it-work-out and no-money-stressing~ma to you, Stephanie.

And lots of general life~ma, too; you've been juggling so much personally and professionally over the last couple of years. How's Frisco feeling? How is Ellie settling in? How are you and Joe doing?

And houseyay erin (and, huh, from the outside, your new place looks almost exactly like my brother's did when he moved in umpteen years ago--I have no idea what the neighborhood is called, but it's roughly the southeast end of Portland, about a 20-minute bike ride from downtown). It definitely has tons of potential, and it'll be gorgeous once it's got a really loving, creative owner nestling in.

And geez, Toddson, I'm so ridiculously glad you're all better now. That's some scary stuff.

And, lastly, happy birthday Abby! That's a fabulous looking cake (though, just reading your mom's description makes me feel like I've just gobbled down five pounds of chocolate; I can't imagine what it'll be like to actually eat a slice).

Memememe news...not much of any, really, except that I'm feeling mildly petulant that over the last day or so Matilda has made it very, very clear that I am no longer Mommy but just plain Mom. I'm only ever going to be Mommy to one person in my whole entire life; I just thought I'd get more than a year and a half of the actual word.

Can I get hairpats? I'm at a conference where normally there is tons of love and hugs and smooching, but there's been drama, and I ended up on the much less popular side of it. And it's causing tons of tension, and making me feel very less loved and if nothing else, less inclined to be happy flirty extroverted talk-to-everyone me. Which SUCKS. And even from the people whose "side" I'm on, I'm not sure I'm expressing myself well, and not sure we're in agreement, etc. And they're not necessarily the people I'm happiest with/closest to anyway, even if I agree with them in this instance. So it's rough. And I could use some love. Sigh. Sorry to jump in and ask, but...yeah. THis was supposed to be my happy relaxing vacation, damnit!!!!!!