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I have a new(ish) house. I actually moved in the beginning of August, but have been a terrible blog updater. So, it's new to my blog readers (if I have any left after such a long period of no activity). I LOVE my new house and am so excited to be able to picture my life many years down the road in the same house. Maybe I'll be one of those people who stays in the same house for 30 years? Hmmm...Ok...maybe not.

I live in Pinedale, California, which is kind of fun to say because many people say, "Where's Pinedale?" and I get to explain that it's a very small county island right near River Park shopping center. But depending on who I talk to, I might tell them I live in Fresno. When I asked the clerk at the post office what they want my mail addressed to, Fresno or Pinedale, they said it doesn't matter since it's technically both as long as the zip code is correct. Why would I avoid telling people that I lived in Pinedale? Because there are some stigmas surrounding the community. Even I was a little uncertain when I started looking at buying this home because it was in Pinedale. Some things people say about it are--it's a trashy place where there are gang bangers all over and people have to wear bullet proof vests to sit in their living room to keep safe during all the drive bys. Well, after moving here, I realized that parts of that stereotype are true and parts are wildly false. There are some houses/yards that are trashy...but that can be said of just about any neighborhood. The people on my street take great pride in their homes and their yards and I'm probably the one they look at and say, "Wow, what an ugly yard!" (Right now my yard is mostly weeds and since I do not yet have a lawn mower, I'm not super motivated to get my grass to grow quickly.) There are probably someareas of Pinedale where it would be unwise to walk alone outside at night...but the same can be said of just about anywhere in the world right now. My street is very much a community in which everyone looks out for everyone else. Neighborhood gossip puts the guys in the houses on either side of me as ex-gang members with a ton of street cred that they are still able to swing around to keep our street very low key. Apparently a few years ago there were some kids who were walking through and causing problems with some of the neighbors and these guys "talked" to the kids and nobody walked down my street for at least a year. I live on a cul-de-sac but there is a walking outlet that a lot of people travel through. Once, when I was first moving in, I received a call from my lovely neighbor, Lydia, that there was a strange guy in my yard who was looking at the door frame. I felt so safe!!! And when I told her that it was my dad and he was planning to install a security door for me, she laughed and said that she didn't think I'd need it since everyone here was so nosy.

My house has 6 bedrooms. I know!! Really, what does anyone need with 6 bedrooms unless they have 12 kids? There are 2 people living in the house, so I guess that's 3 rooms per person? Actually, It's been kind of nice because Tyler has his room, I have my room, Tyler has his playroom, I have my playroom (sewing/yarn), I have a guest bedroom (where I have actually now had 3 overnight guests stay!!) and I have an office...I also have 2 bathrooms, which seems like overkill for 2 people.

My observations on home ownership--Oh wow!! There is a LOT to do. I have been so fortunate to have a mom, dad, sister, grandma and ex-husband who are all handy in some way. Mom is a whiz at cleaning and organizing, Kim and Grandma are amazing at decorating and finding places for everything, Dad and Doug are wildly talented in just about every area of home fix-it and maintenance. I also have been very lucky to have a neighbor across the street who does yard maintenance and he (or his guys) have been very helpful in periodically cutting my weeds/lawn.