Part 48 in My Bio

Written in 2013

This may be one of my shortest yearly reviews, even though 2013 turned out to be one of our best years yet. We became homeowners again! Part of the funding came from my inheritance, though I can’t say I miss my parents or my brother. It feels a little strange not being able to call them to share the news about the house, though.

After half a decade squeezed into Pesky Jesse’s small, rundown trailer, we finally moved out on July 10th. I didn’t think we’d be leaving that place in anything other than body bags for a while there, so it was an incredibly emotional day for me.

We bought a beautiful 1983 home in an upscale park in Citrus Heights for $28K. This is the very park we had hoped to get into! The house is about 1,500 square feet with two bedrooms and two full bathrooms. The master bath has a sunken tub like the one we had in Maricopa. The second bedroom and bath are small to average in size, while the laundry room has a built-in desk and a spot for an extra refrigerator. The kitchen and dining area are average as well, but the master suite and living room are huge with cathedral ceilings in the living and dining areas.

Though the house is structurally sound and in good condition, we plan to replace the old, worn brown carpet and repaint the walls. We’ve started with the second bedroom painting it pale lavender. I plan to add other colors to different rooms—pale pink, minty green, sky blue, and maybe even sunny yellow.

The windows are dual-paned, and most of the walls, which were once brown paneling, are now painted white.

The previous owners left the kitchen fully stocked, along with various household items. While most of it ended up at Goodwill, we did find a few useful things, like a slow cooker we’d been considering buying.

The living room, with its vaulted ceilings, features one wall that is almost entirely windows. There’s also a large built-in bookcase and a hutch with glass doors and cabinets, which I use mainly to display my doll collection, saving me from dusting them constantly.

Having extra luxuries like a dishwasher and garbage disposal feels magical, and I can’t say enough about the joy of having full-size washer and dryer access anytime we want. I especially missed being able to wash comforters at home.

Since we’re on the corner, our only immediate neighbors, Bob and Virginia, are wonderfully quiet and don’t have dogs.

We’re not very active at the clubhouse, but we enjoy the pool and hot tub in the summer.

It’s wonderful not having to deal with constant barking; we only hear the occasional yip now and then. The only drawbacks are traffic noise and landscaping sounds—there’s more park activity than I realized there would be. But overall, it’s a wonderful place to live.

Having a reliable internet connection is another slice of heaven, though some sites with slow servers are still as sluggish as they were in Auburn.

I also enjoy jogging on the pavement in a safe environment, away from dangerous wildlife and stray dogs. Though I’m still heavy, I’ve accepted that I likely always will be. As long as I don’t gain more weight, I’m okay with it. I work out every other day and only eat when I’m hungry.

Still in touch with the usual people, though Kathy and I are no longer friends. Don’t know what happened, but we got into it and she and some connections of hers trolled me for a bit and that was it.

Tom and I are looking forward to our upcoming trip to Maui, Hawaii, even though we’ll miss Romeo and Sugar during the week we’re gone.