At least I have a goal.

I am so unbelievably tired. It seems like all I do right now is work and sleep. Oh wait, that's because all I do right now is work and sleep. But there is a goal. Just need to get the down payment together. It will happen. It has to happen.

In the past, when I was a staff nurse instead of pool, I never could have worked as much as I am right now. But now I feel like I am going to work because I want to, not because I have to. Even on that fifth day, there is freedom. And I have a goal in mind. I won't have to work like this forever. I can do this. As long as I don't think of anything else I could be doing during the week. Work, sleep, and eat. That is all I have time to do right now.

We worked right through Thanksgiving. It was hard to pass up the opportunity to work. I really didn't miss it. We ate at work. My second family. I have been through tough times with those people. We have seen some action. They are my war buddies.

The only thing I really missed about Thanksgiving was dressing and mashed potatoes. I need to have Mom make that for me when we go visit in December. I like it best when she makes the dressing anyway.

Yes, this is really happening.

We decided that we love the house. It fits us. It is everything we wanted and more.

We put in an offer yesterday evening. They countered late last night. And we are accepting.

We are buying the house.

Holy shit.

Is it too soon?

Is it too soon to say you have found "your house" when you have only driven around one day? Well, we think we found our house. It has everything on our must-have list, and all but a couple of things off our picky list. Plus so much more. Four bedrooms, three baths, separate bedroom with its own bath that would be great for a guest room, separate laundry, and not a lot of carpet. What carpet it does have is very nice, but will be gone soon, hopefully not too long after we move in.

Is this too quick? I keep feeling like it's too easy. Of course, we have to check again on the financing, but that shouldn't be a problem.

Maybe we could be in by Christmas.

In The Market

My husband and I have been discussing taking a travel contract. At first we were very excited. We filled out all the paperwork and applications. We told the recruiter where we would like to go to work. We applied for licenses to other states.

Then the ambiguity kicked in. Do we really want to pack up half of our stuff so someone can stay in our apartment for us while we are gone? Do we really want to leave the dog behind? Do we really want to drive across the country? Can they even offer us enough money to make this whole thing worthwhile?

Then we started discussing how much we would like to have a larger apartment. Or even a house. What if we bought a house? We have definitely outgrown this place, but five years in a one-bedroom apartment will do that to you.

So on a whim, we went to our bank to talk about home loans. We sat down with a lender and talked about our fears relating to our credit history. How much can we afford? Can we really do this?

And the answer: Yes, we can. And they approved us. And now we are looking for a house.

So, I get to call our recruiter and tell him to put everything on hold. I have to work my ass off to get money together for a down payment. I get to pack.

But I can't wait. This is so big. Exciting. The next step.