Sweet Home.

La and I are now bona-fide residents of the fine state of Alabama. Have been for seven whole days now.

I never thought I would say those words.

But, that's life! One day you're pushing and shoving and hustling and bustling your way through the streets of Chicago, all hopped up on caffeine and adrenaline — and the next day you're relaxing on your front porch sipping sweet tea and using words like "y'all" and "awraht" and "co-cola."

It's a strange world we live in.

Yes, a little more than a week ago Dr P flew into Chicago, helped me load up the truck, and drove with me down I-65 all the way to Birmingham, Alabama. Here's what we used to cart all my stuff down here.



Sweet ride, huh?

I think Dr P enjoyed driving that big ol' manly truck.



I got to drive it too for a few hours through part of Kentucky and Tennessee. It was almost like driving a car. Except it took nine whole minutes to get from zero to sixty. And whenever we switched lanes we had to remind ourselves that we were also towing a trailer, because you couldn't really see the thing in the side mirrors.

It was dangerous. But fun too!

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Now that we've been here for a few days, La and I are adjusting quite well to the southern way of life. We adore our new house. It's perfect. We love living with Dr P. He's wonderful. And La's school is amazing. We love it here.

However, there ARE some things that have surprised me about living in Birmingham:

1. Folks drive like maniacs around here. It's worse than Chicago.
2. It was 70 degrees on December 30th.
3. The next door neighbors have eighteen cats.
4. The checkout people at the grocery store want to know your whole life story, beginning at birth, and they don't mind holding up the line in order to get all the details.
5. The Best BBQ In The Whole Wide World is one block away from our home. My wedding gown may have to be more of a "wedding tent."
6. The next door neighbors have eighteen cats.
7. La has terrible manners (Comparatively speaking. These southern children say "yes ma'am" and "pardon me" and "may I please" ... La just burps and farts.)
8. Stay-At-Home-Moms wear high heels to pick their children up from school.
9. I don't.
10. Did I mention the next door neighbors? They have eighteen cats.

Our house is still in a state of disarray. There are boxes and bags and random containers sprinkled haphazardly around each room, and our roof has somehow developed a leak, which drips into a bucket in the spare bedroom. 

But we love it anyway. It's a glorious house. A "holey" house, if you will. 

And at least we have completed one room in the house; La's bedroom. It's awesome. Check it out ...

She gets the entire upstairs to herself, complete with two walk-in closets and an en-suite bathroom. Nice, huh?

Too bad she has to share her closets with me and Dr P. Ours is smaller than an airplane lavatory.

And here's a little snapshot of La and her new neighbor friend in our back yard.



Even covered in a 4-inch thick blanket of leaves, I think it's pretty. One day we'll get to clearing those out of there. And then we can make it real nice by screening in the patio, constructing a stone fire pit and building a tree house for La. Maybe when my parents come down here at the end of the month? There's nothing like enticing people to visit by offering to put them to work!

So, if any of y'all are thinking about coming down to Alabama for some sunshine and sweet tea, know that you're more than welcome to stay with us. Just remember to bring your tool belt!

I'm sure we'll have lots of visitors.