Out of our league?

Well, tomorrow we meet with a realtor/friend who will be helping us decide if we are completely nuts for thinking we could own a home at this stage of our life, or if we indeed have hope. Houses here in Texas are incredibly cheap! We are currently looking at brand new houses in great communities for around $100,000. All of these houses are at least 3 bedroom, 2 bathrooms and 2 car garage. Many of them also include all appliances, blinds on all the windows (saves money on curtains), a fireplace and walk in closets. It blows my mind that we could get all we want and much more for this price. These same houses in Milwaukee would run at least $200,000 if not more. We are throwing money away every month for rent that could be going towards a morgage. The issues we're concerned about are taxes and insurance (based on our huricane experience last year, we'd be sure to get flood insurance)!!! Buying a house now could mean having it paid off by the time we're in our 50's or much sooner if we ever get some raises! :) If I learned one lesson from my parents about house buying...it's have the house paid off by retirement. So, here we go...wish us luck! We are very excited about this possibility. So excited in fact, that I have even mentioned giving up my truck. And for those of you who know me, I will have a very hard time even thinking about getting rid of my yellow baby...but, if it means a house, I'm happy to do it.
Well, we will keep you updated!

Our Vacation...Finally!

Alright, so here is the promised blog entry about our vacation! Sorry it took so long! The vacation was busy, productive and relaxing at the same time!
We got a lot accomplished for our wedding! We chose a photographer and a baker for the cake. We also saw our ceremony and reception site for the first time! It is beautiful! My mom and Dave's mom could not have picked out anything better!
Over the weekend we spent tons of time with family during several gatherings! It was a great time! I finally got to meet all of Dave's family as well. Everyone is so friendly and welcoming. I'm honored to become a part of their family.
Then on Tuesday my mom and I drove down to Champaign to visit Michael and Traci! The drive was not nearly as hard as I anticipated. The time went fast and I never even got close to falling asleep while driving (a very bad habit of mine). I was so happy to see their house...it's gorgeous! It is cozy, but not small; modern, yet warm and welcoming. It was perfect! They have done such a wonderful job decorating, it looked like something out of Trading Spaces! So, we spent that day and the next going out to eat (we ate a lot), walking around downtown, driving through Champaign and visiting back at the house. We also went to Allerton Park!!!! Michael has had many entries about this gorgeous park, and he was right. It's huge and beautiful. We had a blast exploring the trails and checking out all the funky statues that filled the property! I got a chance to take some more artistic photos with our new digital camera, which I must say turned out pretty good! Of course the time came when we had to say good-bye, which sucks!!! I miss my brother and Traci a lot! At least when I lived in Milwaukee I got to see them several times a year and now we're averaging about once a year.
Dave spent his time hanging out with Jenny and Don and Lynn and Matt while I was in Champaign. He misses all of them like crazy and I know he highly enjoyed that time. Not to mention, playing with Nathan and Grace! By the time I got back from Champaign, Dave was back in Houston. I had 2 more days in Milwaukee which I spent hanging out with mom and dad and going out to eat lots more!
It was a wonderful time! We are both extremely glad we got to see so much of our family while we were there, but it was also good to get back home. Every time I refer to Milwaukee as "home", Dave corrects me and says"Houston is home now". And you know he's right, it does feel like home. Milwaukee will always hold a special place in our hearts. It is of course, where we grew up, but it does feel nice to get back to our lives; and that, for us, is here. Thanks to everyone for making our vacation so perect! Now, it's your turn to visit us! :)
Laura

If you could only be so lucky...

So for all of you that think I have this cushy, easy job...think again. Let me tell you about my Friday at work, and tell me if you still think the same! It started pretty normal; people yelling at me because there was going to be a hold on their check and they wouldn't be able to use the money this weekend, (to which I tell them to take their lazy butt to the check cashing place like all the other bums). After that it was the usual homeless woman coming in telling us she has $50,000.00 in her account and she wants all the money out. Oh, she also has an account at The Bank of the World!!! Have any of you been there before...well me neither. She then decided to hit the bullet proof glass we recently had installed and told us we were keeping her money, and that she is awaiting a wire transfer from her work, but she hasn't gotten it in the mail yet!? Yes, read it again if you need to. She is waiting for a wire transfer in the MAIL! To top it all off, after she "calmed " down, she very hastily said that we needed to change her address to HOMELESS! WHAT!? Basically picture a black Stan Laurel with no top front teeth and a few inches shorter...this is my nightmare. After that mess happened, we went on to our usual ritual of deciding what was for lunch, which, coincidently, is my favorite part of the day. In the end, it was chicken...and mighty fine chicken if you ask me. So, as I am getting back from lunch, there is a gentleman at one of the teller windows trying to cash a check. Only problem...the check is forged. YEAH! I'm not sure if he really knew what he was doing or not, but he sat down the entire time as we called the police and had him arrested. I actually think when he looked at me and our eyes crossed paths he stole a piece of my soul. Ever had that feeling? Not good. Turns out he said he had gotten the check from the company last week for work he had done...only problem, the check was dated for today! "I'll pay you on Tuesday for a hotdog today..." For those of you that remember that comic strip, it kind of sounded like the same scenario. Anyway, he was taken away, but then everyone and their mother decided to come in the the bank. It was nonstop from about 12-5, which is when I left. Ugh, I don't know why I put up with it, but there is something generally satisfying about my job. Sparing the lesser details of the day, that was it in a nutshell. Now the next time you want to ask me how work is going, keep this story in mind. If I say fine...don't ask any more questions, because there won't be a good story attached:)

I have twins!

So, I know I promised more entries about our trip...maybe I'll get to that later, but right now I must inform everyone of my good news! I am a new mommy of twin monkeys!!! Our pair of Pygmy Marmosets had twins about 36 hours ago! They are first time parents, so the first 10-15 days are critical! The dad pygmy marmosets carry the babies almost exclusively, until it is nursing time. Then, he will pass them to mom one at a time. This is a very difficult process. Many times the babies accidently get dropped to the floor and they are usually picked up right away, but with new parents you never know. We are keeping a very close eye on them and limiting our noise and activity around them. In fact, my supervisor, my fellow keeper Maria and I are the only ones even allowed in the room where they are being housed. They are a very important pair to the population in the United States and they are a very high profile animal for the zoo. Once we announce their birth, which won't be for at least 2 weeks, they will be all over the news (like many of our births and deaths at the zoo are) and we will have many requests to view them by potential donors to the zoo. A wish that may or may not be granted dependant upon their progress and health. Anyway, this is probably more information about these tiny monkeys than any of you ever cared about, but I am very excited! The fact that Maria and I have made these delicate primates feel comfortable enough to breed, give birth and accept their babies (thus far) is something that we are very proud of. This is one of the many reasons I have become a keeper.

So, the pictures included show adult pygmy marmosets. They weigh between 130-150 grams at full grown. The babies are about an inch long and weigh approx. 20-30 grams!

Reality

So, our vacation has come to an end and we are back to reality. Unfortunately, reality has found us no time to write on our blog. We had a great time with family back in Milwaukee, but are having a hard time getting back into a routine here in Houston. The temp has warmed to around 85 degrees daily and is only going to get warmer. Quite a change from Milwaukee's 40 and raining the day I flew out. Oh well. So, to our loyal blog audience, I promise we will have an entry or two real soon about our trip. For now, however, it is back to that previously mentioned "reality", which for me is the zoo.
Laura