Jaaaaackpot!

Hey, Mesa people who need boxes! You know what? There is a recycling drop-off east of Power on Adobe with 6 or so cardboard recycling dumpsters. I was there today and they were JAM PACKED with boxes. I picked up a dozen or so and it was far enough away from the buildings that I was worried about someone walking out and seeing me dumpster-diving.

Boxes are like gold around here. Every free box I get is $5 I don't have to spend to buy a new one at Walmart. That's an awesome thing.

A friend from the ward took the kids today for a couple of hours. That was amazing. I managed to get caught up on a few things that have been languishing. I have found that I can pack or I can clean, but I cannot manage to do both in the same day.

A called as I was dropping the kids off, and we went and had a quick lunch together, so that was a treat in and of itself. We talked more about houses and stuff.

This is a video of one A's going to check out while he's there:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aYcXsBx5X0

It's not as posh as some we've seen, and there are some decisions I would have made differently about the set up (like what is up with the glass block wall in that first bathroom? and I'm not a huge fan of that floor tile and, oy, those yellow walls!) but there is quite a bit of space and it has a relatively large yard that is pretty private thanks to a lot of well-established plants. The girls would have to share a bedroom, but that wouldn't kill them. It's at the high end of our budget, but it would mean for a shorter commute for A. I love how it's got so many doors to the outside.

Of course, if I had the big bucks, I'd get this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vUpC_2VblA

A more realistic version of the above would be something like this, but it's for sale, not rent:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTKUBjbG1b8&feature=related

If I wanted to pretend I never left the States, I could get one of these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAA_DgS1xHE

A, incidentally, is in love with this house. (Also, I love that the Speedo Outlet is shown as one of life's practicalities. LOL!)