TL; DR: I love more things about here.
Yesterday we went to Planned Parenthood. It was my first time in one and I liked it a lot. For one, protesters are not allowed so that was a pleasant surprise. For two, it was a super wholesome and inclusive experience. The workers asked your preferred name and preferred pronouns, there were "Black Lives Matter" signs and quotes from Laverne Cox up on the wall, and they (of course) had tons of literature out. Not only that, but they had menstrual cups on display which I personally feel is important for a lot of reasons. In addition to that, they had menstrual products available for free in the gender-inclusive restroom.
The icing on that cake was that our insurance was already in the system despite us not even having received our permanent insurance cards yet. The visit was free. I nearly cried in the waiting room when I realized that our prescriptions will likely be covered, too. Like, I'd heard that same thing earlier in the day and I'd had that thought when we I found out that we were approved for insurance but like... being in a doctor's office and not having to ask if we could be prescribed a generic that we could afford was a new and wonderful experience. And unlike Alabama when they asked for our income information they took us at our word instead of forcing us to prove it 23 different ways. Needless to say, Planned Parenthood will definitely be getting my support once I'm working.
Anyway, then there was today. We had a consultation with a company about using solar energy. It is something we'd looked into and planned on doing eventually, but we went ahead and took the plunge. There is a process to getting our panels made and installed so it'll probably be closer to the end of the year when that's done, but I am very excited about it. Our roof is pretty new, the side without the pipes / ventilation is the side that gets the most sun, and the panels look amazing and have a 30-year warranty. Going solar will increase the value of our house and decrease our monthly power bill. Yes, we'll be paying for the panels temporarily but even then that fee + our power bill should still be lower than it is currently. That doesn't even cover the same-day signing bonus (that the no-pressure salesperson didn't even mention until after we'd made our decision), nor the tax credits we'll get for going renewable. Overall, I feel pretty great about it.
This part is less related to New Mexico and more to me and the house, but I FINALLY got our bedroom painted all one color (the tints of the paint were off and we ended up with 3 ALMOST matching colors - it was driving me insane!) Our bed arrived yesterday and Shaun put it together. It looks AMAZING. Of course while working on it one of the pieces of the bed fell and knocked a small chunk out of the wall that I now need to patch and re-paint, but at least I have the tools and correct color to do it. 😂😂😂 I've also been working on moving into my desk. I should probably explain that my desk is also a loft bed and trundle bed as well as drawers and workspace. It is the most wonderful thing and I love it. It is also in our bedroom and I'll be using that space as my office once I'm working. Shaun has a loft bed and a game room downstairs, so I don't feel too bad about hogging up some of our shared space as my quiet area during the day. What I'm saying is that our bedroom is coming along and I love how it's turning out. 😁😁😁
Well, that's all I've got for now. We've been busy. I'm hoping to be able to post some pictures of the inside of the house soon. It's all been so messy and cluttered that I haven't even wanted to but that is changing, thank goodness. I hope you all are doing well. I am elated to say that things are going well for us here so far. Better than I ever dared to dream, honestly. Love to you all from the Land of Enchantment! ❤️
