TL; DR: I love more things about here.

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!  ❤️

The view from Lowe's here is ridiculous.

The view from Lowe's here is ridiculous. I'm not mad that we go there often.

Me and Shaun just finished putting together The 1 Million Dollar Puzzle.

Me and Shaun just finished putting together The 1 Million Dollar Puzzle. It wasn't hard; it took less than an hour for us. We won a whopping 25¢. 😂 But it was fun so there's that.

Also I made some Chai tea from a teabag rather than loose leaf like I've been drinking lately. I'm not a fan. I guess I'm a tea-snob now. File that under "Sentences Blu never thought they'd utter." 🤪

I haven't been up early in a while...

I haven't been up early in a while so I've missed the balloons lately, but we had somewhere to be this morning so I got to see them again. I don't know how people make their morning commute here with something so pretty and interesting to look at in the sky. I can't not take photographs every time I see them.

This evening we finally tried out our fire pit. I'm digging it. Shaun also put up some solar lights that look like flames. After we get the sunroom finished we're going to hang some string lights in and to the pergola and then the back yard will be just how we want it (for now). I'm excited for that.

We're just about settled and I'm grateful for that. Me and Shaun's bed is being delivered on Friday and I can't wait. I guess I need to fix the 3 tones of paint in our bedroom over the next couple of days. I hope you all are doing well. We're staying busy but hopefully we can relax soon. Love to all of my friends! ❤️

Before I say my thing:

Before I say my thing:  Yes, we're some blanket-loving mofos in this house. We need MAXIMUM COMFORT over here. 😂😂😂 I have a cube organizer in each living area full of blankets. This ain't a game!

So these dogs may look good but they are not. Shaun installed a doggie door. Cubba took to it immediately because he's a strong independent pup that don't need no help. Rose is (OF COURSE) scared of it. 🙄

Know why Cub is asleep? Because he's tired from his excursion this morning.

To recap, these are the things we've done over the last month:

• He gets out of our backyard, so we put him in the 10x10 kennel while he's out.
• He starts to dig under the kennel and Shaun blocks it up 1000 different ways. No dice. Cub is determined. 
• We tie him out for potty breaks in the middle of the yard. He starts digging and ruining things.
• Put PVC on the lowest gate so he can't get a grip to climb over, AND
• We call a mason out to raise the wall in the back. We get ~10 days of no escape.

We woke up this morning and Cub was gone.

So I went out front and called his name while Shaun went out back and whistled for him. Thankfully, he comes when called.

Before Cub arrived home Shaun went back inside to come out the front. While Shaun was in the house I was rounding the corner from the front (Note: Cub did not see me) and I witnessed this terrible, awful dog jump the block wall with no problem at all.

And guess what he did next. Just guess.

He went inside the house through the doggie door out back and then greeted me and Shaun when we came in through the front door like he'd been inside the whole time. 😑😑😑

I have had foster dogs with real issues who were easier to live with than these mutts. Shaun is about at his wit's end. I don't know what else to do. We love these bad things but they are really testing our patience. I hate the idea of a shock collar but we absolutely can't let Cubba run around the neighborhood here. I guess for now we have to keep the doggie door locked and only take them out supervised. I'd like for them (and us) to have more freedom but that doesn't look like it's in the cards right now. 😕

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤍

I really wanted to try this background because...