Slow going

Well, not really. The days are feeling like they are just flying by. We are still in processing on buying a house here. I am amazed at how up in the air this whole process is. It is kind of like being in limbo for a month while all these other people hold the keys to your future home. We are closing in a week. However we are leasing the house back for 30 days to the current owner. So We will be moving in at the end of May. It is pretty exciting. We are especially happy that we are able to buy a home here without begging or borrowing. I will post up some pictures once the deal is done and we are officially owners.

Taxes are done. Whew! I had feared the worst. In the end it really wasn't all that bad. Ended up owing both CA and AL about $200ea. Worst part was with all of the medical, moving expenses, signing bonus, contract work for my old company,cashing out some 401K, and whatever else it cost about $500 to have our taxes prepared. Erin and I walked out of the H&R feeling a bit violated. But with all of the stuff we had going on it was a good idea to leave it to the professionals and also to have the H&R backup incase of audit in the future. Fortunately federal came back as a return and will cover these expenses, leaving us with a bit of money as a return. Double sigh of relief to be done with that.

Weather is still all over the map here. The last few days we have had frost in the morning. The week prior we had 70-80's. The weekend between was warm with thunderstorms and showers. Everything here is green again. I will have to get out and take some pictures.

The office...

Got me a window again. I guess out here at MSFC they move you around every couple of years to keep you on your toes. So I moved from a dark cinderblock office to this. Honestly it is a little bright (hence the cardboard behind the monitor). I think I will get used to it though.


Got out this weekend with the kids. Did a road trip over to Atlanta. Erin decided to take advantage of the trip and skipped out. She needed a break anyways...
See her blog for the details
Rebecca was in town for training, so we took advantage of family being close enough to visit. The drive from Huntsville to Atlanta takes around 3 and a half hours. It is a nice drive. I took the Northern route through Chattanooga and down 75.

We did the tourist thing and checked out the Varsity. Kind of like In and Out, but with hot dogs and no religion. If you are ever out that way check it out for a chili-slaw dog. Kind of a weird combo, but it works.

Next we headed to the Georgia Aquarium. It is a neat aquarium with some distinct displays including whale sharks, beluga whales, and hammer head sharks for highlights. Lots of big tanks. Cool displays with tunnels and tanks that you walk under. The kids enjoyed it too. It was nice to get them some 1on1 time with their Aunt Bec. I will have to upload a couple of pictures that Rebecca took.

Okay, this has been a pretty massive unload. But it has been weeks, so it was necessary to upload to the blog. That is about it. New House, new office, weird weather, taxes, and a road trip. Alright I am leaving out tweaking my computer and bike riding. Well, no one really cares what I do with my computer and I haven't touched my bike in a couple of weeks. Trails should be dry, so I will have to do something about that shortly. Until next time...