Our OTHER Anniversary

So I mentioned a few posts back that I wanted to post on a special anniversary Larry and I had that passed. The anniversary of the first year in our own home! We've made it well past a year and I've been wanting to post about everything we've learned while being on our own, in our own home, and all that comes with that:

• First off, Penske will be my moving company from now on! They were awesome when we moved. I had to book them on a days notice and they were the cheapest with the best deal that they gave you. They were also really nice because when I had to go get the truck (no way was I driving it) I had to wait till Larry came to drive it away and they were closing and I kept apologizing that I was keeping them open but they were SO nice about it (I think they might've been playing a game on a computer or something and weren't quite ready to leave anyways, but thanks for being nice!). I will ALWAYS recommend Penske to people-I almost feel proud when I see their trucks on the road haha.

• If it wasn't for Excel I'd probably forget to pay all the bills we have due. I love Excel, it's great for tracking everything. It's a good way to see what you're spending your money on and helpful for budgets.

• Apparently in certain areas you can't get ANY company you want for things. When we moved I had a friend who worked at Comcast and he was going to get us a good deal on Internet and cable, but after looking at his "special map", or whatever they use, he found out Comcast doesn't install in Eagle Mountain. We ended up "getting stuck" with DirecTV for cable and some special EM company for Internet, but honestly they've actually been pretty good. I wanted to hate them for being a second choice, but we've got Internet that goes fast and cable that always keeps me entertained so we're happy campers here.

• Kitties do NOT like moving. They warm up to the new place eventually. The in between is rough though. It was ONLY their first time moving after all, but we'll see how they handle future moves (not that there will be a lot of them).

• Smith's is AWESOME! We go there for grocery shopping and our Smith's has a gas station there too and when we buy groceries we save on gas. This has been a major help for us. AND as a bonus they just upgraded our Smith's so it's really nice (and usually has the cheapest gas already so I love saving on it even more).

• Netflix is just about the best thing ever! Now that we've moved theaters aren't as close as they used to be so we hardly ever go see movies anymore. I mean we used to go see a movie and go out to dinner once a month before, since moving I think we've seen 3 movies in theaters (and not because there weren't any good ones) so it's been an adjustment. But I'm so glad we signed up for Netflix because now we just have to be a little patient and we can watch them without buying them. It's also saved us a ton on our movie buying from before (we haven't even gone to FYE since we moved...shocker I know).

• Having a free pool and gym is awesome, but not so much when kids are ALWAYS using the pool during the summer and adults are ALWAYS using the gym during the winter.

• Driving anywhere takes twice as long as it used to. We aren't really close to any stores like we used to be so we really only go somewhere when we need to or if we need more than one item. I go by myself a lot if I want to just browse because Larry isn't into browsing or long drives haha.

• They have a bunch of fun different places to eat down here so I've been making a list of new ones to go try every once in a while. We've really only tried four so far: One Man Band (YUMMY! Kind of a Training Table meets Dees), Station 13 (Will NEVER go back there! Yuck!), JCW's (pretty good, super fatty, but yummy shakes!), and Longhorn Steakhouse (expensive and looks fancy, but pretty good food and no one dresses fancy. It's like a fancy looking Applebee's).

• And last, but not least as I'm sure we'll learn plenty more in the years to come, having our own place, just the two of us is AWESOME! I've gone to houses with more than just the couple and it gets pretty chaotic and loud. I forget how quiet and peaceful our place can get until I go to other's homes. I absolutely love it for right now. All of our neighbors are really nice and have helped us whether it's when we moved or just needing help getting back into the gym when I've locked myself out, so it's really nice. Almost nobody smokes so I never have to worry about it going outside and there have been a couple nights we've accidentally forgotten to lock the front door or left blinds open or Larry accidentally left his car unlocked and NOTHING happened. I don't want to jinx ourselves, but it's pretty cool living in a nice area that you don't have to worry about that all the time.

Sorry, didn't realize this post would end up so long, but I wanted to document the pros and cons of living on our own. Even with all the cons I'd choose this place over and over again. It's been the best first home for us :)