Looooong update!

It's about time!!!! Ahhhhhhh!!!

Casey talked to his advisor yesterday, and he wants Casey to defend his dissertation the week of September 1st. It will probably be the 3rd or 4th, depending on which date works best for his committee members. I have a feeling we'll be leaving for Illinois sometime that following weekend.

Several things have happened this week. Jay, one of the guys that is helping with our relocation to the Naperville area, called Casey on Wednesday (I think) and started asking questions about our move. Casey mentioned that we were interested in looking at houses for sale, but we weren't entirely sure what we wanted to do yet. By the end of that day, we had 5-6 phone calls from different people, including a realtor, a few bank/loan agencies, a mortgage broker, and the moving company. It was a bit overwhelming, but exciting at the same time. By Thursday, the realtor had sent us 14 properties to look at online. Casey and I spent upwards of 2 hours that night looking at each of the houses, talking about what we liked and disliked, and giving feedback to the realtor. We found out that we had a very good credit score, so the loan agencies were pretty willing to help us out. We determined how much we wanted to spend on mortgage each month, etc., and figured out the cap on the price range for houses. Luckily there are some pretty nice houses in our range. I look forward to going up to look at them in person in the next few weeks! Looks like we are going to try to go up there around the 27th of August. God that's soon. Oh well, at least things are finally happening!

I took Charley Brown to Three Dog Bakery again today. It's our Saturday "date" over the past few weeks. It's nice to go there with him because the ladies that work there LOVE him! Every time he goes in the store, I'm reminded of Cheers; everyone knows his name. :) Today, there happened to be a couple that really wanted to get a Boxer, so I stood and talked with them for a bit about what to expect. Charley sold them. He enjoyed the attention (as always) and it was easy for me to talk Boxers up because he's such a good kid. He showed them his tricks, and introduced them to 'kidney beaning'. And gave lots of kisses, of course. :)

One thing I like about Three Dog Bakery is the Weimaraner named Slate. He always puts his paws up on the fence and gives me hugs and kisses. Today he propped himself up on the counter near the computer and started pawing at the rawhide bones I bought for Charley. He also put his paw on the mouse, and I really wished I had my camera out at the time because it looked like he was taking our order. :) The ladies agreed to watch Charley when we go to up to Naperville to look at houses. He's never going to want to come home with us after he gets to spend a few days at the bakery!! They were more than happy to puppy sit. I told them I just needed him back at the end, but they were hesitant to agree. :) I'm glad to know he'll be in great hands while we're searching for his new place to live.

I'm sure there'll be plenty to write later. Our friends Jan & Eirini apparently had their baby girl either yesterday or today! I look forward to seeing pictures and hearing more about her. I know Jan was freaking out because he was worried about Eirini giving birth (and he thought he might pass out if he saw a lot of blood, etc.) but I'm sure he's doing fine now. I think that's one of 7 babies that are going to be born in the next 6 months! Something's definitely in the water around here, which is why I've been drinking Coke.

Tonight, Charley and I are going to drop Casey off at the USC library and walk around the Horseshoe a bit while we wait. I'm completely unmotivated to clean things, but I need to since our landlord and the moving company will be here in the next few weeks to check out the house. Ahhh! I hate cleaning. Oh well, it'll be worth it. More to come...

-Ashley