Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone is having fun BBQing/Fireworking/swimming. My family and I are going to be BBQing in a little while. During the summer, that's pretty much our standard of cooking. I love it.

The 4th of July is also the anniversary of my Mama's death. It was 12 years ago now. Wow, it seems like just yesterday! I loved visiting Mama and Papa in Mississippi. Mama was your typical Southern housewife. Everything was home-cooked: from the rolls, fried okra, and mashed potatoes to the coconut cake (my mom's personal favorite) and peanut butter cookies (my personal favorite), it was always so comforting. You could taste the love. And forget about having the recipes to continue on the traditions: Mama didn't use recipes. They were either memorized or she made them up herself. Amazing! I miss her terribly, but I am so thankful for all the wonderful memories we made. :o)

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Yesterday was my first day of house hunting with a realtor. It didn't start off too well- she was 40 minutes late to our appointment. Keep in mind, this was the realtor that was assigned to me through the LampLighterOne Program, so I had never met with her in person. However, once she got there she seemed very professional and like she knew what she was talking about. I don't think the Katy area is her strong-suit.

We looked at 3 houses: 1 one-story and 2 two-stories. They all seemed fairly nice, but like they needed a little bit of work. My favorite was the last house we visited, a two-story. It was vacant, but it looked like they are still in the process of upgrading the whole downstairs. The upstairs DEFINITELY needs new carpet... it's pretty much the grossest thing I've walked on.

But... on Monday I have an appointment with another realtor. She actually lives in my neighborhood and is friends with my parents. I used to babysit her daughters in fact. My dad got in touch with her last week and told her my situation. Come to find out she is VERY familiar with the Katy area. So, she gave me a call and asked me, down to the detail, what I'm looking for in a home, and we are going to house hunt on Monday. I'm really excited to see what she has to show. I hope I find something that's kind of ready to be lived in. I don't want to have to do a whole bunch of work. Cross your fingers!

Well, I'm off to help out in the kitchen! Have a great holiday weekend!

-Ashley