Day 133

House hunting is a difficult thing to do, especially from another state. Leah and I are actively looking at houses online pretty much everyday and we have my mom checking into the houses we like. When Leah was in Cleveland a few weeks ago, she saw probably 5-6 houses, and of course, the one she really loved, was out of our price range. We are looking in the suburbs of Pepper Pike, Moreland Hills, Solon, and Orange. As of right now, we pretty much have seen all of the houses listed on MLS. I am figuring that the closer we get to April/May, the more houses will come on the market. My mom is monitoring the for sale by owner places as well. We found one online that we really liked and by the time we had my mom go see it, it was sold. It is frustrating, but the way I look at it is if it is meant to be, it is meant to be, and I don't want to settle as this is a major life decision here. Leah and I are from totally different backgrounds when it comes to homes. My parents moved into their house in 1973 and my mother still lives there. Leah was born in Chicago. Moved to Cleveland at age 1. Then to Indianapolis. Then to Minneapolis. Then to Orange County, CA. Then back to Chicago. She went to college and her parents moved to Baltimore. Then back to Orange County, before settling in Scottsdale where they have been for almost 4 years. We could move into a starter house like my cousin Debbie did, but I don't want to do that and then have to move when my kids start going to school. I would like to try and find a house that we can be in for the long haul. Whether its 15 years or 30 years. That is just me. The bottom line here is that I want to make sure the house we get is everything that Leah wants it to be. I am simple. Just give me a good tv watching area, a relatively new kitchen, and an office where I can work and I am good.

Tuesday was my niece Reese's first birthday. I have to send a special birthday shoutout to her. The picture at the top of the blog is her eating a facefull of cake at her party on Sunday. She is so adorable and looks more and more like Jace every day.

Big weekend of NCAA tournament regionals starts tonight. Still can't believe I'll be watching Bradley play Memphis. This was supposed to be a big night for me. Instead, nothing. I'll be watching though. The UCLA/Gonzaga game is the one to watch. You heard it here first: LSU will upset Duke tonight. Memphis will handle Bradley. Texas will pound West Virginia down low and escape with a victory. UCLA doesn't have a big man to handle JP Batista in the post and will lose to Gonzaga.

Song of the Day: "Ohio" By Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young