I can't express just how much I appreciate Mom for letting me stay here while I got my finances in order and saved up for the down payment on the house. She let me stay the night I left Diego, and when I asked if I could stay on a more permanent basis, it was her idea for me to form a plan to get my own place.

I've been paying rent every month (which is quite low), and paying for my portion of the food, as well as doing whatever chores and projects needed to be done, but I've had an incredible deal in all of this, and there is no way I could have bought my own house at this time in my life if I hadn't gotten this opportunity.

I'm trying to think of a gift of some sort for Mom to say thank you. I know she knows how much I appreciate it, and she doesn't expect a gift, but I'd really like to do something that would mark the occasion.

I know she's going to be sad to see me go. I'm sad to go, in a way, because it's nice to have someone to talk to when I get home, someone to share meals with, and someone to discuss Survivor and The Amazing Race with. Living on my own again is going to be a very different experience for me. I think I'll come to love the solitude (probably solitude with cats, at some point), but I will certainly miss the company.

I'm very excited to make the move, but I've always kept in mind how I was able to get there.

Thanks, Mom!

Today was a lot more moving, and spending more money that I probably shouldn't have.

I brought some more stuff over from the storage unit (another bookcase, some boxes of books, and the office chair), then went to Kohl's because they're the only store I've been able to find navy blue towels (the ones I thought were navy turned out to be black). Mom found them while shopping early this morning, and after bringing some home for me to inspect, I headed that way to buy more, as well as white towels (I think navy and white will look great in my light green bathroom) and a navy bathmat.

While I was in the area, I stopped off at Target to see if I could find something to house the TV, DVD player, etc. I didn't find an entertainment center, but I came across a pair of round nightstands in black that were really pretty and were on sale. My current bureaus are black (they were some hideous colors when I got them at yard sales, so I painted them the easiest color to cover up the paint, in a shiny black enamel), as is my single nightstand. I'd thought, with the yellow walls, I'd want a complete change in furniture, but the bureaus are in great shape (if a little old), and with some jewel-tone colors to spice everything up, I think black is the perfect base color for all my furniture. So long as it isn't 1980s black laminate, I think it's going to work really well.

While at Target, I saw a medicine cabinet and a towel cabinet (a free-standing shelving unit) that were marked down over 50% in the color I hope to get for the vanity someday. I bought those as well, and also a couple of small white shelves to put into the bathroom for pictures or other decorative items.

Since I was in a shopping mood, I swung by Pier 1 with the thought of finding a mirror for the bedroom. I didn't see exactly what I wanted (I'm still not completely sure exactly what I want, but whatever it is, it wasn't there this week), but I did see a black folding bookshelf that's really tall and airy-looking, and has red undertones that a lot of black furniture has. It too was on sale, so I bought that. I resisted buying a black headboard (it's perfect, but I hope it goes on sale before I commit) or any accessories, because I need to place my existing accessories in before adding more.

I brought all this home and put it into my bedroom, and I could finally see an aesthetic taking shape. It's very Pier 1, a sort of faux-Eastern look. With the orange office that I hope to make look richer and kind of influenced by India (by way of U.S. aesthetic), and the spare bedroom I've dubbed the "Insect Room" (filled with dragonflies, bees, and other insect prints), I now feel like the upstairs, at least, has a look and feel that's very "me".

I know I wanted to move in the night I closed on the house, but I'm so glad I wasn't able to do that. Moving in in stages has made me appreciate the little things I can do to make the place my home, and I've been able to do projects like painting a number of rooms that I wouldn't get done as easily if I had to work around a full house.

Tomorrow night, I'll wonder just how I thought I was organized with books and furniture to be built all around me, but I like holding onto the illusion right now.

Susan held a birthday party for Chris (his 40th BIRTHDAY!) tonight. He wanted Home Depot gift certificates, a gift I'm learning to appreciate as I look at my own new house.

Chris, Susan, the kids, Susan's brother, his fiancee, his twin girls (who I still can't tell apart, even knowing them since birth), her parents, Mom and me were all in attendance. Chris got three or four gift cards, which pleased him to no end, as well as a beautiful Boston Bruins windbreaker from his mother-in-law. I wish I had thought of something like that for him, but Chris is really hard to buy for, because his hobbies are things I don't know much about (I wouldn't know if a Bruins jacket would make him happy or not), and anything house or work related, he tends to buy himself.

Susan made two cakes (white and chocolate) and had three kinds of ice cream (including mint chocolate chip; a flavor I haven't had forever). We sang Happy Birthday, pigged out on sweets, and then I had to leave to meet with Laurie and our friend Jenn, whose birthday is next week.

We went to Bertucci's and had lots of pasta. Afterwards, I suggested Jenn come by my house to see the place, but she didn't seem too interested in going, so we bid her farewell. Laurie and I were at a loss for things to do, so we went to TJ Maxx 'n' More to look at and make fun of all the out-there home goods they had on display. That store is the most ottoman-obsessed store I've ever seen, with a ghastly array of tufted, fringed, weirdly shelved ottomans to choose from. None of them were in any way good for my home, but it was fun to snark on it all.

I might have bought a lamp there, but I decided to wait and see just what I'm looking for before committing. An announcement went over the PA system telling everyone in the store that we had five minutes to bring our purchases to the counter before they closed. Laurie and I made our way towards the front of the store, and someone turned off half the lights as we walked. I saw a management-type person purposefully striding towards the entrance, so I got obnoxious and loud about turning the lights off while people were still in the store. I think I've been punchy with all the moving I've been doing, but seriously, an announcement is enough; we don't need darkness to remind us that a store closes at a set time.

Laurie dropped me off at my car and said she'd call when she wakes up tomorrow to see if I need any help (read: assemble IKEA furniture) during the day. I hope her Mom is okay with being left alone for awhile. She's been doing well, but her surgery is scheduled for Monday, so she's understandably nervous and might need Laurie around to keep her company so she doesn't go nuts overthinking the whole thing.

I came home and washed the remaining dishes and silverware I'd bought for the kitchen, and then dug Aunt Helen's china out of the attic, as well as the 60s-era depression-glass type dishes that I asked Mom for. (They were in storage in the basement, and they're gorgeous. Clear turquoise, in a geometric style that I haven't seen anywhere else.) Both sets of dishes will get a priority placement in the china cabinets, once they're assembled.

After that, I considered packing up my clothes, but it was too close to 11pm, and I didn't want to keep Mom up by making too much noise. It won't take long; clothes are easy to pack. I have a few other items like candles, books, and lamps to wrap and pack up as well.

The good thing is that I don't have to get everything out by a set deadline. I can move everything that's absolutely essential and take my time with the remainder of it.

But moving day is tomorrow. I will sleep in my very own house for the first time tomorrow night.

I'm really excited.