Movin' on up!

You may find this hard to believe, but earlier this week I gave my 30-day notice on my beloved Linda Land, the amazing apartment I've been renting since February.  Linda Land began as a place to enjoy some peace and quiet when I was living in my boyfriend's house with his young children, who were there at least half the time.  Then in early May, we broke up (for good, I said!) and I moved out completely and Linda Land became my full-time digs.

Oh, how I love Linda Land, with it's amazing view of the entire Las Vegas Valley, the balcony, the pools and hot tubs... and of course, my shabby-chic decor.   I took this video back in June.



My sister Lori couldn't freakin' believe my apartment when she was here a couple of weeks ago.  I told her I could feel the winds of change, though, and Linda Land would be time-limited.  But I assured her I wouldn't give this up for anything less. 

I saw online that the house I grew up in at 8 Lincoln Avenue in Albany is for sale.  That's the one I mention in my book, with five kids, two parents, a dog... and one bathroom. 

Yep, seven of us in 1160 square feet.  And now I'm moving into a house more than three times that size.

You never know how life is going to twist and turn.  If you'd told be a month ago I'd be living in a house like the one I'm about to move into, well, I probably wouldn't have been too surprised.  But if you told  16-year-old Linda Haber, the skinny cheerleader/bus driver's daughter from Lincoln Avenue, that someday she'd be a author and comedian living in Las Vegas in a freakin' a "Beverly Hillbillies" house complete with a cee-ment pond... I think it would have been out of the scope of her imagination. 

Dream big, people.

So how did this all come about?  How did I go from sleeping on an air mattress in 1-bedroom Linda Land to a place like this?  

You know, in the three years I've been writing this blog, I don't think I ever left you with a cliff hanger.  Until now.  Tune in Saturday!

(I agree--I'm such an a-hole.)

It's official: my IQ is 1 million

You know I am so unbelievably full of myself, but I am seriously thinking I might be the smartest woman on the planet.  Again.

Two words:  Linda Land.

God bless me, getting my own apartment down the road from Mike was just the most brilliant move.  I've never slept or even showered there, but last weekend my friend Nina (the Mona character in my book) came in from L.A. and it was a great place for her to stay.  Just like when my brother and brother-in-law came to town last month for NASCAR. 

I don't even go there every single day but when I do, I freakin' LOVE it!  Most of the time I head over for a bit of peace and quiet after work at 3:00, which is also when the afterschool hell breaks loose at Mike's.  Seriously, would I rather listen to the shooting, shooting, shooting sounds of Black Ops or...

... the sound of a gentle waterfall at the pool?

I usually head back to Mike's around 6:30 when the kids get picked up and then Mike and I do whatever it is we're going to do for the night.  You know, like go for a hot dog dinner at Costco.  Since we both work at home, we have quality time to ourselves until 11:30 the next morning when he picks up the kindergartener.  

So yeah, the kids are here every day after school, all day on school holidays and vacations, and every other weekend, including that Sunday night.  That means Mike and I have four kid-free days a month.  Four.  Keep in mind my "children" are 32 and 33, and they're across the country.   And at this point in life, I like peace and quiet.  And on a good day, I'm still the most neurotic person on earth.

Linda Land makes a lot of sense, right?

As brilliant as I declare that I am, I'm not the first to come up with the idea of having a separate abode.  There's even something that has the official name, "Living Apart Together," which evidently is increasing in popularity, particularly among baby boomers.  According to Wikipedia, LAT is a term "for couples who, while committed to each other, decide to have separate homes rather than one shared residence." Many of these couples are even married; Woody Allen and Mia Farrow lived in different homes on either side of Central Park while they were together.  Um, didn't she have a hundred kids or so?  (Insert Soon Yi joke.)  Actually, I should come up with a better example; they were kind of a mess, no?

Anyway, evidently a lot of couples do this, though most of what I read is of couples who seem to actually live separately; Mike and I spend most of our time together and Linda Land is really just a retreat.  I can't help it, I need to escape from the incessant Black Ops war, like the one that ensued last weekend when it was Mike's turn to have the kids. 

Aaaaah, this was my life from the beautiful Linda Land balcony Sunday afternoon:

Cost of a 1BR/1bath apartment:  $701.25
Water, sewer. electric and gas:  less than $100.00
Enjoying a good book and drinking a Newcastle on your balcony overlooking the Las Vegas Valley on a Sunday afternoon basking in the sunshine in your bathing suit and not even caring that your gut's hanging out a little:  Do I really have to say it?

Who wants to join me?