And the winner is...

TEXAS! The decision has finally been made and we will head there this summer. It was a very, very hard decision to make, but we thought Texas would be better for us in the long run. The only thing that makes me sad about it is that we have lots of friends in the DC area and it would have been nice to live close by and visit them more often. Other than that, I had no real desire to live there even though there would have been a lot of jobs to choose from.

Now I can get excited about building the house again. I spent all weekend looking at flooring and kitchen appliances and such. I love the look of hardwood floors, but I just don't know if that's the way I want to go. I'm a little worried about Charley's claws scratching it up and the upkeep that will be required. It's also a lot more expensive than tile. The problem with tile is that Ang said their house echoes because of it. Of course, I can put area rugs down to tone down that effect. I'm also trying to decide on whether or not I want a gas or electric stove. I prefer to cook with gas. I also think gas stoves have more aesthetic appeal, but there aren't any natural gas lines in the area so we would have to have a propane tank installed. Then, we'd have to worry about having it filled and inspected and so on. It just seems a little expensive and extreme just so I can cook with gas. We could also have a gas dryer and water heater though so it would be a little more justifiable. We can use the money we save by going with tile rather than wood floors to offset the cost of it. : ) Gosh, there is just so much to think about!