[All secrets sleep in winter clothes]

All night I’ve smelled cookies baking, and the whole time I had no idea it was a teeny Yankee Candle (pumpkin spice) my grandmother gave me. That’s a good candle.

We got home from the hospital at 2 a.m. or so. Phil tried to make it to work by 6, but called and asked for a couple of extra hours to sleep. He ended up getting the whole day off when he started retching in the bathroom for no discernible reason. I mean, we ate the same food last night and I didn’t get sick, and if it’s a virus, I haven’t suffered its effect yet. So we don’t really know why he was sick all morning, but he seems to be okay now.

The ferrets are scrapping on the couch as I type, but it’s too late for play time. Man, they are going nuts. I bet it drives the neighbor below us crazy to hear them fall off the couch with a loud thud and clatter against the wall with their tails and their claws. Gonzo originally had surgery scheduled for tomorrow, but he seems to be getting a little better and possibly re-growing hair, so we’re just going in for a checkup instead. I’ll be glad to have some time off tomorrow, since all three off days I’ve had lately have all been spent on the interstate. And playing the new Ratchet and Clank. I don’t get out of work tomorrow completely, though; I have to go in for a totally unnecessary 5-close shift. Ick.

Phil and I have begun the slow and tedious process of picking out potential apartments in Memphis. We get conflicting advice from everyone, so we’ve decided to narrow our choices down considerably based on our own totally uninformed, presumptuously ignorant preferred locations (midtown, east, and northeast Memphis). Then we’ll factor in price and ghetto-ness. And then we’ll take a visit in the next couple of weeks to decide on one. There can only be one.

Even though we have no idea what we can afford (since we haven’t begun haggling my salary yet), we’re looking for:

• A two-level townhome with 2 BR, at least 1 bath (1.5 or 2 preferred)

• Gated community access

• W/D connections (in a laundry room and not right in the kitchen)

• At least 1,100 square feet

• Ferrets allowed

• Decent pool/recreation area so our fat asses won’t get any fatter

• Relatively crime-free location in or near town that’s less than a 30-minute commute to my job

• Big windows, lots of light

• Rental price of no more than $750 or $800 a month (we would prefer the $650-$700 range, but we’re trying to be realistic and we want a nice place)

Isn’t it a bitch that you’re just throwing away money on rent that you could be paying into owning a house? Sigh. Someday my quasi-domestic dreams will come true.