Fixed

First things first. I've been so busy with school over the past few weeks that I've barely had time to breathe, so just yesterday I got around to taking pictures of our new and improved casa. Yes, we did order shutters for the top window, but they came in in the wrong color, so we're waiting for a replacement pair.



For comparison's sake, here's what it looked like about 7 weeks ago.



All I can say is, THANK YOU ALLSTATE. I know this is exactly why people pay for homeowners insurance, but we really did figure we were in for a huge hassle. On the contrary, we had a check in the mail for the damages less than a week after the fire. Their claims customer service was amazing (which is more than I can say for the company who actually fixed our house), and the experience is going to make that bi-annual bill a little less painful to pay. -- OK, maybe not. But still. <3 Allstate. :)

My psyche is on the mend as well. For about a month after the fire, I barely slept. I woke up at every little noise and walked laps around the house at 2 a.m. to make sure nothing was burning. I refused to use the oven at night. I had nightmares nearly every night and played the scene over and over again in my head when I was awake. Oddly enough, the turning point was probably the insanely rainy Hurricane Ike-inspired weather we had a few weeks ago. That pretty much changed the season from summer to fall, and it really put me in a different state of mind.