house: found!

this spring has gone by really quickly; now there's less than a month left until i move to west virginia. i was getting pretty worried about where i'll be living, but today i got the good news--some of the other VISTAs and i got a house in marlinton!

another welcome surprise: it's actually really big, as well as adorable! i had been going into this blind, so i wasn't expecting much. but just check this beauty out!

on the inside, the pictures i've seen remind me of the house i grew up in--creaky-looking floors, a sloping roof, irregularly-sized windows, and tiny, nook-like bathrooms. oh, and a giant porch!

porch parties, anyone?

upstairs bedroom

the view from the dining room window

the location is really great--the house is in the largest town in pocahontas county (with a staggering population of 1,200). my job is in hillsboro, at the southern end of the county, but it's only about 15 minutes away. and snowshoe mountain is about 30 minutes away. so, while i might not have all the things i'm used to in north carolina, at least now i know that my house is great!

of course, i would feel awful if i kept this beautiful house all to myself...so for those of you who get the urge to come to lovely west virginia, please feel free to impose on me!

off for a celebratory house-having shopping trip! for some reason, i'm most excited about buying hand soap & cleaning products. strange...

it's that time of the year again--final four weekend!

the past few years have been fraught with carolina-related heartbreak & ecstasy--let's not even discuss the 2008 kansas game, though this year made it look par for the course. but now that unc has been to another national championship (happy trails, nit?) it's time for one of the most exciting final fours in quite awhile. yes, 2008 saw four #1 seeds--which was incredible in itself--but i'm much more excited to see which workhorse team will win it all. and, no, duke can't win--it's against the laws of nature.

sure, butler could beat michigan state--or maybe tom izzo will add to his ring collection. call me biased--guilty as charged--but i think west virginia has the best shot of cutting down the nets. with bob huggins' experience and fire, plus the team's strong defense and da'sean butler's ability to hit game-winning shots, the potential for bringing a championship to morgantown is there. duke's outside shooting doesn't matter if one of the 'big three' goes cold--which has invariably happened in every game of the tournament. and no one should be afraid of brian zoubek.

all of this shop talk is merely a way to reassure myself before tomorrow's game--last week, i was a nervous wreck. then again, ebanks & co. were facing kentucky, who i expected to demolish everyone, based on the regular season. but that's why i love the ncaa--anyone can win on any night, and wvu proved they could best calipari's squad. so, fingers crossed--seeing duke lose might just make up for losing to them this year!

another reason for wanting a wvu final: seeing whether or not bob huggins will wear his sweatsuit--i'd love to see him stick with it, although this little beauty would be pretty great!

update: west virginia lost, i'll be pulling for butler on monday. UGH. i hate being wrong, especially when it means that duke won!!!