the stepford wives

we've unpacked. we've de-swamped the pool. we've replaced approximately one million light bulbs. we confirmed the pups could swim (even Hercules). we installed cameras and a security system. we've cut down the low limbs on the trees. we are officially settling in.
it's exhausting by the way. just in case you were considering moving; i recommend it about as highly as a root canal. or a bar fight.
in the hopes of embracing the "weather" i have been talking the dogs on daily walks around the neighborhood. hercules hasn't yet found it in his heart to forgive me for these excursions. (weather is my kindly reference to the humidity, the rain, the lighting storms, and the texas sized mosquitos). along the way, i've inadvertently learned a lot about my neighbors.
they are extremely nice. i need to stress that first.
that said-
i think i've met them all. they've run out of their houses, stopped their cars in the middle of the road, stopped by our house or actually walked along with us.
this seems a bit mental to me. after five years in a very friendly neighborhood in las vegas i was proud of the fact that i knew the names of six of my neighbors. i considered it a supreme breakthrough when some of them purchased christmas presents for the pups, and the fact that i was welcomed into their homes for easter?? well, it was almost unheard of.
already here i know nearly everyone. I've heard the latest gossip- including how the guy down the lane traded down to his maserati (it's yellow, i've seen it). i have cell phone numbers. and home numbers. we've been invited to box seats for the Rangers games. we've been asked to speak as a guest at the local school. we've received bottles of wine and plates of cookies welcoming us to the neighborhood.

it's as if i'm posed to become a stepford wife.
seriously. it's more than a bit surreal.
i've been invited to join the ladies book club. the monthly breakfast's. the pilates classes. all for the "wives"
i've been asked repeatedly, "are you a stay at home mom?"
Mark has repeatedly been asked to go golfing with the "men" though his disdain for chasing a tiny ball around a field with a stick seems to have effectively stifled further requests.

the crazy thing? i'm excited- domestic skills be damned!
who cares that just this morning i burned the ever loving piss out of my finger with a glue gun? or that my lemon pound cake cemented half of itself to the pan yesterday? the fact that i can't ice a cupcake to save my life- it's of no matter!
because i'm a social person at heart, and i'm bursting at the opportunity to become a stepford wife!