A list of things to even out my karma, Illinois edition.

So back in July 2014, I compiled a list of things I liked about our new house to hopefully counteract all the bitching I’d done about it. Well, it’s time for another list.

1. We live just about equidistant from both sets of grandparents. 
2. The house is on a flat street. 
3. The house has a flat yard. 
4. We have a nice green lawn. 
5. We have a decent size back yard. 
6. We have a good place for our patio set. 
7. We have a good place for our picnic table. 
8. We have kids living next door and next next door and around the corner. 
9. We have great neighbors—with kids our kids like. 
10. The bus stop is three houses down. 
11. We live near two cul-de-sacs and one dead end which are great for bike riding. 
12. There’s a small playground a short bike ride from home. 
13. We met our landlord and he’s really nice. He told us he has learned “to make his renters happy.”
14. Our landlord said he’d give us his pool passes to use the rest of the summer. 
15. The landlord put in a brand new insulated garage door (because we said the old one was falling apart).
16. The garage door is wifi-connected. 
17. The landlord will be putting new hardwood floors in the kitchen because of the failing grout and his unhappiness with the overall look. 
18. We live less than a mile from both kids’ schools. 
19. We live about three miles from a big city water park.
20. We live three miles from a huge mall and pretty much any basic store we’d want (Target, Lowe’s, Marshall’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, etc.). 
21. We have granite countertops in the kitchen and master bath. 
22. We have a great gas stove with a center burner. 
23. We have a good dishwasher that actually dries dishes. 
24. I finally have an undermount kitchen sink!
25. Our sectional couch fits in one of our living rooms (so it’s no longer relegated to the basement).
26. The A/C works well. 
27. There is a big storage room in the basement. 
28. The kids will love the pool table the landlords left. 
29. Katie gets a pink room (it was pink for the owner’s daughter).
30. Most of the house is freshly repainted. 
31. There is so much natural light everywhere that we generally don’t have to turn on lights until it gets really dark. 
32. There are windows in the master bathroom. 
33. There are windows in the laundry room. 
34. There’s a window over the sink which overlooks the back yard. 
35. There is a wood-burning fireplace. 
36. The household wifi seems to be really good.
37. We have a covered porch. 
38. We have room for guests to park in the driveway and on the street (just not overnight).
39. Sixty miles of bike trails nearby. 
40. Located by many sporting events (professional and college). [Note: that one is from Tom—it isn’t a big deal for me!]