If every Monday could be like this one it would certainly be ok with me. We received the final payment from our large account and I got a phone call from the guy we built a website for telling me that he put the payment in the mail today. Sweet.
I lined up the moving company today, as soon as the paperwork arrives I will double check to make sure it is what we discussed and then we will get things rolling on that end. The girls went house hunting today and it sounds as though my search is going to be shorter than anticipated, they believe they have found the house that we are going to have. We'll see, it's a month before we will be there so we have to see if it will still be available or if they will work with us. We'll know this weekend.
Tomorrow will be the day to go over the presentation for Thursday. Think I've got it together, I did it last week, but now by going over it any changes should be very noticeable.
George Karlan, what a funny, funny man. How sad that he died, but, how great that he lived to share his talent with us. Sometimes he was a little (or a lot) more vulgar than I like, but when he kept it clean (which wasn't often) I really enjoyed him!
What a thrill it must be for the family of Shawn Johnson, the 16 year old that has just won the Olympic trials to go to
The other sports news from DM is that the Hy-Vee Triathlon was this weekend. It had a tragic event occur when one of the amateur contestants had an apparent heart attack during the swimming section and died.
The office will be quiet tomorrow with T gone, he is taking his wife to get her tests in IC. He’ll be back Tuesday and I leave Thursday so it will be a strange week.
Hopefully the trip to
Whew, the sale is over, the stuff is gone and we had a delightful dinner with friends after the sale. It's probably the last time we will ever go to "the Little Pink House" for dinner, but it was a delightful way to end a long and stressful day. Janet and Ernest are so fun to be with, she is, without a doubt, the most pleasant person I have ever met. She always make me chuckle, even when it doesn't seem possible and Ernest, with his white beard and shorts and suspenders just cracks me up! Janet kindly informed Martha that she has known me longer than anyone else in MP, which is true. I met her when I first went down to look for housing and stopped at the bank to ask if they knew of anyplace. She made me smile then and has never quit.
It was also nice to have her give me a hug and tell me that she will miss me. I'll miss her too. Strange that she would be the one that broke the control and reserve I had built up, but I didn't cry, just smiled and enjoyed the moment.
Russ, from the bank, came over on Friday while I was in the laundry room vacuuming. I didn't hear him knock (obviously since I was in the laundry room with the vacuum going) so he came in and knocked on the laundry room door, didn't really even scare me, after all, I was in our house and that house has always been a safe haven for us. Nothing can get us there, right Cyn? We had a good visit, it was nice to see him, it had been awhile.
I did get to see some people, at the sale, that I really enjoy. Janet Jennings was there and we visited for quite awhile, then there was Dave Cordes, he really is a sweet man. Both Greg and I enjoy him. Ingrid and Randy came, separately since Randy was just getting in off the road and Ingrid came after work. Martha was there, of course.
There were a number of people there from the auction days but to be honest, I wasn't in the frame of mind to visit with them, so I didn't. I wasn't trying to be nasty, just felt that I needed to stay on the porch or in the house most of the time, I didn't want to cause myself any more stress than I was already in and knowing that I wouldn't see them again would have done that I think. Some of them (like Allen and Michelle) have come to mean a great deal to me. Greg visited with Michelle for awhile. I just didn't choose to.
The sale went well, almost everything that we wanted gone is gone. There were a few things that got left that went into the dumpster on Friday but in reality, not much. Amazing how some of the stuff that we truly thought of as junk got snapped up.
Now, it's not inexpensive to have a sale, there are the costs for advertising, moving the stuff to the trailers and setting out the furniture and all that and then there is a 20% fee, but when I saw all the work involved I guess I wouldn't do it for less if I were the auctioneers. Menke-Hoyer did a good job, were pleasant to work with and had the accounting done immediately after the sale so we got the payment within 40 minutes (or less) of the end of the sale. The beauty of computerized auctions.
Sue Gray, the realtor, told me that she has a guy that desperately wants the house. He has a ranch in CO that is on the market and he wants to sell that and come here and buy our house and make it into a B&B. She said he just loved the house. That's what I hope
My brother called to see how it was going and if I was ok. Such a great guy. I adore him (as if I haven't said that a million times to my kids and husband!) They are in
We went to the Famer's Market on Court this morning. It is so much fun to go to, there are musicians playing, food vendors (although we ate outside at Spaghetti Works), HUGE tomatoes and peppers (of which I bought enough to feed the whole family so we will be eating healthy things for the next couple of days) and all sorts of other stuff. I sure hope there is a similar one where we are going, love them!
The Prof may be headed for
Mercy was a hoot when I got home last night (I came before Greg since I had meat for Terry and Susan and they were going to come and get it before Greg got home.) She wanted to act mad at me but was so glad to see me that she had to get petted first, then brushed before she bit me LOL. Of course, she then got smacked on the nose with the brush (no, not hard but darn her anyway..she bit me twice!) But then she had to jump up and get some lovin' and then we played with her pink mouse on a rope (she loves that stupid $3 thing!). When the Prof got home she acknowledged him but wouldn't snuggle. She always get angry with him when he leaves her, he isn't supposed to I guess but she really doesn't seem to care if I leave (as long as I come back).
Tonight we are going to the races. We won't get to see many more so may as well go and enjoy them.
Two of the girls and their kids and other friends are in
Now, because I can, I think I'll go take a nap. Sounds wonderful to me (as the Prof has already laid down on the sofa)
The sale is tomorrow, I think we are really close to ready. Still have some meat in the freezer that we have to take with us to DM but the rest is all at Martha and Ingrids' so we are in good shape there. I bought a rolling cooler tonight which I decided we would use enough to justify having it and it will make the meat move a whole bunch easier. I have to go to
Allison did my hair today and eyebrows too, gosh it was good to have her do it. She does such a good job and my hair had gotten so long that I couldn't do squat with it. I am just meant to have short hair!
The auctioneers will be here at 11 to take the stuff outside and get set up then the sale is at 4. If I had any qualms about moving, having the sale and all that it came to an end this afternoon when I went to plug the laptop in and had to search for the plug-in that was a three prong. That and coming into the house after it had been closed up for so long and having it smell like an old house…just don't want to do that anymore!
Another thing is the gas bill, we have been on budget billing and so now I have to write a check for $473 and then they will do a final read on Friday and I'll have another bill. I won't miss that!!! Even the air conditioning bills won't be that bloody high. That doesn't take into account the light, water and sewer bill which will probably be close to $200 even though we haven't been here. That's over $600 a month for petey ole erickson sake!
Anyway, looking forward to having the sale over, the dumpster here on Friday morning to get the rest of the crap tossed, the floors vacuumed and wiped up and then OUT OF HERE.
I'm going to be a Grandma again to another beautiful, wanted, loved baby. Life doesn't get much better than that!!
I must admit that I find the fact that I am old enough to be a Grandma to 6 kids (5 in one family and 1 in another) is rather daunting. But then, it doesn't seem like my daughter (the mother of my 5) is old enough to have a senior in high school either!
Being closer to my family has been a key for me for sometime, but now it's even sweeter. We will be able to have the kids more frequently to give their mom and dad a break, we'll be able to help some easier then when we live so far away. And, I'll be able to have more time with J, maybe we will pay catch and stuff even though his mom said he would probably get hit in the face with the ball. She wasn't so crazy about sports so no someone that would think it was critical to play ball and stuff although she's glad he plays basketball.
I'd love to have the ability to run with K but I am a realist, that isn't going to happen! I'll watch, I'll time her, I'll cheer her and I'll admire her but I am too old to run with her!
As for drama, it's wonderful that S is so talented cause we LOVE to watch her. If colleges are smart they will give her huge scholarships to bring her level of talent to their school!
Then there is M, hmm, so much like her mom that it's kind of scary, but, the encouraging thing is that she will probably grow up to be a wonderful as her mom, can't beat that.
The baby, well, with all the examples she/he has to follow it will be interesting to see what choices are made, the ability will certainly be there and with 4 older siblings to learn from she/he will be dynamite!
Some days just don't go the way they start out, I went to work thinking that it would be a normal day and then I got an email from someone I talked to a couple of months ago and they said they had gotten funding to do the $1,600 ad for 2009 so send the contract and they would get it ready to go. Now, I don't know if their year (it's a CVB) starts early or if this is going to wait until January, but, either way it's fine and fun to get.
I go to do the presentation in St. Joe on the 26th and then fly out on the 27th, that following the week of getting the house ready after the sale on Thurs. The Prof is going home after class on Tues. and I will go down on Wed. He will go teach Wed. night in Osky and then come back to MP. Geez, crazy couple of weeks coming.
Very few people don't enjoy receiving a card with a photo of either family, friends or a special place. It tell them that you care enough about the person you are sending the card to that you want ot share someone or someplace important, special, with them.
For the holidays we have used photo cards that have had a picture of our house in the winter, the lights are aglow around the porch, the snow on the ground and the lights sparkling in through the windows made quite a wonderful sight. We have also sent cards with a picture of our trip to Ecuador where we are sitting at a delightful outdoor cafe, enjoying the people and sights surrounding us. This card was far more casual, but one that certainly told our friends and family that we loved being where we were!
You can choose the style that works best for your personality and projects the type of image you want to send. It can be creative, standard, wacky or rather boring if you choose. If you are looking for something standard then you may want to take a look at the Christmas card shown at this site. It's a nice, traditional, pretty card that probably has Mom and Dad beaming with pride.
If you are looking to present something unique then study the options available at the site and then "twist" it a little so that it become totally your visiton.
Photo Cards
This option for making an impression is well worth your time to check out. It isn't that much more expensive then buying store bought same old same old cards and will certainly be a lot more fun for you and for those you care about.
It's fun to take the time to visit with old friends. I just got off the phone with S in Ankeny, we visited for well over an hour and will be doing the thrift shop/breakfast outing sometime before we leave. Should be fun.
They now have three poodles and 3 cats…I'm sure they would like more if they had more space. Such characters, they do love their animals.
It was a shopping outting after work today. I know that the last thing I need are more cloths but I just couldn't resist. Younkers has a sale going on and although all I went in for was one thing I came out with an outfit, a pair of capri's and the other item I went in for, it was fun!
It's time to make a trip to Ankeny tomorrow sometime, S said there is a heck of a garage sale going on across the street with things still in the box. She said she and B went over and there were 8 card table and chair sets still in the box, almost everything is still in the box. So, they think it's "hot". Now, I might think so except that I'm sure the police dept. will be doing a drive through of the area and if they have any idea that it is they will certainly make a bust. Unless the people having the sale are totally stupid, they wouldn't be selling things that are hot at their own house…course there are stupid people out there and as I keep telling R at work, you can't fix stupid.
There is a decent auction tomorrow night too, but if the garage sale has as much stuff as B & S said it will be cheaper to go there and see what they have to sell on eBay.
The police are on TV right now telling people how to prepare to evacuate their homes in the lower areas of DM. Polk County is getting ready for major flooding. The weather is supposed to turn ugly again late tonight or tomorrow. They are saying that there could be up to 6 more inches up north that will come this way. Ugly. We are fine, we are so far out and away from the rivers but goodness, it's sad for the rest of those that will be affected. They are saying they will need volunteers in the next few days to sandbag and other jobs beginning tomorrow. The United Way will be taking volunteer information to get volunteers registered to respond when and where needed. Goodness, 93 all over again only maybe worse in some areas.
The Prof teaches in Ames tomorrow night so we'll have to see what the road condition is to his site. Ames has really been hit, lots of flooding.
Windsor Heights basements are flooded, heard that on the news this morning.
Last night we went to the races at Prairie Meadows since the weather was decent for a change. We started out standing out by the track and then over by the paddock area. It's amazing to me how powerful the horses are, they are skinny (my daughter said they aren't skinny they are just right). The jockey's are little bitty guys, some were maybe 5'2" tall but they could slip through a keyhole and never touch the locks! That being said, they are solid muscle, like solid rope, tough and strong.
I understand why it takes so long (20 minutes) between races, by the time the jockey’s get back to the jockey room to get ready for the next race, the horses get brought out to the paddock area and prepared for the race, the exercise people walk them around a little before the jockey gets out there and then the walk around the paddock and out onto the track, but, when you are sitting inside waiting for them to come it seems to take longer than that. I get bored (of course I do, it’s 20 minutes without anything going on). So unless we are outside it takes “forever” for the next race.
We stayed through 8 or the 9 races and then were ready to come home. We had moved inside when it got dark and the wind picked way up so the 20 minutes took too long LOL.
I do want to go to the track someplace else sometime and see if the environment is part of what makes it drag for me, there isn’t a whole lot going on at PM to keep you interested and the announcer is totally boring.
When the handicapper picks his choices we always chuckle and see who is left since he is rarely right.
Today was cookie day again, seems that Saturday has ended up being cookie day for me. I made Kay’s “Star” cookies (without the chocolate stars cause I don’t’ like them) but the cookies are really good. I took some down to the front desk for the people working today and tonight and will take whatever is left to the office on Monday. The guys eat them up!
It doesn’t make a huge batch so it works out just fine. Making the cookies made me think of Grandma and her donuts when I was little. She always had donuts in the cupboard or we (actually Joe and Grandma) made them while we were there. Hopefully I will be able to have cookies baked for when the kids and grandkids come over to Grandma’s house (pretty soon guys!). I would get a kick out of Peanut and the others going to the cookie jar knowing that there were cookies there for them to have!
We are making the plans for the final days before the sale; we still have some stuff to get out (or into our pile so they don’t get sold) and some cloths that need to go to the Fellowship Cup. We have to drain out the tanks, although they are going to be sold inside since the auctioneers don’t want to move them to the yard and risk having them break. They are really heavy so whoever buys them can worry about getting them out of the house.
Talked with the client that is getting his ads ready for the big push yesterday. He will have the stuff to us by the middle of this week since he wants the ads up by the 15th and it takes a long time to get everything in the right spot since there are about 65 spots they need to be placed in.
With teaching 3 nights a week for the next couple of weeks the schedule is really crazy for other stuff to get done and then we have to go home in there sometime. This too will get done pretty soon.
I’m looking forward to house hunting, can you believe three prong outlets?? How exciting!
It will all come to a conclusion soon, it’s time and we are mentally prepared. Maybe more so than the girls. We really are ready for the end of MP.
Now, not that MP isn’t a great community, it is. Not that we didn’t enjoy living there and feeling safe and knowing so many of the people, we did. But, as with all things, it’s time to change and move on. The Prof says that 7 years is max and we have been there for 13! (he has been there for 14)
I have used Vista Print for most of our business card printing, sticky notes and note pads. The service has been good, the quality of the products is good and I don't have to stand in any line for ages trying to get the attention of the sales clerk to listen to what I want.
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Look over the site, check out all the options that are offered and then check their prices, they are reasonable and the service is quick. Be sure to proof read what you have created since once you click the buy button it's yours and no changes are permitted so if there is an error it will be on your card or whatever you have created.
