Vanished
I hate moving. Inevitably, something goes missing. Inevitably, it's always something important. No, I couldn't be missing the box that contains old college textbooks. Those boxes are all accounted for. And it's not another miscellaneous box full of baby toys either.
I'm missing two boxes to be exact.
I'm missing my very small and carefully labeled box with St. Joseph in it. I'm also missing my box that contains all my curtain rod brackets and picture framing hardware. I'm starting to suspect that St. Joseph wasn't really happy about being packed up temporarily and that he decided to mess with me a bit. Taking my curtain hardware would do just that.
I'd like to let St. Joseph know that I have big plans for him, and that I have a place of honor picked out where everyone will see him so I'll be able to tell the story about how he helped us sell our house and thereby increase everyone's faith. But I can't do that unless I find him, and find him, I can't.
Coming Soon
I am getting there with this house. Things are starting to find a place, and I'm gradually working on window treatments throughout the house. Our garage door openers will be installed next week. I can not wait for that! Once I have things together, I plan to do an online "open house" so you can see how it all looks.
So far, my favorite thing about the house is my jacuzzi. I've been in a few in hotels and beach houses, but I've never had my own. This jacuzzi, in particular, is pretty awesome. It has these perfectly placed two little jets right at your feet. I think I'd live in there if I could.
I've found that having big windows means big bills when buying window treatments. It's amazing how fast a couple hundred can go down the tubes when trying to cover up your windows!
Thanks to the nice weather we've been having, our grass is really starting to grow. Our yards looks like it has a nice haze of green over it right now and we're just praying that it gives us a good head start in the spring. Having this great yard, but not being able to go play in it right now is torture.
I've been lousy at posting lately, mostly because I've been falling asleep on the sofa around 9 p.m. each night. I'm exhausted from the move, and exhausted from planning and grading during the last month of the semester at the University where I teach. Exhaustion makes for minimal posting and lackluster content, I know.
Hopefully this will be a very productive weekend, full of picture hanging and getting these girls to sleep past 7 a.m for a change.
I also wanted to send out a belated "thank you" to Avitable, who sent me a really nice housewarming gift. Your wine bottle was the first to go in my wine rack, but it won't be there for long. 😉
Historical Day
Yesterday is a day for the history books, one that will not soon be forgotten. However, for me, it holds significance for another reason.
November 4th, 2008: the day that my favorite Mexican restaurant became the restaurant that gave me food poisoning.
While the girls are perfectly fine (Thank God), Mr. BBM and I are both suffering a similar fate which we can attribute to either: chicken, lettuce or sour cream.
I guess you could say that it was a crappy day for Republicans; but it was especially craptastic for me, for reasons beyond what I'm willing to share.
Congrats to all those who are happy about Obama. Miss Chris, I'll be needing one of those bumper stickers asap.
A Weekend to Remember
On Friday afternoon, we were "Boo-ed." Someone left a Halloween treat on our doorstep along with a sign for our door and a little poem. We had to anonymously leave a treat for someone else in the neighborhood. I knew this was a fun community but I had no idea just how much fun it would be.
On Friday night, for the very first time in their lives, my girls were able to trick-or-treat in a neighborhood crawling with Halloween spirit and kids. Parents set up lawn chairs and campfires with coolers of drinks nearby in their driveways as kids went door to door, always with a parent in view. Big I Sleeping Beauty and Lil C Belle, had a great time. So did the adults. It was a nice introduction to our neighborhood, but it was only the warm-up.
Flash back to January of 2008. After we had been working with our realtor for a little while, he asked us if we would be o.k. with telling people that we were working exclusively with him: the "will you go with me?" of real estate. I told him that we had no problem telling people we were working with him. However, I had a question for him first.
I told him about how our realtor many years ago, when we bought our first house, bought us a garage door opener as a house warming gift. I then told him how our second realtor bought us an orange coaster as a house warming gift. I asked him which realtor he more closely associated with, given that information.
He thought for a few seconds and then told us that he wasn't going to buy us a gift. He said that instead, he would rent a moon bounce for our open house party that would bring all the kids in the neighborhood out, so that we would get to know everyone. I told him I would hold him to that. I had no idea how incredibly he would deliver.
Yesterday, my realtor hosted a hot air balloon "welcome to the neighborhood" event in the park behind my house. The Remax hot air balloon was there, offering tethered rides to anyone who wanted one, for hours. There was also a moon bounce for the kids. My mortgage guy paid for popcorn and cotton candy machines so the entire neighborhood could have some free snacks. We estimate that there were a couple hundred people that came and went throughout the afternoon.
I met many people from our neighborhood, and Big I was thrilled to discover that one of her friends from school lives just four houses down from us while another lives directly across the park
By far though, the coolest part of the day was helping to set up and take down the hot air balloon. I have never taken a ride in one before and I was able to do that too. It was truly a day to remember.
My realtor and I helped the balloon people blow up the balloon, first with a fan that blew cold air into it, then with the propane heaters that blasted flames into the balloon and made my realtor and I happy that we had gloves on.
At one point during the day, the pilot said he needed people to hang on the side of the balloon to keep it down so I jumped onto the side of the balloon, which got me some brave reviews from some of my new neighbors.
During the day, some local 6th graders set up and sold bottles of water to help raise money to build water pumps in less fortunate countries. All around, it was an amazing introduction to our new community, a day that will not soon be forgotten.
A huge thanks goes out to my awesome realtor and mortgage guy! Let's do it again. . . next week perhaps?
Intrusion
When I was about five years old, I was rudely awakened after falling asleep on the sofa. My Mom was screaming, running in place, and grabbing me before I knew what was going on. The next thing I knew, I was being thrown on top of the dining room table as my Mom quickly grabbed one of the ice hockey sticks my dad had chosen not to take to his game that night and joined me on the table.
We had an intruder. It was a mouse.
I remember my Dad coming home very late at night to find me sleeping on the table and my Mom occasionally whacking at the floor frantically as the mouse would go charging across the room. My parents had moved into a new construction area and mouse traps in the house were just a way of life for quite some time.
Tonight I grabbed a couple bottles for recycling and headed out to the garage. I flipped the light on and could have sworn I saw something go darting from under my car to under Lil C's bike. I stood completely still and waited on the step. A couple seconds later, the darting intruder made itself known as it scampered across the garage floor to the pile of broken down boxes and disappeared.
I screamed a scream I wasn't aware I had in me, slammed the garage door behind me, and did the Flashdance running in place moves my Mom had done so many years ago. "There's a MOUSE in the GARAGE!" I screamed. "Ahh" and there it was again, my Mom's scream coming out of me.
Mr. BBM got up from the dinner table and with testosterone overflowing, he proclaimed he was going to the garage to do what needed to be done.
There was much slamming and noise in the garage, and when all was said and done, he entered the house empty-handed. He couldn't find it. He didn't even see it.
I won't sleep tonight. I'm terrified to go out to my car. Yes, the 1st kyu brown belt is afraid of a little mouse. And just for good measure. . .
(Insert flashdance running in place action here and just one more "EEEKKKKKKK!!!!!"
I'm going to the store now to buy some traps. I'll have Mr. BBM carry me to the car. How he wishes I was kidding.
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