Milwaukee Here We Come!

Andy has accepted the offer with Harley Davidson and will start in a couple weeks. We are very excited about this change (but it's scary at the same time).

There are still so many details to sort out, but two details are firm now - he has a job & we are moving to the Milwaukee area.

Now we just need to sell our house and find a new place to live.

Who Goes to Wal-Mart After Midnight?

Well the answer to that question is - who was buying what at the Super Wal-Mart?
1) a grup of Mexican women buying clearance bras & tops
2) a couple of stoners (yes, I could tell they were stoned) buying a bunch of snacks & beverages
3) someone buying $20 worth of burn creams and gauze
4) a high school couple (w/ bitchy girlfriend) looking for a movie (since at that time of the night the theaters are closed, as well as the video stores) (BTW - he recommended they get a movie "they" saw before, only it wasn't her and she wanted nothing to do with that movie after that. Funny.)

Both of Andy's Hands were Wrapped Up Like This

Andy had a brain fart while we were having a bonfire in the backyard and grabbed on of the firepit brincks that had fallen out. He burned 5 of his fingers (2 on one, 3 on another.) I happened to have some burn gel in our first aid kit, but we used it all so I ran out to Wal-Mart to buy some more stuff. We weren't sure how the burns were going to play out through the night & next day. He woke up and his hands felt fine this morning, still had blisters but not the pain.

The Neck Brace was Just for Fun.

Our neighbor is a First Responder for the local Fire Department and went to grab his bag (since they were there to witness it all) for First Responder calls and he offered up other things to use as well. Turns out it was good he went through it, because the neck brace was broken and it would have not been good if he went on a call and needed it. Andy looks like he was having a good time, but he was in pain.

Making our New Home Greener

As I was reading my Natural Home magazine, it made me think of a couple things we've done here that I may or may not want to take with us.

The bat house will be staying -- we can't take the home away from the bats. But if I want to make one just like the one I purchased previousy I can used scrape pieces of plywood and make a new bat house.

The other things is my compost bin. I had done a lot of research to find the one that I wanted & could afford and worked most efficiently for us. I suppose I can empty put the compost all onto the garden and then clean up the panels. I remember it was relatively easy to put together and won't take up as much room in the moving truck when we finally move. The compost bin I bought is relatively attractive, well, not really attractive, but easily disguisble and not an eye sore. So, I think I will clean it out & clean it up and bring it along. And if we live in the middle or suburbia, then I don't want an eyesore, but I still want to compost.

I wish we could take along our new energy efficient windows.

News on the Job Front

Well, I am only using intials of the names of the company. Those that know what's going on will know what they are.

HD called and they are considering him for all the positions he applied for (he applied for 3 more after the interview.) They said he interviewed well and think he would fit in well with the atmosphere of the company. 3 of the 4 jobs are with the same manager he interviewed with, the 4th is a different manager. He may have to do more phone interviews or possibly go back there again for the other positions. We should hopefully know something by the end of this week or beginning of next week.

RWS called and set up a second interview for next week. They told him at the first interview that the second interviews would be the top 2 candidates.

BS was a company he did a phoner with this week. They have two positions open. We'll have to wait and see what happens there.

RS is out of the picture.

He got a call from a company to do contract work. The contract is for a year. He told them he was seeking a permanent position, but would keep the option open.

There are other irons in the fire and resumes out there, but that's what going on for the more active ones.

Sometimes Things Just Don't as Planned.....

Which is tough for me...because I'm a planner......

I'll just start with today. If things went according to plans, Isabel & I would have been at storytime at the library this morning, someone would come to look at the house this evening, and we would go swimming at the city pool while they toured our house. But things change and plans change and so we must adapt. So, we went to the library, but they were taking a couple weeks off from storytime and would start again next week. So, we just stayed for a while and played, picked out some books and puzzles to check out and bring home. Then we went to check if the new Dollar store was open (of course, it opens tomorrow) and then instead went to Kohl's (which has been here for a year and a half and I had not gone there yet.) Isabel is a good little shopper and like to look at all sorts of new things, so it's fun to take her with. When she sees something she thinks is neat she just squeals. As we were going towards the outdoor stuff, which was all brightly colored she was giggling so much, it was cute.)

The people cancelled there showing for tonight and now can't get here until next week. We have only had one showing so far; we had a different showing that got cancelled because they put an offer on a house the night before they were supposed to tour ours - they should have waited, maybe our house was even better (they were looking for a house to do a B&B with.) So, we have halted on all the little tidying up since they are not coming, but it was good that we did a lot of cleaning and packed up some more boxes and did a couple more little projects - so it was not a loss at all.

And we plan to go swimming this afternoon yet, rather than so late in the day. So, that's good too.

If things would go according to plan, we would have sold our house right away and were free to relocate wherever we choose and that great job where everything fell into place (pay, benefits, perks, relocation package, location, job duties, industry.) And we would find a great house that was big enough, but not too big, with character but not everything outdated, and a nice size yard, in a great neighborhood, with a great school system, at a price we can afford would just fall into our lap.

Instead, I am really having to learn to control my patience, because none of those things have happened yet - doesn't mean that they won't, but we're still waiting. My patience is really all I can control because all the rest if of my control. I can't make someone come see my house and buy it, I can't make that great job get offered to Andy, and I can't even find us a new house until the first two things happen.

I try - to find a new place - but then I have to stop because the places he is interviewing at are in so many locations throughout the Midwest, that I just don't know where we'll be.

I want people to know that we appreciate your concerns and interest, but I get a little stressed out saying we STILL don't know anything. And when we do, everyone will know. When our house sells - You'll Know. When he accepts a job somewhere - You'll Know. Why? Because I will be so excited that we (I) can start planning for something.

I joke with people that I have taken to reading my horoscope to provide me with some guidance. But it's really no joke. Although, now that school is let out and we don't get the paper I don't know where I will read my horoscope. I'll have to find it online.

Now, I think we are going swimming this afternoon, but things don't always go as planned.

Andy has Pink Eye - Poor Guy

He woke up this morning with the right eye glued shut. I am hoping Isabel doesn't get it back from him and I hope I don't get it. I keep washing my hands a lot, but who knows if it is already in my system. His infected eye is all swollen & everything. Isabel's never got swollen, just a little bit of gunk when she had it.

Dumbass Hooch!

So, for the past few weeks I have listing & re-listing items on Craiglist that we need to get rid of since we are downsizing......

I figure 90% of the contacts I get don't pan out for one reason or another.....of that 90% half will say they are going to come buy it and never show. Very frustrating!

So, of course I am not going to hold anything for anyone because whoever gets me the money first gets it. I need to make the sale and it get it out of the house.

Well, I just got off the phone with this dumb hooch who wasn't going to come until 9/9:30 tonight. She is apparently 3 hours away at college, but has family that lives only an hour away from us. She said she was going to be taking a bus to Mpls and then a friend was going to bring her our way and "IF" she wanted it she would give me the money and then go to the family's house and not pick it up for 2 more days.

In the meantime, someone else called and was only 30 minutes away and was coming right away to look & possibly buy. I called the hooch and let her know someone else might be buying it and I would let her know and that it goes to the first person who gives me the money. She leaves me a message saying she was just leaving work (in Duluth, still not on a bus yet) would appreciate if I called to let her know if it was gone.

These people actually show and do buy it. I called the hooch and she starts screaming at me saying I cost her an $80 bus ticket and gas money for her friend. Does she think I'm dumb? She was coming this way anyway....she was not spending $80 for a bus ticket "IF" she was interested in the couch & chair and then gas money. She was doing all that on her own to go by her family (& purchase other furniture she told me). I explained I did not know if she would actually show and I have to make my sale. (She has still never left Duluth, so it's not like she paid the person the gas money yet.) She kept yelling at me and I hung up on her. What a fuckwad!