Now I really did it :((

[Kelinas]

Remington is good, pain in my butt like usual. He's so long and talkative!

My dog is good I Suppose, haven't seen her since last November when I moved out. I miss her daily.
Still not divorced.
Even though he wanted one, seeing me happy infuriates him so he's refusing to sign the papers, and won't let me see the dog.

But I'm enjoying life

 

[LLJsmom]

. You all have seen a ton of these photos before when I had tried them on previously. The white is with one diamond and rhodium plated.

 

[MarionC]

Jimmy is here and cannot figure it out. OMG.
C'mon Jimmy you can figure this out.
Haha I just realized Jimmianne's name is so close to the Jimmy name. That has to be good luck right?

Did it need freon? I hope that was it.I knew anyone named Jimmy would be a good person [ great person, wonderful person LOL]
What was wrong with the unit?
I just had to replace mine because something-or-other was shorting out and could not be fixed. It ran, but no cooling.
I hope you had better news than that.

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Missy, I love the duck pictures. They have certainly grown. You are so right those criminals should put their mind to productive and legal use and they’d do fine. A nice romantic ride on the ferry to the city sounds fabulous but rats you had to stay home to get the AC fixed. Thanks for letting us know how Ovi is doing; I was wondering. Happy first surgerysary. What a difference a year can make! Are you guys cooking and baking already for the family GTG this weekend? Catitude. Love it!

Jimmianne, at least you enjoyed your trip to the city in spite the appointment error. My sister and BIL live 35 miles out of town and they come to town with a full list of things they have to get done while they are in town. Marty has the Nespresso machine that takes pods and loves it. I love your little mowers. They are so cute.

Kristie, going to Seattle from Alaska certainly wins. But it’s important to get the proper medical care so I completely understand why you’d travel that far. Can you send me some of your heat?

Junebug, do you close on the beach house next week? I am still very excited for you. Work is going okay. My boss told me today he hoped I didn’t plan on quitting and I told him I wasn’t planning on it and since you say they aren’t trying to get rid of me I guess we both will be fine.

Hi Kelinas! Enjoying life and being happy is the best revenge.

LLJsmom, that’s always a good sign when you feel good after you bought something you love. Your scarf looks great. Love the Star Wars reference. I think both bracelets look fabulous. I know that’s no help. And I immediately noticed your glowing diamond.

Callie, I hope your landscaper comes tomorrow.

Last night I wandered around Lowes and Sears looking at appliances. Then came home and checked consumer’s reports. My choice for dishwasher is fine but the refrigerator we both liked wasn’t rated well at all. Plus it’s not much bigger than the one we have and it silly priced compared to larger refrigerators. I found a Samsung I think we’ll order. It has a dual ice maker too.

I had a hectic day. My cleaning lady arrived about 8:10 so I got to work about 8:30. I spent some time sending some flowers to one of my employees. She is having outpatient surgery and the company only sends flowers for serious hospital stays so I just told my team I’m sending her flowers; chip in some cash if you want. Then I started printing out all my reports and called away to a meeting. Then I had a training class for crystal reports but had to leave early to come home and pay my cleaning lady. It was chilly and rainy so while I was waiting for her to be done I made myself a grilled cheese sandwich. Got back to work and one of the IT guys needed to install some apps on my work laptop; that took almost 90 minutes between installation, setup and working out bugs. Then my boss called me to his office for the highlights of his last one on one with my employees. I got back to my desk after 4 and still had 95% of my reports to review.

Marty has been on a plane to Frankfurt since 10 am. Luckily he wasn’t flying United today. He lands at 11 pm tonight with a 5 – 6 hour layover then flies on to Denver.

And yes it’s true. I have the gas fireplace on; it is in the low 50’s here and my house is chilly. Okay it says 71 but I’m chilly.

Have a great evening.
Marcy

 

[Kelinas]

Yes!
But being single would be the icing on the cake

 

[marcy]

Kelinas, I hope things work out the way you want. I am delighted you are enjoying life.

 

[missy]

Happy Friday eve!

Remington is good, pain in my butt like usual. He's so long and talkative!

My dog is good I Suppose, haven't seen her since last November when I moved out. I miss her daily.
Still not divorced.
Even though he wanted one, seeing me happy infuriates him so he's refusing to sign the papers, and won't let me see the dog.

But I'm enjoying life

Kelinas, We say that about Francesca all the time. That she is so long haha. And she is a petite cat compared to her kitty siblings but she is so long.

I am so sorry you haven't seen your dog since November. That sucks and your ex is a spiteful bas***d. But Marcy is right. Living well is the best revenge and I know your divorce will be finalized eventually and I hope you will be reunited with your dog. Once your ex realizes how he is putting his whole life and happiness on hold hopefully he will get that this is a waste of time and energy with no positive returns.

Sending you lots of love and good energy for things to get resolved as far as your ex is concerned. I am so happy you are happy and doing well and the rest will fall into place.

Marcy, Hoping Marty is home safe and sound by now. Woohoo! And good news on the work front. It is always nice knowing they need and want you there. There is nothing like job security and these days it is not so common so good for you on that issue. It's a relief they realize how valuable you are and appreciate all your hard work!

Greg is cooking and baking for my family this weekend and I am very much looking forward to it now as long as the weather cooperates and as you know that is all I will say on the weather for now so I don't jinx anything. LOL. They have not been here for 2 years because last year I had the accident the day before they were supposed to come for our annual beach GTG. So this year has even more importance for me because it means things are getting back to the way I want them to be and I can share this with my family. My dad is 81 and both parents are more frail and fragile and we just don't know what tomorrow will bring so very much trying to live in the present and enjoy each day. It's a challenge for me as you know I am a worrier always looking ahead but now I am trying to be present in my life in a more healthy positive way.

Glad you got the appliance purchases figured out. That is always fun LOL. The last time we bought appliances (dishwashers/fridge/stove/microwave) we didn't do online research. It was in the early 2000's and well I wasn't computer savvy and not sure what Greg's excuse was and we paid for that with some reliability issues etc but it worked out in the end. After a lot of aggravation so I am glad you are doing your homework and not making the same mistakes we did. You can bet when the next round of purchasing comes we will not be repeating the not researching each and every one of them mistake. No no no.


Jimmianne, sorry the dentist's office screwed up. I am surprised they didn't fit you in somehow like during his lunch or at the end of the day or perhaps see if a no show happened but I am glad it worked out and that you enjoyed the day and got things done also. Making lemonade out of lemons is a very valuable life tool.

The A/C is working but Jimmy never figured it out. It didn't need Freon (that was my thought too LOL great minds) and he spent a while really exploring any potential problems. But nothing and it is still working so who the heck knows. Jimmy said it could have been the capacitor (which is a voltage regulator) not functioning properly and he replaced it. So maybe that was it or maybe not but we do have his direct mobile # (though he is going to Ocean City Maryland next week so that won't do us any good next week haha) and I know the HVAC company will do their best to come as soon as they come if it breaks down again. Jimmy ended up staying 2 hours chatting with me and I now know his whole life story lol. My dh said Jimmy likes to chat and he wasn't kidding. Usually Greg takes care of these matters but since he was at work yesterday it was just me and I didn't mind as the whole day was free anyway and it was too humid and hot to be outside. So the whole morning was spent with the A/C and chatting with Jimmy and by the time I worked out and showered and washed my hair Greg was home. Not a bad relaxing day off.

Today the cleaning crew is coming but at 5PM so we are forced to go out to dinner but that's not a bad way to enjoy the evening and it will be nice to come home to a clean house just in time for our company Saturday.

LLJsmom, I love the bracelets on you! So elegant and lovely. You made a beautiful choice. And Marcy is right again. Your ring just POPS out and WOW. It looks so amazing on your hand. You have great taste and I LOVE every piece of bling you have shared with us. And that is a beautiful scarf too!

Callie, good luck with the landscapers today.

Today is a chance of rain by us all day but we are going cycling anyway. Tonight is supposed to be very stormy so hoping it is not too bad while we are driving to and from dinner.

Have a good Thursday girls!

 

[Kelinas]

Yep! Long!

&awkward

 

[missy]

Haha when we were out cycling I told Greg that you said your baby is long just like we always say Francesca is long and he said let's take a pic so we just did and I see you included a pic too. Great minds.

Awww Remington is such a handsome and yes looong baby!!! He is way longer than our petite Francesca and he is totally gorgeous in every way! Thank you for sharing pics of him!

Here is our long Frankfurter (one of the many nicknames we have given her) and as a bonus pic I am including a new duckling photo I took on our ride today. Adorable babies all around.

 

[azstonie]

MIssy, Francesca is one long little girl!~!!! Look at her putting up with Greg streeeeeetching her out, heehee!!!

Great pic of the momma duck and her babies

Kelinas, good to hear from you. My ex loved to 'lose' all the paperwork to finalize the divorce. I think he did it because he knew it cost me a bundle to call my lawyer, she had her staff print up the docs, then hire the process server to serve them. My ex 'lost' the papers about 4 times, at that point I was just ready to kill him and be a widow. The other thing my ex loved to do was have hour-long phone chats with my lawyer (who was bored and nosy). I got the bill for the first one ($450) and went by her office and asked what the product was from the conversation. She said there was none. So I gave her a written notice that I would pay for no more than 15 minutes phone calls with my ex-husband AND they had to be initiated by HER not him AND there had to be a 'product' of the phone call.

So that stopped immediately.

Hang in there, this is going to be a blip in your rear view mirror soon.

 

[junebug17]

Missy, I'm glad your AC is up and running, I agree that it's very tough to be without it. Fingers crossed the weather holds out - at least it shouldn't be a monsoon like your original date! I hope you and Greg enjoy your dinner out, sounds like fun.

love the pic of the ducklings, they are unbelievably cute. And Francesca is so pretty, she has a beautiful coat.

LLJsmom, the love cuff looks so beautiful on you I'm glad you're happy with your decision, it's a great choice and I know you'll enjoy it a lot. Your ering looks fab in the pics too. Sounds like you're on your Paris vacation, hope you're having a great time.

Kelinas, sorry to hear about your divorce issues but glad you're getting enjoyment out of life. Living well really is the best revenge, isn't it? Your kitty is gorgeous, thanks for sharing her.

Jimmianne, love the pic of your horses, they are so sweet. Yes, we're closing on the new house next week, there's been a flurry of activity as all the professionals involved realize they have a closing coming up, so last minute phone calls requesting this and that. No major decorating plans, the house is simply decorated but I like it - eventually we'll add our own touches but we don't plan on doing anything right away.

Marcy, your boss's comment was very reassuring, it's nice to know you're valued and needed - sounds like they're concerned you're going to get fed up and leave!

Hope everyone is having a good night!

 

[Kelinas]

He's super long but only weighs 8 lbs.
He's skin and bones but he is really active so the vet said not to worry.

He's my rambunctious bag of love. I adore him. And he's sort of grown into his bat ears

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

Missy, Marty got home about 6. I ordered pizza that showed up about 10 minutes later. Great timing and easy supper. I am sure Greg will be putting on a terrific feast for the family this weekend. I so agree to live life as normal as you can and to the fullest every day. You never know what might happen. We both sadly know that all too well. I am glad you have the AC running again but that’s frustrating not to really know what was wrong with it. Jimmy had a nice time visiting though. Frankfurter is long and again cute ducks.

Kelinas, cute kitty!

Kristie, your ex sounds like a real nice guy – not. I am glad you set your attorney straight on talking to your ex on your dime. My sister did that with my parents attorney on the estate. She called him a couple of times and asked for documents. I should have deducted those charges from her portion of the settlement.

Junebug, those last few days before closing are very hectic. That is wonderful the house is ready to move in already and won’t need a lot of changes initially. I was glad to be reassured they aren’t trying to eliminate my position. I did tell both my old boss and my current boss I was completely fed up and contemplating quitting. Maybe they are worried I will.

I waited up to make sure Marty made it to Germany last night, then woke up again about 2 and exchanged some text and emails with Marty so it was a short night. Marty got home about 6 and is in bed already. He is getting up very early for a golf outing tomorrow. I have the day off so I hope I get to sleep in a little bit.

Marty got this little bag for carry on luggage so he grabbed Snacks and put him in the bag so the Killer Rabbit has his own carry on luggage. What a comedian, eh?

Take care.
Marcy

 

[azstonie]

"Bunnywipes?"

Glad Marty is home safe/sound, Marcy.

What is everyone doing this weekend? I'm supervising Bob while he builds me an enormous CD bookcase, I finally got the exercise room organized and then it was time to get my CDs back in shape too. Ordered a great bookcase for CDs/DVDs from Amazon and it arrived yesterday. Its offgassing in the exercise room in all of its 1-million-tiny-parts glory

Junebug, are you enjoying the new beach place? What's your favorite thing about it thus far???????

Missy, your family partay is this weekend, right? Or am I a week off and it was last weekend?

Callie, are you outside right now watering and loving up your new additions to the landscaping?

LLJs, any summer fog this year? I love going to SF for a summer weekend and getting that lovely fog.

Luv2, what's shakin' with the wedding?

Jimmianne, have you found a cleaning person? I hope you weren't dissuaded, when they are good they are FANTASTIC.

Ovi, oh Ovi, where are you, are you back from vacation yet?

 

[MarionC]

AZ...I am interviewing someone on Tuesday next week. She came highly recommended and has sent timely polite email responses.
I have the stupidest question - what do cleaners do ----and don't do??
Maybe ya'll can coach me. What do you do to get ready for your cleaner?

I'll be glad to have help with cleaning, but I think the most important thing about it is having to get organized once a week. I tend to ignore the clutter build up until someone comes over, then I look around and think ...OMG.
It's hard to keep tables and counters clear of "incoming" [mail, etc] when you live alone. It's like having an evil twin roommate

 

[azstonie]

Well all cleaners have their own personal idiosyncrasies. The most recent cleaner I had did not do the inside of the oven unless you paid extra OR you were having her do a deep cleaning (usually done twice yearly). I liked what she did (for awhile) in the rest of the house so I let that one slide.

Go to a website for Earth Maids or Molly Maids and look at the list of what they do.

Yes, it will make you organize things so that the cleaner can clean rather than move clutter around. If you have lots of knick-knacks, remove them from tabletops, etc., so she doesn't spend tons of time dusting and moving them back. If you have something you don't want broken or damaged/fragile, move it before she gets there. I removed all such things to my dining room table the night before my cleaner came. She still managed to damage these things because she bumped the table very very hard and several items banged together, fell over and broke or scratched.

This brings me to my personal pet peeve for cleaners: Slow down. Don't rush. You break things when you rush. You do a lousy job when you rush. So don't rush through my house/my things.

I had this conversation with every house cleaner here in AZ and it didn't matter, they all rushed and broke things and damaged things and did an incomplete job. I walked around the house picking up dust clothes, put the vacuum away, the floor steamer was left out and running, cleaner left on bathroom fixtures, etc.

My experience was, if the cleaner expresses to you dissatisfaction with being a house cleaner, DON"T HIRE THAT PERSON. I paid the last cleaner $35/hour and she bitched to me about "having" to clean houses for a living. In my mind, I was paying her a very good hourly wage and the last thing I wanted to her about was her dissatisfaction with the work at hand.

Which brings me to the distant thing: Keep your distance, be respectful but not friend-ie. You're going to have to occasionally correct inadequate work or bad work and it'll feel worse for both of you if you have morphed into friends or friendly. Your job is to keep your appointments with her so she can make a living, and to pay her on time and in the way she asks you to (cash, check, whatever). Her job is to keep her appointments with you (thereby giving you a consistently clean home) and do a good job.

Ask her what her work includes, hopefully she has a list/handout of this. The first two times, take a checklist and go through it together before she leaves your home; this will be included in her paid time. It gives you a chance to praise and to point out change if needed. Everyone likes praise, you can tell her she did a great job (in a distant, respectful way, LOL).

Decide what your top 3 needs are--->those are nonnegotiables and tell her they are very important to you. For me, it was steaming the floors after vacuuming them and not doing two things I didn't like that was routine for her.

What are her top 3 needs in a client?

Her chemicals and equipment or yours? Figure that out then tell her.

Do you want her there when she's got a cold or is ill? Does she want to come clean if YOU are sick? Iron that out ahead of time.

Decide how you communicate cancellations, etc. Text? Email? PHone call?

If she cancels on you, will she reschedule you?

So:
Floors.
Appliances.
Dusting.
Change bed linens?
Empty/run dishwasher?
Dust/clean upholstered furniture?
Window coverings?
Windows?
Front entryway of the house?
Doors.
Shower.
Toilets.
Sinks.
Kitchen and bathroom cabinets including dusting/polishing.

 

[marcy]

Kristie, I am almost not breathing I am laughing so hard at bunny wipes!

 

[MarionC]

The first thing I will ask the cleaner is if she provides her own bunnywipes : P

AZ, thank you! for taking the time to write that all out for me - it's very, very helpful.
I don't know if this will be "the one" but at least I'll get practice if it isn't. She is the housekeeper for the B&B in town and they really like her work [fingers crossed].

 

[azstonie]

Heh, bring your own bunnywipes!!!

Okay, a professional hotel cleaner. That is good because she has to be reliable and show up for work, you like that. Its different though from cleaning a private home. NO RUSHING. Rushing is good at the B&B, its not good at your house. Have her change your bed linens when she comes, see if you like the way she makes a bed. Its nice when they give you a fresh new bed. Cleaning the kitchen, does she clean the kitchen at the B&B? If not, talk specifically about how your kitchen will be cleaned.

Because of the Westies, I have to have furniture, rugs and ortho chill pads in certain spots throughout my house. I took pics of the arrangements and printed them so that she knew where to put things after steaming the floors. They don't live in your house, they won't remember for awhile where things go. Eventually, they do.

Think about pay. You never want to pay the bottom of the range. Start in the middle and think about what earns her a raise. There is almost nothing better than receiving a raise at work, right? No one should work for years and never get a raise.

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

I’ve had a pleasant lazy day so far. Slept in, took a late shower, picked up a friend and went to lunch. Now I’m catching up with you ladies.

Kristie, Bob has his weekend planned out now. You’ll love having your CD’s all organized. I loved reading through your list and ideas about cleaners. I need to ask my cleaning lady if she’ll do deep cleaning a few times a year. Time to get that done around here.

Jimmianne, definitely make sure anyone you hire to clean provides their own bunnywipes. I need to print that out and get it on the refrigerator today. I do exactly what Kristie said and pick up as much clutter as I can because I want to pay her to clean not pick up our messes. We were both awful at our old house. We had a small dining room table where we never sat to eat because it was full of “get to” stuff like mail, projects, etc. I was bad if we were having company it all went in a laundry basket in the laundry closet. Which was conveniently located right by the table. When we moved we both swore we’d be better about clutter at our new house. Overall I would say we succeeded but once of us more than other the other. Not that I’m pointing fingers at Marty but just saying . . .

Marty got up at 5 to go with some of his golf buddies to play golf in Denver. We were going to both go down and spend the night but since Marty ended up traveling this week we decided against it.

I had already scheduled the day off at work so I decided why not – I’ll just be lazy. I am working on laundry right now.

Since I haven’t bought any jewelry in a while (ssh that’s my story and I’m sticking to it) I wrote Brian Gavin to see if they have any signature blue melee for a channel set band. They are checking. I am so confidant they’ll find some I ordered a UV black light today. Yes, I know you can use one of those to see gross things but being the OCD germ freak I am it’s best I don’t do such things. For all I know some of my gemstones might be fluorescent. My EC RHR is faint.

Have a great weekend.
Marcy

 

[Calliecake]

Hi Girls,

Poor Kristie may want to skip most of my post as she heard most of it on the phone today. I'm so sorry Kristie!!!'

My landscaping is done and I have new evergreens and boxwoods in my front yard. Please save yourself a lot of aggravation and get pricing up front before workers do any work....even if you trust the person doing the work. My yard looks nice but I really feel like we were taken for a ride..... Or should I say dragged by the back of a car bumper. All the work that was done last year to our front yard was guaranteed. By guaranteed I assumed if it was all dying and looked like it was beyond the point of no return, they would replace it. The owner came out two months ago and said my front yard landscaping needed to be replaced. Well it was replaced yesterday and I charged the cost I was charged last year. Needless to say I am not happy! I had asked the owner several times what the cost would be and was never given an answer except that he would take care of us. I also texted him three times this past week to ask what the cost would be and he never responded.

Missy, I hope you have wonderful weather tomorrow for your family party. I know you will have a great time! What is Greg making to eat? I can not get over how long little Francesca is. Your pictures of the ducks are so cute!

Jimmianne, My cleaning lady really has it pretty easy, I remove everything off the counters and most things off the tables. I had something get broken when she first started cleaning so I remove everything. My big priorities for her are the bathrooms being spotless and the hardwood floors cleaned really well. I have no problem dusting anything she may have missed. Although that has never been an issue. My oven has never been used so that will never be an issue. In all honestly no one would be able to tell the difference in the house before or after she came. I keep a clean house. I know it's cleaner after she leaves and that's all that matters to me. About the oven...my goal is to sell the house without it ever being turned in!

Junebug, How exciting you are now the owners of the beach house! Closing are always so much fun, aren't they. We bought our first home two months before we were married. Every time my name was listed in the contract, the words "an married woman" followed. I have never been so mad in my life. The woman at the closing told me that I should cheer up they had just replaced the word SPINSTER. Funny the never referred to my husband as anything other than his name in the contract, I asked why an unmarried man didn't follow everytime his name was mentioned in the contracts.

Marcy, How nice to have Marty home safe and sound! He has to be exhausted. How did he make it thru golf? I know, dumb question. They can always golf! Did you say you haven't received any jewelry in a while..... Oh yeah, I'll keep your secret!

Kristie, I was all excited to be going out to dinner and he called to tell me he was golfing. So I guess we are going to dinner tomorrow night instead! I'm taking those clubs out of his truck!

Kelinas, I can't believe your divorce is still not final. Hopefully it will be soon and you can put this chapter behind you! Your cat is beautiful. I'm so sorry has has kept you away from your dog. It broke my heart when I read that. I remember how much you loved your dog!

 

[marcy]

Callie, that is horrible about being charged by your landscaper for replacements. Does your receipt from last year have the replacement time frame listed on it? Landscaping is never cheap anyway and then to have to pay for something that didn't last as expected is pretty rotten. I would certainly gather up everything you have in writing, time frame including ignored texts and go talk to them. If they are still unresponsive maybe file a claim with the BBB. I am glad your yard looks beautiful but its too bad to have it ruined by poor customer service.

Marty's golf game didn't go well today. He drove down there too but at least he had company to help keep him awake. He's pretty jet lagged.

We made the rounds of Lowes, Home Depot and Sears tonight and ended up buying a dishwasher and refrigerator. We might get the dishwasher installed Thursday and the refrigerator delivered a week from Sunday.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Marcy

 

[marcy]

Hi NIRDIs!

I tried to sleep in today but I had a husband who was bored because he didn't have golf scheduled today and it was time for breakfast. He made himself a Jimmy Dean breakfast bowl and we both had muffins from Perkins so it was an easy breakfast for us.

Marty went to the range and I spent a few hours straightening out my address book and importing in to Outlook. I think I finally have that email program working. My Mac mail continues to crash.

We went out for lunch and did some yard work when we got home. Lucky we got it done when we did it's raining out there now. Wyoming rain storms are interesting. They blow through, drop the temperature about 30 degrees then it's like nothing ever happened. I can see blue sky to the west right now.

I hope everyone is having a splendid weekend.

Marcy

 

[missy]

Good morning girls!

Kelinas, I would have never guessed Remington weighs only 8 lbs. He looks super fit and healthy and gorgeous so 8 lbs agrees with him.

Marcy, OMG bunny wipes lololol hysterical. Girl, you crack me up.

Temp dropping 30 degrees right after a storm. Cool. My aunt and uncle were reminiscing yesterday talking about California weather when they lived in Carmel in the 70's and they don't miss it. My uncle said they had one season in Carmel. Spring. And he likes 4 seasons. Personally it sounds like heaven to me. That and the earthquakes about them coming home every day and all the pics were crooked from the tremors. Every day.

Anyway Wyoming weather sounds much more interesting than their California weather but I feel I am at a stage where I would be good with one season all year as long as it was a nice one. Oh and they were talking about what you said Kristie but they feel the opposite way you do. Re the west coast being (too) casual compared to the east coast. But they meant it a bit differently. Not just in dress style (which did bother them that everyone was too casual) but also in friends etc. They said people are super friendly but it is all superficial and that it is difficult to find close friends. Everyone is a friendly acquaintance out there. Keep in mind this is their experience and by no means am I extrapolating to everyone who lives there.

Sorry Marty's golf game didn't go well the other day but jet lag is a beast so he will for sure do better next time re the game. Hope you guys enjoyed a day off yesterday. Yay for purchasing appliances and I bet you cannot wait for delivery.

Callie, that is awful abut being charged again for everything. We don't have any such guarantee from our landscapers but if we did and they charged us again I would be pissed. I hope you can straighten it out and get some money back. I am glad your yard is looking the way you want it again though. Enjoy dinner out tonight.

Kristie, great checklist re cleaning people. I am pretty pleased with both the crew at the beach house and the woman at our Brooklyn home. The only thing I don't like is how expensive it is at the beach house but she is good so it is worth it though I keep adding up in my head all the extra bling I could be buying if I didn't have the cleaning crew at the beach house. Oh well. A clean house is worth it.


Jimmianne, good luck with the interviewing cleaning people this coming week. The person you are thinking of hiring sounds promising. I clear all the clutter before our cleaning crew/person arrives and also put jewelry and money away in the safe. No need to have temptation about.

Junie, I hope your weekend is going well and that you are enjoying yourself as well as being successful in all you have to do re packing and moving. I also hope your weather is great at the beach house.

LLJsmom, I am sure you are enjoying all your new purchases. Cannot wait to hear your thoughts about everything.

We had a great day yesterday. Weather was gorgeous, food was delicious, company was fun and everyone stayed very late till past 10PM so it was a full day. Of course I could not fall asleep and woke up before 5AM but that's OK. When my schedule changes and I go to bed so late I cannot fall asleep but I will catch up tonight hopefully. I am sharing pics of the day for you girls and hope you enjoy.

 

[missy]

More pics. Yes I changed clothes haha. I usually do at least once if we are enjoying a long day. I like to go from day to night and sometimes depending on how long people are over I change another time but yesterday I only changed once. From skirt to capris.

 

[missy]

I almost forgot I took a pic of the lovely sunrise this AM. Oh and of course I have to add a pic of the kitties. Slightly blurry but check out the glowy eyes. Spooky.

We are off to go cycling in a bit. I hope everyone enjoys their Sunday!

 

[MarionC]

Missy, thanks for posting all the photos of your great day. I'm glad it went well & you had a good time. I love seeing these photos, as though we are getting to know you & yours better. Your family is beautiful, Harley included.

I'm off to an early breakfast with my local best friend. She sent me an email saying - are you coming or not?! - but we had never talked about having breakfast this morning. One of us is having a senior moment
I don't think it's me LOL

more later with happy Sunday to my NIRDIS.

 

[Calliecake]

Hi Girls, I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Missy, I'm with Jimmianne, I love seeing your family photos. I especially love the photo of you with your niece. What beautiful weather you had for their visit and it sure looks like everyone had a wonderful time. The weather has been hot and rainy here the past few days. I got up early yesterday morning and watered all the new landscaping and sure enough it started to rain two hours later. You just never know here especially if the weather man says less than a 50% chance of rain. It looks sunny now but more storms are coming for the next few days which is perfect with everything freshly planted. Usually landscpaping is guaranteed the first year here. I know we paid extra last year to guarantee the plantings. We over charged at least $2,000, probably more. I think I may be looking for another landscaping company. While the landscapers were here I asked one of the workmen if they wanted to take our grill. He was so thrilled to have it. Then the owner told me he was taking the grill. I honestly was more mad about the grill situation then about being over charged. I could not believe the owner did this and I knew he would have taken it now matter what. What was the worker going to do, go against his boss. The boss was right there as we were all talking about the grill. My husband also couldn't believe how the owner acted and it said so much about his character to me. Thursday was not a good day. By the time my husband came home I was extremely angry over the whole situation. Poor Kristie had to listen to me vent.

Kristie, Did Bob build the CD tower for you? Did you get all the CD's sorted out and put away. I went to the baby shower yesterday and another one of our friends had her baby the night before. Everyone was so happy for her. I have some baby shopping to do today. On the way home I drove by our first home. I will never do that again. It was such a cute house when we had it built. It looks like it hasn't been taken care of in years. The curtains I bought when we first moved in were still hanging in the living room and the other rooms had blankets hanging over the windows. It badly needed paint as much of it was chipping off. The driveway had not been sealed in the years and the shrubs looked as they had not been trimmed in years. The whole front yard was weeds. The place looked like a complete mess. It really made me said. We had taken such good care of it for the years we lived them and it looked like a dump now. I also went with my friend who's son is getting married for her final fitting of her dress. It looked gorgeous in her.

Jimmianne, I wanted to mention this about the cleaners and I know I am being picky. My biggest gripe is the cord from the vacuum is starting to wear down some of the paint around the corners of the baseboards, I have asked her many times to please unplug and use a plug in the existing room instead of having it rub on the corners. I noticed yesterday that she hasn't been doing this. The next time we have the house painted in the inside I will probably go back to cleaning the house myself. I like everything to look perfect and it bothers we when things like that can be avoided. My girlfriends have told me I'm too picky and I admittedly know that I am. If there are things you are really picky about make sure you let her know.

Junebug, I hope you are enjoying your beach house. I can't wait to hear all about your new home.

Marcy, Isn't it funny no matter how tired our husbands are when the get home from a trip, they are never too tired for golf. I can image jet lag has to have hit Marty bad after this past trip. My husband went golfing yesterday until the rain came. I felt bad for him as he was really looking forward to playing the course they went to yesterday. I can imagine there faces as they sat in clubhouse not being able to play more than a few holes. How are your flowers doing?

 

[missy]

Jimmianne, thank you and I hope you are having a wonderful time with your friend. LOL how funny that she thought she had plans with you this AM.

Hi Callie, I cannot believe your landscaper and the grill. That is just wrong and it doesn't surprise me he is cheating you on the price of the new landscaping. He is not a good person and I am sorry you are dealing with him. I totally would feel the same exact way about the grill too. That is so not nice of him plus it is yours to give to whom you want. Grrr. Makes me so mad.

We had a good morning ride and it is so hot now. Really hot. My leg rash is back with a vengeance and I am sort of getting down about it because it is scary not knowing if it is something serious. I am hoping it is just from the heat and the cycling shorts but it is getting worse by the moment. We got back a little while ago and in the time we have been back it is spreading. I am very worried but trying to occupy myself with other things. Greg just went for a quick dip in the bay and I would have loved joining him but I am staying inside for the rest of the day and away from the sun and the heat. It is so frustrating dealing with all these darn skin/health issues and not knowing exactly what is going on.

I am sorry about your first home. That must have been an unpleasant shock. If you are like me you give feelings to inanimate objects sometimes (I am weird I know) and if so I know you felt badly for the poor house.

How nice of you to go with your friend for her dress fitting and I am glad you are enjoying happy celebrations. It is so nice to celebrate good things with friends. Enjoy shopping for the baby today. Sounds like the perfect weather to be inside.

My older niece cut 10 inches from her hair for locks of love 2 weeks ago and yesterday was the first time I saw her new do. I love it and also love that a 9 year old wanted to do that on her own. She came up with the idea not my sister. Her new hairdo is sassy I think too.


Kristie, I want to know if Bob built the CD tower for you too. It is going to be so nice to have all those CDs organized. How is your "office" space coming along? Hope you are enjoying the weekend.


Marcy, I keep forgetting to tell you I have socks I wear cycling sometimes that make me think of you. My bunny socks LOL. I wear them when I wear my hot pink cycling shorts and wore them today and took a quick pic. Not sure if you can make out the bunnies but they are there. LOL now I need to get teddy bear socks for equal time for the sweet teddies. Haha.

 

[Calliecake]

Missy, I loved the story about your niece. What a kind thoughtful girl she is to donate her hair. I'm sure she felt very good knowing she was helping someone. She definately takes after Aunt Missy in the being thoughtful department! I was nice getting together with friends yesterday. We also found out that a friend of all of ours had very recently had a heart attack. We were all in shock. She is only 36 years old. Thankfully it was a mild one and she is expected to recover with minimal damage to her heart.