Healthy Living Thread

[marcy]

Deegee, that is awesome that lady left money to people who were nice to her and helped her out. They expected nothing from her and were rewarded for being kind, decent people. That is karma in action! I can't say I feel bad at all for her inattentive family who didn't end up with her money. Just what I am going through and seeing how my sisters and their families are acting I'd rather leave anything we have to someone else than my family. But I'd like to name them the executor of our estate just to have to deal with everything you have to do. The mortuary doesn't have any programs, brochures or contacts on dealing with closing out or handling estates - I think they would be an invaluable service. I should see if there is something I can download to the kindle with helpful suggestions. When does it stop snowing there? We will have snow until mid to late May here. At least it gets warmer between storms. Marty gets back from Atlanta on Friday. I told him he should offer winter driving lessons while he is there.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Monday kids!

Deegee, I LOVE that that lady left her money to people who were kind to her and brought her happiness! So many people feel “entitled” to inheritances that it makes me sick. As for people who pass away and their SOs have no idea what’s going on, it really makes you wonder about the whole story! What else is out there that they don’t know about—and will never know about! I read an interesting articles about the guy who administered the payments to families for the victims of 9/11. He wrote about a wife of a fireman who had several kids… and it turns out he also had a long time girlfriend with whom he had a second family, and of course the wife knew nothing about that. Wow. I hope everyone in your house is feeling better by now.

Curby, if you’re going to pull your dad’s credit report do it ASAP before the credit agencies are notified that he’s deceased or else the file could be locked down. I agree that there should be NO NOISE before NOON on weekends! (My “all quiet” zone extends longer than yours, ha ha.) When I lived in the townhouse complex they were really good about not running equipment at all on the weekends (unless there was crazy snow that had to be removed, that sort of thing) but there were several kids who lived right by me who would go out and play EARLY EARLY EARLY. Honestly, they weren’t doing anything wrong, but their shrill little children voices… so VERY early in the morning… Ack.

This was the weekend of plumbers. And one point the CB and two others were knee keep in a trench in what will be my master bath. Everything is set up now to frame out and plumb the master bath and the small bath is being tiled as I type. I still don’t see how everything is going to be done in time to move in, but there is definitely progress being made…

I’ve had a small migraine for three days now. It’s the second one that’s hit in conjunction with my period two months in a row. I’ve noticed the correlation before, but never for multiple months. I hope this isn’t some sort of new pattern because I’m probably a ways off from menopause unfortunately! There are a lot of articles about migraine sufferers who take magnesium citrate but I really don’t love the idea of taking high doses of anything for long periods of time. I’m not sure if it would work to just take it when the headaches hit, but I might try that and see if it does any good. I also stopped at CVS this morning and all they had was magnesium oxide, which I guess isn’t absorbed as well into the body, but I got it anyway and then I ordered some citrate from Amazon.

If it ain’t one thing it’s another!

 

[marcy]

Happy Monday. I have my fireplace cranked on tonight. It’s chilly outside.

Dee Jay, that is a pretty sad story about the fireman killed in 911 had 2 families. That would be such a double whammy on top of losing them. Noon would be okay with me for a quiet zone too. Sometimes we just need peace and quiet. How exciting to be starting on the framing, plumbing and tiling of your bathrooms. When do you plan on moving again? Mid March? That is too bad you are getting migraines. Excedrin Migraine pills really help me but I think they are hard to find. Caffeine helps me too. I hope you are feeling better tonight.

I was in bed at 10:38 last night – that is early for me. I slept okay.

I forgot my phone so I came home for lunch. It was beautiful out and 51 degrees. By 3 pm it was 18 and snowing. We are expecting snow tonight again.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[deegee]

Marcy-we usually get snow on and off through March. I forbid it after that! I hate the days like you had...warm enough to trick you and then the temperature takes a dive and it starts snowing. I agree there should be a service to let people know how to handle an estate. I did it by way of my job and I had procedures to follow, but there is just so much involved. I was a regular in probate court, and also at a local jewelry store getting things appraised. I once had to track down someone to appraise an old coin collection. Lots of work, for sure. 10:38 is definitely early for you. I think I started saying I was going to bed somewhere around 9 tonight and it's going on midnight now and I'm still sitting in front of the fire.

Dee*Jay-I have come to expect a monthly migraine, but they don't knock me completely out like the food related migraines do. I've never tried magnesium citrate. Worth a try, I guess. I agree about sharp kid voices in the morning. Our new house is pretty soundproof. I think someone could be running power equipment right outside my bedroom window with kids jumping on a trampoline in the background and I wouldn't hear a thing, but we heard every loud voice, loud radio, car door, etc, at our old house. And there were lots of kids in that neighborhood. They all chose to play in the street in front of my house at 7:30 on Saturday mornings. So very wrong.

I did okay with food today. Yogurt for breakfast, soup for lunch, and a grilled pork chop and veggies for dinner. All snacks were fresh fruit. I'm thinking about a big glass of wine to help me get to sleep. Have a great day tomorrow!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Tuesday kids!

Curby, the person administering the estate never told the wife about the girlfriend and the other family. Although I suppose there is a danger in the wife reading the article all these years later and putting two and two together! I do take Excedrin For Migraines but unfortunately some of my headaches just aren’t helped with that. I honestly think I get more than one kind of migraine and they behave differently.

Deegee, google “migraines” and “magnesium” and you might be surprised at the info. I am going to start taking it religiously and see if it helps. Of course there’re always the problem that I could take it for six months and not have any headaches, but I might not have had any during that time anyway, so who knows. I’ve got a thread going in hangout if you want to see if there’s any useful info in there for you.

Last night my big accomplishments consisted of cleaning off the kitchen counter (aka, The Dumping Ground) and doing my nails. One glass of wine and off to bed (i.e., the couch!) for me. How exciting is my life!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Deegee, I keep forgetting to ask: Do you happen to have any LV bags you would be willing to sell that might fit my (large!) laptop? We were talking about this a few weeks ago and before I go investing $$$ in a new bag (because the Brook Brothers one I've been dragging around for over 10 years now... ) I figured I would check with you!

 

[marcy]

Happy Snowy Tuesday!

Deegee, you only get snow through March? Lucky! You are so right – getting through everything to settle an estate involves so many things. I don’t think anything of my parents will end up in probate, the lawyer says as long as everything comes in under $200,000 it goes through short term probate and from what I understand since the house was already set up as a trust it doesn’t count towards that figure. I have not cranked my fireplace on yet today but I know I will before long.

Dee Jay, I feel bad for you handling your grandmother’s estate from a distance. That was very decent of the person administering the estate not to let the other families know of each other’s existence. That sounds like a TV movie. My migraines are pretty mild based on what I hear other people suffer. Mine are often stress induced. I can tell they are coming because I get the flashy lights and parts of my vision start disappearing. It’s like a spot on my contact I can’t see through anymore. I hope you are doing better today.

I woke up about 4 with a sore throat and then again at 6 feeling really, really crappy so I stayed home today. About 11 am I decided to venture over to my parents bank and then the mall. We have snow, ground blizzards and subzero wind chill here so that was a lot of effort on my part to go somewhere. Tonight I am all stuffed up with a runny nose and still very tired. I think I am run down from stress so getting a cold just knocked me out.

I paid off one more charge that showed up on my dad’s credit card and deposited his refund for the local newspaper. I wanted to get information to set up online access to his credit card so I could monitor it until I cancelled it and the lady said the account was already closed. I wish they told me that before I asked for refunds to be issued to it. CRAP!!!! Oh well. He also had a bunch of rewards points that I was going to ask to transfer as cash to account. Too late – the account was already closed. That would have been $175. Rats.

Then I went to a remount sale at Kay’s. Yes, you read that right – Kay’s. I have a Montana sapphire ring from there that I really like. A few years ago the center sapphire got chipped (it’s 3mm so not huge) and the company couldn’t match the other 2 sapphires so they put a diamond in it. It looks so stupid now I never wear the ring so I went today to see if they had a blue diamond they could stick in the middle. The colors match perfectly but they didn’t have any that small. The finally ordered one and will send my ring off to get it mounted. With tax and fees it cost me under $400 but I think I’ll wear it now.

This afternoon I’ve just been watching TV and picking up for the cleaning lady tomorrow.

I had wheat toast for breakfast, a muffin for mid morning snack (a little one not gi-normous), soup for lunch and 2 homemade tacos for supper. No ice cream since that isn’t good for sore throats.

Have a great evening.
Marcy

 

[deegee]

Marcy-I'm thinking of going to a mall jewelry store (gasp!) to try on 3-stone rings to make sure I like them. I'm totally second guessing my reset idea with the 2 ct stone and all of that. When it comes to work, I'm a rock. When it comes to me...I waffle back and forth so much I never make a decision! I sure hope you're feeling better tomorrow. If not, stay home and rest. That's so funny you pick up for the cleaning lady. Matt makes fun of me for that! I am ashamed to admit I have the cleaning people come once a week now. I so don't belong in that thread about cutting back on luxuries.

Dee*Jay-the only Louis bag I actually use from time to time is the now big enough for a large laptop. Sorry! I'm moving the rest of those stupid things to an upstairs closet where they won't taunt me. I've had the one I actually use since 2008 I think, and it still looks great. Worth the money, I guess! I absolutely can't wait until you get your place finished. Ooohhhh....I dream of living in a place like that! I've only stayed in downtown Chicago twice, and I thought it was freaking cool! I will definitely look at your other thread anout migraines. Reducing/eliminating migraines would be wonderful. After my wreck, the side effects of one of the medicines I was on was reducing migraines, but the other side effects were so bad I opted for the migraines.

Food today wasn't too bad. Typical yogurt for breakfast, soup for lunch, and 2 pieces of pizza for dinner. However, dinner was at a friend's house where I started out with beer and ended with bourbon. I'm ready for bed. I shouldn't cough at all from my respiratory infection tonight. Have a great day tomorrow!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Wednesday kids!

Curby, I’m sorry you are sick. I bet if you complained hard enough and to someone at a high level about the account already being closed they would transfer the $175 because that’s totally bogus. And don’t feel bad about Kay’s! We should all buy what we love wherever we want! My favorite necklace not only came from Zales, it came from the Zales OUTLET. HA! It’s just a ½ carat bezel set diamond but I really like it. (Wonder why I never wear it… but I guess that’s a different matter… !)

Deegee, I’m glad you use at least one of your LV bags! I’m going to a party in a few weeks where we take things to swap and I think I’m going to take a couple of purses. Nothing fabulous, just a Kate Spade and… um… something else I can’t think of right now… Feel free to jump on the magnesium-for-migraines bandwagon. I hope we can all find relief because these things are terrible. It would be a miracle if something as simple as a supplement could fix this pain in my head…

Last night the CB and I went by the new place to check on the progress of the carpenters to be sure the wall will be ready for the mason when my six thousand pounds of bricks get delivered at 8 o’clock tomorrow morning. Then we had spinach salad and pizza for dinner.

Tomorrow night I’m doing my best friend’s taxes. She bought a new place last summer but kept her old condo and is using it as a rental property. The depreciable basis of rental property is the LESSER OF the adjusted basis (i.e., what you paid for it plus and permanent additions) OR the fair market value of the property when you converted it to rental use. The value of the property has declined in market value (which is actually why she kept it, because she can’t sell the thing without taking a huge hit) so the depreciable base is less than what she paid. She keeps asking real estate agents what the basis should be for tax purposes and they keep telling her it should be what she paid. I just sent her IRS publication 527 and an irate note because I’ve finally gotten annoyed. As much as I love real estate agents (hell—I’ve BEEN one for over ten years now!) I studied this in depth for the CPA exam and I’m doing other people’s taxes in exactly this scenario too. Argue with me all you want, but I’ve got the IRS behind me on this one!

OK, today is my day to clean up EVERYTHING that’s sitting on my desk because next week I am launching into the annual review!

 

[marcy]

Happy Wednesday – 2 More Days Until Marty Comes Home (Briefly)

Deegee, I always like to try on rings before I decide if I want them or not. I often find what I want doesn’t appeal to me and things that don’t look good in the case sometimes look great on my hand. Are you backing away from getting a larger diamond? I toyed with getting a larger diamond but I don’t think I want something larger (mine is a 1 ct.). It makes sense to us to pick up before the cleaning lady comes.

Dee Jay, as cranky as I am being sick and tired I should go complain loudly at the bank I want that $175 – NOW!!! I couldn’t agree more – we should buy things we love no matter where they are from. I love bezel set diamond pendants. I might have hit a curb or two lately. How exciting they are starting the bricks tomorrow. I bet your friend is delighted to have your assistance with her taxes.

I did stay home again today. I am still really tired and sneezy. I am going to work tomorrow and I will try to stay awake until 5. That could be a challenge.

I made a homemade pizza for supper and had a few pieces plus have leftovers for lunch.

I am watching “The Heat”. It has made me laugh which is something I sorely needed.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[deegee]

Curby-I slid ever so gently into the guardrail on the way to work this morning. I don't think I have damage, but we'll see for sure if I ever wash my car. It sure scared the daylights out of me. Yep, I'm rethinking the bigger diamond idea. I don't wear much jewelry so I think I'll feel awkward with a bigger diamond. I hope you're feeling better for work tomorrow. A cold can really get you down. Tell Marty he needs to come home and baby you.

Dee*Jay-I felt a migraine coming on at work today but was able to hold it off for a while. It's coming back now and I think I'll be heading to bed soon with an icepack. There were lots of suggestions in your other thread. I'm going to have to try something! I'm sure your friend will really appreciate your help with taxes. Real estate stuff has to complicate them even more. We haven't even glimpsed at ours yet this year. We could owe a bunch or we could have a big refund coming.Who knows!

It was a long crappy day and I'm heading to bed. Hopefully we all have a great day tomorrow. Good night!

 

[marcy]

Happy Thursday! Marty comes home tomorrow. Yippee!!

Deegee, oh no that you had a close encounter with a guardrail. I hope you car is okay. I am sure it scared you! How awful. I completely understand feeling awkward with a larger diamond. Most people I know don’t have large diamonds and their rings are halos or pave set. My diamond performs like any ideal cut diamond so I definitely don’t want to get anything bigger and flashier. My friends think the reason my diamond looks better than theirs is that I clean it all the time. I just smile and agree with them. My cold is about the same but I did go to work. About 3 pm I was ready for a nap though. I am coughing and sneezing now. Marty said he doesn’t want to come home and get this crud. Sorry to hear you had a long crappy day yesterday and were getting a migraine. I hope you are doing better today.

As for my continuing saga of estate activities I went to the county clerk’s office today to get the lien release updated on the title of my dad’s truck and then the lady said we had to move it to my name since my parents are both deceased. So I fill out all the paperwork on that and then she says “oh. Your father hasn’t been deceased for 30 days yet. You’ll have to come back next week”. I truly wanted to say – “what he’ll be more dead then?” Seriously? It does honestly say on the affidavit I filled out that it must be completed 30 days after the person’s death.

We are returning the leased car Saturday and taking them the truck to sell on consignment. I think the truck will sell quickly. My dad’s salesman buddy says he has a few people interested in it already.

I went to bed at 9:45 last night but I didn’t fall asleep until about 11:30. Rats. I am yawning right now so maybe I’ll try an early bedtime again tonight.

I had toast for breakfast, soup for lunch and homemade nachos (out of my leftover tacos) for supper. Tomorrow I’ll have to come up with real food since Marty will be home. He is home for at least a week.

Laters,
Marcy aka Curby

 

[deegee]

Marcy-you will be so proud of me! I went to the ATT store to get a new phone since my Galaxy Note 2 has gone kaput. (I turned in a claim and have to wait for a new one to be sent to me). I walked out with an iPad mini with retina display. Woo-hoo! It is crazy how much more clear, fast, and light it is compared to my iPad 2. The keyboard is more responsive too. A girl at work just got a 4 ct upgrade. It' consists of 4 princess cut diamonds set to look like one big diamond, and a whole lot of little diamonds all over the place. It's a lot of ring! All I could think of was little stones popping out all the time and needing repair. The older I get, the more simple I want. And this estate stuff...you're probably thinking "can't make this craziness up!" Are you in the path of the big storm this weekend? We're supposed to get 1/2 inch of ice and the. 6 inches of snow. Yay...fun...winter... Matt cancelled his trip on Monday.

We I went to the custom furniture store last night and almost ordered a dining room table and buffet. It's hand made with solid wood, and you can choose the wood and finish. I'm afraid the style is too country, and I don't want country. I'm trying to decide if I think it is country because the one on display has so much wood grain (and I would order a different wood and stain) or if the style itself is country. The chairs are super comfy on my back though. I'll post a pic and you can give me your opinion. I went to the eye dr on Thursday and my left eye has gotten worse again, and I'm back to it not being able to be corrected with a contact lens. It is now -8.75, and contacts only come -8.5 and -9. My right eye needs a -7.25, but they only come in -7 and -7.5. So I am under corrected by -.25 in each eye. They can get my glasses exactly where I need them, but I just got new glasses 6 months ago and don't want to have them redone already, so I'll just be off a bit! I'm used to it anyway. Today for breakfast I had a peanut butter and banana sandwich, lunch was a homemade pepperoni roll (Matt's coworker makes them). Not good so far.... Have a great weekend!

 

[deegee]

Picture it with a darker stain (same as the chair backs & table legs) in cherry or maple wood. Country or no?

 

[marcy]

Here is what Marty is using my Mini iPad for, the killer rabbits are watching an aquarium.

 

[marcy]

A ring style I really liked on me. These are 1/4 carat each. I would maybe go 1/3 ct each in yellow gold. It is a local family owned jeweler. I could get my diamonds from WF or BGD and have them make the ring for me.

The 5 stone seemed awkward on my hand. The top was too wide and I didn't try on anything over 1 ctw.

 

[deegee]

Marcy-I like the ring. What size is your finger? The stones look bigger than 1/4 ct each! Are you still deciding between a diamond band and diamonds/sapphires?

 

[marcy]

Deegee, I am so excited to hear you got your iPad Mini. Isn’t the retina display amazing? I looked at a lot of astronomy pictures online when I first got mine just to enjoy the sharp images. I think you will really like it. A 4 carat upgrade sounds massive to me. That is a lot of ring. I am with you on worrying about upkeep or maintenance on a delicate ring. I know the halo and pave rings are very popular but if you don’t have a good warranty or pay lots of insurance premiums you will be paying out some cash to get your ring fixed. Plus I don’t like the thought of being without my wedding ring because another little stone popped out. You must be psychic about what I think about all this estate craziness – you can’t make this kind of stuff up. We are still chuckling about the 30 days waiting period. The cold front stalled about 30 miles NE of us so we are only getting about 3 to 5 inches of snow. The center of the state is getting about 16” of snow. We are pretty darned cold too. I am glad Matt cancelled his trip Monday – that much ice then snow will not be fun. One of the guys Marty saw in Atlanta last week lives in Pennsylvania and he had drifts over 6 feet at his house and he had to hire a big snow plow to clear a path enough to his house to get someone in to get the 5 feet of snow off his roof. Farmer’s Almanac should get an award to predicting this winter will be cold and snowy because they were correct. I wouldn’t think of that style of table as country. I think it would blend in well with any other style of furniture. That is good the back of the chairs felt good on your back. Rats that your eyes have gotten worse and are between contact corrections. Will contacts work but then you can use reading glasses? Of course that is when I decided to quit wearing contacts once I reached a point I had to wear reading glasses.

Marty woke up at 4 am. He must still be on ET. I slept until a coughing fit told me it was time to get up. We had toast for breakfast then headed over to my parents house. It was icy and snowy but not too bad so we continued with our plan to turn in my parent’s car and truck today.

We first had to clean out the truck and car. We decided we could have survived in the truck for a month between his stash of first aid kits, candy, cough drops, medicine, fire extinguishers, clothing, tools and many other oddities. We took the truck to Ford and they offered me cash for it and I accepted. Once I get the title moved to my name this week I can go back and swap the title for a check.

Then we drove the Hyundai out to turn in on the lease. They had no clue what to do about it. I called the number Hyundai finance gave me and no one answered. I called the number again when we got home and left them a message. That one makes me kind of nervous.

After we got that chore done we had an early lunch at Outback then went shopping.

We hit a local jewelry store to see platinum. I liked the looks of polished platinum but not the regular platinum. Then I tried on 5 stone rings but was drawn to a 3 stone ring that we both preferred. I may be going that direction on my ring.

Marty tried on a watch and left with a package. He got me a crystal Snoopy figurine. What a nice guy!

We stopped at Michaels so Marty could get some art supplies. He is practicing painting because he wants to make a large old world map to hang downstairs. He drew up a sea monster already as practice. It is kind of cute.

We are in for the day so it will be grazing for supper. I doubt Marty wants me touching for anyway.

My cold has improved but I am still coughing and sneezing. Just less frequently.

Laters,
Marcy

 

[marcy]

Marcy-I like the ring. What size is your finger? The stones look bigger than 1/4 ct each! Are you still deciding between a diamond band and diamonds/sapphires?

My left hand is a 6 to 6 1/2. The tag on the ring said .75 ctw. I think I will go with a diamond band.

 

[marcy]

Setting in the trucklet at Lowes. It's zero and feels like -17. Is it May yet?

 

[deegee]

For you, Marcy!

 

[marcy]

For you, Marcy!

Isn't that the truth!!!

 

[deegee]

Marcy-I like the diamond band. Your post made me go dig out and clean my 5-stone ring. It sparkled its little heart out last night! I had an epiphany when I also came across the ACA studs I seldom wear...I could use those as side stones in a 3-stone ring. I'm not sure I like the proportions with my ering stone though. The 30-day waiting period is truly ridiculous. I'm glad you have already sold the truck, but I'd feel a little uncomfortable about the car too. I'm sure it will be okay, but you'd like to know for sure they know what they're doing! How is your sister doing? I smashed my pinkie yesterday, and my first thought after I decided it just hurt like heck but would be ok was of your sister! Poor girl, I hope she's okay.

We went out for breakfast this morning and then came home to wait for the ice storm to hit. It's been pouring rain/sleeting all day, and the 1/2 inch of ice is supposed to come now that the sun has gone down, and then we're supposed to get 10 inches of snow. Let's hope they got the forecast all wrong. It here is not a single article of anything left in the hamper because I did laundry all day. I also straightened up around the house and did some online shopping. Matt's office furniture came in last week, so we spent some time today unpacking the boxes from the office in our old house. This place is finally shaping up! I ordered an entryway table, a coat rack (which Matt absolutely had to have), and an address plaque for the mailbox post. The only furniture left to buy is the dining room stuff. Still need lots of pictures and accessories. We had chili and grilled cheese for dinner. I'm thinking I may take some medicine for my respiratory thing and go to bed early. I kind of feel like I'm getting a fever. Crud. Have a good Monday!

 

[deegee]

Center is 1.31 (7.03 x 7.06 mm) and earrings are .56 each (5.29 x 5.31 mm) ... Found the AGS diamond docs today in the office boxes. I'm trying to decide if I like the proportions. I didn't at first, but it's kind of growing on me.

 

[marcy]

Center is 1.31 (7.03 x 7.06 mm) and earrings are .56 each (5.29 x 5.31 mm) ... Found the AGS diamond docs today in the office boxes. I'm trying to decide if I like the proportions. I didn't at first, but it's kind of growing on me.

That is funny you posted this picture. I was working on my post and asked you to do this. I think they would look great together!

 

[marcy]

Deegee, I am glad you dug out your 5 stone band and enjoyed wearing it. I am sure it sparkles like crazy. If I got a 5 stone ring with about ½ ctw it fits across my fingers but I would like bigger diamonds. The ACA studs would be wonderful side stones - I like 3 stone rings too. Okay, let’s face it – if it sparkles I like it. I am relieved to know I have the truck sold and will be glad Tuesday to hopefully get that all taken care of over lunch. Marty said I should call Hyundai maybe Tuesday morning if I don’t hear anything from them. It was quite weird. Ouch for smashing your pinkie! I hope it’s feeling better. I did see my sister today and she said she was about the same. I felt bad she drove the 40 miles to town by herself today since my other sister, my nephew, BIL and Marty and me were all working at my parent’s house. She was doing okay and went through some stuff and took some things home. She wore a glove on it. I asked her if she wanted some mittens but she said she couldn’t do anything with mittens on. She is very self-conscious about it, I hope that gets better for her but that is completely up to her. It sounds like you guys are going to get a very nasty storm – I hope you can stay home tomorrow if it’s icy and you have a lot of snow. How exciting to get Matt’s office furniture. I bet he will enjoy having his office all set up. That isn’t bad having only the dining to furnish. We put up a series of coat hangers recently and really like them. They are little individual ones in different colors and have a colored doorknob and a hook on them. We found that at Pier 1. I hope you are not getting the crud. It’s CRUDDY!!!

We got up about 7 and got ready then ventured out for breakfast. I ordered pancakes and got enough to feed all a family of 6. I didn’t even finish one pancake – they were massive and I got 3 of them. After breakfast we went to Lowes to pick up degreaser, rags and other assorted things then headed to my parents house.

I started the going through things and throwing things out. Marty cleaned up some stuff in the shop. Some of my dad’s buddies were over there getting their “inheritance” from the shop. One guy told Marty that after we were done getting what we all wanted he would take EVERYTHING down to the last nut and bolt so when I heard that I wanted to find the guy and hug him. You cannot imagine how much stuff is in my dad’s shop. He was a mechanic by trade and when he retired and sold his business he had a shop built behind our house and he has more tools and assorted pieces and parts than you can imagine.

I am definitely thinking I might pass the garage sale now that the garage is going to be handled outside of the family or for hire. I don’t think things in the house are worth that much.

We all went to Red Lobster for lunch (being allergic to fish I had a steak, salad and baked potato). I made Kraft Dinner and raw veggies for supper.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[marcy]

Deegee, the diamonds look great together on my iPad too. I was on my laptop before. So that is 2 votes for the 3 stone ring.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Monday kids!

Curby, I really really like that three stone ring on your hand! There’s just something so interesting about the design. As for the need to wait 30 days, one of the things we did for my grandmother’s estate required that we wait 60 days, so I filled out all the paperwork and send it to my mother (who had to sign) with EXPLICIT instructions not to get it notarized or anything until X date… and she IMMEDIATELY went and got it notarized and sent it in. Of course it was rejected. And of course my grandmother wasn’t any more dead when we send it in the second time.

Deegee, I wouldn’t call that dining room set “country” at all; actually I think it’s really sophisticated. I like the swoop to the back of the chairs and I think the table would be beautiful in a darker stain. As for your three stone ring – YES! I like the proportions of your center stone and earrings a lot and I think it would be a great ring! One idea (and I thought of this too late with The Brick or I totally would have done it): What if you keep the solitaire (although you might have to go to a plain band) and get a “wrap” with the other two stone so you can have options? Woobug did something like this and I loved it. Just my idea of the day… !

This weekend was construction galore on Saturday and taxes on Sunday. We’re starting to get busier at H&R and that is more interesting to me because I’m learning more stuff too. That being said, I’m going to visit my accountant on Thursday because my tax situation is more complex than anything I am doing at H&R and I don’t trust myself to do my own taxes yet. The personal part I could probably do (although I have an odd W-2 situation from the KC gig), but I have heard conflicting things on how my corporate income is supposed to flow. Oh well, maybe next year!

The CB and I had Italian food on Friday, leftovers from that on Saturday and some so-so Chinese last night. Not a very exciting food weekend.

It's currently snowing "up" and has been for the past two hours. Not sure what exactly is going on out there!

 

[marcy]

Happy Monday!

Dee Jay, I am glad you are joining me in being an enabler for Deegee’s ring. I thought that 3 stone ring design was different which is I guess why it caught my attention. I admit I am not surprised to hear you found something that requires a 60-day waiting period on your grandmother’s estate. I am sure both of us have many surprises and twists coming our way. I did chuckle at your mom signing and notarizing that document now instead of following your instructions – sounds like some of my employees and my sisters. I’m going in tomorrow to get the title changed over to my name, should I start the conversation with “I think my father is dead enough for you now?” Are you still planning on moving in to your new place in a few weeks? How exciting for you. Stupid snow – go away!

We were sunny and in the 40’s here today. I hardly knew how to act when I went outside.

I woke up at 4 this morning and Marty was snoring in my ear. I didn’t get back to sleep until after 5 then sadly my alarm went off a little bit after 6. Short night. Boo.

I did manage to stay awake at work only because I don’t want to wake up zip tied to my chair.

I made several phone calls about at lunch starting with Hyundai finance. The number I was told to call still only has an answering machine. So I called the other original customer service number I had to find out the dealership should call them to inform them we turned in the car. I got all of that information while feeling my blood pressure moving upward. I then called the dealer and the salesman we talked to didn’t answer his phone. After a rather stressed out text to Marty he said he’d take care of it.

I also scheduled the inspections for my parent’s house.

The jeweler I talked to left me a message today that they can get that ring made for me with larger stones (I guess the center stone is slightly larger and now that they point that out I see it) and they can get me what they called AGS000 or Triple Ex diamonds. The price they quoted me for a platinum ring and two 1/3 carat stones and a .40 center stone all D VS1 was $6900. We actually decided to go with yellow gold so that will drop the price a bit. I am going to ask if I can get my own diamonds (which I prefer). If not I would insist I only want AGS000 stones and would want to get the certificate numbers first so I can check them out online. I do not want GIA EX. Of course I need to wait until we sell the house so this is way jumping the gun. It just gives me something fun to think about.

Food wasn’t bad today - Peaches and cereal for breakfast, lunch leftover lasagna and supper hamburger patty, rice and veggies. We did have a small dish of cherry and chocolate ice cream.

Take care.
Marcy

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Tuesday kids!

Curby, I can’t remember if I said this or not, but my original move date was March 16, and I was able to extend my lease a month so now I’m moving in—hell or high water—on April 19. I have a schedule on which things need to happen… now the question is whether it actually DOES happen on my timeline. About your ring; that seems like a really high amount of money… no? Is there a reason you want D VS1? Could you go even to F VS2? That would save a boatload. And would you consider a different vendor? Although I totally understand the concept of getting these people to do it because then you get this exact thing, I’m just throwing that out there. And yes, I would insist on at least having all the info on the diamonds if they won’t let you supply your own. The good news is as an educated consumer you will know what the stones *should* cost so they will not be able to pull the wool over your eyes so much in that regard, but of course they will make it up elsewhere. Sigh. Dealing with vendors gives me a headache.

I went over and saw the brick yesterday! They are about ¼ of the way done on the main wall and I love it! There is one area where the mortar is much thicker (like twice as thick) as other areas, and it stood out to me immediately, but then I came to three conclusions: 1. I was shining a bright white construction light right on that wall and any imperfection would stand out like crazy, 2. The couches will be in that area and will most likely be right in front of it, and 3. There ain’t no such thing as perfect in this life. (Plus, the all important #4, there’s nothing I can do about it at this point because they’re not taking it out!)

Also, about the bricks; The CB and I were looking at the brick delivery, still on the pallets, this weekend and I said, “There aren’t enough corner-cut bricks here” (which they need for the windows and the column). I emailed the brick guy and he was like, “I’m sure it’s fine. I work with these guys all the time and they know what they’re doing.” Well today the CB called him and sure enough there weren’t enough corner cut bricks delivered! He ordered X number of linear feet of corner cuts and they delivered X number of BRICKS. Yah… there will be another delivery, LOL.