Name that tool?

Ever watched the show 'This Old House'? They have a segment where one person brings in a tool and the other four guys try to guess what it is actually used for. Lets play.

I have put a picture below of an empty bag. We had someone bring his 'work truck' to pick up a piece of furniture that we sold him. Well, this bag fell out and after reading the name, I snickerd and put it in my pocket so I could Blog about it. (you would have done it too!) Go ahead and let em rip...what are these used for??? (Bob thinks that a certian cabinet maker in Kentucky knows the correct answer. Everyone else remember this is a family freindly blog :>)



(Yes, I said 'let em rip' on purpose...)


Here is a hint...This is what the back of the bag says. I need to look next time I am at lowes and see if I can find them. (Yes...I know I could google it and find out, but that is not as much fun)

Tom Sawyer?

Anyone want to paint a fence??





Actually, he was just using water and a scrub brush......Santa didn't bring him a power washer this year. He is working on a new karate move from our neighbor Mr. Miagie called 'Clean-da-fence'

I was right!!!!

On the news today they said that 'the worlds Scientist' (Who ever they are..) are going to add 1 second to the clock on December 31st. They said that all the solar winds, and icecaps, and other things have slowed things down and they need to match the clock up to the earths turning.

Now, I have been saying for the past few years that we need a leap month...I think the time is off a whole month, not just a second. If you notice how things are colder sooner and warmer sooner than we are used too.....We need to add more than a second to the calendar. I think that we will see more of this 'time adding' in the coming years...they are just warming us up to the idea...if they came out and said 'we are going to add a hole day to the calendar' people would freak out.....they just need to add small bits at a time.

I didn't know

I like tacos!! My mom will testify to that. When growing up, Taco night at our house meant I would eat 4 or 5 of them. My sister and I discovered that we really liked to slice green olives and put them on the tacos too. But the reason I am blogging is because of my new fiesta bargain find. I usually get those little pre-measure packets of seasoning every time we have tacos. Look what I found last week...



Those little seasoning packets are about $0.47 per unit, this pretty little bottle-o-spices was $0.20 per unit. And I can add a little less than recommended to make it last longer! I had no idea that they made this, I just always looked for the packets and would use them. If you come visit us.....We'll have tacos, but I wont make you eat green olives unless you want them.

Peacan update

I went to the store and saw a bag of peacans about the same size as what I collected. It was $11!! I need to go golfing more often. Or, as a commenter said, I could chop down our pine trees in the backyard and plant peacan trees instead.

Day after Christmas

We ate dinner on our porch the day after Christmas. The dog got into a little bit of trouble.....


Joe, Look familiar???

Brown Grass

Looking in our back yard, I thought my lawn was brown.



Then I realized it was pine needles...and lot's of them.



This must be the equivalent of 'Fall'. All the needles fall and the trees are bare....



Nope, still green. I guess it's not like fall....I am going to have to rake year round...bummer...Good thing we didn't get rid of the rakes with the snow shovels.

Golf outing

I went golfing two weeks ago. (Yes, I know it is cold where some of you are, and yes you can golf year round down here). The grass was brown, so that was a little weird, but otherwise it was just a round of golf. Look what else I found!!



(Don't tell the guys in the club house! I wanted to make sure I got my money's worth. I kept picking up a few at each of the holes and stuffing them in my bag. When I got home I couldn't believe how many I had!!)

Then later that week I was eating a bag of planters mixed nuts. This is what a Pecan looks like from Planters. (kinda wimpy)



This is the size of the pecan I picked off the golf course. I think cracking it open and picking it out of the shell makes it taste better.



Planters..if you're reading this. Give me call. If you pay for my husbands golfing, I can harvest better Pecans for you.

Christmas Morning

I can't believe I am going to put this picture up but...Bob threatened me that if I put his picture up, he would make a guest appearance on my blog and post my picture...so I am beating him to the punch...this is for my mom.

Bob says thanks for the Tiger Woods Golf game, obviously we couldn't wait to try it out this morning.





And this is for the Landi Family....We got the parents to drive and play our Wii. You should have heard Dad L taunting Mom L when he came in 9th and she came in 12th(again)


Then they got serious while racing the cows....



I am also very impressed with Joe's ability to pick out women's fashion. Meg, you've done such a good job with him!


Merry Christmas!!

fraud alert

I am very impressed with Discover card. We bought a new car on Saturday. (Yeah!!! It was a 2008 Pre-Owned Camry SE, Silver, 16000 miles. We traded in Bob's car)
Anyway....we finished up around 7:00pm. We charged some of it in order to get bonus points. Well I got a phone call at 8:00 on my cell phone from Discover card Fraud alert. They were calling to check on a 'large amount' recently charged on our card. Pretty impressive that there is some computer software watching every purchase and sending an alert when something doesn't match my normal purchasing pattern. On second hand....Kinda scary that there is a computer system that knows when my spending pattern is off......Either way....Don't steal my card and spend a lot of money on it.

Random thought

All M and M's taste the same. The candy coated color does not change the way it tastes. You can pop a whole bunch in your mouth and chew with confidence that you are not wasting a flavor.

Skittles have different tastes depending on what color you eat. I don't like to put a lot of colors together becuase I feel like I am wasting them if I can't taste them. I save the red until last and eat them all together since they are my favorite. I remember in High School sharing all the orange ones in Study Hall with someone becasue they were her favorite. (and I think I had skittles every day!)

I think that we should have Study Hall at Work. An hour set aside where you can get caught up on work, and no one can talk to you or interupt.....We'd get a lot done then.

Mario Cart

Bob and I have been driving to work together for the past month or so. Well, I drove myself to work earlier this week and realized i had not driven since I started playing more Mario Cart. I felt like I wanted to bump the cars next to me on the interstate and try to 'shoot the gap' a couple times. This could be dangerous.....

I also did something that is illegal in some stats. (Gasp...not her!) I drove while talking on the cell phone without a hands free contraption. I was playing Mario Cart and my mom called. I held the cell phone with my shoulder and succeeded to drive and come in first place.

This Wii thing is funny. I find myself driving and having a scratch on my nose, or need to move hair out of my face. I'll take one hand off the wheel and not think about it because I am still pressing A. The hand on the wheel forgets what's it doing and starts to move out of alignment and all of a sudden I am running into a wall and quickly put both hands back on the wheel to re-gain control.

Also.....if you beat the levels and sit through the credits there are very few American names....and they actually have people who are the 'voices' of the characters. Can you imagine being a fly on the wall in that recording studio??

'Mario wins'
'Good, now try it with a little more 'toon' in you'
'Mario wins'
'Better, but I am not feeling it...I think we may need to go a different direction with this scene, I'll get the writers involved'

Singing in the Rain

I love old classic musicals. Singing in the rain was on today and I will never get tired of watching it. They don't make movies like that any more. Movies now a days have unrealistic car chases, naked people, make believe monsters or special effects that are so far out there you no longer know what is real or CGI. Now don't get me wrong...that stuff is amazing, but I think we forget that it is not all necessary to make a good movie. The classics are still alive and all they used to create them was just good old fashion film making. There are real people in costumes in one big sound stage singing and dancing and being taped. They perform for long continuous shots and the people acting are incredibly talented. Oh....when times were simpler.

flexible trees

In case anyone is wondering...when the wind blows at 40mph, pine trees that are 4 stories tall, bend.

I don't like storms. I have gotten much better at thuderstorms and no longer find the flashlight and make sure the crawls space is open everytime I see lightning. I used to know what channel to turn to and where to look on the map to see if I was in danger of bad weather.

Tonight was a bit different....I am sitting home alone and hear a very loud woshing sound and I think my front door is going to blow open. I realize that I have no idea if Georgia (Or my town) has tornado sirens. I then realize I have no idea what chanel the 'local' news is on. I then realize I don't know what my county look likes on a rador map. I look out the window and see the pine trees sawying back and forth...wind pushing pine trees is differen than wind blowing through maple trees. I flip on the TV and find the weather channel. It states in a friendly electronic voice that our forcast is for 30-40mph winds tonight. I flip around on some of the news chanels and don't see any warnings so I guess I'll be okay.

I guess that means I won't blow away and it's safe to take a shower. I just wont spend a lot of time reading this time.

Guess where I am??

Is it against the law to take a picture in a public bathroom?

Well, during my travels for Thanksgiving my husband came to me and said

You have to go to the bathroom!
No I don't, but thanks.
No, you have to go to the bathroom and see it....You'll want to blog about it.
Okay.

So, I went to the bathroom and it was pretty cool. (See picture)




This is not some swanky resturant in Austin, this is a view of the Ladies room in the Jacksonville FL Airport. I felt kinda weird walking in there with my Camera, but I made sure no one else was in there before I snapped the picture. Pretty smart idea. No sink, just blue flat surface for the water to splash on and a drain in the back. The spouts have a sign that say Water and Soap or Water. It's all motion censored. Very easy to keep clean, and pretty neat.

Lurkers

I learned a new word at a party a few months ago.
Lurkers - People who read blogs but don't have a blog, and don't comment so you don't know they are there.....

Well, this picture is for a lurker.....We went to the Zoo in Austin and saw a Goat. I got to feed one. A freind of ours really wants a goat.




Bev, this was for you :)

Reading in the Shower

No, I did not take a book with me to the shower.

Have you ever stopped and read your shampoo bottle? The 'Lather, Rinse, Repeat as Nessasary' line just does not cut it anymore! Here are some of my thoughts on what I read today during my shower.

Zest
I read: Aloe Splash with Aloe
I think: Hmm..Duh...I guess the creative team was on Vacation the day this graphic was approved.

Suave Conditioner
I read: Infused with Watermint extract
I think: What is Watermint? A fruit or nut? There is a waterfall in the picture, is it a plant? And what or how does someone infuse extract?

Herbal Essence Shampoo
I read: 'Drama Clean' Fusion of berry tea and orange flower
I think: This one says fusion, but the other one said INfusion...I wonder if it is different

I also Read the back: 'Im so good, I'll put clean thoughts in you head' and 'My formula will leave your hair ...' and 'lather me on and rinse'
I think: Creative use of words. They have personified the green goo that I squirt on my hand and rub in my hair....I can't decided if that is creapy or not?

Herbal Essence Conditioner
I read: What do 15% of women do on Valentines day? Check out the answer on Straight Shampoo.
I think: Bummer...I am going to have to go back to Walmart and look up the answer. I got a non matching shampoo and Conditioner set.....I'll have to look at that next time so I know the answer.
I also think: Creative, they are giving me quizes now to keep me interested in the shower.

Garnier Fructis Conditioner
I read: Reinforced with Fruit concentrate and "contains fructose and glucose'
I think: Reinforced? Is that the same as infused? I eat fructose and glucose...I wonder if there is high fructose corn syrup in here?? Can my body absorbe that through my scalp? "THEY" say High fructose corn syrup is bad for you....

Suave Mens 2 in 1
I read: Shampoo and Conditioner one easy step
I think: Target Audience - Men. Successful marketing...no frills or fancy things infused...straight and too the point.

(You math people have also realized that I have a lot more bottles in the shower than my husband:>)

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

I have been thinking about Christmas songs....It's hard to be in the Christmas mood when it's going to be 73 outside tomorrow. This will take some getting used to.

Preppy Granola

I spent Thanksgiving with my family in Austin Texas. It was good to see everyone and we did a lot of sleeping and relaxing!!

My older sister and brother in law are very healthy people and will most likely outlive me . We had a free range Turkey. (He only had one bad day in his life), went to a vegetarian restaurant for dinner, went to 'Whole Foods', and had Humus. I like to describe them as Preppy Granola. They are very aware of what they are putting in their bodies and where it came from and how it was grown - that is the Granola part.
But they take showers.....they don't have dreadlocks, and they wash their clothes after they wear them. :) My sister is also a big fan of M&Ms so Bob teases her that she is getting her vitamin M for the week.

This visit I learned two things. Grapes are one of the big bad 10. (or something like that....They are a really bad fruit to eat because they are pretty dirty). I'll have to look into that because I love grapes. Two - I like Humus. I was always afraid of it....Just never really wanted to try it. Well, I did try it and found out it was just Chick Peas ground up with sunflower seeds. Two things I eat anyway. I even got a recipe and plan on making it this weekend.

Yeah for new adventures

I need to go back to work

In the past 24 hours I have acquired the following:

DVR with High Def capabilities and 8 new High Def channels to watch (You're Welcome Bob)
Wireless Internet in my house (Yeah!! supper cool!)
A new compressor for our Air Conditioning Unit/Heat pump (Bummer)
A Nintendo Wii with Mario cart and extra controller (Merry Christmas to us!)

Luckily the compressor was under warranty so we only have to pay the $300 for the labor :)


I need to go back to work so I don't buy anything else.

Computer Genius!!

I am sitting on my couch at home on the internet! How cool!! We actually upgraded and bought a wireless router today. I wanted to tell everyone that our friend Mike is a computer genius. Bob hooked the router thingy up and there were some weird things happening. He calls Mike, and over the phone mike is able to trouble shoot, tell Bob what to type in to set everything up. Genius I tell you!

Thanks Mike!

Now we just need our Wii hooked up so Mike and Bob can share a Saturday morning Tee time.

Advertising Genius!

So..I have been traveling a lot, but through the same airports. Today, we went to Jacksonville FL and saw a very smart advertising choice. I stood at security getting ready to disrobe and go through security and I look in the bottom of the tub. It says "Phew, You wore your good socks today!" and it was an advertisement for ZAPPO's (a shoe store). Very smart! All the tubs had advertisements for ZAPPO on the bottom telling you to buy shoes from them. Genius! Captive audience, very large audience, catchy humorous message, very relevant because everyone it taking their shoes off and thinking about shoes....Marketing Perfection!

I think there is another place that is under utilized with a large audience. Trucks. Big huge semi trucks with big flat area's to advertise. Some trucks advertise their companies. You have seen the McDonalds and other trucks advertising what they are carrying or their company name, but I think someone should capitalize on this advertising space and start selling it. It's like a billboard, but better. The amount of 'traffic' that this advertisement would receive is huge! Both on the road and sitting at a rest area, or parking lot. Someone needs to get on top of that and start making some money.

10-key

I love 10-key. You don't realize how much you enjoy it until it is gone. I have been using my lap top at work for the past two months and cringe everytime I have to type in production orders to look things up. I will actually take what i am doing, go out to the plant floor and stand at a computer so I can use 10 key on the keyboard. It is so much nicer to type without looking down at the keyboard and hunting for the correct number.

Now if I could only find the guy who created the keyboard and introduce him to the guy who created the number pad on a telephone....they should have met much earlier and come to agreement.....

Dear Abby

Dear Abby,
I know most people write you around the holidays to ask the correct seating arrangement for certain dinner guests, or where to put the water glass on a formal place setting, but I ran into a situation today and did not know the correct etiquette. I was wondering if you could help? When you are in a public bathroom and the person two stalls over is talking on the phone, is it okay to flush or should I wait for the conversation to be over before I push the lever?

Thanks for your help and Happy Holidays!
Miss Manners

I was so right

I almost felt bad this morning. I received two more emails from Mark. (See yesterdays post for intro to situation)I read the first one and almost had to eat my words. Until I got to the bottom to see his request. Then I read the second email and it was an exact copy of the first except inserted 'Wine Rack' where you see 'Entertainment center' I wish I knew Chris from that NBC show where they get someone to come over to meet with the kid and then he comes out with the cameras and the cops arrest people. I replied to this guy that he had inquired about two of my items. If he had read those emails he would not have sent me two different emails about his honeymoon. I am tempted to ask how the island is and see if he really is there.

"Hello
I appreciate your response to my inquiry. Am interested in buying the entertainment centre alone from you. I would love to come and check it myself but I just got married and am presently on an honeymoon trip to Hawaii with my wife.I would love a surprise change of furniture in our home on our return.Pls do withdraw the advert from craigslists as i don't mind adding $50 for you to do that, so i can be rest assured that the item is held for me. I should believe it is in good condition as stated. I will be making the payment via a Certified Check, which my secretary will mail across to you. I'll be picking the item from you with the aid of my mover. My Mover will be coming to pick it from you once the Certified Check has been cashed. Pls I will need both your full name and physical address along with your phone number to issue out the
payment.

Thanks
Mark"

suspicion confirmed

Craigs list is now not so high on my list of cool thing. I have had my suspision that this was happening and I think it was confirmed tonight. I posted 4 items a few weeks ago and got a lot of responses from different people right away. It was a generic email with a question.
'Is this item still available?'
Simple enough question, I thought. I would respond and then nothing. I never heard back from these people. I was beginning to think they were 'phishing' for emails (I think that is how you spell it). All they needed was for me to reply and then boom, they would have my email address to sell.
Well, I just re-listed two items today and I received two emails from the same person 'Mark R @ gmail'. He asked the same non-descript question about both items. 'Do you still have and are they in good condition'. What are the chances that the same guy would ask the same question about a wine rack and an entertainment center?
Maybe he is redecorating.....but I am not holding my breath...I am just getting my spam button ready on my email account.

My husband lied to me

Last Saturday my husband lied to me. I was at work and he was flying back from Indianapolis. I called him on my first break and he said he just landed....I called him when I was driving home and he said he was in a town about 1.5 hours away. I got into my house, laid down my stuff, and one minute later the doorbell rang. I panicked because we don't really know anyone yet and I thought, 'who would be coming to our house?' I open the door and there he is holding flowers for me. (everyone together...'Ahhhh...' ) He was not 1.5 hours away. He caught an earlier flight and surprised me. I see them every morning and when I get home from work and they make me smile. (He is gone again this week and half of next)

Don't tell your kids, but sometimes stretching the truth is okay.

and the 'Nay's' have it

Turns out that trying to burn a candle in your ear is not the brightest idea. Thanks for the feedback everyone! I'll have to look for an 'Ear, Nose, and Throat guy if I run into hearing issues. (It's funny you never hear a kid say that. 'I want to be an Ear, Nose, and Throat Dr. when I grow up'. What is the official name for those Dr.s anyway?)

Did I mention yet that I really like my DVR? We accidentally got one when we signed up for Cable. (I'll see if I still like it once I get the bill). But it has been GREAT! While working on second shift I could tape my shows and watch them in the morning with really fast commercials. (Not commercial free because they are still there and you still see what they are advertising...If I were in advertising I would be putting some kind of special message that flashes on the screen when the thing is fast forwarded...that would be genius....then everyone would start talking about it and be trying to tape my comercial and watch it.)

I have decided that the result show on Dancing with the Stars is great with DVR. All you really want to see is the dancing and who gets kicked off at the end. I actually find myself fast forwarding when the guest singer is singing and hit play when the people start to dance. I fast forwarded today through R-E-S-P-E-C-T with Ms. Franklin singing....I felt kinda bad because she is such a big star, but I really just wanted to watch the dancing. (those of you who know me well are laughing that I called her Ms. Franklin...I can't spell Arithra? but I can spell 'respect' because it's in a song...the same way I can name all 50 states in alphabetical order buy I can't say them, I have to kinda sing them in my head....) My DVR is also great because I can tape shows and go to bed by 9 so I can get up at 5.
What a boring life I lead...work, sleep, DVR....Q-tip to dig out some wax....

Earwax?

I wear earplugs about 50% of the day. I am at work close to 12 hour and have earplugs in while here. At first they really bothered me, but I am getting used to them. I am begining to wonder about my ears though....am I plugging them up and not letting wax out? I have heard about candle waxing your ears.....you put a string down in your ear and light a candle on the other end. Somehow the heat draws the dirt and wax out of your ear. (Or something like that). The picture on the box said 'Dont wax alone' becuase you could start a fire or hurt yourself.

Anyone done this before? Or know if it works or if its safe?

I thought I swallowed a spider!

You know that song....'There was an old lady who swallowed a fly. I don't know whey swallowed the fly, Perhaps she'll die.'
Well, that was me last night.

I was heading to bed and wanted a quick drink of water. I grabbed what I thought was a clean glass,filled it at my fridge, and started drinking. When I got to the last gulp i felt something stringy and a bit fuzzy in my mouth. I spit it back in the cup and look down expecting to see something black with 8 legs. Instead I see......O.J pulp all bundled together floating in the bottom of the glass. I guess I grabbed my breakfast cup, not a clean one.

I really like O.J. with pulp. It makes me feel better that I paid for more of the orange than just the juice. It's makes me think I am fuller after drinking a glass.

Well, dried out pulp all stuck together floating in water feels like a spider.

Turkey Time

My mother sent me this.....Turn your volume down if you don't want others to know your playing a game :)

http://www.southbank-design.co.uk/turkeyshoot/index.htm

It's a game about risks...the more you drink, the slower your response, but the higher the points for shooting turkey.

My mom told us all her high score was 3,999 on her second try. I got 23,409 on my first....and didn't drink anything because I didn't read the instructions.......those Turkey's were coming fast!

Life Update

I am back working first shift this week. I returned to first after working 2 weeks on second shift only to have my husband leave town to go back to IL. No big deal, I thought...he'll be back on Thursday. Well.....he had to do laundry and iorn by himself this week, and not becuase I am a neglectful wife and have not done any cleaning or laundry becuase we have been working so much. It is becuase he went to Danville for a 2 day trip and ended up staying the week. He called me on Tuesday to let me know that he'll be home on Saturday and then turn around and go back on Monday and be gone until Thanksgiving......Bummer.

At least we have some prearranged time off around Thanksgiving. That will be nice. We're going to visit my family in Texas and relax and get massages, and facials, and golf. (The girls will go to the spa...the guys to golf...I don't want any rumors floating around that he went to a spa :> )

Yielop or Stield??

People are changing rules all the time. And I am not talking about little rules, I mean big rules that effect the entire population. I don't know if it's true or not ( I could Wiki it, but I don't have the time) but I remember someone talking about changing where you put commas.

I was taught to put comma before the word 'and' in a group.

Tom, Dick, and Harry went over yonder to the crick.

What I think I remember someone talking about is that they now eliminate that comma.

Tom, Dick and Harry went over yonder to the crick.

If you are going to change something as big as that, you should send a letter to all parties involved and let them know. (i.e. Dear World.....in efforts to save the planet and become more green, we are reducing the amount of ink and toner used by reducing the commas that you use.....)

Another rule change I heard about was changing the way school children are doing long division. Growing up we would always write the number and then draw that sideways L over the big number and divide. I hear there is some new ladder method now. If my kids came home with homework, I would not know the first thing about the Ladder method....did anyone write a letter and inform us they were changing? Maybe mine got lost in the move?

I have decided that they need to change rules and invent a new traffic sign. A cross between a Yield and a Stop is needed. (Hence the title of the post). There are a few...not many...places where you don't really need to come to a complete stop, but if you put a yield sign there, too many people would be going too fast and cause an accident. I have one such situation on my way to work EVERY day. There is a stop sign right before some railroad tracks. No one ever stops there.....they just slow down and look as they are approaching and then continue on. Like a California stop. Now....if you put a yield sign there, people would be going too fast to stop before a train hit them, so a Yielop sign is needed. I have no idea how you would monitor if some one Yielped or Yielded...I leave that to the Police. I am just an idea person...and there is my idea.

'He poked me first!'

So....my husband was showing me facebook and chuckled as he clicked on a 'Poke' icon.


'What are you doing?'

'Kevin poked me'

'What?'

'Your brother poked me, I am poking him back'

'does something special happen?'

Pause....'no'

So....he clicks on this icon and then proceeds to confirm that, yes he wants to poke him back, and wha-la! Nothing....the pop up window that said 'Kevin has been poked' disappeared.

Riveting and exciting night for us here in the deep south......

I don't know if I get this face book thing...but I am sure I'll get drawn in.....

Mail fail

There is a blog out there called failblog.org

Well, I have qualified for that, and it looks like it runs in the family.

I sent a letter to a friend that was supposed to have a check in it. Well, two days later my husband goes to write a check an sees that the check is still in the check book. I wrote the check, wrote the letter, mailed the letter, and forgot to put the check in it. So....another 40some cents to the mail carriers for a second letter.


I ran to the store this morning and when I got back, there was a package on our front porch. As I walk to the porch I notice the package is upside down and think, 'Way to go UPS man'.....then I look closer and think....Oops mom:)

Thanks for the $2bills too :)

Stripping at work

That is what I do....sometimes I strip at work.......electrical wires that is. I take for granted that I know about tools and the general use of them. (Thanks Dad) I assume that everyone has stripped a wire before or crimped on an electrical terminal. I am learning not to assume that people know that and I found my self asking someone last night.

"Have you ever stripped before?"

I chuckled to myself after I said it and then added ' ...a wire. Stripped a wire?'

Ma'am

I used to be upset when I got a 'Ma'am' at the grocery store in IL. Down here, you hear Ma'am all the time. I have learned it has different meanings.

1. 'Yes Ma'am' - an affirmative answer to a question or a request.
'Will you stay here and make fan panels while I show them how to install the motor mounts?'
'Yes Ma'am'

2. 'Ma'am?' - A polite way to say 'What?'
'Bill, hand me the Solenoid Harness and strain relief'
'Ma'am?'
'That black wire and plastic c-clamp thing'
'Oh, Yes Ma'am'

Sir can be used in the same way. I seem to get a lot more of 2. than 1. Maybe its my accent or that I talk to fast.

Next lesson will be on the work 'Reckin'

Craigs list is awesome

I think I just made $75 bucks in 2 min flat from Craig's list.

We had our first day off from work this Sunday. We spent time cleaning and organizing the garage so we could actually walk through it. We were able to get pictures of the furniture that does not fit in the house and we are going to try to sell. I had 6 things to post. I literally got an offer 1 min after posting an add about tables, called the lady, and she is on her way now to pick them up. Not bad for a mornings work. (It just means that now I have to get dressed and can't hang out in my PJ's all day.)

I am on second shift again this week. I don't think I am adjusting well. Last week, I woke up around 10am and was watching TV...I noticed that football was on. I thought to myself, why are they playing football on Friday? Around 12:30 my mom called and I think...oh...she is calling me on her lunch hour. She soon helps me realize that it is Saturday not Friday and I have not talked to her in about 2 weeks. Yikes...this 3pm to 3am thing is not good for me.

Here is a picture from one of our projects. He decided to try sand this time instead of rocks in the fish tank. Looks pretty cool. Now we just need fish. (I am not going to let him buy any more 24601's)

Morning Gas

For the past two weeks (at least I think that is how long it has been...all the days are running together for me right now), my highlight in the morning has been driving by the gas station and seeing what the huge lighted sign says a gallon of gas costs. (insert your laugh here)

When Bob and I left IL I commented that the price of gas kept falling, I threw out a stretch goal saying...."do you think it'll drop to the $2.50's?, I think we may actually see that sometime". I only half belived it.

We have been riding to work together and every morning at 5:45 when we drive by the sign, I get excited and announce the new number. (It has been dropping at least 3 cents each day). Then, when we drive home that night around 6:30...sometimes it has changed again. We did it...two days ago I was able to say $2.58!!!!!


Oh..how the simple things in life right now are exciting to me.

I am going to second shift next week.....for possibly 3 weeks. I am never going to see my husband :( and I have to drive myself to work now. I am going to train a new crew and try to get some more units out so we can stop working 10 hour shifts 7 days a week.


I'll be taking a nap today after work and staying up late to get ready for staying up until 2am on Monday....I may have to start drinking caffeine again......

Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwich washed down with a Glass of Wine

That's what I had for dinner last night......It was actually pretty good.



We were very busy unpacking from Friday to Sunday of last week and made one small grocery trip, and work has been non stop. We are averaging 12.5 hours a day so far this week and it looks like I'll be in here Saturday and Sunday for at least 8 hours each (I feel like Jennifer during the busy season!) The worst part is my feet and legs are killing me. I consider myself a pretty fit person, but I am up walking on concrete for the entire time at work. I am looking for parts, showing someone what to do, walking to the other building to cut wire for the unit.....all kinds of fun things. The production line I am on is in the new building that was built down here, and some of our parts are in the old building. (Don't get me started on how that does not make sense!!! We are working on fixing that) but it is approximately 1 mile to walk from the front of one building to the front of the other. So....that's a lot of walking. I get home and all I want to do is sit down. Hence the title of this blog....that all I had energy to make for dinner.

Poor Bob...He had peanut butter and Jelly and a bottle of beer....

We are here!

I am sitting in my new kitchen along with many boxes, and dishes laying on my countertop...but...I can use my neighbors Internet if I sit here so....I'll be uncomfortable so I can post for you.

Things are going okay...just busy...we have met a few neighbors who I will surely post about soon. We arrived on Tuesday, went to work on Wednesday and furniture arrived on Thursday. We have spent two solid days of unpacking with one side project. See picture below.





Now, I know it looks like I bought the entire department of closet organizers from Lowes, but believe me there was still some stuff left after our 3rd trip there yesterday. THERE WAS A HUGE SALE!!! I was planning on doing this to our closet anyway, and we happened to look at these during one of our trips to get things we really needed and found that the stuff was 50% off!!! So, we took measurements, spent about 1.5 hours drawing and sitting in our closet and then went back the next day to pick it all up. (this is the best part!!!) When we got there, it was even more on sale!! It was around 75% off. ( I think they are discontinuing it!) SO....I splurged and got the shoe organizer and more drawers than we origanly planned, the picture above is over $1,500 worth of closet organizers for not only the master closet, but two other closets as well. Guess how much I paid!! Only $490. BEST DEAL EVER!!!


If you are in the market for organizing your closet...go check out Lowes....I am guessing that Tifton is not the only one with the sale!

We won't put it up until we are unpacked, so I'll be sure to post pictures when we finally get around to it.

Life update

In case anyone wants to know what's going on with us, here is a quick update.

Last week I was in Georgia for the 4th week in a row for work. I got to come home to the Midwest each weekend which was fun, but it is still exhausting. Bob and I are packing up our rental house this weekend, and we leave on Monday afternoon to start our official move to Georgia. We'll be driving Monday and Tuesday, cleaning the house on Wednesday, and the furniture arrives on Thursday.

I have not set up cable and Internet yet, so you may not see posts for awhile until we get settled. The week after we arrive in Tifton is the climax of the project that I have been working on. The equipment will arrive and we will start running a new line at the plant. I will probably be working on that 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for a month until we get up and running smoothly. So I have accepted the fact that I won't be unpacked until Christmas.

I am doing a very good job of not thinking about the 'move' out of the Midwest. I am the last of my immediate family to leave the Midwest so it makes it a little easier that they are already spread out. It is still going to be hard to leave the family and friends that are still here. It's not like I get to see you all every week, or every month for that matter. I think it's the fact that I could jump in a car and come see you anytime that I wanted. Now, I'm going to have to hope on an airplane or a really long 12 hour drive and it wont be as often.

Okay...enough sappy stuff. I am not going to cry. (Out loud in front of people).

I'll post when I can.

Change - It's fall time

I changed my template for numourous reasons....

1. Because it's Fall time
2. Because it's mine and I can
3. Because I said so
4. Because change is good

Radio

I was driving to the Atlanta airport yesterday and listening to the radio. I am a singer...when I am alone, I belt it out - and usually get some of the words right. Well....I was singing along to a song that I think was called 'Our God Reigns' (I am sure my bro will correct me). It was the chorus and went like this...

'Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Your love makes me sing. Hallelujah Hallelujah...wasting away again in margaritaville....'

Wait, what did I just sing?.....I found myself singing along to Jimmy Buffet and thinking..that's not what I started singing....Apparently as I was driving along with these huge pine trees on either side of me, I was picking up different signals on the same station. I just thought it was funny that I just kept on belting out the words and then all of a sudden realized the song had drastically changed.

Georgia Quiz

If you found yourself in the Walmart parking lot and someone said,

"Can I take your buggy from you?"

What would you do?



Lucky for me it was a nice middle aged women and I could see that she was pointing to my cart. So I said, "sure, It drives straight, enjoy" (Example from prevoius blog where I talk too much when I get nervous:>)

Social oddities and Homestead exemptions

Some people are weird.
It's a fact. And I have accepted it.

Recently I have been thinking about what makes them odd and I have come to the conclusion that many times it is their social skills. People just have werid social skills....it's the way they interact with people, the things they say, the times they say them, and the way they communicate.

Now I realize, that the only way to calibrate the 'oddness' of people is to assume that I am not weird and therefore use that as a starting point. Now I know that I am not completley normal to some people. I talk fast, i talk a lot when I get nervous, I have this odd ability to read a map when I am on my own, but when my husband is driving I turn blonde, I will eat candy corn untill I am sick to my stomach and then eat more 10 min later....to name a few. (Please don't feel the need to point out any others:>) But I like to think that I am pretty normal so I can compare people to that.

Today, someones social weirdness helped me to save money! I closed on a house today. (yeah!!) But that is not what I am writing about. I happened to find out in an odd manner that we can apply for homestead exemption. All we have to do is fill out a sheet and we can save over $150 on real estate taxes each year. So.....we need to embrace peoples weirdness....it could end up saving you money.

Observations at Lonestar

1. I really don't like people who buy new cars and then park crooked in two spots so no one parks next to them. If you are going to do that, at least park at the very back of the lot, not in the front. I almost pulled up right next to the car just to see what would happen when they came out......but I didn't.

2. Why do roofers wear hard hats? Ever think about that? Are they afraid of bird poop or meteors?

observations at Quiznos

I noticed two things at Quiznos today...they have nothing to do with sandwiches.

1. The restroom had a small dispenser next to the toilet. It had pictures on it showing you what to do. It was toilet seat cleaner/sanitizer. You pull off some toilet paper, hold it underneath and spray sanitizer on it and you can wipe the toilet seat. I have never seen that before. When you sprayed the sanitizer it was a slight mist (kinda like hairspray but not sticky).

2. Men are so different from Women. (I know...I hear you...duh Janice). As I stood in line I noticed the gentleman in front of me was wearing size 34-32 jeans. No women in her right mind would print the size of her pants on the outside for all the world to see. Plus that would also require all the designers to agree on a standard size. That way a size 8 in one brand would equal a size 8 in the other brand.

lovebugs

The topic discussed below is for Mature audiences only....

The newest thing that I have discovered in Georgia are these things called love bugs. I looked them up on Wiki to figure out if everything that people were telling me was correct. Children beware - mature topic below (Bet you never thought you would see a parental advisory on my site!!)

It is also known as the honeymoon bug, telephone bug, and two headed bug.

Now the honeymoon I understand....but the telephone bug? Last time i looked that was not how you used the telephone? And my guess is that some Dad told his daughter it was a two headed but when she asked them what the bug was one day while alone in the car.

These bugs fly around for two weeks during the year and are so acidic that the squashed ones on front of your car will eat away at the paint. So you need to wash your car often to protect it. (Good thing I have a rental!)

Here are some other interesting facts from Wiki....These bugs spend the ' entirety of its life copulating with its mate. ' Hmm......

'In fact, after mating, the male dies and is dragged around by the female until she lays her eggs.' (oh boy let the comments come about that one!).

I'll try to keep it cleaner on my next posts...sorry to my younger fans.

Dancing with the Stars wana-bee

I don't get hooked on a lot of shows, but i am a HUGE FAN of Dancing with the stars. I WANT TO BE ON THAT SHOW!!! I need to become famous for something so I can be a star and have a chance.

Can I just say that 6 months after I have my fourth child i want to look like Brook Burke. Oh my goodness.....I want to look like Brooke Burke 6 months before I have my first child!

Georgia-ism

I have decided that cotton fields look like harvested corn fields in winter. I drove by a field last week and it looked like there was a dusting of snow......it was my first cotton sighting. Pretty neat...it make me feel a little cooler thinking that it was snow.

Today on the radio they ran an add for a local company looking for workers. Now I have heard commercials stating that companies are hiring and that you should call their HR office for details. This add was very specific and repeated itself over and over. (It must have worked because here I am blogging about it giving them an even bigger audience to pull from, though they may not have many applicants from the Midwest). "If you are an 'Experienced Pecan Tree Shaker Machine Operator' you could start working right away. You must be experienced and be able to tell the difference between different types of Pecans by site, and have operated tree shaker machines before. Only Experience Pecan Tree Shaker Operators need apply. " They literally said this like 5 times and had music and voice effects when he said ' Pecan Tree Shaker Machine Operator'. It made me chuckle

MPH

Ever wonder why the MPH gauge on a car goes up to 140 when most speed limits in the US are set at 65 or 70?

Are they just trying to center the dial on the actual speed you are supposed to go? That way the 65 or 70 number is at the top of the gage when you look at the dashboard?

Signs you have been traveling too much

You notice that the guys at the car rental place have new shirts, and you comment on how you like them.

The lady at Subway sees you in line and doesn’t even ask what you want, she gets out the wrap, starts to put turkey on and says “How are you doing today?”

You don’t check your itinerary five times before you leave to make sure you are on time. (In fact, I did not even print it out this time!! Bob’s going to yell at me for that one)

The cashier at Subway notices that you have done something different with your hair and comments that she likes it . (I spend a lot of time at Subway)

You know the date that the Car return bus took a different route to the lot and when they put up a big tent/awning thing to provide shade when you drop off your car. (I also spend a lot of time at National Car Rental….I am an executive member now and get off the bus with all the old guys in suits and get to pick whatever car I want)

When you ask to change rooms at the hotel, the guy at the front desk literally helps you move rooms. He carried my hanging clothes, and my suitcase, and my backpack.

You find yourself telling your subway friends that you bought a house and they are excited for you.
You can measure the length of time you have been away, by how much the corn grew while you were gone.

bugs

So....bugs have been on my mind recently due to some posts from friends.

I was sitting at a traffic light in my car yesterday and this large object hits the side of my car. (I thought someone was throwing rocks) I glance in my rear view mirror and see this huge bug bounce off the door. I think....My car is bright red , like 50 times the size of this bug and I have been sitting here for at least 30 seconds....how could that bug run into me?

That would be like me running into a barn at full sprint. Even if I give the bug the benefit of the doubt that he was in a hurry, or had something on his mind.....How could he run smack dab into the middle of a bright red car that was just sitting there?!

At least he bounced and didn't oozz guts all over the side.

Quality Defect

I got a bag of chips today that was slightly off register. (The graphics were off and the front of the bag was not centered to show the right stuff.)

Now....only 5% of the population would have noticed or even known what was wrong with this bag. And 95% of you reading this are not surprised that I would notice and comment on the manufacturing error!

It got me thinking about the way people view the same thing. I looked at this bag and thought.
"It should have been caught by quality and reworked. It never should have left the plant"
Someone else would think. "Hey cool, I got a weird bag". In the end it is still a bag of chips....they taste the same, but viewed so differently.
Kinda like that upside down postage stamp of the airplane. Isn't it work like $1,000's? (I'll have wikipedia that and find out). I wonder if the guy running the printing press got with his quality auditor and made a deal. They would print a few of the stamps, each keep some of them, then make $$ selling as a rare collectors item. Or it was the quality auditors first day on the job.

Either way.......my bag of chips made me think today......

Sleepy Husband

Last night we were laying in bed asleep, and I hear a crash and splash of water. I sit up and say...

'What was that'

'I don't know, something fell in the bathroom'

'What was it?' I ask trying to think of what was in there that was holding water that might have fallen.

He stumbles out of the bed (literally because it's just a mattress on the floor) and heads toward the bathroom as I prepare for him to turn on the lights.....

As I am squinting from the light and dragging myself out of bed, I see him standing there looking.

'Huh...your bag fell in the toilet' he says calmly and continues to stand there and look at it. No movement at all to retrieve it, just pondering, while looking at my purple travel bag floating upside down in the bottom of the toilet.

This registers to me and I dive right in to try and keep as much as possible from soaking up water. I reach in and pull out the bag and go back in twice looking for the contents that had fallen out....eyeshadow, lipstick, floss, tweezers, mascara.

'Can't use that floss anymore' is the only response I get. I stop and look at him....it's not like he was afraid to put his hands in toilet water, or did not want to get wet, it just never crossed his mind that he should try to quickly get the stuff out of the water.

'Don't worry, I can get the rest of this....' I reply sarcastically as he stands in the corner watching.

'I was trying to figure out how it fell, I'm going back to bed'

I think he must have been sleepy

Things I learned about my rental car this week

The buttons on the steering wheel to change the radio station only cycle through the 12 preset stations on the radio. So….if you are driving and after 1.5 hours you can’t seem to find anything good on the radio, and you continue to use your new little toy with the buttons on the steering wheel, and all the stations appear to get fuzzy around the same time, it’s because you are out of range of the 12 preset stations and you need to reach and use the Scan button on the dash…not your neat little steering wheel control. (I know that was a long sentence…but I had to get a lot out). I found many stations that I liked after I used the scan button.

Why do they give you a locked key ring with two keys on it? Only one person can drive at a time, and I only need one key….and I can’t take it off the ring and give it to someone else even if there were two of us.

On a Honda accord if you press the unlock remote button twice on your remote and hold it down on the second press, all four windows will roll down in the car until you let go of the button. (Those of you who know me well, can picture me trying to figure out why when I returned to my car after the first day of work, my windows were all cracked. It couldn’t be a sensor that knew the inside of the car was hot, and they went down on their own because that just invites rain and thieves…Don’t worry, it only took me until Tuesday to figure it out.) this is totally something I would think of and want in a car. How cool, You’re walking up to your super hot car, you can roll the windows down when you are still 20 feet away so some of that heat disappears and you are not knocked down by the wave of heat when you open the door. Way to go Honda.

Huricane - Again

As I was walking through the airport I came across a large group of people sitting around a few benches with bags all around. They were all in blue shirts and had on ID badges. I read one of the back of the shirts and it said ‘Emergency medical/Rescue squad Seattle’. I am guessing they are down here getting ready for the Hurricane. That’s amazing they came all the way from Seattle to help out.

Being in the Midwest we don’t have hurricanes. We do have tornados, but you don’t have 4 days of warning/worry that they are coming. When a tornado hits, you hide in your house, and you can see the damage immediately. It is tragic experience, but I think a Hurricane is so much worse. They are evacuating Louisiana. Stop and think about that. What if you were told that tomorrow you need to pack up your family and go somewhere that is 4-6 hours away? What if all your family lived right there with you? Where do you go? Who do you call to see if you can stay with them? What do you take with you? What is it going to be like when you come back? I think it is especially hard for Louisiana residents who have come back after Katrina and are trying to rebuild. The last thing they want to do is leave again…last time they left, so many people did not return and the towns were desolate….What’s going to happen after this one? I cannot imagine and my thoughts and prayers go out to these families and the volunteers and people who are going to be providing services.

Things I heard/saw in Georgia

I spent another week in Tifton doing some training. The more time I spend here I realize things are a bit different. A friend of a friend of mine recently left the Midwest and headed south and she has been sharing her findings on things that are different. Here is what I have found so far.

The ‘S’ is not Silent- The pronunciation of my second home state is a bit different down here. I have come to find that I am from IllinoiSSSSS. I don’t know if I should correct people or not? Is it rude to say ‘The S is silent’? It makes me wonder if I pronounce some other state wrong when I sing 50 nifty.

Cell-a-Phonie – The contraption that my kids use to call me. Yes….I actually heard someone this week tell me that her kids all have a cell-a-phonie, but she does not like them. They bought her a cell-a-phonie to use, but if it weren’t for the kids, she would hot have a cell-a-phonie.

Trucks with Raw Lumber (read raw = tree trunks). I know that lumber has to come from somewhere, but by the time we see it in the Midwest it is already harvested and planed down and in the form of 2x4s. In Georgia you see trucks full of freshly cut Pine tree trunks rolling down the road on flatbeds.

Four guys in a pick up truck. Now this may not seem odd to you, but let me fill in the details. I was driving up interstate 75 today going about 72 mph and I notice a two door black pick up truck in front of me. There is a yellow strap flapping off the passenger side view mirror. There are also three guys sitting in the cab. Two facing forward and the third guy is jammed in the back facing sideways…looks really uncomfortable. I think. “man that’s pretty tight with the three of them’. I am examining the yellow strap and fingered out it was a headband/sweatband. They must have been airing it out. Then out of the blue I see an arm lift up out of the back and a guy pull himself up so he is leaning against the cab looking at me, and he is smoking!!! He sits there for a bit, finished the cigarette, and then lays back down. Interesting…

I am sure to add more of my findings from the South.


P.S. An update from an earlier post….Turns out they were changing the whole sign to digital…no one else wants that job either J

'JOB FOR A DAY'

When in high school, a friend of mine decided that she was going to become president of the US and then make a clause in the constitution that I could have any job I wanted for a week at a time. I could go all over doing different things for a week, and then I would move on to the next one.

Yesterday I found a job I don't want to try.

'Gas Station Billboard Price Changer'

There was this guy on a ladder truck (Those trucks with the bucket on the end and the arm that reaches up) and he was up in the air by a sign changing the price of diesel. (a storm is coming so quick the cost of gas that is already refined, and already delivered, and already at the gas stations all of a sudden costs more!!!). This was not your ordinary billboard either....it was by an overpass, so it was supper high so you could see it from all angles from quite a distance. I was surprised that truck went that high. If you think of those Lego towers you used to build...just stack all the Lego's on top of each other to see how high you could get. Sooner or later you get too high and the thing breaks in the middle and falls.......That is what the arm on the bucket looked liked. I don't think I want to be that guy for a week.

'Product'

So, I am here in Tifton and it is HUMID...thanks to the south and to Fay. They got 9 inches of rain on Saturday and it is still coming down. I spent the day in a hot plant today and have decided to give up on trying to keep my hair straight. I have figured out that I can get decent curl in my hair if I go to sleep with a wet head and put some gel in it before hand. I usually only try this on the weekend in case it does not work. That way, I am not going anywhere in public so it's okay. I decided to try it tonight, but that means I have to buy 'product'.

I carried my bags on the airport so I only have 3 oz of fluid in my zip lock bag. And when at home I use the gel that my husband has. ( I think it was $1.99 LA looks or something....It was a huge bottle and it was cheap) Well, I went to Walgreen's and went down the Hairspray isle. I realized the last time i bought hairspray was when I was at Bradley. I am not a girly girl who goes to the salon and spends money on my hair. (I spent two years in a job where I wore a hair net and never had to do my hair.) Heck, I pay $12 to have my hair cut and don't have her dry it.

So, anyway, it was a battle for me to not gravitate to the items that were on sale or the generic. I went back and forth reading the labels and trying to ignore the practical side of me saying "Janice, you worked at a company that filled hairspray for a wide number of products and know that the only difference between many of these items are the perfumes, or the fact that a teaspoon of some odd extract is added into a 3,500 gallon tank just so it can say 'contains' on the label." I tried to be a regular consumer and read the description and let the commercials that I have seen pop into my head telling me which product was better. At the last min, I almost resorted to a buy one get one free. (I could have gotten both mouse and flexible hold hairspray from Dove for $4.99) But I stuck with my original Commercial induced impulse buy and went up to the check out counter. They rung up my items and the total came to $13.13.......hm....13 is unlucky....is that a sign I should have gone with the sale items? I guess we'll find out in the morning......

If you are going to run.....then Run

Okay, I have vented to my husband about this so I thought I would share my thoughts with you. This Bolt guy from the Olympics is cocky. Yeah he may be the fastest guy in the world, but all his 'showmanship' is getting on my nerves. When a guy is down on the track before his race and he looks at the big screen, sees his face and starts pretending to do his 'hair' and then does the double finger point and head bob to teh camera....that is just silly! You are there to run, run....don't go flaunting it around. I agree he is amazing....he is the fastest thing in the world and he accomplishes it with out really trying. But that's the thing.......he could set an even more outstanding record if he would apply himself. He has 4 more years to wait for the next Olympics. A lot can happen to a cocky 21 year old in that amount of time. He should be putting forth his best effort here, not showboating around.

Okay....I said it...there.....thanks for reading.

I'd like a drink please

This might surprise some of you...but I don't really know my way around a bar. I mean-how to not sound like a 21 year old ordering my first drink. (I had to call my mom from the liquor store when I tried to make a Bourbon Slush because I didn't know it was a type of Whisky.....)
Anyway....I was at a wedding this weekend for Bob's friend from high school Nick. (Nick was in our wedding - small blond guy standing up with Bob for those of you who were there) They had an open bar and I can't pass up bargain so I was going to get a drink. I am usually safe getting wine or a rum and coke. The only problem is I recently figured out that my migraines were caused by caffeine so I have cut that out of my diet completely. Therefore, no Rum and Coke and me looking like a 21 year old at the bar and not knowing what to drink. Luckily for me, my friend Lisa was there to help me out. (Lisa knows her way around the bar so she had a lot to teach me). I found out that I could order vodka and seven up with a lime and sound all sophisticated. (and Lisa tells me that this drink reminds her of Green Christmas lights because one year she bit one.....can't say I have ever tried that, but I can say that I know what they taste like if they taste like vodka and seven up with a lime twist....I wonder if the yellow lights taste like the lemon twist?)

Thanks Lisa! (sorry to share your story!)

So those of you wondering why Lisa was at Bob's friends wedding with me..here is the scoop.....Nick (Bob's friend) married Erin who happens to be Andy's friend (Lisa's new husband) ! What a small world! Nick almost made the trip to Key West and we would have run into them down there. I wonder if we could link to Kevin Bacon somehow?

Moving fun

A few random thoughts over the past few days from my packing adventures:

The movers were supposed to pack my stuff Monday and load it onto a truck on Tuesday...

Monday 8:00am - Me thinking ~There is only 3 of them....and they are guys.....they are going to pack my entire house in a day....what about my china....what about my underwear drawer ?~

Monday 9:30am - Packer 'It'll be a late night, but we'll have you packed and loaded today- no problem. By the way ma'am we don't recommend packing candles...I am going to lay all these on the desk here and we'll put all the non packable ones there.'

Monday 10:00am - Me thinking ~This is going okay, so far so good, they seem pretty nice and don't look like they are going to steal things like my co-worker had issues with~

Monday 10:28am - Me thinking ~why are there light bulbs laying on the ground over here?~
Monday 10:29am - Packer 'We take the bulbs out before we pack them, so you'll find bulbs laying around your house'

Monday 12:17pm - Me thinking ~why did they pack my half full bottle of Tide, but not my half full bottle of fabric softener that was right next to it?~

Monday 3:09pm - Me talking to packers in kitchen 'You don't have to worry about packing this food over in this cabinet. I'll be taking all of this over to my rental house' (Besides I thought, why would you put food in a storage warehouse for 3 months)

Monday 5:11pm looking at our driveway full of boxes and our house still full of stuff
- Me asking the packer 'Is this all going to fit? I don't think it's going to fit?'
- Packer 'Yes ma'am...it will be tight, but it will fit. The people before you in the truck went over by 4,000 lbs so it'll be a bit snug'

Monday 6:13pm - Me thinking ~what happened to all the candles?~

Monday 7:24pm - Me thinking ~ I know they are the experts...but it's not going to fit~

Monday 8:30 pm - Me thinking ~It's a good thing our house is by a street light... wait... Why are they putting a tarp around my already boxed up mattress?~

Monday 8:31pm - Packer 'There is a 4 foot section on the back of the truck, we'll tarp anything that does not fit and just strap it on the back of the truck'

Monday 8:57pm - Me walking into the driver packing my kitchen and reminding him that he does not need to worry about the cabinet on the left .
Driver "oh that's okay ma'am, I already got that...most of it should be okay"
Me thinking~ he packed the food? what was he thinking? there was a half open bag of pretzels with a chip clip in there, along with chocolate coated granola bars, and an open bag of flour and sugar. I am going to find rats in my box when I unpack it!!!!~

Monday 9:45pm - "Ma'am.....it's not going to fit. I am going to have to bring an overflow truck in here tomorrow and pack up the rest of the items. We'll load them into your garage for now, I'll be back in the morning"

Monday 10:02pm - Me thinking ~we have three twin mattresses in our garage...we only own one, and it is upstairs still...this is from the other peoples load....Janice....they know what they are doing....all of your stuff will some how make it to Georgia, even though it is on two trucks,and it has to be unloaded into a warehouse in Atlanta and then back onto a truck to go to Tifton, and someone elses stuff is in your garage...just go to bed and worry about it in two months when you are unpacking...by then you'll have your half full bottle of laundry detergent, melted candles, gooey chocolate bars, and rat nibble pretzels to worry about too........

Goodbye 90 Country Club Drive

So, when we moved in, I felt like a snob.....'I live on Country Club drive'. But now, I am going to miss it a bit. I am sitting at a very empty desk, in a room full of boxes, and there are sounds of rustling paper and tape being used to make boxes. It's moving day. They think they will be packed and loaded all today.

SO, I am signing off for a bit. I hope to be able to post from work during the next 6 weeks as we find a place to use the Internet.

I have to tell you about my fun weekend and the taste of Christmas lights ;)

Carni

Every wonder why you only see one semi truck of a folded up carnival rides going down the road? I mean, there is more than one ride at a carnival. And you would think that they travel from one local fair to another in a group. Why don't they all caravan together so you see a lot of them going down the highway at once?
I won't even talk about how scary it is that a ride that whips you around in the air can be folded up on a semi truck in the dark by Bud and Jedd. Yet we still pay to get that bracelet that lets us on the ride.

Tight spaces

Let me show you what we did this weekend.

Follow me as we go into our crawl space. Watch your head. Hmm...I don't see Bob. Maybe he's around the corner to our left......watch your step.....




There he is! Man that's a tight spot......

At least he is still smiling!! Dad- recognize that light? It was hanging in our attic in West Lafayette for years! It has come in very handy for all of our projects.

Okay....so you are all asking what Bob is doing crawling with the bugs? He was running wire up our wall to flush mount a wall socket that was requested by our buyers. The entire project only cost $11.48 but it was brave of Bob to get in this spot.
Here is the finished product.....


The buyers asked that we treat the basement for termites, so that will be done next week and we should still close on the 13th. I think I am actually going to miss this place.

the power of the pen.....and termites

So.....we are in the process of closing on our record breaking 3 week closing. (They want to be in on Aug 12th).
Inspection - Done - all came out okay and we can fix the four things they want for $25 bucks (Thanks Bob!!)
Appraisal - Done- Have not heard anything yet so hopefully that means good
Termite inspection - Stupid bug shelters - Here is the story

When we bought the house 4 years ago, a man named John P inspected our house and commented on his form that "OLD termite shelters had been found on the S.W wall of the N. Crawl space." His recommendation was "No treatment needed" because there was "Evidence that treatment had been given by holes drilled in floor on front stoop".
Our realtor made no big deal out of it and neither did we - No bugs found -the inspector said you're good to go.

Flash forward to yesterday. A gentleman came to inspect our house and found 'Termite Shelters" on the South West Floor joist in our crawl space. No bugs were found, just 'evidence' that bugs were there, and 'evidence of damage'. NO big deal right? That is the same thing the last guy found. Well, this guy is recommending treatment to the tune of $1600. And....it's the same guy who owns the same company who inspected four years ago!!!!

What floors me is that when we re-did our kitchen and knocked a wall out, the sub floor was pretty badly damaged and so we replaced it all. Now we have new joists and sub floor. The stuff before - the stuff he inspected and was damage 4 years ago which he did not write in his report - is now all nice and new.

Bob and I have been down there looking and all we can find is one shelter that is about 1.5 inches long. (He marked on his sheet the entire wall area had shelters) Now don't get me wrong, if there are termites there, we need to pay to have it cleaned up. I am not trying to get out of that. What upsets me is that a few months ago a house was bought in a neighboring town and it passed home inspection and termite inspection. A month or so later Termites were found and the house had to be knocked down because of the damage. Needless to say there are a lot of lawsuits going on for that one and everyone is worried and now recommending treatment.

We don't think this is going to scare the buyers away, but you never know! UGGGh It's amazing how powerful the inspectors pen can be just by what he writes....he can stop this deal dead in it's track by a careless lack of explanation. So.....if you bought your house, and had old shelters when you bought it, get down there and knock them off now so you don't forget before you sell it. FRUSTRATION!!!!!!

Chim-chim-a-nee

That was an attempt at the Mary Poppins show where they are all climbing on the roof and singing and dancing. That's where Bob and I were this weekend, on the roof, but we were not dancing. We bought chicken wire and fixed the screen that surrounds our chimney to keep animals out. Both of us are afraid of heights, so to be standing on the roof, on a ladder propped up by two boards and supported on the low side by Bob was a bit scary for me. But we got it done and checked it off our list of home repairs. Only two more to go.



We bought all the supplies to mount the outlet flush in the wall, but it is going to require that we crawl (or shimmy) in our crawl space to run a wire up a wall and to the new location. Not looking forward to that, but the new owners wont let us drop the box into the crawlspace like we asked.....so....we'll be crawling with the bugs next weekend. Oh joy.



On a bright side I realized that it will only cost us $25 in materials to fix everything they wanted. Granted, we had to risk our lives on the roof, and get over the arachnophobia of our crawlspace, but at least it's cheap.

I could not find the pictures to post of the kitchen like I said in my last post, so here are some pictures of our painted paneled room. We should have done this much sooner than we did.



Homeowners tip: You can paint paneling, you don't need to sand it, just use a primer.


The stripes below are from a brush to fill in the grooves, then we used the roller to cover the rest. We did this project over a week. Painted one wall each night when we got home from work. Used some extra paint in the process, but it worked out pretty well.
I was going for an accent wall, and did not like the green once it was on the wall, so we changed.
Decided on Cayenne instead of hunter green.

We really should have done this earlier.....very dramatic change in the room for a cheap cost.