GRRRRRRRRRRRR...........

Moving SUCKS...I JUST WANNA QUILT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I'm sad about possibly having to give up my longarm...gotta give a little to get a little I guess. *SIGH*

Condo construction is progressing...

Here I am standing in my sewing room, looking into the living area. See that vent hole cut at the bottom right...there was a matching one on the other wall...NOT GOOD!! The built in fabric storage cabinets were supposed to go on those walls...either side of the double doors. OH NO...not to worry! I went there with the cabinet dude on Monday, met with the electrician, wood guy, and heat guy...we had to make a few adjustments on the dimensions of the storage units but they will work! WHEW!!! Unfortunately, I think the longarm is going to have to go...it's too big.

Here I am contemplating the issue!!!

This is going to be the kitchen. That electrical thingy sticking up in the middle of the floor will be the electricity in the peninsula. Aren't the floors GORGEOUS??? Even though they have a ton of sheetrock dust on them, they are stunning!

This is the door to our small (30 sqare foot) deck, and the eating area is where the boards are standing up.

Here we are...YEP...424 is OURS!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was fun to see everything progressing!

Happy 82nd Birthday Dad!!!

Today is my dad's 82nd birthday! There is a LOT I could say about this man, like:
how hard he worked to support his family (he was self-employed for 26 years),
how much he LOVED and RESPECTED my mom (RIP mom),
how he didn't, and still doesn't, have to use a lot of words (sometimes THAT look sufficed) to get his message across,
how he lives his life with integrity,
how he will do anything to help a person in need,
how he puts Christ into his every day living...
and on and on and on...

Mostly though...I LOVE YOU DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for loving my mom the way you did and us kids as well!!!!!!!!!!!! I have the BEST dad in the world!!! Here's a pic of him, my 2 sisters and I about a year ago!!!

Granite is DONE!!!!!

Here ya go! The finished product...notice the new view when you come in the front door! AMAZING!!!

It BETTER work! LOL

Kitchen transformation...

The things a person has to do to "hopefully" sell a house...today it's countertops being covered in Granite! Granite Transformations is here and it's looking GORGEOUS!!!! The biggest negative comment we've had is "the kitchen needs updating"...which translates into granite and stainless steel appliances (which are NOT going to happen on our dime).

The guys put the little guy on first! Looking good!!

The old sink was cut out and the new on placed in the old counter!

Almost have the island covered...

And this is the template for the sink...after lunch they'll cut this out! AMAZING!!!

Stay tuned for the finished project later today!!!

Easter fun...Our last family Easter in KS

What fun we had! On Thursday night Kevin and Dan moved the other half of the bunk beds that my brother made for the boys to Dan's new place...but first there were a few mattress rides down the stairs! BOYS!!!!!!!!!!

Then on Saturday we were enjoying the sunshine while sitting on the deck. Dan and Kev decided to do a KS Polar plunge! LOL...water temp around 50 degrees...BRRRRRRR...this is Dan diving in.

Kev had perfect form on his cannon ball! LOL

DANG we're cold!!! Gotta warm up!

Then we had Easter dinner on Saturday so DH and his parents could drive home on Easter Sunday...back to MN from KS.

We played cards after stuffing ourselves! LOTS of fun!!!

Kev shared a Miller Lite with grandpa!

While Steve and I went to mass Easter morning with his parents, the kids, all living on their own snuck into our house and cooked breakfast...eggs, sausage, and hash browns! YUMMY and an AWESOME surprise!!! Thanks kids!

Finally, on Saturday DH, Kev and myself went to Men's Wearhouse for a buy one get one free suit sale. Steve said he could use another suit and Kev has a job interview for a college assistant coaching job on Wed and he said he needed a suit as well. Alterations were needed so we picked up Kev's suit this afternoon. He wore it back to college so it wouldn't get all wrinkled. He needed me to take a pic for GQ! LOL...isn't he handsome????

Now reality of this big old house and myself is here! The silence is deafening!

Condo Pics...

Here are pics of our condo...our tiny 30 square foot deck! LOL

This is the corner of our unit...after the installation of the wall it'll be my sewing room. It will have an AMAZING view of downtown Mpls!!!

a long view of the living area and where my sewing room will be.

Our kitchen...can you see it? LOL

We will remove this window, add french doors, and make this a sitting room. WOOHOO

Well...that is a small snapshot of our future...what do you think???

YIKES...

Bought a condo today in Minneapolis...the developer accepted our initial offer...I was STUNNED...look for pics later this week since DH's puter doesn't wanna read my memory card..we also had a showing today and wonder if it's a God thing? Say a prayer!!!

OK...moving day

It was cold and rainy but we did it! Thanks to Brian and Brenton...it was a lot easier with them!!!

Rain and cold...they still got the job done!!!

Firemen are another family and culture...I am comforted knowing that Dan is going to be taken care of!

The new place! WOOHOO!!

I really did help! I am putting light bulbs in the lamp! YES........

I love my kids, wanted an empty nest...but did NOT bargain for an empty nest minus the hubby! *SIGH*

WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Fireman Dan is now a PROUD HOMEOWNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's amazing how one can move the earth when threatening to pull the loan to another lender. WOW...it never came through underwriting but the loan closed, the builder got his money, and Dan got his keys!!! We moved some stuff today and tomorrow 2 of Dan's fellow firefighters will be here at 9am to help move the furniture!!!

Stay tuned for pics tomorrow!!!

FRUSTRATED...

If there are 2 things I DETEST it's LYING and MESSING WITH MY KIDS. My motto as a mom has always been, "Mess with me but do not mess with my kids". The bank is messing with my youngest. Dan was supposed to close on his new home yesterday and move in tomorrow. The loan most likely got left on someone's desk before getting sent to underwriting. The loan is still in underwriting.

Dan's realtor (our realtor as well) called and said the phones at the bank were out and she couldn't get ahold of the VP (gal who helped with dan's loan). I said well i had checks to cash (it's our bank we are dealing with) and I could stop in the mortgage area and ask if closing would happen tomorrow. I did that and had the VP tell me several lies that I personally was in the meetings and things she said were told to Dan were not. I called her out on every lie and she wasn't happy with me. I left with her business card and gave our realtor the VP's cell.

Our realtor called VP and was told I was a bit aggressive...passionate would be a better description...but guess what? She spoke with her boss and Dan is closing tomorrow at 10 (unless they pull some shenanigans) whether his loan has come thru underwriting or not. WOW...i guess cages should've been rattled sooner!

I told VP that we had another loan officer who could close this loan in 48-72 hours and Dan would probably pull the loan. I guess the BOSS didn't want to lose the business! If they yank Dan around tomorrow he is walking out the door and telling them to have his file ready for the other loan officer to pick up.

I HAVE A HEADACHE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT THE HECK????

Our average high for the month of March is 56. Here is what is happening today...pics were taken about 5 mins ago...around 7:05pm...GIVE ME A BREAK!!! This was supposed to be a huge weekend of open houses in our 'hood but it was shut down early today due to freezing rain/sleet. *sigh* will we EVER sell this house?????

this doesn't look like 56 degree to me! And because of the cold/snow, we can't get the pool clear and we opened it up early just for the open house bonanza. So much for THAT tactic.

TOO MUCH SNOW..................

ENOUGH already!!!

Sunday in Mpls last weekend...

Before I go into Sunday's fun...I forgot to post this pic of 2 idiots fishing on a hunk of ice. If you enlarge the pic you can see the crack that looks close to breaking them away from safety. S*T*U*P*I*D humans!

We wanted to go to breakfast at Hell's Kitchen (not related to the tv show) but the wait was an hour and we were STARVING...next time we'll make a reservation!!! We ended up eating at "The Local". It's OK for brunch but nothing to write home about.

We had 30 mins to kill before heading to the Metrodome for the NCAA Basketball play off games between KU and Dayton, and Mich. St vs USC. It was the first time we've seen a college bball game other than Division III games. WOW those guys are HUGE!!! It was a lot of fun and we'd do it again!!! Here we are waiting for the game to start!!!

This, I think, is the pic of the opening tip-off. Without a zoom it's hard to get good pics...but it proves we were there! LOL

SO...that about sums up our weekend. LOTS of together time that we thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated after losing Mark. It really brought home how important being together is for us.

I LOVE YOU STEVE!!!

Beauty in being together in Mpls!!!

In my previous post I mentioned the amazing weather/walk my dh and I took on Saturday. WOW...what a day!!!!! Here is a small peek at our day last Saturday!!!

After stopping at Target to get a disposable camera (left the digital at home in KS...OOPS), we headed toward the Mighty Missippi. I just had to have my pic taken next to the Mary Tyler Moore statue. If you ever watched the MTM show you know the beginning was filmed in Mpls and she throws her hat at the end of the opening. A bronze statue was put up in her honor!

Here I am in front of St. Anthony Falls...GORGEOUS!!!!!

We stopped for lunch at Town Hall Brewery. They have great food and AWESOME beer! We had a couple fo beers and headed off to finish our walk!!!

We crossed over the river and I took this pic of downtown Mpls. It was standing there very majestically!!!

We walked and walked and walked and finally were headed back to the apartment. A few blocks down on Hennepin Avenue I saw the striped awnings of Rock Bottom Brewery! MORE BEER!!!
Ahhhhhhhhhhh...a perfect day!!! Later...pics of Sunday!

Have a good!

A GREAT DAY!!!

Yesterday was a GORGEOUS day in Minneapolis. I have no clue what the high temp was but I'd guess it got in the low 60's, there was no wind and a bright blue sky! GORGEOUS!!!

Steve and I had an AMAZING day. We left the apartment at 12th St. and Marquette around 11am and walked straight to the Mississippi river. Took a right and ended up at Town Hall Brewery which is on the other side of Interstate 35. Had lunch and a couple of beers before heading back down the river and walked to St. Anthony, Nicollet Island, Boom Island, and finally crossed the river on the Plymouth bridge. Finally we headed back into downtown and towards the apartment when Rock Bottom Brewery's awning called my name and in we went. Had too many beers and watched the NCAA basketball games. The bartenders there are so AWESOME...the 4:00 shift came on and that's why we had 2 more beers after closing out the earlier tab...Steve was talking books/music with one of the bartenders! LOL...We figured it was about an 8-10 mile walk.


Today we'll walk to the Metrdome to as well to watch 2 NCAA Regional Bball games. KU plays at 1:30 so we're gonna root for the hometown boys!!! GO KU!!! (Pictures will follow in the next few days...I didn't bring the digital when I left home and had to buy a disposable...stay tuned!!!)

Rough Day

I got a call from my DH today while working at Old Chicago. I was busy so didn't answer the actual call but the server who did said my husband was on the phone. I knew it wasn't good news cuz DH NEVER calls OC for me.

DH said someone had died. I couldn't catch the name cuz DH's voice cracked. I had to ask DH who died and he said it was Mark Lindblad. He was dh's business coach for the past 10+ years.

Mark was so amazing because he never told DH what to do. He always could put things into question form so DH could figure it out on his own. He was a gentle giant who came to some of my kids' USA Cup soccer games in order to meet with dad. DH even shared a recent email (that I sent to him) with Mark. DH said Mark had tears in his eyes after reading it and said this is what life is all about.

Mark died yesterday unexpectedly of a heart attack. DH was choked up about it while talking to me on the phone. Our hearts are heavy. Mark was only 55 and he was an amazing human being.

I had just asked DH this morning if he had contacted Mark about meeting up again. DH was going to email him later today, but instead got a phone call from Mark's daughter telling him about her dad's death.

Life shouldn't be taken for granted and we should live each moment to its fullest. It makes me want to move ASAP to Mpls and be with DH.

Here's the link to the obit
http://www.legacy.com/StarTribune/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=125207733

Please keep the family in your prayers. Life has been full of sadness lately...
Thanks!

More from vacation...

One day we went on a hike in the Tahquitz Canyon. It was a 2 mile hike with a 3500 foot change in altitude. It was a gorgeous day!!!

The waterfall was the prize at the top of the hike!

Isn't it gorgeous???

Margarita anyone???

One of several sunsets!!!

The End!!!