Healthy Living Thread

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Yes, I’m still alive. I swear I posted this weekend, but apparently I did not. #wheredidmymindgo?

Dee Jay, good luck getting all your documents and taxes done. I hope to hear our damages soon.

Those WFH jobs are the best.

We went out to TBE on Saturday and the cement floor was poured in the basement and the wood for framing was there. We are getting a snowstorm starting Wednesday - anywhere between 8 to 24 inches - so I hope they cover the wood up before then. I will run out tomorrow and see if they started framing it yet. The house on either side seems close for big lots, but still not “right” Next door,

Wow to selling a $500 order. I bet that was a joy to pack up. Nice to score at Goodwill. I am going to pass some of my mom’s holy goblets on to a niece in Texas. I need to figure out how to get them to her though. I haven’t done any packing or throwing out lately. Shredit is SUPPOSED to pick up tomorrow between 8-5 and they won’t take the boxes. WTH? Good idea to sell some jewelry on your site since you have a site anyway. I am still toying with selling some of my things as well. That would be great if selling things on EBay results in getting more money than you’d sell them for anyway. You and Liam are good at finding things, especially bargains and selling machines.

That’s great the weather was nice there today. We’ve had some sunny and mild temperature days. The calm before the big storm.

So what the heck have I been doing? Working a lot, knitting and not much else. Marty somehow got his new mount in a state and it can’t find “home” now. Sadly, you have to start from the home position. He posted didn’t hear from the company today what to do. Neither of us will be turning cartwheels - like I could do that Ha Ha - if it doesn’t work or costs to fix it.

Marty baked a brisket for us yesterday. It smelled so good and was one tough brisket. It tasted okay but was really fatty, it made me sad because the last one he baked was sooooo good. It was from a different “cow’ place so I don’t know if that was the difference. Their steaks and roasts seem to have a LOT of fat on them.

Laters,
Curby

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

I worked 9 hours today. What is WRONG with me? My list of things to do keeps growing too.

Marty has an early night of the gym, so he’s bringing us Culver’s for supper. Flavor of the day is devils food. I need to go again Thursday, it’s caramel PB cup.

I was going to run out to TBE but changed my mind since it was after 5 when I logged off the computer.

Laters,
Curby

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Well, you know Marty doesn’t have nearly enough cameras and telescopes to take pictures of the solar eclipse. And he has been using my camera on this device that automates taking pictures (because his Sony doesn’t work on it ha ha). My zoom lens isn’t enough magnification for him so he ordered me a lens today. That sucker is so big, I doubt my tiny hand can hold it. I’ll be putting it on over the bed. It even has a handle to put it on a tripod. He found a used one for about 1/3 the new price.

We woke up to rain and are ending the day with snow. Is it Friday yet?

Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Thursday kids!

Curby, well now it's MY turn to swear I posted something and don't see it... ? I distinctly remember making a bad joke about Marty and "home" and ET phoning. Marty has "enough" cameras and lenses and stuff just like you and I have "enough" jewelry! I am SO glad tomorrow is Friday! I can't take much more this week!

So... yesterday's job interview was one of the strangest professional experiences I've ever had. I got up at THREE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING so I could make the six am flight. When I got to Philly I went into one of those Minute Suites (accessed through Priority Pass -- does Marty have that?) and had a room all to myself that was about eight feet by eight feet. There was a sofa, desk and chair, TV and mirror. It was the perfect place to put on my suit and do my makeup, and I think having that little room all to myself was the highlight of the day! I got to the office around 11 am. They never fed me a thing (I assumed there would be lunch based on my arrival time) and I could hear my stomach growling so loudly that I'm sure the folks on the other side of the table must have heard it too! I knew the instant I opened the door to the reception area that it was a no-go. There were two guys sitting at desks in the reception area with their screen facing the room so everyone could see what they were doing (how do you go on Amazon and buy new underwear in a setting like that?!). Above them were religious pictures. VERY religious pictures. The conference room clock had Jesus on it with bloody tears and it said "I trust in you." I swear I'm not making this up!!! And all I could think of was, the meetings in this place are so terrible they make you want to cry blood?!?!?! I spent over two hours with the COO, half an hour with a "filler" guy because the guy who owns the firm had gone MIA, finally the owner (who is one strannnnnnnnge dude), and someone that I met with by zoom even though he was only fifteen minutes away. The conference room table had three chairs on each side and at the ends. I was in Seat #1 on one side, and the owner sat in Seat #3 on the other side -- not directly across from me -- and I don't think he looked at me the entire time he was rapid firing questions. The filler guy was the best -- he gave me some of the skinny, like the fact that the owner has FOURTEEN children. One of the sons works at the firm, as done one of the daughters, and three of the son-in-laws. And it's clear that if you're not literally "family" you do not have a seat a the table in terms of decision making. I finally escaped back to the airport around four, and snarfed down a giant cheese burger and two big glasses of prosecco before I got on the plane. OMG. I am still wondering if it was all some sort of candid camera spoof?!

Anyway, that's over now, and all I want is my $406 reimbursement for the airline ticket and uber rides so I can get on with my life!

Today I am working, working and working. Ugh.!!!

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, holy crap what an ODD interview. Sounds like an alternate reality or very bizarre dream. Run away … I’d have several drinks afterward too. What will you say if they make you an offer? I hope they reimburse your ticket and Uber fees. It’s kind of odd they didn’t purchase the ticket for you ahead of time. I don’t recall if Marty has Priority Pass, I know he has global entry.

Speaking of us having enough - my new lens showed up today. It’s pretty awesome. Marty bought a “good” used one for about the 1/3 of the regular price. There’s a ring that tightens the zoom lens part that doesn’t tighten. Since we want it for the eclipse in a few weeks, no way we’ll try to exchange it. Maybe Marty can get them to drop the price on it. It’s no huge deal, just your zoom will start to slide especially it its pointed up the lens will start to creep. Well, an easy fix is wrapping some Velcro around it if you want it to remain at a fixed focal length. Since it was snowing, I couldn’t try any distant shots with it, but I caught a bird flying by out the window and a few shots of teddy bears.

We had snow most of the day. It started as rain then turned in to horizontal snow. From what the patio furniture has on it, we’ve had at least 6” today. It’s nice to see all the moisture.

I am up to the armholes on the front of my vest. Yay.

I didn’t work on any videos today for a change. That was nice. I did watch a few for other people though.

Marty skipped going to the gym “supposedly” because it was so nasty out. I think it was so he could play with my new lens. He wanted pizza for supper so that was an easy supper.

Laters,
Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Friday kids!

Curby, I sent thank you notes to the five people I talked to at the company and so far only one of them has responded. But then again, after I talked to the initial guy I didn't hear from him for about ten days and then he wanted me on a plane Right Now. Bunch o' misfits! Please don't say the S word any more this season! LOL on using velcro. That's SO something I would do. MacGyver called, your lens is ready.

What a long few days... Yesterday we went to dinner with friends at one of Liam's customer's restaurants. It was mediocre at best. I thought the wine might save it, but that was pretty middling too. Oh well, it's only one meal. I had two orders to pack but went straight to bed when we got home because I was still tired from the day before. This morning I got up early, but only got one order boxed up before I needed to leave for work. I went home at lunch and did the other one and ran to the post office. The guy I sold the $500 worth of blue glass to last week left me a good review so everything must have made it intact. The the vase that sat in the Wichita USPS sorting facility for ten days FINALLY got delivered this afternoon. YAY!

Today I was going to work from home but I NEED to get the jewelry lady's accounting done. I'm about 75% of the way through all of her bank account / debit card transactions and I'm ready to throw my laptop out the window. I haven't even gotten to the giant envelope full of loose receipts and other crap yet. UGH.

There is an estate sale tomorrow that has three nice sets of dishes. I had to have a Come To Jesus conversation with myself and back away from the photos!

Ilya is getting me a 5 ct bracelet to replace the 2 ct from X-mas that I decided is too small. I'm hoping to pick it up next Wednesday when I'm downtown. How exciting! Of course every time I walk into Ivy & Rose I leave with $XX,XXX of other stuff I didn't even know I wanted when I walked in, ha ha.

Alright, off to keep going with this spreadsheet. Wish me luck... Ack.

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, that was nice of you to send thank you notes for your interview. Let's hope they refund your expenses soon. LOL to MacGyver called for my lens. It is so simple and works like a charm.

Most of the s has melted, but we'll see more. No doubt.

Darn that dinner and the wine was not spectacular. I went to a shower today that served box wine. I tried a few sips, but just ended up drinking water. I made up for it at supper, we split a bottle of Malbec.

Sweet you got a good review for the big order and the vase finally got delivered. My sister sent me a button in the mail for that vest I didn't like and donated, it's never shown up.

Did you get the jewelry lady's taxes done? It sounds like a chore. I hope she pays you well. And if you throw out your laptop, that would be an excuse to up your price.

Ooh to the 5 carat bracelet. Is Ilya taking back the 2 carat? I rarely wear my 4 carat, it seems BIG to me the first day or two. Then I'll wear my 2 carat and it seems tiny. I honestly don't wear bracelets much anymore and I do need to get some links removed on some of them. I'm betting you'll also find something else there you can't live without.

I actually played retired lady today. I didn't work at all. We went out to breakfast. Then I knit and played with the new lens a bit. I went to a bridal shower this afternoon and I've been to weddings with less attendees and presents. It was cool though. This lady is in her 50's and a real sweetheart of a lady and finally getting married. She was the last child at home when the dad died and mom latched on to her and pretty much played the guild card on her so she stayed with her till the end. Any guy this lady dated, the mom hated and bad mouth them and this was one of the guys mom ran off. So they are getting married now. She seems very happy and the guy is nice and been widowed for some time. Their wedding is in June, I can't imagine what it'll be like if the shower was that big. It took her over 2 hours to open all her presents and her nieces were handing gifts to her one after another so it was going as smoothly as it could. They had beer, wine (boxed) and bottled water for drinks and the usual snacks and cake.

After I got home we went to dinner and had that bottle of wine. My steak was way under cooked so I cut it in half and sent it back giving Marty the other half since he likes them rare. When they brought it back in minutes, it wasn't much better so I had french fries and part of one of those Oreo crusted ice cream balls to fill me up.

They are starting the framing on the TBE. I lined up the pictures Marty took with the floor plan. You can definitely see it from the frontage road and the interstate.

Tomorrow is dinner in Colorado with my sister, BIL and one of my nephews and his wife. My BIL is finally doing better, he had that blood clot hit his kidney over a year ago and then that gave him afib and he had to have a pace make eventually put in. His activity level dropped and he gained weight and became diabetic. I am glad he is doing better.

Laters,
Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Tuesday kids!

Curby, wow, your house is moving right along! The plans along with the pics are really helpful to see. Yes, I'm giving Ilya the 2 ct back and getting the 5. That's quite a wedding shower! I'm glad your BIL is doing better.

I'm happy to report that I did NOT go to any estate sales over the weekend! But I did win some stuff on Sunday night's auction... Oops.

Yesterday I was on my way to pick up my friend when the doctor's office called and said his surgery was cancelled. WTF. Now it's set for tomorrow, which I think is going to work out timing-wise, but it will be crunched as I have to go into the city for a lunch meeting and to meet Ilya.

With the extra day I "gained" yesterday I photographed three sets of Christmas glasses, went and picked up everything from the Sunday auction and photographed that, and did a little general cleaning up. It was a VERY productive day!

This morning I sold SERVICE FOR EIGHTEEN to a lady in Wisconsin. I still have the original boxes the dishes came in (it was all that purple stuff) and we're going to meet half way on Saturday afternoon. This is going to work out GREAT -- and much easier than packing and shipping all of it. Of course there is "cost" in that I'll have to drive to about Madison and back, but I think it's still much better.

Alright, off to harass my boss for a few minutes before my next call.

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, I can't wait to see you 5 carat bracelet. I spent money yesterday too. More on that later.

I bet that was rough skipping estate sales, but you still were able to score some new treasures online. I'd be rolling in dough if I could only shop in person. Ha Ha.

I hope your friend's surgery will go well. Strange they moved it. Probably some emergency came up.

Nice you had a productive day. My day yesterday was #Ineededwineorchocolate ...

I'd say driving a ways is better than packing all of that. I keep trying to figure out how to get my mom's holy glasses to my niece in Texas.

I, too, am glad to see my BIL is doing better.

My boss was driving me crazy on eclipse videos and I was trying to get some stuff done which I couldn't with the chat ding going off every second. Then I finish a video on Monday for a lady that's off that day. And it never goes smoothly, because the boss is asking me why this, what does this mean, etc. And I have NO idea because it's not my work. That is getting really frustrating. So work wasn't going well.

Then when I took a break and walked over to get the mail, I noticed the moon was out so thought oooh, I'll try my new lens. Which I did and of course then my glasses were dark from being the sun. I pulled the SD card out of my camera, dropped the moon picture on my desktop and went to put the SD card back in the camera (without turning on the light in the dining room) and stuck the SD card in backward. it went halfway in and wouldn't go in or out. I tried multiple things. Sent Marty a picture at the gym and gladly left it for him to deal with.

When he got home, he tried the same things I did and finally pulled it out with pliers. Of course, it left some piece inside and when it pulled that out, the SD card slot was shot. You can put the card in okay, but have to pull it out with pliers. Of course, who knows how long that will last? And no way we can send it to Canon in time to repair it before the eclipse. So, #anothercanonisontheway. I am getting a slightly larger camera than the one I broke, mostly because so many of my lenses are heavy so they'll probably work better on that camera. It has more features too. Marty is giving me crap that I just wanted a new camera. When he left for the gym, I asked him if he was glad I didn't want a new Porsche? Ha Ha. BTW, he had it up to 88 mph today to run out to TBE.

I was in a better state of mind today and less stressed. I still worked 9 hours. I did run to the store though and grilled myself some burgers for supper. I bought 2 pounds of ground sirloin and grilled up 8 burgers. Then froze 7 of them, hopefully they'll heat up okay for quick lunches.

TBE has sticks! And Marty got these pictures of the sun today.

Laters,
Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Thursday kids!

Curby, Marty's pics of the sun are amazing! My friend's surgery yesterday went off pretty well. He was surprised last night/this morning that he had about the same level of pain as he had before, but I am urging him to be patient for a little while and just keep taking his meds. There is an estate sale this weekend with a bunch of pink stemware, but I was able to blow up the pics and see some prices and I'm going to have to wait until the last day to get the discount or else they're too expensive. That's a really cool photo with the roof sticks and the blue sky with white puffy clouds!

Yesterday I took my friend to the hospital then ran downtown for the lunch meeting with the consultant. Ilya didn't have the bracelet yet. Of course he just sent me a pic and he's got it now, but I don't think I'll be down there until maybe week after next. Ugh. Anyway, then I went back and retrieved my friend and took him home, where another guy met us, pizza in hand. It was after nine when I got back to The North Estate and I had to pack a set of glasses and then put all those purple dishes back in their original boxes. It took me eight trips up and down the stairs last night to get all that purple into my car. Since it was so heavy I could only carry a bit at a time. The buyer and I were originally going to meet on Saturday afternoon but we're supposed to get a big snow so we decided to do it today. She actually drove the whole way to my bank (even though I was more than happy to meet her somewhere) and about and hour ago she pulled into the parking lot here and I loaded up here car. It really couldn't have worked out any better! I didn't have to pack and ship all that super heavy glass, and I also didn't have to drive to West Bumfvck to get rid of it. Score!

Now I need to get some work done so I'm ready for a two o'clock meeting.

Off like a prom dress!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Friday kids!

Well we are deep back into winter... If I didn't have my annual regulatory filing due next Friday I would not have left the house today!

I did my nails with dip powder for the first time last night. There's definitely a learning curve, but in general I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.

This weekend I need to continue making progress on the inventory backlog -- which is almost manageable now! I've got a slew of Anchor Hocking Fire King cups and saucers I "discovered" last week when I was digging around, five GIANT sets of dishes (UGH!), a box of vintage decorative tins, a boatload of Fostoria American glasses, and I think only one "mystery" box. Yes, my friend, that is "manageable" in my world!

Alright, off to magic up a spreadsheet before I send it to the consultant.

Later gator!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Saturday kids!

Yesterday I plowed through two huge documents, and even stayed at my office until almost six. On a Friday no less! They should pay me double!

Not a lot of thrilling stuff here today. I've got two sets of glasses ready to go on the counter, and something else that I should have listed like two years ago LOL. Then I think I'll tackle The Mystery Box. If I get through all that I'll consider the day a success!

Liam is headed to an auction a ways away. I hope it's a good one because the one he went to last weekend was a dud and he was in a bad mood about it all day. Pouty Bad Auction Man is no fun.

We're going to dinner with friends tonight and I need to do some laundry. As you can see the needle on the Excite-O-Meter is stuck at ZERO here at The North Estate!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Monday kids!

Wow -- the weekend flew by! Dinner was fun on Saturday night, and we didn't stay out too late. Yesterday I popped up like toast and went super early to the estate sale with all the pink glass. Due to the bad weather on Friday and Saturday they must not have had any buyers because it was all still there based on what I could tell from the pictures. I bought three big boxes of pink and another box of MCM purple glasses and was on my way back to The North Estate by ten. Score!

I spent the rest of the day listing stuff I'd queued up on Saturday, but I did also get pictures taken for four pink listings. There's still a ton to go through though... ACK.

Liam and I drug YF to the local sports bar to watch the first part of the Northwestern / UConn game. By the time we left our poor alma matter was down significantly. Oh well, I went there for the EDUCATION.

Soooooo many things have to get done this week it's not event funny -- including my main regulatory filing for the year. Better hop to it!

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, I hope your friend is doing better on pain level after surgery. It seems like days 2 and 3 are the worst.

Nice that lady met you at the bank to get her glasses. Sounds like a huge order.

Both Anchor Hocking and Fostoria were certainly in my mom’s china cabinet. See I know what they look like.

They should pay you double for working so hard on that spreadsheet. At least I can give myself a raise by working slower.

Your weekend and events at the North Estate are as exciting as at the TBE wannabe house. LOL to popping up like toast yesterday. You did score big on a snowy weekend. More glasses to wash and photograph.

I did see March Madness is going on and smiled because it’s no longer my problem. I did decide though if I made a drinking game out of taking a drink every time Marty said eclipse - or the word was in a chat for work - I’d be in a drunken coma.

I was so busy this weekend, I didn’t get everything done. But it was close. I worked 6 hours both Saturday and Sunday. We went out to breakfast and dinner on Saturday and drove my TBE. More progress. I got Easter cards in the mail for the family, whittled down the stack of paperwork piled up on the dining room table. I have to call and make a doctor’s appointment somewhere to get my BP meds renewed. I am toying with skipping the pills for a week to see if I need them. My BP and heartbeat is on the low end now, but the few times I forgot to take the pills my heartbeat went up. It’s mostly like from the thyroid issues. I should see if our insurance can do a telemedicine appointment online.

I was a nice kid and filled in the in-laws on TBE. I guess Marty never told them and my SIL was telling them about it so I filled them in on that. That took forever, they had lots of questions.

I got the April article sent off to the local newspaper. I still need to get some stuff ready for our astronomy club meeting this week.

I guess what I did with the SD card was put it in upside down. Marty is going to use it as a backup camera. It still reads the SD card and can transfer images to the computers he uses. If it quits oh well. My new camera is quite nice. I like it.

Laters,
Curby

Here’s a collage of the house

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Tuesday kids!

Curby, holy cow -- you're going to have an entire house done in the time it takes most people to renovate a kitchen! Are you taking lots of pics with your new camera? My friend decided the other night he was going to give up on the pain meds because he was feeling pretty good. And the next morning he decided he was NOT giving up on the meds just yet! You worked both Saturday and Sunday?! How's that retirement working out for you Curby? I do like your methods of giving yourself a raise LOL.

Yesterday I had a bunch of meetings and then I decided to see if I could just kick out a little continuing ed for my CPA license. Well I did NINE HOURS -- in about an hour and a half -- HA!. t the only way I'm going to get to my required hours by September because I need 120 total (and at least half of them have to be live). Ack.

Liam made pork chops for dinner and then the prosecco and I plowed through the rest of the receipts, post it notes, and little scraps of paper for the jewelry lady. What a mess she is! I wonder what whoever does her taxes next year is going to charge her, because whatever it is, it's not's enough. I still need to have a conversation with her, but at least now I've touched everything and know what questions to ask.

I had a lady buy two quilts off of Etsy yesterday and when I looked at the order I realized she is about half an hour from me so I emailed her and said I had a dozen more on my site that weren't up on Etsy. We're trying to coordinate a meet-up because she wants some more too and I suggested she actually see them in person before she buys. Fingers crossed this works out!

Today I have a check-in with my boss and the list is a mile long. I hope he's down there now having a couple of tequila shots before I get there!

Alright, off to make sure I have everything for the meeting. Cuervo... lime... salt... !!!!!

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, we get to do a walk through on Tuesday next week for the electrical. I am excited to see the interior of TBE. LOL on my retirement skills, but it’s nice to give myself a raise. Ha Ha.

Oh no that your friend missed his pain meds. It keeps it at bay so much that you think you don’t need it, but your body lets you know otherwise. I hope he gets better soon.

Nice that you knocked out some hours toward your CPA continuing ed. I like you did the compressed version of it too. Darn that at least 1/2 of them will be live.

Super sounds delicious. Good idea to hand off the jewelry lady taxes to someone else. I wish I’d get my damages.

Did you take some tequila for you boss? I hope you list went well. I guess we’re going to have a meeting soon (me and the other editor / podcaster) with what we’re going to be done after the eclipse. I always saw her thoughts In another thread. It’s more interviews and videos. Sigh.

Are you getting your bracelet this week? I sure like that new ruby band for my wedding band.

We had snow off and on here today. We ran out to TBE at lunch. The siding is almost done, most of the windows are in. We drove around all sorts of directions to see if you could see the house from there. We also drove by the the acreage that burnt a few weeks ago, green prairie weeds and grasses are already coming through.

Laters,
Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Wednesday kids!

Curby, send me a picture with the siding! Oh no to more interviews and videos. If you do a really poor job maybe you can change her mind, ha ha. I don't think I'm going to make it downtown this week to get the bracelet, but maybe on Monday. I have to drive south to the corporate office for meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday and I might swing by to visit Ilya on the way.

Yesterday was frantic. By the time I got home I was READY for a drink. And then I talked to the jewelry lady for wayyyy too long. I did finish everything up for her though and send the email just before midnight. I'm sure there will be all sorts of "adjusting" as her husband never likes her numbers and wants to mush things around.

This morning I've had two meetings already and just realized I have to chair a big compliance subcommittee meeting in 45 minutes. Ack. Better go read the minutes from the last one so I sound like I know what I'm talking about!

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, it’s not my nature to do a crappy job, but who knows …

So you might get your bracelet on Monday? Sweet.

I bet you were ready for a drink after a frantic day. I hope you are done with the jewelry lady taxes then. I might call our lady and see when she might get to our taxes.

How did the big compliance meeting go? I’m sure you knocked it out of the park.

I worked on videos, tried a new video online app and did a few updates on articles. Marty ran out to TBE on his way to the gym. Since I gave him crap about going with out me, he picked me up after he was done with the gym, he ran me out there.

I am almost done with my vest. I just have to sew the side seams together now.

Laters,
Curby

Tonight’s progress:

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

The sun is shining but it’s chilly and windy. Shocking, I know. I worked until late afternoon, then lifted and am heading out to an astronomy club meeting soon. Neither of us ventured out to TBE today. I hope to get my vest sewed together tomorrow evening.

Laters,
Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Friday kids!

Curby, the house is looking great!!! I texted Ilya and we set up a date for Monday. So excited! I sent the jewelry lady and email with her tax info (summary and full spreadsheet with all the line items) after she and I got off the phone the other night. Last night she texted me that her husband wanted to know when I would be done because he wants to work on their taxes this weekend. I was like, Check Your Damn Email! I can't tell you enough times how glad I am never to do her taxes again!

Yesterday afternoon I finished all the continuing ed for my real estate license (separate from all the continuing ed for my CPA license -- O... M... G... ). When I got home Liam and I made the Ferals go to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. I packed an order after that and went to bed early. It was glorious! Until I was wide awake from 2 - 3:30. Ugh.

Today I would normally work from home but I felt like I should be here for moral support since it's all hands on deck for The Big Conversion. I play no part in this other than to provide comic relief, LOL. I just took a six pack of beer and a sign down to the "war room." The sign read, "At the end of this week I would like my straight jacket to be pink and my helmet to be bedazzled."

Alright, off to work on some ethics CE for my CPA. Because... yanno... being the Chief Compliance Officer my ethics need reinforcement... !

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, they had more done on the house today. Sweet.

Speaking of sweet, how exciting you’ll be getting your bracelet on Monday. I can’t wait to see it. Sounds like the jewelry tax lady is a case of no good deed goes unpunished. Check the email …

That’s awesome you got the continuing ed done for your real estate license. Too bad the CPA credits take so much longer.

I hate that when you go to bed early, then are wide awake in the middle of the night. I still haven’t shifted to DST yet. I stay up until the old time then still get up by the clock time. It’s making for short nights.

That’s an awesome gift to take to the war room. How did the conversion go? It’s always good to keep those ethics up.

I worked today and got my vest finished tonight. Now what should I make? We did run out to TBE about 2 to see what was going on. I can’t wait to get in there on Tuesday.

Any estate sales or auctions this weekend?

Marty is brining the RV home to get it ready for the big expedition to the eclipse.

Laters,
Curby

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

We went to dinner with friends. It was to celebrate my friend’s birthday - the lady I made the vest for that I ran out of yarn - she loves her vest. I hate too much to eat and drink. I think I’ll stay up a while.

Have a great weekend.
Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Merry Easter kids!

Happy belated birthday Curby! I can never remember when it is. From now on I will just celebrate your birthday on Easter because I can generally remember that. Hope you're ok with that. So the ethics CE was a huge pain in my a$$. I read the 113 pager of materials, opened up the test, and got 40 questions with answers that couldn't be found in the materials. They were pretty much all hypothetical scenarios and every one had two answers that would have sufficed. I had to take the test FIVE TIMES to get to 70%. Next go-round I'm using a different provider for that portion. Where are you and Marty going for the eclipse? I haven't heard sister #1 mention anything about it yet, but she generally goes to these things too. Well they threw the switch on the conversion yesterday afternoon. Now it's testing, testing, testing. I guess we'll find out tomorrow morning how screwed up things are LOL.

Yesterday I went to the local auction and came home with a car full of stuff... including a punch bowl. Ha! At least it's a set of I've sold in the past so I only have to take one new picture for the listing. I should really stop saying I'm not buying any more punch sets because clearly I AM! At least I resisted a set of dishes that I momentarily thought about. I overpaid for the first two lots because people made me mad, and one of the other glass regulars there beat me out of two sets of glasses I wanted, but all in all it was a pretty successful day, even though it went on forrrrevvvvvverrrrrr. Last night Liam and I went out to dinner and YF came too. I really liked it better when those two just stayed in their rooms all the time and only came out for ramen. Now the older one wants to go shopping and the younger one wants to go out to dinner and I really don't need to spend this much time with them LOL.

Today I've got stuff queued up for photos but it's drizzling so the light is crappy. Oh well, that's what Apple made the ability to adjust pictures for, right?

OK, off to see if there are any chocolate bunnies in this house to go with my bacon and my coffee!

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids! Happy Easter!

Dee Jay, it was my friend's birthday, not mine .She is actually an April Fool's baby. My birthday is the traditional Memorial Day.

That ethics CE sounds like a real PITA. Some of the required courses I had to take at my former job, at least let you keep taking the test over until you passed it. I got so I marked down right and wrong answers until I made it through with a passing score. Some courses are very poorly designed.

As for the conversion, bugs will probably be showing up for days - or weeks - or when the heck did that happen?

Another bunch bowl is in your collection, eh? How can you pass up a good thing? That was always something I wanted as a kid was a punch bowl for parties. I have no idea why that popped in to my head, but I always thought they were fancy. And darn those other glassware collectors snagging the glasses you wanted. At least you came home with some things.

We are going to southern Texas for the eclipse. I'm excited to see the total eclipse, not so much to drive there for days and stay in that tiny camper. I figure Stockholm syndrome will set in on day 3 and I'll adjust to roughing it.

You must be growing on the ferals if they want to come to dinner and shopping. They decided you're okay, they guess ...

Did you find any chocolate bunnies? I set ours out on the countertop before going to bed. Marty put his killer rabbit chewing on mine. I get milk chocolate for me and dark chocolate for Marty.

Marty has been working on the trailer most of yesterday and today. I am washing the bedding right now. All the bedding is for cold Wyoming nights. We'll probably cook in it in Texas. The blanket I'm washing now is three layers of fleece sewed together. It's probably get the washing machine airborne when it goes through a spin cycle.

We picked up a giant tenderloin to grill for dinner today. Sounds delicious.

Laters.
Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Tuesday kids!

Curby, I'm glad you clarified the birthday thing because I thought yours was much later in the year... and then I figured this was just another example of my increasing senility. The vest looks great!!! How long will the drive to Texas take? You and Marty will be just as snug as two bugs in a rug in that camper... If you end up killing him just text me and I'll come and help you bury the body. Are you going to TBE today to take a peek inside?

Well I'm in Effingham. The highpoint of my day yesterday was of course visiting Ilya and getting another bracelet... and looking at this AMAZING moval that spent a long time sitting on my hand and sparkling in the lights. Hmmm... The low point was then driving four hours south in the on-and-off rain. It was prettttttty crappy. By the time I got here I just ran through a Panda Express for dinner. Such a disappointment; usually it' s better than that.

Today I need to start organizing things for the first quarter certifications. Oh joy. NOT.

Alright, off to get some more coffee and do some actual work.

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, I’ll let you know if I need help disposing of anything - or anyone. I told him once, if we moved to the country and lived in a tiny trailer that one of us would be dead and one of us would be in jail and I’m not sure who would be who. Just sayin … I best stock up on alcohol.

The RV park is roughly 1,200 miles away. We’re heading south and going over Raton pass, right now it’s not SUPPOSED to be snowy. I am throwing in some winter gear in the pickup.

The wind is CRAZY out there right now. Let’s hope we don’t drive in it tomorrow. Of course, all that gear has to weigh down the camper, right?

We did do the electrical walkthrough today. I’m excited, the bedroom I’ll be using for my office does have the top of some of the Rocky Mountains in view. There are 2 lots where someone “might” build something along that line of sight, but looking over their height and location on the lot, I’m probably safe there.

I can see why getting that sparkler was the highlight of your day. I bet is blazingly bright and sparkly. Sweet. That drive does not sound fun. I’ll be feeling your pain for the next few days.

Did you get started on the first quarter certifications, or just get organized for it?

And how’s that gorgeous bracelet?

I did work most of the day and Marty continued shopping and packing. He noticed one of the tires was low on the RV so drive off with that to get fixed. Then I had to run him his billfold since he forgot it. I noticed immediately that since he’s been driving the Curbymobile for 3 days now, it went from a 3/4 full tank to fume running. Shocking, I know. I hear it growling down the street when he left a while ago.

I guess I am as packed and ready as I’ll ever be.

Laters,
Curby

 

[marcy]

HI Kids!

Dee Jay, so far I’ve survived being semi-voluntarily transported across 2 state lines. Tomorrow we are heading to Roswell and Carlsbad, then heading to Texas on Friday. Pretty country. Highway conditions in New Mexico are far superior to Colorado’s which are in a serious need of resurfacing. We had a lovely dinner with wine at a Black Angus. We split a dinner for 2 of a giant tomahawk and to be fair, Marty could have eaten it all himself.

I hope you made it home okay and didn’t have trouble keeping your eyes on the road because you were enjoying the sparkling coming off your wrist.

Laters,
Curby

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Thursday kids!

Curby, are you staying in hotels along the way or in The Tin Can? I'm just getting organized for quarterly certs at this point, I won't actually push the button until Monday. There was very little sparkle yesterday thanks to the rainy gray conditions. I never turned the wipers off from the time I left Effingham until I pulled into the garage at The North Estate. The weather was -- and still is -- utter pants.

Well I spent the whole morning working on a document that was being updated from another document... and once I was done I found out there was an UPDATED updated document that I should have used... and that I don't have access to. WTF. So now I'm waiting on someone to send me the newest version so I can start all over again. Supppppppper... NOT.

Last night I finally broke down and started a FB page for my business. A lady who purchased from me said she's part of a group that has 240,000 members and they are all about glassware and dishes. She wanted to share my FB link, but since I didn't have one she encouraged me to start a page. I have no idea what to do now that it's up there... I really need a social media manager!

I ran home at lunch and packed up four glasses to get them on their way. Liam and I passed on the road; he was on the way to the post office and I was on the way back to my office. If we'd coordinated a little better I could have probably gotten him to take the package for me, but I was happy to be out of the office for a little while since I was so torqued off about the updated into.

As of now I'm planning on working from home tomorrow. Translation: Listing a bunch more stuff. There are also slew of estate sales this week, but nothing has caught my eye.

Alright, off to see what I can actually get DONE today.

 

[marcy]

Hi Kids!

Dee Jay, I’m living in the tin can and yes, we are camping in Walmart’s parking lot tonight. Living the HIGH life, I tell you. We made it to Carlsbad and all RV parks are full. I guess most of them are full of oil workers that are here full time. No AC either since we don’t have a generator. We’ll get to Texas tomorrow with electric, water and sewer. Woo hoo! I did buy some things today to help ease my angst. And we’re in easy chairs in the parking lot right now. There’s lots of other moochers here and lots of activity at a gas station by us.

Sorry you drove home in pants weather and there wasn’t any sun to give your some sparkle. Of course, muted light offers some excitement all the same.

Oh no to spending all that time on a document and not have access to a document you needed to have data from. Such fun.

Putting your business on FB isn’t a bad idea. I’ll share your stuff when I see it.

You and Liam should coordinate better so you can get him to deliver your packages more often. Tell him, I’m an enabler that way. Ha Ha. Of course, he might like the idea that YOU deliver his packages. So maybe, quit while you are ahead.

Glad.you have your eye on some estate sales this weekend.

It took us forever to get around this morning. We went and ate breakfast at Crackle Barrel, came back to the campground and packed up. I did shower and found the step in a bit scary and the step out so deep I had Marty come help me. Me picked up a stool today to see if that works better. I also go some hangers to sort out my clothes. I need to switch to wearing pants for 2 days because I’ve only got 4 fresh pairs left. I don’t have that many clothes. I FROZE last night sleeping and so went in to Walmart and bought a pair of sweat pants. Of course, tonight it’s hot. We also bought ice cream while we were in Walmart.

We drove through Roswell today. Here’s an alien street light.

Laters,
Curby

Slumming in the parking lot

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Friday kids!

Curby, that streetlight cracks me up! Sleeping in the Walmart parking lot -- livin' large!!! There were only two changes that I had to make from the newer version of the document, so it wasn't as bad as I feared. Buttttttt... one of those changes alerted me that I've been put on as the member of another committee. If I hadn't read that document I would have never known that. Communication around here is not the strong point LOL. What bling did you bring for the eclipse?

Liam and I went out for Indian food again last night. I told him we can't do that any more because I eat way too much bread and everything else since I love it and then he has to roll me to the car!

I'm starting a new eating plan on Monday. It's called Optavia and a lady in my office has lost 88 pounds on it! Another lady started it a few weeks ago and she's already lost 10. The bad news is you're not supposed to drink (empty calories, yada yada yada... ) so we'll see if there might be a little modification to this plan haha.

Today I'm working from home. I've got several things on my To Do list... and only one of them has to do with work.

Alright, off to ger this party started!