Healthy Living Thread

[Rod]

Rats. There is a chunk out of my tire right by a badly damaged portion of my rim. I'll be tire shopping tomorrow. BOO!!!

Sounds live you've earned the name "curby" by experience. Sorry about that!

Thanks for the nice comments about my ring. I have decided to have it resized a bit smaller. It's just a bit too large and while it won't fall off my finger, I tend to prefer a bit snugger fit. So we'll go back next weekend and drip it off for sizing.

Tomorrow I'm leaving work a bit early to meet my brother and SIL so we can get our Marriage Licenses. This is the last step to getting married in April. All other details have been taken care of. YAY!

 

[zoebartlett]

Dee*Jay, thanks for the compliment on how my class did after last week's fire drill. How did things go with your clients this weekend? Did they write a contract? Hopefully!

Rod, I love your rings! What a nice way to honor your father and incorporate his stones into something of yours. They look great! I'm glad you enjoyed spending time with your brother and SIL this weekend.

Marcy, it sounds like closing your dad's account and finalizing everything on Friday would have been hard to do, but I'm glad you had a nice weekend.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend. I didn't make it to the gym like I had planned. We went out for breakfast, got our taxes done, ran errands, and I worked on my project for the class I'm taking. It's been snowing all day, and that makes sense because it's...mid-March. What's that saying..."If you don't like the weather in New England now, just wait 5 minutes."? It coated the trees but I don't think we got more than an inch or so, if that.

 

[Rod]

Thanks Zoe!

Today was a monumental (for us) day! I left work early and came home to meet Charlie, my brother and soon to be SIL and we walked into the city to the clerk of the court and got our wedding license. The lady who issued ours was very supportive and seemed really happy for us. She said we came in 2n place in terms of how long we've been together at 35 years, and the couple who got a wedding license who had been together longer was for 42 years.

I let our jeweler know we'd be coming to see them Saturday to have my ring resized a bit smaller.

I hope everyone is off to a good start to the week.

 

[marcy]

Happy Monday!

Rod, sadly I have earned my Curby nickname. I was getting a lecture on "learn how to drive" on the way back from supper tonight. I did not go have my tire looked at today; I wasn’t up to it.

That’s a good idea to get your ring sized to a comfortable fit for you. It is so pretty you want to completely enjoy it all the time.

How exciting you and Charlie and your brother and SIL got your marriage licenses. You are now one-step closer to the big wedding day. Sweet. That’s neat the lady at the clerks office was excited for you guys too. 35 years together is something.


Zoe, you had a busy weekend. Yay for getting your taxes done this weekend. I like snowstorms that cover the trees and grass and leaves the street and sidewalks alone. Of course Mother Nature doesn’t ask my humble opinion. We were in the lower 70’s today. I know more snow is lurking out there somewhere.

We went to supper tonight at Old Chicago. I had wine and part of a small pizza.

Curby

 

[Rod]

Marcy, you MUST have your tire looked at. It may be fine, but it might not be and the last think you want to have is an accident.

Get your tire checked, young lady. Hear me?!

 

[marcy]

Rod, I swear I'll go get my tire checked tomorrow. Marty doesn't drive my car at any pace other than ridiculously fast and he takes corners at high speed. I often say our tombstone will read "it wasn't the Audi".

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Tuesday kids!

Rod, the rings are absolutely stunning! I like them both so much and I’m just thrilled for you and Charlie that you’ll get to wear them soon!

Cuby, I’m with Rod on this one – please make sure to get your tire checked! And LOL on “it wasn’t the Audi!”

Zoe, I can’t believe you got snow this late! Isn’t that such a bummer; you think you’ve finally turned the corner toward spring and BOOM! More white stuff!

Yesterday was one of the most stressful days of my life…! I had an aborted showing at a commercial listing in the morning. The owner of the building didn’t tell me until I was literally sitting in my car parked across from the property that the current tenants are living there as well as running a business out of the space and they would likely be sleeping because they stay up really late and sleep during the day, but since I have the key just knock and ring the doorbell a couple of times and make a lot of noise so they hear me if they’re in bed. He’d been calling, emailing and texting them since last Thursday to let them know about the showing but he hadn’t heard back so he didn’t know if they were ignoring the messages or really didn’t know I was coming. Oh, and I was supposed to pose as an insurance agent doing some sort of five year inspection on the property because he didn’t want them to know the place was on the market. WTF? I called the other agent, told him we weren’t getting in that day, turned my car around and went home. The owner is on his owno on this one!

The film crew came through yesterday and did the commercial, which went great according to what everyone told me. I was there for all the set up but unfortunately I missed the actual filming because I had to go to my condo meeting… where I was elected president of this giant cluster-fvck. I won’t go into detail about the meeting but let’s just say it was very very ugly. Very. I am still pretty drained from the whole experience frankly. And tonight there is nothing more I would like than to go home, drink some prosecco, and go to bed early, but I’ve got a client coming at 7 pm to write a complicated offer (VA loan on a property owned by a relocation company in a different county than I’ve ever done a deal in before). There is a ridiculous amount of paperwork that needs to be completed and I’m not familiar with any of it. Big sigh.

Anyway, sorry for the “woe is me” post but it was a rough day yesterday! And my other buyer found the perfect house over the weekend and flaked out in the bidding process (there were multiple offers) and ended up losing the property to someone else. I can’t imagine what else they’re going to find to buy because that one was truly a unicorn!

 

[zoebartlett]

Rod, I'm so happy for you and Charlie. I can't wait to hear all about it. When is it (this summer, right?)?

Dee*Jay,what a crazy owner you had to deal with. Er...do I wish you congratulations on becoming president of your condo board? I can't quite tell.

Our new cleaning service is starting tomorrow. We have a lot of straightening to do before they arrive. I have a feeling we'll be shoving things in closets tonight. I HATE parting with the money but I know it's probably good for our marriage. It will be great coming home to a spotless house tomorrow night.

Must make dinner, straighten, and go to bed. Soooo sleepy!

 

[Rod]

Thanks DeeJay and Zoe. Zoe, we're getting married April 17th, one month from today!!

DeeJay that's a messed up rental situation. I don't blame you for walking away. It sounds like a lose lose proposition. I'm so glad the first commercial photo shoot went well. it's a shame you weren't able to see it to completion. You'll have to let us know how/when we can see the finished product!

Zoe, I had to laugh about you having to clean up before the cleaning crew comes in. We've had the same cleaning lady every two weeks for more than 10 years now and I still straighten up and do some cleaning before her scheduled visits. Why? I don't know, but I do.

Loooooooong day, but a productive one at work today. I've only been there a week and I already have a candidate interviewing with a client. That's pretty decent progress for sure.

Have a great night everyone!

 

[marcy]

Happy Tuesday!

Dee Jay, I won’t believe we are free of white stuff around here for about 10 more weeks. I am glad you didn’t go in that commercial listing; the entire thing sounds rather fishy to me. What type of commercial did they film? That is so exciting. Congratulations on your new office as president of the condo. I don’t envy you that position at all. How oh how did they get you to take that job? Good luck on writing offer tonight. VA loans always require far more paperwork than normal. That’s too bad your other buyer didn’t hold up well in the bidding process. I hope tomorrow goes better for you.

Zoe, I think you’ll love coming home to a clean house. I always pick up before my cleaning lady comes. I shove quite a few things in our desk before she comes.

Rod, your wedding is one month from today? Sweet. You’ll really be counting down the days now. Congratulations for already having a client out for an interview. That is very decent progress for sure. I really need to put some effort in to my Linked Inn page. I really haven’t done much on it other than create one.

We had freezing fog here today so I didn’t go get my tire checked but I drove the speed limit. That’s something, right?

Marty made tacos for supper and we have a ton of leftovers so tomorrow night we’ll make nachos from the remaining tacos. I like easy suppers.

Take care.
Curby

 

[Rod]

Marcy,

Driving the speed limit is one thing. Having the tire checked is much much much better. GET IT CHECKED.

Yes, one month from today. Well, really one month from Friday, but the wedding is April 17th and today is March 17th.

 

[marcy]

Rod, I swear I am getting my tire checked tomorrow. I've been wanting Michelin tires anyway but I hate to fork over that much money on tires for a car that's only a little over a year and a half old. It will cut in to my bling money. I know I'm getting no sympathy from you or Marty.

One month

 

[Rod]

No, you get absolutely no sympathy. Your safety is worth more than any bling you could get.

 

[marcy]

Rod, I can't argue with that.

 

[marcy]

I was at the Tire dealer at 7:30. Curby 1 and 2 are fine. The chunk is out of thick rubber not related to the structure of the tire. Now I can spend money on bling. I did emphasize my husband drives the car aggressively and doesn't slow down for corners. He said it was fine. I did mention my nickname is Curby and based on the damaged rims I have a let's say he will be laughing about that all day.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Wednesday kids!

Zoe, LOL, I’m not sure whether congratulations are in order or not for being El Presidente… !

Rod, I’ll let you know if they tell me when the filming can be seen. I’ll be interested to see it!

Curby, I’m glad your tire is good and you’re not in danger (from THAT anyway… Marty’s driving however may be a different matter!).

So I put the other agent in touch with the owner directly for the commercial listing and they saw the property yesterday (without me). The description the other agent gave me of what’s going on in there is… let’s just say… *priceless*! Here’s the crazy party: They are talking about writing an offer! I do not, even after eleven years as a realtor, understand the world of real estate sometimes!

Last night my buyers from Sunday (the VA loan people) came over and wrote an offer, which I conveyed to the listing agent. All fingers and toes crossed on that one because it will be a toughie!

And I forgot to mention, the fraudulent contractor made his first payment to me on the 15th as scheduled! I was not very optimistic about it, but I am happy to say I was wrong! Now let's all hope he keeps paying.

 

[marcy]

Happy Wednesday!

Dee Jay, I am delighted to hear you got your first payment from that GC gone bad. I was going to ask but hated to bring it up. So if what’s going on at that commercial building is “priceless” it was definitely a good call for you not to go in. And they are going to make an offer? You can’t make up the kind of stuff that happens to you girl! I hope the other offer you drew up goes through as well. I totally am with you on Marty’s driving. I am honestly surprised the man doesn’t get tickets all the time.

I went to a remount event at the mall during lunch. I wanted to see a roughly 3.5 x 5 mm EC diamond to see if I would like them for studs. Well, they had one, I like the size but could they find a match for it? Nope! They did call me later with a pair that was a slightly smaller size but I turned that down.

Marty and I went to supper and I finally had my asti spumanti. We wandered around Michaels afterwards. I bought one of those silly little black ring displays and my ring looked fabulous on it in their lighting. I should have taken a picture of it in the store. I thought it would be great to take photos of rings on it.

Have a great day tomorrow.
Marcy / Curby

 

[Rod]

DeeJay, I'm glad the contractor dude made a payment on time. I look forward to being able to see the commercial!

Ahem........Marcy..........you didn't say whether you had the tire checked. So did you? Huh???

 

[marcy]

Hi Rod. Yes, I did get my tire checked. They said it was fine and I even told them Marty drives FAST and they still said it was fine. I told them I'd be back when I decide to get my Michelins.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Thursday kids!

Curby, the buyer's agent asked me last night for a survey of the property, so they are moving closer to putting pen to paper. Whether it actually happens or not is always a crap shoot. Real estate is a very iffy business!

Rod, I'll keep you posted on the commercial. It will be interesting to see my house from a different perspective!

Last night I went home, ate dinner, and pretty much went to bed. I'm still exhausted from the early part of this week! Nothing much more exciting to report... just fielding questions from the owner in my complex about the upcoming roof special assessment. Hell's bells -- I just became President on Monday! Give me a chance to at least look over the materials! Ug.

 

[marcy]

Happy Thursday!

Dee Jay, you know the thing about being voted in as president? They NEVER let you go. Ask Marty; he can’t pay anyone to take over the astronomy club. I am sure this new position will keep you busy but I know you are always bored and looking for new things to do. I hope the roof assessment goes well. How old is the roof? I’ll cross my fingers the buyer decides to sign a contract. I imagine real estate is an iffy business. We need to make up a “Seal of Dee” for your presidency. Naturally it would have a diamond in it.

Work was utterly mad today. I just laughed and moved along from one mess to another. If they fire me someone else will just have to clean up those messes and I’ll be hanging out in the man cave yelling “Beer” hoping Marty will come get me a new beer.

Marty made nachos for us out of leftover taco stuff for supper. I had dishes done by 6:15. Sweet. We went out and looked at some prominences and filaments on the Sun and Marty is now drawing me some samples for my emerald ring alterations.

Have a great Friday. The weekend is almost here.

Curby

 

[Rod]

DeeJay, I've been president of our condo association for 4 years now. And we're involved in a $Million suit against the builder for construction defects. I've taken this association from one without reserves, to an association that is well run, with money in the bank and we personally funded (via special assessment) a $750,000 pool restoration that turned out fantastic. But let me tell you to be prepared. Being an association president is without question the most thankless job on the planet. People love to complain, but they are unwilling to get involved. They'll talk about you behind your back so you need to have thick skin or you'll just want to run away.

 

[Rod]

Hi Rod. Yes, I did get my tire checked. They said it was fine and I even told them Marty drives FAST and they still said it was fine. I told them I'd be back when I decide to get my Michelins.

I'm glad to hear the tire is in good condition!!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Happy Friday kids!

Curby and Rod, I have been the president of an association in one of my previous buildings and the treasurer of a 104 unit historic building on the Chicago River. That last building was an absolute disaster when I got on the board and wasn't *much* better when I left, but it WAS better... I know pretty much what I'm getting into -- I think! This whole thing wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the roof project, but I guess it is what it is. I will just drink... more... Maybe we can have the condo meetings at Betty Ford...

I had a contract come together yesterday but the buyers are traveling out of town in the middle of podunk Missouri and their hotel has no business center where they can print out the documents, sign, and get them back to me. I'm trying to get them to go to a Kinkos or something like that but they are ignoring me right now. I just LOVE real estate!

 

[deegee]

Dee*Jay-president of the association? Good lord, woman! How do you do these things? I can't stand whiners, so I'd be really bad at that. I have a "suck it up, buttercup" attitude these days. That is so cool about the photo shoot. Was it for an ad or magazine or something?

marcy-what are we going to do with you? If it makes you feel better, I was behind a driver of an Audi A6 at the bank last week who did a magnificent job of curbing it. It's the car, not you! Yesterday morning my badge didn't work on the first swipe at work. Someone joked, "you must have been fired." I said "Awesome! Outta here!" And turned toward the elevator, but they turned me back around and my badge worked the second time. Darn.

Rod-your rings turned out beautifully! I hope you can get it sized just right. My band spins constantly, and I mostly see the back side instead of the diamonds. Warmer weather is coming soon (I pray) and my hands will swell a little. It will be just right then. I'm glad to hear you're liking your new job. Sounds like a whole new atmosphere for you.

Hi Zoe!

I've been getting home late, eating dinner, and going straight to bed the last few weeks. I'm so tired and looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. We're planning to go to brunch where I will have several bloody Mary's and then a nice long nap afterwards. I went to the eye dr on Monday and I'm even more blind than last year. I'm trying out my first ever multi focal contact lenses. I am doing pretty well with them, but they're taking some getting used to. My head feels kind of swimmy. If I feel like that, there should be alcohol involved! It's 10pm on Friday night and I can't hold my eyes open. Argh. Have a great weekend!

 

[zoebartlett]

Hi everyone!

Dee*Jay, you're very brave for taking on the association president position.

Rod, you've been very brave for taking that on in the past. I could never do it. I'd run away.

Deegee, your brunch and nap plans sound really nice.

Hi Marcy!

I'm an aunt! My sister had her first baby on Thursday, and I can't wait to meet her. It will have to wait until we go out there this summer though. This is the only grand kid for my parents so far, and they are beyond excited. My mom's out there for just a couple days and then my dad will go. At some point, hopefully soon, they'll be able to go together for a longer period of time.

I haven't been to the gym this week. I've still been doing FODMAPS, which is proving to be much more restrictive than I thought. I haven't had products made with flour or yeast in a long time, and I miss bread so much. I also miss garlic, onions, and many more foods I used to use in my "cooking." I'm hoping I can add some of those back into my diet because plain, bland food had gotten REALLY boring.

We're getting new furniture delivered today. We ordered new dressers and nightstands for both bedrooms, and I'm excited to see what they look like. We bought them unfinished and had one set painted black (to match the desk that's in our guest room/D's office). The pieces that will be in our bedroom are stained an antique cherry. It took forever for me to decide which stain to go with, and I hope I made the right decision. Other than waiting for the delivery truck to get here, I'm going to work on my project and other school-related things this weekend. I'm also hoping to talk to my sister. Understandably, she's been a bit busy since having a baby and all, but I want to hear how she's doing.

 

[Rod]

Thanks Deegee......I don't like my rings to be loose. And with Florida humidity, especially in the summer, my ring would rotate too much. We're heading to the jeweler this afternoon. You're schedule sounds pretty grueling these days. You need to calm it down or you'll get too run down and sick.

Zoe, I don't if I'm brave or I just didn't want someone else to run the association. I'm a very balanced guy and I don't rattle easily. Knowing the issues that we were dealing with, I felt I could make a difference, even if the decisions I've made haven't always pleased everyone (which isn't possible), at the end of the day I can feel good that I helped this association through some extremely difficult times. I think I'm going to hand up my Pres-Hat at the end of this 4th term though.

I thought you all would like to see this ring. It was my great great grandmothers, then my great grand mothers, then my grand mothers, then my mothers and now we're giving it to my SIL on our wedding day night. The rule is it must stay in my side of the family always, so when my SIL is ready, she will give it to the wife of one of my nephews. I'm taking with me to the jeweler today to have them cut the shank off and install a 2.5 mm one. The center stone is Sapphire, surrounded by diamonds, I'm sure all old European cut.



Have a great Saturday all!

 

[deegee]

Zoe-I could never stick with the diet plan you're on. You must have some serious willpower! Yay for new furniture! I hope you love it. Picking the stain color is so hard. When I ordered my kitchen table and chairs, I changed my mind on the stain color at the very last second. I ordered it on Friday and called back as soon as they opened on Monday morning. Luckily they hadn't sent the order in yet.

Rod- the ring is beautiful! That is awesome to have a family heirloom to pass down. My grandmother wore a beautiful ruby ring for as long as I can remember. I always wonder which one of my aunts got it after she died. I tried working no more than 9 hours a day for a week, and I got really behind. This project is killing me.

My day went as planned. I slept in hard until 11, we went to brunch, I had 2 strong bloody Mary's, came home and took a big fat nap. We went back out at 8pm to eat and go grocery shopping. We're loads of fun on a Saturday! Food today was bad...breakfast burrito and 2 bloody Mary's for brunch, pork barbecue, green beans and a vanilla porter for dinner, and bread pudding with ice cream for dessert. So bad, but so, so good!! We're getting ready to take Lily for a walk so I'll get a teeny bit if exercise. 29 days until vacation. Woo-hoo! Have a great Sunday!

 

[deegee]

So I texted my mom after I posted to ask about the ruby ring. Turns out my mom had it and gave it to my sister. Grandmother and my sister shared a july birthday so mom thought it was fitting to give it to my sis. Nobody in my family is into jewelry, so nobody even mentioned it! I'm happy to learn it stayed with out little clan in the family!

 

[Rod]

Thanks Deegee. I'm sorry you're working so many hours. I hope this doesn't last long. I'm glad you found out where the ruby ring is too.

The jeweler thought the ring was amazing. As I suspected, they can't just size it as the shank is too worn. So, they're going to put a new 2.5mm white gold one on it. It's interesting to note that in its current state the top of the ring appears to be platinum, but the under bridge work and shank are yellow gold. We're having it made white all the. The under bridge however will need to be rhodium plated as it would be outrageous expensive to have that redone in white gold or platinum.

My ring is being made a half size smaller. The jeweler thought I might want to wear it a while before having it resized, but I know it's too big, so both rings will be ready for pickup next weekend.