We got off the plane in Detroit (returing from the Las Vegas Conference, turned our phones on and they exploded! (with messages and texts….not like a bomb). I thought this was all a joke.
We went to the newsstand that there we were …..on the FRONT PAGE of the DETROIT FREE PRESS. Yeah! The facts and numbers, as usual with journalism pieces, are not quite right but the spirit and overall message is! The picture…well that is a different story. The photographer was quite a bit early and I was not dressed yet. Of course the one picture she took in the 45 seconds I was downstairs before going up to out on my sweater is the one that makes the front page. Blah! Oh, well – I have seen better and worse days. I have a PDF of the article but it is too big to put here...below is the email we sent out to almost everyone with a link to the article online……Yes – our cat made the paper but our UDW partner Jared did not. Hmmm……
Urban Detroit Wholesalers makes front page,
Cat becomes famous!
For those who don't know or who happened to miss this Mondays Detroit Free Press, we made the front page! This was a pleasant surprise and we thought the article did justice to the city of Detroit and our business. They didn't get the numbers exactly right but
the spirit of the story was very positive. For those of you who missed it, click on the link below and read the full story. You will see the my cat, Athena, is now famous
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008803310318
My wife and I just got back from the annual Creative Real Estate Online conference in Las Vegas. We met some great people and as always we came away with some fabulous ideas. Every month we travel somewhere to learn something new and promote our business. It is always interesting how people react when they hear about what we are doing in the city of Detroit. There is a very negative impression about what is going on in the city. Most think we were lucky to make it out alive! These myths are not easily dispelled. Events that happened thirty years ago are still dictating most
peoples conscious thoughts about Detroit. I challenge everyone to go to our website at www.WholesaleMi.com and look at the pictures and video walk throughs of the houses we are buying. Do they look like war zones to you? Do you see anyone with an uzi or an ak47 shooting at us? Of course not. What you will see are great looking houses in great neighborhoods. I would say that most of the houses are nicer than the home you are currently living in! No joke! Look at our latest purchase on Woodingham St.
It truly is amazing the quality of the house you can buy here and how cheap you can buy it. Before the 1970's, Detroit was one of the richest cities in the world. The housing stock built in this city was built for the rich and very well to do middle class. These are very well built houses with a replacement cost in the low $100,000 range. I am quoted as saying these houses are “diamonds” and I truly mean it. These houses are bargains and you can buy them at a 70 percent discount to their current value. Compared to their replacement cost, you getting an even bigger discount. Sometimes it takes an outsider to bump your brain in a different direction and see things from a different perspective.
I'm driving through a field of diamonds shoveling them into the back of my truck. Come join me and get your diamonds. Having started as an out of state investor, I have a unique perspective.
Motivational Quote
“I’m not successful because I’m great. I just fail faster than everyone else!”
Rachel Young
I know there are a lot of people out there who are to afraid to start because they might fail. I'm here to tell you that you will fail regardless of how hard you try not to. I'm also here to tell you that there is nothing wrong with failing. You should fail as much as you possibly can. Because if you are failing and learning from your mistakes each time, you will be successful. The people who are the most successful didn't make the least amount of mistakes, they are the ones that got back up after the mistakes were made
Happy Investing,
Jeremy Burgess
www.WholesaleMi.com
www.DetroitInvestmentSecrets.com
www.UrbanDetroitOnline.com
So lets talk about facts.... To read more, go to our weekly blog at http://www.urbandetroitonline.com/
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Consumer Report Break on Spirit Air
NEVER EVER TAKE SPIRIT AIR – Bad, Bad, Bad:
They charge you $20 to check EACH of your bags:
They charge you $20 to check EACH of your bags:
- I find out at the ticket counter with 3 bags: my clothes, Jeremy's, marketing materal,
- I had no cash and they do no tlike to take Credit because of the paperwork
- I had to wait FOREVER since all I had was a credit card
They do not serve drinks or food on the flight, but will SELL you some for extremely high prices:
- $2 for a Dixie cup of soda or water,
- $3 for stale cookie
- Take Cash - gruble loudly at Credit since the charges are so small
- Did not know of charging ahead of time or I woudl have brought something
There is NO service while on the flight BUT
- They are going for the friendliest staff
- Al a cart services so you pay for only what you use to keep prices low
- The planes ARE new
- The seats are even closer together than normal
This system works ONLY for the business commuter flights (1.5 hour or less like Seattle –Spokane, Detroit-Chicago) because you don’t need a drink, to check bags, etc. For a 5 hour flight – I want water or ginger ale and due to times, I NEED a snack. My short little legs did not fit – I have to spread my legs to avoid the chair in front with my knees - not comfy that long.
You DO NOT save money:
- Southwest: $300 roundtrip each.
- Spirit: $313 at least roundtrip each. [$255 Ticket + $40 bags + $8 (water & soda I go through min.) + $10 (snacks usually provided)]
The flight is still late, more cramped, you CAN NOT check in electronically if checking bags – so a VERY long line, etc. Not worth it. They did assign seats though so I could board last and not en mass cattle like.
Public rant, I mean public announcement over now…
Viva Las Vegas!
Conference time again! This time we are hitting up the CRE Online Conference in Las Vegas. We are in a newer hotel. South Point, on the south end of the strip – way down - supposed to be the next “new” area for hotels. I was very impressed with check in, the room, the services, etc. They could have installed better air filtration – it was a bit stale and the restaurants were not fabulous. Can’t tell you anything about gambling – didn’t participate. The conference kept us busy from 6am to Midnight every day – they even provided breakfast and lunch so we would network and talk. Great conference! Yes – the presentations were to sell courses BUT the presenters gave lots of useful information during the presentations so we all took golden nuggets home! Yeah!
My favorite part, as usual, is making personal connections with other conference goers….we met several really COOL people that we are still in contact with after a whole month! One even bought two properties from us – YOU GO GIRL! Mind you, these are not pretty looking houses but MAN the numbers are good – they are going to CASH-FLOW for her (and they are in a great neighborhood).
Down side – I got really – I mean REALLY sick on the second day and had to stay in the room (bathroom actually). Sweaty, dizzy, hot, weak, blah for 36 hours and then I was back in action! Jeremy took really good care of me – he brought me water and ginger when he checked in on me every few hours.
Since I was a little off my game, I forgot to take any pictures. Bad Jeanna –There was even a formal dinner and I looked great – but did I take a picture, no. Dad Burges drove out from LA to visit and see the strip the last day. We went EVERYWHERE. I walked them through most all of the hotels to see the sites (he had never been) and did I remember to take a picture – not a single one! AHHH!
We did have a surprise when we got home: the tree that used to stand next to the corner of our house was across our driveway. No problem – get out the saw. Here are pictures:
We had a few other surprises on this trip too:
See Consumer Report Break on Spirit Air ...for flight info
See UDW makes front page, Cat becomes famous!
My favorite part, as usual, is making personal connections with other conference goers….we met several really COOL people that we are still in contact with after a whole month! One even bought two properties from us – YOU GO GIRL! Mind you, these are not pretty looking houses but MAN the numbers are good – they are going to CASH-FLOW for her (and they are in a great neighborhood).
Down side – I got really – I mean REALLY sick on the second day and had to stay in the room (bathroom actually). Sweaty, dizzy, hot, weak, blah for 36 hours and then I was back in action! Jeremy took really good care of me – he brought me water and ginger when he checked in on me every few hours.
Since I was a little off my game, I forgot to take any pictures. Bad Jeanna –There was even a formal dinner and I looked great – but did I take a picture, no. Dad Burges drove out from LA to visit and see the strip the last day. We went EVERYWHERE. I walked them through most all of the hotels to see the sites (he had never been) and did I remember to take a picture – not a single one! AHHH!
We did have a surprise when we got home: the tree that used to stand next to the corner of our house was across our driveway. No problem – get out the saw. Here are pictures:
We had a few other surprises on this trip too:
See Consumer Report Break on Spirit Air ...for flight info
See UDW makes front page, Cat becomes famous!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Easter Escaped
Where did Easter go? It is supposed to be in April and yet I found it in March. Not prepared - AHHHH! I decorate in GREEN for March with plethora of Sister type items (since Andrea's B-day is in March – no she is not a frog…she gave me a lot of my frogs although there are a few from others too! Can you count how many there are?) and I decorate April in pastels, Easter things, etc.
Well - Easter stuff did not go up since I was all green and I was at such a loss as to what to put up for April that the green stayed. Here are a few beautiful pictures:
As you can see the flowers are coming out slowly – they are beautiful! I will post more pictures as the world around be becomes warmer and prettier.
Well -Happy Easter anyway.
Well - Easter stuff did not go up since I was all green and I was at such a loss as to what to put up for April that the green stayed. Here are a few beautiful pictures:
As you can see the flowers are coming out slowly – they are beautiful! I will post more pictures as the world around be becomes warmer and prettier.
Well -Happy Easter anyway.
Friday, March 7, 2008
To Chicago Again
It has been a crazy week. I am appreciating more and more the marketing team of UREC. All I did was come up with ideas, ok proofs and let them know how well things were attended. I really was quite spoiled having someone else figure out the marketing plan, finding promo items, getting things printed, branding with look and coming up with the out of the box ideas to stand out. Yeah – I was spoiled. Now I am doing it.
For our first run: a conference buyer’s packet. When we personally talk to people at conferences and they are really interested in Detroit, we give them this packet. It contains: 1) a 4 page letter explaining how UDW can benefit them in a VERY out of the box way (we call it a “Did he just say that?” approach) with several fonts, text sizes, colors, etc. 2) A NICE writing pen (med black ball point) with our name and website. The pen is real metal, weighted well, writes well, is individually packaged. 3) A Magnet with our logo is our beautiful colors for branding) 4) Business card 5) Testimonial/information CD (not in this run but in future ones) 6) Envelope, large with our logo across the WHOLE thing. I am very happy with the packet but not so happy with the process. It took too long and required way too much of my time. I need a marketing team.
Off to Chicago again. We are on the train. I have one LARGE suitcase full of the Conference Buyer Packets (I had to stuff yesterday – I need a marketing team), my computer bag and one tiny satchel with clothes. It was quite the ordeal to get to the train this morning. It snowed all night. Jeremy got up at 4am to shovel the drive so the car would not get stuck when Jared picked us up. Then the freeway was horrid – people sliding everywhere. There is no chains or studded tires allowed here. That is fine – IT IS FLAT! It was like they had never driven in snow before – even though we have had snow since December. The fun one was the lady in front of us on the off ramp – it was a slight incline and she made the mistake of hitting her brakes. No go – she couldn’t pick it back up again enough to make it up this VERY small hill. Oh well. Jared is an GREAT driver in the snow. We did just fine.
I really like riding the train. I can not see why these went out of fashion. It is perfect for commuting – maybe a bit expensive for everyday but better than flying or driving distances that are in that awkward 4-7 hour drive range. The train is faster than driving and cheaper too (at least to Chicago with all the toll roads). Plus – I can look out the window, talk, eat, work (the train has outlets!), nap, etc whenever I want! I guess I should work a bit…….
For our first run: a conference buyer’s packet. When we personally talk to people at conferences and they are really interested in Detroit, we give them this packet. It contains: 1) a 4 page letter explaining how UDW can benefit them in a VERY out of the box way (we call it a “Did he just say that?” approach) with several fonts, text sizes, colors, etc. 2) A NICE writing pen (med black ball point) with our name and website. The pen is real metal, weighted well, writes well, is individually packaged. 3) A Magnet with our logo is our beautiful colors for branding) 4) Business card 5) Testimonial/information CD (not in this run but in future ones) 6) Envelope, large with our logo across the WHOLE thing. I am very happy with the packet but not so happy with the process. It took too long and required way too much of my time. I need a marketing team.
Off to Chicago again. We are on the train. I have one LARGE suitcase full of the Conference Buyer Packets (I had to stuff yesterday – I need a marketing team), my computer bag and one tiny satchel with clothes. It was quite the ordeal to get to the train this morning. It snowed all night. Jeremy got up at 4am to shovel the drive so the car would not get stuck when Jared picked us up. Then the freeway was horrid – people sliding everywhere. There is no chains or studded tires allowed here. That is fine – IT IS FLAT! It was like they had never driven in snow before – even though we have had snow since December. The fun one was the lady in front of us on the off ramp – it was a slight incline and she made the mistake of hitting her brakes. No go – she couldn’t pick it back up again enough to make it up this VERY small hill. Oh well. Jared is an GREAT driver in the snow. We did just fine.
I really like riding the train. I can not see why these went out of fashion. It is perfect for commuting – maybe a bit expensive for everyday but better than flying or driving distances that are in that awkward 4-7 hour drive range. The train is faster than driving and cheaper too (at least to Chicago with all the toll roads). Plus – I can look out the window, talk, eat, work (the train has outlets!), nap, etc whenever I want! I guess I should work a bit…….
Friday, February 29, 2008
Banking Bumpers
So I am a little annoyed and just have to get this off my mind....when did it become so hard to get YOUR money from the bank? It really makes me question if that is where I want to store it. I have a Bank of America account - I opened my account when the bank was Rainer bank then Seafirst bought it and then Bank of America bought it. I have had my money there for a LONG time. All I wanted was to move $100 of MY money from my Bank of America account to my Michigan Commerica account. I called B of A and after 45 minutes on hold, 15 minutes of repeating over and over that I can not walk into a branch (the closest one is in Chicago - 6 hours away) and 15 more minutes on hold, they told me Commerica would have to do it.
I drove to Commerica and requested this and they told me (after 15 minutes waiting in the lobby and 10 minutes waiting at a desk) that B of A would have to do it. So I had Commerica call B of A to sort it out since NO ONE wanted to do it but I WANTED MY MONEY.
We decided that a transfer was not possible but a wire would be - all I had to do was (from the B of A rep who knows where I am right now) walk into the B of A branch and sign a form to allow a wire transfer. To make that even better - it had to be the branch that I created my account at - so we are now going from a 6 hour drive to a 6 hour flight with a 1-2 hour drive (depending on traffic) to get to the Highlands Sammamish branch. NO! I have done wire transfers with them before - they should have it on file. Nope – not in our records (so where is it?). Well can we sign it here at Commerica, notarize it and fax it over today, over-nighting the original? No - must be done in person at the opening branch. They do not seem to care that this is MY MONEY - not theirs. I have proof I am who I am that the Commerica notary can see. Nope.
Mind you my debit card has expired and they did not send me a new one because my mailing address is in MI and they have no branches there. Yet they were asking me to walk into a branch to do my banking. Then they hang up on the Commerica agent. Wow. I am embarrassed, remaining cool and slightly turning pink, I think.
I go back to the office and call B of A again. I bypass everyone and go right to the top - Director of Customer Special Services. (I have his name for another matter earlier and he was most helpful). I explain all this and we go over the typical options again: walk into a branch and withdraw, have the debit card sent to a Washington address (because sending debit cards to some friend to mail to me is so much more secure than a bank notary for a wire transfer), write a check and deposit into my account (takes 10-15 days for an out of state check to clear here not to mention I have no more checks so they would mail them to WA……), have a Power of Attorney made for someone to go into the bank and sign the wire transfer paper (what the F--k - they will accept a notary for this but not my wire transfer directly) - oh, I have to have the PofA notarized at the branch I created my account in (if I am there to do a PofA, I would just sign the papers myself or withdraw the money myself). What are these people's problem. Why give me options that they know will not work - like the last one?
Whatever - I am just short of telling him what I really think of him and his bank when I remember that B of A bought La Salle (a very prominent bank here). We did? Oh, wow. I know more about your bank than you. This is not good. I am on hold again..........after several rounds of very annoying elevator like classical music with a great contemporary twist that makes me rethink EVER calling (the point I think), he comes back and confirms that they indeed did buy La Salle. Good. I already knew that - CAN I GET MY MONEY THERE?
On hold again.......great music............"Nope - official "Red" day is not until May" (Red Day - day all the signs changes and people know it is B of A now – too late we all know but you …..maybe an internal memo would work better). Systems will not be compatible until around Jan of 2009. So if I walked into a B of A in June 2008, I STILL WOULD NOT be able to get my money? Right; only account opened there and current La Salle customers of that branch could access money. B of A merged in Aug of 2007. What could possibly take so long? I think it MIGHT have something to do with internal communication and ability to solve problems. [And WHY are you only giving me NO answers and WE CAN'T answers. Customer service is about YES - this is what we CAN do. ]
He finished his proud moment of bank expansion information with “I will get back to you tomorrow”.
Update: It is April 27, 2008 and tomorrow has not yet arrived. I will be in the Seattle area in June. I will get my own money out and close my account.
I drove to Commerica and requested this and they told me (after 15 minutes waiting in the lobby and 10 minutes waiting at a desk) that B of A would have to do it. So I had Commerica call B of A to sort it out since NO ONE wanted to do it but I WANTED MY MONEY.
We decided that a transfer was not possible but a wire would be - all I had to do was (from the B of A rep who knows where I am right now) walk into the B of A branch and sign a form to allow a wire transfer. To make that even better - it had to be the branch that I created my account at - so we are now going from a 6 hour drive to a 6 hour flight with a 1-2 hour drive (depending on traffic) to get to the Highlands Sammamish branch. NO! I have done wire transfers with them before - they should have it on file. Nope – not in our records (so where is it?). Well can we sign it here at Commerica, notarize it and fax it over today, over-nighting the original? No - must be done in person at the opening branch. They do not seem to care that this is MY MONEY - not theirs. I have proof I am who I am that the Commerica notary can see. Nope.
Mind you my debit card has expired and they did not send me a new one because my mailing address is in MI and they have no branches there. Yet they were asking me to walk into a branch to do my banking. Then they hang up on the Commerica agent. Wow. I am embarrassed, remaining cool and slightly turning pink, I think.
I go back to the office and call B of A again. I bypass everyone and go right to the top - Director of Customer Special Services. (I have his name for another matter earlier and he was most helpful). I explain all this and we go over the typical options again: walk into a branch and withdraw, have the debit card sent to a Washington address (because sending debit cards to some friend to mail to me is so much more secure than a bank notary for a wire transfer), write a check and deposit into my account (takes 10-15 days for an out of state check to clear here not to mention I have no more checks so they would mail them to WA……), have a Power of Attorney made for someone to go into the bank and sign the wire transfer paper (what the F--k - they will accept a notary for this but not my wire transfer directly) - oh, I have to have the PofA notarized at the branch I created my account in (if I am there to do a PofA, I would just sign the papers myself or withdraw the money myself). What are these people's problem. Why give me options that they know will not work - like the last one?
Whatever - I am just short of telling him what I really think of him and his bank when I remember that B of A bought La Salle (a very prominent bank here). We did? Oh, wow. I know more about your bank than you. This is not good. I am on hold again..........after several rounds of very annoying elevator like classical music with a great contemporary twist that makes me rethink EVER calling (the point I think), he comes back and confirms that they indeed did buy La Salle. Good. I already knew that - CAN I GET MY MONEY THERE?
On hold again.......great music............"Nope - official "Red" day is not until May" (Red Day - day all the signs changes and people know it is B of A now – too late we all know but you …..maybe an internal memo would work better). Systems will not be compatible until around Jan of 2009. So if I walked into a B of A in June 2008, I STILL WOULD NOT be able to get my money? Right; only account opened there and current La Salle customers of that branch could access money. B of A merged in Aug of 2007. What could possibly take so long? I think it MIGHT have something to do with internal communication and ability to solve problems. [And WHY are you only giving me NO answers and WE CAN'T answers. Customer service is about YES - this is what we CAN do. ]
He finished his proud moment of bank expansion information with “I will get back to you tomorrow”.
Update: It is April 27, 2008 and tomorrow has not yet arrived. I will be in the Seattle area in June. I will get my own money out and close my account.
What Have We Created?
This is a little late in the coming as we did not want to freak out everyone about Detroit but really most of you have visited and realize that Detroit is not as bad as its reputation and that we only buy in the good areas plus, this happens in every city; it just happens more here because teh city is bigger and there are more vacant houses.....
February 2008: We had quite the excitement at one of our properties, Buckingham. Early one morning earlier this month, the neighbor to Buckingham called Jeremy on his cell phone to say that she was calling the police and her cousin because some man was breaking in the back window of our house. We called the police and Jared (our car was in the shop). Then we were off to Buckingham.
Our Buckingham neighbor’s cousin had come over and stood in the backyard of her house. He stood there and let the man that broke in see him. The man that broke in could not leave…..he was stuck because you can not open the No Zone security doors from the inside and all the other windows were boarded inside and out. This man had really worked to get in a small kitchen window by prying the boards off (taking time and making noise). So he sat and waited as the cousin sat and watched.
The police showed up in less than 10 minutes. Yeah Detroit Police! (They are my friends – I ask questions all the time and one officer and I have a standing joke that I am stocking him since we seem to end up in the same places a lot.) We had given the police the code to open the front door from the outside. So in they went and caught the assailant with the utility sink facet and all the copper from the basement in his bag fill of equipment.
This man’s entire line of work was to walk (so no car would be seen) the streets, break in vacant houses and steal the copper and small things of value that he could carry away fast. In his bag was every tool you would need to remove fixtures, copper, aluminum, etc. He was usually in and out of a house in under 15 -20 minutes. Except when he makes so much noise getting in the house in broad daylight that he rouses the neighbor to stand outside AND he did not plan ahead for a second escape route. Silly man.
When Jared, Jeremy and I arrived, the assailant was already in the police car. We went in, showed specific damage and gave our on site statements. We then called appropriate people to come secure the window and give a quote on cost to repair the damage.
Next we went down to the local police station to give formal statements too. The folks at the station were very nice and helpful. After statements, we just needed to fax the quote for repairs and be ready to go down to the court house.
The next week Jeremy and I went downtown to be present at the arraignment. A bit of chaos in the court room – not like on TV where everyone knows their stuff, knows what they want to say, and has all their paperwork together. Wow – if I was this unprepared at UREC I would have been seriously reprimanded. These people are lawyers with other people’s future resting on their hands...I guess you get what you pay for. Note to self – buy the best when needed.
When our man got up –the Judge was not to be swayed. He has been there before, not learned his lesson and there was nothing he could say except to confess. He was going to jail. He sentencing was the next week – no bail (well really high bail). We did not have to go to next week's adventure though. He was given 5 years all for $50 of copper and a utility sink faucet. Imagine what he could do with all that energy and thought directed in a positive manner…..
February 2008: We had quite the excitement at one of our properties, Buckingham. Early one morning earlier this month, the neighbor to Buckingham called Jeremy on his cell phone to say that she was calling the police and her cousin because some man was breaking in the back window of our house. We called the police and Jared (our car was in the shop). Then we were off to Buckingham.
Our Buckingham neighbor’s cousin had come over and stood in the backyard of her house. He stood there and let the man that broke in see him. The man that broke in could not leave…..he was stuck because you can not open the No Zone security doors from the inside and all the other windows were boarded inside and out. This man had really worked to get in a small kitchen window by prying the boards off (taking time and making noise). So he sat and waited as the cousin sat and watched.
The police showed up in less than 10 minutes. Yeah Detroit Police! (They are my friends – I ask questions all the time and one officer and I have a standing joke that I am stocking him since we seem to end up in the same places a lot.) We had given the police the code to open the front door from the outside. So in they went and caught the assailant with the utility sink facet and all the copper from the basement in his bag fill of equipment.
This man’s entire line of work was to walk (so no car would be seen) the streets, break in vacant houses and steal the copper and small things of value that he could carry away fast. In his bag was every tool you would need to remove fixtures, copper, aluminum, etc. He was usually in and out of a house in under 15 -20 minutes. Except when he makes so much noise getting in the house in broad daylight that he rouses the neighbor to stand outside AND he did not plan ahead for a second escape route. Silly man.
When Jared, Jeremy and I arrived, the assailant was already in the police car. We went in, showed specific damage and gave our on site statements. We then called appropriate people to come secure the window and give a quote on cost to repair the damage.
Next we went down to the local police station to give formal statements too. The folks at the station were very nice and helpful. After statements, we just needed to fax the quote for repairs and be ready to go down to the court house.
The next week Jeremy and I went downtown to be present at the arraignment. A bit of chaos in the court room – not like on TV where everyone knows their stuff, knows what they want to say, and has all their paperwork together. Wow – if I was this unprepared at UREC I would have been seriously reprimanded. These people are lawyers with other people’s future resting on their hands...I guess you get what you pay for. Note to self – buy the best when needed.
When our man got up –the Judge was not to be swayed. He has been there before, not learned his lesson and there was nothing he could say except to confess. He was going to jail. He sentencing was the next week – no bail (well really high bail). We did not have to go to next week's adventure though. He was given 5 years all for $50 of copper and a utility sink faucet. Imagine what he could do with all that energy and thought directed in a positive manner…..
Feb. Kitty Spotlight- Junior
So the spotlight is on my fierce, hardworking, lots of playing Junior! Junior is adapting very well to our new location and LOVING all the snow! He is the most adventurous of all the kitties. I take him out every now and then to play outside. He marches with purpose through the yard – sniffing this and that. Even when we got quite a bit of snow, Junior was able to find a nice twig to munch on. Here are the latest pictures of his outside adventures.
Junior does not just play, he helps with work too! He loves to sit on my lap while I am at my desk. When I am gone, he keeps my computer safe. Although his favorite thing to do is PLAY! You can hardly see it, in the pictures below he is playing with his new fur toys from Christmas. He will throw it all over, leaping into the air, doing twists and flips, batting it all over the place. He truly is a self entertainer.
That last picture of him on the doorway…he was upset because I was taking pictures of the others and really wanted a bit of attention for himself. He does not like his picture taken usually…so this was special!
His birthday is next month! Mid March Junior will have been part of the family for 4 years!
Junior does not just play, he helps with work too! He loves to sit on my lap while I am at my desk. When I am gone, he keeps my computer safe. Although his favorite thing to do is PLAY! You can hardly see it, in the pictures below he is playing with his new fur toys from Christmas. He will throw it all over, leaping into the air, doing twists and flips, batting it all over the place. He truly is a self entertainer.
That last picture of him on the doorway…he was upset because I was taking pictures of the others and really wanted a bit of attention for himself. He does not like his picture taken usually…so this was special!
His birthday is next month! Mid March Junior will have been part of the family for 4 years!
2nd Anniversary
Monday was our anniversary (#2)! It really does not seem like that long. The morning started off with Jeremy making a yummy breakfast. Then we had a busy day at work (could not be helped).
After, we were feeling quite silly and not serious at all so we thought we would go to the LAST place anyone would think of going on their anniversary – The Pizza Depot for dinner. It is a fun buffet of salads, pastas, pizza and pudding. We go there very rarely (we do not eat out very much) but it is always fun when we do go. There had been a lot of snow so we had the place almost to ourselves. They made us any type of pizza we wanted! We were goofy (and very full when we left).
We will actually be doing something special to celebrate half way through March. We just could not get away with work and not having a car at the moment. Next week we are at a conference in Chicago. So after that we will do something NOT work related.
After, we were feeling quite silly and not serious at all so we thought we would go to the LAST place anyone would think of going on their anniversary – The Pizza Depot for dinner. It is a fun buffet of salads, pastas, pizza and pudding. We go there very rarely (we do not eat out very much) but it is always fun when we do go. There had been a lot of snow so we had the place almost to ourselves. They made us any type of pizza we wanted! We were goofy (and very full when we left).
We will actually be doing something special to celebrate half way through March. We just could not get away with work and not having a car at the moment. Next week we are at a conference in Chicago. So after that we will do something NOT work related.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Valentine's Day Suprise
Happy Valentine’s Day! I put in some pictures of us in the spirit (at the bottom - notice, mom, the cute ribbon flowers I found in a box while unpacking.....yes those are from your wedding and a few other events.). We do not really do Valentine’s Day (esp. since our anniversary is so close) but I thought I would make a cake for the office anyway. I started to bake last night and did not have anything standard to make a cake (this is why we need a personal assistant – see entry below). So I got creative (not really a stretch since I do not ever follow a recipe anyway) and used things like beets, apples, yogurt….I will just write down what I did as best as I can remember since I do not really measure……..Try it – it is GOOD and good for you (as far as chocolate cake goes). I know the opening ingredient sounds a little out of place….you can not taste it at all if you puree well. The applesauce covers the taste too:
Boil 3-4 med sized beets for 20-30 minutes until soft. Rinse, peel and chop into small pieces.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Decide on your pan(s) of choice:
9” cake pan, 9x13 glass pan, muffin tins, bite size muffin tins, little loafs, etc. I like to grease the pan, line with wax or parchment paper (not the glass pan since it stays in there), grease the paper and sprinkle a bit of flour in to lightly coat all the sides and bottom. Better success to get it out whole. I did a cake pan with these amounts.
Put 2 cups of beets in a blender with ½ cup applesauce (maybe a little more), puree and set aside for a bit!!!
In bowl combine and set aside for sifting later:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/5 cup spilt flour (or white/cake flours I guess)
½ tsp salt
1.5 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
In another big bowl combine and blend for like 2 minutes:
1-1.5 cup sucant (dried sugar cane….I guess maybe 1 cup sugar would do)
½ cup oil (I used half olive and have coconut oil)
½ cup plain yogurt
3 eggs
Sift in ½- ¾ cup coco powder (how chocolate like do you want it)
Add 1.5 tsp vanilla
Add the puree in the blender
Blend 2 more minutes or so…(be careful – it will splatter red!)
Put the blender away, start sifting (1 cup at a time) the flour mixture into your batter and stirring in gently. Continue until all flour is sifted in.
Put ½ the batter in the pan, sprinkle chopped up chocolate bars (the good for you kind – like endangered species or go raw) and cover with the other ½ of the batter. For muffins – I filled the cups ½ full and pushed a “treat” of chocolate into the middle of each. Be creative.
Slide in the oven and set the time for 15 minutes. Check, and set the timer again. The bite size muffins took 15 minutes, the cake took 35 min but I have an OLD GAS oven at the moment. I have not tried with a little loaf, loaf or glass pan.
I am telling you – Try it! It is good. Everyone at the office thinks it is pretty good (as you can tell by the pictures – remember there is only 7 of us in the office and Jeremy and I did not have any yet).
Have a wonderful day and make it a point to pass on a smile to someone else today!
Boil 3-4 med sized beets for 20-30 minutes until soft. Rinse, peel and chop into small pieces.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Decide on your pan(s) of choice:
9” cake pan, 9x13 glass pan, muffin tins, bite size muffin tins, little loafs, etc. I like to grease the pan, line with wax or parchment paper (not the glass pan since it stays in there), grease the paper and sprinkle a bit of flour in to lightly coat all the sides and bottom. Better success to get it out whole. I did a cake pan with these amounts.
Put 2 cups of beets in a blender with ½ cup applesauce (maybe a little more), puree and set aside for a bit!!!
In bowl combine and set aside for sifting later:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/5 cup spilt flour (or white/cake flours I guess)
½ tsp salt
1.5 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
In another big bowl combine and blend for like 2 minutes:
1-1.5 cup sucant (dried sugar cane….I guess maybe 1 cup sugar would do)
½ cup oil (I used half olive and have coconut oil)
½ cup plain yogurt
3 eggs
Sift in ½- ¾ cup coco powder (how chocolate like do you want it)
Add 1.5 tsp vanilla
Add the puree in the blender
Blend 2 more minutes or so…(be careful – it will splatter red!)
Put the blender away, start sifting (1 cup at a time) the flour mixture into your batter and stirring in gently. Continue until all flour is sifted in.
Put ½ the batter in the pan, sprinkle chopped up chocolate bars (the good for you kind – like endangered species or go raw) and cover with the other ½ of the batter. For muffins – I filled the cups ½ full and pushed a “treat” of chocolate into the middle of each. Be creative.
Slide in the oven and set the time for 15 minutes. Check, and set the timer again. The bite size muffins took 15 minutes, the cake took 35 min but I have an OLD GAS oven at the moment. I have not tried with a little loaf, loaf or glass pan.
I am telling you – Try it! It is good. Everyone at the office thinks it is pretty good (as you can tell by the pictures – remember there is only 7 of us in the office and Jeremy and I did not have any yet).
Have a wonderful day and make it a point to pass on a smile to someone else today!
The Art of Hiring
…and being hired.
So we have come to the point in our business where things are taking off and we are beyond busy. We have hired office managers, property scouts, and others to help accomplish in a timely manner all the things that need to get done to keep business ball rolling. Still with only three focuses (get private money, get houses, get buyers) we seem to be working overtime. The house is not really cleaned on any certain schedule. I sweep one day a week, I clean the shower at the end of every one of my showers, I clean the kitchen when waiting for the bread to finish baking....but there is never a time when I can look around and breath – it is clean and ordered. Too often we get home from work and forgot to go shopping for food – looks like potato soup again! Or we get distracted and the clothes sit in the washer a little too long (if you know what I mean). Jared, our business partner for UDW, is in the same boat but in more need to get it all together. Now is the time for a personal assistant to help with things at home.
THE AD: (as posted on Craigslist)
Personal Assistant (Housekeeping duties included)
Needed: Assistant to manage and organize households of two separate overload, unorganized, brilliant executives by completing daily household tasks including:
• Shopping
• Errand Running
• Cleaning
• Laundry/Ironing
• Basic research as needed (show tickets, travel plans, etc)
• Keep accurate, up to date schedules
• Coordinate other contractors (landscaping, repairs, etc)
• Other tasks as needed
Requirements:
• Must love cats (one household has several)
• Must have dependable transportation
• Must be able to bring order out of chaos with little to no supervision
• Must be willing to work with in Detroit City Limits and St. Clair Shores
• Must be available 30-40 hours a week
• Must be able to provide at least 3 relevant, professional references
Other:
Compensation: $10-12 per hour (to start).
Start Date: By the end of February
Please submit your resume and references when responding to this ad. Thank you.
• Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
• Please, no phone calls about this job!
• Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.
**********************************
Now I must say – we are not asking for a PH.D or anything. Although with the way the job market out here is, you never know. I could have worded the ad a little netter too, I am sure. None the less, we received over 150 responses within a few days. I am following up on 7. I must say though, reading through the responses was quite the experience…….
Some of my favorite responses....
(Personal info is changed but NOT spelling, punctuation, etc. This is the entirety of their replies. Please note - I am not listing this here to be mean, I just thought the difference between what we expect on the West Coast and what we receive on the East Cost/Mid West is so different that it is humorous. Andrea experienced the same thing in NY)
**********************************
Hi!
My name is XXXXX and I notcied the ad posted on Craig's list. Is the position still available?
My mother is looking for a housekeeping position. She is clean and very well organized and resides in XXXXX with her 2 cats. She is currently unemployed and is seeking work. She was in the hotel field for many years and is loyal and has much integrity.
Hopefully, this will pique your interest
(Jeanna: Well I am glad that she is clean and has a daughter that will ask for jobs, that piques my interest......)
***********************
Very reliable and hard-working.
Currently laud-off from Ford Mo. Co.
Worked in Housekeeping Dept.
Can travel..
Please call XXXXX at (XXX) XXX-XXXX
(Jeanna: Short and to the point. I thought laud was to praise, acclaim, to speak well of, etc. So what is laud-off? A praise off from Ford?)
*****************************
hi my name is XXXXX my number is (XXX) XXX-XXXX
So we have come to the point in our business where things are taking off and we are beyond busy. We have hired office managers, property scouts, and others to help accomplish in a timely manner all the things that need to get done to keep business ball rolling. Still with only three focuses (get private money, get houses, get buyers) we seem to be working overtime. The house is not really cleaned on any certain schedule. I sweep one day a week, I clean the shower at the end of every one of my showers, I clean the kitchen when waiting for the bread to finish baking....but there is never a time when I can look around and breath – it is clean and ordered. Too often we get home from work and forgot to go shopping for food – looks like potato soup again! Or we get distracted and the clothes sit in the washer a little too long (if you know what I mean). Jared, our business partner for UDW, is in the same boat but in more need to get it all together. Now is the time for a personal assistant to help with things at home.
THE AD: (as posted on Craigslist)
Personal Assistant (Housekeeping duties included)
Needed: Assistant to manage and organize households of two separate overload, unorganized, brilliant executives by completing daily household tasks including:
• Shopping
• Errand Running
• Cleaning
• Laundry/Ironing
• Basic research as needed (show tickets, travel plans, etc)
• Keep accurate, up to date schedules
• Coordinate other contractors (landscaping, repairs, etc)
• Other tasks as needed
Requirements:
• Must love cats (one household has several)
• Must have dependable transportation
• Must be able to bring order out of chaos with little to no supervision
• Must be willing to work with in Detroit City Limits and St. Clair Shores
• Must be available 30-40 hours a week
• Must be able to provide at least 3 relevant, professional references
Other:
Compensation: $10-12 per hour (to start).
Start Date: By the end of February
Please submit your resume and references when responding to this ad. Thank you.
• Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
• Please, no phone calls about this job!
• Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.
**********************************
Now I must say – we are not asking for a PH.D or anything. Although with the way the job market out here is, you never know. I could have worded the ad a little netter too, I am sure. None the less, we received over 150 responses within a few days. I am following up on 7. I must say though, reading through the responses was quite the experience…….
Some of my favorite responses....
(Personal info is changed but NOT spelling, punctuation, etc. This is the entirety of their replies. Please note - I am not listing this here to be mean, I just thought the difference between what we expect on the West Coast and what we receive on the East Cost/Mid West is so different that it is humorous. Andrea experienced the same thing in NY)
**********************************
Hi!
My name is XXXXX and I notcied the ad posted on Craig's list. Is the position still available?
My mother is looking for a housekeeping position. She is clean and very well organized and resides in XXXXX with her 2 cats. She is currently unemployed and is seeking work. She was in the hotel field for many years and is loyal and has much integrity.
Hopefully, this will pique your interest
(Jeanna: Well I am glad that she is clean and has a daughter that will ask for jobs, that piques my interest......)
***********************
Very reliable and hard-working.
Currently laud-off from Ford Mo. Co.
Worked in Housekeeping Dept.
Can travel..
Please call XXXXX at (XXX) XXX-XXXX
(Jeanna: Short and to the point. I thought laud was to praise, acclaim, to speak well of, etc. So what is laud-off? A praise off from Ford?)
*****************************
hi my name is XXXXX my number is (XXX) XXX-XXXX
(Jeanna: That decides it. She is perfect!)
*********************************************
i will take the job
(Jeanna: Need I (or they) say more?)
**************************
Hi i seen your job ad on craigs list and i don't know if its to late to respond to it but i am interested.I am 19 and and right now i just got laid off from my landscaping job and need work bad when it comes. I have done landscaping for the last 2 years so i am good with general labor.I am a good,hard worker and motivated and don't skip work and i as well am in good shape so i can get the job done.I like to work for my money.I would be willing to start ASAP.
.Please get back to me as soon as you can through this email or call me.
P.S I have my own transportation and D/L. (Jeanna: Driver’s License I am assuming and I am so glad that he let me know he has one; Since I overlooked putting that requirement down. Maybe he should review his English notes on grammer. )
Thank You
-XXXX
**************************
im very interested in the job please give me a call at XXXXXXXX@yahoo.com
P.S I have my own transportation and D/L.
(Jeanna: Last time I checked I coudl not call an email address although I am not current on all the new technology stuff.......)
*************************
Hello,
My name is XXXXXX and I came across your position on Craigslist. I am currently a stay at home military wife looking for a position that is paid in cash. I have no problem house keeping, running errands, shopping for others, and I have a dog and cat of my own so in other words no pet allergies. I am familiar with Saint Clair Shores and my husband works on XXXXX and Jefferson for the USCG, so I am somewhat familiar with Detroit itself.
I would need to know exactly where in Detroit is needed since I am not 100% familiar. I have plenty of references, I was a Nationally Certified Pharmacy Technician for 5 years and also a Biological Sterile Life Science injection operator ( I compounded and finished making injectable medications in a clean room). I became a stay at home wife in March of 2007 to focus onour move from XXXXXX to XXXXXXXXX and to also be available for multiple vacations that were planned to come here and for us to go elsewhere.
Now that we aren't traveling I am looking for a postion that is challenging and pays in cash. Please let me know if you are interested in meeting in person to discuss a possible interview. My number is listed below, it is a XXXXXXXXXX area code, we are originally from there and kept the number, currently we reside on (Road name) and Dequindre area. I think a cash position would be perfect. Thanks for your time and consideration.
Cordially,
XXXXXXXX
(Jeanna: I wonder if she would like to be paid in cash or if an invoice would be better....)
*************************
HELLO I HAVE MANY REFS I HAVE BEEN DOING THIS KIND OF WORK FOR 10 YEARS I HAVE A DEPENDABLE CAR WHERE ARE THE HOUSES?I LIVE IN XXXXXXX MY NAME IS XXXXX I AM 46 YRS OLD THANK YOU
(Jeanna: Wow - I just do not have anything to say....)
*************************
Well - I think that is all there is to say.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Afternoon Tea
Well - I am at home today - did not go into the office. I got a lot done around the house. It has been raining here a great deal which melted all the snow (again). This only proves to be a problem if you are driving. Our street looks more like a canal.
I walked to the store today (about a mile); Very interesting to see people's reaction to the water: some drive just the same and get a little startled when they hit the water; others speed up - maybe they will float across.....and others still go very, very, very slowly as if the water seeping into their engine area will help keep them from floating away. I am not sure that any method is better than another - my method, turn at the corner by my house, go down a block, turn again and get onto the main road without any water. But, whatever works for each person.
All I can say - drivers are really nice to walkers when it is raining with a little snow and you have your backpack on under your rain coat with the hat pulled up and buttoned, a scarf and gloves. I even took along hot tea to warm my insides on the walk. This is a foreign concept here - walking especially with a beverage that is not in a paper bag. I smiled and went about my way. So many people in such a bad mood. I think it is lovely out and perfect for a walk. I bought my few things for dinner and started back. Several people stopped to talk. It is amazing how singing to yourself with a smile peeks the curiosity of others. It feels good to cheer up other's day with a new perspective.
So I am home. I figured I talked to myself all morning, why not have tea together. So I sent the table, made the tea and a little snack of oranges. Yummy! We had a great talk. Lots of catching up to do. We decided we should get together to chat more often. So I think I will stay home from the office at least once a week so I can have afternoon tea with myself.
Let me know if you give it a try!
I walked to the store today (about a mile); Very interesting to see people's reaction to the water: some drive just the same and get a little startled when they hit the water; others speed up - maybe they will float across.....and others still go very, very, very slowly as if the water seeping into their engine area will help keep them from floating away. I am not sure that any method is better than another - my method, turn at the corner by my house, go down a block, turn again and get onto the main road without any water. But, whatever works for each person.
All I can say - drivers are really nice to walkers when it is raining with a little snow and you have your backpack on under your rain coat with the hat pulled up and buttoned, a scarf and gloves. I even took along hot tea to warm my insides on the walk. This is a foreign concept here - walking especially with a beverage that is not in a paper bag. I smiled and went about my way. So many people in such a bad mood. I think it is lovely out and perfect for a walk. I bought my few things for dinner and started back. Several people stopped to talk. It is amazing how singing to yourself with a smile peeks the curiosity of others. It feels good to cheer up other's day with a new perspective.
So I am home. I figured I talked to myself all morning, why not have tea together. So I sent the table, made the tea and a little snack of oranges. Yummy! We had a great talk. Lots of catching up to do. We decided we should get together to chat more often. So I think I will stay home from the office at least once a week so I can have afternoon tea with myself.
Let me know if you give it a try!
Monday, February 4, 2008
Celebrate!
Yeah! It is time to CELEBRATE! UDW (Urban Detroit Wholesalers, LLC) had a slamming week last week:
- Bought 4 properties
- Sold its first property of 2008
- Arranged closing for second property following week
Wow - We have buyers lined up! Won’t even direct you to our website because our inventory seems to be sold before we own it! This is a great problem to have. So we are sending out TONS of offers and taking the whole office out to dinner!
We met last Friday, 2.1.08, after work at Fishbone's for dinner, cigars and conversation. We had a great time getting to know our office manager, Lynn, her husband and our offer submitter on a more personal level. What great people to be working with!
Well - if this is any indication of what February is to bring - Let's bring it on and have a great 2008! This IS the year!
[So if you are interested in attaining a bit of real estate for steady cash flow, or interested in leveraging your money via private lending for slightly faster growth, let me know! We have lots of opportunities.]
Chicago - The Big Cheese
January 8th: Our first adventure away from our home since we moved in last September!
It all started, one day, when Jeremy said one of the best marketing gurus we know was holding a conference in Chicago. Yeah! We’re going to Chicago – I LOVE Chicago! After signing up, we were really busy and did not really think about it again until three days before. We had not heard about the hotel info or anything – so Jeremy checked into it and I looked for air tickets. Flying was a NO GO at $115 each way per person. Blah. Waited too long. Next time I need to put a reminder in my schedule to get tickets earlier.
It is a short 5 hour drive from Detroit. Not major – about the same as going Pullman to Seattle but without all the hills and mountains. Now to just get the prep done so we could drive legally. We had to change to Michigan Driver’s licenses in order to register the car in Michigan. We had to register the car in order to get current tabs. We had to get current tabs (and change a tail light) in order to get Jeremy’s WA license back from the cops to get a MI license. DO you see a problem here? No one else did. It was an all day run around. Did you know that if you have a post office box where you get all your mail (since the mail is either left in the rain or stolen at your house), you can not get a license because you can not prove you live there? (But if I had not said anything – they would have put the PO Box address on the license). Bad example to use when trying to teach children to always tell the truth.
Anyway – after 5 hours of running around to police stations, Secretary of State locations, our house, car part stores, etc. We finally came out of the SOS with tabs, plates, and licenses! Yeah! GO home, pack and be on our way – 14 hours to get there. We start her up, get to the road and she dies. Does this all the time when it is cold. No problem – shift to park, start, gas, shift to drive and away we go. OR NOT! She won’t start but is still rolling. So we push her back into the parking lot. Take apart everything…including the steering column. It is the shift collar – made out of POP steel – it is the original and it is all done. We are stuck in park so the car will not start. 2 hours later have decided there is no way to fix this with our standard zip ties, paperclips and duct tape. We call for a tow truck.
It is just after dark. We are in a WELL lit, brand new strip mall, people everywhere, 24 hour Rite Aid and NO COMPANY WILL PICK UP AFTER DARK IN DETROIT. They are Detroit businesses. Blah! We finally found one that was doing a drop just down the street. My goodness.
Home…now how do we get to Chicago in 10 hours. Train! Train left at 6pm. But we can take the train back for only $22 each! Yeah! Back to the flying idea. We have one round trip ticket through SW for free. Ok – we are being creative here. Fly one way for each of us = one round trip ticket. I call, I book. Plane leaves at 6am. How do we get to the airport? We have 8.5 hours until the conference starts. Jared – he is the best. We call him up and he was there 4 hours later to pick us up! Plane ride great! Now – shuttle to the hotel. It is NOT in Chicago but in a suburb. The shuttle only goes to O’Hare and SW only flies into Midway. Taxi - $85 – NO! On the CTA train we went – all the way into the city and out to O’Hare for the shuttle. We walk in right as the presenter is getting started.
I forgot to mention. The presenter knows Jeremy – interviewed him for a CD she sends out to her member’s club and has already told people we are coming. She is video taping. The conference is a small group setting – 8 people. We made it – just in time.
The conference was wonderful! We learned a lot! Too much to put here. We spent the night at the hotel, great dinner at a Thai place, little pool/spa, great breakfast on the hotel (for a room mess up – the room we were checked into was dirty) and then we are off to the city to have some fun. So shuttle to O’Hare and CTA to the city. Lucky for us the train station is a few blocks away from a CTA station. We hopped on the train and home we went! [Yes – there is ore of a story here – but not to be posted – ask in person].
The train ride was GREAT! We could look out the window, work on computers, there was a snack car, it was clean! This is how I will come to Chicago next time. Jared picked us up in Detroit, we had a bite to eat and home we went. The kitties were happy to see us and all was well.
It all started, one day, when Jeremy said one of the best marketing gurus we know was holding a conference in Chicago. Yeah! We’re going to Chicago – I LOVE Chicago! After signing up, we were really busy and did not really think about it again until three days before. We had not heard about the hotel info or anything – so Jeremy checked into it and I looked for air tickets. Flying was a NO GO at $115 each way per person. Blah. Waited too long. Next time I need to put a reminder in my schedule to get tickets earlier.
It is a short 5 hour drive from Detroit. Not major – about the same as going Pullman to Seattle but without all the hills and mountains. Now to just get the prep done so we could drive legally. We had to change to Michigan Driver’s licenses in order to register the car in Michigan. We had to register the car in order to get current tabs. We had to get current tabs (and change a tail light) in order to get Jeremy’s WA license back from the cops to get a MI license. DO you see a problem here? No one else did. It was an all day run around. Did you know that if you have a post office box where you get all your mail (since the mail is either left in the rain or stolen at your house), you can not get a license because you can not prove you live there? (But if I had not said anything – they would have put the PO Box address on the license). Bad example to use when trying to teach children to always tell the truth.
Anyway – after 5 hours of running around to police stations, Secretary of State locations, our house, car part stores, etc. We finally came out of the SOS with tabs, plates, and licenses! Yeah! GO home, pack and be on our way – 14 hours to get there. We start her up, get to the road and she dies. Does this all the time when it is cold. No problem – shift to park, start, gas, shift to drive and away we go. OR NOT! She won’t start but is still rolling. So we push her back into the parking lot. Take apart everything…including the steering column. It is the shift collar – made out of POP steel – it is the original and it is all done. We are stuck in park so the car will not start. 2 hours later have decided there is no way to fix this with our standard zip ties, paperclips and duct tape. We call for a tow truck.
It is just after dark. We are in a WELL lit, brand new strip mall, people everywhere, 24 hour Rite Aid and NO COMPANY WILL PICK UP AFTER DARK IN DETROIT. They are Detroit businesses. Blah! We finally found one that was doing a drop just down the street. My goodness.
Home…now how do we get to Chicago in 10 hours. Train! Train left at 6pm. But we can take the train back for only $22 each! Yeah! Back to the flying idea. We have one round trip ticket through SW for free. Ok – we are being creative here. Fly one way for each of us = one round trip ticket. I call, I book. Plane leaves at 6am. How do we get to the airport? We have 8.5 hours until the conference starts. Jared – he is the best. We call him up and he was there 4 hours later to pick us up! Plane ride great! Now – shuttle to the hotel. It is NOT in Chicago but in a suburb. The shuttle only goes to O’Hare and SW only flies into Midway. Taxi - $85 – NO! On the CTA train we went – all the way into the city and out to O’Hare for the shuttle. We walk in right as the presenter is getting started.
I forgot to mention. The presenter knows Jeremy – interviewed him for a CD she sends out to her member’s club and has already told people we are coming. She is video taping. The conference is a small group setting – 8 people. We made it – just in time.
The conference was wonderful! We learned a lot! Too much to put here. We spent the night at the hotel, great dinner at a Thai place, little pool/spa, great breakfast on the hotel (for a room mess up – the room we were checked into was dirty) and then we are off to the city to have some fun. So shuttle to O’Hare and CTA to the city. Lucky for us the train station is a few blocks away from a CTA station. We hopped on the train and home we went! [Yes – there is ore of a story here – but not to be posted – ask in person].
The train ride was GREAT! We could look out the window, work on computers, there was a snack car, it was clean! This is how I will come to Chicago next time. Jared picked us up in Detroit, we had a bite to eat and home we went. The kitties were happy to see us and all was well.
Just can't get fitness out of my life
Well - I am almost a month behind on my entries. Blah! Well - better late than never? At least there are only a few things that happened. Take that back - lots and lots has happened, hence the lack of getting the entries posted - but only a few that I will bore you with entries for:
Today's topic: Andrea and Me.
We have decided that we like working out with someone. It is far more fun to talk about your workout with someone that has also done the same workout in about the same timeframe. So I started another blog. I post workouts, meal ideas, cool information on exercises, food, and random thoughts. Andrea also gets to hear and see her workout and we both hurt (in a good way) after. This provides lots of conversation. We have set down goals for fitness, personal life, and what-not. We also are having journaling time to really think about cool things.
Does this not sound like fun! The best part - I can customize it for whatever she needs in a week (like sales at the grocery, a stiff neck, etc). If anyone else wants to try this out - let me know! I am looking to see if this is expandable into a separate stream on income. Any ideas - please send them my way!
This is also good because I am using all that training, research and information on Fitness, exercise, learning behaviors, etc. I love sharing my knowledge so others benefit is such a positive way!
And just because we are cute, a picture:
Today's topic: Andrea and Me.
We have decided that we like working out with someone. It is far more fun to talk about your workout with someone that has also done the same workout in about the same timeframe. So I started another blog. I post workouts, meal ideas, cool information on exercises, food, and random thoughts. Andrea also gets to hear and see her workout and we both hurt (in a good way) after. This provides lots of conversation. We have set down goals for fitness, personal life, and what-not. We also are having journaling time to really think about cool things.
Does this not sound like fun! The best part - I can customize it for whatever she needs in a week (like sales at the grocery, a stiff neck, etc). If anyone else wants to try this out - let me know! I am looking to see if this is expandable into a separate stream on income. Any ideas - please send them my way!
This is also good because I am using all that training, research and information on Fitness, exercise, learning behaviors, etc. I love sharing my knowledge so others benefit is such a positive way!
And just because we are cute, a picture:
Friday, February 1, 2008
Networking! Oh My!
Wow - networking is the name of the game. It is amazing the connections you make at one meeting that leads to introductions at another meeting. So far we have monthly meetings with
- Oakland Business Forum
- Power to be Free
- Dollars
- WCRT
- REIA Macomb
- and a few others, I am sure, I can not remember
In all these meetings, we meet people in Real Estate and other businesses. It is exciting to then see how we can help each other create more business. Most of the people are just neat too!
Through these meetings we have met with organizations like:
- Blightbusters (non-profit, lowering the blight, creating homeowners, employing jobless folks, etc)
- Mastermind (great group of folks that get together and talk about their business, challenges, etc. The group them helps solve, gives ideas, supports, holds accountable, etc. We have a small but powerful group.
- Stonehouse events - he is all about networking and put together events all over. - plus just knows a lot of people.
- Bean Meetings - Another man that knows everyone, it seems. Lots of networking, ideas, and just a lot of fun to talk with.
- Homevesters - interesting business & great connections for getting water readings!
It is a little rough getting to all these meetings and meetings. We still work all day and then do meetings in the evenings and weekends. Poor kitties - we need to try to be home a little more. The meetings are so worth while though- maybe we should take our cats with us! Not a seeing eye cat, but a spending-time-with-so-don't-break-everything-at-home cat. My centering cat for mindful, positive, attitudes. Hmmmmm still need to work on this one.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Happy New Year's
Happy New Year's Everyone!
We had a movie/popcorn/coffee night with friends (Holli and Jared). I forgot the camera so no pictures. I will work on more pictures of friends (but not less of cats......).
BTW - We had another snow "storm" last night. They went on and on about winter storm watching. I was excited for some REAL snow. We woke up to 3 inches. A bit of a let down - but I did get two cats out in it! I put Junior and then Freya on the cat leash and out we went. Junior hardly noticed he had the leash on at all. He loves going outside. As a matter of fact - he was slowly moving and WOW he almost caught a bunny under the bush! He was two inches away! Good boy Junior!
Freya brought me the leash and laid down for me to put it on her. She was not so sure after we went outside. I think it was too cold for her. She looked around a little but was not that thrilled. She was moving slow enough that I could get a few pictures! (coming soon)
We had a movie/popcorn/coffee night with friends (Holli and Jared). I forgot the camera so no pictures. I will work on more pictures of friends (but not less of cats......).
BTW - We had another snow "storm" last night. They went on and on about winter storm watching. I was excited for some REAL snow. We woke up to 3 inches. A bit of a let down - but I did get two cats out in it! I put Junior and then Freya on the cat leash and out we went. Junior hardly noticed he had the leash on at all. He loves going outside. As a matter of fact - he was slowly moving and WOW he almost caught a bunny under the bush! He was two inches away! Good boy Junior!
Freya brought me the leash and laid down for me to put it on her. She was not so sure after we went outside. I think it was too cold for her. She looked around a little but was not that thrilled. She was moving slow enough that I could get a few pictures! (coming soon)
Monday, December 31, 2007
A REFLECTION of 2007
Year number 5......
January & February
The year started out busy! Jeremy’s mom visited Pullman, New years at Joanne’s, last UREC Staff training week, lots of finishing up to do with UREC, lots of classes to teach, lots of planning, and putting together the WELLBEING FAIR on Feb 22! Mom and Jason visited for the Fair. It snowed but was a huge success! The largest fair yet! My last day with UREC was Feb 28th and our first anniversary was Feb 25, 2007!
As a bonus, Steve (Jeremy’s brother-in-law) came to Tri-Cities for work . J&J went down to fish…well the boys fished and Jeanna called Aunt Rose to have tea & lunch at Anthony’s while watching the boys in the rain and cold…….so who do you think got the better deal?
I had a little time to kill waiting for Aunt Rose, so I did a special photo “Tree Piece.” What do you think – the next Ansel Adams? I will keep my day job…oh, wait, no I won’t past February. Hmmmmmm……..
March
Lots of visiting before moving: Jeanna went to see Mary Kate in Boise (what a cutie she has!). I had a lot of fun seeing what all Mary Kate does in a day – wow was I tired! I took so many classes at the Y in addition to the private pilates classes Mary Kate made up for me and even more classes at the studio! We had non-work out fun also – coffee, shopping, dinner at the Melting Pot, dinner at friends and an ALL DAY DANCE JAM (I was in heaven – no, dancing is NOT working out for me).
Jeremy and I went down to Tri-Cities to visit Carla, Asia and Butch. We miss them a lot. It was fun to just hang out without a whole bunch of other people. We will have to do this again (BTW –Carla is getting married in Oct 2008 to Butch! Yeah!). We finished off the month in Detroit looking at homes to live in. I got my heart set on a condo downtown by the water – beautiful! Last - Andrea and Jacob came to Pullman for a Men’s Rowing Alumni Event.
April
More visiting! I went to visit Andrea in Victoria for a week. See the separate blog for this one: "We are Queens! 4.07" – good times and great pictures and that is all I am going to say!
Andrea and I drove from Victoria to our parents for Easter and an awesome going away party! Everyone came over for Easter – Mom made cute place setters and the food was great. Best yet – we had plenty of time to play with Chica the cat. He is so fuzzy and fun to play with. Often we shadow box, or sit and read, or cuddle (this cat is carried around a lot!) or mess with him pretending we are cats! What a character! The going away party was a blast too! A lot of people that we had not seen in a while attended – so we were able to catch up a little before going away – far away!
Andrea came back to visit Pullman one last time and to help with UREC’s Mom’s Tea. It was a success and a lot of fun too! We both really enjoy doing this sort of thing. Mom and daughters would come in, get a foot bath, leg/foot/neck/upper back/arm/hand massage, then have some tea and treats. What pampering while bonding! They even left with a flower and picture! After the event, we met up with Dad (business training) in Spokane for dinner and to drop Andrea off to go home to Seattle. We flew out to Las Vegas the next morning to learn about taxes and corporate structure. (Uneventful - although the service was still lacking - please see "Customer Service! 7.06" blog entry for details on a different Vegas trip last summer).
When we returned Achilles went into the vet and then into surgery to remove tubing in his stomach/intestines. For some strange reason he felt the need to pull down a plastic bag and eat through it in order to get to a bit of surgical tubing. While he was at it, he ate the tubing too! Almost 1.5 feet of the tubing! It is good we love our cat......he is our most expensive kitty!
We finished off the month with a visit to Alicia Jacob and family in Wapato (she has several cuties!). We had a great time chatting, looking around the area, eating great food and playing with her two boys. We also found some time to pack and visit with Pullman friends before leaving!
May
Achilles came home from hospital on the 3rd and we drove to Detroit with stops in Montana, Wisconsin, Roseville, MI and finally into our Warren, MI La Quinta Hotel room. The drive was fun and essentially uneventful. We started at Ben’s at 3am in the morning –packed and ready to go. We took a moment to take a picture. The picture that inspired this whole driving adventure was one of Jeremy's mom many years ago....we attempted to model after.
On the road we went in our 27Ft U-Haul that was packed to the BRIM! Really we barely fit the cleaning supplies in the back. We towed the Ranchero behind the U-Haul and had it stuffed full too (cab). The kitties were not so sure. They knew something was up because we moved into Ben’s. Then getting up and putting them in the cab of the truck. Still not so sure. Then we started to move – oh my! Junior was on my lap meowing to let me know something was happening (Thanks, Junior). Freya had enough and went under the bench seat (I had put blankets, toys and other fun things in every nook and cranny for the kitties – this was good). Achilles was confused and kept looking out the window; eventually deciding the dash was a good spot to lay down (He always did like to ride in cars!). Athena just howled. And yelped, and meowed, and just let us know that this was not up to her standard of living. She climbed up our shoulders, on the dash, down to the floor, behind the seat, over the seat, to the window, and let us know everything she was thinking. Thank goodness that lasted only 2 hours or we might have had a cute fur muff for my hands (just kidding). Eventually everyone settled down into a pattern of getting comfy, playing, and rotating spots so everyone got window time, petting time, lap time, sleeping time, etc. Funny enough- Athena was the best in the end. She slept between Jeremy and I. I couldn’t find her after one stop and though she got out – no she was sleeping under the map book.
The drive was beautiful. You could not ask for more beautiful days (even in the bits of rain). Idaho was breathtaking – and with our load we went very slowly up the mountains so we got good looks (at the mountains!). Wisconsin is our favorite with the variety of trees and vegetation. Overall – when we pulled into the Warren Hotel – we were ready to be done but glad we did it. I suggest a cross country drive to everyone at least once every 5 years – but maybe not with 4 cats.
June
We are still in the hotel but having quite a bit of fun. There is free internet and the staff has become like family. Really, they all know us by name. The cleaning ladies do not like cats, so I clean the room everyday – I take them what I need, and they let me get what I want. We can wash clothes, use the refrigerator and everything. You could not ask for a nicer staff to live with! After the ladies leave for the day, the cats could roam the halls to stretch their legs. We got a lot of petting and playing in! We did get out a bit to work in the park downtown or see the market that was really in our backyard. Here are a few pictures!
We visited Seattle for the annual paintball/spa weekend we talked about last year. Ok - a lot of you expressed interest in going and did not materialize. Let's step up to the plate for 2008! Paintball requires a separate blog entry. Please check it out at: "Paintball Fun 6.07" While there we also celebrated Mom Kiehle's Birthday. We went to the Glass Museum in Tacoma and then out to dinner. The museum was a lot of fun! We watched vases being made and were able to see a lot of really interesting pieces. I suggest a visit the next time you are in town.
July
Mom Kiehle and I took a trip to Vancouver to pick up Andrea; who was just in from Africa. Andrea has a ton of really cool pictures and stories to share. I will try to get her to type something up to put on the blog. The experience really shaped and had an impact on her and other events of the year (little preview here – of a project that I will be working on this year, hopefully to launch next year!). I will post some of the pictures in a separate entry: “Andrea’s Africa 6.07 ”
January & February
The year started out busy! Jeremy’s mom visited Pullman, New years at Joanne’s, last UREC Staff training week, lots of finishing up to do with UREC, lots of classes to teach, lots of planning, and putting together the WELLBEING FAIR on Feb 22! Mom and Jason visited for the Fair. It snowed but was a huge success! The largest fair yet! My last day with UREC was Feb 28th and our first anniversary was Feb 25, 2007!
As a bonus, Steve (Jeremy’s brother-in-law) came to Tri-Cities for work . J&J went down to fish…well the boys fished and Jeanna called Aunt Rose to have tea & lunch at Anthony’s while watching the boys in the rain and cold…….so who do you think got the better deal?
I had a little time to kill waiting for Aunt Rose, so I did a special photo “Tree Piece.” What do you think – the next Ansel Adams? I will keep my day job…oh, wait, no I won’t past February. Hmmmmmm……..
March
Lots of visiting before moving: Jeanna went to see Mary Kate in Boise (what a cutie she has!). I had a lot of fun seeing what all Mary Kate does in a day – wow was I tired! I took so many classes at the Y in addition to the private pilates classes Mary Kate made up for me and even more classes at the studio! We had non-work out fun also – coffee, shopping, dinner at the Melting Pot, dinner at friends and an ALL DAY DANCE JAM (I was in heaven – no, dancing is NOT working out for me).
Jeremy and I went down to Tri-Cities to visit Carla, Asia and Butch. We miss them a lot. It was fun to just hang out without a whole bunch of other people. We will have to do this again (BTW –Carla is getting married in Oct 2008 to Butch! Yeah!). We finished off the month in Detroit looking at homes to live in. I got my heart set on a condo downtown by the water – beautiful! Last - Andrea and Jacob came to Pullman for a Men’s Rowing Alumni Event.
April
More visiting! I went to visit Andrea in Victoria for a week. See the separate blog for this one: "We are Queens! 4.07" – good times and great pictures and that is all I am going to say!
Andrea and I drove from Victoria to our parents for Easter and an awesome going away party! Everyone came over for Easter – Mom made cute place setters and the food was great. Best yet – we had plenty of time to play with Chica the cat. He is so fuzzy and fun to play with. Often we shadow box, or sit and read, or cuddle (this cat is carried around a lot!) or mess with him pretending we are cats! What a character! The going away party was a blast too! A lot of people that we had not seen in a while attended – so we were able to catch up a little before going away – far away!
Andrea came back to visit Pullman one last time and to help with UREC’s Mom’s Tea. It was a success and a lot of fun too! We both really enjoy doing this sort of thing. Mom and daughters would come in, get a foot bath, leg/foot/neck/upper back/arm/hand massage, then have some tea and treats. What pampering while bonding! They even left with a flower and picture! After the event, we met up with Dad (business training) in Spokane for dinner and to drop Andrea off to go home to Seattle. We flew out to Las Vegas the next morning to learn about taxes and corporate structure. (Uneventful - although the service was still lacking - please see "Customer Service! 7.06" blog entry for details on a different Vegas trip last summer).
When we returned Achilles went into the vet and then into surgery to remove tubing in his stomach/intestines. For some strange reason he felt the need to pull down a plastic bag and eat through it in order to get to a bit of surgical tubing. While he was at it, he ate the tubing too! Almost 1.5 feet of the tubing! It is good we love our cat......he is our most expensive kitty!
We finished off the month with a visit to Alicia Jacob and family in Wapato (she has several cuties!). We had a great time chatting, looking around the area, eating great food and playing with her two boys. We also found some time to pack and visit with Pullman friends before leaving!
May
Achilles came home from hospital on the 3rd and we drove to Detroit with stops in Montana, Wisconsin, Roseville, MI and finally into our Warren, MI La Quinta Hotel room. The drive was fun and essentially uneventful. We started at Ben’s at 3am in the morning –packed and ready to go. We took a moment to take a picture. The picture that inspired this whole driving adventure was one of Jeremy's mom many years ago....we attempted to model after.
On the road we went in our 27Ft U-Haul that was packed to the BRIM! Really we barely fit the cleaning supplies in the back. We towed the Ranchero behind the U-Haul and had it stuffed full too (cab). The kitties were not so sure. They knew something was up because we moved into Ben’s. Then getting up and putting them in the cab of the truck. Still not so sure. Then we started to move – oh my! Junior was on my lap meowing to let me know something was happening (Thanks, Junior). Freya had enough and went under the bench seat (I had put blankets, toys and other fun things in every nook and cranny for the kitties – this was good). Achilles was confused and kept looking out the window; eventually deciding the dash was a good spot to lay down (He always did like to ride in cars!). Athena just howled. And yelped, and meowed, and just let us know that this was not up to her standard of living. She climbed up our shoulders, on the dash, down to the floor, behind the seat, over the seat, to the window, and let us know everything she was thinking. Thank goodness that lasted only 2 hours or we might have had a cute fur muff for my hands (just kidding). Eventually everyone settled down into a pattern of getting comfy, playing, and rotating spots so everyone got window time, petting time, lap time, sleeping time, etc. Funny enough- Athena was the best in the end. She slept between Jeremy and I. I couldn’t find her after one stop and though she got out – no she was sleeping under the map book.
The drive was beautiful. You could not ask for more beautiful days (even in the bits of rain). Idaho was breathtaking – and with our load we went very slowly up the mountains so we got good looks (at the mountains!). Wisconsin is our favorite with the variety of trees and vegetation. Overall – when we pulled into the Warren Hotel – we were ready to be done but glad we did it. I suggest a cross country drive to everyone at least once every 5 years – but maybe not with 4 cats.
June
We are still in the hotel but having quite a bit of fun. There is free internet and the staff has become like family. Really, they all know us by name. The cleaning ladies do not like cats, so I clean the room everyday – I take them what I need, and they let me get what I want. We can wash clothes, use the refrigerator and everything. You could not ask for a nicer staff to live with! After the ladies leave for the day, the cats could roam the halls to stretch their legs. We got a lot of petting and playing in! We did get out a bit to work in the park downtown or see the market that was really in our backyard. Here are a few pictures!
We visited Seattle for the annual paintball/spa weekend we talked about last year. Ok - a lot of you expressed interest in going and did not materialize. Let's step up to the plate for 2008! Paintball requires a separate blog entry. Please check it out at: "Paintball Fun 6.07" While there we also celebrated Mom Kiehle's Birthday. We went to the Glass Museum in Tacoma and then out to dinner. The museum was a lot of fun! We watched vases being made and were able to see a lot of really interesting pieces. I suggest a visit the next time you are in town.
July
Mom Kiehle and I took a trip to Vancouver to pick up Andrea; who was just in from Africa. Andrea has a ton of really cool pictures and stories to share. I will try to get her to type something up to put on the blog. The experience really shaped and had an impact on her and other events of the year (little preview here – of a project that I will be working on this year, hopefully to launch next year!). I will post some of the pictures in a separate entry: “Andrea’s Africa 6.07 ”
The girls stayed in Victoria for a week or so and had a blast running around. We went to several street markets and craft fairs, drove all over the coast, ate lunch at a “beautiful waterfall”, had drinks with our movies, went out on the town, saw a safari, expired passports and – ok this is too good – I guess I need to do a separate blog to tell the story. Please see blog “Girls in Victoria: 7.07 ”. I will put one picture to tempt you.
Then mom, Andrea and I were out to Neah Bay. We girls were having a blast! (Dad Kiehle could not come due to a fire that had to be fought. That’s ok – he retires in October, so he will come next year!) We met up with Aunt Rose & Uncle John and had a great week of relaxing, playing on the beach, and taking hot showers. Ok – well there are a few stories and a few pictures!……maybe this needs a blog entry too! Please see “NB:Rain & Shine 7.07 ”. We finished the month off with a Harry Potter movie Marathon before I returned to Detroit.
August
We went to Tom’s Oyster Bar for my Birthday; tried out the YMCA and the Rotary. At the end of the month we were back in Spokane for Eric and Adrianne's Wedding! Sara and I started the day kayaking around the lake her parents live on. So peaceful and relaxing you hardly realize you are doing work until you try to life your arms to dance at a wedding…… What a beautiful wedding! There was a ton of food, drinks around, art projects, dancing, more dancing, fish in bowls, and more! Adrianne was stunning! The day was beautiful too! If anyone has pictures – please send them! We managed to come up with one picture off our phone of Jason running the camera!
September
After the wedding we went to Tacoma and then Jeanna went to Palm Springs with Andrea and Mary Kate for Inner IDEA. This was a blast! Please see the blog entry: “Our INNER Idea 9.07” for this trip – not quite as nichey as last year but still a good story!
We returned to Detroit on the 17th and moved into our new house on the 19th! (The condo fell through.....shadey people, so really it is a good thing (or a God thing). There is a whole story here - but it is not nice, so I will not post it.) It took until October to clean, clean, clean and unpack! Another exciting Sept event - our most successful Discover Detroit pupil Scott completes his course! We went to the Coach Insignia Lounge for Jeremy's birthday. What a view! See.... you must come visit so you can see the view - no picture for you....
October
Tax Auction preparation and execution! My goodness this took a lot of time! We also had Holly and Jared for dinner and carve pumpkins – first people in our house! Achilles also fell off the roof and hurt his back. The following week Athena fell off. Kitties lost all their roof privileges.
Jeanna also worked with Andrea on promoting AIDS awareness and caregiver kits for those in Africa. The event is over now, but the need is still there – check out the event we participated in: www.jb-realestate-solutions.com/world%20vision.html. Andrea and I both feel very drawn to this type of work. We have not figured out how to incorporate it more into our lives (well Andrea has dedicated her Masters research to AIDS in Africa……so I guess she has for the immediate moment – BTW – she graduates May 2008! Yeah!)
November
Jason came to visit for a little over two weeks! What fun – the first one to visit and stay in our house. He was a lot of fun to have around and introduce to everyone. We even had a housewarming party on the 10th so he could meet everyone. He lived and went home safe – see Detroit is not so bad! What is YOUR excuse for not coming to visit?
Two is better than one! Fred visited while Jason was here and we even found him a place to stay in the house. Thanksgiving was quiet with just us, a small turkey, egg nog and movies! The kitties got turkey! Yummy! Jeremy took me day-after shopping! Good man.
December
Dad Kiehle Visits Detroit (the sink still does not leak, the lights still work and Junior still can not get in the cabinets! Yeah!) We had a great time exploring Home Depot – everyday. I know where EVERYTHING is now. Dad took a lot of time to show me how to do repairs around the house. I even got my own set of tools and supplies as part of my Christmas gift! Yeah! A few of the projects we did: Prep the stairs for painting, change the kitchen sink faucet, change two light fixtures (yeah – light in the scary basement bathroom), fixed the basement lights in general (no more washing clothes in the dark!), tried to fix the lights in the yard and side door (the yard light suddenly decided to work after the big snow – go figure), and a bunch more! We were busy but had a good time! We were so busy – we did not take one picture! – so here is a fun one of Dad anyway:
We had our first real snow of over a foot days after dad left. The kitties were divided on how they felt. First, the snow started on Sunday night at 5pm or so. At 7pm, the master fuse blew in the basement. So we were a bit chilly through the night and really cold in the morning. Jeremy was a good man and shoveled out the driveway and the neighbor’s driveway and the sidewalk in between (2 hours)! Then we went to the hardware store for a fuse (and an extra fuse) and salt. They salt the roads here – we had our chains on and were doing fine on the road. Everyone else was slipping, sliding, getting stuck, etc. We could not figure out why NO ONE had chains – silly people. Chains are illegal here as well as studded tires (silly Jeanna & Jeremy). The nice man at the store told us. So we took them off – after we got home! Really – the only roads that are slick are the residential roads. The city does a great job of getting everything off the common roads - as long as it is not Sunday.
Christmas was peaceful and relaxing at home. Jeremy got up at 5am to make me homemade cinnamon rolls (served in bed!). We opened gifts – the kitties got the neatest toys from Aunt Andrea and Grandma Kiehle! I got a beautiful set of pearls from the Burgesses (and my tools/labor from the Kiehles!) and Jeremy really loved his slippers and coffee! We went to “Alien vs Predator R” in the afternoon – GREAT movie no matter what the critics say. It is not supposed to have a plot of human character development. It is based off a comic book! The character development that happens is subtle, over several movies – it is with the Predators! How they act, make decisions, their culture, etc. That (along with the cool action and breaking of every horror movie rule) is what brings people back. We are connected to figuring out more of how the Predators live. This maybe is too deep for the critics or maybe I dug too deep. I like the Predators…….
New Years Eve (tonight) we are meeting up with Jared and Holli to have a movie and popcorn night. It is supposed to snow another foot tonight and a bit more tomorrow – so we are just going to let the drunk party goers have the snowy road without their chains – they can slide and dance together. We will be warm and toasty!
Ok – That is it for this year folks. Really – Next year MUST be more peaceful and boring (most likely not). But at least my reflections will be shorter since I will have individual blog spots for most events. Yeah! As the kitties say:
Meowing it as it is in the “D”! Peace!
Click here to read our Reflection 2007 Christmas letter! (link coming soon)
Andrea’s Africa 6.07
June of 2007, Andrea went to Africa.
Andrea had an eye opening adventure traveling around Northern Kenya making friends, drinking goat's milk, experiencing "black tongue", rushing through the market and even doing a bit of research for her masters (thesis).
Andrea visited several locations on her trip, the main attraction being the village of Karare. I was hoping for a few stories, but the slide show below will have to do for now! Enjoy!
I got to see all the pictures and created a slideshow of some of my favorites from her trip. No captions here though...
Click here to return to " A REFLECTION of 2007 " blog entry!
Click here to return to " A REFLECTION of 2007 " blog entry!
Andrea had an eye opening adventure traveling around Northern Kenya making friends, drinking goat's milk, experiencing "black tongue", rushing through the market and even doing a bit of research for her masters (thesis).
Andrea visited several locations on her trip, the main attraction being the village of Karare. I was hoping for a few stories, but the slide show below will have to do for now! Enjoy!
I got to see all the pictures and created a slideshow of some of my favorites from her trip. No captions here though...
Click here to return to " A REFLECTION of 2007 " blog entry!
Click here to return to " A REFLECTION of 2007 " blog entry!
We are Queens! 4.07
Yes - Yes - I am getting there. There are so many stories to tell and only 7 hours left in the year. I will let you know when these entries have been updated. For now, pictures:
Oak Bay and School
The Castle
Out on the Town
Going Home...to the USA
Click here to return to " A REFLECTION of 2007 " blog entry!
Oak Bay and School
The Castle
Out on the Town
Going Home...to the USA
Click here to return to " A REFLECTION of 2007 " blog entry!
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