Student of the Month

Each month the Lake Lotawana Optimist Club selects 2 students as Students of the Month.

For November it was Lincoln. Besides his name on the sign outside of school, he gets to have McDonald's with his teacher. Congratulations, Lincoln. You're in a very exclusive club! 

Boxes, Boxes and More Boxes

I've been unpacking for a week now and it seems as though the boxes are multiplying instead of decreasing.

I try to concentrate on putting things away but I keep getting sidetracked to go shopping for things I need for the house.

Luckily I can shut the door to the garage and pretend it's not in such disarray.

There is good news. The workers have arrived to startle landscaping. I wonder how long that will take.

Christmas in My New House

In the past few days I've had time to find most of my kitchen stuff in order to prepare dinner for Christmas.

Even the tilting Christmas tree looked festive.

Jamie wasn't able to make it due to his work schedule but this picture is a rarity with Hazel looking forward with her eyes open. This was a Christmas miracle!

I tried to get a picture with all the kids but Hazel was too excited to open presents. Besides all the packing materials, my trash load got even larger with wrapping paper. That's a battle I'll probably won't win for some time.

Michele left for home before Christmas to spend the holidays with Bruce so it's just me and Teresa with Michael photo bombing in the background.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Broken Doll

In 1972 my Mom made me a cheerleader ceramic doll. I've kept her safe for 50 years.

This move, she didn't make it. Her leg broke. I'm broken hearted but Jamie said he could fix her. I hope this isn't an omen that something will happen to me while I unpack all these boxes. I'm going to be extra careful. 

Moving In

What a chaotic day. The POD was unloaded. Nebraska Furniture Mart delivered the new furniture and everyone pitched in to help.

Even Violet and Lincoln climbed in the POD to help with the boxes.

Since Christmas is only 2 days away and I want to have Christmas dinner at my house, Melissa insisted we put up the Christmas tree. I'm usually very particular about placement of all ornaments. But Violet, Lincoln, Hazel and Michele took charge and put the tree up. I sat back and closed my eyes. It was very appropriate to have a tilting tree strung haphazardly with Mardi Gras beads since nothing was in order...everything still in boxes.

While I continued to stress about all the unpacking, Michele kept the kids entertained. I know it will take time to put everything away. I hope I can remember to tell that to my nervous system.

It's All Mine

Well the closing went smoothly and after waiting a couple of hours for the checks to clear, I met the builder and he handed me the keys to my new house.

Every time I've moved, my Mom always brought me a load a bread and a box of salt. The old Russian tradition means you'll never be hungry and your life will be full of flavor. Since this is my FINAL move, I decided to do my own version. The first thing I brought into the house was a six pack of Dr Pepper and a bag of chips. More my style!

Final Walk Thru

I can't believe the time has come for the final walk thru for my new house.

It's hard to try and find every little thing the builder may have missed.

But this is my only shot at finding paint smudges and minor repairs.

I do have a one year warranty where big stuff can be taken care of if something drastic occurs during the year.

I can't even decide which room I like the best.

It's all so neat and clean. Closing in a week. Keep your fingers crossed nothing stops the closing. 

Happy Birthday to Me and Jamie

I'm not sure why I started the sombrero birthday pics this year but I continued with this ridiculous theme throughout the year.....until my birthday.

I honestly forgot to bring the sombrero so instead I found a SnapChat filter with this stupid pink cowboy hat. I figured I go ahead and post it to remind myself not to start something then decide I didn't like the idea.

Not only did I take one of myself but I had to continue with one of Jamie. I do believe I'm no longer his favorite mother-in-law. Anyway, Happy Birthday to me and Jamie. May I find some other way to honor my family in 2022.

Appliances and Stucco

I now have appliances and stucco....well part way.

Growing up, Mom always cooked on a gas stove. Since I've been an adult, I've always had electric. There might be at slight learning curve but this cook top is so pretty.

The outside is slowly getting finished. I'm glad I opted to extend the patio another 10'. That extra 10' may not be covered but at least I won't be grilling at the bottom of the stairs. Progress is being made!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Score another success for a great dinner at Thanksgiving.

I had a little extra help this year. Lincoln helped make Grandma Eddie's dressing and actually loved it. He was also curious as to why there was a little extra flap around the turkey legs. I told him it was so the turkey couldn't run away. I know he knows I was kidding but he kept looking inside the oven while the turkey was cooking.

While there were several other sides, I like to stick with the basics, turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy and fried green beans. We weren't sure how many were coming for dinner so I only made a small 10 pound turkey. Not much on the turkey leftovers especially since Michael took mostly everything home for himself.

House Updates

If I would just keep up with my blog I wouldn't have to throw a bunch of pictures together all at once to show the progress made on my new house.

A little less than 30 days ago it looked like this.

Then I had paint and trim.

Now I have floors and...

Tile...

and more tile. I just never want to leave.

While the outside still needs a lot of work, my builder has promised me he won't go past the December 21st closing date. He better not or I'm pitching a tent in the back yard!

Vegas Baby!

As if I don't have enough to do right now, I took a quick trip to Vegas to visit with Frank and Gloria.

Frank managed to snag us tickets to the Raiders vs Chiefs football game. I wasn't prepared to be whisked away from the airport in a limo, then whisked away to the stadium. Poor me, right?

But it was the first game played by the Raiders and Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

While our seats were Row 2, that's not quite as great as it sounds. Especially if you want something to eat or have to go to the bathroom. It's a LONG hike up to the top. Raiders' fans are rather rude especially when their team is losing. But I proudly wore my Chiefs shirt and yelled with the best of them.

The next day was Glorida's birthday. Dinner at Ruth Chris....Yum! Now back to preparing to move to my new house. 

Lincoln's 6th Birthday

With all the commercials and YouTube videos about Applebee's, all the kids want to go there for their birthday dinners.

No different with Lincoln.

Lincoln's really in to hats right now just like his Uncle Michael. While the food at Applebee's is just your regular bar food, at least it's not Chucky Cheese! Happy Birthday Lincoln!.

Moving Out

The house is sold and we're packing the POD.

My new house won't be ready for another 6 weeks but I've never been someone who can wait until the last minute to get things done.

The packing process went fairly fast since I spent the last 4 weeks selling all my old furniture and wrapping the furniture I'm keeping and putting everything in the garage. There were still a few things that were too heavy for me to tackle on my own.

But it's time to move on. Good Bye Duffey Avenue....on to Lee's Summit!

Mario Brothers Birthday Party

Lincoln was able to have a Mario Brothers birthday party with his friends to celebrate his 6th birthday.

I sat back with the parents this time. I'm getting too old to climb ropes and act like a ninja!

Packing Progress

People may laugh at me for being so prepared but even though things are getting packed up and moved out 2 weeks before closing, my stress level is actually decreasing. All the packed boxes and empty drawers don't bother me because this is no longer my house.

Jamie came over to fix the fireplace again (I could smell gas) and found the problem within the first 5 minutes.

Hazel and I had to have a bit of fun taking pics of us looking like kitty cats.

And now I'm living, as Trish would say, like a hobo. But I have a chair, a bed and a fireplace that's not leaking gas so I think I've got it pretty good.

I Have Stairs

We drove by my new house to see and mark if I wanted my patio extended larger than the standard size.

Low and behold I have steps leading up to the front door. The inside drywall looks to be almost complete and the ceiling are in progress. According to my builder, the cabinets are to be delivered this week but I'm learning his this week could be just about anything. 

At least there's progress!

House on the Market

On October 1, I finally decided to put my house on the market preparing for the move to my new house - when it's ready.

By 2:00  that afternoon, I had an offer way over asking price. Everything looked good and I signed the paperwork. My realtor called and said an appraisal wasn't even needed due to the amount of money the buyers were putting down. I was so excited I began to take all the staging pieces down. Two days later my realtor called with the bad news that the buyers had changed their mind. I was crushed.

So we began the process of re-staging and getting the house back on the market WITH the stipulation that I wasn't going to look at any offers until after the open house on Saturday. Notices began pouring in for showings on Friday. Since I couldn't be at the house, I decided to go to the park with Hazel.

We went to the park down the street from my new house. Tons of playground equipment and lots of nature green space. I took a few shots of Hazel stopping to smell the flowers then brushing her hands that she was done. While the park adventure was supposed to keep my mind off the house, I couldn't help but wonder if I would receive an offer. Fingers crossed all goes well on Saturday for the open house.