Another silly thing.

You Belong in Amsterdam

A little old fashioned, a little modern - you're the best of both worlds. And so is Amsterdam. Whether you want to be a squatter graffiti artist or a great novelist, Amsterdam has all that you want in Europe (in one small city).

What European City Do You Belong In?

So I can be the Amsterdam dictator, I guess. Or local cult leader? BWAHAHA.

Have a good weekend everyone! I get to go an afternoon pajama party on Sunday. I'm so excited!

A little silliness . . .

Your Life Path Number is 11

Your purpose in life is to inspire others Your amazing energy draws people to you, and you give them great insight in return. You hold a great amount of power over others, without even trying. You have the makings of an inventor, artist, religious leader, or prophet. In love, you are sensitive and passionate. You connect with your partner on a very deep level. You have great abilities, but you are often way too critical of yourself. You don't fit in - and instead of celebrating your differences, you dwell on them. You have high expectations of yourself. But sometimes you set them too high and don't achieve anything.

What Is Your Life Path Number?

Because my birthday determines my entire personality. ROFL. And because I want to make sure you all know that I'm a prophet.

No Sale

I'm annoyed. The people who put the offer on our house never put in on paper. Last week, the guy across the street put his house on the market. For reference, it's him and part-time, his son. Most of the time, the guy stays at his fiancee's house. Our buyers put an offer on his house. So, they're not our buyers. His house is smaller, fewer rooms, smaller rooms, only one bathroom, no trees, but it is emptier and a little less money. So, they're buying it.

I'm ready to pack up my toothbrush and yarn (that's about all of my stuff that isn't yet packed) and just leave. UGH!

We're shopping around for a new agent. We're not thrilled with ours, but we stayed with him because his staff was so good. We don't want an individual agent who doesn't always answer their phone. With our guy, you can get someone on the phone 24/7, even if it's just the answering service. Surely there's another agent around that has a good staff and is good him/herself.

Showing, showing . . .

Oh, how I would love to add the word "gone!" to that title. But, not yet.

People want to see the house tomorrow for a third showing. I don't know if it's these same people, or some others who have looked at it twice. Because we have had a lot of second showings. I don't like third showings. Sure, it shows they're interested, but to me it shows that they can't make a decision. I like Thursday showings between 5 and 6:30 because we're gone at that time anyway and hubby's home on Thursdays so he can help me make the place sparkle.

Those of you who have bought houses, how many times did you have to see a house before you knew you wanted to buy it? Two is the maximum number of times we have looked at a house before making an offer. I guess we're fast decision makers, but typically, we have looked at a house and said, "OK, let's write a contract," and made the offer that same day. On paper.

Oh, up above are E's and my feet in our matching shoes. Aren't we obnoxious? E is feeling a little better today, but still home. We went and got snacks and sat and did yarny things in a restaurant during the showing. About the truancy officer, it really irritates me, too. I have been really unhappy with this school. It's her first year in middle school and it has not been a good experience. I think fairly often about taking her out and homeschooling her. And I have never seriously considered that before. But, I keep thinking we should give it until the end of the year to decide, because I know the transition to middle school is really hard for lots of kids. And after we move, she will probably be in a different school. We may even switch to Catholic schools. It's just hard for me to deal with, because I never had this kind of trouble in school. She's *really* smart, but the school is just not working well for her. Seriously, a kid is sick one day a month and you have a mandatory meeting? Also, the first time I ever spoke to the truancy officer (back when E had missed 2 days of school) she was really rude. I had no problem pushing back, because I knew she was just trying to intimidate me. Not cool.

On to some happier stuff: Knitting! I knitted this baby kimono and hat for my nephew-to-be over the weekend, while I was sick. It makes me so happy that I can still get something done when I feel terrible. lol. I'm still worn out, but not as yucky-feeling as I was. The hat is from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, and the Heartbreakingly Cute Baby Kimono is from Mason-Dixon Knitting. Both are made of Sugar and Cream cotton yarn. The nephew should be arriving in 6 weeks or less!


And this is a scarf, also from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, that I made for my father-in-law's birthday. But, since they had to postpone their trip, he doesn't have it yet. I made it of Lion Brand Kool Wool. I had a ton of this stuff that I bought on clearance one time and it's slowly getting knitted up.



Still cold here! KIP (knitting in public) tonight. Should be fun!

Feeling better, mostly

The kids are back in school today after the MLK weekend. Three of the four went. The ironic thing is that we had a meeting with the truancy officer at E's school scheduled for this morning, and she's the one home sick. It's not the cold though, it's her stomach. She has a digestive condition that I don't really talk about. It's kind of embarrassing for her, and since it's under control now, it's not that big a deal. But it crops up and gives her trouble now and then. She's particularly susceptible to stomach viruses. Which is why she's missed 7 days of school this year. And why the truancy officer insisted we had to have a meeting about that. And why she's home sick today and we have to reschedule.

The cold is mostly gone. (Crossing fingers). I'm still exhausted today, but I have to get things done.

Those people who made the offer now say they want to look at the house again before they put in on paper. Tomorrow morning. So, more cleaning for me.

Oh, I decided my posts were getting boring with no pictures. So, above is my hubby's handiwork. He has built these stand-up arcade things in the gameroom downstairs and he painted them recently. That's the side of the pac-man themed one. Cute, huh?

(I probably don't have to tell you that room for his arcades is a requirement while house-hunting, do I?)

We're sick.

I typed that "we're sock" the first time. I think I really am sick. In one way or another.

It's icy outside, so FIL and the NY sisters did not come this weekend for fear of being trapped in Chicago on their layover. Good thing they're rescheduling because . . . We have a yucky nasty knock-you-out kind of cold. I'm still in my pajamas (after 7 pm). I've been laying down all day. The hubby feels better than I do, so I talked him through making most of dinner. I did the parts that I just couldn't explain. (How much milk in the potatoes? I dunno. Until it looks good. How to make the gravy? Oh never mind, I'll just do it.) I sat up to eat, and I'm sitting up now, but I think I will migrate back to the couch in a moment.

My 9-year-old felt like this yesterday evening and today she just has a few sniffles, so hopefully I will feel better tomorrow.

We have an offer on our house, but we don't get the paper contract in hand until Monday. So I'm not getting my hopes up. :p If this goes through, we have to find a house fast. I have about 30 houses saved online and I will look at them all next week if I have to. Heh.

Comfy shoes!

My newly 12-year-old daughter and I went shopping yesterday. For birthdays around here, the birthday kid gets a one-on-one outing with a parent. So, we went shopping for her gifts and had lunch at a diner and she had a banana split as big as her head. Her sister got one last year on her birthday outing, so of course E wanted one this year! I wonder if the banana split will become a birthday tradition. Heh.

E wanted to go shoe shopping, and we ended up getting matching shoes. Hers are a size and a half bigger than mine, and a different color. But they're the same shoes. Just some fun streamlined-looking tennies. I'm wearing mine today and they are so comfy! She's wearing hers, too. I'll have to ask how her feet feel when she gets off the bus later.

We also bought matching charms for our italian charm bracelets. Mine says "mom"; hers says "daughter". She said she had a lot of fun going mom and daughter shopping with me. I really look forward to those times we have alone. The 20-30 minutes we have every day after she gets off the bus and before we go pick up the other kids is so nice. I hope we can keep grabbing those moments as she turns into a teen. The mother/daughter relationship can be so tricky (and don't forget I have three daughters!) I really just hope we can keep it together even through those "teen" times.