There are no Chick-fil-A restaurants off the interstate between Milwaukee and Paducah? I was craving chicken nuggets and kept hoping to find one. I waited until I had 8 miles of gas left in my tank before I finally stopped (I only eat when I stop for gas – making two separate stops is not allowed). Then I decided to keep looking for one for future’s sake. Nada. Oh well, my drive tomorrow is sure to be full of them.
Month: April 2008
As we were driving home from church, we noticed the house next door having an open house (it’s been for sale since before ours). We decided to walk over and check it out. The owner of the home was actually there and very nice. We visited with her a while and she wants to meet Madison. We initially mentioned that we bought the house next door from the Pepplers and her mouth immediately pursed. She only said, “I just won’t say anything about them,” but it is obvious they didn’t get along. That seems to go along with our opinion of them too.
I have spent the last week painting and now I can see a big difference. The wallpaper is out and the kitchen is red.
Once we had our mortgage documents, I had enough proper paperwork to get my new driver’s license and car tags. I spent 2.5 hours at the DMV and they took my license. If you have never had a license from Wisconsin, they take your old one and mail you a new one. I asked what I used in the meantime and I was given this:
The woman did mention I might want to carry my passport with me as a form of ID. Geez.
Things are just now beginning to bloom in Milwaukee. It appears that our new house even comes with flowers. I love the tulips! I haven’t figured out what the yellow flowers are yet.
Wade and I spent the evening working at our new house. About 11:30 pm, Wade decided it was time to head back to the apartment. He was parked behind me and left a few minutes before I was ready. I finished cleaning up and started looking for my car keys. Then I kept looking – counters, drawers, my purse, etc. I even went outside to see if Wade had left them in my car when he installed my fixed CD player (Yeah for CDs again). They weren’t there, but I realized he had left my interior lights on (oops). I went inside to call Wade (on my quickly dying cell phone) and see if he had put my keys somewhere odd when he had been cleaning. As I waited for him to pick up, I heard his phone ringing in the house. At this point I was pretty sure Wade had both sets of car keys and I had both cell phones. I didn’t have the number to our apartment building so I couldn’t call the door man. Then I decided to call my mom and have her email Wade. I knew he would check his email fairly soon after getting home.
Madison and I settled down with a book to wait. The worst that could happen would be to spend the night, but I knew Wade would get worried about me at some point. I was just hoping he would pull out both sets of car keys out of his pocket when he got home.
About 45 minutes later Wade arrived. He hadn’t immediately realized it, but before he got the email from my mom he found he had two sets of car keys. He had loaded up his car with another load before coming to rescue me!
As of today, we have possession of two houses. Wade and I had a little trouble getting the previous owners out – their 6 pm turned into 9 pm. But they are gone now and we are about to start working – lots of work. Here are all of the “before” pictures. Hopefully I will have some “after” pictures by the end of the week.
Wade brought home funny pictures today. The lithium cells in power tool batteries are somewhat hard to come by. It turns out the ones in METCO batteries are especially good for RC hobbiest. Some people will go to great links to cheat the system. This guy went so far as to epoxy in the bolts before returning the “nonworking” tool to Home Depot.
Wade and I spent the day flying and arrived in Milwaukee around 5:30 pm. We caught a shuttle to our apartment, dropped off our luggage, and then went to get Madison. We ordered Chinese food on the return trip. We had Chinese food on the couch while I opened presents. Tomorrow Wade is taking me out for dinner, but tonight it was fun to just relax.
We were even lazier as a group today. I know for a fact most of us didn’t shower till 9 or 10 at night. We started the morning off with pancakes and omelets. The rest of the morning and afternoon was spent playing games, napping, or reading. Travis, Cori, Wade, and I had an awesome game of Spades. We also learned a new game – Bang. Let’s not forget that we are all from Tech. The closest neighbors had an unencrypted wireless connection so we all ventured to the basketball court at least once to check email.
Wade spent the afternoon hiking and found the trail to the top of a nearby hill. We decided to try the hike as a group. We piled into the two rented SUVs and drove until the rode disappeared. At that point we started hiking – straight up! Most of us were having quite a bit of trouble with the altitude and the hard climb – poor Derek even had Kaley on his back.
After the hike we decided to munch on appetizers – homemade guacamole and an incredible garlic and goat cheese spread by Travis. Wade cooked burgers and we all ate and ate. Then Wade surprised me with a very chocolately birthday cake! The left over candles were rearranged for Kaley’s benefit.
By this point we were all exhausted. Brad, Travis, and Kaley cuddled on the couch to watch Care Bears and the rest of us played games.
Everyone is embracing our vacation – breakfast was eaten around 10 and showers didn’t start till eleven or twelve. There are plenty of beds in the cabin, but only two bathrooms. The water is provided from a well and we were warned that long showers could use up all the water. We tried to keep them short and didn’t run out of water.
We decided on an excerusion to Chili’s for lunch and then a quick hike around the Garden of the Gods.
The hike was on a paved walkway with a few sidetrips to marked off areas (I’m talking to Luke, Wade, and Katie). The weather was wonderful and we all enjoyed being outside.
Kaley walked for a while collecting rocks and then got a ride from Dad and a short nap too.
Wade and I flew out today for Denver, Colorado, to meet up with some old college friends. We arrived in Denver on time, picked up Luke, and started the drive to Colorado Springs. Cori and Derek made most of the arrangements and we arrived at the cabin to find snow on the ground (we can’t seem to get away from the snow).
Jamie and Travis were the first to arrive and had stocked the place with food. Cori, Derek, Kaley, and Katie all arrived before bedtime. We are a group that loves games – board games, card games, nintendo, etc. (Yes that is me in the corner of the couch with a book.)
As of today, Wade and I own two houses. We signed the papers for our new house in Wauwatosa, WI and get possession on April 22. This wasn’t exactly the plan so if anyone wants a summer home in Anderson, please let us know. I plan to do some painting for a few days and then we are meeting the movers in SC to pack up our belongings.
Before signing the papers we had a final walk through to make sure the items noted on the home inspection had been fixed. We had listed three items – repair chimney, gutters for the garage, and unclogging a bathroom sink drain. All of the items had been handled except for the drain. The owner showed Wade the drain and then tried to explain that the sink was original to the 1920 house. We understood that, but it has nothing to do with why it doesn’t drain. Even old sinks should work properly.
This wasn’t really a big deal – we plan to remodel the bathroom anyway and will fix it when we do. Wade simply doesn’t like working on drains and had tried to save himself the trouble.
Wade had to tell me one of my birthday presents early. He didn’t want me to walk out to my car and see this (although I thought the note was a nice touch):
My CD player was broken in my wreck (October of 2006) and it has annoyed me ever since. I don’t listen to CDs often, but I don’t like having something broken. Of course, knowing the replacement cost was $1500 was enough to leave it as is. Wade found a company in Florida that specializes in repairing the players instead of replacing them – much cheaper.
Hopefully I will have the player back before my next long drive down to SC.
Wade and I finally found a church! This is the second Sunday we have visited Community Methodist Church in Elm Grove. Wade and I both enjoy the traditional feel of the church, but we have been attending the contemporary service. The people are very friendly and we were remembered from last sunday. Today we met another young couple that leads the young couples group – which we were very glad to hear about. Now we just have to get all of our crazy travels completed so we can start attending reguarly.
Wade and I woke up today to snow – yes, snow in April. We lazed around most of the morning and then took Madison to meet one of Wade’s co-workers. Gary lives on a farm and Madison managed to catch both a duck and a chicken before we caught her and put a leash on her. Gary and his wife offered to keep Madison when we go to Colorado later this week to visit friends. We were taking her over for a visit to make sure they were okay with her (and her hyper ways). We were only there a short time but Madison did manage to get in a fight with their Jack Russell and cause their daughter to cry. They still insisted they didn’t mind keeping her for us. Awesome!
Living in an apartment, Wade and I are hard up for projects. I was inspired by a trip to Target for a new candle arrangement on our table. It took all of two seconds, but Wade and I both really like the look of it. You’ve got to love the $1 spot at Target.
Wade and I decided to take advantage of the warm weather (60 degrees) and some free time. This is the first weekend we have been in Milwaukee in over a month. We ventured up north to the Kettle Moraine State Forest for a little hiking. Since we have been hibernating all winter we started out easy with a 3.5 mile hike around the Parnell Loop. There weren’t too many people out so we let Madison wander without a leash. Wade and I were shocked to see how much snow was still on the ground. We definitely should have worn boots.
On the way home, Wade and I detoured to Sheboygan. For whatever reason we both love the name. After driving around the town, we decided we could live there. Of course, someone would have to offer Wade a job first….
Wade brought the mail in today with a smirk on his face. He handed me an envelope from AARP and said he couldn’t wait to see what was inside. It was a membership card and a bill for membership. I looked closely to make sure it was actually addressed to me and it was. I decided this one was worth a phone call on Monday. I can’t wait to see where they got my name and if they are surprised that I am no where near 50.
I have been without a book for the last few days. I don’t often let myself buy new books. Usually I get them from the library or friends and I sometimes order them from a used book website half.com. My sister recently recommended a series and I have been waiting for the first book I ordered to arrive in the mail. The books are shipped media mail and can take up to 12 days to arrive. I knew the book should be coming any day so I purposely did not start a new one, but I have been miserable! I didn’t even realize why I was so out of sorts in the evenings. Tonight I finally started a new book and suddenly life is right again. Who knew all it took was a book.