Happy Hour Ladies

Suzanne, Heather, and I would faithfully have happy hour on Fridays at 4 ish. We would rotate who was hosting and we would have some beverages (of the alcoholic kind) and appetizers.

All the kids would get together too and play all different sorts of games. We put out some appetizers for them as well. There were 8 kids.

Truly happy times. I will have such wonderful memories.

Heather, Suzanne, and me

So today we went out to lunch at the Northstar Cafe. Love love love this place. I know I have blogged before about their veggie burger. But it is sooooooo very delicious. I actually crave this burger. And if you remember about me - I love meat. I really do! Anyway, we had a great time.

Then it was off to my house to clean it out and prepare it for the walk-through. I had stuff still in bedrooms, closets, and cabinets. Now it was not as bad as it sounds. The bedrooms were sleeping bags. The closets had clothing. And the cabinets were already to go with boxes inside them.

We cleaned and stuffed everything into the laundry room so the rest of the place looked amazing. Let me just say I would not have gotten it all done. Boy was I way off on estimating time and stuff. We had all of Suzanne's family, me and my kids, and Heather and her girls. We were all moving and cleaning.

We also had to take a king bed and a sofa over to Suzanne's as she is now the happy owner of those two items. I think that is what made the time so crazy. It was like moving day all over. I shiver just rethinking it.

All was clear. I head over to Carla's for one last bit of time together. This is when they were suppose to walk through but they changed it to 6:30 PM and did not show up until 8:00 PM. I was not happy as we were going to load the van so Friday morning would not be sooo crazy. Suzanne was and is amazing she kept calming me down and assuring me that all would be fine. You know what? She was right.

Suzanne and I packed up the van. Then laughed at all that was left behind. Oh well! Looks like we need to go back for another load.

We actually slept at Suzanne's as we no longer had our sleeping stuff. It all went very well.

Where o where are the carpet people?

Last full day here in Ohio.   Was spent cleaning, straightening, and organizing.  Both the things that come with us and that which is left behind.   Needed to stay close to house today as we are changing the carpet in the family room.  They arrived right around 4 pm.  I thought it was to be earlier, well actually hoped it would be earlier.  Took them 2 hours to do it all.  Looks good but I do miss the color.    Now comes... more cleaning.   

The day was rather rainy and dreary so I felt cold most of the day.  While drinking my afternoon tea, I called my girlfriend, yep Carla, as she was preparing her house for break.   Wanted to say our last goodbye's (until the next time) and say have a great trip.  Stephen got to be with a friend late afternoon, he was happy about that.  And Joshua and Abigail got to spend most of the afternoon with Meghan.  But their family is off to a Taiko gala.  We will no doubt get to say adios tomorrow.  

The Ball's were able to stop by for a little bit too.  Which is good because I was able to give her the blueberry breakfast bars we were supposed to share.  (Oops forgot them the other day!)  Dee Dee graciously took the kids to pizza hut while I stayed here with Heather to get the rooms looking good.  I appreciate Heather's decorating sense so I phoned for some much needed help.  Thank you ladies for all you did, I was able to accomplish a lot!   

The beginning of the end here

Today marked the beginning of the end of our time here in Ohio. We are finishing up some last minute details with the house and plan to leave on Thursday. As stated in an earlier post it is bittersweet. While I am thankful that we got to extend our time here, I am also longing to be with my hubby. The kids too miss him. There really are a lot of distractions (good ones) during the day, it hits us at night around dinner time and bed time because that is when he usually is around. The next few days here are painting days. Another thing to be thankful for is that it is not me. I don't like to paint therefore I don't do it well. I make loads of mistakes and a whole lot of mess on me. I often wear more paint than the wall does. Not kidding. I should have kept my old shirts that I ruined because I got so much paint on them. (Notice the them - it is because in my mind I think I can do this with noooo problem. Not so much.)
The lunch hour was a delight as I had the opportunity to be with two wonderful sisters in Christ. Who know me well and love me in spite of my craziness. Love you back, Natalie and Jaye. It was a blessing to see you both. Thanks again for meeting with me! We met at Panera where I had the Fuji Apple Chicken Salad. My all-time favorite salad there. So happy to see they brought it back!!!
With schools being on break this week, Heather and Suzanne have decided we need to partake of some fun beverages during the afternoon these next few days. I did not say no to that. So today at around 5 pm I hosted some munchies and wine. (I really do miss it here - and it aint the wine it really is the fun and fellowship I get. I do hope I can absorb a lot so that I can wring it out back in NJ!)
Heather needed to go home to be with her family so Suzanne and I hung out for a bit and then she decided we should go out to eat and leave kids home. I made sure Stephen was okay with that scenario - he was - so off to dinner. We headed over to Baja Fresh as Suzanne has never eaten there. I happen to love their salads and tacos. She enjoyed the food and will be going back soon. Afterwards we went to Kohl's as Abigail is in need of new earrings. 1 1/2 years ago she got her ears pierced and has had problems on and off. She is currently have some crusty, bloody issues. They were having a sale buy one pair get second for only 1 dollar. It is not easy finding earrings for an 8 year old. Most are way to big and bulky. Definitely would not look good. After about 20 minutes finally decided on a pair, well two and off we went.
Once again Suzanne came to the rescue and helped me doctor her ear, as we have very little to no medical stuff left in house. I know crazy idea with children. (aside - I need to get first aid kit in car!) Also Abigail was invited to sleep over again. This is a good thing as there will be someone coming to paint her room early early early.