Lessons from Las Vegas

Well, I've been relaxing in sunny Las Vegas for a week now. It's been fun. My sisters both have new homes, my hubby was here for a few days, and Miles and Ella are too cute for words!

I always enjoy visiting. It can be tough at times. My sisters and I aren't those sisters who buy houses together, have the same friends, and spend all of our free time together. Don't get me wrong - we like each other. But we are just as likely to hang-up on you as we are to send you a card. That's just the way we roll.

Because of our willingness to disagree (often loudly), it can made for some uncomfortable times during visits. Add to that a 3 yr. old and 11 mo. old who are tired because the visitor has messed up their schedules, and the tension can build.

Miles, for instance, didn't sleep for two days. Then he slept (but not enough) and decided to stop drinking or eating. He's at the doctor's office now.

Then there's Ella. I'm supposed to share a room with her, but I go to sleep after she does and tend to wake up before she does. She's one of those kids who does NOT want to miss out on the action, so she fights the naps and ends up being tired and irritable.

As you can imagine, this is doing wonders for all of the adults in the house.

Having been here for over a week, I've learned some valuable things. I thought I might share.

- Dresses make you pretty; pants are ugly
- It's never too cold for a sundress
- If it's too cold for a sundress, put the sundress on over your long sleeved dress
- No one is as exciting as Daddy
- When all else fails, bounce
- There is no need to spend hundreds of dollars on toys - the couch will do
- When you don't want to do something, just say "I don't know how"
- Blame the cats

As you can see, very little of this has anything to do with me. It doesn't help my sisters and me with our relationships. It won't help us rest. It contains no nutritional value. But they are lessons learned, and I try to learn something new everyday.

Now I'm going to work on my next lesson - outlasting a 3 year-old in a battle of the wills. I think I'm game.

The Happy Reunion

This event was 15 months in the making...













Okay, so it didn't exactly go as planned, but in no time at all Ella was chasing Uncle Matt and telling him how cute he is :)

Mixed Signals

No smoking signs in the airplane bathroom...right above the ash tray.

Figures...

...I leave for Vegas tomorrow and I can't find my new video recorder anywhere. Dang it.

This might be it...

Matt and I haven't made a big deal about our latest house-offer because, well...it's the 3rd offer we've made on a house this year. And with everything that happened with the last house we've approached this current opportunity without getting our hopes up.

Starting yesterday, however, we're getting our hopes up. The house didn't quite pass inspection, but that's okay. The list of minor repairs is so short that our handy-man took care of it all yesterday! We've been told that the appraiser will go back, okay the repairs, and then we'll be on the path to a closing date.

We're pretty excited. This house is 80 years newer than the last one, the resale value of the property is fan-TAS-tic (great location), and the accepted offer is a whopping 40% of the originally listed price.

In a perfect world we would probably be closing before the end of the month (yipee!), but that won't happen. Don't be sad! The only reason it won't happen is because I'll be out of the state from Oct. 21-Nov. 4 (no Ella, I haven't found your purple marker). But as asoon as I get back...we could be home owners :)

The original plan was to do a bunch of upgrades to the house before we move it, but that's not going to happen. As our rental house has developed mold, we've had to move out. Since we're currently living with our frined Shaina (three adults in a 900 sq. ft. apartment), we want to give her her space back as soon as possible.

So...in a perfect world, we'll close on the house Nov. 5th or 6th, handy-dude will replace some flooring the next week, and we'll be moving by the 2nd weekend in November!

Ah. It could happen, folks. We're hoping it does :) You'll know if it doesn't...you'll hear my sobbing from where ever you are ;)

Here's praying for God's will in this - stay tuned!

If it's good enough for me...

Got this in an email...thought I'd share. Seems to me if this is such a good idea, Congress would be the first ones to sign up!
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On Tuesday (not sure which Tuesday), the Senate health committee voted 12-11 in favor of a two-page amendment, courtesy of Tom Coburn, which would require all Members of Congress and their staff members to enroll in any new government-run health plan.

Congressman John Fleming has proposed an amendment that would require Congressmen and Senators to take the same health care plan that they would force on us. (Under proposed legislation they are exempt.)

Congressman Fleming is encouraging people to go to his Website and sign his petition. The process is very simple. I have done just that here .

Senator Coburn and Congressman Fleming are both physicians.
Regardless of your political beliefs, it sure seems reasonable that Congress should have exactly the same medical coverage that they impose on the rest of us.
Please urge as many people as you can to do the same!

Fun find in a middle school language arts class

Most of the kids stared at it and shrugged. If you know me, you'll get this - I laughed one of my loud, barky laughs, then had to control myself. This was her poster:

I will not obsess.
I will not obsess.
I will not obsess.
I will not obsess.
I will not obsess.
I will not obsess.
I will not obsess.
I will not obsess.