Virginia
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Posts posted by Virginia
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5 hours ago, Athena said:
How was everyone's weekend?
I had a great weekend
. I celebrated my birthday with my family. It was really nice to spend lots of time with my (extended) family . I got some nice gifts too and the food was very nice. Our family friend, she always bakes me a birthday cake. It was delicious, I just finished the last slice. Michael and I spent Saturday afternoon baking a birthday cake as well, which was also delicious. We had a nice lunch and dinner also.
The weekend was pretty tiring for me, so I plan to try to rest for a couple of days.
Gaia, glad you enjoyed your birthday weekend!
I'm sitting here in the library by myself. Haven't been able to just come and relax on my own since dd and the grands moved back. Its my fault really. I've instilled the love of the library into their little minds and hearts so they HAVE to come and that means I can't go to my favorite space (grown up area) because I need to be with them in the children's section, lol! I'll be back later today as the boys have a STEM class later on. But for right now, its just me, my journal and laptop with headphones, listening to Celtic music. Today is just one of those days that's just too nice to stay inside. Actually, its the LAST nice day for a while. Rain should be coming in this evening and remaining for the rest of the week. Temps will be dropping so that means I won't come out the cave unless I have to. I took my Kizzy out first thing as she won't walk in the rain.
Our closing date is set for 6 December. I have already picked out my paint color choices and have planned how the furniture will be placed. I'm really glad that the house is so close as I can walk past it and dream and also harass the contractors when the show up to do the necessary work. We finished up the inspections on the house last week. The HVAC needs replacing. The heat runs on electric and gas. The gas pipes are the same age as our dd (27) and have corrosion. Not in the mood to die of carbon monoxide poisoning! They've agreed to fix it, there were also some issues dealing with previous termite issues. It does not have termites now but some of the work done to repair it was not done correctly. In order for the buyer to receive a termite letter (allows the house to be sold) these issues must be taken care of. The seller has agreed to those also. I mean really, he has to. He can't sell without it being corrected and as our home is being financed through the VA (Veterens Administration) they are VERY strict on the houses they finance. Anyway, we've done our part and are now just waiting on the repairs to be done and the appraisal to be completed. This is one of the most important things as if the house isn't appraised at the amount the home is being sold for, the VA will only pay up to our dollar limit. We'd have to come out of pocket for the difference (say if it were being sold for $170,000 but only appraised for $165k, we'd have to pay the $5K difference or search for another house).
I'm updating my resume and putting in job applications. I'm not going to rush it as it will be a busy end of the year. If we close as planned, I will start painting and getting the house ready to move in. Our lease on the house we're in doesn't expire til the end of December. We'll still have to pay the December rent. I'll be getting the house perfect so that we'll be in it by the middle of December. I want to get my tree up and the yard decorated. I will start buckling down come January with the job search. I'm still doing real estate but until the sells start coming in, I want to bank funds and build our savings.
That's about it for me, what are YOU up to?
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Hey y'all!
Happy belated birthday Gaia!
Seems like I've been in and out of my house everyday this week, picking up grands, dropping off grands and switching out grands all while trying to purchase a house, work, shop, do inspections and everything else. I have the little girls today as mommy and daddy are doing some things with the older boys. We'll go to the library in a bit and maybe the park. Then I'll drop them off and get the boys for the night as we have a Saturday morning routine of visiting the outdoor market. I really should be thinking about packing but as the new home is only 8 houses up from us, I think we'll only pack the stuff that's too small and fragile.Everything else will be tossed in our vehicles.
That's about it on my side of the pond!
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I got one last year and LOVE it!
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I just watched the first episode in the first series. Don't ask me what took so long! I ended up ordering HBO on Amazon Prime. Now I can take my time and get into it. I still haven't read the series but I will. I'm trying to decide if I want to start at the beginning of this thread or not, lol!
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Don't expect to do much this Christmas. If all goes well, we'll be in our new home by 6 December. Thinking we'll just wrap the thing in a giant red ribbon and call it a day. While we (grandparents) wont be buying elaborate gifts we will give each household a gift for the entire family. I also plan to do a big dinner at home, my mom and brother and two of the kids and six grands.
On the menu
Roast lamb
Goose
Duck
Greens (collards, kale, mustard)
Sweet potatoes
Mac and cheese
Red rice
Homemade rolls
Cranberry sauce
Pecan pie
Pumpkin pie
Fruit cake (family recipe)
Pound cake
Punch bowl cake (family recipe)
Assorted cookies
Not sure about decorations, if we get in the house on time I'll put them up since we'll have to move the tree from one house to the other anyway.
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9 hours ago, vodkafan said:
How did this go Virginia? Did he accept the offer?
Hey James!
As of today, we have a home under contract!!! The closing date is 6 December if everything goes as planned. So excited! I've spent the morning with dh finishing up with the paperwork. The agent said that he was very impressed with my organization. I had everything he needed, lol!
Spent the weekend tending to sick grands. They are all coming down with the crud, including mommy. We have to be extra careful with the baby as she's only 4 months and you may remember, a preemie. The weather is ugly right now, its raining on and off and dark as night. We're under tornado watch til tonight. Glad we don't have to go back out!
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Hey y'all!
I've been MIA for a while, just popping in and lurking. Been pretty busy helping dd get situated in her new home. Her hubby is about 9 hours away until Monday when he'll be 19 HOURS AWAY. This is why they moved back. His job keeps him gone. I've been taking the kids out and about and helping her fit up their home. She's a true "nester," gotta feather her nest before the weather sets in. One thing that's changed is that she has a live in nanny. She moved from El Paso and will get free room and board and a little allowance (she can work part time). Seems to work and the kids really seem to like her.
OAN, we put in an offer for a new home. Our lease is up by the end of the year although we can stay an additional 6 months if we need to. The house is right up the road from us, in the same subdivision. It is on a lake (with geese!!!) and its so tranquil! It's been on the market since the summer. He was trying to sell it on his own but decided to place it with a real estate agent last month. We'll know by Sunday evening if the offer is accepted.
I'm doing light reading and have listened to a few audiobooks. I am still kind of scatter brained though. So much seems to be going on.
Please send prayers and good wishes our way, if it goes the way we hope, we'll be in our new home by 20 December!
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The worst mass shooting in modern American history. The count right now is 58 dead and 515 injured outside a Las Vegas casino during a concert.
And the Lt governor of my state wants to make silencers legal.
The thoughts I have in my head right now...
How is it that a free country, the most powerful country in the world, is regressing to prehistoric civilization?
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We're in the last (hopefully) days of summer and I can't WAIT! I've been purchasing fall/winter gear and its driving me crazy not being able to wear them just yet, lol! Nights are pretty cool as temps are now dropping but it gets hot by afternoon. I THINK that we may be headed for a change by the end of next week. Sunny and breezy days its been but I am ready for some gray, rainy and cold days!
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Today's dinner will be baked salmon w/tossed salad. Nothing heavy today!
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Hey y'all!
Enjoy your trip Tali!
Gaia, glad your grandfather is feeling better!
Wednesday late afternoon here and I've got two of my little girls with me today. I had their brother yesterday. He had a speech therapy appointment this morning so I just kept him over night. His mom has yet to manage time management and I always find myself waiting on her so its just easier this way. He gets some away from his siblings time and some one on one with mom and papa (us). After therapy, he got his McDonald's lunch and dropped off home. I then picked up Divas 1 & 2. They have vaccination appointments in the a.m. (same scenario) so they'll spend the night, get shots in the morning, a McDonald's happy meal and dropped off at home. THEN I pick up the eldest two boys. They have no appointments. I'm just going to get them out their house and the noisy babies for a bit. DD's hubby should be coming home either this weekend or no later than Monday. I won't see them for about a week. My feelings wont be hurt, lol!
Cooking dinner in a few, feeding the diva's and giving them their showers. A quick tidy up, some reading an early night. Before turning in for the night I need to make my shopping and to-do list for tomorrow.
Have a great day/afternoon/evening!
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The last movie I paid to see was Beauty and the Beast with my little girls (grands). I think we'll start doing our movies from home. The cost is ridiculous and with so many children having to go potty at different times...not for me!
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Hey y'all!
Ever type out a substantial and witty post only to have it magically disappear? Yup, it happened to me. I was three paragraphs in, then it disappeared and I was so disgusted I had to leave the forum for a minute, lol!
Now I can't remember what it was I was writing about so, yeah, there's that!
Spent today walking around the farmers market, people watching and buying produce. I then swung by and picked up the grands for a few hours at the park, dropped them off after a run to McDonald's. Picked up a few things from the grocery store for dd, had a chat with her landlord and then headed home (forgot the stop at Barnes and Noble for a velvet cheese cake for the hubby and cookie for me
) home to drop off the produce then back out to pick up a few weekend essentials, showered, eat with a bottle of hard cider and the movie San Andreas (the Rock).
Tomorrow I refuse to leave the house except to walk Kizzy and sit on the patio. Right now, life is good!
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On 9/17/2017 at 4:16 AM, Athena said:
Virginia, should that post have been in the What's Up in September? - 2017 thread?
Goes to show how tired I was. I actually thought I HAD done that, lmbo! Then I couldn't find it and assumed I must not have posted it!
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Hey y'all!
Spent a lovely afternoon walking around the swapmeet with the hubby. We then did some "window shopping" at the local Lowes. We've decided to try and purchase the house we are living in and the owner is open to selling it to us so we'll see how it goes. In the meantime we're coming up with a renovation game plan. Exciting stuff!
I'm loving this change in season!!! I'm a fall person. Living in South Carolina (southeastern boarder) spring and summer are crazy hot, the heat plus humidity are stifling. When a hint of fall comes, we rejoice, lol! I also noticed last night that it was actually DARK by 8pm. Seems like it came earlier than usual. Time to break out the fall decorations and pumpkins!
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Hey y'all!
I am SOOOOO tired! I had ALLLLLL the littles since yesterday afternoon. I had to wash 6 heads and style two. And let me tell you, doing hair on a 4 and 3 year old is nerve wracking, lol! I washed loads of clothes, bathed said six littles, fed six littles plus a few bigg'uns, cleaned house, saw my client ran some errands and made phone calls. This morning I got the kids up, dressed and fed and went to their house to pick up their mommy for an early morning stroll through our downtown farmers market. They LOVED it! DD was so glad to get out of the house. She's literally been imprisoned in her home in Texas as her hubby is gone several weeks at a time and she's home with 6 kids and no way to get around with so many and having no transportation. He would take the kids for outings to give her a break but when he was home, the time was mainly spent doing big grocery shopping to last til his next visit and a few doctor's appointments. That was it. So now she can get out and explore and have some fun.
After dropping them off at home, I went to Walmart to pick up my guilty pleasure, Lindy's Lemon Icee. Got home, put stuff away and showered. I am now eating some chocolate covered caramel with sea salt, drinking a glass of wine and making plans to do the same thing tomorrow.
Funny story. I use Google maps to find my way around her neighborhood. By now, I pretty much know where I am but keep it on anyway. The oldest grandson asked if I were dropping the four youngest at their home with their mommy and taking the two older boys with me. I told them that I was "so sorry but I would have to leave them at home." Then I said, "I lied, I wont miss you at all." Imagine my surprise when Google maps responded by saying "I'm sorry but I don't know what to do with I lied, I wont miss you at all!" OMGosh!!! It was the funniest thing!!
Have a great day/evening everyone!
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Hey y'all!
Its been a busy few weeks. I hope everyone is faring well! Feel better Nol! Hope you got some rest Tali! Did you enjoy your grandparents visit Gia? More Reading, I do NOT envy all the school busyness you're about to endure, lol!
I don't know if you all remember me saying we were going back to Texas for a fourth time (in as many months) Well, we just got back. As the Eastern Coast of the U.S. was being pummeled by Hurricane's Harvey and Irma we were doing a caravan (one SUV and one pick up truck) over 1600 miles. We had to pack her house and get back to South Carolina by Thursday to return the rental pick up truck and Uhaul that we attached. So we traveled like a caravan with six kids (9, 7, 5, 4, 3 and 3 months) in one car seat, two booster seats and one infant carrier. Oh, and a husky puppy. We had stuff on the roof of my SUV and the bed of the pick up truck stuffed to the gills along with the Uhaul crammed full. We made it back Wednesday and managed to escape the storms. The vehicles were unloaded along with said kids, dd and dog. Yesterday was spent buying odds and ends. The grands are with me now. They need a good dip and scouring in the tub, lol! DD is using the time to finish getting the upstairs living area sorted out before starting on the downstairs bedrooms.
I'm so thankful that my mom was able to come down and help the move and our DS and bonus DS were available to help unload. This could have been much more stressful than it was. I had a screaming infant riding with me who just does NOT like rides or infant carriers and two ornery little girls who have taken sisterly fussing to a new level and crafted art form.
The number of potty breaks, McDonald's meals and gas fill ups are scary to think about.
Tomorrow we are taking a break and I'll be showing DD some local attractions and stores. We'll also visit our local farmers market. She's never been but the littles love it!
Have a great one!
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Hey y'all!
Busy, crazy and surreal week here. We're preparing for ANOTHER hurricane, worse than the one that hit Texas a couple weeks ago. That one missed us but this one wont. Two states have already issued mandatory evacuations in several counties in those states. We're in a "wait and see but be prepared because it looks like we're going to be evacuating so be ready" mindset. Add to THAT, we are planning to leave tomorrow to head BACK to Texas to pick up dd and all the grands and move them BACK to South Carolina with us. Her hubby is a wind turbine tech/instructor and his job has him traveling all over creation. She doesn't drive and has medical issues, the newborn is going to need a specialist and she has no support to help babysit or way to get to doctor's appointments without taking an Uber. Its a lose-lose situation and I'm tired of it. I told them both that she was moving back home because I'm tired of worrying about her getting sick and the kids being left to fend for themselves should something happen to them. They'd end up in a foster home. I absolutely can NOT have that. As I'm the one doing all the traveling and having my sleep interrupted nightly because she's stressed and worried about the baby, I have the final say. And of course they are in agreement.
So, we're heading out driving two vehicles to do this move. Prayerfully, we wont get hit hard with the hurricane and can come home. We'll have to take our Kizzy with us since our ds will be heading to parts unknown during the duration and we can't afford to board her right now. When we come back we will be four adults, six kids (4 in carseats) and two dogs. And dd and her clan will be hold up in our house til her place is ready, which should be on Thursday next week. My head is spinning.
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The hurricane seems to be sitting on top of my state. Florida and parts of Georgia are being evacuated. Its really surreal because we are in the process of going BACK to Texas to help move dd and her kids back here as its just too much stress with her hubby being all over the country for his work. We leave a possible Cat 5 hurricane and drive through areas with hurricane damage and then possible head right BACK into a hurricane. Actually, if it hits, we'll detour to my mom's place in Virginia. What a headache.
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Looking at another hellish hurricane. Sigh. I've got family who have family in Puerto Rico and I've got family in Florida and family 1.5 hours away who are all in the path (so far).
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On 8/19/2017 at 6:06 AM, Athena said:
My brother and his girlfriend have safely arrived back in the Netherlands. They've been away since January, visiting various countries. I should be seeing them this weekend!! I look forward to it
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I wish you, Chesil and Virginia, and everyone else, a great weekend
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I hope you had the BEST time with your brother and his girlfriend over the weekend!
Not much going on today. I've walked 4 miles and cleaned my house, ate lunch and showered. Now I'm just waiting for the eclipse to happen. Evidently I'm in a prime real estate area. I live in South Carolina and we will see it in "totality." Totality is the word of the century, lol! Anyway, my state i host playing host to almost 2 million eclipse chasers. It's safe to assume I'll be staying close to home, Hubby had planned to but ds needs him to go pick up his new car and he walked out the house without his glasses!
Have a great day all!
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I recently finished the entire series (to date) of M.C. Beaton's Hamish McBeth. I'm also done with her Agatha Raisin series. I am thinking the next will be Ryhs Bowen's Constable Evan's series. I'm also looking for new a Murder She Wrote book.
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If you thought the first two books where full of cursing and disturbing images, the last book A Career In Evil is indescribable (for me anyway). So much so that I find myself following a pattern when reading this work. When I first picked it up, I could only do a couple of chapters before returning it to the library. The second time I managed to get half way through it but had to return it at a crucial point. I also needed to put time and space between me and the book. I'll go renew it next month some time to finish it. If I didn't it would be an evil on overload.
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I grew up in "the country" or rural Virginia. The closet store is 30 minutes. my high school was 1.5 hours away by bus. They have no public transportation. I don't even think they have Uber, not even in the township. Most jobs are on production lines and are shift work, everything else is either in the school system or retail. There is no way to actually utilize ride sharing in that sense. Most folks just catch a ride with a family member going in that direction. The thing is to catch them before they leave.
Where I live now, even though its a larger county with townships within the county we have no bus system per se. I don't know if you've heard of Hilton Head Island but they have the only bus system and that is so they can bus in workers for the huge hospitality industry. Some of those folks ride for 2/3 hours! There is a limited amount of Uber drivers and taxis but its expensive. I'm moving from a larger city that has a transit system but honestly, I just can't be bothered. I have issues. I don't like people in my personal space. I have a sensitive nose and its easily offended by body odor. I don' like hearing other people's cell phone conversation, loud gum chewing and I am REALLY paranoid of folks sneezing and coughing indiscriminately. All these factors make me the worst candidate of public transportation. I also have to have my freedom. I don't want to wait to do something or go somewhere or be on another person's schedule. I guess its selfish but not everyone is cut out for communal transportation. I don't even like to fly because I have no control over who sits beside me or behind me.
Yes, I have issues, lol!
What's the weather like?
in General Chat
Posted
Today should be our last "good" day. Its a lovely 78F' here in South Carolina. Just a hint of a breeze, sunny with the hint of clouds moving in. I took my Kizzy out for a nice walk as it will start raining this evening and for the next few days. Kizzy is very particular about the rain. She wont DO rain. Seriously, I think she has an on/off button for her bladder. She can and will hold it for HOURS rather than walk in a light rain!
Tomorrow the temps will drop significantly and I'm here for it, lol! Ready for my sweaters and boots!