pioneering weekend

This weekend has been a pioneering weekend.  Really.  I have explored many new areas of life that I have not yet discovered.  My weekend really started on Friday night.  I had just put Charlotte to bed, the windows were open and a perfect Virginia warm spring night was blowing through the house.  The phone rang and because I had just started to read some of my favorite blogs I couldn't decide if I should answer it.  I decided not to be a bum and get up and then decide if I was going to ignore the person or not.  I saw that it was our realtor company and picked it up and then my weekend started at a full force! The lovely woman on the telephone sweetly informed me that we had a request to show the house the next morning at 10:30 and promptly and loudly and crudely and rudely groaned nooooooo into the phone.  You always know when your house is up on the market that whenever you have plans someone is going to want to challenge them.  I then explained to the nice realtor lady that me and one of my best chums had planned for weeks to go see Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman at one of her book signings down in Norfolk.  After verbally running circles around the lady she asked sweetly, "so do you want to show it or not?"  I told her that I had to and that I would be prepared.

After a couple frantic phone calls to the husband and some close friends I had found a storage solution for the dogs for the day and some encouragement about getting the house cleaned and put back together after the party so it would be presentable for potential buyers.

I spent the rest of that night and then from 5-10:15 the next morning getting the house, the dogs, the baby and myself ready for a showing and a trip to go see one of my favorite bloggers and food network hosts.  I felt good about myself I had completed a bunch of things that I did not think I could do without the help of other people, I was pioneering!

The rest of the day went absolutely as smoothly as possible.  We made it down 64 and through the tunnel with no traffic, Charlotte behaved in the car, we got our tickets and then went to a cute little Irish restaurant for lunch.

The book signing was at a Books a Million and there most of been at least 500 people there easily.  The placed was packed, both sides of the store from front to back.  We got lucky where we landed in line.  We were between a couple of young moms with some babies a little younger than Charlotte on one side and some people who were really low key and thought C was cute on the other.  Charlotte played with toys, people, other kids, Beth, Beth's hairbrush and keys, the nook display and had a good amount of snacks to make up our three hour wait!

I was amazed at how she held it together.  It was a true parenting test.  Would I pack enough snacks?  Enough toys?  Would I got hot and flustered when (not if) she got fussy?  Just like everything else in life, the world is easier with a friend by your side.  Beth and I conquered the long wait and a one year old at the same time!  Our reward getting to meet Ree...it was great...I felt like a little school girl.  I thought I was going to be giggly, chatty and annoying like I normally am when I get nervous.  Nope, I actually couldn't think of much to say.  That is really weird for me!  I introduced her to Charlotte and thanked her for coming all the way out to Virgina and that was about it.  I have made more conversation with trees before...oh well, I guess everyone has to get shy at some point!

When we were finished with Ree (yeah, we are on a first name basis) we stopped by Statbucks and each had a treat and then got on the road.

Before we even got on the road, C was out!  She fell asleep before I even got out of the parking lot.

What a great weekend, conquering the house, adventuring into the unknown of book signings and a great time with one of my besties, what a pioneering weekend!  Now all I need is that cherry on the top, also known as an offer on our house!

 

how to get a sweet ride

 

My flight into Fort Lauderdale arrived at 12:06am. One of my favorite childhood movies takes place in Fort Lauderdale among other places. Never been to this airport before. It's a big vacation spot, so the rental car company is open 24 hours. I make my way over the Budget car rental area and I see a nice size line. Apparently a few flights were delayed and all arrived at the same time. Budget must have also been running a sale. That's why I chose it several weeks ago. It was a super good price.

Obviously, it's late. People are ready to get their cars and make their way to places like hotels, homes and resorts. For as many patient people, there are impatient people and I think I ran into the most impatient person I've ever met. If this guy sighed once he sighed 73 times. I'm a pretty patient person so I got out my phone and watched some Wonder Years episodes on Netflix, but several times I paused or turned down the volume so I could hear what Mr. Impatient just behind me was complaining about this time.

Again, everybody is just trying to get to where they're going and I understand that, but this guy just kept on going. At one point he faced the rental counter and at a level 8 on a volume scale of 1 to 10 says, "c'mon...I've been standing here for an hour." The rain man side of me knew it had only been 24 minutes. Then he starts to try to get others on his side with this misery loves company attitude, but luckily no one joined in. We made our way to the front of the line and it's my turn so I hand over my license and credit card and get things started. The employee next to me had just finished up so Mr. Impatient ended up next to me again and first thing he says to the employee is, "you guys are just sad, i've been here for over an hour." Only been 41 minutes at this point. He continues to be a jerk and eventually the employee says, "I'm not going to be able to help you if you are going to be disrespectful." This seemed to change his demeanor a bit. He got his car. Often times rental companies don't have the car you requested so they give you something bigger and better. Of course this guy didn't want an suv, he wanted the car he had reserved which is understandable, but c'mon dude. Anyway, maybe this is just me being judgmental, but it made for a fun evening.

Because of same issue I ended up getting free upgraded to a 2012 white chevy tahoe. It's a sweet ride. It's got a button to swing in/out the side view mirrors. It's got heated seats (not so great in south Florida). It's an awesome car and while some might think a 41 minute wait was horrible, for me it was the reason I got a sweet ride while I'm here in Florida. Enjoy your weekend and don't be a jerk because you may get a sweet ride in the process. Probably not....but maybe.

-jay

world traveler...well maybe country traveler

Most people know that I travel for work. International Man of Mystery? Traveling Salesman? Secret Agent Man? I try to explain to people what I do, but more often than not they just get confused. I love to travel and I always have. Like today for instance I'm in Phoenix. I've never been to Phoenix before and so far I love it. The weather is amazing. I even got lucky and have a two-door sporty car while I'm here. I like airports, hotels and everything about travel. So in honor of my travels I wanted to share some pictures along the way, so here is the first installment of some places I traveled over in the past year. My trips always begin/end by circling around Richmond. Here's a great shot of the buildings, bridges and river.

If I'm lucky enough, sometimes I get upgraded and get to sit in first class. I enjoy that. Lots of room and all of the snacks you can imagine, but most of the time I sit in the exit row which affords me some great over the wing shots. Here is one of my favorites.

Here's another one from the trip Melissa and I took to Seattle last year. Say Hi to Mount Rainier.

From first class you can see the engine underwing on this 737. Beautiful shot in my opinion.

Great shot of the clouds.

Neat shot from out west.

Love how this Nebraska farm land turned out.

The great salt lake.

Flooding in the plains.

Sometimes I even run across stuff like Air Force One.

And I've got a hunch that I've got a great travel buddy in the making.

I hope you enjoyed these. I'll try to post more as I travel the world....I mean country....I mean lower 48 states.

-jay

six days and counting!

We have six days until Christmas is here and our house knows it! Today we were preparing all day long.  With both of us fairly busy the past couple of weeks, we really have not taken the time to get into the holiday spirit at all, or even shop or get our game plan together.  This includes a LONG list of unfinished projects that I have had going since mid-October.   Today we got so much accomplished, amazing things happen when we are both home and ready to get things done.  Besides crafting all day long (Jay was right there with me, with scissors, decoupage...the works!) we also managed to have a great day as a family enjoying our first day of Christmas vacation.

Today Charlotte really got her first taste of Christmas.  She got to meet Santa for the first time (only an hour wait this time) and she seemed to really like him!  We also went to Hallmark to pick up her first Christmas ornament.  Of course, we walked out with two...we are such suckers!  We ended the day with a wintery family walk to the park and quick ride on the swings. 

Overall, it was a great day and we are almost prepared for the holiday migration west.  Gifts are becoming to come together and of course the car carrier has been once again set into place.

-melissa