Happy real Birthday Lisa!!
I've been seeing T. Boone Pickens a lot on TV lately talking about his plan to reduce or eliminate our dependency on foreign oil. I watched the video on his web site and he certainly makes some very valid points about why we need to do this, and while his plan seems overly simplistic and incomplete, it is a start. Read more about it at http://www.pickensplan.com. It is time to get serious about this folks, we've got to figure out a way to tell OPEC to go to hell.
Did you know that the USA has 4% of the world population, but uses almost 25% of the oil? Do you know we send $700 billion per year to Arab and other oil producing countries? This is the largest transfer of wealth in world history, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that we are not transferring this money to friends of the United States. The nations that receive this money are either outright enemies of the US, or at best, nations that maintain neutrality with us because of oil and other economic reasons. They are not our friends, they do not like us, they only like our money, and we need their oil. Wouldn't it be nice to have all those oil ships from Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Venezuela show up to one of our ports one day and be able to say "Nah, not today boys, go home". That would be a great day.
Hell Week is over, Missy an I have made it through an entire week without smoking! Heck Week starts today, but I am not too concerned about that. The appraisal is going to happen today too, though we won't know the result until the middle of next week. I've thought about going over to the house today to see how interested the appraiser would be in a free tank of gas :)
Friday, July 11, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Happy Birthday Lisa!!!
Happy Birthday Lisa!!!I am publishing this blog entry a day early because I want to be the first to officially welcome my sister Lisa to her LATE 30'S!!! Yep, no more mid-30's, you have now crossed into late-30's and will soon join me in the "pushing 40" crowd!
We all love you and hope you have a relaxing and wonderful birthday! Statistically, you are now mid-life :) Welcome to the 2nd half!!! Damn I'm cruel :) :)
Hell Week Almost Over, Appraisal Tomorrow
Right now is the start of day 7 without cigarettes and "Hell Week" will be over when we wake up tomorrow. Most of the time, quitting has not been that hard, but it sure has its moments! The mornings are the toughest for me, I always want that first smoke when I wake up. Missy brought home Chipotle burritos for dinner last night, and that really triggered a craving. But we did not give in. I am feeling a WHOLE LOT better than I used to!
The home appraisal will happen tomorrow, so we are really sweating that now and hoping all goes well. We are showing our rented duplex tonight to the next possible tenant, and really need an answer on the house tomorrow. I sure hope we do not have to wait until Monday!
I completed the drawings last night for the office addition in the basement and put an estimate together for all the materials I will need to build it, less than $1,000 including hardwood floors. It looks like it will be a fun project, I sure hope I get the chance to actually build it!
The home appraisal will happen tomorrow, so we are really sweating that now and hoping all goes well. We are showing our rented duplex tonight to the next possible tenant, and really need an answer on the house tomorrow. I sure hope we do not have to wait until Monday!
I completed the drawings last night for the office addition in the basement and put an estimate together for all the materials I will need to build it, less than $1,000 including hardwood floors. It looks like it will be a fun project, I sure hope I get the chance to actually build it!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
5 Days Down, Appraisal Coming
I have now made it through 5 days without smoking, pretty close to a new record for me. Missy has too, other than one small slip today that doesn't really bother me. She said it was terrible, almost made her sick, so I don't think it will be a problem. My cravings are manageable and I have not had any real strong desire to smoke. I have had dreams about smoking for the last 2 nights, which is strange, especially since I am not smoking in the dreams, but trying to not smoke.
Delaney, Halle and I also visited the new house today. This was mostly for me to get measurements so that I can start planning the basement remodeling that will need to be done, but also because neither of the girls had seen the house. Haley went with us when we looked at it. Fortunately, both girls approved :)
My mortgage lender did tell me that the appraisal has been scheduled for Friday of this week. We are hoping to know that day what the dollar amount is, but fear we won't know until Monday. This is making getting an inspection done in time quite difficult, but the biggest hurdle to get over right now is the appraisal. We are only 3 weeks from closing and are showing our duplex to a potential renter Thursday night, so we are flirting with the possibility of not having a place to live at all if we do not close on this house. Stress is building daily.
On a wonderful note: Make-A-Wish granted our nephew Devin his wish and we had a great party at their house this evening. He wanted a Nintendo entertainment center, and they delivered in a big way. They delivered a 40" Sony Bravia LCD TV, Sony Surround Sound System, a Nintendo Wii with TONS of games, Nintendo DS Lite, 2 X Rocker video gaming chairs, and a bunch of other gifts and video game items. They also brought him clothes and Culvers catered the event with tons of chicken planks and all the side dishes, including a yummy ice cream cake!
Super-special thanks go out to Make-A-Wish Foundation, Best Buy, Circuit City, Nintendo and Culvers. Devin had a wonderful evening and will be enjoying his "rig" with the rest of his family for many years to come. If you are interested in learning more about their family, my sister-in-law Kris maintains a blog located at mama4jesus.blogspot.com.
Delaney, Halle and I also visited the new house today. This was mostly for me to get measurements so that I can start planning the basement remodeling that will need to be done, but also because neither of the girls had seen the house. Haley went with us when we looked at it. Fortunately, both girls approved :)
My mortgage lender did tell me that the appraisal has been scheduled for Friday of this week. We are hoping to know that day what the dollar amount is, but fear we won't know until Monday. This is making getting an inspection done in time quite difficult, but the biggest hurdle to get over right now is the appraisal. We are only 3 weeks from closing and are showing our duplex to a potential renter Thursday night, so we are flirting with the possibility of not having a place to live at all if we do not close on this house. Stress is building daily.
On a wonderful note: Make-A-Wish granted our nephew Devin his wish and we had a great party at their house this evening. He wanted a Nintendo entertainment center, and they delivered in a big way. They delivered a 40" Sony Bravia LCD TV, Sony Surround Sound System, a Nintendo Wii with TONS of games, Nintendo DS Lite, 2 X Rocker video gaming chairs, and a bunch of other gifts and video game items. They also brought him clothes and Culvers catered the event with tons of chicken planks and all the side dishes, including a yummy ice cream cake!
Super-special thanks go out to Make-A-Wish Foundation, Best Buy, Circuit City, Nintendo and Culvers. Devin had a wonderful evening and will be enjoying his "rig" with the rest of his family for many years to come. If you are interested in learning more about their family, my sister-in-law Kris maintains a blog located at mama4jesus.blogspot.com.
Monday, July 7, 2008
3 Days Down, A Lifetime To Go
We made it through our 3rd full day of not smoking and are now beating up on day 4. "Hell Week" will be over soon and we are hanging tough. Today is the first day back at work for us, and also the first day where the "oxygen high" really kicks in. Apparently when you quit, your carbon monoxide level falls to a normal level, and oxygen molecules replace them in your bloodstream. You feel normal, well, normal for a non-smoking person, as a former smoker you feel stoned. This is a nice side-effect :) We are both light-headed and feeling a bit clumsy, but I am feeling very good. It is sort of nice actually.
I cannot really concentrate today, so I am doing other things I need to do for work that don't require much brain power, like planning my upcoming flight and reservations to Cleveland, downloading a bunch of software from the office that I will need later this week, organizing my inbox, and coming up with a way to nicely secure a web site. I am hoping this will pass by tomorrow, since I have a very busy week planned and need to get a lot done.
A somewhat funny (and money-saving) side-effect of quitting is that Missy no longer likes Mountain Dew. She has been drinking it everyday for years, sort of like her coffee, but she cannot stand it now. That is funny. I noticed at Denny's that I no longer like hashbrowns. Strange...
Still hoping to hear about the appraisal any day now...
I cannot really concentrate today, so I am doing other things I need to do for work that don't require much brain power, like planning my upcoming flight and reservations to Cleveland, downloading a bunch of software from the office that I will need later this week, organizing my inbox, and coming up with a way to nicely secure a web site. I am hoping this will pass by tomorrow, since I have a very busy week planned and need to get a lot done.
A somewhat funny (and money-saving) side-effect of quitting is that Missy no longer likes Mountain Dew. She has been drinking it everyday for years, sort of like her coffee, but she cannot stand it now. That is funny. I noticed at Denny's that I no longer like hashbrowns. Strange...
Still hoping to hear about the appraisal any day now...
Sunday, July 6, 2008
2 Days and Counting...
We have now officially crossed into day 3, with more than 48 hours free of cigarettes. Yesterday got a bit interesting, but we made it. Missy and I were both short-tempered. We went to Harbor Freight Tools (one of my favorite stores) to do some window shopping and then stopped by West Town Mall so Missy could see the new Sephora store. It was amazing, a brand new store full of nothing but cosmetics, and yet they were sold out of the only thing Missy was looking for! Halle also got a Water Massage.
We had lunch at Denny's, I noticed the hash browns did not taste right. Missy doesn't like Mountain Dew anymore (yes, hell froze over). I hope this is not our taste buds waking up after years of smoking related paralysis. When we got home I took a short nap and then cleaned and vacuumed the inside of the Explorer, I will do my truck tomorrow.
I don't want to jinx our quit, but it does not seem that hard this time around. I'm not sure why, but my cravings are not that bad and I can easily deal with them. The lozenges help some, and I like to chew on straws. This makes me look like a tard but I don't care, it's working.
Missy and Halle just left to go see a princess movie, I had to pass. I am working on some AutoCAD drawings for the basement of the new house. I wonder if the home appraisers know their life may be in jeopardy this week? :)
We had lunch at Denny's, I noticed the hash browns did not taste right. Missy doesn't like Mountain Dew anymore (yes, hell froze over). I hope this is not our taste buds waking up after years of smoking related paralysis. When we got home I took a short nap and then cleaned and vacuumed the inside of the Explorer, I will do my truck tomorrow.
I don't want to jinx our quit, but it does not seem that hard this time around. I'm not sure why, but my cravings are not that bad and I can easily deal with them. The lozenges help some, and I like to chew on straws. This makes me look like a tard but I don't care, it's working.
Missy and Halle just left to go see a princess movie, I had to pass. I am working on some AutoCAD drawings for the basement of the new house. I wonder if the home appraisers know their life may be in jeopardy this week? :)
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