hold my hand...

I've loved this song since the first time I heard it...but just recently googled the video...what an amazing video and tribute. We all have our opinions on the late MJ but putting those allegations aside, he was an amazing musician and left behind a song that will always inspire me. We live in such a dark and evil world sometimes...I watch the news and see the reports from Egypt or the latest terrorist attack. I watch our local news and it's filled with violence, murder, child molestation and rape. As each day passes, there are more and more people losing their jobs and their homes...with no real end in sight. I really get discouraged some days just seeing all of the bad in this world. I've told this to Joe quite a few times...some days I just want to curl up and never leave the house again or I sometimes question whether to bring children into this horrific world it sometimes is.

But then I remember that love is all we really need...and that is the most powerful good we have in this world. And I wonder maybe if more people would just hold hands, maybe love would cure all? I know I can't control others and what others choose to do...but I can control how I see the world and how I let it affect me. This song helps me remember what really matters...love and those you love. Hope this can brighten your day and remind you that there is still a lot of good in this world too (even though it doesn't feel like it some days)!

life's little updates...

I’ve been taping all of Oprah’s shows this year, since it’s her final year.  Yesterday’s episode I got to watch live, since Joe hasn’t been feeling well and has called in sick the past two days…when he’s home, it’s hard to work a full day :P  Anyways, they had an expert on talking about happiness and he said people need to make 40% more if they have more than an hour commute each day for them to be happy in their jobs…makes sense why I’m so miserable…so you think I could go to my boss and get a 40% raise then?? LOL, I know that wouldn’t go over well but it was interesting to hear and it makes sense why I’ve become more bitter over the past few years.   

We heard back from the insurance company and they are paying for EVERYTHING (less our deductible)!!!  We were so relieved to hear that news.  We are meeting with a contractor on Sunday to get a quote and hopefully that works out so we can get it fixed and over with.  I know my renter is anxious to have it over with too.  We also got the plumber bill this week, holy crap…did I marry into the wrong profession.  Seriously, they not only charge a ridiculous hourly rate for the time they work at your house but also the travel time from the previous job (which we think was 1-1.5 hours, complete BS if you ask me but how do we prove otherwise?) and then tack on a $50 truck fee.  Joe called and complained, so they dropped the truck fee….but still, a major dent was made in the checkbook with that bill.  Yikes! And all for a leaky toilet…have I told lately you how much I LOVE being a homeowner?!?!  UGH.

Also, one of my co-workers stopped by this week and asked if I heard about the shooting in Burnsville.  Yeah, it took place in MY townhouse complex…they don’t give the exact house number but it is definitely in the complex where my rental is located, since it happened on the 14000 block of Plymouth.  See the Star Tribune article HERE.  I’m thankful it was a “domestic” dispute and not a random shooting...hopefully my renter isn’t looking to move out!

I’ve been working on our taxes over the week and we have everything we need to file.  I’ve been planning to use TurboTax this year (with the rental, it’s starting to get complicated) and honestly, we were disappointed with the results.  I guess I was expecting more with the energy tax credit we get to take.  So for shits and giggles, I threw our numbers into TaxSlayer, which I’ve used every year since college until this year.  They are telling me our return is $2K more…seriously, how are they that far off?  I’m positive I entered the numbers correctly in both but I need to do some more investigating.  I’d love to go with the higher number but I really don’t want an audit and fines down the road either.  What ever happened to the days of filing the 1040EZ?

Otherwise, not much else is new, looking forward to the weekend and Brooke’s Norwex party on Saturday and hopefully getting things started on the repairs at the rental.

superbowl bound...

WOOHOO!!!  My beloved Pack are headed to the Superbowl!!!  For anyone who has watched a game with me, will understand what my husband witnessed today...although I think he was still shocked. I was SO excited I could barely breathe...I also didn't even realize he was video taping me on his phone until the end.  Against my better judgment, I will share...in hopes I can make your day :)  I apologize for the poor quality I had to make these videos to get them to upload here...it is getting late, I will try to make them a little better tomorrow.

My reaction to the Raji interception & touchdown with 6 minutes left, to make it 21-7...

LOL, I wonder how I would react to winning a million dollars?!?

Then it was 4th and 4 Bears on the Packer 29, score was 21-14 Packers...45 seconds left...

This was the interception to seal the deal, PACKERS are in the freaking SUPERBOWL!!!

In other news, we took Shiloh to the dog park for the first time today.  Our groomers have an indoor dog park, so we thought we'd try it out.  I think Shiloh was a little overwhelmed and shy.  There were 15-20 dogs in this room (the most she's ever been around at once is 3).  Needless to say, she didn't venture too far away from mom and dad while we were there.  It was super cute but we are going to work on that, we plan to take her more often so she's not so intimidated.  I will admit though, we were pretty proud parents, she came every time we called and listened so well, even with all the distractions around her.  And she was NOT the playground bully or the annoying dog that no one can stand.  She was so sweet to all the dogs/people there and behaved like the perfect dog.  We really have lucked out with her, she's just a sweetheart.

Besides the AWESOME game and dog park today, we had a pretty uneventful week and weekend.  Looking forward to hearing back from my insurance company this week to see what the verdict is...and of course rubbing in today's win to ALL of  my Viking fan co-workers tomorrow...I think my Rodgers jersey will look SWEET with my black dress pants :p

house updates...

We met with the insurance adjuster yesterday and they are likely going to cover almost all of the expenses, hooray!!  We still have to pay our deductible and the plumber bill...and possibly a few small things here and there...but what a relief.  The entire floor and trim on the first floor will be replaced, along with the bathroom vanity and door.  Water had soaked into the bathroom vanity and the door jam, so the bathroom door doesn't close anymore.  We also have to replace the end cap on the kitchen island cabinet, which also had water damage.  I seriously can't wait for this whole fiasco to just be over, ugh.

We had a nice weekend.  Saturday we had Christmas with Joe's dad and watched the Packer game, WOOHOO!!  Such an exciting time to be a cheesehead.  Sunday was relaxing with football, laundry and cleaning.  My hubby also took me out for a movie Sunday afternoon, we saw The Dilemma.  It was pretty decent...it was funny but kinda predictable.  Joe had yesterday off for MLK day, so I took a PTO day.  After we took care of the rental house, we had lunch at Noodles and went to Shane Co to have my ring cleaned/inspected and dropped off Joe's to be re-dipped since it was starting to turn gold...just one of the many joys of owning a white gold ring...at least the re-dips are free for life :)

We don't have too much going on this week, which will be a nice change.  I should have a relatively normal work week, unlike the past 2 which have been insanely busy. Hope you all have a great week and stay warm...it's going to be a COLD one!!

what a week...

Well, 2011 has certainly started out with a bang!  My renter emailed me last week that she was noticing water on the floor on the 1st floor bathroom.  She sent some pictures and I started to get worried.  I called a plumber and had him check it out...he found the toilet had been leaking and has ruined the lament wood flooring, along with some of the cabinets:

The plumber fixed the toilet and stopped the water, along with fixing the faulty part that was likely on the upstairs toilet too and only would have been a matter to time...I haven't seen the damage in person yet and have no idea how far the water has spread.  We'll be meeting the insurance adjuster on Monday to see what my insurance will cover...wish us luck.  I'm super nervous they will find a loop hole and leave us hanging :(  Just when I thought our budget could breathe again, ugh!  I'm really sick of our checkbook going to our houses all the time, instead of our savings (or a really nice vacation!)...but such is life.

I had a fabulous weekend with my girlies.  We all headed to Rochester to stay at Steph's house this year. We got there around lunch time...so we grabbed some lunch, went shopping and made dinner and drank wine that evening.  I may have found my new favorite wine.  Steph had a bottle of Barefoot Moscato...YUM!

We have our last christmas celebration this weekend with Joe's dad and family, we'll be heading over to Mark & Melinda's for dinner and dice game.  I'm also demanding a date night with my hubby this weekend (or some night very soon)...the dilemma and outback, please! (I'm quite subtle, LOL)...it's been months since we have gone on a date...we both have been so exhausted from our jobs lately, we end up just vegging out on the weekends.