Brrrrrr... it's gonna be cold

my oh my, it has been cold in Chicago

I watch the weather every morning and groan about the windy, frigid, snowy conditions that have plaqued Chicago and the Indiana. Jared and I have planned a trip to South Bend this weekend to check it out, look for apartments and just learn about the place that we will soon call home. I am excited about this trip, but watching the weather just makes me dread it. However, I have been doing a little research on the South Bend area and they do have 3 cab companies and a bus service, so I figure I will be using those means to get to work on icy or snowy days, haha.

Anyway, I have found some fun things for Jared and I to do on our trip up north. Of course, we will have to go visit the College Football Hall of Fame! I am actually excited about this... I think it will be kinda neat. We also hope to go walk around the Notre Dame campus, but that will depend on the weather. I found an awesome place that does Karaoke on Friday, Satuday and Sunday nights, so they will get to hear my rendition of Queen's "Bohemian Rapsody" before I even move there, haha. Of course there is a lot of shopping and nice restaurants, so we should have time to do that as well. But our main mission is to find an apartment. We found one online that sounds great for us. I was sold on the indoor pool, tanning bed and fitness center!

I also hope I have time to stop by the Alcohol and Addictions Resource Center (AARC) in South Bend. I have talked with the Executive Director and the Prevention Specialist over e-mail about jobs in prevention. They are more of a treatment center, so there wouldn't be a job for me there, but they have agreed to meet with me and talk to me about the area and different opportunities for employment. That really excites me! I have also talked over e-mail with the director of the Afternoons R.O.C.K. after school program. She said there may be an opportunity for me since I am a Certified Prevention Professional now. However, it would be part-time. So, I feel good that I have at least made some contacts. I think my networking skills will come in handy!

Ok, enough babbling for now! Here's the picture I was trying to download yesterday from our weekend with Marla and Jeremy. ENJOY!

We go together....

like ram-a-lam-a-lama ka-ding-ga-dee-ding-de-dong

I felt a lot like Frenchy at the very end of Grease this weekend, "Oh, look, the gang's back together!" And that we were!!!!

Marla and Jeremy came to good ole' Kansas this weekend to pack up Marla's house and move everything down to Aiken. Not only were they here, but Adam and Brandi came to town from Wichita and everyone met up at Chatter's Friday night to celebrate Marla's birthday.

Everyone was there from the ole' PSU gang, to my new Girard friends, to the Burlington Crew, the Greenbush girls and my best girl Sherry that I grew up with in El Dorado. I couldn't have asked for more, except maybe Shawna, Chet and Julie and Brian and Jessica, Holly and all my Wichita gals... to name a few! haha. Jared had the time of his life with Adam and Jeremy. These guys have been best friend since they were crawling, so he just loves hanging out with them and I know he will really miss being able to see them, and the rest of his Burlington Boys.

As I grow up and get older, these times when you can get everyone together are so much more meaningful. Especially now, with Indiana just months away, I want to spend as much time as I can with my wonderful family and friends. I really hope I get that chance.

I will post some photos of our weekend later... right now it keeps messing up when I try to do it, stupid internet. :)

House for Sale!!!!

it's ready, the sign should be in the yard today

The house is finally on the market... I filled out the paperwork yesterday! YAY! Here are some photos of the front of the house, the living room and the bathroom! If you know anyone who is interested... send them my way! haha.

Now THAT'S a kitchen!

i think this will be the selling point of the house

Last night Jared and I finished up the kitchen and shampooed all the carpets. Man, that was gross. Isn't it funny how we get some kind of feeling of accomplishment when we see all that yucky, dirty water being sucked up off the carpet. It looks so much better and smells better too. Jada couldn't quite figure it all out. She walked on the carpet kinda weird for a while, haha.

Jared also got all the caulk scraped off the bathtub and used the Clorox on some areas to get it cleaned up. It already looks so much better and I can't wait until he puts the new caulk on tonight and I can get the bathroom all cleaned up! We still have a few things to take to storage, but this darn weather makes it kinda hard.

Here's some photos of the kitchen. I will hopefully be able to post some of the bathroom, living room and the outside soon... weather permitting.

Almost ready!

just a few more things to do before this puppy goes on the market

Jared and I have been working hard for 3 weeks to get our little house ready for sale. I am soooo particular about everything so it is no wonder it has taken so long. We started by de-cluttering everything, which was quite a chore. It's bad enough that I had a ton of crap, but when we moved Jared in last year it just added to the mess. Although we had a lot of stuff, we kept a tidy little house. But boy does it look better once you get rid of all that stuff.

All we have left to do is re-caulk around the bathtub and clean the entire bathroom from top to bottom. We also need to shampoo all the carpets (which shouldn't take long since the entire house is only 850 square feet, haha) and I need to pick up the porch and the front yard a little before the realtor takes pictures.

Here are some pictures of what I have completed so far. I don't have a wide-angle camera so the pictures are a little crazy:

(This is the back bedroom. It is a very small room, and for those of you who have been to our house, this is what I used as my closet :). We took down the clothes rack, touched up the paint and got everything outta there. It looks kinda bare, but much better than it did)

(This is the front guest bedroom. This room was the catch-all room and it was perfect for that. We cleaned it up and got everything out of the way. I think it looks pretty good!)

(This is our bedroom. It is a small room, but cozy and it is right in the middle of the house and close to the bathroom, haha. There is no closet in this room which actually makes it easier to fit furniture in.)


There you have it!!!! I will have pictures of the kitchen (the one my dad so beautifully remodeled for me two years ago) the living room, the bathroom and the front of the house very soon! We hope to finish everything up tonight! YAY!!!! Then I can finally relax a little :)

Birthdays with the Birks

another birthday for the father in law

Jared and I went to Yates Center Friday night to celebrate his dad's birthday with the whole Birk clan. It was a really good time and we rode up there with his Uncle Dave and Aunt Debbie, which was great because we never get to see them... even though they live in Fort Scott. Here is a picture of the Birthday boy about to blow out his candle.


Here is the whole gang at Smokey Bens in Yates Center! Happy Birthday Alan!