Yesterday, John and I went to the Notre Dame - Pittsburgh game. Before I tell you about our day, I want to give you a little info to help make sense of some things that happened.
1. A couple years ago I got a pair of ND socks and I normally wear them on game days. After this years first game & win, I told John that as long as ND kept winning, I wouldn't wash my socks and I'd keep wearing them during the games. SO, as of last weeks game I had been wearing these socks for 8 games. ALSO, during these games, if they were losing and my feet were under a blanket, I'd uncover my feet so that my socks would show.....and they would just happen to win!
2. Those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile may remember that I admitted to being a reality tv junkie, AND that one of my favorite shows is "The Little Couple".
Ok, now I can tell you about our day (yesterday) at Notre Dame. We went early because we wanted to do a couple things there before the game. John wanted to see the trumpets play inside the golden dome and we were also going to John's bosses tailgate party.
After parking in someone yard for $30 we started walking towards the stadium parking lot for the tailgate party. On the way we saw this crazy car:
Then once in the stadium parking lot we see Bill from The Little Couple ! ! ! He was just walking thru the crowd with another guy. I stopped him and told him how much I loved his show. I talked to him for a couple minutes and John took our picture together. He was really nice.
We then made our way to the tailgate party for free food and drinks! Someone there told us about how the band plays before the game on the stairs of some building, so we made the walk to see that. I'll remind you now that the temps were below 40 degrees at this point but with all the walking it wasn't too bad and it was suppose to reach 41 by game time. After listening to the band we made our way to the golden dome and saw the trumpets:
After that we made our way inside the stadium and found our seats. With the warmth built up from all the walking, I wasn't cold during the first half of the game, but I wasn't happy with how poorly the Irish were playing, and felt we might be sitting in the cold only to see them lose their first game of the season.
After half time, the sun was going down and I was getting cold and it really didn't look good for the Irish. I was starting to regret even going to the game....after all I could watch them lose in the comfort of my home and not be sitting on a hard bench shivering to death!
Then I felt a nudge and John said "Take off your boots so they can see your socks". Is he crazy?? I'm freezing and he wants me to take off my boots!?! After a few minutes I actually did take off one boot and guess what? The Irish came from behind and tie the game. I put my boot back on and after 3 over times the Irish won 29-26. I think someone should inform Brian Kelly of what I do for his team! I can't believe they are 9-0 now. It's been a long time.
So that was our Saturday...I think I'll stay inside today!!
It's a cold and dreary night and I'm waiting for the witching hour (6:00 p.m.) when all the ghosts and goblins (trick-or-treater's) start knocking on my door. Some come alone and some come in packs with leaders (parents). Most are young, but some are far too old (teenagers) to be begging door to door.
Every year I run out of treats (candy) and have to wart off (turn my porch light off) all the scary creatures.
This year it is cold and rainy so only the creepiest of the monsters will survive until the witching hour is over (8:00 p.m.). Hopefully the treats won't rot their fangs! (teeth). HAPPY HALLOWEEN ! ! !
Lisa sent me this picture of the pumpkins she carved with Ty....the cat is hers.
Well, we are pretty much done getting the rental property ready to sell. New carpet, new tub surround, painted bathroom, repaired 2 cracked basement windows, painted garage, painted the foundation block, pulled weeds, put down new mulch, trimmed bushes, raked leaves and we got the Listing Contract signed.
Repairing the broken glass in the windows was a new experience for me (something John just thought I should be able to do). But, I've never seen that done on HGTV so I struggled a bit with it...breaking 2 panes of glass in the process!
Took these pictures for our realtor to use in the listing.
Last 2 pictures were taken when Lisa lived there.
Owning a rental property has certainly been a learning experience. I learned that I don't "read" people as well as I thought I did! Someone who looks good in person and on paper can turn out to be the complete opposite. And just because someone can pay their deposit and 4 months rent up front doesn't mean you will see another single penny out of them! (true story). But the best experience was giving a renter named Pam the break she was asking us for. She was divorced and was up front with having bad credit. She said she just wanted a chance to get back on her feet. Swore she could handle making the rent payments on time. This was bad timing for her because we had just kicked out a really bad tenant and we swore we would be more picky with the next tenant. But, we decided to take a chance with her and she ended up being our best tenant. She lived there 5 years and was never late with the rent! She was able to build her credit back up and moved out when she purchased her own home! She sent us the nicest card thanking us for giving her a chance. We really hated to see her go. If they were all like that we wouldn't be selling the house!!
Hoping to be able to hang up our "Landlord" hats, we are keeping our fingers crossed for a quick sell, but preparing for it to take awhile.
I tried something different for dinner tonight and it turned out to be the best pork loin I've ever made....and I normally do a pretty good job with pork loin.
I tried wrapping it in bacon...and I got a bit fancy with it...
Yes, I took the time to weave the bacon before I wrapped it around the pork loin. I figured it would at least look good even if it didn't turn out!
I did my normal injecting and dry rub, so really the only thing different was the bacon. It turned out to be so juicy and tender.
To quote Rachel Ray "That's what's for dinner tonight"!
This past saturday John and I spent a good part of the day going to flea markets and antique stores. We went with the intension of purchasing something that we could make something else out of.........let me back up. We've been watching some shows where people go to flea markets and buy something old and make something like a lamp out of it. Anyway, that is why we went. But, of course, I kept finding things I'd just like to have as they are.
While we were looking we came across an old farm table. I have always wanted one of these. This one needed some work but the price was right and when I offered that it could be my birthday present.....well, that sealed the deal! John will do just about anything to not have to shop for me! :)
So for the past few days I've been working on it. Hand sanding years of stains and grime from the surface and then sealing and buffing it with a paste wax.
I love the cracks in the top and I even love the spot where someone patched it with another piece of wood.
I also sold our old dinning room table & chairs on Craigs List this week, so now I have money to shop for chairs! Happy Birthday to me! :)
One of the saddest things about the end of summer is watching all the flowers die. The other day I cut one of my remaining rose buds and brought it inside. It is now in it's full glory...one of God's masterpieces.
I just love flowers. When I see them I just can't believe how beautiful they are. From roses to wildflowers....each one unique.
When I was little I loved this poem and I've always remembered it....Lisa even resited it when she was in 3rd. grade:
Mud is very nice to feel, all squishy-squash between the toes! I'd rather wade
in wiggly mud, than smell a yellow rose. Nobody else but the rosebush knows, how
nice mud feels between the toes.
Back then I remember liking it because it was about mud....I could have cared less about the roses!!
Yesterday (Sat.), John and I spent the day at our rental property. The realtor had been out this past week and gave us a list of things that we still need to do before listing the house. Ugh! So while John finished painting the garage....
I scraped and painted the foundation blocks around the entire house and then painted the trim around the windows. I'm so sick of painting!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But, guess what today was? It was the last day of September so I spent it putting up my fall decorations. I always try to have it done for the 1st. of October so today was the day.
This took me way longer than it should have because like an idiot, I put my string of lights around the pillar without testing them first and of course they didn't work. So I had to take them down, go to Walmart to get a new string of lights and then put them back up again. (Yes, I did test the new string before putting them up!) The old string did last several years so I guess I shouldn't complain.
I just love the colors of fall and most of the people in our neighborhood decorate and it always looks so nice. I also put up a few decorations inside the house. One of my favorite things is this "Fall Tree" by Lenox.
It's something I splurged on a few years ago and wouldn't even think of spending that much money now on something that is out for a few weeks a year!
Anyway, today was way more fun than yesterday! HAPPY FALL!!
