They called me today with my employee number, discussed how I wanted my business cards, and where in the office I would like to be located. That means IT IS OFFICIAL.
I am getting really excited about starting on Monday, and wish I could go in this week. But, I still have a few things to finish.
Almost done with the dressing room. I scraped every inch of the walls to eliminate the glow-in-the-dark stars, and I still didn't get them all. How the heck could I have missed some? They became obvious as I was painting, so I think I actually did end up getting them all. If not, I am sure Tim Jr. will find them.
Anyway, after three coats of paint the room is finally clean. Sadly though, the Predator is no more. (All those movies, and all the shooting to fight him off, and all it took was a few gallons of paint.) Before I eliminated him, I had to take a bit of time to carefully examine all the tiny details. That was quite a fantastic piece of work, Burt.
We took possession of our house in December, 1987 and moved into it in January, 1988. At the time the house felt cavernous, and we thought we would never be able to fill it.
A lot of junk found its way into this house over the last 20 years, and we certainly did fill it. Now I am in the process of clearing out and tossing out. This week I started on to the infamous hinterlands formally known as (in chronological order) Timmy's Room, Jeremy's Room and The Dressing Room. It has received some unusual decorating over the years.
Tim Jr., do you remember the closet wall that Don destroyed in an attempt to help you install shelves? Well, it is fixed now. I pulled out all the shelves and the closet rod and all the nails and hooks, and I repaired the walls. Yes, that's right. I climbed up on the ladder to pull out those behemoth shelves. But, before I dismantled everything, I gently brought down your enormous box of comic books. The fading ink on the lid reads Don't Throw Away!!!!! Tim Jr's Comic Books 4-93 When would you like to come and get the box?
In the far closet near the windows I found a little piece of paper partially stuck between the baseboard molding and the wall. It had a stupid looking picture on it, and I was about to pull it out when I thought to myself, Jeremy kept the head of his bed in this closet. So, I went to get my tweezers. I carefully picked up the stupid little picture, and took it outside to the trashcan in the garage. It was either a stupid little picture, or it was an old acid hit. In any case, it is trash now. When I asked Jeremy about it this evening, he said it better that the picture wasn't anywhere the dogs could get to it.
After sundown this evening Jeremy and I went into the room, turned out the lights, and found the last remains of the hundreds of glow-in-the-dark stars and dots that he had spread all over the room. As he popped the last ones off, he reminisced his fond memories of his black light, his bong, and his glow-in-the-dark stars. Afterwards I took a break and proof read his resume and scholarship applications. (I thank God for every angel that He sent to watch over my children.)
The Unfinished Predator still remains on the wall. I never had the heart to paint over him (or maybe it was that I never had the nerve). He still crouches - ready to pounce down on the glass shower doors that have been stored in that corner for the past ten years. But in a few days, he will be covered behind a layer of BIN, and the shower doors will go to the attic to await their reinstallation.
After this room is plastered and painted, I'm sorry to say, there will be no more of Kate's grade school signatures anywhere in the house. I think we will have plastered and painted the last of Katie Elek that was scratched into the walls or woodwork in the house.
It has been a long time coming, but that is the LAST room to get spruced up.
I took pictures, but the room is so little there is no way to get far enough back to take a picture of the whole room. Once the fresh paint is up, this will be the only record of the previous tenants decorating schemes.
And HEY!! How come NO comments about my new job? I thought you would all be pleased for me.
Sheesh. No wonder this was never finished. Who could sleep with this thing ready to leap down off the wall onto you? And you said a clown painting terrified you?
He really is pretty fantastic. I'll be sorry to cover him up.
The shelves and closet rod were removed from this closet. All the damage was repaired. Once it is painted we will install new drawer units, a shoe rack and shelving.
In the far closet we will keep one upper shelf and the hanging rod. Dad fixed the pull chains in both closets and added longer chains that I can actually reach.
Who belongs to this poster? (Brandon Lee) What do you want me to do with it?
It is official (...almost...I still have to complete the background check, but as long as I pass that....) beginning February 1st I will be working for Wells Fargo (Acordia Benefits) in downtown Cleveland as their newest Vice President. I am really excited about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
During the interview process I was thrilled to talk with a member of the staff and learn how eager they are to incorporate globalization of their operations, to enhance their corporate structure and accountability. Together we will look at incorporating best practices, and developing unified practices and procedures.
The final discussions about the job took place during our recent vacation to Orlando where we visited Jimmy and Carol Wallace. We had a wonderful time (as usual) with our precious friends. Highlights were:
watching the news and seeing how much snow we were missing
a visit to the stables where Carol is renewing her passion for horses and riding
shopping on Park Avenue (or should I say "looking" vs "shopping")
an afternoon with Carol, her sister Judy, and three of their friends - while Dad went golfing
a leisurely afternoon of walking the lakefront, dining and antiqueing in Sanford
an afternoon at the Morse museum where I received an entirely new appreciation for Tiffany and the Arts & Crafts era
many fabulous meals - especially my first experience with snow crab legs (my new favorite meal)
going through the community of Baldwin Park. This is an old Navy station of several hundred acres that is now being built around a lake front as a planned community of homes, condos, apartments and business center.
We were amazed at the construction boom going on in Orlando. There was new construction on EVERY street. Jimmy said the housing market had not yet recovered, but you could not tell. They were tearing down single family bungalows and ranch homes and putting up multiple dwellings. Homes that were $100,000 a few years ago are now $500,000 and more. We toured a few model homes in Baldwin Park. The layouts were wonderful and gave me plenty to think about what we might do in the future.
For the time being Dad and I are going to stay put in our home. Our plan is to purchase land, pay it off for a few years, and then build a single story home that is smaller and more geared to our "kid-free" lifestyle. Jimmy and Carol want to buy land in Ohio, and our goal is to do that together - and each build our own residences...("Lord willing").
Thanks for all your love and support and prayers during my job transition. Just so you know... the new job comes with five weeks of vacation - so I intend to plan that trip for the entire family to go to the coast in mid/late July.
Carol, Tim and the giant bamboo at Leu Gardens
Tim & Deane at Leu Gardens
Cypress trees (and knees) at Leu Gardens.
Tim & Sadie taking a nap. (Puppies and toddlers ALL love to cuddle with Tim.)
Carol getting her horse ready to go riding at Painted Oaks Academy. We were awed by the beautiful Live Oaks and Camphor Trees. They are truly majestic.
Carol cantering the course.
Judy gave us the most precious gift of playing and singing a song she composed herself. The grand piano was a gift to Amy from Papa Burridge.
It is a well known fact that the majority of men who dress in drag are Democrats. Republicans are not as realistic in their attempts. In case you cannot tell, the "Who's Who" answer is at the end of this posting.
Uncle Sam(antha)
Liberal drag then
Liberal drag now.
Liberal drag then.
Liberal drag now
Liberal drag of the future
Lifetime of drag.
Conservative drag then
Conservative drag now
Lifetime of drag
Pictures 1, 2 and 3 are of Bill Clinton. Pictures 4 through 7 are Jimmy Carter. The last three pictures are of Georgie Bush himself.
Did it look to you as if Clinton waxed his eyebrows? - Or do you think it might be caused by a shortage of testosterone? I always thought he was overcompensating for something. Now I'm curious if Hillary look as masculine in drag as Bill looks feminine.
Happy New Year!! 2007 looks like it will be a fantastic year, and we are excited about the opportunities ahead.
Being out of work has been an absolute blast for me. Tim and I prayed and talked a lot about the decision to leave Master Consulting, and we felt very strongly that it was God's plan. We trusted God to show us what He planned. Tim eventually suggested maybe I was not supposed to return to work. We talked about selling the house, downsizing, and simplifying our lives. We decided to not give it any more thought or attention until after the holidays. That is not an easy thing to do when the paychecks are not coming in. But...
We trusted God, and He did indeed provide. I had complete freedom, for the first time in a long time, to devote to those who mean the most to me.
The Christmas Holidays were a wonderful time of friends, family and fellowship. On the 16th of December, Jim and Charlotte and their three dogs visited us from Richmond, VA. They stayed with us for a week before going to stay with Charlotte's family in Shaker. But, we still got to see them quite a bit before they went back to Richmond on the 3oth. On the 21st, Kate and Steve arrived from Charlotte, NC. On the 24th, Joshua and Rachel arrived from Wheeling, WV. Tim Jr. came home on the 21st and, of course, he stayed with Marisa at their home in Univ. Hts. Jeremy & Charlene and Tim & I enjoyed having the house full and busy again.
I blew two months of my food budget in just two weeks, and I loved every moment of it. I was in my glory having all my kids at home. It was fun having a big group around for whom to cook again. It is always a pleasure to cook for people who really enjoy eating, and my kids REALLY enjoy food. We also enjoyed the friends our kids brought to visit here as well. For a little over a week we enjoyed going to movies, watching football, board games (Settlers of Catan), a fun evening dining at Brasa, poker, bowling, more Settlers of Catan, shopping, video games, more Settlers, lots & lots of food, and lots of teasing and laughing. It got pretty loud at times, but it was all good.
Tim never played Settlers of Catan, but he was masterful playing Texas Hold'em. He was happy to have the time while we played "Settlers" as a break from the boisterousness and competitiveness of our kids. He was not on vacation while the kids were here. He had to get up at 4:30 a.m. each day, and as much as we enjoyed having the whole gang home, it was a bit of an adjustment from our quite evenings with Molly Wuppy and Gizmo. Everyone teased him, but they really did understand when he occasionally nodded off, or went to bed early.
Christmas eve was fun. We had our traditional Standing Rib Roast dinner followed by our gift exchange. And, then we played our traditional gift grab game. It was fun having the whole family together for the first time in many years.
By Christmas morning we were all pretty tired, and we lazed around all morning. It was quiet and peaceful until Kate and Steve had to leave around 1:30. I hate to see my kids leave, but I also want them to do what makes them happy and fulfills them. We had a lovely dinner at my sister's, Virginia's & Howard's, home that evening. That too was a very special time. Scott, Renee, Allison, Vee, Howard, David, MaryAnn, Christopher, Tim, Deanie, Joshua, Rachel... It was lovely.
New Years Eve we had our annual lobster dinner. This year the Elek's, Heisler's and Slattery's spent the evening at Tobbe's Lyndhurst house. Everything was perfectly delectable - as usual. We were pleased that we were able, once again, to stay awake until midnight to share our new year's kisses, champagne toast, and auld lang syne with precious friends.
God is so faithful. As soon as the holidays were over several job possibilities surfaced, and I have several second interviews set up for next week. I am encouraged and excited about the prospect of starting fresh with a new firm.
It was lovely to think that I might not be going back to work, and it gave me the much needed freedom over the holidays to enjoy my family, but, I am not ready to retire, and I want to go back to work. But, not just yet...
Tim and I are heading for Florida to spend a week with Jimmy and Carol in Orlando. I am looking forward to the sunshine and downtime. It will be a blessing to take vacation and not worry about what is piling up at work.
In the meantime, here's some picture's of
Christmas at Elek Holler
Tim grabs a quick bite, and Mom takes a minute to plan the menu for the next meal.
Kate and Steve - home for the holidays.
Mom loves cooking for all the gang.
Dinner!!
Hey!! I just noticed something... The guys aren't in the majority anymore.
Girls on this side....
Boys on that side.
Caught ya!!
Tim Sr., Rachel and Charlene
Charlene holds her seat
before the start of the Gift Grab game
The Granddogs!!
Ollie (aka Olive Oyle)
Roxy (aka Roxer Boxer)
Gizmo (aka Gizzie, Gizzard, Gizmopheus)
Jeremy and Jack Daniels (aka Jack)
Casey (aka Casey)
Bailey (aka Bailes, Poochie-poochie, Beauty)
Miss Molly Wuppy
(aka Wuppers, Wuppifers, the Wuppy Puppy)
Furleigh (aka Furls, Furley-burley)
Happy New Year at Tobbe's Cheri, Tim and John - with New Year's Eve dinner
Bill & Phyllis Tobbe set an elegant table for our feast
Fun, food, friends Bill, Deanie (or at least the back of her head) and Barb
Phyllis, Cheri and Joe
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