Bye Bye Tiki stuff

The Tiki Hut inventory is gone.

Bye Bye

Yippppeeeee!!

This really nice couple came by to look at all of the inventory over the weekend. They called back yesterday and said they would take it and they came over today to count and load. We went piece by piece, finding the wholesale amount, writing it down - then when we had finished, we took about 15% off that total and that was that! They got a great deal and I gott rid of all of it out of my garage.

I was terrified it was going to stay around for 5 years or more like everything else in those garages... but I sent out lots of "I Want a Tiki Business" vibes into the universe and I was sent a buyer!!

It is a Great Day!
Kristin

Happy Birthday Alison

Happy Birthday Alison!!!

Funny

I don't know where this came from, who took it or who played around to get this picture but I Love It!

Springfield Ct.

This is our beauty on Springfield Court.

She is amazing.

I'm not sure why I didn't take a picture of the entire front of the house. That little driveway to the left of the house goes back to a shed/garage-like structure. I can't for the life of me remember at the moment if it has a garage door if it is just a shed. Whatever it has, it is a real nice room. It is going to look great.

I sent an email to my family yesterday telling them that this house was the same floorplan as my Grandmothers home in Nebraska. Now I'm sure that a two bedroom, one bath house can really only be configured a few ways, but the thought of this having anything to do with that great little house in Maywood, NE makes me happy as can be.

This house is a gem if I ever saw one. My husband put an offer on it before I even saw it. In fact, I only saw it a few days ago. Anyway, the place needs a new kitchen layout, and I think I'd have open up to the dining room (which is really too small to be a dining room these days.) I would leave the seperation between the living room and the existing kitchen since this house is so small - a little privacy and noise reduction is going to be welcomed. Our carpenter suggested putting an entrance to the kitchen from the living room - but if we incorporated the dining room into the kitchen design, then we already have an entrance that way. Well, I'll be posting a million pictures.


I can't decide what to do with that front porch. (Besides a nice paint job lol) It either needs trim to make it look like it isn't just stuck on, or it needs to be taken off. I think I'm for keeping it and just sprucing it up. It is always nice to have a screened porch to keep the skeeters away.

We close on this house on Wednesday. Our carpenter is going to live in this house for a few months, work on the Jupiter house and this one and then we'll buy another one for him to live in, flip and so it goes...or we'll just see how this goes first. That's the plan anyway.

This is Springfield. She is going to be something great. I can see it now.

Have a Great Day!
Kristin

Cool Building

My husband was taking me around the city of Jacksonville the other day, showing me houses, when we came upon this little gem. It was just the neatest building. We stopped and got a cone, each of us. I got a small one - 3 bites. OK - maybe it was 10 bites but it was just the perfect size. Besides needing a good cleaning, it was just a perfect place. The people who have recently purchased the place were putting up a fence on one side - I guess to protect the picnic table area from the street just steps away.

I have no idea where in Jacksonville this place is located, although I'm sure my husband does - but it is someplace I will try to tell everyone about so it will stay in business for another 50 years.

Have A Great Day!
Kristin

Flipping Wonderful!

Here she is...

Miss Jupiter

Isn't she pretty?

She'll be all ours on Friday.

The list of things to fix, repair, replace, take out, move, demolish, upgrade, level, paint, stain, refinish and keep are numerous. When we get finished with this three bedroom, one bathroom house (plus a sort of started half bath in the garage) it will be a...

Three bedroom, two and a half bath, eat-in kitchen, original hardwood flooring, landscaped & fenced yard with a new roof! (The fenced yard will actually be roofless, but the house will have a new roof lol) There is deck access through the Master Suite, but that is just one of three decks gracing this property. Central heat and air as well as all new electrical throughout the house are among the amenities you will find in this charming home on Jupiter Court.

Have A Great Day!

Kristin

Caffeine

Caffeine is not my friend. I had one 12-16oz glass of dietCoke last night.

I was awake until 7 am this morning.

I keep telling myself that I cannot have caffeine, but it doesn't sink in. Maybe if I actually blog about, tell everyone about it and make it real - I can't have caffeine!!!!

Don't do it!

STOP!

There... I'm going to bed now since I only slept from 7am until 10:30am.

Whew, glad I got that out.

Have a nice night...zzzzzzzzzzzzzz


PS I quit having a daily dose of caffeine in 1992. This is something I've known about for a very long time.

Spelling Alphabet

My husband was a private pilot for many many years (and will be again, I'm sure). I think he got his first airplane when he was 17 years old. I've always been facinated with the alphabet that pilots used in the air, so I thought I'd pass it along today.

The alphabet is actually called the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet (also the Phonetic Alphabet...although it's not phonetic, so I don't know why it is called that or the NATO Phonetic Alphabet). For this "lesson" it will be called the...

International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet

A = Alpha
B = Bravo
C = Charlie
D = Delta
E = Echo
F = Foxtrot
G = Golf
H= Hotel
I = India
J = Juliet
K = Kilo
L = Lima
M = Mike
N = November
O= Oscar
P = Papa
Q = Quebec
R = Romeo
S = Sierra
T = Tango
U = Uniform
V = Victor
W = Whiskey
X = Xray
Y = Yankee
Z = Zulu

Most of the words are recognizable by native English speakers because English must be used upon request for communication between an aircraft and a control tower whenever two nations are involved, regardless of their native languages. Wikipedia

I think it is fun to know these words - especially when you are trying to say a UPC code or something over the phone. "Did you say D or B??" Now you can say - "Did you say D as in Delta or B as in Bravo?" You'll be oooh so clever!

Have A Great Day!
Kristin

WFMW - Greatest Hits

This is a rewind edition of Works for Me Wednesday...This is one of my tips that I thought I'd showcase again...Enjoy!!

Works for me Wednesday

I’ve been reading the WFMW posts for about a month now - you all have some great ideas. This is my first week posting a tip for WFMW, I do hope you enjoy. I love to clean things, but I also want to spend the least amount of effort doing it. I want it to be fast and easy and I don't want to use smelly chemicals. I'm a fan of soap and water.

If you’d like to see more Works for Me Wednesday posts, please click here.

I have a love affair with my shower. It is a man made composite material of some sort, it is bright white, it is supposed to look like tile, but it isn’t. It is supposed to look like there is grout between the tiles, but there isn’t - it is just one big plastic-like tub surround...I just love it. I hated it when I first saw it - When I toured other condos in our building I was shocked that even those folks who upgraded their bathrooms, still kept that awful tub surround. THEN I found the trick...

It is a chamois type product - It is called The Absorber - I googled it and this is just one of the many places I found -- The Absorber. It is the best thing EVER. I found mine at Target in the clearance section a few years ago, but now that I know how awesome it is, I would gladly pay the going rate.

When I get done showering, I pick up the absorber from its throne (laying across the tub faucet) and I get it wet -- I then wipe off the walls of my plastic-like tub surround. It takes a moment - maybe three moments. The fake tiles, two years later, look like they have never had a drop of water on them.

The Absorber is stiff like cardboard when it dries - but when you get it wet you can literally roll it up. I have placed it on the floor of the tub so you can get a little bit or perspective on the size of the cloth. Have I mentioned that I love this product!



For the tub, I use a magic eraser once a week - I keep it in the shower and just before I finish up in the shower I just grab the magic eraser and clean the entire tub, hose it down, turn off the water, wipe the walls with my absorber and my tub and shower are tide-clean!

My quick tip - Clean the shower while you're in it.

Have a Great Day!

Kristin

I am grateful

When I watched The Secret for the very first time (I'm in my hundredth watching by now I'm sure) one of the things that popped out to me immediately was this quote from Bob Proctor.

"I am so happy and grateful now that..." fill in the blank. I say it many times during each day & I love how I feel when I say it. I have a connectedness that I had never had before. Or maybe I just feel the connection rather than just racing through life.

I purchased The Secret Daily Calendar this year. LOVE IT! Yesterday's message was....

Bob Proctor, featured in The Secret, suggests writing down what you want. "Begin each sentence with, I am so happy and grateful now that ..." (and you fill in the rest). When you give thanks as though you have already received what you want, you are emitting a powerful signal to the Universe. That signal is saying that you have it already because you are feeling gratitude for it now. Each morning before you get out of bed, make it a habit to feel the feelings of gratitude in advance for the great day ahead, as though it is done.

Today's Secret message is....

Laughter attracts joy, releases negativity and leads to miraculous cures.

On this April Fools Day, lets be Grateful and Laugh!!!!!!!!!

Have A Great Day!
Kristin

March Links

Going Home
Mocha
Pelicans
Books
Pioneer Woman
WFMW - Backwards Edition
I Went Home!
Chalkboard chalk tip
The Note
Purse
Chandelier
American Accent
St. Patty's Day
WFMW- 11:11
Making a Home
Spring Peepers
#42 The Laundry pt 2
Journaling
Oprah's Big Give
End of the Tiki Hut

End of the Tiki Hut

We cleared out the Tiki Hut slash Flea market booth. As we were taking the last load out to the car my husband turned to me and said "This is kind of sad. I thought it was fun." I will never understand him.

I hated the Tiki Hut - even though in my first few posts about it I tried to make it sound like everyone should have some crazy flea market business. I hated going there to work it, I hated that it was 17 miles away and I had to take two expressways to get there. I hated that I got stuck in traffic jams getting there or coming back. Not every week, but close to it. I hated that we had three weeks with ZERO Sales. I also hated that the 18 yr old kid that we hired to work, who was the best kid ever, just stopped showing up and has given me ten million excuses why he can't talk to us on the phone but only through cryptic emails. He keeps telling me that he is going to redeem himself, but its been 5 weeks now. I'm all out of patience.

So now we have hundreds of Tiki Hut items that went unsold in our garage. At least someone bought the Tiki Bar. Oh thank you kind sir for buying the Tiki Bar. I wanted to put the rest of the tiki items in the trash but my husband wouldn't let me.

Thankfully I had given away/sold a lot of stuff and the garage was able to handle more stuff, but now I'm going to have to get on the ball and get the Tiki stuff sold. I can't have it hanging around, its already stressing me out just knowing that my garage is full again.

So the Tiki Hut is gone -- but not forgotten. I'll post a victory post when the last of the Tiki items are gone :0)

Have a great day!
Kristin

Oprah's Big Give

My husband. Well, that is quite a statement LOL That statement is usually said with rolling eyes and a bit of a smile. He is usually doing something or saying something that is just so typical of him. He will watch Fox news for hours (or days) if I let him but if I happen to click on something where Ty Pennington is yelling or or Tyra Banks is talking to her Next Top Models he just throws a fit about something - their voice, their clothing, their attitude, the comment they just made - I don't think he even listens, it just isn't News and he has to let me know that he doesn't appreciate it.

Goodness.

He's been like this for years and I still can't figure out why we only have one place to watch TV, but that's another story I guess.

So, I love Extreme Makeover Home Edition. (EMHE) I even like the megaphone toting Ty. "Good Morning (Fill in the blank) Family! " Sunday nights have always had some favorites of mine - the Soprano's, Six Feet Under, EMHE, The Amazing Race (which has been moved to another day) and many other great Sunday shows. I set the DVR to record Ty and the gang at EMHE just so I can watch it in peace when Tom isn't around, but the newest show after that one I didn't want to have to watch in the middle of the night... and that's Oprah's Big Give. Much to my surprise and delight my husband LOVES this show and often talks about the previous episode a few times during the week.

True Joy!!

I'm so glad that there is such a wonderful show for us to watch together that so far hasn't involved too many megaphone toting speakers LOL

Have a Great Day!
Kristin

Journaling

I purchased this journal called Journal 10+ back in January and I have been faithfully writing in it each night. The journal is dated 2008 - 2018, so it is a big commitment! There is space for just three or four lines a day, so it really is easy to just write a blurb and go to bed. (Journaling is one of my 101 things to do in 1001 days.)

The funny thing is that I am trying so hard not to complain in that journal - I don't want 10 years of whining! I also don't want it to be a gratitude journal (I have one of those.) I want it to be about my life, what I'm thinking, what's going on and what's bothering me, too. I want successes and I want reflection, too. That's a lot to put into just 4 lines and some days I can't seem to fill up one line lol Especially when all I want to do is whine about how tough my life is...

That's me - tough life Kristin. ha! :0)


Have a great day,
Kristin

#42 - Laundry part 2

I wanted to update my Laundry dilemma - which is number 42 on my 101 Things to Do list. The goal was to put away my laundry on laundry day, not just let it hang out in the laundry baskets all folded and pretty for a week. These laundry baskets, you see, would stay in the middle of my living room and each day my husband would call out for socks, or his pants or whatever he wanted but couldn't find in the closet - and I would say, gees honey, look in the laundry basket, duh??

It was beginning to really frustrate me that I allowed our laundry to be stored in baskets in the main part of the house. It needed to be put away.

Putting that item on my list of 101 Things to Do really drove it home to follow through on the task and complete it. Since the first of February when I accomplished the first "putting the laundry away victory," I have put away all the laundry by the end of the day. The other night it was seconds before I went to bed because I was "forgetting" I had to do it...but because I folded my sleeping T-Shirt and put it in the laundry basket, I instantly remembered that I still had 5 minutes of putting away to do.

One of the side benefits? I've asked my husband to help me put away the clothes. He grumbles and mumbles and pretends to not know where the socks go, but he finishes his basket in the same amount of time I finish my basket. The side benefit you ask? The side benefit is that I don't have to grumble anymore about having to do it all myself. I also don't have time to grumble, he does that for me. Hearing him actually makes me laugh. So the side benefit is Laughing while putting away the laundry!

I'm going to keep this in the active status for a few months longer, but I think this is a habit by now.

Have A Great Day!
Kristin

Spring Peepers

I lived in a house on Bell Hwy in Eaton Rapids, MI. Behind the house was a swamp. I can't help but think about that swamp when I think about spring coming. I think the window glass in that house was as thin as a piece of paper and that the caulking had long since shriveled up and died. The master bedroom had a sliding glass door, right next to my side of the bed and the ice cold breezes that came through there in the winter was welcomed compared to the sounds that the Spring Peepers made. Did you know that Spring Peepers turn into frogs with deep voices? Did you know that frogs talk well beyond spring??

We lived in that place a few years and the frogs drove me absolutely batty. They were so loud. People on the other end of my phone conversation could hear them, when I was in the house with all the doors and windows shut. I told my friend, Bob*, about these frogs. Actually I complained and complained about how I couldn't sleep, they were so loud, and it was only just the beginning of spring! She laughed her funny laugh and twilled - I just love spring peepers! Ha! She came to visit one spring. She was in for a rude awakening. She actually asked at one point -- What is that noise?!! Your Frogs, I said.

She will never, NEVER forget that Spring.

I don't think new windows could even help keep the sounds of those frogs out of the house. There were millions of them. The tad poles that hatched in our unopened pool (of course, on top of the tarp that covered the pool) were in the billions. Billions of baby frogs. Thankfully I don't live there any more. The people who bought the house said they wanted to extend the swamp...make it even more swampy. I disclosed to them that they didn't want more frogs. I told them that the frog noises drove me crazy. They laughed like my friend did - We love frogs!

I doubt they made a bigger swamp after their first spring in that house. The house on Bell Hwy.

Have A Great Spring!
Kristin

*Bob is a name that my friend and I call each other. We are both Bob's.

Making a Home

I have mentioned before that I just adore Victoria Moran. The way she writes just gets me thinking. Well, tonight I was reading her book "Shelter for the Spirit" and she was talking about how people tend to live in their spaces... it is either temporary or permanent. She said that people who are in temporary housing (and view it as temporary) will pack up the good things for the permanent house or the next place or their home instead of the rental. I have found, that I move about every three years. That is such an improvement from the "moving every year" phase that I had going for awhile there, but even at three years, I do find myself waiting to unpack things. It can take me months and months to unpack boxes that are in the guest room or the office. If I have a garage, they are stored in there when I am tired of looking at them in my living space.

The question being...if I move every three years, when will I ever be settled??

I recently read a story (or a blog) about a military family that unpacks everything the first & second day that they move into the house & take the boxes to the curb. Since they move so frequently, they need to be immediately settled and make it their home. What a fabulous thing to do. They are literally claiming their space as soon as they arrive. BRAVO!

I find that if I take a vacation for a week and stay in the hotel, I immediately claim that space as my own. I unpack my suitcase, hang up my clothes, put all my toiletries in the bathroom and viola I've got a home. The less stuff that I have to unpack, the quicker it becomes my home. LOL

Since about the day we moved into this condo my husband has wanted to move. He hates it here. Sometimes he says he doesn't really hate it, but he says it enough times that I do believe he has come to hate it. On the other hand, I really like it here! I can tell that I like it here because this has been the cleanest house I've ever had. I dust more often, vacuum a lot, put out those hot spot fires and of course keep the kitchen clean and tidy. I don't feel overwhelmed with clutter and piles, even though my office isn't neat by any means.

One of the best things I have done is to unpack the things that I like. I haven't stashed anything away for later. I either love it and use it or I have given it away. I still have garage units that are full of stuff but I don't want most of that stuff. I could give it all away and I wouldn't miss any of it. My husband isn't of that mindset - hence the reason why we have two garage units that are stuffed to the gills.


Oprah had a rerun on this week about hoarders. This specific topic was on a family that had so much stuff in their house that they had little mazes to get from one part to another. The stuff was piled so high that you literally couldn't see over it. The problem with that family was the sheer volume of stuff being purchased on a daily basis and brought into the house. I seem to get overrun with paper. I don't buy it, I print it or it comes in the mail, it comes as catalogs, as free newspapers and flyers.

A few years ago I was overwhelmed with furniture and now it's paper. Maybe I have improved LOL

I think that this residence - my home - has really become my home more than any other. I think I have been learning the tricks to make it mine. Victoria's book is just confirming that fact. Now if I could just release the last remnants of the clutter... ahhhh I still have a ways to go. :)

Have a great day!
Kristin

WFMW - 11:11

Welcome to another edition of Works For Me Wednesday! Each week hundreds of people from around the world gather at Rocks in My Dryer for WFMW and share their tips. Please take a look when you have finished here. Thanks & I'll see you again next week.



What works for me is something so easy. I do it everyday. I look forward to 11:11Am or 11:11PM each day. Most of the time I do a little a dance - my celebratory dance. OK, so I'm a total goofball, but I look forward to this each day.

Why does this qualify as a tip? Because I'd like to suggest to you that looking forward to something each day is a blessing and lightens the heart and can really bring a little bit of joy to the day, each day.

So find something easy to look forward to each day. Whether it is the time of day, or a nightly bath, or being able to read a few pages in a book - something. I think that is the key to happiness - finding true joy in your life each day. Even when it has been a trying day, 11:11 comes around and I smile.

It isn't 11:11PM yet in my part of the world, but when it does strike I will go from room to room looking at all of the clocks and smiling that they all say 11:11 - truly cheap thrills.

Do you have something that brings you joy each day? Post a note in the comment section about what makes you happy each day.


Have A Great Day!
Kristin

St. Patty's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

When I was a kid, the thing that made St. Patty's day different than any other was that I was supposed to wear green that day. I think I forgot nearly every year to specifically wear something green to school. Most of the time I managed to have on green socks or something that had a tiny green stripe or something. And who came up with this ridiculous "custom" to pinch someone if they didn't wear green on St. Patrick's Day?

When I was a teenager I became aware of some friends of my family who threw a huge St. Patrick's Day party. They used to hold it in their warehouse/office - it was crazy! Hundreds of people came to this event. Literally we were packed into the place like sardines, or maybe sardines had more room! The place was packed and the food and beer flowed until the middle of the night. Those were the days. Now this family rents out a hall and sells tickets to get in. They donate the money they raise, so that is a nice side benefit. My Dad serves up food there most every year and when I was in town, I would almost certainly come by and spend some time with everyone.

I've had a few St. Patricks Day drinking tales that I'll just keep to myself, however these days about all I do for St. Patrick's Day is to wear green - usually my Michigan State University shirt, because now that I'm older I remember to wear green. I don't think anyone would dare pinch me if I didn't, but now that I can remember it doesn't much matter. ha ha

Happy St. Patty's Day to you all. Be safe and please don't drink and drive.

Kristin
*The picture is a close up of the door detail to the oldest house in St. Augustine, FL.

American Accent

I just took this quiz - How fun. The results you see in the little box are the results of my quiz. Click on the link at the bottom of the box to take your own quiz.

Since I lived in New Mexico for a few years, I tend to say "soda" more often than "pop." It must have been that last month that I lived in New Mexico that finally converted me to saying soda. I resisted for so long, I explained that I wanted a Coke or a soda pop or a fountain drink and finally I caved and started saying soda. When I went back home to Michigan everyone knew what a soda was and it was just easy to continue saying soda.

Have A Great Day!
Kristin

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz