Flowers Make Any Day Brighter

For some reason this past week, I have been really weepy. I don’t know if it is because I was tired from everything going on this summer or because my arms were still killing me from all of the work on the tile. Either way, I had started crying at the smallest of things. This wasn’t the first time I had ever had that happen, but I was still getting frustrated with it.

Doug must have seen this and decided that the perfect cure would be a bouquet of flowers. It definitely made the day so much brighter, and I really appreciated him bringing them home. Doug knows how much I love flowers and having a bouquet of them on my table gave me something beautiful to look at every single day.  The flowers also reminded me that no matter how tired I was or how challenging life could be, life is still very beautiful.

Rounding the Bases at Mudhens Stadium

One of my favorite things to do in Toledo is walk by the Mudhens stadium when a baseball game is playing.  The crowd, the noise, the restaurants, the lights and the references to Klinger make it a fun place to be.  Imagine my surprise when I found out that the Owens Corning softball game that Cameron talked about was played on the Mudhens field. What a great experience for the interns even if they got destroyed by the upper management that played against them.  Cameron even got to run the bases with his first at bat turned into a single.  I don't know if this internship will land Cameron a job with Owens Corning, but it definitely has provided him with a lot of great memories and skills to take into any position that he gets.  He couldn't ask for more than that when the summer started.  

JabberJaw

When Meg got Doug his beloved Six-Million-Dollar Man lunchbox for his birthday, she asked me what one I had as a child.  I remembered being excited about picking out a new one every year but couldn't recall any of them except for my very last one - JabberJaw.  I don't know why I bought that one as I wasn't a huge fan of the show, but something about it caught my eye.  I kept it for quite a few years as it held up very well being made of plastic instead of metal which seemed to rust right away.  

Last week, I found the exact JabberJaw lunchbox on eBay and sent a picture of it to Meg.  She responded right away that she would get me one for my birthday if I wanted.  I graciously declined as it didn't mean to me what Doug's lunchbox meant to him.  She asked me what did mean a lot, and then almost answered her own question before I had time to respond.  The childhood item that I absolutely loved were the "Moody Cuties" that I picked up on each trip to Riley to visit my brother.  I could remember vividly going to the gift shop and looking through all of the dolls closely examining each one before I made the purchase.  It made the trips hold a special place in my heart instead of being as overwhelming as visiting a children's hospital can be.  I was surprised to see them on eBay as well.  Thankfully, I did not need Meg to buy me these either as mine were safely tucked away in my storage tub.  Maybe I will get them out and display them next to Doug's lunchbox.  Either way, I am glad that these small treasures brought back such fun memories for Doug and I.

DIY Project Week

For the last year and a half that we lived on Sunset Drive, money was tight.  Cameron was in his final year at Bethany, Meg was a senior in college, and we had purchased a second home in Ocala.  I did everything I could to budget our income, move investments and even sell items that we no longer needed to help pay the Florida mortgage. 

During that time period, I also worked very hard on getting our home in Syracuse ready to sell.  Housing prices were on the rise, and I wanted to get top dollar.  I knew that we had several items that needed repaired or replaced before we could list the home.  I thought about calling a contractor to come in and get a quote for everything but decided first to see if there was anything that I could do myself.  I wasn't overly handy, but I could follow directions well.  I was surprised to find a lot of YouTube videos on DIY projects that I needed done.  My dad also had electrical and plumbing experience, so I asked him for help as well.  I was amazed at all that I could complete with my dad and YouTube's help.  It saved us quite a bit of money and help me to gain confidence in my own abilities.

I have carried that newfound skill to Florida and have been able to fix a few items in our home here.  I even found a faulty outlet after two electricians were unsuccessful and was able to add daisy chain repair to my list of things that I could fix.  This past week, I spent quite a bit of time working on a few DIY projects again.  First, I replaced a broken latch on our fence after a windstorm tore it off of the vinyl gate.  That went well, and I appreciated Doug's help with it.  After our success with the fence, I talked Doug into also helping me replace the fluorescent lights in our garage.  That definitely proved to be the easiest of our tasks.

The third project was a little more challenging. Our grout had never been professionally cleaned since we moved in, and many places desperately needed it.  I tried several different ways to clean them, but they were too hard for me. I finally found the easiest solution from Google Gemini.   In the end, the tile looked great but cleaning it exposed a flaw in how my baseboards were installed.  The water from cleaning the tile had seeped under them and the inexpensive board had swelled in several places.  After a lot of work, I finally got them sanded down and repainted.  They didn't look 100% but would do for now.  

I decided that I would take a break from any type of DIY projects for the time being. I was happy with my new latch and the clean tile but was exhausted from the work.  The best part was that I saved over $500 with both projects and had a week to rest before Cameron arrived home for a short summer break. 

Walking Buddies

One of my absolute favorite places to go to in Ocala is Sholom Park. I found it shortly after Doug started traveling here for work and I have visited it at least once every week ever since then. The park is absolutely beautiful and the perfect place to be on a hot day especially with their shaded walking paths. It’s also very well maintained, and I love to see all of the people out enjoying the park just as much as I do on my walks.

One of the best parts about the park is all of the wildlife that I encounter while I am there. Today, eight turkeys and one egret greeted me as I walked along the paths. The turkeys make me laugh every time I see them as they love the park, but hate being close to people.  Watching them run (waddle) away from everyone is just so funny. The pond always brings in some type of waterfall and although it is usually a grey heron, today’s bird was a beautiful white egret looking for minnows or a lizard or two. I know that a lot of town and cities have a nice park or walking path to enjoy, but I think Sholom Park is one of the most gorgeous that I have ever seen.  It reminds me of God's glory and how wonderful life is here in Florida.

Bachelor Party Fun

Cal sent us this picture from Bloomington this weekend to let us know that he was ready for Brock's bachelor party.  He also thanked Meg for the birthday gift as everyone except for Maggie loved his new shirt.  I was glad to hear that he was having fun.  The guys had already "survived" a boating adventure on Lake Monroe and were hanging out at their Airbnb tonight.  Tomorrow that had plans to play Chase the Chicken complete with a Colonel Sanders outfit for Brock.

All of Cal's plans sounded awesome, but most of all I was happy that he and his college friends were still hanging out together.  Not everyone has a friend group like theirs and maybe not everyone wants one, but they have all been an important part of each other's lives since freshmen year at IU.  It was nice to know that they still were supporting each other across the miles and now through new relationships.  

Benson Boone

Last year when our Spotify top 100 song lists came out, Cameron remained very quiet about his number one.  I wasn't really sure why as he loves music and always joins in the conversation when that topic is involved.  After a few days, he finally told everyone why he didn't say anything.  It was because his top song of the year was Mystical Magical by Benson Boone.  He did get a little bit of ribbing after that, especially because he claimed Cora played it too much when he had actually put the song on repeat last year during Little 500 weekend.  

With all of that said, everyone did really like the song and were glad to hear that Cameron attended a Benson Boone concert with Cora last weekend.  This was his first major concert and the two of them had a great time at it.  I loved all of the pictures that he took and his description of Benson Boone as an entertainer.  There is no better memory than a first concert.  I could still remember seeing REO and being amazed at hearing them in person. I know this will be one that Cameron never forgets.

Family Reunions

While Doug and I were at Dan's last weekend for a "Cousins' Reunion", Meg and Nick were attending the Yoder Family one as well.  I was very glad that they were able to make it as they had missed the last two years due to Nick's travel schedule.  They both said that they had a lot of fun and caught up with a lot of family members that they hadn't seen for a while.  

Meg's trip also allowed her to spend a lot of time with Grandma Jane and Grandpa Cutes.  Grandma was very happy to see her and Grandpa enjoyed watching the Simpsons with her.  Meg also made time to visit Toledo on her trip.  She and Cameron met at the Toledo Zoo and afterward he took her on a tour of his apartment and Owens Corning.  Meg told me that she really enjoyed her stay and was happy to have had a few days with everyone. I have been so glad that our family makes an effort to stay in touch and visit often even though we live miles apart.  I truly believe that it makes us appreciate each other even more.  

Above and Beyond

Recently, I found a Lego that no one remembered ever owning.  Since some of it had already been built, Doug and I decided to finish it and put whatever money we made off of it toward shipping supplies.  Everyone agreed that it was a good idea and we started on it in June.  Once we got working on it, we realized several pieces were missing from the Star Wars Lego.  Since I had ordered from the Lego replacement store previously for other missing parts, I thought that it would still be worth finishing.  Once the missing pieces arrived, I put the Hoth Wampa Cave together and listed it on eBay.

The Lego was a huge hit on the selling site and soon I had $58 extra dollars to use toward bubble wrap, packing tape and more.  About two weeks after I shipped the Lego, I received a message from the buyer that there were seventy pieces on the set that were incorrect and several more that were not true Legos.  Since there weren't a lot of pieces in the set to begin with and everything we have or have bought are Lego, I questioned his message as nicely as I could.  He agreed that our listing had stated that we could not be 100% sure that all pieces were included or correct but still wanted some type of remedy to the problem that he addressed.  I didn't agree with him but since I didn't want negative feedback, I offered a refund if he returned the set.   He didn't want that and asked for a partial refund instead.  I decided to give him $15 back and thanked him for compromising.

About a week after he received the refund, the buyer messaged again asking me to look for six pieces with stickers on them that we didn't know were part of the set.  I wanted to say to him "six is a lot less than seventy, so what were you talking about in the first place" but instead I spent an afternoon looking through all of our tubs of Legos searching for the blocks with stickers on them.  I was extremely pleased to find four of them and sent them out the next morning.   

In the end the buyer never offered to pay for the shipping for those pieces, but at least I did receive positive feedback from him.  Doug asked me why I went above and beyond for such little return.  I didn't really know, but I think it was because I realized that if this was one of my own children, I would want someone to treat them the way I did even if they were being a little over the top.  I don't know if I would do it again, but I was glad to help out this time. 

Skin Cancer Blues

Doug went to the dermatologist this week to have another skin cancer removed from his head.  I didn’t go with him to this appointment because he told me that he would be there for several hours. It was a smaller area that had to be removed than the last two times, but he would have to be there longer as he waited to make sure that all of the margins were clear. 

Doug was very positive about it and I didn’t think much about it since it sounded like a pretty easy procedure.  Imagine my surprise when he came home with six stitches on the top of his head. I looked at him and started crying. I know that I shouldn’t have, but this was nothing like I was expecting and I knew from his previous surgeries that this one would be a lot more noticeable. Hair doesn’t really grow back over a scar, it just kind of grows around it.  That didn’t really matter with the two in the back of the head, but for some reason knowing that this one would be in the front felt overwhelming to me.

Once I started reading about the skin cancer, I stopped feeling sorry for myself. Doug had a different type of this time of skin cancer this time and although it wasn’t deadly, Basal Cell could definitely cause a lot more damage to the bone. I thought of my uncle Bob and the fact that he had lost his nose to skin cancer. A scar on Doug’s head would be nothing compared to that. Plus, our main goal is to keep Doug healthy and stress-free. Me crying over his skin cancer was stupid. Hopefully, this will be the last time, but if not, we at least know how to deal with it now.

IU Scholarships for the Win

Cameron sent me a text today asking me if I had checked his bursar account lately.  Since it wasn’t August yet, I hadn’t even thought about looking at his tuition bill.  He told me to look at his financial aid package when I had a chance as he thought that there might be some changes to it.  I was definitely curious after his text, but didn’t have time to log in until after lunch.  

When I finally sat down at the computer, I couldn’t believe what I was reading.  In the section for financial aid awards there was an extra $4628 in addition to his annual provost scholarship of $4000.  I had to read it twice to even believe what I saw was true.  Cameron had won the Douglas A and Rebecca L Smock Scholarship award for $2628 and the Padget Family Bicentennial Scholarship for $2000.  Both were merit based scholarships in the Kelley School of Business given to undergraduate students demonstrating academic excellence and campus involvement.  Cameron fit the definition perfectly.

As soon as I found out, I texted Cameron to congratulate him on his hard work.  I then called Doug to tell him and started crying.  I had spent over ten hours last March helping Cameron fill out his FAFSA, the general scholarship application, and the one for the business school specifically.  At the time I told myself if he got a thousand extra dollars it would be worth it.  Now he was getting over $4600 and it couldn’t have come at a better time.  The cost of living in Bloomington had skyrocketed over the past three years.  Cameron’s rent alone was twice what I had paid for Cal his senior year.  From my estimates this summer, I was going to be $3500 short in the account that I had set aside to pay for Cameron’s final year.  Now with these two scholarships I had a little breathing room.  It felt like a gigantic win and a wonderful reminder that God does answer our prayers.  

Fourteen Years and Still Going Strong

This post popped up on my memories today and it made me smile instantly.  I absolutely loved our 2012 Honda Odyssey and was happy to know that it was still going strong.  It had seen a lot in its fourteen years.  It was the last car that we bought when all four children lived at home, it had moved each one of them to college and would have been the last car that Grandma Heinisch knew for our family.  The van had not only made numerous trips in the Midwest, but it had also been to Washington DC, Boston, Maine, Vermont, Niagara Falls, Texas, Orlando, Tennessee, and Wisconsin as well.  The Odyssey had known me as a driver for nine of those years, Cameron for four and now Karen for almost one.  It overheard more conversations between our children and I than I could ever count and has truly become an important part of our family.  I know that one day we will have to say goodbye, but not thankfully, not today.

 

World Cup Final

Doug and I left DeKalb yesterday afternoon with the hope of making it to Tennessee before stopping for the night.  Thankfully, traffic was light and we made it to Ocala with no issues.  We were both tired when we pulled into our driveway today but extremely thankful to be home.  We had three boxes to unpack from my parents' home, but nothing like the last time we traveled back from the Midwest.  

While we were driving yesterday, our afternoon entertainment was listening to the finals of The World Cup between Argentina and Spain.  Doug was hoping that Argentina would win as he was a fan of Messi and I was rooting for Spain, mostly because Cora had Spain and we had a girls' alliance in the Heinisch family pool after a lot of trash talking from the guys occurred in the beginning of the tournament.  The hype around the game was big outside of our family as well because it was the first time that two Spanish speaking countries had played each other in the final since 1966.  

Thankfully, the game lived up to the hype and even though it was low scoring with Spain winning 1-0, it was still very exciting.  It also kept Doug and I entertained on our long drive.  Although, I had been pulling for Meg's England team to win in the final four, I was still very happy that Cora won our pool's $50.  The best part for me, however, was all of the family texts back and forth throughout the tournament.  It was a great way to keep in touch and made the World Cup even more fun.

DeKalb

Doug was up early this morning so that he could meet his dad for breakfast.  He really enjoyed his visit and was able to see Uncle Ray as well.  Uncle Ray had moved into Oak Crest last spring and although unsure at first, had really come to enjoy living there.  I wasn't surprised to hear that as I know that Carl and Marina really like their new life in the senior living community.  

While Doug was busy, I appreciated the extra time with Cal and Maggie.  I was also thankful that they could take me to DeKalb to meet Doug so that we could leave for home from there.  Doug and I offered to give Maggie a tour of DeKalb since she had never been to Doug's home city.  She got to see Inboden's, our favorite butcher shop that was a highlight of our family's many trips to visit Grandma when she was sick.  She also got to see St. Mary's Church and visit Jeanette's gravesite.  As nice as it was to share our memories of those sites with her, the best part was taking her to Doug's childhood home.  The new owners were in the driveway when we went by, so Cal stopped and asked if we could walk around.  They were incredibly nice and we all had so much fun talking about all of the good times that we had shared in Grandma's backyard - from our wedding rehearsal dinner, to the garden, to the pine trees that Doug watered every day when they moved-in, to the clubhouse that Carl built, to the bench from the golf course that Dan brought home, to the back porch, to the place where Apache was buried - it was a wonderful walk down memory lane and I appreciated Cal and Maggie taking the time to share it with us.

After our tour of DeKalb, Doug and I went to a cousins' gathering at Dan's.  It was very nice to see Doug's cousins and catch up with so many of them.  Doug hadn't seen a lot of them since Uncle Jim died four years ago.  It was also nice to visit with Addie and Morgan.  They have had some major life changes recently and it was fun listening to them talk about their futures.  We weren't able to stay very long but really enjoyed the visit.  It was a little bittersweet without Jeanette, but extremely nice just the same.  

Summer Wine Fest

After having a wonderful time with Brett and Karen, Doug and I followed it up with a fantastic day with Cal and Maggie.  We arrived in Chicago at 11 a.m. this morning and spent the entire day in Lincoln Park enjoying all that the area had to offer.  We started by walking to one of Cal and Maggie's favorite places for German beer.  The beer was good, but the best item on the menu was their soft pretzel.  It was not only delicious but enough for four people to enjoy.  While walking back to our car we even got to visit the movie theater where Dillinger was gunned down.  It felt a little morbid at first until I realized that it was a stop on the Chicago True Crime bus tour.  I guess if others were checking it out, it was ok if we did too. Either way, it made for a great photo opportunity next to the giant mural on the alley wall.

Cal picked Tuco and Blondie's for our next stop.  We had been there before, and Doug was more than ready to go back.  The restaurant was named after two of the characters from one of his favorite Clint Eastwood movies - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.  The margaritas were great, and we enjoyed the atmosphere very much.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at Cal and Maggie's apartment watching France and England play in the third-place play-off World Cup soccer match.  It was a high scoring game with England wining 4-6.  None of us could still believe that France wasn't in the final.  They had looked like the best team throughout the tournament and now were officially 4th.  While we were watching, Maggie was making dinner for everyone.  We loved the meatballs and charcuterie board that she made.  

Cal had bought all of us tickets for the Summer Wine Fest at the Lincoln Park Zoo tonight.  We were worried that it would be cancelled due to the air quality issues from the Canadian wildfires.  Thankfully, the levels remained ok today and most of the tables were moved indoors, so we did not have any problems with the smoke.  The wine night was a lot of fun.  There were thirty different wineries represented and we tried wines from quite a few of them. Many of the animals were still out and about, so we could walk through the zoo, drinking wine and see many of our favorites. Although the baby zebra was adorable, nothing compared to the baby rhino that was running all over its area.  It was the cutest animal that I had ever seen.  Overall, the wine night was a huge success and the perfect way to end a wonderful day in Chicago.

Celebrating Anniversary #1 in Columbus

After I left Paula's last night, I picked up Doug at the Indy airport.  I was happy that his flight got in early and thought that maybe I would be able to get to bed close to midnight.  Once we pulled into the parking lot, however, I heard a loud beeping coming from an apartment or a garage near Brett's apartment. I hoped that it would go away, but unfortunately it didn't and I accepted the fact that I would be staying up much later than I had planned.  I couldn't hear it inside of Brett's apartment, but as soon as I opened his door the loud four beeps were going strong.  I asked Google Gemini and looked it up online for verification and they both agreed.  It was a carbon monoxide detector and needed immediate attention from the fire department.  

I debated for a little while about what I should do next but finally realized that I wouldn't sleep if I didn't call 911 and report it.  Once I said four beeps, they instantly sent a truck.  It was after 2 a.m. when they arrived and I worried that I was wasting their time, but within ten minutes they had confirmed that it was carbon monoxide and even found the garage that it was coming from with their handheld detectors.  After walking through Brett's apartment with their gauges and assuring me that we were carbon monoxide free, the firemen showed me the problem in the garage.  A golf cart had been charging overnight.  With the heat and the corroded batteries, it had filled the garage with the poisonous gas.  Thankfully, they were able to clear it out fairly quickly and soon I was waking Brett and Doug up to let them know what they missed.

Although I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, I still had a lot of fun today with Brett and Karen celebrating their first anniversary as a married couple.  They spent the day giving Doug and I a tour of Columbus stopping at some of their favorite spots and trying out some new ones. While we were out, we went to three different bookstores, ate lunch at a local pub, checked out the hot sauce store, visited Brett's place of work, went to Bear Wallow Distillery and waited out a thunderstorm at Range 46 Winery.  We ended our tour at the pizza place that Karen and Brett went on their first date which was perfect for their one-year anniversary dinner from Doug and I.  It was so much fun hanging out with the two of them and seeing the place that they now call home.  We may not have been visiting on their actual anniversary date, but it was awesome to see how much they had grown in the past year together and to celebrate with them both.