Memorial Day 2011 and good news!



Abbey Road 2011



Memorial Day kicked off with its usual bang of Abbey Road on the River.  A 5 year running tradition that Dad and I have to celebrate none other than the worlds greatest band.  This year we  had some colder weather...which was unusual since it's typically so hot you can't drink the beers fast enough.  I was bundled up in multiple layers, but still had a great time listening to Beatles tunes from various bands from around the world.  It's always such a great time.  This year a first timer to the festival was a band out of Nashville, Tennessee called Sixty-Four.  They were amazing.  Their lead vocalist/guitarist did a solo at the end of "Come Together" that brought the entire crowd to our feet.  Great stuff. 



The "Pond Prowler"



The next day we headed up to the farm for some fun in the sun.  Mom and Mike purchased a new boat for their pond (small lake? what's the difference?) and Michael was pretty excited to try that out and do some fishing.  I was just along for the ride.  It turned out being a scorcher but I was happy to relax, read a bit and catch some rays.  I don't think Australian Shepherds were cut out for the heat because Rigby was all too eager to remain in the A/C.  Have I mentioned she's ginormous?  Because she is.  She is listening much better and actually coming when called instead of just looking at  you and thoroughly testing your patience.  She's growin' up!  She and Pete still managed to do their fair share of running around.  Pete always does  his "big laps" which he basically just takes off and runs in huge circles all over the yard and she chases him.  She is quicker on the straightaways, but has nothing on the little guy when it comes to agility!  Pete can corner like he's on rails!  Here is a video I caught of the action. (It wouldn't upload the video, so here is the YouTube link)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mdiTi54CYE

Well....home inspection over and we've received some great news!  Nothing major!  A few minor fixes, and older A/C than we'd like, but nothing preventing us from moving forward with the house.  We'll just ask for some repairs and hopefully be on our way to closing pretty soon!  Still cautiously optimistic...but feeling much better now.  Now the realization of having to pack and move again has set in.  Oh well, moving is always a great opportunity to ditch all of the stuff you don't need.  I'll try and clear some closet space for Michael, but no promises!



On the "yacht"



View from boat



Clematis and Koi Pond







Offer: ACCEPTED! Now, cautious optimism.

The search for the perfect home is never easy…and with it being a buyer’s market I was able to be even pickier than the first time I purchased a home.  Oh how things have changed since 2004.  Apparently they now require your first born along with every piece of your financial history from that pack of gum I bought last week to investments, 401K, etc.  I do think changes needed to be made with foreclosures running rampant, however I think they went from one extreme to another.  2004:  “So….you wanna buy a house?”  I picture a guy opening his trench coat in a dark alley…  2011:  “Ok, we’re going to need not only your complete financial history, but also your dogs, your mother’s, your first cousin on your father’s side…oh, and a piece of that gum that we know you bought last Tuesday at 3:42pm”.   But, enough negativity…the perfect one was found after looking at over 30 houses and after negotiations yesterday…Offer:  ACCEPTED!

It’s just lovely.  I don’t want to get too excited because I know that many many things can go wrong during a home inspection.  Let’s just cross our fingers that that doesn’t happen.  So, we’ll just take the optimistic route and assume things will be A-OK.  The style, Cape Cod.  The inside, awesome.  I will include some pictures from the online listing, and  hopefully this will provide some nice “before” and “after” for later posts…again, with the optimism.  You could be reading something a few weeks from now that has us back on the hunt after discovering evil fairies are living in the attic…but let’s hope not!  Cautiously optimistic.  I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.  Oh, and one last thing!  This house was listed by “Mike and Lindsay”.  (Ok ok, so not exactly Michael and Lindsey) A sign?.....No pun intended.   It's tiny, but you can see it on the bottom abovo the phone number.

TGIF. The week goes by pretty slow when you're eating cardboard.



Grill master making healthy food

 As indicated by my blog post title, a new diet started last weekend.  Bikini season is almost upon us people!  Nothing radical, no crazy pills or drops or hormones.  Just good ol' fashioned low fat/low carb/ low calorie.  It must be working to some degree because the clothes do seem to fit a little looser, and I'm feeling a little lighter in my step on this Friday morning.  Still, I'm more than ready for my cheat day on Saturday!  I am fantasizing about nachos, cheeseburgers, and maybe even steak.  The world is my oyster....but trust me I'm not wasting my cheat day on oysters.  That's just silly. 

Aforementioned meal

Michael being the terrific cook he is, can make anything taste amazing!  I think my favorite meal on this week 1 of dieting was the grilled tilapia with homemade salsa.  The salsa consisted of pineapple, red peppers, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime juice.  Deeelicious.  A side of fresh green beans with our very SECRET seasoning (can't give away trade secrets) and an amazing healthy meal came together. 

In other news, house hunting is stressful.  I think I've seen about 30 houses, and ultimately liked 2 of them.  I'm truly able to see potential beyond someones hideous wallpaper, or poor taste in wall color but come on!  Can the perfect one just pop up on the market, soon, please?!  And if it does can I please be the only person that's interested in it?  And, can it please not be located in a flood plane? I'm not asking for much here.  Is it or is it not a buyers market?  



Orchid

 Lastly, I got flowers at work sent from the best boyfriend in the world.  A very pretty pink orchid (I LOVE orchids) and when I inevitably kill it, there is a pink coffee cup and saucer to hang around.  Anyone know how to keep these guys alive?  It came with some pretty rigorous instructions...and can only tolerate a 4 degree temperature change.  I'll enjoy it while it lasts!

An Excellent Derby Weekend.





Allyson and I



At the track



This Kentucky Derby weekend was non-stop!  From Oaks on Friday, to Derby, to Mother's Day it was indeed an action packed weekend.  We attended Oaks on Friday and had an amazing time.  Despite the weather forecast it truly turned out to be an amazing day.  We kicked off the day at a pre-Oaks party filled with Mimosa's and shrimp cocktail...does it really get better than that?  The mint juleps and lady oaks ran plentiful at the track, and the people watching was phenomenal.  I just love the pageantry of it all...everyone is dressed in their best and the creativity of the hats is an entity all itself.  I got my hat from Macy's, however spiced it up with a vintage broach I purchased the day before (and my first experience with the clip on earrings that matched - ouch!) and some feathers I picked out at Dee's Crafts.  That place was a madhouse to say the least.  I guess that's what I get for going the day before.  After Oaks we returned home, let the doggies out, and then headed to Cafe Lou Lou for some Jambalaya.  We closed the day with a fire in the fire pit and drinks on the patio.  It was a pretty great day!





Twin Spires!



Irises along the house

Saturday was full of recovery and an all out Euchre brawl with Mom and Mike.  (For those non-Indiana folks, Euchre is a game similar to Spades, but way better)  I'm so proud to report the ladies pulled through with a 4-1 victory!  It was heated and lots of fun. 



Roaming Rigby

Mother's Day itself was full of good old fashion farm fun.  Fishing - I caught two!  Soaking up some rays outside, and letting the dogs stretch their legs with plenty of fetch.  Rigby only fell in the pond once this time...about an hour after she'd had a full bath.  Why can't she be prissy?  I even bought her pink bows for her hair.  I guess I'll never get my foo foo dog.