08-31-10

Here we go again.

We got our first peek at our first rental tonight; our tenants are moving to a mobile home park. Leaving us to decide how much we want to spend to fix it up for the next tenants. The list of possible upgrades and repairs is endless; we’re trying to figure out what is most important.

The bathroom was better than I remembered, but the kitchen was worse. Bruce is measuring for a new counter.

“I know we can't have a great architecture while it is only for the landlord.” – Frank Lloyd Wright

08-30-10

Back to work today.

And back to school in two days, so tonight Danny and Anthony are staying over. The guys were playing football in the front yard for a bit; all three are on the football team.

This evening was the PERFECT summer evening – warm sun and no plans. Got back in the garden and almost finished my book.

08-29-10

Look who came home from her camping trip today!

Anastasia wants to tent camp now. She thinks its fun. Even though she had to snuggle up with a friend to stay warm and terribly missed her electronics.

She missed us checking out another local church and final cleaning at the duplex, but got home in time for Papa Murphy’s garlic chicken pizza and Roots on Netflix.

Happy Sunday!

08-28-10

We spent the morning at the duplex, getting it ready for tenants tomorrow.

We spent the afternoon completing another 2010 daytrip goal item. We met my in-laws at the Garlic Festival in Chehalis. I’ve read and heard about it for several years, and wanted to check it out. The adults with me kept saying “what is there to do?”, but Xander figured it out pretty quickly – taste test all things garlic. Where else can you try various gourmet garlic flavored items, garlic fudge, garlic corn dog, and garlic onion rings?

We spent the evening at the Chehalis outlet mall stores, trying in vain to find Xander dark wash trendy non-skinny jeans.

8-27-10

I wish I had snapped a photo of Anastasia packing a five gallon jug of water to the church van this afternoon! I forgot I had my camera with me. She is headed off camping with 13 teenage girls with no electricity or running water. I’d love to be a fly on that tent wall!

Xander and I were on our own tonight. We ate at Arby’s (dissecting the meaning of Jamocha), tried to finish up back-to-school shopping at Freddies (they have been overrun by skinny jeans, Xander may not get new jeans this season), and went to the church Coldstone Night (where I was told a few times about Bruce’s face when he realized poker and Coldstone were the same night). Here’s Landon, Jacob, and Xander hangin’ on the Coldstone couch…

08-26-10

Another low photo day, since it took way too much energy just to stay out of bed today, but I did start to feel human about dinnertime.

Xander and I had hair appointments for tonight, but I gave my slot to Anastasia. So both the kids got different back-to-school do’s.

Five more days until they start school. And Xander starts football practice Monday.

“Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.” ~Chinese Proverb

08-25-10

After 10 days of eating all meals out of restaurants or hotel lobbies, I am so ready for some “real” home cooked mostly vegan food!

The cupboards were bare until we got to the grocery store and produce stand. I defrosted sweet potato for breakfast!

Today was make your own sandwich for lunch and “make your own tacos” for dinner. Not a very exciting photo, but our only excitement today was the endless phone calls and meetings after posting three rental units on CraigsList…

08-24-10

Home sweet home. Nice to get home tonight. Even nicer to have the rest of the week off to make “re-entry” a bit easier.

To recap, it was a great trip:
- lots of fun highlights and memories
- read 3 complete novels, and portions of two others
- all flights on time & no lost luggage or trips to ER
- $233.00 under budget

Today was mostly a travel day. A LONG travel day. Several Fischer’s were wearing fedoras today so Bruce’s newest hats weren’t crushed in a suitcase…

08-23-10

“Not sure how all this is going on the airplane” – Bruce

Bruce made several trips to the car to put more shopping bags in the trunk.

In some ways I was pleasantly surprised by the Mall of America. It had interesting stores, not a lot of repeats, great food options, and wasn’t run down. But I was disappointed that the fall clothes are not in yet, and my colors aren’t “in” right now.

The kids did some back to school shopping and I got several items for my closet. Big surprise, Bruce found another fedora.

Fun day, even when the overused credit card started declining…

08-22-10

Since it often feels like we are going from coffee to breakfast to lunch to snack to dinner to dessert on this trip, decided to blog about food today.

When we hit Wisconsin, we started seeing a new fast food chain called Culvers. It brags butterburgers and frozen custard and I saw something on their drive-thru menu called a concrete mixer. Xander thought it sounded pretty nasty.

After seeing about a million of them, we decided to check it out for lunch. We took forever to order and took photos and they thought we were weird; especially when we told them we had never even heard of Culvers.

The food is VERY good. Turns out a concrete mixer is like a Blizzard at DQ, except you choose any two mix ins. Anastasia chose Nerds and raspberries, eww!

In addition to eating, eating, eating, we also explored St Paul Cathedral in St Paul, the Mary Tyler Moore statue in downtown Minneapolis, and the iconic Spoonbridge and Cherry statue.

08-21-10

Today we went to Mt Olympus Water & Theme Park.

Our strategy is to be there right when it opens, do all the attractions once the lines form, then spend the afternoon relaxing and going on the slides and rides with the shortest lines. Works great.

I only subjected myself to Poseidon’s Rage a few times, but the nine foot wave machine was a hit with the kids. I decided I didn’t need to do Demon’s Drop, but Xander faced his fears and plunged straight down. We did go-carts once, but hopped out of the long & slow moving line for the Trojan Horse course. We spent most of our time with Triton – the six person race challenge was a fun ride with a consistently short line. And Hades is a helluva awesome wooden coaster!

08-20-10

Good-bye Illinois. Hello Wisconsin.

Today was a travel day, but we still had time for food & fun. Lunch in Madison at an odd deli I had read about. A horse drawn wagon ride through Lost Canyon. Deep dish pizza (again). The fun Tommy Bartlett water ski and variety show.

There was some disappointment that our hotel doesn’t have water slides, since so many in Wisconsin Dells do, but we have both an indoor and outdoor pool. We were enjoying the outdoor pool until a thunder storm chased us out of the water.

08-19-10

I hope that I won’t have to give up thrill rides, but after today I wonder.

Even though I am very prone to motion sickness, I love roller coasters. As long as they aren’t spinny.

But today at Six Flags Great America, the thrill rides left me queasy. We paid extra to not wait in lines, so my stomach wasn’t settled down before it was time to get on the next cool ride*.

I took the afternoon off, lying on a beach lounger and people watching while Bruce & the kids explored the water park side of the park. I’m hoping it was just a bad day (my face was also swollen with an allergy reaction); that I won’t be the official photographer and “stuff” holder while others ride into the future.

*cool ride=

Superman, shown here. They tilted us, so we seemed to really be flying.

Batman, where our feet dangle.

Iron Wolf, where we stand up.

Raging Bull, which reminds me of my favorite coaster at Silverwood. Smooth ride that goes underground.

08-18-10

Good-bye Chicago, Hello Gurnee.

If you ever want to check out Chicago, I highly recommend flying into Midway, learning the public transportation system (cars are an unneeded pain), stay at the Congress Plaza Hotel (great location, great value, even with workers picketing), buy a two or three day Chicago Go Card and go, go, go. Look forward to coming back someday.

We wrapped up our Chicago time by ditching the rental car at an outlying park & ride, taking the red line to Wrigley Field, and watching a Cubs game. They lost, but I hear that is not unusual. I dislike baseball, but it was a fun afternoon.

08-17-10

This is Xander and I eating breakfast on the sidewalk watching people bustle about and a traffic conductor yelling amusing comments to cars. Love that vacation means the time, money, and calories to sit down to breakfast as a family.

Today we:
- Toured Frank Lloyd Wright’s home & studio in Oak Park
- Ate at White Castle, ordering 15 sliders in various varieties
- Saw the three houses that Bruce live in during his elementary years, plus his school and sledding hill
- Paid $9.00 in tolls to visit a new state, Indiana

Feels like we’ve been here for a long time, but we still have a week until we come back to Washington. Life is good.

08-16-10

So many photos to choose from today! Us riding bikes, the cool gorillas at the zoo, ferris wheel fun, awesome photos from the Stained Glass Museum, goofing off pretending to window wash skyscrapers, huge upscale dinner at Ditkas, cool old refrigerators decorated along Michigan Ave.

I decided this photo, even though it doesn’t have any Fischers in it, represents our day. We rented bikes at Navy Pier and followed this lake Michigan trail to the free zoo. It was a great ride, we all enjoyed it. After eating (Chicago dogs today), river cruising, and ferris wheeling we left Navy Pier and walked to the John Hancock building. We enjoyed this observatory more than Sears Tower, with the free audio tour, windowless section, the wonderful coffee bar with plenty of seating, the fun free photo opportunities, and the more interesting views.

We had to give up on one Chicago must do (the Popcorn palace store is no longer at navy Pier), but got “bike rental” crossed off, and feel liked we’ve seen another big section fo this great city.

08-15-10

The theme of my day was art, so I chose an art photo to share.

This is part of Eye & Cardinal, a temporary art display on State Street that we have seem several times.

We marked off two more “must see” attractions today – the famous Picasso statue and the Willis/Sears Tower. We also saw several museums. I LOVED hanging out at the art museum solo. I knew there was a lot of famous art there, but the amount was staggering.

On the food front, breakfast at Dunkin’ Donuts (practically on ever corner here), Chicago pizza take 2 and finally found cannolis. Eating and enjoying our way through downtown…

08-14-10

Good news; all of our flights went as scheduled today. We aren’t normally that lucky.

Still an incredibly long travel day (to Denver, 2 hour layover, to Chicago, negotiate public transportation from airport to hotel), but we had enough time to start exploring Chicago.

We got a few things off our list already:
- Deep dish pizza (although Bruce is tempted to eat that every meal!)
- Millennium Park, including cool spray park and the “bean”, today’s blog photo
- Riding the El
- Seeing cardinals

It’s warm and muggy, but not unbearable. So far we all love Chicago.

08-13-10

Vacation seems to officially start with a trip to the Portland Target for supplies for Bruce. Tonight was shoes and sunglasses. Not forgotten, but worn out.

I got things wrapped up at work, made some applicant turn down calls, I started to unwind, and we were off. The kids finally got interested in our itinerary, looking over the trip binder in the car.

The fun long airline day starts tomorrow with a 3:45am wake-up call.

08-12-10

Hey, look, we have a new electronic device in our house. More beeps and buttons and stuff to remember.

An ADT representative camped out at our house today. Now a computerized lady tells us when our windows and doors are open, and we have a million stickers and signs to put up all over.

The kids are intrigued with the hostage code.

Never thought I’d do it, but $40/month for peace of mind is worth it. If only I can make sure the doors latch and not leave the keys in the front door!

08-11-10

What a difference a floor makes! Today the laminate flooring was installed. So in this view we now have kitchen floor, appliances, scrubbed kitchen counter, and living room floor. Still need cabinet doors, touch up paint, living room baseboard, clean floors, and our endless junk moved out. Oh, and qualified tenants! I have faith we'll get there. God's timeline is not always my timeline...

08-10-10

I wanted to exercise on the treadmill tonight so I could read my book, but it was too nice an evening to be downstairs in the dark. Wish I brought my camera on my lake walk – nutria and I startled each other on the trail.

Went straight from work to the duplex tonight to start deep cleaning. I forgot to warm Xander about bleach on his clothes. Anastasia decided she likes cleaning windows. The used appliances were delivered today and weren’t too grimy. I like the new carpet.

This is kind of a cool photo, because it has all four of us in it.

08-09-10

Except for spending almost every waking moment on duplex stuff (applicant verification, lease updating, buying appliances, painting, installing flooring), things are getting back to normal at home a bit. Our technology doesn’t look quite so sparse. My “home office” productivity quotient is way up. My data is getting backed up on-line. Yay!

Another yay is that I made it back up to maintenance on allergy shots. Now I get to go once a month instead of weekly. If only my arms didn't need to swell and be so unhappy at this higher dosage. Makes painting strokes more challenging.

08-08-10

Church
Brunch with Mom & Jerry and farewells
Meet tenant applicant
Search for Mom’s lost camera
Watch demolition derby
Short stint at duplex
Sunday chores and wind down for the weekend

This photo is from brunch at Rutherglen Mansion, where Mom & Jerry stayed during their Longview visit. We’ve been interested to check out the Sunday brunch, so this seemed the perfect chance. I liked their omelet and flambé station the best; Mom and I shared this fruit over waffle treat.

08-07-10

Mom & Jerry are in town. Today we could have gone blueberry picking or to the Terry Taylor garage sale or even to the Bite of Portland, but instead we had an adult day at the duplex while the kids worked on laundry, cleaning the house, and making us lunch.

Bruce is project manager and jack-of-all-trades. My skill set is painting, cleaning and landscaping. Mom is the master cleaner, rearranger, and does great contact paper. Jerry is a huge help with the electrical issues Bruce would rather not touch.

We made a LOT of progress today!

08-06-10

Part of my role at work is to review grant requests that the community makes to Weyerhaeuser. I came across this today:

The mission of the Castle Rock School District, in partnership with families and the community, is to ensure that all students acquire the attitudes, knowledge, and skills to become responsible citizens, contribute to their own economic well-being and that of their families, and to enjoy productive and satisfying lives.

What a great mission statement! It’s all great, but what really struck me is that attitude comes before knowledge and skill. Oh what a difference attitude makes in coping with life. If the robbers who continue to pillage our neighborhood had more of these attributes, they would have more productive and satisfying lives.

We are acquiring knowledge and skills by partnering with the Highlands residents to mutually improve our economic well-being with our rentals. This is a photo of the rear of our September project, getting our first purchase ready for new renters.

08-05-10

Ah, deep breath. That is the theme of the day.

We got the one side of the duplex finished, got through another day after a sleepless and crabby night, got Anastasia to the doctor for her skin infection, and rested at the concert at the lake.

The band didn’t live up to my inflated expectations, but the concert seems to be little about the music. It is a backdrop to our conversations with friends. Tonight we had a great turnout: Jerry, Mom, Brian, Sandy, Tym, Pauline, Chelsea back from college, Phil, Julie, Michele, Larry, Traci, and D.O.G.

Cheers!

08-04-10

The last thing I had time for today was to have coffee with my girlfriends, but I’m so glad I went. It is nice to sit and hear what is on people’s mind, and get some book recommendations.

This evening was a blur. Met to sign a lease at 4pm, got stood up for a showing of the other side at 5, welcome to Mom & Jerry who came to visit, quick Thai dinner, to Starbucks, quick stop at house for cleaning supplies, pick kids up from youth group, and shuttle everyone home.

A lot on my mind…

08-03-10

I’ve had a lot of sleepless nights this year, last night being another one.

Normally if laying in bed isn’t working. I get up, have a snack, and work on something on my to do list hopes of quieting my mind.

Last night I tried something new – working on a Bible study in the middle of the night. It didn’t put me to sleep any faster, but I felt better. And my day today took us in a totally different direction than what I was fretting over last night.

“You have not gotten this far in your journey with God without His footprints planted all over your path and without His fingerprints all over the doorknobs to every new session.” – Beth Moore

08-02-10

Guess where we went this evening? Or where Bruce is spending most of his time? Yep, the duplex.

I was cleaning dog hair out of the inside of the fridge. No joke. I think the only reason that the oven isn’t grimy is because nobody used it.

Tick tock, tick tock. Will the completion and qualified willing applicants come together on schedule? Only time will tell…

08-01-10

Morning routine after a restless night. Church. Trip to collect rent and paint at the duplex. Pack picnic lunch. All before noon!

Then we headed to Astoria with the Wood family for another afternoon of hiking. It was supposedly a 6 ½ mile hike, but it seemed to expand. The Fort to Sea trail took us through meadows, forests blown down in the 2007 wind storm, standing forest, a wrong turn into someone’s back yard, cattle grazing lands, and lots of pretty ponds. No majestic overlooks to the ocean like we were hoping for, but still a thumbs up.

I have three really nice photos of the day, but couldn’t resist posting this more accurate view of every day life.