Happy Halloween!

Wishing you all a spooky day...here are some great pictures of Riley, Lauren and Tyler as well as Suzanne's spookirific decorations. Thanks for sharing them, Suzanne!

Looks like Lauren is a football player or maybe she just got crazy with her mom's eyeliner?

I would be scared if I met this witch in a dark alley!


I guess Tyler decided not to wear a costume this year?

The decorations look great!

Oooh...spooky!

My man has skills!

Amber's been posting all these great makeover photos of their house and it seemed like a great time to post photos of the renovation Chris did on a cute little house in Michigan. Isn't he talented? Seems like we should all get together and work on a house!

Here are the before and after photos:


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

This house is currently available for sale or rent. Great deal for anyone interested!

House Hunting

Our focus for the past few days - and next several, probably - is on finding a house. We looked at houses with a realtor on Friday and Sunday (about 25 total) and still haven't found the right one. As if you didn't know this - Minneapolis is expensive! There are deals to be had in this market, though, and we are determined to find one.

We have seen some places in our range 1-2 blocks from the river, 2-3+ blocks from the lakes and even one right on Minnehaha Parkway. The homes are nice but small and sometimes awkwardly laid out. So many of the homes are already renovated and we are loath to pay for someone else's work when we could do it our own way for less money.

The house shown is one we looked at. Not necessarily a favorite, but will give you an idea of what we're seeing.

We also went to a real estate auction on both Saturday and Sunday. We hadn't done enough research to feel comfortable bidding, but it was a great learning experience. There seemed to be some great deals, but in other cases people over paid. Mom and Dad - the "crack house" went for about $129,000 if I recall correctly and the nicest one we saw that day (also the first?) went for $335,000.

There's much more for us to see here - there are no lack of houses to view. The real challenge will be choosing the home and location that best suit our needs!

Choose your candidate.

Check out this fun way to choose your ideal presidential candidate on Amber R.'s blog.

http://sayamberkay.blogspot.com/2007/10/voting-and-presidental-election.html

Be sure to share how accurate it is!

Right Brain or Left Brain?

Take a look at this link and see if you think the dancer is turning clockwise or counter-clockwise. That will tell you which side of your brain is dominant. It's crazy!

http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,22492511-5005375,00.html?from=mostpop

Today is Blog Action Day

I just found out that today is Blog Action Day, designed for bloggers everywhere to unite and write about the environment - something that we all directly impact every day.

Last week I wrote about my desire to take public transportation more often, which is certainly an environmental issue. But I've also been intending to write about my attempts to reduce my use of plastic. What better day to do that than today!

Have you noticed how many products are packaged in plastic? It's extremely difficult to find anything that doesn't have some plastic on it. And we're all probably pretty good at putting our plastic bottles in the recycling bin. Maybe you also reuse plastic bags several times before throwing them away (or recycling them if you have that option).

Recycling is great, but when it comes to plastic, the best choice is to reduce our overall use of it. Only 5% of all plastic is recycled. You are probably all aware that plastic is more difficult to recycle than products like paper, glass and aluminum. Recycling plastic also requires the addition of new petroleum. Yes, did you know that plastic is made from petroleum? So reducing your use of plastic is another way to reduce our dependence on foreign oil!

Here are some changes that I've made within the past few months to reduce waste. I hope you will consider trying one or two of these yourself. It takes getting used to, but once you make the change you may find it's actually easier to pass on plastic.

- Drink tap water instead of bottled. Not only is it safe and tastes great (especially if it's LPRW!), it will also save you money.

- Bring your own bottle to fill when you're on the go (I have a this cute aluminum one).

- Reuse plastic containers for food storage (but never heat them in the microwave).

- If you only buy one or two items at the store and don't really need a bag, don't get one.

- Better yet, bring your own bag (some grocery stores give a discount for each bag you bring).

- If you need a bag and didn't bring one, paper is better than plastic.

- Use aluminum foil instead of plastic wrap. Grandma Dottie has been doing this for years! Foil can also be used in place of plastic bags for wrapping sandwiches or making little snack packs. It also washes up nicely for reuse and can be recycled right along with your aluminum cans.

- Rinse and reuse plastic storage bags (e.g., Ziploc).

- Don't heat plastic in the microwave. Use glass whenever possible. This isn't for the environment as much as for your own health. The harmful effects may be debatable, but there are plenty of studies that indicate plastics leach toxins into the foods and beverages it holds and it's much worse when heated. Why risk it? Use glass.

- When you are buying/using plastic, look at the number. 3, 6 and 7 are the worst for your health and are not recyclable. This means staying away from styrofoam (6) and for those of you with kids, check your baby bottles and sippy cups. If they are made from 7 plastic, you might want to look for alternatives that are BPA-free. This blog reviews some.

- Choose items packaged in glass, paper, aluminum - anything but plastic - whenever you can. This is not always easy!

- In the produce aisle, ask yourself if the items you're buying really need to be put in those plastic produce bags.

- Look for plastic made from corn. It's hard to find, but it's becoming more plentiful. I saw water in bottles made from corn for the first time this weekend. The bottles look and feel the same and I assume the water tastes the same, right Mom?

Ok, so that's an awfully long list. I hope you will try some of these ideas. Or maybe you have some other ideas that I can try. Please share!

When I try to do something good...

As I was driving (or should I say barely moving along the I-394 parking lot) last night and saw many city buses flashing past me and then eventually stopping right near where Chris and I will be living for the next few weeks, I had a great idea. Why don't I take the bus to work?

I always took public transit in NYC and loved the time efficiency it gave me. I read about one book every week and didn't have the stresses of dealing with traffic. There were certainly drawbacks, like the time it took an hour for the bus to go four blocks on 57th Street following a light snow. But in general, it was wonderful.

So this morning I went to the Metro Transit website to figure out my route and how long it would take. My current drive varies from 20 minutes to 45 minutes so I figured I could deal with a bus ride up to one hour.

What I've discovered is that there is literally no bus service within at least a couple of miles from my office. On the transit map, there is a hole surrounding my office that is not served by any lines. Why is this? I have no idea. I'm seriously discouraged that even if I want to take public transportation and do the right thing for the environment, I can't!

What I will miss (and not miss) about Jacksonville.

The movers are at the house and Chris will vacate later today. Although I'm excited for us to start our new life in Minneapolis, I can't help but think about the things I will miss and also those I won't miss one bit.

17 Things I WON'T Miss About Jacksonville

1. The tap water
2. Creatures lurking in your yard that can kill you
3. The burning hot sun that created age spots on my face despite my consistent use of sunscreen
4. Hillbillies with confederate flags in their trucks and horns that play dixie
5. Racist remarks the likes of which my ears had never heard before
6. The obsession with sweet tea and Chik-Fil-A
7. Neighborhoods gated only for prestige
8. Skin and hair trauma brought on by the water/air/sun/who knows
9. The bionic weeds
10. The inability to do yard work when it needs it most (see #9) due to threat of death from heat exhaustion
11. The political climate / no taxes=no services
12. The sorry excuse for a downtown
13. Nary a day when the air conditioning isn't on and fear of opening the windows on the mild days (see #2)
14. Year-round lawn watering at 35,000+ gallons per month (ugh, what a waste!)
15. Not being able to find a good place to get a haircut
16. The single-source local media
17. The lack of a nice movie theater (that's more Chris than me)


10 Things I WILL Miss About Jacksonville

1. Wearing sandals year round
2. Never scraping my windshield
3. Learning fun new phrases like "jiffy feet" and "put it up"
4. The friendly and efficient grocery baggers at Publix
5. Lower prices on many grocery items and gas
6. Certainly the nice people I met
7. Fresh seafood
8. St. Augustine
9. Never needing to bring a sweater on summer nights
10. Knowing I'll never go back to our house there makes me kind of sad, so I know the place will hold a special place in my heart!

We have an offer!

After several counter offers, we have finally settled on a price with a potential buyer for our house! She is a medical malpractice attorney so loves to negotiate, as you can imagine. She's also getting a screaming deal, which has Chris especially mildly irritated. But as long as it all works out for us...we don't really care!

The paperwork won't be finalized until Monday, so there's still a chance of better offers this weekend. If none materialize, we're taking it.

I think your prayers must have worked, because this is such a blessing for us. (Of course a bargain price probably trumps prayers).

We've still got a few details to work out, but it looks like we may finally be free!

Favorite Children's Books

Chris' mention of Jack and the Beanstalk got me thinking about kids' books. I loved books when I was little (and still do). Some of my best memories surround being read to (by Mom mostly) and eventually reading on my own. The top favorites I will always remember include:

The Best Loved Doll, which teaches a wonderful lesson about not judging people (or dolls!) by their appearance. I still read this one once in awhile!

The Magic Porridge Pot, which I mostly loved because of the realistic-looking images in the book. But it was also a great story.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. This is a popular one and is actually a play at the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis this season. This one's even helped me feel better after some terrible days of my own...as an adult!

I also remember Jon's favorite - Watty Piper's Trucks. Hmm...I wonder where Trevor gets his fascination with trucks?

Even more special than these books were the little story books Grandma Dottie would make for Jon and me. These were stories she made up and even included fun illustrations she drew!

OK, I could go on all day about my favorite books from the past 30 years, but I will save that for another day.

What are your favorite books from childhood? (or your kids' favorite books if you can't remember that far back!)

Cross your fingers for us!

After cutting the price on our home last week, we finally got our first showing! They are interested and possibly making an offer within the next day or so. You all know what a relief it would be for us to sell this house so we can get on with our lives.

Please, please cross your fingers and toes, say your prayers, do whatever it is you do to wish us well with this. Not only do we need an offer, we need a good offer (i.e., one that doesn't require cash out of our pockets).

Thank you for your support!