Beat the winter grumpies - love thy neighbor thread!

[Michele]

Sitting in a pedi chair with my feet soaking. They agreed for me to come in without an appointment if I was willing to sit and wait. Umm. Hellz yeah!

[Thirteen]

The nurse at my PMD offered to hold DS while I got a check-up, so I wouldn't have to put him on the floor. She has a baby herself, and did so well with DS.

[MDPhDWife]

I've been super busy redecorating/staging our home so we can list it soon. I hired a contractor to paint the entire interior as well as some minor handyman work. He was nice enough to knock 10% off his quote and not charge me tax. He said the work would take 3 days and he would have a crew of 6-7 men here everyday. Well guess what, it took exactly three days and the workmanship is outstanding! Yay to a positive contractor experience!

[diggitydot]

Woo hoo! Good contractor stories are awesome!

[Cinderella]

I drive the same way up and down the hill to work everyday. There are only so many ways to go.

There is this ideal family house across from this ranch like dog park. One early morning I saw the Dad of that house carrying his sleeping daughter on his chest and shoulder while he went to pick up his morning paper. Here is to having that sweet memory visit me again this morning.

[corn poffi]

Ok, there is one awesome benefit to the unbelievably thin walls in my building... No need to turn on the heat! I haven't turned my heat on the entire time I've lived there!

[DCJenn]

We go to settlement on the refi for our house today. No- the appraisals weren't what we were hoping but our mortgage person was so offended on our behalf that she had THREE appraisals done (and we only have pay for the last one).
Hello 3.5% for 15 years, goodbye 5.785% for 30 years.

J.

[HouseofWool]

Wow, that is great news!

[scrub-jay]

Where I always feel that I am fighting daycare, I spoke with one of A's teachers and we had a great conversation. This woman really knows my daughter and is working with me instead of making me feel like I am swimming upstream.

[alison]

That is great, C!

It's sunny here today, and that makes a HUGE difference!

[migirl]

I was randomly browsing the kids' resale shop here when I found a dress for DD for next Christmas that I LOVE. It looks brand-new, and was on CLEARANCE for a dollar!

[Meenah]

I LOVE Consignment!

[Michele]

I have recently met the across the street neighbors and so far, I totally love them. Our kids play well together and they stand outside and chat with me.

[DCJenn]

Good neighbors can make all the difference in the world.

My good thing for the day- as many of you know, I started this geneology thing two years ago and it was a great hobby to have while the beloved husband was in DC. Nothing like searching websites til the wee hours to keep ones head busy. And, it turned out to be a great way to connect with my dad. I'm not a huge sports fan and lets face it, I'm not my brother. They're as close as my mom and I are so it's all ok. But, truly I struggled for things to talk to him about. So dad and I went off to Carroll County Ohio two summer ago to 'meet' the Martins. The back story is that my grandfather's father died suddenly from pneunmonia when he was 15 and his mother hung herself one year later (nice, huh? and my great-aunt was the one who found her) so he never had a ton of stories about the family. HIS grandfather died even before his father was born. Essentially we knew nothing about any of them. I used to joke about the Martin tree looking like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

Fast forward two years and I've found all of them- and there were actually a lot of them, but the ENTIRE family was killed by TB over a 10 year period. Grandparents down to the youngest child. The one person who survived was my great-great grandmother who was pregnant with my great-grandfather. 15 people. (talk about a newfound appreciation for TB treatment!)

Anyway- I reached a dead-end. At least a dead-end for me since I work full time and live in Texas. and here, finally is my good thing of the day- a benefit to attendinghood is that you can spend your money on whatever you want. So I hired the same company that does the reasearch for "Who do you Think You Are" and they've started their digging. Yesterday I got the first packet and they've found the original Ohio land grant for my family (James Martin, Junior) from 1819. They're pretty sure they know which James Martin originally from Pennsylvania he was (there were 10 in Ohio in 1810.)

My dad's 70th birthday is in March and I'm going to have the whole family tree done. It's not the Charlie Brown tree, it's just that we Martins are the weakest link! (Damn good thing I stopped smoking since everyone seems to die from lung related issues...)

J.

[Michele]

Neat! I'm so inspired by your genealogy project. I'd love to do it for my family, but they came to the states so recently....maybe I can get my mom on board to translate for me.