July 1997:
The spouse began attending Quixtar/Amway meetings, and even switched our telephone over to MCI, instead of AT&T. It supposedly not only lowered our bill, but we'd get paid a small amount for switching. I wasn't thrilled, but agreed to go with him at times, and even began ordering some of the products.
We broke ground on our new home, and things seemed to be looking up. The kids and I took a picnic lunch one day and watched our house being brought in to be set up on the foundation. Met one of our new neighbors, who seemed friendly.
When I went to the apartment complex office to arrange for a month-to-month lease, I made a shocking discovery.
"We weren't going to renew your lease anyway, because of the white dog and the boxes you insist on keeping in the hallway."
Ummmmm.....okaaaay.....the dog wasn't ours, it belonged upstairs. Our Norweigan Elkhound, Shadow, whom we'd had for nearly a year, wasn't registered, but I wasn't going to volunteer that information! Also, the boxes were outside my door, behind the wall that supported the staircase. The only ones who could see them besides us were my very understanding next door neighbors, who did NOT have any issues with them! So what the hell was management's problem? It seemed we were leaving at a good time.
When I told Frankie, the head of security about it, he was amazed, since any 'tenant issues' went through him first! He'd received no complaints of Hercules (the American Eskimo upstairs, whom I took care of occasionally), Shadow, or the box issue. As far as he was concerned, we were good tenants.
Whirlwind Trip To Vancouver!
As I stated back in Jan, my sister married a Canadian. They planned their official wedding reception for the last weekend in July, so the kids and I left on Wednesday. Spent all day on the plane, and K was thrilled he'd gotten a chance to check out the cockpit:) While flying to Seattle, we sat near a woman who lived in Tacoma, so she pointed out Mt. Hood in Oregan, Mt. Rainier, and the Snake River. Mom and Dad met us at Sea-Tac, and we drove 3 hours to Twasson.
Thursday, we ate breakfast with Granny M, and went to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Friday, we took the kids to Stanley Park and the Aquarium. D arrived late that night, and the reception was on Saturday.
A couple of humorous things occurred:
-Little S was potty-training, and refused to use the public toilets. So she ran around the CSB in a shirt and pull up. My sister was slightly alarmed, but I assured her it was perfectly all right for a 3 y/o to do so.
-At the park, S wanted Uncle Chris to push her on the swings. He pushed her a little too high and she fell off....laughing:)
-At the Aquarium, it grew hot during the Beluga whale show, so K and Shunta stripped off their shirts. Not to be left out, so did S. Again, my sister was outraged. I told her to calm down.
-During dinner with my sister's new in-laws on Friday, Chris's mother Nancy came over to where I was sitting with my sister's oldest and dearest friend, and proceeded to tell us what her other children were doing. One was in Australia, her other son was in Japan, and another was very successful. We'd already heard this from W, so we politely nodded and tried to encourage more conversation. She soon moved on, and Kris and I looked at each other.
"Apparently, she failed to impress us."
-While we were riding in the car, the topic of D's new venture came up. Kris and her hubby were pursuing it also, but W slammed ours. Then in the next breath, asked K, "So how is yours going?" and seemed supportive. This ruffled me. Why was it okay for K but not us? Made no sense.
-At the wedding reception, there was an incredible ice sculpture of a globe. At one point, both my children were captured on film licking it. Again, my sister was outraged.
-When W's friends Susan and Ted arrived, they brought with them the gag gift that W had given them at S's wedding shower, a leather chastity belt my dad had made. Now, it had been 'gussied up' with a feather whip and handcuffs. W laughed when she saw it, and tried it on, plus playfully aimed the whip at Chris!
-I was able to 'zing' my sister, something I don't often get the chance to do. Back in '94, when she expressed concern over my decision to baptize S Catholic, I explained that we'd compromised. She had stated, "Compromise is not in my vocabulary."
Fast-forward to now: W was going on and on how stressed out she was, because..."He had his ideas on what was going to happen, and I had my ideas. So we compromised."
My ears perked up. "I'm SO happy that word finally entered your vocabulary!"
She looked at me for a moment, then shook her head. "Oh shut up, Molls!"
Score one for me:) My parents could barely contain their laughter! My dad later patted me on the back for zinging her!
Sunday, we returned back to Sea-Tac and flew home. With the 3 hour time change and the whirlwind trip, my appetite didn't have time to adjust, so I know I lost a few pounds:)
Next Month: K Begins Kindergarten!
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Present Day:
I'm off to Chicago again today! Going to meet Mom at O'Hare and help her get settled in the motel, then tomorrow we head home in the afternoon. I'm also getting together with classmates at Sgt. Preston's downtown.
Have a great weekend!
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