Spring is never coming to the midwest.

MissKittyDanger · April 2018

Just looked at the forecast .... I think spring is coming in the sense of relatively warm weather {above freezing} and rain *boohiss*

ShesSoCold · April 2018

Ugh I have this giant bug up my ass about moving away now.

Last Friday, I saw a For Sale sign in the yard of my favorite house in the neighborhood. It's right around the corner from us but I LOVE IT. I was all worried I'd want to buy it.

Thank GOD it's listed for nearly $125,000 more than we paid for our house (and can afford).

But now I'm looking at the $600 we pay a month in property taxes and thinking about how much more we could afford if our tax burden wasn't so crazy.

I'm hoping this house sells for what it's listed at. That will be awesome for our property value because the house itself is pretty similar to ours, except it has a walkout basement and a huge yard.

mrsconn23 · April 2018

I've gotten pics of my new nephew and he's so cuuuuttteeee!!

short+sassy · April 2018

ShesSoCold said:

Ugh I have this giant bug up my ass about moving away now.
Last Friday, I saw a For Sale sign in the yard of my favorite house in the neighborhood. It's right around the corner from us but I LOVE IT. I was all worried I'd want to buy it.
Thank GOD it's listed for nearly $125,000 more than we paid for our house (and can afford).
But now I'm looking at the $600 we pay a month in property taxes and thinking about how much more we could afford if our tax burden wasn't so crazy.
I'm hoping this house sells for what it's listed at. That will be awesome for our property value because the house itself is pretty similar to ours, except it has a walkout basement and a huge yard.

((Choking)), that's about what I pay per year for my property taxes (on just my personal home). Louisiana has a Homestead Exemption program where they discount the value of your personal home by $75K for property tax purposes.

Good luck with that home sale! I also pay attention to what homes are selling for near my properties. There is one house right now that is a block away from one of my rentals. The $ per square foot is over TWICE what I estimate the value to be in that neighborhood. If it even sells for a third of the asking, that will be a big boost for me. In addition, I'm planning to do a cash-out refi on that property in the near future. I only hope that house sells before I'm at the point of sending an appraiser.

kimmiinthemitten · April 2018

OliveOilsMom said:

Kimmi - Ranch and Pizza are sacrilegious. The only time ranch should be on a pizza is if it is BBQ sauce based!

Good thing I'm already a Hellian then

.

Congrats @mrsconn23!

@MissKittyDanger I hope you can find some relief sooner - that all sounds no fun

@charlotte989875 hopefully this realtor change helps!

@lyndausvi Healing Vibes to H - a former coworker of mine had the sleeve and is so much happier now! He even thought post surgery and the new diet wasn't all that bad since he was full so much faster.

MissKittyDanger · April 2018

@kimmiinthemitten I have hope that this will work. I did have some relief after the exam

sparklepants41 · April 2018

@mrsconn23 congrats on your Auntie-hood!

@lyndausvi sending your H good healing vibes!

It's fuh-reezing out today. I've been up since 1am. I just woke up then and couldn't go back to sleep which is super frustrating because I was exhausted. And I'm having a shitty day because I found out through Instagram that a bunch of my friends who just had babies all got together with their babies and no one thought to invite me or Babypants. We have a group mom text so I just asked if they could include us next time. They said it was an impromptu thing, but that still hurts. I always go out of my way to make sure everyone is included. Plus they all know that my doctors and Babypants' pedi have told me I need to socialize more and do more self care. I'm hurt and sad and angry. No one ever tells you how lonely and isolating new motherhood can be.

kvruns · April 2018

@sparklepants I'm sorry that your friends didn't invite you, even if it was impromptu, I understand it hurting. re: lonely and isolating of new motherhood. Amen! I don't have any local new mom friends so I totally get it. Or I get jealous of those (like some coworkers) who still seem to have these amazing social lives even with a kid thanks to nearby grandparents who take the kids at a moment's notice.

mrsconn23 · April 2018

I am so sorry @sparklepants41. I've been there and it sucks, a lot. ((hugs))

MissKittyDanger · April 2018

@sparklepants41 That's awful

Impromptu or not, that's harsh.

*hugs*

Dr is right, self care is important.

6fsn · April 2018

I'm sorry @sparklepants41.

thisismynickname2 · April 2018

@charlotte989875 I'm curious to know what restaurants you ended up visiting in Chicago? It's such a great foodie town that conference aside, I hope you had some fun! Sucks about the planes being delayed; it's been snowing all night/day so far today too. Blugh.

We just came back from a vacation in Amsterdam. What an awesome city! We have friends who moved there last summer who graciously let us stay in their spare bedroom. We had Indonesian food (common for the Dutch given the history with the East India Trading Company), fondue, jenever, and a lot of cheese... The weather was 68 and sunny, just what we needed. And no, we didn't go to "coffee shops" as that's not our thing, haha.

sparklepants41 · April 2018

Thanks, everybody.

CharmedPam · April 2018

update: I just watched a video on cooking shrimp, and it's ridiculously easy. I thought you had to boil them first, then fry/saute....but it's just throw them on the pan and saute as is. I think I'll add garlic and lemon.

OliveOilsMom · April 2018

Sparkle - That is a terrible thing to do. I am glad you called them out on your group chat, but wish they gave you a better response. Have you looked into any baby and me type programs through a local hospital? Story time at libraries (though they are usually during the week - they may still have free programs on the weekends)? Or any church that may pertain to your beliefs - they may have programs too?

ShesSoCold · April 2018

CharmedPam said:

update: I just watched a video on cooking shrimp, and it's ridiculously easy. I thought you had to boil them first, then fry/saute....but it's just throw them on the pan and saute as is. I think I'll add garlic and lemon.

Nope - it's quick too. When they're pink, they're done.

Although I admittedly usually buy cooked shrimp since they're cheaper.

CharmedPam · April 2018

ShesSoCold said:

CharmedPam said:

update: I just watched a video on cooking shrimp, and it's ridiculously easy. I thought you had to boil them first, then fry/saute....but it's just throw them on the pan and saute as is. I think I'll add garlic and lemon.

Nope - it's quick too. When they're pink, they're done.
Although I admittedly usually buy cooked shrimp since they're cheaper.

Oh. I could have done that too, I guess. I threw in a bag of frozen with my Walmart grocery order for only $4.98. Which I should be getting an email that it's ready for pick up very soon...

short+sassy · April 2018

CharmedPam said:

update: I just watched a video on cooking shrimp, and it's ridiculously easy. I thought you had to boil them first, then fry/saute....but it's just throw them on the pan and saute as is. I think I'll add garlic and lemon.

I'm so sorry! I saw you asked for help on cooking shrimp and meant to reply. But apparently didn't.

Sounds like you got good advice from the video. They cook quickly! Just keep an eye on them and, like @ShesSoCold said, they're done when they're pink, so get them off the heat. Because they'll overcook fairly easily also.

If they're frozen, I usually thaw them in a bowl of room temp. water for about 10-15 minutes. They may not get totally unfrozen in that time, but it helps. Just don't use hot water. They will start cooking, if it's hot.

ShesSoCold · April 2018

So, my office is the third building in from the corner of two busy roads.

An elderly woman was leaving the bank on the corner across the street (so not directly across the street, probably 50 yards east) and somehow ended up barreling across 4 lanes of traffic, up the curb, over the grassy shoulder, hit a car in our parking lot, up another curb, over one of those concrete parking blocks and into our building. She's okay and no one was hurt.

The car that she hit was an employee's here. This whole thing happened maybe 2 hours ago. The car was towed to a shop. My coworker just asked him if they gave him an estimate yet. He said no, not yet. She goes, all attitudey, "Well Jim your car isn't the only thing they have to do. They can't just drop everything for you and they just got your car". Like he was complaining about it.

Jim just kind of walked away and we both looked at each other like

See the source image

ILoveBeachMusic · April 2018

STARMOON44 said:

Any social dancers on here? I’m doing a beginner swing class tonight and no idea what shoes to wear. Just keds? I don’t have any heels I can walk in let alone dance, just wedges with no straps so I think I’d be stepping out of them constantly? Help me dress myself

H and I dance. Before I bought real dance shoes, I just made sure to wear shoes that had a smooth sole. You don't want to "catch" on the floor. Swing dancing is our favorite. H and DD did a swing dance for their father/daughter dance at her wedding. Have fun.

short+sassy · April 2018

ShesSoCold said:

So, my office is the third building in from the corner of two busy roads.
An elderly woman was leaving the bank on the corner across the street (so not directly across the street, probably 50 yards east) and somehow ended up barreling across 4 lanes of traffic, up the curb, over the grassy shoulder, hit a car in our parking lot, up another curb, over one of those concrete parking blocks and into our building. She's okay and no one was hurt.
The car that she hit was an employee's here. This whole thing happened maybe 2 hours ago. The car was towed to a shop. My coworker just asked him if they gave him an estimate yet. He said no, not yet. She goes, all attitudey, "Well Jim your car isn't the only thing they have to do. They can't just drop everything for you and they just got your car". Like he was complaining about it.
Jim just kind of walked away and we both looked at each other like

OMG, how does an accident like that happen?! It sounds like there was a lot of area and obstacles "overcome" to crash through your all's building. I can't help but think the lady was accidentally hitting the accelerator instead of the break. I'm glad everyone was okay. Yikes.

That is funny with your coworker. Like, excuse Jim for answering your question, lol! Maybe she heard a note of annoyance from him that wasn't really there (shrug).

ShesSoCold · April 2018

short+sassy said:

ShesSoCold said:

So, my office is the third building in from the corner of two busy roads.
An elderly woman was leaving the bank on the corner across the street (so not directly across the street, probably 50 yards east) and somehow ended up barreling across 4 lanes of traffic, up the curb, over the grassy shoulder, hit a car in our parking lot, up another curb, over one of those concrete parking blocks and into our building. She's okay and no one was hurt.
The car that she hit was an employee's here. This whole thing happened maybe 2 hours ago. The car was towed to a shop. My coworker just asked him if they gave him an estimate yet. He said no, not yet. She goes, all attitudey, "Well Jim your car isn't the only thing they have to do. They can't just drop everything for you and they just got your car". Like he was complaining about it.
Jim just kind of walked away and we both looked at each other like

OMG, how does an accident like that happen?! It sounds like there was a lot of area and obstacles "overcome" to crash through your all's building. I can't help but think the lady was accidentally hitting the accelerator instead of the break. I'm glad everyone was okay. Yikes.
That is funny with your coworker. Like, excuse Jim for answering your question, lol! Maybe she heard a note of annoyance from him that wasn't really there (shrug).

Yeah it's not easy and I can't believe she didn't hit anyone crossing the road.

One guy who was driving saw her coming and stopped, then saw the whole thing so he stopped in to be a witness.

I guess she was pretty elderly and I hope this triggers some sort of evaluation from her doctor(s) or at the very least, a conversation from her family. She doesn't remember what happened or why.

But I cracked up when poor Jim got yelled at for answering a question. LOL

short+sassy · April 2018

Double good news (dance, dance). That tenant did indeed pay her rent today AND we are ALL done with the repairs needed for that unit.

Which is not to say the Section 8 inspector won't still fail us over God knows what. So I'm still worried. That actually happened last year for two items that were fixed, but were failed on for no reason. And passed in the 3rd inspection, without us doing anything, smh.

Hope springs eternal that this is the last of it!

charlotte989875 · April 2018

thisismynickname2 said:

@charlotte989875 I'm curious to know what restaurants you ended up visiting in Chicago? It's such a great foodie town that conference aside, I hope you had some fun! Sucks about the planes being delayed; it's been snowing all night/day so far today too. Blugh.

We just came back from a vacation in Amsterdam. What an awesome city! We have friends who moved there last summer who graciously let us stay in their spare bedroom. We had Indonesian food (common for the Dutch given the history with the East India Trading Company), fondue, jenever, and a lot of cheese... The weather was 68 and sunny, just what we needed. And no, we didn't go to "coffee shops" as that's not our thing, haha.

Sadly, I didn't get to the Purple Pig

I got a migraine after traveling and going right to work, so Thursday I just went back to my hotel room after grabbing food from freshii.

Friday night I had dinner with a bunch of people (which meant I didn't get to pick the restaurant) and we went to Quartino. It was okay. We were a big group that had reservations at 9pm and the food took FOREVER, and it wasn't that great. Saturday I had lunch at Vapiano near the Palmer House and it was really good! But we had a reception I had to go to and didn't get to dinner after. So kind of disappointing on the food end this time around.

Sunday I had brunch at Roanoke before I was back on my flight and the blood orange mimosas were top notch!

Spring is never coming to the midwest.

Re: Spring is never coming to the midwest.

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