<p>On the wife front, I’m sure Shawson has other plans, but since he’s in start-up mode, he could perhaps help us out and finagle some AI/Robotics genius to design us all a chef-personal-trainer-wifely-but-hot-guy-bot – ya think?</p>
<p>We could do made-to-order beta ;)</p>
<p>I’d ask McSon, but he’s more likely to make us a cartoon effigy that dances Gangam style and sings like Daft Punk. (That’s a joke, btw…Daft Punk doesn’t sing; they’re instrumental…)</p>
<p>And his engineering prowess is, shall we say, inconsistent! So we might end up with hapless cartoon effigies that wear silly hats and play Khet all day. In other words, more of the same!</p>
<p>Glad to hear that your D did well, c_q and also the good news about NM’s neighbor.</p>
<p>Moda, I started wearing makeup as soon as the stitches were out. </p>
<p>Long day at work today and had to go to a meeting downtown. It was a good meeting but the 2 hour round trip tends to take a bite out of the day.</p>
<p>Sounds like a product that would be in great demand. </p>
<p>When i have a competent and attractive EA/PA, I think I have all of the required roles except trainer, but ShawWife is trying to get me to see a trainer every Saturday AM.</p>
<p>KMC - funny stuff there. I imagine such a bot to be totally outside S’s wheelhouse on all counts. But truth is, as bots go, I am not sure I would even want a man-bot. I am confident when I say there would likely be some malfunction where even the smallest virus or glitch would shut the whole thing down completely. And really? At some point a man-bot would eventually request that I make the sandwich for him!</p>
<p>PS… YEAH to NMN’s neighbor and med school acceptance. I find it very interesting to not have gotten an interview at his state flagship but a yes at Johns Hopkins. Not sure what all goes into that decision-making process, but I really really hope S is doing some networking on that because I plan on being worthless to the process. Not that I don’t want him to achieve whatever he sets out to achieve, and I am his biggest cheerleader, but I don’t need to get it. I did that for college. It’s his turn now and there are far more capable people out there if he avails himself of their offers of help, insight whatever. </p>
<p>PSS. D seems THRILLED with her new room and roommate! Transfer student, gets up early, same sleep schedule, likes SOME quiet but is not a introvert. All good news so far. Granted it’s only been since 3 o’clock since they’ve met, but this is a much better beginning than the first time! Stick to the positive.</p>
<p>Congrats on the med school acceptance. I’m sure that’s a huge relief.</p>
<p>Moda, did the realtor give you the name of the stager/decorator and if so does each realtor use their own person these days. I would like to have the advice of a stager, without moving. A stager keeps to a minimalist budget, I assume. We need to redo our carpet upstairs and I have no clue what kind to buy, so would welcome advice on that front. We also have to refinish our hardwood floors. That just seems impossible to me because of the need to move all of the furniture. I think it would take several pods, so I am thinking we should sell/give away all of the junk furniture before tackling that project. Anyway, if anybody knows how to find/interview a reputable stager, I’m in the market.</p>
<p>I’m thinking a bot would HAVE to be designed and built by a women. Why you ask? Because we are the ones that want it and I think women could do a better job of making sure we get what we want! Just saying…</p>
<p>TA - Yes, it seems very much that they work with their own people. I will ask him today but have to stay mindful that I really only have three hours of his time on the back of my realtor. Interesting because he said he would cover it without attaching a limit on it. I dont really care as I should be able to get through it. Hoping today he just waltzes in and picks the carpet, but I will ask him about his hourly rate.</p>
<p>I really think a lot of them are interior designers that do this kinda on the side. One realtor had a list of people - and under decorator where a number of names some stagers, some designers. </p>
<p>Is your entire first floor hardwood? We just had to move our furniture into the carpeted room, stacking it up more or less. If you do get bids, it’s important that they consider room barriers like your stairwell, to avoid having dust travel all over the place in your house. Even those floor guys who claim to be dust free or whatever still get dust everywhere. I got three bids and then ended up with the guy my neighbor used. He wasn’t the least expensive but he also did alot of the stuff that the lesser exp guy didn’t auto do - like remove the toe kick on moldings and replace it afterwards.</p>
<p>Moda, the entire first floor is hardwood, which in retrospect I think is a bad design just for this reason. I really only need the kitchen, dinette, sunroom, foyer, stairs, and hallway to the laundry room redone. The dining room, living room, family room, and downstairs bedroom look fine to me, but they all blend into each other. I’m so happy with our new siding that having the inside look like a barn floor really bothers me. We had some cleaning ladies do some real damage to the kitchen area.</p>
<p>Just ordered Shari’s Berries Valentine selection for both of my Ds. GMA Steal & Deals is advertising a dozen chocolate covered berries for $19.99 plus $12.99 shipping (!) . The shipping is a bit high but I figured they will appreciate this luxury.</p>
<p>Did I mention D1 did get her promotion at work? She is happy but says there are lots of issues transitioning in to a new position along with a new owner bringing in a new accounting firm/system. Will definitely be keeping her busy.</p>
<p>Moda… the neighbor boy did interview at the U. He was waitlisted there. He has also interviewed at Northwestern and University of Colorado. He is still waiting to hear back from them. His interview with Johns Hopkins is coming up soon.</p>
<p>TA…I also need flooring help. I want to redo carpeting in the entire upper level and pull out the tile floors on the main level and put in hard wood. The contractors say tearing out the tile will be very difficult. I am putting it off until the cabin remodel is done so I can move out of the house and stay at the lake.</p>
<p>NorthMinnesota, Congratulations to your neighbor and congratulations to your D1 on her promotion! Just got an email this morning from my S1, saying he had declined a job offer from a company he had interviewed with. He will stay put where he is and see what more promotions and opportunities come up for him in the next few months. I was kind of relieved as he has done well with promotions and opportuities already where he is. Just seemed to be getting a little restless and thought he should check other things out. I’m hoping he will definitely be able to come on our cruise for S2’s graduation to Bermuda in May now since he now won’t be dealing with a new job/ potential vacation time issues.</p>
<p>NM, congrats to your D on her promotion. Sevmom, it’s nice to have options and make an affirmative decision to stay put.</p>
<p>I saw a video on S1’s facebook page showing a child who could barely walk (maybe 11 or 12 months old) kicking a soccer ball around his apartment. He kept the ball close to his foot despite the hardwood floors (no loss of control by kicking and then going after it) and he didn’t touch the ball with his hands even when it got stuck. He just kept at it until he could get it loose with his feet even though he fell down a few times because he could barely stand up even without the challenge of a ball. This little guy was concentrating like a puppy with a new toy.</p>
<p>And yeah… an entire house of hardwood is kinda hard. Plus, you can’t be on it after they sand before they stain, and then the stain and top coat is like another day or two. Sounds like they’d need to do yours in stages just to handle the furniture. I’d try to get everything on the sunporch and kitchen and then do those last or something similar. But if you’re not changing the color (which we did and the realtors all approved of the darker brown), I don’t see why you need to do the rooms where it’s fine. My kitchen floor was destroyed by the cleaning people too (walked in to find them using top job - which was their last day).</p>
<p>NMN- the guy who did our hardwood floors did exactly what you describe to my neighbors house last year (pulled out tile in the laundry room and back hall to replace with hardwood). </p>
<p>Decorator/stager called unable to make it today and Im hoping he can hold to his word he can get here tomorrow. What annoys me slightly is that I specifically asked all realtors who did their spiel about the availability of their people (i.e., stagers, handymen, etc). I hope this isn’t setting a precedent. </p>
<p>Put make up on… and my eyes are watering like crazy. Going to throw out all eye make-up and buy new. But I am not lying when I say I REALLY am hoping the bags under my eyes - worse than they ever were even on my worst day - shrink up soon. I would feel much better had he said it was perfectly normal vs his opinion immediately following surgery that I was unusual to have so much edema in my lower eyes vs fat, which was repeated at my follow up. Still… the uppers look good and I am barely bruised at all in the grand scheme. But it won’t matter how good the uppers look if the eye remains this …plump!</p>
<p>S called this morning. Had a talk with both his advisor and two other professors on his thesis committee. Said his advisor said he had been waiting for him to come and talk to him because he recognized s was tormenting himself. I guess it went all very well and although my concern was going to be the ding to his resume to not have dept honors, his advisor guessed right that most of S’s angst was the possible ding to his reputation at the school which advisor said was crazy talk because everyone knows what kind of worker he is. But they both agreed that 100+ pages of failed results was not going to be what S intended despite the grueling work involved. Most important to me is that two of the three professors on his thesis committee have already scooped him up for other work. He’s going to TA for the one and the other is going to train him on some big wig equipment so when he goes to work at the lab this summer he’ll have advanced skills (way more than typical for UG). And both said they have no hesitation to write him a glowing recommendation because of his work ethic and character. So… I am good with that. And oh… broke up with his girlfriend. Her friends now hate him but apparently she really doesn’t. Have no idea how he gets girls to fall so hard for him. I think he can be a real jerk in the break up dept. BUT… he has said he has been talking to his gf from hs a lot. they went out to lunch over break. And I ADORED her… so no complaints from mom.</p>
<p>I was thinking about the wife/robot today while I was having my hair done. If I had somebody to blow this mop out every day and keep its color “youthful”, I’d forgo all other functions :-)</p>
<p>NM, congrats to your D on her promotion.</p>
<p>Moda, your house will look so beautiful you’ll be loath to move (maybe?). When we have fixed up everything before leaving one house, we’ve always kicked ourselves for not doing it sooner–just for us. Like TA, I guess I need staging (while staying put) in this house as well. Hope the eye puffies disappear!</p>
<p>I am exhausted after going to the gym. Trying to get back to my daily routine there. After sweating like crazy I am a little stiff after hitting the cold on my way home. Will have to go soak after dinner…hmmm…hoping I have enough leftover calories to indulge in a glass of wine while relaxing!</p>
<p>Our house has a main level that is all hardwood except for the family room, meaning that there is no way to get into the house without stepping onto a continuous swath of hardwood. I’m scheduling right now to have it refinished graduation week when we’ll be away. I’ve babysat hardwood refinishing projects for two other friends, so I’m going to get one of them to do the peek after day 2. The picky one.</p>
<p>TA - I picked the stager for MIL’s house mostly by word-of-mouth, but the key for me was looking at the photographs of houses for sale in the area and then tracking down who staged them. There were a bunch of stagers whose work I simply didn’t like. The houses they staged may have sold quickly, but I would not have wanted to live with it. I really liked several of the homes done by the stager I picked, and that worked out well. She was able to pick out very classy looking modern lighting and door hardware that looked way more expensive than it was, good colors for paint and carpet, and better room furniture arrangements than the in-laws had ever had.</p>
<p>Your public service announcement: If your graduating '13ers are using a school email as their primary email for life, perhaps time for your student to check and see what happens to it upon graduation and to get a “permanent” adult email if appropriate. Changing all the bank, airline, insurance,… email addresses before something happens to the college one would be a good idea. Hit that today when getting D help with her tax return. Don’t want IRS noticies going into a black hole.</p>
<p>We got the notice of commencement activities today from D’s school. Hard to believe, really, that it’s coming up.</p>
<p>Missypie, hope you had the energy to tackle the house. </p>
<p>I have an all day meeting on Saturday but agreed to host a dinner that evening. We’ll do main course; folks are bringing the rest. And I thought this was a good idea because … ???</p>