We have quickly realized that living in a house that you are trying to sell sucks! We have been trying to sell our house since April 1st, and as of May 28th, have had only 6 showings. I have this grand idea of moving into a new house on August 30th (the day after our wedding), but that is quickly fading to just sell the house as fast as possible. I have spoken with many couples who have lived together before they were married and when asked how they feel now that they are married: their response is typical, “The same.” Maybe I am old fashion, but I want something to change, something different, something that says, “Now we are married!” But, as stated, living in a house you are trying to sell sucks, so if a good offer comes along, we will most likely take it and the dreams of moving into the house the day after our wedding fades away in the sunset. (sigh) Whoa is me.
It feels like we are living in a museum now. Each room in our house use to have it’s own feel, it’s own attitude if you must. The kitchen was black and white with the classic black and white tiled floor. The living was a dark purple, which sounds horrible, but actually worked really well with our milk chocolate couches. We had a full size and a love seat couch, giving the room a cozy feel: it was a great sitting room. The basement was my 49er basement. I had a large helmet on the wall, dartboard and big screen. 2 full size couches so my friends could come over and hang out. I have tears remembering my old basement. We had spent a week painting the up stairs various shades of light browns, and that was the last project we wanted to get done for a while: then we decide to sell the house.
Now, the whole house is a neutral color, the living room has one love seat, my basement has one couch, so if more than one person wants to stop by, they must sit on the floor. We have no pictures up, no clutter, no dirt, no…nothing. Now, the idea, as stated in previous blogs, is to stage the house. Give it a clean neutral feel that someone could move right into. We took out couches to make the rooms seem bigger, took down our pictures so a family could see their selves in the house, not Emily and I.
The upside is that we have a super clean house, the downside is that we have to make the house super clean every day. We leave every morning with the thought that someone could look at the house. Not that we were dirty people, it just puts a whole different level of stress on us living here.
We did purchase a black leather sofa and a matching recliner from a friend of mine who is moving to San Diego, so the love seat that is up stairs will move downstairs so I can have more than one person over now! The recliner will fill a much needed void in the corner of the living room. Mom has been begging us to put a plant there, but I know that it would die, really turning someone off.
So, if you know someone who needs a house in St. Charles, tell them to call me, so I can quit bitching.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Engaged and Graduated
Emily and I both want to thank everyone for coming to the party, the turnout was great. We really do appreciate all the love and support that we get from our friends and family. A special thank you to my Mom who headed up the decorating committee! Also, a big thank you to Fleetwood who made sure that none of us would have to be “that guy.” Fleetwood came into St. Louis from Springfield around 7:30 for the party and by 9:30 he was puking into a bucket at the bar and one his way home for the night. He decided to do as many shots as possible in as short of a time span he could. Needless to say, I don’t think he really remembers much of his trip to St. Louis, but hey..it was great to see him!
For anyone who was wondering, the band was Contagious, who I would venture to say that they are the best cover band I have ever heard.
After months of anticipation, the big night finally was upon us. I really enjoy planning events like this, and every since I left college I have not had the opportunity to plan many events, so I was pretty excited about it. Emily worked her ass off for her Master’s and getting a 4.0 while working a full time job is an awesome achievement and I wanted to make sure that she didn’t have to worry about a thing and that the party was awesome.
Emily graduated Friday the 16th in one of the more boring graduations I have ever attended. Luckily, when Emily walked across stage, she just kept on walking to the parking lot, so we got to leave after an hour and a half. They had only made it ¼ of the way through the hundreds of names, so I have feeling we would have been there for another hour or so had Emily wanted to stay. The speaker was one of the worst speakers I have ever heard. I keep thinking, “Bueller…Bueller…Bueller.” And to top this off, he was drowning on and on about a topic that I didn’t even care about. I can handle a bad speaker talking about something that I care about, or a bad topic with a great speaker. But a bad speaker plus a bad topic equals Josh wanting to shoot himself in the head.
We had friends coming in town Friday night so we could golf early Saturday morning and the girls had a day planned to go shopping, getting a pedicure and manicure and lunch.
Getting up at 7:15 kind of shocked the body, but a few cups of coffee got the whole body kick started. We had a great time golfing and I believe I have given Ben a new addiction.
The party was a ton of fun and Contagious really made the party. I did learn that the five hour energy drink, does not set well with my body. Ben was pushing these drinks like hotcakes, and after a few hours I decided to have one. After getting up so early and spending all day in the sun, by 7:00 I was a little worn out. Within 30 minutes of drinking this stupid drink my mind was going a million miles a second and my stomach felt miserable. I started to get real pale and sick. So, at 9:00 p.m. and only 6 beers, I am in the bathroom at Game Day puking: Quite the start to the night. Once I got that crap out of my system, I was ready to rock. The beers started to go down like water and the shots were flying around like crazy: hey, who I am to say no to a shot. Emily was quite the trooper. She is normally a 3 beer queer, but she was drinking all night and taking shots with the best of them. She did however puke behind the bar around 11:30, and then kept right on drinking. Hey, it was her night!
Sunday found us sleeping in until 12:30 and trying to be as lazy as possible. We had a house full of people, so we had to clean and I had to get the yard mowed, so something had to be accomplished, but let it be known, we did not like doing any of it.
Orlando
I did get Emily a trip to Orlando for graduation. Our good friends Bear and Amy have a time share and they are going to Orlando as well and we are going to stay with them. A big thank you to them for letting us stay with them for free. We got cheap plane tickets and a free place to stay, can’t pass that up. We are leaving July 28th, which means I will miss Norah’s 2nd birthday. I really hope it doesn’t traumatize her for life that her favorite person in the whole world is missing her 2nd birthday.
This is where we are staying.
Notable gifts. Gifts were not expected at all, and anything that we received was very much appreciated.
Emily received:
An IPOD shuffle, head phones and an arm holder for the shuffle
A gift certificate to a spa
A trip to Orlando, FL We received some gift cards to Bed Bath & Beyond which will be put to great use, a gift certificate for couple’s spa, 3 bottles of wine and candle and candle holder. I believe this covers the gifts, sorry if I left someone’s gift out.
Once again, thank you to everyone for the gifts and for coming to the party! Another blog to follow early this week.
For anyone who was wondering, the band was Contagious, who I would venture to say that they are the best cover band I have ever heard.
After months of anticipation, the big night finally was upon us. I really enjoy planning events like this, and every since I left college I have not had the opportunity to plan many events, so I was pretty excited about it. Emily worked her ass off for her Master’s and getting a 4.0 while working a full time job is an awesome achievement and I wanted to make sure that she didn’t have to worry about a thing and that the party was awesome.
Emily graduated Friday the 16th in one of the more boring graduations I have ever attended. Luckily, when Emily walked across stage, she just kept on walking to the parking lot, so we got to leave after an hour and a half. They had only made it ¼ of the way through the hundreds of names, so I have feeling we would have been there for another hour or so had Emily wanted to stay. The speaker was one of the worst speakers I have ever heard. I keep thinking, “Bueller…Bueller…Bueller.” And to top this off, he was drowning on and on about a topic that I didn’t even care about. I can handle a bad speaker talking about something that I care about, or a bad topic with a great speaker. But a bad speaker plus a bad topic equals Josh wanting to shoot himself in the head.
We had friends coming in town Friday night so we could golf early Saturday morning and the girls had a day planned to go shopping, getting a pedicure and manicure and lunch.
Getting up at 7:15 kind of shocked the body, but a few cups of coffee got the whole body kick started. We had a great time golfing and I believe I have given Ben a new addiction.
The party was a ton of fun and Contagious really made the party. I did learn that the five hour energy drink, does not set well with my body. Ben was pushing these drinks like hotcakes, and after a few hours I decided to have one. After getting up so early and spending all day in the sun, by 7:00 I was a little worn out. Within 30 minutes of drinking this stupid drink my mind was going a million miles a second and my stomach felt miserable. I started to get real pale and sick. So, at 9:00 p.m. and only 6 beers, I am in the bathroom at Game Day puking: Quite the start to the night. Once I got that crap out of my system, I was ready to rock. The beers started to go down like water and the shots were flying around like crazy: hey, who I am to say no to a shot. Emily was quite the trooper. She is normally a 3 beer queer, but she was drinking all night and taking shots with the best of them. She did however puke behind the bar around 11:30, and then kept right on drinking. Hey, it was her night!
Sunday found us sleeping in until 12:30 and trying to be as lazy as possible. We had a house full of people, so we had to clean and I had to get the yard mowed, so something had to be accomplished, but let it be known, we did not like doing any of it.
Orlando
I did get Emily a trip to Orlando for graduation. Our good friends Bear and Amy have a time share and they are going to Orlando as well and we are going to stay with them. A big thank you to them for letting us stay with them for free. We got cheap plane tickets and a free place to stay, can’t pass that up. We are leaving July 28th, which means I will miss Norah’s 2nd birthday. I really hope it doesn’t traumatize her for life that her favorite person in the whole world is missing her 2nd birthday.
This is where we are staying.
Notable gifts. Gifts were not expected at all, and anything that we received was very much appreciated.
Emily received:
An IPOD shuffle, head phones and an arm holder for the shuffle
A gift certificate to a spa
A trip to Orlando, FL We received some gift cards to Bed Bath & Beyond which will be put to great use, a gift certificate for couple’s spa, 3 bottles of wine and candle and candle holder. I believe this covers the gifts, sorry if I left someone’s gift out.
Once again, thank you to everyone for the gifts and for coming to the party! Another blog to follow early this week.
Monday, May 5, 2008
If it ain't broke...don't replace it
If it ain’t broke...don’t replace it.
For the better, I have become very cheap. I have learned to live on a minimal budget, not because I really wanted to, but for a year or so of my life, I HAD to. I knew which bars had free food for happy hour and which bars had $1 drinks, so I could at least get out of the house, other wise I would loose my damn mind. I had some cavities that needed to be fixed, but no money. I am sure that many people have lived on a tiny budget, so I am not special; I am just giving you a glimpse into my past. Now, looking back it was good for me to learn how to live so cheap and on a budget. At the time, it was miserable. Now that I am back on my feet and able to buy hamburger buns to go with my hamburger, I am still living on that same cheap budget. I have this horrible fear of slumping back down to that broke state that I try to spend anything unless I have to. Here are two examples:
When I bought this house 3 years ago, I purchased a used washer and dryer for $175 for the set. At the time I was getting married in 10 months, so I was going to use this set for the time being and when we got married, get a new set. Three years later the bastards are still holding on, barely, but they are there. 1 out of 4 times the washer will quit mid-cycle and the water won’t drain, so we have to restart the cycle. This means we can’t leave the house for too long with the washer running, other wise there is a good chance our clothes will sit in water for way too long and the wash machine could overflow….again.
The dryer takes two full cycles to get our clothes dry: unless we are drying a shirt. Now, it did quit working a few months ago, but the place I purchased it from came and fixed it for $25.00. So, now I have a $200 set that has lasted me 3 years. I feel pretty safe in saying that I got my money’s worth out of them. So, until that wash machine quits working 100% of the time, they will gimp along, washing the clothes, little by little.
The BBQ grill is the other thing that is hobbling along. I love to BBQ, so the grill gets used 2 or 3 times a week. I have also had this grill for 3 years, which I guess is a year past its prime. The starter does not work, so I have to turn the gas on, which takes 5 minutes or so to get the gas flowing into the grill, then hold a long lighter and turn my head as I light it so not to loose all of my eye brows…again. The center piece under the grill has falling apart and catches fire every time, meaning I have to constantly move the meat around so the bottom does not flare up. I have long said that I need another grill, but as long as this one still lights, I am going to keep using it. Last month we were getting our deck re-stained so I had to move everything off the back porch. I decide that I can move everything by myself, which I later came to regret that decision. While moving the grill down the stairs, one stair at a time so to not have all the insides fall out, the one of the wheels gets stuck and the whole thing flips down the stairs. I must admit: I shed a tear. I knew she was a goner, she had her last fall. After the deck was done I gathered the grill up and all her pieces to see if she will light. I just knew that I was going to have to break down and by a new one. Emily was happy because she hates the ugly old grill. It is dirty and hard to use she says. Now, after 3 years of grilling, of course it is dirty, but that is what I love about it.
I get everything put back together, turn on the propane, and 5 minutes later I hold the lighter in the grill and cross my fingers. WALA! It lights. Now the top two smaller grills, no longer fit, but I have the main one! So, gimp along a little longer grill, you, the wash machine and the dryer are troopers! Don’t let Emily tell you any different!
For the better, I have become very cheap. I have learned to live on a minimal budget, not because I really wanted to, but for a year or so of my life, I HAD to. I knew which bars had free food for happy hour and which bars had $1 drinks, so I could at least get out of the house, other wise I would loose my damn mind. I had some cavities that needed to be fixed, but no money. I am sure that many people have lived on a tiny budget, so I am not special; I am just giving you a glimpse into my past. Now, looking back it was good for me to learn how to live so cheap and on a budget. At the time, it was miserable. Now that I am back on my feet and able to buy hamburger buns to go with my hamburger, I am still living on that same cheap budget. I have this horrible fear of slumping back down to that broke state that I try to spend anything unless I have to. Here are two examples:
When I bought this house 3 years ago, I purchased a used washer and dryer for $175 for the set. At the time I was getting married in 10 months, so I was going to use this set for the time being and when we got married, get a new set. Three years later the bastards are still holding on, barely, but they are there. 1 out of 4 times the washer will quit mid-cycle and the water won’t drain, so we have to restart the cycle. This means we can’t leave the house for too long with the washer running, other wise there is a good chance our clothes will sit in water for way too long and the wash machine could overflow….again.
The dryer takes two full cycles to get our clothes dry: unless we are drying a shirt. Now, it did quit working a few months ago, but the place I purchased it from came and fixed it for $25.00. So, now I have a $200 set that has lasted me 3 years. I feel pretty safe in saying that I got my money’s worth out of them. So, until that wash machine quits working 100% of the time, they will gimp along, washing the clothes, little by little.
The BBQ grill is the other thing that is hobbling along. I love to BBQ, so the grill gets used 2 or 3 times a week. I have also had this grill for 3 years, which I guess is a year past its prime. The starter does not work, so I have to turn the gas on, which takes 5 minutes or so to get the gas flowing into the grill, then hold a long lighter and turn my head as I light it so not to loose all of my eye brows…again. The center piece under the grill has falling apart and catches fire every time, meaning I have to constantly move the meat around so the bottom does not flare up. I have long said that I need another grill, but as long as this one still lights, I am going to keep using it. Last month we were getting our deck re-stained so I had to move everything off the back porch. I decide that I can move everything by myself, which I later came to regret that decision. While moving the grill down the stairs, one stair at a time so to not have all the insides fall out, the one of the wheels gets stuck and the whole thing flips down the stairs. I must admit: I shed a tear. I knew she was a goner, she had her last fall. After the deck was done I gathered the grill up and all her pieces to see if she will light. I just knew that I was going to have to break down and by a new one. Emily was happy because she hates the ugly old grill. It is dirty and hard to use she says. Now, after 3 years of grilling, of course it is dirty, but that is what I love about it.
I get everything put back together, turn on the propane, and 5 minutes later I hold the lighter in the grill and cross my fingers. WALA! It lights. Now the top two smaller grills, no longer fit, but I have the main one! So, gimp along a little longer grill, you, the wash machine and the dryer are troopers! Don’t let Emily tell you any different!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sleep Tight: Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite.
When I was a child up until 5 years ago, I would wake up a few times a year in a “blood curling” scream. I will have to paraphrase my brother on this one, because I do not remember waking up screaming. He said that he never understood the expression of “blood curling” scream until he heard me screaming. We shared a room until I was 12 and I woke a few times during the night screaming and Justin said that it was one of the most freighting things he has ever heard. Justin would just cover his head and pray that whatever was getting me, would not hear him breathing under the sheets.
The one time that the horrible scream actually woke me up was my sophomore year high school. I was at a party and ended up sleeping on the floor next to a bed of three girls. I wake up with this blood-curling scream and of course the girls wake up screaming. My scream did not wake me up, it was the girls screaming that woke me up, and scared me, so I am now screaming in a normal, “manlier” scream. I realized what happened rather quickly and just played stupid. The girls were trying to describe the horrible noise they just heard, and none of them would even think that such a horrible, high pitch noise could come out of a guy, so I played it off and said that I heard it as well and had no clue what it was. At this time everyone else in the house had ran up to see what the hell we were screaming at, the whole time, I am just playing stupid.
I am not sure what triggers these horrible sounds, but I have not had an “episode” in over 5 years. I have warned any roommate that I have had: just in case, and Emily knows about them and I really do feel sorry for her if I wake up screaming in the middle of the night: I really believe Emily will piss the bed and pass out.
So, moving forward. The past few weeks I have found myself waking up doing crazy things. Most of them I do not remember, but Emily tells me about them the next morning. Two weeks ago I woke up begging Emily not to move her elbow since our elbows were connected. This went on for a few minutes. Emily says that I seem wide awake, I scarcely remember this happening, but I remember that I was truly terrified that the skin on our conjoined elbows were going to rip apart.
Last week I woke up Emily yelling and pointed up at the ceiling fan. Emily tried to ask me if the fan was going to fall and I mumbled yes and fell back asleep. Last night I thought that I cut my self and woke up holding my right arm telling Emily that I am bleeding, and I do remember Emily handing me a tissue so not to get blood on the sheets. I turned the light on, expecting to see a bloody mess on my arm: nothing. I am laying in bed holding a tissue for my "bloody" arm feeling like an idiot.
I am going to wake up once and there really is going to be a problem and Emily will be convienced that I am just having issues. All the while, the evil monster in the closet will get her first.
Justin also has had issues with waking up and doing weird things in his sleep, so I am not sure if something is crazy in our mind, or if Mom just gave us booze for nap time and it is rattling around up there. I don’t want to dive into Justin’s crazy night terror, that is a whole different blog that he needs to write.
The one time that the horrible scream actually woke me up was my sophomore year high school. I was at a party and ended up sleeping on the floor next to a bed of three girls. I wake up with this blood-curling scream and of course the girls wake up screaming. My scream did not wake me up, it was the girls screaming that woke me up, and scared me, so I am now screaming in a normal, “manlier” scream. I realized what happened rather quickly and just played stupid. The girls were trying to describe the horrible noise they just heard, and none of them would even think that such a horrible, high pitch noise could come out of a guy, so I played it off and said that I heard it as well and had no clue what it was. At this time everyone else in the house had ran up to see what the hell we were screaming at, the whole time, I am just playing stupid.
I am not sure what triggers these horrible sounds, but I have not had an “episode” in over 5 years. I have warned any roommate that I have had: just in case, and Emily knows about them and I really do feel sorry for her if I wake up screaming in the middle of the night: I really believe Emily will piss the bed and pass out.
So, moving forward. The past few weeks I have found myself waking up doing crazy things. Most of them I do not remember, but Emily tells me about them the next morning. Two weeks ago I woke up begging Emily not to move her elbow since our elbows were connected. This went on for a few minutes. Emily says that I seem wide awake, I scarcely remember this happening, but I remember that I was truly terrified that the skin on our conjoined elbows were going to rip apart.
Last week I woke up Emily yelling and pointed up at the ceiling fan. Emily tried to ask me if the fan was going to fall and I mumbled yes and fell back asleep. Last night I thought that I cut my self and woke up holding my right arm telling Emily that I am bleeding, and I do remember Emily handing me a tissue so not to get blood on the sheets. I turned the light on, expecting to see a bloody mess on my arm: nothing. I am laying in bed holding a tissue for my "bloody" arm feeling like an idiot.
I am going to wake up once and there really is going to be a problem and Emily will be convienced that I am just having issues. All the while, the evil monster in the closet will get her first.
Justin also has had issues with waking up and doing weird things in his sleep, so I am not sure if something is crazy in our mind, or if Mom just gave us booze for nap time and it is rattling around up there. I don’t want to dive into Justin’s crazy night terror, that is a whole different blog that he needs to write.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Stuck in the Elevator with you.
Emily and I went to the Cardinal game on Saturday with some friends, which we lost, but we had great seats and it is always nice to be outside. After the game we grab dinner with our friends and go out to some bars downtown. Emily and I do not drink and drive, so we had arranged to stay at the Missouri Athletic Club downtown (MAC). After a night of bar hopping we head back to the hotel around 1:30am. Our room was on the 10th floor so we hop in the elevator. Two feet from the 10th floor the elevator stops and all the lights go off. Emily, myself, Sara, Chris and Hollie and Jason are now all stuck in an elevator at 1:30 am. Luckily we had stopped at the gas station to get beer, so we had something to drink. 3 guys and 3 girls stuck on an elevator could be a plot of a crazy porn movie, but I keep that thought to myself.
Emily is claustrophobic, and being stuck in an elevator with 5 other people apparently is not a good situation for a claustrophobic person. Emily had to breathe slowly so she would not hyperventilate. I myself was freaked out at the thought of the cable snapping, but I kept that to myself also. Since we all have been drinking; we all had to pee. We were to the point of peeing in bottles. And, to top the whole situation off, Chris is throwing a fit about not being in our wedding party. (Quick side note. I have too many friends. Picking a wedding party was a very hard thing to do. I have friends that deserve to be in the wedding, but only so much room. And I have friends who think we are much closer than we really are…but I digress).
So, 5 drunk people, Emily who was sober, all had to pee, stuck in an elevator listening to Chris tell me how disappointed he is and how much he loves me and is appalled that he is not in the wedding party, oh yeah, all the lights were out as well. This went on for an hour. For an hour we all try to just relax and not think about the crappy situation, but we 6 people are crammed into an elevator with all the lights off, there is not much else to think about.
Needless to say, when the fire department finally shows up to pry the door open, Emily had lost the good mood and was ready to go home.
For some reason the MAC lost power for a few hours, it was the only building downtown that lost power and as of this morning, they still have no clue what happened. Emily and I packed back up and heading home at 3:00 am. The whole experience was just crazy, that is really the best way that I can describe it. The moral of the whole story is, make sure you don’t have to pee before you get on an elevator.
Emily is claustrophobic, and being stuck in an elevator with 5 other people apparently is not a good situation for a claustrophobic person. Emily had to breathe slowly so she would not hyperventilate. I myself was freaked out at the thought of the cable snapping, but I kept that to myself also. Since we all have been drinking; we all had to pee. We were to the point of peeing in bottles. And, to top the whole situation off, Chris is throwing a fit about not being in our wedding party. (Quick side note. I have too many friends. Picking a wedding party was a very hard thing to do. I have friends that deserve to be in the wedding, but only so much room. And I have friends who think we are much closer than we really are…but I digress).
So, 5 drunk people, Emily who was sober, all had to pee, stuck in an elevator listening to Chris tell me how disappointed he is and how much he loves me and is appalled that he is not in the wedding party, oh yeah, all the lights were out as well. This went on for an hour. For an hour we all try to just relax and not think about the crappy situation, but we 6 people are crammed into an elevator with all the lights off, there is not much else to think about.
Needless to say, when the fire department finally shows up to pry the door open, Emily had lost the good mood and was ready to go home.
For some reason the MAC lost power for a few hours, it was the only building downtown that lost power and as of this morning, they still have no clue what happened. Emily and I packed back up and heading home at 3:00 am. The whole experience was just crazy, that is really the best way that I can describe it. The moral of the whole story is, make sure you don’t have to pee before you get on an elevator.
You can see just how happy Emily was!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Tis the season for flooding!
Last weekend found Emily and I heading to Branson to spend time with the Kings. John is my youth minister from High School. Well, actually I did not attend his church at all: Here's the story.
I met John through Emily Scott, who attended his church. It was the year anniversary of my Father's death and I was feeling pretty down. Emily invited me to go to their Wednesday Night service. To be honest, I did not really want to go, but I figured it couldn’t really hurt. I sat through the youth service and was spacing in and out and as soon as it was over I was ready to go. At this point in my life I had turned my back on religion, I was mad at the world and no one was going to make it better. This is how I felt on the inside: on the outside, I was the same happy go-lucky kid that I always had been.
I was trying to leave and John stopped me. He asked me if everything was okay, and I lied and said yes and thanked him for the service and turned to try to leave. John put his hand on my shoulder and told me thanks for coming and asked if he could give me a hug. As soon as he did, it was like the flood gates opened and I started to cry like a new born. John and I spent the next few hours together, just talking. From that point on John and I spend a lot of time together. He has been a major part of my life, inspirational wise and he is my mentor in life. The greatest thing about John is that he does not judge anyone or try to beat the bible into your head, he just loves people. John has really taught me how to love people better.
Emily has grown to love spending time with John and his wife Mikala, who is a burst of fresh air. Spending a weekend with them really rejuvenates us both and helps us forget all of our troubles for that weekend. So, after months of trying to make it to Branson, we finally all 4 connect on a weekend. We head of for our 5 hour trip.
We did get to eat Cheaders in Springfield, which is one of Emily’s favorite restaurants. We use to eat there quite a bit while we were there.
I met John through Emily Scott, who attended his church. It was the year anniversary of my Father's death and I was feeling pretty down. Emily invited me to go to their Wednesday Night service. To be honest, I did not really want to go, but I figured it couldn’t really hurt. I sat through the youth service and was spacing in and out and as soon as it was over I was ready to go. At this point in my life I had turned my back on religion, I was mad at the world and no one was going to make it better. This is how I felt on the inside: on the outside, I was the same happy go-lucky kid that I always had been.
I was trying to leave and John stopped me. He asked me if everything was okay, and I lied and said yes and thanked him for the service and turned to try to leave. John put his hand on my shoulder and told me thanks for coming and asked if he could give me a hug. As soon as he did, it was like the flood gates opened and I started to cry like a new born. John and I spent the next few hours together, just talking. From that point on John and I spend a lot of time together. He has been a major part of my life, inspirational wise and he is my mentor in life. The greatest thing about John is that he does not judge anyone or try to beat the bible into your head, he just loves people. John has really taught me how to love people better.
Emily has grown to love spending time with John and his wife Mikala, who is a burst of fresh air. Spending a weekend with them really rejuvenates us both and helps us forget all of our troubles for that weekend. So, after months of trying to make it to Branson, we finally all 4 connect on a weekend. We head of for our 5 hour trip.
We did get to eat Cheaders in Springfield, which is one of Emily’s favorite restaurants. We use to eat there quite a bit while we were there.
The weather ended up being cold, rainy and windy all weekend, so it put a stop to our Silver Dollar City Plans. We did manage to make it to see Table Rock Dam, which if you have not know, has been flooding pretty bad. This is the first time in its 68 year existence that all flood gates have been opened, and still, Lake Taneycomo was bursting over the top. I have never seen anything quite like it.
You can click on all the pictures to see a bigger shot.
This is a picture from the Springfield News Leader of an arial shot. You can see the Lake at the rim.
You can see the water splashing over the top of the dam. The floods gates are open so the lake does not flood, and with all of them open, it is still flooding.
This is another arial shot from the Springfield News Leader.
This is a shot that I took.
John and I had to climb down a little ways to get a good shot.
This is the parking lot. Where the trees are, there is a 10 foot drop that leads down to a little river walk.
Here are the stairs that lead down to the walk
This is a little pavilon that is under water
After the dam trip we headed back to the house to relax. It was very nice to sit around with nothing to do. John felt bad that we didn’t do enough stuff, but we loved every minute of it. Emily and I very rarely get chances to sit around and do nothing. In St. Louis there is always something to do that keeps us busy and not spending good quiet time together. We did get back out to see Horton Hears a Who, which, was a very funny movie!
All in all, despite the miserable weather, we had a wonderful weekend. Every time we spend time with the Kings we wish we could do it more often, but alas, such is life.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Can we get a church?
It seems that our life has slowed down just a little bit, but not for long. Emily and I are forging ahead for our wedding on August 29th. (warning religious implications to follow)We are in a little bind to find a church that we can use. The issue is that we are having John King, my youth minister from Camdenton, and one of my greatest inspirational people in my life, officiate our service. John is a Baptist minister, which has shut the door on ½ the churches from the start. I have even called Baptist churches here and they have no interest in letting a person get married in their church with their own minister. I am a pretty religious man: I was a religion minor at one point and during college have worked as a youth minister at 2 different churches, and this is the reason that turns me away from church..not relgion..church. We have a young couple who loves the Lord and wants to get married in a church for the obvious religious implications and because we have our own minister to officiate the service, no church will work with us. Doesn’t seem very Christian to me, but hey, who am I to judge?
Alright, so off the religious talk. Yes, Emily and I are still in St. Louis, and we still have no clue when we are going to leave, if at all. We finally got to a point that we were ready to move ahead and purchase the store in Kansas City and the territory, so we called our investors, who a month and ½ ago were on board, and now they have seemed to get gun shy. So, we are back looking for investors. After 3 months of sitting around waiting, I am moving forward with the assumption that we are staying in St. Louis. On a personal level it is great. With Justin and Meg here and Mom hopefully on her way, and Emily’s family also. But, on a business level, Kansas City looks amazing, but just can’t seem to get everyone on board. My business partner has said that he will find an investor come “Hell or High Water,” but that water is rising awful fast.
Before this McAlister’s deal came about, I was looking into investment property and I once again open that door. Yes, yes, I know, now is not the time to sell. But, now is the time to buy and then rent. Justin has purchased a house that he be flipping and then renting. We will see what pans out for me, but it seems that is the direction I am heading.
Branson
This weekend finds Emily and I heading off to Branson, MO. We are going to strap on our cowboy boots and hats and watch 30 shows this weekend. No..not really. John King, who I mentioned early, is a youth pastor at a church there. We have been talking about going for 8 months, and this is the first weekend all of our schedules jive. I met John 8 or 9 years ago in Camdenton and we have remained in contact. Truly, one of the nicest people I have ever met. Emily and I enjoy the refreshing weekend of just watching him and Mikala together and to see how much they love each other. We really cherish the time we get to spend with the Kings.
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