Linda's (from Indiana) Journal

thanks for stopping by. so glad you got your deal closed. i'll be checking out your journal today. is it possible to get things set up with a HML now, before you have another deal and you are scrambling? i know you learned a lot through this. how is hubby about it?

well, the kids left this morning for Fort Knox and i miss them all ready. i talked to my oldest daughter, Des, this morning. i got back to work this morning and things are happening. i got another call from a prospective T/B. i figure if they don't get their questionnaires back to me, they are not serious. i do keep their info, so we'll see about some follow-up at some point. i worked on a couple contracts but have more to work on. also had to add my disclosure (about being a realtor) on them and will add them to the rest. i really need to put working on contracts first on my list so i do that in the morning and get it out of the way. i've been procrastinating on that for over 2 weeks. i'm also listening to 2 webinars i missed because of having company. i'm so thankful they recorded them so i could spend time with my kids and still listen to important information. i'm being very careful to only concentrate on L/O's and not everything else out there. that is my niche and i don't need to be tossed about with every wave out there. i must keep my focus!

Wow! You are amazing at keeping your journal! I started reading it awhile back, but after about page 10 I had to skip ahead.

You are doing so well and have such determination! Kudos to you.

Like you, I have decided to do L/O and am very excited to get things going.

Stop by my journal when you get a chance.

Karen

thanks for stopping by. someone just mentioned to me that you had decided to do L/O's. i have to get caught up on your journal. yes, i tend to be gabby and my journal is just an extension of that. please stay in touch.

i have been very productive, even if it's only been for 2 days. Danelle and her family had dinner with Jared last night and got to meet his "girlfriend". i'm not sure if they are at that point yet, but they are dating. she is 30 and Jared is 25. older women have been after him since he was 16 years old. she is former military and is now an independent IT contractor at Fort Knox. Jared has never been very good at picking out a good girlfriend, so we are always concerned about that. this young woman seems to be very nice and i want to see a picture of her because i can usually pick up vibes pretty quick from even a picture. where my kids are concerned i've always been right, so far. they hate that. but, hopefully he has picked well this time. as for REI, i got to have a nice chat with Lea this morning. it's been rough not having our regular phone calls. it's nice to have someone to bounce ideas off of. she is very patient with me. i am caught up on the webinars i've missed with the holidays, finishing one up this morning. i have finally started reading the 1925 version of "The Law of Success", thanks to a recommendation from a fellow DGer on this site. i have the 1928 version also, but it is watered down. i finally managed to get together an introductory email for sellers, kind of explaining what i do. i got a call from a prospective T/B this morning while i was on the phone and called her back. had to leave a message. she had called from an older ad because i have decided not to offer rent credits and she mentioned that was in my ad. funny how the holidays are bringing in calls. hopefully sellers realize that they probably won't be selling their house anytime soon without my help. i am waiting on an answer about something in one of my contracts; i'm not sure what it refers to or how to fill in the blanks. i have not worked on my contracts yet today and i have to get on it. why am i putting that off? as i said yesterday, i need to put that first on the to-do list, but i conveniently forgot about that. i guess i better get with the program.

I enjoyed our conversation today. It is always fun to bounce ideas off of each other.

About Jared well I just don't know what to say but hope all goes well with him and 'the older woman' LOL!

I know you will feel a lot better when the contracts are done and out of the way. I bet when you go over them it won't be nearly as bad as it feels at the moment

Lea

Wow Linda! That was amazing to me when you said "someone had mentioned to you that I was going to do L/O" !!! That anyone even has a clue about me yet is...ummm...surprising(?) but cool!

I am at the same point as you right now trying to figure out the contracts. Which ones are necessary to use and what to change (when doing a sandwich lease) on the L/O contract for seller/me vs me/TB. Then, I suppose I need to talk to a RE atty to make sure everything is right for CA, but I am scared to find out how much he/she will charge. I have no money to invest at this point.

All will work itself out. Maybe we should chat. It's fun when you connect with someone working the same angle.

By the way, I am originally from back in your part of the country. I grew up in Louisville, close to where Jared is stationed right now.

Karen

i needed that talk, as i always do. it's good for me and it really tests my brain power!

we just found out they are having a deployment ceremony before they deploy, so i will probably get to meet Jared's "lady friend" then.

yes, i will feel better when the contracts are done. i have a hard time sitting still and reading through all that stuff, but it has to be done. i need to do like you do and set my timer; maybe that will help me. i have one in my office, but i've been doing so much better about getting things done.....except for that.

so glad to hear from you. i have some contracts that have been approved, but i have some other ones that i may want to copy from too. i always try to protect myself as much as possible, but sometimes God still just has to cover my "assets". you should call the attorney and ask how much it costs; you aren't obligated, but at least you know what to expect. if you all ready have the contracts, it shouldn't be too much for them to look over them and make suggestions, although CA may be different.

great that you are originally from Louisville. it's only 4 1/2 hours from me and i love the South.

i would love to chat. i'll PM you.

that's the weather, not my hair because i got it colored today. i am spending the day getting things back in order after having company for over a week. but....yesterday i got a notice on a property (i send myself listings under $25,000 from the MLS). it's in an area that we like and the price was $12,900. the lender is willing to look at a short sale; just wants it sold. of course, it needs lots of work. i told Chuck about it last night and he said he was interested, so i got on the MLS this morning and printed off the Agent Report for him. the price had dropped to $10,000 from yesterday to today. Chuck went by and looked at it from the outside. he said it looks like it might have some structural issues, so we need to get into see the whole house. it kind of surprised me that he was even interested. not sure how long i may have to put this on hold though because he has to go to WI this week to look at a job. he asked me to go with him and i'm trying to figure out how i can do it. it would only be for 2-3 days and he would love it if i went. i love to travel, but this is getting ridiculous!!! it's so hard to look at houses at night if they are vacant and have no electricity on. yes, we have flashlights, but still....we found out that they are having a deployment ceremony the Saturday before Jared deploys, so i will be out of town again this month. Danelle may come and meet me there so we could have some more time with Jared, and Chuck and i have to bring his truck back with us. the holidays are not the best time for this, but tell that to the Army! i guess we can meet Jared's "lady friend" then. how am i supposed to get my deals done if i'm gone all the time??? if i go to WI, i will make sure my google voice # goes to my cell phone and i will just be honest, which is what i know how to do. i'll make it work. by the way, i was reading a post on L/O's and i just want anyone considering them to be careful how they work those deals. your profit and rent credits have to be added on to your purchase price; you don't just give rent credits out freely. there has to be money in the deal to cover them. i'm not the brightest math whiz (although it runs in my family, i didn't get that gene), but you have to make up for them somewhere. just be careful!!

it's so snowy and cold here, i'm glad i don't have a JOB to go to. i am working to get back into a schedule of sorts, although i'm sure it won't last long. after the holidays, i may have to lock myself in my office for several weeks. i worked on contracts this morning, mainly reading, correcting and printing contracts i all ready had. they are pretty thorough, but now i need to go through and see if i need to add some stuff from new contracts i have. since i've changed my strategy a little, i may need to change contracts a little. a fellow DGer was kind enough to share a kind of release page with me and i think it will come in rather handy so i can keep sellers from putting more liens on their house once they are in the L/O situation. i may have to think on how to make it work for my particular strategy. i also tried to use www.searchtempest.com to search craigslist ads, but i didn't have any success with it, so i just went to craigslist and started checking the for rent and for sale ads. i still need to finish with the for sale ads, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. i emailed one seller/landlord and got a nice reply back from her. she was very pleasant, but didn't say she wanted to work with me and thought i was talking about a land contract. so, i emailed her information about what i'm doing and just said i hope she didn't mind me doing that. i guess i took the bull by the horns on that one. now i'll have to rest up a few days! i want to get through the listings and then i will take the time to contact everyone either through email or a text message. i'm not quite ready to make cold calls right now so i'm taking the easy way out, but believe me, it's way out of my comfort zone to contact them at all. i also talked to the credit repair guy i'll be working with. he is real nice and i will have access to each T/B's account to track their progress. they sound like a good company to work with and are expanding. the property Chuck looked at seems to be off the radar. i know that now is a really good time to get banks to work with you, but i can't seem to get that through someone's head. a funny little story to end with: my grandson, Grayson, is 2 years old and Danelle had given him a bottle of water. he was in her office and she stepped out for a minute. he came out and said he needed more water and showed her the empty water bottle. she asked what he had done with it since she didn't think he would have drunk it all that fast. he took her in the office and showed her his car and told her he had washed it.

what happened to working on a schedule? that was way too fast for me. had to take my car in to see why it's pulling to the right so bad. the tire on the right front was bad, so they moved it to the left back. we had breakfast and looked at one of Chuck's jobs, then took the car to the tire place where i got 2 new tires a year ago. turns out the tire is defective, but it wasn't a new tire. the guy gave us over 50% off, despite the fact that the tire was not bought from them. had to order it because i drive a G6 GT with those low tires (can't remember what they are called at the moment). then i had 3 more errands to run and a ton of mail to open from my UPS box. on top of that, i was declined for health insurance a third time. i've had it with that because the underwriter lied to me on the phone and i've had enough. i have insurance coverage, it's just very expensive and not real good. that is something God will have to intervene on. i'm done with it for now. in fact, i just sent a letter to the underwriter expressing my disappointment in how she dealt with this, after telling me a different story on the phone. i also forwarded it to the guy who's been trying to help me. on to bigger and better things. looks like we are heading to WI tomorrow and will be gone a couple days. it's only about 5 hours from here, so it should be a nice drive. we won't leave until about 9am, which is fine with me. hopefully we won't run through any toll booths this time and not pay. i had to get online and pay it. i have a pikepass on my car for OK, but we need to get one for IN/IL too. thankfully we don't have toll roads in our area so we don't need it often. we'll have to see what kind of real estate is up that way, since that is Rina's neck of the woods. i plan on taking all my contract stuff with me so i can go over that while sitting in the hotel room while Chuck meets with contractors or whoever. he's looking at remodeling a nursing home. i will put contacting Sellers on hold for now, unless i decide to do it from the hotel. i am taking my laptop with me. we are waiting to hear from Jared what time the deployment ceremony will be next Saturday so we know when we have to leave. i think we may just stay there until he deploys, then we have to rush home for Christmas doings. i love to travel, but i've had just about enough. i just texted Jared to see if he will have any real family time during the 4 days we are there. not my idea of fun to send your kid to Afghanistan right before Christmas. someone didn't think this out too well, in my humble opinion.

we are in WI right now. Chuck had to meet this morning with a guy about that nursing home he has to do a bid on. we are planning on leaving late morning, early afternoon, trying to miss the bad Chicago traffic. we've had a nice time, but not much real estate to see. almost all of the homes are old and very scattered. the town we are staying in has 7900 people and the town the nursing home is in has 10,000. not used to that. we've driven all over this area. totally different from what we are used to. got to talk to Lea on Tuesday and that was fun. hopefully i can get back to work tomorrow and get something done. haven't had time to look at contracts or anything because we're not going to be here as long as i thought. will work on that tomorrow. hope everyone out there is accomplishing what they want to. i'm having some challenges with that.

well, i thought we were going home today. WRONG! Chuck is meeting with contractors this afternoon and tomorrow morning. should be heading home tomorrow after that meeting. tonight we are supposed to have snow and freezing rain here. should be a fun drive home. we went to downtown Lake Geneva for lunch and it's so pretty. we ate at Hogs and Kisses for lunch and could see the lake. then we had to stop in the chocolate store on the corner and get a little fudge. it's gluten-free and kind of good. Chuck is at meetings all afternoon and i'm working on a few things on the computer and L/O stuff. he wanted me to go to all his meetings with him, but i knew i'd be bored out of my mind. i would much rather work on contracts, etc., than go to a boring meeting or 20. imagine that.

What a cute name for a restaurant!

Uh yeah, nursing home refurb meeting? No thanks! Much more fun to work on interesting contracts!

It's when I read posts like this that I remember why I moved to Southern CA. Ice and snow. BRRRRRR! My bones can't handle it! Sounds like you are really out in the boonies!

Karen

Hogs and kisses is actually a pub/bar, but it was real rustic and nice to get out of the wind.

yeah, i have a hard time with the cold, wind and snow myself. and yes, we were out in the boonies. the cities we were in were very small and the housing was very scattered.

how are things going?

we are home and i'm in the process of unpacking. i don't know which is worse, the packing or unpacking. to think i have to do it again next week makes me very tired.

we had a nice little adventure. Chuck and me traveling together is a real "trip". he eats the entire trip for one thing. he said he can't help it if he gains 10 pounds when he travels. i said that's just in the first hour! he usually packs for himself and he forgot his business shirts, so we had to go to Wal-Mart and get him a couple shirts. then he fusses about the GPS because it doesn't go the way he thinks it should. at least this time he didn't need to stop and take a nap after driving for an hour. usually that happens and i'm ready to pull his hair out! i do some of my best driving asleep and i think it tends to run in the family. i definitely have to rest up after this trip! last night we ate at the Red Geranium in the snow storm. the wind was really blowing and it was bitter cold, but we were seated by the fireplace. the dinner was very nice and reasonable; the service excellent. it was less than a mile from our hotel. we stopped and got gas and bags of salt to throw in the truck bed. our drive home was uneventful. we stopped in South Bend to give Chuck's son his birthday present and take him to lunch. he turned 30 yesterday. Monday my daughter turns 30. fun year.

i did manage to go over several of my short contracts. i still have to go through the rental agreements and option to purchase agreements, but i'm farther along than i was. i just need to re-type what i changed yesterday on my seller contracts, which won't take long, then i'm ready to go on the seller side. i just have a few things to add/change. getting the T/B side set up will take a little longer, but shouldn't be too bad. just need to get them done. i also have to completely change what my website says because it's mainly set up for wholesaling and now i'm doing L/O's. big difference! i hope i get it all done in spite of all this traveling. whoo!

2 weeks from today is Christmas and my birthday. hard to believe i will be another year older. i'd really like to end this year with a bang and i will do my best to do that, but there are some tax advantages to me not doing a deal until January as well. i won't go into that now, but i am committing to doing everything i can to get a deal yet this month. if i do, great. if i don't, i know there is a good reason in my situation. we are expecting snow and rain later today and for the next few days. i won't be able to finalize my plans for Fort Knox until Monday night, but i will just have to go with the flow. you know, things may not always go my way, but i am truly blessed and i need to express it. this hasn't been the easiest year, yet i'm sure i made it much harder than it needed to be. there is a reason for it all and it would serve me well to accept it and continue to move forward. i have been taken care of and provided for, and that is what i need to look at. as Christmas draws near, i want to be sure i express my gratefulness. i plan to keep writing in this journal throughout the holidays. sometimes it's the only thing that keeps me going and moving on. i'm thankful that Dean has this all set up for us. i get tired of the sniping that has been going on lately in various posts. we all have different opinions and there is nothing wrong with expressing them; however, i do think it's in bad taste to insult each other and just be downright rude. let's try to consider how we want to be treated and then treat each other that way. not sure why i am putting this all down, but i suppose it has to do with my son leaving the country and going to war again. i want to make sure i have no regrets about how i treat people and to always work on that. being an REI should make us think about what our mission is and how we can help others. it's not all just about the money; it's about how we can "pay it forward" and do what we are passionate about. HOW CAN I HELP YOU?? that is my main concern; the money will come. as Christmas draws closer each day, i hope we don't forget what the true meaning and celebration of Christmas is all about. i'll get off my soapbox now.

I hear ya. You are so right about how we should treat each other. Someone told me once that everyone you talk to is somebody's child and we should all remember that in our travels. You and I have talked about the money in REI and yes it is important. It is also important to be fair with the people we work with both buyers and sellers. Its about the journey not just the destination.

Anyway, I know we'll be in touch before Christmas and your b'day Denny's bro is on the 29th and a good friend on the 27th.

I hope you don't mind my posting this in your journal but this would be an awaesome place to do some Christmas shopping (if it was in my area). Hope you enjoy it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXh7JR9oKVE

You are so right too Linda about counting our blessings. There is so much need in this world today. Regardless of where we are there are always others who can use a hand up.

Have a wonderful weekend and a GREAT REI week next week!

Lea

been wondering about you......that video was awesome. thanks for sharing.

boy, has the weather changed! it is sunny out, thank goodness, but we are digging out of the snow today. i had to get a tire replaced this morning and go to 2 banks and UPS. everything went very quickly and i was only gone about an hour and a half. i was ready to get home! i filled out the franchise tax return for OK finally. it was due in July but they were still sending it to my former address, even though i changed the address when i moved 2 years ago. i don't owe anything so there is no penalty, thank the Lord! i will mail that off tomorrow. i also called Keller/Williams to see if there is any way i can have them hold me REA license. the closest office is over an hour away so this has been a challenge. a DG sister in SoCal was kind enough to help me find out how to contact them because the website did not help me at all. the guy i talked to was very nice and was deployed with the Air Force several times before being discharged. i was able to thank him for his service and he really appreciated that. the subject came up because i will be at Fort Knox 2 days this week and 2 days next week. we may have to play a little phone tag because of it. i hope to hear good news. i've been going through some rough personal stuff lately and i am not pleased with how i have handled things. somehow we have to learn to let things roll off us and not take it personally, even if it is personal. how do we just carry on, be nice and go about our business??? something i will be working on, for sure.

it snowed all morning long, but now it has stopped and it is beautiful outside. i called Lea this morning and we had a nice conversation. i'm kind of out of sorts this week with the deployment stuff and all. just got off the phone with Jared and we are getting things worked out for the ceremony. one thing helpful to me is he has to get me on base and be in his truck, and we think his girlfriend can take me back to the hotel. but, his deployment has changed, so we have to go right back down to pick up his truck this weekend. thank goodness it's only 4 1/2 hours away!!! i'm glad we can do this for him because he was stationed in Germany for 5 1/2 years and we didn't get to see him except on leave. this has kind of spoiled me. not much REI going on this week. i did say i would try to make him some no-bake cookies to take with him and he was all for that. he eats very little sweet stuff, but he loves those. i thought maybe he could share them with his buddies (if i don't eat their share!! ) i am antsy, but can't sit still long enough to get anything done and yahoo is down, so i can't get to my email either. i have started packing and will take some stuff with me to work on, unless Chuck decides to come with me since everything has changed. don't you just love the Army??? i appreciate what they do for our country and me, but i don't do well on a "need-to-know" basis. Jared just goes with the flow; he didn't get that from his momma. i got a PM from some great DGers this morning and i wanted to say be careful who you get involved with here on this site. we have some wonderful, helpful, decent, honest people here, but i've noticed in the last few months that seems to be changing. i know Dean and his staff are doing their best to keep this under control, but we have to look out for ourselves too. some people seem to be using different names for themselves, posting very interesting things and seeming to be very helpful, then you find out it's all the same person. i feel it's very important to post on this site and make good friendships, maybe even partnerships, but be careful out there. if they won't receive PM's, if they all start to sound alike, if you never get a reply to a PM, if they don't keep a journal, etc. - these may be things you want to watch out for. approach carefully.

very good advice !! yes there are some very good people on here but true we have to pick and choose who we deal with !! caught up on your journal and enjoy all your daily entries.you have a great advantage in finding deals through your position and am glad to hear you are using them !!!there are deals everywhere but we must analyze them carefully !! i know i mentioned it in my journal but deserves saying here to tell your son thank you for serving our country from me and my family !!
success to you !!
jay

what a nice surprise! thanks for stopping by my journal. i will tell my son what you said when i see him tomorrow. thank you.

i love reading your journal and seeing all the progress you have made. enjoyed your video too. i hope to be making one in 2011 myself. that might be scary!

I hope you have a wonderful visit with Jared.

My heart is hurting for you because I know you will miss him while he is deployed. At least you will have the RE to work on to make the time go faster.

I'm sorry I never got around to calling you this week. I have been in a funk and I need to get over it. No reason, just sometimes you get that way. I realized in the middle of the night last night I forgot to PM you my number, too. (sigh)

Have a wonderful time and also tell Jared a heartfelt "Thanks" for me, too. Those young guys are our heroes.

Hugs,
Karen

got your PM and we will try to get together.

thank you for your kind words. i will pass them on to Jared.

sorry to hear about the funk, but i think i've kind of been there too. got a wake-up call this morning because Chuck is very concerned about his job and has been for a while. better get to work on my L/O deals and quit playing at it.

i am very disappointed today because i am not going to Fort Knox. here i've been counting on going and being at the ceremony, but the weather is supposed to get really bad in Indy and Louisville, so sadly i made the decision not to go. Jared understands and he was the one so concerned, but it is still very disappointing. the weather looks decent for the weekend, so we still plan on going to see him, say our goodbyes and bring his truck back with us. we are praying for good weather/driving. Chuck is very concerned about his job and has been for a while. sometimes it seems more pressing, then there seems to be some relief. there is no job security anymore and especially when the company is being run into the ground. i so want him to do his own thing (business) but he seems to think he doesn't have the money and he's too old. well, Colonel Sanders was almost 70 when his business took off! (or so they tell me; i wasn't there) i wrote out a list this morning of things he could do concerning working with the banks on REO's directly. (i'm really good at doing this for others.) i talked to him about making an appointment to see the Building Commissioner about his general contractor's license usage. (hard to explain here) i still believe (maybe i'm crazy) that he can make a very good living doing what i'm suggesting, but maybe it's because it's my idea. just last night he said something i have said before and acted like it was his idea. he does this frequently. how do i get him to think this REO business is his idea??? he did say something to me that really caught my attention: i am the one with the time and i need to be out there doing deals. huh? does that mean i need to stop playing at this and do something??? oh, my goodness. who, me? so....i just went through 2 contracts and i have 2 to go through. they are the same type of contract but i'm figuring out what i want and don't want in the main contracts. i also want to finish/revamp some checklists because i feel more comfortable if i know what to do step-by-step. as i go along and actually do deals, i can then perfect that more, as well as my contracts. i also have to sit down and change my website. these things are tedious to me and i have a hard time making myself do them, but they need to be done so i can make some money. i believe people need what i have to offer on both sides: sellers and buyers. there is a RE broker in another county i have access to on the MLS. she has been the only one to be even partly interested in what i am offering to sellers/buyers. she sends me a little calendar and letter every Christmas and i received one from her yesterday. i emailed her this morning saying thanks, wishing her happy holidays, reminding her what i'm doing with L/O's and that i'm working with mortgage brokers and a credit repair company, and i also mentioned i have a T/B that needs to move by February 01st and what he is looking for. she's very busy but she usually replies, so we'll see what happens. one more thing i pushed myself to do and i did it. i'm not sure why i want to be so lackadaisical at times; it is ridiculous. but, i better get with the program and just do it. i'm very disappointed i'm not with Jared today and tomorrow, but maybe there is a "divine" reason why. Jared and my daughters will be so proud of me when i say i did my first deal. again, i better get on it. wouldn't that be a great Christmas present and/or a great way to start the New Year? i think so.

i told him that several of my REI friends told me to tell him thank you for his service and that he is in their thoughts and prayers. he asked me to tell everyone "THANK YOU". that means a lot to him. thanks from me too.

well, i guess i made the right decision not to head to Fort Knox yesterday. the weather was very nasty last night and today, and everything was coated in ice this morning. i know that everything at the base was on delay, so not sure what has happened since then. i got 2 contracts all done yesterday, then have worked on 4 more contracts today. they are finished and ready to sign. (now to find people to sign them! ) i have the 2 biggest contracts to work on, but they will have to wait until next week most likely. that's okay. i can work with that. i have come a long way this week and am very proud of what i have accomplished. i work hard to keep my contracts looking uniform and not just thrown together. i don't know if anyone else has noticed, but a lot of the contracts from various gurus are so badly done that they are very hard to use. i had an attorney tell me to punctuate, spell and keep things orderly. that can be a lot of extra work, but in the long run it makes it easier on everyone. my contracts take longer too because i'm using 2 contracts and taking things from each to create my own contract. i know what i want in there and i have to put it in there. makes me feel better about using them. just have to keep the momentum going. once i get those contracts done, then i have to get those checklists the way i want them and redo my website. i have to keep it in the forefront of my mind. i will be busy with all kinds of other things tomorrow, so REI won't be at the forefront. it's okay because i'll be back at it on Monday. i'm so ready and getting more ready every day for that first deal. all i can say is when it happens, LOOK OUT!!!

i've done everything but REI today. i'm so out of sorts with so much icky stuff in the personal department, so REI will have to wait until Monday. the girl who does my hair finally worked me in real quick to touch it up and make it right. we'll know how it looks tomorrow. i made no-bake cookies for Jared (about the only sweets he eats) and almost destroyed the kitchen and me. i had stuff all over the stove, counters and me. forgot to check the floors. touched the hot burner and had to wash my Army sweats because i had chocolate all down the front. and no, i didn't lick them before i washed them. i only slept a few hours last night and part of that on the couch. i'm not grouchy per se, but i am whiny and emotional. hate to admit that. i did get to talk to Cathy and Karen (fellow Dgers) yesterday and that was really nice for me. both are great to talk to and i always learn something new and exciting. thank you both! thank goodness they called yesterday and not today, for their sakes! right now my sister is going with me to Fort Knox tomorrow. if it works out that way, we will have a blast. she is hilarious. she'll do the driving because she can't stand to be a passenger and she will have me in stitches. she is very intelligent and can really think on her feet; i've always admired that about her. she's the baby and she's always entertaining too. she and my kids are very close. i can still remember her jumping on the trampoline with my kids when they were little and the weiner dogs would be on there too. they would do all kinds of stuff and laugh so hard they would wet their pants. once Shelly put a shower cap on her head and when the neighbor saw her over the fence, he about lost it. always something crazy. i know this isn't about REI, but i needed to vent and remember something happy today. everything is subject to change.....thank goodness!!!