busy weekend

Good morning.
It was a pretty nice weekend. Walked every day.
Did some more downsizing and packing.

This is my current 'desk'. I got rid of my old crappy desk I'm not taking to Vegas and now am using boxes that I've packed. Working out pretty good. I balanced the keyboard between 2 boxes so I even have some room for my knees.   :-)
I also did a back-up on my puter. Just in case the tower doesn't travel well, I'll have everything I need.

I also have the TV on a box as the old TV stand to the right is not going to Vegas either. One of the stylist at work wants it. And I've already sold the TV too! but she said I could use it until I'm ready to leave.
Craig closed another bank account as we continue to move all our accounts over to Chase.  My physical went well, and I got one last prescription for my blood pressure medication. I should be good for just over 6 months so I'll have time to find a new doctor.
So, the process is continuing, as we have less than 30 days until departure.
Now time to get ready for work. This week is looking a little slow. But just 12 more days to work.  :-)

the beginning of the end

Good morning.
It was a fairly busy week in the Salon. And after work Saturday, we headed over to Reno's for drinks and popcorn.
It's been a hot muggy week. Customers have come in saying we're getting a taste of Vegas. I respond by saying, except Vegas has low humidity.
We're also starting to get moving/retirement presents. This enormous bouquet was delivered Wed.

We've also gotten gift cards to restaurants and such.
With all the goodbyes, I'm realizing how many customers I have that I've been doing a very long time. I have dozens and dozens I've been doing for 20-30 years.
And I'm apparently causing stress and anxiety  because of my impending departure. I've been trying to reassure them that my recommendations for them will be fine.
I have my physical tomorrow, and yesterday got a copy of my blood test results. I was pleasantly surprised that my test results were the best they've been in years. And I haven't been exercising, or eating that good.
My bad cholesterol was the best it's ever been! Go figure. I'm beginning to think diet and eating is a lot more complicated than they lead us to believe. I've eaten more fat before these blood tests than I ever have before. Oh well.
Now time to get going. This weekend will be more packing and starting to empty out the freezer and pantry over the next few weeks.

blast from the past.

Good morning.
Here's a little blast from the past. I was going through boxes I brought up from the storage room and found this ......

The annual report from the Junior Achievement company I was in.
My senior year in school, I was in Junior Achievement. I was actually voted in President of our little company.

Interesting I ran across this at this time. I was just about to begin my working career and now I'm just about ending it. Wow. Oh, and I'm in the front row middle. We actually returned the most money per share in the history of Muskegon's Junior Achievement.  We made and sold cookie sheets. I was second in sales only behind a guy whose mother sold Mary Kay. I think he had help.  :-)
Anyway, I went from president of that little company, to owner of a real business. Not bad.  :-)
Now time to get to work

a new dining experience

Good morning.
It's been a nice couple of days weather wise, and we've gotten in some nice walks.
I spent most of Sunday hauling boxes up from the storage locker. Monday was repacking and rearranging the living room to accommodate all the stuff.
For dinner Monday, we were treated by a friend who wanted to give us a going away dinner. He took us to Brody Hall on the campus of Michigan State University.

MSU has spent the last dozen years or so upgrading and remodeling the dorms and dining halls and Brody is one of the largest on campus. Brody mainly serves the 6 large dorms that surround the hall, but anyone can actually dine there.

They have a food court that rivals any you'd see in malls or large hotels. It's on the second floor of this building. Right up these stairs.

With over a dozen 'stations' for dining options and choices galore, there's truly something for everyone.

The best part is you pay when you go in. For lunch or dinner...$9.99. One price for anything and everything you want to eat. That is good and bad.   :-)
 Of course, I ate to much. Started with nacho's made to order, then pizza, then a big salad with too many toppings to mention followed by a tasty brownie. It was all very good, and a lot of the dishes are made to order, not cafeteria style. Funny we've lived in Lansing all these years and never thought to eat on campus.
Now time to go for now.

weekend update

Good morning.
It was a fairly busy week in the Salon. But I did manage to get out early enough Friday and Saturday to get a couple of long walks in. The goodbyes have started in full now. I'm starting to do a lot of customers for the last time before we retire. A lot of other customers are booking a 'last' appointment the last week I'm here. Looks like my last week will be crazy busy.  :-/
This weekend, I'll bring up all the boxes we have in the storage locker in the laundry room. Need to go through and make sure we want all that stuff in Vegas, and make sure it's packed well enough for shipping. Monday I have blood drawn for my physical the following Monday, and Tuesday I have a 'house call' to do. A customer who has a herniated disc and can't drive.
We also went through and got rid of all our old VHS tapes. The movies we wanted to keep, I went online and downloaded them. I'll burn them to disks so we'll have them on DVDs.  There's only about 15 of them that we want, but they'll take up less space packing and I won't need the VHS player either.
So gonna be a busy weekend.
And with that, I'm off.

Craig survived

Good morning.
Well, Craig survived his latest Colonoscopy..

All went well. They found just one tiny benign polyp, so the doctor said he could wait 7 years for the next one.  Craig was a happy camper. Then we went to Cheddar's where he had a cheeseburger and fries.
Now, I'm off to work for another busy week. Working late every day.
Retirement isn't coming fast enough.   :-)

Monday was very 'cleansing'. At least for Craig

Good morning.
After a very busy week in the Salon, it's nice having a lazy weekend.   :-)
Sunday, for a treat, we went over to Reno's for sun, drinks, and good food.
Part of that reason was on Monday, Craig had to begin his preparation for his Tuesday Colonoscopy. So nothing to eat or drink but clear broth, light colored jello,(which he hates) light colored Popsicle's, and tea or clear juice. He got through the day including the "cleansing' of the colon. (that means drinking all that stuff to flush you out)
Now, we wait until I take him in for his appointment at 1pm.
And after a day and a half with no food, he wants to go to Cheddar's when he's done for a big juicy hamburger.   :-)
So not a very 'fun' weekend, but we're trying to get doctor stuff done before we move. May take a while finding new ones. I have a physical on the 25th, and we both have dental cleanings the second week of August.
And with that, time for my shower.

busy week.

Good morning.
It's been a very busy week in the salon. One of the busiest in months!  And I'm fully booked today. I'm not complaining, but looking forward to today being done.   :-)
When we sold the Salon, we told the new owner we wanted 2 items.
A mirror in the waiting area....

And a copper sun in the dryer area.....

We said we'd leave them up until she found suitable replacements. Well, this week, she brought in a new mirror and wall sculpture she picked up at a 4th of July art festival over in Muskegon. So I now have them both in the apartment waiting to be packed up for the move to Vegas.
The sun I think will look great on the wall in our kitchen/dining area, and the mirror on the wall in our entry.
And I have the Square Reader Mobile Payment System all set up and it's working better than expected.
They e-mail me a batch report every morning with a break down of sales, tips, and fees.  Very convenient.
Well, time to get ready for work.....

24 days

Good morning.
It was a very nice weekend weather wise, and a nice laid back weekend.
We got some nice walks in and did a lot of grilling.   :-)
The company replacing all the windows and patio doors in the apartment complex was working on the building across the street from us. That gave us some nice entertainment  during our afternoon happy hour on our balcony.

The top floor is done and they were tearing out the middle floor.

I don't know about the rest of the state, but it's been bone dry here. Where they don't water the grass is as brown as can be. Looks like we may get some rain the rest of the week. Glad I don't have my house, I'd be watering like crazy. And I told Craig, I think I'd rather see crushed stone than dead grass. At least in Vegas, what little grass they have, they water. So it's actually greener there than here!   :-)
But now, time to get ready for work.
24 days and counting.

update time!

Good morning. And a happy 4th of July!
It was a crazy busy 2 days in the Salon. Glad for the weekend.  :-)
Here's a couple more pics from our recent trip to Vegas....

One day, we went to Sunset park. It's Las Vegas largest park and sits just a bit southeast of the airport, and right next to Wayne Newton's Estate. Well, the landing path for the airport is right in front of the park. We watched plane after plane land.

They must have come in every 5 minutes or so. I had read in the paper that McCarren (That's Las Vegas's airport) Had a record 4.1 million passengers in April. Yes 4.1 MILLION just in the month of April!
 So the planes are landing and taking off one after the other all day long.
On another note, we actually fixed a meal in the house this trip. 

Got a little tired of fast food and takeout all the time. Pan fried a couple of pork chops with broiled asparagus and a cheesy rice dish.
Now back here in Lansing, I went over to Best Buy and picked up my square reader.

Now since we've sold the Salon, the new owner is ending the charge card service that Craig had used. That then requires every stylist to process their charges from customers themselves. There are a number of services that do this now, and Craig and I settled on Square. I went online, signed us up for an account, putting in the bank account number and routing number we want the funds deposited into, then downloaded the square app from the google play store to my phone, get the card reader which attaches to the top of the phone and I'm all set to take charge cards from my customers. You open the app, put in the service amount, swipe the card through the reader, and it processes it, the customers signs the screen, and they can either get a text message receipt, or e-mail. Pretty nifty!
Yesterday, we went for a nice long walk, and while Craig did his paperwork, I went for another walk over to Best Buy, and when Craig finished his paperwork, we went for another walk, this time over to Reno's for a couple of cocktails and free popcorn.
Looking to be another couple of nice days so planning on some more long walks.
And with that, time to get going with the day.