Cake, clubhouses, cousins and consignment

Ethan made a cake yesterday so this afternoon we took it to the clubhouse and shared with the puzzle ladies. Ethan went swimming and I soaked my old bones in the hot tub. I am going to miss that hot tub when we move. I tried to get some pictures of the condition of the place but there were too many people.

Basically, the clubhouse is falling apart. There are wires hanging from a light, the "river rock" floor is coming up and the window at the end of the building is falling out. Oh, and there is the brown goo that is dripping from the wood ceiling. Lovely. I talked to the new manager and told her that 1) I was going to file a complaint with the city and 2) the ambulance drivers who came to pick a neighbor up are filing a complaint because there is no street sign (private drive.)She said she hopes so, because then maybe she can get the maintenance guy to fix things!! I was speechless.

I called the city building department but she said there is nothing that they can do about it. She suggested that I call the health department, so that is on my list for tomorrow. The woman from the city did call the maintenance guy and told him that people were complaining. He said that he isn't surprised... and of course did nothing to fix the problems. Luckily, the pool is still ok to use. Just kind of bad looking and falling apart.

Next weekend my brother and SIL are coming up for a visit. I am so glad. I love visitors! We will exchange Christmas gifts. The boys will get their XBox and the girls will get their zoo membership and homemade Play Doh. Actually, I will probably wait to get their zoo pass because theirs doesn't expire until June and they are talking about moving to Florida. The last time they were here my SIL said she wanted to go in March. That would suck to have a zoo pass to a city you no longer live in, so I will wait.

My SIL is in Florida right now. My brother sent her for her birthday. I know. Couldn't you just die? I got slippers - that I bought for myself - for my birthday. I guess that is one of the perks of being debt free, right? I told my brother that she should have taken her resume with her, but I wouldn't be surprised if she did indeed do just that. I hope so. I need a place to winter. I told Marty that is he isn't transferred to somewhere warm by next winter the boys and I will be camping out in SIL's best friends back yard. I haven't told her that yet. lol

Marty has noticed that my seasonal depression hasn't been as bad this year as it usually is. I'm not sure why. I know that I have made a conscious effort to work through a lot of it. I have also just decided to go with the flow with a lot of the symptoms. Seriously. Why do I fight to get out of bed at 6:30-7am when my body wants to sleep until 11? It is strange, but when I sleep until my body wakes up on its own I get more done in the day that I do when I wake up 4 hours earlier. I am in a much better mood, I don't have the carb cravings (as much) and life is just better for all involved. Of course the boys love it because they get to sleep in, too.

Oh! I found what is supposed to be a good consignment shop today! Ok, I didn't find it today... the woman that used to work at our pool told me about it months ago when her friends opened the place. I was reminded of it today by the new pool lady who does all of her shopping there. I'm not holding out too much hope, though. This same woman went on and on about how her husband won't eat anything with any tomato product and she won't eat anything with onions... as she was making chili (with onions) for their dinner. I will probably check it out Tuesday on errand day. I'll let you know.