Things are looking up!

S: The house we looked at yesterday for the second time is definitely out. Our dining room table would be too small... and overall I just didn't feel like home. I know I know, you can't always rely on that "feeling", but honestly... it just didn't seem right.

On a good note, Vince found another house for us to look at. This one is in Sherwood Forrest, which for those of you who are not from the area should know is one of the nice areas of Peoria. The house we are looking at tomorrow is situated among some NICE "pimp" homes. It is one of the smaller ones on the block and it has some good stuff for us. It's cute...

3 bedroom 1.5 bath Ranch Vaulted living room/dining room combo with exposed beams. Full basement that needs to be finished. Master bedroom has a walk-in closet. Corner fireplace in living room. 25 X 12 screened porch. Pretty cool.

Sounds good, but just like other houses we have looked at, this could be bad one once we see it. Paul the builder (Vince's step-dad) will be going with us tomorrow to check it out. At this point in the game, I want all the help we can get on the first showing. We don't have time if it's a good buy to make another showing, someone might snatch it from us. Anyhow... maybe it's this one... maybe it's not. If not, I'll probably post the next picture of the next house we look at.

Good game and good house....

S: Hello to all! Yesterday we had our second game of the season. Once again we went to extra innings, but were defeated by a run. DARN IT! We had a great game though. Vince had a single AND a double. I hit my first hit of the season (thanks to the first baseman who got an error!) and I had an AMAZING double play that had most of my team with their mouth open (They of little faith).


Before the game we took a look at a cute house in Rolling Acres. Here is a picture and below are some are some stats...


Year Built: 1960, 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. Style: Ranch Walk-out basement with a WET bar (in awesome family room in the basement) Family room is 26 X 24 One Car Garage. Master Bedroom Bathroom, Eat-In Kitchen, Dishwasher, Garbage Disposal, Range/Oven, Refrigerator, Utility Sink, and more. The minuses... it is sitting next to what I call a HUGE ravine. The backyard NEEDS a fence or else we could lose someone. There is a wall in the basement that has a crack that has been filled and has somewhat of a bent in it. It looks like it could work. I think that even though I ruled it out because of the ravine, I wouldn't mind a second and third opinion (Paul the builder and Jose Villa?). Vince made a good point, it has everything we need and in our price range. I don't' know, I mean we did sell our house so we kind of need a new one.....

Cubs win 13-1

V: We went to the Cubs game yesterday and the cubs beat the pirates 13-1. Sofia did not go with us because she had a fever that she was just getting over.














We found our brick paver at Wrigley that is about 7 feet from the Ernie Banks statue. A picture of me impersonating Ernie's swing is below. (Where I am standing is where the paver is located)

It was also Dora the Explorer day at Wrigley. All kids 7 and under get a dora plush doll wearing a cubs uniform. Since Sofia wasn't with us it was doubtful we were getting one. Sandra asked the usher for a doll and explained how our daughter couldn't come because she was sick, but the lady didn't care and denied us. We walk with our heads down and go find our seats. Dora is on the field and throws out the first pitch, WOW. Sofia would of loved it.

I leave to use the restroom before the game starts, and also secretly in pursuit of a dora doll for Sofia. I head to the nearest entrance into Wrigley where people are still filing in. I watch as people head in and see 2 dads with 2 young boys around 6 years old or so. I see one boy make a face, like what am I gonna do with this doll. I jump in and tell the kid and dad how my daughter is sick and couldn't come. I offer to buy it from him for the $1 i had in my wallet. The dad refused the money and said just take it. The kid of course was willing to take the dollar. I gave the kid the buck and had the dora doll for Sofia. That's right Father of the Year.

S: We did have a great time yesterday and I can tell you that Vince does deserve father of the year. I was tearing up and everything because Vince went to get the doll and Sofia would have loved to see Dora with the Cubbies. The only thing Vince didn't say is that they have COTTON CANDY at Wrigley and I got to have some. $5 for the bag was TOTALLY worth it!!

GO CUBBIES!!

It's official, we're homeless....

Here is a picture of us from Monday night before our game. Don't we look adorable?? BTW- I took this picture with the timer mode on the camera. The camera was sitting on TV tray. Yeah, check out Sofia. She's just smiling at the camera. What a photogenic kid!!

As the title states, we signed all the paper work last night for the house. Our closing date is May 28th or before. We saw a for sale by owner yesterday that needed a lot of work, but we'll keep looking. Also, the producer job will probably not occur.. it seems that the station is cutting back in every department. Well, ONWARD!! Like I stated in a previous email, Vince (Mr. Positive) is taking everything in such a good way. Good for him because I'm breaking down by the second. He truly is the rock of this family versus right now I'm a total wreck (imagine that). I guess it could always be worse.

In better news, last night we invested in the Cha Cha slide song for our Ipod (thanks to Tom and Laura for their gift card). So I will leave you with this picture... Vince, Sandra, and Sofia dancing the Cha Cha slide in the living room of our newly sold house with the music blaring. Sofia singing along, "two hops two hops" "right foot stomp" and the best.... Sofia with her hands on her knees laughing hysterically.

We got an Offer !!!

V: Its a verbal offer right now, but we will get it in writing later this afternoon. Now we have to see if I can get this producer job. We will decide what kind of house we can afford based on if I get the job or not. It's great news, but also kind of scary at the same time.

S: Yeah, scary. I have to change the subject because I can't even begin to think what God's plan is on this. I keep praying, "What are you doing up there? We sell the house and Vince??" So, on a different note, we had a great home opener!!! We went into extra innings and got beat by one or two runs!! 13-11 i think. It was awesome!!! Next game Monday 6pm at the Peoria Stadium. I got a line drive, but the pitcher was 6'2ish and could jump and got my ball that SHOULD HAVE gone over his head. The evening was a blast and even though we were playing against a team that definitely had baseball/softball experience, it that didn't stop us from having a great ball game with freezing-like temperatures (to a person that thinks anything below 65 is freezing) and actually had a chance to beat them. We play until mid July so there will be some good warm weather games to attend. MARK YOUR CALENDARS for Monday nights!!! Also, if you have a couple of minutes to say a prayer for Vince to get this producer job that would be GREATLY appreciated. We sold the house, HOLY COW!!

Vince's job is being automated.

V: What does that mean? Well, at the TV station (WHOI) and many tv stations in the country, master control is going to be run by a machine. Not 24/7 but enough that it will eliminate some jobs and since I am at the bottom of the seniority list, that means me. WHOI is investing in a system that will air programs when they need to air and it will insert the local commercials where needed. Somebody still has to record feeds, dub in commercials, and put in commercials for shows that are live and don't have a set time for a commercial break(like sports) so the people that have been here 20+ years will still have a job in order to do those jobs.

So I have been told layoffs will not happen until June but nobody knows for sure how long it will take to get this new system up and running smoothly (Some think October). So what do i do now? Sandra mentioned nursing. A 2 year program to be an RN and a guaranteed job afterwards. I don't think I'm smart enough and it is a female dominated line of work. I just can't see myself telling people I'm a nurse. I might be able to stay with WHOI and become a producer. They need producers for the news and it doesn't really say you need prior producing experience. I have a degree in TV Broadcasting and they know I'm a good worker so that is a definite possibility. The bigger house and possible 2nd child will be put on hold until we know what will happen. I can still do real estate for some money as well, but that is really unpredictable right now with the slumping market.

S: Yep, life sucks sometimes. The "funny" thing is... this has occurred to Vince twice now at HOI. They automated the first job he had with them and gave him notice that there would be layoffs. This whole thing really chaps my tushie (thanks Tom for teaching me that one). Since this has happened to us in the past, we are ready to battle it again. I will support Vince with whatever career he chooses to continue with or pursue. I suggested the nursing thing because I know that in the paper every Sunday there is at least 2.5 pages of nursing opportunities AND I don't think someone will create an "automated whatever" to replace nurses. And for the RECORD, Vince is smart... he just underestimates himself. Plus, don't you think Vince would look AWESOME in some Cubs scrubs? Yeah, that rhymes!

I think whatever Vince does he will be great at it. Vince the producer. Sounds pretty pretty pretty cool. He does have a Broadcasting degree and as you can see in the job description for wanted producers, he possesses all these qualities.

"Interested candidates should be highly motivated (Go Cubbies!) and have a passion to produce a fast-paced (have you seen him keep up with Sofia?), high story count newscast. The ideal person must be able to multi-task (full-time at HOI, part-time realtor, part-time stay at home dad, husband, friend, etc.) , know how to tell a great story (he tells the best stories, i.e. the crying baby that needed Sofia's pacifiers) through writing and editing and work well under pressure (I want to move THIS year Vince, find me a house) to get breaking news on the air quickly and effectively. A positive attitude (are you kidding me? Vince is Mr. Positive) is a MUST!

Good luck to us and please keep us in your prayers. Here comes round two. ding ding ding.

Checked and no...

The house is cute, but it's in a weird/creepy neighborhood area. The people living in there have a major crush on western paraphernalia (also very strange). We pass.

Vince Here: I thought we said it is a possibility that could work but its not our ideal home. But I guess the almighty sandra has spoken and "we pass". The area is alright but is looking like it could start to be a run down part of rolling acres with some shady crowds living nearby. Oh well, we will continue looking, but we need more action on our house first.