Cocoa Beach with my Sis

My last week on the 2009 tour. Wow!

Cocoa Beach with my big sis was fun. There really isn't much to do here besides swim and watch the thunderstorms. The sun is SO hot here and the humidity is unbelievable!

We had a lovely time together planning our future, swimming, getting completely covered in sand, and walking along the beach watching the sun and moon rise. One night, we went out around dusk and swam in the ocean, and right when we were getting out I saw a shark in the waves. Oh my goodness! That was the last time we would swim that late at night. Yikes!

We both got plenty of sun, tried our best to stay out of the sun during the heat of the day, and tried to stay cool hanging out on the balcony of our hotel room overlooking the blue, blue ocean.

Cocoa Beach is a tiny little place. I wouldn't come back here, but the water is lovely and warm. The palm trees are neat and the waves are inviting. I love the ocean, even though I'm deathly afraid of sharks.

It's been really nice having my big sis with me again. She's been living in Paris, France for the past 5 years, just got married (as you know) and is now looking into moving back to America. I am encouraging her to stay on the East Coast, and she's starting to lean toward it. (Yay!) It's funny, even though we're hardly ever together anymore, we still have similar mannerisms and our voices sound the exact same. Are jobs have certainly changed our personalities in some ways, but you can never erase our childhood. It's amazing how similar we still are. And wonderful, too. ;)

Having had 3 days off of work, my body is beginning to feel sleepy. I think it's ready to take a break from all this travelling. Although I feel as though I've basically been on vacation lately - since there is no planning to be doing for future events, I've gotten to take the time off and enjoy my life, my job and my sister - Thursday rolled around and I felt exhausted. I didn't want to do anything but sleep on the beach. We forced ourselves to go on a walk, and I've begun my search for a job - but, goodness - I'm exhausted. Abbey and I are talking about going to Costa Rica for a month - anyone know of any wwoofing jobs to do there? I'm looking for work in Cape Cod.

Oh, and I'm so excited to be going to my new home! A place I spent the entire spring and half the summer buying, and have only spent a week living in so far. (I can't believe I've owned a place for 2 months now!!!) I cannot wait to get back. I'll be preping for a housewarming partay and making it my own instead of a rented space.

The weekend rolled around and we set up, got through a slow moving weekend of hot, hot sun and sand everywhere! I spent breaks swimming in the waters with big Ab and the evenings with Dave and Ab at VIP parties. We had a really good time together. We played around in our hotel room, got lots of sleep with weird dreams and ate avocado and hummus every day.

This week's blog was a mishmash of everything. I think I will have one more blog post next week and then stop, unless people want more... Let me know what you're thinking out there!

Off toward Atlanta

On mine and Camille's way down to Atlanta, we stopped in Hilton Head for 3 nights of R&R. We got there in the afternoon and headed straight to an ice cream shop and then over to the lovely beach. It was so hot and humid out, and the water was just as warm. There isn't much relief down South from the heat. Gosh!

We had 3 lovely days at the beach. It really felt like we were on a vacation. Gosh, this job is awesome. (Helps having a car, too.) We stayed in a condo right next to the ocean. Camille found the place for us, and it was just perfect. A tiny little condo that had a deck overlooking the sea. Oh, beautiful.

Every morning, I would wake up for the sunrise, walk the beach for an hour and end on a bench swing reading my book. It was wonderful! I tried to do as much outside in the mornings, because come High Noon I would hide away for 2 hours while the sun was roaring and burning everyone to a crisp. But before that time would come, Camille and I would go for a swim to "cool down" and dry off in the sun. Then, after my lunch and hide out, I would layer on the sunscreen and head out to the beach for an afternoon filled with sunbathing, reading, cat-napping and swimming. The sea was stirred up from the hurricane. A big tree washed up onto the beach over our first night and the water was filled with sand. The beach went out for several feet, and it was shallow, so Camille and I went out pretty far. At night we went out for dinner, rented movies, walked the beach, looked at the stars and slept lightly, getting ready for our next day on the beach. My last night there, I saw a shooting star. And, in the morning, I saw a group of dolphins (or were they sharks?) swimming right off the shore. I took both of these as signs of good luck. The day we left, it poured! I was out walking and got totally drenched by the ran. When it rains down south, it just pours. Unbelievable! We had a pretty intense drive because of the rain. But we made it for our weekend in Atlanta, which is no longer is a drought because of this week's rain.

Friday night, we got together for dinner with our marketing company and Kashi. Both our companies came in to see the tour one last time this year, to discuss any changes and to look over our work. They are proud of us because we have never done so well this year. Dinner was yummy. We went to Repast in downtown Atlanta.

The event went smoothly even though there were thunderstorms all day Sunday. The Summer Shade Art Festival was held in Grant Park, which is Atlanta's oldest and largest park. It was quite lovely. And we all enjoyed having the bosses with us over the weekend.

And off to Florida! Whoopie! Back to the beach. One more week on tour...

On the way to Baltimore

What a week!

I dropped off my Dad in CT Sunday night and Monday morning, I picked up Abbey and Jonathan and we headed toward New Jersey. Abbey with me in the Kashi mobile and Jonathan and Dad in the convertible. It was a HOT and HUMID day and we ended up getting stuck in traffic for 2 hours on the GW bridge. Nice for me and Ab, being in the Kashi car - it's a hybrid so it turns off when we're not moving, but poor J and Dad were cooking in the hot sun waiting for traffic on 95 to move. When we arrived in NJ, we were starved up and had a quick Kashi cracker and cheesy, and then we headed out to the pool. We spent the next two days at the pool, playing croquet, eating goodies my Aunt created and playing with the little children - my cousin's kids. We all had a really nice time, and thoroughly enjoyed introducing more of our family to my new brother-in-law. I really have such a wonderful family, which is always remembered when I introduce important people into my life with my family.

Wednesday afternoon, after a long and competitive game of croquet, which I won with flying colors (we played poison, so once I finished, I went back and killed everyone before they could finish - I rocked it out!!!), we drove into NYC for the evening. I booked the Marriott Marquis for us because Abbey and I used to ride the elevators there and dream about being able to stay there. After driving through the Luncoln Tunnel, being hailed by hundereds of New Yorkers and tourists alike, we pulled into the hotel in Times Sqaure in our bright yellow Kashi mobile. We were forced forward by the valet guys because they thought we were a taxi (many o the taxi's in NYC are actually the same car - a Toyota Hybrid Highlander). Angry that the driver (aka. I) would try to drive up to the entrance, they came up to my window, realized we were guests and put on a huge smile display for us. Ha!

We rode up the elevators that are located on the outside of the walls and entered into our room, which looked right over Times Square.

By late atfternoon we got in line at TKTS, and within 15 minutes we had already purchased our tickets to South Pacific, playing at Lincoln Center. We walked through Rockefeller Center to 5th Avenue, through Central Park and over to the Upper West Side touring Jonathan around. For dinner we stopped at Josie's (an organic restaurant on Amsterdam & 74), had a healthy dinner and spectacular dessert and then walked 7 blocks south to Lincoln Center. South Pacific was wonderful! Very entertaining and joyous music. Abbey and I grew up on South Pacific because our father would frequently rent musicals for us to watch before bedtime. It was a real treat for us to see it performed live. Broadway never disappoints.

On the walk back home we re-entered Times Square. Jonathan was a bit shocked by all the ridiculous lights. He asked me when they turned them off at night and was a bit flabbergasted when I said they never did. It's really unbelievable how much power we use that could be supplying a whole country in just 7 blocks. That's New York for ya! $$$

The next morning we enjoyed breakfast on the top of the hotel with a lovely view of Times Square and read the paper. After riding down the cool elevators, we walked to the Empire State Building, Grand Central Terminal (whispering in the corners) and the NY Public Library (I love the Rose Reading Room - where I used to write my best papers for college). Then we hopped in the car and drove to the Brooklyn Bridge, a view of the Statue of Liberty at Battery Park, WTC site and Greenwich Village.

This NYC trip was my treat to A & J to celebrate their marriage. Since J had never been before, I thought it was a nice idea. I think it was pretty eye opening to him, especailly in this heat. I'm glad he saw it. It was NYC at it's best and at it's worst, just like every day in the city, really.

We met Giovanna at W 4th St and hopped on the highway toward Newark airport.

After dropping the kids off at the airport, Giovanna and I drove to Baltimore. Blah!

I'm not the biggest fan of Baltimore, so I did what I needed to do - fedex, whole foods, site check and then got to bed. Boy, did I sleep deeply. I had no idea how tired I was until I could barely wake up. I think all this wedding hype of Abbey and Jonathan coming home was more than any of us could understand until after it was all over. Not so much physically exhausting, but emotionally and mentally - planning, planning, planning. My mother mentioned it to me when we left or Jersey, because that was the end of all this craziness for her then, but I still had A & J for 1 more week, and didn't agree with her until Thursday, when I dropped them off. I love my sister and seeing her married and happy, but working a full-time job on top of enetertaining can create a lot of anxiety and exhaustion. Ah, but it was fun, too.

The event was alright. Not the best. I was a little nervous because we were right, and I mean, right at the end of the peir and we weren't sure if the hurricane was going to hit Baltimore or not. So, we really weighed the tents down as best we could and each night I prayed for low winds. It poured both nights, cleaning off our tents beautifully, and we didn't loose anything in the water, which I am ever-grateful for, but man - I wouldn't ever want to set up that close to the water again. The beach is one thing, on a pier is another.

People in Baltimore don't know much about Kashi, so we had a lot of work to do in terms of educating our consumers on healthy lifestyles. Lots of people had never tried Yoga before, either. So, I thought Baltimore was a great place to be for our little tour. But, if I never had to go back there... I wouldn't.

We are now on our merry way to Atlanta. :)

But first, Camille and I are headed to Hilton Head for the week for a little R&R.

Heading toward Gloucester

What an amazing week!Sunday nightI drove straight to my mother's house in preparation for my sister's wedding. Itwas a long drive, but beautiful. I was driving through little back roads

for an hour.

The only thing that

kept me company on

the road were the

bight yellow

signs of tru

cks tipping over because of how cu

rvy the roads were. And I was in Brandy (my truck) no less. It was fun. I like the challenge of driving the truck through such crazy places.

And I'd done it plenty of times before, so I knew what to expect and that a truck was safe. It was Rt. 8, through MA and upstate CT (before it becomes a highway) for those of you that know that area. I drove past Lenox (my favorite

area) and Kripalu (my Yoga center). And, it is so

lush out here! Even though it was pitch black - the road was beautiful with trees and the little river next to me.

As soon as I woke the next morning, I was set to work. My poor mother had to go in to the office for part of the day, so I got to working in the kitchen. I decided that I wanted to make the wedding cake and the meal following the ceremony, so I began as soon as I woke. Yum yum!

That evening, my sis, future bro-in-law, grandmother and uncle arrived. I finished off the cake and the ladies headed out to dinner. My mother's closest friend took us out for dinner and Art, my step-father through a bachelor party for Jonathan. J is from England and has never been to the Eastern US, so we introduced him to everyone. After a fabulous dinner in Litchfield, the ladies headed back to the house to find our bar packed with men - I don't think I've ever seen this house so packed with just men. It was amazing! We all caught up with the boys and then headed to bed to rest for the big day.

In the morning, we headed into the day full-blast. By Noon we were ready, with bouquets in hand. Abbey and I hopped on the neighbors boat and floated along the lake for a bit and headed in the direction of my mother's lake house. Along the way, neighbors came out to take pictures and watch the lovely ladies go by. It was very sweet. Once we arrived, Michael Buble playing in the background on the boat, my father took Abbey's hand and walked her off the plank and through the little family up the "aisle." Jonathan was waiting for her in front of our justice of peace, who was dressed like a Revolutionary soldier (ha!).

After the beautiful ceremony, we headed in for one of the best meals I've made. And then cut the wedding cake! :) The rest of the day we spent swimming in the lake and getting to know Jonathan. My father and younger sister had never met him before. Craziness!

It was truly a lovely day.

Wednesday I took Abbey and Jonathan to the ring shop so they could pick out their rings and we went shopping for beer and food for our party later on. We had the "reception" at 5pm, which was local friends that came over for a cook out. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and we drank lots of beer. Mike Gould, a good family friend, showed up to the party in his scuba diving suit - he came in on the water. It was hysterical.

Thursday, we went for a swim in the morning, and then I got in my truck with my sis and father and headed to Providence, RI, to drop off Z and pick up Giovanna at the bus station. It was fun travelling with the family in the truck. :)

Of course, we got stuck in traffic passing by Boston, but we made it to Gloucester and my father and I walked around the area. We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant and slept well in our big rental house. The few hours we had before set up, my father and I walked the town, visited the harbor and found an extremely old cemetery that we wandered around. My father is a genealogist, and absolutely loves cemeteries.

The event went smoothly. We were right beside the water, and it was a whole lot of fun having my Dad work for me. It's not often that happens. :) We had some really great staff working for us this weekend, and Dave was with us again. The weekend was pretty great.

Gosh, only 3 weeks left!

Brockport, NY

15 hours of driving to CT from Chicago. And I made it! I actually had a really nice drive. I love driving and that car - the Toyota Hybrid Highlander is an awesome one. Such a smooth ride with so many gadgets to play with and an awesome radio system. I brought strange music with me for the this half of the tour and it was entertaining.

Once I arrived, I walked into my mother's house and went to bed exhausted.

The week was a whirlwind of wedding errands and visiting friends. My mother, step-father and myself are planning this wedding in just 7 days! It's crazy. We bought flowers, looked at wedding rings, ordered bouquets and more flowers, planned the meals, tried on dresses and more dresses, painted the yoga room, planned the menus, etc. It was a lot of fun and a lot of work. But my mother and I are really enjoying ourselves with all this planning. It's actually a lot of fun! Not really stressful at all. Although, imagine trying to plan a wedding with no Abbey in sight - she and Jonathan are busy in England! We're so excited that is doesn't really even matter. (In fact, maybe it's easier to plan without the bride around to tell us what to do. We just do it.) We've taken it into our own hands and are making an exceptional wedding, I think. :) I'll be sure to post pics next week.

I also spent a lazy afternoon in Topsmead Park in Litchfield with my Dad. We brought up a picnic with Kashi crackers, cheese, fresh veggies and Riesling. We played Mille Bournes, our favorite French card game.

I spent my final day in CT with my friend Kim, checking out her new photo-store and with Heather and her babies for lunch. She is such a good friend. We've known each other since 5th grade and have kept in touch somehow or another through it all. We're certainly in very different places in our lives, she's at home with 2 adorable kids and happily married, and I'm never at home and not a boyfriend in sight! ;) But I'm working like a dog, and, well, I'm married to my work. Which I'm happy with, for now. It's a lot of work, but I'm helping people step by step and it's just wonderful what the Tour gives to our world.

As for Rochester. We had a lovely weekend. People in New York State don't know so much about Kashi, so we got to talking. :) It was a lovely weekend.

Off to the wedding -- 6 hour drive Sunday night in Brandy.

Evanston, IL

I spent the first half of the week in Indy with Camille, my caterer. We had a great time. She was taking care of 2 of her grand kids for the week and that certainly kept my mind occupied and off of work. She and husband took my to dinner in a golf cart and rode me around the town in the golf cart. It was a lot of fun. They took me into the forest to see the deer and a dam. It was really quite fun. Camille is an awesome lady, and was very kind to take me in for a couple nights. I was happy to take a break from hotel life and to finally meet Camille's family and see her in her home.

The second half of the week was spent in Northbrook, IL. I went out to dinner with Natalia, a past employee with the Kashi DOC. We had a lovely dinner in Evanston and laughed a lot about the past and present. I love to laugh, and it's such a relief to know so many happy and funny people.

The weekend was great. Evanston is an adorable town. I really liked it. There were 2 whole foods within just a few blocks of one another. And we all went to a live mic at a coffee shop and watched Jason perform. He's an awesome singer and guitar player - kinda like Jack Johnson sound.

I was interviewed by a student at Northwestern about Kashi and really enjoyed answering all her questions. It reminded me how much I love my job, and what an awesome one it is!

I had this brilliant idea -- why don't' I go to CT for the week and help my Momma prepare for Abbey's wedding... 15 hour drive later--

Indy

Well - I don't have much to say about this week. Nothing like last week, that's for sure. Indy has never been a favorite city of mine, and I think it will stay as such.

I did go out to dinner with a friend of mine from Kripalu, which was really nice. Ashley and I spoke about Kripalu as if it were a dream, a good dream at that. I can't believe I was there only a few months ago - it seems like years. I miss the silence and calm, not my life at all these days. In fact, I've failed to continue my Yoga practice lately. I did teach one class this weekend, which reminded me of how much I love it and need it. I'm headed to Chicago this week, and hope to catch a few classes. It's so interesting to watch the changes in the body and mind. At the beginning of the tour, I needed to attend classes, couldn't keep my own private practice, a month ago I didn't need classes, I was more content with my private practice, now I feel like I don't have the time and don't need it (but I know I do). Yes, I've been travelling a lot lately, dealing with a mortgage and moving into my new home, but those are terrible excuses. I have a gift card for a massage, perhaps I need to get there. Massages tend to remind my mind that my body still exists and vice versa. Perhaps Yoga will then blossom again? (See, even Jason is doing Yoga and I'm not -- what?!!!)

Indy was a fine weekend. Rather slow for us. It was a rainy weekend. Friday night there were 3, yes 3 thunderstorms, and the rain just poured. I woke in the middle of the night and paced my room, worried about the tents, until I realized I couldn't do anything but get a rood nights rest and deal with the situation in the morning fully awake. What would I do, go to the site and hold down one of the 22 legs of our tents hoping it wouldn't blow over. (I've been known to do this before and it's just plain stupid.) I had to give my trust and faith to my crew and myself for setting the tents up well. Saturday morning we drove into Indy and the tents looked untouched, except for the shining white tops that practically blinded us all in the sun. The rain and wind last night were really unbelievable. They cleaned our tents better than we'd ever seen them before. The tents were standing strong, had barely moved but a few inches. I was relieved and reminded of my crazy pacing last night. Ah well. What the devotion to a job can do, right? ;)

We made it though yet another weekend with only a month and a half left. We're all becoming a little more like ourselves, I think. I'm a little wilder (as most people know me), Kerri is finally feeling like herself again, Jason is barking orders as always (but with more gusto since Lexi wasn't here this weekend) and Giovanni is more sarcastic (in a good way) than I've seen her before. We are having a good time again, and ready to rock it in Evanston!

Cape Cod

V A C A T I O N ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Could I hint at being any louder? ;)

I made it to my home on the Cape and slept like a rock for my first night. I didn't realize how tired I was until I got on the airplane heading away from work. It was a huge relief to know I was going away for a bit. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but it's a lot of work - so I was thrilled to be looking the other way for a week. And what better place to go then to my new home?!?!

Gosh, I just love it. I wake up early Monday morning to a cool breeze, the beautiful warming sunshine and the sound of a golf club nicking a golf ball into a green green field. Oh, how glorious!

I head straight to my local grocery store - exploring while I have a car. The rest of the week I'll be car less. My vehicle is at my mother's home to rest for the summer while I'm on the road with Kashi. On my way home, I make a visit to my new clubhouse to get my picture taken for my new membership card. And I make a lovely brunch of multi grain pancakes with maple syrup, cashew butter and local juicy strawberries while waiting for my dear father to arrive.

Late morning, we head into town, walking through Brewster, checking out the Yoga classes, the restaurants, the local main store, the beautiful flowers, and, of course, the inviting bay, which was at low tide. I'd forgotten what low tide meant on the bayside. We could walk what seemed like miles out to the sea along the sand. It was awesome!

I spent the afternoon cleaning and organizing while my father took a light summer nap in the sunlight on my new couch. We were getting acclimated to my new home. For dinner, we walk along the golf course path to my clubhouse, The Linx. Yummy!

Tuesday morning we wake up early to head to the bay to swim, and then over to the pool house, which is within walking distance to my condo. We drive over to the ocean side in the afternoon and find a little hidden cove to look at the shellfish. For dinner, we cook at home and then go out for drinks at a local bar to watch the All-Star game. I had no idea how popular the Red Sox were in Cape Cod until I walk into this bar. My father was overwhelmed with all the Red Sox poster, hats, socks, coasters, etc, (he's a Yankees fan). But we had a good time anyway watching the game, drinking some beer and listening to some live music.

Wednesday my father drive to S Yarmouth to pick up my lil' sis at her group home and I go for a bike ride. Oh my goodness! The best part of my condo is the bike path. The club is on the path, and I can take it all the way to both ends of the Cape. That's 60 miles of heaven. And what a beautiful path it is.

When Zanders arrives, my sis, the three of us spend the afternoon cleaning my condo, enjoying the space, swimming in the pool and sweating in the sauna. We have a nice family dinner from the farmer's market and watch a movie.

Thursday morning my father goes home and Z and I hop on the bike path. We bike for 3 hours! Come home for lunch, then take the free shuttle over to the bay. We swim way out in the bay and come back to the pool to hang out in the sauna and shower. When we make it home, we have a lovely dinner and watch another movie, while admiring the ship on my wall, which came with the house.

Friday morning a good friend of mine, Kyra of Braintree, comes down for the day, and Zands goes back home - taking her bike with her, promising she will bike more often. Kyra, my friend, and I explore the town a bit more and have some lovely fried whole-belly clam and lobster rolls along with fresh clam chowder from JT's, complimented with a glass of German Riesling - our favorite wine to share.

Friday night I am alone. But, boy is it quiet here. I take a lovely walk after dinner through some of the other villages. I feel very safe in my home, because there are so many condos around - over 900! But, it's so quiet where I live, I sometimes forget I'm surrounded by so many other people. So, I go for a walk. I'm not used to sleeping completely alone in a home, my own no less.

Saturday morning, my mother and step-father arrive. We do a little cleaning and then take the shuttle over to the bay where we witness a beautiful wedding on the beach and have a mojito at the terrace in the mansion. Gosh, it's just so beautiful here. While sitting on the terrace, I can look out on the bay over the trees. When we get home, we hop into the car and have dinner at the Northside Restaurant on Main Street in Brewster. A true find. I have unbelievably delicious lobster ravioli with clam sauce. Yum! Gosh the seafood is good here.

Sunday, we clean a little more and then head over to the ocean. My mother and I ride our bikes over to the ice cream shop in Brewster and then use our sugar highs to pedal over to the beach. We end up at Light House Beach and boy, is it amazing. The water is 60 degrees, the tide is low and the waves are perfect. We end up staying the whole afternoon swimming and laying on the beach, swimming again, and laying on the beach to dry. We go for a walk and watch seals dip in and out of the water.

After a long and final soak in the sun, we drive back toward Brewster, stopping at a fish market to purchase lobster. Oh wowsers! We buy 2 big, fresh and live lobster and drive home with a bag of moving bodies. Art and I pull them out of the bags, initially afraid of the little monsters, and then let them race outside in the grass. Ha! When we finally get them in the pot, my mother and I prep the rest of the meal. When we finally sit down, we toast to my new home over a bottle of champagne and start cracking shells and sucking meat. Gosh, I sound like a wild and crazy carnivore! I haven't had lobster since I was 8 years old in Maine. And boy, are they good and so messy.

Monday morning comes, my final day on the Cape, and my mother and I get down and dirty with the cleaning. I am ever grateful for how much my mother helps me. When we leave, that house looks spic and span! Wowsers! We did everything you could possibly imagine, and moved all my personal belongings into my shed so my renters would come to a home comfortable for their own lives. We finish the day with dinner at a local fish shop with crab rolls and ice cream, and then Art drives us back to their home in CT.

The next morning I start travelling at 8am toward NY, where my flight flies out of. My Grandmother lives in Westchester County, and I wanted to see her before I went back to work. I take her out for a lovely lunch and discuss the present and past. Although a quick visit, it's always a nice once.

I hop a plane back to work. Ah work...

I figured by telling you a day by day, you would understand what an amazing place I live in. And I hope someday you'll think about visiting me. It's worth the visit, I assure you!

Apparently, I missed the busiest event we've had yet in Ann Arbor and I also missed meeting some Kellogg's people, which I am disappointed about. But I did learn that I have some followers out there who read my blog weekly, and I just wanted to give a shout out to my new found followers in BattleCreek, MI. I think you know who you are. ;) Thanks for stopping by, and I'm sorry I didn't get to meet you.

It's funny, I sometimes forget that people actually read what I write. And to find out I have some weekly followers is very exciting and encouraging!

Hello to you readers and welcome to Sunie's life. Feel free to make comments anytime!

:)

Heading into Michigan

I'm a little due on my blog... so sorry. :)

I spent the week in Ypsilanti, MI while working on my closing for my new house and trying to rest for the weekend to come. I had the truck, so I couldn't really go anywhere.

I did it! I closed on my first home, July 8th, on my little sister's birthday. Almost a week later than it supposed to close, but better late than never. My mother and realtor called me up jingling the keys into the phone. Very exciting! Now I just can't wait to get there and live in it for a few days. And, perhaps, the rest of my life.

I went on a lovely nature walk while waiting out this whole fiasco, and saw beautiful swans and little ducks swimming around a thickly overgrown pond. Very peaceful and green. Just what I needed.

After meeting a few people at the hotel, who were thrilled to get some Kashi coupons for their wives, I headed to Plymouth for the Art Festival.

The event went well, but slower than I thought it would, because I was waiting to head out to my new home, of course. I hopped onto a plane Sunday night, arriving late in Boston, jumped into a rental car, and arrived at my new home at midnight on Sunday. I had to sneak to the back and reach into a bin filled with spiders where my mother left the keys for me. And I entered into a new era of my life...

Lisle, IL

Made my way from Omaha to St Louis to do the smallest refurb week in the history of the Kashi Day of Change Tour. :) Took me several hours as I wachted the temperature lower considerable while making my way to St Louis. It was much lovelier there. And I had a great ride stopping for bio-diesel and talking with my big sis, who's coming on tour with me for 2 weeks as a temp staffer near the end. We're both thrilled!

Once I arrived in St Louis, I picked up a delivery and headed over to a company that makes our graphics on our truck - we needed to change our list of stops on the back. We're half way through! Wow!

I ended up spending a bit of time in my hotel room in St Louis, but Kent (my first tour manager) came by Monday night and brought me out to dinner at a micro-brewery in St Charles. It was quite lovely. A small little town with brick roads and old buildings alongside a river. And, although I was busy with trying to get my loan settled for a Thursday closing, I spent most of my time alone reading. It was really quite lovely.

Wednesday rolled around and I picked Brandy to drive her up to Lisle, IL (just outside of Chicago). I was waiting for the phone to ring telling me whether I was approved or not. My mother was signing for me on Thursday and I needed to tell her whether she needed to drive all the way up to the Cape or not.

My loan company, Lending Tree, decided that I needed to send about 10 more documents, random things they should have asked me for in the beginning, and the underwriter decided I didn't qualify. WHAT?! So, they had to redo all the paperwork and change the loan amount, the interest rate and the points so I could qualify for the loan. Then they asked me to basically resend all my info in again. I was outraged, and not a happy driver.

By the time I got into Lisle, I was 30 minutes late for my site check because of traffic, which didn't matter, fortunately, and headed to my hotel to e-mail, fax and call Lending Tree back with all the information they decided they needed again. Craziness! We had our team meeting and headed to Lisle in the morning (my "closing" day.)

After a great set up, slow day, showing Dani, my boss from Relay around, and dealing with a loan that never was approved on my closing day because the underwriter screwed up the loan amount, so my poor mother is going to have to go home and then come back again on Monday (or whenever), I went to bed, exhausted.

It may be the buyers market for real estate prices, but it sure isn't the buyers market for people that can't pay outright and need a loan to help them along the way. It's been so stressful, and still isn't over. We couldn't close Friday because Lending Tree was closed since it was the day before July 4th. Blah!

We got through the weekend well enough. I got to teach Yoga quite a bit this weekend. It was nice to get back in touch with yoga again. I did a lot of back openers, so my spine felt like jelly when I went to bed. I had 2 girls stick with me through every single class on Friday. It was nice to have regulars at a festival.

Saturday, I took Lexi and myself over to a Henna tent at the festival and had henna tatoos done. Something I've been wanting to do for years! And it was lovely. Lexi's was a little more creative, but I liked it just the same. Notice my lovely picture. :)

Sunday we pretty much had the day off. Our first Sunday off since we started this tour. And we spent in royally. Giovanna left Sunday to take her vacation and Lexi, Jason and I headed to a cubs game to celebrate our Sunday off and Lexi's birthday, which was Saturday! Friday was Giovanna's birthday. And next week is Kerri's birthday. Can you imagine travelling with that many females and all are Cancers, except me? Craziness all around!

On to Michigan.