Today is my dad’s funeral

This is a strange day; it is my 14th wedding anniversary, and my dad’s funeral. Of course that makes me think about when he walked my down the aisle to the most wonderful man who waiting for me. Waiting for me!! It is still unbelievable, but that is another story. Dad was always my rock, and now this wonderful man would take over that role for me.

When I think about my dad, I don’t know where to begin. What do you say about someone who has given you life, been in your life for over 61 years and taught me the wisdom of life. There are really no words, but I try anyway. I guess it is just my way. I saw a quote that says “A dad is a boy’s first hero, and a girl’s first love.” I don’t know about the boy’s part, but it is true for this girl.

Today I am scared, sad, and relieved. He was always a healthy guy, and said he would live to be 500 years old. He said if they could back in the bible days, then with the technology progressing as fast as it does, it should be able to happen today. Sadly, he missed the mark on that one. I am relieved because he was not healthy. His biggest fear was losing control, and lately he no control over anything. That had to be a nightmare for him.

It is strange to think that my siblings and I are about to be the oldest generation in our family. To be without parents just seems strange, and unnatural. I know it isn’t, it is part of life. My wonderful husband has been without parents for nine years now. He was the youngest of four, and I am the oldest of four. I wonder if that makes a difference.

Today I prepare for the final good bye to the man who literally shaped my entire life, maybe tomorrow I write more.

Dad died today

Why is it still a shock? I knew it was coming. I almost wanted it to come because he wasn't getting better, and I knew he would hate living like this. The night before I was told he was not eating, not even his favorite, chocolate Glucerma! I think he was living on that stuff for the past month. He is also not getting out of bed, sleeping a lot, and his mind was starting to show steps backward. But it is still a shock. What a strange feeling.

What is it like to not have a dad? To know that I soon will be the oldest member of our family, is another strange feeling. I am still thinking of the days in Detroit, playing in the lot next door. I always had parents, a mom and dad, the way it is supposed to be. I know I was fortunate in that way. How do you get along without a dad?

But this was the guy who was going to break the mold and live forever. He was always either healthy, or in denial of any health concerns. However, he was confident he would outlive everyone, because he always thought he was different than everyone.

My life seems to be in slow motion today. Still at work, I do better keeping busy. Besides, what can I do today? He is 12 hours away, and no final plans have been made. My desk is usually a flurry of emails, calls, people stopping asking questions. Today it is quiet, but then again it is Friday.

Lots of phone calls between my siblings and mom. Seems like we have been saying "I love you" to each other more than we probably ever have. Another strange feeling. Not saying it, just hearing it so much, Does death draw you closer to each other? How long does that closeness last?

Anyone I do see has to give me a hug. What is up with that? Why a hug? Because they don't know what else to do to show their compassion? I guess I would be doing the same thing, roles reversed. Afterall, it is socially accepted at times like these. And somehow, from certain people, it does invoke a sense of comfort, strange as that seems. The strange part is that is from people I would not have expected to feel comfort from, because I am not that close to them. Is this because they are an actual conduit of God? Am I feeling this comfort because it is coming directly from Him in these cases?

You sure learn a lot about yourself when someone close to you dies. I mean, heck, look at this, I am journaling! I hardly ever do this!

It is also interesting to hear comments that people say. Sometimes someone says something that just makes a head tilt. I was reminded that I probably gave him one of his best days since his stroke, the day Ed, MK and I actually got him out of the house and car shopping. It was a difficult task, and something in me actually enjoyed doing it. Another strange revelation. It was also brought to my attention that he died 4 month, to the day, after his stroke, now why does that matter?

This is all a dream, right? Not for real, right?

A company worth knowing about: Jeld-Wen

Included in our massive updates on our house was a new front door (see my blog post of January 2011). Jeld-Wen won our hearts with, what we perceived as, the nicest looking entry door, for the money. It had a beveled glass insert, and the matching glass sidelight. We ordered it painted brown, and had it installed. It was, and still is, gorgeous!

Then sadness entered. It seemed like the glass insert was slipping down exposing the original flat white color of the door. We thought we had just missed seeing it and touched it up with a bit of paint. But it continued to slip. I took a few pictures, and contacted Jeld-Wen to see if anything could be done.

This is where the story gets good. They sent a guy (Mark Hammond) out who actually lives north of Dayton, probably a good hour drive to our house. He surveyed the damage, and found the same problem was happening with the sidelight (we didn’t even notice that, as we usually come in through our garage). The company determined that all the glass inserts were to be replaced. They proceeded to do that; sending the same guy, an hour away, to take care of the problem.

While he was replacing the sidelight, he accidentally damaged our newly installed siding on the house (did I mention massive updates to our house?). I was instructed to get it fixed and send them the bill. Once the siding was fixed, I waited and waited for the bill. Meanwhile, Jeld-Wen (Creighton Roethler) contacted me via email and phone calls asking for this bill to reimburse me. He must have contacted me no less than 10 times.

Now, just to recap;  they fixed my door and sidelight  - over a year and half after it was installed! Then they hounded me for a repair bill they insisted on paying!

I do not usually write glowing reviews about a company (usually because not many companies glow), but this one is certainly exceptional! I feel the world needs to know (ah, if only the world read my blog!) that there are still companies out there with integrity, and Jeld-Wen is right up there. Needless to say, I highly recommend them if you are looking to replace a door anytime soon.

Thank you Jeld-Wen for being an awesome company!

Yep, new car. Yep, all ours! Yep, we get to smell that “new car smell” as much as we want.

Someone could make a fortune making that “new car” scent and putting it on a Christmas tree to hang from your rear view mirror. Maybe it could look like a car instead of a Christmas tree though. But I digress….sorry.

Buying a car is a pretty daunting experience, and we already knew we wanted another Camry! But there is the LE, and a XLE, and a SE, and that isn’t even considering the Camry hybrid!

This is the lucky number 7, yes the 7th Toyota for me! They weren’t all Camry’s though. I had an incredible MR2 (a story in itself), three Celica’s and two other Camry’s. My first Toyota was a 1979. Yea I know, showing my age now.

Back to today’s Camry story. We ruled out the XLE, didn’t need all those bells and whistles and higher price. And didn’t consider the SE, as it is a sports edition and was a bit pricier too. So that left the LE model. This was fine with us after all it is a Camry. We got to thinking about the hybrid (trying to do our part for being ‘green’), and actually drove one. But were not as impressed as all the reviews said we would be.

Then we looked again at the SE. It is so pretty, especially in Barcelona Red! We got it at the price of an LE, so we were sold. It has some pretty neat bells and whistles that I won’t bore you with here.

But here is the best part, I saved it for last!! Working our Dave Ramsey program (everyone should go through this program!) we were able to pay cash for this 2012 Camry!!! I still can’t believe it, even though I know it is true.

Isn’t it gorgeous? Isn’t God good?

Who's place is this anyway?

Before

After











Did we have a dated house or what? What do you expect from something that is 61 years old? (Hey wait….) Awning, aluminum siding, fake stone, and the white…yuck. We made so many improvements on the inside, including replacing all the windows, this just had to be done.

It was an amazing journey (thank you Estee Lauder). The original siding was a wooden type siding. not sure how many times it had been painted. Then the aluminum, and fake stone, went over that. We had taken a window out on the side of the house, and a removed the original front door….see it just had to be done.

Now it looks 100% better, just a little bare. Oh what to do landscaping and/or porch wise. We are always open to thoughts (hint…hint).

What did “i” do with my husband?

It started out innocently enough….an iPod for music. I mean after all, he is a sound guy with a musician’s heart. I am guilty of this one. Who knew what it would lead to?

Then it progressed to a Mac from work. To stay compatible with his team, he says.

Next came the iPad. What can I say, a graduation gift. Yep, me again!

Oh, and I can’t leave out the audio book of Steve Jobs biography, on 20 CD’s. Yea, on sale at Costco. It was actually a good story to hear.

The latest came this week...the iPhone. We had to, it was time to upgrade!

What else is out there?

I love my husband dearly, but he has been drinking too much of the Kool-Aid. What can I say, we are a house divided. Michigan and Ohio. Reds and Tigers. Red Wings and Cyclones? This list goes on.

I still love ya honey with all I got!!!

How and why I spent my birthday money

Because of my generous husband's birthday gift to me, and my lack of "neediness" for gadgets and toys, I had a hard time spending the huge gift certificate he gave me.  I waited for the "new" iPad to be released and started shopping for a tablet. The iPad had nothing compelling to me to justify the cost.

So I started my comparison between the Toshiba Thrive and the iPad2, especially since the price of those two units were comparable, since the new release of the iPad. Here were the pros and cons as they applied to me, and why I made the decision I did.

Pros

• SD card port (I take pictures and like this easy download option, not available on iPad2. I don’t have to plug in my camera and run that battery down too while downloading. I can pop out my SD card and plug it into the Thrive.)
• USB port (none available on iPad2)
• Bigger screen (10.1 vs 9.7)
• More RAM (1G vs 512MB)
• Flash (not available on iPad2)
• Google Navigation (not available on iPad2..free)
• My familiarity with Android OS (I've been using a Droid X phone for 2 years)
• Widgets, I love my widgets (no such thing on an iPad)
• My lack of convention (because everyone else has an iPad..sorry, not drinking to Kool Aid)
• HDMI and mini SD ports (not available on iPad2)

Cons

• Bulk (.62 pounds vs .34 pounds)

I played with one at Best Buy, and I like the feel of the back of the Thrive. It does not have a smooth back, and just feels like it would not slip out of your hands. The response time of the execution of the apps were virtually the same on both units.

So there ya have it....why I bought a Toshiba Thrive. Now I can't wait for it to get here....2 more days!!!

Thank you my most wonderful husband!