July 4th, the Non-Celebration Way

As 4th of July’s go, this one was uneventful. We didn’t even watch fireworks. We heard plenty of them though since our neighbors next door and some people a block over were setting them off pretty much all week.

My week at work was busy and generally frustrating. Not only is it month-end, but it’s also quarter-end, which adds on to my workload with all kinds of extra pricing and reporting. As fate would have it, a lot of my regular inventory counters were on vacation including the guys who normally do my ink and resin counts. This made me nervous even before I saw the numbers their subs got me. It’s much more likely for auditors to pick a quarter-end to review so it’s best to be especially vigilant during those closes. First the ink guy counted everything we didn’t own rather than what we did. Then one of the silos had a faulty gauge so we couldn’t get the levels on inventory day. Then boxed resin counts are all wonky. *sigh* Everyone should be back today so hopefully we can get it all figured out. Luckily, all these issues only affect raw materials so I was able to get WIP and FG done on schedule.

Adam left work early Tuesday afternoon and had off the rest of the week. He spent some time working in the yard, laying sod in the back (here's a before and after. Adam took that second one so don't blame me.)



He also took a spur-of-the-moment trip down to Marshalls in Madison in the hopes that he could buy some hideous golf shorts that I had talked him out of getting when we were in Minneapolis. Luckily the stores he went to didn’t have said shorts so we’re safe for now. Really. They’re hideous.

On Friday Adam left bright and early to pick up the trailer and offload some of Chris and Katie’s firewood. While he was out I went and did some of our weekly shopping. He and his dad unloaded the wood and then they went back up to get Adam’s car. He came home with some old baseball cards and coins that his mother unearthed after he was reminded of their existence when he was going through the tote of old papers. He took some pictures to post on eBay but then decided that our camera was a piece of junk and we needed a new one. (Ok, not as impulsive of a decision as that made it sound. We'd been having problems with our Canon since our honeymoon and I'd been trying to eke out as much use before breaking down and buying a new one.) So he browsed the web for good deals and we headed up to Appleton. We went to American and found the camera we wanted. All the salespeople were busy so I suggested we look at the furniture while we waited. We walked into the dining room area and I spotted a buffet and hutch. It was everything we’d been looking for: shelves for glasses, drawers for accessories, some wine rack functionality. This one even had recessed lighting.

But even with their 25% off all furniture sale, it was still more than we wanted to pay for this piece of furniture. So we continued around the display room and back into the bargain center. And wouldn’t you know it, we found the exact same piece back there, priced $800 less than the one out on the floor. It was returned by a customer who special ordered a whole dining room set. So there was nothing wrong with it, but they couldn’t put in back on the sales floor as new. Score! After taking a break and wandering through the couch section we went back to pick up the camera. With the “help” of semi-competent sales guys we found out they didn’t even have the model we wanted. Well, at least the guy said they didn’t. So we went back to look at the buffet and hutch a little more. Since it was bargain center furniture it had to be paid in full (ie, you couldn’t use their payment plan) and picked up in three days. Adam called his dad and he came to the store to check it out. After a thorough examination he declared it fine and left to go back for their party. We left and found the camera we wanted at Walmart. Then we went back to American and got the salesperson to drop the price an additional $100. So we bought it:



Adam and his dad picked it up Saturday morning. We moved our glassware and booze Saturday afternoon.



The cats went crazy all day Saturday and into Sunday. They can fit underneath it and JC has already been caught up on the bar area as well as on the first shelf. Grrr. Even the cactus doesn’t deter him. So, in summary, we went in to buy a camera, we came out with a buffet and hutch. Whoops. And it’s totally my fault since it was my idea to kill time in the furniture department.

Anyway, after all the running around on Friday I was tired so we cooked out for dinner and stayed in. I think we were asleep before fireworks even began. We both woke up around 11 when the neighbors really let loose with the booming.

After picking up the buffet/hutch on Saturday morning, I rode back up with Adam and his dad and we went to Linens ‘n Things to get him some new pillows. Then we finished up our grocery shopping for the week. I’m not really sure what we did the rest of the day. Obviously nothing noteable.

Yesterday morning we were up at like 6. So sad. We went up to IHOP for breakfast so I could try their New York Cheesecake pancakes. Except they were out of cheesecake bites. Argh! So I was stuck with my usual Viva le French Toast. Boo. Then Adam dropped me off at home while he went to go golfing with his friend Jon. I watched Persepolis (not bad, funny but also depressing) and then returned it for Hairspray, which we watched last night. I stopped at Shopko for some shirts as well. I cleaned the oven (I had spilled meatloaf on the bottom and it was stinky) and spent time cuddling with the kitties while watching mind-numbing television (that would be E!) I also caught Ted and Conner in a compromising position:



Adam went straight from golfing to his grandma’s house to help fill in some concrete in her garage. She’s putting the house on the market so she’s trying to fix up some little things. He got back home in time for dinner – chicken broccoli calzones. Yum. We watched the movie after dinner and then called it a night.

And this morning was back to work for both of us. No more vacation until mid-August when we have our second camping trip planned. Hopefully Door County doesn't get flooded too. :)