Chip and Block

Am I the only one who didn't know this? Right now I feel like the only one who didn't know this. A word to the wise for anyone who is potentially quitting their job with vacation left in the bank: TAKE ALL OF YOUR VACATION BEFORE YOU RESIGN. This is what I should have done. Instead I assumed I would just be paid for those remaining days. I was, but not before the IRS took TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT of that money, since they consider vacation pay-outs to be "supplemental income." And on top of that, the state of Minnesota does not require employers to pay out personal holiday time, so I lost that money, too. DUMB. DUMB. DUMB. It was a lot of money. Like at LEAST a new Garmin Forerunner 210, with enough left over for perhaps two more.

The garage sale ended up a very interesting experience. If the cost of an all-day babysitter would not offset all profits, I would recommend getting one if you have anyone present under the age of 5, especially if that offspring is accompanied by a neurotic poodle (are "neurotic" and "poodle" ever NOT in the same sentence?)

We had a lot of traffic. A lot of people looking for very specific things, like hockey skates, a "small table," and gold jewelry, of which we had none of. The crap looked like a whole lot more when it overtook the living and family rooms, but when placed out on the driveway looked a little... less. So to make a long story short, the garage sale was a one-day deal. Between the two of us, we made about $200. Not too shabby, if you ask me.

The highlight of the entire day was the sale of one very specific green ribbed sweater that belonged to Matt that I HATED with every cell of my body. If nothing else had sold the entire day, I would have still finished happy.

Speaking of Matt, we see him in less than a week! AAAAH. I can't believe we're almost done. And I'm happy that we're not in Norfolk yet. Oof.

Yes, that is a treadmill. More proud than if I were Julia Child and her first word was "Kitchen Aid."