Day 137

Back from a long two days in Cleveland. Leah and I left Tuesday morning early. My mom picked Leah up and I headed to the IX Center to set up my trade show booth. That took around an hour or so. Leah and my mom went to see my cousin Debbie and her new baby Jordan and take a look at a house in Solon. The house was ok, but nothing special that I needed to go back and see. After I was done setting up, I met them at a house in Pepper Pike on Lander that we had seen online and thought had potential. We weren't crazy about it either. It had an older decor to it, didn't have a main floor office area for me that I was looking for, and because the owners had bad allergies, almost the entire house was either in hideous tile or wood flooring. So that one was a no go as well. We then went to Corky and Lenny's for a quick lunch before seeing another couple of houses.

I know what certain readers are thinking - how can you go back into Corky's after the Salmonella incident? My mom brought up a good point, the place has never been cleaner. The wait staff all of a sudden has done a complete 180 and are very nice. The food was good, but I have never seen it so empty in there. My mom, who never set foot in there when we were growing up, has been there a few times lately and said she "feels sorry for them." The corned beef was still the whup. Anyways, our next stop was to see a house in Moreland Hills. In a random coincidence, this was the house of Selznick's old girlfriend's mom. She was a bit on the kooky side. Her house had definite potential, but not for us. The main floor was great, but the upstairs was too small for us. There was a house for sale right across the street that we hadn't even heard of and ended up going to see later in the day. When I walked into this one - a Ranch house with a big basement with an in-laws suite off of it, I liked it a lot. I thought maybe I could see myself in this one. It had a big master bedroom, beautiful eat in kitchen with sky lights, and 5 bedrooms. This had some solid potential. Leah liked it, but wasn't as crazy about it as another one she had seen 3 weeks ago in Orangewood. That particular house only had showings on Fridays and Saturdays. Leah had to fly back, so the only way we could get in to see it was if my mom could get a hold of them and I could see it that night.

After taking Leah to the airport, I met my mom at the Orangewood house. I walked in and after walking through the house, I knew this was "it." My mother in law, a veteran house buyer from all of her years of moving, had told me that I would know when a particular house was "the one." I had that feeling. The house has everything we want. Three bedrooms upstairs, the master being on the opposite side as the other two. A perfect main floor office for my work. The kitchen was magnificent with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. The basement was huge and finished. A nice yard for Casey to run around. In the neighborhood we want to live in. There are several things that need to be talked about on both sides, move in dates, bid prices, etc. But I think we are going to bid. I just hope we can get this done. We shall see, but I will keep you all posted! Keep your fingers crossed.

We have a big weekend planned. My in laws, and Scott and Lauren are coming in town for the weekend. Casey is very excited to see her favorite grandma. We will be crossing off two more restaurants on our list as Friday night we are going to the Athenian Room and Saturday night Wildfire. Plus three Tribe games on TV!

Speaking of the Tribe, lets prop them up for taking two out of three against the White Sox. Of course, the two games they won, I was in a trade show and didn't see a second of either. Tomorrow is the home opener at the Jake and for the first time in 8 years, I won't be there. I have a sales meeting I couldn't get out of that day and the game is at 3 PM EST. Last year was an emotional one, as Matt and I took mom and we left the aisle seat empty and put dad's Indians hat on it. The Tribe lost that day, which was more proof to me that there is no divine intervention, because Dad would have intervened that day if he could have. The way I see it, I may not be there for this year's opening day, but I won't miss one again for the rest of my life if I can help it.

Good luck to my friends Amy and Jeremy Goldberg today. Amy is being induced and she will be having their second child to join their beautiful daughter Stella.

Song of the Day: "A Day in the Life" by The Beatles