Garage Sale Season is On!

Now that garage sale season is in full swing I feel that, as a devotee, I must make some comments.

I am always puzzled by particular items that seem to be a staple at nearly every sale. For instance, there’s always a card table covered with a variety of mugs. In my own collection I have a mug from the 2006 PRSA convention, a Dodger’s mug, 2 Cubs mugs, any number of mismatched Christmas mugs that were originally given to me filled with Hershey’s kisses or Reese’s miniatures or the like, several “souvenir” mugs from vacations (either my own or relatives’ who felt they needed to bring me back a memento), and mugs commemorating things like my high school graduation (Trojans, 1988), Jeff’s employee appreciation day in 2002, and the 2004 Steelcase shareholders’ meeting. So, what I absolutely do not need to do is spend even 25 cents on strangers’ mugs celebrating their various conventions, favorite sports’ teams, Christmas gifts they received with candy inside, graduations (high school, college or grad school…not their children’s either), vacations, etc. Does anyone? Is there anyone in the entire greater Grand Rapids area who feels what they are really short on is random, mismatched mugs? And no, Goodwill doesn’t want them either because even the poorest, neediest person probably already has more than enough mugs. There should be some kind of melting pot where we could all take our old mugs to be melted down and re-made to commemorate future events requiring a cheap give-away.

Don’t ever be lulled into purchasing any “as seen on TV” exercise equipment at full price. I guarantee that every Saturday you will come across dozens of people happy to unload the gazelle, thigh-master, ab-roller, ab-lounge, door gym, or stamina body dome they made three easy payments to obtain and then used once.

Are you grossed out by your own torn, sweat-stained, misshapen work-out tees? Fear not! You can replace them with the dozens you will find at every garage sale featuring the rips, sweat and stretch-marks of strangers! And you can usually get each one for only .25-$1 (hey, you have to pay a premium for torn, sweaty, stretched-out “designer” tees).

Boy, what I would give to have access to the wit, wisdom, advice, chicken soup, and blessings that were compiled into books I threw out that were specifically aimed at graduates, mothers-to-be, fathers-to-be, golfers, grandmothers, new parents, home-schooling parents, parents of scholar athletes, parents of strong-willed children, parents of lazy children, parents of wild children, parents of children you want to grow “God’s Way”, single parents, only children, children of alcoholics, co-dependent spouses, spouses with no “love language”, etc. But wait…one stroll down a street participating in a neighborhood garage sale and you will amply restock your supply. I can’t believe people are getting rid of these! Don’t they still have a need for wit, wisdom, advice, blessings and chicken soup? I know I still do.

If I could were the Garage Sale Czar for the city of Grand Rapids, I would:

1-demand respect. Come on….do you really think that I, your customer, am so low and desperate that I want to paw through your unsorted piles of crap? At least show me the courtesy of putting up a few tables, sorting your items, pricing them…making some effort at merchandising. If you just dump your stuff on a table for me to dig through, I will feel your disdain and move on. I mean, I do have my standards.
2-forbid garbage. Again, do you really think that ANYONE wants your a) half-filled and cracked snow globe, b) old tee shirts (see notes above), c) used underwear (I can’t bear to say more…even if they were from Victoria’s Secret), d) puzzles missing pieces, e) rusty spoons, f) teal stiletto pumps from 1985, g) crock pot missing the crock, h) used make-up, or i) half-filled bottle of lotion? Sadly, I could have gone on and on. Gross.
3-insist pets be confined in some way. Do you really expect me to concentrate on making purchases when your mutt is sniffing my rear? That’s an immediate walk-away.
4-forbid overcharging. Your paperbacks are not worth $5 each just because they were “only read once.” Your child’s old boots are not worth $10 just because they were originally bought at Macy’s. No one in their right mind is going to pay $20 for a used fondue set. You’re just embarrassing yourself and wasting my time.

All that said…I can feel it in the air…garage sale season is back on…and the deals, deals, deals, deals, deals await!!

My best deal so far is 3 books I bought last week. My boss Deb and I have been desperately looking for copies of the book that Steelcase produced in celebration of its 75th anniversary. We were down to our last copy and couldn’t find any more anywhere. It seemed a little scary to be the corporate communications department and down to our last book. Can you believe I came across 3 of these books, still in their wraps and boxes, for $3? I love it. Where else but at a garage sale?

Things That Are Currently On My Desk…and What They Say About Me

I am the type of person who longs for a pristine and clutter-free work surface. I imagine that in my ideal work space my utterly clean desk would just sport a single stalk of bamboo in a clear glass cylinder…or maybe one perfect picture of Langston in a teak frame, his eyes shining with love for the photographer (me).

What I do know is that it would not display the current assortment of oddities:

1- Four neatly stacked random cds. Two of which are photo cds of Steelcase executives from January photo shoots. These pictures need to be loaded onto our company shared site but I don’t know who our vendor for this is anymore, don’t have the software needed to view them, and my unanswered and unasked questions have led me to just postpone any action. I don’t even know what the other two cds are.
2- A certificate from Omaha Steaks inviting me to buy their “limited time offer” Celebration Pack of assorted steaks and burgers. If I act before the end of the month I also get a set of steak knives and a cutting board….plus 8 additional burger patties!!! This offer does seem to be too good to resist. So, it sits here…just waiting to be sent in….and waiting. Maybe I’ve procrastinated so long because it just didn’t seem like spring here. I couldn’t imagine firing up the grill for anything other than a heat source in the frigid weather. But now I just know I’ll act on the offer before the end of the week. I know it. Bring on the meat!!
3- A blue paperclip holder guy. This was a stocking stuffer from Christmas. I thought it would be really helpful since sometimes I find myself searching for paperclips. But for some reason he has not entered my conscious mind because I continue to search high and low for paperclips…only afterwards do I remember, oh yeah, I’ve got that blue thing right here. If I never use the paperclips he endlessly presents does he have a purpose? Without a purpose does he have a function? When no one’s around does he stop grinning?
4- An index card box with alphabetical dividers. What a clever way to keep business cards and important numbers at my finger tip! However, I have neither added to this collection nor retrieved information from it in years. Yes, years. How do I know this? Well, one boring afternoon during spring break I actually started looking through it and found cards identifying my healthcare providers when I lived in Lansing (7 years ago), reporters for publications that have since gone out of business, my blood donor card from when I worked at American Red Cross, a recipe for a bourbon chicken casserole I never made (and doesn’t really even look all that tasty), a business card for a woman who makes Raggedy Ann dolls (for a gift I gave, must have been 10 years ago, to someone whose name I now can’t even remember – let alone her kid).
5- A desk fan. Working here in the hermetically sealed office work the air flow can sometimes bring me down! Cold in the morning…hot in the afternoon…a girl’s gotta have a little air movement…I don’t care what facilities says…they’re not the one expected to work in this oven! OK…along with the stalk of bamboo and the devastatingly cute picture of Langston I’d really have to keep the fan too…forget sophistication – who am I kidding?

So, what does all this say about me? What kind of window into my soul have I just flung open?? I guess the big revelation is that I’m lazy. Pretty much all of this clutter could go if I just quit procrastinating, opened my eyes and possibly the trash can, and just let it go. And maybe I’ll just do that…yeah…maybe I’ll take care of it today…you just watch me! Except, of course, for the fan.

The Holquist Fam Best Eats in GR List!

Best Bagels: Bagel Beanery (Jeanine); Panera (Jeff)

A Nice Place to Take the Folks: The Gathering Place (Jeanine); Bentham’s (Jeff)

Best Breakfast: Real Food Café (Jeanine and Jeff agree)

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies: Wealthy St. Bakery (Jeanine); just make ‘em yourself (Jeff)

Best Deli Sandwiches: Cherry Street Deli (Jeanine); Schnitz Deli (Jeff)

Best Desserts: Barnes & Noble (Jeanine and Jeff agree)

Best Lunch: Red Geranium (Jeanine) ;

Best Place to Eat Out with Friends: Bonefish Grill (Jeanine) ; Blue Water Grill (Jeff)

Best Place to Go if You Have to Pick Up a Dessert (tie): Forest Hills Foods and Paris Cafe

(Jeanine); Arnie’s

Best Restaurant Bread Basket: Charley's Crab (Jeanine); Pietro’s (Jeff)

Best Restaurant Location: The Blue Water Grill (Jeanine); Rose’s (Jeff)

Best Restaurant Splurge (tie): The Heritage at GRCC and The Melting Pot (Jeanine); Charley’s Crab (Jeff)

Best Restaurant to Just Sit and Talk: Bob Evans’ (Jeanine); No answer from Jeff.

Best Restaurant to Take the Kids: Red Robin (Jeanine); Kabookie’s (Jeff)

Best Ribs: Z's (Jeanine and Jeff agree)

Best Salad: Rose's (Jeanine); Panera (Jeff) – although he says a salad is just a salad to him.

Best Soft Serve Ice Cream: Cone City (Jeanine); don’t eat soft serve (Jeff) – yes he does…he eats at Cone City whenever I suggest it.

You Can Always Get in on a Saturday Night: Sundance Grill (Jeanine); No answer from Jeff.

Most Overpriced for What You Get (tie): Zoup and Olga’s (Jeanine); San Chez and Noodles (Jeff)

Most Overrated: The BOB (Jeanine); Bar Louie (Jeff)

Best Pizza: Big Bob’s (Jeanine and Jeff agree)

Best Chinese: Seoul Garden (Jeanine and Jeff agree)

How Does it Stay in Business: Carlos O’Kelly’s (Jeanine) ; El Arriero (Jeff)

Best Burger: Rose’s (Jeanine); Cottage Bar (Jeff)

I’m So Sorry it Closed: Donato’s Pizza (Jeanine); Three Crowns Bistro (Jeff)

Best Local Joint: Real Food Café (Jeanine); Yesterdog (Jeff)

Oh, I WILL get it done!

Well, I am back after an exhausting 3 weeks of travel. I was in Dallas, Texas; New York twice; Marco Island, Florida. Only the Florida trip was for fun. Hopefully I am back now until Chicago in June – but you never know.

As winter is starting to slowly turn toward spring I am getting the itch to be more personally productive. I have begun some aggressive list making. Achievement seems just within reach.

So, I share with you some of my personal “to do” list. And then provide what I am quite sure will keep me from completion.

1. At a garage sale TWO YEARS AGO (with the newest season’s garage sale season coming soon) I bought an old fashioned diaper changing table. Does it mean anything to you to realize that I bought this thing the summer BEFORE I got married and now am married and have a child and still haven’t completed this project? I am shamed by my own procrastination. Anyway…I had seen this great project in a do-it-yourself magazine where you convert a changing table into a drink cart. It was charming. It seemed serendipitous when weeks later I saw a changing table just like the one in the article for only $5. It still sits in the basement today waiting to be transformed.

2. When Jeff and I were working on selling his house (again, this will now be two summers ago) a neighbor of his was hosting a garage sale (I’m sensing a trend) and had an old bike for sale. It was one of those kind of old-fashioned models with the basket and the 3 speeds…sure, it was kind of broken down…but it was only $2 and I felt sure that with a little TLC it could just be charming! I could just see myself tooling around, kind of Martha’s Vineyard-esque with my straw hat, Bermuda shorts and pastel bike (with a bouquet of freshly picked daisies in the basket). This is much like the vision I had of myself mowing my lawn with an eco-friendly reel mower in a white dress and hat (another trend) before setting up the croquet set for an impromptu match (Jeff quickly vetoed this purchase…he said that it would more likely be him sweating through a Cubs t-shirt during the first 10 minutes of a 3 hour job in the boiling hot sun slaving behind an instrument of torture …something he wanted no part of). Anyhow…the bike is still limply propped up in the garage unrestored.

3. I don’t know why I never noticed it before, but whoever painted our ceilings before we moved in did a crappy job. I don’t even know if there’s one coat of paint on those things. It would be really nice to re-white those nasty ceilings. I also have to say that I made a number of my own mistakes painting the walls when I moved in…so, this would give me the chance to right those wrongs too. I have already bought some instant stripper to fix the paint boo-boos on the trim (OK, the stripper has only sat on the counter for 3 weeks…but I’m REALLY going to do this).

4. When I moved into the house the basement was beautiful. The floor had been freshly painted grey…it was awesome. It’s pristine condition moved me to love. Now it’s dirty, dusty, and fairly gross. It needs a good sweep and some serious mopping. I’m ashamed at how I’ve let it deteriorate.

5. I won’t even mention all the boxes in the crawl space I was blessed with when Jeff moved in. Suffice it to say that these boxes contain “treasures” like old yellow pages books, mugs full of old pens, LL Bean catalogs, etc. Shhhh…it’s a secret….don’t tell Jeff….but a purge is forthcoming.

6. The garage is a disgrace.

7. I’ve always wanted a party patio. I’ve got some kind of cool items now…I just have to integrate it into some kind of coherent, elegant yet playful, outdoor hangout.

I’m just so happy looking at that list! Life would be so wonderful if I got that stuff done. I can’t even tell you.

But, here is what will inevitably keep me from this bliss:

1. Hey, it’s the cast of Lost on Oprah!

2. Oooh…the Sephora catalog arrived…

3. All of a sudden I’m compelled to rearrange all the closets.

4. Anyone feel like ice cream?

5. Look at my toes…boy do I need some polish!

6. Is that a new episode of To Catch a Predator???

7. Oh, I’m just so drowsy…a quick nap won’t hurt anything…

8. I wonder if there’s anything new on You Tube?

9. I’m almost to the end of the book…surely it will only take me a few minutes to finish (an hour later I’m still reading)

10. OK Langston…mommy will lay on the floor and tickle your tummy (I don’t really think this counts)

Grieving a Tree

When I first visited the house I would eventually buy, my first thought was how much I loved the gigantic oak in the front yard. It was impossibly tall, dappled the sunlight over the lawn and flowers, gracefully arched over the entire house.

To me, there really is nothing more lovely than a tree.

I didn’t even really mind all the leaves in the fall. Well, to be honest, I hired Tina’s crew of juvenile delinquents each year to do the raking for me. I’m as lazy as the grave.

So, imagine my sadness when I noticed a split in the trunk the other week. I called in the tree doctor and after a lot of careful evaluation and examination another split was discovered on the other side and the verdict was not good. Although it was a perfectly healthy, probably 150 year old tree, that could easily outlive me – it was failing. The fear was that once the leaves came in the wind would start to twist the tree and put enough stress on the trunk that the tree would fall over…demolishing either my house or the one next door. The only decision we could make was to take it down.

It actually hurt my heart to see the crew sawing off all the branches and feeding them into the chipper. I finally had to just leave – I couldn’t watch any more. It makes me sad to think that something God created back when the area was nothing but a farmer’s field could be so quickly reduced to dust.

I had to leave the afternoon of the chopping for a business trip so the first time I saw my now naked front yard was at night after a long flight home. I couldn’t believe how the whole approach had changed. It was a lot brighter (very strange) and you could definitely see more of the back yard and the neighbor’s house (not overly excited by either of these developments).

The tree bordered the driveway so I always had to take extra care when backing out of the garage to accommodate it. I instinctively made the same twist this morning and felt bad all over again when I realized that the driveway is now totally open. Sniff.

Jeff says that we will do something new this spring to commemorate the loss. I know that eventually I will forget what it was like when the tree was there. I hope not.

It's Vegas Baby!

Four Thirtysomethings in Vegas Learned That:

1. A tub for two isn’t all that romantic when the water is boiling hot





2. It’s really easy to get lost inside the Caesar’s Palace Forum Shops…really…it could happen to ANYONE…it doesn’t mean you’re dumb or anything





3. In-and-Out Burgers taste even better in a limo





4. If the bus has a lot of people in it, your husband is going to refuse to get on it and make you walk a mile and a half down the strip…and yes, your feet will hurt





5. There’s really only so much you can eat off even the best buffet





6. Going back to item #1…if you put a tablespoon of bubble bath in said tub for two you and turn on the Jacuzzi jets, you will create an erupting volcano of bubbles that will not only tower between you but will also cascade onto the floor beside you in waves





7. Slots-a-Fun hotdogs are the size of a baby’s arm…but a bargain at $1.49!





8. If getting a cheap flight means leaving for the airport at 3:00 a.m. – pass





9. There’s nothing better than eating a cup of gelato while watching the Bellagio fountains





10. Even good Baptist girls can catch gambling fever!

Mountain Climbing

I am working as a "communications coach" for a couple of presenters at my company's annual leadership conference. Mostly that means that on top of whatever other reponsibilities I have, I will now add a series of 4 hour meetings to my week (thank goodness for wireless networks) and help an executive (or 2 in my case) bring their thoughts to "life" with power point, video production, wordsmithing, design assistance, etc. It makes for a long couple of weeks. The conference begins on Tuesday morning...it is Thursday and I have just received the 3rd "brand new concept" from my presenter. I don't have any words of response to this.

But enough of my complaining...because really, the above paragraph was just to serve as a segue into what I really wanted to talk about. And I didn't even get to the part that was going to segue into the segue. So, here we go again.

My presenter is working on the "inspirational" portion of his speech (oh dear) and he is using a metaphor he got out of a recent business book (oh dear II). It's all about looking at your business like a mountain and employees like climbers. What follows is an exerpt from the speech: "Permit me to explain what I mean by daily commitment with a comparison to climbing. A book entitled The Adversity Challenge separated climbers into three different categories. First are “quitters.” Quitters plan to reach the peak. They’ve got all the right equipment, the desire and the skill. But, they are not prepared to conquer the impediments along the way to success. They go part way – and then quit.

"The second group are “campers.” Campers work hard, apply themselves, and overcome enough obstacles that they feel at ease planting their tent stakes and settling in – they’ve done enough, have attained a certain level of achievement and are comfortable camping out in their comfort zone.

“Climbers” are the rare breed who continue to grow, strive, push, battle, focus, and improve – every day – until they reach the peak and know they have given it their absolute all. No achievement other than the ultimate achievement will do.

"According to a poll of more than 150,000 leaders across all industries worldwide, nearly 80% of the workforce is camping. I am challenging you to climb."

OK...do you feel inspired, you pathetic quitter/camper??? Are you ready to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to help Steelcase succeed????

This cheesy "inspirational moment" couldn't help but cause me to reflect on other ways that mountains have been used lately as a metaphor in my life. And I thought of two.

At our Bible study last night we were talking about when Paul and Silas were imprisoned and how their prison cell became a place of ministry. Which led to a conversation about trusting God's will in both the good and bad times. We agreed that our "mountain top" experiences rarely led to a time of spiritual growth. When life is easy and times are good, it's easy to lose the imperative to pray and grow...I mean, what are we praying for or growing towards? If everything is going great then what would we need to ask of God or get from Him?

It's usually the "valley" experiences that drive us toward a desperate call to God. We question why, we ask for answers, for faith, for endurance, for wisdom to face the challenges we are experiencing.

When I look back over the landscape of my personal history, I have experienced the most spiritual growth, was the most dependent on God and ultimately gained the most from valley experiences. The mountain top is where I want to be -- but it's in the valley that I am closest to God.

My friend Sharon put it another way. She read a book that talked about the comparative beauty and majesty of plains and mountains. We all want to be in the plains...consistent, almost blah in its predictability...life is good in the plains. But, the mountains -- unpredictable, buffeted by winds and weather, carved out by the beating of water and the shifting earth -- have the greater majesty.

And just like literal mountains, when hard times leave their marks on us, when the unpredictability of weather and the ground moving beneath us changes us, it makes us more beautiful, more majestic, more awesome.

I don't generally veer into this type of reflection here -- but when my presenter started talking about mountains like a "successories" poster (http://www.successories.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/home.home/successories_country/USA/home.cfm?CMP=KNC-GOOG&gclid=CNjhp83SjYoCFSoIFQodmlXNRQ) it actually inspired me in a totally different way.

So, does that make me a climber, a camper or a quitter?