Vandals and a Trip to Iowa

The unfortunate reality of living in the inner city is that we have to deal with alot of poverty and the occasional theft and\or vandalism.  Yesterday, J. discovered that someone had tried to get into the house that we're working on by busting out 3 windows on the back side.  There were no signs that they entered the house, however.  Since they didn't even try the doors, we suspect it was the same person that tried to kick in the back door a couple of months ago.  That was unsuccessful for them as well, as there are 3 2"x4"s barring the door from the inside.  Old house:  2, thieves:  0.

The worst part?  They used a crappy old shovel that I had left in the back yard.  And I *knew* I shouldn't have left it there.  I just had a feeling when I tucked it under the deck that I should take it with me and I ignored my gut feeling.  Ladies, you should always trust your intuition.

It really makes me mad that I now have to spend time replacing glass and glazing the windows when we've still got 3 more rooms to paint and other work to do in the house.  And all because some jack*ss wanted to steal some copper to fuel his meth addiction.  You know the world would be a better place if we could all just follow the rule we learned in kindergarten:  if it's not yours, HANDS OFF!

Whew!  Sorry.....just had to get that off my chest. 

On a lighter note, I'll be packing in just a few moments to leave on a road trip to Des Moines overnight for a work conference.  I'm driving, and a couple of friends from work are coming along, so it should make for a fun 3 hour drive as we chat and be-bop to 80's music.  I'm just hoping that we don't run into that big storm that is coming our way.