The Farmer and the Realtor...

I LOVE that when you google my family, this is what comes up. If you know my family, this is extra halarious! :

POLICE DEPARTMENT:

Discussion and action on nuisance complaint at 706 South Waterville Lake Road

Richard Schowalter, 34591 Four Seasons Road, stated they moved into the house in October 2006 and the first night they were in their new house they were woken at 3:30 am to a loud rooster. At times during the winter and it is extremely cold the roosters have been inactive. Basically over the past 5 months they have been woken between 3:30 and 4:30 am continually by this rooster. Mr. Schowalter brought the issue to the Town and they decided it was a police issue so Chief Race sent a letter to the Couillard’s that the rooster would have to be removed from the property. The Couillard’s protested the letter so the Chief’s hands were temporarily tied and now they are bringing this to back to the Town. There is a history of rooster annoyances so this is not new, but it is new to his family. It has put them in a very uncomfortable situation. There was never a complaint before from this house but Mr. Showalter thinks (he is not 100% sure) that the previous owners were Mrs. Couillard’s brother and mother.

Cindy Schowalter, 34591 Four Seasons Road, stated she grew up on a farm so has nothing against farm animals but she has a problem being woken up every morning at 3 am since she is a nurse and needs to be sharp and alert and this is affecting her disposition and job. If the rooster would be locked up in a sound proof room until 6 am she wouldn’t have a problem with that. She woke up at 4:18 am on Sunday and counted that the rooster crowed 30 times in 20 minutes. She doesn’t understand why the Town of Summit has this in the Code but it is being allowed to continue and they are not in an agricultural neighborhood.

Bill Dionne, 34599 Four Seasons Road, he is property owner directly north of Schowalter’s and he stated he is a construction worker so he gets up very early in the morning but on his days off this does bothers him, it is very repetitive and they cannot sleep with the windows open in the summer. He moved out to the country because he likes it. He is not looking for the Couillard’s to get rid of the roosters completely he is just here to support his neighbors and go in a direction to make everybody happy, maybe they could build some type of enclosure. Mr. Dionne doesn’t have a problem with any of the other animals and likes living in the country.

Mr. Schowalter stated this has been going on for five months and doesn’t know how you can contain a rooster in a room to keep it quiet and as long as the roosters are on that property he will always question if he will be woken up at 3:30 in the morning. The rules are on the books and he thinks we should abide by them. His goal is to get rid of those roosters so he can get a good night sleep. Mr. Schowalter stated he is a realtor and knows the laws of real estate and if he wanted to put his house up for sale, he would have to disclose this nuisance and his house would not sell. If he would have known that this nuisance was there he would not have bought the house.

Jeff Couillard, 706 S Waterville Lake Road, stated they have been raising animals for over ten years. H stated the roosters have always been there and they have had no previous complaints in those ten years until these neighbors moved in. Mr. Couillard lets the rooster out in the early morning while he is cleaning the pastures. In the summer he plans to round them up and keep them inside over night. The only time he has had any neighbors come and talk to him about it was because they liked them. His brother and mother in law did live in the house previously but the roosters were always around when the house was being sold.

Lindsay Couillard, 706 S Waterville Lake Road, stated they are grandfathered in with laws and that the laws have changed since they have been living there, they have always had animals at that location and this was discussed at a board meeting and determined that they are not violating any laws or rules as far as animals are concerned. A nuisance is dependent on the person there is not one thing that is clarified as a nuisance. She believes nuisance is a disturbance to the public as a whole, not just one person or one family.

Mr. Schowalter stated he was not aware of the rooster situation when he bought the property. At closing the realtor made a comment to Mrs. Schowalter something to the effect of “good luck with the rooster”. They did not understand at that time what he was referring to.

Supervisor Kraut stated this is probably one of the toughest things that she has had to deal with and the reason being is this still a small town in a rural area and generally neighbors can talk these problems through and solve the problem. She is beginning to think that the nuisance ordinance needs to be taken to the Town legal counsel for review.

Supervisor Arenz stated he agrees with Supervisor Kraut and we need to address this as a bigger issue as far as definition of our ordinance and existing conditions.

Supervisor Clifford asked Manager Elling if the Couillard’s are in complete compliance with the zoning on the property. Manager Elling stated that in January 2006 the Plan Commission determined that the harboring of animals including up to two roosters was allowed as a legal non-conforming use. Supervisor Clifford stated his position is that the rooster has been there for ten years and the Town has had only one complaint so they Couillard’s are not in violation.

Supervisor Arenz asked Chief Race to confirm that there has only been one complaint. Chief Race confirmed that this is the only complaint received.

Supervisor Riley asked Mr. Schowalter if he had contacted Mr. Couillard about this issue to try and solve the problem. Mr. Schowalter stated that he found out what the legal end of this was and chose to take that route.

Chairperson Susa stated they have been asked to go through mediation and the Couillard’s agreed but this has not been done yet. He has a concern with the community if the neighbors cannot go over to their neighbor and talk about this and highly recommends that this go to mediation.

Motion by Kraut, second by Riley to direct the Schowalter’s and Couillard’s to meet with the Waukesha County Mediation group.
Motion carried 5-0.

From Test to Testimony...

So, for those of you who don't know, I'm a published author...we'll sort of. I wrote an article for a magazine distributed by my church. They've now posted it on their website. The most amazing thing is that I wrote that poem thinking it could never come true...God's freedom is amazing! My Journey to the Edge

Relay For Life: A Sneek Peek

For those of those who don't know what I do, here is a peek into the life of an American Cancer Society Relay Manager:

Claremont Relay, May 19-20th, Gross Income: $143,000

Claremont Relay

Upland Relay, June 2-3,2007, Gross Income: $75,000

Upland Relay

Our Luminaria Ceremony. Tilt your head to the left because it's sideways and I can't figure out how to turn it the right way, but the bagpipes alone are amazing:

Celebrity Sighting

I was running at the Rose Bowl yesturday and was very excited to see Meredith Baxter, the mom from Family Ties, out walking her sheltie. LA never loses it's excitment.



EXCEPT, SHE LOOKS MORE LIKE THIS NOW:

Overtaken by an Immigration Protest

I had to work out of our LA office today. On my way home my car was taken over by a sea of immigration protesters. While choppers hovered above, I documented the events that unfolded. These are some of my favorite characters!

The Patriotic Cowboy:

Ole! The Sombrarro Man:

The Guy who monopolized on the opportunity to sell fruit: (I think people were more interested in the protest)


Here's a link to a video on all the students who skipped school to protest. Hmmm, do you think they really knew what they were protesting, or maybe they were just excited to have a reason to skip class.

My new FAVORITE link!

Watch TV and Movies on-line!

TV Links

Shhh, I think it's illegal!

Tag-Team Family Palooza 2007

I have just had the best past two weeks. First, my sister came for a week, then my mom flew in and we all had 24 hours together, than Linds left and it was me and mom for a week. LOVED IT!!

Some of the weeks activities:
Santa Monica
Santa Barbara
The Getty Center
Disneyland Hotel
Lunch at the Ivy
Tour of Hollywood
Burke Williams Spa
Manis and Pedis

Here are some pics (Check them out on Linds' Page too):

Santa Monica


Hiking up Echo Canyon


Santa Barbara


Back on the Beach Cafe


The Getty Center


Thai Food, YUM!

Uh....thanks?

I went out to get my mail today and there was a new sign posted above our mailboxes:


Uh...thanks? So, what am I supposed to do with this information? I think maybe this is just so that when they are pulling my lifeless body from the rubble they can say, "I told you so!"

Can I get an "Amen!"?

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am that Congress finally heard my crys and is extending the Summer Daylight Savings time. This year we are starting three weeks early (3/11) and are going one week longer (into November)! They say this longer use of Summer hours will save energy and compensate for our use of air conditioning in the summer. Hey, what ever excuse they can come up with it fine. I'm just excited to be able to go running at 7pm without my pepper spray! AMEN!

God, He thinks He's funny...

Recently my car's check engine light kept coming on. I also was freaked out when my radio started to change stations on it's own. So, I decided to embrace my extended warranty and take it in to get fixed. After some batting of the eyes and persuasive speech, I talked my new boyfriend Ray into giving me a voucher for a free rental car while my car was in the shop. I was quite proud of myself and quite excited to drive a stylin' car for a day. I even jumped on the Enterprise website the night before to see what kind of cars they had. The next morning I dropped my car off and headed off to get my cool new, free, rental car. They were super nice at Enterprise and told me they needed to give me a Toyota product due to their agreement with the dealership. This was the last Toyota they had left:

Need I say more? I felt about as cool as this girl looks. The fact that it had a built in mirror to watch your children in the backseat, solidified the soccer-mom stereotype. I think God was smiting me for being a greedy girl! I was officially humbled.

The Official Pic!

New Year's Resolution Completed!

Today was the day! My first 5K has been completed. I was so nervous, which I'm not really sure why because I run 3 miles several times a week anyway. But, I think I psyched myself out after seeing pictures of some serious immaciated runners with sixpacks on their website. I invisioned me being trammpled by all the "real runners". In reality it was a fun day and for a great cause. My friends Anna and Jeff joined me! And then to add even more excitment to our day, Anna's battery died at the event. So we quickly made friends with a nice man with jummper cables!

WATERSTOP AND PHOTO-OP!


THE FINISH LINE (AND LOT'S OF FREEBEES!)


OUR NEW FRIEND!


BEING PRODUCTIVE IN OUR TIME OF CRISIS

Herbal Snow and a Show

My friend Jeff and I were off to see a Shakspearian play put on by a group of his frineds, however, we had arrived a bit early. So, after surveying the local shops we decided to venture into an icecream shop and waste our time indulging our sweet senses. This icecream shop had more flavors than I have ever heard of, including some I didn't care to hear of. Jeff and I, being our wierd and spontaneous selfs decided we would be cheating ourselves out of a unique experience if we didn't try something new. So, I asked the shopkeeper what the best seller was, and he said Herbal Snow was a crowd favortie. I was a little leary seeing as it had poppy seeds in it, but we decided to give it a try. He told us it was made with a Rosewater base, which sounded like a familiar ingredient, but I just couldn't place from where. After the first bite, I remembered....bath salts. Yes, Rosewater is a common ingredient in all sorts of unedible lotions, bubble baths, and hand soaps. They are unedible for a reason, Rosewater is GROSS! This "icecream" also included ginger and poppy seeds. Let's just say I would NOT reccomend it!

A Reason to Boycott Valentine's Day!

So, since my job has me stuck in traffic 80% of the work week, I have recently decided to listen to NPR...in order to feel like my time is productive and educational. Consequently, I have been learning many rare facts, such as this timely pearl of wisdom:

Did you know that last year in Los Angeles there were 37 power outages on Valentine's Day due to those Mylar heart-shaped balloons? There is a property in Mylar that reacts with the power lines that causes them to short out and cause area-wide power loss! So, now I don't feel so bad boycotting V-day, it's my philanthropic act for the community!

Show me the $$!!

Okay, so work has been CrAzY lately! I just got done with my second conference weekend (in a row!) This weekend was fun though. I got to stay in a nice hotel and I got to work with a fun volunteer, Joe, to faciliate a workshop on Relay For Life Fundraising techniques. We tried to make it fun by making our audience have turrets by shouting "SHOW ME THE MONEY" every couple minutes. We also decorated our room with fake money and inspirational music (think "theme song from the apprentice"). Oh, and we also wore big "bling" necklaces around our neck. I think they got the idea.

SOME PRE-"Show" PREP


JOE, ME, and my killer drawing of Bill Gates

My Church: LoVe iT!!

OKay, so I Love, Love, Love my church. Known as Mosaic "We are a community of followers of Jesus Christ, committed to live by faith, to be known by love, and to be a voice of hope."

One of the core pillars of our church is that "relevance to culture is not optional" So, we heavily incorporate the arts into our church. Some may think this video is controversial, but I love it. And love that our church isn't afraid to talk about the issues that effect our culture's perception of the church today.

Race For a Cure!

Okay, so I'm trying to make a team for the Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure event next month. By definition (according to Susan G. Komen) a team = 5 people. So, I think you should all fly out here and participate with me! Because right now I'm working with a team of 1 (too bad they won't count my multiple personalities :-)
Click Here!

Drum Roll Please...

Okay, the moment has arrived. Here are the pictures of my new apartment. It looks cuter in person, but hopefully these will give you feel of what it's like. But, maybe you should all come visit me so you can see it (and ME) in person!
LOVE YOU ALL!

My New Apartment

A Sneek Peak...

Okay People (ie: Lindsay, Bethany,and Katy) I apologize for the delay in supplying pictures of my new place. Let me just tell you that the combination of daylight and the energy to clean up has been a bit of a challenge. My house is finally clean and I will take pictures tomorrow A.M. PROMISE. In the meantime, here's a sneek peek to wet your pallet.

MY KITCHEN (I'm keepin it real w/ the dishes in the sink)

Happy New Year!!

This year I had a big date on New Years! When my sister decided to abandon our family (that's you Lindsay ;-) and my mom was scheduled to work, my dad and I decided to make this New Years grand without them. We decided on the typical date night: dinner and a movie. The sushi was delicious, the movie was intriguing, and the company was my favorite!


Then, an added bonus: My mom made is home just in time for the countdown!


Nothing like ringing in the New Year in your PJs with you mom and dad (no, really, there's nothing like it!)

I'm a Myspace Adultress...

Well, after one too many lude proposals on myspace (and I mean LUDE!) I have decided to move to the world of blogging. This way I can change my myspace account to private while also allowing my lovey sister overseas (that's you Katy) to keep up on the earth shattering excitement of my life (sarcasm intended). Lots of posts to come. I have lots of tales to catch up on from my trip back home.