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Monday, September 12, 2011

Gameday Madness

Saturday Michigan Stadium held its first ever night game. It was against Notre Dame—a classic rivalry...

Door decal
I guess you should know some background. We live close enough to Michigan Stadium that people pay us to park in our yard for football games. It depends how big the game is on how much we charge... and how far ahead of game time we begin. We can tell the latter by when our street is full so there is no more free parking around. Normally, for a 3:00 game... it is about noon... for Saturday's 8:00 game... also noon... yes. Eight hours ahead of the game...

You see, South Bend is close enough for an easy drive... and those nutty fighting Irish like to come shake it up... even if they DON'T have tickets... A lot of people come just for the party.

So normally we charge $15 a car to park... we drop to $10 for minor games... For this one we increased to $20...

Hubby had 4 regulars call to save them spots... and we do that for our regulars—that is one of the perks of going to the same house each week.

What it meant was we knew we'd fill, but not until closer to game time, so we had room for some tail-gaters in our yard... quite the spread they had, too... (there was even a blue one)--they were great—offered food and beer to the hubby who was working it... told Joel how cute he was...

And we filled... and then some... it was actually a great atmosphere... and a good game except it should not have been nearly as close as it was...

So this was a very good thing for us. We made enough money for the tires that need replacing AND an oil change... those things that come up and aren't factored into the monthly budget... definitely a good thing.

This was our yard at capacity--12 cars


I still managed to get some editing done, but not at the pace I would have liked... I'm in a mad rush, though... Here I go!
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19 comments:

  1. ManzanitaSeptember 12, 2011 at 6:03 AM

    That is a unique idea for some extra cash. Also gives a good blogging post. Congrats on your creativity. Go Blue
    Manzanita@Wannabuyaduck

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  2. Ted CrossSeptember 12, 2011 at 6:05 AM

    Hmm, think the IRS will come after you now?!

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  3. Mary@GigglesandGunsSeptember 12, 2011 at 7:27 AM

    Good for you and your sideline -- football parking saved a friends house from foreclosure.
    Now get back to the edits ;o]

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  4. Deb and BarbaraSeptember 12, 2011 at 8:50 AM

    This is a pretty genius plan, Hart. Well done. And good luck with all edits!! B

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  5. Old KittySeptember 12, 2011 at 8:53 AM

    Ok! Man in blue - you forgot to paint the rest of you. Like the bottom half. Ahem.

    Yay for some NAKED enterprise!!!!

    Take care
    x

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  6. Alex J. CavanaughSeptember 12, 2011 at 9:31 AM

    Way to capitalize on an opportunity, Hart! Yeah, that was a scary close game.

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  7. Hart JohnsonSeptember 12, 2011 at 9:59 AM

    Manzanita- thank you!

    Ted-bite your tongue! Maybe we should have our kids collect the money...

    Mary-WOW--that is a HUGE save! Our situation isn't quite THAT desperate, though we do need it badly.

    Barbara-thank you!

    Jenny-teehee--he MIGHT have been all blue!

    Alex-yeah, and thankfully working again. We've had a few years far less successful. (very scary)

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  8. UnknownSeptember 12, 2011 at 10:52 AM

    GO BLUE! Love this, nothing like a little ingenuity to keep ya afloat.
    Sylvie

    http://www.sylviebranch.com/2011/09/last-year.html

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  9. Jessica BellSeptember 12, 2011 at 11:31 AM

    No rush on my press release :o) Take a breath! xoxo

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  10. Michael Offutt, Phantom ReaderSeptember 12, 2011 at 11:44 AM

    I would never want cars parked on my nice lawn that I work to keep manicured. Poor grass.

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  11. AnonymousSeptember 12, 2011 at 12:03 PM

    Wow!!!! That's crazy fun.

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  12. Johanna GarthSeptember 12, 2011 at 12:15 PM

    Sounds like a fun Sunday and a great way to score a new set of tires! Good for you for putting the two together.

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  13. LTMSeptember 12, 2011 at 1:49 PM

    you entrepreneur, you! :D That's hilarious. And I bet you DID have fun! Those regulars'll end up like family!

    good luck w/the editing~ <3

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  14. RaShelle WorkmanSeptember 12, 2011 at 4:56 PM

    It looks like your house was hopping. Glad you made enough for the tires. =D

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  15. CA HeavenSeptember 12, 2011 at 6:03 PM

    Good that you made money for tires and oil change.

    Fortunately, we live walking distance from the football stadium, so we don't need to drive >:)

    Cold As Heaven

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  16. Sarah AhiersSeptember 12, 2011 at 6:27 PM

    that's awesome! Extra money is always good. And i didn't get any editing done today either. I feel a bit bad about it, but i was so tired i took a nap.
    Still, i started a short story, so not everything was wasted

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  17. TrishaSeptember 12, 2011 at 8:16 PM

    I know it's a different Notre Dame, but I work at Notre Dame Australia! :D

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  18. Will BurkeSeptember 12, 2011 at 10:08 PM

    If you need to take some time off of the Blog to edit, we totally understand. But if this is your de-pressurizing time, good for us!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Julie HedlundSeptember 16, 2011 at 8:02 PM

    Go Blue!!! I totally WISH I had been in Ann Arbor last Saturday. We're considering coming for a game next year, and maybe I'll look you up so we can tailgate in your driveway.. :-)

    ReplyDelete

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