The Life & Times.....

New Location..?

2009-03-31T20:33:00.003-04:00

I am going to keep this short & sweet, since I am posting from work, and don't have my Live Writer, and stuffs. I have been toying with the idea of moving my blog to Wordpress, as it seems to have some cool features not available here. Well, I did. The new address for this blog is www.dawtch.wordpress.com
I have exported all of my posts and comments from here to there - or at least that's what the thingy said it was going to do - but have yet to move my links & widgets, so bear with me while I get things arranged - and probably re-arranged, if I know me, lol.
I am also pretty well over the Puzzle challenge, as the thrill of competition kinda dulls when there are no competitiors....I am positive I will continue to DO the puzzles, but probably will not continue to post the results. I am also going to make a concerted effort to post on a more regular basis - and yes, I am fully aware I have left you all (all 2 of you...) hanging on the HH Gregg stuffs...I haven't forgotten, just haven't been able to do it lately. Sorry.
Any ways, I will try - no guarantees. I really like getting comments. It lets me know I'm not talking to myself...or writing to myself (?). I know you don't HAVe to post comments, but encouragement is, well...encouraging. I'm just saying...
Ok gotta go for now, just about done. Lemme know whatcha think of the new template & location. I'm considering moving my other blog, too, but I really, really, really like the template, and unless I can find it in wordpress format, I may keep it where it is for the time being (in plain english..? Until I get tired of that theme...but I don't see that happening soon
:( )
See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention...I found a cool new blog surfing site called Condron - it's essentially a slide show of blogs that you can start and stop at whim...go check it out, it's pretty cool!
*grin*

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-31T08:40:00.001-04:00

Puzzle Title: Sharks in the Water
Puzzle Date: March 21, 2009
Elapsed Time: 10:17
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-30T08:28:00.001-04:00

Puzzle Title: Joining the Band
Puzzle Date: March 20, 2009
Elapsed Time: 9:22
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-29T10:03:00.001-04:00

Puzzle Title: Spy Game
Puzzle Date: March 19, 2009
Elapsed Time: 10:09
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-28T07:12:00.001-04:00

Puzzle Title: Give Me A Ring
Puzzle Date: March 20, 2009
Elapsed Time: 8:16
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-27T09:28:00.001-04:00

Puzzle Title: Home Furnishings
Puzzle Date: March 17, 2009
Elapsed Time: 10:56
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-26T09:06:00.001-04:00

Puzzle Title: Money To Burn
Puzzle Date: March 16, 2009
Elapsed Time: 8:12
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

50 Random Things

2009-03-25T23:17:00.001-04:00

Shamelessly stolen from The Vinyl Villager *grin*

1) Favorite object in your room?
My room..? I haven’t had “a room” since I moved out of my parents' house too many years ago to admit to…the favorite in my home – it’s a toss up between the dragon lamp on my desk and the “creepy” (as Hunny calls it) statue that to me is a representation of the Goddess (I’ll try to up a pic soon…)

2) Do you smoke?
I’ve been known to.

3) Do you own guns?
I used to

4) What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic?
Never been there

5) Do you get nervous at the doctors?
No, should I..?

6) What do you think of when you hear hot dogs?
What are they saying..?.

7) Favorite song?
Can’t pick just one…

8.) What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
Prefer..? what is there besides Coffee?

9) Can you do push ups?
Probably.

10) Can you do a chin up?
Probably

11) What’s your favorite piece of jewelry?
My wedding ring

12) Your pet peeves are?
We don’t really have all day do we? But I tend to agree with Villager - I guess my biggest one is people who drive in the left lane for miles even when they are being passed on the right….oblivious to the fact that they ought to move over.

13) Ever been in a car wreck?
Yes

14) Do you like to work on your Birthday?
Like to..? No. Do I..? Usually

15) What’s one trait that you hate about yourself?
Hate takes entirely too much energy to maintain…

16) Are you named after anyone?
Not that I know of

17) Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment.
Tired
Know I won’t sleep well :(
Tomorrow it all begins again

19) Name 3 drinks you drink regularly
water, coffee, and Coke

20)What’s your job?
Listening to stoopid people whine about problems that are entirely of their own making – and occasionally helping someone who truly has a legitimate problem not of their own making

21) Current hate right now?
See answer 15

23) Do your friend’s love you?
I think so

23) How did you bring in the New Year?
I’m pretty sure I was asleep – I had to be at work at 9 New Year’s Day

24) Where would you like to be right now?
Right where I am :)

25) Name three people who will complete this.
No idea.

26) Are you one of those people that thinks and talks about their life being unfair?
Nope! I am where I am because of the choices I made – just like everyone else. Quit sniveling, you did it to yourself, so get over it and go on. I have NO PATIENCE for “poor me”s

27) What shirt are you wearing?
blue sleep tank

28) Do you like sleeping on satin sheets?
No, they slide off. You slide off. The pillows slide off.

29) Can you whistle?
Yes I can

32) What songs do you sing in the shower?
I don’t sing in the shower.

33) Favorite girl’s name?
I don’t think I have a favorite girl…

34) Favorite boy’s name?
Well, I have several favorite boys – men…Hunny & my sons, so it’d be Tony, Mark & Shayne :)

35) What’s in your pocket?
no pockets in jammies

36) Last person that made you laugh?
Hunny

37) Best toy as a child?
The weeping willow in the front yard was pretty well even with the big oak on the side of the house, until we moved. Then it was the mulberry tree in the back yard

39) Do you love where you live?
Hmmmm, the house..? Pretty much, could be a little bigger. The location, better than the city, not as good as the boonies…

40) Do you give good advice?
I try.

41) Who is your loudest friend?
Ummmm, most of my “friends” are titty dancers – they’re all pretty loud

43) Does someone have a crush on you?
not that I’m aware of.

44) Favorite part about your weekend?
I work harder on the weekend than I do doing the week…

45) What are you gonna do for your next birthday?
Probably the same thing I did a month ago on my last one - SSDD

46) Favorite sports team?
I am sports challenged (by choice) and proud of it! Obviously, the person writing these questions didn’t know me.

48) Where is the next place you want to travel to?
Haven’t really given it any thought. No money for travel, and not much possibility of there being any anytime soon, so consideration of it is just depressing

49) What were you doing 12 AM this morning?
trying to sleep

50) What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up?
I can’t believe that boy isn’t up yet!

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-25T08:49:00.001-04:00

Puzzle Title: You Sound Different
Puzzle Date: March 15, 2009
Elapsed Time: 13:05
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-20T08:46:00.001-04:00

Puzzle Title: You Sound Different
Puzzle Date: March 15, 2009
Elapsed Time: 13:05
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-19T08:58:00.001-04:00

Puzzle Title: Constellation Revelations
Puzzle Date: March 8, 2009
Elapsed Time: 11:38
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

My Blog – The Life & Times…….

2009-03-18T23:28:00.001-04:00

Remembering my life. Chronicling it. That’s why I started this. How sad that the chronicle of my life has become a daily recitation of the puzzle I do each morning…Nothing about the temper tantrums my son has taken to having, and how tired I am of listening to him & Hunny go at each other constantly – tired to the point of tears. Nothing about the insecurities that have begun to surface as each day passes. No commentary on the struggle to get “the ends” at least within sight of each other – meeting not even an option at this point. The inability to sleep for more than an hour or two without waking up, therefore never really sleeping. The fear that the “other shoe is going to fall” because I know that despite how stressed I am, and what a struggle every day is, we still truly have it good. Trust me, I’ve had it bad, and this isn’t even close.When’s it going to happen, because it will. I’m not sure exactly what “it” is, but I’m fairly certain it will be about as far from pleasant as white is from black.

I tell myself “People don’t want to read that crap – they have their own problems!” But really? I started this for me. For us. To have a way to go back and say “Oh yeah! That happened then ! Now I remember!” because my mind is becoming a sieve. It’s scary. For a person who has always been able to remember every little detail about everything, this is a whole new world.

Nothing about the progression, the ebb and flow, of the “magical, musical pain” as I call it. How stress makes it hurt more. How the hurt makes the stress more. I intended this to be a diary of sorts, a place where I could “let it all hang out,” so to speak. I’m the “strong” one – always have been. I don’t need your sympathy, your help, your comfort, your approval. For over 30 years that has been the me that everyone – and I do mean everyone knows. No time to call and say “hey”? So what! Too busy to go to the parent/teacher conference, good deal. Can’t be bothered to remember my birthday..? Who cares? I don’t need these things from you – no matter who you are. I actually own a t-shirt that says “Fuck You! I have enough friends.” I’ll put up a pic if I can find it… But I digress.

I created this “place” so I could not be that person. So I could be insecure, and afraid, and lonely, and even occasionally needy. A place where I could be the one getting comfort instead of giving. Crying instead of embracing with support. I also wanted to record important, and not important things as they happened, so in my busy world, they didn’t get thrown into that horrid “someday” file that seems to be infinite in size, yet inaccessible when there are a few free moments to review the contents within. Yet my world seems to have become “someday.” At least, everything important has. Someday we’ll go to the zoo. Someday we’ll take a vacation, Someday…And I’m so afraid someday will never come, for one reason or another. Yet how do I change it? I don’t see a way around doing each day the way I’m doing it - I can’t not work, we barely make the bills as it is – feast or famine. I can’t even change my hours because I’m being held hostage by a school bus.

If I see my husband an hour a day, I consider myself lucky – seeing him sleep really doesn’t count as “seeing” him. My boy is asleep when I get home. In the mornings, he’s acting like a teenager in a 6 year old body. When your child is smart enough to find a loophole in every situation, and has the attitude of a teen, what do you do? I can’t really respond as I would to a teen – while he is intelligent he’s still a six year old emotionally, and he still follows six year old logic – he just uses college level words to do it…

Wow, I don’t even know what I’m doing here…apparently sleep deprivation tends to make one ramble – because anyone who is familiar with me knows I always stick right to my subject, and never wander from it….

Ok, going to go lay down and not sleep soundly. G’night!

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! And oh yeah – I haven’t forgotten HH Gregg – I will get there, eventually….:)

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-18T09:44:00.001-04:00

Puzzle Title: Bit of Uncertainty
Puzzle Date: March 7, 2009
Elapsed Time: 18:17
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-17T08:47:00.001-04:00

Puzzle Title: Travel Guide
Puzzle Date: March 6, 2009
Elapsed Time: 10:54
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-16T08:31:00.001-04:00

Puzzle Title: Date Book
Puzzle Date: March 5, 2009
Elapsed Time: 9:12
Hints Used: 0 Letters, 0 Words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-15T09:14:00.001-04:00

Puzzle Title: Two In The Kitchen
Puzzle Date: March 4, 2009
Elapsed Time: 7:05
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-14T07:07:00.001-04:00

Puzzle Title: Ties That Bind
Puzzle Date: March 3, 2009
Elapsed Time: 12:03
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-13T08:43:00.001-04:00

Puzzle Title: Pleasant Bouquet
Puzzle Date: March, 2, 2009
Elapsed Time: 12:26
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-12T08:37:00.001-04:00

Puzzle Title: Bent Out Of Shape
Puzzle Date: March 1, 2009
Elapsed Time: 8:24
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-11T08:58:00.001-04:00

Puzzle Title: Feeling Ill
Puzzle Date: February 28, 2009
Elapsed Time: 10:42
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-10T09:40:00.001-04:00

Puzzle Title: Going, Going Gone
Puzzle Date: February 27, 2009
Elapsed Time: 8:18
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

In Praise of HH Gregg – Chapter 5

2009-03-09T11:12:00.001-04:00

When last we checked in on our heroine, she was moving from the House of the Plants….LOL

Ok, We thought we had hit paydirt when we found the house we moved to. Nice neighborhood, out of Indy, good school district, close to friends, etc. And it was huge! 25600 sq. feet! What does a family of three need with 2600 sq feet? you ask. Well, somehow we have acquired a lot of “stuffs.” A lot. And you know, I’ve pared down with each move…

Oh wait – this is “In praise of HH Gregg” isn’t it? Remember I mentioned the dishwasher at the House of the Plants died..? Well after the first flood experience (I think we ended up with a total of 4 floods while there…) we decided that it would just be easier to use ours. It was new – well relatively new, we had bought it at the demon store (for you newcomers, that’s Best Buy) less than 2 months before we moved. So Hunny took the one that came with the house out to the huge shed, and put ours in. I was excited! I loaded ‘er up & turned ‘er on. 15 minutes later, I found water on the kitchen floor. A lot of it. (But not one of the aforementioned floods). The dishwasher was leaking. No biggie. Would be an inconvenience for a few days, maybe a week, but I had a warranty!

I called the demon store, they referred me to the manufacturer. I called the manufacturer, they referred me to a repair company they use. I called the repair company & made a warranty appointment for someone to come look at/fix it. A week later the repair guy informs me the seal . is bad, no way to fix, will have to replace. Ok, so maybe it’ll be a little more inconvenient than I thought – but still not so bad…But here is where I had to go back to the demon store. I shouldn’t have had to, the repaid guy called his company, who called the manufacturer, who contacted the demon store to tell them to replace it. Per the manufacturer, all I had to do was call them to schedule a time for them to bring out & install the replacement. If only that had been the case.

Me: Hi, I was told by (mfg) to call and schedule a time for you to bring out a replacement dishwasher & hook it up.”
demon store employee:”Oh, ok, let me transfer you to the appliance dept. They would set that up.”
Me: “Ok.”

**sitting on ignore, listening to bad music & even worse ads.

Next demon store employee: “Appliance dept, can I help you?”
Me: Hi, I was told by (mfg) to call and schedule a time for you to bring out a replacement dishwasher & hook it up.”
Employee: ”Ok, I just need to look up your warranty info.”
Me: ? Ummmm, I don’t really need warranty service. I already had service, and it’s been determined that it needs replaced. By the manufacturer.”
Employee: “Well, store policy says I have to follow these steps…I need your name, the item in question and the date of purchase.”
Me: “Oooooookaaaay…” and gave the requested info.,
Employee: “I show that was a (mfg) dishwasher,(model), that was purchased at this store, on (date), and taken the same day. We didn’t deliver or install it.”
Me: “Yes…”
Employee: “When would you like to bring in the bad one and pick up the replacement?”
Me: “Ummmm, according to (mfg) you guys are supposed to be bringing me a new one and installing it…”
Employee: “Oh no, unless we delivered and installed the original, we don’t do that. You’ll have to bring us the other one & pick up the replacement here.”
Me: “But (mfg) has told me that they are replacing it, and told me to schedule a time for you to bring it & hook it up..”

Do you see where this is going..?

Employee: “I’m sorry if there was a misunderstanding…”
Me: “What misunderstanding? (Mfg) said to me - ‘Call the store where you purchased the dishwasher and schedule a time for them to bring you a new one & install it. We are truly sorry you’ve had an issue with this one, but our policy is to make it right :)’ I’m not sure which part of that was misunderstood by me..? It seems pretty straightforward..”
Employee: “We’ll be happy to bring it out and install it for you -
Finally! Wait – that was too easy…
There is a $50 delivery/installation fee. Do you want to pay that now with a credit card?”
Me: “Ummm, is there a manager there?”
Employee: “I can check that for you..”

**Back on ignore for 10 minutes.

Demon store Manager: “Hi. My name is (name) and I’m a manager here at Best Buy (really?) I understand you have some questions about our warranty replacement policy?”
Me: “Ummm, no, I don’t have any questions. (Mfg) has determined that the dishwasher you sold me two months ago needs replaced. The seal around the door is bad and can’t be replaced. So they are replacing the whole unit. They have told me to call you & schedule the replacement. Delivery & install. Your employee wants me to pay for the delivery/install portion of that.”
Manager: “Hmmm,well let’s look at the original purchase…”

***clicking of computer keys
Manager: “Ok, I show that it was a (mfg) dishwasher,(model), that was purchased at this store, and taken the same day. We didn’t deliver or install it.”
Me: “Yes, we’ve already determined that…”
Manager: “ Oh well, I apologize, but our policy is unless we delivered and installed the original, we don’t do that. You’ll have to bring us the other one & pick up the replacement here.”
Me: “Ok, guess I’ll just go back to (mfg) and get this straightened out…”

I called the mfg back to clarify what I was contacting the demon store about. They said I needed to schedule delivery & installation, on them. I explained what I had been through. The little gal apologized profusely, and contacted the demon store while I held. She informed me it was “all straightened out” and I could schedule that service now.

Do you see where this is going..? It took two more weeks and I-don’t-know-how-many more phone calls to get this accomplished. On one call, the mfg did a conference call, I heard them tell the demon store manager that they were replacing the dishwasher, at their expense, including delivery of new unit, installation and removal of old unit, The manager “noted” it & referred me to the appliance dept to schedule. I had a repeat of the above conversation…Finally the mfg called and scheduled it, and about 4 weeks after it broke, I got my dishwasher replaced.

You see..? I always buy the warranty – and for good reason.

Damm! I’m outta time again, and haven’t even gotten moved yet…LOL. Oh well, such is life, and patience is a virtue! Gotta go get ready for work, again! So…to be continued!

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-09T08:55:00.001-04:00

Puzzle Title: Capital Gains
Puzzle Date: February 26, 2009
Elapsed Time: 11:59
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-08T10:04:00.001-04:00

Puzzle Title: Now Playing
Puzzle Date: February 25, 2009
Elapsed Time: 9:13
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-07T07:08:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Get Going
Puzzle Date: February 23, 2009
Elapsed Time: 6:50
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-06T08:47:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Snap To It
Puzzle Date: February 22, 2009
Elapsed Time: 7:53
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-05T08:31:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Completely Satisfied
Puzzle Date: February 21, 2009
Elapsed Time: 10:16
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-04T09:44:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Coming Out On Top
Puzzle Date: February 20, 2009
Elapsed Time: 9:03
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

In Praise of HH Gregg – Continuation

2009-03-03T11:11:00.001-05:00

Wow! This is turning into a book…lol

Ok, the last post ended with us moving. We found a nice(we thought)house. It was quite a bit smaller, but it did have a garage (kinda – I could get my car in it, but could not get out of the car, no room to open the doors…) and a huge storage shed out back, along with a big back yard with a privacy fence around it. The yard needed some work, the grass being kinda scraggly, but no biggie. All the carpeting was different colors, but despite less room total, the rooms themselves (except kitchen & dining room) were larger. We moved in May 1st.

On May 10th, at 11:30pm, I had a flood. It was Saturday night, the boy visiting at Stacey’s for the night (Thank Goddess!) and Hunny was at the race track. And when I say flood, I mean FLOOD! One of the main water lines in the wall between the kitchen and laundry room (ok, laundry closet – room for washer, dryer, hot water heater. period) broke. I had 2” of water throughout the hallway, kitchen, bathroom, and bedrooms, in a matter of about 3 minutes. I called the emergency number provided by the rental agency to get a recording directing me to call another number if I was calling about “an emergency.” I thought this qualified, so dialed the number. I was told by the nice lady(!) that answered that there wasn’t anyone available after 10 pm on weekends…

Me: “Ummm, I have a bit of a flood going on here.”
Her: “I’m sorry, we don’t have anyone available after 10pm on weekends.”
Me: “Ummmm, when I called the maintenance line given to me by the rental agency, it referred me here for after hours emergencies. Was that not accurate?”
Her: “Who’s your rental company?”
Me: **gave company name**
Her: “Yes, we are the after hours emergency service for them.”
Me: “Well, I think this qualifies as an emergency! My house has 2” of water throughout it”
Her: “But we don’t have anyone after 10 pm on weekends.”
Me: “Are you kidding me..? My house has 2 inches of water in it already & guess what? It’s still pouring out of the wall, and I have no idea how to shut it off!”
Her: “Well, I can see where that would be a problem.”
Me: “!?” :Ya think..?”
Her: “But I don’t have anyone…”
Me: “Yes, yes – you don’t have anyone available after 10 on the weekend. Do you understand what I’m telling you? Do you realize that water is quickly filling this house? Carpet is being ruined, walls are being ruined. Are already ruined? And the water is still flowing rapidly into the house..?”
Her: “I’m sorry, I don’t…
Me: “Yanno what..? That’s ok, it’s not MY property that’s being destroyed, and it won’t be my expense to fix it. Anything of mine that IS ruined will be replaced by YOUR company. I suggest you find SOMEONE available after 10 pm on a weekend, or there will be some major expense incurred, and I’m fairly certain that not only your boss, but the rental agency will be extremely unhappy when they find –oh I dunno, by tomorrow..? A FOOT of water throughout this house, all of my personal possessions in need of replacement, and that I did call to report it & got a runaround. I understand that as a rule people calling with emergencies tend to be exaggerating a bit, and that you really don’t want to wake your boss at 11:30 at night just to find someone freaked out over nothing. That is not the situation here. I have water pouring out of my wall at a rate of about 2” every five minutes. It’s been doing it for approximately 20 minutes now, there is standing water in the rooms that have carpeting to absorb it – three bedrooms, the hallway, the dining area & working on the living room carpets are fully saturated! But that’s ok, you don’t have anyone available after 10 pm on a weekend night, and I’ll be sure to let everyone who needs to know just how diligent you were about performing your job & giving me that information!”
Her; *silence*
Me: “Thanks for nothing, have a great night.” and I hung up. What other option did I have..?

I knew the water meter outside could stop the water to the house, but it was 11:30 at night, and a new home. I had no idea where outside it might be, or even if I could get to it if I found it. Meanwhile, water was still pouring out of the wall. I called Hunny and wonder of wonders he was actually on his way home – only about 5 minutes out. HE got the water off & the flood stopped. I also got a phone call from the “no-one-available-after-10pm-on-a-weekend on call person. Although by the time he called Hunny had the water off & was shopvac-ing the house. They sent someone from a flood restoration company out the next morning, who set up these huge fans throughout the house. They ran 24/7 for about a week. Wanna talk about relaxing..? Not.

We ended up having several more floods, mold growing in one of the closets & behind the formica in the kitchen, the kitchen center area broken & the counter pulled away from the wall. Mold under the sink. And I can’t prove it, but I’d almost guarantee mold under the carpets. Yeah, they never replaced them after all the flooding. At least not while we were there. IN addition to that, the wiring was all jacked up. If you ran the microwave & dishwasher at the same time, it flipped the breaker every time. Oh yeah, and their dishwasher died about a week after moving in so we had to use ours. Trying to get stuff fixed was a nightmare.

Now I’m sure many of you are familiar with my propensity to go on, and occasionally exaggerate a bit (what? I’m human – mostly) So, here are some visual props, to lessen your understandable doubts…

The hallway

My computer room – luckily I had that plastic floor/chair mat I could put everything on to get it out of the wet

Laundry area & Closet

The kitchen wall the formica & behind it on the wall

The kitchen island area

And this, my friends, was the final straw – this picture was taken in our bedroom when we moved out – yes, you’re seeing properly – that plant was growing out from between the wall & the baseboard…

So you see, no exaggeration this time! And did I mention the air conditioner that froze up in mid-July 100 degree heat..? And that we got all of this for the low, low cost of $850 a month..? Oh yeah – one more pic, our breaker box…

Well, it’s outta time I am again. The old demon work calls, and I must answer.

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-03T08:29:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Me Two
Puzzle Date: February 19, 2009
Elapsed Time: 8:45
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

In Praise of HH Gregg - Continuation

2009-03-02T10:51:00.001-05:00

Alrighty then We’ve gotten through the cars. Now I will move on to get you closer to where I was going with this. Closer – not necessarily there. I was going on about my luck with thing electronic & mechanical…while we’re on the subject, let’s not forget to include Sprint & the cell phone, ‘cuz, yanno, it’s electronical. . .I won’t go back over all the ugly details again, if you didn’t get em the first time, just click the links, they’ll take you to relevant posts.

So…last year, we moved right about tax time. Now I know houses aren’t mechanical, or electronic, but my “luck” apparently runs to them, too. I don’t think I’ve touched too much on that before, so I will do so now.

We lived in the same house for almost 7 years. We initially got it on a “rent-to-buy” type set up – the payments came outta Hunny’s check each week and were split between “principle” & “interest”. It was set up as a series of 6, five years leases, at the end of which we would “purchase” the home for $1. We also had the option to purchase at any point if finances allowed. After about 5 years, they did, so we went the mortgage route. Life was good. Our payment went from about $700 a month to about $500 a month. It was a fixed 30 year term. That’s supposed to mean your payment doesn’t change. Note I said supposed to.

But apparently, somewhere along the line, the taxes weren’t figured properly, so the amount we escrowed for them wasn’t right. By a whole bunch. On top of that, our mortgage was “sold” by the initial issuer – you know the one with human employees? That you could actually talk to..?It was bought by the Demon Store’s (Best Buy for you late-comers) big brother – The Demon Lender aka Wells Fargo.

I received a notice saying our payment was increasing by approximately (‘cuz I don’t remember the exact amount – I’ve slept since then) $200 a month. $200 a month! That’s a big jump on a “fixed rate mortgage.” I did what I could, and actually managed for a few months, but then I made a payment late. I freely fess up – I made the payment late. About 3 weeks so. And because I had jumped into that vicious cycle, each payment after that was about 3 weeks late. And the phone calls started. I tried to make arrangements with them, to send an initial amount, by a certain date,then add to each following payment, and I did so. But they claimed the payment arrived about four days later than it needed to, and hence, I “broke the agreement.” More phone calls.

I created a new agreement with “Haji” over the phone, and sent off more money on the date I agreed to. Again, it “arrived” late. WTF? I knew damn good & well I had sent it correctly. I‘m sure you can see the vicious cycle beginning here…? By this point, they want me to send them $800 “now” and $1000 a month to catch up. You see, every time I “broke” the agreement, there were additional fees…big surprise there, huh? For a minute, they almost convinced me I was the one fuc*ing up. Almost. I was very stressed, to say the least. But this time, I got smart. Rather than having my bank send it (something I rarely do, but it gave me an uninterested third party verification of when it was sent, so I had gone that way…) I decided I would send it Priority Mail, Signature Required. I got my receipt – with signature – back, and had verification that my payment had arrived two days before it needed to. But wonder of wonders, it didn’t post to my account until 5 days later. See where this is going..? Yep! Broke the agreement (and added hefty fees) again.This time they wanted another $1500 and $1200 a month…Not happening. My signature receipt..? Useless. As far as they were concerned, didn’t mean a thing. By this point, the combination of this & the fact that my car had burned to the ground was just too much for me. The stress was making me physically ill. Hunny and I decided we were done with them. But they had us screwed royally.

You see, they were reporting us 60 days out on the mortgage (we weren’t) and refused to revise it. On top of that, they were also the finance company on the Impala. The one that was now a burned out shell..? Now I know large companies tend to have large numbers of incompetent employees and poor communication, but what happened with the Impala borders on asinine. They were repoting us 90 days out on that car. The same car that my insurance company, and my GAP company had sent them payment in full for a month prior. (It gets better – a month after that they sent someone to our house to repo it!) Really!

What I was getting to was that not only were we screwed by them on our mortgage, we couldn’t refinance because we were screwed by them credit wise. Never mind every other account was reporting on time, consistent payments. Between the mortgage & car loan they were mis-reporting, no one would even look at a refinance…so we moved.

And I’m outta time :( So…..To Be Continued *grin*
See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-02T07:39:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Animal Magnetism
Puzzle Date: February 18, 2009
Elapsed Time: 11:52
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-03-01T09:23:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Playing The Blues
Puzzle Date:February 17, 2009
Elapsed Time: 9:36
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-28T07:12:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: LP Collection
Puzzle Date: February 16, 2009
Elapsed Time: 11:44
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-27T08:53:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Strike . . . Almost
Puzzle Date: February 15, 2009
Elapsed Time: 12:56
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-26T11:23:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Have A Heart
Puzzle Date: February 14, 2009
Elapsed Time: 9:07
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

In Praise of HH Gregg - Continuation

2009-02-25T11:10:00.001-05:00

OK, where was I..? Oh yeah, we’ve gotten through the Sunfire & The Monte…Next in line was the SUV I had for 3 days – Hunny said the payment was too high & it went back. So did the Pontiac Bonnevile, which he didn’t like. Don’t misunderstand, he didn’t MAKE me take them back, it was just easier than listening to him for the next I-dunno-how-many years. Since we’re talking about my luck with things mechanical, I’d like to add that the Bonneville, which I had for 4 days, had the gas tank replaced while in my possession…

the next vehicle was the Ford Explorer. That needed new shocks all the way around, and was a major gas hog. Since I drove from my house to drop the boy off at the baby sitter’s, 18 miles one way, then back to my house – okay 4 blocks from the house – to work, then back to get him & back home, that became an issue quickly…my babysitter, who I had also thought was a good friend, needed a vehicle, so I sold it to her on payments (no, I never learn…) That story will be included with the Firebird story…

I then bought a Malibu, Better gas mileage. Some old man ran a red light & t-boned me 6 months later. Probably the best car I’ve had recently was the one I traded the wrecked Malibu for. It was a 2001 Intrepid. I loved that car…handled like a Camaro, rode like a Cadillac. Someone in the parking garage ran into it & then took off, so I came out from work to find it wrecked. The Intrepid was traded for a Hyundai Sonata. That And the “buttons” quit working. I took it back to the dealership, and they essentially said “Unless they could reproduce the issue, as far as they were concerned, there wasn’t one…so I went down the road & traded it for my first brand new car.

I was so excited! It was a 2005 Impala. 13 miles on it. I had it for almost a year. During that time I had it in the shop 3 times for the gas mileage (my best mileage was 16 mpg highway…), and had the rear window replaced because the seal wasn’t seated around it properly. Then, Hunny was taking the older boy back home (about 50 miles away) on a cold, rainy night in December. About 30 minutes after they left, I got a phone call. So, at 11:00 at night, on a cold, rainy December night, I had to get my then three year old back up out of bed and go get Hunny & the older boy. The car caught on fire while driving down the interstate, in the rain.

The view when approached from the rear,

From the driver’s side,

The remains of the interior.

From the front

Yeah, that’s what is left when a 2005 Impala catches on fire going down the road in the rain…The car I currently have is what I replaced the Impala with. I won’t go into all the gruesome details, I’ve already given most of the experiences I’ve had with it here, here, and here…

Ok, outta time for today, gotta go get ready for work. But, I will eventually get to the point, and actually get to the HH Gregg part, I promise! So, to be continued……

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!

PS, did I mention we now have added a Beta fish to our growing menagerie..? I didn’t..? Oh, well consider it mentioned :)

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-25T08:56:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Drop Zone
Puzzle Date: February 13, 2009
Elapsed Time: 8:03
Hints Used:0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-24T09:01:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Can Do!
Puzzle Date: February 12, 1967
Elapsed Time: 12:33
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

In Praise of HH Gregg

2009-02-23T10:32:00.002-05:00

Yes, I’m aware I’ve been woefully negligent regarding posting here. But really there haven’t been many blog worthy moments in my life lately. The notable exception was the breakage and (eventual) repair of my washer. I always buy the warranty. I know better than not to. . .my luck with things mechanical, expensive, or badly wanted before gotten is shall we say not the best..? Better yet, let’s just say it like it is – horrible. And this isn’t a new occurrence, it’s been going on for years…

Back in 1999, my Firebird got wrecked, again (neither time my doing, I’d like to add) and I decided it was time to replace her. She’d seen better days. I ended up selling her to my sister-in-law. I went to the dealership and found a nice little 1997 Pontiac Sunfire. Only two years old, and less than 30,000 miles! It was the newest car I had even owned. After a week, I noticed the stereo controls on the steering wheel were getting hot. VERY hot. Almost to the point of blistering you if you touched them. I took it to the dealer, found it need not just new steering controls, but a whole new stereo. Two weeks to order in parts, so into a rental car I went. When the kid showed up with the rental car, I think I may have frightened him a bit…I have been told that I am a bit intimidating on the best of days. That wasn’t a “best” day…I had worked 8 hours, had sat at the dealership for 2 more hours, waiting on a diagnosis for the car I had bought ONE WEEK ago – hadn’t even made the first payment on it! and the kid from Enterprise showed up in a roller skate. Yeah, you read the right, a roller skate -

I’ll leave the actual conversation to your imagination, suffice it to say, when the kid came back with a real car, he brought 3 others with him…

So, two weeks later I got my new car back. I drove all of 1/2 a block and found the front was wobbling & clunking. I turned around and went back to the dealership, just to have some redneck mechanic *****try to tell me that it was caused by tar on my tires. ?! Are you serious..? Now I know I have bumps in my shirt and so couldn’t possibly have any kind of mechanical knowledge, but really? TAR? On the TIRES? of a car that has been sitting at your dealership for the last two weeks? That wasn’t doing it when I left it..? Ok, for the sake possible, I took it home, let Hunny drive it. I checked the tires for possible tar…uhhhh, no tar. But definitely clunking & wobbling. The next day back to the dealership I went. To sit. And wait. Again.
And again I got the redneck-talking-slowly-to-a-person-with-bumps-in-the-shirt spiel about tar on the tires. Now I’m pretty tolerant (what..? I AM!) and pretty well blew it off the first time. However, not happening twice.

Redneck: Yeah, that there wobble would be from where you done run it over some freshly repaired road & picked up a little bit of tar on the tires.”
Me: “Really? You think that’s what it is..?”
Redneck: ”Oh yeah, I’m sure of it! See it all the time!”
Me: “Wow, that’s funny, because it’s been HERE for the last two weeks while you repaired the stereo.”
Redneck: “Well, you musta picked it up after you left.”
Me: “I went 1/2 mile down that road (pointing to the NOT RECENTLY REPAIRED six lane rod that runs in front of the shop), then brought it back because of this.”
Redneck:” Well there had to have been something out there..”
Me: “Well, let’s go for a ride and you can show me the new repairs…”
Redneck: *starting to look uncomfortable*“Nah, can’t do that, gotta stay at the shop.”
Me: “Okay, well then let’s walk over to the car, and you can show me where the tar is at, so I can remove it & make it drive correctly..”
Redneck: “Well, a lot of times, it gets stuck up on the inside of the wheels where you can’t get to it.”
Me: “?”
Redneck: *looking even more uncomfortable, and starting to realize the bumps didn’t affect the brain in this instance**“Well, it happens all the time…”
Me: “Where’s the manager..?”
Redneck: “Ahhhh, he’s not here today.”
Me: “Really..?”

So I took myself up front to the sales service department and asked for the garage manager – who btw WAS there. After a 15 minute conversation, during which I gave him the gist of the previous conversation, he went out to the shop and drove the car a short ways. When he returned he indicated they would need to keep it to determine the problem. And yes, there was a problem. Turns out, in addition to the stereo stuff, it also needed new brakes, rotors & the rack & pinion replaced. Another four week stay. Another four weeks in a rental car.

And so it goes. After about a year of owning this car, I decided once and for all that I don’t like little cars. Did I mention I was backing out of the garage and hit Hunny’s truck..? In my defense, I had three teen-agers in the car with me…insurance fixed it, but a friend that owned a body shop did it as cheaply as possible so I didn’t have to pay the deductible…

Anywho, I went back to the dealership & traded it in on a 1998 Monte Carlo. Much bigger, more comfortable, price about the same. Three months after the purchase it started knocking. Loudly. Essentially overnight. It was “chugging” rather than purring. Down to the dealership I go. It was something to do with the coil pack. Not covered by the warranty (yes, I bought it) as it was considered general maintenance, part of the tune up process. $500 to repair…

Ok, gotta go beat the boy (joking!) who has managed to lock himself OUT of his room, and get ready for work. I will be back – and it’ll be less than 2 months, I promise. so, to be continued…..

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzz

* **** Know you, I have nothing against rednecks in general – Hell, I am one, as is my Hunny, most of our friends, my older children, and the boy is a redneck-in-training. The redneck men around me know not to talk down to me just because I have bumps in my shirt…The ones who have to interact with me may underestimate me initially (an advantage for me!) but soon learn their mistake. Usually I blow it off, but occasionally, as in the above example, it rankles…

;)

Edit: Yes, I know, this has nothing to do with HH Gregg - I'll get there, eventually - LOL

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-23T08:44:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: A Bittersweet Puzzle
Puzzle Date: February 11, 2009
Elapsed Time: : 12:16
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

For those who care, I am working on a post to put up here that isn’t puzzle related…stay tuned…

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-22T10:23:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Water On The Brain
Puzzle Date: February 10, 2009 (yes I skipped Feb9, I had it almost completed, and hit something on the laptop and closed the thing – I figured it would be inaccurate to go back and complete it when I already knew most of the answers…)
Elapsed Time: 13:24 (maybe I should have…the time would be bound to be better!)
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-21T07:13:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Questions In A Song
Puzzle Date: February 8, 2009
Elapsed Time: 14:34
Hints Used 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-20T09:56:00.001-05:00

Wow! Apparently I really AM losing my mind! Not necessarily going insane (how can you go somewhere you’ve been for years..?) but rather, looking at my scores/times over the past few days, losing my . . . I dunno, something ‘cuz my times have been SUCKING!

Puzzle Title: Give Em Some L
Puzzle Date: February 7, 2009
Time Elapsed: 18:11 – Do you see that. .? 18 minutes! pathetic!
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-19T09:41:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Sight Unseen
Puzzle Date: February 6, 2009
Time Elapsed: (I’m so embarassed…) 20:20 Oh alright! Sheesh! 20:20 – yeah you read that right – 20 minutes and 20 seconds…
Hints Used: 0letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-18T09:23:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Wet Blankets
Puzzle Date: February 5, 2009
Elapsed Time: 9:08
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-17T08:14:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Solving for How Long?
Puzzle Date: February 4, 2009
Elapsed Time: 12:19
Mints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-16T09:05:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Squealing For Fun
Puzzle Date: February 3, 2009 (The 21st anniversary of my 21st birthday!)
Elapsed Time: 14:53 (in my defense, today & yesterday were done on the laptop, which is way different than doing on the desktop…and which I’m not yet accustomed to)
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-15T10:53:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Family Matters
Puzzle Date: February 2, 2009
Elapsed Time: 12:56 OK, OK, it’s 12:56 – Sheesh* I was trying to save face…
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-14T07:03:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Child’s Hide & Seek
Puzzle Date: February 1, 2009
Elapsed Time: 10:41 (man I am SUCKING….)
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-13T08:20:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Travel Guide
Puzzle Date: January 31, 2009
Elapsed Time: 13:54 (bad, bad, bad – embarrassed to post…)
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-12T08:46:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: On Broadway
Puzzle Date: January 30, 2009
Elapsed Time: 6:49 (woohoo! That kinda makes up for the last couple…)
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-11T08:56:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Say What?
Puzzle Date: January 29, 2009
Elapsed Time: 10:25 (yuck!)
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

New Laptop! ! ! !

2009-02-10T20:58:00.001-05:00

Woohoooooo! Welcome to the first post from my new laptop! Yep, that’s right, Mama got the lion’s share of the tax check this year, and I got a laptop for my birthday, which is kinda fitting, since I haven’t really gotten a birthday present in years. Well, that’s not wholly true…last year, I got a Superbowl party at my house in my birthday. And the year before that I got to go to a hockey game…Have I mentioned that I’m sports challenged? By choice..? For those who aren’t good at reading between the lines – NOT A SPORTS FAN!

Anyways, this makes up for those birthdays. Just wanted to share…hopefully I’ll now be able to post more. At least that’s the plan…ok, gonna go play, see ya soon!

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-10T08:40:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Snack Pack – apparently you now have to watch a commercial before the puzzle will load. This is new today…
Puzzle Date: January 28
Elapsed Time: 11:43 (Wow, that sux!)
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-09T08:36:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Who’s The Boss
Puzzle Date: January 27, 2009
Elapsed Time: 10:33
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 Words

In an effort to make the puzzles more easily accessible, from today forward, the title will link to the day’s puzzle :)

Jodi

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-08T11:22:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Flap In The Breeze
Puzzle Date: January 26. 2009
Elapsed Time: 10:59 (Ewwwwwwwww)
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-07T07:06:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: For Petite Solvers Only
Puzzle Date: January 25
Elapsed Time: 9:40
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 Words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-06T09:51:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Playing With Frankenstein
Puzzle Date: January 24, 2009
Elapsed Time: 9:44
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-05T10:07:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Found at Home
Puzzle Date: January 23, 2009
Elapsed Time: 9:33
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-04T09:26:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Deciding The Easy Way
Puzzle Date: January 22, 2009
Elapsed Time: 9:10”
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-03T09:39:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Reading is Fundamental
Puzzle Date: January 21, 2009
Elapsed Time: 10:46
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-02T09:15:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Date: January 20
Puzzle Title: Warm & Toasty
Elapsed Time: 10:38
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-02-01T11:32:00.001-05:00

Yes, I know, I didn’t get yesterday’s puzzle up. But I didn’t do it. On Saturdays I have to be at work at9, which means leaving by 8. Which is just not good for me….I tried to do it at work, but our phones have been pretty well non-stop since the first of the year- no clue why, doesn’t seem to be any one particular issue, just everyone & their half-wit uncle-brother feels a need to call us, most of them without good reason. And they want to bitch about having to hold for 30 min before someone answers. Now tell me, how do I (or we, as a company) have any control over how many people call at any given time? We don’t. Therefore, if you call at the same time as 100 other people, you’re going to hold, and there isn’t anything we can do about it. There are plenty of people answering the lines, but when you call me to snivel that your cable isn’t working, and it turns out after 15 minutes of troubleshooting that you don’t have it connected/turned on, that’s 3-5 people who had to hold because you weren’t smart enough to check the cord & power buttons. So essentially, YOU’RE the reason for the long hold.

Ahem….sorry, mini-rant there. Ok onward and upward!

Puzzle Title: Good Thinking
Puzzle Date: January 19
Elapsed Time: 7:54
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-01-30T08:32:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Cheer Up

Puzzle Date January 17, 2009

Elapsed Time: 9:14

Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-01-29T10:08:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Date: January 16, 2009

Puzzle Title: Hollywood Cities

Elapsed Time 10:08 (ewwwwwwww)

Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-01-28T09:55:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Brotherly Love

Puzzle Date: January 15, 2009

Elapsed Time: 9:36

Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-01-27T10:34:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Formally Speaking

Puzzle Date: January 14

Elapsed Time: 10:47

Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-01-26T09:30:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Night Night

Puzzle Date: January 13, 2009

Elapsed Time: 9:48

Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

I Think I’ll Live & Today’s Puzzle

2009-01-25T11:42:00.001-05:00

Hey All, (Some of you may have already seen a post very similar to this…)

Sorry to drop off the face of the planet, so to speak, but I have been one sick witch! Since Sunday I have been under the weather (slight understatement...), but finally, Thursday after 4 complete bedding changes, literally having to change my sweat soaked sleepwear roughly every 30 minutes or so, unable to sleep, yet not really awake either - kinda in what I call lala land, and living on orange juice & alka-seltzer plus, I finally took myself to the prompt care at the hospital down the road. Where they "promptly" shooed me to the ER due to a BP reading of 198/126. (That was apparently caused by driving there while so sick...) Four hours, a shot of morphine (for the mega headache & lower back pain) and a bag of saline run into me later, Hunny took me home. I am finally starting to think I might live...not 100% yet, but considering I was functioning at maybe 15%, a definite improvement!

Thursday night was the first night since Sunday I didn’t have to get up every 30-45 minutes to change my sweat soaked jammies (only one change that night! woohoo!), I slept almost all night (morphine, maybe..?) and this morning I was able to assess my house (OMG! can we say TRASHED!?!) and actually make some headway towards making it a home again. My Hunny did his best to take care of me, bless his heart, he even went to the store. No biggie you think..? This is the man who hates to shop so much that when he needed an axe, I was the one to go to Lowes for it, LOL! And he went several times...

I have been off work most of a week (if you remember, I tried to work Monday, but that didn't last beyond 2 or 3 hours), and according to the doc will remain off until this coming Monday. I have been off of EVERYTHING. . .I didn't even look at my computer until Friday night, so I am going to try to get thru the 124 emails in my inbox (most of them digest form...) and hopefully get caught up on the news, comics, and various other things I’ve missed.. My plan includes this a.m. resuming the horoscopes, and I am going to try to respond to anything that had been pointed in my direction *grin*

Alrighty, here is today’s puzzle stats, then I’m off to dive into the mailbox, and hopefully not drown :) Oh yeah, someone asked me if I shouldn’t be giving the number of letters as part of the daily puzzle stats (hi Tom! *waving*). That isn’t one of the pieces of info provided as part of the puzzle completion info. I know I could probably go count the letters, but since I am essentially LAZY, that’s not happening any time soon….

I was also asked for the location of the puzzle instructions…just take yourself to the site, and there is a “Help” link. If you click that it’ll take you to instructions :)

Puzzle Title: Weekly Reader

Puzzle Date: January 12, 2009

Elapsed Time: 8:40 (not too shabby, all things considered…)

Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! ! ! !

Today’s Puzzle

2009-01-19T07:22:00.001-05:00

Oh my Goddess, I feel MISERABLE! Apparently my body’s thermostat is broken, and now only offers two temperatures – sweating & goose bumps, often at the same time…I had to get up and change my pajamas 3 times last night, because they were sweat soaked. I slept 9 hours, minus the times I woke up, which as usual were many, and I’m fairly certain I could crawl back in the bed and continue to toss & turn & drift for the rest of the day and tonight, too. Ughhhhhhhh. And, I volunteered to work today. Whether I make it the whole day remains to be seen…

Anywho, here’s today’s info:

Puzzle Name: Director’s Cut

Puzzle Date: January 11

Elapsed Time: 9:15

Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Ughhhhhhhhhh

Today’s Puzzle

2009-01-18T10:14:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Date: January 5, 2009

Puzzle Title: The Fish Are Jumping

Elapsed Time: 11:20

Hints Used: 0 letters, ) words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-01-16T09:17:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Sharon Petersen ( I have a cousin who used to have that name – almost…)

Puzzle Date: January 4, 2009

Elapsed Time: 9:29 ( I was NOT ready to get up yet…)

Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

I’m starting to think I’m talking to myself, here. Or at least have issued an empty challenge – although I did get one response, I haven’t seen any indication of participation yet. Oh well. I will continue to do my puzzles each morning. Goddess knows, I have enough problems with remembering shit as it is, I can’t imagine how it would go down hill if I quit exercising my brain…

Today’s Puzzle

2009-01-15T09:29:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: On The Level

Puzzle Date: January 3, 2009

Elapsed Time: 8:34

Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-01-14T09:43:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Title: Finding Closure

Puzzle Date: January 1, 2009

Elapsed Time: 6:37 (ahhhhh, that’s more like it – I was starting to worry bout myself for a few…)

Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-01-13T09:43:00.001-05:00

Puzzle Date: December 31

Puzzle Title: Solid Foundations

Elapsed Time: 8:37 (much better!)

Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

Today’s Puzzle

2009-01-12T09:47:00.001-05:00

…And yes, I know, these posts don’t really count as posts, and I intend to get a real one up soon….I am actually considering creating a blog just for the puzzle stuffs, but not sure I’m that energetic.

Anyways, here’s today’s:

Puzzle: I’m OK

Elapsed Time: 13:39 (still pretty ewwww…)

Hunts Used: 9 letters, 0 words

Ok, gotta git, boy needs dressed, prescriptions need filled, eye doctor need seen & works awaits…

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! ! ! !

Today’s Puzzle

2009-01-11T09:04:00.001-05:00

Puzzle: Here’s Tool You

Elapsed Time: 14:38 (pathetic!)

Hints Used: 0 words, 0 letters

Today’s Puzzle

2009-01-10T07:11:00.001-05:00

Get Up
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words
Elapsed Time: 11:22

How’d you do..?

See ya laterzzzzzzzz!

Puzzles

2009-01-09T09:40:00.001-05:00

Good Morning – if there is such a thing as a good morning…Anyone who visits regularly (yes, all two of you) know that I don’t wake well. Part of my morning routine everyday, to get myself functional & awake, is a crossword puzzle.
“Crossword puzzle in the morning?” you say.
”Yes, crossword puzzle…let me explain. Your brain is much like any other muscle in your body – the more you “work” it the “stronger” it is. When I wake up, all of my muscles or tight, achy, and not wanting to respond to the commands I send them. Coffee – oh sweet coffee! – helps the physical things start working, slowly but surely. But that is pretty much useless if my brain is still foggy and fuzzy. When you do a crossword puzzle, you force your brain to start “working” – thinking. Just like trivia (another morning routine) does. When I start the puzzle, a lot of times the clues really don’t make sense. But as I progress through it, it gets easier & easier. By the time I’m done, my brain is “awake” and ready to go for the day. The puzzle does for my mind what the coffee does for my body.
”I hate crosswords! They’re too hard” you say.
”Really? Doesn’t that bother you..?” I ask. Every time you do one, you put your brain into high gear, you learn a little better not to take things at face value, and you increase you vocabulary & knowledge. Aren’t those things you’d like to do?
Anywho, my point is, I am going to start recording my times here, so I can look back and see how I’m doing…and I challenge you to see if you can catch up – or even pass my time! Let me also say, if you accept the challenge to do this daily, and you aren’t a regular “puzzler” don’t get discouraged and quit after 3 days of high times. You have to allow your brain time to adapt & adjust, and get itself into the proper mode to do this. After a short time, you’ll notice an increase in your “brain activity,” as well as increased alertness & awareness of the things & people around you. It’s your choice, if you prefer to stay in a fog & use as little of your mind as possible, by all means do so. If you want to join me in this here’s what to do:

Go to The Puzzle Society.
When you get there, under “Archive” you’ll see a drop down menu, click on it and choose “January 7” then click on the word “click” under it.
When the puzzle loads, chose “Options”
You’ll want check marks next to “show clock” in the first row, and “regular” under Skill Level. Then click OK
When you get back to the main page, click “Play Now” and start solving. It will automatically track your time, number of clues solved, and number of hints used (you’ll see the hints option when you open the puzzle itself).
When you’ve finished, you’ll get a screen that looks like this:

There you have your stats! Ok, here’s mine for today, to start things off:

Puzzle: January 7th “Sauce Sample”
Elapsed Time: 8:49
Hints Used: 0 letters, 0 words

I’d love to hear from others who decide to do this – how long did it take you to get into the “rhythm?” Did you get frustrated? Did you get over it *grin*?

Ok gotta go for now.
See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! ! !

you have your stats!

My Christmas Post grin (only 4 days later…)

2008-12-29T10:38:00.001-05:00

Well, Christmas has been and gone. I think it was a success here in Camby, IN. The boy cleaned up on gifts, even though he wasn’t the epitome of good. Matter-of-fact, he wasn’t even really close…but such is life with a six year old :)
I love Christmas! It’s my favorite time of year. I mean c’mon, my blog has a Christmas theme all year long – when it co-operates…But it’s over too soon. Not two days after, people are taking down decorations like they can’t wait to get on to the next big thing…*sigh* such a let down. You get this three month build-up, inundated with Christmassy stuffs, then BOOM day after, there’s Valentine’s Day stuff in the stores. . .Hell, I saw it in some stores even before Christmas. . .

Anyways, here’s some pics of our Christmas. . . Here’s the boy checking on the milk & cookies left for Santa

The mostly empty milk glass

The “present” Santa left on my carpet…nothing like cleaning up a dirty, ashy boot print first thing in the morning *grin*

The haul…

The only non-toy in the bunch

You can’t tell from the pic (my timing isn’t the best…) but he really did like this

Pokemon – Always a winner!

Apparently the hit of the day…

And let’s not forget the “Demon Digger” aka remote controlled Grave Digger monster truck…”Why do you call it “Demon Digger”? you ask. “I’m getting there!” I say. This was ostensibly the boy’s present, but (of course) Dad had to “try it out” first…and the poor cats were his unwilling victims>>

If you look really close, you’ll see Hunny at the controls – the Demon Digger is coming out from under the coffee table at this point.

Here’s Bel hiding from said Demon Digger

Follow the arrow, Bel is hiding on the bottom of the table

Jingles is actually jumping backwards in this pic

Can you see him? Hiding under the table, as the Demon Digger approaches in a full out frontal assault..?

The only black spot on an otherwise wonderful holiday was the IM I found waiting for me on my computer when I got back from the in-laws and finished getting everything ready (for the folks who ended up unable to make it). That message was from my best friend D. My younger than me, stay at home mom best friend. We had made plans for Shayne & I to go over to her house Tuesday, when I’m off. My boy LOVES her house :). The message said

We’re going to have to cancel Tuesday’s play date. I had a heart attack last night & I’m in the hospital…etc., etc., etc.”

Needless to say, at 6:30 Christmas Day night I was flying to the hospital. Turns out she actually had several heart attacks, and had a stent inserted in her heart. She’s home now, but still….

Okay, I’m pretty much outta time, gotta go get ready for work – nose to the grindstone and all :) All in all, we had a good Christmas. I have more pics – will I get them up on here..? That’s a big, definite MAYBE…I hope all of you (all three regular readers *grin* and any first time visitors as well) had as good a holiday as we did. (Minus the whole best-friend-having-a-heart-attack thing)

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! ! ! !

Unexpected Day Off

2008-12-23T18:02:00.001-05:00

Guess I spoke too soon about being on a roll…thanks for not pointing out my shortfall :) But here I am. I now have a clean, perfectly shiny kitchen/downstairs bathroom/laundry room/pantry! Well ok, perfectly shiny as long as you overlook the cat paw & butt prints…

What am I doing mopping my floor on a not-my-Tuesday-off you ask? Funny you should mention it. You see, it’s like this….
I got up & functional just like normal for a late Tuesday today. The boy had his breakfast, and spent a peaceful morning watching Sponge Bob. I actually had a bit of peace…got dressed, got the boy dressed, told him to gather up some toys to take out to Uncle Mike’s, and he did it the first time I told him…He asked me to make the label for his DVD, which he’s been asking me to do for several days, so I sat down to do that, just to find that apparently the part of my PictureIt! program required to make labels is yet another victim of the cable installer. And if that wasn’t bas enough, I apparently have every software disc for Works! that came with my computer, except the one that program is on. Yep, that’s right! I have 1, 2, 4 &5, but no 3. Go figger *sigh* I’ll hafta to go to the Microsoft website later to see if I can get it there, without having to pay an arm & a leg…Needless to say, the labels still haven’t gotten made :(

So, off we go, over the river & through the woods to Uncle Mike’s we go, the horse knows the way…ahem, but we do go over a river & through a woods….I dropped the boy and headed to the nail place to get my nails repolished – no I’m not that lazy, just that unskilled. Besides, in my defense, it is an unusual polish job, see..?

Wow! They say you can tell a person’s age by their hands…I must be about 80….

Anyways, as I was driving to the nail place, I was talking to Hunny, as usual. Mind you it’s a dreary gloomy day in Indiana today, cloudy, and it was just starting to rain – or so I thought. My first stop, as always, was Speedway, to get some iced coffee. (They have the best french vanilla iced latte! Starbucks..? What’s Starbucks..? You mean that over-priced, bitter after-taste stuff that advertises itself as coffee..? Ewww – Speedway’s is much better – and cheaper!)
***Background note – Hunny replaced my front rotors & brake pads back in July because every time I hit the breaks it was like being on one of those old exercise belt machines – are you old enough to remember these..?

My point is, the brakes were just replaced in July. By August, I had the same damn vibration when I hit them. About a week ago, they started grinding. When I told Hunny, he said there’s no way. Be that as it may, they are grinding.
So, as I’m crossing over the interstate on my way to Speedway, the light turned red. I hit the brakes. My car kept going. Oh Shit! It did finally stop 1/2 way through the intersection. Luckily there weren’t any cars coming off 70. Ok, I think, it’s a little slick. I hit the gas, I went fine. Traction control didn’t come on. But at the next light, we again barely stopped.
Me: “Oh great! I have no brakes.”
Hunny: “What..?!?”
Me: “I…have…no…brakes!”
Hunny:”Are you sure..?”
Me: “Well, since I pressed on the brake pedal and the car didn’t stop, it’s a safe bet…”
Hunny: “Are you sure it’s not the roads?”
Me: “I guess it could be, but I can take off fine, and my traction control hasn’t kicked in.”
Hinny: ”Is the button turned on?”
Me: “I don’t think it has a button, I think it’s automatic..”
Hunny: “It has a button…” *it does, he was right*
Me: “Well, it came on the other night when it was snowing, and I haven’t changed anything, so I would say it’s still activated.”

Turns out it was indeed the roads. Although my warranty expired a week ago, so….I limped on into Speedway, then on to the nail place. At about 25 mph. I still had plenty of time to get to work, as it was only about 12:45 at this point – though it is a good distance…see..?

I got in, got done & left. It was about 2:00 or so when I left. I was calling work to tell them I was driving on a sheet of ice and might very well be late when Hunny called to say he hadn’t heard from me & was worried. (side note – any time I am driving & on the phone, I use a bluetooth device, so I don’ wanna hear bout no “hang up the phone & drive” comments from the peanut gallery…) I got voicemail at both numbers I tried, so called Hunny back to let him know I was fine & on my way, and why I didn’t answer. At this point, traffic was moving at about – oh, I dunno, 10 mph..? He said 36 was at a crawl, too. It took me about 15 minutes to get to my turn, but I caught a break and hit it on green – although that’s not really that exciting when you’re going 5 mph…So, I barely hit the break, start to turn right, and my car turns for 1/2 second, then goes straight – straight at the median, and the mini-van just on the other side of it…Of course, I was saying “Shit, shit, shit…” the whole time, and Hunny is on the line going “What?!? What?!?!” then a big thud. I thought sure she was gonna jump the median – it’s just one of those little ones, maybe 2, possibly 3 foot across, and about 8 inches high? – and plow into the mini-van, but she was looking out for me, I guess. We hit the median and stopped. Whew. About that time Hunny’s asking “Did you wreck? You okay? Didja total it?” “Nope, just hit the median while turning at 5 mph…” “Call into work, I don’t want you driving across town on these roads.” I told him I’d be fine if I could make it to the interstate, but he said they were just as bad, apparently 74 was shut down for a 15 car pile up.

I was going to go get the boy, but he had a friend there today so wanted to stay “until Daddy comes”. SO, I am at home, no husband, no kiddo, and taking advantage of it to mop the kitchen/downstairs bathroom/laundry/room/pantry. And so we go full circle & I’m back where I started *grin* I keep telling you there is a method to my madness…LOL

Ok, gotta go, stuffs to do.
See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Here I am Again!

2008-12-17T12:44:00.001-05:00

Well., it seems I’m on a roll here! I am actually posting AGAIN! What’s up with that..? LOL

We officially have snow…well okay not snow, ice. On everything…The school bus is running on a two hour delay – one hour for me, since the boy goes to afternoon class – and I get to be late for work. Aren’t I lucky..? I hate, hate, hate being late! It’s one of my things. But, what can I do, I’m at the mercy of the school system. Again. I already had to make my schedule even screwier than it already was to accommodate the whole school thing…Oh well, such is life :)
On another note, I’m not sure what to do about my boy & sleep. Yes, yes, I know all children fight bedtime. But this goes a bit beyond fighting bed. You can put him in bed. He still stays awake. Until ungodly hours. He usually falls out about midnightish, and he’s back up at six. Every day. I wish I could function on six hours of sleep, regularly. I’d get a helluva lot more done! But I can’t. As a matter-of-fact, me & only six hours of sleep is a dangerous combination for those around me….one which unfortunately will be experienced by many tomorrow…
You see, today is my “niece’s” birthday party. So after school, my boy is going over there for the party & staying until I get off of work. After work I get to drive down there (it’s only about 20 miles outta the way…) and pick him up, which is going to put me late getting home & to bed, obviously. ‘Cuz I’ll hafta fight him for an hour, before I can even consider going to sleep myself.
“What..?” you say, “that’s not so bad!”
”Yeah” I say, “not in and of itself…”
But you didn’t let me finish! Tomorrow is the day Jingles & Bel get to go “see the vet” if you know what I mean. (Yes, I believe firmly in neutering and spaying. I have nothing against cute little kittens – I LOVE cute little kittens –but there are way too many that no one loves that end up as not so cute, dead little kittens.) We have a clinic here in Indy called FACE. This is a low-cost spay & neuter clinic – as well as doing general veterinarian type stuff. It is also located very close to where I work – woohoo, I caught a break! Oh yeah, did I mention that I have to have them there at 6:30 am..? And that I live waaaaayyyy far from where I work…?
”So they hafta be there early” you say, “what’s the big deal..? And you’re wandering again…”
Well, you didn’t let me finish…When you add in the information above – that I have to go to my sister’s to pick up my boy. That isn’t simply a run-in-and-grab-the-boy-and-go trip. It will entail visiting. Did I mention she has a good friend of ours staying with her..? Tattoo Billy is renting her garage apartment currently. Yeah you read that right…TATTOO Billy. Who does tattoos. To which I am addicted…did you know that about me..? Have I ever mentioned the 40+tattoos I sport in this venue..? I can’t remember if I have or not, but there it is. I am not only a witch, I am a heavily tattooed witch *grin*

This is my right arm

My left arm…

My lower right leg…

The rest of my right leg, and a peek at my left, along with my pregnant belly….

The back of my neck (obviously…)

The rest of my back (twenty-five pounds heavier…)

So there you have a partial view of my tattoos….my, I DO wander, don’t I..? What in the world was I talking about, hmmmm, lemme go back up and see…..oh yeah! Picking the boy up from my sister’s house where her roommate is Tattoo Billy…well, I guess that wasn’t TOO big of a stretch…Anywho, the point I was getting to was I have a fairly recent tattoo, done in all red, that has hollidays (bare spots) that need filled in. And Billy will be there, so I may be tempted….the problem is, I have to get up at oh, I dunno, 4:30, to have the boy out to Uncle Mike’s and make it to FACE by 6:30…so I won’t get much sleep today, erm, tonight. And tomorrow is going to suck for whoever has to deal with me.

Oh yeah, did I mention at any point that we’ve been having behavior issues on the bus..? I don’t think I did. We’ve been having behavior issues at home, too, both of which started about the time of this last move. He received a “red light” for not listening about a month ago. They have a system that uses yellow & red lights – the yellow is a warning, and when the warning isn’t heeded enough times, then a red light is sent home to be signed by the parents and returned. Then about a week ago, I got a letter from the aide on the bus, and the boy had to write “I will do what I am told when on the bus” three times and return it. She also made it a point to call me and tell me that he’s a sweet, loving boy who is essentially very good, he just won’t listen – yeah, I’m aware, and we’re working on it.
I truly believe it is stemming from the move & upheaval recently, but still haven’t figgered out how to counter-act it…
The reason I find this blog-worthy is the incident that happened last night, and the following disagreement/discussion between Hunny & I. You see, my boy hit another kid on the bus last night. Actually, he elbowed him. In the face. Hunny was very upset about this. I am not.
”What?!?!?” you say, “how can you NOT be upset about your child elbowing another child in the face?” you ask…
Well, you need some background to get to that answer. (Yes, I’ll probably wander a bit, but I’m sure it’ll all tie in – it usually does…) Going waaaaaayyy back to before our boy was born (Please step into the Wayback Machine…)
I was working at an Osco’s downtown. Across the square was an O’Mallia’s (kind of a high-end grocery market). One day on my lunch, Hunny had come to visit. We were sitting outside, when a dirty, disheveled, scrawny (read: crackhead) man came running out of the store, followed by a young girl who indicated he had stolen some stuff and run. Hunny being the man he is went after him. He caught him – for a minute, until the guy sliced his arm open. But Hunny wrapped it up in a towel and continued after him…it eventually took six cops tackling him to bring him down.It also took 17 staples to close up Hunny’s arm.
“Wandering” you say “How is this even remotely relevant..?”
”I’m getting there” I say ”have patience”
I relate this story to emphasize Hunny’s character, and to demonstrate how he responds to certain situations. If it isn’t “right” he will attempt to do something about it, rather just stand on the sidelines and watch. I am the same way. Neither of us is going to allow ourselves – or anyone within our scope – to be bullied or abused. We are teaching our children those values, which I firmly believe to be the right ones. I also think that so far, we’re doing ok.
Another anecdote: When my older boy was in high school, a kid that was a very good friend of his – one of the few he actually brought to the house – slapped a girl, within his sight. My son stopped him the best way he knew. The school then proceeded to try to punish him for his actions. Needless to say, I didn’t support such punishment. I’ll not support punishing my child for doing the “right” thing. He saw a “man” abusing a “woman” and stopped it, because that isn’t acceptable in our world.
These are two of the people my boy idolizes above all others. He follows their example. I have no problem with that, as those are examples of how a person should be.
One more side-note, then I’ll get to the meat of the matter, I promise. Hunny is very big on not tattling, but rather trying to handle the situation yourself. During the party, I know I heard him say at least ten different times “Stop tattling” when the boy – or one of the other kids - would come to say someone had done something (as kids are wont to do).

Now, back to the bus…
While coming home last night, I called Hunny, as I always do. The relevant part of the conversation went something like this…
Hunny: “Your boy got in trouble on the bus again tonight.”
Me: *sigh* “What’d he do now..?”
Hunny: “He hit a kid on the bus.”
Me: “He what?!?! Why would he do that?”
Hunny: “Apparently the kid took his candy cane…”
Me: “So he hit him with reason..?”
Hunny: “They aren’t supposed to have any candy out on the bus.”
Me: “OK, but that’s beside the point. Did he hit the kid with reason?”
Hunny: “If he hadn’t had the candy cane out, the kid couldn’t have taken it and broke it.”
Me: “So he not only took it, he broke it too?”
Hunny:”Yeah. But if he hadn’t had…”
Me: “Is he in trouble for having candy out on the bus?”
Hunny: “No. He elbowed a kid.”
Me: “If he’s not in trouble for having the candy out, then it’s irrelevant. He’s in trouble for hitting a kid that took his candy cane and broke it..? And you agree with that?” (said with great incredulity.
Hunny: “He hit a kid!”
Me: “Apparently a kid that was bullying him…”
Hunny:”They aren’t supposed to have candy of any kind on the bus.”
Me: “???" We’re back to the candy. He’s not in trouble for the candy, he’s in trouble for defending himself…”
Hunny: “But if he hadn’t had the candy out the kid couldn’t have taken it.”
Me: “Agreed. But that’s not what he’s in trouble for, right..? So it’s a moot point. If he were in trouble for having candy on the bus, which is against the rules, I’d be all good with that. But he’s in trouble for doing what we’ve taught him to do..?”
Hunny: *silence*
Me: “Does that about sum it up..?”
Hunny: “But they aren’t allowed..”
Me: “Yes. yes, I fully understand! No candy on the bus. He’s not in trouble for having candy. Leave the damn candy out of it. Until he’s being punished for having candy on the bus it doesn’t f*&king matter if he is or isn’t supposed to have candy on the bus.”

***side note – none of this is screaming or hollering, we are lucky to be able to discuss differences in a normal tone of voice, even if we do occasionally use inappropriate language….

Hunny: “It does matter. If he didn’t have it…”
Me : “Ok. He had candy. He’s not supposed to have candy. Got it. But even so, that doesn’t make it okay for another kid to take it & break it. Even if he was trying to “enforce the rules” the proper way to do that would be to alert an adult that a rule is being broken, not by taking it into his own hands. Was it a bigger kid?”
Hunny: “I dunno, I didn’t ask.”
Me: “It sounds to me like a kid was trying to bully him & Shayne took it upon himself to not allow that to happen. On the night bus there are bigger kids…”
Hunny: “If that were the case, he should have told someone, not hit the kid.”
Me: “Really..? *note the sarcasm in this statement* How many times did you tell him – just on Saturday – not to tattle..?”
Hunny: *silence, again*
Me: “I’m fairly certain I heard it come out of your mouth at least 10 times just on Saturday…”
Hunny: *more silence*
Me: *waiting*
Hunny: “So you mean to tell me that if someone snatched your purse, you’re not going to tell the police, you’re going to chase ‘em down and stomp their ass..?
Me: “ What did you do when you saw a shoplifter running out of a store..?” (see there is a method to my madness…lol)
Hunny: *silence* (are you beginning to see a pattern here..?)
Me: “What would Tony have done? What would Mike have done? What would CW have done? What would you have done? For that matter what would I have done..? You can’t be mad at him for doing what we’ve taught him to do and being what we’ve taught him to be.”
Hunny: *muttering* “So we’re raising a little thug.”
Me: “NO! If he had hit the kid to take away the kid’s candy..? Then you could say we’re raising a thug. Then we WOULD have issues, ‘cuz I’ll be damned if I’m raising a bully! But he didn’t, he defended himself. I’d just about bet a paycheck the kid is bigger, and Shayne isn’t the first littler kid he’s done something like this to. And I’ll bet he thinks twice before taking something from some other little kid.”
Hunny: “Maybe. But what would you have done if he had broken his nose or something..?”
Me: “The exact same thing I’m doing now! If he deserved it, he deserved it! If it was a bigger kid, I hope he did hurt him, and not only that I hope he embarrassed him! Maybe he’ll think twice next time!”
Hunny: “He still shouldn’t have hit him with an elbow…”
Me: “What should he have done? Sissy slapped him like a little girl? Have you taught your son to fight like a girl? Is that what you want?”
Hunny: “No. I taught him to fight like a boy. Karate has taught him to fight like a boy.”
Me: “Then why would you think he would do anything else..?”
Hunny: “He still shouldn’t have had the candy out, then none of this would have happened…”
Me: “Grrrrrrr….You’re right, he shouldn’t have. But he did. And a kid took it and broke it. And he hit him. And as far as I am concerned he was justified. And I have absolutely no problem going to the school, the transportation department head, the bus driver or the kids parents, and making it clear that I will not punish my child for doing what he did. You want to punish him for having the candy out? Fine, I’m all good with that. But for defending himself against what is probably a bully..? No way. Not happening!”

Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think so. I talked to my boy when I got home and asked him if it was a kid in his class. No. Was it a kid in Alec’s class (the other kindergarten class). No. So it was a bigger kid. I told him it really isn’t ok to hit someone in most situations, like if you’re just mad, or don’t like them, but it is ok to defend yourself. We also talked about the candy. He said he was really hungry. I can see that, he hadn’t eaten since 11ish, and doesn’t get off the bus til almost 4. I’m not sure where this will go, but I stand by what I said, and I will defend him – and his actions - if necessary.

Okeedokeee…now that I’ve rambled away atcha, I need to go get ready for work. I always appreciate input…..

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!

The Birthday

2008-12-15T10:24:00.001-05:00

The party is over & the mess is cleaned up…and as you can see, the comment left by the wonderful person on my last post lead me to what was necessary to fix my font issue in Live Writer! What a man (or woman…you can never tell…) Either way, wlwbrandon is my hero of the day!

Ok, on to the party. I actually have pics on the puter & am going to post them. That’s gotta be some kind of record….

Here are some of the guests. No, none of them are in-laws…these are family members by choice. Don’t get me wrong, I like my in-laws, they’re good people, and some of the horror stories I have heard about in-laws…I’m thankful for the ones I have. There are just underlying issues, and I don’t always agree with their actions – which is okay, because they probably don’t always agree with mine. But they know I’m and ex-titty dancer & are good with it. They know I am a practicing witch & seem to be good with that, too. That’s more than a lot of people get.

Ok, enough wandering….

We got him Ben10 for the DS, and a DS kit – which the guy at the store assured me would work with his DS even though it said it was for DS Lite. He was very adamant that the only difference between the two was the size. My boy needed a car charger, which said kit included. Which (of course) didn’t work with the DS. You know, that’s twice we’ve been misled by store employees, who ought to know what they’re talking about, and bought the wrong thing for that stupid game. Last year one of the demon store’s (Best Buy – but that’s a post for another day…) employees was absolutely positive that DS games played in the Advance, which was what he had at the time. They don’t. Not even close. So on Christmas morning, much like Saturday, my poor boy got something he really wanted, but couldn’t use…GRRRRR

Ahem…

As you can see, Pokémon is also a big hit. Anything Pokémon. That’s the little boy from down the street, from the First Day of School in the pic with him. I wasn’t about to have a house full of kids – never a good idea – but I did want him to have a buddy over. There were other kids, but older. Who he considers older siblings.

Hulk boxing gloves…as you can see, another big hit with my boy. Not so much with me… All in all, a good time was had by everyone. We decided to watch a movie after the gifts were opened. Of course, Hunny couldn’t stand it that the surround was not yet connected to the DVD player – sound through the TV..? No way! – so spent a goodly amount of time messing with that…you can see him in the background of a few of the pics, but here’s one just for him…

“It’s only two cables – just the RC jacks” he said, and realistically, it should have only taken about 2 minutes – that’s how long it would have taken me. But with my darling, it has to be a production. I think he was trying to use my psychology on me (any time I want him to do something, and he puts it off, and puts it off, I have found that if I start doing it, he’ll come do it, because I couldn’t possibly do it properly. That would be because I am not quite as ANAL as he is….but whatever! It works, and as long as it works, I’ll continue to foster that opinion…) by starting to do it, hoping I’d come hook it up real quick-like. Which I didn’t. LOL

And finally, since we are indeed rednecks, and our friends are rednecks, and we live amongst rednecks, here is the first picture in what will probably become an ongoing theme…How Many Rednecks Does It Take To..?

In this, the first installment, the operative question is “How many rednecks does it take to get the cat out from under the dishwasher..?”

Apparently more than we had (there were three more “coaching” & giving advice that aren’t in the pics…) They never did get him….As a matter-of-fact, I had a freak-out moment about an hour later, five minutes after I started the dishwasher & realized I still hadn’t seen Jingles, and that they had said he was “up inside it.” He’s fine, stretched out on the floor behind me as I type.

Ok, time to get ready for work. Gotta go!

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! ! ! ! !

Birthday’s Over

2008-12-13T21:55:00.003-05:00

Alrighty then…after all the restoring, unrestoring, re-restoring, unre-restoring, running my Adaware program – one of the BEST free adware programs available, in my opinion – get yours here – running a McAfee scan, I seem to have things pretty well in order *said while gently pounding every piece of wood within reach* or not….who knows. For some reason, when I am typing my post in Live Writer, the font appears tiny unless I set it to some ridiculous size like 24 (see last post) then is huge when it goes on the blog….there’s no option I can find to change it, either. I tried the “CTRL/scroll” trick – nuttin. It did this once before, then just all of a sudden it was all good, no idea what I did change it. Figgers…

So, the birthday is over. I find it so hard to believe he’s 6. I also find it hard to believe Hunny & I have been together 10 ys! Many shared events seem to have happened just a few months ago – yet others seem much longer ago. I’m sure you’ve read this on every other blog written by a parent, but just yesterday, seemingly, we were bringing him home for the first time. Or planning his first birthday party. Or any number of other firsts….I know there are still many more ahead, but many will never come again. *Sigh*

Ok, gonna go for now. I really need to get some stuff up on the other blog. It’s been more sorely neglected than this one. I will get pics up when I get them to the puter….

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! ! ! !

More Stufffs

2008-12-13T14:18:00.001-05:00

OMG! ! ! I finally have Live Writer back, kinda. I have a Beta version, that looks very different, but still has all my info, so we’ll see if it works. What a royal pain in the ass this has been…First the installer jacked my computer up, then Hunny got it to load, but my dvd drive wouldn’t work, and Live Writer was gone (who knows what else I haven’t found yet is going to turn up…)

Ok, DVD doesn’t work, I’ll get a new one. And I did. And I installed it. It didn’t work either….They were both in my device manager, with exclamation points next to them. When I tried to install, they told me the drivers were corrupt…So Matt, a guy I work with came by and looked at the puter. He got the drives working WOOOHOOO ! ! ! ! He got Live Writer back on the puter. WOOOHOOO! ! ! ! GO MATT! ! ! !

But when I went to get online last night, my browser wouldn’t open. Neither one. Huh???? Ok, I did a system restore, back to Dec 2nd, before all this crap started. WOOHOOO! ! ! My browsers work again ! ! ! ! Uhhhhh….my drives are gone, again, as is the Live Writer….So in disgust I undid the restore and went to bed, hoping the fix-the-computer fairies would com visit in the night. No such luck. I got up this morning, still no browser. And a birthday party to prepare for – Oh yeah, on a side note, not that I ever diverge from my topic, or anything, the in-laws did come by. At noon. The party’s at 2ish…

Anyways, back to the puter. So for lack of anything better to do, I did a restore back to Dec 2nd again. Same result – I have a browser but no drives. I undid it. Then I had a flash of genius! I re-re-restored it back to Dec 2nd, downloaded the Firefox Setup program to a jump drive, re-undid the restore, and re-installed it from the jump drive. It worked. But there are still issues, not the least of which is this window that keeps popping up

Now in and of itself, this window wouldn’t really be a big issue, unless you know that I have Windows Firewall turned off. Oh yeah, it’s off. If I click on Enable Protection it takes me to HERE apparently a site to buy security software.

Now how do I know for sure the Windows Firewall is turned off? you ask.
There have been people jacking with your computer! you say.
You’re exactly right! I respond, but I’m not a complete idiot, I’m not even blonde anymore….When I go into Windows Security Center, I see this:

Well, that shows the firewall is on! you say.
Yes, yes it does make one believe that, doesn’t it? I respond….the thing is, when I go into “Manage Security Settings” for Windows Firewall, I see this:

CLicking “yes” leads to this:

CLosing that one, and again clicking on security settings for Windows Firewall, gives me this nifty little screen…

Which clearly shows Windows Firewall turned OFF.

I’m so confused….and really need to go get stuffs ready, people will be showing up anytime now, and I have way too much blood in my alcohol system to deal with a house full of people…..

I welcome – Hell, I’m begging for! – any suggestions as to how to remedy this…..

Gotta go for now, back soon, I hope.

Seee ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzz! ! ! !

There's Birthdays A'Comin' - And A Bitch Session - LOL

2008-12-11T09:49:00.002-05:00

Ok, I finally have a couple of unoccupied minutes, where do I start..? We’re in the new house, but I think you all know that already. We’ve added a new family member to our growing menagerie – ok, I admit, 2 cats really isn’t a menagerie, I just like the word J The tree is up, and many of the decorations have made it out of their boxes, but many more sit amongst the unopened boxes filling my garage, just hoping they will be found and allowed to bring us happiness. Whether this happens or not, I dunno, I kinda doubt it.

Saturday is the boy’s sixth birthday. Did I mention he has lost another tooth..? Hunny was all worried because one of his bottom front teeth was growing in behind the baby tooth, which was loose but didn’t seem to have any intention of coming out anytime soon. But out it did come, and the other has moved forward right where it’s supposed to be. Back to the birthday...We actually have 2 December birthdays, Shayne’s is the 13^th and Tony’s is the 27^th. Makes for a busy December, lemme tell ya. And, If I count in “honorary” family members, we have Stacey’s on the 29^th (I think…), my best friend D’s on the 19^th, and her daughter’s on the 17^th…whew.

Last year during “open enrollment” I asked for Saturday off, and got it. So Saturday is his party. I think this is the first time in quite a while that it’ll actually be on his birthday. My little Friday the 13^th baby. We planned it that way ! No really, we did – I was induced and got to pick the date J He’s also my snowbaby. The day he was born it was miserable outside, cold, windy & gloomy. They had called for snow, but none had been forthcoming. At the very moment my boy decided to join the world, the snow began to fall. And it has snowed on his birthday every year. Yes, I know, I wander a lot in my writing. Sorry, that’s just me. I sometimes wonder if I don’t have adult ADD – but that’s a whole nother post *grin*

Back to the party (again). We aren’t doing anything spectacular, just some friends & a cake, but what’s a party without drama? The drama this year is coming from the in-laws (go figger). Apparently since Shayne is now in school (what this has to do with it I have no clue…) they prefer having a “private” celebration to coming to the house for the party. Why is this drama? you ask …welllllll it starts all the way back to when I found out I was pregnant. Well, even before then, really.

Hunny’s sister had made it abundantly plain, in ways I won’t go into here, (but use your imagination), that she was never, EVER going to have kids. Then Shayne came along, and suddenly she was no longer the baby of the family (mind you she was in her 30’s at this time) and center of the universe. Shayne was born in December of 2002. Abby, her daughter, was born in June (or July, I can’t remember exactly) of 2004. All of a sudden, the woman who went to a lot of trouble to NOT have kids has a kid…. I don’t know what all has occurred in this dynamic before I joined it, but I can tell you what I’ve seen since….Hunny’s parents have kept our boy over night 4 times. In 6 YEARS. Never more than two nights in a row. The last time, we found we were going to be about two hours later than originally planned (original plan was to pick him up late afternoon, it turned out it would be early evening), and his parents flipped. The reason for the delay was that we were going to have dinner with our daughter-in-law. When Hunny called to say we’d be a bit later, all Hell broke loose. He left to go get our boy, and from what I later heard, angry words were exchanged between him and his father – well, an attempt at angry words was made. Hunny shut him down, telling him it wasn’t an appropriate discussion to have with a 3 year old present.

Now, while just the fact that they’ve only kept him four times is in itself a bit odd for Grandparents, in my opinion, but they rarely keep him at ALL, even for a few hours during the day. He’s been at their house, without us probably a total of 10 times in his life, including the four mentioned above. Abby, on the other hand, is there constantly. Abby is Hunny’s sister’s daughter – now there’s a mouthful LOL! Really. Anytime I have taken Shayne to visit in the last 3 years, she was there. They have made one of their spare rooms “her room” They kept her for 2 weeks while her parents went on a cruise or something. They also go to Hunny’s sister’s house a couple of times a week. She lives about the same distance from them as we do – probably 25 miles one way. You know how often they come to our house..? They haven’t even seen any of the last three houses we’ve lived in. And apparently they aren’t going to see this one now, either….’cuz he’s in school now (?)

Understand, these are the only biological grandparents my child has – both of my parents are dead and have been for years. But like I told Hunny, it’s really okay – there are a whole bunch of people in his life, that know him well, that call themselves his grandparents and fill the bill very well. (I can think of three families who’s “patriarch” and/or “matriarch” consider him their grandchild – and they have chosen to be in his life, not been thrust there by fate)

Ok, now that I’ve turned this into a bitch session *grin* it’s time to get ready for work. I will try to update more regularly. My computer still isn’t working properly – I have missing programs, what I have tends to freeze up, and it just isn’t right. But one of the guys from work is going to come look at it in the next few days, so hopefully all will be well again !

Gotta go, see ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! ! ! !

Updating

2008-12-05T10:57:00.009-05:00

Okeedokee, I am back up, kinda sorta, I hope...have had computer issues since the dude who installed the HSD back active downloaded some crap on to it...but I'll get to that later. RIght now I want to update you real quick like.
We're in the new house - I don't have pics yet, but we did add another new family member...you remember, Jingles joined us a couple of months ago..?

Well, we got moved, and found another wandering around our yard. I stooped down to pet him, and he just curled up under my coat and around my feet like he belonged there. But I didn't take him in right away. I put out food & water, and told Hunny about him. He said he'd take him in when he got home (what a wonderful Hunny I have...) but he wasn't around when Hunny got home. I figgered someone else beat us to it. I saw the neighbors next morning, turns out her sister had brought him to her as a "gift" and they already had 2 big dogs....they were going to take him to a farm and drop him off, but I offered to take him so...meet Bel
I have some more pics I wanna share, like the one showing how a redneck fixes his car door handle - aww shit - I better just put it up while I'm here...
Or maybe they're just trying to keep the cold air out..? Hey VV - this was in a Wal_mart parking lot, I think that makes me the winner of the Wal-mart Bingo...
Ok, gotta go, the boy is hollering he wants a jelly sammich, and we gotta get ready to head out.
See ya laterzzzzzzzzzz!

Computer back soon!

2008-12-02T20:01:00.000-05:00

Cable scheduled to be connected tomorrow, so I will have my computer back - WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO! ! ! ! Hopefully an update will be shortly forthcoming!

Update

2008-11-21T20:19:00.002-05:00

Still alive & kicking, not necessarily happy, but here. Too much shit left at other house, and no time to get it moved...when you work 6 days a week it makes it a bit hard. Hunny & I both ended up taking a day off - well he did, I had to trade my Tues off to get Sat off & eat 2 hours, and on top of it, I had to call in on Wed to take my boy to the doctor - beginning stages of bronchitis(sp?). But I couldn't MOVE anything unless I wanted to haul a sick child back & forth in the cold... *sigh*
And Goddess only knows when I'll get my cable/phone/internet transfered. Apparently, in order for the person who "does" employee service requests/changes to even PLACE THE REQUEST, HR has to confirm that the address I've given is actually my address per the new website-update-information-place. Mind you, I changed it there last Thursday or Friday. Yeah, that's a week. Note the NEW - translation, still probably has bugs...AND apparently, HR only deigns to "update" that info when we get paid. Every two weeks. A week from now. So in a week, if she feels like it, our liason will contact the person at the other cable company in the area (because of course I don't live in OUR service area, instead I live in theirs...not that that is necessarily bad...) and request my service be scheduled to be moved. Then we get to try to find a date someone can be there, because despite I spend all day every day troubleshooting & fixin people's CABLE SERVICE, I'm not capable of hooking up my own equipment....
AND, IPL (our electric company) has decided that November is when we have to "even up" our budget billing (voluntary, I like paying the same amount every month & prior to this it has always worked out well). When we moved into the house we're moving out of, we went from about 1200 sq feet to about 2300. But according to the woman I spoke with to do the transfer, the budget amount was the same. Huh? 1200 & 2300 sq feet of space use the same amopunts of electricity..? In what parallel universe..? But, realisticly, the bigger house was much newer, and I let her convince it was due to it being much more energy efficient... I questioned this statement repeatedly, but she assured me it was so. Now I have a $450 deficit I have to pay up by Dec 11...
So, shall we just say I'm not exactly the happiest - or nicest for that matter - person on the planet at this point in time..? So, it'll be a while before this is regular again...(ahem, that sounded suspiciously like a fiber commercial...). Well, as regular as it gets *grin*
Gotta go work - ewwwwwwww
See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! ! !

Lack-o-posts, moved

2008-11-17T20:34:00.002-05:00

Sorry folks, it may be a while until I get anything put up here...we moved this past weekend, and as of yet have no internet service at the new house. You would think that being an employee of da...da...DUM The Cable Company, that there would be advantages, like not waiting for installation. Nope, just the opposite. I am held hostage to the woman in accounting who sets up employee accounts as part of her job. Setting up employee accounts..? Not quite the top of her list. I don't think it is even CLOSE to the top of the list. (Last move, I requested the transfer 2 weeks BEFORE actually moving, it was still a full week AFTER we moved...) So, I wait. In the meantime, I will try to pop in here when I can and hopefully we'll be back on track soon. Did I mention everything hurts..? Have you ever seen anyone bruise the PALM of their hand. Yep, sure did. And the insides of all my fingers, my legs are bruised, my hands a swollen badly, I could barely hold a coffee cup this morning, and that's bad. No crossword to wake me up. No news. No trivia - well I can go do that from work, but that doesn't help my morning...No comics, no horoscope, NO BLOGGING. Let's just say any readers who don't have to deal with me in person should be thanking all the Gods & Goddesses in existence for that blessing. Morning is bad enough as is, add all that..? Just UGLY.
OK, gotta go.
See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! ! ! ! !

Moving

2008-11-16T00:56:00.001-05:00

We are moving just popping in to say I may not be popping in for a bit....Any volunteers..?

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! ! ! !

WE GOT IT

2008-11-15T00:25:00.001-05:00

WE GOT IT! WE GOT IT! WE GOT

IT! ! ! ! !

Now when's the other shoe going to fall.....? And from what direction this time..?

The Latest Word...

2008-11-14T10:41:00.001-05:00

Here I am. So far, still kicking, haven't killed anyone yet, although the urge has made itself felt a time or two in the last few days...I'm hesitant to write this, for fear of jinxing it, but I'm pretty sure we found a house. Right down the street. There are good and bad points...

Good:

I don't have to change my boy's school.
We only have to move ALL OUR SHIT (and it's a bunch, I swear! I have no idea how it happened that we can fill a 50 foot car hauler TWICE and still not get it all...For most of my life, everything fit in my car, with room for a passenger...) about two blocks.
The last tenants were there 4 years with no rent increase (don't get me wrong, I it's not the increase by itself I have issues with, rather the increase combined with lack of, well, everything a landlord should do.)
Our newest family member is welcome
There aren't any holes in any walls or doors
There (why can't I start a sentence properly, with a capital letter, with the second letter being capitalized, too..? Grrrrrrrr my typing is pathetic!) is already a garage door opener. Yes, I know that sounds petty & lazy but look at it from my side...at $925 a month for rent, don't you think I should be able to open the garage without getting rained or snowed on? And they aren't cheap. And why should I invest the time, money & effort to install one when the property owner isn't willing to invest any of the above..?
The driveway is almost level - again, seemingly petty, but yanno, repairs on brakes & transmissions are costly...
It has a gas/wood combination fireplace
The rent is only $875, and he is amenable to weekly deposits from Hunny's employer, so we never have to jack with making sure rent is paid (what happens is this***Listen up Landlords, this is actually a plan that is VERY BENEFICIAL for YOU****we fill out the direct deposit form from his work to have $201.14 deposited into the property owner's designated account, and the balance deposited into ours. The amount is determined by taking the monthly rent ($875) and multiplying it by 12 (months in a year, obviously) and then dividing it by 52 (pay periods in a year). Having it done this way means we never see it, so don't really miss it, I know rent is always paid, I don't have to worry about getting it to him, the property owner knows his money is always going to be there, he'll never hear "The check is in the mail." And I assure you, even thought the base amount stays the same, $201 a week is easier to work around than $875 a month - If it's in my account, waiting to be paid out, it's too much of a temptation to say "I'll just use a little here & put it back" resulting in having to give up basically a whole paycheck one week, and being flat-assed broke for the rest of that week.
I don't have to change my boy's school.

Bad:

We're losing about 600 sq. feet
Uhhhhhhhh...that's really the only bad....unless you consider living within walking distance of the house you moved out of on bad terms bad. (I would truly not be surprised to see them (the new owners) move into the house...that could be awkward, or even possibly cause jail time to become a factor, NO, NO, NO
*breathe...breathe* "I will not physically assault anyone else, no matter how badly they deserve it...I will not physically assault anyone else no matter how badly they deserve it...I will not kick the living shit outta that lying bitch...oh, ahem...I will not physically assault anyone else no matter how badly they deserve it *breathe...breathe*)
Theoretically, neither Christmas nor birthdays (Shayne will be 6 December 13, my older boy Tony will be 23 on December 27) will be ruined again

Ok, that's pretty much it for today. Hunny is meeting him this afternoon to sign papers & give him money. Until then, please keep all fingers & toes crossed that nothing unforeseen interferes... meanwhile, here are the pics from the flyer. Sorry about the poor quality, but they were printed onto regular paper by the property owner, then scanned onto my computer from there...

Ok, gotta get ready for work.

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! ! ! !

Proposition 8

2008-11-12T10:40:00.001-05:00

This was sent to me by my cousin with the following message:

Hey ya'll! Just wanted to send this email because it's something that's very important to me and I would appreciate it if you all watched it...

Hope everything is going well and I miss you all!! Feel free to email me anytime, I love to here from everyone!

Thanks!

Love, (name removed, 'cuz I don't have his permission to post it here *grin*)

I watched it, and found that it something that is important to me, too. I am not currently in a homosexual relationship, but I have been. But even if I hadn't I would still feel strongly about this particular subject - Gay Marriage - Who the Hell do you think you are to tell someone that their love isn't valid because it doesn't conform to your teeny, tiny narrow-minded definition..? I'm a firm believer that closed minds should come with closed mouths, and believe you me, I ain't a bit afraid to tell someone so, either on line or on terra firma...

So, here it is, and I hope you watch it, too. And I hope you forward it, too. And I hope you have enough kahunas to stand up and tell these asinine, ignorant, petty people to tend to their own marriages, and leave those of others alone.

My message to anyone who thinks it is okay to pass judgement on people they don't even know..?

MIND YOUR OWN FU*KING BUSINESS!

Ahem....sorry, just one of my "Things..."

Ok gotta go get ready for work.

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!

Pity Party - Sorry

2008-11-11T12:42:00.001-05:00

Could someone please tell me what we're doing wrong..? I mean in general...Hunny and I both bend over backwards to be good people. I admit I haven't always been the best person, but I'm aware, and attempt to not only atone, but go above and beyond. I'm not looking for any rewards, or awards, beyond being allowed to live a calm, productive life, raise my child in peace and love my Hunny. I don't steal, I don't lie - ever to anyone - so why is it, every time I think maybe we're "getting there" we get slapped in the face, so to speak... I'm so tired. And if there weren't enough shit already, apparently fibromyalgia is aggravated by stress, so I get increased physical pain on top of everything else...

Ok, pity party over...sorry to subject you to that, but I told myself when I started this, if I didn't post what I write, regardless of how pathetic it might be down the road, I wasn't being honest, so there ya go.

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzz!

The last few days....

2008-11-10T11:09:00.001-05:00

In my continuing effort to keep those who have faith in me (ha-ha) from looking bad, here I am again. Although it's pretty bad that the only way to get me to post is psychological blackmail, so to speak...but hey, whatever it takes, I guess.

I have been riding a roller coaster stress-wise the past few days. as I said earlier, we have to move. We thought for minit yesterday that maybe we wouldn't have too, but speaking for myself, not really. My Hunny is a bit more of a trusting soul than I am, sweet man that he is. You see, we met with the folks that we are currently renting from, in an effort to come to an agreement we could all live with. A little background...

When we found this house we were very excited. It has the potential to be a very nice house. Mind you, I said potential...It is relatively new, built in the last ten years, I'd say. But it's has also been "rode hard and put away wet" if you know what I mean. Apparently the first owners were unable to keep it. Because they allowed themselves to get into a situation they were unable to maintain, they felt compelled to cause as much damage as possible before they left...The folks we got it from had done quite a bit of fix-it-up, but there's a whole bunch left to be done. Bad carpet. Damn near every interior door has a hole in it. A whole bunch of the shelving has been torn down - mind you, I didn't say taken down I said torn down as in there are big holes in many walls where shelves originally lived. There are also just holes in the walls for no apparent reason. One bedroom has had the window painted black with something that I can't seem to get off of it...well, here, look at a few pics...

This is the door to my closet. As you can see, the hole goes all the way through the door....

This is the door to my boy's bedroom...

The "painted" window. A side note here - my boy HATES this room. If the door is left even slightly ajar, he will pull it closed. Also the doorknob is "backwards," the lock is on the outside of the door. It's kinda creepy that not only was the window painted black, but the room was also set up to keep someone IN...

This is the floor around our water heater. We think it broke & flooded at some point, and the floor was left as it was. The kitchen light, directly below it was fixed, kinda...

I mean technically, it was fixed, but I'm not sure for how long....

And finally, our stained & "bubbled up" carpet - have you ever tried to vacuum carpet that isn't securely attached to the floor underneath it..? It's a bitch, lemme tell ya...

In addition to all this, we have had to repair the toilets - at our cost - three times, there is no water pressure in the downstairs of the home,

This is my kitchen faucet ON HIGH...

no screens on any of the windows, there isn't even a garage door opener installed...Now, understand, these things aren't in themselves our complaint. It was like this when we moved in, and we felt none of it made the house unlivable, and we were willing to deal with it for the reduced rent we were paying (although I really have trouble calling $800 a month reduced...). We were told if we made repairs, we could take it off the rent, as long as it wasn't a whole bunch all at once. Also good with that. Then it sold. The buyers assured us, sitting in our living room, while looking us in the eye, that they knew we wanted to stay here indefinitely - with purchase by us as the eventuality, they weren't going to raise the rent, we could make repairs & deduct from rent, and everything would stay the same. This is the delusion we've been living under...

When I took the rent check to their home, I included a letter requesting the lease renewal be done early so we didn't have to mess with it during the holidays, and requesting it be an extended lease, with our preference being a five year term. I my head, there should have been no problem, based on the conversation we had with them prior to this....Silly me.

Here's the response I got:

i just wanted to let you know we recieved the payment and note from the mail box, Thank you. We are in the process of working up a new lease, unfortunatly we cannot go into a 5 yr lease. Also i need to put out there to you that the new monthly lease will be increasing from 800/mo to 925/mo. While we appriciate you living there as the tenants and we can count on you to take care of the dwelling, we did buy this to be an investment property and we have checked around and rent is going for 300-400 more than what your paying now. We were actually getting ready to contact you about the new lease info when we read your note. We should have the new lease agreement typed up and ready for you to look over by this Sunday Nov 9, i can either drop it off or attach it to an email. once you look it over, if you could just let us know what you decide by Nov 30.

(the spelling errors are theirs, I just copy/pasted it.)

Now, does that sound to you like someone who meant any of the statements made above...? Bearing in mind they haven't done anything to the house. Which is actually fine, I can live in it the way it is, but I'll be DAMNED if I'm paying MORE for it...What this email told me was:

a) Keeping us as tenants (never late on rent, making repairs at our own expense, etc.) wasn't even worth a phone call.
b) They are consummate liars, as we believed what they said
c) They really aren't concerned with keeping us as tenants at all, nor do they intend to sell us the house in the future as they had said they would, or why would there be a problem with an extended lease..?
d) We have to move, again. In December, again. No birthday party for my boy, again. Jacked up Christmas, again.

I stopped payment on the rent check. My self-preservation instincts are dominant in a situation like this...Apparently I need that money to move. And based on all the lies we had been told in the past, it was a safe bet we'd never get our deposit back (this has been since somewhat proven, as you'll see).

Yesterday, we contacted them to meet and see if we could come to terms. I had the money for the rent in my pocket, in cash. What it came to was they offered us $850 a month (I'm willing to do that). We asked for something in writing, (protecting us from him saying one thing & doing something else, again). He assured us he was going home to prepare the new lease. He would then email it to us, last night. We would sign it & I would bring a copy to them, along with the rent & the $10 fee their bank charged them for the stop payment. Good deal, we don't have to move! Silly me...

We hadn't been home half an hour when Hunny's phone rang. He couldn't get the agreement done as the Colts were coming on, and he didn't have time (?) But he'd have it done "sometime next week." Also, there was an NSF fee of $60 (again, huh?) that he wanted us to pay. Oh yeah, and we were supposed to either pay the rent then, without any form of surety, or we could pay $40 a day late fee until he completed the paperwork...

My Hunny had asked during that meeting if he was a man of his word, was his handshake good? and this man AGAIN looked us in the eye and lied to us. I told him I was willing to pay the rent, the $10 fee, and half of the NSF. I think that's fair. He was very adamant that they had no intention of making us feel that we were being forced to up the rent or get out. My opinion..? If that's true then you own equal responsibility for the fruits of your acts, and you can pay half your fee. I was willing to do that if he kept his word & provided us a new lease that evening. He called it blackmail, I called it keeping your word. Needless to say, it didn't go well. He proceeded to tell me he couldn't pay half the fee as he didn't have the $30 dollars....

Now that opens up a whole new world in my head...How come you didn't have the amount of a month's mortgage payment put back in that account, in case something happened..? Renters default on rent all the time. I sure as Hell would have - had the payment put back, not defaulted *grin*. And where's the money you're supposed to be returning to me as my deposit..? Shouldn't that be put in an untouched account, so it can be returned..? And once you found rent wasn't being paid you could use that to cover yourself if you didn't have the brains to have a payment at hand at all times...This is not the only rental property they have, and she works at a BANK so they don't even have inexperience as an excuse for any of that.

And really, if I didn't have $30 dollars to pay half of an NSF fee, that I have to pay either way...and someone was offering me not only the other half of it, but another $810, why wouldn't someone with fully functioning brain cells accept it..? Hello..? You don't have $30, how are you going to make your house payment..? And if I choose to keep possession of the property until you evict me, how are you going to pay the next one, and the one after, not to mention pay for the eviction proceedings..?

Can I just say AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH !?!?!?!?

Anywho, ok, I've posted. LOL now I have to go get ready for work, going on very little sleep (I can't shut my brain down easily in normal conditions, the last few days, if the slightest thing wakes me in the night - and something always does - I'm awake for an hour with all this crap swirling around in my head...)

Ok gotta go,

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzz!

In defense of those who sent you here...

2008-11-07T11:30:00.001-05:00

As I am visiting my regular reads, it suddenly dawned on me that I have been placed in a couple of people's blog rolls. Damm. Pressure. That means, in order to keep them from looking bad for having recommended my blog, I am obligated to post something here. Preferably something not useless and boring drivel, which might be a trick....

*Sigh* Ok, here goes. I am working on getting my cubicle at work decorated for the holidays, turning a deaf ear to "It's way too early for that (while pointing at said decorations)", "It's not even Thanksgiving yet!" and "Are you kidding me?"s. On a positive note I have also been asked if I'd "be offended" (huh?) if a co-worker started decorating, and been told I am "just filling me (the speaker) with the spirit!" All of which tends to lend strength to my "Holiday Spirit" theory. *Grin* I figger "What the Hell..? I probably won't get to decorate at home..." You know, the whole landlordliedtoourfacesandhasnowruinednotonlyChristmasbutalsotheboy'sbirthdaycuzwehaftamoveagain thing...

So, honestly, it's really hard for me to be entertaining right now - if I even ever am...I'm not one to snivel or whine, as you know if you come here even kinda regularly. Matter-of-fact, I have very little tolerance for snivelers...but DAMM I'm tired of fighting just a step ahead and then be slammed back four. We really thought we were going to stay here and eventually buy this house. So much for that. And as someone who went to 17 different schools, and someone who has no "life long friends" as a result, I don't want that for my boy. Don't get me wrong, I've got friends that have been there for a long time, but it's not the same as knowing someone from the time you were able to know - did that make sense..? I think it did...

Okay, outta time for now, gotta get the boy dressed & ready for the bus & myself to the work. I'll try to keep posting fairly regularly - I wouldn't want to make anyone recommending my blog look bad...

See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! ! ! !

Oh Goodie! ! ! !

2008-11-03T17:54:00.004-05:00

Well, aren't I the lucky one..? Now I get to fuc**ng MOVE again. We thought we were all good...when we rented the house we made it clear we didn't want to move anytime soon, the lady we rented from was all good with that. No problem, renewal is good, rent won't go up...then she sold the house. It seemed all was still good. We met with buyers, seemed like decent folk, basically, although quite honestly, I didn't trust her as far as I could throw her, but hey, what could I do? She now owned my house.
We should've known it wouldn't be quite so good when we tried to get back the money we had spent to put screens in a couple of the windows, since none of the windows had screens when we moved in. Now mind you I'm not talking hundreds of dollars - we're talking about $30. Like pulling teeth. Nevermind they had indicated in our initial meeting that they were going to a) replace the nasty carpet, b) fix all the holes in the walls, c) replace all the interior doors that likewise have holes in them, d) replace the board over the garage door that is rotting away, etc., etc., etc. Guess how many of those things they've done..? You got it - not a one! Yet they want to raise the rent. Mind - I had expected it to go up a bit - maybe $50 a month - even $75, but $125..? No, I don't think so. If they had replaced the carpet through out, yeah, ok. Replaced the doors with holes in them, sure. But having done nothing to the place..? Not happening. So we get to move. Again. I HATE moving.
Grrrrrrrrrrrr........
I swear I just can't win for losing! Ever! For any reason! And I'm about over it! Every time I start to think it might - just maybe - be getting better, BAM here we go again! You know, I try to be a good person. I don't abuse children or elderly people. I don't talk bad about people behind their backs & pretend to be their friend to their face. I help people in need, whenever I can. I have come a long ways in controlling my attitude & my angry impulses and tendencies to leap before I look...usually ON someone. I rarely drink. I don't do drugs that aren't prescribed to me. I don't lie. Ever. About ANYTHING. I don't steal. So, WTF..? Why is it that no matter how I try, I get royally skewered everytime I turn around?
I guess if I didn't know people who deserve to be skewered, and aren't it wouldn't be so bad...oh well, no point snivelling. I'm just so tired. Not just tired so much as tired of...
Well back to work.
See ya laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

I'm Back ! ! ! !

2008-11-02T11:55:00.001-05:00

Woohoo!!! I got my Christmas template back! ! ! ! That Rocks!