Enjoying Our Weekend

When’s the last time I posted? It’s been a few days, huh?

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving. Nice and quiet. LOVELY! All the food turned out great. The turkey was juicy, the gravy was flavorful, and the pumpkin cheesecake was light and creamy.

Yesterday we didn’t do any Black Friday shopping. We got the bill from our lawyer in the mail which put a damper on the day. It must be pretty great to be a lawyer and to charge $25.00 to read an e-mail. In all, she spent 2 hours and 40 minutes on our case at $125.00 an hour. You do the math. AND, we’re not even done with her yet. Oh well. She was a necessary evil because without her, our tenants would have gotten away with even more than they already have.

Today, the Mister and I are going to check out a health food store we’ve never been to. No, we’re not health food nuts, but I like those stores nonetheless. They sell offbeat stuff you can’t find other places.

Oh. And I think my monitor is going out on me. I have these very faint bouncy lines that move down the screen and everything has a little shadow-like trail to the right of it. It’s annoying but not enough to where I’m going to spring for a new one yet. I’m going to do my best to deal with it until after Christmas. The weirdness is only a little hard on the eyes. I’ll have to make sure and wear my contacts or glasses whenever I’m working to minimize the eye strain but I think it’ll be okay. If anyone has any suggestions as to what could be causing this or how to fix it, I’d kiss your feet in gratitude. See?

You can click on the picture to make it bigger. The lines are at the top over the tool bar and the shadow trails are pretty obvious.

Anyway, I gotsta get ready to check out that store. Yes. That’s right. It’s 12:28 pm and I’m still in my pajamas. Deal with it.

Feelin’ the Love

Jennifer tagged my blog as one she loves. Awww! Now I have to give one word answers to the questions below and then tag five more blogs as ones that I love to read.

01. Where is your cell phone? Desk
02. Where is your significant other? Nearby
03. Your hair color? Blondeish
04. Your mother? Ohio
05. Your father? Fabulous
06. Your favorite thing? Computer
07. Your dream last night? Scary
08. Your dream/goal? Success
09. The room you’re in? FROG 
10. Your hobby? Blogging
11. Your fear? Foreclosure
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? San Diego
13. Where were you last night? Gaming
14. What you’re not? Content
15. One of your wish-list items? Homebuyer
16. Where you grew up? Ohio
17. The last thing you did? Sleep
18. What are you wearing? J’s
19. Your TV? Big
20. Your pet? Boxers
21. Your computer? Newish
22. Your mood? Excited
23. Missing someone? Jennifer
24. Your car? Awesome
25. Something you’re not wearing? Bra
26. Favorite store? B&N
27. Your summer? Unknown
28. Love someone? Hubby
29. Your favorite color? Green
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Yesterday

Blogs I love:

1. Dana

2. Pam

3. Wendy

4. Josette

5. Angel

I would tag more but some have already been tagged for this. You know who you are anyway. ;)

Free Stuff’s Good, Right?

I heard about this contest from Peggy. Peggy is the wonderful person that hired me for my job. She is a freelance marketing consultant among other things and she is running a contest for one of her clients. It’s pretty simple and the prize is pretty mag.

DXG-580V HD Digital Camcorder (a $180 value) that isn’t even for sale yet. You win, you get to have a digital camcorder that nobody else has. Cool, right!!

So, visit Peggy’s page for a more complete description of the contest, the rules, and how to enter. I am going to have the girls make a video for their grandparents for Christmas. I thought it was a great idea since they won’t get to see any of their grandparents for the holidays this year.

DXG-580V HD Digital Camcorder Contest

Hurry up though because the contest ends November 30th. You only have a few days to come up with an idea, record it, and upload your video to be judged.

Our Vacation Revisited

I said a while back that I had more vacation pictures to share and then I forgot to share them. A little late, but here they are.

The next two pictures are views from the top of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. The Mister, the oldest child, and my stepmom climbed it:

The next two pictures are looking down:

This next picture is looking down the spiral staircase inside the lighthouse.

The next two pictures are of a blue heron that we saw on a nature hike. I thought it was neat. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one that close before.

The next set of pictures are of the beach in Corolla. This stretch of beach is only accessible by four wheel drive. People live out there and there are beach houses for rent as you can see in the last picture. Definitely not where you would want to be during a hurricane I wouldn’t think.

The next picture is of the most fabulous crab cake sandwich on the earth that I had for lunch from a deli. It was delicious.

This was our view as we ate our lunch:

Nice, right?

I think that’s it.

Holiday Prep (Added a Pic)

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. I really enjoy cooking all the food and then, of course, eating it. I like being able to eat leftovers for days. I like the low to no pressure that goes along with it as well. No presents to buy and wrap. Love it. I also can’t think of a Thanksgiving that has any bad memories attached to it.

The first Thanksgiving dinner that I cooked by myself for the Mister, the girls, and I was in 1999. We were living in our base housing in Lakeside, CA and it was just the four of us. I was extremely nervous about cooking a turkey and the stuffing too. Turns out that turkeys are hard to screw up and the stuffing was sensational since it was a family recipe. I also made green bean casserole, scalloped corn, rolls, mashed potatoes and gravy, a fresh veggie plate, deviled eggs, and pumpkin pies for desert. Everything tasted great and the Mister and I ended up in the typical tryptophan coma afterwards. The oldest child was three at the time. Gosh!! Three years old. I miss those days sometimes. The youngest child was only 9 months old and harmless. The oldest child, not so much. When the Mister and I came out of our coma, we discovered that the oldest child had aerated the pumpkin pie, lmao!! She had taken her fingers and poked holes in the entire thing. Luckily, I had made two so we still had pie for desert. We still laugh about that to this day. It’s one of my favorite Thanksgiving memories.

The infamous pie is in the back.

A Dash of This, A Pinch of That

We’ve had a pretty busy weekend for us.

Saturday, the Mister and I bought game food for the Big Game and then watched OSU kick the crap out of Michigan. KICKED THE CRAP out of them. It was almost sad but not really. After the game, the Mister built me a box out of wood and then we played at being a chemist. It was fun and we learned stuff.

Today we had to go to the commissary. It’s been so long, I don’t even remember the last time we went. We bought us a fine looking turkey and most of the fixings. They were out of some stuff that I’m going to have to buy out in town. We also went to Bed Bath and Beyond to buy a handheld immersion blender. I burned out our other one. Did you know that you’re only supposed to run them in 50 second intervals? I didn’t. I ran mine for almost fifteen minutes before something popped and then a really nasty smell came out of it. Lesson learned. I was also shopping for a casserole dish because I accidentally left one of mine at the beach house and now I don’t have enough dishes to cook Thanksgiving dinner. They didn’t have what I was looking for and neither did the Exchange on base. Target and Walmart are next on my list.

After shopping, we came home for an hour and then had to take the oldest child to volleyball. All the girls are getting better at the game. Most had never had much experience outside of what little bit you get in school. It’s been fun to watch them learn.

Now, I’m getting ready to cook dinner. Chili is on the menu because it’s been so cold lately. I need comfort food.

Despite this not being such a relaxing weekend, it’s been pretty great. I hope everyone else had fabulous weekends and are looking forward to the short week ahead.

Something to Consider

I forgot to mention earlier the research that I’ve been conducting into junior and senior high schools. I’ve been visiting dozens of school websites and some of them are so NEAT! They have online newsletters, sections for parents to view their students’ grades, homework assignments, and other stuff. Some even have links for the students to take tests ONLINE!! How cool is that? My school was lucky to have had computers let alone any of that other stuff. My kids’ schools don’t have websites like that either. Sometimes I wish that I could have been a teenager now when there’s cell phones and texting, the Internet, taking tests ONLINE, iPods, and all that other neato technology that didn’t exist when I was younger. Not that I would ever give teenagerhooddom another go. Nah.

Another Day of Randomness

It flurried here again today. I hope this isn’t a trend because I don’t like it. It doesn’t make me feel all cozy and nostalgic because it’s the holiday season. I hate the snow and I’m tired of being freaking cold. Ugh.

Tomorrow is the Ohio State/Michigan game. I didn’t print up any banners this year because I’m about out of colored ink in my printer. We may or may not be having people over to watch the game. Someone said in an off-handed way that they’d be over but they weren’t invited and I’m not sure if they were serious. How dumb is that? I’m not really in the mood for company so I hope they weren’t serious.

I have my office upstairs but I leave the TV on downstairs so I don’t feel so isolated. Is that weird, pathetic, or both? Speaking of work, it is piling up around me. My boss surprised me with a phone call last night and we had a pretty lengthy phone call. He wanted me to make a spreadsheet for my spreadsheet, lol. I’ve made so many spreadsheets that have a hard time keeping them straight. I also utilized Microsoft OneNote which has been an invaluable resource to me in my work. I love it. He wanted me to e-mail him my OneNote workbook but he doesn’t have that program so it wouldn’t have done him a lot of good. He sounded like a kid who unwrapped socks for Christmas when I told him that, lol.

I got a package from the FedEx man this afternoon which is calling my name and making it hard to be productive. Nope. It’s not books but something just as exciting. I can’t wait to tear into it.

Did I ever mention what a hard time the oldest child’s school gave us about her missing four days of school for our vacation? I sent a note ahead of time to let them know, requested her homework so she could do it while we were gone, and sent in another note when we got back. They actually called me three times (twice in one day) about it preaching at me that the parents are supposed to set the example to their kids that attending school is important.These are the only days she’s missed all year since I rarely let my kids stay home from school. She was at school yesterday with no voice and she’s had a cough all week. HELLO!! I don’t willy nilly take my kids out of school. Back off. I’m just a bit miffed and the Mister was even more twisted up about it than I was. Why don’t they address the reasons as to why they have to have a cop present all day at the school and call those parents several times a day while they’re trying to work??

The Exchange on base is having a sale on Clinique and Estee Lauder makeup today only and I don’t have the time to go all the way to base to shop. I said that in my loudest, whiniest voice just so you know. Clinique has my most favorite lip glosses and I’m almost out of my favorite color. I’m sad. :(

Okay. I think that’s about it. That’s my Friday and most of my weekend. I’m looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow like it’s nobody’s business. Yay!!

A Meme About You

Jennifer so kindly suggested that I do this meme. I often like to send them to her because I know she doesn’t particularly like them which is how I have my fun with her, hehehe.

I have to link the last 10 comment leavers, answer the questions, and then tag unsuspecting bloggers to do it too. I’m using my last ten commenters without repeats.

Here are the last 10 commenters:

1. Pam at 30something

2. Liz at Habit Blog

3. Dana at This and That

4. Jennifer at Tropical Fruit

5. Literary Feline at Musings of a Bookish Kitty

6. Daphne at Tanzanite’s Shelf and Stuff

7. Arlene at Three Baseball Fanz

8. Exmi from Expensive Mistakes Cheap Thrills

9. Josette at Books Love Me!

10. Miss Mae at Pure Southern Genteel

Okay, here are the questions I am supposed to answer about my commenters.

1: What is your favorite post from number 3’s blog?
I don’t have a favorite. I like it when Dana posts at all because she doesn’t post that often and I miss her and her family.

2. Has number 10 taken any pictures that have moved you?
Hmm. Not that I’m aware.

3. Does number 6 reply to comments on their blog?
Yep. She sure does.

4. Which part of blogland is number 2 from?
Well, Liz happens to live in N.C. like I do. I believe she’s in the Raleigh-Durham area.

5. If you could give one piece of advice to number 7 what would it be?
Hmm. I would advise that she take me on some of those fantastic vacations that she’s always going on.

6. Have you ever tried something from number 9’s blog?
Josette and I have a similar love of meme’s so I’ve tried a few from her blog.

7. Has number 1 blogged something that inspired you?
Not that I can think of. Not that Pam’s not inspirational but it’s more that I’m un-inspirable.

8. How often do you comment on number 4’s blog?

I dunno. Whenever I have something to say. Sometimes I veto commenting and send an e-mail or call instead. Some things can’t be said in a comment.

9. Do you wait for number 8 to post excitedly?
Not so much as I do people that I know in real life. I subscribe to her feed in my reader though so I don’t miss anything.

10. How did number 5’s blog change your life?

I’m not sure if Wendy’s blog has changed my life so much as it has introduced me to lots of new books and authors.

11. Do you know any of the 10 bloggers in person?

Yup. I know Jennifer, Dana, and Arlene in real life.

12. Do any of your 10 bloggers know each other in person?

Well, Arlene is Jennifer’s mom so I would hope they know each other.

13. Out of the 10, which updates more frequently?
It greatly varies. With November being NaBloPoMo, I’m getting frequent updates from a few of them which I’ve totally been enjoying.

14. Which of the 10 keep you laughing?
Jennifer’s blog used to make me laugh but now she just depresses the hell out of me. ;) Josette makes me laugh with some of her meme responses though.

15. Which of the 10 has made you cry (good or bad tears)?

None of them. I’m not a big crier.

That’s it. I don’t tag but if you’re on here and you didn’t already do this, consider yourself tagged. I mean it. I’m watching.

Thinkin’ About Christmas

I don’t normally enter into blogger’s giveaways. Not because I don’t like the person or like what they are giving away, but because I usually never win so what’s the point. I’m making an exception because I saw this at Hip Mama’s Place and there are lots of goodies to choose from. You should join in if you’d like. It is free after all and relatively simple to enter.

Hrmph!!

I am not believing this, but we are getting snow flurries here right now!! Can you believe that trash?? And it’s COLD. It’s only 41 with a wind chill of 34. Brrrr! I haven’t seen snow in almost two years so I guess I’m due.

Other than that, I don’t have too much to report. I ran some errands this morning, bright and early, so that I could get home to do some work. I worked, took a lunch break, worked some more and now I’m pausing for a potty break and a quick post. So much fun, right? Oh, and I heard back from my lawyer, got the okay on the e-mail, and sent it off to The Tenants. We’ll see if I get a response or any money for that matter.

Sorry so short, but I gots things to do.

Changes: They Are A-Comin’

I woke up this morning dizzy as all get out. I have no idea why I’m dizzy. Maybe I need to eat some breakfast.

Anyway, you may or may not be curious as to what is happening with the Vermont house so I’ll give a little update.

With our vacation, listing the house took a bit longer than it should have. I’m sending the listing documents to the realtor today and the house should be listed by the end of the week. He said that houses are sitting on the market for an average of 7-8 months which is really not good for us. I’m also working with our mortgage company to try and stave off foreclosure on the house as long as possible. It really makes me feel like a loser, but at least I’m trying. As for the tenants, I really have no idea what they are up to at this point. They are trying to get away with paying November’s rent with their security deposit (which means that I got the privilege of paying part of November’s rent out of pocket) and it turns out that’s illegal so I have a rather surprising e-mail that I’m getting ready to send them. I’m just waiting for my lawyer to review it before I hit send. Even if I did use their deposit, with all the back utilities that they owe combined with the prorated rent they’ll owe from December, they still come up approximately $300 short and that’s not including cleaning and repair costs. They suck, they’re bigger losers than I am, and I hate them. A pox on them.

As for work, that’s pretty much the same unfortunately. I’m still waiting to hear from that second client I mentioned a few months ago. They were supposed to give me work this month but the economy is hitting everyone where it hurts, so I’m still not getting any hours from them. I understand, but it still sucks and waiting patiently is not a quality I possess.

We’ve already started telling family and the girls know, so I suppose I can mention it here now. The Mister is going on a deployment in the spring. No, we don’t know where yet but Iraq is not on the agenda. At least not at this point. He’s an airwinger and not a grunt so he’s safer than some. I don’t sweat deployments so neither should you.

Oh and one last thing. That friend of mine that I mentioned nine months ago that was having the baby, she’s scheduled for a c-section this morning. She’s 12 days overdue and pretty uncomfortable at this point. They nixed the weird name and went with something that sounds presidential but hopefully won’t get his ass kicked on the playground. I was relieved.

More changes are on the horizon but I’ll mention them at another time.

Jabber Jabber

I’m on the phone when I should be in bed, so I thought I’d blog too while I’m at it.

We had a lazy Sunday. The Mister and I ventured out long enough to do some necessary shopping but that was about it. The oldest child’s volleyball practice/game was cancelled. All in all, it’s been a pretty boring day.

Now, I’m contemplating the economy, how the word “family” is just a word, and how some “friends” aren’t actually friends. It’s weird. I’m in a weird mood.

Knock, Knock

Last night, I’m not sure what time but it was already dark out, we get a knock on the door. The Mister answered it and it was our 6 year old neighbor. What did she want? She wanted to know if her 9 year old sister could borrow my cell phone to call a friend. Wtf?? The Mister asked if it was an emergency and she said no so he said no. Can I just ask why a 6 year old is running around the neighborhood at night and knocking on people’s doors asking asinine questions???

Back to the Real World

We’re home. We had such a great vacation. I really have no complaints. I didn’t even mind the rain the last few days. We knew it was going to rain so we saved our shopping for Thursday and Friday. Good thinking, huh?

In addition to the lighthouses, dunes, and parks, we also drove my dad’s four wheel drive SUV out on to the beach. That was SO MUCH FUN! My dad was absolutely flying down the beach because a lot of it was soft sand so to go slow would mean getting stuck even with four wheel drive. The kids loved every minute of it too. It was definitely an adrenaline rush even if it means their SUV probably could use new shocks, hehehe.

We also had some pretty mag food on our vacation. We ate at Fishbone’s Sunset Grille which is the place I mentioned in my other post but couldn’t remember the name. We ate there twice and the Mister and I tried steamed oysters for the first time. I liked them but the Mister wasn’t won over. Our house came with a complimentary dozen bagels from Lighthouse Bagels in Duck, NC. I highly recommend their french toast bagels. Then, we went on the North Carolina Barbeque Quest. You would think that North Carolina BBQ would be easy to find in North Carolina, right? Well, this time of year, most of the Outer Banks is closed for the season. The Mister and I drove almost 30 miles and hit FIVE bbq places before we found one that was open. It was Pigman’s Bar-B-Que and it was good! Yum, YUM! They ship anywhere in the U.S. so if you want some, click on their link. On the way out, we stopped at Stack ‘Em High which is a breakfast place for a fantastic breakfast. I could have filled up on half of what they gave me and it was very reasonably priced.

Being able to visit with my family was the best part. I taught my dad how to blog while we were there, lol. I hope I wasn’t too confusing because when I talk about blogging, I get excited and talk fast. I wrote down a lot of stuff for him though so I think he’ll have enough to at least get started.

My nephew, who is three, was a lot of fun. He is too smart and has an answer for everything but he’s funny about it. The Mister put him in our car top carrier this morning when we were getting ready to load up the luggage and my nephew said, “I do not need to be in here.” He also says, “I need to put rocks,” when he has to go to the bathroom. I know, TMI, but it is so funny to hear him say that. He also had fun playing with the girls’ Polly Pockets, lol. He actually got mad this morning when I told him that the dolls needed to be packed.

Oh. And the dogs had a good time too. We let them on the furniture which is something they’re not allowed to do at home but it was their vacation too. They were generally well-behaved and enjoyed romping in the sand. One totally gross thing though…We had a red fox that lives in the neighborhood and frequently visited our yard (Okay. There’s no grass and it’s all sand but what else are you supposed to call it??). It must’ve come by last night because this morning, Hannah broke her fast on its poo. EEEWWW!!

Anyway, I have more pictures but they are still on my camera and the Mister stole the batteries for his keyboard. I will post them when I get them uploaded to my comp.

Long, Fun Day

I guess I’m out of the running for NaBloPoMo. Our vacation house is three stories and the computer is on the ground floor whereas our bedroom is on the third floor. I was too lazy to go all the way downstairs last night to blog so there ya go. Oh well. I’m only mildly disappointed.

So, let’s see.

Yesterday, the Mister, the girls, and I drove out to the Currituck Beach Lighthouse. We didn’t climb it because I was wearing sandals and the Mister could still barely walk from the marathon. I did take some pictures though:

 

Standing at the base, looking straight up.

This picture I took from the ground zoomed in on the top. Is my camera the bomb or what? That’s not even the strongest zoom it has.

After the lighthouse, we headed into town (Nag’s Head) for lunch. We got some pretty great pizza at Stone Oven Pizza. Yum. Then we went back to the house because my family had finally arrived from Ohio. We spent some time catching up then we went to dinner at a fabulous seafood place, the name of which is escaping me at the moment. The oldest child out-ate us all again having a 1/2 pound of crab legs, clams, and french fries. Our waitress was pretty impressed, lol.

Today was FILLED! To begin, we went to the Wright Brothers Memorial. We went there last year but our family had never been. Even so, it’s a really great experience. Here are some pictures:

This is a reenactment of what the flight would have looked like.

A view of the memorial dune from the bottom. Climbing that hill is tiring.

The memorial.

The view from the top looking towards the ocean. Being there and the view make the climb worth it.

After the memorial, we went to Jockey Ridge State Park. It’s the home of the tallest sand dunes on the east coast. They range in height from 90 to 100 feet depending on the winds.

View of the dunes.

A view of the Roanoke Sound from the top of the dunes.

This gives a little better perspective of just how tall the dunes are. You can’t really appreciate it from the pictures, but they were TALL and climbing them was a workout.

After the dunes we went to the Bodie Island Lighthouse which is located on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. This lighthouse isn’t open for climbing but the keepers house was pretty neat to tour.

Bodie Lighthouse

Bodie Lighthouse again.

After the lighthouse, we hit Mako Mike’s for dinner. It was okay but nothing special. Would I go back? Um, probably not because you can get that kind of seafood anywhere.

Now, we’re back at the house. I’ll be lucky if I can walk tomorrow with all the hill climbing I did today but it was a fantastic day and it’s a good kind of tired.

I’m apologizing now for not reading blog posts. I hadn’t checked my reader since we got here and I had over 600 posts to sift through. Some I read, most I didn’t. It makes me miss my bloggy friends though not to be able to read their posts on a daily basis. I also want to tell you all how much I appreciate the comments I’ve been getting even though I haven’t been commenting on anyone else’s blogs. I promise I’ll make up for it once things get back to normal.

Anyway, for your viewing pleasure, I have a very short video of the Mister at the dunes. It’s pretty funny and shows the character that he is to a “t”.

Bull

Direct copy and paste of the e-mail I recieved from our tenants last night:

We are sorry it had to come to this but we can't continue to be worried about when you are going to toss us out when we have never been more than a couple of weeks late with rent and have always cleared it with you first. We have just started the process of packing and will be moving out within the month.

They have a really funny memory.

We're Here!!

Day 8: NaBloPoMo

We made it to our beach house. It's really quite nice and it's probably twice as big as what we actually need. We also had fantastic weather today with highs in the mid 70's and only a bit of sprinkles here and there but it was mostly sunny otherwise.

You know how people always say that they don't understand how people live on the coast when they'll inevitably be wiped out by a hurricane? Well, after seeing Duck, N.C. and Corolla, N.C. I can understand why now. A place like this is more than just what may or may not happen.

Anyway, I'm pretty tired and trying to blog from the slowest computer on the face of the earth. I brought my CPU but I'm too tired to hook it up tonight. Yes. I had to bring it for work and school. This vacation is a working vacation but it's all good.

I'll be back tomorrow.

Getting Ready to Go

Day 7:  NaBloPoMo

Both the girls and the Mister only had a half a day of work and school today. On the one hand, they were able to help get the packing and cleaning done for our trip. On the other hand, they were in the way of me getting us packed and ready for our trip,lol. It’s been a hectic, nonstop day to say the least.

We put the car top carrier on the Rav tonight. That involved a lot of cussing and hand smashing. It’s very nice to have but it’s a PIA to put on the car. Major pain. Bailey has been all depressed because she saw us packing suitcases. Usually when she sees suitcases, one or more of us leaves and she doesn’t get to go. She misses her people when they leave and she doesn’t understand that she and Hannah get to go this time.

I enlisted one of the neighborhood kids to take care of our trashcans for us while we’re gone. The HOA frowns on leaving your cans where they can be seen from the street and I don’t want our business being put on the Internet which is what would happen if our cans sat on the street for that long. Anal retentive, nosy, busy bodies. You can’t call it anything else.

Wanna hear a funny story? The Mister forgot his running shoes at work. You know, the very things he needs for this trip and the whole reason why we’re going in the first place. So, we went to the base tonight to get them. We have a method for being able to get into his office after hours. Anyway, we get there and realize that we forgot our “method” at home. LMAO!! All was not lost since we stopped at the Dunkin Doughnuts and bought a dozen for breakfast tomorrow. I guess we’ll just have to stop at the base on the way out of town in the morning even though I don’t really think it’s on the way. Oh well.

At this point in the evening, we’re mostly packed, mostly cleaned, and mostly tired. I can’t wait to get on the road in the morning and to the beach house. I’m very, very excited. WOOT!

Oh. And our tenants never sent their rent money and today is the deadline. Anyone surprised?

1 day until we leave on our vacation!!

Oops

Day 6:  NaBloPoMo

I’ve been working at my job since May and so far, it’s been a very positive experience. The extra money has been great but even more so, the experience that I’ve gained and the contacts that I’ve made have been awesome. The people that I work for are always changing and adding projects for me to do which keeps me on my toes, it helps me to learn new skills, and it keeps the work from getting old. I like what I do and the people I work with and for and they seem to like me and the work that I’m doing. Today, however, I had my first work f-up and wow! Was it a doozy.

I received a call from the CEO today to discuss what happened. He took the blame on himself as I was only doing what I was supposed to be doing and what happened would never have happened had they reviewed my proposed plan of action closer. Even so, I took partial blame because knowing what I know, I should’ve known better. I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life. The “injured party” took it upon himself to CC his entire board as well as our entire board (which was a major overreaction) so EVERYbody and their brother knew what happened. Our CEO called the “injured party” several names, lol, and told me not to worry about it but with this being my first major work faux pas, I’m having a hard time letting it go. I think if I weren’t so stressed with the VT house issues (tomorrow is their payment deadline), school work, and getting us ready to go on vacation, it probably wouldn’t bother me so much. It was bad timing all around I suppose.

Taking a deep breath and letting it go.

2 days until we leave on our vacation.

Day 5

Day 5:  NaBloPoMo

I’m almost 100% today. I must’ve had some sort of flu though because tonight, the oldest child is feeling the same way I did. Oh well. I survived and so will she, lol.

Pam asked to see the picture of Nicholas Sparks’ new house that I took the other day. I’ll post it but the picture doesn’t do the house justice in the least. The sun was shining through the windshield and the house is too big to fit into one frame. Yeah. It must be nice to be a successful author, lol. I also have pictures of his kids because they went to the same elementary school that my kids used to go to. But don’t even ask. I’m not putting them on the Internet. Nope. No way, no how. But you can rest assured, they’re cute kids. Anyway, here’s the pic:

What you can’t see is the humongous three car garage to the left, the two story deck in the rear, the docks for their boat and jet skis, the river that runs behind their house and the fact that it more closely resembles a castle than an actual house. It takes three heat pumps to heat and cool the place. My house takes one. Maybe someday I’ll go back and try to get a better picture. I like the house because it’s gorgeous not just because it belongs to someone famous but I feel very stalker-ish going out to it because it’s on a dead end drive so you really can’t pretend that you were just driving by. Heheheh.

Three days until we leave on our vacation.

A Bookish Meme

Day 4:  NaBloPoMo

I didn’t do a single thing today but lay around. I think I might have some sort of stomach bug. And I have a swelling on the back of my head which is making my headache worse. It’s a bit worrisome and if it gets bigger or doesn’t go away, a trip to the doctor is probably going to be in order. I’m hoping it goes away because I hate doctors and I don’t want this to interfere with my vacation.

Anyway, since I was a big slug today, I’m falling back on a meme that I had saved just for this occasion.

Book Themed 7 Random Things About Me Meme. I found this on Literary Feline’s blog.

1. It seriously bugs me when I have a series of books and they don’t all match. For instance, my In Death books, some are paperback and some are hard covers and I’m sorely tempted to buy duplicate copies so that I’ll have a matching set.

2. I don’t need bookmarks. I can close a book and open it right where I left off. That’s not to say that I don’t like bookmarks though because I do.

3. I learned to read when I was four. My parents thought that I had just memorized the book, so they tested me on a different one and I was able to read that one too.

4. I used to love to read trashy romances while I was in high school. Books that I totally wouldn’t want my own daughters to be reading at that age.

5. I’ll never understand people that don’t like to read. Hearing that is like listening to a foreign language to me. How can you not like to read???

6. Meeting Nora Roberts at her book signing was one of the best highlights of my life.

7. Heheh. We drove by Nicholas Sparks’ new house the other day so that I could take a picture of it. Really made me feel like a stalker-azi.

4 days until we leave on our vacation.

P.S.

I’m listening to the Mister on his Rosetta Stone again. Tonight, it sounds like he’s trying to hack up a fur ball.

4 days until we leave on our vacation.

Dead Ends

Day 4: NaBloPoMo

I had a busy day of making phone calls that ended in unreturned voicemails and sending e-mails that also didn’t get returned. I’m beginning to think it’s me, lol. The one person that returned my call, I couldn’t remember why I had called him lmao. Talk about embarrassing.

I did get through to my realtor in Vermont and after we iron out a few details, the house will be listed for sale. It should be no later than next week.

I really have nothing of interest to say. I literally spent my entire day on the phone or sending out e-mails. I currently have a migraine that won’t quit and it’s making me nauseated so I’m going to bed a bit early.

One last thing…The Mister is practicing German using the Rosetta Stone program. He’s stuck on a word that deteriorated into him sounding like a pirate. And he’s like, “You’re not blogging about this are you??” I answered, “Of course I am.” Hehehehehehe!!! Then he told me that I suck.

 

5 days until we leave on our vacation.

A Summary of My Weekend

Day 2: NaBloPoMo

We had a busy weekend which is very unlike us.

Saturday, we took the Scion in for an oil change, tire rotation, and its yearly state inspection. While we waited on the car, we went to the commissary for the first time in two weeks. No, we don’t go grocery shopping every two weeks normally, we were just too lazy to go last week. While we were in the commissary, I got a phone call from the car place but reception is really bad in there so I couldn’t hear what they were saying. I thought they were calling to tell me the car was ready to be picked up so I had the Mister drop me off and go on home with the groceries. Turns out they were calling to tell me they were done with the oil change and were getting ready to start the inspection and they hadn’t done the tire rotation either. As a result, I had to sit in the shop with nothing to do but watch Dinotopia, or whatever that show/movie is called, on TV. Luckily, an elderly gentleman loaned me his landscaping in the south book to read while I waited.

Saturday afternoon we had to take the oldest child shopping for a birthday present for her friend and then to the friend’s house for a sleepover. Once we got her dropped off, we went and did some shopping of our own and then headed home.

Oh. And somewhere in there, we cleaned out the Mister’s car from all the stuff we had left in the back when we moved. How lazy are we? Funnily enough, all of our liquor was stored in the underneath storage compartment. We’re such party animals that I didn’t even realize it was missing. Good thing he never got pulled over for anything because that would have been a LOT of open container charges.

Today, I was repeatedly called by my tenants despite the fact that I told them not to call me anymore. I ended up turning off my phone for four hours and then when I turned it back on, they called ten minutes later which tells me they had been trying to get a hold of me that entire four hours my phone was turned off. My lawyer told me not to take their calls since I tend to be soft-hearted on the phone. Well, we’re to the point that the reason why I won’t take their calls is because I’ll end up yelling and cussing at them. Either way, I’m not talking to them on the phone anymore because it’ll end up being bad for me. Also, if I get everything in writing, they can’t accuse me of anything else like they did in their e-mail yesterday.

The oldest child also had volleyball today. The way it works is that they play two games every Sunday. Today, they won one and lost one. She had a couple good plays too. We were very proud parents.

Now, I’m working on my homework. The topics for my Lit paper have me a little stumped so I will be putting in some hard work on it tonight.

6 days until we leave on our vacation.

Cue Ominous Music

Day 1:  NaBloPoMo

I wouldn’t say that the shit has hit the fan, pardon my French, however, we came pretty darn close.

I received a rather nasty e-mail from our worthless tenants that contained unfounded accusations this afternoon. Fun times. I have documented proof that her claims are false; it’s not just our word against hers. Our lawyer has advised that we offer no compromises, stick to our guns, and boot the bitch out. I paraphrased a bit here, lol. I responded to the aforementioned e-mail, following my lawyer’s instructions to a “T” and the house will be going on the market Monday. There’s no going back.

After I stopped being unbelievably angry at being accused of CRAP, I am really pleased with the results of our communication with the shiftless tenants and the advice of our lawyer. It will all work out in the end.

7 days until we leave on our vacation.