The birds...THE BIRDS!!!

I had a scary experience yesterday afternoon. I was sitting at my computer which is at the back of our house when I heard this really loud banging. It was loud enough that it scared the dog and the cat. My first thought, because I was going for the reasonable before the outrageous, was that the oil guy was delivering oil because the pipe is at the back of the house. When I looked out the window, however, I didn't see anyone at the pipe so my next thought was that someone was trying to break in the back door. I looked out the front door and that's when I saw the source of the noise: Crows. There had to be 40 or 50 crows out in the yard and I could see more on my neigbors' roofs so that's when I figured it out. I texted C and told him crows were banging on the house and he thought that I had lost my mind, lol. I never understood why the movie The Birds was so scary but seeing how swarms of crows behave in real life, I can totally see it now. And there were so many of them in the trees along our road this morning that they woke me up with all their racket. Also yesterday, they attacked another type of bird and left it for dead in our front yard. It's still out there too cuz I'm not picking it up, lol. Rural life is totally crazy.

Word Verification

Not that anyone ever leaves a comment, but I had to add the word verification for comments to my blog because I had a couple unwanted ad comments tonight. Just a heads up.

I'm Beginning to Hate XM

After I paid the freaking bill and had to speak to Idiot on the phone on Sunday, he said he'd restore our service. Well, the radio is in C's gov so we had to wait until Monday when he went to work to see if we actually had service. Sure enough, we didn't. So, I had to call the Idiots back and see what the heck. Also, after I checked my bank account to make sure the payment went through, not only did they charge me the regular 3 month payment but an additional payment of $13.73 was charged as well. I didn't authorize that and had no idea what it was for. While I'm on the phone trying to get the service restored, I ask about the charge. After speaking with TWO Idiots, neither one of them could explain the charge and agreed to credit my account. Well, YEAH YOU ARE!!! Then, THEN, I get a freaking hang up call from XM this morning. WTFreakingF?!!? Stop calling me!! I paid you!! I actually think they might be worse than AOL's customer service. All I know is they better stop harassing me or I'm gonna cancel the service and make them eat the damn radio. SHEESH!!!

On a happier note, C and I got a UPS delivery today and it is SWEET!! I'm not telling what it is cuz I don't want to have to hear about it from people who think they have a right to say something but OH YEAH BABY!! It is ever so cool. I'm off!

The Caravan

Came and went. Geez. It was totally nerve wracking for some reason. There were about 20 realtors in all and they were all polite and whatnot. They really liked the gray paint and the blue color in the girls' rooms. It's "crisp and pops" was how they described it. I hope we start getting people out now. Oh, and they commented on how clean the house was which is completely laughable. Do people really show their homes to realtors dirty and messy?

I just about killed myself sanding the front porch yesterday. I sanded for about 4 hours and I would only call it about 1/4 of the way done. My arm, hand, and shoulder hurt so bad I don't think I slept more than a couple hours last night.

And I've been meaning to mention how smart my dog is. I know a lot of people train their dogs to do tricks and call them smart also. Bailey can do tricks; sit, lay down, catch, shake, and we're teaching her the Lady and the Tramp trick with the treat on the nose. But in addition to all that, she can recognize music. I have the alarm on my cell phone set to go off at 8:40 in the morning and at 3:10 in the afternoon and it plays Dare by the Gorillaz. When she hears it, she immediately goes to her crate. She doesn't do it for any other ring tone on my phone, just the alarm. And if you're thinking she just knows the time of day, which would also be smart, we tried just playing the tone randomly this past Saturday and she recognized it. Smart dog, right?

Well, I'm going to try and relax for the rest of the day. It's supposed to rain until Thursday so the porch is going to have to wait to be finished and the house is spotless so I'm good to play the part of a slug for at least a day. Woohoo!

More Power, House Woes, And XM Radio

More Power:

I acquired my very first power tool yesterday. We have other power tools, drills, saws, etc., but this tool was bought specifically for me. I got a very nice handheld sander. Woohoo, heheh. I'm redoing my front porch. It's the whole curb appeal thing. Even with the sander, it's not as simple as I thought it was going to be. When we bought this house, the front porch was painted a peeling dull green. I guess it was supposed to match the dark green shutters on our house. My plan was to sand off the paint and stain it a nice cedar color. I think wood looks nicer when it's a natural color rather than painted. But, I don't think I have enough time to do all that so I'm just going to sand off the majority of the paint and re-paint it a nice dark green that will actually match the shutters and the front door. I think it'll look nice when it's all done. At the very least it'll look better than it was.

House Woes:

The rest of our weekend was pretty busy. Saturday we made another trip to the Salvation Army with the 6+ boxes of toys we gave away plus another box of clothes. It's ridiculous the amount of crap we had sitting around that we had no use for and there's more in the basement that just needs to be thrown away. Then on Sunday we fixed the water filter, put up a carbon monoxide detector so that we're in compliance with Vermont laws now, sanded some of the front porch, and mowed the lawn. I was so tired last night that I went to bed at 10 which is just unusual for me because I don't normally do things that make me feel old, lol. Tomorrow I have a realtor caravan coming first thing in the morning. So, I get to kill myself cleaning my already clean house since I'm completely OCD about it now and it never seems to be clean enough. We also bought a book this weekend about selling your house so I get to obsess over the multitude of things we've already done wrong.

And XM Radio:

Their customer service department is as bad as AOL's. I had to cancel my credit card recently because the number was stolen. This was the card that I was using to pay the XM bill, but because it normally gets paid automatically each month, I forgot to change the account and it didn't get paid on time this month. They called me on the 11th and I explained the situation and that I would go online myself and pay the bill. The girl told me that she'd give me until the 16th to pay it, no big deal. Please take note that today is the 16th. Anyway, C told me that he had no service on Friday, the idiots, and XM proceeded to call me at least 4 times a day sometimes letting the phone only ring once before hanging up. I paid the freaking bill Thursday but that didn't stop the stinking morons from harassing me. Finally, they called yesterday, once was a hang up and the second time I was able to answer the phone in a very belligerent tone (you gotta love caller ID), "What?" The guy was all flustered and explained to me that my service was interrupted and he would like to help me fix that. I told him, "I paid the freaking bill. What more do you people want, blood?" And he was all, "You paid the bill?" And I'm like, "Yeah and you people have proceeded to call me 4 or 5 times a day despite that, sometimes hanging up before I can answer the phone." And he stutters a little and says, "Oh. Well, I apologize for that. Would you like me to restore your service now?" WTF?!?!? No. Please don't do that. I like paying for things that I'm not getting. FREAKING IDIOT!!! Where do they dig these people up??? But our service is back on and I hope to the gods they're done calling me cuz the next time won't be pretty.

So, that was my weekend. I lead such an exciting life and you're jealous, I know. I bet you're wishing you could kill yourself fixing up a house that you won't ever get to enjoy too. Too bad. I'm not sharing.

Correction

I have to amend my earlier ranting at my house's listing. The only one I saw that day was at one website. My house is listed at 2 additional websites and the other ones show pictures of our view. Still no good ones of the floor, but whatever. So anyway...

I talked to the housing office at our next duty station yesterday. No go there. There isn't a waiting list for the units we'd be living in but they only have 1080 sqft. WTF?!?! This is 3 bedroom, staff NCO housing. How in the world is anyone actually supposed to fit all of their stuff into that little itty bitty space?? The master bedroom is only slightly bigger than my kids' rooms right now. I'd be able to fit, ummm....my bed in there and that's it. I guess that's the essential piece of furniture for a bedroom but we have clothes too. Geez! The kitchen I have now is smallish and not an eat-in kitchen at all. The kitchen in base housing is smaller than the one I have now and there is no room labeled as "dining room". Where are you supposed to eat? If it could have been just like the housing we had in San Diego it would have been perfect but it's missing a few hundred square feet. And the lady told me that the 4 bedroom houses have the SAME SQUARE FEET! How is that possible? Where did they put the fourth bedroom? I just don't know.

Did you all hear about the snow that Buffalo got last night?? I shouldn't laugh because my karma will come back around and get me but 2 feet in the second week of October is just funny. Now that I said that we'll probably get a massive snow storm the day we're supposed to move and get snowed in.

Last night's Grey's Anatomy was just kick ass as usual. I hope Mer sticks with McDreamy's decision. Nuff said.

I had more stuff to say but it all went out of my head. I haven't eaten yet today so that could be my problem. I'm gonna go find a late lunch.

Sometimes Technology Can Be Scary

I just bought a new headset deal for my computer. You know, the headphones with the microphone. Anyway, I'm sitting here listening to music real loud because they're pretty awesome headphones. Buried Myself Alive by The Used comes up on shuffle and I'm singing at the top of my lungs cuz I can't hear myself and nobody else can either since I'm home alone. And then I totally scare the crap out of myself when one part of the song comes on and I thought the noise was coming from behind me. I whipped the headphones off and jumped out of my chair faster than I've moved in recent memory, lmao. Then after I laugh at my own idiocy, I went and locked the front door just to be safe cuz I made myself paranoid, lol. Geez. I'm telling you, living in the country for the last 3 years has made me more weird than I usually am. I lived in San Diego by myself for 6 months while C was deployed and would sit at night with all the lights off, the doors and windows open, watching scary movies and was never as creeped out as I get here in broad freaking daylight. I think I've seen Children of the Corn too many times or something. Everyone knows that evil lurks in corn fields not on city streets, heheh. And now because I'm sitting here thinking about it too much, I had to turn the music off and take the headphones off so that I can hear if anything creeps up behind me to slash my throat.

Zoloft of Paxil anyone??

I just had to vent a little. What better place than my very own blog.

I saw the listing for my house for the first time this morning and I don't like it. You can't see the one of the dining room because it was backlit. That freaking hardwood floor took freaking MONTHS to put in. I want the damn thing shown on the listing. Know what I mean? And another picture is basically of a wall and the hallway. Wtf?? And NO pictures of the view. Our view is great. The pizza delivery people and the UPS guy always comment on our view. Put up a freaking picture of it!!! They're only allowed 6 pictures. I get that. But if one of them is a picture so dark you can barely tell what you're looking at, why use that one and not a good one of the view? I wonder if it would be ok if I talked to my realtor about this. The best pictures were of the kitchen and our fireplace. We have an awesome fireplace. I hope we start getting people wanting to see the house soon and many offers soon after that. Keep your fingers crossed people!!!



A picture of the view from my front porch.

My dining room. Disregard the dog's head and the paintings on the floor. I can't decide if I want to hang them up or not. The pictures, not the dog's head. 

Now You Know You're Old

I was at Myspace this morning checking things. Anyway, I ran across the profile for a girl that I used to babysit for back when I was in high school. She's 23 years old now. Sheesh!!! I may as well go out and dig my grave cuz I'm done. I feel ancient. It's really pathetic.

The Information Age

Why is it that some people are more interested in technology than others? And I know that it's not an age thing. I was talking with this woman that I know who's my age and says she never touches the computer and has never shopped online. I do about 80% of my Christmas shopping online and buy something at least once a month online. I'm on the internet several times a day and don't leave the house without my cell phone. If not for my Palm, I'd forget a million appointments. And although my iPod doesn't really serve a purpose, I love how small it is and how many songs it can hold, lol. I just can't understand people who have no use for or just don't like technology.

In my opinion, they have no idea what they're missing. If I didn't have my computer and access to the internet, my life would fall apart. Well, at the very least, my bills wouldn't get paid on time and my checkbook would be a mess. I do absolutely ALL my banking online and pay all my bills through my bank's web bill pay. I've had the same box of checks for 18 months and am only on the second book.

Technology is our friend people!!! For those of you resistant to it, you really should consider changing your ways because it's not going anywhere. It's in your cars, on your highways, in your house, in your children's schools, it's freaking everywhere. You can't escape it so you may as well give into it and educate yourself on how to live efficiently in the 21st century.

Strange People

On my way home from the grocery store today I saw the tackiest thing in my neighborhood. Somebody had a lawn flamingo dressed up like a turkey. I had to laugh because it was so silly looking but I wouldn't be caught dead with such a thing in my yard. I prefer shaggy grass and bicycles.

My cat just caught a fly mid-air and ate it. Isn't he talented?

It's Done

Our house is officially for sale. The sign is in the yard and everything. It's a weird feeling. As soon as the realtor left, I felt like the house is no longer mine and essentially, it isn't. From this point on, complete strangers have access to the house until someone decides to buy it. I can't stuff dirty laundry in the closet to hide it or leave the bedroom doors shut to keep people out. Our life, as far as our house is concerned, is an open book. It really feels invasive.

I also forgot to mention in my first post for today that they are forecasting snow showers for us Vermonters on Friday. Isn't that nice?? 70's today, snow on Friday. ::Sigh::

I'm going to go and relax for the first time in a month.

Neighbors...They're All Evil

Up until this point, I haven't specifically targeted anyone in my posts. People may have taken a thing or two personally, but that was unintentional on my part. Tonight, this post is specifically directed at a person or persons: Bad Neighbors. If you've been a bad neighbor in the past, a pox on you and your karma will get you if it hasn't already.

What's the point of this, you ask? Well, I'm sitting here in my house with all the doors and windows shut (it's only 46 degrees outside) listening to my neighbors' live band. Yes. You read that right: LIVE BAND. I can hear it well enough to tell you that those people don't need to be performing for anybody at all. THEY SUCK! And the bands they are covering should put out a contract on them. The point of this party? Someone had a baby. Apparently, newborns like loud, sucky bands and beer. Things must have changed in the last 7 years since I've had a baby last.

Am I just being uptight? Well, you could say that I am, however, this isn't the first live performance that I've been subjected to by these neighbors and this particular band. Their suckiness is one of kind that's how I know it's the same band as the last party. They've been going at it for 6+ hours now and counting. Last time they didn't pack up until almost midnight and I had to listen to my kids complain about not being able to get to sleep and then to their irritableness all the next day from lack of sleep. They are also having their guests park along the street turning it into a one lane obstacle course and they're also parking in the fields behind our houses that's owned by the city and leased by a private company where there are signs stating no vehicles.

Oh lord. They're butchering Mississippi Queen. It's just awful. I wish I had a way of recording them and posting some audio on here so you all could share in my good fortune.

So, if you've been a bad neighbor in the past, repent and confess your sins. If you're currently a bad neighbor, STOP IT and learn to be considerate of other people who are paying out the butt for property taxes to live next to your nastiness.

In the end, remember that I've never claimed to be a people person and have the right to hate all neighbors. Also, they just completely murdered Turn the Page by Bob Seger. That should be illegal.

Discouraging Day

I met with our realtor today. While he said that our house was very nice and had several features to make it desirable, in order for it to be competitively priced with similar houses currently on the market, we'll have to ask $8,000 less than we had originally planned. This is very upsetting to me for several reasons that I don't feel like going into on here. One house that we actually looked at when we were looking to buy sold for $3,000 more than we were going to ask but it was on the market for something like 430 days. Ummm...We have 90 give or take a day or two. At this point, I don't know what to do. And if anyone tells me not to worry about it, that things will take care of themselves, I'll have to beat you. A) That's not true. And B) That's not what I want to hear right now. I'm wallowing. Allow me to wallow.

One good thing is that my house is so spotlessly clean that you could eat off of any of the floors. Another bad thing is that he said we should have our carpets stretched and that I should strip and stain our front porch. ARGH!!!!! Is that going to give me an additional $8,000 dollars?? Is all that really worth the time and considerable money?? I just wish all this would go away. I hope Pierre rots in hell the freaking spawn of the devil, whoremongering, biotch.

Anyone have $8,000 I could borrow interest free?? ;P

Music Critics Corner

I'm going to start with Gnarls Barkley. Not only is his name ridiculous but his song, Crazy, is annoying and repetitive. What, exactly, is that song trying to say and with a name like Gnarls Barkley, do I really care?

Next, Nelly Furtado. Her breakout album was Whoa, Nelly back in 2000 with the song, I'm Like a Bird. This year, she released Loose featuring songs like Promiscuous and Maneater. She has received a lot of negative reviews saying that she sold out in order to become more popular and make more money because she started out with a more folksy style versus the mainstream dance music on her newest album. Personally, I like her wearing both mantles. You can either mellow out or be really hyped up with her music. I think that the people criticizing her latest musical effort do so out of jealousy because she is really cleaning up. Right now, Maneater is #12 and promiscuous is #30 on iTunes so her songs can't be all that bad.

And last for today, Jibbs' song Chain Hang Low. That is the most fun song to sing along to playing on the radio right now. I suppose if you're not a fan of hip-hop you wouldn't think so, but I have a diversified interest in music and like most genres. And even though I'm a child of the 80's I'm not stuck on the 80's hair-band music, lol. :P Chain Hang Low is just a really fun song and it totally gets stuck in your head but in a good way.

Oh oh!! And before I forget...C and I got to hear 50 Cent and Eminem's new song last night via channel 93.3's website out of San Diego. It was pretty cool considering that 93.3 was the only station in the country to have the song and we got to hear it here on the east coast before everyone else with the exception of all the people in San Diego that were listening too. I listen to that channel a lot on my computer since our one and only Top 40 station became a classic rock station recently and it also happened to be the only station that I could get on my stereo in the house, the little buggers.

Anyway, that's it for today.

Blog Issues

I think I have blog issues. Why, you ask? Because I'm constantly composing entries in my head all the time. In fact, while I was at the mall today, I was thinking of something to post and that's when I decided I had issues and that I needed to post about that, heheh. I'm disturbed in the head. If I'm not being obsessed with which side of the oven to put my spice rack, I'm thinking about stuff to post on the blog. You're probably thinking that if this is true, my posts would be more interesting and better composed, lol. Maybe I should take a break. But then, if I don't have something semi-constructive to focus on, I worry about what sort of centerpiece to put on my dining room table or if there are spots on the walls that I need to touch up or if my pantry looks cluttered instead of just full. These are seriously the things I'm worrying about these days with the realtor coming tomorrow to get the process started on selling the house. I watch too much HGTV and I'm constantly rearranging things around my house and I think about the blog too much. I need an intervention or something.

Ok. I'm going to go clean something now.

Chapter...Ummm...Of the Mouse Saga

As some of you know, we had a mouse problem a couple months back hence why we now have Cal in our family. Well, before we rescued Cal, we tried mouse traps. You know, the ones where you put the bait in the middle and then they go inside and it twists shut on them. Apparently, we had clever mice. I was cleaning behind our microwave today where we had a trap set and the label on top that hides the bait was all chewed up, the bait was gone, and there were mouse droppings freaking ON the trap where the little buttheads had sat eating their treat!!!! Freaking waste of money traps. We bought four of them and did not catch one single mouse in them. How funny, huh?

Anyway, back to cleaning for me.

My Favorite Things

I was putting on my perfume and was inspired to write this...

• Ralph Lauren's Hot perfume. Yum.
• The smell of freshly cut grass in the summer.
• The ocean...It's sounds, smells, and views.
• The absolute quiet there is when it snows at night and you go outside to stand in it.
• Bailey and Cal.
• San Diego.
• My sister.
• Sleeping in a freshly made bed.
• Mexican food from the dive in Borrego Springs.
• My friends that I never get to see.
• My 4Runner, lol. I don't care that it's a gas guzzler and not a friend to the environment.
• Reading.
• My iPod, laptop, cell phone, and Palm.
  

The kids and hubby go with out saying. They are above and beyond being my "favorite things" that why they don't need to be on this list.

Nerves!!

I just set the appointment with my realtor to get our house on the market. Sheesh! Now I'm all nervous and excited at the same time. I'm hoping he tells me that we'll have no problem selling the house in our time frame and for what we want to ask for it. If not, I don't know what we'll do. I've spent the entire morning up until now, 1:20, cleaning. And it's not the dusting and vacuuming-type cleaning it's the tear everything apart and put it all away and then deep clean-type cleaning. I'm also trying to find a happy medium between bare walls and cluttered walls then I'll have to fill in holes and do some touch-up painting. Busy, busy, busy.

Did anyone watch Barbara Walters' interview with Terri Irwin Wednesday night? It was one of the most heart-wrenching things I've ever witnessed. I cried right along with Terri. I think that's the first interview that I've ever watched Walters conduct in it's entirety and I didn't realize how fake she comes off. She nodded her head at the right times and had a real sympathetic look on her face but anyone with a heart would have shed a few tears listening to Terri and I don't care how much of professional you are supposed to be. I think it's safe to say that I'm not a fan of Walters at all and she can stuff The View. I can't believe that show has been on for ten years. Just goes to show most of America has no taste.

Did you all catch Grey's Anatomy last night?? Is it going to be McDreamy of McVet? I'm voting for McVet because I like looking at Chris O'Donnell, heheh, and I think Derek is an idiot. But oh well.

Well, I have more cleaning to do and I have to fit in a shower before I go to pick up the girls from school so I'm off...

Top 10 Driving Pet Peeves

I found this list while surfing Google this morning. I thought it was pretty funny. I'd have to consider myself a Piggybacker, Space Invader, and Road Rager, heheh. I've had to deal with almost all the rest of those drivers on the road though. How about everyone else?

A U.S. Insurance company recently completed a poll of it's customers to determine the things that really tick them off while driving.

---

1.	Distracted drivers talking on cell phones (Motor Mouths)
2.	Slow drivers in the fast lane (Turtle Racers)
3.	Pushy drivers who tailgate (Piggybackers)
4.	Drivers who weave through traffic to gain one of two car lengths (Wacky Weavers)
5.	Obnoxious drivers who speed up to keep you from changing lanes (Gap Snatchers)
6.	Hasty drivers who change lanes without signalling (Space Invaders)
7.	Road Rage (Road Ragers)
8.	Motorcyclists who race down the middle of a lane, between cars (Speed Racers)
9.	Women applying makeup and men shaving (Driving Divas)
10.	Drivers who leave their turn signals on for miles (Morse Coders)

Advil and Homework: The Great Circle of Life

I don't know what was up with Blogger yesterday, but it certainly wasn't up to par. The fact that I only had 2 visitors yesterday, I can figure it was the same for everyone else. Everything seems to be running smoothly today though so here we go.

Since we moved into our house almost 18 months ago, 7 houses have been for sale on our street and around the corner and the eighth went up for sale yesterday. This is really making us sweat getting our house sold since our house will make the fourth house for sale on our street. If you've ever gone through the process of buying or selling a house, you know that closing on it takes months and that's if everything goes smoothly with the loan, inspections, and so forth. So, if we don't get a buyer within the first month, the girls and I won't be moving Jan 2nd as we plan on doing and we'll be left in C dust since he doesn't really have a choice as to when he has to move. Can anybody say, "Tension headache?" I've had one for 2 days now. Ugh.

Did you ever figure that once you graduated high school and college that you'd be done with homework? I'm currently on hiatus from taking classes until we get moved and I still spend about 2 hours a day doing homework, the kids' homework. It's amazing what you forget over the years such as what a rhombus is or concave and convex. Last night M had grammar homework and she was also working on her book report. I get more stressed out over their work than I ever did with my own.

Is anyone enjoying the new tv shows this season? I like several of the new shows this season which means they'll all get cancelled. That's me being the eternal optimist that I am.

Evel Knievel and Other Things

I forgot to mention this past Friday that I saw the end all, be all, dumb driving stunt on my way to pick up C from work. I decided not to post about it, however, because it was such a crazy thing nobody would believe me and my credibility where the other incidences are concerned would be shattered. So, I'll just have to leave you all guessing as to what I witnessed.

On to the "Other Things" portion of our program...

I am so sore that I could barely sleep last night. I spent all day yesterday making home repairs and painting primer on the girls' room walls yesterday and now I can barely move. Unfortunately this doesn't mean that I get to lounge around until I feel better. I have errands to run today that I didn't get to do on Friday because of the cable guy being so late and I have to actually paint the girls' room today. They had to sleep on the pull-out last night because all their furniture is stacked in the middle of their room. And something that I found to be odd is that while primer is thinner than paint, it's impossible to wash off. I'm covered in it because I had such a limited area to work in that I got it all over me and in my hair and I can't get it off! C was supportive enough to tell me that I look diseased, lol.

So we're down to 6 days before we put the house up for sale. I can't believe we're down to the wire on moving. 3 years goes by so fast even it it's three years of hell.

Well, I'm off to start my very long day. Wish me luck that I get everything done.

You Only Get What You Pay For

I'm a firm believer in my title. There are just some things in this world that buying cheap gets you nowhere.

• Lucky Charms. Magic Stars knock off just doesn't come close.
• Paint brushes. I bought a cheapo brush from the Home Depot and it was a piece of crap. I then went out and bought another brush that I had to pay a little more for and it was worth every cent.
• Windshield wipers.
• Canned soup. If it isn't Campbell's it sucks.
• Shoes.
  
• Crayons.
• Dog and cat food. If you don't believe me, feed Bailey some of the cheap stuff and see if she doesn't run you out of the room in a matter of minutes.
• Cars.
  
• Cheese.
• Tools.
• Laundry Detergent.

That's all I can think of right now.

Tech Support

So, I had to call the cable company yesterday because one of my DVR's isn't working properly. It was zapped by an electrical storm a couple weeks ago but I wasn't too concerned about getting it fixed since all that was on tv was reruns. Yesterday, however, there were three shows on at 10 last night that I wanted to watch so I had to record two on my other DVR and watch the third on the living room tv. Not really a big deal, but a sign of things to come. I broke down and finally called the cable company yesterday to see if I could just exchange my DVR for a new one or if I had to go through the whole troubleshooting process over the phone. Which one do you think I had to endure? Yeah. I was on the phone with tech support for 15 minutes which really isn't that bad considering it normally takes them 30-60 minutes to tell me they don't know what's wrong. I really hate it when they treat you like a moron. The first thing she asked me is if I had unplugged it to reset it. Ummm...DUH!! That was the first freaking thing I tried. Geez! Then she tried "sending the DVR a signal" twice to see if that helped and it didn't so now I'm sitting here waiting for a service person to come and look at it personally. My fix-it window is from 10am-2pm. If they don't show up till 2, my whole day is shot. I'm crossing my fingers that they'll be here closer to 10 so I can run errands today. Anywho...

Did anyone watch Grey's Anatomy last night? OMG! I absolutely love that show and it was totally worth waiting the whole summer for the new season to begin last night. I watched season 2's finale the night before and bawled my eyes out worse than I did the first time I watched it. I don't want to give out any details of last night's episode in case anyone has it recorded and waiting for them but MAN! It was great and I'm already excited about next week's episode, heheh. I'm addicted.

Anyway, maybe I'll be back later with something that's actually interesting to blog, lol.

Enlightenment

I think that I have finally found the religion for me. (No. This isn't the religion post. Sorry Dana.) Upon surfing the blogs that I read daily I found an entry that I couldn't resist checking out for myself. See for yourself: Church of Holy Avitableness

Is it funny or what? However, as with most religions, there are certain tenants to which I don't hold. Example: Under "Sins of Blogging"

#1: Mommyblogging: Blogging about your children's daily lives instead of your own, is a mortal sin, and all mommybloggers go immediately to AOHell.

I do that from time to time. Since this blog started out as a way for our family to keep up with us, I think I should be excused from this sin. Another thing I don't agree with is the Veronica Mars thing. I have never seen an episode of it and couldn't tell you what day of the week it's on or what channel for that matter. Other than that, I'm on board!! I knew I'd eventually find someone who could spew a religion that I could follow along with.

Template Changes

In the place of a scathing post which I seem to be full of lately, I decided to add a music video thing to my blog. I actually stole the idea from another blogger whose blog I find nifty. The third video is a song by Jack Johnson who is one of my favorite artists. It starts out like a behind the scenes thing but if you drag the progress bar so that it's in the middle of the stop button and the previous button, that's where the song actually starts and it's one of my favorite Jack Johnson songs. Just thought I'd give a heads up. Also, I'm going to try and keep it updated and change the videos every so often so that we don't tired. I don't take requests either, LOL. I'll put up what I'm in the mood to be listening to at that moment.

I also updated the calendar. Can't forget to watch the second season premier of Meerkat Manor, heheheh.

Anyway, I have lots of house prep cleaning to do today so that's it for now.

Boring, Boring, Boring

That was my weekend, hence, no updates. Even as I'm sitting here I'm having a hard time coming up with something to say. I've had my nose stuck in books all weekend. I think I read 3 or 4 Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich. Nothing like funny bounty hunter stories to pass the time. C had dep'ers and shippers to take down to Mass. last night so it was just me and the girls. The girls have no school today cuz of one of those teacher work day deals so they've been bugging me since 8 something this morning and now they're fighting over who gets the last of the pizza we had from Pizza Hut the other day. I think I might settle the argument by eating the pizza myself and they can find something else. Don't I have the best parenting skills? Yummm. Nothing like cold pepperoni pizza and ranch dressing for brunch.

I have a topic I would like to discuss but I'm seriously hesitating bringing it up as it would be a sensitive subject to almost everyone I know. Since I enjoy speaking my mind and do so much more freely on my blog, I know I would piss off A LOT of people. Should I leave it alone or walk the dark path to hell? And while we're on this subject, I have something I'd like to say.

I have been told in the past that I'm "mean" and too brutal when it comes to my opinions. From this, I have drawn the conclusion that when people ask for advice what they're really wanting is to hear that they are right. I have actually been told this by someone almost word for word when they came to vent to me about their life's screwups. If you go to someone for advice, you should do so honestly wanting to hear what the other person has to say. If you only want to hear what you want to hear, start having conversations with yourself in the mirror and save other people the trouble of being drawn into your problems where they really don't want to be in the first place. Secondly, if I actually said all the things that I wanted to say, most people I know would not just be thinking that I'm mean, but they'd end up crawling off crying dragging along what little dignity they had behind in their wake. And also, so some of you people know, when I don't speak my mind to the fullest, I feel like I'm being two-faced so I always have this little debate going on in my head before I say things: Should I tell them the truth and hurt their itty bitty feelings or tell them what they want to hear and be dishonest? Maybe some of you should think about that the next time you're considering going to me or someone else for advice. Bottom line is you should ask yourselves if you like hearing the truth or if you like living in your fantasy world bubble of self-righteousness. I bet half the people reading this can't even be honest enough with themselves to answer honestly. And lastly before panties get too much in a twist, when I vent or go to someone for advice, I do want to hear the stinking truth or else I wouldn't have asked at all. There was this one time I got a haircut I didn't really like. I asked C if he liked it and he said yes. I found out like 3 or 4 years later that he lied cuz he didn't want to hurt my feelings. Yes. I was still mad about it even all that time later.

Man, I have a lot of pent-up hostility.


Okay, okay okay okay. I'm just going to say it. No, I'm going to think about it a while longer. Geez. See what you people do to me?

3 Days and Counting

I swear I'm not making this stuff up. I observed another "Dumb Vermont Driver" incident this morning while dropping the girls off at school. At the school, there is a one lane driveway that is specifically for dropping off students at school and there are signs stating "No Parking". Does this stop people from parking there? Nope and this morning was no exception.

I pull around and I'm the fourth car in line dropping of kids. The lady in the first position has parked her car to take her children inside so the rest of us schmucks all waiting for her to get back so we can leave. She gets back and goes to open her car door and about falls on her butt when her hand slips off the handle because she has LOCKED HER KEYS IN THE CAR!!! I tell the girls to go ahead and get out of our car and go inside so they're not late to school and I'm sitting there laughing my butt off at her idiocy. Maybe, just maybe, her karma was coming to get her for parking her car in a drop off zone and not the parking lot which is a mere few feet away. Anyway, the rest of us had to go off the road to get around her so we can leave the school while she went inside to call a locksmith, heheh.

So, it wasn't even 9 in the morning and I've already had my good laugh for the day.

Already Need to Add to My List

I think it's safe to say that people, in general, annoy me. I'm not one of those people who can take a leisurely drive. I like to get from point A to point B in a timely and efficient manner, period. People in Vermont make that an almost impossible feat.

This morning I was driving C to work. It's about a 20 minute drive round trip. Anyway, I'm on this road that's three lanes; one lane headed north and two lanes heading south. In Vermont, when you have two lanes headed in the same direction, one is a driving lane and one is a passing lane. Well, I get behind this yahoo this morning that was deliberately swerving between the two lanes trying to keep me behind him and he's only going somewhere between 30-35 mph in a 40 mph FREAKING ZONE! Wtf!! When I finally get the chance to get around him, I end up having to go 60 mph in a 40 mph zone just so I won't get run off the road. What's up with people? And then!! Last night on the same road on the way to pick C up from work I'm in the passing lane, ya know, passing somebody, and someone idiot coming north up the hill starts crossing double yellows and is headed straight for me. Luckily, the slow poke I was passing was clear behind me and I was able to jerk myself into the other lane before getting into a head-on collision. I looked behind in my rear view and said idiot was driving in the passing lane going in the wrong FREAKING DIRECTION!! Does Vermont breed idiot, slow-ass drivers or what?? And don't get me started on how they handle construction zones around here. Oh oh! And I almost forgot to mention something else that happened this morning. To get to C office, we go down this road that's actually an alley way type deal. Anyway, one side goes in one direction and the other in the opposite direction with big huge "Do Not Enter" signs to help idiots figure out which way they should go. Well, we're headed down the road and some dork drives right past the sign and goes the wrong way down a one way road. I swear.

Now, it's not even 8am and I'm already stressed out and pissed off. I hate people.

A Few Changes

I decided to simplify and change my template a bit. I was sort of tired of the busy waterfall scene but am not sure if this template is too simple. So, I'm giving it a trial run to see if I likes or not.

Stuff that Pisses Me Off or is Just Annoying

In no particular order:

1. Liars and cheats. Should go without saying and doesn't need further explanation.

2. People who don't leash their dogs and allow them to pee and crap all over the neighborhood.

3. People who don't drive the speed limit and complain when they get tailgated. Hey, if you're going to go 40 in a 45 you deserve to have my SUV up your butt.

4. Having too much importance placed on party affiliation. Calling yourself a Democrat or a Republican shouldn't automatically mean you believe in one thing or another. It's like it turns off one's ability to make a decision and have an independent opinion.

5. People who have the right of way at an intersection but let other people who don't have the right of way go before them. I really hate polite drivers.

6. Drunk calls. I've made them myself in the past and thought it was hilarious but realize now that they're just stupid and make you sound stupid and I don't like being on the receiving end of them at all. Have proper phone etiquette for pete's sake. Call me sober or don't call at all unless you need a ride home.

7. Neighbors who let their dogs bark from dawn till dusk.

8. People who make excuses as to why it's ok to smoke pot.

9. People who judge the cleanliness of somebody else's house. Just because there are backpacks and shoes out and about at my house and some dishes that should be in the dishwasher but are in the sink instead doesn't mean it's dirty. It means we live here. Get over yourself.

10. Friends who say that they don't want to be a bother by calling or coming over. We must not really be friends if that's how you feel.

I'm going to stop at ten but reserve the right to add to or amend my list. Also, before anyone makes snap judgments here, I'm in a really good mood and have had a good day. I just felt like having a little fun on my blog.

P.S.

I just realized that my blog doesn't view correctly if you're using Internet Explorer. Well, I use Firefox so I don't really feel inclined to fix it, lol. Firefox is a free download, and in my opinion, superior to IE. So, there ya go.

Judgment

This topic could have elements of religion added to it but for the time being, I’d prefer to leave religion out and keep this strictly opinion.

This is a topic that I see in a different light since having taken a class on ethics. It’s not so black and white as many people think it is.

Most often, being judgmental or passing judgment only has to do with some negative aspect. Example: Susie stays with her husband who is a deadbeat. Her friends and family shake their heads, cluck their tongues, look down their noses, and wonder why she’s ignorant enough to stay with a man who is “good for nothing”. Susie’s family is negatively judging her. Everyone is familiar with this type of judging. We’ve all done it whether or not we like to admit it. Some of us claim that they don’t judge at all, to each his own, and it’s none of my business. You may honestly believe this about yourself but as long as you have the ability to observe people and the environment around you, you can’t help but pass judgment in some form or another at some point.

Ponder this side as well…Have you ever considered that when you see something or someone as good, you’re passing judgment? Example: Johnny came home from school with straight A’s on his report card. His family is so proud and congratulates him on a job well done and grandpa slips him some cash as a reward. Johnny has just been judged as a good student worthy of praise and reward.

Everyone passes judgment whether in a good way or in a bad way all the time. Doing so is in the human nature. You could almost say it is a trait of humanity. Unless you live a completely isolated life, it is impossible to escape this trait and even then you’d probably judge yourself and how you’re coping with your solitary life.

So, this is my view on being judgmental. Everybody does it, everybody has been judged, good or bad, and nobody is exempt from either. To say you don’t, won’t, or haven’t is a lie, or fib if you will. Lie seems like a harsh and judgmental word here.

Okay. All this being said, blah, blah, blah, I saw the saddest thing on an episode of Miami Ink. I’m not going to go into the details of what the show is or the characters. You’re on the internet. Look it up. Anyway, Kat, one of the artists, was feeling blue and homesick because she didn’t feel like she fit in with the people of Miami. As they videotaped her walking down the street, people were staring with shock and derision. It was horrible to watch. Just because of her tattoos and the way she dressed, you could see people judging her as a freak. From what you see of her on the show, she’s a really “normal” person with friends, family, and a good job. One of the oldest clichés is never judge a book by its cover. In light of today being the anniversary of 9/11 and the fact that people look and make up their minds about people without getting to know someone, this is one cliché we should all take to heart.

Goodbye Steve

As I'm sure you've all heard by now, Steve Irwin who was better known as the Crocodile Hunter died. You can read the story in the above link if you're some sort of weirdo who's been living in a hole all day and haven't heard the news.

I remember the first time I ever saw him doing a show and it was something like the 12 Deadliest Snakes or some such and I thought he was a complete whack-job. I learned, however, that he was a brilliant conservationist and friend to all of Earth's creatures.

It's strange to be moved by the death of someone you don't even know in person, but I will really miss Steve and his shows. I feel for his wife and children and they are in my thoughts.

Cal Doing What He Does Best

 

Cal in the Kitchen Window

 

Cal the Cat

This is Cal. He's just the best cat ever and a great mouser. 

The Llama Song

Llama Song

Entering the Millennium

I'm an official member of the millennium. Wanna know why? I got an iPod over the weekend! Woohoo! It's one of the best gadgets I've ever owned. I think it's somewhat of a gyp that iTunes charges a buck a song but I already had close to a thousand MP3's (should I even put that out there on the internet??) on my computer so I had a good library to upload and listen to this week.

We took another trip to Manchester, NH on Sunday; The Land of No Sales Tax! Heheh. We bought the girls their back to school stuff and a few other odds and ends. We also hit up Bertucci's which has the best pizza we've ever had anywhere. Wood-fired buddy! Blows Pizza Hut clear out of the water, lol.

This is a tidbit that's been floating around in my head for a couple weeks now so I'll take this opportunity to bring it up...Have any of you ever seen the documentary Supersize Me? If you haven't and you're a fastfood lover you should. That's one freaking scary ass documentary. I haven't touched fastfood since I've seen it. You know they put preservatives and other crap in their food to make you crave it and become emotionally dependent on it, right? Keep that in mind next time you're thinking that you just have to have a Big Mac. I have no idea what I'm going to eat on the way to North Carolina when we move, lol.

There are other political, religious, ethical, and social issues that have been fighting to get out of my head for some time now but I've been hesitant to bring them up here. Why? Well, for several reasons actually, some of which I'm sure some of you are smart enough to figure out for yourselves. But I think once my classes are over and I have time to actually write about these things, I'm going to start posting them. Just figured I'd give a heads up and give ya'll time to brace yourselves, heheh. I'll be putting the tens of thousands of dollars that I have wracked up in student loans to good use.

Anyway, enough of all that. I have 3 finals due tomorrow so I need to get off of here and get them finished up. Laters.

Creeeeepy!

Check this link out...


Click Me

Whatcha think?

So. What's New?

Well, I'll tell you. I got all my grades back and I got A's across the board. Yay for me! My summer semester starts in about 2 weeks.

C's on leave right now. He took 4 days this week. We're not doing much of anything besides finishing up projects around the house. We broke ground (heheh) on the sidewalk project today. We're about half way done with the digging but it started raining AGAIN, so we had to call it quits. We're hoping to get the thing finished tomorrow if the weather would just cooperate. We bought a couple shrubs and a lilac bush to plant as well. When we get the flower beds finished I'll buy some flowers to put in. I haven't decided what I want to get yet though. We're also going to try and get the dining room floor finished. Eating at the coffee table is getting really old. Doesn't sound like C's getting much of a vacation does it?? heheh.

Meanwhile, it looks like Vickie and Candy are going to pick the girls up for the summer. It'll probably be the second week of July. The girls are pretty excited.

In other news...We have a mouse in the house. Big UGH!!! Seeing as how our house is in the country surrounded by open fields, I think this turn of events was pretty much inevitable. The weird thing about it is that the mouse seems to like the drawer that I keep Saran Wrap and aluminum foil in. I also have a package of cough drops that it likes to eat. C and I heard it in the kitchen last night and tried to sneak up on it so we could see it in action. As soon as I got into the kitchen, the smell of menthol was overwhelming, heheh. Now, we're in the market for a cat.

Let's see. I think that's about it for now. Until next time...

10 Years

Today is our ten year wedding anniversary. And you said we'd never make it. Ha! Showed you.

Talk about ups and downs though. We sure have had them, that's for sure. What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right? It just sucks that we had to have this milestone on recruiting duty. C isn't even going to be here. He has to take a kid down to MEPS for the night. Figures. So maybe we'll get to celebrate in some way over the weekend. We haven't really made any plans. On to other things...

My semester is about over. I have to finish up my Psych final and my Art final and then I'll be all done. I've already registered for my summer classes: Intro to Ethics, Women in U.S. History, and Meteorology. Why Meteorology you ask? Well, I'm trying to be prepared in case we get to go back to San Diego and I can get accepted into SDSU, my school of choice. I needed a physical science class to satisfy SDSU's gen ed requirements and that's the only one my school offers over the summer that didn't sound too horrible. I feel like such a nerd for taking it, but we'll see how it works out. I only have the summer and Fall semesters left before I'll have my A.A.

The girls only have a month and a half of school to go. This year has really flown by. It's still sort of up in the air about their plans for going to Ohio this summer. I don't know when they're leaving, who is picking them up, or how long they're staying, lol. Guess I should be figuring all that out.

Everything else around here is pretty much normal. It's still chilly and rainy here in Vermont. Spring, otherwise known as the Mud Season, sucks and we're just holding out for summer. I think that just about catches everyone up on us. Till next time.

States I've Been To

create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.

What have I read?
These are the 25 most popular classic books at What Should I Read Next?

I liked it!

I didn't like it!

I want to read it!

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

Emma - Jane Austen

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain

A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

Persuasion - Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

Dracula - Bram Stoker

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain

Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare

Hamlet - William Shakespeare

The Canterbury Tales - Geoffrey Chaucer

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Jungle - Upton Sinclair

Candide - Voltaire, Norman Cameron

Complete Tales and Poems - Edgar Allan Poe

King Lear - William Shakespeare

Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson

Take the 'What have I read?' test now!
Eight different categories to try!
Buy your books at Amazon US or Amazon UK

What have I read?
These are the 25 most popular overall books at What Should I Read Next?

I liked it!

I didn't like it!

I want to read it!

The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams

The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger

The Great Gatsby - F.Scott Fitzgerald

To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

1984 - George Orwell

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling

The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

Animal Farm: A Fairy Story - George Orwell

The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien

Life of Pi - Yann Martel

Catch-22 - Joseph Heller

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

Lord of the Flies - William Golding

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut

The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card

The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien

Angels and Demons - Dan Brown

Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk

Take the 'What have I read?' test now!
Eight different categories to try!
Buy your books at Amazon US or Amazon UK

Bored?

Try this website. It's sort of like Pong.

Just a Heads Up

I'm as big a fan of the forwarded emails as the next joker; however, there is a little something that people should realize. Most of the forwarded emails you get warning you about something or other, or claiming some wrong doing of some kind aren't true. Examples: Starbucks and sending the troops coffee, dialing such and such a number so that people can make free calls off of your line, dialing *whatever to reach the highway patrol and a bunch of others that I'm not thinking of. If you love forwarding on these emails to help out your friends, try verifying their validity by visiting www.snopes.com first. It's easy and it's free. Just type in a few key words into the search field and voila! You'll undoubtedly find out whether or not your treasured email is true or false and you won't look like a doof for falling for scams and circulating rumors. Thanks and have a nice day.

Just Something for Fun

http://64.82.32.68/Birthday.asp

Check out that link and enter in your info. Make sure and click on your life path number to see what it means. Mine describes me to a t. It's weird.

2003 San Diego Fires

 

Here's pictures from the fires that I've been promising for years now. I just got them developed today. Pictures don't really give that week justice. Anyway, if you'll notice the white stuff on the ground, that's ash and these are pictures from the housing we used to live in. 

Fires Cont.

 
Another picture of the sky. Take notice of the sun towards the top. 

Fire Cont.

 

This just gives you an idea of how dark the sky was. This was taken during the day and I didn't alter it in any way. That's how the sky really looked. 

Civilization

We got a little taste of it this Sunday. We decided to get up early and go to New Hampshire, Manchester to be exact. It was really nice to get away if only for a little while. Manchester is the largest city in northern New England so it was like being somewhere "normal" for a change. We drove around and did some shopping. We also had our first wood fired pizza and if you haven't had one, you're really missing out. It was the best pizza ever. We also went to this gourmet cooking store and bought these soup mixes that are wonderful. Yum, yum.

Other than that, things are pretty much normal around here. It's still really cold, but it's cold almost everywhere right now. We don't have any snow though and that's nice. Ohio has more snow than we do, heheh.

The girls are the same. They annoy the snot out of me, but that's normal. C doing fine also. His job never changes. My school is coming right along. I had midterms and aced the hell out of them. The class averages were pitiful but I got high 90's on all three. Woohoo for me! So, there ya go for now.

Apologies

Do sincere apologies exist anymore? From my experience, most apologies are given to get the person saying them out of trouble or to make the original problem "go away". Or maybe they say, "I'm sorry" because they said or did something that made them feel like an idiot and that's the fastest way to dig their way out of a hole. Do people say that they're sorry because they actually mean it? Because they feel shame or actual contriteness? Because they feel bad for hurting someone's feelings? Because they feel honest regret? I'm a realist and realistically, I'd guess that 98% of apologies given are for the first reasons I listed and not because they feel a "keen regret". And, along with being a realist, I'm also a fairly honest person and will say that I don't remember the last time I apologized for something wrong that I did or said and meant it. People just don't do that anymore. I think most apologies are selfish. People say them to make themselves feel better, not the person that they wronged. Maybe we should start trying an honest approach and instead of saying, "I'm sorry" say, "Well, I surely said something stupid now didn't I?" and leave it at that. Frankly, I'm tired of empty apologies; saying them and hearing them. People should try saying what they mean and not what they think other people expect them to say.

I know that I can say that this post isn't the result of anything that's happened and that it's not directed at anyone specific, but who would believe me? Along with insincere apologies, everyone has an ulterior motive, lol. This was actually just a thought that I had while I was typing up a paper.

Why isn't anyone ever up to chat when you can't sleep at 2 am????

Oh Geez

I like these things. I know. I need my head checked.

9 lasts:

last cigarette: Never
last beverage: Pepsi
last kiss: Yesterday sometime.
last movie seen: Life as a House.
last phone call: My mother-in-law called.

last cd played: Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten
last bubble bath: I have no idea.
last time you cried: Yesterday while I was watching Life as a House. That movie never fails to make me cry.

8 have you evers:

have you ever dated one of your best friends: Yes, I married him too.
have you ever skinny dipped: No
have you ever kissed somebody and regretted it: No
have you ever fallen in love: Once
have you ever lost someone you loved: Various family members.
have you ever been depressed: Yes
have you ever been drunk and thrown up: Lol. Yeah

7 states you've been to:
1. Ohio
2. Florida
3. California
4. Arizona
5. Texas
6. New Mexico
7. New York

6 things you've done today:
1. Talked on the phone with my sister, husband, and mother-in-law

2. Read a chapter in my psych book.

3. Finished reading my Tess Gerritsen book that I bought yesterday.

4. Took a shower and got dressed.

5. Watched some tv.

6. Took goofy pictures of my dog.

5 favorite things in no order:
1. My husband and kids.

2. Reading

3. California

4. Summer

5. Grey’s Anatomy

4 people you can tell [almost] anything to:
1. C

2. Kam

3. Jennifer

4. Bailey

3 wishes:
1. I wish that we get to move back to California (or Hawaii) at the end of this year.

2. I wish that (this is a private wish).

3. I wish that my husband, kids, and I are healthy and happy for life.

2 things you want to do before you die:
1. Travel the world.

2. Finish my degree and get the job that I want.

1 thing you regret:
1. Not going to school sooner.

I Have Been Angry = No Updates

I'm still not over it (anyone who knows me knows I hold a grudge) but I'm here anyway.

So, what's been going on for the past few days? The girls had the week off of school and don't go back until Wednesday. 11 days total for Winter Break. It's been interesting to say the least. I didn't realize how much I am able to get done while they're at school until they were home all week long.

Yesterday, C was on the local radio station promoting the annual softball game that Barre has. All the local businesses compete against each other over the weekend while raising money for a few area kids. Last year they raised over $19,000 and this year they're hoping for $22,000. The Marines team up with the radio station. The radio station thing was funny though cuz they were just talking smack, making stuff up, and joking around. C said he worried the whole time about swearing on the radio, lol, but he didn't.

I've been out of my mind with school work. I have midterms next week and with the girls home, haven't really been able to get prepared for them. I've had dreams the last two nights about trying to study. I started reading, taking notes, and writing my paper at 10 am yesterday morning and didn't get finished until 11:30 pm. Long day for me.

We're waiting for a huge snowstorm to hit. They're saying we should get 6-14 inches of snow by tonight. It just figures that all winter long it hasn't really felt like winter here and then as soon as March hits and spring is right around the corner, winter finally arrives in Vermont.

S would like to thank everyone for her birthday gifts. She thought the phone call and card she got from Toys R Us was really neat and the card she got from Modern Woodman of America was just special.

Way to go everyone.

The Infamous Granny Story of 2006

Here is the actual article that I scanned out of our newspaper. The photo shows the back entrance to the recruiting office as the women were being led away to be arrested by the police. They could possible get 3 months in jail depending on how their court appearances go. C said that his phone's been ringing off the hook from people calling riding them about letting old women commandeer the office, lol. The grannies were also on our local news last night and this morning. I think this whole thing gives you all an idea of just how small the community that we live in is.

Newpaper Article from Yesterday

Three protesters arrested during Barre anti-war rally February 16, 2006 Times Argus Staff

BARRE – Three elderly women were arrested late Wednesday afternoon for commandeering an office room inside a military recruiting office on North Main Street in Barre. Lea Wood, 89, of Montpelier; Mary Belenky, 72, of Marshfield and Barbara Grant, 69, of Plainfield were singing anti-war songs inside the recruiting office along with about a dozen other women. When the women, who said they represented the Women's International League for Peace and the Raging Grannies, refused recruiters' requests that they leave, Barre police were called to resolve the situation, according to a police report. All the women except Wood, Belenky and Grant acquiesced with police orders. The three holdouts were eventually escorted by police out of the building and issued citations to appear in Vermont District Court in Barre to answer charges of misdemeanor trespassing. The women who staged the sit-in were part of a larger contingent of protesters holding signs and singing outside the Main Street building, police said.

Pay Attention Here

This post sort of relates to the one I posted earlier today. Well, I guess it's more of an update. Anyway, for those of you that would be interested, you might want to start paying more attention to the blog for the next 10 or so months. We are on the last leg of recruiting duty and from here on out will be getting ready to move. The first step happened today. C submitted his request for new orders. We will find out in about 6 weeks where we will be going; whether it is where he requested or where the Marine Corps decides that he is needed. I figure it's safe to say where he requested since the paperwork has been submitted and nobody's opinion will make a difference now. His first two choices are with two MALS units at Miramar, CA. His Third choice is with a MALS unit in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. So, there you have it.

I know that all the family is always saying that they want us to get stationed closer to Ohio, but we don't want to move to Virginia and we don't want to live where there are hurricanes every year (North or South Carolina). We want to be warm again. Besides, way more people visited us while we lived in Cali than while we lived here in Vermont and Vermont is within driving distance. And if by some weird chance we end up in Hawaii, are you really going to complain if you come to visit us there? I don't think so.

But, if we end up in Virginia or wherever, at least it's not Vermont. ;)

Things around our house have been pretty uninteresting lately. That's why the updates have been few and far between.

ANYwho, the girls are doing pretty good. With the crazy weather we've been having, I think they're coming down with a cold though. School is going good for the both of them. The year is going by really fast.

C's hanging in. Work is tough for him right now and June can't get here fast enough. He put over 700 miles on his car yesterday. Isn't that just craziness??

My school is coming right along. My vampire class is my favorite by far. I had all my work for the week done yesterday. Art Appreciation comes in second. And Psych is still pulling up in last place. I just like being back in school no matter what the classes are.

I discovered the other day that we have a leak in our roof. Fun for us. I called every roofer in the area and could only get 2 of them to set up an appointment to come out and then they never showed up. I'm sure what I'm going to do about it now. Luckily, it's too cold for the snow to melt and it's not currently leaking. Never thought I'd hope for cold weather, lol. I don't think the cold temps are going to hold out past today though. Keep your fingers crossed.