Monday, March 2, 2009
My New Ride
After years of driving around other people's pieces of junk I finally have a decent car! Not that I wasn't grateful for those cars I just was tired of pouring money into them. That and they were too small for my family.
Usually if we were all going to go somewhere we had to take two cars. Or if I had to go somewhere and the kids had to go they were squeezed into the backseat like sardines. Not anymore!
Thank God for my uncle. I'd probably stlll be looking for something if he hadn't helped me. That or I would have gotten something that would have blown up the next day. He found me a van and got me a good deal on it. He got the guy to come down on the price. It cost a little more than I wanted to spend but I needed a good and reliable vehicle. And it came with a 6 month warranty. It's not the color I wanted - purple - but at least it's not red. Most of my cars have been red and I hate red! It's a green that almost looks grey. I can live with that. If not then I'll spray paint it purple :)
It's not new it's used but it's like new to me. I really like it. I haven't had a chance to put them on yet but I have some Charmed stickers to put on the back window. Now if I could only find Charmed seat covers.....Labels: misc
Sunday, January 25, 2009
No More Buick
We recently lost a member of our family....my car! And before I go any further I want to clear something up for those of you who automatically thought that it was my fault. It wasn't! My hubby did it!!! Give me the benefit of the doubt please!
My hub had been driving my car for a while because his was shall we say illegal. The inspection ran out on it in October and we figured he could drive it until the beginning of the year when the sticker color changed. It didn't make it that long. The whole muffler system fell apart one day and that was the end of it. Let me back up and say that we didn't get it inspected because it needed an expensive brake booster put on and we were going to trade it in when we got our taxes and put it towards our new van. Therefore I didn't want to spend the money on it.
On January 4th he was on his way home form work. We had had an ice storm and the roads were literally sheets of ice. He was 2 streets away from home when it happened. He was coming down a small hill and the car started to slide. There was someone coming from the opposite direction and they were sliding around trying to get uo the hill. He couldn't get the car to turn and they hit - head on. The two driver's sides collided.
The other vehicle was a Ford F-150 and needless to say it won the showdown. Neither of them were hurt. Ironically the driver of the truck was a friend of his. Go figure right? He called me and I went over to check things out. I knew as soon as I saw my car that there was no hope for it. The truck only had a flat tire and minimal bumper damage.
We had it towed down the road to a garage to the tune of $145. Talk about a rip off! But at least I got the insurance to pay for it. And that's about all that they did. When I called them the next morning all they wanted to tell me was what they couldn't do for me. We didn't have collision on it because the car wasn't worth it so we were screwed there. I ended up giving it to the garage for scrap metal.
Now comes the fun with my insurance company. I turned my plates in and the same day went to them to have the car removed from my policy. I went in and told them why I was there. The agent was a total bitch. She took the paper from me and asked if I was going to add another car within the next 30 days. Uh not unless you want to give me one! So she set the paper on a stack of other papers and said she would take care of it and walked away. Strike 1. Like two days later I get a letter from them asking me if I was going to surrender the plates and remove the car from the policy or if was going to get it fixed. Seriously?! I was just there two days before to remove it! Strike 2. I had a bill that was due and I wasn't going to pay for a car that wasn't insured anymore so I called to find out how much I had to pay. She didn't know and said she would find out and DEFINITELY call me later that day. 5 days later I was still waiting. And while I was waiting I received the renewal policy for that car! Strikes 3 and 4. You are so out!
I had State Farm for over 10 years and never had any problems until now. But they really pissed me off so I went looking for a new company. I went with Allstate. The agent is an awesome guy. He spent an hour and a half talking with me and explaining things to me - something State Farm never did. I have to pay $5 more a month with them - due to the accident and my hubby's tickets - but I am willing to do it. The service is so much better. And his wife works with my kids at their school!
I guess when all is said a done it ended up being a bad situation turned good - for lack of a better word. Although his car is still here and it looks like it's staying. I have always hated his car and was so looking forward to seeing it go. It has become the bane of my exsistence!Labels: misc
Saturday, January 24, 2009
And......I'm Back!
Yes ladies and gentlemen I have returned! Apparently I have been missed :) After a few of my girls dropped hints to me I figured it was time to come back to blogland.
I guess I don't really have any one big reason for being gone so long. But I do have a bunch of little ones! Let's see if I can remember them all... birthdays, holidays,
anniversary, sick kids, sick me, crazy family members - none on my side of the gene pool, a totaled car and all the bs that goes along with that and people that suck at parenting - guess that's half my fault. I think that about covers it.
I must say that it felt nice to be missed. I promise I won't go away like that again. There has just been a lot on my plate these past few months. I will post some of the things you guys have missed within the next few days to kind of catch you up.
It's good to be back.....Labels: misc
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Alone Time? What's That?
Alone time for the hubby and I is an extremely rare occurence. Almost forgot what it was like. We go out and do things but we always have at least one kid in tow. Yesterday we were able to take a few hours by ourselves. Sad as it sounds we had a hard time trying to figure out what we should do. Thought about going to a movie but there wasn't one playing that we both wanted to see. I couldn't get him to agree to go see "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2". But hey - I tried :)
We did have to go to the DMV to get a replacement license for Pat since his wallet was stolen. That is a whole other story. All I will say is that I HATE the DMV. After we left there we really only had time to go eat. We had a tasty lunch at Applebee's. It was nice having a conversation without kids interupting us. I wanted to go mini golfing but we didn't have time. Maybe when the kids go back to school we'll take Hadlei and play a few rounds.
We were able to have this time because Grama Wood took all of the girls to the museum and then to McDonald's for a bite to eat. They had a really good time and Hadlei was thrilled that she was able to go. A big thank you to Grama Wood for giving the hubby and I some much needed time by ourselves. We really appreciated it :)Labels: misc
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Busy Busy Busy
I have had a busy weekend! That's typical for me though. Never enough hours in the day. I decided to have another yard sale this weekend making it the third one of the summer. One more is planned for next month and then I quit until next year. I spent most of Wednesday setting it up. You don't realize how much work goes into one of these things!
The sale ran Thursday thru today. And of course I had other things going on at the same time. Thursday I had an appointment to go look at a preschool for Hadlei. It was a program run by Headstart. I wasn't impressed. I was asked a whole bunch of odd questions and I got the feeling that it was for kids/families that had certain issues. Needless to say we certainly didn't meet their criteria and my baby will not be going there. I decided that I will work with her at home. She is so smart that I should probably send her to kindergarten this year :)
Friday I had to take Jordan over to tour his new middle school. Ray looks like a nice school. You can just tell when you walk thru the doors that you aren't in elementary school anymore. This year he will have a locker complete with combination. He attempted to open it but had a hard time with it. I couldn't even get the dumb thing open! Maybe it was because I was in shock that my son is in middle school. Yeah,that's it :)
After the sale ended today I had to pack up all the stuff I was keeping. Then I had to take down the tables and the tents. After that I sorted the money. I made out pretty good this time around - close to $200. An odd thing happened and I am still trying to figure out how... the money was over by $46. Being over by a few bucks is no big deal but I have never had that much extra money. I added everything up multiple times and my math was correct. I just can't explain it. Oh well - I am certainly not going worry about it. I figure it's God's way of replacing money that was stolen from my hubby's car a week ago.
The weekend turned out pretty well. Thankfully the weather cooperated with me. Tomorrow I should mow the lawn but I may just wait until the hubby's day off :) Besides,I earned a little break!Labels: misc
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Forever Charmed
I had my heart broken yesterday. I went to Barnes & Noble to get my Charmed magazine that is published bimonthly. When I got out to the car I did what I always do and I flipped to the last page to see the next publication date. I gasped as I read what I had been dreading for a while now. The issue that I was holding was to be the last.
Gram was next to me and asked what was wrong. I explained to her that not only had my show been taken away and my book series ended but now my magazine was done,too. I sat there rambling and I think she was amused by it! I was a wreck! They may as well have ripped out my heart,thrown it on the ground and stomped on it!
Maybe I'm being a bit dramatic but I LOVE everything Charmed. Anybody that knows me knows that. I have trading cards,stickers,coasters,clocks,jewelry,magazines,books,
playing cards,cds,scripts,autographs(thanx KK),stamps,notebooks,pillowcases,purses,
bags,curtains...the list goes on and on. I plan on getting a tattoo as well but need to do a bit of research before I go out and let someone permanently color on my skin. Yes,I know I'm obsessed and I'm proud of it :)
They couldn't just leave well enough alone and continue my show,books and magazines. What am I supposed to do now?! I used to look forward to going to the bookstore to get the latest book and/or magazine. How could they do to me?!? I think I'm going to need a support group :/Labels: misc
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Yard Work
My front yard has looked horrible since the snow thawed. The previous owner decided to dump a ton of rock everywhere to cover up the ugly. It didn't work. It just made it worse. The walkway up to the house is in serious need of repair and we aren't quite sure what to do with it. We also need to repair the retaining wall as well. I know that we are going to need help with those two things so I decided that I would do what I could to perk it up a little and see if I could get my uncle to help me with the rest - he just doesn't know it yet :) I went shopping with gram yesterday and she bought me the flowers and mulch for the front yard. It was my birthday present from her. So I spent last nite and part of today working on the yard and I got it finished. I still want to edge the areas with something else but I need to shop around for that. Tell me what you think!
This is the before for the octagon thing in the front...
And here is the after...
And this is before...
And here is the after...
Labels: misc
Thursday, June 19, 2008
TV Star
Most of you don't know about the BS that is going on in our school district. To make it short and sweet the incompetent superintendent of the Baldwinsville school district has decided to cause an upheaval in many of our schools to fill two open principal positions. Instead of doing the smart thing and either promote from within the school or hire two new people she has decided to switch around the principals. This decision had created a lot of conflict at Reynolds. She is moving our principal to Palmer and sending the high school principal to our school. Most of the parents are furious with this because it was pretty much thrown into our laps a week or so ago. We were not told ahead of time and they don't care to listen to our objections or concerns. It has been all over the news here. And last nite I was a part of it :)
It was nothing that I did on purpose. I was going to the school to drop Dakotah back off after the MRI that didn't happen (another story altogether) and go to her class picnic. I turned onto the small street that goes to the school and had to park there because the lot and circle were full. There was an SUV parked in front of me facing my car. The woman that was standing there smiled at me and walked over to me as I got out of my car. I thought she was going to tell me to move for some reason. She introduced herself to me as Lisa Spitz from Channel 3 News. She wanted to know if I knew about the situation with our principal and if it upset me. I said I did and yes it did and she asked if she could ask me a few questions. Of course I said yes! I am willing to do anything I can to keep our principal at our school. I ended up being on the news at 5 pm. It was short and sweet but it was neat to see myself on tv. The kids thought it was cool. My little on camera appearance for 20 seconds may not prove anything but hey - you never know.
I don't want to lose Mr.Frey. He is an excellent principal. He is an outstanding person as well. He has personally helped my family out on a few different occasions. When the incident with Shaelyn happened 3 years ago he was right there to offer any help that either Shaelyn or my family needed. When I requested that Shaelyn have the teachers that my other children had because they already knew her story he was very accomodating and saw that it happened. He also made sure there was room for Skylar at the school when we brought her to New York. He knows everyone,students and parents,by first and last names. He is outside to greet and say goodbye to the kids everyday - rain or shine. He reads books to them on their birthdays. He would have lunch with them when they made the Excellence Team. How many other principals do you know that would even begin to do those things? None that I can think of.
The decision is final according to the superintendent. But it's not to the parents or to the children. There is now a petition going around that is demanding for the immediate removal of the superintendent and the school board president from their positions. And if that doesn't work we'll try something else. The parents and students of Reynolds will not let Mr.Frey go without a knock down drag out fight!Labels: misc
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Searing Heat
Another busy weekend! What's new? Things should calm down a bit after softball ends. Another 2 weeks and we should be at the playoffs point. The mighty Sunbirds rallied and were back strong as ever on Saturday. They played great - even in the scorching heat. The other team ended up forfeiting the game at the top of the 5th inning because they were dropping like flies. Their coach had to bench 2 of the girls because they were dehydrated. Uh duh! You need to keep them drinking! We were winning 11-3 and coach wanted to finish the game out. The other coach didn't and some of her parents were copping attitudes. One lady was like "They're tired! You're winning anyway so why do you care if we quit!" That's all I needed to hear to get my mouth going. I stated rather loudly that some people should lose their bad attitude because they were a bad example for the kids. And surprisingly this time I wasn't the only one with something to say. The parents on our team must have learned from the last incident. ** on a side note relating to that incident - our bookkeeper told us that the ump from that game had apologized to coach. Big deal! He should've apologized to Kiana! **
I was at the field all day Saturday. Shae played during and after the girls game and then Jordan had a game at 1 pm. His game ended early but it wasn't because the other team quit. At the bottom of the 4th his team was winning 9-0. If you get to 10 and the other team hasn't scored you win. I was glad that it ended early because I was burning up - literally. This is what I looked like later that nite....
I know the redness doesn't show up too well but believe me it's there! My back and legs look the same. I took this pic yesterday so I may have lost some of the color. I didn't feel the effects of it until later that nite. It hurt but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle.
After we got home from the game the kids wanted to swim but the pool wasn't quite ready yet. I borrowed a sprinkler from our neighbor and let them have at it. They had a good time and were able to cool themselves off a bit. I had to mow the lawn so after they were done I dragged out our piece of junk mower and tried to start it. It took me like 20 tries. I thought I was going to lose my arm! I finally got it started and got half of the yard done when it got into some wet grass near the shed and died. Usually it starts right back up after it's been running but this time was the exception. I could not get it to start again. I literally almost passed out trying. I gave up and put the mower away. The hubby was either going to have to finish the lawn or get the mower started for me. I was so hot and sweaty that I had to get a shower. I had to sit down in the shower because I thought I was going to pass out. I'm thinking I may have had a bit of heat exhaustion.
Today I need to go buy a new mower. The lawn is driving me nuts being half done. Not to mention it looks ridiculous! It's not supposed to be as hot today so hopefully I can get it finished. This heat has been unbearable! Time to get the AC going!Labels: kids, misc, sports
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Busy Weekend
These last few days have been so busy around here. I decided to have a yard sale to try to get rid of quite a bit of junk that has been sitting in my garage. A lot of work goes into preparing for one of these sales. Gram and mom came over to help with it. We had it Thursday and Friday and were going to have it Saturday as well but it rained Friday nite and some things got wet so I decided to pack it up. It was also supposed to rain all day Saturday which is why I decided to pack it up but it turned out to be sunny most of the day! I could have made more money! I didn't do too bad though. Raked in just under $300. Not bad for a few days work. I'm sure I'll have a few more over the summer. We are planning to have one at my mom's at the end of this month.
While the sale was was going on Friday I had to take Jordan to the dr to get his shots that are required before he can go into 6th grade. He wasn't impressed with it. He hates shots and I thought that I was going to have to pry him out of the car. He went in willingly but was a bit hesitant when he saw the needles. He made it out in one piece although he hasn't stopped whining that his arm hurts :) Later that day I had to go to his D.A.R.E. graduation and then take him to his friend's house for a birthday party.
Yesterday all of the kids had softball games so I enlisted the help of Grama and Grampa Wood to drive them. They all won their games! Kotah and Sky had a 10-9 win,Jordan had a 17-10 win and Shae said they won,too. I hated having to miss their games but they still had a cheering section there for them. The Sunbirds had a game Thursday nite which they won 9-4. They are still undefeated with a record of 8-0! Right after they returned from their games Jordan and Kotah had to get changed so that they could go with grama and grampa to the monster truck show at the Fairgrounds. They got pit passes so that they could go down and see the trucks up close and get autographs. They wore shirts that they could have signed. They got back close to 11 pm and said that they had a great time. Their shirts were really cool! They couldn't stop talking about all that they saw and did.
I want to say a big THANK YOU to Sunny and Bob (grama and grampa) for all of their help this weekend. It was greatly appreciated. I wouldn't have been able to get everything accomplished this weekend that I needed to without their help. And I also want to thank them for coming to as many of the kids game that they have and showing their support for all of them. It really means a lot to the kids as well as to me. Thanx you guys!Labels: kids, misc, sports
Saturday, May 24, 2008
I've Been Replaced
I'm afraid that the place my hubby had in his heart for me has been replaced. By who? It's actually a what and not a who. This is the culprit.....
A 55'' flat screen tv. Maybe I haven't really been replaced but I have to at least share that space now :) Thank God we didn't get the 65'' flat screen or I'd probably be out the door!
Pat has wanted a tv like this for some time now but I wasn't really willing to pay for it. The only reason that I finally gave in was because we got it for an awesome price. We rent to own a lot of our furniture because we certainly aren't rich enough to buy it outright. We get everything from the same place and over time we have become good friends with the owner. He gave us a kick-ass deal on this tv.
They had a 55'' and a 65'' available. I told him that he would have to settle for the smaller of the two because we had nowhere to put a 65'' tv. I don't think he cared either way as long as he got one of them. He is still smiling about it. I know he really only wanted a tv like this so that when he played his PS3 it would look phenomenal. And I must say that it does. Hey,whatever makes him happy.
Since we got this tv we rotated the rest of the tvs in the house. We put the 36'' tv from the livingroom into our bedroom. Took the 32'' from our bedroom and put it in Jordan's room and took his 20'' and put it in Hadlei's room. Yes,we own a lot of tvs :)
Moving them was a trip. I knew that I couldn't move the one from the livingroom by myself but I figured that the one that was in our room wouldn't be a problem. So being the bull that I am I carried the 32'' tv upstairs into Jordan's room all by myself. I think I paid for it yesterday. I woke up with the worst neck ache. I couldn't turn my head and if I moved just right those muscles tensed up and I was in an enormous amount of pain. Whether I slept on it wrong or I pulled something when I moved the tv I don't know. All I do know is that it is much better today. And no I didn't learn anything from it because I will still continue to be a bull :)Labels: misc
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Remodel
Yesterday afternoon I got bored so I decided to start the remodel of the inside of my house. It is hideous looking and I simply got tired of looking at it. The mismatched wood on the walls and the awful paint color/border in the kitchen has driven me crazy since we moved in. Don't get me wrong - I am thrilled that we have a house but the interior decorating leaves a lot to be desired. So I grabbed my hammer and crowbar and went to town!
I wasn't sure of what I was going to find behind the wood so I was a bit scared. When I tore out the corner cabinet in the livingroom shortly after we moved in I found two huge holes in each wall covered by sheetrock. To this day I haven't been able to figure out why they were there. I figured that I wouldn't know what was behind the wood unless I looked so I pulled out my bookshelves and began demolition.
Thankfully I didn't find parts of the wall missing. But what I did find was as bad or worse than the wood. I found wallpaper. The walls now look like a wrapped wedding present - a badly wrapped wedding present. It is some tacky looking stuff! Next step is to steam the wallpaper off the wall,fill in a few holes,sand the walls and then paint.
The hubby and Jordan were playing video games while I tore the house apart. Jordan told me that he couldn't believe that I was doing what I was doing. I was a bit insulted because I think that he believes that girls can't do things guys can do. I set him straight pretty quick. I told him that I can do most things that even girls can't do. I don't know many girls that can do what I do - probably afraid of breaking a nail or something. More pics to come as the room progresses :)Labels: misc
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Bits and Pieces
Gram did well with her surgery. It only took about an hour and she did great. No complications. The nurses even had her up walking that same nite! I was surprised to hear that. I had called to check on her and the nurse said that she was walking past her right then. I was tongue tied for a second. I guess that I was so used to things going wrong that I wasn't expecting something to actually work out the way that it was supposed to. It's about time! She is due home tomorrow unless they change their minds. A huge thank you to you guys for your prayers. I know that they helped.
In other news,my son has managed to give himself another concussion! I don't know what I'm going to do with him. He did it Wednesday nite. How you ask? He fell down our stairs - 7 of them to be exact. And of course,he landed on his head. He was in a huge hurry to get downstairs so that he could eat his sister's chicken nuggets. He was wearing running pants that were a bit too long and he slipped at the top of the stairs(we have hardwood floors)and rolled head over heels to the bottom. No broken bones so I waited until the next morning to take him to the dr. I knew what was coming and I was right. Concussion. And that means that we have to go back to the concussion clinic that had just fully released him a few months earlier. Never a dull moment!!!
Lastly... About a month and a half ago I told you that Pat and I had something very important happening and that I would tell you about it. I can't quite say anything yet but I will be able to within the next week or two. The suspense is probably killing you,right? It's worth the wait. All that I will say is that I thank God for my house and it's 5 bedrooms.....Labels: family, misc
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Collin Raye...Here I Come!!!!
Tickets for Collin Raye's show at Turning Stone Casino went on sale at 10 am today! I have been watching and waiting for them to go on sale. I wasn't able to be at the computer as soon as they went on sale because Jordan had a dr appt. But as soon as I got home I bought my ticket. I got a kick ass seat and I am so excited!
I am going solo this year but that is fine with me. I am going to have an awesome time. I go to his concert every year and this year will be no exception. Last year I was able to get his autograph and touch his hand *swoon* :) I plan on doing the same thing this year. I'd bring him home with me but the hubby may have a problem with that ;)
My pics will be awesome this year,too. I have my new digital camera and I am very close to the stage so I can't wait to get some great shots. All I have to do now is survive until November...Labels: misc
