Bits and Bobbles

Since January 24...my world has been at MACH-10.  I am ready for it slow down a little.  Not sure that is actually going to happen....but it is a nice fantasy. 

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Ooh La La
I was glad that I wasn't the only parent on Saturday morning who needed "one more hug" when dropping the kids off for Quebec.  (And thank you for all the support on our decision to do this!)  They made it there safely, although later than expected.  The teacher has sent an email each night (or morning, as it is posted at 1am!!) that everyone is fine and having fun, even though it is COLD. 

Sassy has NOT e-mailed us....which either means she couldn't figure it out with the Wifi (and we told her to ask an adult for help....) or she is just too busy/excited and having fun.  Either way...not happy that she is not checking in.  But very happy she is enjoying herself (or at least she appears to be in the few pictures she has been in that the teacher posted).  And she had her camera in the pictures we saw....so at least we know that she hasn't lost it.  lol

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SNOW!
Yes, this is New England in the winter.  It snows here.  But we have had back to back storms for 2 weeks...enough.  Need a break.

It is snowing now, and my office is closed until Noon, but I told Boss that I am just going to work from home today anyway.  No school today....still need to shovel....and

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My Car
My car is back in the shop....for the third time in 2 weeks.  I had to get a rental car last Thursday that I still have (and that was a story in itself....seriously.....not everything should be a story, but it seems like in my world, that is just how I roll).

My car actually is at a different shop (again....a story) and should be done today.  Front drive shaft....$724.  On top of the $812 we already paid...oh and the $93.....oh and the rental car..... this little episode is somewhere around $1800 now.

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Finances
I have to balance the checkbook, pay some bills, sort some stuff out.  I have just been in crisis mode for 2 weeks, and I have just done the bare basics to get by.  I "think" that is on the slate for tomorrow night.

I would like to do our taxes this coming weekend and be done with that.  Plus, we could use the refund.

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Treating Myself
I am going out on Valentine's Day with a girlfriend, and a few of her friends. We are going to have dinner...and go to see  THE MOVIE.  If you don't know the movie....you should be able to figure it out fairly easily.  I NEED some time off!!!

I did take Bossy to the trampoline park this weekend, with 2 friends and their kids.  I thought I would feel silly jumping on the trampoline, but it was INCREDIBLE stress relief.  I highly recommend it.

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The House
Things are starting to roll!  I am holding off on reporting too much right now, but we are hopeful at this point.

As for a new house...we are actually looking at a NEW house.  Never did we think we would be able to do that!  But there is a popular builder who is an "all inclusive" (i.e., many of the standard features are what most think of as upgrades) and we are looking at that community.  While there is a floor plan that I LOVE....that one is out of our price range.  But there is another we like and IS in the price range.  The community has a pool.  It is the school system we wanted, and because this area is a little further out than we wanted...the taxes are even cheaper.  Our drive will be just a hair bit longer than we were hoping for, but still less than we are doing now.  And this is an up and coming area, so there is a good chance that our house value will continue to go up.

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Like I said....bits and bobbles!  

Happy May 4!

I decided to wait on the reset until Monday.  Sorry 444....I know you are dying to see it all.  But I would like to tweak a few things on the blog, and I won't have time until this weekend.  I will say that the all the funds have cleared our account, and 4/5 have posted to their respective places.  The one that hasn't posted is always a few days longer, so by Monday I expect that it will post too.  The first retirement loan payment has been made.  More on all of this later.

As for today....it is raining.  It always rains on May 4.  I know this because it is my birthday, and it almost always rains on my birthday.  Per my mom, it was a nice sunny day on my actual BIRTHday, but I guess someone lost the memo that this trend was supposed to continue.  My 24th birthday was sunny...but since that was a few moons ago, I will say that rain is more common.

Since I have only been up for an hour, I don't have much to report yet.  I will say that Swagbucks sent me 50 bucks for my birthday.  And then I got 26 more from a search.  Not a bad way to start things off.  The kids and G-man said Happy Birthday.  Otherwise my day will be:  go to work and do paperwork.  I am hoping to be done by noon.  Then I would like to go shopping for my Secret Sister swap, hosted by Carla.  There is a store near my office that should work well for this task.

We are having dinner at home (grilled shrimp tacos and chile lime rice).  The kids are excited about the rainbow cake.

The big question of the day is: Will my parents remember my birthday?  I know that shouldn't be a question, but it is.  My money is on "will call later and tell me that they didn't forget and will send me something that will never come."

Meanwhile, I am hoping to just have a chill out kind of day.  I don't want drama.  I don't want excitement.  I really just want to enjoy a quiet, rainy day.  I have more PTA stuff to work on (crafty, fun stuff!), so I would like to enjoy a "beverage" and get my craft on.

To my friend MutantSuperModel....good luck on your final today!!!

OK...seriously....I am going to lose it....

I am at work today....so at least I am warm.  And I have electricity here!

This is how pathetic it is....we took one of the pork roasts that we bought just 5 hrs before we lost power (which has been packed in snow in a cooler outside on my deck)....put it in the crock pot...and I am cooking it here at work.  I am making my dinner....at work.

The house is currently reading 47 degrees.  We were able to take a warm shower at G-man's office last night.  But they are saying it could take a week or more to get the power up and going.  There are down lines everywhere.  Huge trees lost limbs.  The transformers have been blown all over the place.  Here are a few pics of the carnage:




One of the trees in our yard



Happy Halloween!



That WAS a 12 foot tree in our front yard

The kids are out of school....probably for the week.

This year has to end...NOW.  I am at my wits end.

A few quick updates on things otherwise:

1)  My car....we are looking into fixing it.  *sigh*  Partly because we can at least get some money for it at trade in.  Partly because I need a car, and finding a new car is proving harder than we thought.  The loan has been finalized (there was a period in there we weren't sure....that is another story).  But we need to find a car...and I refuse to just buy one because we are backed into a corner.

2)  The move....no new news.  I am hoping that they make a decision about something soon.  So far, they haven't called him for an interview.  So either they aren't interested, or are dragging things out.  I would just like to know one way or another.

3)  G-man's birthday....is Saturday.  His mom WAS going to come to visit, but that has been cancelled now.

I will leave you with a cute picture that G-man sent me this morning...these are our 2 boy cats.  We have one more that isn't in the pic.

Just checking in

Hello everyone!

We are ok!  We do not have power at home (today is day 3...and it could take a week to 2 weeks before it is back).  I am at work today, and we JUST got our phones and internet back.

The kids' had a good birthday, despite the weather.  Our house is ok...no damage.  Some debris in the yard, but that is to be expected.

Unfortunately, 3 days of no power = all our food is gone.  We lost everything in the fridge and both freezers.  We tried...but couldn't get ice.  And it thawed.  Our homeowner's insurance would cover it, but with the deductible, it isn't worth it.

The school doesn't have power...so the kids "may" not start school until next week.

And...my muffler almost fell off my car.

I am not working tomorrow...but hopefully I will check in again soon!!!

Countdown!!!!

Here is the running update of the storm.......I will update this over the course of the day.  Once the updates stop....assume our power is gone!

8:56pm - last check in for the evening...all it is doing is raining.  Over night the wind will come.  Hopefully we will have power in the morning.

6:48pm - now it is POURING!!!

5:50pm - all is quiet....still humid and drizzle-y.  They are expecting the big stuff during the day tomorrow, and the center of the storm to be over us mid afternoon tomorrow.

3:40pm - it has rained off and on.  Small breeze now, but nothing huge.

2:10pm - It rained for about 15 minutes....guess it was just testing things out.

12:40pm - and the pouring rain has begun!!!!

11:14am - Clouds have gotten thicker.  It keeps sprinkling off and on.

9:15am - Got the batteries.  Laundry going, so at least all our clothes will be clean!  It is kind of calm out there right now....sun tried to peek through.  It is humid though!

7:50am - nothing doing yet.  Cloudy.  We have to go to the post office after 9am to pick up the batteries that my parents shipped us!!!

It's GO time!

The hurricane is a-comin'!!!  Just what we needed....a hurricane during one of the busiest weeks of the year for me....I have the kids' birthday, THREE PTA events, and finishing getting ready for the first day of school.  The timing is impeccible.  Today is beautiful out....by tomorrow, it will all go downhill.

I have no idea if I will have power for a few days...but I have a few posts lined up. 

This hurricane is already costing us some mega money.  We are stocking up on water, non-perishable foods, and propane for the grill.  None of this was part of the August budget.  My parents are OVERNIGHTING us batteries.  *sigh*  Oh, and G-man bought a ton of beer.  Again, not part of the budget.

OK...is it just "a little" bad that I kind of want the windows to break, so I can get new ones, and homeowner's insurance will pay for it????

On the bright side...I don't think we will be going out to buy the oh so tempting furniture I was looking at.  Does that count as "saving?"

I will check in from "Storm-pocylpse" when I can!!!  Yes...that is what they are calling this.  *sigh*

Batten down the hatches!

Per the weather report last night....we are likely to take a direct hit from Hurricane Irene.  I realize that the storm may change course and it is still a few days away.  However, last night they had 10 different computer models, and 8 of them had the hurricane hit us in one manner, shape, or form.  And the most likely course will hit dead on....right down the middle of the state.....where I live.

They are comparing it to Hurricane Gloria back in the mid 80's.  I remember that....we didn't have power for a few days.  But the funniest story from that storm....was my mom getting all panicked.  Made us fill the bathtub with water and put blankets in the bathroom (only room in the house without a window).  She made chicken for dinner, and it just finished when the power went out.  So we sat in the bathroom and ate chicken.  *shaking my head*

I am not on of those "oh my gosh, this is the end of the world!!!" storm people.  However, I ain't stoopid either.  Extra water, fresh batteries....not a bad idea.  Stuff for the kids to do if the power goes out....VERY important.  G-man will take the kids to the library on Friday and let Sassy check out as many books as she wants.....and she has a brand new 504 piece puzzle, so she is set.  Bossy.....that one will be tougher.  I see lots of Uno and Connect 4 in our future.  And lots of whining.  I told G-man that we can spend the whole storm scrubbing and cleaning....he was less than thrilled. 

The biggest snafu that this storm will cause.....it is the Kids' birthday on Sunday, when we are going to be in the thick of it.  I am baking their cakes today, just in case, and will freeze them for a few days.  They can thaw and I can frost, and we will still have b-day cake.  They both wanted something grilled for dinner, and G-man is ok doing it in the storm (again, *shaking head*).  So that part is ok.  But being stuck in the house, possibly without power, on your birthday.....ick.

We have ways around Bossy's feeding pump, if we lose power.  It has an extended battery life, so it should be fine.  On the slight chance that it too dies, we can hand syringe feed him.  No worries. 

So my focus in the next two days will be storm preparation, and dealing with school PTA drama.  One literal storm....and one contrived one!  Anyone else in storm country, and preparing for a wild weekend???