I'm way past my jealousy of my sister. Way past it. I mean, it doesn't bother me in the least that she once chatted with Bill Murray for about fifteen minutes before a Broadway show once, just because she actually had the nerve to approach him when she spotted him down the row from her.
And I don't even care that she talked to Elizabeth Taylor for quite some time at a Macy's event she was working.
And certainly, it doesn't faze me in the least that she just traveled to Japan on business. I mean, she did send us all some way cool kimonos.
So I am CERTAINLY not jealous that she is turning Times Square into a Buddhist Garden on Thursday as a publicity event for a Japanese Buddhist organization. A stunt that will be on all the major networks' morning shows (tune into your favorite and marvel at her skillz). And besides, who really wants to escort Mira Sorvino to an awards ceremony so she can get some recognition for her peace efforts? Really. I mean, besides my husband, who would have ulterior motives anyway. Who cares?
*uh... am I looking a bit green to you?*
Monday, March 17, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Freakin' Finally!
I've been wrestling with Windows Movie Maker for months now... ever since I got my new laptop with Vista. Bleh.
Anyway, I have all this footage I want movies of, so I decided to try a little piece of software that came with the Vaio. It doesn't give me a lot of freedom, but the end result isn't bad. Here's some stuff from our November trip to Disney. Hopefully I'll post Thanksgiving soon.
Anyway, I have all this footage I want movies of, so I decided to try a little piece of software that came with the Vaio. It doesn't give me a lot of freedom, but the end result isn't bad. Here's some stuff from our November trip to Disney. Hopefully I'll post Thanksgiving soon.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Thanks, Grandma!
The hit gift of the afternoon was from grandma, and was brought all the way from Jolly Old England. Fortunately, as cute as it is, I think grandma and grandpa are willing to let it live at their house to be enjoyed during visits with them. Here's why:
He's Two! (Well, in Two Days)
Pay no attention to the frosting on this cake. Let's just say Non-Stick Aluminum Foil may be a bit of false advertising. Do pay attention to the blue drink, so colored due to the hella-cool ice cube I got in a drink at Disney. Let no one say my drinking does not benefit my kids in some way...
Playdate
This was taken after a particularly vigorous session of dress up with her buddy downtown. The blackened teeth are not poor oral hygiene, but are rather the result of eating sugar cookies with black sprinkles.
Friday, March 14, 2008
From The Answering Machine of...
Please note that the following message is based on an actual call. Some items have been embellished or paraphrased to offer the gentle reader some context and to enhance the humor, but all-in-all, it was a pretty damn funny message on its own.
Sunday, March 9, 5:30pm
Hi, uh... Elizabeth. This is Kathryn. First, thanks for having us over on Friday evening. As always, we had a great time, and it was fun to laugh over Megan's imaginary illness. Bummer that kept us from seeing The Other Boleyn Girl together, but what can you do?
So, um... about that imaginary illness... you know... those dots that daycare thought was a rash but the doctor said were just dots? Well, as it turns out, Megan does have Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. It's pretty contagious. So, uh... sorry. *click*
Sunday, March 9, 5:30pm
Hi, uh... Elizabeth. This is Kathryn. First, thanks for having us over on Friday evening. As always, we had a great time, and it was fun to laugh over Megan's imaginary illness. Bummer that kept us from seeing The Other Boleyn Girl together, but what can you do?
So, um... about that imaginary illness... you know... those dots that daycare thought was a rash but the doctor said were just dots? Well, as it turns out, Megan does have Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. It's pretty contagious. So, uh... sorry. *click*
And I Thought We Loved Penguins
Apparently, Louden, VA doesn't love penguins. Or at least one jerk of a superintendent doesn't.
I am apathetic about many things. This is not one of them. I apologize for being late in sharing this. I'm catching up on my professional reading.
I may buy this book this weekend for Marcus' birthday.
I am apathetic about many things. This is not one of them. I apologize for being late in sharing this. I'm catching up on my professional reading.
I may buy this book this weekend for Marcus' birthday.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Potty Training Hell
We are currently in Potty Training Hell. Apparently, my worst fear is coming to fruition. I have this terrible concern that I will be unable to ever completely potty train my children. And Athena apparently believes it too.
But why do I even have this terrible paranoia? Oddly, it's my dog.
When I got Murphy, I asked the nice, pimply-faced pet store employee (yes, I bought her at a pet store, and yes, I feel guilty about that) how easy it was to housebreak a dog. I asked this because I had never had a dog and didn't have a clue about the best way to do it. He assured me, in no uncertain terms, that it was very easy. He explained crate training to me, I listened, and I obeyed.
Murphy, unfortunately, did not.
So I took her to a K-9 trainer in a sort of desperation. Murphy learned to sit, stay, lie down, and heel. She was brilliant! They recommended she enter advanced training for things like obstacle courses and frisbee catching. I said I'd enroll her as soon as she was housebroken.
What? Not housebroken? They seemed puzzled. So they offered something really special. They knew I was going to Europe for a couple of weeks that summer. So they offered to board her and housebreak her while I was gone. The cost was reasonable, and their work was guaranteed.
I went to Italy, Greece, and France, and dreamed of returning home to a really well-trained dog. And once again, Murphy crushed my dreams in her cute little paws.
I was told that despite their best efforts, they could not housebreak my dog. These were professionals. They train police dogs to sniff out drugs and take out bad guys. Yet my little princess would look them in the eyes and pee squarely in the middle of their kitchen floor.
They returned my dog to me, tore up my bill, and made me promise to never return.
I will say, this story does have more of a happy ending than you might think. When Murphy grew ill a few years ago, they began to medicate her for her liver issues. Suddenly, and without warning, Murphy ceased to have accidents in the house. She was 13. That's 91 in dog years.
Athena had three accidents at school today. She was doing beautifully last week. This week has simply fallen apart. I am at a loss. I don't have a K-9 school equivalent. And with my track record, it wouldn't matter if I did.
Let's just hope that it doesn't take medication and/or 87 more years for this to stick.
But why do I even have this terrible paranoia? Oddly, it's my dog.
When I got Murphy, I asked the nice, pimply-faced pet store employee (yes, I bought her at a pet store, and yes, I feel guilty about that) how easy it was to housebreak a dog. I asked this because I had never had a dog and didn't have a clue about the best way to do it. He assured me, in no uncertain terms, that it was very easy. He explained crate training to me, I listened, and I obeyed.
Murphy, unfortunately, did not.
So I took her to a K-9 trainer in a sort of desperation. Murphy learned to sit, stay, lie down, and heel. She was brilliant! They recommended she enter advanced training for things like obstacle courses and frisbee catching. I said I'd enroll her as soon as she was housebroken.
What? Not housebroken? They seemed puzzled. So they offered something really special. They knew I was going to Europe for a couple of weeks that summer. So they offered to board her and housebreak her while I was gone. The cost was reasonable, and their work was guaranteed.
I went to Italy, Greece, and France, and dreamed of returning home to a really well-trained dog. And once again, Murphy crushed my dreams in her cute little paws.
I was told that despite their best efforts, they could not housebreak my dog. These were professionals. They train police dogs to sniff out drugs and take out bad guys. Yet my little princess would look them in the eyes and pee squarely in the middle of their kitchen floor.
They returned my dog to me, tore up my bill, and made me promise to never return.
I will say, this story does have more of a happy ending than you might think. When Murphy grew ill a few years ago, they began to medicate her for her liver issues. Suddenly, and without warning, Murphy ceased to have accidents in the house. She was 13. That's 91 in dog years.
Athena had three accidents at school today. She was doing beautifully last week. This week has simply fallen apart. I am at a loss. I don't have a K-9 school equivalent. And with my track record, it wouldn't matter if I did.
Let's just hope that it doesn't take medication and/or 87 more years for this to stick.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
The Extra Long Dry Spell
Yes, we do have a lack of rain here in good old NC, but I'm actually talking about my own dry spell. No posts for weeks? What up, yo?
Well, I certainly have a few things to post about, but my energy has been pushed completely into work lately. And if I'm emotionally drained when I get home, I don't really need to unload through writing. Consequentially, you get nothing to read. I am sorry, and I hope you all haven't given up on me. Here's a little for those of you who have been gracious enough to stick it out.
Small children lead to a constant flow of stuff changing in your house. We are constantly cycling through clothing, shoes, toys, etc. A few weeks ago, I packed up EIGHT BOXES of crap the kids can't wear anymore. I gave one box of girl things to Kathryn because it's stuff that's too small for Sophie's little girl. The other SEVEN boxes will be mailed to Sophie soon for the future Brian Jr. (Did you hear that, Sophie? Seven! Mostly boy clothes! So glad you did things in the right order!)
Then we're also cutting way back on our expenses, which hasn't really curbed the flow of crap into our house. Instead, we cut out the bulk of our eating out, as we discovered that we were spending an absurd amount of money in restaurants each week. So I still go to Target and end up with MORE clothing for the kids... namely Hello Kitty shirts for Athena, who has become obsessed. She calls it Hallo Kitty, which is so darn cute you have to buy the damn stuff. That, and we're using it to bribe her to use the potty, with surprising success. Her gift yesterday for getting 11 potty stickers was the Annie movie on DVD, which she was upset about because she was expecting Barbie. However, ten bars of "Maybe" and she was hooked.
Mom is taking me to Disney in May. We wanted to do a girl's weekend, and she knew I'd like it. Next year, she is promising to take me AND Chris to Europe... Scotland maybe. I'm stoked. She will not take the kids, however, because they are too young to go to Europe, in her opinion. I think she should tell that to all those European babies...
Athena's favorite phrase now is "butt-butt." I TRY to get her to say bum-bum as it isn't quite as crass, but that doesn't have the same ring to her. She says it all the time. Yesterday in the car on the way home from daycare, I got the butt-butt rendition of Rudolph:
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Butt-Butt
Had a very shiny butt-butt
And if you ever butt-butt
You would even say it butt-butts
Amy, you SURE you don't want to have kids? They are only two for a little while.
By the way, Marcus has a full vocabulary now. He's growing up so fast. Good thing we're broke or I'd totally have another.
Well, I certainly have a few things to post about, but my energy has been pushed completely into work lately. And if I'm emotionally drained when I get home, I don't really need to unload through writing. Consequentially, you get nothing to read. I am sorry, and I hope you all haven't given up on me. Here's a little for those of you who have been gracious enough to stick it out.
Small children lead to a constant flow of stuff changing in your house. We are constantly cycling through clothing, shoes, toys, etc. A few weeks ago, I packed up EIGHT BOXES of crap the kids can't wear anymore. I gave one box of girl things to Kathryn because it's stuff that's too small for Sophie's little girl. The other SEVEN boxes will be mailed to Sophie soon for the future Brian Jr. (Did you hear that, Sophie? Seven! Mostly boy clothes! So glad you did things in the right order!)
Then we're also cutting way back on our expenses, which hasn't really curbed the flow of crap into our house. Instead, we cut out the bulk of our eating out, as we discovered that we were spending an absurd amount of money in restaurants each week. So I still go to Target and end up with MORE clothing for the kids... namely Hello Kitty shirts for Athena, who has become obsessed. She calls it Hallo Kitty, which is so darn cute you have to buy the damn stuff. That, and we're using it to bribe her to use the potty, with surprising success. Her gift yesterday for getting 11 potty stickers was the Annie movie on DVD, which she was upset about because she was expecting Barbie. However, ten bars of "Maybe" and she was hooked.
Mom is taking me to Disney in May. We wanted to do a girl's weekend, and she knew I'd like it. Next year, she is promising to take me AND Chris to Europe... Scotland maybe. I'm stoked. She will not take the kids, however, because they are too young to go to Europe, in her opinion. I think she should tell that to all those European babies...
Athena's favorite phrase now is "butt-butt." I TRY to get her to say bum-bum as it isn't quite as crass, but that doesn't have the same ring to her. She says it all the time. Yesterday in the car on the way home from daycare, I got the butt-butt rendition of Rudolph:
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Butt-Butt
Had a very shiny butt-butt
And if you ever butt-butt
You would even say it butt-butts
Amy, you SURE you don't want to have kids? They are only two for a little while.
By the way, Marcus has a full vocabulary now. He's growing up so fast. Good thing we're broke or I'd totally have another.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Broken Hearts and Dead Flowers
Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely hate Valentine's Day. Yes, I know I used the "h" word, but it's true. I won't go into why, because I've done that before, but I can tell you that tonight, I celebrate my hate for the day.
One of my Young Adult Librarians (she is an adult... she WORKS with our teens... just to clarify) came up with the idea for an Anti-Valentine's Day Masquerade Ball. Which is why I sit here, at 9:30 on a Friday, at work, monitoring the library for any of the 40 teens who showed up to ensure they don't partake in any ... well... typical Valentine's Day behavior in the library. The party goes until 10. The cleanup will extend well past 10:30, I believe.
The ladies and some of the teens decorated our activity room with Christmas lights, gauzy stuff, and dead flowers (courtesy of the local supermarket, who was pleased to find somewhere to dump a particularly bad shipment of V-Day flowers). We even baked broken heart cookies and decorated them with all sorts of Anti-V-Day messages. Awesome.
Within a half hour, the teens had trashed the place. They are still having a great time, but there are rose petals all over the (new) carpet and lots of feet stepping upon them. There are pages from weeded romance novels all over the floor. It's like a scene from Animal House without the beer and with nicer duds.
But the teens are awesome. They are having a great time, they are all dressed up with masks and everything, and I'm pretty happy. Granted, I suspect some of the boys showed up in order to meet girls... which isn't very anti-Valentine's-Day, but it's pretty pro-teenage-boy... so it's forgivable.
One of my Young Adult Librarians (she is an adult... she WORKS with our teens... just to clarify) came up with the idea for an Anti-Valentine's Day Masquerade Ball. Which is why I sit here, at 9:30 on a Friday, at work, monitoring the library for any of the 40 teens who showed up to ensure they don't partake in any ... well... typical Valentine's Day behavior in the library. The party goes until 10. The cleanup will extend well past 10:30, I believe.
The ladies and some of the teens decorated our activity room with Christmas lights, gauzy stuff, and dead flowers (courtesy of the local supermarket, who was pleased to find somewhere to dump a particularly bad shipment of V-Day flowers). We even baked broken heart cookies and decorated them with all sorts of Anti-V-Day messages. Awesome.
Within a half hour, the teens had trashed the place. They are still having a great time, but there are rose petals all over the (new) carpet and lots of feet stepping upon them. There are pages from weeded romance novels all over the floor. It's like a scene from Animal House without the beer and with nicer duds.
But the teens are awesome. They are having a great time, they are all dressed up with masks and everything, and I'm pretty happy. Granted, I suspect some of the boys showed up in order to meet girls... which isn't very anti-Valentine's-Day, but it's pretty pro-teenage-boy... so it's forgivable.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Possession is Nine-Tenths
Last night we had a little dinner party. The family that came over includes Mommy, Daddy, Son Age 7, and Twins Age 4. Ellie is one half of the fraternal twins and the poor thing lives with two brothers, so when she and Athena get together, it's girl-stuff galore.
Several things happened that made us laugh. One was that the girls got into Athena's closet (on which I have a child-proof door-knob thingy on to keep her out) and they romped through all her clothes that don't fit, her dress-up clothes, and her flip flops. Ever since then, she has been wanting to wear her sandles (despite the cold weather) and can't understand why I had them locked up.
Later, big brother reported back to us that Athena was painting Ellie's fingernails. AACK!, says I. Chris went up to check it out and found that Athena was A) almost done, B) had insisted on laying a washcloth under Ellie's hands, and C) had done a REALLY good job. She's going to do mine next week. Heckuva lot cheaper than going to the Nail Cafe down the street.
Finally, the best moment, which had little to do with Ellie, actually, was a dinner conversation we overheard. Here is is recreated for you:
Ellie: Athena, what does your name start with?
Athena: A
Ellie: Oh
Athena: And MY Aiden starts with an A too!
Ellie: *blink*
Athena: Not Callie's Aiden, right, Mom? MY Aiden. Aiden is not Callie's.
Me: Meow.
Several things happened that made us laugh. One was that the girls got into Athena's closet (on which I have a child-proof door-knob thingy on to keep her out) and they romped through all her clothes that don't fit, her dress-up clothes, and her flip flops. Ever since then, she has been wanting to wear her sandles (despite the cold weather) and can't understand why I had them locked up.
Later, big brother reported back to us that Athena was painting Ellie's fingernails. AACK!, says I. Chris went up to check it out and found that Athena was A) almost done, B) had insisted on laying a washcloth under Ellie's hands, and C) had done a REALLY good job. She's going to do mine next week. Heckuva lot cheaper than going to the Nail Cafe down the street.
Finally, the best moment, which had little to do with Ellie, actually, was a dinner conversation we overheard. Here is is recreated for you:
Ellie: Athena, what does your name start with?
Athena: A
Ellie: Oh
Athena: And MY Aiden starts with an A too!
Ellie: *blink*
Athena: Not Callie's Aiden, right, Mom? MY Aiden. Aiden is not Callie's.
Me: Meow.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Library Secret #4 - Weeding
Books are a funny thing. No really. Maybe not books, as much as people who HAVE books in their hands. There is something about books that is sacred to most humans. Here's a little game for you:
I'm going to make a statement. Then I'm going to tell you the first thing most people think when they hear that statement. Then I'll tell you what most librarians think. Mind you, we don't always ACT on these thoughts, but just to give you some insight... Let's see if you are more librarian, or more "People."
"I need a book on dog training"
People: Good idea! My dog is acting up and I can find the answer in a book.
Librarian: Your puppy will eat this book. Trust me. Really.
"I have a set of Encyclopedias from 1975."
People: A collector's item! Wow! I bet the library would want these.
Librarian: Oh, how I wish we had a conveyor belt from our gift book receiving area to the shredder dumpster.
"I have all the National Geographics ever published."
People: These must be saved!
Librarian: Look! Kitty litter!
When asked how my day was by People (not my husband, who knows way more about librarianship than he ever expected to), I will sometimes say, "Well, it was good. I got a lot of weeding done. I sorted through about 500 gift books and added about three to the collection, and I cleared shelf space in the stacks by culling out books that haven't been going out and books that look like someone ran over them with a car, then peed on them."
I smile triumphantly and wait for the well-deserved pat on the back. Instead, I get a puzzled expression and then I get a simple, one word question: "Weeded?" Suddenly, I am faced with a trembling lower lip and big round doe eyes, and I remember that I am talking to "People."
"Oh," I say. Well, er... I umm... well, you know... we don't, you know... throw books away, of course. No... of course not. We ... um... send them to the book sale!" I exhale forcefully as I revel in my skills to not really LIE so much as bend the truth. "You know... even the smelly moldy ones... because, you know... you can't throw books away!" *cough*
And then the People in front of me look relieved and we all chuckle and I realize I need to make a hasty exit before someone catches my lie.
The fact is, we throw books away. Well, we shred them... so they don't end up accumulating in the land fill, but we do get rid of them. That book you snuck back into the book drop after you dropped it in the toilet? Yeah, well... we don't have a miracle cure for that. And guess what! By not fessing up and bringing the thing to us (or even better, throwing it out and just telling us you left it in a hotel in Borneo), you just ruined ten other books in the book drop... and that's on a SLOW day.
We also weed old books that aren't getting read any more. We are no longer the Library at Alexandria. We have computers for that. And we don't have unlimited shelf space. Surely this has happened to you at home... you buy a book, get home, and realize there is no room for it on the shelf in your bookcase. So you go through your books and pull a few out to throw...
Oh, wait... no... you just take them to the library, don't you?
The good news is, we make about a quarter of a million dollars at our booksale every year. People don't want to see those books get thrown out!
I'm going to make a statement. Then I'm going to tell you the first thing most people think when they hear that statement. Then I'll tell you what most librarians think. Mind you, we don't always ACT on these thoughts, but just to give you some insight... Let's see if you are more librarian, or more "People."
"I need a book on dog training"
People: Good idea! My dog is acting up and I can find the answer in a book.
Librarian: Your puppy will eat this book. Trust me. Really.
"I have a set of Encyclopedias from 1975."
People: A collector's item! Wow! I bet the library would want these.
Librarian: Oh, how I wish we had a conveyor belt from our gift book receiving area to the shredder dumpster.
"I have all the National Geographics ever published."
People: These must be saved!
Librarian: Look! Kitty litter!
When asked how my day was by People (not my husband, who knows way more about librarianship than he ever expected to), I will sometimes say, "Well, it was good. I got a lot of weeding done. I sorted through about 500 gift books and added about three to the collection, and I cleared shelf space in the stacks by culling out books that haven't been going out and books that look like someone ran over them with a car, then peed on them."
I smile triumphantly and wait for the well-deserved pat on the back. Instead, I get a puzzled expression and then I get a simple, one word question: "Weeded?" Suddenly, I am faced with a trembling lower lip and big round doe eyes, and I remember that I am talking to "People."
"Oh," I say. Well, er... I umm... well, you know... we don't, you know... throw books away, of course. No... of course not. We ... um... send them to the book sale!" I exhale forcefully as I revel in my skills to not really LIE so much as bend the truth. "You know... even the smelly moldy ones... because, you know... you can't throw books away!" *cough*
And then the People in front of me look relieved and we all chuckle and I realize I need to make a hasty exit before someone catches my lie.
The fact is, we throw books away. Well, we shred them... so they don't end up accumulating in the land fill, but we do get rid of them. That book you snuck back into the book drop after you dropped it in the toilet? Yeah, well... we don't have a miracle cure for that. And guess what! By not fessing up and bringing the thing to us (or even better, throwing it out and just telling us you left it in a hotel in Borneo), you just ruined ten other books in the book drop... and that's on a SLOW day.
We also weed old books that aren't getting read any more. We are no longer the Library at Alexandria. We have computers for that. And we don't have unlimited shelf space. Surely this has happened to you at home... you buy a book, get home, and realize there is no room for it on the shelf in your bookcase. So you go through your books and pull a few out to throw...
Oh, wait... no... you just take them to the library, don't you?
The good news is, we make about a quarter of a million dollars at our booksale every year. People don't want to see those books get thrown out!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Update on the Screwing
Turns out we're not so screwed... at least for now. Our builder is paying for everything except the work that the water damage folks did to dry out the crawlspace and treat for mold. They aren't paying that because they "would have done it themselves if we had just waited." So I'm out $150, but it could be a LOT worse.
The builder informed us that our washer was not, in fact, leaking. Rather... the plumbers simply neglected to finish their work back in 2002 when the house was built, and therefore, our washing machine has been draining directly into our crawlspace for 5.5 years now. Lawsy.
So they've installed the necessary pipes and they have promised to fix the support beam, then the garage floor. So we don't have to file with insurance or anything. Huzzah.
The builder informed us that our washer was not, in fact, leaking. Rather... the plumbers simply neglected to finish their work back in 2002 when the house was built, and therefore, our washing machine has been draining directly into our crawlspace for 5.5 years now. Lawsy.
So they've installed the necessary pipes and they have promised to fix the support beam, then the garage floor. So we don't have to file with insurance or anything. Huzzah.
Monday, January 21, 2008
We Are So Screwed
Well, fate has pointed its fickle finger to us, apparently, and I say "PSHAW" to your broken windshields, crummy phone/cable service, and bad column on the front porch. When we get screwed, we go all the way.
Let me explain.
No, it's too much. Let me sum up.
Termite inspector came two weeks ago for annual inspection. Found high moisture levels and standing water, but no termites, in our crawl space.
Chris poked around down there and couldn't find the problem.
Chris went down two days later and after crawling around a bit more, found the problem. Rotted floor joist, ruined insulation, and two pipes terminating just above that. He contacted the builder.
Builder emailed him back to say they would be in touch.
Termite people called to schedule another inspection since they have a $25,000 guarantee that we won't have termites, and wet wood is really not on their side when it comes to keeping their money in the bank.
Builder has not been in touch.
We did laundry this weekend. Lots of laundry.
Termite guy comes today and confirms that the exposed pipes are the problem, the damage extends into our garage and could cause our staircase to collapse, and the culprit is most likely our washing machine (even though we haven't noticed a leak at all). He also confirms that the idea of terminating pipes into our crawl space is negligent and stupid AND even if they were only for emergencies, they terminate too high, therefore splashing water on our dry wall and other important bits that keep the house standing upright. We prefer that our house stand upright. Call us sentimental, if you will, but we do.
He also pointed out some problems with our water heater "leak prevention" pan provided by our builder. Basically, if the water heater has to "blow off," the water would spray everywhere before it even thought about going down the "emergency drain" which also terminates in the crawl space. This would ruin walls and carpet upstairs. Not all of them, mind you, but some. I was thrilled.
Called Sears to have someone repair the washer. They can't come until Monday (one week from today) between 8 and 12. (They apparently learned scheduling from Time Warner Cable and glass repair dudes).
Called Nationwide to file a claim. If it's covered, we're looking at a $500 deductible and I am hoping THEY will wrestle with the builders to get the money back. If it's NOT covered, we will have to pay for repairs out of pocket while we wrestle with the builder. (I'm assuming that the builder isn't going to just fork over the dough). We're talking substantial money. I'm guessing in the 10K range. Yes, that's 10 G's. 10 grand. TEN FREAKING THOUSAND dollars.
We looked at our budget last night and realized that we have zero money on hand regularly. Negative really. Not that we needed a budget to tell us this... it just confirmed what we already suspected. I will have to sell stock that my grandfather gave me to pay for this. And pay Capital Gains taxes on it. And I will then have nothing in savings save my random 401K accounts that are dotted all over the US of A.
We are so screwed.
Let me explain.
No, it's too much. Let me sum up.
Termite inspector came two weeks ago for annual inspection. Found high moisture levels and standing water, but no termites, in our crawl space.
Chris poked around down there and couldn't find the problem.
Chris went down two days later and after crawling around a bit more, found the problem. Rotted floor joist, ruined insulation, and two pipes terminating just above that. He contacted the builder.
Builder emailed him back to say they would be in touch.
Termite people called to schedule another inspection since they have a $25,000 guarantee that we won't have termites, and wet wood is really not on their side when it comes to keeping their money in the bank.
Builder has not been in touch.
We did laundry this weekend. Lots of laundry.
Termite guy comes today and confirms that the exposed pipes are the problem, the damage extends into our garage and could cause our staircase to collapse, and the culprit is most likely our washing machine (even though we haven't noticed a leak at all). He also confirms that the idea of terminating pipes into our crawl space is negligent and stupid AND even if they were only for emergencies, they terminate too high, therefore splashing water on our dry wall and other important bits that keep the house standing upright. We prefer that our house stand upright. Call us sentimental, if you will, but we do.
He also pointed out some problems with our water heater "leak prevention" pan provided by our builder. Basically, if the water heater has to "blow off," the water would spray everywhere before it even thought about going down the "emergency drain" which also terminates in the crawl space. This would ruin walls and carpet upstairs. Not all of them, mind you, but some. I was thrilled.
Called Sears to have someone repair the washer. They can't come until Monday (one week from today) between 8 and 12. (They apparently learned scheduling from Time Warner Cable and glass repair dudes).
Called Nationwide to file a claim. If it's covered, we're looking at a $500 deductible and I am hoping THEY will wrestle with the builders to get the money back. If it's NOT covered, we will have to pay for repairs out of pocket while we wrestle with the builder. (I'm assuming that the builder isn't going to just fork over the dough). We're talking substantial money. I'm guessing in the 10K range. Yes, that's 10 G's. 10 grand. TEN FREAKING THOUSAND dollars.
We looked at our budget last night and realized that we have zero money on hand regularly. Negative really. Not that we needed a budget to tell us this... it just confirmed what we already suspected. I will have to sell stock that my grandfather gave me to pay for this. And pay Capital Gains taxes on it. And I will then have nothing in savings save my random 401K accounts that are dotted all over the US of A.
We are so screwed.
Worst Party Ever Turns Out to be Not So Bad
The weather was not my friend this weekend, but overall, I suppose it worked out okay. Cathy (from Maryland) was already there, and then our neighbors across the street were invited, so we knew we'd have three people at our post-holiday holiday party. Half-way through the day, we thought the Charlotte folks were on their way, so we thought we might possibly be breaking out the air mattresses and we'd heard from our sitter (who is originally from New England) that she was still coming. The weather forecast was calling for it to not drop below freezing until 10pm, so with a 7pm start, we figured we could still have people over, get them to eat the $300+ in groceries I had in the house, then get them back out the door before it got slippery.
Assuming it got slippery.
Which it didn't.
But I get ahead of myself. So around mid-day Cathy and I decided to dive in and just keep making the food in anticipation of a turn for the better in the weather. We'd been cooking all morning, plus I had been doing a lot the night before, but there were still some things to make, and we thought we'd go ahead and do it. At 3pm, the Charlotte crew called to say they had not, in fact, left at 1pm, and were not coming, and then the Greensboro and High Point crews called. I knew the areas west of us were getting hit worse than us, so I was disappointed, but I also prefer my friends to be alive, so I was completely happy with them not coming. I notified folks in the area that the party was still on, and since the weather forecast was starting to say that we would NOT get as much as we thought, and possibly not even really have bad road conditions, they should come if they felt comfortable.
We ended up not making everything on the plan, but most of it, and we had a core group of 15 people, who were kind enough to eat quite a bit. The last stragglers left at about 11pm and reported that the roads were dry as a bone. No chance of black ice, and even if there WERE ice, you would be able to see it because the roads were otherwise dry.
We did throw away quite a bit of food, but still have the cake and brownies and cookies. We also have some cheddar crackers and some pita chips. And lots of beer and wine. Although that, too, was well-loved and at least took a good solid hit. The best part is that since we didn't have a big turnout... I just kept my recipes together for next year. No menu planning for me next year... it's all done!
Assuming it got slippery.
Which it didn't.
But I get ahead of myself. So around mid-day Cathy and I decided to dive in and just keep making the food in anticipation of a turn for the better in the weather. We'd been cooking all morning, plus I had been doing a lot the night before, but there were still some things to make, and we thought we'd go ahead and do it. At 3pm, the Charlotte crew called to say they had not, in fact, left at 1pm, and were not coming, and then the Greensboro and High Point crews called. I knew the areas west of us were getting hit worse than us, so I was disappointed, but I also prefer my friends to be alive, so I was completely happy with them not coming. I notified folks in the area that the party was still on, and since the weather forecast was starting to say that we would NOT get as much as we thought, and possibly not even really have bad road conditions, they should come if they felt comfortable.
We ended up not making everything on the plan, but most of it, and we had a core group of 15 people, who were kind enough to eat quite a bit. The last stragglers left at about 11pm and reported that the roads were dry as a bone. No chance of black ice, and even if there WERE ice, you would be able to see it because the roads were otherwise dry.
We did throw away quite a bit of food, but still have the cake and brownies and cookies. We also have some cheddar crackers and some pita chips. And lots of beer and wine. Although that, too, was well-loved and at least took a good solid hit. The best part is that since we didn't have a big turnout... I just kept my recipes together for next year. No menu planning for me next year... it's all done!
Friday, January 18, 2008
So You Had a Bad Day...
I called Chris on my way to pick up the kids and magnanimously granted his wish to stay late at work to play XBox 360 and Wii with his coworkers. But only if he promised to do everything I tell him tomorrow. He actually agreed. Of course, I didn't quite put it that way... I only said that he had to get "everything done" as far as errands and cleaning. Which is essentially the same thing. So I'm pleased. (Not smug though, because I know he will just argue semantics with me... for instance, the definition of "need to do.")
I did this without knowing, however, that Athena had a terrible day at school. She was at the end of her rope when I got there, and had been put in time out for giving another girl a raspberry. Her teacher told me that she had spit on another child, but that is not really my definition of spit. Still, it wasn't nice.
Athena was melting down, and as I took her around the school to collect her things (including her little brother), she would stop and collapse to the floor in tears every six steps or so. These were not temper tantrum tears either. Believe me, I've seen enough of those to recognize them. These were tears of abject sorrow. The kid was just depressed. Really sad.
I had her call Daddy, because he can always cheer her up. Didn't work. She just told him she wanted him at home. It broke my heart. It must have destroyed Chris'. Although he is still at work playing games, so it must not have cut too deep.
We ran into Aiden and his family on the way out of the building, and Athena started crying again. When I asked her why, she said "I don't want John to see my accident." (She had an accident while in time out on the playground, and had no more pants to wear). I thought this was very sad and also very exciting, as it means that she is FINALLY embarrassed about her accidents and therefore they may actually CEASE TO EXIST soon. I'm terribly stoked about this, as this whole potty training saga is killing me.
We came home, and she was cheered a bit by changing into clean clothes (go figure) and taking her cough medicine. We had pasta and garlic bread for dinner (yum) and I let them watch Wonder Pets while we ate (normally the tv is off during meals). All this seems to have cheered her. Chris is on his way home now to put them to bed, as I need to start cooking in anticipation of the big par-TAY tomorrow night.
My friend Cathy is on her way here from Maryland to stay for the weekend. She is going to help us prepare for the party and we'll generally talk each others' ears off. It's sort of a big thing for me to have her here because this party originated with the New Year's Party she and I used to throw jointly MANY years ago. She hasn't come to one of these since 2000, which was the last Christmas she lived within 75 miles of me. Before I moved to Raleigh, she and I were inseparable. So I'm really excited.
Oh, but back to the theme of BAD days... it's supposed to snow here tomorrow afternoon. Snow. If no one can get to this party, I'm going to be eating pita chips, hummus, cream cheese and olive finger sandwiches, and chocolate cake for the next three weeks. Bleh.
I did this without knowing, however, that Athena had a terrible day at school. She was at the end of her rope when I got there, and had been put in time out for giving another girl a raspberry. Her teacher told me that she had spit on another child, but that is not really my definition of spit. Still, it wasn't nice.
Athena was melting down, and as I took her around the school to collect her things (including her little brother), she would stop and collapse to the floor in tears every six steps or so. These were not temper tantrum tears either. Believe me, I've seen enough of those to recognize them. These were tears of abject sorrow. The kid was just depressed. Really sad.
I had her call Daddy, because he can always cheer her up. Didn't work. She just told him she wanted him at home. It broke my heart. It must have destroyed Chris'. Although he is still at work playing games, so it must not have cut too deep.
We ran into Aiden and his family on the way out of the building, and Athena started crying again. When I asked her why, she said "I don't want John to see my accident." (She had an accident while in time out on the playground, and had no more pants to wear). I thought this was very sad and also very exciting, as it means that she is FINALLY embarrassed about her accidents and therefore they may actually CEASE TO EXIST soon. I'm terribly stoked about this, as this whole potty training saga is killing me.
We came home, and she was cheered a bit by changing into clean clothes (go figure) and taking her cough medicine. We had pasta and garlic bread for dinner (yum) and I let them watch Wonder Pets while we ate (normally the tv is off during meals). All this seems to have cheered her. Chris is on his way home now to put them to bed, as I need to start cooking in anticipation of the big par-TAY tomorrow night.
My friend Cathy is on her way here from Maryland to stay for the weekend. She is going to help us prepare for the party and we'll generally talk each others' ears off. It's sort of a big thing for me to have her here because this party originated with the New Year's Party she and I used to throw jointly MANY years ago. She hasn't come to one of these since 2000, which was the last Christmas she lived within 75 miles of me. Before I moved to Raleigh, she and I were inseparable. So I'm really excited.
Oh, but back to the theme of BAD days... it's supposed to snow here tomorrow afternoon. Snow. If no one can get to this party, I'm going to be eating pita chips, hummus, cream cheese and olive finger sandwiches, and chocolate cake for the next three weeks. Bleh.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Enjoy the Silence
I haven't been posting much because I haven't had anything really unusual to say lately. Life is puttering on. But I'll give you one of my world-famous fly-by updates just so you know I'm alive and kicking.
Project Runway: Apex (aka Fashion Intervention) is a complete and utter success. Apparently, throwing money at a problem DOES actually fix it. Since I've started wearing my designer duds, I have received an endless stream of compliments. Not just on the clothes, but also on my weight (which holds steady at 70lbs too much) and my skin (which has always been an asset of mine). My jaw is dragging the floor from the shock of how well this has worked. And of course, all the compliments have my confidence up, which just boosts the effects of the clothing.
Disney plans are forming. I've recently joined DisFriends, which is a MySpace for Disney Geeks and Nerds, and I fit right in. I've been trying to think of ways to finagle an April trip, we're already definitely going in October, and then I will probably go down for a Disney Geek convention in December. However, I'm not sure the wallet will support all that, so we're in a holding pattern at the moment. This is mainly because...
Our crawlspace runneth over. We had a termite inspection on Monday (an annual necessity here in the wood-chawing-beastie-friendly South) and the inspector found none of the little buggers. *YAY* She did find a very wet, almost rotted support beam and some insulation that resembles papier-mache. *BOOOOOOOO* Upon further inspection, Chris found two pipes that just seem to terminate right into our basement. The good news, it's not a leak. *YAY* The bad news, it's some sort of mixed-up backwards plumbing error (we assume) that will most likely take money (and/or several months of agonizing phone calls to our builder) to resolve. *BOOOOO*
Our children are well. This is a huge accomplishment, as they were sick off and on pretty much from May until Christmas. I'm finding myself wanting to put sneeze guards around them to keep them healthy and hearty.
Our house is half-organized. We've been cleaning and purging in an attempt to ready ourselves for some new furniture (a promised gift from Mom) and a new flat-screen tv (which Chris has been patiently waiting for for, oh, say, eight years now. And in cleaning and organizing, we find that life is generally just better. So we are actually keeping it pretty straight. This is also a big accomplishment for us... but it makes dull blog material. Moving on...
I've been dealing with a career crisis for two months now, trying to figure out what is missing in my job that is keeping me from totally loving it. I've done some soul-searching and I think I've found the answer. The best part is that I think the answer is in my current job... so I won't be following the four-year itch and trying to find something else. I'm going to wait it out. Once I decided that a couple of weeks ago, I've found that I'm doing much better at work than I had been and that makes me feel I've made the right decision. I'm juggling way too many balls at the moment, but if I pull it off, I'll really feel like I accomplished something, which I really NEED to feel at this point.
And finally, we're about to hold the ninth annual Holiday Party. This year, we pushed it off until January in the hopes that it would be less stressful and more people would attend. We think attendence will remain about the same, but it IS less stressful. This weekend, I'm planning what to make and starting prep work. I'm cooking everything, which is what I used to do, and stopped when I was pregnant and nursing. So basically, this party is a symbol that our lives are stabilizing. Our kids are becoming more independent and I am finally completely comfortable with the title of "mom." Feels good.
Project Runway: Apex (aka Fashion Intervention) is a complete and utter success. Apparently, throwing money at a problem DOES actually fix it. Since I've started wearing my designer duds, I have received an endless stream of compliments. Not just on the clothes, but also on my weight (which holds steady at 70lbs too much) and my skin (which has always been an asset of mine). My jaw is dragging the floor from the shock of how well this has worked. And of course, all the compliments have my confidence up, which just boosts the effects of the clothing.
Disney plans are forming. I've recently joined DisFriends, which is a MySpace for Disney Geeks and Nerds, and I fit right in. I've been trying to think of ways to finagle an April trip, we're already definitely going in October, and then I will probably go down for a Disney Geek convention in December. However, I'm not sure the wallet will support all that, so we're in a holding pattern at the moment. This is mainly because...
Our crawlspace runneth over. We had a termite inspection on Monday (an annual necessity here in the wood-chawing-beastie-friendly South) and the inspector found none of the little buggers. *YAY* She did find a very wet, almost rotted support beam and some insulation that resembles papier-mache. *BOOOOOOOO* Upon further inspection, Chris found two pipes that just seem to terminate right into our basement. The good news, it's not a leak. *YAY* The bad news, it's some sort of mixed-up backwards plumbing error (we assume) that will most likely take money (and/or several months of agonizing phone calls to our builder) to resolve. *BOOOOO*
Our children are well. This is a huge accomplishment, as they were sick off and on pretty much from May until Christmas. I'm finding myself wanting to put sneeze guards around them to keep them healthy and hearty.
Our house is half-organized. We've been cleaning and purging in an attempt to ready ourselves for some new furniture (a promised gift from Mom) and a new flat-screen tv (which Chris has been patiently waiting for for, oh, say, eight years now. And in cleaning and organizing, we find that life is generally just better. So we are actually keeping it pretty straight. This is also a big accomplishment for us... but it makes dull blog material. Moving on...
I've been dealing with a career crisis for two months now, trying to figure out what is missing in my job that is keeping me from totally loving it. I've done some soul-searching and I think I've found the answer. The best part is that I think the answer is in my current job... so I won't be following the four-year itch and trying to find something else. I'm going to wait it out. Once I decided that a couple of weeks ago, I've found that I'm doing much better at work than I had been and that makes me feel I've made the right decision. I'm juggling way too many balls at the moment, but if I pull it off, I'll really feel like I accomplished something, which I really NEED to feel at this point.
And finally, we're about to hold the ninth annual Holiday Party. This year, we pushed it off until January in the hopes that it would be less stressful and more people would attend. We think attendence will remain about the same, but it IS less stressful. This weekend, I'm planning what to make and starting prep work. I'm cooking everything, which is what I used to do, and stopped when I was pregnant and nursing. So basically, this party is a symbol that our lives are stabilizing. Our kids are becoming more independent and I am finally completely comfortable with the title of "mom." Feels good.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Changeling
I am sad to report that our Marcus has been stolen by the faeries and has been replaced with a really tall, strikingly good-looking, changeling.
The proof:
1) Saturday morning, Chris called me at work to report that "our son" had eaten for breakfast: an entire bagel (presumably with cream cheese), TWO bananas, twelve grapes, and a piece of string cheese. MY child is not quite 22 months old and could not possibly be able to eat that much food without stuff coming out his ears. Clearly, faerie magic is at play.
2) He is going down the stairs not ONLY independently, but standing up and REFUSING any help offered to him.
3) He woke up this morning around 4am very upset because he was not actually sleeping and wanted very much to be so. I picked him up to put him in my lap and rock him to sleep. He didn't fit. Legs and arms were everywhere and his head was at my eye level. After much struggle, we found a semi-comfortable way for him to put his head on my shoulder with his legs dragging the floor while I rocked. (That's a slight exaggeration, but only slight).
So there is the evidence... submitted for your approval. And the worst part? I don't think I'm ever going to get my baby back. *sigh*
The proof:
1) Saturday morning, Chris called me at work to report that "our son" had eaten for breakfast: an entire bagel (presumably with cream cheese), TWO bananas, twelve grapes, and a piece of string cheese. MY child is not quite 22 months old and could not possibly be able to eat that much food without stuff coming out his ears. Clearly, faerie magic is at play.
2) He is going down the stairs not ONLY independently, but standing up and REFUSING any help offered to him.
3) He woke up this morning around 4am very upset because he was not actually sleeping and wanted very much to be so. I picked him up to put him in my lap and rock him to sleep. He didn't fit. Legs and arms were everywhere and his head was at my eye level. After much struggle, we found a semi-comfortable way for him to put his head on my shoulder with his legs dragging the floor while I rocked. (That's a slight exaggeration, but only slight).
So there is the evidence... submitted for your approval. And the worst part? I don't think I'm ever going to get my baby back. *sigh*
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
