hola

Been a little busy around here lately...things going on at school, things going on at work, and the glorious income tax check came (and went).

School stuff is mainly PTA crap, which is at this point calling other parents to see if they can donate food and drink to the school for Founder's Day--this week. I'm the chairperson for the baking committee this year (which I kinda got volunteered for...thanks Amy...luv ya!), which means I'm the one who organizes the food donations for events. Yay. On Tuesday, I get to pack up spaghetti dinners...woohoo!

The income tax...well...it was nice while it lasted...lol. But we all got something out of it. The kids got new LCD TVs for their rooms, Joey got some fish for his tank, and we all (mostly me) got the minivan we needed! A pic of it is over at POC. It's nice...a 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan. Power everything, V6, keyless entry, etc. And it came with a DVD player! We all love it, since now we're not squished like sardines. And the deal we got on it was...awesome. The piece of shit car is officially gone.

The work thing is too much for this entry...I'll have to do that one by itself.

til next time...=)

lost

The picures in the last two entries basically sum up where I've been the past few days. We had one wicked ass storm come through here on Saturday, and the tree behind our house (well, front, depending on how you look at it...) was blown over. Literally...I saw it swaying in the breeze--thought I was seeing things, since this tree was about two feet in diameter. It fell in the direction of the street...I was afraid to look out the window, since the car was parked out there. Joey looked instead, and saw this:

Yup--that close. Not only did our car get spared, but the neighbors did too:

Not only that, but our neighbors downstairs were parked in the exact spot the tree came down...luckily they went somewhere just minutes before this happened. The tree was so big, it blocked the entire street for most of the night.

It kinda brought the electrical lines down, but there was power still going to the house. In fact, PPL (the electric company) didn't get to the house until about 2:30am (this happened around 5:30pm), and didn't shut the power off until about 6am. Go figure--turns out they didn't have to--the lines were fine--all they had to do was reattach them to the house, and everything would have been ok. The power didn't wasn't restored until Monday afternoon (the entry below)--that's when we realized the phone lines were down too...just the cordless and the DSL...lol. That didn't get fixed until this afternoon.

So here we are...back to normal, just with this in our yard:

Who knows how long that's gonna be there.

til next time...=)

aoljpictureUpload, aoljpictureUpload_4

small sigh of relief

you sure we're not in kansas?

da tree

moving sucks and more

    Actually, moving then not moving sucks.  My main reason:  no more DSL.  Once again, I'm stuck with dial-up.  Verizon gave me a hard time getting the DSL transferred back into this house, after I cancelled the transfer in the first place.  They turned it on in the new house, but they couldn't transfer it back, since there was no phone line to disconnect in the "new" house (the one I didn't move into).  DUH.  Anyhoo, here I am, and that's why I haven't really posted or read e-mail or anything.  I hate dial-up, therefore, I avoid it like the plague.

    On to other news...I had my OB appointment last week, and all looks good--I'm pregnant...NO...REALLY?  LOL.  Had my first ultrasound the other day too...at 9 weeks!  Last time, they didn't have them that soon.  Got to hear the baby's heartbeat and see it too.  (There's only one in there.)  Next time, I'll get a 3D ultrasound...woohoo!  After the ultrasound, I got 12 (yes, 12) vials of blood taken, for all sorts of tests.  Yay.

    One other thing that happened recently was the kids' birthday party.  I combined them this year,  since they're only 3 weeks apart.  We had a pool party at the same place Joey had his last year.  It was awesome!  All the kids had fun, and so did I.  Have to do that again sometime.

    So that's what's been going on.  Sorry I haven't been commenting...feeling pukey and migraines and being tired (especially with the new work hours) make me not want to do anything.  Ewwwww.

til next time...=)

delay

You know, I've been kinda busy lately...that's why I haven't been posting my vacation entries as fast as usual.  You know...moving, not moving, finding out about a bun in the oven, birthdays (and the cupcakes that go along with them), etc.  So let me get on with it!  Not that the stuff is over...still have birthday parties (combined them this year, but still) to do.  Not to mention said bun-in-oven...lol.

til next time...=)

one more thing

Oh yeah...something I forgot to mention yesterday.  We're moving.  Again.  Across the street.  In three weeks.  Yay.

til next time...=)

change of events

    You know, finally something might be going our way...kind of.  The landlord changed his mind about evicting us, but didn't come for the rent yet...and we had it over a week ago.  He hasn't called us about it since Thursday...you know, I'm not going to hunt him down and remind him that his money is sitting here waiting for him...if he wants it, let him come get it.  And I want receipts for all of it...just in case he tries to pull this shit again.  And we're still looking for another apartment...spare us the drama.

    And we're still going on vacation on Tennessee.  In 11 days...WOO.HOO.  I went to work last Monday and gave up half of my vacation days that week so I could make the money for the rent, etc.  Then my brother-in-law (you know, the one I can't stand...to a point, anyway) called Joey said we would only need half of the money we originally needed, and we can pay him back after the trip.  Don't worry--the next day I got the vacation back.  So we're going...and I'm SO looking forward to it.  Yeehaw!

    I know what you're thinking--OOH!  Things are turning around for you guys!  Nope...just a small change in scenery, then back to the same old crap.  Keep in mind, my hell months are just around the corner, starting with back-to-school shopping, followed by birthdays and Christmas...nooooooooooooooooo.

til next time...=)

down the drain

    Why does it seem like every time things are going good and the wheel is spinning so nicely, that something or someone comes along and throws a stick into it and screws it all up?  This happens literally all the time with me...all is well, things are going perfect, and then all hell breaks loose.  And nothing goes as planned.  You know, I always think the worst is going to happen...and unfortunately, it does.  Here's my latest evidence to support this theory.

    A few months ago, we (the family) were offered by the in-laws to go to Memphis with them in August.  Of course, we said yes.  I put in for my vacation for it (three weeks from now), got all the bills caught up so I could save money for the trip.  Even my teeth are on schedule to come in next week (FINALLY!  that's another story, though) in time so I could eat the ever famous barbecue.  The wheel was turning ever so perfectly.  Then the stick comes...

    Friday.  I was getting ready to pay my rent (late, but in the same month...so that's not too bad--wouldn't be the first time, but the landlord was ok with it), and Joey calls me to tell me that an eviction notice has been given to us.  WTF?!?  Says that we haven't paid the rent, sewer, or garbage.  Now mind you, Joey talked to the landlord earlier in the week to tell him to come by for the rent Friday--he said no problem.  Joey called him Friday morning to remind him that we had the rent, but his phone was shut off.  No more than 10 minutes later, he's at the door with the notice, along with a note saying I'm playing "head games" with the rent (no clue what the hell that's about).  There is so much more to this...such as the outstanding sewer bill he has (which has nothing to do with us...it's probably from years ago or something...the sewer authority won't tell us) and didn't tell us about until it got shut off for non-payment (last month...it was back on the next day).  Or the garbage bill that we were never told about, since it doesn't come in our name...it's in the owner's.

    So now instead of saving money for my vacation in Tennessee, I'm saving money for the sewer bill (which is a fraction of what he owes, and from what the authority said, might get shut off again for non-payment), the garbage bill, and the rent for August, incase the magistrate ends up siding with him and makes us pay.  And if not, saving money for a down payment for a new apartment...which I might be moving into during my vacation.

Here we go again.....

til next time...=)

wth?

Is is me, or Pennsylvania the only place that went from this...


(8 inches of snow)
to this...


(80 degrees, and not a cloud in the sky)
...in LESS THAN A WEEK? Just wondering...

til next time...=)