I love my new car when it runs. What a journey this has been! The day after we brought the car home I drove it to work This was Saturday.. Hubby called in and did not work that day. When I got off work I tried to start the car. The battery was dead. Fortunately, my work keeps a charger for such times as this. Ok, I must have left some lights on or something like that. So, we go to work on Sunday and the same thing happens. On Monday Hubby worked overtime so he was not home. I go out to get in the car. The key fob will not even open the doors because the battery is so dead. I can not get the key to work in the door. (I had been having issues with the key. When I put it in the ignition, I would have to jiggle it and wriggle it until it hit the right spot and I was able to turn it) Now, at the time my oldest son is home so I could have used his car to jump the battery, except that I can't pop the hood because I can't open the *(^%**(^%_!@#$ car. I had left my phone in the car the night before so I borrowed my sons who was getting ready to go to work. I call the dealership. They said they would send a tow truck. I asked if I could ride in with the tow truck. They said no. I told them I would have no way of picking up the car and no way to communicate with them as my phone was locked in the car and my son would be leaving with the phone I was currently using in just a few minutes. They said they would let me know when the car was ready to be picked up. I asked them how are they going to let me know as my phone is locked in the car. It was only after I got somewhat shitty about the fact that I have only had the car since Friday and have had to have it jumped twice and now it was dead that they talked to the manager and OK'd it for me to ride in. So I rode in with the tow truck(who, by the way, was able to open the car door with the key. WTH) When I got there I also told them about the key issue. They replaced my battery and sent me on my way. They said there was nothing wrong with the key. So the next day, Tuesday, battery is again dead. I call them and let them know I was bringing the car back in and also told them that there is an alarm indicating that the driver door is ajar and the warning dinger would not go off until you slammed the door multiple times and this is what we believe is draining the battery. Also, the dash light indicating what gear you are in would stay lit when the car was turned off. So we dropped the car off . They got the new part in fir the door on Thursday and on Saturday my hubby dropped me off so I could pick up the car. They said it was ready to go and they also had trouble with the key and that I could come in on Tuesday or Thursday when the key guy was there and have a new one made. So I made an appointment for that. Then I went out to my car and IT WOULD NOT START. Back in I go and calmly tell them. They replace the battery again and off I go. So the next day we realize the dashboard light will not go off when the car is off. So I call them again and they will look at that today when I go to get the new key made.
In other news, the Peeping Tom neighbor is packing up to move. Yesterday he gave us a 6 shelf bookcase. It is not super high quality but better than what you could buy at a place like Walmart or such. A trash bag of miscellaneous stuff that I haven't finished looking through though I did pull out 2 very nice candles. A big huge desk. It is in the garage right now, it is going to take some doing to figure out to get it in the house. I want to put it in the middle room whose doors only measure 29 inches wide which is exactly what the desk measures. We will probably have to take it apart. I am excited about the desk because right now my desktop is upstairs and I just don't like going up there because the cats and the dog get all whiny and impatient and I like being downstairs where everything is going on. I prefer using the desktop over typing on my Kindle or phone. Too bad I destroyed my laptop a few months ago. Anyway, the neighbor also gave us a Trimline elliptical and a Gold's Gym elliptical. Nice. But we definitely don't need 2. I see a sale in our future!
Trying to hang in there and keep the lights on along with the gas and phones and internet and other household expenses. I do have a few updates I need to do on the sidebar list of debts. Money is a little tighter than usual as I forgot to pay the trash/recycling bill and they cut us off. Shameful part is that it is only $134 . So we got that paid and also had the outside of the house sprayed for critters. Have not worked any overtime yet. They did call today but I couldn't go in as I have to deal with the car and the hubby was already signed up to work an extra day today. He has worked an extra day every week since we returned from vacation. I am so impressed.
I checked out YouTube the other day for budgeting, debt, frugality, freezer cooking and stuff like that. There are people who actually make videos every month of them doing their budget and so forth. Which is fine, but every month it is the same video except that they have changed their clothes and nail polish color! However, what I find fascinating is that there are people who video themselves cleaning their house and other people watch them clean their house and it is supposed to be inspiring. I just don't understand how you can spend time watching someone clean their house. Maybe watching one or two but to follow several different ones? Wouldn't you be better off just getting up and cleaning your house?
My Blog List
Thursday, June 13, 2019
Friday, May 31, 2019
Goodbye May!!!
Even though we had a nice vacation this month, I am happy to be starting a new month. This month has just been all over the place as far as finances.
The rebuild at work is finished and overtime is picking back up. I thought that the rebuild for the area I work in would be in January/February of 2021. We were hoping to be in a financial position that would allow us to take a layoff if offered. I was wrong, the rebuild is January/February of 2020. There is just no way we can take a layoff if we have a choice in the matter. My husband and I both worked through the last rebuild, but we had different schedules. He stayed on our normal schedule and I had to work a schedule of 7am to 7pm Monday through Saturday. (72 hours a week).The rebuild lasted 6 weeks. The money was great but boy, I was tired. This next rebuild is only supposed to last 30 days.
I must say that I admire those people who can sit down and figure out their budget to the last penny. Actually, I know I could do it if I wouldn't let myself get sidetracked. So, this is my goal for May, to have a written budget based on the spending we have done the last 6 months. I will base utilities on their cost over the last 24 months.
One of our neighbors sold their house. This was the neighbor nicknamed The Mayor or Peeping Tom. They are moving to Texas to be with family. The Mayor keeps giving hubby stuff. So far he has got an old table with 4 chairs, 3 shoe boxes of CDs, a bunch of wood, a 36 pack of Coke, a 36 pack of Diet Coke( it was flat and tasted nasty) another shelf that we used in our "pantry room". He had already given us 3 of them. He also have us a big neon light, a bunch of Christmas lights and some other stuff. When checking Zillow and similar sights, our house was usually estimated about 10K higher than theirs. We paid $170 for our house 4 years ago. Their house sold for $230K, so that is good news for us.
So, a few weeks ago our car was totaled in a wreck. It was a 20 year old car that had a salvage title and therefore was only covered for liability. We decided not to replace the vehicle until our finances were better. We figure we can get by with one vehicle especially since we work at the same place/same shift.
Well, these last few weeks have been crazy. The dog had to go to the vet and has a lot of problem getting in and out of my husband's truck. Thankfully our neighbor insisted we use his car. We had to cancel a long awaited Dr. appt. for hubby because I was scheduled for a special class at work. Usually one of my 3 sister's chauffeur my mom and dad to appointments. This week sister#3 was going to take my dad to Dr. as sister#1 and sister#2 were working. She was not able to do it because she herself ended having to go in hospital to have a shunt replaced. (She has a condition called Syringomyelia) So I had to drive 90 minutes to pick up her car, 30 minutes to my parent's house, go to Dr. and then repeat the trip in reverse. I had to use her car because neither of my parent's can climb in or out of our truck. Did I mention I abhor driving the truck? It is such a rough ride that if we hit a bump while I am holding my phone, the screen will rotate lol. On Thursday, hubs worked an extra day, so I could have drove him 30 minutes to work and back home again and then drive 30 minutes to pick him up and home again or hubs could drive himself and I would be at home all day without a vehicle hoping there were no emergencies. Which is what I did. If anything had happened, I guess I could have tried Uber.
So, if you haven't already guessed, we bought a new to us car. We put $1100 down and I will start making payments on July 12. I have to say it is nice to have a car that is in decent shape. My other car had one headlight taped in place, no AC, heat only on one side, the side view mirrors had to be adjusted by hand, one had the silver peeled off, the drivers seat was pushed all the way back and couldn't be adjusted, one window wouldn't stay up, 2 windows sometimes could not be rolled down, the hood top was crumpled up from when I hit a deer, one turn signal indicator had to be replaced about once a month. The car had been cracked at one time and when it was returned, the stereo speakers had been ripped out and one of the back door covers had been ripped off. It was also close to needing new tires and the brakes needed replaced. It is a good thing our neighborhood does not have an HOA, because they probably would make me hide the car in the garage. LOL
I chose to make my car payments weekly(I do better paying a little at a time as opposed to accumulating the funds and making the payment). So 1 day of overtime by me will make 2.5 payments. 1 day of hubs working overtime will be just a little bit more. Between the 2 of us we shouldn't have a problem getting the overtime.
So, there, I have confessed. I added to my debt instead of lowering it
The rebuild at work is finished and overtime is picking back up. I thought that the rebuild for the area I work in would be in January/February of 2021. We were hoping to be in a financial position that would allow us to take a layoff if offered. I was wrong, the rebuild is January/February of 2020. There is just no way we can take a layoff if we have a choice in the matter. My husband and I both worked through the last rebuild, but we had different schedules. He stayed on our normal schedule and I had to work a schedule of 7am to 7pm Monday through Saturday. (72 hours a week).The rebuild lasted 6 weeks. The money was great but boy, I was tired. This next rebuild is only supposed to last 30 days.
I must say that I admire those people who can sit down and figure out their budget to the last penny. Actually, I know I could do it if I wouldn't let myself get sidetracked. So, this is my goal for May, to have a written budget based on the spending we have done the last 6 months. I will base utilities on their cost over the last 24 months.
One of our neighbors sold their house. This was the neighbor nicknamed The Mayor or Peeping Tom. They are moving to Texas to be with family. The Mayor keeps giving hubby stuff. So far he has got an old table with 4 chairs, 3 shoe boxes of CDs, a bunch of wood, a 36 pack of Coke, a 36 pack of Diet Coke( it was flat and tasted nasty) another shelf that we used in our "pantry room". He had already given us 3 of them. He also have us a big neon light, a bunch of Christmas lights and some other stuff. When checking Zillow and similar sights, our house was usually estimated about 10K higher than theirs. We paid $170 for our house 4 years ago. Their house sold for $230K, so that is good news for us.
So, a few weeks ago our car was totaled in a wreck. It was a 20 year old car that had a salvage title and therefore was only covered for liability. We decided not to replace the vehicle until our finances were better. We figure we can get by with one vehicle especially since we work at the same place/same shift.
Well, these last few weeks have been crazy. The dog had to go to the vet and has a lot of problem getting in and out of my husband's truck. Thankfully our neighbor insisted we use his car. We had to cancel a long awaited Dr. appt. for hubby because I was scheduled for a special class at work. Usually one of my 3 sister's chauffeur my mom and dad to appointments. This week sister#3 was going to take my dad to Dr. as sister#1 and sister#2 were working. She was not able to do it because she herself ended having to go in hospital to have a shunt replaced. (She has a condition called Syringomyelia) So I had to drive 90 minutes to pick up her car, 30 minutes to my parent's house, go to Dr. and then repeat the trip in reverse. I had to use her car because neither of my parent's can climb in or out of our truck. Did I mention I abhor driving the truck? It is such a rough ride that if we hit a bump while I am holding my phone, the screen will rotate lol. On Thursday, hubs worked an extra day, so I could have drove him 30 minutes to work and back home again and then drive 30 minutes to pick him up and home again or hubs could drive himself and I would be at home all day without a vehicle hoping there were no emergencies. Which is what I did. If anything had happened, I guess I could have tried Uber.
So, if you haven't already guessed, we bought a new to us car. We put $1100 down and I will start making payments on July 12. I have to say it is nice to have a car that is in decent shape. My other car had one headlight taped in place, no AC, heat only on one side, the side view mirrors had to be adjusted by hand, one had the silver peeled off, the drivers seat was pushed all the way back and couldn't be adjusted, one window wouldn't stay up, 2 windows sometimes could not be rolled down, the hood top was crumpled up from when I hit a deer, one turn signal indicator had to be replaced about once a month. The car had been cracked at one time and when it was returned, the stereo speakers had been ripped out and one of the back door covers had been ripped off. It was also close to needing new tires and the brakes needed replaced. It is a good thing our neighborhood does not have an HOA, because they probably would make me hide the car in the garage. LOL
I chose to make my car payments weekly(I do better paying a little at a time as opposed to accumulating the funds and making the payment). So 1 day of overtime by me will make 2.5 payments. 1 day of hubs working overtime will be just a little bit more. Between the 2 of us we shouldn't have a problem getting the overtime.
So, there, I have confessed. I added to my debt instead of lowering it
Monday, May 20, 2019
More Vacation And A Phone Call
On Friday morning my daughter brought the baby to our room before she went to her conference which was being held at the hotel. This was to give our son in law a chance for some time by himself to do whatever(he chose to take a nap). We played with baby and took him on a walk. Our walk was down the hall to the elevator and then we walk through the Sammons wing of the hotel and look at all the shops and then through the lobby. As soon as we get in the lobby the baby always wants to head out the door because he is obsessed with the stairs. We then headed down the first hallway of the Vanderbilt wing. We meandered through some more halls and down stairs and up stairs and then stopped to get coffee for hubby, milk for baby, diet coke and yogurt with granola for me. We went to a sitting area and I shared my breakfast with baby(it was actually his morning snack time). Then we wandered back through the hotel to the elevators and back up to the room. Hubs and baby played some more and watched the golfers. Baby was ready for his nap so Daddy came and got him. Then hubby and I went wandering around the hotel again and walked over to check out the sports complex. It had tennis, racquet ball, skeeball, pool, yoga classes and a playground. After that we headed back up to the room and ate lunch.
Where's the baby? I found the baby!
Late that afternoon we ventured to an area that looked pretty interesting when we first drove through but that was a bust. We went to dinner at a place recommended by tripadvisor. It was a grungy little neighborhood place. The service was terrible. We got drinks fairly quickly. Then we waited for quite a while to place our orders. When the waitress came back she asked son in law if he was ready for another beer and my hubby if he needed a refill. She didn't ask me so I asked if I could get another coke. She said sure. About 10 minutes later she brought refills for everyone but not me and I asked again. Eventually our food came out and she asked if we needed anything and I said I would like a refill. She replied "oh, yeah, you asked for that earlier" The food was good. I had BBQ wings. Everyone else enjoyed their food and I never did get a refill. I took the baby to the car for a diaper change while they waited on the bill. Before I left I told my daughter she better not leave a 20% tip.After dinner we walked down to get some ice cream. This is when I got THE phone call. It was son#2. The son who was watching the animals. He said he was going to jail. I asked why, what is going on. I figured him and his brother had got into it. Nope. He was in my car and was in an accident. He got Tboned and pushed into another vehicle. He does not have a license. I am embarrassed to admit I did not ask if he was hurt. I figured if he could be talking on the phone, he is OK. I asked him where he was and he was not even close to the house. I told him that I guess this just proves beyond a doubt that he can't be trusted. I did leave the car keys with the understanding that he was not to drive unless there was an EMERGENCY. I was so mad! So son is going off to jail, my poor pathetic car is wrecked and now we have a dog at home that needs insulin every 12 hours. Not to mention that I had to tell my husband. We started looking up anywhere we could get a rental car. I decided to call son#1 but I thought he wouldn't answer because I thought he was working. So I explained to him what was going on and if he thought he could give the dog her shots if I walked him through it. He said he would try. So I explained how to do it and that issue was taken care of except that he is usually at work at shot time. I just told him to spread it out 12 hours best as he could and feed her when she got her shot. We had no idea what to do. Should we call insurance?What could we tell them? We decided to wait until we could get a police report. Supposedly it was the fault of the lady who T-boned him but here's the catch. He was drunk. He was charged with driving as a habitual traffic offender, driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene. (I don't know how he managed to leave because that car is toast!)
On Saturday we did a repeat of Friday morning. After daughter got done with her conference and everyone had lunch in their room we visited the "village" shops at the resort.
Sunday morning we packed up and as soon as daughter was done with her conference we checked out. The bill for our room was slipped under our door. Oh my! I am so glad daughter was footing the bill!We stayed there for 4 nights and it was almost $1500. And the room was discounted because of the conference. Can you imagine if we had went to the spa or ate all meals there? Her room and some of the meals will be comped through her work but that is a lot of money! There was also the nice hotel we stayed at the first night.
We headed home. It was supposed to take 6 hours and 45 minutes. We left about 11:00 and did not get home until 9:00 because of construction and a few extra stops because baby was not happy! Son #1 was supposed to leave us a key or the door unlocked but he forgot. Now I had known this since about 12pm but I did not tell hubs until about 15 minutes before we got home because I knew what his reaction would be. He can't just say what he wants to say, he just goes on and on and on. We had to kick the back door in, but that's not the first time I have had to do that. We came home to limbs all over the yard and shingles not on the roof. Sigh
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Vacation
Our last day to work was Friday, May10. Saturday and Sunday were our regular days off. On Sunday, we went to my parent's house for Mothers Day. We stopped at Wal-Mart on the way there and picked up 3 dozen roses of various colors for Mom at a cost of $30. She was absolutely thrilled with them and even called a friend to tell them about her roses. Everyone pitched in for lunch. We also cut the vinyl that we are installing in the bathroom. My sister's boyfriend will be the one to install it. It matches the kitchen floor which was a Christmas gift from all of us the Christmas before last but just got completed a few months ago. I also wrote a check to another sister for my contribution to my dad's Christmas gift(see, I never pay my debts on time). After we left my parent's house I drove to my sister's house where son#2 lives and picked him up so he could look after the dog and cats while we were gone. (I had asked my #1 son of he could do it but he didn't think he would be able to give dog her insulin shot).
On Monday son#2 and I went shopping for animal food and some groceries for him and picked up the dog's insulin.I spent the rest of the day tidying up and packing for our trip to North Carolina!
On Tuesday we just hung around the house until my daughter, son-in-law and grandson arrived. We had a suitcase, a gym-type bag, a back-pack, some clothes on hangers and my purse. They had their whole house packed, I think. They had rented a Nissan Armada for the trip. The front was roomy. The middle was roomy and had 3 seats, one of which was occupied by a car seat . We left one seat up in the back and the rest was packed full as was the area behind the seats and the overflow went into the area between the carseat and front seat. That backseat was pretty easy to get into but oh so hard to climb out of and it was such a tiny space! It would have been fine if the middle seats could be scooted up but they could not be. There was plenty of leg room in the middle. We split the trip in two and the first leg of the trip took us to Lexington, Ky where we checked into the Hyatt. It was very nice. The baby was a real trooper during the trip. When my daughter and her husband travel, they tend to avoid dining at franchise or chain restaurants and try to find restaurants that are unique to the area. So our first night found us traveling the back roads of Kentucky to Winchester where we fined at a restaurant called Hall's On The River. We all chose to have the catfish dinner which was excellent. The atmosphere was great. We sat outside by the river. After dinner we returned to the hotel as the baby's bedtime is 7:30. We chilled out in our nice room and went to sleep early after that awesome dinner.
On Wednesday morning we are breakfast at the hotel and then checked out. We went across the road because my daughter wanted to go to Barnes and Nobles bookstore. I bought the baby a book about naughty monkeys. After the bookstore we went to Target where I bought a hairbrush. After that we were in our way to Asheville, North Carolina. At some point we stopped for gas and talked about getting lunch and I said I didn't care about where as I wasn't going to eat because I wasn't hungry. So we didn't stop for lunch which ended up being a mistake! North Carolina is so beautiful but the roads and drivers in Asheville-on my. Some of the roads are so narrow and people are walking in the side of the road without a care in the world. But we made it to the hotel without incident. We stayed at the Omni Grove Pine Inn Resort and Spa. Oh my gracious, that place is huge! And fancy. After We got in our rooms, we met up again and explored the inn a little bit. Then we went shopping. At Walmart. We bought some lunch meat, chips, microwave popcorn, lunch meat and cheese, soft drinks and beer. Daughter and son law bought similar items and a good up stroller. Our bill came to about $60 bucks and theirs was about the same. We did bring some of the food home with us. We then went to dinner I believe the place was called Asheville Pizza and Brewing or something along those lines. My son in law kept talking about how hungry he was since he didn't have any lunch. He mentioned it several times. I guess he was being gripey while we were shopping because he was hungry. The pizza was pretty good, not excellent but the service was great and so was the atmosphere. After dinner we went back to the hotel and explored a little bit. After that we went to our rooms and then "the kids" brought the baby over for a bath as they only had a shower. They tried to keep baby on schedule. His night routine is dinner, bath, book time, Bible for baby and then to sleep. After they left hubby and I went exploring again. Did I mention this place is huge?
on Thursday we are breakfast in our rooms and then we went to The Biltmore Estates. That place was incredible. 250 rooms. Can you imagine? We took a n audio self your and it was pretty crowded. It would have been great to explore at a more leisurely pace. After we toured the house we went to the winery and did some wine tasting. After that the kids went to the wine bar while hubby and I took the baby to the Vandebilt Legacy Museum and we watched people while the baby "danced" to the live music. Then we went to The Barn and looked at old farm equipment and watched broom making and then we went to The Smithy and watched that for awhile. I knew the noise would keep the baby from falling asleep. At this point the kids caught up with us and we went to The Farm so the baby could look at sheep and goats and baby chicks and chickens. Everyone was absolutely exhausted so we decided to skip the gardens. It was a shame that we did not go to the gardens but I don't think I could have walked much more. We returned to the hotel and got cleaned up and then had dinner there at the hotel at The Edison. It wasn't really my mind of place. I had tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich with fries. I would rather have had Campbell's tomato soup out of a can and two buttered pieces of bread with American cheese toasted! The atmosphere was slightly high end. After dinner we went to the lobby. The baby danced to the live music. We then went to our rooms to chill. Hubs and I watched the movie "All About Eve" and then we crashed.
this will have to be continued as it is 1:30am on Monday morning and we have a big day which I will get around to telling you.
On Monday son#2 and I went shopping for animal food and some groceries for him and picked up the dog's insulin.I spent the rest of the day tidying up and packing for our trip to North Carolina!
On Tuesday we just hung around the house until my daughter, son-in-law and grandson arrived. We had a suitcase, a gym-type bag, a back-pack, some clothes on hangers and my purse. They had their whole house packed, I think. They had rented a Nissan Armada for the trip. The front was roomy. The middle was roomy and had 3 seats, one of which was occupied by a car seat . We left one seat up in the back and the rest was packed full as was the area behind the seats and the overflow went into the area between the carseat and front seat. That backseat was pretty easy to get into but oh so hard to climb out of and it was such a tiny space! It would have been fine if the middle seats could be scooted up but they could not be. There was plenty of leg room in the middle. We split the trip in two and the first leg of the trip took us to Lexington, Ky where we checked into the Hyatt. It was very nice. The baby was a real trooper during the trip. When my daughter and her husband travel, they tend to avoid dining at franchise or chain restaurants and try to find restaurants that are unique to the area. So our first night found us traveling the back roads of Kentucky to Winchester where we fined at a restaurant called Hall's On The River. We all chose to have the catfish dinner which was excellent. The atmosphere was great. We sat outside by the river. After dinner we returned to the hotel as the baby's bedtime is 7:30. We chilled out in our nice room and went to sleep early after that awesome dinner.
On Wednesday morning we are breakfast at the hotel and then checked out. We went across the road because my daughter wanted to go to Barnes and Nobles bookstore. I bought the baby a book about naughty monkeys. After the bookstore we went to Target where I bought a hairbrush. After that we were in our way to Asheville, North Carolina. At some point we stopped for gas and talked about getting lunch and I said I didn't care about where as I wasn't going to eat because I wasn't hungry. So we didn't stop for lunch which ended up being a mistake! North Carolina is so beautiful but the roads and drivers in Asheville-on my. Some of the roads are so narrow and people are walking in the side of the road without a care in the world. But we made it to the hotel without incident. We stayed at the Omni Grove Pine Inn Resort and Spa. Oh my gracious, that place is huge! And fancy. After We got in our rooms, we met up again and explored the inn a little bit. Then we went shopping. At Walmart. We bought some lunch meat, chips, microwave popcorn, lunch meat and cheese, soft drinks and beer. Daughter and son law bought similar items and a good up stroller. Our bill came to about $60 bucks and theirs was about the same. We did bring some of the food home with us. We then went to dinner I believe the place was called Asheville Pizza and Brewing or something along those lines. My son in law kept talking about how hungry he was since he didn't have any lunch. He mentioned it several times. I guess he was being gripey while we were shopping because he was hungry. The pizza was pretty good, not excellent but the service was great and so was the atmosphere. After dinner we went back to the hotel and explored a little bit. After that we went to our rooms and then "the kids" brought the baby over for a bath as they only had a shower. They tried to keep baby on schedule. His night routine is dinner, bath, book time, Bible for baby and then to sleep. After they left hubby and I went exploring again. Did I mention this place is huge?
on Thursday we are breakfast in our rooms and then we went to The Biltmore Estates. That place was incredible. 250 rooms. Can you imagine? We took a n audio self your and it was pretty crowded. It would have been great to explore at a more leisurely pace. After we toured the house we went to the winery and did some wine tasting. After that the kids went to the wine bar while hubby and I took the baby to the Vandebilt Legacy Museum and we watched people while the baby "danced" to the live music. Then we went to The Barn and looked at old farm equipment and watched broom making and then we went to The Smithy and watched that for awhile. I knew the noise would keep the baby from falling asleep. At this point the kids caught up with us and we went to The Farm so the baby could look at sheep and goats and baby chicks and chickens. Everyone was absolutely exhausted so we decided to skip the gardens. It was a shame that we did not go to the gardens but I don't think I could have walked much more. We returned to the hotel and got cleaned up and then had dinner there at the hotel at The Edison. It wasn't really my mind of place. I had tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich with fries. I would rather have had Campbell's tomato soup out of a can and two buttered pieces of bread with American cheese toasted! The atmosphere was slightly high end. After dinner we went to the lobby. The baby danced to the live music. We then went to our rooms to chill. Hubs and I watched the movie "All About Eve" and then we crashed.
this will have to be continued as it is 1:30am on Monday morning and we have a big day which I will get around to telling you.
Saturday, May 11, 2019
Vacation!!!
We are actually taking a vacation. We are traveling to Asheville, NC with my daughter and her husband and baby. My daughter is attending a medical conference there at the end of the week. We are tagging along as babysitters and expenses will be paid by my daughter. I did have to go clothes shopping today as my wardrobe is terribly lacking. Hubby will have to go on Monday to pick up a few things for himself. We leave on Tuesday.
Tuesday before last I noticed my voice sounded strange. By Wednesday I was feeling absolutely bleh. Fortunately I had Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off work. I laid in bed Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday morning I called and was able to get an appt at the clinic. I left there with a Zpac, steroids, cough medicine, 100 tablets of Zyrtec and a diagnosis of allergies. The appointment and medication are all free. The clinic is through work/insurance and is free to all employees and insured dependents. It has been a week since the appt. and I still have an exhausting cough and sniffles and wheezing.
If it is not raining on Sunday, we are taking a load of treasures to my sister's house for her yard sale and then we will go to my parent's house for lunch and to do whatever needs doing. My daughter will be there and hopefully she can clarify if I have allergies or a virus(she is a doctor). I really do not think I have allergies.
Work has been exhausting mostly because I have been feeling like crap. Part of the factory is having a rebuild and there has not been any overtime. Everything should be ramped back up by the time we return from vacation and rumor has it that there will be oodles of overtime and forced extra days. Some of this is because the owners of the factory are having a family reunion here. I don't know if here is the USA or specifically the town where the factory I work is located. The owners are from Germany but have many residences in USA.
I am hoping to make more debt payoff progress after vacation. Right now we are just treading water. We definitely have areas that we can tighten up on. Namely groceries, vending machines at work and electric.
Thanks for stopping by!!
Tuesday before last I noticed my voice sounded strange. By Wednesday I was feeling absolutely bleh. Fortunately I had Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off work. I laid in bed Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday morning I called and was able to get an appt at the clinic. I left there with a Zpac, steroids, cough medicine, 100 tablets of Zyrtec and a diagnosis of allergies. The appointment and medication are all free. The clinic is through work/insurance and is free to all employees and insured dependents. It has been a week since the appt. and I still have an exhausting cough and sniffles and wheezing.
If it is not raining on Sunday, we are taking a load of treasures to my sister's house for her yard sale and then we will go to my parent's house for lunch and to do whatever needs doing. My daughter will be there and hopefully she can clarify if I have allergies or a virus(she is a doctor). I really do not think I have allergies.
Work has been exhausting mostly because I have been feeling like crap. Part of the factory is having a rebuild and there has not been any overtime. Everything should be ramped back up by the time we return from vacation and rumor has it that there will be oodles of overtime and forced extra days. Some of this is because the owners of the factory are having a family reunion here. I don't know if here is the USA or specifically the town where the factory I work is located. The owners are from Germany but have many residences in USA.
I am hoping to make more debt payoff progress after vacation. Right now we are just treading water. We definitely have areas that we can tighten up on. Namely groceries, vending machines at work and electric.
Thanks for stopping by!!
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
Curiosity Killed The Cat
The saying is true. We got to work this morning and most of the plant was in darkness. Seems a cat wandered into the electrical sub-station and caused a transformer to blow. Night crew sat in the break room from 1a.m. to 6am. Power was restored shortly after we got there at 6am. It took another 4 hours to get everything back up and running. Poor kitty.
Speaking of kitties. If you recall, our kitty Scooter had a blocked urethra. We got him through the crisis but he was unable to pee very much at one time because his bladder muscles had been stretched out. He also did not want to use his box. Evidently it is common for cats with this problem to associate their pain with their litter box. We changed his litter and added another box that we put in our bathroom. Sometimes he would just pee wherever. I am happy to report that he now uses all three litter boxes and he pees a normal amount. The vet recommended that we feed him a special catt food designed to break up urine crystals. The cost was $2 a can! I did take Kim's advice from Out My Window Today and just feed regular wet food and kitten chow.
So, to continue The Story Of Them....when X's sister told him that the tools had to be appraised, he got really upset. He filed with the court to petition for his sister to be supervised executing the estate. During the court proceedings (where he represented himself) he brought up a lot of stuff that had nothing at all to do with the case. His petition was denied
A funny side to the story is that Sally(the sister/executor) was represented by the attorney of the estate. It just so happens that the attorney and the X dated for a while after we divorced. Can you say "awkward"?. LOL. She really is a nice lady. I wouldn't call her my friend but we are friendly when we run into each other
A couple of weeks ago the estate and all belongings were auctioned off. When I first got there Sue(wife of a-brother in law) came up to me and told me that if X showed up and gave me any grief, the rest of the family had my back and they would all be watching. About half an hour later Sally found me to tell me that he was there. I was pretty much just hanging out with them or 2 of my sister's and my dad and my son and daughter and her husband(and baby). At one point my oldest sister took the baby( he is 15 months old) and went for a walk and "accidentally" ran into the X. He asked her if the baby belonged to her son. She said no, he belongs to your daughter. He said the baby sure has changed.
I bought a rocking glider and then an oil lamp. My daughter bought a few things but had to leave. She wanted some Christmas ornaments that were crocheted so I told her I would try and get them. My sister's and I were hanging out on a couch waiting for the auctioneer to get to the stuff my daughter wanted. The X walked by and told us that we couldn't buy anything if we just sat there. We all laughed and one sister said that is a good thing. Shortly there after they got to the stuff my daughter wanted. The attorney/x-girlfriend stood with me and seemed to be worried I wouldn't get what my daughter wanted. But I did! I had to buy 2 different lots at $4 each. If there had been even one more item in the lot it would not have fit in the truck. When I got home I threw away a lot of junk and kept out what my daughter wanted and a few other things and the rest will go to my sister's garage sale.
All in all, it was a kind of a sad day. But the X behaved and Sally was very relieved it was over. The house and acreage has also been sold.
On the financial front, there have been some milestones. The mortgage went under $130,000. The loan from Daddy and a 401k loan went under $7500. Platinum is under $4000 and Barclays is under $3000. Value City and Care Credit2 both went under $2500. Amazon might be gone by the end of May!! Unfortunately, I will be adding a hospital bill from hubby 's procedure, but such is life.
Y'all come back now, ya hear?
Speaking of kitties. If you recall, our kitty Scooter had a blocked urethra. We got him through the crisis but he was unable to pee very much at one time because his bladder muscles had been stretched out. He also did not want to use his box. Evidently it is common for cats with this problem to associate their pain with their litter box. We changed his litter and added another box that we put in our bathroom. Sometimes he would just pee wherever. I am happy to report that he now uses all three litter boxes and he pees a normal amount. The vet recommended that we feed him a special catt food designed to break up urine crystals. The cost was $2 a can! I did take Kim's advice from Out My Window Today and just feed regular wet food and kitten chow.
So, to continue The Story Of Them....when X's sister told him that the tools had to be appraised, he got really upset. He filed with the court to petition for his sister to be supervised executing the estate. During the court proceedings (where he represented himself) he brought up a lot of stuff that had nothing at all to do with the case. His petition was denied
A funny side to the story is that Sally(the sister/executor) was represented by the attorney of the estate. It just so happens that the attorney and the X dated for a while after we divorced. Can you say "awkward"?. LOL. She really is a nice lady. I wouldn't call her my friend but we are friendly when we run into each other
A couple of weeks ago the estate and all belongings were auctioned off. When I first got there Sue(wife of a-brother in law) came up to me and told me that if X showed up and gave me any grief, the rest of the family had my back and they would all be watching. About half an hour later Sally found me to tell me that he was there. I was pretty much just hanging out with them or 2 of my sister's and my dad and my son and daughter and her husband(and baby). At one point my oldest sister took the baby( he is 15 months old) and went for a walk and "accidentally" ran into the X. He asked her if the baby belonged to her son. She said no, he belongs to your daughter. He said the baby sure has changed.
I bought a rocking glider and then an oil lamp. My daughter bought a few things but had to leave. She wanted some Christmas ornaments that were crocheted so I told her I would try and get them. My sister's and I were hanging out on a couch waiting for the auctioneer to get to the stuff my daughter wanted. The X walked by and told us that we couldn't buy anything if we just sat there. We all laughed and one sister said that is a good thing. Shortly there after they got to the stuff my daughter wanted. The attorney/x-girlfriend stood with me and seemed to be worried I wouldn't get what my daughter wanted. But I did! I had to buy 2 different lots at $4 each. If there had been even one more item in the lot it would not have fit in the truck. When I got home I threw away a lot of junk and kept out what my daughter wanted and a few other things and the rest will go to my sister's garage sale.
All in all, it was a kind of a sad day. But the X behaved and Sally was very relieved it was over. The house and acreage has also been sold.
On the financial front, there have been some milestones. The mortgage went under $130,000. The loan from Daddy and a 401k loan went under $7500. Platinum is under $4000 and Barclays is under $3000. Value City and Care Credit2 both went under $2500. Amazon might be gone by the end of May!! Unfortunately, I will be adding a hospital bill from hubby 's procedure, but such is life.
Y'all come back now, ya hear?
Monday, April 15, 2019
The Story Of Them
"Them" being my ex-in-laws, my ex and also my kids.
The cast of characters(names have been changed)
Ex-husband= X. Age 58
My daughter= Dot Age 36
My son #2= Pablo. Age 31
Ex Sis -in-law Sally Age 68 Her husband Frank
Ex Bro-in-law. Bobby . Age 57 His wife Sue
My grandson Sweetie Age 13 months
Girlfriend/fiance of X. Lady
My grandson was born in March of 2018. The X came to see him in hospital. Visit went well. Made a visit to Dots house and brought Lady with him. X started making disparaging comments about me. Dot told him that he is not to say things about me in front of Sweetie and the same rule applied to me. He made another comment and Lady told him to just let it go, it was time to get over it. So a few days later x and Dot were talking on phone and he said if he couldn't be around Sweetie, he would just consider Lady's grandchildren as his. Dot said, whatevee, the choice is yours to make. In July, my ex-mother-in-law passed away after a bad fall. Sally was the executor of the estate. At some point she sold a tractor to Bobby. The tractor was sold at market value. She sold a car to a neice at market value. X wanted some woodworking tools and Sally told him fine, but first they would have to be appraised to determine market value. This made X mad and now the fun really begins..........to be continued
I had a decent day at work today. No trainee! I did find out that the trainee told someone he needed a new trainer because I was never around when he had a question. I can't think of a time when he was out of sight other than at break time or when I went to the ladies room. There was one time on the second day when I went and got some supplies. I was gone 10 minutes at the most. Today I did ask the personnel scheduler where the trainee would be assigned next week. He said he probably wouldn't be training as he is needed elsewhere. This should give me a chance to speak with my supervisor and tell him the issues I am having. I also found out today that the trainee had already had some run-ins with the safety manager.
At some point I would like to blog about a guy I sometimes work with who is buried in debt. I will wait until he tells us more of his story.
The cast of characters(names have been changed)
Ex-husband= X. Age 58
My daughter= Dot Age 36
My son #2= Pablo. Age 31
Ex Sis -in-law Sally Age 68 Her husband Frank
Ex Bro-in-law. Bobby . Age 57 His wife Sue
My grandson Sweetie Age 13 months
Girlfriend/fiance of X. Lady
My grandson was born in March of 2018. The X came to see him in hospital. Visit went well. Made a visit to Dots house and brought Lady with him. X started making disparaging comments about me. Dot told him that he is not to say things about me in front of Sweetie and the same rule applied to me. He made another comment and Lady told him to just let it go, it was time to get over it. So a few days later x and Dot were talking on phone and he said if he couldn't be around Sweetie, he would just consider Lady's grandchildren as his. Dot said, whatevee, the choice is yours to make. In July, my ex-mother-in-law passed away after a bad fall. Sally was the executor of the estate. At some point she sold a tractor to Bobby. The tractor was sold at market value. She sold a car to a neice at market value. X wanted some woodworking tools and Sally told him fine, but first they would have to be appraised to determine market value. This made X mad and now the fun really begins..........to be continued
I had a decent day at work today. No trainee! I did find out that the trainee told someone he needed a new trainer because I was never around when he had a question. I can't think of a time when he was out of sight other than at break time or when I went to the ladies room. There was one time on the second day when I went and got some supplies. I was gone 10 minutes at the most. Today I did ask the personnel scheduler where the trainee would be assigned next week. He said he probably wouldn't be training as he is needed elsewhere. This should give me a chance to speak with my supervisor and tell him the issues I am having. I also found out today that the trainee had already had some run-ins with the safety manager.
At some point I would like to blog about a guy I sometimes work with who is buried in debt. I will wait until he tells us more of his story.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)