I called over a kindergartner to read to me today. I patted the seat next to me so he'd sit down. He scrunched up his face and sighed.
"When I'm close to you it makes me very nervous."
"What? Why do I make you nervous?"
"Because you are so old."
Maybe I smell like his great-grandma?
Love my job.
Showing posts with label aaaaahhhhh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aaaaahhhhh. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Just In Time For Spring
For most of last week there just didn't seem to be anything to write about. Nothing that seemed to be terribly interesting or even worth the time to write about it. Ho-hum life.
Then it changed. The house was no longer quiet, there were people coming and going, carting things out, hauling things in. Oliver not at all happy about strange men being in the house all day. It was the opposite of ho-hum.
The opposite of ho-hum cost us $4000.
'Twas the furnace.
Back on Monday, I woke up to a chillier than normal house. I like it cooler at night, but this was a bit much. If the weather had been properly warming up, I might not have noticed, but the thermostat showed under 60 degrees.
I threw some clothes in the dryer for the boys ("Hot clothes! Getcher hot clothes right here!), 'cause that would be the only way I could coax them out of bed to get ready for school. I called Troy and he led me through the steps of checking the pilot light and so forth. At first it wouldn't re-light...and then all of a sudden it did. Then the blower wouldn't come on...and then it did.
The house heated up nicely and to me that was the last I was going to think about it.
It would be like our microwave. 6 months ago if you simply shut the door and pushed start it would make a clicking sound and never heat your food. But if you SLAMMED the door, it worked fine. Then one day, and ever since, no slamming needed. Food's hot, everyone's happy, no money spent.
That's what this whole furnace thing was. A little blip that fixed itself.
Then it happened a few more times and Troy called the Action guys that were out here sometime and left a magnet on the side of the water heater. How handy.
They were scheduled to come out on Friday morning between 9 and 11, and they showed up right at 10. Oliver was not happy. They removed some panels and did what they do - I won't even try to explain it. Bottom line - the circuit panel needed to be replaced, and some other big important part of the furnace was cracking and rusting and heading south fast. Carbon-monoxide City, to be exact.
Repairing the (16 year)old furnace would cost about as much as a brand new one (after the rebates and tax refunds), so before I knew it I was applying for their 36 month payment plan. I signed on the dotted line and then they left.
They were the diagnostic and repair team. The out-with-the-old and in-with-the-new guys showed up about 45 minutes later. Again, Oliver wasn't happy.
They stayed for almost 6 hours. It wasn't until the 5th hour that Oliver accepted them and wouldn't bark at them whenever they came up the stairs or in from the garage.
I reallyreallyreallyreally dislike having workmen in my house. I don't know what to do with myself. If I stay near, do they think I don't trust them? If I go too far away, I hear "Ma'am? Ma'am?" as they try to find me.
If I go to the bathroom, will they hear me? Will they judge me for watching my shows that have been recording for the week, thinking that all I ever do is watch tv all day? How about if I sit at the computer?
Are they checking out my storage shelves and the remarkable number of boxes of tampons that I have stacked up? What did they think when they caught me standing in front of the open freezer door, eating cookie dough? When I eat lunch, do I need to offer them some?
Oh, and while I was holding it all day, they were not. One guy spent a good 20 minutes in the bathroom and I was dying. All I could imagine was that he was on the other side of the door, wrangling whatever wouldn't flush, without the aid of a plunger. And he's too embarrassed to ask for one and he has no idea that the bamboo skewers under the sink are what we use for that sort of thing.
Yes, bamboo skewers. Plungers gross me out. Skewers are long, they can rearrange or chop, whatever the need may be, there's no splashing, and they are easily disposable. Take my word for it, skewers are the way to go.
So this was my entire day. I couldn't go anywhere, couldn't do what I wanted to do, men were in the house and I had just bought a $4000 furnace - I was as big a mess as Oliver. By the time Troy showed up, I was exhausted and had emotionally eaten my way through the kitchen. I made Troy check out the bathroom before I went in.
But I guess when all is said and done (and three years of payments have passed), it's a good thing, right? New furnace, 95% efficient, lifetime warranty and lower heating costs, and that little thing about not dying in the night from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Yes, we are blessed.
But man, that was a long day.
Ho-hum really isn't all that bad.
Then it changed. The house was no longer quiet, there were people coming and going, carting things out, hauling things in. Oliver not at all happy about strange men being in the house all day. It was the opposite of ho-hum.
The opposite of ho-hum cost us $4000.
'Twas the furnace.
Back on Monday, I woke up to a chillier than normal house. I like it cooler at night, but this was a bit much. If the weather had been properly warming up, I might not have noticed, but the thermostat showed under 60 degrees.
I threw some clothes in the dryer for the boys ("Hot clothes! Getcher hot clothes right here!), 'cause that would be the only way I could coax them out of bed to get ready for school. I called Troy and he led me through the steps of checking the pilot light and so forth. At first it wouldn't re-light...and then all of a sudden it did. Then the blower wouldn't come on...and then it did.
The house heated up nicely and to me that was the last I was going to think about it.
It would be like our microwave. 6 months ago if you simply shut the door and pushed start it would make a clicking sound and never heat your food. But if you SLAMMED the door, it worked fine. Then one day, and ever since, no slamming needed. Food's hot, everyone's happy, no money spent.
That's what this whole furnace thing was. A little blip that fixed itself.
Then it happened a few more times and Troy called the Action guys that were out here sometime and left a magnet on the side of the water heater. How handy.
They were scheduled to come out on Friday morning between 9 and 11, and they showed up right at 10. Oliver was not happy. They removed some panels and did what they do - I won't even try to explain it. Bottom line - the circuit panel needed to be replaced, and some other big important part of the furnace was cracking and rusting and heading south fast. Carbon-monoxide City, to be exact.
Repairing the (16 year)old furnace would cost about as much as a brand new one (after the rebates and tax refunds), so before I knew it I was applying for their 36 month payment plan. I signed on the dotted line and then they left.
They were the diagnostic and repair team. The out-with-the-old and in-with-the-new guys showed up about 45 minutes later. Again, Oliver wasn't happy.
They stayed for almost 6 hours. It wasn't until the 5th hour that Oliver accepted them and wouldn't bark at them whenever they came up the stairs or in from the garage.
I reallyreallyreallyreally dislike having workmen in my house. I don't know what to do with myself. If I stay near, do they think I don't trust them? If I go too far away, I hear "Ma'am? Ma'am?" as they try to find me.
If I go to the bathroom, will they hear me? Will they judge me for watching my shows that have been recording for the week, thinking that all I ever do is watch tv all day? How about if I sit at the computer?
Are they checking out my storage shelves and the remarkable number of boxes of tampons that I have stacked up? What did they think when they caught me standing in front of the open freezer door, eating cookie dough? When I eat lunch, do I need to offer them some?
Oh, and while I was holding it all day, they were not. One guy spent a good 20 minutes in the bathroom and I was dying. All I could imagine was that he was on the other side of the door, wrangling whatever wouldn't flush, without the aid of a plunger. And he's too embarrassed to ask for one and he has no idea that the bamboo skewers under the sink are what we use for that sort of thing.
Yes, bamboo skewers. Plungers gross me out. Skewers are long, they can rearrange or chop, whatever the need may be, there's no splashing, and they are easily disposable. Take my word for it, skewers are the way to go.
So this was my entire day. I couldn't go anywhere, couldn't do what I wanted to do, men were in the house and I had just bought a $4000 furnace - I was as big a mess as Oliver. By the time Troy showed up, I was exhausted and had emotionally eaten my way through the kitchen. I made Troy check out the bathroom before I went in.
But I guess when all is said and done (and three years of payments have passed), it's a good thing, right? New furnace, 95% efficient, lifetime warranty and lower heating costs, and that little thing about not dying in the night from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Yes, we are blessed.
But man, that was a long day.
Ho-hum really isn't all that bad.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Yeah...He's That Kid
It's the karmic circle of parenthood.
1. See others of this kind and mock them.
2. Believe that my own would never dress this way.
3. Realization and the holding of the tongue.
4. Acceptance.
5. See other people mock my son.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
There's No Witty Title Because I'm Still In Shock
Just when I think there's nothing going on in my life that's blog-worthy...life sort of rears up and smacks me upside the head. Hard.
When we walked out of church last Sunday, this is what greeted us:
Before the broken glass littered the inside of my car, my purse was cleverly (so not!) concealed inside a jacket, tucked halfway under the seat, and a magazine and a sunshade were tossed on top. You know, so it just looks like I have a messy car, and not a purse full of things that ought to be stolen.
I wasn't fooling anyone, especially not the low-life, scumbags who decided to pull the ol' Smash-n-Grab on me. In the church parking lot, no less!
Church gets out at 2. Troy, unable/unwilling to use the facilities at the church, drove home during the last meeting and returned at about 1:50. He went inside and was talking with our home teacher - in the foyer. If he'd turned around, he might have seen them. At 2:05 ('cause we aren't ones to linger longer) we walked out and saw the glass, the open glove box and center console, the missing purse and (yes, it gets even worse) the missing house keys!!!!!
Seriously, did they follow him into the parking lot and simply watch him go inside?
More people came out and stood with me, sharing in my shock and anger. Police were called. A neighbor drove Troy home so he could get our cell phones. Troy announced that he was going to Walmart to see if they were shopping for electronics and drove off while I waited for the police - he wasn't thinking clearly, just that HE MUST STOP THEM!!!!!!!
A kind ward member gently pointed out that Troy ought to call the credit card company and stop them from that end instead of tackling random people at Walmart. I called him, he went home and called our bank. I only had one major credit card and one debit card (same bank), so that went pretty smoothly.
They'd already been to Walmart and charged $115.30 and they were trying to buy gas at a Holiday when the card got cancelled. They were fast, organized, and they knew right where to go: Walmart - with those lovely self-check registers.
The police came and took our statements and a list of things that were in the purse. He went off to do his thing and then we went back to our now unsecured home to take care of things on our end. We're still not done.
When we walked out of church last Sunday, this is what greeted us:
And this:
Before the broken glass littered the inside of my car, my purse was cleverly (so not!) concealed inside a jacket, tucked halfway under the seat, and a magazine and a sunshade were tossed on top. You know, so it just looks like I have a messy car, and not a purse full of things that ought to be stolen.
I wasn't fooling anyone, especially not the low-life, scumbags who decided to pull the ol' Smash-n-Grab on me. In the church parking lot, no less!
Church gets out at 2. Troy, unable/unwilling to use the facilities at the church, drove home during the last meeting and returned at about 1:50. He went inside and was talking with our home teacher - in the foyer. If he'd turned around, he might have seen them. At 2:05 ('cause we aren't ones to linger longer) we walked out and saw the glass, the open glove box and center console, the missing purse and (yes, it gets even worse) the missing house keys!!!!!
Seriously, did they follow him into the parking lot and simply watch him go inside?
More people came out and stood with me, sharing in my shock and anger. Police were called. A neighbor drove Troy home so he could get our cell phones. Troy announced that he was going to Walmart to see if they were shopping for electronics and drove off while I waited for the police - he wasn't thinking clearly, just that HE MUST STOP THEM!!!!!!!
A kind ward member gently pointed out that Troy ought to call the credit card company and stop them from that end instead of tackling random people at Walmart. I called him, he went home and called our bank. I only had one major credit card and one debit card (same bank), so that went pretty smoothly.
They'd already been to Walmart and charged $115.30 and they were trying to buy gas at a Holiday when the card got cancelled. They were fast, organized, and they knew right where to go: Walmart - with those lovely self-check registers.
The police came and took our statements and a list of things that were in the purse. He went off to do his thing and then we went back to our now unsecured home to take care of things on our end. We're still not done.
- House re-keyed on a Sunday: $180
- New mailbox lock/driving to post office to get new key: $15
- New driver's license: $18 - haven't done this yet
- Ordering new cards from credit union
- File fraud report with credit union
- Cancel Kohls card
- Call insurance company and order new cards
- Call auto glass people and wait an entire day for them to fix my window. But let's hear it for full glass coverage!
- Call Equifax and other credit reporting agencies to put a fraud alert on my life. Side note: the guy at Equifax sounded exactly like Balki from Beverly Hills Cop. It made me giggle.
It's just all so irritating and time consuming. It takes forever to call some of these places because everything is in English and Spanish, and I had to navigate through the phone system, hoping that I could somehow just push #7 and speak to a real person. Waiting for the glass people was the biggest pain. Even though we specifically asked and begged them to put us at the top of the list so I could get new bankcards and a new license, when the guy finally showed up, he told me that he saved me for last because he lives close by. Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh!!!
The inconveniences are overwhelming. Aaron was getting his tonsils out today and the hospital needed me to bring my driver's license, insurance cards, and some money. Sorry...I don't HAVE any of those things anymore. The post office wants ID before they will give me a new mail key. The bank wants ID before I withdraw anything. Albertson's wants ID before they give me a new Fresh Values card, Sam's Club, the pharmacy, everyone. Oh yeah...it's all about the picture ID, unless you steal someone's credit card -- then by all means, shop away...no one's gonna stop you.
Okay, just a few more rants, on a minor scale.
It was a good purse. Not too big, not too small, with all the features I want and none that I don't need. It was brown with some leopard fabric accents, little end pockets for a cell phone, secret zippered pouch for tampons, perfect length straps...I really liked this purse. Gone. Perfect wallet...gone.
Last Christmas I splurged and bought myself some lovely lip glosses from Bath and Body Works. Chocolate Mint and Peppermint Shimmer - both with peppermint oil to plump the lips and taste yummy. Gone.
Gift cards and refund cards to Kohls, Barnes and Noble, Seagull Book and Tape, Subway and Cafe Rio. Gone.
Cute little mint tins, one with mints, the other with Tylenol and Excedrin. Mirror, gum, my favorite pen, temple recommend...gone.
I have ipod shame now - because it wasn't stolen. It was practically like they put it back. What...my little shuffle isn't good enough for you?
But, there is a bright side. Really.
I did not have my social security card in my purse. Or my check book. Not that I could write a check without my ID. I only had one credit card with me. We found out fast and were able to stop them before any more damage was done. Our cell phones weren't in the car. Troy was home when this all happened. There wasn't any cash in my purse. Good friends and neighbors stood with us, called to check on us, and generally made us feel loved.
Troy has every right to say I told you so - he has asked me again and again not to leave my purse in the car. I would just brush it off and explain that I "hid" my purse. He hasn't said a word about it. Not one. Good guy, that Troy.
That very day, I taught a lesson in Primary about Mormon witnessing the downfall of the Nephites. It went on and on about how the cities were full of robbers and people with no conscience. Nothing was safe. If it could be stolen, it was.
I think I prefer my object lessons a little less real.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Bird in the House
So. Huge storm the other day, and when the boys and I opened the front door to watch it, a BIRD FLEW IN MY HOUSE!!!!!!
It was a really bad storm, and I guess the bird was taking refuge on our porch. Perhaps going inside to dry off seemed like a good idea to the bird - but not to me.
I was trying to snap pictures and stay calm, but I was freaking out on the inside. Seriously, how do you get a wild bird out of your house??
After about 5 minutes (and getting tired of the flash going off in its face), the bird flew into our sliding glass door and fell to the floor. We opened the door, it stood up, and flew back out.
Whew!
Family in our ward found a skunk in their kitchen once. It had come in through a doggy door and was eating cat food.
Have you ever had real-live nature things in your house?
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