I HATE TIME WARNER CABLE

Just so you know.

Seriously. We have had nothing but problems with them. Their digital phone is terrible. I mean TERRIBLE.

I'm tired of service people. I'm tired of them telling me to "try this and try that". I'm tired of them saying, "oh now it's better."

I'm tired of having to be within 10 feet of the phone base for it to work. I'm tired of not having volume on channels above 100 when I want to watch something. I'm tired of not being able to use the DVR that they "gave" us for our inconvenience because it operates on channel 600 and we don't usually have volume on channels above 100.

I'm tired of nights like tonight where my 3rd and 4th favorite shows are on at the same time - and my DVR won't let me record one of them because it says it can't record 3 shows at a time. No NOT three shows. Just one. So... I had to watch the Office and Grey's by flipping back and forth. Not good.

I'm tired of having to pay out the arse for something that doesn't work. I'm tired of having to pay for it because I need a cable modem for my work.

Did I mention I hate TIME WARNER CABLE????

A whole new world...

I thought I would update on the craziness that's happening around me. Last week I was begged (followed into the parking lot by the manager) to apply for a job at BRU. She was bribing me with promises of sparkling water (ha) and a fill in the blanks schedule.

Then on Saturday the manager at Gymbo offered me a job and was shoving applications at me and I found another one in my bag when I got home.

Yesterday I was offered a very exciting business opportunity that is tailor made for me. I will meet with her later this week or early next week to go over the details and I'm psyched to accept the offer. Once it's a done deal, I'll fill you in on the details.

It's unbelievable.

My business is going well. I had my first client come and go (and I'm so proud of him for making it big) and my other client is doing well and adding services. I also have a couple more potential clients lined up. (BTW - I'm looking for someone to do a logo design??? Anyone, anyone??)

Seriously, I'm in awe.

For a stay at home mom - I feel like I've struck gold. Feeling needed and sought after in the business world is an amazing feeling. I'm even more excited since the opportunities will allow me to continue to be with my kids.

The rest of the crew...

Verrrrrrrrrrrrrry interesting...

This is how my beautiful daughter walked out the door this morning to go to school.
And no... she doesn't wear glasses...

Bitten by the bug...

As i mentioned in my previous post regarding Dans transgressions... I took Julia to see the Rodgers and Hammerstein version of Cinderella.

Julia is a very musical kiddo, very dramatic. I think she found her calling. Her momma did too.

I briefly had dreams of auditioning for the upcoming presentation of Much Ado About Nothing (my favorite Shakespeare production). Then I found that they were holding auditions in NYC. Not exactly what I'm interested in cutting my dramatic teeth on. (I'll look for something a little less... well a little less)

Julia wants to perform though. She's currently in the choir at a performing arts studio. She wants to learn the piano and violin. She wants to do ballet and hip hop. She wants to sing. She wants to act. I need a 2nd and 3rd job to come close to paying for this stuff.

Sleep, blissful sleep

I didn't get a whole lot of sleep, but more than normal, so I feel fairly decent today.

I slept in my comfy bed last night, with clean, fresh sheets. No vomit to be found.

Em spent 90% of the night in her bed, also no vomit to be found.

I consider that a success.

Dan.... Divorce... things that start with D!

Ok. It was not a good week for Dan. Well, the week was fine for him, it was me that had the bad week.

Monday night, at 445pm I call Dan to find out what the doodah is for his arrival time from work. He informs me he has a meeting from 515-545pm. He'll be home by 615pm. So I change my dinner menu from a quick homemade pizza to apple cinnamon stuffed pork chops. 630pm. No Dan. 7pm. No Dan. 730pm. No Dan. 745pm Dan finally shows up. BAD MAN.

I tried to explain to him all the different reasons that it was rude, disrespectful and not acceptable to be almost 2 hours late without calling.

Tuesday. 6pm. No call. (Oh.. did I mention his traditional work hours are 8-5p??) 615pm. Dan calls. "I'm on my way."

Wednesday, 510pm. Dan calls. Will be home around 6pm.... shows up at 615p (DOING BETTER!!!!)

Thursday and Friday had small hiccups but he was home around the time he said he'd be. I'm all good with that.

Cue Saturday. I am going with Julia on our Mommy/Daughter date to see Cinderella. I call Dan at 315p to let him know that it was intermission, and so we had about an hour left.

4p - the show is over (it was pretty good... funny too!!) and I call Dan to pick us up. He doesn't answer. 2 minutes later he calls back. He's across town.

430pm - Most of the cast has left the building.

445pm - The crew has left the building... they are locking the building. Julia and I have hit the Cumby to get a drink and a snack. Still standing on the side of the road. Call Dan. Quietly leave some nasty comments on his voicemail so Julia can't hear. Think of lots of other nasty comments. Bite through tongue to avoid spewing them.

455pm. He arrives. He immediately drives to Red's and uses cash in envelope to buy ice cream cone and begs for forgiveness. I'm thinking about it.

yack

For the third time this week, I am awake in the wee hours of the morning with a sick kidlet. Anna started last weekend with a fever and laid in my bed whining till all hours of the morning.

Then came Julia with her horking in the middle of the night on Wednesday. All 5 of us were up from 330-630a with her. Again. Fun.

Now this morning (as in 12:10 AM) Em just puked her little guts out. Soooo much vomit. Ick. I was holding her (well, of course I was!!) when it happened. She had just gone back to sleep, and she got me good. Not a single drop on her though. Nice. Again. Fun.

I'm hoping this fun ends soon. I need some sleep.

Oh - and no funnel cakes for me tomorrow... I have to stay home from the Fair with the puker.

What a bargain....

I'm a well known bargain shopper. I love to see those orange red clearance stickers (the ones with the slightly rounded edges... you know at TARGET), and I'm a pro at spotting that little, 15, 30, 50, 75, 90 in the corner. It's like it's calling to me.

It's gotten me into some trouble though. Over the years I have bought some things that I didn't really need then just because they were so discounted. It adds up.

I was reading an article in some form of a magazine at the beginning of the summer - and it just clicked for me. The author said that if you buy something you don't need, you aren't saving anything. Saving money would mean putting it into a savings account, buying things on clearance (even 90% off) means you are still spending money.

I've taken it to heart, and have been trying to avoid those clearance stickers. That doesn't mean I don't still look. Earlier this summer I found some long sleeved shirts for the girls for $1.34. I did NOT pass that up. Oh, and those 97 cent skirts at Old Navy... I bought those too. I did pass on many other amazing deals.

Dan and I are now on a very tight budget. It's actually kind of a relief to have control over our finances again. I know exactly what I can and can't afford. I can buy what I need without feeling any guilt (which is common with me) and I can easily put things back that aren't a necessity or within the budget.

Where we have a hard time is eating out. We've never been super splurgers. We use coupons, don't eat at high end restaurants, and I sometimes use Mystery Shopping for a great deal while we're out. We don't normally do apps, and rarely do dessert other than for the girls (which usually comes with their meals). Yet, we eat out way too often. Even once a week at a restaurant ends up being $200-250 a month. That's a lot of groceries or gas (well, groceries anyway). So we've changed that too. We have built in our budget a certain amount for eating out. This includes fast food, my Tim Horton's addiction and restaurant meals. To make sure we stick to this, we have starting putting that set amount in cash in an envelope. When the envelope is empty... we eat at home. So far, 2 months in, it's working well. It also helps keep that cumulative amount fresh in my mind. It is a little easier now that we're back in town, so when I'm out running errands, it's a little more convenient to pop home and eat than it was when we were so far out of the way.

So... we've moved into our new little home for a year or two. It's small, but larger than we thought we'd get. When we left AZ, we had gotten rid of a lot of our furniture, including our couch and chairs. Moving into this house, it's been interesting since we've been getting our stuff out of storage for the first time in over a year. We've been sitting on a futon, and since Dan broke our entertainment center - our tv and equipment was up on the girls old tv stand from their playroom. All we needed was some plywood/cement block shelves and some milk crates and we'd be smack dab back in college.

Over the last 3 weeks we have begun the task of replacing our stuff. The catch, we had a really small budget. We needed to get a living room, some things for the kitchen, dining room and the girls room for under $1000.

WOW. Dan and I being the bargain shoppers had our work cut out for us, but we did great. Better than great.

We bought this couch and loveseat.... This was a return from another customer. More than 1/2 off.

We bought the couch and loveseat, an 8x10' rug, a solid oak entertainment armoire (which matches our side bookcases from to replace the broken one - missing the doors but we don't use them anyway), accent rugs for the back door and hall, a painting - all for under $800.

We bought a peg-rack (and the paint for it), a microwave, cabinet inserts for the kitchen (think lazy susans and stacking shelves), and a 5x8' rug for under the dining room table for under $120.

We bought the pillows and decorations for the girls room for under $30 (we can't paint so we bought removable wall stickers... they are so cute (pink and green dots)... 5 for $5.00!!).

With everything tallied, we still have $100 left. The couch and loveseat alone are normally $1000! We need to find a trash can, an end table, a lamp and a floor lamp... but I think we can easily do that with the remaining money.

So... a big thanks to the local furniture store, Target, Home Goods, the Dollar Store (where we bought the girls wall decor) and the mill store.

Hmmmm.....

I took this career assessment tool that I found on Like a Fish Out of Water, and I'm amazed by it. Most of them have to do with where I was heading with my education... counseling of some kind, some form of social work or some sort of law. hmmm....

These were my results...

clergy

Child and Youth Worker

Social Worker

Addictions Counselor (was my major at MSU - psych and criminal justice)

Motivational Speaker (would love to... have considered a motivational podcast)

Gerontologist (not so much)

Probation / Parole Officer

Art / Music Therapist (no talent here...)

Marriage and Family Therapist

Religious Worker

Community Worker

School Counselor

Career Counselor

Rehabilitation Counselor (what I thought I'd be)

Sport Psychology Consultant

Psychologist

Humanitarian Aid Worker

High School Teacher Considered this - but think I'll stick to the younger set (PK-2nd grade)

Music Teacher / Instructor (except I have no talent whatsoever)

ESL Teacher

Foreign Language Instructor (I have studied 5 years of French, 3 years of HS Spanish and 2 years of collegiate Spanish, and 1 year of ASL)

Director of Photography (I was a photog for the school paper - does that count? HA!)

Customer Service Representative (done this)

Adoption Counselor

Criminal lawyer (what I wanted to do for about a decade of my life, some sort of law, but mostly a defense lawyer)

Director

Civil Litigator

Lawyer

Judge

Editor

Actor (oooohhhh I'd love to, but missing that performance thing)

Librarian (I don't think so)

Mediator

Criminologist (this was what I wanted to do eventually, mixing psych with CJ)

Professor

Desktop Publisher

Corporate Trainer

Animator

Cartoonist / Comic Illustrator

Computer Trainer


To check yours:

1. Go here
2. Put in Username: nycareers, Password: landmark
3. Take their “Career Matchmaker” questions

Chop Suey

I'm having a hard time posting something after my last post. I mean what follows this? I guess life.

So... a topic Trooper would approve of... FOOD.

In my summers in Maine I've often heard talk of a mysterious "chop suey". Having had chop suey in Chinese restaurants, I have often wondered why the "Mainers" had such an affinity for overcooked veggies with noodles.

Then I found that here in Maine, there is AMERICAN chop suey. I heard long ago that all chop suey is an American creation - so I once again assumed we were talking a Chinese-ish dish.

Lo and behold I was sorely mistaken.

There is an entire world of food that has just slipped below my radar. (Much like meatloaf with *gasp* GRAVY? I thought everyone slathered their meatloaf in a ketchupy mixture???)

So, after talking with lots of people about my new found discovery of American Chop suey, I have found that there are many, many different variations of this meal. (Ok, do I sound like a fun person or what? Wanna be my best friend? We can talk about Chop Suey? I sound like a riot, huh?)

I think this might be the REAL American meal.

It uses elbow macaroni and ground beef. Two staples of the average American's diet. (Macaroni salads at picnics anyone? Burgers?) Some people make it with celery and onion, others with bell pepper, onion and mushrooms, some just onion. Some use tomato sauce, others use spaghetti sauce. Some add Velveeta, some mozzarella and others are shocked to hear that cheese is involved. I've heard of people adding different spices to change the "ethnicity" like adding cumin and some hot pepper to make it pseudo Mexican, some throwing in oregano and basil with some Parmesan to be more Italian. Some used canned ingredients, some use fresh.

What it boils down to is that it's as diverse as we are. It's fast and easy. Something else fairly descriptive of us as a Nation. It's also pretty inexpensive to throw together. We here in America like our cheap. Just ask Wal-Mart or the Chinese who have been assembling all of our high quality merch.

So anyway, I used my neighbors recipe for Chop Suey and found that it was delicious. The kids ate every bite off their plate. A winner here. Whatever you put in it.

OK - the recipe, how I made it last night...

In a BIG saute' pan, or dutch oven pan (you can boil your noodles and then transfer to drain and use same pan to cook veggies/meat), saute' in a little butter or olive oil 1/2-1 green bell pepper, 1/2 onion, 1 package cleaned and sliced white button mushrooms (you can also add celery, rainbow bell peppers or canned mushrooms). Saute' until soft.

Then add 1-1 1/2 lbs ground beef (if you use higher fat beef you'll want to drain some grease) and cook mixture until beef is done.

If you didn't do it before, boil elbow mac in separate pan, (I used the larger casserole sized elbow mac) until done.

Add jar of fave spaghetti sauce to meat mixture, turn heat down. Stir well. When sauce warmed up, add mac and mix together.

Dan added mozzarella to his 2nd helping and liked it.

Let me know if you try it, and what variations you use.

Dog Heaven

Tonight, I sadly had to read this book to my girls.

A little piece of my heart broke this afternoon as I held my Troopers head in my lap as he was relieved of his suffering here.

He's been sick for quite a while, months even. Thinking he was suffering from bowel issues from eating random stuff (this theory was supported by midnight visits to the ER vet) we let this continue way to long. Today, I woke up to find him and his kennel covered in vomit. I got him out and cleaned him off, and I realized his stomach was severely bloated. He peed and then laid down in the woods.

I knew.

I don't know how I knew this was different than all other vomit/bowel issues we've had over the last 6 months, but somehow, I just did.

I called the vet. They got us in, but the wonderful vet steeled me for what I had suspected. It might be time.

We were lucky to be spared the big decision. It was much worse than we suspected. It was not bowel related. He was either in final stage of cancer or he was suffering from heart failure. The vet was very confident of the latter, his swollen belly wasn't bloated, it was filled with fluid. He told us we could drain the abdomen and ease the pressure to make him a little more comfortable, but he would not get better.

Dan balked and wanted to run tests. The vet said he could run many, many tests, but that he didn't not believe it would tell us anything that would change the outcome.

We let the girls say their goodbyes and I was so impressed with how Julia handled herself. Anna didn't have much to say at the time, but her behavior this evening gave it all away. It would be so hard to not have the words to explain how sad you were. She finally was able to express herself tonight. She going to bed and asked to say goodnight to Callaway and Trooper. I told her that Trooper died and he wouldn't be coming home (nicely of course). She then cried and said she wanted to say goodnight.

It's strange to have gone from 4 pets to 1 in the course of 2 years. Callaway was our first, we got him 13 years ago. He's the last pet standing.

Trooper was a beautiful dog. At first glance, his Rottie-"ish" looks tended to scare people, but he was such a big baby. When he was younger he would cuddle and gently nibble on his stuffed toys. He was so good to my girls, and he was a great little dog. He had such a beautiful expressive face. Even at 10+ years old he looked like a puppy.

I spent many a time secretly wishing we didn't have to deal with him. Owning him made finding temporary housing incredibly difficult, but I could never give him away just to find a house. The almost 10 years we had with him were wonderful. I think that he hung in there long enough to get us here, to our current home. We had other places in mind. Newer, nicer... but we just couldn't do them because of their pet policies. We are so happy here. The girls love being able to safely ride their bikes, they love having a neighborhood full of kids. We have really enjoyed everyone we have met here. We're here because of him, and I'm thankful for it.

I know I'm rambling. I guess I just have so much on my mind, it's still too raw to be eloquent or succint. My heart hurts, but I'm happy Trooper is out of pain. I'm glad I could be sitting with him as he left this world. I'm glad it was my arms he took his last breath in. I'll miss him.

Here's to the 2996!

I just wanted to take a moment and remember the 2996 people that perished 6 years ago.

I'd also like to remember Todd A. Isaac who was remembered in last years 2,996 project I participated in.

*graphics courtesy of hawggraphics and tcdesign

Shuffle...

Hurray!!!!

The dock for my ipod shuffle broke (the little pin came loose) and I've been shuffleless for 2 months. 2 LONG months.

No Keith and the Girl, no This American Life, not even my wonderful music.

It's sad.

But rejoice - yesterday in the mail arrived a flex dock that I bought from Carrot Idea. I ordered it well over a month ago, and never heard from them. I had checked my account daily to see if fraudulent charges would show up... but they never did. I contacted them about my purchase. Nothing. But it's here now. YEAH!

Do a little dance...

My washer and dryer arrived today. WHEW. These girls accumulate a lot of clothes in 4 days. They said they didn't know how long it would take to get in. I'm impressed with 1 business day.

The nice guy installed it, and I ran my first load of laundry (using the Tide with Bleach sample (what kind of detergent do you use??? Fabric softener or dryer sheets?). It worked fine until the spin cycle.

OH MY.

The racket this thing caused. I've had washers that have "walked" a bit. This thing was beating down the door to come out. It didn't help that it's on concrete floor, but I'm serious, I was certain it was possessed.

When the guy came back to attach the dryer, I told him it was making noise. He said that a certain amount of noise was expected. I didn't bother to argue... I simply turned the washer back on. It made him jump back!

Apparently there is a rod they insert to keep the drum still during transit. He hadn't removed it.

The washer finished in quiet.

I no longer have to trudge down to the dark, wet basement carrying armloads of loads down steep narrow stairs. I no longer have a washer the size of a bathroom sink. We're talking about doing a load with more than just one sheet washing at a time!

Ahhhhh.

Kids, kids, kids...

I'm sitting out in the front yard. This neighborhood is crawling with kids.

The girls spent three hours this yesterday riding bikes and scooters and having a blast. I am sooo glad we finally have found a place full of kids the girls ages.

Anna has a little friend M a couple of weeks younger than she is. They are very similar, headstrong, busy, active little girls. M's been trying to ride a tricycle hybrid for three months, her mom was just telling me how she just can't get the hang of riding a bike. Then she climbed on Anna's and was riding around the loop (we have this awesome round driveway in front of the house that the kids and ride on without being in traffic) with no problems. Anna spent most of the time happily chasing after her.

Em sat in their little cozy coupe push along for an hour buckling and unbuckling herself. Today she has been riding around in the little trike Fred Flintstone style.

Julia is now playing house with the two little boys from down the street. These boys are cracking me up talking on the pink fluffy Barbie phone, and sitting on the purple Dora bean bag chair.

Here's a funny Mama story...

The other morning, my mom went to McDonalds to get an ice cream cone.

At the drive-thru she said to the young man, "Can I have an ice cream cone?"

The young man replied, "I'm not your mom, if you want to order one, I'll give it to you." HA

At the window my mom explained she was simply asking if they had them that early in the day. He apologized for being "fresh". My mom left with an ice cream cone and a smile.

UPDATE:

My mom returned to McD's this morning for a cone. As she pulled up to the speaker she said, "Can I get a vanilla cone, please?"

The response from the box, "Isn't it a bit early for ice cream, did you eat all your breakfast?"

My mom's reply, "MOM? Is that you?"

HA

When she got to the window the same kid was working. He apologized to my mom and said he saw her coming and just couldn't resist.

I think he made her day!

It's PARENT'S DAY!

Yes, it's the first day back to school.

I actually miss Julia. For the most part I have really enjoyed having her home for the summer. At the end it was getting to be a bit overwhelming since we were gearing up both to move and start school.

She is very excited, but told me this morning her stomach was full of flip flops.

I couldn't find her lunch box anywhere, so I packed her lunch in a grocery store bag. Yes, she's one of THOSE kids. As soon as we got back to the house I found her lunch bag in a matter of seconds.

There were about a half dozen kids at the bus stop this morning - she was happy to see her little bike riding friend from yesterday (she was racing her bike with the boys). Compared to last year when no one rode her bus for the first 2 months, this was a lot more fun.

I'll post a picture later... she was NOT interested in posing for pictures. She was mortified when I tried to take her picture as she got on the bus. Maaaah-aaaaam!

We're home....

Well, home for the next year or two anyway.

Yes, we moved... AGAIN!

I'm now sitting with boxes piled up all around me, this is the first time in over a year that we have had our things out of storage. It's a LOT harder to move when you are moving furniture and boxes, than just a couple of suitcases and few belongings.

Lost in the move:

-Our entertainment center cabinet that we only had for about a year before we moved, bit the dust. The center board split in half, then all the boards split in half.

-Our 7x10' rug that we've had for 12 years. It was the only thing in our entire storage unit that had any mold, and apparently it had a lot.

Found in the move:

- Enough clothes to outfit a small village (and most of it will probably end up being donated, little girls in the Portland area will be styling)

- Baby paraphenilia (also being donated or craiglisted), I can't believe it's finally time to get rid of the swing, exersaucer, etc..

- Toys... oh the toys. The three favorite boxes unpacked were the dress up clothes, toy kitchen stuff (although toy kitchen didn't come) and the big box of books. Upon opening one of the boxes Anna exclaimed, "HOLY MOLEY!" It was like Christmas for her yesterday.

So, hopefully we'll be here for a while, I DON'T want to move our things again.