Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Throwback Thursday

2010
Either end of June, around Thanksgiving or around Christmas.  
I know it was in Abilene, and that's usually when we were there.


Captain Jack Sparrow shops at KMart:


Monday, October 28, 2013

Answer To The Pet Dilemma

I have always had pets. 

As a kid, and into adulthood and parenthood, I have had, at one time or another: dogs, cats, rabbit, mice, hamster, gerbil, fish, parakeet, baby duck, baby chicks, turtle, guinea pig, hedge hog, snake, frog and for a few months, a baby squirrel my dad ran over with a lawn mower.  (Never got around to a ferret, but I always wanted one.)

I love having a pet. A house feels more homey with a pet in it. 

The older I get though, the less I want to deal with all that goes with pet ownership. I'm tired of the extra responsibility pets require. Especially, the ones that don't let you go out of town for a few days without making plans, and the ones that are messy. 

I'm tired of hair everywhere and on everything. 

We lost our sweet Australian Shepherd, Hayleigh, earlier this year. My husband and I agreed we would not replace her. 

The cats have been banished outside for several years now for suddenly peeing everywhere.  We tried bringing them back in a couple of times but they immediately went and peed on something. Nope. 

The fish were dying off and I gave the aquarium to my daughter. 

My house is pet less and kind of empty. 

But not for long:




Saturday, October 26, 2013

Complaint Of The Day

Gripes #65385987 and 65385988

A two-fer!

First:  Customer service people who do not know what they are doing are the bane of my existence.

My husband lost his wallet a few weeks ago.  And there begins the fun.

Because what happens when you lose your wallet?  You lose your driver license, your CHL, 3 bank cards, and one check.

Oh, and cash.  All $15 of it.

As soon as it was noticed to be missing, we immediately went back to the last positively known location.

The movie theater.  He bought the popcorn because I didn't take my regular purse, just my 'movie purse' (nice and big and empty and perfect for sneaking in bottles of PowerAde Zero and popcorn seasoning and dental floss).

After checking the row where we had been seated and then checking with the office to see if anyone had turned it in, I started the phone calls and the monitoring of the accounts.

Now this occurred on a Saturday night.  I couldn't go to or call my credit union directly because they weren't open.  So I called the little 1-800 number on the back of the card and talked to the company the credit union hires to be oh so helpful in these situations.

I guess I should interject here that this is not the first time we had to go through this.  He lost his wallet one other time.  And THAT experience wasn't much better than this one.  So I was marginally prepared for incompetence.

We have 2 accounts at the credit union.  I am primary on one; he is primary on the other.  We both have a Visa debit card for each account.  That's 2 accounts and 4 cards.

I took great pains to explain to the customer service chick that 2 of the cards, the ones issued to ME were fine and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not put a stop on all the cards, only the ones issued to him.  (Guess what the problem was the first time he lost his wallet.  Yes.  They put a stop on all the cards.)

While looking at the account he is primary on, she assured me she only stopped his card.  The problem came when she looked at my account.  She kept saying that she couldn't see a card with his name on it. I assured her several times that yes, I was absolutely positive that he had a card on that account too.  She kept saying she was afraid to do a stop because she thought it would be on mine because she couldn't see his.  I finally gave up and said just do it.  Stop all the cards you see on that account.

Better safe than sorry.  And I planned on going to the credit union in person first thing Monday morning.

Which I did.  They looked it up and confirmed that HIS cards, both of them, had been stopped and my cards, both of them, were fine.  Yay.

But they couldn't tell me if new cards had been ordered.  Different company and all that.  The only way to tell was to wait and see if they came in.  7-10 days.  Sigh.

But at least my cards were ok.  So we juggled somethings around and I gave him one of my cards to use, so we would each have one.

2 weeks go by and nothing shows up in the mail.

The next Monday I stopped at one of the credit union branches, not the usual one I deal with, and explained the situation.  So she puts in an order for 2 new cards.

Then Wednesday, I use my card to buy something at the cafeteria.  Or I should say, I TRY to use my card to buy something at the cafeteria.  It was DENIED.  Me=NOT HAPPY.  I knew instantly what was wrong.

I go to the credit union branch in the building and tried the ATM.  DENIED.  I go in and tell them my cards not working and explain the whole situation.  They look it up and yes, my card was stopped when they ordered the new cards.  But just the one; the one my husband had was still good.  And, of course, they couldn't 'unstop' it.  They gave me a number to call and see what they could do.

I call the stupid number and, once AGAIN, explain the whole situation.  The only way they could restore my card was if I submitted a signed statement that the card was stopped in error and all the charges made on the card were valid and would not be disputed.  Then fax it and MAYBE they could fix it.

They fixed it and all is well.  We are still waiting on the replacement cards though.

I don't understand why this process is so difficult.  You stop the card(s) associated with the given name.  All other cards, YOU LEAVE ALONE.  When you stop a card, YOU ISSUE A NEW ONE.  Right then.  And you DO NOT stop the card(s) associated with a different name when you issue the new ones.

It's not rocket science people.

My other complaint….dishonest people.

If the jerks who picked up the dropped wallet had turned it in, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN NECESSARY.

Take the cash if you must.  But turn in the wallet.  Replacing the cards and everything else that people carry in their wallets, is a major pain in the ass.

$15.  I hope they really enjoyed that $15.


Thursday, October 24, 2013

Throwback Thursday


Post from the past:
Tuesday, July 29, 2008:

He's not JUST handy


My hubby is not only handy, but he is a total BAD ASS!

This happened last night:

We went to bed around 10 pm. I had taken an over the counter sleeping aid and a couple of Tylenol (shoulder pain-not sleeping well). So I was dead to the world.

At some point I was vaguely aware of hubby getting out of bed. In my groggy mind I thought he said something about turning off the water. (We have soaker hoses around the foundation. We left the ones at the front of the house running on low when we went to bed. The doors aren't closing right.)

The next sound that penetrates the fog, is the sound of hubby's voice. YELLING very loudly. I can't tell what he is saying, but he is actually YELLING, so some sense of urgency gets me on my feet and stumbling out of bed.

Since I had a vague recollection of something about the water, I headed to the front door. The door was still dead bolted, so he didn't go out that way. I can still hear him YELLING, but still can't make out what he is saying.

I go to the back door and sure enough, it is unlocked. I go out on the porch and say "Honey? Are you back here?" Now I can finally make out what he has been YELLING.

"GET THE GLOCK. BRING A FLASHLIGHT. CALL 911!"

Well that woke me up and got me moving. I run back into the bedroom and open the desk drawer and grab the gun. Then I open another drawer and start rummaging for a flash light. While my right hand is looking for the flashlight, I realize the gun in my left hand is not the Glock, so I put it down and open the other drawer and grab the Glock. I get the flashlight and grab a cell phone and head back outside.

It is dark in the backyard and I can't see anything. I can only tell that hubby's voice is coming from the far side of the yard. I call out "Honey?" again, while I am heading that way. He yells again to get the gun and get out here. I told him I had it, but where was he?

He says "I'm over here. Call 911. This guy was looking in the bathroom window at Surly Teenager while she was in the tub."

I take the gun out of its holster as I walk towards the sound of his voice and I dial 911. I get to the fence and there is hubby on the other side, in the neighbors yard, sitting on someone face down.

The police came. They took the guy away, took pictures and hubby wrote out a statement.

Hubby had chased the guy, jumped the fence, tackled the guy, wrestled him to the ground, and pinned him down. What'd I tell ya? He's a BAD ASS! !

They are going to charge the guy with criminal trespassing. The police said if we see him anywhere on our property again, even walking across the front yard, all we have to do is call 911 again and he will be arrested.

Which is really good, because Surly Teenager recognized him. He only lives a block or so over from us.

Ugh.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Two Thumbs Up

Two thumbs waaay up!

I saw "Gravity" today.  In IMAX 3-D.

Totally worth the extra money for the IMAX.

Totally worth the extra money for the 3-D.  (And that's saying something because normally I have no use for 3-D.)

See it!!

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Throwback Thursday

March 2007...hiking up Guadalupe Mountain


Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Inspiration Of The Day

I hope this works. I'm doing it from my phone and never tried it before. 

I love this video. 

Everyone should watch it at least once a day to help them believe anything is possible. 

It is worth the 9:21 of your life. 


Saturday, October 12, 2013

I Need Help

I'm sitting in my recliner. 

I'm watching recorded tv shows. 

I'm fast forwarding through the commercials with the remote. And holding the remote while watching the show. 

Next commercial break starts. And I realize I'm no longer holding the remote. 

I look around. I check my lap, the cushions, the end table next to me, the floor. 

No luck. 

I lost the remote while sitting in my recliner and holding it in my hand. 

How is this possible?

Friday, October 11, 2013

I Blame NetFlix


How in the world am I supposed to get anything done with 8 seasons of Grey's Anatomy on there?

Not to mention Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy, Walking Dead, Private Practice, Dawson's Creek, 24, Hoarder's, Cake Boss...I could go on and on.

And no commercials. At least in the old days you could run and do something really fast during the commercial breaks. 

And don't get me started on the movies. One Saturday I watched The Breakfast Club. Then the evilness that is NetFlix, tells me that if I liked that movie, I would also like Pretty in Pink. Which led to Ferris Bueller's Day Off, then Footloose. Next thing I know it's almost bed time and I have done nothing. NOTHING. All day. 

I think I need an intervention...

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Throwback Thursday

January 2010...I didn't go to work for over a week

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Must Resist Temptation

Someone's idea of doing inventory is sticky notes with what's in each drawer. 

Every time I walk passed I have to fight the urge to rearrange the stickies. 

That doesn't make me a bad person, does it?


Here's to Geri in Little Rock

Geri, you are now on my top ten favorite people list. 


Monday, October 7, 2013

Complaint Of The Day

Gripe #63829375:

Those little annoying gnats. 

I kill at least 6-10 a day while sitting at my desk at work. 

Plants at work should be outlawed. People don't take proper care of them and they get gnats. 

All over the place. 

I don't have plants on my desk because I KNOW that I can't take proper care of them. 

And yet, not a day goes by that I'm not swatting little pesky things dive bombing my face and trying to fly up my nose. 

I really want to come in one weekend and just throw them all in the garbage.