Tom and I make a good team. He came to me with bad news—he couldn’t find the power cable for the baby swing. I knew right where it was in the mess of our garage. Later I went to him with bad news—I couldn’t find the charging cable for the breast pump. He knew right where it was in the storage closet. Yay!
Category Archives: Raves & Praise
Date night!
Our friends offered to watch Owen so we could have one last date night before Katie arrived… But, technically it’s a date afternoon since we like to be home by his bedtime. 🙂 So it was dinner at 4:30 and a movie at 5:30! Hey, it works for us!
The farmer’s market is open!
I also got radishes, lettuce, green onions (which were the size of shallots), and basil to plant!
Ahhhhh…
Maternity pants…I AM IN YOU. Ahhhhhh!!!!
Refinancing—woohoo!
I just dropped off our streamlined refinance docs…so in less than a month we’ll be closing and reducing our payment by just over $300. I’ll take that, thankyouverymuch.
Yes, it adds some years to our mortgage (we’re at 23 and it goes back to 30), but fingers quadruple crossed we’ll have sold the house WAAAAAAY before then…and if we don’t sell it and have to rent it, hopefully we’ll make a few bucks or break even instead of being in the hole every month. And in the meantime, it will help pay for the new car. 🙂
Sleeping with the windows open…ahhhhhh!
We’re sleeping with the windows open tonight—with a low of 64. It’s PERFECT.
I can finally make sausage gravy!
I originally saw the basic recipe on Buns In My Oven and then added onion and garlic to make it more me. But all credit for this recipe goes to Buns—including being the impetus for making my first ever from scratch sausage gravy. Delish! And so easy! I cant believe it took me this long!
Yeah yeah yeah, my Aunt Marge has told me for YEARS how easy it was but I just never believed her. I even searched recipes but for some reason they just seemed like too many steps. But now that I can make regular gravy from pan drippings—and I happened to run across this very simple recipe—I figured it was time to try. And I’m so glad I did! YUM!
The so-simple recipe? 1# sausage, 1/2 cup onion, 1/4 cup flour, 2 cups milk, spices to taste (S&P, garlic). Of course I cheated on the biscuits and used frozen Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits but let’s just take things one step at a time! :p
It’s cool again.
It was a pretty warm night sleeping—it was actually cooler outside than in, so we had the windows open (something I’d never have believed had you told me it would happen)—but it was still WARM. Thankfully the A/C people were able to get out in the afternoon (by which time it was 88 upstairs), and the first thing the guy said was “Man, what did I do yesterday?”
Come to find out, the capacitor blew up. Tom said it looked like it was shot with a .22 with guts hanging out all over and everything. The A/C guy said he’d NEVER seen one that bad before.
They waived the service call fee since they had just been out (yay!), so it was only a $125 repair. Only. And had it blown one day earlier or we had waited to have them out, we could have saved $75.
:**:
Community pool–yay(s) and boo(s).
I really appreciate the fact that we live close to the country club pool (yay!) but I really don’t appreciate that they wouldn’t prorate the cost (boo!) so I had to pay $375 to use the pool through Labor Day.
But they do have a kiddie pool (yay!) but the water in both that pool and the main pool is too warm (boo!).
And it’s cool that they have adult only hours (yay!) but overall the hours kinda suck (boo!)—11a-6p Tuesday through Saturday, 1p-6p Sunday, and 6p-8p adults only those days. There is no lifeguard and no locks on the fence that I can see…so I’m not quite sure why they have those limited hours.
Three raves in one day? Awesome.
RAVE #1
A huge thumbs up to the place that fixed my car post-accident. We had decided to get the hood repainted at our own cost (since it really needed it and they were painting the front end anyway) for an estimated $150. When Tom went to pick up the car, he was told it was done minus one fog light light bulb (they had ordered a pair, and one came with the bulb and one didn’t) and they had driven all over town looking for it, and apparently no one in the state had one! They apologized profusely and said since they felt really really bad (they had already had the car an extra two days due to another ordering/shipping error that wasn’t their fault), they ate the cost of painting the hood!! WOOHOO!!
RAVE #2
After dealing with Costco Concierge and HP over the third major issue in nine months, they are giving me a brand new laptop! They are sending us a list of what models are available (saying they will not downgrade but only upgrade the specs) and if there is nothing we like they will build to suit (but will take 3-6 weeks). I can totally live with that. So kudos to them for actually doing the right thing with this dud of a laptop. YAY! (A bonus rave to this rave is that Tom took over the dealings, as stuff like this just makes me insane. Besides, I paid my penance dealing with the first two wonky laptops and the two repairs to this laptop.)
RAVE #3
This one is comparatively minor, but a rave nonetheless. After almost three years of five bulging junk drawers (2 large, 1 medium, and 2 small) and at least two solid weeks of procrastinating cleaning them out…I did it today! Here’s proof (only one drawer, but you get the idea):
Of course, now I have two buckets of stuff to put away elsewhere, but a lot got tossed and put away already…and I feel much less stressed about the movers not having to pack and move five drawers of crap.
Props to Lowe’s customer service!
We recently bought five gallons of paint because they were offering a $5/gallon rebate—so Tom went and SPECIFICALLY asked for the “paint with the rebate.”
Fast forward 20 minutes when Tom came back to pick up the paint…and the Paint Guy had mixed a FIVE GALLON BUCKET instead of the five individual gallons we had expected. Tom asked about the rebate, and Paint Guy said it would still work for the rebate.
I looked up the terms and was pretty sure it wouldn’t (it very clearly said per ONE gallon) but we asked customer service anyway. Nope, no good.
So they ended up just crediting our account the $25.
Way to go, Lowe’s. :up:
AmEx is both bad and good.
So I get all of my credit card statements via email, and when I do, I pay them. Simple, right? Happens every month like clockwork and I always pay every bill on time.
Well, apparently, if American Express mails you a hard copy—like they do for the month you get your Costco rebate check—they SKIP sending you the email. Why on earth they can’t continue to send an email that month is beyond me.
You can see where this is going, can’t you? >:-(
Yeah, I got charged a $15 late fee and I’m sure there will be interest. Ugh. And yeah, I’m so used to receiving emailed statements that it DID NOT EVEN OCCUR TO ME that the mailed statement was a real statement. A sign of the digital times, I guess?
That said, I paid the full balance (plus some extra) immediately, then emailed them and complained about their process. To their credit, they did waive the fee, but I still think it’s asinine they can’t send an email when they also send a hard copy. I mean, how hard can it be? Why WOULDN’T you send one?
Amazon selling!
Sale #1
About three weeks ago I bought a ceramic flat iron when Amazon was offering it for a great deal. I didn’t really need it—nor did I need to spend the $50 on it—but I did, thinking I could likely resell it (or worst case, actually use it when mine dies since it’s a better one). I listed it on Amazon for $149.99 (it supposedly retails for $249)—and it sold within a few hours!! After Amazon fees and the original cost, I made $80. I knew I should have bought a handful of them! :up:
Sale #2
I had a baby/toddler toy that is kinda big that I wanted to get rid of. Owen still liked it and played with it, but we’re trying to downsize (and he has enough other toys). Checking Amazon, they are apparently no longer available (though a newer, different model is) but there were two sellers: one for $100 and one for $300 (88|) so I figured What the hell? and listed mine at $99.99, fully expecting it to just sit there. I also listed it on Craigslist for much less since I wouldn’t have to worry about shipping—because Amazon doesn’t give you a fair price for shipping costs. But, I figured, even with the fees and S/H, I’d still make a fair amount.
So imagine my surprise when it sells…a day later! 88| YAY! But then I had to pack and ship this huge 14x18x18 thing! It has its own box but needed a shipping box, which of course we didn’t have, so I had to cobble together two boxes (which ended up to be 18x18x24) and use about a roll of tape. Fortunately, shipping only ended up to be like $5 more (instead of the $15 more I was thinking) and the tape was free (leftover from our military move)…so long story short, I paid $30 for it at Target a year ago and will have made, after fees and charges, $50! :up:
Who says I’m not working and making money? :b
Phew!
{RANT} I just spilled a huge glass of water all over me, the couch, a table, two magazines, and the floor but {RAVE} it completely missed the laptop, the iPhone, the camera, and the Harmony remote.
Phew.
I like it when potential nightmares have a happy ending.
An “I love being a mom” moment!
I was sitting here on the couch minding my own business and Owen was watching The Backyardigans…when suddenly I had a burpie blanket tossed over my head and a little boy attacking me and laughing.
That was an “I love being a mom” moment for sure. 🙂
Happy Bank Account
We got our Escrow Analysis for the next year…and hmmm, I see that they’re scheduled to pay our Hazard Insurance in January 2012…which makes me think that they paid it THIS year, too. Which is funny because I sent in a payment [to our insurance company, not the mortgage company] for the same thing in December. I did this because [for some reason I can’t quite remember] when we first started renting our house, I had to pay the insurance myself—it couldn’t come out of escrow. And I guess I just assumed that it would continue that way and no one told me otherwise (i.e. I was billed for it from my insurance company).
So I called Wells Fargo and all they could tell me was they paid it in January 2011. Then I call my insurance company and after some back and forth…they tell me I am getting a refund because I overpaid!
So I should be getting $1168 back this week. Our bank account will be VERY happy.
Back to USAA!
Well, we’re back with USAA for auto and home insurance.
When we moved to Michigan, our auto rates skyrocketed—so we switched to a local company that was cheaper, then took the home (well, renters) with us to get a multi-policy discount.
However, over the past two years, the cheap insurance has increased by about $600/year so I thought I’d check out USAA again…and long story short, we’re paying about the same but getting better coverage. And the same with the renters policy.
And the CSR was just awesome. And now everything is in the same spot. :up:
Yelp ROTD–Roast
Garth Brooks Rocks!
Through a bizarre set of circumstances, I ended up flying to Nashville to attend a Garth Brooks charity concert.
And wow. Just…wow.
He was AMAZING. A. MA. ZING. He did a 2-hour show which included (I think) three or four encores.
It was an awesome experience. Especially since I haven’t gone to many concerts in my time… But to hear ~16,000 people singing every word to every song just blew me away. And his energy? Holy crap. I was exhausted just standing, singing, screaming, and applauding for two hours…he had to be dead. But he just kept going and going and going. As I said in my Facebook post, he was “balls to the wall for two straight hours.”
It was just pure awesome, and I am very thankful to how everything worked out in a matter of hours…and how things all came together in the end!
- Seeing Garth on Oprah and thinking how I’d love to see his acoustic concert in Vegas.
- Me tweeting that if anyone wanted to know what to get me for Christmas, it was “Garth Brooks Vegas.”
- A friend of mine from Alabama, Jen, posted a reply that she had an extra ticket for one of his Nashville shows if I wanted to fly down.
- My dad and stepmom were planning on being here anyway on that date, so they would be able to babysit (Tom had to work).
- Tom agreed I could spend the money—Merry Christmas to me!
- A week later I tweeted that I arrived in Nashville—and my friend who lives in Nashville (Laurie, who I graduated high school with) called me to say “I didn’t know you were coming to see Garth HERE! We have to get together!”
- My friend with the extra ticket had another extra ticket for MY friend…so we all went together!
Everything was apparently meant to be. And I am a very, VERY happy woman!
The laptop saga: Addendum
So far, I really like the laptop…except that the ‘chiclet’ keyboard is THE worst keyboard I’ve EVER used. :## I am normally a pretty quick and accurate typist (I think the last time I tested it was about 85wpm) and I would honestly say that I LOVE TYPING. However, with this absolutely craptastic keyboard, I find I am HATING typing. Yes, HATING. Plain and simple, the keyboard skips letters if you don’t hit the key JUST right (a full-on dead-center firm press). :down:
But, on the positive side…Costco’s deals came out this month and the laptop was offered for $100 cheaper! So I took in my receipt and got credited $100! If you add that to the $50 cash card and the $50 credit card credit I already got, that means I got $200 off this laptop! :up:
I can live with that.
The laptop saga, part 5: The End
So Tom was unable to fix my original Dell (he tried, but the problem must have been something other than what we thought) and I was trying to decide if I wanted to live with the less-than-perfect Toshiba or pay a little more to get exactly what I wanted. I decided I had to “shit or get off the pot” as they say, so I decided I was returning the Toshiba and ordering the more expensive Asus from Amazon. So back to Costco we went.
While we were there, we looked at the laptops again…just because…and they had a 14″ HP with pretty much the exact specs I wanted, for cheaper than the Asus at Amazon. With the advantage being that we were buying it from Costco so—IN THE EVENT I HATED IT FOR SOME REASON—I could return it. (And no, that laptop hadn’t been there before. Had it, I would have gotten it to start with.)
And for the grand topper? Not only did Costco refund me $50, they still also sent the $50 cash card…so my more expensive laptop ended up the same price as all the other laptops I tried [and returned].
The laptop saga, part 4.
Well, both Dell laptops have been returned, and I am just waiting for them to credit me (which is hopefully sooner rather than later, as I now have TWO laptops on this month’s AmEx bill). That said, I did receive an email from my Costco contact saying that they could send me a $50 gift card for my troubles. In the meantime, I received an email from a separate Costco entity saying they were going to credit my credit card $50 for my troubles. So, I’m waiting to see if I still get the gift card. 🙂
Also in the meantime, I bought a Toshiba (from Costco locally) but am not loving it—most of all, it’s 15.6″ (which is actually just a hair smaller than Tom’s 17″ laptop) and it’s just TOO big and TOO heavy for me to use as I need it. So, it will be going back.
And Tom is trying to fix my laptop. Which, yes, we should have done in the very beginning… Live and learn.
Yelp ROTD–Jake’s Automotive
My Brazilian Blowout
The Brazilian blowout treatment takes approximately 90 minutes and leaves your hair silky and frizz-free for 10–12 weeks. Because it doesn’t use any harsh chemicals, only a nutrient-rich polymer system that forms a protective, smoothing layer on each strand, it won’t damage your hair; in fact, the treatment improves the condition of follicles.
9/24
So, it took about 2 hours and 15 minutes. The first thing they do is wash your hair with a clarifying shampoo/conditioner. Then they put the treatment on your hair, much like getting color in that it’s sectioned off and then the each small section-by-section is brushed/covered with the stuff. Then it’s blown dry straight and gone over inch-by-inch with a flat iron. Then–and this is the bizarre part–it’s RINSED and then blown out again. I obviously believe that’s how it’s done but it just seemed SO counterintuitive to spend all that time blowing it dry and straightening it, only to get it wet and have to start over. I mean, it was GORGEOUS when she was done.
That said, it did take her a lot less time to dry/straighten it the second time (30 minutes) and it looked just almost exactly like it did after the probably 70 minutes she took the first time to blow it dry and use the iron.
So, we’ll see how it looks when I wash and style it…if it takes less time and/or if it looks as good. She said that she has it on her hair, and she washes it every day, and it lasts about 10-12 weeks. I told her I wash my hair maybe once a week (in the winter, when I straighten it most of the time) so she said it should definitely last longer. I am really looking forward to seeing if it works as well as it claims to…
Here are the pics I have so far. I will post more once I wash it and let it air dry.
BEFORE: FRONT (with only a smidge of non-frizz stuff in it)
BEFORE: BACK
AFTER (professionally styled):
9/29
Okay, here are the post-shower, air-dried results:
If you notice, it doesn’t really look at much different. It’s certainly not any straighter—but a Brazilian Blowout is NOT a straightener. That said, my hair is much, much softer than it was before. It no longer feels like straw, but rather a lot smoother. And it hasn’t seemed to “puff out” quite like it used to as it dried. Usually by this time in the day I would be going insane with it and it would be in a ponytail or behind my ears or something…but it isn’t.
Tomorrow I will either straighten it from its current condition (i.e. not washing again) or I will get it wet then blow it dry straight then iron it…I haven’t decided yet. 🙂
So, the jury is still out on whether this was worth $125 (plus tip) to me. I think tomorrow will be the REAL test, since the blowing dry/getting it straight is the biggest PITA.
9/30
OH. MY. GAWD.
I am in heaven. This was money VERY WELL spent.
Normally it takes me a minimum of 30-45 minutes and that includes straight-ironing time, and even then it still generally looks like crap when I’m done.
But today, after a mere EIGHT minutes of just general drying (pulling with a flat brush), it looked like this:
After a total of 25 minutes (8 minutes drying then ~17 minutes drying with a round brush—NO ironing!), I had this:
And here is the back–completely amazing to me, since I can NEVER even get it even remotely this straight.
I am a happy, happy girl. :up:
Terrier Attacks Bathroom
http://www.shitmypetsruin…ttacks-bathroom
I submitted this photo ages ago to Shit My Pets Ruined and totally forgot to check to see if it was published…
Rant to Rave!
Our Samsung TV that needed a service call? Well, turns out it had a power supply issue that, after researching, I discovered was a very common problem. I contacted Samsung and they said they offer a one-time fix, so that saved us probably $200 or so (or the cost of a new TV). It did take like four days for the guy to get here, but he was in and out in like 15 minutes and now our TV works! YAY!
Today is much better (so far).
I slept in until 6:45 (funny how that is a good thing these days).
I found $2 in the back pocket of my jeans.
Owen slept in until 7.
The A/C guy said nothing was wrong.
Samsung said we get one free repair of the issue.
I made the news [paper]!
Five Asian buffets offer change of pace
Melody Baetens / The Detroit News
Metro Detroit has a wide variety of Asian buffets. Here’s a look at five standout options.
Fuji Japanese Buffet
32153 John R., Madison Heights
Call: (248) 616-8868
Web: www.fujibuffet.comPrice: $11.99 lunch Mon.-Fri.; $13.99 lunch Sat.-Sun.; $17.99 dinner Mon.-Thurs.; $19.99 dinner Fri.-Sat.
Hours: 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Mon.-Thurs. and Sun.; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fri.-Sat.
Highlights: For a strip mall buffet, Fuji is surprisingly cool and hip. When I went, there was a considerable number of college-age diners, many of Asian decent. Sometimes, if you go late enough, you can get a glimpse (or an earful) of a private dance party or karaoke session in one of the restaurant’s many banquet rooms.
Food-wise, Fuji’s strengths are snow crab legs with melted butter, gyoza (dumplings), vegetable and shrimp tempura, and sushi. Don’t be afraid to try the green tea ice cream for dessert. “What keeps me coming back are the platters of all-you-can-eat sushi being made fresh as you watch,” says diner Jennifer Hudson of Troy. “Is it the best food you’ll ever eat? No, but it’s certainly worth the price of admission.”
Yelp ROTD–Ridley’s Bakery & Cafe
Amazon ROCKS!
You all know how much I love Amazon, but here is one reason why Amazon really rocks.
I bought a hard drive recently that came with a $20 mail-in rebate. I sent it in and was denied because the dates were invalid. Huh, what? I pulled out all my info and yep, I bought the hard drive ONE DAY before the rebate started. >:XX But Amazon had the rebate on the item page when I bought it, so I really never thought about reading the rebate terms that closely.
So I emailed Amazon, explained what happened, and said I was upset that they promoted the rebate before it was valid, and asked what they could do. Within hours they apologized and credited my account.
YAY AMAZON!