JTOK Chatter > Page 395

Exploding Grill

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Subtitled: Tom almost blew himself up today.

I knew he was getting around to starting the grill and I was upstairs just getting ready to come downstairs when I heard a combination WHOOMPF and something that sounded like a heavy object falling. Or hell, it could have been someone shooting a big gun in the distance (yes, it does happen). Or it could have been a thunderstorm starting. I did have a VERY fleeting thought that something happened with the grill, because the WHOOMPF kinda sounded like the one time our neighbor lit our bonfire with a half gallon of kerosene… but then thought Nah, hubby knows what he’s doing with the grill.

So I walked into the kitchen and saw Tom out on the deck in a half daze and the grill was sitting VERY off kilter. He came in and said the grill had just exploded!

88| 88| 88|

Apparently the flame went out after he had lit it so he went back to light it again (just turn the “ignition” knob which creates the spark), and left the lid down because he assumed it had JUST gone out, but apparently it had been out for some time and there was too much gas build up, so the top exploded and he said the entire grill lifted the deck and then came crashing down (so I did hear two distinct sounds). And it’s a BIG grill. That must have been SOME force.

The hair on one of his arms is almost all singed off—oh, the smell! XX(—but luckily that was all. It could have been much, much, MUCH worse.

Apparently we have the miracle grill, because it has already survived a fall off the moving trailer at 35mph (with only about $50 in new parts required) and now it is still in working condition even being blown up and lifted into the air (although it looks a little worse for the wear).

The moral of the story? ALWAYS air out the area first, no matter WHAT you think.

The other moral? Buy a Holland Grill!

The next place I work?

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PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me NOT work in close association with another Jen. It is SUCH a pain in the ass. Especially when she gets a million calls (property management) and people can’t seem to differentiate between Jen and Jennie. They call and say “Who is this?” and I say Jen and they start yakking and I have to stop them and say “Oh, you want Jennie, our property manager. [Then I preempt them by saying] We have two Jens in our office.” I say that at least three times a day, I swear.

And if I EVER have to do receptionist work again?

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me just have to transfer every incoming call without having to deal with people any more than that. I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate having to say—I swear it feels like 100 times a day—“She’s on the other line, would you like to hold or would you like her voicemail?” and then dealing with people who lead you to believe they will have a coronary if they don’t get to talk to her. Or, since we are not allowed to transfer calls internally (god forbid the phone ring in an agent’s office or they get a beep in their ear if they’re on the phone) each and every call I put on hold rings back to me every 30 seconds.

Of course there are a LOT more things I want in the next place I work, but those are my issues for today!

The Staples Chair Mat Saga

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Wednesday, May 21—I needed a new chair mat, and had a $25 off $75 coupon, so I picked a decent chair mat (that was on sale), plus two small things to push me over the $75. I ordered before 4pm so I should have had the items the next day.

Thursday, May 22—I got an email saying that “some or all of my items” were being delayed and delivery was rescheduled for 5/23.

Friday, May 23—I received the two small items but not the chair mat (which is what I really wanted). I figured maybe that was still delayed, so wanted to give them until Tuesday to see if it arrived (Monday was a holiday so no shipping).

Tuesday, May 27—No chair mat at work or at home. So I called Staples and explained that I still hadn’t received the mat. They apologized and said they would ship another one and it should be here Thursday or Friday.

Thursday, May 29—Well, something did arrive Thursday—but not the chair mat! I got a duplicate order of the piddly things! I called again, explaining, and they apologized and said “Yep, that was our error, I see the note here. We will send out the chair mat now and you should have it Monday.” And they were also sending someone to pick up the duplicate order. I wondered why it was going to take four days (not including weekends) but at that point, I just wanted my chair mat.

Friday, May 30—I swear they said that person who was picking up the duplicate order would also be delivering my chair mat, but they didn’t. >:XX They said UPS might be delivering it…so UPS came and went and still no chair mat. And no chair mat at home, either (I had changed delivery address, but thought they might have messed that up as well).

Monday, June 2—No chair mat today, and UPS delivered next door (at work) so I was not holding out hope. I figured if it didn’t show up at home, I would call and request a discount or something because this has been ridiculous.

Tuesday, June 3—Staples redeemed themselves somewhat. I still hadn’t received the chair mat, so I called to ask where it was and the rep said hmmm, it looks like you were credited for it on such and such date. Wait. What? Credited? Yes, apparently they didn’t resend it like they said they were going to, but rather just cancelled the order and credited my card. >:XX So after some discussion, the rep agreed to give me the $25 coupon on just the chair mat—so technically I got a percentage off on the few piddly things I had to order to meet the original coupon deal, and am now getting $25 off on the chairmat itself.

Thursday, June 4—It finally came! And OMG, it was in like a 6′ x 1′ box! I had to put my seat down to fit it in the car! And since it sat in my car all day in the hot temps (100+), when I got it home and brought it inside, it pretty much just unrolled and laid flat. YAY! Oh, and the box was overkill—it looks like they had to make the box from other boxes so it was just waaaay too big. Anyway, we will put it under my desk tomorrow! I am sooo excited!

One Woman’s Tale of Woe

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All hair removal methods have tricked women with their promises of easy, painless removal—the epilady, scissors, razors, Nair and now…the wax.

My night began as any other normal weeknight. Come home, fix dinner, play with the kids. I then had the thought that would ring painfully in my mind for the next few hours: ” Maybe I should pull the waxing kit out of the medicine cabinet.” So I headed to the site of my demise: the bathroom.

It was one of those “cold wax” kits. No melting a clump of hot wax, you just rub the strips together in your hand, they get warm and you peel them apart and press them to your leg (or wherever else) and you pull the hair right off. No muss, no fuss. How hard can it be? I mean, I’m not a genius, but I am mechanically inclined enough to figure this out. (YA THINK!?!) So I pull one of the thin strips out. Its two strips facing each other stuck together. Instead of rubbing them together, my genius kicks in so I get out the hair dryer and heat it to 1000 degrees. (“Cold wax”—yeah…right!) I lay the strip across my thigh. Hold the skin around it tight and pull. It works! OK, so it wasn’t the best feeling, but it wasn’t too bad. I can do this! Hair removal no longer eludes me! I am She-rah, fighter of all wayward body hair and maker of smooth skin extraordinaire. With my next wax strip I move north. After checking on the kids, I sneak back into the bathroom, for the ultimate hair fighting championship. I drop my panties and place one foot on the toilet.

Using the same procedure, I apply the wax strip across the right side of my bikini line, covering the right half of my vagina and stretching down to the inside of my butt cheek (Yes, it was a long strip) I inhale deeply and brace myself….RRRRIIIPPP!!!! I ‘m blind!!! Blinded from pain!!!!….OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!! Vision returning, I notice that I’ve only managed to pull off half the strip. >:XX Another deep breath and RRIIPP!! Everything is swirly and spotted. I think I may pass out…must stay conscious…Do I hear crashing drums??? Breathe, breathe…OK, back to normal. I want to see my trophy—a wax-covered strip, the one that has caused me so much pain, with my hairy pelt sticking to it. I want to revel in the glory that is my triumph over body hair. I hold up the strip! There’s no hair on it. Where is the hair??? WHERE IS THE WAX??? Slowly I ease my head down, foot still perched on the toilet. I see the hair. The hair that should be on the strip. I touch. I am touching wax. >:XX I run my fingers over the most sensitive part of my body, which is now covered in cold wax and matted hair.

Then I make the next BIG mistake…remember my foot is still propped up on the toilet? I know I need to do something. So I put my foot down. >:XX I hear the slamming of a cell door. Vagina? Sealed shut! Butt?? Sealed shut! I penguin walk around the bathroom trying to figure out what to do and think to myself ” Please don’t let me get the urge to poop. My head may pop off! ” What can I do to melt the wax? Hot water!! Hot water melts wax!! I’ll run the hottest water I can stand into the bathtub, get in, immerse the wax-covered bits and the wax should melt and I can gently wipe it off, right??? *WRONG!!!!!!!* I get in the tub—the water is slightly hotter than that used to torture prisoners of war or sterilize surgical equipment—I sit. Now, the only thing worse than having your nether regions glued together, is having them glued together and then glued to the bottom of the tub…in scalding hot water. Which, by the way, doesn’t melt cold wax. So, now I’m stuck to the bottom of the tub as though I had cement-epoxied myself to the porcelain!! God bless the man who had convinced me a few months ago to have a phone put in the bathroom!!!!! I call my friend, thinking surely she has waxed before and has some secret of how to get me undone. It’s a very good conversation starter “So, my butt and who-ha are glued together to the bottom of the tub!” There is a slight pause.

She doesn’t know any secret tricks for removal but she does try to hide her laughter from me. She wants to know exactly where the wax is located, “Are we talking cheeks or hole or who-ha?” She’s laughing out loud by now…I can hear her. I give her the rundown and she suggests I call the number on the side of the box.

YEAH!!!! Right!! I should be the joke of someone else’s night. While we go through various solutions. I resort to scraping the wax off with a razor. Nothing feels better then to have your girlie goodies covered in hot wax, glued shut, stuck to the tub in super hot water and then dry-shaving the sticky wax off!! By now the brain is not working, dignity has taken a major hike and I’m pretty sure I’m going to need Post-Traumatic Stress counseling for this event. My friend is still talking with me when I finally see my saving grace….the lotion they give you to remove the excess wax. What do I really have to lose at this point? I rub some on and OH MY GOD!!!!!!! The scream probably woke the kids and scared the dickens out of my friend. It’s sooo painful, but I really don’t care. “IT WORKS!! It works!! ” I get a hearty congratulation from my friend and she hangs up. I successfully remove the remainder of the wax and then notice to my grief and despair….THE HAIR IS STILL THERE…….ALL OF IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. So I recklessly shave it off. Heck, I’m numb by now. Nothing hurts. I could have amputated my own leg at this point. Next week I’m going to try hair color……

10# of burgers!

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So, this morning we made 10# of various burgers:

  • Ranch burgers
  • Onion soup and mozzarella cheese burgers
  • Jalapeño and cheddar cheese burgers
  • Feta and pecan burgers
  • Southwestern cheeseburgers (southwestern seasoning, smoke seasoning, and mexican cheese blend)

We froze most of them, but dinner tonight was the jalapeño/cheddar, and I have to admit I was not thrilled. It was an okay burger—I gave it a 6/10—but it definitely did NOT taste like the store-bought version…

So, what did I do? Simply chopped up two jalapeños and dumped in some shredded cheddar cheese. The end. So, there was no WOW factor—you could see the tiny chunks of green jalapeños, but there was barely even any jalapeño taste and I really couldn’t discern any cheese flavor, either. I am thinking I may need to include some of the seeds (for the hot?) and maybe include some jalapeño juice as well, to give a more in-depth flavor. :-/ And I probably need to use larger shredded cheese (I used the really small stuff). (Or try Monterey Jack, like the original burgers.)

Or, duh, I could have just googled “jalapeño burgers” and see that a lot of recipes call for chili powder and/or habañero dust. |-| So, we still need to work on those. Any other advice? ❓

Tomorrow we will be trying the feta/pecan because I didn’t think the feta would freeze that well.

Oh, and we completely forgot to do the bacon/chorizo/onion burgers because I didn’t even think about frying the stuff ahead of time. That will be the next batch.

James Taylor Concert

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What a night…in more ways than one.

The weather has been lovely lately—in the 70s and 80s, with some humidity (but not too bad)—perfect for an outdoor nighttime concert, actually. So we were thinking we would probably be a little too hot at the concert…until we heard the weather forecast: “chance of showers and low 70s.” Well, let me tell you, we would have LOVED low 70s! Yes, it rained all day and was cool bordering on cold. We had to alter our outfits at the last minute (to long sleeves and jeans) but didn’t really worry about coats because it was just “cool.” Well, it was pouring buckets as we drove to the concert—and the temperature was dropping. But we still weren’t that worried. We also knew we had reserved seats in the covered section so the rain wasn’t a big deal.

We stopped to eat since we had budgeted time for that—and ended up at Kazé, a newish Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi bar. While waiting to be seated, we mentioned going to the concert, and the hostess said she loved that pavilion, except it was usually a little windy and cool even in the covered section. It was at that point that we started worrying that we might be cold. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal—Tom had a bulgogi steak hibachi dinner and of course I had sushi! It was REALLY good!

After dinner we decided to stop at Kohls to see if we could find a sweatshirt for me (Tom had his jean jacket left in the car from our DC weekend). We hit on a Clearance rack and found each of us a fleece hoodie for $3.50!! (We also found us each another jacket at 70% off!)

So we get to the pavilion and decide to upgrade to VIP parking since 1) we wanted to be close in case it was raining and 2) we wanted to hopefully be able to get out quickly so we didn’t get stuck in post-concert traffic. So we paid the $20 (yuck) and were directed…to a dirt lot! Yes, the VIP parking was in a dirt/gravel lot—which wouldn’t have been all that bad had it not been wet and muddy and gross. We just couldn’t get over the fact that the VIP parking was so horrible! (Granted, we were just “upgraded VIP” so the actual VIP lot might have been nicer. But still. For $20 I want a paved lot.)

We were there about 20 minutes before the gates opened, and it was definitely getting cooler (so we were glad we had jackets) and were happy it wasn’t raining. Once in the pavilion, we headed to the bathrooms and then our seats. We were on the far left about 10 rows back and had a nice view of the stage. A really nice couple sat down next to us and we enjoyed chatting with them (and I liked her because she brought a lap blanket that she shared!). They were funny and warned us ahead of time that they were spending the night so they could drink beer, so they would be up and down a few times throughout the concert. If they weren’t so nice to begin with, that would have bothered me to no end (see criticisms, below).

Unfortunately, the concert started about 25 minutes late, but at least there was no opening act. And in short, James Taylor is very cool. He sounds great, even if he is getting up there in years. We enjoyed it overall, but I have a few criticisms—of concerts in general and the actual concert:

“Concert standers” irritate me.

I could understand if it was a rock concert or dance music, but it’s James Taylor. A nice easy-going, fairly mellow concert. No need to stand up and dance at your seat. Wave your arms or clap if you must, but please do not stand up. Luckily it didn’t happen TOO often, but we had to stand up on a few occasions just to be able to see, and I didn’t appreciate it.

If you are a renowned artist, play your hits.

Now, understandably, JT has a TON of hits so he couldn’t possibly play them all…but I came to hear James Taylor sing James Taylor songs, not cover songs or songs he just likes. Yes, you still get to hear the lovely JT voice, but I would much rather have heard more of my favorites. I would say about half of the songs were non-JT songs.

Concert-goers who can’t sit still.

I just don’t understand paying good money to see someone in concert, and then spending the entire concert getting up and down (and irritating the people in your row, and everyone behind you that you are blocking) to get food and alcohol. Granted it wasn’t everyone, but still too many people in my opinion. I kinda wanted to say “Why didn’t you just stay at home to drink beer and eat nachos?”

We were watching the clock, of course, knowing we had the 2-hour drive home ahead of us. It was worse for Tom, since he knew he had to get up really early…so we had a little butting of the heads (as usual): He wanted to leave right when the concert was over. I wanted to stay for the encores because we paid a lot of money for those tickets. I could understand why he wanted to leave, and he could understand why I wanted to stay…so we compromised and stayed for one encore and left when the second one started. Someday, we have to go to a concert where we can stay for the whole thing—all the concerts we’ve gone to together we’ve had to leave early for the same reasons.

So we were headed home by 10:30 (got out of the parking lot quickly since we left way before most people) and made it home shortly after midnight.

DC Peeps Patio Party

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https://www.hudson2001.com/scrapbook/2008/0524dc/

This weekend Tom and I drove to Washington DC for a Tivo Peeps Patio Party! We hadn’t been to any meets in DC and thought this long weekend was the perfect time! It was actually a combination patio party and viewing of the new Indiana Jones movie (and the party was actually called Raiders of the Lost Patio). B)

I left work early Friday so we could hopefully arrive before midnight, and luckily we didn’t hit any traffic (there was a slight worry as we approached the exit for 495 around DC and saw a sign warning us of blocked exits due to an accident—but by the time we got there, it was slow, but not stopped) so YAY! We pulled in about 10:45! Phew!

We visited with our hostess for a bit and then crashed in the basement. In the morning, we helped set up for the party (it was her patio!) and then it was off to Tysons Corner to see the movie! We were hungry, so grabbed a Five Brothers hamburger (was highly recommended to us, and now we highly recommend it to you) and waited for all the other people to arrive! The movie was okay—I would not have chosen to go on my own, but things are always more fun with peeps! Then it was back to the house to start the party!

Girls at the party!
L-R: Me, Alice, Leslie, Claudia, Lori

Tom and I had met about half of the people before, so were enjoying catching up with them—and were thrilled to also meet quite a few new people as they showed up throughout the night! It was a perfect night—the weather was awesome (perfect for jeans and a tee-shirt), the food was DEEEEElicious (I wanted to marry the queso dip), the drinks were cold and neverending (those that tried it LOVED my “grape sac vodka”—a drink I made with the Grape Bon Bon I bought awhile back that they dared me to mix with vodka!), and a great time was had by all! Everyone started to disperse between 11 and midnight, and we were in bed by 1am.

The next morning we were up by 9, and showered/breakfasted/visited and on the road by 11. We stopped at Ikea on the way home just to look and bought a few small things—but the main reason for stopping was to try their infamous Swedish Meatballs for lunch (they were okay, not worth going back again, but glad we tried them once). Then it was the long boring ride home. At least Tom loves driving his car!!

I hate being up at 6am.

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I hope this morning is not going to be an indicator of the day.

My phone alarm didn’t go off this morning (I have a haircut at 7:30am) but luckily I woke up.

Then, since I had to pee on a stick yesterday and just assumed I had to do it 10 days in a row (that’s what happened the last time), I peed on the stick without turning on the monitor first…and oops, I didn’t have to pee on a stick, so now the number of sticks I have is off, and if I have to do this one more month, I will be one stick short, meaning I have to spend $30 to buy another pack. This is the first morning since I started the monitor that I didn’t check the stupid thing first. Serves me right, I guess.

THIS is exactly why I should not be up this early. I hate early mornings.

When was your first Amazon purchase?

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This was one of the questions asked today on a board I frequent. I thought it a very interesting slice-of-life question. So I looked it up. And my first purchase was November 25, 1998, for three books (Dirk Pitt Revealed, Airframe, and Contagion). I remember making that purchase, and I think I still have those books.

Then I looked at 1999 purchases, of which there were only five. I picked up the pace considerably in 2000—with three pages of orders—and apparently never looked back! ;D

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

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I just called to make an appointment to get my hair cut……and……they told me my stylist no longer works there!!!! 88| :no:

One, she never even warned me she was leaving, and I was just there in March.

Two, I never even got a phone call—which my stylists have done in the past, letting me know they were leaving, where they were going (if they were moving salons, hoping you would follow them), and/or suggesting someone to take their place at their current salon!

At least I have a little experience with one other girl there, who has styled my hair before…and I really like her so that’s good. And my hair isn’t that hard to cut…but still, this is a shock I was not expecting (haha, hence the SHOCK) and just another thing to add to the list for today being a Terrible Tuesday(tm).

Some people!

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You will never believe what we saw today on the way home from farmers marketing.

When we first saw it, at about a distance of 100 yards, it looked like a big white square something that was completely vertical. We both looked at each other like WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT?

As we got a little closer (I told Tom to step on it, I wanted to see what it was!) I said “That looks like box springs!” and Tom said “Noooooooooo, it can’t be! They’re going about 60 and they’re in the passing lane!”

As we crept closer, we tried to think what else it could be, but it really looked like box springs! And as we got closer, by gosh and golly, it was box springs…and a mattress!

By the time we got up next to it (and I finally got my camera working), it wasn’t quite vertical anymore, but the old woman was flying down the road at about 60-65mph, surely completely oblivious that she could lose the box springs at any moment. If you look closely, you can see two TINY ropes holding it on.

Some people!

How hard is it to buy a keychain?

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Apparently, MUCH harder than I originally anticipated.

Ready for a long story? 🙄

I have wanted a new keychain for just about forever now. I am still using a dorky Marine Federal Credit Union lanyard I think I found while working at Staples—which means I’ve had it for about six years.

I was sick and tired of being boring and utilitarian—that just doesn’t scream JEN, right? 😉 So I had taken to looking at keychains whenever we went somewhere, but nothing ever hit the spot. So, I decided to start a thread on my frequented-forums, asking for other people to show me their keychains so I could get some ideas. And one did actually hit the spot—I just thought it was cute and neat—and the owner gave it a glowing recommendation:

Troika Jumper

Hers was blue, but with some research, I found it was available in green! YAY! Of course, I also discovered they had cats and dogs which were totally adorable, but since I couldn’t decide between the cat or the dog, or which color, I went back to the green jumper. And then I thought about it. And thought about it some more. Because $16 + S/H is a lot of money for a silly keychain. But then I decided that I had been using a “freebie” for six years, so I could justify spending the money on a new one that I loved!

Well, the only place the green jumper was available was on the actual Troika website, so I created an account and ordered it. I thought it was a tad strange that the only way to pay was via PayPal (and not straight via credit card), but I have no problems with PayPal, and lots of businesses use PayPal, so it didn’t raise any flags. This was on April 15.

Right away I got a confirmation of my account creation, as well as the “initial notification” email from Troika, saying I had to finish via PayPal (which I actually already had by that point). Then I got the PayPal confirmation…which was a little strange: The order description was Troika USA and the Invoice ID was troika-usa_xx, but the Business Information contact was Suntime3, LLC. Again, a tad strange, since I thought Troika would have been the contact, but I figured maybe an outside company did the actual order processing…so honestly, nothing to really cause me any real misgivings.

Eight days later on April 24 I emailed Suntime3, LLC (via the email from the PayPal contact confirmation) asking for the status because 1) I hadn’t received any shipment confirmation and 2) I hadn’t received the item. They wrote back that:

That [contact information] should have been changed. The company handling that site now is called Pevazi and you can reach them at…

Nothing about refunding my money (which was obviously paid to them) or “Sorry there has been a mistake”—just simply “Here’s their number.” Now I started to worry. At that same time, I tried to login to my Troika account, and it didn’t recognize me OR my email. Uh oh.

So now it was about April 27, and I contacted Pevazi, and after a quick explanation, the girl took my order info and said she would call me back the next day. Nothing. I called about two days later, it was the same girl and she remembered me, and this time asked for me to email her ALL the information and emails I had received so she could look into it, as my name and/or order number matched NOTHING in their system. I compiled a huge email and sent it off. She replied she would “get to the bottom of this, ASAP” and that it might be the next day.

This morning, May 14, I got an email from her, asking if Suntime3 (the original company that apparently got my payment) had contacted me to resolve the issue. I told her that I hadn’t heard anything from anyone since I received her last email saying she would be working on this. Within 10 minutes, I received this response:

Ok, I don’t know what happened with this. The monies got paid to a different company and that company said they didn’t know anything about it and they would contact you. In the meantime, what product did you order? I am going to send you the product you purchased and will settle the rest with Suntime.

Now THAT is customer service. ❗

So I emailed her what I wanted and they are shipping it out ASAP. And they get to try to figure out how to get their money. So sometime in the near future, I will FINALLY get my keychain!

I certainly hope it’s worth all this trouble. |-|

Strange Dreams

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So last night I had a dream that I was pregnant and that I gave birth…but it wasn’t a normal pregnancy or a normal birth.

I had no pregnancy belly and the birth was kind of like “Now you are pregnant and now you aren’t” and the next thing I knew, I was holding twins in my hands.

Yes, in my hands. They were about the size of weebles (yes, weebles, you remember them, of the “Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down?” fame?) and one was in red (the girl) and one was in blue (the boy). And they both fit in my cupped hands.

And one of my friends was also in the kitchen and she had also just given birth, and she was telling me how it was now time to put them in the oven. I agreed (it made perfect sense) and we went to the oven and there were other women there putting their babies in the oven, except they looked exactly like pre-baked loaves of bread. And one woman was saying how you had to watch them closely so they didn’t get too brown, and another woman was saying she liked to leave hers in a little longer so they got a nice coloring on them.

And that was it, then I woke up. Tom wonders what I’m eating to give me dreams like this. :p

My first piece of gum!

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Well, in almost two months anyway.

You see, I have never been officially diagnosed, but I am pretty sure I have a slight case of TMJ. My jaw has always cracked off and on (like sometimes I can open and close my mouth 20 times in a row and it cracks each time—well, not cracks, like a cracking a knuckle, but like the jaw is popping in and out of joint).

It never really bothered me that much, but before we left for the cruise, I started to notice that if I chewed more than once piece a day, or a few days in a row, my jaw would be very sore.

Well, I didn’t chew gum at all during the cruise, and very infrequently the rest of the two weeks of vacation…until the ride home, when I was trying to stay awake, and then all day afterwards. And come Monday morning? I could barely get my mouth open. I am assuming this was due to the TMJ and having been aggravated by the gum-chewing.

So I decided I had to give up gum. And I went cold-turkey.

Now, keep in mind this was almost like asking me to stop breathing. I have gum at work in my desk, in my car, in my purse, in my nightstand, by the computer, in the kitchen, in Tom’s car—you get the idea. But I had to for the sake of my jaw.

And I bought mints. Lots and lots of mints. And more mints.

But today? I just finally decided I would try a piece of gum—for no more than the time it took to ride into town and get to our destination (15 minutes). Unfortunately, it didn’t even last that long, LOL, as I think we had an old pack of gum and the taste was off and the gum didn’t stay soft very long…so I think it ended up to be less than five minutes.

Luckily, my jaw didn’t hurt from those five minutes. But it made me realize that my jaw hadn’t hurt AT ALL during the past two months…so it looks like gum is no longer a valuable part of my life. :'(

Now, what to do with the 20 packs I have sitting around the house? |-|

Prius Update

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We decided to go to Wilmington today to run a few errands and have lunch with our friends.

However, our first stop was the local Toyota place to pick up our real license plate. The guy who changed the plate out for us remembered us (not our actual sales guy) and made the comment that we should be glad we bought when we did—the cars are SO scarce now that they have a 4-week waiting list and NO ONE is making deals on them and people are paying full MSRP! Score one for us! On the way to the highway, we were behind a Prius at the light.

Our second stop was Harris Teeter (in Wilmington) to pick up some minor things, and when we left the store, we were parked next to another Prius.

Then it was downtown to a tattoo place we had heard about—yes, we are still both contemplating getting tattoos—and as luck would have it, there was a parking space directly in front of the shop! YAY! When we came out, there was a Prius parked two cars ahead of us.

Then we went to Costo and parked kitty corner to a Prius.

So, apparently these things are unavailable for purchase but are multiplying like rabbits. 🙂

But the real update? Tom absolutely LOVES the car. LOVES IT! LOVES IT! LOVES IT! I get a picture every time he fills up the tank showing me the current average MPG—his last fillup?

He ends up getting about 500 miles or so between fillups. The other bonus is that since we take his car everywhere? My tank of gas now lasts about three weeks!

Economc Stimulus

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This economic stimulus thing irritates me.

We thought we were getting $1200 back (married filing jointly, we fit all the parameters) but we only got $600.

We should be thrilled to have just received $600 in “free money” but instead I am pissed because we only got half of what we expected. And now I have to waste time trying to find/use the “stimulus calculator” to see if we really should be getting the full $1200 back…but I have to wait until I have our 2007 taxes to reference some specific lines (it might have something to do with the net income tax liability—which I have NO idea what that actually is).

4:07pm

Okay, the net income tax liability bit us in the ass. 🙄 Apparently, due tom Tom’s deployment and non-taxable income…we only get $300 per person since we didn’t pay as much taxes. Or something like that.

But we still got free money, so I guess it’s all good.

Your conclusion?

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First things first, let me say I have no way of knowing if I am pregnant, because it’s entirely too early, but there are just unusual things happening, so of course I jokingly tell Tom that I must be pregnant!

A little background: We are on the first month of using the Clear Blue Easy Fertility Monitor. I peed on the stick when it told me to, and we had sex when it said was the best time—so if the sun and the stars and the planets were aligned, there is no reason I shouldn’t be pregnant. :yes:

So, what are the possible (but highly unlikely) signs?

  • I have been feeling weird all the time… Not an upset stomach or gas or nerves or “morning sickness” or anything familiar, but just a strange, unfamiliar weirdness. It’s almost like my insides feel tight.
  • I have to pee ALL THE TIME. Just today, I peed at 3am, 6am, 7am, 9am, and 10am. I only had a smoothie for breakfast—no other liquids.
  • I have had headaches—long, all-day headaches—for some time now.
  • I seem to be tired (or exhausted) all the time.

Taken individually, these signs mean nothing. Hell, even taken together they mean nothing! As I said, it’s entirely too early to be having pregnancy symptoms, even if I do happen to be pregnant (if I was, I would be less than two weeks pregnant—and I don’t think ANYONE can tell ANYTHING at two weeks).

So, in the meantime, I just wonder what it would be like if I actually was pregnant right now. For one, it would be great news, since we have only been trying for two months (actually only one seriously). And for two, it would be scary as hell because, well, just the thought of parenthood is scary—when it becomes a reality?! 88|

Now, don’t get me wrong. We would both be excited. Elated, even.

But in the meantime, we are NOT getting excited in the least. Especially after what happened the last time we did this. 🙁

So, stay tuned.

Ugh. Self-important, annoying clients.

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We just had a past client who called and wanted, get this, copies of ALL the HUDs of ALL the sales we’ve done with him over the past FIVE years. 😯

The irony? He is actually a BROKER in another city, so he surely knows the importance of keeping docs like this…and surely knows how irritating it would be to have someone request all this at the drop of a hat. 😡

In addition to that, we have some of his properties in property management, and he wants ALL his bills and 1099s for ALL his properties.

And not only did he request all this over the phone, basically saying “Clear your schedule, I will be there in 20 minutes”—he completely ignored our requests to email the necessary information so we could have the time to look this stuff up, make copies, and then call him when it was ready…because, honestly, we are not going to drop what we’re doing to take care of this ass. (Yes, he is and has always been an ass. This is nothing new.)

And why is he talking to us anyway? He should be asking the Broker (our boss), who will then pass the job to us if/when she deems it necessary. Of course she wasn’t in the office when he called, so I called her to let her know what was going on, and she told us to tell him that all his closings were at the old office so we would have no records anyway, and to tell him to call the lawyer’s offices to get the HUDs. YAY!

So he came in, all puffed up and projecting self-importance like he always does, and I got to tell him “Sorry, bad news” and went on to explain what the boss had told me to tell him. Of course, he says “So you can call the lawyers for me to get the HUDs?” and I said “No, you can call them.”

I did try looking up his past transactions while he was standing there behind me (a major pet peeve, since it means he walked AROUND the front desk), but could not come up with an easy way to see the dates the properties closed to see if they closed at our new office (I never deal with mass data like that, especially on spur of the moment, so I told him the boss usually deals with this type stuff so I was winging it).

And looky here, all of a sudden, you know what? He is “willing to email a list, after I have more time to get the details together.” Good. And good riddance.

Unfortunately…after he left (and quit breathing down my neck), I was able to figure out the closing dates—and most of them did actually close in our new office, which means we do have access to the files. And to be honest? I will have no problem taking the time (on my own schedule) to scan them all to his email.

But it’s just the fact that he couldn’t call and say “Hey, I know you’re probably busy, and I can’t get in touch with your boss, but I just realized I need these files and can’t find them. Do you think over the next week or so, you could find what I need and send them to me?” Instead, he had to basically say “Drop what you’re doing, I will be there in 20 minutes to get what I need.”

Ugh.

Cinco de Mayo

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YAY for Cinco de Mayo!

Or rather, I should say YAY for a husband that went shopping at Trader Joe’s after he dropped his mother off at the airport, and brought home yummy mexican appetizers for dinner…and had a margarita waiting for me when I walked in the door.

Pills, ugh.

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I am not good at remembering to take pills. I never have been, and I imagine I never will be. Especially when I am supposed to take them in the morning, with food/milk/lots of water.

Yes, I am talking about prenatal vitamins. I got a new script last week when I was at the docs for my annual exam.

The problem is that I usually eat on-the-go (a smoothie on the way to work) or I am eating something quick before rushing out the door. Very rarely do I drink anything with breakfast (I don’t really count a smoothie as a “drink” although technically I guess it is) so I completely forget to take them.

I know taking them at another time during the day is still better than not taking them at all, so I tend to take them around dinner. Or before I go to bed. Basically whenever I remember. :))

My stupid ankle.

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So of the two ankles I sprained three months ago, only the right one really still bothers me. So much so, at times, that I have to resort to wearing the brace. Which really isn’t all that bothersome, to be honest, just a bit annoying because eventually it cuts into my heel ever-so-slightly and I have to mess with the fabric so as not to drive me totally insane.

That said, I have discovered that walking doesn’t seem to bother it much…but standing apparently does. After about two hours of walking and standing on cement at the air show yesterday, my ankle was VERY sore—even as quickly as that night. Like actually-kinda-painful-to-walk-on sore. 🙁 So I ended up wearing the brace all day and all evening.

And all day today.

A Saturday afternoon with Marsha!

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So we decided we HAD to get out of the house and do something before Marsha left! The only thing going on locally was an air show at New River Air Station.

Now, the air show wasn’t something I would normally care to attend, but seeing as how 1) we have been here five years and have never been to one, 2) it is local and requires basically no drive time, and 3) we wanted to do something with Marsha… we went.

And honestly? It was much neater than I thought it would be. It was really impressive seeing the planes and helicopters up close and personal…

On a related note… we have friends that are pilots. In my mind, I know that’s a big deal and very impressive—but actually being there, being able to walk up to the helicopters and planes, see how big they are, seeing them being flown above our heads… well, it was just ever more impressive to me and I have an even bigger respect for our friends now. (Of course, it’s tempered by the fact that I know they can just be silly drunken boys at times, too… which is a big contrast from my image of them as an impressive pilot, LOL.)

We didn’t stay for the whole show—we didn’t have chairs (forgot to get ours from a friend’s house), didn’t really want to have to sit on the ground, and there wasn’t space in the bleachers. The weather wasn’t too bad, either—a bit warm when the wind died down, but fortunately it rarely died down so there was a nice breeze.

After that, we stopped to have lunch, and then Marsha wanted to get some souvenirs from the base, so it was off to Lejeune. Then it was home for some rest (and a nap!) and then off to Roger and Ursula’s for dinner and a movie, where Marsha had a ball seeing Virgina and Caroline!

Stupid lazy agents.

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I am thinking most real estate agents are total slackasses.

Someone just called to see if we could fax our rental application. As is our usual practice, I asked if she had online access and she said yes, so I said “It’s available on our website under Property Management.”

Then she said “Well, my client only has a fax machine.”

And I honestly wanted to say “So you want me to do your job for you?” Ugh.

While I was momentarily pausing to roll my eyes at her slackassedness, she said “Well I guess I can print it and fax it.”

GEE, YOU THINK? 🙄 YOU THINK YOU CAN PRINT SOMETHING FOR YOUR OWN CLIENT AND FAX IT TO HER YOURSELF? 🙄 🙄

Of course I would have faxed it if she really needed me to, but it just makes me stop and wonder if they are just that lazy or if they just don’t think things through??

WHOOP!

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I just happened to check the bank statement and our IRS refund was deposited 10 days ago! (I really need to check online more often!) It is going to replenish our savings account, as it was a mere $84.49 less than it cost us to get Tom’s transmission fixed.

Red Lobster? Not again anytime soon.

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Marsha picked Red Lobster for her birthday lunch. Of course, she was going on the thought that HER Red Lobster has great service and good food… We have had varied experiences there, but we thought we’d give it a shot and hope for the best.

Needless to say, we don’t need to go back to this Red Lobster anytime in the future.

We only had to wait about 10 minutes to be seated (not bad) but it got worse from there. The service sucked—a waitress didn’t even approach us until we had been sitting there almost 5-7 minutes (and in the meantime, we saw two girls arguing over who would take our table—then it took another 3 or so minutes after that for someone to actually come over).

And then the waitress was slow, talked too softly, and didn’t really seem to care. Tom and I ordered the Endless Soup & Salad, thinking “How could they screw that up?”

Well, some of the lettuce in our salads was half wilted, the soups were lukewarm at best, and we didn’t get the biscuits until about minute 35 (after everyone was done with their salads and before the meals came out). Marsha said the breaded shrimp was dry, the breaded fish was inedible, the tartar sauce was bad, and she didn’t really like the other thing she got (I forget what it was).

When the waitress came back to refill drinks, she made a comment about needing to bring us more ice, so didn’t fill the drinks to the top—but then never came back with ice.

To make matters worse, a table of eight that was seated after us (right next to us) had a different waitress and got drink and appetizer orders taken with two minutes of being seated—so we were even more ticked at the poor service.

The manager did come over to ask how things were, but at that point we were just on our salads, so the worst hadn’t even come yet—and to be honest, we didn’t want to upset anyone mid-meal, LOL, for fear of what could potentially happen.

As we all agreed, we’ve had far better and far worse meals. So we left a bad tip AND a full comment card with our phone number and copy of the receipt.

Wilmington for an afternoon!

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We decided to drive to Wilmington to show Marsha around the downtown area a bit, hit World Market at her request, and also to have a yummy lunch (any excuse to eat in Wilmington!!). I would have chosen our favorite sushi place, but Marsha is not a sushi fan, LOL, so we went to Carrabba’s Italian Grill.

And as usual, it was wonderful. Great bread and dipping sauce (I could make a meal of that alone). Great pizza. Great service. (I sooooooo wish they would open one of these in Jacksonville.)

Then it was off to Costco, where we managed to get out for under $50. Then we took a quick driving tour of downtown Wilmington (it was hot and none of us wanted to walk around). And then it was a quick stop at World Market before heading home.