Ugh, again

Ok, so Craig and I agreed on a floor color last night. I went online to check out the shipping. It is being sent from Ontario, Ca. Turns out, shipping is $938.00 for a pallet of flooring. Well, that's not quite right, because an hour before that, I had looked at it, and it was $785.00. So, when I went back to look at it again, it had risen almost $200.00. I figured it would be $400.00 or so for shipping, but almost a grand? The flooring is only $1,500.00. That shipping seems high to me. Yes, I know gas is high, and yes, that is probably why the flooring is so cheap, they nail you on shipping, but jeesh, $900.00?????? Crazy. So now, once again, we are torn. Do we order from the one place, that has free shipping, but we have to wait until fall, do we hit the pavement again, and try to find something local that we like, or do we blow the budget by $800.00?? So torn, why does home improvement have to be so hard?

Ugh, the weather

Ok, so this severe hail, massive thunder, pouring down rain thing is really getting old today. We have two skylights in our house, and it is unbearably noisy.

Do you ever have those days where you look around the house like you haven't really "seen" it lately, and go, ugh, how did it get this bad? That is how my house is right now. There are bits and pieces of this and that on the carpet, my kitchen needs to be swept and mopped, there are toys everywhere, the counters are all cluttered with who knows what, and I really need to dust. Oh my, if someone came over right now, I would be mortified. Does anyone elses house ever look like this? I think it's honestly been three weeks since I cleaned my bathrooms. Since I haven't been feeling that well, it's been put off, and Craig has been working on the yard, so he hasn't done anything. The only thing I am remotely caught up on is the laundry. And, now that I'm feeling better, I don't want to do it! I know I have to, but I don't want to! Ugh. We ordered ten or so more samples of wood flooring from a different place, and they came today, so I have spent my time trying to figure out which one I like best, which probably won't be the one my husband likes best! This weekend I will do a deep clean on the house, and clean out my junk drawers and cuboards so that Craig can pull out the cabinet to create our counter/make shift/desk in the kitchen. Doesn't that sound like fun? Anyone want to come help me clean? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Look! It's Monday, and I'm well!

So, hopefully, that pattern has ended (my sick one, I mean) After I posted my last blog, Koben threw up, and I ended up taking Wednesday off as well. Thursday, I took him to daycare, and she called saying he wouldn't stop crying and rubbing his ears, so I had Craig swing him by the Dr. after his seminar, and sure enough, ear infection. Jeesh. So, now I think everyone is finally on the mend. We still have some runny nose/hacking/ blah blah going on, but I think we will make it.

Saturday, Craig mowed and edged the yard, and started on weed patrol. When I got home from work, I made a mad dash around the yard, trying to pull everything, so I could lay down some preen. We call it "speed weeding." I still need to do some trimming, and rake up yet some more dead oak leaves, but it looks much better. After ten years, everything is finally filling in really nicely. Next time it is nice on the weekend, we will drag out the outside furniture so I can fully enjoy it. Now it's time to prepare for hopefully the last garage sale for awhile. I finally can get rid of my crib and changing table, and we have a standard white refrigerator also that we need to sell, along with a whole host of other "stuff." Whatever does not sell this time is going to be donated, and what can't be donated is going to the dump. We want our garage back!

Toodles to all, hope you have a great day!

Weird pattern...

Ok, so for the last three weeks, I have been feeling really good all week, and by Saturday night, I start to feel weird, then by Sunday morning, I feel like death, it carries over to Monday, and by Tuesday I am feeling a bit better again. Odd, huh? Started with a flu three weeks ago, I had to take Monday off because I felt like I had been hit by a truck, and spent the day in bed. By Wednesday, I was feeling pretty good, had a little bit of a cold happenin', but I can handle that. Squirted my zycam like it was goin out of style, and moved on. By Sunday, I had upset tummy again, carrying over to Monday. Not enough to knock me out, or not be able to eat (darn it) but enough to just make me feel "blah". Better yet again by Tuesday. This week, I feel good even on Sunday morning. We swing by Costco to check flooring prices, then head over to a friends house to a Jafra/party-lite/Lia Sophia party. Felt kinda blah on the way over, irritated with everyone around me, so I knew something was coming. As the afternoon progresses, I just want to sit. Throat and glands are really bothering me, head hurts, hard to turn head. But, I motor on. Our friends ask us to stay for dinner and to watch Juno. So, we stay. I'm not very hungry, but I eat a little. By the time the movie was over, I was freezing cold, my head was pounding, and my face feels like it's swollen to three times it's size. We come home, where I immediately fill the soaker tub in our bathroom to the rim with boiling water, because I'm shivering. I fall into bed, red as a beet, still cold, and try to sleep. Of course, I don't sleep, because everything on my face hurts, and I have to get up and go to the bathroom every hour. I have to sleep with my mouth open, because my nose is plugged, so therefore my throat feels like........I can't even explain the feeling. I'm sure you all have been there. Monday I brave work, but the boss sends me home at one (more because she hates to get sick than anything) which was good, because I was dingy and loopy. So, I pick up Koben, and we crash on the couch. I can't go to sleep because only the Lord knows what he would get into if I conk out, so we cuddle and watch Return To Me on dvd (which is a really sad, sweet movie) Today, being my day off, I remained on the couch with Koben (who has had a cold himself and has been feeling a bit wimpy) cuddling, and watching Because I said so, and Titanic. I'd like to report, I do feel better. I can swallow without cringing, I can turn my neck, and my head only mildly hurts, but I sure don't have a lot of energy after sitting around for two days. I would really like to not continue this little pattern this weekend. It's not the best way to spend your day(s) off. I would really like to hit Ikea this weekend, and one needs energy for that place!

Yea for Friday!

Hope all of you had a fabulous week. Nothing exciting here. Tried to call and order our flooring yesterday, found out that it is backordered and will take three months to come in. Also found out you have to pay for it in full to order, which always makes me nervous. How do I know these people won't skip town in the night with my $2,000? So now we are debating if we should pick something else that they have in stock, or check out some other stores to see if we can find something we like as well. We both really liked the color we chose, which doesn't happen here often, so I think we will choose to go ahead and order the one we love. Craig says he's not setting for something else just because it will take longer. We were hoping to get it done this spring, before I got busy at work, and Craig got busy helping us on Saturdays, as he often does. The way I felt about the flooring is, if we are going to put this in three quarters of our house, we better not be choosing something we don't love, just so we can get it done now. So, I guess our mind is made up, see what writing can do for you? It helps clear the mind. =) lol

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

What is your earliest memory?

One of my friends asked me the other day, what my earliest memory was. I thought of a few, some of which I don't know the exact order of.

I have a few memories of my moms father, so I would have to have been pretty young, since I was three when he passed away. One of them is sitting on his lap in his recliner while he watched baseball. Funny, how at two or three, you wouldn't know what baseball was, but thinking back to the memory, your brain realizes what you were watching. I also remember a house that my grandparents lived in. It had a tree in the yard with a fort of sorts in it. I remember being very upset that I could not climb up into that fort because apparantly it had poison oak, or something, around the base, or in the tree. When I mentioned that to mom, she was pretty impressed that I remembered that one. I can't remember if it was before or after my grandfathers death. I also remember a trailer, or a fifth wheel, or something that my granparents had. I can't remember if we were camping, or if we were just in it for some reason, but I vaguely recall that.

Unfortunately, I also remember the day my grandpa died. I was staying with them at the time, and I remember having breakfast with grandpa before he left for the day. I'm not sure if he was retired at the time, or if he was leaving for work, but I clearly recall giving him a hug and a kiss. The rest of the day is a memory of confusion. I don't remember being at the hospital and having the nurses watch me like mom said happened. I just remember the day being very poignant, and I get a sense of sadness. Odd, how your brain works.

I have memories, later on, of staying with my grandma after my grandpa died. She lived in a trailer park in Woodburn, and every once in awhile, I wander over there to see if I can remember after all of these years which house was hers. It all looks so run down now, that it is hard, but I'm pretty sure I found the right one. Staying with grandma was always an interesting adventure, as I am sure all of my cousins could agree with. She was a difficult woman to truly appreciate. Going to her house always involved being quiet, eating odd health foods. Tofu, granola, trail mix, etc. (which is funny, because from the time we were little to the day she died, she always had a candy dish, much like my mother does now. Fascinating.) She would take you shopping for new clothes if the ones you were wearing were not what she deemed appropriate. I got caught once, when I was about five, trying to steal a sticker from a store we were in. Oh my, to this day, I remember her lecturing me for hours. Then she wouldn't even let me fully enjoy my episode of Little House on the Prairie, because it was the one where Albert was stealing the morphine, or something, from Dr. Baker, and then he gets caught, and they make him stop, and he goes through the massive withdrawls. All she kept saying was "See what happens when you steal? Do you see what you become?" which, to this day, looking back, makes me laugh, and no, I never stole anything ever again. She had a neighbor named Fay, that lived next door, and if you went over to her house, she gave you ice cream cones. Then there was Aunt Arvie, who lived around the corner, and gave us all $2.00 bills at Christmas time (whish I had hung on to those) and if you went to her house, you got mini candy bars that she kept in the fridge, and water out of mason jars, that she boiled and kept in her refrigerator because Woodburns water was bad. Arvie wore mens flannel shirts with her polyester pants, and had a three wheeled bicycle that she would let me ride occasionally. She loved sports. Good times, good times.

I've been thinking a lot about grandma lately. Not sure if it is nostalgia, or because mom is becoming more like her every day. When I look of pictures of grandma when she was young, it is like looking at a picture of my mom. When people come over to my house, and see the photos in the hall, and they've met my mom, they say, "Who is that with your mom?" and I have to tell them that is my grandma and grandpa. So, I knew mom was going to continue to look like her as she got older. Mom still colors her hair, but as she gets older, the grey gets harder to cover, and the white hairs are straight, not curly. If she let it all go white............wow..........
Every now and again, her voice changes, or she says just the right thing, and I say to her "okie dokie Glennadean" She hates that. She has a lot of grandmas qualaties, but she is lacking in many, many of grandmas not so desired traits. Which is good. As I get older, I'm realizing grandma was lacking what I would consider a really good self esteem. Plus, she was a lonely woman, who just wanted some really good friends. However, she lacked the social ability, to make friends, and keep them without being judgemental and pissing them off. Hence, her down fall. Calling every day to find out why no one would call her. She was so insecure with her self, that she needed constant reassurance that we all loved her. Plus, she never found activities that kept her busy and happy, so all she did was dwell on what every one else was doing. Which would explain why she jumped into marriage number three without really getting to know the guy. I think if she had made friends with people in the retirement apartment where she was living, she would have been more active, and possibly lived longer. I saw a change in her in the end, like she was finally realizing everyone around her had lives, and she was letting go of some of her bitterness. She would talk openly about all of her grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and I could really tell that she truly loved all of us, and she was really proud, really, really proud of who all of us had become. I think she put on a front (yet again, insecurity) and everyone thought she was unhappy with us, because she would open mouth and insert foot, when really, she was just happy with how we all turned out, but didn't know how to express it. She just wanted to be taken care of, something my grandfather apparantly did very well. I wish she had gotten to meet Koben. She passed away just a few weeks before he was born. I'm very sorry I did not get to know my grandfather longer, and very sorry I did not get to know my other one at all (and that my dad lost his father at 15) but I am very happy that I got to know each grandmother, even though they were a little kooky. Every family needs a little kooky. =)

Family update

So, my very anti-tech mother was over awhile ago, and wanted to know what was up with this blogging thing. She can't look at it on her computer, because it is so stinkin slow, it would take her all day just to read what I've written. She thought it fascinating that there are other family members on here, so now Nosy Nelly wants the scoop on everyone. In a harmless way, of course! I told her if she would just call her brother more often, maybe she would know the scoop. Since their stupid cell phones do not work in their house, mom can only call Uncle Dean when she is out and about. We wouldn't want her to have to pay a little long distance every now and again, so she can talk to her baby brother. So, I filled mom in a little with some of the things I've read (most of which she knew, apparantly she talked to her brother recently) and she thought I should post some of the things in our family, since she figured it didn't get passed along to all six of my cousins and their respective families.

So, since nothing exciting goes on around here, and I blab about all my boringness daily, I guess I will blab about the rest. Since their are only two Schlack kids, and you've already heard about one, it shouldn't take long. Then again, this is me, so it will be long.

So, if not all of you have heard, Bryan built a new house next door to mom and dad. His wife and himself have been living with the kids (between three and five at a time) in an older manufactured home on about an acre next door to the folks. There is also a hundred or so year old rental house on the property that they rent out for additional income. So, last fall, Bryan put up a doozy of a shop, and moved the fam into it right as the weather turned (wasn't their fault, took longer than anticipated to start the house) and they have been living in it ever since.
Bryan and Dee purchased an Adair home. It's a company that lets you choose from a few models, for a specific price that is fabulously low. Downfall is you have to have the house EXACTLY their way. No changes whatsoever, and the plan is very simple and basic. Upside is, you can put in a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home, about 1,500 square feet, for around $90,000. So, Bryan and the fam have been living in this shop all winter, and finally moved into the house about a month ago. Since my darling, sweet brother, who I am sadly, not very close to, has not invited us over yet, I have not seen the exact finished product. I did go over once, after they had been in about a day, but they still had furniture on order, and no blinds up, and everything wasn't quite together. I just got to see the plan of the house. The only drawback I saw to the house was an itsy bitsy kitchen that looks like it should be in an apartment, not a house. It was supposed to be different, but something happened during the planning, and it ended up not being exactly as it should have been. I guess there was supposed to be some sort of cut out, on one side, so you could look into the living room, and make the kitchen appear more open, but because of some wiring something or other, it was closed in, so the kitchen is like a very small three sided box. But, hey, compared to the teeny tiny house they were all crammed into, they love it, and the rest of it really is very nice. I think I've been spoiled by our big kitchen, so now I'm a kitchen snob.

Bryans kids are getting old! Kendra turned 16 in December. That girl is very much her mother, and Bryan and Dee have been continually fighting to keep her on the right track. Unfortunately, she has no fear, and does not want to go anywhere near the right track.

Joshua will be 15 in August. I don't see him much. He lives with his grandpa (on his moms side) and I don't think there is much supervision there, so I am a little concerned with Joshuas "path" also. Mom calls me every couple of days with another fiasco going on at their house. I am not envious.

The twins, Kaitlyn and Lewis will be nine (along with Chloe) on May 29th. Kaitlyn is a minature version of Kendra in attitude, but a total Schlack in looks. Lewis looks like his moms side, and is a funny, smart little boy, who is fun to be around. I'm curious to see how they turn out, since they were so young when their parents divorced, and they have been engaged in a far more stable environment than the other two.


On mom and dads side, they flew to Idaho on Tuesday to have dads hands worked on. He has had different surgeries before for his hands, but this was a new technique by some Doctor who studied in France. He has these growths in his palms. Like scar tissue, that cause his fingers to pull down, almost into a fist, so that he can't straighten out his hands. It is very common in European men, and he has had them operated on a couple times over the years. This procedure involved no cutting, he did not need to be knocked out, and his recovery time is about a quarter of his past ones. It looks really good, and he's happy with how it turned out.

Mom and dad bought a new travel trailer last fall, and have only taken it out once or twice since then. It was a major purchase for them. I honestly can't tell you when the last time was they purchased something like that new. They haven't even bought a new car since before I was born, so this was a big deal to them. One that errupted several arguments about what to get, what to put into it, and (from dads mouth) what if it is a huge piece of crap? Since my father thinks anything and everything that has been made since 1975 is junk, hopefully they enjoy the trailer.

That's it for my fam. Hope everyone who is reading this is doing great! =)

Koben attire

Yes, I really do need to get the right stuff to put the pictures online. I know, I say that every day. But, see, this way, you get to use your imagination.

Take one three year old boy. Blonde hair, blue-grey eyes. Approx. 43 inches tall, 44lbs. Naked.

Add pull-up (I'm not a sicko, you know)

Add purple and pink yarned legwarmers with butterflies.

Add one of those funny bubble-pucker shirts that look like a glove, and stretch to become a shirt. Said shirt is red.

Add red hearing aids.

Add red crater lake baseball hat with shoe laces tied to the back to look like pony tail.

Add pink Dora sunglasses.

Add pink leather belt with pink rhinestone buckle.

Add red and white striped tankini top with blue hawaiian flowers over said bubble shirt.

Add red and black lil miss vampira cape.

My son is such a stud.


Cars pull-up $.50

Butterfly legwarmers $5.00

Pucker-bubble shirt $1.00

Red widex hearing aids $900.00

Crater lake baseball hat $10.00

Dora sunglasses $5.00

Pink belt $7.00

Tankini top $10.00

Vampira cape $00.00

Well dressed three year old...............................priceless

It's amazing how good you get at tuning out!

I've discovered, over the years, that it is getting easier for me to tune things out. I used to be the type that would go completely batty over anything going on around me. It always stank, because Craig is one of four kids, and he can tune anything out, even me! Since I was basically raised as an only child, I was very used to the quiet. Bryan graduated from highschool when I was ten, and he really wasn't around much before that. We used to go out to dinner every Friday night (mom and dad still do, occasionally we join them) and I remember he stopped joining us when I was five or six. So, really, there wasn't much noise around our house. Unless mom and dad were having one of their classic screaming fits in the yard. (remember those Julie? Oh, wait, they still go on! Good thing Bryan lives on the other side of them. No neighbor complaints. lol)

So, I have been working on tuning out the kids better when they are being loud and obnoxious, and basically just kids. The house gets so loud!

The reason I mention this now, is because Koben is walking around the house with an empty bubble gun, which he thinks resembles my blowdryer (I find it every morning in my hairdryer drawer) and he is running it, and rubbing his hair, saying "hot, hot." Truly, a year ago, this may have made me insane, because on top of that is a very loud t.v. since hubby must be able to hear it over said bubble gun.

Now, the bubble gun has been hocked across the room, and I am listening to a grumbling, screaming, fit throwing three year old, because he is not allowed in the bathroom where sissy is bathing. I was just about to put him on the potty, since I checked it a half hour ago, and it was still dry, but alas, his little dinosaurs in front have faded. Ugh, foiled again!

I can only imagine how much louder the house will get when we put in the laminate in a few weeks.

I used to go to bed at nine, because I thought I needed the rest. Now I find myself staying up later, just to enjoy the peace of a quiet house.

Ok, so I'm not 100% with the tuning out thing yet. =) I truly am happy that there are only two.

But, I really love babies!

Yup, I'm a moron.

Everyone knows I enjoy blogging, but I am soooo not technologically advanced. I used to be. Way back when I was a youngin (by that I mean 19) I was able to wander around chat rooms and this and that pretty easy, but all of this is just hard for me, and I can't figure out why!

First of all, I have yet to figure out how to put pictures up on here. Duh. Well, I will say I'm not 100% sure my camera came with everything to download or not. I'm kinda thinking it did, but I have no idea what I did with it, and in order to find it, I have to clean out two junk drawers, and a cabinet that has been accumulating crap for years. When we put the flooring in the kitchen, we are going to yank the underneath cabinet out of a corner counter unit, and turn it into a desk so I can get this big beast out of my dining room. In doing that, I will have to clean out said cubbard and drawers, and a counter that collects everything. So, I am bound to find it. Then what? Who is going to come over and explain all this to me? This evening, I went onto that cute blog site, where you can download new backgrounds. I followed all the dang directions, and I still couldn't get it to work. I'm hopeless. Now I'm stuck with these stupid polka dots, because I don't like anything else on the "beginner" page. Jeesh. Tried to get my husband to help. Good lord, he's as hopeless as I. No wonder we belong together! So, here I sit, babbling to myself, and whatever poor soul happens to wander in and find out if anything great is going on in my world. People seem to think I am odd that I enjoy this blogging thing. How can this be any different than a My Space page? At least I'm not submitting photos of myself, dressed like a whore, posing in a bathroom where you can see a turd in the toilet behind her. (We've all gotten an email with that one in it) Eeewww. Jeesh, I like to think I'm somewhat tasteful. I just like to write. I always wanted to be a writer. I never could think of a good plot though. Or it just doesn't all come together. I just like to empty the "fluff" out of my head. To spout off nothing-isms, and vent frustrations. It doesn't have to be fabulous, and no one has to read it. As long as I feel better, than that is all that matters. The fact that some do read it, and even at times find something interesting, well, that is just a side benefit. I at one time, had a friend and her son, who wanted me to write childrens books. That seemed more up my alley. Their world is strange, and bizarre, and anything odd seems ordinary to them. Could I yet come up with a good idea? Well, I had a few, but then that darn life gets in the way, and I just never got it together. So, here I sit, blah blah blah-ing on the computer while Chloe does her homework, and Koben pretends to do his (which is quite cute, I must say, he keeps taking it over to Craig to see if it is done properly, like sissy does) Maybe one day I will put something together. I always said I would try to write a book for my kids, or at least stories, and I haven't done it yet. Maybe for the grandchildren! Maybe Chloe and I will write them together. She seems to have a knack for it!

On a side note (don't you love how my mind just....wanders?) If you had a stainless steel refrigerator, and a black stove (which is not even two years old, and I'm not getting rid of it) and your dishwasher was right next to the stove, as in only a few inches away, would you get a stainless dishwasher, or a black dishwasher? I never liked stainless, because of the smudging. So we bought the new stove, which is smooth topped, and I love it. Then my dads cousin gave us a brand new side by side stainless refrigerator, and I have to say, I don't mind the stainless. I didn't realize it had a coating on it to prevent smudging. But now I don't know what to do with the dishwasher. Should it be stainless or black? The light fixture over the kitchen table is copper, and it is really close to the stove, so I'm not sure I want to mix it. Any suggestions???

Wowee people are dumb....

Every day I wonder, as I am driving through Woodburn, what possesses people to walk across busy highways? Especially in the rain, and at dusk. Seems like every day, I have to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting someone that runs out into the middle of traffic and expects you to stop. So, here I am, looking out the window at work while on the phone with a customer, and sure enough, some idiot runs out into the middle of traffic. Tires squeal, cars swerve, all so some renob doesn't have to walk 200 feet to the crosswalk. Literally, our building sits on an intersection. Why? Why? Why? This is not Mexico. This is not Jamaica. This is not India. We don't stop just cause you don't want to go to the crosswalk. Jeesh.

Sorry for the renob comment. I really am trying to work on my hideously bad language. How can I look so sweet and innocent and talk like a sailor you ask? I really do not honestly know. My parents don't exactly have the cleanest mouths, my husband used to be a trucker, and I have a friend that drops the f* bomb like it's going out of style. I really am getting better. At least I can control myself in public, and around those that do not swear. Phew. Horribly dirty habit. Better start chewing orbit gum, instead of extra. And if none of you got that, you really should watch more commercials. My favorite orbit commercial is the one about the lady who accused her husband of cheating, and she runs into his office carrying a box filled with car parts, or bits and pieces of something of his, and she is screaming at him like she is cussing, but she is using silly words. So, something along the lines of "how can you cheat on me you fuzzy bunny with this two bit cootie queen?" And the other girl says, in a highly exagerated (so spelled wrong) southern accent, "Who you calling a cootie queen, you lint licker?" Makes me laugh hysterical every time. I have to stop it, and flip it back on my dvr to watch it three times. I really am just five on the inside. It's amazing what stupidity people can find funny. Don't hate me for my oddities. Love them.

How do these companies stay in business?

You know, I just don't understand how companies can treat you like crap, and stay in business. Stephen, your timing on the Lowes comment was perfect. I too, have learned that Lowes is not the best, and never get me started again on Sears! But now, Home Depot has decided to show us how much they reek. We kinda switched from Lowes to Home Depot, because Lowes was full of unhelpful morons every time we went in. I now that sounds harsh, but if you work there, you should know something about the area you work in. And ok, so if you don't normally work in lumber, you wouldn't know anything about wood. But, if you work in lighting, you should know something, anything, at least where things are kept, right? But, we've talked to more than one person in lumber, and Craig just came out, shaking his head, telling me those guys know diddly. So, we move onto Home Depot, where I have learned, their paint is better. In December, when our hot water heater took a dump (literally) on us, we went to Home Depot to purchase the new one since it was closest to us. We signed up for a card, to save the %15 or %20 whatever it was. The hot water heater was fairly inexpensive, about $400 or $500, I can't remember. Anyhow, Craig received the first payment, and didn't pay, because it was a tight month, and we had a six months s.a.c offer. So the following month (which I may add, it's April, and we still have not received cards) we receive the new statement, and it says we owe $1,500! What?! So Craig calls, and they try to tell him we made a big purchase in January. We've only used the card once, for the one thing, and Craig tries to tell him that. So they fax to Craig the copy of the supposed receipt. Craigs signature is incredibly neat and tidy, and you can read it clearly. This signature was just one of those swooshes on paper. Craig argues with them, that it is not his. They say, ok, we will fix it, and send out new cards, blah blah blah blah blah. Next month, still not fixed, this month, still not fixed. So we keep trying. We have 3 more months to pay it off, which is not the problem, but hopefully we can pay off the one item, and close down the account, and find a new place to go. Once again, the reason we try to pay for everything with cash!

Rule #1- always get someone else on the phone. I keep telling Craig this. The first person is not the person you want to talk to.

Rule #2- Don't open cards just to save that initial percentage. Seems like you always get screwed.

Rule #3- Don't shop at Home Depot

Rule #4-Don't shop at Lowes

Rule #5-Yup, you guessed it, No Dick's, and no Sears

Where will we shop?

Why am I so negative today?

The things we do for friends!

I've been all over today, looking for a pair of crocs for my friend. He saw a pair of U of O crocs at Dick's sporting goods, and I decided to get him a pair for his birthday this next week, since he is a Oregon grad, and therefore a Duck's freak. So, we drive all the way into Washington Square, and the only size Dick's has, is a mens size 5. How many full grown men where a size 5? Must be why they only had those left. So, we walk the mall, trying to find crocs kiosks, but none of them carry the Collegiate series. So we stop at the Claim Jumper for lunch (I am way too full) and then head to Joe's (It will always be G.I. Joes, to me) and they had mens size 9, but I needed the next size up. Jeesh. I called a few places at the coast who carry crocs, but none of them had them. So, finally I ordered them from the website, but had to pay 2-day shipping since his crab-fest b-day party is Friday. Hopefully he loves them!

By the way, for all the hype on Dick's sporting goods, it is just a so-so store. There is no one there that is helpful. I saw several pissed off looking people looking for help, and there wasn't enough staff. Their prices also seemed very high. When I headed over to Joe's (which I have always thought was high priced) I noticed items there that were acutally cheaper than they were at Dick's. So I'm either getting cheap in my old age, or $120.00 for Nikes made in China is too much. Thank God I have friends that work for Nike. That way I only pay $60.00 for my crappy Nikes made in China. =)

Pee Pee advice please!

Allright, calling all moms! My kids potty train soooo late. Koben is totally uninterested, and I have never potty trained a boy! Help!!!! He will sit on the potty, and if I put him on first thing in the morning, and before he goes to bed, he will almost always go. But when I put him on it periodically during the day (like at 9:30 am, at which time he notoriously poops) he won't always go. Now what? The boy is almost 3 1/2. He is the same age Chloe was, and I thought she was late! Chloe was extremely articulate, and she knew how to go, and I could discuss it with her, and she would tell me when she had to go. So, with her, one day she just said "mommy, I'm ready to use the potty now", and bam, she was potty trained. Koben is speech delayed, and while I know he understands most of what we say to him, I'm not 100% sure he is understanding everything I'm trying to explain about the potty. Some kids potty train when they are really young, and not really talking, so I'm not sure how much of a roll that plays in it or not. If anyone has any good advice, pass it on. I bought pull ups for him today to help with the 20 times on potty thing, and I put him on it three times in an hour. No potty. But then when we all went for a 20 minute walk right after that, sure enough, pee pee upon arriving home. Jeesh. So I put him on it again, no more pee pee. Put him on it 45 minutes later. He had peed in pull up again. An hour later, he pooped in said pull up. Now I have a full pull up and nothing produced in the potty. Boys!!!!!

I ran errands with mom today. She wore me out, and it is not often she does that! We went into Fred Meyer, where I checked out furniture, and looked for a new hutch, then we had to go to Thriftway, then we had to go to Woodburn to Wal-mart (jeez that place is a zoo even in the middle of the day, I hate that store) Then we drove to Vogets meats to pick up the pork we buy from Craigs dad every year (half a pig for mom, half for us, only he doesn't charge Craig and I for raising, just for cutting and wrapping, so we get a years worth of home raised pork for about $100.00) Then we did a drive by past Julie and Colleen's houses 'cause mom wanted to see where they lived (nosy Nelly. She liked both houses, by the way =P and she said thank you for the compliment on the travel trailer Julie, they are hoping they can use it more here soon. Dad is having surgery on his hand next week, so he is out of commission for awhile,) Then we had to go BACK into Canby, because mom forgot to go to the vitamin store for whatever potion she is concocting. (just kidding) Then we went back to her house so I could help her unload all that stinkin' meat. Then I picked up Chloe and we went to the grocery store. Pooped me out, I swear. By the time we got home, and I cleaned out the fridge and the freezer (I hate those side by sides, the freezers hold diddly) Craig was home, and we went for our walk. Chloe is doing the fitness across America program at school. Now it is bath time and American Idol time, and then night night time! I wish I was still on vacation!

By the way, Julie, since I know eventually you will read this. Does your mom and dad know that all of those dogs are loose? I saw them cross the road three times while I was at moms. She says they do that every day. Aren't they worried they will get hit? Is there not a way to put them in that back pasture? I would think that would be perfect for the dogs. One car did come around the corner while they were crossing, they honked, and speed braked, but that makes me way nervous! They are pretty dogs.