Caption It!

It seems like some of you really liked my "Caption it!" idea from last week so here's another one.  This is from our vacation this summer.  I think this pic tells a story.  Look closely.

Have fun!

Finally Have My House Back

I did not blog last week really because...well...I barely wanted to breathe.  You see, our house has been in a state of disarray for about about two months now.  This was a combination of piles of stuff in the living room that was for a yard sale.  We were having a yard sale because we cleaned out the room we were using for storage because that room was getting finished to be used as a combo dining and 'Masterpiece Theatre' area.  Then, we also had been waiting for a fridge for a long time from Best Buy and then needed to be cut and sanded down, blah, blah, blah.

For me, it was a nightmare.  I have issues.  I know, who doesn't?  Unfortunately, my issues lead me to Crazytown when I can't get a handle on the condition of my home.  I tend to spiral off into rants that make no sense and lose all focus when my house is in the condition it was a few days ago.  Mostly, it is my husband who gets the brunt of it.  I don't need the house spotless (although that makes me very happy) I just need it tidy.  Last week there was a conspiracy against me.  Between the cluttered crap, the curtains being closed ALL the time to hide the crap and the fruit flies I started to seriously lose it. I remembered the feelings of anxiety and they frightened me.  The more I got scared, the worse I felt.  It was a big nasty circle.

Now, the yard sale (which I will write about later) took care of the crap in the living room, the kitchen is clean and free of (almost) all fruit flies, the fridge is in and working great.  I was finally able to make dinner in my kitchen without having to scrounge for counter space.   I have my house back and I feel so much better. 

The reason I am writing about this is because, looking back on how I felt and the way I handled it all tells me that I need to do somethings to help myself out.  I am not handling my anxiety/depression well and I think it's time I went back to someone to talk about it or get something medicinal to help me focus.  At times I feel like I am weak for needing this but then other times I see that at least I can recognize the warning signs rather than letting get as bad as it got several years ago.  This time I am choosing to get some help and it feels better.  Hopefully soon, I will get back to feeling really good...one step at a time. 

Getting my house in order in this case means not only my physical house but my mental one as well.

Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This

So you probably read that last week was a Craptastic one.  Yesterday one of my monitors at word died too (for me it is like having an eye patch over one eye) so I think that's 3...as in the 3 things that go wrong then you are out of the woods.

Car
Phone
Monitor

Today on Facebook I said "I really would like to say something positive with all the bad luck I have had over the past week...still trying to come up with something."  I really hated to say it but that is what I felt like.  I had a bloggy friend from across the pond that gently reminded me that I do have a few things to be positive or thankful that I have.  


house
warmth
clean water
two doggies
democracy

He of course was right and as I thought a little about those things, my fog lifted a little, enough for me to make my lunch.  Then the fog lifted a little more and then I thought about writing about it and now, I am bright(er) eyed and a little more ready to crawl out from under the black cloud that has been hanging around for too many days...partially my fault, partially fate. 

So today I am going to ask you, even though it might sound a little Pollyanna-ish, especially from a cynic like me, If you see someone under a dark cloud, say something nice.  It doesn't have to be annoyingly cheerful, just an acknowledgment that you 'see' them and there is a light out there beyond the black cloud.


Thank you BS5. :)

Craptastic Day

I really wanted to write a good post today.  Instead you are getting a letter I sent to my girlfriends (edited for my blog) because I am so done with this day.

So I was in an accident today.  My new 2011 (notice it is not even
2011) baby was hit by a woman coming out of a school parking lot
(after dropping off her kids thank goodness).  It is not drivable.

Also, my phone keeps dying on me for no other reason than I believe
all phone have a suicide code that when they hit over 2 and a half
years they are programmed to die so you have to get a new phone.  This
caused problems between me and P whose phone I had to use to deal
with insurance.  He was giving his 2 weeks today and was late for that
meeting because of my accident.

Also, KoP Plaza first floor flooded in case you did not know.  Our
beautiful new Lottery Yarn store now is sopping wet with water and mud.

I am picking up my rental in an an hour or so then going back to bed.

That is all

Caption It!

I was at a bit of a loss today but wanted to start posting more pics.  Here is one I took at P's soccer game a couple weeks ago.  I welcome any captions you can come up with.

A Bit of a Rant: When Companies Make Mistakes

I was so excited this weekend!  I was getting a new fridge!  Even better, we were getting a nicer fridge than we originally picked out because it was a floor model.  It had zero scratches.dents or whatever.  It just so happened the one we picked the store was not carrying anymore but here was this nice Electrolux counter-depth, stainless steel fridge just waiting for us to take it home. 

Isn't she pretty? Thank you Best Buy for the pic. 

I prepared all week for it's homecoming.  I cleaned out the fridge and the freezer.  I carefully planned our meals for the week so that there would not be a whole lot in the the fridge/freezer to switch over.  I put off my usual soup cooking for my fall/winter lunches to keep the freezer as empty as possible. 

At 9:50am P got a phone call. 

Warehouse Worker: "Your fridge is out of stock."
P: "Um, no.  It is a floor model, there is only one of them.  It cannot be out of stock."
WW: "Well we don't have one here." 
P: "Is it still at the store?"
WW:  "I don't know.  It is out of stock."
P: "No, that is impossible.  Again, it was a floor model we touched and saw this week."
WW:  "Well if it is still at the store maybe you can pick it up."
P: "It's a refrigerator."

Can't explain to you what would have happened if I had fielded that call.  I think that is why P gives people his cell number now instead of the home phone. I can tell you that the laws of physics would have been broken and her head would have somehow ended up on my side of the phone.

So we haul ourselves to the store and luckily the woman we worked with to buy the fridge was there.  She saw us coming and said, "Guys I am so sorry.  I am on hold right now to find out what happened and get it fixed."  She even brought her manager over and he apologized profusely.  For some reason, the warehouse sent it back to the store and they have no clue why.  We thanked them for working it out and left.  Later we received a phone call and were told the fridge would not arrive until Thursday.  This was Saturday morning.

Now, after going through something much worse but similar in the area of inept delivery with Sears and our washer/dryer a year ago, we are familiar with how things work between the company that sold you the item and the people who are in charge of getting it to your door.  The people that sold the item are actually pretty decent and will do what they can to help you...

...the delivery companies basically tell you to suck it if they have made a mistake.

In my humble opinion, what SHOULD have happened, is they should have gotten our fridge on the very next truck leaving that warehouse and brought it to us at a time-frame we chose, not them.  Why?  Because we already arranged our schedule to meet them the first time, it is their turn.  It is called CUSTOMER SERVICE.  We paid you, now you deliver.  Secondly,  I know that Monday was an option because it was a date would could have picked when we originally chose the date.

Nope

Not possible.  Why?  The idiot at the warehouse could not explain why.  Why?  Because the less the people answering those calls for complaints know, the better for the people higher up.  All they care about is that they don't have to go an extra inch, let alone a mile for a customer. 

So, this is a controlled rant.  Why?  Over the years I have found it is much easier to find the root of the problem and concentrate on ranting on that root rather than the whole tree.  The associate that helped us originally, was very good at her job and did everything right.  It was the delivery company that caused the problem and then because they don't have to deal with me directly, can sit on their lazy butt and just say 'no' for no reason.  The store is at their mercy as well seeing as how they only have one delivery company. 

Now, when the fridge is delivered on Thursday, the store will be getting an email from me.  It will sing the praises of the people in the store and tear a new one in the delivery company.  I figure it should be at least worth a gift card.

Writers WorkShop: Don't You Just Want to Squeeze Him...Just Not too Hard

This is M-dog.

Isn't he a cuddle-umpkins?

You better say yes or I will sick his sister G-dog on you and she will jump on you until you let her kiss you on the face.

M-dog is a big love bug who is a scardy cat. His jumping around when we encounter other dogs on walks (and teenagers in black shirts and white vans and the occasional blow up chair) is often misconstrued as aggressive dog behavior.  It is hard to see him not be able to romp with other doggies besides G-dog and to constantly look out for other dogs around corners and such. 

You might think this is his worst trait and while it is difficult to deal with at times, the fact that we know he is a cuddly bunch of love is fine.  He does have another issue that is most difficult to deal with, on normally associates with beer guzzling, junk food eating, snoring, uncouth men...

he farts!


Yes, you say, all dogs fart.  Yes they do but do they wake you in the middle of the night with their silent stench?  Oh, yes...they are the silent but deadly type.  You never have time to prepare.  It can happen anywhere and at anytime.  Is it associated with an urgent need to use the facilities (grass, bushes, etc)?  No, he will let one fly foul just after he's been ...um...out.  Is it when he is scared?  Sure it has happened but is not narrowed down to a stressful squirt. 

M-dog is exceptionally good at carpet bombing or crop dusting; walking in to a room, letting one loose and walking out.  Then when you turn up your nose and pass out he is confused. 

I sincerely wonder sometimes if he doesn't even know that thing came from him.  He likely thinks the smell came from one of us and probably likes it less than we do because he cannot distinguish it as his 'own brand'.  In his mind we are the foul humans who need a bath or Beano or something. 

Still you can't help but want to love him and cuddle him and squeeze him...like I said about though...just don't squeeze too hard...you don't know what might...um...what you might unleash.