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9 Days…

Published

charmaspice

on February 24, 2008

in Rants and Updates

. 0 Comments

Current Mood: Martini Mood

So, you’re probably wondering where I’ve been for the past 9 days. I honestly don’t know where I’ve been or what I’ve done (well I remember most of it). Last weekend I know I went grocery shopping on Saturday with great success. I shopped the ads with my coupons and had a savings of $22 in coupons alone. I don’t know if I’ve ever had that much savings, so I was really proud of that. On Sunday I conquered some laundry during the rainy day.

Most of last week was a blur as Clare had tons going on at school. Almost every week they have a “Royal Student” where that student gets to bring in a few of their favorite pictures for the royal buliten board, a special snack for birthdays (or 1/2 birthdays - which was Clare’s case), items for their guessing jar (ours were gummy bears), and I went in to read a special story. Clare really wanted Brad to come into class to play his guitar with the class, but unfortunately he couldn’t get any of his afternoons free last week. So, instead I went in and read one of our favorite stories “Sally and the Something”. I also baked some sugar cookies (unfortunately with my time constraints they were refigerated break apart ones - but good none the less) and frosted them with Clare’s requested chocolate frosting and sprinkles on top. On top of all the “Royal Student” activities I did with Clare there were some big school activites too.

Tuesday was the designated Kindergarten Sled day (young 5’s came out to join them too). I was able to find Clare a roll up sled for $5 at Toys R Us, and she can take this to school whenever to sled during recess. The weather that afternoon was less than desirable as we were getting hit with lake effect snow, high winds, and temps were in the low 20’s. Fortunately I think I’ve finally adjusted to driving on cruddy half plowed roads, as we’ve had more snow than I care for. Clare had fun rosy cheeks, nose, and all.

Wednesday was the 100th day of school. Not something that most of you probably think is a big deal - OH NO - this is a big deal. They had to do a 100 Day project - it could be 100 of anything. What did Clare pick you ask? Not too shocking with her latest craze, she wanted 100 Star Wars Heads. So, her and Brad found 20 pictures each of Han Solo, R2D2, Jar Jar Binks, Yoda, and Leigha for her to cut out and glue on a bright pink poster board I got her. She did it all, and was very proud of it. They also had to collect and roll 100 pennies for their class service project (they donate something every month to a comunity house that helps people less fortunate than others out). For snack that day everyone brought in 100 of something for their 100 Day stew - think trail mix on Kindergarten crack. Clare suprisingly picked dried blueberries to take, but the rest was a lot of candies, crackers, and popcorn. They did 100 day stuff all day, so it was quite a fun day for all of them.

Thursday is my busy day as I help out Clare’s teacher with copies, I read to the kids, made more copies, grabbed some lunch, and then came back to school for centers. I love doing centers with the kids. For those that don’t know what centers are, it’s essentially a way for the teacher to get 5 projects done in one afternoon. Each table usually has a parent helper to help the kids out and keep them on task, and then after 10 minutes they switch tables. It’s been a great way for me to help out in the room, and I know all of the kids in the class. Plus it gives me an outlet to use those skills I learned in college to become a teacher. Eventually I may do something more with my degree, but for now I’m enjoying being a mom and helping out in the class.

Friday was errand day. Saturday I spent just about all day in a conference to help better my in-home party business. I have started selling Pure Romance products to help bring in some extra money, get me out of the house, and to help me gain some sort of semblence of adult conversation. Not that I don’t love talking with other mom’s about our children, but come on how many times can I tell my story of the past 6 years (including labor and delivery, and potty training). I love my mommy friends, and my MOMS Club, but it’s time for me to get out and talk about something else. So why not become a consultant where I help women feel they way they need to be: Fun, Sensual, and Fabulous! We carry a great line of bath, beauty, massage, and products to enhance adult relationships. So far I’ve had a few parties, and I actually have money in my bank account - money that I earned! Granted most of it has to go to pay my state sales tax on products I purchased last year, as well as the 1 party I did - BUT STILL, it’s something I’ve done for me. My goal is to start doing parties on a regular basis so I can start paying for some of the dreams I want to come true. Can you tell I’m excited about the things I learned during Pure Romance University?!?!?! I have met some great women in the area, and I am ready to get rocking so I can go to our yearly convention next year in Vegas for little to no cost. So, if you’d like to order from my Pure Romance website, please do. If you’d like to book a party - PLEASE DO! I am open to traveling, so long as the weather permits.

Okay, now that I’ve dropped the bomb it’s time to scrounge up some dinner. Today has been nothing but late meals, a trip to the mall to find Brad some new shoes, and a stop at Costco for some necessities.

Hibity Gibity

Published

charmaspice

on February 15, 2008

in Rants and UFO

. 1 Comment

Current Mood: Martini Mood & Violent

So, my mission came to a shattering halt as I made my way through the bills on the table. I went through all of the junk mail, shredded those things with our names and their offers on it, put the rest of the papers in the recycling, and paid the bills. Well, all by one that is. We have a car payment on my Audi, and when we got the loan we set it up so it was auto withdrawn every month from our bank account. No biggie, lots of people do this, and it went well for us until today. Our loan was bought out by another banking facility, no biggie again - it happens a lot to most of us. Well, I got one letter about a month ago stating that our loan had been bought out and that we needed to switch our auto withdrawls to the new financial company. Okay, well, I need the new account information including address and such. So I wait, and don’t recieve the letter with only part of that information until about 2 days ago. As I sift through the bills I find the letter, I look at the bank account - nothings been taken out of our account, so I call.

I absolutely ~~hate~~ dislike the voice recognized calling systems that want you to speak your info into the phone. It’s not convienent, and I never get what or where I want. Finally I get an operator after sifting through God knows how many menu’s they have in their calling system. I think it’s just a ploy to get you to stay on the line while they transfer you accross the ocean to India. I try to speak clearly, so the woman understands me. I have a hard enough time understanding her. I get no where after 18 minutes and I am ready to chuck my cell phone out the window as I hang up on her. All that I want to do is pay my bill, and then have it reset to be Auto Withdrawn every month.

After hanging up and many failed attempts I finally get logged into their website to find out that the only way to make a payment with them NOW (because the bill was due to be taken out yesterday, and it wasn’t) is to pay Western Union $15. Even if you call them over the telephone to pay with a credit card, you have to pay Western Union. What happened to customer service…where you can pay a bill at any time without talking to a computer, or some Indian woman somewhere on a different continent? GRRR….I think I need a martini. I forsee the mission of earlier this morning not getting finished tonight - there’s always tomorrow, right?!?!?!

Disclaimer for those that don’t know me well: In no way am I racist, or against the people of India. I know that they work very hard for the 50 cents a call they accept every 5 minutes. I just wish companies that have addresses in Ohio would have customer service reps from somewhere in the Midwest or United States for that matter.

I Have a Feeling…

Published

charmaspice

on February 11, 2008

in Local and Rants

. 2 Comments

Current Mood: Violent

That it’s going to be yet another long day today. It’s snow day #6 today for us here in West Michigan, 5 of which have occured in the past 4 weeks. I’m kinda glad that it’s a snow day though after just having Brad come in from trying to leave from work. His car is stuck on the ice that’s accumulated under his car this weekend, so his wheels are spinning and he’s not going any where. Since I plan on staying in today to catch up on the laundry I’m letting him take my car. That and Clare’s come down with a case of the snuffies this weekend - AKA a cold.

Oh, more bad news…Brad just came in. He got my car out, and as he drove it down the street oil gushed out from underneath it and the oil light came on. So, he’s called to have it towed to a shop and have it fixed. GREAT more money out the window, I’m just hoping that it’s not too expensive of a repair. So, with Brad’s car on ice, and mine in the shop; we are all home today. When will we be given a break!?!?!

At least we’re home safe, and warm and not out in the breath taking (literally) 10 degree Farenheit weather!

Is it the Apocalypse?

Published

charmaspice

on February 7, 2008

in Rants and UFO

. 3 Comments

Current Mood: Alarmed emoticon Alarmed

Does anyone else feel like this weather we’ve been having this winter is very strange? It snows, then it rains, then it thunder storms, then it’s 55 degrees, then it’s 4 degrees, things melt, then we get a foot of snow - literally this has all happened here in West Michigan over the past month. What is up with our weather this year? I know we all get weather dementia every year and forget (or think we remember really well) what previous years were like, but I would have to say this has been one of the wierder years in my memory. That and the amount of snow days we’ve had in the past 3 weeks has been ridiculous! If Clare’s home again next week I think I might begin to go crazy. It’s actually not been too terrible, she gets to watch hours of tv while I do my thing, and sometimes we go outside together so she can play while I shovel us out. I’m just wondering if the rest of the world feels as if strange things are happening to our planet as the years go by. It makes me want to do something drastic to save our planet, but I know small steps really do count - which is why I’m really trying to stop getting paper or plastic bags at the grocery store, and use my cloth bags. I’m also trying to use more Earth friendly cleaning products and laundry detergents - you probably remember my previous posts about that. I hope that some of you are helping our planet too, so that we can stop this strange weather and have some normal winters where it stays cold (not that I like the cold, I just like consistancy).

You Go Girl!

Published

charmaspice

on January 24, 2008

in Funny and Rants

. 0 Comments

Current Mood: Cool emoticon Cool

I hate to toot my own horn, but I just feel good about what I just said to a nasty telemarketer. We put ourselves on the Do Not Call list several years ago, so for the most part the 800 or 866 or 8whatever numbers have stopped calling us. It has been a huge relief to not get many calls, as I was really hating all of the phone ringing that was going on around here - it stressed me out for some reason. So, when an 8whatever number happens to call it usually means I’ve misplaced a bill and forgot to pay it or something of the sort. I fixed the misplaced bill problem last month by buying a 3 tiered sorter that sits at the end of my dining room table, so in stead of a pile of stuff to sort through every few weeks I am forced to sort it now. One slot is for bills, another slot is for things I need to find a home for, and the last slot has been for Clare’s school papers that I need to remember, or do something with. It’s been a huge help, and then on payday Friday I just pull out the bill slot and pay what needs to be paid. So, I KNOW for a fact I’m not behind on anything.

Back to tooting my horn, so there was an 866 call this morning - I reluctantly answer. I hate having to say Hello 3 times before they answer! So, I know something is up. Finally a lady says “Can I please speak to Mr Eastowner”.

I said in a nice voice “Mr. Eastowner is not at home right now, can I take a message.“

She of course replies with “Well then can I please speak with Mrs. Eastowner?“

Me: “This is she” Ugh, I hate it when I have to talk to them. Why can’t they just give up!

Lady: “I am calling on behalf your mortgage company, and because you are a valued costomer we would like to offer you blah blah blah”

Me waiting paitently to get a word in while she reads her little script: “Yes that is my address, but I am not interested at this time in recieving anything so please take me off your call list.”

Lady: “But mam, this is just something for you to look over, and if you want to cancel all you have to do is call back within the 30 days.”

Me: “Yes, I know. However I do not have the time to sift through the paperwork and bills that I currently have to look over, so why would I want to add your papers to that pile. I really don’t have time to look over this; let alone then have to call you back before the 30 days so you can cancel it before charging me for something that I already told you I am not interested in.” I so wish this call was over by now!

Lady in a rather disapointed voice, because I think I am the first person to tick her off today by actually answering my phone: Thank you for your time blah blah blah by the way here’s my number (Like I actually had paper handy for her speady read of her number - HAH).

Wednesday Maddness

Published

charmaspice

on January 23, 2008

in Rants and Updates

. 0 Comments

Current Mood: Angry

So, today turned out nothing like I thought. I was woken up around I don’t know what time, you know the time - when your eyes are so blurry and you are mid-sleep and it’s still dark outside that you don’t recall what time the alarm clock says. I vagely remember the conversation with Clare, something about not finding a stuffed animal in her bed, something about not remembering a stuffed bears name….stuff I don’t remember because I was sleep talking to her aparently. So now, her bears name is Alice - how I came up with that in a heavy sleep I have no clue. Maybe it’s some secret baby name I wanted to use - not really. The second time I was woken up it was at a more reasonable hour, and I was able to see the sun (or what sun you can see through the clouds and snow). Ugh the snow. It really is my HE double hockey sticks idea of what most people consider burning flames in an inferno of purgatory. Or isn’t that only a Catholic thing…not sure I’m a religion drop out.

Anyway, the morning was our usual and we were off to a pretty decent start - other than my lack of time to post my started Wordless Wednesday. I really dislike the snow that has been falling from our skies here in W. Michigan for oh about a week straight now, although it feels like longer. I have to add time into our schedule to go brush off the car, get it warmed up, get Clare in her snow gear in a timely fashion so she can get to school on time and play in the snow. The last part is of most importance to a 5 year old that has a burning desire for rolling in the snow, and as she says “swimming in it”. I remember those times as a child, but as an adult it’s painful and I dislike going out in the elements. Lately it’s worked out for us though because I shovel, and she “helps” - as much help as it is for her to rethrow the snow I just shoveled away. Back to our day, so she got to school in time to head out and swing for about 10 minutes- also her latest passion when she gets to school. After they went inside I headed for Costco.

I have been in desperate need of getting new tires now for months, and the pain in the booty of stopping to put air in my tires was really getting to me. So, I went online to see how much theirs were because they have a deal going on right now. They had a pretty good deal, so I went ahead and ordered them to have them delivered to my local warehouse. They called me last night, so I planned on going after dropping Clare off. He told me it’d be about an hour and a half, so I wandered Costco, bought a few magazines to read while I dined accross the parking lot to Noodle & Co. I came back to my car still in their garage. Okay, maybe their almost done. Nope, apparently when I ordered it their website had me order the wrong size. Imagine explatives running through my head here! They didn’t give me the option of size when I ordered, it was just put the info in about your make model and year of your car. Thankfully they had the same tire in my car’s size. Returned the old tires, bought the new tires, and I had to pay them another $100! Another half hour he said….UGH! So I sat outside reading my magazine -fuming. I called Brad to vent. 30 minutes went by, still no tires on my car. COME ON PEOPLE - I have to be back to the school in 15 minutes to pick up my child. 40 minutes went by, finally he was done.

I rush to school, wait in the car line, get Clare, and hit the grocery for a few things that I needed for dinner. Afterwards I had to go to the post office to mail some e-bay stuff for Brad, and then finally home. When we got home we put our stuff inside and Clare got to play outside while I shoveled. We came in, put dinner in, and I finally began to decompress from my day. To finish I’ll share a little laugh. During dinner we had a funny conversation with Clare - it went a little like this:

Clare: I really like B in my class. He’s really funny, and his jokes always make me laugh.

Me: Oh yeah, is he your new boyfriend? (because she already as 2 currently)

Clare: Yeah, he’s in my boyfriend club

Brad: Oh, do you have a fan club in Japan? You must be really popular there.

She didn’t get it, but it’ll be funny later on in life.

Auto Atrocity

Published

dead headphonist

on January 10, 2008

in Rants and Vehicles

. 0 Comments

Current Mood: F%@k It!

As many if you probably know by now, I abhor cars. Well, it’s really a love/hate relationship I guess. Cars get me places I want to go; like the beer store. But I still hate them.

With all the rain and high humidity from the warm weather and melting snow, my car decided to start acting up. Perhaps it was because it hadn’t had a tune-up since before Clare was born. Perhaps it was because it is in fact as sentient as I sometimes believe and it hates me as much as I hate it.

Either way, it was idling fine, but then began sputtering when I gave it gas; worse when it was in gear. I began to think it out as some kind of fuel problem. I did my usual reading and research and was set to buy a fuel filter and a new injector; something the car has needed before when things like this happen and probably should get again anyway.

For some reason I didn’t make the purchase though. Something told me to go home and to really pay attention to what it was doing. So I did. It idled fine. Gave it gas and it sputtered like crazy; and backfired. Ahh… ELECTRICAL. So we went to the store last night and bought all the usual tune-up essentials; cap, rotor, wires, and plugs. I picked up an air filter because I didn’t know when -that- was last changed.

This morning, I went to move the car into the driveway and nothing; no sputtering, backfiring, or anything. It’s got cold again and is completely dry outside. I think I got it. I replaced the wires and plugs (and the air filter), but found that the desk jockey at the autoparts store gave me the wrong damned cap and rotor. Nothing can ever go right.

The wires were showing rust through some of the joints and the plugs were basically gone. Likely that’s probably most of the issue, but the cap and rotor will still need to be replaced. I’ll be making an exchange this weekend.

Fun times. And the exhaust needs to be welded up again. That’ll have to wait until spring.

Why Can’t I Be More Like Bree?

Published

charmaspice

on January 7, 2008

in Housework and Rants

. 3 Comments

Current Mood: Violent

I don’t even know if it’s physically and mentally possible to be more like Bree or not. For those of you that don’t know, she’s the ultra perfect housewife on Depserate Housewives played by Marcia Cross. She cooks, bakes, cleans, gardens, does crafts, tries to be a good mother, and she does it with perfection. I don’t think that there are enough hours in the days, weeks, and years for me to be as good as she is. I can hardly keep up with the laundry, errands, making of dinner, cleaning of the house, and daily life I call mine. I know it’s all normal, but some days it just gets me down and I feel the urge to find a corner to sulk in. Why is it that we as women feel the need to conquer all in our lives? Is it something we picked up from our mothers? Is it something society projects upon us (as well as the need to be beautiful every moment of the day)? Is it something instictively inside of us that keeps us ticking? Or maybe it’s all of the above? I find myself with the urge to make everything perfect in my home, now if only I could get the inhabitants of our home to stand still and not touch a thing so it could stay perfect. Somehow I don’t see that happening with a very active 5 year old, and a dog that sheds! I think I’m just overwhelmed with the dust that’s settled with the holidays, and my non-motivation from all the huplah of the holidays to get it all cleaned, and put back where it belongs. Anyone else having similar break downs?

We Are Not Vegetarian

Published

dead headphonist

on January 3, 2008

in Food and Rants

. 2 Comments

Yep. You got it. We’re not vegetarian, but it’s much easier to explain to people that we’re vegetarian (and sometimes eat fish) than to explain that our vegetarianism is rooted in a deep-seated health issue with your’s truly eating too many Hardee’s (Carl’s Jr) cheeseburgers and Pizza Hut pepperoni pizzas.

Our choice to not eat certain animals is not because we are out to make a political statement or that we are on a three-person-crusade to save the animals.

It is because eating meat in the way that Americans generally do is just plain unhealthy. Over the years, we’ve also learned about the kind of damage that is being done to our food supply as well as our earth by the production of meat. These things are bad, but people are omnivores by nature, so some meat should be part of our diet. This is just not the case for too many Americans. We eat far too much fatty red meat.

In order for me to break the cycle of overeating fatty red meat, I needed an excuse. It only took me mere moments to search out a reason why I would be unable to frequent said fast-food joints anymore. I don’t eat meat. Simple as that.

Then it got a little more complex.

My original reason for swearing off flesh was a health issue; I’m deathly afraid of the lower GI tract cancers and I knew that my already slow metabolism was going to reach critical sloth by the time I was 30. Given my calorie consumption, I’d likely go from the size of a small truck to the size of a bus in no time; not a good prospect for someone already overweight and chained to a desk all day.

However, I love seafood. Seafood contains some things that actually ward off cancers, contains little fat (if you’re not eating Salmon and the like) and is actually pretty healthy for you as long as you’re not eating a lot of it, which we don’t. Seafood is also a convenient alternative for friends and family who are not used to making accommodations for someone who is vegetarian (though we never expect them to).

As for the environmental issues with eating fish, I am well aware of them and I try to only eat fish from responsible fisheries. Obviously, that’s not always going to be possible, and yes, I am contributing to that little bit of environmental decay. If you’re reading this, you are contributing to the overall decay too. Neither of us should be throwing stones.

What we all need to learn to do is to reduce our usage of our resources. If everyone reduces only slightly, the situation gets dramatically better as a whole. I will never look down on anyone for their meat-eating habits and lecture them about things they probably already know a lot about and don’t care. I might suggest that they try eating one vegetarian meal a week for a month. If everyone did that, we’d reduce the burden that cattle put on the planet significantly. I might suggest reducing reliance on pre-packaged food. Not only will their body benefit, but the planet will. Little changes are generally easy to make.

I also realize that being a zealot about what you consume does nothing but separate you from the conveniences of modern life and put you in a position where others around you find your causes to be unappealing because you present them in such an unwieldy and absolute way. A small handful of people making big changes will be far outweighed by the masses making small changes. Being an advocate for mass small changes, I don’t have room for zealousness.

So you may hear any of us identify ourselves as vegetarian, but for us, it’s a choice not to eat something because it’s unhealthy, not because we’re trying to make some kind of political statement. Our (mis)use of the term will likely continue until a more appropriate word enters the vernacular. Until then, I’m going to start carrying around little cards with a link to this article to hand out when asked about my refusal to eat something with non-seafood meat in it.

Pet Peeve

Published

charmaspice

on January 1, 2008

in Rants

. 2 Comments

Current Mood: Angry emoticon Angry

Now don’t get me wrong, I love dogs. I love people that care for their pets and walk them - it’s good for both dog and owner. Now, here’s where the pet peeve comes in. I live in the city, and when walking your dog in the city you should abide by the common sense rules and laws of the city in which you live in. One of those laws happens to be a leash law. I know all dog owners have heard of them - now use them! I know you probably feel you trust your dog - I however don’t. I have a 5 year old daughter that likes to play outside, and how do I know that your dog won’t wander in my yard and attack her? Or, how do I know that your dog isn’t going to attack me when I take my dog out? I see people letting their dogs wander the streets daily - USE YOUR LEASH!