what a week

This has not been the best week to say the least. Hopefully Monday morning the last of the work orders that had to be done after the pipe burst will be finished. Chels is finished with her semester exams and goes back to school on Thursday. Meg has one more day of exams left. The 2nd semester starts Thursday. So this school year is almost half over!! Thank God. I don't want this year to go fast because that means Chels will be graduating and Todd will be leaving. But at the same time I want this year to go fast because I seriously need to get out of here so that my stress level can go down. I also want people to keep their word when they say they will do something and if they can't/don't I think there should at least be an explanation and an apology. Maybe I am asking for too much? If I am then I will apologize. I really do get tired of being let down without an explanation or apology. It's stressful, hurtful and very irritating when it happens over and over. Ok, I'm done for now. Hopefully next week will be a better week and then thankful thursday and favorites on friday can return. But right now I just don't feel like doing them. I hope everyone has the kind of weekend you want and that makes you happy!!!

Why Am I Awake???

You all may be sorry I asked that question!! Oh man what a freaking night/early morning. I am convinced that the people running Picerne and our neighborhood office have no common sense let alone a whole functioning brain!!!! We had just finished watching a movie and we were getting ready to head up to bed around 11:57. Well the pipes in our uninsulated outside wall had other ideas yet again. Now I grew up in Indiana and I have a pretty good amount of common sense (usually) so I know about disconnecting waterhoses, shutting off the inside valves for the water hoses, I also know to leave faucets dripping so the lines don't freeze. All of which were done in this lovely house (heavy sarcasm) we live in. But I also know if you won't insulate the walls where the pipes are located let alone the freaking pipes, they are GOING to freeze!!! Now this is the 3rd time this has happened since we moved into this particular house in August of 2005. We asked yet again when the "maintenance man" showed up and finally got the damn main water valve shut off (it was supposed to be replaced before now) if they would insulate the pipes or the walls at the very least and guess what he said?? Guess, I dare you, I bet you get it right!! He said "no we can't do that". Before Todd or I could say I word, Chelsea said "Why not?" and he wouldn't give us an answer. Now about that main water valve shut off that is in the utility room...from the last week of November til the 4th of December we had 3 different "maintenance men" out here to make sure all the valves for water hoses were shut off and that hoses were disconnected. We have little doors that open in the inside walls with shut off valves for the water hoses. Well the one for out front just spins in circles and you can't shut it off. So all 3 of these Picerne "workers" tried to shut off the main water valve so they could replace the one for the hose that won't shut off, none of them could get the main valve shut off. So they decide we need the main water shut off valve replaced (DUH) "cause that's not safe" (double duh!) and so they can replace the valve to shut the water off to the hose. Well in order for all of this to happen, they apparently need to get a private contractor to order the part and apparently that part is coming from China (like everything else) on a VERY SLOW boat. I have called the office several times since Dec. 4th to check on said part, and big surprise it is never in and they still don't know anything!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!! Back to tonight, well the girls gathered up every freakin towel we have and made one heck of a pile to help keep the water from flooding the whole dining/living room area. Todd got the main valve to move some more but then it wouldn't budge, well after dealing with stupid people on the phone and being told that the closest on call loser was 45 minutes away, I got super ticked and managed to get it to turn some more, then it wouldn't move. The loser finally after trying a few times managed to turn it off without breaking it!!!! SHOCK! He made a few nasty comments, which me being who I am will report the crap he said and make a complaint against the rude jerk. I almost threw something at him, but decided I shouldn't. So he cut the pipe off, put a shut off valve on it, had the carpet people suck the water out of the carpet. Now Monday someone will be here to finish fixing the damn pipe, redo the drywall and shampoo my carpet. Or will they??? We shall see. So now I have to stay up and do at least one load of towels so Chelsea can take a shower before she goes to work in the morning and because they were in 2 buckets, the washing machine and my kitchen sink dripping wet!!! The good thing about this whole situation??? Well that would be that it happened here and not at my house in Indiana, and thank you God for that blessing. Well if you made it this far, WOW :) I hope no one else has to deal with frozen, bursting pipes.

favorites on friday

My favorites on friday will not happen this week. The single digit temps and crappy, barely insulated military housing we live in have temporarily frozen my brain!!! I hope everyone stays warm and has a wonderful weekend!!!

Well it's thankful Thursday...and this has not been a real great week. So I am thankful for the telephone and the people on the other end of it (you know who you are!!!) who have listened to me vent, complain, whine and for talking to me about other things that weren't stressing me out!! Without my friends and family to talk to I am sure I would have had a much worse week. Thank you all, I love you and huge hugs all the way from Maryland!!!

Thankful Thursday and Favorites on Friday

This week my Thankful Thursday and Favorites on Friday go together. I didn't think I would actually ever thank President Bush for a whole lot but this week he surprised me. I was always intrigued by the Oceans of the world and all the creatures in them, of course growing up in Indiana I wasn't near one :) In 8th grade I went to Florida on spring break with one of my friends and saw the Atlantic Ocean for the first time, it was awesome. We lived in Pensacola, Fl for a few months while Todd was there for an Army school and I loved going to the Gulf of Mexico to go swimming and to enjoy the view. Then in 1993 we were stationed in Hawaii and may I just say the Pacific Ocean is absolutely AMAZING!!! Anyway, I have become very active in trying to protect our oceans and all the amazing creatures that live in them. So this week when President Bush announced that he will create 3 national monuments in the Pacific ocean I was very thankful indeed!!! The following quote is from an email I received from the Environmental Defense Fund: (a wonderful organization)

"Together, these designated areas will span 195,280 square miles—an area larger than California—and protect some of the most ecologically-rich areas of the world's oceans.
The three new protected areas will be called Marianas Marine National Monument, Pacific Remote Islands National Monument, and Rose Atoll National Monument.
Home to hundreds of species of fish, pristine corals, endangered sea turtles, and marine mammals, including many found nowhere else, these areas are almost untouched by humans. Scientists tell us that visiting these places is like going back in time hundreds of years." Diane Regas Associate Vice President, Oceans Program

Which leads me to my favorite sea creature! I love them all but my absolute favorite would have to be the sea turtles!!

GO COLTS!!!!

Time for favorites on Friday!! Well the Colts are DEFINITELY my favorite NFL football team. They made it into the playoffs and will play tomorrow night at 8 on NBC against the Chargers. GO COLTS!!

glitter-graphics.com

Also today my favorite Colt was named the NFL's MVP for the 3rd time and he became the 3rd player to receive that honor 3 times!!! Way to go Peyton!!!

Needless to say tomorrow will be Colts day at our house. We will be wearing our jersey's and t-shirts and cheering loud enough to annoy the neighbors!!

Happy New Year!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe new year's eve. It was a cold one here but great. I must say it just didn't seem like it should have been time for 2008 to end. Of course it didn't really seem like it was time for Christmas either...:) I pray that 2009 is a great year for all, it will be be a year of big adventures for us filled with tears and laughter I'm sure. Of course it is also thankful Thursday, and I am thankful for the start of the new year, it just makes you feel like anything is possible and it's a nice new start for just about anything :)