Abandon Ship

I had Wednesday off from work and I was all ready to settle into a lazy day in the snowbound house. When...

I walked into the laundry room and had a four foot wide puddle of water on the floor. Hmm. Did my washing machine flow over last night? As I leaned down to check I felt something drip on my head. "Are you kidding me?" (I think was the polite version of what I said.) Water was dripping out of the heating register on the ceiling. Where was this coming from? I didn't care. I called the builder (since our house is only 1 year old...actually on this date.) They were going to send someone out to see what was going on. On the phone I was asked the routine questions...is this on the second floor (assuming roof)...NO; is this under a bathroom (assuming a leaky pipe)...NO; (pregnant pause)...okay well we'll get someone out there as soon as they can navigate the snow.
Meanwhile...waiting on the home inspector... "pop, pop....(wait for it)....BAM" the transformer three power poles back from our house exploded. Great, now we don't have any power. (This is going to be a long, cold, wet day.)
Five minutes after the explosion the inspector showed up. Guess what, the flashing on the roof, connecting the garage to the house is leaking icemelt. It is coming in at the joint of our wall and floor in the attic space, leaking along the master bedroom floor, and dripping down into my laundry room!!!!! And, we can't do anything about it until it all melts! GREAT!
They leave...and I'm left with a quiet house minus my almost two year old, and a "Drip, Drip" going on in the laundry room as the ceiling leaks into a bucket.

We've decided that if the power isn't on by dinner time that we are going to my parents house. Well...the sun begins to set...so in the final hours of daylight, I pack up the dog, the kid, and myself...we are ready to go. We ended up staying with them for 2 and a half days!!!! We really appreciated the heat and warm beds and hot showers. THANK YOU!

Summary...don't go grocery shopping before an ice storm b/c you are guaranteed to lose power and all of your groceries...I think I'm two for two on this one!

Break from Chipping Ice

Oh, my arm and wrist are throbbing. I have chipped away the layer of ice from our front walk, enough of the driveway (hopefully) that my husband will be able to park when he gets home from work, and enough in front of my tires for me to slide out to go to work later today. I've thawed my car windshields twice...and they keep layering over again. Hopefully, not too many people will come to the store tonight so we can get the team out safely...and we won't be spending the wee hours of the morning chipping our way out of the store parking lot. The ice/snow combo is so solid that you cannot even make a snow angel if you wanted to. My dad recommended taking JMS out to make snow angels...haha, you'd need to put a 500 lb weight on him just to get an imprint.

Update on the reading habit...I have officially completed reading the Twilight series. ALL FOUR BOOKS! I have to go back and do the math...but those books were thick a.k.a. lots of pages!

STOP READING HERE IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE BOOKS.

I could have written it like this: "Chick falls in love with vampire." (see I just saved you 500 pages) "Chick gets mad at vampire and falls in love with werewolf." (wow...another 500 pages saved) "Chick falls back in love with vampire, but struggles with werewolf still being in the picture." (I should get a job with cliff notes.) "Chick marries at 18, gets prego, and has vampire mutant. They live happily ever after." (I was hoping for the tragedy ending...but no such luck.)

Now I am reading the Born In series by Nora Roberts, courtesy of Brianna. I miss trading books with her out in WA, but she was grateful enough to ship me the box of novels she read last year.

CAUTION...GRAPHIC GIRLY STUFF

Alright, so last thought for the day. Did you see the headline about the woman who had octuplets? Did you see the comment saying that she was going to breast feed all of them? Ok, cover your eyes if you don't like graphic...but I did the breastfeeding thing with one baby...and felt like he was on me all the time. (it was only like every two hours....but perception is reality right?) So, eight kids...every two hours for each...she is never going to have a moment for herself...to eat, shower, use the toilet...YIKES. I guess its her choice...but lady, I'd recommend getting some help!

Passing thoughts on Inauguration Day

So...I watched as President Obama was sworn into office (the Chief Justice screwed up)...I listened to the President's speech (well delivered, in my opinion), and almost puked at the benediction. Did anyone else think that Reverend Lowrey's prayer was inappropriate? (Too inappropriate to even cut and paste into my blog.) I wish I could read minds and know what our new President was truly thinking of those last few words said by the minister he chose to deliver the benediction. Was he thinking...geez, man, could you have just said Amen...a few seconds sooner? Was he thinking...geez, what did that just cost me? Or was he even listening?

So my thoughts wandered to: Did anyone ever think about sleeping in the White House? What was that first night like for the family? Was the President tossing and turning thinking...holy c#&% "I'm the President!" Or was he so tired from all of the Ball's that he just crashed? What time did he get up out of bed...was it an embarassing stroll to the coffee pot...or was breakfast served and grossly formal? I heard they were in church again this morning...he certainly was up before me.

What about President Bush? Did he go to bed thinking...holy c#&% "I'm DONE with my sentence!" "I survived 8 years in the White House?" "Not too many people like me right now." "What do I do with all my free time?" "What about all the strings I have left untied?" (Clicking his heels) "There's no place like Texas; There's no place like Texas! D#% Washington was cold!"

For some reason I found myself trying to live a moment in each of their shoes...I think I'll stay where I'm at for now. :)

A week later...

JMS started coughing on Wednesday (7 Jan) and continued coughing through the weekend (10/11 Jan) and then spiked a 100.8 fever on Monday (12 Jan), was sluggish and not eating well. We went to the doctor on Monday to learn that it was just a virus; treat with Tylenol. We treated as prescribed, and the fever broke, but here it is Friday (16 Jan) and he is still coughing...oh, and did I mention really whiny. I sure hope the the whining is not him blossoming into a wonderful 2 year-old and this will just go away with the cough.

Let me digress...at the doctors office, JMS was lounging on me and everytime he heard a door slam he'd say "knock knock" and a phone ring "hello." It was quite funny especially knowing how little energy he had at the time.

On other notes...we are experiencing artic temperatures here in Lexington this week. It was 7 degrees when I went to work yesterday morning and today it was -3 degrees. Don't ask what the wind chill is...just imagine COLD. The weather man was reporting that Fairbanks Alaska was warmer than us; they were at 23 degrees....up 80 degrees in a week. Can you imagine if we went from 32 degrees up 80 degrees....it would be over 100 degrees....and that is the drastic temperature change they are having! Crazy...enough I thought to share with everyone who reads my blog.

Last night, JMS took a call from "pop" and attempted to talk to him like a grown up. It is funny to watch on our side of the conversation. On the other end it probably sounds like "uh huh, uh huh, hi, cheese, uh huh, tankyou, bye"

Follow-up to prayer's for my boss - Rodney. Elaine Claunch, 62, of Burnside, Ky., passed away on Friday, Jan. 9, 2009, at the Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington, Ky. She was born on Oct. 1, 1946, in Burnside, Ky., the daughter of the late Kelly and Mildred Richardson Branum. She was a homemaker and of the Baptist faith. Mrs. Claunch enjoyed and loved her family and friends. Mrs. Claunch is survived by her husband, Tommy Claunch, whom she married on Dec. 19, 1964, in Bronston, Ky.; a son, Rob Claunch (and Lisa Pitman) of the Woodson Bend Resort community of Pulaski County, Ky.; four brothers, Roger Branum of Burnside, Ronnie (and Donna) Branum of Burnside, Ricky Branum of Burnside, and Rodney (and Karen) Branum of Lexington; two sisters, Shirley Sue (and Donnie) Flynn of Burnside and Tammy Lynn (and John) Shafer of the Slate Branch community of Pulaski County; four nieces; four nephews; a previous sister-in-law, Emma Branum of Burnside; a host of great nieces and nephews; and like grandchildren. Preceding her in death were her parents, Kelly and Mildred Branum, and a sister, Phyllis Jane Branum. Visitation for Mrs. Claunch will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 13, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the chapel of Lake Cumberland Funeral Home, 1046 West Ky. 80, Somerset. A private funeral service will be held with Bro. Dudley Bryant officiating.Burial will be in the Burnside Cemetery.

Prayer Request

My boss lost his sister on Friday to a massive heart attack. I'm not sure of the family details, as far as who she leaves behind. However, at this time, please pray for the family. Thank you.

Peggy Visits

Aunt Peggy came to visit on her way home from visiting Arizona. JMS is now saying "Peggy" it made her day! The photo below is of Peggy, JMS and Thomas (Peggy's boyfriend) watching the Roomba. It was definitely a kodak moment, and you can't stage a 2 year old! We'll call this photo: "Eyes Right!"

Other new words for JMS: "dinosaur" / "help" / "drawing" / "diaper" / "apple"

Return Policy

So, I promised that I would give you some good "customer return" stories. The best surround videos, and cd's. I had a guy who bought a Blue Ray DVD, The Mummy. When he played it in his player, it was missing chapters of the movie. He brought it back and did an even exchange for the same movie, The Mummy. Again, when he played it in his player, it was missing chapters of the movie. My only options are to allow another even exchange for the same movie, The Mummy, or have him call the manufacturer.

Well...he didn' t like these options. He told me he wanted store credit, or money and that he didn't want the physical disk. I told him, it was his, and I repeated his options. He chose to call our 1-800 help desk. Again, they gave him the same options.

My question for everyone is...what is the big deal with shopper's not wanting to call the manufacturer. Is it any more difficult than arguing with me? Most times, the movie dealer will mail you a new copy and recall the disks of the same batch. No further complications. When you purchase media such as CDs and DVDs, it is your property and I can no longer accept responsibility for it.

Oh, and one more...if you break the equipment, why am I supposed to replace it for a new one? The nerve of some people!

New Year's Resolution

So, my husband and I have committed to reading Scripture every day in 2009. We have these "read the Bible in a year" Bibles; the books are not in order as you'd expect. It is more like a daily planner/calendar. So, you actually have January 1st, and a New Testament, an Old Testament, a Proverb, and a Psalm on each day. We are going to try to read the New Testament this year; and, then if all goes well, consider a different route in 2010. So far, it has been manageable. Hopefully, it will bring "Good News."

Happy New Year

Wow...so I actually have a minute to post. And, it's not Saturday. :)

So, here are photos as promised of the family, the baptism and of JMS.

So, this is the whole family...grandkids, kids, and parents. Here are the proud grandparents and their three grandsons. This is the brood they started with...we all get along now...haha, who am I kidding. And here is the crowd you are accustomed to seeing on this blog. Notice the photo is off center...not the usual photographer. :) Thanks dad. So, on December 28th we baptized our nephew Eli. He didn't even cry! This was the crowd that celebrated with Eli. Up close, Alison (my cousin) and David (my uncle), Maggie (my cousin) and Peggy(my sister), Mike (my uncle), Bill (my uncle), Mom and Dad, Nicole (cousin), Marge (my aunt), and my husband. I guess the family of honor was off visiting the rest of the crowd. JMS using his gifts...he is an explorer! See the pocket knife attached to his belt loop. He will give a good fight if you try to remove the bookbag from his back too. And my favorite...JMS in the corner.