Dubuque ... Dubuque... Remember the Ham song?

Do you?  Remember that song?  I don't know if Dubuque ham was famous all over, or just here... Hmm.  

Anywhoo, today was faboo fun!  Mom & the boys picked me up about 10 & we went to Village Inn for breakfast.  Thought it was gonna be bad, cuz Leyton was being bratty at the start.  He wanted to sit w/ Anthony, but Anthony wanted to sit on the side w/ people.  Leyton's a social butterfly, which is sweet, but in order to make sure the ppl around us don't feel forced into chatting w/ him while they eat, we try to have him sit on the side of the booth with the wall.  Then he wanted me to sit w/ him by the wall.  Then he wanted Gramma to sit w/ him by the wall.  Eventually, we got him back into a good mood & he was polite & chipper the rest of the day, for the most part!  : )  

Mom wanted to stop at WM or somewhere along the way to get Leyton some tennies, because he left his Thomas shoes at Jen's & Mom wasn't sure if the flip flops would hold up w/ all the walking at the museum.  We stopped in Maquoketa, and I thought I saw a Wal Mart, but it ended up being a Thiessen's, which we figured would be like Farm & Fleet.  It was, but no tennies for kiddos.  We did find some cute JD toys & there was free popcorn while we shopped, Leyton found a little firetruck & Anthony found some silly bandz or their version of it.  

Also - how COOL is this?? 

We got to the museaquarium about 1 & spent a few hours there.  They've really built it up since we were there last, a couple years ago, too!  They've expanded into the old Diamond Jo casino, which built a new facility across the street.  There's a whole water-play area, which we of course spent LOTS of time in.  Actually, that & the gift shop are where we spent most of our time, I think.  *laugh*  We did see stingrays, sharks, turtles, snakes, lizards... It was really good times!   : )  Oh, and there was boat racing!  

What happens to the otters at 3:46PM??  

They were soooo CUTE!  I wanted to pet them.  

Leyton made friends w/ the Kimodo Dragon, too.  : ) 

We gathered our souveniers - more bandz for Anthony, an eagle grabber thingy for Leyton, lots of neat postcards for me!  I also found something that I really want to send, I just need to get an address from someone.  : )  The trip back was quieter, but nice, too.  We had McD's for dinner, nothing too fancy (not that breakfast was!  LOL).  Mom dropped me & Leyton off here for a bit, while she & Anthony ran over to WM finally.  *laugh*  Leyton & I had some fun!  He kept wanting to pet Angel, who was kinda wary.  He got a couple good pets in before she'd had enough & gave a warning hiss.  heh.  We watched some of Shrek, but then he wanted to watch Bambi.  We only got the first few minutes before Mom & Anthony got back, so they took the movie w/ them.  : )  

It was a wonderfully blessed day, and I'm so happy that we got to take this field trip!  

How was YOUR day?  

TTFN!     

Cousin Lunch at Dawn's Part II

Today was Cousin Day!  Mom's side of the family, sorry Dad's side peeps!  We will need to organize a Cousin Day, too, because this was so nice.  *grin*  Not all inclusive, of course - there are cousins everywhere!  But this was a good grouping of cousins.  


There are some pictures & the food stuff here.  


Kathy picked me up at 11:30 & I gave her the quick tour of my house.  : )  Messy as it is... *laugh*  Altho it is a lot less cluttered now because of the cleaning tornado a bit ago!  heh.  We picked Jenni & Aunt Janie up - the power was out there because a tree limb fell on some lines in a neighbor's yard!  Eeep! - and headed to Dawn's.  


We ate sandwiches & salad & played spoons & visited & took pictures & hugged & played Mario Bros. & visited more & hugged more & took more pictures!  : )  I got to really talk with Blake & Jenni, and Boo.  Bay & Bub left after lunch & spoons to see their bf/gf.  I didn't get to visit w/ Branny as much as I'd've liked, tho!  They are all such awesome, awesome kids!  Misha wasn't very chatty before she & Shawna left, but I did get to hang out w/ her one on one the other Saturday, at least!  


I can't even explain to you the love I have for my cousins.  All of them, older & younger.  It's funny, now, because Kathy & Dawn & Shawna used to babysit/play with me when I was little, and I babysat for Misha & the B's when they were little.  Jenni I didn't get to meet til she was older!  


Anyway, I love my family, and I hope you enjoy these photos from today!!  : )  

Love Shawna's attitude!  ;  )   TTFN!

another scorcher!

DISCLAIMER: I am merely feeling ranty.  If you are easily offended by my rantiness, DO NOT READ FURTHER.  You may, however, skip to the portion of this post after the **** line, as I focus on some positve, smiley, Pollyanna-like musings.
Thank you.

I'm having issues w/ customer service and ppl in general today.  is it the heat?  is it the humidity?  am i just a crankopotomus (TM Kerry&Brandon)?  or are these situations really as irritating as i think they are today?  

Story 1: 

My driveway has been getting steadily worse as time goes on.  I think the smooth edge might’ve been jabbed away by the snowplows over the winter.  Regardless of the how, it’s pretty much now a concrete blog that I have to drive up into every day to park, w/o that tire-saving “lip.”  Now, the rest of my driveway is great!  It’s just dangerous to get into.  And since I can’t get into it any other way unless I want to use the neighbor’s driveway & park sideways every day… 

Can you tell how much of a dip there is BEFORE the block of cement?

I called the main office to put in a work order on it today.  The office manager started out by saying, “well, I’ll have the guys look at it, but I can tell you right now they’re not doing any driveway repairs right now.  And yours is one of the better ones, believe you me.(hahaha)”  then I said, “I understand, but it’s really kind of dangerous to have it sticking up that much, so anything you all can do would be great.”  Then she said she would go out & take a look at it today. 

A couple of things here – first of all, you are telling me that there are parking areas in your park that you know are “bad” when you say mine is one of the better ones.  You’re acknowledging that there is a problem, and you’re stating that there are no plans to fix it.  Um, don't I pay you rent for this lot?  And this lot and park are your responsibility to keep safe and kept up.  If my lawn gets to be too overgrown by your standards, you can bet that it’s my responsibility to get it taken care of, or you’ll charge me $50.  If you don’t repair the things that are your responsibility, are you going to pay ME $50?  I don’t think so.  The second thing was as soon as I brought the words “safety issue” up, you went from “the guys will check it out” to “I’ll be right out to check it out today.”  This tells me you are aware that it could be a safety issue, but weren’t going to really even look at it until I made you aware that I know it could be a safety issue!!  What is wrong with this picture??

Now, I am usually very happy w/ the office manager & staff.  They’ve almost always been really nice & helpful to me.  But there are just some times … (remember when my shed was pushed into my house?  And I called & put in a work order, but when I called to check on it they said they couldn’t do anything because of all the rain we’d been having.  (valid)  Then it was dry for awhile, and still nothing had been done.  My mom happened to be over one day & visited the office & they said they didn’t have a record of a work order, but would get on it right away, and they were!!  Grrrrr.

Story 2: 

There are these weekly menus, both hard copies and online.  The online menu is pretty accurate until the menu is changed/rearranged.  After that, it's a crap shoot as to the accuracy of the online menu.  Remember the salmon issue?  Every time I looked at the online menu & it said "salmon" I would get very excited since it's my favorite meal!  Then, 75% of the time when I got there on "salmon day" - NO SALMON!  I sent email complaints every time, and at first got replies back apologizing for the error/inconvenience/whatever.  

Then the apologetic email replies stopped, and a "disclaimer" was added to the website that this building's menu was subject to change based on availability.  Grrrr.  Okay, not grring at the change due to availability thing - that I totally understand.  If you're planning a menu ahead & suddenly circumstances come up that you have to change last minute (OCCASIONALLY!), I would not complain!  Stuff happens, and I get that, and I wouldn't hold it against anyone!  But, in these instances, it's a matter of the hardcopy menu being correct and the online menu being incorrect, which means that they KNOW on Monday when they print & distribute the hardcopy menu that the online menu is wrong.  *boggle*  

Now, I know what you're thinking, I can see the wheels turning.  "Why don't  you just get a hardcopy menu, then, and be done with it?  If it's correct, base your decisions on that."  Yes, that would certainly be an option for me, except that I don't want a bunch of extra papers hanging around my desk.  And that's not the point.  The point, I'm sorry, is that they are acting unprofessionally, in my opinion, by knowingly having an incorrect menu on their website.  They have office workers.  They have ppl whose jobs it is to update the website every week for the various facilities.  Why can't that person/those ppl update it CORRECTLY?  I, of course, emailed them again today.  We'll see if I am afforded a response.  I'm not expecting one, or not expecting it to really change anything.  

Story 3:

Not really a story, more of an observation from today's drive home.  It will be my FB status when I log in there later.  *laugh*  "Dear ppl who use your turn signals, Thank you.  I do have one suggestion, however.  Perhaps the signal would be better received if you turned it on PRIOR to leaving your lane & coming into mine.  It might give me a chance to slow down & let you in, as opposed to slamming on my brakes & honking at you for nearly causing an accident.  Thanks again, tho, for using that signal!"  

Story 4:

I used to have 2 credit cards.  I was very smart with them, for awhile.  Paid off the balances, etc.  Then I felt I had to use them to help support myself in that situation I was in awhile ago.  Money was leaving my hands faster than I could make it, even when I was helping Aunt Jan out!  So, I got rid of the cards, but still needed to pay them back.  I was making good payments, and then had the whole medical issue crop up.  Heart Specialists and other doctors are not cheap!  Monthly prescriptions are not cheap!  Thank God for my HSA to help with it all, but even that couldn't pay for everything.  And so I had to start making payments to the doctors, too.  There was some dental work that needed to be paid for (again, thank God for GREAT dental insurance, because they did pay a lot of it!).  There was a certain car accident (thank You once again, Lord, for awesome insurance!  My deductible was quite low!) and the rental car ... Which reminds me I need to make a payment to Mom ... (Thank God for her, too.  I am very blessed, and grateful for those blessings!  I don't want anyone to think I'm being ungrateful by any means...)

Anyway, that's a little background.  So, amidst the medical and other bills, the credit card bills fell by the wayside, because I simply did not have the money to pay them!  I would rotate - one month the medical bills would get a payment, the next month it would be the cards.

So, the one card has been sending me bills, and I've been paying SOMETHING every month.  Except for May, which IDK what happened in May, but I didn't send a check.  Anyway, they sold my account to a collection agency, which, alright, I'll pay them.  I want to make it very clear that I'm not trying to shirk making payments.  I'm not trying to default on any payments.  Well, the other card stopped even sending me bills, which is scary.  I haven't seen anything in writing from them, which when they were calling, I asked them to send me something in writing - which is my right!  But, nothing.  So, I keep getting this message from some guy, who calls during the day, and doesn't say what his call is about.  And... Seriously, what is THAT about?  My message says, "This is Carrie," so you know you have the right number.  Tell me what the heck you're calling about, what company you're with, something!  Otherwise I'm not calling you back, because if you're a debt collector, I've already asked you to contact me in writing.  This same number, same guy, kept calling, tho, and he was starting to sound really scary on the message.  So I figured I would call back & leave a message for him to either contact me in WRITING or leave a more detailed message.  Well, instead, someone actually answered the phone, and did the call center thing when I asked if I could leave a message.  "Oh, yes, he does have voicemail, but I think I can help you."

UGH.

You know these reps work on commission, right?  And he was RUDE!  Well, he started off polite, and let me speak, but then when he went into his scripted spiel - which happened to be the exact wording I heard on Dateline when they went undercover to the scammer callers in Florida - and I called him out on threatening me, that's when he got MEAN and wouldn't let me talk, and just kept badgering me over & over again.  It was awful!  I was trying to interject so that I could find out what kinds of payments they wanted, and he kept talking over me and telling me that I wasn't cooperating and he was going to tell his employers to continue action without me.  I was like, What?!  Wait, how can you say I am not cooperating when I am trying to get information from you??  And then he said, "Well, if you are not going to take responsibility, then I am going to terminate this call because there are callers who do want to work with us."  And MEAN!  When I pointed out he was being rude, he then got even RUDER and sarcastic, saying, "I'm sorry if I gave you the impression I was customer service..."  Oh my goodness!  So, I hung up on him in the middle of his sentence because HE wasn't listening!

I have tried working directly with these ppl, and I'm done.  I think I'll go to Consumer Credit & just pay them to deal with it!!  My medical bills will all be paid off in the next couple months, Lord willing, and then I can add those amounts to the cards.  Oye!

So, you tell me - am I being a crankopotomus or have I really had a day from hades w/ ppl?!?!

****************************

Okay, it's safe to read now.  : )

Today wasn't all Grrr-y.  I had lots of fun with some way interesting work stuff.  I was able to actually investigate some stuff, which I love!  I got home in time to watch Big Brother.  I made waffles & eggs & bacon for dinner.  Mmmm!  I love making semi-runny eggs to eat w/ waffles.

The sky was beautiful tonight!  All floufy clouds & a pink sunset.  And I saw the cutest little boy running down my street, all long limbs & chocolate skin.  Love!  He looked to be about 2.  Awwww.  I wonder what Jasmine & Amorae are up to these days?  And their sister, America.  Amorae & America were adopted by the same lady, and I think Jasmine lives with a grandmother, but I'm not sure.  (We fostered Jasmine & Amorae for awhile many years ago.)

I get to watch White Collar and I'm not sure what else.  And I want a snack, but IDK what.  Oh, actually, I know what - Popcorn!  I just don't know if I want to make it or not.  : )

Tomorrow is Leyton & Anthony day, and that is ALWAYS a good thing.  Friday I'm on vacation & Kathy just called to finalize our plans for the day.  HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!!!!

These are the things that make me happy.  /today's novel.  : )  ttfn!

REALLY random

marketing genius - doritos Burn chips + pepsi max cease fire.  you can read a review of both here.  i haven't tried either, nor am i likely to, as i don't really like that particular kind of spicyhot or diet soda.  but when i heard the commercial on the radio today, i did think it was a neat cross-promotion.  now, the review that i've linked to mentions the pepsi max cease fire was only supposed to be around til april, yet i heard the commercial today, so... only your grocer knows for sure!  


cookout at work today was pretty darn good!  dave & jeff were in the back manning the grill, cooking brats, hot dogs & burgers for their awesome team of workers.  : )  i did not have a hot dog or a burger, but they looked good.  the brats were excellent!  my friend, amy, came down to hang out w/ the contingents & that was interesting!  apparently someone had some misinformation somewhere, and amy is very much like me in the "let's battle injustice" mindframe!  i think everything worked out okay, tho.  there wasn't really an "injustice" going on, just the aforementioned misinformation that i'm sure got straightened out!  heh!  it was nice to visit w/ amy a bit & we arranged a lunch in august, so that'll be good!!  : )  


met michelle at osaka after work & had some delicious eats.  mmmmm!  beautifully done!  and we got to visit awhile & catch up on each other's worlds a bit!  (can you feel the excitement from all of those !'s?)  i'll have pictures & a review later at the menu.  planned to write it tonight, but got sidetracked talking to joyums & finally calling sarahbug & watching Secret Life & Buffy.  : )   


i write a lot about nothing and everything and i'm sorry for those of you who get these updates every day & sometimes it's interesting & sometimes it's just blather that makes little sense.  thanks for checking in anyway.  tomorrow's wedensday - i hope we all have a good one!  


ttfn ... 

stuffy

i can breathe, but i feel my sinuses blocking.  it's funny (not haha) how once the meds kick in i won't notice right away.  then all of a sudden, it's like "oh, hey, i can BREATHE!"  and it's very nice.  i would like to not be stuffy anymore.  no blockages.  isn't that the prayer of all the sinusly challenged?  i know sinusly is not a word.  it's a carrie-ism.  trademarked.  don't use it.  well, okay, you can use it, but you owe me a penny for each time that you do!  ; )

haha

ummm... well, it's monday.  almost tuesday as i type this.  i got to chat w/ april today, which was nice!  i missed her tonight by like 3 seconds, tho!  i was out taking pictures of the sky (i haven't uploaded them yet) and i got back & saw her blinking at me & then she was gone.  le sigh!  got to IM w/ erin a little tonight - she went to the mall of america w/ her mom over the weekend & had lots of fun!  : )  i love that mall.  i love the aquarium in that mall!  heh.

i finally got caught up on Secret Life and Rookie Blue and Persons Unknown (HOT italian guy, must look him up on IMDB later!) and Last Comic Standing.  woot!  now i just need to catch up w/ drop dead diva & army wives, and i think i'm back on track!  *laugh*  thank you, hulu!

doesn't that sound like an exciting day?  i know!  tomorrow is anthony's birthday (he'll be 12!), our cookout at work, and dinner w/ michelle (sushi! finally!).  what fun plans do you  have for your tuesday?  do share!

ttfn  : )

typhoon

it's a new flavor by mt dew, and it's pretty good!  the flavor description is that it's a tropical punch dew, and it lives up to that.  and it's kinda the same color as this text.  heh.


i was awakened this morning by a horrible charlie horse in my right calf.  my leg still hurts 10 hours later!  : (  thank the Lord it did not last very long, but it was powerfully mighty all the same.  i apparently did not drink enough water yesterday for how much i was losing.  harrumph.  am trying to chug more of that and i drank some milk today, too.  would help if i had a banana... 


mom didn't call to go to a movie today, so i just putzed around.  washed my hair, watched buffy, finally got the computer to work to finish America's Got Talent and watch the live link for Big Brother.  woot!    it's very weird watching BB this season, because i missed the first show.  i'm reading the BBDish site, but it's hard to get a real sense of who these ppl are.  idk, i'm just struggling this year!  if anyone has any insights from their watching of the show, please share!  


played w/ yet another nifty gadget brought to us by micaela - my writing style is apparently like that of the great stephen king!  : )  whose writing style do YOU share?  find out & lemme know!  


it was nice to have a quiet day, because this week is shaped up to be very busy!  but the fun kind - dinner w/ michelle on tuesday, mom's on thursday, hanging out w/ kathy on friday, dubuque on saturday, and hanging out w/ linda hopefully at some point!  a retired co-worker now has a baking company, and i ordered some cookies & zucchini bread which she'll deliver on ... thursday, i believe.  i can't wait!  i've been craving zucchini bread all summer!  : ) 


that, and some really good garden tomatoes.  bring on the tomatoes!  


what've you been craving this summer?  


ttfn!  

i believe

in the Trinity, God the Father, Jesus His Son and the Holy Spirit.  


****************


i had a whole post worked out in my head about beliefs and whatnot, but then i didn't write it right away when i sat down & now it's sorta gone.  uncle gene & i have been emailing back & forth about Arizona immigration policies & such.  our discussion hilighted a lot of the nation's issues, i think.  we both feel the same way about a lot of things - discrimination is bad, the poor are usually the ones to suffer while the rich get richer (generalization...), harassment based on skin color is still a problem today.  these are things most ppl on both sides of the debate can agree on, i think.  the difference lies in logic.  my logic tells me that those things mentioned above have nothing to do with illegal immigration.  or, rather, with whether someone is a legal or illegal immigrant.  now, i have some wacky ideas about immigration in general, the jist of which involve not having illegal immigrants because everyone is welcome in the US.  however, since apparently our government has decided that everyone is NOT welcome in the US, and we have rules regarding the living of the life in this country... well, i think the enforcing of those laws should not cause this much uproar.


of course, i realize that my logic seems to change here & there.  on the one hand, i don't think it should be a big deal to ask someone for ID - if you were born here or if you are here legally, you'll have your ID and if they want to check up on you, they will discover that your records are here.  if you are not here legally, you won't be able to produce the correct paperwork & voila!  on the other hand, what if you THOUGHT you were born here, or your parents were american, only to discover as an adult that it's not true?  should you be penalized and deported to a country you've never known?  one you don't remember ever being in merely because you were born there?  logically, i have to say no!  


so, i want arizona to be able to enforce their immigration laws & don't understand ppl's opposition, but i don't want them (or anyone) to deport ppl who are here illegally as a circumstance not of their own choosing.  (actually, as stated above, i don't want anyone to be deported.  if you made the effort to move here, you should be granted some sort of legal alien status.)  


yep, sometimes i feel like yin & yang all rolled into one body.  crazy.


**********************


in other news, today was a pretty nice day, despite the awful heat!  i called holly & we met at IB at 11:30.  i'm glad she came, because i was at a loss as to what to get.  she pointed this out & it seemed so perfect.  and then we decided to send the rest of what we'd collected to the family instead of getting another something.  and then we had them ship it along w/ the cards.  i hope that was the right thing to do.  it felt like the right thing to do... we got to talk for a bit after, and that was nice.  : )  we didn't get to do lunch because she had to go pick cucumbers & make pickles w/ her fam.  


instead, i picked up some mongolian beef & came home for lunch.  


mom called at 3 & i went down there to hang out.  we went to WM so she could get some prints from her sd card & mine.  i entertained leyton (and he entertained me!) while she was busy with that.  

we went to applebee's for dinner, and i got the sampler platter.  it was mostly good, but i'm not a fan of their quesadillas.  we went back to mom's & hung out for a bit, watching a new thomas movie leyton picked out.  he really is funny, and smart!  heh.  

i got home around 9 & had some interesting emails & things.  i'm sending a letter & deck of cards to micaela's brother, who is in the military & depoloyed over seas currently.  idk if the deck of cards will be useful or not, but it's something i think everyone can enjoy one way or another!  *laugh*  


and there you have my day.  : )  tomorrow mom & i might go to a movie, she's not sure if she wants to go or not!  for now, a little more Buffy and a little more sleep.  ttfn!