Weekend Recap

So, here is a recap of my Memorial Day Weekend…

Went to Kansas to help my mom sort through some stuff for her garage sale, INSTEAD, my grandma (dad’s mom that some of you have heard stories about) fell and broke her hip, so we spent a lot of time at the hospital. She was lucky that it only required 3 pins instead of a hip replacement, but I foresee a big family weekend of moving her to a house without stairs before the year is up.

Got outbid at the LAST second, literally, on some software I really needed for work on ebay (who ever out bid me, I hope you’re happy. I REALLY needed that software!)

Chipped my tooth eating salad, so now I have to go to the dentist on Wednesday to get it fixed. Hopefully my night guard will still fit when they’re done because I don’t want to pay to replace it.

Didn’t get the job I applied for. Not so bummed about the job, just bummed that I still haven’t found anything. I’m sure there is a reason, but I’m really anxious for a change.

So, this wasn’t the worst Memorial Day I’ve ever had (that would be either be the one where Billy & I broke up or the following year when my other grandma died), but definitely could have been at least a lot more fun.

To Cut or Not to Cut…

That is the question of the moment. As I mentioned in a previous post, I was planning on growing my hair out for Locks of Love. This decision was mainly spurred on because I can’t afford to cut my hair all that often these days. I made an appointment for this coming Tuesday to get my hair trimmed and shaped up a bit (I have to keep it healthy at least). I haven’t done anything to it other than cutting my own bangs since February 6. That’s quite a while for me.

The problem is, my hair has been driving me crazy lately. The longer it gets, the frumpier it gets and well…I’ve never been content with bad hair. I measured it last night and I’m only half way there (and that’s if I cut my hair off around my chin). I figure my hair grows about 2” in 3 months, so I’m looking at another nine months at least.

My dilemma came watching the American Idol Finale last night? Did anyone see Kellie Pickler’s hair? She cut it and it’s super cute.















I’ve had the cutting bug ever since. So now I have to decide between sticking with my goal and keep growing my hair out (which is cheaper) or cut it off, which might actually look better and would offer a much needed change. I need feedback people!!!

Don’t Mess With Me!

USDirectory.com (a.k.a YP.com, YP.net, Web Pages.com) will rue the day they ever messed me! We have been dealing with this company for years. They inundate you with checks that if you deposit them, you sign up for their web directory service in which they charge you $50 a month for something we already get for free. Generally, we just watch for their checks and then I shred them when they come in, BUT the company keeps changing their name, and inevitably, one will slip through the cracks and will be given to our Teresa (who works for our accountant) and it will get deposited.

We used to get bills from them and I would have to call and cancel the service – which is annoying in itself. But NOW they have started taking the tracking number off the back of your check and auto-debiting your bank account without you knowing it. A person should not go to so much effort to avoid signing up for something you don’t want. And yesterday, was the straw the broke the camel’s back.

After so much work, I discovered that yet another check had slipped past us, so I called the company not only to cancel our service, but to also to once again tell them to take us off their mailing list. This is when it all blew up. I went to close my door so that anyone in our reception area wouldn’t hear me yelling at them, but I was a little angrier than I thought and accidentally slammed my door. I have had it with this company and I told them it is my goal in life to shut them down, and today, I took steps to do just that.

I called the Better Business Bureau this morning in Florida. They took my complaint and then gave me a list of other places to contact because it seems there is an ongoing investigation into this company. I have talked the Attorney General’s Office in Florida, I’ve talked to the Consumer Affairs Office in Florida, I have filed a complaint with the US Postal Services Criminal Investigation Department, and have contacted the Direct Marketing Organization.

I’m sure that places like this will always find a way to operate, but you better bet I’m going to do my best to make it really difficult for them. I’m really a pretty docile person, but don’t cross me too many times or you will be sorry. So be warned! =o)

Jenny Doll

This is a picture of my favorite doll when I was little. Her name was Jenny. This isn't exactly my doll - this one is a picture off of ebay. MY Jenny doll has screwed up hair and her head is barely attached to her body, probably because I carried her around by her hair all the time. I still have my Jenny doll. She's at my mom's house somewhere. I thought about buying this one, but not sure if it's really the same if it's not MY Jenny doll. Anyway, this was a walk down memory lane.

Sleep Aid Mishap

About a year ago, my mom’s doctor put her on a sleep-aid to help her…well, sleep. She didn’t take them regularly, but we started to notice when she did take them, she would do some weird things. She was IM my aunt one night really late saying some really random things. She’d also been known to have conversations on the phone she was unaware of. This really started to freak her out, so she stopped taking them.

I found out this weekend that a while back, she got phone calls from two different online dating services about her account. Obviously my mom’s first response was “I don’t have an online dating account.” She told them that she didn’t know who signed her up, but it was against her will and she wanted to be removed. That’s when they told her SHE signed up. Of course, she didn’t believe this because there was no way she would do something like that. In the course of their conversation, she discovered that they had information about her that no one else could have possibly given them (not even information they could have found online). This had her pretty freaked out. Seems she signed up around the same time she was having all of her other sleep issues and it appears this was another one of her sleeping escapades.

Maybe Stacey’s Mom does have it going on. (Ewww…why did I just go there?)

Wildlife Cam

My friend forwarded me this link today. Our office has been enthralled by it all day. It's funny to hear someone yell out "there's an adult in the nest...look!" It's actually really facinating and addicting. I've kept it up on my computer all day and take a peek now and then to see what's going on. Though, feeding time isn't alway pleasant. At one point, the adult was de-feathering a smaller bird which was a little gross. Anyway, it's interesting to watch and should be fun watching them grow.

Sometimes It's Just Fun to Mess With People

Instructions for messing with peoples minds while driving...

Step 1. Tie balloons to car.
Step 2. Drive like a bat out of hell
Step 3. Watch people freak out !!!!

I Almost Feel Bad For Laughing

So, I mentioned in an earlier post that when my brother tried to help me rid my attic of raccoons and snakes, he had a little run in with a squirrel. Well, it seems he had another little mishap a few days ago.

I'm not sure what lead to the excursion up to the roof, but I guess my brother had reason to believe he had a squirrel issue of his own. Rumor has it he climbed up on the roof to resolve the issue. Once he was up there, he leaned over the edge to measure how big the hole was he needed to cover when (and I'm laughing just thinking about it) the squirrel came running out at him! As a result, he proceeded to fall off the roof of their two-story home. Luckily the only thing he did was dislocate his shoulder, but the fact that the squirrels seems to have it out for him makes me laugh!

The New Man in My Life

Oh yes, believe it or not, there is a new man in my life. His name is Zaine and he's not too tall, and one day his hair might be dark, but he's very handsome. After much too much waiting, we finally got to meet for the first time this weekend. He is super precious and I look forward to watching him grow up. He's a good baby and really did quite well this weekend despite his stuffy nose. And even though he had a diaper mishap and peed on me Saturday morning, I still think he's pretty special (actually, it was pretty funny because I was unaware of the mishap until I handed him to Tonna).

It was a really great to spend time with the whole family this weekend (I needed to get away), and look forward to many more visits in the future!

Nashville Star

I know that most people reading this could care less about today’s topic, but well, I don’t care. It’s my blog and I’ll write about Nashville Star if I want to!

I have never been ashamed to admit that I love Nashville Star. It’s the only reality show I regularly watch. Last night was the season finale and well, my boy Chris Young is the new Nashville Star. I had him predicted to win from pretty early on. Actually, I think he will probably be the most successful Nashville Star to ever win the show. Actually, Buddy Jewel (season 1) is the only other Nashville Star to actually find any level of success following the show (nothing huge, but he’s still out there – I haven’t heard squat from his to predecessors).

So anyway, back to last night. I actually predicted it quite well. Nicole Jamrose (who I think is okay, but not great) came in third and then it was down to Casey Rivers and Chris Young. I really hope that Casey ends up with a record deal because of this show too because he has an AWESOME singing voice, but Chris really did have the over-all “star” quality. It’s definitely the first time that I would actually pay to see a Nashville Star winner in concert or buy their CD. I’m anxious to see what the future holds for both of them.

I do have to admit that Chris Young has made my “crush list”. He’s young and I’m not really into cradle robbing, but he would be worth reconsidering that policy for. On the surface, he has a lot of the qualities of my idea of the “Perfect Guy”. Attractive, but not so good looking that he acts like he knows it. Driven, but has a playful side (I’m finding that is a really important quality to me). He can sing (seriously ladies, who wouldn’t melt if some guy you were dating serenaded you with a song he wrote about you?) Confident in his abilities, but not cocky. And most important loves his family.

Over-all, this was my favorite year of Nashville Star. Next year will have a hard time toping it.

Props to the "Cousin-in-Law"

I don't know if any of you saw this story on the news last night, but you can imagine my surprise to find out the state trooper was my cousin's husband, Shawn (this would be the same person who kind of tricked me into attending the rattle snake festival last year). We're all really proud of him, though I promise you he would really rather not have the attention - that's just the kind of person he is. He is just the nicest, down-to-earth, always do the right thing kind of person that you could ever meet. And he is so great to my cousin and their kids. Even though he can be really onry at times, we'll still claim him.