Who ya gonna call?

You don't see this very often and it struck me funny. Who do you call when your tow truck needs towing? Just thought I'd share this.

So what do we know?

I watched the President last night, because I was truly hoping he would spew some pearl of wisdom we could all grab onto. Fat Chance. What a fool. What he said, was what we all know. "The country is a mess" (yep), "Government must step in" (double check), "these are difficult and stressful times" (OK, GW, I'm with you so far), and then, nothing. That's it? Are you kidding me? He wasted 12 minutes of my life to tell me things I already knew and to tell me that my tax dollars are going to be used to bail out big business. Gee, George, thanks. Now I really can't sleep.

To top it off, I was awakened by Jacob at 4:30 a.m. with him telling me "I wet". Oh boy was he, and his bed, his sheets, his blankey. Geez! So I'm stripping him and the bed, get him dressed and have him sleep in my bed, then run down to the basement to do laundry, at 4:30 A.M. By then I'm WIDE awake, so I thought I'd read a book, but I heard this terrible ruckus outside, which freaked me out and I couldn't sleep at all after that. Wanna guess what the ruckus was? Raccoons (or some other crappy animal) tipped over my recycle bin and my garbage can and there is garbage EVERYWHERE. I just looked at it this morning and said "whatever", and went to work. It'll all be there tonight, and so will I, with a new, super, industrial, lock-tight garbage can. Little bastards!

For Debbie

O.K., I've apparently been lazy about the blog. My friend, Debbie, is getting on my case about it, so here's what's been going on.

Still love my job. Still want to wake up and get here in the morning. It's crazy here, but it's a good crazy, and I'm thrilled to walk in the door everyday.

Boys are loving their new daycare, and I can already see improvements with Jacob and Johnathan. Jacob is learning, I mean REALLY learning things. He knows some letters (by that I mean if he sees a letter "A" he says, look mommy an "A". . . he's getting better about his colors, he knows his shapes and not just "circle and square" but things like "octagon"). I'm blown away at how much better this daycare is for them. I come home at night with an armload of artwork and papers for them and from them. It's awesome. And their teachers are fantastic. So energetic, so happy to be there, and see our boys. It's a great feeling.

The house is still in disarray. I just can't seem to get to the last few boxes and it's making me nuts. But by the time I get home, feed the kids, bath them, put pj's on them, get dinner for myself and iron clothes for the next day it's 10:00 p.m. and I'm totally beat. On nights when we don't do baths I have laundry to wash, fold and sometimes even put it away. . . I'm so bad about that.

We celebrated John's nieces, Abby and Vicki's fifth birthday this past Saturday and on Sunday we celebrated John's sister Jenny's birthday. I will withhold her age LOL!
We also said Happy Birthday to John's oldest son, Zachary, who turned 17 this past Friday. That birthday just doesn't seem real. I met Zachary when he was 10 and now he's this grown up person. Some days that just doesn't seem possible.

This past weekend, in between all the birthday parties, we had a blackout. Sunday, while the remnants of Ike pushed through, we had winds up and above 30 miles an hour, which is apparently just enough wind to cause trouble. As we drove home Sunday night from Jenny's party, we no sooner got off the interstate then we saw a guy with a construction sign toppled on his car. Drove around toppled-guy's car and rolled up to the next major intersection and POOF! The lights went out. The CVS, the street lights, the traffic lights, EVERYTHING went pitch black. So we rolled on down the hill to find that our neighborhood still had power (Hooray!). I hurried up and gave the boys baths and got them in bed and about 15 minutes later the winds really picked up and as I wondered "could we lose power", every light in the neighborhood went out. John sat in his truck to hear the Steelers game and I found my way around the house with a booklight (note to self: buy more flashlights). Around 11:00 p.m. our power came back on, so then I had to get up and turn off lights, t.v.'s, fans, etc. What a night.

3 days

The last three days have been crazy, with me starting a new job, the kids starting a new day care, and re-adjusting to life in PA, which as simple as I hoped it would be, still presents a challenge.

However, I have noticed a MAJOR improvement in the boys in just three days. Oh, don't get me wrong. . . they are still as wild and crazy as ever, BUT they seem so much happier at this daycare center, and I'm much happier with this center too. I tolerated a lot of things at the last daycare, that looking back on it, I shouldn't have accepted. At least now I think they are getting exceptional care, instead of adequate care. It's a relief.

The job is fantastic. I'm thrilled with my new boss, the company in general, and the hopes and expectations everyone seems to have for me. I've been given a lot of freedom to redefine this position with the help of my boss, so it's all very positive and even after just a few days I feel like I'm doing something worthwhile and meaningful. I get up in the mornings and almost can't wait to get there to see what the day will bring, what new things I'll learn today, etc. etc. etc. I know, I sound like a dork, but it's been a long time since I could really say this, and mean it. . ."I really like my job".

What the ?

Apparently I hadn't had enough coffee this morning, because when I looked down just now this is what I saw. . .



Hopefully the day will improve from here.

We still aren't really moved in yet. I live in the land of cardboard boxes, as best I can tell, and the house has that weird cardboard box smell. . . the smell of the homeless.

I love it here

Can I just tell you all how happy I am to be home?!

We moved into our new place this past weekend, and our neighborhood is great! I took the boys for a walk the other night and we have such nice people around. Lots of kids the same age as the boys, everyone says "hi" and is interested in meeting us and the boys. I'm loving it.

We also checked out our new daycare, which is awesome. Nicole, the director, is very energentic and enthusiastic about the children in the center. Another plus is that Jacob and Johnathan will have time together during recess, lunch and naptime, which should really help with the transition.

I also dropped by my new office the other day to introduce the kids to my new boss and the HR people. Fortunately the kids were on good behavior, and my boss has kids about the same age, so he's pretty understanding about not just their behavior, but everything that comes with having little ones. I'm really excited about this job. The company, the people, everything sounds fantastic, and I'm sooooo looking forward to a pleasant work environment. Not to mention, awesome benefits package, great 401K, and casual Fridays when you can wear, get this, JEANS!!!! Awesome!!! The best part is, as much as I'm excited about this job, they are excited about me and what I can bring to this position. I know this job is going to be a breath of fresh air in my life, and I can't explain what a joy and a relief this will be for me.

Well folks, more later. I'd like to get some pictures of the house, the neighborhood, etc. to post, but so far the house is still in "move-in" mode and not picture worthy. And we've had a ton of rain, so getting outside for pictures is about impossible too. Soon, I promise.

We're Here!

I'll post pictures in a few days, but just to let you all know we are "here" and we are all safe and sound.

For those of you who don't know, I got a fantastic new job with a big bump in my pay, plus some great perks! However, and not that this is a bad thing, we had to move back to Pittsburgh. We'd been talking about moving back for awhile, and when I was contacted by a headhunter in Pgh about a job it all just seemed to fall into place. I don't start work until next week, but that's fine because we've certainly got a lot to do around the house.

I'll update everyone on everything else later. There are boxes calling my name.

Burn Notice - the great show you probably aren't watching but should

O.K., I've gone from book recommendations to t.v. I've been watching Burn Notice on USA (Thursday's at 10:00 p.m., which I am never awake for, but the DVR or VCR is a wonderful thing, so tape it). I have to admit a lot of what is appealing to me about this show is that it's written very much like the Robert B. Parker books I've enjoyed over the years, as well as Robert Crais, but it also has a Macgyver-ish feel to it as well.

If you like one or all of the above mentioned items, you will love Burn Notice. The lead character has dry wit (which I love) and his ex-girlfriend (friend, but I hope they get together again) is smart, and sexy and tough as nails. You can't help but like her. The only character that they could kill off, and I wouldn't give it a second thought is the main character's mother, played by Sharon Gless (you might remember her as the pretty one from "Cagney and Lacey", however, she is no longer pretty and completely annoying).

So there it is folks, take it or leave it. The good news is that you can pick this show up pretty quickly, so if you don't ever see season one, it doesn't really matter.

Happy Viewing!

Hold it

As ticked off as I am about this, I have had to put school on hold one semester. Wayyyyyy to much happening right now. I wouldn't be able to give school my full time and attention, so now I have to wait for spring. I'm disappointed to have to do this, but why try to do it half-ass, right?

I'll have lots to blog about next week. It's a secret, that probably isn't a secret to a lot of you, but you'll understand come next week.


Stay tuned, more updates next week.

Jenny and Dave

My sister-in-law Jenny got married this July and I am just getting around to adding some pictures. Bad, blogger, bad blogger. Well, hopefully you can all forgive me.

It was a really nice wedding, but more importantly, these are two people who love each other so completely, and have created such a lovely family by this marriage. I'm so happy they have found each other, as they both are people who deserve the best and seem to give each other the best.

We love you guys!

Taco Bell Hell

Ohhhh, I don't know where to start with this one. I'm still fuming a bit. Yesterday afternoon, on my way to get the boys, I decided "I'm not cooking" so off to Taco Bell I went. When I pulled in the parking lot the line of cars at the drive thru was snaking around the building and I thought I better go inside because time was limited. I walked in at 5:30 p.m. I walked out at 5:46. Herein lies my complaint. . . fast food is not "fast" if it takes 16 minutes. And here, ladies and gentlemen was my complicated order. . . 3 soft tacos and an order of nachos. Yes, dear friends, it takes 16 minutes to throw together 3 soft tacos, a bag of chips and a small cup of cheese. WHAT!?!?! I know it was busy at the drive thru, but it was as if I and the three others fools in the restaurant did not exist. That for us, time would stand still until the lucky bastards in the drive thru got their food.

To top it off I witnessed a dumbfounding conversation with the assistant manager and a relative of one staff member. . . it went something like this:

Assist. Manager (AM): "Can I help you?"
Relative (R): "No, I'm just here to pick up Terri" (or Jerri it was hard to understand him)
AM: "I'm sorry, Terri or Jerri?" (Apparently AM couldn't understand him either)
R: "Terri. I'm her brother-in-law and I'm here to pick her up."
AM: "I'm sorry you're her uncle". (OK, the guy was hard to understand but where the heck do you get 'uncle' from brother-in-law . . . I was baffled)
R: "BROTHER-IN-LAW, not uncle. Just tell Terri I'm here to pick her up"
AM: Terri is on until 6:00 p.m. She got 20 minutes left.
R: No, 10 minutes.
AM: No, 20 minutes. You can wait and I'll tell her you're here.
R: Whatever. (storms out to care)

I'm with him. . . whatever!!!!!

Meanwhile, according to my watch Terri had 15 minutes and that's about the time my food showed up from the far-reaches of the kitchen somewhere. UGH! When I got in my van I noted the time and raced to daycare. I wanted to wring someone's neck. Terri's perhaps?

For your Summer Reading Pleasure, Might I suggest. . .?

I just finished three books in less than a week, I know that's just, well, CRAZY?!

I picked up the "Twilight" series by Stephenie Meyers on a suggestion from a website. You know, one of those "if you like this author, you might enjoy this, blah, blah, blah".

Nice, quick easy read and it's a great story. Love, suspense, the supernatural, what's not to love? I'm only sad that there are only four books in this series, the fourth is due out Saturday, and then it's done (HUGE SIGH). I don't think I've enjoyed a series as much since Harry Potter, and it was terrible to see that story end too.

Of course, there is something to be said for "ending it". I know some authors who have written their characters within an inch of their "lives", and after awhile you think, "shouldn't this guy/girl give it a rest?" At some point the plots ALL sound the same, and it seems like you (the reader) are being cheated.

So it's true what they say. . . all good things must come to an end, however, I hope Ms. Meyers leaves the ending somewhat open, so that maybe at some point, if something fantastic occurs to her, we can revisit these fabulous characters.

My Blue Heaven

I keep forgetting I have this picture that I wanted to share with all of you. My Hydrangea was exceptionally beautiful this year. Last year it didn't do so well, but this year I got 11 blossoms, and they were all gorgeous.

More of the Big Birthday Bash

Poor Jacob. He didn't get much of a birthday this year. We're planning a trip to see family soon, and there wasn't time to bake a cake, or get a party together, so I had to wing it. Not exactly the way I wanted him to have to celebrate, but he was happy enough. So far he's done pretty well. John and I got him Spiderman p.j.'s and a Thomas the Train playset. Aunt Tracy, Uncle Jim, Becca and Cassidy got him some much needed clothes, a Power Ranger coloring book and two Power Ranger action figures (good for sharing with Johnathan)

As you can see, Jacob was just fine with tiny cupcakes. . . no cake needed. . . he only eats frosting :-)

Happy Birthday, Jacob!!!

I cannot believe my baby is four years old! Where did the last four years go? I swear it feels like only yesterday we were running back and forth, and back and forth, to the hospital. We thought for sure he'd be born on the 4th of July. I remember sitting on the couch watching fireworks for shut in's and timing the contractions with the clock on the wall. For an hour straight they were five minutes apart, so we went to the hospital and . . . everything stopped. This happened quite a few times over the next few days until the finally on the 6th I said I'm not going home without a baby. Little did I know that soon I would have my baby, 6 pounds, 9 ounces, and one month early. After one week in the hospital on antibiotics for strep B infection, I was able to take our sweet baby home. And oh, those first three months were, well, tough. And then, he smiled, and all was right with the world. He's been such a blessing in my life, and I can't imagine what life was ever like without him, and I can't imagine what my life would be if I didn't have him in it. My precious, sweet big boy.

Yellow Jackets - Satan's handmaiden

Childbirth was nothing compared to the pain I just experienced. So, I'm outside trying to trim back some shrubs so I can paint the house and guess what I disturbed? A yellow jacket's nest. Got one sting on my left thumb and on my um, backside. Little sucker flew up my pants and bit me right in the um, well you can guess. I'm just thankful it was only two stings.

Many years ago my sister, as a child, stepped on a nest and our neighbor at that time rescued her. And trust me, rescue is a the perfect word. These little bastards could kill you and the sting is a dull, throbbing pain. Ouch, ouch, ouch!!!

Do these evil bugs have a purpose? I'm going to Wikipedia them and see what the story is, and how to get rid of them. I'm just thankful the boys weren't with me.

Oh and did I mention I freaked out my poor neighbors? They came running as I went screaming into my house. Great. Before I was just the angry white lady, now I'm the crazy, angry white lady. This is not good for my image. (sigh)

Company, Dunham, Tattoos and Computers

That in a nutshell is what has been going on since last Wednesday. John's co-worker, Brian and his wife, came to stay with us this past week, so I've been crazy trying to get the house ready for company . . . if you know me you know how I work myself into a frenzy over having the house just right for company.

Then, we got a nice break. A night out to see the comedian Jeff Dunham. I got the tickets as a birthday present for John back in March. It seemed like this day would never get here. It was a blast. This guy is hysterical. If you've never seen him, do yourself a favor and check him out on You Tube or Comedy Central. His most recent show is called "Spark of Insanity" and he uses puppets, like Walter (an angry old guy), Peanut (some alien creature), Achmed (the dead terrorist), and Jose Jalepano (on a stick), just to name a few. I highly recommend this show.

And the boys (John and Brian) decided to go get tattoos. They both got dragons (different dragons on different legs), at Carolina Tattoo. Another place I would recommend. I need to get a picture of John's Tattoo and post it here. It is really beautiful work.

Finally, we have a new addition in our house, that I never expected. This bundle of joy arrived last week and is all I could have hoped for, a laptop computer. John got it for me as a surprise, and boy was I!

Remembered

I hadn't really thought to blog about Tim Russert until today when I was checking out my friend, Sarah's, page.

While I did not frequently watch the show, my mother did, somewhat religiously. It was a Sunday tradition for her. Church, breakfast and Tim Russert. I knew not to call after 10:00 a.m. on Sundays because this was "Tim Time" and I couldn't really compete with that. LOL!

What has surprised me most in the passing days is the outpouring of public affection for this man we hardly knew. I am inspired by the genuine love and affection he had not only for his family but for his colleagues and his career. Particularly, as I watched a memorial tribute to Tim Russert there was an audio clip from an interview that he had given where he said he thought if he was lucky he'd be able to go to college, maybe even law school and then return to Buffalo to be a good lawyer, or teacher. He did so much more than I'm sure he ever imagined possible, which has inspired me with my own aspirations.

Tim Russert we salute you and all the fine contributions you made to this world, both at your home and ours. Thank you.

3 States and a glass of wine later. . .

This is by far one of the most messed up situations I have ever dealt with. ( I know, don't end a sentence with a preposition, however, given the fact that I'd rather use harsh words here, a preposition is the least of my worries)

This all started out innocently enough. A small, white envelope in the mail from my insurance company. A non-threatening little white envelope, which I assumed said "hi, you need more life insurance, blah, blah, blah" or some other such non-sense. Nope. No such freaking luck.

John has been hit with the identity whammy AGAIN. After calling the DMV in North Carolina, Maryland AND Virginia, all three confirmed what we both knew. . . which is that John did not have a ticket of any shape or size since 2004. So, after doing everyone's job for them, I had to tell said insurance company that their underwriter was full of bologna and to run John's driving record again. This quest for truth took up more than an hour and a half of my life, which I will never get back. . . how fair is that?!?!?!

Don't misunderstand me. I do not blame John as he is completely blameless for this. Some yahoo in underwriting hell saw fit to transpose numbers or some other such nonsense that I can't even fathom at this time, and there you have it, BOOM, increased insurance rates. And here I am, having a mild panic attack trying to sort it all out. Again, karma, where are you and why, why, why, must you smite me so mercilessly?????

With any luck at all my hard work and dedication will pay off, but again, 90 minutes of my life wasted on, well, nothing at all.

John Q. Public

Sometimes, I long for the days of having an unusual name, like when I get calls from the dentist for crown work. . . umm, no not me, the "other" Beth Campbell. Or like today, when I find in the mail a notice that our insurance is going up because John Campbell had a traffic violation in March 2007. No, not this John Campbell, but probably "another" John Campbell. So, because there's a glich in the system somewhere, or someone was off by one number on a ticket, "I" have to fix it. Grrrr!