Life is Good!

I'm sorry I haven't written in quite sometime, but I've been so busy enjoying my family. I'm happy to report that our air conditioner was replaced after only 7 days of sweltering heat! Our home warranty saved us a little money, but we still had $600 plus of out-of-pocket expenses. Did you know they charge you to dispose of your old unit? I think they haul it down to the recycling center and get the cash. SgtDub's been working his tail off. He's taken on a part-time job during his days off. He is working 8pm to 8am at Farmers Insurance. He gets to sit inside an office, but has to periodically patrol the parking lot. The pay is good, but those are long hours. Good thing it's not me, because I couldn't stay awake that long. He is also working another part-time job from 6am to 6pm on another day off. He really enjoys this job. He gets to sit inside an office there too, and he loves the people who work there (and I think they like him too). He's been working hard around the house. MissDub's bathroom is complete and ready to move in. I say "complete", but I haven't inspected it yet to find the 5% that's unfinished. My birthday was last Friday, and SgtDub and I spent the day sitting up a booth at the Flea Market. WooHoo! What a way to spend your special day. It was great just having Dub there and spending time together. Plus, it helps that he's so strong and can lift all the crap I'm selling. We spent our entire day on Saturday at the flea market and sold about $300. Although we only netted about $75, we were able to consign items for friends and family. They waived the normal $45 booth rental charge, so it was pure profit. I wish it was like that every time. Dub seemed really surprised at the items that sold, and the prices we got for stuff. Who knows, maybe he'll get the flea market bug and will start shopping for treasures with me. Our baby goats are doing great. They're getting really big and growing horns. They are so lovable that you can go out to their pen, and they will come up and get in your lap and let you pet them. Jasper likes to lean his horns against your hand and push as hard as he can. We tried bringing Edward (dad) back into the pen this weekend, but they were less than excited to see him. He was excited to see Bella (mom), but she obviously didn't share his excitement. We decided to put him back inside his own pen. I'm afraid we've kept them separated for too long now, and it will be difficult to reunite them. So, if anyone out there is a goat expert, let me know what to do to get them together. I will encourage Dub to update his post, and let everyone know what he's been up to . . . eat, sleep, work, etc., etc. Hope everyone has a great day and be safe out there!

How "Not" to Make me Happy!

Sorry for the delay in posting, but it's been a miserable week around our house. The problems started last Friday when we noticed our air conditioner was blowing warm air. We called a repair guy, who came out on Saturday and pumped in 4lbs of freon into the unit. Everything was fine until we noticed on Monday night that it was becoming warm again. We called the guy back out on Tuesday, and this time he said "you've got a REALLY big leak. Luckily, we've renewed our home warranty each year for this very reason. The people who built the house managed to use the cheapest materials available on the face on the earth, and now we're paying the price of repairing and/or replacing the big ticket items. We've lived in the house 3 years, and have replaced lateral lines, well pump and now a new condenser unit. The warranty is nice, but a real pain in the butt. As soon as you discover a problem, you must notify the warranty company, who then dispatches a work order to a local contractor. The local contractor has 24 hours to contact you to schedule an appointment. I reported the problem on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. and waited until 2:00 p.m. before I called the contractor directly to ask when they thought they might get around to calling me. I was told that it would be Wednesday, anywhere between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm (translation: another day of vacation). Did I mention that this is the hottest week so far this year? MissDub bailed out and went to stay with Nana and Papa, but SgtDub and I are staying put -- mainly because of all the animals. If it weren't for them, we'd be staying with Nana and Papa too. Back to warranty story, the contractor arrived a little before 10:00 am on Wednesday and confirmed that we had a very big leak and would need a new condenser (translation: get ready to sweat). Contractor notifies warranty company, who either approves work or asks for second opinion. Once approved by warranty company, they call to say "are you aware that you have certain out-of-pocket expenses that are NOT covered by your warranty?" Well, no, I'm not because the small print on the warranty is so tiny that it can't be read even with a magnifying glass. $620 dollars later, I'm jumping up and down saying "yes I agree to pay the $620 - just get it done!". Mr. Contractor calls back to say they've ordered the part, but it may be Monday before they can install it. Like a dummy, I said "what about Saturday?" and he laughed and said "the warranty company doesn't pay us overtime!" By this point, I asked "what's your overtime rate? I'll pay it!!" Yikes, $250 big ones! Oh well, it's just money, and besides I'M HOT!!!!! It's now 3:00 pm on Friday, and I've had no contact from Mr. Contractor, so I decide to call him. Guess what? The part just arrived and they would like to schedule an install tomorrow morning (Saturday), and by the way, you agreed to pay us overtime -- is that correct? Gee, I was hoping you'd forget I said that and just do it out of the goodness of your heart (yeah right!) SgtDub is working this week, so he's had the added burden of sweating to death in his uniform and coming home to a sweltering house. Poor guy! I've tried to convince him to go stay with the in-laws, but he refuses to go. So, if you're out there reading this, and you're sitting in the comfort of your air conditioner, take a minute to realize what a luxury it is . . . and think of all the poor people who live everyday without heat or air. I'll never take it for granted again -- at least not until mine is back on! Have a good weekend and stay cool!

How to Make Me Happy . . .

Just ask SgtDub, because yesterday he made me very happy! When I left for work on Tuesday, our house was a wreck. As usual, we bit off more than we could chew and have projects out the wazoo. SgtDub was working on the bathroom and converting the closet into DVD storage when he was pulled off to work at Grandma's house. She moved to an assisted living center, and now our family is cleaning out her house and getting ready for an estate sale. Our Grandpa was a carpenter and had a garage full of tools and equipment. SgtDub brought home several of his saws and I brought home the dining room table with 6 chairs, dresser and desk. Needless to say, our garage was full to the brim. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived home yesterday and found the garage was clear enough for me to park inside. I quickly noticed that the laundry was being done, the DVDs were in the new closet, the bathroom was painted, one wall had been covered in grass cloth, the new light fixture was installed AND he built a new stand for the fan in our bedroom. All that in one day!! Can you believe it? He is SUPERMAN! See honey, I don't just blog when I'm mad. MissDub did good too -- she helped him with all the projects and she did the DVD inventory. She put together an excel spreadsheet listing the movie title and rating. You know you have too many DVDs when you have to have a spreadsheet to keep track of them. And get this, we just signed up for unlimited Blockbuster rentals by mail. We have over 200 DVDs and we are paying to rent movies! I need to back up a minute and tell you our paint story. We stopped at Lowes on Sunday to get supplies. We always like to check the paint section where they keep the "mistints". We lucked out and found a gallon that I thought would work in the bathroom. It was marked $5.00, so we said "what the heck, for $5.00 it can't hurt to try it". Well, when we got to the register to pay, the clerk hands us a rebate by mail and says we'll get $5.00 off the paint! I'm not very good at math, but I believe that would mean FREE PAINT!!! We went back the next day and found 4 gallons of exterior house paint (enough to trim) AND it was FREE (after rebate). He he, we just love a good deal, and we got really lucky. We tried again last night, but didn't find anything. Better to stop while we're ahead. So now, SgtDub can add painting the house to his list of things to do.

The Babies Are Here!

Edward and Bella (pigmy goats) are proud to announce the birth of their two new babies! MissDub went out to feed at 6am today and discovered Bella had just delivered two baby goats. Mother and babies appear to be doing just fine. Imagine that, she delivered them without our help. MissDub had been reading up on how to be a goat midwife, and didn't even get the chance to assist in the delivery. One baby is white with a little bit of black, and the other one is black with white markings. We can't tell if the sex yet, but they sure are cute. They were trying to figure out the nursing thing. The white one must have been the first born, because it was moving around better. We'll keep you posted and put some pictures up soon. MissDub went to Six Flags with her church group, so she's not home to play with them.

Little Black Box

The word around our house is not the "Little Black Box", but rather the "Big Black Boxes". Do you recall the story and photos posted at Dub's site referring to the footlockers he was "lovingly" shipping home to me? Well, they arrived one by one (5 total), plus a backpack and duffel bag. I had threatened to leave all the boxes on the front porch until he returned, and then he could unpack them himself. Only problem is that he still has bags from the first deployment that aren't unpacked. Yes, that's right, there are still boxes in the garage that contain this and that, and probably some food items that are growing mold. This weekend while Dub was at work, my "OCD" kicked into overdrive, and something had to be done to remove the boxes from my home. Although they're stacked in the guest bedroom and not in my way, the mere thought of these boxes lingering gnawed at my mind until I couldn't stand it any longer. I had to take action! I began unpacking each box, sorting out the contents and mumbling under my breath that "there are times I'd like to pinch his head off!" Dub doesn't pack (or unpack) like normal people. Remember his room? Well, he apparently waited until the last possible moment and then scrapped everything off into a box. When that box was full, he moved on to another and another and another. Whenever I pack, I like to put similar things together. I fold everything and stack it very neatly to make optimum use of the space. Heck, I even go so far as to put my socks and underwear in ziplock bags, so they'll stay together. Back to my unpacking story . . . I spent several hours unpacking each box and then repacked them with similar items -- all cammo outfits together, all socks, underwear, t-shirts and equipment in another and on and on. I guess he didn't want to leave anything behind, so he managed to bring home every scrap of paper and toothpick he used during the last 15 months, plus a big ugly bug! I'll bet he was really tired after that ride! I quickly removed him to the backyard, and he's probably thinking "where am I?" I asked Dub why he hadn't unpacked yet, and his comment to me was "so he'll be ready to leave again" -- BEEP! . . . WRONG ANSWER! I feel really bad picking on my wonderful husband like this, but hey, isn't that what blogs are for? When he does something good I tell him about it, but when he does something bad, I blog about it and share it with the whole world! Next topic will be the DVD collection! Okay Dub, now it's your turn to tell your side of the story.

P.S. thanks for helping me get up last night after I strained my back -- otherwise I'd still be laying there waiting for someone to help me up!

Time To Make The Donuts . . .

Life in our household is officially back to normal. SgtDub was up and at em by 5:45 a.m. this morning. It reminds me of the Duncan Donuts commercial where the baker gets up at the crack of dawn and says "it's time to make the donuts". He was really cranky yesterday, and apparently not very excited about returning to work, and I can't say that I blame him. In a perfect world, money would not be an issue, and we could both stay home and play. Maybe if we were willing to sell everything we own and live in a tent, we could do it now, but I'm not quite ready to make that sacrifice. We had a very relaxing evening. SgtDub had dinner ready when I got home, and it was quite tasty (hamburgers). After dinner, we spent time on the Internet searching for hotels for our vacation, and then sat on the back porch watching the storms roll in. There was thunder, lightening, rain, hail, more rain, more thunder and on and on all night long. I'd like to say that I slept well listening to the rain, but it wasn't like that at all. Between SgtDub snoring and the thunder, I don't feel like I got any sleep at all. Maybe tonight will be better. MissDub went to see the orthodontist today and came out with black and blue bands. Back when I wore braces, we didn't get to choose colors. I had a "tin grin" and it was extremely painful when they tightened and re-wired my mouth. She never appears to be in any pain afterwords, which is a good thing. Hopefully she will get the braces removed in March, and she will have a beautiful smile to match her beautiful face. Not much else to report around here. Bella (the goat) hasn't had any babies yet. She looks like she's about to explode, but so do I! Hopefully we will have some baby goats very soon, and we'll have even more mouths to feed. I will encourage Dub to post about his first day back on the job, and who knows, maybe he'll have some good stories to share. Be safe and have a good day!

It's been a busy week!

Day 7 and we are making progress on the bathroom. SgtDub tried his hand at plumbing and after 2 very frustrating days, decided to hire a plumber who came today and saved the day. Our 4th of July was good and bad -- good in that we were all together, but bad in that my parents' dog (Jazzy) decided to run away when the fireworks scared her. We realized she was missing around 7pm and all began frantically searching for her. Our neighbors even pitched in to help. By dark, we had decided there was nothing more we could do, so SgtDub and MissDub put on their fireworks spectacular (NOT!) Man, what a disappointment! They spent $60 on fireworks and none of them were anything fancy. We had planned to have a big cookout at our house, but we had to cancel that due to all the rain. We could have played mud volleyball. I'm happy to report that Jazzy was apprehended about 3 miles from our house and returned safely. A very kind gentleman found her running along the highway and stopped to get her. We are so thankful that she was found safe. Dub's scheduled to return to work on Tuesday, and I'm a little nervous about that. Not that I doubt his ability as a police officer, but I worry about all the crazy people he has to deal with. Hopefully, they will go easy on him for a while and let him get reaquainted with the job. I can't imagine walking away from my job for 15 months and then coming back and remembering how to do everything. I've taken off work the last few days and have been home supervising the "project". I feel bad now that I got him started on a project that is obviously going to take a lot of time and money. I should have waited until he was better settled. I'm sorry SgtDub if you're reading this! Oh, one more thing I forgot to tell you about the fireworks spectacular . . . the first roman candle that they set off was upside down and it fired directly into the yard! It was hilarious and I got the whole thing on tape (he he). I will try to post again soon. Dub decided to download something to speed up our internet service and it apparently had the opposite effect . . . now we have none! Having to post from Nana's house. So if you're wondering why the family isn't posting on a regular basis, that's why. Also, if you're keeping up with MissDub's site - we still don't have any baby goats.