Does that sound like a Hitchcock short, or what!?!
Saturday afternoon, just after Brett and I finished our slow morning of Scrabble, Yahtzee & a Freschetta pizza, I left for work & Brett noticed the house was getting stuffy. He checked the thermostat and saw that the temperature was set for 74, but was reading 81. Ruh-roh.
Fast forward to 4:00. After changing the filter, resetting the system and leaving it off for a while, the house was 87 degrees. Time to file our first ever (in this lovely rental house) maintenance request.
You report maintenance issues online (the owner of this house uses a service to find and manage his renters) and Brett found how to do that fairly easily. That is when the first of at least a dozen good things happened.
The agency called Brett immediately to confirm the problem and inform him that they would be contacting the owner. There was almost no waiting on that. The owner then called Brett to access the situation. Unfortunately, some confusion followed. The owner is an older gentleman - late 70s, early 80s. At the best of times, he can be a bit hard to follow, and Saturday was NOT the best of times! He was calling us from a hospital bed! He is fighting an infection and was hospitalized for it the day before. But he called to tell us he was sending out his son (or son-in-law... I'm still not clear on the relation) to come and check out the unit the following day.
At this point it is 6:30, still 87 degrees in the house, and incredibly uncomfortable! So Brett and I decided to get out of the house and stay out as long as we could. Let the sun go down and hope that the house cools off a bit. We started by heading to a nice, cool restaurant for dinner.
Well, before we could even place our order at said restaurant, the phone rang again! It was the owner telling us that his son was on his way to the house. So we ate fast, rushed home and began our evening of sweat. I'm sorry, there's just not a nice way to say it. It was a long, hot, sweat-fest.
But that is really the only negative thing that I can say about the experience. Well, that and neither one of us slept much - Brett couldn't cope with the gentle roar of our borrowed box fan. And every time I started to doze off, I woke up startle thinking that something was smothering me. It only got down to 84 degrees, so even though I was breathing in oxygen, my lungs were not getting the relief that fresh air usually brings.
But we made it through the night. And here are all of the good things that happened:
- Mike, the owner's son (in-law?) was a really nice guy. He couldn't fix the unit, so he called his AC guy and they were able to figure out what needed replacing over the phone. It would be Monday morning before they could buy the part, but they knew the problem and could fix it without us being home since it was the outdoor unit.
- When we went to my parents house to borrow their 2 portable fans, my mom slipped me $50 and said "Stay at a cheap hotel! It's miserable without air conditioning!" A fact that is fresh on her mind because their AC went out just last week! Saturday night, we needed to stay home to take care of some things, but the first thing I said to Brett Sunday morning was "let's see how much a night at La Quinta would be". It was SO nice to have that option.
- Church on Sunday was great and afterwards we had lunch with my family to celebrate Father's Day! It was so much fun! I laughed so hard at Jenna's stories and we all smiled so big passing my sweet nephew around the table. It was a great day.
- We went straight to the hotel after lunch. What a nice treat! Sooo relaxing, away from the chores and tasks that so easily occupy us while we are at home. I cut coupons, wrote out this blog (Brett's tablet doesn't like this website), Brett napped and I started reading The Hunger Games again. hehe. Loving it STILL!
It was a memorable weekend for so many reasons. Sweatiest night of my adult life. Most fun Father's Day I can think of. (Everything is fun when you have a baby around.) And a super comfortable night at a local hotel. I couldn't stop smiling yesterday. Once we got out of the house that is.
This blog was brought to you by the letters A and C and the number 74. Degrees, that is! Back in the land of the air conditioned!
Monday, June 18, 2012
Saturday, June 9, 2012
It's The Simple Things
Summers at the school where I work are always 12 weeks long. We have now officially completed 2 weeks. I sincerely hope they were the hardest weeks of the summer. Oh. My. Goodness.
I can't remember the last time I had such a hard week at work. Not coming home crying every day hard - though I did cry on my lunch break yesterday when I felt like my boss (it is a married couple who owns the school. I am referring to Mrs. Owner) had a disapproving tone after we worked our rather substantial butts off all week with only moments of help from her - but hard. Monday and Tuesday night I was so physically exhausted that not much happened once I got home, other than a much needed shower. Tuesday night I was so thankful that Brett's mom wanted to take us to dinner because the thought of standing in front of the stove, or even standing at the counter long enough to make us panini's was painful.
It turns out we are understaffed. We have more kids than we realized, which is an awesome problem to have, but it required every one putting in extra effort, and unfortunately, half of our staff called in sick at least once this week. Yikes. For the first time ever, I was a substitute teacher for the entire day. I have filled in an hour here and an hour there in almost every class at the school. But I was a 3 year old teacher for an entire day. The first full week of summer. Which means new students. New 3 year old students.
That's all I can say about that.
It was such a ridiculously tough week, that for the first time in the history of our school, the Mr. Owner hosted a happy hour last night. He said thank you with pizza and wine. Because we survived 5 "I need a drink" days.
It was last night, and I didn't go. Brett got paid yesterday and we decided yesterday morning to have a date night so when I got to school and was offered happy hour, it was an incredibly tempting thought. I had my phone in my hand and was texting Brett to tell him I had plans, when I pictured his face as he read my text and put my phone back in the cabinet where it lives while I am at work. I'm not the only one who had a full week at work. Last night was one of those nights where we really needed to be together.
(Brett also doesn't really approve of alcohol. I could probably count on both hands the number of alcoholic drinks I have had in my life (maybe both hands and one foot... maybe) I look forward to a margarita now and then. I usually have an "I need a drink" moment once a month, and actually have a drink once a year, and it is always planned far in advance. A lunch date with my girls or a birthday dinner with my bestie, Jennifer. But alcohol has just never been a big part of my life. As a believer, and someone who has witnessed up close and personal the devastating effects alcoholism can have on a person's life, it was an iffy subject for me for years. Not knowing how I felt about it kept me away from it for a long while and it just never became a major player for me. So if it's not important to me, and it is important to Brett, why would I not honor him in that area? I haven't said firmly that I will never drink again, but the thought has crossed my mind once or twice that maybe I should... okay, back to our regularly scheduled program.)
My date night with Brett was exactly what I needed. It was super simple. We spent a total of $53, but that included dinner for both of us at $20, movie tickets for both of us at $20, candy to sneak into the movie in my purse at $3 and a gift from him to me at $10.
We had talked about seeing Snow White and the Huntsman, and because it was pay day, and we were exhausted, I wanted to see it at the Cinema Suites room at a nearby theater. It's a dine in theater but the seats are recliners. I have heard it is the most comfortable, enjoyable public movie watching experience out there and I have always wanted to give it a try. But at $15 a ticket, it is not something you do every time you go catch a flick. Because of the large seats, the seating is very limited in these theaters. We wanted to buy tickets online at home, but we are out of toner and can't print anything at the moment. So we went to the theater two hours early. Well, there were only 2 seats left, and they weren't next to each other. So we passed and bought tickets to the regular theater.
This particular theater happens to be at a mall, so we ended up eating dinner in the food court and then visiting the Lego store to kill time.
We went to the brand new Lego store in The Woodlands when we were there a few weeks ago and I really wanted to buy a figure key chain. I have the Indiana Jones Lego figure key chain because it came with the game and Brett gave it to me. We play the Lego video games together. Brett is a gamer, and most of the games that he plays, not being a gamer myself, I am not interested in playing. But, because he is a gamer, we look for games that I can have fun playing, and the Lego games are my all time favorite. They are hilarious, and because they are all based on classic films, they are right up my movie loving alley.
If you are a long time reader of my blog, or a friend, you know that my husband and I collect Mr. Potato Heads. We have 15 or so on top of our kitchen cabinets. The first we bought was Spud Trooper, a Mr. Potato Head dressed up as a Star Wars storm trooper.
We saw it in a grocery store one night and died laughing. We had to buy it. A few weeks later, when we came across Darth Tater, also in a grocery store, a collection was begun.
It's been WAY too long since they've put out a new one. Not that we have them all. I occasionally get on Amazon and drool over these guys, none of which we have, but I tell myself to wait. Maybe we will find one on a comic shop shelf one day.
I was sure that The Avengers films would inspire some new potatoes, but if they are out there, I haven't found one yet.
Well, Brett collects all kinds of other things, all comic related. I was an avid collector as a child. Stickers, bells, maybe spoons at one point? A brief flirtation with Avon bottles after college. But they were all eventually rationalized away. In high school I went on a cleaning kick one day and got rid of everything that was junk. I was a hoarder waiting to happen. I went cold turkey one day deciding that I didn't want "things" filling up my life. I threw away notes, pictures, collections, and who knows what else. I'm still big on fighting clutter. I refuse to buy something that I don't have a place for. Clutter is the opposite of convenience. Excess things will not make my life better. I am just now letting myself start to buy a cute bit of randomness now and then to decorate the house. I realized that there is a happy balance where a home can be decorated without wasting a ton of money on non necessities. It's okay, and even healthy, to display your personality.
But I love our potato collection. I have always know that I will someday have a collection of Pez dispensers. Well theses Lego figures rock my world, and they are tiny, so I have ways to display them now. I have officially started collecting them. I have the Indiana Jones key chain that came with that Lego game, the Captain Jack Sparrow figure that came with that Lego game, and last night I bought two more key chains. Hagrid and Wonder Woman. It was Hagrid that did it. When I saw him, I had to have him. He is my most loved character in the Harry Potter books. If I were a student at Hogwarts, I would have a secret crush on him.
We both enjoyed the movie. It is very well done. Not the kind of movie that I would typically watch over and over but Brett has already said he wants to own it, so I will see it again, for sure.
Wow. That was a long post. I am off to put on some make up, so we can go get our oil changed and run a thousand errands today. I am feeling very spoiled. It was a hard week, but we made it. And today is all ours =-)
Hope you find whatever medicine you need this weekend, be it a margarita, a movie night or a Lego key chain.
I can't remember the last time I had such a hard week at work. Not coming home crying every day hard - though I did cry on my lunch break yesterday when I felt like my boss (it is a married couple who owns the school. I am referring to Mrs. Owner) had a disapproving tone after we worked our rather substantial butts off all week with only moments of help from her - but hard. Monday and Tuesday night I was so physically exhausted that not much happened once I got home, other than a much needed shower. Tuesday night I was so thankful that Brett's mom wanted to take us to dinner because the thought of standing in front of the stove, or even standing at the counter long enough to make us panini's was painful.
It turns out we are understaffed. We have more kids than we realized, which is an awesome problem to have, but it required every one putting in extra effort, and unfortunately, half of our staff called in sick at least once this week. Yikes. For the first time ever, I was a substitute teacher for the entire day. I have filled in an hour here and an hour there in almost every class at the school. But I was a 3 year old teacher for an entire day. The first full week of summer. Which means new students. New 3 year old students.
That's all I can say about that.
It was such a ridiculously tough week, that for the first time in the history of our school, the Mr. Owner hosted a happy hour last night. He said thank you with pizza and wine. Because we survived 5 "I need a drink" days.
It was last night, and I didn't go. Brett got paid yesterday and we decided yesterday morning to have a date night so when I got to school and was offered happy hour, it was an incredibly tempting thought. I had my phone in my hand and was texting Brett to tell him I had plans, when I pictured his face as he read my text and put my phone back in the cabinet where it lives while I am at work. I'm not the only one who had a full week at work. Last night was one of those nights where we really needed to be together.
(Brett also doesn't really approve of alcohol. I could probably count on both hands the number of alcoholic drinks I have had in my life (maybe both hands and one foot... maybe) I look forward to a margarita now and then. I usually have an "I need a drink" moment once a month, and actually have a drink once a year, and it is always planned far in advance. A lunch date with my girls or a birthday dinner with my bestie, Jennifer. But alcohol has just never been a big part of my life. As a believer, and someone who has witnessed up close and personal the devastating effects alcoholism can have on a person's life, it was an iffy subject for me for years. Not knowing how I felt about it kept me away from it for a long while and it just never became a major player for me. So if it's not important to me, and it is important to Brett, why would I not honor him in that area? I haven't said firmly that I will never drink again, but the thought has crossed my mind once or twice that maybe I should... okay, back to our regularly scheduled program.)
My date night with Brett was exactly what I needed. It was super simple. We spent a total of $53, but that included dinner for both of us at $20, movie tickets for both of us at $20, candy to sneak into the movie in my purse at $3 and a gift from him to me at $10.
We had talked about seeing Snow White and the Huntsman, and because it was pay day, and we were exhausted, I wanted to see it at the Cinema Suites room at a nearby theater. It's a dine in theater but the seats are recliners. I have heard it is the most comfortable, enjoyable public movie watching experience out there and I have always wanted to give it a try. But at $15 a ticket, it is not something you do every time you go catch a flick. Because of the large seats, the seating is very limited in these theaters. We wanted to buy tickets online at home, but we are out of toner and can't print anything at the moment. So we went to the theater two hours early. Well, there were only 2 seats left, and they weren't next to each other. So we passed and bought tickets to the regular theater.
This particular theater happens to be at a mall, so we ended up eating dinner in the food court and then visiting the Lego store to kill time.
We went to the brand new Lego store in The Woodlands when we were there a few weeks ago and I really wanted to buy a figure key chain. I have the Indiana Jones Lego figure key chain because it came with the game and Brett gave it to me. We play the Lego video games together. Brett is a gamer, and most of the games that he plays, not being a gamer myself, I am not interested in playing. But, because he is a gamer, we look for games that I can have fun playing, and the Lego games are my all time favorite. They are hilarious, and because they are all based on classic films, they are right up my movie loving alley.
If you are a long time reader of my blog, or a friend, you know that my husband and I collect Mr. Potato Heads. We have 15 or so on top of our kitchen cabinets. The first we bought was Spud Trooper, a Mr. Potato Head dressed up as a Star Wars storm trooper.
We saw it in a grocery store one night and died laughing. We had to buy it. A few weeks later, when we came across Darth Tater, also in a grocery store, a collection was begun.
It's been WAY too long since they've put out a new one. Not that we have them all. I occasionally get on Amazon and drool over these guys, none of which we have, but I tell myself to wait. Maybe we will find one on a comic shop shelf one day.
I was sure that The Avengers films would inspire some new potatoes, but if they are out there, I haven't found one yet.
Well, Brett collects all kinds of other things, all comic related. I was an avid collector as a child. Stickers, bells, maybe spoons at one point? A brief flirtation with Avon bottles after college. But they were all eventually rationalized away. In high school I went on a cleaning kick one day and got rid of everything that was junk. I was a hoarder waiting to happen. I went cold turkey one day deciding that I didn't want "things" filling up my life. I threw away notes, pictures, collections, and who knows what else. I'm still big on fighting clutter. I refuse to buy something that I don't have a place for. Clutter is the opposite of convenience. Excess things will not make my life better. I am just now letting myself start to buy a cute bit of randomness now and then to decorate the house. I realized that there is a happy balance where a home can be decorated without wasting a ton of money on non necessities. It's okay, and even healthy, to display your personality.
But I love our potato collection. I have always know that I will someday have a collection of Pez dispensers. Well theses Lego figures rock my world, and they are tiny, so I have ways to display them now. I have officially started collecting them. I have the Indiana Jones key chain that came with that Lego game, the Captain Jack Sparrow figure that came with that Lego game, and last night I bought two more key chains. Hagrid and Wonder Woman. It was Hagrid that did it. When I saw him, I had to have him. He is my most loved character in the Harry Potter books. If I were a student at Hogwarts, I would have a secret crush on him.
We both enjoyed the movie. It is very well done. Not the kind of movie that I would typically watch over and over but Brett has already said he wants to own it, so I will see it again, for sure.
Wow. That was a long post. I am off to put on some make up, so we can go get our oil changed and run a thousand errands today. I am feeling very spoiled. It was a hard week, but we made it. And today is all ours =-)
Hope you find whatever medicine you need this weekend, be it a margarita, a movie night or a Lego key chain.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Soundtrack of My Life
I feel like putting thoughts down on "paper" tonight. I just got home from a meeting and it has my brain moving.
I was asked to be a group leader at a women's conference my church is holding in October. I was immediately hesitant when I got the invite and heard the subject matter, because it is an issue that I happen to be struggling with at the moment. Imagine that. I have been hiding from it for long enough, and I feel like God is gently leading me to healing, so I am going to put my big girl panties on and see where God leads me. I'm sure I will mention more as the event gets closer.
Tonight, I feel like recording some goals. I am ALWAYS hesitant to be public with my goals because for years I have been guilty of creating long lists of goals that become so intimidating that I give up before I've made a dent in said list. And of course, that means that the lists always look a lot alike. But tomorrow is full on summer. The first week in June. A new season. (I know the season hasn't technically started yet, but believe me, in Texas, it is summer.) So ladies and gentlemen (I know of two dudes who sometimes read my blog), I give you (in no particular order, and in various levels of importance):
Kim's Summer Goals
1. Get my craft on
- It felt so good to be crafty last week. I want to keep that feeling going. Be creative. Get messy. No rules. Let's see if we can fill up some of the blank spots on these white walls. Side note: the walls of my craft room are almost full to the max. There is even a bit of flair hanging from the ceiling now. Last weekend was the first time that I made something and hung it in another room. My "It is well with my soul" frame is hanging in the bedroom above and to the right of the dresser. Nice!
2. Be diligent with our savings
- There is always a lot of back and forth when you are beginning a particular savings fund. I am humbly pleased to say that since we began to focus on our finances in January, Brett and I have paid off one credit card (the smallest =-) and only used the other two credit cards once each. I bought some clothes on my Lane Bryant credit card for my birthday and last week we had to put some car repairs on our big credit card. But I feel like if we are serious and diligent, we can reach our "emergency fund" goal by the end of August. Of course, we will continue to save after we reach that goal, but I have a number in mind that I am shooting for after that initial amount that will keep us from having to start from scratch (hopefully) if we ever have the need to pull from savings. It will feel really good to get back to paying down our credit cards.
3. Read my Bible daily
- I have been very inconsistent with my time in God's word the last few months. I am hungry for his voice.
4. Walk off some weight
- This really is a must do. I would like to walk for 30 minutes a day AT LEAST 3 days a week. (I typed 4, but then went back and put 3. I think it is realistic to start with 3 days a week and build from there.) I don't think I need to say more than that here.
5. Take care of our yard
- This may sound easy, but I struggle with it big time. I did a HORRIBLE job of watering last summer. I know it's important for the foundation and I love the little house we are renting. I don't want it to be worse because we were here. My hard is currently in serious need of a rake and broom. I would like to address that and then start watering regularly. I would also like to get a few potted plants. At some point. This summer.
6. Plan a really awesome surprise date night
- At least once this summer.
7. Be a better director in our Sunday School class
- We are about to have our next planning meeting. Now that I know a little more about the dynamics of the class, I hope to have more to offer.
8. Make some mixed tapes
- Okay, so not mixed tapes, cds. Music can be so medicinal. I am in serious need of some tunage for mi coche. I would like to start with a sound track of my life. Songs that have been significant at different times, for different reasons. I know this is a silly goal, but it's something I have been wanting to do for a long time, so darn it, I'm puttin' it on the list! Here are the songs that I know for sure will go on the mixed tape. CD. Whatever.
- New Kids on the Block "The Right Stuff"
- Wilson Phillips "Hold On"
- Annie Lennox "Walking on Broken Glass"
- The Beatles "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band"
- DC Talk "Jesus Freak"
- Jars of Clay "Flood"
- Beach Boys "Good Vibrations"
- Jennifer Knapp "Faithful to Me"
- Caedmon's Call "Shifting Sand"
- Blind Melon "No Rain"
That is what comes to me off the top of my head. This will take a lot of serious thought. Serious.
How about you? Any goals for this summer?
I was asked to be a group leader at a women's conference my church is holding in October. I was immediately hesitant when I got the invite and heard the subject matter, because it is an issue that I happen to be struggling with at the moment. Imagine that. I have been hiding from it for long enough, and I feel like God is gently leading me to healing, so I am going to put my big girl panties on and see where God leads me. I'm sure I will mention more as the event gets closer.
Tonight, I feel like recording some goals. I am ALWAYS hesitant to be public with my goals because for years I have been guilty of creating long lists of goals that become so intimidating that I give up before I've made a dent in said list. And of course, that means that the lists always look a lot alike. But tomorrow is full on summer. The first week in June. A new season. (I know the season hasn't technically started yet, but believe me, in Texas, it is summer.) So ladies and gentlemen (I know of two dudes who sometimes read my blog), I give you (in no particular order, and in various levels of importance):
Kim's Summer Goals
1. Get my craft on
- It felt so good to be crafty last week. I want to keep that feeling going. Be creative. Get messy. No rules. Let's see if we can fill up some of the blank spots on these white walls. Side note: the walls of my craft room are almost full to the max. There is even a bit of flair hanging from the ceiling now. Last weekend was the first time that I made something and hung it in another room. My "It is well with my soul" frame is hanging in the bedroom above and to the right of the dresser. Nice!
2. Be diligent with our savings
- There is always a lot of back and forth when you are beginning a particular savings fund. I am humbly pleased to say that since we began to focus on our finances in January, Brett and I have paid off one credit card (the smallest =-) and only used the other two credit cards once each. I bought some clothes on my Lane Bryant credit card for my birthday and last week we had to put some car repairs on our big credit card. But I feel like if we are serious and diligent, we can reach our "emergency fund" goal by the end of August. Of course, we will continue to save after we reach that goal, but I have a number in mind that I am shooting for after that initial amount that will keep us from having to start from scratch (hopefully) if we ever have the need to pull from savings. It will feel really good to get back to paying down our credit cards.
3. Read my Bible daily
- I have been very inconsistent with my time in God's word the last few months. I am hungry for his voice.
4. Walk off some weight
- This really is a must do. I would like to walk for 30 minutes a day AT LEAST 3 days a week. (I typed 4, but then went back and put 3. I think it is realistic to start with 3 days a week and build from there.) I don't think I need to say more than that here.
5. Take care of our yard
- This may sound easy, but I struggle with it big time. I did a HORRIBLE job of watering last summer. I know it's important for the foundation and I love the little house we are renting. I don't want it to be worse because we were here. My hard is currently in serious need of a rake and broom. I would like to address that and then start watering regularly. I would also like to get a few potted plants. At some point. This summer.
6. Plan a really awesome surprise date night
- At least once this summer.
7. Be a better director in our Sunday School class
- We are about to have our next planning meeting. Now that I know a little more about the dynamics of the class, I hope to have more to offer.
8. Make some mixed tapes
- Okay, so not mixed tapes, cds. Music can be so medicinal. I am in serious need of some tunage for mi coche. I would like to start with a sound track of my life. Songs that have been significant at different times, for different reasons. I know this is a silly goal, but it's something I have been wanting to do for a long time, so darn it, I'm puttin' it on the list! Here are the songs that I know for sure will go on the mixed tape. CD. Whatever.
- New Kids on the Block "The Right Stuff"
- Wilson Phillips "Hold On"
- Annie Lennox "Walking on Broken Glass"
- The Beatles "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band"
- DC Talk "Jesus Freak"
- Jars of Clay "Flood"
- Beach Boys "Good Vibrations"
- Jennifer Knapp "Faithful to Me"
- Caedmon's Call "Shifting Sand"
- Blind Melon "No Rain"
That is what comes to me off the top of my head. This will take a lot of serious thought. Serious.
How about you? Any goals for this summer?
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