Wednesday, April 30, 2008

I Should Have Stayed in Bed!!

You know when you have one of THOSE days.....? When at the end of the day you realize staying in bed would have been a better alternative....? Not to make this a whining post, but no one would believe what's gone on, so I decided to record it here:

8:35 a.m. Got to my office. I had purchased light bulbs from Gerry the handicapped worker yesterday, $32 for 6 bulbs (no this is not a typo!) They were delivered, I opened the box after hearing some serious rattling going on and this is what I found........




Ok, fine, no problem right, they have a 5 year guarantee on them, great!! So they go into my back seat where they continue to rattle around most of the morning. I realize, hey you know, I don't need to keep buying from this fellow, although it does make me feel nice to purchase from time to time. I went nuts though and called and actually complained and had my name taken off of the list.....hope I don't feel too guilty!



I have a deal going with Wells Fargo, we are moving into the 8th month of waiting for them to "approve the short sale package"........really what in the world do you think they have been doing for 7 1/2 months?? I am able to use a different identity and call the bank myself ( I represent the buyer) so today I decided to call every hour, yikes, good thing I have unlimited minutes on my cell phone. Each call took a minimum of 20 minutes and a couple took 35 to 45 minutes. Basically I am right where I was yesterday, with absolutely nothing. I will call again tomorrow, why not, I may just get an answer!



Last evening I called Comcast and bundled my cable, internet and home phone, what a great plan. I will end up saving almost $100 per month, great idea huh? I was told to pick up an HD cable box at Comcast in Layton today (I need it before Thursday evening since our sound guy will be here to install it) So after showing 4 more homes I ran out to Layton to pick up said HD box......after waiting in line for 10 minutes it was my turn. I asked for the box and rescheduled the time to have them come out to change over the phone service only to be told, sorry I can't give you a box today.....What??!! I need the box today, I was told I could pick up the box today. She was pretty adamant and told me since I had an "open" order I had to wait until 7 days after the order was completed before I could pick up the box, well that would be about 2 weeks from now, not even an option. So as I was gritting my teeth, I asked what exactly would I have to do to walk out of there with a box TODAY??! Oh no problem, we will cancel your phone order, give you the box, re-do all of the paper work, reschedule your phone change over for May 10. By now there were about 8 to 10 people behind me (only one clerk!) and I said ok, fine then that's what I want to do. Well I don't think I came out the winner totally, but 40 minutes later I did walk out with this little beauty - "the box:! Whew! I avoided the stares from the people in line!!




I'm really into "dove-tailing" my car trips. I needed to return a shirt to DownEast Outfitters in Layton. I was glad the shirt was still in my car and I ran in, looked around, didn't find anything I "needed" so I went to the counter to do the return.......couldn't find the receipt (go figure!) and of course they just look at you like you are stupid and send you on your way. Back to the car, tore through my purse and wallet, wahoo, found the receipt! Ran back in to get a credit on my bank card, again she looked at me like I was nuts, sorry, we only give store credit, so girls, let me know if there's something cute at DownEast, I have credit! Did I mention it was snowing in Layton while I was running in and out, honest!




Finally, I was on my way home and was on the phone. I kept hearing an odd beep in my ear...discovered that the BlackBerry was going dead, just too much phone time with Wells Fargo I guess! I stopped in at Albertson's to pick up a prescription for Allegra-D, they rang it up and said "that will be $45", are you kidding me? What happened to the $5, $10 or even $25 co-pay, since I was in the middle of yet another allergy attack, I swiped my card, grabbed my pills and rushed out!!


Finally home! Dad had spent the day home helping the gym guys unload and assemble the gym equipment. It took them 8 hours (guess my problems were ok compared to putting all that stuff together)! Here you will see the gym before equipment and then after. I'm sorry I didn't get a photo when the area was still the "movie room". But you kids can all remember how great it looked huh?




You know dad, on his hands and knees scrubbing the gym floor, it took him a long time!! Thanks Randy!



The TV and of course the HD cable box will go in Thursday night!



Last but not least, Thursday, May 1, 2008 arrived with an inch of snow on the ground. Yes, the white stuff on Jolley's roof really is snow, brrrrr, it is only 28 degrees and still a few flurries. Spring and summer where are you!!??





Thursday, April 24, 2008

Okay, Enough Already!!!!

Can you believe this!! Taken from my front door this morning! Yes I know - I was the one who prayed for snow way back when and was even guilty of saying "let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!" However, this is Spring, it is April 24, not December 24!! Snow is not an appropriate item for Mother Earth to be wearing at this time of the year!! She should be in at least partial sun and beautiful blue skies, capris and flip flops!
This one off of our back deck, brrr, heat in home is set at 75!!!




Wednesday, April 16, 2008

What! Tag at my age?!

Ok, here's the ABC's about me!

A. Attached or Single? Attached.

B. Best Friends? My mom and my cute daughters and of course Randall!

C. Cake or Pie? Cake, chocolate mayo cake, red waldorf cake, Costco chocolate cake, yummm

D. Day of Choice? Sunday a day to relax and generally get some of the kids here for dinner

E. Essential Item? My cell phone of course, no wait, it's my BlackBerry!

F. Favorite Color? Yellow (wait til you see the exercise room!)

G. Greatest Accomplishment? Raising 4 successful, beautiful, handsome kids!!

H. Hometown? Kennewick WA is where I grew up. Bountiful is where I have been for 30+years

I. Indulgences? It would have to be REALLY good Tiramisu, like at Cafe Madrid/Neilsen's choc/almond concrete, extra choc and extra almonds would be a close second!

J. January or July? July

K. Kids? 3 daughters, 1 son, 2 sons in law, 1 daughter in law & (one boyfriend) love 'em all!

L. Life is incomplete without? Family, so glad to have 3/4ths here in Utah!! We miss the Bills in CA!

M. Marriage Date? February 8, 1974 (well before most of you were born!!)

N. Number of siblings? 1 Gary, he is 64 this year and lives in Las Vegas, I haven't seen him in so many years, but we talk often

O. Oranges or apples? Well for awhile it was a run on apples, especially dried ones, then I got on a real orange and string cheese kick, probably a toss up

P. Phobias or fears? Spiders!!!

Q. Quotes? I have a lot I love and some things I say a lot, does that count as a "quote"? "Be happy everyday!" "I don't care which car we go in", "And the lesson learned from this experience is what?" "Kill them with kindness" There, that ought to just about cover it!!

R. Reason to smile? I am breathing and do not have a headache, hopefully today was the last snow storm, yeah!!

S. Season? Spring and summer, I love planting flowers and coming out of a movie theatre at 11pm to 80 or 90 degree weather, can't wait! Oh, but fall in Utah is spectacular!!

T. Tag three friends? Hmmm, I wonder who reads my blog besides my kids? Any of you reading this, please consider yourself tagged, I'd LOVE to hear from you! Especially, Suni, Janetha and Linds!

U. Unknown fact about me? I have always wanted to work at a mortuary helping the dead and comforting the living...weird huh?

V. Very Favorite Store? Costco and TJ Maxx, I love a bargain!!

W. Worst Habit? Piling stuff up, not putting stuff away, just being a slob in general!! I am trying to reform, one drawer/cupboard at a time!

X. X-ray or ultrasound? Ultra sound, it seems like a miracle to me!

Y. Your favorite food? Mexican, especially Enchilda Suisas from Blue or Red Iguana, yumm!

Z. Zodiac? Virgo

Mmmm, I'm lovin' the blackberry!!!!

Those of you who know me real well (all of you 5 or 6 blog readers!) know I suffer from techno-phobia, the fear of moving forward in the huge world of technology......well dad got a BlackBerry a few months ago, I watched him study for well over 3 or 4 hours a couple of nights in a row and I thought, Whoa, no way, if he is studying that hard I'll NEVER figure out something that complicated. Randy just kept saying how much he LOVED his BlackBerry (I thought he was nuts!) Then I started calling Verizon to see what it would cost, what the plan would be, just in case by some small miracle I actually decided I might sorta want to take this big leap forward. The date was March 24, I could get an upgrade. Well the date came and went, I called Verizon again to ask even more questions, gads this is not rocket science or brain surgery, it is a phone!! Finally on April 1 (how appropriate, All Fool's Day!) I spent over 2 hours in the Go Verizon store with their very young techno geeks (who could almost be my grand kids) who helped set me up with my very own BlackBerry (I really love raspberries and feel inclined to call mine just that since it is red!) So about 6 or 8 months ago I really thought the following photo was just what they look like, blueberries and blackberries. Never did I think that word would also be attached to something that doesn't even come close to resembling a berry!


So here we are folks. I am now into my 16th day of BlackBerry use. Can I just say I LOVE it (and I am not nuts!!) It really is pretty awesome. The best part is that I can get and send e-mails all day long right from my car, office, store, etc. Then there are other "best" parts like being able to check every one's blog and seeing those darling photos of all of my grand kids as soon as their mom's post them. The cut and paste feature is pretty awesome too. Oh, I can't for get the darling ring tones they have that I have set up to alert me when I have a text, or an e-mail. It is even set to send a ring tone 15 minutes before all of my appointments, wow, can you stand it!!! I have the old school ring for when someone actually calls me, I have wanted that tone for a long time! It really is amazing. I was at Institute last night and a fellow wondered about a price of a home, I told him I'd find out and let him know.....then my feeble brain kicked in gear, I pulled out my BlackBerry and got on the inter net, went to the Multiple Listing Service and pulled up the whole listing, wahoo!! No more waiting for an agent to call me back or calling my wonderful daughters to say HELP, CAN YOU LOOK UP AN ADDRESS FOR ME!!! I am forever grateful to my girls for helping me, now you guys can call ME for addresses, numbers, etc!! So there you have it, my giant leap into the techno world, I'm sure this little device does many other things I have yet to discover, perhaps I will post again when I have discovered other amazing features!!


Isn't the red one just the cutest thing you have ever seen????



Sunday, April 6, 2008

My Journey to Dublin!

March 24, Monday morning I was waiting to get on the plane to Dublin to visit the Bills family. I heard them announce my name TWICE over the loud speaker, I wondered what in the world they wanted....well everyone had already gotten on the plane, they wondered where I was since they had evidence that my bags had been checked and loaded.....well I guess I was to engrossed in my book and didn't hear the call to board!! Fortunately I made it! Kaylee and Lucy are real performers. They spend a lot of time getting their programs just right, then we are asked to join them for the performance, they are so cute and creative. This one involved all of their web-a-kinz!!
It was so warm one of the days that we were able to go to the park, the girls enjoyed playing in the sand, Kaylee wanted to add water......we caught her just in the knick of time or we would have had a real muddy mess!!

Poor little Sofi! So tired, we were trying to keep her awake until we got home. She had the phone to her ear and just couldn't hold those baby blues open one more second!!
On the top of Mt Diablo, and brrrrr was it ever cold!! It was so beautiful to see for miles in all directions. Marisa is always looking for new and different things to do with her kids, thanks for letting me tag along! It was a fun few days. We also made our pilgrimage to Trader Joe's, I managed to bring home almost 90 pounds of total luggage weight, I'm sure 80 lbs was just the stuff from Trader Joe's! We sure need one in Utah! Thanks Eric, Risa, Kaylee, Lucy and Sofi for making my visit with you so much fun!! Hugs and kisses to you all!

Easter Sunday at Papa Randall and Nana Sue's

Easter Sunday we had Doug, Linds, Isabella, Janetha, Marshall and of course Randy the Dog here for another hunt and dinner. I think this was Izzy's 3rd hunt of the week end, she really knew what to do!! She would chuck the egg in her basket and scurry on to the next colored egg, of course the "lellow" ones were her favorite!!
What can I say, cute photo!!
Izzy is always so willing to share her dinner with Randy the Dog! They get along so well and are great pals!!! They had a rather stinky bonding experience at our home I can't really document with photos, trust me on this one!!
Another cute photo of these three!
I am such a slacker blogger! I'm so glad my kids are so good at documenting their lives for us!

We miss the Bills family at our gatherings. Thank goodness for phones, blogs and visits to California!! We love you all!!





Easter at Papa Randall and Nana Sue's

On the Saturday before Easter we had the Mason clan up for an Easter egg hunt! Here are the three handsome guys with their cool sunglasses, don't know if they'll be able to use them, it is still so cold out!! It is so fun to have 3/4ths of our family so close by, thanks for a fun day!! Max wasn't even worried about finding the eggs in our scary wood pile, way to hunt Max!!
Luke was so excited everytime he spotted a colored egg, he knew there was candy inside and couldn't wait to open them!
Jake is always such a helpful big brother, he's a great sport at these events that are so magical to the little ones!! Thanks Jake, we love you!!
See following post for Miss Izzy's hunt!!