her name is Lola
and she is definitely a show girl!
**This is the only picture I got so far... my cell phone was lacking memory. But I will try to get more with my camera this weekend.**
Jared and I took the plunge and bought a car last weekend. With his truck broken it was becoming difficult to deal with just one car. So, we decided on a 2006 Toyota Camry to keep our 1999 Toyota Camry company :) Of course, I get the new one and Jared gets the older one, haha.
it involves the common household pest.... or rodent, if you will
My first memory of having a mouse in the house was when we lived in Moore, Okla when I was just a wee little girl. In fact, I don't even remember how old I was, but the memory is still pretty vivid. Mom, you can correct me if I am wrong, but this is how I remember the incident that I will affectionately call "Standing on Chairs".
My mom had noticed that "something" was eating through the dog food bag in the cabinet underneath the sink in our kitchen. I can't remember if mom and dad set traps or not, but shortly after she said that I remember sitting at the dinner table (maybe doing homework, maybe preparing for dinner, I can't remember) but my mom opened the cabinet below the sink to get a roll of papertowels (for some reason I remember that she was getting papertowels... weird) and she let out a scream that was made for horror movies, seriously.
She slammed the cabinet door and yelled "Rob, Rob, AHHHHH, Rob get in here. There's a mouse, hurry up!!!!" The next thing I remember was mom, Alicia and I all standing on chairs in the dining room watching my dad chase a mouse around the kitchen with a broom. I don't know if Alicia even knew what was going on, but because my mom was freaking out, so were all of us. I remember her saying "Rob, oh, he's in the laundry room now, oh my.... hurry!" My dad, poor thing, was in there obviously being defeated by this little freak of nature called a mouse. I don't even remember how he finally was able to take the son of a bitch down, but I remember seeing him pick it up and place it in a garbage bag. Gross. I think we caught a few with sticky traps after that because I remember opening the cabinet and seeing one moving around trying to get out of it... uuuugghhh... gives me goosebumps thinking about it. I never saw another one again after that in my parents house and mom and dad made sure their new house in Kansas didn't have a sink on an outside wall. :)
FASTFORWARD TO 2002:
Jared and I had moved into a little house in Pittsburg together. It was a rental, it was one bedroom and it was really old, but we didn't care. We were out of our parents houses, I was out of the dorms, we were together and this little one bedroom shack was all ours and we were happy.
I was on the phone with my mom one day, sitting on the couch watching TV when I glance over towards the front door for a second and I see a flash of brown with a tail run from underneath the loveseat to underneath the couch I was sitting on. (I have to admit, at this moment I realized that I was becoming my mother). I screamed "Oh crap, oh my God, I just saw a mouse run across the room". So, I do the only thing I know to do, and stood on the couch shrieking on the phone to my mom. Pretty sure she couldn't even understand what I was saying. I was freaking out. At that moment, Jared walked in the door. What a sight I must have been... standing on the couch, totally freaked look on my face and a phone to my ear. "I just saw a mouse!!!" I tell him. he said, ok and walked around like it was no big deal. TIMEOUT: Seriously, why does it not seem to bother men that little disease carrying rodents are running amuck in the house? TIME-IN: So, we get traps, we get sticky traps and we get steel wool to fill around the pipes going in and out of our house. Apparently, we had the Harvard Mouse (or Mice, hell, there could have been more) because we never caught that little demon. He would eat our cheese, lick our peanut butter and avoid our sticky traps of death. Eventually, we put out poison and were convinced that when we packed up and moved in a few weeks that we would find a dead mouse. We never did. Still boggles my mind to this day. He must have escaped, but it still baffles me.
Well, amid all of this excitement, my mom purchases us a Ridex thing for our house. I have no idea what the magical powers are behind this little device, but once I plugged that thing in I have never once seen a mouse in any place I have lived since!!!!
FASTFORWARD TO MARCH 2008:
We are finishing loading up our moving truck for Indiana. Jared points to our ever faithful Ridex and asks if we are taking it with us. I said "well, since this place may sit empty for a while, I would rather it be here so we don't have a mouse infected house while we are trying to sell it". He agreed and we left it there.
FASTFORWARD TO ABOUT 2 MONTHS AGO:
Jada was acting weird. Constantly laying in front of the stove staring underneath it. We couldn't figure it out. We said either she had knocked toys under there or she was staring at a mouse, which we kinda laughed nervously about. Jared checked under the stove and no mouse, but he put some sticky traps under there anyway and we kinda forgot about them.
FASTFORWARD TO YESTERDAY:
Hicks is standing in the kitchen and says "do you smell that? something smells rotten?" For some reason, I didn't smell it. But Jared said he had smelled it the other day. They start investigating the kitchen. I said... "um Jared, didn't you set traps under the stove?" OH MAN... yeah I did. With some further investigation, they found a dead mouse underneath the stove stuck in a sticky trap. YUCK! I couldn't even be in there and even if I was I would probably have to stand on something because that is what us Drennan's do! :) It was gross and made me sorely disappointed in Jada's mouse catching abilities. She is way to spoiled now to remember how to hunt, apparently.
So, point is.... I need to get another Ridex cause at my age, and my weight these days, standing on chairs may not be a great idea. :)
Anyone who knows me very well knows that when I am overwhelmed, stressed or something is making me angry I just need time to talk about it and get it out there and then I am better. I will normally say, "I just need 10 minutes to vent and then I will be fine". Misty, my friend from Kansas, knows this all too well when we worked together at Greenbush. I still ask her to lend an ear via the phone when I need to just "talk it out".
Well, blog world. I just need 10 minutes of your cyber space time to vent and throw myself a pity party. You are all invited to attend if you so choose. :)
Why is it that just when Jared and I think we are getting ahead and our finances are improving that something else has to go wrong! First, his truck breaks down, second, my jewelry shows cancel and thirdly, uncle sam decides to take us for all we are worth.
I look around at other people our age and I am filled with jealousy and anger because I just don't understand why we can't just get ahead. It is so unfair, and I know life isn't fair, but this is such complete bullshit. I look around and all my friends own homes (that they actually LIVE in), they have nice furnishings, take awesome vacations, and many of them having babies (something that I yearn for). Then I look at us. We own a home we DON'T live in and can't seem to sell. We have debt we are able to manage, but can't get paid down. Everything we own is a "hand-me-down". We live in an apartment with a roommate, which we love Hicks but would love to have a place of our own. We have a broken vehicle and I have to drive him to work in Elkhart and pick him up everyday until we get a new one. We have to pay over $1,000 in taxes this year because of my contract job over the summer, which has temporarily pushed back our car purchasing adventure. It just isn't fair.
I know, I know.... everyone has their issues and I KNOW it could always be worse. I know some of this we brought on ourselves. We could both be unemployed (thankful we both have jobs), we could be homeless. It could always be worse. But this is my 10 minute pity party so this is how I vent about it.
Jared, bless his heart, has held me together these past few days. When we were sitting at H & R Block staring at the screen that said "you owe..." I was about to lose it. We were aware that working as a contract employee would mean paying those taxes at tax time. We set money aside for this exact reason. However, it wasn't enough and we thought that the money we got back on our other W2s would balance out what we owed and we would get nothing back or get very little back. We never expected THIS to happen. It is a good thing I was showing a loss on Premier Jewelry for last year or we would have been paying upwards of $2,000!!!! I could feel my face getting hot, my hands starting to sweat and my leg shaking. I was panicking. But, Jared (who was just as panicked as I was) sensed that I was on the verge of a breakdown and he held it together for us. He said, "we can do this", "we can make this work", "we will be ok". God, I love that man!
After going through our budget we will be able to make it work. It may be April 13 when we send it off, but we will get it done. Which explains why I am sending this blog from the Jake's Warehouse. Jared needed some help getting ready for a new scanner system and Hicks needs help setting up a new show room. So, here I am... again. But, it is money and every little bit helps so I can't complain. I am also even more motivated to get shows booked that will hold.
I know that God is testing me. I asked him to be with me and help me and I have been trying to control everything again instead of putting it in his hands. I've let Satan come knocking with his pessimistic attitude and I can't let it get to me. I've got to see, believe in and grab a hold of that silver lining because I know it is there somewhere. But, for now... I just needed my 10 minutes to vent. Thanks for listening and I feel a lot better.
Hello bloggie world!
I am coming to you from the Gaylord Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland (just outside of Washington D.C.). I am here for the annual Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) Leadership Conference. Pretty much it is a bunch of ass-kissing political mumbo-jumbo mixed with some pretty informative, long and (seats are always uncomfortable) break out sessions. I usually get some pretty good ideas and strategies to take home from this conference, even though it is pretty "conferency" including the humor, super fake people and the typical conference food. YUCK!
In the past, this conference has been held on downtown D.C., which is great because you can walk to great restaurants, shopping and entertainment and the Metro is easy to access. Well, they moved to this brand new resort this year. The resort is nice, over-looking the Potomac, and has everything you need if you have loads of cash to pay for it. WOW... really.... it is absurd. There isn't even a Mickey D's or Subway around the corner for back-up when you blow your per diem money. But, overall, I guess it isn't too bad. :)
On another note.... President Obama was in Elkhart, Indiana today. Elkhart is about 15 miles from us (South Bend, Mishawaka and Elkhart all run together) and it is where Jared's warehouse is located. Elkhart is known as the "RV Capital of the World" so, as you can imagine, when gas prices went up and the economy went down the pooper, the RV industry took a huge hit. Obama visited Elkhart during his campaign and made a trip back to push his stimulus plan. I am still on the fence about this stimulus plan, mostly because I don't know enough about it. However, I DO know that the unemployment rate in Elkhart, South Bend and Mishawaka is continuing to skyrocket. I hope, whatever Obama, his administration and Congress do, that it will create a positive work environment and workforce in northern Indiana again.
Enough politics for one night... whew, this city is exhausting! :) And, tomorrow I am on Capital Hill to visit with Indiana senators. AHHH... stop the political madness :)
As they say in D.C..... see you on the hill.
My head feels like it may explode. I wonder if that could actually happen, because that would be pretty scary, and pretty messy.
I signed my life away like a good non-meth-addict would do to get my 12-hour Pseudoephedrine which has done absolutely nothing to make me feel better. In fact, it has just made me loopy and bitchy. And, to top it all off, work is dreadful today, just dreadful.
I can hear my bed calling my name, longing for me to rest my snot filled head on my pillow and surround my achy body in blankets. I am coming my lovely piece of heaven.... in about an hour :(
courtesy of my "sista from anotha mista" Tara at Blog Makeovers by Tara.
I was in a lime green kinda mood, so this is the great creation that was made for me. Thanks Tara!!!
Nothing new here (I hate blogs that start like this, but this one is unavoidable). Jared and Hicks are in KS until Thursday (so jealous) and I have been working and preparing for my trip to DC next week for a conference. I am fighting off a cold with all my might, and so is everyone else in our office. YUCK!
So, since this blog is soooo boring, I will try to make it interactive for ya'll.
Jared's truck is shot. I mean, we COULD put a new transmission in it, but it is '91 Ford so is it really worth it? Soooo.... looks like a new car is in our future. This is where the interactive-ness (is that a word) comes into play.
Should we....
1. Buy him a cheap truck or car to get him through a year or so until we can sell the house and afford more (and hope it doesn't cause us even more problems than his truck)
2. Take advantage of all the great financing rates and get a new or certified used car for me and give him the Camry. The only risk with this one is being able to afford a payment. BUT, I would even take a 2005 or 2006 (heck, it is still newer than my 99 Camry or his 91 Ford), which would cut back the payments.
And 3. If we DO get a vehicle, what should we get. (SPECIAL NOTE: I am partial to foreign cars. Don't hate me for it. I feel bad for those that have lost their jobs in the Big 3, but I just prefer Hondas, Toyotas and Nissans. I am not opposed to the Big 3, but I would have to see some great Consumer Reports to convince me that they are better than Toyotas, Hondas and Nissans. Sorry). I also prefer a car, but a small SUV has crossed my mind since we will be having a family in the future. What do ya'll think?
Thanks for participating in my interactive blog. Your comments are appreciated :)
Posts
All Comments
