Happenings in The Bend

Hope you are prepared for a full dose of randomness cause it is comin' folks!

CAR

First of all, I am happy to report that Lola, our 2006 Camry, is back up to her SHOWGIRL spirits. I took her into the dealership last week and they had a new part in her the next day. Now she unlocks and locks with perfection (which is a good thing living in this city). Bad news is we ended up dropping $240 on the '99 Camry for an oil change, new serpentine belt and the transmission flushed. :(

JADA

Well, my poor Jada Marie Birk will most likely end up having all her teeth pulled. She had two pulled in January when she went in for a cleaning. Now, 6 months later, her gums are all red again. They said some cats are just more prone to it... I think she is one of them. She is only 4, so I am so saddened to hear this news. But, she is a spunky, sweet and fun loving little cat so I think she will pull through well :) I just feel bad for her. (Sorry folks, but until I have a kid, you will have to hear stories about my baby Jada. My wanna-be-a-mom mentality goes into overdrive with her, haha).

JARED

is doing well, just working hard as usual this time of year. His hip seems to be ok, although I know we will spend some time looking for and talking to doctors and physical therapist after the season is over. We plan to have a 4th of July party at the warehouse with all the workers so we are excited about that and actually getting to shoot off some fireworks. Should be fun! After season I hope to get my husband back so we can go to some Silverhawks and Cubs games, hit the casino, do some karaoke and some traveling. We always make so many plans for after the season is over, so I am excited to get my husband back. :)

ME

I have just been working and sitting at home. Pretty lame actually. I haven't even been working my jewelry business. I still love it, just not real motivated right now I guess. It will come back soon I hope.

There are a lot of changes happening at my job right now that have me a little worried and preoccupied. My job is not is danger, but our organization is going through A LOT of changes. I just hope everything turns out ok.

I also joined an election campaign for sheriff. I am really excited about working on a political campaign, I have never done anything like this before. I don't even really know the guy, but several of my friends are supporting him and are serving on his committee and so I jumped on the bandwagon. We are currently planning a golf outing and I helped created a Facebook page for him. :) It should be fun!

Yes, our house is still for sale and I am TIRED of talking about it. There is a lady at work that asks me EVERYDAY (not an exaggeration) if we have sold it yet. NO LADY! STOP ASKING ME! Jared and I are about at our wits end with this house. We love it, why can't someone else fall in love with it and offer us a decent price for it. It is frustrating. If we don't have it sold by the end of the summer we are probably going to rent it out. We are so scared to do this, but at this point we have no choice. We are losing a considerable amount of money each month on this house and even if we could break even and make just enough for our mortgage would help us out. It is just scary and we would have to find someone we really trust to manage it for us. UGH! My blood pressure is rising just thinking about it!

That's about is for updates. :) I could go on and on... you all know I am a talker, but I will spare you just this one time. :)

Have a great week everyone!

Like mother, like daughter

Clumsiness is my middle name folks. I fall, trip and run into things all the time. You can read about some of my mishaps here.

Apparently my poor little Jada kitty has inherited (nature vs. nurture argument) her mother's gracefulness.

This morning she was sitting in the doorway of the bedroom watching me put on my jewelry and I asked her if she was hungry and ready for her food. She turns around really fast and slams the entire right side of her head into the door! I was laughing so hard I had to re-do my mascara, then I got a little worried about her... it was a pretty loud bang. She has done stuff like that before. One time she tried to jump up onto the bathroom vanity and she missed and slammed into the cabinet, haha. It is funny to watch, but I feel her pain. I just hope people don't laugh at me as much as I giggle at Jada.

Poor baby... let's hope she doesn't inherit anymore of her momma's bad traits. If she starts biting her nails I may get a little worried. :)

Poor poor Lola

my precious 2006 Camry already needs repairs

That's right folks. The slate grey, four door beauty that we just purchased CERTIFIED in February has to go to the doctor.

She's got some issue with not wanting to lock and unlock the doors correctly. At first, I thought it was that I didn't know how to operate the keyless entry (yes, this was my first car to have keyless entry....lame I know). After reading the 2 pages in the manual on the automatic locks I quickly figured out it isn't just my inexperience with car technology.

Here's the deal. When you push the unlock button 2 times on the keyless entry it is supposed to unlock all the doors, right? Well... sometimes it would unlock them all and other times it wouldn't. The strange thing is, it would always work first thing in the morning, but then not the rest of the day. But, it is more than just the keyless entry. Even when I would click the button to unlock all the doors on the driver's side, they wouldn't unlock. I had to reach into the back and manually flip the lock over like I had a flippin' 1985 model Camry. Super annoying!

Bad News: I will have to turn my car over to them to get it fixed.

Good News: We extended our warranty when we purchased it... so no out of pocket expense for us! :)

For now, say a little prayer for my precious Lola. Hopefully she will be back up to her "showgirl" spirits soon. :)

I am lame... sorry

My blogs have been lacking.

Not sure what my deal is. My digital camera is broken, so that hinders my blogging ability. Still trying to talk the husband into letting me get a new one (he doesn't understand my photo fetish!) :)

Really nothing new here folks. Northern Indiana is starting to warm up and I love it!!!! Been to the pool to layout a few times and still working on getting my winter coat off. I love spring and summer up here, the winters I am bitchy and just wanna move back to Kansas. But the summers, I love love love up here. Warm, but not too hot. Lakes GALORE and the St. Joe River right here in our backyard. Kinda nice. All I need is a boat and I will be super happy :)

Jared has been work, work, working like crazy. 7 days a week, 12 hour days. Poor guy. His hip is giving him more trouble, so we fear another surgery (possibly a hip replacement) is coming soon. They hoped to put it off a while, but I think he needs it now. He is in so much pain. I have been working with him a little on weekends to help out. It sucks, but it is money so I guess I will just have to deal with it for now. :)

So, that's about it folks. I really hope my next blog is more exciting :)

May 26 is a great day!

31 years ago today, my parents were married in Edmond, OK in a simple ceremony at the courthouse.

Their marriage is just as strong today as it was back then and they didn't need to spend their life savings to make it a wonderful wedding.

I look up to them for this. They did not always have it easy during the late 70s, early 80s when the economy was starting to plummet. I will always remember my mom telling me stories about the hardships they faced in Okmulgee, OK while my dad was in college.... eating bologna for weeks because it was all they could afford, car problems and having no money to do fun things. This hardship, in my opinion, is what cemented their marriage and made them who they are today. The never had a lot growing up, they endured the tough times together and taught my sister and I that you have to work for what you want... nothing comes easy.

I have such fond memories of my parents growing up. We had a lot of great times and I hope someday to provide the same memories for my children.

Thanks Mom and Dad and Happy Anniversary!!! I love you

May 26 is also a fabulous day because it is my best pal Jeremy's birthday and my girl Melanie's birthday! Happy birthday you two! Miss and love both of you very much!

So ready for this 3 day weekend

and I have plans.... YAY!

This will be my second Memorial Day to spend in South Bend and I am happy to say I have friends to spend it with this year. Friday (tomorrow) I get off work about 1 p.m. and I plan to (weather permitting) get some sun in sitting by the pool. Later I am meeting up with my friend Michelle for dinner and drinks and maybe even some dancing :)

Saturday I hope to relax most of the day (maybe more pool time) and then hit a BBQ at our friend Janet and Tim's house. Then I will boot scoot on over to the Elks Lodge to meet Sharon and Susan for some much needed karaoke! YAY!

Sunday and Monday I really don't have any plans as of right now. I know I will need to do things around the house and prepare for a jewelry show, but I hope to relax a little as well. I need to get over and see my girl Stacey and her little Genevieve in their new house too, so that will be on my list. :)

Needless to say, I am excited. When I first moved here I never imagined I would have enough friends to have a full weekend of fun. But look, here it is! I wish Jared could join me, but it is his busy time of year so he will be working, UGH!

Here's to a great Memorial Day weekend everyone!