LAZY.......

Yup, just lazy.
Not really, but writing about anything hasn't struck me in a week or so as you can see.

I decided to break it up a bit and tell you what I've been thinking.  HA

WHY - why does it take soooo very long for anyone to decide to have interviews - or at least tell me - you suck and we don't even want to interview you?

WHEN - do I break down and go work at a store or something?   I am about at the end of my rope and I know Tom is at the end of his....

BUT - I have tons of stuff planned this summer.  Like First week of July in Michigan, yup schedule your day now, or come to the party in Mt. Pleasant.

HOW - am I to meet some more people around here without spending a bunch of money?  Should I tell you I considered a country club....  We don't golf so that dropped the price a bit, but still a lot so I'm looking for a health club with a pool...ARG

WHO - do I have to Know around here to get a real job?   I've applied to other than teaching jobs, I'm not completely silly.

WHAT - shall I do with myself.  I enjoy being home a ton, but yeah, I miss having money......

Okay, enjoy - stew in my thoughts for a bit.
I did not want to bore you with these things floating around too much at the front of my brain.
Tom has next week free so I guess that's the last of the fun.  We'll try to go Paddling and do a little sight seeing - probably in Nashville, maybe even hit the Mammoth caves.
We almost went out of town, and then realized - nothing sounded awesome that didn't cost a ton.  boo..

Someone posted on Facebook- bra sizing

BRAs, yes those horrible things all women are expected to wear.

This is a pretty good summation of what you should know.  Enjoy

do-it-now-guide-to-proper-bra-fit-and-measuring

Star Trek Into Darkness

OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!

I loved the movie.  Not sure how much Tom liked the movie but I am thrilled.
I will not ruin it for you......
But don't think I don't want to tell you!!!!!

I went out of my way- as I try to do on some movies- especially James Bond- to not watch the commercials or read reviews or just talk to people who have already seen the movie.
I hate when the commercials give you the whole darn story, or enough of it that you want to smack someone.
Previews at the movies for other movies are the worst, they give it ALL away.

I have to admit the new ones for Despicable Me 2 at the theater yesterday were great, they did not give anything away.  Sadly I had already gone looking on Youtube at videos and know almost the whole movie.  Oh well, still going to see it on my BIRTHDAY thank you.

Now some people can tell me that the new Thor movie is just a copy from the comic books and they already know the stories.  FINE, you know what happens, I DON'T, so don't try to ruin it for me.

I read an interview with Cumberbach - plays villian in Star Trek- and he is right there with me on the DON'T tell me the whole darn story before I get there.  Going to the movies was supposed to be about the surprise of finding stuff out.  "Luke, I am your Father"  come on, that had to be one of the best ones EVER and I'm sure a bunch of people ruined it for others.

So, please - go see the movie and CALL me, so I can talk about it with someone.  I noticed a few fun things while watching the movie that die hard fans will be beyond excited about.   Hmm, I may have to drive to Michigan just to drag my one friend out to the movies.  He has to see this.  It was awesome!!!

Enjoy your day.

QUESTION???

Once upon a time people used to comment on blogs, now it seems to silent.  LOL
Do you all just comment on facebook or what??
Just my question for the day...

Movies and Stuff

I seriously need to make that book someone found on Pinterest.
It's mostly about organizing yourself to write a blog.  The funny thing is, I like writing on the blog and sadly wait until I have way toooo much to talk about and then finally get on.  Then I forget half the stuff I wanted to talk about and ramble for 20 minutes.

TODAY- Movie Reviews -
I remember doing reviews a while back. Okay, a long while back.  Well, it is the summer blockbuster season and we are pleased with the Options.

First big movie - that we care about - is Iron Man 3.  
SAW it twice already, it's only been out 3 weekends I think.  Tom and I went for 3D and enjoyed a loud but good crowd with a lot of kids.  I personally think the movies are a little violent for the little ones, but hey- I'm not their mom.  There was a ton of good action and a nice little mystery at the end to see what the heck would they do to top this.
Then I saw the movie with Dinosaur and Minion.  HA, I think I enjoyed the Dinosaur's reactions to the movie more than seeing the movie again.  It was still good and I will probably own it. :~)

Second big movie - Star Trek (2) Into the darkness or some crazy thing.
Why do they make the names hard to remember?  It's #2 in the new version.  That suites me just fine.
Okay, I haven't actually seen it yet.  Probably today. LOL

We re-watched the first one last night. Awesome, although I do not like the beginning at all.  I saw the movie 2x's right away the first time.  First in 3D and then in IMAX and guess what- IMAX sucked big time.  I had to move my head from side to side to figure out what I needed to look at.  That sucked and the beginning is SOOOO big and crazy that you can hardly see what is going on to begin with.  Even last night watching it again, you can barely see what is happening.  It's dark and shot very close up and from very weird perspective.  I understand they wanted it to be different - oh it is.

Also saw the director JJ Abrams on Jon Stewart and he didn't like Star Trek as a kid.  ARG- oh well he didn't understand them.  I get that, I really enjoyed watching them with my dad.  He didn't give me any commentary, he just let them be what they were.  The funny thing is, I was a kid when Star Wars came out and NEVER saw them in the theater until the re-release in the 2000's or something.  I still haven't seen all of them in the theater.
Abrams is doing the new Star Wars too.  I find that really Weird.  Stewart did too.  I just hope they get better, cause the last ones were seriously lacking in acting.

Okay, enough blathering about movies.  I best go see the new one.  LATER

Nostalgia

As I find myself in Michigan today, many thoughts were running through my head as I got ready to go out and meet the world.

As I was musing over how awesome it is that George Takei has become such a big hit now, even more so than when he was on Star Trek.  And there is one HUGE reason for that - FACEBOOK.

I know, it seems soooo very weird that an actor that I would see maybe once every few years when they finally started making moves in the 80's, is now bigger than ever in his golden years.

Think about it.  What did he do between the 60's when they made the original Tv Show and the 80's?Being that was more than 10 years.

Ok, I know - go buy one of his books and he will tell me.  I plan to, just haven't gotten around to it yet.

But now, 20 years after the 80's and BOOM!!  With a little help from Facebook and the Star Trek Movie franchise getting a BIG smash in the new version, George is Back.  Along with Lenord Nemoy actually being in the movie, and William Shatner managing to keep his career afloat with commercials and sit coms - our friends are back and better than ever.

I really wish my dad was around to see all this.  That is the crux of today's thoughts.  My dad would have LOVED Facebook, once he realized that he could see George and others almost everyday.  I'm sure the idea of watching what other people do all day would have bored him to tears, but he enjoyed Puns and George is full of those, and he enjoyed reveling in those great moments we share with each other on Facebook now.

I love that I get to know when my Friends kids do something amazing.  I know I won't be there for most of the things that happen, but I get to KNOW about them.  Heck I even get to see some of them.  

So, I know some people think, why in the world would I move away, Hey a job is a job and you have to take what you can get.  Plus, I think Tom and I both needed something new to do and look at.  I was going stir crazy with the politics and the job situation here in Mich.   Not that it doesn't look bleak and weird in Kentucky sometimes, but at least it is new.

So, wake up, enjoy your day and think of what thing or device your family members would have thought as completely awesome today.  My dad would have LOVED a Kindle or Nook - book Hog all the way-  and I think he would have got a kick out of Facebook.

Curtains

I know. So exciting.
It's ok. We finally bought a few rods. Nothing fancy, but not the cheapest things at the store.
Thankfully my mother had a million windows in her last house. She gave me the bulk of them and they are finally being put to use. I found one that's a little short. Hoping another in the box can take its place.

I'm hoping the curtains will help with the echoes. It can get a bit loud.

Here's s couple pictures.

The vet

Well, Cody is still at the vet.
When we went to visit he did not seem overly excited to see us.
But that could just be me. He was more interested in the other dogs in the waiting room.
He was happy to get outside for a walk and was ready to get back inside - to either
1. The other dogs
2. The wet canned food they have been feeding him.
3. Who ever has been petting him.
4. The cat room or whatever was behind the glass we could not see but he might have been able to smell.

The vet says someone is there 24 /7 with the animals. It looks like the place may have been a house at one time. There is an apartment or something.

He does have an IV, they managed to get a stint in his front leg. So they could hook it back up easier. I'm not sure but I think they had to unhook him and take off the cone of shame when they brought him out to us.
He wasn't wearing his collar. I guess they thought he'd catch it on something. Or it was in the way of the Cone. Or he bamboozled them because it is Just So Itchy.
They had the pass through leash thing like when I brought him home. At least they had two together to give you more than 2 feet of lead.

The vet thought he might be well enough to come home tomorrow - Friday. He just needs to have a bowel movement. Much like at a regular hospital.

Brando has been rather calm about being alone. I expected a little more whining or something. He prances and gets all excited when we walk in, but he seems to be sleeping a lot.
Maybe he is still trying to catch up on the million naps he did not get while I was packing to move and we had people in and out of the house a lot.
He still loves the morning walk and has to stop at every mailbox. Joy.
We cleaned the back yard today and it was really GROSS. We need a rain. Eww.
I trimmed the weird tree on the trellis- it reminds me of the tree/ bush things growing along the fence in Michigan. Then I trimmed the tree I thought was a Japanese maple and it turned out not to be.
I'll have to take pictures - someone can enlighten me of what it is. There is another tree near the house I'm sure is a lacy leaf. Not sure if Japanese, because its light green.
Well. That's our excitement besides driving in circles today looking for certain places. We found the harbor freight store and got an air compressor(major cheap). Once Tom puts it together we can air up the bikes.

Oh. And here is a map of our neighbor hood. Made with the help of run keeper.
I love that most of the map is not really there. You can see some of the streets that are brand new but haven't been officially added yet. I like the look of walking in fields- which is what this all was.
Oh yeah and the rain last weekend was crazy. Enjoy

Cody the garbage boy.

Hmmmm
Well from Facebook most of you know the boys were bad on Sunday and tore up the trash. Emptied it all on the floor and proceeded to lick every little thing and enjoy some quality beef bones chewing time.
There were at least a couple pork ribs in there that we did not see when cleaning up. So we figured Brando ate them- and he'd be the one we really had to worry about.
I've been watching them both like a hawk. Cody seemed to get the worst.
I knew he wasn't feeling well as he's had me up several times the last 2 nights.
When Tom got home today - Cody puked up everything he ate today.
We took him outside for a bit and he came and drank some water, but would not take green beans or a soft cookie.
If that dog doesn't take food you know there is a problem.
We called and got in immediately. (Thanks Stephanie, for the suggestion )

Anyway - could not see bones or foil on the X-ray but he has some serious gas and unhappy looking colon. Plus his gums are red.
They decided to keep him and give fluids and antibiotics to make sure he doesn't get anything else wrong.
He won't sit still. He's following people and trying to visit with everyone. I'm not sure he's staying in a cage or what. But he's being the typical wiggly boxer who doesn't feel as sick as he is.
Sadly that means no IV. She did not want to stick him in the giant Cone of shame. Lol.

She took a second set of X-rays - about 3 hours after the first and it looks like stuff is moving.

The vet said they would call if anything changes tonight. They will call me in the morning, Hopefully he will be feeling much better tomorrow.

I'll keep you updated.

One month- Friday

Ok, I have 1/2 a post floating on my phone.  Not sure I'll post it.
Mostly about Dogs getting old and not liking it.   And mostly about Cody hurting his toes, I'm sure he has arthritis and running around like a puppy does not help his situation.

No, this post is more about the craziness of moving across state lines.
I just want to tell you it does suck.
For one- why doesn't each state put out a pamphlet telling you the things you need to do in their state and how to find those things out?  How hard would it be to have one sent when you get your mail forwarded at the Post office.  I mean that is the ONE thing almost everyone knows to do when they move anywhere.

Most of us know the obvious- bank, electricity, gas or whatever they have, phone, cable or whatever.
In Kentucky you are also supposed to show up and Declare you live here in the county you move to.
WHAT????
Also, you have to go 2 different places to take care of your cars.
You go to a state clerk office to get your Drivers License,  good news it was basically empty when I wandered in today.  I did have the right paperwork, thank goodness I checked online before I went.
BUT - you have to go to the County to get your license plate and tags and all that other stuff.
You also have to have your TITLE to the car.  Plus they want to INSPECT your car, make sure the Vin number matches the title and the car.  Joy....

Currently - I don't seem to have a title.  Being that I just got a brand new car.  I did manage to get insurance on the car- which took an extra week because I could not prove lived here yet.  I swear they need to have an order that you do things.
First take your rental agreement, or house papers to so and so to get proof you are here.
Second get your drivers license, and so on....

I guess if you were to buy a house here, you would be dealing with a title office that probably has all that stuff written down, because they want things to go smoothly.  But Renting, doesn't quite work that way.

Anyway- that is my big Rant.  I have lots more to say about all this, but you get the drift.
ugh, have to go deal with Tom - whose phone screen has died.  He won't be calling anyone he can't remember the number to any time soon.  We'll see how long it takes work to send him a new phone. JOY...

Isolation

I've officially been here for three weeks.
Last night the Dinosaur said I sounded like I finally realized how far away I am.
Yup- I'm feeling a little stir crazy.

I know it could be way worse.
If the dogs weren't here and Hubby was gone somewhere I could go days without talking out loud.

We've even had people over for dinner twice. Neighbors and then guys from Michigan down here for work at the GM plant.

I'm not miserable- although I looked it yesterday. Between the rain and cold I was so out of it. The dogs and I watched YouTube videos on tv for HOURs. LOL.

I spent 1 1/2 hours trying to get through to mi unemployment. They don't park you on hold- they hang up on you. Then whee you get in the cue it's at least 10 minutes of on hold before a person gets to you.

They love telling you that you can do everything online- which of course you can not. They also love to tell you that you only get so many weeks and yes the government took back that 10.9 percent so yes you did get less so stop calling about it.

I finally have car insurance on the new car so I feel better about driving it. I found it weird that they didn't demand I have insurance before I drove off the lot. They do in Michigan. Sure I had insurance on the one I turned in but that doesn't necessarily transfer over to the new car.

I have to go get a new drivers license - actually we both do or no insurance - such fun.
Which means I lose my enhanced license. Arg. Now I have to get a new passport. Just more fun for me. ;-)

Well. It's Noon and I really do need to get out of the house. So I'm off.
More later.

Dinosaur exercise

Just a quick iPhone update.
With all the walking and exercise I've been wanting to keep track or help me get motivated or whatever.
I started with the couch to 5k app and well it sucks because it assumes you honestly want to run.
Yeah that's not going to happen.

Then I noticed Chicken Paul doing stuff and it showing up on Facebook. He uses Runkeeper and I now have the free version for myself. Or $20 it will broadcast for the whole year and do some other analysis for you. I don't feel the need to share it all. Lol. I can post stuff afterward- but I think I have it so only I can see it.

That is something else I found with several games and such that want to post to Facebook. I just put the setting to me only when I set up the app and it doesn't spam my timeline or my friends.

Anyway - I like Runkeeper. It shows where I went- it's fun because the streets back here in the sub don't exist on the map yet. So it looks like I'm off roading it. It gives you the choice of activity- with biking and other stuff- not just run or walk. It tells your phone to play music.
I spent a hour or two making a walking playlist that's actually several hours long. It just picks up where I left off. So far so good on that front.

Plus it keeps track of how fast you go and personal bests of all kinds.
It works because of GPS. So it's not going to work in the caves- which is a bummer. And it doesn't work on a treadmill, but you can hand enter that stuff.

At the end of each activity it asks you to take a picture and write about it. I like that. Because I can distinguish between walking with or without dogs. You can also say how you felt. Which can help you remember how long it takes to hurt or whatever.
So yes. I give Runkeeper a definite thumbs up!!

Walking

Yup - just walking.
As of today I've averaged almost a mile + a day walking around my neighborhood.

Saturday I tried a 5K walk for the humane society of Bowling Green. Tom and Stephanie blew me out of the water. They paced close to 15 or 18 min a mile to my normal 25 or so. I was getting tired after the first mile. 5k = 3.? Miles.

I was walking with a nice lady and her greyhound. Wow. She talked my ear off. That was ok- I was getting tired and couldn't talk anyway. We cut the corner at the back end to catch up with Tom and Stephanie - and Tom starts dragging me and I couldn't talk and was breathing hard. He's like- come on. Ugh.
He and Stephanie could have run the whole thing.
Sadly that is one activity that I hated beyond anything else. I can not run. Between my weird knees and now the weight - running is not something I can do.

So I'll walk.

At home Taking the boys is getting a little annoying. They love going for a walk, but to them it means stopping to sniff everything in sight and then peeing 50 times.
Today they walked almost a 1/2 mile then I dropped them off and walked more than a mile without them.

I'm sure I'm going to get bored walking my neighborhood soon enough.
I found yesterday that there are some trails out behind Lost River Cave that people walk and jog. Some one posted a run with the camera strapped to the dogs back. It was cute.
That is also next to the dog park.

I'm not really losing any weight - but I feel a bit better. And I will admit I LOVE the weather here right now. Especially when I hear how crappy the weather is in Michigan. The hottest so far was 85 and coldest was 32 at night. Average is about 55 right now. Getting closer to 70's every day.
A couple people have warned me that it will get into the 80's soon and not come back down. Bummer.
At least the Heat/Air pump now works. I thought it seemed a bit weird the air wasn't really cold and the heat seemed weak. Well it Really was!!! The motor power switch was burnt out. So the big fan that actually does most of the work was not turning on.
I wonder how long it has been that way. I can't imagine this past winter being very comfortable that way. Brrrrr.
It makes me fear the electric bill. Because it was using the back up electric heaters to help keep the house warm. Ewww.
The ceiling fans made it almost livable without the air, but the house at 80+ everyday would have killed me. I can leave it around 78 in the summer. But that was with the basement to hide in. Not sure what I'll be able to take here.

Well I need to talk to Marvin and clean some. Tom said some guys are coming down from Michigan to the plant this week. So it looks like he wants to cook one night.
Place isn't that bad but I miss my cleaning fairy. :-).

Find 1/2 the garage.

Wow. That took a few hours.
I put together one shelving unit in two pieces. Tore up my right hand and then managed to get my car in the garage.

The big thing was taking most of my teacher papers and putting those and my books in plastic totes so the mice can't eat them. I hope to get the regular books into the house in the next month or so.
Don't want to stack them in the house - helps to get the shelves up and then put in the books.

The weather is a bit exciting today. It is storming big time in Detroit already. It's supposed to hit here later today. Probably after dark. Chicago had flooding and we probably will too.

And the guy came to mow the lawn. Yeah.
Few more people are trying to get theirs done before the storm.
Hmmm what's for dinner.
Later.

Terrible day......

This is mostly just as a memo for myself.

Once again on a Monday, I'm alone at home and a tragedy strikes in the U.S.

It feels a little surreal.  Our country is so very large, but in a matter of minutes you can get the entire country to stop and pay attention to what is happening in one place.

There was no facebook or twitter last time.  I really only knew it happened as it popped up on the side of the screen on facebook.  When NPR posts something, I certainly stop and go check it out.

I found some of the first pictures that came from people on Twitter.  There were a couple of pretty bad pictures, although I know I did not see anything near the horror the people on the ground there saw.

I have a friend that works in a streaming company, that passes on video from one place to another.
After I posted on facebook they contacted me to share the link to the live feed from Boston.  It turns out to be a lot of repeating video and just talking heads in the back ground, but I'm sure I've heard far more about this situation than the average person on the street.

It started at 2:50 edt today.  The interesting part is that it happened after the big races were already done.  The men's, the women's and the wheelchair elite races had already finished before this happened.
The largest group of people were starting to filter into the finish lines of the Marathon.  
A huge group of spectators had just sort of cleared the area before it happened; and it did not happen on the side with the grandstands.

President Obama spoke to the press around 5:10 pm Cdt.  The biggest problem is that they can not connect people to each other. All of their preparations to connect people to their friends was ruined, because the area you were supposed to meet your friends became the place no one could go to.
Then they shut down cell phone service, which now has made it impossible to meet up with your friends.
I feel for those families that are still looking for their runner this evening.

The game for tonight has been cancelled and the air space around the area has been cleared.

The live feed has been interesting.  They have managed to find plenty of people to talk to and they have cleared out a lot of places in that area.  Hotels are locked down or being cleared.

Once again, we will probably never know what really was the point.  No one has claimed responsibility.  I can only hope that the person who placed those bombs went up with one of them.

Settling In....

We have been in Kentucky for over a week now.

It feels really weird.  Most of the time we are busy trying to find things, or trying to put the house together.  I have almost all the clothes put away, I have 2 bags I've been avoiding.  I don't know why, I just don't feel like doing it.

I put the spare bedroom together some.  It needs a lot more work, but I rearranged some boxes and managed to squash some more things down.  The bed is made and ready for visitors, but not much room in the closet. Ah well, there are a couple drawers empty. :~)

The Living room seems to be the state of flux.  Tom keeps moving things around, he's not sure where he really wants stuff.  I think we are waiting at least a month to look for shelving.  We wandered around that first day looking mostly for a desk for me, but certainly for shelving too.  It seems that Ikea really does have the most options, I've seen other cool shelving, but never in a store - so where are they buying it???  

We have been discussing the master bathroom.  We have two shelves from Ikea we can put up in there.  My first thought was over the toilet  but the shelves are way longer than that space - so why cut them down, find something closer to the right size- I know Ikea has them.  Check my Pinterest to see what I'm talking about.  But those shelves may wind up on another wall.  We are thinking on the one between the tub and the shower.  Put one low enough to put things on for being in the tub and Another higher for decorative or storage.

Speaking of Pinterest, I know most people think its silly, well that silliness has given Tom and I several ideas that we would have never thought of; including - how to clean a microfiber couch, how to keep your rugs from sliding around and how to clean your washing machine.  I still have to clean the dryer screen.  
It's also giving us some ideas for outside and storage options to make the house feel better and not so crazy.  We still have a ton of boxes in the garage, I have to go work on my teacher stuff again.  It's mostly in crates and that's not going to work when the mice decide paper is good enough to eat and nest in.  So, I'll need to transfer that stuff to the empty plastic totes from all the kitchen stuff.  The good news is most of the kitchen stuff is fitting just fine in the kitchen, we even noticed that we hadn't put anything in one under section and we really do have enough drawers. YES!

Other news:  I guess I'm on a fitness plan of sorts.
        My neighbor asked if I wanted to do a Fun 5K walk for the Humane society in Bowling Green.  Even if I hadn't been to the Humane society here and almost cried, I probably would have done the walk.  
  Tom and I went over there to get tags for the boys.  We want to take them to the Dog park and the signs there say they need tags to be in the park to show you got their shots.  The boys were thrilled - we finally took them to the park yesterday.  It is BIG, they do have the small and big dog sides and the big dog side is as big as both big dog sides in Michigan at the one on Pontiac Trail.  Right now there is no shade on the space that looks like they could put a shade up, hope they do soon.
    Anyway - the Humane society down here is REALLLLLLLLY busy. They have over 200 dogs on a regular basis and they shipped 105 or more the other day north to other rescues.  There seems to be big Pit bull fighting going on down here.  $5000 reward if you can get fighting or people involved busted.  They won't let a Pit bull out of the rescue without getting chipped, so they can prove who owns it.  They need to invest in a few GPS chips for the Pit bulls to catch these people.  

The fun walk is Saturday April 20, and I have been walking everyday.  I did over a mile yesterday and almost a mile today.  Trying not to over do it before the big day and then not be able to walk at all.  We've taken the dogs for a walk almost every day last week.
  I'm walking farther most days and not feeling quite as whipped yet.  I was terribly sore from weed whipping last weekend, but this moving stuff has been keeping me moving.  

And I'm sorry to tell you all, I LOVE THE Weather here right now.  It's been in the 60's or 70's almost every day since we got here.  We had one day of rain and a couple of chilly.  This is SUCH a big difference from Michigan already.  Spring has sprung here, sorry you are all still suffering.  Of course, I'll try not to be the big cry baby this summer when it's 90+ here and it's only about 80 there.  Ok, you probably have a ton more to do.  Later

Surprise New ........

This has been one of the most agonizing weeks I have had in a long time.

You'd think moving and the stress on the dogs and leaving my friends would top it off, but that is just the underlying back ground noise. I've embraced that change and am pretty good with it, I freaked out over that a few weeks ago.

After getting here and driving that whole way, Friday last week Tom and I drove all around town in my car looking for a desk and shelving units and all that other jazz we need for the house.  We had just finished and were heading home when a bunch of lights in the dashboard went off.  I didn't panic but my stomached dropped and the dread started creeping up on me.

Some of you may remember last fall when the car spent about 3 weeks at the dealership trying to figure out what the heck was wrong with it.  All the same lights were a part of this issue.  They drove my car for at least 500 + miles trying to figure it out and it just seemed crazy that with all the diagnostics they can do, the problem was stumping them.    They finally changed out a sensor and figured that was the deal.

I have tried to do right by this car, it is a diesel and the reason I got it was the 40+ one way drive to work each day. Well, I lost that job and still I tried not to just do little driving around town, because I knew the car needed trips on the freeway to make it happy.

Well, the car is out of warranty at this point.  Yes, I really did drive it that much in the year and 7 months that I have owned it.  We waited several days after Fridays light fantastic and took it to the dealership on Wednesday - yesterday.  We dropped it off and told them the sad story and went on our way to Costco for our first trip to the store in Nashville.

Of course the same type of problems came up in the car.  They decided to DRIVE it again to try and get the Particle Filter system to work out its issue.  Yup, put another 100+ miles on my car and it wasn't going to work. I knew that before they even called me about it.

After shopping Tom and I wandered back to the dealership.  We talked to a extended warranty person and of course I'm too far out to get it.  They then said talk to the sales manager- he asked what we thought we owed and it told us what she is worth.  I was kind of surprised, I know they lose a lot of worth when you drive them off the lot, but it wasn't all that horrible.

We looked around and we even looked at other wagons, and thought about just wandering around to see what they had.  Tom pointed to the Golf and said, what about that.  It looks open in the back.  We wondered outside in the 80 degree heat (didn't feel that bad - lol) and looked at the car.

It is shaped just like the wagon, has the same front end and almost all the same stuff in the passenger compartment, just not as long and a regular gas engine.

We test drove it and well, its now sitting in the driveway.

I felt sick leaving my beautiful white VW Jetta wagon TDI behind.  I still feel sick.  I waited a whole year for that car.  I tried really had to pay off the Civic so I could get a new car, and I even made a little money selling the Civic.   And here I am dumping my first amazing new car.

We could not see paying for a gazillion repairs on a car that obviously has some kind of problem that they were calling Germany to try and figure out.  The guy from repair came to find us as we were debating getting the new car, and he said the magic words - we'll have to hang on to the car and we're not sure how long we'll have it.

Tom starts work on Monday, I'd be without a car and without a loaner. (or have to get a rental) - Sure it's not a big deal right this moment, but what happens when I need to go to a job interview.  We only know our one neighbor here in KY and I don't do well without a car anyway.  And we would have to start paying for the repairs on that car. I did not want to even start contemplating it.

So, out front I have a 2012 Black Golf w/  2.5 liter engine.  It has the newer radio, with Iphone hook up and  a sunroof.  The back opens like the wagon and has fold down seats and all that jazz for the dogs.
I should be thrilled- I have a Brand New Car, but it's not the car I wanted to start with.  It doesn't even get the gas millage I wanted, but - I won't be driving 40+ miles one way for work.  I hope to be driving like 5 miles one way for work.

It's depressing and amazing all in one fell swoop.  Well, I have a ton of work to do on the house.  Here's a couple pictures and we'll see how much I like the new car.  Thanks

Blue tooth, iPhone 5 & directions

I learned something new on this trip.
First- my Garman has been acting weird, just when you get close to where you are going and really need turn by turn it would crap out.
So I did not even try hard to find the Garman. I knew I could use my phone for the worst bits.
I've tried doing the new Siri assisted directions before. It did Not work well in my car - I have Bluetooth into the stereo for phone calls and even music. But her intermittent talking for the directions would get scrambled because of the Bluetooth.
This time I did not stop Pandora from playing when I needed some direction around Indianapolis. Guess what- Siri started talking right over top Pandora. The Bluetooth connection was already open - so Siri did not have any trouble speaking to me.

That is my newest lesson from my phone.

Kentucky!!!!!

I can hardly believe it has happened.

I'm sitting in our new house relaxing in Bowling Green, KY.
The last few months went by in a blur of packing, running with friends and trying to see as many people as possible.
Tom was beginning to wonder If he would ever see me again; for most of February I was off running with Deedra and who ever else appeared. I'd come home for a few days, pack more stuff and run right back out the door.
The last few weeks were spent agonizing over the amount of stuff we needed to get rid of and what I really needed to keep.
Thanks to everyone who took tables, chairs, desks, dishes, bookcases and misc everything else. We still brought too much. We have a couple pieces of furniture that really do not match anything else and should probably be rehomed.
I really have to thank Minion for the hours and hours of help getting the house ready to go. Without her help, I think I would have sat in the corner and cried. Her being a neutral party in the packing process helped me be able to get rid of things much easier.

I'm still marveling at the new house. It's weird having the kitchen and the TV in the same space, I'll have to get used to that. Our bedroom is way bigger than the one In Wixom - I have a chair and a bookshelf in there now and it looks like my computer is going in there as well.

Moving was a bit exciting. I can not believe how happy I am that I did not have to schlep those boxes on and off a truck. The truck driver was amazing. He'd been on the road 6 weeks and was heading home after my load. His packing ability was amazing. I should have taken pictures. Boxes right up to the ceiling of the truck. Then the plastic bin pile in front of that and the Tetris / Jenga master ability with the furniture. I thought I was pretty good at packing. Not compared to him.
I may have learned something A & T, so I hope I can come help you.

The funny thing is - the house in Wixom has never looked better. Carpets are clean, most of the walls are painted. The kitchen looks like we made an effort to update some. The storage space in that house is Crazy!!!! No really- I had soooo many spaces to go through looking through all my junk from 12 years in one place. Plus many things from 2 previous moves where we threw stuff in boxes to move across town. I'm sorry - finding a cell phone from the early 90's was the kicker. I figured I'd find 4-H stuff, but that cell phone. Toooo funny.

I admit that I got really overwhelmed that last week and then Mother Nature decided to kick me in the teeth 4 days before the move. I was not very welcoming of any mishaps those last few days. Thanks to everyone who stopped by, it was great to see you even if it was only a hour or so.

I could go on and on.

The dogs you ask? They are better now. They were rather upset that last week. I must have yelled at Cody one too many times because one night he insisted on sleeping next to my side of the bed. The dogs DO NOT sleep in our room- a nod to my allergies- and their snoring- he said nope I'm sleeping right here and would not go. I felt bad and went to find him a bed. Such a softy.

It was just me and them on the drive down and they were really good. I knew Cody would be good, but I wasn't sure Brando could do a whole day in the car- with only enough room to lay in his bed. Well- I think the tight space helped. Especially when I moved his bed out of the sun- oops. I stopped 5 or 6 times and took them out to stretch their legs a bit. Offered them water and they drank. Cookies on one stop and food on another. They really were troopers.

The only time they got upset was when I got upset at the house. I found it really dirty- and just about boiled over. I had to get back in the car and get some cleaning supplies. They knew I was NOT happy. Once I got somewhere clean enough to crash- it was ok.
We've taken them for walks in the morning and its like Disney land every day with all the new smells and scenery. I think they are adjusting pretty well. They were very happy when Tom showed up and all their furniture magically appeared
The empty house was weird for me and them.

Monday the Internet is installed and I can't wait. Only having my phone for access is getting a little tough to do.
I have more dinosaur stuff. Learned a cool trick on the drive down. Stayed tuned tomorrow. :-)

Dinosaur training. Rocu

Not sure where to start.
It's been busy.
Between getting the dinosaur an IPhone and Internet at home to this weekend getting a TV and Rocu box - wow. And packing to move.

The good news is everything seems to be working well.
I on the other hand dropped my phone on the clean commode and had to replace it. That became an ordeal in itself.
I was able to do the upgrade to a 5 w/out paying the $600 price. Then Radio shack had it on sale. But of course - Apple decided to do an over haul on the phone and so began my torture.
First they changed the pins on the bottom. No longer the 30 pin slot that they had for at least 9 years. Had to change it to make you replace all the Ihome stuff we' ve collected over the years. (Bought an adapter- there went the savings)
Second they've upgraded the brains enough that my laptop was running the equivalent of win 98 or 2000. The phone refused to talk to the computer.
After hours of google and Apple help searches I broke down and called Apple. ( I had just bought the new phone- I had 90 days banked to use with help )
We determined that yes my computer was probably to old for Mountain Lion the current Apple OS. But- there was a strong possibility that the newest ITunes and IPhone 5 would talk to Snow Leopard and my computer could handle that .
Thank goodness it was only $20- thank you Apple. Took a couple days to get here then 8 hours of downloads and updates later it all worked. Whew.

More later.