There's a Mouse in the House....I Mean Car

It happened a week ago today, but I was far too emotionally scarred to tell you about it until now, when I've been able to heal somewhat. ha! I'm kidding, but I promise, there was mouse-related drama at our house.

Last week, Seth had to run to the pet store for mice for his snakes (which are still for sale for the low, low price of FREE!). I had no plans for the night, so I suggested that Bentley and I tag along. He could drop me off at the grocery store so I could grab some things, and he and Bentley could run to the pet store for mice and then come back and get me.

As he pulled up to get me and our groceries, he told me they could go in the trunk, but that the trunk is where the little box of mice was. Ah, no big deal. We're only 15 minutes from home..."we'll be fine," said the naive wife.

When we pulled into the driveway, one of Seth's friends was in our driveway. Turns out, he was working right down the street and popped in to say hello. Well, needless to say, 15 minutes of mice in the trunk turned to 30. I gave no thought whatsoever to it, and went to the garage to get the groceries to put them away. I popped the trunk and I am not even kidding you, I almost passed out because there was a little white mouse with red eyes staring at me from on top of our groceries.

I may or may not have screamed bloody murder for Seth and his friend. They both came running, because clearly, I was being held hostage in the garage. I ran back in the house while they frantically searched for all six (yes, SIX) mice that were in my trunk. They quickly found 4, and declared that one had "gotten away." Of course, like the rational person I am, I made them go through every single grocery bag in the comfort of the garage before it could come in the house.

And then I threatened his life. And our bank account. Because I promised him this. He will not go to bed until that mouse that was loose in my car was found. And if it wasn't found, I would drive his car to work every single day until he could find a time to meet me at the car dealership for a new car. I may have even said the words "and don't even think you won't take off the door panels." Seth's friend, Chris, informed me that one time a mouse got loose in his car, died in the a/c unit, and smelled for 4 months.

Awesome.

Well, good news for him, though. When I banished him to the garage for mouse duty when his friend left, he popped the trunk, and both (BOTH!) mice were sitting right there. He grabbed them and that was that. But two you may ask? He told me "one got away" but he really didn't know. No need to freak me out with the notion that there are two mice loose in my car, huh?

Nonetheless, all is well and we still have my Honda Civic. And we are still married. And we still have snakes.

Which need to eat again next week, starting this mess all over again.

End of the Weekend Already...

Well, that went quickly. The weekends always do, right? We had a good, full weekend but its hard to believe that it's time for work again already tomorrow.

Ben, Salli, and the kids came on Saturday for the weekend. We headed to the Apple Festival as soon as they got here...it's sort of becoming a family tradition of sorts since they also happened to be here this same weekend last year (so were M, E, and L!). As is customary with all outdoor activities when we have guests, it began raining within about 30 minutes of getting there. We only had time to eat in the non-rain weather, but we shopped in the rain, that's for sure.

Then, since I knew it was going to rain, I had planned to do cut and bake sugar cookies for the kids to bake and then decorate with icing and sprinkles. They had fun and I had a sugar high looking at their cookies! But they were cute! :)

All in all, a fun weekend. Bentley sure had fun with all the wrestling...he napped for 3 hours this afternoon!!

Sweetest Video

Saw this more precious video this morning of Beyonce singing a song to a little girl with Leukemia at her concert on Saturday. So sweet...bet there were no dry eyes in that arena.

Bad Things Happen in Threes?

You know that saying that bad things happen in threes? We'll I would have poo-pooed that until today. Let's just say Seth and I are going to just sit and do nothing the rest of the night lest we ruin something else.

Earlier this afternoon, I was opening all of the windows to get some of the nice breeze. We have never opened the guest room window before, and we found that it was painted shut from when we moved in. Should be as simple as running an exacto knife through the paint, breaking the seal, and giving it a good heave, right? Um, no. Doing nothing really wrong, Seth got his palms on the top of the window frame, gave it a steady tap and pushed. CRASH!!! I knew from the other room what had happened. The bottom pane broke out. Excellent. Luckily for us, it is double paned glass so we at least have a closed window until we get a replacement.

Moving on to outside yardwork. My flower pots were looking a little rough, and I decided I would pull out the dead flowers and put the pots away for the season. I grabbed the clay pot and picked it up, but I quickly felt it leaving my grasp towards the deck. CRASH!!! Good-bye, nice clay pot I got this summer.

Moments later, as we continue yard work, Seth picks up the leaf blower and gives the starter cord a good yank to start. RIPPPP!!! Super, the cord ripped in half, now making it unstartable.

Based on our afternoon-of-broken-things pattern, the next thing is on me, so I'm not touching anything in this house that I love for the rest of the night.

Long Time, No Chat

I will admit. I'm at a loss for words right now (huh? me?). As is normally the case when I disappear for an extended period of time, work kidnapped me. In early, out late a lot lately. But life will settle down when all of the commercials are complete.

I'm so tired from all of these out-of-whack work days that I thought it would be fun to take a snooze this afternoon. Bentley did not think that would be a fun idea so he licked my face, whined, and continuously hit the blinds on the back door to let me know he'd rather be outside. Except when he was outside he was barking at the neighbor who hates him. Nap fail.
Tonight Seth and I are going on a date night to a restaurant we've never tried. A few weeks ago, restaurant.com was running a serious special on their gift cards. If you've never used restaurant.com, you have to start. Basically, it is $25, $50, and higher gift cards for significantly cheaper (i.e. a $25 gift card that you purchase for $10). Anyway, so on top of that insane sale, they had 80% OFF! In all, we got gift cards for 7 restaurants ranging from $10 to $50 for a total of nine American dollars.

Needless to say, Seth and I are eating out for about $2 tonight (well, plus the overage)!!!! Very excited to get work off my mind and have a nice night out with the gorgeous husband! :)

Remembering...

Hard to believe it has been 8 years already...I'm sure like most people, I remember where I was and what I was doing just like it was yesterday.

Though 8 years later, while those indirectly affected may see it as just another historical event, those who lost someone or experienced it firsthand are far from ever seeing it as that.

Keeping those people, who experience the fresh pain of that day everyday, in our prayers.

It's Been Forever...

I know, it's been forever since I've taken the time to write anything on here. But oh my word, I've been busy at work. We are beginning to shoot all of the tv commercials for the next year, so it has been hectic.

Last night, I was at work until midnight. And I am very tired. Very. I did come in late yesterday because I knew I was going to be here so late, but what I did not plan for was the fact that from 4 p.m. until midnight we would not be sitting down at all because there was just too much to do.

Since we were shooting the tv spot that focuses on our trauma care (and therefore, the helicopter/ambulances), we were literally standing on the concrete helipad for 8 hours. How fitting that the focus would be on trauma, huh? Our backs hurt so bad until we were done.

And Friday, I get to do it all over again, starting at 5:30 a.m....but this time, shooting a different commercial for our specialized neuroscience care. I'm feeling like there might be an opportunity for sitting at that one.

So that's why I've been M.I.A. When I'm not working, I'm sleeping. Or cleaning. Or walking the dog.

Or stepping over the unpacked bags in the hallway from our trip to NJ this weekend. I just can't seem to get motivated to unpack right now, and we have plenty of clothing to supplement that task for at least a few weeks.

I'm kidding. Sort of. :)

In Which I Swear Off AT&T Forever...

Ok, seriously. I'm going to rant for one tiny moment. Why, OH WHY, is AT&T a bunch of liars? More bars in more places...riiiiight. And great customer service? Again I say it, riiiiight.

So tonight, my phone stopped working. No big deal (except it is). It happens all the time with their products. They can withstand nothing. Heaven forbid you put it in your purse and it bangs against your wallet.

Anyway, I went to the store where they gave me hassle about me not being an "authorized user" on the account...my FATHER'S account that is. Seth and I have been paying for my cell phone since we've been married, but AT&T has not taken me off my dad's account (my parents don't even have AT&T anymore) because they have some stupid policy that we need to be together in the store to swtich me off. Yes, that makes sense if I am ADDING to his account, but I am asking to be removed. Sounds fairly simple.

So after calling my dad while I stand there, they get into the account and tell me that I am 6 weeks away from renewing my contract and will have to pay an extra $75 on top of their already overpriced phones because I am renewing early. HUH!?!?!?! I am not CANCELING, I am RENEWING. Therefore, why would you charge your loyal customers an extra $75? Stupid...

Well, trust me, I am not paying that ridiculous amount of money for a phone I wouldn't have to get if their's worked consistently. Thankfully, my sister has an old RazR I can use for a few weeks until I can get a new phone....and maybe a new company, too.

Wonder how Verizon is....