Yard moose

"Josh, come look. There is a moose laying in the yard."  Josh comes running. "Look mommy, a moose! Sabot!  Sabot come see the moose!  Look Sabot, there's a moose in the yard!"  Josh bangs on window. "HELLOOOOOOO moose!  HELLOOOOO!..............Why won't he talk to me? Horses can talk, why won't the moose?  That moose is awesome!"  Josh runs off to play.  Oh to be 3yrs old!

DAMMET Awards

Have you ever had a moment/situation where someone or something's utter stupidity and/or incompetence starts to cause you physical pain and distress.  I know I have.  But rather than complain, I decided to start the DAMMET awards.  What's that you ask?  It stands for Dumb-Ass Makes My Eye Twitch and it is going to be a new part of my blog.

Today's recipient of the DAMMET goes to North Manheim Township/Blue Mountain School District in PA who continually tries to tax me on income that has never existed and on a place I no longer live!  Lets give a big hand to the people at the tax office unable to update their records for 4, yes, 4 years, no matter how many times I call and no matter how many times I send in proof.   You can't charge me an "earned income" tax when I never had a job and you can't continue to ask me for school taxes on property I no longer own.  But that hasn't stopped you from trying!  North Manheim Township, the DAMMET of today!

And it just keeps on coming.....

This morning I wake up to my cell phone ringing.  It's Joanna's school, calling to let me know that upon reviewing her records, her last Hep B vaccination (back in 2002!) was given a day sooner than it should have been and that she needs a booster to rectify the situation. We had 30 days from the time she started school to get it done and the 30 days expired yesterday, so she will not be allowed back to school until she gets it.  But they are just telling me this now!!!!  So, being in the lovely, sleepy, no coffee mood called "first thing in the morning" I ask why I was never notified of this sooner and her response "Oopsie! Sometimes these things get over looked.  But she can not come back to school until it is fixed."  Seriously, she said oopsie!

So I make a mad rush to get Joanna up and dressed (the kids had Monday and Tuesday off from school for teacher conferences) before the shot clinic on post closes.  It is only open on certain days and times and is walk in only.  Of course it is 10am and it closes at 11.  We run out to the garage to get in the car and I notice I am stepping in water.  At first I think nothing of it.  Our garage is heated so the snow on the car melts and leaves puddles on the floor.  We get to post and after an hour of waiting, get the shot. On the way back, it finally hits me that I have not left the house in 3 days, so there was no snow on my car to melt.  We get back and I notice the puddle is HUGE and coming from my water heater and water softener.  Oh Crap!

The night before the hot water would be scalding hot one minute and then cold the next.  It wouldn't stay a constant temperature.  And our water here SMELLS!  Like rotten eggs.  Apparently that is normal in North Pole when you have a well, but the water softener and whole house filters are supposed to help.  Well, not at our house.  Imagine trying to hold your breath while you shower.

So I call a plumber and he comes out right away and brings his water treatment guy.  My water heater is shot and so is the water softener.  The owners had the Culligna company come out and service the water softener before we closed.  He charged them $300, saw the receipt, but apparently he didn't actually do anything to it.  They are coming back tomorrow to install the new softener and new whole house filters.  We are also going to get an iron filter to help with the metal build up in the toilets and water heater.  After tomorrow my water shouldn't smell anymore and the new water heater will be installed shortly.  He said he could try to fix the one I have, but it's 26 years old and I'd rather spend a little more now and get a new one rather than spend a ton over the next year having "patch" work done.

I swear, I would like just one day with nothing major happening.  I guess my new refrigerator will have to wait.  Mommy needs a new water heater!

Broken wine and time changes

Our household goods finally arrived.  Of course, as with everything involving this move, it had to be full of drama.  They couldn't get the 18-wheeler down our road.  So they had to unload 13,000 pounds into smaller trucks and drive it in.  Took two days to unload in -25 temperatures.  Thank goodness for heated garages.  Those poor guys worked hard.  They had to open one crate at a time, unload it into the garage, shut the door, warm up some, then load it into the house. 

The packers in SC SUCKED!  They did such a bad job and made it even harder for the movers on this end.  There was no rhyme or reason to how they packed things.  They wrapped Joanna's bike in bubble wrap and tons of paper, however didn't bubble wrap any of my flat screen tvs!  Not only did they not bubble wrap them, they put them in boxes TOGETHER with other things packed in between!  So one of our tv's is completely shattered. 

Then there is the whole problem with the kitchen boxes.  They packed EVEYTHING from my pantry. I mean EVERYTHING.  They packed opened boxes of cereal, cookies, chips, you name it.  Like I am going to eat that!  They also packed lots of liquids in glass bottles!  Why is that so shocking you ask? Well they were bottles of wine and Arbor Mist and they froze.  What happens when something freezes? It expands.  The bottles busted and as they sat in boxes in my kitchen warming up, they leaked everywhere!  All the boxes sitting in the area are now wet and smell like sour wine.  My kitchen is all stinky, wet and sticky and unpacking wet cardboard is not fun!

So to relax from the stress, I was all excited to sit down and watch Vampire Diaries last night.  It is the only tv show I follow and I have had to catch it online the past few weeks.  I made a frozen lasagna and got all ready, only to find out I MISSED IT!!!!!!  Apparently I still can not figure out the time change here.  It came on at 7 not 8.  Some things come on an hour early (central time) and some things come on 4 hours early (east coast time).  How I am supposed to know when things come on if they follow more than one time zone????????

No wine, no Vampire Diaries, my world has gone mad!  The only saving grace right now is Kresley Cole released a new installment in her Immortals After Dark series this week and I downloaded it before bed last night.  Now if only I can find some time to read it.

Moose!

Josh and I started moving our stuff out of the hotel into the new house today and this was standing in my driveway, next to my garage.

There were two eating the tree in my front yard, but they ran before I could get pictures.

No Longer Homeless!

I closed on the house today!  I am so excited.  The whole process, from submitting the contract to the closing this morning, took just 17 days.  I've never had a closing happen that quickly.

The first thing I did was go sign up for cable and internet. Then I bought a washer and dryer, which will be delivered tomorrow.  No more paying $4 per load of laundry!!!!!!  I also made a list of all the cleaning supplies I'm going to need and I need to make my "floor plans" for where I want everything to go.  The furniture arrived in Fairbanks today and the moving company will deliver it first thing Monday morning.  I can't wait to sleep in my own bed.

I'll post pictures this weekend once I get my internet connected.  It's going to be very busy next week.  My goal is to be completely unpacked before Jason comes home at the end of February.  Since they are calling for the temperature to be between -30 and -40 this weekend, it will be a great time for me to learn all about my new pellet stove.

Roundabout Fail

I just want to thank the engineer who planned the 3, yes 3, traffic circles which are back to back to back in North Pole.  That was a FANTASTIC idea for a city that stays covered in snow and ice most of the year! Especially since they are really tight circles.  Slipping and sliding through all 3 every day is great!  Can you install tack strips on the main roads too? 

Thank goodness for new tires

My car arrived on Thursday and we took it straight over to sears for new tires.  I needed new ones before we left but decided to wait and buy here since SC doesn't exactly have a huge selection of appropriate tires.  After Sears, we dropped it off at Toyota to have an engine block heater and oil pan heater installed.


My car was back in my hands just in time to pick Chey up from school on Friday.  Of course, it started snowing the day before and the roads were slick.  The snow here is really dry and stays fluffy.  However, here in Alaska, people drive like they are insane.  Everyday we have been here I have seen at least one wreck.  Thursday I saw a car roll over on the highway and Thurday night we saw another rolled car catch fire! 

Well, on the way home from picking up Chey, we are driving down the long stretch of Badger road which is 55mph.  This guy in a blue Ford Flex comes flying down the side road and does not even hesitate at his stop sign.  He barrels through and makes his right turn right as I am passing the road.  I blare my horn, knowing he is about to slam into my passenger side.  I had no where to go but into the oncoming lane up traffic.  Luckily the car in that lane was far enough away and they were able to stop.  My wheels locked and my car spun around before finally stopping in the wrong lane of traffic facing the wrong way.  The SUV behind me was able to react without running off the shoulder.  The guy who caused the whole thing,  DROVE OFF WITHOUT EVEN STOPPING OR SLOWING DOWN!

It really scared Chey.  I didn't have time to get scared, I was too pissed and busy calling him every inappropriate name that crossed my mind.  Chey learned the value of good tires, paying attention while driving and that her mom has the mouth of a sailor!

Blindside and brightside

An email went about a McDonald's play date for the FRG.  So, I decided to take Josh.  Well no one else went.  Josh had fun playing and I sat and read.  But then out of no where, while I sat there reading my smut, I was blindsided by panic and fear.  All I could think about was "this is how it's going to be. All alone, no friends, just me and my nook."  It brought me to tears and took some time to pull myself together.  I am already feeling the strain of having no one to talk to or hang out with. This is going to be a hard deployment. 

I want to take a minute and thank all of you who took a chance and became my friend while I was in SC.  If it weren't for the FSM group, my wonderful book club and of course Gillian, I don't think I could have managed.  Ya'll mean a lot to me and I will always be grateful for the laughs and good times.  Gillian, you are a great friend and I miss you terribly. 

Ok, enough with my pity party before I start crying again. 

On the bright side of things, we had our house inspection yesterday.  It went well and we are one step closer to the closing.  Then, today I went to Barnes and Noble and bought a new Nook cover with a built in light for my best friend, my nook (aka Victoria Abigail).  It's my constant companion and goes everywhere with me, so it needs to stay fashionable.  On the way home, the shipping company called.  My minivan is finally here. YAY!  We're taking it to the dealership tonight to get winterized and will have it back tomorrow night.  Just in time too, since Jason leaves on Saturday.  Good by crappy rental car!!!  I have really hated that Ford Escape and can't wait to be back in my van.

No more fetch

Dear People on my floor,
Playing fetch with your dog, up and down the hallway at 11:30 at night, when people are trying to sleep is not a bright idea.  I feel sorry for your dog.  You clearly are not intelligent and shouldn't be allowed to own a dog.  I hope you don't have children.