So, I have a dilemma. I have to get a car, and actually have found out that I have a choice of 2 cars, both of which only cost $500. Yes, both are fixer uppers, but Jody is perfectly capable of working on both.


So, Jody was working in the junk yard and came across this little beauty. It's a 1997, and only ONLY has 87,000 miles on it. Again, it would only cost $500. Kelly Blue book is about $2000, it looks like it needs some new wheels (which he is taking care of) and a fuel pump (again, he's taking care of it!). Not my first choice in a car, but it is kinda cute, right? AND it would actually be the better/saner car to get because of the mileage on the motor and such.



We would have room to tote stuff around in, and could tow stuff too. It's not quite what I saw myself driving around in, but hey, it's a car right, and it would be fun to go offroading in at some point.


The other one is just like Jody's old "wagon". Small, cute, HONDA. Needs a new motor, which Jody would put in for me. The wagon is a early 1990 model,with over 120,00+ on it though... however, Honda motors can last for 300,000 miles or more. I kinda fell in love with the idea of having this little car for my own.





Cute huh? I think so. We hadn't had a chance to go talk to the gentleman about the car yet, he was out of town last weekend, and we weren't able to pick it up..... So, my problem is, I don't know which car I *really* want......BUT I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be getting the Jeep.


Not much going on here. The weather is CRAZY! I just got a text on my cell phone saying that we have a winter weather advisory in effect for over the next 24 hours. It's over 60 degrees outside right now!!! GAAAA. But we are possibly going to have snow tomorrow. Humm... it's a good thing I did laundry today, so if we lose power for what ever reason, I have clothes for the next week. I just have visions of ice storms and power lines breaking. I guess my time in North Carolina took it's toll on me. :)

Small things

Have you ever thought about the small things that make life so much easier? Take for example, the ability to run (Let alone PLUG IN!!) your washing machine and dryer at the same time. I know it sounds a little silly, but oh man, for about 4 months we've been without that ability. We would have to run a load or two through the washing machine, and then start drying. If I was lucky, I'd get 2 maybe 3 loads done on a Saturday or Sunday. Not really the way I wanted to spend my precious time off, if you know what I mean.

Today, Jody and I headed for Lowes, then Home Depot, to find a dryer that "worked". Our old one would run and run and run for hours if it wasn't set at JUST the right spot. Sometimes, it didn't run heat, just tumbled and tumbled the clothes. If we didn't unplug the dryer at the end of the cycle, and if we didn't make sure it was unplugged, it just kept running. No, the heat wasn't going, the tumbler wasn't spinning, but it was eating up electricity. Our last power bill, because of the darn dryer was nearly $$$300... YIKES!

I got my income tax return, and have been itching to get a dryer. So, today we took the mini-van off to the store and found a dryer. Jody carted it out the door, loaded it in the van, drove home and carried it up the stairs and did a dryer install. YEAH for working dryers!!!!

The scary thing? Well, as Jody was pulling the old dryer out, I noticed burn marks on the side next to the washing machine. I know that we blew a breaker about 4 months ago (when all the dryer trouble started) and when we plugged in the dryer for the first time after fixing the breaker, there were sparks flying. *sigh* I think we got off easy these past 4 months, but it is scary to think about.

Good Friends...

So, Jody is in Savannah, Ga right now. He drove the van down, and I get to drive his Del Sol. It's been fun.. However, it's been pretty darn cold here, and since I haven't been able to "warm up" the car for long enough, I've been driving to work cold.. ugg!

So, I stop and get gas after work, and I notice the thermostat is on HIGH. NOT good. I call Jody and ask him if that is normal (yes, I know it's not, but since he's pretty much built this car, I needed to make sure). So, he tells me to wait for the motor to cool (how long does that take?) and then pop the cap off the radiator ( I THINK I know what that is...) and check the level of antifreeze... Sure... right.

I then get a phone call from Jody saying his friend Brian would come by and check out the car for me. (have I mentioned that it's FREEZING, it's dark, and I don't get home until after 6pm?) Oh yeah, and Brian has a wife and two young kids at home, and I think he's been at work all day... Anyway, Brian shows up, starts the car, sees the antifreeze that's leaked in several locations... and realizes that he came over ill equipped to deal with this.. he thought he'd only have to pour antifreeze in to the radiator and all would be good.... NOPE!

Brian had to drive BACK home to get tools. So, he gets back, works on the car, in the cold, and gets it running so that I can drive to work and back tomorrow. We think the water pump may be bad... OR maybe there was a bubble in the antifreeze.. he got it fixed enough for me to get to work, and Jody will be back tomorrow sometime, so it's all good. Oh yeah.. and the heater works now!! whoot!! :)

It's so nice to know that there are people around to help if needed. That was one of my fears in moving down here, missing my friends. But now.. well, I'm not so worried.

Why do I feel guilty?

So.. I got a phone call from a friend of mine yesterday. She was the girl that I would hang out with ALL the time back in North Carolina. We've kinda drifted apart because she betrayed some confidences, and I still have a hard time trusting her. Anyway. She's been pretty much an "all about me type person" and before, I put up with it, and she was much of the time the focus of way too much of my energy.

So the phone call. Her son has a birthday party coming up on Saturday. Now, I was concidered an Aunt or surrogate Mom to her kids. Our separation was pretty hard to deal with, when it came to the kids.... ANYWAY.... I get invited to the Saturday birthday party. Take into account, this birthday party is up in Concord, 2 hours away.

Also, take into account, Jody is out of town today until Friday night, and then will be leaving for Virginia on Sunday. He is doing a camera install in Savannah, and Sunday he needs to go back to Virginia an fix his brother's car. *sigh* He's pretty sure he'll be gone 2-3 days in Virginia. SO, all I have is Saturday to hang out with him.

When I tried to explain this on the phone with her... Well, she got pissed off. She got so pissed off in fact that she hung up on me. And hasn't tried to reach me again.

So tell me... why do I feel guilty? I feel really bad about saying NO. But dang it, it's a 4 hour trek up and back, let alone the time it would take to attend the party... did I mention that this would be with a house full of FIVE YEAR OLDS????? Should I feel guilty? Would YOU?

Well, darn!

I started this post this morning, thought I'd saved it, went to finish it, and it's GONE!!! Oh DREAD, I have to rewrite the whole thing... bear with me. =)

There are many changes going on around here. Danielle is coming back home. I am so happy! It was a hard decision to allow her to go in the first place, but once I found out everything that is going on up there.

I always figured that George was the sensible one, the one that "leaned" on the kids more than me. That's why I wasn't afraid to let the kids live with him. I found out that he would 1) allow D to drive the car without a licensed driver with her. She DOESN'T have her license, just a permit. 2)He bought D a moped and allowed her to ride it before she turned 16. According to NC law, you have to be 16 before you can ride a moped. And since the motor on it is so small, she didn't need a drivers license for it. Oh yeah... He told her to NOT TELL ME that she was riding it. So in other words, he was encouraging her to break the law and lie to me about it.

The straw that broke the camels back? When she was riding to work on her moped on Saturday, a lady driving a Ford Explorer decided she needed to turn RIGHT from the LEFT hand lane. Unfortunantly, she didn't see my sweet girl and hit her. All things considered, she's ok. She ended up with a few bruises and some ruined shoes, but she's all in all, we had a good outcome. I am a little irate that the police officer on the scene decided to LEAVE before an adult showed up to take care of her. grrr... AND he didn't file an accident report because he decided that there wasn't more than $1000 damage. *sigh* We are trying to get things settled and taken care of. Oh and did I mention that George didn't take her to the ER after this happened? I had to call him and insist that he do that. I don't think that I was overreacting..

So, Danielle moves in March 7th. I cannot tell you how happy I am about this. I need my kids home with me, and really, they need their mamma.

Not much else going on here.

Still working, but thinking about going to school in the fall. If I can just see about getting some time off or going on my lunch and talking with a counselor at the local collage. I'm really really REALLY dreaming about doing the nursing and becoming a certified nurse midwife. Jody and I just need to figure out how to make it happen. Once the jobs come in steady, we'll know what we will be able to do. I'm just really frustrated at work. It may get better next week.. one of the babies are leaving. (gee, is or are???) This sounds horrible, but I have two very very VERY whiney babies. One of them is leaving next week. I thought he was hard to deal with, cause even when he was just "talking" he sounded like he was crying... very frustrating. ANYWAY... there is a newer baby in the room, who if you aren't touching her at all time, SCREAMS! SCREAMS!!!! and it hurts the ears so bad. I dread going into work because of her. I hope things change once she gets used to us... *sigh*

Oh yeah!!! How could I forget? I got to talk to my mom on Sunday! I am so excited! We talked about the kids, and then things going on on her mission. Cool, huh? Unfortunatly, she called while Jody and I were driving down the road trying to get from Charlotte to Columbia for a Super Bowl/Double Birthday party. Have I mentioned that the Del Sol is kinda loud? But it was wonderful to be able to talk to her again. I can't wait until she is state side. YEAH!!!