Back to Blogging

I'm back. Yep-there have been plenty of things going on since I last wrote, so I thought I'd take the time to catch everybody up.

Well, first things first- I finally got my car back and it's running great. *insert happy dance* What a relief to finally have it in my possession again. And now that Dan is trained to be an auto mechanic, he can take care of any problems from now on.

Speaking of Dan, he graduated from Tech school today. Now he's officially cross-trained from radar in vehicle maintenance. No more radar- EVER! He flies back to our home in North Carolina to finish up paperwork and then he'll be on his way up here to get me and the dogs and take us to Vegas. But wait- it feels like I just got here. It can't possibly be four months already! Where does the time go? Are you ready for us, Vicky? I'm sure once we invade your house you'll regret ever being friends with us. =)

Since I've been living here the past few months, I had some extra things that I needed to take back to North Carolina before the movers come. I planned a quick trip. A very quick trip. Quick, as in drive down 10 hours Monday, get all my work done on Tuesday, and then turn around and drive 10 hours to come back on Wednesday. My mom veryveryveryvery graciously agreed to go with me and help. When we pulled up to the house I almost cried at the sight of the yard. It.Was.Bad. So much for the new realtor making sure the yard was in good condition. HA! Who am I paying to do what again? Plus, our trash cans have been stolen, our hot water heater is no longer working (?) and our neighbor must have trimmed a tree, then dumped the cut, yes cut, branches in our yard. Le sigh. BUT- with my mother's help, we were able to get the entire yard cleaned up and take care of everything in the interior that I needed to finish. Thanks for the help, mom! I would have been there all week just working on the yard if you hadn't been there to pitch in. =)

We left early on Wednesday, a) so we could be back in time for church and b) because it was my dad's birthday. Since we'd been gone all day, I very much wanted to take my Dad out for dinner after church. It came together perfectly. The whole family came along. The food was good. Everybody had a great time. But of course that meant everybody was also there to witness the fact that I forgot my wallet in my luggage and my poor dad had to pay for his own birthday dinner. I know, I know.... Please don't leave me any comments about it. I'm already aware of anything you could possibly say. And please note that I did pay him back for the entire meal this morning. So there. *Note to self: always check for wallet before offering to take people out to dinner. It looks bad when you have to ask them to pay.

On a happier note, my sister in law and her husband are expecting their first baby. Congrats to them as they start their own little family. I know they're very excited and I look forward to another niece or nephew. The more the merrier!

Also, my newest nephew is doing spectacular. Or course I might be partial, but I think he's pretty much the cutest thing EVER! But you don't have to take my word for it. Take a look for yourself

Ahhhh.......lets just end on that note.

Blogging Break

Yep, the title pretty much sums it up.

I've finally found a few moments to post some pictures of my new nephew. As you can see from the pictures, everybody has fallen in love with him- especially me.

Tidbits

- Started Vacation Bible School last night at Church. I have the 2nd grade girls, which includes one of my nieces. Of course, it's almost impossible to teach a class without having one of my sister's girls. I haven't done bible school in years, so I was a little nervous, but they were well behaved and the night went smoothly, so I'm encouraged about the rest of the week. I had 7 girls just last night, so we'll see if our numbers increase throughout the week.

- I have been going back and forth with the new realtor. I hope he can do a better job than the last one, but after all my phone conversations with him, I'm not left feeling very confident. Sheesh- what is the deal!?!

- I only have a month left here with my parents. I can't believe 3 months have already flown by. Dan will be finished the very beginning of July, and then we'll be heading to Vegas a few weeks after that. I'm so excited for Dan because I KNOW he's ready to leave Cali, but seriously- where did the time go?

-Everybody (and I do mean everybody) is anxiously awaiting the arrival of a certain baby boy. Dear sweet sister...... hurry up! I'll need plenty of time with the little man before I move. Get on with it! =)

-I think the auto mechanic is holding my car for Ransom. That, or he just really likesmy car so much that he's keeping it for himself. I'm not sure at this point because he's had it for 7 weeks. Although on the plus side, I've been able to use my parent's car quite a bit, so it hasn't really been a problem.

*Note- This next tidbit is specifically for my hubby. Skip if you don't like mushy romance stuff =)
-Because he informed me he checks my blog everyday, I'm throwing this next tidbit on here for my amazing husband Dan. I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH! You take wonderful care of me, and I don't deserve a great guy like you. Thanks for loving me back =) Can't wait to see you!

Okay, you can look again.

-I think our family's birthday season is coming to a close. Finally. Today is my Pappaw's 80th, so I wish him a happy birthday. Our next family birthday isn't until my dad's on the 1st of July. But luckily I get a few weeks break before that one, because I'm about birthday'd out!

Have a wonderful Tuesday everyone!

Sunshine and Strawberries

With all the stuff that has been going on recently, I didn't even notice that my last post was my 100th. I'll have to do something special about it later, but for now I'm going to post some pictures from my visit to Tennessee. I went with my sister, Karen, and her family. We stayed from Wednesday- Saturday afternoon, and I had a great time. It was nice to see people I hadn't seen in years.

Thursday morning was spent strawberry picking. The girls had been waiting to do this so they were excited. I had a blast watching them hunt for the berries. My youngest niece, sweat pea, spent most of her time eating the berries, and she was a strawberry mess by the time we were done, but it was fun. Good times.

Sweat Pea, taking out more than she was putting in

Polly working on her basket

Tigger went through the rows with her grandma

Our finished baskets

Update

Well folks, we have a new Realtor! Yesterday Dan called (on his lunch break no less) and talked to whoever he needed to talk to, to get this situation fixed. I could not have handled one more thing yesterday, and he just stepped in and took care of it. Isn't he great! =) I'm rather fond of him.

The new Realtor called me first thing this morning, and he's going over to check out the house and give me his assessment. He mentioned that I would probably want to have the grass mowed at least every two weeks. Well, uh duh. He also told me it wouldn't be cheap. Okay, I'm sure it's still cheaper than keeping a house on the market for months on end because it looks abandoned. Sheesh..... Oh, Goldsboro, how I can't wait to never see, hear or speak your name again.

*Warning* Big Vent

I really shouldn't be writing a blog right now because I am so angry, but I need to vent, so bear with me, or just skip this post altogether.

Our home has been for sale in Goldsboro since the first of March. I'll spare you all the horrid details, but let me just mention that it has been one big miserable experience. The water company doesn't believe we aren't using any water (even though I've explained there has been no one in the house since Feb), so they said they would double bill us?! Okay, What???

Then, the realtor we have is, for lack of a better word, incompetent. Since we are not there he is suppose to be our "eyes" and let us know what needs to be done. I wanted to make sure we got somebody to mow the grass, so he told me he would find someone. It took him 6 weeks before he arranged for someone do mow it and then I found out today it took another 6 weeks before the grass was actually done! In the mean time the city of Goldsboro went and mowed the grass, because it was ridiculous. Now I don't blame them- I'm sure it looked like a jungle and I can only imagine what people driving by it thought. But now I'm left with a $125 fine for the yard, all because our realtor is obviously in the wrong field of work. Here I was, ignorant that all this was going on until I got a certified letter in the mail yesterday about the violation. Which, let me just mention that the violation was dated the first of May. Please note that yesterday was the first of JUNE!

Why not change Realtors, you ask? Well I'd like to, and hopefully I will soon, but it's a little complicated, and I think my dear sweet hubby with have to handle that one. At least, I hope he will, because I don't think I can handle any more stress. Oh, and have I also mentioned that after 8 weeks, I still haven't got my car back from the shop................

Don't worry, I'm not going into that one.

Okay, I've said my piece, and counted to ten.