Monday, July 20, 2009

ok ok i slack i slack...

there is really no good excuse for not updating our blog. no good excuse at all. I could run down some key moments for you.
1. LOVE that my mom is now on Skype--her camera sucks and we need to practice waiting for the delay and not talking over each other...but its very cool! WAY TO GO MOM!!
2. LOVE skyping with sisters and in-laws. Its always a pleasure to chat with everyone. Even if its just sitting and staring at Cheryl giving Etta lovin' -- it still makes my day!
3. Unfortuantely skyping will be limited now because of school, but still available early on Wed (your tues night) and Fri (your thurs night) and of course the weekends.
4. Found out today in class that after my first semester of Clinical I will be awarded a certificate and I will be able to get a job within aged care...yeah...paying job! Fingers crossed anyway.
5. Hung out with a REALLY cool girl...Felicity...and am missing other cool girl...DANIELLE (are you EVER coming back!!?)
6. Nat loves his job, has time-consuming project right now that requires him to work over the weekends and stays late at work, but he enjoys it. He is an awesome hubby...especially with helping around the house.
7. Nat started playing sand volleyball on Tuesday nights. I warmed up with him last week and was WORE OUT after like 10 minutes. It took me the next 45 minutes to stop wheezing.
8. Speaking of wheezing..we FINALLY got a vacuum cleaner this weekend. It was WAY overdue. I had been wheezing since Fluke got here, and even after he left...but I am way better now that we have vacuumed the house and the couch. Of course we got a Dyson, but considering no name vacuums were $250, spending $370 was worth it for knowing you had a good one. It was marked down over 50%. Here in AU they prefer canister/barrel vacuum so preferring upright worked in our favor. Nat would have preferred barrel, but I preferred the price!
9. I am waiting for the month where money isnt tight.
10. First day of school was good. I think I will like my Clinical Practice 1 class. Lecturer is super funny and easy to understand. Tomorrow will be the test--PHARMACOLOGY!!! shoot me now! I had always heard horror stories...just start praying now!
11. We havent really had any great adventures lately...I went to Gold Coast with Cheryl (Nat's boss' wife) to see whales, to no avail, but we were at the beach so that was good enough for me. She also introduced me to an outlet mall...now if only #9 would get settled.
12. Found out last week that our shipment wont be delivered until mid-August. We are disgruntled. It was supposed to be AT THE MOST 3 months...and now it is going into 5 months. I would really like some new selection of clothes. I am tired of wearing the same outfits. NOT TO MENTION MY BED!!! I know we talk about it alot...but compared to what we have now...I want to sleep through the night. At this rate, the girls will get here BEFORE the bed. What is really frustrating is that the shipment has past all the checkpoints, and now its just sitting in Melbourne until July 30, then it will get sent here and not get here till around Aug 10--THEN they schedule delivery...UGH!
13. Girls had their vet appointment on Thursday last week. Blood work and external parasite check. Vet seems to think Etta has fleas which could delay her arrival...so please please please let it not be fleas!!! We miss our girls TERRIBLY! Nat was TOO close to buying puppy this weekend...I must monitor our mall visits to stay away from pet stores. less than 30 days and they will be in AU, less than 60 days and they will be HERE!! I hope time flies!
14. Write comments. I like to know you are reading.
15. I cant think of anything else right now...plus I have to get to bed so I can rise and shine tomorrow am. Tuesdays are going to suck...i have class from 8-9AM then 3-5PM...I guess I need to learn how to study somewhere in the middle.
16. Love you all!!
17. Miss you all!!
18. Bye.

Sunday, July 05, 2009

Geting Better...

So tonight I made chocolate chip cookies from scratch. They arent bad but would be SO much better with real chocolate chips. At least this time they are gooey and not hard as rocks! Flour lesson learned! I also made Chicken Divan and it was awesome!! The cheese is a little different, but overall it tastes the same...so I guess I will be ok here.
I went to to Tupperware party on Saturday afternoon, after I talked to mom, Cheryl Carol Hope and Steve on Skype. It was pretty good. Always awkward meeting people for the first time. After the party I stuck around a little longer and had some good conversation with Sarah, Felicity and Wendy. I think that was more fun than the party. I ended up getting home later than I intended, but I also put myself out there. Monday night there is a group of girls (from same general group) to that going to see a movie. Felicity is a God-send, as well as Hans and Danielle. I wish Danielle was here to play with us. I am hoping that there is a woman's bible study/small group that I can get involved in. So far so good...met two girls...and they are both awesome!
I have been having this issue with DirecTV. We left DirecTV connected so Cheryl and Carol could use it. They pay the monthly but its in our name. Well they decided they didnt want it anymore so we needed to cancel it. They wanted to charge me $280 cancellation fee. It was RIDICULOUS. I wouldnt recommend them to anyone. It took me like 3 phone calls, and 5 emails (apparently they took me seriously when I asked for the address to report them to BBB). They cancelled my service on Friday night (even though I had not asked them to) and I got an email this morning saying that they wouldnt charge the early cancellation fee. I explained to them that I moved out of the country and they STILL refused to waive it. It finally got sent to a "specialist" that "apparently" waived it. We will see with our final bill! The emails were pretty heated. I could not fathom a company refusing to waive a cancellation fee, especially since they couldnt provide service. They just kept telling me that we signed a contract. In one email they said "we must assume that they (being me) have considered all other options and circumstances that might transpire while they are still under commitment." Thats right, because when I signed up I looked into my magic crystal ball and said "oh yes, we will be here in 2 years..." RETARDED!! Anyway, in the end I "apparently" got the fee waived...so YEAH!
Nat has been pretty hermit-ish the last couple weekends. We tend to stay home and veg out. Not all that bad, but there is so much to see and do. He does work all week so it is sorta his only time to unwind, so I understand.
Also I would like to introduce you to FLUKE. He was rescued from a pound on Friday. He was to be euthanized so we saved his life. He is absolutely adorable and very gentle and calm. He has made himself right at home. I am not sure what kind of dog he is, but definately some kelpie (AU Sheep dog). We are supposed to have him up to 6 weeks or until someone adopts him but I am very allergic to him. I have to call the lady tomorrow and tell her she will have to take him back. I have been drugged up on anti-histamines and asthma meds (and using inhaler 4+ times a day, which is unusual) plus my nose is a mess. He has a lot of dander and I cant bear it! I hate to give him back, but I cant breathe and I kind of need that. Hopefully she can find someone else that can take him.


well i think that is it for now! The girls will be leaving USA in 6 weeks! HOPEFULLY we will get out crate in 2 weeks and I start school in 2 weeks (OH DEAR!!)
Love you all!!

Mrs. P