seriously????

i know, i know. i haven't written about the trip yet. i will, promise.

i just need to vent about this first.

when we first got pregnant, i was worried about the normal things: my age (37) being an issue, genetic abnormalities, miscarriage, etc. things that just about every woman is concerned about until she knows that there's nothing to be concerned about.

so we opted to do some genetic testing (first trimester testing & completely non-invasive) to "guide" us in the right direction. fortunately for us, the tests came back with no worries of any abnormalities and we were able to end that particular journey there.

that was in early february. while we were on vacation, i received a call from the billing department of that particular hospital. (not the one i'm delivering at, as that one is too small to have a maternal-fetal medicine clinic that does the genetic testing.) the guy proceeded to say that i had an outstanding bill ($30) after insurance had paid and wanted to know when i would be paying it. i'm in hawaii, and have no recollection of seeing a bill for that amount, so i told him that i was on vacation, if the bill had come prior to leaving i'd have paid it and since i'll be gone for 10 days, i'll have to look into it when i get home. fine he says and i figure that will be the end of it.

so we get home. i get the mail and sort it out. bills in one pile, etc. at this point, (about 2 weeks ago) i'm still not receiving my unemployment yet. vrock is working (huzzah!) but it's only part time. so while we do have some money floating around, there's not a lot that's leftover for extra bills. i put the bills on the desk in their spot and turn to other things.

i get a phone call a few days later from this guy again. telling me again that i still owe $30. now, i'm 27+ weeks at this point and my memory has become more faulty than i'd like to admit (HELLO list writing!), so i inform him that i have NOT received this bill and that i don't care that his system tells me they mailed it, i don't have it and therefore it will be hard for me to pay it. he says they'll send it again. fine. (of course, a day or so later as i'm preparing to pay bills i find it. but it's for $45.08 and NOT $30, so it's not completely my fault.)

meanwhile, vrock's job has become FULL TIME & BENEFITTED (woo hoo!!) and now i can pay the bills knowing that there will be more money coming in. great! so last week i write a check for this particular account and a few other non-monthly bills (we're STILL paying medical bills from his sinus surgery in oct) so that i can mail them in. i check our bank account online about every other day, so i'm glad to see that the check for this particular account has cleared. YAY! no more phone calls from this guy. right? WRONG!!!

this morning i'm sleeping in. (with vrock working full time now, the alarm goes off at about 6:45 and he gets up about 7:20. this wouldn't be an issue, except that 1) the alarm is on MY side of the bed, which means i'm the one hitting snooze and then rolling over to make sure he's awake, 2) i've done this every morning this week because i'm afraid if i don't sort of wake up with him that he'll fall back asleep and be late for work, and 3) last night/this morning i stayed up until 4:30am finishing a book because i'd had a 2 hour nap yesterday.) my phone is almost always on vibrate overnight, but because i'd grabbed it and put it by the bed this morning when vrock left for work, i hear it buzzing.

normally, i don't answer if there's no number listed. this one pops up as "private call". now, i know it's not my mom, because she left earlier and her cell number shows up on my phone. the only other "private call" that i know of for sure is my almost 38-weeks pregnant friend who lives about 8 minutes away. i'm her emergency ride to the hospital and since yesterday she was dilated to 1cm, it could be her. so i answer. it's the guy about the bill. he starts his spiel and i'm already PISSED because i KNOW that the check has cleared. i'm civil, barely, as he spits out the info about the visit date and the amount owed. and then i inform him that not only did i ONLY get the one statement (when they were supposed to send me a 2nd since i didn't recall getting a first) but that i've PAID it and IT'S CLEARED THE BANK! (there are few things that irritate me more than someone who doesn't have all the facts getting ready to "tell me off".) he then asks me to FAX him proof of payment.

um FUCKING HELLO??? just how am i supposed to do that? 1) i paid by check you asshole. i'll be DAMNED if i'm going to go to the bank and ask for a copy of the cancelled check because you can't be bothered to CHECK YOUR FUCKING SYSTEM to see if the payment has applied. (the check CLEARED on 5/22. i know monday was a holiday and all but seriously? it should be in your system by now!) 2) i don't have ready access to a fax machine and all i'd have to fax you is a copy of the statement. so i'm PISSED now. i explain to him that it's paid, cleared the bank, etc. he can tell i'm pissed because he then says "i'll just note your account paid then."

good idea asshole. of course, now i'm awake, so that annoys me even more. oh well.

i suppose i wouldn't be so mad about it if i wasn't already irritated from yesterday when the cop pulled me over.

more on that later.

25 weeks & vacation errands

so it was pointed out to me that i haven't posted in almost 3 weeks. (thanks stace! LOL) and with the trip looming up, i figured i'd best post BEFORE we left for hawaii on friday, otherwise it'd likely be ANOTHER week & a half before i was able to post. so, here i am.

i've been unemployed for not quite 2 weeks, and i don't think i've EVER been this busy! it's crazy. here's a sampling of what's been going on the last 2 weeks, broken down by day:

• mon (1st day unemployed) - trip to costco & target, which took almost all day
• tues - trip to the outlets with my mom, and to pick up some baby clothes & a bassinet from freecycle.org people
• wed - errands for the trip & a chiropractor appointment for vrock
• thurs - trip to the nearest joann's with mom to find some cute maternity patterns for later in the pregnancy, along with other trip related errands.
• fri - blissfully NOTHING was planned out and i did some spring cleaning stuff
• sat - one of the local communities has a yearly garage sale weekend, & i went with my folks. scored some good baby stuff (clothes, brand new pacifiers, size 1 diapers) and a few other things and only spent $16!
• sun - pre natal massage & out to dinner with vrock for our 1 year anniversary
• mon - doctor appointment (everything looks great! no issues other than the norm of heartburn & aching hips), lunch with mom, more shopping for the trip & a mani-pedi.
• tues - trip to storage to pick up & drop off stuff, over to a friends' house to drop off some baby girl clothes i'd picked up for her from one of the freecycle people
• today - took my folks to the airport this morning. the rest of the day? probably studying, laundry, clearing out the tivo. stuff that needs to be done, but that i can do from home.

so you see, it's not that i haven't WANTED to write. it's that by the end of each day i've been EXHAUSTED!

now i'm off to warm up vrock's lunch before he leaves for work (more on that later!) and then i can maybe take a nap later this afternoon!

t-minus 11

work days, that is.

eleven days. that just seems so weird!

it also means that i'm 4 weeks & 1 day away from leaving for hawaii for a family reunion of sorts. which means i'll get to see my brother & his fiancee' for the first time since she became his fiancee' in feb and that they'll get to see me for the first time since we told them at christmas that we're pregnant & asked them to be the godparents. all in all, i expect it to be a great vacation. i just hope i can find some decent maternity shorts between now and then.

and speaking of maternity clothes, why is it that if whatever article of clothing you're looking at ISN'T a solid color it's HIDEOUS??? i can't quite figure this out. i've found ONE, count it, ONE cute maternity top. (ie: something that ISN'T just a tshirt/tank top) ALL of the others that i've actually seen? FUGLY! i don't get it. you'd think SOMEONE would figure out how to make ALL maternity clothes cute. what's even worse? you find a cute shirt (in other words, you like the cut, etc.) but they've made it in the WORST possible print possible. i'm sorry. i don't feel the need to look like a circus tent when i go out in public.

that being said, this is what my maternity wardrobe consists of:

1. 1-black tank top
2. 1-grey tshirt
3. 2-royal blue tshirts (1 v-neck, 1 rounded neck)
4. 1-black tshirt
5. 1-red tshirt
6. 1-red polo type shirt
7. 1-cornflower blue tshirt style, with tie-backs
8. various xl or xxl victoria's secret/old navy tank tops
9. 3-pairs maternity jeans that i only have to pull up every other 5 minutes
10. 3-pairs black maternity yoga pants (SO COMFORTABLE!)
11. 1-pair jean shorts
12. 1-pair cotton type shorts (that i'm not sure will fit by hawaii)
13. 2-pair grey maternity pants, suitable for work

that is IT. i may have 2 other tank tops that are specifically maternity, but it's a bare bones wardrobe. i'll be 25 1/2 weeks by the time we leave for hawaii. i'd toyed with the idea of getting a maternity swim suit, but i may just try to wear one of my tankini's instead of buying something. i can't find ANY cute little sun dresses or anything like that to wear in hawaii, so this will be challenging.

any ideas where i can find ANYTHING that's cute? i've planned an outing to the local motherhood maternity at our outlets, probably the week after i'm done with work. (mom & i will no doubt also hit the carter's outlet there too, for the little guy.) i've gotten the few things i have at target & penneys. help!

the braves can suck it

i am a die hard hometown fan kind of girl.

that said, i had hoped against hope that ken griffey jr would come home to seattle and resign with the mariners, even if it was only to end his career in the town that he helped save baseball in.

everything looked good for that for a while. and then the freaking atlanta braves swooped in at the 11th hour. and with that, seattle's dreams of welcoming home their beloved jr fell by the wayside.

i knew that it was a longshot that he'd actually come home. to a place where even after defecting 9 years ago, he received multiple standing ovations when he FINALLY returned to play ball (albeit as a visitor) in the last season or two. yes, i was longing for the nostalgic days. and yes, i realized that the chances weren't good once i heard that atlanta was in the mix.

but still. atlanta braves? you can suck it! you deprived this homer of a chance to reflect in the sweet nostalgic glow of one of baseball's good guys. and for that? i'll never forgive you.

kitty time out

so the big move is today. and i'm at work. granted, it's not like i would've been a huge help anyway since i can't really lift too much without everyone looking at me like i've grown a second head. talk about overprotective! it's all good though.

in preparation for today, we've been taking stuff over to my folks' house including the fish & the cats.

when we moved into this apartment last year, it was the first time that the cats had "moved". (other than when i brought them home from my friends house, they'd pretty much never been outside the house except for vet/groomer visits.) bob does NOT like being in the cat carrier. he cries and it's so pitiful that it breaks my heart every time. i don't remember gabby being as pitiful last time as she was last night.

see, i KNOW that they hate the cat carriers. i KNOW that they'll most likely cry the WHOLE time that they're in them. i had FORGOTTEN, however, about what they did the last time we moved.

in short, they put themselves in kitty time out. the apartment has a bathroom with two doors. one into the hall and the other into the extra bedroom. so that was the natural place to release the cats when we moved in, as they wouldn't be in the way or try to run out the open door. what i didn't count on was that BOTH of them would immediately put themselves face first into the nearest corner they could find. it was at once heartbreakingly pathetic and funny at the same time. after a few days they got used to the new place and things were fine.

last night though? OMG! we got bob into the carrier no problem (which was a surprise in itself.) and made plans to corral gabby. here's where i need to give a little backstory. when gabby was maybe 1 or 2 she was severely traumatized. like any cat, she was curious about a plastic bag from target that was sitting on the floor. so she stuck her head through the handle to peek inside the bag. well, the bag was empty and she heard a noise or something and tried to back quickly out of the bag. bad idea. it got stuck around her neck, which would have been ok, but since she was spooked she took off and the bag looked more like a cape. the noise scared her even more and she ran into the garage and hid for hours. finally my dad was able to coax her out (she was originally his cat) and remove the bag but ever since then she's been a little weird. hides all the time, etc. except with me. she always wants to be with me.

so, when we moved, it was a great surprise to find that over time, she became less "freaky". she still doesn't like strangers too much, but she started coming to vrock the last few months, eating treats and even climbing up onto his lap for attention. then we had to move her last night and i have to wonder how far back she'll regress.

after trapping her in the bedroom last night so we could get her into the carrier, we took them over to the parents house. we let them both out upstairs and stood back. presumably she rocketed out of her carrier and straight down the stairs towards my old room. i'd left the door not quite closed and she darted in. and found the furthest corner of the room she could and put herself in time out. i talked to my mom this morning to see if she'd come upstairs at ALL last night and found out she hadn't. not a huge surprise. bob, on the other hand, cried for a bit after letting him out and then was fine. he's much more a people cat than she is.

i hope that she recovers soon. it'll get worse before it gets better though. vrock & the movers will be there in a few hours unloading the "non storage" items and she really won't have anywhere to run to then. poor baby.

think she'll forgive us?

you've GOT to be fucking kidding me!

so i'm sitting here with vrock watching tv. (well, he's sort of watching it and i'm just listening since i'm still glued to my new laptop.)

and i hear: "shop rite refuses to decorate a three year old's birthday cake..."

wtf?

so i disengage myself from the computer screen long enough to watch the story.

the REASON they won't decorate the cake? the kid's name is ADOLF HITLER. his stupid stupid white supremecist parents named him that. and they WONDER why the store has an issue decorating the cake with that name?

SERIOUSLY? i mean i know that celebrities want to name their kids "unique" (and often downright stupid names like apple, zuma, etc.) but ADOLF HITLER? you have GOT to be shitting me! then vrock tells me the ultimate capper.......

they named this poor childs siblings with middle names of "aryan nation" and "heinrich himmler".

seriously. some people should be sterilized at birth.

good news, bad news

so, the job thing? didn't work out. the other group either wouldn't or couldn't (i'm still not really sure which) transfer me over to their group for whatever time period they needed me for. which sucks. but isn't really a huge surprise these days. (what is anymore?)

that's the bad news.

the good?

my laptop came today! (yes, i'm at home. i used a weather/sick day today so that i could stay home.) i've been waiting for weeks for this laptop to get here, ever since i enrolled in school. there was a delay because they were missing a part, but it's here now. it doesn't have a bunch of bells & whistles, but it's mine. woo hoo!

we've been getting some REALLY fucked up weather here the last few days. it snowed over the weekend. not a lot, but enough to screw up the roads. ice, butt ass cold weather (HIGHS in the 20's!) and now more snow forecast for today made today a good day to stay home. lol. (i'm sure my boss didn't think so, but oh well.) as it is, i only have a few weeks left there (my last day is 1/16) so it's getting harder and harder to make myself go in. they're forcasting more snow this afternoon & evening (we didn't get any from this morning, THANK GOD!) and then again this weekend. vrock of course, is hoping for lots of snow. me, not so much.

i'm hoping that we stay in the snow free zone, but i'm not holding my breath.

big game hunter

this is bob. he is the absolute sweetest cat i think i've ever owned. he's big (15 pounds) but he's not fat at all and he always wants to play. he can be needy (especially if his "person" vrock isn't home) but over all he's a great cat. as a rule we do not let him or his sister gabby outside.

once we moved to the apartment, vrock started leaving the back door open to the patio when he was outside to see if bob would come outside. he now goes outside only if one of us is on the patio. (we have quite a few dogs in our apartment complex, so i am adamant about not letting the cat out if we're not out there to keep an eye on him.)since he's sort of gotten used to going outside he'll now sit at the back door and really look out. he doesn't really try to go out often.

well, last night my sweet boy wanted to go outside. BADLY. i was in on the computer and since vrock had been sent home from work because he was sick, he was sitting in the living room watching the football game. he called me over to look at our cat. he was pacing back and forth and trying to get outside. (the glass sliding door was open but the screen was closed.) it was obvious he wanted to get outside. and at first we couldn't figure out why. then we saw it: a little white mouse was on the patio. and bob could see it. and he wanted to get to it. i don't think he wanted to kill it. the cat has ALWAYS been an indoor cat and as such does not have ANY experience with anything other than bugs & spiders. i think he was just interested in it because it was moving and it didn't seem to care AT ALL that this big furry 15 pound cat wanted to get at it.

and THAT was the funniest part about the whole thing. here bob is running back and forth between our bedroom and the back door (our window sills in the bedrooms are very low to the ground to where bob can sit on them and look at the patio) so he could "track" the mouse's movement. vrock was just about in hysterics and kept asking me if he should let bob out. um, negative ghost writer.

that's all i need. for my "big game hunter" of a cat to take off after this mouse once it does start running. no thanks!

now i ask you, does this look like a "big game hunter" to you? me neither.

seriously?!?!?!?!?

beware. rant ahead!

ok. i know that people magazine is an "entertainment" rag. i know that the majority of the stories they cover relate in some way, shape or form to the celebrity industry.

but.

a COVER story of clay aiken outing himself??

not only is it NOT news that he prefers men but there is ABSOLUTELY no reason for it to be the COVER story. i suppose "technically" it's a story because he's never admitted it before. fine. then have a little blurb in the magazine with the details. fine.

but a cover? seriously?

i guess there was absolutely NO other newsworthy stories out of hollyweird last week.

*i could care less if he's gay/straight/crooked/green/purple/whatever. i believe that whatever preference someone has is their own business & it's not for me to judge. i'm just incredulous that not only was this deemed a "big" story but that it was deemed important enough to put on the cover. aren't there other more important things going on in the world right now???

hump day

i don't know what it is about wednesdays, but they're almost the best day of the week for me.

it's not easier to get up on wednesdays. but it seems that the work day goes by a little faster than it does on monday & tuesday.

it's almost the weekend and that's always a good thing. don't get me wrong, fridays are still my favorite day of the week, but wednesdays are running a close second.