Anyway, finding the mythical inexpensive, yet reliable and safe, used car seemed like an impossible feat until my BFF found out than an old acquaintance from high school had to sell her 86 year old father's car. That right, it was an older gentleman's vehicle - which means that, while older, it had been meticulously maintained. And it was cheap...or at least affordable.
So we got it. Please note that I said that WE got it. It is OUR car - not The Boy's. We want to make that point very clear, especially to him! Anyway, Mr. Wonderful decided that this vehicle needed a name and thus has christened it "The Geezer."
The Geezer
Whilst we were running around looking at used cars and pulling our hair out lamenting the improbability of ever finding a car which met all of our criteria (but especially the affordable part), we were also interviewing realtors and trying to decide whether or not to try to list the house again.
Which meant that I was scurrying around like a frantic chicken with it's head cut off trying to clean the house, and organize overflowing closets. Mr. Wonderful was busily running bags and boxes of stuff we didn't need, which the overflowing closets were full of, to the closest charitable drop off sites. I was scrubbing grout and grungy bathtubs, and shampooing carpets and cleaning out the utensil drawers - in a vain attempt to make it look like we weren't hoping to be featured on an episode of "Hoarders".
In the midst of this frantic frenzy of cleaning, two calamities befell us. The first is that our coffee maker stopped working.
I KNOW!
It was terrible. Luckily, the people at Cuisinart were awesome and replaced it - although we had to wait FOUR DAYS for it to arrive.
It was Friday afternoon and it was about to rain, when The Boy spied this package sitting all alone in the grass dead grass and leaves and dirt at the end of our driveway.
We've lived here for 11 years and our packages have always been left on the doorstep, until recently. About two months ago we apparently got a new driver. And he, apparently, is a lazy you-know-what because THIS is what he has been doing with our packages.
I digress, but I wanted to mention that, in addition to cleaning and living without caffeine and whatnot, I've also been calling and tweeting UPS trying to figure out what in the world this driver was thinking leaving our new coffeemaker out to be rained on. I still haven't gotten a satisfactory answer.
But as I said, I digress. The other calamity to befall us in the midst of the crazy lady's cleaning jag was that my Shark Steam Mop also stopped working. The Shark people weren't quite as good about covering what is obviously shoddy quality (just google this item - it seems to happen to everyone's steam mop after a year) because it was over a year old. They did, however, allow me to purchase another, newer one for a very, very cheap price. I am anxiously awaiting it's arrival (and UPS? It had better NOT be left at the end of the driveway in the yard! Just saying...)
Anyway, the calamities were dealt with and now this is sitting in front of our house...
and I am trying to maintain the facade that normal, ordinary CLEAN people live here...rather than the reality of two teenagers who manage to have their rooms looking like a bomb exploded within moments of arriving home from school.
It's not easy. Thank heavens the coffeemaker arrived when it did. I'd never manage otherwise!
Other than that (and really? Isn't that enough??) life has been moseying along here as usual. The Princess keeps us running with dance classes and rehearsals and The Boy keeps us hopping. Just because he is a teenage boy.
In the mornings, when I try to check email, Jack drapes himself around me and over me and on top of me. It's distracting...
The cat needs a hobby!!
Also, The Princess allowed me to take some photos while waiting for the morning carpool pickup one morning...
I thought this was pretty representative of life around here!
I must say that I enjoy receiving these little messages from the kiddos throughout the day. Although, I'm baffled as to how they manage to send them since cell phones are not supposed to be used...
During the past two weeks, this also happened...
*Lucy (the dog) scratched and ripped out a screen door and busted through it
* The garbage disposal decided to stop working
* One of the closet lights decided to stop working
* There was another school related shooting - this one right here in our town. A teacher was fired and returned to the school and shot and killed the head of school and himself. With an AK47. Don't even get me started on this.
When it rains, it pours.
And now, I must go. Daylight Savings Time has kicked my butt. I need coffee...
