I tried to update Movable Type to 4.1 (from 3.2) and it was so radically different I couldn't cope. I actually wiped away my photoblog. I guess I better stay away so things like comments will still not work. At least until I can read up on it but I don't know if it is worth it.
Thank goodness in this case with my host provider isn't done with changing things to the new server so I had someplace to go to revert.
I forgot to mention. Sold the Subaru. We last left the Subaru with blown gaskets. Tim at work told me I could probably get 2-3k from a Subaru enthusiast. I didn't know how to sell a car that books for $5k in need of $3 of repairs. I couldn't imagine anyone wanting that.
RAW put in the gasket sealer and it seems to be working. No more temp fluctuations. He put an ad in the Advertiser with no detail. I think it said.
1999 Subaru, make offer
It wasn't long after the paper came out we got our buyer. RAW told him all that we know is wrong with it (an exhaust problem appears after I stopped driving it). The guy called his mechanic and he told him about the same as we heard to fix it.
He wanted to buy it for his daughter who's car died. He seemed good with the gasket fix we did. He just wants 10k miles out of it. RAW started the price at $3200 then called me at work and put me on the spot with the guy on what I want to sell it for. I told RAW, $2300. The guy said $2000. We said sold. Really that is all we really expected to get for it.
The guy put $100 down and would finish the transaction the next day (I still needed to sign the title anyway).
Then a Subaru enthusiast called. He said he can pull the motor and fix the gasket for $200. He had a Subaru right now with 250k miles and would like one with less miles.
We might of gotten a little more money from him and I would of felt better about what is wrong with the car since he knows how to fix it.
H, at work said what you got to do is take phone numbers and prices and call the one you like best back at the end of the day.
Of course RAW hears that that guy could fix the problem for little money. He is now wishing we could of paid $500 to this guy to fix it and then he keep it.
Bottom line, is I got $2000 to add to the kitchen fund and the Subaru is out of the driveway.
I miss it
At about 4:35(ish) a.m., I woke up unexpectedly and had to pee. Not a normal occurance. Later when it really was time to get up I heard that there was an earthquake about 200+ miles from here at 4:35(ish). Interesting. Normally I am not a light sleeper but maybe that quake shook up my bladder.
Around that same time (4:30 a.m.) Abbott security seen a cougar on the property. They say animals act strangly around the time of a earthquake. I guess the cougar was confused and was reporting to work.
Seriously though, what is up with earthquakes and cougar sightings in Northern Illinois?
BTW, this is the 2nd cougar sighted in the area. A couple weeks ago a cougar was roaming North Chicago and Round Lake (a couple miles from home). Then the next week a cougar which I assumed was that one, was seen, shot and killed by police in someone's backyard in Chicago. Now there is another one roaming around out there.
a couple weeks ago Johnny Depp was in town to film a movie. I guess he was seen making his movie around Chicago and Wisconsin too but Crown Point especially. He is making a movie on John Dillenger and Crown Point is famous because of Dillenger.
Then last weekend Hilary Clinton stopped in to Crown Point for a beer and a shot. I seen the TV coverage of her having a shot with the people and knew it was in Indiana but didn't realize it was Crown Point and at Broncos at that.
I had a couple questions for Dan the insurance man. Instead of calling him I decided to set up an appointment to ask my questions and to see if we were insured correctly.
It turned out to be a good thing to do. First he saved me $70 a year on my car insurance for being a good driver the last 5 years.
Then he went to the home owners. He says there is a new policy with more coverage for substantial savings. He wasn't kidding, when all was said and done he was able to save us nearly 50% of what we were paying!
When all was said and done, we walked out of there saving $410 a year
the weather was wonderful. Finally spring! Of course this weekend we might see snow flakes.
Anyway, I did some purging trying to get rid of clutter mostly in the computer room where it wasn't very inspiring in here. I lugged heavy boxes to the garage and had quite an impressive pile to take to the church garage sale.
Later that night I felt that spot by my shoulder blade where I pinched a nerve 6 years ago. I am like, oh no but it never got too painful. I guess it didn't matter because now my big toe is numb. I apparently pinched a nerve anyway and have nerve damage.
This week I finally got to the doctor to fix my itch ears. Why not throw another thing to fix while I was there.
I got some drops for my ears and was told to take Advil...well she said Aleve but that was because I told her I took on the night my toe went numb (I was trying it). I have discovered that Aleve puts in me in pain, not relieves it so I took the big bottle I just bought back and got some more Advil.
I hope my toe recovers and my ears stop itching.
Hayley is a loud obnoxious 2nd grader that lives two doors down. Lately on the bus she has decided to mess with Hollace and try to steal her stuff. Wait, instead of typing this out again, let me copy and paste from BYB what I wrote there....
Hollace is a very sensitive kid and one that I figure will be an easy target to bullies just like I was.There is a girl two houses down a year younger than Hollace that is starting to mess with her on the bus. Haley keeps trying to "steal" things from Hollace or trying to take her stuff and the other girl sitting with Haley flicks her in the head and pulls her hair. Hollace tells them to stop and has told the bus driver which of course doesn't help.
My real problem is that Haley is very outgoing and is a friend to everyone and Hollace is very introverted and has a hard time making friends. I can so see Haley turning all the neighborhood kids against Hollace eventually. We live right next to a playground and am worried Hollace is going to be terrorized practically in her own yard. She is already a lonely kid wanting to play with someone. This is breaking my heart (I am nearly in tears writing this right now)
Maybe I am making this out to be more than it is or ever will be but I am genuinely worried that this is going to be the scenario.
I don't know what to do or tell Hollace to say to get Haley to leave her alone before Haley gets the idea that it is fun to mess with Hollace.
RAW is pissing me off about this because his solution is to encourage Hollace to slug her or something. He thinks that is the only way it can be handled. He has some unresolved issues from his childhood that he is trying to project on Hollace.
After getting lots of good comments from the BYBers, I posted this update
What I did was email the school social worker who has a big anti-bullying program going on. Once a week Hollace has been meeting with her for her Aspergers so Hollace has a relationship with her (and also she lives 2 doors down from us). I wanted her to help Hollace learn how to deal with Haley better.She wrote back saying she was going to talk to Haley by telling her that other kids on the bus reported the incident and that she would talk to Hollace as well.
Also RAW asked the bus driver to move Hollace's seat away from Haley
I don't think Haley had a good day yesterday. She got some kind of note or notice from the bus driver, a talking to by the social worker and after school, her dad marched her (in tears) to our house to apologize to Hollace. Of course her dad had to throw in one of those "kids will be kids" statements.
I really hope that Haley was just being obnoxious in her messing with Hollace and not really mean spirited and that this is the end of it but part of me worries that this event could make things worse as far as in the neighborhood. In the meantime, I will have Hollace passing out the Tootsie's whenever Haley is at the park ;-)
I guess Hayley wrote Hollace a note apologizing as well but she left it at school so I don't know what it said.
my web site provider is going through a server transition. At around the same time I decided to get a new URL, drawsward.com to point to my photoblog. Only the new domain was showing stuff that is 2 weeks old, it wouldn't update.
Getting ahold of iPower is maddening. YOu can never get through via phone. They have a live chat that you can wait an hour for your turn. It usually is at the moment I step away that they come on so they cancel the chat since I am not there.
So I usually email them. Only there seems to be a 24 hour turn around time on emails with them and they apparently don't read what I am writing cause I am getting no where with them. Finally after many email exchanges that really went nowhere I realized what the problem is with no help from them. It is simple really so I can't figure out why they couldn't get tell me this in the first place.
Tonight we went to Lowes to start the kitchen remodeling process. We have been procrastinating it for months now.
Color is the theme. I plan on painting the walls granny smith apple green with natural cherry cabinets (nice warm color, the light stuff, not dark) and dark blue countertops.
Lets get this party started!
I was unable to weigh myself yesterday. The scale just kept showing zero until it went off. I have basically stayed steady for awhile. Way too heavy but steady. This morning I weigh myself and I am up 8 freaking pounds since the other day. What the %&*#? When I tried it again I got the zeros like the day before. Tonight I tried again before my shower (I never weigh in at night) and it was now 8.5 lbs up. I looked at the calendar I have in the bathroom to see when my period is due to arrive and apparently it is tomorrow. That would make sense but I have never gained or held water like that before and I don't feel especially bloated. It better go back down.
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Oh and happy anniversary to us! It has been 15 years of happily wedded bliss. Ok, I exaggerate a bit. Didn't really do anything special. It is just another day.
is the movie Across the Universe. When I watched it the first time I was like, that was ok but I was a little disappointed. Now I can't get enough of it.
I have always been a Beatle-freak so it was a no brainer for me to just buy it without seeing it first.
I love how the actors perform the Beatle songs and the story goes so well with them. I love Julie Taymor's (director) vision with this movie. She seems like such a cool person.
I am in love with both Jim Sturgess and Joe Anderson from the movie. In love, both of them ;-)
I also bought the soundtrack and put the movie on my iPod where I watch snippets whenever I get a chance.
Now I got to go see 21 which Jim Sturgess stars in. I didn't realize it was him when I first saw the trailer which is on the Across the Universe DVD
Ok, that is it, you can now continue on with your day. I just had to get that off my chest ;-)
Because I am a dork with too many projects, I checked out a cute book from the library on Amigurumi (Japanese crocheted dolls and in the case of this book, a crocheted cheeseburger) Of course Hollace was all over it and since she can't crochet (yet) she has been a little slave driver to get me to crochet these dolls. It has been 30 years and my crochet is a bit rusty. I actually had to go to Youtube and find out how to make a slip stitch just to start!
It has been three weeks and I just renewed the book so while watching the evening news I picked up a hook and made a blue strawberry (what the heck, that is the color I had handy). I needed to put the top leafy part on which required gluing on so I grabbed the craft glue and ran into the living room with my project to see something on the TV.
I couldn't get the glue out and apparently squeezed the bottle too hard because instead of coming out of the, obvious to me now, tip, the plastic bottle ripped apart sending white glue all over the coffee table, my favorite pants and my fairly new carpet!
What a freaking mess. I hope I can get the glue out of the carpet. I am afraid I won't find out for sure until it drys then it will be too late. Ack!