Rose Garden

Here are a few pictures of roses that have blossomed in the past week. We planted our rose garden in February, and I'm quite happy with the results of our entirely amature experience. (And if anyone has rose gardening helpful hints, I'll take them! At this point all I know is, well, nothing!)

Poo rocket

Yesterday, while changing Kate's diaper, we had a rocket of poo. I heard it coming, and even caught a lot of it in the diaper, but I was a little too late. See the laundry basket that is closest to the door? Yep. Poo made it all the way to that basket. She's got some skills, I tell ya!

Sneak Attack

Kate sure can be sneaky. Most recently, during the middle of the night diaper changing. Old diaper off - check. New diaper going on . . . wait a minute! How did the changing pad get wet? And your onesie, too? A total wardrobe change? Really?

The thing is, I didn't even see her pee. Things just got wet. And this has happened to me more than once. And she's fast at it, too.

What can I say. She has skills!

M's, round two

Yesterday we all ventured to our 2nd Mariner game. We parked in our usual wonderful spot. Decided to change Kate's diaper at the car before going to the stadium.

Fortunately, Doug put down the plastic protector. Once the diaper was off, Kate decided it was time for a little #1 action. With the angle of the car, most of it actually rolled off the protector into a puddle on the ground. But some did manage to hit Doug's pants. I just laughed. Tee hee.

Unrelated, the picture below shows it's never to soon to have your first self-portrait (even if mommy still needs a shower).

First M's Game

Yesterday, Kate went to her first Mariner game. She slept pretty much the whole time, except for when she was chowing down on a bottle. So I consider the adventure a success. We'll be going to another game tomorrow, so hopefully it will go smoothly, also.

Doug reading a book to Kate about baseball and the Mariners.



Two not-so-hot family portraits (maybe better next time!)

Two cutie pictures of Kate at the game.

Past the birth weight

Kate has finally regained the weight she lost at birth! All this craziness with breast feeding is working. Today she weighed in at 8 pounds, 15 ounces.

Getting caught up

Well, I'll be doing some posting out of order. Life is a bit crazy with the newborn. Kate, while very adorable, has been a bit relucant to learn the art of breastfeeding. Stressful for mom and baby. I think we had a breakthrough today, but I need a few more successful feedings before I stop holding my breath. (Watch out, my face might turn quite purple!)




So, to tide you over, here are a few pictures. I've turned the date-stamp feature from my camera on, so you can see how old she is in each picture.

Well, except for this first one. It's from June 5, for her 1st trip to the pediatrician.

Kate and Doug, taking a nap. I didn't think we'd be pacifier people so soon, but after one night of Kate only being settled by sucking on my pinky finger, that changed. On the other hand, she really hasn't used it much in the last day. Perhaps because of the feeding breakthrough?

Where's Kate?

Girl cousins Abigail and Kate, just hangin out!

Welcome, Kate

Okay. I'm a little behind in recording the recent events. But I'm on a computer ration at the moment. Should actually be taking a nap, but wanted to begin the blog-update process.

Last Sunday (June 1), Doug and I were most fortunate to welcome our baby daughter into the world. Her name is Kathryn Hope, but she answers to Kate. (I forgot to put this in the orginal post, hence the italics) It was a bit of a drama, ending in a c-section. That's a story I'll post at another time.

The stats: 8 pounds, 14 ounces. 21 inches long. Very healthy, cute, and adorable. The first few pictures are from the hospital, and the last two are from Day 5.

Not This Year

Well, it looks like I won't be singing the National Anthem for the Everett Aquasox this year.

The auditions were at the Everett Mall, center court. Three judges. You needed a score of 24 (so an average of 8 per judge) to be guaranteed a spot. Scores of 18-23 got you on the will-call list. I got a 22.

Here's the story. I was just sitting there, listening to the other people audition. Feeling ready to go. Not worried about forgetting words. Pretty relaxed. But the moment I got on stage, nerves/ adrenaline got the best of me. My voice (well, heck, my whole body) started shaking. Fortunately, I could still hit all the notes, but I sounded noticeably nervous.

Who knew that the nerves would strike on this occasion? I do solo stuff at church all the time. Though I suppose I was quite nervous the first time I did that, too.

There's always next year!

Prenancy Pictures

Here are some pictures of what I look like - ready to pop at any moment.

The ones through the Kiddie Kandids (Babies-R-Us) link are not a promotional thing for you to buy anything. They just gave me the link, and I thought it was a good free way to share them with you. ;)

http://mystudio.kiddiekandids.com/viewshare.asp?c=5440390983FFHRFMT

Jingle Jukebox

My brain is a repository of completely useless stuff. Of recent note, songs and jingles.

Yesterday after washing my hands, I remembered a public service announcement that was played on the Oregon airwaves when I was in high school:

"Wash your hands after going to the bathroom. Wash your hands after chaning baby, too. 'Cause you don't want to catch hepetitis, and you don't want hepetitis to catch you. Who? YOU!"

I wash my hands all the time. Why, oh why, did that jingle pop into my head then?

And then, this morning, as I was awake but not out of bed, the very last part of an 80's sitcom theme song was selected from the jukebox of randomness. "Because 8 is enough, to fill our lives with . . . . loooooove."

So random!

To Fulfill a Dream

One of the things on my "Life's To Do List" is to sing the National Anthem at a Mariner's game. I realize that this dream is a bit unrealistic, because the M's often have opera singers (great voices, but c'mon . . . it's not very 'baseball') or different professional groups. And while I may be good, I'm just not quite that good.

So today I heard that the Everett AquaSox (the M's single A team in the area) are holding auditions for the National Anthem on May 17 at the Everett Mall. They call it "AquaSox Idol". I went right to their web page to find out more informaion.

Participants have to preregister, so as to get a spot to audition. The form was on-line, and I sent in my registration. And just moments ago, I heard back from the good folks in the AquaSox organization. I got my registration in on time - I WILL BE AUDITIONING!

I'm very excited!!!! I'll keep you posted on the whole experience. Now let's hope that I'm not in labor on that day between 1 and 2 pm.

By way of a side note, Doug and I had our first date at an AquaSox game, and are already planning on attending 7 games this summer (they have a nice little promotional ticket plan we are taking advantage of).

Mine Sweeper

One of the great things about the computer game Mine Sweeper (MS), is that you can have your game interrupted, but you can return to it and continue playing without really having to worry about "now, where was I and what strategy was I using?" I think that Free Cell falls into the category of needing some sort of sustained concentration, which is not ideal when you keep getting interrupted.

Which is to say, I've been playing a bit of MS while my students have been working on their assignments. I'm available for questions, but am keeping myself 'busy' in the mean-time. I should actually be working on cleaning my room, filing papers, etc. But the less time I spend on my feet these days, the better!

I enjoy playing the 'expert' level, where one is trying to clear out 99 mines. I usually just start out by doing a bunch of random clicks until a reasonable space opens up, and then I start clearing away.

What annoys me about the game, though, is that sometimes I just have to guess as to where the mine would be. Is it in Spot A or Spot B? Could be either, and no amount of logic will find the answer. Having a game killed because I'm forced into a 50-50 guess is annoying.

I'm lucky if in a given day I actually clear all the mines and win. A part of that is due to the 50-50 guess. Part of that is due to just moving too fast and not actually clearing the mines that I'm supposed to.

It seems I'm spending too much time and thought on this. But it is such a lovely, quick and easy game!

Random Duck Fact

Here's what I just learned from one of my students, via a Snapple fun fact.

A duck's "quack" doesn't echo.

I love learning new things!

Random Duck Fact

Here's what I just learned from one of my students, via a Snapple fun fact.

A duck's "quack" doesn't echo.

I love learning new things!

Sewing Help

Yesterday I was working on a quilt for our baby. Cutting fabric, using the sewing maching, etc. Tigger REALLY wanted my attention through the whole process. I tried telling her that if she sat within arms reach, but generally not on top of what I was working on, I'd keep petting her.

She'd sit on the fabric. She'd walk in between me and the sewing maching as I was sewing. Generally cute and annoying at the same time.

The fabric Tigger is sitting on here is not from the quilt, but from some burp cloths I was working on. She's giving the "Pet me, don't move me" look!

Cat tested and approved

Of all the baby things around the house (swing, carseat, crib, changing table, cradle), the bouncy seat wins the cat approval. Tinker has taken a liking to it! And I can hardly believe that between the other three cats and the above mentioned new things in the house, it's the only thing that has been 'cat-i-fied'.

Nursery all ready (perhaps!)

The nursery is pretty much all together. Except that the baby isn't here yet. Over the weekend, Doug and I went to Babies R Us. Probably the first and last time he will go there. I tried to warn him!

While we were there, shopping off of 3 registries (no kiddin'), we picked up the bedding for the crib.

A look at the quilt tacked up to the wall.

A "far" view of the crib.

A closer view of the crib.

Also of note in the room, the walls are all painted.

A little taste of heaven

Today it was very difficult to get out of bed. It's Friday. Our spring break begins next week, which makes it quite possibly the last school in the whole United States to have spring break. And while I had a blast at the baby shower yesterday, all that it entailed and getting home at 7pm was clearly a little bit too much for me to do.

So as I was getting around in sloooooooow mooootion today, I felt like a semi-truck (as I am feeling large these days) that had some sort of sludge build-up in the engine, causing it to only operate in 1st gear. And with lots of dead bugs splattered on the windshield.

I arrive at school, to find out that our principal ordered a portable latte cart to serve the faculty and staff this morning.

Now, with pregnancy, it's advised that you limit caffeine intake. I've been having 1-2 diet colas a week, but have completely eliminated coffee, basically because I'm an addict. It's a slippery slope from one 'normal' cup of coffee (6-8 oz), which would be acceptable, to 4+ 'normal' cups a day. I know I have very little self-control in this area, so it's been all or nothing.

Except for today. I figure that since the cart is only here this morning, the temptation is very limited. A single 8 oz. vanilla latte, please.

Oh, so tasty. I love this nectar of the gods. Drank every last foamy drop, savoring the coffee-flavored goodness it contained.

And now I think the semi-truck might make it into at least 3rd gear!

April Showers

Yesterday my coworkers hosted a most wonderful baby shower. We were at my friend Katie's house. Fiesta platers from Azteca. Strawberry margaritas (non-tequila ones were available!) Lots of love and laughter.

Among the great and wonderful presents, the one below was probably the most unique. And the most enjoyed by Doug, though the Mariner sippy cups placed a close second.
Okay, since I can only get a small image copied into the blog, here is the interpretation. A sheep saying, "Baaa", plus a rock. The green text says, "Barack Obama 2008".

The support of this presidential candidate is high in our household. So much so that Doug is an alternate state delegate, with the possibility of going to the National Democratic Convention in Denver this August. But it's just also funny to have such a onesie. And if you are looking for other fun and silly t-shirt type things (not just political), check out www.cafepress.com.

By the way, did you know that the phrase "onesie" has been copyrighted by Gerber (I think), as on their packages it say that the onesie is celebrating 25 years. Though we all know they've been around longer than that! I probably owe Gerber money just by writing about the onesie in this blog.

Baby Names

Doug and I are still working on figure out baby names. We have a first name for a girl, and a middle name for a boy (and, no, we're not telling!).

I thought it'd be a fun exercise to have the last question on today's calculus test be "Optional: What should Mrs. Brouillard name her baby?" Below are the results from first period.

Girl: Maria, Sylvia, Sawyer, Kate, Olivia, Jordyn, Corey, Grace, Elizabeth (x2), Cecelia, Emma, Krista, Beth, Michelle, Rebecca, Kelsy, Isabelle Marie, Elizabeth Rose

Boy: Hayden, Carson, Easton, Eli, Cartaer, Gareth, Jeremy, Jesse, Jayce, Jay, Jonathan, Nathan, Sean, David, William, Roy, Jackson Taylor

One student wrote this essay. Since I am just this kind of girl, I have already picked out the names of my three kids: Christopher Adam, Nicholas Jason, Gabriella Isabel (In that order, if possible.) Feel free to use a combo of any of those and/ or these are other names I like in general:
Girls- Savannah, Sienna, Ashley, Angela, Theresa, Claire
Boys- Anthony, Preston, Sean, Zachary, Thomas, Andrew

Other student essay: Never let your child's name be confused with anyone else's! Uniqueness all the way. Boys - Alphonse, Theodore, Bruce, Hans. Girls - Betsy, Betty, Sylvia, Helen

My personal favorite of the day, though, was the following: Boy- Jezus, Girl - Hello Kitty.

Toes to Nose

Last night.
4am.

Owwwie, owwwie, owwwie, owwwie, owwwie, owwwie.

Yep. My first leg cramp of pregnancy. I remembered from some distant part of my brain that when you get a muscle cramp (though this advice may have been for a foot cramp), you should flex your toes toward your nose.

I figure some one came up with that little rhyme, because when you are jerked out of sleep, real thought is far, far away.

So, I pointed my toes toward my nose. It helped (mostly). But I still have residual pain in my upper calf (almost at my knee).

Just one more of the joys of being a human incubator!

Opening Day

Today was opening day for the Seattle Mariners. We won over the Texas 5-3. It was a COLD game (it even was snowing - thank you retractable roof!), but we basically appropriately dressed. Didn't pull out the blankets, but really thought about it. Above is the obligatory self-portrait of Marla and me.

We also hung a brilliant poster, though we did not get on the big screen with it. Perhaps on TV? Any sightings, viewers?

4 cats. 2 adults. 1 house.

Doug and I have two cats: Tinker and Gabby. With my mother-in-law being in the hospital, we've added two more to our household: Tigger and Charlie. The two pictures below are of Gabby. In the first one, she's just being darn cute, wanting her tummy rubbed. In the next, she's 'hiding' under Doug's knees. She also LOVES to help you make the bed by hiding under the sheets and blankets as you are putting everything together. She a bit skiddish around strangers, but once she warms up, she'll talk your ear off, hence the name.


Next up, Tinker. One day I put an extra pillow from the couch onto the top corner of the couch. It's been her spot ever since.


Charlie. In every picture I've taken of him, he has the super-glowing eyes. He enjoys getting brushed out as part of my bed-time routine. And he's taken to making sneak attacks on Tinker, which she most definitely does not enjoy.


Tigger, in a scratch-my-belly pose. She also enjoys spending a lot of time on my lap while I am watching TV. She is not helpful when I want to get up, however. Doesn't take a hint, to the point where I am practically standing up (which takes me a while these days) and she's still hanging on!

Now that you have been formally introduced to our pets, I'll be sure to share more stories.

Nursery Prep, step 1

Sunday we began painting the baby's room - a nice Easter project. The title of this blog entry is actually a bit misleading. Last weekend we did a bit of drywall work to prep the walls. And the taping happened last weekend, too. I love taping. I'm good at it, and have real skills with it. From what I've heard from others, they hate taping for painting. I think I could make some good money off of my talent in this area. But I digress.

In the picture below, you can see many things. The bright medium blue and yellow wall color belongs to the old room. It's been edged with a primer coat, designed to cover dark colors. I've yet to be convinced that this will actually cut down on the number of coats of paint needed, so I'll be sure to update.

In this next picture, you can see the darker blue wall. That's part of the finished project. The other walls will be green. All the walls will end up with a glazed-paint accent. The goal is to be done with the whole project by this weekend.

Pregnant Woman No-No

I did something today that I definitely shouldn't have done. Saw the warning signs and plunged on anyways.

A little back-story. A few years ago, one of the choir members from my church and his wife had a child. They knew going into the birth that the little boy had severe birth defects. Jeannie and Steve were very upfront in sharing their journey with us at church.

Well, Steve sent out an email this morning letting us know that msnbc.com had written a story about this part of their lives. Below is the link.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23682263/

Even though I knew what I was getting into, I read it anyhow. And cried, and cried, and cried. May have (okay, let's be real, definitely would have) cried anyhow, but being pregnant definitely made it more intense. It's a beautiful story, but particularly heart-wrenching when you are expecting.

What was I thinking!

The Glories of Craig's List

About a month ago, Doug and I made some executive decisions about the landscaping (or lack thereof) in our yard.

First, we planted a rose garden in the front. 7 different varieties. One of my friends who grew up working in a nursery asked what type of roses. To which I answered, "Uhhhh, pretty ones?" Clearly I am new to this. And will take any rose-growing advice that is out there!

Second, we bought 4 fruit trees for the back yard. One apricot, one Gravenstein apple, one apple tree with 4 different types of apples growing from it (thanks to grafting of branches), and one pear tree with 5 different types of pears. I'm really looking forward to the years to come when they bear fruit.

Which leads me to why I like Craig's List so much. The previous owners of our house had surrounded the back yard perimeter with raised flower beds, created with retaining wall bricks. In planting the trees, we knew we'd be taking out the back stretch of bedding to make room for tree growth. And quite honestly, short of planting a vegetable garden, the rest was too much. A very nice place to grow weeds, but those aren't so attractive.


So I counted up the number of bricks we had (around 500), and headed to the internet. Posted on the "Free" section of Craig's List that we were giving these away to anyone who was willing to come and pick them up. Within one hour, 25 people called saying they wanted the bricks. Another 15 emailed me. It was CRAZY! We went with the first guy, Chris, who was able to come out that afternoon. It took him three trips to load them all up. And he lifted every last one of them himself. WOW!

My only mistake in the whole Craig's List experience was leaving the house right after making the posting. So not only was I taking (and then later ignoring) phone calls while on the road, I wasn't able to delete the listing fast enough so people would stop contacting me.

But ALL the bricks are gone. So now the yard is ready for the next step - what ever that might be!

Holy Week Tradition

One of my traditions during Holy Week is to listen to the "Godspell" soundtrack. Over and over. And to sing right along with all the parts. I find it a wonderful way to get into the groove of the week.

I absolutely love the play, have seen it many times (see list below), and one of my life-long dreams is to be in a production of it. Oh, how I love the "Godspell". The play, that is. The movie is pretty horrible!

Let's see how my memory is for play attendance:

Renton Civic Theater
Taproot Theater (with Jesus as a Hispanic pizza delivery person in NY)
Vancouver, WA
Yakima, WA
Pentacle Theater (I think?)
Renton Civic Theater (again, but possibly the worst production of them all - all the actors spoke WAY too fast. I had a hard time following, and I practically have the play memorized. This was my poor hubby's first exposure to the play, and I'm not sure I could talk him into going again.)

Pregnancy Poses

Here are a couple of recent pregnancy pictures. I'm a little under two months away from the due date of May 24. The kid had been quite active, kicking around and all. Yesterday while I was sitting during church, I kept watching my stomach move in odd places!

Victory with Verizon at last

When we last left off with the saga I've been having with Verizon DSL, the customer service representative told me the $200 would be credited to my credit card during the first week of February.

Yesterday, though not an entire week had passed, I decided to check my on-line credit card statement. Low and behold, there was a credit from Verizon in the amount of $170.

At first, I was annoyed, that they didn't get the amount correct. But then I looked at my Verizon billing statement, and realized that they DID give me the $200 credit, but deducted this month's DSL bill amount.

I feel like I've won the lottery, with this ultimate success over the evil corporation.

Snow day!

By the slimmest of margins, I got a snow day today. Not that the pictures would let you know how close it was . . .

All the school districts around me cancelled school. And with very reasonable notice (by 5:30am). But I hadn't heard anything from my school, which is 25 miles south of here.

In looking at the internet, it was clear there was SOME snow down there, but not nearly as much as there was here. So I sucked it up, showered, ate breakfast, got dressed. Dragging my feet while doing so, saying, "I can't believe I have to go to school/ maybe the call will still come . . ."

And then, as I was packing lunch, and a mere 3 minutes from leaving the house, the blessed phone call came. "No school today."

I believe I benefited from the fact that our school draws students from a wide geographic area, and it FINALLY was deemed not safe enough for so many of the students and their families to be driving.

It did leave me with a quandary, however. I was all dressed, awake, and ready to go. Do I stay up and do things around the house? Do I go back to bed (it IS still early, after all)?

The bed won. I read for about a half hour and then fell asleep for another 90 minutes of glorious snow-day sleep!

There's something in the water

Right now there are 4 women pregnant where I work. (Amanda actually just went into the hospital this morning, so soon that number will be 3.)

Here is a picture of three of us taken a week ago:

From L - R: Bridgett (due mid-June), me (due 5/24), and Elizabeth (due early May). It's fun sharing our experience (and lack-thereof, since we are all first timers) with one another.

A pen miracle

I'm sitting at my work computer right now.

And there are four - that's right - FOUR pens within easy reach.

It's miracle, I tell ya, as usually I'm lucky to be able to find one at this particular location.

They usually are at my other desk. Or more likely, have walked away with a student.

But today, they are migrating to the computer. Oh, what a happy day it is!

Typos

Over the past week, I've been keeping track of how many times I type my email address incorrectly. More specifically, I've been writing down the varied ways I can type "@gmail.com".

This is what I've come up with:
3gmail.com
2gmail.com
@gmai.lcom
@gmailc.om
@gmailcom
@gamail.com
@gtmail.com

Sometimes typing too fast DOES cause mistakes.

Four days of boredom

I've begun a four day stretch of extreme boredom at work.

It's the end of the semester, so the students have three days to review for their exam. I gave them the review at the start of class today. Now it's up to them to get ready. Every now and then, a student will ask me a question during class. YES! Something to break up the monotony. And then I go back to trying to find something to do around the classroom.

Often I use this time to clean my classroom, but since I did that job last week, I'm left to doing things like posting to the blog-o-sphere.

The fourth day of boredom is when they have their actually exam. I'll be proctoring tests all morning. Which is slow and painful. You can't even really do something to fill the time, like read a book, because you're supposed to be monitoring the room for cheating.

It's weeks like these where I wish I was a fully-caffeinated person.

I hate Verizon, part 4

First, a brief recap about the conversations I've had with the billing department.

Conversation #1: Oh, so sorry. The credit will show up on your next statement. Because of the inconvenience (and that fact you are obviously upset), we'll give you two weeks free.

The next statement DID give me two weeks free, but the $200 credit was lacking. (And in hind-sight, if they could press a button to give me two weeks free, how come they can't give me my $200 as easily)

So . . .

Conversation #2: "Oh. We'll credit it to your next statement." I don't believe them and insist on them sending me a check. Am told it will arrive in 3-4 weeks, and am given a reference number (and a small bit of hope.)

One month passes. No check in the mail.

Conversation #3 (this was yesterday): First, I successfully navigated the automated menu the first time around, which made me feel quite happy. Got a recording that said they were experiencing a high volume of calls, etc., and that I'd be on hold for 15 minutes. This was not to deter me.

The hold music could drive a person crazy, however. Imagine the worst, most annoying video game music that you have ever heard. Make it warbly, tinny, and fade in and out. All on a 12 second loop. I persevered, however.

When I finally get to talking with the customer service representative, we go round and round. This is the short version.

"I see that you do have the credit"

"But I don't actually have the money yet. I have a reference number . . . " (I have to refer to the reference number 3 times before he actually asks me for it)

After some pausing and talking . . .
"Let me fill out a check request form"

"NO - that has already been done. Where's my money?"

"These things take 2-3 months to resolve. It should show up on your credit card during the first week of February"

"Then why did the first person say I'd be getting it on my next statement. And the second person said I'd be getting a check in a month."

"Trust me, you'll get your credit in the start of February."

"You'll have to excuse me for not trusting you, as obviously the previous two people have lied to me. It is totally unacceptable for Verizon to be keeping my money this long. I want to talk to your supervisor."

"They are all on the phone talking with other customers. Do you want to wait?"
"Yes. I do."
"Okaaaaay."

So I go through two periods of waiting only to be told "It looks like they've all gone home for the day. You can call back tomorrow."

UGH.

"Has Verizon provided you with excellent customer service today?"
"No. You haven't. Goodbye."

I hate Verizon, part 4

First, a brief recap about the conversations I've had with the billing department.

Conversation #1: Oh, so sorry. The credit will show up on your next statement. Because of the inconvenience (and that fact you are obviously upset), we'll give you two weeks free.

The next statement DID give me two weeks free, but the $200 credit was lacking. So . . .

Conversation #2: "Oh. We'll credit it to your next statement." I don't believe them and insist on them sending me a check. Am told it will arrive in 3-4 weeks, and am given a reference number (and a small bit of hope.)

One month passes. No check in the mail.

Conversation #3 (this was yesterday): First, I successfully navigated the automated menu the first time around, which made me feel quite happy. Got a recording that said they were experiencing a high volume of calls, etc., and that I'd be on hold for 15 minutes. This was not to deter me.

The hold music could drive a person crazy, however. Imagine the worst, most annoying video game music that you have ever heard. Make it warbly, tinny, and fading in and out. All on a 12 second loop. I persevered, however.

When I finally get to talking with the customer service representative, we go round and round. This is the short version.

"I see that you do have the credit"

"But I don't actually have the money yet. I have a reference number . . . " (I have to refer to the reference number 3 times before he actually asks me for it)

After some pausing and talking . . .
"Let me fill out a check request form"

"NO - that has already been done. Where's my money?"

"These things take 2-3 months to resolve. It should show up on your credit card during the first week of February"

"Then why did the first person say I'd be getting it on my next statement. And the second person said I'd be getting a check in a month."

"Trust me, you'll get your credit in the start of February."

"You'll have to excuse me for not trusting you, as obviously the previous two people have lied to me. It is totally unacceptable for Verizon to be keeping my money this long. I want to talk to your supervisor."

"They are all on the phone talking with other customers. Do you want to wait."
"Yes. I do."
"Okaaaaay."

So I go through two periods of waiting only to be told "It looks like they've all gone home for the day. You can call back tomorrow."

UGH.

"Has Verizon provided you with excellent customer service today?"
"No. You haven't. Goodbye."

Why not everyday?

Today, January 7th, is my first day back to school after the Christmas Holiday. Things are going alright, if you disregard the vomit splatter on my black pants. (Sigh).

But the point of this entry - I've spent most of the day (while students have been working on assignments) cleaning the many piles of papers found in my classroom. The computer desk had 2 piles. The main overhead desk had at least 4. The secondary overhead / cart had 2.

And everything is now in it's place. It's all so nice now. Why can't I live like this everyday?

Bagels

If you ever have left over food, just leave it on the facutly room table, and it's sure to be gone in a matter of moment.

I know this. Yesterday, I bought two bagels. One for breakfast on Monday. One for Tuesday. I put Tuesday's bagel on a side table. Out of the way. I've been doing this two-bagel process for about 3 weeks.

Today (Tuesday), I arrive at work to find my bagel is gone. My breakfast is gone. It wasn't in the public domain free-for-all area as described above. And yet, it was gone.

Very annoying. So I had to head back out into the cold morning to get food. I've had two dreams recently about Sausage McMuffins with Egg, including one where they renamed it an "Austrailian Toaster Biscuit with Egg". So I naturally just had to go to McDonalds for my semi-annual gut-busting breakfast.

And once I was back at work, I put up a snarky note near where the bagel was last seen:
"I bought 2 bagels on Monday. One to eat Monday. One to eat Tuesday. I left Tuesday's bagel here. Tuesday morning it was GONE. The pregnant lady's breakfast was GONE! Shame, shame, shame. -- Jill"

Is it a baby . . .

Below are a few pictures from an ultrasound a had about a month ago. (Sorry about the delay in posting).

Definitely a baby . . .

Or is it an alien? . . . .

Much like it's father?

Just kidding about the father part. Doug is actually to the right of the alien. It's a scene from "Mars Attack", when Doug was doing acting in Hollywood.

Is it a baby . . .

Is it a baby, or is it an alien. Below are pictures from an ultrasound I had about a month ago. (Sorry it's taken me so long to post them.)

Definitely a baby . . .

Meet Jim

I'd like to introduce you to Jim, my garden knome. Marla got him for me for my birthday from Flamingo Jim's in Rockaway Beach. He weighs about 30 pounds. No joke!

I hate Verizon, part 4

It's probably not surprising that I didn't hear back from Verizon with regards to the email I sent them. I didn't even get the courtesy, "We have received your email and a customer service rep will be getting back to you", generic email.

So I buckled down, (would have taken a shot of alcohol if that wasn't frowned upon in pregnancy), and called them again today.

Phone call #1. Navigate the horrible phone maze system. Talk to someone, who needs to talk with someone else to confirm something with billing. Puts me on hold for "3-4 minutes". I agree to this, because what else can I do? The hold music even sucks as Verizon. It's tinney, comes in and out in waves, and doesn't even make a song you'd recognize.

And then, the call gets disconnected.

I am determined to get this taken care of.

Phone call #2. Navigate the horrible phone maze system. Get connected to someone who promises me "Excellent customer service." I try not to laugh derisively. I explain the short version of the problem, and he says something to the effect of, "No problem. I just credit that to your account."

"No, I don't think so," says I. "The person I talked to three weeks ago said the same thing, and it didn't happen. I want the money put back on my credit card or have a check written to me. I want my money."

"Okay," he says. "We'll get a check out to you."

"When can I expect it?"

"3-4 weeks."

"Are you kidding me? Your company is going to keep my money for nearly three months, over a charge that you mistakenly put on my account? That is horrible."

We went round and round like this for about another minute. But I settled for the check option, with a confirmation number.

And then he had the nerve (though it's probably off a script that he has to read) to ask, "So, did we provide you with excellent customer service today?"

"You did what you could, but I wouldn't call it excellent. Goodbye."

Still hating Verizon, but maybe this will all be resolved in 3-4 weeks.

Thwack

Driving on I-5 today, just a mere mile from home, my windshield got hit with a rock. You know that sound. It makes you jump, and you look to see if you can tell where it hit.

Well, today there was no question where it hit. There was instantly a 'snowflake' about the size of a quarter eminating from the site of the hit.

I must admit. I am a rock chip magnate. You can see at least 5 other obvious sites where I've had this windshield repaired, and numerous other ones that are small enough you have to know where they are.

In going to the repair clinic, they were impressed that I came in right away, and congratulated me on my promptness. It was the type of ding that was guaranteed to spread. And, as we were to find out in the repair process, it was actually TWO rocks that hit at the same time.

Now that's rock-chip talent!

I hate Verizon, part 3

Below is the email I sent to Verizon today. I'm still waiting for a reply. (And I'd like to thank my mother for my personal advocacy skills in the face of consumer injustice!)

"On my Oct 25^th statement, I was billed $199 (plus taxes) for an on-site installation fee. We never had anything installed at our house. (That part is a long story that will make me cry with anger, so I won’t go into it now.)

I called customer service (and I hesitate to call it that, as I had such a bad experience), and was told that there would be a credit to my account of $199 (plus taxes), but that it wouldn’t show up until my next statement. I was given 2 weeks of free service for the ‘inconvenience’ of having to loan Verizon over $200 for the month, since they couldn’t immediately credit my credit card.

Well, in looking at my Nov. 25^th statement, I have not been credited the money that was improperly charged to me on the Oct. 25^th statement.

I am very angry.

At this point, I want you to either immediately credit my credit card for the correct amount or mail me a check. I AM going to report this to the Better Business Bureau. There is nothing acceptable about being charged over $200 dollars for a service I did not receive, and then having to wait over a month – and at this point, going on two months – to receive the credit.

Please reply back by the end of the business day on Wednesday."

I am a hazard

Last night I was driving to church, at about 6pm. It was dark and rainy. Just like in the Snoopy Chronicles.

(As a side note, it's been raining constantly and raining hard for 24 hours now. Unusual for Seattle. If I were still in Tillamook, I'd be expecting Lake Lucerne to be making an appearance and for school to be canceled due to flooding.)

So I'm cruising down I-5, and the car behind me flashes its brights at me. I ignore it at first, thinking the car had just gone over a bump, so it seemed like the brights were flashed. But, alas, it happened two more times. "WHY?", I wonder. My lights are on. And there isn't a murderer in my back seat, like in those urban legends.

Oh. Perhaps my tail lights are out, so it doesn't look like my lights are on. I check it out at church, and sure enough, no tail lights.

Which means I until I get them replaced, any time it's dark and I'm driving, I need to drive with my hazard lights on. It's very annoying. Now, no one knows when I'm using my turn indicator. And the clicking of the hazards don't match up with the beat of the music. And I feel compelled to drive in the slow lane, even though my car is functioning just fine otherwise.

I've mentioned to several people how both my tail lights are out, and so far two people said they noticed that I had one out, but forgot to tell me about it. There ought to be some sort of easy way for drivers behind you to let you know that a tail light is out. A special blinker they can use in their car. It could also be used when you leave your turn indicator on . . .

Later on today, I'm going to an auto supply store to get new bulbs. I'm going to install them while I have a break at work, because at least at work I have covered parking. (Did I mention how hard it's been raining?)

I realize, however, that there are several bulbs in the general tail light area, and I want to make sure I'm replacing the right ones. Not the brake lights or the turn indicators. So I was paying attention to other cars' tail lights as I was driving to work this morning. I thought it would be easy to find another car like mine on the road (same make and generally the same year), but it's more of a challenge than I thought. It quite interesting to see how many different designs there are for tail lights. Makes for a 'fun' little game during the commute.

Now I'm off to the land of light bulbs. Best rainy wishes to all!

I hate Verizon, part 2

Yesterday I pulled up my Verizon DSL bill off the internet. Guess what bonus charge was on there? $199 for an on-site installation fee. That's right. They charged us for installing the phone jack (see previous Verizon post) that they refused to ACTUALLY install because of stupid billing procedures.

You might imagine how this customer service phone call went.

Phone call #1. Let's start with the horrible navigation in the automated menu. Finally reached a live person. She had such a heavy accent, I could barely understand what she was saying. AND she couldn't find my record of existance. AND she transferred me back to some menu of no-return.

Phone call #2. Horrible navigation. Live person. Slightly lighter accent. After explaining that I had been billed for a service I never received, he put me on hold to check with the tech services people to confirm that we never received the service. Fortunately, that one all checked out okay.

Here's where I ended up crying on the phone. He said that my account had been credited the $199 on Oct. 25. The bill I had in front of me was dated Oct. 25, so where was the credit? I have automated credit-card billing, and in looking on the internet, saw that I was charged the full amount of my Oct. bill (~$250). There was no credit of ($199) listed on my card. And the guy kept saying that I had a balance of zero, yet I had been credited the $199. Last time I checked, zero doesn't equal -199.

Apparently, the credit of $199 is just showing up internally until my next bill. I still have to pay $250 this month; my money won't be refunded until next month. I'm glad our budget isn't so tight that we can't float this amount of money for an entire month. Instead, Verizon earns a tiny bit of interest off it while it sits in their bank and not mine.

For my 'trouble', we are getting 2 weeks of free service. A whopping $18 (or so).

I hate Verizon.