THEY CAME!!!!

After my other post today I didn't think it would happen but... I finally saw the tow truck and he actually took the car! Yeah! It was 2 hours after I called Dale not 1 but hey, it came! Now hopefully it will be fixed! Pray hard people!!

Oh I told the tow truck guy that I wasn't sure he was really coming. He looked at me funny and I said well, I have been told about 5 times you were coming and you never did. I wasn't sure he really called you. He shook his head and said, if the guy would have called, we would have been here. Not that I am surprised but Dale never ever called him until today. Even then it was Bobby not Dale.

I also made sure it was going to where Dale told me it was going. Just in case. I feel I need to cover all the bases because I do NOT trust Dale.

Thanks! I will keep you updated.

'Til next time...

The Tale of the Toyota continued and other stuff.

JB and Seth are off to camp. Actually JB is there at night only. He isn't during the day as he has to work. I can go see him at work, but trying to save gas as I don't have much left. I want it to last the week if I can, but with the paper route it won't happen. JM is off to work and Joshua is still sleeping. Lazy bum! ;-)

I called about the car again today. First I called Bobby and he told me he just got of the hospital for heart problems and such. (Sorry if this sounds bad, but I don't believe him) and that I needed to call Dale, the owner. I did say sorry for bothering him. I also told him that he needed to find a new job because this guy is going down and he will go down with him. So I immediately call Dale on the car lot's phone. Dude didn't even say hello, he just said Shelly. He knew it was me. Gee! He has my number memorized! I said YES! Just then his other phone rang. Give you one guess who it was! You are so smart!! It was Bobby calling to warn Dale I was calling and I was not happy! He then proceeds to tell Bobby to call the towing company. Now if Bobby had just gotten out of the hospital, why would he be telling him to call the towing company and such? Why would Bobby even worry about me? See why I don't believe him. Dale then tells me that the tow truck will be there in 1 hour. (by the way... he has 10 minutes...) I then ask about the title. He has the title he says... He will bring it to me this afternoon or tomorrow morning. Yeah! Right! So, Bobby calls me back to get my address, then he calls and said the towing company was called and they will be here. He didn't know when though. (him not knowing when I can believe) Right now I am waiting for the tow truck and we shall see what happens.

There was a great deal on ebay today and I had to pass it up. I hate that! I don't know what our checking account looks like so I didn't want to order them and not have the money. It was a set of books. Everything I needed for the class and it was about $50 cheaper than buying it new. To me, $50 is a lot of money. I sent JB a text but he didn't answer. I could have bought it anyway, but didn't want to risk it.

After the tow truck comes, I need to run to the Scout shop to get more blue cards for the Boy Scouts at camp. They ran out. Oh, blue cards are the cards they use to keep track of the steps they did to earn a merit badge. After the merit badge is earned they leader signs it and the boy uses it to prove he did the work.

I will let you know what happens with the car later on. No truck yet! UGH!

'Til next time...

Hey! No drama for a few days. ;-)

See, I can have a normal life! The last two days have been pretty simple. I am actually trying to remember if I did anything or not. Hmmm....

Oh yes, on Thursday I waited all day for the tow truck to come get JM's car. Anyone wanna guess what happened? I bet you can! That is right they didn't come. Gee, are you as shocked as me... NOT! I stopped by there today and asked for the title as I was told it would be ready today. Again, wanna guess what happened... You know what happened. No title as it was in Hartville he says. Why??? I am rolling my eyes as I think about all this. Just give me the title and get out of my life! Once I get that stupid title I think I will be done. I told the guy that the car was still sitting in my driveway. He was so shocked! Yeah right! UGH! Anyway there is your update on that. Poor JM is all I can say.

I took Ginger to get her rabies shot today. That was quick and easy. I was thrilled she didn't get sick. She usually doesn't do well with car rides but she made it okay today. We even went a few extra places and she still didn't get sick. We drove and stopped for a few and did that a few times. That probably helped out. The cheap vet place in Cuyahoga Falls has raised their prices a bit. It cost me $25 this time. I was expecting to pay $10. Oh well. She is good for 3 years now.

JB, Seth, and I went looking for a camp stove for them for next week at Boy Scout camp. We finally got one at Target. There was not much of a selection. That was a little surprising as it is summer and people usually camp in the summer. JB and Seth will be gone all week. I can go see him at work. He will go to work, then after work go to the camp. They leave Sunday afternoon and will return on Saturday afternoon. As I said, I will probably go see him at work and have lunch or something. I hate not seeing him all week. I will miss my baby too much, :-) Gag, right? LOL

I changed the color of my blog. I am more of a blue than pink person. Must be all the boys in my life. No, I have always liked blue more.

I got Joshua's classes for co-op next year. He got all the classes he wanted so that was cool. I started buying some school supplies. I wanted to go to Staples but never did make it. They have had 5 cent items the last few weeks. I missed this weeks. I could have used the erasers too. Oh well. Today I picked up a bunch of papermate pens. Those are JB's favorite ones. I also got 2 glue sticks for 22 cents total, a box of 24 crayons for 22 cents, and 2 pencil sharpeners for 20 cents each. A few weeks back I got like 25 notebooks that had 70 sheets each for 5 cents each. I thought that was a good deal. Oh! Staples had 2 pocket folders for 1 cent each and an 8 pack of pencils for 1 cent each. Plus they had some purell for 1 cent each. Some of it was limited on how much you could get. I got the limit and so did JM so we each spent 14 cents each! That was 10 folders, 2 -8 pack of pencils, and 2 purell's for 14 cents. Not bad huh? I love the back to school sales. Right now I am looking for a lunch box for Joshua. He wants one this year for co-op. He wants one that won't smash his sandwich, but would like it to have a water bottle thing too. Not picky is he?

Oh! Funny story! JM was delivering a pizza to a house today. The lady was about 25 ish. She asked JM if he would go to the store and buy her some pads (as in feminine hygiene products). She told him she would give him $12 to do it. JM said, "uh, I can't I am really busy at work." LOL You can imagine JM's face when she asked him. That was just too funny! She must have been desperate or something if she asked him to do it. The best part is that we get to tease him about it for a bit! AAAHHH life is good! ;-)

This blog needs to add smiley faces. I like smiley faces. Probably too much!

'Til next time...

Who needs soap operas?

I think I have said that before but it applies to my life sometimes. I always thought I had a pretty boring life, but the more I look at it there is always something happening.

Yesterday I was looking for some important papers and came across Joshua's SS card. I look at it, then look again. You aren't going to believe this, but after 11 (almost 12) years I am just noticing that have his name spelled wrong! Can you believe that? So I go to the Birth Records place downtown to get a certified birth certificate so I can take it to the SS office to have it changed. Guess what?! It is wrong on his birth certificate. According to them his name is Johsua. They have the s and h mixed up. How in the world can someone make this mistake and not catch it? I guess it must be pretty easy as I didn't catch if until now. I am glad I did find it now and not when he was 16 and wanting his license or when he was 18 or whatever. I start freaking out because I am thinking I will have to go to court and legally change his name and even then, his birth certificate would still read wrong. UGH! Well, thankfully my neighbor Kay was with me. I was crying and so upset. She was really worried about me. When we got home she made some phone calls for me to try to help me. I was just way to upset to do anything. I didn't even know where to begin. She found out that they have a name correction form that you can fill out and file and it will change the name to be correct. Of course you have to have it notarized and show two or three forms that prove you have been using that correct name instead of the other name. I think I have that taken care of, but I will look and use whatever I can find. I am hoping to get this filled out and taken care of immediately. Meanwhile, Joshua is upset because his name is wrong and fears that he will have to live with Johsua as his name. Poor kid!

The car place is supposed to have a tow truck here in the morning to get JM's car. The guy called today apologizing over and over that it has taken so long. Oh... let me back up a minute and tell you that on Saturday JB and I went to the car place in person and told the owner about it. Boy old Bobby ran out of that building fast as soon as we walked in. I think I have the little stinker afraid of me. LOL The owner said he would have someone come Monday. Well, I called Monday to remind him. He said he would get a hold of him and it would be Monday afternoon. Well no one showed up. So I asked JB to call on Tuesday but he was very busy at work and didn't have a chance to. Well this morning (Wednesday) the owner called me and apologized over and over and said someone would be here Thursday morning. Well, we shall see! Oh yes, the title will be ready by Friday. Okay... Again, we shall see. Can ya tell I am a little bit skeptical?

Seth is home from camp and had a great time helping with the kids. He can't wait to go next year. Even more exciting for him is that since he helped at the camp they are taking him and the other volunteers to Cedar Point in September! He is really excited about that. He loves that place. He came back with a nice tan too. I have never seen the kid so tan! I think he learned a lot last week helping out and I think it was a really good experience for him.

JB and I had a nice dinner last night. We went to Kent to Mike's Place. It has an X-wing out in the front of it. Those of you who have gone to Charity Baptist may have passed in on the way. The food was pretty good. But the peanut butter pie was awesome! Oh man!!! I love pb and this had a lot of pb!! YUMMY! After we ate we just came home and hung out. We were both pretty tired. After the cruise it is hard to top it I guess. ;-)

I love reading everyone's blog and keeping up with you all.

'Til next time...

Happy 20th Annivesary, JB!

Twenty years ago today JB and I were married in a small ceremony, in a small church, just outside of a small town in the country. He barely got to come home on leave so we could get married. I was 17 (just a month shy of 18) and he was 23. He wore his Class A Army uniform and I wore a white dress that I also graduated in just a little over a month before. It was a thrown together rushed wedding as JB had to get back to the Army.

My mom, dad, sister, her husband, my neighbor (who later became my step-father), my friend and her boyfriend, and some other family friends were there. I would say around 10 or so people came to the wedding. That was the first and only time my father got to meet John. My dad passed away 11 months later in a car accident of Father's Day. I am so glad we married when we did.

Was it the wedding I had always dreamed of? No. Not even close. I had a panic attack and about threw up all over John's shoes. I looked to my mom as to say help me! She kind of shrugged like what do I do? I figured JB was probably thinking what did I get myself into?

But that wasn't what he was thinking. As I was there dying of embarrassment and trying to gain composure while not throwing up all over poor JB, he started rubbing my hands and looking into my eyes. He was saying, "I am here! I will take care of you! I love you!" The look on his face told me that I was safe and all would be fine. That look told me he was the man of my dreams. It may not have been the wedding I had envisioned as a young girl, but he is the Prince that I have always dreamed of having.

The honeymoon was no picnic either. We spent it with his family and they didn't even know we were married. This year we were able to go on our honeymoon. Sure, it was 20 years later, but we went on a Cruise to Cozumel and the Caymen Islands. It was BEAUTIFUL! We had a marvelous time. I do not think we could have enjoyed it as much then as we did this year. Why? Because we are one more so now, than we were 20 years ago. I was in love with him then, but now it is a different love. I am not only deeply in love with him, but I love him. I cannot imagine every having lived this life without him in it, but even more by his side as his help meet. I Praise The Lord for sending JB my way. Neither of us were Christians at the time, but The Lord knew one day we would be and what a great team we would make.

Happy Anniversary, JB. I love you more and more each day! Thank you for being the man The Lord wants you to be and for being the husband He wants you to be. I will gladly spend the rest of ours lives trying to be the wife you deserve.

'Til next time...

The tale of the Toyota

I will warn you that it this story has not ended yet and the drama increased yesterday! Who needs a soap opera when you have JM and his car? LOL

JM had been car shopping for a long time. He really wanted a Toyota Camry or something like it as he had heard they are good cars. JB and I went to check out a car at this car lot. We drove it and said No way! They also had a Camry there. It needed a new strut or something but they would fix that. Cool. We took it on a test drive. It drove great. It looked great! We thought this will be a great car! It was $3995 plus tax and title. Well JM only had $3200. We told them that and said well, maybe when he gets the rest if it is here, he can get it. We will see. Well the owner of the lot said "I'll take it! $3200 out the door!" Cool! We brought JM by to see it. He drove it. LOVED it! He wrote them a check and we left. The car stayed there because they were going to fix the strut. Oh! I also asked about e-check. (good thing) They put in writing if it didn't pass, they would fix it for free! So we get the car back a few days later. We get the car back and JM is excited! He takes it to get e-checked... it fails! NO WAY! UGH! Glad I got it in writing. Call Bobby, the guy that sold us the car, and tell him. He was shocked. Tells us he will get with the mechanic and call back to let us know when to drop it off. I don't hear from him the rest of the day and the next. I call him back and leave a message. He calls me back, gives me the mechanic's number in Hartville (boondocks of Hartville). Take it to him on Thursday, he calls back and says he knows the problem but the part won't be here until Monday. We can pick the car up and bring it back Monday. You can drive it, it won't hurt it. Cool!

Monday morning we drop it off. He has it fixed we get it back. Still won't pass e-check. I call Bobby the next day. Shocked again!! He said to call the mechanic and make an appointment. I did. He calls the car lot owner to tell him what he thinks the problem is and what not to make sure he does what the car lot guy wants him to. After all, they are paying for it. Yeah well... I don't care of the cost just fix it. (I have it in writing!!!) So he tells me he is going to do this flushing thing through the car and clean up the stuff. If that doesn't work the catalytic converter will have to be changed. Okay! Well, we dropped off the car again. They do this flushing. JB is driving the car home and black stuff is coming out of the tailpipe. That is good because the junk is coming out. Oh, the mechanic said to drive it until the gas it about out to get the gook out of it. Okay!

JB gets it home, there isn't any oil in the thing! What?? So we add oil. JM get up and is on his way to work. He is going down route 8 at 55 mph and the thing stalls on him!!! UGH! This is the day after we got the car back. JM is furious. It won't start, he is on the highway, and going to be late for work. He throws his keys on the dashboard and cracks the windshield! (I am not making this up!!) It is so cracked it has to be fixed. Anyway, I meet him on Rte. 8 and call AAA. They tow it home. While waiting for them, it did restart, but we didn't try to drive it home or anything. JB thought maybe it had an oil leak and all the oil came out. It didn't. It had oil. Basically the car is in worse shape than when we got it and we haven't even driven it maybe a 1000 miles if that.

The car did come with a 3 month, 3000 mile warranty. JB has called the place twice. One he left a message, once he talked to Bobby. Bobby was to get back with him and as far as I know he hasn't. JB is getting irritated. JB doesn't get mad easily. He is a very calm person. This is starting to get him mad. Poor Bobby if JB blows! LOL

The drama from yesterday about the car... The 30 day tags were expiring yesterday. I took the failed e-check forms and the bill of sale for the car and go to get another 30 day tag. I still don't have the title to the car! It is been over a month! So the lady at the DMV calls to verify the VIN number. There is a problem. It isn't in my name or the car lots name. WHAT??? So the manager calls Bobby and he doesn't answer. Leaves a message. Great, now what do I do! She tells the girl to go ahead and give me the tag and gives me this form to fill out just in case I don't get the title again. It is like a complaint for to the DMV about the dealer. While I am still at the DMV Bobby calls. She tells them I am there and that I don't have a title. She said "You are going to get this rolling right!" He apologized and said he dropped the ball on it and was trying to "verify" me I guess. She said well anytime we have this happen we have to call and verify the vin #. He said "Oh it is in my name." She said, "NO! It is in a girl's name." Bobby then says, "Oh I mean my wife's name." NOT!!!!! How do I know this you may ask... If the name was Rueben instead of Robin, I would say yes. Another words... my husband would be more his type than I would.

So now, we have to wait a few days and we should have the title. I think she scared him pretty good as far as that goes. We still have to find out what they are going to do. We cannot drive the car far for worry of making it worse. If we go to their mechanic (who doesn't have a clue it seems) it will have to be towed there.

I feel so bad for JM. He saved up his money to buy this car and this happens. He is learning a lesson in life but I feel for the kid! Meanwhile I am usually without a car because he has to take one of ours. JB doesn't want to drive the truck much because it is a gas hog.

Now if you have read all this I am surprised. It is a long one but it is true. I am not kidding! Oh yes, JM did get the windshield fixed. That was about $200 to fix it. I will let you know what happens with the rest.

'Til next time...

Make the outing count

I had to have a car today so JB left me one. He took the truck, JM took the cruiser, and I was left the van. I wrote out a list of "to do's" before I left and then headed out the door. With gas prices as they are, you have to make your outings count anymore. I knew today was the only day I would have a car anyway, so I tried to make it count for that reason as well.

The first place I went to was to get some "new used" tires. I went to this place that we had been to before. I didn't want to go, but I knew JB wouldn't have time and it was up to me. I had no idea what size I needed so I was trusting they would be good to me. I told them what I needed and he went on the hunt to find some. They were pretty good tires. They will last for a while. Then I needed 4 lug nuts too or so they said. I knew I needed one for sure, but they talked me into 3 more. They were only $1 each so it wasn't bad. My old tires were awful! There was barely any tread on them. They started looking like NASCAR tires. :-) Sounded like them too at times (squealing).

I then ran to the bank to make a deposit for Scouts. Scout camp is in 1 1/2 weeks. I am not looking forward to being away from JB for the week. I will get to see him during the week if I meet him for lunch. It is hard to be away from him. After 20 yrs. of marriage, you feel like you are missing a part of you when they are away. At least that is how I feel.

After the bank I ran to the library to return a bunch of movies. One movie we watched was an old Ronald Reagan movie called Bedtime for Bonzo. It was pretty cute. One of the good clean movies you know. The monkey was cute. It is amazing they can train them to do all that stuff. He was in little boy clothes riding a tricycle. It was just cute!

I went to McDonald's to get Joshua and I lunch. Yummy! Fattening! lol I love french fries! They are just too yummy. After that I got to come home and chill for a bit. I did have to go out 2 more times today but they were to pick up and drop off kids.

JM got his windshield replaced in his car. Now we have to get his car running. That is another story and will take time to tell. Very frustrating. I will tell it another day. (Amy if you like stories... you love this one lol).

Seth sent me a text today and said he was having fun! I am so glad he is.

Tomorrow I am staying home and going to conquer the kitchen. I did the bathroom Monday and worked in the dining room Tuesday but didn't finish. I was just tired. Today I ran most the day so I didn't get much done. Tomorrow I want to get the kitchen in order and sweep and mop and what not. It needs it!

'Til next time...

It's Monday but feels like Tuesday.

Why does it feel like Tuesday? I have no clue. I guess because I normally have Monday's off on the route and I didn't today. With Seth gone for the week we have to make up for him by have JB do the route so it is all out of whack. I guess I don't get a day off but that is okay.

Joshua and I went to do papers this morning. When we walked in we saw a cocker spaniel following everyone around. He would go from one person to the next then disappear out the door and then come back in. He came to see us. He just wandered in off the street into the warehouse. He had license and rabies shot tags on. He was well groomed. He obviously belonged to someone. Joshua and I finished folding our papers then loaded the van, grabbed the dog, and brought him home. Left him on our porch until after the route. I was determined to find his owner. I went to the county website and it had a place to put in the license number and they would tell you who the dog belonged to. Cool! I found his "mama". I started calling her at 8:30 ish in the morning. I finally got a hold of her around 6:00 ish. She came and got him and she was so happy to get him home. He was a good dog, but I was glad he went home.

Seth is having a lot of fun at camp. He is helping the little kids then he gets to hang out and have fun after they leave. He can swim, play games, do whatever. He had a good time today and really liked helping out. I think it is good for him.

I got the homeschooling forms in the mail today. I got one for JM but since he is graduated I don't have to send it in. At the same time, I don't know if I have to let them know he has graduated. Interesting! I am not sure what to do. I will call a friend tomorrow and see what she thinks I should do. Her daughter graduated a few years back. I will see what she did. I don't think she is in the same school district though. Hmmm... We shall see.

I haven't told anyone that I have a blog. I guess I should so they can read it. That was the whole point of the blog right? Now if I lead a real exciting life, people would probably find it anyway. LOL Just a boring old housewife I guess. ;-)

'Til next time!

Here we go!

I was thinking that my friends are blogging and I get to see what they are up to, but they can't see or know what I am up to. How fair is that?

JM was to go off to college this fall, but we decided (mom, dad, and JM) that it would probably be best to wait a year. He will be 18 by then and will have learned a few "life" lessons by then. He is learning one now with his car. UGH!

Seth is getting ready to spend the week helping out at Cub Scout Day camp. He is pretty excited to have the opportunity to be in a leadership position and learn some along the way. Plus he gets to play with the kids and help them out. He will be going to his own scout camp in two weeks.

Joshua is well... Joshua. He just kind of hangs out. He is going to one VBS this summer. I am hoping to take him to Cedar Point once this summer as well. He wanted to go with JM and Seth but it wasn't possible. So the VBS and Cedar Point will be the highlight of his summer. Easy to please! ;-)

John and I (and the family actually) are being nominated for Carrier of the Year for the newspaper we deliver. We were excited that our district manager wanted to nominate us. We had to ask some of our customers for letters of recommendation. They were more than happy to do so. We asked 21 people and in two days we have 9 letters and they are all so kind and thoughtful. I am so thankful they are happy with their service.

JM and I are going to TX in August. He wants to see Shelbie. At least we are flying this time instead of driving. Boy that was a long drive.

Other than that, we are trying to enjoy summer.

Hope this has updated you on us.

'Til next time...