Mother's Day is fast approaching.....

And this is what I want!!

*HINT HINT*

Wind, Heat, Happiness and Disappointment

Today was hot. Not just warm, but above 70 degrees and stifling hot. On top of that, it is very windy where I live. You'd think the wind would make it cooler, but you would be wrong. it was still hot. And, it was so windy that the trees outside our apartment building were almost bent in half. Wind and Hot. I hate it.

Our knob for our washing machine came today. I was surprised, because it was a day early. But I didn't mind. Mike put it on the washer while I was at work. Then he called me. The call went something like this:
"Hi! Your knob came today!"
"What knob?"
"The washing machine knob. I put it on, and now the washer looks all old and crappy because the other knobs look really bad"
"Oh, yeah? Cool"
"Okay, I'm gonna go watch Judge Judy now. Just thought I'd let you know. See you later!"

That is why I am happy. I did a load of laundry tonight, and I didn't have to struggle to turn the washer on. I turned the knob to the cycle I wanted, and pulled it out to start the load. Aaaah. It was nice.

As for the disappointment today....I got another phone call from Mike while I was at work. It went something like this:
"Hello?"
"Hi! Your slipcovers for the couches came. I opened them and they are hideous."
"Really?"
"Yeah, they are lime green and they don't fit."
"Really? Shoot! Are you sure they are lime green? They are supposed to be sage."
"Yeah, they're lime green. And they look like a couch that my grandma would have in her living room. It is butt ugly."
"Shoot. I'm sorry."
"It's okay. Just call tomorrow and get an RMA. And we won't worry about new slipcovers. I'm okay with the ones we have now."
"Okay."

I got home, and he had left the slipcovers on the love seat and the folding chair. The folding chair was awful! It didn't fit at all! If I had tried to sit down, it would have definitely ripped!! As for the loveseat, it was AWFUL. Not quite lime green, but more of a bright yellow-kelly green. With the most hideous floral pattern I have ever seen. The website picture led me astray. I am so sad. And he was right, they don't fit at all. Apparently we don't have conventional t-cushion couches. I re-packed the box, and am calling first thing tomorrow for a return merchandise authorization. UGH! I was so excited for them too! Oh well, I guess we'll just have to watch for unconventional t-cushion couch slipcovers. Or save up our money to make our own. Or just buy new couches in a couple of years. We'll see. (I was going to take a picture of the slipcovers, but I forgot until after I had repackaged everything into the box! Sorry all!)

Another few reasons why Mike is so MARVELLOUS

If you'll recall, last week I labelled Mike as marvellous. Well, here it is another week and he is still marvellous! Today he went to Ikea on his way home from work and bought a new entertainment center (pictured above). It weighed 140 lbs, yet he trucked it out to the Trail Blazer, laid his seats down, took out his cage (it's the thing that stops your stuff from flying from the back and hitting you in the head in case of a collision....it looks kind of like the cage that is on cop cars) and loaded the heavy 2 boxes into his car. Apparently this was all very difficult. Mike said "If the boxes had been another inch longer I would've had to lay down the fron seat too!" He also hauled the heavy 140 lbs up the stairs. I had to move the smaller of the boxes, and it was quite the hefty box....HOLY COW!

About 3 hours later, our new beautiful piece of furniture, which matches the coffee table and end table PERFECTLY, was set up with all of the equipment in it. I never realized how many cords we actually have plugged into the tv and the power strip until today. There are sound cords for the XBOX 360, PS3, and Nintendo Wii. Then there are power cords for all of the above plus the XBOX HD DVD drive. Then we have the wireless game adapter, Wii sensor bar, PS3 control charger cable, and the XBOX 360 battery charger. I am impressed and amazed that the stand not only can accomodate so many machines, but that it can hold all of the cords, too! It has smoked glass sliding doors to cover the shelving areas, and then two drawers in the middle, which hold most of our games, and the rest of our movies that don't fit on our DVD towers.

This is definitely an upgrade for us. You see, until today, cords have been sprawled across the floor. Machines placed everywhere. And we haven't had an end table. This is because our end table used to hold our TV (end table pictured below).


This tiny little end table surprisingly held the TV up well. Although, the TV stuck out on each side, and there were no shelves or drawers, and on several occassions I would kneel down to pick s0mething up off the floor and bang my head on the corner of the TV (But don't tell Mike! He's anal about not touching the TV screen!)

In addition to being marvellous for buying a new TV stand, Mike also got our Roomba up and working. Now I only have to spot vacuum in the kitchen, living room, and hallway. The Roomba runs every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 10:30 AM. It is truly fabulous!

Impatiently Waiting

Have you ever ordered something online, and then discovered that it had online shipment tracking? That is my favorite part of the whole ordering process, next to actually receiving the merchandise. Whether it is UPS, Fedex, or DHL, I love checking my order status. Sometimes I get anxious and I check it several times a day. I used to check the USPS tracking, but they only update it once it is picked up and once it is recieved. I figure, if I have it I'm pretty sure I know it's here! The only thing that drives me crazy is when the delivery company takes a route that doesn't make sense. Like, why drive from Missouri up to Wisconsin? I live west of Missouri, not north!

Well, this week is going to be a fun one, what with all the fun stuff we have coming to our house! Okay, okay, so the diapers.com order (diapers in bulk at a great discount, plus free shipping when you order over $49.00! Use referral code: JXPE6842) that should be arriving tomorrow isn't exactly "fun", but it's coming in a big box....and that big box can sure be used for some fun!

Also, my slip covers for my couches and dining room chairs should be arriving Tuesday or Wednesday. I bet you are asking yourselves: "What? You aren't going to make your own slipcovers like you said?" Well, no. I weighed the cost (about $600 for materials) and time (probably around 2 weeks if I sew uninterrupted, which we all know won't happen) and effort (lots and lots of effort as I am new to the upholstery game) and frustration (TONS and TONS) and number of curse words that would probably leave my lips (I would say at least 5 with a probability of more) and decided that it was definitely NOT worth it. For a fraction of the cost ($100 plus shipping at surefit.com) I could get a slipcover for my sofa, loveseat, and my 4 dining room chairs, all in a nice looking, machine washable fabric. I couldn't even cover my loveseat for $100....especially when the fabric that I liked (not loved, just liked a little because it was on sale) was $10.95 a yard and I would need at least 13 yards for the loveseat. Plus! It wouldn't be machine washable.

On Thursday my new washing machine knob arrives! YAY!! I'm so happy! No more using a wrench or pushing really hard on a flat surface with my fingers to get the dial to turn to the correct cycle! HUZZAH!

Well, now that I've talked about all the fun things I'm so excited to recieve (mostly my slipcovers!) I guess I'd better go check and see where they are!

What I Did Today

Today was the prom. I work at a floral. This means that there were 120+ kids picking up their prom flowers....which are really just a nice gesture, not necessarily an accessory that has to match perfectly. Apparently some people don't get that. I had one lady who complained a lot. First because we forgot to put in the purple accents. Then, because the purple accents were too dark. Like it's even going to matter! The girl's dress was silver and cream!

Another lady called at 10:30...."Do you have any extra flowers? We ordered one from somewhere else and it is awful." I sold her the last one we had....light pink with silver ribbon. It, luckily, even matched her date's flowers for her (he happened to order them from us). When she came to get it, at 1:45 (we close at 2), she was mad because "her dress is hot pink and this just isn't going to match". First of all, it's a bout. She doesn't wear it, he does. His tux was black. It isn't going to matter. Secondly, it matches what he got for her. I had told her this several times. She ended up deciding it was okay and took it with her.

At about 2:30, we finally got all of the prom flowers picked up, and we were able to leave. YAY!! We went down to do some cleaning at Mike's parents' house.

This is the new color of paint we've painted on the walls. We took the wallpaper off and have repainted the living room. We put the picture, which has what we thought was a white frame until we put it next to the wall, up so it could have some contrast. The wall used to be the color of the mat in the frame, actually. The new color is really nice.

Hints of Spring

This is a flowering tree in the front yard of the house we used to live in....courtesy of Mike's parents. (HUGE THANK YOU TO YA, by the way!) Every spring this tree gets full of beautiful little pink and white blossoms. It is so pretty. I wish it hadn't been so bright outside, so that the colors showed up better in the picture. Considering that it SNOWED on Thursday, it is still looking like it feels like it's springtime!

Benefit Concert and other STRANGE news

Tonight was the benefit concert, in memory of Colton. It was put on by some of the bands from the local high school, and was actually pretty good. I don't usually listen to umm...punk/ska/metal/techno music. We didn't stay the whole time, because my parents were babysitting, and we didn't want them to be out too late as they live half an hour away. We did manage to listen to three of the four bands, and I have to say that my favorite was the third band. Good job boys! It's kind of what I imagine a techno-club would play, but it was really kind of catchy and had a good beat to it. It was fun to see how many of the high school kids came out to hear the bands. One of the friends, Kyle, even got up and sang a song. It was AWESOME! And then, towards the end, he ripped his shirt off.... pretty hilarious.

Elsewhere, in the world of STRANGENESS:

Watching the local news tonight, we were informed that actor Gary Coleman would be on Divorce Court May 1st and 2nd. Oooh! I usually don't watch it, because it makes me sad that people can't find ways to get over there own selfishness and pettiness and be a good marital team. BUT! I think I could make an exception. I've seen snipets, and I know that Judge Toler does not tolerate any crap. She is like a mixture between Judge Judy and Judge Joe Brown (who is my favorite, BTW...he is HILARIOUS!). Anyway, if you want to see Mr. Coleman on Divorce Court, it'll be on the Fox network on May 1st and 2nd, according to my local news....I suggest you check your local listings for accuracy, however.

Also from the world of STRANGENESS:

A teenager (16) was arrested for using a fake ID to work at a local strip club as an exotic dancer. Now, who in their right mind, especially a 16 year old, is saying to themselves "I'm underage but gosh it would sure be swell if I could work at that strip club!" And what was she telling her parents?? And did her parents even care?! Now, the town she is from is a little off...I have worked there and a lot of the girls that I met were kind of umm.....trying to be polite but can't find the words..... skanky? I know that's no excuse, but she is just making it easier for us to stereotype this poor city. Anyway, I feel bad for the girl's family if they didn't know what she was up to. Also, I hope that maybe she can get her life straightened out and aspire to something a little higher....like finishing high school for starters. If you'd like to read the story you can find it here.

In a related news story from the world of STRANGENESS:

The reporter who broke the story above also interviewed several police departments across the county. None had ever encountered the above mentioned use of a fake ID, but one had said that someone wanted to join the army so bad that they used a fake ID. Now that is PATRIOTISM!

More interesting news from the world of STRANGENESS:

Did you hear about the shark attack?! Holy CRAP! Yeah, this is definitely why I do not swim in the ocean. Sharks and Jellyfish and Stingrays. Yep. And seaweed, because it feels gross on my legs and I can never tell if it's seaweed or something else. So yeah, now I'm definitely not going into the ocean for another few years.....or maybe NEVER. We'll see what happens.

And the final tidbit of news from the world of STRANGENESS:

Alli (that semi-new diet drug that is supposed to help you loose weight when paired properly with diet and exercise) is being studied. Some studies have shown that one of the active drugs in Alli could maybe possibly be linked to cancer. The news article said that people will have to start weighing the risks. "Do I get cancer because I am obese, or do I risk getting cancer because I take this drug?" The report said that the FDA thinks that there is not enough evidence yet to support the linkage to cancer theory. Well! I will just say that in addition to the frequent trips to the bathroom, and risk of oily discharge should your fat intake be too high, I don't really think I want to add cancer to the list. I think if I do decide to take a diet pill I will take that one with the cartoon/stick figure lady on the ad. Oh! And the link to the news story is for Part 2....it was a 2 part story, and I'm pretty sure you can link to part 1 from the site, but just in case you can't, you can watch it here.