Sara's Musings

I haven’t posted anything in 6 days. So much has happened. . .

There’s an old saying that bad things happen in threes. . .  We have experienced waves of three bad events several times over the years.  We just ride the wave out until it is gone.  Just what we’re doing now, except now we’re at 4 events.

First event – the washing machine broke.  Already been discussed.

Second event – Saturday, 12/11, at 11:30 pm, the car died, on the Beltway, on the overpass over I-45 North, near Greenspoint Mall.  We were on the way home from the company Christmas party at the big boss’ house.  We called AAA, got towed home.  AAA pays for the first 3 miles, we paid $95 for the remaining 22 miles.  Sunday, 12/12, brother Steve and John worked on the car, trying to diagnose the problem.  New spark plugs, etc.  Monday, 12/13, John rented a car to go to work.  Our car was taken to a mechanics shop and was diagnosed with having heavy dirt and corrosion on the battery connections to the alternator and the computer chip, and also had a hole in the water bottle (secondary problem).  The water bottle was replaced, the connections cleaned, diagnostics indicated no more problems, to the tune of $130.

Third event – Tuesday, 12/14, John turned in the rental car.  He drove our car to work, got as far as the Beltway and Little York – *within sight of his building*- and the car died again. As he didn’t have cash or a check to pay for a AAA tow again, he called Mac Haik Ford (dealership from which we purchased the car 6 years ago).  The dealership sent out a tow truck – the cost (?) gets added to the cost of the diagnostic ($90), so we will pay one bill.  However, the service department was not going to be able to check out the car until today.  We’re having to wait to find out what the mechanics think is wrong with it.  In the meantime, John rented a Ford Escape ($44/day), to test it out, as he would really like to get one when the time is right [which may be sooner than later, depending on the car diagnosis].

Fourth event – a big fat ZERO balance in every bank account! Using a credit card for everyday purchases until payday, which was today, thank goodness!! Now to send a payment to the cc company for those charges.

Today was my beautiful girl’s 1st birthday! The day, of course, was like any other day, sleep, eat, play, repeat, etc.  Tonight, we had a nice family dinner with the four of us, Nana and Papa and Uncle Scott.

Sionna received a “Love to Walk Baby Pooh” from Uncle Steve and Aunt Nikki.  From Mama and Dada, she received a strawberry-scented baby doll, which she had chosen from the store {from a choice of 3 dolls, she was really attracted to this one.}

For dessert, we enjoyed pretty Barbie cupcakes, chocolate with pink and white icing.

Of course, I couldn’t find a camera! {We have 2 digital cameras *and* a camcorder, which have all *disappeared* in the house}

Dada to the rescue — his cell phone has a camera feature. Now, we’ll have to figure out how to get the photos *off* the phone. . .

We joined the Best Buy/Rhapsody music service a couple of weeks ago. It’s great to be able to listen to music which I wouldn’t necessarily buy at the cd store.  I can choose an artist and find similar music to see what I like.

Right now, I’m listening to N.E.R.D. – the baby really gets to rocking out on this music ;)

I’ve been listening a lot to Tiziano Ferro (in Spanish), Jamiroquai, old Bee Gees that I haven’t got on cd yet, holiday radio channels . . .

If we want to burn anything to a cd, each track costs 79¢.

So far, I think it’s worth the $10 a month for the service.

Went to the dreaded laundromat this afternoon – a 2.5 hour ordeal that I’ll probably have to repeat at least twice before the new washer arrives.

3 loads of laundry – $9 to wash, $2.25 to dry – that’s going to add up over the next couple of weeks.

Unless Steve fixes the old washer – he *might* look at it Tuesday night, and see if it’s a cheap part that needs to be replaced. The repair guy down the road charges $35 just to look at it – thank goodness for a brother who doesn’t charge for his time!

Mom’s willing to give me $50 for the old washer, so if it costs less than $50 to fix, we’ll do it. If it costs more, then I guess we’ll have it hauled away.

When I got home, I had to put up those 3 loads *plus* the 2 loads left over from Friday night – have you ever tried to hang up your clothes with one hand and a baby on your hip? Doesn’t work very well.

I have about 6 more loads from the laundry mountain to get through, and of course, clothes get worn every day, so that just adds to the problem ;)

So much for our fun day. Connor decided he didn’t want to go the movie. {minor tantrum ensued} He wanted to go to “that other thing that Mama said was happening today.” {the Zoo}I went online to look up the hours, etc. for Winter Wild. ARGH! that’s the 10th-12th and 17th-23rd, not the 4th or 5th!

Fine, a change of plans – no movie, no zoo. We decided to check out the new Chinese buffet on the Beltway. Connor {minor tantrum again} didn’t want to eat – “Please, Mama, ask Uncle Scotty to come stay with me while you go eat and we can play PlayStation.” So, Scott came over and stayed with Connor, while John, Nana, Sionna and I ate at the Chinese buffet. [Review – it was OK, not the best, not the worst]

After our lunch/dinner [what *do* you call a meal you eat at 4pm?], John and I went to Sears in Pasadena to buy a new washer AND dryer. My sweetie told me that if I really wanted it, I could have both! I had done my research, knew exactly what I wanted – Kenmore HE4t washer and HE4 dryer. [HE=high efficiency] The washer has a 3.8 cubic ft. capacity, while the dryer is 7.0 cu. ft. Let’s just say that compared to what I have now, 3.8 cu. ft. is massive. The blurb for this washer says it will hold 23 bath towels. So, I can wash all my towels in one load, jeans in one load, you get the picture. I estimate I’ll have 5 loads of laundry a week with this super capacity [currently it’s at least 10 loads] Also, it will hold my king-size comforter, which usually gets taken to the washateria – which means it is really grungy by the time that happens. Now, I’ll be able to wash that comforter every week, if I need to.

The washer was on sale for $1300 and the dryer was $800. Adding bases with drawers (300), service contracts (280), delivery and setup fees (60), and sales tax (226), the total was $2966. We put it on the Sears card, as the offer was 0% interest until 01 January 2006, plus a 10% mail-in rebate on the washer and dryer ($210), which we will of course, turn around and send in as payment on the card. So, in our goal to pay it off by the end of 2005, we’re looking at $230 per month for 12 months (after the rebate). Totally worth it, IMHO, for the ability to plow through my massive Mt. Washmore (my most hated chore) and give me more time with the kids. Now, if only this Mama had a High Efficiency “folding and putting away the laundry” option ;) The downside – Sears can’t deliver these new machines until 22 December, which means we’ll either be going to the dreaded washateria with a zillon loads of laundry this week [it grows like crazy you know!], or my dad will fix the old washer and we’ll use it until the 20th or so. My mom wants the old set to put at my Granny’s house, so the washer will have to be fixed anyway, and the set has to be moved before the 22nd.

We’ll figure something out.

Last night, the washing machine broke – it probably can be fixed but I really, re-allll-llly, want a new one. [I’ve had the thing for 14 years] I really want a front-loader, which are super efficient, also super expensive. So, on to Consumer Reports to give me front-loader ratings, etc. Our plan today is a fun trip to the Houston Museum of Natural Science to see “Santa vs. the Snowman” at the IMAX. Connor and John saw it last year and loved it, so I get to go with them this year and check it out. [While Nana sits at home with Sionna] Tomorrow, the plan is a fun trip to the Houston Zoo for the Winter Wild event, where the kids can decorate cookies, make crafts, talk to Safari Santa, and other fun stuff.

Just overheard Connor, who’s sitting in the living room talking to his Nana: “Everything on Zoboomafoo is true, except for the lemur talking and stuff” The boy just cracks me up :)

Sionna’s first birthday is fast approaching, just 6 more days, 09 December. She’ll have a health checkup after her birthday, complete with vaccinations (ouch!). I anticipate that she’ll weigh about 21 pounds and be about 33 inches long. She now has (gasp) 6 teeth, 4 on top and 2 on bottom. I think another tooth is about here – she’s been such a “fussy-butt” this week. After her checkup, we’ll be purchasing a new car seat – forward-facing for my big girl. Off to look at Consumer Reports to see which car seat is the best …

So, I’ve been reading about blogs a lot, reading other people’s blogs, and I finally decided that it could be a useful, and possibly fun, tool to play with.

In a way, this blog will be like an online diary for me, a way to keep track of activities, kid stuff, research, whatever.

I’ll try to post every day.

Sara