Can You Hear Me Now?

I completely hate my cell phone company. Well, maybe I don't hate them but I am extremely frustrated by them. Not even 2 years ago I renewed my 2-year contract with a very well known cell phone company. I have done business with this company for a good decade now and other than a few minor issues, I've had no problems with them. They are usually very prompt at correcting mistakes and fixing any problems that arise.

That was until I bought an LG Chocolate phone. I had never had a "fancy" phone and I was distracted by all the shiny, flashy options the phone offered. Little did I know that the phone is defective. Before a year was up, the phone broke. I called Verizon to get a replacement phone since the warranty wasn't up. I wish that when you speak to people they tell you everything you need to know. I didn't know I had to return the old phone before 30 days by mail in the same packaging they sent the new phone in. I figured since I had to take the new phone into the Verizon store to be activated that I would just give them the old one since it was not working. Nope! They don't take the returns I was told. I had to ship it back to the company in the box they sent I was told. I was never told I only had 30 days from the original ship date and I had to use their enclosed labels.

Anyways long story short...I missed the return date and had to pay over $100 for a phone that should have been free. Now I'm stuck with two defective LG Chocolate phones that I have paid for. Last week the second phone I received malfunctioned. The speaker part of the phone quit working. So now I can receive calls and make calls but I can't hear any part of the conversation. When I took the phone into the store to complain, the sales person told me to use my bluetooth or the speaker phone function in order to use my phone until my contract is up next month. Then I can get a $50 upgrade or I could pay $50 right now and have my existing phone fixed. So my only options are....pay money to have my POS phone fixed, wait a month using my broken POS phone just to get a $50 upgrade on a new POS phone that will probably break on me in six months, or pay a few hundred to buy a brand new phone right now.

AAHH! I feel like standing outside of the corporate office, flipping them the bird, shouting "Can you hear me now?!"

So Sad

The great comedian George Carlin passed away Sunday at the age of 71. He will be greatly missed.

You're Gonna Miss This

I was on my way to work today and while listening to the radio a Trace Adkins song came on. It's called You're Gonna Miss This. The song talks about a girl wishing she was grown and what she will do, then continues once she's married with no kids, and finishes when she has two young kids and is all stressed out. In each stage of her life somebody tells her to enjoy the time in the here and now because once it's gone, you will miss it and want it back. So of course it got me thinking about how true it really is. As a child, I couldn't wait until I grew up. As an adult, I wish I could go back to being a child. Not all the time, you see, but when life gets too hectic and I want a break I wish I could go back to the carefree times in my childhood. Who doesn't? I would love to go back, if only for a short time, and just live another carefree childhood summer. To get up in the morning, eat a bowl of cereal, and ride my bike all day with my friends trying to conjure up another adventure. Usually it meant riding down to the creek where we imagined all the heroic things we could do and catch tadpoles. Then we would ride up the road to the liquor store and spend a dollar buying a few pieces of candy and a soda to share. Oh the times we had! I miss it and wished I would've appreciated it more.

Onward to my teenage years....Let me tell you, I didn't let one minute pass that I wasn't doing something that I wanted to do. I took full advantage of my driving privileges and my teenage bravado. I lived each day like there was no tomorrow. It was crazy insane and insanely fun. I did have my moments that I would erase from my memory immediately if I could but for the most part, I lived my teen years. But I didn't fully appreciate it. I had no idea of the amount of responsibility that adulthood could bring. I didn't think about the future. I didn't care and I so wish I could go back if just for a weekend. Oh the fun I could have....

On to adulthood, marriage, and kids...not all in the same order. I did things backward from the expected norm. I had kids, became an adult,and then got married. Yes technically I was legally an adult when my first daughter was born but I was far from being grown. I thought I was but thinking back on it now....I had so much to learn. Marriage was just another step in my becoming an adult. I love my husband beyond belief. I never thought there would be another person (other than my children) who I would love with such passion that I would die for them if need be....until I met Paul. He changed my perspective on men and marriage. I've heard people say that marriage is alot of work to keep running smoothly. For Paul and I it just comes naturally. I don't consider any part of my marriage "work". I love everything that I do for him. To make Paul happy makes me happy. It sounds totally sappy but I love everything about him....even his ability to leave his socks and shoes strategically placed to trip us all when we stand up from sitting on the couch.

I miss every moment that has passed in my childrens' lives. I may moan, groan, and complain about something at the moment but once it has passed, I miss it. From the non-sleeping, colicky infants to the hormonal preteens...I miss it all. I wish I could go back to do it all over and I would in a heartbeat. When my oldest child was colicky, I wished for anything but a screaming baby to take care of. Now I wish I could go back and trade in my screaming preteen for that screaming infant. At the same time I try to soak up as much of the crazy preteen years as I can because I know the insane teen years are right around the corner. I know what I did as a teenager and my daughter is not leaving the house for the next 20 years. I really realized the whole "You're Gonna Miss This" when my toddler turned a year old. I secretly cried because I knew my baby wasn't much of a baby anymore. She was becoming more independant and wasn't relying on me as much as before. While I fully enjoy my re-found freedoms, I still miss being the whole world for my last child.

Yes this was everything that I thought about on my 5 remaining minutes to work. I arrived teary eyed and vowed to try to live each day the best I can. I will try to appreciate each and every moment, even the sucky ones, because "You're Gonna Miss This" when it's gone.

Polls And Your Opinion

I put a poll at the bottom of my blog. Let me know what you think and if you have some sort of comment....leave it here.

Waterslides, Big Trees, And Family Time

Summertime is meant for playing in the water, even babies know this. It is something that is genetically encoded in all of us at birth. People gravitate to water like moths to a flame. Why do you think beaches are so popular, other than just being beautiful? People love water and my kids are no different. Hell if I didn't have to man the camera....I probably would have joined them.

I just don't think the inflatable slide would've held my big butt. Courtney was terrified of the slide at first. She kept her feet on the grass but her hands were constantly in the water. I finally had Keelie climb to the top and Courtney was handed to her. Then under protest from Courtney, they went down, down, down- right into a pool of water at the bottom. And Courtney LOVED it! Keelie would switch off with my niece Jenica on taking Court down the slide. After awhile, Court just stayed at the bottom and played with my nephew, Devin. Devin wasn't in his swim trunks but he told his momma that he was getting in anyways. He had just been splashing his hands in the water but pretty soon he had his head in it too. Every time his momma took him away from the water, he screamed. Finally he got his way and was sat in the water. He and Court splashed around while their sisters tried not to drown them each time they came down the slide.

I love these pictures. I took them on our recent trip to Big Trees. Even with gas prices being what they are, we still like to take small road trips. We went up to Big Trees because it's not very far away, we love the mountains, and we wanted to see how the new car would drive up the inclines. Like a glove! Heehee. I did realize something while at Big Trees....I need a wide angle lens! I tried to snap a picture of Paul and Courtney standing in front of a tree and I wanted the entire base of the tree in it too. Well in order to achieve the photo, I had to stand so far back that you could not detect their faces even when I zoomed in. So I will eventually save up enough to buy one but for now I will just have to deal. Back to the pictures...I love these two pictures the best out of all the ones I took. Everything Daddy did, Courtney had to do too. Daddy walked down a trail, Courtney followed. Daddy sat to look up at a tree, Courtney had to do the same. I swear they were both cut from the same mold. Courtney is Daddy's Little Girl. She doesn't have to work very hard at it...He's already wrapped around her little finger.

My Baby Is Gone

Keelie is on vacation to Mexico with her other biological half. She will be home on Sunday. I wonder what she will return with this year. One time it was strep throat. Another time it was a sunburn and wind chapped skin. They get to take her out and have fun...I get the clean up. It's nice that child support gets paid maybe once a year, twice if I'm lucky, and yet somehow week long vacations to some resort in Mexico are taken every year. Oh well - in a few years Keelie will be old enough to tell the courts that she really doesn't like them and wants to choose when she has visitation. Until then, I get to play clean up.

I Love Working With Migraines

Occasionally I'll have a migraine and it usually hits when I have something I have to do....like work. Today was one of those days. I wish I could have just called in but there are only 3 bartenders and we had a tournament going on. So I hauled my ass in. My head hurt so damn bad that I found a quiet, dark corner and laid down for about 30 minutes....on the clock! Yeah, that's right. I didn't clock out and I didn't work. I slept! But hey, nobody came in for a drink anyways. I got up when I heard people come in. Plus my boss knew what I was doing. He told me to do it. It was that or I was going home and he would have been stuck bartending. I stuck the whole work thing out for about 3 hours before I just couldn't take it anymore. Once the second bartender come on, I split. I feel bad that I left so early but I felt like my head was going to explode. I have a doctor appointment next month so I'll ask for more migraine meds. Hopefully I'll just never have another......YEAH and pigs will fly over the moon too!