DHL Sucks Butt

I bought a "new" car on October 13th. Usually dh takes care of all the tax tags, title, registration stuff. This time he has been working a ton and neither of us thought about plates until November 13th when I realized my tags had expired... oh beautiful.
Friday morning I called the Auto Group and questioned themas to why I had not received an Ohio title so I could transfer the car to West Virginia. It had slipped through the cracks and I was assured that they were sending it via DHL overnight and it would be at my front door Saturday morning. On Saturday I waited all day and finally when there was no package at I called and was told that she tracked it and it was marked delivered to my front door.

Monday I called DHL and they assured me it had been delivered it said so right on the screen in front of them. I let them know that there was no access to my front door b/c we have not replaced the front steps to that porch, it was not at the side door, the basement door or the garage door... so unless they had delivered it to the wrong house it had not been delivered.

After many calls back and forth that first day I was told that the driver claimed he had stopped at my Post Office to get directions and in the end decided he would just leave it with them to deliver to me. Me being the un-trusting soul that I am decided to call the post office and ask them if this was true. Maybe I could just drive down and pick it up? They had no idea what I was talking about. He had not dropped it at my post office after all. I called DHL back with this information and was told they were contacting the driver and would call me back.

Tuesday I called them back and got the supervisor on the phone. It hadn't been dropped at my post office it had been taken to the Wheeling Post Office. When I asked why he said the driver forgot to deliver it when he was in my area, so realizing that while in Wheeling he decided to have it sent to me from there. Not like interoffice mail send it my post office... he mailed it to me from wheeling. Not only did he mail it to me he opened the package and mailed it to me. I have yet to be told why he felt the need to open it before mailing.

Tuesday evening I received the envelope in the mail and in that envelope there was a check for the taxes paid in Ohio... but no Ohio Title to my car. I called the dealership to verify that there should have been a title and they said yes. I called DHL to let them know there was no title and there should have been one, and to ask why was there not one and when was I going to receive it???

At this point I have been driving on expired tags for 5 days now 4 of which were due to DHL.

After many heated convos with Mike the Supervisor I am informed that the driver opened the package to fit it into a USPS envelope and didn't realize that there had been 2 pieces of paper in it and so only mailed me the check not the title. But the title was still at the post office in wheeling and he personally would pick it up and make sure it got delivered to me by 11am on Wednesday.

REWIND he didn't realize there were two papers in the envelope, but he didn't throw the envelope away he saved it at the post office that he doesn't work for. They just hold onto empty envelopes for people all the time right??? Who knows what he was doing with the title, identity theft, loan fraud... whatever just so long as i get it now.

That evening I had to run to the store and on the way home at the bottom of my hill I pass a local cop and a Deputy Sheriff... no joke. I'm driving expired tags around and have to drive by 2 cops on the same road. Shit. I make the turn drive up the hill park in my space get all the bags send the kids across the road and am scurrying my ass as fast as possible... not fast enough he pulls into the space beside me and gets out asks who was in the car with me. Ugh my kids and me. Who was the man in the car miss? Ugh no man, sorry. Are you sure there was no man in the car with you tonight? ****at this point I have had such an awful day and am so ready to just blow up on someone**** so I answer My husband is at work at the Federal Prison so I'm sure that there was no man in my vehicle, just me and my kids as I told you once before so how about you tell me what the problem is? ***in my head I'm repeating shit goin' to jail, goin' to jail***
He finally lets me know there had been a domestic dispute down the road from and me and someone spotted my car and thought it belonged to them so I got followed home and accosted. Of course he told me they had been looking for a green explorer... really? Does my fucking car look green??? You didn't notice when you were gooning me up at the stop sign that I was driving a blue explorer?? Thankfully he just said sorry about the trouble and left. Phew.

Wednesday- Today- I finally get the 2nd envelope at 12:30 yes 1-1/2 hours late... and I make the DHL guy stand there while I open it and low and behold it contains my Title, but it has been torn in half and taped back together.

Now I want to kick the DHL guy in the balls and tell him to pass it on, but instead I am an adult and ask for a number to make a complaint against the original guy (who I'm told has been fired) and the supervisor who has been obviously covering for him all this time...
I'm given the # to the office who has been fucking this shit up since Saturday. How do you file a complaint about people to the same people????

I give up I now have the check and the title and tomorrow I will maybe be driving legally again.

This is my life.

Where does the time go?

In my case it seems to all go to my new fav game Fashion wars. I absolutely love it and can not pull myself away. Of course that does not account for my being MIA for the past 4 months now does it???
Updates:
July was a good time, summer picnics, swimming, hanging with the fam.




August sweet vacation with my Mom, Sister and kids to Myrtle Beach. I'm not a super beach fan (sand in the cracks is not my thing) but the kids had an awesome time.



September I turned 21... no really I turned 34. I feel 21 still though that counts right?
My sister got me an awesome book (that I actually told her to buy me)!!!


October Halloween of course...
My Zombies




Oh and throw an accident in there too.

Though we were fine the car was totaled. Bummer I know, but I got to upgrade from a 1997 to a 2004 so not all bad. ;)

Summer Projects

In the heat of the summer (though the temps haven't been too bad here in West Virginia) is the time I always end up starting and hopefully finishing all my big projects. Painting, staining, refinishing furniture...
This summer is no exception. I have 2 bedroom doors that are in serious need of some paint! Trim that will need painted if it ever gets mounted to the kitchen walls. :(

I've started the staining process for 3 thresholds. This is one of the doorways in question...
This is one of the pieces I finished staining!!!
(It still needs a few more coats of polyurethane.)

Actually the one was finished last summer, but never put down in the doorway... I really need to figure this carpentry shit out if I want this house to ever be finished. Since I already did the 1st one last year I now have to mix the stains to match it up to the original. You would think I would have written the recipe down or saved some from last year-- but you would then be wrong. I had no thoughts of doing the next 2. I was so excited with thoughts of the 1st one being put on the floor, I seriously blocked out the fact that there would be 2 more. Well now I am working on the next 2 and the 1st hasn't even been put where it should be |:(
Maybe he was waiting so he could swear at them all together. ;)

On a slightly happier and much less whiney note I am working on the new "bonnet" for Paula and I think it is turning out nicely!!! Just a few more rows of shells and it should be complete. Maybe I'll take it out on the porch swing tonight and finish it up whilst listening to some Siouxsie & the Banshees...

PS
Check out that cute ass airbrushing on my thumb
Thanks to Steph the owner of Dazzlin' Dezignz in East Liverpool, Ohio.
She doesn't have a website :( but is opening a new shop!!!!
She gives me a fab set of nails every 2 weeks and these are one of my favorites!!

Cotton Bonnet

I was asked by a good friend (who is a knitter) to make her mom a crocheted chemo cap. It didn't have a complete pattern, but I contacted the girl who originally made it and she offered her help.

I finished it the same day I started. :)
ehem, the only problem is that I made it about a zillion sizes too small. It is like a toddler sized hat. I have several friends and cousins who have young daighters that I can gift it to... but I can't believe I finished the damned thing before I realized it was too small. :(

On a much happier note I bought these fabulous hanging baskets at a flea market close to us a couple weeks ago and just remembered to photograph them... the best part was that they were ONLY $10 EACH!!!!
I know what a fantastic price for such huge and lush baskets!!

Ohhh and in the 1st picture you can just see my hubbies kool-aid colored truck in the bottom left corner... how funny is that.

I got tagged

The Rules: Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answers.

What was I doing ten years ago? Taking care of a 2 year old... hmmm so glad she is 12 now!!!

What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today?
1. Finish Mary's Mom's hat
2. bath Peanut
3. have kids clean their rooms
4. finish up the laundry
5. snuggle with the hubby... he just started day shift

Five snacks I enjoy:
1. Honey wheat Pretzel rods
2. frozen grapes
3. Ice cream
4. fruit & nut snack mix
5. caramel rice cakes

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
buy a bigger house, buy my sister a house, send my kids to the best college, share with my fam & friends

Places I've lived most recent first:
Chester, WV
Jacksonville, NC
Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii
East Liverpool, OH
Salem, OH


Jobs I've had:
Mommy
Wife
Bank Teller
Cashier

Tip Toeing Thru the Tulips

I've started a new project... because I lost my 'c' hook that I was using on the babette. :( I have 3 of every hook but this particular one, so until I find it or get to the store I have started a new pattern.

It's a book I've had for several years ( A Crocheter's Garden of Afghans) and I think this will be the 1st pattern I've made out of it. It's called 'Teatime Tulips'.


I messed up the ends of this first strip, but didn't realize it until the 4th round was complete. I am not willing to frog it and start over so maybe nobody will notice. :( I was considering making it for me to use on the porch swing, but hadn't decided for sure until I realized my mistake. If i had someone in mind for this particular project I could redo the mistake on each one-- but it was actually harder to screw it up!!! This is the 1st time I've used Lion Brand® Homespun® Yarn
and I must say it isn't what I expected. I love the feel of it, but the cut ends are so much more wispy than I imagined and it splits so easily! I think when I am finished it will be cozy, but I'm glad I got it on sale. (3 for the price of 1!!!)

harumph

My shower looks like the body wash department in any given chain store. Each member of my family prefers a different soap/body wash

• axe for the son
• irish spring for the hubby
• right now I'm a fan of

  philosophy will power 3-in-1 shower gel

• my daughter has been in love with Hello Sugar

...and the kids use different shampoo than I do too!!!!

Recently it would seem my daughter and I are in some kind of a contest to see who can stockpile more bottles on the built in shelves of the shower stall...

Today I decided to try out the Strawberry Puree I bought for a ridiculous price at The Body Shop in the airport while I waited for my flight a few weeks ago. It was a cute kit that had 3 small body washes, 1 small lotion, some vitamin e, a urine sample size bottle of white musk and some other stuff I don't remember. Mostly I loved the pink foil bag it all came in and I was buying a mascara and just happened to spend enough to get the whole kit and caboodle for like $5!! :)

I'm a sap when it comes to spend-'x'-amount-to-get-this-wonderful-sample-bag-of- a-bunch-of-crap-you'll-never-use-for-the-low-low-price-of-'x'-amount-of-$$...

So tonight I decide to start using up one of these small bottles that are floating around the shower. The shower gel smelled yummy. Not exactly, but a lot like strawberry puree as advertised. The strawberry puree lotion on the other hand, ugh :(( smells just like play-dough on my skin. Blyuck, kuck, gross. I smell like warm mushy dough... I will not be using this again!

I often have the problem that most scents smell wonderously delicious in the bottle, but sadly stink like a musty old basement on me :( It really saddens me to no end when I am in Bath & Body sniffing until my sniffer just will not work. For the past 16-17 years I have been wearing the same old stuff.
It smells good, so everyone tells me... but sometimes I just want a change and have very little choice since my body rejects all yummy smells. :(
The one thing I have tried recently that actually smelled on me just like it did in the bottle is this.
Sadly it is discontinued I think... It makes you sparkle and it smells just like a raspberry/vanilla/sugar. ;)

My Sweet Escape continued

Here's my Babette as of May 26th... I now have parts 1-5 joined together! It is slightly wonky and I know now I should have blocked it, but am not willing to take it apart to do so now...

I'm pretty happy with the way it is turning out. I hate to have to sew anything together and if this were any other project I would have waited until I had all the squares finished first. My excitement to see this project finished- and to actually use it *blushing* is greater than my hatred for joining! I think I may do an acrylic version of this blanket also... I have some left over yarn from my Americana Afghan. I have been saying I need another small blankie for the couch b/c I hate sharing mine. ; ) Maybe this would be a cute counterpart to the other.

My Babette Blanket

I just joined parts 1,2 & 3. I’m not sure how they look. On one hand I am proud of myself for getting this far, on the other I’m thinking I maybe should have tried blocking the squares. I was thinking the cotton would probably just go back to whatever it was prior to blocking after the first wash so I didn’t ‘waste’ my time trying it out. A little too late now b/c I am NOT frogging and rejoining. It’s a learning experience and the afghan is for me so no biggy. I still love it and can't stop working on it.

My Sweet Escape

My sweet escape is definitely crocheting. As of right now I have two projects I am working on.
my Babette Blanket

and my where's the bacon? bag



I'm not generally a project whore; mostly because I feel like I won't finish any of them... but the eggs and bacon are complete for the bag, I just need to make the actual purse. I had planned on crocheting a cute circle bag... until I saw this bag
at Target. WOW is that cute or what? I think my dd will for sure like the end result. I am going to get some red gingham vinyl and sew up a great summer bag for her to carry her library books back and forth in! I'm not much of a seamstress so who knows when this will actually get finished.
The babette was started with all intentions of it being a distraction from my other projects (I get bored easily)... but I am having so much fun I haven't actually started another project yet.

I know what I want to start, I just can't pull myself away from these squares.
I need to start on the cat snuggles I want to make for my sister's cats for Christmas. She has 5 and I want them all to be slightly different. You know all 5 of her cats have different personalities so I want their beds to reflect that... then I also have a great star afghan pattern that is calling to me. I even have all the yarn to make it!!! Ugh It is so hard for me to not be monogamous with my projects. :(

How about you? Do you work on 10 projects at once or only one? And if you are a project whore how do you decide when to work on each and which to finish first?

Save The Drama For Your Momma

I know Mother's day was several days ago, but I really have not had time to share mine with you. Mine actually started the night before. my little kitkat just couldn't wait to give me my present so I got it a day early.

Isn't it fabulous!?!?!?! I also found a couple of pink pails and planted some geraniums in them
so my side porch is going to be so bright this summer! I'm way excited.
After gift receiving my Mom decided to keep the kids that evening so I also got to sleep in on Mommy's Day morning!
After waking and getting all the regular morning things out of the way I went to a local shop and bought two of the best pies ever; coconut cream for my Mom and lemon meringue for moi. I am usually super opposed to buying baked goods, but it was Mother's Day I was not making my own dessert... and Bricker's Pies actually do taste almost homemade. :)
My Mom (who was not opposed to cooking on her special day) made us chicken cacciatore (my fav) and my sis made a delicious salad... it was fantastic. I wish I could share with you all- not really- it was super good and so I am glad I got to eat it all! ;)
My Mommy really loved the sheet set I bought her. I know sheets, what kind of gift is that for Mother's Day? Entirely too practical. I agree, but she had mentioned earlier that week that she bought a new pillow top/mattress cover and her sheets no longer fit the bed... she also mentioned that she had not had a new set since the last set I had bought her for Christmas (I think). So when she opened the sheets (which I wrapped in the Wal-Mart bag :(...) you would have thought I had given her jewelry. It was cute and I am glad she liked them.
Later that day I received a most unexpected gift from my little sis!

Beautiful isn't it. Imagine if I had my hair and face fixed... it was Mother's day I didn't have to be pretty for anyone. I bought these fabulous shoes!!
to go with. They are slightly less dark in person. Now I am on the hunt for some divinely beautiful red jewelry and maybe a sexy little clutch. You would think they would have had a handbag to match the damned shoes... but no that makes too much sense- right?

So all in all it was an incredibly sweet, non dramatic, yummy day!

Sweet daughter

What a way to start my blog... today my sweet daughter of 12 got invited to a birthday party for her friend. :) It was a bonfire/cookout/ birthday party.
I dropped her off with every intention of picking her up at 11pm. She called around 8:30 to ask if she could spend the night. Since she didn't have pajamas and her friend is not the same size (and other girls had been invited to spend the night prior to being at the party) I told her I'd talk to her dad and get back to her on it. I guess I wasn't quick enough because she called back. While I was discussing pajamas etc. with her she asked the friend if she had any extra shirts for bedtime so I wouldn't have to drive all the way back... she suddenly was uninvited to spend the night b/c "her mom said she already had enough girls staying over".

Am I being an over protective Mom to say WTF!?!? Who un-invites a child like that? My dd didn't seem to have a problem with it, but I just have a bad feeling about the whole situation. She was invited last minute to the party, though they are in the same homeroom Monday- Friday. Then she is invited to spend the night after she has gotten there. Then she is un-invited from spending the night... I think that would have hurt my feelings at 12 years of age. Maybe. I don't know I possibly wouldn't have cared at all. I've gotten more emotional since I've had children. :(

According to my dd there were other girls who did not spend the night, or were not invited to spend the night. She was not singled out in that respect... but for her to be invited and then not is what is bothering me.
She has been friends with this girl for some years now. They were closer friends at a younger age and now see one another in school, but not much out of school.

Please let me know am I being one of those Mom's who get too involved with their children's lives?? or do I have reason to feel bad for her--- even though she doesn't seem to care much??