Dakota + Acorn = A Weinerful Time

Perhaps you shouldn't give small objects to little dogs....they tend to try to eat things when they are finished playing with it, almost like children?! Probably better we learn this lesson now before we have kids.....

House Hunting = Blah

For those of you that don't know...Ross & I have officially started house hunting. If you ask me how long I've been house hunting...I can easily reply, "3 years!" HA! For years, I've dreamed about being a homeowner and making a home into my own! Instead, God thought it would be funny to make me have to rent for the past 3 years. ha-ha. Ross on the other hand is smart and realized we had no money to buy a house, and therefore had no option but to rent. THAT IS until we moved in next door to all the Pedicone's :) He quickly realized how CRAZY my family is, and that he wants out. tee-hee. I tried to tell him my family is NUTS! So now that we've been able to save money by living practically rent-free, we thought it wouldn't hurt to start looking.

We met with the same agent Stephen & Betsy used to buy their townhouse, and got the ball rolling (we also graduated with her, and thought it would be nice to use someone we knew).

Here are a few things we quickly realized:

1. We're poor & were pre-approved for VERY little
2. We cannot afford to live in Allegheny County
3. We grew up spoiled in dang ol' Pine-Richland....and for this I blame our parents!

So far, we've eliminated the 11 possibilities that matched our "criteria." On a side note, Ross & I ARE looking for a fixer-upper, so we are trying to keep an open mind. An ugly house will not scare us away :) Now we are quickly realizing how long of a process this may be. Even our lowest standards seem to be asking too much. Of course, we weren't expecting to buy a house tomorrow, but now that we've started, I am growing impatient! So let's take a look at a few of the 'options' we were handed!.....

This "beauty" has a ton of things missing that we want. First, it only has 2 bedrooms. Second, it has no garage or even space to build a detached garage. Third, the yard is small! I can keep going, but trust me on this one. It wouldn't even be worth anything for the money we would have to put into it to make it liveable. It's OUT!

Another option. This one literally sat right on 228, a busy highway. I can just picture Dakota running RIGHT into the street, even WITH an electric fence. And there was no backyard. I think finding a yard I like will be my greatest challenge! I can't help it when I grew up with TONS of privacy :)

Lastly, I have a HUGE pet peeve with realtor's who can't even update the listing pic when the seasons change....aka Snow vs. No-Snow. I'm not asking for much. And obviously if this has been on the market since last winter, there's something wrong with it. We did a drive-by just in case, and it's also right on a main highway, and the road is at the same level as the roof of the house! It was an awful drop-off.

So there you have it! A clear explanation of why house hunting can be more frustrating than fun. And how we've easily eliminated our few options thus far. I know we aren't looking for a beauty, but c'mon, we need something we can work with!

How to Disturb your Brother In One Easy Conversation

I went to lunch today with mom & stephen. Stephen offered to give me a ride back to work after lunch, as mom went on her way to run errands in Cranberry, and this is how it all went down :) ........

In Stephen's truck
Stephen's cell phone starts to ring
Stephen looks at his phone...."Oh, it's mom"
(answers phone)

Stephen: "Hello?"

Mom: "Hey, I forgot to ask Kristin when we were together at lunch, but does she need anything from Costco's? I'm running there right now."

Stephen to Kristin: "Do you need anything from Costco's?"

Me: "TAMPONS!"

Stephen to mom: "Ew, gross, I guess she needs Tampons." *laughing*

Mom: *laughing*

Mom to Stephen: "Gee Steve, do you need any tampons?!"

Stephen to Mom: "No, no, I'm fine. But apparently Kristin does." (still disgusted yet laughing at the awkward situation happening in his "manly" truck)

Kristin: "HAHAHAHAHAHA"

Stephen to Kristin: "I thought maybe you were kidding and just saying that to gross me out."

Kristin: "Nope, nope, I'm serious. I really do need tampons."

Stephen to Mom: "I'm just going to assume you know which brand b/c this conversation has already been disturbing enough."

Mom: *still laughing* "Yeah, I'm good. I know which ones. Thanks Stephen!"

(hangs up phone)

Stephen to Me: "Alright then ....*pause*...... lunch was fun, I think it's time for you to be dropped off."
(pulls up to my work)

Kristin: *HAHAHA* "BYE!!"

*hops out of truck*

***THE END***

Oh India, Oh India

Why is it that every time I have problem with anything "technical," my call gets transferred 1,000 miles away to India?! It's frustrating. Frustrating to buy a product in America, only to find that nobody with an American accent can help me, so I'm left asking "I'm sorry, what did you say?!?!" the whole conversation (since I'm absolutely horrible w/ understanding any accent!). The first time I encountered this problem was with XM radio, which after 4 months of a never-ending cycle of calling them to fix it, and them not being able to understand my problem, I finally canceled the whole service (that was a xmas gift from my dad one year). It was much less frustrating then calling them everyday, it just simply wasn't worth the hassle & frustration!

But that brings me to my most recent encounter, hence the reason for today's venting. I bought some new video editing software for my computer (since we upgraded to Windows 7, and I lost my old program, which worked just fine, thankya very much) and it had all these weird quirks, causing things to not work correctly and making me wanna rip my hair out. It was the final touch for my wedding video, and I was anxious to finally get it done. But NOOOOO, instead of a quick 20-minute project, to finalize it, I spent 4 hours fighting with them & the program. Finally, after all the effort & numerous calls to the call-center, the guy (from India, of course) gave me the activation code to take my $49.99 version of the software up to the premium $99.99 version of the software, for free :) I think after my 5th call to them, and the guy actually knowing my name before me giving it to him, was the final touch. Of course, I would be more thrilled if I was ever going to use this program again in my life, but right now, I never ever want to look at another video-editing-anything for the rest of my life...

Lesson Learned: Hire a videographer

Hairs Left: 2

Finished Wedding Video: Priceless

Job Hunt

It's back to the job hunt for this gal. I quit my new job yesterday after having some support from my best friend ;) (and husband, of course). But in all reality, it only made sense to quit now before it was too late and they kept wasting more of their time on training me, b/c I knew I was going to quit sooner or later. As it turns out, I was making more money on unemployment AND I was paying less for health insurance through COBRA (from my old job). The insurance at my new job was so ridiculously expensive, it took the pay-cut I had already planned on taking, much further down then we could have even lived off of. So I needed to quit before I became eligible for their insurance, so that I didn't lose my COBRA. I really wish I would've done the math before I accepted the position, but I guess we all make mistakes, right?!

Anyways, I've decided how much I miss the real estate industry, so I'm hoping that I can find another Admin job in a real estate office. Otherwise, I'm not sure what my "Plan B" is. We'll see how "Plan A" goes first. :)

As for Ross, he is still landscaping, and I pray that he can find a job in his career so that he does not hinder our camping season this summer!!! haha....I guess that is a pity worry, but I'm really excited for camping this year, and if he is landscaping, he'll most likely be working every Saturday. And my soul just can't take a season without camping in the great outdoors :) O listen to me...trying to sound all "out-doorsy," but I love camping! I love our tiny 3-person tent! And I love that most of our friends and family have gotten into camping recently, as well, so we have people to go with!

All in all, I'm still optimistic that we will both find jobs, even though it's taking longer than usual. The economy surely isn't helping, but I'm sure God has a plan for us :)

Laid Back on Life....

Or laid off. Maybe that would suit the title more. But what have I learned in my few weeks of no job, and job searching day-in and day-out, hoping to make a break into the job world again? That God has a plan for each and every one of us. My patience is being tested everyday. I feel like it's taking longer than usual to find a job (in my field, that is) but I know that He has a plan for me. And I also feel that He is laughing at MY plan for myself - - aka: To be employed. Ha...ha. Funny Him. I hope He knows something that I do not. And I hope that it is something along the lines of knowing that the perfect job just hasn't come along yet. So I remain hopeful. I put my trust in the Lord. I know that He does not give us more than we/I can handle. So here's to the Almighty. And knowing that He's always with me, encouraging me along, with maybe a pat on the back here & there......

Things are looking up...

Things are already looking up compared to how I was feeling last night.  No, sorry, no luck in the job search department (for me OR Ross), but I have an exciting weekend to look forward to. Tonight I get to hang out w/ the siblings and play some games, and tomorrow I unexpectedly get to hang out with my best friend, Ang, & her boyfriend, Mike, who decided to come home on a whim (from Bethesda, MD, where they reside).

Also, on to other great news (maybe?!), I am, for the first time, an Obama supporter *eek!!* Let me explain.....since I lost my job (of 3 years) on monday, me & Ross officially will not have any health coverage come the end of February, so we were looking at the option of buying COBRA through my work, and fretting about how much this was going to cost! Just another one of my stresses for the week.  Anyways, to make a long story short..... we would've had to pay $1,144/month!!! PER MONTH!!! $1,144!! Are you kidding me?!?! Well, thanks to Obama and whatever health-care bill he just passed (sorry for not keeping up on the latest politics!), since I was laid off, we only have to pay $400/month! What a difference.  THANK YOU mr. president :)

And to make things better...I finally got my car back today, that was wrecked a few weeks ago, talked about in this post.  I was responsible to pay $500 (my deductible) to get it fixed (overall damage: $3,300!! I guess it was more of a fender-bender than I originally thought!), but when I went to pick it up from the auto body shop, he told me to only pay him $250, since we are longtime customers, with my grandpa always getting service done there, and my dad knowing him well too :) :) :)  THANK YOU! I told him we really appreciate it, but he probably doesn't know JUST HOW MUCH we appreciate it.

All in all...I guess things are looking up.  We're getting a few breaks I would've never imagined.  I never thought I would say this...but it sucks to be jobless, I really miss the people I worked with, and I actually miss the job (one of the few I've enjoyed), but things are looking up.  I have a meeting with the school I graduated from, on Monday, that provides lifetime job placement, so we'll see what they can conjure up on the job-front.  Now if only Ross' school provided the same service, we'd be all set!

Soooo over 2009....

Well it's New Year's Eve and I'm ready for this year to end! And it's ending on a sour note. I got in a little riff-raff with another car last night, Cobalt vs. Hyundai, plastic crushing plastic...aka car accident (and I can't exaggerate 'accident' enough)! First off, let's state for the record that my Chevy beat that Hyndai's BUTT!! Anyway, back to the story, I guess you might want to know what happened, eh? Well, before you start blabbing about girl's being horrible drivers *ack...cough* and saying the blonde's can't drive *!!!!!!!!* I would like to say that I am indeed ....wait for it  .....a good driver.  Even if my husband questions this many times throughout his life. 

On to the story, I was headed out to meet a friend for dinner at the Clubhouse (mmmm....lounge fries). The Clubhouse sits on a 4-lane highway (aka Rt. 8) and was on the left side of the road from the direction I was coming.  As I'm approaching where I have to turn, I slow down, have my left turn signal on, and come to stop and wait for approaching traffic coming in the other direction to pass, before I can make my turn.  After a good 5 seconds, I see a clear, 'CLEAR AS DAY, nada comin' my way, not even a gust of wind passing me by' break in traffic for me to make my turn.  As I'm almost pulled into the parking lot, I hear tires SCREACHING, and then BAM WHAM KAPOW! .....it was like a japenese cartoon.... I even saw the words flash before my eyes in sparkly glittery word bubbles :)  APPARENTLY, my CLEAR AS DAY break in traffic was not so, and another guy was coming right towards me, and slammed into the back of my car near the gas tank.  I pulled into the parking lot, as so did the guy that hit me, and we traded information and yada yada yada....all that fun stuff. So now, my Cobalt is bumped and bruised and I won't drive it until it's fixed b/c something feels "off" .....for lack of better car terms.  But the other guy's Hyundai?! Not so pretty.  His front passenger side headlight completely broken, front bumper cracked and falling of the car.  It was pretty ugly. So for now, I'm waiting to here from my insurance company and see what a pretty penny this will cost, besides my insurance rates going UP! But like everyone says, at least no one got hurt....except Cobey :( aka....my car.  Yes, I named him....strange, no?!

Moral of the story - Cobalt 1, Hyundai 0   

That's right...sucka! Eat my American-made car :)

And if you care to know....it IS technically 'my fault' since I was crossing traffic. Hmph!