Turkey day is tomorrow, do I have the flu?

I am feeling a bit off today, like I might be getting sick or something. I am trying hard to kick it by eating well, drinking tons of water and resting. Hopefully I am not getting the flu or something.

N is thinking the fact that I ate subway might have something to do with it. I guess eating lunch meat while pregnant is not recommended because of nitrates and listeria… The thing I don’t get is how my niece turned out fine after her mother ate nothing but subway while pregnant. Well, I am not going to worry too much about it, it is done so now I am moving on.

I am looking forward to a chill Thanksgiving tomorrow. The menu is planned, we have everything we need already and N has the whole day off so we are just going to bust out the Christmas cards and have a low key day. Woot. Hopefully I’ll be able to spend the day out of bed but we’ll see.

Oh, I found a video today about an amazing midwife who is working to change the system. She is 81. Oh, how I wish there was a free standing birth clinic in my area.

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Watch CBS Videos Online

Filed under 2008 pregnancy, personal stories, posts with video | Comments (6)

Yay Amigo!

Remember when I mentioned that our only car (the poor amigo) was getting a new soft top? Well, the soft top arrived yesterday and N got it installed today. Hurray for keeping the cold air out of the moving vehicle!

This is a huge deal for us considering it has been about 4 years since we started talking about getting a new top for the thing. It is amazing what a difference it makes to. The car is actually not uncomfortable to ride in anymore. Before the wind would whistle through the car blowing dust, leaves and other debris in to your face. Also, people riding in the back were not protected from the rain or snow.

They day we dropped my mom and brother off at the airport after the road trip this was how the ride went:

Also, N had coworkers who would gawk and comment about the torn top, in general it was an eye sore and a pain but being our only car we dealt with it until recently! Here are some before and after photos for comparison:

We are so pleased to have the new top on the Amigo, it looks so much better!

Now I am off to take a bath, I have a killer hair headache that I can’t take motrin for thanks to Tater Tot so I am going to soak the pain away.

My reader has been acting up and I am just going through manually clicking through my blog roll now, if I haven’t commented on your blog lately don’t be mad… I am getting there, I promise!

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House floods and hair dye…

I am one of those 20somethings who already has gray hairs, yep it is true! Actually it is a chunk of gray hairs, kind of a streak on my right side right near my hair line.

I usually dye my hair with the intent of covering the gray I have tons of hair so I usually need 2 boxes of dye. Unfortunately, dye is expensive and these days we are scrounging every penny we have for our $10,000 move. Lately this has prevented me from enjoying the luxury that is coloring my hair…

When I do color my hair it is a treat and I usually feel all good about myself for a few days after, plus my hair just feels better and less coarse after dying it.

While browsing the local discount store  a few weeks back I saw a bunch of hair dye that was marked down. N and I thought buying a lighter color might be fun for the summer so I grabbed some “excellence cream” dye for a great price.

This weekend I thought I wold spent some one on one time with my hair thanks to the discount dye. I was super excited at the prospects and when I entered the bathroom to begin the project I was greeted by an usually squishy rug.

First reaction was “ewe, did the cat pee on it?” so I grabbed it to check the overall wetness and odor but this wetness was not cat pee. Did 30 cats pee on it all within the same time frame cause this rug was completely drenched. I am talking soaked sponge like wetness!

I call to N, did you get the rug really wet when you showered? He claims he did not and we ponder the drenched rug. He was on the way back to playing X box when I commented that the mystery soaking was probably NOT a good thing to ignore.

So he goes in to the laundry room to find that the washer’s drain hose was disconnected from the wall and emptying water on to the floor. Apparently the water oozed UNDER the wall and right in to the bathroom where our trusty round bathmat soaked it all up.

Freaking awesome, water leaked under our wall. I don’t think that is normal but N assures me it is for a manufactured house. So we sopped up the water and went about our business but not before capturing it for the bloggosphere.

Like I said before, right about moving time (every time) we have some sort of domestic drama that is rental house related.

I don’t know if we are especially needy tenants or if we just have terrible luck with rental homes. Either way we always seem to have some craziness right before our lease I about to expire as I have mentioned in earlier posts.

You may recall the recent the kitchen flood we had then the stove fire and way back in the day we even had a psycho neighbor who was set on making us crazy. I could actually find drama for every rental we have lived in if I felt like going back through my 500+ blog entries. Every place we have ever rented has left us with a drama filled story. It seems the flooding is just the drama for this rental I guess.

Filed under Moving out of state, domestic disasters, personal stories, posts with video | Comments (7)

Finding rental houses (not apartments) online…

I have never understood why finding rental homes online is so much more difficult than finding apartments. When we moved out to Flagstaff, AZ we rented several apartments over the course of 2 years. Apartment complexes just don’t make things easy for multiple pet owners and families with kids seldom want to live in an apartment setting.

Sometimes renting an actual house is better but finding them is never easy! I thought it would be helpful for others if I complied my rental home resources. This is not a sponsored post but I have had the opportunity to to business with several companies on the list and will link you to the posts made when I lived in homes under the particular company’s management. Hopefully this list is helpful to some and our experiences can aid you in finding the right property management company for you!

Flagstaff, AZ Rental House Resources:

• Pollock Properties (http://www.pollockpropertiesinc.com/rentals.html) - We leased a home out in Kachina Village through them. Ann Pollock was very good to us despite the unfavorable situation we got ourselves into. We rented a home on a month to month basis, it was on the market and we had to show it whenever a Realtor had an interested buyer. The home owners were sneaky and shady but Ann was honest and helped make things right. We lived in one of their managed properties from about September 2007- February 2008. You can read about our experiences by checking the pollock properties tag (click the link).
• Coldwell Banker Narico (http://www.mattbrydenthal.com/ or http://www.flagstaffrentals.com) - Again we leased a home out in Kachina Village through them, we signed a 6 month lease, 3 months later we were told the owners wanted to put the home back on the market and that we would be forced to show the house for the remainder of our lease or until the home sold. We lived in one of their managed properties from February 2008 to September 2008. You can read about our experiences by checking the coldwell banker tag (click the link).
• AZNorth (http://www.aznorth.com/rentals.asp) - We had never used this company.
• The Ginsburg Group (http://www.theginsberggroup.com/rentals.htm) - We had never used this company.
• Levitan Properties (http://www.flaglips.com/) - We had never used this company. Specialized (when we were looking for rentals 2004-2008) in pet friendly apartment communities. No additional pet rent, deposits are fully refundable and often utilities are paid. Great for families with pets looking for apartment living in Flagstaff, AZ.

Evansville, IN Rental House Resources:

• Evansville Homes For Rent (http://www.evansvillehomesforrent.com/search.php) - I called them and they seemed very friendly and accommodating, I told them I had emailed them and would like an email response. I also emailed them prior to calling them to ask if anyone would be able to assist us by taking photos of homes we are considering renting since we wont be able tour the home prior to move in. Nobody has responded to me via email or phone.
• Fetter Property Management (http://www.fprent.com) - I emailed them to ask if anyone would be able to assist us by taking photos of homes we are considering renting since we wont be able tour the home prior to move in. I also called and left a message asking for a returned call or email. Nobody has responded to me via phone or email.
• Lowe Realty, Inc. (http://324125ji.topagentsites.com/all_listings.html) - I emailed them to ask if anyone would be able to assist us by taking photos of homes we are considering renting since we wont be able tour the home prior to move in. Nobody has responded to me.
• Given & Spindler (http://www.given-spindler.com/invenrn1.html) - I emailed them to ask if anyone would be able to assist us by taking photos of homes we are considering renting since we wont be able tour the home prior to move in. Nobody has responded to me.
• Corrier Press Newspaper (http://www.courierpress.com/realestate/) - Displays listings for rental properties and contact info but did not have property photos or extensive property information. Not a good resource for those looking for rentals from outside the state.
• F.C. Tucker Emge (http://www.fctuckeremge.com/propertymanagement/index.htm) - Displays listings and property info on their site. Homes are nice and the staff DOES respond to your emails, they are willing to help.

Hopefully this list provides some help to those searching for rental homes in Flagstaff, Arizona or Evansville, Indiana. If you have a site you want to add please do so in the comments field!

Filed under Moving out of state, personal stories, posts with video | Comments (3)

Do you stumbleupon? Need a laugh?

I have been having fun with stumbleupon and couldn’t help but wonder how many of my bloggy friends were fellow stumblers… So do you stumble? If so will you add me to your friends list and say hello?
http://talinan.stumbleupon.com/

I just got sent this funny video of a reporter who stood at the bottom of a sledding hill for his live shot, he got creamed! I sent it to those of you on stubleupon with me.

Reporter Owned By Sled - Watch more free videos

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