Why Evie Will Be Attending Community College

'Cause mom and dad bought a new car.

Trippin' on down to the ole' NC

We ventured outside of Virginia this past weekend. Evie's first, official, first night away AND first trip out of state. 7 weeks and she's already accomplished more than some nameless members of her family (*rimshot!*)
Anyhoo - trip down with her was great. Slept the whole time (racing to strap her into the carseat right after feeding helped. Three-and-a-half-hours later she awoke to greet grandma and her next feeding—perfecto!
Evie's been NOT SLEEPING for the 2 to 3 days leading up to this trip so we welcomed the break (let the granparents deal with her while we take naps). Would ya believe it (yes, of course you would if you, too, suffer from Murphey's Law) she slept the whole damned time. Whole. Damned. Time.
We went out for Mexican dinner (she slept). Just Rob and I went to see "Super Bad" - our first date since Evie's joined us (she slept). Rob and I had beers in my parents hot tub (again, she slept) and a plate of home cooked ribs for dinner (OK, she was awake for that).
Its funny (sad) when a trip tp the inlaws feels like the best vacation you've had in years. Your inlaws in Greensboro, NC, at that. *sigh*. Maybe we'll "vacation" to Ohio in the dead of winter this December. Pure, heaven.

i HATE you KIA

Rob drives, well, DROVE a f*cking piece piece of sh*t.
That's to put it lightly.
My real, even more profane, thoughts on this car have been expressed numerous times and are really not worth going into. The point of this post is to really drive home the fact that this piece of sh*t, now worth $100 and that's including the half tank of gas IN it, has now decided to bite me in the ass after the 6 years of me talking crap about it. Dammit.
This car is one year newer than my Honda (its a 2000) and Kelly's Blue Book lists it at $3k. My car is worth over $8k. Of course, of course - mine is a better make of car. But still. Its so irritating that this cheap piece of tin is now belly-up in our driveway with a blown transmission and won't even turn over anymore. So now that $3k value? Its now $100. And that whopping $100 included the tow-away.
I spent over an hour flipping therough the listings of auto wreckers in the yellow pages this morning. 1 person never answered the phone. 1 guy took a message for his boss who would "call back only if interested" (I haven't heard the phone ring yet). 1 voicemail. 3 flat-out "no's". And one of these people, Mr. Shover, let me know that Kia's transmissions tend to peter out after 60k miles and basically, wished us luck.
Nobody. Wants. This. Car.
Me included.
*sigh*
So, now we need to figure out what we are doing. We are in no position to get the SUV we've wanted for the last 5+ months because our "friends and family discount" STILL is not applicable on this new model vehicle. AND, because Chrysler was recently sold, we have no idea WHEN the discount (if ever!) will apply! Plus, I'm still waiting for my fulltime employment status to be solidified, which, doesn't happen until after my maternity leave ends.... my maternity leave, which, I have just enough in savings to cover my absence from working & getting a paycheck.
Ah, Murphey's Law. You diabolical law, you. [waving angry fists at the sky]

Betty Hates T'Storms

So, this is a new thing with Betty. The dog who once had NOT A CARE IN THE WORLD when it came to loud noises, running in traffic, things falling on her, or even getting a smack for misbehaving... has progressively become more and more scared of thunderstorms. It began about 6 months ago with her not liking the sudden wind or shifting clouds if she was out back & a storm started rolling in. Then she wouldn't go NEAR the door if we tried to throw her outside before the storm began (she really doesn't like going out to pee in the rain so we try to get her outside one last time before the rains hit).
Over time, she started following us around the house, panting, if a storm was upon us. She began laying on our feet, hiding her tail between her legs and, basically, acting like she wanted to crawl into your skin with you.
Last Sunday, thunder rolled while we were at a friend's place. We hurried home (since we had the baby) to find Betty acting nuts. And wet. I thought, "OMG, she peed in the house and stomped all over it! Gross!" And I threw her outside (which, completely freaked her out 'cause, she hates storms).
We searched the house. Nothing. Why the hell was she wet?
Tuesday night was another storm. A really LOUD one, too. We all piled into the bed (baby and Puck, too) to watch the news. But where was Betty?
We called. We whistled. We clapped our hands. No Betty.
And then I heard her claws on metal. Where the hell is she?
It hit me.
I walked into the bathroom ... the porcelain coated iron tub. There she was peering out of the closed shower curtain, standing up with her front paws on the edge of the tub. Smiling. She then hopped back down and curled up in a tight ball. No wonder she was WET two days ago. I grabbed the camera, captured this ridiculousness and left her alone.
They always tell you to hide in a door jam or shower stall in tornadoes or bad storms. Maybe she isn't so stupid afterall.