More cell phone drama

I just got a call from a nice boy in Idaho who works for Nextel. Apparently the good samaritan that called to let me know she had my cell phone decided she wanted to use it. She was supposed to be throwing it away. I told her that the antenna was missing, the buttons didn't work, and the volume was almost non-existent. She found it after a good old fashioned Texas thunderstorm and it took days for the thing to dry out. I guess I shouldn't have trusted her to throw it away just because she actually made the effort to call me and ask me if I wanted it back. So much for the kindness of strangers.

This is why I have cats

Lately the grass has been growing like crazy because we have had tons of rain. Earlier in the week I cut the grass in our front yard and the neighbor's front yard. He and his wife were recently moved to a retirement home and their house hasn't gone on the market yet so Brian and I have been keeping it up. Well, I was exhausted by the time I was done with the front and side yards (although I did get to count it for 3,312 steps of my challenge) so I didn't cut the grass inside our privacy fence or the neighbor's privacy fence. Brian had the day off today because nobody in the Army at Goodfellow Air Force Base has had a D.U.I. in a year (a miracle around here) so he decided to go out and cut the grass in the back yard this morning. When he went outside he saw Maisy (one of our three cats) playing with something in the grass. It was a snake!! The boys have already found two smaller grass snakes this spring. We let them go in the back field but I was really freaking out about this one so I made Brian kill it! It doesn't help that I found a scorpion in Chase's room last month. This latest finding is not making me very happy. To say the least, Brian is on snake-finding duty and he will be the one cutting the long grass in my neighbor's back yard!

Cell phone adventures

I have had the craziest cell phone problems since we left North Carolina. When we first started trekking across the country I knew we were going to go way over our minutes so I called Nextel to see what I could do. The operator helped me out by eliminating a great deal of our overage charges (a couple hundred dollars!), Brian said his phone worked great in his new building (quite a change from Bragg), and we had been pretty happy with our Nextel service thus far. So I decided to go ahead and sign up for a new 2-year plan that gave us more minutes. Brian was going to need the minutes anyway for all of the phone calls he'd be getting from his soldiers and drill sergeants.

As soon as we got to our new town, the trouble began! Brian wanted a local number. Nextel doesn't have local numbers here. Brian lost his antenna. I gave him mine. My sound/volume stopped working properly and I could only hear if I put my caller on speaker phone. My numbers would only dial properly if I had the timing just right .... push a number, count one mississippi, two mississippi, push another number, etc. We only got service within the city limits. Driving to Abilene, San Antonio, or Fort Hood meant knowing we'd have to stop and use a pay phone if we needed to communicate with the outside world.

We decided to switch to Sprint so Brian could get his local number. Nextel and Sprint are partners and we write our check out to "Sprint" every month so you'd think it would be ok. Well, we have Nextel walkie-talkie phones. We were going to have to pay full price for our new phones. I tried to get out of the contract altogether with our military orders, but that didn't work because when I called to change plans I changed our billing address too. So they don't think we've moved. I tried to get out on the basis that they don't have local phone numbers, but that didn't work because they don't care!

Two weeks ago when I was on my way out the door in a rush I put my cell phone on the trunk of my car so I could have a free hand to take out the trash. Then I drove away. I realized what I had done within two miles of the house but couldn't find my phone anywhere. It isn't like it was bright yellow or anything (it was). Really, I don't know why I bothered to carry it with all of the problems I had been having, but now I didn't have to worry about carrying it at all because I was certain it was in the bottom of Lake Nasworthy.

Today I got a call from a lady in Idaho. Yes, Idaho! She has my phone and she wants to know if I want it back. Apparently she found it after a big rainstorm, took it back to Idaho with her, and her daughter was able to make it work enough to get my home number out of the contact list. I told her to go ahead and keep it since it obviously works better for her than for me!

So, to make a long story even longer ... on June 1 Brian and I are being rewarded for being such loyal Nextel customers. After 2 years as customers we are going to each get a $150 credit towards a new phone. It's funny that they give us credit for the 18 months of North Carolina Nextel time even though they wouldn't recognize it when I tried to get out of our contract with Brian's military orders. We're going to take our $150 credit and get new phones (that are Sprint compatible), switch to Sprint (for real, not just Nextel/Sprint ... apparently there is a difference), and keep our old numbers. Brian has decided that he doesn't need a local number since he is planning to get back to Fort Bragg as fast as his combat boots can carry him there.

That's just fine with me. My phone works better there anyway!

The puppy has a name (still)

Here she is ... all 3.4 pounds of her! She had just come in from playing in the rain. She is not the cute, little cuddle bug I had envisioned. She is fiesty, independant, strong-willed, and still named P.J.! "Penelope" won by a small margain, even with Jennifer voting for Tally three times. I love her just as much as she loves her toys. I am considering doggy prozac to make her want to cuddle with me while I watch Grey's Anatomy. Once a week wouldn't do any permanent damage, right? But really, she is still doing great. She sleeps all night, runs to her kennel when she wants a nap, plays well with the other animals, already knows "sit" and how to play fetch, and doesn't hesitate to go out to potty, even during the rain storms we have been having lately. She is just about perfect and I can only hope that when she slows down a little (maybe by the time she is 2!) she'll realize how much I want someone to cuddle with on the soft, mushy recliner.

Fashion challenged

Many of you know that I am just about the most fashion challenged person out there when it comes to formal-wear. I bought a dress for the Army Ball last night. It was quite an ordeal that required plenty of planning. I don't like to go shopping on the weekends because of the crowds. I don't want to go shopping with the boys because they last about 5 minutes in a store without getting bored. So I had to have everything ready at home so that I could jet out the door the minute Brian got home. It didn't take long before I found a dress that I decided was pretty and comfortable. Not a bad combo! But the hard part starts now. What kind of shoes do I wear? What color? Do I carry a purse? What color? How big/little? A shawl? It didn't come with one so what are the chances I could find one that matches? How do I do my hair? Up? Down? What kind of jewelry do I wear? Should the necklace be long or short? Should I wear a bracelet? Earrings? I am clueless when it comes to anything beyond jeans and tank-tops so if you have any suggestions feel free to send them :) HELP!

Before & After

Here's Chase's before picture. He wasn't so sure he wanted a haircut, but we convinced him that it would be easier to take care of during our hot Texas summer. And I bribed him with a milkshake and the elimination of his debt (he owed me $1.50)

It was definitely worth it!

Kenny was the one who wanted a haircut. I was sad to see those beautiful curls go, but he was ready for a change.

He looks so handsome!

What a day!

This morning the boys had to go to Lamar Elementary School for more testing. I guess the school district wanted to make sure we hadn't just spent the entire school year skipping the homeschooling and watching cartoons. The boys both tested yesterday and today. Kenny is done, but Chase still has one more day of testing. They did very well and will most definitely be going to the 5th and 2nd grade next year. Yesterday the counselor told me I could leave and that she'd call me when they were done. 25 minutes later she was calling me! I had just finished checking out at the commissary on post and had to book it over to the school to get them. Today I decided to wait and it took almost 2 hours. For the first time in my life I read the entire newspaper ... cover to cover!

After that was done we came home for a quick lunch, a short walk, and then headed over to the college. I needed a transcript evaluation from the sociology department. I am really split 50/50 on the teacher education/social worker decision. The person who did my evaluation was not very friendly with me at first. He acted like I was a stay-at-home mom who wanted something to do in between manicures and facials. Then he started looking at my transcripts, grades, and military classes (can you say Russian linguist?!?) He was seriously impressed and by the time I left he was trying to sell me on the sociology department just the same way a car salesman tries to sell the latest sports car to a 45 year old bald man! He doesn't need to know I have forgotten most of my Russian and that the reason I have a 4.0 GPA is because I only do my homework as a result of not having enough money to spend my time getting manicures and facials!

We left the college just in time to get home and into the garage as a huge storm hit the house, er, I mean city. The kids were worried (think Wizard of Oz) and the animals were all trying to hide under furniture. I didn't think the storm was that bad, but watching all of the animals (kids included) in the house act like that was interesting. I thought it was a great opportunity to watch a movie and stuff my face. Hey, I walked 2 miles earlier today so I can get away with it, right?

Now it's after 5:00, the sun is shining, and we are going outside to play in the mudpit that used to be our back yard. If anyone has any advice/opinions/help on the teacher education/social worker debate, please let me know. I have until Monday to accept or decline a scholarship I was awarded so I'd like to have a major by then!