Ms. Fix-It

Guys, my vacuum cleaner crapped out on me. Right in the middle of my wanting to vacuum up the (fake) needles that came off my Christmas tree in the branch fluffing process. The vacuum made noises like it was working but it wasn't actually picking up any of said needles. Being the mechanically minded woman that I am (yeah, right), I flipped that sucker over and saw that the cylinder with the brushy things wasn't spinning. It looked like there was quite a bit of hair (yuck) and string wrapped around it so I got to pulling.

It was right about this time that John sits down next to me and says, "Here, let me try." I am not a woman's libber by any stretch of the imagination but that offer of assistance frosted my cookies. I was doing fine on my own thank you. I declined his help so he and Sadie just sat there watching me clean out the vacuum. When the wheel was de-haired, it still didn't work. I realized I'd have to delve deeper.

After a few false starts, I finally pried off the base and reached the culprit....a broken belt. I can fix this, no problem! I was pretty excited about finding the crux of the matter because only seconds prior John was griping about not wanting to have to buy a new vacuum cleaner on top of the fact that his Check Engine light is on (it's NOT our year with vehicles). I forgot the broken belt to buy the new one at Sears but the guy there told me if they don't have it to try Flussnecker's. What the heck is a Flussnecker? I just said, OK thanks, and left.

There was a time when I wouldn't have even bother to try to fix it and just went to buy a new one. That vacuum is only 18 months old and I totally would have just replaced it. I have decided I cannot be so wasteful anymore. There's no reason to buy a new vacuum when the repair will probably cost $5.00. So, now I'm on a mission! Stay Tuned........

Did You Miss Me?

I'm back in Ohio after a wonderful week in Austin with my sister, B, and brother-in-law, M. John and Sadie came too, of course. We had a lot of fun and there were really only a few points of annoyance.

1) I think I told you that it costs $100 each way to fly Sadie in cabin with us. However, American Air won't let you pay ahead of time. We checked in last Friday to our flight in Dayton and the ticketing agent didn't say anything about Sadie. Nor did security, or the gate agent on the first flight. Home free! $100 in my pocket, right? The only time anyone said anything about her was when the connecting flight's gate agent asked if it was a cat or a dog. We were beyond stoked that we didn't have to pay. Fast forward to our return flight. Check in at Austin was just as smooth. Again, not a soul said anything about Sadie. Well, the security guy said to keep an eye on her because the K-9 units were out. (yikes!) We get all the way to our connection in Dallas and as I hand the lady my boarding pass she says, "Can I see your pet receipt?" Effffff...... I said sure, and tried to pawn off Sadie's vet letter as the receipt. She saw right through that. She also didn't believe me when I said we didn't get a receipt. I did however, have the receipt for the $40 I had just paid to check our bags. That didn't really help me when another agent pulled up my account and didn't see any charges indicating that I had paid for Sadie. The first lady says, real snotty, "She didn't pay" to the other guy.
Prepared to part with $100 I handed over my Visa when the guy said, "If you tried to pay over the phone, it didn't take it." Then he says, "You didn't pay for her on the way here either. So that will be $200." Oh my stars! I was not a happy camper. He apologized as I signed the receipt for my two hundred clams, as if his 'sorry' will pay for all the dinners out we just ate over the past week.
Let's sum up. American Airlines did a shoddy job on my coming flight so I didn't speak up even though I knew I owed money. I made it all the way to the last possible person standing in my way and got busted. I may have been in the wrong but I'll tell you, American Airlines is now dead to me. DEAD!

I just realized I numbered this list and that was really the only annoying thing that happened. I suppose I can be happy about that, right? My week off afforded me the ability to finish 2 books, hang out with B and M and their dog Pumpkin, consume loads and loads of unnecessary calories and love every second of it, and reaffirm how sucky Dayton is.

Some more highlights:

Chuy's - MMmmmmm.....I have the recipe for their creamy jalapeno dip and I can't wait to make it. My mouth is watering as I type.

Esther's Follies - This is an improv/variety/magic/comedy show in downtown Austin. It was hilarious! Well worth the $20 ticket.

Becker Vineyards - This is in Fredericksburg, in Hill County Wine Country about 90 minutes from Austin. Their wine was really good, and the bottles survived the plane ride home in my luggage too! The only downside was the size of the tasting pours. tiny.

LC Rocks - This is an 80's cover band we saw. They were awesome! The drinks at the bar were expensive but there was no cover. The only downside was the smoke in the bar. I haven't come home smelling like that since college.


There were more good things too but a week is a long time and I think you'd get bored reading about it. I've got 2 book reviews to do as well but they'll come another day.

Hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Adios and Vaya Con Dios

By Friday night, John, Sadie and I will be deep in the heart of Texas! We'll be visiting the Casa de B&M (that's my sister and brother in law) until next Saturday. Sadie will get to play all week with her cousin Pumpkin, a fellow shih-poo, who actually doesn't like to play very much at all. I should have much to report when we return and if I have time, perhaps I'll give you some book reviews while on vacation. We'll have a lot of downtime. This trip is all about relaxing and spending time with family.....oh yeah and eating our way through Austin. My mouth is watering at all of the meals we'll be having. A regular calorie fest! Good thing I'll have plenty of time to run and zumba.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Before You Know Kindness

Before You Know Kindness , by Chris Bohjalian, was recommended to me a couple years ago by my librarian aunt. I take her word on good authority because she is surrounded by books all the livelong day. It is the story of two families, well, two siblings and their families within one family, the Setons and the Mcculloughs. The two granddaughters, Charlotte and Willow are spending the summer with their grandmother when their parents come for vacation. During this visit, Charlotte accidentally shoots her father Spencer, an animal loving, hunting hating vegan, with a rifle no one knows her uncle owned and he thought had a round stuck in the chamber. That was an awful start to a summary, sorry. This plot is pretty involved. What comes thereafter is a nasty family feud, lies, deceit, and lawsuits and potential marriage dissolution.

Before You Know Kindness is not a cheerful story but it was pretty riveting and I was pleased with the outcome. I wouldn’t call it a fast read by nature, and certainly not in page count, but I did finish it in a short amount of time because I couldn’t put it down. There was quite a bit of, in my opinion, unnecessary focus on why the bullet was lodged in the gun but I got through those parts okay. I realize that Bohjalian was trying to place a world of importance on this one piece but it got tedious. I give this one a thumbs up for sure. And it felt good to read something a bit heavier before my foray into the world of fluff and vampires…..dare I? I guess so!

Quandary

I have a bit of a problem. I'm currently on Book #44 which I should finish in 2 days. Five of my books came in from the hold list at once at the library and I don't know which one to start next! I am embarrassed to say that two of them are the first two Twilight books. Really, I just want to hit my 50 goal and I heard they were fast reads. I'm really not intending to enjoy them but, I will do my best to keep an open mind. This upcoming week-long vacation in Austin will afford much reading time both on the plane and when in Texas. All 5 books to be read are probably fast reads and part of me thinks I could finish them all on vacation. However, airlines have these pesky baggage weight limits that are not conducive to packing volumes of reading material. Oh my.

My other problem is very sad. Last year, my mom gifted to me her black fleece North Face Jacket. Well, it was 'on loan' which in my might meant, 'she'll never want this back.' Some might think this was a foolish (and expensive, thus the foolish) purchase on her part since she lives in Florida. She bought it on vacation in Alaska. I think she must have been on some crazy vacation high to have bought it. But buy it she did. And then, a few years later, it didn't fit her anymore. Her loss was my gain! Maybe I should say her gain was also my gain. Because I live in Ohio, she knew that I would get much more use out of it than her. Also, I feel as though North Face jackets are a younger style than her 60 some odd years. I didn't tell her that when I was seething with jealousy as she unveiled it to me and wore it right in front of my very eyes those years ago.

Here's my problem.....the other day, she asked me if I wear it and I said, "YES! I wear it all the time and I love it so." There was some hesitation on the other end of the phone and a brief "oh" stutter. Then she goes on to say that she thinks it would probably fit her now since she's lost weight and she could use it when in Atlanta this winter. Dagger to my heart! I love that coat and cannot afford to purchase my own. Begrudgingly, I told her that if she thinks she'll get more use out of it than me, and her being the rightful purchaser, that I would give it back to her at Christmas.

What am I to do now? Buy another fleece jacket I suspect. Curses.

Spectacle, Spectacle

I didn't really need new glasses. Well, that's not true. My current glasses did fall off my face a few times when looking down. This was due to a bent temple which I probably could have gotten fixed for free at Lenscrafters. Instead I decided to just go ahead and buy new glasses! The bent glasses were pink metallic, rectangular frames. I liked them but I was missing my quirky plastic frames I used to have and decided it would suit me to go back to those.

If you have glasses, you know how expensive they are. Ashley, you must be made of money, you are saying to yourself. Au contraire, my friends. I'll let you in on a little secret. Much like everything else in the free world, you can buy glasses online at greatly discounted rates!! All you need is to screw up enough nerve to ask your optometrist for your prescription after your annual vision appointment. Having done this already for the pink glasses (Yes, I felt like I was cheating on my optometrist. No, she didn't give me a hard time), I was ready to go.

EyebuyDirect is where I got my first pair. I chose that site because they had a money back guarantee return policy. This was important as buying glasses without trying them on is quite a gamble. Their selection, however, is not great. This time I went with Zenni Optical. Their return policy is a bit more stringent, exchanges only. But they have many more styles to choose from. Prices at both sites are comparable. I selected my first (second) pair at Zenni and I was drunk with power and a large selection. I decided on two pairs! They're so cheap and the shipping is the same no matter what, you almost HAVE to buy more than one, right? See what you think below....pardon the red nose, there was a nip in the air on our walk with Sadie tonight.

These are black but they are light blue inside so in certain lights, you see a pretty color too. They could probably use a little adjustment on where they sit on my nose but that's a luxury you lose when buying eyewear online. Price: $17.00 SEVENTEEN!




These, admittedly, look better a little further away. I'm not crazy about them when I look right up in the mirror but if I catch a glance from a distance, I think they look ok. They have some neat metal detailing on the temples and are rimless, obvs, on the bottom which I like because there isn't anything in your lower field of vision then. They have a more cat's eye feel than I would have liked but, also at $17.00, I really can't complain.

See what I mean? With prices like these, you can buy as much as you want! That cost also includes the extra $5.00 I paid for anti-glare lenses. I think I'm going to get some prescription sunglasses next so I don't have to wear double glasses anymore. Again, unless you have glasses, you don't know the plight of double glasses, which is just what it sounds like when I wear my sunglasses over my real glasses. Also, my best pair of double glasses just broke. Oops.

Only 3 1/2 more days of work until vacation!

Sloppy Firsts

Sloppy Firsts, by Megan McCafferty, is the first of the Jessica Darling series which has been out for about 8 years or so. I am a fan of series because I like to get to know a character. I like to get all up in their business. If I’m going to invest time in you as a character, I want to like you and care about what you care about. The Jessica Darling series was so not what I pictured when I read several recommendations for reading it. For starters, Jessica Darling is a high school student but the series is not billed as Young Adult (although it sort of reads like that). Jessica’s best friend, Hope, has moved away leaving her as somewhat of an outcast at Pineville High School. She is athletic and angst-ridden, and, lamentably, has no boyfriend. The friends she does have she doesn’t really like. Sloppy Firsts follows her sophomore and junior years and she makes her way through school and tries to avoid her parents. She’s pretty whiny but I surprisingly found myself rooting for her.

That wasn’t the best synopsis but it’s the best I feel like doing right now. It also kind of makes it sound like I didn’t enjoy Sloppy Firsts, but I did. It was a light, mindless read but the characters were all relatable, which I appreciated. At the end I wanted to find out what happens in Second Helpings, the next book. Which I think is always the mark of a decent series. It’s probably the same reason I like the Stephanie Plum series, they’re very similar in many ways, crazy heroine, unrequited love stories, humor. If you’re looking to invest in a new series, give this one a try.

I can’t help but feel like I’m reading fluff to cram in 50 books. #44 should be a bit different though. Hoping to finish it before my trip next week where I plan to read lots and lots of fluff. I WILL read 50 books by December 31st. Stay tuned!