Almost missed it

I had slipped all week with keeping tabs on everything. I knew though, that if I let one week go, I wouldn't hear the end of it, plus it probably would be the beginning of the end again. Can't let that happen. =)

So, in all honesty, nothing really exiting happened all week. The drive to and from work was dull all week. Work was pretty dull all week. Nothing new to share at home. The only real excitement was really the fact that for some reason, everyone travelling North on I-95 this Friday decided to look at the tornado devistation. I guess they were all in Florida all week and this was the first time they saw all the pools thrown all about and broken into little bits. That and seeing at just how lucky Jen's mom was since one of the tornados tore through her neighborhood only a couple blocks away from her house.

Now that everything has "settled down" maybe I can start walking again and see if that will allow for me to build up to jogging without killing my shins. I think I need to do something. ;)

Till next time.

Much of the same

Nothing real exciting this week. Much of the same with the car, drive one day it's fine, next it's about to blow up, rinse, repeat. Jen was still feeling a little down this week, but was getting better, if only she would relax some more, maybe next week. Thursday I took Jen's car to work, because mine was no longer moving from it's resting place. Friday, I didn't go anywhere because of the same issue. Saturday, we went to Chapel Hill and got rid of it. In it's place, I'm driving a new (to-me) 2005 Forester that looks vaguely familiar. Jen on the other hand, got a new Forester that she actually likes! It's bigger, roomier, and looks good. So far she's happier. We survived the tornado that went right over or around us in Smithfield. Everyone was ok, and discovered that all friends and family and possessions were fine as well. Like I said, not a great exciting week, but what a way to end it!

Ok, seriously?

So Sunday was a fantastic day. Went to church, came home, took a nap, mowed the lawn, then had burgers (since I wasn't able to grill on Thursday) and ice cream cake! Monday, slow day at work, but the drive home was interesting. The car overheated again. BAH!!! So I get home and do some searching, find nothing, and go back in to clean up and start relaxing when Jen calls. She hit Caitlyn's violin teacher's brick mailbox and blew a tire and broke the side mirror. Needs new mirror, four new tires (one of the few drawbacks of AWD, can't replace one tire or it destroys your transmission). *sigh* Tuesday, car isn't overheating. Wish it would make up its mind. Wednesday, I get told that I'm getting reimbursed for 3 weeks at 3 days a week worth of driving to Aberdeen, total, no more, because it isn't their "obligation" to pay me for mileage, even though I was never told that I would be driving 200 miles a day to get to work. It's OK though, cuz it isn't forever, and it is work. Then to top it off, the car does overheat on the way home. Thursday was the kicker, car overheats, but doesn't climb back down. I peg the guage, then pull over to let it rest some. No steam, no spillage, it does look like there was some blow-by from while I was driving, but nothing else. 10 minutes later, and the car is good to go. I make it all the way home, but it's hovering about the three quarter mark while I've got the heat blasting. Friday, the first day that the car starts to overheat in the morning! Then, get to work, start my day, and at 10 I leave and start to drive, towards Bragg!! Finally! I get to go to Bragg! However, after I get there, I'm sitting around doing nothing for about 90 minutes since they actually didn't have anything set up for me that I could do work on. So, I get a walk in as I head to Starbucks (on base, awesome), discover that my phone works perfectly in this building, no more outages, and I was just basically bored till I got something that I can work with and discover that I don't have to go back to Aberdeen on Monday. Hurrah! But, of course, the happiness couldn't last very long. Not 10 minutes after leaving for the day, and the car overheats again. One day, it will all be better, one day. Caitlyn was a little ill, but nothing major. Jen took whatever Caitlyn had and made it worse for herself (what an overachiever). We went looking at the new Forester's on Saturday to get a feel for them for Jen. So far, it looks good, but we aren't there yet and she still wants to check out a few other vehicles just in case. We made it to dinner with friends Saturday night, then went bowling. It was miserable for Jen cuz she just didn't feel well, but she wanted to be there. Hopefully this won't last too long for her.

Bah! The bad week spills over to another

So, we find out that the lines that have to be replaced are only available as a kit when you buy the heater core. And no, not the aftermarket cheaper heater core, but the more expensive OEM heater core. SOOOO, attempts to find a shop that can mend/modify/manufacture the lines needed started on Monday. PLUS, the heater upstairs stopped working. ARGHH!! Somehow though, the heater started working on Tuesday, and by Wednesday, the car was almost completed with local manufactured hard lines. It increased the bill a little bit, but it was much cheaper than A) buying a whole OEM kit, and 2) buying a new car ahead of schedule. While I did enjoy driving moms truck (I mean Pathfinder) I had to get it back to her because I was holding it hostage for way too long, so I went to rent a car. When I got there, something caught my eye. It was shiny, it was black, and it was very retro looking. I discovered that they were going to put me in a Kia Forte (yuck) and asked about prices and availabilities and was surprised to find out the reasonable cost and the fact that there were two available. So, I drove off the lot in a 2011 Dodge Challenger (sadly though, it did not have the Hemi). Very surprising at how easily it rode, how light it was, and how agile and quick the steering response was. This is in no way the same car that the Dukes drove, this is an improvement. I was happy for two days. So, now the car is back, and hopefully fine for the next 6-8 months. Rain kept me from cooking out on Thursday which is my normal routine now, so no fire cooked beast this week. Work is still crap-tastic as I'm still driving 90 minutes one way, but they actually think that will change next week. Once again, I'm not holding my breath, I'll die much to early if I did that with this place. ;) Friday we got to see mom and dad again for a not-so-enjoyable dinner(got to keep with the weeklong theme you know) at TGIFriday's. It was surprising because normally they're really good. Oh well. Saturday we took Caitlyn to the girl scout Jamboree and Jen and I just made it a lazy day. We watched a couple of movies at home, went out to dinner at Clayton Steakhouse. Looks like Saturday broke the streak. We'll see how next week goes. =)