Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Spring Fever

Just a quick Spring-is-Here-and-it's-nice-to-Get-Outside post (it's an official term). ;-)

We found a funny little dog park (basically a large dog run next to a busy street) and were able to let the dogs run around and blow off some steam. They had a ball! We had treats to lure them back when it was time to go . . . Pippin came right away. He takes treats Very Seriously. Thomas took some time deciding whether it was worth his freedom. I love this picture of them looking up at Erik. This is goofy, but as we were walking back to the car I saw this tree and had to take a picture. Olives!! Fuzzy picture, but lately with this guy I have to take what I can get when his eyes are actually OPEN. Grrr. . . Anyhow, Erik got a pair of glasses which (he's always very clear about this) he doesn't NEED, but which do seem to help with distance and glare at night. Plus he says they make him smarter. ;-D Lastly, Noelle and Andy came for a visit this past weekend! Ben & Pei came up on Saturday for lunch and we had fun hanging out together. I realized after everyone had gone that the only picture I took the whole weekend was of Andy and Erik fixing our fooseball table . . . Whatcha gonna do?

Happy Spring everyone!!
The wildflowers are blooming like crazy outside of town--I'll post pictures soon.
oxox

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad... Moments

This has been Quite a Week. Actually, couple of weeks.

I was not feeling well at all last week, and finally Erik said it was time to go to the doctor. So Monday he dropped me off there and went to pay rent. The doctor did a strep test because I knew I'd been exposed, though she didn't think I had it (results on Wednesday, she said). She also told me it looked more like mono, but thought we'd try some antibiotics before blood tests. Super. Then when Erik came back to pick me up, he said the agency wouldn't take our rent; we should pay the owner directly from now on. That this was coming was not a surprise; for them to tell him after he'd made the trek to pay, and not give him anything in writing . . . I thought that was pretty odd. In fact, I was pretty irritated about it. We had the name and e-mail of the owner only because she's a sweet woman who has kept in touch on and off--as far as the agency knew, we didn't have ANY information! So it was a grumbly ride home followed by yet another long nap.

In the afternoon, Erik went to the pharmacy to pick up my antibiotics. And after a long wait and a phone call, he was told that our insurance had been canceled. They also told him it had been restarted again, but until he got the new card and numbers they couldn't help him. So he paid for it out of pocket (luckily only $18.99) and came home. The only thing we could figure was that they were finally correcting his incorrect date of birth at his work and that had somehow disrupted coverage. But we'd gotten no information or new cards or anything.

The week goes on . . .

When I started feeling a little better, I called the insurance company. The phone was answered by some Sally Sunshine who had an amazing ability to give a cheerful, competent-sounding, completely meaningless replies to every question I asked. "There should have been no problem whatsoever filling that prescription. I show no lapse of coverage. I do see where they submitted it and were rejected. There is no reason it should have been rejected. I show no lapse of coverage," and so on and so on in a maddeningly circular conversation. She repeated back all of the information on my card and told me to have them use THAT information, and assured me that. . . now I'm becoming circuitous. So I went back to the pharmacy with the paper they'd given Erik, saying they could re-run it and give him money back if the insurance approved it. The pharmacist very kindly called the insurance when it STILL wouldn't go through, and after a long conversation told me that Erik's birth date had not been changed, but they had canceled me off of the policy. So I called them again. This time I got a Real Person instead of the cheerful robot, who looked a little deeper and actually listened to me . . . and sure enough. They had canceled me at the end of February. On a whim. After some rigamarole she was able to fix the problem, and mercifully called the pharmacy so I didn't have to ask them to run it through yet again. Time to go home and take another nap.

Refund on prescription: $3.99
Bag of Peanut Butter M&Ms (not covered by insurance): $3.99
Nearly two hours in Rite Aid: Really Annoying

On Wednesday, I remembered to e-mail the owner of our house to let her know what they'd said, and asked for her mailing address so we could send her the rent check for March. Thursday morning, I had an e-mail from her, so Erik wrote the check before he went to bed. I got it and myself ready to go, did a few chores, decided to eat lunch quick before heading to the Post Office . . . and there was a knock on the door. Now it's always an adventure trying to keep two eager dogs in while conversing with someone at the door. Especially when we're trying to keep them inside to let the grass in the backyard recover and take hold. So I'm trying to hold them and take the paper the man is offering me when Pippin slips out to say hello. I'm in the middle of asking him to grab his collar when Pippin takes off. Like a shot. I ran out after him but when he dashed around the corner and out of site, I went back for the car. Luckily he stopped to sniff a yard where another dog lives long enough for me to snatch him. On a friendlier note, the man who had wandered away from my door without even a "oh no!" or "sorry" pulled up as I was putting him in the car; apparently he had driven slowly around looking too. Which was nice! :-D Home again, I gathered things for the Post Office and picked up the sheet of paper where I'd dropped it to chase the dog . . . it's an eviction notice. Because we didn't pay rent. To the people who wouldn't take our check. Lovely. One panicked phone conversation later, I'm shredding the second check for March rent, writing yet another to the agency and driving across town to drop it off. Seems they had a little "mix-up". Uh huh. Nap time anyone??

March Rent: 3 checks, two trips across town, an e-mail, three phone calls, more time and gas than I want to add up and, oh yeah, a bunch of money too

I did think of another bright spot on Thursday--I hadn't heard from the doctor's office, so no strep! :-D Right? Wrong. They called today. "So, ah . . . be sure to, ah. . . take the antibiotics." Right. Thanks.

But the funny thing? It wasn't a bad a week. It certainly had it's annoying moments--I'll be the first to say so! In fact, I did say so. But I've got a husband who makes my eyes sparkle, even when I'm sick. How cute is he with his little helpers fixing that stupid hinge that keeps falling? :-) And a bunch of busy things I thought I was too tired or irritated to go to (this week has been jam-packed) have been such blessings--small group on Tuesday night, pie with the ladies on Wednesday night, youth group on Thursday night, bible study on Friday morning. I came back from each with more energy than I went with.

And it's spring! How can you not find joy in new life springing up and out all around? We've had beautiful weather, rainy weather, warm weather . . . and blossoms everywhere!
This might just be the longest post ever. This was actually the Short Version, believe it or not. But I'm not going to apologize! It felt good to write out, and you didn't have to read it. ;-)

Here's hoping you're able to find joy in the middle of life's little interruptions and annoyances!

Friday, February 27, 2009

Wheee!

Guess who is the Spotlight Shutterbug in the new issue of The Bakersfield Voice?

Pretty fun news to be waiting for me when I got home this morning! :-D

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Lake Hume

Last Thursday through Sunday I had the privilege of going to Lake Hume with a great bunch of students and other chaperones. We had a wonderful time--I've posted a few pictures here (the bulk of them are up on Facebook for easy group sharing and downloading). Lest you think Erik or the pets suffered by my absence, our friend Bill came over and hung out quite a bit--with Erik, and also with the pets in the evening so they didn't have to go to bed when Erik left for work (his nights are a little too long for them). Everyone survived. ;-)

Here is the group of Lovely Ladies who stayed together--playing, worshiping, sharing and having a really good time (Back, L to R: Kat, Lizzie, Rachel, Chelsea, Sarah, Stacy, Alex, Kris; Front, L to R: Nikki, Nathalie) Broom Hockey! Coming down the Tube RunThey even have a mechanical bull!These brave ladies all jumped off The Screamer--a modified bungee jump with a harness that catches you part way down a LONG drop. Grayson and Micah in the Box Sled Blitz--cardboard and duct tape only!We had absolutely BEAUTIFUL weather--sunny and clear and not too cold . . . . . . although Kris didn't always agree with me on that!On Sunday morning it was wet and misty and gorgeous Here's the whole crew right before we headed home: It was a great trip, and so fun to get to know these neat young people! Check out my Facebook photos if you want to see more pics.

Following the stellar weekend of course, I came home and promptly got sick. So I haven't been doing much these last couple of days. I'm on the upswing though!

Hope all is well with everyone. :-)

Friday, February 13, 2009

Temblor Range

It rained again today which cleared the air, allowing us to see the lovely mountains that actually surround the valley. The snow is at lower elevations now, and so pretty. I couldn't resist taking a little drive up to see them better!

It was still raining in Bakersfield, but clear in the hills. You can see here just about exactly when I drove out of the rain.I didn't really know how to get where I wanted to go, but meandered my way toward the snow. It was fun to find new little roads to turn on; I did end up on a state highway 58 for the last leg of my journey, and was able to take it back home for a shorter return trip.

My favorite picture of the dayThe hills are green from all the rain, making a beautiful contrast with the white of the snow beyond.Panorama looking back at the valleyRed-tailed Hawk (it really is, Peter--can you see it's tail?) ;-DFinally high enough to start seeing little patches of snow mingling with the green on the ground. . . I turned around and headed back home just in time to see a rainbow!Little road leading off into the mistAt this point on my way home, I could see the snow coming up behind me into the mountains, and the rain ahead of me in Bakersfield . . . and it was perfectly blue and sunny where I was!May you take the time for a little side trip sometime in the near future!

P.S. You can pray for me next week--I'll be helping to chaperone our church high school youth group trip to camp at Lake Hume! Looking forward to it--we leave Thursday morning! :-D

P.P.S. Have you heard the news?? This wonderful, goofy pair is engaged!!!! Yay!!!!! Congrats to Ben & Pei!!!! We are SO excited for them! :-D

Monday, February 9, 2009

Hart Park

We've been having rain and chilly weather, a switch from our 80-degree day last week!! The snow in the mountains surrounding the valley is at a much lower elevation, which is fun to see but makes for more complicated driving on Erik's nightly route. So say a prayer for him! To a Wisconsin Girl, it feels kind of like October. Windy, chilly, damp. . . it actually snowed in Bakersfield today for about 90-seconds. I think I counted nine plops of wet snowish clumps on the windshield and hood. Crazy! :-D

On Friday I got to spend the afternoon with our friend Laura at the 32nd annual Central Valley Sportsmen Boat, RV & Outdoor Living Show. Laura was helping with a fly fishing booth, and I got to try my hand at casting with a practice rod. We also watched part of a hunting dog demo--it is SO cool to see what a well-trained working dog can do! Picked up some hiking info too, and am looking forward to using it!!

Today we took a little time to get outside and loaded the pooches in the car for a trip to Hart Park. The stormy sky made for some pretty, vibrant colors, albeit a slightly wet walk. ;-)
There were all kinds of birds on the river and in the lake--mallards, coot and other ducks, and all sorts of different kinds of geese. This was one of the stranger specimens:So Pippin has only been swimming once in his life since we got him; he was NOT a fan. In fact he had to be encouraged rather strenuously to swim at all. But all the noisy birds on the water fascinated him. He jumped in before we knew it! He also paddled out as fast as he could when the water was over his head. Ha! Thomas thought swimming looked like a good idea too . . . but getting out was a little harder than anticipated.This is the time of year we get precipitation and so is the GREENEST time of the year--just beautiful.An egret:And finally, lest you forget we're in California . . . look at this perfect little palmetto growing at the edge of the river with the palm trees in the background! There was a little bird flitting around it that I wished I could capture, but he was too cagey. It was so good to get outside!! I hope you're enjoying yourselves in whatever weather you're in at the moment! :-)
oxox
cmr

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Makin' Another Big Move?

It looks like it! Our hope/goal is to be in Wisconsin (Door County?) next August/September. Finances and employment are the current prayer requests :-)