Just Call Me Spy Girl

Seriously, I could make a living by being a private investigator. No, really. Is there something you'd like to know about a co-worker, a friend, an exboyfriend - I can find it out. Why do I say this? Here let me give you an example....

• I once had an ex-bf that was still married. He was in the Air Force and had just moved to AR. I knew something was up. So, I googled like a mad woman until I found his wedding announcement - in a Dover, Delaware newspaper and then I called the county clerks office - those things are public records btw - and yep, he was married a few months before he moved to AR. How do I know he was still married? When I asked him for his Divorce Decree - he handed me something I could've made on Word in about two minutes. Btw, for those of you stupid boys who try to make Divorce Decrees - a little hint, they're not actual certificates, moron.

Sadly, I have other examples just like the one above. And no, I'm not a stalker. I just have very good reasons for the snooping activity. Anyways, why am I mentioning any of this? This will lead to a very interesting post (in about two weeks) and I just can't contain myself, so I'm hinting. :O)
Anyways, Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend! And for those without power at home, I'm praying that it comes on soon!!!!!

I Hate Ice.

I hate ice. I HATE IT. I used to love snow days when I was younger, because it meant we were out of school and had NO responsibilities. Now? We're not that lucky. My work does not close - like ever. We're an Internet Service Provider and well, people "have" to have their internet 24/7. So, that being said.... It iced today and I stayed home - working from home. Now, let me say that I didn't stay home due to the ice - I stayed home because my boss wanted a few of us to test out our laptops, etc.

BUT, tomorrow? Tomorrow may be a different story. Tomorrow it's suppose to hit us hard and well, I'm dreading it. Seriously. I don't know what "the plan" is yet for tomorrow, but if it involves me working from home another day, I just might cry. BUT, if it involves me driving on ice - I'll cry too. Why all the crying? I can't stand to sit in an empty house another day. #1, I've eaten everything in sight - an un-armed kitchen is not waist friendly. #2, I can't talk to the walls anymore - they don't answer back. and #3, I can't drive on ice. Especially in The Beast - I might just wreck the dang thing. I hate ice. Hate it.

So, as I sit here and stare at the clock for yet another hour and a half before being released from my duties....I have to ask you, please pray that the ice will go away - BEFORE I lose every drop of sanity that I have. Also, because of the ice that may or may not be out on the city streets - I've not been able to work out yesterday, today, or probably tomorrow. That bites. I was doing awesome last week and actually felt pretty dang good about myself!!! UGH!

Ok, I'm done whining for now. :O) Thanks for making it through that.

P.S. I felt so good last week that I took a self portrait. LOL I might just post it later.

Fingers Crossed...

Hubs got a call yesterday afternoon from the dealership we bought our Tahoe from (and returned the G6 to) and the sales guy said that the GM rep had just left the dealership...And said... That he saw nothing of concern to note on the G6 - meaning - that we shouldn't get a bill for excessive wear & tear. Oh, thank the heavens above!

I can't tell you how much I've stressed and prayed over this! This makes me so happy, but I must say that I am still not convinced that this hassle is over with. I just know that something will come up - such as a bill for excessive wear & tear... I wont believe it till I see a letter.... So, till then, I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Say Hello To The Beast

Well, we did it! We found our deal! We purchased a 2009 Chevy Tahoe Saturday!!! Yippie! I've already nicknamed it "The Beast." It's just so dang huge! I'm doing really awesome (so far) driving it. I sit up higher than most vehicles - actually I've not met anyone that sits as high as me so far!

It's a really great vehicle. It seats 7 people comfortably, is all leather, has wood grain, my XM radio, OnStar, all the options except the Navigation Center and heated seats. It was a really great deal. It was meant for us, definitely. I love it (actually we both do).

I've already been to crazy Wal-Mart and I can park there and manage to back out of the parking spot (big thing for me). It has a rear backup sensor beeping thing - we've already tried it out to make sure it works! Also, another great feature - it has a button to move the petals closer to me! Yay!

Anyways, I could go on and on about the great features... But, I feel like I'm bragging or something and nobody likes a bragger anyways. :O) And also, let's all hope and pray that GM doesn't send me a "wear & tear" bill. It's crazy, but a GM rep had to go and check out my G6 and note any "excess wear & tear" and I'll get a crazy bill in the mail. Let's hope that doesn't happen. The dealership said my car was in great shape and had been kept up very well - so let's hope the GM rep thinks so too.

The Verdict Is In...

I talked to yet another lovely GMAC rep yesterday afternoon and was told (in a very sweet, annoying voice) that I could turn in my vehicle whenever I like and pay around $4,500 (that's including over mileage fees) plus wear & tear charges. Part of me is happy - the other part of me is ticked off.

The happy part says "Great, we can finally get out of this car and be done with the whole situation." The ticked off part says "Seriously? It's gonna cost me THAT much and I have nothing to show for it?" I'm not sure which part is winning the fight right now.

It all boils down to that I've missed the "date" by 3 days. Good thing is "the dealership" says they can possibly get around that, which would be great but I don't want to deal with them! I have major issues with that dealership, but I was told by GMAC that this dealership is the only one that can "get around" that contract date since it's where I bought my car. I don't like that dealership though. Plus, they don't sell Tahoes, they sell Yukons. The hubs would rather have the Yukon (bigger is better, yada yada), but I'm gonna be the one driving this boat to work... I've decided that as long as I can go forward and not have to go into reverse...I'll be fine - HA! Anyways, another issue is the change in payments. We can afford either vehicle, but I'd rather not have that high of a payment. Ugh.

Now, some might be wondering why in the world are we getting such a gas guzzler when we have no direct need for something so huge... The theory is... we can haul around family easier (such as his fam and mine) and that one day we will have kids (hopefully in the next two years or so) - and their car seats will be much easier to fit into a SUV than a car.... Because, let's face it. If you think I'm gonna haul a kid in and out of a car seat ...in a car.. ha, you're mistaken. I've tried that before (with other ppl's children) and it just isn't happenin'. Anywho, it's also a lot easier for hubs to get into/out of a SUV than my low to the ground car. I have to admit, at times its hard for me not to fall out of it! And plus, driving back and forth everyday, I almost get into wrecks quite often. It scares the bee-gee-bus out of me when this happens - as my car is little and not very "safe." I want something I'll feel protected in. Something bigger and not low to the ground. I want to sit up high and run cars over if need be (I'm kidding, I think.).

Anyways, to cut it short (yeah right), we'll be looking at vehicles this weekend. I'm really hoping that we can find an awesome deal. There are some great incentives/rebates going on right now (ending Feb 2nd) and we also get the supplier discount - so maybe we'll luck out. :o)

Smart Buy, My Butt!!!

It's a long one...

Back in September of 2005, I got divorced. I also bought a new car, which ended up being a big, big mistake. Here's the deal. Because my current car (that I hated & never wanted) was financed in both mine and my ex's name, I had to either refinance or buy a different car. Well, I chose to buy a different car. I had been waiting for quite a while for the 2006 Pontiac G6 to come out (the 2 door version) - I had LOVED GrandAm's and this was the replacement....

So, in September of '05, the 2 door G6 came out. I was divorced and had 30 days to refinance or find something else. The day before my birthday - Sept 19th - I signed on a 2006 G6. I was ecstatic. Something was finally going right for once (or so I thought). Well, I had many, many issues with the sunroof leaking SEVERAL times and ruining my carpet...which I had to beg and file a complaint before GM would replace it. During all these "issues" with the car, I dealt with one dealership and one dealership only - the place where I had bought the car. Their sales people were great (I thought that ONCE anyways) but their service people suck.it.up big time.

Moving on, I had many temper tantrums at said dealership... I was treated poorly and I'm just not a fan of being talked to/treated like I'm an idiot. It's just my thing - treat me with respect or I'll lose my temper, in a hurry. Anywho...I've wanted to get rid of this vehicle for quite some time now. I went to the dealership about a year ago and was told that I had bought under a "Smart Buy Program" - also known as a lease. Yes, a lease. How in the world did I not know this? I have no idea. But with said lease, there is a mileage restriction of 48,000 miles in 4 years. Now...I'm a commuter. I drive a total of 60 miles a day to and from work. You do the math. I'm now at 60,000 miles. Yes, 12,000 miles over my allowance.

So, let me just say that I've tried to get out of this "Smart Buy" for quite some time. I called yesterday (on a whim) to see if I qualified for their "Pull Ahead Program" - which lets me end my contract, return the vehicle, pay an awful amount, then pay my mileage crap. Well, I was told by 2 ladies yesterday that I DID qualify for the program, so hubs and I decided to hit the ground running and look for another vehicle. Let me just say we were thrilled that we would finally be getting rid of this vehicle.

Well, we went to a dealership last night who then called GMAC and found out that I do NOT qualify for said program. That, actually, I'm 3 days short of qualifying.. What does that mean? It means I have to wait till the next program start date - of April 1st - and that they can't even promise me that they will have another program... Seriously.

The kicker in all of this is... They say my contract ends on Oct 3rd. That's the day I'll return the car and pay mileage stuff or pay a huge balloon payment and keep the POS. Well, the program qualifying contract date (did you follow that?) is Sept 30th. Meaning, if my contracted ended Sept 30th or before, I'd be okay... Now, remember how I said I bought my car on Sept 19th - one day before my birthday? That's the day I signed all of the papers. That's the day that - legally and all that jazz - I bought my car. So tell me, why in the world does my contract start Oct 3rd? Well, because GMAC says so. That's why. Is that the date I made my first payment? According to them, no (and it's really not). So, why oh why is my contract date Oct 3rd and not Sept 19th? I dunno. But you can bet that I'll be calling them a 4th time and speaking to someone higher on the food chain.

Also, side note... I was quite embarrassed and didn't want to go back to the purchasing dealership (because of all the temper tantrums I had thrown) so we went to another dealership in town first...The sales guy said, "Don't I know you from somewhere?"... Me - "No...." ... Him - "Oh yeah, I know you from Crain." That's when I turned a shade of red and wanted to hide. This guy knew me from the other dealership...from my fits. Great. And then when we went back to "Crain" - everyone in that dealership looked at me and wouldn't make eye contact.

Also note, that this is not the first car I've bought. It's actually the 3rd AND my dad had even been there for part of the negotiations, but then left for me to take care of the rest.... Because the salesman called him "Un-American" for saying that maybe I should purchase a Honda... Boy, I wished I would've listened to my dad. I'll keep ya'll updated on the Car Woes and I'll try to keep my temper under control. I've already hung up on one GMAC rep today.

The Moment We All Have Been Waiting For...

Ok, so maybe not all of us, but me. I have to admit, I couldn't sleep last night. I tossed and turned and kept looking at the clock... Then this morning, I was a nervous wreck. But, the time finally came and I'm glad it's all over with! I guess you could say that I'm happy with my results, but I know I have room to improve (as always).

Also, before I post my results, let it be known that my husband bought me fried pickles last night and - I ate them. LOL Yes, horrible. Anyways, I woke up this morning and weighed myself before stepping into the shower and I was 4lbs heavier than yesterday. Seriously. I can't make this stuff up. So, I was a little disgruntled and a lot more nervous!

Anywho, the results...

Total Cholesterol: 179mg/dl
HDL Cholesterol: 87mg/dl
LDL Cholesterol: 76mb/dl
Cardiac Risk: 2.1
Triglycerides: 81mg/dl
Glucose: 94mg/dl

Blood Pressure: 111/74

Height: 5 feet, 6 inches
Weight: 143lbs
BMR: 1453 calories
Waist: 28 inches
Body Fat Percentage: 27.3%
BMI: 23.1

Flexibility: 17 inches

So there ya have it!

My goal is to lose a few pounds (I really weigh somewhere in the 130's - remember I'm fully dressed! LOL) and to lose about 5% body fat - oh and improve my horrible flexibility!!

I Can't Believe I'm Posting This...

Tomorrow is my "Biometric Screening." What does this mean? It means they'll take my blood, do some tests, weigh me, measure my body fat percentage , and give me my lovely results in about 10 minutes. I've only had this done once before and it was a year ago...

My results from last year? They're below. I passed with a 92% - which isn't bad - but there are areas I need to improve (such as that lovely body fat %)... So tomorrow is D Day, so to speak.

I'm gonna be honest - I haven't been working my tail off, nor have I been eating right (or even close for that matter)... And ok, maybe I've been fasting some this week, too. Oh shut up. :P

Last year's results:

Total Cholesterol: 166mg/dl should be below 200
HDL Cholesterol: 75mg/dl should be above 60
Cardiac Risk Ratio: 2.2 should be below or at 4.0
LDL Cholesterol: 81mg/dl between 40 and 100
Triglycerides: 50mg/dl between 35 and 150
Glucose: 87mg/dl between 100 and 126 <--ok, so I have low glucose...

Blood Pressure: 107/74 should be 120/80 <--ok, that's low too.

Height: 5 feet, 6 inches
Weight: 142lbs (give me credit, not that I'm fat, but I'm a girl & we don't share that info)

Basal Metabolic Rate: 1454 calories
Waist: 30 inches <--yeah, right. Not anymore. suppose to be below 35.
Body Fat Percentage: 27.7% suppose to be below 25% <--FAILED. I bet I fail again, too.
Body Mass Index: 22.9

Flexibility: 19.0 inches - needs to be 20 or above... <--FAILED.

So, tomorrow is the big day.... Wish me luck and I'll post the results tomorrow (even if they are terrible)!!!!

My Weekend In Review

Well, it was the first weekend of 2009 and let me tell ya - it was pretty much great! We got off early Friday, were picked up by my parents, and on to Tunica we went! After arriving and checking into our hotel - we stayed at the Grand Strike (great, great rooms. very impressed. thats a picture from the website) - we went and ate a yummy buffet at the casino! It was seafood and steak night - which, I don't eat seafood and I wasn't in the mood for steak...but I ate some good sides! :)

After chowing down, we gambled the night away. We weren't there to win big money (although it would've been nice) - we were just there to celebrate my dad's 48th birthday! We gambled at the Grand Strike and whatever the name of those two others are called thats connected to it! ha! We ended up making it to bed around 2:30am! Yes, we were night owls!!! After sleeping a few hours, we checked out of our rooms and headed over to Harrah's for Paula Deen's Buffet!

Now, I'd heard great things about this buffet, but let me just say - Man was I blown away!! That was the absolute BEST buffet (or meal even) that I have ever eaten! It was only $24 for two of us and we ate and ate and ate! It was soooo good! It's all southern food and it's some of Paula Deen's best recipes! My family was definitely impressed! And to top things off, I bought a Paula Deen cookbook - and opened it up and it was autographed!!!! Yes, it was autographed by the Cooking Goddess herself! :)

After eating a zillion pounds of food (seriously, we stuffed ourselves), we headed back home. I slept the entire way back!! We spent the rest of the day resting and eating our leftover Southern Caviar dip and watching movies.

Then on Sunday, we got some major housework accomplished, our Christmas stuff put away, and I made two dinners for this week - so that I can focus more on working out than on rushing home to cook dinner (atleast for part of the week!)!! Then, hubs decided we would fix our grill and cook some steak and baked potatoes!! He can make a great steak!! We were having a great night, until I received the call about my storage unit! Oh well, it was a great weekend otherwise. And hey, it could've been worse, it could've been our house that was broken into, right?

Oh, I almost forgot - I made Paula Deen's Squash Casserole -D-e-licious!!! Below is that recipe and the recipe for Southern Caviar! Enjoy!!


Paula Deen's Squash Casserole
Serves 4 (big helpings)


2 cups cooked, mashed yellow squash
2 cups Ritz Cracker crumbs
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup chopped onion <--could use less
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
pinch of sugar
6 tablespoons butter

Place the squash in a large bowl. Add the cracker crumbs, milk, cheese, and onion, and stir well. Stir in the eggs, salt, pepper, sugar, and butter, and pour into a greased 1-quart casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Southern Caviar

2 cans black-eyed peas, drained
2 cans shoepeg corn, drained
2 cans Ro-tel, drained
2 tomatoes, diced
2 bell peppers, diced <--I left this out
10 green onions, chopped <--didn't use as much
2 teaspoon minced garlic <--used garlic salt and garlic powder instead
1 16oz bottle Zesty Italian dressing

Mix all ingredients. Refrigerate 1 day. Serve with tortilla chips.

Stolen

I was super excited to post about my weekend, as it was a great one, until last night. I received a call around 6pm last night from an unknown number. I usually don't answer those, but for some reason I decided I should. It was the owner of the storage unit that I rent. I've had that unit for two years now and this was the first time he's ever called me. Immediately I wonder if I forgot to send my payment, then he asks me, "Did you have a lot of stuff in your unit?" - Yes, I did. Jam packed full. "Have you been out there in a while?" - No, not in about a month. "Well, your unit was broken into and there isn't much left in it."

Holy. Crap.

I called my dad and asked what all they had in my unit - my brother had put some of his stuff from his college dorm room in there when he moved back in with my parents. After a few phone calls back and forth, we all went out to my unit.

Turns out, my unit and the one next to mine had been broken into. The other unit had nothing taken. My unit had everything but a few boxes taken. These units were very secure - it took a very hefty man (or two) to break the steel "thingies" with bolt cutters. It had to been a lot of work. There were two cameras pointed at my unit - the tapes only hold a week of recordings and nothing happened there in the last week. The way they left the door and the lock, you couldn't tell they had been tampered with - unless you went to unlock the unit.

The people who owned the unit beside me were moving their stuff out yesterday when they noticed their steel "thingie" had been cut. That's when they called the owner. Who later called me. I have a few theories as to why none of their stuff was taken and mostly all of mine was...But I'll share those theories later...after I get finished with checking pawn shops, the paper, etc.

So, what all was taken?

• 2 mini fridges
• a microwave
• all wedding pictures from my first wedding
• all wedding stuff from my first wedding
• another box full of pictures from college
• a box full of books
• a table and 2 end tables - not cheap ones either
• boxes full of candles, picture frames, & knick-knacks
• all of my Hallmark ornaments
• wall decor and other decorations
• blankets my mom had made me
• boxes full of my personal information - with my SSN on them
• and boxes I can't remember what was in them...

So, that being said...Please pray that we'll find the people that did this. I have my ideas about who they are; I just have no way of proving it yet.
Edited to include: I just wanted to add that this is not the first time I've had something broken into and things taken... The list...

• The house I grew up in.
• A house I rented in college.
• An apartment I rented in college - right after I moved out. My roomies were still living there.
• My car.
• And now..my storage building.

*Also, I had a great weekend up until then...I'll post about it later.