Saturday, November 29, 2014

I have to stop saying “How stupid can you be?” to my co-workers. They’re starting to take it as a challenge.

Aunty Acid comes through again. Teehee.

Although to be truthful, I have some awesome colleagues at work. Not all of them, but there are a few that just make your heart all warm and fuzzy. This week I got an edible arrangement at work from one colleague who sent it because knowing there was someone to help her when her project went awry reduces her stress. How utterly sweet, right? And then a while ago I got flowers from another colleague for helping so much on her project. I think I jokingly said during training at one time that everyone wants to be told they’re awesome – at which time, the participants all said that I was awesome. And I got kudos this week for being awesome. Considering how tough the last few weeks have really been, I am soooo appreciative of the kind words.

I have heat now. It took a bit of work; there was some cursing and breakdowns when we were told that we had asbestos which would delay the installation; and there was some cheering and tears when people pulled together to help us. Honestly, if you ever find yourself in a situation where you need asbestos removed, I cannot more highly recommend Advanced Remediation Solutions Inc. Dean completely came through for us and was supportive in getting it down so we could have heat. You are also going to need a consultant and I recommend Tritec. Jay was wonderful. Both Jay and Dean went the extra mile for us. They completely wowed me with their customer service and expertise. You can also use Canadian Restoration Services. Jake was great, he took our calls after hours and got permission to come out at 8:30 at night to give us a quote. We didn’t use him, but I appreciated his support as well. And McKinley installed our furnace and I got to say Jordyn and her boss (I want to say Brad – but my brain is not sure and I cannot find his card around here) really went out of their way to help. Due to all the crap happening, they ended up re-booking our furnace install a couple times, but they came through. Vince was the installer and he put in a lot of work. Our house is really not conducive to upgrades sometimes but he pulled through. And goodness it was just in time. I could not imagine going through what I did if the weather was like it is now. It was a week of stress – trying to balance work, life, renos, etc. Thank goodness for our good friends N&M. N came and house sat while they did the abatement.

Speaking of N&M, I spent some time with them today - such wonderful people who completely spoiled me. Not only did they brave those roads to hang out with me, they then drove us out so we could hit two craft shows and they helped me buy a gorgeous red alpaca cloak. Then they treated me to supper at Pho King. I quite enjoyed Pho King – good food and decent prices. The sate beef had the wonderful spices and just that slight kick at the end to keep you on your toes. The green onion cake was fluffy and the dipping sauce divine. M had the beef noodle soup which was huge – I think my popcorn bowl is smaller. N had the lemongrass chicken which looks as good as my meal. The pork spring rolls were fresh, hot, and tasty.

Alas, my washer is not fixed yet. We have tracked down the part and are awaiting its arrival. It was supposed to arrive on Thursday, but that plan didn’t work out well when the weather and roads went to pot. Hopefully, it will be here soon.

My b-day party was really small, but the people who showed are truly good friends and I appreciated the love they brought with them. We had a really good time playing party games til quite late in the night. Then the next day my parents came over. We had some good conversation and laughs. Then D and I went to my favorite clothing stores who sent me birthday coupons, so I bought myself a whole outfit and got a free cardigan that is just sooooo soft. I have been buying lots of soft feeling things lately. I wonder what this means. Hmmmm…

Now that my b-day month is over, it is time to get back to concentrating on Christmas. I am trying to get into the mood. If I could get some more shopping done and then spend some time decorating the house, I think that will help immensely. Tomorrow, we are doing some more shopping. I have most gifts started, so it is mostly just the finishing touches. Of course, we have had to scale down a few things; with the surprise furnace replacement, our budget sort of went awry. We were doing so well too. It makes me sad to think of how we had a plan and it went sideways. Sighhhh.

Anyway, I hope everyone is prepared for more personal small scale gifts. Of course, the kids on the list are already done and at full (if not over) budget. It’s just the adults that get short-changed. Of course, if I am doing more personalized gifts, I should probably get started on making those.

Anyway, I just wanted to share how grateful I was feeling amongst all the stress surrounding me. I think sometimes we really need to stop and be thankful for those in our lives. And heck, why not around the US thanksgiving… teehee. To all my friends- thank you. Your love and support means more than you’ll ever know and more than I can ever truly thank you for. Hugs!


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Monday, November 17, 2014

A good day is when the crap hits the fan and I have time to duck.

Oh yes Aunty Acid – can I have one of those days again? Please?

I write this with my hands cold from the lack of heat in the house. After waiting 24 hours, the technician said to call in a Lennox technician. The Lennox technician said they can’t make it until Wednesday. The first technician turned off the furnace despite the tiny bit of heat it was generating. If we leave it going, it could cause some other thing to fail. So what do we do about heat? We have two people coming in tomorrow to get quotes on a new furnace in case the technician on Wednesday says he can’t fix it. Can’t say when we can get that installed. Sighhhh… Of course, we are still waiting on a call from a Maytag person about the broken washing machine.

Meanwhile, of course, work has imploded. We have news on our project and things have gone from plodding away into a rapid race to the end. The rumors for over a month now have been this outcome, so why wait until now to announce it? So the challenge is how to balance the need for heat and my home versus the reality of work. And of course, the challenge of how to pay for it all. The renos from last year had just been paid last week. And now – we are looking at another large debt. Needless to say, I am glad I am done half of my Christmas presents. We balance our budget pretty good, but to have these two things possibly needing replacement and a large reno we need to do next year – I am at a loss.

On a different note, I am totally in love with this song. Milady shared it and I have listened to it so many times.



Anyway, I should go contemplate what I can make for supper that will help heat the house a little bit.

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