Week of June 11

[katespade]

estrellita - Oh no! I wonder if it's one of those bugs that keeps shedding after symptoms go away. Isn't norovirus one that does that? You stay contagious for something like 72 hours after your symptoms are gone?

Is there any way you can delay the floors for a couple of days to give him time to recover? Or is there anyone else you can call to help? If you're installing laminate, you might be able to get through it without him. It definitely goes faster with more people helping, but isn't too complicated and worst case I would think it's definitely doable with just the two of you.

[HoneySpider]

The freaking electric company keeps billing me based on estimated readings which is based on last year's usage....and apparently the previous owners used a lot more electricity than we do. After the last one I called and asked that they actually read the meter and they said someone would....but the bill is estimated again and it's super high.

Outside of calling again and asking them to read it next month (which clearly got me nowhere) any ideas on what I can do? Of course we're going into the hottest months with the highest usage.

The fact that it is 2018 and they still haven't given us a smart meter so they can read remotely is the biggest joke. We moved from like, 3 miles away and our old place has had one since before we lived there (so more than 2 years) but they told me they are "still installing them in my area" and it should be done this year.

[estrellita]

katespade pooh8402 The kids are at DC all week so it's just when they get home. It's been ok, we have a folding table for E to eat at and a blanket down for A (good thing she stays put still, lol) and E wears his shoes.

My mom recruited my uncle to come help on Fri which will work. I hate to leave it until then but what can you do. H is still pretty insistent on FIL helping (he's apparently out in the garden today because he's stubborn like that) but I said IF he does come, he's wearing gloves and a mask at all times. I know he's not going to want to do that. Plus he really shouldn't be doing this kind of work feeling the way I was. I'm still feeling super weak but manageable.

My guess is that it was norovirus. From what I was reading we all had a lot of the symptoms and it's really stuck around for a while. I don't know if I've ever had it or if I have it's been since I was a kid. I would be totally fine if I never experience this again!

[bk1]

We have been spending so much on food lately. Too much eating out and too much on groceries. I'm going to try to menu plan from the freezer/pantry as much as possible this month.

[wineandcheese]

bk1 I miss meal planning. I was meal planning from our pantry/freezer all of May, it was great to finally clear it all out and I barely spent $100 at the grocery store for the month.

Operation break down old furniture is complete!

My mom and I went to target this morning and the clothing section was horrible. They had the racks so packed that everything was falling off when you tried to look at stuff. Plus nothing was organized, it was like they just put stuff on the racks. The whole store was like that too.

My mom also was going to get a tattoo and put a payment towards it. She’s chickening out and making an appointment for me to use her credit before I move. Now to decide what I want to get. All I know is I want it on my foot.

[katespade]

Jun 12, 2018 16:07:36 GMT -5 wineandcheese said:

My mom also was going to get a tattoo and put a payment towards it. She’s chickening out and making an appointment for me to use her credit before I move. Now to decide what I want to get. All I know is I want it on my foot.

Oooooooooh. This is exciting! Any thoughts on what you might want? I love having my feet tattooed. I never wear closed-toed shoes anymore. lol.

[luv2rn4fun]

We just heard back from the insurance company we thought we would switch to. They asked for receipts/photos from the repairs of the claims so DH sent them.

One of the claims (the one the insurance company didn’t pay anything on) DH repaired himself after the roof inspector explained what to do/it’s an easy fix. DH even provided the report from the roof inspector with his recommendations.

Anyways, they are refusing to insure us because of this (unless we pay to have it fixed by a professional and provide receipt etc).

So far our insurance is going up $830 next year and we are likely stuck with this increase for another 3.5 years.

[awick14]

HoneySpider- I would call them again, but I’m not sure that will get you anywhere. Maybe ask for a supervisor.

wineandcheese- we spent so little the month before we moved as well, it made us realize how much food we keep in our house that we probably shouldn’t. Lol

I’m working wed- sat this week. Not much else planned.

[HoneySpider]

awick14, I was able to put in a "claim" via the website because I had an unresolved customer service issue. Someone called me pretty quickly to let me know he'd be looking into it, so FX this gets resolved.

[estrellita]

Yay, my uncle is able to come help us tomorrow instead of Fri! Of course I'm feeling worse again today but I'll be fine I'm pretty sure. I'll make sure to REALLY clean again before he comes to make sure it doesn't make it's way around my family too. I can't wait to be done with these floors!

[katespade]

Jun 13, 2018 10:54:53 GMT -5 estrellita said:

Yay, my uncle is able to come help us tomorrow instead of Fri! Of course I'm feeling worse again today but I'll be fine I'm pretty sure. I'll make sure to REALLY clean again before he comes to make sure it doesn't make it's way around my family too. I can't wait to be done with these floors!

What a relief!!

[wineandcheese]

katespade I’m thinking something Disney inspired.

I have a guy I know from the fire house is coming later to pick up our treadmill and total body gym. The apartment complex has a fitness room so it’s less I have to worry about bringing.

[katespade]

Jun 13, 2018 12:24:12 GMT -5 wineandcheese said:

katespade I’m thinking something Disney inspired.

Someday, I'm planning on getting a Beauty and the Beast tattoo. I've already talked to my tattoo artist about it, I just haven't gotten around to deciding on when it'll happen (especially now that I can't get any tattoos for a while. lol). 

I'm planning to get the stained glass castle as a thigh piece:

[wineandcheese]

katespade I just chatted with the tattoo artist and I’m finally going to get the tinker bell tattoo wanted for like 12 years. I’m going Friday afternoon. I’m going to take my mom for lunch first as a thank you and a friend is trying to get an appointment with another artist at the same time so it will be a girl’s afternoon.

[katespade]

Jun 13, 2018 13:44:40 GMT -5 wineandcheese said:

katespade I just chatted with the tattoo artist and I’m finally going to get the tinker bell tattoo wanted for like 12 years. I’m going Friday afternoon. I’m going to take my mom for lunch first as a thank you and a friend is trying to get an appointment with another artist at the same time so it will be a girl’s afternoon.

Fun! I can't wait to see pictures.

[wineandcheese]

I actually had a productive day. Went to Sam’s Club and Walmart early this morning, took a load of trash to the dump, met bff for lunch and about to start scrubbing the kitchen cabinets.

[HoneySpider]

Does anyone use Fetch Rewards? I'm considering signing up so let me know your referral code!

[estrellita]

Floor is about 3/4 the way done in the main area! So tomorrow we need to finish that, the playroom, the trim and the door frames. And put everything back, lol. We're getting so close and I am absolutely loving the floor so far. E even decided to test it out by spilling some milk on it! Haha.

[HoneySpider]

Escalating my complaint with the electric company worked! They sent someone out to read the meter so they adjusted my bill based on actual usage this month plus a credit for overpayment last month.

My bill went from $156 to $41. Huge difference!

[luv2rn4fun]

Jun 15, 2018 7:09:35 GMT -5 HoneySpider said:

Escalating my complaint with the electric company worked! They sent someone out to read the meter so they adjusted my bill based on actual usage this month plus a credit for overpayment last month.

My bill went from $156 to $41. Huge difference!

Yay!! That’s awesome! I would not be happy about paying 4x the amount you actually used- that’s crazy! Our electric bill (and all our utilities) are really cheap too as we do our best to conserve (mainly because we can’t afford high bills like that).

[estrellita]

I wish our electric bills were that cheap! Ours is combined with gas (which is only hooked up to the furnace). You don't even want to know how high our winter bills get 😭

[HoneySpider]

luv2rn4fun, estrellita it wouldn't normally be that low but we overpaid last month by about $40 so getting the credit back helped!

[estrellita]

HoneySpider That makes me feel a little better lol. But your original bill is closer to our last bill and we've only had our AC on a couple days so far this year. Stupid old, inefficient house!

[estrellita]

My FIL has been here for like an hour and he's already driving me nuts. He's just one of those people that follows his own rules and gives no shits about how anyone else does things. Today H wanted him to park further down our driveway so his car was out of the way. H moved his car down and set up some boards to block it off. I told H that wouldn't work. Sure enough, FIL goes around on the neighbor's half of the driveway and over the strip of grass closer to the garage to go around the barricade so he can park where he normally parks (obnoxiously crooked on the slab next to the house). Wtf? He also drove through our yard yesterday which pisses me off. What if E left a toy out there and he ran it over? And now our floor work is halted because he's messing with the door frames (which was planned, but not right NOW) and he's making a huge mess.

If I don't go insane by the end of the day it'll be a miracle. Lol. I appreciate his help a lot but still.

[estrellita]

Apparently H has already offended FIL by asking him not to place his pop on our brand new floor (among other similarly "offensive" things) and FIL had to go take a walk. *bangs head on table*

[awick14]

estrellita- that would be so annoying! How long is he there for?

I hate the new update for the Tapatalk app. I can’t make a post at the bottom of the screen anymore, so it makes it really hard to tag people and read the thread. Urg

Work has been going well this week, and dh and I seem to be in a slightly better place right now.

[estrellita]

Jun 15, 2018 11:23:13 GMT -5 awick14 said:

estrellita- that would be so annoying! How long is he there for?

I hate the new update for the Tapatalk app. I can’t make a post at the bottom of the screen anymore, so it makes it really hard to tag people and read the thread. Urg

Work has been going well this week, and dh and I seem to be in a slightly better place right now.

All day. Lol. I had that update a while ago and yeah, I hate it too! If I want to answer multiple things I have to keep saving a draft and hoping I don't accidentally discard it, haha. Also glad you guys are doing better

[awick14]

Jun 15, 2018 11:37:31 GMT -5 estrellita said:

Jun 15, 2018 11:23:13 GMT -5 awick14 said:

estrellita- that would be so annoying! How long is he there for?

I hate the new update for the Tapatalk app. I can’t make a post at the bottom of the screen anymore, so it makes it really hard to tag people and read the thread. Urg

Work has been going well this week, and dh and I seem to be in a slightly better place right now.

All day. Lol. I had that update a while ago and yeah, I hate it too! If I want to answer multiple things I have to keep saving a draft and hoping I don't accidentally discard it, haha. Also glad you guys are doing better

I’m hoping he decides to leave early, lol.

[estrellita]

Jun 15, 2018 13:33:39 GMT -5 awick14 said:

Jun 15, 2018 11:37:31 GMT -5 estrellita said:

All day. Lol. I had that update a while ago and yeah, I hate it too! If I want to answer multiple things I have to keep saving a draft and hoping I don't accidentally discard it, haha. Also glad you guys are doing better

I’m hoping he decides to leave early, lol.

He said he's leaving around 4:30. I'm about to go pump and I'll probably get the kids around the time he said he's going to leave. He's coming back to do another door frame, the playroom floor and the trim tomorrow. All our stuff is in the playroom so we'll move it out tonight. Things are going better now at least, lol.

[pooh8402]

Why can't I take a warm shower in this house? Every time I take a shower, either E or DH comes in to talk to me and leave the door open, letting all the warm air out. This morning, they were both still asleep when I got up, so I thought yes, warm private shower!

The dog came in to tell me he was hungry and needed to pee.