Yesterday/Just a slice in our lives

Yep. Those happened yesterday. Why they're special:
Boots: I've been wearing the same *broken* boots since HS and finally got on the hunt for a new pair this season. WIN!
Long necklace: I've been on the hunt for a long, neutral-colored necklace for nearly a year to go with a few of my shirts that need jazzing up. WIN!
Planner: I've been looking for a new one for about a month now, but had no success until yesterday. WIN!
Shirt: Umm...well...it's so cute! And it was on sale! WIN, DANG IT!





Additionally, Jon got in at 3am and actually bought me a card. He felt really badly about having to work late and he missed me.

Also additionally, yesterday was Bedlam and, against the odds, OU won! (I will insert here that ABC is the one major station we don't get on the farm, so I actually was just watching one-line updates about the game on my phone...the 4th Quarter nearly gave me a heart attack!!) It was a little bittersweet though, because before the game some "over-the-top" OSU fans were saying how they didn't want to hear us cry when we lost and some were just basically adding a "W" to their belts. It was waaaaay sweet to win to show THOSE fans, but then some OU fans started being sore winners and that's where the "bitter" came in. I hate that. I hate sore winners and sore losers. OSU fans were MIA right after the game, but one-by-one a few started to peek their heads out on Facebook and still declare their loyalty. I hated that, too. I remember the week that both OU and OSU lost this year...OSU fans were MIA pretty much altogether, but OU fans jumped on to say "Well, that sucked..." or "Wish we would have shown up to the game..." ...things of that nature. I mean, football is just a game. Just because you lose doesn't mean you have to go cry in a corner or sulk in a bar. Life goes on. You can still party afterward... I don't know...Maybe those were just my Facebook friends. Overall--Bedlam just really irked me this year. I HATE trash talking. Anyway - final thoughts about Bedlam - it was a really close game, so hold your head high, OSU, and you overcame the odds again, OU, so good job there, too. Hopefully we don't blow it again this year in the Big XII or the Big Bowl. Odds are we will, though....let's be honest! Boomer Sooner!

In addition to also additionally, I did laundry, set up my new planner, balanced our checkbooks, changed over the dry erase calendar to Decembrrr, bought some more stuff not as fun as the pictured ones, looked at some kitties, and slept in socks last night!!!!!!!! If you know me well, you know why me sleeping in socks is so weird. I wish Jon got to come home last night, though. Stupid school...

And that was yesterday. From 3am to 3am this morning when I finally went to sleep!

-Mrs. Kreilaus

You are not forgotten, precious website

I have lots to say, and for once plenty of time to say it, but none of it is constructive, polite, or worth adding to a heap of dung that is already present. I just want to let everyone know that I do still think about this project and wish to add to it as often as possible, but I'm not going to gripe and complain about people in particular who don't deserve the time of day. It's amazing how UGLY people can be on the inside. Goodnight!

-Mrs. Kreilaus

Today

Jon and I slept in until noon.
Well, I had to get up with the dogs at 7 and 10, but we overall got to sleep in until noon.
Then we had lunch at a local delicious Mexican restaurant.
Then I held and petted puppies outside of a store.
I have caught up fully on Facebook.
Jon and I are still sick (I'm moreso getting over mine, but his is beginning), so we're resting today.
We are about to nap again.

GOOD DAY! :^) Hope you're having one, too!

-Mrs. Kreilaus

Suffrage

Today is Election Day and also "Day of the Dead" as observed in Mexico. Probably not a coincidence. I digress... This "right" began as a fight for anyone that was not a wealthy white male landowner and was a major victory in U.S. history. However, I think our forefathers would shed a tear or two at what their victory has been morphed into. I don't think our forefathers meant for elections to take quite the mudslinging turn that it did (No, they weren't innocent back then, but nowadays is 20 times worse). They would probably roll over in their graves if they knew that "straight ticket" was an option on ballots. And they would probably die all over again to hear that many (I won't say "most" because I don't really know the numbers...) of our voters haven't researched their votes at all. How many people have you heard say, "Then there was this section about if sew-n-sew should retain his seat as county judge...I voted that he should because I haven't heard anything bad about him..."? I'm guilty of this as well. I also hate how "Educated non-voter" is not a choice. If you don't vote, you are the devil. If you vote, you did your civic service, even if you have no idea who or what you voted for. If you wear your "I voted" sticker, you get applauded everywhere you go. Why? You don't know me. I may have just closed my eyes on the ballot or just voted for the same people my parents or friends told me to. It's not just elections that irk me, it's politics in general. Very rarely is there a candidate that has the same exact stance on issues as you do, yet you always have to vote. Most of the time people are voting for "the lesser evil". Really? If that is the drive behind your vote, why don't you just sleep in on election day? If evil is evil is evil, then how can you feel good about yourself for voting for ANY type of evil? The 2 Party system is so narrow-minded. There are too many issues out there to evenly split into 2 groups. Now, most issues are pretty easily split - Abortion (Pro-choice or Pro-life), Gay Marriage (Against or For), Universal Healthcare (Against or For), etc. But then you get grey areas on some...if abortion was completely outlawed, could you look a rape victim or a victim of incest in the eyes and tell her that by law she must carry her rapist's child for 9 months? Or how do you tell a Native American with free healthcare that their own tribe pays for with their own money that they will now have to pay the "white man" and go to other doctors now? I think these grey areas should convey a need for more than 2 parties in the U.S. They RARELY are black-and-white, clear-as-day, cut-and-dry issues with no middle ground. It's just life. I think we need a better representation of life in our political skeleton.

Now, to clear up any assumptions you may have just made about me, I DID actually get out and vote today. UNEDUCATED. That's right, I voted straight ticket for my party when I could. I kept all the sew-n-sews in the positions. I voted for the propositions based upon someone else's research (Well, except for one of the questions) and I winged the county question because I didn't even know there was going to be one. And guess what...I actually feel fairly badly about it. I wish I wouldn't have even voted. Don't worry, I will NOT do this ever again. I will either educate myself or not vote. But hey, everyone that sees me today will compliment me on my "I voted" sticker because I did the "right" thing. Right?

-Mrs. Kreilaus

Shopping for organization!

With the purchase of the deeper, bigger, more big girl purse, it was determined that a new system of organization was needed. The smaller purse system was not going to cut it:

Enters one snazzy looking wallet:

Jesus definitely smiled down upon me when I found the 3-pocketed wallet of awesomeness. Thanks, J!

Alrighty, I'm thinking 3 posts on here in one night is probably sufficient. Goodnight all!!

-Mrs. Kreilaus

Ardmore & the 69/75 Mystery

So, this past weekend I went to Ardmore to visit Price and Sarah before Sarah pops her little one out (She's due on Oct. 13th...). It was a good visit. I feel the need to inform everyone of the lesson I learned, though. I came to Ardmore with the route I know and it was pretty easy, since the OU/Texas game was about to start/going already. The roads were clear. I believe I made it in less than 3 hours. Route:

Easy peasy.

I caught the end of the game at a neighborhood watch party in their neighborhood and met their dogs.

Adorable. It's true. Sarah and I were on a search for a Thanksgiving outdoor flag in Ross when I discovered that I needed a new purse...like, in the next day or two. My handles of old faithful looked like they were going to fall off at any given moment. So, :

I know; it's glorious. And it's actually cobalt blue, not purplish like it looks in this picture. After cruising the town and dining in some local hotspots, it was time to leave. Sad...I know. Here is the route I was planning to take home so that I could avoid I-35 (OU/Texas traffic returning to Norman):

It was going to be a good route. Only problem I could see was that I didn't know if I should be looking for 69 or 75 signs in Durant. Sarah and her mom said 75, but my map reads 69. I figured that I was a big girl and if I merely followed all of the 75 signs, then I would make it home one way or another because we live off of 75 and clearly 75 runs all the way to Texas...in one way or another. So, I will share with you what I learned and then tell you my small story:
This is the Indian Nation Turnpike. Not 75, not 69, just Indian Nation Turnpike:

This is 69:

and THIS is 75:

Okay, so, somewhere on the way to McAlester/Savannah, in a little town called Atoka, I believe, I was driving along, minding my own business when a sign came up out of nowhere telling me to turn left to get to 75. Startled, I had to cut a car off to turn, but I made it. It was a 2-lane road leading west, when I needed to be going east. I thought that it might lead to a 4-lane highway soon. After going through some hills and some curves, another abrupt sign pops up telling me to turn right for 75. 75 is a two-lane "highway" through the middle of nowhere from Atoka to I-40. I promise. However, for the most part, it is a deserted highway for all that way, so good time is still possible as long as there isn't a tractor or semi slowing you down. To sum it up:

In Durant, I entered onto 69/75. In Atoka, 75 juts off west in 2-lane fashion, but still gets you to I-40. If you take I-40 E for about 10 miles, you can exit back onto 75 N and see it in its 4-lane glory. 69 goes all the way from Durant to Muskogee (and keeps going). For some reason, they decided to build an addition to 75 and call it the "Indian Nation Turnpike" and connect 75 to 69 in McAlester. But, anyway, mystery solved.

-Mrs. Kreilaus

Best Buy, AT&T, and iPhone

So, Best Buy kinda sucks and AT&T kinda rocks. At least, this is their status as of recently. Jon has been wanting to get an iPhone since they first came out, but especially more these last few months because his Motorola Q9 has been on the fritz. While in Best Buy, he asked them if his phone was ready to be upgraded. They came up with a date of October 9th and told him he couldn't have an upgrade (iPhone) until then. He was a little confused as to why he couldn't upgrade slightly early, but didn't push the issue. This is the day I met netbooks. Jon and I had been discussing schedules and we determined the only solution would be him doing his thing and me having to work my schedule to accommodate. This means, I would need something to entertain myself/something productive to do. Enter Samsung netbook, which initially caught my eye. I guess I'm just partial to Samsung after the last 2 phones I've had have really performed well for me.

Blah blah blah....I did a lot, a lot, a lot of research and determined that I wanted one. Badly. I read the reviews, I felt ready to make the purchase and upgrade (downgrade?) my life. We go into town. I go into Best Buy and investigate one more time. I'm ready. The salespeople get me my magic box after I ask a few questions and then I'm ready to check out. I should point out that one of the questions I asked was if Windows 7 Starter was the watered down version of Windows 7 Home Edition. The answer I got was "no". I start to check out and I am told that Word and Excel are only trial versions on my netbook, so I'm going to need to pay $100 to get the real versions. Say WHAT!??! I am also told that if I buy the real version today, it will be $50 cheaper than it usually costs to buy it. I figure, "Fine. Let's do this, but I definitely won't open it until I know for sure." I buy my items after feeling a little rushed and after adding a case, for my netbook Jon and I are out the door. He decides to stop by AT&T and see if he can get his iPhone yet. He leaves me in the car to play with my new toy and he goes in. 10 minutes later, I figure out that he's not just talking about the weather to an associate. He comes back out with his new iPhone and is as giddy as can be.

I don't remember when I figured it out, but I did learn that Windows 7 Starter IS a watered down version of Windows 7 (Ummm...I can't even change my desktop picture!!! I'm pretty sure you've been able to do that since Windows 95!!!!!!!!!!) and when I opened up Excel for the first time, I was specifically informed that it was NOT a trial version, but it did have ads and stuff on it. That upset me pretty greatly because I basically just paid $100 for PowerPoint....for a NETbook that has a miniscule amount of storage space...NOT cool. I go to return and after several people basically call me a liar to my face, they take the stupid $100 access code card back (Most netbooks don't have CD drives, so I was literally returning a piece of cardboard with some numbers on it...wow...).

Now, I still would have gotten my netbook if I had known that Windows 7 Starter is a watered down version of the Home edition and that Word and Excel were going to have ads on them. The point is, I specifically asked POINT BLANK and was basically lied to because they didn't really know. If you don't really know, tell me you'll look into that or that all netbooks are different, but don't lie to me. Or even put yourself in a position to POTENTIALLY lie to me. Not a fan. Oh, and thanks for smoking crack and telling my husband that he had to wait another month before he could get his phone. Shame on you, Best Buy. Shame.

Also, I was going to add pictures of our new toys, but I don't seem to have those pictures on the computer. Shame again! Argh!

-Mrs. Kreilaus

Wild Wedding (Anniversary) Weekend

Let's dive in, shall we?


Thursday: I made an appointment at Mazda to get Layla a 100,000 mile tuneup since we were going to Edmond for Shelby's wedding reception over the weekend. I dropped it off over during my lunch break and after a painful hour of explaining exactly what Jon and I wanted done, I came back to work. The courtesy shuttle guy (Nicknamed "Pops"....) that brought me back informed me that his last run of the day was going to be 3:30, so he'd have to pick me up them, along with another girl near the mall (right by where I work). That's neat because the guy I talked to at Mazda about getting my car done had just told me he would "try" to get it done by close (6:00), to which I replied that he'd better because that's our only car....This is also the week that my coworker and I are changing up our schedules a bit and having me close on Fridays so she can have a day off. This means I've had to really be keeping a close eye on my times and coordinating with my husband's class schedule. ANYWAY, I'm back at work and 3:30 is approaching. I haven't received a call about the shuttle coming yet. 3:30 is here. No shuttle, no phone call. 3:35 rolls around...I call Mazda. They inform me that they are nearly done and they would have "Pops" come get me and put me on the phone with him. I told him that I just thought he said he was going to have to pick me up at 3:30, but if he doesn't have to, I can wait. He mentions that he was just in the area picking up another woman and wishes he would have known to pick me up, too. .....?!?!..... Whatever...he picks me up (I'm just glad he remembered where he dropped me off at this point...) and takes me back to the dealership. Layla has been making a weird noise that my husband thought was the alternator and I told them to check it out for me. After paying them A LOT of money, they inform me that the noise is from the idler pulley and give me a quote for $130 for parts and labor. Ummm....no. Jon and I decide to check with O'Reilly's on the way home to see if they have the part and how much it is. Try $20. We get it and decide to put it in later (it's late). After I got my car back, I needed to go by my insurance company and change up some paperwork since I recently changed my car title. I walk in and wait about 15 minutes before anyone can even talk to me (which was fine...I was a walk-in...). Finally, I go in and start to tell the lady all the information that needed to change and she learns that the internet site she usually uses to make changes is down. So, she calls the phone number and gets a busy signal. Fabulous. She fills out a paper form for the most important changes, but she won't be able to do all of them. I get her business card and am told to call her the next day. Back to work. After spending so much money at the dealership and after hours of searching the internet for fun things to do in OKC (and coming up lacking...) and after hearing that my brother was going to my mom's (meaning his recently dog-attacked dog would be there - so I couldn't leave our dog-attacked dog there...ALSO that the one other person I know in the OKC area wouldn't be home while we were there...), I decided that our fun stay-overnight trip should just be reduced to going to the reception and then home.


Friday: I get to work around 9am and am prepared to work a 10.5 hour day to makeup for Thursdays lack of time due to the car. Oh, and I will be all by my lonesome. A little before 10am, when we OPEN, a gaggle of people starts to trickle in the side door. They ask where the meeting is being held. Ummm...what meeting??? I look on both our paper calendar and our Outlook calendar and we don't have a group coming in today. Luckily, after our store manager and I put some tables up for them and straighten some chairs and the kitchen, they have their shindig. Whew...that was a close one. After they finished their meeting, the main person came over and we put the rest of their dates on the calendar. After that, it was a painfully slow day. Then we hit the time when students were about to come in. A teacher that usually doesn't come to South was starting again with a new student. The teacher was not there 10 minutes before the lesson (like they all are supposed to be), but neither was the student, so I didn't start to panic yet. Then the student showed up 3 minutes before the lesson and the teacher was still not there. So I called the teacher. No answer. GREAT. I get to try to explain all of this to a student and parent who hardly speak English. I let them know the teacher isn't there yet and may have forgotten that the student started today. Finally the teacher calls me back and comes in 10 minutes late for the lesson...with a couple of siblings. After this, a student shows up before a teacher again, so I call to make sure the teacher is coming. "Ummm...no? I told Kim that I would be gone today and tomorrow." Actually, it was me who began this conversation with this teacher and it never was finished. I was only told the teacher would be gone Saturday. I then get to inform another student that their teacher won't be here. I have a sub ready by luck, but the student chooses not to have the sub upon hearing who it is. Strange, he's never had a sub at all, why would he not want a particular sub? This leads me to believe that this teacher is bad-mouthing another one of our teachers. Charming thought, but I don't have time to research this any further. The not coming teacher has another student after this one that hasn't been showing and is actually cancelled after today's lesson. I get another teacher ready to sub, but inform that teacher that this student probably won't show. Well, guess who shows up! Yep...another awesome miracle today. After a STELLAR day, Jon and I get home and he begins to switch out the idler pulley. He comes to bed at about 1:30 am, frustrated that he can't get the serpentine belt back on. Without the belt on, the car cannot be started. We go to sleep and plan to wake up relatively early to get the belt on and to head to OKC. ...


Saturday: I have help from a couple of furry creatures waking up pretty early and decide to take the dogs to a dog wash before we head to OKC. This will A) clean them...they haven't had a bath in months and B) hopefully tire them out so they aren't bouncing off the walls while we are gone. My mother-in-law and I take the dogs and do that with a few other errands. On the way home, we swing by O'Reilly's and pick up a tool to help put the serpentine belt back on. After several hours and numerous unsuccessful attempts, it was determined that the tool was not useful and it couldn't be done with the means that we had. So...

Layla had her first tow truck ride. It was sad, but I imagine it would be 1000000 times worse if she were wrecked. This was at 3pm and I had been planning on leaving at 4pm to make it to Shelby's reception early (It was listed as going from 7 to 9). She was only being towed about 30 minutes away to Jon's family mechanic, so I was still hopeful that he had a special tool and would just pop the silly belt on and we could pick her up 30 minutes after that...Well, that didn't happen. Our mechanic was supposed to call when the car got there and we still hadn't heard from him by 5:30. We tried to call him, but he didn't answer. Around 6 or so, we finally heard back from him and he hadn't gotten the belt back on yet either. He even took the wheel off, the wheel well, and dropped the engine a little and was STILL having issues. This was where I started crying. I feel like I've been such a flake to my friends and family because I am constantly telling people that I can't do this or that because of financial difficulties. I finally decided that I can't do that anymore because I will miss out on all of these monumental events and will never be able to make up for them. Then, it seems after a horrible past few days, I wouldn't even be able to attend my best friend's little sister's wedding reception...and I had already missed the wedding. Jon's parents offered us their car, but we were really skeptical about taking it because if anything happened to it, we COULD NOT afford to fix it. Eventually my emotions won and we decided to take the Taurus (I really don't like taking cars on long trips without a tuneup first). However, as we were going to leave, we realized that we had left the PikePass in the Mazda and we don't carry cash. Also, the Taurus only had 1/4 tank of gas. So, we knew we had a couple of stops to make as it was. Now, we thought we were clever because when I rented the tool from O'Reilly's, the guy told me to enter in my PIN number for my debit card and they would be able to give me cash back when we brought it back. So, we thought we would stop at Shell for gas in the car and foods to hold us over until we got to the finger food/candy bar reception and then stop at O'Reilly's to A) Return the tool and B) Get cash for the turnpikeS. So simple, right? Well, at Shell we were reminded that the Taurus has a sensor problem and doesn't like gas to be put into the car. The pump clicks off after about 0.82 seconds of pumping. Alrighty...I'll battle you, Taurus. I forced down as much as it would take and decided it was really full when on the final pump, it spit gas on my hand. Point taken, Taurus. Jon soon returns from getting food inside and we head to O'Reilly's. Jon runs in and only returns with a receipt and my card that made the original transaction...no cash. Awesome. So now we have to stop at QT to hit an ATM and get one of those stupid fees because it's not one of our banks' ATMs. GRRRR. Jon runs into QT and comes out with a $20 bill. I inform him that we should probably get change in case there were "coins-only" toll plazas. He goes back in and has to buy something before they will give us change. Finally, now we are ready to hit the road. It's 7pm. The reception has now started. We hurry hurry hurry (but not overly speeding because we didn't want to break the Taurus!) and after following the directions to the T, going through 3 toll plazas (one of which was "coins-only"...), and learning at about 8pm that our car was finished, we end up on a long road that for some reason has about 10 semi trucks lined up on it, blocking our view of the side of the road we are supposed to be looking on and blocking many of the turn-ins we may need. After spending 10 - 15 minutes trying to figure out that maze, we arrive at the reception...at 8:45....15 minutes before it was supposed to be over. I walk in right as Shelby and Thomas are cutting cake and feeding each other. After this, the weekend took a turn for the better. We celebrated there for about 30 minutes - 1 hour and then were invited over to Thomas and Shelby's afterward. There, we get to watch standup comedians (one was mediocre, one was hilarious...just like Shelby said :D) and hold Beckham (Lyndsey's nearly 4 month old son), seeing as he had been whisked away during the reception to try to induce...umm...some..."movement" that he hadn't made in the past 3 days. After that, we said our goodbyes at about midnight, came home a different FREE way (When did tolls get THAT expensive?!?!?! INSANE!!!) that I knew all too well and I got Subway at 1am from a truck stop. We were home by 2:30 and slept like babies. YAY!


Sunday: Today is our actual wedding anniversary, so we wanted to celebrate. We began by sleeping in (words cannot EXPRESS how much of a gift this is!!!!!) and then slowly waking up with no plans in stone yet. Jon's parents went to church and returned around noon or noon-thirty, about when Jon got up. We were eating when they got home, so they decided to go out to eat. It was decided that Jon would go with them and pick the car up. After they left, I still felt pretty tired, so I decided to try to go back to bed. When I was asleep, Jon sent me a text message: "I appareantly picked up an extra passenger, and had to turn around and take him back... I am on my way home now," complete with picture:

Interesting.... I go back to sleep. Jon gets home and gives me some bad news from our mechanic - He let Jon listen and the alternator is starting to go out. So, we'll have to keep an eye on that as well. Whatever...I can't deal with this today, let's deal with this later... Moving on...We decide to go to Fox and Hound for food before we went to see "Inception." I wasn't impressed when I saw previews, but we did keep hearing rave reviews and it was the best drama/suspense/action in theaters now. Food was good, but service was mediocre and then we were on to the show. Probably could have done without seeing one of Jon's exes who now works there, but we're adults, so it happens....whatever. (Plus it kinda helped to see her about 6 months pregnant and lacking a shiny ring on her hand...I'm terrible...I know...:roll:) In the theater, Jon and I recommitted ourselves to hating the general public because of the family that sat down behind us after we were there first. First thing I heard from them, "Hey, ___...is that a beef jerky in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" to which the reply was, "It's always just a beef jerky, DAD, because I'm never happy to see you!" Umm... the kid was literally like 12. Parents of the Year. And I personally had to keep myself for jumping down the mom's throat who kept complaining about there being no leg room like Jon and I customized those chairs to lean back further than all the other chairs in the IMAX. ?!?! Whatever...anyway....Jon really liked the movie, but I felt like there were a lot of loose ends/fallacies throughout. Either way, it was good to have seen it, so now we can be part of people's conversations. Pretty good day.


Monday: Labor Day! I vacuumed out Mary's car and built a new corgi, while Jon washed doggy nose prints off the windows. We hung out at the house all day and made a brief exit for pizza and ice cream. Getting back to normal. This extended weekend has been eventful and I wanted to document it and also be able to direct everyone to it so I don't have to tell the story over and over.


THE END ...And if you made it this far, you must really want to know all about us. Thanks!

-Mrs. Kreilaus

Oh, timing...

So, I'm sure all of you remember the post from yesterday about the new credit card in the family. No? Well, scroll down and read it...okay, so, turns out that today Jon and I decide to take a trip to Wal-Mart to buy some essentials. He goes out to start the car cooling down before we leave...I look out the window and see him get out of the car and pop the hood.......CRAP. I hoped, "Maybe it started, but he's just trying to hunt down a noise it's making.".....NOPE. It's not starting. He tests the battery output and it seems fine. That leaves the alternator. He tries the alternator output. It seems fine. Now we're slightly stumped. We get a jump from his mom's car and we're up and running. Somewhere in there Jon mentions something about a "bad cell" in the battery and is pretty sure that's what it is. We head to O'Reilly's and we determine that Jon is right...bad cell(s). He also explains to me what this means, but I'm not going to attempt to explain on here, lest I most likely look like a fool. They give us a jump and we are off to Wal-Mart in Bixby for a new battery (hopefully under warranty). We get to Wal-Mart and they have to test it again, and they confirm what we just learned at O'Reilly's. We go inside to shop and assume they are looking up our warranty info and putting a new battery in. About 2 or 3 items from the end of our shopping list, Wal-Mart calls Jon's cell...they don't have the battery in stock. We'll have to go to another Wal-Mart and have them put it in. After another jump, we go to another Wal-Mart (the one near the old apartment....where we had initially purchased the bad cell battery....) and we (after a slow start waiting in a line...) get the new battery put in in about 15 minutes or so and are on our happy way. We still had to pay "prorate" on the battery since it was still a little over true warranty, but it wasn't as bad as paying full out.


Either way, it would not have been possible without the help of our special new plastic friend and, honestly, would have been a disaster if we discovered this little situation tomorrow morning while we tried to leave for work/school. If you want to get kinda crazy about labeling it, this was kinda like a little miracle. Realistically, we could have done without the whole ruckus altogether, but it is amazing how it worked itself out so beautifully.


Okay, Phaux tells me it is time to end my blogging weekend and get to "lights out" time. Goodnight!




-Mrs. Kreilaus

WOW.

So, my head is about to explode. Today, I just got my first use-anywhere credit card in the mail. I've had store credit cards, but they don't seem the same to me. I feel like I well-researched all of our options and chose the relatively best choice (We chose Discover because of the numbers, but I know that Discover is not accepted everywhere...). This came about after a recent event where we learned that we NEED a credit card for emergency situations. (I've always thought it was incredibly rude of vets to have a "pay all, right now" policy, seeing as they are in the life-and-death business...) I was raised with a "cash only" mentality and interest charges upset me greatly. However, I see that sometimes things need to purchased right away. And if you don't have the money hulled up somewhere, you need to get if from somewhere.


This also kinda ties in with a new school of thought I had: So many of my friends are getting married and having babies and I've had to tell nearly all of them that I couldn't join in ceremonies, bridal showers, baby showers, etc. because of a tight money situation. I recently had the realization that I've been saying this for years and if I don't start doing something about it, I will be visiting friends I knew as single and sailor-mouthed who now have 6 children and won't say the word "butt" in front of the children. This is NOT okay! I only have this one life to live and enjoy! Not to say I'm going to go buy my dream car and travel the world tomorrow (especially on my credit limit...hahahaha), but maybe my first airplane ride is due... Maybe I'll go to my friend's baby shower so I can say that I saw her pregnant. Maybe I'll babysit my best friend's baby and let her and husband go celebrate their 4th wedding anniversary. Maybe my husband and I will celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary in a different city.


I found out a few more of my friends are pregnant...one of which I just found out today and am really excited for her because she didn't think she could even have kids! I'd elaborate more, but I don't think it's fully public domain yet (even though I found out through Facebook...ha).


Today is my mother-in-law's birthday and just so happens to be the day we got our marriage license last year. I knew our anniversary was coming up, but now it's less than 10 days away! I'm starting to remember what these days felt like last year and I kinda feel butterfly-ey again. Aww...and now I just remember getting Brent and Lyndsey's wedding license with them...that's fun!


Oh, and for anyone who didn't know and wants to, I guess we had some dog excitement a week and a half ago. Walker (my parents-in-law's dog) and Lyka got into a teeth match and Lyka lost. She had a few holes in her from teeth and we took her to the vet just to make sure of how to patch her up, or if we even needed to. She got all her owies shaved (they had to FULLY SEDATE her...we were a little miffed about that...not sure how they came to that conclusion) and told us to take our drunk dog home (she was still WAY out of it when we took her home) and Lyka would heal herself up the best. Thanks. So glad we paid you to shave our dog and tell us that Lyka is the master of her own fate. At least they gave us antibiotic and powerful painkillers for her. They probably could have warned us that waking up out of anethesia is one hell of a trip, though. Maybe I would have been prepared to wake up every 15-30 minutes from 2am - 6am that night. With all of this said, I've NEVER found a vet that I like and I've pretty much just accepted this, but if anyone actually has a vet they like, please let me know. Well, if you live near me. A good vet in California is pretty useless to me. :^) Thanks!

This is how Lyka looks right now and Phaux demostrating how she's supposed to look. (Okay, really he's just jealous about the attention she was getting, so I took a picture of him, too.):




And there was a true blue update on the Kreilauses!


-Mrs. Kreilaus

Looking back, straight ahead, and toward the future

I miss you.
I miss all of our inside jokes and how we finished each other's sentences, but you never cared as much for our friendship as I did. I miss just being around you and seeing how you lived your life. At least I knew you; most kids don't get that much. I miss the adventures we would have together and how crazy they seemed. In the end, it was too much crazy and I couldn't handle it anymore. I miss playing video games with you until the wee hours of the morning and taking so many pictures together. I don't miss our arguments and how they never got settled. I miss being the one person that understood you the best, which is why you tried to hide from me. I eventually grew tired of hide-and-seek. I miss hanging out at your house and being silly. It really saddened me to not be invited to your wedding, but you'll probably never know that. I miss snaps with the four of us. I miss our hall from that year. I miss the tolerance I used to have. I miss my crazy life when I didn't believe my own stories coming out of my mouth. I miss you and your colorful sayings. Every time I say one, I think of you. I miss hanging out with you guys...I wish I had more time and thought about you more. I miss you and your intelligence, wit, and outlook on life. We need to talk more. I miss you probably most of all, but I know it's better you live elsewhere now. I miss you, pets of my past. I loved you all.


I'm sorry.
I'm sorry that my degree is in a different field than yours and I still know a heckuva lot about yours. I never said I was better than you, though. I'm sorry that I'm not around as much as I used to be. Some things have changed and I can't change them back. And I don't want to. I'm sorry that our lives even crossed paths. Things would have been so much more filled with joy and simplicity if they hadn't. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you when you had your baby. I really wish I could have been. I'm sorry I wasn't called to be a missionary. I'm sorry I went through multiple church splits and I haven't gotten my courage up to jump into another one, just to crash into the same fate. Maybe we could still be friends if I did. I'm sorry my husband and I are not on the same course as you and your spouse, but I don't see why that means we can't be close. I'm sorry that I don't believe in gay marriage; people who do seem to catch no slack for their beliefs--I don't understand why I catch it for my beliefs. I'm sorry you had cancer, but I don't think that gives you the right to be a jerk to everyone now. I'm sorry that I don't do things the way you do. I'm sorry I didn't go on to get my master's degree, but I lost my way and didn't know where to go from there (still don't). I had also had too much school and needed a huge break. I'm sorry about our lost friendship. I know we could have been best friends under different circumstances. I'm sorry I ended our friendship, but I saw the path it was taking and I didn't want to end up on that dead end.


Thank you.
Thank you to my dogs for always be so excited to see me and love me unconditionally. Thank you to Jon and I's parents for always being there for us and helping us out. Thank you siblings, for helping shape us into who we are today. Thank you to everyone who came to our wedding to show your support for us (or even if you came for free food...)...that meant the world to us. Thank you, extended family, for being the limbs in our family trees showing variety and originality. Thank you for my job. Without it, I would be in a world of hurt. Thank you, Facebook. Through the snooping and stalking, you keep my mind sharp and always wishing to push further. Thank you, Jon. We're not the greatest couple to walk the earth, but I know you will never give up on me and I will never give up on you. I love you for all the big things, medium-sized things, little things, and things you did when you didn't know anyone was watching. You are one of few constants in my life.

-Mrs. Kreilaus

Recent Life

As usual, it's been awhile. I had some time on my hands and after seeing the last post was in April, I figured enough small events have passed that I can update. My friend Lyndsey had her baby on May 16th (a day before her own birthday!) and my friend Sony had her baby on June 30th (many days before her own birthday...haha). I still have yet to meet either of them, but they are both cute and we'll meet soon. I'm missing my friend Sarah's baby shower today (due October 13th...my stepdad's birthday!) and I'm sad about that. Lyndsey's little sister is officially engaged and getting married in August...in Vegas! And I guess Carrie Underwood is getting married today, too. (I only say that because people I went to church with actually grew up with her so I was kinda wondering if they are going to her wedding. Oh, and when my brother was born, Mom shared the room with Carrie Underwood's mom and Carrie...small world.) A friend from years ago is also getting married today. Joe and Miranda (Jon's brother and his wife) are in town so we are seeing them every few days and will tonight, too. My cousin Mallory's wedding is coming up soon in October. We're fast approaching my first year anniversary of Jon and I's wedding, my phone, and my job (Pretty handy to cover so many milestones at once. ;^P). Fourth of July came and went and the weather lately has been crazy weird. My dogs learned the difference between a 2 yr old toddler and everyone else they've ever come in contact with. I met my dad's new girlfriend and my brother's new(ish) girlfriend. I write letters to my nephew and niece when I get the chance (and when I get letters from them). I've tried and am okay with asparagus, beets, and some other "odd" vegetables that I never thought I'd like. My husband and I still tell each other that we love each other at least 20 times a day. I've made a new resolution at work and I'm trying to stick to it. I don't tend to sleep well at night. I tear up when I see a stray dog out in the country. I teared up yesterday after having to pass up corgies for sale. But then I felt better because I'd rather rescue a dog without a home than buy a puppy that was bred. That stupid Humane Animals Shelter commercial or whatever it's for always makes me change the channel and if I don't catch it in time, I tear up. My husband puts up with me watching Ghost Whisperer so he can watch Criminal Minds (which I put up with). My car now has over 100,000 miles on it, which makes me sad, but you can't tell by the way she runs. Yesterday, I found a caterpillar and my husband and I spent 10 minutes or more playing with it before releasing it back into the "wild".
These are the things that go through my mind and they things that have happened semi-recently. I don't know what else to say. There's a little glimpse into my life and my head.

-Mrs. Kreilaus

I'm boring.

Through a talk with my BFF at the other sto', I discovered that I am boring. And I'm okay with that. There is no need to talk to me every few days or even every few weeks sometimes because I always do the same things. I realized that I don't talk to my friends and family on the phone very often because I really don't feel like I have anything to say. I go to work Monday through Friday, come home, eat, take care of my dogs, maybe watch a little TV or play fake poker on my phone, then I go to bed. On Saturdays and Sundays I clean and relax. I don't think giving my dogs a bath is newsworthy. I REALLY don't think work drama is newsworthy unless you know the parties involved...and even THEN it sometimes isn't even newsworthy. Yes, I have the days where I think the house is on fire, and the days where a teacher has to be taken out by ambulance, and the days where I have to call the police because a disgruntled previous employee goes on a rampage, but those are FEW and FAR between. Those are newsworthy. And if they involve you, you will hear about them. I'm not 104 and don't know what a cell phone is. I just don't see where somebody would want me to call them and tell them that work sucked/was okay today and what I had for dinner. If I'm not married to you, chances are I don't want you to call me and tell me that, either. And I don't mean that to be rude, but I guess there's not really another way to say it. I'm going to tell myself that since I'm not directly saying that to someone, then it's not rude.

I feel badly about not updating this more often, but once again...I'm boring. I thought at least this time I would write a post explaining why I don't update very often. That and I never have comments so I never even know if anybody reads this stuff. I've heard about a few people reading it, but I guess it doesn't really even matter. It's kinda therapeutic for me to write my thoughts and feeling out. Well, at least the ones that are internet-appropriate. :^P Goodnight.

-Mrs. Kreilaus

The Big Deleted Post

You know, I had this big long post all typed out, but then I realized it was all complaining and moaning. I think I'm going to bottle that in for myself (or maybe write it in a document on my computer) and keep the world a slightly better place.

I do want to tell everybody to keep us in your thoughts because we have reached our limits in some respects and some thing(s) is/are gonna have to change. So you don't worry, Jon and I are still crazy about each other and there are no babies in the picture...2 things you don't have to wonder about.

Thanks!!!

-Mrs. Kreilaus

Happy Phauxentine's Day!

One year ago today (Yes, Valentine's Day...oh the irony...), Phaux came into our lives! My gosh has it been hard work raising that menace, but he is really coming around! It's nice to know that we hit the big 0-1 (ha) and we have the beginning puppy stages behind us. He was ADORABLE to look at, but wow he was a terror in every other respect! Anyway, enjoy his adorableness:

CUTE!


Happy Valentine's Day to all who actually celebrate it!


-Mrs. Kreilaus

Facebook, the Baby Bug, and general thoughts mixed in for good measure

In 2004, I joined a mostly unknown social website called "thefacebook.com." It was fun. You had to have a recognized college e-mail address to join and it was an elite college hangout. The more friends you had, the more fun it was. People could write on your wall, you could read their profiles, join groups at your college, and make events for your college as well. Fun stuff! Then, I don't remember what order, but Facebook added a photos application and made groups global! YAY! Also somewhere in there, non-college students were allowed to join. First, it was high schoolers. OH THE UPROAR. A lot of people said that they were going to jump ship after that one. And then "newsfeed" (AKA Stalkerfeed) was added. This one cost my membership...for a few months, anyway. And then there was the huge uproar about "New Facebook", people without ANY network could join, outside applications were added, and OF COURSE "thefacebook.com" dropped the "the". Big stuff. All of this to bring us to where we are today: People don't understand the basic premise of Facebook. The basic premise of Facebook is to keep in touch with all of these people that you normally would have no idea how they were doing and them keeping up with you. Once you friend someone, you never have to talk to them! It's not expected! All of us early pioneers understand this, but it seems the "new generation" doesn't quite get it. I recently noticed that I had been unfriended by 2 people that I was A) relatively close to in HS and B) connected to through a family member. What had I done? Did I update my status too much? There's a simple solution to that, remove me from your stalkerfeed. I have plenty of people removed from mine... Did I comment on your pictures too much? Simple solution to that, too, stop putting so many pictures up for the world to see. This "new generation" on Facebook really annoys me because they act like Facebook is where you talk to your best friends and your crushes. That's what real life is for, actually. Facebook is for keeping up with the girl that sat next to you in Zoology. Facebook is for seeing how your crush from 7th grade is doing. Facebook is for sending your close friends messages sometimes, but overall, Facebook is for acquantances. And don't tell me it's just for networking, either. If you've ever commented on a picture, written on someone's wall, or poked someone, that's not freaking networking. Oh, and if you have your privacy settings set so high on me that I can't even see the most recent picture you took of your cat, just unfriend me. That's ridiculous, too. Ending rant...

Moving on to bigger and better things... The baby bug. Most people get it, most people succumb to it. I've been pretty good at looking past the giggles and the coos to see the dirty diapers, the 3 hours of sleep every night, and the daily loads of laundry. (Shoutout to Sony and Rachel for letting me see the light early on! :^P) However, now nearly all of my close friends are "with child" and it's kinda making me want to join in and raise our kids together. This is a TERRIBLE idea right now, though, with Jon in school for another 3 semesters for Bachelor's and then probably another 4 semesters for Master's. All this to say that I'm kinda frustrated at somewhat wanting a kid right now, but I know it's a really bad idea. I was just going to put that in writing for everyone else to know.

And now I'm surfing the world wide web, so I will leave you, my dearly neglected blog. I'd say that I resolve to update more this year, but I don't do New Years Resolutions!

-Mrs. Kreilaus

The 4 months after that...

Here we are! It's a new year. I didn't mention that I got a new job in the last post, so there you go. Lessons Coordinator at Saied Music Company on 71st in Tulsa. Jon also began his scholarship at TU last August. There, you are now caught up with us up until now.

Currently, we are living with Jon's parents in Mounds. We are very grateful to have somewhere to live, but we need to have our own place...closer to town. We are looking into buying a house. Not a particular house, just the general statistics at the moment. It is intense. On one hand, it seems cheaper to be paying your mortgage than just renting a house, but on the other hand, that's a 30 yr. committment! Yeah, if we need to move, we could rent it out or we could put it up for sale if we need to move, but that's still scary!

Other than the house thing, Jon will begin his second semester at TU tomorrow and that is our life right now. Wasn't that exciting!??!

Oh, and don't expect any babies any time soon. They are not in the immediate plan. Thanks!

-Mrs. Kreilaus