Life as of Today

As the summer temps stay steady in the triple digits…I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to be able to go outside in the middle of July and not struggle for a breath, go for a jog at dusk, to take a swim in a pool that does not feel like a warm bath or to be able to touch my steering wheel when I get in my car without burning the my palms off. I have never really known what it was like to have a summer picnic or lay on a blanket and watch the summer stars. Most of us usually don’t even leave the house for extended periods of time during the months of July and August.

To add to the misery of the heat, I am also tired of the waiting and not knowing what each work day is going to hold for me. Can I make the 5 minute walk from my car to my desk without looking up? Who will be my boss tomorrow? Will I even need to meet this deadline if the person who needs it disappears? 10 years ago, I was going to retire with this company. It is very sad to see where our company is today. To know that our partner (motors, Chrysler cars) stabbed us in the back and left us to die on our own is just unbearable. The worst we ever did to them was not buying all the bad paper that would have just sunk us even quicker. We marketed for them, we sent people to the dealerships to buy their vehicles. Most of us were proud to be associated with the Chrysler brand, especially if you were born into the brand, like I was. So as of today, I am taking it upon myself and disowning the Chrysler affiliation to me. I no longer work for Chrysler Financial, I work for No-Name-Financial...a dying a company that is willing to drag all their faithful employees down with them rather than allow them the opportunities to leave and make better life for themselves. I will always hold it against them that they did not allow us to apply for Mercedes after the “divorce”, that stupid freeze to move between the companies just because they were afraid to loose their best employees. You know what... THEN DO SOMETHING TO MAKE US WANT TO STICK IT OUT WITH YOU!!. I could have been saved from this misery. I hope GMAC screws them, I hope that they turn down every credit app, I hope Chrysler motors dies with us. This whole process has been like grieving a death; I have gone through all the stages, sadness, denial, anger... I don’t know what order or what is next but I am ready to feel normal again. And with the job market the way it is, I am not sure when that is going to be.

Tonight I found a job that would utilize my automotive experience in Burlington, VT. My reasons for not leaving are getting smaller and smaller and hopefully one day I will be able to just take the last bit that is holding me back and move it out of my way. There really is only one big reason I can’t leave yet and that is because I promised not to leave this house for my parents to have to take care of.

Once the weather starts cooling down and the job market brightens up, I will be able to see the benefits again to living out here. I am so grateful for this opportunity, to be able to see my family whenever I want, to watch my husband get excited about his new organic find. Just keep thinking of us and sending us strength...This is just our life as of Today!

The porch that Jeff (and his dad) built

For the past 3 months every visitor has had to do lunges to get into our house. FINALLY we have a porch - we still plan on building a roof and putting rails on it but its so pretty just as it is.. AND now we don't have to worry so much that someone might fall and break their neck getting in or out of our house.

Before

After

Lake Media Room

I had no idea that I had Lakefront Property. We are going to name it Lake Media Room (how do you like that lame promotion..hahaha)

So besides a boat, what is one of the one things you have to purchase when you now have a lake forming around you.

These:

I haven’t needed rain boots in about 12 years.

Brian Bergeron

Check it out HERE

Lisa PIccirillo

Curious???

New Blog @ Media Room

Time flies when your having fun…

Can you believe it has been a month?
Because I am having a hard time believing it. One down and … well… I wish I had a number to give you as what we have left to. Our goal is three years (36 months)

However, there have been some interesting things that have giving us a reason to laugh and maybe that is what is helping this time pass so quickly.

I am going to start with the story of our oven. The rest of the stories will come later to fill in the gaps of time.

Side note - we were told this oven was brand new.. it could have been.. who knows.. and I am okay with never knowing.

The first time we turned on our stove; Jeff was baking chicken and cooking pasta on the stove top. About 5 minutes into this task, preparing to smell yummy chicken, we got whiff of something MUCH worst, the smell of (the only way I can describe it) a dirty diaper baking. As Jeff searched for the cause, I started opening windows and turning on fans. I had to cover my mouth and nose because I was actually getting sick from the smell. The smell lingered for a few days even after burning a million candles and using all types of “smell good” agents. We couldn’t identify what the heck this awful smell could be. The people that sold us the house didn’t believe us. They thought at worst it was burned food that might have been trapped under the burners. When we turned it on, they begged for us to turn it off and snapped at us once when it appeared we were going to turn it back on. They agreed to replace it for us but in white. So we decided to call up Lowes (who they were ordering it from) and find out if we could just pay for the difference and get the stove (and dishwasher – that story to come). They agreed and somewhere in the mess of charging back the items to their corporate account and charging us for the difference, we ended up with 2 delivery charges and a full charge for a new stove and dishwasher on our card. Keep in mind, when you are dealing with ANY company in small towns they are extremely slow to respond and they don’t have to worry if you are giving your business to someone else, because… well… there is no one else. When you are dealing with these same companies in larger towns, they know you can go right down the street to the competitor. So needless to say, it has been over a week and we haven’t been refunded the money. (Warning this next part is not for the weak). The night before the items were delivered Jeff was taking the chord off the back of the stove (because new stoves don’t come with chords... I had no idea) he was following the wires on the back of the stove trying to figure out which one went what when he realized he wasn’t following a grey wire, he was following the tail of a dead mouse… From Jeff’s yelp I knew exactly what he had found. Now for the hilarity, Jeff can’t handle mice and of course, neither can I so I had to call my mom up here to help us dispose of it. Here we are two GROWN people who have to call our “mommy” to come and help us. We can assume that this is the dead mouse that is responsible for the smell that the stove produced when it was turned on, however, we didn’t look under the cook top to see what secrets were contained under there. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww… Jeff still gets a cold shiver when he thinks about it.


Thankfully, these friends stowed away on houses trip out here and were permanently asleep before we moved in .. However, this does remind me that we are in the country now and pest control service is probably a good investment. Welcome to the country my friends…

And now my friends.. here is the new stove - its so pretty.. I don't even want to cook on it.

Now I have to decide which story to tell you next… We have so many…
* The butt sauna
* The rigged dishwasher
* The story of three refrigerators and 4 couches
* The lightswitch that controlled the house
* Lake Fry
* Our natural perm shower
* The backdoor that loved to be open
* Is it hot or cold
* The little hotwater heater that could
* Three Drawers and a pantry

And I am sure this is not the end of the list and honestly I am not complaining because Jeff and I are learning to laugh at everything. You know, the whole - don't-sweat-the-small-stuff idea. I don't think I have ever been able to do that and it is kinda nice to not stress about everything. I do have a sort of peace that is helping me get through this. Whatever it is, whoever it is.. THANK YOU!!!

In other good news, we have had several showings on the house and an offer. Hopefully it will all go through and we can have the notorious “sold’ post soon.

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