Madness

Apparently I am due for random acts of craziness. Thus far my break has been productive, but far from stress-free and relaxing. Minus doing absolutely nothing of consequence this last weekend, I have traveled up and down the craziness rollar coaster of life. I was hoping to finally get some things taken care of that I really haven't had the time (or the right weather) to accomplish.

Monday my brother and I spend HOURS attempting to get the deck ready for staining. It was getting due, but the previous owners left gobs of paint that we had to remove first. Let me tell you that scrubbing the deck with a brush for 3-5 hours was NOT fun. On top of that I raked my leaves while waiting for the deck to reach the 'scrubbing' point. I have a feeling I will also have to attempt to sand the rest off or strip it again once the weather permits. That night Chris came by to check the plumbing leakage, and had to recaulk the faucet. (If I'm there long enough the bathroom will need some remodeling, similar to Ben and Lori's. Problem is I don't have another bathroom to use in the meantime so that will be interesting. I hope I can avoid this at all costs.) I then went to choir practice, at which point I noticed that both Kate and I's car tags were stolen (mine for the second time) even after I sliced mine into the plate. This time they left me with one sticker at least.

Tuesday I got my oil changed, tires rotated, bought new stickers (again), and attemtped to find appropriate license covers to avoid a repeat (to no avail). After my brake light has been consistently flashing on and off since the accident, I figured I probably needed new brake pads. My brother and I then attempted to replace them to no avail. Turns out the calipers are frozen (to our knowledge) and the one boot is torn. I think this is something they missed in the accident and wished I would have checked into it sooner (I originally thought the warning light a fluke or that I just need more fluid since it was slightly low afterwards), but I just didn't have the time. So I was stuck at my parent's house, but still went with Kate to attempt to enjoy a ""FOXy's Women's Club" meeting. Hence forth, I have been stuck in So Co. for two days.

Today I had the car towed (as it is not safe to drive) to Mazda. They are looking into the problem. The car is only 3 years old, and the service tech at Mazda said this problem is quite rare to happen on it's own. If I'm a lucky it will be accident related and then the charges will be minimal. Wish me luck!

Meanwhile I'm at my parents' writing now, just because I need to vent. Other than really doing NOTHING and having time to myself this weekend, I would say I've had quite the eventful but not-so-much-fun break.

Speaking of breaks, I have a free trip to the Bahamas for 4 days 3 nights and (separetely) a weekend get-a-way that can be combined for a nice vacation. My mom decided not to use hers, and I've already gone. If you are interested, please call me right away. You will need to make reservations BEFORE 4/16/05 at which point you will need to call and have them updated for one more year (so they don't expire). Let me know!!! I'd love to treat a friend to a cheaper vacation. You have to fly yourself but the hotel and cruise is covered (also if you do the Bahamas there are port taxes and fees.) All in all my guess is that for about (including air faire and port fees) $400 you could go down to FL for 3 days, and then cruise to the Bahamas for another 4. To me, that's El Cheapo. I've already enjoyed the same trip last year, and it's really nice to get away for 1/3-1/4 of what you would normally pay. First come first serve, I have 2 small vacations or you can have one longer one!