Friday Fill-Ins #12

I swear I am still here. I know, I know... I said it before. It's just that there's so much going on lately, so much to remember and so much to worry about that I keep forgetting to bring my camera to do my posts. I keep forgetting what I was going to write about. And when I sit down to do it, I am at a loss for words.

Work has been a little busier than usual this past week, and I have felt swamped around the house. We had no hot water for two days (which meant icyfreezingfreakincoldassinducehypothermia-type showers) but I can thankfully say that as soon as I called my landlord she did something about it. Which, if you know about our previous heat situation, was something we had reason to worry she would not do. She had a plumber out to our house at 8:30 pm on the second day. But that still meant my dishes had been put off, Illy's bath had been put off... So yeah. Got a little behind this week.

I'm here. Still breathing. Still hanging on. Still working in little bits towards our goals and still (as per usual) reading everyone else. You all make me laugh, and you give my days a little bit of a reprieve. For that, I thank you. Thanks for being you, and thanks for letting me bitch and moan, and for still visiting us over here at the Ruggle house. Stay tuned...


And now, for the FRIDAY Fill-Ins. (Can I get a woo-haaaaaaa for Fridays? Thankies.)

1. I'd really like a day at the spa right now. I could totally use the relaxation. And pampering. And prettifying. Let's face it, stress isn't the best makeup.

2. DAMMIT! is the word you'd most often hear me say if I stubbed my toe. Course, I could also let loose with a more vulgar choice. I'm not really thinking about what I'm saying when my toe. is. throbbing.

3. Possession is a generally over-punished drug law.

4. I never cared much for Captain Jack Sparrow.

5. Marshmallows and fire go together like peas and carrots. I couldn't help it, all I could hear when I read that was Forrest Gump sayin' "we go together like PEAS and CARROTS." Plus, I had peas and carrots with dinner last night.

6. Life goes on and on.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to seeing my brother and Mom, tomorrow my plans include cleaning, cooking and Wii'ing a little and Sunday, I want to veg and ignore the superbowl that will inevitably be on TV!

Heat Update

Spoke with the town building inspector on Friday. He told me to mail a certified letter with a return receipt to my landlady with all of the information I had on the heat situation, and to send him a copy of it. He said give her a deadline of 10 days from the date I wrote it to fix the situation. I did, even though I thought 10 more days in this weather (it is supposed to SNOW on Wednesday!?!) is ridiculous.

Meanwhile, before she gets my letter, she calls me back, all apologetic-like and leaves. three. messages. Apologizing (did I say that already? Well, that's okay, she did it a bunch of times), bending over backwards, giving me three different options for how to fix the situation. I'm like... At this point? I don't give a $hit how you fix it. Just fix it. We want warmth! We want warmth! (I was thinking at this point that I would protest in front of the house with signs, chanting this if she didn't do something about it that night.)

Thank god she came over later that (Friday) night with TWO BIG space heaters. Not the best solution, because they are a fire hazard and they kept blowing our fuses so we had to strategically place them throughout the house to make sure this doesn't keep happening. Oh, and make sure not to use the microwave unless we shut the one in the living room off first. Cuz we learned the hard way (thrice, I tell you) that this will also blow a fuse. But I do have to say, they are pretty good for space heaters. They're keeping us at a comfortable temperature. So I can't complain.

But I still want my permanent heat. At least she's going to pay for all the electricity these space heaters are using up, because I'm afraid to even SEE that bill! Running 2 big space heaters all night long just doesn't seem to me to be too pocket-friendly. As long as it's coming off my rent, I won't say anything...

*w00t* for being warm :D

Friday Fill-Ins #7

1. Right now, I'm feeling like I want to shop! (I pretty much always feel like that. Unless I am sick, or tired... Or sick and tired. But not of shopping. That never happens. :P
2. In front of a fireplace! is where I want to be. (We haven't had heat in over a month, soooo.... Yeah. I'd like to be as warm as possible, thankyouverymuch. Yes, I am trying to fix the problem. But most of it falls on my landlady, who is unfortunately quite hard to motivate. Hopefully we'll be warm by weekend's end.)
3. How does one show that they mean business without making the other party (i.e., landlady) angry or vengeful towards them?
4. My budget, my grocery list and my meal planner file keep me on track.
5. Please don't tell me it's going to snow this week!
6. Snugglin' with my Bendy Ruggles fills me with joy.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to dinner and maybe warmth!, tomorrow my plans include going to do this sample for a study I'm in and going grocery shopping... oh and having Comcast come to fix our %$^&ing internet- AGAIN and Sunday, I want to visit with my family at my Uncle's house!

My weekend and New Pictizzles.

This weekend, I went to Nashua to pick up my little (she spent from Thursday night to Saturday with Cey cey and the Grumps, oh and of course Skunkle Bobby and Skunkle Miles who came to visit, and Uncle Mitch and Uncle O) and hung out a bit, then came home and had a much needed day at home on Sunday. After harassing my frickin' landlord because it was FREEZING and we haven't had heat (which is supposed to be included in our rent, which we have paid ON TIME all the time) in over a month! *grumble, grumble*

We were all in layers this weekend, needless to say. And I was pissed. She's been taking money off our rent, but as I said on Sunday to her on the phone "The money off the rent is not doing anything for the fact that right now, we are home and freezing!" She actually asked me if my electric heat was "not doing anything for me"... I guess some of the units have baseboard heat to use as a backup. Not so for us. We have had NADA heat other than a small (we're talking $10 at Target) space heater, which we have kept in her room so she could sleep comfortably. We even plastick-ed over some of the windows to help trap heat, but it hadn't done a lot. I kindly told her that we don't have any back up heat, and she pretended she didn't know what unit I was in. Finally, I told her we need to buy a bigger space heater or something, and she hurriedly told me "No, no, the other tenant (below us) has a space heater I bought her last year after she didn't have heat for (GET THIS!) a day and a half. I'll go and ask her if I can have it for you." I was livid. You mean to tell me that last year after one day, this lady complains and you buy her something to keep her warm, but me, my hubby and our ONE YEAR OLD are in our house feezing for over a month, have called and complained and asked you what was up like 10 times and you still hadn't done anything for us?!?!?! GRR!

Turns out, the lady below us had been using the space heater but didn't need it. Her tank still had fuel, but the pilot light had gone out. So the landlord lit it, and then she did bring over the space heater. I know the situation is not entirely her fault, because our unit broke and she had to get new ones for everyone in the building, and now the fuel people need to get to our house... But come ON! Over a month!?!? I have a toddler! Sheesh! I have had ENOUGH of this. I was so angry, because half the reason we chose this place last year was that it had heat included, and now the first really cold month- we woke up to hard frost the past two days, and I'm hearing that there's possibility of SNOW on Wednesday- we don't have it! I know if I was in charge of paying for my heat, I'd have it right now. I don't even know what to say to her anymore... I mean, we're okay now that we have the other space heater, and it wasn't THAT cold before I called her on Sunday. But this better be taken care of, and soon. She is getting on my last nerve right now.

On another note, I did get some PRETTY DARNED CUTE pics from Cey-cey and Grumps this weekend. Apparently they were hiding these gems from me before I visited this weekend :D So here are some cute shots- they made me smile and sort of forget that I was pissed at LANDLADY... So maybe they'll do something similar for you, too!

**Side note** Some of these are pretty old, they are compiled pictures from throughout the summer/ fall of this year, so I'll caption so you know when they're from.

Brotherly Love- My brothers Mitch and Owen- Owen's 10th Birthday Party, July 20th 08

Ilyana Enjoys the Party From The Rug- 7.20.08

O-dizzle, Rollin' In Dough

7.24.08- Eatin' lunch and Watchin' Toons

7.24.08- I dance!

Up close and personal. 7.24.08


Ceyc, I want your teeth! When will I get the rest of mine? 7.24.08


If you give me your teeth, I'll give you a kissssss... 7.24.08


And clap super-cute-like, too!


Hi Momma! I was just talkin' to Ceyc... 7.24.08

August 5th 08- Pondering the Windchimes

8.05.08- Liking the Windchimes more now that I know what they do...

Riding the side of the swingset like a horse? Hmm... 8.5.08

8.5.08 Who me? A model? Nahhh.... I was just born this way.

8.5.08 I run and play like a big girl now!

10.18.08 Playing in the yard at Cey-cey's house

Chillin' with my Grumps. Wanna know a secret? He's not really grumpy... He just got stuck with the nick name. 10.18.08

Grumps always takes me outside, outside. 10.18.08

Pretty pretty princess smile. 10.18.08

ZoMbIe TeMpLaTe... Crisis averted?

I think it's fixed. I just went back to a similar template to the first one I had. Figured if I'm gonna have all these problems, better to stick with the tried and true. :P At first after I switched back, the old one was still loading when I went to my URL... Zombie template style, it just wouldn't die!

Maybe someday I'll get up the energy (nerve?) to fix up and use another... Who knows.

I also made a new header, which I don't like as much as my old one. I'll be making another today. Hopefully my creativity is more on its game- yesterday was just a crap day in that department.

Thanks for all your support everyone! Blogger blues semi-cured, I suppose.

On a different note, HOW do you use the strikethrough in words on Blogger?!?! I can't figure it out. Help!?! :) Thanks.

Under Construction. Stay Tuned.

ARGH! I am sooo mad at myself. I got the bright idea this morning to start looking for a new blogger template, since I hated that the other one was like a big column down the middle.

Well, I should have stuck with it anyway, because now I can't find one I like, I lost all my widgets, and everything I try screws up. To top it off, I can't locate where the computer saved my ^%$# old template when I backed it up. So now I am on the hunt to find something better that I can use. I wish I knew the ins and outs of blogger better, cuz I'd just design one myself that fits my needs... But I don't.

So now I'm just pissed. Stay tuned to see if I can cure my blogger blues. BAH. :(