That is definitely worth a small rant or whine. I'm sorry to hear about your campervan and all the frustration it sounds like you are dealing with in trying to get it fixed in time for the festival. My fingers will be crossed for you that it will all work out. Ugh about the friend who didn't mention that he wasn't able to go with you, too.
Yay! I'm so happy to hear that it all worked out for you and that your camper van was able to be fixed in time. And having a bit of money to spend is always very nice!
And now I found the downside to Pokemon GO being released. Exercise. Hubby and the kid play, along with the kid's boyfriend. This is fantastic for them, they are doing lots of walking around town and getting exercise. I decided to take them up on their invitation to go for a family walk tonight. I remember now exactly why I had to stop exercising shortly after I got sick. I had forgotten just how painful that exertion could be. So, they will get exercise and I will have some more quiet time to myself in the house alone. Not that I mind that, I just wish I could walk with them sometimes, too.
Ugh! Another trip to the doctor for blood work tomorrow. This will be the 5th time in 12 days. And an appointment after this in two weeks. I'm so sick of being at the doctor's office. I've been there so often the past few days that I'm seriously considering asking for a drawer and somewhere to put my toothbrush.
Today was a mix of horrible and good. I was back at the doctor's office getting a blood draw for another test and afterward we went to Jimmy John's for lunch. Quin and I discovered that Dillin had never been to one before. For anyone unfamiliar, they are a sub sandwich shop kind of like Subway, but with good food. Dillin is a bread fanatic. It is his go-to snack and he loved the Jimmy John's bread. Then he discovered that he could buy day old loaves for 50 cents. We walked out with A LOT of bread. Then the kids asked if we could go downtown and walk around for a while so they could do their Pokemon game. They're asking if I can take them to exercise? Ummmm...yeah.
So, we go park down by some of the stops for the game and go walking. I didn't want to cart my purse with me, but knew there was a shop along our path that I wanted to stop in and get something. So I put my bank card and my license in my pocket and we head out. A couple of times during our walk Russ texted me and I had my phone in my back pocket with the cards. At some point along the way, I pulled my phone out and dropped my license. We re-traced our steps twice and went into the shops we visited and no one had found it or turned it in and we didn't find it anywhere. The police station was about a block away, so we stopped in there to see if it had been turned in with no luck. They took my phone number and said that they would call or mail it to me if anyone did turn it in.
Lucky that the kid just got her license and could drive. Now I have to go to the DMV tomorrow and see about getting a replacement license with all of the hassle that will entail. At least I didn't also drop the bank card. That would have been a complete disaster.
I went in today to get the license renewed and I was pleasantly surprised. It was FAR less painful than I had been expecting. I knew where my birth certificate and social security card were, all of ours stay together and kept in one secure place, then I just grabbed the water bill that I was going to have with me anyway because I had to go pay it this afternoon and I also brought my passport for "just in case". They didn't need the passport at all and the DMV web site said that I would have a temporary paper license printed and have the replacement mailed in two weeks. That didn't happen. The lady (the one who passed Quin on the road test and praised how well she had done) just asked if all of the info on my license was still correct and said "okay, it'll be ready in a minute". She hit some button on the computer and the machine printed out a brand new plastic license right there, no mailing needed. It also only cost $5.00 to replace. Overall, I was in and out in less than 10 minutes.
I also get the house to myself tomorrow. Dillin's mom is taking the kids into Chicago tomorrow to go to the aquarium and maybe Navy Pier. And pokemon hunting.
The only downside was that today was also school registration. That set us back $500.00 before school supply shopping. $255.00 for regular registration and $260-ish for a speech/psychology college class that she is taking. It gives both high school credit as well as a credit that goes with her to college and means that it is one class that she will already have behind her when she starts college. The nice part about that for Quin is that as long as she continues to keep her grades up, she is eligible for late arrival 3 days a week this next year. The college class is first hour and only two days a week and kids with high grades can come in late on the off days instead of sitting at school in a study hall.
A painless DMV experience? Who could ever have imagined that!
It sounds like Quin has a fascinating, fun school year ahead of her! There are similar programs around here where students who excell can take courses at the Community college, and when the graduate from highschool the also get their college BS degree.
Do you think it's safe to be in Chicago tomorrow? After seeing the posting of cities holding protests for Day of Rage, I'd certainly be on high alert, just in case there was any degree of truth to it. I know a lot of what we read on the internet is hyperbole, but sometimes half of it is true. link
Dillin's mom is really great about keeping the kids safe and she would have postponed the trip if she thought it would be a problem, which was reassuring to me, but it ended up not being an issue. They didn't see anyone protesting at any of the places they went. They went to the Aquarium, the Field museum, and to Navy Pier. They had a really wonderful time from what Quin was telling me.
My whine now is half whine and half maybe good. I got a call from the doctor's office this evening letting me know that they got the results of my most recent blood test back and that my white blood cell count is still high and that the doctor wants me to try a different antibiotic and then another blood draw and test in two weeks. He also ordered a referral to a different (3rd) gastroenterologist and to a hematologist as well because they can't figure out why my white blood cell count is so high and not going down. So, even more doctor visits coming up, but hopefully this time I'll get some answers. Not holding my breath, but still kinda hoping a little bit.
Glencairn, Great news on all counts! Kids are safe, had fun AND doctor acknowledges that SOMETHING is causing a high white cell count and wants answers!
I hate that you have to go through the medical test guessing game, but hope it yields some difinitive ansewrs to the mystery!
At this point I've kind of resigned myself to the fact that my life consists of doctor's offices and random tests and the odd trip to the emergency clinic here and there. If involving more specialists is what it takes, I'm going to cooperate and hope that someone has some ideas for finding answers.
So, I had a wonderful day yesterday at the renaissance faire, but I was worried that I might have overdone it a bit with the activity. I get so tired so easily since I got sick and I just didn't really think about how much walking we would be doing. Now I know...it was a bit too much. I need to remember to stop more often to take little breaks when I'm doing things that require more physical activity, even if that activity is just walking.
Glencairn, Jimmy John's FTW! Spyder's an addict, and you're absolutely right. It's like Subway, but significantly better food. On a quality & taste scale, I'd say it's like the difference (if anyone's had them) between Five Guys & McDonald's, really, lol.
I baking soda'd the carpet upstairs to get rid of this summer funk smell that's been annoying me. The cockatiel lives upstairs, the cat box is upstairs in the hall nook, us humans spend time upstairs. It was starting to smell like a combo of sweaty human, barnyard (bird dander has a weird barnyard-y stink to it) & litter box, especially on hotter, more humid days. I let it set for 24 hours after I brushed it into the carpet, talk about a MAJOR difference in smell (none at all now!) But I don't think I got all the baking soda up. I'm probably going to be vacuuming once or twice daily upstairs until it quits coming up, and who knows how long that could take -- I may have gone overboard brushing it in a little too well in the first place Minor inconvenience, but I was kinda hoping 1 or 2 thorough vacuums & done. Nope, not that simple.
Queen of English Language Mangling, Master of the Edit button
Nyiah, I'm sorry that it will take more vacuuming to get the baking soda up, but I can definitely appreciate the fresh smell that it leaves to do a baking soda sprinkle.
The difference between Jimmy John's and Subway is huge. I haven't had 5 Guys, but Russ likes them and I told him your comparison and he said that it is definitely spot on. I don't know if there are any in Florida, or if there are any by the college that Quin's boyfriend is going to, but he was already bemoaning the fact that he wanted more of their bread and was out.
Which leads to my whine (or sort of whine). Quin's boyfriend, Dillin, is leaving on Monday the 25th for college. His classes start at the very beginning of August. The two kids are practically inseparable this week. We've been letting them spend as much time together as they can before he leaves. He was over at our house all day today and Quin is going over to his house all day tomorrow to help him continue his packing. Since he is going to school in Florida he won't be able to come home as often for visits as if he were going in state and the kids are both mopey and sad right now. Actually, Dillin is kind of a weird mix between super excited about his new adventure and mopey and sad.
It isn't so much a whine, as much as it is that I hate seeing them sad and I know that Quin is worried about the long distance aspect of it all. Russ and I will miss Dillin, too. He has become like another child to us in the almost 2 years that the kids have been dating. He fits right in with our family and spends a lot of time with us and we enjoy having him around. On the other hand, we hope that he likes college and know that he is setting himself up for a successful future.