Dean Koontz shouldn't write for kids

So, I just picked up a copy of Dean Koontz's children's book "Robot Santa" from the shelf. It's creepy. There's a gorilla who wants his teeth flossed, an evil Santa with toad snot, and cat poop, and evil Santa's creation, robot Santa. Robot Santa is just wrong. He's got scary android hands, and I just got to a part where, in response to mistletoe, he takes of his lips and nibbles his own ear. I think this proves that Dean Koontz is so creepy that he can't write NOT creepy. Yeah. Check this out:
" Good manners require a sweet Christmas kiss
a loving smooch in situations like this,
a tender moment of holiday bliss

He unplugs his lips and kisses his cheek,
then nibbles his ear. Oh, dear, what a geek!
Forget robot Santa, call him Santa Freak!"

Yeah. You know I LOVE Dean Koontz. Just not for kids. Or really, his kids books aren't for me either.

Life? Yes , I have one still. This past week, I've been busy-ish getting more Christmas stuff and wedding stuff done. I got an email from Sallie Mae the other day, but I couldn't get in to the attachment. When I called them, they swore the email wasn't from them, but it was the same address and everything as before. It worried me that it was phishing, and I had given the attachment my ssn, but I downloaded it first, so I hope it's okay. No new news on the other things, I am just going to sit back, because stressing and calling people has gotten me no-where.

Let's see, what else this week... OH YEAH!! WE GOT A Wii!!!! The wonderful Steve and Rachel got us a wii for our wedding!! It's really awesome. We already bought 2 games and rented 2 more. We bought paper mario and a wii blaster that came with Link's archery. We also have the sports one, which is fun, but more fun with two wiimotes. Then, Jason rented Medal of Honor (I think) and I rented Cooking Mama. It's fun and strange all at the same time. I've made lots of things. I am pretty good at cracking pretend eggs now. The one I want now is Warioware Smooth Moves. It is so much fun and so strange. We also got the genesis working now, and I've been playing and remembering how HARD Ecco is, and getting stuck at the same places Amanda and I used to in Jr High.

I had my bridal shower this Saturday. It started snowing hard that morning, and I was really worried that I was going to have no-one show up, but I was wrong! Quite a few people showed, and I had a good time! I hope everyone else did too! I got some great gifts too! A whole bunch of new plates, a blender, and, a Hello Kitty sewing machine! It is very awesome. I have my second dress fitting tomorrow, and the batchelorette party not too far away! It's all going so quickly! I guess that's all for now. Laters!

It's been too long

Sorry to anyone reading this, and especially to schmoopie. Sorry. I've managed to get some positive thinking done. I went to the doctor and she found NOTHING in my breast. It was nothing ever. Nothing to worry about. I think I can cope with going back to court. I'm waiting right now for them to file the paperwork so I get a date. I decided to make the doctor's visit a turning point. It was the first positive (non-Jason related) news I've gotten in a while. If that's going well, the rest will too. I say non-Jason related because stuff about him is always good. In other news...

Christmas is almost here and I'm almost done shopping. Almost. I've got a couple of things left to get for a couple of people. My bridal shower is this weekend! Yay! I still can't believe that I'm the bride this time. I'm so happy! We put up all of our Christmas stuff! I keep meaning to take pictures with it all together and the living room clean, but it hasn't happened yet. We ordered, put together and mailed out invitations. I think they came out really well. I had my first fitting for my gown, it's beautiful. I love it. I love it more than all the other ones in all the other shops. I hope Jason likes it when he sees me walk down the aisle. I still need to make the favors.

Ooooh! We got an old Sega genesis the other day! We tried to hook it up, but it wouldn't work, so we took it back to the store, and it worked there. Then we brought it home and now it works there too! We got a lot of games! Ecco the Dolphin, Aladdin, Sonic, Jurassic Park, and X-men one, a Wrestling one and a racing one! I played ecco this morning, and I felt like I was back in Amanda's bedroom. Hee!

Better things

I don't know how I'm able to compartmentalize my life like this and still be stressed, but I didn't want to write about good fun things in the same blog as bad evil things. soooooooo....

We painted this weekend. The living room this time. Bright blue this time. I think it's beautiful. I'd always wanted to paint my house beautiful bright colors, and now I have. I didn't at the condo, because I was afraid that stupid people wouldn't like it, and I'm sure that would have been true, but this is great! It's so blue, Jason saw it from the street the other night. It was really easy to! The bigger wall took about an hour, and Jason did the smaller one by himself today! I really love it, and I think it looks great with the couch.

Also, I ordered my wedding invitations this weekend. They are really pretty. Chances are, if you're reading this blog, you're going to see one, unless you found me otherwise! Hee hee! Here's the walls!

I really don't know.

So, I've been looking at what I wrote last week and I don't know if I feel any better or not. I'm not constantly down in the uber dumps, but I'm not all better either. Jason really helps with this a lot. He's like an instant feel better for me. I don't know how I got so lucky with him.
The whole "B" thing is just so depressing. I feel like it will follow me around for the rest of my life. Plus there's the student loans. Arrrgh. I have to weigh the good versus the bad I guess. I said a long time ago, that even if i had to file the "b" it wouldn't affect my daily life. Now, I'm letting it, through stress. I have to try to not let it, but that's hard. Anyone have suggestions for how to rise above? Leave me a comment.

If it's possible, worse

At least it feels like it. So I went to the meeting of creditors yesterday, and that went okay, but I found out that I'm going to have to go to court again. I have to go plead my case to keep the car. It was what I was afraid of, and I really don't want to do it. It's awful. I'm really scared. It's probably next month. Also, now if I sue her, the "B" trustee gets the money! So it's a moral issue. Do I want to spend the time and money to go after her, or not? It would mean extra hassle for me. BUT otherwise it seems like I've done nothing to go after the person who screwed my life up so bad, and pretended to be my friend the whole time.
Also, I went to the doctor yesterday morning and she found a lump in my breast. Great. Just what I needed. Health concerns to go with the other crap. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a lump of concentrated stress. So, I have to see a specialist.
I'm feeling REALLY down today. I feel like I'm never going to get a break. I mean, I've been happy this summer, this year, but there's always been some unfinished business hanging about. There's always a cloud. There's always something and it's always a big something. It leaves me wondering what I've done wrong karmically to deserve this? I haven't killed anyone, in fact I've tried not to hurt people. I thought I was a good person, now I wonder. Am I really that awful? Am I ever going to have a life clear from major problems? I mean, the bankruptcy is on my credit for 10 years. Yeah, the people say that if I'm good in 2 years things will be back to normal, but I just don't know. It was the last thing that I wanted to do. I didn't want to declare it. I had to. It would have ruined my future for sure, having the judgment on there. It would have slapped itself on to any house I bought, it would have followed me to my grave. It was my only choice, but it doesn't affect any of my other bills. I don't have any other debt that is going away. I had gotten rid of any credit card debt years ago. I didn't have anything else. Why did it come to this? Why do I deserve this? Why?

Terrified.

Okay, the big B meeting is tomorrow at 2. I am more terrified than I thought I would be. I thought that once I made it through that first one, this stuff would be cake. but I'm scared. I'm not going to write much more, but just think of me tomorrow, and think no-asset.

Elephants on Acid

Okay, so I haven't even read it yet, but I've read all about it. There's this new book out called "Elephants on Acid". It's a review of some of the strangest experiments ever carried out in the name of science. I already think this stuff is fascinating, like the stanford prison experiment, or the one where people thought they were killing others, but did it because they were told to (both of which are in the book) but this book tells of so many that were even new to me! Here's a link to a preview :
http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/Top/experiments/P0

and just because it says museum of hoaxes, don't write it off. The guy who runs the website wrote the book. It was even on "Wait, Wait, don't tell me" the other day. So... It's really interesting and I can't wait to read it.

I'm also trying to think of ways to get more people to read this blog! I don't really know why, maybe I'm an exhibitionist (I don't think so much) but I'd like it to be read! SO! Tell your friends! Tell your enemies! Tell strangers on the street!

In my life right now, I'm still wedding planning, stressing about you know what, and trying in between all of that to have fun! I've got everything done except for the invitations. It's sure coming up quick. I can't wait. OH! And there is a honeymoon change! We are going in March! We are going to Miami! We are going on a cruise!!!!!! It's going to be very awesome. More soon...

Eeeek!

It's been so long! I've been busy. This week and last, we have been moving the library. It's hard work, but it's fun to see everything go together. I've been doing a lot!
Wedding planning is taking up a lot of my time. We've decided on favors, so now I need to get to it. The caterers have a contract done, the dress is in (yay!, its beautiful) and the church is booked. The rehearsal dinner site is booked, and when I negotiate some with the florist, that will be done too. Our cake is going to be delicious. I've got all of the accessories for my dress except for the tiara, it hasn't come in yet. Jason went and picked out a tux! He's going to look so handsome.
This past weekend we got new furniture. We got a new entertainment center. It's so pretty. I was a little sad to get rid of the old one, Jason had made it and I thought it was cool, but this one is taller, which Jason wanted (wait, I'll get there) and is a pretty dark color that we are going to try for in the loving room. Jason put it all together like an expert. It is cool. We also went to see Michael Kelsey last night. It was a really good show.
Jason's car has really come a long way! It's all painted and he made a rear view mirror for it that is really awesome. He's good at working with his hands. There's a picture of me crashing it (okay, crashing my PlayStation Aston Martin) at the top. The reason we got the new entertainment center so soon is that the old one was too low to see the TV when we were driving the car.

What else? I don't know. This as all kinda been stream of consciousness anyway.

Knitting is hard!

Hello dear reader. This weekend was fun! On Friday night we went to see 3:10 to Yuma. It was good. Westerny. :) Then Saturday we slept in, and I was treated to a hot stone massage by Jason! Okay, he didn't actually do the massaging, but he bought it for me. It was soooo nice and relaxing. I love those warm rocks. mmmmmm. That night wen went to the Japanese Steakhouse. It was delicious as always. Then Sunday we went to the (superhot) renaissance fair at Conner prairie. We saw some fun stuff including a falconer. I asked him for info about coming to the library to do a presentation. He would be great. We went to BD's Mongolian BBQ and had some lunch then. Both of us managed to eat less than usual. Who knew we had that kind of willpower? Good for us. Usually I go home from there waddling. The rest of the time we just relaxed. It was nice.
Today I did a lot of wedding stuff. I've got my veil and tiara ordered, I'm deciding on shoes (hey' if you've got an opinion, let me hear it) and the dress should be in next month! We are seeing the florist and having a tasting at Piper's on Saturday. I think we'll try to see about cake in there somewhere too.
I like the wedding planning stuff. It's fun.

Oh yeah, plus Jason got me some knitting supplies and I am trying to learn!Picture is an oldie but goodie from the children's museum.

Letting it go

Well, it's out of my hands now. I filed for you-know-what this morning. I'm not typing it because I'm sick of seeing the ad on the blog. I'm still really scared about it. I signed the papers this morning, and my first and only meeting will be in November, she thinks. She doesn't think that there will be any problem. So, I hope that's progress. I always think of a million things that could go wrong.
Right now I just want to go home and sleep. Neither Jason nor I got any sleep last night. I think I kept him up. I was tossing and turning all night. I hope that I can learn to deal with the stress. I hope more that it goes away. She didn't think it would clear before the wedding, but said that that wouldn't be a problem. So, I guess I had better stop thinking about it. There's nothing to be gained from that.

Johnny Appleseed, Dogs, and Whirligigs

Boy, oh, boy have I been busy. This week at work, I've got 2 class visits tomorrow, both on Johnny Appleseed, who I know NOTHING about until this week, storytime on Thursday, and about a million other things to do!

This weekend was fun though. Saturday, we got up, thought we were going to the bridal show, and found out when we got there that it wasn't until Sunday. Oops. So we went to my Mom's house for some paid labor, and then went home to scrub all of the dirt off.

That night Jason took me out on a date! Yay! He's always coming up with nice stuff for us to do. I love it. What he didn't know until now (maybe) is that I'm content sitting at home with him, or playing video games with him, or taking a walk together. So going out on a nice date is just icing on the cake. We had borrowed my Dad's miata, and drove it over to Dawson's on main street. It's in speedway, and it's where we were thinking of having our rehearsal dinner. We had crab cakes as an appetizer. They were very good. Crunchy on the outside and very good and dense with crab on the inside. Delicious. Then I had "smothered chicken" it was chicken with a Dijon sauce, then on top of that, scallions, mushrooms, bacon and cheese. WOW. It was so so so good. The mashed potatoes were a little dry, but the green beans were good. I loved it overall. I really want that chicken again. I want the recipe. mmmmmm.

After dinner we went over to The Jazz Kitchen to see a band called "The Bad Plus". Jason had heard them on the (satellite) radio, and said they were good, and did lots of interesting covers such as "Smells like Teen Spirit" etc. Well, we got there, and they didn't. They played a couple of covers but nothing really up my alley too much. Their original stuff was interesting if hard for me to understand. I felt like they were too hip for me. BUT, I enjoyed it.

Sunday we actually went to the bridal show, and saw some interesting stuff. For instance, places that will preserve your bouquet. It looks really cool. We talked with a couple of cake people and have a couple of leads! Yay. Most of the stuff there was reception sites and photographers. Since we have both, we got through pretty quickly and headed for....

The British car show. I was excited to go, because my dream car, my favorite car ever, the best car in the world is British. This car would be the Morgan plus 8. (see illustration at top). Unfortunately, there were no Morgans at the show, but there were a lot of interesting cars to see. I like the MGs too, and there were a few jaguars that were really pretty. I got a tiny plus 8 and a Morgan shirt. Not half bad...

There was however, one car that stood out among it's fellows. It was not British. It was silver, well, stainless steel colored at least. It had gull wing doors for you to hit your head upon. You can probably already see it's picture at the bottom of the page. Maybe the best thing it had however, was a flux capacitor. YES! It was a delorean. Yes! It really did have a flux capacitor. When we got excited about it and said, "It has a flux capacitor" the owner of the car looked at me and said the words that made me love her, this stranger. She said, with a straight face "It's what makes time travel possible". I almost cried. Then we noticed that it had a license plate that said.... "OUTA TYME" YAY!!! I was so happy, and then her husband asked if Jason would like a picture of me behind the wheel!!!! YAY! See the result! It was severely awesome. I'm kinda embarrassed for getting that excited to sit in a car that didn't fit in at the British car show, but hey, I am who I am, thanks Popeye.

Movie Night

Last night Jason and I watched 2 movies. First we watched The Fountain with Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. It was confusing, because it was 3/2 stories all at the same time. One in the past, one in the present and one who knows where. It was okay, kind of frustrating to try and figure out, because there was a whole spirituality element that you were so unsure if was inside his head, in the book she had written, or in reality. It was very visually pleasing. I read about the effects on IMDb, and they weren't cgi, they were all done with photographic effects. It was okay, but not thrilling.

Then we put in half of the Quentin Tarantino Grindhouse. It was Death Proof. The concept of the first half of the movie was that this guy, stuntman Mike was a killer. He had a car that had been "death proofed" by stuntmen, so he could wreck it and live. I won't spoil the end but it was a little confusing. I'm not sure I can say I'm a total fan of Tarantino. I loved the Kill Bills, but nothing else so far has made me jump for joy. I still want to see the other half of Grindhouse.

Hello

Hello all, not much to say today, I have another appointment with the attorney on Oct 2nd to get things finalized. I hope it all goes well.

Wedding wise, we are still at a kind of standstill. Jason is still picking grooms clothes, and I've got to decide how I want to do flowers. Either order them pre done, order them as just flowers and do them myself, or go to a local florist. All of the bridesmaids have looked for dresses (I think) and we just have to order them. I'm going to set up a tasting at Piper's soon and we are going to Dawson's this weekend. That's where we think we might have the rehearsal dinner. There's no room rental fee like there is at brickyard.

We are going to have an engagement party at my Mom and Dad's house next month. Jason is going to barbecue half of the world. He's at home today. He's not feeling well. His nose has just been driving him insane. I feel so bad that I can't do anything to help him with it. It's not fair that he is so plagued by his nose. He's still awesome though, even with a runny nose.

Danica was funny last night. She came and laid on my arm for the longest time and tried to sleep but couldn't get comfortable. So, I got up to go to bed, and she followed me. I picked her up and she wanted to sit on my arm and shoulder and just purr. She was so sweet. I laid down and she didn't move, even though she was laying on my neck at that point. She's the only cat I've ever seen that WANTS to be picked up. She stops in front of my feet and arches her back. I found out this weekend that she's outgrown her little green coat :(. I'll have to get her a new one.

Monday and More!

It's Monday. Sure is. My fingers are FREEZING! I don't know why I'm so cold this morning. It's supposed to really start heating up around now. I'm here at work after a fun (and busy) weekend.

On Friday night, we went to see The Nanny Diaries. I loved the book, but I didn't like the movie. None of it had any depth, and I was kinda bored. We should have seen Balls of Fury instead. The acting was fine, and I liked the nature guide kind of asides, but the movie in general was just, eh. I'd give it 2 out of four stars. I didn't actively dislike it, but I didn't enjoy it either.

The last book I read (okay, listened to) was Mister Monday by Garth Nix. I really really enjoyed Lirael, Sabriel, and Abhorsen, but this wasn't as good. It was good, I listened and I liked it, but not his very best work. I felt the same about the one before that, The Prophet of Yonwood. I liked the two previous, City of Ember and People of Sparks, but this one wasn't as good! I'm looking for the next one, someone recommend me something!

So, back on track, Saturday, we got up early and went to get my new wheel. We got it, they took the old one but didn't give me anything for it. Then we took it to the tire place. While we were waiting for it to be done, we went to one cake shop, and freaked the woman out with our pictures. She said she would have to "think a lot about this one". Yeah, we're not going back. For those of you that don't know, we want our wedding cake to look like the original pagoda at the speedway. (look up) I think it might be a little hard to find someone to make it for us. We are going to a bridal show this weekend. Maybe there will be someone there to do it.

After the cake shop, we went back to the tire place and picked up my car! It's all better. Yay!!!!! Then we went to the grocery. Bought stuff for us, and stuff for a barbecue! We got home, and then went right back out to go to goodwill and walmart looking for a table. Goodwill had NOTHING that was appropriate and cheap enough, but we found one at walmart. Then we got oil for the cars and went home!

Larson came over and he and Jason changed the oil in all of the cars. Steve, Rachel and the boys came over. Then, we fired up the grill and had:

corn
grill fries
bacon wrapped stuffed jalapenos
giant shrimp
beer brats
chicken
all kinds of random stuff
smores

I'm still stuffed. It was really good.

Sunday we went over to my Mom's and cleaned out gutters. Gross. I hate those gutters.

Still surviving

I'm still all nervous about all of it, I think I will be until it's over, but it's better now. I don't want to spend all of my time talking about it. So!

This weekend we went to the last race of the season in Chicago. To start off with, the weather was PERFECT! It wasn't hot or cold, and we were in the shade in our seats. Vitor was going to come to the pre-race party, but had to have a meeting. He said he'd be at the banquet tomorrow night though. I really hope he has a better year next year. His was the second (after marco) wreck of the day. Something broke on his car, and he hit the wall so hard that he broke the safer barrier. I say that makes him cool. I know I'm out of order, but with your favorite having such a hard season you have to put it out there. So, the race was really exciting. I don't know why it's so much more exciting to me to see the teams running together, but it is. It was cool. We were right there when Dixon ran out of gas sooooooo close to the finish line. This time Dario does "see the checker" and it was cool, but will be much less cool if he goes to napcar (cuz it makes me sleepy) next year.

So, great race. Going to the banquet tomorrow. Last night we chopped up a tree covered in poison ivy. At least that's what we thought it was. We still aren't quite done, but it was really hard work. It's awesome to have such a great fiance. He's handy and hardworking. Now we have a big pile of kindling.

I survived

My meeting with the bankruptcy attorney was yesterday, and I survived. It took 3 hours! I do qualify to declare chapter 7, but it's so frustrating that I have to. I have to liquidate some stock I've had since I was born, and they could go after Mom for the tax refund I gave her this past year. They will also get my tax refund for this year. I still think that this is better than having the MC garnish my wages, and take all of my money. So.... I have to do a couple more things, like credit counseling (online) and send a couple more things in, but it's going.

I can't believe it's come to this. I don't have ANYTHING to discharge other than the condo. I don't have any credit card debt, my car is current on payments, my student loan is current, and can't go away anyway, and I don't have any other debt. I worked so hard to get to that point, and now it's all for nothing. If she could have just told me straight up that she really couldn't afford the house anymore, before the liens were placed, we could have done a short sale and been done with it. I know she said I never picked up on hints, but that's definately something she could have been straightforward about. So.... Everyone, I think it's going in the right direction, but until it's over, don't forget me!

It's tomorrow

My appointment with the bankruptcy attorney is tomorrow. Good Lord, I am terrified. I am so scared that something is going to go wrong, that she will tell me that I am screwed etc. I don't know what to wear, I've got all of the stuff, but I don't know what it's for, like she wanted the last 3 months of bank statements. Well, I don't have anything to hide, I'm not hiding any money, or anything, but what if she tells me that I'm spending too much on one thing or another, and that means that I can't do it? I am just terrified. I don't think I'll be nearly as scared of the meeting with the actual trustee. Who knows? I just wish that this could be completely over tomorrow. I also pray that everything will go fine tomorrow. If you're reading this, think of me tomorrow morning at 9.

Labor Day Weekend

Now for the three millionth post being made today about this past weekend. It was fun! Friday night we went to rib fest, ate some ribs, corn, onion thingy and lots of mentos. Pat Benetar played, and I had no idea how many of her songs I knew! She was really good. Saturday, we had lunch at Johnny Rocket's and then went to rib fest. We saw Beatlemania Live (a great, fun beatles cover band), Shooter Jennings (really good) and The Marshall Tucker band (not my fave!) For the last one of those, we were invaded by the red-neckiest red necks that I have ever seen. There was this whole group in front of us that was so bad, we ended up moving.

Saturday was REALLY hot, and I forgot good sunscreen. I could feel my skin burning, and when I got home, I had interesting lines on my arms, spots on my chest, and the best, stripes and polka dots on my feet from my shoes. My feet were so dirty from all of the dust that I wore flip flops to the shower, and then turned the water black.

Saturday night was Sky Concert, and though we had good seats and there was fun stuff, it wasn't as good as it used to be. The fireworks didn't seem timed much at all, and the music wasn't very varied. Also, they kept calling it the 25th anniversary of sky concert, and it was really only the 24th. It was so much better when I was in HS.

Sunday morning, we got up early ish, and went out to eagle creek park. We walked a trail around a lake, through the forest and saw some interesting stuff, and then decided to rent a canoe! That was superfun. It was a little nervous making when I was getting in, but after that it didn't really feel to me like it was going to tip much. We paddled, in a zig zag pattern, straight line was hard, around the lake, we saw a blue heron who got mad at us, and some cool fish. Also a big black/brown bird that we didn't know what it was. Jason's arm hurts now, and my shoulders, but we really liked it. We want to try a kayak next time.

That afternoon, Jason installed our new kitchen faucet. He broke the old one off in his hand (look up). The new one is great! It's really nice to have a handy guy. I would still be trying to hook it up now. We went to Ruby Tuesday for dinner. YUM.

Monday was a lazy day. Jason went and bought our latest video game obsession, because we had to return the rental one. It's Justice League. We have been playing it waaaaay too much. It's fun and addictive. That night, we went to see Buddy Guy at rib fest. That was a GREAT show. He never finished a song, just changed to a new one in the middle. He came out in the audience and played. It really was awesome. Then we grocery shopped, went home and played more Justice League. I like Zatanna. Why had I never heard of her before?!

I know, I know

They've all been like this, but I'm so stressed out about this bankruptcy thing. I just hope it all goes well. I'm more scared about this first meeting that I think than I am about the one with the creditors. I don't really think anyone will show up for that... I don't know though. I'm just so scared, and so stressed about it. Jason is a big help, and so are my friends, but it's such a scary thing. Mom volunteered to go with me, but I'm torn. I want her to go because I want moral support, but I want to go alone because I'm a grown up, and this is my problem that I should handle myself. One week and one day until I go.

Helooooo

Still here, I'm still a little sick. I think it's getting better though. I spent all day yesterday at a training session. Not the most riveting stuff, but not a waste of time either. No update on the bad stuff, still waiting for my appointment.

I'm still trying to read the newest Laurell K Hamilton. I usually love her, but Harlequin has just failed to grab my attention. I think it's on the cusp though, I didn't want to stop reading this morning.

We went to see Stardust this past weekend. I loved it. I'd like to see it again. Jason thinks Claire Danes has huge mutant eyes. I just liked it and thought it was under-loved by the critics/public.

I guess that's it, until I get inspiration.

The continuing stoooooory...

Of a quack, who's gone to the dogs. Anyone out there remember that? I decided to post again today, because I'd like to get this story as finished as I can.

So, there I am in Ohio for the wedding, and the mortgage co calls me. They say they didn't get the listing agreement I faxed. No problem they say, just re-send it. I tell them I will and I get in the shower. When I come out, my phone is screaming that there is a message. It's the MC (mortgage co) again. I call them back, expecting an "ooops" called you again. No such luck. The ER's liens wouldn't settle. The short sale was off. I cried. I was going to have to declare bankruptcy.

After the weekend, with a little time to think, I called the MC and asked if they would wait to start the foreclosure stuff so I could see if I could somehow fix it. I called lawyers. One recommended me do a "waiver of time limit" but the lawyers for the MC had never heard of it and said I should talk to the MC itself about it, who said to talk to the lawyers. So, no luck there (it still haunts me that that could have worked, but I guess I'll never know). No way out of the liens, it was a HUD rule, if the short sale was going to work, the liens could not be there. It came down to, I could pay off the larger lien and the mort co would do the smaller. So, I called the lien holder. No call back. The MC called me the next day and said that if I could get the lien paid by that Friday, that they would pay the total $2000, leaving me to pay less. I called the lien holder back again, and she refused to talk to me. Told me that since it was the ER's lien, I could not pay it. I called the MC, they called the lien holder. Same story. I couldn't pay it. I called my lawyer, they told him the same thing. All hope for the short sale or deed in lieu was gone.

That was in June. Since then, nothing has happened. I was waiting to declare bankruptcy, (or see if I could avoid it) until I talked to the bankruptcy attorney last week. She said not to wait, that if I waited it would be worse (since I would be married) and that it was best to just go ahead. I have an appointment with her next Friday. I don't think it's going to be easy. I'm constantly worried about what could go wrong.

So, that's it. I called the ER on the day I found out that the liens wouldn't settle, but that was it. She didn't answer the phone. I am so scared that something is going to go wrong with the bankruptcy. I don't know what I'll do then. I'm trying to be optimistic, but it's so scary. This is something that I really wanted to avoid, and now here I am. It seems that every smart financial decision that I've made is now a bad one. I can only hope, that in 2 weeks, it turns out well. please.

Part Three

Soooo, when I left off before, I had gotten a new job, the short sale papers were in, and I thought things were going pretty well. Then, there was the notice on my door. I went to pick up the certified mail. I had been served.

It was a copy of the foreclosure. Listed on one of the first pages were others that had a claim on the property. It seemed there were liens. I called the mortgage co. Sure enough, there were 2 liens on the property. In her name. Placed in 2005. To the tune of about $7000 dollars. This was putting the short sale in jeopardy. They would pay up to $2000, but the ER (ex-roommate) would have to get them to settle for that. The representative from the mortgage co emailed her. The ER said she would get it taken care of.

Many emails between ER and mortgage co later, it appeared to be settled. It's now March. I was offered my old job back, and went. Things were going as planned. I signed a listing agreement with a realtor. The application for the short sale program was pending, but according to the mortgage co, it looked good.

April. Happy Birthday to me! I'm almost done with school! Short sale stuff is still pending, mortgage co and ER still emailing about the liens, still looks good.

May. I graduate! I found a new job, a real children's librarian! It's a great job. I'll start in June! On my last day at the old job, I get a phone call from the mortgage co. The short sale is approved! That weekend, we were off to Ohio for Jason's sister's wedding. Nice hotel, nice company, etc. While we were at the rehearsal dinner, the restaurant caught fire! we all had to go outside for a while, but we took pictures with the fire truck. It was fun. Then the morning of the wedding, as Jason and I were getting ready to go to a movie, my cell phone rings. It's the mortgage company.

Sick

I feel awful today. I don't know if it's allergies or something I picked up yesterday at the doctor's office or what. I'm really stressed out because I'm having to declare bankruptcy. This is, of course a sneak peek at what I hope is the ending to the long story I've been posting on here. If you're out there, hope that it goes well!

ANYWAY, I'm sick. My nose is all stuffed up and my head hurts. The nose stuff started last night. I bet poor Jason has felt like this all week! He's still the best ever, by the way. Really helping me get through all of this.

Picture is where I'd like to be...

The Next Episode

Okay, when I left the story before, I had just lost my job, and was still getting promises from my (ex) roommate that she would pay bills and help me out as I looked for a new roommate. I got a new job 2 days after I lost the first, but it wasn't what I was looking for. I had a good lead on a better job, so I left the new job to pursue this one.

Something I hadn't mentioned yet, during all of this I was discovering that she had transferred all of the utilities into my name without my knowledge. I asked her about it and she said that the companies had let her when she said we were both on the mortgage. When I talked to the utility companies, they said that only I, with my social security number could have changed them.

At this point, it had become obvious to me that :

1. I could not find a new roommate.
2. I sure couldn't afford the house on my own.

I called the mortgage company and asked them what I could do. They recommended a short sale, but said I would have to have her signature to do it. She was not answering calls or emails. I sent her an email asking her to take responsibility and work with me to dispose of the condo. I received an email in return that was full of venom. In it she told me that everything was my fault and that every bad thing that had happened to her in the 7 years we lived together was due to me. It also said, however that she would be glad to do the short sale.

I moved in with Jason. I had the condo cleaned. I started the short sale paperwork. The condo was empty. Soon, I begin to get "final notices" for utilities and home owner's association dues that had not been paid. I pad them all. I settled a lawsuit from the home owner's association. These were not the utilities in my name, but the ones in hers from when we were both living there.

Pretty soon, I got that new job I was hoping for. I started teaching preschool at a daycare. I liked it, but it was hard work, with no recognition, and little support from administration. The ex-roommate came through with a signature on the quitclaim deed that the mortgage company told me I would need to pursue the short sale on my own. I sent in all of the paperwork for the short sale. I had to get counseling to send in the short sale paperwork, and the counselor thought everything would go well, as long as there were no liens on the property. I assured her that if there were, I would surely know about them. Everything was on track. Then in February, there was a sticker on my door, asking me to go pick up some certified mail.

Happier news

I didn't want my first depressing post to just sit. So, here's a happier, shorter one. We got a new couch! It's awesome!!! It's green!!! It's really comfy. We are so happy with the way the living room and whole house are shaping up! We are going to paint the wall behind the couch blue, and one wall in the kitchen is already beautiful bright green. Jason is putting up white shelves all around, and we are going to put cars up on them. I really feel like it's home. This place feels more like home to me than the condo ever did.

Not as good, but hopefully getting better...

Here's the first of many posts on what has happened to me in the last year. I'm going to describe all events exactly as I recall them happening, and try to avoid any opinion (though I have many). Draw what conclusions you may.

In early November of 2006, I wrote my monthly check to the mortgage company. Sometimes, I had written the check to my roommate and she had sent a single check, but this time I wrote it to the mortgage company itself. A few days later, a check for my half of the mortgage cleared my account. Surprised at how quickly it had happened, I wanted to check the date on the check. When I looked at the check online in my bank account, it was a check that I had not written. It was a check that my roommate had written from my checkbook, made out to herself.

At first this was not cause for great alarm. I trusted my roommate. We had lived together for 7 years, and been friends for 8 more. On Jason's advice, I called the mortgage company and asked if they has received payment. They had not. Since May.

I immediately called my roommate at work. Her first question was "Why did you call them?" I told her what had happened, still convinced that this was some kind of horrible mistake. She promised to call them and sort it all out. That night she told me that she had been sending the payment via EFT. Suspicious, I asked if I could see the EFT statements when she got them so that we could figure it out together.

A couple of days later, she tells me that the bank did misdirect the money, that the EFT slips had been ruined in her car, and that she is trying to work things out with her bank.

Next, a few days after that she tells me that the bank won't return her money. That it went into some sort of account that she can't access. I asked her how, that if it were her money, that the bank would keep it from her. She said it was their policy. She, at that point said that it would be 3-6 months before she could get at it.

She had talked to the mortgage company and set up a loan modification. This extends the period of the loan, and puts late fees and back payments on the total of the amount owed. The paperwork was in the mail to us.

She had set up a roommates.com account for me and had told me she wanted to move. I was actively pursuing a new roommate, and she had told me that she would continue to pay bills (I couldn't on my own) until I found someone.

On Nov 30, I found out that I was going to lose my job (a long story that I'm not discussing here, for legal reasons. If you know me, you know all about it). I got home that night and the house was empty. She had taken all of her things, and was gone. I called her and she explained that her relatives were in town that day and could help her, but not to worry. Nothing had changed, according to her. She was going to move out, but keep paying bills.

The next day, I lost my job. About a week after that, we met at the UPS store to sign the loan modification paperwork. She made the same promises that she would pay bills and help. I never saw her again.

To be continued...

Here I Go!

I'm creating this to entertain, I hope. It's all about me, my life, and everything. So, the answer to this blog would be somewhere around 42. I'm 28, engaged to the most wonderful man in the universe (Jason!)and planning to be married in February! We have 3 lovely cats, Diana the Cat, Tabby Cattenhausen, and Danica Catrick. Shock of a lifetime, we are race fans! We've gone to a whole bunch of IRL races this season, and even though I wasn't sure I would have any fun, it turns out that I love it!
We live in Greenwood Indiana, and we like it. We're super close to the mall, but far enough from the city, that it ends up a good mix. We like to grill out, always make some extravagant meal that's waaay too much for us. We love movies, subscribe to the blockbuster total access thing (more about that in another post) and like to see them in the theater too. Jason is really really into cars, and I learn something new from him every day. I'm also into (and am assimilating Jason into) anime. Sailor Moon is my all time favorite, started watching in high school, and never really got tired of it. We are sci-fi fans, and proud geeks.
I'm a librarian and Jason works in I-T. I'm happy with my (relatively) new job, but his job is like being whipped with a cheese grater. Soooo, we are always looking for new opportunities for him. A lot has happened with us in the last year, some good, some bad, and I'm sure it will keep going, so check back for more adventures!