It's a project

Clay and I are "do it yourself" kind of people. Especially on long weekends we love to start the "big" projects. This weekend (since we failed to go on vacation) we decided to tackle a project which has been on the list for a while. We're building a back patio/garden area in the side yard. We've had a vision we just haven't had the time to bring it all together. So this weekend we went to the rock store where they sell the flat sandstone which is what we envisioned for the patio area and the walkway to the backyard. Total for this project we are bringing in 300 sq feet of sandstone and 3 tons of filler. You heard that right folks that is a 3 with the word tons after it. And yes Clay and I are doing it ourselves. Yesterday and today we laid out the metal edging and cleared the area. Tomorrow we'll be doing the leveling and then the rocks will be delivered Wednesday. When its done I'll post pictures.

On a side note when we were ordering the material Clay asked how much it would be to install the patio and they guy said he'd charge around $1000. Clay and I had no intention to have someone else do this since we love home improvement projects. But I looked at Clay and said "by the time this is over we may wish we had paid someone to do it." After a day of shoveling, hauling and general heavy lifting I'm starting to think I was right!

I Need a Vacation

So it happened to me again. This weekend we were suppose to go to Dallas to see my aunt and uncle. As usual I called them on our way out of town so they would know when Clay and I would arrive. My cousin Brent answered the phone and he said "well you can come but everyone is in Tennessee." My cousin can be a bit of a jokester so I started arguing with him. I kept saying "Brent stop lying to me." Finally he convinced me he wasn't lying. Somehow I had got the weekends they were going to be home mixed up in my head. So Clay and I turned around and headed home. As luck would have it that is the SECOND time in a week I had packed for a vacation that I didn't get to go on.

I hate flying

Ok... I hate flying for several reasons. First of all I have a slight phobia of flying. I realize that flying is safer than driving but still I always get nervous before a flight. Second, I hate flying because the airlines have decided to completely ditch customer service. I realize times are tight but that doesn't mean you have to stop being nice to your customers and treating them fairly.

So here's the deal. My sister just had a baby (Miss Lily) and I decided to go see her. During spring break Clay and I went to Phoenix where the airline we were on overbooked the plane, lost the reservation, and ended up splitting us up so I got to Phoenix at the expected arrival time of 11am and Clay made it there (after a brief stop in Chicago) by 11pm. So of course they gave us a voucher which gave us either a free ticket or $200 off.

Clay and I decided that the voucher would be a great way for me to go and see Alyson and Jim. So I called to book my flight. Getting to Spokane Washington is no easy task. Preferably I would fly into Pullman Washington but this particular airline doesn't go there and since I'm trying to use a voucher I have to go to where they fly. Consequently Spokane. While my flight to Spokane is reasonable (leave OKC at 8:45 am and arrive at 2:30pm) the return flight is RIDICULOUS. They put me on a flight that leaves at 3:30pm then I go to Phoenix then I go to Las Vegas (yeah that's the WRONG direction) then I arrive in good ol' OKC at 3:30 IN THE MORNING!!!! But that's the only flight they have available for like a month. Furthermore there is no free ticket to that destination on any day in the next 6 years so I can only use the $200 voucher. Ok I take it, surely my new niece is worth the $300 to cover the rest of the ticket price.

So now we get to today. I arrive a good 2 hours early (even though in OKC usually 1 hour is fine). When I arrive there are about 6 folks ahead of me in line. This other guy gets in line behind me and says "does that say the flight to Phoenix is canceled?" Of course I don't have my glasses on but the lady in front of me pipes up that sure enough it is canceled. Stupendous! An hour later I make it to the ticket counter only to find out they had used every available seat out of OKC for today for all of the passengers in front of me and now I'm booked for tomorrow. Seriously people.

So now Clay has to come back from work to pick me up from the airport and take me home. I'm a bit miffed so I decided to call the airline because surely there should be some compensation in this for me since I had only planned to be in Idaho for 2 days anyhow and now it's down to 1 day and it looks like I'm on standby for that flight anyhow and there is NO point in flying up there just to turn around and fly home.

So I call the airline and decide I am going to be very nice and explain this situation in a cool calm and collected voice and hopefully get them to change my Thursday flight to a Friday flight so at least I get to have a decent visit. Of course I'm routed to some call center in India where I can't understand the lady on the other end. I try to explain the situation and she says "your ticket is non-refundable we can't change anything." I tell her I understand that but I want to speak to her supervisor. We go back and forth a few times and then SHE HANGS UP ON ME!!! I kid you not!

Now I'm beyond all reason. All I want is my money back and to get out of this deal. So I call back. Finally I get a lady who is very nice and I calmly explain the situation. Of course they can't extend my stay because that is Memorial Day weekend and there are no flights available out of Spokane for like another week. Again this is not working for me. AAARRRGGG!! And since my ticket is non refundable she doesn't want to give my money back. After patiently explaining the situation for the zillionth time I finally get her to refund both the money I spend on the ticket and the voucher!!!! So now, if I dare risk flying with this airline again, I can still use the voucher. Unfortunately I'm not getting to go see Alyson, Jim, and Lily but at least I feel vindicated. Can I just say it one more time... I hate flying.

Finally Done With Finals

Today I officially turned in my last final. I was done with regular exams last Thursday, but I had a take home test that I had been picking away at this week. I actually finished my take home yesterday but waited to take it up to the school until today. Anyhow, it's exciting to realize that I am done with my 2nd year of law school. 3L year here I come!

Lazy

I am constantly amazed at how lazy people are. Not that I am an exception to this since people (even I) tend to take the path of least resistance. None the less there are some activities that even amaze me. Today I went to Wal Mart to pick up some milk. It was 1pm so parking was plentiful. Pulling out in front of me was this large van. The amazing thing was they were pulling out of one parking spot to move ONE SPOT CLOSER!!!! Seriously people just walk the extra 3 steps it will do you some good... trust me!

It's Here

So finals are upon me. Truly I'm just ready for them to be over with. Wish me luck. The next three days are going to be completely exhausting. Also say a prayer for Clay. He is finished with finals but he's been a real trouper in continuing to help me prepare by reading cards he claims are in English but he has no idea what they mean. I love my husband!

Isn't he handsome!

Oh What a Night!

Yesterday when Clay got home we decided to walk the dogs after dinner. We had watched the news while we ate and the weather guys had to go to Kansas to have something to talk about. So off we went. When we were at the furthest point from the house (of course) suddenly this HUGE storm cloud formed in a matter of minutes. We decided it was in the best interest to head home and quickly as possible. Just a minute later the cloud opened up and the biggest splashiest rain drops came pouring down. We ran home but before we could even make it home the storm had moved past us. But I told Clay that the cloud looked like the kind where a tornado could drop out at any moment so when we got home we checked the weather and the storm ended up producing 3 or 4 tornadoes as it moved north.

Then before we went to bed we checked the weather again and everything was all clear. So at 1am Maggie woke me up because there was some thunder and lightening. Instead of being annoyed I just took off her collar and told her to go to sleep. However, I could tell that the weather was getting worse so I decided to get up and check to see if there was some really bad weather. As I did the BIG storm hit and we were pelted with ping pong ball size hail. It was so loud we had to crank up the TV. It was crazy! It was so bad I went to see how our "garden" survived. The canas were shredded and earlier this year we had planted a peach tree and we were going to get 3 peaches... now we only have one. Anyhow, it was crazy!