What do Mr. Clean, Rampage, and Walgreen's have in common

Well, it's been a while since I last posted. Prepare yourselves. Things have been crazy busy! We received an offer on our house, and we are working through that. We are trying to work with the buyers' needs without being upside-down on our end. In the meantime I've been cleaning the house and making sure things are repaired. I called Ray's Electric to repair some fixtures for me. They are fantastic. We have called them for repairs in the past. His wife is so nice. We sat and drank coffee while he and his partner worked. I spent other days repairing things myself and scrubbing walls with the Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. Those things are great! It even scrubbed the mold off of the outside door frame upstairs, which sees a lot of moisture.

Tuesday night I went to dinner with some women who lived in Aberdeen. Kristin, a girl I met in Aberdeen who is in Texas visiting, invited me. They were a great group of ladies. They were so fun! They told me that I would really enjoy it in Aberdeen. Here are just a few interesting things they said:

• They don't really do baby or wedding showers there.
• Boots has some great products.
• It gets cold, but not as cold as Minnesota.
• Buy a one-year movie pass. It's worth it

Anyway, I had to get a picture taken for my visa this week. Walgreen's will do that for you. However, it is done at your own risk. I didn't know that you couldn't smile, and they didn't either, so the first set I took was sent back to me to redo. I went there for a second time and took the instructions from the UK to them. We took another picture.

Let's jump forward in time. Here is how this morning went. I'd love to write the other things that frustrated me but for the sake of keeping Steve somewhat sane, I'll skip those parts. Not him... just for him. :o)

I got up thinking I had plenty of time. At 8:20 AM, Steve told me that my appointment at the visa service place (for fingerprinting) was at 10 AM, and that I had paperwork to review and sign. Great. So I needed to leave at 9 AM to make it there but before that I needed to shower, dry hair, review papers, sign papers, feed dogs, let dogs out, put dogs up, print out title transfer papers for my car, clean my car, put in my contacts, eat breakfast, pick up photos at Walgreen's, and get to a place 30 miles away by 10. I felt like one of those monsters on that game Rampage.  Guess I should have asked earlier for confirmation of that appointment.

After a shower without washing my hair, no contacts but instead glasses with little make-up, no breakfast, and unbrushed hair pulled into a pony tail, I got into my car at about 9:07 AM. Ladies will understand the level of frustration at just this step in the day. Of course, no gas. I drove to the gas station, got out of the car, and realized... GEEZ! I parked on the wrong side. Really? So I drove around to the next pump. I got out and swiped my card. It asked for my pin so I entered it. Stupid "beep" sounds don't actually match up to the timing of when you hit the buttons, so you end up hitting more than necessary thinking it didn't register. I was asked by the pump to "See attendant."  FINE! I threw my card in my pocket, grabbed my wallet, and walked inside. "Guess I should get some coffee and a breakfast bar." I went to the register, took the card out of my wallet, and swiped it. It asked for my pin, so I looked at the card to make sure it was the right one. AAAHHH...no... wrong card. I told the attendant that I was so sorry but I used the wrong card. She rolled her eyes, sighed, and continued to shake her head side-to-side as she pushed a few extra buttons to ring things up again. Why is everybody being so mean? Was hitting a few extra buttons really that big of a deal?

After that, I went to Walgreen's to pick up my pictures. She showed me the picture of myself looking a bit angry (you aren't allowed to smile... hehe), and then I noticed that it was cut off right below my chin. I had no neck or shoulders! That is not acceptable for a visa or passport photo! GGRRRRRR..... I could have smashed a building like those characters on Rampage. She tried to tell me that the computer didn't recognize my light colored shirt. I pointed to the previous set of incorrect photos and said, "Really? Because I'm wearing the same shirt here, and my shoulders appear in this photo." I know how photo shop works. A person crops the photo. So she says, well let's take a new picture now, and I'll fix it. Okay. (1) It's 9:25 AM, and I have to get 30 miles IN HOUSTON by 10 AM. (2) I'm wearing glasses, which are not allowed in the photo. I also have unbrushed hair in a pony tail and very little make-up. Let's put that on a picture that I have to show everybody for employment for the next 5 years. Fantastic idea. "No, I don't have time for that." She said she would use the previous photo and fix it at no charge. I left incredibly frustrated. By the end of today, they got it right, but Steve's company has to pay to overnight them to the UK. :(

On a happier note, I sold my car today. It's nice to have something major done. Everything will be worked out tomorrow. Steve's company will pay for a rental for a while.  Tomorrow we are going shopping for winter clothes. It's cheaper to buy clothes here than in the UK.

I took my my earlier frustrations out on the concrete. I took the dogs walking and ran 2 miles. Then, I cooked Steve some steak and McAlister potatoes from Guy Fieri's book (my mom bought it for me). Steve described it as, "Heavenly". Guess I did it right! I told him that with all he has to deal with at work and with selling things at home, he deserved a guilt-free yummy meal. :o) I think he was happy.


So, what do Mr. Clean, Rampage, and Walgreen's have in common this week? They're all destructive.