Oil. I love it, I hate it. What I really want is to be able to count on individuals, companies and our government to be good stewards of the earth. I want industries to really internalize safety features that could prevent accidents. I would very much like a world where profit is not the first concern. I'll die holding my breath, I know.
We originally planned our trip when we first heard the oil was going to hit the Florida coast. Now they are predicting Florida will only get a light sheen and tarballs (as if that won't do any damage.) Now, pessimism aside, we are going to try to beat the oil. This morning we sent Derek to work and Grandma Margaret, Molly, Spencer and I are going to the beach. I hope the oil doesn't do much damage here, but, again, I'm not holding my breath. I am hoping we will be lucky enough to go to the beach again in a few weeks with visitors.
I think, if I can, I might go to the beach again next week.
Update: SUNBURN! I burned so badly I have to wear a shirt and shorts to the beach next time. Next time hopefully being Wednesday, May 12.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Solar Power
We are almost completely committed to solar panels (in a legal sense, we are already committed in our minds.) We have signed the loan paperwork and sometime next week we will be signing the contract with the solar company.
The salesman that sold us the system was awesome. There were several steps in the loan process that were tedious and would have taken us a week to complete, but he was prepared and he made phone calls and paid fees for us to continue moving forward. He has been the best commission only salesperson we have ever had. He did the yucky work, backed off when we said we needed to think about it, and let us read the fine print at our leisure anytime we had to sign something.
Let's talk about cost for a moment. The total cost for the system is $33,000. The state of Florida currently has a rebate of $20,000 (how awesome is that?) and the feds have a $9,900 tax credit, the company will front the remainder of the cost for a few years. We are going to let everything settle and then pay it off. We had to get a loan (a low interest loan issued by the city) to cover the state rebate. Admittedly, the state rebate comes with some risk. The rebate fund has to be re-funded every year by the legislature and is currently out of money. There is always the chance they will not fund it this year. We were willing to take that risk. In my mind we aren't even getting that rebate money. (This is another area where this company and the salesman are awesome, they are filling out the paperwork for the rebate for us.)
There is a couple more more papers to sign and money to change hands, but we're on baby!
The salesman that sold us the system was awesome. There were several steps in the loan process that were tedious and would have taken us a week to complete, but he was prepared and he made phone calls and paid fees for us to continue moving forward. He has been the best commission only salesperson we have ever had. He did the yucky work, backed off when we said we needed to think about it, and let us read the fine print at our leisure anytime we had to sign something.
Let's talk about cost for a moment. The total cost for the system is $33,000. The state of Florida currently has a rebate of $20,000 (how awesome is that?) and the feds have a $9,900 tax credit, the company will front the remainder of the cost for a few years. We are going to let everything settle and then pay it off. We had to get a loan (a low interest loan issued by the city) to cover the state rebate. Admittedly, the state rebate comes with some risk. The rebate fund has to be re-funded every year by the legislature and is currently out of money. There is always the chance they will not fund it this year. We were willing to take that risk. In my mind we aren't even getting that rebate money. (This is another area where this company and the salesman are awesome, they are filling out the paperwork for the rebate for us.)
There is a couple more more papers to sign and money to change hands, but we're on baby!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Thank Goodness for Photos
One of the many tasks I have put off is organizing our photos. While working on it, I love seeing how the kids have changed in the last year. It has been heartbreaking, adorable, frustrating and surreal. One especially fun aspect has been seeing them in the same clothes through the year.
In Hawaii,the clothes the kids wore to the beach were also their summer clothes here in Florida. Molly's shorts were down to her knees and Spencer's bathing suit was almost to his ankles. By the end of last summer, Molly's shorts were too short and Spencer wore the next size swimsuit. They get so big, so fast!
While looking at the pre-move photos gives me the warm fuzzies, the thought of looking at the post-move photos depresses me.
(days later)
I took the plunge and I am pleasantly surprised by the photos taken after our move. Admittedly, almost all of our photos are taken during good times, but at least now I can see we had some good times. You know, sometimes you just need proof.
In Hawaii,the clothes the kids wore to the beach were also their summer clothes here in Florida. Molly's shorts were down to her knees and Spencer's bathing suit was almost to his ankles. By the end of last summer, Molly's shorts were too short and Spencer wore the next size swimsuit. They get so big, so fast!
While looking at the pre-move photos gives me the warm fuzzies, the thought of looking at the post-move photos depresses me.
(days later)
I took the plunge and I am pleasantly surprised by the photos taken after our move. Admittedly, almost all of our photos are taken during good times, but at least now I can see we had some good times. You know, sometimes you just need proof.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Baby time!
My very good friend, Rebecca, had her fourth baby today. Congratulations Rebecca and Dan! His name is Hudson and he is pretty darn cute. I have to share a little bit of their birth story, because I cannot believe how perfectly things worked out for them.
Rebecca's third baby came after 45 minutes of labor, so there was a bit of concern about this baby arriving so fast as well. For this baby, she had everything planned out and backup planned up the wazzu. She planned a home birth, the last three were in the hospital and her third might have been better off at home, given how fast he arrived. Since it was a home birth, she hired a midwife and a photographer to capture the early moments of what might be her last baby.
Last week she started having mild contractions (or false labor.) She wasn't quite ready though, she hadn't shopped for groceries yet! After a rush of nesting, she went into labor at 3 am this morning. Two and a half hours later out came Hudson. She did say that after her last baby, 2.5 hours seemed excruciating. Her midwife was able to show up 15 minutes before the baby arrived and the photographer is going on vacation tomorrow. So, the timing worked well with the professionals.
She did have a bit of a panic in the beginning of her labor, because the person that was supposed to take her children while she was laboring was in the hospital because her child has croup. Her backup people weren't answering their phones, it was 3 am after all, and one next door neighbor has a 3 week old baby herself and the other had to work. So they decided to let the kids sleep and work it out as best they could. It turns out the kids slept right through everything! EVERYTHING! Can you believe it?
Everyone sounds like they are doing well. Maybe this will be the baby that sleeps through the night? Good luck, Rebecca and Dan!
Rebecca's third baby came after 45 minutes of labor, so there was a bit of concern about this baby arriving so fast as well. For this baby, she had everything planned out and backup planned up the wazzu. She planned a home birth, the last three were in the hospital and her third might have been better off at home, given how fast he arrived. Since it was a home birth, she hired a midwife and a photographer to capture the early moments of what might be her last baby.
Last week she started having mild contractions (or false labor.) She wasn't quite ready though, she hadn't shopped for groceries yet! After a rush of nesting, she went into labor at 3 am this morning. Two and a half hours later out came Hudson. She did say that after her last baby, 2.5 hours seemed excruciating. Her midwife was able to show up 15 minutes before the baby arrived and the photographer is going on vacation tomorrow. So, the timing worked well with the professionals.
She did have a bit of a panic in the beginning of her labor, because the person that was supposed to take her children while she was laboring was in the hospital because her child has croup. Her backup people weren't answering their phones, it was 3 am after all, and one next door neighbor has a 3 week old baby herself and the other had to work. So they decided to let the kids sleep and work it out as best they could. It turns out the kids slept right through everything! EVERYTHING! Can you believe it?
Everyone sounds like they are doing well. Maybe this will be the baby that sleeps through the night? Good luck, Rebecca and Dan!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
One year ago today...
Spencer was asleep. Upon impact he woke up screaming. I was able to limp around the car to get him out. As soon as I opened the door he calmed down. He sat in my lap, in the middle of road, exclaiming about all the cars going by. Then the fire truck and ambulance came. Whoa, was that awesome! Everything was terribly exciting for him.
In the ambulance, my realtor called. Um, sorry. Going to have to postpone this for a while. Poor guy. Who knew it would be almost a year before we picked up that house search again. I feel like the last year was almost not even there. I just existed. And poorly at that.
At the time we still had Alaska car insurance, which has different coverage than Florida. Florida has instituted requirements so that nothing is out of pocket until you hit a maximum amount. I could not get people to remember I didn't have that special insurance and that I was paying for this! Eventually we had to get a lawyer, because the other guy was uninsured (the accident was his fault) and we were footing the bill. Oh, and you can't get your insurance to pay for things unless you get that lawyer. Great system huh? I wonder who designed it? Lawyers perhaps?
FYI, I highly recommend you have uninsured motorist protection for more than $100,000. My foot alone was worth the $100,000, can you imagine hurting more than a foot? I am sure there are many of you wondering how a foot can be worth anything, let alone the above. But, first the lawyer gets his share, there are bills to be paid and I can no longer do certain jobs because my foot will always have some problems. Oh yes, I will also have to have more surgery on my foot as I age. Isn't that fun?
The other thing I learned from this experience, get COBRA. In our situation, we did not think we would need COBRA because it was all auto related, but health insurance would have at least helped us ride this out. And now my foot has a pre-existing injury because I did not have health coverage at the time.
I am still not completely over the emotional turmoil I went through last year. I think this summer will go a long way to help me "get over" it. We bought a house this winter and my dad is helping me build (which really means, he is building) a raised planter for vegetables. My mom and I transplanted tomatoes today and Molly helped me transplant geraniums (purple, of course). We are enclosing our yard later this week to help my peace of mind with the kids. I am looking forward to a summer filled with water, dirt, gardening, and toilet training. I am hoping it will be a good one.
In the ambulance, my realtor called. Um, sorry. Going to have to postpone this for a while. Poor guy. Who knew it would be almost a year before we picked up that house search again. I feel like the last year was almost not even there. I just existed. And poorly at that.
At the time we still had Alaska car insurance, which has different coverage than Florida. Florida has instituted requirements so that nothing is out of pocket until you hit a maximum amount. I could not get people to remember I didn't have that special insurance and that I was paying for this! Eventually we had to get a lawyer, because the other guy was uninsured (the accident was his fault) and we were footing the bill. Oh, and you can't get your insurance to pay for things unless you get that lawyer. Great system huh? I wonder who designed it? Lawyers perhaps?
FYI, I highly recommend you have uninsured motorist protection for more than $100,000. My foot alone was worth the $100,000, can you imagine hurting more than a foot? I am sure there are many of you wondering how a foot can be worth anything, let alone the above. But, first the lawyer gets his share, there are bills to be paid and I can no longer do certain jobs because my foot will always have some problems. Oh yes, I will also have to have more surgery on my foot as I age. Isn't that fun?
The other thing I learned from this experience, get COBRA. In our situation, we did not think we would need COBRA because it was all auto related, but health insurance would have at least helped us ride this out. And now my foot has a pre-existing injury because I did not have health coverage at the time.
I am still not completely over the emotional turmoil I went through last year. I think this summer will go a long way to help me "get over" it. We bought a house this winter and my dad is helping me build (which really means, he is building) a raised planter for vegetables. My mom and I transplanted tomatoes today and Molly helped me transplant geraniums (purple, of course). We are enclosing our yard later this week to help my peace of mind with the kids. I am looking forward to a summer filled with water, dirt, gardening, and toilet training. I am hoping it will be a good one.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Learning about produce, starting with peaches
One of the reasons I agreed to move to Tallahassee was the close proximity to real peaches. There are those of you in the lower 48 that take your peaches for granted. Alaska has a hard time getting good peaches. While in Alaska, I have had a few decent peaches. A little sweet, sometimes some juice, but I knew there had to be more to it.
Last Saturday we went to a sidewalk market and I bought a bag of peaches. The peaches were hard, which gave me a bit of anxiety, harking back to my Alaska peach experience. But I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I decided to try one in the car; I was that worried about it being an Alaskan peach. Oh my, oh my, oh my! It was already better than every peach I had ever had in Alaska. It was juicy and slightly sweet and the texture! I was starting to understand why people liked this fruit. Even to my untrained palate it was obviously not completely ripe, but on its way.
So today I went through the rest of the bag and discovered the bruised peaches were the sweetest and those not bruised were just a little less sweet. Oh, man, I am in peach heaven. Imagine if I lived in a high peach producing area! I am thinking we might need to take a little road trip in a few weeks. I’ll see what peach stands need my help!
Does anyone know if you can have too many peaches? You know, like you can have too many pineapples?
Last Saturday we went to a sidewalk market and I bought a bag of peaches. The peaches were hard, which gave me a bit of anxiety, harking back to my Alaska peach experience. But I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I decided to try one in the car; I was that worried about it being an Alaskan peach. Oh my, oh my, oh my! It was already better than every peach I had ever had in Alaska. It was juicy and slightly sweet and the texture! I was starting to understand why people liked this fruit. Even to my untrained palate it was obviously not completely ripe, but on its way.
So today I went through the rest of the bag and discovered the bruised peaches were the sweetest and those not bruised were just a little less sweet. Oh, man, I am in peach heaven. Imagine if I lived in a high peach producing area! I am thinking we might need to take a little road trip in a few weeks. I’ll see what peach stands need my help!
Does anyone know if you can have too many peaches? You know, like you can have too many pineapples?
Monday, May 25, 2009
Cable, cable, cable...
We had satellite for nine and a half years and we rarely had problems with reception and when we did it was always related to the weather. In the condo it was wind and heavy rain. At the house it was heavy snowfalls.
We have had cable for two and a half months. We have had approximately the same number of problems during that time as we had for the entire nine and a half years we had satellite.
In Juneau, choosing satellite made economic sense. It looks like it will be for different reasons in the lower 48.
Along the same vein, we chose to not get a dvr with our cable because the price was so much higher. We are now regretting that decision, because I start to watch “my stories” and I do not want to miss the end. And now they really know how to keep you glued, because they start the next show just after the first bit of credits start from the last show. You almost do not have time to grab the remote.
What are my stories you ask? Pretty much anything Law & Order related and a few copycat shows. Which pretty much means there is always something on to watch.
We have had cable for two and a half months. We have had approximately the same number of problems during that time as we had for the entire nine and a half years we had satellite.
In Juneau, choosing satellite made economic sense. It looks like it will be for different reasons in the lower 48.
Along the same vein, we chose to not get a dvr with our cable because the price was so much higher. We are now regretting that decision, because I start to watch “my stories” and I do not want to miss the end. And now they really know how to keep you glued, because they start the next show just after the first bit of credits start from the last show. You almost do not have time to grab the remote.
What are my stories you ask? Pretty much anything Law & Order related and a few copycat shows. Which pretty much means there is always something on to watch.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Up-Coming Travel
Derek's new job entails a lot of travel. A LOT! He has already traveled a number of times this spring and the remainder of the summer will not be any different. We had always planned to go with him a few times to take advantage of the road system (LOVE it! :) The foot and unsold house thing has dampened my enthusiasm somewhat. However, he will still travel! I will hopefully be walking by July when he will be going to DC!
I was wondering if anyone would like to join us at one of his destinations. I know we will be traveling in the heat of summer, but it cannot be helped. If there is somewhere else close to these locations you could meet, let me know!
mid-July in Washington, DC
early August in Montgomery, AL
mid- to late August in Atlanta, GA
Email me for specific dates (Derek is paranoid about posting them) if you are interested in meeting up with us.
I was wondering if anyone would like to join us at one of his destinations. I know we will be traveling in the heat of summer, but it cannot be helped. If there is somewhere else close to these locations you could meet, let me know!
mid-July in Washington, DC
early August in Montgomery, AL
mid- to late August in Atlanta, GA
Email me for specific dates (Derek is paranoid about posting them) if you are interested in meeting up with us.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Zucchini
Here is Molly in her lovely new "zuchini."She really had no concept as to what the big deal was about bikini's. I kept telling her I wanted to see her cute belly sticking out of her bikini.
Derek thought it was funny that she already knew how to sashay her butt around. But really, it is the here's-my-belly-"bizuchini"-dance.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
The 4 year-old mind
I love this stop motion video. It is a basically a sales video, but it is not a slick production.
I thought Molly would like it as well. Mid-way through the video I realized, nope, no go. She asked at every new scene what is it? What's that? What's happening? What's going on?
We turned it off.
I thought Molly would like it as well. Mid-way through the video I realized, nope, no go. She asked at every new scene what is it? What's that? What's happening? What's going on?
We turned it off.
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