Daily Ooo's: Monday, February 15

[faerywings]

Hi there, O-zies!
Didja miss me? I missed all of you.

Well, the Weekend of Chaos only got worse. I shouldn't say that, it only got worse yesterday.

Friday was a great ride up with the kids, the construction was all done so we flew through and made it up much earlier than we expected. We had a nice dinner with my parents. Sat morning, Leah's mom made it up in time for b-fast and we relaxed in front of the fireplace all day. After dinner we played Apples to Apples, which never disappoints. We laughed so hard on one hand that my stomach hurt and I had tears coming down my face.

Yesterday morning was bad. Really bad. Caitlyn grabbed my hand and brought me upstairs right before b-fast. Brendan had texted her and she was shaking like a leaf. Sat night, he had been picked up by some friends who were going to go to see a movie. There were 2 or 3 cars in the caravan and one of the boys wanted to show off his new car and was speeding. Lost control. And I am sure that you can guess what happened. Both boys died. Brendan was in the car behind them, saw it all happen, was able to get one girl out of a car, couldn't get the two boys out. They had to be cut out. Stupid stupid stupid. My goodness, what a waste!!! I am so angry and hurting.
Long story short, he was at one of the friend's grandparents houses in western NJ, and had no way home. Cait was freaking out from the What If's as well as needing to help Brendan who saw some horrific stuff. we left my mom's immediately, drove from northern PA to the middle of NJ, then back up to northern NJ. It was a long drive, and very somber.

There was one bit of laughter when the GPS managed to get me into a little "community" of dirt roads that looked more like driveways and had me in circles. Yikes!!! We decided to just get the heck outta there and figure out where I should go based on the main roads.

Cait has no school today, thank goodness and Brendan called out of work. Hopefully they will get some rest and feel better, at least for now. Brendan is surely going to have some nightmares for a long time. Scott and Leah witnessed a fatal motorcycle accident a few years ago, and that shook them up a bit but that is nothing to what Brendan saw.

The only good is that this reinforces my kids' understanding that there is never, ever any good of showing off or speeding. They also got "lectured" again by me about this is why I freak out if they forget to text me when they get somewhere- not so much Scott any more but Caitlyn, being a very new driver. This is every parents nightmare once they get behind the wheel, right?

Today is going to be a reset day for me too. I am going to get ready for food shopping tomorrow, and that is about it.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful, relaxing day!!!

::grouphug

 

[faerywings]

Rae- awww, I am like a bad habit, you just cannot get rid of me. Was it Bailey that came over? How is she doing? What movie did you watch? We watched Lilo and Stitch on Saturday which is such a cute movie.
Hope that hubs wasn't called out too much, and you had a nice time watching Code Black.

Trudy- hahah! That it funny about your Gary not wanting a cell phone. I could see on Arlene's face the stress every time her phone rang this weekend, because it had to be work related.
How was the Market? Hope that you didn't get rained on and that you also got in some good scrap time. I need to head over to the Gallery later on today for a bit.

Rae- I wish we had a farmer's market nearby that was open year round. Cait and I love the one in town but that is summer and fall only. Hope you got lots and lots of goodies!

Jean- Are you stuck in brutal cold too? It was -11*F yesterday morning and got up to a high of 11* above. Today we should get to the 20's which will feel balmy. And then 40 mid week. Crazy!

Nancy- what a FAB way to spend your b-day weekend! All hockey all the time! Woot!!!
Having the dogs here, even with Princess J jumping all over us was a nice homecoming. I am sure you get that too with Luther and Rex as well. We had a few snow squalls in PA Friday night and Sat. but nothing here. Poor Jaida is reduced to trying to eat the chunks of snow/ice from the piles left of the other storms. Dog! LOL

Hope that everyone stays warm and dry!
xo

 

[nancyr]

good morning!

OMgosh Chris that is such terrible news. I am so sorry for Brendan and the families of those two boys! Such a loss families. I am sure the day was very somber but glad you had a sunny but cold day to be driving to pick him up. Hope things stay calm today. I am glad though that most of the weekend went well!

Yesterday for me was awesome. My son and his girlfriend were going to go to the game with me as the other two wanted Valentine's Day to themselves. Well my son woke up sick with some stomach bug so it ended up just my DH and I who went to the game. So we got to spend the day together too! My DH was even up early making us sticky buns and OMgosh they melt in your mouth. The Devils game was awesome and very nervous as both teams used their backup goalies and the final score was 1-0 Devils of the LA Kings who are leading their division out West. Came home and had pizza with the kids and then more hockey and finally bed.

Hope every one had a great Valentine's Day. We in the US are also have the Monday off for Presidents. So a calm day here!

 

[Aussiekat]

Chris! OMG! What a way to start the day - and what a sad loss for the families of the two boys. I'm glad you were able to get Brendan. Sending virtual hugs to him. I can't even imagine how shaken up he would be.

Valentine's Day for me - and Saturday, too - we nothing but study, study, study!! Woke up this morning to nearly 5" of snow (and it's still coming down), roads not cleared ... and nowhere to go ... including my exam!!! Of COURSE, the customer service group is not in today, observing the holiday 'n' all, but a no-show on my exam means I have just forfeited $350 and will have to wait until the next exam window over the summer. :mad2: I mean if the testing centers, themselves, are open (I was assured they WOULD be, despite the holiday), then surely customer service would be, too?! I'm hoping I can plead a case for a make-up date at no additional cost due to the weather ... I tried to drive to the test center, at 6 am, in the dark, no clear roads ... yeah. erred on the side of caution and got my butt home after my car snaked its way through at least two intersections.

*sigh*

On a happier note, our new couch arrived yesterday, so I took a break from studying and put that together (love IKEA!!). We "sold" (free) the other couch on Freecycle and it went to a neighborhood Mom who has three boys. They'll get some good use out of it, I'm sure. The new couch is a sofa bed, so that will make things easier when we're downstairs with Haddie.

Well, since I'm all studied out, I NEED to do something creative. Scrapping, here I come!! :bliss:

 

[Aussiekat]

Nancy, that sounds like a wonderful game date with the hubby! Mine is out of town, visiting his sister (who recently had surgery), and Stan worked really late ... so they gave me space to study Oh, and Stan went out yesterday morning and got me a big white teddy bear, two boxes of chocolates, and flowers! Aaaawwww.

 

[taxed4ever]

Morning ladies... Yesterday the hubs took me for brunch to the Bridgestone Bistro, it was very good! That is the same place that my sisters and I were supposed to take my oldest brother for lunch a few weeks ago. It is the first time DH has been there and he really enjoyed it. It was a way to celebrate Valentines and our upcoming anniversary. I will be away for our anniversary so this was a good way to spend some time together for that also.

Chris - What a terrible way to end the weekend!! Sending poor Brendan hugs and oh my those poor families!! It is horrible to witness such a tragedy!! I hope that this will not bother him for too long, but it really will make the kids think about speeding and showing off for sure! When I was 18 yrs old I was the first person at a roll over, in the dark, in the pouring rain. The car was filled with three girls all on their way up to the campsite at the end of the lake. They lost control and flipped over in the ditch. One of the girls died, she was thrown from the car and it landed on her. I got one of the girls to my car, and a truck driver was not far behind me and stopped to help, he crawled inside the car with the other girl and stayed with her until the police and ambulance came. It was a horrific experience because it was so terribly dark and rainy we did not find the other girl right away, but there was nothing we could have done to help her anyway. I still shudder every time we drive by the place where it happened. I will never forget it! I am sorry that Brendan had to experience this sort of thing, it leaves a scar on your very soul!! :hug: for all of you!!

Nancy - I am so happy for you that you had such a great birthday and time to spend with your honey on Valentines Day!! Sorry that your son is not feeling well though and hope he is on the mend! Wow you are so lucky that your hubby is such a good cook!! Those sticky buns sound scrumptious!! Your Devil's won their game also, so such a perfect weekend for you! Enjoy an extra long weekend, Happy Presidents Day!!

Kat - Oh dear I sure hope you can get to take your exam again at no extra cost!! Surely they will see that you had no control over the weather or the fact that the customer service people were on a holiday!! But hey it means that you get to stay home and scrap the day away!! BONUS!!! Looking forward to seeing your pages!! Enjoy your day off!!

Rae- I am sure we are cross posting again, hope you had a good day with your hubs yesterday and got to spend time together, hope he did not have to go to a call!

Jean - Yes I say that all the time, that :rain: is much better than :smow: you don't have to shovel the rain!!

Well I am going to enjoy the day to myself, the oven is cleaning itself the laundry is all done and the only thing I really need to do is to start to pack a few things for my upcoming trip to grands!! Hope you all have a fabulous Monday!! :wave:

 

[bcgal00]

Good morning, ladies. The weekend flew by. Spent Saturday with Bailey (she's home from the detox ctr, it didn't work out well for her there) but she is staying clean and sober, on her meds, and hopefully is going to follow through with out-patient services. So I picked her up, took her grocery shopping at the produce market. I showed her the discount section, where everything is $1.50. So I explained that 6 peppers (with one needing a bit of mush cut off) was such a better deal than a new bag of 4 peppers at $5.00. Then I explained about needing to use it within a day or so b/c it is already at it's prime so can't sit in the fridge all week. Then we went to my place where I showed her how to make a ham salad with chunks of our $1.50 produce in it, added spice, mayo, lemon, napa cabbage and avocado. I took her to the organic store and bought her some flavored stevia and then showed her ways to use it in plain yogurt, making a dip and other stuff. We had a lot of fun, talking about cooking, recipes, meal planning, etc. She said she felt much better after our afternoon together. She was starting to get stressed b/c she found out that the group home she lives in is only until June and then they will set her up in independent living, getting her a small apartment and giving her an allowance while paying her rent. This will be for the next year until they release her out of care at 19, at which point I think b/c of her mental condition and addiction, that they will put her on welfare until someday hopefully she can take care of herself. Her dad gave her his old laptop for Valentine's Day which was a big step b/c until now she couldn't be trusted with anything b/c she'd sell it, lose it, break it, forget it somewhere during one of her party times. It's a nice little MAC laptop in perfect condition, so she's over the moon about it. It was nice to see her have such a wonderful wkend with all of us.

So Chris....that's the Bailey update. Thx for asking.

Hubs was called out a lot for work but at least we had dinner and watched The Walking Dead together last night in between him coming and going out.

Chris - that is just awful about those poor young men and that Brendan was there. It's every parent's nightmare. So sad and senseless.

Nancy and Kat....sounds like a nice Valentine's Day for both of you.

Gotta go, ladies. Time to get my work done. Fingers crossed, I applied for a transcription job with really flexible hours. Hope I hear from them but realize that a lot of people will be sending in resumes so even though I have 25+ years' experience, it doesn't mean anything if there are lots of other qualified transcriptionists too. But...like I said....fingers crossed.

Have a great day, everyone!

 

[bcgal00]

Trudy - yep, of course we cross posted again LOL.

Sounds like a lovely time with your hubs! Sounds like your day is really organized. WTG!

 

[scrap-genie]

Think DH is waiting for me to be ready to go run some errands, so just quickly:

Chris, what a nightmare! I'm sure Brendan will be having them too. So too sad. But glad he has Cait and all of you to help him. Hope you recover some today.

Our weather is warming back up and we survived the real cold.

Hope everyone has a good day and survives the obstacles!