Looking For A Lull

The last few weeks I've not been able to update as much as I normally do.  I traveled to Mexico, came home and got sick, recovered a little and then off to Atlanta for a week.  I'm home now and I'll try to get back into my routine.  Just a quick catch up: The house: So the first insurance check came through and the work should be starting soon we hope.  The cabinet guy came over and did some measurements and started doing his thing.  It doesn't look promising that the work will be complete by the time we leave for AZ.  Plans are plans however and we are not backing out. The trip: So I've started my list for next month.  I have a TON to do for us to get ready to leave.  I can't wait it will be awesome. Recent travels: Mexico was beautiful and my coworkers down there are AWESOME!  I'll try to follow up with some pictures of Puebla, the volcano etc.

...if there was such a thing as Limbo I think we are stuck in it.  The kitchen is STILL torn up and we are STILL waiting for the insurance company to give the go ahead so that work can even get STARTED.  I can say that I'm sufficiently tired of eating out. I'm not tired of eating out because I dislike eating out, I'm tired of it because: I like to cook!  Nobody makes food like you like to eat it except you.   Limited choices.  Don't get me wrong, we live in an area with a TON of restaurants around us, but after a few months, we've exhausted the list and hit many of them multiple times.  We could go further out for some new choices, but after working for 10 hours, well you get the idea. It's expensive.  I can cook a great meal at home for both of us for under 10 bucks, but the minute we step out it's at least $25 bucks if we aren't doing fast food.  Insurance will kick us back some of that money though. It's not healthy.  I think...

So the house is a true mess.  The fix-it guys have been in and out tearing out floors, ceilings, walls, carpets etc, putting up plastic containment barriers and moving in big noisy machines.  It's nice to know that we could just take off to the camper and live there if we needed.  I would probably do that if I didn't need to be here to let people in/out while this process takes place. We've been assured all of this mess is covered, but strangely we have yet to see our insurance adjuster.  This mystery person that holds all of the answers as to where we go and how we get back to normal is nowhere to be seen. Oh, well,  It will all work out in the end.  Here are a few pictures of our fun so far. Workers in droves descended upon us. Parts of the house are sectioned off in plastic, like in E.T.! Our kitchen is out of commission, all of the floors have been removed and there are big dryers in there too. There are not plastic "Doors". ...

So we made it home and the water damage was pretty bad.  The kitchen flooring is bubbled, the ceilings in the basement have fallen and the carpet in the basement is a total loss.  I called the insurance company and it sounds like they are going to be pretty good to work with.  I'm a little apprehensive since this is the first claim I've ever had to file for homeowners insurance.  I'm hoping the process is smooth and we can get it all repaired.  What fun. That's the most action the elliptical has seen in a bit. What a mess!

When the kids where young and we didn't have as much as we do now, but one of the things we made sure to always keep was roadside assistance.  We often drove older, or hand-me-down vehicles and even staying relatively close to family for the first few years it provided us peace of mind and saved our bacon more than once. As we got older we found that there was even more of a need for it as we moved away from Michigan and away from family and friends there.  We keep roadside assistance on our vehicles, but we added AAA as well.  After reaping some of the benefits it provides over the years we purchased it for our kids when they started driving and got their first vehicles. Now with the addition of our trailer we have overlapping protection when we go on trips.  Delilah (my truck) is covered by our insurance with roadside assistance and AAA.  The trailer itself is covered by the same insurance, AAA, Good Sam, and the warranty we got when we purchased it. ...