Oh My!

Oh my goodness! Has it really been ten months since I have last posted on my blog? Thats pretty bad. Even for me. Since last writing, Todd has changed job positions in TDA going from cash management to new accounts. Its nice there from what Todd tells me. He works in the mail room and assures mail is done ahead of his deadline. He works so hard that he is usually in the top 5 of his department. It just makes me so happy to know that Todd is finally at a job that he feels that he is excelling in. Me? I am happy that both of us have jobs right now that allow us to live modestly in these really troubling times. We have throughly enjoyed camping this year in Mt. Laguna during Fourth of July weekend and at Agua Caliente in December. This past year has really been a great year as Todd and I are still finding out funny things about each other. Really cool that I can make Todd laugh when he is sad or fustrated. Oh and my little boys Stewie and Baloo have really grown up. Hard to believe that they are a little over 1 year old. It just seems like yesterday that we brought them home! Those little boogers always make me smile at the end of the day when I come home exhausted and tired. They pick my spirits up when they give me their wet nose kisses and little "chirps" to encourage me to pet them. I will never trade them for anything, even though they do take over my side of the bed!

Well I got to get going. Just so much happening right now. Laters!

A Day of Pondering

Hi Everyone,

I can't believe that almost a whole month has gone by already since my last post. I guess life has been busy busy. Nothing much to report except that Todd and I have been to Disneyland again. This time it was an overnighter trip. We stayed at the Howard Johnson hotel. Now, I had stayed with some friends at this Hotel two years ago during Thanksgiving. I have to say I wasn't impressed the first time I stayed at this hotel. It was very reminiscent of the 1950's. Well since then they have updated their rooms. Todd and I got a King-size suite. The bed was uber luxurious in how soft and plush it was. Plus the bathroom/bedroom size was just great! I think for the value we paid, it was a great deal. I would not mind staying at this hotel especially since they have remodeled a lot of the rooms there.

Today has been quite rainy and windy. Its just one of those days where you want to sit back and relax and just watch some long movies. Speaking of movies, I had the wonderful opportunity to watch the BBC's rendering of "Sense & Sensibility". I must say that this version is probably one of the more truer renderings of Jane Austen's novel character-wise and storytelling wise. The actors/actresses are perfectly cast and are cast in closer age as described in Jane Austen's novel. Plus the landscape used in this rendering is just simply in a word: Stunning. I would recommend everyone watch it...*cough*Kayla*cough* since it is wonderfully done. I have to say I like it MUCH better than the Sense & Sensibility that starred Emma Thompson & Kate Winslet.

Well so much for blogging today. I must go back to my little household duties. Oh and my babies (Baloo & Stewie) Say Hello too!

Ho-Hum

Hello Everyone!

Today seems like one of those days where you just simply can not get yourself going. Last night I was on a roll getting stuff done around the house. I had cleaned out the cat litter boxes, cleaned the dishes and the kitchen, put away all the clean laundry, made the bed, got lunches prepped for the next day. But for some reason, when I went to bed last night, my mind was racing a mile a minute. It was so fustrating not being able to turn my brain off. It was like a broken record, going round and round repeating the same line over and over.

So I wake up today at 5:30am and I am just plain exhausted....eventually rolled out of bed, and got ready. Got to work and realized that more than half of the department had stayed home to watch the Presidential Inauguration before coming in later to work. So I am sitting here at my desk, sleepy and now hungry. I just want to go postal, just like Milton in "Office Space" minus burning down the building, but destroying the crap out of our silly computers and copier machines. Does this sound crazy? Maybe, but remember this is coming from someone who is half-awake themselves, so take it all with a grain of salt.

Updates Updates....and in 5mins an update!

Hi Everyone!


Like the Title for this post says, I will update your curious minds as to what has been happening lately in the Beauton family home. Since my last Post, we have had two new additions to the family. Baloo & Stewie. They are just simply cute, and they both have personalities to match. Here is a picture of them.

Baloo (l) & Stewie (r)

We got Baloo in July of 2008 from the Animal Shelter. The only way I could get Todd to go to the animal shelter was to tell him that we were "only looking." Well my evil scheme worked because Todd fell absolutely in love with Baloo the second he saw him. It didn't help that the poor little Bugger had an URI (Upper Respitory Infection). Lets just say the next day we had him he was blowing bubbles out of his nose. Baloo is super affectionate and demands your attention. His favorite things to do to me is wake me up in the morning to go to work. Oh and I almost forgot to mention that I don't have a pillow anymore since he completely takes over it. I don't mind since his purring next to my head at night since it helps me to go to sleep.

We got Stewie in October of 2008 after much begging to Todd. I reasoned that Baloo needed a little brother to keep him company. Well this little kid is VERY shy around new people, but gradually, he has opened up to Todd and I. While he may be shy, he is very vocal about everything he does or feels. Although he is not as love-hungry as Baloo, Stewie will come and sit/curl up with you and want you to pet him. If you stop petting him, he will meow. Honestly, this kid has no mean bone in his body. He was so tiny (still is, we are thinking he was the runt of the litter) when we first got him and Baloo would attack Stewie all the time (still does) with play fighting.

Todd and I keep telling ourselves that although the kitties do cost us some more money each month, we wouldn't trade that for anything in the world. These little dudes give us so much happiness and unconditional love that I wondered how Todd and I have lived before having them. I know for sure that the cats have really calmed us down or made us laugh at ourselves when we are having a hard day. Its almost like the cats are telling us to chill out and not sweat about the small stuff.

Todd was hired on at TD Ameritrade at the end of September 2008 and is so happy with this job. Todd would have never thought that he would have been working in the Financial Business, but is so happy to have a steady job again. He is so happy because he will get his first bonus at the end of January and he is accruing Paid Time Off along with Holiday pay. He hasn't had that for at least 3years since his job with Adessa.

Other than that, Todd and I have not been up to much in the past few months except for Disneyland. With everything going on right now, Disneyland is our source of escape and entertainment for the time being.

Well I got to go for right now...Update later at 11pm. Stay Tuned....LOL.

Car News! Finally...

So Todd and I went to Drew Hyundai/Ford Collison & Repair shop to check up on the status of the car. Thank goodness there was no frame damage. The doors need to be repaired and the engine will undergo a complete turnaround to make sure everything is running properly. Our estimator told us that the total cost of the repairs would amount to aproximately $9k. Wow huh? So Jose (estimator guy) told us that our car should be ready by mid July but that is if all the parts come in on time. We will wait and see. In the meantime, Todd and I are driving a Jeep Liberty from Enterprise and let me tell you...IT SUCKS!!! Not only is it boxy on the outside, but it is boxy on the inside. It is a rear wheel drive (try saying that five times without getting your tongue twisted) and I'm not used to it. So everytime I brake, I look like an amatuer driver learning to brake for the first time. Plus it is a tight fit for all us Big and Tall people. LOL. Waiting for better times to come a rollin' in...

More Pictures of the Damaged Car

Above you can see how much our car had moved from the point of impact. * Note: The Hyundai had to be towed back into place nearer to the curb so this picture does not truly show how far the parked park had moved after the initial accident. (I'm just floored that our car moved this much with the emergency brake on in addition to the regular brakes)


Don't know if you can see it in the above/below picture, but if you notice, the passenger front wheel is directed straight while the front driver side tire is clearly angled toward the street. So that means the axle is either split/broken and the alignment is way off.

The Waiting Game...

Well, all of us at one point in their lives have had their car involved in an accident. We all know how long it takes for a claim to get processed before anything gets done. Todd and I are playing the waiting game right now...really sucks because everytime we come & go from our apartment, we see the damaged car sitting out on the street. Todd says that he gets depressed seeing it sit there because it is a reminder of what happened on Monday evening. Both of us are nervous as to what is going to be done to the car once a claims adjuster comes out to survey the damage to the car. Personally, I just hope that they consider the car totalled/salvaged. I dont feel comfortable driving that car even if it is fixed again, it will never drive the same. But on the same note, we are currently upside down on our loan by 2k. I hope that the lady's insurance will pay the car off entirely if the car is considered a total loss. If not then we are screwed up the butt. I keep kicking myself everytime because I had declined getting gap insurance. But I guess I really shouldn't speculate about things that haven't happened yet. My only hope right now is that the Hyundai gets towed away to Drew Hyundai and we dont have to see the car again. Just really depressed, and haven't been getting any sleep lately. Just venting here. I can only hope now for good news. Peace out!