Chet's Good People

Yesterday was one of those days that by the end of it, you are just GLAD it is over. It started out fine, even though I could tell pretty early on in the day that it was going to be a hot one. 9:00 yesterday morning, my boss was headed to a meeting and needed me to go to the bank to make a wire transfer for a bunch of baked beans we bought. So, I went to the bank, made said transfer, got back in my car, and was driving back towards work. It was already getting pretty warm out, so I had the A/C cranked and was listening to some music when I decided to stop into Publix to grab a microwavable bowl of Vegetable Beef Soup and jelly so I could indulge my recent craving of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and vegetable beef soup. Anyway, I got back into my car after a succesful store run, cranked the engine, and guess what wouldn't turn on? My air conditioner. I'm not even talking about the times when the A/C breaks and it doesn't blow cold air. I'm talking about when it DOESN'T. BLOW. AT. ALL. It got stifling hot pretty quick, even with the windows rolled down.

So...got back to work, boss-man checked it out, he couldn't figure it out, so he said, 'let's see if Chet can take a look.' Chet is the best secret my boss has. He's a local mechanic in town, and not only does he know EVERYTHING there is to know about cars, but he's also, as referenced in the title, extremely Good People. Anyway, Chet says he's not busy so for me to bring the car by. He checks out the fuses (not the fuse), then he says the words you never want to hear: "Let me check this last thing, and if you're lucky, that's what it'll be."

Great, I know my luck. I know that there's NO WAY that's what it'll be.
So he plays with the Blower Resister for a while, then says he needs more input. So guess who good people Chet calls? Some race car driver's son! I'm not going to say his name to protect the innocent :-)
So, race car driver's son says, "It's gotta be the blower resister. Send her over here, and I'll sell her the part at cost."

Ever heard of a blower resister? Me neither, but it looks like this:

SO--at that point I hightail it from way downtown all the way to Hoover to pick up said part. I get to where I'm going, and tell somebody who I'm looking for, and they lead me down this dark corridor. I round the corner, and this guy is walking down the other end. He says, "who ya looking for?" I say, "Blankety Blank," and he says, "that's me. Chet told me to look for some pregnant lady." That's nice.

Anyway, Blankety Blank sells me the part at wholesale cost, so then I fly back up the interstate to downtown again, and Good People Chet replaces the blower resister for no cost, since I did the leg work. Something that would have cost me upwards of two hundred dollars anywhere else cost me forty-seven. That's right, Chet's Good People.

How ironic it is that something called a Blower Resister can actually keep your air from blowing when it breaks...

17 Week Belly Shot

I really don't like doing these belly shots, so don't plan on seeing them often at all, but this is mainly for Jessica, b/c I know she wants to see a good one. Technically, 17 weeks is tomorrow, but I took this picture this morning, so it'll have to do. And yes, I've been asked if I'm sure they haven't missed another one in there (thanks C), but there really is just one. I just think that with a very short torso, on a very short body, it makes it a little difficult to hide much of what is going on (Amber, you understand!). Anyway, here it is, my little pooch!

Look at Me!

I am so proud of myself for figuring out how to get my pictures on the new computer! C---I didn't get the Sandisk Ultra Plus with the USB port, I can't seem to find it anywhere, but Office Depot has a great alternative. For $9.99, you can get a USB jump drive that has a slot for you to put in your memory card to download to your computer. Many of you savvier individuals might have known this a long time ago, but not me. I'm a little behind in the electronics realm.

Anyway, I purchased said jump drive, stuck my memory card right in it, and up popped the pictures on the screen! When I said I took a few pictures, I was being literal, but the first one is a good belly shot, at least.





This is the Sausage Fest BT had one night in Baltimore. I found it fairly disgusting.

And lastly, a picture I took at the National Aquarium that turned out great!

Where are the pictures of the people we went to see, you ask? Didn't take any! I can't believe it, but the camera rarely came out at all. I would feel bad, except they didn't take any either :-)

A Few More Mobile Pictures...

We went on a trip, and I hardly took pictures...

So here's the deal. I took my camera, and I even took a few shots. BUT, I can't find my USB connector for my camera, which means right now I can't download the pictures I took to the computer. Thanks for the memory card/usb tip, cheryl! I'm going to go get one of those this week. Anyway, i took a few pictures with my cell phone, but I just feel like posting my favorite.



HA! Anyway, we had a great time. We flew in early Thursday morning and spent the day in DC. We went to the International Spy Museum Thursday afternoon, and it was super cool. See info on it here.
We also spent some time at the National Portrait Gallery Thursday afternoon. Did you know that of all the Presidential Portraits we saw in there, W was the only one who did not pose in a coat and tie? I thought that was interesting.

Thursday night we went out to a DELICIOUS dinner at Georgia Brown's.
It was FANTASTIC. I love fried green tomatoes, and do you know their fried green tomatoes appetizer came with herbed cream cheese stuffed inside??? Holy Crap!

Friday we spent the morning at the Smithsonian Museums: the Museum of American History (which was recently renovated and fabulous), the National Art Gallery, The National Art Gallery Sculpture Park (for a little rest), and then made the horrible mistake of venturing into the Museum of Natural History (for one of my MANY potty breaks). Fridays must be school field trip days, and the Museum of Natural History is not where you even want to step foot inside. IT. WAS. AWFUL. There were so many kids between the ages of ten and fifteen that I wanted to jump off a bridge. Teacher-friends, more power to ya. You definitely have my respect. I would lose my mind completely.

After a morning of museum hopping, we made our way down the mall, to lunch, and then out the metro to Maryland to meet Cheryl! We spent a fantastic weekend in Baltimore with Cheryl, Mike, Abby, and Caroline. Friday night was grilling out, Saturday was relax day, Saturday night was a good dinner out and good times (minus when my heel caught on the flare of my jean and I fell flat on the concrete--no worries--i seem fine, as does baby), and Sunday was the morning at the Aquarium with Cheryl & Abby, lunch out, and naptime. Sunday night was big Mother's Day gathering at Mike's parents, and Monday was an early morning flight. Overall, the PERFECT weekend! C--thanks for having us. We had so much fun! I can't believe it had been TWO YEARS!

Mobile pictures to follow...

Some Mobile Pictures

I'll have more pictures soon, but here are a few from our trip to Mobile last weekend. Sorry to disappoint those wanting to see belly pictures, this batch came up short :-)

Part of the group at Spot of Tea for the birthday lunch






Mally & her boyfriend Josh at lunch






Look for lots more pictures next week from the Mobile trip, and from our upcoming trip to DC & Baltimore this weekend!

early

Yesterday the dog got me up at 7:00. But it was okay since the Terminix guy was coming to treat our house at 8:00. This morning...5:50. I am not a big fan of the dog this morning...