Go Team!!
Last week Melissa spent four days trying out for her upcoming high school’s cheerleading team (she’ll be a freshman next year). There were three days of three hour practices with one day off for her to stay home and practice on her own. She worked hard all four days and made the team! She’s very very excited. As am I. She’s so cute. She told me tonight that this was a moment she’s been waiting for all her life. Ah to be young and 14… 
Her soon-to-be high school has the best cheerleading program in our portion of the state and for more than half the years the school has been in existence (11 years) they’ve been state champions. They’ve won several national championships as well. Currently there is no other school in our state that has as many big wins. So this is very very exciting for her and a huge opportunity.
Here’s a little blast from the past video (to make up for the yucky bathroom pictures yesterday) of Melissa cheering after a one day camp her older sister’s high school did for the young girls (2008):
Congratulations, Sissa!
The one with the flood
Tuesday night last week Cody came running up to me around 3 PM to inform me something “really bad is going on upstairs” and to come quick. I get upstairs and the bathroom is flooding … from the overflowing toilet Lil Miss decided to NOT tell me about. Lots of screaming for towels from anyone who could move ensued. Unfortunately that included a friend Melissa had over for the first time ever. Yes, I made her run and grab towels too. She also got to hear some choice words come out of my mouth. It was definitely a proud moment in my life. (That’s sarcasm in case you’re wondering). I had to take her home early and apologize to her parents. Fortunately they were understanding.
It was a gross, disgusting, stinky mess. To say the least.
The worst part was after getting all the water sopped up, the floor squished like a sponge UNDER the hardwood floor. I knew right away the day to finally get around to redecorating the “seizure room” had come, whether I wanted it to or not.
I call it the seizure room because the colors in that bathroom were seizure-inducing. The previous owners painted it dark pea soup green. Ceiling and all. It wouldn’t be so bad but the bathroom is on the small side and I thought everyone knew you don’t paint small rooms dark colors, especially the ceiling too! So it basically had a walls-are-closing-in-on-you effect. To make it worse, the vanity was bright turquoise. Bright turquoise and dark pea soup green do NOT mix! Especially in a small bathroom. What were they thinking??
So I’ve always wanted to paint it. And since we had to rip out the floor, and the toilet, and remove the vanity temporarily, now was the time.
Here you can kinda see what I’m talking about. The floor was hardwood. The tiles you see in the above picture is what was underneath the hardwood (you can see one section of hardwood left). At least the old flooring made the vanity make sense… they matched. But why are the walls dark pea soup green? WHY?? (The toilet in the bathtub makes me giggle. We are replacing the toilet by the way since it’s part of the problem…)
Jack came home and he and Cody promptly set about tearing up the floor.
The damage went all the way to the base floor. Fortunately it was OK but the subflooring, the layer of old vinyl, and the hardwood had to go. It was a stinky mess. On top of that, whoever built this house didn’t seal anything at all. There was NOTHING to stop any sort of water damage. As such, the flooding caused water damage to the ceiling in our office and lord knows where else in the void. 
Friday night Jack’s brother and father came over and helped him put the new flooring in. They were at it till after midnight! Instead of cheap press board subfloor like what was there originally, Jack went with a thicker, stronger plywood. And fake “hardwood” over that. One large piece of vinyl that looks like hardwood but will be much more water resistant. Surprisingly, it’s very realistic looking. And everything is sealed properly against future water damage. It’s the kid’s bathroom so you know there’s going to be water on the floor!
The white area there is what’s behind the vanity… and yes there’s water damage there too from when Kevin flooded the sink.. At least that was just water. But it dripped down into the office then too. Our poor office!!!
Since we had the vanity and the toilet out and the new floor in, we (mostly I) set out to painting but only after a full day of applying primer. LOTS and LOTS of primer. I chose a light green to compliment the vanity since we can’t really afford to replace it and there’s nothing technically wrong with the vanity. It’s just got a turquoise counter-top. The bathroom will have an ocean theme. I have fishy wall hangings and Finding Nemo wall stickers (it IS the kids bathroom after all).
Unless you really hate fish and/or the ocean, it shouldn’t induce seizures anymore. I’ll post pictures when it’s done.
P.S. The title idea is from Friends.
Seaside Beach Trip, Feb 2010
Just like last year, Jack and I took off for the Oregon coast to get away and celebrate my birthday. This year it was Seaside, Oregon. This time it wasn’t just the two of us. We brought one the four-legged babies; Mia.
The weather couldn’t have been better. It was warm and near 60 degrees during the day and each night we were treated to beautiful sunsets.
Like this one:
And this one:
As always when the weather is nice on the Oregon Coast, the scenery was breathtaking.
What was different was having a puppy tagging along. She required a bit of work, but she was mostly a ton of fun to have with us.
We spent our first night relaxing in the hotel and getting rested up because the next day was spent walking around and shopping. Mia was with us the whole time and attracted a LOT of attention from the many people enjoying the coastal shopping opportunities that day. Seaside is pretty dog-friendly. Many shops allow the dogs inside and even put out bowls of water for the pups outside their doors. Many people stopped to pet her and she enjoyed every second of it.
For Mia’s first time out on the beach we kept her leashed and close to us. The second day we got brave and let her go off-leash to see what she’d do. To our delight she stayed close to us most of the time and came running every time we called her if she wandered too far.
She discovered the joys of digging.
Jack did too. We’ll probably pay for that this summer when we have no yard left.
We were thoroughly impressed with how well-behaved she was the entire weekend, especially being only 5.5 months old! She sure is a smart one!
Cute too!
You can view the rest of the photos I uploaded here.
Kevin in tights
Last night Kevin’s high school choir held a benefit concert to help raise money. It was hilariously fun. Kevin emceed the entire thing along with his friend, Dany.
Here’s a sample of some of the hilarity: Men in Tights I did not record this video. I did get pictures, though!
Like this one:
Yes, that’s my 18 year old son in tights.
Here’s a sample of him and Dany emceeing the concert. (I did shoot this video.) One of the mics was having unexpected issues (it was cutting out, likely due to a short) so instead of allowing it to throw them or annoy them, they found as much humor in it as they could and it only added to their performances as emcees. I was proud!
They also did a Star Wars parody that cracked us up. A little factoid: all the props used in this performance came from our family. From the storm trooper helmet to the blasters, all ours. Even the Chewbacca on the one boy’s back… came from Kayla.
It was a great night!
Now, Jack and I are off to celebrate my birthday at the coast. A weekend away, just the two of us. We only get to do this twice a year. And it’s always a much needed break!
More on St. Francis Animal Hospital
So… I wanted to give a little update on the awful, horrible, rotten, worse-I’ve-ever-experienced customer service I received from St. Francis 24 Hour Animal Hospital…
Last week I posted that East Padden happened to have the notes I needed from St. Francis. Unfortunately it turned out they did not. They had notes from the Humane Society instead. I know they told me they requested the notes from St. Francis, but surprisingly (haha) they never received them.
So that meant I was back to square one with St. Francis. I called them on Friday to follow up to see where we stood. I got a very helpful receptionist who this time actually listened to the issue. She agreed I was treated horribly was very apologetic about it and promised she’d pass along a message to management. So I thought we were getting somewhere. It turns out she’s the only one working at St. Francis with a decent bone in her body.
She called me on Monday to say that the chart notes I requested were ready but management had closed my account after what transpired the prior week. Since the account was now closed, my request was converted to a “inactive records request” or something and they don’t copy notes/medical history from closed accounts for free. She said there would be a fee if I wanted the chart notes. When I asked how much she said she didn’t know but I needed to agree to it before they’d release the notes.
Um… I’m not sure that’s even legal?? I told her that. I also burst into tears… I felt like an idiot but seriously.. the whole thing was just so beyond stupid that it broke me. I just really don’t understand how the three other vets involved in this could be so helpful… ALL OF THEM. But St. Francis was dangling me over a barrel and now extorting money out of me over ONE page of handwritten chart notes. Chart notes they KNEW I had to have in order to get my insurance claim approved. And while I’ve experienced crappy customer service before, NEVER at THIS level. Never THIS bad!
When I asked why they closed my account, she said “they” (her managers) said it was because I was “abusive”. … … … *I* was abusive? I asked her if I sounded at all unreasonable to her or if I was even slightly abusive to her. She said “no, not at all”. There was an awkward silence after that and she said it was probably due to the multiple phone calls from me and my insurance company. I explained to her that NONE of that would have been necessary had they taken the time to listen to the issue, listen to the fact that this was technically a SECOND request for records, and that their delays were costing me almost $1000.00!
I told her I agreed to the ‘unknown charge’ as long as it was reasonable and I made it clear I was agreeing to it under duress. She called back later and said the charge was going to be $20.88.. NOT reasonable at all! But… I drove down there and I paid it. What choice did I have? I walked out of there in tears saying I’d probably dispute the charge when I got home.
I then updated my BBB claim (yes I filed a complaint with the BBB. Have never done that before) to say that they closed my account AFTER I requested the chart notes (when the account was still open) only so they could charge me and I wanted to be reimbursed to resolve the complaint. No I’m not disputing the charge. I’ve had many tell me I should but they’d likely send it to collections, tack on a fee, and add interest or something.. and it’s really not worth it. THEY aren’t worth it. (My insurance claim was approved for the full amount two days after submitting those damn notes!!!)
The main doctor at St. Francis (the owner) replied to my BBB complaint that night and ADMITTED they closed my account AFTER I requested the notes. He also rambled about my one and only vet visit with them (which had nothing to do with my complaint.. my dog was never treated there.. only seen for 20 minutes then I refused their treatment and left!). He also stated he did nothing to hinder me in getting the notes for my insurance claim.
That made me LOL.
Making me wait beyond the LEGAL time period for a records request, then closing my account (how does one close a veterinary account anyway? what does that mean??), then charging me almost $21.00 for a one page photocopy is hindering. It was akin to extortion and was immoral and unethical.
I filed a complaint with the state department of health veterinary board as well. Fee disputes fall under their threshold of things to investigate but they were in violation of not providing me the records within 15 days as the law states they are supposed to. The catch is whether my verbal request when I asked them to fill out the insurance claim was going to count as a “written request” (the claim form asked for the medical history and notes.) They (the dept of health) were also very familiar with them even though the physical location of their office is a few hundred miles from St. Francis. They get a lot of complaints about St. Francis. A LOT. Had I taken the 2 minutes to look them up on Google, I wouldn’t have made the horrible mistake of going anywhere near that place.
