Monday, July 21, 2014

R.I.P. Freezer Food

Friday was a sad day.

After work I went to my girlfriend's house to get our frozen food out of her freezer. I had taken it over there so it could vacation in a comfortable frozen climate while we moved to our new apartment.

I opened the freezer door and immediately knew something was wrong as there was a smell of spoiled meat. Eeeeuuuuuuuwwwwww!!! It was not really strong and cold air came out of the freezer, so we were not sure at first what the issue was. Then we looked down and saw blackberry juice dripping from the bags of blackberries in the door.

Oh no! Her freezer had gone out. No wait...it was going out. We looked at the thermometer she has in there and the temperature was 42 degrees on the top shelf. So we grabbed a trash bag and I started throwing stuff in it. The meat that was in the top shelf was cold, but not frozen, so out it went. But, the boxes of butter I had on the top shelf were still hard, so it was like the lower layers of stuff was still frozen.

And the items in the bottom shelves of the freezer were still totally frozen. So we tossed some and were able to save some. Anything that was the least bit questionable was tossed. I may be frugal, but I am not going to poison us. If Hubby had been there, he would probably have wanted to take the meat home and cook it, but I was not even going to chance it.

Altogether, we tossed about a quarter of the freezer contents, so it could have been worse. Of course, most of that was meat, but oh well. I put the bag of tossed in my car to take to my dumpster as I did not think my girlfriend would enjoy having it in her garage until Tuesday when her trash is picked up. LOL!

We went in to wash our hands before I left to go home and my girlfriend went and pulled her checkbook out of her purse. I asked what she was doing and she said she was going to write me a check for what we had lost. What?!  I told her no way. It wasn't her fault her freezer went out and if I had come over last weekend, all my food would have been good.

I took what we could salvage home and put it into my freezer, temperature 0 degrees. And Hubby and I will be making a trip to the meat market soon. Well he wanted to anyway, but now we have to.

I did buy a bag of chicken breasts at Aldi yesterday, so we have some chicken.

Friday, July 18, 2014

StateFarm, you've done me wrong.

Hubby and I have had car insurance with StateFarm for many, many years. I am not sure exactly how long, but I think around 13 or 14 years. We have had a renters insurance policy with StateFarm for over 8 years. And I have an IRA with StateFarm that I have had there for about 7 years.

Over the years I have done some price comparisons, but I was never willing to change agents to save a few dollars. I really, really like my insurance agent...well, his whole staff. They are all very customer friendly. So, I never changed even to save money.

Imagine my irritation when I called to change our apartment number on our policies and was told that StateFarm no longer writes renters policies for my apartment complex! I calmly explained that I was not trying to buy a policy, just change my apartment number. The girl I talked to was nice, but no help, so I asked to speak to my agent.

He called me back and knew the issue and was very apologetic and upset with/for me, but explained that StateFarm had changed it guidelines back in February and my apartment complex was disqualified from be written policies. Though he was nice, basically he could do nothing for me.

I explained that if I have to buy renters insurance from someone else, I certainly would not be leaving my auto insurance and IRA with StateFarm. My agent said he hated that I would leave but understood why I felt that way. He said he was equally frustrated by the new guidelines. Oh, really, did the new guidelines just make you non-compliant with your apartment lease? I don't think so.

I am most irritated that I received no notification of this. Basically, I don't have renters insurance as of yesterday. Actually, I am pretty sure that StateFarm cannot cancel my policy without notice, but I am not even going to argue or fight with them. My apartment manager is really nice and understanding and is giving me time to find another policy.

I sent an email to the CEO of StateFarm, but I doubt I will hear back. Why would they care about losing one policy holder? So, I am shopping. I don't care if my insurance policy costs more...when I find someone that will write me a renters insurance policy, I am moving my auto insurance to them as well. I got a quote on line and an agent from Farmers has already called me. I have had Farmers in the past and was happy with them.

And my IRA will got to my bank, credit union or Fidelity, who handles my 401k. 

Screw you, State Farm!

On a happier note, Hubby got out of the hospital on Monday afternoon and he is doing fine. He is taking it easy so his ankle will heal up. He wants to be unpacking and moving stuff around, but I am trying not to let him.

I need to go to Aldi this weekend. I really miss it as I have not been in quite a while!

Monday, July 14, 2014

Stockpiles are worthless...

if they are packed in boxes and you can't get to them.

Did I scare you all? LOL!

Since Hubby has been in the hospital for a week, not much unpacking has gotten done. I did a little as I could, but it was mainly to clear out boxes so that Hubby will be able to maneuver the wheelchair when he gets home.

So though you would think unpacking my stockpile would have been a priority, it has not been.

In the last week and a half, we have had to buy razors, shave gel, deodorant, soap, shampoo, conditioner, zipper bags, foil and I don't remember what else.

And I have EVERY ONE of those items packed in a box somewhere. Ugh!

But at least I got it on sale/with coupons or at the dollar store.

I will be happy when we are unpacked and I can get to everything. Moving is so fun and the fun just continues.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Back in the saddle again...

Well, not really a saddle. If you guessed that it looks like Hubby is in a hospital bed, you guessed right.

Unfortunately for us.

Hubby's ankle has been hurting for a few days, but he insisted it was just a little sore. I thought he might have hurt it during the move though he said he didn't.

He had an appointment with his podiatrist today so said he would ask Dr. Mac to xray it.  Hubby called me at work to tell me he was being sent for an MRI and to be admitted to the hospital. Ugh.

He has some kind of infection in his ankle. (Who knows how that happened.) He will be having surgery to drain it and then will have a picline put in for iv antibiotics.

Not the way I would prefer to get a day off but we will deal with it.

Monday, July 7, 2014

"Working my way back to you, babe."

I was thinking about posting something, since I had not in a while and for some reason this song popped in to my head. I listened to it and thought it was a great way to start a Monday morning, so wanted to share. For those who were never disco queens, this will not bring back the fond memories it does for me. Please enjoy the music....

Hubby and I continue to dig our way out of the mountains of boxes created by our move. Here are some views of our apartment.





Ha Ha! And that is only from a couple of angles. I didn't even take any pics of the second bedroom, which is still FULL of boxes. LOL!

We spent the weekend in hibernation emptying boxes. So, it looks much better now than it did last week. Our bedroom and the bathroom are habitable. We have a place to sit in the living room and the kitchen is usable, finally. We have pretty much eaten nothing but take out for the last 2 weeks. Which would bother me, except that there were no bit trips to the grocery store during that time, so we may not have gone too far overboard. But even if we did, I am not going to worry about it. I have been working overtime, and getting paid for it, for almost the last year and it has just been growing in the bank, so I think we can just spend some of it during this move.

Hubby called to let me know he is headed to the grocery store so he can cook some REAL food. Yeah!! I wasn't going to ask him to, since he is unpacking while I am at work, but I am ready for some good home cooked food. Though we have been getting some pretty good take out, it still does not compare to home cooked.

Well, back to work for a while.

Happy Monday, all!