Ring-a-Ding

So if you missed (or chose not to read) my (long) post below, I will give you a quick back story as to what is going on with my grandma's ring.

Blah blah blah, the jeweler sucked and lied to me, blah blah blah, I didn't get what I expected or was told I was getting, blah blah blah, I got mad and took my business elsewhere.

Somewhere in between all of the blah, blah, blahs above, the jeweler did not repair my ring by reshanking it (i.e., making the band the same thickness all of the way around), so when I got it back they had only soldered the bottom of the ring together where it had worn thin and broke, instead of reshanking it, which is what they told me they would do.

Rather than be really freaking upset that they didn't do what they said, I looked for a low-cost solution, which happened to be in my cedar chest in the form of a promise ring from my high school sweetheart, and my first love. I said to myself, says I, "What better purpose for that silly gold band than to repair my grandma's engagement ring!" By jove! Two very special and important rings coming together as one!

Friday afternoon I decided I was done with the mom and pop ring shops. That company really screwed everyone else over who doesn't operate under a big name. I ended up calling Za.les and asking them how much it would cost to use one ring to save the other. The quote was almost twice as high as the mom and pop shop, but I didn't care. Sometimes it is just worth it to pay a little more and get exactly what you expect and get treated with respect in the meantime.

Tonight my ring is on its way to be repaired. By Friday I will know if one part of my life can be used to save a part of my grandparent's life. Two things that were already precious in their own right will be joined together to become even more sentimental and precious.

One day, that ring will be passed on to my daughter, who was there to witness the handing over of the rings today.

Spoiled

First of all I want to say I have every intention of catching up on every post I have missed from Jill in her recent series of posts. I will be doing that this weekend, and then commenting like crazy. Just know that is coming up and that I haven't forgotten you Jill!

Lately the Munchkin and I have been getting spoiled, and we're both loving it.

Today I went for my first ever pedicure. That's right, I'm 31 and have never had a pedi before. Don't ask me how that is possible. I've only ever had one manicure in my life before too. I guess I would rather squander my money on other things like peanut butter M&M.s, music, food, or something else stupid. *insert big stupid grin* I do have to say I really enjoyed the pedi and being pampered. I went with my friend J who was going to get her nails done. Since she was going to be a while (she was getting a new full set), I opted for the "Deluxe" pedi. That's the one where they rub your legs down and put your feet in paraffin. It was pretty dang sweet. At the end of it they painted my toe nails, and for $5 extra I had them paint a design on my big toes, which turned out awesome. I really enjoyed the experience, but at the end of the day, I can't say it was completely worth the price. It was great for a one-time thing, and for an intro to pedi's, but I think next time I will opt for the less expensive option.

When I told DH I was going for a pedi with J, he told me it was a good thing my new allowance started on Wednesday of this week, rather than Monday, which is how it will be going forward. I laughed and said, yep, it was a good thing. I think he was relieved when I got home and said I wouldn't be getting pedi's very often. Honestly, I have a massage membership to Ma.ssage. E.vy, and I would rather spend my money getting a full body rub down. Speaking of which, I really need to go use my free massages. I think I have about 9 or 10 now. :D

As for the Munchkin, a friend of ours from church gave us a free toddler Pl.ay Sc.hool slide and picnic table. The guy has four daughters, and the youngest is around 4 or 5, so needless to say, they have all outgrown toddler playground equipment. We were more than happy to take it off his hands, and the Munchkin LOVES it. In the past week she has gotten a pool, a tree swing, a toddler slide, and a toddler picnic table. She might be too young to know what it feels like to be spoiled, but her mama sure feels it for her.

I took pictures this week of her and I in our pool and Sadie dog in her pool, as well as pictures of the Munchkin playing on her new playground equipment, but I can't find the stupid camera cable to download the pictures. Grrr! I took pictures just for you gals! I'll have to find it this weekend and upload them later.

Hopefully my sweet blog friend Hannah will be spoiled too and receive a BFP soon. She had two embies transfered this past Thursday. If you can spare a minute, hope over to her blog and send her some love and prayers as she battles the angst of the dreaded TWW.

I hope those of you in the US have a safe and happy Independence Day this Sunday. Be sure to exercise caution and safety when lighting fireworks, and always remember to point the tanks that shoot firecrackers away from your face. :p

The Overlooked Member

I have been meaning to introduce the overlooked member of our family for some time, but other posts continually took precedence. I would like to introduce you now to Bagera the newt.



Yes, yes, I've heard it all before, "She turned me into a newt...! Well, I got betta..." In fact, my first ever newt was named King Arthur. I think I got him when I was around 12 or 13. I have had aquatic creatures in my life continually since I was 7 years old when I got my first gold fish.



Bagera is so named because he loves to spend his days up in the branches of his plant. I got this little fella when I was a sophomore in college, so we have been together for a long time, just under a decade. He is by far the longest living newt I've ever had. My dad looked up the life span of a newt and found out it can be as long as 65 years! I can honestly tell you, it will be a sad day when this little guy kicks the bucket. We've got a lot of history.



In fact, my senior year of college, my landlady made a surprise visit. She then tried to change my contract to say that absolutely no pets were allowed... including aquatic creatures. One of my roommates had a fish tank that contained a fish she had also had for years. We both told her to stuff it, and that the caveat was not in our original contract, so our pets stayed. Like she was going to kick us out, she needed the rent money and we lived a few miles off campus in the boonies.

Now you have "met" all of the pet members of my little family. We love you Baggy!