29 November 2008

my beloved car... violated






my neck's been hurting for the last few days so i took some Tylenol PM before bed and was zonked out by midnight.

this morning Steve got up to leave for work by about 9:20am. i heard him shut the door then come back in a few minutes later and he yelled up the stairs "Becca wake up and come outside!" somewhere in my drowsy state i thought.. oooh snow. yeah, not so much since his next words were "your car was broken into last night!"

i bolted out of bed, ran downstairs, managed to grab a jacket along the way and outside cursing up a storm. socked feet, no bra and all. yeah, it was special. there was a big muddy brick in my passenger seat, my window was blown out and glass was just everywhere. it looks like they'd attempted to go through my front windshield too since there's a nice 10-12" spider (only with about 20 legs heh) right below my rearview mirror.

i ran back in to grab my phone and call the cops. by the time i came back outside our neighbor and her dog had appeared and a few others. our neighbor said that around 1:30am her dog bolted downstairs barking like crazy, so we think that's when it happened. i reported what happened, gave my address and hung up. after running inside to super fast get dressed, grab my camera and run back out the police were pulling up. yeah, seriously, less then 10 minutes. CHPD rocks.

Officer Mitchell took down all my info, write up a report and gave me the number. seriously within about 35 minutes of Steve finding it, i had a report number in had.

Steve started cleaning up all the glass. for 1 window, it sure shot everywhere. we found glass behind the 2 rear seats, on the passenger side by the door, everywhere.. he swept up the parking lot, then went at the car seat by seat. i called my insurance company (Geico) who won't cover the cost until i meet my deductible but they gave me the number for a glass place to see how much it'd be. so i called Safelite Glass and got a quote. umm yeah, $415.90++ and my deductible? $500. *sigh*

then i called my renter's insurance (USAA) to see if they covered what was stolen - my GPS, cell charger and triple cigarette adapter - and they're sending out an adjuster monday or tuesday. they said they'd have covered the window but unfortunately i don't have my auto policy with them. grr, yeah thanks.

meanwhile, i called around to find other prices for the 2 windows and was quoted well over $500 by the only other place i could find to answer. i guess Safelite really is the best price. *sigh*

i'm so mad and annoyed and violated. seriously, i'm more pissed about the car charger then anything else missing.. and of course the $425++ price tag!!

oh yeah and.. i'd spent $275 yesterday getting new brakes, fixing her alignment, etc.. and now this. Steve already told me i don't have to worry about getting him anything for Christmas. cuz $700++ for my car is enough to ruin any holiday season. good thing i have the yarn for everything i'm making for everyone...

22 November 2008

My package arrived!

Owl post arrived this afternoon all the way from Tennessee. Agatha Vablatsky sent me a wonderful package and I'm definitely nominating her for Best Kit!


first the box all nice and packaged with a note on top.


all my goodies laid out!


Phoenix decided to take a sniff around to see what I was getting.


the book of patterns! it contained Minerva's Lucky Quidditch Socks (which have been in my Rav-queue for ages!), Go Gryffindor socks, and Minerva's Argyle Socks


the fantastic red and black stitch markers, Harmony 47" 2mm, Bodycology lotion in vanilla buttercream (perfect size for my knitting bag!) and a really cute Cats mini-calendar


the best part! haha... my favorite snacks cuz Agatha is AWEsome! Craisins, Sour Patch kids, Mint mojito Orbit gum and white chocolate Lindor numminess.


a close-up of the stitch markers - did you make these, Agatha??


the wonderful yarn goodies: the bag and scarf were crafted while Agatha was on the plane to and from her honeymoon... talk about good luck! and of course KP Essentials yarn in Gryffindor colors.


a close up of the scarf.. i want to learn to crochet now!

thank you so much for everything Agatha! i love love love it! the bag is the perfect size for small knitting projects to take to work with me. and now that it's freezing here in NC, i'll be making very good use of the scarf.

13 November 2008

Last Quiz of the Semester!

Here it is... we're down to the last quiz of the semester. And my kit is done and all ready to get mailed out tomorrow morning to Ceciley. It's got lots of little bits of everything and hopefully she loves everything!

1. Who was Tom Riddle Sr.'s girlfriend before Merope gave him the love potion?

a. Eleanor
b. Cecilia
c. Sally
d. Mandy

2. What does Luna say floated into Harry's ear when he was in the train car that supposedly caused him to lose focus?
a. Demiguise
b. Jobberknoll
c. Wrackspurt
d. Runespoor

3. How much do the primary Apparition lessons cost?
a. 10 galleons
b. 8 galleons
c. 15 galleons
d. 12 galleons

4. What is Professor Merrythought's first name?
a. Eileen
b. Galatea
c. Carol
d. Jocelyn

5. What Hogwarts club was Eileen Prince captain of?
a. Charms Club
b. Gobstones Club
c. The Slug Club
d. Occlumency Club

6. Who is head of the Goblin Liaison office?
a. Ambrosius Flume
b. Dirk Cresswell
c. Ciceron Harkiss
d. Barnabas Cuffe

7. Mrs. Weasley offers Fleur a goblin-made tiara for the wedding with Bill. What family member is currently in possession of the tiara?
a. Aunt Muriel
b. Aunt Ethel
c. Aunt Edna
d. Aunt Thelma

8. How many points does Snape take from Gryffindor for Harry's late arrival and muggle attire?
a. 30
b. 70
c. 50
d. 90

9. When Profressory Slughorn first meets Hermione, he asks her whether she is related to Hector Dagworth-Granger. What society did Dgworth-Granger found?
a. The Most Extraordinary Society of Charms
b. The Most Extraordinary Society of Herbology
c. The Most Extraordinary Society of the Defense Against the Dark Arts
d. The Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers

10. Which of these describes Golpalott's Third Law?
a. The antidote for blended poison will be equal to less than the sum of the antidotes for each of the separate components
b. The antidote for a blended poison will be equal to less than the product of the antidotes for each of the separate compenents

c. The antidote for a blended poison will be equal to more than the product of the antidotes for each of the separate compenents

d. The antidote for a blended poison will be equal to more than the sum of the antidotes for each of the separtea components

10 November 2008

Swap Box Done!

So i finished my swap kit - finally! - for Ceciley. The problem is that now my lazy butt needs to wrap everything up and get to the post office. I sure wish they were open tomorrow. It's some sort of muggle holiday. It's also the 19th anniversary of my bat mitzvah. um, wow.. that means I'm old.

I'm not the best knitter, or the fastest, so I made 2 small things for Ceci. I really hope she likes them.. and all the tons of other things in her swap box! I haven't got a clue where my darn camera is.. and even less of a clue where the battery charger is....

I need to have my kitty Phoenix go round up some owls to carry the heavy box over to the Slytherin tower (in Tennessee) for Ceci...

02 November 2008

HSKS6 Gryffindor Homework

Homework time! Looks like this week we've got an essay to complete. Well here goes...

1. Name your favorite magical creature, and describe why it is your favorite.
House elves.. well, more specifically Dobby. I adore how loyal and wonderful he is to Harry even though he belonged to the icky Malfoy family. He knew that Harry was good and the Malfoy's were bad from the beginning and kept trying to save Harry's life... even if he did get him into loads of trouble at home and school!

2. Tell us your favorite charm, spell or curse, and explain why you like it.
Lumos, because I just don't like walking around in the dark! I like to keep my wand around all the time and be able to turn a light on in an instant.

And of course, Muffiato, since I am a bit of a gossip (a yenta) and this way no one will overhear my friends and I.

3. Describe your favorite holiday family tradition - which holiday and what makes it special.
For Halloween, I always carve 2 or 3 pumpkins and then roast the seeds. This year I made a "standard" pumpkin face and a Jack pumpkin face (from The Nightmare Before Christmas). Jack was a huge hit with all my neighbors.

For Christmas, since I am Jewish, I have been celebrating it with my best friend and her family since 1993. I stay with them for about a week and on Christmas Eve, she and I wrap all the gifts and assemble whatever needs assembling for her little boys. And then we have gift opening around 7am at her house with breakfast and a second round at about 3pm at her parents house with an early dinner.

4. Name your favorite fiber-based (knitted, crocheted, or spun) finished object.
I call it my Flower Power hat in Ravelry, but it never received its' flower. I would wear this baby everywhere if I could. It's fairly open weave and made of yummy Malabrigo and for real, THE softest item I own. Plus it's a really simple and fast pattern.