Get Paid for Online Surveys!!!

Sounds like a gimmick huh? I've gotten I don't know how many emails with similar titles/subjects and hit delete immediately. I must have been bored one day or feeling really hard up maybe! I actually filled out the form and joined a "panel", actually I joined a few on the off chance that any might actually pay. Most, of course, did not.

One awarded points that you collected and used to purchase things from a catalogue sort of thing. Another awarded entries into draws. Those didn't interest me. I have precious little spare time to waste any on "guaranteed chances" so I gave those up in a hurry.

One of the companies I had registered with kept sending surveys that offered small payouts, $2 here, $3 there for short surveys that took anywhere from 5-10 minutes. I kept doing them but sortof forgot about them in between. One day, I decided to actually log into my account and have a look see. Lo and behold I had $39 built up!

I decided I'd try to actually get the money but assumed it wouldn't really happen. I requested a cheque and was told it would be sent by mail in a few weeks. Oh goodie, cheque's in the mail huh? I wasn't holding my breath. I then forgot about it again until a freakin' cheque actually showed up in my mailbox! Whoah! this worked?!?!??! I'd only taken a half hearted approach to the surveys, but now they had my interest! Now I hop on that link as soon as I see it in my inbox!

I just got my second cheque, $49 this time. I also get a $5 referral fee for anyone I invite that signs up and completes a few surveys. Those help build the total also but I only refer people that request it, don't worry, I won't spam you! :)))

Potter Time!

We're finally drawing near the end of Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire and things are getting dicey! The last few chapters have gotten a bit more violent and creepier. Murray can barely read for all the interruptions to a)discuss possible outcomes of Harry's situation b)reminding each other of previous events in the story c)crying out at the injustice of it all d)freaking out over the scariness You ever watch a movie with people that yell at the actors on the tv? Yay, that's us reading a book!

Lovey was in tears last night over poor Harry's predicament and the gory in the scene and curled up in my lap until the chapter was over! I think we'll have to have quite a pause before moving on to the 5th book. Time for a little more Anne of Green Gables action for awhile I think!

How on earth can she even fit in there? How that could be comfortable, I'll never know but she likes it and says it's very cozy! She'll sit in there the entire time Murray's reading, as long as there aren't any scary parts.

Stylin'

Sweetie was quite determined to wear this outfit this afternoon! At first she could only find the top and hunted for the culottes that go with it. When she couldn't find them, she came to me & I remembered putting them in the wash today. She immediately went to search through the dryer but it was a load of whites and the darks were still in the wash. She emptied the dryer, climbed up and started pulling all the darks out of the washer! Where there's a will, there's a way, especially in that girl! I came down & helped her before she could tumble to her death off the appliances. Once the load was dry, she changed over, fixed her hair, put on her best jewelry and even a touch of makeup! I'm not sure what the occasion was as we had no plans to go anywhere but she was rockin' that outfit!

BFF's

Lovey made a very close friend at school last year, "T" and we heard this about T and that about T and things like "this is T's favourite shirt on me!!!" As far as I could tell, T was perfect and lived on some sort of pedestal in Lovey's eyes and possibly sported wings and a halo! It turned out they went to the same school for Irish dancing and at the end of the year, we found out they'd even be in the same class at their elementary school next year. Lovey was so happy! She absolutely adores T and never tires of telling us about stuff they do together. It is so cute to see how much affection they have for each other!

Unfortunately, T lives out of town and we haven't seen her since school got out, between bad weather and trips to the cottage, things have been busy. It was T's birthday this week though & all our girls were invited to her party. The day of, Lovey was so anxious and kept saying "I'm so excited I get to see T today!!!"

Finally it was time to go and as soon as T spotted us coming, she made a beeline for the girls. She was running so hard that she tumbled in her excitement. There were happy hugs all around and from then on she & Lovey were glued together. Everywhere T went, she wanted Lovey by her side. "Come on, let's go get food, sit by me Lovey, I'm putting my chair next to Lovey, would it be ok if I sat on your blanket next to Lovey? Lovey come stand by me while I open presents etc etc. Too cute to see them enjoy each other's company. None of T's & Lovey's other classmates made it so it was nice to have a few kids her own age there (us triplet folk round out the numbers in a hurry!)

The girls all started doing some Irish dancing when they heard some music coming from a nearby gazebo. They ate, played and had a great time. Lovey brought T a sand dollar we'd found at the beach and I wrote her name on the back & the year. Definitely not the fanciest present there but she seemed pretty happy with it. Sweetie & Honey gave her some other stuff but the "personalized" sand dollar was just from Lovey.

Bound to Happen!

The time has come! We finally caved and joined the minivan nation. Murray's been wanting a 2nd vehicle for awhile now but I'd been resisting since it's only a handful of times per year that it's ever a real problem having just 1 vehicle. We also liked not having a car loan and have been saving up, knowing we'd need be getting a van eventually.

Then a few weeks ago, I had to take the Subaruba in for service and they dropped the girls & I off to do some shopping in their 8 seater shuttle van. There was soooo much space! The kids were not piled on top of each other and could reach their seatbelt buckles without having to take turns!

Murray had been searching the ads, keeping an eye on prices but we didn't want to buy anything too old and he felt that the Honda Odyssey had the best safety rating. However, one of those brand new in cash would take us well beyond the time the girls move out! He started looking at used vans instead and those seemed to be more in our price range but not quite yet. After driving in one, I didn't want to wait til mid winter to pick one up. If we were buying one soon anyway, why not get it now during the height of our travel time aka Summer right? He wasn't so sure but I eventually convinced him that a small loan wouldn't be too hard to pay off with the income from his part time programming job (easy for me to say eh?)

We went around to a few dealerships with Murray's dad, Rick, to see what they had on the lot. I checked online listings and found a 2008 with less than 100 000 km on it and only $18M. That was the first one we actually went to see and Murray was ready to buy it. I hoped to talk them down to $18M on the road but the salesperson wouldn't take 10 cents off the price! We walked. No way was I paying the sticker price!

I kept checking around and found another one in another city, not as new but low mileage but much higher price..... then another one locally, same year, higher mileage but lower price.... dilemma!!!!

The higher mileage one had many more dings & scrapes than the lower mileage so I was torn but the lower price was more appealing IF I could get some extras :)))

So I took the girls with me to check out the local dealership and he let me take the van home for the night. The whole time the girls were beyond themselves with excitement and did NOTHING whatsoever for my bargaining position. "Can we KEEP it?!?!??! Are we getting this one Mumma?!?!?!??!? Are you going to BUY IT?????"

The next morning I phoned the lower mileage dealership and worked out what his best offer was. He could reduce the price a little but wasn't willing to negotiate in any winter tires, cross bar roofracks, which were essentials for us.

After that, I phoned the local guy and explained I was torn between the lower mileage, better condition vehicle and the one he had. He said he'd talk to his manager about tires etc and see what he could do but he wasn't optimistic as they'd just lowered the price recently and done all the work for the 100,000 km service, put on new all seasons, new wiper blades, new battery and a bunch of other stuff that needed doing at that stage of the game.

Around noon, we took the van back and dropped it off and my hard nosed negotiating team and I went in to talk to the guy.

G: so what did you think?

K: great vehicle and very smooth to drive, but we already knew we liked the Odyssey. I'm just not sure about the condition and the mileage. For only a bit more we might be better off getting the lower mileage..... (flip pages from my notebook where I've jotted down the details of all the vehicles we're considering)

G: well how much is he selling that for?

K: on the road, $XX, 000 so I'm finding you price a bit high

G: hmmmm, well if it's that much and he's got the admin fees and licensing in there, his price is blah blah blah.... ok, well does that give you any winter tires?

K: no.

G: ok, well I talked to my manager, D, and he's willing to split the cost of the new tires with you so we could have the fan on the road for $XX, 400

K: well that's $400 higher than what you quoted this morning.

G: yes, the new tires would be $800!

K: I can get them, studded and installed, taxes in for $771 myself!

G: that's $800!

K: but that's not at cost, that's what I would pay.

G: *sigh* let me talk to D, have him come in, it's his money

K: ok then.

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G/D/K (pleasantries)

G: so D, here's where we are (swings computer screen so manager can view the state of affairs). Do you think you can live with that?

D: (pained but resigned look on his face) well G, if that's what it's gonna take to do this, well, then... I can live with it.

G: ok then! so that sounds good Kelly?

K: well, where are you at now?

G: $XX, 400

K: Are you still THERE?!?!?!? I thought we'd made some progress here! :) (go back to my notebook, hemming and hawing, obviously torn and very tempted by the other van....)

D: Ok. How about.... I throw in.... some.... Floor mats!
G: D! you're killing me here!

K: (stunned silence and blank look)

K: uhhhh, "floor mats" ?????

D: (shocked at my lack of appreciation for this fine offer) They're really GOOD floor mats!

K: yeah, but.... floor mats?

D: but they're Honda FLOOR MATS!

K: (still incredulous at this negotiating deviation)

D: they cost $250!!! they're specially made and molded for the Odyssey.

K: ummm, are they rubberized or something????

D: they ARE rubber!

K: ok D, I'm having a hard time getting excited about floor mats here.

D: well what are you thinking?
K: would you consider an even $XX,000 ($400 less)

D: well. I'd hate to seem stingy but for that, I'd have to take back the floor mats....

K: unh unh, too late. They're already in.

D: how about this, we're at what? $XX,400 and you're saying $XX,000? Let's split the difference and call it $XX,200!

G: D!!!! Man!!!! I'm going to buy this van soon!!!

K: I don't know..... I'll have to talk to my husband and let you know.....

D: ok well just to be fair, we need to let you know, another couple wants to come look at this afternoon. If you put a $500 deposit then we have your commitment that you're not going to continue shopping and you have our commitment that we're not going to continue trying to sell it.

K: you've had the van for 6 months and suddenly you've got 2 families wanting it now?

D: oh they've been in before and coming for another look.

K: I'll be in touch this afternoon and let you know.

Then I stopped in at Murray's office, gave him the scoop, but he wasn't too hung up on the last $200 difference. We went home, had lunch, then I cleaned up and then phoned the dealership.

K: you still have a van there?
G: well, so far but the other sales guy is on the phone trying to get a hold of that other family right now!!

K: well, I talked to my husband and he says I'm over budget.

G: oh. really???
K: yeah. he really didn't want to borrow any money at all but I managed to talk him into a few thousand and now at $XX,000, I've had to talk him into borrowing twice as much as he'd originally agreed to. He says we can go ahead at $XX,000 so see what D says.

G: oh. well..... how were you going to talk him into that other more expensive one if you went with that then????

K: I was going to have to work a lot harder. You don't even want to KNOW what I was going to have to do to get that one!

G: *chuckle* ok, well, I'll have to wait for D to get back from lunch and talk to him. I'll call you back when he's in.

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*ring*ring*

K:Hello?

G:(anxious/out of breath) isthisKelly????

K: yes

G: youbettergetinherebeforehechangeshismind!!!!!!!!!

K: *laugh* Ok, I'll be back this afternoon with a deposit.

That afternoon as I was opening the door to the dealership and saw another sales guy in G's doorway saying "is that lady coming in to put a deposit on that van this afternoon???" so I hollered "you mean ME????"

*insert happy dance here* I managed to get my studded winter tires incl installation, my crossbars for the roof racks and did I mention the lovely floor mats????

Here's the happy crew with our new van!!!!

Lost & Found

Teena & Boo were here for a visit on Monday afternoon and she was telling me that she'd found a dog recently. They ended up taking it to the SPCA but no one has claimed it yet. That SAME night, I was on my home from groceries when I notice a husky running alongside of the busy, narrow shouldered road.

In our neck of the woods, dogs on their own aren't entirely unheard of. I kept driving. Then I thought, what if that was MY dog??? I'd want him off that crazy road and somewhere safe. Plus, if Teena, who admits readily that she's not completely a dog person yet, can take the time, surely I can too! So I turn around & pull into a parking lot to see if the dog heads for home or just keeps walking. Neither. It starts to cross the busy road towards me!!! I run out to get her as I see headlights coming over the hill. The dog is coming along but a little more slowly than I think is safe so I try to pull her along a bit but it yelps. What am I thinking? Grabbing a strange dog who most certainly has a mouth full of sharp teeth!?!??!? Luckily it seems to be the calm sort and follows me around to the other side of the car.

Well now what???? Apparently it figures I'm a good person and hops happily into my backseat with no prompting other than opening the door. It's a hot night and the poor thing has the thickest coat I've ever seen and is gasping for air and slobbering like crazy. Luckily the interior of the car has been thoroughly trashed over the last 7 years by previous occupants and I have nothing to lose here.

I decided I'd better phone Murray and make sure it's OK to bring a huge, completely unknown beast into the home of our young children. He was onboard instantly. I took a swing through a couple neighbourhoods on my way home, in case someone was searching around for this behemoth. Unfortunately, not a creature was stirring so I headed home.

I wasn't sure what Murphy would make of our guest but he was happy and the other dog was calm and also content so they were fine. PW managed to keep a low profile for the night and no altercations arose. The dog appeared to be female and just wanted lots of water. She followed us around everywhere but she was more comfortable downstairs where it was cool.

We posted ads on Facebook and other online advertising but got no responses. The next morning I called the SPCA & animal control and the local radio stations. When the girls got up they were thrilled with the new addition. Sweetie came down while I was filling out a "found dog" form online and stared suspiciously for a minute before asking "Muuuuuuuum..... what are you doing???" I explained what it was and then she said "I don't think I'm really happy you're doing that!"

They decided to name her Trixie and followed her around everywhere, trying to pat her, brush her, feed her etc. Every time the phone rang, they'd get a fearful look and ask "is that the OWNER?????" as they hoped against hope that no one would ever claim her.

Eventually I got a call from the radio station as someone else had phoned in a "lost husky dog" that seemed to match up with my "found husky dog" ad. I phoned the number they gave me and it sounded like the right people so we drove Trixie over to them. As soon as we opened the door, Trixie hopped out and was obviously at home there. The elderly couple said they'd have been lost without her and couldn't figure out why she'd taken off. It's not a regular habit but they'd noticed that she'd gotten afraid when some neighbourhood kids set off some firecrackers and that might have sent her packing. She was near a Catholic church when I found her so I suggested she might have been on her way to mass!

They were happy to have her back and tried to pay us but we didn't want to take anything for doing something so simple. She didn't even eat anything while she was at our house. It was just the right thing to do and I'd hope someone would look after our Murphy if the same thing happened to us!

Minivan Fundraiser

We had an appointment to get our oil changed last week and we got a ride in their shuttle van, a Honda Odyssey. The girls loved it and want to know when we're getting a van of our own. I explained that they're fairly pricey items and we're trying to save up for one. They decided they wanted to help and started planning their "fundraiser". A few days later, they jumped out of the pool early and set up their iced tea stand. Unfortunately, our road seems to be the one less travelled and they only got 3 customers (including Daddy). At 25¢ a glass (or free if they don't have money with them), the minivan fund didn't make much progress. The customers were fairly generous and paid $1 per glass so the good news is that the profit margin is higher than expected for this little venture! :)))

Here are the entrepreneurs!