The Show

We have been enjoying our time here in Las Vegas the past three days. It is always good to see a few of the sights and shows this city has to offer. Last night we went to see The Lion King at Mandalay Bay. It was AMAZING! We sat pretty much in the center of the theater, so we had a great view of the entire stage. The music, the costumes, the lights, the special effects were all awesome. Two hours of real entertainment for the whole family. There were some new songs that were not in the movie. I loved that! And there was even plenty of humor in the show by my two favorite characters, Pumba and Timon.

It was Anthony's first time seeing a live professional performance like that, so I was really hoping he would enjoy it. And he did, but he sure was tired after the show. The only things that I would change would be the time of the show (I wish it was earlier in the day) and the price. But I guess we are just simple people who don't get out that much, so we are not used to this vegas lifestyle.

Anyway, I will say it was worth it. This was the one thing we wanted to splurge on during our trip. We still have a few days left. We will mostly be relaxing, but there are still a few things we want to see, and there are more times to be enjoyed!

Las Vegas, Here We Come!

Well, this must be the year that everyone is going out to Las Vegas to see Mom and Dad. I have jumped on that bandwagon and heading out there myself with Ashley and Anthony. We have spring break next week and I decided that I needed a TRUE vacation. However, I have realized that I will still be a stay-at-home Mom, just in a different location! Oh well! I guess that is the definition of a 24/7 Mom...never getting a break!

We are really looking forward to it though. Our vacations usually consist of: only in the summertime, and camping in the state of Colorado. So we don't "go anywhere" too often. But I felt like this was the time and the year to get the heck outta here! For a few days anyway...

This is probably one of the few weeks out of the year that my kids don't have any major activities going on. So, they won't miss out on anything here. I figured if we did stay here, we probably would just stay at home most of the week, maybe go to the local library, visit a park. You know, nothing real special. Just a week off from school. BORING! As my kids would say. Now, going out to Las Vegas, we will go see the sights and spend most of our time out-and-about the town, and of course spending time with Grandma and Grandpa is very special, since we don't get to see them too often.  The kids are really excited for it! I am too!

We have a few days until we leave, so I will be spending the rest of that time packing and getting the house cleaned up so Jason doesn't have to deal with anything too much while we are gone. He has to stay here and work. Sorry baby! We will be thinking of you!! :)

Get ready for us Mom and Dad! We're a coming!

What A Scary Thing!

Working in the financial industry taught me to be very careful about personal information, for other people and my own. I have a paper shredder that I use constantly. Anything that comes to my house with my name and address gets shredded. I will tear off that information from magazines, boxes, envelopes, etc. I also keep track of my expenses very well, keeping all of my receipts and comparing them to my statements. My checking and savings accounts get balanced several times a month. I get email alerts and text messages from my bank when a large purchase posts to my account, or it drops below a certain balance. I really try to stay on top of everything.

I feel like you can never be too careful. I once had my social security number stolen. It ruined my credit. I spent over two years trying to clear it up. I now have identity theft protection to help me in case something like that happens again.

I try to check my email everyday too. I have spam set up so I don't get those phising emails. I never open an email from one I don't recognize. You never know if it will have a virus, so I don't even take that chance.

This year I have done more online shopping than ever before. I love the convenience of it! But today I found out how scary it can be. I got online to check my email and I couldn't even sign on. My password wasn't being accepted. I typed it again KNOWING I spelled it right and it was the right one. Still, it didn't take it. I took the steps to access my account information, inputting my security answers that I set up, and reset my password. I was finally able to get into my email account. But when I did, I was shocked to see 2 emails from walmart.com (who I've ordered from before) for merchandise over $300. Apparently these orders were done at 2 am this morning. Ummm...I was sleeping at that time! I didn't place those orders! I also saw an email saying my email password was changed at the same time. OH MY GOODNESS! How did that happen! Who could have accessed my account...and how? How did they get my password and the security answers? And what other information did they get?

I logged onto walmart.com, which I have an account set up from my previous order. My credit card info had been saved, so all they had to do was hack into my account, find some expensive electronic merchandise, and hit "purchase". They payment was right there for them. I saw walmart actually cancelled the 2 orders from this morning because they couldn't verify the payment information though. Thank you! I believe my bank realized it seemed like an odd transaction because the merchandise was to be shipped to Texas, which does not match with my personal information. My bank didn't allow the transaction to go through. I deleted my credit card info immediately.

I also logged onto other websites that I use, changed my passwords and deleted any credit card info that could be saved on there. I checked all my accounts to make sure there were not any unusual transactions. And I also went through my emails and deleted most of them that may have personal information. I also contacted the security center for my email and requested they note my account had been compromised, and they need to provide me with further security on it.

Identity theft and security breaches are so scary. My heart was racing for a little while today, but all I can do is pay more attention to how my secure information is out in the cyber world. I suppose I will be monitoring my accounts even more than I do now. I'm just glad it is not worse than what it could have been. It's still not right, but what can the innocent people of this world do? It is us who suffer from the criminals out there...damn it!

Grilled Turkey Legs and Savory Butternut Squash

Once again I have done my food challenge, but waited most of the week to blog about it. I have just been too busy this week to even think about my blog. Yet, I seem to find the time to watch a couple of food network shows so I can be ready for my next challenge.

This food challenge: turkey legs, anaheim peppers, saltine crackers, cardamom

I have to say that I absolutely love turkey legs. They remind me of going to the county fair or renaissance festival and walking around with one in your hand, while you try so hard to eat it. Whenever you see one you say, "I've got to have one of those!" It was fun to make them at home!

Jason's boss has found our food challenge very interesting. He decided to pitch-in with one of the ingredients this week: cardamom pods. If you've never heard of this spice, you may know it as a spice in chai tea and is part of the ginger family. You can find it in your local grocery store, but it is pretty expensive. Since he gave us the pods, we just ground up the seeds in a coffee grinder.

Grilled Turkey Legs

3 turkey legs
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1 tsp hot sauce
3 tbsp spicy brown mustard
2 tsps canola oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Heat 2 qts of water in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add turkey legs to pot, having just enough water in pot to cover. Cook for 15-20 minutes. Remove turkey legs to shallow dish.

Heat grill to medium-high heat.

Mix worcestershire, hot sauce, mustard, oil, garlic powder, onion salt and black pepper in a small bowl. Pour over turkey legs to coat.

Finish cooking turkey legs on hot grill, about 10 minutes.


Savory Butternut Squash

1 butternut squash, chopped and seeded
2 anaheim peppers, chopped and seeded
1/2 pkg saltine crackers, crushed
2 pears, cored and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp cardamom
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine, squash, peppers, pears and onion in a large bowl. Add olive oil and cardamom. Mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add squash mixture to a 9x12 baking dish. Top with crushed saltine crackers. Bake until vegetables are tender, about 35 minutes.

Enjoy!

I'm Ready

I finally got my car back! Yeah! Anthony has recovered from his surgery and is back in school! Yeah! I'm ready for life to get back to normal for me. I'm ready to not have loads of drama in my life. I'm ready to not be dealing with everything at once. I'm just ready to get back on track with my boring everyday life.

It's incredible how all this stuff has "weighed me down". I haven't felt like doing much lately. And I mean even the things I should be doing, especially around my house. I haven't been dealing with the things I should be dealing with, because all these other things have taken priority. Now I'm feeling free enough to finally take charge and get other important things done. It feels great!

Now, if I could just have enough hours in the day to get it all done...

It Must Be Allergy Season

The last few days I've had a scratchy throat, watery eyes, stuffy nose and have been sneezing like crazy. I don't feel like I have a cold because my symptoms are not getting worse. My body doesn't feel like I have a cold either. I'm feeling okay except realizing that I probably have allergies. I've never suffered from allergies before, but I've heard that many people develop allergies as they get older. Great! Add another ailment to my growing list of medical issues!

The wind has been blowing all sorts of stuff through the air the last couple of weeks. The weather has been getting warmer here and I've noticed some flowers starting to bloom in the neighborhood. So the pollen must be what is irritating my sinuses. I'm not 100% sure on that, but what else could it be? I don't have any experience personally with allergies. My daughter has allergies, but she seems to be affected by several things, several times throughout the year. She seems to have allergery irritations at the beginning of every season. But she just takes over-the-counter allergy medication, which seems to help. But she's had allergies most of her life so I think she just deals with it.

I guess I will need to pay attention to how the seasons affect me. Maybe that will help me determine what allergies I have developed. I'm not sure if I'll do anything about it though. As almost everyone who knows me, knows I will just put up with it and not treat it with medication. That's just how I am. However, last night I did take a Benadryl allergy tablet but it didn't seem to help. I kept waking up during the night, feeling like my throat was on fire. This morning I woke up still with a stuffy head. Oh well. I just don't like how medication makes me feel. Worse than the actual illness.

I'm sure in a day or so I'll be feeling better.  If not, oh well...Anthony and I are just laying around the house together. What a life!

What A Fiasco!

I got my rental car last Wednesday and since then it has been problem after problem. Even though the car accident was not my fault, I seem to be the one paying the price for it. I am ready to have my own car back!

The first thing that went wrong was the rental car company wasn't even ready for me when I dropped my car off to be fixed. They were supposed to have the car at the body shop that morning, but I had to wait an hour before I finally got it. Way to deliver on promises Enterprise! Then, of course, the guy put his salesman hat on and tried to sell me additional insurance on the car. I told him I didn't want to pay for anything, because the other insurance company was taking car of it all. Plus, my insurance coverage would be the same for the rental car because I have full coverage on the car being fixed. He had me sign in a section that I thought said waiving additional insurance, when instead it was to opt in for the basic insurance plan. I made sure they corrected that though. What a scam! I think they are hoping people don't read the fine print, or they just sign away where they are told.

When I got home, I had a message from the other insurance company that said Enterprise messed up. They put me in a compact car, when I was approved for an intermediate car. In Colorado, the insurance company has to pay for a comparable vehicle to your car. They had first put me in a Hyundai Accent, with power nothing. I'm sorry, I kind of require power everything in my car. So much easier for me to press a button. So, I called them up to get me into a better vehicle. Unfortunately, I had to go to them to swap out the car. Isn't their motto, "We'll pick you up"? They must go by that only when it's convenient for them. Whatever! I got a 2010 Ford Focus. Okay, better than the Hyundai. I'll deal with it for the next week.

Yesterday, Jason drove the rental car to work in Brighton. However, the car died on him twice and the "check engine" light came on. I called Enterprise, AGAIN, to swap out the car. At first the lady on the phone acted like it was our fault. She said, "That's a 2010 with only 24,000 miles. That shouldn't happen." No shit lady! How do you think we felt? So, they told me Jason could take it to the Brighton location. But the lady there was not helpful at all. We were told we could bring the Focus back with an "empty" tank of fuel, before this incident. I had just filled it up over the weekend, and it still had a full tank. They lady basically treated it as if it wasn't her problem. She said we would have to take that up with the Loveland location. Are you kidding me? Isn't this Enterprise? Isn't Enterprise the same company no matter what location you go to? Way to not help people! Way to pass the buck! She ended up giving Jason a Toyota Corolla, with a 1/2 of a tank of fuel and said we could return it with only a 1/4 of a tank. Oh my goodness! Does this lady know how to do math? Hmmm...we give you a full tank, you give us only 1/2, and we still have to return it with a 1/4. Please revisit middle school math lady! Way to rip-off your customers!

To top everything off, as Jason was driving home the maintenance light came on in the Corolla. Oh man! I give up! I cannot even believe all the problems we've had with this whole situation. It's almost unreal, unbelievable, and way too much for me to deal with. I had to call Enterprise for the third time to swap out the car. Thankfully, they took care of it. They came to my house to swap the car since I'm home with Anthony. They brought the car with a full tank of fuel and I can return it empty. And they offered to give me a free upgrade the next time I need a rental car. In my mind I just said, "No thanks. I don't think I'll use this company again." I know they can't do much for me right now because I'm not paying for anything. But I'd rather just get through this week, get my car back and never use them again.

I now am driving a Chevy Cobalt. Ughhh! I miss my car. At least I know what cars I will never buy. I hope everything goes well with the repairs on my car and I have it by the end of the week. I hope nothing else goes wrong with this rental car. I don't think I can deal with anymore issues. Not this week, anyway.