It Take A Thief!!!

I was reading a friends blog about her "Tragic Tuesday" and decided to share my own version of a Manic Monday. This one centers around the unfortunate dishonesty of some people in the world. Yesterday, our daughter Lauren went to the gym to workout around 9:30 in the morning. She belongs to Lifestyle Family Gym and was at the Keystone facility on 82ND street. I had just talked to her right before the class started. At approx 9:40, the phone rang and it was her bank, trying to reach her - someone was trying to cash a $400+ check and the teller thought it looked a bit strange - signature didn't really match Lauren's signature cards on file, and the id of the person @ the window didn't really look like her. I called the gym, had Lauren pulled from the class for "an emergency" (I am sure her heart was in her throat as she ran to the phone). When I ask Lauren about the check and person - she confirmed she had NOT written this check and furthermore did not know this person. I told her to grab her cell, call me back and we would 3-way call the bank to see what she needed to do. She went to her car to get her cell and guess what - her car had been broken into @ the gym - they had stolen a bag that had her digital camera and a book of blank check as well as her softball bag (glove, cleats, hat, etc.) Now the thief was not so smart - cause there was a new $400 cell phone laying in the cup holder and a $500 GPS system in the console - but they were (thankfully) untouched! Sooo - we call the bank to let them know that there had been checks stolen, and the bank tells us that they did not cash the check, but they gave the check back to the lady and sent her on her way - which I guess it not what they are suppose to do (at least according to the police - The police wanted the check for fingerprints.)

The police show up and really were great - filed a report and immediately went to the bank - who has since called ME back to tell me that they have this gal trying to cash the check on surveillance cameras AND they have a make and model on the car she was driving. So, who knows if this lady will be caught, but I hope someday she realizes what she really took from Lauren.

First - there's a overall sense of violation - that someone has gone through and taken your personal belongings - although it will be costly to replace the camera and softball equipment, it's the pictures that were on the disk of her very first classroom of students as a teacher, or pictures of her and Great Grandma Jennie, who has since passed, or she and her Dad @ the Red's opening day, or Niece Cori's first trip to Kings Island or her college graduation; events that won't happen again and the pictures cannot be replaced.

Then, there's the HOURS that we spent yesterday at the bank, closing accounts, opening new accounts, unlinking ATM cards, etc - as the day went on, I could see the hurt in Lauren's face that someone could do such a despicable thing!

And then, as I mentioned before - the actual cost to replace items - in addition to the $100 deductible that she had to pay to get the window on her car fixed, and the bill to have the glass cleaned out of the car (sooo many pieces of glass,); the cost of replacing all her softball gear - $150 glove, $75 cleats, $25 batting gloves; the cost of a new camera - $300; the cost of replacing all the makeup and little items that were in her purse, plus the purse itself - $100 or more - Someones rude and selfish act has now cost her upwards of $800!!! This just ticked her off and made her mad.

But I think the thing it cost her the most was a lack of trust for mankind. She is a loving and trusting person and this has made her question her trust for people. This is probably a good thing in someways - because, unfortunately, you just can't trust everyone these days and I think she will now develop a caution that has escaped her in the past. I have always worried about her because she does love and trust people - this event may have changed that forever.

So - to the lady who broke into our daughter's car, stole her personal belongings, and used the fake id yesterday @ the 82ND street Fifth Third @ 9:40 AM in an attempt to take money from her accounts - I hope you really needed the items you took - they came with a very high price tag for my daughter. May God bless you and give you peace.

It's a Dog's Life!!!

Last March, I broke down and bought a new chihuahua puppy. (I had lost my baby, Ally, a 65 lb standard poodle last July and had finally realized I really miss having a dog around.) So, "Boomer" came to be. He weighed all of 3 lbs when I got him - he is now @ 6lbs - which is probably close to grown weight. He is adorable and mischievous!!! He looks like a big brown rat, but nonetheless, he is cute; he has a face that just melts you at times - he seems to look at you and since Chihuahua's actually have tears - well, it's like a little kid wanting a cookie - you just can't say no or get mad. He can be so loving and sweet - he is a kisser and has the art of drilling his little tiny tongue right between your lips - nasty!!! (especially after he's been sniffing poop on his walks!!! YUK!!!) So, I am trying to figure out how to brush his teeth and still have fingers left when I'm finished! (cause there's no way he's going to gargle mouthwash willingly!)

Today, he was so cute - the sun was shining through and chi's love to lay in the sun - so I snapped a couple of cute pics of him - as you can see - he loves to lay around and be lazy.

He especially loves the screened porch - it keeps him in the outdoors which he seems to love, but keeps him safe from Mr. Hawk!

I later found him on my front room couch, which is a no-no, but I think because it's black, it's warm - he loves it

so I scolded him and.....

He retreated to the floor and cried - look under his eyes and you can see the fur is a bit darker - yep, it's wet cause he cried like a baby!

So I felt sorry for him, gave him a treat, rubbed his belly and let him kiss me (yuk again!) and he went off on his way........ to chew my shoe!!!!

Now granted, it's only a $2 pair of flip flops from Old Navy...but they were broken in and perfect - so my sweet little guy ended the day in the "dog house"

Never too old to blog???

OK - so everyone I know is blogging these days - so I thought - what the heck - I can do this - right? What is an HTML anyway??? I hope the most difficult task is setting up the page! So that tells you right off the bat that I am NOT the techie in the family!!!

Have you ever had one of those days, or one of those weeks that you just shake your head and say - only in the movies??? Well, it's been one of those months here for us at the Sebastian house. Just one thing after another - to the point of comical and don't even try to explain it to anyone - cause they are just going to think it's a load of bull. I mean, you can't make this kind of stuff up - right!!!! Thank goodness for great friends T and H who like dinner, talking and wine!!! But, it's the start of a new week and strangely enough, it's been a fairly normal day today. (as if ANYTHING is normal around here)

We are getting ready for a much needed vacation on the beach and I am going to turn off the cell phone and forget to pass along any contact information - 10 days of relaxation - baking in the sun to a nice brown crisp! I guess I had better make the dermatologist appointment now huh! I am a bit nervous though - we are vacationing on the same beach, in the same condos as we did 14 years ago when I got caught up in a rip tide, tore out my knee and nearly drowned (God Bless that little 98 lb lifeguard that finally pulled me out of the water!) I am certainly not looking for a repeat performance of that week. Lauren is getting her little bikinis ready, and I am trying to find one of those swimsuits from the roaring 20's.

I think this is a good look!!

I mean come on - have you seen some of those skimpy suits - I think a postage stamp would cover more

VS

YEP - the stamp definitely covers more!!!

Oh well, on to a much less depressing subject.

Yesterday was my Dad's 77th Birthday - he came up from Cincinnati to celebrate with us. (I look for reasons to go to Taylor's Bakery - seldom do I get the chance to do it legitimately!!!) He's a great guy and I think he really enjoyed himself. He's definitely having some health issues, but he is still a funny guy! Happy Birthday Dad - I love you!!

OK - those of you who know me, know how much I love my baby girl, Lauren- even though she is 23! Well behind her is my sweet little 2 year old niece, Cori. I talked to her on the telephone today - she is a stitch!!! She talks to me like she's my best girlfriend - she tells me what she ate, what she's watching (Disney of course), what she's wearing, and tells me she loves me. She is also VERY fond of Lauren (that is an understatement - she loves her to pieces) - Here are the two gals a few weeks ago - are they not "Tina Fabulous!!" She is learning style very early from her Lauren.

Well, all in all, not to bad for a first attempt at blogging! Until next time....