These are just some random updates for friends and family, because I don't remember who I've told what to or not.

After looking into two positions in the I/S department at the hospital, and getting an offer on one, I was approached by my current management about staying in the OR and creating a new job description that actually fits my position. It is going to include more clinical auditing, and hopefully a little less of the report madness once we hire a business manager. Same salary, but hourly (so I can get overtime pay, when needed).

Speaking of the hospital... We just got recognized as Stage 7 for EHR (electronic health record) adoption by HIMSS (the national organization that recognizes these things) which is the highest level of integrated computer charting systems and puts us at the top 1% of hospitals in the country. It's cool to have been and continue to be a part of the team that made that happen.

On a sadder note... Our dalmatian, Harvey, who lived with us for about 10 years, passed away. His health had been declining over the past few years, and we had a feeling this was probably going to be his last summer. Rudy still hangs in there despite her own health issues and doesn't let on that she has any problems at all, so hopefully she will still be with us for a good while.

Karen has officially started graduate school... specifically, the bridge for nurses without a bachelors degree into the Frontier nurse midwifery program. The school itself is online, other than a few orientations at the campus in Kentucky throughout the program. Originally, we thought she would probably be able to precept with one of the midwifery groups here in Tucson, but that is looking like it won't be an option by the time she gets to that stage, so we may be looking at moving in a couple years so that she can go somewhere to precept and, ideally, get hired after graduation.

I tried to get my kids to get me a Kindle for father's day, but they didn't want to spring the $114 for one. Instead, I ended up with a terrible headache, so I spent the day in bed, which isn't so bad. Our WoW guild kicked off our WotLK raiding that evening, which was a fun way to end the day.

Have my actual interview for my pending transfer to I/S today. I dread interviews.

The kids were happy with Lion King. And that's it for the day... we're eating pizza now, and then off to bed for a nice early 8am morning tomorrow. :)

After the half day conference, we plan to do another afternoon at the pool (assuming it is not too cold or windy), fire up the grill on the back patio for hamburgers and hot dogs, and then head out in the evening for one last night on the town... First the Sin City Comedy show, and maybe one of the piano bars after.

So, last night we went to dinner at Rio (yummy steaks at the All American Grill) and saw Penn and Teller with my sister, who hadn't seen them before. Afterwards we went out walking the strip until about 2:30, since my sister requested we have at least one late night out. Last night was not the best choice overall, but it didn't happen earlier in the week so there wasn't much choice left.

Karen and I got about an hour of sleep before getting up for the conference this morning, so our day has majorly sucked. We're taking the kids to Lion King in just a little bit, so we have to try not to pass out during it, and make it back to the timeshare safely. This will make it less than enjoyable, but it's all about the kids anyway.

Nothing big to report. Karen played in a tournament at Caesars, and is planning to try another today. We saw the Amazing Johnathan comedy show, which had some less than memorable parts but was okay overall. We know some friends who would probably appreciate it more...

We also spent an hour at Margaritaville while we stalled for time before the last shuttle back to the timeshare. Final verdict: Margaritas at Margaritaville suck. But they do have good hamburgers.

We were going to do a breakfast "owners presentation" at the timeshare this morning, for an extra 1000 points, but it's been changed to lunch now... and it will be 1000 points plus a $100 Amex card. Not bad for an hour or so of time, although we'll probably have to spend most of it declining various fantastic deals on points upgrades.

NAB is overwhelming. One of the expo floors is huge, and there's four of them. Two of the halls aren't much interest to me, but looking at all the new tech in cameras is cool, and I could probably spend all day just sitting at booths in the post-production area watching demos. James and I will probably wander our separate ways today, as he's more focused on filming gear, and I care more about editing setups.

Sam asked to be able to go swimming for her birthday, so we took everyone down to one of the four pools here at the timeshare. Nathaniel is able to hold his breath underwater for the first time, and Alex... well, he's making progress. I am absolutely no help in this regard, because for most of my childhood I used floats while "swimming" at my grandparents' lake house. I was a teenager before I just stopped using the floats. Karen, on the other hand, is frustrated that Alex isn't swimming back and forth in the pool underwater already.

For dinner, we took everyone to the Tournament of Kings at Excalibur. The kids loved the show, again. I wonder when it will become "old" for them, but come to think of it, they've watched the various Star Wars and Harry Potter movies hundreds of times so it may be a while.

Yesterday was another rushed day. The adults started the day heading back to the strip to pick up the car from the night before, and we started the buffet of buffets for the four of us with brunch at the Flamingo. Then we split up, and I found the Vons we'd been to years ago (same store as Safeway) for some more grocery shopping, yay. Then it was off to get Karen new shoes and do some clothes shopping for Chris. When we got back from that, we met back up and took all the kids out to dinner at Rio's buffet. As soon as we got back, I hurriedly helped Sam finish her week's school work to turn in, just in time to dash down to the shuttle to ride back to the strip for Harrah's Improv (Dennis Blair was awesome). We wrapped up "early" and get back around 12:30 this time.

Today: NAB this morning, the pool with the kids this afternoon, and hopefully Tournament of the Kings with everyone tonight. And then, possibly, some time to rest (and play WoW)...

Got in at 5pm, only one of the two units was ready. Got all the kids into our unit, and ran grocery shopping. Then, back to drop off the groceries and get the keys for the second room... and I ran back out to Best Buy to buy a new router.

(Yes, we brought 8 computers on our trip. And I forgot the router.)

After getting everyone settled, and internet access set up for the kids so they could play WoW, we went to see Ka. The show was pretty good, although the general consensus seems to be that the most memorable part is the relatively cheap alcohol there, especially when you factor in the refills.

Then we walked from MGM to Caesers Palace to catch the shuttle. We almost missed it - I stopped the very last shuttle as it was pulling out of the parking lot.

7 days to go...

It's time for another Vegas trip, again.

We were planning a two-part trip, staying for a whole week. The first half of the week, my dad was flying out for the NAB expo, and the second half of the week Karen and I are attending a nursing conference. My sister is coming along, and all of our kids, and we've got a pretty full schedule of shows and stuff to do.

My dad, who is currently dealing with weekly chemo treatments, was just admitted to the hospital with a fever. He is receiving IV antibiotics, but it doesn't look like he will be able to make it now. That's really disappointing, since I haven't gotten to see him in quite some time, except for a few brief minutes after my grandfather's funeral earlier this year. We were all looking forward to a chance to spend a few days together.

We are still planning to go, it just won't be the same though.

Just an FYI for anyone that tried to get ahold of Karen in the last 24 hours, her phone was stolen last night. We got a replacement phone this afternoon, so her number is working again.

Date:	2010-05-10 20:19
Subject:	A Taxing Ordeal
Security:	Public
Mood:	distressed

We filed our federal tax return at the end of February. We had to file by mail, because we were claiming the first-time homeowner credit, and you have to mail in proof of purchasing a home within the right timeframe.

Some time in mid-March, the IRS website's "Where's My Refund?" tool started showing our return as being processed, with an expected refund date of April 20. That was a long way away, but I hoped it was a conservative estimate and we might actually get it before the state taxes were due on the 15th.

At the beginning of April, though, the date changed to May 4th. By mid-April, the date was updated once more, to May 18th.

Today, I log in and check the IRS website again, and there is no date listed any more. Instead, it says to call the IRS directly. I do, and a very friendly and helpful government worker looked in our file and gave me the good and bad news.

The good news is that our refund will be direct deposited into our account on Friday, the 14th.

The bad news is that they denied the $8000 credit, so we're only getting $2000 back. That's not enough to pay my sister back for the money she loaned us last year, not enough to pay our friend back for the money she has loaned us over the past couple months from her own tax refund, not enough to buy an air conditioner for the garage... it's barely enough to pay the mortgage and month-late utilities. It's absolutely perfect timing to keep us afloat, but so far from what it was supposed to be.

Why did they "disallow" us from claiming the credit? The above customer service rep said that he saw a mortgage insurance account in Karen's name for 2007-2008. I asked for details, and he said it was from Wyndham - the company that owns Worldmark, our timeshare. He thinks they assumed that the mortgage insurance meant we already owned a house in the years prior, so we didn't qualify for the credit. We have to appeal in writing once we get the official notice in the mail, sometime this week.

And then, who knows how long that will take to process?

This evening, I took Sam and Chris to a school dance for AZVA here in town. It has an 80's theme, which is all retro and old fashioned to them (egad, how old am I?). Karen had a migraine today, so Tatum took the two of them shopping for clothes, and between Goodwill and costume shops, she did an excellent job outfitting them. Total cost was around $80 of our grocery money - the things we do to for our kids, right? It is worth noting, though, that the dance is now half way over and Chris is currently sitting beside me in the car in a parking lot down the road from the dance, playing Peggle on my laptop while Sam continues to party on.

Long time, no update. Since I have failed yet again to do Christmas cards this year, I better at least post something up here.

The kids finally got to spend their birthday money from this past summer - we had no money to buy gifts, and promised to give them all $50 each, but with saving for the down payment that never happened. Between two new credit cards (trading IOU debt for real debt) and December being one of those 3-paycheck months, we actually had money to catch that up and have them spend their Christmas money from my Mom and Dad too. They had more to spend on themselves than I had to spend on them for their presents under the tree.

But at least we were able to shop for them at all, because that wouldn't have happened without those two credit cards. I hate it - we still haven't paid off the things we charged up last Christmas - but we have to do something. When you are non-religious and Christmas is a secular Santa-based holiday, you can't fall back on any "true meaning of Christmas" excuses.

But, as somehow happens every year, we dig ourselves more debt and everything seems to work out. In fact, we bought a sectional couch for the living room through a rent-to-own credit option at a local furniture chain. It is a huge couch that can actually fit our household at once.

Just in the last few weeks, Karen has started working a lot more, which means we should be able to get a few things paid off (like the couch, with its absurd interest rate). On the other hand, it means that it is harder to get school done. We have to find a solution for that, something that will continue their education, that is manageable and still homeschool, and doesn't include the regulatory overhead the state imposes on us via the charter virtual school. We still aren't sure what shape this will take, but it won't be AZVA.

Well, except for Sam. She continues to do an amazing job of motivating herself to get her school work done with minimal prodding on our part. I'm very proud of her.

To preface this post: Yes, the house is ours. :)

In the days before closing, it became apparent that the insurance agent (KB) had not communicated with the mortgage company (KB) or the builder (KB) so there was no proof of our insurance nor any numbers for them to put on the closing docs. The agent didn't reply for a full day, then finally spoke with the mortgage closing rep within the last possibe hour and sent off the paperwork. The next morning we closed and got the keys.

We stopped by Sears to see if they will extend us credit to buy a washer and dryer. They only give us $500, so we would have to pay quite a bit out-of-pocket. We thought we might be able to cover it with Thursday's paycheck - but then we got a call from Karen's family, who needed help to keep their electric bill from being turned off. New plan - laundry will be done at Frel's house for a while.

I picked up the lights I bought for the bedrooms and went shopping for tempoary blinds. Target? None wide enough. Lowe's and Home Depot? Too expensive for something we're throwing away in a few months. It is getting late, so I get two blinds at Target that are half the window's width and try that. The windows are all sliding windows, so there is a bar down the middle - but when the two blinds were installed, you could still see in from outside.

So, I try to install the lights instead, in the dark, and run into problems getting the bracket to mount on the electrical box. After fussing for some time, I give up for the night. I only have one more night before we start moving.

Last night, I come home from work to find my netbook laptop is broken. The hinges were coming apart. It is three weeks old. So, goodbye plans to find better blinds, we're off to Best Buy to take it in. In the end, they let me exchange it for another model at a $80 discount, even though it was past the 14-day return date. I'm getting progressively happier with Best Buy every time I go to their store.

While I'm dealing with that, Karen fills out a credit application. They approve her for $3000. Off to the appliances we go, mulling the options for a while. We pick a set that will suit our needs well, and while they work up the pricing, we ask about a display fridge they've been trying to sell for many weeks at a huge discout because of a big dent on the bottom door. We have always had to have two fridges because we can't fit it all in one, but this one will solve that problem, and it's even black. They cut another $100 off the price of it, discount the installation accessories we needed for everything, and made the total price with delivery and installation just under the limit of the credit they gave us.

After a quick celebration, we stop by Walmart and find cheap blinds that will fit the windows, and I did some research on the internet and figured out how to make the lights work. I installed one to make sure, then went off to bed.

So, we have a house, we have all of our appliances, we have at least temporary furniture for everything we need to get settled in. Not only that, but as Karen works extra shifts in the coming weeks, we don't have to worry about choosing between buying appliances or sending it to my family, who will be needing help soon too.

Now we just have to move (and install those lights and blinds before the first night). That process starts in about 4 hours...

Now that we're on the week of closing, I'm now keeping track of it by hours. Closing will be in 47 hours, and we will have keys in 50.

We plan to rent a big truck Friday night, load it up through Saturday, stop by the storage unit on the way, and unload through Sunday. The cable installer should be there Sunday morning so we have internet service. The other utilities are already on and just have to be transferred. It's really almost over.

Going to end up borrowing Frel's old fridge from Oklahoma, along with our white fridge also from Oklahoma, so we have room for both families' food. And we don't have a washer or dryer yet. Or a living room couch. Or... well, you get the idea. We have a pretty big to-buy list, prioritized into various levels of importance. Like, we could get by doing laundry at Frel's house, though that will be a big hassle for as much laundry as we'll have. But window blinds absolutely have to be bought and installed before we move in this weekend, at least for the bedrooms. Karen hopes to work a lot and pay for some of those things, but we still may have to do the rent-to-own route for some of it.

UGM is almost over. Leave here this afternoon, plane takes off for Chicago just after 5 Madison time.

Day is over, back at hotel. The rain finally stopped shortly before the sessions were over, and I grabbed food and headed out. Had thought I might go down to the park by the lake, which is pretty close to the hotel, but I have so much work to catch up on that it won't be happening tonight. Maybe tomorrow, after dinner.

I am hoping the weather is less rainy tomorrow. They have a Wild West theme at the UGM this year, so there are more outdoor activities than usual. Tomorrow is the big Dinner on the Range, in the big outdoor tent that was flooded today because of the rain.

Not much else to say. Back to work...

Made it in yesterday afternoon. Found a little convenience store about two blocks away and bought some bread and peanut butter so I can avoid eating out. :)

Today is the first day of the conference, which for me is an all-day periop session. It started raining on the way in to the EPIC campus, and it is your typical midwest rain so it will likely keep raining all day. The rain is cold but the weather othwerwise is nice - cool but not cold. Not that I would mind cold either, but anyway.

Trying to get work done during breaks and even some of the more boring presentations. I have no backup at TMC (well, I do, but she is on maternity leave) so I'm having to watch over a lot of stuff from here, while learning stuff from EPIC and other customers. Too bad I can't charge my hours twice. :)

Here's a quick snap of the kitchen.



Sorry for the poor mspaint resize of a poor cellphone picture. I'm too lazy to do any better.

Getting ready for the yearly trip to Epic in Madison, WI. My
flight leaves at 6am tomorrow, and I'll get back in town at 10pm on Friday.

While I'm gone, the house will be finished - the only step left is installing the A/C unit and appliances. The team walk is on Thursday, and Karen will go to that. We do our "orientation" on October 1st, where they tell us how to use the irrigation system, spell out the warranty info, and let us inspect for anything that isn't complete. Closing is on the 7th.

Karen will be spending today at the hospital with a doula client. She expects that will be done by this evening. The income from that will be very helpful, since we've got to get a new washer and dryer, fridge, window blinds, ceiling fixtures, and so on. The list grows every day. :)