Fraud.........& Air conditioning!

You guessed it.......someone tried to use my credit card.  :-(

While at the gym on Wednesday, I kept getting notices on my Apple watch (the one I bought for $100 from a friend who didn't like it) from my bank.  I finally checked my phone, and read the messages in horror......that there had been apparent fraud on my bank account and credit card.  All of the credit card charges were blocked....thankfully.  My bank (USAA) shut down access to my account ~ even to me ~ until I could get in and change EVERYTHING.  Including the email I have listed on the account.  I was both freaked out and grateful that my bank was so quick to react.  None of my money was stolen....not sure why, but really grateful.  I admit my bank is awesome......they do have great safeguards, probably because many military families use it, due to their many moves.   I was surprised that someone was able to get in to my account ~ they changed my login!!  I even have two step notification on my account, and yet they were still able to get in and change things.  Added phone numbers.  Added e mails.  Changed my security questions.  Good grief.  

The bank representative recommended I change the e mail on the account and to change all my e mail passwords.  And to do that every 3 to 4 months.  I admit I am not happy about that, passwords are such a pain....  (see link for previous rant)

But, despite all of that shenanigans.....Great News!!  I have a new suv!!

 

I know this is a crappy picture, but it's raining and I didn't want to get wet, Lol.

Yes, despite the fraud attempts I was able to finance the above.  A 2016 Rav4 that was leased by a couple that live in California and Santa Fe....it had only 11,000 miles on it.  I got a great deal ~ I negotiated it myself!!  Since it has been so long since I've purchased a vehicle, I didn't realize how long it would take.  We arrived at the dealership at 8:45 and didn't leave until 11:40.   I can use my phone hands free now, and the air conditioning is absolutely fabulous.  I know that I was stressing on saving up the money, but this past week ~ when the Rodeo started making a new noise ~ I suddenly realized I could close out a small investment account that I had started with the intention of saving for a vacation.  That along with the $1200 I sold the Rodeo for, gave me a nice down for the Rav.  Luckily my payments are very reasonable, and I received a nice low APR as well.  

Funny, something horrible and something wonderful happening in the same week.  Ok, well, not really funny.  More strange than funny.

I'm going to have a really fabulous weekend.  I hope you do too!!

Love, 365

Moving on & other stuff......

@ the Lavender Festival yesterday, a lovely water garden with a bubbly bit of dry ice fog....

One of my racquetball friends invited me to go to the Lavender Festival yesterday.  I thought it was held at Los Poblanos, but it's actually across the street, in a field.  So, no real tree shade to speak of.  It was incredibly hot.  I wore a hat, a white shirt and took my cooling scarf ~ but it was so hot that it didn't really seem to make much of a difference, although if I hadn't brought those things with me, I'm sure I would have been convinced that those items would have made a huge difference.  We didn't stay very long ~ it was too uncomfortable.  

On the plus side, her husband drove us there and picked us up so that we didn't have to park and take the shuttle ~ in her 2015 Honda CRV.  It was very nice.  Great room in the back seat.  So, although I have been leaning toward the Rav4, I will definitely keep the CRV in my sights.  I suppose there are lots of those on the road for a reason!

Last week Romeo had to have a lower molar extracted.  He has been having regular cleanings since I've been working there (4 years), and for the most part, seeing the same hygienist.  After I finally made sure they took a panorex x-ray, it was obvious the tooth needed to come out.  I was very disappointed that it took way longer to diagnose the problem (furcation, which develops as the result of bone loss) than it should have.  Why didn't they take a pano?  Why was the hygienist recommending he go to a periodontist (nothing saves a tooth that has furcation, at least not to my knowledge)?  I am trying hard not to feel as though employee family members are not given the highest standard of care because there's no charge for it.  I plan on speaking to our OM next week about it.  It bothers me........as I'm sure any of you would feel the same way in my situation.  Maybe I'm being too sensitive, something I constantly have to work on.  

Today I made my last post on my other blog.  Seems to make sense since I've graduated.  Because it didn't generate much interest, I hadn't posted on it for a long time.  I want to start another blog, but I am not sure if I will add it to this blog or begin a whole new one that isn't connected to this one at all.  I need to think about my reasons for creating a whole new blog instead of just adding a blog like I did with the "college after 50". 

Laundry calls.....enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Love, 365

Prickly.........

You guessed it.  Today it is 100 degrees outside.  Yesterday it was 98 or 99, or something like that.  It's supposed to be the same 100 tomorrow, and 98 on Sunday.  I am very thankful that I have a/c at home, I couldn't even imagine trying to stay cool in this heat (like in Chicago, wow) without air conditioning.  And I'm really only spending about 45 minutes to an hour in my suv every day.  And the first 15-20 minutes is in the morning when it's much cooler.  The other 25 to 40 minutes in it when it's really hot.  When you get in it's like getting into an oven, then opening the window is like a convection oven.  Lately I just want to cry, it's just so uncomfortable, but it's so hot the tears just evaporate before they hit my cheeks. 

I still don't have the $$ saved.  I was reading an article on when is the best time to buy ~ and it's the last day of December.  If you need it before that, they advise you buy on the last day of the quarter, which will be September.  Added bonus is the last day of September is a Monday, which is the "best" day of the week to buy (in addition to the other suggestions).  I have no reason to doubt it.  Hell, I haven't bought a vehicle in over 16 years!  I need to wait, but it's harder and harder to do it. 

Most of the U.S. population is under heat advisories and larger cities have opened up "cooling stations" and some fireman are going door to door to check on the elderly and very young in their neighborhoods.  It's pretty serious. 

No reason not to have a sense of humor though.....

By this time it's like being in a communal bath tub, right?

Lol.....

Well, I'm done whining about my 4 wheel drive oven for today.  :-)

Love, 365

It's consistently inconsistent......

Yep, there's a story here.....

Last week my brotforms/proofing baskets arrived.  I was so excited because they came on Friday instead of Saturday.  Saturday is bread making day, mostly because it takes time, and I can do it while I'm doing laundry and house cleaning.  Anyway, the instructions online suggested putting lots of flour in them.  They are made of cane, and as you can see from the bottom example, it leaves a cool imprint of the cane on the bread.  Plus, I can fit it into my dutch oven to bake (which removes the need to spritz the oven before baking).  

So, last week I floured the heck out of those baskets.  I was terrified the dough would stick, ruining the dough.  But the bread did come out nicely, and was delicious ~ my only unhappy moment was all the flour that stuck to the dough, much of which wouldn't come off with a brush.  I don't mind a bit of flour.  The example above it just about right in my opinion.  So, I decided to go a little minimalist this time.

Which resulted in sticking.  The bottom loaf didn't stick too much, but the upper one was hard to remove from the basket ~ which resulted in a funky pattern that really looks a little twisted.  

Well, regardless of how it looks, it still tastes great.  But next week I'm going back to dusting those baskets within an inch of their lives.  

#homemadebread #delicious #doesn'thavetobeperfect

Love, 365

Drat! I broke it..........

A few weeks ago I noticed a bit of a crack on my racquetball racquet.  At first we (my racquetball buddies) thought it was just the paint.  But look at what happened today!  After the game we were playing was over, I looked at my racquet and noticed it was broken.  It's not supposed to curve like it shows in the photo :-).  One of my friends gave me the name of a guy who she thought had one ~ which he does (yay!) which I can buy from him for $100 ~ yes the racquets are expensive.  Just before I texted him I looked online, and the same racquet is 198.00 ON SALE.  So, I'm getting a great deal!  Still, I really wish this hadn't happened right now, when I'm desperately trying to save money for my new(ish) car.  But I still consider it a necessity....racquetball is one of the best stress relievers ever.  Hit ball hard.....run around......have fun.  At least most of the other items necessary to play are relatively cheap. 

May all of your sports equipment remain in good shape!

Love, 365

Lesson learned.....

Anyone else notice the ridiculous proliferation of Facebook ads?

Yeah, me too.  And I fell for one......an online clothing company called "Chicpopo".  I saw a few items I thought looked like fun and ordered a few things.  

If you go to their home page, and hit "contact us" this is what you see....

I know it's hard to read, but it gives you an address in the U.K.  When you go to pay, you see this:

This is a company from China.  

I ordered anyway, ignoring the voice in my head warning me not to do it.  First of all it took FOREVER.  I believe my items arrived 8 to 10 weeks after I ordered.  And when they did come the quality was subpar, and one of the items seemed to be missing something.  Returns are nearly impossible.  Can you imagine how much it would cost to return an item or two?  

I did email them (over and over before I received a response), and they finally agreed to refund me 20% of the item that didn't look anything like the item I ordered.  

And I failed to do the most basic of all ~ look for reviews like this one:

Yes, it is a total scam.  

After this experience I have made a habit of blocking all the ads I see on Facebook ~ and it worked!  I rarely see one anymore, although I'm sure in time some will start creeping in again.  

Just goes to show you that you should listen to that little voice saying DON'T!  I feel like a total idiot for ignoring it.  Sheesh.

Love, 365

The brewing storm......

I swear, you never know what you'll see parked at the grocery store......

Romeo decided to wash the vehicles this morning, since it is cloudy and not too hot.  By the time he was in the middle of his, the wind has started whipping up, and it looks a bit stormy.  What do you want to bet that when I leave to help with baking at the church it will rain?  

Currently watching the very ending of Tremors 6.  The first one turned into a cult classic, but the sequels suck.  I swear, Fred Ward must be in every single one.  Poor guy......but I do recommend the first movie, it was fun.  Kevin Bacon helped a lot.  

My bread is rising, and my brotforms came in yesterday!  So I'll be excited to see how well the loaves come out.  This time I'm baking them in my dutch oven.  It will be a nice change from french loaves.  Another change I made was adding 1 cup of whole wheat flour.  Hopefully it will rise in time for me to bake them before I have to leave at 4pm.  This is a brotform:

This is how I hope the bread will look when I'm done:

I will post pictures this time!  Unless they turn out really ugly :-)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love, 365

Happy Birthday, America!!

Happy birthday!

I feel grateful to those who have fought and served to maintain our freedoms and safety.

America, the Beautiful......

From East......

To West....

The Grand Ol' South (Louisiana, state of my birth)...

Western wilderness......

There are times when I wonder why I want to travel to Europe when there are incredibly beautiful places right here.  That last photo is in Wyoming.  Doesn't it take your breath away?

Enjoy your celebrations and please be safe.....and be kind to the dogs that will not enjoy those fireworks.

Love, 365

Bored......

Hanging out in Santa Fe...

My sister and her husband are on a motorcycle trip with their Hog chapter.  Before you get the wrong idea, haha, this is a Harley Davidson motorcycle group.  She calls it their "Hog chapter", so I guess I ought to as well.  They went up to Colorado (not Durango, not exactly sure where they were heading) and are traveling back today.  She asked if we could meet up in Albuquerque for lunch before they continue on their journey.  So, first it was supposed to be dinner, but a few days ago she said lunch would be better.  Ok.  So, I bowed out of the baking at church so that we could meet up.  Family is more important than baking right?  Of course!

She figured they would be here around noon.  It's not much past that now, but I'm already becoming bored with watching sourdough baking tips on You Tube, and I'm hungry.  A sure recipe for crankiness.  Of course I realize that it's not easy to figure the exactness of time when you encounter traffic, and other unforseeen issues.  And Romeo already came in and asked me when we would just give up on this whole idea.  Not a good sign.  He is not a naturally patient person.  By association, it creates impatience in me as well.  :-)

So, here I sit, waiting for the word that they are 15 minutes away so we can head over to the Owl Cafe: 

A rather nice photo with all the lights on....

At some point I assume Romeo will say he's out, and I will be going alone.  Plus, I am a little annoyed that I've been goofing around for the last hour and a half waiting.  This is my Monday off, and I had plans, which I was willing to put aside.  

Dammit, before too long I will give in and eat some of the Texas Sheet cake I made yesterday, and will be no longer interested in having the green chile cheese burger I was looking forward to.

Love, 365