If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is

It rained the whole trip to Chattanooga today. I had miscalculated the amount of time it would take to get there. It's a 2-hour drive, right? Well, I forgot about the 1-hour time difference when traveling into the Eastern Time Zone. We left home at 10am CST and arrival time was 1:20pm EST. I called Brad and told him we'd be 20 minutes late. He said ok.

We found his house with the help of our handy GPS. It's a lifesaver. Judging from the size of Brad's house, he wasn't hurting for money. Brad answered the door and led us into the dining room where the saxophone sat on the table. He was no more than 20 years old and still lived with his parents. In a previous email, Brad had told me his father died two years ago, so I was surprised when his dad stepped into the dining room and shook my hand. Dead huh? Wow. Now I've seen it all. DH made small talk with the father while I focused on the instrument. It was very well kept, shiny brass with no visible scratches or damage. So far, so good.

SD retrieved her mouthpiece and reed from her purse. She put her mouthpiece on the instrument and started to play:

Bad note

Airy note

Screech!

Sour note

Good note

Squeak!

It was awful. This is her 5th year in band. The child knows how to play, but suddenly she sounded like a beginner again. She tried it for about 5 minutes, but the noise was like fingernails on a chalkboard. I asked Brad to try to play it for us.

"I don't have a reed," he said.

SD quickly pulled a reed out of her purse - a #3 strength reed. Backed into a corner, Brad had no choice but to play it. He could only get 3 clear notes out, and the other notes sounded just like SD's. He blamed his poor sound on the reed, claiming the instrument was more responsive with a 2-1/2 strength reed. Yeah, whatever. SD's been playing on #3's and #4's for over a year.

I have no doubt there was something seriously wrong with the saxophone. But without getting a professional to look at it and estimate repairs, I wasn't about to put $1500 on the table. We thanked Brad for the opportunity to see the instrument and walked away.

We took the money and went to the mall. At least it wasn't a completely wasted trip. SD was slightly disappointed about the saxophone, but she got over it after buying this new peacoat and a New Moon t-shirt.

Tonight I went back to craigslist to see if I could report Brad's ad. It had vanished. Poof. I hope he felt guilty for causing us to drive 2 hours in the rain, wasting our time and gasoline, and disappointing our daughter. What a loser.

A Good Day

To have started out in the dumps, today has turned out to be a great day. I went shopping with my mom in the morning. Then we met my Grandma at Crack er Barr el for her birthday lunch. DH took 1/2 the day off so he could come eat with us. Then he accompanied me to the mall where I FINALLY found some boots that fit my wide-ass-feet (Thank you Natural izer!) and they aren't even sized as a Wide shoe. I only had to go up a size to 11M. Hush, I know I have big feet. They match the rest of me!

We picked up SD and Chelsea after school. About 2 hours later, Chelsea's mom brought over her clothes and a McDon ald's cheeseburger. WTF? Do you not think I'm going to feed your kid? Geez. We're going out to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant to celebrate because DH GOT A RAISE! Not a small one either! Un-freakin-believable in these economic times, isn't it? I am so proud of my hard working husband and all he does for us. I am thankful that he has a good job and a wonderful boss who appreciates his effort and skill.

Now I'm trying to decide on a movie to watch while the girls are lusting after vampires. I'm thinking Men Who Stare at Goats because I want to laugh.

I need to laugh.

ADDENDUM: Do not pay to watch Men Who Stare at Goats. Do not even bother renting it. It's the worst movie ever. The trailer had all the funny parts. The rest of the movie sucked.

SD LOVED New Moon!

Blue

This week has been shit. I only managed to get exercise one day. DH made his famous cream cheese brownies for a dinner at the office, and I ate two. The drama with BM and SS made me angry, stressed, and later, very sad. Two days this week were spent entirely in my pajamas. The only good thing that's happened this week is that the dogs have been quiet and we've heard no more complaints from our favorite neighbor, Melba-Anne. Also, I did some online Christmas shopping so I wasn't totally unproductive.

The scale is up 1.2 lbs today. I seem to be doing this dieting thing wrong. I've had a gain for 3 consecutive weeks. I can't say it was a surprise. I haven't exercised and I haven't tracked my calories. My self-discipline flew out the window on Tuesday and it hasn't come back yet.

I had lunch with my friend Nancy on Monday. She told me that she's going to have lap band surgery in January. Another friend, Laura, had the lap band procedure in August. My friend Candra is taking diet pills with huge doses of caffeine; she's lost 45 lbs. Amy had gastric bypass surgery and now fits in a size 12. I can't help feeling just a little jealous of their magical results.

No, I'm not saying I want surgery or drugs. I can do this. I just have to get through Thanksgiving at my Mom's and all the leftovers she'll send home with me. Next Friday will certainly be another gain on the scale.

I will find my spark again. I just hope it's soon.

Tonight, I'm taking SD and Chelsea to see the new Twilight movie. They should enjoy that. I don't really feel like going out, but I promised.

Sunday we're driving 2 hours to look at a used alto sax I found on craigslist. SD is so excited. If it is everything it's advertised to be, it's a killer deal. On the other hand, it could be in poor condition. SD's old sax was in the fire and it's slowly dying. Pads are falling off, keys are sticking, notes won't play. A brand new one runs $2,500 and up, so I hope this used one pans out. SD is coming along to play it before we make a decision.

Sorry this post is so depressing. Maybe the weekend will be better. Y'all have a good one.