Engagements, engagements, everywhere!!!! The busy Kazmierski's!

So...in the past two weeks both my brother Brandon and my sister Chelsey have both gotten engaged. It's kind of like the saying, "When it rains, it pours.". I keep looking at my brother Jordan suspiciously trying to guess if he's got any plans up his sleeve.

Ok. A few weeks ago my phone rang at about 9:00p.m. and I saw that it was Brandon. I have to tell you honestly that a call from Brandon that late sparked off a few stray thoughts in my head in which scenarios of jail, fire, and brimstone were all involved. But, alas, it was Brandon calling to say that he'd proposed to Christine. He had an awesome plan that surprised the heck out of her and it was very romantic. He proposed at the hotel he works at and had this winter wonderland theme going on in the restaurant. It was very sweet and I'm very proud of him. Christine is great. She's just as tall as Brandon (ok...she's taller and it's awesome...I can't WAIT for them to have kids.) and gorgeous. And...she's smart and funny but most of all, she can put up with Brandon. Brandon can be slightly difficult at times so I'm just glad he's found his "other". Last I heard they were talking about possibly getting married in Colorado. YAY!!! I love destination weddings. I'll keep you posted on what all they decide.

Brandon and Christine. 

Fast foward a week to Red River, NM. We're all sitting around and it starts snowing...HARD! Which was awesome because this year has been a tough one on all the ski resorts in NM and CO because there's been a huge lack of snow. When we saw all that crazy awesomeness we all got ready and went out to play in the snow. We went down to a little park that was covered in Christmas lights and snow and Eddie got down on one knee and proposed to Chelsey out in the snow. It was very sweet and we're all very happy for them. Chelsey is crazy. I can say this because she is my sister and I did, in fact, have to share a room with her for most of my life. I'm just happy that she's found someone that will put up with her craziness. You see, Brandon and Chelsey are quite a bit alike and I know that they've made great decisions on choosing their other half.  

Chelsey, Eddie, and Jackson.

So...it's been a very productive two weeks for all of the Kazmierski's! Hugh and I will have at least three family weddings to attend in the next year and half. Hugh's brother John is getting married to Maegan next December in Austin, and we're very excited!

Also, I wanted to include this on here. My good friend/sister/keeper of Rosemary's baby (HA!!) Serena got engaged about a month ago to Jason. Hugh and I are so very happy for them and all the great things to come for their little family. We love you guys!!

Serena and Jason

Love,



Red River.....Part 1

Yay!!! My parent's decided that they wanted to Red River, New Mexico for Christmas back in July and they extended the offer for all of us kids to join them there. Talk about fun!! I haven't really mentioned it much because I didn't want the world to know that we wouldn't be home for a week. We left on Tuesday, the 21st and drove to Amarillo and stayed the night. The next day we drove the final leg of the trip to Red River, New Mexico. Red River is the Northern most ski area in NM. My Aunt Mary and Uncle Clifton have been going there for years at Christmas time and we were happy that they were willing to share it with us. It's a small town where you can actually walk from one end to the other. It's amazing that you can walk to ski, walk to shop, and walk to eat. We had a blast, and Hugh and I will always look back on this trip as a great first-married-Christmas getaway.

Unfortunately, my Dad got sick on the way there. He had a horrible upper respiratory infection that had him out the entire trip. He felt awful, and we all felt bad that he didn't get to enjoy his trip. Jackson got sick and earned himself a trip to the emergency room (pneumonia!) and before they left, my mom and sister were sick as well. The entire group left a day early to get Jackson back to his pediatrician. Putting all of that aside, we enjoyed the trip and I had a blast learning to ski. It was my first time and I took to it very well. I can't wait to go back and I hope Hugh and I get to ski more often. Here are some of the photo highlights, I'll do another post on all of the other happenings. Oh....Hugh and I did learn something: we will no longer be doing driving trips. Driving long distances sucks.

This is a buck that was about 20 feet from our car. There was a horribly dense fog and all of a sudden there were deer EVERYWHERE!

This is in the Carson National Forest. We stopped and took some pictures, great scenery. It was so beautiful.

I love this picture. I looked surprised, Brandon looks shocked and Jordan just looks.....well, like Jordan.

Christmas Eve night there was a torchlighting ceremony down the face of the mountain. It was realy cool and very magical. We all loved it.

Hugh and I after the torch parade.

My Aunt Mary and Uncle Clifton. They are very sweet and we are so appreciative that they shared Red River with us.

I included this one because Hugh took the picture and  it's one of his favorites.

Aunt Mary and Jackson!

This is Hugh. All dressed up and holding his scotch.

This is what happens when you let Brandon have your camera on Christmas morning. Isn't he handsome? HA!

Me and Hugh on Christmas morning. Santa brought all of us gifts in the hats we're wearing.

More to come!!!!

Love,

Frazier Christmas!

We had Christmas with the Frazier side of the family (my Mom's family) the Saturday before we left for Red River. We had a great time and it was good to get to see everyone. I'm going to post some pictures and just explain as I go!

I made cake balls to take for dessert. I keep forgetting to take pictures of them, but I did this time. I make these by hand and I spend some serious time and love getting these to look the way that I like them to. I enjoy making them for people, but they are t-i-m-e consuming. These were devil's food and chocolate.

We had the party over at my counsin Stacey's. Her husband and kids are so sweet, and they have a very pretty house.Ok...Camryn might not be sweet, but she's cute.

 This is me and my mom.

This is my Uncle Ricky. I love him to death, but he just LOVES to try and tickle people when they take pictures with him.  

This is me and Krystal, my brother Jodan's girlfriend. She is one of the sweetest people I know. I just love her! 

 Krystal, Mom, and Aunt Joanne. Aunt Joanne is a nut, but we all love her. I think she likes Hugh better than she likes me though.

 This is my mom with her Dad, my Papa Ralph.

This is my mom and Uncle Ricky. 

 Jackson and Santa!

 My sister Chelsey and cousin Kristin with Santa!

Hugh and I with Santa. :) It was a fun afternoon.

Love,

 

Love Thy Neighbor

Hugh and I have had some interesting neighbors. I like to refer to our neighbor craziness as “Adventures in Neighbors”. Before I met Hugh, he insists that the neighbor to the left of our house was a prostitute. Apparently she didn’t work and there was always a different car in the driveway everyday.

When I moved in with Hugh we had really quiet neighbors. A little odd, didn’t talk to anyone, but at least they were quiet. =)

Then….the worst neighbors in the history of neighbors moved in. It was an adult woman and several high school age children. The first night they were there, they had at least 12 cars there and they had a HUGE party. There was loud thumping music and loud people until 3 in the morning. This “party” pretty much continued from every Thursday through Sunday. They lived in the house for almost a year and the cops would show up at night a minimum of twice a week. Not just one police car, they would send two because of the number of people and the clientele. I started noticing that the “kids” were spending most of their days sitting on the front porch smoking weed. In the open!! I was greeted several times by kids that I knew from school over there partying and doing drugs. They sold drugs out of the house and they actually held “church services” on Sundays. One of the guys drove a Cadillac with a chrome “J. Christ” edition emblem on it. Their church had a website where you could donate online and receive healing. SERIOUSLY!?!?! When they did finally move out, I think the entire neighborhood celebrated.

Good Neighbors J

Across the street from our house lives a great family, Charlie and Stephanie. They have three young kids that LOVE our dogs and their son thinks of Hugh as a playmate. We love them to death, and when it comes time for us to move we’d like to take them with us. We have a great relationship with them and we always have a good time hanging out with them.

Yesterday: I was at home cutting up onion for our spaghetti sauce. I decided to try a new cutting technique that I saw on Food Network. Well, my hand slipped off the onion and my index finger jammed itself into the knife. I knew it was cut, since blood started pouring out of it, but I wouldn’t look at it. I’m always the one that everyone comes to when they’re hurt. Broken bones, blood, guts….it doesn’t bother me at all. Now, when I’m the one hurt it’s a different story. I couldn’t look at it. All I saw was blood coming through the paper towel and I just stood there. I was by myself, bleeding, and Hugh wouldn’t be home for an hour. So, I did what I thought was the smartest thing I could do. I walked across the street and used my elbow to ring the doorbell over at Stephanie’s. She opened the door and was on her phone. This is what she said:

Stephanie (to her phone call): “I have to go, I’ve got a neighbor emergency.”

Stephanie (to me): “Did you cut yourself?”

Me: “uh-huh.”

Stephanie: “You don’t want to look at it?”

Me: “Uh-uh.”

Stephanie: “Come on it, I’ll take care of it.”

How awesome is that? She doctored up my finger while her 3 year old told me I was good and gave me a Santa sticker. Yes, I’m 30 years old. Yes, the sticker made me feel better.

I love our neighbors.

...and my finger hurts.

Holiday Baking Addictions!

Ok. I admit it. I love to bake. Putting it nicely, I have a type-A personality. =) There are very few times when I can actually be quiet. Hugh tells me all the time that I need to learn to relax, and I have to be honest when I say that I’m not even sure what he means. When I try to relax all I can do is think of is all the things that I still need to get done. Wow…..this is starting to sound like a mental health commercial. Great.

Anyways, the thing with baking for me is that it’s one of the few things that I can do that allows me to focus, be quiet, and relax. I really enjoy it and I know it’s a great outlet for me. I actually do a very good job of baking and not eating all of the stuff I make. Since Hugh is very conscientious of what he eats, our co-workers, neighbors, and families are very well fed.

Cake Balls!

Ok. I’m known in my family for making the best cake balls. (there…I said it!) I sure as heck didn’t start out that way with them, in fact the first few times I made them they looked more like cake lumps. In the beginning they were so bad that my friends Coni and Val wouldn’t let me do anything but prepare the cake mix at first. The way I make them now they actually look like store-bought candies. I’m very proud of them and while they aren’t actually difficult to make, they are seriously time consuming. I’m very particular and I like for them to look nice. If you want the recipe, please email me. I’m more than happy to share.

My new recipe favorite is Ginger Cookies. I was given a recipe from the librarian at my school and I have to say, these are to die for! Imagine getting to eat a gingersnap that’s soft and chewy. They’re easy to make and delicious. I’m including some of the pictures. Yes, I took pictures of the cookies I made.

Gotta love cookies!!!

The Holiday Run-Around!

I love Christmas. Really. I love the decorations, the shopping, the food, spending time with family. I feel like the whole world seems to have a nicer “feel” to it and people seem happier. Last Saturday night Hugh and I actually drove through Prestonwood Forrest, which is a neighborhood where every block decorates with a specific theme. It was awesome. We listened to holiday music on the radio, and just felt like kids. It reminded me of when I was little and we would always drive around looking at Christmas lights. It was my grandmother’s “Mema” favorite thing to do at Christmas. This is the second Christmas without her, and even though I can think of happy memories now I still miss her terribly.

The only thing that can get to me over the holidays is all the running around. I love it when we get to have family get-togethers, but sometimes it starts to feel like all we do at Christmas is run around. If there’s some secret to juggling everything then I would love to know what it is. I always feel as if someone is going to feel left out. We try to see everyone and spend quality time with them, and then before you know it the holidays are over and you feel more stressed out than you did BEFORE your vacation. What gets me is that it’s not just my immediate family and then Hugh’s immediate family. We have extended family for both sides, and then there are all the parties that we want to go to with our friends. It just starts to become crazy! Hugh and I hope to have kids someday and I can’t even imagine how difficult it will be then.

Is there an answer that just makes it all easier? I'd love to get some feedback.

Identity Theft Update....GRRRRrrrrrrr

Last week I posted about some Identity Theft that Hugh and I've experienced in the past 18 months. I have an update! 

I took today off work to take care of my latest speeding ticket issue and I happened to get out in time to meet Hugh at his office so we could go to lunch. While I was waiting for him to finish up with some work, I had this sudden prickling thought that I should check my own “play money” account. I logged in and discovered that someone had literally just moments before made a $587 purchase at ToysR’Us in Humble. I checked, and I had my card as well (just like Hugh in last week’s event) and the purchase was made with a debit card. We called the bank, cancelled the debit cards and went to lunch. 

After lunch, I dropped Hugh back off at his work and headed out to run some errands. Hugh calls me and says that he just got a call from the fraud division at the bank that he works at to alert him of some suspicious charges on his account and that it was now overdrawn. This is an account that he’s required to have with work, because it’s how the bank reimburses him for expenses. It’s not even used for anything but transferring money out of it. 

Hugh and I came to the realization that the credit card theft from November must be connected with all of our checking accounts being fraudulently used. We’re ASSUMING that on one occasion when Hugh’s wallet happened to be in my purse that someone got into my wallet and his and copied everything we have. We have no other explanations or ideas. We decided to go ahead and have all of our debit cards cancelled with our bank (even the accounts that haven’t been stolen from) and we ordered new credit cards from the companies that we use. We just can’t understand how someone could get ALL of our monetary information. If it was just the credit cards, or just one bank account, or even just one bank then we could probably pinpoint an issue. All I know is that even though we’ll get all of our money back, it’s still STEALING. It pisses me off to no end and I’m frustrated. We work hard for our money, and we don’t deserve to have to spend our time having to deal with this crap. 

The worst thing about all of this is that the police can never catch these people. They get to make stealing other people’s money a profession and it sucks. Get a job, collect unemployment, jump of a bridge….I DON’T CARE, but leave us the hell alone.

Oh, and for the cherry-on-top of all of this; Hugh’s getting on average 3 phone calls a day from various companies claiming that he’s filled out survey’s saying that he’s interested in new phone service, checking accounts, and free gifts for his “baby on the way”.  No, Mom…there’s no actual baby on the way.

I'll post again when I'm not so pissed off at the world.

Christmas Decorating

Gotta love the holidays!! Hugh and I worked really hard last year to make sure that we decorated the house for Christmas since we were hosting two family parties. We bought a tree, ornaments, stockings, and we actually made our own garland to cover the banister. Neither of us is very creative but Hugh is very gifted in the areas of engineering so managed to make it all work. This year we aren't hosting any parties but we still decided to decorate. We even gave into the neighborhood peer pressure and put up lights outside. I have to admit that I actually enjoyed getting to do all of it this year. There's something to be said about traditions and I feel like we're making our own and that's special to me. We purchased a new camera about a month ago and I'm being completely honest when I say that it's smarter than me and Hugh put together. It's a very nice camera and Hugh's working really hard to shoot manually with it. I currently don't have the patience to work all of the manual settings so I'm fond of the automatic mode. More on that later, but I wanted to post a few pictures of how the house looks. Hugh took these pictures and I think he's turning out to be quite the photographer!

This is an up close view of the ornaments on the tree. In the background is our mirror.

Here's the full length version of our tree and train!

 This is the fireplace and stockings. Ours are on the outside and the inside ones are for the dogs.

Ok...I lied. I took this picture on my own with the flash. It's the garland we made to go on the banister. When we bought the garland it was simply the greenery and the pine cones. We added the lights, berries, and poinsettia flowers ourselves with wire.  Notice that our banister is actually a wall, so Hugh came up with the brilliant plan of attaching them to the wall via some small nails and zip ties. 

This is an ornament and I just loved the picture!

 Two years ago we spend Christmas in Indiana with our Aunt Ianne and Uncle Paul. Hugh and I started a tradition of giving each other an ornament as a Christmas gift. Hugh got me the dachshund one on the left and I got him the marshmallow baseball player on the right. This ritual is my favorite Christmas tradition.

I had to post the dogs. This is how they are feeling about the decorations. :)

I love the holidays!!

Love,

Thieves!!!

Seriously?? How many times in one life can a person expect to have identity theft issues? In the past two years, Hugh and I have had three incidents of identity theft. What’s the deal? Is it so difficult for people to just be honest and not steal from other people?

January 2009- I logged in to my checking account and discovered that I was missing over $1800. Now, I’m not the banker in my house and my lack of math skills has been humorous for many people, but I think I would realize when that kind of money was missing from my checking account. I had my debit card and all of my checks, so I couldn’t understand what happened. There were TONS of charges, ranging from Anna’s Linens, Target, Spec’s, etc. I raced to the bank where I had the account closed, filed a police report, and filled out tons of paperwork to get my money back. I was told at the bank that I had probably written a check somewhere and someone just took the numbers from the bottom of the check and re-created their own on the computer. I was so pissed. When identity theft happens, it doesn’t end with just going to the bank. I got collection calls from the companies that had accepted the bad checks (even after the account was closed businesses kept accepting them) where I had to repeatedly explain the situation. I had to fill out a complete form and have it notarized to send to the credit agencies to protect my credit score. It went on for months. I mean….Spec’s allowed these people to write two checks in one day over a thousand dollars. You’d think they’d ask for some photo ID or call and verify a check that was written. AGH!!! In the end they managed to get away with over $3,000 in fraudulent check writing. Oh…and I will probably never be able to write a check at any Wal-Mart for the rest of my life. Not that I ever WOULD write a check at Wal-Mart, but I’d like to have the ability to if I felt like it.

September 2010- Hugh’s sitting at work one day when he gets a phone call from Discover asking him if he’s trying to charge $3600 at the Apple Store. Hugh tells them no, and they ask him if he has his card with him. He replies “Yes, I always have my stuff with me.” And then he pulls out his wallet to see that he’s missing his Discover card and American Express card. Then the guy on the phone informs him that they just approved a charge at Best Buy for $2400. So he has to dispute that charge and cancel the card with Discover (both of ours, actually) and then hurries to call AMEX. Well, they had just approved the $3600 charge at the Apple Store, but had declined the charge at Best Buy. He then had to dispute that charge and order new cards for both of us. Hugh carries a money clip wallet, and it’s near impossible to get the cards he carries out of there. They’re packed in really tight and there’s no way that someone could grab his wallet out of his pocket, remove those two cards and then replace it without him being aware of it. They only explanation that we could come up with was that possible someone took them out of his wallet when I was holding his wallet in my purse.

November 2010- Since Hugh and I were married, I’ve become much more diligent about checking our online bank statements and verifying all charges made to our accounts. So, I was online one day and noticed that Hugh’s “play money” account is overdrawn. Now, we don’t use these accounts very often so the idea of it being overdrawn seemed odd. Well, all of the charges on the account were made in one day and at four different stores. Taqueria Arandas, Country Liquor Store #2, the Dollar Store, and Little Caesar’s. For a whopping total of $700. Hugh had the card in his pocket, and there are no checks with this account so the bank told us that Hugh had probably used his card somewhere and someone had swiped it themselves and made their own card.

These are the things that make me wonder about the world that we live in. It’s just nuts! This is our hard earned money and we deserve to keep it, not have it stolen. Here’s the conversation that Hugh and I had about what we could do to prevent future issues:

Jenn: “Should we just carry cash with us and use that for debit card purchases?”

Hugh: “There are dangers with carrying around large amounts of cash, and at least with a debit or credit card if money is stolen you can get it replaced.”

Jenn: “So….how can keep this from happening again?”

Hugh: “Move to Singapore. Crime is illegal there.”

So, what’s the right answer? Is there anyway to be 100% safe with out money?

I'd love some opinions on this.