A Pricey Lesson, but I'm Thankful

It's amazing how much of a difference one day can make with one's attitude. Last night I was feeling pretty overwhelmed. "If it's not one thing, it's another!" I cried. It all started with an ice cream dessert with my family. We were watching Smallville on DVR (a favorite around here) and decided ice cream sounded good. We had a bunch left over from the multiple birthdays we had going on in the last month, so all we had to do was make a trip to the kitchen. Sounds like a great way to cap off the night, right? Not in this case.

The ice cream was super soft, which was curious, since the freezer was set just above the recommended setting (the only way we can keep up with the ice consumption in our house). So I opened the fridge to see how it was faring. I had noticed that the milk wasn't as cold at dinner, but had figured maybe I'd had it out longer than I'd realized. Nope. Everything in the fridge was definitely not as cold as it should've been. Not even close.

So we pulled the fridge out, moved things around, looked for blockages, tampered with the dials, anything to try and fix this ourselves and avoid an expensive repair or worse--buying a new fridge! We couldn't figure it out. Maybe our four year old fridge really was the lemon we'd started considering it as. After all, the repairman had already been to our house three times for it in the first year and a half. Twice it was for the ice maker and once for when the digital display and the lights had all gone out on it.

For this last year, two out of three lights wouldn't work at all inside (and the third one was temperamental). Maybe this was it. It was fried and we would be stuck shelling out mega-bucks on an expensive service bill or an entirely new appliance! No! Not now! We don't even know what's happening with our loan modification! If our Making Home Affordable application isn't approved, we have at least a few thousand dollars we have to come up with to make up the difference between the lowered trial payments and what our regular mortgage payments are set at. And then there's the late fees! Ugh! Not to mention we would have to still be able to pay that normal amount starting on November 1, too. You can see how any new expenses would not be in our budget, right?

Well, we set the temperature dials at full blast and did the only thing we could do at that time of night: we said our prayers and went to bed.

Once I got the kids off to school today, I called the repairman and was lucky enough to get an appointment for late morning. Turns out, it was all our fault. How, you ask? Well, it was all caused by a canister of raisins and an inconspicuous air inlet. It seems the canister was just the perfect width and height to block the one and only air inlet that regulates the temperature for the fridge. Somehow it had gotten shoved right up against the inlet and caused problems with the sensor.

And the bulbs? Well, it seems whirlpool fridges are a bit picky when it comes to brands. Who'd have thought it? A snobby fridge. It didn't like the energy efficient bulbs we put in there. The repairman replaced them with regular bulbs and I can actually see the whole inside of my fridge! Not necessarily a good thing, though, since now I can more clearly see that it's time for a scrub-down. Haha!

Anyway, it came to just over a hundred dollars with tax. And with that, I also found out why the timer on my oven quit beeping. Seems someone held down the timer button for too long (five seconds) and it turns the beeper off. So, I got three issues fixed because of my canister of Great Value Raisins. Hah! ;)

I choose to look at this in a positive light. Nothing serious was wrong. My fridge, thank heavens, is not on it's way out. And for that matter, neither is my stove. I hadn't realized how stressed I was about both of those seemingly minor problems until they were fixed.

Oh, I just have to tell you that I really have a lot of confidence and respect for the folks at Doyles Appliance Service. Shad Anderson is very professional and isn't going to charge you for unnecessary repairs. He took his time looking for the problem and then made sure I understood what was going on (and he didn't make me feel stupid for what turned out to be customer error). The easiest and most profitable thing for him to do would have been to just order a new control board, thermostat or some other item--since at first, the problems we had seemed to indicate that was the issue.

So if any of you are in or near Davis County (they may even service the Salt Lake area), I would definitely recommend Doyles. I couldn't find a website for them, but their contact information is here: (801) 292-0676, 45 West 200 South, Bountiful, UT.

Many problems can be solved by simply checking the manual, too. If you've misplaced your product manual, check online. I know that Whirlpool has their manuals listed online for free and it's really easy to look them up with the model number. I've saved myself a few calls to the repairman doing this.

Am I happy that this lesson cost me money? No, but it could've been worse! And who knows? Maybe my lesson can help one of you out there with your appliances. God Bless!

I'm Inlove with my Bread Machine

No, really! We met about 11 years ago and while I was intimidated by its advanced technical skills at first, after a few years I was hooked. I make Italian Herb Bread, Old Fashioned White bread (the family wasn't impressed with the wheat recipes), roll dough, pizza dough, and now.....bread bowls!

I have a Broccoli Cheddar soup recipe that I've finally got down (though having said that, I do still reserve the right to tinker with it at a later date if I want to). And what goes better with Broccoli Cheddar soup than eating it in a bread bowl? Nothing, I say!

I've only had one problem with that: I can't find any decent bread bowls at any of the stores around here! They're all soft and flaky on the outside, and that doesn't make for the best soup bowl.

So I decided to do something about it. Why couldn't I make my own? I can make just about anything else I've set my mind to. This shouldn't be too difficult, right? So I did a search on the internet (using my swagbucks toolbar--which I love since I get to earn free stuff doing what I already do anyway!). I found this article detailing how to make homemade bread bowls from frozen bread dough. I thought, why can't I just use my French Bread recipe and run it in the dough cycle instead of the bread cycle and then follow the directions from the point of shaping the thawed bread dough. So that's exactly what I'm doing now. So far, so good. Keep your fingers crossed that it works for me! I'll have to update you, but I don't see any reason why it shouldn't work. I know my way around dough;)

I'll share my recipes for tonight's dinner here for those of you who are interested:


Broccoli Cheddar Soup

5 cubes chicken bouillon
1 tsp Worcestershire
1 tsp garlic
4 cups water
2 cups half and half or whipping cream
24 oz chopped broccoli
5 diced potatoes
¼ cup butter/margarine
½ cup onion
¼ cup flour
4 cups cheddar cheese
Season salt (to taste)
Mrs. Dash original seasoning (to taste)

Boil water, bouillon cubes, Worcestershire, cream, garlic, seasoning and potatoes. Cook until potatoes are tender. Add Broccoli.

Melt butter in pan. Add onion and cook until tender. Slowly add flour to make paste. Add mixture to soup slowly, mixing well to avoid clumping. Add cheese and mix well. Do not boil.

French Bread Dough

1¼ cups+3 tbs water (room temperature)
1 tbs butter/margarine
1 tbs olive, vegetable or canola oil
4 cups flour
1 ½ tbs sugar
1 ¾ teaspoon salt
2 tsp active dry yeast

(Use the link to the bread bowl article to finish)

Updates and an Apology

Hey, all! I know it's been way too long since I last wrote, but I haven't had much time for writing lately. I'm sorry to leave anyone hanging here and wondering what's been happening with our loan modification. I've been meaning to write for ages, as much has been happening on that end, but everyday life has been getting in the way:)

We were finally approved for the trial modification some time in June. Why didn't I write about it then? Well, because I didn't know about it. I found out about it in mid-july, but was told days before the signed paperwork (which I'd never received) was supposed to be sent back in via Fed-Ex. The only reason I found out was because the mortgage payment I made for July was never applied and I got a notice that it was late. So I called them and asked what what was happening with the payment I'd sent.

First, I was told that I'd made no such payment. Then, at my insistence, and with my bank as proof that an automatic withdrawal had been made on July 13 (not technically late since it was within the grace period), they did some digging and found my payment.

They said, "Oh, it's been put in a suspense account, since you're being set up on the Making Home Affordable Trial Modification." Really?

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes, that's what it shows here. The paperwork is due on [such-and-such a date] or the modification will be canceled."

"What paperwork?" I asked.

"The paperwork you were sent on June 26." Hmmmmmm.........Well, this was over two weeks from that date, and it was sent via Fed Ex, so I definitely should've seen it by this time.

That started the beginning of a nightmare. It took until the end of July to get the new paperwork, after they had to first determine to their satisfaction that I hadn't received the first packet (it turns out it was never sent due to a computer glitch). During this time, I was also told conflicting information:

"Yes, this is the Making Home Affordable Plan."

and "No, this is just a special forbearance plan until we can qualify you for the Making Home Affordable Plan."

and "No, you will not be reported as late to the credit bureaus as long as you're making your trial payments."

and "Yes, you will be reported as late because you're not making your full payments."

I managed to stay calm, reach my loan negotiator who eventually cleared everything up (It was the MHA trial modification and we would not be reported as late--though I did have to call them to remind them of that fact when they did reported us late anyway. But they did fix it quickly). Long story short, we have now completed the trial payments. What happens now? Good question.

I was told I should be hearing from someone to come to our house with the final paperwork for us to go over and sign for the real modification deal. So far, nothing yet. I'll let you know what happens when we find out. I'm really hoping it's not going to be another ordeal. It seems to take forever to straighten the people from Bank of America out. It's frustrating, to say the least, and I wonder if anybody there really knows what they're doing. I've sent and re-sent the same documents multiple times, and talked to so many people I've lost count. But I'm not giving up. I'll keep doing whatever it takes. I'm no quitter!

In case you didn't already know, Making Home Affordable is the same thing as HASP, but they've changed the name. Who knows? Maybe they've changed it again! Haha, who can keep up anymore? If you aren't already familiar with what's been happening in our case so far, you can read my previous posts here.

The Great Outdoors!

Sunday we returned from our five day camping trip and I have to say we had a great time. We went with our good friends, the Masons, and stayed in the Uintas. We didn't stay in a designated campground (which saved money), but it was a great spot with a ready-to-use fire pit and even a perfect spot to do all our dutch oven cooking.

I do have to confess that we didn't go tent camping. We hauled our 37-year-old prowler trailer up there. The fresh water tank sprung a leak, unfortunately, and the second battery proved to be a dud, but we had plenty of other water we'd brought along (plus they have places for refilling your water up there) and several flashlights to light our way.

We went hiking and fishing, took a tour of the fish hatchery, cooked by fire and dutch oven, ate smores and had a blast! I have to say that it was good to get away. Tony's work at the school hasn't kept him as busy as we'd hoped. He's starting to get sent home again. It was great to get away and forget all that for a few days. It was a sanity-saver to think about something else for a while.

The views up there are just breath-taking. The peace you feel as you take in the scenery tends to remind a person of God's existence. I would definitely recommend the great outdoors as a prescription when you're feeling down and out. It's given me a boost and now I feel like I can continue trekking along, come what may!

Crash Course in Canning

My hubby came home with four ready-to-burst grocery bags of apricots from his dad. While I love apricots, and some would say we're a good-sized family, I have to say that there was no way we could eat all of those before they started rotting. I set them all on the counter while I contemplated on what to do.

We were leaving for a five day camping trip in four short days and had much preparation to do there, but I couldn't just ignore this bounty bestowed upon us, could I? I was tempted though--that is, until I woke up the next day, moved the bags out of the way so I could make breakfast and saw that they were already beginning to spoil. I got out all my books, gave my good friend and neighbor a call and made a decision. I was going to learn how to can, and I was going to learn FAST!

My friend and I did two double batches of canned jam, 4 batches of freezer jam and two batches of canned apricots in syrup and even some homemade fruit roll-ups. It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be, and thanks to my mother-in-law for giving me lots of jars years ago (in hopes that I would use them, I'm sure) and to my grandma Artheta who gave me her canning bath a few years ago (also in hopes of me learning this great skill) and also to my mom who gave me a dehydrator over a year ago (lots of people wanting me to preserve!) I didn't have much to buy (lids, seals and pectin--I already had tons of sugar in my food storage). Two days of canning later and I have a quite a bit to show for it :)

If you're interested in canning, check out this site to learn the benefits, acquire the know-how and get some recipes. I'll definitely be doing this again! It's a great way to build food storage and to save money!

But Mom!

I've decided to do something this summer that I haven't really done before, or at least not planned out well enough to stick to. This year, though, I'm prepared and I'm determined. This year, much to my children's chagrin, I'm making it work. What am I talking about? Summer school!

I'm not talking about the school summer school programs, or those others out there that you have to pay for. I'm talking home schooling in the summer time. I have the workbooks (care of Sam's Club, Costco, Dollar General, Ross) and I have the internet to fill in any gaps. I also am making sure that I set aside the time and make it realistic. I mean, the kids have to have some fun this summer, right?

So the plan is that I get them at the kitchen table, with their worksheets already put together for them, three days a week for one to two hours. It's actually working out pretty well. My four year old loves it. Haha Now if only she can rub off on my 11 year old. At least he's cooperating :)

I got some great books I can work out of with them for dirt cheap. Most of them came from the dollar store, but I also found some of the big, all inclusive ones for a good deal at those other stores I mentioned above.

There are also some fantastic educational websites I've found with some great resources and where I can find and print out worksheets for free:

Sites for Teachers
Worksheets 4 Teachers
Math Fact Cafe
TLS Books

We've also been making weekly trips to the library. They've got a great summer reading program going on and the kids have already won prizes in their drawings.

The whole reason I'm doing this is that I found that the kids were having some areas they were struggling in on their end of level tests. I want to send them back more prepared and confident. I think it will make for a better school year.

And on that note, I'm going to be reviewing a Multiplication CD shortly. It was sent to me a while ago by a friend, and I'm using it to help my 9 year old with her times tables. I'll let you all know how it works and how you can get it in an upcoming post. I'm also thinking of doing a giveaway for it. But I'm getting ahead of myself now. LOL. More on that soon!

Enjoy your summer!

Going Where it Takes Me

I'm sorry for the delay in my posts. Life has been, well, hard lately. My mom is still having a hard time. Her good days are very good, and I have hope that she's finding her footing. Her bad days are devastating and I've found I have to distance myself emotionally from her on those days to be able to function for my own family. Mental illness is no picnic.

My little sister was in the hospital for a few days, too. They found two blood clots on her lungs and are not sure what's causing them. They've put her on a medication to break them up and prevent them from returning. I've been praying for her and hope that she'll make a full recovery.

Hubby has gone back to working on Mondays, for the time being (for the rest of the summer, we hope), but he's not allowed any overtime, and without that, I don't know how we're going to catch up. I have to have faith that things will work out some how.

Countrywide/Bank of America is still stringing me along. The ARM refinance they offered me under the Making Home Affordable Refinance program was offered in ignorance of the fact that if you're already in a fixed loan, you can't be refinanced into an ARM. I had to tell them this information when I went to Freddie Mac's website to get more information on the program. Isn't it crazy that I know more about how these programs work that the mortgage company?

We went ahead and sent them all our information all over again a few weeks ago for the HASP, or Making Home Affordable Modification and were assigned a negotiator. He called me once on June 22, left a message for me to call him back using the Hardship number I already had, but left no extension. When I called back, they basically said there was no way for me to reach him directly, that they would email him and let him know I wanted him to call me again, but that was the best they could do. They also told me that he would probably try to call me again at some future date, and that if he was unable to reach me again, it could cancel our application. So I guess I'm suppose to stay next to the phone and hold my breath. Hah!

I haven't heard from Bill Gephardt since that first embarrassing phone call several weeks ago. LOL. He did tell me there were no guarantees that he could do anything, but that he would see what he could find out on all this. Keep your fingers crossed:)

So life has kept me on my toes. I'm fairly certain that whenever it feels like I'll catch my breath, something is waiting in the wings to come knock it out of me again. Some days I'm just fine with this, and just go with the flow. On those days, I look around me, thank God for the many blessings in my life, smile, and go along with whatever comes my way.

I wish I could say I was always this good. I'd be a better person for it, if I could manage it. But alas, I'm not there yet. On the bad days, I mutter, maybe even let out a curse, and just feel like my world is caving in. On those days I forget the blessings I have and ask God, "can I not be happy? Can't I just take it easy for a little while? Does everything have to go wrong at once?" Actually, that's probably the nice version of what I say on those down days. Haha.

I have to remind myself that without adversity, I can't grow. I'd be content to stay where I am, in my comfort zone, and learn nothing. I heard yesterday something that will stay with me:

The very existence of adversity proves God's love for us.

What? I thought at first. How can that be? Why would He want anything bad to happen to us? But that was the wrong way to look at it.

I can't tell you how many times I've told my children, when they were grumbling about something hard they had to do, that they would be thankful for it someday--because they'll be able to take that experience they've learned from and it will make things easier later. The very same principle applies to us.

Trials make us stronger. So reminding myself of that, maybe I'll have more of those good days, and complain less on the bad ones. It can happen, right? ;)

Tonight is our pizza and movie night. We make our own pizzas to save on money and rent a movie from Redbox. Just in time to save us money, Inside Redbox sent out some working codes for today. I tried the one they said was working for all locations (for now) at Walgreens and it went through with no troubles. I'm saving the one they gave for McDonald's (set to be good until June 30--hopefully) for next week.

If you haven't done so already, you should check out Inside Redbox and subscribe. You've got nothing to lose and plenty of free movie rentals to gain!

I did do a no-no when I couldn't find a known family friendly movie we all wanted to see and just picked a movie off the full listing that I hoped wouldn't be too bad. I went to PluggedIn Online (where I can get a detailed breakdown of what's in a movie to help decide whether or not it's okay for kids) and found that the one I randomly picked was not one that I'd even want my almost 12 year old son to watch. So we'll have to find something else for them to watch tonight. Haha! That'll teach me!

If ever you have a question about a movie's content, definitely check that site out (for DVDs or movies in theatre). It gives a very comprehensive breakdown for even the most discerning of parents/viewers. Keep in mind though that you will be reading spoilers for whatever movie you're looking up.

Anyway, I wish you all a great weekend!

She's a Maniac!

So today I'm going through my daughters' room with them--and it's a wreck to say the least--pulling garbage and dirty laundry out of their toy bins and giving directions on where to put things. I'm also blasting my Pure 80s CD on my 9 year old's CD player to make the task a little less tedious.

I'm bouncing around to the lyrics "She's a maniac, maniac, that's for sure..." whilst attempting to organize the chaos that is their bedroom and I shout an order over the loud music to the girls. They hesitate to follow, as usual, and I yell out over the music, "Just do it!"

I look up at my son, who I realize is holding the phone at me and I yell, "who is it?" He shrugs and passes me the phone. "Turn it down!" I call out over the music and reach for the phone.

"Hello?" I ask, thinking it's probably my hubby on the other end of the line, checking to see how my organization mission is going.

"Is this Nellie?" I hear a man's voice on the other end, but it's definitely not my hubby's.

"Yes, it is." I'm feeling bashful about the music and the hollering that went on before getting passed the phone. Oh well, it's probably just another telemarketer anyway, right?

"This is Bill Gephardt..." Yes, the Bill Gephardt from KUTV New's Get Gephardt.

Yikes! Hahahahahahahaha. What a great first impression, eh? I laughed, fumbled out an apology and told him I was going through my kids' rooms today. He assured me he'd been there himself with his own kids.

Anyway, long story short, he's looking into our situation with Bank of America/Countrywide and we may just get this story on the news. Wish us luck!

For those of you not knowing what this is referencing, read my last post.

You Can Kiss My HASP!!!

Today's title is directed at Countrywide/Bank of America. It's now been over two months since we applied. During that time, as you know, I've called them regularly to check on things, only to be told it's going to take longer. The kicker? They've deleted my application and I have to start all over. I'm beyond upset about this. I decided to take the advice of friends and family and send Bill Gephardt of 2News a letter.

Here it is:

Have you heard of the Making Home Affordable Plan AKA HASP? Well, when my husband's hours got cut, we lost at least $1,000 per month of our income. We started to struggle to make our payments, draining our savings, cutting our bills where we could and clipping coupons. With no end in site to our money situation I called our mortgage company (then Countrywide, but now Bank of America) to talk about what options were available to us in trying to keep our home. It was then they told us about MHA (HASP), and we applied for it over two months ago.

I sent them everything they requested and called regularly to check on the status. One person told me it would take 7-10 days for me to get a workout packet. When I didn't get one, I called back and was told I should hear something within 30 days. When I called back after that, I was told 40 days, then 50 days, then 60 days.

Each time I asked if they had everything they needed. Each time I was assured they did and that my application was still under review. When I called back on the 60 day mark, I was told I needed to start the process all over again. Why? I was told it’s because my information is now two months old and also I didn't qualify on my first application.

Why was this the first time I was hearing this, after two months of phone calls? I asked that and was told they didn't know why no one told me. When I asked what kept me from qualifying now for the application, when I'd been told by several other representatives there that everything looked fine, I was told it’s because I'm current on my mortgage.

I told them that the rules say that I don't have to be behind on my mortgage to qualify, just that I have to show that we are in danger of falling behind and defaulting, which is what we're trying to prevent. They said that was correct, I don't have to be behind to qualify, but I can't be current. What? How is that possible? I asked this, and they said that I'm not considered current if I haven't paid my bill the first day it becomes due, which is the first of each month.

This modification process takes 30-60 days, according to them, so it would be impossible for me to qualify if I don't fall behind. If I play their game, and fall behind on the slim chance that I may qualify, it ruins the only other option they're offering me: A 5/1 ARM refinance at 4.215%. You have to have good credit to qualify for the HASP refinance program.

We aren't thrilled about the ARM idea, as we feel this is what has gotten so many people in this mess in the first place, but we don't want to lose our home either. According to the Making Home Affordable website, we’re perfect candidates for this program. What’s the problem?

We have several friends and neighbors who have called about this program, only to be given the run-around. According to each of these situations and the information we've all been given individually, at least some of us should have been approved for this program. Some have been told they have to be behind to qualify, some are told they have to catch up to qualify. I've yet to meet a single person who has been approved for this program in my online searches. Instead, I'm finding so many others that are being jerked around in the same way we have been. Good and responsible people are losing their homes! There are numerous websites and forums set up because of this.

What kind of program is this that Obama has set up to help responsible homeowners who have been hurt by this bad economy? How is it going to help any of us if they banks won't let us do it? Please help us, Gephardt. A lot of family's homes are at stake.

I'll let you all know if I get anywhere with this route. If I don't, I'll look for another. I'm not going down without one heck of a fight. Wish me luck!