Big Time Music & Lights, Part II

So, interesting story...

We get something in the mail a couple of weeks ago from "Big Time Music & Lights". See, I was pretty sure this guy dropped dead, and took our DJ deposit with him, since he was impossible to get a hold of. Especially since he said (roughtly 2 weeks after our wedding) that he was going to refund us $300-something, and when I wrote him back thanking him, of course he never responded and we never received the check. Shocker.

So, back to the mail...it was our refund check! Are you freaking kidding me?! And for exactly what he told us he would refund us! Granted, it was not our entire $500, but it was about 3/4 of that! His letter said something to the effect of, "I knew you wouldn't believe me that I would refund you" (duh), "and business went south with the economy right after your wedding, so I thought I would wait until things picked up again and I could afford to provide you with your refund." What the heck did you do with our original $500?! Put it on the ponies?! Oh well, at least we got a bunch of our money back. And to think, it only took a year!!

On another note, I've taken up running once again. I'd like to be able to post on here when I'm actually doing the runs, as kind of a log as to how my runs felt, and to make myself feel guilty when I don't run and I'm supposed to, but as I'm short on time, I really don't see that happening as much as I'd like it to. So I will when I can.

Last night ~ 3 miles on the road. Whooped from the previous night's 4 miles of escapades at Dryer Road Park. I didn't even want to go out last night. But at 5pm, while I was sitting on the couch doing nothing and enjoying every second of it, I began to feel really guilty for not running! So with some encouragement from Marty, I set out. Oh boy was I dragging my ass. I ended up doing it in a decent time (11:23 m/m), but I was so sore and sick to my stomach after that! So glad today is a "REST" day. Too bad a "REST" day involves being at work at 7am for a meeting that was cancelled at 6:40am, then having to work until at least 7:30pm tonight. 6 miles of trails is on deck for tomorrow, but we'll see how my quads feel. At this point, they've made good friends with BioFreeze, and are still sore...

***Tif***

Quote of the day ~ "By winning, you achieve something. By losing, you are motivated to work hard. By quitting, you shatter your dreams." ~ author unknown

Next race ~ June 5th. Mendon Mauler. 8 miles on trails.

Boulder and Tumble Music (AKA Big Time Music & Lights)

Ok, so since I really don't have time to blog anymore, I've pretty much stopped, but I really think this is something that I needed to take time to do. For our wedding, we originally hired Boulder and Tumble Music, now known as Big Time Music & Lights. My hope is that Yahoo and Google and other search engines will flag this entry to be pulled up whenever someone does a search on either of these names.

Mike Fullerton, the owner, does not run his business well. Stay far away from him. We booked him in early August of 2008. It took over a month for us to get a contract from him in the mail, well after we had paid him very close to in full. The only reason he sent it to us was because his wife had to make him do it. She used to own a wedding dress shop in town, and I knew her and asked her what was going on. We did receive the contract from him, but of course he hadn't signed it. We didn't worry until about a month before the wedding when we were trying to get a hold of him. Marty called him. Marty emailed him. Kelli, our wedding planner, called him. Kelli emailed him. Nothing for 2 weeks. I finally had enough, and left the man one nasty email, stating we wanted our money back. At this point, we are 3 weeks away from our wedding, and are unable to get ahold of our dj! He magically got one of marty's emails the next day saying that he's been having phone issues and never got any of the calls that marty, kelli, or myself had sent to him. Guess he doesn't get email, either. Or USPS, because we had sent him our signed copy of the contract about a month before we tried contacting him again. He said he never got the contract, either. So we gave him another chance. And another chance after that one, when he still was not returning our calls or emails. He went on to say that he had taken steps to communicate with us, and we just need to relax and let him do his job, or something like that. We had had enough. We asked, again, for a refund, which he said was non-refundable. At this point, I'm asking myself what my sanity is worth. It was definitely worth the $500 we gave that horrible man. So we hired another DJ and told him he could go fly a kite. We used Fingerlakes Entertainment, and Nate was AMAZING.

Anyways, about a week after the wedding, Fullerton emails us again, saying he would like to give us 1/2 of what our total would have been, back. Turned out to be almost $350. We said we'd take it. Marty emailed him the next day (May 30th), and told him our address and that we would happily accept the money. Today, folks, is July 1st. We have yet to receive anything from him. I have emailed him. I have called him. Marty has emailed him. NOTHING. So, now I'm making it my mission to let anyone I possibly can, know not to use this man for any type of music or lighting services. You will be out of your money. And if you aren't, and he does actually show up, good luck getting ahold of him before your event. Go elsewhere. This man has been nothing but a headache. Since I don't want to go though the hassle of court, I'm just going to try to spread the word for people to stay away from him, and hopefully he will lose the $500 that he refused to refund us, by not getting clients. Feel free to contact me about any questions you may have about him or his horrible business. I do wonder how he is even in business anymore...Oh wait, it's his "hobby". Meaning that he has to put other things before this business, leaving it to fall by the way-side.

Our wedding was beautiful, though. :) So glad we got a different DJ. I also highly suggest Kelli Burg and Simply Beautiful Events. She and her assistant were worth every single penny. They were invaluable. I'd be happy to give Kelli any kind of recommendation. Thank you Kelli!

***Tif***

What Dreams May Come

Two weeks...

Two weeks ago, this very minute, I was sitting on the couch with Marty, my cousin, and his wife, talking about the wedding.  Roughly 3 hours later, I was helping my little girl cross Rainbow Bridge.  

In the past two weeks, lots has happened.  I get little messages here and there from her.  A couple amazing dreams, a couple calming noises.  The other night I had one of those amazing dreams.  She was standing in front of me, I was kneeling down touching and petting her head, giving her kisses.  She kept telling me, "Wait until Thursday.  Wait until Thursday.  Wait until Thursday."  That's all she kept telling me.  Then I woke up.  I called Whitney the next morning and told her about the dream.  I couldn't wait until Thursday (today).  Well, when we talked today, I told her that I picked D up from the vet yesterday.  Well, her remains, anyways.  Geez she is heavy!  Anyways, one of the first things that came out of her mouth was something like, "Did anything happen today?!"  I didn't get it.  I just told her that I cried a little, but that was it.  Then I figured out what she meant.  And no, nothing had happened just yet.  I thought maybe it was a different Thursday....

Not long after that, Marty came home with this big box.  I asked him what it was and he told me it was my birthday present.  Oh my gosh I was so excited!  I LOVE presents!  I opened it up to find a canvased painting of one of my favorite pictures of Delilah!  I don't know how big it is, but it's pretty freaking big, and she looks so BEAUTIFUL in it!  It is the best present I have ever gotten.  "Wait until Thursday" she tells me.  I am so lucky to have her.  Even though she's gone, she doesn't really seem gone to me.  I still talk to her every day, and once in a while (ok, twice) she talks back.  The first time in the car on the way home from the hospital on Thanksgiving...

"It's ok, Mama!"

and then the other night in the dream.  I get big wet kisses from her in my dreams too, which I have said all along that I just wanted one more of.  Belle kisses me like D used to now, too.  That always brings a smile to my face.  God, I miss her.

***Delilah's Mama***

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving really made me appreciate life, and the wonderful things that come along with it.

Thursday night, at about 8:30pm, I had to say goodbye to Delilah, my heart, my soul, my best friend.  She was a lot sicker than anyone knew, and she finally decided that it was her time.  Her sister, Belle, helped her the best she could.  My heart is broken, but I know that she's so happy, and that her stomach doesn't hurt anymore, and that she can finally run with no pain.  She loved to run...

Thursday made me really look at life.  At first, I was sad, and angry that she had to go, and especially on Thanksgiving, a day you're supposed to be thankful for things.  How was I supposed to be thankful that my heart and soul was taken from me?!  HOW?!  Then I realized that I was looking at the wrong way.  I should be thankful for the time I got to spend with her.  And for all that I learned from her.  And for all the love she gave me.  I had so much fun with her, and I have so many amazing memories.  I am so lucky to have had her in my life.  I wouldn't have traded it, or her for the world.  I was so blessed.  And now, I have an amazing angel up there, on my side, looking out for me.

I love you Delilah.  Thank you for everything you gave me.  You have always been my angel.  You will forever be in my heart, and you will never be replaced.  You were one of a kind, Pumpkin.  My heart aches without you, but I am so happy that you are happy now.  I miss you, Sweet Pea.  You are Mama's good girl.  Kisses, kisses, and more kisses...

The Dangers of Snow

Oh my gosh...it's been a while. I've had time to write, but for some reason I haven't taken the time to sit down and write. Today I'm writing to help clear my conscious....

It started snowing and sticking yesterday. We had a really nice layer of snow in the backyard this morning when I let the girls out. Delilah was in HEAVEN. She loves the snow. It had been almost 2 months since she was able to really run around in the backyard, and I figured since it was snowing, I'd let her have extra fun. So I unhooked her leash and she got to run around in our backyard for about 45 minutes this morning. A few times when I looked out, she was running in circles and just having the best time. I got her to come in and all seemed well. I had been worried she would be limping, since the last time she ran around she limped for a week. But since it had been a while, I thought I'd risk it so she could have some fun. About half an hour after she came in, I noticed her favoring her right leg (this is the leg she DID NOT have surgery on). That is the same leg she limped on about 2 months ago. As the day went on, the pain got worse and worse. I had some tramadol I got from the vet when she was having stomach problems, so I gave her some of that, which didn't seem to help much. The pain got to the point it was so bad, she was actually only using 3 legs, which is something that I rarely see her do. When she tries to get up after laying down, she cries and cries and cries, and just brings tears to my eyes. Belle even comes up to her and tries to kiss her whenever she cries. It's very cute. She can't even go up 3 steps from the entry way to the living room. My heart is just absolutely broken. She is in pain because of me, and it's a lot of pain!

What makes things worse is that we leave tomorrow evening to fly out and see Whitney for a long weekend. If we weren't flying, I think I'd stay home. We had planned for her to stay with my grandma and grandpa where she gets TONS of attention and has a great time. Unfortunately, there are about 5 steps for her to get up and down in order to get inside and out. She can't even get up 3, how is she supposed to get up 5?! She also gets no discipline at my grandparents, which occasionally I don't mind. But she can't get off of furniture after she gets up onto it without screaming bloody murder. My mom has company so she refused to take her. So I called my dad. She will stay in the cabin, in the bathroom (which is the size of a kennel she would stay in if she were boarded) for the weekend. Unfortunately she's going to be alone most of the time. I've had to weigh the positives and negatives...

Negatives...
1. She will be alone, since my dad and suzie live in the house, not the cabin.
2. She has to stay locked in the bathroom for 4 days (although it's a really big bathroom).

Those are pretty big negatives, in my opinion.

Positives...
1. She wont' be able to jump up and down off of furniture.
2. She will get to go on nice walks every day with my dad (most likely 3 or 4).
3. She gets to be on the Hill, which I SWEAR has some kind of healing properties.
4. She won't have to go up and down stairs to get in and out of the house.

So although she would get more attention at my grandparents, I think I would rather her be unhappy for 4 days than do any more damage to her leg. I've still got 4 months before she can have surgery on that leg. My hope is that it will be better within a couple of days, which is what happened last time.

I just feel absolutely terrible. I feel like it's all my fault that she's in so much pain, and that she has to spend the next 4 days alone. But at the same time, my father reminded me that there was no malice in my decision. I let her outside to play because I knew she would have fun, and be happy. And also, she never gets boarded. If she did, she would be in the same position (alone, in a small place) each time we went away.

I just hate seeing her in pain...

Post-emergency root canal, day 1

I'm still in so much pain.  I still can't talk right.  I still can't open my mouth all the way.  I still can't even kiss Marty.  I've eaten oatmeal, rice and cupcakes today because none of them require extensive chewing.  I was supposed to go to my cousin's surprise 30th birthday party today, too.  The party started at 6.  Precisely at 6, I was laying in bed with a heating pad on my face, doped up on Lortabs and still feeling pain.  My mom is worried I've abscessed.  She's insisting I call the dentist Monday morning.  I told her I was fine until I slipped giving D a bath today and whacked my mouth AGAIN.  I'm hoping that tomorrow I'll be better.  I don't want to miss another day of work.  UGH.

So I think we decided not to have an official "honeymoon".  We've had a trip to Alaska planned for a while now, long before the wedding was even a thought.  The trip is scheduled the week after we get married.  It's technically a work vacation, so we don't want to make it our "honeymoon".  We were going to put it off until winter or spring, but Marty and his business partner (and best friend/best man) decided they are finally going to go to a huge radiant heat convention in Germany in the spring of 2010.  So it looks like we're going to spend 2 weeks in Europe.  We talked about it, and I think we're just going to end up going someplace nice for our 5th anniversary that's going to serve as a belated honeymoon.  Ok, boy is here with my frosty now.  Time to go eat.

***Tif***

To the pain.

When Whitney was here last weekend, I mentioned to her I had this cut on the inside of my lip.  It seemed to come from my bottom tooth that sticks out a little, as the cut matched up perfectly with the part of the tooth that sticks out.  I must have hit it on something, but I have absolutely no recollection of what (and no, it's not b/c I was intoxicated!).  At first, it was just the lip that was bothering me.  Then about Tuesday or Wed, the tooth actually starts to hurt.  It gets worse and worse by the day, until yesterday when I got home from work and was in tears from the pain.  I've never had a tooth ache before, but if you ask me, this went WAY beyond just a simple "ache".  I felt like it would be less uncomfortable to just rip the tooth out without any numbing medicine.  That's how bad it hurt!  I finally decided to call the dentist.  Again, this morning, I'm in absolute extreme pain and crying b/c it hurts so bad.  It felt (and still does to an extent) like someone was shoving small needles into the base of my tooth.  So the secretary felt bad for me b/c I was in so much pain, and squeezed me in this morning at 9:40.  By the time I got there, I could barely talk I was so uncomfortable.  The dentist sees me, asks me to explain what's going on, then tells me it sounds like I'm going to need a root canal.  A ROOT CANAL?!  That sounds so painful!  They do x-rays and see whatever it is they see in the pulp and root to decide it's time to drill.  I was so scared!  They had already put like 3x's as much novocain in me as they would normally use b/c I'm hurting so bad, but I was still in pain!  Luckily, the root canal wasn't painful.  Just weird.  By the end of it, my bottom lip had swelled so much, I looked like Bubba from Forrest Gump.  It was spectacular.  So now, 5 hours after being done, the novocain is all worn off, and I'm still in terrible pain.  I'm hoping the 800mg of ibuprofen does the trick.  If not, I'll pull out my stash of Lortabs that I keep for instances such as these.  I hope that none of you ever have to have a root canal.  They're awful!

I'm going to go lay back down now.  Hopefully fall asleep...it doesn't hurt then.

***Tif***