Flood Fiasco

So here are pictures of the whole thing....
my apologies, all of them are from our phones, it's what we had on hand.

The pipe that caused all the trouble, over a period of about 1 1/2 hours

Back Patio, standing next to sliding door.

The entire lower yard is flooded,

 and there next to the step it where the water got in

The water entering the house from the garage steps

The wet carpet, the cord is from the shopvac, 

as we were cleaning up while also making sure to document everything.

Inside the closet, carpet soaked, walls wet.

demolition, removal of all the wall/ sheet rock that got wet. 

Removal of closet and bedroom sheet rock

Knocking to find studs to take out the last parts of my bedroom walls that needed to go.

The living room, ready for mold treatment

Our bedroom/ closet, ready as well

Me, I was helping. we all wore masks because we did find mold.

Dad and I finishing up the closet sheet rocking

Living room, sheet rock

Sheet rock finished

Bedroom and closet, tapped and mudded.

Living room too.

Bedroom finished, and new paint color. 

Still a green, but much lighter it's called Restful

Painted next to the door it all matches

The new wood paneling, once Joseph and Dad were done.

It is now painted a "white" color, and brightens up the living room so much. 

I haven't taken the real "after" photos because we're still piecing it together. The insurance companies still haven't gotten back to us. We fall into a weird loophole: it's a flood, water from outside came inside. We live uphill so we don't have flood insurance, but if it had been water from inside our house it would have been covered under our insurance. So for us to get anything from insurance, our neighbors need to be found negligent, then their insurance would cover it. Shouldn't be too hard  to prove negligence considering that they are never ever home, and this is not the first time they've flooded us, but the first time it's come into the house. Our guess is that the insurance companies are still battling it out, both sides have investigated. But because we have to live in the house we had to fix it or continue to be miserable with our stuff everywhere except where you really need it. We had the carpets cleaned and fixed everything else.

So there you have it.

Due to severe

ITCHY-NESS. I will be taking a little break from blogging lots of stuff. Apparently I have developed a sun allergy, or photosensitivity. Definition:A sun allergy is an immune system reaction to sunlight, most often, an itchy red rash. The most common locations include the "V" of the neck, the back of the hands, the outside surface of the arms and the lower legs. In rare cases, the skin reaction may be more severe, producing hives or small blisters. 

I have hives/ welts across my shoulders, "V" of my neck, and legs and the tops of my  feet and they itch like cRaZy! Which is really inconvenient, because I just started teaching swimming lessons. Ugh, during some of my super itchy spells I seriously contemplated canceling my 2nd session, but the $$ is too good, I will just be swimming ultra-modest style, spandex shorts and t-shirt over swim top.  Add SPF 30+ yup that'll be me this summer.

 I spent this week trying to figure out what the heck was going on. We are missing our ward campout tonight because I am miserably itchy and we (my family) are trying to get all ready for Dustin's farewell on Sunday. Oh well. Just grin and bear it, excuse me while I go hide and slap on copious amounts of lotion.

**UPDATE: (Saturday July 24th)  Apparently sun sensitivity runs in my family, my mom had it- but it only lasted a couple years Valerie, my sister has it too, as well as one of my aunts. I will be wearing a super light weight jacket when I go outside, and using Aveeno lotion with oatmeal for the itch. I feel much better today.

-S

Oh you poor neglected blog,

I'm so sorry. It must have slipped my mind, you wanted my attention, you needed me to update you. I failed so miserably, please let me explain.

• I started work. Two jobs in fact. I am a paid accompanist at my Alma Mater. By definition "performer paid to play", I'm a professional. Woah. Ya, that is cool. I love it & I love working with Mr. H or Coach (lol) I starting teaching Piano Lessons at the Tri- City Acamedy of Ballet and Music. I only have 4 students, my boss tells me to be patient he'll fill my schedule, but I am happy to start out small.
• I broke my tooth. My #3 molar (I learned that at the dentist, it's one of the main chewing molars) I was walking in Costco, and a huge chunk came out. Luckily my family's dentist excepted me as an emergency patient. I almost lost it in the office when he told me I needed a crown and that my tooth is basically falling apart (due to a failing filling- not rotten though, phew) I have a temporary now, permanent coming in a couple weeks.
• The same day my tooth broke I got my 1st ticket. Yup, true story. I figured that I was pulled over for a missing mirror (another story another time, but it's gone and he can't ticket me for it) so he decided to ticket me for running a red light. It was green!! The ticket was for $124. NOT cool. I had a passenger though, and she is willing to be a witness when I go to court and contest it. Because $124 is a lot of money to pay for something I honestly didn't do!

So dear sweet neglected blog, I hope you understand, I didn't mean to let you go so long. Do forgive me, won't you? I know your readers will, won't you?

-S

uuuuuuggggh!Rexburg Driving Rant.

I DO NOT like driving here in Rexburg!! One might think that living in a small collegiate town that people could read and comprehend road signs!! Not the case! I thought that people here would be more intelligent seeing as how 70% (not a real statistic, just speculation) of the population of Rexburg are college students. STOP means that your car actually needs to stop, and stop BEHIND the white line, not in the crosswalk.
Crosswalks are meant to be used...walk within the safety of the two parallel white lines that lead to the other side of the road, look BOTH ways (Right and Left) and check for stupid drivers who won't see you, even if you are wearing a bright green coat.I reserve the right to honk at people who are "j-walking", especially when they are near (a few feet away) from a crosswalk, and I yield for those who use crosswalks. Pedestrians, you need to wear reflective or light colored clothing at night to be seen, wearing black=not a good idea! If there is a pole with a push button that will illuminate a flashing light to alert oncoming vehicles, use it!
Drivers, a roundabout is a really cool thing, do not fear. Yield does not mean stop. Do not yield while inside the roundabout. In the Rexburg roundabout there are two lanes the inside lane goes all the way around and through the roundabout, the outer lane leads to the right ONLY!! (true story, this dummy flies around me and uses the outside lane and tries to cut me off inside the roundabout!!)
When there is snow on the ground avoid the roads in Rexburg, expect inexperienced drivers at every turn if you chose to brave the streets. While I was in school, on snowy days I would walk to class (most days I walked anyway), it is literally safer to walk than to share the road with the crazies. Yes the cold,wet,white stuff is snow and it makes the road slick, SLOW DOWN & DO NOT TAILGATE! When the road is all shiny, it doesn't mean that the road is squeaky clean, it means ICE!! SLOW DOWN!!
I know that Rexburg roads don't help either, with potholes so large you can land on the other side of the world when you hit one, or at least risk bodily injury. And intersections that should be 4-way stops that aren't and streets that have multiple 2 and 4-way stops. And many thanks to the lovely people who plow our roads, I appreciate your effort but what in the world makes you think that leaving mountains (not an exaggeration) of snow on street corners is a good idea? You can't see around them!

Thanks for listening (or reading) my little rant. I hate the driving here and I revel in the beauty of summer semester here when most of the population is gone, off track, summer sales, internships etc... a time when I can drive the roads of Rexburg and not fear the crazies! With that said I hope that you are all safe and can avoid driving situations like those found here in Rexburg.

-S