We Interrupt This Regularly Scheduled Program...

Ok, I know I've been writing about wine a lot lately, but I thought I would give you an update on the neighborly situation, seeing as there has been some recent activity.

On Saturday, we got a notice in our door from the complex managment saying that they have gotten some complaints and due to our dogs "Excessively Barking" we were in violation of our lease. They were asking that we keep our slider doors closed to help muffle the noise.  Now, I know my dogs aren't excessive barkers, they may bark for like 30 seconds a few times a day when they hear something or when the downstairs neighbors let their dogs out, so the hubby and I decided to do a little investigation.

We talked to our upstairs neighbors to find out if it was them that complained and to apologize if the dog barking was bothering them. They really are good upstairs neighbors so we would truely feel sorry if our dogs were pestering them.  Fortunately, it wasn't them and they said they rarely ever hear anything from our dogs except for an occasional bark at a normal time. So from this we deduced that it was our nemeses... the dreaded downstairs neighbors... (Cue the scary music) Duh Duh DUUUUHHHHHH!!!!!

Now, I'm not a strict rule follower, there are certain things I bend on. If you know me, you know I speed and I harbor dogs that are on the lam (haha).  Contrarily, I have a high level of morality on most things and that I expect others to follow the rules I do follow.  But usually, I go by the "live and let live" philosophy (you'll see where I'm going in a minute) because I would be a hypocrite otherwise... So imagine my surprise when I get cited for adhering to the lease because my dogs are barking, when the neighbors that complain do all of the following:
1. Allow their dogs to bark all day when they aren't home... and I'm not talking woof woof and done, I'm talking for about 5 hours straight of a bark every 5-10 seconds - Yeah I know, they probably aren't aware of it because they aren't there, but maybe they should think about the fact that their dogs probably aren't perfect and they should have a little bit of tolerance.
2. Let their dogs out to potty behind the apartment - Ok I know this sounds like I'm a wicked witch and all, but its in the lease and its a law that the dogs have to be on a leash at all times in public.
3. Don't pick up the solid waste that the dogs are leaving behind when they are off leash - again, in the lease and a law

We had also heard from management before that these people lived in another apartment in the complex and kept complaining about a dog they lived near and that is why they moved to the apartment they are in now... but boy did they pick the wrong neighbors to live under. I have a feeling that the other neighbors probably just took their complaints lying down, but we aren't that kind of people so we took action. 

Hubby went to the office when he got home on Monday and told management all of the above.  They let us know they didn't put the letter we had recieved in our file, they just put it in the door so the people downstairs wouldn't think they were being ignored. Management thanked him for letting them know about the off-leash and crap situation mainly because maintenance would end up being the ones who took care of all the crap behind the apartment if it continued.  So the downstairs neighbors are being cited for real! HAHAHA revenge is a dish best served cold!

The thing about it is, if they didn't complain and showed a little tolerance, we would never had said anything.  But don't try to get us in trouble for not really doing something wrong if you aren't doing everything right. They brought this on themselves.  We live in apartments, and it isn't realistic to expect silence 24 hours a day when you are 10 feet from your neighbors... and you have 2 dogs.  Hopefully they got a reality check and they will think twice next time.

That is all for now my lovelies! I will continue my reviews shortly, I promise.  I have been slacking lately and I apologize!

Crazy Weather We're Having?

So, its been a very interesting few days in our area to say the least.  Let me start with last week... Thursday morning, apparently the complex next to us started burning around 1:30am.  I'm not going to lie and say it was crazy... I was completely oblivious to it. What was interesting though was that there were still news vans parked in our parking lot when I left for work at 7am.  I guess they wanted to get the scoop. The building that burnt is the one closest to our complex, so I guess they got a good angle from where we are.  The building is now condemed. I hope for the sake of everyone that lived there things get figured out quickly. Fortunately no one got hurt, and I think that is the most importand thing.

Then Friday, we were going to get DQ/Wendy's for dinner because I have been super lazy lately since I am fighting this cold or whatever it is.  On the way to the car (we took the dogs along for a ride), the asshat neighbors (from downstairs) were taking their dog somewhere too... So needless to say there was some barking and growling. But the interesting part, aside from them having an "I love my Sharpei" sticker on their car, was that they named their dog "Fifi"... I mean you can't  make this stuff up, really now people!  Fifi? Seriously? No wonder you wear a queer fishing hat!

Anyway, Saturday, we got our new couch and chair! They are wonderful! Firm but super comfy! We even took a nap on the couch.  And we saved the cushions from the old couch and put them on the floor so the dogs have a comfortable place to sleep and we don't feel bad about not letting them on the new furniture. See the pics below! We are keeping blankets on the seats incase the dogs get any ideas.

Sunday, there was an explosion in Middletown at a new power plant.  We didn't feel it in the apartment, but apparently my family in the Chester/Deep River area did... and everyone in New England heard about it.  Thanks for the concern! We are fine!  Sadly, there are 5 confirmed deaths and they aren't sure if there is anyone else trapped in the plant. Hopefully we find out soon!

And that brings me to today... Recently, we got our tax return and I paid off a credit card.  Well today I found out the Bank of America decided to decrease my credit limit on that card now from $4500 to $500! WTF is the point of even keeping the card now????? I hate BOA and everything they stand for! They get to use my tax dollars to bail themselves out but then screw me over when it comes to credit/debt ratio... Thank you Bank of America, you sons of bitches! See if I pay the other 2 cards I have with you before I pay Chase... Thanks! I hope you go bankrupt!

Updates from the Weekend!

Ok, so yuck to it being Monday, again!  But this weekend was super fun, so I can't really complain (although I can hope that the next weekend comes very quickly).

Friday, we had the Ahsang's over for dinner (turkey and buffalo lagsana! super delicious!). Their kids are freaking adorable! We hope they find a suitable house up here quick so we can get together with them more often!

Saturday, ready for this... we BOUGHT furniture! The couch search is OFFICIALLY OV-A!  It's getting delivered this coming Saturday, which is another reason I'm super excited for this coming weekend!  Aside from the sales lady being totally dense about splitting the amount between 2 cards and freezing up my bank of america account which took a 30 min phone call to resolve...  Anywho... we also went to Worcester to have a late lunch with the Boston Girlies!  Ate at Nancy Chang's, no relation to PF, but has a son Ignacious (sp?) which is totally unrelated to anything but we found to be a cool fact.  Then we were off to Wholly Cannoli for some delicious cannolis and dynamite sticks (I also purchased some italian valentines cookies, which i promptly began consuming once we got home). 

Yesterday, we didn't do much... went out to breakfast and to Walmart, but slacked on the grocery shopping... then proceeded to watch the entire season of Solitary 3.0. If you've never heard about it, look it up because I'm sick of it! haha  We also found out, interestingly enough, that our downstairs neighbors are a pain in managment's ass so we are free to be noisy until quiet hours start and can disregard any complaint they have... so suck on it!

Hope everyone's week goes swimmingly!

The Joys of Apartment Living

Apparently our downstairs neighbors are ass-hats, for lack of a better term.  Prior to the "Monday Night Incident" I thought they were kind of weird anyway because the guy wears a fishing hat and a long wool coat... he looks rediculous in them... and they have a Mitsubishi Montero, which is a Toyota Landcruiser wannabe, not to mention the "I love my Sharpei" sticker on the back...  You get the point, right?

So Monday night, we are playing around with the dogs in the house, trying to get some of their energy out.  We are chasing them and they are barking (and its around 6:30).  Well about 15 minutes later as we are getting ready to take them out for a potty walk, there is a knock on the door.  The girl that lives downstairs asks us to keep it down because sometimes it gets a little loud... Oh, I didn't know we were doing the complaint thing... I bit my tongue because I didn't want to start a fight. However, there were a few things I would like to tell them...

First off, you smoke in their apartment. Now, I'm all for getting to do what you want in the place you are paying rent for, but since the smoke comes up into our apartment (partially due to the shitty construction of the place), its affecting my life.  You are silently giving me cancer, bitch!

Secondly, whenelver you are out of the apartment, their dog barks constantly, like every 4-7 seconds!  Luckily for some reason, our dogs don't pay attention to it, otherwise we would have a crazy barkfest going on... but its severely annoying on my days off when I'm trying to watch tv in my living room and your dog is barking his fool head off!  Your dog has seperation anxiety and maybe if you played around with him like we do with our dogs, it would be tired when you left and wouldn't freak out all day long!  Mind you this doesn't just happen on Saturdays, its any day of the week when they aren't there. Most of the time, I'm at work so I don't hear it, but Jeremy gets a daily treat.

Third, you chose to live in an apartment, and you picked a bottom floor apartment... News flash: if you don't want to hear noise from other people, move into a house.  Since there is someone usually within 20 feet of you where ever you are in your place, you are going to hear noise... and you are always going to hear us walking around! There is nothing I can do to help you.

Lastly, you chose to be a pet owner... therefore you need to be more tolerant of noise around you! Pets lead a noiser existance (whether you are home or not)... you have to accept that other people are going to make noise too, especially if they have pets.  Just deal with it already. We only play for about 30 minutes a day and we are in bed by 9pm! You will get your required sleep, don't worry. 

Oh, and on a final note, don't even think about having a party, we will break that shit up before your last guests even get to dip thier first chip!