Getting back to normal

We received a check from the insurance company and are starting to buy our "stuff" back. It's a strange process. You have to buy everything and get reimbursed back for a portion of it.  It's a fine line because for instance, we have to buy another TV for $1780 in order to get $355 but of course they only give you  $1400...which we could do but since we have decided not to replace the TV we give up the $355. We have decided that it is better to pay down some "debt" rather than us it where it is not needed but I sure would have liked to have the extra money to pay down more! Oh well, somethings just aren't that important in the end.
 
We have so far replaced the laptops with some upgrades (justifying this by not replacing the ipods and using the money here instead :) Tracy was able to get our universal remote so he's happy....also an upgrade in his opinion (I'm simple so whatever makes him happy is good!) I also went out and bought a purse/wallet and ordered all my Mary Kay makeup back. It's rather funny that although I don't really wear makeup that often, I missed a few things when they weren't there! I have been blessed with a lovely friend who replaced the makeup at almost cost plus shipping so in effect, I was able to get double and keep 1/2 in my purse and 1/2 at home. I think this will make life much easier! We also made sure Sarah got all her allowance money back so she is a happy girl!


There is more to do...more to deal with, but it has been fairly simple considering. I'm thinking a camera/security system is in our future if we can cost it into the deal.  Somehow, feeling safe is now a consideration!

Recovered

It's been a long couple of weeks.  Getting broken into has had a few effects in our family.  It seems I feel the need to lock doors now.  I don't feel "crazy" about it, but still...when Tracy isn't there I don't feel quite "safe".  We've been ok for the most part now that Sarah is back to sleeping better.  She had some problems getting her work in at school and paying attention, but it seems to be mostly back to normal now.  Life is starting to go back to how it used to be.

We did have an interesting experience yesterday.  We went to two pawn shops with the local police to look for some of our things.  Evidently we are unusual in that we kept some pictures and information on things taken.  We have been pretty good about keeping boxes for laptops, phones, etc for at least a few years as well as receipts for major purchases.  Funny enough, the camera we just got the day before the theft was one of the things stolen.  We had the receipts and serial # handy and were able to get it back yesterday!  Luckily we had only taken a few test shots with the camera so I wasn't worried if we received the chip back.  The biggest thing is not having a good camera to take pictures with.

The visit to a pawn shop can be an interesting experience!  There were some pretty unsavory folks in the pawn shops we visited.  I know this may not be the case everywhere, but personally I wouldn't have gone in these by myself.  They had some great merchandise by the way...I looked around while we were waiting for the managers.  The one police officer indicated that although the shop is required to take and ID from each seller...because people don't always have a great description of their property...much of what was there will have been stolen but can't be proved.  Did you know that a laptop is stolen every 53 seconds, and that more than 12,000 laptops disappear each week from U.S. airports alone and only 3% of laptops are ever returned.  I saw that evidenced in these shops.  As tempting as these deals were I don't think I could buy them from there, knowing that there was a possibility that I was benefiting from someone else's loss.

Oh...revelation:  criminals are really that stupid!  The people that stole our camera took pictures of themselves and people they knew with our camera...sometimes in front of our stuff...and left the chip in the camera!  We were also told that this is not an unusual thing!  Some of the pictures were pornographic in nature so I didn't actually look at all of them, but Tracy was able to pull them off and supply them to the police and the insurance company.  Crazy, right?

So basically...I'm feeling better about things.  We will be getting our lost list into the insurance company and hopefully getting some reimbursement for that...and I've learned some interesting new stuff.  I'm sure more will follow :)

Invasion....

We got broken into.  Thankfully Tracy had left the house for a few hours and he didn't encounter them, however they did invite themselves to a few of our things.  I guess the money amount is probably not that much for most people...and we do have homeowners insurance but I still feel invaded upon.  The police didn't show up for 5 hours so we got to "stew" in the loss before they came.  They took a 60" flat panel, 2 laptops (the one we just got for Sarah's birthday), my purse - which I left on my dresser because my shoulder was hurting and I didn't want to lug a big old purse around, an old ipod, Tracy's jewelry box with some family history, Sarah's allowance that she had been saving and our change jar.  Oh, and they took the wine out of the wine cooler.  It was not a major invasion but now I'm crazy about locking the doors.  How did they get in...either Tracy accidentally left a door open when he left or they came through our dog door...it doesn't really matter.  I'm thankful there are no broken doors or windows.  I found out a couple of days later that they probably hit the puppy...our neighbor to the back of the property heard him yelp and cry out like he was hurt and came running out.  I'm saddest that they hurt him.  He has been very needy this week.  Hopefully he will start to trust other people again.  I think he will...he is such a sweet soul.  So, I'm dealing with a sleepless child, a roll around in bed husband, and the tax man this week at work....can you say overwhelmed?