Argh!!!!

What a mess.

So. I was planning on paying for my Nikon D40 with our Stimulus Check from the Uncle Sam. We assumed that because we received our tax refund via direct deposit, our stimulus rebate would be the same. This is what they were saying, anyway.

We assumed we would be getting this deposit into our account this week, no later than Friday, May 9th.

Which was perfect, because the deal on the camera was ending May 10th.

We filed our taxes using Tax Act Online, and had the fees taken directly from our refund.

Each day I've spent, anxiously and excitedly waiting and checking, for that rebate money. Growing more and more excited and more and more impatient.

Now I've come to find out, we probably will not be getting our rebate direct deposit after all... we may have to wait, until JUNE 13TH, for a paper check... because of the way we filed our taxes.

It seems that if you've filed with a third party service, i.e. tax act, or turbo tax, etc.. and had your fees taken directly out of your refund check, you're stimulus rebate will NOT be coming direct deposit... you have to wait for a paper check. (This apparently does not apply to those who used such a program but paid the fees with a credit or debit card).

The thing is, My sister in law claims she filed the same way we did, using the same program, and she had her rebate direct deposited yesterday...

Online, in various forums and sites, I've come across many people who filed the exact same way we did, and some of them got theirs direct deposit and some of them didn't and have to wait for the check.

I am confused and frustrated, and extremely disappointed. I already have so many plans coming up for that camera, that I will now have to miss out on. Plus, by June 13th, the special deal will probably be gone...

So, anyone else go through this with their stimulus check??

Five Years Too Many

I am participating in March 19th Blogswarm today.

In Memory of All Who Have Lost Their Lives in This War



Nearly 4,000 US dead, and 30,000 Wounded.

Between 100,000 and 1,000,000 Iraqis dead and 4,000,000 displaced.

Almost $1,000,000,000,000 Spent.

No One Left
- The Nightwatchman

"Each one had a father.
There's no one left.
A name and a mother.
No one left.

Each one had a dream, a prayer on their breath.
The world's gone black.
No one left.

On the streets of Manhattan,
a dusty wind blows
letters and wishes,
a girl with a rose.

On the streets of Baghdad,
a dusty wind blows
letters and wishes,
a girl with a rose.

Each one had a father.
There's no one left.
A name and a mother.
No one left.

Each one had a dream,
a prayer on their breath.
The world's gone black.
No one left.

Fire and vengeance
in the New York sky above
stole my angel,
stole my true love.

Fire and vengeance
in the Baghdad sky above
stole his angel,
stole his true love.

Each one had a father.
There's no one left.
A name and a mother.
No one left.

Each one had a dream,
a prayer on their breath.
The world's gone black.
No one left.

I stand out on my front porch.
I look up at the sky.
Will my world go black
in the blink of an eye?

He stands out in the desert.
He looks up at the sky.
Will his world go black
in the blink of an eye?

Each one had a father.
There's no one left.
A name and a mother.
No one left.

Each one had a dream,
a prayer on their breath.
The world's gone black.
No one left.

Each one had a wish.
Each one had a home.
Each one had a name,
a name and a rose."

Tragedy Hits Close to Home

Yesterday, at around 1:30 PM my husband was at work, about 2 miles away from his parents house. His parents, my in-laws... we are very close with them, and their house is literally a second home to us. We lived there for a few years, and we know the neighborhood well, Hubby grew up there. We are there more than we are home! My daughter plays with kids in the neighborhood, and the neighborhood is very, very much home to us.

Where was I... Oh yeah. So, My hubby is at work, and suddenly they hear a giant BOOM. a huge explosion that rumbles through the building.

Turns out, the loud explosion was a house exploding, in his neighborhood, very, very close to his parents house.

You can find the whole story on wpxi.com, wtae.com, and even CNN and Fox News.

My husband drove over to his parent's house, and what should take literally 2 minutes took almost half an hour. The roads were blocked off and emergency vehicles were everywhere.

When he finally managed to get there, he discovered the windows blown out, glass everywhere.

A man was baby-sitting his 4 year old granddaughter. The man was killed. It's a miracle, but the little girl survived.

Here are photos I took from the news websites:





I also took my own photos from the scene. Thirteen of them, to be exact. Obviously I was not allowed to get too close, but I still managed to capture at least 1/100th of what was going on:

















This is my husband being interviewed by a reporter from The Pittsburgh Post Gazette.



You can see the reflection of gas lines still burning in this persons door:



The house was destroyed so bad by the blast, that there wasn't even one wall left standing.



News helicopters were everywhere.



Brian's sisters, Brian, and I helped to clean up some of the damage at his parent's house.



The neighborhood was crawling with gas men. They spent so much time at each house, we were giving them coffee. Reporters, news trucks, were everywhere. The windows had to be boarded up.

The whole thing was very... surreal. You see things like this on the news, but when it happens near you... it's just unbelievable.