weekend woes

what a weekend...as i'm sure you know, andrea came home on saturday & is doing okay.
i was in a 'sorry for myself mood' so i decided to skip the birthday party of one of my dear family member/friends (sorry, levi--i regret it now but will come down when your present comes in) & went to ottumwa to look for work clothes for micheal. found out that jc penney was having radical sales & bought mike 3 pairs of dress pants, a dress shirt, black/brown belt, & a new wallet (his fell apart) for under $100! pretty proud of myself & my spirits lifted a little from being alone by myself for too long. then went to wal-mart to pick up a few groceries and other things...finally got through the crowds & stood in line for 20 minutes to check-out.
the kind cashier rang up all my purchases...as normal i swiped my debit card, typed in my pin &... REJECTED! WHAT!?..i'd just used it at jc penney, mike had just gotten paid, plus we have our checking & savings accounts linked at the bank so that if something would ever happen money can be taken out of our savings to protect us.
so confused...tried not to cry but didn't succeed. asked the kind cashier what i should do...she said if i thought there was money in the account i could try to write a check--they run them through like a debit and clear them before you leave....so, by this time very embarrassed, i wrote a check. it cleared. i had a separate purchase of supplies we need for sonlight--20 boxes of crayons, 20 bottles of glue, 20 pkgs of markers...was going to buy them after my groceries but pay separately so i could be reimbursed from the church...was so rattled that something could be wrong with my account that i left them...all 60 items sitting on the belt. so embarrassing..never had to do that before.
headed home...needed my hubby..he takes care of all the finances & i didn't know what to do. knew my baby sister (also in co) was down in colorado springs for the day & she would get reception. called her & told her tearfully that i must talk to mike...he stayed on the mountain but i needed him as soon as she got back up. didn't know how he was going to call...thought he might have to drive back down to town with lauren's phone (she has nationwide) to get reception, but bless her, she said she'd give him her calling card. could tell i worried her, but she didn't ask questions & told me it would be okay. got home & went to mike's office to look for any clues on what to do...couldn't figure out the password for our online banking but finally figured out the automated phone banking. called & did a balance inquiry..sure enough, money in both accounts. tried not to worry...tried to pray about it...was so anxious i couldn't eat. finally, a couple hours later, mike called (good job, lauren...found out later that as soon as she got to the mountain she tracked him down, handed him her phone card, & said, "call home, NOW...jenn needs you"...what a good sister i have) i lost it...cried so hard i was sick...didn't intend on doing that b/c i didn't want him to feel guilty for being gone. told him the situation...he calmed me, of course. assured me there was money...made me feel better...talked for 25 minutes. i can picture him in the canteen, calming a frantic wife for 25 minutes while the line behind him grows full of kids who want to call their mommies and daddies...he in his orange deputy/medic vest--an adult--monopolizing one of three phones. appreciate him for that...probably a little embarrassing (although not as embarrassing as being rejected at wal-mart).
so yesterday while i was in lancaster i tried to fuel with my card (pay at the pump) at casey's...same message. torked, i drove across the street to the bank & tried to do balance inquiries on both accounts. "no accounts linked to this card" flashed across the screen. okay, this is getting a little ridiculous. stayed at mom & dad's last night b/c about the time i went to leave it started storming...hard. tornado warnings...black clouds to the north (where i needed to be heading), etc...decided to stay put as it never let up. called the bank this morning to chew fanny about my junk card...bless the lady i talked to--she'd been rejected this weekend, too. seems like there are hundreds of customers whose cards quit working this weekend...head office is working on it. refreshing to know its not my problem--still didn't make the weekend any less traumatic.
on a positive note...i've sold enough $$ in books on amazon that all of the clothes i bought mike where like virtually FREE! (plus extra $$ left over from my sales)...the books paid for the clothes which is just pretty awesome. next, i have to buy me some more maternity dress clothes so i have enough to make it through a week of dressing up for work.
also, thankfully, my hubby has sensed how lonesome i am all by myself & how much i miss him so he's vowed to call home every evening to check on me & the baby. thanks honey...know you won't read this till you get home but i appreciate you!