Stuff I Think About

And It's Not Even a Full Moon

2012-01-24T21:00:00.000-06:00

When you call your boss at 3:30 and scream, "I WANT TO GO HOME AND DRINK!" it's never a good sign. That's the kind of day I had today. And yes, I did actually do that. Both I mean. Called my boss and screamed that, and actually went home and drank.

I knew it was going to be a long day, but I honestly had no idea it was going to be as stressful as it was. I didn't even make it home in time for yoga class (and tonight was the LATE class). I ended up driving almost 300 miles, and before I returned home I had visited FIVE child care programs. Like on a normal day I visit one or two, and today I visited FIVE. And I had bad news to deliver to all but one.

I'm having to kick out two programs I actually really like. So that's breaking my heart. I delivered news to a third that I swear caused visible smoke to come out her ears. She wasn't mad at ME thankfully, but still, sucked to deliver news that upset her that much.

Then one of the programs, I couldn't even meet with the director because her daughter's house had just burned down. Like to the ground. Last night. The teacher who shared this with me was crying, and it made me cry.

I'm completely exhausted.

And grateful that I have a house. So, there is that.

Project 52 "Update"

2012-01-16T12:04:00.000-06:00

So, it's January 16th, and I figured I should post my list for Project 52, 2012 Edition. The first thing you may notice about this list is that the first 20-something items are all the things I didn't check off for 2011. The second thing you may notice is that there are only 33 items. I'm doing this on purpose.

See, last year I worked and thought and pondered and planned and made a list of 52 things at the start of the year. Then life intervened. My goals changed. New things became important to me, but I couldn't put them on the list, because my list was full. And stuff that I'd put on the list quickly became irrelevant (see Basement Flooding Disaster of '11.)

So, this year I'm purposely leaving my list unfinished at the start. This way, I can add new things as they come to light throughout the year.
1. Finish building walls in basement.

2. Drywall walls in basement.

3. Mud and tape walls in basement.

4. Sand walls in basement.

5. Paint walls in basement.

6. Hang doors in basement.

7. Paint (or tile?) floors in basement.

8. Decorate basement.

9. Buy a shed for mowers, etc…

10. Take at least one overnight out of town trip with R.

11. Pay off New Buggie.

12. Make trivet with leftover kitchen tile.

13. Make stepping stone for Tigger.

14. Start knitting again.

15. Make candles.

16. Transfer blog (DTBMMLF) to my own domain.

17. Trade in old engagement ring at Kay Jewelers.

18. Go dancing at least once.

19. Sort and put away work files and boxes in basement.

20. Get name changed on diplomas.

21. Get name changed on savings account.

22. Sing karaoke at least once.

23. Go roller skating.

24. Attend at least one concert.

25. See at least three movies in the theater.

26. Paint rocking chair from family room. DONE!

I went through a phase of painting rocking chairs, like with cute things such as daisies, sunflowers, clouds, stars, etc... This particular chair once had grass and flowers all over the bottom and clouds and sky all over the top. I loved it at the time. Like 10 years ago. But it wasn't really fitting into my new decor in the family room. Plus, the paint was all peeling off. So something needed to be done. I decided to spray paint it black and add this pillow from Target. I also painted the shelf red. (It too was once covered in So-Country-I-Could-Puke-Flowers.) It's not perfect, but it's much better.

27. Fix Beavis’s cat tree. DONE!

Unlike some less sophisticated felines, Beavis actually scratches his cat tree. Like to the point that he destroys it. The carpet gets thinner and thinner until it starts just falling completely off. We've had this particular cat tree for about 5 years now, and we've replaced the carpet on the bottom section twice. We may have to just break down and buy a new one next time. But for another year or so, he's good.

28. Get new shelf/cabinet/something for CD’s.

29. Re-do fence in back yard.

30. Re-do deck in back yard.

31. Set wedding date.

32. Attend Power Yoga at least once.

33. Get coat rack/hall tree.

So, that's all I've got so far. But hey, it's only January 16, and I've finished two items already! How are you doing with your goals?

Things to be Happy About

2012-01-12T20:05:00.001-06:00

This week started out really rough for me, and for no good reason. Monday and Tuesday I was just in a horrible mood. And several good things happened, so my bad mood doesn't make much sense. I'm focusing on the good in this post.

I received a package the other day from Caren at Cat Chat with Caren and Cody. I had entered her giveaway for a prize pack from Bissell, and I won! I have a thing with vacuuming. R told me once he thinks I might have a problem that maybe they make medication for. But when you live with two dogs, one cat, and a man, one has to vacuum a lot.

Caren sent me the Perfect Sweep Turbo, which is kind of a high powered carpet sweeper that plugs in and charges. I've decided to keep it in the basement, because it's not like we track in dirt and stuff down there, yet it does need cleaning up, and I don't like hauling my big vacuum up and down the stairs. It's working really great for that. And I love that it doesn't have bags. You just dump the container every once in a while.

I also got the Fur Get It, which is a little hand-held thingy to get pet hair off furniture. I was skeptical of this at first, because I've tried several things like this that didn't work very well. This one actually works though! It took a minute to figure out. I wanted to make long broad strokes, and what you have to do is a back and forth shorter motion.

The third item in my package was the Pawsitively Clean Urine Eliminator System. Thankfully, I haven't had occasion to try this one yet!

My winning streak continued when I found out I won a Scentsy warmer from Gina at Namaste by Day! I love my Scentsy warmers, so I was super excited to find out I get a new one for free. (I haven't received that package yet, so I'll post more info once I get it.)

Then, I found out I get Martin Luther King Day off work. I don't know what I was thinking, but I seriously thought I had to work that day. R is off, so I was kind of bitter thinking that I had to work and he didn't. Then one of my co-workers informed me we are off, and the boss confirmed it. Yay!

And finally, I was approached by a new sponsor who wanted to publicize their company on my blog. Please welcome my newest sponsor, Big Event Fundraising. And the good news for you is, they asked me if I have any bloggy friends who might also be interested in getting a small fee (like enough for your next grande latte) for inserting their text link on your blog for six months. So, if you're interested, leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail and let me know. Be sure and tell me your e-mail address and blog link if it's not in your profile. (I don't get paid if you do this, just wanted to share in case any of you are interested.)

Hope you all had only good news this week!

The Fireplace Makeover is Complete!

2012-01-08T15:23:00.000-06:00

You probably didn't know it wasn't complete. I wasn't entirely sure myself. But now I am entirely sure that it is complete. And it's gorgeous. If I do say so myself.

I'd been pondering for a while whether I should paint it. But that's kind of a scary thing to consider, because it's nearly impossible to UN-paint brick. And there is an entire, quite vocal, population of brick enthusiasts who feel that anyone who might dare to suggest painting brick is the Anti-Christ.

But you know how I get when I start to hate something in my house. (R fears this instant hatred, must change now, mind set will one day come to include him, but I assure him, and you, that it applies only to matters of decor.) I'd come to hate the brick on my fireplace.

Then, we went to my aunt's house for Christmas.

Which seems unrelated, but it's not.

She had painted her fireplace. And I walked in the door and was stunned by how much I loved it. And I never hated her fireplace to begin with. I was just completely in awe of how beautiful it was, how much it opened up the room, how it made the space look bigger and lighter and more modern.

I asked her a million questions about how she decided to do it, how she actually did it, how scared she was, etc... And I decided it was a sign that I should do it. I began reading everything I could online about how to paint a brick fireplace. I went to every home improvement store in my town (which means I went to two) asking for advice. The advice ranged from, "Use whatever paint you want. It doesn't matter." To, "We don't have any paint you can use for that, and I highly advise that you do not do it."

Which I took to mean, they really don't know. And I live in a hick town, and my superior design sense frightens these poor people.

Anyway, here we go...

See? Daisy is stunned by its gorgeousness.

So that you can feel the full effect of it's majesty, I feel I should remind you from whence we came. Here is what the fireplace looked like when we bought the house:

Then we got rid of the hideous wood stove insert and put in nickel plated doors, special ordered from Lowes.

Then we bought a gas log, so we could have fire at the touch of a button, without the mess. (I can't find a picture showing only that.) Then we embarked upon the mantel project and ended up with this:

It was a vast improvement. But I still felt that it wasn't really finished. NOW, it's finished:

Fabulous, no? I changed up a little of the decor in the room, and I'm way happier with how it all looks now. I got rid of an old book shelf I'd had for maybe 15 years and bought this espresso bookcase from Target. I actually didn't pay even that much for it. It was on sale for $95, and I always use my Red Card and save another 5%, so I got it for like $90, and it's wonderful! Five stars! It looks much more expensive, and I'm really pleased with the quality.

And that red lantern on the hearth? Why yes, it is a Partylite Garden Lantern. Yes, I spray painted it red. And yes, many people who might even advocate brick painting might still send me straight to hell for spray painting Partylite. In my defense, this particular piece came from a garage sale and was rusted or something when I got it. Plus, it's just perfect in the room now. So I feel justified.

Even Beavis approves of the new pillows (also from Target, and purchased on clearance.)

I have done a little more work to the opposite corner of the room, but I'm saving that for my Project 52 post. I didn't count the fireplace project, because I actually did all that before 2011 drew to a close.

So, if you want to paint your own fireplace, here is what we did:

Use a stiff brush to clean any dust and loose material off the fireplace. Some sites advocate soap and water or even harsh chemicals. We didn't do that. Just the stiff brush and a lot of vacuuming. It was nasty. I'm warning you. We sneezed a lot.

Then use one coat of Kilz 2. You'll have to use A LOT of it. It took almost an entire gallon to do this. We rolled it first, which honestly didn't do much. You have to really scrub the primer and paint into the mortar and even into the little holes in the brick. Use a cheap and/or old paintbrush, because you'll ruin it. It took forever and my arm was killing me.

We waited a day, mostly because it was midnight and we were exhausted, before painting on the next coat. I just used regular latex paint, semi-gloss. I did buy a pretty high quality paint though, instead of my usual cheap Wal-mart paint. And we just did one coat, but it was a seriously thick coat.

We didn't do the inside, because we have a metal thing in there anyway. If you are going to paint the inside of the firebox, you probably should use the special, heat-resistant, fireplace or wood stove paint.

I chose white, because all the trim in my house is white, and I wanted the fireplace to stand out as an architectural focal point. My aunt painted hers the same color as the walls, so that it blends in more. In my opinion, it was such a huge job that I'm in no hurry to do it again. And I do re-decorate a lot, so should I choose to change the color of my family room, I didn't want to have to re-paint the fireplace.

My final advice:
When it comes to decorating, you just have to do what makes YOU happy. When I decided to throw caution, other people's opinions, and potential re-sale value to the wind, I decided to do it. And I love it.

Project 52 2011 Wrap Up

2012-01-04T17:44:00.002-06:00

I sort of fell off the wagon with my goals toward the end of 2011, but I did actually accomplish a couple more things on my list that I never posted about. So, here is a summary, with comments as necessary:

1. Make list of 52 goals. DONE!

2. Build cover for mantle. DONE!

3. Redecorate above mantle. DONE!

4. Finish building walls in basement.

5. Drywall walls in basement.

6. Mud and tape walls in basement.

7. Sand walls in basement.

8. Paint walls in basement.

9. Hang doors in basement.

10. Paint (or tile?) floors in basement.

11. Decorate basement. (The entire basement thing just never happened, mainly because of the massive basement flooding that necessitated an even larger project to waterproof and RE-finish the part we had already finished. Maybe in 2012!)

12. Finish reading Committed. DONE!

13. Finish reading Women, Food, and God. DONE!

14. Finish reading Sleepwalk with Me. DONE!

15. Sort through books and post on half.com. DONE! (Sort of. I didn't post them, but I took them to a bookstore in town and then donated what they wouldn't buy.)

16. Sort through closets and donate at least 10 items to Salvation Army. DONE!

17. Buy a shed for mowers, etc…

18. Paint bedroom. DONE!

19. Paint bookshelf. DONE!

20. Organize work things on bookshelf. DONE!

21. Buy new silverware. DONE!

22. Visit Whole Foods and buy some vegan meat alternatives. DONE!

23. Get a new Rock Band Guitar. DONE!

24. Take at least one overnight out of town trip with R. (And he isn't letting me forget this didn't happen.)

25. Hem pink pants. DONE!

26. Get jeans hemmed. DONE!

27. Pay off New Buggie. (Not quite. But it will be done in 2012.)

28. Get a professional pedicure.

29. Get credit card paid off. DONE!

30. Make trivet with leftover kitchen tile.

31. Make stepping stone for Tigger.

32. Start knitting again.

33. Make candles.

34. Transfer blog(s) to my own domain(s). (Did one, this one. So, it's half done.)

35. Sort through jewelry and sell or donate at least 5 items. DONE!

36. Trade in old engagement ring at Kay Jewelers. (Hasn't happened yet, but I did get a bigger, better engagement ring in 2011!)

37. Repaint trim around kitchen window. DONE! (In the nick of time. I think I did this December 30th.)

38. Paint bed. DONE!

39. Get new bedspread set. DONE!

40. Install new ceiling fan in bedroom. DONE!

41. Go dancing at least once. (Again, R not letting this one go. Maybe in 2012.)

42. Sort through glasses/mugs cabinet in kitchen. DONE!

43. Sort and put away work files and boxes in basement. (Considering I didn't need ANY of this stuff for the last year and a half, maybe I should just toss it all.)

44. Buy/paint dining furniture. DONE!

45. Get name changed on diplomas. (Looked into it, but it's gonna cost me $50, and it hasn't happened yet.)

46. Get name changed on savings account.

47. Sing karaoke at least once.

48. Go roller skating. DONE!

49. Attend at least one concert. DONE! Keith Urban 8/19/11

50. See at least three movies in the theater. The Help, 50/50, The Big Year, Breaking Dawn, DONE! (With one to spare! Three thumbs up, one thumb down, for The Big Year. Bleah.)

51. Create some artwork for the bedroom walls. DONE!

52. Spend lots of time snuggling on couch with Daisy and Rudy. DONE!

So I did 29/52. More than half. I'm calling it a win. Hope you did a great job reaching many of your goals! Time to start on the list for 2012.

Put a Ring on It

2012-01-01T18:07:00.000-06:00

Lookee what I got over the holidays!

It wasn't a complete surprise, but it was somewhat of a surprise. R and I have been together for...well...depends upon when you count from. Could be 7 or 8 years, could be 2ish. I generally say about 5, because we moved in together and bought this house about then.

Anyway, over that time, of course the subject of marriage has come up. I wasn't too anxious to get it done though. We have both been through divorces, and it just kind of left me not ever wanting to go through that again. I felt like I wanted us to make the choice to stay together every day, not just stay because it was too complicated to leave.

But, we've been through a lot over the past couple of years. I lost my job, we lost a pregnancy, he lost his mind a time or two, and we both lost our tempers more than once. And through all those hard times, I knew with all my heart that there was no one on earth I'd rather be with than R.

He's known that about me for...7 or 8 years. But I've been a bit more hard headed about it.

Anyway, so we've looked at rings. And I picked out my dream ring. And it was expensive. And it wasn't gonna happen within the next 10 years. So, finally I subtly suggested to him that I might marry him, even without THE ring. He found this one totally on his own, and I am blown away by how fabulous it is.

So I know you want to know how it happened. I had suspected it was coming, because he kept dropping not so subtle hints, including being quite jumpy that he was receiving "a package" on a certain day, and he didn't want this package to sit outside, and someone had to be home when it came, etc... And then he was singing, "Yes" by Chad Brock in the shower Christmas Eve morning!

We had friends over Christmas Eve afternoon, and as we were preparing, R kept asking if I wanted to open a present that night. I actually kind of like surprises and anticipation, so I wasn't too into the idea. But he kept bringing it up! And finally I said, whatever, that's fine, we can each open one.

So I gave him pants. Which seems rather lame in retrospect.

He handed me this big box that weighed a ton. I accused him of wrapping up weights for me. Turned out, it was a rusty old trailer hitch. And a tiny little velvet box. He says he only put the hitch in there to throw me off, but we later decided it was kind of perfect, since he was asking me to "get hitched!"

I opened the ring box, and there was this gorgeous diamond and platinum ring. I can't get over how sparkly it is! And I didn't choose platinum, but I love it so much now that I have it.

Oh, and what did he say? I honestly don't remember exactly, but it was something to the effect of, "So can we get married now?" Which seems really unromantic when I write it out, but it wasn't that way.

I was shocked at how emotional I was. I mean, we've been together forever. We've talked about this. I pretty much knew the ring was coming. But seeing it, and putting it on, and him asking me, it was different. I cried, and I hugged him for a long time.

He wanted to put it on Facebook right away, but I made him wait until we'd at least told our immediate families. So, we told our moms Christmas Day, and I told my dad the day after. (For the record, his and Step-monster's reactions were kind of like, eh, whatever, it's pretty. WTF?!)

My grandma was completely over the moon with joy though. And so is R's daughter, S. I'm not sure if she really loves me that much, or if she's just excited at the prospect of being in a wedding. Either way.

So, that was my big present. I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday and a happy New Year!

The Weirdest Dream I've Ever Had

2011-12-20T21:50:00.000-06:00

I have crazy dreams. I always have. But this one I had last night takes the cake. It was so bizarre and vivid, and I remember so many little details, I've been thinking about it all day, and I just had to write about it. Maybe some dream analysis expert out there can figure out what on earth is going on in my head.

I have this recurring nightmare where I'm trying to take a shower, and for varying reasons, I can't. There is always this underlying stress that I'm about to be late for something also. So, whether the shower thing is symbolic, or it's about being afraid of being late, I don't know. But I dream this a lot. This dream started out like that.

I was at my grandparents' house, and I needed to take a shower. And there were all these people in the bathroom, one of whom was this naked guy. And I wasn't shocked or embarrassed or anything that there was a naked man in my bathroom. I was just mad that he was in there and wouldn't leave so I could shower. At one point I distinctly remember telling him he had to get out of there because I was already three hours late for school.

Then somehow R came into the picture, and he said he'd take me somewhere that I could shower. So we started travelling all over the place, trying to find a place I could shower. We were having no luck, and I was watching the clock realizing it was noon, then 1:00, then 2:00. At that point, I called my grandpa and asked him if it was okay if I didn't go to school today. And he said to me, "Janet, you are 40 years old. You have a masters degree. You don't ever have to go to school again, unless you want to."

By this point we were on some farm like thing, and there were thousands of people everywhere. Kind of like Woodstock, only this was a meeting of some sort of religious cult. There were people everywhere speaking in tongues, passing out, sleeping on the ground, etc... I was really freaked out by the whole thing and just wanted to get out of there, and then I realized that they were getting to R. He started acting weird, and I was getting really upset and trying to reason with him. Then next thing I knew he had disappeared.

So, I was running all over this cult/farm place trying to find him and getting more and more upset. Finally I talked to this woman who was telling me R was gone, and they had him now, and he was never coming back to me. I got right in her face and said, "Shut the f*ck up b*tch."

Then some little girl started trying to inject me with something I knew was bad. So I was running away trying to keep her from getting me. At some point I had the realization that this was just a dream, and that in my dreams, I can fly.

So I took off flying and got away from the creepy little girl with the needle. Then I realized, hey, if I can fly, I can go anywhere I want. I started thinking of where I would want to go if I could fly. I decided I'd really like to fly over New York City, so I did. Flew right over the Manhattan skyline. Then I wanted to fly over the beach, so I did that. Next stop was San Francisco.

And somewhere after San Francisco is when I woke up.

Overall, it was kind of a nightmare. I mean, the whole can't shower thing is always really upsetting to me. And then when the crazy cult people stole R, I was a wreck. But, there were some distinctly positive elements.

For one, I think it's positive that my grandpa informed me I never had to go to school again, unless I wanted to. I mean, isn't the whole school thing a common nightmare? Showing up at school naked, having a test you didn't study for, etc... And it was like my dream world gave me permission to never again have school nightmares.

I also actually think it's a positive thing that I cursed out the woman who was telling me R was gone. Because in real life I rarely stand up for myself. And this chick was out of line.

Then, of course, the whole flying thing was completely positive. Both that I realized I was in control and could save myself from the situation, and the experience I had of flying over all these beautiful places. I remember feeling really free while I was flying.

So, that's it. Anybody have any brilliant ideas what all this nonsense is about?

Mary Kay Product Review

2011-12-14T17:37:00.114-06:00

~~Recently~~ A month and a half ago, I was sent some Mary Kay products to review. (Better late than never!) I was super excited about this, because I love Mary Kay. I've been using the products since I was 15 years-old, and I actually sold them for about seven years. Until I quit because my ex-husband roped us into selling Amway. Don't even get me started on that. In fact, don't even get yourself started on that. EVER.

Anyway, so, they sent me some Mary Kay stuff. It arrived a couple days after my birthday, so that was really fitting. And it came in this cute box:

This is what was inside:

Sorry my picture is blurry. I didn't know it was blurry until I'd already used the stuff, and I didn't want to be posting a picture of used stuff. So here you go.

This is what I got, and what I think about it:

Lash Love Mascara in I <3 Black

That's a heart. If you can't decipher my emoticon. Okay, this mascara, if you are a SERIOUS mascara person, you will (heart) it. I don't so much (heart) it for daily use. For one thing, I use brown mascara usually. Back in the day when I sold MK, they taught that if you're blonde, you should use brown, and that's what I've always done. And I do (HEART) Mary Kay's Lash Lengthening Mascara in black/brown. That's what I use every day, and it's wonderful. I cannot stand eyelashes that are all clumpy and spidery looking, and this does a great job. The Lash Love, well, let's say it was a bit much to be hanging out at a preschool in broad daylight. Were I going out dancing, perhaps I would have felt it more appropriate. At any rate, my advice is to gently do ONE coat. Lightly. And don't go back over it. AT ALL. Unless it's Saturday night and you're hanging out a Studio 54. My two cents.

Compact Mini

I don't like it. I'm just sayin'. It's cute and little and could be neat for travelling maybe. The brushes are in the bottom, and there's a mirror in the top. It's magnetic, and the little colors are in metal tins, so it's neat how they snap right in there and stay. But I don't like how all the shadows and the blush are right smack against each other. It's like my silver shadow is always in my blush, and vice versa. There needs to be some separation or something. And I use bigger nicer makeup brushes, so having the brushes in there doesn't help me out.

Mineral Cheek Color in Cherry Blossom

I actually really like this. Despite how horrifying it looks in the package. Seriously, when I opened all these colors and saw what they sent me, I feared that someone had been smoking crack. I honestly don't remember whether they asked me anything about what I look like or what colors I generally wear. I don't think they did. I'm blonde, fair skinned, blue eyed. And they sent me like hot pink EVERYTHING. But this blush actually looks nice and fairly natural on. I mean, if you use a light hand. Don't go nuts with it.

Mineral Eye Colors in Silver Satin, Iris, and Sweet Cream

I love the silver one. Not so much the others. The quality is completely fine, it's just the shades I'm not wild about. I prefer a lighter shade for my "highlight", and the purple one, well...honestly I haven't used it yet. I know purple shadow is in right now. Or it was last season. Or something. But I basically have two "looks." The grey/silver look if I'm wearing cool colors and the brown/beige look if I'm wearing warm colors. Maybe I need someone to show me how to wear purple, and I might love it. I do like Mary Kay shadows in general.

Creme Lipstick in Fuchsia

I have to say that I stand corrected on this one. Because like the blush, I took one look at this color and wondered who was smoking what when they decided to send this shade to me. I mean, back in the day when I sold MK, they had a lipstick called Toffee that was like magic. It looked fabulous on everyone. Something more neutral like that is what I would have sent out in a test like this. But whatever. I tried this, and it's dark, but I actually really like it. I like it better if I tone it down with some gloss. My favorite is the Mary Kay Lip Gloss in Gold Rush. It makes every lipstick better, I'm telling you. (They didn't send me that. I just have it already, and I love it.)

So that's my opinion. If anyone else would like to send me stuff to review, I'll happily do it!

All opinions are 100% my own. I was not compensated monetarily for this posting. I did receive the above mentioned products free of charge to try out. I was encouraged to blog about my thoughts, but it was not a requirement.

TMI...or More Stuff Nobody Tells You

2011-12-10T14:28:00.000-06:00

I got my hair cut and highlighted this week, and I was looking forward to it, but also dreading it. See, my hairdresser was the second person I told I was pregnant. I literally had an appointment to get my hair cut and highlighted the day after I found out. And I wasn't telling anyone yet, other than my mom, but I had heard that maybe coloring your hair wasn't such a great idea if you are pregnant, so I felt like I had to tell her.

She was super sweet, because I was a serious mess that day. I was still in complete shock and WTF mode, and I started bawling as soon as she spoke to me. By the way, her verdict was that yes, it's perfectly safe, but that clearly I wasn't comfortable with it, and so we didn't do the highlights that day. Anyway, I hadn't seen her yet to tell her I had a miscarriage.

So, I told her, and didn't cry, miraculously. I mean, generally I'm okay as I go about my day to day life, but somehow the first time I have to tell anyone, I cry. Turns out, she had two miscarriages herself. Between her two beautiful, healthy children, I might add. I'm continually shocked at the number of women who have had this experience.

Anyway, on to the TMI portion of the post.

Nobody tells you that the first time you have your period after a miscarriage it's incredibly traumatic. I think on some level it was giving me flashbacks to the entire miscarriage experience. Maybe it's a touch of post traumatic stress disorder or something. Plus, there was a tiny bit of my brain that really hoped I was pregnant again. I know it was unlikely, but still.

So, that first little spot threw me into hysterical tears. And I kept crying off and on the rest of the day. R thought I'd lost my mind. It makes complete sense that it would be difficult, but really, it hadn't occurred to me, and nobody had told me that. I hope you never have to experience this, but seriously, somebody should warn you, just in case.

On a positive note, I've always had insane PMS, probably more to the point of PMDD. Like since I was a teenager I've missed school or work every month. I take crazy amounts of ibuprofen and lay in bed all day with a heating pad on my stomach. Plus I've always had terrible breast pain and even have to wear larger bras in the week or two leading up to my period. (Yes, TWO, like as in I spend half my life in pain.)

I've heard that pregnancy is one of the best "cures" for PMS. But somehow I thought you had to like actually have a baby to reap this benefit. Turns out not. At least for me.

This month I didn't have any pain in my boobs at all. And I had really minor cramps. I took a couple ibuprophen here and there, and that was it. No biggie. So, it's a small consolation for having to go through the miscarriage, but really, with the huge issue PMS always was for me, it's actually not such a small consolation. It's kind of huge.

Don't get me wrong. I would rather still be pregnant. But it's good to know some positive something came out of this.

Matching Cat, No Extra Charge

2011-11-29T17:15:00.000-06:00

Since we had to hold our tree together with duct tape last year, I decided to buy a new one after the holidays when everything was on clearance. I also decided then to pick up some new ornaments and decorations, because I was kind of tired of the whole mess I had going on.

I've always been all about Christmas being traditional, and we do this or that because we've always done this or that. We put the cute Hallmark cat ornaments on the tree because somebody gave them to me and I have to. And we put the snow men and Santa stuff out because various students gave them to me over the years, blah blah.

Well, I decided I wanted to go more artistic and pretty this year, and less traditional. And I got a lot of the stuff half price or less at the end of last year. So I figure I'm not out a whole lot if I go back to the traditional stuff later. Anyway, this is what I came up with for the tree:

I love love LOVE it. It's all in purple and silver. My living room was purple when we bought the house, and it's one of the few rooms I haven't re-painted, because I just love it.

The mantel (not mantle) is something else I wanted to do differently this year. Partly because I had to, since we re-did the mantel and I wasn't going to pound nails into my pretty new one. Partly because what I had going on there was this country crafty mess, and I was tired of it.

So, this is what we have going on there now:

And I don't love it. It's okay. It's pretty in and of itself, and it's certainly different, which is what I was going for. I got the ornament garland on clearance last year, and the rest of it all came from those colors.

I think the big issue is, the purple/silver tree looks perfect in the room where it is. This fuchsia/teal/lime green/red thing going on with the fireplace doesn't really match the rest of the room. See, my family room is actually decorated in mostly reds and greens anyway. So, much as I hated what I had, the traditional Christmas stuff actually went in the room better. Ugh.

But I still didn't like it. So, maybe I need more modern stuff that's still the traditional colors? Or something.

Anyway, I lost Beavis for a while today. The dogs were outside, so I knew he was out and about. But I couldn't find him in any of his typical hang outs. Finally I found him here:

Looks like someone else loves the new tree too!

Two Little Souls

2011-11-21T17:19:00.000-06:00

I've had a lot of friends and family members, and a couple complete strangers, offer me words of comfort about my miscarriage. Most of it has been really helpful. Honestly, nobody (so far anyway) has said anything that hurt my feelings or was profoundly unhelpful, as I've read happens to many women.

One friend sent me a sweet card days after hearing my sad news, and of course it made me cry. She said that I'll always be Mommy to two little angels.

My mom wrote me a poem, which I'll paraphrase here to protect my family's anonymity:

Little spirits who didn't quite make it,
I honor you and love you,
envision you with Grandpa R.
getting deputized with miniature gold badges (my grandpa was a sheriff)
and riding in the sheriff's car
over the celestial hills
with the siren blaring
laughing and carrying on
as only a R. can do.

Soon your Grandpa B.
will join you.
Watch for him.
He will want to tell you long stories
teach you how to drive a stick shift
and how to ride wild horses.
Gather Tucker and Tigger and Sammie around you
and watch for him.

R and I had a conversation just a couple days before I read this in which we discussed whether or not our little embryos had spirits. We decided that they do. And that they're with my Grandpa right now. It actually hadn't occurred to me that they might be with Tucker, Tigger, and Sammie, but I like that thought. Maybe they are also with their Aunt Melinda, who I never got to meet.

This weekend I was catching up on some episodes of Oprah's Lifeclass. I watched one about letting go of the past, and Gary Zukov was talking to a young mother who gave birth to twins prematurely. One of them didn't live more than a few days, and the parents were having a really hard time moving on with their lives. While I'm certainly not in the same situation as this poor mother, I was really helped by what Mr. Zukov had to say.

He told her that we have to let go of thinking of this child as a personality and begin thinking of him as a soul. Instead of viewing his death as a terrible tragedy, he suggested that the mother view him as a spirit who chose to come spend a short time with her, and then chose to leave. He had his reasons, and we may not know what they are, but that small period of time in which she had him in her life is a blessing.

So, I'm thinking of my little souls the same way. They chose to come to earth and spend a few short weeks with me. And then they had to go. I may not know why right now, and I may never know why, but I realize that in some way, their short time with me was a blessing.

Hopes and Dreams

2011-11-15T20:08:00.000-06:00

I was talking to a friend of mine about my miscarriage the other day. She had one also, her first pregnancy, and she now has two gorgeous daughters. She's super into eating healthy, exercising, organic everything and so on. So, to hear her story really made me feel a bit better about mine.

Anyway, she said something I thought was pretty profound. She said that what's so difficult about recovering from a miscarriage is that you aren't mourning something you actually had. You aren't mourning a person you really knew. What you're mourning is all your hopes and dreams.

I'm really struggling now, because Thanksgiving was going to be the magic day when I told all my family about the pregnancy. At that point, I'd have been beyond my first trimester, and thus would have been "safe." And I was really looking forward to that.

I felt like I was going to be making so many people so happy. My grandparents. My aunts. My cousins who all have children of their own. And I somehow felt like this news was going to make me fit in better. Like suddenly I'd be "normal" and be able to relate to my family on some whole new level.

I know that's a lot of pressure to put on a baby. But that's what I felt. And now it's just another family get together with all the stress and uncomfortableness there always is. And one of my cousins recently brought a new baby home from the hospital, so they'll be there, and everyone will be ooing and awwing, and I'll just be miserable, and nobody will even know why.

Well, somebody will. I'm going to tell my grandma. I think she would want to know. Especially because it was twins. My dad is a twin. And I lived with my grandma for many years, so we're very close. So, I'm probably going to go see her this weekend and tell her then, in private, before the big get-together next week.

Anyway, so my dream of sharing my big news at Thanksgiving isn't coming true. At least not this Thanksgiving.

A Memo to My B*tchy Co-worker

2011-11-04T17:12:00.000-05:00

Dearest BC,

In the future, when responding to an e-mail I have sent you, I would greatly appreciate it if you would:

1. Go into it with the general assumption that I am not an idiot, and therefore you have no reason to treat me like one.

2. Actually read the e-mail in question. This may be challenging when I send e-mails that reach the unheard of length of say three sentences. But since I keep my communications with you short and to the point, I'm assuming you have time to read 1 to 2 sentences in their entirety.

3. Please make every effort to actually answer the question I have asked. I know you like to "go rogue" from time to time, but really, responding to a simple request is not the time for creativity.

Sincerest thanks,
Janet

Honestly, this exchange I had with her today was one for the books. I had to call and share it with another co-worker (who happily is not a b*tch), and she cracked up laughing and thanked me so much for brightening her day. Even R (who, despite his efforts, possess only a limited understanding of what it is that I actually do for a living) thought the exchange was hilarious. Let's see if you all agree. (Please note that this is not a verbatim copy of what was said in the e-mails because I'm changing details that would make no sense to the general public, and my memory of the exact wording may be clouded by my snarky attitude at this point.)

Dear BC,

Do you have the logos for ABC and XYZ trainings? I need them for some flyers I'm working on.

Thanks,
Janet

Dear Janet,

PDQ training flyers should not include the logos for ABC or XYZ. Why would you put those logos on those flyers? Those trainings are not funded by those entities.

What the h*ll are you thinking,
BC

Dearest BC,

I'm fully aware that PDQ training does not require the logos for ABC or XYZ. I did not say I was making a flyer for PDQ training. Nor did my short e-mail refer to PDQ in any way. I am doing a flyer for ABC training, which does require the ABC logo. I'm also making a flyer for XYZ training, which, last I checked, required the XYZ logo. Do you have these logos or not?

Thanks for always keeping me in line,
Janet

Dear Janet,

Here are those logos. Is that all you need?

BC

And on that note, I am off the clock for the weekend.

Kindness

2011-11-01T20:23:00.000-05:00

Thank you so much for all the kind and supportive comments you left on my last post. This has been a truly awful experience, but I have been struck by the kindness I've been shown by so many people since the whole thing started. Friends, family members, even complete strangers. The nurses in the ER were wonderful. My boss has been very sweet. R's co-workers actually showed up at the ER to check on me.

Believe it or not, even my dad and step-monster were somewhat humane when I told them the news. This is epic, because SM was pure evil when I called to share the "happy" news that I was pregnant. Her first comment was, "Are you getting married?" Followed with, "I know people have babies out of wedlock all the time now, but I just don't think it's right." Then she went on to lecture me about the importance of all the prenatal testing because it's just "cruel" to bring a child into the world with problems. She actually said, "What if it comes out and it can't hear?!" Like that was the worst possible thing she could fathom.

She's a nut job. But thankfully, when I spoke to Dad about the miscarriage, she stayed off the phone. And I felt awful for even telling them about the pregnancy, only to tell them a week later that I'd lost the babies. But Dad said, "Well, of course I'm sad. But mostly I'm worried about you. I want you to be okay." And I think that was the most fatherly thing he's ever said to me in all my 40 years.

Everyone else I've shared the news with has been unbelievably supportive. People who have gone through this before, and people who haven't and tell me they can't possibly imagine how awful it must be. I have an abundance of offers to call people day or night if I need to talk. Mostly people just kept saying they don't know what to do, but that they're willing to do whatever I need.

I wish I knew what I needed. I don't have a clue what would make me feel better. Only that I feel really awful right now. I guess what I need is mostly time to heal.

Physically I'm almost back to "normal" whatever that is. Being pregnant felt so completely abnormal to me, I can't believe that being not pregnant feels so wrong.

The One That Might be too Sad to Read

2011-10-30T17:29:00.000-05:00

Or, The Big Announcement That Never Happened

I'm sorry, this one's gonna be a downer, but I'm going ahead and writing it for three reasons:

1. I promised you a big announcement, and I'm not going to just leave you hanging.
2. It will probably be therapeutic for me to write about it.
3. I'm shocked at how many women have experienced this, and how little anyone talks about it, and even the lack of information out there on the subject. So I felt maybe I should share, and help somebody somewhere someday.

The big announcement was supposed to be that I was pregnant. Except that now I'm not anymore. Let's start at the beginning, just so you know the whole story.

About six weeks ago I realized that my period was going on two weeks late. I just turned 40, and I'd never been pregnant. I honestly thought I just couldn't get pregnant. I've had a lot of "female troubles" in my lifetime including horrible bad cramps every month, cysts on my ovaries I'd been hospitalized for, and ultimately surgery for fibroids about five years ago. R and I stopped using birth control following that surgery. I felt that the pill may have contributed to the fibroids (though all my doctors denied this possibility), and I'd been on it so many years, I just wanted that stuff out of my body.

So, all this combined, the many years with no birth control (and no pregnancy), the history of problems, I was sure I just couldn't get pregnant. And honestly, I was okay with that. I've never been a "biological clock is ticking" kind of gal. I love kids, obviously from my chosen profession. And I am happy to have kids in my life, both personally, and the kiddos I see professionally. But maybe two years ago I just accepted that "Mommy" was never a word anyone was gonna call me (except maybe dogs, but they don't speak English).

When my period was so late, I seriously thought I must be starting menopause. I started asking my mother all about her experiences, when it started, symptoms she had, etc... And she asked me a time or two, "Do you think you might be pregnant?" And I kept assuring her I most certainly was not. Finally she pushed me a bit more and said I should just take the test, and then I'd know. I think even she was more concerned that something was seriously wrong, rather than truly thinking I was having a baby. I mean, it honestly seemed more logical to me that I had a horrible tumor than that I might be pregnant.

You can imagine my complete shock when I peed on that stick, two weeks after my missed period, and it actually said positive. Even after the doctor confirmed it the next day, I was still disbelieving. R was quite calm, and quite happy. I just felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. Every morning for about two weeks, I woke up and wondered if it was all a dream. Until I walked into the kitchen and saw the prenatal vitamins on the counter.

Anyway, I didn't tell a lot of people right away. I think this is pretty common, to wait until the first trimester has passed, but given my age, I really just didn't want to make a lot of waves until we knew for sure everything was okay. I didn't tell my dad until last weekend, and I told my boss on Wednesday last week. At that point I was almost11 weeks along, and it seemed more real. And it was reaching the point where work plans were being made for spring and summer, when I planned to be out on maternity leave. I felt like I had to tell her.

After knowing about the pregnancy for several weeks, of course I had started to become attached. I'd started to make plans. I'd started pondering names, mentally decorating a nursery, looking at baby stuff every time I'd go shopping. I had a feeling it was a girl, from day one. I had dreams about baby girls, and I always referred to the baby as "she" or "her" without even thinking.

Then, driving home from a work trip on Thursday, I started spotting a little. I wasn't terribly concerned. I mean, I've read a lot of stuff since finding out I was pregnant. A lot of women spot, and it's usually okay. I'd had a tiring and stressful couple of days, and I figured that was all it was. But I still called my doctor's office when I got home. The on-call doctor said he didn't think it was serious, and that I should just rest for the evening, and call first thing in the morning for an appointment.

I woke up that morning, which was Friday, and I'd been bleeding a lot more. So when I called to make the appointment, the nurse said, "Honey, you need to go to the emergency room."

And then I went insane. I started crying. I called R at work and told him to come home NOW. But somehow I still felt like it would all be okay.

We went to the ER, and told the nurse and doctor the whole spiel. The doctor pulled in a little ultrasound machine, and he said he wasn't a radiologist, but he couldn't see anything in there. They took some blood, and they sent me down to see the "real" ultrasound technician for a "real" ultrasound. They aren't supposed to tell you anything. That's not their job. But we could see the screen, and we didn't see a baby. She finally showed us one picture and said that in this image, it looked to her like the embryo was about 6 weeks old. I was supposed to be 11 weeks pregnant. She asked how sure I was of my due date. I was sure. We knew this wasn't good.

They wheeled me back into my room. And then we waited. And we cried, and we held each other. And then we calmed down and turned on The Young and the Restless, and life felt normal for an hour.

The doctor finally came back in and explained everything to us. He said it was a weird situation. Which sounded about right for something in my life. It looked to the radiologist like the embryos stopped developing at 6 weeks. Yes, I meant that to be plural. I had been carrying twins. My dad is a twin. And the few people we'd told about the pregnancy teased us about twins running in families and "skipping a generation." But it was all in jest. When we found out we'd lost not one baby, but two, we started sobbing all over again.

Then it got weird. The doctor said that it looked, from the ultrasound, like one of the babies was definitely "on it's way out" but that the other one was still in place. There was no visible heartbeat in either, so that wasn't a good sign. BUT, on the off chance that maybe I was way off on my due dates, there was a very slim possibility that one was still okay. Plus, my hCG level wasn't anywhere expected. He said in a normal, eleven week pregnancy, especially one with twins, it should have been well over 100,000. In someone who was miscarrying, it should be closer to 1,000. Mine was over 9,000. Which wouldn't be so far off for a six week pregnancy with one baby.

So, at that point they were treating the situation as though I'd been carrying twins and was miscarrying one. Though they kept saying the chance was very slim, like 5%, that there was still one viable embryo, since the heartbeat wasn't detectable. My instructions were to wait 48 hours, then return for another blood test. If the hCG level had roughly doubled at that point, we'd know I was still pregnant. If it had gone down considerably, we'd know I had miscarried.

But that just made the whole thing more impossible to deal with, you know? I mean they had to send me home not really knowing whether I was still pregnant or not. And honestly, at that point, I wanted nothing more than a big glass of wine and an Ativan, with the promise of an Ambien to follow. And I still had to treat my body as though it were pregnant, just in case. Yet we knew, either way, we'd had twins, and at least one of them was gone. Which was horrible.

You can imagine how much sleep I got that night.

Well, the morning got worse. Because, up until that point, I'd been bleeding minimally and feeling like I had mild menstrual cramps. I woke up Saturday morning feeling like something was ripping out my insides. I took some Tylenol, because that's all I was allowed to take, and then I promptly started throwing up. I kept lying on the bed moaning, then running to the bathroom. I was sweating profusely, then I was freezing. R didn't know what to do with me. He asked repeatedly if I wanted to go to the ER again, and I kept saying no.

Until I couldn't take it any longer, and I told him yes, ER, NOW. At that point I felt like I would pay any amount of money and endure any kind of poking and prodding just to make the pain stop. I think I have a pretty high pain tolerance, and this was like nothing I've ever felt before.

Thankfully the ER wasn't busy, and they didn't do too much poking and prodding before they gave me Morphine and something for the nausea, and then I felt like a whole new woman.

I was hoping they might go ahead and do that blood test that day, since I was there. I mean, it seems logical to me that if they expected a significant change in 48 hours, there would be some amount of change in 24? I guess I just don't understand, because they kept telling me it didn't work that way, and no, they wouldn't do it that day.

They did another pelvic exam on me. And let me tell you, if you think those things aren't fun on a normal day, they seriously aren't fun when you're already in pain, and upset, and bleeding. And it's not your normal doctor.

Then they sent me home with prescriptions for Vicodin and some nausea thing. The meds made me pretty sleepy, and I spent the rest of the day on the couch watching stupid TV shows and dozing off and on. I wasn't very upset yesterday, partly because I was so happy to not be doubled over in pain anymore, and partly because the drugs just had me in a stupor, I'm sure.

Then today I went to get the blood drawn for the second hCG test. I asked the woman who did it whether they would tell me the number. I mean, I had the number from Friday, so if they would just give me the number, I would know my answer. Of course, they are supposed to send results to your doctor, they aren't allowed to diagnose, blah blah blah. Thank God the nurse who had helped me that first day in the ER was there, and she pulled me aside, gave me her phone number, and told me to call her in about two hours. She said, "I will tell you the number. I can't say any more than that, but I'll tell you the number if you call and ask for me." I'm sure she'd get in trouble for that, but whatever. I'm eternally grateful to her.

Anyway, we went home from the hospital for the third time in three days, and we watched the clock for two hours to pass. But honestly, I already knew the answer. Already my breasts had gone way down in size, and they no longer hurt. My tummy pooch was smaller than it had been. I wasn't peeing as often as I had been for the past two months. I just didn't feel pregnant anymore.

When we called, the nice woman told me the number was 1400. So, much lower than 9,000.

It was done for sure. No more two babies. No more one baby. Just me and R and Daisy and Rudy and Beavis.

Which is how my life had been for five years. Which was how I assumed my life would be for years to come. And I had been fine with that. Really.

Now I just feel like life has played some kind of cruel joke on me. Why put me through something like this?! Why throw my life into complete turmoil, then lead me to ultimately accept and even embrace the idea of being a mother, only to rip it away from me?

If the babies had stopped developing at six weeks, that means I spent five weeks thinking I was pregnant when I really wasn't. Or it had no chance of lasting anyway. And the cruelest thing is that at my first OB appointment, she had said I was about 8 weeks along. I'd taken the pregnancy tests two weeks prior to that. So the truth of the matter is, I didn't even know I was pregnant, until really, I wasn't anymore. And life just let me spend five weeks thinking, planning, starting to love this little baby. It seems so unfair.

Anyway, if you've read this far, thanks for sticking with me. If you've ever had this experience yourself, oh my god, I'm so sorry. I feel like I've been a horribly inadequate friend for not saying more, doing more, understanding more when people I know experienced a miscarriage. I just didn't know what it was really like.

One of my dearest friends (you know who you are) has experienced this more than once, and when we left the hospital that first day, all I wanted to do was go see her. I knew she'd "get it." I knew she'd understand. And while I'm so sorry she had to go through that pain, I'm so grateful that I have her in my life right now.

It's really cliche to say there's a reason for everything, but I do believe that's true. Hopefully someday soon I'll know the reason for all of this.

Update on the B*tchy Co-worker Situation

2011-10-22T17:13:00.000-05:00

I thought I should update you all on what has happened this week with the b*tchy co-worker disparaging my good reputation. I decided I had to talk to the boss about it. A lot of what I have heard has been from her telling so and so and this person telling me, and I didn't want to put anyone else in an awkward position.

But with what all was said directly to my face last week, I felt like I had enough to tell the boss without even having to mention anything I'd heard from a third party. So I kind of stewed all weekend and worried about the impending conversation until I could finally call her Monday.

And she was livid. Not at me. At Crazy B*tch. She assured me 100% that I am doing my job incredibly well, and that I'm correct, I was NOT supposed to do X, Y, or Z that CB has been telling everyone I was supposed to do. And then finally she said, "Will you be at that meeting tomorrow? Because you and I just need to have a talk."

So, we had said talk in person Tuesday. And she said that she's so sorry this is happening, but that CB is just this way, and to an extent, you just have to ignore it. Which is all well and good, but really?! I mean, had this in my previous job too. A very similar situation with a co-worker just making my life hell every chance she got. She did it to everyone, not just me. And the boss knew. Heck, she even treated the BOSS the same way. Yet it just went on.

And I had an extreme situation years ago with a principal who was a major jacka$$. Like to the extent that I complained to people clear up the chain of command. And I got the same sort of response. "Oh, yeah, he does this every year. Looks like you're the one he chose this year. Sorry." I really probably should have quit. But I had a contract. I wasn't going to break it. The powers that be assured me that he would not fire me, but he would do everything he could to try to make me quit. And I wasn't going to do that to my students. So I endured 9 months of torture.

WHY do employers just allow this sh*t to go on?? I mean, these people aren't irreplaceable. And we preach to high heaven about bullying in schools, yet we just roll over and accept it in the workplace?!

I told my current boss this week that I understand, CB is just that way, but that still, I would like for the matter to be addressed at our next staff meeting. Maybe not to point her out or say what has been happening, but to please clarify to EVERYONE present that X, Y, and Z are NOT part of my job, despite the widespread misunderstanding to the contrary. And she agreed to do that. It's supposed to happen on a conference call this coming Monday.

I felt a lot better that my boss is, in fact, quite happy with my work. And I'm glad to know I wasn't seriously misunderstanding my job duties. I'm also pleased that the matter will be addressed a bit more clearly with our entire staff.

Still, I just don't think this on the job bullying is okay.

In the Interest of Clear Communication

2011-10-16T18:00:00.000-05:00

Don't you hate it when people post on their blogs that they have a big announcement coming soon? And they won't tell you what the big announcement is? Yeah, I hate it too. ~~That's why I'm not going to do that~~.
So I hope you'll forgive me for doing that.

Life has been pretty crazy lately, and I just haven't been able to figure out what to say about it all here. So I haven't been posting at all. It's like, I can't post and NOT mention the big thing. But I can't write about the big thing just yet either.

So, in the meantime, let me just complain about a serious issue I'm having with one (or more?) of my co-workers either having some major misunderstanding about my job duties, or else just choosing to flat out LIE to others about my competence. She's going around telling anyone who'll listen that I'm supposed to be doing X, Y, and Z, and I'm not doing it, and she's having to do it instead, and I'm a big slacker and lazy and blah, blah, blah.

I've heard things here and there, but this week was the final straw. I heard several things in the span of a two-day meeting I had to attend. And she actually said one thing to my face, in front of a bunch of the other people she's been whining to. So, at least I had that opportunity to say to everyone involved, "You know, I don't know where you got the idea that I was supposed to do that, because no one has EVER told me that was my job. In fact, the last time you implied to me that it was my job, I asked our boss if she wanted me doing that, and she told me in no uncertain terms, NO."

Blank stares all around.

But it's still bugging me. And I think I'm going to have to approach my boss about the whole situation Monday. I'm not pointing fingers. It's just that I would appreciate some clear communication, and if she DOES want me doing X, Y, and Z, she needs to freakin' tell ME. And if she doesn't want me doing X, Y, and Z, I'd like her to tell everyone else!

And I hate confrontation. So I've been dreading the conversation all weekend. I hope you'll all wish me luck.

As for Miss Gossip Girl, to further add to my annoyance, this person is really big into her "Twelve Step Groups." And she talks about it all constantly. And I have some personal experience with these things, so I'd really like to point out to her that A. They are called....ANONYMOUS for a reason. Perhaps she shouldn't be spouting off all about her meetings all the time. And B. Really? The way she acts, clearly she has decided that about 7 "steps" do not apply to her.

I'm just sayin'.

Dining Furniture and Movies and More

2011-10-02T19:11:00.001-05:00

I've been hard at work (or play) accomplishming a few more things on my goals list. Here's a few more things I've done.

44. Buy new (or paint old?) dining furniture.

I bought new. And I love it. Here is a pic of the buffet area now:

I love it! It has a wine rack in the middle, and so far I only have three bottles in it. You can see a smidge of the table there too. But here's a better pic of the table, looking back toward the kitchen:

I think it looks so great with the tile backsplash we did last year. And the whole thing ties together now and looks intentional. Not like old crappy furniture that doesn't go stuck in. I'm actually not minding my blue countertops so much now.

Anyway, the furniture came from Nebraska Furniture Mart. The table actually has a leaf in it, so it would close up to be smaller if we wanted. But I'm kind of liking the look of the bigger table. It's tall, like bar height, and has the taller stools instead of regular chairs.

I really didn't like the buffet that "went with" the table. The sales guy was sort of all up in my business about not just buying the matching one, but seriously, it was ugly. Besides, I'm not really a "matchy matchy" kind of gal. I think what we picked out looks great. I finally explained that I really like a more "eclectic" style, and he calmed down.

It wasn't technically on my list, but after staining the bed, the wood curtain rods in the bedroom were really bothering me. So yesterday R helped me take them down, and I stained them to match:

Much better! Just don't look too closely at them. It's amazingly dificult to paint/stain a curtain rod well. I mean it's round. And it gets all drippy and crap. And you have to like set it down somewhere at some point, which then messes it up. Thankfully they're up high, and I'm very short, so I'm not looking too closely.

50. See at least three movies in the theater.

I know for some of you, that seems like an ungodly LOW number. But really, we just don't actually GO to movies much. It's expensive. Sometimes it's crowded. I have to be on somebody else's time schedule. I'd rather be home on my couch in my jammies watching a DVD most of the time. But sometimes there is something to say for truly having the theater experience. The big screen, the sound, the popcorn, hearing everyone else's reactions.

So, we've done 2/3 of this. We saw The Help a few weeks ago. I loved the book, and I was super excited to see the movie. It totally lived up to the book. Most movies don't, in my opinion, but this one completely did. Go see it!

Last night we saw 50/50. There was hardly anyone in the theater. Which I think is sad, because it was a great movie. I probably wouldn't have been as determined to see it, but I saw the people on Ellen, and learned that it's based on a true story, and despite being a "cancer movie" it's actually very funny and uplifting. R enjoyed it a lot too. So again, I say, go see it!

So, the year is 3 months from ending. And I've done 23 out of my 52 goals so far. I honestly don't think I'm going to finish everything (shocker). But I'm proud of all I have accomplished, and I know that I wouldn't have done nearly as much if I hadn't set out to do it all and made a conscious choice to participate in this project.

How are all of you doing so far?

It's Official: My Bed is Awesome

2011-09-19T17:20:00.000-05:00

Somehow I've managed to complete a whole new slew of Project 52 goals in the past couple weeks. So, here is what I've been up to:

12. Finish reading Committed: A Love Story.

This book was written by Elizabeth Gilbert, of Eat, Pray, Love fame. It's part memoir, part informational, and (SPOILER) details her journey from the end of EPL to finally getting married again. I didn't find it to be nearly as engrossing as EPL, but it was very interesting, and I enjoyed learning about how different cultures, and different historical periods in our own culture, have viewed marriage. For instance, I learned that historically, about 20% of women in America never have children. Always has been about the same percentage. I seriously thought the number was MUCH lower. I guess I'm not such an oddball freak after all.

15. Sort through books and post on half.com.

I guess this one is still in progress. I decided to take the books to a local store that purchases used books instead, but they only took about half, and didn't give me much at all for them. Whatever. I will probably just donate the rest to the Salvation Army.

38. Paint bed.

Okay, I didn't paint it. I refinished it. And it's awesome. I also completed:

39. Get new bedspread.

Done. Again. Because I wasn't satisfied with the first one. So, here is the big reveal:

and another, closer view...

We stripped the old oak finish off the bed, then stained it with Minwax stain in Ebony, which proved to be a disaster. I was going for an espresso type finish, like almost black, but not quite? And what I got was ummm...oak. With a bit darker look than I had before. So, I did some internet research, and I was led to Minwax Polyshades in Ebony. This product has a stain and polyurethane in one. You don't wipe it back off like you do a stain, so you end up with a much darker look. We just did one coat, because it came out the shade we wanted right away. It basically looks black, unless you look closer, or unless the light hits it a certain way, then you can still see some brown through, and you can totally still see the wood grain.

And, just FYI, if you want to try this product, it says you do not have to strip the existing finish (assuming you are going darker). We didn't strip every bit of the bed, because a lot of it doesn't show (like the inside of the rails). So, we tested this suggestion by going ahead and putting the Polyshades on the whole thing, even the parts we hadn't stripped. And it totally worked. Though it did look a bit different on the non-stripped parts. Like not quite as dark. I should clarify that we didn't even lightly sand those parts, and the product does suggest that step. So, it might have made it soak in a bit more.

Anyhoodle... It feels like a whole new bed, and it barely cost me $100 (and 8 days of my life!). But it really only needed to cost me like $20, if I hadn't wasted so much time, energy, and money on the stripping.

And the bedspread...on sale at Target, Simply Shabby Chic. Mine was less expensive than this at the time. Plus I have the "Red Card" so I saved an extra 5%. This didn't necessarily make R feel any better about my coming home with yet another comforter set. But I love this one. Really. And I'm not looking anymore. (seriously.) This is gorgeous and soft and cuddly, and the grey with the dark bed with my pinkish/lavenderish walls is now perfect. It's like I did the wrong color on the walls on purpose.

Oh, and this lamp fits in beautifully:

It's actually prettier in real life. The base is kind of pinkish, purplish glass. I fell in love with it at Target months ago, but I refused to pay what it cost. Then later I found the base on clearance and bought it. Then I found the shade on clearance at a different Target and bought it too. It was fate.

I've also painted the white parts of my dresser black, and I've hung a couple new pictures:

We also did:

40. Install new ceiling fan in bedroom.

Do you remember the old one?

Blech. Dark wood, brass ugliness. I gave it to someone on Freecycle. We got the new one at Menards, like six months ago.

So the bedroom is coming together, and I'm pretty happy with it. I still would like to "refinish" (which I now know means simply lightly sanding and painting the Minwax stuff over) the two wood curtain rods and our nightstands.

I've actually done a couple other things too, but I think I'll save them for next week's post. How are you doing with your goal(s) for 2011?

And One More Conversation

2011-09-13T17:15:00.000-05:00

Janet: Where did you go on your motorcycle ride?
R: Walla Walla, Washington.
J: I don't think you went to Walla Walla, Washington. That's a long ways from Missouri.
R: Well, something that started with a W.
J: Okaaaaayyyy...
R: Oh, and we went to Hernia.
J: Huh?! Hernia?!
R: Yeah, that town, Hernia? Right off of 13?
J: You mean HENRIETTA?!
R: Right, yeah, that's it.

Conversations at My House

2011-09-12T20:29:00.000-05:00

Janet: What is this brown slimy stuff on your bathroom counter?
R: Rust
J: You say that as though it were perfectly reasonable.
R: Well, there was a wet, rusty hammer laying there.
J: Again, you say that as though it were perfectly reasonable, to have a "wet, rusty hammer" lying on your bathroom sink.

Neighbor: Man, did you get yourself into the dog house?
R: No. Why?
N: Well, dude, your motorcycle and your car are in the driveway, and your bed is in the garage. I figure you done got yourself into trouble.

Janet: I sold the table and chairs today. But they didn't want the fifth chair that I'd painted black. So I figure we'll throw away the broken chair you have in the garage, and this can become your garage chair.
R: Okay.
J: Like as if that's a thing. A "garage chair."
R: Right.

The Week in Pictures

2011-09-08T19:53:00.000-05:00

Daisy patiently waited for Daddy to share his snack. (Yes, her patience was rewarded. He can't resist those eyes.)

Why does Beavis look so mad? Is it because he hates it when Daddy does this to his head?

Oh, no, that's right. It's because he decided to go into the garage and play in the motor oil. Which made Mama decide to put him in the sink and give him a bath. And he was not happy. And he clawed the bejeezus out of Mama. Which made her not happy. (And yes, he's totally fine now. In case you're wondering, motor oil will not irreparably harm your cat. Just in case that ever comes up.)

This is the bed in process of being stripped. Just FYI--if you've never in your life re-finished a piece of furniture? I totally recommend that you start with a king-sized sleigh bed. (Note the sarcasm font.) And if you estimate it to take you about three days? Double that. Or maybe triple. And get used to sleeping on the floor.

And this is R trying to mow the bed. Or move the bed with the mower. Or something. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

This is a glimpse of what the bed will look like. The bottom part, not the top. And another FYI--if you're wanting an "espresso" finish, do not try to stain your oak furniture using "ebony" stain. Because what you'll end up with is looking like your kid spilled black water color on your wood. However, you CAN use Minwax Polyshades in Ebony.

Oh, and ummm...if you're going that route? You don't need to spend three days stripping the original finish off. Because you can just put that right on top of what you've got. But do me a favor, and don't tell R that part? I don't want him to leave home.

This is Rudy with a purple duck. Now your week is complete.

A Decorating Fool

2011-09-02T22:27:00.000-05:00

"Fool" being the operative word.

I was visiting a friend's new house yesterday, and as she showed me a bedroom, she guiltily said, "I bought this comforter. Then I found one I liked better. So now I have two." Her husband looked at her like she was insane.

All I could say to her is, "That sounds like something I would do."

Because folks? I bought another comforter set this week. And my bed is sitting in my garage waiting for me to spend Labor Day weekend stripping and re-finishing it. And now I'm debating re-painting the bedroom. Yeah, I know, we just redecorated the bedroom.

Here's the thing though.

I do some crazy things when I decorate. I mean, things that might seem crazy to other people. But they always make perfect sense to me. I can see them in my brain ahead of time, and they end up looking exactly how I planned. And I love them. Always.

I painted my utility room orange once. And I loved it.

I designed and built a cover for my fireplace mantel. And I loved it.

I painted a vine around my kitchen once. And I loved it.

I created a custom tile backsplash in my kitchen last year. And I loved it.

I don't love the bedroom.

The color didn't come out like I'd envisioned. And I think it's because I was afraid I was going too dark, so I purposely went one shade lighter on the paint chip. And I shouldn't have. I should have trusted my first instincts. Now it's too light. It looks pink. It's supposed to be lavender.

And the purplish bedspread? I don't love it. It doesn't feel good. It looks okay. And the dog hair wipes off it easily. But I don't like to touch it.

So I bought a new one. And I think I love it. I got it at Target, but their website isn't cooperating, so here it is on Amazon (in the wrong size. I do not sleep in a twin bed with R. Trust me.) It's gorgeous, and perhaps more important, it feels soft.

As for the actual bed? It's an oak sleigh bed. I loved it once. Ten years ago. Now I hate it. And we've looked at every furniture store around for a new one, but I can't find one I truly love. And what I really hate about this one is the color. So, we've decided to strip it and re-stain it in an espresso color.

Except now I feel I need new nightstands. And maybe a new dresser.

I'm afraid R might leave home.

Goals: Books, Concerts, Organization!

2011-08-29T21:37:00.000-05:00

It's been way too long since I posted a Project 52 update, and thanks to my week of vacation, I actually accomplished a few things! I've decided that this job thing is officially getting in the way of me getting things done. (Well, other than silly little things like eating, having electricity, and making mortgage payments.)

13. Finish reading Women, Food, and God.

Done! I don't know why I put off finishing this book for so long. I got a lot out of it, and not in a religious sort of way. I wish it had a different name, because I didn't feel like it was about religion at all. Anyway, I will probably post more about that on my other blog someday, because it seems to fit there better.

15. Sort through books and post on half.com.

This one is in progress. I did the sorting. I'd really like to pull out a few more, but I have a hard time getting rid of books, ever. I'm thinking I'll actually try taking the books to a bookstore in town that buys used books, rather than deal with posting, shipping, and all that mess.

19. Paint bookshelf. and...
20. Organize work things on bookshelf.

Done and...done! Ta Da!

The big one was done already. The little one is what I just did, because I had too much stuff. I should have taken a "before" pic of the shelf, but I didn't think of that. It was dingy white and gross. Much better now!

22. Visit Whole Foods and buy some vegan meat alternatives.

Did this while my mom was visiting, and I wrote about it here.

42. Sort through glasses/mugs cabinet in kitchen.

Silly little thing, but it had been annoying me forever that we couldn't actually have every drinking vessel we owned in the cabinet at the same time. And there were a lot of random free mugs and cheap giveaway water bottles and such taking up space. I sorted all that out, filled a box to donate, and voila! (Yes, I have Quick Trip cups, and I kept them. Do not judge me.)

44. Paint or buy dining room furniture.

I can't believe it, but this one is done! Sort of. I don't physically have it. But we actually picked out a dining table and chairs set and a buffet this weekend. I love them! We have seriously looked in every furniture store within 90 miles of our house, some more than one time. And finally I fell in love with a table. Sadly, it won't be delivered until a week from Friday. So, pictures will come soon.

49. Attend at least one concert.

Keith Urban! Yay!

So, that's it. But that's a lot of stuff I think. See? The working thing gets in my way.

Not Soy Sauce and Other Ridiculousness

2011-08-23T20:54:00.000-05:00

Here are two stories that pretty much sum up my day:

I had a meeting today at a pretty high profile child care facility, and it started out with a tour. The guy giving the tour (to a group of 23 women, all professionals having tons of education and experience with children) started out with a long lecture about, "25 percent of all people have been sexually abused. This means 25 percent of our children have been sexually abused. And 25 percent of the teachers have been sexually abused. And certain behaviors are normal in preschool children, such as masturbati*n."

23 women looked around at each other like, "Did he seriously just say that to us?" I could hardly wait to get back to the meeting room and lean over to my friend and whisper, "Any meeting that starts out with the word masturbati*n is bound to be a great meeting."

Seriously?! I mean, what is wrong with this guy?! Was that necessary?

Telling R about it later, I wondered whether this dude went back to his office after the tour and thought to himself, "Holy sh*t! What did I just SAY to that group of women?"

R said, "No, I'm sure he actually wrote that speech the night before."

Anyway...story number two is less dramatic, but I feel equally significant.

I went to my usual dinner hang out (Hy-Vee) and ordered some Chinese food. And the server apparently had no freakin' clue what soy sauce is. Do people not typically ask for soy sauce with their Chinese food? Our conversation went like this:

Janet: Can I have some soy sauce please?
Server: Hot soy sauce?
Janet: No just regular soy sauce.
Server: Hot mustard?
Janet: No. Soy sauce.
Server: Hot soy sauce?
Janet: No. Just plain soy sauce.
Server: No have hot soy sauce.
Janet: NO. Not HOT soy sauce. Just soy sauce. Just regular soy sauce.
Server: Oh. Okay. Just soy sauce.
Janet gets to hotel room and opens bag to find...one packet of sweet and sour sauce.

Really?

Oh, and I have a third story. It's short.

On the way to this child care facility this morning, we saw a sign. I tried to take a picture of it, but got a light pole instead. The sign was in a grassy area, with benches, trees, and various recreational equipment. The sign said, "Non Park."

My co-worker asked, "If it isn't a park, what is it?" I have no clue.

I'll ponder this while I eat my non-soy sauce.

Put You In a Song All Over the World

2011-08-20T20:06:00.000-05:00

One of the hazards of attending Xanadu (the Broadway show, not the movie) and Keith Urban's concert back to back is that now I have this bizarre mash up of these two songs stuck in my head:

and...All Over the World by ELO (It won't let me embed it. I guess they think you should watch the movie or something. Which...you should. If you've seen it fewer than three times. Which R says he has.)

Anyway, my day is going something like:

"I wanna put you in my car
and drive
all over the woooooorllllld...
everybody got the wooooooord...
These songs are stuck in my head all day...
I like 'em both anywaaaaayyy...
Everybody gonna have a good time.
Everybody will shine until the daylight...
And when they see you on the street they'll say
HEY!
Ain't you the dog in that song?" (Sorry, I was singing to Daisy.)
"London, Hamburg, Paris, Rome, Rio Hong Kong, Tokyo!
I'm in love with this dooooooog!"

Anyway Keith Urban was fabulous. I really had no idea he would put on such a great show. He is amazing on the guitar, and he really does an incredible job engaging the audience. (I mean, he could have pulled me up onstage instead of those people he chose. At least I knew the words. But whatever.)

My Xanadu/Keith mash-up might not be such a far cry from reality. I wonder how many fans there last night knew about the duet Mr. Urban did with my dear friend, Olivia Newton-John?

The Cat Came Back

2011-08-19T13:19:00.000-05:00

You probably didn't even know he was gone. Neither did we for most of the time he was gone. Which probably makes me a bad kitty mommy.

We got home really late last night, because we went to see Xanadu at Starlight. Which was awesome, let me just say. You know I love Olivia. And I actually went with my friend EG all the way to New York City to see Xanadu on Broadway when it opened. So, to have it right here in Missouri? I had to go. You should go too, if you ever get the chance. Whether you love Olivia or not. The music is great, and it's funny.

Anyway...the cat. So, we got home late, and I took my Ambien, and we settled into bed. Me with the latest issue of Glamour magazine, and R with his laptop. Then the storm started. And the internet went out. And R got up to try to figure out what the deal was. And then the power went out. And I got up to find a lighter and light a candle or two.

And somewhere in my Ambien induced haze, R mentioned that, "A cat that looks like Beavis just ran across the neighbor's yard." So I decided to go outside with the flashlight and look for my cat. Except that it was storming like crazy. And I was drunk on Ambien. So that didn't go well.

I quickly came back inside, and we decided to just leave the garage open a few inches, so that hopefully Beavis would find his way back there. But I didn't sleep well. Partly because there was no electricity, so no fan, and I heard every little peep the dogs or the boyfriend made. Partly because it got freakin' HOT with no air conditioning. Partly because I was worried about Beavis.

We're still a bit confused about how he got out to begin with. We've started letting him in the garage sometimes. Which is silly. But it makes him happy. So we do it. So, I think I had let him in the garage, and then R came home from work and opened said garage. And somehow he didn't see the cat, and I forgot the cat was out there, and it all went downhill.

Anyway, I woke up this morning, and R had gone to work, but he'd left a note on the table saying, "The cat came back." And then I looked around and saw said cat. Looking like he'd been to hell and back. Poor kitty.

I went to the bathroom, and when I came back, Beavis was all cuddled up in the bed. So I crawled back in with him. He seemed quite happy to see me. I know I was happy to see him.

My Kind of People

2011-08-10T20:14:00.000-05:00

I'm out of town for work again, and I just got back from dinner with some great women. A lot of times when I'm on the road like this, I just want to be alone (hence the eating of Hy-vee cafeteria food in my hotel room). And generally I'd rather be alone than be with certain people no matter what my mood!

But this evening a colleague I actually really like (I know, shocking, right?) invited me to dinner with her and two of her co-workers. So, I accepted. And I actually had a really nice time. I told R, these are my kind of people.

We met for dinner at 5:15.
We ate.
We complained about work stuff.
One of them said, "Wow, I'm exhausted. I just want to go back to my room, put on my pajamas, and get online."
We left.

My kind of evening out!

Oh, except that I stopped at JC Penney on my way back to the hotel, because I had one of those $10 off a $10 or more purchase coupons. I love those things. It's like free money. You have to spend them.

R says he could usually save me $30 by just not letting me go to Penney's to spend the $10 coupon. But this time, I did good. I bought a $12 belt for $2. That's it.

Maybe I wasn't in the mood to shop much more after I heard this chick say, "Oh, you don't have this in a 0?! Well....I guesssss I'll try a 1."

She is not my kind of people.

In Other Motorcycle News...

2011-08-07T18:36:00.000-05:00

When your boyfriend comes home from a motorcycle ride dripping wet, and you ask him, "How was your ride?" and he responds, "Well, the hail really f*^&ing hurt," it's not a good sign.

At least when you're riding your motorcycle in a rain (or hail) storm, you don't have to worry about a broken air conditioner. :-)

And btw, R's mom's neighbor brought up the broken air conditioner thing again. And his mom's response? "Well, what really sucks is that the part is impossible to find."

More Causes for Life Examination

2011-08-05T20:01:00.000-05:00

If you are leaving Wal-mart, and you drop your cigarette in the parking lot...

and someone runs it over with their shopping cart...(not me, btw)

and you pick it up and continue smoking it...

perhaps you should re-examine your life.

If you're in the check out line and your cinnamon rolls explode out of the can, perhaps you should decide not to buy cinnamon rolls. Or, you could go clear back to the other end of the store to get another can. And hope you get it home before it explodes too.

And if you see a guy in Wal-mart and think to yourself, "That guy is nutso," then you later see the same guy being hauled away in handcuffs by three cops, you should consider yourself a pretty good judge of character.

The Big Questions

2011-08-03T20:03:00.000-05:00

I'm on the road for work again this week. The first of three weeks I'll have to be away. Just two days each week, but still.

I'm sitting in a hotel room eating my Chinese food from Hy-Vee, and there's nothing on TV, so I was watching QVC.

I think that if you need to make "three easy payments" on your shampoo, perhaps you need to re-examine your finances. Or your life.

Or maybe if you're sitting alone in a hotel room eating Chinese food from a grocery store and watching QVC, you need to re-examine your life?

Nah.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find

2011-07-31T18:16:00.000-05:00

Or maybe it's a good woman that's hard to find.

All I know is that we seem to have a lot of couples in our life right now going through a lot of deep sh*t, and it makes me very grateful for what R and I have.

We know one couple where the guy started drinking like a fish and eventually got arrested for drunk driving. He went to rehab for a while, but is still facing his trial and isn't sure whether he'll have to serve time or not.

I know one woman who regularly refers to her spouse as "my worthless husband."

R has a friend whose wife suddenly texted R with, "Is there a way I can get a hold of old texts, e-mails, chats, and voicemails to see what my husband has been doing?"

Then the next morning the husband texted R, "Is there a way I can be sure my wife can't see my old texts, e-mails, chats, and voicemails?"

AAGGGGHHHH!

Thankfully, R chose to ignore both texts. We've both been put in that position before, where one spouse was cheating and confided in us, and put us in the middle of all their mess. It didn't end well, and we won't make that mistake again.

We are friends with another couple where the guy refuses to help around the house, to the point that the wife decided to write up a "chore chart" listing what all needs to be done around the house, how often it needs to be done, and who shall be in charge of doing it. The guy's response? Well, at first, he said, "Fine. Just make sure it's equal."

Oh yes he did. Said to a mother of two young children who works full time, "Just make sure it's equal."

So she did.

And they stuck to the chart for about two days, and they're now fighting over it all again.

We know another couple where the husband refuses to help around the house to the point that the wife has made up a list of things that need to be done, and she pays other people to do them. Stuff like hanging a shelf. They are currently on a marital plan of living in different states and seeing each other once a month.

I know another woman whose man left her for some "skanky bar ho" and eventually married the bar ho. Then he started cheating on the bar ho with my friend (despite much advice against her participation in this fiasco). Now the man has left the bar ho and is trying to make it work with my friend again.

Its a mess, I tell you! And you know, R and I have both been through our share of heartbreak. A failed marriage apiece. A couple break ups with one another over the years. Online dating, meeting other men and women with varying levels of drug addiction, insanity, and dysfunction.

But to get to where we are now? I'd do it all again. In a heartbeat.

We both approach our relationship with the philosophy that we've been without each other. And it sucked. And with each other is better.

He's a good man, and I know it.

I'm a good woman, and he knows it.

We love and respect each other. And we try to keep each other happy. That doesn't mean we never fight. And that doesn't mean we love all the same things and spend every moment together. We disagree. We go our separate ways to enjoy activities with our own friends sometimes.

But we come back together happy to be in each other's company. Happy to be in each other's lives. Happy to have someone we trust and respect and who still makes our heart skip a beat once in a while.

If you've got a good man, take my advice, and appreciate him. And if you don't have a good man, be patient. They are out there. And when you find one, it's totally worth the wait.

And This is Why I Like Puppies Better than People

2011-07-26T17:31:00.000-05:00

You want to hear about my day so far?

Well, I had to go visit a child care center and kick them out of our program. So that was awesome. NOT.

It actually didn't go as badly as it might have, but still, not a pleasant thing to have to deal with. I was dreading it all night last night, and all day today until it was over.

Then when I got home, I had an e-mail that had been sent to me at 9:45 last night informing me that I needed to pick up some materials from someone 45 minutes away from me and mail them, overnight, so that they'd be where they needed to be tomorrow morning. So....apparently I'm supposed to check my work e-mail at 10:00 each night. Or at the very least, check it before I leave early in the morning for scheduled appointments. In case I need to do some emergency overnighting of crap.

Oh, and the person I was to get this stuff from would have had the stuff at home, not at work. So, like, I would have needed to let her know that I was picking it up today sometime before...today. I let the powers that be know that, sorry, this magical overnighting of stuff wasn't gonna happen. Unless they wanted to pay me mileage and overtime to personally drive it to its destination tonight.

Then I got a phone call from a teacher frantically yelling at me that, "I need to see you NOW!" This person is almost an hour away from me, btw. I tried to talk her down, explaining that I'm nowhere near her town at this particular moment, and is there perhaps something I could do for her over the phone? She was having none of it and was about to have a major conniption.

Anyway, I got her to breathe and explain, and she has every right to be upset, but sadly, there is little I can do for her. Except to tell her that I've worked for a$$holes myself, and it sucks, but she'll survive, and I've also been fired before myself, and it sucks, but she'll survive that too, if it happens. I did.

Then the e-mail fun continued with powers that be saying they aren't giving us full credit for work we did, because the trainer (who was fired from her company following our training, just as an aside...) turned in a syllabus saying the training was 10 hours, when it was actually 12. So, two hours time, times 50 people in attendance? 100 hours of training we aren't getting credit for. Because someone else screwed up (and has been fired from her employer, so it's clear it was HER fault, not ours).

At that point, I spoke to a co-worker who ordered me to open a glass of wine and calm down.

I haven't done that yet. But I glanced over at Daisy sleeping peacefully on the couch next to me, and I was reminded of why I like most dogs better than I like most people.

At any rate, I'm happy to have a job at all, and I'm glad I can work from home sometimes. Mostly, I'm lucky to have co-workers like these:

They don't often make unreasonable demands of me, and they rarely send me e-mails that upset me.

And This is Why I Love My Boyfriend

2011-07-25T17:25:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I have to remind myself. But generally, he's a pretty good guy, and I do adore him. Mostly because he makes me laugh more than anyone else in the world.

Yesterday he was leaving his mom's house on his motorcycle, and the neighbor lady made some comment to him about it being hot. And he answered, "Yes, and I need to hurry up and get home before it gets hotter because the air conditioner on this thing doesn't work."

A few hours later, he was home, and he got a phone call from his mom. She was laughing so hard, she could hardly talk. And she said that the neighbor lady came over to talk to her, and she commented, "I hope your son gets his air conditioner fixed soon."

And his mom was like, "Huh?"

So the woman told her about the brief conversation, finishing with, "When it's 104 degrees, you don't want to be riding around on a motorcycle with a broken air conditioner." Dead serious.

And R's mom tried not to laugh until she got inside and called R. And he cracked up to the point he was crying and almost couldn't breathe. I swear he was actually drooling at one point.

He often makes funny comments like this one, and it's part of why I love him. But the funniest part of all was watching him laughing so hard.

Dream Analysis, Or am I Really Asleep?

2011-07-18T17:00:00.002-05:00

We had sort of an odd morning around our household. You know I'm not a morning person anyway, especially Monday mornings. But I woke up with cramps, and I just couldn't make myself get out of bed. I hit the snooze three times before finally giving into the fact that I was just going to "e-mail in sick" for a couple hours.

I went back to bed, and proceeded to have strange mixed up dreams in which I truly thought I was awake. I hate it when that happens. It leaves me strangely confused when I finally do wake up.

And it was a dream with a re-occurring theme I often have, in which I'm trying desperately to take a shower, and various powers that be aren't letting me. I've done all kinds of research on what this might signify, and I really haven't been able to attach a meaningful message to the dream. I've read that showers can signify forgiveness, or new beginnings, blah blah blah. But what does it mean when someone or something is keeping one from showering?

And it's always something different that's keeping me from my task. It's never the same situation. At all. Except that in general I'm always annoyed because I need to get ready to go somewhere or do something, and I'm afraid I'll be late. Maybe that is the point of the dream, and it doesn't truly have anything to do with showering?

Anyway, this time, the problem was that my bathroom was filled with crazy random stuff. And I knew that R's mom had done it. There was so much crap in the bathroom that I couldn't get to the shower to take my shower. And I finally started just dragging all the stuff out and piling it in the living room. All the while, I was ranting to R about why on earth his mom thought I needed all this stuff in my bathroom.

There were four trash cans. I distinctly remember that. And I remember yelling to him, "FOUR trash cans?! WHY did she think I needed FOUR trash cans?!"

And furry green covers all over the toilet. Like on the tank, on the lid, on the seat. All covered with fuzzy green crap. I yanked them all out, and threw them in the living room.

Then I realized she had replaced all my artwork with various artistic representations of ants. ANTS. And I was livid about this as well. "WHY did she think I wanted artwork covered with ANTS?!" as I threw it all in the other room.

But the last straw was the tepee.

"A TEPEE?! Seriously?! Why did she think I needed an actual tepee in my bathroom?!" I screamed at R as I drug it out.

So does any of this mean anything to any of you? Apparently I need serious help.

Then once I did wake up, and actually got in the shower (without encountering tepees, ants, or green fuzzy items) I was in this weird fog where I kept questioning whether I truly was awake and in the shower or not. My brain went on this weird tangent of wondering what is a dream and what is real, and what could I do to be sure I truly was awake?

At that point I had the thought that if I cut myself shaving, I would know I was awake. If I felt the cut. And honestly, I didn't purposely do it, but as soon as I had the thought, I cut myself. And then I still wasn't sure I was really awake.

So when I got out of the bathroom, I called R. Because I thought, if I can call him, and have a normal conversation with him, I'll know I'm awake.

I called, and it was crazy loud wherever he was. Sounded like dogs barking. And there should not be dogs where he should have been. So I asked where he was, and he said, "The pawn shop." Which made me think for sure, I was asleep and dreaming.

I asked what he was doing at the pawn shop, and he said, "Fixing a computer. And then I'm coming home." Which made no sense, as R does not work for the pawn shop. Nor would he typically be coming home at 11:00 in the morning.

Anyway, he did come home, because he was sick. Like really sick. He rarely gets sick, but when he does it, he does it up good. He's asleep on the couch now.

I think. Maybe I'm the one asleep. How can one ever be sure?

A Domain By Any Other Name...

2011-07-13T21:25:00.000-05:00

I'd just like to update everyone that I did send a response to the guy who owns stuffithinkabout.com asking whether perhaps he has my blog confused with someone else's. He did. He wrote me back a very nice response explaining, and I have to say, I too am diametrically opposed to everything this other blogger had to say. From his "my favorite guns" column to his rants against all things liberal.

Anyway, the domain owner still declined my offer to purchase the domain, as he has plans to do something with it. So, I'm asking you, dear readers, which of these domains is most appropriate for my blog? Which rolls off the typing fingers most easily?

I'm considering:
janetthinks.com
stuff-i-think-about.com
stuffithinkaboutblog.com

or....you have a better idea?

Diametrically Opposed

2011-07-12T17:23:00.018-05:00

I've been slacking a little on my Project 52 goals. And this week, Karen posted about how it's okay to re-evaluate our goals, and even change some of them along the way. Because how could one possibly know back in January what one's life was going to be like in July?

I think she's right. However, I'm not changing any of my goals just yet. I purposely didn't set any goals that were ongoing, because I didn't want to be out of the game in February because of some "Read six books per month" goal I'd already hosed up. So I do think that all of mine are potentially still possible.

Potentially.

Anyway, goal #34 on my list is, "Transfer blog(s) to my own domain(s)." And that's the one that's on my mind today. Because, see, somebody already owns the domain stuffithinkabout.com. Somebody who has owned it for multiple years, and is doing nothing with it.

R tells me that people do this a lot, buy up domain names with no intention of using them, just so nobody else can have them. Or so they can make a profit by selling them later.

But other times, people just buy the name then never get around to using it, and they're willing to give it up when someone else wants it. Hoping this was my situation, I e-mailed the guy and plead my case. His ownership of the domain expires this month, and since he's done nothing with it, I thought he might play nice and let me have it, rather than renewing.

Wrong.

I got a response today, and I'm sharing a small part of it with you.

"Be forewarned: your offer will have to embody the ultimate spirit of capitalistic profit (for me), to convince me it's worth assisting in any way in the distribution of viewpoints so diametrically opposed to my own."

So, the guy wants to make money. Which I can actually respect. I'm not going to give him my money, mind you. I know that it costs maybe $11 to buy a domain. And I've been hard pressed to make more than $11 profit off this blog in three years. It's not worth it to me to pay him a "capitalistic profit" to own the domain.

The part that gets me is that he is "diametrically opposed" to my viewpoints. What, pray tell, viewpoints of mine exactly is he so against?

Does he hate dogs?
Is he against education?
Maybe he dislikes children with an intense passion?
Or is it books? Does he abhor reading to the extent that he feels the need to criticize my content?
Perhaps it's home improvement he despises. Damn people always wanting their houses to look nice!
Maybe he has an affinity for my crazy co-workers, and he's incensed that I write about their foibles.

I think it's probably more likely that he's got me confused with some other "Stuff I Think About." There are several of them out there. None as clever and well-written as this one, of course.

Anyway, my point is, if I can't (or won't) pay the price to own the domain I want, I'd like to ask my readers what you think would be an appropriate domain for this blog. I already own janetthinks.com. So I could use that. I also already own stuff-i-think-about.com. Are the hyphens too unwieldy? Or I could go for stuffithinkaboutblog.com? Or I could go with some .net, .biz, or whatever?

Thoughts?

And please, do share with me anything I've written with which you are "diametrically opposed." I mean, if you want the world to know you hate cats, gardening, preschool, or logic.

The Land of the Living

2011-07-10T15:58:00.000-05:00

We just finished up having R's nine-year-old daughter visit for two weeks, and I have to say, I don't know how you full time parents do it! I am completely exhausted. I don't think I realized quite how exhausted I was until after she left.

I didn't realize how quiet my house could be. Or how nice it is to get out of the shower and just walk to the bedroom to get dressed. Or how often I choose to eat cookie dough for supper. In front of the television. Watching an inappropriate for a nine-year-old show.

I have to admit, I'm having a new respect for my step-mother. Perhaps she wasn't such an evil woman after all. Maybe she's just horribly misunderstood. It's hard to have someone else's child come into your life and your home. It's hard to have your schedule turned upside down. It's hard to have to be on every single moment you're awake. It's hard to stay awake after the kid finally goes to sleep. It's hard to maintain a close relationship with the child's father when you never have a moment to be alone with the child's father.

Anyway, our lives are getting back to normal. I got a massage Friday. My massage therapist said my body felt like concrete. I floated in the pool for a while today. It was really quiet. Really relaxing. Really hot.

I've debated telling the boss I'm taking Monday off. Just to continue my recovery. But since I work at home, I guess I'll just work. It'll still be quiet here.

Even the dogs are exhausted.

Cultural Experiences to Which We've Exposed R's Daughter

2011-07-01T17:13:00.001-05:00

We've had R's daughter, S, staying with us some this summer. It's been a bit of a change for me. She's a wonderful kid, but she's almost exactly the opposite of me.

Maybe that's not entirely true. We do enjoy many of the same activities. I just enjoy them in smaller doses and more quietly than she does. Mostly our conflicts come from our differing energy levels. As I'm winding down, getting tired, wanting to rest, needing to be alone, she becomes clingy, shouty, and flails about more.

Anyway, R had the brilliant idea to take her to Kansas City one evening this week. He had an errand to run, and we both decided this would be a fun "family" outing for us. Here's how it went:

1. We took S with us to meet a potentially gay and definitely crazy man who lived down on Troost and was selling motorcycle pipes on Craig's List. What part of that doesn't seem like a good plan?

2. Said guy had two big dogs. We are all dog people. So we thought nothing of this and walked right into the yard, petted the dogs, and rang the bell. Crazy/Maybe Gay Guy was shocked that his "watchdogs" let us in. So, we've exposed her to potentially dangerous dogs. Score two for the "parents."

3. We took her into a sketchy convenience store to use a filthy bathroom. There we saw a very large woman almost wearing a very small tank top. We were all scarred by that. Mentally, if not actually physically, assaulted by the rogue breasts.

4. Then we got hungry, and decided to head to the Plaza to eat. This is a good idea, no? I mean the Plaza is a classy place. People who have money go there. At least I assume so based upon the prices. We parked the car and walked to the restaurant while passing by a drunk/high dude being wrestled to the ground by six cops. Four points for good parenting!

5. We entered the ~~bar~~ restaurant and instantly decided it was too loud and crazy, and we should eat outside. Even though it was 95 degrees. And the criminal guy was being arrested outside. And everyone was smoking outside, since you can't smoke in restaurants in KC.

6. We all nearly got stung by a bee.

7. R killed the bee. By way of smashing it with his napkin and drowning it with an entire Mr. Pibb and most of a Diet Coke. Thankfully, the spilled soda did not soil the black mini-dresses of the cranky women at the table next to us drinking, smoking, and complaining loudly about their various inappropriate experiences with men. But one of them appeared to be from another country. So, we figure we have exposed S now to that culture. Winning!

8. From out outdoor vantage point, S had a super view of the drunk/high/vagrant/criminal guy being loaded into the paddy wagon. So, that was fun, and educational! Eight points!

9. We left the restaurant at nearly 9:00, on a work/day camp night. And had an hour drive home. Except that we had to stop and buy S a new swimsuit before we could go home. So we went to Target at closing time and tried on swimsuits. And bought a nine-year old a pink, black, and white zebra print bikini. Yay us!

10. We arrived home finally around 11:00. And the child hadn't bathed for two days. But she'd been swimming a lot. So there was that. And we sent her to bed without a bath. I'm sure she was asleep by midnight.

And there you have it! A perfect score!

And This is Why I Take Medication

2011-06-29T16:11:00.000-05:00

I'm involved with a work project that required me to visit 10 teachers in their classrooms four times throughout the last few months. Seems simple enough, right? Wrong.

The original plan was four visits. Then it became three visits, with a group meeting taking the place of the fourth visit. So, I scheduled this meeting, secured a location, and notified all of the teachers.

Then I was told that no, we weren't doing the group meeting. I did, in fact, need to visit everyone a fourth time. So I cancelled the meeting room and everything else I'd planned, and instead, scheduled the last visit with each teacher.

Then, the plan magically changed to five visits. So, as I visited each of these teachers the fourth time, I told them, hey guess what! You get to deal with me again! (Some were excited, and some, not so much.) The fifth visits were scheduled, and I went about my business.

Then the plan changed back to four.

I'm not even kidding. And since I know how these people operate, I actually didn't cancel my fifth visits right away. I sat on this information for about a week and a half or so. Until yesterday.

I contacted everyone yesterday and let them know, sorry, miscommunication in our ranks, and there will not, in fact, be a fifth visit. You are finished with me (and oh, how I am so finished with you).

And then...(you know where this is going don't you? Because you're not new here.)

I got a phone call today telling me the fifth visits are back on.

I could scream. But then, that's what the medication is for, right?

Book Review: A Discovery of Witches

2011-06-24T17:21:00.000-05:00

My second book review for BlogHer is now live! This time I read and reviewed A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness and I really liked it. Here's a taste of my review:

As an adult who shamelessly enjoyed reading the entire Harry Potter series and the entire Twilight series, I suspected I would enjoy reading Deborah Harkness's novel, A Discovery of Witches. Perhaps there is a hint of witch in me, with the gift of precognition, because I was right. I found the book to be a hybrid of the wizarding world of Hogwarts and the dark and dangerous romance of Forks, only it was written for grown ups.

I hope you'll visit the Blog Her Book Club and read the whole thing! I might put a hex on you if you don't! (Ask R. I tried to hex him last night. But he deserved it.)

Others Need Not Lose for You to Win

2011-06-21T20:28:00.000-05:00

That's my fortune from my dinner tonight. I decided that whatever my fortune said, that would be the title of my blog post.

I'm out of town for work. R asked if I was going out to the bars drinking and dancing with the girls.

Ummm...no.

I got up at 5:30 this morning and left the house by 6:30. I drove an hour and a half to get here, then sat in a boring meeting all day. And tomorrow I get to do it all again. Only in reverse.

Besides, he's met me, right? Does this sound like something I would do?

Okay, then. Moving on.

So, what did I do?

Well, see, the problem all started with the white pants. I brought white pants to wear tomorrow. Which might seem like a bad idea in general. But I really like the pants. And when else am I gonna wear white pants? On my work from home days with dogs to waller them all up? On my days when I'm out visiting centers and hanging with children? When I run to Wal-mart to fight the crazy people?

See? Makes perfect sense for me to bring the white pants to wear on this trip. Except that somehow my makeup bag rubbed off on them. Not like something leaked, or whatever, but the blue print of my bag is now on my pants. Ack!

So I had to go shopping. Right?

I first went to the special bra store where I had my professional bra fitting. And this time I bought not a 38 H, but a 36 H. Because the woman said to me, "Oh no. You are not a 38. You are teeny tiny." And I said to the woman, "Yes, thank you, I'll take six." (And I know, they don't sell pants at the bra store. But it was on the way.)

And then I went to JC Penney and bought a pair of grey capris and two tops. Because the top I brought along to wear with the white pants wasn't gonna go with grey capris. (Shhhhh....I know...I pay attention to Stacy and Clinton...but don't tell R that white and grey are both neutrals and go with everything.)

With tomorrow's outfit securely in my possession, I went to my favorite restaurant in this town. Hy-Vee.

I'm serious. Maybe that's pathetic. But my favorite dinner destination when I'm on the road is my comfy, quiet hotel room, all by myself. And you can get any kind of food you want at the Hy-Vee buffet. It's awesome.

So I got me some fried rice, and beef and broccoli, and I ate out all the broccoli. Because that's how I roll.

The moral of the story is, "Others need not lose for you to win, but packing white pants is a bad idea. Unless you need an excuse to shop."

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

2011-06-15T18:36:00.000-05:00

What does that even mean? I've heard people say that, but I don't know what it means. Anyway...just thought I'd let you know that if you entered the $100 Visa Gift Card giveaway on my Reviews Blog, the winner has been announced! If it was you...yay you! And please buy your puppy a nice chew toy from me.

If it wasn't you...I still have good news!

I just found out that you have a chance to win the book I reviewed for my first Blog Her Book Review: A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz PLUS a copy of Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition of, Jane Austen: The Complete Novels. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post saying why you love (or hate) Jane Austen.

Good luck!

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

2011-06-14T17:57:00.002-05:00

I'm kind of a believer in that whole "Secret" thing of visualizing what you truly want in life, and that what you put out into the Universe really does come back to you, sometimes in mysterious ways. But this was a bit bizarre.

See, we haven't bought dog food in this house for months. Somehow various consumer research/survey/sample companies I'm affiliated with managed to send me dog food to try back to back, one of them 50 lbs. (And before you ask, I am careful to mix new food into their old food gradually, and watch for any signs of tummy irritation and so on. But seriously, you know Rudy eats towels, right? And Daisy eats June bugs? So I'm not too awfully concerned about them having issues over dog food. And it has always been high quality dog food we've sampled.)

Anyway...we were getting low on dog food. And I was more than a bit irritated at the prospect of having to actually BUY dog food. I mean, look at these faces:

Surely some dog food company out there needs a furry little spokesmodel? And wants to subsidize our family kibble fund?

So, for a week or so, each time I've fed the dogs, I've half jokingly said, "Somebody needs to hurry up and send us some more free dog food."

Then today the mail carrier knocked on my door. "You have a package, and it's kind of big," she tells me. Could it be?!

Yep. Twenty pound bag of dog food. I'm supposed to use it and answer a survey about it. It's our usual brand.

I nearly fell over.

I'm going to have to be more careful what I ask of the Universe!

OCD? Or Just Good Sense?

2011-06-10T17:36:00.000-05:00

I've determined today that one thing that makes me the most insane is when my stuff isn't in the same location and same general state of affairs as when I'd left it. I'm trying to accept the fact that when one lives with another human being (or two) one of those other people might, upon occasion, move some of my stuff. But honestly, it makes me want to scream like a banshee every time it happens.

It just totally messes with my sense of all that's right and good in the world when I expect my computer to be where I left it, and it's off somewhere else, and I'm locked out of it because someone else has logged in. Or when I come home planning to enjoy a nice Reese's cup, and they have all been eaten. It's like my little brain just can't process this. And I go nuts.

The other day I found my ipod lying on some random table where I would never have even had it, let alone have left it. Covered in sticky finger prints, and in the middle of some crazy playlist I swear I didn't even create, let alone had been listening to last time I used the ipod. (Oh, and I feel the need to inform you that everyone else who lives in this house has his or her own ipod. And laptop. But whatever.) So, I casually asked whomever was listening, "How did this happen?"

"I don't know."

"It wasn't me."

"I didn't touch it."

I tried not to scream.

Today I went outside to water my flowers. Which I shouldn't have to do, because we've been promised massive rain for the past two days, and yet the sun is blazing. And one of my poor flowers was just whacked off at the base. The "body" was in three pieces lying beside the pot. So, again, I casually ask, "Anyone know what's going on with the flower here?"

"I don't know."

"It wasn't me."

"I didn't touch it."

I left Wednesday night to go to yoga. Figured I'd allow R and his daughter to have some quality bonding time (and me to chill the f*ck out). I came home to find every light in the house on. The humans, and half the dog population of the house, were in the pool. Trash all over the kitchen table. Clothes on the floor. Of more than one room. Sunglasses in the bathroom. Dirty dishes on the counter.

And I'm just speechless. I mean, I was gone all of 90 minutes! And they aren't even IN here. They're outside!

So I ask again, "What's been going on in here? Where did this trash come from? Who left the lights on?"

"I don't know."

"It wasn't me."

"I didn't touch it."

I know I'm a bit of a perfectionist. And I like my house to be just so. And I get a little crazy when it's not. But you know, I'm sorry, some things are just non-negotiable. Like my general rule that, "Trash does not belong anywhere except in the trash can." Or the rule that, "Turds do not belong in the house." It's right up there with my rule that, "We pay the electric bill on or before the due date." Because I like, you know, electricity. Preferably in a house with no turds or random trash strewn about.

I don't think that means I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I think it's just plain good sense.

And if I catch this creature that listens to Alan Jackson on my ipod after eating popsicles while stripping off his clothes, strewing (is that a word? Spellcheck is telling me it is.) trash about the house, and whacking my flowers into bits, we're gonna have words.

Sell, Consign, or Donate?

2011-06-08T17:15:00.003-05:00

I took my jewelry, and a few other items to the local consignment shop today. I'm always a bit insulted at the stuff they won't take. I mean, I obviously don't want the stuff, but it's good stuff. Shouldn't they want to take it and try to sell it? And then I look around at the stuff they are selling, and think how much better my own stuff is. Grrrrr...

Anyway, they took 10 of my pieces of jewelry, all of the clothes I brought (which wasn't a lot, because they are so picky, I sorted very carefully), and one picture frame. The rest, they unceremoniously handed back to me.

I debated for a second whether to keep it, try to sell it on eBay, or just donate it. And then I swiftly drove to the Salvation Army and donated it all.

It felt good to get rid of it all. I think my next task will be to sort through my books. One of the book stores in town will purchase used books to re-sell. They are quite picky also though, so I'm not terribly optimistic about my chances. I may try to put some of them on Half.com. Anybody had any luck with that?

I used to be big on garage sales. And anything I had to get rid of that seemed mildly useful, I would put in a box for a future garage sale. And then I'd work and sweat for days on end to prepare for the sale. Then I'd spend a weekend sitting in my garage working the sale. And then I'd make $90 for my week's work, declare it all a waste of time, and pack it all back up again.

But I did this every year. Sometimes twice a year. Until I discovered the beauty of the tax deduction.

Now I figure, if I donate my stuff, it's all gone. Immediately. Which is awesome.

Also, I've done the math. You can deduct from your taxable income the amount the charity would sell your item for. Here is a value guide for donations from Salvation Army. So, at a garage sale, I might sell a top for a dollar. But they will let you deduct between $3 and $14 from your taxable income for donating it. Sooo...if you are in say a 20% tax bracket, this would mean a tax savings of 60 cents to $2.80. (This is assuming, of course, that you itemize your deductions. If you take the standard deduction, this won't help you.)

And you get this tax deduction amount for every item you donate. Or you can spend a week of your life having a garage sale and only selling 1/4 of your stuff.

I did eBay for a few years. It seemed like the best return on the investment of my time back then, but anymore, not so much. I've had very little luck selling on eBay in the last couple years.

So, donating is what I choose now. If the consignment shop won't take my item. Because they might sell my shirt for $8 and pay me $3 of that. So, it's the truly best rate of return for my time.

What do you do with stuff you no longer want?

Yes, I'm Still Doing Project 52

2011-06-06T08:30:00.005-05:00

It has been way too long since I've posted a Project 52 update. Mainly because I'm having this pesky problem where new projects I think up seem more pressing, and like a lot more fun, than things I wrote down six months ago.

Like I had the whole basement fiasco, which created a ton of work, none of which was on my list. And this weekend I made a cover for my outdoor swing cushion (more on that to come!), which I didn't even realize was falling apart way back in December. Plus spring and summer bring all sorts of yardwork, flower planting, pool maintenance, and so on.

Anyway, I did actually accomplish a couple things on my list this week, so I thought I'd share.

16. Sort through closets and donate at least 10 items to Salvation Army. DONE!
The whole basement thing made us sort through a lot of stuff downstairs, and I ended up with quite a pile needing to be donated, so I finally took that all this week. Got my receipt for tax purposes and everything. The sad part is, my closet is still way overstuffed. Like 10 things didn't begin to make a difference. So, I'm marking this goal done, but seriously, I need to sort through again and be ruthless.

29. Get credit card paid off. DONE!
This is major. Major. I mean, paying off a credit card is always awesome. But this one is symbolic for R and I. See, the reason there was a balance on the card to begin with is, years ago we made the mistake of purchasing a car and putting it on a credit card. I'm telling you, do not do this. EVER. And then, to make matters worse, we sold the car. And still had thousands of dollars left to pay on the credit card. So, we've been paying a credit card payment for a car that we didn't even own. Like for years. It has been a serious thorn in my side, cause of resentment, general bane of my existence, and now it's PAID! Yippeeee!!

35. Sort through jewelry and sell or donate at least 5 items. in progress
This seems anticlimactic after the credit card goal. But I'm going in their numerical order here. Anyway, I did sort through my jewelry, and actually sorted way more than 5 items. More like 25. And I actually went to the consignment store with them the same day I took the clothes to Salvation Army. Turns out you need an appointment to take items to the consignment shop. And they wanted me to make that appointment for 7:00 Friday night. Which, who does that?! So I have an appointment this week to take the jewelry for them to look at. Depending upon what they take or not, the rest will go on eBay or be donated as well.

So, goals are being reached. New goals are being set. And I'm considering modifying my own Project 52 goals next year (there will be a next year, right? We are doing this again?) to choose 26 goals for January through June and 26 new ones for July through December. Or something. Maybe even go quarterly. Because I keep thinking up other things I want to do. And stuff I wrote down in the dead of winter is now like, eh...not so much interested.

How are all of you doing on your goals?

Something a Woman Would Never Say

2011-06-05T11:15:00.001-05:00

Last night I told R he has pretty eyes. His response?

"Yeah. And sexy eyebrows."

He says this quite often, this comment about how sexy his eyebrows are. And you know, he does have nice eyebrows. Not a unibrow like so many men feature. But really, I wondered where he got this idea that he has sexy eyebrows.

So, last night I asked, "Did someone tell you that once? That you have sexy eyebrows?"

And he replied, "No. I just noticed it one day. You know, when I was looking in the mirror. I just noticed that my eyebrows are really sexy."

I cracked the hell up. And I told him that no woman would EVER say something like that. "You know, I just looked in the mirror the other day and noticed, my thighs are SEXY!"

Anyway, we were sitting out on the deck by the pool eating some snacks. We had the tiki torches lit, and a couple citronella candles for good measure. We were swinging and munching chips, and I said something about how relaxing and romantic this was. And he agreed.

And right then a June bug flew into his head and he went nutso. Then it left his head and flew right into my hair, and I went nutso. Then we both cracked up at how "romantic" this was.

I hate June bugs. And fyi, the torches and the candles may repel mosquitoes, but I swear they attract June bugs.

Fresh and Flowery, Bright and Zesty

2011-06-04T11:48:00.000-05:00

I was flipping through a magazine last night in bed, and there was an article about new perfumes for spring. These articles make no sense to me at all. Isn't the major selling point of a perfume the way it smells? And I have yet to come across a perfume article that is so well written that I can actually smell the perfume.

Now the ads in magazines where you flip open the paper and sample the fragrance? Those I get. I sniff it, and if it smells good, I might try to remember to look for it in the store.

But articles describing new fragrances using words like "invigorating" or "powdery" just don't do it for me. Though this particular article did explain the process used to make early perfumes, which involved, "petals deposited on a pane of glass, covered with cold animal fat."

Ahhhhh...give me a bottle of that please.

Do you read these perfume articles? Are they useful to you? What is your favorite spring fragrance, and how did you choose it? (Because I'm fairly certain it was NOT from reading an article in a magazine.)

My First Book Review is Live...And Gift Card FYI

2011-06-01T20:17:00.000-05:00

My first BlogHer book review is now live on the site. I'm so excited to be a part of BlogHer's book club, because I love to read, and I love free books, and I love to spout my opinion of things. If you'd like to read my review of A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz, please head over and take a look!

Thanks to all who entered the giveaway for the $100 Visa Gift Card from Purina Pro Plan Selects on my reviews blog. The deadline has now passed for entries, and I wanted to let you know, the company will be choosing the winner (because one method of entry was going to their website and entering there, so I do not have that information myself) and I will certainly let the winner (and the rest of you) know as soon as I know.

Last Chance to Win $100 Visa Gift Card!

2011-05-30T10:39:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to post a friendly reminder that the deadline to enter my $100 Visa Gift Card giveaway on my reviews blog is tomorrow, May 31st. I'm so excited to have 175 entries so far, but odds are still good that you could win. I mean, like compared to the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes, or your local lottery. Plus, there's cute photos and video of Daisy and Rudy in my post. Oh, and you'll find out what I thought about Purina Pro Plan Selects dog food. Or what Daisy and Rudy thought.

On a Happier Note

2011-05-28T23:55:00.000-05:00

I've been really negative in my last couple blog posts, so I thought I should let you all know, I'm feeling better now. I had a really nice day today, and my pool is decidedly less pondish. Maybe all those expensive chemicals were not for nothing. Plus, I still have two more days off before I have to do that work thing again.

I slept in today. I mowed a little. I painted a table I'd been wanting to paint. I talked to my mom on the phone. I planted some flowers in bright colored pots to put on the deck by the pool.

R is out of town, but EG and her family came over this evening and brought me dinner. And cake. She asked to borrow my lawn mower, and offered me cake in return. It was a deal I couldn't refuse. We played Rock Band in the basement. (See, the "people" did come!)

Tonight, my house is clean and quiet. I'm snuggled up with a good book and two great doggies.

Life is good, and I have a lot to be happy about.

Things I'm P*ssed Off About Right Now

2011-05-27T10:41:00.000-05:00

My pool is broken. And I spent almost $200 on chemicals yesterday that were supposed to un-broken it. It looks worse today than it looked before, and my test strips indicate it has NO chlorine. When I just dumped massive amounts of chlorine in it yesterday, along with all the other chemicals recommended by the pool woman.

It seems like the chlorine feeder isn't working. And R isn't here to fix it. And he won't be here until Monday. And I had visions of myself serenely lounging in the pool on my new floaty this weekend.

And it's only 60 degrees outside, but whatever. It could happen. Except it can't, because my pool looks like a pond.

Apparently my boss is off like as of yesterday afternoon and until Wednesday. Which, whatever, she's entitled. But could she like tell a person? And could she like maybe do all the important things we needed her to do before she took off? The answer to all of this is a resounding, "NO!"

Also, it seems that nearly everyone else in my "office" is off today, except me. And, as exemplified by the fearless leader, none of them felt the need to tell me they wouldn't be here. So, I'm working all alone, with nobody on the job to answer questions I need answered.

Meanwhile, I get an e-mail from the higher ups "reminding" me of a bunch of new projects I knew nothing about, which are all going to mean huge amounts of extra work for me. I'm seriously going to stage a nationwide intervention about the meaning of the word REMIND.

I'm considering going back on antidepressants. I really only feel like I need them from say Sunday evening through about noon on Friday. R says that perhaps if I need medication to make it through a day at my job, then I might need a new job. However, my concern is that maybe I need medication to make it through a day at ANY job. Which could be, you know, a problem.

At this point, my proposed solution is to be drunk for the whole weekend and just not think about any of it. My fridge has a half bottle of red wine, a Corona, a Bud Light, and a Mike's Hard Lemonade. I'm such a lightweight, one of those per day ought to do me.

Maybe if I drink the wine, I won't care that it's cold outside and that my pool is green. Or that I'll have to work 60 hour weeks for most of the summer.

Maybe I should go get more wine. And chocolate.

Too Trivial to Post...But I Am Anyway

2011-05-24T17:59:00.000-05:00

Just in case anyone is concerned, I live far far away from Joplin, MO, and I'm fine. I know a lot of people are not fine, and my heart breaks for them. But thankfully everyone and everything in my household, is safe and dry and intact.

That being said, let's get down to my trivial complaint.

Anybody out there use Freecycle? It's a Yahoo group where you can post about items you wish to give away, and you can read about items others are giving away. If something strikes your fancy, you e-mail the person, and if you're lucky and the item is still available, you can get it for free. Generally there are groups local to where you live, so it's not like you're seeing posts from 100's of miles away.

So, I had posted the old rugs from our basement on Freecycle a couple weeks ago. They weren't in awesome shape, but really not bad. We got to where we didn't go down there much, so the rugs had hardly been used. Once the flooding began down there, we had pulled the rugs back, so it's not like they had been wet all this time. But with the new carpet, we didn't need rugs.

Well, I got 5 or so e-mails like within moments of posting. And as time went on, I probably got a total of 15 or 20 people who had e-mailed me saying they wanted the rugs. Now, generally my philosophy is to be fair, and allow the first person who responded to have the item. But lately I've been encountering a lot of crazy people on Freecycle. And I've ended up waiting weeks for someone to actually show up to get the item. Meanwhile a bunch of other normalish people had also written me, and I could have been rid of my Christmas tree a long time ago.

And there is no rule on Freecycle about first come first serve. It clearly says in the guidelines that it's your choice who you give your item to. Just so we're on the same page. (As Mike Birbiglia says, "I feel the need to remind you at this point that you are on my side.")

So, I decided this time to use a new strategy. That first evening, I read all the responses I'd gotten, and I offered the rugs to the most sane sounding person. No, she wasn't the first to respond, but she was close. Like within minutes. She spelled everything correctly. She said she had a truck and could come pick them up quickly. She didn't go on and on about her cats or her medical problems. Ding ding ding winner!

And then she didn't show up. Like four times she didn't show up.

Meanwhile, this other woman had written me, going on and on about her cats and her medical problems. I ignored her.

Then she wrote again, going more in depth about her medical problems, and begging me to give her the rugs.

This time I responded, saying basically, "Sorry, the rugs have been offered to someone who wrote me before you. If she doesn't come pick them up soon, I will move on down the list." Which I felt was polite and fair. And it was true. The person had written me before Crazy Lady. And if she didn't show, my plan was to move on down my list. In descending order of perceived level of insanity.

Anyway, finally this first woman wrote me saying she apologized for not being able to get here, and that she understood if I needed to offer the rugs to someone else. So I did. And she picked them up. Like quickly. And she was quite lovely and had a newly crawling baby and hardwood floors. The baby was cute, and I was glad my slightly used rugs would be cushioning those sweet little hands and knees.

Then I got two more e-mails asking about the rugs, and I decided I should post that they were taken so that nobody else would ask.

And then it happened. I got a scathing e-mail from Crazy Lady.

I was completely shocked. It was full of misspellings and grammatical errors, but the gist of the matter was, apparently I'm an evil b*tch who dared to give those rugs to some person other than her, when I knew she was dying of cancer, has no job, her house is unlivable, and it was her birthday.

I am not even exaggerating.

I started to write her back and tell her I'm terribly sorry for her horrifying situation (though honestly, how was I to know it was her birthday?) but that as I had told her in my earlier e-mail, I had already offered the rugs to someone else before she wrote to me, and that it was only fair to honor that commitment. Blah blah.

Then I remembered something my mom often tells me. The gist of it is that reasoning with a crazy person is ineffective, and it only serves to make you crazy.

So instead, I deleted the e-mail and blocked this woman from writing to me in the future. I'm debating tattling on her to the moderator. That may be childish, but honestly, someone needs to know this woman is berating people for not giving her whatever they post, no matter when she responds, because by golly, she deserves it.

I mean, if she truly has all those situations in her life, I'm very sorry. But honestly, most people who actually have cancer, don't use it as a weapon in getting what they want. And was I supposed to contact the person I'd already offered the item to and say, "I know I said you could have my rugs, but this woman wrote me today, and she has cancer. I have to give her the rugs."

I should probably just let it go and get on with my life. Maybe now that I've gotten it all out, I can. After you all tell me how crazy she is and how right I am.

Oh, and there's still time for you to enter the $100 Visa Gift Card giveaway on my Reviews blog. I want you to win. You're my favorite reader, and you deserve it most.

Kind of a Fun Place to Hang Out

2011-05-22T17:56:00.000-05:00

The basement room is done! I feel like this has been The Project That Never Ends. But we have finally hung the last picture, screwed down the little strip that finishes the carpet in the doorway, and hauled the last piece of the Rock Band game downstairs.

After I finished hanging the pictures, I made R come down and take a look at the finished product, and he said, "Huh. This looks like kind of a fun place to hang out!"

See for yourself:

This is walking in the door. R is a big NASCAR fan and I ~~barely tolerate his obsession~~ am not. But then I have acquired quite a collection of Olivia Newton-John memorabilia over the years. So, we've agreed that the majority of our collection(s) go in this room. And the upstairs part of our house looks ~~like we are sane people~~ neat and stylish.

This is looking back toward the door. Notice the Grease lobby cards on the wall, some of my most prized possessions. The top and bottom ones are from the 20th anniversary re-release in 1998, but the one in the middle is from the original theatrical release in 1978. It shows Olivia standing there at the carnival with a cigarette in her mouth. I love it.

This is rounding the corner and looking at the other end of the room. We each have our own recliner sitting directly across from the television. I haven't decided yet whether this is helping our hurting our relationship.

Also, please note that all my "Physical" era memorabilia is hanging in the workout area of the room. I find this quite clever of me.

This is another prized possession. (I mean the Grease thing, not the treadmill.) It's a throw blanket I found on eBay.

This is standing in the exercise area and looking back toward the TV. Notice on the wall to the left, one of R's most prized possessions: a poster size enlargement of a picture of him with ~~some race car guy~~ Richard Petty. There's a cute little table and chairs on this side where I envision people playing cards or putting together puzzles while still being able to watch TV or visit with others in the room. When I explained this, R asked me who exactly these "people" are. I'm not really sure. They haven't stopped by yet. But I have faith that they will.

You want to come hang out in my basement?

Winner!

2011-05-18T22:01:00.000-05:00

I realized that I never posted who won the Freschetta pizza giveaway. I used random.org to choose which comment would win, and it picked Amanda. The bamboo cutting board and coupon for a free Freschetta Simply Inspired pizza are on their way to her. Thanks to all who entered!

(Of course, you can still enter to win the $100 Visa gift card on my Reviews blog!)

Apparently Quite Valuable, and Complex, Potato Chips

2011-05-17T08:16:00.002-05:00

I do a lot of surveys, market research, and product sampling through various companies, and sometimes the scenarios are a bit amusing. I don't make a ton of money at any of it, somewhere in the tens of dollars a month, but I end up getting to try lots of products for free, often before they are on the store shelves. Plus, I kind of just enjoy taking surveys. I've been working with one company for almost 10 years now, and others I've stumbled upon more recently. Maybe someday I'll write more about the various programs.

Anyway, I was asked to try some potato chips last week, and I agreed. I mean, who would turn down free potato chips? I'm not at liberty to say which brand, because this program has a very strict non-disclosure policy. I mean, we can't have people leaking potato chip secrets, can we?

Imagine my surprise when two days later the UPS man knocked on my door and ~~handed me a package~~ heard my vicious dogs barking, threw a package on my porch, and ran back to his truck. The box was so large, I had no idea what might be inside.

I opened it to find one bag of potato chips, carefully wrapped in double layers of two different kinds of bubble wrap. It was so ridiculous, I started to take a picture of it. Then I remembered the strict secrecy I'd been sworn to uphold, and I put my camera down. Oh, and for the record, yes, the chips were mostly smashed anyway.

But what really amused me was when I sat down to take the survey today about my experiences with the potato chips. I answered the first question, which was about my age (where the options started at 1 year old. Yes, I'm a very precocious infant answering your queries on my laptop). Then I moved on to the more pertinent questions, which included this gem:

"Were the directions on the package of potato chips difficult for you to understand?"

Listen, if I need directions on a bag of potato chips, we have more serious issues than how old I am, and you probably shouldn't be paying me to review your product. And if I find said instructions "difficult to understand?" Well, get me away from the chips before somebody gets hurt. I'm just sayin'.

Now, one product I reviewed recently did allow me to post about it, and even host a giveaway for a $100 Visa Gift card! There's still time to enter my giveaway sponsored by Purina Pro Plan Selects dog food!

If you win, just think of all the potato chips you could buy.

Meeting One of My Idols

2011-05-16T07:32:00.009-05:00

This weekend R took me to a book signing for one of my favorite authors, Jen Lancaster! I was so excited to meet her.

At one point during the evening, R referred to her as my "idol." I started to tell him no, she's not my idol. But then I got to thinking about what an idol really is.

I found this definition online: a person who is revered, admired, or highly loved. I think in our celebrity obsessed culture, a lot of people are referred to as "idols" when really they are just celebrities.

In my mind, an idol is not simply someone whose work I enjoy, or someone I find attractive, or someone I want to know all about because their life is insanely entertaining. An idol, to me, is someone I truly want to aspire to be like. Someone I "revere and admire," as the definition said. Someone who makes me want to follow their example in hopes that it would make me a better person.

So, I pondered it (while I waited to meet her...We had tickets number 311 and 312.) and decided that yes, Jen Lancaster is one of my idols. And the other one is Olivia Newton-John, in case you're interested (and didn't already know that). There are other celebrities I enjoy watching, listening to, and whose lives I'm morbidly curious about. But those two are the only ones I would actually consider my idols.

Jen's blog is the first one I ever started reading, like before I even knew what a blog was. I found it, and then immediately read the entire archives, while laughing hysterically. Then I started reading her books, which were all memoirs at that point. I could relate to so many things she wrote about, and I love how she comes out ahead in whatever life throws at her. She's not afraid to make fun of herself, and she certainly isn't afraid to joke about all the other stupid things that happen in life. Mostly I love how I literally laugh out loud when I read her stuff. Plus she has a great marriage and adorable dogs and cats.

The new book is If You Were Here, and I honestly haven't read it yet, because I just bought it that night. This is her first foray into fiction, and it's about a couple buying and renovating a house. She "borrows heavily" from her real life, so I'm sure it will be hilarious. And you know how I feel about houses, so I'm sure I'm going to love it.

We also picked up a signed copy of Bitter is the New Black, which was her first book, and is, so far, still my favorite. It's about her losing her job (hello? Hit close to home much?) and how she got through that experience. Oh, and she told us live and in person that yes, she's still bitter. I can relate.

Anyway, it was a fabulous evening, and she was everything I thought she would be. Hilariously funny. Like had us nearly in tears.

Yes, us, even R. Who was one of four men there, I might add. And I can't tell you how many people told me what a great guy he is, how nice it was of him to bring me, how I owe him big for doing this for me. Yeah, whatever. He is a great guy. But believe me, he loved every second of spending three hours with 400 beautiful, intelligent, and hilarious women!

So who is your idol?

For Sale: Slightly Worthless Cat

2011-05-14T17:28:00.000-05:00

Randy just found a mouse in our washing machine. The only reason I'm here to tell you about this is that RANDY found a mouse in our washing machine. Had I found it, we'd be en route to the emergency room about now. To treat my heart attack.

The mouse was dead. I'm not sure whether it was dead before I washed it with my sheets or not. I probably don't want to know.

I'm seriously skeeved out by this situation for many reasons. This is a new washing machine. I mean, I might have expected to find a mouse in my 17 year old beast, but this was my new Maytag. I feel that it's tainted now. I'm gonna be freaked out every time I open the lid.

Also, we just spent several months salary to re-do most of our basement. Now I'm left pondering whether we sealed the mice in? Or whether this one managed to squirm his way inside despite all our new waterproofing systems? Either one is not a good scenario. Though I suppose nothing in my warranty guarantees the system will keep mice out. Just water.

I'm also pretty particular about my sheets. I love "clean sheet day," to quote an episode of Dharma and Greg. Crawling into a bed freshly made with clean sheets makes me very happy. I will take great pains to keep the sheets clean. I make sure the dogs don't get on the bed when the sheets are clean. I don't like to go to bed on clean sheet day unless everyone involved is freshly bathed.

Now I feel that my sheets will never be clean again, since they've been washed with a mouse. Ugh.

And then there's this:

Look at him. Just lying there. While there's a mouse in my clean sheets, in my new washing machine, in my new basement! Look at his tummy, all full of fresh kibble and empty of mouse. Anyone in need of one slightly worthless cat?

Come On...You Know You Want It!

2011-05-10T22:41:00.000-05:00

You know, I'm thrilled to have gotten over 70 entries so far in my $100 Visa Gift Card giveaway on my Reviews Blog. I mean, that's like seven times as many as I've ever gotten before on a post. BUT, I'm sad that 90% of them are from people I don't know and love like I love all of you bloggy friends. I mean, I have no control over who wins the card, but I'd be super happy if one of YOU gets it, because you truly care about how cute Rudy is inhaling his food.

I'm just sayin'.

So please go read my post about Purina Pro Plan Selects and leave a comment to enter the giveaway.

I mean who can resist this face?

Oh, wait. You can't see his face in that picture. All the more reason to check out the dog food review post!

Freschetta Simply Inspired Review and Giveaway

2011-05-05T18:38:00.003-05:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of FRESCHETTA® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I was recently asked to participate in a review of FRESCHETTA® Simply…Inspired™ pizza, and I was happy to oblige. I'm even happier to announce that I was given a bamboo cutting board and a coupon for a free Freschetta Simply Inspired pizza to give away on my blog! Details on that are below.

My first task was to choose a flavor to try. The options were:

Harvest Supreme

Classic Brushetta

Hawaiian Style

Chicken Bianco

Farmers Market Veggie

Rustic Pepperoni Pomodoro

Southern BBQ Recipe Chicken

Tuscan Farmhouse

R thought all of the flavors looked good. I'm a bit of a picky eater, and I'm not a fan of onions or mushrooms, which limited my choices. We finally selected Classic Brushetta. It had tomatoes, roasted garlic, and four types of cheese.

The packaging was different from most frozen pizzas. They call this their Fresch-taste Seal Packing, and it's designed to lock in the vibrant flavors, with 30% less packaging than most frozen pizzas.

The instructions said to place the pizza directly on the oven rack, as many pizzas do. I've always been skeptical of this, and I usually don't do it. I did this time, since I was being paid to review this product. Sure enough, I ended up with a couple small chunks of pizza in the bottom of my oven. But I will say, baking the pizza without a pan made the crust really crispy, which was great.

I thought the overall flavor of the pizza was rich and delicious. Much more sophisticated than the frozen pizzas I usually get. R liked it a lot too.

Now for the giveaway details! To enter to win a coupon for your own free Freschetta Simply Inspired pizza, plus a cute and handy bamboo cutting board:

Leave a comment on this post (one entry).

Follow @Freschetta SI on Twitter and leave a comment here saying you did that (one entry).

Like Freschetta Simply Inspired Pizza on Facebook and leave a comment here saying you did that (one entry). Whether you win this giveaway or not, you will soon be able to get a coupon for $2 off the pizza from their Facebook page.

I'll choose the winner at random from all entries after 12:00 noon on Sunday, May 15.

I Feel So Safe

2011-05-04T15:44:00.000-05:00

No, this has nothing to do with National Security. I'm staying out of that conversation as best I can.

It's about Rudy. See, he barks. A lot. He goes outside, and then he just barks. Sometimes he wants in. Sometimes he sees a squirrel. Sometimes he sees a neighbor. It makes R insane. I try to block it out most of the time.

He's a very little dog, but he thinks he's a very large dog. He thinks he's really tough.

And he hates the neighbor dogs. At least that's how I interpret it. He goes insane whenever they come outside anyway.

So, he's outside now, and he just keeps barking. And I finally got up to look outside and see what on earth he's barking at.

Nothing.

Air? Flies? Clouds?

I don't know, but it looks like nothing.

He's out there trotting around the yard, with his little body at full attention and his little head held high, and he's just barking. Walking around and barking. Like a solider on patrol.

I feel so safe with him guarding me.

Iz brave warrior. Dis ma yard. U beware.

Purina Pro Plan Selects Review and $100 Visa Gift Card Giveaway!

2011-05-02T11:05:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited to announce my first paid review is up on my Reviews Blog! And this one has an opportunity for you to win a $100 Visa Gift Card! Yay!

Plus, you'll see cute pics and videos of Rudy and Daisy. Which is really priceless.

Check it out here!

Random Stuff That Has Nothing to Do With My Basement

2011-04-21T21:28:00.000-05:00

I just realized that for weeks, every single post I've done has been about my basement. So here are some random tidbits for anyone who's sick of hearing about my basement. Which is probably everyone I know.

1. I'm also working on another project. I'm trying my hand at Square Foot Gardening. And so far I'm very impressed with my results! Look at my radishes!

I don't know why my lettuce isn't sprouting though. Lettuce is supposed to be a cool weather crop, and it should have been one of the first things to sprout. But no sign of lettuce yet.

2. One day when I was bored I ran across this website about how you can make origami out of those flaps of paper you tear off the Netflix mailers. See what I made:

No, I do not feel the least bit guilty that I did this on work time. It only took a couple minutes, and I totally plan to share this idea with everyone I encounter for work, because it's awesome. It's free, it's earth friendly, it's fun.

3. The dogs got new bones. Somehow I find this one vaguely obscene.

Why Mama all up in my face while I is tryin' to chews?

4. I'm excited to be working on a couple product reviews that have provided me with free stuff (yay!) and even a giveaway (or two?)! That's why the "Reviews" button has showed up on the left sidebar there. Keep watching for info.

5. Finally, I just have to vent and tell you all that I'm seriously frustrated with sending out e-mails for work and getting back responses that A: Do not remotely answer the question I asked in my e-mail and B: Instead tell me some bit of information that obviously I already know, unless I'm a complete idiot. (Which I'm not.) I mean really, this is happening with such astounding frequency that I've started anticipating what kind of bizarre responses my e-mails might elicit and attempting to address them ahead of time. Such as:

Dear Sally,

I'm looking for some information on what types of forms you recommend businesses use to document injuries. I realize that businesses need to document injuries, obviously, and this is why I'm asking you for recommendations on what type of forms to use. Please do not write me back informing me that businesses must always document injuries. I'm clearly aware of this information. Thank you for your response on what forms you recommend for such documentation.

Sincerely,
Janet

I'm not even kidding you. An e-mail very similar to this one went out from my computer to a co-worker's computer today, and I got this as a response:

Dear Janet,

Yes, businesses must always document injuries.

Sally

There isn't enough wine and chocolate in my house.

Another Basement Update: Installing Carpet Ourselves

2011-04-18T18:48:00.000-05:00

We installed the carpet this weekend, and I thought I'd share some pictures and info about how it went. I've had several people ask me if it was easy, if I thought they could do it themselves, etc... My answer is yes...but..."

It wasn't "easy" by far. But R and I did it with very little trouble, taking it slowly and step by step. And we didn't even get upset with each other. (Really! Not even once. Not even a little bit.)

If your room is smallish and squarish (or rectanglish), and if you are fairly handy around the house (as my step-monster says, "That's what you need, is a man who's handy around the house.") then you can do it, for sure. If your room is oddly shaped, really big, or has poles in the middle (Our room? L-shaped, huge, and a pole in middle), then I say, proceed with caution.

What we used is Kanga Back carpet, and we got it at Menards, though I believe it's available other places. The pad is attached, and the carpet doesn't stretch. You don't have to do the tack strips. Instead, it's installed using double stick carpet tape.

The salesman there was incredibly helpful to us, showing us which tools and supplies we'd need, helping us figure out how to best lay out the carpet in our room, even copying a handout for us with some instructions (which proved to be NOT helpful after all, because it was for the kind of carpet you stretch). I especially appreciated that he didn't treat us like we were idiots, yet he treated us like we clearly had never laid carpet before and needed plenty of hand holding.

I searched online for instructions, and I found these, but I found them less than helpful, because they assume the room is squarish (and does not have a pole). We ended up reading those, reading the packages on the tape and seam sealer, and then just using our own judgement on what to do in what order.

So, first, we laid the carpet out and cut it roughly to the right size, leaving 2-3 inches extra all around (in case we messed up!)

Then we rolled it back up and laid the double stick tape around the perimeter. It said to put x's of tape "in the center of the room at four foot intervals." We didn't really know if this meant truly every four feet to put the tape? Or only put two x's in the middle, four feet apart. The latter is what the picture on the box showed, so we ended up putting three x's on each "wing" of the room.

Then we rolled the carpet back into place, and then folded back half over itself, peeled back the tape backing, then slowly unrolled half the carpet from the center, making sure there were no lumps as we went. (I don't have any pictures of this part, because we were both holding a giant piece of carpet!) Then we did the same to the other half of that piece.

Once it was all flat, we walked all along the edges to make sure it was stuck good around the edges. Then R went around the edge with this special carpet cutter knife and trimmed as close to the wall as he could.

Before we started on the next piece, R left a secret message for whomever might someday remove the carpet. I thought it was sweet.

We did the same basic thing for the next two pieces (yes, we had to do it in three sections. That's how big (or how oddly shaped) the room is.

To seam the pieces together, we laid the seaming tape (We did a cold seam. Apparently there is a hot seam method too, but this seemed much easier for us newbies.) underneath the two edges. Then we carefully squeezed the edge sealer along the pad (NOT the carpet fiber part). We did this a few inches at a time, pulling the backing off the tape between the carpet pieces, the gluing as we went. (Excuse my outfit. These are my painting/grubby work/not fit for public clothes.)

The second section is where the pole was. We cut right up the middle of the carpet where the pole would be, then fitted it around and cut gradually to make it fit and lie flat. There was just no good way to do it. It's not like you can cut a piece in the middle of the carpet and slide it down over the pole. But it ended up looking pretty good I think.

And here's a shot of the finished product. It took us about 4 1/2 hours total. We were pretty tired by the time it was finished. Oh, and our knees were killing us. R pointed out near the end that professional carpet layers usually wear knee pads. Live and learn.

By the time we added the new baseboards, we were extremely happy with the way it turned out. As R finished up nailing the baseboards, I sat in the middle of the room on the floor and stared. (At the carpet. Not at R.) He asked what I was thinking about, and I told him, "It looks like a real room!"

I kind of don't want to start moving our crappy furniture back in now. This basement room was where we put all our old living room furniture after we bought new. Now I feel like the room deserves better. But, we've spent enough money for a while! Maybe new furniture will come down the road.

How I Decided to Carpet the Basement

2011-04-10T21:56:00.000-05:00

We painted in the basement today, and I'm exhausted. I didn't even take pictures. But then, what you'd see right now is a hot mess. Baseboards removed, floor torn up, furniture and such in a huge pile in the middle.

I got to thinking about all the basement related goals I put on my Project 52 list:

4. Finish building walls in basement.

5. Drywall walls in basement.

6. Mud and tape walls in basement.

7. Sand walls in basement.

8. Paint walls in basement.

9. Hang doors in basement.

10. Paint (or tile?) floors in basement.

11. Decorate basement.

Let me be clear that this whole recent basement ordeal meets zero of these goals. Because those goals all relate to finishing the rest of the basement. This mess was all in the part we'd already finished.

So as I was washing out my paint brush tonight I had these thoughts:

1. This is really super sucky that we've done all this work and gone through all this mess just to get back to where we were before.

2. Except that where we were before was mold (and apparently mouse) infested.

3. So basically we did all this work and spent all this money and went through all this ordeal to get the basement back to where it was three years ago.

4. And that is sucky.

5. By golly, we work hard. We've put a lot of energy into this basement, and it's been stressful, and it would be nice to have some sort of benefit out of all this effort.

6. The truth is, I have the money to pay for carpet. My whole job loss experience last year has left me scared to spend any of it.

7. But life is short.

8. We can afford carpet. We both want carpet. And we deserve to come out of this mess with something better than what we had before.

9. That settles it. We're putting in carpet.

So, I went outside and found R (who was sowing grass seed to cover the area where they had dug up the yard) and told him about my epiphany. I asked him what he thought about it.

He said, "I think I like what you're saying. And I think you're right. And I think whomever you are, you should probably go back to your home planet and your own body and send my girlfriend back now."

Look! Walls!

2011-04-09T20:00:00.000-05:00

The basement guys are finished! Yay! They actually finished Wednesday, but I didn't get around to posting then. This is what we've got going on down there now:

This is the corner where the Mouse Who Shall Not Be Named had built a nest. It was the corner with the worst leaks (which makes me think she wasn't a very smart mouse. Or else she wanted a steady supply of water).

And another view. You can see the lovely layer of drywall dust coating the floor. I hate drywall dust with a passion. It's just a sensory issue I cannot deal with. Thankfully R doesn't share my issue, and he's been doing the bulk of the clean up on that.

Anyway, the guys who did the drywall were very professional and friendly and I was pleased with their work. I was not pleased with the one day I awoke to barking dogs and wandered out into the living room in my pajamas to find them in my driveway, but whatever. I'm blaming that on Basement B*tch. Seriously, nobody told me they were coming! And they hadn't arrived before 9:30 any of the previous days. Grrrr...

We have to paint the walls, and we may get started on that tomorrow. We'll see. I'm having some challenge matching the color. I'm a bit of a paint hoarder. And so far we've found three different shades of beige I felt the need to keep, none of which are the shade of beige we used to paint the basement. Thankfully I also keep a stash of paint chips that nearly fills a drawer, so I'll figure it out.

I'm still iffy on the carpet deal. I'm leaning toward the carpet squares, but they are pricey. I think they'll be easier for us to do ourselves, and easier to replaces pieces if they ever need it. R is leaning toward actually laying carpet.

Menards has some with the pad already on it that you can supposedly lay yourself. I'm skeptical. Though we've managed to figure projects out many times before. I'm sure we can figure that out too. We just might not speak to one another for a week or so after.

How One of Us Enjoyed the Day

2011-04-04T17:02:00.000-05:00

Lest you think this basement project has been too difficult for our family, I thought I'd share what Beavis has been up to lately:

He has it pretty rough, doesn't he?

He's been shut up in the guest room with his food, water, and litter. He squalls a lot, especially when there is a lot of banging going on. But then I go check on him, and he's just lounging in his Cat Napper.

The latest update is that the guys came today to put the finished walls back up. They did the 2X4's but failed to bring enough sheets of drywall. So they are coming back tomorrow to finish. And maybe to dig up the back yard for the output thingy (which is gonna be AWESOME with dogs, let me just say).

When I asked the guys if they were the ones doing that part, they said they did not know. They said they go in each day and get a job order telling them where to go and what to do for the day. Which made me grateful for the semblance of order I have in my job. Not knowing day to day what I was doing would make me insane. More insane than I am now.

Please take me away from the strange men and the loud and the dirty! It messes with my chi and musses my fur.

Basement Update and Carpet Question

2011-04-03T14:07:00.000-05:00

So, I was spared the basement people's chaos on Friday, because they had to wait for the concrete to dry. Basement B*tch left me a "friendly reminder" (meaning hateful and pissy voicemail sharing information I had not heard before that very instant) on my cell Friday afternoon to let me know they will be back tomorrow (Monday) to finish up.

This is what my basement looks like right now:

You like the whole domino effect going on with the 2 X 4's that were once holding the walls up?

See, the "demolition" guys were not my favorite people. For one thing, they didn't demolish everything they were supposed to. The contract called for them going two feet in from each corner, which they did not. And then when R called to complain, we were essentially told we should do this ourselves if we wanted it done. This lead to a rather unpleasant encounter with a mouse nest, but I'll spare you the details.

Also, they magically took off the boards around the bottom of the walls, and left the uprights dangling in thin air. I took one look at this and said, "Those are going to fall." And then I asked, "How on earth did they even DO that anyway?" And sure enough, once the other guys came to install the waterproofing system, you could hear boards falling one by one.

Now, the actual waterproofing crew guys? They were great. Did a great job, friendly, polite, asked questions when needed, but otherwise did their thing while I did mine.

We had one little funny incident with a strange dog making his way into the house and jumping up on the sofa with me, just like he belonged. He was sweet (and fairly clean), so I didn't much mind the visit. But the guys were quite shocked when I escorted him back outside. Seems they thought he was my dog. (My actual dogs, and my actual cat, were tucked snugly away inside their respective bedrooms for the ordeal.)

Anyway, the majority of what my 3 months salary went to pay for is under that new concrete, so you can't see it. They dug what I'm calling a moat around the perimeter of the basement, then installed this track type thing which they filled around with gravel, covered with a hard plastic thingy, then covered back with cement.

Somewhere in the midst of all that, the green plastic stuff went on the walls. Oh, and they patched all the cracks first. So, the idea is that if another crack forms, any leaks will travel down the plastic, into the moat, and be pumped outside by the two (not one, but two!) sump pumps installed.

I don't really get it all. But it's supposed to be great. Mostly it's just very green right now. And the whole house smells like cement. Which I didn't even realize had a smell before.

Tomorrow the guys are supposedly coming to put all the walls back the way they found them. Which they intended quite literally, as I found out they planned to put all the moldy boards and insulation back in place, unless we chose to buy new boards and insulation ourselves. Which we did. I mean, really?!

So, I'll be relieved when all of that part is over. Somehow these drywall guys aren't on my list of favorite people at this point. And I'm going to be pretty stressed with the chaos tomorrow while I'm home "working." R is a bit stressed over them getting his expertly installed surround sound system properly wired into the walls. So, he's planning on being here to at least discuss this with them, if not supervise the whole affair.

Anyway, this brings me to my question. What to do with the floor once this is all finished?

Partly due to cost, and partly due to fear of flooding, we simply painted the concrete before. Now we are assured that if we'd like to, we could install carpeting down there. And it would be fine. So they say. I'm a bit skeptical.

We went to Menards last night to look at both tile and carpet options, and it looks like one costs about as much as the other. We're leaning towards a "do it yourself" kind of carpet with the padding already attached, that you just stick down with double sided tape, and voila! We're a bit scared about doing this ourselves.

Anybody ever done this before? Any thoughts on what type of flooring you think a basement room should have?

It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Right?

2011-03-30T17:53:00.000-05:00

So far, I still do not "love my basement." In fact, I'm hating it more and more. And I'm also become less fond of the woman I've christened "The Basement B*tch."

Now, the work has barely begun, so I'm not disparaging this company's work in any way. I'm merely disparaging their ability to communicate in a timely and friendly fashion, both amongst themselves and amongst me, the customer who is paying them an ungodly sum of money.

See, the lovely (albeit a bit jumpy) fellow who did our estimate and our initial paperwork said that the job would be done Wednesday and Thursday this week. He was giving us a special deal for being so flexible with our time, as they are "in the area" and had that opening they needed to fill. (Which, yes, I'm aware that this is a sales tactic, whatever. I'm also aware of the growing flood in my basement and the impending rainstorms, and I'm susceptible to whatever tactics anyone wishes to use on me at this point.)

So, yeah, Wednesday/Thursday. I had a couple work things, but whatever, one could have been changed if need be, and R can be here otherwise. No problem. The dude tells me I'll get a call from someone to let me know what time they'll get started on Wednesday. He said they'd call between 3:30 and 4:00.

At 6:45 Monday night (not remotely between 3:30 and 4:00), my cell phone rang, and it was the woman I soon nicknamed The Basement B*tch. She tells me she needs to set up a "pre-inspection" for Tuesday. Ummm...no. I have to be out of town for work Tuesday. They told me I had to be here Wednesday and Thursday.

But, trying to be accommodating, I tell her that R can probably be here. No no no, that won't work, it HAS to be me, because of the financing. Ummm...well, I'm sorry, I won't be here.

Still trying to be helpful, I tell her that I will be home around 4:30 or so, and somebody could come by after that point. She says she'll call me back.

She calls me back and asks what time I'm leaving in the morning. Okay, you guys know I'm not a morning person, right? Like seriously. I purposely chose a job that allows me to roll out of bed at 8:30 and sit at my laptop in my pajamas at home most mornings. Tuesday, I had to leave the house at 7:15 for this meeting. Torture.

BB informs me that someone will be at my house then at 7:00 a.m. for this pre-inspection. Kiiiilllling me here woman. But, I went with it. I mean, what was I gonna do?

Yesterday was not a pretty day for me.

So, pre-inspection dude tells us that the guys will be here today (Wednesday) around 9:30 or so to do the demolition part. Fine, I had a work thing at 2:00, he said they'd be maybe 2 or 3 hours, I'm good right?

Wrong.

BB calls me last night and says, "I'm calling to remind you that the guys will be there to do the demolition tomorrow between 1:00 and 2:00."

Okay, first of all, the word "remind" indicates that one has been told this information at least once before. In fact, it's the complete opposite of springing brand new, even contradictory, information on a person. This would be an occasion for opening with, "I'm so sorry to have to do this to you, but we've had to change the plans. We really hope this will work for you."

But she missed that class when she took Customer Service 101.

So, I tell her, no, I'm sorry, that won't work for me. And she's dumbfounded.

I tell her that we were told it would be done in the morning, and that I have a prior commitment for the afternoon.

Her response? "Well, they just can't do it in the morning."

Okay, well, I just can't do it in the afternoon.

So, R agreed to take off work and be here. Which is fine, but that's not the point. The point is, don't call me with this condescending tone and be hateful and rude to me when I am paying your company quite a large sum of money to provide a service for me.

And I'm not even getting into the fact that nobody along the way seems to have the same idea about what exactly they are doing and what exactly is required from us. One person told us to move this stuff but not that stuff, then the next guy comes along and says oh no, all of that must be moved.

And their definition of "demolition" involves tearing out everything except baseboards. They made R remove those. They don't do baseboards. Whatever.

I haven't even gone downstairs to look yet. I'm scared. I'm waiting until R comes home and can hold my hand while I view the destruction.

If you're in my area, send wine and chocolate. Maybe some tranquilizers. And wake me when it's over.

Love Your Basement! Or Why Every Castle Needs a Moat

2011-03-28T17:30:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow morning R and I are signing away 3 months salary to a company which promises to deliver this:

Right now, I do not love my basement. Because parts of it look like this:

OMG, I'm so embarassed that you all know this about me now. I mean, this is seriously disgusting, unhealthy, uninhabitable, and unacceptable. I can't believe we've lived with it for two years.

In my defense, it wasn't that bad the whole time (And that really is the very worst section). See, when we bought the house, the previous owners had to spend a small fortune on "waterproofing" the basement before our lender would approve the loan. And the basement was perfectly dry for over two years. So, we decided at that point to start finishing it. We worked for months (mostly because we had no clue what we were doing. We bought a couple books and a saw and went to work. Go us!) building walls, mudding, taping, sanding, and painting. We fought a lot and learned a lot and congratulated ourselves a lot.

We planned to lay carpet, but for various reasons decided to just paint the concrete and buy a couple big rugs. Thankfully. Because it was just a few months later, after R had moved out, that I found myself downstairs alone with a Shop Vac trying to clean up about an inch of water all over the floor and cursing R and Whomever invented rain. (This basement is kind of a metaphor for our relationship status, and I'm very hopeful that it's now moving in the proper direction! The basement I mean. And thus our relationship. Whatever.)

Anyway, R moved back, and we've done various things trying to stop various leaks, including digging out window wells and installing gutter extensions. Each thing seems to solve the problem. For a month or so. At least until the next big rain.

Now it's to the point that a tenth of an inch last night produced this:

Can you even see that? It's a steady stream of water heading from the wall toward whatever valuable objects it can find in my basement. Grrrrr....

So, these basement magicians are starting work tomorrow on installing some sort of channel/pump/miracle dryness system. It involves jackhammering up our floor and ripping out our moldy dry wall. I'm a little scared.

They tell me it will take two days. Which is contractor speak for "two weeks." I know that, so I'm prepared. (Plus I have wine.) I'll let you know how it goes.

Shopping Cart Detective Work

2011-03-26T17:43:00.001-05:00

I often pay attention to what people in front of me in line at Wal-mart are purchasing. Maybe that makes me nosy. But I'm just curious about other people's lives, and I try to figure them out based upon the items in their cart.

This guy was probably in his sixties. He had some sort of prescription medication, a loaf of generic white bread, a package of bologna, a bag of generic cheese puffs, and a big bottle of vodka.

Gonna be a hot time in the old town tonight for him!

Me? I was buying my own medication, a rotisserrie chicken, a container of macaroni salad, a can of baked beans, half a gallon of skim milk, a two liter bottle of caffeine free Diet Coke, and super glue.

You can draw your own conclusions from that.

Picture of the Tree Picture

2011-03-24T18:28:00.000-05:00

Gina requested that I post a better photo of the tree artwork hanging above my bed. She is a bigger tree hugger than I am, so I'm happy to help her out.

I love it. It's a photograph, but it sort of looks more like a painting. It's a bit blurry, but in a really cool way. I'm sure some sort of special filters or other photography magic.

I searched online for more Ilona Wellmann photos, thinking that I'd buy a couple more to use in the room. It seemed like most of the rest of her popular work is winter scenes, and I didn't really want stark wintry trees in my bedroom. It felt like the wrong mood.

Besides, I can take winter photos of trees myself.

Okay, I'm not giving Ms. Wellmann much competition, but it was really pretty outside that morning. Hard to believe it was just a week or so ago.

Tomayto, Tomahto, Potato, Potatoes...

2011-03-22T17:21:00.000-05:00

I kind of pride myself on my knowledge of grammar. But I had to look up the whole mantel/mantle thing to make sure I was using the right word in my post. And then I did it wrong anyway! At least in one part. I seem to have used both spellings in the post. Ugh.

So, as a public service, I'm posting here, once and for all, which word is which. Somebody had to do it.

(Definitions courtesy of Merriam-Webster.)

mantle: A) a loose, sleeveless garment worn over clothes; cloak. B) a figurative cloak symbolizing preeminence or authority.

mantel: 1. A) a beam, stone, or arch serving as a lintel to support the masonry above a fireplace. B) the finish around a fireplace. 2. the shelf above a fireplace.

Let the record show that I made over my mantel. Not my mantle.

My mantle is at the cleaners. It was dirty from my wearing it so much, flaunting my preeminence.

Now, if you want to know the difference between further and farther, you'll have to ask R. I still don't get that one right either. And he corrects me every time.

The Fireplace Makeover

2011-03-21T07:47:00.008-05:00

I've finished two more goals on my list! #2 Build a cover for mantle and #3 Redecorate above mantle.

Before moving here, I'd never lived in a home with a fireplace. I was so excited at the prospect of having one, and I pictured R and I snuggle near a roaring fire and hanging Christmas stockings from the mantel.

Except this fireplace was ugly. Really ugly. To show you the scope of it, we have to go all the way back to over 4 years ago, when we first bought the house:

This is not my furniture and stuff. I took this photo when we were looking at the house, trying to decide whether to make an offer. We've since painted the walls, put in new curtains, etc...

Anyway, you can see that there was this monstrosity of a wood stove in there. It was cast iron and ugly, and though I'm sure it effectively warmed the room, it did not warm my spirit in any way. One of the first things we did was pull it out, sell it, and install a flue and doors so we could have a real fire.

Once that huge stove was removed, we realized we had a white marble hearth. We never even noticed it when most of it was covered up. I cleaned and scrubbed, and it's actually white now. It was a vast improvement in the look of the fireplace.

Then we had a "real fire" for about one month, and gave up on that because it was incredibly messy and made the whole house reek of smoke. For a couple years I filled the fireplace with candles. It provided some ambiance, and was much less messy.

Last year we had a gas log installed and we love love LOVE it. Fabulous investment. Push a button, and we have fire. And it's on a thermostat, so it even goes on and off to keep the room at a comfortable temperature. No matter what people say, it IS a "real fire." It's just burning propane instead of wood. And it's not as messy. It does a great job heating the room, and I think it's actually lowered our heating bill.

So, at that stage of the game, it looked like this:

Not awful, but like the bedroom was, just kind of too much little stuff going on everywhere. I loved that painting when I bought it, but I was getting tired of looking at it. I wanted to redecorate the area.

So, anyway, back to the mantel. It was just a slab of rough wood before. Not a horrible eyesore, but nothing too attractive either. And forget trying to keep it clean. It was so rough, the best I could do was vacuum it a couple times a year. A time or two I think it gave me a splinter.

I saw some home improvement show (I'm sorry, I'd give credit where credit is due, but I watch so many, I honestly don't remember which one it was.) where they built this box like thing and just covered up the whole mantle with it. And I knew, that was IT. That was my answer.

R did not like this answer. He hadn't seen the show, and he didn't like the fact that this plan involved him and crown molding and a miter box. But he's a trooper, and he went along with it anyway.

Basically we built a box using MDF, and then we finished it out with some crown molding. That was the hard part. We made about 37 cuts, to come up with two that were close enough to right. But a bit of mud and a coat of paint later, it looks fabulous.

So here it is now:

And a closer view:

I'm very pleased with how it turned out. Except now I'm contemplating painting the brick. R really hates this idea.

What do you think?

What Is It With Me and The Soda Mishaps?

2011-03-19T18:18:00.001-05:00

You might recall my post about how my dogs destroyed two coolers in one unseen crash. Since that fiasco, I now own the cooler to beat all coolers. It's huge. It has wheels. There's no stopping this cooler.

So, yesterday I was preparing for today's event, and I loaded the cooler with a nice variety of soda and bottled water, then put the whole thing in the trunk of my car. Should have been fine, right? I mean, it got to maybe 58 yesterday. Wasn't even sunny. My car was inside my garage. Temps didn't dip below freezing last night, or even close.

Far as I know, no werewolves broke into my garage last night.

(Yes, that's relevant.)

So I went to put the ice in the cooler, and I found this inside:

I mean, it looks like it was RIPPED open by some rabid animal! And there was Diet Pepsi splattered all over the inside of the cooler. I should have taken a picture of the whole thing, but I didn't think about it at the time. I just carried the can to the sink, cleaned up the mess, and went on about my business.

But seriously? How does this happen??? And why does it happen to me when I have an event to get to early in the morning?

You Want to Know Why I'm Crazy?

2011-03-18T18:57:00.000-05:00

This situation I'm about to describe is Exhibit A:

Someone called me at work earlier this week to ask whether she should mail in the registration forms for her staff members who plan to attend an event I'm hosting tomorrow.

Ummm...well...see...the reason I sent you a registration form is that you have to REGISTER if you want to attend. It's not rocket science people. It's not like I just enjoy wasting trees and postage.

It gets better.

I never got any registration forms from her. Since I'm gathering materials for the event today, I decided to give her a call and double check whether these people would be attending. I mean, on the one hand, it would be a "logical consequences" type of lesson if I just didn't let people in if they didn't register. Or, if I let them in but then didn't give them any materials. Because I only prepared enough for those people who REGISTERED.

But the people who sign my paychecks frown on that sort of behavior and expect me to be kind and accommodating to every ~~idiot~~ person who decides at the last minute to show up at my events. So, it really would be best if I had a general idea of how many people were coming. So I called, and I got this response:

"Oh. I didn't realize this was an event we had to REGISTER for."

Excuse me?

YOU called ME and asked me if you had to register. And I told you, in no uncertain terms, YES.

One of my co-workers suggested that we all be allowed to carry tasers for just these sort of occasions.

The Bedroom Makeover: Violet Delight

2011-03-14T07:16:00.003-05:00

I'm basically done with the bedroom makeover. R still has to install the new ceiling fan, and I'm not entirely excited about the artwork I have up. But it'll do, for now. I'm probably never entirely satisfied with anything in my house. That's just the way I roll.

Anyhow, here are some before and after photos:

Before...

And after...

I searched high and low for a new comforter set, and ended up getting this one for $69 at my local Wal-mart. Go figure. It was actually a whole "bed in a bag" but I got better sheets at Target, and I also got the grey dust ruffle, instead of the purplish one it came with. Too much purple. The toss pillow also came from Wal-mart, but an entirely different part of the store. I think they match perfectly.

I love the poster hanging above the headboard. It's actually a photo, done by Ilona Wellman. It's like we are sleeping under a big peaceful tree every night.

The wall-color is called Faint Violet Delight. I intended for it to be lavender, but depending upon the light, it sometimes looks pink. I'm not thrilled with that. My kitchen color ended up being much darker than I intended, so I purposely chose one shade lighter than I thought I wanted in the bedroom. I think I shouldn't have done that. Oh, well. I'm not re-painting any time soon!

Here's another before...

And after...

Both pictures were greeting cards I framed. This time I used a larger frame and matted it. I like it better. It says some mushy thing about love. Which is cheesy, but maybe appropriate for a master bedroom?

Another before...

And after...

The little shelves in the before were there when we bought the house, and the hardware was too obnoxious to just take them down. But I felt like the overall effect was too busy, with all the little stuff everywhere. We removed them and patched the giant holes it left. It's calmer now. I'd still like to find (or make) a larger picture or two that go perfectly, but what I have now is okay.

I love the two larger pictures in there, in and of themselves, but I didn't really think they went with my new color scheme. I propped them up against the walls to live with it for a few days, and one night it hit me: They're all paintings of trees. All the paintings I put in the bedroom are of trees. Very different trees, from a black and white photo to a Monet, but the common theme of trees. At that moment, I decided it was all perfect, and I hung them all on the walls.

I had put down as one of my goals to sort through my jewelry and donate or sell at least 10 pieces. Well, I sorted, and I pulled out probably more like 20. And I still have too many. But it looks kind of pretty hanging on the wall like this:

And my new curtains are heaven.

I got the idea I wanted grey velvet, and I found some at Target on clearance that I liked. But there was only one. As in one panel. I'd need four. Poor R searched with me at nearly every Target in the state, and we couldn't come up with more. I searched ebay and found one more, and probably could have persisted and eventually had four.

But then we found these at JC Penney. I'm telling you, they are soft like butter. I pet them when I open them every morning. I wish my entire bed and my pajamas were made of this fabric. And between them being on sale, and my scoping out retailmenot for a good coupon, they ended up being way less expensive than the Target ones. Go figure.

So, that's the new bedroom. I swear I'm sleeping better since the makeover. R thinks it's all in my head. But then sleeping is all in the head, isn't it? Or something.

Anyway, the puppies are happy. And the new bedspread is easier to clean fur off of. So it's a win for the whole family.

This project knocked out my goals # 18 and # 39 from Project 52. Yay!

I Wonder If Dr. Seuss Knew This

2011-03-11T17:31:00.000-06:00

This is an actual conversation I heard while visiting a child care program yesterday. The teacher was reading aloud Dr. Seuss's ABC and the little girl was about 2 1/2 years old.

Teacher: "'I am a zizzer zazzer zuzz, as you can plainly see.' I don't know what a zizzer zazzer zuzz is. Do you?”
Girl: I have one.
T: You do? (And she looks over at me, trying not to crack up laughing.)
G: Yes.
T: Where do you keep it?
G: In my room.
T: Hmmm...What does it eat?
G: (Very matter of factly, as though the teacher is an idiot for not knowing this.) It eats cats.

At this point, both the teacher and I gave up on any notion of trying not to crack up.

Here's hoping you, and your zizzer zazzer zuzz have a great weekend!

(Image borrowed from http://www.cat-pause.com/)

My Name is Janet, and I Need to Get a Life

2011-03-06T16:29:00.000-06:00

I think it might be a bad sign if you walk into Wal-mart, and the greeter says, "You come here a lot!"

I think I need help. Is there some sort of 12 step group for this? Wal-martaholics?

Goals Schmoals...We Just Want Mama

2011-03-01T18:42:00.001-06:00

Mama's too busy to post, so she asked us to tell you about some of the goals she's reached lately. Some of you human folk in Mama's life are probably feeling neglected these days, so you can only imagine how we four-footed people are feeling.

Yeah, that's a pretty new comforter I'm ~~sleeping~~ pouting on up there. You should see it with the newly painted walls, and the new curtains. See:

The lampshade kinda matches my fur. That's why I sleep here so much.

As for Rudy...

See how the bed matches his fur? I think Mama planned that too. She likes to color coordinate everything.

She'll probably post more pictures of the newly decorated bedroom, after she gets time to hang pictures on the walls and stuff. We're lucky it got painted and put back together in time for bed Sunday night.

As for Daddy, she's had him busy too. Just look:

That goal she had about building a mantel cover? Daddy should maybe be clued in that some of her goals quickly become his goals, like it or not. (This one, he did not like doing. Not even a little bit. But he thinks it looks good now.)

So, whenever we see Mama again, we'll let her know you stopped by. We're not so sure about this whole "working from home" thing she supposedly has going on. We haven't seen much of her lately. In fact, I think I'll just go ahead and update that goal list right now for her...

52. Spend lots of time snuggling on couch with Daisy and Rudy.

There. That's a perfect goal to finalize the list.

Crazy Dogs, Awesome Boyfriend, and Pretty Okay Job

2011-02-19T18:25:00.000-06:00

I had to teach a class today for work, and these things kind of involve a lot of preparation. Not only do I have to prepare for the teaching, but I also have to provide lunch and an assortment of snacks. And I have to haul all of this food, as well as training manuals, electronic equipment, and tubs filled with pens, notepads, and table toys, to locations far from my home.

Thankfully, I've managed to ~~bribe~~ talk R into helping me out on these major training days by loading the car, driving me, then helping me set up. He gets free lunch, and he gets the mileage my employer pays me for the trip. Plus he gets a much happier and stress-free (okay, less stressed) girlfriend, which I'm sure is his major motivation. Because he loves me that much. (Or because I'm that difficult to live with when I've had a bad day.)

Anyway, to prepare for these days, I do as much as I can the night before. I gather all my materials and snacks and load the car, except for things that need to wait until morning. Like putting ice in the coolers with the drinks.

This morning, while I put on my makeup, my dogs decided to initiate a test run of the Daytona 500 around and around and around inside the house. They do this a lot. We've learned to ignore it. Until we hear a crash.

So, I put down my mascara and went to investigate the location of the crash, and I saw this:

Keep in mind, this mass destruction is the result of ONE loud crash. Somehow they managed to destroy two coolers, on opposite corners, in one swift move.

I just turned right back around and went to finish my makeup. R cleaned up the mess and loaded all the water and soda into the car in Wal-mart sacks. The dogs? They sat silently until we left. Just like little kids who had gotten into trouble. And the funny thing is, we hadn't said a word to them. They just knew.

R drove ~~like the wind~~ at a safe and reasonable speed to Wal-mart, and we bought the biggest cooler they had. He put all the drinks in there, poured in a bag of ice, and got me to the training only 5 minutes later than planned. He's awesome like that.

The class went well, and it was the end of a series, so I felt pretty relieved when it was over.

Then one student stayed behind and told me that she really appreciated me teaching these classes and working so hard to provide the lunches and everything. She said that when she started the class, she had a lot of kids in her classroom with a lot of behavior issues. She said she's tried many of the things I'd been teaching her, and ALL of the kids have improved immensely. She was so grateful to me, and so much happier in her own job, thanks to everything she'd learned.

I got a little bit choked up. Sometimes my job is pretty frustrating, but things like that make it all worthwhile.

As for these guys:

Do they look remorseful?

It doesn't really matter. They're still my favorite co-workers. Well, them and R.

Do You Love Your Silverware?

2011-02-17T18:19:00.000-06:00

I'm still hard at work on my 52 goals for 2011. Mainly the ones that involve buying and/or redecorating stuff. Last night I ordered my new silverware, thanks to a generous Christmas gift from my mom adding to "the silverware fund." Eight place settings of this:

are headed my way. I LOVE them. They match my Fiesta dishes, and they are gorgeous. Mom said they remind her of some chakra jewelry I gave her once.

See, I have an odd mix of silverware right now. I have my wedding stuff from XH, which was purchased in about 1993. Not that silverware really goes out of style or whatever, but when we divorced, he took half and I took half. So we each got six. Somehow now I have six knives, five salad forks, two spoons (R and I have developed the odd and destructive habit of running the garbage disposal with a spoon stuck in it. I do not recommend you take up the practice.) and it wasn't enough silverware.

So, R's mom gave us some she got at a garage sale, and I bought some myself at a garage sale. This has left me with this odd conglaboration of silverware, most of which I don't like. And R will try to be nice and get me a fork at dinner, and I'll tell him, "No, not that one, I don't like that one." So, a few months ago he said, "Here is a radical idea. Why don't you get rid of all the silverware you don't like, and get some that you DO like, and then I'll know which fork to give you."

I was telling Regina my tale of woe when I first started shopping for silverware. Because I searched high and low, and couldn't find any I just really loved. It's an intimate thing, using silverware. You hold it in your hand. You stab your food with it. Then you put it on your mouth. It has to feel right in your hand. It has to feel right in your mouth. It has to look pretty on the table. And those employees at Kohl's and Target frown on you putting silverware in your mouth in the store.

So, I couldn't find any I really loved for a long time. And Regina told me, "I really think I'm okay with not loving my silverware. It just has to serve it's purpose."

But then I found this set. And I gasped. That's when you know it's love.

Except the love story didn't end there. The price tag on this set? At Kohl's, it was $119 for four place settings.

Now I'm picky. But I'm also cheap. And I refused to pay that. I knew I could find it cheaper, or at least wait until I got one of those coupons in the mail from Kohl's or something.

I found it at Macy's for $90. Better, but still too much.

I ultimately ended up buying it directly from the Homer Laughlin Company, the ones who make the Fiesta stuff. The four place settings were $59.99. And by purchasing two sets, I got a total of $19.98 off. So for $100 I got eight place settings. Yay!

But see, this is how they get ya. You get free shipping if you spend $125. So, I also bought a place setting of the dishes in turquoise. And I bought a red cereal bowl to replace the one that R and I seem to have misplaced. (And it concerns me that when I first asked him if he knew where the red bowl might be, he went and looked under the couch. Like this is a reasonable place to keep our dirty dishes?!)

And the Homer Laughlin company generously threw in a free gift with purchase of a "small bowl" matching the turquoise dishes. Which I'm saying again is how they get you. Because I know this free small bowl is going to be awesome, and I'm going to have to purchase them to match all the other colors of dishes I have.

Anyway, I'm considering # 21. Buy new silverware, checked off my list. Or it will be once it arrives.

And I've added #49 Attend at least one concert. This goal was sort of made on the good faith that someone I want to see in concert will be coming to a town near me. Then we saw a commercial last night for Keith Urban's tour, and I took it as a sign. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, but the show isn't until August.

How are you doing with your goals? And what is your relationship with your silverware? Do you love it?

(Please note that I was not compensated in any way by Fiesta, Homer Laughlin, or Keith Urban for this post, but I will happily accept whatever free samples or private concerts they would like to throw my way!)

To participate in Project 52, or to read about more people meeting their goals, stop by A Peek at Karen's World!

Taxes and Roller Skating and Jeans and Goals

2011-02-07T16:17:00.000-06:00

I just finished doing my taxes, and I'm exhausted. I swear, it makes no sense to me at all that it's so challenging for the average American to do his/her taxes. It's not like I own a business or have all sorts of investments or try to deduct crazy things. I just work for a living, own a home, and donate some ~~crap~~ useful items I no longer need to the Salvation Army a couple times a year.

And yet I have to pay $65 to have H & R Block help me do my taxes online. Which is better, I suppose, than paying a human being $200 to help me do my taxes. But I still agonize over it, get all flustered and confused, and feel like in the end, I didn't do it right.

My biggest issue today was the crazy system's insistence that the property taxes I paid went to "another state." I put down on my federal return the amount I'd paid in property taxes, then when I went to do the state taxes, it insisted that I list that amount as additional income, since the taxes were paid "in another state." Which makes no damn sense to me. But whatever. I just went with it.

And then I spent a crazy amount of time adding up the actual cost of my utilities, homeowners insurance, internet connection, trash collection, etc... so I could deduct a portion of all that for my home office expense, since I work from home. And what did all this effort net me? About $7 I think. Whoohoo!

Anyway, it's done, and the refund (much smaller than last year, and much smaller than I'd hoped, but still a refund) is on its way. So, I can cross that off my list.

Speaking of lists, here's my update for Project 52:

I added one more item to my list:

48. Go roller skating.

I almost wrote it down, then immediately considered it done. Because R and I went to a 10 year-old's birthday party this weekend, and it involved roller skating. So I thought, "Hey! I should put 'go roller skating' on my goal list!" And then I thought, "I just went roller skating! I could cross that off my list!"

I decided that's not really fair. To make it a goal when it hadn't occurred to me to make it a goal until after I already had the plan to do it. So, we did it, and I'm putting on the list, because I want to do it again this year.

I think it had been about 15 years since I'd last roller skated. Much of my childhood was spent in roller rinks, but sadly, not much of my adulthood. Last time I went, my ex-husband and I took a youth group from the recreation program where I worked. He refused to skate, but I had a ball. I think I was 23 or 24 years old.

R likes to skate too, but somehow we hadn't ever done that together. So, when invited to this party, we jumped at the chance. And I did okay, I think. I was shocked at how difficult it was. I think my center of gravity has changed since I was 23. And I've decided the entire concept of strapping wheels to one's feet and going around in circles faster and faster with large groups of people is kind of crazy. Sadly, I was just starting to feel halfway relaxed about the whole affair when the party ended and the Roller Rink Lady kicked us all out.

And don't even get me started on the state of this particular roller rink. It was tiny, and old, and I'm certain in violation of various fire, safety, and health codes. The floor was wooden, and we're talking bad shape wooden. It was full of dips and cracks and bumps and patches, and generally made skating hazardous, to say the least.

There was a leak in the ceiling, which was being solved by placing a trash can on the rink to catch the water. Like in the part of the rink where people were skating. So people were periodically ramming into the trash can and sending it flying into someone else. I wish I were joking.

There were cobwebs in this place as big around as my little finger. And the girls' restroom door didn't latch. Though the boys' restroom didn't have a door, so I didn't feel right complaining.

Anyway...other goals...

With the help of my mother, I accomplished number 26. Get jeans hemmed:

I got these jeans at a garage sale about nine months ago. It was one of those rare garage sales where I was able to actually try stuff on, and the price was a bit high for a garage sale (I think $5 a pair) but they fit like a glove, and I loved them. And then my friend informed me that Seven jeans are expensive, so really this was an incredible bargain. (I didn't know. That's how out of the loop I am.) But, I'm short, and the jeans were about six inches too long. I wore them some this summer with big cuffs, so they were like capris. But the cuff looked dumb in the winter, and I really wanted to just wear them like normal jeans.

Mom has a ton more sewing experience than I do, so during her recent visit, I asked her to ~~help me~~ hem the jeans. Now I have two awesome pairs of Seven jeans that are super comfortable and the right length. If you have curves, and don't mind paying the price, I highly recommend Seven jeans. (Nobody from Seven jeans is paying me to write this post. However, I'd gladly take a free pair for my promotional efforts if anyone is paying attention!)

As for other goals, I'm still working on several decorating projects. We shopped a bit for dining furniture and bedding this weekend, but I haven't purchased anything yet. And Mom gave me a generous donation to the silverware fund, so I hope to cross that one off soon.

That's about it. I hope you've had a successful week, crossing many items off your "to do" list!

I Promise, I'm Still Here! And I'm Doing Stuff!

2011-02-01T13:36:00.000-06:00

Maybe I should call this a Monthly Update, rather than weekly, because I'm drastically behind on posting. But that doesn't mean I'm not working on my goals! I really truly am! So, here is my latest update:

1. Make list of 52 goals.

When I first posted, I only had 32 goals. I've since added:

33. Make candles.

34. Transfer blog(s) to my own domain(s).

35. Sort through jewelry and sell or donate at least 5 items.

36. Trade in old engagement ring at Kay Jewelers.

37. Repaint trim around kitchen window.

38. Paint bed.

39. Get new bedspread set.

40. Install new ceiling fan in bedroom.

41. Go dancing at least once.

42. Sort through glasses/mugs cabinet in kitchen.

43. Sort and put away work files and boxes in basement.

44. Buy new/paint old dining furniture.

45. Get name changed on diplomas.

46. Get name changed on savings account.

47. Sing karaoke at least once.

I still need five more. But I'll get there.

Number 14 was "Finish reading Sleepwalk with Me" and I said I had done that last time and would post more. I did finish it, and I thought it was a great book. I'm a huge fan of Mike Birbiglia, so a lot of what was in the book, I'd heard before in his acts. But a lot of it was new. There were some hilariously funny spots that I had to read aloud to R, and he agreed were hilarious. Especially the part about Mike participating in a focus group about NASCAR, even though he knew nothing about NASCAR.

But the main thing I had to tell you all about reading the book is the surprise I got when I first settled in and opened it. This:

It's autographed! I was so surprised. I just bought it from Amazon.com, and I don't think it said anything special about being autographed. So, I'm thinking Mike did it 'cause he knew it was for me. (And yes, it's really his signature, because I compared it to the one I got in person.) EG asked me if it was personalized, like did it say, "Dear Janet, Thanks for finally buying me book. What took you so long?" But no, just his signature.

Anyway, Mike happens to be finishing up a 7 day gig where he's being paid to sleep in a Macy's window by Downy .

I just think this is awesome. I mean, anyone who can find a way to get paid to sleep is my hero.

Moving on...Number 16 is to sort though my closets and donate at least 10 items to Salvation Army. I didn't actually sort through my closets, but what I did do was take two bags of stuff I had already sorted months ago and donate them. So, I'm not crossing this off, as the idea is to sort more stuff out of my closet, but I think I deserve some credit for taking stuff that had been in a bag for months and finally getting rid of it.

23 is to buy a new Rock Band guitar. So, did I do that one? Well, you tell me:

How many Rock Band guitars does it take? Well, when two of them don't work, it takes three. We had the one that came with the game, of course. And it quit working. And R is pretty much a technological genius, but he couldn't get it fixed. And he scoured the internet for possible solutions, only to come up with nothing.

So, in case anyone out there is googling, "Rock Band guitar won't sync red button broken" here is what you do: You buy a new dongle, which is the little white boxy thingy that connects to the Wii. Because if you buy a guitar on ebay, it will do the same exact thing. And then you'll know the problem isn't the guitar. Except that it's very hard to find just the dongle. So, what you do is, you buy a brand new guitar, which comes with the dongle. And don't be fooled into spending $150 on the Mustang Pro guitar, because people will try to tell you that is the only guitar you can buy. It's not true. We got ours online through Game Stop for $59.99.

Oh, and we also bought Rock Band 3. And the Country Track Pack. And we're debating buying the keyboard. And R says we've really spent way too much money on this video game already. But it's fun. Seriously.

I've also been working on goals 2 and 3 which are to build a cover for my mantel and decorate over the mantel. I bought the lumber to build the cover but haven't had time for R and I to work together on building it. I also bought a big mirror and some new candles and other accessories, and we've got them all put up. But I don't want to post pics until it's all finished.

Anyway, that's about it. I may get to work on one or two more goals while we're snowed in with this Midwest Blizzard of 2011. R just called me to inform me that they've declared a "State of Emergency" and won't let him leave work! Grrrrr... Maybe I'm just spoiled from so many years in the education field. When it gets this bad, we don't go to work.

My mom is here, visiting from L.A. (Welcome to Missouri! Have some snow!) and supposed to fly out tomorrow. We shall see. Maybe I'll be blessed with an even longer visit with my mom. I just wish R could be here to play Rock Band with us.

What Some of Us Have Been Up To

2011-01-20T17:51:00.000-06:00

Sorry my posting has been few and far between. I've been dealing with a nasty sinus infection (which I thought was a cold for 2 1/2 weeks and did nothing about until Tuesday) and it's left me little energy to do the basic things, let alone blog about it all. I am finally starting to feel a little normal today, so here I am.

We've also been dealing with a lot of this:

Which this one loves:

And this one barely tolerates:

Today it's nearly deep enough to cover his little body. I let him outside and watched him leap around like a rabbit to get from place to place.

They come inside looking like this:

Then they spend the rest of the day like this:

Beavis has been busy too. He finally played with his Christmas mouse the other day:

He's vicious:

Also, he's apparently having some challenges in the litter box department. No, not like that. He's using it. I'm just not sure what he's using it for.

The other night, R went downstairs to check on Beavis's food and litter situation, and he hollered up at me, "Babe! You have to come see what your cat has done!"

Lord. I probably don't even want to know.

So, I headed down there, only to see litter scattered across the floor of the room leading into where the litter is. I immediately started hollering, "What is wrong with him?! I just swept this floor today!"

And R said, "Oh, you don't know the half of it. Keep walking." So I did. And this is what I saw:

Huh?! Notice, the litter box is standing on it's short end. Leaning up against the wall. How did he even do that? And why?

So, that's what we've been up to. Recovering from illness, playing in the snow, snuggling in to stay warm, and...building litter box sculptures.

What have you been up to?

Project 52: I'm Joining In!

2011-01-10T16:50:00.000-06:00

I've been reading along for a year as Karen, Jennee, and a few others worked on their goals and posted updates weekly, and I decided this year to join in the project. I love making lists, and I love crossing stuff off my list even more. Yep, I'm one of those people who will do something not on the list, and then write it on the list, just so I can cross it off.

I asked Karen if I could put "Make list of 52 goals" as my first goal, and she said yes. So, that's what I'm doing. My list only has 32 things on it so far, but I've decided that's okay.

I also have given myself a stipulation for this project that anything on the list actually be something I can DO and call it done. None of this "I will work out three times a week for 52 weeks..." Or "I will stop myself from complaining about idiotic colleagues 10 out of 20 times I am tempted..." No on-going projects here. Stuff I can do, and be done, and mark off. I took the liberty of breaking down one major task (finishing the rest of the basement) into smaller, more achievable tasks, so that I can check more things off.

And yes, R, if you are reading, many of these tasks involve you. Aren't you excited?!

For the record, I plan to read many more books than I have listed here so far. But these are three books I've already started reading. So, I need to finish them. And yes, I started one of them like almost a year ago.

I am also taking the liberty of posting a list with a couple things on it that I already did. I started the list on January 1, and I put them on the list before I did them. So it counts. Because I say so.

Without further ado, here is the list:

1. Make list of 52 goals.

2. Build cover for mantle.

3. Redecorate above mantle.

4. Finish building walls in basement.

5. Drywall walls in basement.

6. Mud and tape walls in basement.

7. Sand walls in basement.

8. Paint walls in basement.

9. Hang doors in basement.

10. Paint (or tile?) floors in basement.

11. Decorate basement.

12. Finish reading Committed.

13. Finish reading Women, Food, and God.

14. Finish reading Sleepwalk with Me.--Finished this last night! Will post about it soon!

15. Sort through books and post on half.com.

16. Sort through closets and donate at least 10 items to Salvation Army.

17. Buy a shed for mowers, etc…

18. Paint bedroom.

19. Paint bookshelf.

20. Organize work things on bookshelf.

21. Buy new silverware.

22. Visit Whole Foods and buy some vegan meat alternatives.

23. Get a new Rock Band Guitar.--ordered one on ebay today!

24. Take at least one overnight out of town trip with R.

25. Hem pink pants.--done!

26. Get jeans hemmed.

27. Pay off New Buggie.

28. Get a professional pedicure.

29. Get credit card paid off.

30. Make trivet with leftover kitchen tile.

31. Make stepping stone for Tigger.

32. Knit two scarves as presents.

That's it so far. I have to come up with 20 more things, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it. Here's to a successful 2011 with much crossing off happening!

Why Do I Put up So Many Christmas Decorations? And Why Do Vacations End So Quickly?

2011-01-02T16:46:00.000-06:00

Today is my last day of Christmas break, and we just finished putting all the decorations away and putting the house back in order. And I only broke down crying once. Success!

I don't know exactly what it was all about, other than I'm sick, so I don't feel well. I spent half my vacation sick, so I didn't accomplish most of what I intended to. My vacation is over, and I don't want it to be. I was tired from all the work, and I was feeling like the house wasn still a disaster. R asked if I was okay at one point, and I just burst into tears.

I think taking down Christmas decorations is depressing. Somehow it's so festive putting it all up. Thinking of the vacation time ahead, visiting family, presents, good food, etc... Then when you take it all down, you know it's back to business as usual.

And everything is so dark now. I got used to all the lights. I love Christmas lights. Inside, outside, mine, other people's, on the tree, on the mantle, around a banister, wherever.

I lit every candle in the house once I got everything put away. I can't decide if it looks cheerful, romantic, or creepy.

I did a little research online right after we put the tree up, because R asked me why people put trees up anyway. Like what is the reason behind that tradition? I kind of like knowing that stuff myself, so we looked. And interestingly, we never really found a good answer. There seem to be many stories, any one of which may be the reason, or they may all just be legends.

But the reasons that made the most sense to me had to do with Christmas occurring so close to the winter solstice, which is the darkest time of the year. I mean, in terms of actual hours of sunlight. Not in terms of financial stress and time spent with crazy family members. But there is that too.

Anyway, so the idea is that during the cold of winter, evergreen trees are one of the few things still showing signs of life. So people brought them inside to remind them that spring would come soon. And the lights, originally candles, lit up the long, dark nights.

Makes sense to me. Guess I'll keep lighting candles until spring.

Belated Christmas Wishes

2010-12-29T16:55:00.000-06:00

Rudy got this the other day:

It's a little to small, and he's a lot unhappy with the whole affair. So, I may take Gina's advice and "Just Say No!" to the doggie sweater idea. As I wrestled him into it, trying to explain how warm and cozy it would make him, I could feel him trying to explain to me that maybe I could just NOT LEAVE HIM OUTSIDE WHEN IT'S COLD?!
To show you that he wasn't this unhappy all Christmas long, here's another photo:

Isn't he sweet sitting by the tree looking out at the snow falling on Christmas Eve? With the star above his head, just like Baby Jesus? (Okay, I might be going to hell for that, but he is cute, no?)

And so Daisy isn't left out, here she is:

Snuggled up by the red blanket with a hint of fiber optic tree and pink dog bone stocking in the background.

Beavis got a mouse he wants nothing to do with and a bag of treats he wants everything to do with. Unfortunately he didn't pose for any photos with his spoils.

As for the rest of us, we had a pretty good day. We spent Christmas Day at my aunt's house with 28 people. My dad and step-monster came down, and my uncle and his wife came from far far away, making it the first Christmas in at least 20 years that Grandma had all three of her kids (and most of their kids and many great-grandkids) under one roof for Christmas.

We took R's daughter, S up to meet my family for the first time, and all went well there. I knew it would. She's a great kid, and she's never met a stranger.

At one point I sat there taking it all in and thinking, "This is just the perfect Christmas. So many people I care about all under one roof. Grandparents, children, even one dog (not one of mine, sadly)."

Then, about two hours later, when the gift opening fiasco began, I thought to myself, "This is pure hell, and I can think of 87 other places I'd rather be right now."

Thankfully, that part was relatively short (meaning, only 2 1/2 hours long, with impatient children screaming and wailing.)

Even SM didn't say too much to me at all, and R and I had agreed to keep her as far away from S as possible. I don't think she would have said anything mean to her in the presence of 27 other people who would all be on our side. But you never know about her. She seems to lack that censoring thing most of us have between our heads and our mouths.

The worst thing she said was when someone asked her about seeing her son and grandson for the holidays, and she said, "We saw them already and had our Christmas, so we are DONE with Christmas." And made this big sweeping gesture with her hands. Leaving many of us standing there thinking, "Ummm...what are we? Chopped liver?"

She actually spent most of the time hiding in the kitchen, trying to make herself useful or something by washing dishes and such. R commented to me at one time that she must be just going crazy in this environment, about to explode inside her own head. So many people, most of whom have made no bones about not liking her (and whom she's made no bones about not liking).

As I get a little older, I'm able to see that in her. That she's hurts me, and others, because she's hurting herself. That doesn't make it okay, and three-year-old Janet had no way of knowing that, but it makes it a little easier to take these days.

I hope you're having a wonderful holiday season with all of your loved ones, whether four-footed or two-footed! And I hope nothing made you want to explode inside your head. Unless maybe in a good way.

Funny Pics of Dogs in Coats

2010-12-23T23:01:00.000-06:00

I'm browsing ebay for a coat for Rudy. We've looked in several stores and not had much luck. I guess everyone and his dog is buying doggie coats and sweaters for Christmas.

Anyway, several of these pictures are cracking me up. For some reason, this one made me laugh so hard I cried.

(This is not my dog, and this is not my photo. But if you'd like to ~~subject your dog to similar humiliation~~ buy your dog these coveralls, you can from this ebay listing.)

(Also not my dog or my photo. But if you think your dog would put up with this, you can buy one here.)

This one looks particularly ~~constricting and unsanitary~~ warm and cozy. (Not my dog, not my pic, buy it here. I mean, if you want to. Which I kinda hope you don't. For your dog's sake.)

Or you could skip the coat thing and just get your dog some legwarmers. (Pic from www.dogsinduds.com)

I think Rudy and I will keep looking.

Saturday Morning So Far

2010-12-18T09:51:00.000-06:00

I woke up from having this crazy dream where Ron White was staying with us for a few days. Or it may not have really been Ron White. It may have been this guy we know who I swear looks just like Ron White and talks even more like Ron White. I think he might drink slightly more than Ron White. Whomever he was, he was staying with us, and he was in our kitchen making an egg white omelet.

Then, still in my dream, I went to the closet to change clothes, and most of my clothes were gone. So I asked R what he'd done with my clothes. He informed me that he needed the hangers for his motorcycle. So he'd thrown all the clothes on the floor and taken the hangers. For his motorcycle.

Somewhere about there is when I woke up.

First thing, R asked me if I wanted him to go get the donuts now. And when I woke up, I had laid there in bed wondering if I'd really asked him out loud last night to get donuts if he got up before me, or if I'd only thought it and hadn't really said it. Apparently I said it. Or he can just read my mind. Either one is equally likely to be true.

So we had this whole conversation about what I wanted, in which I used my own made up sign language to symbolize "donut" versus "long john." I think I was actually doing the signs for "more" and something else probably obscene. But I got my point across.

Then I went to work scrubbing our sink with Soft Scrub with Bleach, because it had gotten horribly stained. I think I've been drinking more coffee than usual lately. R walked into the kitchen and we had this conversation:

R: What have you got going on in here?
J: I'm cleaning the sink. Why?
R: There's some sort of smell in here that I don't recognize.
J: It's Soft Scrub with Bleach.
R: Oh, yeah, that's it.
J: It's unfamiliar to you. It's the smell of CLEAN.

Then somewhere in the midst of all this, I began to ponder if I've become one of those people who puts sweaters on their dogs. Because poor little Rudy was literally sitting outside shivering. Like we looked out the window at him and could visibly see him shivering.

I think he'd be awfully cute in a little Christmas sweater. I'm just not sure I can do it.

Anyway, I've got donuts waiting for me.

You Might Be a Redneck...

2010-12-09T20:15:00.000-06:00

...if your Christmas tree looks like this:

We put our tree up the other day. And it stayed up for a minute or two. Until the whole base cracked and the tree went crashing toward my living room window. Thankfully, R broke its fall. (He might not be quite as thankful about that as I was.)

We tried super glue, and just in case you're thinking of trying it, it won't work. Then I considered running straight to Wal-mart for a new tree. But I'm cheap. I bought this one half price on December 26th many many years ago. I'd really hate to pay full price if I don't have to.

Then R (A letter which may or may not stand for Redneck) suggested duct tape. And I thought, "Well, that's what tree skirts are for, right? To hide a little duct tape now and then?" So we went for it. Thus far, it's working.

I hope it keeps working until December 26th.

There's a New Bug in Town

2010-12-01T21:20:00.000-06:00

Well, new to me anyway. He's an '06. He's "Galaxy Blue." He's very shiny. And his engine works properly (minor detail).

Yep, that's right, I gave up on the old Buggie. I gave it a good go, and I agonized over the decision, but it was time.

I had been talking to my mom about whether or not to get a new car, and telling her how I don't feel I can afford to take on a payment right now, and I'm unsure about the permanence of my job, etc... And finally she said, "Yes, but think about what all this anxiety is costing you, worrying every time you have to drive anywhere, and thinking that you might not make it."

Good point. And I thought about it the whole way home from Thanksgiving dinner, in the dark, 23 degrees outside, my boyfriend 800 miles away, me afraid to stop and pee because I feared the car wouldn't go again if I stopped.

And I had this idea in my head that I was deciding between two options: keeping my car (which I was afraid was a bad idea), or buying a new car (which I was also afraid was a bad idea). Then R found this one online and showed it to me. The first thing I said was, "I don't want that car, it's OLD."

R told me to look at it this way: It's half as old as mine was. In years and in miles. Plus it has an engine that's been shown to have far fewer problems than my old one. I certainly could not argue at all with the price. I don't know why that didn't occur to me before, to buy a used one. Duh.

So, we went and took a look at this one, and I just felt it was right. I tend to decide these things with something other than my brain. But the price was perfect, the car looks awesome, they gave us a great price for my trade, and my payments are so low, I can probably pay double and have it paid off before I'd truly be worried about my job again.

I was really sad to see the old one go, and I cried more than once before the transaction was over. She looked so lonely sitting there in that lot in the cold. Then R suggested that maybe I should think about some nice young girl, just turned 16, always wanted a Bug, getting my Buggie for Christmas as her first car. That made me happy. Well, other than fearing for this poor girl's safety, but whatever.

Then as we drove home in the clean, shiny, not to mention well-operating, Bug, we listed all the things that were broken on my old one. We came up with 15. And I was only counting the whole "engine not running" thing as one problem. And the whole "front end is tore up all to hell and back" as one problem.

So, it was a good decision. I'm still crying sitting here writing about leaving the old Buggie behind. But looking out in the garage at the new one makes me feel better!

Snarflicious Mug Shot

2010-11-26T11:13:00.000-06:00

I've tried to take a picture of Mr. Snarfleupagus, but he seriously won't be still for a second, so this is the best I could get:

A couple of you asked what kind of dog he is. He's obviously got some Shar Pei in him, with all the wrinkles, but I don't know what all he's made up of. He's black all over, with short, wiry hair. And his tail curls up.

He's snarfling his leash in this picture. It's not just me he snarfles. And you can see a tiny glimpse of his "sister" in this picture. She's a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel. You know, like Elizabeth Taylor from Sex and the City?

Which I hope to be watching later today if the Post Office Gods cooperate. Due to my own mismanagement of my Netflix queue, I seem to be expecting Sex and the City II from both Amazon.com and Netflix today. We'll see who gets here first.

No, I'm not shopping today. (Unless you count sitting home waiting for Amazon orders.) Are you?