I have decided that I have let this one languish long enough. I am having a hard time getting into it so have since decided to start all over again. If anyone would like to follow me to my new home it is
http://musingstangentsandothersuchnonsense.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Things in my head
*I spent the day doing the one thing I hate more than anything in the world. I did my taxes. And no, before you ask, I am NOT happy. Again this year I owe more than I feel comfortable, though I did much better this year than I did last year. I only owe about a third of what I had to pay in last year and though it will be a little tight for the next six weeks, I will pay it off by the 15th if it kills me. Once that is out of the way then I can worry about next years and paying in enough so that I can get a little closer to where I only have to write out a check for a couple hundred instead of a couple thousand. I have no desire to actually give them MY money to hang onto for the year, I would much rather owe a little bit.
*I'm not sure, but it is possible that I may kill my son. This is not good on so many levels, one of them being that he is the last tax deduction that I have living at home. I really wish I could figure out what his problem is with turning things in at school and remembering to complete them when he doesn't finish them at school. It's very frustrating.
*It's weird, my dryer broke sometime around the beginning of January. I decided that I wasn't going to rush out and buy another one until I had saved some money for it. Cash. But, as time has passed and the money has sat there, I realized that I actually LIKE hanging out clothes on the clothes line. I had a little bit of trouble at first with the whole softner scenario and the weather has not always cooperated, but I really, really like doing it. I thought it would be a pain in the butt to do since I work during the day but I have gotten into a pretty good routine and I think I will continue to do it this way. YAY! $500 for my taxes right there!!
*I read this book the other day by Joy Fielding, who is one of those authors that can keep you guessing. This particular book I figured out what was going on (possibly I have gotten used to her writing style) fairly quickly but it was definitely odd. It was about a woman who was hit by a car and in a coma. But she could hear everything going on around her. How strange would that be, you would almost be like a fly on the wall.
*Found out Friday my first grandchild is going to be a boy! We started buying things Saturday..lol.
*Feeling very introspective lately. Where the hell is THAT coming from???
*Had a bbq on Saturday with all of my kids and their families here. Also, some very good friends came over. With the prep work out of the way on Friday evening I was able to sit and visit with my girls and our friends and had a great time. We need to do this more often.
*Note to self: make dog an appointment this month for his yearly shots. Then pay vet bucketloads of money.
*Damn..more notes to self: Pick up new filter. Get oil changed. Make son an appointment for sports physical. Drop off lawn mower to get serviced. Mail MH dad's bday card. Pick up stamps. Call grandmother. Move money from paypal to savings account. Drop off rent check. Go online to Kinko's and order some copies to pick up for work.
* I really need to go through the closet in my office with all the POP for my job in it and clean it out. Especially since I just got a crapload of emails telling me that tons more are coming.
MUST TURN OFF BRAIN NOW!!!!!
*I'm not sure, but it is possible that I may kill my son. This is not good on so many levels, one of them being that he is the last tax deduction that I have living at home. I really wish I could figure out what his problem is with turning things in at school and remembering to complete them when he doesn't finish them at school. It's very frustrating.
*It's weird, my dryer broke sometime around the beginning of January. I decided that I wasn't going to rush out and buy another one until I had saved some money for it. Cash. But, as time has passed and the money has sat there, I realized that I actually LIKE hanging out clothes on the clothes line. I had a little bit of trouble at first with the whole softner scenario and the weather has not always cooperated, but I really, really like doing it. I thought it would be a pain in the butt to do since I work during the day but I have gotten into a pretty good routine and I think I will continue to do it this way. YAY! $500 for my taxes right there!!
*I read this book the other day by Joy Fielding, who is one of those authors that can keep you guessing. This particular book I figured out what was going on (possibly I have gotten used to her writing style) fairly quickly but it was definitely odd. It was about a woman who was hit by a car and in a coma. But she could hear everything going on around her. How strange would that be, you would almost be like a fly on the wall.
*Found out Friday my first grandchild is going to be a boy! We started buying things Saturday..lol.
*Feeling very introspective lately. Where the hell is THAT coming from???
*Had a bbq on Saturday with all of my kids and their families here. Also, some very good friends came over. With the prep work out of the way on Friday evening I was able to sit and visit with my girls and our friends and had a great time. We need to do this more often.
*Note to self: make dog an appointment this month for his yearly shots. Then pay vet bucketloads of money.
*Damn..more notes to self: Pick up new filter. Get oil changed. Make son an appointment for sports physical. Drop off lawn mower to get serviced. Mail MH dad's bday card. Pick up stamps. Call grandmother. Move money from paypal to savings account. Drop off rent check. Go online to Kinko's and order some copies to pick up for work.
* I really need to go through the closet in my office with all the POP for my job in it and clean it out. Especially since I just got a crapload of emails telling me that tons more are coming.
MUST TURN OFF BRAIN NOW!!!!!
Friday, January 22, 2010
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly #2
I kinda like this whole good, bad and ugly thing I have going on. Of course with my ADD issues I will probably forget about it in a couple weeks but for now it's working for me....
The Good:
*I have decided that I really enjoy hanging up my laundry and I am no hurry to buy a new dryer. We went looking at them the other day and found a few in our price range but I think we will put it off for a little bit. There is just something cathartic about hanging up the laundry on the line.
*More side jobs coming up for Mad Hatter, he is getting closer to his dream of working for himself.
*My oldest daughter gave me the best gift ever when she made me laugh so hard that I cried. She was on her way to work and had almost left her house without the lunch that she packed herself. Innocently I asked her what she packed for lunch and she said two tuna fish sandwhiches, 3 clementines, a baggie full of fresh blueberries, 2 frozen chimichangas, some yogurt and a couple nutri grain bars. She is 18 weeks pregnant and apparently is afraid of starving to death. This is the same person that barely would finish a meal before she got pregnant.
*My dad finally got the CD I ordered for him a long time ago. It is definately the one that he wanted and he is ecstatic with it.
*My friend who was in the hospital the other day is home and recovering now. They never figured out for sure what was wrong but they did rule out a bunch of really scary stuff. We are all thankful.
*It's been really nice watching my savings account balance grow again. The last few months really took a toll on it.
*I don't have all my 1099's or W2's in yet but it is looking a lot better than years past. Pray for me.
The Bad:
*Mad Hatter is becoming increasingly dissatisfied with his current job. Situations out of his control are making it impossible for him to stay in his current situation for much longer.
*I'm not sure if it's the age that Caterpillar is at now, if it's because he is a boy or because he is just trying to get on my last nerve but we are butting heads alot lately and sometimes I really would like to wring his neck. I am hoping this phase in his life passes quickly and he gets back to his fun loving normal self.
*My camera is seriously thinking about quitting on me. I probably take close to 200 pics a week on it for work and have had it for going on 2 years so I am sure that has a little something to do with it.
The Ugly:
*Mad Hatter's grandmother is not doing well at all. In fact, they do not expect her to make it through the weekend. We have already looked into air fare and it looks like he will be flying up there soon for the funeral.
*Mad Hatter's best friend's mother is not doing well either. His friend is having a real tough time of it, lots of different things going on his life that no one person should have to deal with all at the same time. His mom has been fighting cancer for the past 10 years and this latest round is winning. She is home with hospice and her family is around her.
Hoping that next weeks installment will not have any Ugly to it.
The Good:
*I have decided that I really enjoy hanging up my laundry and I am no hurry to buy a new dryer. We went looking at them the other day and found a few in our price range but I think we will put it off for a little bit. There is just something cathartic about hanging up the laundry on the line.
*More side jobs coming up for Mad Hatter, he is getting closer to his dream of working for himself.
*My oldest daughter gave me the best gift ever when she made me laugh so hard that I cried. She was on her way to work and had almost left her house without the lunch that she packed herself. Innocently I asked her what she packed for lunch and she said two tuna fish sandwhiches, 3 clementines, a baggie full of fresh blueberries, 2 frozen chimichangas, some yogurt and a couple nutri grain bars. She is 18 weeks pregnant and apparently is afraid of starving to death. This is the same person that barely would finish a meal before she got pregnant.
*My dad finally got the CD I ordered for him a long time ago. It is definately the one that he wanted and he is ecstatic with it.
*My friend who was in the hospital the other day is home and recovering now. They never figured out for sure what was wrong but they did rule out a bunch of really scary stuff. We are all thankful.
*It's been really nice watching my savings account balance grow again. The last few months really took a toll on it.
*I don't have all my 1099's or W2's in yet but it is looking a lot better than years past. Pray for me.
The Bad:
*Mad Hatter is becoming increasingly dissatisfied with his current job. Situations out of his control are making it impossible for him to stay in his current situation for much longer.
*I'm not sure if it's the age that Caterpillar is at now, if it's because he is a boy or because he is just trying to get on my last nerve but we are butting heads alot lately and sometimes I really would like to wring his neck. I am hoping this phase in his life passes quickly and he gets back to his fun loving normal self.
*My camera is seriously thinking about quitting on me. I probably take close to 200 pics a week on it for work and have had it for going on 2 years so I am sure that has a little something to do with it.
The Ugly:
*Mad Hatter's grandmother is not doing well at all. In fact, they do not expect her to make it through the weekend. We have already looked into air fare and it looks like he will be flying up there soon for the funeral.
*Mad Hatter's best friend's mother is not doing well either. His friend is having a real tough time of it, lots of different things going on his life that no one person should have to deal with all at the same time. His mom has been fighting cancer for the past 10 years and this latest round is winning. She is home with hospice and her family is around her.
Hoping that next weeks installment will not have any Ugly to it.
Friday, January 15, 2010
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Well, it's Friday and I have made it through the week. It's been a pretty calm week, well except for today.
The Good:
*I got all my work done for the week and even worked on a few things for next week which means that I am actually ahead! Yeah, I know....spooky.
*The final tally of Caterpillar's grades came in and he passed everything. In fact, his lowest grade was a 74 in Math and since he does struggle in that class I am willing to accept it.
*MH actually was able to pick up a few side jobs. This is always a good thing.
*Found out that Cheshire Cat's new due date is June 25th. Not too much longer before we have a new baby to cuddle.
*It's warmed up a bit here so while it is still cool I am not turning into a popsicle.
The Bad:
*My dryer died finally this week. That is so not good on so many levels.
*I knew that I would be going out of town sometime next month for a few meetings at work. I also knew that it would be for a few days (paid for of course) I did not know that it was going to be the first week of the month and the way that I would find out was to get my itinerary emailed to me. I would have much rather had some details sent to me first...sigh.
*Got my new electric bill in this week and even though I froze through the entire billing period and never had my heat set above 68 my bill was $489. That is pathetically ridiculous.
The Ugly:
*I have a really good friend who is in her 70's. Another friend and I try to check up on her, especially since she is no longer working. We try to get together for lunch at least once a month. Today was that day. We waited for her for awhile and then went ahead and ate, thinking (and hoping) that she had just forgotten. The longer we sat there the worse I was feeling so we decided to drive to her house to check on her. Her car was sitting in the driveway and as I was contemplating the best way to break into her house to check on her a neighbor came over to tell us that she was taken by ambulance to the hospital the other night. After tracking her down and going to the hospital ourselves we finally were able to see her. She is in ICU where she is having internal bleeding they cannot control. She has been given several pints of blood and while they think she is getting better they still haven't found the cause. I will be going to the hospital to check on her again on Sunday and the only good part is that while I was there the social worker came in to get information from her so I am now listed on her emergency contacts so this will not happen again.
It's been something of a week and hopefully the good will continue and there will be no more ugly for quite awhile.
The Good:
*I got all my work done for the week and even worked on a few things for next week which means that I am actually ahead! Yeah, I know....spooky.
*The final tally of Caterpillar's grades came in and he passed everything. In fact, his lowest grade was a 74 in Math and since he does struggle in that class I am willing to accept it.
*MH actually was able to pick up a few side jobs. This is always a good thing.
*Found out that Cheshire Cat's new due date is June 25th. Not too much longer before we have a new baby to cuddle.
*It's warmed up a bit here so while it is still cool I am not turning into a popsicle.
The Bad:
*My dryer died finally this week. That is so not good on so many levels.
*I knew that I would be going out of town sometime next month for a few meetings at work. I also knew that it would be for a few days (paid for of course) I did not know that it was going to be the first week of the month and the way that I would find out was to get my itinerary emailed to me. I would have much rather had some details sent to me first...sigh.
*Got my new electric bill in this week and even though I froze through the entire billing period and never had my heat set above 68 my bill was $489. That is pathetically ridiculous.
The Ugly:
*I have a really good friend who is in her 70's. Another friend and I try to check up on her, especially since she is no longer working. We try to get together for lunch at least once a month. Today was that day. We waited for her for awhile and then went ahead and ate, thinking (and hoping) that she had just forgotten. The longer we sat there the worse I was feeling so we decided to drive to her house to check on her. Her car was sitting in the driveway and as I was contemplating the best way to break into her house to check on her a neighbor came over to tell us that she was taken by ambulance to the hospital the other night. After tracking her down and going to the hospital ourselves we finally were able to see her. She is in ICU where she is having internal bleeding they cannot control. She has been given several pints of blood and while they think she is getting better they still haven't found the cause. I will be going to the hospital to check on her again on Sunday and the only good part is that while I was there the social worker came in to get information from her so I am now listed on her emergency contacts so this will not happen again.
It's been something of a week and hopefully the good will continue and there will be no more ugly for quite awhile.
Monday, January 11, 2010
The Year of the Simple
So far so good. I have spent the entire past week repeating my manta of "Keep it simple, stupid", and it has worked!
I managed to schedule everything I needed to last week, leaving room for those last minute things that tend to crop up. I also made sure I scheduled the stupid little things that I normally just try to remember and then when I forget I kick myself in the butt. The result was a completely stress free week complete with enough spontaneous things thrown in to keep me from being over scheduled.
I was able to spend time with my family and not be stressed out about things that weren't getting done. I was also able to make time for some phone calls with friends to catch up, one friend who called out of the blue on Saturday that I had not spoken to in a couple years. It was so nice to be able to just focus on that and not feel guilty that I was neglecting my family. I have gotten into the habit in the past few years to not be on the phone in the evenings and weekends when everyone is home so it was nice that when I received the phone call I had no qualms about just sitting down and chatting for an hour or so.
I have really been wanting to add a few things to my schedule but honestly I am afraid of upsetting the balance I am enjoying with work and family. If I can keep this up for the rest of the year then possibly I can regain my sanity and maybe not have to color my hair quite so often to get rid of that pesky gray that crops up more often than I care for. Guess we shall see.
I managed to schedule everything I needed to last week, leaving room for those last minute things that tend to crop up. I also made sure I scheduled the stupid little things that I normally just try to remember and then when I forget I kick myself in the butt. The result was a completely stress free week complete with enough spontaneous things thrown in to keep me from being over scheduled.
I was able to spend time with my family and not be stressed out about things that weren't getting done. I was also able to make time for some phone calls with friends to catch up, one friend who called out of the blue on Saturday that I had not spoken to in a couple years. It was so nice to be able to just focus on that and not feel guilty that I was neglecting my family. I have gotten into the habit in the past few years to not be on the phone in the evenings and weekends when everyone is home so it was nice that when I received the phone call I had no qualms about just sitting down and chatting for an hour or so.
I have really been wanting to add a few things to my schedule but honestly I am afraid of upsetting the balance I am enjoying with work and family. If I can keep this up for the rest of the year then possibly I can regain my sanity and maybe not have to color my hair quite so often to get rid of that pesky gray that crops up more often than I care for. Guess we shall see.
Monday, January 4, 2010
A New Year
For someone that hates change as much as I do, I get surprisingly chipper at the beginning of the New Year. It's a time for change, for goals, and lists! Lots and lots of lists. I absolutely adore lists. Generally I can come up with my own reasons for making a list but there is something about the beginning of a new year that brings out an insane desire to make a list, or two, or ten.
I spent the weekend getting my new day planner situated. I never leave home without it and have it within arms reach at pretty much any time. I'm pretty picky about dayplanners and I am one of those people that are difficult to buy one for so I always buy my own and then someone else gives it to me for Christmas. I know, pathetic but it works for us...lol.
I spent today getting all of my work things together and everything scheduled for the month. Since I am only working for two companies right now and one of them has monthly and bi monthly projects I can schedule everything right now at the beginning of the month. My other company is a weekly company but it's pretty easy to figure out what I am doing for up to three weeks in advance. I don't know why I didn't try doing this before. In the past I had always scheduled by the week and now I can't figure out why. This is so nice to look at my calendar and at a glance I can figure out what I am doing and can schedule anything else in between work. A friend of mine called today so we could get together for lunch sometime in the next couple weeks with a couple other friends. I was able to look at the calendar and tell her what days I had open without having to do anything. Simple. I like simple.
In fact, I have decided that I want this year to be the year of simple. Last year at this time I was working on 5 different projects, dealing with household issues, and the boys were doing Boy Scouts which kept my calendar pretty full on the weekends and sometimes even during the week. This year I think we are going to try for relaxed and low key. I am looking into adding a couple more temporary projects in which to fulfill other goals I am looking at, but I think for the most part I will keep it simple.
I spent the weekend getting my new day planner situated. I never leave home without it and have it within arms reach at pretty much any time. I'm pretty picky about dayplanners and I am one of those people that are difficult to buy one for so I always buy my own and then someone else gives it to me for Christmas. I know, pathetic but it works for us...lol.
I spent today getting all of my work things together and everything scheduled for the month. Since I am only working for two companies right now and one of them has monthly and bi monthly projects I can schedule everything right now at the beginning of the month. My other company is a weekly company but it's pretty easy to figure out what I am doing for up to three weeks in advance. I don't know why I didn't try doing this before. In the past I had always scheduled by the week and now I can't figure out why. This is so nice to look at my calendar and at a glance I can figure out what I am doing and can schedule anything else in between work. A friend of mine called today so we could get together for lunch sometime in the next couple weeks with a couple other friends. I was able to look at the calendar and tell her what days I had open without having to do anything. Simple. I like simple.
In fact, I have decided that I want this year to be the year of simple. Last year at this time I was working on 5 different projects, dealing with household issues, and the boys were doing Boy Scouts which kept my calendar pretty full on the weekends and sometimes even during the week. This year I think we are going to try for relaxed and low key. I am looking into adding a couple more temporary projects in which to fulfill other goals I am looking at, but I think for the most part I will keep it simple.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Room for Improvement
I have been having a string of incredibly bad luck lately. So bad, in fact, that I haven't felt like updating anything really as it would just sound like whining.
But today I decided that while it could definitely be worse, there is ALOT of room for improvement. Of course, immediately after I made this life affirming decision to focus on the improvement, I received a phone call with more bad news.
BUT...we are focusing on the POSITIVE!
I have finagled some things around and decided that no matter what...we are not going to get a car that we will have to make a payment on. We have two more years to pay on MH's truck and we will revisit this topic then but for now we have more than one option available and will go with one of those.
Speaking of more than one option, one of the options that we have is getting MH's grandmothers car. This was originally a pain in the neck idea since they live 8 hours away and she wanted so much for the car even though it needed some work on it. Now things have changed slightly so we would pay $800 for fixing the transmission seals and stuff and then pay his grandmother $500 for the car. Originally she had wanted $1200 even though the transmission had a leak that needed to be fixed. Now, including one way plane fare the entire thing shouldn't cost more than $1500. Much better. Plus we know that the car was taken care of, has less than 40,000 miles on it and was lightly used. I'm thinking this is our best bet at this point.
MH has had alot of time off lately because of different things but it looks like maybe things are looking up a bit. Keep your fingers crossed.
While doing my job lately has not been as easy as it could be, I have at least been able to do it and have worked out a way to try to actually do it a bit better. Also, several contests that they are running lately can make it possible for me to get more money. I like money. I just wish it liked me as much.
All the time off I have had lately has given me a lot of time to clean my house and do things that I have been putting off. My bedroom closet is organized and that, my friends, is not easy considering what was in it and the size of it.
Cheshire Cat hit a raccoon on her way to work early this morning and messed up her radiator and AC. Thank goodness that she was fine and the damage to the car was repaired for less than $150. She was also able to get the car back this evening so everything turned out really good.
Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
Anton Chekhov
But today I decided that while it could definitely be worse, there is ALOT of room for improvement. Of course, immediately after I made this life affirming decision to focus on the improvement, I received a phone call with more bad news.
BUT...we are focusing on the POSITIVE!
I have finagled some things around and decided that no matter what...we are not going to get a car that we will have to make a payment on. We have two more years to pay on MH's truck and we will revisit this topic then but for now we have more than one option available and will go with one of those.
Speaking of more than one option, one of the options that we have is getting MH's grandmothers car. This was originally a pain in the neck idea since they live 8 hours away and she wanted so much for the car even though it needed some work on it. Now things have changed slightly so we would pay $800 for fixing the transmission seals and stuff and then pay his grandmother $500 for the car. Originally she had wanted $1200 even though the transmission had a leak that needed to be fixed. Now, including one way plane fare the entire thing shouldn't cost more than $1500. Much better. Plus we know that the car was taken care of, has less than 40,000 miles on it and was lightly used. I'm thinking this is our best bet at this point.
MH has had alot of time off lately because of different things but it looks like maybe things are looking up a bit. Keep your fingers crossed.
While doing my job lately has not been as easy as it could be, I have at least been able to do it and have worked out a way to try to actually do it a bit better. Also, several contests that they are running lately can make it possible for me to get more money. I like money. I just wish it liked me as much.
All the time off I have had lately has given me a lot of time to clean my house and do things that I have been putting off. My bedroom closet is organized and that, my friends, is not easy considering what was in it and the size of it.
Cheshire Cat hit a raccoon on her way to work early this morning and messed up her radiator and AC. Thank goodness that she was fine and the damage to the car was repaired for less than $150. She was also able to get the car back this evening so everything turned out really good.
Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
Anton Chekhov
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