Today

Something that I dislike about blogging is coming up with a title. I'm usually at a loss for them and it annoys me.

I devoted yesterday's post to S since it was her birthday and didn't update on anything else. So this is what happened yesterday:

At about 10 am, I looked out my front window and saw a pick up truck parked in my driveway. I couldn't see what it said on the side of the truck and I didn't see anyone out front so I figured maybe they had stopped to turn around or something. I waited about ten minutes and looked out again and they were still there so at this point I'm like, "What's going on?" I let Bailey out back to do her business and saw orange spray paint all over the place and little orange flags stuck in the yard. After all that, I decided to go out front and see if I could find the owner of the pick up. He was in our side yard spray painting and throwing orange flags down like yard darts. His accuracy was pretty impressive. Turns out that they're getting ready to dig up my yard to hook our house up to the city sewer lines. And they were back at some point today with red spray paint so now my yard looks like a circus or something. Fun, fun.

I also finally sucked it up and talked to my landlord about the electric bill. He was so cool about it. He had an electrician out to the house about an hour after I talked to him to check things over and he's having a new heat pump put in. How lucky did I get with such a good landlord? After having the devil incarnate for a landlord at our first house in VT, I'm totally appreciative of having a landlord with a conscience.

I called about flute lessons for my daughter and they charge about $100 a month. Does that sound right? I've never looked into this type of thing before so I don't know if that's reasonable or not.

I also got bad news that I'm a math class or 3 credits short so I have to take a THIRD math class. Big, giganto, UGH!!! I thought I had put math classes behind me like a nasty, little, nightmare but apparently I was wrong.

Lastly, books. I finished reading my first Laurell K. Hamilton book the other day. I was entirely leery about reading a vampire book but did so at the recommendation of others and it wasn't that bad. It was certainly over the edge unbelievable with it having to do with vampires and lycanthropes and all, but entertaining all the same. I have to say I'd read more of her books. Today, I started J.D. Robb's newest release, Innocent in Death, and after reading her last two releases which I considered to be mediocre for J.D. Robb, this one has been a pleasant surprise. I'm thoroughly enjoying it and will have it finished tonight much to C's disgust. He hates how I can read an entire book in less than two days, heheh.

So, he just walked in the door from work so I'm outtie.

Happy Birthday S!

Today is my youngest daughter's 8th birthday. So far, she's having a great day. We started out the morning with some birthday cards that she had gotten in the mail from friends and family. Then while she was at school she got a flower cake delivery from my friend J in Cali. Isn't it pretty?

This post turned into a two-parter. We just got home from taking S out to dinner. We decided to try a new restaurant and went to Ham's. It was really good. We'll definitely be going back and S had a really good time.

She also enjoyed her presents. She said her favorite present was the framed picture that her sister made for her. How sweet is that?

So, Happy Birthday S!! Have eight spankings and one to grow on.

I'm All Alone

C is checking into his new unit today. After such an extended amount of time off work, it's really weird having him gone. I have extremely mixed feelings about him going back to work. On the one hand, I'm looking forward to having my routine back. He goes to work, the kids go to school, and I try and get as much done as I can before they descend upon me and nothing else gets done. On the other hand, we had a really great time, just the two of us while the kids were in school and I feel a little abandoned. It's strange cuz for the three years we were in VT I was very independent. I had to be and while it was rough in the beginning, I enjoyed being able to do everything for myself, when I wanted to, and how I wanted things done. Now I just have to find that in me again. Besides, I have so many things on my "to do" list today, I'll hardly have time to notice anything different.

I Spoke Too Soon

So, I had to go on and on about how great things are and then shit happens. We got our first electric/water bill today. For 18 days of billing (that's not even an entire month in case you couldn't tell), our bill is $408. Our kilowatt hours are triple what they were in VT, literally. This totally sucks out loud. I called and talked to the company today and the guy was reading off to me the past bills for this house and there was one that was $597 for ONE month. How the freak is that possible??? It's not as if this is a large house, it's only 1700sqft. We keep the thermostat set on 66 and if we're cold, which doesn't really happen with us a lot cuz we're used to a LOT more colder weather than this, we grab a throw blanket. My landlord said before we moved that if our bill was high that he'd bring someone out to look at the house and the heat pump but it sucks that I'm going to have to bitch and we haven't even been here a month yet. Grrr!!!

Enough of that.

We went shopping for S's birthday gifts today. That was a lot of fun cuz we went to this specialty toy store in downtown New Bern. I really like walking around downtown especially with it being in the 60's today. We also stopped in at this wine and cheese shop and bought a nifty bottle of Pinot Grigio and we were invited to a wine tasting on Thursday. We won't be able to go cuz it's a school night and we don't have babysitters but maybe some other time. They have one twice a month.

I also got my hair cut today which was really nice for me. It had been a loooong while since I had had a cut. It was nothing special but now it's not so shaggy and it's all one color, lol.

We had a parent/teacher conference for both kids today. Usually these things give me migraines but today wasn't bad. It was basically just a deal to touch base since we're new to the school.

Oh! And we stopped in at the used book store again today, heheh. We had some old VHS movies and books that we traded in for store credit and I walked out with 8 or 9 new books. Yay for me!

That's about it. It was a rather busy day for me today and I'm tired from it all. Ok. And even though the electric/water bill sucks, life is still good and it's not keeping me down. Woohoo!

President's Day

I almost forgot that this was Monday with the kids being home and stuff.

I had a relatively boring weekend which was soooo nice. I don't remember the last time we sat around and did NOTHING. Saturday, we hit the beach again with the dog. Bailey loved the beach but was afraid of the water. We brought her ball and she ate so much sand she probably poo'ed it for days, heheh. Sunday was my day of rest. I stayed in, caught up on my DVR watching, read a book, did some homework, and washed up some laundry. I didn't leave the house the whole entire day. Ahhhhh! Today we hit the Best Buy so that C could get a new flat screen monitor for his comp. He's now a happy camper.

Wanna hear something totally nerdy? I joined my school's English club, heheh. It's so nerdy, that I debated even posting that here, but if you can't bare it all on your blog, where else do you do it? I also bowed to conformity and downloaded the Myspace instant messenger. I'm about as equally embarrassed by that as I am about the English club. I also had a friend tell me that reading Harry Potter when your kids don't read it is creepy. I told him that he was just jealous because I actually know how to read but you have to wonder about the creepiness.

I'm currently writing a paper on Edgar Allen Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado". Ever read it? It was a good, twisted Poe piece. You have to wonder about someone who can come up with that stuff. The same things you would wonder about Stephen King.

You wanna know what else? When I lived in Vermont, I had no problem coming up with posts about things that piss me off. Since I've moved, I can't come up with one single thing. I even thought of positive things about Vermont that I liked: 1.) Cabot cheese. No other domestic cheese can even compare with Cabot's cheese. It's the best. 2.) Ben and Jerry's. Need I say more? 3.) Vermont Teddy Bears. Build a Bear should take some lessons from them. 4.) No smoking and no billboards. I posted about this before. AND...I think that's about it. I could list all the things that's great about not living there, but I don't have the time.

Life is abso-freaking-lutely grand.

TGIF

I had a great week, but I'm soooo looking forward to being able to sleep in this weekend, lol. I have a hard time with 6:30am. At least with the days getting longer, it's not so dark when I get up anymore.

It was a day of ups and downs with the kids though, let me tell ya. This morning, S got up in a bad mood and M was fine. This afternoon, M got herself sent to her room about 3 different times and S was fine. Now that we're heading back towards bedtime, S is in her room crying (I don't know why) and M is fine. UGH!!! Kids! And they're not even teenagers yet.

C got his bookcase sanded and we both got the first layer of stain put on tonight. It's looking really good. I have stain in my hair and C has it all over his hands and it's impossible to get off. We're going to have to hit the Lowes in the morning and find some remover. I think I might just go and get my hair cut, lol.

Also, we're going to take Bailey to the beach tomorrow. It's her first time at the ocean or any body of water for that matter. I can't wait to see how she reacts to it. Some Boxers have a hard time swimming because they have such large chests and small rear ends so we'll have to wait and see how she does.

Oh, and another trip to the commissary netted us a week's worth of groceries for 4 at less than $100. I LOVE IT!!! Woohoo!

Anywho, we're getting ready to watch some Sopranos so I hope everyone has a great weekend especially those of you with a long weekend cuz of Pres. Day. Laters.

Can I Interest You in Lunch?

I had a really awesome day. We met a friend (Hi, D!!) in Jax for lunch and had a great time. I like being able to have conversations with someone other than my 10 year old or my 7 year old. It's a nice change of pace especially since we share a lot of the same interests.

While we were in Jax, we stopped in at Bed Bath and Beyond for some new lamps. They're totally nifty and I really likes. I also saw some dishes and bedding that I might have to go back and get, heheh.

Something else cool that happened today was that C got the part for his table saw that he needed (the movers lost it) in the mail today so that he could build a bookcase for me. It's all finished except for sanding and staining. He did a super job on it too especially considering that this is his first wood working project ever. I'll be sure and post pictures of the finished product. Actually, it turned out so well that he's going to build another one and hopefully I'll have room for all my books. Right now they're shoved two deep onto the bookcases that I currently have.

I also got the 30 Seconds from Mars CD. It's good. I liked almost every track on it except for the 12th one which was a bonus track anyway. C got the new Rodney Atkins CD too. It wasn't too bad if you like country music. We also got the second season of The Sopranos on DVD. I can't wait to break into that. I LOVE The Sopranos.

And now I have work to do before Grey's comes on. Woohoo!!

Heheheheh!

Just a warning: If you live where they got all the snow that past couple of days of if you live where it is currently snowing, don't call me if you don't want to hear that it was 72 degrees at my house yesterday. HEHEHEHEHE!! Hey! I've paid my dues by living in South Canada for three years. Now, I get to sit back and laugh. Deal with it.

Enough meanness.

You ever file your taxes with H&R Block and have them be totally wrong? I'd be interested to know.

Have you ever had to write a 5 page paper on a story that's only 4 pages long? I do and I have no idea how I'm going to stretch out the 2 pages I've already written into 5 without it ending up being totally dumb.

And now my brain's strained enough and I have to type up my pathetic paper.

Surprise!!

We bought our new sofa today. We also got a chair and an ottoman. What do I think of it? Well, it's not that bad. It's not my first choice but apparently my first choice doesn't exist so we settled. Can I live with it? Yep especially since we're done looking and I don't have to look anymore. So, that's that.

We discovered a used book store yesterday. It is AWESOME!! They have books stacked, literally, to the ceiling. It was The Queen's paradise on Earth. AND, it's only about a minute from my house. How lucky is that? I have a feeling it's going to become my new home away from home.

Another difference I have noticed since living in N.C. is billboards. In Vermont, there were no billboards. At first, I thought it was dumb but now that I've lived without them for three years, I really see how they take away from the landscape. They're ugly. Along highway 70 there's about 6 or 7 all in a row of the same thing. Maybe VT knew what they were doing after all.

Furthermore, people made fun of California for the longest time for outlawing smoking in public places and then the rest of the country seemed to catch on to why this is such a good idea. Now we live in the tobacco capital of the U.S. and people smoke freaking everywhere. I'm sorry. I hate it. It's annoying, smelly, and sickening.

Lastly, I forgot to mention our trip to the beach we took on Sunday. It was fabulous! It was a gorgeous day with not a cloud in the sky. A bit breezy at 50 degrees but it didn't matter. We went to Atlantic Beach and then drove along the causeway back to Swansboro and then home from there. Talk about being deserted though. Hardly anybody was out and about and some of the hotels and most of the restaurants were closed for the season. So parking wasn't a problem, lol. It was really nice though. We also took a tour of Ft. Macon which was originally a Civil War fort and then it was also occupied for the Spanish American War and WWII. It was really neat. I took pictures that I'll post later.

And now, I have homework to do. I have a rough draft of my first paper due tomorrow and I haven't even started it yet. I'm bad, I know.

Widgits

I've discovered widgets. I spent quite a bit of time perusing through a gallery of widgits last night. I'm telling ya, I could've added a ton of them to my blog but stopped myself at three. They are so much fun. My favorite so far is Meebo. You can look at all your different instant messengers at one time and in the same window instead of having to run a bunch of different programs. I likey. Leave a Meebo message on the right if you'd like to.

Music for the Soul

Do you ever hear a song and just sink into it? You hear the sounds of the opening chords coming through your speakers and your whole body just falls into the music. I'm listening to music that does that for me right now. I heard the notes and I can only explain it as a sigh. I hope you have songs that do this for you too.

Settling In

Getting used to being back in the military world after living in the civilian world for three years is going to take some getting used to. It's weird when everywhere you turn, there's a Marine. We've noticed some changes too i.e. uniform regulations and base decal procedures among other things. What's really different is the size of Cherry Point. That base is freaking huge. It strikes me everytime we're there. On base officer housing seems to be pretty nice. SNCO housing, on the other hand, is shameful. It's no wonder they're building new units. I don't understand how families have fit into the old housing. It doesn't look big enough for more than 2 people. I have no regrets on turning down base housing. At all. A.) I like living away from the base. And B.) Our house in nice and we have a reasonable rent.

Oh, and the people that I've heard in the past that have said that the commissary isn't worth it are missing a few marbles. Both times we've gone shopping for a week's worth of groceries since we've lived here, we spent about $100 each time. In Vermont, a week's worth of groceries ran us about $160-$170 a week. That is going to amount to huge savings for us. I just don't understand why people don't think the commissary saves you money. I have receipts that prove that it does.

unFREAKINGbelievable!

The second phone call I get on my new line which has only been active since this morning, and it's a freaking TELEMARKETER!! Can you believe that? Sheesh, geez, and omfg. I was so stunned that I listened to the lady's entire spiel before I remembered to hang up on her. How do they work that fast? And it wasn't some random thing either. She asked for me by name. Man.

Needless to say, I have now registered our number at the do not call deal thing but from what I've been told, that's about worthless anyway. But at least I tried.

And speaking of phone calls, I really wish that people would stop telling me things that I really don't want to know and then expect me to not get mad about the thing(s). I'm an angry, grudge-holding, karma-loving, even getter, bitch and if you've known me longer than a minute, you'd know that about me.

DON'T TELL ME THINGS THAT WILL PISS ME OFF AND NOT EXPECT ME TO GET MAD ABOUT IT AND TO STAY MAD. THAT'S NOT WHO I AM.

Geez! It's been a busy day at my house.

Mr. Right

When is the last time you were entertained at Wendy's? C and I stopped in for a quick bite and the cashier guy whose name tag read, "Mr. Right" was hilarious. The customer in front of must've been his friend because Mr. Right loaned him $3 and then proceeded to discount his meal. Customer guy got a combo meal for the bargain price of $2.87 and then proceeded to make a big deal out of how fresh the burgers were and how hot the fries were. Then when it was our turn, he took our drink order which was 2 medium Cokes and then when we went to pay he said he only charged us for small drinks. That was after harassing the prep girl to make sure she got our orders correct. Even after we sat down we continued to be entertained by Mr. Right as we listened to him chat it up with the other customers. I need some of whatever he was on, lol.

Oh. And banks suck too. Why should you have to have an account with them to get something notarized? Our bank is in San Antonio and I don't think we're driving all that way just to get two pieces of paper notarized. Good thing our GPS was able to find us a UPS store.

And I forgot to mention how the Lowes was on fire last night. We just happened to follow the 3 fire trucks into the store cuz we were on the way to buy a thermostat. There wasn't really too much to see since the fire was outside in the storage area but the fire alarm went off again while we were in the store. It's funny how a fire alarm can go off and nobody reacts but continues to do their shopping.

S and I were attacked by a rolled up area rug last night. It bonked her right on the head and left an abrasion on my arm. We all laughed so hard at the whole thing. It't not too often that you see a rug assault people.

Kill Me Now

We're back and without the sofa. We got to the store and saw it again and decided we couldn't live with it after all. I was seriously close to tears. I hate sofa shopping.

Day 2 of The Great Sofa Search

2 days, 4 counties, 4 cities, and an innumerable amount of stores and we still haven't found exactly what we're looking for in a sofa. We're to the point where it's not fun looking anymore and we're pretty sure we're going to get the Broyhill we saw yesterday and call ourselves done. We left this morning at 9:15 am and just got home at about 2:30 pm and I'm not sure how long we shopped yesterday but geez! I really think it's that we're being too picky. But is it wrong to be picky when you're spending so much on furniture? Shouldn't you make sure that you get good quality furniture that you like? It's not as if you replace sofas every year. You have to live with your decision for several years. I guess I could always buy slipcovers, heheh.

I also have to comment on Jacksonville, NC. Since 1991, I've spent quite a bit of time there. My brother was stationed there and C also went to MCT and OJT there as well. Granted, before we moved down here, I hadn't been to Jax since 1998 but GEEZ! That town has changed. It's changed so much that it doesn't even have the same feeling to it. I know cities go through growth and change, but this is extreme. I'm sad at the fact that I don't recognize it anymore. I have a ton of great memories there. And the people there could give California drivers a run for their money. They are CRAZY and they love their horns. It's just strange all around.

Has anyone been watching Dirt on F/X? I've been watching it from the beginning because I have a loyalty to Courtney Cox (where'd the Arquette go?) from her days on Friends. I really like it. It's as dark as dark can get and a lot of it is shocking (Ummm...What happened to Prince for example!!) but I really enjoy it every week. I've been hearing that it's having problems keeping up it's viewership so I hope it doesn't get the ax but at least F/X gives shows a chance and it'll make it to it's season finale (which Jennifer Aniston will be guesting on. Yay!) at the very least. If you haven't watched it, you should give it a try. Tuesday nights at 10pm and then they rerun it a few other times throughout the week but I'm not sure what days or when.

Anyway, the girls will be home in 10 so I'm off..................................

Fudge

I forgot to mention...In our sofa search we happened to visit a store in downtown New Bern and while walking to the store (we had to park around the block) we walked past Bear City Fudge. They have, quite possibly, the best fudge in the world. We got the 1 1/2 lb sampler box and OH*MY*GOSH!! It was sooooo good. We tried out chocolate, mochachino, Heath Toffee, Butterfinger, cookie dough, and cookies and creme. So far, the mochachino is our favorite. (Me and C). They have a bunch of cute little Valentine's Day gifts too. They make the fudge in the store every day so it's homemade and fresh.

You can't place an order from their website, but their number is listed and you could probably place a phone order. It'd totally be worth your time and money to do so, let me tell ya.

So much for the land line deal. They said it'd be working between noon and 7 pm (nice window, eh?) and it's 7:40 and still no phone. Maybe I'm just not destined to have a decent phone.

We went sofa shopping today. We hit 6 or 7 different stores today and didn't see too much that we liked. I think my problem is that I'm being overly picky. I want something that's modern in style, with legs, no dust ruffle on the bottom, and in a kid friendly material. In the sofa world, that's a lot to ask for. We saw a Broyhill that we'll probably end up settling on though. I'll update on that tomorrow.

Two somethings that I forgot to mention about our trip south...In Virginia, we paid $1.99 for gas! Can you believe that? It was less than 2 bucks. And then in New Jersey we bought gas there too on the turnpike. On the pumps it said that it's New Jersey law to have full service gas stations. I've never seen that law before. You can't pump your own gas there. Weird, right? Maybe they had a problem with the mobsters making fast getaways and not paying for their gas, heheh.

Well, I'm off to do some work. Since we were gone shopping all day, I didn't get any school work done at all. Laters.

Shoo!

Soooo, we had to get us a land line. It sucks. We haven't had one in three years and have been very happy without it. I hate having an extra bill. Verizon sucks too. They admitted to us at the store that they know we don't get a strong signal where we live and that there is absolutely no signal at the base and they still won't let us out of our contracts. And then they didn't understand why I didn't want to sign up for another 2 year contract. HELLO! Put your brain on and figure it out. Why in the world would I sign up to pay for something that I can't use?!?!?! As a result, we'll be keeping our VT phone #'s on the cells because they won't change them unless you sign another contract. Morons.

Good news is that we're done unpacking. Shoo! I'd rather pack than unpack. We've already made one trip to the recycling place with boxes and we'll be making multiple trips tomorrow with more boxes and packing paper. And now that we're done unpacking, I love my new house even more than I did when we first got here. We have so much extra room here despite a smaller kitchen and smaller baths. And the neighborhood is the best. There are a ton of kids here. Today, I went to call S in from playing outside and she was out there with 5 other kids. I don't think there were five kids total at our other house let alone 5 kids her age.

I'm finally caught up with my school work. My instructors were awesome in understanding what I was trying to do and they didn't take off any points for my assignments being turned in late. How great is that? And I LOVE my English class. I know. That makes me a total nerd but I do. My other two classes are pretty much living up to my expectations of what they were going to be: Dull. Oh well.

And Tricare sucks big, hairy, butts. I hate them and the horse they rode in on. They suck, suck, suckity, suck.

And now, it's time for dinner.

Totally Bummed

We went to the pet store tonight. Big mistake. Minutes before we arrived, they had just gotten a teeny tiny Boxer puppy. It had the sweetest little face and they had it out of its crate and in the dog room where people were petting him. I fell in love on the spot. We've been wanting to get another Boxer for a long time now but wanted to wait until after we moved. When those people were done petting the puppy, the pet store people put him back in his crate where he whined and pawed at the cage, shaking from head to toe. It was the saddest thing ever! It made me want to cry and if we hadn't just moved a week ago, we'd have a new addition to our family tonight. I just don't think it'd be right to ask our landlord to allow us another dog a mere week after moving in to his house.

Onto some good news which is sort of a pain in the ass at the same time...

We have renters moving into our house today. Woot woot! That's the good news. The pain in the ass part is that the rental management lady keeps calling me asking me questions all the time. Can they do this? We will pay for that? Can I make this call for them? Blah, blah, blah. I swear if they ask me to pay for one more thing I'll drive back to Vermont just to burn the house to the ground. And the management lady talks and talks and TALKS! I can be on the phone with her for 15 minutes and only get in one word the whole time. And with the lousy cell reception that we're getting and the fact that my phone likes to randomly shut down with no warning, it's just a big pain.

So, what's everyone's plans for the weekend?

Ok. Yeah.

So I said yesterday that I'd be updating more regularly now. Problem with that is that all I'm doing is unpacking, sorting, and settling in. Nothing much else is going on with me and I don't have the time to even watch the news to have something else to comment on. The weather's been kinda freaky lately. I guess it snowed a bunch in western N.C. but all we got was a ton of rain.

See? I got nuthin.

Oh. A little something funny. When our movers unloaded our grill off the truck, it still had ice on it from Vermont, heheh. Is that cold or what?

So Much for Monday

I have been so freaking busy I can't figure out what to do first. We're only about half way done unpacking. Why does that take so much longer than packing? We're swimming in packing paper and empty boxes. Our trash and recycling day was Monday and we missed it this week, lol.

So, our stuff arrived in a timely manner and it didn't end up in storage which is all good. The MC decided to finally pay us our travel pay something like 5 days after we had already arrived in N.C. Gotta love the efficiency. Our washer and dryer (which are totally awesome and I love, love, love them) arrived a day late. We've put together 3 desks in two days. The first week of my classes is over and I haven't been able to turn in any of my assignments on time. I was a bit unrealistic in my expectations of being able to get my work done while moving. It was hard to anticipate not being able to find a hotspot once we got here. Our cell phones don't get very good reception in our house. I think it might have something to do with it being brick, and Verizon won't let us out of our contracts. I've been trying to decide if I want to live with having bad reception or pay for a land line.

The house is still great. We have more rooms than furniture, lol. The only negatives are that the kitchen and the bathrooms are tiny. I have so much bathroom and kitchen stuff and nowhere to put it all. I've thrown away so much just to make room.

We met our new landlord yesterday. He seems to be pretty cool. We told him about a couple things in the house that needed repaired and he called his guy while we were there in the office and made arrangements for the repairs to be made. Also, while we were in downtown New Bern, we stopped by the birthplace of Pepsi. I had no idea Pepsi originated in New Bern. We looked around the shop and bought a magnet and then walked back to our car, lol. New Bern seems to be a pretty nice town. We actually live in a smaller community right outside the city limits. Anyway, the girls started school today. Everyone there seems to be so nice and the other kids were really excited to meet the girls. Their first day seemed to go off without a hitch. Both of them made new friends already which is all good.

I know this sounds crazy, but people here are too polite. I think I got used to the aloofness that was the norm in New England and in Cali, it was every man, woman, and child for yourself. And I can't believe we've been here for 5 whole days and I still haven't been out to the beach. NO TIME!!!

I have so much more to say but I have a TON of homework I need to catch up on, so I'm off. I'll try to start updating more regularly from now on.

We're Here!!

We made it safe and sound. I'm at the New Bern library trying to get some school work done but their computer won't let me. The cable company will be hooking us up on Monday though.

The new house is great. It's in an awesome neighborhood and aside from an outdated kitchen, it's really nice. Bailey loves the backyard. AND...It's 65 degrees here and we're walking around without our coats. Woohoo! It is F L A T here. That's weird. Oh. And I'm glad we got our house in New Bern because Havelock is a hole. The base is pretty big compared to what we're used to though. Miramar is a postage stamp comparitively.

And I have some schmoe looking at what I'm typing so I'm gonna go. Be back Monday.

Quick Minute

I'm writing this from the Maryland welcome center right outside of Baltimore so I only have a second. I just wanted to let everyone know that things are going smoothly and we couldn't be happier to be out of Vermont and on the way to N.C. The high at our old house today was -2. That alone is enough reason to want to be out of that state. It's only 31 here in Maryland but who cares?

So far, we've seen NYC again, driven past Yale University, Rutgers, Princeton, Newark airport which was freaky cuz the approach path takes the planes right over the interstate. Anyway, we're getting ready to head into Washington D.C. and then it'll probably be dark after that.

But I gotta go pee before everyone else is ready to head out. I don't know when I'll be back on to write next but it'll be from North Carolina. Woohoo!!

Laters.

Packing Day!!

The movers should be here any minute now. I've been up since 6am trying to get last minute things done before they get here. I'm being hampered by dizzy spells though. I woke up feeling like I had gone on a bender last night and even though I was tempted, I haven't had a drink in forever. It's probably just stress. I also get forgetful when I get busy like this. This morning in the shower, I forgot to condition my hair. I don't think that I've not conditioned my hair since I was 5 years old. By the time I realized that I had forgotten I was already dressed and it was too late. Now I'm not only the Queen of Blogginshire but I'm also the Queen of frizz. Fun, fun.

My classes start today as well. Finding time to get my work done is going to be a definite challenge. Oh. And the weather decided to be a butt as well and it's snowing right now. Sheesh. Luckily, all the work that will be done today is all inside work so the snow shouldn't be too much of a problem. Tomorrow we have a forecasted high of 10 degrees so that should be fun for the movers, heheh.

I think I hear them in the driveway. LET THE CRAZINESS BEGIN!!

Today's Shite

Today was a vast improvement on yesterday. We found out through the course of having to fund our own move to N.C. versus having the military pay for it because they couldn't find their own butts if their lives depended on it, that the price we were asking for C Bug is 1/7 of what it's actually worth. SO! We're not selling it anymore and we're going to transport it south so's that we can make a tidy profit off of it.

Secondly, since we were smart enough to rely on ourselves rather than the idiotic military to actually do their jobs, our move is going ahead as planned. As a matter of fact, the movers will be here bright and early in the morning to begin packing and we'll head out either Thursday night or Friday morning. We haven't decided yet.

Thirdly, my poor dog is finally starting to come out of her depression. She was actually in the mood to play for the first time since Saturday. We'll see how long that lasts since we're going to be moving her.

Lastly, I'm so freaking excited to move I can barely hold myself together. The sooner we get out of this state and C gets checked out of this joke of a command and we can put all of this shite behind us the better. Oh. And the woman that's interested in renting the house is REALLY interested and turned down another house to look at ours over the weekend. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed but it sounds really promising.

So, I think that's it for today. I'm completely exhausted but it's all worth it since it's for the move and my classes start tomorrow and I want to get a head start on the reading. Woohoo!

Huh? What?

I didn't post earlier today because my dog isn't feeling well. That's a lie. Not the part about my dog not feeling well though. She seems to go into a depression when we get rid of one of our pets. She moped for a couple days when we got rid of the cat and now she's moping again since the rabbit went bye bye yesterday. She also split on of her toe nails down to the quick. Her nails do that a lot even though the vet says they look fine. Whatever.

Anyway, the real reason I haven't posted before now is because I'm pissed. Big surprise, right? Well, I am so far beyond pissed that pissed is the light from a freaking star that just reached the Earth. Or however that would go. WHATEVER! Pissed don't even begin to describe the depth of my anger. My rage! MY FURY!!!!

I actually typed up a page long post earlier this morning right after the news arrived that pissed me off but I have it saved as a draft while I think on whether or not it would be wise to post it for the public to read. Also, it's so scathing some of you might be scarred for life just from clicking on my Blog. I wouldn't want to injure innocent bystanders. So I'm going to take some time to consider whether or not I really want to post my post.

Good news though!! We have interest in our house. I talked with the rental mgt people today and she said that she's been fielding calls and talked to a woman today that sounded real promising. Keeping my fingers crossed. Oh. And we found someone that's willing to clean our basement out for us for a nominal fee. Could we do it ourselves? Sure. But we don't want to. We really don't want to. It's mostly boxes and packing material from when we moved to Vermont but still. I have about a gazillion loads of laundry to do and I have to start packing our bags and like I said, I just don't want to.

That's it for today. I'm going to go to bed and hope that certain people's privates shrivel up and fall off. Ahhh. Sweet dreams for me.

Sunday Edition

I don't really have much to post on today. I'm basically killing time until we have to leave to take Chloe to St. Albans.

Yesterday we sorted through our bedroom closet trash dividing stuff up into "office trash", "shredded trash", and "regular trash" so that the majority of it can be recycled instead of just thrown away. I have learned that I'm a pack rat. I keep old computer stuff (among other things) on the off chance that I'll need it again. Something I never consider is that most computer stuff is outdated in a month. Case in point: The girls' computer needed speakers and I thought, "Hey! We have two extra sets of computer speakers. I'll dig them out of my closet." I get them out and they're at least 3 years old and didn't have the right type of male plug so unless we get our hands on a really old computer, the speakers are worthless. They don't even make adapters for this type of connector. So, I've been toting these dumb things around for who knows how long and they're basically trash. Lesson learned. I also like to keep my old copies of National Geographic magazine. ::sigh::

I'm listening to my neighbors ride their sleds for the first time this year. Sleds are also known as snow mobiles for those of you who don't do cold weather sports. It's been such a weird winter that nobody has been able to ride yet this year. You need at least 6 inches of packed snow before they open up the trails.

Well, I gotta gather up Chloe's things so that we can go.

Current Events

I'm beginning to wonder if I should cut back on my Podcasts, Blog reading, and useless Internet surfing to make more room for watching the news. I had to find out from my dad yesterday, who lives in Ohio, that Vermont was once again in the national headlines. I had no idea. And it's not for a positive reason either. Vermont's judicial system has once more seen fit to allow a sex offender off with little to no punishment. In the three years that we've lived here, this would be the third time this has happened that I'm aware of. What does a person have to do to actually warrant jail time in this state? Pretty soon, Vermont's going to become known as a safe haven for sex offenders and they'll start relocating to the state. Not that I have to worry overmuch since I'm headed out to warmer climes but hell. Does Vermont really need to be such a liberal state that sex offenders get to run around free??? How much sympathy does a rapist and/or child molester really deserve??Open your eyes, people!

And on other topics...

I made arrangements yesterday to take Chloe back to her previous owner. She's almost five now and I didn't think it was right to make her live in a crate for 3 days while we relocate to N.C. I'd worry that she wouldn't make it. So I figured the right thing to do was to give her back. Anyone who's met her knows she's a special rabbit. She has an attitude to match mine. We're really going to miss her.

I also spent 3 hours on the phone yesterday making various arrangements for our move. There is so much to do even when you have hired movers. I’ve been arranging to have things shut off or discontinued at our current residence and scheduling new service at the new house. It’s weird, but the city of New Bern makes you fill out an application for electric and water service. C was like, what happens if you get denied? Good question.

The topic of second chances came up again last night. I can’t go into details as this isn’t my story to tell, but I think we should all take a long, hard look at who we give second chances to and whether or not they truly deserve it.

Random Stuff

I forgot to mention how my kitchen caught on fire the other day. It was crazy. C and I were both sitting at the computer which is right next to the kitchen. I was making some lunch and C looks up from what he was doing at the comp and says, "The kitchen's on fire." Then he proceeds to finish typing whatever he was typing. What a nerd, right? I look over and see the flames and go for the fire extinguisher. No damage or anything beside ash being all over the house which was a pain to clean up. Oh. And a lost pan, spatula, drip pan and burner. Just goes to show how people react differently to certain situations.


After reading about Henry VIII and Jack the Ripper I needed to relax with some fluff chick lit. I hate that term by the way but what can ya do. I'm reading Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. I like to read in bed and these books make me laugh so hard that I often wake C up, lol. These books have very little depth to them but they're entertaining nonetheless. And I need some mindless reading to offset all the moving stuff and I have to take it in while I can since my classes start in a week. Speaking of which, my books should be here today. I know this makes me a total nerd, but I love getting my text books in the mail, lol. And according to my UPS tracking number, they should be here any time now.

WindChilly

It's so very cold here. Right now, it's -4 with a windchill of -22. Yes, that's right. And it's warmed up a few degrees since I woke up this morning. Nice, huh? As a result of the temps, today will be a day of phone calls and little household fixes that I've been putting off. I have to go out to pick the kids up from school, but other than that, I have no plans on going out into this arctic weather.

So, I was bored the other day. The blogs that I read regularly haven't been updating very much as of late so I decided to try the "next blog" button and see if I could find something new. Big mistake. I came across this blog that had photographs of naked people. Not just adults either. This freaked me out and I was one second away from hitting the "report this blog" button until I realized that I'm just a naive American. These weren't nasty porno photos but pictures from somebody's vacation and they were at a nude beach. My very American sensibilities say that even though this might be acceptable in your country that it still might not be appropriate to post nude pictures of your children where any pedophile could find them. Suffice it to say, I won't be blog-surfing again any time soon.

Good News. Finally!!

We found a house today. Yay! And for about $200 less than the max we wanted to pay for rent so it was a good deal too. It's about a mile from the school, close to shopping, and not that far from base but far enough. I'm so excited. It's one big, major thing on my "to do" list that I get to cross off. I also talked to the rental management company about our current house and they're hopeful that they'll have it rented by the 1st of Feb which would be awesome for us. Things are finally starting to fall into place. It's a nice change. We also got our bedroom closet cleaned out and have more boxes of stuff to take to the Salvation Army. We're pretty close to hitting our max weight for household goods so we need to get rid of some stuff. We're also considering getting rid of our monstrosity of a sofa. I'd like to drag it out to the backyard and set fire to the dumb thing but I don't figure my neighbors would like that too much. We also decided to leave our washer and dryer for our renters and buy new ones on the other end. I can't wait!! I've had my eye on those new super capacity washer and dryers for some time now. It's just been a day full of positiveness. It's been awesome.

Well, I still have some straightening to do in my closet before I call it a day so that's it for now.

When the Internet Sucks

I had a really nifty post all typed up and ready to go yesterday except that I was trying to add a picture. IE froze up and crashed on me and I lost the whole thing. Talk about being irritated. So what did I have to say that was nifty?

Well, I finished the Jack the Ripper book yesterday. It was compelling. Cornwell's theories and the proof she backs them with are enough to make you believe she finally figured out who the real killer was. Considering that I haven't read anybody else's arguments on the subject, my opinion would be very one-sided. Some, mostly Londoners, claim that Cornwell became obsessed with the Ripper and that her accusations are way off base. When you take into account that the funds used to conduct the research and perform DNA testing all came from her pocket and that she also purchased several works of art as well as documents, it's easy to believe that maybe she lost some of her objectivity. Then again, when you take into account that Londoners opinions are biased as well who's to say either way. At any rate, Cornwell's novel, whether you believe her or not, was first class. It was hard to put down at times and I lost many night's sleep reading it. I'd completely recommend it to anyone interested in true crime novels, Jack the Ripper, Patricia Cornwell, or if you're just looking for something different to read.

Another topic I discussed was how I almost popped on to post on Saturday night. Why, you ask, when I hardly ever post on the weekends? Well, January 13th just happens to be the anniversary of when I graduated high school. It also happens to be my uncle's birthday, lol. But I thought that I should mention it. A lot has happened and changed in the last twelve years. Do you still think of that day every year, J?

Also, the funniest thing happened this morning and I'm not allowed to tell!! It's killing me too, btw. It involves C and he's the one that made me promise not to tell anyone but my sister, lol. Let me just say that I laughed so hard I could hardly breathe and I almost puked and every time I think of it I start laughing again. It was hilarious.

Our weather didn't hold out like I'd hoped. We got several inches of snow and a covering of ice on top of that. We're supposed to get several more inches of snow by tomorrow morning but I think they might be wrong about that. Only time will tell. Luckily, the kids had today off of school so I didn't have to drive anywhere. I probably wouldn't have had to anyway since there were 50-some school cancellations for those who did have school across the state today.

Yesterday's lost post was way niftier, but this is what you get for today.

::Ring:: Hello?

C and I were having a discussion yesterday about people and phones regarding usage and other issues. Our cell phones have timers on them that allow you to track the length of your calls, incoming and outgoing, as well as your lifetime usage. We've had these phones for just about 12 months exactly now. These are my stats and keep in mind that I've never reset any of the timers so this has been for the life of the phone (about 12 months) up to this morning:

Total Received: 230 hr: 30 min
Total Dialed: 75 hr: 47 min
Total lifetime Calls: 306 hr: 13 min

That's a lot of freaking talking. Also you should also keep in mind that my phone is basically our house phone so I'm not the only one that uses it. However, I will admit that probably 85-90% of the calls are mine. One website that I checked out while trying to find an average usage said that the average cell phone usage by 18-24 year olds is about 1300 min/month and the average usage of 25 - 36 year olds is about 970 min/month. I average about 1531 min/month. GEEZ!! That explains why I had $300 and $400 cell phone bills. This is actually embarrassing, lmao.

Additionally, this is proof that when people say I never call them, they're right. I receive way more calls than I make. Maybe I should've made some of those people pay my overages, lol. And while we're on the subject, just because it may have been a week or more since I've called doesn't mean it was deliberate. Not everything is about you. If your phone hasn't rang, I do believe that means you have a phone with which to make calls. It works both ways.

And furthermore here are some guidelines for phone usage etiquette:

1.) If you call someone and they answer, "Hello?" don't answer back with "Hello" and then wait for another response. Ummm. You called!! Say who you are and what you want, not "Hello".
2.) If you call someone after 11pm you're scaring that person unless you know they routinely receive calls at all hours of the day and night. Calls after 11 usually mean someone is dead, dying, or sick in the hospital and you need to request emergency leave.
3.) Don't always call to bitch about your problems. Every once in a while, shake things up with something positive.
4.) Unless you need a DD, don't call people drunk. Well, unless you're 21 years old and it's still considered funny. 25+ you're just being dumb. I don't enjoy having to interpret what you're saying over the phone while you're inconsiderately eating up my cell minutes. And I don't care if you call after 9 or on the weekends. I don't freaking like it!!
5.) If you're a business, bill collector, or telephone solicitor, don't bother using one of those automated deals that tells a person to hold on the phone while they wait for a real person. 99.9% of people (this is my own estimate) will immediately hang up.
6.) Call waiting is freaking annoying and borderline rude. Yeah, I sometimes use it but only when it's unavoidable and I hurry up as fast as I can. Again, I'm sitting on the other end while my cell minutes float away. Usually I just tell the original person I'll call them back. Which leads us to:
7.) If you say you're going to call someone back, DO SO!! And calling 1 day, 2 days, or a week later doesn't count. You're just rude and self-absorbed. Yeah, we've all done it but some people do it habitually.
8.) If you choose to keep your number blocked, don't get pissy when your call is ignored. I don't answer "unavailable" or "blocked" calls.

I think that's it. And one last thing, I'm cancelling my Hotmail and my Yahoo E-mail accounts in an effort to streamline a little. I don't think it's necessary to have 4 E-mail accounts, lol. Besides, all that my Yahoo and Hotmail accounts are used for is Junk Mail which I never get to see anyway. For the few of you that do use one of these accounts, I've sent you an E-mail letting you know the deal.

BRRRRRR!!!!

I just got back from taking the kids to school. It's 4!!! degrees outside and MAN!! does it feel it. N.C. weather can't come soon enough. But, I can't really complain. Up until this week, it's felt more like fall than winter.

I'm about 2/3 of the way done with the Jack the Ripper book. I was a bit disappointed that Cornwell gave away who she theorized as being the killer right in the very beginning. I sort of thought that it was going to more like she was going to tell you all her theories and leave you guessing up till the end who she figures as being the actual Jack the Ripper. All that aside, it's turning out to be great book. Cornwell is very convincing in the evidence that she presents to back her theories to the point where you figure that after 119 years, you finally know who the real Ripper is.

So, our movers are coming today to take an inventory of our house. The kids' rooms are a wreck but other than that, it should all be good. It's just all kinds of great. I'm so entirely happy to be moving that there aren't words to properly express it. They could be moving us to the Siberian Desert and I wouldn't care so long as it's away from here.

Now, it's off for a bite to eat. Breakfast is, after all, the most important meal of the day.

Hmmm...

I just learned from another blog that I read that this week is International Blog Delurking Week. Which means, come out of hiding and leave comments. Some of you were one week early but have been pardoned by order of the queen and are exempt from leaving any more comments...please, lmao.

On to other things...

We finally have an unofficial move date. No, I'm not telling yet cuz it's not official but we're still extremely excited to have an end in sight. I just hope the weather holds out. When we moved here, it was so freaking cold that the moving trucks were unable to start and our stuff was stuck in storage for two weeks. This time, we have our nifty SUV and a car top carrier which I plan on stuffing full of household incidentals just in case we have to live without our belongings for any length of time. Although, this would be an excellent excuse to have to buy new pots and pans and towels, heheh.

My weird rabbit is licking her blanket right now. She can be so strange. She also likes to attack the vacuum cleaner when I'm trying to clean.

OH! OH! OH! I almost forgot that I just finished registering for my spring semester. Woot woot! I'm excited to be getting back to the books. I actually miss it believe it or not. I'm taking some sort of research type class that's required by my school, a computer class, and an English class that's required for my major. The computer class isn't your typical computer class. It's about the history, psychology, physiology, and engineering of computers and how they affect humans. Weird, but it's required. My English class I'm really looking forward to. It's the Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. I know. I must be crazy to be looking forward to it, but I think it'll be interesting. After all, English is my major so it only makes sense that I like the classes, right?

More Pictures

Just an FYI to let you know I posted a couple more pictures from our trip on the picture blog.

Our Trip

We just got home, last night, from our trip to New York. It was the most exciting two days ever. Our very first NYC experience was getting yelled at by a toll booth operator on a bridge. It was great. Anyway, we stayed out on Long Island and Sunday night we decided to check out Jones Beach since it was a little too late to go into the city. It's been about 5 years since I've seen the Atlantic Ocean and it was just as gorgeous as ever. Jones Beach was pretty cool too. They have a really great board walk and several historical buildings so there's plenty to see and do there.

Then, Monday, we drove into the city. Just getting there was thrilling. We took the Queens/Midtown tunnel into the city. When you first get to the tunnel, you're still a little outside looking at the skyline and stuff. When you emerge out of the tunnel, you're THERE. Right in the midst of midtown Manhattan. It was so awesome! We wanted to walk around so we found a parking garage at freaking $23/hour!! if you can believe that and walked around for a bit. We were very pressed for time so we didn't get to see a whole lot but it didn't matter. Just being there was enough. Walking in the midst of humanity on the streets of New York was freaking exhilarating. We had the kids with us, of course, and they were just as awestruck. S wasn't intimidated at all and was, in fact, pulling me around by the hand at times. We got yelled at again by this lady trying to cross the street. I yelled right back waving my arms and all. I could totally live in New York.

I'm not going to run down a list of the things that we saw but I will mention the very first landmark we walked by, The Empire State Building. When you're right next to it on the street, it's so tall that you can't even see the tower on top. Oh, and you get vertigo when you look up, lol. We went into 4 out of the 5 boroughs, Harlem being the only one we didn't go to. We accidentally ended up in Brooklyn but besides the $4.50 toll to get there it turned out to be pretty cool since we got to see the Brooklyn Bridge up close and personal.

Something that I found interesting about the city but isn't something you always hear about is how traffic laws may as well not exist. Nobody pays attention to them at all. It's illegal to turn right on red and I saw a lady almost get hit by a car doing that exact thing. There's also a $350 fine for honking but that doesn't stop a single soul from doing it, lol. Oh, and pedestrians pay absolutely no attention to the crossing signals which in turn provokes people into blowing their horns, heheh. To pull out a Friends nerd moment, when that lady almost got hit I was reminded of the episode where Joanna dies, lmao. Anywho...

It was such a high being there. I didn't come down the whole time we were there. It was great and an experience that I will never forget. We plan on stopping through again on our way to North Carolina when we'll have more time to see more stuff.

Lastly, we bought a GPS gadget for the sole purpose of this trip and it paid for itself in those two days. We drove there and back and around the city without a map and besides the little side trip into Brooklyn, which wasn't the unit's fault, it functioned perfectly and we got around like pros. Totally and completely worth the money and a lot of fun besides. As C would say, we're gadget whores, lmao.

Ok. So the pictures below...The first one is the very first glimpse of the city that we got driving out to Long Island. The second one is Jones Beach. The third one is the Flat Iron building. How cool, right? And the last one is, of course, the Empire State Building.

If...

If you had only one day to spend in New York City and you had never been before, what would be a "must do" itinerary for you?

My Last Post

…On the subject. Is this a democracy? No. It’s a blog, which by definition makes it impossible for it to be a democracy. Is this a land where a god rules? No. As I’m not sure on my beliefs in god, it would be impossible for me to pretend that I am one. Is this a monarchy? Damn straight people! This is my freaking kingdom and I will do and say as I please. Do I have to allow people to attack me? Nope. Do I have to allow people to voice their inane opinions? Nope. Do I have to address anyone besides my own self? Nope. Do I care if anyone likes my kingdom? Nope. I don’t force any one of you to click that button, link, open that e-mail, or whatever means it is that brings you to my blog. I don’t cater to anybody. I’ve said that before. If you don’t have an understanding of what a blog is, look it up. There’s a very nice definition on Wikipedia’s website.

From this point on, I will not allow any comments that attack or threaten me in any way. If you have a valid point, and since this is my kingdom, I get to decide what’s valid and what isn’t, I’ll allow your comment to be posted. Am I going to continue to even acknowledge comments from idiots? After all of this, if I did, I’d hope someone would have the good sense to have me committed. But, please feel free to waste your time and keep trying. Some of you obviously have a lot of spare time on your hands. Additionally, continue to remain behind your cowardly cloak of anonymity. You have my permission. It only serves to make your words small and ineffective.

Do I care whether or not you’re bored? Nope. It’s not my job to entertain anybody except for my husband, my kids, and my dog. Do I care if you think that I actually care or not? Nope. Why should I? You’re going to believe what you want to believe. If anyone out there is actually deluding themselves into believing that any sort of relationship and/or acquaintance that is based solely on your time “spent” with someone on the Internet, then I’ll just sit back and enjoy the show. Unless you’ve met me face to face and spent quality time with me, you couldn’t possibly in this universe have any inkling of who I am or what I’m about and this is the last time I will address that as well.

I will admit to one mistake in all this: Giving psychopathic, bored, small-minded housewives more attention than they deserve. Why’d I rise to the bait? Because I couldn’t resist a good fight. Why am I stopping? Because this isn’t what my kingdom is all about and I don’t want it to disintegrate into a sniping, bored, military wives message board which is what almost happened. I hope you all enjoyed a good laugh at my expense as I did at yours.

One last thing that some of us here, myself included, should consider is why the stereotypes about military wives came to be in the first place and why they’re all freaking true.

I hope you all enjoyed the commercial break. Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

The Year in Review

In lieu of celebrating New Years and having New Years resolutions (I think I’ve made myself pretty clear on how I feel about all of that), I decided to take a look back at 2006 listing the good things and the bad things or things that I regret.

Good Things:

1. My kids are having a good year in school.
2. None of us had any serious illnesses.
3. Nobody close to me died.
4. I completed another semester in college.
5. We paid off two of our vehicles.
6. We finished the hardwood floor in the dining room.
7. Not selling our house. We’d be homeless right now if we had.
8. We’ve had an extremely mild winter so far.


Bad Things/Regrets:

1. I had to take a break from school instead of being able to finish up my Associates.
2. Allowing myself to become so stressed that it’s affected my health.
3. Coming to the realization that recruiting duty beat us after all.
4. Losing my respect for the military and coming to hate my husband’s job.
5. Being harassed/stalked by people in my husband’s command. (Edited to add that the comments prove my point.)
6. Having to keep my mouth shut these past couple of months.
7. Harboring as much hate and loathing for as many people as I do.
8. Having the kids go to Ohio for the summer.
9. Not speaking my mind more often.


Hmm. Almost all the things in the second list have happened since October. I guess if you take that into account, my year wasn’t all that bad.

Scenario

Let's say you're working at this job where they're paying you $20/hour to do 4 different tasks. It's enough to pay your bills, buy groceries, and still have some left over at the end of the month. One day your boss comes up to you and says that they no longer need you to do 4 tasks but just 3 instead with a $5 pay cut. You agree to this, do some financial juggling, and manage to squeak by at the end of the month. Then, a couple months later the company realizes that they still need you to do all 4 tasks so your boss informs you that they need you to do your old job but are still only going to be paying you $15/hour. How do you react to this?

Do you do the job with no complaints even though this extra task adds financial strain without the additional $5/hour? Do you tell your boss that you'd be more than happy to do all 4 tasks but need your full pay or you can't do it? Do you just quit and find another job? Or do you do something else entirely?

Title This

It's been a couple days, right? Well, embarrassingly enough, I've been crocheting nonstop for the last few days and have nothing to show for it. I'm attempting to make a poncho and after I had gotten almost halfway done, I realized I had done it completely wrong and had to start over. Now I'm about 1/4 of the way done and it's going really well. Reading those darn patterns is like trying to learn a foreign language. Anywho...

Did I ever mention that I have a new neighbor? They seem nice enough but we haven't been over to welcome them to the neighborhood. They actually do that kind of thing here. Since we're moving, I actually don't have any plans on introducing myself. The woman looks like someone I could be friends with and I don't want to make friends with someone when we're supposedly going to be moving here pretty soon. They probably think we're bitches for keeping to ourselves. Oh well.

I finished my Henry VIII book. It was fascinating to say the least. I'm already on the hunt for more books on that period. Weir has written another book on just his wives as well as his children and a book specifically about Elizabeth I that I want to read. In the interim I'm getting ready to start Patricia Cornwell's Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper - Case Closed. I've already read tons of her fictional books and can't wait to get started on this one. It's gotten rave reviews and promises to be a good read.

And is there anything more irritating than getting back into your routine after a vacation?? I am so tired in the mornings after not having to get up for almost two weeks. 6:30 is sooo early in the morning, lol.

New Hobby

I've decided to try out crocheting. I know. Am I 80 years old or something? But you're way off here. M, my 10 year old, has been crocheting chains like a champion for about a year now since her grandmother taught her how. Seeing as how grandma lives 15 hours away, it was hard for her to continue on with the lessons and show M the next step. Up until yesterday, I had never attempted to crochet in my entire life but figured the easiest way for me to teach M how to do it was to learn how myself. So we hit the craft store for a how to book, yarn, and more hooks. After reading and re-reading the book and searching out two really great websites, I finally figured it out and M and I crocheted until about 11 o'clock last night, lol. Now this morning both of our hands are sore and my fingers are swollen but once we got started neither one of us wanted to stop. You all should try it out. It's fun and relaxing and you make things that are useful.

As for today, we have no plans except to enjoy the last day of vacation in peace and quiet. C will probably be spending most of his time on the comp playing a new baseball game that he got. He had to negotiate in order to buy this game too which is a funny thing. In exchange for his game I made him promise to be in a good mood until at least Wednesday and to also clean the kitchen today. So far, so good. M wants to crochet some more so I gotta run. Keep your fingers crossed that my hands and fingers hold out.

I'm In a Mood

Several things have led to me being "in a mood" and I feel the need to vent. I also don't feel the need to A.) Make sure I type proper paragraphs, 2.) Make sure everything flows, 3.) To be polite, politically correct, and to not use offensive language. So freaking read at your own risk.

First of all, last night on 20/20 they did a piece on the popularity of You Tube (which I hate and refuse to go to, btw), blogs, and other contemporary means of eradicating privacy. Video capable cell phones, digital cameras, etc., are prolific and have made privacy as we knew it, a thing of the past. How do I feel about this? Well, A.) If you don't like videos of yourself drinking out of a beer bong, making out with strangers in a bar, or stripping for your 13 year old boyfriend (this has to do with this volleyball teacher they profiled on the show) then don't freaking do it. Have some common sense and decency and stop using youth as an excuse for doing dumb things. And 2.) Get used to it. It's not going anywhere. Secondly, there was this woman who posted on her blog about EVERYthing from having an abortion to what she ate for lunch. Because of her openness, she's received hate e-mails wishing she'd get cancer but find out too late to treat it among other hatefulness. This is appalling in a country where we tout the benefits of having freedom of speech. You can disagree with her willingness to share private moments of her life but you don't need to wish death on her. I, for one, would never share something so private on a blog but that doesn't give me the right to say someone else shouldn't do it. Geez. Also, freedom of speech is a farce. Nobody has freedom of speech unless the person listening to them is hearing exactly what they want to hear. Otherwise, everyone should just shut up or click the red "X" in the corner of the window. Cause I'm telling you right now, if I truly had the freedom of speech that I'm supposedly granted as a citizen of the United States, I would have said a heck of lot more to certain factions than I have been allowed to these past few weeks. Assholes.

Furthermore, did the passing of Christmas automatically take away people's goodwill? This bitch at the grocery store nearly ran the girls and me over with her cart today at the grocery store. Geez, lady. Go home and take a pill.

Also, just because you wake up in the morning not feeling so hot, (which, by the way, I was sick as two dogs yesterday but still managed to maintain a good mood all freaking day) doesn't mean you need to act like a 5 year old with a runny nose. Suck it up or lock yourself in your room with your blankie and your pacifier so that others may enjoy their day. MAN!!

Lastly, going back to being the voyeurs that we are these days, does anyone else find it disgusting when others hang around like huge f**cking vultures waiting for the ball to drop on someone else's life? Yeah. You know who you are.

And more lastly, cuz I'm not finished yet, I've turned off my cell phone and have no plans on turning it back on until Tuesday morning when the girls go back to school. I hate New Years Eve and don't care to hear other people calling me drunk (I hate when people call me drunk at any time of the year just so you know. It's immature and shows a lack of control.) at midnight to wish me a happy New Freaking Years. I don't care. Every time I formally try to celebrate the damn thing it turns into crap so I've stopped. The last good New Years I had was at M's house in Lakeside. That was in 2002 so there you go. I will, however, be eating my spoonful of blackeyed peas in hopes that 2007 will be a better year than 2004, 2005, and 2006. Should I go on about how I feel about New Years resolutions? In one phrase: Waste of freaking time.

There. I'm done now. And yes, just so you know, I feel tons better.

Winter Has Finally Arrived

There wasn't a posting yesterday because I am recovering from a stomach bug. It really sucked. But after a rough morning I managed to get myself showered and dressed so that we could take the girls shopping. They both have gift cards burning holes in their pockets. I was proud of them though as they only spent about half of their money so they can go on another shopping spree once we get moved.

C and I bought new speakers for the computer. They are so kick ass that they have more watts than our home theater speakers do. These things literally rattle the house. It's a good thing that I no longer live in a townhouse, lol. I managed to piss my neighbors off with my "noise" enough while we only had a shelf system at the time. I don't miss them.

It finally feels like winter here in Vermont. It's snowing right now and we have a snow advisory. I don't mind snow on days when I don't have to go anywhere like today.

Anyway, I'm gonna head outside with C, the kids, and the dog to play in the snow.

Are You Warm Enough

Yesterday C got into an argument in a chat room of all places with some guy about global warming. C and I often have discussions on global warming and the humans place in geological history. And then this morning on the Today show I saw a story on how polar bears have been put on the threatened species list. So, I thought I would share my views on this subject today after it snowed another 3 inches this morning.

As far as humans contributing to greenhouse gases, does anyone ever add to this point the fact that volcanoes release 110 million tons of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere every year? Or that animals release greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere as well? How about the fact that humans are indigenous to the Earth and that our time spent here on this 4.5 billion year old rock is but a speck in the grand scheme of things? Ice Ages are a natural earth cycle as well as warmer periods. Dinosaurs as well as thousands of other species became extinct without any influence from humans in the Earth's history as well. Does anybody consider that the warming we're experiencing now is also a natural cycle that was going to happen no matter what technologies we have on Earth and no matter which species are currently roaming the surface?

Now, I believe in recycling, not burning your trash in the backyard, using those ineffective twisty bulbs (I hate them but I use them), and not leaving anything behind when you go hiking or to the beach and such. I also believe that we should be trying to change things that we can actually change: Prison reform, education reform, cleaning up our government (this one might be wishful thinking), keeping people from caging their children and microwaving babies, literacy, and finding ways to make it safe enough for our kids to play outside "until the street lights come on" again. As I'm always saying when it comes to my kids, "Pick your battles" or you'll end up constantly arguing and fighting about the same thing over and over again.