Every once in a while, I find myself with actual spare time. J is in class/lab/study group all day and since he was at drill this weekend, I did some serious cleaning. My car is in the shop so I am relying on the kindness of coworkers to shuttle me, and I am out of butter, so even if I wanted to, there could be no baking. I am sure I could find a project if I wanted to, but I'm in for a crazy weekend. Not to mention at the end of it, J's family is likely to spend time here, so it's patently unwise to have the house torn up. Not that I think they'd judge me if I did, but still.

So tonight it is the hot tub and HGTV (on my brand new HD TV), and harassing the cats with toys uncovered over the weekend. I'm also philosophizing on my definition of "clean" which is apparently code for "clutter reduced to less that 20% of total available surface area." Just like they say "mischief managed" at the end of the credits in Harry Potter movies now (or at least did in #3), I think I am going to have to start declaring "Clutter Contained." Some day, I hope to be at 100%, but right now I'm actually fairly willing to settle for a floor that is both visible and vacuumed.

The bathroom renovation isn't done, but it's to a convenient stopping point. I haven't quite decided what to tackle next yet, and I'm a little loathe to decide when I consider I am about to be saddled with a non-negligible car repair bill. I have to admit, I do miss my warranty. I have put 30K miles on the car in the last year and a half, and it does bring the wear & tear up. Not that J isn't worth it ;-)

But anyways, it's getting close to bedtime, and I have decided enterign bills into an excel spreadsheet is about my speed. So, good night everyone.

From a friend's parent:

"I swear. You take these kids and you raise 'em, teach them to always do the right thing; then next thing you know, they're all grown up and won't ever let YOU do the wrong thing!"

ALSO, I preordered Castle (the ABC Mystery) and now I cannot wait to receive it. Sept 22, get here soooner!

I like to labor under the delusion that somewhere, under it all, I am actually an excellent housekeeper. The kind who never has dishes on the counter or in the sink (past a reasonable soak time, or course), who can keep an organized filing system for bills and a coffee table clear of junk. It makes sense, right? I'm hardworking and highly motivated, and fairly good at organizing my priorities and acting on them. A house is no different than a job or a dance routine.

Evidence, however, often flies straight in the face of this theory. Stuff is clean when I clean it, sure, but the maintenance angle often proves to be a problem. I would LIKE to pretend that that is simply because I am busy - between dance and a medium-distance relationship, a reasonably active social life and an attempt at physical fitness, I do have a bunch going on - but although my level of other commitments has fluctuated fairly substantially throughout the years, the mess level seems to remain about the same. I blame my projects - but many of them are actually geared towards streamlining housekeeping efforts. I blame events - but I keep scheduling them. I try to blame my cats, but they unhelpfully remain FAR too earthbound to be blamed for knocking things over. A true source of blame for the concealment of my awesome housekeeping nature remains elusive. I refuse to consider the possibility that I am lazy.

So, the mess remains, and the puzzlement. How can I, a high-powered professional get bested by something as simple as hairbrushes and scrunchies? Why must dishes in the sink - which take at best 5 minutes to deal with - continue to pile even though I'd swear I haven't actually been home to pile them? One day, I swear I'll have the mystery solved. But in the meantime, I am learning to love Catch-Up. One day, though, I WILL have this thing mastered...

J and I installed them yesterday!

( Pictures! )

Also, a brand new shiny faucet has been installed and although plumbing was a nightmare (darn the lowest-bidder construction of my house! Yay for innovation and determination on our part, plus 3 home depot trips) it is all working beautifully now. Next up: walls, because between the white floors, white counters and white wall it's looking a bit like a sanitarium in there, and replacement shower fixture because the one I have is non-repairable and leaking fiercely. But total yay for progress! I'm way excited.

ETA: Faucet pic for AvivaLasVegas, since it turns out this stuff is regional:
( Piccie! )

( Pics of my new floor! )

And with that, the first step of my bathroom renovation is complete! For anyone who is curious I went with a Mannington Adura vinyl tile (Manhattan White Iron) and epoxy (fake) grout. The upside is it is warmer and tougher than ceramic tile, the downside is it might be a little bit harder to clean. But, only time will tell on that one. Freshly installed, I am pleased to say it looks completely awesome, and has me very excited to continue with my improvements. Next up are counters and painting.

I ordered my New Flooring and my Replacement Counters this weekend.

Yay!

Today, Quicken Online told me I was living beyond my means. I nearly died. Then I realized it didn't have my savings account listed, and both my net savings and my self-image as a Responsible American were restored. Whew!

Things I have been up to lately:

You name it, I've been on it. J's family came out over Memorial Day weekend, and I effectively hosted them for 2 of the 3 days. I made Mexican Lasagna (a double batch!), and Fruited Barbecue Chicken, Waffles, and Pumpkin Pie. I also got told I was "very Orgnanized" and "Had all my ducks in a row" - Boy did I pull a fast one. During that time we saw the new Terminator Movie (meh), went to an Arts Festival (yay!), and went Rapelling(!) I also got a pretty amazing (though thankfully so far non-peeling) Sunburn on my arm, and was going to make a few "white girl" jokes about with J's olive skinned half-Mexican family when someone pointed out that I could simply sit in the shade next to J's also sunburned Sister-in-law, who is a first-generation American and the only native Spanish speaker of the bunch. I also got along surprisingly well with J's 11-month-old niece, who toddled along after me pretty much whenever Mom was busy.

I bade 3 of the 5 visitors farewell Tuesday morning, and then Wednesday, J's "little" brother (age 26, and a professional concrete worker when not on vacation) came down to pour me a concrete extension to my hot tub pad in exchange for cookies. 59 bags of quick-crete later (all mixed by hand, because we're optimists and stubborn), he (with some help from J and I) had poured and shaped me a 26x3 patio extension. Then on Friday, we took the whole roving band back up to get J's key and start moving HIM into a new apartment, 10 minutes down the road from the old one. Moving was Friday and Sunday, with Saturday being my Sparkles-and-goodbye-to-a-troupmate party in between.

So now I am back at work, sorting through the damage to my credit card AND my motivation. I didn't go to any dance classes save the one I each last week/weekend, and the house *looks* like it's been used more than it's been cleaned. So, gotta get back on that. But, dance class tonight so they won;t think I've abandoned them entirely. The good news is So You Think You Can Dance has restarted, so I'll have something to entertain me as I vacuum and scrub during the upcoming weekend, where J will be at drill. It's certainly not the excitement of the past two weeks/weekends, but at this point, I'm kind of OK with that.

LJ, I have been remiss. In the past few weeks I have:

-Prepared for, made costumes for, and survived a dance showcase with myself, and the Sparkles.
-Survived J's Hell week, his finals week, and hung out with a subset of his family who's on vacation.
-Made Johnny Carino's Jalapeno Tilapia, approximately 8 million cookies, and pumpkin pie in celebration.
-Attended training in AutoCAD
-Become mildly obsessed with the insanity that is the FLDS church after reading Escape by Caroline Jessop.
-Seen Jeff Dunham live, which was hilarious. Bought the T-shirt. Sent it to my Brother.
-Seen Star Trek. I was prepared for the badness. To say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement.
-Bought a purse that I'd been lusting after for over a month online, only to see it in person and be unimpressed.
-Planted flowers and hung new curtain rods with J. Noticeably, no curtains, though.
-Made my way through "Kushiel's Mercy," the final book in a double trilogy I love. It was really good.
-Wanted to kill no less than two people for professional incompetence.
-Watched the finale of Castle, and now desperately, desperately DESPERATELY want that show to be renewed.

And, that's about it. OR at least, it's what i can remember on short notice. So, hopefully this will bring everyone more or less up to speed, and regular programming can return.

(source article here)

The title says, US flu deaths seen as likely

Paragraph 1 can be paraphrased as: Swine flu will be killing people in the US soon, it's already killed "scores" of people in Mexico.

Paragraph 2 lets us know there are 64 confirmed cases in the US and possibly "hundreds" more.

Paragraph 3 mentions $1.5 billion in government spending to prevent the problem.

But finally, after learning that 150 Mexicans have succumbed to Swine flu (par. 14), and 774 people died of SARS overall (par. 16), we get to put it all in perspective:

The number of Americans who die of the flu and flu related complications EACH YEAR is 36,000. Yes, 36,000. WAY more than all these other pandemics combined. Nobody writes an article on them, though. They just sell TheraFlu. And apparently state the obvious in the titles of their articles.

And to add insult to, well an insult, where do we find this risk-assessing bit of info? PARAGRAPH *22.*

AUUUGH!!!!

ETA: Noticeably missing is the 54 people who died of bird flu in Asia (source). Shouldn't that be relevant?

Last Thursday, I had two Sparkles in my home and came out alive with all my furniture intact. So THIS Thursday, I am going to try it again with six. Glutton for punishment, much? I am happy though, because one of the moms came through for me with DVDs, meaning children will have something to help them practice outside of class. What should make the kids happy, and take some of the stress off me. It's two weeks until our big dance performance, and although I am in a good spot with respect to costuming and choreography, it's still going to be big crunch time in terms of putting it all together. Deep breaths.

This past weekend J and I had a really nice weekend. In stark contrast to the weekend before, where he got buried in hell-week homework and surfaced pretty much only to eat, we got to go out to a romantic dinner Friday (Top 5 restaurant in OKC!), tackle my flower beds Saturday, and get some stuff done at his place Sunday. I got to catch my brother by phone on his birthday, and my parents showed off new living room furniture via phone and email on Sunday. Also, the power went out Sunday night do to a Thunderstorm, leading to an impromptu candlelit evening.

One of my latest things on my quest to become "fiscally responsible" is putting myself back on a daily budget. I have recently discovered Quicken Online, which has given me an even greater hand in (micro) managing my finances; the goal is to spend more on the house and less on the consumables like clothing and restaurants, but we'll see how that works out. Being so dramatically the high earner in my current relationship has challenged my perceptions on money, "fairness," and living standards quite a bit. I think it'll be for the better in the long run, but in the short run, I am still trying to figure out exactly what to think. It's definitely different.

I'm also still keeping my fingers crossed for my not-so-healthy-looking weeping candied crabapple and, despite some heroic efforts by myself and J this weekend, engaged in an increasingly heated battle with house ants. I also just finished a Hilarious and really quite interesting recommendation for reading by bearddevil, and I am back to making my way through Kushiel's Mercy, which is quite enjoyable, just also thick. I may have to bread down and actually buy it at this point, as I am running up against the 6-week limit and the library will probably beat me if I try to renew it again.

Ah well, it's good to be busy, right?

Homeownership Thrill #7,983

Having your fence blow down Easter Morning, and having to go out and repair it that afternoon. In the rain. (admittedly, also reason #561 J is awesome)

Homeownership Thrill #65,854

Having your bank, which owns both your mortgage AND your savings account (under the logic that deducting payments from the latter and apply them to the former will be easier that way) send you a letter suggesting that maybe you forgot to pay your mortgage this month. And giving the wrong amount for your mortgage payment. Causing you to get transferred to three different departments when you call in the following morning under a polite but firm WTF?

Homeownership Thrill #213,492

Ants.

And yeah, that's about it.

J was at drill this weekend, leaving me alone with my proclivity for getting as much done as possible, and some friends I hadn't managed to spend time with in a while. So, I kicked butt and took names on errands Friday, went to the Medieval Faire and bought trees with bearddevil and roastdmallow on Saturday, and then put the trees up (as well as did a bunch of other housework) on Sunday - J arrived in time to help me with one of them, but the other I did by myself.

( Photos Don't do them Justice )

I also managed to get a pretty impressive insect sting at Med Faire, and the beginnings of a tan.

Over the past two months, I have had a number of large expenses that were not "fun". Tax Prep, Cat Vet, A bunch of Medical/Therapy bills, Alarm Monitoring, AAA membership renewal... the Colorado trip, I'll admit, was fun. Lots of fun. But, now that I'm home again (albeit with good pics), I still find myself craving (however wrongly) Stuff. Like, actual factual things. Things that you buy with money, which you then use, or store, or otherwise enjoy. So, to keep myself focused on long term goals rather than frittering:

( Fun Purchases I hope to make )

And there you have it. But mostly, to be continued I'm sure.

-Return flooring samples
-pick up book from library
-return/renew library stuff as necessary
-Picture Frames from Micheal's (50% off this week!)
-Counters at Home Depot
-Paint Pricing
-Alarm Contract
-Medical Bills :-P
-Research Langston H&G show It's actually in Guthrie...
-Bathroom measurements
-UNPACK
-vacuum

work:
-receipts to ctr
-schedule trip to Dallas

Yay for vacations! I had a great time in Grand Junction, Co. where I met J's parents and previously unmet brothers, and visited the Colorado National Monument and the Hot Springs of Ouray with the new people and the Sister/BIL/niece combo I'd met at Thanksgiving. Pics will be on the way as soon as I can get them downloaded.

Also, even thought it was only 4 days off, I feel refreshed and ready to tackle at work; that's a rare treasure.

In cleaning up for my father's arrival, I found an offer from Southern Living magazine that I'd been intending to take advantage of; 12 issues for $10. I wouldn't pay much more for the magazine, but I do like their recipes and the women's bathroom at work could use some post-2006 reading. The only catch was, it had to be sent in by Feb 15 to take advantage of that offer.

Well, I thought, it's about March 3rd, I am sure they make some allowances for mailing time and whatnot, so... I sent it off anyway.

THEN I read the stub more thoroughly; please respond by Feb 15, 2008. Wow. One, I am impressed that I managed to keep it/procrastinate for this long, and two, I wondered what they were going to do? Well, the check posted today, so I can only presume that I am now a subscriber. Considering they're asking $16 for it on the website, that's not a bad deal.

I e-filed my taxes on March 10, and a mere 6 days later Oklahoma has already deposited my refund in my account. That's even shorter than the advertised 8 days. From a government entity. It's not often I get to say this in our conservative and occasionally backwater environment, but way to go Oklahoma!

J had a really tiring and frustrating day yesterday, and when he called he asked if I was free. I was, and after some discussion of logistics, it was decided that if we wanted to spend some time in person it was best for him to drive down to me.

In the hour and a half that it took him to make the trip, I managed (from scratch, and without any head start) banana nut muffins, Strawberry plum bars, and Parmesan Encrusted Tilapia. That is TOTALLY a baking(/cooking) record for me. I was even halfway done cleaning when he knocked on the door. Apparently, I can even do "domesticated" with an engineer's efficiency.

Financial responsibility is I am sure its own reward in the long run, but it's also kind of a pain in the @ss from day to day. Yesterday, I spent 30 minutes on the phone arguing with my alarm monitoring center, just to repeal the $2/month price increase they'd foisted on me without my consent, and then threatened to ruin my credit over. Had to sign a new contract to get that all straightened out at a price I found acceptable, which annoys me but is the shortest solution. If they do it to me again when the two year contract is up, I think I will switch companies.

Also, I did my taxes, and found my return to be less handsome than I'd hoped. Not a big deal, but playing around in that mud pit led to the startling discovery that I can claim MORE interest paid on my tax return this year than I could last. Which doesn't make sense if you consider that my principal amount is less, and my interest rate didn't change. So, back to the bank there, with a stop by online banking for further "well, it looks OK here..." I am hoping that somehow the way they framed the year led to the counting one more payment than last year, but if they haven't been applying ALL of my overpayment to my principal (as they swore up and down they would when I started overpaying), heads are gonna roll.

Finally, retirement is approximately eleventy million years away for me, but I keep hearing reminders about the failing nature of social security, and that youth is the best time to save. Plus, one hopes that the stocks cannot dive TOO much lower in this economy. So since I am comfortable with the amount of savings I have immediately available and the rate at which I am adding to it, I have made the executive decision to up my retirement contributions. Except that I cannot find the randomized PIN I need to access the account, even with a total shakedown of my house and work desk. I have put in for another, but there will be a snail-mail style delay.

Mostly I am grateful that I am in a position where I CAN worry about all this stuff, don't get me wrong. But that said, it still seems like there is a lot managerial stress associated with things that really, shouldn't be a big deal.

UPDATE: And, after AN HOUR of arguing with the guy at the bank, I was finally able to talk him into printing the statements I needed. They proved my mortgage is being handled the way I wanted them to, so phew! I am annoyed that he was willing to go round and round with me for so long when he could have just showed me the "confusing" paperwork 5 minutes in like I asked him, but oh well. At least my paranoia turned out to be nothing and I'm not paying interest I shouldn't be.

Had a great, great time with Dad this weekend; We spent Sunday in Tulsa at a Train Show, palled around Oklahoma City looking at Model Homes and potential bathroom ideas Saturday and Monday, and spent some time around the house. Highlights of the trip were:

-The Great Train Expo In Tulsa: got to see Dad in his element, and learn a lot about model trains. Plus, we had the drive up and back to discuss life the universe, and everything. Also, completely awesomely, we got to see the inside of a really cute train-themed restaurant, Ollie's, even though they had closed an hour earlier. We just stood out there looking dejected after several train show proprietors recommended it to us, and eventually the manager let us in. I am not sure if that was actually more fun than the train show (in terms of interesting things to see) but it was at least AS fun, and kind of an unexpected bonus.

-Bathroom planning: For YEARS now I have been saying I need to go ahead and redo my bathroom. Like, really. There is carpet in front of the toilet, and the linoleum is 1) peeling and 2) an unimpressive shade of pink. But, I am terrified of such big decisions. So Dad, fresh from a bunch of the redesigning he and mom are doing around their house, came out to look at all the things I was thinking about, and discuss them candidly with me. Sometimes, just having someone ELSE say, "well, if you like it you should do it" is helpful, as my confidence in my own decorating and color-picking skills is just barely a little north of zero. Plus, having already built a house once, he has a much better idea of what questions to ask, and what works and what doesn't.

-The Workbench. I have a new workbench! Not *quite* sure what I'm going to do with it yet, but it seems like the sort of thing that will probably come in super handy with other projects, and will be quite enjoyable in the spring and summer when the weather is good. It was also really cute to watch Dad and J BOTH get excited over it. And, to implement it dad made a HUGE improvement to the lighting situation in my garage, for which I am very grateful.

-J was mostly in Drill this weekend, but did manage to make it by Thursday and Sunday Night. He and I tag-teamed cooking for Dad on Thursday, and Sunday we all went out to a nice dinner together. They get along well, so spending the time with both was pretty cool.

On other news, it's back to the grindstone, but I can't quite seem to get my brain in gear. My shoulder is doing a lot better, but is still not up to 100% and I think my hip is actually at this point, mostly repaired. But, the hours and divided schedule associated with therapy are starting to wear on me, so I'm looking forward to another Dr.'s appointment on the 17th to see where I stand. Also, I still need to do my taxes. Fun.