A family dinner last night was a nice treat....we went to Musachi which is like Beni Hanas. They cook at the table and you get a little 'show' for your money. Sure, it's corny....when the chef rolls the egg across the cooking surface and says 'eggroll' - and it's the same routine he did the last time we ate there which was a year ago, at least - it's corny. But it was a nice evening with good food (too much food - stuffed to the brim, I headed to bed shortly after getting home. Enjoyed reading for a bit and when I woke up having fallen asleep, I turned off the light and went to bed. It was just after 8).
The best thing about a Friday night dinner there are their cocktails - they have a wide variety. And for $5 (a bargain!), you get a cocktail that will definitely result in you being more relaxed than when you walked in. I would have loved a second Blue Hawaiian but decided against it.
H. drove us home - we are very careful and do our best to set an example.
It's Saturday! Woot woot!!
I am heading into work for a bit. Retract the woot woot.....
But I will still have some of the day left and it's looking like a pretty day to work outside a bit.
Saturday, March 03, 2012
Thursday, March 01, 2012
Roger, Cancel That
Re: B. going to MEPS today. He didn't. I was right. It's not as 'clear' as he thought.
I won't go into details - too voluminous and complicated for a quick evening post - I need to get to bed early tonight 'cuz multiple nights of 4-6 hours of sleep is not good (especially for someone who MUST GET UP VERY EARLY 'CUZ I HAVE A ZILLION THINGS TO DO BEFORE MEETINGS COMMENCE)....
He filled me in on everything in a long conversation - and then offered to help me make cake batter Rice Krispie treats for work tomorrow. Fun to have his help and he really did make a job I was suddenly dreading very easy and smooth. Even cleaned the kitchen table and helped me tidy up.
Then he headed to the gym.
He's experiencing many disappointments at the moment - including realizing that someone he's trusted as a mentor and friend is not being truthful in so many areas - and that's a hard lesson to learn. People can not always be trusted. I've had my guard up for some time with this individual but B. learned the hard way that when stories start to not add up over and over and over - there's always a reason. And a person spending all their energy on maintaining the falseness and the fabricated life is not someone to invest a lot of time with. I feel bad for B. - he is a good, kind-hearted young man. He feels badly about this person and their situation - and he feels compelled to help. I tried to convince him that there really isn't anything he can do - and actually, it would be in everyone's best interest for him to step back and just stay away. Permanently. This person that he thought was a friend is very confused and has a lot of 'stuff' on his own personal plate at the moment. B. has plenty of stuff in his OWN life much less taking on the problems and lies and issues his 'friend' is experiencing. Much as he wants to help, there's not much he can do - and we will never know the full 'truth' of the issues. Ever. It's hard to never know - but we won't.
That bugs me 'cuz I always want to know 'the rest of the story'. But even I - who wants to know the rest of it more than I can say - is acknowledging that it's such a murky mess of lies and stories, we will never, ever know. So just draw the line in the sand and move on. Life is too short. We can't save this person. They have to save themselves. I hope they do - but it is truly entirely up to them. And B. doesn't need to be a part of 'the rest of the story'. B. needs to start moving forward on his own story -
Good night moon. Good night. (in honor of Read Across America!)
I won't go into details - too voluminous and complicated for a quick evening post - I need to get to bed early tonight 'cuz multiple nights of 4-6 hours of sleep is not good (especially for someone who MUST GET UP VERY EARLY 'CUZ I HAVE A ZILLION THINGS TO DO BEFORE MEETINGS COMMENCE)....
He filled me in on everything in a long conversation - and then offered to help me make cake batter Rice Krispie treats for work tomorrow. Fun to have his help and he really did make a job I was suddenly dreading very easy and smooth. Even cleaned the kitchen table and helped me tidy up.
Then he headed to the gym.
He's experiencing many disappointments at the moment - including realizing that someone he's trusted as a mentor and friend is not being truthful in so many areas - and that's a hard lesson to learn. People can not always be trusted. I've had my guard up for some time with this individual but B. learned the hard way that when stories start to not add up over and over and over - there's always a reason. And a person spending all their energy on maintaining the falseness and the fabricated life is not someone to invest a lot of time with. I feel bad for B. - he is a good, kind-hearted young man. He feels badly about this person and their situation - and he feels compelled to help. I tried to convince him that there really isn't anything he can do - and actually, it would be in everyone's best interest for him to step back and just stay away. Permanently. This person that he thought was a friend is very confused and has a lot of 'stuff' on his own personal plate at the moment. B. has plenty of stuff in his OWN life much less taking on the problems and lies and issues his 'friend' is experiencing. Much as he wants to help, there's not much he can do - and we will never know the full 'truth' of the issues. Ever. It's hard to never know - but we won't.
That bugs me 'cuz I always want to know 'the rest of the story'. But even I - who wants to know the rest of it more than I can say - is acknowledging that it's such a murky mess of lies and stories, we will never, ever know. So just draw the line in the sand and move on. Life is too short. We can't save this person. They have to save themselves. I hope they do - but it is truly entirely up to them. And B. doesn't need to be a part of 'the rest of the story'. B. needs to start moving forward on his own story -
Good night moon. Good night. (in honor of Read Across America!)
Relish
There are currently three plastic squeeze bottles and one glass jar of sweet pickle relish in our refrigerator.
Why?
Because B. made tuna salad for lunch and when he can't find the relish in the door of the refrigerator, he opens a new one. I saw him go out to the garage (where we store extra stuff on wire shelves) and should have guessed that he was going to open yet another container of relish.
It never occurs to him that just a couple days ago, he opened a brand new squeeze bottle of relish - and there is absolutely no way we went through an entire bottle in a few days.
He gets pissy that he can't see it in the door 'cuz there's so much stuff in the fridge....and I try my hardest to not say 'YES, BECAUSE YOU KEEP OPENING NEW CONTAINERS OF CONDIMENTS EVERY THREE DAYS AND WE DON'T WANT THEM TO GO TO WASTE'.
Why?
Because B. made tuna salad for lunch and when he can't find the relish in the door of the refrigerator, he opens a new one. I saw him go out to the garage (where we store extra stuff on wire shelves) and should have guessed that he was going to open yet another container of relish.
It never occurs to him that just a couple days ago, he opened a brand new squeeze bottle of relish - and there is absolutely no way we went through an entire bottle in a few days.
He gets pissy that he can't see it in the door 'cuz there's so much stuff in the fridge....and I try my hardest to not say 'YES, BECAUSE YOU KEEP OPENING NEW CONTAINERS OF CONDIMENTS EVERY THREE DAYS AND WE DON'T WANT THEM TO GO TO WASTE'.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
EDD
B. applied for disability benefits. Did it all on his own including going to the doctor and getting all the paperwork filled out. He told J. that whatever he gets for disability, he will give to me since today is the last day of February and he has yet to pay anything towards his monthly expenses - due on the 1st of every month.
With relief, he was notified that he's been approved and will receive a payment of $344.57! Yeah!
They are sending a debit card with the funds loaded onto the card.
There are instructions for how to transfer those funds to a bank account.
Here's hoping 'cuz he can't pay his parents his insurance contribution, cell phone payment, etc. with a debit card.
We're not that sophisticated.
He returns to work on 3/5. His ankle/foot is much better. He's still not back to running but he is able to get around. We'll see how he does on his feet for his first shift and if it swells up again, he'll go back to the doctor to go back on disability and then get the MRI.
J. is at a work dinner thing so he won't be home until late. I picked up Subway sandwiches for dinner. And also stopped to get Lotto tickets and then milk at the grocery store. There were girl scouts outside and since not a single girl has come to my door to sell me cookies, I bought five boxes ($20 total) from them. And that was after also buying a bag of the stores baked chocolate chip cookies. Those were for H. 'cuz they are his favorite.....chewy and delicious!
I should never go to the store when I'm hungry. Two gallons of milk and $25.50 in cookies. Not a good trip. OH - and a warm loaf of sweet french bread just out of the oven.....
We have a meeting at work tomorrow so I am making cake batter rice krispie treats - a Pinterest recipe!
With relief, he was notified that he's been approved and will receive a payment of $344.57! Yeah!
They are sending a debit card with the funds loaded onto the card.
There are instructions for how to transfer those funds to a bank account.
Here's hoping 'cuz he can't pay his parents his insurance contribution, cell phone payment, etc. with a debit card.
We're not that sophisticated.
He returns to work on 3/5. His ankle/foot is much better. He's still not back to running but he is able to get around. We'll see how he does on his feet for his first shift and if it swells up again, he'll go back to the doctor to go back on disability and then get the MRI.
J. is at a work dinner thing so he won't be home until late. I picked up Subway sandwiches for dinner. And also stopped to get Lotto tickets and then milk at the grocery store. There were girl scouts outside and since not a single girl has come to my door to sell me cookies, I bought five boxes ($20 total) from them. And that was after also buying a bag of the stores baked chocolate chip cookies. Those were for H. 'cuz they are his favorite.....chewy and delicious!
I should never go to the store when I'm hungry. Two gallons of milk and $25.50 in cookies. Not a good trip. OH - and a warm loaf of sweet french bread just out of the oven.....
We have a meeting at work tomorrow so I am making cake batter rice krispie treats - a Pinterest recipe!
Pressure
One word: Pinterest.
Have you tried it? Follow anyone? I did. And now I do.
But even worse than that?
People are following me.
I am not creating any new ideas. I look at some of the remarkable things people 'pin' on their boards - things they or others have come up with....and I just marvel.
Tic Tac boxes for ribbon holders. Brilliant! Take toilet paper rolls and slit down the tube and then use it as a 'clip' for wrapping paper. Also brilliant!
It's too much pressure to get emails all day telling me 'so and so is now following you on Pinterst'. Yikes. Too much responsibility for a non-creative type like me.
It is great fun and I've found really clever ideas and great recipes. And a possible solution for our awkward corner pantry dilemma - have the guy install giant lazy suzans on each and every shelf. Use the unused side spaces for other storage but store the bulk of the items on the turntables. It's brilliant and just might be the solution to our 'what in the world can we do to the pantry to make it more usable' question.
Sidenote: we joined Angie's list to help find the businesses that can help us with our house projects. The fence guy was a good choice.
We are also looking to get additional insulation in the garage ceiling. The insulation company we called today tried to convince J. that we most likely had adequate insulation. He is so wrong. Ever watch 'Holmes on Homes'? In virtually every house he visits, homes with rooms over the garage are almost always seriously lacking insulation. Given the other things our builder has taken short cuts with - and given that you can walk through our garage in the summer and feel the AC from above or walk through in the winter and feel the heat from above - we are positive we need more insulation. They 'finished' the garage without doing much (if any) insulating. But the guy didn't want to come out. So now I have to decide. Do I leave a comment - mainly just mentioning that he didn't seem to want to come out as far as Tracy and instead, tried to convince us our insulation was adequate? 'Cuz that's how Angie's List works - the more reviews you get, the more likely a search will result in your business being listed. And then the good/bad reviews create a 'grade' - so others will see how they did. It's another sort of 'pressure' thing....do we leave a so-so comment on the guy who really just didn't want to come out to Tracy?
And in the mean time, we're still looking for someone who can come check the insulation to see if it really is enough. I mean, at the very least, if we were willing to pay for a 'service call' to have it checked out, shouldn't the guy come out?
And my final 'pressure' themed subject is: my sinuses are a mess. I washed my face in the shower this morning and literally can't touch my face without it hurting. My eyes are sore. My teeth hurt. Time for Claritin!
Have you tried it? Follow anyone? I did. And now I do.
But even worse than that?
People are following me.
I am not creating any new ideas. I look at some of the remarkable things people 'pin' on their boards - things they or others have come up with....and I just marvel.
Tic Tac boxes for ribbon holders. Brilliant! Take toilet paper rolls and slit down the tube and then use it as a 'clip' for wrapping paper. Also brilliant!
It's too much pressure to get emails all day telling me 'so and so is now following you on Pinterst'. Yikes. Too much responsibility for a non-creative type like me.
It is great fun and I've found really clever ideas and great recipes. And a possible solution for our awkward corner pantry dilemma - have the guy install giant lazy suzans on each and every shelf. Use the unused side spaces for other storage but store the bulk of the items on the turntables. It's brilliant and just might be the solution to our 'what in the world can we do to the pantry to make it more usable' question.
Sidenote: we joined Angie's list to help find the businesses that can help us with our house projects. The fence guy was a good choice.
We are also looking to get additional insulation in the garage ceiling. The insulation company we called today tried to convince J. that we most likely had adequate insulation. He is so wrong. Ever watch 'Holmes on Homes'? In virtually every house he visits, homes with rooms over the garage are almost always seriously lacking insulation. Given the other things our builder has taken short cuts with - and given that you can walk through our garage in the summer and feel the AC from above or walk through in the winter and feel the heat from above - we are positive we need more insulation. They 'finished' the garage without doing much (if any) insulating. But the guy didn't want to come out. So now I have to decide. Do I leave a comment - mainly just mentioning that he didn't seem to want to come out as far as Tracy and instead, tried to convince us our insulation was adequate? 'Cuz that's how Angie's List works - the more reviews you get, the more likely a search will result in your business being listed. And then the good/bad reviews create a 'grade' - so others will see how they did. It's another sort of 'pressure' thing....do we leave a so-so comment on the guy who really just didn't want to come out to Tracy?
And in the mean time, we're still looking for someone who can come check the insulation to see if it really is enough. I mean, at the very least, if we were willing to pay for a 'service call' to have it checked out, shouldn't the guy come out?
And my final 'pressure' themed subject is: my sinuses are a mess. I washed my face in the shower this morning and literally can't touch my face without it hurting. My eyes are sore. My teeth hurt. Time for Claritin!
Leap!
Happy Leap Year! Someone retired at the County Office of Education - and I'm sure he retired yesterday 'cuz if you retire on 2/29, you can only celebrate the anniversary of your retirement once every four years!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Elephants
A quick post to break my weekend only posting mode. And a shout out and thanks to my cousin S. who emailed me this morning to tell me she enjoys reading my blog. You made my day! Week! Month!
It's just past 6AM and I am throwing caution to the wind and not rushing! No meetings today - unheard of. So a nice day of plodding through all the stuff that requires plodding.
I borrowed Like Water for Elephants from the Kindle lending library and am now rushing to read it - postponing the 3rd Hunger Games book for awhile. Everyone says Elephants is an awesome read - and I agree. But it's also making me uncomfortable. Animal cruelty makes me sad. In any form. Even in a great story. So I read it and just feel 'sick' all the time - and have to say I'm not enjoying it much. I'm about 1/2 way through and it's all I can do to keep going....I hope the ending makes the torture worth it.
B. is heading up to MEPS again Thursday. His appeal was approved....so we'll see what that means and what will happen next. He said if they offer him a Ranger contract, he's going to sign it that day. So we wait. It's never as 'easy' or 'clear' as he implies so I am sort of cautious about getting all excited about something that may not happen. On a good note, his ankle is much better and he returns to work Monday.
H. is looking and looking for a job - went to a warehouse in town and applied. Took two tests to 'qualify' for applying (actually filling out an application for employment) and then was able to apply - but still, he waits. Poor kid is scrubbing the tile grout in the family room with bleach to earn money. It's tough work but he does an hour or two a day for some pocket money.
Cleaning ladies come today! Yeah!
We started getting a delivery every other week of farm-fresh organic produce. Last night, I sauteed leeks and kale in a little butter. Season salt and garlic. It was yummy. Also steamed fresh broccoli and a pink cauliflower. Tonight we're steaming beets and turnips - from Winco, not the farm. More veggies in our diet is a good thing. Only problem is: I appear to have tossed the list of items in the farm box and there are two 'root' looking things that I have no idea what they are nor how to prepare them. I think we'll peel them, chunk them and steam them. Hard to go wrong with steam. I hope.
I spent all day yesterday feeling like it was Tuesday. After two Mondays in a row off, it was hard to accept that I was actually going to have to work a Monday. It was a long, long day.
Today should be better -
It's just past 6AM and I am throwing caution to the wind and not rushing! No meetings today - unheard of. So a nice day of plodding through all the stuff that requires plodding.
I borrowed Like Water for Elephants from the Kindle lending library and am now rushing to read it - postponing the 3rd Hunger Games book for awhile. Everyone says Elephants is an awesome read - and I agree. But it's also making me uncomfortable. Animal cruelty makes me sad. In any form. Even in a great story. So I read it and just feel 'sick' all the time - and have to say I'm not enjoying it much. I'm about 1/2 way through and it's all I can do to keep going....I hope the ending makes the torture worth it.
B. is heading up to MEPS again Thursday. His appeal was approved....so we'll see what that means and what will happen next. He said if they offer him a Ranger contract, he's going to sign it that day. So we wait. It's never as 'easy' or 'clear' as he implies so I am sort of cautious about getting all excited about something that may not happen. On a good note, his ankle is much better and he returns to work Monday.
H. is looking and looking for a job - went to a warehouse in town and applied. Took two tests to 'qualify' for applying (actually filling out an application for employment) and then was able to apply - but still, he waits. Poor kid is scrubbing the tile grout in the family room with bleach to earn money. It's tough work but he does an hour or two a day for some pocket money.
Cleaning ladies come today! Yeah!
We started getting a delivery every other week of farm-fresh organic produce. Last night, I sauteed leeks and kale in a little butter. Season salt and garlic. It was yummy. Also steamed fresh broccoli and a pink cauliflower. Tonight we're steaming beets and turnips - from Winco, not the farm. More veggies in our diet is a good thing. Only problem is: I appear to have tossed the list of items in the farm box and there are two 'root' looking things that I have no idea what they are nor how to prepare them. I think we'll peel them, chunk them and steam them. Hard to go wrong with steam. I hope.
I spent all day yesterday feeling like it was Tuesday. After two Mondays in a row off, it was hard to accept that I was actually going to have to work a Monday. It was a long, long day.
Today should be better -
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