Comments From the Peanut Gallery
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Okay. Here's the deal...
This blog is pretty much dead for me. Now, I am planning to change the content of this blog to a more...shall we say Op/Ed format...a place to vent about current events and things I see in the paper and on the news. But as for my "personal" musings, you need to go here:
www.livejournal.com/users/milkingthemuse (you may have to cut and paste the link into your web browser).
Just thought I would clear that up. As soon as I've started posting my "vents" here again, I'll let you know. Feel free to keep checking back though.
Okay, here's the deal...
This blog is pretty much dead for me. Now, I am planning to change the content of this blog to a more...shall we say Op/Ed format...a place to vent about current events and things I see in the paper and on the news. But as for my "personal" musings, you need to go here: www.livejournal.com/users/milkingthemuse (you may have to cut and paste the link into your web browser).
Just thought I would clear that up. As soon as I've started posting my "vents" here again, I'll let you know. Feel free to keep checking back though.
Monday, February 28, 2005
Not a whole lot going on at the moment...
I haven't started packing yet...probably should, but I just can't bring myself to do it yet. Still too much time for something to go wrong. Do I think things will go wrong? No...but there is always that possiblilty...
What I HAVE allowed myself to do it create some art for my office. I've decided that every decoration in my office is going to be something either Taylor or I created. Right now we are focusing on the walls -- we bought 10 of these velvet pictures that you color in, and we've been sitting at the dining room table working on those. Okay, so we didn't create the patterns, but a lot of creativity goes into coloring those pictures. I'll show you pictures as soon as we move in and I have them hanging on the walls. The next thing I am going to create is a lap afghan for my chair and some beadwork to hang or display on my desk. The room is going to be very creative and eclectic. Should be pretty cool.
On the "business" side of the house buying process, I am getting quotes on homeowner insurance and we're going to find out how much the utilities will run the have them switched over and get on a budget. I should also look into the local cable company, get a phone number, and figure out who my new Internet Service Prvider is going to be. I know who it WON'T be though.
Hard to believe that tomorrow is first say of March. Judging from the weather outside, it's definitely coming in like a lion. But in 15 days, we take posession of our first real house. I'm fighting the excitement...at least for another week. If I get through this week without any major problems, THEN I'll let myself get worked up.
Okay...that's about it. Thanks for all your well-wishes. Feel free to post them in the comments section. I miss reading the comments from y'all.
You may go about your lives now...
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Once Upon A Time
...there was a house. It was a pretty house. It was yellow with white trim and green shutters framed all the windows. It had a big front yard, a HUGE backyard, and a basketball hoop next to the driveway. It was a lovely house.
One day, a family -- the mamma, the pappa and the little girl went to visit the house because the house was lonely. It's old owners had moved away and left the house all alone. The house wanted a new family.
The family of three -- the mamma, pappa and little girl fell in love with the house, and the house fell in love with them. The family knew this because all three times they visited the house, it was sunny and bright. The family decided they wanted to buy the house. The house was happy. The family was happy. The real estate agents were happy. Everyone was happy.
But then suddenly, a big bad wolf came out of the woods. The wolf was called Corporate Movers. The wolf was trying to buy the house and maybe jack up the price. The family was scared. The house was scared. The family's real estate agent was scared. Everyone was scared of the big bad wolf.
But, lo and behold, the big bad wolf wasn't bad after all (but he was still BIG!). After a few days of negotiations, the wolf (whom the family nicknamed Wolfie) decided to sell the house to the family of three -- the mamma, pappa and little girl. The family was happy because they now had a home of their own. The house was happy because it would again have a family and wouldn't be lonely anymore. The real estate agent was happy because she would get a commmission. Even Wolfie was happy, cuz corporate housing doesn't sell very well in this area.
Soon the little family -- the mamma, pappa and little girl will move into their new home. And they will live happily ever after.
The End.
BTW, in case I was too..er...vague..we GOT THE HOUSE!!!! We close on March 16th.
I didn't know it was possible to jump for joy while cowering under a desk in fear. Thirty years is a LONG time to commit to something. I'm still amazed that Lou and I have been married for eight years. I still can't believe I've been a mother for almost thriteen years. The only thing I have managed to do for more than 15 years was...well...be alive. LOL
Anyway, that's my good news and blog post for the week. I'll probably post more as this house hunting...er...buying adventure continues.
You may all resume your lives now...
Sunday, February 13, 2005
It's the most wonderful time of the year!
It's TAX SEASON! Today we filed our taxes and got half of our return back...just in time for my birthday tomorrow! Yay! Lou has already promised me a new computer desk and some "bling bling" to be worn hopefully on my wrist, but around my neck would work too.
But we are also going to be responsible with the cash. We are going to catch up our bills, and pay off a few pesky entries on our credit report...just in case we don't get the loan that the mortgage company has all but promised us.
Yeah, you read that right -- this time tomorrow we could know whether we can buy our dream house or not. If not, then paying off some of the past due stuff on the credit report will make us more palatable to lenders in another month or two. I am DETERMINED that we are going to enjoy the summer on the deck of our own home. This is MY year -- the year of the Rooster! Cock-a-Doodle-Doo!
Worst case scenario: we get turned down by this lender, but since we will have our current bills caught up, we can start paying off some of the stuff on our credit report. Best case scenario: we start packing tomorrow night.
I cannot believe I'm going to be 36 in a few hours. Where does the time go? I'm not where I really want to be with my writing career, but I think that's going to change soon enough. I just found out that my publisher for Moments of Clarity has dropped me, because "she couldn't contact me via email and I failed to inform her that I moved." Well, guess what? She didn't do much for me when she COULD contact me, why should I worry about it now? My contract was due to expire in April anyway, so I see this as an opportunity to find an agent and/or publisher that will do what they are supposed to do. The other books are on the backburner for now...they can wait.
Let's see...what else is going on? The job is still going well. Don't think I'll bonus this month, but it could still happen...we'll see.
Oh..Taylor aka Klutzo-baby chipped a bone if her foot. It's not a real break like was first diagnosed, but a sever sprain. She's got it wrapped and since it's on the top of her foot, she's hobbling, but not too badly. But no gym for her at least until Wednesday. Of course, her gym teacher insists on a note from a doctor to excuse her. Well, guess what? I don't have one, Taylor wil NOT take gym and she will not get a lower grade because of it. Don't mess with my and don't even THINK of messing with my kid! That'll get you in a world of trouble, I'll-tell-you-what!
Okay..that's it. I'm gonna go finish the laundry so I can look GOOD for my birthday tomorrow. You may all go about your lives now...
Oh...and Tray..we haven't forgot about you, sweetie...RIP
Monday, February 07, 2005
It seems that
I can only get myself here to blog about once a week. I don't know if my "blogging meter" hits full capacity after 6 or 7 days, or if my gray matter just stores things for that long before they beg to be purged...but anyway, here it is, six days after the last time I posted.
Honestly, it really doesn't matter. Other than work, house hunting and the regular family stuff, there is nothing new going on. On the house front, we're still looking at the dream house I posted about before...but we aren't sure we'll be able to get enough financing to buy it. Let this be a lesson to you-- don't let your credit go to hell..you'll pay for it later.
If we don't get enough of a loan for that house, there are several others that we kinda, sorta like which are lower in price and we can work on over time. Not the ideal situation, but it would be better than paying rent. I really Really REALLY resent making someone else rich on my dime. If I have to pay out hundreds of dollars each month for a place to live, then it should go toward something that is MINE.
The job is still fine. I'm getting better at it...slow going, but productive. I'm sure I'll be bonusing before I know it....maybe even this month. I can hope, anyway.
Well, I don't have a whole lot to comment about, so I'm just going to end this post now. You may all go about your lives now...
Monday, January 31, 2005
Yeah, I know...
It's been awhile since I posted...but I've been B-U-S-Y!
The job is still interesting. I'm starting to get a feel for things and procedures are starting to flow easier...but there is still so much for me to learn and digest. I know that eventually I'll get the hang of it, but I'm not a person who is used to having to work this hard to learn something new. But it is a challenge, and there is nothing I enjoy more than that.
Let's see...what else -- Oh! Lou is about to quit his job. I can feel it in my bones. He's taken about as much crap as he is going to take from his boss, and as much as his timing STINKS... I don't fault him for wanting out. I just hope he at least has a lead on a new job before he quits this one. Actually, I'm hoping he gets fired. At least then he can collect unemployment. Oh, no doubt his ..... of a boss will fight it, but she has taken what should have been a dream job for him and turned it into a personal lacky position...and Lou is a lot of things, some good, some bad...but he's no one's lacky. Honestly, it's a wonder he's lasted this long. If it had been me, she would have had to fire me several weeks ago, cuz I would have told her off. But that's me.
Um..in other news...we're still trying to get pre-approved for a mortgage. The lender we were working with has completely flaked out on us. I have faxed the same forms to this guy THREE times, and he still can't keep track of them. So, we are working with an additional lender...just in case.
The dream house that I talked about before, is still first on our list, but we have added two more houses that we really like. You would think that I would be panicked, desperately trying to make things work out so that I can have my house..but I'm not. If we are meant to buy a house, then we will buy one, and no amount of worry or manipulation on our part will change that. In a way, I really see Lou's looking for another job as the solution to the "yeah, we can afford the house, but it's going to be really tight" delimma. If he could get a job making what he SHOULD, then buying any of the houses on our list wouldn't be a problem. So, I'm convinced that there is a higher power at work here....the same one that cleared the way for us to move here seven months ago.
Hard to believe we've only been here since June. Seems so much longer to me now. But our lives have changed so much since we've been here. We're still broke, but we are a better class of broke. LOL Hubby doesn't see it that way, but personally, I think that if I'm going to be broke, then I should at least have something to show for it. Back in WV, we were broke and had nothing. Here at least, I'm broke with cable tv, a telephone and a car that I can drive around without worry. I know that probably makes no sense to anyone but me, but that's okay, I'm used to it. LOL
That's about it. There really isn't much new to report...did I mention that Lou is going to try and make it onto the pro pool circuit? Got a new pool cue on layaway to prove it. We'll pick it up Thursday after work, and Lou will officially begin practicing this weekend. There's a tournament he wants to enter at the end of February, so he needs to get some serious practice time in between now and then.
Okay, that's it for real. I'm off to do some crocheting or beading..or something.
You may all go about your lives now...
Sunday, January 23, 2005
It's been a LONG week...
I started the new job on Tuesday..and it's been an eyeopening experience.
In my old position, I called Doctor's offices and tried to get them to switch their patients from no-preferred medications to preferred meds. Read: name brand to generics. Nurses and MA's would sigh when they heard me start my pitch and a doctor seldom took a "meanlingless fluff" call from us.
Just a sidnote: My company isn't the one who decided that you should take generics -- your benefit plan did..confused about who is who? There's US and then there is ..I won't mention a real company name...so let's use "Horizon". "Horizon" hires US to manage their drug benefit program. "Horizon" decides if you can take generics or name-brand meds, we just enforce their plan. Or try to.
Anyway, that was my OLD job. My NEW job is the complete opposite of what I had been doing. Instead of calling doctors and getting them to switch to generics, I GET calls from doctors who are requesting that their patients be allowed to take name-brand meds instead of the generic.
That's all the explanation that I can give right now -- since I'm still trying to figure it all out myself. But so far, it has been an interesting experience. Intersting and exhausting. There is SO much to remember...so many rules that need to be followed and just as many exceptions to the rules...it just makes your head spin. Tonight is the latest I've been up all week...normally by midnight, I'm asleep.
In other news...we are looking for a contractor who can come look at the house I mentioned in my last post. There are some structural changes that we would like to make and we need to know how much they're going to run. We're also trying to figure out a way to come up with a downpayment. But we'll worry about that later.
Speaking of later...that's when I'll post more. I'm wiped. You may go about your lives now.
