Figured I'd better give y'all an update...
It's almost 2am, and I'm still up waiting for my pain medication to kick in, so this is as good as any time to tell you how Momapalooza '04 went.

All in all, it was a nice visit. Stil can't quite believe it was as pleasant as it was. Anyway, here's the rundown.

They arrived here around 1:30, three hours later than my sister intended. Seems she couldn't get my mom to get moving that morning. Big shock there...even as a kid Mom wasn't a morning person.

Within a half hour of their arrival, Mom had thoroughly inspected my apartment. It must of met with her approval cuz she really didn't say much. She DID however say she liked my living room furniture.

Score one for Kim's taste in furniture!

For some reason, Mom skipped breakfast, so by the time they got here, she was hungry. I suggested we head to Golden Corral, cuz I knew she liked to eat there but that there weren't any in our hometown. She liked the idea.

Score another point for picking a good restaurant. I was on a roll! LOL

Dinner was nice. We sat at a large table, ate too much and enjoyed each other's company. After dinner, we came back here for a bit and alked some more...Mom told me about the new house and that she wasn't sure what she was taking with her...Dad and Lou tinkered around under the hood of my car...and my sister, Mom, Taylor and I sat on the patio.

A little while later, they left...other people to visit and they wanted to head be pretty close to home before it got too dark. So, theo whole visit lasted about 4 hours...and other than coming close to tears when Taylor left with them (she and my sister had BIG plans for this week...so Taylor went back to WV for the FINAL week) I was glad to see them go. It was the first time my mother and I got together and fur didn't fly, no insults were traded, and I didn't feel like I was trying to win her approval and failing miserably...and I was afriad that if they stayed longer, the peace accord might not last.

*sigh* I love my family, I really do...just in *small* portions...

Anyway...in other news...

Lou has a job interview later today (Wednesday). It would be nice if he got this job. It's in his field and it pays very well. Here's hoping the interview goes well...

*sigh* This medication isn't kicking in fast enough...but maybe..just MAYBE I'm tired enough to sleep...I'm gonna try..

Thanks for reading. You may noew resume living your lives...


- posted by Kim @ 12:42 AM

 
I should be
cleaning something for my mother's impending visit, but I needed to take a break. I've been going practically nonstop since I got home from work this evening.

Is it normal for a 35 year old woman to be this paranoid about a visit from her mother? I didn't get this stressed when I had job interviews or got stopped for speeding.

Then again, I got the job and talked my way out of the ticket. The only reward I get for surviving MomVisit 2004 is the ability to scrape myself off the ceiling.

Hum..somehow, that last passage just didn't work for me. But I think you get my drift.

It has been said that the two most stressful things in life are being born and getting up in the morning. I would like to submit preparing for a visit from your mother as a third. Ironically though, your mother is directly involved in the other two events as well.

I love my mother. No, really, I do. We...how can I say this...

We really don't like each other all that much. I'm too independent and opinionated for her tastes, and she is just too...too...

Herself.

the other visitors won't be an problem. Dad will tinker under my car, tell me I need oil and grumble when I tell him I haven't located a reliable mechanic yet. My sister will sip dacquiri's on the patio and remind me how hot it is in Altanta. Taylor will play with the dog and hot me up for money. Lou will hide in the bedroom (he's not a visitor, but he will make himself scarce).

That just leaves mom. Good old Mom. Critical, opinionated, negative Mom.

But I am going to be a good hostess. I will keep the glasses and plates full. I will make witty and sparkling conversation. I will be gracious and ignore all the nit-picky things my mother is going to say...

Or I'll lose my temper and blow up at her. Either way, it will be a trypical day in the Adams/Francis family. I'll let you know how it goes.

I'm going to go clean something. You can now resume the rest of your lives. Thanks for reading.
- posted by Kim @ 10:51 PM

 
How cool is THIS?

An experienced survivor who has maneuvered around many obstacles, you are looked up to by those who rely on your good judgment.

In the last few years, we've stumbled. We stumbled at the death of the president, the war, and on and on. When you stumble a lot you tend to look at your feet. Now we have to make people lift their eyes back to the horizon and see the line of ancestors behind us saying, "Make my life have meaning," and to our inheritors before us saying, "create the world we will live in."

John is a character in the Babylon 5 universe. You can read his biography at the Worlds of JMS fansite.

Just my favorite sci-fi show! Can't wait to get Season 5 on DVD...I'm wearing out Season 3 and 4...

Just thought I'd share...
- posted by Kim @ 11:43 PM

 
I got an email about my last post...
the person wanted to know what my new "side business" was.

Okay...I'll tell you. I make hand-crocheted purses and bags.

Seriously.

It all started when I decided that I wanted a cute little purse to match an outfit I had. I didn't want to buy another purse, so I got the idea to crochet one. This is the purse I made:  

http://www.theclassicquill.com/purse.htm  (the top photos)

Last week, I carried this purse to work, cuz I had worn the outfit that it matches the night before and I was too lazy to change purses again. One of the women I work with flipped when she saw it and asked how much I charged to make them. I told her $15.00, thinking she would gasp and dismiss it.

Nope. She ordered one for herself, and two others as gifts.

Pretty cool huh? But wait..it gets better...

A couple of other co-workers saw the purse and they ordered one for each of them too.

I now have six purses to make for my "customers".  And I added a new page on my website:
http://www.theclassicquill.com/purse.htm. Warning: Netfirms isn't being very cooperative...some of the images show up, others don't, and the images are out of place. Hopefully, things will be fixed by tomorrow. Oh, and I'm also putting up an eBay store.

Not that I'm taking this seriously or anything...

On a side note...
If you hear blood-curdling screams that seem to be muffled...it's me screaming into a pillow. My mother is coming to visit this weekend. To be accurate, my sister, my father, Taylor AND my mother are coming over. I just can't wait til my mother walks in my front door and says something positive such as "I hope you aren't paying a whole lot for this place...but I guess it will do...of course, if you would clean a bit more often it might be habitable...just until you get on your feet."

AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

That was a preemtive scream...now you'll know what to listen for.

Okay, my crochet hook is calling..I'd better get back to work.

Thanks for reading. You can now go back to living your lives.











- posted by Kim @ 9:58 PM

 
We did some sightseeing...
tonight when I got home from work. I had already decided that I wasn't cooking tonight, so Lou and I ventured out to eat.

Lou wanted me to see a part of Columbus Metro that I hadn't had a chance to go to yet, so we headed in that direction. While out, we found two Barnes and Noble bookstores, a Borders bookstore and two Michael's (Michaels is a craft store, for those who don't know). we also found Joe's Crab Shack, Ruby Tuesday, Houlihans and several other restaurants that we hadn't been to since we lived in North Carolina. We decided to eat at Golden Corral...for sentimental reasons that I won't get into at the moment. LOL

So combine that field trip with the fact-finding mission for museums and galleries that Taylor and I took at the beginning of the summer, and I am pretty impressed and excited with our new city. It's also a very VERY diverse place...which is also a cool thing, because we want Taylor to grow up around as many people of different races and cultures as possible.

So, I think it was a good outting. Lou needed to get out of the house...he didn't get either of the jobs for which he was in the running...one wanted someone with restaurant experience (you'd think they would have put THAT in the job description and not bothered to call him for an interview..grrr! The other thought he was too qualified for the job. Now, I understand wanting to hire someone who was going to stay long-term...but the guy needs a job...and not because we need the money. The second paycheck would be great, but it's more of a self-esteem issue. Lou;s "challenging" enough to live with when he's happy and things are going his way. He's impossible when things are difficult. But there is always hope...there were no less than twenty other jobs in the classifieds that he is/has applied to, and there are still the temp agencies...so here's hoping.  I do admit that it is easier now that general survival isn't at stake. And since I fell into a new side business, things look even better.

Well, that's about it. Thanks for reading, and I'll let you know if Lou makes any progress on the job front.


- posted by Kim @ 8:33 PM

 
Update and a funny...
Lou's interviews went very well, especially the second one on Wednesday and the one he had today. Out of 500 potential candidates (250 per job), he has made it into the final five for both jobs. No matter what happens, I think it's an impressive result. But hopefully he'll land one of them. Either one would secure us financially, something that we haven't experienced in a LONG time. Oh, and about the third job: the interview wasn't bad, it was a management position opening a Citibank financial location -- READ: for $500 you can own your own business! Actually, if we had some money in the bank, it probably would be a good thing to look into, but for now, Lou needs a steady paycheck.
 
Now for the funny: most of you might know this already cuz I'm pretty sure I mentioned it before...but for those of you not in the know, Lou hasn't been driving all that long, legally anyway. He got his license a bit over a year ago, and other than a few quick trips to the store he really didn't drive much over the last year.
 
When we decided to move over here, Lou was adamant about not driving up here EVER. He said there was too much traffic and crazy drivers and that he was SURE he would total the car and we would be stranded here and we wouldn't be able to get to work, and we would lose our jobs, get evicted and there wouldn't even be a riverbank for us to live on.
 
Isn't he just the most positive man ever?
 
Since Lou's interviews were in the middle of the day and I work a 9-5 job (well actually, I work 9:30-6, but let's not split hairs), this meant that either he drove me to work and himself to the interviews, or he didn't go. For a moment, he actually thought about cancelling his interviews. Fortunately, he changed his mind before I was forced to smack him over the head with a blunt object. Or maybe he saw me approaching with the skillet and that changed his mind...we'll never know for sure.
 
Wednesday as we were driving me to work (I drove...I freely admit that I am a LOUSY passenger, whether the driver has 20 years of experience or 20 months.) he drilled me about the car. Was it acting funny? Were the brakes okay? Was there "anything I need to know that would prevent me from going up in a ball of flame on Dublin-Granville Road?"
 
"Sure," I said. "If the car starts to die, run it into something...other than a building or oncoming traffic. That way the insurance will cover a rental. Oh, and don't fill the gas tank...just in case."
 
He didn't appreciate the joke.  I guess I should be grateful he thought I was joking.
 
To make a long story short, he managed to get himself to and from all three interviews in peak traffic, and get gas and cigarettes without any problems. I was (still am) so proud of him. And, although he won't admit it, I think he's proud of himself as well. There is something empowing about driving, and I think the ability to do it here has boosted his confidence. And of course I'm thrilled, cuz now he can run his own damn errands. LOL
 
Oh, and today (Thursday) Lou calls me at work on my cell phone and says this:
 
"Honey, guess what I did!" (he was excited, so I figured he wasn't calling to tell me he wrecked)
 
"What did you do?"
 
"I drove the car with my arm hanging out the window!"
 
"Way to go honey!" (okay, so maybe I was kinda thinking "So...a trained monkey can do that!" But this was a big deal to him, and I knew that, so I gave him the proper amount of excited response and enthusiasm. Am I an awesome wife, or what? LOL
 
Anyway, that's the update. I'll let you know how his interviews turn out. He could something as early as tomorrow afternoon...I'm going to be on pins and needles til we know what's going on for sure.
 
Thanks for reading. You may go about living your lives now. LOL

- posted by Kim @ 12:12 AM

 
This is going to be
a short post, but I just wanted y'all to know that, yes, the checks did come, so we manages to cover the rent and furniture payments. Being positive pays off...even when you live with someone who doesn't have a positive bone in his body. Thanks for the good vibes everyone...I know you all had something to do with it.

I had to take time off work to come home and get the check, take it to the bank and deposit it. Of course, that was the plan. Turns out, Lou;s check was still at his former employer, so we had to drive all the way down there so he could pick it up. THEN we went to the bank and made the deposits. So, I lost an hour's pay, but that's better than bouncing a pretty big check.

Anyway, all is right in my world at the moment. Hopefully it will stay that way...at least for awhile.

Oh! Did I mention that Lou landed another interview? That's three this week...two of which are on Wednesday. Here's hoping he lands one of them...at this point, I don't care which.

Okay, I'm heading for bed. Thanks for reading.
- posted by Kim @ 11:13 PM

 
I'm having a..
LOUSY weekend!

I thought we had all the money worries behind us. I thought we were headed into smooth waters.

What the hell was I thinking?!?

Actually, I hope I am overreacting. I'm 99 percent sure I am. However, in the past, it's always been that 1 percent that reared his ugly head and bit me in the you-know-where.

*sigh* Yeah, I know, I'm being cryptic. I've been told I am good at it. Too good.

Anyway.

Lou quit his job. In and of itself, that is really not a big deal, since I make enough to pay the bills. Can't pay much more past that, but we can keep a roof over our heads, food on the table and the utilities, phone, Internet and cable on. And he's suprised me this time: he actually started seeking out new jobs on his own and has already landed several interviews...two of which look perfect for him and pay very well. So, the future looks promising.

Okay, for the record I didn't mean to hedge this time. I was just filling in some info...now..here's the reason for the crummy weekend and my obsession with that one percent.

Neither of our paychecks (Lou's last one and my regular one) arrived on time. We've already given the rent check to our property manager because it was due on the ninth, and paying late will find you out on your ass. Not that bouncing a check for your rent is any better...and that wasn't our intent. The checks were supposed to be here on the ninth, which meant we would deposit them that same day and things would be fine. But now it's the 11th, the checks didn't come yesterday, we are down to two cans of tuna, a loaf of bread, one bottle of Coke and a gallon of milk, and I have less than a quarter of a tank of gas in the car. If those checks don't come in tomorrow, we are screwed.

But I can't let myself think that way. We've been through too much to have everything go down the drain now. I'm trying to stay positive...

Which is hard to do when you live with the biggest pessimist on the planet. I literally had to stop him from packing our stuff yesterday, cuz he was convinced they were going to knock on the door and evict us at any minute. The man has no survival instincts at ALL. He panics...and starts lashing out, usually at me. I go into full-dress survival mode, and that's where I have been all weekend...when I wasn't wanting to kill him. Somehow, the fact the checks are late is MY fault. Guess the secret is out: I told the postal service to withhold delivering our paychecks because my life wasn't nearly exciting enough. One ulcer just wasn't enough for me...I need at least two. I mean, I've got insurance...I can afford a stroke! Hell, I'm paying for family coverage...strokes for EVERYONE!

Oh, did I mention that along with full-dress survival mode I also become melo-dramatic? I'm great at melo-drama...perhaps I should become a writer! LOL

Anyway, now all we can do is wait til tomorrow afternoon and hope the checks are there. If they aren't...well...

I'll keep you posted...and any good vibes...juju...eh, you know the drill by now.

Thanks for reading.
- posted by Kim @ 4:36 PM

 
Two diametrically opposed thoughts..
but at least it's a blog entry! LOL

First thought: Inner Peace STINKS!

No, that's NOT a really bad bumper sticker...there was a high-end arts and craft show at work today, (periodically galleries come and sell their work on the premises) and one of the vendors was selling candles. Now, for those who don't know, I have two collectable passions: black and white cows and candles.

So, I'm purusing what the vendor has to offer, and I notice a large light blue candle in a country jar. Knowing that Lou has been looking for a new serenity candle with a seashore smell, I picked it up and read the front. The candle was called inner peace. Thinking..."inner peace...serenity...pretty close.." I removed the lid and took a whiff.

All I can say is that if the creator of that candle really believes that's what innner peace smells like, then he or she needs to seek professional psychiatric help...yesterday. It was horrible! Then again, maybe the creator has a point. I crave chaos...I have a hard time functioning in smooth waters...so maybe inner peace smelled bad to me because I don't like it.

Nah...the candle just STUNK!

Second thought: Bond is AWESOME!

No, not 007, the er...group...er..band...the four ladies who turn regular songs into rock classical masterpieces. And no, I don't mean Molly Hatchet classic rock (although I do have an affinity for 'Flirting With Disaster' and 'Follow the Peacemakers'...but I'm digressing here.), I mean classical music set to a rock beat. Their stuff is amazing. One of the ladies that I work with was playing Bond in her car yesterday...and I commented on how much I liked what she was listening to. So today, she hands me a CD and tells me to take it home and listen to it. Well, it was the music she had been playing in the car, and the group was Bond. I am especially fond of Victory. It's amazing. So, if you are looking for something kinda offbeat that is instrumental (wich is perfect for writing in my case) check them out. I'm going to buy all their CD's this weekend...which means with the classical and George Winston stuff I already have, I will have several hours worth of writing music. Yee HAW!

Well, that's about it. I've been working on the book on and aff all evening and I want to get back to it. But I just had to share those two thoughts with you.

Later!
- posted by Kim @ 10:17 PM

 
So, what does it say about me...
I'm doing laundry and ENJOYING it. I'm sitting in my living room, playing on the computer til the load in the washer is ready to go into the dryer.

I guess you never know how good you have it til you don't have it for awhile.

Can't remember if I mentioned this before, but we went the whole first month up here without a washer and dryer. There was never room on the truck, plus there was a problem with the valves. The maintenance team replaced those last week, so Jake brought the washer and dryer Saturday.

Of course, once Jake got here, he realized that he didn't have the hookup hoses. After a francitc phone call to me (I was on my way back to Columbus from WV) he discovered that they were in the washer. Why neither of them thought to look there before calling me, I don't know. Then, I got another frantic phone call -- the plug on the dryer wouldn't work in the outlet. The solution: but another cord. Again, why I needed to tell either of them that, I'll never know. LOL

Then (oh yeah, there's more. LOL), the...oh I don't know what it's called...the pipe/tubing that goes from the dryer to the hole in the wall...where the heat and exhaust goes...y'all know what I mean. LOL Anyway, they culd get that to fit in the hole and get the dry all the way into the utility closet. So, Lou will have to get a new pipe/tube..whatever it's called. But that's okay...I can live with it the way it is..for now. LOL

So, again, I'm sitting here, playing on the computer, watching Celebrity Poker (this show is interesting...) and waiting for the dryer to finish.

Ah..there's the buzzer. Gotta go.

Later
- posted by Kim @ 6:54 PM

 
It's going to be
a quiet holiday around here this year. Taylor decided to spend a few more weeks in WV with her grandparents, so instead of going and picking her up today, I went to visit her instead. Read: drive two hours, pick her up, feed her, buy her some stuff, give her some more money and come back home. I did stay and chat with mom for a little bit, and dad and I had our typical "how's the car running...do you need any money...how's the job going?" banter that we usually engage in. I would mention my conversation with my mom, but it's never very positive and basically exhausting.

I admit it. I'm kinda disappointed that Taylor opted to stay in WV for two more weeks. But I can't say I blame her. It's hard to make new friends in the summer, and to be honest, some of the kids I'm seeing around here are...well...strange. Or, they seem that way. Plus, with Lou and my work schedules, Taylor would be stuck in the house most of the time anyway. So, better she enjoy the summer back in WV with her friends. She'll have the school year to make friends and make a life here.

Right now I am home ALONE! Lou and Jake (the friend I mentioned in an earlier post) are having a "boys night out". As long as it doesn't end with the need for bail money, I'll be happy. So, I'm sitting here after just taking a shower, sipping Dr. Pepper and debating about whether I want to make a cup of Suisse Mocha coffee. I think the answer is yes. LOL

So, I'm going to put some water on for the coffee and then I'm going to start working on my book again. I really want to finish it before the summer is over...and I means final edits and everything. A book deal would be a pretty cool Christmas present, don't you think?

Later!
- posted by Kim @ 11:30 PM