Category: Daily Life

Last night I went through two enormous stacks of mail that had been collecting in our disused guest room since the beginning of the year, and found all our tax forms.  Well, I think it’s all of our tax forms anyway.  I’m planning on taking my lunch break today to travel to my accountant’s office and drop it all off.

I shredded everything with our address on it, which took a couple of hours and resulted in two large bags of paper waste that completely filled our recycling bin.  If only that were all of the junk mail.  I still have a teetering stack of mail stuffed in our guest room closet – hidden there the last time we had overnight company.  I’m hoping to tackle some of it this evening.  I’m *this* close to being one of those "woman killed by collapsing pile of garbage" stories.  Okay, not really, but there are at least two large boxes full and I’m ashamed of myself for letting it get so bad.

My productivity didn’t stop there.  I got started on laundry, changed our sheets and cooked dinner.  I also learned that I hadn’t really needed to buy another bulk package of paper towels last weekend, because there was a nearly full package of them tucked away in the guest room.  I may be stocked up for the rest of the year now.

One of the reasons I was able to get so much done last night (and still watch "The Daily Show"), is that I’m not adjusting to Daylight Savings Time very well yet.  I’ve been staying up too late and then I can’t wake up in the morning because I’m used to seeing a certain amount of light coming through the blinds at my wakeup time.  I’m sure it’ll pass.

I’m glad the spring weather seems to be inspiring me to get all my chores out of the way.  I say that even though I have sore muscles all over from the weekend’s garage cleanup and Christmas light takedown.

Now if I could just find similar inspiration to stay caught up on my timesheets at work…

I don’t know if you know this, but it turns out that if you stay off the computer and keep the television turned off, there are lots of other things you can do!

Here’s some of what I did this weekend:

• Watched my niece play soccer.  As a relatively impartial observer, I’d say that Mia Hamm has nothing to worry about.  My niece seemed a lot more interested in talking to her teammates on the bench than actually playing.
• Did some bulk shopping.  I finally broke down and bought a case of Red Bull at Costco.  It seemed horribly expensive, but I figured out that I’m saving almost $24 over the cost of getting individual cans from our vending machine at work.
• Cooked dinner – twice!  I made salmon fillets on the grill one night.  Yum!  Last night we had sloppy joes, but in my defense it was already 9:30 p.m. when I started cooking.
• Took down the Christmas lights and wreath from the front of the house.  Only 3 months late!
• Cleaned out the garage and put up another set of heavy-duty shelves.  Now nothing touches the floor except the trash cans and the cars.  This is absolutely the cleanest the garage has been since we moved in.  I’m still going out and admiring it periodically.

I’m not saying we never turned on the TV.  We rented Kung Fu Hustle on Friday night and watched it in Chinese with English subtitles because we didn’t realize the DVD had an English language track.  It was still awesome.  I want to rent Shaolin Soccer next.

The one thing I didn’t accomplish this weekend:  gathering up our tax paperwork.  It’s going to have to be done after work today so I can drop it off tomorrow (or maybe late this evening).

So that’s my story.  I hope I can keep some of the weekend’s work momentum going throughout the week.  I have a lot of deadlines at the office and a lot of spring cleaning left to do at home.

How was your weekend?

I’m starting to get very concerned that Tax Day is two weeks away and I still haven’t gotten off my lazy butt, collected my tax paperwork, and taken it to my accountant.  I wouldn’t be surprised if she charges me extra for my procrastination.  At this point I deserve it.

The worst part is that I’m fairly sure I’ll get a refund this year from both state and federal.  You’d think that would be enough incentive to get me to stop dragging my feet.

If the Procrastination-O-Rama stopped there, that would be one thing, but I have a whole list of stuff I should have done a long time ago that’s starting to stress me out:

• Create wireframes for the new website for my community service organization
• Finish writing lyrics for three of my band’s new songs
• Take down the Christmas lights from the eaves of the house
• Put up the last set of shelves in my garage

I have the whole day open tomorrow, and I plan to roll out of bed and hit the ground running.  No surfing, no TV watching, and no trips to Starbucks will be allowed until I’ve dropped off my tax paperwork, mapped out the website, taken down the lights and wreath, and finished up the garage chores. 

I’ll put the three songs on continuous loop on my iPod Shuffle while I do everything else so it’ll be that much easier to get the lyric writing kicked into gear later in the day.

It’s supposed to be a nice day out tomorrow, so that’ll be extra incentive to run errands and be outside.  Wish me luck!

Over the past couple of months, I’d been rather shocked to find out how much I had to pay out of pocket for my endoscopy and its related expenses.  Basically, my insurance company bargained the providers down and then said, "Here you go."  Damned deductible.

Those bills had been piling up, but with the huge utility bills we’ve had this winter, I couldn’t imagine how or when I’d be able to pay them.

My husband had the very logical suggestion that we sell our extra car, a 1996 Ford Probe which had spent the entire winter parked in the driveway with a dead battery.  With a prominent dent on one quarter panel and almost 200,000 miles on it, it didn’t bring very much, but at least it’ll ensure that I won’t be getting any more handwritten notes from the GI specialist’s office, designed to make me feel guilty about being a deadbeat.

My earlier plans to scale back our household expenses never went anywhere, but I’m eyeing the enormous cable bill again and I may just decide that I’ll survive if I have to wait for my favorite HBO shows to come out on DVD.

There are lots of ways I could cut my spending.  I know if I ever got serious about tracking my daily expenses, I’d be appalled at how much money I waste.  However, since I’m the sort of person who has gone more than a decade without balancing her checkbook, I think we can all predict that I’ll never get organized enough to find out the real numbers.

For now, I’ll begin by buying my Red Bull in bulk so I don’t have to get it out of the machine at work for $2.25 a can.  That’s a good start, right?

Joy suggested that my brief answer to one of the questions in yesterday’s list would make a good post all by itself.  Because I’ll take any blog topic suggestion I can get, I’m going to run with her idea.

I’ve heard reports that I talk in my sleep ever since I was a child.  My mother once told me that as she walked by my bedroom, she heard me exclaim, "It’s the only kind they make!"

We’ll never know what manufacturer my subconscious found so exciting.

My husband told me that he walked into the bedroom one night to find me asleep with the cat perched on my chest.  When he sat down on the bed, he says I indicated the cat and demanded to know, "What is this?!?"

Apparently I was placated when he explained that it was only our cat.

I tend to crash pretty hard when I first go to sleep, so any interruption can trigger a response from me that I’m not really aware of.  Sometimes in the morning, my husband will complain that I said something mean and grouchy to him when he got into bed the night before.  I usually have no idea what he’s talking about (really!).

Have you ever talked in your sleep that you know of?  If someone’s told you that you have, what did you say?

I know I promised a regular post today, but I tried to start posts on about four different topics and I just wasn’t getting anywhere.  Instead, here’s a meme I picked up from Joy.  I’ll do my best to figure out how to get back into regular blog post mode soon.

1. Who is the last person you high-fived? I high-fived a bunch of people at work a while back.  Otherwise, it’s not something I do very often.

2. If you were drafted into a war, would you survive? I certainly hope so.

3. Do you sleep with the TV on? No, I need uniform white noise.  I sleep with a noisy fan on my bedside table.

4. Have you ever drunk milk out of the carton? Yes, I admit it.

5. Have you ever won a spelling bee? No, but I’m a good speller on paper.  I’m not sure if it would translate to spelling aloud, though.

6. Have you ever been stung by a bee? Yes, lots of times.  It’s no fun.

7. How fast can you type? The last time I was tested, I typed 88 words per minute. 

8. Are you afraid of the dark? Sometimes.  It depends on where I am.

9. Eye color? Blue.

10. Have you ever made out at a drive-in? I don’t think so – I was always too interested in seeing the movies.

11. When is the last time you chose a bath over a shower? I usually only take baths in epsom salts for sore muscles or to soak in collodial oatmeal if I have poison ivy or a lot of bug bites.  I’m sure my last bath fell into one of those categories.

12. Do you knock on wood? Yes.

13. Do you floss daily? I probably floss as many times per week as I blog.

14. Can you hula hoop? Funny you should ask that.  I was just thinking it would be fun to get a hula hoop and see if I can still do it.  Frankly, I don’t know the answer to that right now.

15. Are you good at keeping secrets? Yes.

16. What do you want for Christmas? A pleasant day with family, friends and good food.

17. Do you know the Muffin Man? Ha, ha!  My husband and I just had a random conversation about Frank Zappa’s "Muffin Man" song.  "Some people like cupcakes better.  I, for one, care less for them."  Great song.

18. Do you talk in your sleep? Yes.  My husband thinks it’s hilarious, although he can’t always tell whether I’m asleep or awake when I’m talking in my sleep.

19. Who wrote the book of love? I wonder, wonder who…

20. Have you ever flown a kite? Yes, I remember it being a lot of fun.  Maybe that’s another toy I should buy and re-try.

21. Do you wish on your fallen lashes? Sometimes.

22. Do you consider yourself successful? I’d say I’m a work in progress.

23. How many people are on your contact list of your cell? I keep most of my contacts on my PDA.  My cell only has about a dozen numbers in it.

24. Have you ever asked for a pony? I don’t know that I ever asked for one, but I had two different ponies as a child because my mother always wanted one when SHE was a kid.  My Shetland pony, Twirlsy, eventually went to my sister when I got too big for her.  After that, I ended up with a larger pony named Twilight.

25. Plans for tomorrow? Work, work, work.

26. Can you juggle? No, but it’s on my list of things to learn someday.

27. Missing someone now?  Always.

28. When was the last time you told someone, "I love you?" Do cats count?  I think my husband got his daily "I love you" earlier, but the cat was most recent.

29. And truly meant it? … Of course.  I don’t say it unless I mean it.

30. How often do you drink? Once or twice a week.

31. How are you feeling today? Pretty good.

32. What do you say too much? "Freakin’ and friggin’."  I need to either start cussing in earnest again or think of a more creative adjective.

33. Have you ever been suspended or expelled from school? No.

34. What are you looking forward to? My band playing gigs, an early summer road trip with my husband, and BlogHer ’06.

35. Have you ever crawled through a window? Oh yeah.  I’ve locked myself out of the house plenty of times.  I also used to crawl OUT of my second-floor bedroom window when I was younger, even though we lived too far from civilization for me to actually be able to GO anywhere once I was out of the house.

36. Have you ever eaten dog food? No, but some of the stuff at the gourmet dog bakery looks like it wouldn’t be too bad.

37. Can you handle the truth? Yes, but I don’t always like it.

38. Do you like green eggs and ham? No, I don’t think I could get past the color.

39. Any cool scars?  I don’t know how cool they are, but I have a bunch of cat toothmark scars on one arm from a stray cat that bit when I was in 3rd grade.  I have some fingernail scars on my arm from my sister (we didn’t get along until we grew up).  I also have a nice appendectomy scar.

Well, that was fun!  I’m not going to tag anyone in particular, but feel free to pick it up if you, too, are at a loss for something to post this week.

I knew I should have written today’s post last night, but I got distracted by the TV.  However, I’m still happy to share the fruits of my recent surfing with you.  Here’s some more link-y goodness for your enjoyment:

• Ze Frank has started posting humorous current events videoblog entries on weekdays.  They’re just mixed in with his other blog entries, but they’re well worth picking out and watching.
• SocialCookBook.com is aiming to be a social networked version of AllRecipes.  I’ve posted a couple of recipes there already.  It just launched last week, but it looks like it has promise.
• I Was So Eighties is a "hot or not" for those of us who inflicted the hairstyles and fashions of the 1980s upon ourselves.  Upload your photo to be rated for eighties-ness.  I have a few great examples, but I don’t know if I can bring myself to share them with the ‘net.

Back tomorrow with a post about my actual life.

I’d hardly noticed because of the gloomy weather, but it’s actually spring now.  Last week I brought a vase of daffodils into work and put them on my desk.  I’d have done the same this week, but they were all bent over and frozen.

Still, I’m feeling optimistic that I’ll soon be able to get to my spring goal list:

• Take down the outdoor Christmas lights and wreath (heh, heh)
• Plant annuals in the front flower bed and pots
• Clean out the second half of the garage I started on a couple of weeks ago
• Spring clean the house, particularly our office and guest room where all the junk collects
• Thoroughly brush all three cats
• Rearrange all kitchen cupboards
• Get on a workout schedule and stick with it

Wow, that sounds like a lot of work.  I suppose I should think about spending some time at home now and then if I’m ever going to accomplish all of those things.  Then again, it IS awfully tempting to take advantage of the spring weather and play outside (or hang out on coffee shop, restaurant and bar patios) every weekend. 

I’ll let you know which impulse wins.

I’m pressed for time today, so here are a few of the sites I’ve added to my del.icio.us bookmarks lately:

• Yogabeans – From Mrs. Kennedy of Fussy, a hilarious new blog featuring plastic action figures doing yoga poses.
• The Iron Maidens – The world’s only all-female Iron Maiden tribute band.
• The Imaginary Foundation – Surreal, colorful t-shirt designs.  I definitely want a couple of them the next time I have some extra spending money.
• All Kinds of Stuff – John Kricfalusi of Ren and Stimpy fame discusses animation, music, and anything else that piques his interest.

That’ll have to do for today, folks.  Have a great Thursday!

Yesterday I received a copy of Alex Boese’s Hippo Eats Dwarf in the mail.  It’s about modern hoaxes and tall tales.  I’d requested it on his blog, Museum of Hoaxes, but forgotten about it until it arrived.

I’m part of The Traveling Hippo Experiment:

"…since I have a few extra copies, an idea occurred to me. Why
not give them away? But not as prizes. Instead, give them away to
volunteers on the condition that, once read, they’re passed along to
someone else. Each person who gets the book will write a note in it
saying where it’s been and also try to send a picture of the book back
to me. This way I can create a visual diary of the adventures the books
have as they (hopefully) travel around the world. I imagine it as a
book version of the traveling gnome prank. The experiment will be to see how far the books can travel, and for how long."

I’ll probably register my copy on BookCrossing just as a backup, but I’m interested in passing the book along on its author’s terms.  I’m too busy reading it right now to take the photo yet, but I should have it finished by tomorrow or Wednesday.  It’s very entertaining – fully as good as his first book.

If you’d like to read it next and are willing to follow the terms of the original offer, e-mail me (using the link on my About page) your name and address.  If more than one person wants the book, I’ll compile a list and include it with the book so it can be passed along in sequence until the last person on the list gets it and sends it on a new path.  This should be fun!