Propane Wars and Economic Stimulation

I can hardly believe January is nearly over. I was standing in a store the other day with John and realized it was "only" 11 months until Christmas. Where did that thought come from? I refuse to think about the holiday season this far removed from it!
My classes are going well so far, but then I haven't taken many tests yet, either. I'm not sure how well I'm retaining the information until I go to take the tests, so we'll see. I'm nervous about my online courses. I am keeping up easily with one, but the other one...not so much. I am keeping up with the work, but the work I do in my workbooks doesn't seem to "stick" when it comes to going online and completing assignments. I think more studying is in order.

We got our income tax return Friday, and like good little consumers, we set out to stimulate the economy. That was after paying a stack of bills, of course. Always business before pleasure. We hit some wonderful sales and I now have sweaters and warm shirts. I only had a few long sleeved shirts, all of which were more fall weight than winter weight, and I've been pretty chilly lately. I also splurged on a pair of knock-about shoes. I am trying to preserve my walking shoes strictly for walking. I spend a lot of money on my walking shoes and I am pretty particular in what conditions I'll walk in just to save the soles a bit longer. I wanted something as comfortable and casual as a sneaker without actually being a sneaker...something I could dress up or down, so I wound up with some brown Skechers bowling-type shoes. They are mighty cute shoes.

A couple of weeks ago, we realized we were nearly out of propane, so we called the company requesting a delivery. They informed us that they wouldn't deliver until we paid our bill. Er....what bill? This is the first time we've requested a delivery since we took ownership of the house. After much fiasco, we found out they HAD delivered fuel TWO MONTHS ago and tacked the bill onto our back door. The last owners used the back door frequently as the business entry for their daycare, and I suppose they would have found a bill placed on their door. We certainly didn't and were completely unaware it had ever been there. They never mailed a bill, never called to ask if we had received it...nothing! What truly upset me was that they had been out a week before and had checked the gas tank amount, so they knew we were almost out. A courtesy call at THAT point even would have alerted us that we had an outstanding bill with them. But nooooo. They did deliver gas, but after going round and round with these people about the way they do business (this was just the very smallest problem with had with them, by the way...it gets far worse), we have decided to find a new company. I have personally never seen an office run in such a terrible manner. When you call in to ask to speak to a manager and the owner himself won't even admit to being in charge (plus LEAVES when you specifically say you're coming in to talk with him in ten minutes), that doesn't signify good business. This might be the second business in town I have to report to the BBB this month. What a nightmare.

I just realized that the only pictures I have taken this entire month are dark, fuzzy photos from our time spent huddled in the bathroom all night during tornado sirens. A tornado passed 10 miles to the north of us and another about 15 miles to the south of us that night and the sirens came on and off all night long. I let Katy stay home from school the next day because she was so exhausted from it all and I am not one to let kids miss school for silly reasons.

That's my update. When Katy's hair gets dyed teal in a few days (just two streaks), I'll post some pics.

Tag, I'm It!

Melanie tagged me so here goes.
Answer all the questions and then add one yourself at the bottom, then tag some people.

1. Name your 2 favorite scrapbooking topics: My kids and my dogs

2. What are the 2 best places you've been to? The Amalfi Coast and Pensacola, Florida

3. Name 2 things you do every day: Go online and email.

4. Tell us 2 things that pretty much everyone knows about you: I'm working on my degree again and I have two girls

5. 2 places you wish to visit: Australia and the British Isles

6. 2 things you may not know about me are: I can't honestly think of anything people don't know about me. I'm an open book!

7. 2 nicknames you've had at some time in your life: Calamity Jane (my mother called me that as a child) and Neeter (big brother)

8. Name 2 of your favorite drinks: tea and tea

9. Janet's question: What are 2 interesting (in a good or bad way) jobs you’ve had in your life? I loved managing a bank vault. I was always busy, enjoyed my co worker and was really good at that job. The other one that was interesting was working in a nursing home kitchen...but not in a good way.

10. Cheri's question: Name 2 resolutions you've either already broken or 2 that you've kept so far: To get back into my classwork (starts tomorrow) and to maintain my weight. Still walking!

11. Jen's question: If you could be any age you wanted to be what would it be? 35. I've always felt 35, so I'd just go back there and stay put.

12. Melanie's question: What is your favorite holiday and why? I love Christmas, just the feeling of that time of year. It's wonderful.

My question: If you could go back and relive one day of your life, what day would it be? I'd relive the day we got to go up in the mountains and spend the day with an Italian family. What a memorable and wonderful time.

Happy New Year

I'm glad the hoopla of the holidays is over. I enjoyed it, but today the decorations come down. Well, all but the outdoor stuff since our temperatures are a bit too cold today. I haven't even decided whether I am going to walk the beasts today. Katy rang in the new year with a new 'do. She had it cut and then dyed it black again. She is wanting teal tips, but it would be mighty pricey to do it, so I told her not at this point. I do think the new cut is great, though. My dad hates it, which I told her is a good sign that it's hip and fresh. Trust me. The man has had the same hairdo since Elvis was alive and I am not exaggerating.

Christmas was good and very low key. We drove up to my hometown on Christmas Eve to distribute gifts and tell everyone hi. My stepmother was just out of the hospital after almost dying, so there was no big family gathering. That suited me fine. We didn't invite anyone over, we just fixed a meal, opened gifts and played the new games the girls got. I think Katy was disappointed not to get a "big ticket" item this year, but times are tough, girl! I think the dogs are finally glad to be past the excitement of the season. Poor things don't know what to think with the shiny tree and the music, the cookies, the people coming over all the time, and just the chaos of it all.

I'm a little sad because Shona started questioning Santa this year. She kept asking everyone she knew if he was real and I just kept asking her what she thought. She claimed to still believe, but I think this Christmas signifies the end of Santa at our house. There's some melancholy, but then I won't have to worry about keeping that big secret anymore, either. I guess it has to happen eventually. Why can't they just stay little?

We also had some unexpected company this week. John's sister, her daughter and grandsom decided to drive in to see us. Now John and I have been together for 17 1/2 years, and the only time they have ever come to visit was when we were stationed in the same state as them. It was a bit odd to have about 12 hours' notice that they were headed our way and....they could have mentioned that they were bringing a dog with them. It was quite interesting keeping the dogs apart for two days, but we managed. Shona had a blast because her cousin is only a year older than her. They played nonstop for the entire time of the visit and they are already plotting how to get together again. Ah, kids.

As for my New Year's resolutions...I just want to lose the last five pounds I've been putting off to officially reach my goal and I want to keep my grades up. I won't be hopeful enough to maintain my 4.0, but I'll give it my all. Hope 2008 is good for you.