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.

Winter Wonderland

Happy almost Christmas. I can hardly believe it's almost here, but it is. I can't even say it snuck up on me, I've been stressing about it for months, but somehow Christmas always seems to smack me upside the head faster than I wanted it to.

Katy's concert went quite well. Her section sounded best, but then they should, as they are the "elite" band of the school.
We managed to miss out on a nasty ice storm, thank goodness, but we did get hit with the first snow storm of the season.
Shona was deleriously happy and I had to let her go out into it a few times, despite the fact that she was just getting over a nasty cold. There's something so infectious about the joy of a child playing in snow. It almost makes me like it. Almost. If it weren't so darn wet and slushy and hazardous to drive in. Ah, such is the life of a practical mom. At least my child enjoyed it.
Today Shona's class had a gingerbread creation day. I volunteered to come in and assist and it was rather fun watching the children "glue" their pieces together with all that white icing. The one rule that was most difficult for them seemed to be the "no eating anything while in school" rule because the only place they are allowed sugary treats is in the lunch room IF they bring it themselves. Sad what this country has come to, but that's a rant for another day. I think Shona's house came out adorable, if not a little lopsided. Of course, that only added to its charm. We used it as a centerpiece at dinner tonight, which made Shona beam with pride.

Oh yes, and did I mention I got a 4.0 for the semester? Not bad for an old broad like me. That's about it in Anita's world. Another week, another bit of excitement. Until I blog again...hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

The Weather Outside is Frightful

Another ice storm is moving through the area this weekend. I'm having flashbacks to January, when the last storm knocked out power and paralyzed the area for about a week. It was hardly a fun time. Back then, they said it was a freak thing that hadn't happened in over 30 years, so who thought it could happen again a second year in a row? So far we have been lucky. Warmer temperatures have kept the freezing rain to a minimum and most of the really nasty stuff has hit my family a couple of hours north of here. We have a little bit of ice out there, but nothing like they do. They are losing trees and branches right and left. We moved since the last storm, and we are now on county power. That isn't a good thing because they were the ones who went a week or more without electricity last storm. If we had known that before buying out here, we might have reconsidered, but it's too late now. Anyway, we were freaked out enough by the forecast that we decided it was time to invest in a generator. Only one store in town sells them and we picked one up the other day. After reading the user's guide, John decided it was way too small for our most basic needs, and he set out on a quest to find a larger model. The closest store with one in stock was about 3 hours away, so off he went yesterday morning. He was tired when he got home, but at least we have backup power. We won't have TV or internet, but we'll have heat and hot water (if the city water pumps still work!), and that's what matters. When is spring, anyway? Bring it on!

And in other news, Katy has her Christmas band concert at school today. She is all dressed up for it. I think she looks lovely, it's just amazing how long it takes her to get ready. Ah, teenagers! Speaking of which, I'm off to the show.

The Trouble with Photo Shoots

OK, girls, I need to get a good photo for this year's Christmas card. It should only take a few minutes, so get along, smile nicely and sit up straight.
Not terrible, but it's too dark. Darn flash. Let's try again.
Yeah, yeah, cute. Stop goofing off and let me get a picture, would you?

No, REALLY, STOP goofing off and let me get a good picture.

Can you two stop picking at each other for five minutes and stop the goofing off long enough to just get a picture?

Let's move inside and try by the tree. Shona, did you get my memo about NO FUNNY FACES!? One picture. Just one picture. Is that too much to ask?!

You DO know I will keep at this all night, right? I'm not going anywhere until I get a decent shot.

Not bad. We might go with that one, let's keep trying.

For Pete's sake.... STOP ARGUING! This light isn't working for me. Let's try outside once more. Yes, I KNOW it's cold and it's going to be freezing and dark out soon, so if you don't want to be out there getting your toes frostbitten, I suggest you pretend to like each other for two minutes, smile nicely into the camera and let me get ONE good shot. I mean it, girls, I do have all night to do this!


Bingo. Thanks, ladies. Same time, same place next year. Just don't bring the attitude.

Decking the Halls

I finally feel like it's Christmas time. Before we got the house dressed, it felt like just another blah week, but the lights have put me in a holiday mood. I went a little crazy in the dining room because it had the most empty space to decorate. I've never had this much space to play with before, and that's sad since my house is not that big. I'm thrilled that I finally have somewhere to put the little "It's a Wonderful Life" houses my cousin has been sending me, too. That mirror we picked up at a garage sale this summer really enhances that end of the dining room. The only problem is that tall, dancing and singing Santa in the corner freaks out my dogs. It took two days for them not to bark at it standing still and I don't dare turn it on with them in the house.
I have a "new" Christmas item this year, but it's an antique. You light the candles, the heat from the flames rises and makes the top thing turn, which makes the angels spin around and when they go fast enough, they strike the bells. We tested it out the other night and it works great. I'll have to get a shot of it in action. That's about it in Anita world. I'm still plugging away at my classes, getting ready for finals in about a week. I can't wait to have a month off to do what I want...which is scrap!