Change is good

Another day, another dollar...or 50 cents after taxes. John is wrapping up his college career in a few short weeks. I can't believe it's almost over. We've scrimped and struggled for him to attend school full time for the past few years so he could finish his degree. The first week of May will finally bring an end to it all. I sometimes feel a twinge of guilt because I haven't always been the most supportive of wives, but then I do what I can just to get through each day anymore. I'm so tired of it all. I'm running out of steam with full time work, getting Katy back and forth to every extra cirricular activity she signs up for, and trying to keep Shona happy while John gets his work done. Remind me again why I felt the need to add a new puppy into the mix? Oh yes, comic relief. That's right.

So now we are at a crossroads. John is looking into jobs all over, from Washington, D.C. to our own local school and at this point, anything is possible. He (almost!) has a degree that allows him to teach all sciences, not just one, so I think he has a good shot at a decent job. I'm torn, though. Part of me would love to just chuck it all, sell the house and start over somewhere else, but I know the kids would hate to rip up roots and move. Katy would, anyway. She is starting high school this fall. Shona is starting first grade. I'd hate to do that to them, but where John gets a job dictates where we move, so they know it's a possibility. I think I'm intrigued most by a private school in Oklahoma City that has shown a strong interest in John. They keep requesting more information and I know he is in the top three. Only time will tell.

As for me, I passed my state test, so if any jobs open up for the new job title I'm eligible for, I can interview. The new classification pays more, so I am crossing my fingers that something will open up that I would be perfect for. Then again, part of me is also hoping we'll sell the house this summer and move to another state! I won't get my hopes up for anything in particular because there are just too many variables and too many ways this thing could play out. Whatever happens, though, I'm ready for a change. Bring it on.

As long as I'm ranting

Ah, easy come, easy go. We had such plans for our income tax return. We got a really nice one back and whammo! the furnace went out. Of course. $2500 later, we kissed most of our return goodbye, but at least we have heat. Oh, the tradeoffs we must make. I'm happy we had the money to do it when it was needed, but still...

A few nights later, Katy stepped out of her shower and yelled "MOOOOOOM! What happened to the hot water!?" Oh, geez. We have a tankless water heater, so there was only one reason it could be. In all the hassling with the furnace, we both forgot to check the propane tank. Yep, bone dry. This is the first (and LAST!) time we ever let that happen. But why did it have to happen at night when it was too late to call the gas company out and WHY did it have to happen on a really cold night? John spent 40 minutes trying to start a fire in the wood burning furnace, but without kerosene and the yukky, tough wood we have, it just didn't happen. He gave up and was going to head out for kerosene, but when I went downstairs to get the container, there were flames licking out of the furnace. Now I'm no expert on fire making, but I was pretty darn sure those flames shooting out mixed with the smoke emanating from my furnace were a clear indication of fire. How annoying, but at least it finally took off and we had heat. However, I knew the morning to come was not going to be fun because I had an ice cold shower to look forward to. I tossed and turned worrying about it all night and it actually turned out to be worse than I thought it would be. You have to understand, I cannot leave my house without a shower. I just can't do it, but not getting a shower just isn't enough of a reason for me to miss work in my mind...so ice cold water it was. My fingers actually went numb and I didn't feel warm until about five hours after I stepped out of the shower, not to mention my red fingers. Let that be a bitter reminder to me not to let that tank run dry again.

Fast forward to Saturday. I had decided to apply for a new state job title, one with better pay that will hopefully whisk me away from my current hellhole of a boring job. I had to take a merit test for it and it happened to land on this particular Saturday. I was sailing along fine through it until I came to an entire section on Statistics. I hate Statistics. I loathe Statistics. I think Statistics is an asinine, purely invented nonsensical FAKE math that some idiot invented to confuse otherwise sane and reasonably intelligent people. It is totally without merit and meaningless. Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled. Unfortunately, the 15 minute limit of ditching the test to take it later had passed so I was stuck taking it. I won't find out for a couple of weeks if I passed and am on the register. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I really want a different job. Mine has become so dull I have read five 300+ page novels in the past two weeks.

And in other news...I want to scrap! There just aren't enough hours in the day lately. Maybe this weekend....

Vacation Time!

We are skipping town and getting away from it all for a few days. I desperately need a break. I'm sick of work, work and more work all the time. I haven't had more than a couple of days of vacation time off since last summer and it's getting to me. Winter is getting to me, too. Now I just need to win that Powerball and move to an island somewhere! Have a great weekend, I hope to be a better blogger next week.

How do they know?

I just took another one of those little online quizzes and I have to say for something no more than six questions long, it sure pegged me!

You Have a Melancholic Temperament

Introspective and reflective, you think about everything and anything. You are a soft-hearted daydreamer. You long for your ideal life. You love silence and solitude. Everyday life is usually too chaotic for you. Given enough time alone, it's easy for you to find inner peace. You tend to be spiritual, having found your own meaning of life. Wise and patient, you can help people through difficult times. At your worst, you brood and sulk. Your negative thoughts can trap you. You are reserved and withdrawn. This makes it hard to connect to others. You tend to over think small things, making decisions difficult.

What Temperment Are You?

Is there a doctor or a cleaning fairy in the house?

I guess I'm falling a little behind on this blogging thing. I have been so sick the past week I haven't felt like doing much of anything except watching TV, sleeping and sitting in front of this computer. So you would think I would manage to update, but if all you're doing is sleeping and watching TV, what is there to update?

My Scrap Addict "Secret Sweetie" had someone make me an awesome blog banner but do you think I'm smart enough to get it into my blog? Of course not. I don't feel up to fighting with it and/or trying to outsmart this thing, so it'll just have to wait a while longer. I'm getting to it, though, and I really do love it, gals!

This is the one month of the year it's good to work for the state of Missouri. Two three day weekends in a row. Ahhhhhh nice. :) I guess that's to get us ready for the two month haul with zero holidays coming up. Oh, but did I mention I love my boss? I had to miss Wednesday and Thursday because I was two shades from death. I went back Friday because they really needed me, but she sent me home an hour early and insisted I use sick time and not vacation time even though I felt OK at that point. I got home and had a major relapse. I hate the flu. So much for that flu shot I had last year.

And in other news....I really need the cleaning fairy to clean my house. I'm not up to it other than keeping up with laundry. (Even sick I have to have clean clothing!) John either fractured his foot or severely sprained it in an altercation at the high school last week, so he's not up to it, and the kids only work so well. Shona attempted to clean the bathroom floor for me by splashing half her bathwater out (but mom, there was a bug on the floor, I was trying to drown it!), so at least that part is finished. I'll take what I can get for now, but whoever is holding that cleaning fairy hostage...I'd sure like to borrow her for a while.

4 Jobs You Have Had in Your Life:

Stay at home mom (which was the hardest job ever!), bank vault manager, bank teller, Department of corrections payroll/inmate cash payout release section.

4 Movies You Could Watch Over and Over:
Somewhere in Time, While You Were Sleeping, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The Hunt for Red October

4 Places You Have Lived:
Missouri, Texas, Maryland and Italy. I'm trying to forget California ever existed.

4 TV Shows You Love to Watch:
Golden Girls (you didn't say it had to be new!), Survivor thanks to Cori and her blasted scrappin' games, CSI when I remember to watch it (rarely) and Trading Spaces (haven't watched it in forever).

4 Places You Have Been on Vacation: Does a two year "vacation" in Italy count? :) Other than that, Florida, St. Louis (woo) and North Carolina.

4 Websites You Visit Daily:
ScrapAddict, ebay (thankfully I don't buy very often), CNN. That's pretty much it for daily.

4 of Your Favorite Foods:
Chips, popcorn, really good cheesecake and a mouth watering medium rare steak.


4 Places You Would Rather Be Right Now:
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, Florida

4 Bloggers You are Tagging:

I'll get back to you on that!

Should old aquaintance be forgot?

Apparently not. This week, out of the blue, I heard from a long lost friend I'd given up as gone forever. We hadn't heard a peep in over 7 years, so this call was quite the surprise. I'd always sent a Christmas card with an update, but after a while you do give up when you hear nothing back. She has her hands full with work and caring for a severely impaired son, so I can see where she'd be slow to respond...but seven years? All's well, though. We chatted for over an hour (Me! I was on the phone for over an hour. I haven't done that since John was deployed) and caught up. The sad part was my life didn't take much updating. Maybe that is why I am Mundane Ramblings. In any case, I was thrilled to hear from Cece. She's a one of a kind lady, completely original and funny as hell.

And in a weird coincidence, I had another friend email me from out of the blue. I hadn't heard from her in nearly a year. Then today, Katy had a call from a friend of hers who had moved away over a year ago. It's very odd, but maybe good things come in threes, too. One can hope. And here's hoping we keep in closer contact with good friends from days gone by.