Germs of a plan

I need a plan. M's legal issues are still up in the air and if he has to go away then I need a way to pay the bills. Sure, I might be able to get a minimum wage job that pays my way but corrodes my soul (thank you, The Smiths, for the line). Or I could try to come up with the financial aid and take a one year (August to August) $5,000 program to become an LVN. That is what I am hoping I can make happen. The program is local with the community college I attended way back when I was just a kid, doing all my very important theater work. I loved it, but it wasn't exactly a practical major. So now I am considering, at 38 (though I'd be 39 when the classes began) going back to school. I just hope I can find the financing.

We had M's boys last weekend. We hadn't seen them since the beginning of December; while I don't really care if it's that long between visits, M does and he was thrilled to see his boys. I was glad that we got to finally have our Christmas with them and I was able to take down all the decorations after they left. Homeschooling still seems to be doing quite well by them. Their mom made a brave and very smart choice, I think. They are in Boy Scouts and 4H so they still get to be around other kids for the socialization aspect they would otherwise miss out on by not being in school. I don't think it would be right for all kids, but with these two it really seems to be working.

Things I love:
My new Stir Crazy popcorn popper. M had an air popper that we'd used for years, but he always had me add so much butter that the advantages of air popped were lost.
(Man, blogger makes it hard to switch out of bold... May have found new hosting site, but have to see how they handle pictures.)
Things I hate:
Neighbor kids who insist on playing in my yard all the damn time. What is wrong with their own yards? And why is all the screaming necessary?
Things I don't understand:
My cats. I would love to understand what goes on in their brains sometimes to make them act the way they do.

Netflix and me

Okay, so things are better. I charged my car battery overnight and it started just fine the following day. M fixed the plumbing issue. We again have no water, but that is a precautionary measure since it is bitterly cold here and not supposed to be above freezing until sometime Sunday. We turned the water off and drained the pipes so we can (hopefully) avoid any more plumbing related incidents. The house just isn't very good at keeping the cold at bay, so I advised M that maybe we should postpone the visit from his boys for a week. Last night he wouldn't even consider it, but when he called today he seemed amenable to the idea. Let's hope his ex wife won't have a problem with it.
So we signed up for netflix last week. I filled in my queue on Monday and on Wednesday there was the first disc of Dexter Season 3 in the mail. Today I sent it back and we'll see how soon the next disc gets here. (We have a new high def TV, nothing huge, just a 32", but it still makes a world of difference.) I've also watched a few of the "instant" shows. There's a documentary about Helvetica (the typeface/font) that I enjoyed quite a bit, but I'm a sucker for a good typography story.

New slippers have been made for both M and me. They aren't pretty, but they knit up quickly and they are warm. No pictures yet, but I used this pattern.

Speaking of pictures, here are the latest of my wee fuzzy ones:Messy kitchen from the holidays, but the rare chance to get a shot of all 3 cats together.


And Probie looks like she had too much of whatever was in that tipped over cup behind her.

After all the fuss and furor, the two little ones cuddled up together for some cuteness. Awww. I do love my girls.

All for now. Must go thaw hands... here kitty kitty. Cats are fantastic handwarmers. :) Stay warm!

Not an auspiscious beginning

M overslept today. I slept in, lazily, got up around 9:00, did nothing. Went into front of house to light heater and heard water running from the studio area... and it was gushing out of the cold water spout on the tub in there. The knob had popped off and the water was spraying in , covering the floor. *sigh* I turned the water off outside, but unsure what to do otherwise. Then I got a note from my LYS (local yarn store for those non-knitters who might be reading) saying that the yarn I had ordered was not actually available and they had credited my account. Great. Fan-freaking-tastic. I don't want my account credited, I want you to send me what you said you were going to send me, that I planned on making into a lovely lace shawl. I will not be shopping with them again as this sort of thing has happened to me before in the past. So I will take a deep breath and hope that I got the trash out on time. And that my car will start. Yesterday the battery was dead. But other than all of that, 2010 is going great. Except Amazon won't be sending the boys' Christmas presents (Christmas with them was supposed to be this weekend) until Jan. 22nd. Still, trying to let it all be okay. Trying REALLY hard. Wish me luck!

New Year's Eve

So tomorrow starts a new year, which means that I, like everyone else, am feeling a bit reflective as I gaze across the swiftly dying embers of 2009.

The year started inauspiciously for me, what with the death of my beloved grandfather at the end of last December and M's philandering, but I determined that it was going to be a good year for me... and it was. M and I got back on track and I still believe he is being faithful (knowing that i can check his iPhone records at any moment encourages his honesty). He got me that lovely ring for Valentine's day... although he didn't know he was getting it for me until I had picked it out and required his credit card to pay for it. He lost the job he hated in downtown Dallas and it took a while to find another one. We scraped by, barely, with the help of friends and family until he found another job in April or May.

Of course the big change this year brought was the house. On July 8th I became a homeowner. It's a lot of work trying to make a place like this livable, but it has restored a lot of confidence in me. I'm learning that I can do a lot more things that I give myself credit for.

In November M started a different job, one he actually likes, which is nice. And he gets to work from home on Wednesday, which we both love.

We had my family's Christmas here at my house last week and it was a huge success... or would have been if there weren't concern over the road conditions. It was a white Christmas, only the second one I can recall here in North Texas. It was nice, though, having my family in my home. it felt good. I'm hoping others agree and will want to do it again next year.

And how could I forget that I got 2 new kittens? Vex turned out to be the sweet one while Probie... well, she's a handful. But they are adorable and I love them both very much.

Resolutions? Not really. I'd like to take better care of myself and of M...I'd like to get the house fixed up better...generally be more positive and a force for good in the world. I'd like to be happy and to inspire happiness in others.

So goodbye, 2009. You were good for me in so many ways, but, alas, we must now part. And hello 2010. I look forward to getting to know you and all of the joys you will bring. As for the sorrows that are also inevitable, I'm hoping we can keep those to a minimum. Blessings all around!

New Kitties :)

Vex is the black one, Probie is the white one... watching them play frequently brings to mind Spy vs. Spy. I do love the latest additions to our little family!

Holidays

We had M's boys for Thanksgiving and it went surprisingly smoothly. We went to Darren & Martha's house with a fruit salad, some caramel pecan cupcakes (not as good as they sound) and a delicious pumpkin pecan caramel cheesecake (as good as it sounds).
It has been decided that my family will come to my house (gulp!) Christmas Eve for dinner and the opening of presents. I'm excited about it as it's my first time to host my family anywhere and several of them haven't seen my house, but I'm also nervous. Can I make the house presentable in time? Everyone will bring food, so I don't have to do much cooking, but it's still a bit more pressure than I'm used to. It has made me get off my duff and try to finish unpacking and whatnot, though.
And I've finally started making the house our home instead of just our house. I'm hanging pictures and art and awards and actually decorating the place instead of just using it as a place to store my stuff. I'm looking forward to doing the Christmas tree and all, but that will have to wait until after the boys have left next time (the 13th, so the tree will go up on the 14th). I made a shiny wreath with a few things from the dollar store (oh, how I could wax rapturous about the dollar store!) and I love it! It faintly jingles every time the door is opened and I love it!

I bought a Christmas dress from HolyClothing.com. I absolutely adore their clothes. Here's a picture of the dress:
Isn't it gorgeous? I'm knitting a hat and maybe some armwarmers to wear with it because it is COLD in my house. It's not so bad back here in the bedroom/den area, but the rest of the house is very, very cold. We had our first freeze of the season last night and it's still only 27* out there. Brr. I do love it, though. I would so much prefer to be cold than hot, but in Texas that's not usually how it works out.
I should probably go get some more unpacking done, but it's hard to be motivated when my fingers are numb in the rooms I need to be working in. But I'll make a pot of coffee and turn on the oven, maybe take the little portable heater with me. it will all be good. You'll see.

OH... I can't believe I almost forgot... M and I did a lot of work on a guy's website. I mean, I spent weeks trying to get the Flash presentation and the logo exactly like he wanted it. And this guy, man, he is just never satisfied. So this was weeks ago, and we've been waiting for the check, which we were told basically, was "in the mail". Bullshit. No check. So the guy finally talks to M about yet more changes he wants made and says he's having some financial difficulties and will be paying us when he can. WTF? I'm all for yanking down the website, but M says no, that wouldn't be the right thing to do. We were counting on that check to get us through the holidays and now knowing that we won't see it until much later than expected (if at all) has me livid.

And there's a monster (or something equally terrifying, at least judging from the noise it makes) living in my attic. I don't know what to do. I'm hoping I can get M to take care of this one unpleasant thing, but it doesn't look like he's going to. Why is it I have to do all the crap jobs?

Sometimes it all just falls apart, doesn't it?
M called me just moments after he left for work this morning, saying his bank account was overdrawn and he couldn't pay for the gas he'd just gotten. My account is basically empty, too, but I (mostly) know where that money went. As for his, well, it's the same damn thing it's been every other time this has happened. I know I've mentioned M's 2 little boys, the ones who stay with us one weekend a month, but I don't know if I've mentioned his other kids. His oldest is also a boy, but he's 18 or 19 now. he lives in MA with his mother (or did so growing up) and M has a smallish relationship with him. Hasn't seen him in years, but has spoken to him on the phone a few times since we've been together. Then there is the girl. She was the result of a one night stand many years ago and M has never even met her. That is by her mother's request. Yet he has been paying child support to Massachusetts for the past 17ish years for her. The problem is, every few months Texas decides they need to get involved. They then proceed to empty out his bank account and charge him ungodly amounts of money for child support that has already been paid. He agreed to pay for this child (don't get me started on him having to pay for a child he was never allowed to even see) and I have no problem with that, but goddamnit, Texas and Massachusetts need to figure this crap out. This has happened four or so times since we've been together... we have bills that are overdue and utilities that will be cut off if this doesn't get sorted out ASAP.

In other news, I've finished 8 of the chemo caps for Carolee, so I'm halfway through with that. Unless I decide to go for a full 20... or 24... I do love making hats. Although I think I might take a small break from them and finish her lap blanket and maybe make some slippers for myself. The weather has turned chilly (Yay!) and my poor little tootsies get cold.

The house is coming together. I got my kitchen curtains up and LOVE them. No pictures of them yet, but here are a few before & after pics of some things I've been working on. Ignore the mess and just see the improvements, please.

ETA: I can't get my "before" and "after" captions to stay where I put them, so I'm just getting rid of them. It should be evident, after all, which is the before and which is the after, right? VERY frustrated with Blogger right now.)

Here is the boys' bedroom BEFORE:


And here are a couple of AFTER shots:



Living room:



Kitchen:


Just a couple more rooms to show you...

Bathroom:



Finally, Master bedroom before:

























(Btw, I HATE the way Blogger deals with inserting images. If I start posting pictures more frequently I may need to find another blog home.)


And Master bedroom after (it looks so much better with the bed made, but I am lazy.) :