Happy Easter...

Daniel finally came to fetch me about 20 minutes after the last post.

I dragged the laptop to Mom's, and I can't even get a wireless signal there. So I messed around on MS Word 07 and watched a couple of old cartoons on DVD that my sister had left there.

Easter was good. Joe is talking better now, but he's still not going to be able to go to Pre-K in the fall because he's still not completely potty trained. He's just now, at just past his 4th birthday, grasping the concept.

Jeff, Scott and Marc were climbing trees and generally goofing off. Daniel had to work :(

Dean brought home yet another new computer a few weeks ago. He got a Mac! I swear that man collects computers like I collect pens. And I have a lot of pens... but the draft of this post is being written on it, after I asked to have the parental controls removed because Google is blocked.

Hope your holiday was grand...

That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Oh that noise!

It's been so noisy here lately. This morning for what seemed like forever, but in reality lasted about an hour, there was a van out in the parking lot making the loudest noise! It was from a drain cleaning service, and the machines they used were almost deafening. I almost wished I had earplugs!

Great, my one day every two weeks I get to stay home and this is what I have to deal with.

I have to get out of this cranky/crabby/moody deep blue funk... or else I'll be impossible to live with. And since it's just me... well, you get the idea.

And, spending Easter with the family... I gotta be in a good mood for that! I'm going over to Mom's sometime tomorrow (whenever Daniel gets his butt outta the bed, that is). I'll probably have to run errands for her. I don't mind, though. After all, it's my mom...

The only thing that bugs me is that it might snow Sunday. I've heard of a white Christmas, but never a white Easter...

Go fig...



That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

First B-week Friday: felt like Saturday

Even though I knew better, it still felt like it should have been Saturday.

I did go up to my mom's in Edmond on Friday, after I put some power steering fluid in the car. Once she steered better, I felt I could go anywhere, so that's what I did. I took I-40 and I-35 with few problems. Even the gas gauge seemed to work right, and I was pleased to see I still had about 3/4 of a tank of gas.

I showed up at Mom's, and as soon as I rang the doorbell (since I no longer had a key), I heard the phone ring. Mom got the call first, because she was expecting a call from her doctor.

Pinky was pleased to see me, and that set her tail a-wagging.

Jeff and I went over to the Goodwill store on 15th and Broadway and he bought the only TV they had. I also bought a lamp. Then we went back home and Mom wanted to go for Chinese. She actually wanted to go to a restaurant and sit. We went to the only Chinese place like that in Mom's neighborhood. I was a little disappointed. They had more stuff on their take out menu than they did on the eat in menu.

I ended up spending the night, and Mom and I went out to breakfast and grocery shopping before I went home.

I had some studying to do.

After I got home, I realized that I couldn't get the TV out of the back seat of my car by myself. It required flexibility skills that, at almost 43 years of age, I no longer possessed. So Daniel drove all the way out to "da hood" (aka, where I live, in his humble 23 year old opinion) and helped me out. I felt kinda foolish about that.

It seems to be my week for feeling foolish. And on it goes...

Four days and counting...

That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

What IS it about this winter weather?

This is the kind of weather I'd expect in Boston. This time last year, it was quite warm, and so dry that there was a state wide burn ban.

So today, it's snowing. Yesterday, I had to chip the ice off my car before I could even leave the Rose State parking lot. Fortunately, someone took pity on me and helped me out.

I was kinda nervous this morning driving BabyDoll to school. I haven't driven her in this kind of weather since before I moved from Lawrence, MA in 2002. But everything went well and we got there with no trouble.

Tomorrow is supposed to be worse, with temps in the teens and twenties. I'm supposed to go up to Edmond tomorrow and see Mom, but if the roads are bad, she'd be the first one to tell me to stay home.

That reminds me, I need to go to the store and get groceries.

At least I have no classes tomorrow (it's "B" week Friday. Next week is "A" week and I'll have classes that Friday... on my birthday, no less!)

Wee.


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

It's all very pretty, but please make it all go away

I'm finally back home after spending the weekend of the big ice storm in Edmond at Mom's house.

Daniel was supposed to bring me home Thursday night after he got off work at the grocery store. More on that in a sec.

Jeff and I were running around most of Thursday trying to get supplies and stuff to tide Mom over what would be a very long weekend.

We went to WalMart to do some grocery shopping, and the place WAS A ZOO!!!! You'd think the end of the world was coming, instead of a major winter storm. I've never seen so many people in that place, not even at Christmas time!

Couldn't find half of what we went there for. Bread? All we saw were empty shelves. Milk? Slim picking there, too. And forget trying to find Ice Melt or a snow shovel... those things were gone!

So we headed over to the grocery store where Daniel works, and believe it or not, it was WORSE than WalMart! We waited in line to check out with our two or three things for a good 40 minutes. Just looking around the store, Jeff and I knew that there was no way in hell that Daniel was going to get off work at 8:30pm.

And he didn't. At around seven, he calls and says he's going to stay late; real late. I knew then that I would be spending the ice storm at Mom's house.

We here in the Oklahoma City metro were lucky: we just got a lot of sleet (which is bad enough when there is 3 inches of it on the ground), but other parts of the state got ice and power outtages and a messy clean up. It's the thawing and refreezing of the stuff we did get, and that salt loses its effectiveness as a melting agent in really cold temperatures (which I didn't know). So the Oklahoma Highway Patrol was discouraging travel on the highways because it was dangerous.

So, when the storm was over and the roads were somewhat clear, Daniel brought me home yesterday around 1pm.

I had prepared for the storm days before the storm hit, so I still have all my supplies and stuff. Good thing because they're calling for another storm this weekend!

Great. And with school starting next week too. This'll be fun...


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

The more things change...

the more they... you probably know the rest.

I'm in Edmond, at the library here, checking my email and other stuff since my computer (still at Mom's house) is barely hanging on to life (I can get to my Word files and a few pics, but that's it. No internet...).

Mom did go to the doctor at long last. My sister went with her and asked all the right questions I guess, because Mom got a check up, some new breathing meds, and a follow-up appointment for six weeks from now.

When I got here last night, Pinky was so happy to see me that I thought she was going to wag that little stumpy tail right off her butt! She's so not going to understand the the scent of the service-dog-in-training I met at the post office. She seems to think if I'm around other animals, that I'm "cheating" on her.

My cats were the same way, so I guess it's not just a "dog" or "cat" thing.

I talked to the ex hubby this morning. He really should quit telling me that he's going to do something for me if he has no intention of doing so. Of course, it has to do with money, and as his M.O., is pleading poverty after I called him on the fact that he said he'd do something for me.

Silly Stef, you never learn, do you, grrl? Isn't this one of the reasons you're no longer married to the guy (among many).

And the storm is still coming... oh. joy. Now it's lots of ice on the roads and a little snow. In November when the last time this happened, it was lots of snow with a healthy layer of ice underneath.

I better get what I need while I'm up here in Edmond, because I'm not going to venture out anywhere for the next 4 days once I get back to my apartment this evening.

At least, I did get some things done today.

Go me... :)


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

I have no idea what to call this post

The "things I have to do before New Year's"?
"Things I have to do after New Year's"?

Suffice it to say that I still have a lot to do to make living in my apartment, paying my bills, and driving my car a lot easier.

I just shelled out a bunch of cash to get my car insured so I can get the title and tags for it. Actually getting the tags will have to wait until Tuesday now, because the tag agency is just a little too far to walk to.

But at least I don't have to worry about car insurance for six months.
===

I don't have any real plans for New Year's Eve. Maybe I'll go over to Mom's and see her new chair that was a family Christmas gift to her.

I don't know. New Year's Eve partying has kinda lost its cache for me. I don't drink, so that would make me a party pooper in some people's eyes. I'd just like to spend it with a few friends. There is someone I'd like to spend it with, but the chances of that happening are remote at best.
===

I think I'll go home and have some hot chocolate. The weather is kinda drizzly.

Have a Happy New Year! Bring on 2007!



That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Smells like snow

Currently, it's 28 degrees where I live.

Could be worse-- I could still be in Wyoming, where it was 4 degrees in Casper yesterday!

The television stations are already broadcasting school, church and other closings. Not that I'm planning on going anywhere.

At least I didn't have to drive on I-40 eastbound at 5pm. Or on any other interstate. I went as far as WalMart today. Wow.

Still waiting to hear about the apartment I paid an application fee for on Monday. Seems that they're having trouble contacting my landlady in Wyoming. I was told that property manager at the place I applied at would contact me.

I'm going to call her in the morning, though. We were having issues with the phone yesterday. Someone at the phone company screwed up and the payment somehow didn't get credited. If someone hadn't called to ask about where the payment was, I'm sure the phone would have been cut off. Maybe it was for all I know. But the problem was resolved and all is well for today.

Mom was none too pleased by this turn of events.

Jeff told us this evening after Daniel picked him up at work (I'm not cool enough to pick him up, I guess) that someone had keyed Daniel's car on both the hood and the spoiler down to the base metal. If this happened while the car was parked here at the house, I'm going to suggest that Daniel call the poilce and report it. I wonder if his car insurance will pay to fix the damage.

Well, I better go fix dinner. Mom doesn't want to be eating when "Medium" comes on at 9pm.


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

The Post wherein Stef pinch hits for her mom

Mom didn't go to the Grandparents Day thing at the school yesterday (Tuesday). About an hour before I got up, Mom called Tori and told her that she couldn't make it because she was short of breath.

So I went in her stead.

My mom has COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder), which was most likely caused by her 60+ years of smoking. She doesn't have it so badly that she needs oxygen to help her breathe; Tori thinks that isn't far behind, though.

This was diagnosed while I was in Wyoming. Now the reasons why Mom couldn't stay on the phone ("Stefie, I have to hang up," she'd say) make sense. She was out of breath just walking across the room to answer the phone!

I had to be at my sister's at 11am, and Jeff drove the van because I was messing with the lens in my glasses that keeps falling out. Jeff was going to stay at Tori's and watch over Joe while Tori and I went over to the school. We got there just in time as the second graders were getting their turn at the turkey dinners (Amalia is in the second grade). Marc was in line with her "holding" our place.

The dinner (at 11:30am, when Marc says he usually goes to lunch with his class) was good. We made the obligatory visit to Amalia's class, and ended up taking one of Amalia's little pals home, as Tori was going to take the two of them to an ice skating lesson in the afternoon.

Jeff and I left and went over to the tag agency to get the little 2007 sticker for the van. So now the van's all legal-like until next year at this time.
===

Didn't have time to look at a couple of apartments like I wanted to today. I'm going to try and get that done tomorrow.
===

And I'll be making the famous cranberries later today. I need to get the oranges though.



That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Grandparents Day

No, not that commercialized non-holiday that all the greeting card companies make cards for in September, but the annual last day of school before Thanksgiving affair that is put on by the school that my youngest son and my niece attend. Marc's voice is changing now, and it sounds weird on the phone. He's the one who called asking to speak with Mom about Grandparents Day at school.

Last year, I thought it should be called "Family Day", because it's not just grandparents who show up to this shindig. No one said anything about me coming along this year, so I'm not.

Somehow, Mom needs to be at my sister's at 11am tomorrow morning. I think Daniel is going to drop her off before he goes to work. I'll be checking out apartments and paying for the 2007 sticker that goes on the license plate of Mom's van (it's overdue now), and Jeff will be sleeping because it's his day off.
===

I can't get Nickleback's "Animals" out of my head. Not a bad tune to get stuck in there.
===

I've been back in OKC since September 30, and I haven't heard word one from a certain New Orleans native. He knew I was coming back here, and I gave him my cell number and Mom's number, but he has yet to call. Maybe he's busy with the gal he's been involved with since he returned to New Orleans earlier this year (though the last time I talked to him, things weren't exactly going swimmingly). Maybe he went back to Hutch and his mentally ill ex wife; I don't know. If he gets in touch with me, fine. If he doesn't, fine. Maybe I just want to know he's okay.
===

I've come to the realization that I paid waaay too much for my glasses. For what I paid for these stupid things, I could have bought everyone in my Mom's household a pair of glasses, and a spare pair for myself.

I've had them two months, and they're already falling apart. I've almost lost the right lens about 100 times because the screw holding it in the frame comes loose.

There's a place in OKC where you can get two pairs for under 100 bucks. I should have waited until I came back to get new glasses.

*sigh*
===

Thanks for peeking :)






That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Tomorrow's election day...

Yay. I never thought it'd get here. That means the negative ads will finally end!

It's not the voting that gets me... I'll do that willingly whenever possible. It's the political ads that I hate the most!

Just freakin tell me WHY I should vote for you, instead of bad mouthing the other guy/gal. What's your "plan"? And don't send me to a web site to find out. You know how many people don't have a computer, or don't care to have one (i.e. my mother)? Your "plan" on the web doesn't do those without internet access a whole helluva lot of good, ya know?



That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

It's all to get on TV for 15 seconds, Mom

We're watching the World Series, and Mom just commented on how stupid she thought it was for people to paint their faces in their favorite teams colors...

I talked to Larry this afternoon on Mess-up-enger, and we talked about... hair! We talked about other things, but it started with hair... his. Seems that he got a haircut today. Rumor has it that when he was in high school, he had long hair. I'd like to see a picture of that!

It's probably better than what my hair looked like in high school! That's always the way it's been with me... the guys I know who have (or had) long hair have gorgeous hair. My hair, on the other hand, was a pathetic mess of perms, styling products, and curling iron abuse.

(I should dig up a pic of me from back then --early 80's-- and post it. I wonder if Mom still has one. Mine got lost in the great Nor'easter of 1997 in Norfolk, VA)

Saw this great t-shirt at WalMart tonight: "Turn Left Cuz You Ain't Right". Sounds like some people I know (though none mentioned in this post).


And I saw this on Hannie's Blog:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 3 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

I already know that there were at least 2 other people out there with my same first and last name. I think they are both younger than I am.

There are 3 people with my mom's first (Jean) and last name.

My kids' last name isn't even in this site's database. Yeah, it's unusual, but so what? They had my last name listed! We all participated in the 2000 census, so why isn't in there?

Hmmm...?


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

How in the hell...

did the Oklahoma Republican Party get my mom's name and my email address, and thought to link the two?!

The only thing that my mom has asked me to do as far as email is concerned is get her a free subscription to a cooking magazine. Since Mom is about as interested in getting her own email account as she is about seeing the dentist (which she does begrudgingly because she has had a love/hate relationship with dentists since she was three years old), I said I'd get it for her and use her name.

And now some SOB has sold it to the Republicans in Soonerland! Great!




That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--