Philosophical Nonsense

We went through this house today.  It's a couple of blocks from Boe's school; we can see the roof of the school building from one of the back bedrooms.  It's also in an "urban renewal" zone, which tends to be code for "crime tends to be high", but in looking at the statistics, this little area is a growing oasis of lower crime rates than elsewhere in the zip code.  There are crazy amounts of tax exemptions and credits one can claim as well as some of the lowest housing costs in the city.

Let's face it:  Is it possible to have brand-new stick built construction anywhere else in the entire flipping United States for less than $90,000?  Yeah, didn't think so.  Besides, it is just the architecture that Boe and I really like and he fell in love with the place as soon as he walked in the door. 

  This house (and its companion house at 2412 Gay St.) have sat empty for the past 4 years; they were originally closer to $130,000 but then the housing market went to crap and basically everyone lost interest in buying real estate.  So the nonprofit group that owns these properties is making down payment assistance available as well as very favorable lending terms through a partnership with the Urban League.

So we've applied to be considered for the house at 2416 Gay.  We'll see if they approve us; the worst they can say is "no".

Somehow, I managed to make it onto the Dean's List for 2 quarters in a row!

5 more to go...

Also, I've had a hankering to try just a weensie bit harder to not look like Exhausta McHaglike.  So I picked up some lip gloss.  I dunno...we'll see. Lord knows since I single-handedly keep Chapstick in business it's just as easy to smear on some lip gloss instead.  Maybe eventually I'll get to the point of wearing makeup again on a regular basis.  I know, I know, it only takes a few minutes, etc., etc.,  I'll look a lot better with makeup on, more self-confidence blah blah blah.  As a fat chick, I feel more secure feeling invisible.  But wanting to feel invisible and yet wishing I wasn't makes for a heavy makeup addiction, even if I never wear the stuff.  One might argue that the makeup addiction is worse for never wearing the stuff.  So like I said, it's easiest to start off with lip gloss and see if I can get the hang of that.

Can you tell I've forgotten to take my crazy pills on a regular basis this week?

Which reminds me...brb, dosing myself.

It's probably bad form to reward myself for taking my antidepressant by scooping myself a large bowl of ice cream, but I haven't had dinner yet and dairy is one of the four food groups or whatever stupid chart the USDA is using these days.  So screw it.

I know part of the problem is what time of year it is:  Pennsic season.  As usual, I won't be going this year, nor will I be able to go next year (since I'll still be in year-round school).  Pennsic 2014 (er, I think that's, what, Pennsic 44? 45?) will be the earliest I will be able to go, which makes me all sorts of sad.  It's hard to explain WHY it makes me so sad, except maybe for this post I made back in the day.  It's just...promises, you know?  And the prospect of meeting some of you on my f-list (assuming I could work up the courage to stop by and say hello -- being just an okay costumer means that some of you all are like rock stars to me...like expect me to get a little starry-eyed and maybe even choke up a little bit if I ever meet you) even if it is intimidating! 

Yes, yes, I know Pennsic will still  be there, but adopting from foster care means there are enormous levels of governmental interference in our lives for an unknown and unpredictable length of time, and I'd like to go to Pennsic before having to negotiate crossing state lines with a foster child, and all the headaches that come with dealing with a bureaucracy.  I'll be 36 in 2014.  And considering my late 30s is (IMO) getting Too Old for first-time motherhood (especially if we are blessed with smaller children), that means we are very limited to how many more years we can put off Pennsic without also hanging up our chances to become parents.

Between work and school, I barely know which direction is up.  I really really want to sew, but can't really do that until the Tornado Room (so named because it's a disaster area) is cleared out -- I tried to clear it out myself, but my face broke out in hives and I began to wheeze about five minutes in.  Not good.  So I have to get The Spouse and The Daughter to do that for me...which means it might get done by the end of 2012.  If I'm lucky.

In other news, my sister Mel is driving up from Florida on a quick visit to drop my neice off with my parents for a portion of the summer.  Let's see if Bitz can learn to share Lennie this season.  Unfortunately, Mel is driving up on the weekend with the highest volume of cake sales for the year...Graduation Weekend for FWCS.  I tried to find a replacement (there's a coworker who doesn't normally work weekends), but apparently the only family that matters is the one this cow-irker has, not anyone else's.  Even after I explained that I haven't seen my sister in a couple of years.  I was delighted, let me tell you.  >:-/  So I'm going to have to call off one of the busiest sales days of the year and leave my coworker H screwed with no help.  H and I talked it over and we mutually decided that if I have to call off to see my sister, then Sunday would be the better day.  So that's the game plan.  At least 1 coworker is understanding.

Uh, other than that, school is going well.  One instructor has publicly stated on numerous occasions that she doesn't give A's ever...well guess what lady, you're going to have to change that stance.  *cracks knuckles*

I keep motivating myself by looking at real estate listings and home builders' websites.  Also looking at vehicles, since my poor Lumina will probably last me until I'm out of school (I hope!) but not much longer than that.  I'm kinda leaning in this direction, since that allows for some flexibility as far as cargo and stuff goes but is more fuel-efficient than an SUV or truck.  Or I'd like a Prius.  I'd like 40-odd mpg, you know?

Here's the game plan for Christmas On The Cheap(tm):

Each of the families (Dad and Bitz, Mom, Melanie et al., and Brett et al.) is going to get a little basket of household goodies, consisting of:

1. Set of 6 napkins, folded and displayed with...
2. Wire-wrapped and beaded napkin rings
3.  Set of 4 knitted cotton dishcloths
4.  Set of 3 knitted and felted woolen hot pads/trivets
5.  Packages of German roasted pecans and almonds
6.  Homemade dog biscuits for the families with dogs
7.  Catnip-filled fleece toys for the families with cats

The whole shebang should cost me less than $50.  For 4 families, that's pretty damned good. 

I also have a scarf knitted in seed stitch for Mom (her favorite stitch), a pair of really cute earrings for Lennie (the super awesome niece of amazingness), a cross-stitch of a cat that looks just like her cat Mittens for Lennie, and a pair of earrings for Melanie.

I was able to score Melanie's earrings for free through Swagbucks , the yarn for Mom's scarf was a gift, and I can use my employee discount for everything else except for the wool yarn I need for the hot pads. That I'll have to get from Michael's or Joann's, although Michael's will be easier for me as far as convenience goes. 

Our girl Melmel (who just got her first tattoo this week!) is getting a new phone, courtesy of a contract extension that we'll be signing.  I'm also going to go through my collection of romance novels and send some to her, as she has recently become a fan and by God I am glad she's getting over her Twilight obsession.

And now for the only Christmas splurge this year -- I have a Garmin GPS on layaway for Boe...shhhhh, don't tell him!

So to recap:

Random Gamer Guy is gone...but not before stealing a pack of Magic: The Gathering cards Boe had picked up that Friday.  I don't care too much, except Boe is unhappy, and that makes me unhappy.

Boe's temp job is finished up, and now we wait to hear from the agency for another assignment.

I might have tied one on last Friday to celebrate Random Gamer Guy's departure; the hangover served to remind me that I am not as young as I once was, and that my liver hates me.

Boe and I held a little backyard barbecue on Saturday.  Everything was delicious and (as is par the course for me) since I bought too much food, we'll be eating burgers and hot dogs the rest of the week.  But they are delicious, and that's the important part.

My college's financial aid office is screwing around with me, and I don't like it.  My account has been flagged for verification Every. Single. Year. and this year was no exception.  I turned in copies of my tax return on July 18, and my account is STILL "pending, under review."  This means that they have not released my financial aid to the bookstore so I can get my books.  Because school starts in a week, I'm sure all of the used copies of the textbooks have been sold, so I'll either need to rent textbooks (which is what I'm considering) or buy brand new ones.  I am tempted to go to the financial aid office tomorrow and break some heads.

And the only paperwork I'm waiting on to complete my nursing program applications (yes, two:  one for the LPN program and one for the RN program) is my highschool transcripts.  I called my alma mater a week ago Tuesday to request 2 sets of official transcripts.  The said they'd be in the mail that same day.  I should have recieved them by Wednesday.  They are still not here.  I am tempted to go down there and break some heads too.

I am so excited at the prospect of being able to work on sewing projects!

When I got off of work today, every WM in town was out of air conditioners, the same was true for Meijer's, Lowe's, Home Depot, Menard's, Target, Big Lots, and Dollar General (not like I really expected DG to have air conditioners, but I was desperate).

Boe found one -- count 'em, one -- air conditioning unit (and stood guard over it) at our local Do It Best hardware store, where I promptly dispatched myself and my debit card. It seems the unit had been on hold for someone for 5 days, but was never picked up.  As an added bonus, the manager took an extra forty bucks off of the retail price since it was a discontinued model.  Score!

When Boe had called me to report success on The Quest For Air Conditioning, I was stepping out of a tepid shower with three very angry cats joining me in the bathroom.  See, all three of the cats were panting and had rapid breathing when I came home, which are signs of heat exhaustion.  So I was a bad Mommy for their own good and took one cat at a time into the tepid shower with me, 15 minutes per cat.  Now, you might think that this isa recipe for Disembowelment By Cat Claws, but one thing that I've learned about cats is that they have an innate sense of fairness.  That's why my arms get turned into mincemeat when I try to bathe them, but they don't claw me when I have them in the shower with me, even though there is substantially more flesh to tear into when doing so.  Sure, they struggled a bit, but nothing involving claws or teeth.  I think they think that if they have to get wet, it is only Right and Proper that I get soaked too.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure we managed to buy the last available air conditioner in a three county area.  We've moved the animals into the bedroom, complete with litter box, food, and water, and our bedroom is finally beginning to cool down.  I might actually get to sleep tonight.

First of all, we needed a new mower. So while we were at the store, we also picked up:

A cat statue to put on Fagan's grave (it's been almost a year since he passed, after all, I think it's about time!)

An invisible dog fence for Miss Maggie...I let her out yesterday to potty, and 30 seconds later I get a phone call from our neighbors across the street. Maggie had decided to run out into traffic in order to visit them. *sigh*

Roundup herbicide -- we're killing off the lawn and starting over

Grass seed

Weed and feed

Grub killer

2 large planters

A small planter

A hanging planter

10 begonias

16 pansies

8 petunias

and

2 fuschias

I have spent the afternoon planting to my heart's content. Boe has been spraying herbicide on everything in our yard (I did make sure to cover the lilac bush and the sole remaining rose bush before he started in on the herbicide), and we've been burning handfuls of leaves mixed in with a little bit of firewood. That way we don't get nailed for burning leaves in city limits. A handful at a time is enough to tell anyone who asks that we're using it as tinder. Not nearly as smoky, either.

OK.

So there's a possibility of a steampunk-themed masquerade ball in the upcoming months.  I'm attending if it takes place, mostly cuz Boe's in charge of putting the whole shebang together.  Well, I don't have anything in my costume closet (yes, I have a costume closet) that dates after 1600 with the exception of a quickie chemise a la reine.  Not gonna cut it for something steampunk-y. 

I did a bit of research and can't quite wrap my head around the general aethetics of steampunk.  I mean, all I'd wind up doing is slavishly copying someone else's brilliant idea and doing it rather poorly.  (Lookin' at you, jenthompson ...your steampunk outfit is just about the coolest I've seen Out There in the ether.)  So yeah, I don't think I can pull off steampunk.  However, I CAN pull off Victorian.  Screw it, if'n I'm gonna be working at this projected ball (because believe me, Boe's a great "big picture" guy, but I'm the "nitpicky details" half), I'm going to dress as I wish.  Straight up natural-form Victorian it is. 

For those on my flist who have done late Victorian costuming, what's your take on Truly Victorian patterns?  I'd like to use the Dinner Bodice (TV 422) with the Fantail Skirt (TV 225) in electric blue silk taffeta, with pleated navy blue velveteen sleeve cuffs and skirt hem trim.  A small amount of metallic gold trim stitched in the ditch of the pleating.  Navy blue velveteen covered buttons on the bodice.  Late Victorian Corset (TV 110) and Combination Underwear (TV 105) to go underneath it all.

Tell me what you think, flist!  This is my first foray into something that ISN't medieval or Renaissance, and I am TERRIFIED, OMG. 





If the steampunk masquerade ball thing doesn't happen, then I'll still have a perfectly good outfit to wear to, say, Costume Con or Costume College.

Boe passed his Praxis II. This means as soon as his semester student teaching ends, he'll have his Official Indiana Teacher's License. Thank God.

This means October 1 is R-Day. Resume Day. In which we (I include myself on this because Boe really is rather helpless/hopeless when writing coherent and grammatically-correct letters of introduction) apply to every single teaching posting in the 35 other states that have instant!reciprocity with Indiana teaching licenses. Yes, this will take all day. No, I don't care.

My sister and niece are traveling to Columbus OH to pick up Mom's old car (a 2004 Toyota Corolla -- Mom bought a new one that she's already promised me when she gets tired of it!), so I am traveling to Mom's on Saturday. I need to bring some rose of Sharon cuttings and Mel's camping gear. Sunday is dedicated to Pre Move Purging. I'm going to be putting a lot of stuff on Craigslist in the hopes of acquiring more $$$. I will also offer about 3/4 of my fabric and craft stash for sale -- lucky friends list, you'll get first pick! This may include my SuperAwesome 100% wool damask and/or my PrettyShiny 100% silk brocade. I've faced the fact that I will never stop being too afraid to cut into these fabrics and I would love to see then get a new home where they will get some use.

I get my student loan excess funding September 13. This is good because our license plates expire September 14. I double-checked the amount of my refund, and had sadly overestimated the amount I'd be getting back. So, no fabric purchases for me. Or X-chairs from Smoke and Fire. Or tablecloths from Historic Enterprises. This makes me sad. But I am in Survival Financial mode, and frankly keeping a roof over my head and the lights/heat on trumps ANYTHING else.

Other than that, I picked up some sort of intestinal bug on Saturday, and things are just now settling down. That was...unpleasant, and I hope that I don't wind up going through *that* experience again any time soon -- never would be preferred.

One of the few "for me" things that I want to get when my student aid comes in is pick up an MP3 player.  However, I have NO idea which one(s) are the best out there and therefore I need your help.  I have only a few requirements when it comes to MP3 players:

1. No Apple.  Sorry, I find them difficult to work with.
2. Must take a Micro SD memory card (I have a 2 GB card filled with music to transfer already)
3. Must have 4 GB memory or better.
4. Must cost less than $150.00.
5. Must be durable.

And...go!