Road Trip

There's something about a trip to IKEA that makes you all warm and fuzzy inside, huh? Last Spring, when the kid and I went to visit friends in Germany, she fell in love, both with Europe itself and IKEA; she made me promise that when we bought a house, I would take her there so she could decorate her room.......being such a *good* parent, I couldn't refuse.......never mind, that I'm a fan as well. So yesterday, I loaded up her and her super-good-friend and we made the suicide mission to the great blue palace. Her room now looks like this and her "reading area" looks like this. If only she could have decided on some curtains.......owell, maybe next time. I, on the other hand, picked up these cute vases and a bunch of other stuff including a few rugs and some kitchen stuff, which I love. If the car could have held more, I probably would have bought more......so, 8 hours and $500 later, we made it back, in one piece.

On our ride home though, the girls were talking about 9/11, which was mildly unsettling for me. We have friends serving in the military, and Syd knows why they are doing it, however, it was the first time that she was able to connect the act of 9/11 to the war itself. She and her friend were both too young to know what was going on at the time, yet they know so much about it now and the way they talked about was in such a mature tone - it took me by surprise. Of course, now Syd wants nothing to do with an airplane ever again so our trip to my brothers wedding should be a nice adventure.

Anywho, time to get moving. After a knitting group this morning, and picking up a play date for the kid, it's time to get house stuff done. I just wanted a lazy Sunday damn it!

So discouraged.

Although I love Spring and Summer, so, so, so much I get incredibly discouraged when trying to buy clothes this time of year. For example, yesterday, I went to Target after class to pick up something for the kid. Naturally, I swung by the clothes department and found some super cute stuff that I was actually really psyched about. I got it in my basket and headed for the fitting room and everything I tried on just didn't fit right. And we're not even talking about pants.....I'm talking about tshirts. For the longest time, I've been a steadfast medium and suddenly, it doesn't fit anymore??? I haven't gained any weight. I don't think. Are clothes just being made smaller? Anyway, I was so disgusted, especially when I was stuck in there with a bunch of 15-year-olds catwalking it up and down the fitting room aisle in their brand, spanky new bikinis......I considered tripping one of them.

Needless to say, I was bound and determined not to walk out of there with only three packages of Hello Kitty skivvies and a box of mac-n-cheese in my basket. I ended up leaving with a bunch of more sensible, less trendy tshirts that I'm less than in love with, but are probably more 'appropriate for my age' as my mate informed me. Nice.

Technical Difficulties

I've been having some lately. A few weeks ago, I was assembling one of those shower cleaner things....and I spilled shower cleaner all over my cell phone. So, I replace that one, send out the desperate plea to everyone for their phone numbers so I can get myself back in order and then last week I dropped it in the toilet! Actually, it was almost flushed down the toilet. So, once again, I find myself shopping for a new cell phone. And I'm thinking that I would have been better off to just pay for the insurance that they tried to sell me.

My computer also seems to be on again, off again. I'm not sure what's going on with it.....but it is three years old.....and I've heard from different people that that's about the lifespan for one of these so I'm probably going to be shopping for one of these too. Any suggestions? I'd really like to go with an Apple this time but I don't know if I can afford it. It's kind of like the Dyson vaccuum that I'm lusting after, but can't quite justify spending the $500 on it.

Anyway, hope you're all well. Gearing up for another rainy day tomorrow it sounds like, poo poo.

So much to do!

Today was gawgeous! And of course, I'm feeling mildly flu-like symptoms coming on so I spent the majority of the day, in bed......doing one thing I love, love love! And that is reading. What made today particularly enjoyable was the fact that I was recently notified that little miss me has been *selected* to participate as a reader-juror for Elle Magazine for the next six months! What this means is: I get un-released books, delivered to my door by DHL to read and review..... who knows, maybe I'll have some majorly brilliant literary-ish thing to say and I'll get to see my review published! Wouldn't that be fun! Of course, I don't get paid for such fun, but, no matter, I get oodles of new books way before anyone else can buy them. I'm so excited!

This week brings the beginning of the knitting class that I will be teaching at the kid's school..... which should be interesting. Besides her, I don't know that I've ever taught a younglin' to knit. Lot's of patience.......I've been working on putting together their own little knitting books for each of them......again, very exciting for me. You know, directions to cast on, knit, some sample patterns for them. We've only got six weeks so we'll see how far we get.

As for my own knitting and crafty creations, I am going to start working on these bad boys as soon as I'm feeling better. The pattern for such gorgeous things can be found right here.

The Wal-Mart Experience

I realize at times, my sarcasm may drip a bit too thick; but yesterday as I am leaving the Wally World parking lot, I realized why I am not a frequent shopper there, and it's not just because of this.

As I roll through the check-out, I am encountered by an overly friendly cashier named Beth. Now, we're not talking, like "hey, how's your day going" I'm talking super wattage smile so big they could have turned out the lights and the place would still have been functioning. Almost that hyper-active "I'm going to jump out of my skin" smile that you get when you find something entertaining, but you've just polished off three shots of espresso, so you can't quite control yourself. Anyway, I swipe my card and pop it back in my wallet and I get "opsie! it's asking me for your card so I can verify who you really are!" Now, I've always had a problem with this because if they don't ask for your drivers license, or something with a picture, how the hell do they know that you're really the person it says on the card? Anyway, I stray......

She sees my last name and she like "McClintock! I know a Lisa McClintock right up in Athens Maine, yes I do! I'm from Athens myself!" If you've ever been to Athens, you know why this is a statement that should never be uttered to anyone. If you live in a village where the goal is to marry the girl with the most teeth and your house is decorated with mounted deer heads, you don't admit that you're actually from there. The cashier rambled on for almost 5 minutes about how she knew my step-mum......it actually turns out that she doesn't know her, but has a friend that has a friend that knows her.....the beauty of small-town Maine.

So, I get through that and we head for the parking lot and I'm almost plowed down by a Dodge Intrepid with the license plate "IM MEME" - this is obviously someones mother who has embraced the nickname that her grandchildren have given her. And this always makes me wonder, what is it about these nicknames that are so appealing? It's almost as though, when women become grandmothers, they suddenly lose all sense of judgement. The same thing has happened with my mother. When Syd was little she loved Teletubbies - particularly the yellow one named LaLa. Guess what she calls my mother? And guess who mailed us a sweatshirt with a glittery princess on the front, along with the words "Lala's little princess"........needless to say, the sweatshirt has never been seen outside the walls of our home.

When the lights came on in Portland

Nearly 36 hours after losing our power, and subsequently, my sanity, we are back up and running. And let me tell you, Al Gore be damned, I'm using the washer, dryer AND the microwave, all at the same time. I am so disgusted with our weather as of late......and I'm also wondering if all the ups and downs prior to buying this house was a sign from someone way smarter than us......we seem to live in a neighborhood where more families than not have generators. Now, why could that be do you think? Is it possible that they are used to having no power? Being the inquisitive little chicka that I am, I asked the neighbors.

"Oh, the power? Yeah, we lose it all the time......you'll be sitting out on the back deck and just hear a transformer blow down the street. It's really weird. But, you know, CMP usually fixes it within a few hours or so."

WHAT?!?! Are you kidding me??!! Clearly, this was a little something that the sellers just failed to mention to us.....along with the small lake that seemed to form right outside our back door yesterday. Dan will be a busy boy this summer, what with all the re-grading and drainage pipes he's going to be putting in.

I wonder......Is it too soon to sell our new house?

Prepared

Well, in preparation for the big storm that is seemingly headed our way, I have spent the last hour and a half catching up on everyone's blogs, plus discovering a few new ones that I enjoy. Shameful, really. Anyway, I intend on happily continuing my bloggy reading until I've either A) seen all I want to see or B)the coffee runs out. Either way, I'd say I have another two hours or so to get my fill......I've also been planning what I might do with all my electric-free time if we lose the power. I've got a stack of books and magazines next to the fire place, along with a quilt my grammie made me and a few knitting projects.....should get me through a few days at least! If you live in the area, enjoy the storm!!

Where's Spring?

When I was in my tweens, I liked the Where's Waldo puzzles......in fact, in the short stint that I had living here (because I had "that" boyfriend and my mother felt the need to throw me in the car and whisk me away in the dark of night to drop me on my father's doorstep for some "much needed straightening out") I used to do the puzzles with my stepmum to pass the time.....anyway, I digress. But, that's kind of how I'm feeling now, except it's like peeking around random snowbanks to find signs of Spring, like the little buds on our Forsythia bushes. Where the hell is it??? Today, it was super nice......we made a trip to the playground....all was good......I mistakenly thought we might have finally turned the corner. Who was I kidding? I pick up the Portland Press Herald and they're predicting the Apocalypse.......at least this time CMP has been nice enough to give us fair warning that we'll likely be out of power for few days. Of course, Murphy's Law would dictate that I was silly enough to not check the weather before I went to the market and spent $200 on food.......and where on earth am I going to shove a 14 lb turkey for two days while I don't have any refrigerator??? Anyway, to pass the time in this seasonal-limbo, and to distract myself from what I really need to be doing (like finding a place for the damn bird) I've been puttering around in my little workshop that I carved out for myself in the basement to make the kid and her friends these fun little bobble bracelets. Quite Springy if I do say so myself.

Happy Days

Well, today was a much happier day......I spent the week covering my friends' daycare because she and her family went to AZ for a little vaca......so, I spent 10 hours each day chasing 8-10 screaming children....good times.

However, during nap today, I updated my play list on my iPod......my new favorites are:

Goldfrapp: Supernature
Flunk: Morning Star
Esthero: Wikked Lil' Grrrls

If you like what you hear, check out Frou Frou and Jem also.....

Now, if the snow would just melt and the sun would shine!!!

Yesterday was a difficult day......I received a scathing email from an ex-boyfriend, whom up until now, I had considered to still be a friend. Apparently, over the course of the almost two decades that we've known each other, I have wronged him so terribly, repeatedly, that he has this to say. "To say I'm going to forget all about you would be wrong, it would be a travesty for me to forget the lessons learned from the single greatest mistake I've ever made in my entire life."

Can you say "ouch?" And it is totally not his fault.......I was a jerk and a butt-face, among other unspeakable things that I can't repeat because there are small children that can read, standing over my shoulder. However, the email really only got better from there.

Then, I get a phone call from my mother, who feels it necessary to update me on "who's the baby's daddy?" I am not even remotely interested in such news, but, apparently, she finds it entertaining. Then, we go on to discuss my brother's wedding, in which I will be sporting a teal bridesmaid dress and attending a pig roast. Yum. With any luck, there will be a few televisions in the background playing WWF and NASCAR. My brother also happens to bowl on two leagues and he has chosen a different ex-boyfriend of mine, who bowls with him, how cute, to be my escort down the aisle. The same ex-boyfriend that my brother thought appropriate to have call me, from his cell phone, during their bowling league - you know, just to chat. Lack of common sense and good judgmet is one of my little brothers strong points. Have I mentioned that I question whether or not my brother and I are actually related? We couldn't be further apart in terms of our lives or what we enjoy......but alas, I guess that's what makes me love him.

So, to cheer myself up, I turned to Dane Cook, who although a fan of the F-bomb, I adore for several reasons. He's damn funny and he's a Boston boy.....and we all know how cute they are. One of my favorite YouTubes to watch is part of his Vicious Circle tour....this little diddy is called 'Brain Ninjas'.......watch it if you can stand it......it is so true. Be forewarned, if you're at work, or there are small children around, you should either A)watch this later or B)turn down the volume and close the door.

I think she bought it

This past Christmas, I did the unthinkable and did not destroy the "Santa" wrapping paper. Silly me, I thought shoving it in the back of the closet would be good enough.....however, during the move, I inadvertently left it sitting out on the bedroom floor and was completely busted. So, Easter was the only chance I had to make the kid believe, that indeed, there are magical little creatures that come and leave treats behind for the well behaved during the holidays. Last nite I painstakingly wrote this note, with my left hand so as not to be detected. The kid is running around this morning, thrilled that she has the Easter Bunny's autograph. She's also commented a million times on how Mr. Bunny Man left her more mature stuff this year, you know, since she's older now.

In other news, a huge Congratulations to Meg and Jen who just found out that they are going to be part of the Renegade Craft Fair in NY.....yeah!! I am so incredibly happy for both of them, and so incredibly jealous too! They are both mega-crafty-mommas and I'm sure they will do great.

We are still recovering from the snow storm that blasted us on Thursday.....we only just got our power back yesterday. So, today we'll go to the outlaws for brunch and then tomorrow I'll have to do some grocery shopping to replace the food that we could not shove in coolers on the back deck. In the Spring, we'll most likely lose our birch tree....which is a bum deal because I really kind of liked it.

And it didn't get any better.

The last time I had the sanity to post was Tuesday, and if I remember right, our week had already been difficult......unfortunately, it didn't get any better.....here's the breakdown to catch you up:

Wednesday: Little Toyota goes in to shop to have fuel filter changed because that's what my dad said was wrong with it......get phone call from shop, actually needs a tune-up.....total cost: $225.

Thursday: Have Toyota back and she's running like a dream.....it's 8:45, the kid is late for school and we're almost late to pick up the U-Haul......turn corner on to Woodfords street by the church (you know the only part with the hill?)......car stalls and refuses to start up again. Clearly, the tune-up was not the issue.....Dan and I call the shop, then the tow truck and then try to push it up the hill and around the corner while trying to ignore the constant honks of people driving by.....meanwhile, kid is behind the car, trying to be helpful by pushing, but almost getting run over because the car continues to eek backwards.....Dan loses a shoe because he neglected to tie them tightly when we left the apartment and by the time we get the car up the hill and around the corner, we hate everyone, including each other. Argue with the shop about who is paying for the tow (they did) and go to pick up the U-Haul.......get U-Haul half loaded.....go to P/T/S conferences with the kid.....get car back at 3:30 with a new distributor...... get phone call from Lenders Network to say that bank financing our mortgage has backed out due to parent company going belly-up.......not sure if we are going to be able to close on Friday or not......total cost.....$125 + a few Stoli tonics and 1 Tylenol PM to force myself to sleep because I'm so stressed.

Friday: Still not sure if we're actually closing at 3:30 or not, but are told to continue loading U-Haul by both the realtor and the mortgage company.......do scheduled walk-thru at 11 and realize if we don't close at 3:30, I will most likely spend the weekend in P6 because I am truly going to have a mental breakdown......go to closing, find out that Lender's Network is actually putting up 5% of the mortgage to get us closed that day (and we'll refi in a few weeks), scream with exuberant joy and want to throw myself at Janelle (the mortgage girl) but she is pregnant, so I restrain myself so as not to harm the unborn child in all my happiness. We sign our life away and head to the new house. Unload and then go the the apartment to reload and as we are dragging things down the loading ramp of the U-Haul at 11 o'clock at nite, I am certain our new neighbors hate us already......finish unloading at midnight and go to bed......total cost...... $227,000.

Saturday: Parents come down for day and help me unpack and make sense of the chaos....... total cost.....priceless.

Sunday: Dan goes to work, the kid goes to a hockey game and I have the entire day to continue unpacking.......total cost to send the kid away for the day......$20.

It is now Monday morning and I'm listening to the quiet creaks of the house......I love it!!! The kid will go off to school, Dan will go to work and I will be here, working on the house and writing all the articles that I had due over the weekend........pics to follow when I've got this place in order!!