Ranging Mom

Yep, took forever. Some unknown reason it was impossible to direct deposit so we got a check. The bank info was correct, don't know what is wrong at the IRS.

Current Mood: relieved

Hubby went to a CPA instead of H&R Block but the Federal and State taxes are done and mailed. We get $1 back from the state, a bit more from the Feds. Got to pay the locals but I'll wait until April for that. Discovered I made only $7000 more than hubby. His fire pay must have closed the gap, but what does that say for my additional 4 years of college and 10 extra years of experience?

Current Mood: accomplished

I did get my first month of 'contact two' done, I did call and talk with M and A. Got a bonus as L called me, too. Felt bad that I had little to say to any of them, my life is especially boring at this time. M talked for an hour about her kid, the kid rolled a car (3 times, what speed was she traveling?) and is going to Australia for a semester of college. Kid is going to leave on the day of our next phone call, so I don't know if Feb will see my resolution cracking already or if M is not having to take kid to the airport... We'll see.

I barely kept A on the phone for 30 minutes, again blaming the boring life. She's ill, allergies to the 'new' school in which she is teaching. And I think of all the vitamins and such she's tried to sell me (her family is big on pyramid scheme selling, from Amway on to whatever is newest) I want to laugh, but I'm being good. Her family has the ability to laugh at itself so I'd not be taken to task if I should bring up such thoughts. It's why I consider her one of my closest friends even though we are so different from each other.

L had eye surgery, very necessary but scary stuff. I visited on the way to the Bookcrossing convention and she was worried about her eyes even then. Currently, L has an eyeball filled with oil- they removed all the natural liquid for surgery. She gave me more detail than I needed but I think she needed to talk so I listened even when I didn't understand much. I would be a basket case but she's handling it very well.

So I'm feeling good, feeling connected with some of my favorite people, and starting the year off right. Yipee.

Current Mood: productive

Happy New Year. My only resolution is to keep better contact with two friends. I thought if I kept my resolution SMART= specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely it might actually get done. I hope to build on that each year.

Current Mood: determined

I didn't keep any list of books read, but at least journals on bookcrossing.com let me know how many bookcrossing books I've read this year. My count so far is: 67

1. The Preservationist by David Maine
2. The Feiner Points of Leadership by Michael Feiner
3. Ain't Myth-behaving: Two Novellas by Katie MacAlister
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J. K. Rowling
5. Like a Dog With a Bone by Lee Charles Kelley
6. Plague of Memory: A Stardoc Novel (Stardoc) by S.L. Viehl
7. Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jim Benton
8. Code Name: Bikini by Christina Skye
9. How to Murder a Millionaire by Nancy Martin
10. The Cat Ate My Gymsuit by Paula Danziger
11. Devices and Desires by P.D. James
12. Fat Girl: A True Story by Judith Moore
13. Retire on Less Than You Think by Fred Brock
14. Fiddle Dee Death by Caroline Cousins
15. I Love You To Death by Amy Garvey
16. Dogged Pursuit by Lee Charles Kelley
17. Twinkie, Deconstructed by Steve Ettlinger
18. Hello, Gorgeous! by MaryJanice Davidson
19. Letters to a Lady by Joan Smith
20. The Saint in England or The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal by Leslie Charteris
21. The Book of Questions by Gregory Stock
22. The Christmas Treasury by Altom, Kent, Perry, Rutledge
23. To Marry At Christmas by Kasey Michaels
24. Thanks, Mom: Humorous and Meaningful Quotes on Motherhood by Tom Burns
25. Too Soon Mid-life Crisis by Rowan Barney-Murphy
26. The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw
27. It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It by Robert Fulghum
28. The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster by Bobby Henderson
29. A Mankind Witch (Shadow of the Lion) by Dave Freer
30. The Chick and the Dead: A Pepper Martin Mystery by Casey Daniels
31. Cart of Death by Mari Ulmer
32. A Dog's Life by Peter Mayle
33. Conversations with the Fat Girl by Liza Palmer
34. Essential Einstein by Shana Priwer, Ph.D. Cynthia Phillips
35. Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I've Learned by Alan Alda
36. Code Name: Blondie by Christina Skye
37. Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie
38. Bad Heir Day by Wendy Holden
39. The School for Heiresses by Sabrina Jeffries, Liz Carlyle, Julia London, Renee Bernard
40. Talk Nerdy to Me by Vicki Lewis Thompson
41. Sleeping with the Fishes by MaryJanice Davidson
42. All the Pretty Horses by Cormac Mccarthy
43. Rake's Ransom and a Loyal Companion (Signet Regency Romance) by Barbara Metzger
44. Valentine's Day Is Killing Me by Leslie Esdaile, MaryJanice Davidson, Susanna Carr
45. Time Twisters by Jean Rabe
46. The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead by Max Brooks
47. You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore
48. Warp Speed by Travis Taylor
49. Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them by Al Franken
50. High Heels and Holidays by Kasey Michaels
51. The Quantum Connection by Travis Taylor
52. High Heels and Homicide by Kasey Michaels
53. The New York City Cab Driver's Joke Book by James Pietsch
54. Falsely Accused by Robert K. Tanenbaum
55. The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
56. More "Ladies of Letters" by Sue Townsend, Carole Hayman, Lou Wakefield
57. Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story by Christopher Moore
58. Talk to the Hand by Lynne Truss
59. Anything Considered by Peter Mayle
60. Tinker by Wen Spencer
61. Bride of Dark and Stormy (Bulwer-Lytton Contest) by Scott Rice
62. The Yankee Girl: A Korean Girl's Journey to Find Herself by Kyusun Chung
63. The Day They Came to Arrest the Book by Nat Hentoff
64. Native American Wisdom by Edward S. Curtis
65. Bowled Over by Kasey Michaels
66. The Bride of the Unicorn by Kasey Michaels
67. Dorothy L. Sayers by David Coomes
Hey, is there any pattern here? They are not in any special order.

Current Mood: contemplative

I shopped on-line for gifts to give to my younger brothers and their families. That's not new, when I lived in New Mexico I did nearly all of my gift shopping on-line, but this time I had the companies send directly to my brothers' homes. I only used two companies that I am very confident will send exactly what I expect, but not having the gifts sent to me for repackaging--that's new. I'm off balance.

Current Mood: listless

Christmas cards addressed, signed, and stamped. Just got to get the letters written for inside! I don't do the photocopied newsletter, but I do type my letters on the computer and 'recycle' some of the same paragraphs at times.
Hope all is well with you.
Thanks,
Mom

Current Mood: okay

Because I promised and I try to keep promises... Will you answer these for me, I won't post any other lists (it is not my 'thing' usually)


01. Can you cook?
02. What was your dream growing up?
03. What talent do you wish you had?
04. If I bought you a drink what would it be?
05. Favorite vegetable?
06. What was the last book you read?
07. What zodiac sign are you ?
08. Any tattoos and/or piercings?
09. Worst habit?
10. If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride?
11. What is your favorite sport?
12. Negative or optimistic attitude?
13. What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?
14. Worst thing to ever happen to you?
15. Tell me one weird fact about you.
16. Do you have any pets?
17. What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly?
18. What was your first impression of me?
19. Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
20. If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
21. Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?
22. What color eyes do you have?
23. Ever been arrested?
24. Bottle or draft?
25. If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?
26. Would you date me?
27. Where's your favorite place to hang out?
28. Do you believe in ghosts?
29. Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
30. Do you swear a lot?
31. Biggest pet peeve?
32. In one word, how would you describe yourself?
33. Do you believe in/appreciate romance?
34. If you could spend 12 hours with me and ask/do anything you like, what would it be?
35. Do you believe in God?
36. Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same?

Why am I not surprised that 1. Trick or Treat is scheduled for tonight instead of actual Halloween night or 2. the weather channel is predicting cold and rain? I don't think Pennsylvania children expect anything but poor weather for trick or treat, it's got to be cold at least. What I'm confused over is the local community's need for a Thursday trick or treat. Oh, just 10 miles away the communities insist on SUNDAY AFTERNOON for their children, 1 to 4pm is soooo spooky isn't it? I'm getting to the point where I want to say, if you can't do it right why don't you just quit? There's been urban legends of candy tampering since my childhood ages ago so trick or treat has been dying since the late 1970s. The trick or treat in the shopping mall lets the small kiddies show off and get their booty, perhaps we could pump that up? And haunted houses do fine for the teens, perhaps a good public party could cap that off and then Halloween is covered. I'd miss seeing the kids from the laziness of my own home, but since I have trees and they shed wet leaves I may be saving myself from a lawsuit should one of the lovely princesses or skeletons slip and fall. Has Halloween changed that much or I am just getting too old?

My troops start up again this Tuesday so I've been frantically attempting to get organized. We'll have at least 4 Senior Scouts, 6 Cadettes, and 8 Brownies to start. I expect more Brownies to join, for sure.

Current Mood: full