The lean and hungry Type

Bracing myself for the weekend.

Well, kids. It's the weekend again...And this one I'm starting with my tax return in my account. Hurray! It's one hell of a good way to start the weekend. We don't have internet at home yet, because we were all busy last night and no one had time to install it. I'm sure we'll get it up and running sometime this weekend.

The plan tonight is to go home and chill. I may or may not run, but I'll definitely make some halibut breaded in panko and parmesan cheese, with rice pilaf, veggies bread and salad. I'm hoping some wine will be consumed and then a movie watched. (according to my sentence structure it will all be very passively done)

Saturday morning we'll run errands and then at noon we're riding our bikes to Riverside, eating at a place called Murphy's and then riding back home. For the first time in a while, we don't have any social obligations on Saturday evening...And that's just fine with me.

I'm not sure what I'll do on Sunday. I have to buy a lawn mower at Sears, for sure, but everything else is pretty weather dependent. If the rain holds off, I'm assuming I'll run and ride.

How about you, blogging buddies? Will you be running, riding or getting refunds?

Won't You Take a Walk Outside?

Here is a building by my office.

So, I have weird days at work sometimes - especially in the afternoon. I had one of them today. My job can be a bit tedious, and that plus the beige cubicle walls can close in on me making feel a little bored and isolated and restless. Luckily, it's pretty easy to wash the scum of the office off of me by walking home.

I ran after work and got really hopeful about the approach of Spring. It wasn't completely dark by the time I made it home from my run. FINALLY. It's still too cold to smell or feel like Spring yet, but the longer days will definitely help improve my mood.

Speaking of something that will put me in a better mood...I'm supposed to get my federal tax return back tomorrow. I'm hoping that it's all electronic and the fact that most of the federal offices were shut down for 4 days won't adversely affect me. I'm also taking my 3rd furlough day tomorrow. So, if things go the way I want them too, I'll have both time AND money for once. That's a combination I could get used to. Unfortunately, it will be very short lived.

The plan is for me to go running in the morning and do some work in the kitchen and measure some stuff. Then, since both the girls have their last hour at school free, I'm going to pick them up and we'll probably head to the mall (because that's what happens when you have teenagers). I'm going to price fridges and hot water heaters (party!) and then we'll go see a movie and then go to the Bluebird Diner to eat. My girls love it there and I know the guys who own it, so I feel good about supporting their business.

So, how is your weekend shaping up? Will you have money or time or both or neither?

It's Like the Party Neva Ends

Here are some clothes pins in your face.

Well, kids. Consider my taxes officially D-O-N-E. Hurray! I went to H and R Block and had them do them for me for the first time. I usually just do them myself on-line, but with the 1st Time Home Buyer Tax Credit thingy, I wanted to make sure I did it right. So, we amended last year's return to get that back a little sooner. The other way to do it, would be to file my taxes for this year on-line, get that return and then amend that return. You can't do the home buyer thing on-line, because I guess people were trying to cheat and now they're watching things more closely. It was pretty pricey paying them to do it, but it was so much faster and easier and if anything goes wrong, they're accountable. Sounds worth the extra bank to me.

If all goes well, I should get my return back by the middle of the month. Which is good, because I'll realistically need to buy a fridge and a hot water heater sooner rather than later. My fridge is making the most interesting noises and my heater is 18 years old. The inspector guy said his died right at 18 years. Those are two things I'd like to be proactive with. I'm sure it would be great fun to wake up to cold, cold showers and a mess of water on my laundry room floor, or realize that a week's worth of groceries has been sitting in a warm box for a day...Or not

I know I like to talk about aging, because I guess I'm in the middle of that process, and it's fascinating to me. There are so many great things about it, as far as I'm concerned. Sure there's the physical downturns I've been taking since my twenties, but those are really balanced out by how much happier and more self-possessed I feel. Don't get me wrong, I've still got a mess of demons chasing me, we're just better acquainted now and I'm learning how to deal with them. I really believe that if you are willing to look at yourself and figure out what bothers you about yourself (not what bothers other people. Fuck them. They don't have to live in your head all day) and work on fixing it, aging isn't half as scary.

That having been said, I realized today how different I've become about certain things as I've gotten older. Back in the day, I would just procrastinate and do my taxes on the last day and have them hanging over my head for months. Now, I've realized that I don't like that feeling of dread at having to do something. It's not that I don't ever procrastinate, but I rarely let it get to the point of stress and drama in my head like I used to. Now, just 51,206 other things that annoy me about myself left to work on in my life...

Cause It's a Bittersweet Symphony This Life

Me with a fistful of dollars.

So, yeah. This weekend...Well, it was kind of crazy. I gave plasma on Friday and the guy who did it must have gone through my vein or something. Anyway, I could hardly bend my arm and now have a HUGE bruise there. The plasma giving does seem to tire me out a bit, so I'll just count on not running on those nights for now. Since I was kind of out of commission afterward, I didn't get any work done in the kitchen. Instead, Coadster went to a large group speech contest and Stinky and I stayed home and watched a movie called The Boys are Back, about a guy who becomes a single dad after his wife dies. It was a slower movie, but I was okay with it. It was kind of interesting to see the other side of the single parent thing. I know all of the things I had to adjust about myself to fulfill both mom and dad roles with my girls, but got to see how that works for guys a little better. I remember talking about it with Mr. B. once and he said one of the hardest things about being a single dad for him, was having to be more openly emotional for his son than he felt comfortable with. Of course, that was one of the traits I really liked about him. Anyway, both the girls and I were in bed by 11. Party!

The supposed inspiration for Bill the Cat came down to play. Thank god the girl crush wasn't in town on Saturday. She would have been traumatized for weeks.

I woke up early on Saturday and started to work on getting the computer working right away. I stopped by the cable place and they FINALLY gave me a new modem, not a used one that was already broken before I got it. They gave me the wrong code to use to hook it up and I had to call the support people. After being on hold for about 50 hours, the woman helped me get it up and running. She also informed me that I was eligible for some special deal where I could get HBO and some other channels as well as a digital cable box all for $5 less a month than I'm now paying for regular, no frills cable and wanted to know if I wanted that. Uh, more for less? Sure, I want that. So, then I had to head to the cable place again for that special box and more setting up. Of course, this all took more time than I expected and then after I helped Coadster fill out some scholarship applications and went running, it was already well into the afternoon. Oy.

G. doing Marty Feldman.

Saturday night was a lot of fun. Most of my favorite people were out and I even stayed out until a little after midnight. I didn't turn into a pumpkin or anything, but I did turn into a foul-mouthed jerk, I'm sure. I'm also pretty sure that I did that long before midnight.

Today I still didn't work on the cupboards, but I got a hell of a lot of cleaning done. Stinky's job is to clean the living room and Coadster does all the laundry, so I scrubbed the bathroom and kitchen and will spend the rest of the night getting things ready for my taxes.There's so much extra stuff this year, I'm not really even sure what to bring. As usual, I'll err on the side of excess and bring every single document I might possibly need.

So, how did I do in terms of getting things done this weekend? I'll give myself a B- and try to keep plugging along at a faster pace the rest of the week.

You Was There When the Money Was Gone, You'll be There When the Money Comes

Here is some drank carnage from Saturday night.

Let's see...I was going to talk a little more about my weekend. Well, it started off with a bang, when I saw that I got my income tax refund. Yea, me! Most of the money is going to pay off bills and a credit card and the rest of Coadster's Spring Break choir trip to NYC. (she's already paid almost half) We do get to spend a little on fun stuff, however. Since you all know I like dates, the girls and I went on one on Friday night. We had dinner at the Blue Bird Diner. If you are an Iowa City ex-pat, it's located where Gilpin Paint Store used to be, across the street from The Foxhead. I have heard mixed reviews about it, but we really liked the food and the ambiance. It's a little pricey for us po' people, so we couldn't go there all that often, but it was great for a special occasion. I got a Reuben, and it was the first good Reuben I think I've ever had in Iowa City. Stinky almost always orders a bacon cheeseburger whenever we go out to eat. She said she thought the Diner's burger was one of the best she's ever had. They just happened to have shrimp scampi over angelhair pasta as a special, which is about Coadster's favorite food ever in the world, so she was happy. All in all, I'd say it was a fine dining experience.

After dinner, we headed over to Gordman's to get the girls some clothes. A while back, I figured the best way to go clothes shopping with the girls, was to tell them how much money they had to spend, and let them budget what they could get with it. It works for me, because I don't have to spend the entire shopping trip telling them that I can't afford whatever it is they want. Now THEY can't afford whatever it is they want. They get to be their own bad guys. It's also good for them, because it teaches them how to get creative about how to make what they want, jive with what they can afford. It's a valuable skill, I think.

We got home around nine, and my friend G. called me to tell me some friends were going out. The girls and I were all exhausted, and I was going to have to get Coadster to the show choir bus by 7 am, so I lamed-out and stayed home. Both of the girls went to bed, and I stayed up to watch a few of the newest episodes of Weeds. It was a perfect Friday night.

Lively Up Yourself, and Don't Be No Drag

Here is a photo of some construction happening on Iowa Ave in November. I'm running out of photos again.

Today we had our Spring staff retreat. It was actually okay. It was mostly about how to keep things positive and fun in the workplace. We deal with tons of perspective students and their parents on the phone and in person, and we're supposed let people on the other end of the phone "hear the smile in our voices".

At one point, we were asked to volunteer up things our co-worker did to liven-up the workplace. The ex-nun in our office told all the people about how I change the lyrics to songs to match what we're dealing with at work and then sing them in my Ethel Merman/Axl Rose (same thing) voice. It was very nice of her to mention it, but then everyone wanted me to do one for them. I had to explain that I perform better from the peanut gallery, than on stage. Maybe some other time.

So, remember how I was waiting for my income tax refund? I checked the IRS website and it said I should expect it on February 17th. Well, it didn't show, so I went to the bank today to make sure I had the correct account and routing numbers. I did. I finally called the IRS and spoke to a very helpful and pleasant woman there. (I could almost hear the smile in her voice) She said they were having a problem with the website giving out incorrect dates. Oops! Anyway, she looked me up and said I should receive mine on Friday. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Okay, I'm tired. I haven't been getting much sleep and I went running tonight in really strong winds. I'm one of those freaks who likes running against the wind, (as you can probably tell by the way I've lived my life) but it really wiped me out.

Night, night.

Better Stop Dreaming of the Quiet Life

Here is a fish in a tank. It's the only standing water in Iowa that isn't frozen right now.

So, here's what happened. I took a half day off to do my taxes, and got them all done for the most part. Which means I'm awesome, right? Wrong. I couldn't actually e-file because I guess not all the forms are out, and now I have to wait until mid-February to submit them and finally get my refund. Grrrr. At least they're done now, so I don't have it hanging over my head. Which means I can start playing video games again, reading books and am ungrounded to do things besides sit around and so actively NOT do my taxes, but not do anything else either. I'm emerging from a kind of a weird purgatory that those of us who are chronic procrastinators create when we have something to do that sounds too practical and probably involves math. Hopefully, you are not like me and don't have to ground yourself just to get anything done. GAWD!

On the plus side, I gave myself an alone time afternoon, AND I accomplished something. I feel stupid ever complaining about my lack of alone time, because my girls will be gone all too soon and then all my time at home will be spent by myself. But I not only like, but I need to be alone at least once or twice a week. When I get that time, I'm a way better parent and more pleasant person to be around in general. Although, I'm sure with as silly as I was being tonight and with all the goofy dancing around the house that occurred on my part, my daughters would rather I were cranky and shushing them every five minutes while I clumsily tried to work with numbers.

Tomorrow will be a new, less taxing day. No, it won't be seventy-five degrees and sunny, with birds chirping around me as I walk to work, but I'll just have to picture that in my head and try not to slip on the ice. Tra, la, la, la la...

Dunking My Head When I Heard You Call

Here is a photo of a shop window full of hearts and a nekkid dummy standing behind them.

This evening I've been working on my taxes. I haven't done my state taxes for the last two years, so I have to finish those before I can even start on my federal taxes. The fact that I've been putting off doing my state taxes for so long, makes me a big dumb wiener. I know that. I'm paying for it in so many ways, but I will finish them for sure this year, and hopefully this week. I think I'm going to ask to take off a half day of vacation tomorrow to try and get them all finished. It's so hard to do math while my daughters are in the house, asking questions, and listening to music, and talking on their phones and breathing. I can't ask them to stop being teenagers or breathing, so I will ask for time off and work on my taxes while my daughters are being teenagers and breathing at school.

In other unrelated news, I'm going to talk about Facebook again. As you well know, I don't have a real life, and Facebook, sometimes, kinda, sorta fills that void. I initially got on it because I had friends who asked me to join. My first friends were mostly current pals, then I started finding friends from long ago, and far away. Most of these folks either worked at assorted bars, restaurants and coffee shops with me, or hung-out with me at punk rock shows back in the 80's when we were all so fashionably angry.

Now, people from high school are finding me on Facebook and that is REALLY bizarre. I only lived in Ottumwa for the 4 years I was in high school and I wasn't allowed to go out back then. Plus, like many kids who grew up in abusive households, I was good at being invisible. I was that girl who blended into the lockers, and didn't establish eye contact when walking down the hall. When I went to my 20th high school reunion, I had a guy, prompted by a large group of men, come up and ask me who I was. None of those guys remembered me. I told him my name and reminded him I sat next to him in study hall junior year.

The only people I really knew, were kids I had classes with or kids who ran track. To the people I knew, I was my normal goofy, silly self. A couple of the guys I'm now Facebook friends with, knew me like that. One of the guys was even my first real crush. I doubt he knew it back then, and I'd never tell him now, but he was just a really nice guy, and he was into all the weird bands I liked.

Anyway, here's the weird thing. Both he and my first real boyfriend live in Northern California and work in the wine industry. But not just work, they're those wine people, who think it's a lifestyle and talk about it all the time. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a glass of wine now and again, but it's a beverage, and that's it. I have to be careful, because I'm so tempted to call it grape drank around them and watch their heads explode when I'm bored.

The wine obsessors remind me a lot of the coffee obsessors I knew when I worked as a barista for 15 years. People would talk for hours about blends and presses and blah and blah and blah....

So, now I think I've ranted myself into forgetting my point....Oh yeah, it's just kind of odd that the first two guys I really liked in my life, although I met them in totally different parts of the country and weren't at all into it when I met them, are both living about an hour away from each other doing almost the same job. Weird.

Let Me Tell You How It Will Be

Oh, thank Jaysus , Mary and Joseph. My federal taxes are finally done. Barring any inputting errors made by me, (and I do happen to be an expert at inputting errors) I should get my refund next Friday sometime. If I made a stupid mistake or twenty, it could be the week after that. Either way, I'll have my dough before the end of the month.

Now, I'm so, so tired and I just want to go to bed. All I want right now is to think good, happy thoughts. Just in case you were wondering, these are what my good, happy thoughts look like:

Ahhhhh.
Ahhhhh.
And ahhhhh.

I feel so much better now.

Let Me Tell You How it Will Be

Okay. I was going to write this nice, long post, but Blogger is being a total asshole and won't let me upload a photo. You all know I'm nothing without my visual aids. (even if they don't match the text in my posts)

It's probably better this way. I'm super tired and I'm all expectant (not that way, thank god) for the snow that is supposed to fall tonight. I think I'll call it a night and read some sweet, relaxing Cormac McCarthy to send me off to sleep in the right frame of mind. Who knows? I may have really interesting dreams to blog about next week too.

p.s. - My hibernation phase is in full swing now, so if you don't see me out and about at all, please feel free to call Meals on Wheels for me.

p.p.s.s. - I just watched one of the saddest movies ever. Those Japanese directors sure do depression right.

p.p.p.s.s.s. - I'm thinking about doing my taxes myself, because I don't want to have to take vacation time to get it to the white trash tax place that does them for almost nothing but it also takes forever for the white trash people to get around to them and they're located out by the airport. Does anyone do their own taxes? Is it more trouble than it's worth?