Monday or Tuesday...

DH's interview two weeks ago went well, and they called him back for a second interview, which happened last Monday. Great way to start the week, but they ended the interview with something about "expecting to make a decision next week Monday or Tuesday," which made for a long wait over the holiday weekend.

And how'd we spend that Holiday Weekend?

• Tuesday night - cousins came for a sleepover. Sleepover is such a funny term, because there's usually no bedtime enforced... The girls got worn out and managed to get some sleep. We played games, did projects, and all had a good time.


• Wednesday - Movie day - some recovery from the sleepover, and a lot of hanging out around the house.


• Thursday - Cleaning and Thanksgiving. Our family Thanksgiving was late in the day, so DH got started on a cleaning binge in the morning, and the rest of us got sucked in. Funny enough, I helped the girls out, and was later admonished by them (the Minions) and DH (their Minion Master) for not having cleaned up any of my own mess. Sigh. There's my project for Friday.


• Friday - Cleaning and Playing. One of our friends called, pleading that his kids were in need of some entertainment over this extended weekend. I was happy to oblige, sending DH and the DD's off to their house, so I could stay home and clean in peace and quiet. I made some progress....


• Saturday - Another day of Eating - traveled to the other side of town to visit another set of friends. Such fun!


• Sunday - Recovery! Time to clean up and get ready for school and work on Monday.

And all of a sudden, here it is, almost Monday or Tuesday! As I've told several people, this decision will have much bearing on how our Christmas goes - not so much in how much we spend, but if the money comes out of the savings/crisis account, or out of someone's first paycheck. Notice, in this list of weekend activities, there was no mention of Shopping. Online browsing, yes, and plenty of it, but no actual Christmas shopping. and I actually did go out today and fetch paper towels and cat food.

Not that you should think I've totally neglected the Christmas shopping - I've been buying things here and there since the end of September. "Christmas shopping, already?" said the cashier. "Where are you going to hide this?" Heehee. You all will have to wait until my kids are in high school before I give up my good hiding place. I did discover some new spots when cleaning stuff out this weekend, though. ;-)

Anyway, I didn't do any Christmas shopping over this weekend, no matter how the ads may have tried. However, my home email has had Cyber Monday coupons trickling in all day. I have a feeling if we get positive news tomorrow, there will be some big time shopping coming from my PC. ;-)

Why Am I Not Hosting Thanksgiving?

Because my dining room table is currently being used as Legotopia. ;-)

This project started in July, evidently, as a result of my husband's discovery of Lego's Buy A Brick section. His idea was to go through the big bin of inter-mingled Legos and re-assemble all the kits (airplane, pirate ship, town square, etc.). He'd keep track of any missing pieces, and be able to go online and replace them. So, we got the big bin of Legos dumped out on the dining room table, managed to do some sorting over a weekend or two, and then he got laid off.

That put an end to the replacement project, but Legotopia lives on. The girls are in there a couple times a week, making buildings, stores, houses and vehicles. Today, my husband was in there with them, making a creation of his own.

If I'm lucky, we'll have a chance to clean the table off before Christmas. But if not, I'm not going to freak out over it. Who knows, Santa might leave some new Lego sets!

Unemployment Update

So, if my last unemployment-related post was 1.5, we're probably at month 2.5 now. Calendar? Oh, I don't know that I need to be so specific. Dear Husband, however, can probably rattle off the time he's been on unemployment to the minute. Sigh.

Good news: he did go on an inteview this week, and seems to feel that it went well. And when he was first laid off, many people relayed stories of finding new jobs that paid more and were closer to home. There's not much chance of finding a closer work location for DH, but I was kind of hoping for something on our side of the river. However, A Job Across The River is better than The Red Tape of Unemployment, so we'll see.

That's the update from his side. I'm off to research passport applications, as my next customer account may take me across the northern border. Take off, 'eh!

The Trophy on My Table

The grade school cross-country season is winding down. We've managed through it pretty well, all things considered. Missed some races because of weather (and an attempt not to get the munchkins sick), and some because of schedule (traveling Mom, too much homework, etc.), but overall, the experience has been pretty positive.

The season began with half-mile races, and our team has some pretty strong runners. The races this month have been 1.1 miles, which is a big jump. But, the girls are sticking with it and doing well.

We actually earned enough team points to place first in a couple of the early races, which means the team gets a trophy. Coach says, when the team wins a trophy, each member of the team gets to take the trophy home for a night. Our turn came around today. And, since both girls are on the team, we have the trophy for two nights!

So, the trophy is on our table. We'll take some pictures with it (depending on how long it takes to get homework and showers done), and let the girls keep it in their room for a night each, and then take it to school on Wednesday to pass along to the next girl. A small share in a large victory!

Unemployment, Month 1.5ish

Well, today is Interview Day. The job is with the government office of a neighboring county, and I'm not sure that it will pay very well - it may be something part-time. However, DH is bound and determined to get off unemployment (more for the hassle of the program than any financial or other reason). We do have a lead on some online training that he seems to be interested in, and says if this government job comes through, he'll dedicate some serious time to the online classes and the certifications he'd need for another job.

Meanwhile, I'm falling off the spending freeze wagon. We are in the second quarter of the school year, which means the kids can wear uniform pants to school. I got the box of uniform clothes out of the closet, and didn't have any pants for my oldest daughter! Not sure how that happened! She made it through the prior two weeks with last year's pants (a little short...), and since I didn't find any pants on the clearance racks in the local stores, I went ahead and ordered a few pair online. ooh, that online shopping...sooooo easy....must stay away!!

Unemployment, month 1

Well, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that the financial belt tightening is going well. Pat's picking the kids up right after school, which means we don't have to pay for aftercare, and we have a little more time for homework and projects. Or cross country practice! I've also stayed away from Target (not getting the Sunday paper and all its ads helps, too!), and no one's short on clothes or shampoo. We did have a TP crisis last week while I was out of town, but we got through it.

Other good news: Pat did some research on the mortgage, and talked to the bank - we qualify for an emergency refinance program that doesn't require requalifying or reappraisal of the house. We'll have to pay a penalty on the amount in our home equity loan, which put me in freak out mode, until we got the dollar amount from the bank. Ended up not being to terrible - and certainly easier to manage than paying off the HEL in a lump sum. Sigh.

The bad news: Pat is having to attend meetings at the state unemployment office. Ooh, he's not a happy guy. The busy work and time sink is frustrating for him. In addition, the advice they're handing out is garbage - the counselor last week advised the group to apply at some of the areas larger employers, including the company that just laid Pat off! Clue-less!

So, Pat's even more motivated to get off the unemployment and back to a real job. My suspicion is that the 4th quarter hiring freeze has come early - businesses are not yet ready to "buy into the hype" that the recession is over. It may be lessening, but no one wants to risk it just yet.

So, we'll be continuing to buckle down for the long haul. I'd better stock up on TP. ;-)

It's Freezing In Here!

Well, we're on Week 2 here in Layoff Land. DH is still hitting the job sites and sending out resumes like crazy. No interviews as of yet. We should receive his first of two severance checks this week.

This impromptu diversion has meant a change in our spending habits. Right now, it's all about cutting out the little things: game and movie subscriptions, dinners and lunches out. We're also doing menu planning, eating from the freezer stash, shopping from a list. (And making excellent use of my new slow cooker!) I have found myself on somewhat of a spending freeze - keeping purchases to The Essentials, and staying away from Target. I can always find something to buy in Target, if not for me, then for the girls...

Now, I'm not sure how truly frozen my spending is - I still allow for a lunch or two out, McDonald's for the girls, and dinner with the grown ups. But, I feel like we're spending carefully, and keeping things in check. A little tightening of the belt, and hopefully, we'll come out of this quickly and only slightly scarred.

Coincidentally...

Oh, my, it's been a long time. I guess you can blame it on Facebook. Or just Life in General. ;-)

Today, I'm wondering about coincidences. The last few days have had some odd happenings that seem to be happening in an odd order.

Exhibit A: Friday. There are not normally a lot of people in my office, but Friday, vacations aligned and I was the only one there. I was pretty nose-to-the-grindstone until after lunch, then I got fidgety and decided to pack it in and head for home. As I left, I waited in the hall and watched the door to our suite close all the way. That's not part of my normal routine, but I remember waiting and watching the door.

This morning, the security guard from upstairs tells me that the cleaning people couldn't lock our office door Friday evening. They told the management company, who came in on Saturday and replaced the lock.

So, what made me pay attention to the door closing Friday night? General creeped-out-ed-ness at being the only one in the office? Extra feelings of responsibility? A keen interest in the half-full candy bowl?

Exhibit B: Saturday. Nice weekend, squirrely kids, we end up doing some painting projects in the garage. In order to have space for said painting projects, I need to back my car out into the driveway. Where it has remained until today, because the painting projects are in various stages of done-ness.

Exhibit B, Part 2: Monday. Work day. Crazy work day, I might add. And I've got enough to keep me busy for a few weeks, so I brought my work computer home, intending to play catch up this evening.

This evening, there's a large crack sound in the garage. Turns out, the spring on the door has broken. Ooh, not good. Pat tries to lift the garage door - can't. Ooh, really not good. But, again, in the whole "lucky coincidence" department, my car is parked in the driveway, and I have my work computer at home, so Pat can use my car while I work from home and wait for the people to come fix the garage door.

Did I know something in bringing my work computer home this evening? What about the car in the driveway? Does that have some special meaning? Or is it all just a series of lucky breaks? Yeah, lucky breaks. And not the bone kind!

Was That _My_ WalMart?

I'm home today, trying to reach a delicate balance in my packing. Enough stuff, but not too much. Fewer suitcases, but not too heavy. One of my secrets - vacuum bags! (Not the kind that go in your vacuum cleaner, but the kind that you seal and press out the air.)

I've used these for my work trips for several years. Especially in the days of carry-ons and inspections by hand, I liked having my dirty clothes somewhat contained. When my hair product packaging prevented me from carrying on my suitcase, I continued to use the vacuum bags, to better use the available space in my suitcase. Yes, things come out wrinkled, but part of my first-night-in-the-hotel ritual is to iron everything for the trip, so it works out.

So, in this week's pack-stravaganza, I ran out of vacuum bags. Not sure how that happened, as I've had occasion to pack for the whole family for a week-long trip before. But, I've also slept since then, so there's no telling if I bagged things differently, or found a new place to stash my bags (and then forgot about it). I also have one bag with a tear along the seam, so I justified it was time for some new bags. I've taken the day off from work, so I figured I could shop after I dropped the kids off at school.

Ok, it's confession time: I'm not a WalMart shopper. The cluttered aisles, the sheer volume of things available at the store, the nutty parking lot arrangement; I just don't like it. However, there are things I like to buy at WalMart: kids hangers, some crafty stuff, etc. I've discovered the only time I can tolerate WalMart is first thing in the morning, when no one's there. (And yes, it's a 24-hour store, but there's usually no one there until after 10 am.) So, on this morning, I stopped by WalMart in search of my vacuum bags.

I walked into the store and sensed something was up. There were more bodies in the store, but they were employees, or maybe even Managment or Corporate Management. The regular employees were very heads-down, getting their stuff done, but watching this cluster of men in button-down shirts out of the corners of their eyes. I rounded the corner toward the pharmacy section, and discovered a clean, wide expanse of linoleum...all the in-aisle displays were gone. Hey! Maybe these guys in the shirts should come by more often! But, I sensed flux, not total change. Sure, the aisles were clear, but I know WalMart...this is not a permanent change. The clutter will be back, urging me to pick up the value pack of two deodorants or hand lotion.

I tracked down my vacuum bags and browsed the store, looking for other items on my list. Sure enough, there were several wide open spaces around the store - all the aisles, but within some of the merchandise areas as well. Interesting...

(While I was checking out, the "remodel team" was paged over the intercom, which suggests to me that the clean aisles were truly temporary - just for the convenience of the remodel team.) Sigh.

Turns out, the vacuum bags I bought are too big. So, I'll be touring WalMart again this afternoon. I'd report on what has changed since this morning, but, as I'm not totally memorized the floor layout, I'm not sure I'll notice!

Having Cake and Eating It, Too!

Edited: The After Photo!

We're starting the week of birthday celebration at our house tomorrow. Since the family is flung far and wide, we usually end up celebrating birthdays once locally, and again with the out-of-towners. Sometimes the out-of-town party is closer in proximity to the actual birthday, other times it's delayed by several weeks. But, we always get a chance to party! ;-)

The first order of business for any birthday party is, of course, The Cake. I have been making and decorating birthday cakes around the house since the girls were new - I took the Wilton Cake Decorating class just to hone my skills. (Only got through Level 1. I am not certified for fondant, and just barely made it through Roses.) I have a toolbox full of cake tools - decorating tips, icing tints - and a nice stash of shaped pans - metal and silicone. And I'm not afraid to use 'em.

Some cakes have been awesome: the Homestar Runner series (The Cheat & Trogdor), The Monkey Cake (tweak the frosting with a fork to make it look like fur!), the flower cupcakes...Others have been less than stellar accomplishments: the Barney Cake that almost read "Happy #2!", last year's pink and brown bowling ball fiasco (first attempt with the spherical cake pan and an off-site party. Transportation fail!). Then, there's the year of the Mickey Cake and the Almost Ugly cupcakes (a legend among the Sisterly Drama stories around my sister's office - I blame my pregnant alter ego, Hormona.) But, this year's cake has great potential to be Really Good.

Kate chose the color scheme, based on a butterfly cake set in the Wilton cake book from a few years ago. The cake's from a box, but the icing is from scratch (buttercream: mmmmm!). The Wilton version is all fondant, but this cake is the first time I've successfully been able to use the "smooth the buttercream with wax paper" trick to make it look like fondant. And, the lettering around the edge of the cake (suggested by my husband) turned out straight (albeit a little slanted) and legible. Yay!

Tomorrow's the big fun - I will turn the icing bag over to the girls to handle the top of the cake. Come back and see the after photos. ;-)

The Quest for the DAR

A couple years ago, I was traveling to the east coast for work, and scheduled some time to visit my grandmother in Baltimore. I believe I was walking out the door to head to the airport when she mentioned the Daughters of the American Revolution group. She'd done the research, and we qualified as decendants of a Revolutionary War soldier. She didn't think she had time to join and "do all that paperwork," but it might be something I could do. Hmm...

This information hung out in the back of my mind for a few years. When my daughter was in 2nd grade, I helped chaperone a field trip with her class, and we visited an historic home in our area that is maintained by the DAR. That peaked my interest again, and I started conversation with the local DAR chapter to see what I had to do to join the group. (Maybe it includes initials I can include after my name. "Alison Caufield, 6th generation DAR" - probably won't get me any pull except with the second graders.)

Now, just browsing the "how to become a member" information on the web site is a bit daunting - they talk about proving the lineage, through birth, death and marriage certificates, tombstones, military documents. I imagined this process as embarking on something along the lines of the "National Treasure" movie - traveling far and wide to track down clues and pieces of the puzzle. But without having to break into the White House. ;-) Luckily, my grandmother has documented the family lineage, and I got my hands on it. So began the adventure.

Turns out, a lot of the "way historical" work has been done, and you don't have to re-do it for each applicant. The DAR has a list of eligible soldiers/service members, and when you apply, you can connect to lineage that someone else may have already done. So, most of what I have to do is track down certificates and documentation from my generation backwards. There's my project for the spring!

Turns out, I can also trace my ancestry back to the sister of George Rogers Clark. My husband would like to see if we can use this to our advantage, and possibly of "take over" some cities in our area that are named after him. We can all dream, right?

She's Gone Multi Syllabic!

I guess I first noticed Kim's new words while we were home with all the snow and ice. I don't remember the first multi-syllabic word she threw at me that week, but the second was this:

"Mom, you have had plenty of opportunities to finish the bedding for my baby doll. When will you have that done?"

Another example from tonight:

"Mom, I'm embarrassed that I don't know how to fix things." (Said during a fit of tears after we'd found some damaged baby doll furniture. Broken furniture is in the glue-drying stage as we speak, and should be good as new tomorrow.)

I'm sure she hears these words all the time, but it surprises me to hear her use them. Then again, she is a First Grader, and that, as we all know, is the Big Time.

So, where I once would have scrambled for a notebook or scrap of paper on which to write these little quotes (to save and embarrass her with later in life!), I now have The Blog, where I can keep these gems forever and always. Yay, Blog! ;-)

Movies I Will Watch on Cable a Thousand Times

Coming off a week of being house-bound due to snow and ice, I'm contemplating the various movies I've stumbled across on cable. No matter where they are in the storyline when I find them, I'll always stop and watch them through to the end.

Now, the interesting thing is that I didn't see most of these movies in the theatre or on DVD. So, I've never seen a version that's not been edited for time and content.

Sister Act, I and II - The big singing numbers at the end always get me.

Drumline - again, I think this one's all about the drum numbers.

Bring It On, Bring It On Again, and I think there's a third one - Dumb cheerleader drama. Yup, sign me up.

Shall We Dance, Save the Last Dance - One of these is the dance version of Drumline, and the other is Antonio Banderas giving dance lessons to high schoolers in detention. You'll understand why I can't distinguish them at the moment. (There's also a Richard Gere Learns To Dance movie. I'd put that one on the list if I could figure out the title. ;-)

Legally Blonde, Clueless - girl power!

Steel Magnolias - swoon

The Devil Wears Prada - this movie I actually saw on DVD first, but discovered in on cable a couple weekends ago. New to the rotation. Sweet!

School of Rock - "and the legend of the rent was way hard core!"

Bridget Jones Diary and its sequel - another swoon, because there's no way my husband would sit through this movie with me.

Air Force One - see, that's one that DH would join me to watch.

Any Tom Clancy movie (Clear and Present Danger, etc.) - mostly because of Harrison Ford, but there's the action-adventure aspect, too.

Stripes - talk about a blast from the past. This one's left over from my college days, I think, when cable was new and fresh, and the cable networks were desperate. Or, it could be Bill Murray's cadences. "Why did the chicken cross the road?"

I've still got two more days at home, and being that I'm feeling kinda puny, I see more channel surfing in my future. We'll see if I find anything to add to this list.

Snow! (well, ice, actually)

I was a bit sarcastic Monday night when I updated my status on Facebook. You'll forgive me, but the weather forecasters here go a little overboard. Turns out, they were more right than wrong -between late Monday and early Wednesday, we got snow, then ice, then more snow. It's not often that we get ice 'round these parts, but it is not something you want to mess with.

Tuesday, when the novelty of the snow day was still fresh, the girls and I did some shoveling on the driveway, and then ventured out to sled on the big hill behind Gramma and Grandpa's house.

Wednesday, after the ice arrived, we all hung out at the house, amusing ourselves with various electronics (WOW online for DH, Harry Potter audio book for the DD's, and work email for me). All was good until about 11:30, when we lost power. Yeeks! The girls got out the Crayola clay and made some sculputres, and after a couple hours we all bundled up and had naps. When the power came back on about 4, I discovered a) our neighbors had all taken advantage of not having any power, and spent the blackout shoveling their driveways, and b) our birch tree out front was laden with ice and doubled over. Sigh.

We made another valiant stab at shoveling the driveway, but about 1/3 of the way through the project, the ice got the best of me and my young assistant, and we headed back in.

Today, we are still snowed in and home from school. Work was piling up on both DH and myself, but, as his office is just around the corner, I got the short straw and had to stay home to work. Luckily, we have nieces not too far away, and willing in-laws who we called upon to host the kids for a bit. More playing in the snow, more hot chocolate, more vegging out with a blanket and a movie.

As for Friday, we already know school is cancelled (and Monday's forecast calls for more snow!). We're all a little stir crazy, but we have a birthday in the household this weekend, so we will hopefully find something wildly creative to keep us entertained.

Pro-duc-tive [pruh-duhk-tiv]

When I have a day off from work (as I did Monday, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day), I always feel like I should use it for something Productive - usually in terms of an around-the-house project. However, Real Life usually intervenes, and the day slithers away with very little actually accomplished.

Cases in point:

• Thanksgiving 2008 - two days off by myself. Aim was to head up to Ikea and buy a new kitchen table, and start work on painting the master bathroom. I think I poked at the existing wallpaper border in the bathroom, in an effort to determine how easily it would come off. Answer: Not so easily. Sigh. Two days of vegging resulted.
• Christmas 2008 - a week at home with the whole family. There were toys to sort, outgrown clothes to categorize, rooms to clean, laundry to do, and again, that painting job in the bathroom. We did get the toys sorted, but ended up watching movies and playing games instead of accomplishing anything on Mom's List. Not a total waste, but more of a seven-day version of our normal weekend.

So, when I got to last Friday, and the impending three-day weekend, I didn't make a list, I didn't stop by and pick out paint samples. I just went home. We vegged most of the weekend, but still managed to get laundry and dishes done. And Monday morning, I fixed breakfast and we did more vegging. It wasn't until late in the day that I was inspired to work on a project - doll bedding. Because every doll needs sheets and blankets and a pillow.

Somehow, without the stress of a pre-planned To Do List, I managed to be a bit productive on my day off. Though Monday only resulted in two doll mattresses and a sample blanket, I also figured out how to cut fabric into bias tape! And sew short pieces together into longer strips (as for blanket edging)! Because sewing for dolls is much less intimidating than sewing for The Real Thing (aka, a couch slipcover).

But I still have to tackle painting that bathroom. ;-)

Week in Review

Well, it's only Wednesday, so this must be a "first week of the new year" in review, not a Sunday-Saturday review. Yeah, let's go with that!

Started off the new year with our friends in Lanesville - drinks, dancing, even an after-midnight stop at Waffle House. We really forgot how old we all are! New Year's day included big naps for most of us!

Our winter break ended with a whimper - we did stop by Blockbuster and rented some games for the DS's - a try-before-you-buy thing. Reviews:

• Tinkerbell - cute, a little tough for the young one, but the older one took right to it. She is all about the Disney Fairies right now.


• Mario Party - again, my older daughter took right to it, and the younger one just got a chance to try it out today.


• NinjaTown - this one was Pat's choice, but I got the second crack at it and really like it. Even played it while waiting for a conference call to start while working from home the other day. Shh!

So far, our back to school for 2009 has been successful - report cards for the 2nd quarter come home on Friday, so we'll know more then.

Tuesday morning started bright and early for me (well, early, anyway) - I made it out to Jeffersonville to be a background performer for the Jazzercise promo spot on the local news show. I have it on DVR...some creativity will be required to get anything out of that format, so we'll see. I did review the footage and I look happily anonymous. And there's no footage of me trying to do push-ups. Hah!

Today's highlight - VINYL! I've been ordering vinyl printed skins for the DS's - so they may be easily distinguished among the cousins'/friends' units - and found offerings to cover laptops and Wii units as well. Lots of fun stuff, but nothing that really inspired me.

Ok, let's talk about this inspiration thing for a minute. You may or may not be familiar with my latest Dream Car - The Dodge Charger. This was further fostered when I was given a 2008 Ford Mustang as a rental car on two separate occasions this summer - the Mustang was fun, but I'm still a mom, and the Charger comes with four doors. Hee! Nevermind that I've not test driven or even sat in the Charger. It's all about the looks, baby. Anyway, some of the racier models come with - wait for it... - racing stripes! Probably not what I'd choose were I driving the thing in real life, but they look pretty cool out on the street. So, this became my inspiration for the laptop skin - just some racing stripes. That's not too racy. ;-)

Well, I didn't find anyone who made a full skin with racing stripes, but I found a supplier of vinyl online (similar to what you might use for vinyl lettering or vinyl decals made with a home die cut system). The vinyl came today, and while dinner was in the oven, I striped my laptop. Yes, this is the highlight of my week, and another case where my scrapbooking tools and research don't have anything to do with photos. Maybe that should be my 2009 Resolution - Use My Scrapbooking Tools for Scrapbooking! Not Just Collecting!

Now, I'm off to stripe my Wii. Happy New Year!