Did you accomplish anything today?

[boswife]

YES grammalady!! it does   

[jbeany]

  to Kitty Cat!

Yes, any effort made towards chores counts, GLady!

I'm only doing laundry right now because I blew an hour at the thrift store, and I want to wear my new cardigan tomorrow.  I am however, feeling very virtuous. 

One of my favorite clothing stores, Chicos, has a line called Travelers that is made out of seemingly indestructible never-wrinkle material.  I adore the clothes, and they usually have them in styles that flatter my shape.  They are usually dreadfully out of my budget though.  They may not be horribly expensive compared to a lot of designer clothes, but $80-$100 for a sweater just isn't possible for me right now.  I've gotten one of my friends addicted as well, and the last time she came to see me, we went to the mall specifically to go to the store.  (There aren't any by her.)  She bought a Travelers cardi in the latest color - a lovely purplish blue.  It's just come out recently, so none of it has made it to the clearance racks.  I left the store that day without buying a thing, in spite of being very tempted.

That same cardi is what I found at the thrift store today.  In perfect shape.  For $5.   

Sooo, to whoever didn't like her Christmas gift last month - thank you!

I also bought a hula hoop.  Well, in theory, it will help me stretch the scar tissue that is now my entire abdomen.  Maybe....I need to go try it out.

[Riki]

You'd need to get a Wizard of Oz tornado to move me.

Hmmm. Well, that sounds more economical than a transatlantic airline ticket.

 

[jbeany]

Discovered that the hula hoop doesn't bother my scar much.  Mostly because I have forgotten how to keep it up for more than a few spins!

[Riki]

Mom and I were invited for supper tonight with our neighbors across the street.  They are trying to meet more people in the neighborhood.  They've also been here longer than we have. *G*  They are a couple, and their little baby girl.  The husband is in a popular local band that will be touring soon.  He said something about going into the US in March, I think.  Had a great time just sitting and chatting in their wonderously warm living room.  They have a wood stove.. *G*

[Riki]

I paid mine and Mom's phone bill, paid on my 2 credit cards, and signed up for premium membership here.. all in the last 5 minutes, and all without getting out from under my covers.. *LOL*

[jbeany]

Did a half mile on the treadmill this morning.  Gotta start getting up when the alarm goes off, instead of hitting the snooze, so I can do a full mile without missing the bus.

Missed the bus anyhow.  It was running about 8 minutes early.  I saw it go by while I was about 30 seconds from the bus stop, but it was too foggy to flag it down.  Went home and cleaned the bathroom, and headed back to catch the next one, which came at the right time.

Volunteered at the clinic.  Did subpoena forms all day.  Whee fun.    

Paid bills by scheduling them online.  Flinched at my credit card bill.  Vowed to do better at sticking to my budget until I get a job. 

Sent out another job app, after much swearing at their on-line application software.  (After 3 tries to rearrange/delete/order my list of current and past employers, I gave up.  The current volunteer position is second, after the last one.  I have no idea why.)  The cover letter for this one will only need editing of addresses for the next one, since it's the same clerk job in a different district.  Tomorrow for that, because I'm sure it's an equally annoying online application.
 
Almost got my hula hoop to stay up.  I will figure this out.  How can something that came so easily at 8 be so frustrating now?

[jbeany]

Slept in.   
Three on line applications sent out, plus a resume sent to a temp agency. 
Going to a "Meet the Artist" gathering at a local Sculpture Garden tonight.  Still need to find out if my former-art-now-law-student is coming with me. 
Off to the treadmill now.

[cariad]

Yesterday I managed to keep calm as I walked a screaming four-year-old around town so that his mother could attend a job interview. Weirdly enough, I enjoyed it. Sometimes angry toddlers are the funniest thing in the world. And this one was enraged.

I emailed the visa consultant that I am going to hire. Just waiting on a response from him and we will get that started. I will be staying in SoCal for most of it, but I also need to go to Chicago and Gwyn has to visit Milwaukee. We will have no children for that portion of the trip. Perhaps we can plan to maffick with some IHD locals. I will post if it looks like our schedule will permit.

[Riki]

I, with a group of friends, joined a physical activity challenge through (I think) a government program called GoPEI.  The challenge is to increase the amount of minutes of physical activity per week, so for someone like me, who has barely any, this should be a cinch. *G*  I was already planning on starting aqua zumba in February, so that'll do great for the challenge.  I think there's prizes involved too, but I never really looked.

[jbeany]

Skipped the treadmill and re-mounted my hair dryer holder inside the bathroom cabinet.  I had it mounted with little screws because of the thin wood on the cabinet door.  It was coming loose, so I found another way to mount it with an extra piece of wood.

My law student couldn't make it - too much studying to catch up on.  (Another reason to never go to law school!)  I went to the Meet the Artist gallery opening and lecture by myself.  I arrived later than I planned, since the roads were like driving through a giant spilled Slurpee.  Made it just in time for the lecture. After the introduction of the head of Sculpture Acquisitions (who was supposed to introduce the artist) it became clear the big wig likes to hear himself talk too much.  By the time the artist took the stage, there was only 30 minutes for her to answer questions from the crowd before the gallery closed for the night.  I figured I could come back and see the sculptures later, though, so it was okay.

 Or not.
The first person asked her if she "planned the use of space around her sculptures."  Geez, might as well as a writer where the ideas come from.  She fumbled around, trying to explain for bit, before giving up on making it clear. 

Okay, next question.
 
"The guide said the bronze and iron sculptures are made with the lost wax method.  I don't understand what that means.  How is wax used and how is it lost?"
One of the large group of art students (who had driven over 3 hours to attend the opening with one of their professors) sitting in front of me hissed, "SERIOUSLY???"
I already knew why the wax needed a GPS, so while the artist launched into a long explanation of something the guy could have looked up on the internet, I snuck out of the lecture hall and went to the gallery.
Other than the security guard, I was the only one there for 20 minutes.  Ah, now that was lovely!

[Poppylicious]

I took delivery a Tesco shop, toned my body with 2000 sweatpoints on the Wii Dance 2, put on two lods of washing, emptied the dishwasher, hung some washing on the line, packed a bag for our night away, charged the battery for my camera, wrote an email to long-lost family in Canada, printed out a booking confirmation email, wrote five postcards, walked to the Post Office to post the five postcards, calling in at the library (got two books out) and the charity shop (bought a skirt) and stopped in at the chemists (for Blokey's prescription) on the way home. Also popped into the local cemetary to enjoy a few moments of reflection in the peace and quiet.  It was a walk of about a mile and a half.  It's now nearly one in the afternoon and my lunch, Glee and The New Normal are all calling me.

Time to relax!

 

[Riki]

Well, first day of my activity challenge was a flop.. I got 12 minutes of activity in today, and that was just going up and down stairs.. it was such a nice day today too.. most of the snow and ice is gone, though I am sure it will be back before April. *L*  I got dressed to go for a walk and the second I went to step outside, I got weak and felt like I was going to pass out, so I decided I'd better stay in...

My goal minutes for the week is 88, so 12 minutes for today kinda sucks.. might see if Mom can take me in to Walmart tomorrow after work to see if she can get me a wii game that does more than just make my arms sore.. *L*

[cariad]

Finished all the post-rugby laundry!

[Riki]

I got 65 minutes for my activity challenge yesterday, and 45 minutes of that was Aqua Zumba.  I had fun with that, but I couldn't keep up with the moves.  I ended up just dancing in the water to the music. *G* 

Aqua Zumba blew my weekly goal out of the water.. *LMAO*  I'm at least 50 minutes over my goal, and I still have to factor in today's minutes

[jbeany]

Way to go, Riki!

I completed some on-line skills tests for a temp agency, with a hope for a "law clerk" position they have open.  It cracks me up when businesses tack a fancy title on to a low-end job to make the low-end pay sound better, but I just need to get some practical paid experience, even if it's only temporary.  And hey, "law clerk" will look better on my resume than "under-paid paper shuffler."  I'm waiting for the temp agency to call me back now.

Otherwise, I don't think I'm even getting dressed in anything more ambitious than yoga pants today - and I have no intentions of doing any yoga beside the "Downward Facing Cat" pose I do whenever one of fur-babies rolls belly up on the floor in front of me, demanding attention.

[CebuShan]

I've been busy today catching up on everything I didn't get done yesterday!   
It was my husband's birthday yesterday so almost nothing got done.
Today, I've done laundry, made my bed (quite an accomplishment in itself considering I really wanted to just crawl back in!).
I had gone shopping last night so I got all of the meat wrapped and put in the freezer.
Most important of all, I took time to play with my four-legged children when they asked! 
Now I think I'll sit and watch a movie, any suggestions?   

[jbeany]

Something seasonal perhaps?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAiWLy6lxVU 

 

[cariad]

Put a 24-hour hold on tickets for our return to the US. Gwyn's company is paying for much of it, thankfully. We have to be in London for the boys' performance at the Royal Albert Hall the night before we leave, so we are just going to make a weekend of it. It will reduce stress to not have to ride a coach down to London with the rest of the school children and families. We are staying at a Premier Inn - I absolutely love this chain. So inexpensive and especially good for those horrifying 'night before an international flight' instances. Our 2 nights will cost us £78. Yes, in total.

Took care of some financial stuff today. Tomorrow we sign on a microscopic flat in catchment. I wish we did not have to do this, but crowding into this place for six months will get Dyl into an excellent and completely free school for 4 years. I reckon that's about a £50,000 savings when all is said and done. We have a one month overlap with this house, and then we will be in America for most of the second month, and then, all going well, we hope to buy a house well before the lease is out so we have time for a bit of renovation before moving in. Nothing seems to ever sort out easily for us, but I continue to hope that there will be a first time!

[jbeany]

cariad, just tell the boys it's like camping with better toilets.  Men love camping.

Got the call back from the temp agency, and I passed the assessment tests with a wide enough margin to make me a good candidate for the job.  I gave permission for them to call my references, and quickly fired off emails to all of them to give them a heads up.  The recruiter sounded quite enthusiastic, but then of course she is - she doesn't get paid until she fills the position....

I've also sent out two other job apps, and found a third I'm thinking about applying for.  I can tell I've gotten used to public transportation.  The job would involve a 30 minute commute, and I'm debating if I even want to apply, even though it looks really interesting.  Then I think of the decades I spent living so far north that I was 45 minutes away (in good weather!) from anything big enough to even have a grocery store, and over an hour away from my D center and doctors, and wonder why I'm hesitating.  How quickly I've forgotten what it's like to have a bus running a block away all day long!

[MaryD]

JB

Temp jobs were the best way back into the workforce after my child rearing days.  I had about 10 of them and all but one asked me to stay on.  It's a good way to suss out whether you like the company and the way it's run.  The last one I loved enough to stay on.  It hadn't looked too promising to start with - a great big greasy mechanical place which serviced trucks - but the boss often took us all out for Chinese banquets and gorgeous Japanese meals as a thank you for our work.  Lovely place to work for!

PS  The worst one was a semi-government job, where I finished my work by 10.30 and was expected to look busy for the rest of the day.  No tea, no coffee, no talking to other employees, no eye contact if you met someone else at the photocopier.

[cariad]

cariad, just tell the boys it's like camping with better toilets.  Men love camping.

I love this!!!

Today was beyond frustrating. I just want to go to bed (it's only just gone 9PM!) Gwyn was very ill last night - he every once in a while finds himself in excruciating abdominal pain and it has been suggested that he has gallstones, but since it goes away after a few hours and will not recur for months or years, he just won't take the time to follow up. So, he gets such an attack around midnight, and I stayed up until about 1:30 trying to help him, then I went to sleep because there was nothing I could do. The pain finally subsided around 3:30 and he came to bed, waking me up in the process. I tried to talk him into coming home early for a kip before our afternoon appointment with the estate agent, but he never, never, never takes this advice. I told him we have too much going on this weekend for him to be falling asleep, but he just wouldn't and then it ruins the whole weekend, and yes I'm complaining about how this will affect me and the kids more than him.

Meanwhile, I drop the kids off at school and have to attend this assembly because my boys are both doing a little bit for it. (Really, the entire school had a part to play in it.) It went on forever. My Aussie friend texted me during it asking if I wanted to go with her for a visit to the area where she is buying a house - very scenic part of England, but I knew that I did not have the time. I asked her if I could just have a rain check, she turns up at the school insisting I go with her. Meanwhile, I somehow lost my American friend in the crowd and she is texting me. Scottish friend is trying to coordinate getting coffee with me and the Aussie friend in another town. A new American introduces herself to me and as I am trying to follow her story, I am getting text after text after text from people all about this outing that I knew I shouldn't even be going on in the first place. I mention visa issues to the American friend - her husband is Irish and they came over from Ireland where they had been living for years. She had no problems in Ireland getting work visas and there was no penalty for her not arriving with one already in place. They ferried over here when they decided to move to our area and no one cared that she has no visa at all. I tried to tell her that she needs to be really careful because if she goes back to America and then tries to come here, they will nail her at Heathrow. She wants me to go to her Americans in England club because they know all about visas and she said "they will tell you everything". That's nice, really sweet offer, but if there is one thing I can take no more of, it is advice or further conflicting information about visas. I have to return to America anyhow, Gwyn's company is generously sharing much of the cost with us, we have been able to coordinate most of this - I just don't want to hear how I've done everything wrong - again. It seems to be all I ever hear in this country.

So, I go with my Aussie friend and knowing her, I told her I had to be back a good hour before I really had to be back. Consequently, I just barely made it back home by the actual deadline. I wound up accompanying her on a school tour in a remote village where they will be living. Got to see the inside of the house she bought, which was really cool, but the school part did nothing but convince me that I do not want my kids to go to a little village school. As I said to my friend (who is trying to convince me to move to this area, too) my kids are far too sarcastic and urbane for that atmosphere. I think I convinced her (maybe) to keep her younger child at the school where I hope to send Dyl.

So! I get back. American friend is sending me sad texts about how she wanted to go with us but did not get my messages in time. We sign on the microscopic flat. Go into town for a quick lunch (the only thing that worked out perfectly. We get there fifteen minutes before close and they have exactly 3 items left - 2 steak pasties and a roasted veg pasty. Simply delectable!) Then we go to the council to show them our new lease and all hell breaks loose. The woman tells us that our lease does not go through the start of the term, therefore we cannot use it for our new address. I tell her there was no mention of this on the site. She says she can get the guidelines for me, which she does and I read it and say that this is different to what I read on their site. Gwyn is about to get himself arrested he is so furious. I try to keep it light by saying I know what I read and have faith that everything will work out (I'm such a liar. I have zero faith that things will sort out for us anymore.) We have a mind-bogglingly illogical conversation with the council woman. She tells me that if I feel I've been misled by the site then they will investigate but that I'm the first person to state this (or similar). According to the guidelines she brought us, we don't need a minimum 6 month lease, we just need a lease that ends after the start of  the September term.

We had to leave to get Dyl to street dance, and we were quite late to that. I burst into tears in the car because I just cannot take the stress anymore. All the hours of conversations I've had with the council, being absolutely certain I am following all the rules, and then this. I am starting to doubt myself and that I didn't miss something huge on the site. We call the letting agent and she says she will call the landlord and see if we can extend the lease one month. A new lease will cost us £50. Shite. I give up. Eventually, the letting agent reaches the landlord, he says fine to a 7-month lease, we just need that signed and shown to the council by next Friday but I am terrified that they will find another reason to reject us. She kept saying how unfair it was that they've had to reject all of these other people at this top school, and all I could think was 'How is this my fault? If it's unfair, fix it, but don't penalize us for following your rules.'

So now we're facing an extra month in this place, but it should still get us where we want to go. It had better. I found the place on the site that says we need a 6-month lease, no mention of the start of the school term. Then I find another spot on a downloadable file from the site, exact same wording except the sentence about 6-month lease has been replaced with the lease needs to end after school starts, no minimum duration. We are taking the safe route and just accepting the extra cost and time, but I am so furious that I'd have to risk Dyl's school placement if I wanted to fight this.

That's been my day. Not sure the word 'accomplish' applies to a single moment of it.

[MaryD]

Achieved nothing much today.

For the last three weeks the handsome Ed has caught himself two or three mice from outside each week - surprising both Ed and me.  On Thursday he came crashing over the fence from next door with a rat in his mouth and parked it at the front door.  It wasn't in a good condition.  I went out with bare feet and a broom and disposed of it thoughtfully - much to Ed's disappointment.  Yesterday he came inside and settled down on the rug with a mouse between his paws.  I armed myself with the broom and tried to shepherd Ed and mouse back out the door.  Mouse managed to escape under the couch.  Yeek!  I have spent yesterday and most of today getting everything up off the floor.  The cats have been locked out of my bedroom and the PD storage bedroom.  Still no sign of mouse.  He was a little cutie and has probably died of shock, but I will be wearing shoes and be leaving the cats locked out of my bedroom for the next few days.

[jbeany]

You have my sympathies, Mary!

Crossed off my to-do list for today:
Hung up the wreaths I made as samples for my last craft class.
Fixed a loose door knob.
Inventoried everything, planned meals, and wrote a shopping list for food, household needs, and craft supplies, as well as planned out where I needed to go tomorrow to get the best deals with my available coupons. 
Did some online comparison shopping to see if the oscillating saw that is on sale locally with a sizable rebate will do the project I want it to do.  It will, so that got added to the shopping list.
Copied, organized, and printed all the ideas for the clay mosaics that I need for an upcoming craft class.
Researched places I can find an adult-sized, weighted hula hoop locally.  Added the most likely to the shopping trip plan for tomorrow.

Other than that, I've ignored the 10 other things on my to do list and read a book instead.

[MaryD]

Update re mouse -  While getting a new ball of wool from my basket,  I noticed between the basket and my foot sat the sweetest, cutest little mouse.  Without even thinking I stomped on it.  Now I've got the shakes.  Poor little mouse.  I'm off for a stiff drink in it's honour.