Everyone I Ever Was and Everyone I Ever Will Be

Look at this neat feature on the Adagio Teas site! I'm so very tempted to create a blend for each one of my novels (Pale Moon would totally have the blood orange flavor in it somewhere. Because there are vampires. And because I am that much of a dork). Now to get past my newbie-ness so I have some idea of what teas would taste good together.

Found a little sandwich press for sale at a flea market for seven dollars. The kids really like s'mores sandwiches.

((later I will experiment with healthy food. But first I had to put a giant marshmallow in there))

Czech glass buttons.

I have no idea what craft-type thing to do with them yet, but I'm thinking maybe I should stock up about 15,000 of them for when I figure it out.

After yet another $100 monthly cell phone bill, we contacted our local cable company and found out that we could get a phone service through them, plus cable and internet, for cheaper than just internet + cell phone service. So we put in the call to cancel our cell phones, and we now have cable back for the first time in about 2-3 years.

Yay, Dirty Jobs. :-)

Right after we watched that, we took the channel listing and went through the add/delete feature, deleting any channels that were just dead air and all news stations.

In Kaylee stories, we were watching The Simpsons the other day (I'd only seen one or two episodes before this) and we got to one of their Halloween specials where they did a takeoff of Twilight Zone's Talky Tina episode using Krusty the clown as a psycho doll, and when he came to life and started talking Kaylee tensed and then buried her face in Chris's shoulder. We switched to a different episode. I will go ahead and take this as objective evidence that clowns and talking dolls are intrinsically creepy.

Went across the Royal Gorge bridge. Beautiful view, even though I was hyperventilating half the time (dumb fear of heights).

Got to talk with my cousin Jenny again! She is awesome, and I got her hooked on the Dresden Files. Yays.

Kaylee got to play with her cousin Brandon, who is so completely adorable I wanted to take him home.

Went up the cog railway to the top of Pike's Peak.

One of the favorite parts of the trip: going to the Aquarium.

One of the least favorite parts: having our car motor decide it hated us and was going to die. On the Interstate. We had to rent a U-Haul truck and car dolly to get the dumb thing home. There was $500 I wasn't expecting to spend. . .

Got home and found out the cats had acquired fleas in our absence. Cue me washing everything in the house.

Saw the Friday the 13th remake last night. Wasn't half bad. (of course, my love for Jared Padalecki could be influencing my opinion)

Off to write some story notes.

Devin's coming over and bringing the two seasons of Futurama he just bought so we can have a warped-cartoon marathon. Fear my exciting social life, people. ;-)

We finally got the problems we've been having with the bill collectors sorted out . . . apparently the hospital set up a minimum payment with the wrong one of our three accounts, and so we paid toward it instead of the one that was getting close to overdue? I don't know. Ever since Kaylee was born we've been getting bill after bill from the hospital or the doctor and I've just been sending $25 off every time we get one. I told Kaylee if she doesn't stop being so expensive I'm going to return her. She seemed so worried.

Payday is next week. *happydance* I'm thinking I might have to splurge on another character portrait.

There's a new Ewan McGregor movie, Cassandra's Dream, at our rental store. Mine.

Ashley and Amanda need to come visit. Hear that, guys? Get down here so we can watch movies and get sugar-high and terrify Chris. :-)

All for now.

You know those days, when you open something from the bank that you think is a statement and it turns out it's an overdraft notice? Which surprises you, because you clearly have written in your register that there's still about 180 dollars in the account. And then you hunt around and you find a little pile of other things from the bank that you got this weekend but since you were really busy you thought you'd get to them on Monday and then the cats dragged them under the table and you forgot? And all three of them are overdraft notices?

So you look through your checkbook register again, and this time you spot a 'whoops' to the tune of $100? And then you really look at the overdraft notices and one of them is for an almost-two hundred dollar check and it looks like it was bounced instead of paid, and you also owe the bank over a hundred dollars now on overdraft fees?

And then you sit down and curse at yourself because you feel so damn stupid that you're amazed you even manage an involuntary function like breathing?

Yeah, I'm having one of those days.

To make a long story very short, Chris and I are having some unexpected problems with the bank when it comes to refinancing the house we used to live in. The check has been delayed-- hopefully we'll get it this month, but we may not get it until March. Which means two more full house payments each month, not long after his paycheck went down due to me going onto his insurance.

We're going to use the house we used to live in as a rental, which will help with the finances, but before we can do that some things need to be fixed up. Where are we going to have to get the money to do that? The refinancing check. Yay.

And I just got the credit card statement and with publishing the book and having to buy the new computer both on there, just . . . nnnnnnnnn.

I tell myself that we're doing fine and if God forbid something really did go wrong, we have families who wouldn't let us starve on the street or anything, but I think it's the not-knowing that's getting to me right now.

It doesn't help that my stomach's felt weird all day-- just hollow, and I've eaten but that hasn't helped-- and I can't get my mind to focus on anything long enough to write. Or do anything else besides sit here uselessly and think of all the things I should be working on. My productivity level for the day = one load of laundry and an lj entry. Sad.

I think what's needed here is the movie Sabretooth. I can distract myself from the self-pitying limbo state by snickering at the special effects and staring at Josh Holloway. ;-)

That was so. much. fun.

I took about a roll and a half of pictures (will put some up once I get them developed), and bought a bunch of stuff-- some artwork, which I won't be scanning any of, 1) copyright stuff, and 2) some of them are Christmas presents (waves to Kath and Ashley ;-)); a candle purple-glitter rose for Mom; a dragon temporary tattoo for Devin; and a little pink dish and some worry-stones from a glassblower's shop. I also bought two lip balms (Cocoa Mint and Maple Nut) from a cute little store that was handing out cards with a URL on them ( www.myladyschamber.com ) which I haven't checked out yet but I will.

And I was looking at these really gorgeous hairpieces that were either gold or silver with beads woven in, but they started at 35 dollars and the really long ones went up to about 150, and I was like, "Pretty, really pretty, but nnnnn."

So we went to wander around shops some more, and then we went to a jousting match, and the benches were a bit narrow and a little too high off the ground, so Chris stood behind me, and a couple of minutes after we got there I felt him put something on my head as he said, 'happy birthday'. *G* It's a gold hairpiece with purple beads; pictures of that will *definitely* be posted soon.
He has to go to St. Paul today to help finish taking out some of the concrete porch in front of the house (or rather, the foundation) but he should be back tonight. And he made me breakfast before he left. :-)

Speaking of pictures--

This is what Kath ordered from Warsheep Productions and surprised me with today. It's of two of our characters, Trader and Ki'Rana-- more information will be up on my website soon; will post the link. :-) Thanks thanks and thanks again to her (and Debi and Mary).

((ETA: The scene has been put on this new page, here.))

I am going to be so hyper for the rest of the day now. lol

Well, the trip to Wichita was fun. And I got to freak out Ashley. Rolled down the window to the truck and said hi, and she goes, "Holy crap, you dyed your hair!!!" loudly enough to wake every neighbor within three miles. Heh.

(I am now blond, by the way. I hadn't done anything bizarre in a while, so it was time. I celebrated by singing part of "'Cause I'm a Blond" from Earth Girls are Easy in front of my parents. Bizarre quotient now fulfilled)

And yes, I will post pictures soon. :-)

I got some books in Wichita, a cool Celtic-frame mirror, and some seafoam candy. Yay for candy.

And yay for a new episode of Lost in two days!

Now, off to novel-edit...