Whew!

I am so happy the weekend is over.  Have you ever had a weekend go so awfully wrong that you wonder what was the point of getting out of bed in the morning? For me, it happened this weekend. 

By now, everyone has heard of the crazy ants that are invading Texas.  My house has been overrun.  I'm not sure if this is the species that has invaded, but wanting to take no chances, I called an exterminator.  This is after spraying myself and not finding their point of entry.

I discovered one of my bathroom cleaner killed them on contact.  Extermination and housecleaning in one fell swoop...multitasking rocks!
Regrettably, my cat's food bowl did not survive the onslaught, so it was given a distinguished funeral; its final resting place, a ninety-six gallon trash can. 

I decided to dedicate Friday night to my latest Dragon Age 2 runthrough.  Unfortunately, gaming nirvana was unattainable to me, given that the monster crack that appeared in the bathroom linoleum had expanded to rival the San Andreas fault line. 

Damn! I pulled out my phone book and searched for a handyman.  I looked for licensed and bonded and in my area in the phone book.

Josh from Phoenix Renovations came to my rescue; we agreed on a price and he started work the next day.  He was incredibly efficient and he and his assistant cleaned up all the mess from their work.  They are grouting the floor today.

My next major issue was that the stove has been malfunctioning for a while.  Usually, resetting the circuit breaker and jiggling the cord works.  Not on Friday.  When I went to jiggle the cord, it shocked me.  I stopped shaking and went to the fuse box and cut the power to the range. 

Armed again with my phonebook, I called Mr. Electric.  The receptionist said having someone come out on an emergency call would be prohibitively expensive.  Enter Mike Harris, who called me and gave me his price and said he'd be at my house in an hour.  The guy is my hero.  Ten minutes after he got here, he found the problem: a loose wire connected to a stripped screw on the control panel of the stove. 

Later Friday night, T calls to inform me he had been pulled over for having a broken brake light.  My heart sank, as I wondered how much this repair was going to cost.  T said he checked the fuses and bulbs and couldn't figure out why the light was not working.

He told me his only options for repair are Pep Boys and Midas, both companies we have had bad experiences with in the past.  By this time, the potential cost has me panicked.

He said Pep Boys would charge us fifty dollars to start looking for the problem, but that they said that if it was electrical in nature, that charge could increase exponentially.

This is why I am so happy this weekend is behind me!

Electronic Books

I finshed reading my first Nook book earlier today. It was David Gaider's Dragon Age: The Calling. I have always been into books, and while I am enjoying my new Nook immensely,there is something about the smell of old books that I wish could somehow be part of this equation. The Nook has incredible potential,, however, especially for college students who could then go through school without ending up with a trunk full of books they don't intend to use again and may not be able to resell...I know I could certainly benefit from having less stuff around!In other news, last night's ratatouille was a resounding success with my oldest son. This comes as a complete shock to me because he is usually a horrifically picky eater and would rather be tortured than eat most vegetables. I did make some changes to the recipe I had, namely for the sake of experimentation. Where it said to add diced tomatoes, I used sun dried tomatoes, I used tomato paste instead of tomato sauce, and I used shiitake mushrooms instead of white ones. I was surprised by how hearty this dish was. I didn't realize an all vegetarian dish could be so satisfying.

Something New & Something Newer

Dinner is almost finished and I think the ratatouille came out great considering I have never made it before.  I also have lemon peppercorn chicken baking in the oven.  My Nook came today and is charging as we speak!

I cannot wait to give it a test run tonight.  I think I will also treat myself to a bubble bath.  I wonder what to read first...the possibilities are endless, but I am leaning towards a Dragon Age novel. 

I do miss T horribly though.  I can't wait to be with him again!

I am actually blogging from my Nook right now! I think it is too cool! It set up in a jiffy and I have downloaded my first book. Tonight I will curl up with a book for the first time in a long time.

Surviving

I haven't written in a long time because my mom has been in and out of hospitals for the past month and the experience has been incredibly stressful and draining. I finally caved in and bought myself a Nook. I bought it because I have come to the realization that I have way too many books, and because of me being a full-time college student, I hope to save money on my textbooks. In this economy, every little bit helps. My Nook arrives tomorrow. I can't wait. I fund a purple case, even though I wish it was a deep purple case instead of lavender, but if annoys me too much, I'll put stickers on it.

I think the first book I am going to buy for my Nook is a Dragon Age novel. I have decided I am making ratatouille tomorrow for dinner. Wish me luck, it's my first time making the dish. I like to try out new recipies when T is gone so I can see if it's worth making for him when he is here. I'll post pictures of it tomorrow.

BOHICA: Part Deux?

I have been stressing over the looming debt

Wine & Roses

The time of our joyous reunion is drawing to the inevitable conclusion.  I think I am doing okay at trying to hide my growing anxiety from T., but I don't know for sure.  I came close to losing it this morning.  I guess I was crying in my sleep without realizing it.

It's the part that I hate most about leave; it is the perfect amount of time to get used to having him around again, to get used to being his wife again.  I never stopped being his wife, but I missed the domestic rituals that made me so happy.  Like always trying to have our morning coffee together whenever possible...

I am so grateful that I have had this time with him and our kids, but at the same time, I can't help but be depressed.  I don't know when I will see him again.  I don't know when we will get to live as a family again. 

We still have no orders sending him back here.  This is the longest we have ever been apart.

Tonight, we are playing Marvel Alliance 2 with the boys.  I wish every day could be like this!

Dumb Conversation

I have been trying to introduce my kids to the Xmen series that T and I grew up with. One of my pet peeves has always been when people talk in movie theaters or when people talk when I am trying to watch something. That being said, it is almost the end of our block leave, and my mom has been encroaching on our family time by initiating pointless conversations when we are trying to watch things together. I just want some time alone wth my husband and my sons.

My mom and I have a very troubled history; she put me in foster care when I was fifteen, and she wanted nothing to do with me for three years. The only thing positive that happened to me during those years was that I met T. Now she acts like she wants to be my best friend, but she was not there when I needed her most. She lives with me now, and I take care of her because I believe there is a God that I will face someday to whom I must give an explanation for my actions and because it's the right thing to do. No one said right equals easy, but some days are harder than most.

It's hard when someone wants to pretend like your past never happened, like a simple apology has the power to reset all the hell you've experienced. For me, I fear it may be too little, too late.