November 2008 Archives

you'd think i'd know better by now. time and time again, i'm given examples that my life follows this simple formula:

1. think something good.
2. something bad happens.

case in point:

1. think "hey, my car is running really well!"
2. that very same night, find huge puddle of water in backseat.

shiny newest example:

1. think "hey, i can hyper-extend my knee again! maybe i'll try going back to the gym."
2. that very same night, re-bork knee by crawling into bed and spend the next week hobbling.

at least my knee will be nice and unhappy for my MRI on tuesday. if that's an upside.

beyond all the xmas presents, i've got a few significant birthdays in december/early january. then there's all the socializing. to date, i've got two potlucks i need to prepare dishes for, one work lunch and the vandigicam photo swap. in addition, there will be at least three more work lunches, a possible third potluck and my dad's 75th birthday dinner.

i just roughed out a quick list of approximate costs and we're looking at well over $200! not including the presents i've already purchased and craft supplies i have yet to buy or expenses traveling to/from the island. when your budget runs as tight as mine, $200 is a lot of money.

no wonder i had an anxiety attack yesterday.

i'm not really complaining, either. i don't begrudge the additional costs related to the season; but, i think having all these expenses lumped together during one month of the year is annoying. i'm just lucky and grateful that i can afford to do an all-cash christmas and not have to borrow money to pay for any of it. there's a lot of people out there who don't have the luxury of saying the same, especially with the way things are in the world today.

i can only hope that once i get stuff photographed and up on my etsy store, i'll be selling like crazy and not worrying about where i can cut costs to pay for all the winter wonder.

see? i'm still an optimist at heart!

today, on my 11th work birthday, i discovered twitter is now blocked by the firewall from hell.

what does that mean for you? more posts here, probably.

what does that mean for me? an even bigger sense of disconnect from my online life and friendships. and sadness.

i'm now officially cut off from anything online which even remotely resembles conversation. for someone who has some major relationships with friends who don't live in the same time zone, this is a mighty blow. hell, it's not even good when you're just nosy about local acquaintances' social media expressions. it'll even be more difficult to learn about such things as method products or where to get breakfast!

in other news, i got an order for a dozen teddy bear thank you cards from a co-worker who is about to have her first child. she's planning on using them when the baby comes as "very unique thank you cards" (her words, not mine). i was pretty thrilled. luckily for me, michael's has a week's worth of 50% off coupons so i can stock up on supplies. i burned through my stash making cards for the craft fair (three sold and i took two to give to christopher's sister & brother-in-law), so i was unprepared for a bulk order.

making crafty things is addictive and expensive. i need to sell one more magnet set and i'll break even, but still... huh. i just got an order for a pair of booties from another co-worker. maybe i'll break even after all!

oh, right. i do still have a website. sorry about that. what with having no access when i'm most often found at a computer and with twitter being so darn easy to pop my thoughts out when they come... excuses, excuses. i'm a poor blogger, i know. actually, it seems to be a theme lately. most of my favourite bloggers have been really quiet lately. maybe the bloom is finally off the rose...

regardless, hi! what's up?

this past week i've been the crazy crafter. one of my co-workers mentioned she was to have a table at a local craft fair this weekend and, without even thinking about it, i asked if i could put some stuff on it for her to sell. so, i've been making booties, photo cards and magnets, magnets and more magnets. it's been fun! i think it's the season for closeting yourself in your house and making things.

otherwise, i re-borked my knee a couple of weeks ago, so was limping and sad for two weeks. i rediscovered my love of breakfast dining. i've almost finished my xmas shopping. i've had far, far too many work dreams. i need a haircut. my boyfriend bought himself a 24" iMac and i'm so jealous.

big news: i'm finally booked for my MRI at st. paul's hospital on the 2nd. i'm ridiculously excited to start the process of (hopefully) getting my knee fixed. seriously, you couldn't wipe the smile off my face the day i got the news.

car update: after $600 and four trips to the spa, i think the intermittent and troubling power problems have been fixed. first, they replaced the oxygen sensor (to fix the sputtering), then they replaced the coolant temperature sensor (to fix the crazy starting problem). it's been running really well the last two weeks, so of course that's when i discovered there's a leak somewhere.

christopher and i stopped at the grocery store to pick up dinner fixings last night on the way home from work. when i asked him to reach into the back, behind my seat, to grab my re-useable shopping bags (see? i'm eco-friendly!), he pulled them out he said they were wet and asked if i'd put an umbrella back there. i then reached behind me and felt the floor mat -- and it was soaking wet.

it's probably been there forever, so i can't panic about it. hell, i can't even let myself think about it or i'll just get disheartened. i was starting to feel so good about the car and my bank accounts and knee situation... something had to go wrong, right? i will mention it to the spa guy when i go back to give him an update on the fixes. maybe he'll have a cheap and easy idea. cross your fingers!

so, yeah. i'm really boring, which is probably the main reason it's been so quiet around here.

how've you been? tell me everything!