I feel good!

Today was our first 70 degree day. I actually went to bed at a decent hour and woke up early enough to take a shower! And fix my hair! And put on makeup! And to top it all off--I actually put earrings in! Oh yeah, and the scent I'm wearing....Downy fabric Wrinkle Reducer. Awwww yeeah baby!

Window upgrades!

After attending a recent home and garden show, I got bit by the home renovation bug. I ended up getting half of the basement windows replaced. Half because that's what I thought I could afford now. I always liked glass block, but the ledge where the existing windows sit are way too narrow for the real thing. Then the home and garden show came along and I saw they have fake ones that are made of acrylic and are about an inch thick. That was all I needed to know! As you can see I had to dig away dirt from the existing ones so the new ones could be put in. For some reason back in time dirt was added to that side of the house. Now on the other side, the ground is at least six inches below the windows. So these that I had replaced I decided to just be fixed ones that can't be opened. Why would I want to open them if the dirt is just going to be pushed in when they are closed? And the non-existant one is actually lower than the sidewalk. See picture below! That was nothing more than a piece of styrofoam caulked on the inside and a piece of plywood wedged on the outside. Safe, eh? I was always a little on edge about that. Maybe the new window here is why I've be sleeping a little better. Anyway I'll wait to pay the balance on these (they didn't have the bill ready when they were installed) before I think of ordering the other windows that will open.

After! Don't worry, no spring flowers were harmed during this installation! 

Old, crappy, single-pane window 

Inside after shot of new window. Fake glass block! 

Before shot of non-existant window 

rental car upgrade

I took my car in Tuesday, and got a rental from Enterprise. You know, they pick you up. And when you drop the car off they take you to the body shop to get your car. Anyway it was only $2 more to get a large car, so they gave me an '04 Chevy Malibu. It was huge compared to what I'm used to driving. I practically had an anxiety attack putting it in reverse because I was afraid of hitting something. So I got the insurance that covers from a door ding to a total. Last year when I was riding around in one of their rental cars I didn't get the insurance and I was driving around with my butt clenched all the time. Last thing I needed was a door ding that I had to pay for. Anyway the car was nice and big, a lot bigger than previous models. It actually looks bigger than an Impala. And boy, did it have giddyap and go! I felt invincible on the highway. I had to watch myself because it was so easy to go fast. I was flying around everywhere. I was a nice car, but I'm glad to have my own back. With it I know it's limits.

St. Patty's Day celebrated with comedy

My friend Carrie got free tickets to the Funnybone and invited me to go with her and some friends last night. The headliner was Debi Gutierrez. She was in one of the first eBay commercials, she was the little woman who was at a computer, then somehow dancing on a flatbed truck, then whisked away on the back of a motorcycle. She was hilarious. Lots of straight-talk about the realities of being a mother, and how kids mind the dads more. None of that PC crap, she told is like it is about all the annoying things that kids do to piss you off, and stop having kids after the first one, and that by the time the 3rd kid comes around, it's like "whatever". And kids don't mess with dads. Dads can take showers till all the water runs out. Moms basically have less than two seconds before a kid comes barging in wanting something. It was terrific birth control for my friend Christy, who wanted nothing else but to crank out babies as soon as she was married. Then she went on her honeymoon to Disney World with all the kids screaming and running around. Then she went to lunch with Carrie and her child who was less than angelic in the least. And then there was last night. She likes her sleep! She likes to drink! She likes to shower! She figured she can put off babies for a few years. The funniest part what when the comedienne bargained with her husband. If he took the kids after 4:30, she'd do any freaky thing he wanted her to. The kids ate cereal in the boxes with the milk you pour in the side. She was able to have a real shower, and she heard her son come running down the hall to the bathroom and her husband clotheslined him right there in the hall. The kids were put to bed in their school uniforms with a pop-tart on their chests for breakfast the next morning. And the baby was put to bed without a bath. "You put the baby to bed without a bath?". Yeah, where's he got to go tomorrow morning?

more employment

I'm considering getting a second part-time job. All this thinking of taking a week-long vacation got me realizing we will have to do without a lot of things if we were to go now. Like heat. New windows that are much needed. We are pretty close to living hand to mouth as it is, and hubby does not seem to realize this. My full-time job is always on shakey ground the way it it is. I would like just a pad the bank account just a little so when my job ends (and it will end) that we will not lose everything in two billing cycles. At least I've been working long enough that I will qualify for unemployment. I would like a little peace of mind, that's all. I would like to buy beads and jewelry-making stuff without guilt! There's an opening at the ladie's gym I go to. Duties would include sitting at the desk and taking phone calls, cleaning the tanning beds, and taking money from people. It's not rocket science, but it's something. Hours are from 2pm to 8pm a couple nights a week. Maybe some Saturdays, but only until 1pm. I think the reason I'm considering working there is that the hours fit with my regular work schedule. And the people are friendly! It always seems easier to find a job when you have a job, and the gym is a great networking place in case my regular job one day disappears.

Living in Michigan is hard to do

Usually this time of year in Michigan there is some signs that it's going to warm up, like, actually warming up. But it isn't. Even if you didn't stick your head outside, you still can tell. Every time I answer the phone I'm slathered in obscenities about the cold. Usually I take it in stride, in one ear and out the other, but lately all I can think of is getting out of here. I've been staring at The Weather Channel online and looking at the temperature map. 20's-30's here, 75-80 in Florida. I've been daydreaming about a place my parents took my sister and I in 6th grade. It was a time-share that one of my dad's co-workers owned in Crystal Beach, Florida. It was right on the water, and you could see the tide come in and go out. That was something I always read about, but never seen it firsthand! At night the place was covered in little frogs. The clubhouse had a pool and hot tub. Employees would take us out on a pontoon boat ride to an "island", I think it was more like a sandbar, and leave us there for an hour to pick up shells. That's all I want right now, to leave the cold and go pick up shells and rocks for a week. I somehow remembered the place and looked it up online. They have nightly rates too!!! Minimum of three nights of course, but this means my daydreaming could become a reality! I'm so excited. It's something concrete to daydream about. Gotta start saving money. It's a bit pricey compared to a hotel, but it's all part of the experience. You are in a real house instead of a small room along a long hallway. You don't hear the neighbors. It's a little big for two people, but I don't know anyone I can stand other than my husband for a few days. It's got a master bedroom with it's own bathroom, a bedroom with two twin beds, and another bedroom with bunk beds, and another bathroom with a shower. There's also a "thin-twin" washer and dryer, and I believe a full kitchen. I don't remember the kitchen too much, we ate out most of the time. If we don't go this year, I hope we go next year. I've only been thinking about it since 6th grade.

See how the rest of the country is doing weather-wise:
http://www.weather.com

See where I want to be:
http://www.sutherlandcrossing.com

Hematite and magnetite again! 

green beads again 

Our Patron Saint Belushi who watches over us. 

Something sprouting... 

Signs of life after winter! 

I think pink is his color! 

...and green beads...

...and blue beads... 

Sharkie models hematite and magnetite beads.

Snow, snow, go away

We got walloped on Tuesday. Blowing snow with drifts and all the fun that comes with it. It has warmed up today and yesterday, but I was told another one of these storms were coming again. The furnace never shuts off when the wind blows like that. I'm tired of wearing socks to bed. I'm tired of my head feeling frostbit if I walk around the house with wet hair. I'm tired of wearing layers. I'm tired of the floormats in my car looking like shit. I'm tired of looking like an eskimo and wearing that blasted bulky coat.

Top Ramen Salad Royale Recipe

You can find this recipe at http://www.nissinfoods.com/recip.htm.

This is a good pasta salad, kinda sweet, kinda tangy, and a little crunch provided by the cabbage, almonds, and sunflower seeds.

Do not, I repeat, do not try any of the "uncooked" Ramen salads. They always note that it's a crunchy salad. Bullshit. Inedible is more like it. The uncooked noodle salads are like eating glass.


Top Ramen Salad Royale
from Caroline Godin
Toronto Canada

Cook Ramen noodles according to package, but do not add seasoning packet. Drain noodles. Place noodles in a large salad bowl. Add cabbage, onions, sesame seeds, orange slices, and sunflower seeds and toss. In a mixing cup add sugar, oil, mustard powder, salt, pepper, lime juice, and one Ramen seasoning packet. Mix well and add to noodle mixture. Just before serving, sprinkle with nuts and cheese.

Ingredients:
2 packages Ramen noodles
2 cups red or green cabbage, shredded (the bagged pre-shredded stuff works great!)
1 cup carrots, shredded (same here!)
4 green onions, chopped (don't skimp on these, they provide a lot of the flavor)
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds
1/2 cup mandarin orange slices (canned) (go ahead and use the whole can!)
2 Tbsp. unsalted sunflower seeds, shelled (salted is fine too, you are adding salt anyway)
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup light vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. mustard powder
salt and pepper to taste
Juice from 1 fresh lime (Jen used 1/4 cup lime juice from one of those lime-shaped bottles)
1 Ramen seasoning packet
1/2 cups almonds or pine nuts, slivered
1/2 cup provolone cheese, grated

Serves 4.