Category: LiveJournal

Lobster Night

Go figure – two days after the big snowstorm had crappier roads than the day after… So we had the day off yesterday. I had a nice relaxing day. Got some college work done. Finished a book. Plenty of quality kitty time. Etc.

Today’s been relaxing too. Been updating the tunes on my iPods (over 9000 mp3s going onto my iPod classic now). Balanced my checkbook & paid my mortgage bill online (for the first time – we’ll see how that works soon enough).

Tonight should be fun – it’s Lobster Night at the Weavers. Bunch of friends from work (both now and from the past) will be gathering to munch on lobster and (hopefully) lasagna. The lady who usually brings lasagna whenever there’s shellfish (she’s not partial to it) wasn’t sure at first if they could make it since her hubby’s suffered a bad back. But his love of lobster is such that he intends to go. Dad is glad, though he was more than willing to stop ’round their place on the way to pick up the lasagna if he had to. 🙂 Mom & I will be having lobster, of course.

In other news, I made a design with my calendar entries this month! It’s the Eiffel Tower! Or something. Good thing I don’t usually shoot for patterns in my posting. Still, it was fun this month.

Well, Linus is on my lap ready for some quality kitty time (which coincides with quality college time), so I’ll head off for now.

White stuff onna ground

Received the phone call about an hour ago – school is closed tomorrow (our last “calamity day” of the year – any more and we have to make them up in June). Ohio’s getting a pretty decent snow storm right now. I’ve heard as little as 3″ but as much as 10″. It’s nice to be all bundled & warm in my house. (Well, I’m not bundled at the moment, but I will be when I finish being on the PC and get to bed, heh.)

Today after work, I sent off my application for a grant for electronic balances for the school. Here’s hoping we get the grant!

Earlier tonight I finished my first quarter grading (finished chemistry exams) and posted the info to our online gradebook. So I’m set there. (Grades are due Thursday, regardless of what the weather brings us, but as I’m done, that deadline means NOTHING to me. Bwa ha ha ha!)

Since I’m done with grades and the grant application, I’ll work on college coursework tomorrow. And I think I’ll read some. Should be a nice day. (Here’s hoping the power stays on!)

In a lovely bit of irony, I’ve been watching Sahara with Michael Palin. It was a bit warmer there than it is here. 🙂

Ouch!

Yesterday I mailed off the credit card payment which included my last big semester at university. That took out nearly all of my savings, so this is as poor as I’ve been since, well, since I don’t remember when. (Probably since I used to travel to England every year or so. Amazing how much money I got into savings when I stopped flying there each summer. Heh.) But there are many good things in this too.

  • As I said, it was my last big payment. After this semester are 3 more semester hours which I’ll pay over 2 or 3 semesters. (And this semester I paid for 7 semester hours).

  • I have paid for my Masters program WITHOUT taking out a loan. I am very proud of myself for that.

  • When I called the folks to whimper (in a not very serious way) they invited me around for wine time and the watching of the Inauguration Parade. It was fun.

  • Yesterday amazon.com sent me $50 worth of gift certificates for paying for my college bill with my amazon.com credit card. 🙂 I only spent $5 over that to order lots of fun books. (And I’m only $400 away from another $25 gift cert.)

  • In my preliminary work on my taxes (still waiting on forms from lame-os Wooster and Ohio) it looks like I’ll be getting a refund again. Woot!

  • Heck, this summer I updated my bathroom big time which was a great use of money in savings.

So, although my savings account looks pretty pathetic right now, I’m very fortunate that I’ll be able to start saving again now that my Masters Program is finishing up. And next year, when I’m done with the program, I’ll move sideways on the pay scale at work and get a bit more money. (I’m envisioning a successful Masters Thesis. It’s the only way to envision it.) Yay!

Unexpected 5 Day Weekend

Last night before I got ready for bed, I got the phone call from school that we’d be closed again today. Oooh yes – with Monday a national holiday, that means we basically have a 5 day weekend.

It’s a bit frigid right now, but at least we’re into the positive °Fs for now. (Tomorrow will seem tropical with a high predicted around 24°F.) I think I need to come up with another layer for my feet – they’re freezing at the moment. Still, I’m one of the very lucky ones – I don’t have to go out in this and my house is very comfy.

Yesterday I had a nice day. I called dad up and invited him around for lunch. He said he’d call shortly before stopping around and then we’d walk to the post office. After he called & I bundled myself up, we did just that. When we returned to my place, I fixed us a lunch of pesto tortellini with salad and rosemary olive oil bread. Mmm, mmm, tasty. We watched an episode of Pole to Pole while we ate. It was quite pleasant.

Most of the rest of the day was spent playing City of Heroes and reading. I spent several hours in the library with kitties on my lap. I shall endeavor to do so again today. (One way to get my frozen toes thawed out again.)

Today I slept in til nearly 10am. I played CoH again until lunch and while I was watching more eps of Pole to Pole, the subscription finally lapsed. So I’m free from my addictions again – yay! (Well, apart from the DTs. But with college starting back up, I’ll soon be too busy to miss my games.)

Dad and I did go out again to the post office today. With 3+ layers on, it wasn’t too bad. But it sure was nice to get back into my house.

With no more MMORPGs to distract me, I’ll have to get going on my coursework this weekend. And maybe get some more reorganization & cleaning done. (The kitchen is now more organized to suit me. How many years have I lived here? Sheesh.)

Those you up here in the northern hemisphere, keep warm! (Those of you in the southern hemisphere, keep cool!)

I can sleep in tomorrow!

With 5+ inches of very blowy snow already on the ground and very low temps & windy weather promised for tomorrow, our superintendent (wisely, IMO) has already closed school for tomorrow. So yay, I can sleep in tomorrow!

Those of you (mom, this means you) having to go out in such weather, drive safe!

Snow – finally!

Although we’ve had some ice storms so far this winter, our snow has been relatively little. But today, we’re finally getting some of the white stuff. Although we had 2 hour delays yesterday and Monday, today school started on time. It was very cold, but the roads and sidewalks were pretty clear. It wasn’t snowing yet, either. Apparently already tired of the teachers and students asking if we were getting out early, the superintendent had made a sign and stuck it on his chest saying “2:36” and pointed to it when people would get ready to ask a question. (That’s the regular dismissal time for school.) He popped into my room and asked if anyone had any questions. And if so, the answer was… and he’d point to his sign. Heh. Poor guy.

Within an hour of school starting, however, the snow had begun. And continued. And every time administrators went by my classroom (which is right next to the superintendent’s office, so this happened often in a regular day) the kids would mutter and get all excited. When physics class started (my 4th period class) one of the girls assured us that we were getting out at 11:30am. Sure enough, a few minutes into 4th period, the principal got on the announcements and told us the same thing. Wow – never got out that early for an early dismissal. They canceled lunch as well.

Before 11:30 came, they dismissed the high school students who drive to school to let them get out of the parking lot before the buses and walkers headed out. Then at 11:28 the bell rang and students headed out. Once all of the kids were out, I walked home and enjoyed the lovely view. The kitties were nonplussed about my early arrival. And they’ve been loving the snow, especially if the birds get to flying about in the trees.

The snow is still falling and it’s pretty to look at. And I’m glad I don’t have to go anywhere. I wouldn’t want to have to drive in this. (Alas, mother works tomorrow. But of course there’d be subzero temps and lots of snow – I think the weather keeps trying to remind her that she’s retired.)

Already behind…

It’s only a week into 2009 and I’m already 4 weeks behind. Heh.

I had a WONDERFUL Christmas break, but I managed to put off a lot of things that needed doing, especially for school. And this week hasn’t been my most productive. Still, I got chemistry tests (from before break) graded today. I am going to force myself to refrain from gaming on Saturday until I finish grading the catapult papers (from WAY before break). I hope to get somewhat caught up in order to game all day Sunday (my last true gaming day until summer, I imagine). So wish me luck on being productive this Saturday. Heh.

In other news – have you ever stubbed your toe in bed? The other night I was putting my feet under the covers, but because they were slightly sweaty (even when my feet are cold they sweat) they stuck to the sheets and my toe got stubbed. I was amused, despite the discomfort. Heh.

Oh, and perhaps this weekend I’ll get my 2008 book results posted. I read 65 books in 2008 – here’s for even more in 2009!

Happy New Year!

Hooray for 2009! Hooray for year 38!

We had a lovely time at Aunt Becky’s tonight ringing in the new year. Originally we were going to have the NYE party at my place (just the folks, judiang, Becky & me), but Becky’s son asked if she’d babysit Braden, the first grader. So Becky suggested having it at her place and inviting her granddaughters along to keep Braden occupied. Taylor (who just turned 12) came for the party – her younger sister opted to party with her mom instead.

So Judi and I brought lots of Chinese food from Tokyo Peking (which took longer than anticipated, so I was over half an hour late to my own party) to start off the festivities. After we snarfed down a goodly portion of food (there’s still LOTS left over – yum!) we cleared the table. Dad & Braden watched some DVDs Braden had brought. Taylor watched Mama Mia for the umpteenth time. And mom, Judi, Becky & I played pinochle. My winning streak finally died, but man, mom got a DOUBLE RUN. That was beautiful. I took a photo. We also played a game of Fluxx, which Becky & Mom disliked. Ah well. Then another game of Pinochle. (Mom & Becky won it as well.)


Mom’s double run!

Since Taylor has just turned 12, we decided that it was time for her to do the same right of passage that all of the Lowry women have done throughout the ages – we taught her how to play Shanghai Rum. Heh. We didn’t get all the way through the game (only completed to a run of five and 2 sets of 3) but I won with Taylor coming second. Not bad for her first time. And yay me!

Dad got the drinks ready for all – sparkling grape juice for the kids & me, brut for the adults. Braden decided he was drunk after drinking two glasses of sparkling grape. Heh. We then toasted the new year at midnight. Woohoo!

Last night & this afternoon, Judi and I saw our last two theatrical movies for 2008 – The Tale of Despereaux and Seven Pounds. Despereaux was lovely – wonderful animation, delightful story. Seven Pounds was hellishly teary. We weren’t expecting that. It was good, but I’ll admit that I’ll be getting a DVD when Despereaux comes out, but not when Seven Pounds does.

Later today, after we sleep, I’ll be watching my parade. I love it that those wonderful people in Pasadena put a parade on for me every year. Love ya, Pasadena!

The Holidays have been GOOD to me

I’ve been busy. Mom noted that I hadn’t updated my LJ since Christmas Eve. So while judiang‘s taking a short nap (to get rid of a suspected MSG headache), I’ll see if I can get caught up on my shenanigans.

Christmas Day: Amy called me at 7:30am to inform me that everyone was sitting around drinking coffee, but nothing else was happening. They would continue to do so until I got there. So I got ready and headed next door. They gave me a cup of hot cocoa (yummy) and when I was done, we went into the living room to open our stockings. Santa really likes us – he brings us stockings even though Amy & I are in our 30s and Rachel will soon be joining us. Heh.

After we examined our stocking goodies (nice things like 1GB flash drives & bath salts & socks were in ’em) we had breakfast. Amy & Dad made eggs & sausage, mom had baked a sour dough coffee cake. Everything was yummy.

It was now time to open presents. I handed out presents one or two at a time to folks and we went in order of youngest to oldest. It took a couple of hours and once again, we won at Christmas. 🙂 I got lots of nice things – Treehouse, Fluxx & Monty Python Fluxx from the girls (all Looney Labs games and mucho fun). Shirts, a nice outfit, Logitech wireless mouse, new barcode reader (my old one went kaput), books, and other things from the parental units. I got the girls a record player that hooks to a computer for ripping albums into MP3s. Mom got a JBL external speaker system for her new iPod Nano (well, new for her – it’s the 2nd gen I gave her for her birthday a few weeks ago). It’s red like her Nano & her Shuffle. 🙂 Dad got some books he’d asked for and some toys which he hadn’t. Heh.

We eventually had Christmas dinner – chicken casserole, green beans, cottage cheese, cranberry sauce (from the can), etc. It was very yummy as usual. Later we had apple pie & ice cream for dessert. (It was a free apple pie from Market Day. I’ve been lucky – this is the second free pie I’ve gotten from ’em. And like the first one, it was wonderful.) Mom, the girls, and I played Monty Python Fluxx and enjoyed ourselves. Rachel won the first game and I won the second. We switched to pinochle with me & Amy as partners. We kicked butt. Twice. Heh.

There was a lovely sunset that day, so I tried to get some photos of it. I haven’t downloaded ’em yet to see how they turned out. If they turned out OK, I’ll post ’em later. We spent the end of the evening planning for the Anderson gathering the following day.

Boxing Day: The plan was that Rachel and I would go to Kroger in the morning to get a few key items. I was called in the morning to say that we needed to head out even earlier than planned. No problemo. I headed next door and daddy made me an Egg McMikey sammich to-go. I took the last of the apple juice with me as my to-go beverage and Rachel drove us to Kroger. We got a number of things required, but not everything. So I recommended the Dollar Tree (which I needed to go to) for some things and Meijer for the rest. The only thing we were unable to find was a “live” centerpiece that was on sale. (Everything else Christmassy was on sale – even at the Dollar Tree.)

We got the house ready & food prepared. In lieu of an expensive “live” centerpiece, I trimmed a few pieces of mom’s holly shrubs to serve as decoration. A few bright red ornaments were added, too. It was minimal, which made it look rather nice. I also had a few things I was preparing for the dinner. I molded my cheeseball onto my tree-shaped plate. Made some Reuben dip. Baked some corndog minis.

When 2pm arrived, we all sat in the living room awaiting family. And they began to pop in. Surprisingly, Uncle Doug was first. Eventually, all of the Andersons were present – for the first time in years. Even my second cousin Eric and his boy (Little Eric) came. Yay! It was lovely to see everyone. Food was consumed, presents were exchanged, Apples to Apples was played. We had a nice day.

Folks were gone by 6:30, which is when we all collapsed. Heh. We cleaned up the place and vegged for the rest of the evening. Mom & I discovered that the frozen fruit dish she made was very tasty when mixed with vodka and Sprite.

Saturday: We shopped on Saturday. After a lunch of leftovers, we headed to Piqua for the mall. There were some exchanges made and new things purchased. I got a couple of small cutting sheets (about the size of a half sheet of paper and nearly as thin) and some silicone egg poachers. We did a booze run on the way home, too. Needed more gin, apparently. Heh.

Sunday: Our main task was to play pinochle and get mom’s card quota back up. (Amy & I still won. Then later, Rachel & I won.) We also played a couple of rounds of Treehouse. That evening, we reconvened at my house for “dinner & a movie.” Although I had originally planned to cook something, that would have required me going somewhere, which precluded playing cards. So we wound up ordering pizza from the local. We started off by watching Amy’s photos from Guatemala. Our first attempt at hooking her laptop up to my TV didn’t work, but putting the photos on CD and playing ’em in my DVD player did work. They looked gorgeous on my TV. Our movie for the evening was Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Monday: Our last day with the girls. *sniff* We went to Tipp City for a day of shopping & eating. Actually, we started out by eating. We went to Harrisons, a nice restaurant in Tipp. I had their French onion soup and their chicken salad sandwich on sourdough. I also had an amaretto sour. Tasty tasty. We then visited nearly all of the antique stores in Tipp looking for a broach for Rachel’s new purse. (Long story – maybe I’ll tell it some day.) We wound up with 3 good choices for it. Mom bought one of ’em, while Rachel bought the others.

Monday evening was a time of card playing (mom & I won) and the girls’ packing. We finished up the day by sitting around and watching the Rachel Maddow show. Heh.

Today: This morning, I set my alarm to get next door before 7:30am. The girls wanted to get off by 8am – they did pretty well & were on the road by 8:15am. I then spent time straightening up my house since my brain has been AWOL and I had confused the 30th with Wednesday. I thought Judi was arriving Wednesday, the 30th. Well, the 30th – but that’s Tuesday. Heh. And then my brain went even more AWOL while I explained to the folks that I was head out around 1:30 to pick up Judi, whose flight gets in at 12:58pm. *sigh* Thankfully they corrected me.

In further brain-fartness, I got confused at the airport and went in the wrong lane, thus missing out on parking. I went through the gauntlet again and parked. Judi managed to find me, somehow. And thankfully her luggage arrived as well. (Yay- she’s moving again!) We headed to the Bookery so we could get our DWMs and then to Jeet India for our Indian Fud. Yum. On the way home, I stopped at Kroger for a few essentials. A call to the folks got a few essentials for them as well. I wound up calling Judi, who was resting in the car, because I’d left my bags in the car & wondered if she’d bring some to me. She did. Yay!

We’ve got no real concrete plans for the rest of today. We might go see a movie. We might stay in. Tomorrow we head to Aunt Becky’s for cards & Chinese Fud. *slaps forehead* I forgot to see what sort of sparkling wine dad wanted for the toast tomorrow night. Well, either tonight or tomorrow, Judi and I will be oot & aboot again, so we could get some then. Hooray for the Holidays!