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2013 this is your first warning!....
Jan. 4th, 2013 09:33 amNew Year's day I spent $996 on a new washer and dryer. It was money I didn't have but not something I wanted to be without. Thank you Sear's Visa. Now I just have to manage the extra payments. There is nothing quite like making just one mortgage payment before the appliances quit. However, since neither were stellar examples of efficiency, I am very pleased to have the new ones being delivered and installed tomorrow. Then I will have to do ten tons of laundry!
I also bought a cheap but nice looking bookshelf for my spare room. I didn't want particle board but that was all I could afford. So I went with the nicest looking one I could find under $100 at Walmart . Then used a Christmas gift card from Lukas and PJ (Jay and Candy) to purchase it. I put it together last night and it is very pretty. You'd be hard pressed to tell from looking at the front that it was particle board. It makes the antique desk look a little shabby but it is what it is.
That bedroom is almost ready for company, I just need to hook up the electric blanket, put the books on the shelf, add a lamp and an alarm clock, and wash the bedding. I can do that this weekend. I hope I can also hang the mirror- I just need to figure out where the hardware is. I'm still trying to figure out what artwork should go in there. I have one large piece hung but I'm debating the whimsical verses the natural art for the rest. I'm leaning towards the whimsical since it will make my guests smile.
The other item that I had to replace unexpectedly was my Danskos. Danskos are not cheap so I try to budget when I know I need to replace them. Unfortunately, I discovered while I was in CA, that the soles of both shoes were split in half all the way to the upper. Now, I didn't think they were that old but mom had a Dansko receipt from 18 months ago (doesn't indicate which pair of shoes, though). I wasn't sure this seemed like normal wear so I took them with me to the Walking Company. The woman there told me they were more than two years old and if I wore them every day that this was normal wear for that style of sole. (I disagreed with her assessment of the age but whatever) Needing black shoes, and having limitations for the styles that work for my feet, I asked to try on two styles, but she brought both to me in brown. I explained that I needed black shoes because my multi-color slippers were the only shoes I had. Her rather huffy reply was, "well, I can't sell you something I don't have. It's inventory time you know!" Okaaay then...I went to Burchs to look at their selection. The choices are rather limited. I ended up with a pair of the Kaya style that are very comfortable but, in my opinion, rather ugly. However, they don't rub across the bones of the first knuckle of my toes like this style does and although they have a minimal heel cup, they don't seem to require me to hold on tight with my toes, and thus, aggravating my tendonitis, like the Professional styles do. The added bonus is that they don't seem to have the tendency to let me fall off the heel (turn the ankle sideways). As long as I wear black socks it looks like I'm wearing Mary Janes. It was, however, not a pleasant shopping experience and I'm (still) very annoyed with the sales person at the Walking Company who really didn't seem to want my sale.
Yesterday, I had a lousy wake up. I was dreaming that I was watching my mom die slowly and painfully. And I was having to anticipate everything that she needed and everything that we would need when she was gone. And I couldn't be with her all the time because I was dealing with all the details. It makes me cry just to think about it and so I was teary off and on all day. It took me most of the day to get a little more settled. I had to talk to Mom several times during the day but it wasn't until 8:00 in the evening that we actually had a real conversation which helped me to let go of the dream (previous calls were mostly brief and logistical efforts to coordinate future events). I suspect that someday I will watch my mother die but, hopefully, not slowly and painfully. That awareness made the dream more poignant and all too real.
Today I am happy and bouncy. I suspect the Teavana Mate Chai tea has something to do with that, but I'm also determined to remember the joyful and pleasant things today. 2013...you are on notice! I will not allow you to be a horrible year. I will be focused on adding or remembering joy in my life! I know there will be ups and downs, and sometimes all the downs seem to attack at once, but I will not let negative things be my focus this year.
I also bought a cheap but nice looking bookshelf for my spare room. I didn't want particle board but that was all I could afford. So I went with the nicest looking one I could find under $100 at Walmart . Then used a Christmas gift card from Lukas and PJ (Jay and Candy) to purchase it. I put it together last night and it is very pretty. You'd be hard pressed to tell from looking at the front that it was particle board. It makes the antique desk look a little shabby but it is what it is.
That bedroom is almost ready for company, I just need to hook up the electric blanket, put the books on the shelf, add a lamp and an alarm clock, and wash the bedding. I can do that this weekend. I hope I can also hang the mirror- I just need to figure out where the hardware is. I'm still trying to figure out what artwork should go in there. I have one large piece hung but I'm debating the whimsical verses the natural art for the rest. I'm leaning towards the whimsical since it will make my guests smile.
The other item that I had to replace unexpectedly was my Danskos. Danskos are not cheap so I try to budget when I know I need to replace them. Unfortunately, I discovered while I was in CA, that the soles of both shoes were split in half all the way to the upper. Now, I didn't think they were that old but mom had a Dansko receipt from 18 months ago (doesn't indicate which pair of shoes, though). I wasn't sure this seemed like normal wear so I took them with me to the Walking Company. The woman there told me they were more than two years old and if I wore them every day that this was normal wear for that style of sole. (I disagreed with her assessment of the age but whatever) Needing black shoes, and having limitations for the styles that work for my feet, I asked to try on two styles, but she brought both to me in brown. I explained that I needed black shoes because my multi-color slippers were the only shoes I had. Her rather huffy reply was, "well, I can't sell you something I don't have. It's inventory time you know!" Okaaay then...I went to Burchs to look at their selection. The choices are rather limited. I ended up with a pair of the Kaya style that are very comfortable but, in my opinion, rather ugly. However, they don't rub across the bones of the first knuckle of my toes like this style does and although they have a minimal heel cup, they don't seem to require me to hold on tight with my toes, and thus, aggravating my tendonitis, like the Professional styles do. The added bonus is that they don't seem to have the tendency to let me fall off the heel (turn the ankle sideways). As long as I wear black socks it looks like I'm wearing Mary Janes. It was, however, not a pleasant shopping experience and I'm (still) very annoyed with the sales person at the Walking Company who really didn't seem to want my sale.
Yesterday, I had a lousy wake up. I was dreaming that I was watching my mom die slowly and painfully. And I was having to anticipate everything that she needed and everything that we would need when she was gone. And I couldn't be with her all the time because I was dealing with all the details. It makes me cry just to think about it and so I was teary off and on all day. It took me most of the day to get a little more settled. I had to talk to Mom several times during the day but it wasn't until 8:00 in the evening that we actually had a real conversation which helped me to let go of the dream (previous calls were mostly brief and logistical efforts to coordinate future events). I suspect that someday I will watch my mother die but, hopefully, not slowly and painfully. That awareness made the dream more poignant and all too real.
Today I am happy and bouncy. I suspect the Teavana Mate Chai tea has something to do with that, but I'm also determined to remember the joyful and pleasant things today. 2013...you are on notice! I will not allow you to be a horrible year. I will be focused on adding or remembering joy in my life! I know there will be ups and downs, and sometimes all the downs seem to attack at once, but I will not let negative things be my focus this year.
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