Better, but not 100%

Last night I thought I could handle soup for dinner.  I was wrong.  It came up around 7:30 last night.  I finally had some sprite, a peanut butter cracker and more tylenol and was out around 8:30.  I slept most of the night.  I was awake around 5:00 and decided I didn’t feel as bad as I had the night before so I might be able to go into work.  I had a slight fever this morning, but no nausea so I decided to go to school.  I felt a little tired and weak, but made it through the day.  I had soup for lunch (and kept it down) and sipped on something to drink all day.  I felt rather famished by the time I left school so I went to Sonic and got a burger and tots.  I didn’t have a problem eating those.  I just got back from band rehearsal and that wore me out.  My abdomen feels sore from playing and probably the stress of vomiting over the weekend.  Now I’m in bed planning to call it a rather early night.  Sure, there’s school stuff I could be doing, but it’s just not going to get done. 

Tomorrow I have training on some new video equipment that the school has.  So I had to get more sub plans ready which is always a pain.  I’m also going to be gone on Wednesday as I’m judging a speech tournament in a small local town that is about an hour and a half away.  But I’ll get paid $35 a round and get paid for my mileage.  I have to get caught up grading at some point since it is the end of the six weeks on Friday.  I need to spend some time this week working my lesson for my interview on Friday.  I also need to figure out what to get Matthew for his birthday which is on Sunday.  Any ideas?  He loves sports – mostly college sports – especially hockey.  He enjoys music and the arts as well.  I’m taking him to the annual showcase of music on Friday and probably dinner, but I want to get him some kind of gift.  I have an idea for something but not sure if I’ll be able to find it. 

Well, this bed is comfortable and I’m ready to turn off the light and call it a night.

Not going to get anything done today…

…because I’m sick in bed at the moment.  Yesterday I cleaned much of the garage in anticipation of the new washer and dryer.  They were delivered and set up by 3:30 and I haven’t even gotten to use them.  After delivery, I had to take a shower and get ready to play at church.  I went to the 5:00 mass.  After that I had to come home and get my cell phone.  I called in an order to Olive Garden to pick up dinner for Matthew.  I went to his apartment and we had dinner together and watched a movie.  After that he was really tired from the medication he his taking so I tucked him in bed and came home.  I was in bed around 10:30 but then had a horrible night.  I woke up feeling sick around 4:00 a.m.  I threw up my dinner around 4:45 and again at 6:30.  I couldn’t get back to sleep.  I also had some diarrhea as well.  I took my temperature around 6:30 and it was normal.  I took it again at 9:30 and I had a fever.  I took some tylenol in hopes that I could keep it down.  I was finally able to get a little rest after that.  Hopefully the vomiting has passed, but still have the diarrhea and some fever and just feel icky.  I hope this passes soon.

In other news, I am supposed to prepare a brief presentation for my interview on Friday so the committee can see my teaching style.  I’m working on some ideas for it, and planned to do some of that today, but I think I’m just going to be staying in bed and trying to drink lots of fluids.  I also have a headache right now.  Guess I’m not going to be getting much done today.

I passed!

I got the news that I passed my capstone exam today.  Very happy and excited about that.  That means I will definitely be able to graduate in May.  So now I need to make plans for hotel and travel and such. 

I was at the UIL district tournament today.  We had some good successes but also quite a few disappointments.  For the first time in many, many years, the speech team did not win the district trophy – they actually placed 4th.  But a nice surprise is that we had a student that placed first in feature writing.  Our history team which is the reigning state champion took 1st through 4th place.  So I’ll be taking a group of about 8 students and 4 sponsors to district. 

Matthew went to the emergency room today to have tests done to see what is causing the pain since it hasn’t gone away.  He didn’t get any definitive results other than they can’t blame it kidney stones or constipation.  They think he is just having muscle spasms caused from moving and lifting stuff.  They gave him a shot of pain medicine so I had to go pick him up – officially.  I picked him up in front of the ER, then drove him to his car and he drove home which was only about 3 minutes from the hospital.  I then went and got his prescriptions for him and some ice packs.  The medicine and ice was helping today but he has not recovered yet.  I’m going to go over tomorrow to bring him food and we will just hang out and watch a movie or something. 

My new washer and dryer will be delivered tomorrow between 1:45 and 3:45 p.m.  That means I can sleep in tomorrow before I have to clear things out of the garage.  I did get the corner painted and it looks really nice.  Now I really want to get the rest of it painted. I think I’m going to go read a little bit and then call it a night.

A pleasant surprise

Today was a typical day at school.  It started out frustrating since I still couldn’t login to the server.  Luckily they reset it and I was able to access my files most of the day – until I lost some work at the very end of the day.  At lunch time I checked my home email and had one from the local college where I had applied for a library position.  When I first opened it, I thought it was a thanks, but the position has been filled or you don’t meet our qualifications letter, but to my surprise, they want me to come in for an interview!  I will be interviewing next Friday at 4:30 p.m.  Prayers would certainly be appreciated!  I spoke to a lady this evening who gave me more details about the position and the interview process.  So that made my day today. 

I worked out my printing issues and was able to get everything ready for the district tournament tomorrow.  I stayed after school until a little after 5:00 getting my sub plans ready.  I tried to rest when I got home but still couldn’t sleep.  I got up and saw that Matthew had called so I called him back.  He’s starting to feel better, but is not at 100%.  If he does feel better by this weekend, we’ll try to get together.  After I talked to him I started painting the garage.  I just finished about 20 minutes ago – but I also talked to the lady from the library for about 20 minutes as well.  I only painted the corner where the washer and dryer are, but that will make it easier when I finish the work. 

Now I’m going to go to bed a read until I get sleepy.  I’m still have sleep issues.  I feel asleep with no problem last night, but then was awake a little before 4:00 a.m. and didn’t go back to sleep.  I took 1/2 an ambien tonight and will see if it works.  I need my rest since it will be a busy day tomorrow. 

No date tonight

Matthew is having some medical issues.  It was so bad yesterday that he went to the urgent care center which is saying something for him.  He has had terrible back pain that shifts to other parts like his legs and ankles.  It’s not a muscle thing and the doctor thinks its either kidney stones or severe constipation.  He’s waiting it out until Friday.  If it doesn’t get better he’ll go have tests done on Friday.  I took him dinner tonight and checked his mail for him.  He was pretty miserable and couldn’t get comfortable.  I brought him cranberry juice and milk of magnesia.  He didn’t even want to get up and eat.  I put his food in the microwave and hope he’ll feel up to eating later. 

Today was a frustrating day at school with all the technology issues we are having.  I haven’t been able to print for three days.  Now I can’t login and access a bunch of my files that I’ve needed.  I had to revamp my plans for English class about 5 minutes before class started.  Tomorrow I’ve got to get everything ready for our UIL contest on Friday.  I also have to figure my sub plans for Friday. 

I was planning on painting tonight but I think I’ll do that tomorrow.  I didn’t get back home until 7:00 after going to Matthew’s.  I had my dinner and some wine and now I’m watching idol.  After it is over, I’m going to read and go to bed early.  I slept better last night but I was still tired.  Perhaps I’m still not used to the time change.

Exhaustion

I didn’t sleep much last night.  Not sure why because I was definitely tired.  When I got home today, I just wanted to take a nap so I got in bed for a bit, but still couldn’t sleep.  I stopped fighting it and got up and made some chicken fingers and fries for dinner. 

I have lots of school work that I need to do, but I also need to get stuff done in the garage.  I think that I’m not going to sing in the Easter choir at church this year.  At first I thought we were going to sing at the Easter Vigil service which is what I usually go to, but now it’s scheduled for the 8:30 service.  If I go to the Easter Vigil service that will last until midnight, I’m not going to want to get up early to the next morning.  I will also be leaving to go to Waco that day so I will need to get rest.  I think now that I’ve made that decision, I have a sense of relief.  One less thing to deal with. 

I asked my principal today if my English students could bring mp3 players to use for a project that I’m doing with poetry.  I found a lesson on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website that incorporates a thematic link from modern music to British poetry.  I think it is a creative idea so I’m modifying it.  I thought that trying to just teach poetry would be difficult because they would have no interest, but relating it to their own music that they enjoy could make it more relevant and interesting to them.  But my principal said no to the players.  It is a campus rule that they aren’t allowed to bring them on campus so an exception cannot be made for my class – despite the fact that we are encouraged to use technology and be creative with our lessons.  So now I’ve asked him to at least allow headphones and they can bring CDs.  I’m also going to allow them to watch videos and such – even though it will bog down the network. 

I got my letter of recommendation from my assistant principal so I’m going to try to get my application in to the university tonight before I go to bed.  I guess if I’m going to get that done, I need to get started in the garage.

Back to Work

Well, it could have been worse I guess.  Of course I had to deal with computer issues – again.  It seems that it would have been a good idea to fix a bunch of the computer things over the break instead of doing them the Monday we get back and wreaking havoc on everything.  Today I couldn’t print.  Anywhere.  It was very frustrating since I needed to print things for my classes.  I needed to send out letters regarding our upcoming UIL contest.  I finally was able print a few things in another teacher’s classroom.  But I had to revamp my teaching plans and then revamp them again.  I thought I would do my appreciative listening exercise in speech class today, but then iTunes wouldn’t work either.  I couldn’t burn a CD to play in a CD player so I had to shift gears again and go with something else.  But I managed to get through and just deal as always. 

I asked one of the assistant principals to write me a letter of recommendation so that I can apply for a job at a university.  Tomorrow I need to focus on writing my cover letter and explaining my qualifications. 

After school I went to Lowes to get paint for the garage.  I chose a pretty shade of gray.  Not dark industrial gray but one that has a lighter and kind of blue-ish tint.  Tomorrow I have to clean the walls and patch the corner and get started painting.  I have a tentative date reschedule with Matthew for Wednesday so I need to get it done tomorrow. 

I had band rehearsal tonight and I realize that I really need to practice my music.  I will plan to do that on Sunday.  The busy-ness is back in full swing.  Tomorrow - cleaning/painting garage.  Wednesday – kissing date.  Thursday – Choir rehearsal.  Friday – UIL contest.  Saturday – Washer/Dryer delivery.  Sunday – Church, clarinet practice, church group meeting.  Then start over another week.  But only about 10 more weeks of school.  Thank goodness.

Don’t want to go back to work

While it is nice to have a spring break, it is going to be really difficult to go back to work tomorrow.  My spirit is down from the whole library thing so my heart just isn’t in teaching right now.  Perhaps I just have spring fever worse than my students.  I probably should have done some school work over the break, but just couldn’t bring myself to do anything.  But I was productive this weekend.  My bedroom is clean.  Sheets and bedding washed, floors vacuumed, clothes washed and put away.  I still need to clean my bathroom.  I’m trying to use up the rest of my laundry detergent that I have since I can’t use it in my new machine.  I’ll have to use the HE (High Efficiency) kind of detergent.  If I don’t, it will void the warranty on my machine.  I tried to find paint for my garage today, but couldn’t decide on it.  I did get stuff to clean the walls so I’ll vacuum the cobwebs, fill in some cracks, and clean the walls tonight and then get paint sometime this week. 

Matthew is still under the weather.  He can’t each much without feeling sick.  I hope he gets better soon.  He starts his new job tomorrow.  This is going to be a busy week.  We have UIL district this Friday.  I have to get our entry done by tomorrow. 

I’m going to figure out something for supper and then decide if I want to go to the weekly church meeting tonight.  My heart really isn’t into that right now either.  I haven’t been doing well with my Lenten plans. 

Alone Again

I didn’t get to have a date with Matthew tonight.  He wasn’t feeling well having stomach issues and vomiting.  So we’ll have to reschedule for another time.  Today I worked on my bedroom.  I can see the floor again.  I cleaned out drawers in my dresser and got rid of several things.  I have way too many t-shirts.  I still have a little more to do, but I’m tired now.  I also sprayed weeds on my sidewalk, cleared dead weeds from last winter, and washed several loads of laundry.  I did a little reading and will go do more shortly.  My arms are sore from helping Matthew move. 

Tomorrow I need to clean the laundry area.  I’m going to try to clean the walls and paint behind the current washer and dryer.  Once I get my new set next weekend, I think they’ll be too heavy to move and I won’t be able to clean or paint behind them.  I figure I should get that done before next weekend. 

Josh headed back to Nacogdoches today.  He just called a little while ago and said he made it through Dallas.  I won’t see him again until he is out of school in May. 

Helping Hand

It was nice to sleep in this morning.  I was exhausted after yesterday.  I still didn’t sleep really well, but at least I didn’t have to get up early.  I took Mollie to the groomer today.  I called Matthew when I got back, but he was still dealing with the cable installer.  He called me back a few minutes later and asked me to come up and help him.  He had gotten quite a bit unpacked.  I helped him move his computer desk over and then we headed out to look at more tv stands.  We went to Target and found one that he liked, but he wanted to look at a few other places.  We went to two other furniture stores who had some really nice things, but the prices were rather high.  So we headed back to Target and he got the one he liked.  We came back to his apartment and carried the pieces of it upstairs rather than trying to lug the heavy box upstairs.  I helped him put it together.  We realized after it was done that two of the pieces were backwards so we had to take the bottom off to switch them.  After that he had to go talk to an insurance agent so I worked on sorting his CDs and putting them in his cabinet.  When he got back he was ready for a nap so I headed home.

Tomorrow he is going to his old apartment to clean.  I’m going to try to talk myself into cleaning my bedroom.  We still have our date planned for tomorrow evening.  I’m really excited.  Although I do like going out and doing things – dinner, shows, movies, etc, but I like just spending time at home probably even more.  His new place is great.  It is much more bright than his other apartment.  His old apartment obviously had a smoker in it at one point and you could always smell the smoke. 

I started the process of filling out another application today.  This one is for a university library that is an hour and a half away.  It would mean at least a temporary move if I got it.  But I’m getting a bit desperate right now.  I’m wondering what direction I should go in – should I try to stay in public schools or make the jump to a university if I could?  I think working in a university with a higher level of students and professors could be great.  One reason why I decided to get my master’s degree in addition to my certification was so that I would have that option.  Of course I’m getting ahead of myself.  I just hope to get an interview at this point.

Completely exhausted

Today reminded why I never want to move again.  Matthew didn’t even have a houseful of stuff.  He was living in a relatively small one bedroom apartment and moved to a small one bedroom apartment.  But we had to make two 100 mile round trips which included loading and unloading twice.  Josh and his friend Dustin certainly earned their money today. 

Matthew arrive around 7:15 and I took him to get his truck rental.  I came back home and picked up Josh and his friend and we headed to Matthew’s place.  We loaded the truck and my car as much as we could and made the 50 mile trip to the new place.  We unloaded (his apartment is on the second floor), then headed back.  We stopped for lunch and then did the same thing again.  After unloading the second time, I met Matthew at the rental place so he could return the truck and then we all came back to my place.  Matthew got his car and then we headed to Best Buy.  During the course of the move, I talked him out of keeping a very heavy and outdated entertainment center that he really didn’t have space for in his apartment.  So we looked at some tv stands but didn’t decide on anything.  We also looked at stereos because the poor man is barely living in the 21st century.  He does have a computer and I did give him an mp3 player.  He got his first DVD player THIS Christmas.  He still has a RECORD player.  He did not even have  a CD player (though he does have CDs).  So after Best Buy we looked at Walmart.  Still didn’t find anything he loved.  We went back to his apartment and unloaded more boxes that he had in his car.  He then decided he wanted to go to Sam’s club.  So we went there.  Found a stereo for a good price.  They had a tv stand he liked, but none in stock.  So he got the stereo.  Then he decided he needed a margarita.  So we went to a Mexican restaurant that was across the street and shared an appetizer and drank margaritas.  I dropped off at his apartment about an hour ago.

I did get a return call from the lady at the university and she said that she was finally able to manually add the test for me but it would take a few hours. I just got online and was able to register for it.  So that is taken care of finally.

I told Matthew today that he hadn’t negotiated my fee for my help today.  He said that he thought it was going to be in exchange for helping me tile this summer.  I told him that I thought I was going to help him with his house in Indiana for helping me, but that I should take the tiling help.  At dinner tonight he asked me what my fee was for today.  I told him that I just wanted to kiss him for an hour or so.  He asked what I was doing Saturday and said he might be recovered by then.  It’s been a long while since we just spent time kissing so I’m looking forward to that.  I’ve offered to help him unpack tomorrow.  But I am going to sleep in.  I only have to get up around 9:45 to take Mollie to the groomers.  I’ll try to post a picture of her as well. 

Time for me to take out the contacts and hit the bed.  I don’t think there will be a need for ambien – though I think some tylenol would be good for the aches.

Halfway over

I cannot believe that half of my spring break is over. I have to say that I’ve slept a good portion of it.  But I also finished a few books.  I finished the last book of the Larsson series last night around 1:30 a.m.  I slept in this morning until around 9:30.  Then I took my dog Max to the groomer.  He was needing a haircut badly.  I should have taken a before picture, but here’s the after.

The date last night was good.  The dinner was really good.  We ate at a really nice romantic Italian restaurant.  The food was very tasty.  The show was ok.  I thought there would be more to it.  But I enjoyed spending the time with Matthew so it was great just to be able to do that.  Tomorrow I’m helping him move. Josh and one of his friends is going to help with the big stuff.  It will be an early day tomorrow.  He’s coming over around 7:15 a.m.   Looks like it will be an ambien night tonight.  I need to get used to getting up early.  I’m not sure if the time change during spring break is a good or bad thing.  At least it isn’t a shock to my system.  Then again it might be if I keep staying up late and sleeping in. 

Tonight I’m watching American Idol.  I wasn’t able to watch it last week but my DVR recorded so I watched it just before tonight’s episode came on.  I think that there’s a lot of unique talent this year. 

Today I applied for a library job at a local community college.  I wasn’t going to apply because I couldn’t honestly answer that I have my degree, but I made a point to note it in my application and resume.  I doubt that I have a chance, but I am glad that I made the effort.  I guess it will depend on how many applicants they get.  At least it forced me to get my resume updated. 

I still couldn’t get registered for the exam I need to take.  They lady at UNT still could not access her computer in order to send the approval to the testing company.  At least she did call me back today to let me know and she assured me that she would be able to have her computer back tomorrow.  As long as I get registered by Friday, I’ll be good.

Going on a date

Tonight I’m going out with Matthew.  He’s picking me up around 4:30 and we’re going to dinner then to see the Lippezaner Stallions.  I still haven’t done much of anything other than read.  I stayed in my bed most of the day reading until around 1:00 a.m. last night.  I slept until 10:00 this morning and continued to read.  I did take some time to call the college of education office at the university to find out why I still cannot register for the library certification exam that I need to take.  I emailed the library program two weeks ago about getting approved for the exam.  First I got a response that just told me to read the instructions in a discussion posting.  I responded that I had already done so but I still needed approval.  They then told me that they would submit the paperwork on my behalf.  A week later nothing had happened so I contacted the education office.  I was told that they were processing it and I should be able to register by Wednesday (last week).  I was out of town and didn’t really think about registering and didn’t have access to internet during the day so I didn’t think much about it.  I tried again today and still couldn’t register.  So I called the office.  No answer.  Left a message.  No return call.  Emailed.  Got a response that the person was out of the office for the week and would not respond to messages until the 21st.  Deadline for the exam with out late fees is the 18th.  Called the office again around 1:45.  Finally spoke to a human.  Of course she couldn’t help because they had taken her computer to do some updates and she didn’t have access to the information she needed but assured me that she would work on it as soon as she got her computer back.  Of course she only works afternoons.  So I guess I’ll give them until tomorrow afternoon before I call again and raise some hell.  I’m not sure what the rush is because there are no library jobs available right now, but at least if something should open, I will have my certification.  My master’s degree will allow me to work in any kind of library – except to work as a school librarian in Texas, I have to have additional certification that I get through this test.  This of course is still assuming that I passed the essays and will pass the certification test.  I am really regretting not getting all of this done last semester and graduating in December.  Then I could have applied for some of the positions that are online right now. 

I also called and got an appointment for my dog Max who desperately needs a hair cut.  The groomer that I had been using went out of business and I haven’t had time to get him in elsewhere.  I need a hair cut myself I think but don’t know what to do with my hair.  It’s getting long again which means it’s going to start driving me crazy soon.  Sometimes I want to grow it out again, but most of the time having long hair is more annoying than pretty. I really need to find a real stylist that can give me some advice. 

I should start getting ready for my date.  Not sure what to wear or do with my hair.  Guess I have an hour and a half to figure it out.

First Day of Spring Break

Though technically spring break began at 4:00 last Friday, I was on a school trip so mine didn’t start until today.  I celebrated by staying in bed most of the day.  I slept late.  I checked facebook, blogs, and email on my laptop in bed.  I eventually heated up some lunch and ate it in bed.  I’ve been reading another book on my Kindle.  I searched for library jobs and had hopes of one at a local community college but was dismayed that I cannot complete the online application since I don’t meet the minimum qualifications.  I need to work on updating my resume though I don’t know how much good it will do until I actually get my degree.  The fact that I have no experience is a huge strike against me. 

I still need to do a lot here at the house, but I figure it is ok for me to take one day to be lazy.  I have enjoyed reading books again.  I’m on the last book in the series by Stieg Larsson “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest.”  I also downloaded the next Lee Child book.  I may just stay in bed all day and read.  That’s ok, isn’t it?

Glad to be home

Got home today around 4:00.  I’m glad the time change is during spring break so I can ease into it.  Usually I hate this time change but perhaps I’ll slowly get used to going to bed and getting up earlier.  The state speech tournament went fine.  I found that working in the debate tab wasn’t that bad.  I was able to finish a book on my Kindle. 

Tonight I have to go to a church group meeting that I joined.  I’m not sure how I feel about it yet.  I feel a bit like an outcast as everyone in the group is married and most of them are participating as couples.  Only one other person comes alone because her husband isn’t Catholic. 

Tomorrow I have to start cleaning the garage (again).  Why is it that I can never have a clean garage?  I’m even potentially planning a garage sale and I cannot believe that I still have so much stuff to have yet another one.  I think this is the 4th or 5th in 5 years. 

Matthew asked me to go to a hockey game tonight but I told him I couldn’t because of the church thing.  We are going to go out on Tuesday instead and then a hockey game on Saturday.  So far I think the job change is a good thing for him.  He seems happier in general though I know he is still contemplating going back to Indiana.  I guess we just take it one day at a time right now.  I’m trying to not have any expectations and just enjoy spending time with him when I can.

Another thing I’m going to do this week is to actively work on my resume and get more applications out there. 

Well, I gotta head out to the church meeting.

Wasted Degree

Assuming that I do pass my capstone and get to graduate in May, I found out today that there will be no library job available for me in the district next year.  Because of the budget cuts, they are going to split the position between another elementary librarian that is already working in the district.  Which means I still have to teach when I really hate my job.  And there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it because nobody is hiring.  And the district can pile on whatever crap they want on top of me which means they could be giving me even more English classes and who knows what else.  What a great way to start the day!  Oh, and I just got information about starting to pay back the loans I got for grad school.  So now I also have to pay for the (hopeful) degree I got that I cannot use. 

Another brief update

Made it to Lewisville (North of Dallas) shortly before midnight last night.  I started a book on my Kindle and got through about 17% of it.  (It is weird to put a percent but there aren’t any page numbers.)  Staying at a Marriot Courtyard.  Hotel is nice and the beds are really comfortable.  They’re even providing free breakfast though they usually don’t.  We registered this morning and then went to the mall for about two hours.  I found a khaki pair of pants for $9.00 at Dillards.  I was looking for a purse thinking I might start carrying one again at some point, but I guess I’m too particular and relatively cheap.  I wanted something smallish – but big enough to hold my Kindle.  But I didn’t want to spend $50 on something.  Guess I will just continue to carry a small wallet in my pocket for now. 

I have about two hours to kill now so I think I’ll take a nap because I didn’t fall asleep until after 1:00 and had to get up by 8:00 and I was still tired.  We head to the school at 2:30, then I get to hang out with the debate people.  Which really means that I’ll do some work and then spend the time reading. 

Brief update

Still here, just going 100 mph lately.  Day at school was ok, but nothing much to speak of.  After school I went to Matthew’s place and we had some drinks, ordered pizza, and watched a movie. 

Tomorrow I leave for Dallas after school to go to the state speech tournament.  I don’t know how much I’ll get to update while gone but will try to post some.

I’m feeling really tired.  Tomorrow will be a long day.  Ash Wednesday service at 7:00 a.m. then school all day.  Then I’ll come home and figure something to eat for dinner – no meat since it’s a day of abstinence.  I’ll be picked up around 5:30 p.m. and then we’ll be on our way.

Speech tournament starts Thursday afternoon so at least I’ll get to sleep in.  Looking forward to that.

Washer/Dryer update

I went back to Sears today to make a final decision.  I was going to get the Kenmore if they could deliver it during spring break, but it was going to be delayed as well.  So I decided to order the LG and just wait for it.  I can go ahead and probably sell the dryer in my potential garage sale that I’ll have during spring break and then just wait a week for the new set to arrive. 

I went up to the school today to get boxes for Matthew so he could start packing.  We visited for a little bit and then I headed home.  I have a church thing tonight.  I’ve decided instead of giving something up for Lent that I’m going to add things.  Weekly church meetings are one of the things I’m going to add.  I think I’m also going to add some exercise like walking 30 minutes a day. 

And that’s all the excitement here.  I’m going to heat up my leftovers from the Mexican restaurant and have an early dinner.  Then perhaps a nap before the meeting.  I think Sundays are meant for naps. 

The difficulties of buying a washer and dryer

So the washer and dryer that I have was inherited with the house.  They’re probably 10 years old or so.  The dryer works fine right now, but the washer is probably on its last legs.  It won’t stay balanced, it’s noisy and not very economical.  Since my aunt and uncle are going to pay for Josh’s final school bill, I figured that I could spend some of my tax refund on a new washer and dryer.  So I did my research.  I made a spreadsheet of washer and dryers and checked the prices at Lowe’s, Home Depot, Sears, and Best Buy.  Then I checked consumer reports and other review sites.  Then I went to each of the stores to ask about their delivery policy and if they pick up the old appliances, etc.  I had my choices narrowed to two with one more of a standout than the other.  So the one I want is this LG washer with matching dryer.  I like it because it uses a direct drive system rather than a belt-driven motor which comes with a 10 year warranty on the motor itself.  It’s a front-loader which is more efficient in terms of water and energy.  I like the “look” of it and it seems to have enough bells and whistles (like delayed wash) that make it a good deal for the price.  Home Depot and Sears were basically the same price when all is said and done.  So I was going to order it from Home Depot but was told that they could get me the washer without a problem, but the dryer would be delivered to the store since they didn’t have any in stock.  I was confused about this and the lady was not clear on explaining it to me.  Then she tried to sell me a more expensive version that would have been $200 more.  I said no thanks.  So then I went to Sears.  Sears could get me both, but the dryer was back ordered as well and it couldn’t be delivered for three weeks.  I really wanted to get this done during spring break when I have the time off.  My other choices are to go with a fancier model – Sears Kenmore that is really manufactured by LG that has an internal heater so the hot water actually gets really hot for whites, but that comes at a cost of $140 more – which is still a decent deal because the price of each machine started out over $800 each and they’re down to $579.  The model I want is $509 each.  The other choice is to go with this Whirpool model that I can get from Lowe’s.  It’s cost is $539 but the delivery and installation is free.  It’s review from Consumer Reports was just ok and other online reviews that I read had several negative comments.  So now I’m not sure what I want to do.  Do I get the machine I want and wait three weeks for it to be delivered?  Do I spend more than I wanted to get a similar and slightly better machine delivered sooner?  Or do I go with my second choice which is ok, but not as fancy but costs the same as my first choice?  Decisions, decisions.

I was out all day.  I headed to town around 12:30 and went to Taco Villa for lunch.  I was going to get my tires rotated and oil changed, but there was a line at the Toyota place so I headed out to start pricing the washer and dryers.  After I gathered the information, I went back to the Toyota place and got the maintenance done in about 45 minutes.  I continued to research on my iPhone while I waited.  I then went to Best Buy to check their prices and they were much more expensive.  It would have cost me $120 more to purchase them from Best Buy and they won’t price match unless the competitors have the item in stock which is stupid because even Best Buy didn’t have it in stock.  So then I headed home and did more research and still wanted the LG so I went back to Sears to see if they could deliver during spring break and that’s when I found out it would be three weeks.  So I decided to think about it some more.  Then I went to Walmart to get some things and my friend Pam had called me back after I called her earlier today.  We decided to go to dinner so we went to a Mexican restaurant that I just recently tried that was really good.  I almost choked on my margarita though.  I took a drink and I guess it went down wrong because I couldn’t breathe for a bit and then wheezed trying to catch my breath.  It was kind of scary for a few seconds.  It took a little bit to get back to normal and I was shaking a bit.  But it was nice to visit and eat with her and I didn’t get home until after 9:00 tonight after being out most of the day. 

So now I’m still checking out the washers and trying to come to a decision.  Any suggestions from my readers?  I plan to go back to Sears tomorrow after church so chime in soon!

Thankful for Friday

I’m glad it’s Friday.  It seems like it has been a really long week.  Only one more week until spring break.  I have no plans for the break though.  I could go to Albuquerque if I wanted to get away, but I really just want to sit at home.  I’m still feeling tired which is starting to bother me.  There are times when I know I haven’t gotten sleep or am feeling overwhelmed but I cannot pinpoint the reason for it right now. 

There’s nothing to report on Matthew.  He’s been out of town for five days and just got back late yesterday.  I’ve been giving him space and not really texting him.  He has stayed in contact but I think he’s still uncertain about everything in his life – even the other job he already accepted. 

I downloaded the next book in the Lee Child series.  I have other books on my Kindle, but it was time to go back to those books.  I’m at 71% right now so I’ll probably finish it tonight or tomorrow.  I will need to order more books before going to TFA state.  There will be a lot of reading down time.  This year, however, I’ll be in the debate tab room which should be interesting and probably really boring.  Interesting in that the debate people can be really intense.  Boring because I won’t really fit in with those people and will probably keep to myself when I’m not checking ballots.

Lent is right around the corner and I still haven’t figured out what I should give up.  Once again, I have no life so there’s not much to give up.  I don’t think I could give up my caffeine at this point – especially when I’m still feeling tired at school every day.  I guess desserts are something I could do, but not sure that would be meaningful.  I tried the internet thing once and won’t do it again.  I guess perhaps instead of giving something up I should add something more. 

I’m going to go back to the book and head to bed soon.  We’re getting some rain here so that’s a good thing – especially with all the fire danger we’ve had. 

Idol Tonight

Now that I’ve caught up on all the episodes I missed I’m finally able to watch American Idol when it airs.  Of course now I can’t fast-forward through the commercials.  I really only watch a few shows on t.v. so it’s nice to have the time to just watch without worry.  It doesn’t mean I don’t have other things I should be doing, but sometimes you just have to let go of responsibilities for a little enjoyment. 

Speaking of enjoyment, Lent is just around the corner.  I have no idea what I should be giving up for this time period.  I really have no life so it’s difficult to come up with something that would be meaningful.  Perhaps I’ll do desert or cokes again.  Both of those would be difficult right now. 

I’ve been really tired lately and I’m not sure why.  It’s probably stress related.  Last night I was asleep before 10.  I got home today and just wanted to take a nap.  But when I try, I can’t sleep.  So I got up and made dinner and had a bloody mary. 

I was able to finish a book on my Kindle today.  We had TAKS testing and my room was done really early.  We had three hours to kill until lunch time.  I finished reading my Mental Floss magazine and almost finished my Kindle book.  It’s been nice to read for pleasure again. 

My tax return came the other day.  I was about to send Josh $1000 but my aunt and uncle called to tell me they were going to send him money for the rest of his college bill.  That means we have extra money for a potential vacation this year.  Josh is interested in going to either Seattle or Washington DC.  I’m fine with either but certainly open to other suggestions if anyone has some. 

I also need to buy a new washer & dryer.  I can’t decide if I should get a top load or front load.  I’ve read about issues with front loaders getting small things stuck.  Any suggestions on that? 

Well, I guess that’s all for tonight.  Going to finish watching idol tonight and then head to bed.  I might do a little reading.  I think I’m going to download the next Lee Child book.  I have others I’ve downloaded, but I think I’m ready to read another Jack Reacher story.