Katerbug Blue

My husband’s uncle is retiring this year. They are having a big blow out bash for him later this month. I think it’s a lovely gesture, but I have no idea what to get him. If I were to follow my mother in law’s advice I should get him fishing equipment. My husband thinks Black and Mild cigars, and the man’s wife thinks blocks of wood that the man can whittle would be great. You know, none of these even sound remotely like a gift I would want to give him. Although he’d enjoy each and every one of them—they are just leaving me lacking!

If someone has worked hard all of their life….what would you give them to send them off into a happy retirement??? Without seeming cheesy of course!!

I have been spending the last little while getting registered for school. I know, I’m 38…it’s kinda late for that! But I’m pleased to announce that my old university has welcomed me back. Sadly, it’s located in the state of Utah…and I’m, well, not! So I will be taking online classes for the next 3 semesters. After which I should graduate and be able to do just about nothing! Actually I’m doing this, so that I can then substitute teach at the nearby elementary school. You have to have a degree, and that is the one thing I don’t have.

I remember back a decade ago when I was actually in school. I was always amazed at the fact that it cost as much for books as it did for tuition. I would spend around $750 per semester only to sell textbooks at the end of the grading period for a minuscule fraction of what I paid. I don’t know how the textbooks work when you are going to school online—but I do hope they are covered in the grants I’m hoping to receive!

My girlfriend just bought a pair of black Stuart Weitzman boots. Oh to die for! Every winter season I get a pair of short black boots. High heels and super pointed toes. This year every pair of short boots had the heel, but the rounded toe—which just makes my feet look awful! But they did have a pair of knee high boots with the toes and the heels. They aren’t Stuart Witzman’s…but they are pretty darn cool. I call them “Sexy Boots”…although the real things are so much sexier!

My mom has been going through a rough patch lately. She’s trying to get healthy and is having a hard time with some of the prescription pain medications her doctor put her on. She’s added a few diet supplements to help cleanse her body more quickly, and she seems to be doing a lot better this week. I’m worried because she is supposed to be coming to Chicago in early December, and I’m hoping she’ll be up for the trip. Last week she could hardly talk on the phone it was so bad, and that part is at least seeming stronger. But I’m dreading that phone call the first week of December letting me know they aren’t going to make it. But until then, we will keep sending “happy thoughts” and she may just surprise us!

I’ve been looking over our monthly bank statements trying to find a way to cut some of our spending. We are surviving, but it would be so much nicer to be doing more than “just surviving”. So imagine my surprise when I find numerous entries for auto accessories! I called my husband in to give him a real talking to. A dressing down if you will! I was on a roll–and I was ticked. We don’t need to be spending money on silly items. A car is to get you from point A to point B and it doesn’t have to be all tricked out to do it! He let me go on and on and when I was good and finished, he let me know that I was getting an automatic starter as an early Christmas present. You know–it starts the car and heats it up on those freezing, cold winter mornings! Yeah—consider me thumped, and THRILLED to play with my new little toy!

I have been looking into online backup. My poor laptop has been sidelined by some virus–and if it hits this computer I’m toast! At least I can start backing it up with a push of a button–and that will save anything I have that could be lost. The price isn’t too bad at all, a few dollars each month. My worry is more about the longevity of the company backing it up. What if they fold in the next year or two? What happens to all of my supposedly safe stuff? So maybe a good old fashioned disk back up is the way to go. It just sounds so archaic!

This Wednesday I will un-bury my treadmill! Yes, I know, it has become the $700 towel rack that people called it when we bought it. But no more! I will be walking on it 3 or 4 times a week, and it’s gonna be awesome! Why wait until Wednesday? Because today and tomorrow my husband is home–and it’s no fun to work out with an audience! So Wednesday it is! I’ll let you know how it goes!

We are getting a new kitchen sink! I know, it shouldn’t nearly as exciting as it is. But we are getting a wide basin sink, instead of a deep one, and I can’t tell you how cool this is. I would rip the current sink out and install the new one today if it were here. Sadly, it’s been ordered and it will be here this Wednesday. I hate to do dishes, but I think I will have to break in the new sink with a couple of loads and I’m thrilled about it!

My husband is a professional Chef and has all of these desires to update our kitchen. I love the idea of stainless steel appliances, but not so much with their size. I do have a nice size kitchen, but nowhere near the size he’s used to. So we are starting small, or wide in this case. I’m letting him get the sink! Yeah, we let him think it’s all for him, and if I can keep him from seeing my happy dance—I may just get away with it!

My in laws recently downsized to a much smaller house. It works, but most of their excess “stuff” ended up at my house. Since they aren’t planning on staying in this little house, we are just storing it all until they move again. That is fine with me—but I’m thinking they are planning on me taking as good of care of it as they did. For example, they brought over a patio set. Their new house has a lovely backyard, why do I have it? Well, in their old house, they would bring all of the outdoor cushions in when it rained. I’m sorry, I have four kids and a business-those poor cushions have been through every rain storm sitting right out there where they left them! I did finally have my boys move them to the shed. So there will be no more rain on them, but oh the stress!

Recently my high school alumni website added a live chat feature. I haven’t been on it at all, well, because I am on Facebook–and can catch up with most of my friends that way, and because I don’t keep in touch with too many high school friends. We had our 20 year reunion last summer, so I’m sure there has been more people connecting, but a live chat still seems odd!

I have used live chat for instances where I’ve needed technical help, and it has been a lifesaver! This little blog wouldn’t be here, if it weren’t for live chat!

The holidays are coming—and I’m going to be looking for a really good fat burner! Every holiday it’s the same–we just won’t eat so much! But if this past Halloween was any indication—there isn’t a chance of that!

Thanksgiving has long been my favorite holiday, and I’ve done really well the past several years. I eat enough to fill me up—but I haven’t had that over-eating, roll me out of here feeling since before I had kids. I just need to keep that up in all things!

A moment on the lips…really is true!

Main goal for November….find an affordable life insurance for my husband and I. We were watching TV last night, and there was a show on where they send really rowdy kids away to live with really strict parents for a week. The one last night was about a teenage girl, struggling to get along with her mother after her dad passed away suddenly at a very young age. My husband is only 39. He will be the first one to tell you that he has the body of a 75 year old man. We want him around for many, MANY years to come. But if something happened to him–my kids would lose their dad and their mom. I would have to go back to work full time, as well as pick up a couple of side jobs just to make ends meet.

So — after this little glimpse of just how hard life is without the bread winner….I’m thinking it’s time!

Do you remember several posts back I was slightly complaining about a friend that we were supposed to be having dinner with, but he canceled to take his family to Orlando for the 400th time??? Yeah, well—they are home. And we thought it would be really nice to get together and finally had it all planned. But you knowwhat—that’s right, he canceled! Seems he owns a few gulf shores condos and needed to get down and make sure they survived the nasty weather churning up, as well as to winterize them, since he won’t be getting down again before Spring.

The nicest thing of all….they left their 4 kids with us! Yay, just a little piece of “Crazy” for all of us city folk!

Do you know that I HATE Christmas? No really I do! I decided long ago, that I LOVED Thanksgiving because it was all the family of Christmas without any of the expense of gift giving. Yes, just call me Scrooge!

The main problem I have year after year are the in laws. My parents request that we don’t get them a gift. They do know that money is tight, and lets face it…they have it all! But my in laws have never said the same thing–so year after year I stress about making my budget stretch just a bit more to include a nice gift for them. Last year I got them the one gift that I had always wanted. A digital frame. They seem to like it. Turn it on if they happen to remember—and after their move…they don’t even remember where they packed it.

Me, on the other hand, I want 4 of these frames. I want to load each one with photo’s of one child per frame. Then—it’s like a moving scrapbook of each of my children’s lives in each frame.

A little piece of heaven if you ask me!

My husband works with industrial equipment all day long. In fact, we seem to be a part of two different worlds. When he’s home, he just can’t seem to find the right tool to get the job done fast enough. Yet, when I’m with him, I can’t find the right tool (read “small enough”) for me to get anything done either.

I do have to say, there is one piece of equipment that I will own…someday! A pizza sheeter! You know—they machine they feed the balls of dough through that roll them all out uniformly for them. No—I don’t work with bread dough all day long, or ever for that matter…but from my time working at a pizza place…it was always the coolest machine in the joint!

My in laws have recently moved into the home that my husband and I just moved out of. We’ve been out for about 2 years, and it’s been nearly a year since I’ve even been in the home. So we sat at the kitchen table on Halloween chatting–and it was truly odd to be sitting in this house again–and yet, strangely homey.

After every one had moved to the living room, I decided it would be fun to do the dishes one last time. This house didn’t have a dishwasher (I did buy a rolling one that you could hook up to the sink) and I stood and washed the dishes. It took me forever to figure out what was wrong. It didn’t feel right–something was different. Then I noticed (after I was nearly done) thatt they had swapped faucets with the house that they had lost—so it was my old sink and their old faucet–and honestly, it just messed with my head! It was much nicer than my old faucet, I will give them that!

My parents are looking to sell motorhome and stick around Dodge a bit longer! Really, it’s kind of sad for me. It means that they are getting too old to take care of it and getting it set up and taken down again are really starting to take a toll on my dad. I don’t know why–he’s only 77!

So this year, they are staying home for the holidays. Which may seem a little selfish of me, but I’m thrilled. I think there is always going to be a little girl inside of me, that wants her mom and dad around for the holidays!