How Long Do You Keep a Piece of Paper

Our office owns radar trucks which we loan out. Well one is getting ready to leave the country and they have asked for the original bill of sale. On a truck bought in 2000. Really? Who keeps a bill of sale from 11 years ago? So I am diligently trying to track it down. Our records don't go back that far. The state only requires things to be held for seven years and if I kept every invoice for everything that every grant has ever bought I would be like one of those hoarders on tv with a narrow path to get anywhere. I certainly couldn't find ONE piece of paper.

So they may just have to go with the fact that yes we bought this truck in 2000 and believe that we paid for it.

Weather Report

So you remember how last week I was ragging on my neighbor for not taking down the Christmas decorations since we had been having lovely weather in the 80's? Over the weekend, our temperatures took a nosedive and we barely made 40 degrees on Sunday. I drove by some people trying to plant new bushes and thought they were all going to die. I know it is said that never trust the weather in Oklahoma because it will change on you instantly and man is that true. I'm hoping that we get some rain with this cold because we need to get out of a drought. When it warms up again we'll start having the grass fires that are absolutely horrible and fast moving with all the cedar trees and dry grass.

Interview Time

Whitney had her scholarship interview yesterday. We had to go shopping since she was to wear "professional" dress. Whitney lives in jeans and shorts so she had nothing super nice to be professional. So we bought a beautiful dress, had it altered (since everything is too long) and got a new pair of shoes. I thought she looked like a young woman on her way to work at a lawyer's office by the time we were done. My little baby looks so grown up. We'll hear about the results in a couple of weeks.

A Cruise Ship Going Too Fast?

I just read an article about a woman suing Carnival Cruises for going too fast in the water and making her sick. Really? Those ships can't rip out 90 mph. Perhaps you were just seasick. It can happen to anyone even if you don't think you would be.

Carnival Cruiseline which has the pleasure of being sued

Another frivolous lawsuit brought to you by the people of America.

The car accident that won't go away

Last April I was in a car accident. It was the other driver's fault (he made an "illegal lane change" according to the police report). My car suffered $12,000 in damage (it was less than a year old). Whitney and I rode in the ambulance to the hospital as a precaution. She was very upset (it was on her side of the car).

My car is fixed (although there seems to be a rattle that I can't identify). Whitney is fully recovered from her nerves. We've settled her claim. However, I still have back problems. I've never had back issues before. I consider myself a healthy woman. But I just couldn't get over the back pain. I kept thinking that it was nothing. Finally after a couple of months I went to the doctor who said I probably had soft tissue damage and that I should go to physical therapy. OK, so I did that. And after a couple of months it did feel better, however not 100% all the time. Which it should I think. So I went to a back specialist. And now after xraying my back, he has diagnosed it as a T12 compression fracture. I've been walking around for eleven months with a broken back. No wonder I'm in pain. So now I have to go to physical therapy twice a week 45 minutes from my house because that is where the doctor thinks the best back PT is. And go back to the doctor in May.

My car when brand new

I hope that this therapy works and my back heals fully. I'm not enjoying the pain. I'm not enjoying having to change my lifestyle for this.

Christmas in March

This is one of the first houses in our neighborhood. They still have their Christmas decorations up on the house. I would give them some slack if we lived somewhere that had six feet of snow. However we live in Oklahoma. The weather has been beautiful with temperatures in the 70's for the last couple of weeks. The trees have all bloomed. The tulips and daffodils have come up. So take down the wreaths and lights.

Five Question Friday

1. Have you ever testified in court? For what?

No I have never been to court at all. I'm sure I would do well in whatever kind of testimony I would have to give. But I hope that it never gets to that.

2. Do you still have your wedding dress?

Yes it is under my bed in a huge box. In a box wrapped in blue acid free paper. And my daughter has said that there is no way she would ever wear the dress so I have no idea why I am still keeping it.

3. Is there a special place you like to go when you're happy, sad, stressed, etc.?

I enjoy my quiet time taking a bath. Not getting in the tub, just listening to the water running in the tub. I have always enjoyed that sound, sort of like a babbling brook in my own house.

4. If you have kids, do they sleep with you? If you don't have kids...will you let your kids sleep with you when/if you have them?

In 18 years, my daughter has slept one night in my bed. Only because we found out she was allergic to cats and had swollen up that I was afraid for her to sleep away from me. And my husband was out of town that night. She has always had her own room.
5. Do you watch late night TV?

I usually watch the news before going to bed. I used to watch David Letterman every night through the Top 10 list, but I haven't turned the tv on in the bedroom for months. I usually have to do physical therapy every night before I go to bed, so that has taken up my late night time.

Daylight Savings Time

I have realized that the best way to deal with springing forward for daylight savings is to take the week off afterwards. You don't have to worry about getting up for work the next day and I have an entire week to get used to the light issue. Now to just remember this for next year.

Frankenstein has attacked my child

Whitney has been going to physical therapy for her ankle tendonitis. They have started to doing this thing where they put medicine on a pad and electrically stimulate it into her ankle. It looks like Frankenstein has attacked my child's leg.

The good news is the medicine works and she is feeling better. But just had to take the picture of the probes.

Cheesecake

Yesterday I went shopping with Whitney and since we were so far away from home at lunch, she talked me into going out to lunch. Specifically, Cheesecake Factory, because she had never been there. Of course we had to have dessert after lunch. I love me some cheesecake. They have two pages worth of cheesecakes to choose from. Oh my goodness, how could we ever choose.

I chose the carrot cake cheesecake. I love the whipped cream tower at the end. It was great carrot cake but there wasn't much cheesecake.

Whitney chose the red velvet cheesecake. It was definitely a hit with her. Plenty of cheesecake, plenty of cake, plenty of cream cheese frosting. Totally yummy.

Five question Friday

1. Do you know what your REAL hair color is?

It was brown growing up. I really didn't like it. It got darker over the years and now has so much gray mixed into it,  it looks black and white. So I color it every 4-5 weeks. Otherwise I would look 20 years older than I am and who wants that.

2. Do you plan ahead for summer, or fly by the seat of your pants?

Normally we have a vacation planned for the summer, but the last couple of years Whitney has had a summer job and pom camp. I hate to make her miss a week of work when she only has this limited time to earn any money because she is so busy with school and has to miss work for camp. So we haven't taken a summer vacation for a couple of years. We did take a big vacation last December at Christmas. Guess we are about to be able to do whatever we want whenever we want with school not dictating our vacation schedule. I can't wait to take vacations in October.

3. What is your favorite meal to cook?

I don't have a favorite meal to cook. I like to be the assistant chef of the house, while my husband cooks. I'm the baker but I don't do that too much because I don't want a lot of sweets in the house.

4. Do you get offended by not receiving thank yous?

It is nice to get a thank you, but it doesn't bother me if I don't. I try and thank people but sometimes when people say thank you, you know they don't mean it or they are just saying it by rote.
5. How did you meet your best friend?

Well my best friend is my husband, so we met in college at a fraternity party. I've been lucky to have him be there for 25 years now.

The Most Expensive Bottle of Wine EVER

Ok the most expensive bottle I've ever bought. I'm not crazy. But I sure felt like it the day I bought this bottle. I've been going to wine tastings for years and when I first started I didn't like red wine. I was very narrow minded in my wine drinking, like most people starting off. I was a pinot grigio girl. But I knew there was more out there. So tastings were the perfect opportunity to try things without investing in something that you didn't like. I would go to them (thank goodness tastings are free at the local liquor stores) and say I'm only going to try one red, so pick out the best one. I gradually got over that and now I do drink everything there and very rarely pour it out (only if it is pure vinegar tasting). But two years ago is when my taste for red wine was born. A small vineyard from California came out (the owner had ties to Norman) and brought four wines. Oh my goodness they were so wonderful. The white blend was delicious and reasonably priced. The first red was nice and about $20. Twice what I normally pay for a bottle of wine. And then we got to this gem pictured here. Forum Confidential Reserve. A CabSav blend. Light tannins. Tasty fruit. And it was the first time I had ever tasted everything that they said in the description. It was nirvana for a red wine. Problem was it was $65 for a bottle. OMG! I cannot believe I was liking that expensive bottle of wine. And that I was considering purchasing it. I went into the store to look. I got the white and the cheaper red. Already a stretch for me on my wine budget. And then I stared at this bottle. I called Dan and said I was contemplating buying it but it was $65! I wanted him to talk me off the ledge. But he said go ahead and get it if you liked it so much. So I did. I've never spent $100 at a liquor store so that was quite the charge.

But now that I have this bottle of wine, what do I do with it? I can't just open it up and have it with our normal dinners. It has to be something special. Dan doesn't drink wine and I'm afraid that it will go bad if I don't drink it quickly. I was discussing this dilemma with a friend and he suggested steak. Which is a good choice for a good red. But I still had the problem of not being able to finish the bottle in a decent amount of time. I kept thinking it had to be a special occassion. (This is the biggest mistake people make. Drink the wine and champagne for every day. It is made to be drinken.) So we finally worked out that he would bring the steak (his family has a farm so it would be fresh meat).

It only took two years to set a date for the steak dinner. Last night was the night. Time to open the bottle. I was praying that it hadn't gone bad. That I had stored it properly. That I hadn't built up the taste of the wine and be disappointed. That I didn't pick a bad one and be embarassed with my guest drinking it. I had a backup wine on hand just in case it was a disaster. So the tbone steaks arrived (massive thick cuts that looked great) and I opened the bottle. The cork was starting to dry out but came out in one piece. It even had a beautiful stain on the end so I stored it right. The color was deep and rich. It had good legs. It smelled great. And the taste...PERFECT!. Thank goodness. It only got better as it opened up in the glass. I even cooked the steaks to perfection. The evening was quite a success. We finished the bottle, had leftover steak (I couldn't even eat half of it it was so large) and had great conversation. It is always a pleasure to have someone to talk to about wine who is knowledgeable and has similar tastes.

The last of the wine

Productive Saturday

I finally decided that the snowmen had to be put away since spring is here. At least I think spring is here because the Bradford Pear trees around town all decided to bloom yesterday. And then the cold front came through and it felt like 30 degrees. But that is Oklahoma. So I thought I would help it along by putting away the snowmen. And I have a lot of them. So many that now I have too many holes to fill decorating wise. I am the absolute worst person about decorating. So a shopping trip may be in order which I really hate to do.

I think we decided on recessed lighting for the kitchen. We have agonized over what to replace that stupid florescent light with and let me tell you there aren't any good options. And the ceilings so desperately need to be painted that is holding us up. So we just have to suck up the cost and move on.

Our local custard place was having its anniversary party today. Free custard cones! And they brought back pumpkin for the day. My favorite. I'm so tempted to get two quarts since they have a special so I just have it in the freezer. It always makes me happy.

With our change in car insurance, I have to "supervise" 15 car rides with Whitney to get a discount. It is absolutely ridiculous that I have to do this. She's been driving for two years. If she had been 19 I wouldn't have to, but 18 I do. Pretty silly. I never ride with her. We all have our own cars and leave at different times even if we are going to the same place. But I purposely had her drive me to the bank and custard place. And I counted that as two trips. Since you know we got out of the car.

Whitney finally got a scholarship offer from OU. It sure took them long enough. Now the wait to get the financial aid total packages and a decision can be made. We all want OCU to win if they just come up with the right package. Fingers and toes are crossed here.

Friday Tidbits

1. Have you ever forgotten your child in a store or at school?

Once when Whitney was little she got lost at Penney's. She was hiding in a rack of clothes and I had no idea where she went. The full on panic mode went into gear, found her, and told her to never do that again. Which she never did thank goodness.

2. Where did you go on your very first date? (Like...first first, not first with your spouse or current significant other!)

I guess my first date was Homecoming in high school. Homecoming was a big deal in Texas and I got the huge corsage (if you are from Texas you know what I mean). I did have to ask him out though.

3. What's your "silly" fear? (We're not talking water and heights.)

Phone phobia. I absolutely am afraid to call people on the phone. If you call me, you will probably notice me yawning because that is my defense mechanism.

4. Confrontation: do you cause it, deal with is as it comes, or run far far away?

I used to run away, but now I'll deal with it. If you don't deal with it, it will just grow and then it becomes unmanageable.

5. Wood floors or carpet?

Carpet. I know people think wood floors are warm and inviting but I just think they are cold. Although now that we have replaced our carpets and have "pooling" issues that make it look like the new carpet is warn out and there is nothing we can do about it, I may rethink the issue.

The Craziest Thing I've Ever Done

I used to scrapbook. I loved to scrapbook. I had all the magazines. I loved going to the scrapbook store (a relatively new place). And I joined an online group of people who scrapped. This was so early in the internet days that we all had dialin connections. I can't even imagine that anymore.

So there was going to be a huge scrapbook convention in Dallas in July. I really wanted to go. I don't know anyone in Dallas. Except one of the online scrap friends. She lived in Dallas. And she worked for Southwest airlines. And everyone else in the group wanted to go. So she said we could all stay in her house. And she would drive us around. And she would give some of them free tickets.

I am normally such a conservative person that when I told Dan that I wanted to go and stay with her and meet these people he thought I was nuts. And I probably was nuts. I don't think I even knew their last names. Yet I bought a plane ticket to get to Dallas really cheap. And we all planned our trip.

I flew there with most of my luggage being my scrapbook supplies. Because we were going to crop all weekend long. I met up with a couple of the other people in the airport and sure enough the girl was there to pick us up. She took us to her house, we met her husband, and it all worked out. Sure there was the normal griping amongst a bunch of women who had never met in person staying in a house with two bathrooms, but overall it was a good experience.

We did get to the airport really early to fly back because the "free" tickets were standby seats. A couple of the people didn't get home until the next day because there was nothing available so they weren't too happy about that. But I made it home all safe and sound.

And that is the craziest thing I've evern done in my life.

When I Grow Up I Want To Be...

When kids grow up, they get asked all the time what do you want to be when you grow up? I know I perpetuate this asking my daughter what do you want to major in college, what are you going to do. When I was young, I wanted to be a teacher. I think most little girls want to be that one.

When I was in high school I wanted to be a chemist. A little more exciting job.

When I got out of college I just wanted a job that paid the bills.

So now that I'm 45, I still wonder what I want to be when I grow up. I've narrowed it down to three.

1. Stock Analyst. When I was working on my masters degree, I was accepted into a special course where we had real money to invest in the stock market. We did value investing (where you find the intrinsic value of a stock and if the price is lower than that, you purchase it.) The one recommendation I made doubled in price in six months. So I felt pretty good about that. Later Dan gave me money for Christmas to specifically invest and play with. I doubled that money even with the huge stock crash, mostly thanks to a Korean steel company that went up 500%. But alas, there really aren't those kind of jobs here in the middle of Oklahoma. So I don't think I'll ever really get to do it for a living.

2. Sommelier. I love to drink wine. In fact one of my favorite days of the week is Thursday when my local wine shop has free wine tastings. I love talking to other people about wine. I love learning about wine. I love how over the years my palate has gotten more refined and more open to try things. But my problem is I never can remember wine terms. I never smell or taste what everyone else is tasting. And there are certain things in wine that I really don't like. Earthy wines (why would I drink dirt), aged in oak (I don't like the woody taste it imparts) and heavy tannins (I hate when my mouth puckers and I feel like I need a huge glass of water after one sip). So I doubt I could ever become a sommelier but it sure would be fun drinking wine for a living.

3. Philanthropist. OK this one probably can be obvious for everyone. First of all you have to have a lot of money to be able to give away a lot of money. (That isn't going to happen for me). But the great thing about this job is that you can pick who to help. You can get involved and really make a difference in a big way. I wouldn't want all the public accolades, I just want to be able to help organizations that I think are important in a much larger way than I am able to now.