Looking for Ideas...

Fidget and I will celebrate our 5 year anniversary in September. I'm looking for frugal ideas (yes, I would love to take her on a cruise...or fly her to the tropics...but that's a little too extravagant for my budget). I thought about having an "all about Fidget" party, and inviting our closest friends, family, paid strangers who are nice to us, etc. and celebrating all of the reasons that I love her throughout the night. I've got half a cow and about a dozen chickens in my freezer, so I could fire up the grill, buy some beverages and have a shin-dig.

I am an incredible romantic at heart...and if I don't plan something, I will end up spending a bazillion dollars on roses (because she loves them that much). I will probably send 5 dozen roses
to her at work, regardless of whatever else is planned. It's the least I can do...She's put up with me for all these years, after all.

Ever get something stuck in your head?

I don't mean a song...I mean a memory. Something you'd rather not think about. Something you almost wish you could just erase...except that you wouldn't really go through with erasing it because to do so would alter who you are. I mean, it would alter you to your core.

I'm being haunted by an EMS memory, an ambulance run I was on about 3 years ago. When the pager went off, I had no idea that my life was about to be changed. And it's stuck in my head. I dream about it, it comes into my mind at the most odd times...and it won't go away. It's like my brain is stuck. And I can't figure out why.

I'm not in touch with the local crew anymore, so I can't ask them for advice. I don't know that a non-EMS person would understand. I just keep thinking that if I could figure out why it's stuck there, I could un-stick it.

Suggestions anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

A Question For Readers

I'm working on a major project thing for one of my classes (Rehabilitation and Prevention). I'll tell you more about it in another post, another day.

My question for you, dear reader, is this: A known sex offender (registered or not) moves in next door to you. What do you do? Does your action/reaction change if you have children?

The more responses I get, the better. I will not quote you (unless I specifically ask for and receive your permission), nor will I disclose any identities (even if I have permission to quote you). No worries. This is solely for my information, to better write up my project. I will let you know in the future (also protecting respondents anonymity) what the responses were. I want totally honest responses.

Please comment below or email me. I GREATLY appreciate your help.

Rant

We've been scurrying around, having our house shown. Did you know that the house has to be PERFECT if one is to consider buying? Fidget and I had no idea...Here we thought that painting and things were the job of the buyer. Apparently, if you don't like the paint color that's in the living room then that's reason to not buy the house. Ridiculous, it's completely ridiculous.

When Fidget and I look at a house we ignore things like: the colors on the walls, any smell that we can get rid of (yes, that includes the heavy smoke and stale beer smells that have been in a couple of the houses we've looked at), the flooring, things like that. We feel that those are personal choices...some may sweeten the deal (hardwood floors) but they are not deal breakers--those are things we can fix/change.

Fidget and I both smoke. If it's freezing cold (like below zero) or raining, we smoke in the house. If we have guests over who also smoke, we smoke in the house (this is rare). If all of the windows are open on a nice day, we smoke in the house. The rest of the time, we smoke outside. Most of the time when we're smoking indoors, we're smoking in front of a window fan that's set to vent to the outside. Are there times when a non-smoker can smell the smoke? Of course. Is it ever heavy? Never. Our house is almost always spotless...well, relatively. We have cats, and where there are cats, there is cat hair. (We get rid of as much as we can before showing the house...using sticky-rollers on furniture and drapes and such.) We have non-smoking friends who have told us that our house doesn't stink at all.

That said: I view a smoky odor as a "fixable" issue. If there is a bad aroma in a house I'm otherwise interested in (and trust me, in the last couple of months we've gone into some NASTY houses), it's not a deal-breaker. I can fix it. I understand that there are a few people out there with a severe allergy to smoke...I'm not talking about them.

The people I'm talking about: Well, one lady wouldn't even look at the house because there was the faint odor of smoke. (I had smoked OUTSIDE, just before we left so the Realtor could show the house, my guess is that she smelled it outside.) Ridiculous.

I know I should quit smoking, and I want to quit. I can't do the gum (dentures); the lozenges upset my stomach; I'm allergic to the adhesive in the patch; I can't afford the medication. So I'm going to have to quit cold turkey. In the meantime, this is my home. This is where I live, where I need to be comfortable. One's home is their refuge from the world. I refuse to feel guilty about being comfortable in my own home.

When I go to a non-smoker's home, I would never in a million years dream of lighting up. To me, that's the equivalent of peeing on someone's table. They don't smoke, and they probably think it's a filthy, disgusting habit/addiction. And it is.

But in my own home, I will do as I please. If you make an offer on my home for MORE than the asking price with the stipulation that I not smoke in it until you move in...It's a deal. Until then, I have to live here. You are the guest.

This pisses me off to no end. Am I being unreasonable? Please email or comment below with your thoughts on the issue.

Spring Break

So next week is Spring Break, and it seems that every class I went to this week was full of students who had exciting destinations. Me? I'll be home, writing papers, studying for an exam that scheduled for the MONDAY WE COME BACK (even I think that sucks), and doing other miscellaneous homework.

I keep trying to figure out when exactly I became a responsible student.

In other news, we've had a few more people come and look at the house, so hopefully it will sell before summer.

Snow, Snow, and More Snow

Last week's snowstorm left us with about 14 inches...in 2 days. Yesterday we got about 2-3 inches. Today, I would guesstimate that we've gotten about 7 so far. The worst is supposed to hit tonight. They are predicting that between today and tomorrow we'll receive another 14-18 inches. All of the roads into and out of my town are closed.

Fidget is stuck in a town about 30 miles south of where we live, she's staying at her parents' house. I'm glad she's safe and warm, and able to get to her new job so she doesn't fall behind in "training/orientation" but I miss her. She left yesterday morning...and she probably won't be able to come home until Saturday.

As if this wasn't enough...My damn snowblower won't start. Rheumatoid prevents me from shoveling...I did about half of our deck, and will probably pay for that for several days. I'm having to rely on neighbors to help me with snow removal--I'm glad I have nice neighbors, but I HATE having others do something for me that I'm capable of doing myself. I had the next door neighbor over to look at the snowblower, but he couldn't get it running either. RATS!

We are lucky, though. So far (knocking on wood) we haven't lost power. Which is a good thing, because all the generators in town are already sold out. I'm heading out to the garage to see if we have an old metal coffee can. I'll keep some candles and a lighter with it, that way if the power goes out I will still have a source of heat.

Sometimes I really hate winter.