I'm baaacccckkkk!!!!!

I managed to make a little more money today at work ($44) and I remembered that I had $40 in my wallet (this is part of the money I'm supposed to use to put a deposit on Dani's dorm room at school next year. (Relax, I'll send the school a check as soon as my support check arrives.). They I cashed in all the change in my change basket in my bedroom (22.78) and my big whopping $25 paycheck and the $20 I use as a bank in my work apron. I added that to the $17 I started out with and I had enough to pay my cable bill! When I added it all up, it came to $173 and change, so I was golden! So now I won't have to go to Burger King tomorrow for breakfast! Good thing because I don't have a nickel on me now!

Now if I could only work that kind of magic to come up with $364 to pay my cell phone bill.

Thank Goodness For Burger King!

WARNING!!! WARNING!! BITCHING AND MOANING TODAY!!!

So, I'm at Burger King for breakfast this morning and there's a pretty good chance I"ll be at BK for breakfast tomorrow morning too. Why? you ask? Because Joanie didn't pay her comcast bill and her Internet, phone and cable has been suspended.

** Hahahaha!!! After reading Alix's comment, I realize that I didn't say WHY I was at Burger King! I'm here for the free Internet access!!! I was going through Blogspot withdraw!! LOL!!! ahem! Now that THAT is cleared up, please continue with my rant.**

The phone doesn't matter because my teenage daughter has lost most of the cordless phones and they don't work any more and as soon as my contract is up next month, I'll no longer have a land line anyway. (why keep one if we all use cell phones now?) My regular cable TVs work but my digital high def TV does not. As of today, I have $17 towards my cable bill and I owe $155. I'm hoping by the weekend I'll have made enough money to pay this bill. Then I'm going to cancel my phone, cancel digital cable and get regular cable since I rarely use all those hundreds of other channels anyway. Dani won't like it, but tough shit kiddo!

I hate being divorced and having to still pay the same bills I had when we had a 6 figure income when I was married. I wish I could figure out a way to lower my cell phone bill. I have 4 phones on my plan and John is the only one who gives me money on a regular basis for his phone. I pay for the kids. Chances are those phones are all going to be turned off soon if I don't send them money too. I should be getting a support check soon, hopefully this weekend and I can catch up on my bills. And my son brought me his last W2 form, so I can now do our taxes and the 2 kids' FAFSA reports for college next year. Once I get my tax refund I can catch up even more!

Once Danielle graduates from high school, I won't have tuition worries any more.

Happy (yeah right) Groundhog's Day

So Poor Punxsutawny Phil (who hails from a small town called Gobbler's Knob, near Punxsutawny, PA in western part of the state,) has been dragged from this nice warm burrow to determine if we will have 6 more weeks of winter. Surprise, surprise!!! He saw it and we're having more winter.
According to German superstition, if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2 — the Christian holiday of Candlemas — winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says, spring will come early.

It actually has been somewhat warm for February. Yesterday we reached a high of about 51 degrees and today was a high of 46 here in Southeastern Pennsylvania. That won't last long though, because the temps are supposed to drop and it'll be back in the low 20s by Wednesday, with snow showers all week. I'm surprised we aren't getting a major storm tomorrow since it's Tuesday and it seems we always get snow or freezing rain on Tuesdays.

I would be quite happy if spring did come early. I'm tired of cold, I'm tired of my oil bill. We didn't even have that much snow yet but I'm tired of it, too. And next winter, the down side of empty nest syndrome is I'll have to shovel this freaking driveway by myself! And my driveway is long enough to hold four cars! I'm telling you, North or South Carolina or Georgia is starting to look real good to me.

Hotel Joanie

So, another one of Dani's friends has been kicked out of her house, because she went out after being grounded. What is it with these people? Nikki's mother told her she was sick of looking at her and didn't want her around. So Nikki said, 'fine with me!' She packed her bags and is now taking up residence in my son's room, while he's away at school. I found this out when I came home from John's this morning and found Nikki in my kitchen and Dani not here because she was at play rehearsal.

I could refuse to let her stay here, but where will she go? At least I know she's safe and warm and going to school and to work. And I like Nikki. She's always polite to me, she talks to me. And she'll probably only be here for a few days.

I can't call her mom. I've never met the woman, I don't even know her name (which is different than Nikki's). I don't know the number. I'm wondering if Child Services is going to show up at my house again. I told Dani they better get this place cleaned up, just in case!

Could be worse.... it could be Karie! A rude, thankfully former friend of Dani's. And Karie would NOT be staying, under any circumstances. Any kid who will refuse to even say hello to me in my own home isn't welcome here... ever.

UPDATE: No sooner had I posted this last entry when Dani tells me that Nikki is going home after she gets done work. Apparently her mom called her bluff and told her if she's not home tonight, she's never setting foot in the house again and Nikki caved. Not sure I agree with mom's tactics but it worked.

Assassin Cat

My newest cat (I have 3, God help me), Java is trying to kill me. You'd think he would be grateful that I rescued him at 2 weeks old when his Mama died and my nail tech guilted me into taking him. You'd think he would appreciate the fact that I got up and bottle fed him every few hours. I even had to teach him how to poop since his Mama didn't get the chance to teach him! Did he thank me? I kept him safe in my bedroom/bathroom so the bigger cats wouldn't hurt him until he was old enough to defend himself. But is he grateful???? NOOOO!!!!!!

Whenever I try to walk up the stairs, he grabs at my feet, wraps himself around my ankle and bites my pants, socks, shoes, feet, whatever his sharp little teeth can sink into. When I try to go down the steps, he'll shoot past me then stop dead on the middle of the staircase. He especially likes it if I have a basket of laundry in my arms that prevents me from seeing the steps below me. He's trying to kill me.

He's all of 5 months old and will pick fights with Cameron and Mason, forcing them to hiss and swipe at him. He and Cam roll all over the floor, biting, clawing. It's like watching 2 teenage girls go at it!

I know he just wants to play when Cam and Mason come in from outside. He chases after them, grabbing at their tails. And they act just like older brothers who don't want to be bothered by the kid brother tagging after them. I think Cameron and Mason taught him to be a bratcat. He just wanted to play, but they hissed at him and swiped at him. Now he's doing it too.

I can tell when Java is going into brat mode. When he's calm and happy, his eyes are a nice green. When he's going to fight and bite, they turn brown! I'm not really sure what to do about him. Dani calls him Satan (now there's the pot calling the kettle black!)

I think Cameron and Mason are just jealous. Java still has his balls and they don't.

You Know You're From Philadelphia When...

Kate did a post like this about Tennessee and invited anyone and everyone to do a similar post for their hometown or home state. Here's mine about Philadelphia (the closest big city to Pottstown, where I live now and/or Clifton Heights, where I grew up)

You know you're from Pennsylvania when...

You've never referred to Philadelphia as anything but "Philly." And New Jersey has always been "Jersey."

You refer to Pennsylvania as "PA" (pronounced Peeay).How many other states do that?

You know what "Punxsutawney Phil" ( A Ground Hog ) is, and what it means if he sees his shadow.

The first day of buck and the first day of doe season are school holidays.

You can use the phrase "fire hall wedding reception" and not even bat an eye.

You can't go to a wedding without hearing the "Chicken Dance," at least 1 Polka and either an Italian song (sung in Italian,) or "Hava Nagila."

At least 5 people on your block have electric "candles" in all or most of their windows all year long.

You know what a "Hex sign" is.

You know what a "State Store" is, and your out of state friends find it incredulous that you can't purchase liquor at the mini-mart.

You own only three condiments "salt, pepper and Heinz ketchup".

Words like "hoagie", "crick", "chipped ham", "sticky buns", "shoo-fly pie", "pierogies" and "pocketbook" actually mean something to you.

You can eat cold pizza (even for breakfast) and know others who do the same. (Those from NY find this "barbaric".)

You not only have heard of Birch Beer, but you know it comes in several colors: Red, White, Brown, Gold.

You know several places to purchase or that serve Scrapple, Summer Sausage (Lebanon Bologna), and Hot Bacon Dressing.

You can eat a cold soft pretzel from a street vendor without fear and enjoy it.

You know the difference between a cheese steak & a pizza steak sandwich and a Primanti's, and know that you can't get a really good one outside PA.

You live for summer, when street and county fairs signal the beginning of funnel cake season.

Customers ask the waitress for "dippy eggs" for breakfast.

You know that Blue Ball, Intercourse, Climax, Bird-in-Hand, Beaver, Moon, Virginville, Paradise, Mars, and Slippery Rock are PA towns.

You know what a township, borough, and commonwealth is.

You can identify drivers from New York, New Jersey, Ohio,or other neighboring states by their unique and irritating driving habits.

A traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a horse-drawn carriage on the highway in Lancaster County.

You know several people who have hit deer more than once.

You carry jumper cables in your car and your female passengers know how to use them.

You still keep kitty litter, starting fluid, de-icer, or a snow brush in your trunk, even if you live in the south.

Driving is always better in winter because the potholes are filled with snow.

'

As a kid you built snow forts and leaf piles that were taller than you were.

Your graduating class consisted of mostly Polish, German, & Italian names.

"You guys" and "ynz" is a perfectly acceptable reference to a group of men & women.

You know how to respond to the question "Djeetyet?" (Didyoueatyet?)

You learned to pronounce Bryn Mawr, Wilkes-Barre, Schuylkill, Bala Cynwyd, Conshohocken, and Monongahela.

You know what a "Mummer" is, and are disappointed if you can't catch at least highlights of the parade.

You live within two miles of a plant that makes potato chips, corn chips, pretzels, candy, or ice cream, or that packages turkey, beans or bologna.

Your turkey has "filling," not "stuffing," and most certainly, NOT "dressing."

You have an uncontrollable urge to buy bread and milk when you hear the word "snow."

You think sexy lingerie is tube socks and a flannel nightie.

You think a typical vacation is two weeks on the front stoop.

School closings due to snow take the radio stations a half an hour to finish, because just about every town has its own school district.

When someone says 1972, you think "Agnes," and when someone says 1979, you think "TMI." (Three Mile Island)

You prefer Hershey's Chocolate to Godiva.

You call Sloppy Joes "Barbecue."

You can stop along the road to buy fruits, vegetables, or crafts on the "honor system."

You consider Pittsburgh to be "out west," and you know the fastest way to Philly is the Turnpike.

The local paper covers National and International headlines on 1/4 page but requires six pages for sports.

The trunk of your car doubles as a deep freezer.

You know that Yuengling is pronounced "Ying-ling," and believe that it really is a premium beer (which comes from growing up on Schlitz and Iron City).

You say "wooder" for "water"..

>

Butterflies Are Free!

Amy very kindly gave me this Butterfly Award because she likes me! She really likes me! I'm thrilled to get this award! Thank you, Amy!

Now I'm supposed to pass this on to others whose blogs I think are the coolest ever! So I'll pass this on to:

My Inner Monoblog

Cookies Mean God Loves You

Pseudonymous High School Teacher

Lilly's Life

I Didn't Get The Message

Pay it forward, ladies! Pass this on to some really cool blogs you follow!

I Hate Weather

Why, why, why does it have to threaten to snow on Tuesdays? I really hate driving in snow, whether it's a little bit or a lot, I just hate it. I'd rather be home, nice and warm. OK, everyone in the Midwest and Northeast, I know I'm a wuss. I'm not the "panic and stock up on milk, eggs and bread" kind of wuss. I'm more of the "buy junk food" kind of wuss.

The reason for this latest panic is because I have not had my hair done since November (or maybe even October). WHY? Because my hairdresser, Pam, works when I work and is off when I'm off except for Tuesday nights! And every time I make an appointment to get my hair done, we get freezing rain and/or snow! Or I'm scheduled to train a new server and, of course, it's always on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights. The salon is 30 minutes from my house and Pam has been doing my hair for about 10 years now (maybe more!) Whenever I let anyone else do my hair, I'm just not happy. so I follow her whenever she goes to a new salon.

Underneath this lovely Redken color is white hair. I have more than an inch of the white stuff showing and I can't hide it an longer. My hair is also much longer than I normally wear it (although John likes it and keeps hoping I'll let it grow.. uh, no. I made a deal with him... if he grows his hair long, I'll grow my hair long... that ended that discussion!).

I feel old and frumpy now and I just can't stand it! I just might have to bite the bullet and have someone else do my hair this time. Another reason why I'm somewhat fussy about it is, I used to be a hairdresser, once upon a time. Whenever I tried to cut my own hair, I made it WAY too short and too choppy. I might, I said MIGHT color it myself if Denny can't do it. I work with Denny at Fridays and he used to be a hairdresser too and still does hair out of his home. The problem there is, he works nights, I work days.

I can live with the length for a bit but this halo has to go!

My Interview with Pseudo

Pseudo sent me questions that she'd like me to answer. OK, here goes!

1. If you could time travel back in time or forward in time for an afternoon of hanging out and chatting, what time period would you visit and who would you visit with?

Actually, when I was married, I always wanted to meet my mother-in-law who died at the age of 39 from a cerebral hemorrhage. My husband was 14 at the time. So that would be around 1971 or so. I wanted to find out what made him tick and maybe she could give me some insight about him.

These days, I think I'd like to meet Pope John Paul II. My sister, the nun met him when she was 47 years old. He shook her hand and she never got her period again. I want some of that miracle!

2. You are going to be given one superpower. What do you want and why?

This one is easy! I'd want to be able to fly! There are so many places in the world I'd love to see and no funds to travel. If I could fly, I could go to all these places and really enjoy myself. Of course it would help if I had a travel partner who could fly also, or I could bring along. That would be so cool!

3. You are house sitting for a friend and you are far from the store. As you open the pantry or fridge, what five items do you hope is stocked there for you?

• A nice dry red wine would be lovely.... Merlot or Cabernet or even Shiraz.
• Cheddar cheese with horseradish and crackers.
• Diet Coke with Lime
• Cheetohs White Cheddar Cheese Puffs!
• Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby Ice Cream!

4. What is your favorite story from your Caribbean Cruise?

Well, nothing really crazy happened on the cruise... it was actually very relaxing and kind of slow-paced. I think my favorite times on the cruise were the early mornings when Raquel would bring us coffee and we'd sit on the balcony with our coffee (and Tina's cigarettes) and we'd just laugh and laugh! I swear I hadn't laughed like that in at least 10 years, maybe even more. Tina had me laughing so hard one morning, I wet myself because I couldn't step up into the bathroom! Of course, Tina got a picture of it! What are best friends for!!!

5. After your youngest goes off to college, what are you planning with your new freedom that might be different than the last 25 years?

Well, I'd sell the house and, if possible, buy a smaller one. If buying isn't an option, I'd hope to get a good rental. The kind of house where the landlord never shows up, unless you need something repaired. Originally, John and I were going to move in together, but since he and Dani can't get along, that won't happen. It will be great to spend more time with John, either at his place or mine. To be able to come and go as I please and not have to worry about being at home because my kid wants to have friends overnight, etc.

This Ungodly Hour

So, it's 3:36 AM, and I'm awake, and I'm dressed and I'm sort of caffeinated. Why? Because Lauryn and Lillian are going home to Oregon today, in about 30 minutes actually. Last night her mother called me and asked me if I could drive Lauryn to the airport because they couldn't find anyone to take her. Her brother, Nick was supposed to take her to the airport but apparently he can't because his car isn't big enough to get all her junk in it. I offered to lend him my car. He's 21, he has better things to do, like sleep I guess, than take his sister to the airport to get her away from the crazy mother of the loser boyfriend. So here I sit, drinking my coffee, waiting for the girls to get dressed so we can leave. My daughter insists on going with us, even though she has exams this morning.

Lauryn just wants me to drop her and the baby off at the airport, not go in with her. I think I can't get through security because I'm not her mother (I was allowed to go to the gate with Dani when she went to visit Lauryn in Oregon right after Christmas) . I'm worried that Jarrid's mother will find out she's leaving today and do something to try to stop her. I told Lauryn not to let Jarrid know that she was leaving today but stupid ass told him anyway. I guess I shouldn't be too worried... if I can't get through security, then Crazy Cindy can't either.

Jarrid, the loser, did something really stupid that I think is really funny. For some reason, he gave Lauryn his driver's license. I think he told her he wanted her to have it so she could hold it for him until he gets back to Oregon and that was proof that he was coming back to her and Lillian. He has a court date here in PA on Feb 24, so he has to stay here until then. He's probably going to lose his license. I think he got a DUI when he ran from the cops, but Lauryn says no but his 17 year old friend was drunk. Why else would he lose his driving privilege if he wasn't drunk? I sure hope he gets stopped and is driving without his license on him! Plus, he can't get on a plane back to Oregon without phtoto ID! LOL! Lauryn says he has school ID but I don't think that will work. And frankly, I don't think he's going to bother to go back to Oregon when this is all done. It would be better for everyone concerned if he stayed here and let them get on with their lives.

I hope I can get back here to my house before rush hour traffic starts up. I might even be able to get a little more shut eye before I have to be at work at 11 AM. Because right now, I'm running on less than 3 hours of sleep.

UPDATE:
It's now 6:50 AM, I'm home but too awake to go back to sleep, even though I don't have to be at work until 11. Lauryn just texted Dani that she's on the plane. I'm relieved. I half expected to see Cindy there, with police, trying to stop her from leaving PA. Although, now that I think about it, Cindy isn't very smart. When asked about drug and alcohol use (which I was also questioned about), Cindy told the Child Services lady that she had to stop smoking pot because she works for the IRS now and has to take a piss test (her words, not mine) every week. Stupid ass.