Notival

We buried my grandmother yesterday. And that's really all there is too that.

Towards the end of '07, I started running some numbers to see how Ninsi and I were going to be doing come tax time. And the initial outlook was grim. Granted, I was using worst-case scenarios, but still, we were going to have to pay quite a bit. Now that we've actually got most of our stuff in and I am able to use the right numbers, things are looking much better. Not sure how much we will get back, but it is looking like we wont have to pay, after all, and that is really the only bit that matters.

Im continuing my efforts to create an excellent 'Armadillo Egg'. ie, stuffed jalapenos. The ones I have made so far are good. They just need some tweaking. I'll be making a new batch tonight.

Not much today. Been busy with work.

I did make some decent 'Armadillo Eggs' the other day though. They take a little too long to make to do it regularly, but I'll probably do it a couple times a year randomly. Tweak the recipe a little bit.

Heading up to OK right after work today to spend the weekend with the Squid. And then next weekend, Ninsi and I are heading up to Guthrie for a day, so that will make three weekends in a row that Im driving up to OK. I really dont like driving that much. Just can't get out of it all the time. Ninsi says I dont have to go to Guthrie, but I know better than that. It's like a woman saying she's "fine" when something is really wrong. It's a lose-lose.

Made it back from OK yesterday fairly early. About three pm, or so. Had plenty of daylight left in which to work in the yard, or clean up around the house. But I did neither of those things. Instead, I did our taxes. Great fun, that. But it wasn't all bad. We are at least getting something of a refund. I thought I would be able to deduct my lasik surgery and other medical expenses for the year, but those did not total more than 7.5% of our Adjusted Gross. I wasnt aware of the 7.5% issue when I initially thought Id be able to deduct. No matter. It's done. Maybe we'll get our refund by the end of the month.

After the taxes were done, I went to pick up Ninsi at the airport and we went on to dinner. Her allergies have been acting up, so the plane ride was unpleasant. And now we are getting ready to head up to OK again on Saturday. This should be the last trip for at least a month.

I am tired of teh driving.

Valentine's Recovery Day.
Yesterday was V-day. We did not do anything terribly special. I took about an extra hour to get home from work so I could go by the market and pick up a couple steaks. That was about all that our plans consisted of. Cooking a couple of nice steaks for dinner. And they were good. I got Ninsi her usual, the fliet mignon, and a nice rib-eye for myself.

Tomorrow is the 3rd and final trip to Oklahoma for the month. Birthday celebration. Fabulously cold weather. I can hardly wait.

Trying to get a friend to send me some pr0n. Other than that, it's all quiet.

Sometimes, the coincidence is just too great.

So, Saturday, Ninsi and I drove up to Guthrie for her great grandmother's birthday celebration. It rained the whole time. The. Whole. Time. We took both of our cameras. The new digital camcorder from Christmas, and the little digital still cam we've had for a few years now. Tracy took a few pictures and then, randomly, the camera just stopped working. It wasnt the battery, the camera acted like something had just come lose inside and the lens would not close anymore and it was showing an error on the viewscreen. You can still view the pictures already taken, but it no longer will take new pics. Im not sure if it would be worth the expense to get it fixed or not. The non-funny thing is that on Thursday, I was cleaning out the office, and found all of the stuff from when we bought the camera. The owner's manual, the original box, the receipt, all of it. But decided we did not need any of that any more. So on Friday, all of that went out with the trash. The camera broke on Saturday. Wtf?

I went outside yesterday and realized that my yard is being overrun by dandelions. I thought I had taken care of them last year, but apparently I failed. I spent an hour pulling them up yesterday and still have a ways to go yet. I'll not let them have the front yard. This weekend, I'll go on a major offensive to completely rid the yard of all dandelion spawn. I 'spect I will had quite a bit to the four piles of pulled plants I have already created.

Michelle Obama, wife of presidential candidate Barak, has called our house twice in the last week. She keeps telling me to press the number '1' on my phone. Im tempted to do it just to make her stop calling. At the same time, Im wondering how many times she will call if I dont. Or even if pressing it will stop the calls.

Ive been starting to listen to Pandora a lot more at work. Probably will until they tell me to stop.

My mind is too muddled with various work issues to think of any of the things I meant to write about this week. Ive been planning to blog all week. Just haven't had the time. And really dont have time as I write this. But I was not about to let the week end with just one entry.

I think the Oscars are coming up soon. If I could care less than I do, I would.

It's less than a month til Spring. Time to get the yard in order. Which is what I started doing yesterday.

I mowed the front yard down to about an inch tall, after pulling out all the dandelions I could find. Then got the spreader and laid out new grass seed and fertilizer. And then watered it all. I didnt see any birds eating the seeds, but I bet they did. Im debating getting a pellet gun in case I catch them at it.

Moved to the backyard after that. It has been a mess for a while. Lots of excess wood laying around. I spent about two hours cleaning that up, at least to the point where I can haul it all off as soon as I borrow a truck from someone. That may be my plan for this coming weekend.

Im ready for longer days so I can get more done after work. Though, if the Squid comes down for Spring Break, I'll probably take off work most of that week and get a lot done then anyway.

Im really starting to be annoyed by Mondays. They interfere too much with my weekends.

In a dream last night, there was a little girl. Her name was Barbara. I dont know anyone by that name. If you looked her in the eyes, she could make you completely forget about her. You'd forget her name, that you knew her, and anything about her. I dont remember why she wanted no one to know about her, but I did spend most of the dream with my eyes closed, so she couldnt make me forget. Since I remember that her name was Barbara, I was obviously successful. It was still a little weird, though.

I spent most of yesterday evening restless. Finally, I decided that the locks on the door leading from the garage into the house needed to be changed. So, about a quarter of 11, I changed both the locks on that door. Im hoping the restlessness will be eased once the time changes and I have more daylight.

Had I not changed the locks, I probably would have taken a file and started sharpening the lawnmower blade. I gotta find something to do in the evenings.

What is up with people that like Macs also must have a Volkswagon? It just doesnt seem rational. Cant have one without loving the other.

It's been a long slow day. Im just ready for to end in a couple hours so I can get on with my weekend of doing a lot of nothing. Probably some yard work. Kill some fire ants. Have a margarita. Or two. A few.

Yeah, that sounds like a plan.