November 8, 2007

The reason I haul around hundreds of pounds of paper I'll probably never need

We got a letter yesterday, absolving us from any tax liability to the State of Maryland for the year 2004.

'Bout time.

We've gone back and forth several times now with the state, sending justification for not paying state tax that year. Did I mention that we were following their rule, to the letter? And that after I sent proof that we were, in fact, in compliance, they requested information that I'm pretty sure they should have had access to one their own? Access that wouldn't have required me to dig through my less-than-organized files?

Actually, I'm having a hard time being too upset at this point. After all, I was just proven right AND I get to keep my money.

Posted by me at 11:08 AM | Comments (0)

August 22, 2007

Sounds like the definition of family to me

We were in Austin last weekend, where I was buried in old memories.

I've known the friend we were visiting for 22 years, two-thirds of our lives. Even though we haven't always lived near each other, or even been in the same phase of our lives for most of that time, we've always come back to each other. She's a smidge older than I am, and has met most of life's milestones first: college, marriage, kids. Because we have some very similar values and views, her advice and opinions have always been very important to me. I'm not sure what I contribute to her life, but to me, she's been invaluable.

Add to that her parents, with whom I spent quite a bit of time as well. We were at their house on Lake Travis, which is filled with the things they've collected over the years. They had a lot of those things already when I was a kid, and so even though their current house is less familiar, much of what fills it is the same. We were at their house for my friend's birthday party, a fun affair full of families, swimming, food and play.

I got to flip through an album of old pictures, from before my family met theirs and beyond, and it gave me a sense of connection I don't get with many people. I haven't held on to very many people through my life, I don't have those elementary school friends some have, or a group of girls from college that did everything together. But I do have this family that has been intertwined with mine in many ways since I was eleven. They knew me before I knew me.

Posted by me at 9:59 PM | Comments (1)

August 21, 2007

Getting a letter from the Comptroller of Maryland, completely out of tax season, and referring to tax year 2004, asking why we didn't file?

Not cool.

Posted by me at 9:47 PM | Comments (0)

September 30, 2006

There's no place like home

I haven't been around much lately.

This past week, I've been knocked out by the crud. It got bad enough I actually went to the doctor. I've been to doctors enough lately that I'm starting to feel like a hypochondriac. Odd since I'm generally not a sickly person. At least this time I walked away with some antibiotics that seem to be kicking the sick's ass. Today, I finally felt like something better than ass.

For the week or so before that, we were up in Maryland, visiting friends and family and reassimilating Jamie. We had a nice trip, a great mix of seeing people and things and relaxing. Rex officially got laid off. I finally got an Ikea catalog. Even Steven, right there, I tell ya.

I also came to a very important conclusion. Moving, with all it's problems, was the right decision for us.

The weather was nice, but getting cooler. Some of the nights were what I consider downright cold. I could feel winter coming, and I was incredibly happy that we were going to be thousands of miles away when it arrived.

Posted by me at 9:05 PM | Comments (0)

April 13, 2006

If only the memory of summer lasted long enough to get me through the cold

I knew I should have saved before I stood up. Another post bites the dust.

***

I've decided that winter is like childbirth. The last few days have been so gorgeous, so green and sunny and gloriously warm, that I can't believe we're leaving. I've already forgotten how suck-ass the last 6 months were.

I took a walk with the girls yesterday to get the mail. The flat part of the driveway has trees growing on both sides. Deer are forever running across right in front of you, and if you look closely, you can see them wandering around in the trees. Sometimes they are close enough that you could hit them if you threw something out the car window.

Jamie was having a blast, picking up sticks and leaves, running her hands in the dirt, chattering and singing. Katie loved riding on the Toro the best, bouncing and cooing the entire ride (we rode partway - Katie is getting too heavy for me to carry 1.2 miles without a sling or anything, and sometimes even with.) She kept grabbing the steering wheel, which almost caused a few accidents, but made her giggle.

I can't believe that I'm giving up all this space. I love the green grass so much it hurts sometimes. (The grass in Texas isn't as foot friendly, and often contains fire ants.) The horses would be such a blast when the kids got older. (Of course, the "kid" horses will be dead by then, one already is!) So would the creek, and the pine trees and the trails and the chores. It's so hard to leave these things that I love and hate with the same thought.

Of course, I'm pretty sure Texas is where we need to be. I can feel winter coming already.

Posted by me at 4:33 PM | Comments (0)

April 10, 2006

Today was a good day

I really think it had a lot to do with the weather.

It's no secret that I'm a sunny, warm weather kind of girl. Today only got into the mid 60's, but we were outside, playing in the mulch, feeding the geese (that we aren't supposed to feed. Suck it.), walking around and just sitting in the grass. We even ate a picnic dinner out in the barn while Dad took a break from loading hay.

All of this wonderfulness may have had something to do with Jamie being an angel at lunch. Apparently, Macaroni Grill is a little more formal than I remembered, and I don't think they were thrilled to have two slightly frumpy women come in with 4 kids 3 and under between us. Katie was pooped at this point, since she was about 2 hours past due for her first nap, and the bread was only going to hold her off for so long. We survived, then headed back to the playground area for some more sun.

I can't even think of a lowpoint for the day. So on that note, I'm going to bed :)

Posted by me at 9:46 PM | Comments (1)

April 8, 2006

Lazy dayz

I'm really going to miss sleeping in in the mornings.

Katie slept til 6:30 this morning, then I got up and nursed her. My dad was already upstairs waiting for Jamie to wake up, so he came in and got her, and then got Jamie when she woke up at 7:30.

Me? I slept in til 8:30.

Two more weeks, and all this sleep is over.

I could cry.

Posted by me at 10:11 PM | Comments (0)

April 3, 2006

The next big thing

OK, I give. I have a second blog (ok, third) that I started to keep track of moving stuff. Not sure now why I didn't just make another category. I had a reason, but I've forgotten already.

In any case, the moving blog is here.

Posted by me at 10:26 PM | Comments (0)

February 19, 2006

A post of substance? We'll see about that!

Friday was not such a good day. One of our horses, one that we've had for 10 years or so, had to be put down.

He was a sweet old guy, fun to ride, well behaved, easy tempered. He was probably 29 or so, but still game. The last time I rode him, I was probably 4 or 5 months pregnant with Katie. One of the reins broke, and after a moment of panic and confusion, I easily got him stopped. He could have taken advantage of the situation and galloped off to the barn (not far away, and I would have been fine, but still, more danger than I was looking for at the time), but he didn't.

He was old, he was going to go sometime, he had a good life with us, he served his purpose well. All that's well and good. It still hurts that he's gone. That he won't be around for my kids to learn to ride on. That his buddy, another old gentleman, is puttering around the pasture alone. I can't quite wrap my mind around the fact that he's gone.

Posted by me at 9:18 PM | Comments (1)

December 15, 2005

Do I sound Breezy?

For Christmas this year, my dad is taking care of selling my horse for me. This is a big help to me for two reasons. One, selling him would be a big pain in my ass. He has better contacts than I do, and won't stress about every penny like I will. Two, I haven't been able to sell Breezy in the last 10 years, I'm not sure I could make myself do it now. I hate the thought of him going somewhere where he might be neglected or mistreated.

He has to be sold, though, also for two reasons. We're moving back to Texas. I don't know when or where, but I know we're going. And I've grown up.

Earlier this year, he reared up on me, and flipped over backwards. As I fell, all I could think was he was going to land on me and break my back and how the hell was I going to keep up with two kids in a wheelchair? Then I was lying on the ground, hoping he didn't step on me as he scrambled to his feet. Finally, I tried to take stock of all my body parts to see which ones were broken. I was so incredibly lucky to walk away with barely a scratch, and nothing broken.

Breezy has always been spirited. He loves to run. When I was younger and used to ride regularly, we ran full out and we walked, but we rarely did anything in between. He was always calm when we walked, not hyper or twitchy like a lot of Thoroughbreds. He was so well behaved that I would take small children on him. I have a great picture of me cantering him through the yard with nothing more than a halter and a lead rope on.

I'm not a kid anymore. I have an obligation to my kids to not take unnecessary risks with my life and health. I don't have to give up everything, but there's no reason for me to own a horse that has the spunk and attitude Breezy has developed in the last few years of disciplinary neglect. If we were staying, I'd be better off with a horse that's less likely to break my neck. And so I need to sell him because I've grown up.

Posted by me at 10:00 PM | Comments (0)

November 1, 2005

It's like all my problems are going to be solved

I'm giddy. Exuberant. Euphoric.

And it's not even hooked up yet.

We got a notice from Verizon a couple weeks ago saying that we were able to get their FiOS service at our address. Fiber, baby! I ordered service online, and set up an installation appointment for today. I fully expected for them to notify me in the meantime that we were too far away from the main road for them to run service. I figured when they did the preliminary install of fiber from the pole to our house, they would balk at the half mile of digging. The other option was running it across the fields over the phone lines. I didn't figure they'd go for that either.

Our appointment today was between 8 and 5. Nice window for them. We were about dying since they didn't get here til 4! We spoke to the techs for a while about how the phone lines came in across the field, if digging would be an issue. The one tech (with the be-yoo-tee-ful blue eyes and dark hair) said that he would look at where the lines were and call his supervisor, but it would probably be at least several weeks or a month before we got service, unless they decided we just weren't worth it at all.

They checked out what they needed to check out. They came back and said the contractors should be out by the end of the week to bury the fiber. Early next week at the latest. Then the installers will come back and do an hour or so's worth of work and we'll be set. SET I TELL YOU!

I am, quite possibly, a mere 1-2 weeks away from faster, more reliable cheaper broadband. I'M THE QUEEN OF THE WORLD!

Posted by me at 8:54 PM | Comments (0)

October 18, 2005

Hay is for horses

When my Dad and Jamie go out on their morning excursions, they often go visit the horses. Sometimes they have something to feed them, or they just go to say hi.

The horses are in two pastures. The fat, gain-weight-breathing horses are in a acrappy pasture, trying to lose weight and failing miserably. The old, skinny horses are in the better pasture, and they're gaining weight, but not quite fast enough. My dad stuck a trash can of feed and two pans out in their pasture, so we can feed them up a little for winter. Thhey set this up over a weekend, and he let me know that it was out there so we could help out and have something nice to do outside. He told me all I have to do is open the fence, and Jamie takes care of the rest.

It's the cutest thing. I open the fence. Jamie walks into the pasture, checks each of the pans and dumps the water out if necessary. Then she walks over to me at the trash can, and I hand her a scoop of feed. She loads one pan up, and comes back for the second scoop. After she brings the scoop back to me, she starts calling for the horses.

It's neat to see her doing these little chores. She enjoys doing it, and she's so confident and grown up. I don't really know how to describe it.

She laid down on top of me today, and I marveled again that I grew this *person* in my own body.

Posted by me at 9:38 PM | Comments (0)

September 9, 2005

Living space

We're living in Maryland. With my dad.

This is both better and worse than it sounds. Better because my dad and I have always had an uncommonly close and easygoing relationship. Worse because we've put 5000 square feet of stuff into a 2400 square foot house. That's 3 adults, 2 kids and 3 cats, if you're counting.

The company doesn't bother me much, but the accomodations are slowly driving me insane. This house has seen better days. There are a lot of things that need to be fixed up, replaced or remodeled. The laminate on the kitchen counters is not attached. The wood around the front and back door frames is rotted out. The carpet in the living room is 15 years old, and it was the cheapest you could buy back then.

On top of that, my dad had planned to put on an addition. One that increased the size of the house by half again it's original size, and included a garage to boot. We moved up here a year ago, the addition was started soon after. Then the contractor turned looney. And I mean looney. Construction was halted before it began, although a large hole was dug in the front yard under the front door, the front door was screwed shut, and a doorway was cut in the original foundation to connect it to the new section. That's where things stopped.

Outside, I'm surrounded by 100 acres of beautiful fields, trees and forest. We have horses, hay to play in, trails to walk, deer to watch and a creek to wade in.

This should be an inconvenient house surrounded by a wonderous playland. But it feels more like a beautiful lonely cage.

Posted by me at 2:53 PM | Comments (0)