I'm still very "up" today

I am a little bit sore, though. We walked from the mall to a Target not far away, and I don't know why, but I was just hurting all over when we got there. We picked up some stuff to eat and sat around catching up for an hour or more. We did some browsing and found some cute kitchen appliances that she liked. Then we went back to the mall and browsed a bit through a furniture store, took some pictures, talked a lot, laughed some, and generally had a wonderful time. We talked some about setting up savings accounts. A household account for home maintenance/repairs, and one for emergencies, like in case one of us has to go to the hospital. We'll both be on Medicare, but unlike Medicaid, that requires a co-pay for medications (don't know about hospital stays or any procedures/surgeries). She also suggested setting up advance directives and making each other our emergency contacts, which makes sense. Neither of us are particularly close to our families, so we'll know more than they do about each other's medical issues and needs.

Out of $1,300/month (I'm still going to try to put at least $500/month into savings), I'd like to put $50-$100 into both joint accounts (household and emergency).

I found out last night when I checked my email that I have to redo all the forms that my lawyer sent me because they misspelled my last name on the first batch. Oops!  :-) But I don't mind; I'm used to people not being able to spell or pronounce my name. lol (I've thought about changing it partly for that reason. Ciana Douglas (the name I use on forums) is a little easier to spell and say. Besides, I happen to think it's a beautiful name.)

So that's what happened yesterday. I'm hoping to get together with her again soon, maybe at the end of the month, providing it's not cold and rainy like yesterday.

Randomness

Wow, I've had this blog since October, and already I've posted 68 (including this one) entries! I wonder how many I'll post by this October (the one year anniversary, eight months from now)? I look forward to that. Hopefully I'll be posting from wherever my roommate and I are living at the time.

I'm hoping that I get my dad's check (for Feb.) on Monday or even tomorrow or Saturday. (I think it may have gone out Tuesday.) I'm planning to take it right to Chase Bank and opening a checking and a savings account with most of it, and keeping something like $50. I'm also expecting my check for March on the 28th or so, and I'll be doing the exact same thing (and using it to set up direct deposit so it won't  get lost in the mail again... the first time this has happened!

Hey, I just thought of something! It would be awesome if my roomie and I each got north of $1,000/month in disability. That way we could afford to pay more for a nicer house! I'd like to be able to get a really nice place. (Or at least a fixer-upper that doesn't need much fixing...) My roomie has been looking at 2, 3, and 4 bdrm houses, which would be good. (Possibly we could have guests if we got a 4 bdrm? We'd like one to use as an office. Keep our computers, files, etc. in there.)

I'm not sure how she'd feel about a two-story house. It would be fun for the dogs to be able to run up and down stairs, and I could also use the exercise, lol. I need to lose some of this gut! (BTW, I found some workout clothes on Amazon, along with a Total Gym. I already have a Total Gym, although I don't know if I'm going to take it with me. I may donate it to the building and see if anyone here would want to set it up and use it. If not, I can sell it.)

I also have to work on finding out how much land goes for in OK. I inherited about 5 acres (I think) from my grandmother, and since I don't plan on ever living up there again, I'd rather have the money than the property. My brother is willing to buy it from me if I can find out how much to ask for it. If I can get my cousin David's phone number, I could call him and find out.

............

Just messaged my aunt on Facebook and asked her if she knew how to get in touch with him. Hope she gets back in touch with me. I don't know if the property is in my name or not (probably not; I never signed any papers or anything that I remember... although I was so upset at the time, I may have forgotten. I don't even know what happened to all the stuff that was in the house... I do know that I've never gotten anything.) I don't know why I'm writing all this. It's been a little over six years since she passed, and while I think about her all the time (and it still makes me sad that I won't see her again for a long time (God willing), I'm talking about what I can get from her estate?!?! Does that make me sound like a greedy biotch? I hope not. I remember what my aunt said at her funeral, because it was the same thing I was thinking. Grandma had three children of her own, but she had ten kids. Me and my three brothers, her brother's four sons, plus her own. She was a remarkable woman with a huge heart, and I can't say enough about her. What I wouldn't give to be able to see and talk to her again. I'll miss her always.

Musings...

As I said in my Facebook status update yesterday morning, I called a disability attorney who is going to try to see if she can get me my DAC benefits. If she does, I'm going to start saving up money so I can get an apartment away from here. I really want out, and I can continue saving money for when my roommate and I are ready to buy our house (yes, we're going to do the "rent-to-own" thing). At this point, I really don't care where we live, whether we stay in Texas or move out of state. I just want to leave.

Some things I'd love to have for the new place: nice furniture (we both have bedroom stuff, but we need living, dining, and kitchen stuff); I want my bedroom and bath (if we have 2 bathrooms) to be decorated in shades of purple (plum, lilac, orchid, that type of thing). She prefers peach and burgandy... she'd like burgandy for the living room. I wonder if we could add some peach and purple accents? I guess we could go to some kind of furniture showroom and get some ideas. She suggested awhile back that maybe we could go to Lowe's or somewhere and get some stick-on borders (with her asthma, we can't do any painting). I wonder if there is any such thing as wallpaper you can just stick on? I mean stuff you don't need paste to put it up. That would also be a good thing. (Don't want her having an attack because of the fumes.)

Also, I want to save up to buy some new clothes (even if they're only new to me, i.e., from Goodwill). I have some nice things that I'll be taking with me, of course, but I want some new pants (as of now, I only have two or three pairs that fit). And if we end up moving up north (Seattle or Minneapolis), I'll need some good cold weather clothes (sweaters and coats and such. Don't forget the long johns, either! :-)) And I want some new sheet sets. I have a few sheets, but I want to be able to change my bed more than a couple of times a week. Maybe I'll sell my current bed and save up for a full size? That way Alaska and I will both have room. (Yes, she sleeps with me.)

I also need a dog carrier and a bed for her. I'd like to be able to take her to the dog park (there's one at White Rock Lake, I think, off of Mockingbird), and the only way my counselor (onsite) will take me is if she's in a carrier. Which is understandable. If we ever got into an accident, she could be hurt, and I'd be devastated.  George understands that she's my baby (he has dogs, too, and I bet he feels the same way about them), and how it would tear me up if anything happened to her, especially if I could have prevented it. So when I get my check next month, I'm going to Petsmart (there's one on Greenville, not too far from where I live) and price carriers and beds.

..............

Yay! I just went to Amazon, and they have a purple zebra stripe pet carrier for $39. I'm going to get it! (I hope shipping isn't too much...) So next month I can go to the dog park and let Alaska run around and play with the other dogs. I'm happy now! :-)

Added lots more stuff to my Amazon want list...

Among them are some Spanish and French language courses. There's a lady who comments on Jameson Parker's blog fairly frequently who's French, and I would love to learn her language. I've done pretty well in the past picking up various words and phrases in foreign languages (thank God for a good memory!), and now that I'm getting older, I think it would be a good idea for me to continue giving my brain a good workout by trying to learn new things. Yeah, it'll be hard since I won't have anyone to practice with (except for "talking" to Anita on JP's blog), but still... And since I do live in Texas, it will be good for me to learn some more Spanish, too. (My housekeeper speaks it, as do some of the residents in my building.) I think it'll be fun.

I've also put some of my other favorite books and CDs and DVDs on my want list. Hopefully I can order some of them for my birthday. I should have close to $1,000 by then, and even spending $250 of it on a new (used) computer, I'll have enough left to have a nice birthday.

I've been a little bit upset this past week. I haven't gotten my check from my dad's retirement from the airport yet, and I'm really hurting for money. I need to buy groceries soon, and I don't know what to do. I tried to call the lady in charge of the retirement accounts at the airport, but she hasn't been in the office and hasn't gotten back to me. I hope she does soon so I can find out where my check is. I'm hoping it will be here next week.  I'm also trying to get my dad's social security number so I'll have it when I go back to apply for my DAC benefits.

I'm hoping that we'll find a house soon, too. I'm being as patient as I can, but if you know me, you know that's not easy! lol

Have an appt. at Social Security on Thursday

I'll be applying (for the second time) for SSDI. I hope I can get it this time. I'm going to call a lawyer as soon as I get home and see if he'll work with me to get it. I'm hoping that if I can get even a few hundred dollars more a month, then I can save enough by the end of the year to make a down payment on a house.

My roommate talked to a paralegal in her lawyer's office this morning (she said the woman was awfully rude!) and the paralegal will talk to the lawyer. I hope he'll finally get off his ass and help her!  She needs the money!

I think I have a couple of hundred in savings right now. Hopefully I'll get my check from my dad's retirement tomorrow. With my weekly allowance, that will be $184. I need to do some grocery shopping, and I also have an appt. at the groomer's next Monday for Alaska. That'll cost about $60.  I also need to get some quarters to do laundry (another reason I want to get my own place... I can have a washing machine and dryer that I don't have to pay to use!).

I need a new phone. The screen froze on my current one and I can't use the little slider thingy to unlock it. I hope I have insurance on it. I really don't want to have to pay for a new one (or at least pay full price, which I believe was $60). Sometimes technology is more trouble than it's worth, lol. I can say the same about my computer, although it's not really the computer's fault that the broadband link is unavailable (and comes back when it damn well pleases), or that the DNS lookup failed (what the hell does that even mean???). Sometimes I feel like doing an Elvis (am I the only one who's heard the story (possibly apocryphal) that whenever Elvis didn't like what was on tv, he'd pull out a gun and shoot it? Good thing I don't have a gun in my possession; I'd be doing that to my computer at least five times a day. lmao) #firstworldproblems

Well, I'll probably update between now and Thursday, but I'll definitely let you all know how my appt. with Social Security went!

*Sigh*

I'm not sure whether to get my hopes up or not. I just saw a Facebook message from my friend that she found a house that are rent-free for the first three months and then $450/month beginning the fourth month. That would sure help us save money to buy stuff we'll need, but after so many disappointments, I'm not sure how to feel. I guess I'll wait for her to text me back (I asked for more info).

I'm more than ready to get out of here (even though she doesn't have her disability yet... I guess if she doesn't get it within those three months, I could use my savings to pay her half, and she could pay me back?!). I have an appointment at Social Security on the 31st to apply for SSDI, so maybe I'll be getting more money myself. I hope so. One of my biggest dreams (I've said this before) is to have a home of my own (or in this case, half of my own) with nice stuff. I'm keeping most of my furniture except for one chest of drawers that I don't use. So I have a bed, a chest of drawers, a desk, and a wicker chest to keep stuff in. I also have three trash cans (one we can keep in the kitchen, one for my bedroom, and one for the bathroom); I have dishes and silverware and a couple of pots and pans (I do have a wok that we can use for stir-fry if we want). I don't know what all she has, but I suspect that there's a lot we'll need. (Living room/dining room furniture, for sure, and probably other stuff for the kitchen, which we can get off of freecycle. We'll need at least a couple of TVs. I can buy one, I guess, since I'm planning to anyway. We'll need to see how much the utilities (gas/water/electricity) will be, then see how much we'll have to spend for internet/cable (or satellite).)

I guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow to hear back from her.

A huge dream of mine...

One of my dream jobs would be to work in a book or music store (like Border's, before they went under, or Barnes & Noble). I would love to get a small-business loan (yeah, right, my credit sucks) and be able to buy a building and open my own store (like Half-Price Books). I'd need a partner, of course, someone who has management/accounting experience. (I've never managed anything in my life, and financial stuff makes me break out in hives... Okay, that's a slight exaggeration, but not much of one. lol) I'd love to sell books, music, movies, and cards, and maybe have a little cafe (like most bookstores have these days).

I've always been a huge reader, not to mention I'm passionate about music, so being around books and CDs and DVDs all day would be like a dream come true. Maybe I could start small; have a yard sale and sell some of the stuff I have already. (I don't have a lot of books and stuff, and most of what I have I want to keep, but I'm going to have to do a lot of weeding before I move anyway...) One of the reasons I haven't been able to find a job, I think, is because of my speech (I had one lady tell me outright that that was why I wouldn't be hired... evidently people from the corporate office stopped in sometimes, and I forget what else she said. I was too stunned to pay attention. :-() Unfortunately it was awhile back, so it's probably too late to contact the EEOC and file a complaint under the ADA.

Just contacted an attorney

Now, now, don't freak out. No one's in any legal trouble; I just need help in getting on disability.

I've applied before, but Social Security told me that in order to collect my dad's Social Security, I had to have applied within two years after his death. Well, when I applied for SSI in '97, no one told me that. I had no idea I could even apply for SSDI under him. So now I'd like a lawyer to help me get it. Maybe they can find some sort of loophole or something that can allow me to have it. I'm hoping so, anyway. My rent will increase, but I don't care about that. All I care about right now is that I can save a lot more money under SSDI than I can under SSI. (I'm not sure how much they'll let you have in savings under SSDI, but it's only like $2,000 under SSI. I want to at least save enough to make a down payment on a really nice house in a nice area.)

I'm not sure how long it will be before we find a house. I'm still hoping it will be soon.

I just posted on the Richland High School Alumni page on Facebook. I hope someone will see it and be able to help. If not, I guess we'll continue searching on rent.com or some other site.

Y'all please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

I like this one

My friend was searching Craigslist, and found a nice sounding house. Here's the description:

Monthly payment is only $695 -- and includes the taxes and insurance. 
NOTE: 100% of your down payment goes towards the purchase price of your home. 

This is a nice 1,215 sq. ft. home with 3-bedrooms, 1-1/2 baths and a 1-car garage. 
It's located on a large lot that backs up to a park. No neighbors in your backyard! 
The kitchen has counter space galore! 
There are two living areas- open living and dining rooms. 
The Master suite includes private half bath.

Not bad! (Although we don't really need the garage, as neither of us drive... I guess my friend could get her license, though.) Hope she calls the guy selling it so we can go look at it. It's in Pleasant Grove, not far from where I live now.

We both prefer the 3 bdrm so we can have office space. (I guess she'll need an office more than I will, depending on the size of the bedrooms.) 

I realize that we can't move right away, not until she gets her disability. I don't make enough to cover all the bills (rent, utilities, cable/internet, cell phone), so it may still be a few months. However, when her check comes in, I'll be ready! 

I guess we could keep looking, but I hope we can find an affordable place soon. The only other prospect so far is a 2 bdrm condo, and the listing didn't say anything about it being pet-friendly. So that's out (probably). 

The thing is, I'd love to adopt another dog after I move. I'd love a little Yorkie. They're so cute! But that'll have to wait, probably until next year. I want to see how my friend and I do as roomies, how our current dogs get along, etc. And of course, I'll have to save up for the adoption fee.

I'm wondering how much a townhouse would cost, or a duplex. That way my friend and I could still live together, but both have our own totally separate spaces. But we'd probably have to pay separate rent on the duplex, and the whole idea of being roommates is to split the costs. So probably no on that idea.

Another thought I've been having is that I'm going to have to let my housekeeper go when I move. I feel sort of guilty about that... she depends on these jobs for money to pay her own bills, and I feel like I'm kind of stiffing her. She just started working for me a week ago, and even though she'll probably have a few months of work, she probably figured on this being a long-term thing. After I leave, she'll have to find someone else to work for, and that may not be easy. I hope she can. I don't want her losing anything by my leaving.

I guess I'll have to talk to my property manager and my counselor about all this soon.

Sorry I wasn't around yesterday

But a backache, plug legs hurting, plus stomach cramps, plus a severe case of the runs=not a good time had by me! I was over all of it by early afternoon, but still didn't feel well enough to get online. As you can see now, however, I'm feeling fine, although I just wanted someone to shoot me and put me out of my misery yesterday, lol.

I'm still chomping at the bit waiting to hear if my roommate's friend tells her that he has his other house for rent. That's the 3 bdrm/2 bath that I really want. I have no idea what it looks like, but it sure sounds big enough for two women and four dogs. I'd like to see some pictures, but I guess I can wait on that, too.

I guess so far my new year is getting off to a pretty good start. Unfortunately, my no-smoking thing isn't going too well. I only smoked one cigarette yesterday (because I was sick), but I bought a pack around 2:30 this morning (yeah, I was up early!) and have already smoked half of it (as of 9:00 a.m.) :-( But I promise I will quit by the time we're ready to move!

I need to remember to go by the DPS next week and get my ID renewed so I can open a bank account. It'll be easier for me to withdraw money instead of cashing a check and carrying a bunch of cash around at the beginning of the month. Also, if and when I do move, even though I'll still have to tell Social Security, I won't have the hassle of wondering if they'll get my change of address on file in time for me to get my next check.  I know they have that Direct Express card, but still I'd like to have all my money in one place (plus the bank I want to use charges a fee if your direct deposit is less than $500/month). So I need to go to the Social Security office anyway to get direct deposit set up. I guess I can wait on that for awhile; I just want a bank account for my pension check right now.