Update

I haven't forgotten about my blog, I just haven't had much to write about lately.

I have an appointment at DARS (Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services, formerly Texas Rehabilitation Commission) on the 25th to see about going back to work. I also need to talk to my case manager at LifeNet (my mental health provider) about getting a part time job through them so I can start saving money for a house. I think I may have to rent for a few years until I get enough experience to move to Ft. Worth. I know I should probably stay where I am, but I do have Alaska to think about. I wish I could find a nice place to live for very low rent, just so I could save some money.

I heard from one of my brothers that we're in the process of dividing up my grandmother's farm and getting each share put into our own names. I'm not sure how long that will take. I will then have to turn around and sell my share to one of my family (anyone know how much land sells for around Warner? A friend of mine says that it's less valuable since it's near an Indian reservation (Talequah). True?) I may either have to sell it on paper (no actual exchange of money) or have them put it in trust for me. The only thing about a trust is that I won't know how long to set it up for. I do know I want to use it to help pay for my house, but I don't want to set the account up for ten years and then need it in seven or whatever.

One thing I would like to do is have someone co-sign for a loan. (My credit sucks, so I could never get one myself.) I'm sure if I get a good enough job I could pay off the loan with no problem. It's something I'll have to talk to my friends about.

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.

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! :-)

I have Kindle Cloud on my computer now!

I've also added some classic novels onto it (that I got free from Amazon! How cool is that?!) When I get some birthday money, I may buy some of the other books I want.

If there's anyone who has a Kindle/Kindle Fire, is there any way I can "synch" it to my Cloud and download all the books I have on my laptop to my Kindle (when I get one)? (Like you synch an iPod?)

A couple of the books I have are French/English dialogue and a French/English dictionary. (I think I have a Spanish phrase book too.) So I can practice my foreign language skills a little bit. I'm glad about that! (I'm going to try to get a Kindle for my birthday if I can. They're good to have. I can carry an entire library around with me, and read several books at the same time. Again, thank God for a good memory, lol!)

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

*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.

Haven't had much to post about lately...

And still don't. I have a very boring life, lol. I do have 55 followers on Twitter now, if anyone's interested. :-) I'm still saving up my money in case I move, or for my birthday/Christmas, whichever comes first. I'd like to see if I can get my change jug filled halfway (it's a 5 gallon jug, so that's a lot of spare change!) so I can buy something really nice. I wonder how much I can save in five months? (Or four months, since my birthday's in May.) Maybe I'll just save up my change for Christmas, and use the money I save from my SSI and pension checks for my birthday. Actually, I don't think I'll be spending any money for my actual birthday; I'll save it all until July or August and use it to buy my new laptop and maybe a printer and an iPod if I have enough. (Definitely the iPod, though.)

I also have to take Alaska to the groomer at the beginning of next month to get a bath and a trim. She's getting long and shaggy. (Of course, that's part of the reason I got her... I wanted a long-haired fur baby, but I need to keep her looking nice.) I try to do that every couple of months.  Right now she's engaged in a battle royal with one of her squeaky toys. I love watching her. She barks and growls while she's playing, and I love that.

The property manager at my building is trying to get a vet to come out once a year and give free vaccinations to all the pets (there are a few dogs and cats here). That would be great, since most of us are living off our government checks, and several people have no income at all. (Dallas Housing Authority pays the majority of those people's rent.)

Let's see... there's really not much else to write about. I'm going to try to post something at least once or twice a week, even if it's just a very short piece.

Thinking about furnishing our new home :-)

We're not even close to moving at this point, and I'm already thinking of what we'll need in the way of furnishings, lol. We both have bedroom furniture... beds, dressers, etc. I have two dressers, in fact -- a six drawer and a five-drawer (one of the drawers in the five-drawer is broken, though... the front needs to be glued on). I also have a desk with three drawers in it and a cupboard on top (gee, ya think I have enough storage?!?! lmao).

We'll need living and dining room furniture. A sofa, chairs, coffee table, end tables, lamps, a dining table and chairs... hope we have plenty of storage in the kitchen. I have silverware, a coffee maker (want a new one, though, but I can afford to buy one), a blender, and a toaster. I have a few dishes and a couple of pans and a skillet... and a wok, if we ever want to do stir-fry for a meal. I want to start going through all my stuff pretty soon and deciding what to throw out and what to keep. I have about five storage totes filled with stuff, and I can start there. Empty them out so I can pack stuff up when my roommate gives me the word that we're ready. (I just hope I have a few weeks notice.... enough time to get my address changed with Social Security, definitely. I'm going to try to go get my ID renewed soon so I can open a bank account. Of course, I'll have to get my ID updated when we move, too, so I'm not sure what to do about that right now.

She said that we can get whatever we need off of freecycle, and her friend will help us pick up whatever we're given, so that's a relief. I wonder if we should go ahead and check the groups for around the Cove? I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I? But I'm just so excited! (Unfortunately, that's a symptom of my bipolar disorder. I just go off on my own little way without considering that things may not be how I think they are, and then I get in trouble. Hopefully my roommate will be able to help me rein in that impulsivity. And that's another thing... I need to find a good psychiatrist and/or therapist in the Cove when I get down there. I can look one up in the Yellow Pages, or maybe find on online or through my Medicaid plan.)

(I'm also excited about (hopefully) being able to change my location on my blog to "Copperas Cove, TX USA" soon. lol And maybe finding someone to tell me how to change the damn time  stamp on here as well! It's driving me crazy having my blog say I'm on Pacific Standard Time when I'm not!!!)

Merry Christmas to all!

Well, Donna's sciatica was acting up all day yesterday, so I didn't get to go over to her house last night after all. Too bad. But Jeff is coming to get me after breakfast today (probably around 10 or so?), so I'll spend the day with them at least. I'm so excited to see them!

I'm still disappointed that I have no money to spend this week, but I should be getting my pension from my dad's retirement this weekend, so that's good. At least I'll be able to go out for New Year's Eve if I want to. (I just have to be sure not to spend all the money! I do need groceries next week. And I also need to put a little bit back for savings.)

I'm still hoping that I can save up enough from my SSI to get a new laptop this coming year. I also still have everything on my Amazon wish lists that I want to buy (I categorized stuff into CDs/DVDs, books, and everything else). I'm hoping I can get some of it for Christmas next year if not during the year. Two of the things I want soon are an iPod and a stereo with a disc changer and an iPod dock. Then I can get all the other stuff. (My laptop and printer, as I've said before, will be bought during the back-to-school sales in July or August.) I also want to get a new digital camera. The one I have now is only 3X zoom, and I'd like a 5X or better. (That way if I'm way off in Bumf***, Egypt, when I see Styx next time, I'll still be able to get some good pictures of them. When I saw them in Wabash in '08, I was in the 17th frickin' row, and the pix I took were really crappy.) I don't want that to happen next time.

I'm listening to Trans-Siberian Orchestra right now (Christmas Eve and Other Stories). I really want to get some more of their CDs. I first became a fan of theirs around Christmas of '91 or so (around the time this album came out), and the song I'm listening to now -- "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo (12/24)" was the first song of theirs I'd heard (I think it was the first song of theirs that was played). I love their mix of rock and classical music, which I'd never heard before. (I wish some of the "old masters" of classical music could be updated to have a more rock feel. Is it some sort of blasphemy for me to feel that way? lmao) Don't get me wrong, I can handle classical music in small doses, but I just like rock a whole lot better. Maybe I should add some classical music to my musical want list. I have almost every other genre on there. My dad, who was born in 1933, got me interested in big band/swing music, so I put some of that on my want list in memory of him. I also listed some country bands and artists that I grew up listening to, as well as some blues music. I need to get some jazz artists, too (Dixieland is my favorite). Maybe some light jazz, like Kenny G.

Speaking of jazz musicians, I want to take a trip to New Orleans sometime (go to some jazz clubs on Bourbon Street). Maybe during Mardi Gras (although not this coming year... maybe I'll go to the Mardi Gras celebration at the West End when they have it. I've never been, and I'm wondering how it is since the influx of Katrina evacuees in 2005. Did they influence it in any way? If anyone would know how to throw a good Mardi Gras celebration, I think they would.). Or maybe I'll find out when the Southern Decadence celebration is this next year and go to that. I'm not even sure what Southern Decadence is all about; I'll have to research it, but it sounds fun.

Well, it's 2:50 a.m. here, and I need to go to bed if I'm gonna be coherent later on today. Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a 2013!

AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was so hoping to be able to see Styx at Billy Bob's early next year (they're usually there in sometime between mid-January and the end of February, I believe). I just went to BB's website, and they're not on the schedule! WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! :'-( So I guess I'll have to wait and see where they'll be in the fall. (Not in the summer, since they usually do a double or triple bill during their summer tours, and I just want to see them.) This so sucks...

So I'll have to save up my money to take a trip somewhere. I'd love to see them in Chicago. That's where they're from originally, and it would be so awesome to see them in their hometown. Besides, I've never been to Chicago (or anywhere, really... I did see them in Wabash, IN, in 2008), so it would also be great to go up there and do some sightseeing as well.

I'm wondering how much I'd need to save? If I could get a fellow Styx fan to let me stay for a few days, like my friend Jen did in '08, then I wouldn't need but a few hundred dollars, I don't think (for souvenirs and such). Of course, if I had to rent a hotel room, I'd need a lot more. I'll have to think about it...

Anyway, that's added to my list of things to save money for next year.

Nineteen days til Christmas!

Eighteen days (roughly) til I see Donna and Jeff for the first time in about twelve years. (The last time I saw them was at our ten-year high school reunion.) I'm excited! (Note to self: Next time you see Pam, ask her to babysit Alaska!!!!!)

Okay, slight change of plans about my Christmas money. I have more important things to buy than CDs unfortunately (although I'm still getting my NCIS Season 9 boxed set). I really want a blender so I can make my own smoothies -- the price for smoothies at Subway and places like that are outrageous,  especially for someone on a limited budget, and I can make my own a lot cheaper. (Although *whispers* I do sometimes break down and buy the occasional iced cappucino at Starbucks. I love iced caps!) I can wait until after the new year to buy all the other stuff I want. I've waited this long, after all...

I need to go to the Old Town shopping center (Lover's Lane/Greenville in Dallas) and see if the new&used CD place I used to haunt is still there. I can probably find some of the CDs I want there, and if they're not cheap enough, I can still get them on Amazon. (If I bought them on Amazon first, I'd have to pay the overnight shipping, which is pretty expensive. Yes, I'm one of those "instant gratification" freaks... when I want something, I want it now!... usually. Like I said, I've waited this long to buy a laptop, iPod, etc., so I can wait a little longer.)

A friend of mine is taking me to Target today to get a new trashcan (maybe two if I can afford it -- one for the bathroom and one for general trash) with a lid so Alaska won't keep getting into the trash. (Why do dogs like eating poopy and/or bloody toilet paper, anyway?!) Trash can with lid=problem solved. :-) So that's what I'll do with the money I have today.