It’s been a while since I blogged, eh? Well, stuff happens.

This past weekend, we went out to Pennsylvania for our annual President’s Weekend trip with our friends from Bloomfield. It was great fun, as usual, and we decided to go snow tubing at Camelback. It was nice to have a hotel close by and a couple of adults who didn’t want to tube – as the kids dropped out, the hotel-bound adults picked them up and brought them back to swim in the pool. The hotel was icky – the Comfort Inn in Bartonsville – cigarette stench in the halls, more than enough bathroom mildew to go around, a minimalist free breakfast in a room large enough for about 8 people. However, it met the requirements. Rooms close together, near an activity, with an indoor pool. It won’t be next year’s choice, though.

And speaking of inadequate. . .I’ve spent enough time in the last week having to use public restrooms, and I want to know whose brilliant idea it was to manufacture gossamer-thin toilet paper in 30 pound rolls and put them in hermetically sealed dispensers? Even if you do manage to reach a hand up into the dispenser to move the entire roll, you’re still likely to get an inch-square piece of the stuff. There should be a special level of hell for all the people involved in this creation. . .

Well, obviously, I am devastated by the burning insults coming from elementary school computer labs. I shall go hide in a corner and mourn my patheticness. Um, actually, I won’t. I have too much else to do.

All the pets have now gone to the vet. Time to get them licensed. I thought that the licensing was done at the animal shelter, but unfortunately, it’s not. So I’ll have to take the chitlins to the animal shelter to pet the cats another day. There was a man at the vet with a dog he’d adopted on Saturday who looked like a cattle dog mix. He was so well-behaved, calm, and friendly. . .no! Stop! No more animals!!!

The roofer came today to clean up and try to get the crank attached to the new skylight, but it didn’t fit, so I’ll be seeing him again in a couple of weeks when the part arrives.

Went out to Ken’s Hardware and got an armload of stuff. Is it strange for a woman to enjoy shopping in a hardware store? I was having the greatest time! When the kids got home, we went shopping to get some anti-squirrel equipment for the bird feeder, and then headed to Barnes & Noble for one book. Just one. One specific one. Of course, we walked out with just a few more.

Oh, and I had something else to talk about, but I keep forgetting. It’s the stupid legislation to give money to the Jets for a new corporate headquarters – what’s up with that? – and to make it illegal for people to sue if they get hit by a baseball at a baseball game – inoccuous at first glance, but it’s legislation specifically designed to overturn a state supreme court decision. Obviously, our local sports teams have lobbyists in their operating budgets.

Friday I was busy (as usual) unpacking boxes and using power tools. Installed shelves, organized stuff, cleaned, did laundry (need I say that? It’s almost a given!). I went to bed early because Saturday was Praxis test morning.

So Saturday. . .got up at 5AM to head out to Mercer County Vo-Tech. Just a note for those of you thinking of registering for any kind of ETS test online – be ready to spend a few hours. The website is almost as counterintuitive and user-unfriendly as the Verizon Customer Service 800 line. Getting through the registration process is relatively painless, but finding a test site is Monty Python-esque. You get a list of locations. You get a list of dates. So, you pick the date you want, and the test center that’s closest to you. The website says it’s not available. It does not tell you where or when the test you want >is< available, so you have to go back to the beginning, pick the same date and a different location (or a different date and the same location) and try again. BZZZZT!!!! MUHAHAHA!!! NO SELECTIONS RETURNED! TRY AGAIN, SUCKER!! Over and over and over until you’ve finally found the magic combination of test, location, and date. Hence, getting up at 5 and driving an hour and a half to take the Praxis 2. Part two is that they tell you to re-print your registration ticket a few days before to make sure they didn’t change their minds and move it or canncel it on you. Of course, you can’t put your registration ticket URL in – it’s expired. And on the website, there’s no “login” or “my account” or anything sensible like that. If you go through what looks like a sensible route to where your ticket should be, it brings you to a place where you can change your address. No, what you need to do is try to register for a new test. After you put in the information about the test you want to take, >then< you get to log in with your name and password and get your ticket. Well, the test itself was no big deal. Except for a couple of geography questions, it was a piece of cake. In fact, I think that the test itself is just a ruse. They >really< want to see how well you negotiate your way through bureaucracy,as shown by the online registration test.

After that, I was going to Mom and Dad’s house to take them (and myself) out shopping. At IKEA. In Philadelphia. (I think this store should give me some kind of customer appreciation award.) I had told them I’d call when I was on the road. My treo shows four bars, the little flashing green light that says I have service, and “Verizon Wireless” inthe upper left corner of the screen. I speed dial. It says it’s dialing, then cuts off with “No Service” in the upper left corner. The entire length of 295 from Trenton to Barrington. I’m getting more and more pissed, sent a text to hubby after I stopped with choice words for Verizon. (Note: I apologize to Verizon, because now it looks like the treo battery is at fault. But yesterday, all I could think of was how I wanted to telekineticaly fry Verizon.) So I started off with an attitude. The directions to IKEA were faulty by omissions. Philadelphia drivers are horrible. I’m used to North Jersey driving. Dad, legally blind and hard of hearing, sat in the back seat, blissfully oblivious. Mom, on the other hand, left permanent fingernail impressions in the door handle. Ditto on the way home – bad directions, nasty selfish drivers, and me with all the confidence in the world. I think Mom just needs to relax. Heh.

Today I’m hoping to see some more progress in the house. I want it to happen magically while I’m making wheat balls and soup and washing sheets. Of course, it won’t, so hubby and I will be putting up a display shelf in Daughter #1’s room later, and I will follow that by putting the craft supplies away in labeled boxes and sewing curtains. Or I might take a nap. We shall see.