the obligatory...
Feb. 10th, 2003 11:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mamajoanIf it's Monday, it must be my "what I did this weekend" post!
Friday night: I left work around 5, a bit early for me because it was severely snowing. Despite what Jessie might have you believe, this storm was NOT an easy-to-deal-with one, at least not from the driving perspective. I've done a lot of commuting in snowstorms over the past five years, and this one was almost certainly the worst. The combination of the snow coming down fast, the snow being very fluffy (which makes it extra-slippery), and the plows not being out in a timely fashion made it a nightmare. I actually got off the highway before my exit because I wasn't comfortable with the road situation. I decided I'd rather plug along on unplowed city roads at 10mph than on the highway at 40 with more daring (or stupider) drivers zipping past me at 70. I had a moment, going up the hill toward my street, when I honestly thought the tires were going to lose all traction and I was going to start sliding backward down the hill. It was scary.
Then, my driveway hadn't been plowed. I had to drive over approx. 10 inches of snow just to get into my parking spot. Halfway there, I considered stopping, since the only car I was blocking at that point was the car belonging to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jenwrites's boyfriend and that car isn't functional right now anyway, but then I decided, nah, might as well go the whole way. My car was NOT happy with that decision, but it managed it. Good little car!
I was pretty worried about the road situation for Saturday and seriously considered canceling all my plans, but the plows did eventually come by and everything got pretty well cleared out. I guess my timing was just bad, getting there before the plows. Ah well.
Saturday: Slept till noon-thirty. Went to Motherhood Maternity (chain store) and looked at clothing. Just like at Target, apparently they only make maternity clothes for tall chicks. Also, the stuff is expensive. I tried on a few pairs of pants and ended up buying one. Although the legs are too long (as they were on everything), the pants were comfy so I figured I'd just hem them up. They are sort of sweat-panty in style but of a nice velour-like fabric. Very cozy for lounging around, and since my workplace is so casual I can even wear them to work. I had fun with the little pillow that they give you in the dressing room; you strap it around your waist so that you can get an idea of what the clothes will look like on you when your belly gets big. I've always wanted to use the pillow, and now I can. :)
I also looked at the maternity bras but they were expensive and I wasn't in the mood to try them on, so I didn't buy one. Later this turned out to be a mistake; see Sunday below.
Anyway, then I went to my mom's place, where she wasn't, and hung out there for a bit and of course mom arrived just as I was leaving. But she was meeting with a friend anyway so I just chatted briefly and left.
Spent Saturday evening withanotherjen and her adorable daughter. Much fun was had by all! After some time hanging out in her apartment, dealing with various mechanical and child-related crises (not severe crises, mind you), we went to a massage party, which was super-cool. Mad props* to anotherjen for taking me all kinds of cool places and introducing me to all sorts of cool people. Also, she gave me a big bag of maternity clothes for only $10, and I bet I'll wear that stuff way more than I would have worn any of the super-expensive stuff from Motherhood Maternity. So nyah to them. ;)
* I just wanted to say "mad props" once for the heck of it. It's so not a thing that I ever say, but it makes me giggle.
Got home around 11:30pm, in time to catch the rest of SNL although I mostly ignored it because Matthew McConaughey(sp?) was TERRIBLE. I just watched for Weekend Update really. I adore Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon.
And finally...
Sunday: I went to two condo open-houses. I still am completely clueless as to what I want to do about my living situation (the options being a) stay in my current place, b) find another place to rent (with or without roommate), c) buy a condo). On the one hand, I like the buying-a-condo option because it mitigates some of the major problems with renting and might help me build up some equity. On the other hand, owning property is a major headache and a major commitment. If I buy a place now that I can afford, it will probably be big enough for me and a baby/toddler, but once chickpea gets a bit bigger I'll have to move again and that'll be a huge hassle if I own something (okay, it'll be a hassle if I'm renting too, but less so). On the third hand, my current place is a fantastic deal for the size and price, and I'm pretty settled into it, so maybe I should just stay (but there's no laundry and it's far from everything). On the fourth hand, I can't really afford the rents (or mortgages) closer into the city.
Uh, but anyway, I digress. The point is that there were these two open houses and I figured it couldn't hurt to go and check them out. The first was in Somerville and my pal-from-chorus-who-is-a-realtor had called it "locationally challenged." It's not in the best location, true, but it's not all that scary, I didn't think. And it was a really nice apartment, probably about the same size as my current one but with a slightly bigger livingroom and slightly smaller bedroom. The second apartment was in Medford and I didn't like it at all. It was far away from everything, and on the third floor, up two flights of very narrow, steep, winding stairs. I had trouble imagining climbing those stairs every day with a baby in tow -- let alone the headache of moving my stuff in! The apartment itself was four rooms (most 1-bedrooms are three) but they were quite small rooms, and the kitchen was terrible.
After the first apartment I took a quick spin to the new Target in Somerville and bought two maternity bras. This turned out to be a mistake since (when I tried them on later) neither one fit perfectly and both were kind of uncomfortable. I have to try them on again tonight and decide whether to try actually wearing them, or try to return them. I should really just go to Lady Grace, where the salespeople will actually help me find and fit the right bra. It'll be expensive, but my boobs are worth it.
Anyway, after the two apartments and the Target trip, I was beat. I proceeded to my mom's place where I did many loads of laundry. I also hemmed the maternity pants I had bought on Saturday -- I do all my sewing at mom's because I don't have a sewing kit of my own. Isn't that pathetic? ;) Mom actually put together a little kit for me yesterday so now I can actually sew at home. I suck at sewing, but I can manage repairing a rip or taking up a pair of pants. I haven't actually tried them on since hemming, but I think they're presentable.
Poor mom has much too much stuff going on her life. She's way frazzled. It's sad. :( While I was there she decided to wash the sheets off her waterbed and add more water to it. Her kitties, of course, found this endlessly fascinating. They are so funny. Mr. Softie is really obnoxious when you do laundry, jumping up onto the dryer and sticking his face in the washer while you're loading/unloading it. If you bend over to pick up clothes from the floor or to put them in the dryer, he'll climb on your back. Also, later, when I was stacking my clean clothes in piles on the sofa, he jumped up onto one pile and sent all the piles cascading down on top of me. LOL. Later, I took some pictures of him staring intently at mom as she prepared chicken for her dinner. I gotta get mom to email me those pix (took them with her digital camera).
I also ate a lot of mom's food. Heh. Good thing she has a vested interest in feeding me. ;)
Eventually I packed all my many, many piles of clothing into hampers and bags and etc., and headed home. Then I actually managed to watch an "Angel" episode, so now I'm only two episodes behind (until Wednesday when it'll be three again, sigh). And stayed up far too late, the consequence of having slept too late into Saturday and Sunday mornings. Ah well.
Tomorrow we have a chorus event (pot-luck) for everyone to show their pictures and tell their stories from the Japan trip. It should be fun, but I'm tired just thinking about it (and it means I'll miss Buffy and Smallville). I gotta spend some time tonight cleaning up the last of my pictures (there are a LOT left) and burning all the good ones to a CD. Can you believe I've had my computer for what, almost six months now and I haven't even tried out the CD-burner yet?? And I call myself a geek! ;)
Anyway, that was my weekend. It was fun. But we're never gonna get rid of all this snow -- and more is supposed to fall today! Augh! Stop already! I want spring!
Friday night: I left work around 5, a bit early for me because it was severely snowing. Despite what Jessie might have you believe, this storm was NOT an easy-to-deal-with one, at least not from the driving perspective. I've done a lot of commuting in snowstorms over the past five years, and this one was almost certainly the worst. The combination of the snow coming down fast, the snow being very fluffy (which makes it extra-slippery), and the plows not being out in a timely fashion made it a nightmare. I actually got off the highway before my exit because I wasn't comfortable with the road situation. I decided I'd rather plug along on unplowed city roads at 10mph than on the highway at 40 with more daring (or stupider) drivers zipping past me at 70. I had a moment, going up the hill toward my street, when I honestly thought the tires were going to lose all traction and I was going to start sliding backward down the hill. It was scary.
Then, my driveway hadn't been plowed. I had to drive over approx. 10 inches of snow just to get into my parking spot. Halfway there, I considered stopping, since the only car I was blocking at that point was the car belonging to
jenwrites's boyfriend and that car isn't functional right now anyway, but then I decided, nah, might as well go the whole way. My car was NOT happy with that decision, but it managed it. Good little car!I was pretty worried about the road situation for Saturday and seriously considered canceling all my plans, but the plows did eventually come by and everything got pretty well cleared out. I guess my timing was just bad, getting there before the plows. Ah well.
Saturday: Slept till noon-thirty. Went to Motherhood Maternity (chain store) and looked at clothing. Just like at Target, apparently they only make maternity clothes for tall chicks. Also, the stuff is expensive. I tried on a few pairs of pants and ended up buying one. Although the legs are too long (as they were on everything), the pants were comfy so I figured I'd just hem them up. They are sort of sweat-panty in style but of a nice velour-like fabric. Very cozy for lounging around, and since my workplace is so casual I can even wear them to work. I had fun with the little pillow that they give you in the dressing room; you strap it around your waist so that you can get an idea of what the clothes will look like on you when your belly gets big. I've always wanted to use the pillow, and now I can. :)
I also looked at the maternity bras but they were expensive and I wasn't in the mood to try them on, so I didn't buy one. Later this turned out to be a mistake; see Sunday below.
Anyway, then I went to my mom's place, where she wasn't, and hung out there for a bit and of course mom arrived just as I was leaving. But she was meeting with a friend anyway so I just chatted briefly and left.
Spent Saturday evening with
anotherjen and her adorable daughter. Much fun was had by all! After some time hanging out in her apartment, dealing with various mechanical and child-related crises (not severe crises, mind you), we went to a massage party, which was super-cool. Mad props* to anotherjen for taking me all kinds of cool places and introducing me to all sorts of cool people. Also, she gave me a big bag of maternity clothes for only $10, and I bet I'll wear that stuff way more than I would have worn any of the super-expensive stuff from Motherhood Maternity. So nyah to them. ;)* I just wanted to say "mad props" once for the heck of it. It's so not a thing that I ever say, but it makes me giggle.
Got home around 11:30pm, in time to catch the rest of SNL although I mostly ignored it because Matthew McConaughey(sp?) was TERRIBLE. I just watched for Weekend Update really. I adore Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon.
And finally...
Sunday: I went to two condo open-houses. I still am completely clueless as to what I want to do about my living situation (the options being a) stay in my current place, b) find another place to rent (with or without roommate), c) buy a condo). On the one hand, I like the buying-a-condo option because it mitigates some of the major problems with renting and might help me build up some equity. On the other hand, owning property is a major headache and a major commitment. If I buy a place now that I can afford, it will probably be big enough for me and a baby/toddler, but once chickpea gets a bit bigger I'll have to move again and that'll be a huge hassle if I own something (okay, it'll be a hassle if I'm renting too, but less so). On the third hand, my current place is a fantastic deal for the size and price, and I'm pretty settled into it, so maybe I should just stay (but there's no laundry and it's far from everything). On the fourth hand, I can't really afford the rents (or mortgages) closer into the city.
Uh, but anyway, I digress. The point is that there were these two open houses and I figured it couldn't hurt to go and check them out. The first was in Somerville and my pal-from-chorus-who-is-a-realtor had called it "locationally challenged." It's not in the best location, true, but it's not all that scary, I didn't think. And it was a really nice apartment, probably about the same size as my current one but with a slightly bigger livingroom and slightly smaller bedroom. The second apartment was in Medford and I didn't like it at all. It was far away from everything, and on the third floor, up two flights of very narrow, steep, winding stairs. I had trouble imagining climbing those stairs every day with a baby in tow -- let alone the headache of moving my stuff in! The apartment itself was four rooms (most 1-bedrooms are three) but they were quite small rooms, and the kitchen was terrible.
After the first apartment I took a quick spin to the new Target in Somerville and bought two maternity bras. This turned out to be a mistake since (when I tried them on later) neither one fit perfectly and both were kind of uncomfortable. I have to try them on again tonight and decide whether to try actually wearing them, or try to return them. I should really just go to Lady Grace, where the salespeople will actually help me find and fit the right bra. It'll be expensive, but my boobs are worth it.
Anyway, after the two apartments and the Target trip, I was beat. I proceeded to my mom's place where I did many loads of laundry. I also hemmed the maternity pants I had bought on Saturday -- I do all my sewing at mom's because I don't have a sewing kit of my own. Isn't that pathetic? ;) Mom actually put together a little kit for me yesterday so now I can actually sew at home. I suck at sewing, but I can manage repairing a rip or taking up a pair of pants. I haven't actually tried them on since hemming, but I think they're presentable.
Poor mom has much too much stuff going on her life. She's way frazzled. It's sad. :( While I was there she decided to wash the sheets off her waterbed and add more water to it. Her kitties, of course, found this endlessly fascinating. They are so funny. Mr. Softie is really obnoxious when you do laundry, jumping up onto the dryer and sticking his face in the washer while you're loading/unloading it. If you bend over to pick up clothes from the floor or to put them in the dryer, he'll climb on your back. Also, later, when I was stacking my clean clothes in piles on the sofa, he jumped up onto one pile and sent all the piles cascading down on top of me. LOL. Later, I took some pictures of him staring intently at mom as she prepared chicken for her dinner. I gotta get mom to email me those pix (took them with her digital camera).
I also ate a lot of mom's food. Heh. Good thing she has a vested interest in feeding me. ;)
Eventually I packed all my many, many piles of clothing into hampers and bags and etc., and headed home. Then I actually managed to watch an "Angel" episode, so now I'm only two episodes behind (until Wednesday when it'll be three again, sigh). And stayed up far too late, the consequence of having slept too late into Saturday and Sunday mornings. Ah well.
Tomorrow we have a chorus event (pot-luck) for everyone to show their pictures and tell their stories from the Japan trip. It should be fun, but I'm tired just thinking about it (and it means I'll miss Buffy and Smallville). I gotta spend some time tonight cleaning up the last of my pictures (there are a LOT left) and burning all the good ones to a CD. Can you believe I've had my computer for what, almost six months now and I haven't even tried out the CD-burner yet?? And I call myself a geek! ;)
Anyway, that was my weekend. It was fun. But we're never gonna get rid of all this snow -- and more is supposed to fall today! Augh! Stop already! I want spring!
