It Started with a Journal

I don't want to jinx things by getting too specific, but I've made an offer on a house in my parents' neighborhood. I'd really like to get this settled if I can, because I don't want it hanging over my head anymore (essentially, it would be for my parents, primarily my mom -- long story -- to live in). It's a very cute place, it used to be a model home and has never been lived in, and my mom really likes it. We're in the process of endless-seeming counteroffers now, so I'm not sure if we'll ever come to a point where we see eye to eye, but fingers crossed.

Ugh, so one of my cousins is getting married in July and my aunt, his mother, wants me to go. I don't want to go. I'm not close to him, it's his second marriage, and I hate flying. ( Ranting. )

I've already gotten my mother her Mother's Day gift. I'm pretty happy with it this year. Usually I never know what to get her. Anyway while I was with her last week she was asking me about pressure cookers because she was looking into getting one, and I told her that if she wanted a really good one, she should get a Kuhn Rikon, which the NY Times called "the Mercedes Benz of pressure cookers" (K. has two). It costs like 5-6 times what an average pressure cooker costs. My favorite thing about it is that its pressure monitor is very easy and intuitive (specifically the Top Model line), which is not the case with most pressure cookers (especially the ones with the rattling tops). So yeah, I am getting her a KRTM, and she is thrilled. I've already ordered it even though Mother's Day is like a month away, so she should be getting it next week. I figure she can start to get use out of it right away!

Yesterday I went to Lowe's to rig together a low-cost lighting solution for my seedlings. They're growing very tall and spindly, and are all leaning in one direction, toward the window. Obviously they're not getting enough light, so I read up on it and this should fix it. I just bought one of those clampable lamps, along with a "grow" lightbulb, which is supposed to be better for seedlings. I've read that it doesn't really matter, plain fluorescent light would work, but with me at the helm I figure they need as much help as they can get. Hopefully it's not too late. I noticed that a couple of the cotyledon leaves are wilty now, maybe from shock? Or is it because I've removed the plastic covering so the greenhouse effect is gone?

Or is it just the natural process? I mean, it IS the natural process for cotyledons to eventually wither, but I'm not sure if this is happened very suddenly, after I put them under the light. I don't think they were that wilty before. Anyway, a few of the seedlngs are starting to show the beginnings of true leaves! Very exciting. Also, it's very cute, on the ends of a few of the cotyledons you can see the "shell" of the seed they sprouted from. Nature is so amazing. You can see there are a number of issues with my seedlings: 1) They're too long/spindly and leaning; 2) There are too many and I need to thin them (cry, it's SO HARD, it's like Sophie's Choice!); 3) There seem to be various shoots in the same pot; that's because I started over after my first failed attempt, but it looks like some of those first seeds are now actually sprouting; 4) I didn't label anything and so now I have no idea what is growing where... I do know the first 3 columns are tomatoes but not sure which varieties are where; 5) They're overwatered, which I did not realize until this morning when I was moving the trays around. And here I had been afraid they'd dry up too much while I was gone!

Also, happy birthday, akscully!

I finally did my tax return. It's kind of cutting it close, but there was one year when I did it on April 14. This time I actually started it in February, possibly even earlier, but I kept waiting for this one 1099 from one of my banks. I get Web statements from them, but thought that tax info came to the physical mailbox no matter what. K. said the same thing (though she also said that they're required to deliver that info in January). So I waited and waited until yesterday, when I finally called them. And found out that yes, because I get Web statements, the tax form is on the Web instead of paper delivery. Oops.

Since the gov'ment raised the limit on how much you can put into your Roth IRA (yes, I decided to go ahead and contribute this year), I'm actually getting less back from my refund than I'm putting into the Roth, but oh well. I'm still going to splurge on something, because that's what tax refunds are for!

There's nothing I really want in terms of clothing or accessories or technology, but I hit upon the perfect thing when having lunch with K. ( What? )

I also have another story about D., one where I think he's a freak. ( My stories go on for so long. )

So many freaking meetings today. Why do people insist on scheduling them on Fridays? I also need to deliver something by the end of the day, but it's dependent on someone else delivering something to me. I hate having to rely on other people in order to be able to finish my own work.

My cousin is getting married, and I don't want to go to the wedding. Not because I don't like her, or because I can't afford it, or even because I'm not a big fan of weddings. If it were somewhere I could drive to, I'd go. But it's in New York. And while I love New York, a) I just got back from a very fun trip there; b) I don't really want to be there with my family; c) it'd only be for a few days, because I wouldn't want to waste more vacation time on it than that, in which case having to sit through two 5-hour flights (when I absolutely despise flying) wouldn't be worth it.

And on top of that, her wedding day is my birthday. I know it's totally selfish, but hello, that is MY day. Even though it's not like I have anything special planned for that day, it's still mine. I don't want to spend MY birthday doing something I find tedious (I just hate weddings, I don't know why).

In her defense she doesn't know it's my birthday (and even if she did, I'm not sure she'd change it, nor would I expect her to -- not sure what etiquette dictates in a situation like that), because we're not super close. We didn't even know of each other's existence until we were like 16 (I think she's a year younger than me?), and even though she's a perfectly nice and friendly person, I have no desire to go to her wedding. I feel kind of obligated to, because she is my cousin, and she let me and Jade stay with her the first time we went to NY a few years ago, but ... not obligated enough to actually buy a plane ticket to go.

Again, if it were easy for me to do so, in terms of time and cost, I'd go, regardless of it being my birthday. But given the other factors I just can't justify going. My mom says that it's fine, but I still feel guilty. I feel obligated enough that I don't feel right just telling her I'm not going without a good reason. I'd have to make something up about work (which probably won't be untrue, given how things go). So if I'm having to lie about the reason I can't go, does that mean I really should go?

I wonder what NPH would do.