just chewing gum.... soooo... the good thing is, no pain, since this had undergone root canal treatment back in 1994 (it´s a miracle that filling lasted THAT long, really!)... my options were extraction or a temporary filling. went with the temporary filling, it was not a convenient day for an extraction (it was 3:30, I had to pick Ale after school, I was driving myself, and, let´s not forget that I take a lot of Aspirin for my migraines, not to mention that I need to precertify this sort of thing for the insurance to cover it...)...so $70 (which is expensive for me, but, I know will sound like super-cheap for some of you!) this covered the X -ray, removing what was left of the old filling, application of a topic antibiotic and the new filling)....AND, I only had $25 on me, so I paid that, and signed for the rest (I have been going to these same dentists since they were students, so they let me do that)... Oh, and Ale says one of her wisdom teeth is coming out, so I need to take her next payday to have it evaluated!

My sister is getting married next month. The wedding party is supposed to be dressed in shades of purple (it used to be lilac, but, some of her friends convinced her, since we weren't wearing matching dresses, she might as well be more flexible with the colors to allow for shades of purple from lilac to grape)... SO... we went "hunting" for purple dresses, one for my myself and one for Ale... the first store we went to (which we thought was not as expensive as it turned out to be) had 2 beautiful dresses... and they offered me a discount if I took both... $225 for both... Er.. thanks... We then went to the 2nd-hand stores... at the first we found a beautiful dress in grape purple for Ale for $5. At the second one, we found one in wisteria purple for myself for $20, BUT, they had 50% off all clothes, so it ended up costing $10! We do want to get a rhinestone applique for Ale's, and, mine needs to be cut (at 1.49m - 4 feet 11 inches approx, I'm used to having ALL my clothes altered!), and, of course, they need to go to the dry cleaners (they do look wrinkled!) but, still, after all that, they will still be a lot less expensive than the $225! After the wedding, which is at the end of August, it will be time to start looking for dresses for Ale´s graduation (end of November)... guess where I´m going to look first!!
These are the dresses, although, they look black and gray in the pic... cheap phone, what can I say?

this is what I wrote for her...

I can´t believe it´s been 18 years since I first saw you and held you in my arms. This is what we woke up to today at home. I know you like Wonder Woman, but, I didn´t tell you why I chose this theme for this day. Just like Wonder Woman, you are a warrior princess, “beautiful as Aphrodite, wise like Athenea, stronger than Hercules and swifter than Hermes”. You are not a princess “in distress”, but a strong one, one who not only can fend for herself, but also protects and nurtures. Y chose your name right: Protector and defender of humanity. I am very proud of you, and I thank God for the blessing of being a part of your life.

***
A work colleague made the banner and props... she charged me $5... I don´t think that covers even materials, and I know that this is her gift for Ale... and I went to bed at around 1am to bake the cake without Ale knowing, but, it was worth it, she loved it! (everything! We saved the banner and props for our family celebration on Saturday... She´s not in the pic because she was in pajamas! LOL!

oh, wow...I haven´t posted in soooo long... suffice it to say: Ale is turning 18 next month, and she graduates high school this year! I will give a proper update later on!

Totally unplanned...actually, we didn�t even know our dog was pregnant until she started giving birth!


So we will have unbudgeted vet expenses, but...just look at them, who could feel bad about it? My niece is keeping one (yay! Ale wanted to keep one, but that would have meant more vet expenses, if niece keeps her, then she�s responsible for the expenses!)...The black and white one goes to close friends, and the third one is still "not allocated"...we have about 4 people that want to adopt her, we have to sit down and decide who gets her! They were born on 27 nov, so we still have time to decide!

I finally got my sister to agree that we could not go on as we were... my nephew left on Sunday (she got him a room someplace nearby...I don't care, just as long as he stays out of the house)
We will look for separate houses, as she wants her son to move in with her again (naturally?) ...

anyway... I know it's probably the opposite for my sis, but I'm sleeping much better!

oh, and could you believe it, I ran into my nephew on my way to work yesterday, and he was all sweet and said: "ah, it's hard to be out of the house"... he had been "out of the house" for about 21 hours by then, so...eh, NO, I don't buy it, kiddo!

Ale and I REALLY need to get out of this house. Things have gone from bad to worse (in my view)...Don�t get me wrong, I knew things wouldn�t be easy when I accepted my nephew in the house (recovering addict). While he is no longer doing drugs (that we know of....at least, there are no noticeable signs, nor paraphernalia or anything like that) He is just completely irresponsible.

I know that that is in part because nobody (except myself) seems to have any real expectations of him... All my sister expects from him is 1. that he stays alive 2. if possible, that he doesn�t do drugs...

Besides those 2 things, I expect him to be productive, to have a job, any job or, at least help around the house and, definetely, I expect him NOT to steal stuff from the house!!!

He keeps stringing my sister along, after all, we believe what we want to believe!... He looks for a job, finds a job, keeps it for about 2 weeks to 1 month, then loses the job and goes back to looking for a job (the cycle is 3 months/ 2-4 weeks/ 3 months)...so, when he�s "looking for a job" (no doubt praying not to find one), sis doesn�t want to kick him out of the house because "he's looking, he has nothing, he'll go back to the streets and back to doing drugs" and, once he lands a job it becomes "I just want him to have at least 2 months at work so he has enough money to pay rent somplace else so that he�s not back on the streets/doing drugs"... which, of course, never happens!!!

ENOUGH! On top of everything, he eats A LOT (sometimes, when he craves drugs, instead of doing drugs, he just eats like a ravenous wolf, ok, I understand that, but... does he have to be dirty, too? Sis doesn't see it, since Ale and I are the first ones to get up in the house... I refuse to eat in filth, otherwise, I�d just leave the dining room looking like a pigsty so she could see, but, eating next to crumbs, or even chunks of "midnight snacks" just turns my stomach!)...I think the last straw was that he�s been drinking Ale�s soy milk!! (I buy the individual boxes for her to take to school, as it is more convenient. I tried using reusable containers, but, she just makes an awful mess!)...what infuriates me is that I buy a six pack, I instruct Ale NOT to touch the individual packages, and, she actually obeys me...what kind of message am I sending when all that happens when HE drinks it is that my sister goes out and buys a replacement?? Oh, yes, everyone else can get away with it, but YOU must obey! I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE that! You have no idea how mad I get!!!

Oh, sure, sis yells at him and then he acts all offended (You never TALK to me, you just YELL at me!!!!!!!"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)...

Really, I cannot take it anymore. I know it won�t be easy, but, really, between the food bill and the power bill (both my nephew and my niece leave the computer and all the lights on at all times, no matter how many times I ask/tell them not to!) I know I can afford to live in a slightly more expensive house (it will even out). It might be good for sis, too, because she won�t be paying part of the nanny�s salary anymore. Plus, it would be good for her "children" (at 25 and 21!!!) to see that she REALLY cannot afford the lifestyle they live! (No, it�s not "luxurious", but, HE doesn�t work and, SHE works, but does not contribute to the house! I suspect she is saving that money in a cojoined account with her boyfriend)

As you can see, I�ve truly HAD IT!!!....
I have about $800 and, I need about $400 more to leave. I think I can get $200 cash, but, even if I have to borrow the other $200, I�m getting out of here!

I know my sis will have a cow, and I know she�ll cry and plead, but, right now, for me to consider living together, either my nephew and niece would have to PROVE that they are no longer leeches. How? Well, he would have to keep the same job for at least 1 year and, she would have to contribute at least $50/month for a whole year, too.

I would also consider living together again if my sister kicked them out of the house and they STAYED AWAY for a whole year! (she�s kicked him out of the house at least on 3 separate occasion, he is always back within 15 days!... he comes back with crocodile tears "I can�t make it on my own, I need my family, I know I acted badly...boo-hooo...please, please take me back...I don�t want to do drugs again..." and, of course, she takes him back and we go back to that cycle described above....

SOOOO...since I can�t honestly expect my sister to kick her children out of the house just because I think that would be best (and, if she did, I know things would really be broken between us, she would never forgive me...even if she understood my reasoning, she would always resent me!)... then I need to leave...

((sigh)) Ok, rant over....
tomorrow I�ll contact a real estate agent and, I will start quoting the stuff that I might NEED (we have 2 fridges from when whe joined houses, but, we have only 1 stove and 1 washer, 1 dining room set and 1 living room set.... in very bad shape... both came from my house, originally, but, when we sold our parent�s stuff-- they lived with her-- that went towards paying things in the house, so I�ll leave her either the dining room set or the living room set...this, however, is NOT urgent...the stove or the washer are, though!)

May is a great month for quoting, because that�s the sort of thing on sale for mother's day and, the sales last the whole month...

The amount quoted above would cover 2 month�s rent at the new place, plus either the stove or the washer, as well as my part of repairs on the house we currently rent, so that, when we return it to the owner (sis cannot afford to keep this house!) it is in the same state in which we received it.

Sooooo...please wish me luck and/or send prayers and good vibes so that I find an affordable house/apartment in a safe area!

I was supposed to go to the supermarket on Saturday and, of course, with Ale (and now myself, too) being sick, I didn´t... so, we are almost out of food! I wrote a check and sent niece to the supermarket. She should come back with about $5 change... the good thing is, she´ll get a dose of reality as to how much things cost! (especially since I´m sending her with cash... she does go to the supermarket with sis, sometimes, but, since sis charges everything, she hardly ever looks at prices-- I know!--) so, now niece REALLY has to LOOK at the prices... she took a calculator. LOL! Why LOL? Well, whenever I go to the supermarket, I make Ale keep count... in her head... or in paper... not exact counts, everything gets rounded up, but, Ale can do it in her head and she writes down the resulting number next to the last item bought, just in case she forgets!

Anyway, this should be a valuable lesson for niece! (I sent her with $90 and a very detailed list)

Well, this vacation seems to be all about cooking!

I made Ale some marmahon on Tuesday, pizza on Wednesday, which she loved....then I made some chicken/soy crepes...which were a huge success... yesterday I made split pea soup.... and today sis made a shrimp/crap soup for lunch, and I made carbonara spaghetti for dinner....
Tomorrow we might go out of town....and sis bought all ingredients needed so I can make my chicken/spinach casserole on Sunday!....

Yep, it´s a lot of food, but...there have been no leftovers so far, and, it has been a lot less expensive than it would have been if we had gone out to eat! (with the exception of the seafood soup...perhaps)

I feel like I´m channeling my mom!

Well...we took care of the eye doctor last Saturday (I spent $22.60 to have the Dr. tell me Ale has 20/20 eyesight...and that, as far as he can tell, she has not "inherited" my tendency to myopia or astigmatism... Yay! those must be her father's genes!- he still has 20/20 eyesight at 35!)
She so desperately wanted glasses (and I sooooo desperately DIDN'T want her to need them! LOL!)....
And I already made an appointment for us both at the dentist's for Friday. This is just a "diagnostic" visit, so the Dr. can see what she needs to do... I'm hoping in Ale's case it'll be just a clean up and then maybe schedule a visit to the dentist's husband, who is an orthodoncist...yep, even I can tell she needs it!)... in my case... I KNOW there will be LOTS of work! I've always had terrible teeth...

I also have to start allocating some money to pending vaccines for Ale...

O U C H ! (in more ways than one!)

One of the new translators tempted me: asked me if I'd like to upgrade my computer, then went on to say a fried of his refurbishes used laptops and offered me a "new" one for $350....

I've been toying with the idea... but, at the same time...it's $350...wouldn't that $$$ be better invested in...say...me? and Ale? (our teeth, specifically... we haven't been to the dentist's for ever...)

so... that's been in my mind the past couple of weeks... and, when I was this [] close to calling the translator and tell him if his friend still has the laptot, I want it...I ran into my dentist at the drugstore around the corner from work!... hmmmm... I'll take that as a sign!...

For the time being, I'll take those $350 and allocate them to the "Teeth" fund (God knows it probably won't be enough!)...My old laptop works just fine...plus, if that guy's friend refurbishes laptops, he probaly WILL have others later on!

Well, I have mentioned that nephew is now living with us... he's been with us since the end of October, after being released from his evaluation at the psychiatric hospital. The psychiatrist adviced against putting him back in rehab, said he's reached a point where what he truly needs is a home environment.
Needless to say, we have all been kind of on the edge about this...
Sis gave him 15 days to find a job... he started working at a warehouse about 2 blocks from home... the night shift...was there for a 15 day trial, but they didn't hire him because he "couldn't work as well after 2 am" (shift was 8pm - 5am)... they didn't pay him, either...since it was just a trial (he agreed to those terms prior to starting, so...)
Anyway...he had already applied (twice!) to a call center, and went and tried a third time (same call center)... the HR person noticed him and said: "you ARE persistent, aren't you?" and signed him up for a 2-week initial training... he passed the final exam and was offered a permanent position starting Dec 15 (sister's b-day... her best present ever!)... he was paid his first salary yesterday, and gave my sister $50 for house expenses... ANOTHER first!...plus, her best Xmas gift ever, too!...
Yes, we still have twin heart attacks when he goes out with friends... yes, our hearts still stand still whenever something goes "missing"...then resume beating when the items are found!... He's been behaving really well...having the occasional spat with my sister, of course... he's still not very good at following rules...particularly rules he finds useless...and sis is still trying to controll so many things, it's difficult...
The other day, for example, he went out with friends... he returned at around 12, and asked sis for money to pay for a cab ($7) because his friends had started drinking and since he wasn't drinking he decided it was no fun and took a cab to come back home... sis started scolding him for going out with these friends in the first place, knowing full well they were most probably going to start drinking... from where I'm standing, though, he made a responsible decision... 2, actually...not drinking and not riding with someone that was drunk... yes, it would perhaps have been preferrable (and cheaper!) if he had stayed home...but... he's 24, we can't put him on a leash or keep him locked up!... he HAS to learn to deal with this type of thing!
So, anyway... as stressful as this has been, so far, it seems like things will work out right!