Have you seen Lobbie...?

I'm trying to figure out what to give up for Lent this year. First off, I'm not Catholic, not have I ever went to a church that actually participated in Lent, but for the past ten plus years I've given something up. The past couple of years I've failed, and I need to do better this year. I've given up sweets, carbonated beverages, Coke and similar sodas, red meat...not all at the same time, of course. For me, carbonated beverages was the most difficult. Although I did succeed, I'm not feeling up to that challenge this year. I'm addicted to Diet Coke, and the year I opted to do that I worked as a waitress. It was like torture to pour Cokes for other people and not be able to have one myself. Sort of like being a crack dealer but trying to kick the habbit. And, although one would think eventually the desire for Coke would just go away, it didn't. Apparently, Diet Coke is like smoking to me...you sometimes hear some smokers who have quit say that they could just start again like they never stopped, that's how Coke was. I think I have a law suit against Coca-Cola...there isn't a warning on their can that it's addictive, that if I quit drinking it I will suffer from caffeine withdrawl headaches. I wasn't warned, and because of that I need 12 million dollars. But, back to Lent...I was contemplating giving up games...online, computer and video...but I think I'm going to go for desserts. And, I'm going to actually make it this year.

I actually feel like I really just need to get myself together, in essence. I used to walk four miles a day. Now, I sit on my ass eighteen hours a day. Well, probably not, but it certainly seems like it. For all of you who think it would be awesome to have an office job and work from home, let me tell you, there are some negatives to this. I don't have to walk ANY WHERE. I sit at my desk, the printer/copier/fax is right beside me. The bathroom is ten feet away. The kitchen is practically as close. I walk NO WHERE. Unless, of course, I'm out on appointments, but that doesn't require THAT much walking either. And, to get there, I'm sitting in my car, sometimes for hours (Thursday it was over seven...). I need to get motivated to walk, to go outside (which would be a heck of a lot easier if it were not so freaking cold). I need to get my house organized and clean. Actually, the house cleaning task might be a little easier than it seems because:

I'M GOING TO BE MOVING SOON.

In case you were unaware, we're still working on renovations to Marc's house. The original plan was to renovate a bedroom, a bathroom and the kitchen and then I would move in with him. Then, we would start on an addition. Because this has taken soooooooo long, there's a change of plan. The bedroom is done with the exception of the closet which needs the shelving hung (the MOST important part of the WHOLE ROOM). The bathroom wil hopefully be began and finished this week. Of course, if the bedroom was any indication of the speed of progress, it will take four weeks. I'm going to move in after it's finished instead of waiting on the kitchen. We're speaking to contractors again about the addition which now includes the kitchen. This makes me incredibly happy because I cannot really express how ready I am to get out of this apartment.

My lease ended last July, and since we thought the renovations would be a fairly quick process I opted to go month to month instead of signing a new lease. Now, they raise my rent about every three months. I think it would have been more economical to sign the lease and just break it. Besides the obvious reasons (renting is like throwing money away, I have to be quiet, I hate sharing walls with others, I hate sharing a parking lot with others), there is a new very motivating reason.

I have new neighbors below me.

And they stink.

One would not think that would be an issue, but it is. It is when the smell from their apartment creeps into mine. I know it's coming through the vents because for the few days it was warm last week and I had the heater off and the windows cracked the smell disappeared. As soon as the furnace was on again, the smell returned. It's probably creeping up through the floor as well. All I know is that I can't stand it...it's like stale cigarette smoke and something else, which I cannot describe. Well, I take that back, I can describe it. BAD. STANK. NASTY. GROSS. I do not want to leave my house smelling like that, and I have a feeling as the smell penetrates my clothes that's exactly what's going to happen. So, if I'm hanging out with you and I stink that's why.

Cheers!