Too Many Legs and a Truck Update

I'm super stressed, not sleeping well, and over the past 24 hours, have killed three house centipedes in my home. I'm not having a really great 24 hours. Then again, things can only improve, right? These bugs really bug me - (chuckling and hiding from the pun). They aren't the really big centipedes that can bite and cause pain. No, these are the little guys, usually anywhere from 1/4 inch to 1-1/2 inches long. They destruct pretty easily with a shoe or slipper, or, in the case of the mini-me who was just running across my computer keyboard, my finger. I have to be quick on the draw with these guys, though. They're fast with all these legs. 

Sorry if you're not fond of bugs. This is a house
centipede - something that I'm not fond of and
that I've been killing too often lately. It must
be fall! 

I'm getting these guys in the house because it's almost autumn up here in the Frozen Northlands and they're looking for a nice warm place to spend the winter and raise a family. I can't really blame them for that, but I'm trying to eliminate the "Vacancy" sign that seems to be raised at centipede level somewhere in the exterior grounds. I would prefer they find another place to winter over. I'll go on killing them when they intercept my pathway. It's what I do. (My cats used to love stalking and playing with them - silly kitties.) 

I would be much happier if we had been able to go to the dealership
last night. It just wasn't going to happen, though. I think
Saturday will work, but it's a lot tighter on time. 

DH and I were "supposed" to have gone to the truck dealership last night to test drive the truck I think DH will enjoy. It didn't happen. He stressed out about it, and raised concerns about his driving in the dark - something he doesn't like doing any more. I phoned my sales guy and set something up for late Saturday instead. I get off work an hour earlier so it gives us more light. 

It's not going to happen without problems, though. I'll have to close the shop 30 minutes early on Saturday and DH will only have time to look at and drive the truck. If he likes it, he can give them a small check to hold the truck for us and we will return later next week on an evening to finalize all of the paperwork, etc. I wouldn't be pushing so hard, except I think DH will really like the truck a lot and we need this finished. I'm spending WAY too much time finding the best vehicle for our needs right now and have other things (think Holiday Cards) that I actually need to be working on. 

Maybe the house centipedes have multiplied over the past few days just because they knew I needed a stress reducer, it is rather cathartic to smash them to smithereens. At any rate, I've got to get this truck thing resolved because I'm too stressed to sleep. I'm averaging around five hours a night right now, and that's not functional for me. 

Tomorrow's post will feature some serious Project Runway news that just broke over the past 24 hours. Ooooooh! Cliffhanger - LOL. Here's hoping you have a Totally Fabulous Friday! I think I need to take out some of my basic frustration in the water. Hopefully the pool won't be as crowded today as it was yesterday. We were crazy busy at 5:30 am! Go figure! 

Trucks, Bills and the Pool - Oh! and Laundry In There Somewhere

Today, since it is my "day off", is hectic and involves a lot of errands. As usual I have the laundry and the trash and the regular housekeeping stuff, as well as my weekly convo with Aearwen which I look forward to all week long, but today I'm adding trucks to my agenda. I've set up an appointment to test drive a Chevy Silverado and hope to also test a Toyota Tacoma while I'm in that general area of the city. Although I could have used a Chevy dealership that's quite close to me, I chose one farther out because it's closer to the Toyota dealership, so hopefully I could do two vehicles in a day. If time is VERY kind to me, I'll try to grab the Ford F150 too, but that dealership is actually within walking distance of my house, so time is less of an issue. 

The Toyota Tacoma is one of the trucks we're thinking about. We
don't want a full crew cab - we have no need for the full second
row of seating. We just want small flip-down seats if needed, although
I doubt they'll ever be used. What concerns me are the dimensions
and the space we have in the garage. I'll be working with my tape
measure and taking a lot of notes. 

I'm really pushing to have a new truck in the garage before the snows fly. That gives me a 6-8 week time frame under ideal conditions. We both agree that pouring more money into our 26-year-old Saturn simply doesn't make sense any more. He needs a truck that can haul rock and such from our supplier, and I need to know he'll have reliable transport when needed. My car will be paid off mid-way through next year, so it won't be a huge financial burden. It's time. 

Paying bills is not our favorite pastime, but it's necessary. I'll have
to make sure I track this bill down, or just pay it based on
previous months payments. It's not a problem, per se, but it's
highly annoying. I don't lose bills, and I pay them quickly. This
one shouldn't be MIA. 

This afternoon I also have to spend a bit of time hunting on-line for a bill I thought I had received, and hadn't had the time to pay yet. I need to get a copy of it and get it paid ASAP. I think the amount is the same every month, so if I can't find the actual invoice, I'm still able to pay it, it's just frustrating because I don't lose things like that. ARGH

We're all serious lane swimmers at 5:00 am and 6:00 am. I usually am dong
my mile or another lap or two within 50 minutes and then getting out
for the next person to take my lane. We share lanes, of course, but
it's nice when we don't have to circle by adding a third person (or more)
to the lane. 

Looking at my calendar, tomorrow will be my 200th day in the swimming pool this year. What's crazy good is that I look at the pool, or any reasonable area of water for swimming, and I smile and imagine being in the water. That's why I pulled away from my land-based exercises and concentrated on my swimming instead. I knew that it would be so easy to talk myself out of the elliptical or the stationary bicycle, but that I loved the water so much that I would show up at the gym doors at 5:00 a.m. without fail. That's proved to be true, and I'm relieved that I'm so predictable - LOL. 

So, on that note, I'm off to plug in some pictures and head out to the pool once again. The water calls and the clock ticks and before I know it, this day will be over. Hopefully it will be a day of accomplishments. Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow morning.