I'm off today and tomorrow. I plan to give the kitchen a thorough cleaning (fridge, cupboards and all), mop the linoleum floors, straighten up the closets, and wash the windows.

We'll see how much of that actually happens. I have replaced a burned out bulb in the fridge, and if I end up calling that my spring break accomplishment, so be it.

At 10:30 someone's coming to take down the rest of the tree that dropped a ginormous limb on my car last summer. [link]

I'm kind of sad to see the big, old tree go, but I can't say I'll miss the spiky gum balls it drops every fall.

I've been deleting the FlyLady e-mails for a couple of weeks, because they were getting overwhelming. But I've still been doing the dishes every night and making the bed every morning.

Funeral this morning. We're all an odd combination of somber and jittery.

And in the best timing ever (for real), my brother e-mailed me this morning and told me he is hatching a scheme to ship the Alchemist's gluten-free bottled beer to me. This is a direct quote from his e-mail: "I will figure out how to mail you some in the next few weeks. I have ideas (cue Mr. Burns finger tapping)."

I e-mailed back "Exxxxxxcellent."

YouTube is our best friend now.

TCG was amazed by the how to paint videos I found online. What did we do before the internet?

Thanks again, everyone! I'm going out with Mom today to look for new sheets for the new bed, curtains, etc.

Thanks again, everyone! I'm going out with Mom today to look for new sheets for the new bed, curtains, etc.

The prospect of starting out all new, in a new place that's YOURS, sounds like so much fun!

The prospect of starting out all new, in a new place that's YOURS, sounds like so much fun!

It's so exciting. I can't wait for our new bed to be delivered with our new mattress.

Good for you, Steph. I have the flylady emails filtered, so I get the sneak peeks and missions in one folder, musings in another. Then testimonials, which I always delete unread, and the rest, which I read if I'm feeling particularly unmotivated. But honestly since I got her stuff in Cozi calendar, I don't read much of the email.

I wish you peace and comfort from the funeral.

Sj, I love that part so much. We didn't have the budget for it, but one of our donors was extremely generous and basically furnished and kitted out our house for us. I am snuggled under the flannel sheets and down duvet we bought at that time and it still makes me happy. I had never, in my adult life up to that point, bought nice linens I really wanted and it was great.

Sj, I love that part so much. We didn't have the budget for it, but one of our donors was extremely generous and basically furnished and kitted out our house for us. I am snuggled under the flannel sheets and down duvet we bought at that time and it still makes me happy. I had never, in my adult life up to that point, bought nice linens I really wanted and it was great.

We're really not buying much. We have a ton of furniture that both of us had before we met as well as quite a few pieces we inherited from my mother when she sold her house in the city. So it is basically just a new bed and a few lamps. We desperately needed a new mattress anyway, and the bedframe is a metal one that was fairly inexpensive. Mom and I are going to a discount outlet today for sheets and curtains. We bought a queen for the new bed, so we have to buy new sheets and we only need a couple of curtains because we're mostly using what we have.

I would trade home repair for clothing alteration! Would that we had transporter technology.

Word.

That is awesome, Pix! I need to make a list of things to do before my parents get here in a couple of weeks, and then DO THEM.

I am so excited for you, sj.

I wish you peace and comfort from the funeral.

Steph, what Liese said.

I had a 10 am appt which rescheduled last minute for 1 pm, so I'm lazing a bit. Need to send two emails, make a phone call or two, and take Frankie to the park.

Steph, I hope the rest of your day is peaceful.

sj, that's wonderful. Congratulations to you and TCG.

The house needs a thorough deep-cleaning, to include professionally cleaning the carpets or replacing them. I'm lucky if I can motivate myself to vacuum the cat hair off the couches right now.

So yesterday evening was really nice. I had dinner with a friend and we ate burgers and fries, and drank adult beverages and talked about normal stuff. I left her house feeling lucky and loved. Then I picked up the mail when I got home. According to the life insurance company, I am dead. Oh, and my husband's name on the refund check for the premium overpayment is Fredrick {my last name}. *boggled* They expressed their condolences at his loss, and reminded him that the policy terminated as of the date of my death, 13 Feb 2012. The second piece of mail was the conversion packet--addressed properly to Rob this time--again expressing their sympathy and advising him that he may be eligible to port his coverage.

Very few things leave me speechless. This was one of them. It actually made me double over, and it felt like a bad portent of things to come. I managed to pull myself together to send them the following email:

I sent you the corrected claim form for my husband, RHP III, on March 14, 2012. His date of death is February 13, 2012, as attested to on the physician's statement.

Today I received two items in the mail from OneAmerica: a refund check for $131.33, dated March 23, 2012 and made out to "Fredrick N." for refund of premium for MFNlaw. There is no such person as Fredrick N. and I have no idea how you came up with this. The accompanying letter was signed by Account Analyst J.S. I also received a conversion packet for my now-dead husband, RHP III. He obviously does not need this.

Just to be clear - I AM NOT DEAD. My husband is the one who passed away on February 13, 2012. I respectfully ask that my term life policy in the amount of $X be reinstated immediately, with no lapse in coverage. I would also like to request an update as to the processing of the benefits claim for my husband in the amount of $X.

Please call me at your earliest convenience to rectify this situation. I cannot believe this has happened. In the middle of the most difficult period of my life as I mourn the loss of my husband, I am confronted with a mistake of this magnitude that could have easily been avoided. My cell phone number is XXX-XXX-XXXX. I will also be contacting the Maryland Insurance Commission to apprise them of this situation.

Regards,

MFNlaw

This morning I received a call from J.S., who apologized profusely for the mistake and pain it caused, and told me that my policy has already been reinstated. I asked for written confirmation for my records, and she said it's going in the mail today. So, overall I'm satisfied at how it was rectified, but good Christ, what a fucking gut punch last night.

revised multiple times to remove identifiers. brain = swiss cheese right now.

Jebus, Maria.

Don't you (or did you) live in Fredrick? Still a bizarre error, and so totally not what you need to be dealing with.