Being Back Feels Good

I finally feel like I'm getting back on track.

Graduation is over. Bar is over. Swearing in is over.

Now it is time to get things back on track.

I've gotten caught up on my blog reading and emails and reading all of the things I had marked as favorites on twitter too! I have all of my filing caught up too.

Now I have two things that I need to get caught up on...writing out talking points for my guy's next hearing in less than a month and writing my guy a real letter, which I haven't done in months!! These are the little things I have to still do.

But being back feels good...

Christmas Aftermath

Well, first of all I want to report I did not shank anyone over Christmas. That is definitely a plus in my column. But of course I ran my mouth, several times, so here is a little recap of our Christmas...

Christmas Eve Day...

Well...after spending 5 hours of making homemade Italian meatballs I was up for nothing additional and was very much behind! The munchkin decorated the cut-out cookies and agreed to put off making our 3 other cookies to another day. Then we went to Christmas Eve mass, which took well over 2 hours... It was brutal.

Christmas Eve...

It is tradition in our family to go to my mom's to celebrate with the family. Of course we were late, because I still had to come home and finish getting the gifts together and wrapped after mass. At this point in life I basically just threw the stuff together, called it good enough and we made our way to my mom's. I pulled up, parked behind my parents' vehicles and I had a glimmer of hope that my bro & his family no-showed. But while we were getting out of the car he drove up and upon seeing me parked, apparently in the spot he was in prior, slammed his car in to reverse and rammed his car backwards to park further away. Then instead of helping either the munchkin or I with hauling stuff in he tried to make it a foot race to the door, without saying a word to me. Whatever! I'm glad to see his ol' lady's attitude is rubbing off on him. Once we were in the house my youngest aunt pulls me into the bathroom to tell me she suspects that my bro's wife is pregnant again. (Just as I predicted...a baby w/i 18 months of their fake wedding back in June,) We make our way through the presents then a huge spread of food. My bro & his family leave without announcing the pregnancy, which is their MO. I don't get why they never tell anyone that they are having a kid...hello this is her 3rd and his 5th...why hide it now?! At least this time they are both married...to one another this time. I confronted my mom in a stealth manner and she blurted out that my aunt was correct... I think it is funny that my mom gets pissed when I ask her if my brother has knocked someone up! Brahahahahahahaha Whatever....

Of course while the gifts were being passed out when I opened a gift from my mom I asked her if she was in need of a new ankle bracelet, because she bought me one and I don't wear jewelry. She didn't find it funny. I did!! What's the point of buying me jewelry?! I don't wear it. I haven't worn jewelry in years. The only jewelry I've worn in the past 15 years was my wedding rings. And the only jewelry I have plans to wear in the future is an engagement ring and wedding rings, but till someone drops to one knee I'll be jewelry free. It just isn't my "thang."

Then when I opened my bro's family's gift to me I stated I was getting a complex since all they've given me in the last 3 years for Christmas is stuff to make my house smell nicer.

Christmas Morning...

The munchkin did his usual ripping open of gifts and just kept saying he must be dreaming. Which I totally love!! He is so cute. I'm so happy that he still believed this year!! Santa even thanked him for still believing in him! ;)

Christmas Dinner...

As usual I had the family Christmas dinner and as I figured the bro's family didn't attend. This year though my ham got dry, which sucked. But outside of that everything went well. The turkey was picture perfect!! Then everyone left by 8:30pm and I was in the bed before 11pm. The munchkin however wanted to stay up all night, which I let him...I found him in my bed at 3:30am this morning. He slept till 11:30am this morning.

The Day After...

The munchkin and I spent the day at home today. I didn't get as much done today as I had hoped, but it was a nice relaxing day. And now it is on to BarBri tomorrow...

Consider it done: 1, 7, 25, 26, 27

Just getting started: 2, 4, 10, 15, 16, 24

Needs attention: 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 34

Flabbergasted

I am flabbergasted. I'm just in complete and total shock still... This post will certify that I am a judgmental bitch, but I've always known this so here goes...

Scenario #1) My bro & his family...

After seeing my guy tonight and finishing my Christmas shopping I picked up today's mail. In it was our Christmas card from the bro's family. I opened it up and was shocked when I saw wedding pictures from their fake wedding back in June. WTF?!?

Um...hello?! Let it go already. First of all you've been sending Christmas cards out for 3 years as a married couple, have been legally married for over a year and your fake wedding was over 6 months ago. Can you say tacky?!?

Scenario #2) My friend Faye...

I've spoken of her before and some of the situations that I've witnessed from her. A little over a week ago she BBM'd me to tell me how her car was repo'd and how she had closed her door to her boyfriend because he had cussed at her 5 y.o. daughter while screaming at her. So when she told me tonight that she was going to the boyfriend's dad's house for Christmas day while her two kids spent it with her ex-in-laws I assumed that their dad was going to be in town for the day. Needless to say I was flabbergasted when she revealed that she didn't know whether her ex-husband (the kids' dad) was going to be in town or not. Double--WTF?!?

Um...hello, again?!? You are letting your kids go to their grandparents for Christmas day without you?! And possibly without their dad too? Any other day of the year...okay. But Christmas Day?!? WTF?

All I could think when she told me this was all of the parents who cannot spend the day with their kids either due to a custody arrangement/agreement or for some other reason...always not by choice...and who would do anything to spend Christmas Day with their kids. And here she is choosing to go be with the boyfriend who she was ready to be totally done with 8 days ago instead of her kids.

I'm sorry...I don't get it. I spend hours in agony over the hours and days I have to sacrifice with my son to work, go to school, and now to study for the bar. I question whether I'm making good choices when it comes to my son, but I would never give the next two days up with my munchkin for anything. I sure as hell wouldn't have voluntarily done it to spend time with a penis who yelled the "f" word at my child eight days prior....

So yes...I am a judgmental bitch. I think my bro & s.i.l. are tacky beyond words and I think my friend is making parenting decisions that qualify as bad mothering....... Don't get me wrong. I am not perfect and I make bad choices all the time, but seriously people!! WTF?!?

Consider it done: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 20, 25, 31, 33, 36, 40

Just getting started: 2, 12, 13, 18, 19, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 37, 38, 41, 42

Needs attention: 17, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 35, 39

Today Was A 2-for-1!

Not only was today election day! Did you remember to go & vote?!? It also was my Papa's birthday!! He would have been 85 today. It is really ironic that today was election day, because he was always the strongest supporter of everyone's right to vote. I grew up with this wonderful man, a WWII vet, always saying, "If you don't vote, don't bitch!" He would also always remind us that he lost friends to make sure we had this fundamental right! Well Papa I voted today & thought about you as I filled out my ballot! Love you & miss you loads!!

Consider it done: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40

Just getting started: 8, 9, 10, 17, 31, 38, 39

Needs attention: 11, 12, 14, 19, 22, 30

Sorry 3 Hours Just Isn't Enough

Dear Jury...

Sorry about your luck, because 3 hours just isn't enough. So the fact that after 3 hours of deliberating today you sent word that you were hung only cost you another day in your life, another round of parking and more importantly another trip to the great big "D". We shall see you all tomorrow morning at 9am!

Love,

j'lynn~~Defender Intern

Today's Lesson...don't try to give up on your civic duty at 3pm...it doesn't bode well for anyone!

Bad Mood

Earlier today I declared that I was officially in a bad mood. This sank in right after I called my allergy doctor's office at 1:15pm to make sure they would have my munchkin's monthly script for Ritalin ready when I got there for my allergy shot. When the assistant on the other end advised me they were closing in 15 minutes I was dumbfounded! The conversation went something along these lines...

j'lynn: Excuse me?

assistant: We will be closed. We are closing at 1:30pm.

j'lynn: I'm sorry, I thought you were open until 2pm.

assistant: Usually we are, but we got permission to close early today.

j'lynn: Seriously? So I guess I'm not getting my shot today.

assistant: Unless you can get here in 5 minutes.

j'lynn: Well that is completely impossible I live in [the town north of you].

assistant: Um...we got permission to close early today.

j'lynn: Guess I won't be getting my weekly shot this week, huh?

assistant: I don't know what to tell you.

j'lynn: I think you already told me; I'm not getting my shot this week.

Hello?!? You are a frickin' doctor's office. You cannot just get permission to close early! Needless to say this started my irritation for the day.

Then my ex-sil texted me asking if I knew of anyone hiring for a part-time job. I told her of the two places I knew hiring...Burger King & a gas station. After several texts back and forth she advised me she wasn't desperate enough to lower herself to work at such places. Excuse me?!? I love the fact that she is telling me on one hand how she needs a job pronto and no longer thinks spending the next 2 years getting her nursing degree is worth it and she would just rather have a job now, but even though she has no work history and no education and no degree past her high school diploma (from 1995) she is too good to be a cashier or work in fast food and she wants a real job!! Seriously?!?

At this point I declared that people were just pissing me off and I needed to unplug for the day... The only bright spots of my day were Alabama beating Arkansas! (Sorry Blaez & Legally Fabulous!) Plus the fact that Ranger's wife was finally going to have their baby.

Consider it done: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29

Just getting started: 7, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21

Needs attention: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 23, 26, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38

Let Me Help You Get Home

Another exhausting day has passed. Thursdays are so long for me with having to go to work, then class, then back to work. Plus with the crazy stuff at work it was really hard to leave school and not just drive straight home this afternoon. But I returned to work and ended up working till 8pm. :(

On my way home I stopped to a local gas station to fill up, grab smokes and a diet coke. There may have also been a trip to Arby's inside that occurred as well. While I was filling up I saw a beat-up old Jeep Cherokee sitting there with a sign on it that read "Out of Gas" and my heart just sank. I had a debate in my head as to whether I should help or not. After pumping my gas I opted to go and park and as I walked past the back of the Jeep I looked at their plates and they were definitely not local! They were actually from 3 states away. At that moment I made my decision, walked over and knocked on the driver's window. I filled their tank to help get them home and only asked that they remember this and in the future they pay it forward for someone else! They were really appreciative and since they had 322 miles to drive over the next 5.5 hours I can feel good about helping them get over halfway home. I would just hope that someone would do it for me or a loved one of mine if they were 3 states from home without gas.

Consider it done: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30

Just getting started: 13, 26, 31, 32

Needs attention: 12, 17, 19, 20

Why Is This So Hard?

Back in my teen years I worked at both Wendy's & Taco Bell. I was always put on the cash register, because I was fast and efficient. I never in my life ever made a sandwich or a taco or a burrito or anything like that. I was in charge of taking orders and all that goes with that and making drinks. I don't remember it being that hard! Don't get me wrong...it can be tiring and I totally get that. For goodness sake I worked at the Taco Bell inside our one and only mall and that was when Taco Bell was just starting to be "the fast-food place to go!" I remember when I was a little kid everyone thought if you ate at Taco Bell you were totally welfare!! Ha!! Not even 10 years later it was all the rage! So how is it that the two places I went yesterday, Arby's & Wendy's, both screwed up my order??

Come on people, it isn't rocket science & I'm not even that difficult of an orderer!! I hate lettuce on my chicken sandwiches, so I ordered my chicken sandwich sans lettuce with extra mayo~emotional, remember?!? What was on it when I got home? You guessed it~lettuce!! Now mind you at Arby's it isn't like a lettuce slice you can just peel off...oh no! It is shredded lettuce mixed in with the mayo, so you are totally screwed! Then after getting my pampering done and picking up some sugar-free ice cream (see my previous post about being emotional) for the house I went through Wendy's drive thru for my usual large diet coke. Of course I got to throw that out when I got home, because they gave me regular coke. UGH!!! Come on people!! You weren't even busy...there was one car in front of me and no one behind me and you still couldn't get that right?! Seriously!?! It was just more cost effective to toss out the $1.05 coke than it was to spend my time & gas driving to the other side of town. Plus I was a little afraid in my current state of mind that I would take the large drink and throw it on the woman who gave it to me as I returned it and so politely asked for a corrected drink!

What is hard though is losing weight...well, that is one of the hard things in life. At least it is for me!! It is so crazy hard that it isn't even funny!! Like not even a little bit. I'm usually disgusted when I read about people who are trying to gain weight and just can't! Um come over here and I'll show you how to gain weight!! I'm never too upset to eat or too happy to eat or too hot to eat or too tired to eat and by golly I'm never too busy to eat! And I'm not a lover of all things healthy for you, heck I'm not even a liker of it. I get the concept...duh! I know it is healthier and better for you to eat whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and it isn't healthy to eat anything white, processed or fried. And I know it makes things worse for you to eat those things! BUT I LOVE THEM. And I don't mean love in the sense of 'I prefer,' I mean I truly love them!! I sometimes wake up in the morning and think of all the yummy, nasty crap I could eat!!

When I went to the nutritional folks after I was diagnosed as a diabetic I told the women if I lived in a perfect world my daily menu would consist of greasy pizza for breakfast, a big mac for a snack, horrible fried Chinese food for lunch, chocolate cake for a snack, and Mexican smothered in cheese & sour cream for dinner, and a hot fudge (with extra fudge) sundae for dessert! I included the fact that this would all be washed down with coke (the real deal) and chocolate malts! They laughed and I thought, "No! I'm being serious here people!" But since my insides had started catching up with my fat ass on the outside I've been struggling to make all those hard sucky decisions. Some days are easier than others. Okay...the easy days are the days I just sleep the entire day away and since we both know that doesn't happen often, almost every day is a hard day in making those damn "better for you" decisions.

Well today I weighed in and I'm back here with Today's Stats...

Starting weight (7/8/09): 363lbs

Current weight: 317.6lbs

This week's results: -3.2lbs

Total weight lost: -45.4lbs

I was very excited to see this number come up this morning! I mean...very excited!! Hello!! It is the lowest I've weighed since I started this whole journey over a year ago!! I was actually a little shocked too, because I didn't have the best week. It wasn't a bad week, but I went over my calories every single day this week. I only made it to the gym once and I knew I was feeling pretty damn emotional this entire week, especially the last two days. Plus when I put a pair of jeans on yesterday I felt like I couldn't breathe.

I do think this little good news was exactly what I needed today and for this week. :)

Consider it done: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 20, 22

Just getting started: 19, 21, 25

Needs attention: 10, 11, 16, 17, 23, 24

Thanks For Not Showing Any Excitement

This morning I was trying to continue to come to terms with yesterday's confirmation. I made it to work, but didn't get much accomplished...moving slow seems to be my mantra here of late. I know I'll need to step it up in the coming days.

I left work @ 1pm for my yearly VJJ check up. I was so excited to show Dr. G that I've lost over 40lbs and gotten my HBP under control in order to go back on BCPs. I get there 20 mins early figuring I would have updating paperwork to complete. Of course I have to pee by the time I got there and didn't go before in case they needed/wanted a sample for whatever reason. Of course he doesn't staff his office until my appointment time. Go figure! Unable to wait 20 mins, they lost out on any potential test specimen! At 2pm, my appointment time, the office staff reappears from their lunch and I'm given paperwork. So even though I was the first of the four patients into the waiting room, I was the last one called. Of course!

Dr. G told me everything looked good. Of course I was expecting a little excitement over the weight loss and the fact that my BP came in at 120/90. I was also expecting that he would write out my script for my BCPs. I left without either expectation filled. :( Instead Dr. G started pushing the IUD on me. What part of "I'm not into having something implanted in my VJJ" doesn't he get?!? I left his office so deflated and pretty upset. I came home and did some research as he suggested, called my insurance company to learn that it isn't covered and decided that I would get the ultrasound he ordered and when I call for those results I will tell him that I do not want nor will I be getting the IUD and he can either call in a script for the pill or else I'll find another OB/GYN...

After my appointment I decided to swing by school to pick up my audit paperwork from the registrar's office as I received an email a couple weeks ago telling me it would be ready. Was it ready? Um...well, after waiting 15 mins for the lady in charge of it to come back from her lunch @ 3:45pm (their office closes at 4:30pm) I was told that my paperwork still isn't ready. Are you kidding me?!? Okay...I'm tired of being so angry today, so let's move on to the next thing...how about getting the two awards I received from them with my first name spelled correctly this time. Oh...those have to be ordered and sent back to me. Whatever!!

By the time I got home I didn't have the desire to toss my workout clothes into the dryer and go and work out. I also didn't have the desire or the head to work on more homework. So I did what I do best...I took a nap!

Consider it done: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 19, 22, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38

Just getting started: 11, 12, 13, 21, 23, 25, 39, 40

Needs attention: 14, 18, 20, 33

Bad Gift Choice if You Ask Me

I know I've been pretty bitchy lately...aunt flo popped in late Sunday night, finally. On top of that Sunday my aunt followed-up an email I sent to family and friends giving them significant dates for the munchkin in the coming months. He is a very busy boy making his first confession, his awards banquet for boy scouts, making his first communion, a piggy opera at school, and the pine wood derby. After talking to my mom and bringing my aunt into the fold, a decision was made to have a little party after the munchkin's first communion at my aunt's home. Her follow-up email was announcing the party. I didn't want to announce it yet.

On top of that, my aunt announces to me Monday night how she planned on getting the munchkin a Wii for his first communion. Are you frickin' kidding me?!? This is what I wanted to get him from Santa this last Christmas and kind of assumed I would get it this coming Christmas since I couldn't afford it this past one. Now she is talking about giving it to him for his first communion. I know my reaction wasn't nice when I said, "I guess I'll be buying him a car next Christmas instead." Then at some point I added, "That's an awfully big gift for a first communion." Of course, her being a catholic nun and all, she responded with "A first communion is an awfully big thing." Okay...I get that, but I just think a Wii is an inappropriate gift for a first communion, plus it screws with my plans for the remainder of the things I need to buy gifts for the munchkin this year. I figured she would be buying him a nice bible or something like that...

You would think my family would know by now that I'm a controlling bitch and that they need to run such things by me, because when they make their own decisions that affect me it never ends well...

Consider it done: 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17

Just getting started: 5, 6, 7, 16, 18

The Truth Can Force One Into A Good Decision Sometimes

Let me recap my day thus far for you all... Mom was suppose to call to make sure I was up at 5:30am. Finally, at 6:15am I realized no call was coming so I needed to drag my own ass out of bed! I hop in the shower, get ready, realizing yet again I will be late, but this time I'm okay with being late, because there really is no need to leave an hour and a half before your scheduled court time when you are only 15 mins (max) from the courthouse. I make a call to Mom to make sure she didn't oversleep and after a quick confirmation that she just simply forgot about me (this isn't the first time in my life Mom has done this; however, this time was not nearly as traumatic as the first time!) I hang up and realize that my mom is beyond her breaking point already before 6:45am.

Aunt arrives, I finish getting ready and am out the door by 7:25am. I have yet to figure out why I used to be able to get up, get ready and get out the door in less than an hour and these days it just doesn't happen. Am I just old and moving slower?! I pulled up to Mom's, get out in the pouring rain, run in and she starts apologizing that she didn't hear me pull-up. I'm not sure how she expected to hear me pull up when the wind is blowing like crazy and the rain is coming down in sheets! She tries to usher me out the door, because we are running late. I demand one swallow of water to take my AM half of a pill and then we are out the door. I literally look at my Dad and say, "Hi. Bye."

We arrive to Biggby's after I've made apologies for running late and the fact that I want to go to Biggby's because I know I can get my DDHC and it is sugar and fat free versus my mom's normal McDonald's run for her coffee where nothing comes out as sugar or fat free. All is forgiven, I run in get her coffee and my DDHC, along with a plain bagel and cream cheese to insure my blood sugar doesn't drop too low during court proceedings. Why is it at a coffee house when you tell the barista that you just want a coffee with cream they look at you like you are retarded? I'm sorry, I don't drink the nasty stuff and I know my mom's version of coffee is whatever is on sale, Maxwell House v. Folgers. Back in the car and off to the courthouse we go.

We sit in the car while cigarettes are finished and then brave the nasty-ass weather to go in after we see the foster parents enter. We go upstairs and wait as the crowd starts to gather. There is an impressive lot of us there once everyone arrives. The sad thing is, this isn't my first go around with this same type of situation, and I'm always amazed at how many professionals are available after things go badly, but never before. Roll call: 2 prosecuting students & their professor; current CPS worker; former CPS worker just "observing"; foster parents; two doctors~the treating psychologist who could have been mistaken for a criminal (long hair, sloppy dress, creepy-dude look) & the ER doc that treated the boys they were removed from their mom's home who needs to seriously be checked for Type II diabetes; a very serious narcotics Detective (I was afraid his face may crack if he even thought about smiling); the boys' attorney who relieved some of my fears of passing the bar; the foster care worker from FIA; the current CASA woman appointed by the judge to monitor the case and to interact with the boys and mom throughout the last year; the former CASA woman; the Parenting Coach assigned to give mom classes on how to be a better mom; Paternal Grandma (my mom); me; ex-sil; Defense Counsel; and new friend of ex-sil's who called herself 'like a sister' of ex-sil. I'm still confused by the fact that with all of the "assigned personnel" that this situation could go so badly since 6 of these professionals were involved after the first incident Fall of 2008 through the second incident on February 6th, 2009 to present. Who missed what? Is my ex-sil that smart? She barely passed her GED classes...and she has never been nominated for a Golden Globe, but somehow she fooled them all.

The Judge takes the bench...preliminary motions are made...orders entered...scheduling conflicts advised of...Prosecutor's Opening Statement is made. In less than 3 minutes, the Opening Statement is over, Defense Counsel has reserved his right to give an opening statement and a recess is taken so Defense Counsel can appear in another courtroom at 9am. I exit the courtroom and call mom who was ushered in to the hallway due to her status as a witness but is no where to be found. As I stand in the hall waiting for her to answer her cell phone the ex-sil walks by me. She gives me a dirty look like I have betrayed her. Seriously? Seriously?! I make a flippant sound of "Hmph." (It sounds better than I'm expressing here...think 'Hmm...I got voice mail...interesting.") I meet mom downstairs and we take cover under a neighboring building while I give her the lowdown of the exhibits entered thus far and why we are in a recess already, plus the fact that the Judge has to take a recess from 11:15am-2pm!

We watch ex-sil exit the courthouse with her pseudo-sister and stand in the rain to smoke their cigarettes. We then enter the courthouse and head back upstairs. What Defense Counsel thought may only take 5 mins, but the judge said would take 30 mins really only took 15 so he begins frantically looking for his client. Apparently there was some fear that she was so upset that she may just leave...yeah, that would have been very fun and would have made for a great paper for my Small Firms class (yes, another class 4 years in where I have to go and observe court and yes, yet again I will use family court appearances as my subject matter!). I tell him that his client is outside smoking. He looks shocked that me, the evil mystery woman, would give him such information. (He would be even more shocked if he recalled that he cross-examined me years ago for an unrelated matter and tried to call me a liar on the stand and I responded with something like, Mr. Defense Attorney maybe you know more than my Judge, but I'm going by what he told me at the last court hearing,which was that unless I have a signed copy of the final order in my hand not to consider myself legally divorced and if I was to get remarried I would be committing bigamy which he would be sure to have me prosecuted for, so I'm sorry in answer to your question I am your client's legal wife. I know you don't like the answer, but I'm just telling you the truth.")**Yes, I am very mouthy when I enter a courthouse!! LOL

I enter the courtroom and wait and wait and wait. Someone finally comes in and tells someone in a loud whisper, sorry...we all hear what you are saying when we are in such a small room, that the respondent is considering signing off her rights. Finally a decision is made and for the fist time in a long time, my ex-sil makes the smartest decision and chooses to stop the trial and sign off her rights to her two boys. We spend the next hour watching people scramble to get paperwork together and get this back in front of the Judge to enter this matter on the record and get an order entered before the Judge leaves for his 11:15am recess.

By noon mom and I are sitting at Red Lobster, drinking our Sunset Passion Pina Coladas and eating our Lobster Fondue after she called the necessary people to tell them it was over and then recaps how she told the CPS worker that she thinks the fact that I was there and when ex-sil walked past me combined with the fact that mom was sequestered as a witness made her realize that her battleship had been sunk and that is why she finally made the choice she made. I, of course, then nicknamed myself "The Enforcer". Who knew I had so much power?! Well, okay...I always have, but it is nice that others are finally realizing it too!

Everything is over and done with... We wait 21 days to ensure no appeals are filed, which there won't be, and then the adoption procedures will begin for the foster family to finally make my nephews a legal part of their family. Only one time did my mom break down today, but I think later tonight will be a different story. She was fully vested in this matter and had made it one of her top priorities for what happened today, to happen one way or another.

I walked in the house at 1:30pm today with the intent to immediately start on my list, but by 2pm the emotional strain of the day was pounding in my head, so I opted to lay down a bit. My man called at 3pm to see how things went today and for the last 2 hours I've been trying to catch up on a few things, waiting for the munchkin to get home so I can give him a huge hug and kiss and go and grab dinner before he leaves with my aunt for the weekend.

Lets get this party started!

When you are sleeping and feel a hand on your calf and realize it is an adult hand and it isn't your man, you know your day isn't going to be such a great day. This is how I woke up this morning...my mom's hand on my calf (all she could find of me outside of the blankets) asking, "Are you going in to work today?" My response, "Um yes. I am." You then find yourself scrambling to get ready and race off to work! You spend the rest of your day in a panic...

A few hours later I find myself at a "townhall" with the CEO of my company and apparently making an ass of myself or maybe him. I guess it all depends on where you sat! It had been confirmed that we are not getting raises, our healthcare costs are going up between 2% & 12% (mine will likely be the 12%~of course!), and if you are a member/purchaser of our products, which I am, the premiums will be going up effective 1/1/10! So I asked, since we have confirmed that we are not getting raises, our healthcare costs are going up anywhere from 2-12% and if we are brand loyal we will be paying more for the products we buy from my company...what do you tell us as employees? Just hang on, it will be better in a year? ...well, the response I received was a defensive one (sorry buddy if I called you out on what you are doing to us) and was told, "If you think you can do better somewhere else, go there, find another job!" Fuck you buddy. What I found amazing was that there were some employees who clapped when he said that...hmmm, lets see if you'll be clapping when you get your paycheck next year and your bills for the products! Oh yeah...BTW, Mr. CEO~I know I can find a better product and for a much better price. So when I cancel my products from your company and I'm asked why I'm leaving I'll let them know, "Mr. CEO told me if I can better, I should go there, so I have. So sorry it is a competitor!" You, Mr. CEO, has made this brand-loyal-employee to become a deal-seaking, non-loyal employee. I hope that fits in with your numbers asshole!

By the time I got home, early, with a killer headache I was frustrated! Not only did I feel like I wasn't listened to and slapped in the face with his childish response (I would think a CEO of a high powered company would have a little more tact & could have said, 'we know it is going to be hard, but we hope our employees stand by us and we will come out of this together.'), I was home early on a Friday and not feeling like doing anything other than taking a picture of my middle finger and emailing it at him! What I had planned out as a great start to my pre-birthday weekend had ended up a bust! I took some Motrin and laid down instead.

My aunt and uncle took me out for dinner tonight to start celebrating my birthday! Yummy Red Lobster!! I haven't checked my blood sugar yet (I have 16 minutes before I do!) and I'm sure they are going to be high after my 2 sunset passion pina colada, the lobster fondue we shared, the jumbo coconut shrimp, the lobster mashed potatoes (which I didn't even know existed until my aunt & uncle pointed them out, but I wasn't overly impressed), the salad with ranch and a cheddar biscuit. But it was so yummy! It was great conversation and I was able to resist their wonderfully delicious desserts. So I'm ready to face the music when I test my numbers tonight.

I love my birthday month! I received several email coupons: 25% off @ Avenue; 25% off @ my pampering salon; and either 15% off (of a $50 purchase), 20% off (of a $75 purchase), or 25% off (of a $100 purchase) @ Catherines. Sweet....

Alright...on to the mundane stuff...My Friday To-Do List:

1. Write out my shopping list

2. Go grocery shopping

3. Do laundry

4. Pick up my contacts

5. Pick up my blood strips

6. Get my nails done

7. Write my bills out (yes, again already!)

8. Do all of my Litigation homework

9. Do all of my PR homework

10. Do all of my Small Firms homework

11. Do all of my Pre-Trial homework

12. Take a picture of the progress I've made with my filing

13. Finish filing my papers, finally!

14. Pick up the house

15. Go through the munchkin's papers that have piled up this week on my counter

16. Find my AIL outline and email it to a current student of Prof. P's!

17. Send SillyJilly a link to start blogging!

18. Send SillyJilly a link to my acne treatment products, which have been so wonderful from my pampering salon.

19. Plan out my week

20. Write my man

21. Write my friend from high school as she wrote last week

22. As always, get me some serious sleep!

Dang...I always have a bunch of crap to do. Ugh...

BTW, my blood sugar was 198!! YIKES. I knew those two drinks and all those carbs were going to be trouble. The worst part is...mom & aunt & munchkin want to take me there again on Tuesday! Hmmm...guess I'll have to be better huh?! But it was so good....

Motivation

is such a problem for me. Especially when it comes to homework...ugh.

Now that I'm back in school my weekends become focused around my homework. Or at least they are suppose to be! My aunt (the most wonderful person in the world!) takes my munchkin usually from Friday night through Sunday night so I can focus on all of my homework. So then it is usually just me at home. Most times we will have dinner together Friday night so I can spend a little time with the munchkin and then they go to her house for the weekend.

This weekend was a little different since munchkin has been with her at my mom's since Thursday before I came home from work. The original plan in my head was that he would be with her Thursday through Saturday late afternoon, then with me while she attended a family friend's wedding (which I opted out of for various reasons) and she would get him again Sunday morning or late Saturday night, whichever worked out best. Then my aunt said she would just take him with her to the wedding, which I was okay with. Of course the weekend plan started to unravel when I was began having computer issues.

We decided that Saturday morning the three of us would venture all the way up to the Apple Store (about an hour away) and then do a nice lunch and pay the new swingset off so they can deliver it next weekend. We would return home and they would leave and I would have the remainder of my weekend to myself for homework. We had to move early to get in to the apple store as soon as they opened because I couldn't secure an appointment with their genius bar.

We were scheduled to leave my house at 8:30am, but since I had stayed up until 2am writing my man (18 down, 4 to go!) I got up 40 mins late and we left about 20 mins late. Of course the swingset place wasn't open when we stopped in, so that was moved to the back of the list! Off to the Apple Store we go!! We walk in about 6 mins before they open and I had to fight to get seen. Of course my worry was that I wouldn't be able to be seen, I would have to drop off my computer and/or come back another weekend. After demanding a "loaner" when I was told my only options were to come back on Monday (yeah right...are you open after 11pm Mr. Apple Store Worker because that is when I could pencil YOU in on my Monday!) or leave it for someone to look at in 72 hours I was miraculously fit in within 10 mins. Funny how that works! Of course I didn't tell Mr. Apple Store Worker that my aunt and I were already prepared in case I had to buy a new computer! hehe

One new (and free) battery later (thank you Extended Apple Care Protection Plan!!), some air to the keyboard and a replaced plastic spring under my #4 key I was done and still the owner of a single macbook! Of course I was sucked in to spending some extra money in there...a portable hard drive to back my computer up on (this was too close of a scary call in my book plus it isn't like my car and computer are immune to being stolen); more icleaner to wipe off munchkin's finger prints from my shine computer parts; and the new Mac OS X Snow Leopard operating system. So a little over an hour later, we were off to my favorite Italian restaurant in close proximity to the Apple Store! I of course enjoyed sharing my chocolate zuccotto cake with my aunt again...yummy, yummy, yummy! Then back to pay off the swingset and finally arriving back home around 2:30pm.

They left and I decided to load my new operating software...well, 3.5 hours later after loading it, backing up my computer and discovering that the system does not have any drives for my particular printer and I had to reload the drives for the prior system, which was going to take another 2 hours according to the clock of this download I opted to take a nap. Kind of hoping that I would have a repeat of last Saturday night, I laid down at 6pm. This time I only slept for 1.5 hours and then I was awake. I came out, checked my download and spent another hour getting that bug worked out of my computer! The entire time knowing I have a shit load of homework to do, but not being motivated to do it!

Since I had received an email earlier in the afternoon that my student loan check had been processed and put in the mail on Thursday or Friday, I opted to run out for some dinner and a mail run around 10pm. I had to go to the bank anyways to pay Chica for watching the munchkin for the last week of his summer, so it was a win-win! Of course my check wasn't there, but it was okay. Then I came home, ate, watched the local news, and then decided to finally do a little homework! Don't you just love the fact that I opted to start homework around 11pm?! LOL

After totally finishing my Pre-trial Lit homework, I started on my PR reading around 2:30am. Since Chapter 1 should have been completed a week ago and it is filled with philosophy after 30 mins I was out like a light! Hopefully the last 7 pages in Chapter 1 don't put me to sleep like a baby again this morning!! Why can't I get motivated earlier and much easier?!? Ugh...

Alright...since my man called and woke me up about an hour ago and I've started a load of laundry plus bored you all with my update I'm off to take a nap...er...I mean read the rest of Chapter 1, then on to Chapter 2, and Chapter 3....and so on and so on....

A few things on the side

Side Note #1:

We got out of class tonight almost 2 hours early! Hollar!! Thanks Prof. Wine! So knowing I was coming home to an empty house (the munchkin and aunt is staying at mom & dad's until Saturday morning!) I decided to treat myself to a Holy Moly!! I haven't had one in months! So I swung by and picked it up and even said no to the extra BBQ sauce I normally get and I didn't eat the chips & salsa that come with it. I have to confess something...it wasn't nearly as good as I remember. Which is a good thing. In the past I would be already craving another one right now and tonight...not so much. I'm so happy with this turn of events.

Side Note #2:

While I was at work today after lunch I was washing my hands in our restroom and I noticed something. My left front tooth looked longer than normal! WTH?!? So I spent the afternoon researching online to see what is going on. Am I developing something new? Am I imagining things now? Is my gum receding? But would it just be on one tooth? Has it always been this way and I've never noticed before? Of course after I noticed this my tooth ached, it felt different than any of my other teeth to my tongue. Ugh...thank god my regular dental appointment is only 8 days away! Of course if I get more crazy scary news in 8 days I'll don't know what I'll do. Of course, since I've already hit rock bottom...I'll deal with it and move on and add more changes to my apparent crappy life!

Side Note #3:

My apologies for all of the posts lately, but I know with my upcoming schedule I won't find as much time to blog so I wanted to make sure I gave y'all some posts to read...so don't feel compelled to read them all at once. ;) Plus obviously I have a ton of stuff going on, so I have a lot to say!

That's a Lot of Brats

I survived the Memorial Day Cookout even though by the time we left for the parade at 1pm I was unsure if I would survive or not. In case you didn't know, I am a bit of a control freak and when I say something I expect people to listen and to follow directions. Is that so hard? So when I discovered that not just one, but three people had not listened to me I was very upset. The deal was (and always has been whenever I have a family function) that if I want/need you to bring anything I will tell you what to bring. If I don't ask, that means I have a specific menu planned and I have everything and everyone covered. So when I learned that 3 people were bringing additional food, I was upset. I was actually mad.

I was serving:

Meat:

Ribs

Beef Kabobs

Chicken Kabobs

Shrimp Kabobs

Brats

Hot Dogs (for the kids)

Salads:

Macaroni Salad

Spaghetti Salad

Chips & Dip

Veggies & Dip

A dessert

Much to my dismay when I discovered that my mom was bringing Brats when all I asked her to bring were sliced onions and green peppers to cook my ribs with. Then I learn that my brother was bringing an ice cream cake and more brats. WTH? We were going to have a ton of brats. Ugh... Then my aunt dropped the bomb that she was bringing potato salad. Now I was pissed. If I wanted them to bring all of this, I would have told them. By the time I was on my way to the parade I was vowing that this would be my last family gathering!!

It all worked out...I sent everyone home with their brats because we didn't use them. I didn't blow up with my brother and his family here (more on that later!) and I have to give props to his wife (I assume) because her dessert was to die for...maybe she will make it in this family yet!

Of course my aunt & uncle never made it...she apparently had a need to stay at the local club after the parade and drink, so there was no potato salad (and honestly, it was never missed) and they missed yet another family gathering...their loss, not ours. :(

I hope you and yours had a wonderful holiday.