Dinner with Friends

Tonight I had dinner with former co-workers and my goodness was it fun.  The conversation was great, the food delicious and both my incorrect and correct drinks were super yummy!  The only thing that could have been better were the chips & salsa.  It wasn't our usual chips & salsa, but sometimes you have to pick a place for more than chips & salsa.  

I felt better this time meeting with them too.  Last time seemed strained, but this time there was none of that.  I definitely think it was me last time.  Of course I was in a funk last time and I think I didn't really feel good, which has been my problem since December...but more about that later!  

I was so happy to meet with my two friends and can't wait to do it again.  I'm so blessed in the friends department!  ;)  I am really lucky to have met them and am so glad we stay in touch.  I love you guys!  

One word of advise to everyone though...do not expect a frozen margarita when you order a margarita at your local Mexican restaurant.  From here on out I will be ordering, "A frozen strawberry margarita."  

Maybe next time my friends and I will spice it up with Chinese....  ;)  We will have to wait and see.  

"The Boys"

I haven't updated you all about my x-sil and my nephews in some time, so let me do that now...

My nephews are doing wonderful. Their foster parents have been great. Last Thursday was another family court hearing in their case and boy, oh boy...lies were flying right and left by their momma. On top of all of that, she reached a plea agreement on her criminal case. Her two charges of 3rd degree child abuse were dismissed and she plead guilty to one count of 4th degree child abuse and was sentenced to 1 yr probation, 180 days jail to be served at the court's discretion (a suspended sentence), 1 day immediate credit for 1 day, court costs over $600. Then that same week she failed her drug test for family court.

At Thursday's hearing her excuse for failing the urinalysis was not because she smoked dope, it was because she was in a room with other people smoking it. Isn't that what they always say?

When questioned why she only produced one paycheck for the last few months is because she was fired from her job as a result of the abuse charges. Yeah...when you are convicted of child abuse you usually cannot work in an adult foster care facility. Duh! She did also apply somewhere that a cousin of ours works. This cousin is a friend of hers as well...and a mother to friends of my x-sil that she attended high school with. When my x-sil applied she put down my cousin as a reference and when the boss called my cousin she said, "I am no reference for her and if you put her where I work I will walk!" Wow...now that is a reference for ya!

When questioned about why she has not moved in to her "new" apartment as promised would be done by the 5th of this month, she said she was working on that still...and still staying with a "friend" on their couch. When asked for the "friend's" address she said it wasn't for her to give that. HUH? Sorry honey...that isn't satisfactory for a court.

When asked if she signed a document presented by my mom when she gave my oldest nephew away right after my brother filed for divorce she stated, "That's not my signature." The referee asked, "Are you telling me that you did not sign this document?" She replied, "Yup. That ain't my signature. I don't sign my name that way." Too bad that it is the same way she signed other documents that are in the file.

Other information that came out during this hearing that I find disturbing is:

**She had to be told she is not allowed to sleep when the children are in her presence, because apparently since my family is no longer allowed to go during the one hour a week visitation my x-sil attends at CPS all she does now is come in, lay down on the floor and tell the boys how "tired mommy is." She doesn't interact with the boys unless they come to her. She of course kept her back to the two-way mirror so they cannot say for sure if she was sleeping or not.

**My oldest nephew no longer wants to be in the room with his mom alone. He wants the door open at all times and he prefers when a "guard" or worker is present in the room.

**As to her boyfriend who she was not allowed to have any contact with as of February, because of this and that, she confirmed that "as of yesterday, I am no longer in contact with him." HUH? Guess better late (4 months) than never...

At the end of the hearing the referee told her she has 2 months to get it together and that come August he would be making a recommendation of what should happen with the children. I do not know if it did any good, but I think it may, my mother wrote a kick ass letter to everyone involved in the case and stated that our entire family no longer support the idea that the children be returned to their biological mother.

RIP~Our Little Angel

Today was the funeral for the little girl who was missing and later found encased in cement in my hometown.  After the celebration of her short five years here on earth and laying her to rest today.  When the prayers are finished, the balloons no longer visible, and the flowers laid at her feet the real work begins...

The work now focuses on finding the kidnapper and murderer that appears by all accounts to be local to our town.  Hopefully next week the police will release more information and point us towards a suspect.

I didn't know this little girl, but she equally touched my heart as if I've known her everyday of her little life.  God Bless Our Little Angel...

Better Luck Next Season!

Well, I don't know what just happened, but my Red Wings just had their ass handed to them in Game 7.  :(  

After working late, which is becoming a habit more than a fluke, I raced to the munchkin's baseball practice.  Practice was cut short so we could all make it home in time to watch Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Of course after practice it was discovered that several of the parents graduated with my man!  LOL @ the small world and dinky town I live in!  I didn't get a feeling of what they knew about him and part of me was really curious and then part of me feared what they knew.  I'm really anxious to tell my man about this new turn events.  Of course, he called Monday twice and once on Tuesday, but I haven't heard from him again, so I have to wait to give him this piece of news.  :)

Then the munchkin, my aunt and I went to our local Mexican restaurant, which we love!  We watched the first 2 periods while we ate dinner and realized that the Wings were going to lose.  Before the 3rd period started my munchkin went with my aunt for the weekend and home I came...I sat here and watched the Wings lose...it wasn't fun, that's for sure.  But watching their play in Game 7, they didn't deserve to win.  They were out played.  

I'll keep hope alive for next season....  We still love our Red Wings though!

Second Grade

My munchkin officially became a 2nd grader Tuesday after 11:30am.  I am so proud of him.  I have to admit I never thought days like this would come.  I guess I never imagined myself with a seven year old 2nd grader.  I just never did...I don't know why, but I am so happy he is mine and so proud of him.  Even when he is acting like a crazy wild child, I still love him and am still very proud of him...

Thank you for being my son munchkin!  I love you!  I am proud of you!  And you have given me a great month so far and a wonderful week my love!  

Due East

As you all know I went from an Explorer to my new car, an Escape.  Well, on my way home the other night I got lost because a road I was on became another road and didn't end up where I thought it would.  Now mind you, I'm usually pretty good at direction and recovering myself when I'm lost.  However, once I had my Explorer I really started relying on the directional information provided on the instrumental panel.

So when I got lost I called my aunt to arrange dinner at a local new German & Irish place, which by the way was totally delicious, I told my aunt that I needed to read the book for my new car and might have to take it to the dealer, because no matter which direction I was going my car kept reading "E" for East.  I found my way back to where I needed to go, got home and we had a wonderful dinner out.

After dinner we had to return a birthday gift of the munchkin.  After leaving the store and driving back home my aunt tells me that when I turned that the corner that my car flipped and said we were headed NE and I looked and it still said E.  Then she pointed to what she was looking at...she was looking at the dashboard screen.  After I busted out laughing I realized why I always thought I was headed Due East....it was actually telling me x-# of miles to "E" for Empty!  LOL  

Needless to say I need to read my Escape book for other reasons, but not because I'm always headed East.  My explorer is still on my mind and in my eyes...and my aunt is more observant than me!

Little Red Bumps

Tonight my aunt called to tell me that her neighbor feared her little boy had chicken pox and requested my aunt to come over and inspect his newly forming rash, because my aunt is an RN.  Well my aunt is very paranoid over chicken pox, because she is in her mid-late 40's and never had them.  So she sent my uncle to do the inspection.  He concurred that it did appear to be chicken pox.  :(

Why would she call to tell me this?  Well, it is likely because this little boy was one of the 17 people at my munchkin's birthday party Saturday.  This wouldn't be an issue except that most people are contagious 1 to 5 days before they show symptoms.  So now I have begun chicken pox watch....

Ring, Ring, Vibrate, Vibrate

The sound of a ringing phone, well actually it was the feel of a vibrating phone, never sounded so good than it did this morning when my man called.  Finally out of the hole and on to a new location.  The best part is that in one direction his new "digs" are 4 hours 10 mins closer to me.  Woo-hoo!!

Of course the call almost didn't happen...after we came home Saturday from the outlandish birthday party I realized that my phone was not working properly.  The 9, 6, and 3 wouldn't work and when I hit the 0 the numbers 8, 5, and 2 also came up.  Off to the cell phone store I go and I came home with phone #4.  Yes, phone #4.  Since 12/5/2007 I have been through 4 phones.  I could see if I was unusually hard on phones, but I'm not.  Apparently LG products and I do not get along.  December 5th can't come soon enough...

Aren't Buffers Standard?

If you ever work where I currently work you can confirm that the best "stories" come from our restrooms. We have had stories about people talk to themselves while they are using the facilities. Some quotes have included "Shoot it for me Winchester" but the most recent development in our work restrooms is the fact that buffers are no longer standard. I'm not sure when or how this has happened, but it has.

We have 5 stalls in our restroom. Four regular stalls and the last stall as a handicap stall. There are certain people who use certain stalls. Our semi-receptionist/secretary uses the first stall. If you met her you would think she would use the handicap stall because she usually has to walk with a cane or single handed walker, but then I began to think it is further to walk, so she probably prefers to walk less and use stall #1. There are several other secretaries that use the handicap stall.

What stall do I use? #3...there are several reasons why I pick this stall as my usual stall but the primary reason is because this allows 2 other people to come in and use the restroom with the standard one stall buffer. However, there is one person in our office that refuses to use the buffer standard. I have figured out that every time this person comes in she has to go in the stall next to someone. You can be in stall #5 and she is going in to stall #4...or if you are in stall #1, she'll go in to stall #2. If you are in #3 she will go in to #2 or #4. It doesn't matter where you are or how many are free...she is going to sit next to you. I often wonder if in a movie theater, will she come and sit next to you or is she going to give you a buffer there...

This also reminds me of when I started the Spring semester this year in January. On Mondays I had a 4pm and a 6pm class in the same room. My LSBFF was also going to be in my 6pm class, plus I am a person who likes her personal space, especially when I need to spread out books, notebooks, etc. Each table sits 3 people, there were 7 rows, each row had two tables separated by the walk way. I sat in the 4th row the seat furthest to the right and put my bag on the middle seat and someone who I didn't know sat in the 3rd seat. This was fine and I carried upon my business of getting ready for my class to start...at least until that guy says to someone else, 'Hey, sit next to me.' She told him she couldn't because someone had their books there. That's right!! They were my books. If there were no other tables free I would have gladly moved my books, but there were 10 other free tables....if you want to sit next to one another I suggest you move there, because me and my buffer are staying where we were first.

Am I the only person who expects a buffer? Or at a minimum that prefers one? Is that so bad?

Happy Birthday My Baby!!

On 6/6/2002 @ 11:28pm the light of my life took his first breathe!  My munchkin came in to my life and I am so happy he did.  He has changed my life so many times and in so many ways.  Every breathe I take, every decision I make is done with him in the forefront of my mind.

Thank you for letting me be your mommy, my son and my munchkin!!  Hugs to you my baby!!

BTW, even with 17 kids @ a Chuck E. Cheese for your birthday party I am still glad you belong to me!!  And my goodness...we had so much fun, I'm so glad you held your ground and pushed for your party to be at Chuck E. Cheese!

I love you!!

Numbers

When I got ready to post this little update, I wanted to title it 5, but I have done so many posts with a number as the title so I thought I would just call it "numbers"!  LOL

Anywho...the #5 is for the number of envelopes I've received yesterday (4) and today (1) from my man!  And the great news is...he will be transferred from the facility he is at!  Woo-frickin'-hoo!!!!!  I am so excited that I finally started getting some letters and he has confirmed with 2 people there that he will be leaving there!  Let's just hope and pray that it will be less than a 9.5 hour drive one way...

102

emails in my in-box now...  UGH...I can't even get one thing accomplished!  Yikes!  If you emailed me, please know I'm behind and not ignoring you.  

Preoccupied and Paralyzed?

You know when you have so much going on you can't think straight and feel overwhelmed?  Or when you have something going on or are witnessing something and you feel almost paralyzed?  I am in that spot right now.  

In my town we have a missing 5 year old little girl and that hits home.  It is scary.  It is very upsetting.  And since the little girl went missing approximately 2 blocks from my pediatrician's office and a van, which was searched and seizured, was less than a quarter of a mile from my home.  Understandable that there are a couple of persons of interest that the police are holding on parole violations, which are people that the little girl's mom knew; however, that doesn't make it any less scary to me as a mom of a 6 year old... So needless to say, most of my time has been consumed with staying up with the story and listening to the local rumors.

On top of being practically paralyzed by this situation, I feel like I have so many things going on right now I'm starting to feel overwhelmed.  Yikes!!  Hell, I even have 98 emails in my personal in-box.  Between work, baseball for the munchkin, soccer for the munchkin, planning the b-day for the munchkin, helping my mom draft letters regarding my nephews...no wonder I'm feeling overwhelmed!  I was so exhausted last night we were in the bed by 8:30pm!  So I'm not quite as tired tonight, so I guess I just need to sit down and make a list and tackle it one at a time, but my goodness...it has been so crazy that it took me over 2.5 weeks to get in to get my monthly waxing and facial...

Profound statements can come from the strangest places

As you all know, I have major issues with my brother and his new wife. I really don't know his new wife and the most time I've spent with her in one setting was yesterday at the Memorial Day Cook-Out. I still am not a fan...actually, I can barely speak to her and I cannot bring myself to look at her. I don't know what all of my issues are.

I've had issues with her since day one...she allowed my brother to move in immediately upon meeting him and got knocked up. She had a 5 month old son, (allegedly) did not know my brother before he separated from his wife on 2/16/2007 and yet moved him in to her home with her son in less than a month and was immediately pregnant (baby born 12/20/2007). Plus she has shown psychotic episodes in the past with my brother.

But my dad made a profound statement last night when I said, I just didn't know what it was about her, but there is just something there that I can't get past. My dad, who is not the most keen person in the group, said, "I think we fear liking her because of what the x-s-i-l has done, because we all came to love her and the boys and now look what has happened." I agree with my dad...this one has an uphill battle and between our fear of liking her and the rocky beginning of their relationship, combined with her highly psychotic episode last fall, I just don't know if even her delicious dessert will get her past a foot in the door...

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.

Happy Memorial Day!!

I hope everyone enjoys their Memorial Day. Remember to thank all of your veterans for today! I know I will!!! Love to my aunt, uncles, dad, cousins, my man and my friends on their Memorial Day and thank you for all you have done as veterans!!!

Happy Memorial Day Everyone!!!

The 2:00am Phone Call

Last night I continued preparing for our Memorial Day Cookout. I made my mom's macaroni salad, which took a couple hours. When that was finally finished I poured myself a glass of wine and sat down to relax since my munchkin was at the neighbor's I decided to do something that I never do...have myself a glass of wine while home alone. I took one sip of the wine, looked to my left and remembered I can't drink...I'm on antibiotics. Opps... So much for sitting down and relaxing with a glass of wine.

Finally at 2am I thought it was okay, so off to bed I went with the plan to get up in the AM to clean up the kitchen, pick up the house, do laundry and finish preparing for Monday's Memorial Day Cookout. I laid down in bed thinking that my munchkin was successful with his first friend sleepover. In 4 minutes my phone rang (2:04am exactly). My munchkin wanted to come home. He was crying and missed his mommy. So I got up, met them half-way on the walk and brought my baby home. I was okay with the idea he came home primarily because of my earlier questioning of whether I should have let him actually stay over.

It is okay that he really didn't accomplish his major milestone...he can remain my baby a little while longer.

Major Milestone, Major Mistake?

Well, today has been a crazy day.  Even with going to bed last night by 11pm I was totally exhausted this morning.  I didn't even want to get out of bed!  I finally got up around 10am when my mom called.  Lately I've been extremely tired and can't seem to motivate.  Even when I know I have to be some where with something done by a certain time.  I don't know what has happened to me.  I used to be the person that was always 10 mins early and considered that late!!

Today, I did it again.  Even knowing I needed to go to a minimum of 2 stores today before we attended a 3pm and then a 4pm birthday party.  What time did I get in the shower?  1:30pm, of course.  So needless to say we were about 35 mins late to the 3pm birthday party.  We stayed a little over an hour and then left for the 4pm birthday party, which we were about an hour and fifteen minutes late for that one.  Of course no one was there so I'm not sure if the party ever happened or if we just missed it.  I felt really bad, but I have a feeling it never took place because who is able to have a 7 year olds birthday party at a public park, clean up and leave in less than an hour...come on people, you can hardly get a group of 7 year olds out the door in less than an hour let alone through a birthday party.

So after this snafu I took the munchkin to a park to play for a bit and then we went to Chuck E. Cheese for a few hours and then back home.  Of course there were still people at the original birthday party, so the munchkin went back over and then ended up getting invited to stay the night over there.  I wanted to tell him no so bad, but then I just knew I would crush my muchkin's heart...  And when I finally gave in my son danced around the house yelling, "OH MY GOD!!  My first sleep-over with a friend.  I'm so excited!!!!" (over and over again!)  Then the bottom dropped out...

I packed the munchkin's bag and walked him over to their house.  His buddy and two big guys were in the bouncy house and I swear no one else was outside.  I swear!  So Zach knocked on the door and buddy's cousin let us inside.  Buddy's dad came out and talked for a bit.  We laid down some ground rules for my munchkin and I assured them that they can call if I'm needed for anything.  Well, I don't know which thought came first in my head, but I started thinking, "Buddy's daddy looks stoned" and "Does it stink in here and if so, does it have an underlying smell of pot?"  So I'm not sure if it smelled because he looked stoned or if he looked stoned because it smelled.  :(  I wanted to instantly grab my baby and run home.  I also thought he came from another room in their home and suspected that the women were in that room.  I started having crazy insane thoughts of what might be going on in this alleged room....

I made the decision to let my son stay over because I just couldn't come up with a polite way to "change" my mind and my gut wasn't telling me to pull him out of there...my paranoia was.  I tried to use my head and thought it was one night and we could survive this.  Next time I will be better prepared with a reason behind my "no".  So I leave the house and sitting outside are the 3 women...where the hell did they come from.  Were the female voices I heard Buddy's sister and her friends staying over or did the women sneak out of the room through the window and walk around the back of the house to be sitting in the chairs in the front when I left?!?  WTH was happening to my mind!  So maybe he wasn't stoned and maybe their house didn't stink, maybe I'm just losing it....

Okay, the house did stink, but I'm not sure what or why it stunk!  And congrats to my munchkin for another major milestone in his little life even though I question my sanity in agreeing to it...

What a relief

Tonight was baseball practice and I was a little nervous.  You see the last time I was at a baseball practice for my munchkin was last year's team and it wasn't fun.  Hell, the games weren't even fun.  I don't know what was wrong with that team, but it was definitely off.  The parents did talk to one another.  Everyone wanted to be the coach's best friend.  These things didn't get to me, because I don't have to have the other parents talk to me and I don't care if they are all vying for the coach's friendship.  He was a great coach and a nice guy, but I didn't need for him to be my best friend.  The thing that pissed me off the most was the fact that the "dads" of the team would only go out and assist the coach when their son was up to bat.  

Okay, once you've been to a t-ball or baseball practice you learn quickly that the coach has no control of these 13 little kids (average age 5) and he needs assistance.  They need help getting the kids together, ready to bat, to sit on the bench, to get to their designated position, etc.  Well, since the actual normal family has became what I currently am, a single parent, and this is a "daddy" sport, the least I expect from the daddy helpers is for them to help with all of the kids.  Well, apparently that is too high of an expectation, because it didn't happen.  These guys would only come out of the stands when their little one would come up to bat, would become 1st and 3rd base coaches when their child was on base and then would return to the stands when their child was done running the bases and batting.  Heck, they didn't even assist the coach's daughter.  :(  

Well, so much has changed this year!!!!  :D  There were two or three dads there tonight helping.  One dad was out on the field with the coach and the other dad was controlling the kids on the bench and warming up each batter before they were up in the batter's box.  It was so nice to see these dads helping the coach and helping all of the kids!  Thank you daddy helpers!!

As for the parents in the stands...OMG, they talk to one another!  Me included!!  There were 4 of us "moms" sitting around chit-chatting.  It was fun, entertaining and I couldn't believe it when I looked and we were already an hour in to practice!  Woo-hoo!!  I'll be looking forward to going next Friday too!

Embarking on a very busy weekend...

Well, tomorrow is the beginning of a 3-day weekend. The unofficial start to summer. And are we busy...dang! My aunt leaves town tomorrow through Sunday night, so it is just the munchkin and I and we just keep getting busier and busier.

Here is the tentative schedule for our weekend:

Friday:

Work & School

6-8pm Baseball Practice

Saturday:

9:30am Meeting up w/my friend DM, which we haven't been able to do for a few weeks and we are just hoping to meet up for a bit this week. (Tentative)

3pm Munchkin's neighbor friend birthday party

3:15pm My monthly facial and waxing, which I had to cancel. :(

4pm Munchkin's classmate's birthday party

Sunday:

Grocery shopping for our Memorial Day Cook-Out

Monday:

2pm Memorial Day parade

4pm Memorial Day Cook-Out

& then Tuesday it is back to work already...dang!

I also need to work on getting some of the things on my "to-do" list done in preparation for the summer, for the munchkin's birthday party, and preparing for the whole furnace snafu.

What is on your Memorial Day weekend agenda?

Part vs. Whole

It appears that I need to purchase a new furnace.  Actually I have a choice to make.  There is a part that has cracks in it allowing gas to seep in to our home.  That piece is still under warranty but for only one more year.  (My home is 9 years old.)  I can have this piece replaced for labor only, which is estimated at $1,200.  Or I can opt for a new furnace for approximately $3,000.

There are pros and cons to both.  If I opt to replace the piece it could be a cheaper option that could last for years.  However, I could replace the piece and it could crack again in a year and I'm having to replace it again or something else breaks and I'm having to spend $3,000 for a new furnace now.

If I opt to put in a whole new furnace it is really expensive, but it will likely come with a warranty for several years and I will not have to worry about it for some time (or so I hope).  Plus depending on which one I purchase I could be eligible for tax credits at the end of the year.  But it is approximately $3,000.

Ugh....when it rains it pours...any thoughts are appreciated.  

Wow...what a difference

I remember on my way in to the office this morning I thought of a great post for today's entry. It was something that happened to me or around me and darn it to all...I can't remember what it was! Ugh...I hate it when that happens. I'll remember later I'm sure of it and as soon as I do I will let you know. Anywho, a few family phone calls later in the morning gave me another great entry, so here goes...

In my battle against my continuing illness I thought maybe something in my house was making me sick or vulnerable to illnesses or producing horrible, horrible allergies, so last week after going back to the doctor a/k/a Urgent Care (yes, I seem to visit Urgent Care more frequently than my doctor, but the schedule is much more applicable to my life...if only my PCP would stay open till 10pm and wouldn't have a 4 hour wait then I might see him more often!) and being put back on antibiotics for a "nasty" sinus infection and tonsillitas I decided it was time to take some household action.

I started by stripping my bed and spraying it with lysol. Then I moved on to my humidifier and cleaned that all up and changed filters. Then last, but certainly not least, I called and scheduled an appointment for someone to come out and service my furnace and central air unit, which is occurring today.

I had my uncle come over and sit to wait for the service people, which then lead to him calling me and asking me about a lock on an electrical box outside. Of course I had no clue what he was talking about. I then proceeded to call my aunt, who then spoke to my mother and called me back about this mystery lock. The story that finally came to me was when I kicked my man out back in 2004 I feared "someone" would do something to my electrical box and I took the lock off my shed and put it on this outside electrical box and put a new lock on my shed to keep my man out of my stuff! Of course what this really means is my mom and dad took the lock from the shed and put it on this electrical box to prevent my man coming and messing with my electrical stuff and to keep him out of the shed too.

Do you see all of the holes to this story? I do!! First of all, "I" did not do any of this. I may have been a consulted party, but trust me in the fog of filing for divorce and kicking my man to the curb and losing my step-son in the process I have no memory what-so-ever about a lock being inter-changed. Second...by taking a lock that my man had a key to and putting it on the electrical box really doesn't stop any potential horse-play does it? I'm thinking he would likely have recognized the lock and knew he had a key for it. It just does not come off as such a deterrent to me. Lastly, maybe someone should have marked this information somewhere or labeled a key, because I now suspect that I no longer have a key for this lock.

Luckily Mr. Fix-It can get his job done without really entering that electrical box...because the talk of bolt cutters and strange men at my house was going to send off all sorts of other alarms at my house today...alarms I really don't want to deal with today.

Of course I'm not sure if I would hear all of these alarms, since as of yesterday I can no longer hear out of my left ear. :( Back to Urgent Care I went last night clearly frustrated with the fact that I can't seem to get better, especially since the last few weeks I had thought "this" was simply allergies. I told the doctor that I traded a sore throat for a blocked ear and everything else remained the same and that my frustration level is really high right now. He proceeded to proscribe me a different, much stronger antibiotic, which I find funny because it is what he originally proscribed last week that he ended up canceling when the pharmacist advised my co-pay was going to be $40. (All of this was done without my knowledge, of course. And I do understand his position when he explained last night that he made a judgment call, because so many of the people that come in to see him really can't afford that co-pay.) I told him I didn't care the cost...just give me something that was really going to work.

Wow...what a difference 2 pills have made! I took this new antibiotic with the newly proscribed heavy-duty decongestent when I got home last night and when I got up this morning I was like a new person! Holy smokes!! My ear remains blocked and I'm certainly not over my sickness as I am "really, really sick" according to the doctor last night; however, I feel like things have turned a corner. I took my morning decongestent before I left for work this morning and can't wait to get home to take a second dose of my antibiotic, so hopefully tomorrow I will feel even better!

Of course the munchkin woke up hacking this morning, which isn't surprising since mommy has been sick, Chica and her girls have been sick and he is with all of us everyday. So he will be seeing his doctor at 4:30pm today...

What is missing and What is out of place?

Okay...let's play a little game! So all I wanted today for lunch was a burger. I would have preferred a bar burger, specifically Mr. Joe's, but that was really out of the question for today, so I decided to go to the uber-expensive restaurant in my building because I know that they have decent cheeseburgers. So I ordered a cheeseburger with a side of their delicious chicken enchillada soup. 20 mins later it finally comes out to me and I bring it up to my office. I began taking my lunch out of the bag to eat. There is....

• a cheeseburger on a toasted onion/cheese bagel with lettuce, tomato and onion and nothing else
• a side of seasoned fries (maybe they can't substitute...okay)
• and a fork

In the smaller bag inside the big bag, there is...

• a cup of chicken enchillada soup
• a bag of fried tortilla strips to go with the soup
• a side of ketchup
• a side of mustard
• a side of sour cream for the soup
• and a capri sun

Okay...I would have rather had mayo for my burger than the sour cream for the soup, but whatever. I most certainly would have rather had a bun for my burger. And maybe next time...a spoon instead of a capri sun that I can take home to my munchkin.

You do know this is a sign right?! This is God's way of saying, "Get off your fat sick ass, pack a healthy lunch and get back to your WWs girl!!!" (If only he would have said it without the stupid bagel...yuck!

Wedding Bells????

Nope, not mine! Apparently my brother is hearing wedding bells (again). The entire family was informed by his application in our local paper for his marriage license. (nice...) After a few phone calls and voice mails it was determined yesterday that the ceremony is this coming Friday. I guess my invitation was lost in the mail. Ha!

My only comment was "I'm not paying for this divorce too, since he still owes me $425 from the last one!"

May 16th is a big date in our family

Well, today is a big day in our family.  I guess I should say the date is a big "date" in our family.  Today is my grandma's birthday.  She would have been 83 today!  Happy Birthday Nana!  We miss you and love you!!

It is also my aunt and uncle's 22nd wedding anniversary today.  Happy Anniversary!!  Some days I'm not sure how they have made it this long...they certainly surprise more than just me!  Regardless I'm glad my aunt found my uncle, because I love them both and I'm happy that they are a part of my family.  Love to you both!

A cousin of mine joins the magical date in my family today when she marries her guy!  I'm not invited and will be at the munchkin's soccer game this afternoon (I sure hope it doesn't rain unless it is going to cancel the game before we leave for the game!) instead.  But I wish R&A all the luck in the world.  It took my cousin almost 33 years to find the love of her life, so I am very happy for them!  (PS. I hope it doesn't rain until they are inside their venue, because that just sucks!)  

So...I hope May 16th is as happy of a day in your life and family as it is in ours!  Happy May 16th!!!!  :)

Selfishness Gets You Every Time, Damn It!

When I overheard a conversation at work this morning between a support person and a coordinator I instantly thought of myself! Yes, this was the selfishness in me that made their conversation all about me. I saw how their topic of discussion would benefit me and how I could check 3 things off of my newly forming, extensively heavy "to-do" list even at 15 feet away and inside of an office. So a few hours later I approached the coordinator and brought up the subject of her earlier conversation. After the conversation I had I became sorry I had overheard the conversation and realized selfishness does have a price...

j'lynn: Did I hear a rumor that you are going to the post office?

PC: Yup. Do you need something?

j'lynn: A book of stamps would be great!

PC: They don't sell stamps in a book anymore.

j'lynn: Yes, they do.

PC: No I don't think they do.

j'lynn: Yes, they have always sold books.

PC: I think they stopped. I only buy rolls.

j'lynn: I only buy rolls too, but they didn't stop selling books.

PC: How many stamps used to come in a book?

j'lynn: Books have 20 stamps in them.

PC: So you want 20 stamps.

j'lynn: Well, if they have rolls, I'll take a roll of stamps. But since I suspect that they will not have rolls yet with the recent change of the prices I'll take a book of stamps.

PC: And if they don't have books?

j'lynn: I'll take 20 stamps.

Main points behind this conversation:

1. Selfishness gets you every time.

2. Overhearing conversations aren't really about you.

3. Just because you do not purchase something doesn't mean they no longer make it.

An In-Box Does Have a Purpose, Really.

Today was the longest day of the week...  OMG!  When you are away from work for 2 weeks, staying up late, sleeping in you do not want to go back to work, especially if you stay up until 2:30am the night before the day you return.  I did not want to get up this morning at all!  But I did...got ready, didn't get to eat breakfast, and ran out the door.  

When I got to work and walked in my office I knew it wasn't going to be a happy day.  Everyone I work with knows that I'm particular about my office.  I have an in-box for a reason, so lets use it people!  I walk in and there are new files spread out on my desk.  Yes, it was in an orderly fashion but there wasn't a reason for it.  Then when I pulled out my chair there were other new files on there.  If you want to bring something to my attention, don't put it on my chair, because I will either sit on it or pick it up and throw it to the side, because now I'm not happy.  What is the point of having an in-box if you aren't going to use it?  It isn't for in-coming mail only or else I would have called it a mailbox not an in-box...

So I was instantly irritated and it just went down hill from there.  There were stupid calls, stupid requests, and stupid questions.  By the time noon came around I was ready to come back home.  Finally at 1pm I was starving because I still hadn't ate yet today, so I ordered a horrible sandwich from Jimmy John's.  It was yummy, but horrible for me. So much for getting on track with WWs today, but tomorrow is a new day.  By the time the day came to an end, I was exhausted.  

The munchkin had his May Crowning tonight for religious class, but I was unable to attend.  I left work late and when I got home my stomach wasn't feeling all that great and I didn't have enough time to settle it to go, so my aunt went with the munchkin.  :)  I relaxed for the rest of the night, went thru some papers and am trying to get organized a bit.  

Now it is off to bed so I can get up and hopefully have a better day tomorrow at work.  I hope everyone has a great day tomorrow, good luck!  ;)

Mother's Day Coming to an End

What a beautiful Mother's Day. :) I started the day by going to Mother's Day mass with my two aunts to watch and listen to my munchkin who did a beautiful job in the first reading. Way to go my munchkin. :) I'm just so proud of you and even though you told me when you went to bed that you love me more than I love you, I hate to tell you my son, you are wrong! I love you more than life itself and you make me so proud to be your mommy!! Thank you for being my son!

From church we went to lunch. We went to one restaurant and we weren't feeling it so we left there and went Mexican instead. It was delicious and I love me some Mexican! ;) Then we had to go to Game Stop to get the munchkin a new game (because if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be a mom!) and then on to home. After that we just kind of sat around, he played his game, I watched some TV and after my aunt went home I took a little nap on the couch and then we grabbed a little KFC (their grilled chicken is yummy!) for dinner.

Mother's Day is wrapping up, but yet again it was another fabo one!! Thank you baby!

PS: Back to work tomorrow! Yikes! After 2 weeks off, it is hard to get back in the groove and I fear tomorrow is going to be one of the longest days of the week to come!

Happy Mother's Day

to everyone! Even if you aren't a mom, that doesn't mean you don't deserve to celebrate Mother's Day, so please enjoy today and Happy Mother's Day Everyone! :)

Combining Holidays...

Well, today I was up before my alarm...shocking! In to the shower I went and out I came. As I was attempting to get ready I hear a knock on the door. I open the door and there sat a flower box! I opened it up and there was a mixed dozen of roses. :) They are beautiful. My son sent me flowers for Mother's Day. :) Munchkin, I love you and thank you baby! I've enjoyed all of your gifts to me. :) I will post pictures in the future of all of my wonderful gifts...roses, seed-plant, and hand poster!

Then off to register the munchkin for the 09/10 soccer season. Doesn't that sound weird?! OMG...in less than a year it will be 2010! Yikes! Anywho...I rushed up to register him, running late because I had to get my roses in to the beautiful green vase they came with. Luckily it was much easier to register him at noon then it was last year when I went at 10:30am, thirty minutes after they opened, because last year it took me hours to get what it took me to do in 10 mins today!

And from there the family met for a family dinner @ 3pm. Mom, dad, aunt, uncle, other aunt, munchkin and I attended. I had planned it with the intention of the entire family going to dinner. It was my treat for both Mother's Day & Father's Day. It seems that we always do something for Mother's Day and don't always follow up on Father's Day. I think primarily because my man isn't here and since he isn't involved with my munchkin I don't press the "holiday" to bring it to the forefront of my munchkin's mind and since it appears that so many times if I don't plan the family "gathering" it doesn't get planned...or so it feels! So I decided when I took all of the mothers, fathers, mother-figures and father-figures in our family out for a Mother's Day dinner I would double this up and make it dinner for both Mother's and Father's Day. Unfortunately my brother and his family opted not to participate, because he thought he couldn't afford it. I couldn't chance ruining my surprise because NO-ONE knew about it. Regardless, dinner was good and I think everyone had a good time.

From dinner on to Ladies Night @ The Harley Dealer. This is my mom's thing. From 6pm-10pm the dealership is turned in to a ladies-only haven with various vendors, drinks, food, and music. This year it was a Vegas Casino Night theme. Mom, my aunt and I went and for whatever reason my mom can't be happy over anything. I don't know why, but she wants to be involved in nothing and just is very unhappy. I hope she finds her way through this moment of hers. We didn't gamble, but we did stand in the most popular line of the night...to see the tarot card readers! It was better than last year. **This is for another post at another time!

Then back home for the night! The munchkin asked my aunt to stay over and we will all go to church together in the morning, because the munchkin has a reading during mass! :) I'm so excited...

Exhaustion and Relief All Rolled Into One

Wow...I did absolutely nothing today. Hell, I didn't get up until my aunt called me around 12:30pm. I had my alarm set for 1pm, just in case. After she called and I got up I was so drained I really couldn't move all day. The combination of finishing this semester and my horribly hacky cough has exhausted me today. Well, I better get lots of sleep tonight, because I have a full day tomorrow...registering the munchkin for next year's soccer, family dinner @ 3pm, and then ladies night at the Harley Dealer @ 6pm. Then I'm back to work 2 days later...Yikes!

On a separate note...I received two pieces of mail from my guy today. :) I almost didn't get my mail today and didn't decide to get it until 9:30pm when I needed a Sweet Tea from McDonalds! I am very happy I opted to go out tonight even though I wasn't up for it and wished I was wearing a burka because I was looking nasty! LOL Anywho...my man was attacked by a co-worker in the kitchen and was almost sent to the hospital as a result. Of course he was sent to the hole (a/k/a segregation) and given a major ticket for fighting, which he has been found guilty on. He sent me all of the documentation because he has filed an appeal, plus he sent me like 3 or 4 letters inside the large envelope and a book that I sent him months and months ago that I said I wanted to read when I was done with classes this summer. The second envelope was a Mother's Day card! Like a real card, one that you or I would buy in the real world. On the inside he asked if he surprised me~~hell yes!! Where do you get such a card in prison and even in seg!?! Even being in the hole my man has tricks up his sleeve!

I have a feeling that I'm gonna sleep like a baby tonight...

Amen...It is Finally Over!

I am finally done! I submitted my Crim Pro final at the cut-off time tonight...11:55pm! Yikes! I used the full 4.5 hours. I thought for sure I would be done early...but as always that never happens and I always could really use an extra 30-60 mins. Oh well...c'est la vie!

Of course as soon as I finished my first thought was...gosh, if the munchkin wasn't here I think I would go to the gym. Yeah, that thought disappeared quickly! LOL Watch out next week...

Not only TGIF, but also...Happy Summer! Here I come!! ;)

One Down, One To Go...

Crim Pro must be completed in less than 24 hours....please say a little prayer for me...I will need it! ;) No one knows how glad I'll be when this one is over...

At Least 1 Wrong Answer

Criminal Sentencing is over!! I actually enjoyed the class for the most part. But as always, I'm glad it is over. Of course I made one huge stupid mistake. Needless to say, I will never forget the Tanner Rule again! Ugh....stupid, stupid, stupid me. You know when you are answering a question and you finish and then someone says "Oh yeah, that was "x"..." and you want to slap yourself. Well that was me, because when I answered the question the Tanner Rule never came in to my head. I just thought it was a strange question and gave the only possible answer in my head and it wasn't even close. Shit...and I should have known that too! For 15 weeks I always knew that answer...why the heck it never popped in to my head, even for a consideration as a possible response, you've got me. I wish I knew...

So at least I know I didn't get everything right on my final tonight...hehe ;)

Moments on Hump Day

Well, it is hump day again. Usually I'm a lot peppier for hump day, but not this week. On top of the original "moment" that I was originally suffering from (back over a month ago), which I truly believe I never got over, I'm now having down moments for various reasons. I am primarily down because of all of the family issues and more specifically because of my guy. I'm working on pulling myself out of this funk, but it is never easy...

In an effort to withdraw myself from this funk I'm working on my original to-do list. I accomplished a few of those things Monday (#6, #7, #8, & #9). Well, since a few of those weren't actually solved and crossed off I followed up on them yesterday. I called another exterminator to confirm the prior story and am waiting for a call back. I have also began to look for another fix it guy because my fix-it guy isn't returning my calls. Funny thing is that last night when we were getting ready to go to our Cinco de Mayo dinner someone was handing out flyers about handy-man services. Is this a sign? I guess I should try them, huh? Maybe they can solve my bee problem too.

Well yesterday I accomplished #1 and am working on #2 right now, except I'm skipping the folding and putting it away for now and if it doesn't get done by Friday I'll work on it then. I also went through my papers, but haven't "done" anything with them yet, but I weeded out the garbage so instead of several piles of papers, I'm down to an approximate 7" stack of papers to deal with...making progress y'all!

I know I will eventually pull out of my funk and a special letter in my mailbox would help me immensely! Also finishing my exams will help loads too! I have my Crim Sentencing final tonight @ 6pm and then I HAVE to take my Crim Pro before 11:59pm Thursday. I'm so not prepared, but it is my own fault. Needless to say, good thing I usually respond best under pressure. I'm just hoping that this time is like the others...

Of course the fact that my allergies are trying to smoother me with post-nasal drip (sorry for the nasty part here!) is not helping. It gets worse the later it gets...I'll be glad when the little white fuzzies and flowers stop flying around. :(

Oh yeah...I went through almost all of my emails last night too! I did have over 40 emails and now I'm down to 2 to respond to...that I'm ultra proud of! Yay Me!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

Happy May 5th! I love today. I have always wanted to celebrate in the heart of the gatherings each year, but since I am almost always in the midst of exams it never happens, but that first year after I'm all done with school and the bar...watch out Cinco de Mayo, here I come!! LOL

I hope everyone has a wonderful day and has the chance to enjoy some chips & salsa and a couple margaritas or cervazas! Too bad I didn't plan ahead and plan a night of treats for the family! Maybe next year.

Munchkin had his first soccer game last night...they lost. :( He was also warned by the coach that if he couldn't get it together he would be sat out for the rest of the game. :( It didn't come down to that, but he gets so damn excited!! And it is like talking to a wall sometimes...

I was also able to get some of my "to do" list done...okay, I called the fix it guy (#6) and left another voice mail, picked up my glasses (#7) and have decided I won't be returning there for my glasses next time, mailed out some documents (#9), and called the exterminator (#8) who told me they won't be coming out because there is a chance that it isn't an active beehive. I will be calling more exterminators today to see if this is a correct response or if the person I spoke to just didn't want to do his job. Still trying to work on #1-5, #10 and #11... Since I'm running out of time I need to get my ass in gear, huh?

Who knew Sundays @ 10pm were so popular

I have came to realize this is an apparently hot time slot on TV for me. Thankfully some of them are repeated later and others can be watched on-line. I would have thought this was the worst time and I used to always attempt to go to bed earliest on Sundays to be "well-rested" for the week. Well, when so many of my shows moved to Sundays at 10pm that whole theory went out the window. LOL

Whatever would be on at 10pm on Sundays you ask...well, let me list them out:

• The Celebrity Apprentice
• The Unit
• Brothers & Sisters
• Army Wives &
• In Plain Sight

Isn't that amazing? Who would have thought... Of course The Celebrity Apprentice only has one more episode left, Army Wives and In Plain Sight are spring/summer/cable shows one of which has only started recently, The Unit is coming to an end (according to TV blogs. :(...) and Brothers & Sisters can be seen on abc.com.

It all works in the end, but it still surprises me that Sundays @ 10pm are so popular for my shows!

Lacking Motivation

Well, with everything going on in life I'm lacking some serious motivation and I need to change that. I swear I think I could sleep for days and days and I'm watching re-runs of NCIS...I think I'm addicted. I think I need semesters to end approximately 2 weeks earlier than they do!

I have a ton of ist to do...just no desire to do any of it. I'm still working on last week's list and added some more:

1. Pick up the house
2. Do laundry (& since I can only do it during the day now~my light switch is not working and I have to call the fix-it guy again this week to come and take care of that problem~I need to get a jump on it!)
   
3. Go through my papers and bills and stuff like that for the week.
4. Get organized for finals
5. & most importantly, get studying for finals!!
6. Call the fix-it guy to work on that damn light switch
7. Pick up my glasses from being repaired, again
8. Call the exterminator for my beehive under my house
9. Mail some documents out tomorrow
10. Get back on WWs....I'm having trouble there too.
11. Take my Crim Pro exam

I'm hoping I go to sleep tonight and wake up totally motivated!

Family Update

Well, I took my uncle to the doctor...no mass in his pancreas as we were fearing; however, there were some abnormalities in the tests, so he has to get additional tests done and return in 2 weeks.  The tests include a bone marrow test, an MRI of his spine, and x-rays of all of his bone joints.  So hopefully we will know more in the next couple weeks...

April Showers Bring May Flowers...

Well, here it is May 1st!  Can you believe it?  It is already the 5th month of 2009.  That scares me a bit.  Life is going so fast and the year is just flying by!  And it has been raining a lot lately so I figured this was an appropriate post to say goodbye to April and hello to May.  

I'm hoping for me, personally, that May is a better month than April was!  Enjoy May y'all!

Ups & Downs Today

I almost didn't write this post, but then I remembered that it is all about me and that includes the people I love! Well I made that call and my fears were confirmed...my man is in the hole. :( I don't know why...and knowing what I know about prison I can't judge until I know the facts. I know that probably doesn't sound natural to people, but with MDOC there are 4 sides to the story: his, the other person, MDOC and then you have to apply logic to the story... So I shall reserve my judgment for now, but I'm still sad, mad & hurt. :(

Tomorrow I take my uncle to his follow up appointment with the hematologist oncologist...wish us luck! I'm really nervous about the appointment tomorrow and us getting bad news...

In case you are under a rock today...Chrysler filed Chapter 11 today. We shall see what becomes of this. It makes me nervous as well. Apparently I'm just a nervous nelly today! LOL

But hey, my back is feeling better. It hurt a little this morning but has since went away. So that is good news. So it has been an up and down day today...but I'm glad I know what I know now. I think I'd rather know versus not knowing.

I'll update things when I can....

Oh BTW, I was having such a crazy afternoon that when I got ready to rush off to the post office to drop my paragraph off demanding details from my man I realized that I had my shirt on inside out. Opps! I have decided that with my stress level these few weeks that I will be treating myself to a massage at the end of next week...I know I deserve it! ;)

Deadline for Chrysler

Well today is the government imposed deadline for Chrysler. Will they have time to make their deal with Fait or will they be filing for BK? I wish them all the luck of the world, especially the hourly workers who are uber-stressed out over this whole thing. My prayers are with you my Big-3 brothers and sistas! Even though this may not directly affect me, it indirectly affects us all, so I hope that the best thing that is suppose to happen will happen. Good luck Chrysler and if it is Chapter 11 that you find yourself in...please don't call me, because I suck at Chapter 11! (See prior post on BK final.)

**Dani, how do you do that neat little link thing when you put "here" and it takes you to the other posting?

Contact with both former-sister-in-laws today...

So I woke up this morning with a pain in my back, sort of. It is more like my lower right quadrant on the backside. It is kind of constant with spurts of sharp pains. I'm hoping that this is tied to mother nature, stress and over-all feeling icky and nothing more serious. I always get a little nervous with pain in this area because of the cyst I'm carrying around there! I don't know what it feels like when a cyst bursts; however, I assume it would be painful so I am crossing my fingers that it is nothing except stress and "that time". I swear I'm falling apart in my old age!

So I talked to my guy's sister-in-law and it appears that no one has heard from him since the last time I spoke to him on the 20th! She is going to verify with her mother-in-law and report back to me. I'm sure if I don't hear from her there has been no contact, because I love my former sister-in-law, but she loves to stir the pot especially with me and my guy. She would have immediately called me if she had confirmed contact between the two of them!

Another call came in that went through the family drama dealing with my other ex-sister-in-law. Apparently the foster mother or the DHS people asked her about birth information about my two nephews...their weights, lengths and times of birth. She couldn't provide that information. For people who haven't had kids they would probably think "so?!" but once you have kids you know such information. I don't know why or how, but you do! I will admit that I couldn't recall the exact length of the munchkin but I was damn close (said 20&1/2, but it was 20&3/4), but I sure as hell remembered the time and the weight exactly (11:28pm & 9lbs1oz)! I just don't get how she couldn't remember the time and the weight? God help those two little boys...I think their foster parents are the best option right now. So very very sad...

Oh yeah...I went to get my mail while the munchkin was at soccer practice and I decided to treat myself to the newest addition in our town, Cold Stone Creamery, which moved in and is sharing Tim Hortons. Well, what a mistake!! Not only was it expensive and not as great as I hoped for, but how am I suppose to drive home with a cup of fancy ice cream without a lid and doesn't fit in a cup holder? Maybe I was expecting too much with an expectation of a lid and maybe a bag too...WTF? I won't be going back...

Your Limo Awaits Sir...

Honey, it was a real stretch limo for the munchkin and crew...  ;)

He had a blast.  Here are some pics of the limo.

Next time the munchkin would like to be in a tux he said...

We will have to wait and see.  I love you munchkin!  ;)  Congrats on the limo ride!!

The inside...

It is a Hummer, Baby!  

Hooah!!

In they go...

And they are in...

And they are off...

BK over and done...

Well, I took my BK final. It totally sucked! :( It was 3 questions, which took me 4 bluebooks. And I have decided that the worst kind of BK out there is Chapter 11 and I really don't know anything about it. Oh well...at least it is over with! :) One down...two to go!

Thanks for the well wishes!!

PS. Ceiling Fan

I forgot to mention what I came across when I was switching my bedroom ceiling fan from winter to summer this past weekend...needless to say, it wasn't pretty.

Ironic that one of the texts I received this morning was from my cleaning lady asking if she was going to be cleaning this week. Since I'm home for finals she won't be, but I thought it crazy that she texted me after my post last night! Of course she isn't even close to filing BK. :( Ugh...

On a separate note...I went today to see my munchkin off in his limo ride! He was so excited. I took like 25 pictures! Some will be posted soon. Of course it was a hummer limo so the munchkin was super excited because it was an Army limo! Hooah! I probably could already have the pictures back by now, but since there were 4 kids in the group and one of the little girls didn't have anyone there to take pictures I am having 6 sets made so I can give a set to each kid for their scrapbooks. I didn't want the other little girl to feel like she is being singled out.

On a downer note...I still haven't heard from my man. :( I'm hoping he gets my letters soon and calls or writes. I hate lack of communication...ugh

Alright...BK final in 4 hours and 19 minutes! Wish me luck!!! YIKES!!

The blue dot, a red bra and the plastic bag

Whatever would these things have in common? Well, they are signs that my cleaning lady is getting worse and worse...

Let me go back to the beginning so you don't think I'm a complete spoiled brat! LOL When I decided to go back to school I knew I would need help at home with my munchkin and the house, so I originally asked/offered the job to my mom. She would clean my house once a week, plus get the munchkin on the bus for $50/wk. Then she feel in my shower and broke her shoulder. Since I wasn't in school for the summer, it was okay and the house was no problem. By the time school came around again she was okay enough to start cleaning again. But then she was scheduled for surgery that January and actually in December stopped cleaning. I knew my neighbor was cleaning some other houses and they were really in need of some financial assistance, so I offered her the job and she took it!

I think I thought things would be great, because she was always going on about how often she cleaned and how particular she was with her cleaning. She was even nice enough to clean my house on Christmas Eve that year because she needed the money and I was having the family over for Christmas dinner. So our relationship went from being just friends and neighbors to being employee/employer.

Well, things seemed great in the beginning but quickly went down hill. After maybe six months or longer I came to realize that she wasn't moving anything and dusting around things. If my son's playroom was out of order at all she would refuse to vacuum in there. Then I figured out that she was cleaning my entire house with one rag. I'm not sure about you, but with a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, and an almost 1,200 square foot home when I would clean I used more than one rag. Then my aunt pointed out to me that she was the one having to wipe off the TV screen weekly because no one else was doing it.

So I came to the decision that I was going to have to let her go soon...this came a realization in December, especially when a co-worker gave me the name and number of an alternate person to clean my house. She said she is really good and cheap too. I never got to make that call in December because my current lady's, who is no longer my neighbor but is still a friend, daughter came over to give me a picture of her baby and told me that her mom had been really, really down lately. I told her I was aware that her mom had been depressed lately and she confirmed that she feared that her mom was suicidal. I found this scary because a couple times my friend had called and said there were a couple times she thought of calling me because she was at her wit's end and had thought about ending it all.

I knew after having this information confirmed and with the economic downturn that I couldn't make that call to my friend telling her I no longer needed her services. :( I just didn't want that on my hands if she decided to do anything, especially since she wouldn't take any of my advice or suggestions and go and talk to a professional. So I decided to take her down to every 2 weeks instead of every week and she told me they were using my $50 every other week to file bankruptcy because they were so far behind financially. So I thought maybe once I confirmed she filed her BK I would move her down to once a month during the summer since I could clean once I'm done with school and then call the new lady and see how she was and maybe in the fall alternate them and eventually let my original lady go.

Then I discovered something today and I have changed my eventual plan... Two times I've tested my cleaning lady. Not intentionally, but when I would see something I would leave it there to see if and when it would get taken care of. One time I noticed that my blue shampoo had splashed a small little dab up on the side wall of my shower. It wasn't noticeable if you just looked at the shower, but if you were cleaning the tub and the shower you would definitely see it. 6 weeks later I took care of it myself. A few weeks ago I noticed something on the floor at the edge of my bed...my red bra. It was between my bed and the foot board under one of my decorative pillows that don't always make it up on my bed during the week. Well, I picked it up this weekend while I was doing laundry so I could wash it. Needless to say...the pillow and the bra were never picked up from the floor. I find it really ironic since she never has to make my bed but I did expect she had been dusting and using pledge on my oak bed...well, I hoped she was but I kind of thought some time ago that she hadn't been using pledge on any of my wood since we used it some time ago and placed a dusting rag on top of the canister, which has never moved since.

Then I found the final thing that kind of sealed the fate of my cleaning lady dilemma. As I was putting paper products away this weekend after shopping something feel on the floor in my bathroom closet where I keep all of my cleaning supplies and paper products. It was the bag that went over the end of my mop, which I purchased months and months ago when my other mop broke, along with the zip-tie that fastened the bag to the mop. Apparently when my cleaning lady unwrapped the mop she didn't feel compelled to throw out the plastic bag and instead left it balled up on one of my shelves in my bathroom closet...

So after the blue dot, a red bra and the plastic bag I know what I will need to do this summer while I'm off school...I'm hoping that their BK has been filed so I will feel less bad.

Vodka Sauce

I had it for the first time tonight.  I'm sure it is much tastier if it is homemade and not from a jar, but I must say the jar was pretty delicious!  I made veal parmesan for dinner and used vodka sauce instead of marinara sauce and it was good.  Now I want to make chicken the same way...yummy!

Munchkin enjoyed Thomas the Train, but has decided that he will be too old come next year to go and see Thomas even though he had fun today.  :)  He is so cute!  The rain held off for them so all were happy!

As for my list of things to do...still need to do them.

Sleeping In & Loving It!

Wow...I slept till 11:30am this morning.  I am so happy!  And I slept sound.  I didn't wake up once last night.  There is good and bad to that statement; good that I slept the whole night through and bad because I know I didn't drink nearly enough of anything yesterday because I never woke up to pee!  But I definitely feel better today, so I think I needed that.  Still congested, but not nearly as bad as what I have been.  Of course going through 2.5 boxes of tissues this week has helped with some of the congestion.  

It was nice to be able to sleep until I woke up this morning and part of me wanted to crawl right back in bed when I did wake up and see it was 11:30am, but I have tons to do so I forced myself up and out.  

Here are just some of the things I need to do today:

1. Pick up the house
2. Finish putting the groceries away (I didn't finish at 10pm last night when I got home and since the groceries filled the backseat and the backend of my car I have a ton of them yet to put away!)
3. Do laundry (& since I can only do it during the day now~my light switch is not working and I have to call the fix-it guy again this week to come and take care of that problem~I need to get a jump on it!)
4. Go through my papers and bills and stuff like that for the week.
5. Get organized for finals
6. & most importantly, get studying for finals!!

I'm sure more items will be added to the list as the day goes on!  

Let's hope for sunshine all day today because the munchkin and the aunt have tickets to go and see Thomas the Train at 1:30pm and it is all outside!  Last year it was rainy and cold for them.  :(  But I'm hoping the predicted scattered showers hold off until tonight!  

Every year they do this and of course every year the available weekends for this little junket falls during finals and by the time I'm done taking finals he will probably be too old for Thomas the Train.  :(  Oh well...one of the millions of sacrifices we have had to make since I've went back to school but since I'm so far in debt in student loans and over half way done I'll keep plugging along!  

I hope everyone is enjoying their warm and sunny weekend!  ;)

Up 2

I ended my long week with dinner with one of my greatest friends last night. I enjoyed every single minute of it! :) It was so good to see my friend and to be able to sit and talk like old times! Gosh I miss seeing her all the time and certainly wished she lived closer these days! Thanks for a wonderful dinner my friend! ;) Miss ya loads! Love to you!!

Well, I have to report the bad with the good and this week it was bad, but I suspected it would be bad. I gained 2lbs this week. :( But I knew it was going to be bad. Of course I hoped it wouldn't be so bad, but it was. This is a great way to slap one back in to reality! Back on the WW bandwagon this week. Of course being exam week #1 it will be difficult. Good thing I bought a crap load of fruits, veggies and bottles of water tonight while shopping! ;) I'll need all the help I can get y'all!

I was suppose to use today for studying for my BK exam, but I didn't. I just didn't feel good enough to study, so I did errands, wrote a letter to my guy, took a short little nap~~I couldn't sleep well because it was really hot in my house~~, watched some TV and grocery shopped at Sam's Club and Meijers. By the time I got home, which was around 10pm, I think I was running a fever, I was achy and you know when you kind of feel like your head is ringing...I had that feeling too. So I'm off to bed with a shot of Nyquil and no need to set an alarm in the morning. Hopefully I can sleep in in the morning...the only thing that I wouldn't mind waking me up is a call from my guy, but I just have a sneaking suspicion that won't happen until early/mid week next week. :(

As for the hot house...when my thermometer read almost 90 today in my little tin box I opted to start my air. I know...crazy, isn't it?! It is only April, but when you don't feel good and you live in a tin box, which heats up quickly, you don't have much of a choice. Being miserable isn't an option when you don't feel well and are feeling stressed!! As for outside...it was beautiful today! I hope everyone else was able to enjoy the beautiful Saturday!

My Last Night of Classes in Year #3...

Well, well, well...the semester is finally over with one small exception...FINALS!!!! Yikes! But hey...I finished classes, so that is a step in the positive direction. Now I just need to make it through my last day at work tomorrow and then it is crunch time. You spend 15 weeks preparing for this and as soon as they are here you completely become unprepared...wish me luck!

Our class had our end of the semester gathering. It was a lot of fun. Of course I felt like crap, but I still managed to push through for almost 3 hours. I was very happy to get home though. Of course it was the standard "core" group that came, which is the same people who almost always go. Regardless, we had fun! Thanks to my LSBFF for helping me plan tonight! Hope you had fun too!

Well, I haven't heard from my man since Monday right before class....I find this so aggravating and he knows it. We haven't had one of these in quite some time. Of course my mind goes to the first automatic thing for prison...his behind is in the hole. Ugh... Of course the last we spoke he was having issues with his store. He was suppose to get it on Friday and then after some investigation he was suppose to get it Monday and when I spoke to him last he still hadn't gotten his store supplies. Maybe he is pouting, maybe he is upset and deciding to deal with it on his own, maybe he remembers I'm getting ready for exams. Who knows, but hopefully he calls soon. Nothing is worse then when you can't call the person and ask, "How are things?" :(

My last bit of my hog-pog post tonight is I haven't done so well on my week with my WWs, points, or water. :( I'm quite sure I will have gained when I weigh myself Saturday morning. So I'm preparing myself for this realization and just hope the next two weeks won't be too bad, but knowing I will be home studying for exams...doesn't equal strong will-power! Wish me luck...

My goodness...I'm needing a lot of luck from y'all! LOL

Got More

Well I went back and laid back down a little after 8am.  Of course less than 30 mins later my phone rang and it was my son's school.  :(  He of course, while playing outside, fell and landed in a puddle so his pants were wet and they wanted me to have someone bring him dry pants.  I know I should have immediately gotten out of the bed and taken my munchkin some dry pants, but I felt just horrible so I let the secretary assume I was at work almost an hour away.  I didn't lie...she asked, "You work in *the city*, right?"  I told her "Right."  I then said my aunt had patients this morning and could not do it she then wanted to know if my aunt was a doctor.  I told her no.  I told her no one was available until afternoon and she told me to call first because they may be dry by then.  Of course they were when I finally woke up at 12:15pm and called to check on his pants.  

It took me almost 2 hours to get up, showered and out the door to the doctor's where he did give me a 2nd dose of antibiotics, a nose spray for allergies and my standard daily asthma inhaler.  Fun, fun, fun...  

My tired butt says it will likely be another early night...I need to feel better PRONTO!  I have a lot of ist to do!!

Need More

There are so many things I need more of...time, money, patience, hands and right now...drugs!  Not your illegal fun kind, or so they say, but more antibiotics.  Apparently one dose of antibiotics weren't enough.  :(  I finished my antibiotics on Saturday the 18th and on Monday the 20th I thought my allergies went wild.  Well, 2 days later...I'm thinking this is more than allergies going on.  I'm back to where I was 2 weeks ago today.  :(  Okay, not as bad, but I'm not letting it get to that point.  

I called in this morning and will be making a mad dash to the doctor's office today to get a 2nd dose of antibiotics, because I can't be this miserable when my first final exam is 6 days away.  YIKES!!!  

Last night I even skipped going grocery shopping, came straight home from work, ate dinner, and was in the bed an hour and a half later.  And thanks to Nyquil I was out like a light at 7:30pm.  Of course I was up at 10pm to go to the bathroom, and again at 3am and then the alarm went off at 5am.  For an hour I hit snooze hoping that an additional 9mins each time would make me well enough to go in to work today, but it didn't work.  Finally by 6am I made that dreaded decision and called in.  Then of course I had to check my work calendar and make sure there was only one emergency and sent an email about that to make sure it is taken care of first thing this morning.  

Now I'm waiting for mom to get here so she can get the munchkin off to school (I am so thankful that he has been saved from this crazy infection that both my aunt and I have been unable to shake for almost a month now...) while I go back to bed.  No sense in staying up since neither of my doctors are open till 10am.  

I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.  Hell, if I didn't know better I would say I was back to smoking because when I smoked I was sick and very susceptible to illness all of the time.  But I swear...I'm not smoking!!  The only time I do enjoy a cigarette is when I go up to see my man and since we all know that was like 3 months ago...I'm quite sure it isn't related.  Is it?!  I hope not, because 10 hours in a car one-way, alone, is a long time to drive without either falling asleep or having a smoke!  Nah....I'm thinking a weekend of smoking once every 3 months isn't making me feel like shit now! 

I hope everyone else is feeling okay, but with the record number of hackers (not the computer kind) and co-patients I always run in to...I'm thinking a lot of folks have this crappy upper respiratory thing and like me, are having one hell of a time to get rid of it.  :(  

Photo of The Beaver Family...

It didn't turn out great, but this is what I ended up with after scanning it and uploading it. I'm sure you can get the idea...

The Beaver Family

So tonight was my final AIL~P class. We watched a movie "Pow-Wow Highway" and did some sharing afterwards. The class wrapped up with Prof. P giving each of us a gift as a "give-away" which is a part of the Native American Culture. She gave us each a Hershey's bar because the "warrior" in the movie offered up a Hershey's bar to the spirits. She also gave us each a postcard, which she picked up during a convention in Denver several weeks ago. When she came to each of us she went through the postcards left and picked one out for each one of us. She dedicated each one and wrote "Thank you for a wonderful term! Best wishes, Prof. P"

My postcard is of The Beaver Family. The description reads: Sampson, Frances Louise and Leah Beaver, a Blackfoot family, lived in a poplar grove along the Saskatchewan River in the Canadian Rockies. The photographer visited the family frequently; they became great friends. Note the family's attire, a combination of traditional and trade closing. Photographed in 1907 by Mary T.S. Schaffer. I will attempt to scan and post the picture on the postcard so you can see The Beaver Family. But no promises...

Okay...now for the ironic part. Growing up, my grandfather (Papa) would always tell me that we had Blackfoot in us, but I never shared that with anyone at school, especially Prof. P. It is a little strange that she picked this postcard! I couldn't say anything to Prof. P tonight because she was already emotional over our last class. I will have to share this information with her in my next email to her.

Thank you Prof. P!! Love to ya!

76 to 48 in 24

Wow...what a change 24 hours makes!  Yesterday it was close to 80 at this time, sunny and full of energy.  Plus I was in between pampering appointments.  Today it isn't even 50 yet, it is cloudy, dreary and full of laziness.  

I didn't go to bed until after 3am last night because I was just enjoying the breeze coming through my kitchen windows plus I was editing my blog and changing the look of "j'lynn's world". What do you think of it?  I'm kind of in love with it right now and just want to sit and stare at it.  I went from like all black (with accusations of me in morning recently made! LOL) to a lighter more upbeat look.  Is it strange to just want to stare at your new "masterpiece"?

I woke up just before 8am and knew 5 hours was not nearly enough sleep, so I went back to sleep until 11:30am.  I made myself get up against my better wishes.  I've picked up the house, started laundry and am now ready for a nap~because it is a lazy sleepy day...  But I loved going to bed with my window open last night.  Of course I had a crazy dream but that could have been induced by that shot of Nyquil I had before I laid down!  Man, it is taking forever to get rid of this congestion from this last battle.  Of course it probably didn't help that I tried to fight it off for a long, long time before I gave up.  

Like the New Look?

So I took a nap this evening and then when I got up, after eating dinner I decided I wanted a new look to my blog so I freshened it up and edited some of my labels.  Sometimes I get carried away with my labels.  Of course I think I'm the only person who looks at it, but I cleaned it up a bit!  I actually just finished my editing process and then I look at Dani's comments from earlier tonight asking if I changed my blog and if I was in mourning....  Hmmmm....this was like 2 hours before I did my editing and actually if the "time stamp" is correct the comment came in while I was napping.  

Dani, what did my blog look like that made you think I changed it and wonder if I was in mourning?  Does my blog look to you what it looks like to me?  What was it before and what is it now that you are seeing?  I need some feedback sista!  

So y'all...what do you think of the edits?

Days of Pampering

I love days like this and the fact that it is 76 degrees outside makes it even sweeter!  

I ended up going to bed kind of early last night.  Well, around 10pm, which for me is early.  I went to sleep quickly because I felt exhausted.  I woke up at 2:00am and was wide awake!  The thoughts in my head were limitless....I thought of work stuff, school stuff, home stuff, guy stuff, girl stuff, crazy stuff, friend stuff, etc.  Finally sometime around 3:30am I fell back asleep and woke up again at 5:00am.  I actually considered staying up at 5:00am and wondered why I would wake up, again, feeling almost wide awake at 5am when I can't even wake up like that Monday through Friday when I have to go to work and an alarm clock assists me.  I was frustrated so I went back to bed.  I did finally fall asleep again, but only for my 7am alarm to wake me up.  Of course, then I was sleepy and didn't want to wake up.  I decided I wouldn't wash my hair this morning so I could sleep later.  

Finally at 8:20am I finally got out of bed and hoped in the shower.  I didn't want to even then, but I knew I needed to.  Less than an hour later I was out the door!  I had to meet with someone at 9:30am and then off to Samuel's so I could get my hair done!  A little trim and a blow dry later, out the door I went!  I picked up my aunt and the munchkin and back to the meat market we went.  See, I had these coupons for free hamburger if you spent $20 there.  I don't know why I thought I could go down, spend $40 and use two coupons and things would work out.  I can't seem to go to the meat market and not spend a ton of money.  So $100 and two free coupons later, we have more meat to pack in to the freezer (which has only limited space as it is).  Then on to our favorite new Mexican restaurant in the same city and state the meat market is located!  It is a bright yellow restaurant named Cinco de Mayo!  And let me report, they have delicious chips & salsa too!  ;)

I dropped the munchkin & my aunt back at her house and then went on to my second salon of the day, Blu Water for my waxing and my monthly facial.  I love going and seeing my girl for my monthly facial.  I originally started the facial treatments with weekly facials for 6 weeks.  I actually kind of wish I was still getting weekly facials because it is ridiculously relaxing.  Well, until she puts the stuff on that stings a bit, but the whole process is very relaxing.  After my hour there, I head home and am now ready for a nap!  

I sit here with my windows open, a beautiful breeze coming through and are weighing my options here....nap v. homework...whatever shall I do?!  

PS.  I lost another 1.2lbs!  That is a total of 8.2lbs in 3 weeks!  Woo-hoo!!

Every St. Patrick's Day~~A Month Late

Apparently I was really busy a month ago, because I did intend to post this little ditty then, but it didn't happen, so on the 1 month anniversary of St. Patrick's Day I figured I would "catch" it!

Every St. Patrick's Day I think of my dear from Dani for a multitude of reasons...because she is Irish, because our last day working together was on St. Patrick's Day (oh so many years ago), and mostly because of her going away party at our Mexican Restaurant in Greektown on St. Patrick's Day!!! Not only did we have green drinks and some of us shed a tear or two, but we also were almost witnesses in a Wild West Gun Battle D-Style. I will never forget that night even in to my 80's...

What a blast was had but what was even more scary than the guy opening the backend of his mini-van to show an alleged arsenal of weapons right outside the giant windows of the restaurant and the two of us scrambling to get closer to see what the commotion was until someone referenced the arsenal of weapons was the fact that on Monday I had to come to work without one of my BFFs! :(

Eventually I too left that job, but quickly came back (I don't like the world outside of my work bubble!) and regardless~~everyday I've missed my "gang" of BFFs because one by one they have all left and I remain here. But I won't forget a going away party like D's....so Dani, every St. Patrick's Day I remember you!

Hugs to you my friend!

****Yes, this would have made more sense and meant more on the actual date, but we can't always get what we want! LOL

Quicky...

No...not what you were thinking (unfortunately!), so get your minds out of the gutter people!

I'm typing up my Crim Sent notes and on line 5 in to my notes from Monday I wrote "(mansault)"...now, I know I'm tired this week (I think due to sickness carryover and allergies, which are super bad for all right now!) but I have no clue~~did I mean "manslaughter" or "assault"? Is there a felony called "mansault"?

Where the heck is my brain? This is why I'm suppose to type these up the next day...i.e. Tuesday, not Thursday!

Alright, peeps...carry on until my next quicky update!