The Enchanted Castle

Dont'cha hate it when...

2011-09-17T08:27:00.003-05:00

My daughter has quit Tae Kwon Do.

:(

She got her black belt and decided that she doesn't want to do it anymore. This is a huge frustration for me, because she is vastly talented in all things athletics. She was an absolute BEAST on the softball field, and then she quit 2 years ago. I was heartbroken. Now she's quit TKD, and I'm heartbroken again.

The other evening on the way home, the subject of TKD came up. And I was explaining to her how it was a shame that someone would quit doing something that they have talent at, because when you have a talent, you should use it.

And that's when my mom said, "That's what I've been trying to tell you all these years about your singing."

Only she wasn't in the car with us. But I heard it, loud and clear.

So when your parents say "I hope your kid is just like you", that's them putting a curse on you. My daughter is a clone of me. Her personality is me, jr. About the only difference is I never had the sassy mouth she does, cause my mom would have laid me out if I talked to her the way my daughter talks to me.

So, sorry Mom, for all the frustration I cause you over not using my talent.

I hate it when my mom is right .

Corny, I know

2011-09-02T16:02:00.002-05:00

Without sounding too hokey... this post is for Ernie Reyes, Jr.

A response to a response-

You inspired me when I was a teenager. This is going to sound so stupid, but I was in high school when TMNT and Surf Ninjas came out. I decided that I wanted to be a ninja (at 35, I roll my eyes at that statement, lol). I never had an opportunity as a teen to do martial arts. As an adult, I fell in love, got married, had kids, and never had an opportunity to do martial arts. Until we looked into it for our son, who at the time was 8 and diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder and we had already discovered that "team" sports, wasn't working out.

The owners of our TKD school are absolutely, without a doubt, the BEST people in the world! They encouraged me to join my kids in TKD. I was hesitant, believing that both my age and my extra-large size to be an excuse for me not to. But, they were persistent and so I joined. I became the first adult in the history of their school (6 years), to become a member of the Elite Split's Club and became a spokesperson of sorts for bigger women and moms to join the classes with their kids.

Would I have still put my kids in TKD without "Surf Ninjas"? Probably.

Would I have joined? I don't think so. Because my desire to join wouldn't have been such a long-held secret that I held so guardedly in my heart. And now I am proud to say that my kids are grading next week for their black belts and have both decided to go on to 2nd dan. And in March, I will join them as a black belt. I'm excited and nervous and fulfilled.

Martial Arts IS a way of life and has become OUR way of life. Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self Control, Indomitable Spirit. Life lessons that my children will carry with them forever. Never giving up. Working hard has it's rewards. I love martial arts.

And now I'm babbling. Sorry.

I got a tattoo last February. It's the profile picture on my twitter. My martial artist and the kanji "spirit". You helped give me that spirit and love of martial arts a long time before I ever even tried it myself. Maybe it means nothing- you don't even know me. But it's meant something to me. So thanks! Thanks for being a positive role model and inspiration for me.

2011-09-02T14:44:00.002-05:00

It's been so long since I blogged, I forgot I had one. Then I got on my twitter today and saw the link in my profile and I was like, "Ooops, forgot I had that."

Big news! After 3 years, the kids are grading for their BLACK BELTS next Saturday! I am SO excited and SO proud of them. AND they have BOTH decided that they are going to stay and go on to 2nd degree. I picked up their new "black belt uniforms" this week and now I have to get the patches put on. I love the black belt uniforms and I wish I was going to get one, but I've decided not to go on. I've seen those black belt patterns, and let's face it, I'm a big girl. I just don't think I can do them. But I'm SO excited for the kids!

I've decided that there needs to be more than 24 hours in a day, cause 24 just isn't enough. I'm still working 2 jobs, but unfortunately had to quit teaching TKD because of my lack of time. It sucks, cause I miss being at TKD.

I know EVERYTHING, a.k.a. I don't know ANYthing!

2011-03-28T17:28:00.002-05:00

So apparently my blog posts are just going to come few and far between, cause I don't get around to blogging very much.

I'd like to start with my movie. My movie is going to be SO awesome. It's going to be THE BOMB. Everyone is going to be like "WOW"!

But I thought I could handle writing it with a friend of mine and we'd be done with the script in no time and filming by last summer and completely done with it by now.

I don't know anything about script writing! IT'S HARD! I mean, I guess if I didn't have 2 jobs and taught TKD on the side, I would have had time to FINISH THE DAMN SCRIPT by now, but NOOOOOOO. Cause I guess I just didn't realize how hard it would be. I'm still looking forward to filming, but I'm a bit bummed with the amount of time it's taking.

2 jobs is kicking my ass. But the good news is, one of my jobs has been moved to a new division and my new boss has taken a liking to me, and we've talked about making my position full time, which would ROCK. And I've also decided that I'm going to get my Bachelor's Degree. I applied today to a couple of 4 year colleges. We'll see what happens!

Update

2010-10-31T07:48:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I've done a pretty crappy job of posting lately. I can't believe I haven't blogged since June. Lots of changes and craziness going on around here :-) Keeps life interesting, I guess.

Over the summer, a friend approached me and she said, "I love the ad you made for the TKD school. It's always been my dream to go to Hollywood and I was wondering if you would make a music video of me to put on YouTube, cause you never know who may see it." And I said "Absolutely!" Cause I'm all about dreams. Well, within a week or so of that conversation, the 3-minute music video became a full-fledged movie. Of course the optimist in me was thinking, "How hard can it be to make a movie??" Yeah... that was in June. We haven't gotten past the script. But we're definitely working on it, and it is a project that I'm excited about.

Since I didn't get any hours at the college over the summer, I went looking for a second job, and got it at the jr. high where my daughter is now a 7th grader(!!!!). I really like the paychecks, but I REALLY hate the job. I'm working in the cafeteria, which by the way, is probably the hardest job I've ever had. It's HARD work. And I'm not opposed to working hard. I don't mind that, but I have THE laziest boss EVER. And when I call someone lazy, you know that's bad, cause until I met this lady, I was the laziest person I knew. She doesn't do ANYthing. She sits at her desk all day saying she has "paperwork" and complaining about how tired she is. I'm like, 'bitch, how can you be tired? You don't DO anything!'

Tae Kwon Do is... Tae Kwon Do. We graded in August. The kids moved up to red belts and I moved up to blue. I was really excited about moving up to blue, because I've always loved watching people do the blue belt pattern- Joong Gun Tul. It's not a HARD pattern, but it's pretty to watch (to me). So it has been a great disappointment to me because I am NOT good at it. I don't know if it was my anticipation that because I loved it I would be good at it, or because since I am working 2 jobs I don't have as much time to practice as I used to, or what. Last weekend we had a tournament in Brenham and I came in third. THIRD! I've never gotten anything other than first place at tournaments on my patterns, so third place HURT! We have another tournament next weekend, and I will be DAMNED if I am going to get third place again. Over my dead body. They can just keep the trophy if they're not going to give me first place.

Anyway, I am really looking forward to the holidays, cause I need some time OFF. I'm pretty excited about Christmas break, cause my husband is going to Utah for a tractor school thing his work is sending him to, and his boss is buying me a plane ticket to go too. WOOO HOOO! Vacation, here I come!

Grading over, on to new patterns

2010-06-06T19:08:00.002-05:00

I hate the days when we have to grade for new belts. I'm extraordinarily shy, and it's nerve-wracking for me to get up in front of people. I am such a perfectionist about myself and especially representing others. I love my instructors, so when I represent them by performing in front of a Grand Master, I want to be the best. I don't think there is anything wrong with that, but I'm afraid of being a disappointment, I guess.

Anyway, grading started with my mom being recognized for a huge donation of items that she made to the school for our garage sale. We have a fund called the Rainy Day Grant that helps when the student can't afford to pay for a grading or one of the 6 tournaments required for black belt grading. This was our first garage sale and my mom donated pretty much her entire ebay store stuff to the school. Thanks to her, we made over $800! So she was given a plaque and it was a complete surprise, which she told me after that she would "get me" for. My mom scares me.

Then my daughter received a huge honor. In all the years that the school has been open, no one has ever been to class every day from one grading to the next... until now. I was doing really good with her, until I had to miss class to work the runoff election back in April (or May, whenever that was). But my daughter went, and any day I couldn't go, she figured out a way to be dropped off and picked up. So she got an award for that, which was totally awesome!

Then we did Demo Team patterns. This was the worst part of the day for me. Again, I don't like to be in front of people. But the Excellence Club instructor, Timothy, decided that the high belt E.C. is going to be the school's Demo Team now. I don't WANT to be a part of the Demo Team, but I don't want to quit E.C. either, so I guess I'm stuck with it. Kinda like being in the Split's Club. OMG, I forgot about that- that's how grading started, with the S.C. doing a pattern in the splits. I was asked to take over the S.C. recently, so I had to do the pattern and it ended up looking like poo.

UGH, I feel like I forgot stuff. Okay, like a month ago at E.C., we were told we would be doing creative patterns. This genius I know decided... oh wait, I already wrote about that in my blog post, "Summer". So Friday night, I was laying in bed, so nervous about doing the creative pattern, and going over it and over it in my mind and I could NOT sleep. Then the alarm went off at 5:40 (AM!) and I was up and practicing. I would get ALMOST through it and totally blank out. So my husband gets up about an hour after me and he says I'm too worked up about it, I need a release. I love my husband dearly and passionately, but all that 45 minutes did was make me more frazzled, cause then I was rushing around trying to get everything ready and the kids up and everything so that we could leave by 8. I wanted to be the FIRST person at grading, so that I could run through my pattern there and make sure I started in the right place, etc... So I was THE first person. The instructors weren't even there, so I couldn't even get in the building. Then once they got there, everything was all so... trying to get ready... I never got a chance to practice it with the music. So by the time it was time for S.C. to get into the pattern I designed, I was already in tears. I blamed in on lack of sleep, but really, it was mostly nerves.

So when it came time to line up the students for S. C. and they all started acting like the children that they are, I started getting frustrated on top of it. When THAT was over, I felt a little less frustrated, but still upset about the creative pattern. So then came awards and after that was Demo Team. My daughter was #2, and she was AWESOME! I can't wait to pull the video off the tape this week at work and post it on my Facebook page. I went after her. It was a DISASTER. I got to THAT point (the one where I had like 30 seconds left in the entire song) and my mind went blank and I stopped. Like an ass, I just stopped. It was SO embarrassing. I was so thankful when it was over. I wasn't nervous again until they called my name for my belt grading. My belt was green, grading for blue stripe. I thought I did the patterns fairly well, but when I went back and looked at the video tape, I was pretty disappointed. It was just a crappy day for me, I guess. Then I went up to do my board break (BACK KICK) and they gave me 2 boards to break. As I bowed to Grand Master Park, all I could think of was OMG, my foot is never going to go through both those! Thankfully, it did on the first try.

Then a few groups later my kids graded. They went from blue belts to red stripes. Only 5 more belts til BLACK BELT grading next September! I'm SOOOO excited for them!! Then when it was over, trophies were handed out for most improved and best performance. The most improved is chosen by the owners and instructors. They chose one for each belt level- white belt, beginner (yellow stripe-green stripe), intermediate (green-red belt) and advanced (black stripe - black belt candidate). The best performance trophies are chosen by Grand Master Park, an 8th degree black belt. This time around, Christine was chosen for the intermediate level. What an honor!! I was SO proud!! So the day was mostly crappy, except for that.

And then we got our belts and tomorrow we start learning new patterns. Well, the kids will be. I'll be teaching the 16 new yellow stripes (or however many there are). It's a good thing I know a little of my pattern already.

Posting

2010-06-02T11:56:00.002-05:00

So I went back through my dashboard and realized I had started a post back in March and never finished out posted it. I don't know how THAT happened. The gist of it was "OH-MY-GOD-I'M-TEACHING-TAE-KWON-DO-NOW!"

Yep... and a few months later I'm proud to say that the group I had look pretty. darn. good. If I do say so myself. Master Kight is busy cutting hay, so we were down to one instructor. So one of the adult men got to teach the white belts, and I got the 18 students moving up from white belt to yellow stripe. The irony of it is that I HATE the yellow stripe pattern, Chon Ji Tul. I mean, obviously since I've been teaching it, I'm now really good at it. I've been asked to teach the new yellow stripes again beginning next week, so I must have done a decent job. I was pretty proud of them when I watched them try for their grading invitations. Several of them got their invitations the first go 'round. Couldn't say that about other belt levels... oh yeah, I'm totally boasting about my teaching ability and my students that completely rock! I think it's because I'm such a perfectionist and made them do those walking stances over and over again until they got it right. And a lot of them really are just talented and only needed me to tell them what to do. There's only one that I wish I had more time with, but she's like 6, so I don't think it's a big deal that she's not perfect. My adults are the bomb though. Really, I think they're the best in the school. And I'm not saying that cause I taught them the pattern, they just really ARE that good. I wish I could move up with them to Dan Gun Tul, which is my favorite pattern (so far).

Summer

2010-06-02T11:28:00.002-05:00

Summer is here and I'm hanging out at the house with the little ones and their friends. Grading for new belts is this Saturday and I'm SO nervous. I've had serious mental blocks with my new patterns. Plus, our instructor decided that the high belt Excellence Club would now be the demo team for the school. So we started doing creative patterns to music. Some dumbass [me] decided that she should take pieces of each pattern and put them together for her creative pattern. It's too bad this dumbass didn't put a little more forethought into the fact that she doesn't even KNOW some of these patterns. Of course, she asked her instructor for private instruction to teach her the moves she needed to know and it was fine, until said instructor decided LAST WEEK that we would be performing these patterns at grading this Saturday. Like being in front of people doesn't make me nervous enough... but I've been spending like, every waking hour almost, on perfecting them, because I am NOT going to look like a fool in front of Grandmaster Park or Master Wiles or either of the Masters Kight. I'm going to do it and it's going to look good or I'm not going to do it at all.

In other news, one of the adult women students asked me about making a video of her. She badly wants to be an actress, and I want to be an editor, so of course I said yes. It was going to be a music video. But then we started talking about how to do it, cause she wanted to put TKD in it, and suddenly we had a storyline, and now we have a full-blown feature film going. I'm really excited about doing it, but I am, of course, in over my head. That's okay, cause when I'm in over my head, I rise to the occasion, so no matter how much my husband makes fun of me about my movie, I know it's going to be awesomeness. My goal is to start filming in July.

February ALREADY?!

2010-02-03T10:18:00.002-06:00

I can't believe we are already in the second month of the year! I remember when I was a kid, time seemed to pass SO slow! Now it's just FLYIN'!

After my month break from work due to Christmas break, I'm back at it. I'm really, REALLY disgusted by the animation teacher. I mean, I really can not stand to be around him. He is the most arrogant prick. He thinks because he has a master's degree that he knows everything. Funny, when he needed to capture the video for his digital video class, he told ME to do it because he didn't know how. UGH. And as I sit here and type this while I'm at work, he is playing Super Smash Brothers on his Gamecube with his students. I don't know if I can take all this professionalism.

Next month I will be grading for my green belt in TKD. I LOVE TKD! I wish that I had started it years ago! And let me tell you, this is the most effective weight loss plan I've ever been on! I started out 11 months ago wearing size 24 and 3 X clothes. This morning I put on a sweater that was size "L". An "L" without an "X". I was SO excited!! In fact, I bought a new uniform last night and bought a size 5. When I started doing TKD, I bought a size 8, which was the largest size they carry. I'm THRILLED!

In a few weeks, we have a tournament, and the kids and I will be going. I'm already nervous because I'm not real confident about this pattern, but you have to have 6 in order to be certified when you go to Black Belt grading, so I have to go :-( I hate getting up in front of people, but it's getting easier, thanks to the TKD owners. She's made me the spokesperson for losing weight with TKD. I don't really MIND, but I hate getting in front of people. LOL!

AT & T Makes me CRAZY!

2010-01-13T14:49:00.002-06:00

My cell phone got disconnected again today. I don't even feel up to arguing with them. I think I am just going to call Verizon and get on new service where they are not going to disconnect me for no reason and then charge me reconnect fees. Although if I do end up contacting them, I will ask why the lady in Accounts Receivable told me that my bill would be around $100 when it would be due in January but it's more than $400 on my bill.

Update

2010-01-01T13:14:00.002-06:00

Haven't done a new post in ages. I didn't even realize it had been so long, but I saw in my email that I had a comment to be moderated, so I came to check it out.

AT & T... oh AT & T. I worked it out with the guy at the corporate office and he credited my account and got the phones back on. Then about 2 weeks ago, a week after i had made the payment, the phones were turned off again. I called them to ask (WHAT THE HELL!). Got "disconnected" twice, before I even had an opportunity to get ugly with them, and finally the lady I talked to said it was mistake because we had a... ZERO BALANCE, since I had JUST PAID MY BILL. Stupid idiots! I am counting down the days until March when my contract with them is OVER! Verizon, here I come!

We made it through 2009, but started 2010 with a tragedy in our family. My sisters' father killed himself. I feel so horrible for my sisters, and I wish that there was something I could do to take this pain away from them. I'd like to grab him by the shoulders and shake him and tell him that nothing, NOTHING is that bad that you have the right to cause such excrutiating pain to the people who love you. I feel so helpless :-(

Run, Don't Walk, Away

2009-11-18T11:18:00.001-06:00

If you have cell phone service with AT & T, I'm going to make a suggestion to you. When your contract is up, run, don't walk, away from them. I have had the most horrible experience with them! I've had AT & T home service since 2000, and I've always hated them. So when we looked at getting cell phones in 2008, I was very leery about getting it through AT & T, but since they could combine it with our phone, that's what we ended up going with. They've been screwing me ever since!

We're going to have to go back a few months to summer. Well, May really. My husband had gotten in touch with a childhood friend of his, and they started texting each other alot, so we decided to get on unlimited text. So when I made the payment in May, I told the girl to add us onto unlimited text. Next thing I know, I get a phone bill for $1400!! I about had a heart attack! Eventually, I got that straightened out, but I couldn't afford to pay another bill for a while. Well, on Sept. 15, they cut off mine and my husbands service on our cell phones. I made the payment on Oct 26th and got the phone back on, so that's over a month that we went without our cell phones. So the payment I made on Oct 26th was $605. Imagine my surprise, and anger, when I go to make a call yesterday only to find out that the f'ers have turned off our cell phone AGAIN less than a month later!!

Mind you, they charged us all the reconnect fees, AND $175 PER PHONE for breaking our contract. Which I contend was not broken, because I made the payment and service was "restored" and our numbers stayed the same. I even asked the lady, because both our RAZRs are broken and we both need new phones, and I said if we were going to have a new contract, we needed new phones, and she said no, the contract was the same, although we were due for an upgrade in November.

Anyway, I was on the phone with them yesterday for almost TWO hours, which ended with me asking for corporate phone number and hanging up on the guy when he wouldn't give it to me. I was absolutely LIVID. They said when I made the payment on the 26th of October, that I only paid the past due only, and there was $171 due that day. I asked why she didn't tell me that when I paid the bill. I then asked him what that $171 was for. He said the house line for Oct 1- Nov 1 and the cell phones from Sept 21- Oct 21. I asked him why, since the cells were shut off on Sept 15 and not turned on until Oct 26, why would I pay for a month of service I didn't get? Well, apparently, that's part of your contract. It was "suspended", not "disconnected".
Whatever. That's just lingo for, let me rip you a new one. THEN, I asked about being charged for breaking the contract. Even though I paid the bill and we got them back on, they want to charge us $175 PER PHONE for breaking our contract. I wanted to tell him to get bent. And then when he wouldn't give me the corporate number, that really pissed me off. I did google it while I was on the phone with the guy- "STAN" was his name. And I said, "Oh look, here it is right here on your website. What did you say your name was? Stan? Do you have a last name?" "That's private information." "Well, do you have an extension?" "Yes I do." "Great... have a day." Click.

He wouldn't give it to me because I had to go up the chain of command. Well, after him, the chain of command had to call me back, so he kept asking for a phone number. I said, "I'm not at home and you can't have my work number. I'm on my cell phone, which you cut off and it went straight to billing when I tried to make a call. So if he has to call me, I suggest you restore my cell phone so he can reach me." What a bunch of assholes. If I get it straightened out when I call corporate today, I'll let you know. Our contract is up in March. I will NOT resign with AT & T, and I don't care how badly I want an iPhone. I've lived without it this long. This chicky is running from this corporation as fast as I possibly can. Before you get screwed, I suggest you run too.

MNF

2009-09-28T19:17:00.003-05:00

OMG I am SO glad that fall is FINALLY here. Not only does it mean a return to school for the kids (a month ago), and relief from the oppressive Texas heat, but also the return of FOOTBALL!!! YAY! I'm so, so happy to have football back. Gee, that makes it sound like it doesn't take much to get me excited... ha ha ha! Seriously though, I'm havin' a hard time with feelin' the love for my 'Boys. It really has nothing to do with their 1-1 record. I mean, yes, they absolutely should have won against the Giants, and yes, Romo had a really bad night, but I'm sick of hearing about it. but that's not why I'm having a hard time. It's all about the new stadium. Jerry Jones is such an a-hole. It's all about the almighty dollar with him, even though he has billions upon billions and no one in his family will ever have to worry about money, ever. Me... I can't even afford the $29 "Party Pass", even if I wanted to, which I don't. I think it's so shitty that he has turned the team into "For Elite Fans Only". If you're rich, you can afford a ticket. A REAL ticket, not a nosebleed STAND UP "seat". I guess I just feel that as a business, the Cowboys are a very fan un-friendly team. And I'm disappointed with that. They're my team, and America's Team, and I just think the situation with the new stadium sucks. But I still love my 'Boys. GO COWBOYS!

"Real" True Colors

2009-09-20T10:01:00.002-05:00

I love Facebook. I could spend all day on Facebook, doing quizzes and playing games. Since I got a job (!), I'll be spending less time on Facebook. Maybe.

This morning, I took the quiz "The 'Real' True Colors Quiz'. I think the results are pretty accurate-

Gold

Values:
Loyalty
Perfection
Honesty

Joys:
Time for Family
Home
Order

Strengths:
Organized
Consistent
Dependable

Needs:
Stability
Orangization
Appreciation

Frustrations:
Lack of control
Disloyalty
Inconsistency

At work you provide stability and can maintain organization. Your ability to handle details and to work hard make you the backbone of many organizations. You believe that work comes before play, even if you must work overtime to complete the job.

In love you are serious and tend to have traditional, conservative views of both love and marriage. You want a mate who can work along with you, building a secure, predictable life together. You demonstrate love and affection through the practical things you do for your loved ones.

In childhood you wanted to follow the rules and regulations of the school. You understood and respected authority and was comfortable with academic routine. You were the easiest of all types of children to adapt to the educational system.

My Cat Thinks I Should Be Licking Her & Other Randomness

2009-08-31T17:46:00.005-05:00

I have a kitten. I guess she's about 4 months old now. She was only 2 weeks old when we brought her home from my in-law's house. The mom cat disappeared (we think a coyote got her), leaving 3 kittens behind. 2 of them didn't make it, but the biggest one did, and in honor of Harry Potter, my daughter named her Ginny (Weasley). She thinks I'm her momma. I bottlefed her and washed her in the sink and took care of her, even though I said I wasn't going to do it (hey, that happened with the fish too!), so now she thinks I'm mom. And that's okay, except, she seems to think I'm a cat. She sits on top of my chest and buries her head under my chin and tries to nurse my neck. Obviously, she doesn't get anything out of it except the security. But when I don't respond, she picks her little head up and looks at me, and then rubs herself across my lips. YUCK! I guess she thinks I'm supposed to lick her or something. Thankfully, I've figured out when she's about to do it, so I can tuck my lips into my mouth and not get cat hair all over them. Goofy cat. She's got a great personality. The biggest problem I have with her is that she thinks it's okay to use the fat in my legs as a climbing post. My poor legs were ugly enough to start with, now they're all clawed-up.

Speaking of ugly legs and fat, I'm losing weight! YAY! Tae Kwon Do is ROCKIN' it! I LOVE Tae Kwon Do SO much! I really joined because when I was a kid I wanted to do martial arts, but never got to, and with my kids doing it, I decided to go ahead and do it too. Losing weight is a side benefit that I'm starting to enjoy. I've gotten on a scale that said I've lost about 25, but I don't know how accurate the scale was. I haven't been able to see it when I look at myself in the mirror, but I know it's happening, because yesterday I went to a clothing store and tried on clothes in smaller sizes than when I usually wear, and they fit! And they weren't tight! I was so happy. When I buttoned the shorts, my jaw dropped and I just twirled in front of the mirror looking at myself. It felt pretty good.

The job hunting is still going on. I think I may have a PT spot at the Junior College, but they're all a bunch of cluster f'ks up there, so I don't know yet. It's really irritating. I love my former teacher and I so appreciate that she busted her ass and put herself out there for me, and if I do get on, I will put myself whole-heartedly into it for 2 semesters, but then I am out of there. They are so undependable and clueless. I can't make a career at a place like that.

School started last week for the kids. They are on the same campus this year (YAY!). I LOVE LOVE LOVE Cam's teacher, and all of CB's too. I have really good feelings about this year. Cam got into Gifted & Talented, and CB is doing band (clarinet). Should be an interesting (& busy) year!

Speaking of years, CB had a birthday last week. She turned 11. It's so hard to believe, she's on the edge of teenagerhood. That makes me so sad. I miss my sweet little girl. Now she's reaching 'that' age and getting 'that' attitude. I really can't complain TOO much though. She's a good kid, mostly. Just a little sassy sometimes. And then my baby, MY BABY is going to be 9 in a few days. He graduated from Elementary school in May and now is one of the big kids. I really expected that I would cry when I dropped him off the first day, but I held it together, unlike last year when I bawled after leaving CB off at the big school. I think that was more about the new school and the fact that it was her 10th birthday, than about anything else. Still... it makes me sad to think about my kids getting older. That means I'm getting older too. That's never really bothered me THAT much, but, oh, I don't know. My daughter is almost halfway through public education. It's a weird feeling, I guess.

Now that the kids are back in class 5 days a week, I have a little more time to myself. Well, not last week, because I was babysitting, but THIS week I'll mostly be home and hopefully will be able to get something done around here. My house has suffered by my laziness and, you know, me never being home.

A Letter to Michael Jackson

2009-08-23T20:30:00.002-05:00

My MIL found a box of stuff that she kept from my hubby's childhood, and passed the box along to us today. He handed it to me and asked if I wanted to go through it him, which I did. I found out several new things about my husband, some of which explain a lot to me about him and about our children, who, judging from the Elementary report cards of their father, come by their busy mouths in the classroom honestly. Among the childhood treasures was pictures, notes, drawings, and this letter which I found in an appropriately addressed envelope.

"Jan 18, 1984

Dear Michael,

Hi Michael how are things going. I saw you on those awards the other day and I thought you were great! I am planning to be a singer like you. All my friends think I'm crazy for liking your records. But they don't know talent when they see it. You're great talent!

When I wrote this note, this letter, I was hoping you would be my penpal but then I realized you're too busy for a stupid thing like that. But if you're interested, my address in which you can write to is ............
But even if you don't, you're the best. And also if you don't please at least send me your signature on a piece of paper. Oh got to go bye!

P.S. be my penpal.

Your friend,
"

He was 12 years old when he wrote it.

Jobs, Jobs, Who's Got the Jobs?

2009-08-18T07:36:00.002-05:00

After spending the entire summer giving myself a ulcer over financial stress, I think I may have not one, but my choice of two jobs. If you remember last school year, I worked as a Work Study at the college I was attending. After one semester doing that, the college claimed that they ran out of funds for the position, and my teacher then spent the entire next semester trying to get an official lab assistant position for me to work the lab. It took all summer, but we learned last night that the lab assistant position is official, and she has contacted HR to tell them she wants me. However, over the weekend, I spent some time online looking for jobs and found some openings doing clerical work at Baylor University. So I applied for 4 jobs there and am scheduled for clerical testing this morning. I am very confident with my computer/clerical skills and I know I can ace their exam, so I feel pretty confident that out of 4 applications, surely they will call me on 1. So now I am torn and I have to do a PROS & CONS list. Feel free to give me some feedback.

Junior College Pros-
It's 15 minutes from home.
It's in the same town where the kids go to school.
I'm off on the same breaks that the kids have.
I'm doing the type of work I want to be doing.
Possibility of advancement & someday teaching or taking over the program.
My family members receive free tuition.

Junior College Cons-
Probably not full time.
Probably not as high pay.

Baylor Pros-
Uh... it's Baylor University.
Full Time.
Good Pay.
My family members receive free tuition.

Baylor Cons-
An hour drive on the Interstate each way.
Could possibly have to quit Tae Kwon Do.
Don't have the same schedule as the kids.
I won't be doing the work I want to be doing.
No possibility of advancement in the work I want to be doing.

The benefits package at both places are pretty comparative, so that's not something I have to consider when deciding. I don't know. When I was a kid, I wanted to get my degree at Baylor, so the thought of WORKING there is something that I can get excited about. Especially knowing that as an employee I would get free tuition there. But on the other hand, I don't want to have a career doing typing work that I don't enjoy. I want to be doing multimedia stuff, like digital video editing. But on the other hand, Christine wants to go to Baylor when she gets out of high school, which is admittedly several years away, but still. Free tuition to Baylor is not something to snuffle at. But on the other hand, if I have that commute, I'm not going to be able to do after school stuff with either of them. But on the other hand, I'll be making more money, because it's full time and better pay. But on the other hand, gas keeps going up, so will I really net more? I have to consider all the miles I'll be putting on my car too and the maintenance.

Man that's a lot of hands.

Update

2009-07-24T09:08:00.003-05:00

I can't really believe that a month has past since the last time I blogged. Where does the time go? Dang. A lot has happened in the last month, but none of it I really felt like blogging about. I'm stressed about money and digging us into a hole while trying to get caught up. Depressed cause I can't get a job. I don't feel like I'm losing weight anymore. I think it's because I started drinking a lot of soda again. Water is expensive!

Speaking of losing weight, that brings me to Tae Kwon Do. When I was in high school, movies like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sidekicks, and Surf Ninjas came out. I SO wanted to join martial arts (and it had NOTHING to do with Ernie Reyes, Jr or Jonathan Brandis *looks around*). I never got a chance until now, and I really love it. One of the instructors quit the school, so the owner brought his son back, who is a 5th degree black belt. I had seen him teach an Excellence Club class before, and I was REALLY worried about how it was going to be in regular class. I mean, after the first day with him teaching, I was seriously considering quitting. It's a lot harder with a 5th degree black belt, let me tell you. He has much higher expectations. But then I got to thinking about how much better I will be with him teaching. Oh yes, it's way harder. But all the drills and all the crunches and all the running is going to make me #1 not as fat, and #2 a much better martial artist. It's been 3 weeks, and I already see a difference in myself & my daughter. A few days ago I was asked my age (33) and it was mentioned that when I go to tournaments, I will be with the 17-34 year old age group (yay, not a "senior women" YET!). Yesterday I was told that I would beat a 17 year old with the pattern I did. That felt pretty good! I outdid both of my kids, even my daughter, who is the little sports(wo)man in the family. Actually, I outdid just about everyone who wasn't a black belt. But I don't expect kids to have the same drive to be good that I have. I've wanted this for a long time, and damn it, it's something I'm going to excell at.

The Passing of Legends

2009-06-25T21:13:00.003-05:00

They say things happen in 3's.

Tuesday, the news was released that Ed McMahon had passed away (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090623/ap_on_en_tv/us_obit_mcmahon). Ed McMahon was a legend. I don't know how many times I heard him say, "H-e-e-e-e-e-ere's Johnny!" He was getting up there in age (86). You expect to hear the news that a celebrity at that age passes away.

This morning on The View, the ladies were talking about Barbara Walters' big 20/20 special on Farrah Fawcett, due to air tomorrow. She's been battling cancer for a while. Cancer- that horrible disease that steals the life of those with so much more to give. So much more to do. I was so annoyed with The View, because they've talked about this special every day this week, and they did that with Walters' book too, and I didn't realize The View was a show where all they did was shamelessly plug their own other stuff. It annoyed me- it felt like explotation. It still irritates me. Only an hour or so after watching The View, I received a breaking news email stating that Farrah Fawcett had passed away. So sad. I hope Ryan O'Neal did get to marry her- it was so obvious that he loved her with everything he had and would have done anything for her. Tragic. She was 62. Damn cancer.

As the afternoon went on, I went about my regular afternoon and went to Tae Kwon Do with the kids. My husband stopped by to give me money to pick up dinner and get gas and he said, "Did you hear? Michael Jackson died today too."

That was a surreal moment. Michael Jackson is supposed to live forever. He's an icon... a legend... okay, a bit of a freak, true. But still. It's Michael Jackson. It's impossible to pick a favorite song by Michael Jackson, because most of them were just so good. He was only 50 years old. So tragic. I've felt sorry for him for a long time. There's a lot of pressure with fame- I would never want that, nor would I want it for my kids.

Wow, what a sad day. Thankfully the news that Jeff Goldblum had also died today turned out to be a hoax.

The State of Texas FAILED Kelsey Jeter

2009-06-09T08:46:00.003-05:00

Last weekend, my community had a devastating, tragic event happen. Of course, it hasn't gone to court yet, so everything I say is in this entry is "alleged"- whatever. A mother picked up her 2 daughters for weekend visitation and then murdered one and attempted to murder the other.

Personally, I think the death penalty is too good for this bitch. She should be made to look at pictures of her daughters every single day for the rest of her miserable life and think about what she did. It makes me sick to my stomach to think about what those girls went through, and it scares me to think what this world is coming to when people can do this to their own children.

The State of Texas had TWO chances that would have made all the difference in the world. Kelsey would still be with us if the system hadn't failed her!

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa090608_mo_momarrested.60175c7d.html

Red-Nosed

2009-06-03T09:05:00.002-05:00

I am so sick. It's the freakin' start of summer, and I'm sick. Like I have a cold, sick. At first I thought it was allergies, but last night I had a fever and the lymph nodes in my neck were all swollen and sore. They don't feel that way this morning, but I'm still stuffy, sneezing and coughing. Of course I was out of kleenex, so Monday I grabbed a roll of toilet paper and put it on my desk to use for my nose and went through almost the entire roll yesterday. My nose is red and sore and still stuffy and runny at the same time. I had to sleep with toilet paper stuffed up my nostrils to keep my nose from running while I slept. It's so irritating. And my lips are dry from breathing out of my mouth, though thankfully I had some Carmex in my drawer.

I've not heard back from any job prospects and I'm getting a little irritable about it- like I needed another reason to be in a pissy mood all the time. I filled out an app for a master control operator at a local news station. I really hope I get it. The only downfall to it is that it's an evening position, which means I'll have to quit Tae Kwon Do, and that just sucks.

There was a grade on my transcript from this semester that was a B and was supposed to be an A. I emailed the teacher to tell him that I thought he made a mistake when he posted grades, and he replied that yes her had and he would take care of it. Here we are almost a month later, and my grade is still a B on mytranscript. I am SO angry about that, because it means the difference between Dean's List and President's List. And of course, I still haven't gotten my diploma or my graduation pictures. People need to get off their asses and handle business. Now I can just add these reasons to my lengthy list of why I hate that college. I have to remind myself that a degree from that college is better than no degree at all. I guess.

Anger Management

2009-05-27T19:24:00.003-05:00

I think I need to see a counselor. I have been having serious anger issues lately. I'm just kinda mad at everything.

#1: I am still so irritated about graduation. And I haven't gotten my "diploma" in the mail. Nor have I received my picture that I got to have taken before I had to go swelter in the heat for almost 2 hours.

#2: I'm thoroughly annoyed that I can't seem to get a job with said diploma that hasn't come in the mail, and I'm going to have to go work at a fast food place to make ends meet since my husband hasn't been getting any overtime, and $400/week ain't cuttin' it. I know I should be grateful that he has a job, and I am, but still.

#3: My writing. In my spare time that I have so much of, I write fanfiction. It's not very good, but I enjoy doing it. Lately, I feel like it sucks more than usual and it pisses me off. And then the MEFAs (Middle-earth Fanfiction Awards) are in nomination time right now, and I feel completely worthless as a writer for not being nominated. And then I get mad for feeling sorry for myself and mad for being jealous of others who have been nominated.

#4: Softball. My daughter's team, which I am the assistant coach of, has played 6 games so far this season and won a grand total of none of them. Now I know it's not about winning and losing when you're 10, but right now my pride is speaking. The parents who made such a big fuss about my coaching last year, got their way and got 2 different coaches this year. Well, the team that those people got on, have played 6 games and lost a grand total of none. And I feel like people are looking at me saying, "See?" I don't like it, and it pisses me off that they've done so well, even though I KNOW we have a better team. They don't have to go against the team 4 times that has the 11 year old pitcher that pitches the ball 71 m.p.h. It's so not fair. And it's not fair to Christine, who is such a good player, and yet again will not be going to playoffs or state because she ended up on a team that doesn't win games.

#5: Tae Kwon Do: So I was going to get an award at grading, when I get my yellow stripe belt, and I was also going to be the first adult ever from the school to be inducted into the Split's Club, but my cousin has high school graduation at the same time, and I had to decide where to go. Since my uncle passed away 4 years ago, I feel that I must go to the graduation. No one else on his side of the family will be there, and I just can't NOT go. I love my cousin, and she definitely comes before Tae Kwon Do, but still.

#6: The Califonia Supreme Court. What the hell? Yeah, I guess taxpayers have a right to vote on an amendment for their state constitution, but I would also guess that taxpayers have a right to marry whoever the f--- they want to. Now I used to be one of these judgmental assholes who thought marriage should be between a man and a woman, and I really can't pinpoint exactly what made me change my stance, but seriously. Who's flucking business is it if two guys get married or two girls get married? Maybe if more people were worried about their own marriages instead of other peoples' marriages, there wouldn't be such a high divorce rate. And by the way, if they can provide a good and stable home to some child who doesn't have one, why can't they? If it's "wrong", let God be the judge of that and let people live. If they're not hurting anyone or breaking the law, just let them be. We all bleed red, people.

#7: Politicians: I was going to say Republicans, but really, it's both sides. When are these people going to get their shit together and work together for the betterment of this country? Those people work for US, not the other way around. They get paid way too much and have way too many benefits. They're all a bunch of assholes that think they know what's best for us, and I just don't see that.

#8: Judges: Speaking of politicians that think they know better, this shit about the 13 year old with cancer pisses me off big time. Now I'm not saying it's right that the mom took the kid because they don't want to do treatment, but that's her RIGHT as a parent. It is NOT a judge's right to choose healthcare for a citizen. That is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! Have you ever seen someone go through cancer treatment? It's awful. Personally, you better just let me live out the days that I have to the fullest. I don't want to be laid up in bed, throwing up, and losing my hair. That's me personally. I could never face my child dying, and I'm sure I'd be doing everything in my power to beat it, which I'm sure those parents are doing too. And it is not the court's place to say what is the best healthcare choice for that child. That really gets me. I don't think it's right to NOT get treatment for your child, but it's NOT the court's place to say.

What Was That About the Apple?

2009-05-23T05:21:00.003-05:00

You know that saying, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree"? OMG, that is soooo true. I love my daughter, but we really don't get along well, and I know it's because she is exactly like me. We like playing the same sports, we like to sing, we're both painfully shy around people we don't know. The newest thing that is driving me crazy is Annie. You know, the red-orange headed orphan that sings a lot about Tomorrow?

When I was a kid, I ADORED Annie. My grandmother handmade me one of those red Annie dresses. I had a wig and dressed up as Annie for Halloween in 1st grade. According to my grandmother, I nearly started a riot atthe hospital when I got my tonsils out, because I left in my Annie costume and every kid on the floor thought I was Annie. I'm sure I was always singing that song.

My daughter is in 5th grade- slightly older than I was when I discovered how great orphans were. Her school did the musical Annie, Jr., which is the Broadway version and only slightly different than the movie. She desperately wanted to be Annie, a fact which surprised the heck out of me since she's so shy and that's probably why she didn't get the part. She didn't get any of the main roles, which broke her little heart (and consequently mine, the night she cried hysterically for 45 minutes over it and told me how her life was over). But she bravely carried on as a member of the ensemble (a group that only danced). And ever since the casting, which happened like 2 months ago, it's been Annie this and Annie that. She's gone around singing it everywhere she goes. I hid our dvd, and she didn't think of it until recently- you know, now that they've performed it and she can't get her Annie fix at school. And now, as long as she's home, I can hear that dvd going in her room. Even while she's sleeping, it's on. Annie, Annie, Annie. I am SO over it! I understand her, really I do. I'm sure if I had had a dvd of it when I was a kid, I would have done the same thing. Heck, I do it now with Lord of the Rings. I wonder if I drove my mother to madness by singing those Annie songs all the time?

On a parting note, I will just say, so help me, if I have to hear it one more time, there will be no Tomorrow for the dvd!

Jump on the Bandwagon

2009-05-20T11:07:00.002-05:00

I went to Wal-Mart this morning to get some groceries. While I was there, I decided to check out the book section, as I can always use some new reading material. I was so amused to see an entire section devoted to vampire fic. Now anyone who is over, say, 25 and read Twilight can tell you, the big vampire wave has actually been around since about the time Interview With a Vampire was released. Anne Rice has her own fan group/followers, but beyond that, there are lots of people who have a thing for vampires. I personally think vampires are cool. Bram Stoker's Dracula is one of my favorite movies, because I think it is an absolute classic love story. Most people don't see beyond the blood and gore, but there's lots of substance there. So it amuses me to no end to just now see people trying to cash in on the success of Twilight. I mean, there were even the trashy romance novels- one of them was called "Forbidden Love With a Vampire". I was SO tempted to get it just for the hell of it. That just cracks me up.

Graduation

2009-05-11T09:30:00.002-05:00

Graduation is over and now I have an Associate degree. The ceremony itself was a complete letdown. First off, the school only gives each graduate 4 tickets. So my graduation experience started with having to choose between which of my in-laws got to come. My husband said my father-in-law wouldn't come without my mother-in-law, but she would come without him, so I chose her. So now that meant that my 4 tickets were going to my husband, my parents, and my MIL. Which meant my kids would have to sit on laps. So I had to arrive at 6:15 for a ceremony that started at 8 (on a Thursday night, no less). I would have no clue what time everyone else got there, or if they would get there at all.

So I was in the student center where they were taking pictures, and I had mine done. Despite the fact that it was about 90 degrees with about 90% humidity, somehow I managed to keep a little bit of curl in my hair. Anyway, when I was done getting my picture done, I went into the main building of the center. There someone asked me if I was graduating with honors. Unfortunately because I didn't care about college the first time I went, my GPA is less than honors. If they had taken into account only the work on my degree, than I would have graduated with high honors. Anyway, so I said no, and she told me that I needed to go into the other side of the building. Well, the other side is an old gym- not air conditioned. So those of us not graduating with honors got to stand around (no chairs) in the hot gym for an hour & a half. Say goodbye to your hair & make-up, ladies.

So then 8:00 comes along and we're all lined up and headed for a walk to the new gym where they held the ceremony. We come inside (music not the typical graduation theme), and get seated. We listen to the typical blah-blah-blah for 15 minutes or so, and I spend that time looking around for my family. I find my husband & daughter sitting together, but no sign of my parents, my MIL, or my son. I had seen my dad waiting for my mom outside as we were going in, so I knew they were there, I just wasn't sure where. So I start mouthing to my husband "where is your mom?" and of course he had no idea what I was asking, since he was across the gym and up the stairs. Then they start having people walk the stage- which was actually walking in front of the stage, since they only had stairs on one side. So they give you this piece of paper that looks like a rolled up diploma, but isn't, because they mail it to you later, and you go back and sit down and wait for everyone else to go through. Then it was pretty much over with.

After I found my husband later, he told me that even though I had been told the kids could sit on laps, when they got to the door they were told the kids had to have a ticket too, so my MIL took my son with her and left. I was SO pissed- neither my mother-in-law, nor my own SON got to see me graduate! It's been 15 years since I graduated high school, and it's taken me this long to finally get my Associate's Degree- for my own son to not be able to see it just ruined the entire experience.

I've put in several applications to places, but so far have had no responses. Hubby hasn't been getting any OT for the past couple of months, and to say things are beyond tight is putting it mildly. I'm about to fill out applications at Wal-Mart & all the fast food places nearby. We're behind on every bill we have, and sadly, I think we're going to have to drop out of Tae Kwon Do.

It's here!

2009-05-07T03:39:00.002-05:00

Today is the day- I'm graduating from college! Wow, it seems like it has taken forever to get to this point, but here I am. I ended this semester with a 3.91 GPA. If I had only been able to pull an A in Algebra, I would have made the President's List again. Unfortunately I could only eek out a B, which means I'm still on the Dean's List and that's better than not being on either. So it's almost 4AM and I can't sleep. Tonight I'm walking that stage and getting my Associate degree. WOO HOO!!!

Swine Flu Rant

2009-05-01T06:19:00.003-05:00

HEADLINE IN THE NEWS: Flu vaccine promised as U.S. cases top 100

OH MY GOD, what ever will we do?! 100 people in the entire country have contracted... the FLU! It's the damn FLU people . It's called the swine flu because it's a different strain, but it is the freakin' flu. Yeah, the flu sucks, but guess what- THERE IS MEDICINE THAT MAKES YOU BETTER! Oh yeah, and it WORKS FOR THE SWINE FLU!

I am SO irritated that everything around me is being shut down- school districts, youth sporting events, awards ceremonies... even in areas that THERE ARE NO CASES! It's like saying, 'oh, it's snowing in Oklahoma City, so there's no school in Dallas due to the weather'. It just doesn't make sense.

Are we just a bunch of fucking idiots, or what?! It is JUST THE FLU! Texas-sized overreaction.... and if you can't tell, it's pissing me off.

#1 It's just annoying
#2 It's bad for our economy
and #3 the most important reason to me personally, my graduation ceremony is in less than a week. It's taken me 6 years to get a 2 year degree and damn it, I'm crossing that stage come Hell or High Water (or Swine Flu). And I will be ONE PISSED OFF BITCH if they cancel it over THE FLU.

Never Had That Happen

2009-04-23T21:42:00.002-05:00

Okay, I did a whole post about the softball game and how good their pitcher was and what we need to work and hit "Publish Post" and somehow, it disappeared. Well... I think the title pretty much says it all anyways.

Thank God that's over

2009-04-23T21:06:00.000-05:00

So today isn't Thursday

2009-04-22T08:47:00.002-05:00

Every morning when I first wake up, I start running through my mind what the day is, what the schedule is for that day, and what I need to gather together before I leave the house. I must be really excited about our first game tomorrow night, because I woke up this morning planning for all the things I need to do to get ready- get the uniforms together, make sure Christine knows where her socks are, get the sunscreen, ice pack and first aid kit, snacks, video camera, batting line-up, etc... I was completely and totally bummed when I got out of bed and realized that today is WEDNESDAY. So instead of planning for the game, I had to start planning for Wednesday schedule. That sucks. Damn Wednesday. Why did there have to be a Wednesday this week?

On the upside, I found out yesterday that Christine passed her Math TAKS. She missed being Commended by ONE question, darn it! BUT, that means her score was high enough that she can stay in the honors math next year, which I am thrilled about. Math is so hard, and like I tried to explain to her this morning when she was upset about it, math is a subject that if you don't get it in one grade, when you go to the next grade, you'll be in trouble because math builds on itself. So she's done extremely well for a kid who had such a crappy teacher last year and didn't learn squat. I am SO proud of her! I just wish she wouldn't be so hard on herself.

And now I suffer through the rest of Wednesday. Come on Wednesday... pass quickly. LOL

Opening Day!

2009-04-17T20:08:00.007-05:00

Yay! Softball season officially starts tomorrow!! I am SO excited!! Uniforms FINALLY came in yesterday and were handed out to our team today. They look SO good! I am thrilled to not have the same ol' maroon & white like we have had for the last 3 seasons. The parade starts at 10, IF it doesn't get rained out. We got QUITE a bit of rain today, but they are still planning it as of now. I got a really cool banner done for the float and then it will go on the side of the dugout for games. It had all the girls' names and nicknames, and a cute picture of whatever their nickname is. Last year all my girls had "Candy" nicknames (Christine was Twix). This year, I've given them all animal nicknames, because we had 2 girls with the same name, and I just started referring to them as what their school mascots are since they go to different schools. Christine, who has been all about the Tiger since learning that Tiger is her Chinese sign, insisted that she get the nickname Tiger. So for Easter, hubby and I decided to get her a new softball helmet.

Needless to say, she completely freaked out when she opened it.

The sucky thing is, I expected she would be able to use it at the first game on Monday, but due to the rain, our first game has already been rescheduled to Thursday. Man, I was SO looking forward to it and now I have to wait longer. It totally sucks. I have a love-hate relationship with Spring.

2009-04-15T20:08:00.003-05:00

Okay, GRADUATION is 3 weeks from tomorrow. I have officially moved into panic mode. If I don't find someone to help me with Algebra REAL FAST, I can forget about graduating. UGH, I hate math.

Other than that, I'm breezing through my other classes. Outside of class, Tae Kwon Do, Softball, & Annie have me spinning. Until the end of my classes, I have no hope of having a remotely clean house. Our first softball game is Monday, and I am SO excited! This year is going to be SO much better than last year. The opening day parade was supposed to be this Saturday, but it's supposed to rain tomorrow, Friday and Saturday morning- of course. How typical. I think it does this every year. Last year it rained a few days before and they almost cancelled, but didn't. The year before it was cancelled. The year before that they postponed it. Do you see a pattern here? Just schedule the damn parade if the weather is too dry. It's like doing a rain dance.

Anyway, if you are reading this and you can do College Algebra, it won't hurt my feelings if you contact me. I was supposed to be tutored by my 17 year old neice, but they won't call me back. I even offered money. If I don't graduate because I fail Algebra, I don't know that I will ever forgive my sister.

32 days

2009-04-05T15:07:00.002-05:00

I'm almost there- 32 days from today I graduate from college with my Associate's degree. I am SO excited! I would love to go on and get my Bachelor's, but I really don't know how that will be remotely possible at this point. I've got to start working! If only the lab assistant thing had happened. It could still happen for fall, and if it does, then I will definitely start working on my Bachelor's. I'm so thrilled about being done in a month. Even though I won't have the equipment any more, I will be home during the day and I'll have a few weeks before the kids get out and I'll be able to actually do something with this house. It needs a thorough top to bottom cleaning (and maybe some painting too). I'll have a few weeks to do it. Ahhh, the peace and quiet of being home while the kids are at school and the hubby at work.

Speaking of hubby, I had to take him to the doctor Friday- he has shingles! Did you know that that's caused by the chicken pox virus? I didn't. And neither did hubby. He kept saying he thought that was "an old person's disease". What a nut. He had to have 4 prescriptions! Thankfully insurance covered MOST of the cost- one of the prescriptions would have been $150. Crazy. But he seems to be feeling better now, so that's a relief.

Anyhow, it's going to be a busy few weeks for me while the semester winds down. Christine has her Math TAKS this week, which I am nervous about. I hope she does as well on it as she did on Reading.

Thursday Musings

2009-04-02T08:37:00.002-05:00

I have so much work to get done as the semester winds down, and of course my external drive which has everything on it that I need, will not come on. I had to buy a new power cord for it the other day, because for some reason the original just shredded itself. I have no idea how it happened. But it worked fine with the new one, until this morning. I have no idea what has happened. It acts like it's not getting power. This sucks.

I was up late last night. Someone kept me awake until after midnight and then we had a storm roll in around 3 and of course I couldn't sleep through it. I fell back asleep around 4:45 and then when the alarm went off at 6, I was like f- this. I feel like the walking dead today.

So you know I finished reading the Twilight series. It was awesome! I didn't like the 4th book as much as I liked the others- maybe because I knew it was coming to an end. Where we live in the boonies, the closest store is Wal-Mart, so when the movie came out, I didn't buy it, because all they have is the single disc copy. Target has the 3 disc, but it's 45 minutes away, unless I buy it online, which is a definite possibility. Anyway, I found a copy uploaded online, and to be honest with you, I just wasn't impressed. My niece had forewarned me that it wasn't as good as the book, so I was prepared, but... it was bad. I think they did horrible casting. Well, not completely horrible, not all around horrible. Alice was spot on. That girl is just as cute as she can be, and her characterization was great. But then, I do like Alice in the books. She's probably my favorite character. Stephenie Meyer could do her fandom a favor and write a series on the past life of all the vampires in the Cullen family. That would be fascinating.

Anyway... so my job fell threw. The idiot V.P. said he saw a need for a lab assistant, but they couldn't come up with the money. Well, this is the only lab on campus that has the software for like, 8 classes, and if it's not open to the students besides at class time, I just wonder how they will get their work done. And I have a hard time believing that they can't come up with $3500/semester, which is what it would cost. They're so full of it. So I came up with the great idea that if they can't pay for me to work, fine, I won't. Then all the students can go complain directly to the V.P. that they can't do their work. So last week, he had a wave of students go in to complain, but he wasn't there. Everyone left their phone # with his secretary, but of course he hasn't called anyone back. What a jackass. Glad he cares so much about his students.

Tae Kwon Do is really great. I wish I had started it when the kids did. I think I'm already losing weight. I feel different. And I found a flavored water that I can drink without getting nauseated. It's only 20 calories a bottle, so I've cut way back on my soda intake. I mean, way back. I used to get a bottle every morning to bring to work with me, and then have one after I picked up the kids, then another with dinner. And all day on weekends. But I'm having less than one a day now, so I think that's pretty good. Now that I'm getting more active and all that, I finally have that desire to lose weight that I haven't had in a very long time. I got to the point long ago that I just accepted that I am what I am and decided that I was going to be happy with who I was. Suddenly I don't feel that way anymore. It's kinda weird going from being confident and happy with who you are, to insecure and wanting change. I used to could look in the mirror and see a woman. Just a woman. I just didn't think of myself as fat. Now I look in the mirror and I'm like OMG, I can't wait to lose this weight. I want to get down to where I was before I got married, and I am determined to get there. I think the kicker was one day at TKD we had to do some running, and after a couple of laps, I got light-headed. I was like, when did I get so fat and out of shape? I had to take a good hard look at myself from the inside. I decided it's going to change- I'm going to change. I'm not going to be a fat person anymore.

Weird Dream

2009-03-26T06:39:00.003-05:00

I had the weirdest dream last night. I was at a restaurant called Ruddy's. First of all, I've never even heard of "Ruddy's" so I have no idea where that came from. I went there to be with my dad, who I haven't seen since March 2005; my grandparents who have both passed; my uncle who passed away in March 2005; and my aunt; and my half-sister that mostly doesn't speak to me. There was a pool outside of the restaurant, like maybe the restaurant was by a hotel. But the pool was being worked on and didn't have very much water in it, which apparently didn't matter, because we were all going to go swimming in it anyway... fully clothed... and I wore my jacket in as well because it was cold. Nearby, there was one of those traveling carnival things that I refuse to take my kids to. I have no idea what it all means. It's very bizarre. I mean, I can put meaning into why my subconscience would give me any of those things, but all of them in some bizarre put together dream. Like, where did Ruddy's come from? We had Pizza Hut last night and I've never heard of a Ruddy's. But, it was cold last night and I took a shower before bed, so my hair was wet, so I can see the cold and pool with the coat on. The carnival makes no sense at all. The people there are people I think about a lot, so that wasn't a surprise, but everything else is just weird.

First Kiss

2009-03-23T20:32:00.002-05:00

Christine got her first kiss from a boy today! I went to pick her up from school, and the teacher that was standing outside with the kids watched her come to the car and grinned and kinda shook her head. She looked like the cheshire cat who ate the canary. So I said to Christine, "What was THAT all about?"

Now before I tell you the story, you should know that at my last parent/teacher conference, one of the concerns I had, was that Christine was always complaining that she didn't have any friends (new school this year).

Anyhow, so she gets in the car and I asked what that grin was about from her teacher. She turned beet red and said, "******* KISSED ME!"

I said, "Excuse me?"

She said in one long hurried breath, "He knows I don't like him. He's always walking around looking at me like this... " she puckered her lips and made kissie noise, "and ******* was telling him to kiss me and I pushed her and she fell down and I bent down to help her up and he kissed me right here while I was bent over and didn't see him..." she pointed to a spot on her cheek next to her ear. "He's so GROSS!"

About the time that she had puckered her lips and showed me the face he makes at her all the time, I busted out laughing. So by the time she pronounced how gross it was that he actually had the nerve to KISS her, I was almost in tears. Thank God she's not some boy-crazy tween- she was completely repulsed by this boy. I have my baby girl for a little while longer, until she learns that she enjoys being kissed by a boy, like I did in 5th grade!

Of course, the little boy DID get in trouble from the teacher.

The week continues

2009-03-19T11:03:00.004-05:00

Spring break is winding down (thank goodness). Starting Tae Kwon Do hasn't been as embarrassing as I thought it would be, except for the fact that Aunt Flo decided to make a visit the day I started, so of course yesterday I ended up having to come home and bleach my gi. Nothing quite like wearing a white karate uniform when it's that time of the month. Other than that little snag, I think I've surprised everyone with the fact that this fat girl CAN do martial arts. I was pretty good at sports back in the day, and I'm still holding my own. My biggest problem right now is endurance. I wanted to do 2 classes every day this week, but by the time class 1 was over, I've been ready to fall out. Tuesday night we had softball practice after TKD, so that made me even more tired. I had to be out there throwing balls and running bases. I was so exhausted, I slept in until 9:00 yesterday! And I never sleep that late. I'm usually up before the alarm goes off at 6. And I was also more sore yesterday morning, especially in the shoulder blades. I think between the punching at TKD and the throwing at softball, those muscles got a serious workout. At this point, I don't see how it would be possible for me not to lose weight the way I'm burning calories now. If I can kick the empty calories I get from drinking soda, I think I'd be really doing good! I need to find a flavored water that I don't mind drinking. Water is so nasty, and I can't stand drinking it. Blah!

I'm also been spending my spring break doing some reading. Christine begged me to get Twilight for her, so I did the weekend of the tournament so that she would have something to read in the car. I decided I would read it with her, so we traded off days and I finished it within a week. Then I borrowed New Moon from my sister-in-law and finished that this past Sunday. So for my birthday, which was Tuesday, my dearest husband bought me Eclipse, which is book 3 in the series. I'm halfway through it as of this morning. I was telling him last night, I don't remember there ever being a time, with the exception of once in high school, when there was a series of books that I loved reading as much as I love reading these. I really just can't put the book down. It's going to suck when I finish the series. And I'm a reader- I love to read. But usually I can put a book down without regrets. This one, I hate to have to stop reading so that I can go do something- even use the computer!

Speaking of reading, I found out yesterday that Christine got COMMENDED PERFORMANCE on her reading TAKS test! WOOO HOOOOO!!!

In the news today

2009-03-17T08:10:00.004-05:00

My cousin has this delightful little blog she calls "Sour Sallie". In it, she picks a random ass in the news and explains why that person is her "bitch of the day", "dumbass of the day", etc...

After watching Good Morning America this morning, I decided to do one. If you haven't heard this yet, don't worry, you will. It's all over the news.

Meghan McCain, daughter of Sen. John McCain, made a comment last week about Ann Coulter. You know Ann Coulter- she's that Republican extremist that gives Conservatives a bad name. Anyway, Meghan said, among other things, "...More so than my ideological differences with Ann Coulter, I don’t like her demeanor. I have never been a person who was attracted to hate or negativity. ... Everything about her is extreme: her voice, her interview tactics, and especially the public statements she makes about liberals."

Ms. Coulter didn't reply, but Laura Ingraham felt the need to.

I don't listen to Conservative talk show radio, and I've never listened to Laura Ingraham before, and I'm not about to start. Her response to Meghan McCain? She made a comment about Meghan not getting a tv role on a reality series and said, "Ok, I was really hoping that I was going to get that role in the Real World, but then I realized that, well, they don't like plus-sized models."

Really? That's your argument? Well that's just well thought out... for a 12 year old.

My response? First let's take on the weight as the issue. Meghan admits to being a size 8/10. This is not fat. This is not big. This is actually the average size of a woman in America. In my dreams could I be a size 8 again. I haven't been a size 8 since I was in 7th or 8th grade! The real problem is, the entertainment media has hammered it to the public that women should be a size 0. That's not healthy. It doesn't look healthy either, it looks gross. All that b.s. over Jessica Simpson a few weeks ago? I just couldn't believe it! SO she wore something unflattering. She still looks damn good. The media needs to leave womens' weights alone.

Secondly, the response by Ms. Ingraham was unintelligent at best. She didn't have any substance to talk about, so she attacked Meghan's weight. If you don't have a legitimate argument with someone, it's better to just keep your mouth shut. Remember that old saying, "It is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt".

And so you, Ms. Laura Ingraham, have the distinct honor of being my first "dumb bitch of the day", because when you have an argument with someone, you use middle school tactics instead of intelligence. My advice? Grow up.

Spring Break

2009-03-16T09:54:00.003-05:00

Spring Break is here. I have so much to get done, I really don't have time to be away from work for an entire week! I finished the dvd for the tournament, but the weekend after that was black belt grading, and then this past weekend was regular grading and I have to put a dvd together of each of those. Plus the Kindergarten had a musical last week that I filmed to put a dvd together for the school. It's great experience and good references for me for when I'm out of school, but I don't have the right software at home to do what I need to do, so I have to wait. Plus... you know, I do have actual school work to do. I mean, I'm using the dvds for my portfolio development class, but I have 5 other classes, one being Algebra. My niece offered to tutor me so that I would pass, but when I emailed my sister to find out when their spring break was and when she could help me, my sister said she would get with my niece and find out and I haven't heard anything since. If I don't pass Algebra, I won't graduate and there's only 7 short weeks left after break. I'm beginning to shift into panic mode. I don't have any actual assignments due, other than Algebra, so it's not like I'm behind, but I feel stressed. Maybe it's the anticipation since I'm supposed to be graduating. I feel like 7 weeks isn't enough time to get done what I need to get done even though, like I said, other than Algebra, I don't have anything due right now. And actually the Algebra isn't due until the end of the semester. I just keep thinking of the classes that I have, the 3... sorry 4 that I just started for the second 8 week flex term and how I don't really know what to expect from them. One of my teachers is a little unorganized, though I adore her and could not have gone to college this year without her. She likes to wait until the last minute to give assignments. One of the classes I have with her, Storyboard, is a 16 week class that started in January, and I have yet to have an assignment for it. But I have a book and I think this week I'm going to do a few Storyboards and hand them in and hope for the best. I'm a multimedia major about to graduate- I know what storyboards are and what they're for. Maybe that's why she hasn't given me an assignment, because she knows I know- and I can't draw to save my life. Really- I am the worst artist in the world! I have a younger stepbrother who is (or was) an extremely talented artist. He should (and could) have ended up at Disney or Pixar. I remember when I was in high school, I was so jealous of his talent. I don't know what he's doing now, but I hope he's using it. As for me, drawing is definitely not a strength. Hell, when my kids were in Pre-K, they could both draw better than me! I think it's because I'm not very coordinated. I hope that Tae Kwon Do helps me with that. I can't dance either.

Speaking of, I start TKD classes tonight, and I am SO nervous! My husband keeps asking me when I'm so nervous. Well, the way they have the classes, it's everybody all together. They try to have the low belts in the early class and the higher belts in the later classes. That means all those parents who I've been sitting with for the past few months are going to be back there watching me too. And I don't really care for people watching my ass jiggle. Unfortunately there's no other way to do it, so I'm just going to have to deal with it (and so will they!). Although, speaking of ass jiggle, one lady that it a higher belt told me when she started, she lost 50 pounds! I would LOVE to lose 50 lbs. I mean, I'm not all like, oh-I-need-to-lose-weight-I-should-be-on-a-diet. But if I could lose 50 lbs, I wouldn't be unhappy about it. I know I'm fat and I know I'm fat because I'm lazy, not because I eat a lot. I really don't! But I spend all my time doing work on a computer- not exactly an active lifestyle. We'll see what happens in the next few months!

Friday the 13th

2009-03-13T05:54:00.004-05:00

It's Friday the 13th! Spooooky... second month in a row that we've had one, which is actually just weird.

It's raining this morning. We got 4 & 3/8" on Wednesday, and then it was just cloudy and misty yesterday, and now we're getting another round. I'm glad, because it gave that 4" time to soak in- not that it really needed it. My mom went to put out a roll of hay yesterday and she said she barely made tracks in the pasture, that's how fast the ground soaked in the water!

So I have this broken wisdom tooth and we don't have dental insurance and can't afford to just pay to go to the dentist because it's so expensive. It wouldn't bother me having a broken tooth except that it broke off right at the gum (which means surgery to get it out!), and I'm pretty sure I have an infection in the gum right there because it's causing me quite a bit of pain. So about 4:30 this morning, it was bothering me and I got up to take some aspirin. Of course I couldn't go back to sleep, so I got online and discovered THIS news story.

I just want it known that I think Rick Perry is he most worthless governor I've EVER seen in office. His excuse is, "it would require the state to increase the tax burden on Texas businesses." I'm sorry to tell you this, Mr. Governor, but if the unemployed can't afford to feed their families or house their families, they're not going to be spending money at these businesses. You need to put the people first and the rest will come. The Texas Employment Commission says if things stay at the same rate as they are right now, they will be out of money by October. That's not encouraging news. It's just a domino effect. Who does he think is going to be burdened by these unemployed people who don't get any money come October? Homeless shelters, food stamps, any other government assistance programs... Let's use our brains and actually think about this for a minute, shall we? Jeez, he's worthless. WORTHLESS! I can not WAIT for him to be ousted in the next election. It can NOT come soon enough!!!

Wednesday Update

2009-03-11T05:57:00.002-05:00

I hate Wednesday. I just don't like the name of the day.

It's raining this morning. They are predicting that we could get 3 to 4 inches over the next few days. I'm so glad cause we need it badly. I hate leaving the house every day and worrying that I'll come home with no house due to a grass fire. The joy of living in the country.

I said in my previous entry that Christine had decided not to play softball. Well Monday, the coach that drafted her called me. He said he was sorry that my feelings were hurt about them not choosing me to coach, but they had decided to have 2 men coach the teams because of some unruly "fans" last year and that our group had more complaints from umpires and visiting team fans than any other group in the league. Well maybe that's because they KNOW those people are problematic, but those people pay their money to play so they let them anyway, even though year after year after year they can't behave. Anyway, he told me that he really wanted Christine to play and if I wanted to assistant coach with him, he wanted me to. He said if it could have worked out for me to be head and him to assist, he would have preferred it that way and the league was okay with that, but he's coaching a boys team too, and the only way to schedule both teams' games around each other was for him to be head coach. He gave me a list of girls and asked me to think about it. So I told Christine who else had been drafted and told her that the coach really wanted her to play. Her little face lit up and she begged me to let her. ~sigh~ So now I have to go buy new softball equipment, since the child has grown so much since last year and will need new cleats, a new bat, and possibly a new glove and helmet. This is going to be an interesting next few months, that's for sure.

Busy, Busy

2009-03-08T08:14:00.002-05:00

The bad news is, I'm not coaching softball this year. The good news is, that frees up some time for me, so I'm going to join Tae Kwon Do with the kids. I signed up to coach, because with TKD and school and everything, being the coach, I could schedule practices around mine and Christine's schedules. But the league decided to try 2 new people. I'm disappointed, because I really loved coaching last year. And Christine told me that she didn't want to play for anyone else, so she dropped out, which makes me sad, because this was going to be her 5th season, and she's SO good at it. I told her we would take her to the local batting cages so that she stayed in practice for next year.

They FINALLY got my job status worked out, I think, so I'm going to actually start getting paid. My teacher told me that she feels bad it has drawn out this long and asked me to figure out what I would have been paid if I was still doing work study. It added up to $1200! She said she would see to it that I was compensated. As well as working, the second 8 weeks of class is starting. I'm going from 2 actual classes and portfolio development to 5 actual classes and portfolio development. 20 credit hours. Storyboarding, PC Hardware, Programming Logic & Design (blah!), College Algebra (yikes!), Interactive Multimedia and Interactive Web Elements. Along with classes, I have several projects I'm working on, so I'm really swamped for time. I wish that I had good software on my home computer so that I could work on these projects on the weekends and early in the morning when I'm up. That would be so much more helpful to be able to make more use of my time.

And speaking of time, since I can't work on specific projects from home, I've been doing some reading. Christine asked me if I would buy her the book Twilight. I guess a lot of her friends are reading it. Having not seen the movie, I decided to go ahead and get it, but I told her I was going to read it with her, not literally with her but alternating it with her, because I didn't know how appropriate it would be. I was sure it would be fine- she is my little goth child after all, loving all things supernatural and/or scary, etc... I bought it last week before we went to the tournament, because I figured she could do some reading while we drove. We've been alternating every other day and Friday was one of my days. I was about halfway through when I picked it up Friday evening, and I just couldn't put it down! I ended up finishing it around 11 pm. It was so good! I was really surprised that it was as good as it was. So today when I take Christine to Tae Kwon Do, I'm going to stop by Wal-Mart and pick up New Moon. Christine's reply to my finishing it? "That's not FAIR!" I told her that the dvd comes out the 24th, but I'm not going to buy it until she finishes the book. She's almost halfway through it now.

Victorious Kiddos!

2009-03-03T06:24:00.006-06:00

This past weekend, the kids took part in a tournament for Tae Kwon Do. Friday morning we got up early, even though the kids didn't have school. I had to finish packing and then we had to run some errands, which included a stop at the hair salon to have Christine's hair french braided, and Cameron's hair cut. And a trip to the store to stock up on medicine, since Christine started getting sick on Thursday (figures!). We were back home by 10, where we found my mother-in-law waiting on us. Since hubby was sick and missed work Monday-Thursday, he couldn't take off Friday and go early with us, so he followed when he got off work. So I packed all our stuff in MIL's car and we headed back to her house to drop off Misha, our chihuahua, because my father-in-law was going to dog-sit for us. Then we were on the road. We stopped in Bryan for a quick potty break, leg stretch, and lunch then we were on the road again. We got to Brenham between 1 and 2. Our first stop was the Blue Bell creamery http://www.bluebell.com/The_Little_Creamery/Visiting_Blue_Bell.aspx

This is probably going to sound crazy, but this place was really cool! The tour they take you on shows the entire ice cream making process. You actually get to see it as it's happening. From the powder to the flavoring, to the packaging, you get to see the entire process. I thought the coolest part was watching the ice cream come out of the steel pipe and fill the ice cream bucket. Then the machine puts the lid on and a line worker turns it over so that it can make a freshness seal and it goes down the line to a special freezing room. Cameron's favorite part was watching the ice cream sandwiches get made, which actually, was really neat! Christine's favorite part was getting a sample of ice cream at the end of the tour (though it's not as if the rest of us were complaining about getting some Blue Bell!) After we finished there, we headed to the hotel, where the kids took advantage of the nearly 90 degree weather, and took a dip in the pool. When it started to get cold and the sun was starting to set, I dragged them out and we went to dinner, then it was time for an early bedtime.

The next morning, I was up at 5:30, because I was so excited and nervous for the kids, I couldn't sleep. I got out of bed and dressed and left the hotel while everyone else was still snoozing. I drove around Brenham for a little while, to find where the tournament was taking place and then I stopped at the store to get snacks and water, then went through the drive thru at McDonald's to pick up breakfast. I got back and got the kids up and dressed. They looked great in their freshly starched uniforms! We got to the tournament early- #1 because their TKD instructor said the earlier they could start practicing on the floor, the better. And #2 because I HATE being late to ANYthing. I am ALWAYS early.

Cameron went before Christine first on the patterns.

They did it by age. I was SO proud- he got FIRST PLACE!!! Well, when we went to San Antonio, he got 1st place on his pattern as well, and Christine got 2nd. Well, no matter how bad she was feeling, she refused to be outdone by her little brother again! So she went out when it was her turn and got FIRST PLACE too!

The TKD instructor's wife told her husband after that everything he had ever fussed at Christine about, she got right out there. He didn't see, because he was judging in a different ring.

They had a little time between their patterns and sparring, so Cameron played someone's on DS and Christine sat with her friends giggling and snacking. When it was time for sparring, Cameron was up first again. I told him- make sure you stand in line so that you're not one of the first 2 up. This is because if you are, and you lose, you don't get a second chance. And what did he do? Got the first place in line.

In Brenham, you're not required to wear head gear, and I think he didn't want to kick the kid in the head. Well, that's where you score the most points. So he was the first one up and he promptly lost, so he was out. Poor guy. He was upset about it too.

Christine I always worry about her sparring because she's not very aggressive, and to score points, you have to be aggressive. But she got up there, and won in the first match she was in. Unfortunately, the judges are only human, so they don't always see when points are scored. You get 1.5 points for a head kick, and the first person to 3 or the person with the most points after 2 minutes is the winner. Well, in her second match, she was sparring a yellow belt from our school. She scored 1.5 with a kick, but it was after the girl had already gotten 2 points on Christine. Well, then Christine did another kick to the head that SHOULD have gotten her the winning points she would need, but the judges didn't see it and right after that the girl countered with a kick to Christine's head that gave her the points to beat Christine. That put Christine out for contention on 1st and 2nd place, but she still had a chance for 3rd. Unfortunately by her 3rd match, she was tired, and she wasn't feeling good anyway, so to me, she had done so good anyway, it didn't even matter that she lost and didn't place in sparring.

After the tournament we went out to eat with everyone from the TKD school. It took forever to get the food, but it was GOOD. It was one of those hole-in-the-wall places called the Country Kitchen. The steaks they served were massively huge and soooo good. Then back to the hotel where it was an early bedtime for me (exhausted!) and Christine (sick!). MIL read for a while and hubby and Cameron stayed up for hours watching Man VS. Wild on The Discovery Channel.

Once we got moving Sunday morning, we headed to Washington-on-the-Brazos. You see, March 2nd is Texas' Independence Day, and Washington-on-the-Brazos is where the Declaration was signed and Texas was born! Having two history buffs in the family (hubby and Christine), this was a must see! Everyone of us enjoyed it, except for Cameron, who only wanted to eat lunch and play on the playground, instead of looking at all that "museum stuff". Finally we left and made what felt like a long trip home, which really was only a couple of hours. But by the time we stopped to pick up Misha and hubby hung a new fan in the in-law's bedroom plus dinner with them, it was almost 8 by the time we got home.

We were exhausted, but as always, it's nice to get away for a weekend. Now we have to prepare for grading, which takes place in 2 weeks. They are both pretty excited about getting their YELLOW belts!

Valentine's Day

2009-02-16T08:19:00.003-06:00

There are lots of reasons to hate Valentine's Day. Before 2004, I hated it because it was just an over-commercialized pointless holiday. I do not want any man to to send me flowers or buy me chocolates on February 14th. I want a man to do it on May 10th, or July 28th, or October 1st. I want a man to do it because he wants to show me he loves me on some random day of the year, not a day set aside by retail stores. I guess I'm just funny that way. Since 2004, I've hated it because it was the day my grandma died. I'll never forget waking up that morning to the phone ringing before the sun was up, and my uncle on the other line telling me that Grandma had passed. Oh yes, it was the perfect day for her to go and be with Grandpa, who had left us in 2001. After being married almost 60 years, yes, Valentine's Day was an appropriate day for her to join him. It was better for her. But I'm selfish, and I miss her and I can't believe it's been 5 years. It was a beautiful day, that Valentine's 2004- there was nearly 3 inches of snow covering the ground as the sun rose.

Two months later, we found out that my uncle had cancer. And by Valentine's Day 2005, I was waiting for the phone call to tell me that he had passed and wondering if every Valentine's Day would be a source of misery and anxiety for me from then on. Time, as my husband told me it would, has proven that I don't have to wonder about what news is on the other line when the phone rings on February 14th.

I'm glad we're past it now, and if I can get through March, I'll be doing good.

35 Random Things About Me

2009-02-04T08:46:00.003-06:00

Rules: Once you have been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 35 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose people to be tagged, you have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, that means I want to know more about you.

1. I've never been to a real concert, even though I stood in line and bought tickets for Garth Brooks in 1998 and everyone went without me because I had bronchitis- I don't like Garth Brooks anyway.

2. I hate my name and always have.

3. I would be happy to adopt to have more kids, but I never want to be pregnant again.

4. I was in the Texas Girl's Choir from the age of 7 until 10, even though the rules say they don't take anyone under 8. Mrs. Carter thought I was talented enough to be in early.

5. Too bad I'm too shy to sing in front of people.

6. I wish I hadn't gone to my high school prom.

7. When I graduated high school, I wanted to be a music director.

8. When I met my husband, I was in the process of getting into the Air Force.

9. I don't like when people use God as an excuse for their behavior.

10. I almost joined the Peace Corps when I was 19.

11. Aqua is my favorite color.

12. I hate where we live.

13. I have lilapsophobia, which is fear of tornadoes.

14. I cry at the end of Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King every time I watch it, even though I have seen it at least 100 times.

15. Winter is my favorite season.

16. I like to write fanfiction in my spare time.

17. I wish I could join Tae Kwon Do with the kids.

18. When I was a kid, I wanted to grow up and look like Carrie Fisher.

19. Mozart is my favorite composer, and I attribute that to Mozart's Requiem which I learned both the soprano and alto parts in choir in high school.

20. I'm glad that my aunt remarried. She deserves happiness.

21. I'm scared that some day I'll have cancer.

22. I have extrasensory perception- I've seen a ghost, I've had a vision of something happening far away at the same time that it was happening.

23. I wanted to be a pilot when I was joining the Air Force, but I couldn't because I wore glasses. But I passed my test with a high enough grade that I was told I could, according to the recruitment officer, "do any job in the Air Force that a woman was allowed to do".

24. I try to think the best about everyone, even when they've proven me wrong.

25. I can't stand it when people don't think.

26. I think Thanksgiving is a pointless holiday.

27. I loved watching wrestling when I was a kid, and Kerry von Erich was my favorite. I still have an autographed picture of him that we got when we went to his house once.

28. I love watching professional football.

29. I coach girl's softball, and I love it, but I can't stand dealing with the parents.

30. I'm extremely loyal when it comes to my friendship.

31. I think Christine's personality is a lot like mine, which is the reason we don't get along a lot of times.

32. I believe Christine is destined for something great.

33. I second guess myself a lot when it comes to Cameron.

34. I hate to drive.

35. I don't want to ever go to a high school reunion from the high school I graduated from.

Blog slacker, I know!

2009-01-30T08:53:00.002-06:00

I've been neglecting my blog. Well, you see, I joined Facebook, and so I've been adding my notes there. Let me catch all my readers up... wait, do I even HAVE any readers? LOL, I don't think I do, but oh well. I'm putting it out there anyway.

Spring semester has started, and I'm busier than ever. I had this great idea to film and produce DVD's of the middle school's performance of The Nutcracker, and I've been trying to get that done. I also have several tutorials to put into online format for one of the teachers here. I also have a seminar to do. I have some transcribing to do, and I have a web page to put together for my new filming business. So yeah, I'm not busy at all.

I have to come up with $140 to get my Algebra book, so I can go to my 17 year-old niece for tutoring (that is SO sad). I have GOT to get through that class!

I'm also taking storyboard, pc hardware, portfolio development, 2 multimedia classes and a programming class. PHEW! I'll be SO glad when this semester is over.

Oh yeah, and on top of that, the school ran out of money, so there's no work study money, BUT my teacher is trying to get me hired on a lab assistant, which is only 20 hours a week, but it's a permanent job, and it pays $10.85 an hour, which is almost as much as hubby makes at his job that he's been at for almost 9 years (you can imagine how pleased he was to learn how much I'd be making!).

Speaking of, that seemed to be the icing on the cake for him. He's very unhappy at his job. I hope he can stick it out for a little while longer.

So there's a pretty good update, and I'll try not to be so neglectful.

Grades are in!

2008-12-11T08:36:00.002-06:00

It's now official- I made the President's List! I am so amazed and happy that I actually accomplished a 4.0 GPA in a college semester. And I'm sorry that the semester is at an end. I wish it could just go on and on.

Now anyone who knew me growing up would probably get whiplash taking a second look at that statement. I've always hated school. Mostly I think because we were always moving around every year to year and a half and I never had many friends. I was always the new person. So I was just miserable. But even the first time I went to college right out of high school, I hated it. Then when I went back in '03, I made the Dean's List. It was the stupid math that kept me from the President's List that semester. Unfortunately, I have to take another semester of math in the spring, so this will be the only time in my life probably, that I will be on the President's List.

I think I should throw myself a party.

It's Torture

2008-12-10T08:29:00.003-06:00

I tell ya, it's torture waiting for grades. Seriously, I've never been successful in school, so it's kindof a big deal for me to actually succeed. I mean, there was the one time I made the Dean's List, but that was 5 years ago. It LOOKS like I may one up that and make the President's List. Right now, only 4 of my 6 grades have been submitted, and they're all A's. If I can get the last 2 A's, I will make the President's List with a 4.0 GPA. Grades have to be submitted by Friday, so I only have 2 more days of torture if they don't get submitted until then.

And you thought this entry would be about me being without my computer.

Addicted

2008-12-08T09:22:00.003-06:00

I barely made it through the weekend without my computer.

Yes, I am addicted. So what?

The thing is, I am a multi-tasker. Most women are. When I watch tv, I also do stuff on the computer- either write, play games, surf... whatever. I discovered this weekend, I really can not sit and watch tv and do nothing else. I HAVE to be doing something. Saturday wasn't so bad since we weren't home most of the day, but yesterday. UGH.

I have a laptop. It's old, it has no memory, but it works. Err... workED. It was on it's last leg, I admit. Windows M.E. and all that. So I thought I'd be cool and update the operating system to XP. Yeah... it won't work now.

I finally gave up and went in my bedroom to play on the PS2. I really, REALLY hope I get my computer back today or tomorrow. I think my sanity is at stake.

It's Official

2008-12-05T07:57:00.003-06:00

My computer has died.

~sigh~

Borrowing one from the computer lab sounds more and more appealing every hour. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure the results would be me in jail and expelled from college. Darn it. Hubby took it with him to work to have it fixed. The guy that built it has lunch with the guys in hubby's shop every Friday, so hopefully he can fix it without too much expense. Not likely though. I think it needs a new motherboard. It got struck by lightning. Honestly, I'm amazed it's lasted as long as it has. It got struck back in February. Like a week after the storm that blew our barn apart. I just love spring in Texas. Anyway, back to the computer, after it got struck, it started doing this thing that when you restarted it, while it was reading the A: drive, it would get caught and spend like 20 minutes reading that drive until it would finally unstick itself. Well, it finally stopped unsticking itself. So Sunday, I unplugged everything and opened it up and my eyes kinda went crossed.

Anyone out there live on a dirt road and not clean out the insides of you computer regularly?

~looks away ashamed~ I've never seen so many dust bunnies in all my life. Even at my mom's- and anyone who has ever been there knows THAT is saying something.

I solemnly swear to clean out the insides of my computer once every 6 months at least.

So I cleaned it all out, plugged it all back in, and turned it on. WHAH-LA, worked like a charm. So the rest of the afternoon Sunday through yesterday morning, it was working. Well, Wednesday night, I noticed that it was running slow and my little red "working" light wasn't going off when I wasn't doing anything. So I'm thinking to myself, what is my computer doing?? Hmmm... But I've been sick since Monday and really didn't feel like messing with it. Well, yesterday morning when I got up, it was STILL going. So I reset it. And now it won't go back on. Well it goes ON, but it gets stuck reading the A: drive. So last night I did the whole, pulling everything apart and blowing it out and yada yada yada. Plugged the power and monitor back in and turned it on- it worked beautifully. So I started plugging everything else in- then it wouldn't read the mouse. Well hell. I said screw this. I'm not going to unplug everything and blow it out every time I have to restart it. So I asked my husband to handle it, and because he likes me to be not bitchy, he took it with him this morning. Thank goodness we got the external drive last week and I moved all the pictures, video and music files over to it before this happened! Unfortunately, I'm probably going to lose my Incredimail files. Oh well, it could be worse- it could have been everything.

And since my husband was wanting to get me some software for Christmas, this is his perfect opportunity.

The end is near

2008-12-04T12:55:00.004-06:00

No, I don't mean the end of the earth- though it could be and I don't know it. It's not something I'm going to worry about either way. No, I mean the end of the semester. Technically for me, it is over. My last actual class was Tuesday. But since I'm in multimedia and my teachers are different than any I've ever had, they consider your portfolio- or all the work you've done for the semester, to be your final exam and overall grade. Whoopee-dee-doo-dawh. So while everyone else is taking final exams, we're done. Frankly, I'm disappointed. Although I fully expect to make straight A's (that's 6 class, 18 credit hours, and a 4.o GPA for the semester for anyone that's keeping up), I fully expected a little bit of... challenge.

Okay, I admit, for my Intro to Multimedia class I did get ONE whole assignment that threw me. And that was only because a month ago I was told to use a program I'd never in my life used before (Adobe Illustrator), and make a map using a satellite picture. And I was not TAUGHT how to use A.I. to do it, I was told here's the photo, get to it.

I will also admit that on this one assignment I cheated a little. Just a teeny bit. But it was another teacher's suggestion, so I take no blame myself. It's done and I still don't know how to use the program, but I have a feeling, I will get over it. I was going to make an A in the class anyway. Actually, I think she forgot she assigned it to me. She's a bit flighty that way, but I love her dearly and could never have done this semester without her. Remember the whole financial aid thing at the beginning of the semester? Yeah... Let's see them deny financial aid to someone on the President's List this time around.

Oh hell yeah... how about the sound of that. The PRESIDENT'S List. Not the Dean's List. The President of the college's list. She can get used to seeing my name- I'll be doing it again in the Spring.

Oh.. maybe not. I have to take Algebra.

Go Dean's List Spring '09!

HA HA!

But seriously, I have LOVED this semester and if I wasn't in love with the iMac before, I most certainly am now. The next new computer I get is totally going to be a Mac. And it's going to have Final Cut on it- that's the BEST film editing software. If you've ever used Adobe Premiere, and you go to Final Cut, you will never look back. Oh man, oh man, Final Cut ROCKS. I had SO much fun playing with it. I wonder if the college would mind if I just borrowed the Mac I use in class over Christmas break. It's going to SUCK having a WHOLE MONTH without film editing software. Windows Movie Maker DOESN'T COUNT. I wish I were rich. Hell, someone just give me a teeny tiny $10,000 even. Then I can get the Mac AND the Final Cut Pro series. You know, the whole enchilada- Final Cut, Soundtrack Pro, LiveType, DVD Studio Pro... ~sigh~

How am I going to last a WHOLE MONTH away from school?! This just totally sucks.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-30T14:01:00.002-06:00

I really and truly hate Thanksgiving. To me, it is the most pointless holiday of the year. And I hate when all my family gets together. We all used to get along pretty well, but ever since my oldest sister decided not to come one year, it's all different. It's because she's such a snob. And then my mom has been weird lately. I know she's angry with me, but I haven't a clue why. And she's angry with my sister that just got married, BEcause she got married, because her husband lost his job back in September and doesn't have a new one, AND because she decided to have her wedding in Florida, and none of either family got to go, except her dad and stepmom because they're rich. And she's so freaky about Thanksgiving being HER holiday. She was pissed because the same sister left early to drive to Houston to spend the rest of Thanksgiving with her grandma who has cancer. How dare she! UGH. Thanksgiving just stresses me out.

The morning after, I had planned to do some black Friday shopping. We needed a new tree, since ours was destroyed in the storage barn when that storm blew it apart last February. Half our ornaments, and our stockings too... gone. So I left the house about 5:15 and headed to Wal-Mart first. Let me just say, I have been to Wal-Mart on Black Friday before, but I had never, EVER seen anything like this. It was CRAZY. But I got our new tree and some ornaments, and some fabric for Christine to make our new stockings. She wanted to, so what the heck. She had gone home with my snobby sister Thursday night, so it was just Cam at home with hubby. So when I got back, they got dressed and we headed to hubby's sister, where we got in the car with her and my MIL and neice, and we went to town to do some real shopping. I luckily, was able to get the one thing I really wanted to get on Friday, and that was a 750 gig external hard drive that Target had on sale for $89. They only had 3 left when I found them! I really needed one, cause my poor computer at home has all of 37 gigs total. Wow... When I hooked up the external, I only had 774 megs free. I'm surprised I could get it to turn on.

Anyway, today is the last day of Thanksgiving break, which is what I'm thankful for. I'm so soad that my semester is almost over, and I will be out of school for an entire month! Totally sucks! Next semester SHOULD be my last semester, IF the school will allow one of my choir or band credits to count for Intro to Theatre, which they are not offering in Spring, those bastards! Oh, and I have to pass Algebra. I SHOULD have all A's this semester. Not bad for taking 6 classes AND working. AND kids. AND husband. And... well, you know... life. I've decided to use my degree to try to get a job in film editing. I really love my classes that I get to do film editing. I much prefer it over webmaster'ing.

I hope everyone survived Black Friday without getting into a brawl. I had HEARD that there was a fight at the Wal-Mart I was at, but that must have happened before I got there. Apparently some woman was mouthing off in line, and when the guy in front of her got his flat screen tv, he turned around and slapped her with it. I didn't read that in the paper, so I don't know if it's true, but that's what I heard. Gosh, how classy.

Wasting Time

2008-11-26T10:54:00.002-06:00

I've been cleaning since I got up this morning, and, quite frankly, I'm sick of cleaning. So I'm sitting here wasting time online doing Blogthings.

What Your Cute Monster Says About You

You are both a realist and an idealist. You're able to see the world as it is - and how it could be.

You dream big, and you never give up on your beliefs. You have big plans.

Your inner demon is depression. Sometimes you build things up in your head.

People think you're cute because you're determined. You're a fighter, and that's charming.

The Cute Monster Test
Err... okay, I guess so.

Your Inner Blood Type is Type A

You seem cool and collected, though a bit shy.

You are highly driven and a perfectionist, but that's a side you keep to yourself.

Creative and artistic, you are a very unique person who doesn't quite fit in.

People accept you more than you realize, seeing you as trustworthy and loyal.

You are most compatible with: A and AB

Famous Type A's: Britney Spears and Hilter

What's Your Inner Blood Type?
Great. My inner blood type is like Britney Spears & Hitler. Maybe I'll just kill myself now and get it over with.

You Are Mashed Potatoes

Ordinary, comforting, and more than a little predictable

You're the glue that holds everyone together.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?
I hate Thanksgiving.

You Are 78% Thankful

You are a very thankful person - for both the big and little things in life.

Your optimism is powerful. Getting through hard times is fairly easy for you.

How Thankful Are You?
I don't need a holiday to be thankful.

You Should Have Been Born Under:

You are totally loyal, faithful, and honest.

However, you don't trust others to be as ethical as you are!

Straight forward and direct, you really aren't one for small talk.

You are a great listener - and an agreeable companion when you're in a good mood!

You are most compatible with a Tiger or Horse.

What Year Should You Have Been Born Under?
I was born under DRAGON, for anyone who may have been wondering.

Okay, I've wasted enough time. Back to cleaning. UGH.

Friday Rant #2

2008-11-21T10:41:00.002-06:00

I heard this on the news yesterday morning, and quite frankly, it took me 24 hours to process it and cool off enough to rant about it.

"State Penalizes School After Student Shares Lunch"

Yes, you read that headline correctly. A student had the NERVE to share his pizza with a classmate, and the school was fined $1800. That's not a typo. It was one thousand, eight hundred dollars. The fine for the student sharing his pizza.

Okay, so that's pretty ridiculous. And stupid. Moronic.

So I turned and looked at my husband and said "How did they even know?"

As if the newscaster heard my question, I got the answer, "A state monitor in the cafeteria, however, saw the student share the pizza with a classmate."

A state monitor?

Yes, you read that right- auditors from the State Agriculture Department were monitoring the school cafeteria looking for food sharing. The state of Texas actually PAYS people to drive around to schools around the state and MONITOR children eating to make sure they don't share their food.

Okay, now we are BEYOND ridiculous. WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY!!!!! When children have to share books and can't bring them home because there's not enough for everyone, and technology upgrades are needed, and TEACHERS deserve higher pay and better benefits, we're going to WASTE MONEY for people to go around and monitor children eating to make sure they don't share. WHAT FREAKIN' MORON CAME UP WITH THAT IDEA?! I want to meet them. So I can punch them in the nose.

NO WONDER Texas is at the freakin' bottom of the barrel on all things education. TEA is more worried about children sharing their lunches than they are about whether or not they're actually learning something in the classroom- OTHER THAN filling in bubbles for standardized testing.

Education is an important issue to me. I have 2 teachers in my family, and they do way more work than what they get paid to do. Teachers are treated like poo. And the system treats children like poo, too. Just ask any kid in a public school to work out a problem that they have to use critical thinking skills. THEY CAN'T DO IT! They don't know how! Because the system doesn't teach them to. And the teachers can't, because they are required by the state to teach specific things using specific curriculums- all of which are designed around the blessed standardized test! Which, anyone who has children can tell you, are stupid- not all children are "standard". ARGH!!

Never, ever get me started on the issue of education. It goes all over me!

~mutters to herself~ Pay some idiot to drive around to check if kids are sharing lunches...

Friday Rant #1

2008-11-21T10:22:00.003-06:00

Okay, SERIOUSLY. No CHURCH should be allowed to use their religious platform this way and then expect to receive federal tax exemptions.

Secondly, I just want to say to this pastor, LYING is a sin against God. And this is just a blatant lie. Was I the only one around when the media was making a big deal about Barack Obama's pastor from his CHRISTIAN church? The pastor that married Barack and Michelle in a CHRISTIAN church. The same CHRISTIAN church where his daughters were BAPTIZED? Seriously? We're still going to be ignorant assholes and LIE about our president-elect? And use RELIGION to do it, that just PISSES me off.

I guess I just see spirituality in a different way. I don't think you should use God as an excuse to spread lies or try to bring people down or scare people.

By the way, you can do a google search for this place, and it will give you their website, with an email address and the phone number if you would like to contact this person and remind him that lying is a sin. In the 10 Commandments it says "Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness". http://www.spiritonecc.org/ abbym@spiritonecc.org (316)303-0095

Tournament

2008-11-11T08:12:00.005-06:00

It was expensive, but oh so worth it! The kids did so well at their very first tournament, and I am SO proud! Cam brought home a 1st place trophy for his pattern and a 3rd place for sparring. Christine got a 2nd place trophy in both categories.

We learned a lot about what to do, and what not to do. For instance, on the to-do list is- next time, bring a pillow. We sat for something like 7 and 1/2 hours. I'm fat, so I have a somewhat cushioned butt, however, it still feels like my butt bones got bruised.

On the not-to-do list is to not change seats without telling your kids. They had the gym squared off for each age group and of course BOTH kids ended up on the opposite side of the gym from where we first sat. So while they were in their respective squares, my husband and I moved. Well, poor Cameron didn't see us move, and I couldn't holler at him because it was during all the ceremonial stuff. About 20 minutes into him searching, including looking at the door like he thought we left and would come back, he actually started crying. I felt SO bad. Poor little thing thought we left him! I said to Hell with this ceremonial bullshit and called his name. He heard me and turned and saw us. Phew... poor baby!

We finally left around 4:30, and since we were in San Antonio, we headed to the Alamo. We went in the side entrance to the gift shop and came out and around to the front. Cameron saw the Alamo and said "MOM! DAD! Look! It's like in the shape of the real Alamo!" He was so amazed!

Then we went around the Riverwalk for a while, before heading to do some fun stuff. Across from the Alamo, they have all kinds of over-priced touristy fun stuff to do. We settled for the Tomb Raider 3D ride, which I thought was fun but hubby thought was lame, and a Haunted House, which was REALLY good and worth the money I thought. Despite the fact that we had gone to a Haunted Cornfield the week before Halloween, which didn't scare either of the kids one bit, this thing terrified them. It really surprised me, because it wasn't really THAT different. Poor little Cam was clutched to me the whole time, and in some places crying. We just kept reminding him that it wasn't real. Once we were out, he was fine and it didn't seem to bother him. I think he was putting on a show for us.

After that, we went to Spaghetti Warehouse for dinner. Now this was interesting. As soon as we got out of the car, a lady came up to us asking for money for food. She didn't LOOK needy, but I guess you can never tell by looks. She must have been bothering quite a few people, cause as soon as she started asking, a security guard and the manager came up to her and told her she couldn't be doing that. I took the kids by their hands and led them away. I think it freaked us all out a little bit- except Cameron, who, as always, was oblivious.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel.

Oh... I just realized that I forgot to mention how our little adventure started. Hubby got home from work early so we could get started, and came in and said "Do you realize you have a tire that's about to blow?"

Well, actually, I HAD realized that there was something wrong with it. Last week it started making a noise. A noise that I KNEW meant we were going to need new tires. But I was praying it would wait until we returned. No such luck. I got my ass chewed out all the way to town for not saying anything about it sooner. And then we ended up having to buy a new pair of tires for the back pair. Which left us short on cash. Which brings me back to the hotel which is what reminded me of the tires in the first place.

We stayed at a place called Microtel. Cameron called it Microsoft Hotel once on the trip. He didn't remember the "tel" part. HA HA Anyway, it was pretty cheap, but really not a bad stay. Their breakfast was sucksville, but other than that, it was as good as most any other hotel I've ever stayed in. It was better than the Adams Mark I stayed in a few years ago when I went to the State Autism Conference.

So, we got up Sunday and checked out and headed home. On the way, we stopped at Wonder World. Personally, I wanted to go to the Natural Bridge Caverns, but I got out-voted. Oh well. It was still fun. The kids got to hand feed some deer, which of course, made Christine's day. Then we went down into the cave, which was way down and then way up. My thighs are still sore. Apparently, I really was in much better shape before I had kids, because hubby and I went there on our honeymoon, and I was not sore at all afterwards. Damn kids. (JUST KIDDING!)

So anyway, we got home Sunday afternoon in time for me to watch the 3:15 football games. Thank goodness. I needed a break from our mini-vacation. HA HA HA!

Election Results

2008-11-05T08:05:00.006-06:00

Well... what can you say? WOW, what a night. I laughed. I cried. I watched in awe as people celebrated in the streets. Honestly, I've never seen anything like it. It looked like New Year's Eve or something, and indeed, it IS the dawning of a new day for America.

I'm so proud of my country today. The voter turn-out was higher than it has been in 90 years!

I know that for as long as I live, I will never forget last night. Around the world, people are celebrating as well. Truly amazing!

But the stories I love most reading about, were these two- of determined elderly women who would cast their ballots for Obama-
At 114, a daughter of former slaves votes for Obama

92-year-old woman voted from ambulance

I live in the greatest country in the world. No, it's not perfect, but I love this country, and I'm excited about where out future is now headed.

And as I watched President-Elect Obama give his speech last night, I got chills, and all I could think was, this man is going to be a good president.

Effective Commercials

2008-11-04T10:04:00.002-06:00

Most effective condom commercial EVER

Most effective Barack Obama commercial (for ME anyway)

I had already voted this morning before I saw this commercial, but I'd follow Orlando Bloom to the ends of the Earth.

Oh yeah- GO VOTE!

November is here

2008-11-03T10:39:00.002-06:00

When you're a kid, it seems like time takes forever to pass, but when you're an adult, it never seems to slow down. How does that happen? WHY does that happen? I can't believe November is already here. I stopped by Wal-Mart this morning to grab a few items, and they were playing Christmas music. I found myself humming along- then I got annoyed by it. Damn, Halloween just ended, can we have Thanksgiving first, please?

Anyway, life around here is busier than ever. I thought when school started, it would slow down for me, but no. I'm being pulled in every direction humanly possible, I think. I have several projects that I am doing at school. Some for my teacher, some for class work, and some just because... you know... I don't have enough to do. I leave my house first thing in the morning and don't get home until somewhere around sunset. I pick the kids up from their schools and take them to Tae Kwon Do. And oh yeah... speaking of Tae Kwon Do, I'm doing their website now. Again... not enough to do. Both kids are doing spelling UIL. Competition for that is next week, thankfully. Once that's over Christine will be doing rehearsals for her school's play that they are doing in December. Let's see what else... I feel like I am forgetting something.

Halloween- was a blast. Last weekend we went to a "haunted" corn field maze. That was awesome. I worried about Cameron being really frightened by it, but I guess we stressed that it wasn't real enough beforehand, because every time someone popped out, he held out his little hand and said "I'm not scared of you!" We also had the Tae Kwon Do costume party. Cameron went as Luke Skywalker (smart kid) and won "Most Original", and Christine went as Cleopatra and won "Cutest". That was REALLY fun. I wish I could have dressed up too, but my costume got ruined in the Spring when the barn roof got blow off in that storm. Apparently, it was in one of the boxes in storage out there. Oh well... So then Friday night we went Trick-or-Treating with my in-laws and niece. She was dressed as a bumble bee. She was really cute, except I think the wings must have annoyed her cause she didn't wear them. She actually didn't want to dress up this year, but I think hearing how much fun her cousin had at a costume party made her change her mind.

What else?

Ahh... Cowboy game. Did anyone watch? Oh my gosh, it was, in all honesty, one of the worst games I have ever seen that team play. Ever. It was horrible. Thank goodness next week is their bye week.

I think that's it. Don't forget to go VOTE tomorrow! Like Craig Ferguson says, "If you don't vote, you're a MORON!!"

Holy CRAP!

2008-10-28T19:39:00.002-05:00

Someone really should have told me Tae Kwon Do was going to break me financially. We've only been there a month- HOLY CRAP it costs a lot of money. You'd think tuition and uniform expenses would get us by, but no...

Sparring gear- $90 x 2 (paid yesterday)
Tournament- $65 x 2 (due Thursday)
Hotel for tournament weekend- $200
Food and gas + extras in San Antonio tournament weekend- ???
Grading- $55 x 2 (due 4 days after the tournament)

HOLY CRAP!

It's a good thing they look so cute in those damn expensive uniforms.

They look like-

2008-10-09T19:43:00.003-05:00

Yeah... I shamelessly stole it from my cousin's blog.

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Descendents - Pedigree

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Going Political

2008-09-25T08:42:00.001-05:00

I really love politics. I try to keep it out of my blog because I get pretty passionate about it, but sometimes I just can't help myself. This is one of those times.

PLOY- noun
1. a maneuver or stratagem, as in conversation, to gain the advantage.

You might have heard on the news yesterday that in light of our economic emergency, John McCain has suspended his presidential campaign. He's pulling all advertisement, etc...

John McCain has missed 412 votes (64.1%) during the current Congress

I find it difficult to believe that on the same day that ABC/WP came out with a poll showing Obama leading by 14 points, that he's suddenly going to be enlightened on what his job is.

And while we're at it, let's talk about the effects of suspending a presidential campaign. How many MILLIONS of dollars are pumped into the economy through these campaigns? Between advertisements, security, hotel expenses, fuel for buses, food, etc... for the campaigners and the press! Seriously! When the country is in an economic crisis, why would you STOP pumping money into the system?? I'm serious!

Could it be, perhaps, that we're talking about a man who, admittedly, doesn't know squat about economics? He said so himself- "The issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should," McCain said. "I've got Greenspan's book."

Or could it just be that this is all a "I'm-more-patriotic-than-you-are" PLOY?

He's asked the Obama campaign to cancel the debate Friday night. What a bunch of B.S. Like that 2 hours is going to be the make or break on the economy. Give me a break! The University of Mississippi at Oxford has already spent $5 million for this debate (more money pumped into the economy). I think it's really shitty to be a no show.

Oh yeah, and while he's at it, he also wants to postpone the VP debate!

OH MY GOD, are you for real?!

Look, the fact is, the Republicans picked a piss-poor candidate this time around. And he picked a piss-poor running mate, which was just another ploy. There were many, MANY more qualified candidates that would have helped the Republican ticket.

I'll be glad when this election is over. There are so many things about it that just feel surreal.

Gamer

2008-09-23T20:52:00.000-05:00

Yesterday after school I had to run to Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, I had to take the kids with me. I HATE taking them to the store with me. HATE IT! It always leads to me spending more money. Yesterday it was on magazines. We actually went down the magazine aisle because their school is doing this thing called "Treats for Troops", which is a program where you make donations of items to be sent to our soldiers over seas. I thought maybe a Sports Illustrated would be appreciated. Well, of course the keep all the kids magazines on the bottom shelf, so I had to listen to "Mom! They've got the new issue of Bop!" "Mom! Check out the (TEN DOLLAR) Playstation magazine!" "Mom! Look it's got Miley on the cover!" "Mom! Check out the new game that's coming out!" "Mom..." "Mom..." "Mom..."

OH MY GOD PICK ONE!

Christine settled for American Girl. Cameron picked up Nintendo Power (cause Mom may be a sucker, but she's a cheap sucker and she ain't paying TEN DOLLARS for a magazine).

Anyway, Cam has been carrying his magazine around with him everywhere ever since we got in the car yesterday with it. He even snuck it into his backpack and it went to school with him. Well, a little while ago, he was sitting next to me reading it for the hundredth (or so) time. And I mean, really reading each and every single word on each page. All of the sudden I hear-

"I'm a GAMER. DUH. Of course I want a new game."

It came out of nowhere. He was totally silent reading it until then. Apparently, there was a contest or something for a Wario game.

Kids, gotta love 'em.

Funniest SNL Skit EVER

2008-09-23T10:59:00.001-05:00

Silly Wand Waving

2008-09-21T15:12:00.001-05:00

Your result for The Harry Potter Wand Test...

9", Willow, Phoenix

You scored 47 wisdom, 11 bravery, 26 emotional, and 28 martyrdom!

A willow wand signifies that you care deeply about emotions, art, and intuition, and that you have a particular knack for charms. The phoenix tail feather as your core means that you have the capability to be an extremely powerful wizard or witch and that you will defend those you love at all costs.

Take The Harry Potter Wand Test at HelloQuizzy

Disgusting

2008-09-20T09:50:00.002-05:00

So last night we went to Homecoming at the kids' old school. Christine has been missing her friends so much, and I knew many of the girls would be there, so she and I went. Since the school is so small (about 200 students from Pre-K to 12th), there's not a whole lot of cheerleaders. So they supplement by having a group of elementary girls cheer. When Christine was in Pre-K, their uniforms were actually very cute little cheerleading outfits. Over the years, it's changed to a uniform t-shirt and skorts. So last night when we went, Christine wore her shirt from last year. The group sits in a specific place in the stands, so we sat in the row of stands right next to them, separated by the stairs. So Christine was just across the aisle from several of her former classmates. Which was fine. They got a lot of catching up done. Anyway, I made a comment to the friend I sat by, that I wished she could just sit WITH the group, since she matched and everything, and knew all the cheers. Well, my friend got up to ask the person in charge of the group, who said no. But you won't believe the reason for it. Are you ready for this? There was a student whose parent's couldn't afford the uniform and they would not allow HER to sit with the group. Okay, first of all, these girls are all between the ages of 3 and 10. Are you seriously going to ban a little kid from sitting with the group because her parents can't afford the uniform? You want to keep her off the field when the group cheers because she doesn't match, fine, I can understand that. But to not even allow her to sit with the group in the stands? Secondly, does someone want to explain to me what fundraisers are for? Why could the school not have covered the cost of a t-shirt for her? Or the athletics department? Or the Superintendent? Or any number of employees who make WAY more than they should for what they're doing at that school. We're talking $20 max. Not like a high school cheerleader's expenses. I mean, it's just so beyond ridiculous.

So I told my husband about it when I got home- or TRIED to. I was getting upset over it (how could they DO that to a LITTLE KID?!), and he says "Why are you getting so upset? Our kids don't go there for a reason. It's not up to you to save everyone else's kids."

Well... fine, but I'm still not happy about it.

Moron Drivers

2008-09-19T11:10:00.002-05:00

Nothing, and I mean nothing pisses me off more than people who can't drive (well... except maybe people who DRINK and drive).

I hate to drive. Unfortunately, I don't have a horse and wagon, so unless I plan to walk the 18 miles to college, I have to drive.

So what, you may be asking yourself, prompted me to head this entry with the word "moron"? Well, this morning I was on the way home from taking the kids to school. I'm cruising down the two-lane state highway at about 68 mph, radio blaring and me singing to the song (Bon Jovi, for those who were wondering) and this stupid fricking MORON pulls out halfway into my lane. I guess he was planning to cross my lane and go the other direction, but apparently, I was invisible this morning.

When you're driving at about 68 mph and someone pulls out in front of you, instinct really takes over. You don't have time to think about your limited options. My instinct was to swerve into the other lane of oncoming traffic. If I had slammed on my brakes, I never would have stopped in time.

So here's what I'm thankful for today-
I'm thankful I was paying attention.
I'm thankful no one was in the on-coming traffic lane.
I'm thankful I don't drive an S.U.V. prone to flipping.
I'm thankful my kids weren't with me to share in the terrifying experience.
I'm thankful my kids weren't with me to see (and hear) my angry reaction.
I'm thankful I have a car horn and a middle finger which both work extraordinarily well.
I'm thankful I just kept driving instead of following my instinct, which was to turn around and pull the dumbass out of the car and beat the ever-living sh!t out of him.

I'm thankful I didn't throw up in the car- although it was a close thing (adrenaline rush you know).

This is the reason I live every day like it's my last. Life is just too short. My mom made a comment to me last week about watching football being a "waste of time". Well, that's what I enjoy, and you should enjoy life every day, because you never know when it's going to be your last because some MORON doesn't pay attention when they drive. Everything can change in a split second.

How 'bout them Cowboys!

2008-09-16T08:12:00.001-05:00

What a GAME!

Best play of the night- click HERE

Had me HOWLING with laughter. And I do mean HOWLING.

Go COWBOYS!

Sunday After

2008-09-14T11:52:00.000-05:00

Well, our house is still standing after Ike. Fortunately for us, it took a track further East, so we got some wind, but barely any rain at all. The coast got hammered though. We didn't hear from 2 of my uncles until this morning. Still have no idea about my grandma's brother or on of my husband's aunts. I'm sure they're all fine, but with the phone lines down, it may be awhile before we hear anything. Houston looks like a bomb went off downtown. Holy crap. Galveston... what can you say? The 140,000 people who stayed are lucky to be alive, as it does seem right now that the majority of them made it through. Lucky. What a bunch of morons. I'm sorry, but that ticks me off that so many people stayed when they were issued a MANDATORY evacuation order. I don't think anyone should be risking their lives to rescue people who ignored the order to leave.

On to a lighter subject, it's week 2 of football season. I'm going to throw out my picks-
Packers over Lions
Bengals over Titans
Bills over Jaguars
Chiefs over Raiders
Colts over Vikings
Bears over Panthers
Giants over Rams
Saints over Redskins
Falcons over Buccaneers
Seahawks over 49ers
Jets over Patriots
Chargers over Broncos
Cardinals over Dolphins
Steelers over Browns

And lastly for Monday Night Football- Cowboys over Eagles. Duh... like I would pick anyone else against the Cowboys.

Ike Sunrise

2008-09-12T08:48:00.001-05:00

I woke up this morning to this-

It's the first clouds from Hurricane Ike. I'm starting to move into panic mode. We've been put under an "Inland Tropical Storm Warning" beginning in the middle of the night. The kids are getting out of school early today, because the schools are going to be used as staging areas for emergency responders and utilty companies. I would probably feel a lot better if we didn't live in a mobile home... on a hill...

Did I mention we live in a mobile home on a hill? And we have a hurricane headed our way? Have you SEEN Ike? This thing is a monster storm. It's going to devastate a huge portion of Texas. I'm not sure I'll want to watch the news on Sunday morning. If I still have electricity.

If I still have a house.

Classy

2008-09-11T20:58:00.002-05:00

Now that's what I'm talking about. Just another reason to like TONY ROMO. I just love him. An awesome quarterback and a great person off the field too. He is SO classy! $67.5 million contract, but he's not too good to stop and help someone change a tire. Seriously- so classy.

Randomness

2008-09-11T08:40:00.000-05:00

I'm not going to discuss 9-11 today. I, like many other Americans, still have PTSD over 9-11, and I just can't think or talk about it without it causing serious emotional issues. I've avoiding the news today. It helps that I'm at school, but I usually spend my free time watching news clips and such since the internet here is wireless. Today I'm on hulu.com watching old tv shows. Right now, I'm watching Buck Rogers! Gosh, it's been ages since I've seen this show. It's fun to go back and see the technology back then.

So, has anyone seen the weather recently? I live near Waco, and Ike is headed our way. The eye is probably going to move right over us- if there still is one by the time it gets up here. They're forecasting that it will still be a tropical storm. I'm a wee tiny teeny bit, err... extremely concerned about it.

Mobile home + on a hill + tropical storm = disaster. The house IS insured, but only for the value of what we owe. So if we lose it, it's not going to be a good situation. Everyone cross your fingers for us (or say a prayer or send good vibes)!

School is going pretty good. Christine is having a hard time because she misses her friends, but, I think she's having a hard time with her age. I fully expect her to start her period any day now. She's psychotic lately- cries about every little stupid thing that upsets her. I swear, I will either move out or have a stroke before she's 18. I know one of us isn't going to make it, and I'm pretty sure it's me. I'm so glad I only had one daughter.

Two Weeks

2008-09-07T21:29:00.000-05:00

Well, we've all survived the first two weeks of school.

I moved the kids to a new school district. They started on the 26th, which was my daughter's 10th birthday. They're now on different campuses for the first time ever, and that's a really weird difference for us all. When I dropped her off on the first day, I cried. I haven't cried about dropping them off for school since she went to Pre-K! I was just SO emotional over it! I don't know if it was because it was her birthday (OMG, she's 10!) or because of the new (much bigger) school or because she asked me to walk her in and that's probably the last time that will ever happen.

Cam has adjusted fantastically. He had his 8th birthday this past Wednesday. Gosh, it's so hard to believe he's half-way to driving. Kinda scary too. Christine has had a harder time, because of the loss of friends. Cam had friends too, but not close ones like Christine. Even though she knows several girls in her classes (thanks to softball), it's been a tough adjustment. Plus 10 is just a tough age anyways. Anyone out there remember 5th grade? OMG, I do. Talk about misery. That's when misery starts. Instead of being nit-picky, that's when girls really start becoming little vindictive bitches. I think if I were forced to go back to childhood, I'd just kill myself. UGH.

I finally got my pell. My teacher went to the fin. aid director and gave her what for. So far, all my intern and class time has been installing programs, but I'm not complaining, because they are kick ass film editing programs that I really wish I had! I'm going to have an awesome time playing with them :-) The other day I was annoying everyone by messing with the sound effects. It was fun.

And finally, football season has started! Ahhhhh.... my favorite time of the year! I'm so happy to have had a football fix today. Preseason was fun and all, but it's just not the same (9 hours of football and counting- go Bears!). And the Cowboys kicked some ass, which just added to my joviality. Sweet, sweet autumn.

Pissy Mood

2008-08-25T22:21:00.003-05:00

I am in a pissy mood.

School starts tomorrow for me & the kids. I'm going round and round with the people in financial aid. Actually I'm going round and round and I feel like it's by myself. Okay, so here's what happened. I'm a big fuck up. There. I said it. No need to lie and make me feel better. I screwed up because I wanted to do something with my life and then I changed my mind... OKAY, a FEW times. It's not a crime. It does screw with your financial aid though. See what happened was- when I first got out of high school, I wanted to be in the Peace Corps (HA, bet ya'll didn't know THAT about me, did you?). So I took mostly Ag classes that first semester. Unfortunately, I took them at a wannabe college where the Ag teacher was also the Rodeo sponsor, and every stinkin' class always turned into "this weekend at the rodeo...". I was the ONLY student in the classes NOT in rodeo. I finally just quit going to class, which of course led to failing.

So the next semester, I decided to change my major to music and teach music. You know, being in choir since age 7 has its benefits. But, you know when you're 18/19 and you have the whole world in front of you, you sometimes don't take school seriously. Take a lesson young people. Finish college before you get out into the world and have real responsibilities. You'll thank yourself for it later.

Okay, so a few years passed, I met my husband, we got married and had kids and I stayed home for a while. Then I decided that nursing would be a good field to go into. I have that "gotta help people" mentality. So I took a semester of basics to get back into the groove, and made Dean's List. Then I started nursing school- and then I failed out of nursing school.

So then I decided to change my major to education, specifically special ed. So I took classes for a year, and then discovered that I had been enrolled in the wrong degree plan. I was enrolled in early childhood, not teaching. Early childhood as in, daycare worker. And even though the classes were EXACTLY the same (i.e. "Family and Community"), the codes were different. CDEC vs. TECA. CDEC 1303 Family & Community same as TECA 1303 Family & Community, but because of the stupid CODING, I had taken a year of classes I would have to take over. So I though f- that! I changed colleges so that I could just finish the CDEC plan online since the college I was going to was 45 minutes away, with gas prices going ever higher.

Well, that didn't work out. I'm not disciplined enough to do a class online. I admit that. I'm not. I need to be in front of people where I get humiliated if I didn't bring my homework.

So I had to change my plan again, which is what I'm on now.

Here's the great thing, my teachers in my major like me so much and believe in me so much, I've been asked to intern this semester. As in, have a key to the lab and do projects for the faculty INTERN. It's a HUGE thing. But in order to do it, I have to be on a pell grant. Which I'm poor enough to qualify for, BUT because I have so many college credits, they are saying I don't qualify.

So last week, I filled out an appeal (please please PLEASE, just give me $50 and call it a Pell Grant! I have a scholarship that will pay for everything else.), and I submitted it on Friday.

The lady said when I handed it to her that she had 3 or 4 in front of me, so she would call me.

Friday I heard nothing. So I called about 5:30 thinking I would get her voicemail. But she answered and told me she was working on them. Didn't hear anything all weekend. Didn't hear anything this morning. So around noon, I emailed her, and told her I knew she was very busy and that I just wanted to touch base with her to make sure she didn't need to me fill out any other paperwork. No reply.

Now I'm starting to get irritated. I'm not a patient person, and I sure don't want to nag her, but come ON. You can at least tell me if you haven't made a decision or something. Throw the bitch a bone!

Well, at 4 I was getting ready to go to town, so I CALLED. Her voice mail didn't pick up, instead it went to the switchboard. So I asked the lady to send me to her voice mail. Twice it went back to her, so I just gave her my info and asked her to have the lady call me.

Well, it's almost 11 pm, and NO ONE has called me.

I'm not happy. I mean, if the answer is no, just say so. Have someone else call and say so. Classes started today and I still have no idea what the hell is going on with my bill. I'm not too happy about it.

What did you expect, I'm a Pisces after all!

2008-08-25T21:23:00.002-05:00

Your result for The Perception Personality Image Test...

NBPC - The Daydreamer

Nature, Background, Big Picture, and Color

You perceive the world with particular attention to nature. You focus on the hidden treasures of life (the background) and how that fits into the larger picture. You are also particularly drawn towards the colors around you. Because of the value you place on nature, you tend to find comfort in more subdued settings and find energy in solitude. You like to ponder ideas and imagine the many possibilities of your life without worrying about the details or specifics. You are in tune with all that is around you and understand your life as part of a larger whole. You are a down-to-earth person who enjoys going with the flow.

The Perception Personality Types:

Take The Perception Personality Image Test at HelloQuizzy

Compared to other takers

95/100 You scored 14 on HumanityToNature, higher than 95% of your peers.

Update post

2008-08-19T08:26:00.002-05:00

Okay, so it's been ages since I posted. I've been pretty busy with political blogging & stuff. Big election coming up, you know.

Anyhow, the kids start school next week. I moved them to a different district this year. We have Cam's meet the teacher night tonight. It should be an interesting year. Christine is going to be in honors classes, which I am really thrilled about! I know she's going to have a great year!

I'm supposed to be starting next week too. Unfortunately, it looks like that may not happen. My scholarship hasn't come through yet, and they say that because I have so many hours total, they won't give me a pell grant this year. So that stinks.

The good news is, FOOTBALL is here! I didn't think football season would ever get here! I've already annoyed the sh!t out of my husband with this bear that I got for Christmas last year. It's a bulldog dressed up like a Cowboy player, and you press the button on his foot and he plays a song and does a little touchdown dance. So every time we score, I push the button and annoy him. It was great present! Ha ha ha!

Have you been watching the Olympics? Of course they haven't been showing the USA Softball team, but they are kicking some international ass! So far they are undefeated. Our gymnastics girls have done very well, but I think they've been screwed twice. Well, three times really, because you KNOW there is no way in hell all those Chinese girls are old enough. What a crock. And then the whole thing with Nastia and the Chinese girl tying, and Nastia getting the silver and the Chinese getting the gold. That was just wrong.

Anyway, Christine is having a birthday next week. My little girl is turning 10. A few weeks ago, I had to get her a bra. She really needs to stop growing up so fast! We decided instead of birthday parties (since Cam's birthday is NEXT week), we're going to take them to the Great Wolf Lodge. This past weekend, we went to check it out, since it was tax free weekend here in Texas and I was out spending money like I had it to spend with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law... Anyway, we had gone to Grapevine Mills Mall to have lunch at the Rainforest Cafe and the Great Wolf was right down the road, so we decided to take a look- and were all very impressed. Not sure yet when we're going, but I'm excited about it.

The weather around here has been great. It was scorching hot for a while, and our electric bill has suffered for it, but last week it cooled down to the upper 80s and then it started raining. I'm sure it will get hot again before Fall really sets in, but right now it FEELS like summer is winding down, which is wonderful! I hate summer!

Well, I think I'm finally caught up. Hopefully I'll get time to blog more often again.

A New Low

2008-07-12T11:03:00.000-05:00

I hit a new low this morning. Remember a few months back when I was coaching and my husband made the comment about me holding our daughter back, because she was on my team (the sucky team)? Well, if I hadn't coached, she would have been on the team that went undefeated. Of course, I didn't know that when I signed up. I knew the other guy was coaching, but I couldn't guarantee that she would get on his team. If I could have guaranteed it, I wouldn't have signed up to coach.

Anyway, long story short, the undefeated team went to district playoffs (of course), and my daughter didn't get picked up- which kinda pissed me off because the coach told me she was on his short list of players he was looking at, but then he decided to only take 2 players, instead of the 3 he could have taken.

Well, I read this morning that they won in the playoffs, so now they are going to state. I feel really horrible. I'm so upset, I'm sick to my stomach. Last summer, my niece went to playoffs, and her team actually WON the state title. I so wanted that for my daughter this year, because it was such a once-in-a-lifetime experience for my niece.

So I guess it's true. I held her back. I really just feel horrible.

Good news

2008-07-01T18:10:00.000-05:00

I got some good news today. I'm going to get an $800 scholarship for the Fall semester! I was feeling pretty down, because due to having to drop Statistics and failing Programming, I was suspended from Financial Aid. But today I took my appeal paperwork in, and my 3-D teacher was in the classroom. I took the kids in so they could see where I went to class and all the things I talked about, and while there, I told my teacher about my problem with financial aid. She told me the computer school was getting scholarship money and she guaranteed me $800 right then. If my Pell falls through, I'll still be able to take 3 or 4 classes now! And then she said she would email the person in charge of the financial aid appeal and ask them to approve it, so there's a good chance with a teacher's input, that my appeal will go through and I'll get the aid I need. I've signed up for 6 classes this Fall, so it would totally rock if I could squeeze them all in! I'm still working it so I can graduate in May.

Something to Get Your Blood Pumping

2008-05-28T10:55:00.000-05:00

Okay, well it got MY blood pressure up. I read this over the weekend, and understand that CBS ran the story yesterday morning on their morning program.

"Wednesday afternoon when his mother Melissa Barton picked the boy up from school Alex stated, with tears in his eyes, that 14 classmates voted him out of the class. His mother sought further information from Alex’s kindergarten teacher. It is alleged that Wendy Portillo, his teacher, admitted that she had in fact stood Alex up in front of his kindergarten peers and asked them in turn, one by one, to tell him why they do not like him. It is further alleged that as Alex stood in the center of the class, his teacher asked each child to point out something he is or does that they do not like about him and vote if he is worthy enough to stay in the class. 14 children voted that Alex, the Autistic boy be removed from the class.

The teacher then allegedly asked the boy where he would go now that the class doesn’t like him the boy replied, “to the office?” the teacher returned with “they do not want you there” then the 5 year old said “home” the teacher said your mom is at work you can’t go home. He finally said that he would go to the nurse and the teacher sent him out of the classroom to the office where he stayed for the remainder of the day."

Well, I don't know about you, but this completely INFURIATES me. I mean, I am FURIOUS. Take out the Asperger part, and we're talking about a FIVE YEAR OLD CHILD. This is not Survivor. These are little children that should be learning their ABC's and figuring out how to tie their shoes, not learning the most malicious way to bully a classmate. Add the fact that he has Asperger's, and it just makes it 10 times worse. These children have a hard enough time fitting in. It really pisses me off. That teacher should be FIRED. F-I-R-E-D fired.

I can tell you this too, if any teacher did something like that to MY child, you can forget any discipline she might receive from a school board- I'd be meeting the bitch in the parking lot after school.

http://69.89.31.226/~treasuv0/wordpress/?p=75

It's over

2008-05-08T07:34:00.000-05:00

Spring semester, I mean. Thank goodness! I REALLY need to break! And I'll have a few weeks of peace at home alone during the day until the kids get out of school. I hope I can motivate myself to get some serious housework done! I'm not the best housekeeper anyways, and the house has REALLY suffered with the way my schedule has been. Of course, it probably wouldn't be so bad if someone had helped me throughout the semester like they said they would if I went to school. Don't get me started there. We just celebrated our 10 year anniversary, but there ain't going to be an 11 if someone doesn't change their shitty attitude, and I'm not talking about me!

ANYWAY... My last grade was finally posted this morning and I came out with 4 A's & an F (Programming). Sucks. 3.25 GPA- I missed the Dean's List by a quarter of a point. I'm scheduled for 3 classes this summer, but they don't start until summer 2 (July), so I really do have a little break. Then I have 6 classes this fall. I'm looking forward to finishing. All the talk of graduation ceremonies these days has me imagining MINE, and it's a really exciting thought!

I Feel Defeated

2008-05-05T18:29:00.000-05:00

~Sigh~

Softball is not going well.

I have 10 girls, 4 of whom have never played until this year. One of them is a total natural, one of them is working hard and really good, and the other two are working at it. Then I have 6 who are veterans. Three of them have sucky attitudes. Parents of 2 of those 6 have sucky attitudes (one of them was overheard tonight saying that she felt like she wasted her money because "we don't have any coaches".)

Well, excuse me, but it's my first time to coach, and my team really isn't that much worse than the team that creamed us tonight. The difference is, there team's girls always show up to practice and work hard, while my team whines and complains, IF they show up. I don't know how they are supposed to learn to play as a team if they don't come to practice.

Anyway, AFTER the game, when the girls were supposed to be telling the other team "good game", my girls apparently decided to be little bitches (not my daughter though, cause she KNOWS if I caught her, she'd get in some BIG trouble). Anyway, one of my girls allegedly hit one of their girls in the stomach, AND several of my girls were calling them cheaters, instead of telling them "good game".

To say that I am embarrassed is putting it mildly. To be honest, I wanted to just quit. I still feel that way. Having a good cry helped. That kind of behavior is bad enough, but it's made all the worse because I'm friends with the other coach. My hubby has been trying to pick me up. I think it finally dawned on him how hurtful is comment was that day, because while I was having my cry, I said I should have listened to him, and then Christine wouldn't be on a team that sucked.
~sigh~

To add insult to injury, I failed my Programming class.

A Decade

2008-05-03T19:34:00.000-05:00

I just got home from celebrating my wedding anniversary. Today, my husband and I celebrated 10 years of wedded bliss. HA! Hardly bliss. But we did celebrate being married for a decade (DAMN, when you say it like that it makes you feel old!). He wanted to take me somewhere for the weekend, but just like everyone else, money is stretched tight right now. So instead, we went to the restaurant where we had our first date. It was nice just to do something without the kids. I love the kids, but mommy needs some adult time sometimes too. LOL

Hopefully after we get our stimulous check, we'll be able to go away for the weekend, just the two of us.

The End of The Spring Semester

2008-05-02T14:20:00.000-05:00

So the good news is, Tuesday is my last day of the Spring semester. Thank GOD. Since I dropped Statistics, the Programming class has taken it's place in kicking my ass. If I can eeek out a C, with all my other grades, I will make the Dean's List! Everyone cross your fingers for me. If I can miraculously make an A, I'll be on the President's List, but that really will take a miracle. I'll settle for Dean's List THIS time.

In the News

2008-04-29T14:58:00.000-05:00

31 of 53 teen girls at FLDS ranch are pregnant or had baby

Sick. Sick, sick, sick. Sick.

The entire situation disgusts me. I feel so sorry for all those children. And I feel sorry for the mothers who have lost their children. It sickens me when I hear people tell stories of the FLDS. They are so brainwashed, and the ones who have done the brainwashing are just sick individuals. And they honestly think they have done nothing wrong.

Plus, it just pisses me off when people use God as an excuse for their behavior.

Sick.

DA: Wis. parents who prayed as daughter died to face charges

Wow. Did anyone ever think that maybe God made people smart enough to be doctors so that other people could get medical attention?

BP and Shell post big profits in era of record oil prices

Oh gee, I'm so surprised. F'kers

And while we're on the subject of fuel-

Oil drops as demand falls amid supply growth expectations

Think fuel prices are going to drop? Oh hell no they are not. Are you kidding? The oil companies are laughing all the way to the bank. Gas could be $2/gallon and they would still make a profit. They use supply & demand and the falling dollar value as an excuse to raise prices. And we just live with it, because as we all know, we HAVE to have fuel to go to work, school, the grocery store, etc... And the oil companies know it too. Think the government taking away the gas tax is going to help you? Guess what- no it won't. You may pay less per gallon for a while, but the roads will suffer for it, and the oil companies are going to be making the same profit. How about making the oil companies give up all their little benefits, like tax breaks. I'm sure that would be fine with them- they'll just charge us more to make up for it. The only solution is to stop driving- not very realistic.

Katie Couric's ratings still sinking

This doesn't surprise me. She's not very personable. She's stiff. And ever since she got that brow lift or whatever it was she did- she looks kinda creepy.

Heated campaign souring Democrats on rival candidatesWell, I know how I feel. I've never liked Hillary Clinton, but I really hate her now. I mean I feel nothing but contempt. Vicious contempt completely out of my character. I want bad things to happen to her. I hate her. I don't think I've ever hated anyone like I hate Hillary Clinton. She's such a two faced liar, and WHY the main stream media says NOTHING about her very UGLY past, I do NOT know!!! I guess the race issue is more fun for them to stir. They're f'kers too.

Exit polls: Whites, blue-collar voters stuck with Clinton

This is such a disappointment to me. Not about people voting for Hillary. I mean, that in and of itself is a disappointment. People really can be SO stupid (no offense to anyone out there who actually voted for the bitch).

I'm disappointed about the entire race issue. Whites voting for white, blacks voting for black. Maybe I'm just naive, or idealistic, but I really thought we were beyond this b.s. We're talking about the color of a person's SKIN for God's sake. Guess what people? The color of your skin doesn't make you better than someone else. And it doesn't make one candidate better than another. A person's character and integrity is what makes them worth voting for. Not their skin color. Not their gender. It sickens me that people actually think of these things when deciding who to, or not to, vote for. Do you not realize that we all bleed red?

/Anne off soapbox

Seasons

2008-04-28T06:08:00.000-05:00

I hate spring. I really and truly HATE spring. I don't care about all the baby animals being born or the green growing on the trees, and whatever. All that stuff growing just means that my allergies are about to go nuts and make me miserable.

I really hate spring because of the weather.

I've been asked at least a dozen times why in the world I would choose to live in Texas, since I am so tornado-phobic (by the way, for all you trivia buffs out there, the term for that is 'lilapsophobia').

Well, I was born in Dallas, and have never lived in any other state. My entire family lives in Texas, except some of my grandmother's siblings and their families that live in Maine, where my grandmother came from. My husband's entire family lives in this state, except for one sister. It seems stupid to move far away to a state less likely to have violent spring weather. I love my family, and my kids are close to both sides of the family, and I really can't take them away, just because I can't handle the weather. And it wouldn't really calm my nerves any, because I'd still be online keeping up with the weather and calling my family members like I do now. My sister says that I'm her personal meteorologist- I always know what is going on with the weather. And I am a natural worrier- if someone I know is potentially in the path of a storm, I'm on the phone letting them know. That's just who am I and what I do. I can't control the weather, but I can control everyone's awareness of it!

I've joked for years about moving out of Texas. The summers are killer hot, the springs are insane, and fall and winter are pretty short. I've joked about it, but I'm beginning to get serious about it. I would hate to live far from all our family, and I really have a hard time imagining us living anywhere else. But my nerves are shot, and I really don't see how I can live the rest of my life like this. It gets worse every year, too.

THIS year, I have a dreadful feeling that summer is going to be worse than usual. It's just something in the way the air feels. Most days, it already feels like June, except today, which it was 40-something degrees when I gotup this morning and I had to turn on the heater!

The spring weather has been more erratic than I can ever remember it being. Every few days, the area is getting hammered by violent weather. Tornadoes, huge hail, and dangerous lightning and strong winds. Saturday night we had a storm roll through and lightning hit our power line. My computer hasn't been working right ever since, and I'm sure that's the reason. So far, it still does everything, but when you turn it on, it doesn't boot right. I guess I'm going to have to take it to my computer guy and have it fixed. I need an upgrade anyways. Oh well, I guess it was yet another night when it could have been worse- my new mantra.

Welcome to Spring

2008-04-24T17:06:00.000-05:00

Okay, so we had a wild night last night. It started with a 20% chance of storms. Then the first wave went through just north of us. I got several AWESOME lightning pictures. Everyone keeps telling me to send the best one to the news, but I'm selfishly keeping it to myself, because I'm scared someone will steal it from me. It's an amazing shot. I can't believe I got it.

And then the SECOND wave came though. I don't know if it was straight line winds, a tornado, or a downburst, but whatever it was, it got us. Our storage barn is a total loss.

The amazing thing is the fact that a hunk of it hit our house, and we sustained little damage. In looking at the damage this morning, we discovered something even more amazing. Christine's room is the end of the house that got hit. Only a few days ago, my husband moved Christine's bed so that it sits lengthwise next to her windows. Her screen closest to where her head was, has about a 5 inch split in it that was caused by flying debris- her window though, has no damage at all!
Yes, it stinks that we lost the barn, and if it can be fixed, it's going to cost a fortune. But it could have been SO much worse. We are so blessed, and so thankful that nothing went through that window!

Winding Down

2008-04-23T17:12:00.000-05:00

The semester is winding down, finally! I've spent more wasted time in classrooms this semester than ever before! But something good came out of it yesterday.My advisor- the person who sits down with me and looks at my degree plan and then tells me what classes I need to do- is also my 3-D animation teacher. Anyway, we sat down yesterday to work our schedules for the fall. She showed us 2 new degree plans that the college is offering starting this fall, and I changed mine again- ha ha! I'm going to be known as the girl who changes degree plans all the time. HA HA HA!!! Well, you guys know I was really looking forward do the animation class, and it turns out that I hate it, but I love everything else. Anyway, it doesn't really change anything as far as how long I am in school because everything I took this semester is on my new degree plan too. Instead of my major being AAS Computer Science with Specialization in Graphics/Animation, it's going to be AAS Computer Science Multimedia. Which leads me to what happened next. Since it's a smaller school, these specialized classes don't always make because they don't have enough people sign up for them. So what they've started doing is lumping the classes together. THIS semester, there were 2 classes on my degree plan that were on the same days at the same time, followed by 3 classes that were the same way. Well, she said that I could only sign up for one at a time, so instead of getting 5 classes out of the way in one semester, I only was able to do 2 in that time block. Well, after spending most of the semester just showing up and playing on the internet since I already knew what was going on, she felt like I could handle a load. So I'll be taking 5 classes all in one time block- of which all of them sound like great fun! Intro to Multimedia, Digital Video 2, Digital Sound, Intro to Cinematic Processing, and Editing Layout. And then I'll also be taking Web Design, which I already know how to do and I can actually test out of and get the credit, but the teacher that is teaching it told me to stay in it and make an easy A. I showed him my homepage web site and my mom's ranch web site that I did and he said that's exactly what the class does, and I've already passed it! HA HA! So then my advisor says (and this is the really exciting part)- she wants me to be an intern for her in the fall! She said I'll even have my own key to the computer lab and video lab, and I'll be doing projects for the faculty and helping her. I am SOOOO excited about this! It could very well lead to me actually teaching by NEXT fall.

Victory is MINE!

2008-04-15T16:40:00.000-05:00

MWAH-HA-HA-HA!

Yes, I know I said that winning isn't what's important, and that's TRUE, but it sure felt good last night when we spanked the team we were up against. And then today I found out that they beat the team we're up against on Monday, so I have good feelings... good, good feelings.

When we got home from the game, I said "We won". He said "How does it feel?" I told him we have a lot of work to do, to which he asked me if I could enjoy our win for at least 24 hours. This coming from the same person who only days ago... well, I won't bring that up.

As a coach, it was really great to get our team's first win. My girls made some really good plays. But they made some really big errors too, and we were lucky that the other team just played poorly. And by the time I got home, I was already planning in my head what drills we need to work on at practice today. So yes, I did enjoy the win, and I had a great time calling people and telling them "WE WON!"

But we've got 9 games and a tournament to go. Time to dig in and really work for it.

My ankle was killing me this morning

Holding her back

2008-04-14T10:24:00.000-05:00

I think my husband was having his period this weekend. Saturday we (my daughter and I) had a softball game. My husband tells me that he doesn't want to go to the games because it upsets him when he has to listen to the parents. I can understand that. I know he gets upset listening to the other parents jeer or make fun when our batters are up, and it's worse this year because I'm the head coach, so he'd have to listen to the jeers about me too. So I'm fine with him not coming. I think it's rude to not come watch his daughter play ball, but whatever. He's the one who will regret it one day. Anyway, so we get home from the game, and of course we got smeared.

Okay, I just have to pause here and say this was our second game, and we lost the first one too, but BARELY. And this team that we played Saturday is the "elite", and I knew that going in. The coach has coached for several years and happens to be a friend of mine. He coached my daughter two years ago. Of the girls on his team, HALF of them have been on the same team for the last 3 seasons. ALL of his girls have played at least one year of softball, and ALL BUT ONE played in this age group last year, which is the age group that is start of the girls pitching, and that's a LOT different than when the coaches pitch. Okay, so on MY team, in my FIRST year to coach, I have FOUR girls who have never played softball at all and I have NONE who have played in this age group before- the 6 that played last year were all in the coach pitch division. So hmm... I wonder whose team is going to win when these two teams play against each other?

So I get home and sit in my chair and sigh and say that we lost and they creamed us. I tell him how the coach of the other team told me that he didn't know how I put up with some of my parents (I have a few who are really mouthy). I just tune them out. Anyway, my husband gets more upset than me. I'm like, what is your problem? And he says he doesn't like me coaching. Well, we had had this discussion before I signed up, and I'm glad that I did sign up, because I really love it. So I ask him why he doesn't like me coaching, and he responds that I am HOLDING OUR DAUGHTER BACK. I'm like, excuse me? "Yeah," he says, "she had a chance to be on a team that doesn't suck, but you had to sign up to coach."

Come again?

Did you just insult my team, insult my coaching AND insult my parenting all in one breath? Are you KIDDING me?

Let me tell you, it was a long, quiet weekend after that. I didn't speak to him again for the rest of the weekend unless it was absolutely necessary. Butthole.

2008-04-14T10:11:00.000-05:00

It's broke, I tell ya!

2008-04-10T20:25:00.000-05:00

So I came home from school early today, because my teacher hurt her back, so she let us go. That was fine with me- I wanted to come home and take a nap, because thanks to some spring storms, I was up most of the night. Well, when I went to leave to go get the kids from the neighbor, I hurt myself. I was going down my porch steps and when I got to the ground, my left ankle just folded in on me. My right knee scraped the rocks, and my 4 dogs all came running to me like they could help. I was completely alone and doing my best to just not scream. I was thankful my cell phone was in my pocket. So I called my friend and asked her if she could bring the kids home and I told her what I did. I said if I was still laying on the ground when she got there, it was probably because I broke it. Then I called my husband who was at work and 20 minutes away, then my mom, who lives 2 miles from me and happened to be home and in a position that she could come get me and take me to the hospital. So I called hubby back and told him to just stay at work- we have a $5000 health insurance deductible, and paying for the trip to the ER was more important than him being with me. My friend took the kids for me, and took Christine to softball practice, which I had to have the assistant coach run for me. I was able to avoid the ER deductible by getting in to the doctor's office, since it was still open. They sent me straight to x-ray, which was painful because she made me move it all around to get the right angle. Anyway, it all came down to not having an "obvious" break, but possible a hairline fracture. Well, it hurts so freakin' bad, I don't believe it's not broken. OMG, other than the time I pinched my nipple in the can opener, I've never hurt so bad that it made me want to throw up. Holy sht, it's still just throbbing. And it hurts all the way up to my knee. I have to wear this big boot thingie on it. I'm going to look completely retarded Saturday morning at the softball game.

Which is a whole nother thing. My assistant ran things a bit different, and I've already heard that several parents were complaining after practice. I really LOVE coaching girls softball, but I really HATE putting up with the parents. Some of them don't seem to understand that it's a GAME and these are CHILDREN, not professional athletes. I wish I could tell them to get a flipping grip.

In Memory of Dina

2008-04-01T10:11:00.001-05:00

Ten years ago this month, I was a supervisor at a Petco store in Dallas. We had a big cage that we kept in the store that always had a cat available for adoption from the SPCA. In April of 2008, we brought home Dina, and a few days later, her daughter Desi. Dina was between 2 and 3 years old. My husband hated cats, but I loved them, and so he did as he almost always does when it comes to me, and gave in. Through the years he's told me that he's never liked cats until Dina, and that she was "cool for a cat". She was the neatest cat, and pretty much always acted more like a dog than a cat. She would follow you around, come when you called her, and sleep with you in bed.

Over the last few months, she'd been losing weight. First, I thought she had fleas, because the last time she lost a lot of weight, that's what the problem was. So I bought some flea stuff and put on all the cats. Well, that wasn't it. Then she started having the nastiest breath. Well, she was an old cat, so I attributed it to old age. Recently, she stopped eating her dry food, so I bought canned food, thinking she must be having teeth problems, or hair ball problems, and she ate it fine. I knew there was something wrong, and I should take her to the vet, but this cat has been in my family longer than my kids, and I just wasn't ready, in case she had to be put down. Then last week, she started doing this thing with her tongue, like there was something in her mouth that she couldn't get out. She would even try using her paw to get it out.

Saturday we came home from the parade and she wasn't by the back door like always. Immediately, my heart sank. I looked in all the usual places, calling her as I went, and couldn't find her. I started to panic. Some time later, I did find her, under the couch. She seemed fine, but she didn't want to come out, which was VERY unusual, and I knew that I HAD to take her to the vet. So I took her this morning, and he sedated her so he could look in her mouth and see what the problem was- cancer. As he felt her throat, he found more tumors. He listened to her heart, and she had a murmur- he believed it was caused by a tumor. He said he could remove the ones in her mouth and throat, but these were malignant and would only grow back. The only real option was to put her to sleep.

I don't know how I got home. I can't stop crying.

Cancer takes everyone I love.

Let's Play Ball!

2008-03-25T16:34:00.001-05:00

I'm sure that I mentioned that I am coaching my daughter's softball team this year. We've been having practices for about a month. Last night, we had a scrimmage with another team from our town. The other coach was Christine's coach two years ago, and I really loved him. In fact, he said he was disappointed when he found out I was coaching this year, because he wanted her on his team again (if I had been a peacock, my feathers would have fanned with pride at his statement). Anyway, I knew from the draft, that he has a better team than I do. I have 4 (out of 10) girls who have never played before, and he has all veterans- half of whom played on his team last year. I'm not really worried about us winning or losing games. As a coach for little girls, my goal is to teach them the fundamentals of the game and to have FUN! I want our team to win, but if we don't, that's okay. You guys have read about last year's season- I'm all about the FAIR game- win or lose. Well anyway, with all his experienced girls, I expected to get smoked, but my girls stepped up to the plate (literally!) and we tied the scrimmage. We only played 3 innings, so we didn't do anything to break the tie. Man, I was proud of my girls! Now I am pumped about our first real game next week!!

The end of Spring Break

2008-03-23T19:34:00.002-05:00

Oh thank God the kids go back to school tomorrow. It was a long week, and it's going to take me a few days at least to get over it. The end of the week was the roughest- I babysat 2 boys on Thursday & Friday ALL DAY, and on Friday, Christine & Cameron invited 2 siblings over to spend the night and they came around lunch. So I had SIX kids for most of the day Friday- 4 boys & 2 girls.

Saturday we got up and took the siblings home and then went to the in-law's for Easter. We usually do Easter with my husband's birthmom's family, but that didn't work out this year (don't get me started on why, because it's a LONG story). Then around 4:30, we headed to my mom's to pick her up to go to Medieval Times in Dallas. This was our third year in a row to go, and I was really excited because I had seen on an ad, that they had changed the show this year, so it would be different, and my mom had never been, and after the guilt trip I got last year for not inviting her ("I've always wanted to go there ever since they opened"), I was really looking forward to her reaction.

Ya'll, I love my mom, but next year, she's not invited. To begin with, if anything gets in the way of her time with her cows, she's irritated with you about it ("How long is this going to take anyway?") ~sigh~ She's also notorious for being late to EVERYthing, so I told her we'd be by to pick her up between 5 & 5:30, my goal being to leave by 6. So when we got there just after 5, she was nearly ready. I asked her if there was something I could help with, to which she responded, "If you had been here at 3:30, you could have helped me. Or if you had been here at 12:30." Well, we left around 5:45 and the first thing she starts in about is her great dane ("She's chewed up all my shoes, my pjs, my slippers..."). I sent a text to my sis who was meeting us at M.T. and told her we were on our way and what a long drive it seemed like it was going to be. Okay, so the time passes and we pull in the parking lot right at 7. We get in line with my sis & her fiancee, and then I have to listen to how cold it is, and why didn't I suggest bringing a jacket if we were going to have to stand outside for so long? At this point, I'm still excited about being there. We go in and get our picture taken, and then go to the bar. I order my usual soda in the glass souvenier goblet that they sell. I now have it in three colors- blue, red, and what I got last night- black. Our knight last night was the black & white knight.

Well, while the knighting ceremonies were going on, we were looking at the horses and went through the "museum of torture", which both fascinated me and creeped me out. And upon reflection, seems to have been a warning as to how the evening was going to progress. Well, when we left that, the smokers of the group (everyone but me & hubby), discovered the smoker's patio. Doesn't sound like a big deal now, but wait. Well, I got them to put out their sh!t just in time for the seating to be called. So we went in and sat. I ordered the celebration package for my birthday, which meant we would be seated in the first 2 rows- this year we were on the second, though the last two years we were in the front row. Front row is best, so if you go, order your tickets really early so you can guarantee getting a table on the front row. Okay, so we're seated, and the waitress... sorry, wench comes around to get things started and then the show starts, and my sister gets up to go to the bar to get her and her fiancee both a second alcoholic beverage. Well, while she was gone, my mom took the opportunity at the completely inapproriate time & place, to lean over and talk with my future brother-in-law. And I'm sitting there appalled & pissed by the conversation topic(no I'm not telling anyone that asks), & getting pisser by the moment. It was a $70 ticket that I had to pay for, and she wasn't even paying attention and then snapped at me when I said "Watch this!!" (and this after I got the guilt trip last year about how badly she wanted to go!). Anyway, so the meal comes around and everyone eats. As always, it was awesome. Well, when everyone was done, "the smokers" decided to go out to the patio again. Okay, this pisses me off even more. You can't go 2 flucking hours without a cigarette to sit here and enjoy the show? Well, they were gone every bit of 30 minutes, possibly 45. They missed all the knight games (I really wanted my mom to get a flower thrown to her by our knight), and they missed the announcements (which meant they missed my birthday announcement). The wench brought our cake around and still they were out. I was getting so upset over it, I was nearly in tears, and told my hubby I was fed up and ready to go. I sent a text to my sister saying I was about to leave, and boy that got them back in. Anyway, after that, the fun of it was pretty much gone. So I pretty much sat there sulking until the end. Our knight was the first one out when the fighting started, so there was no one to cheer for. And they changed the show so that none of the knights won- the prince won, and I thought that sucked too. The last two years we went, our knight won both times. So that was a disappointment too. Then when it was over, we didn't wait around to meet the knights and get pictures like we have in the past. It just sucked. And I'm still so p.o'ed at my mom over it. I haven't spoken to her at all today. It was just so rude and I'm just so aggravated over it. Next year, no smokers invited!

At least the horses were just as beautiful as always. Though even their overall performance lacked when compared with the last two years.

Just for Fun

2008-03-19T11:18:00.002-05:00

What Mythological Creature are you? (Cool Pics!)
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Angel

Angel: Angels are the guardians of all things, from the smallest ant to the tallest tree. They give inspiration, love, hope, and positive emotion. They live among humans without being seen. They are the good in all things, and if you feel alone, don't fear. They are always watching. Often times they merely stand by, whispering into the ears of those who feel lost. They would love nothing more then to reveal themselves, but in today's society, this would bring havoc and many unneeded questions. Give thanks to all things beautiful, for you are an Angel.

Angel

75%

Mermaid

50%

Faerie

42%

Dragon

25%

WereWolf

17%

Demon

What is YOUR Element?
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Earth

You're Earth! Youre the strong one, emotionally, mentally, and pysically. You dont hesistate to fight for your friends and family when threatened, being your most cherished holdings. You're silent and a many people mistake that for a negative point, and avoid you, but there are the few that try to be friends with you, and those, you accept. Hence, you have a small tightknit group of friends you hold onto for dear life. Your quiet nature can cause unwanted thoughts, causing depression later. You dont push until shoved. Nature in general, and alone time, is relaxing to you.

Wind

63%

Earth

63%

Lightning

54%

Water

25%

Fire

21%

Crazy Week

2008-03-16T15:33:00.000-05:00

Wow, has it been one crazy week. I hardly know where to begin. School & softball season is keeping me very busy. The weather decided to cooperate, so we had 3 practices this week, and all my teachers showed up for classes both days, so that was good. I'm about to have to drop Statistics, depending on how I do on the next test. When I had the flu & pneumonia I actually MISSED a test, but he drops the lowest test grade, so that 0 won't count. Which means I can't fluck up on the rest of my tests, so... I gotta get off my @$$ and get business handled, or retake it this summer. Which may be the way to go, because it looks like none of my teachers are going to be offering what I need this summer, except my photography teacher, who said I can do the Storyboarding class as an independent study.

The kids are on Spring Break this week. Which is good AND bad. Christine really needed to be away from her classmates. Check out this crap- Tuesday, she came home from school and said she had gotten breakfast, lunch, and break detention every day for the rest of the week- meaning, she would have to sit by herself at those cafeteria times for the rest of the week. Now, I know I'm the mother and naturally look at my children different than others do, but my daughter is really the most gentle, loving, delightful little girl, who lights up a room when she walks in. Anyone who knows her, loves her. She's just very good natured and easy going. So when she told me about this punishment she received, I was baffled as to what she could possibly do to deserve it. Well, she was sticking up for one of her friends, but she was sticking up with her friend and another girl, so it APPEARED that there were 3 girls ganging up on 1. It was too bad that the cafeteria manager didn't hear the 1 girl instigate it, as she has been doing over the last several weeks. I consider myself to be a reasonable person, but after all the physical & emotion bullying last fall which resulted in absolutely no punishment to the girls in the older grades that were doing it, I felt this was a little unjust. But, I also considered that I was hearing the version from the "punishment victim", so I went to the school Wednesday morning to find out exactly what happened, which was what the cafeteria manager heard and interpreted. Well, I had told Christine to just stay away from the girl that was causing all the problems, which is difficult to do when the school doesn't help, like on Wednesday afternoon when their teacher sent them all to the bathroom together. Real smart. So around 2 on Wednesday, after I had already been to the principal once that day, I got a phone call from her to let me know that Christine was going to have IN SCHOOL SUSPENSION for "an incident in the bathroom". Well, of course, I am pissed because I told Christine to stay away from the girl and why are they going to the bathroom at the same time? Geez... Well, even before the bus got home, one of her classmates' parents called me to tell me that HER daughter, who wasn't involved, told her as soon as she got in the car that she HAD to call Christine's mom as soon as they got home, so she could tell me that it wasn't Christine's fault. No, MY daughter wasn't involved in "the incident". In fact, before "the incident" happened, MY daughter was telling the other girls to calm down and that they could work it out- trying to diffuse the situation. She ought to be praised, not punished for it! Then, she LEFT the bathroom before "the incident" even happened!! So I called and talked to the principal in my third conversation with her that day, to tell her that and she said that she was replacing all the other punishment with the ISS and was hoping to impress the seriousness of it all on everyone involved. ~SIGH~ the bestthing I can say about it, is that it wasn't an "official" ISS- that is, it's not going on her record. Well, after EVERYTHING over the last few years, this was the proverbial straw, and neither of my kids will be there next year, if it is at all possible for me to get them in ANYwhere else. All this business was over 9 year olds name calling- "Your family is fat" "Your family is tacky"

Well, after all the fourth grade drama of the week, my week ended yesterday with the third anniversary of my uncle's passing. It doesn't seem possible that it has been three years, but indeed it has. Somewhere around the evening, my husband took the kids fishing, and I had five minutes of peace, which led to being curled up in my bed bawling as I listened to the Beatles. Suddenly, it all felt like a very fresh wound. I loved him as though he was a parent to me, and throughout my tumultuous teenage years, he and my aunt often WERE like parents to me. Always loving me unconditionally and guiding me, and never judging me by my stupidity as a teenager. When I graduated high school, it was THEM that I wanted to take a picture with me and my new diploma. And when I got the call from my aunt last night that her mother had passed away just that afternoon, it seemed to add insult to injury, obviously for her more than me. She was always very nice to me, and I liked her quite a bit. I'm sorry that she's gone, and because of Spring Break, I don't know if I will be able to attend her service. So today has been just a lazy, melancholy day. I don't feel much like celebrating my birthday tomorrow, though hopefully by next week, since we have reservations for Medieval Times again.

So Disgusted

2008-03-05T06:55:00.000-06:00

So I woke up this morning about 5:15 and looked up at the tv to see the election results from last night. I was disgusted and appalled to see that Hillary Clinton won Ohio and Texas. Are people just f-ing morons, or what? This is a person who has a history of lying and being a hypocrite, not to mention someone who has a bigger desire for power than she has self worth- as evidenced by the fact that she stays married to Bill. She will say or do anything to be elected! Is this really someone we want leading this country? Good grief, people. WAKE UP!

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, really. I mean, we put Bush in office TWICE, AND we have Rick Perry as a governor. Texans, unfortunately, have made it a habit to vote for piss-poor candidates. I'm so disgusted.

Oh yeah, and I note to the media- this crap that the media has been so hard on Hillary and not Obama is just that, crap. Quite frankly, the evidence to this is as plain as how the results are being told this morning. She won by only 100,000 votes, and is losing in the caucus results- this does not constitute a "revival" or a "comeback". The media is as idiotic as the voters.

Crazy Texas Weather...

2008-03-03T16:56:00.001-06:00

I'm not even kidding. Yesterday, it was 75 degrees and I had the air conditioner on. When I went to bed last night, we were under a tornado watch (which of course, led to little actual sleep from Yours Truly). This evening, we're under a SNOW advisory. A SNOW ADVISORY! Seriously, if you don't like the weather around here, just wait a minute, cause it will change. Crazy-@ss Texas weather. I'll have the a/c on again in a few days.

No wonder everyone I know is sick.

The Good & The Bad, Take 2

2008-02-27T16:31:00.001-06:00

So the good news is, I don't have the flu anymore!

But the bad news is, thanks to no medication to get over the flu, it has now developed into pneumonia. Stupid insurance. What a bunch of idiots. Don't cover the medicine, so now they have to cover the doctor visit (minus my copay), the shot of antibiotic I had to get at the doctor, and the cost of the antibiotic that I have to take for the next 10 days (again, minus my copay). I hope it was worth it for them. Morons.

Desperation- Hillary's Campaign Theme

2008-02-23T16:17:00.000-06:00

Hillary's getting really desperate now. According to an ABC News article, she "scolds" Obama... "Sen. Obama knows that it is not true that my plan forces people to buy insurance even if they cant afford it.”

Except, wait a minute. What's this? She told ABC's George Stephanopoulos that "we will have an
enforcement mechanism" that might include "you know, going after people's wages."

Sounds like Obama made an accurate statement, Senator.

So along with being a hypocrite- i.e. accusing others of plagiarizing when she does it too (see previous entry), she's also flat out LYING to the voters.

Anyone surprised?