A Life in the Sticks

Quick Note

2010-07-08T04:28:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to let anyone who is still following along that we are vacationing in Hawaii at the moment! This is the first chance I have gotten to get online, and I am only staying for a minute. We have been here since last Friday and will stay until next (the 16th) Friday.

This place is absolutely amazing! And I will have so many pictures to share that I am not sure where I am going to be able to start! I love it here, but am missing home just a bit. (Not enough that I am willing to get back on an airplane right now though!) Many many things still to see.

I am trying to keep the fact that both my dad and I are unemployed out of my thoughts, but sometimes the worry is just too much to push aside. Thank you to all who have offered thoughts and prayers on our account concerning both the joblessness and the vacation. It means a lot.

Gotta go get some sleep so that we can get up early and see what else there is to see! It is nearly 11:30pm here, which makes it about 4:30am at home. I have pretty well gotten myself on Hawaii time by now, which is good since the first couple of days seemed a lot longer than they actually were!

Hope everyone is have a great summer so far. Go spend it with someone you love!

Friday Fragments

2010-06-25T11:57:00.000-05:00

Time for another edition of Friday Fragments hosted by Mrs. 4444. And, today is a special day. It is the 100th Edition of Friday Fragments. Not my 100th edition, but hers. Go on over there, say hey and congrats and let her know that I sent you! For that matter, join in on this momentous occasion!

-- This is the last Friday of summer school. I have to come back until about noon on Monday and then will be free to leave. I am glad to be nearly done.

-- I am in the process of writing a letter to the school board in order to try to save my school nurse position. Crazy Man thinks I am totally nutso to try to keep a job that has been causing me grief for the past several months. But I just feel so strongly that all of these kids and the staff too, deserve to have a nurse available to them. Do I think this will work? No. I don't think that the district wants to have a nurse badly enough that they are willing to dig into their own pockets to pay for one. It was fine as long as someone else was paying.

-- My dad is searching for a new job too. I asked him the other day if he wanted to carpool to the unemployment office with me! He just laughed. His plant closure has been on the news because they treated them so dirty about it all. I really don't know what we are all going to do with two of us out of a job at the same time. We don't live together, but we try to take care of one another.

-- Next Friday, Crazy Man, The Boy, Little Little Brother and I will be flying to Hawaii for vacation. I have thought long and hard about canceling this trip. We have saved for 18 months for this. And that money would go a long way to getting us all through until we can find new jobs. But then I have been told that we have been saving for 18 months and it is a once in a lifetime situation. I am just so uncertain as to what to do.

-- Had to order new checks the other day. This is something that I knew needed to be done, but knowing that I had at least one book left, I kept putting it off. Until I opened my checkbook two days ago and realized that I only had one check left. Evidently I can't count, huh?! At least that is what I told Crazy Man. Now I am keeping my fingers crossed that the new checks get here before I have to start paying bills for July!

-- I am still not a reliable source of transportation according to The Boy to get him to a possible job. And, everytime I go on a job interview and am asked this question, I have to laugh. Maybe that is the reason I haven't been offered a new job!

-- I have been going to a Zumba class for the past few weeks. It actually seems to be reshaping my body. Of course it isn't drastic enough for others to see it, but I can tell how some of my clothes are fitting. And it isn't the all fancy type of Zumba you see on those infomercials. It might be except my body doesn't move in those directions! So I guess I have been going to my version of a Zumba class!

-- Supposedly Boyfriend will be taking some family pictures of us this weekend. Something my mom asked for. Something I am not looking forward to. I hate having my picture made probably as much as The Boy does!

Hope everyone has a good weekend. Spend it those you love!

Regional Air Show

2010-06-24T12:52:00.000-05:00

It is Thursday and I have more pictures that I wanna have people look at. The only thing that has been done to them is to zoom in a little. Other than that, no touch ups to be had.

What are they all from? This past weekend, there was an Air Show at our little regional airport. It was sooooo hot that day! And unless you brought your own shade, there was none. Unfortunately, The Boy didn't get to go with us because it was his weekend to be with the DNA Donor.

Anyway, the Golden Knights parachute team and the Blue Angels were the highlights of the show. We got to the airfield around 10:30 in the morning and left around 4:30 pm. It was a lot of fun.

I have been told that this is a Warthog. Ok...if you say so!

If you notice, there is someone standing on the top wing of this plane. Her husband is flying the plane in all sorts of directions and she is acting like it is no big deal. Talk about trusting your spouse!

No, I did not flip this picture. She is truly upside down. Outside of the plane. Like it is no problem. Yeah. She can NOT be totally sane.

This is called the Freedom Flight. Or so I have been told.

This is a Corsair. Not the best picture of the bunch, but I thought it was kind of cool how it seems as though there is no back ground to it. Again, I did nothing to this picture except zoom in a little.

This is one of the Golden Knights flying in the flag.

I love this shot!

These are all six of the Blue Angels.

Another angle.

And, one more angle.

Don't look like the same planes do they? I love how the sun has caught them and make them look like some sort of bug!

It is hard enough keeping the camera focused on the group as they blow by at 400 miles an hour. But when they split like this, not only does the camera have a hard to focusing, but so do I!

I think I was really lucky to have caught these two making a pass at each other. Sounds kinda dirty when you say it that way.....

They look like they are touching each other, but I have been told that they are about 18 inches apart. Yeah, well, I will take their word for it because I refuse to be the one to climb up there and measure it!

Flight of Four.

Still not gonna dispute the distance between them!

This next one is my favorite of the bunch. And I did take a bunch! Over 1600 shots to be truthful. I figured that I could get at least a couple good ones, and I think that I did.

If you look really close, you will see two pilots. See them, one on top of the other? Or at least that is how it looks, huh? Yeah, I love this shot.

We had a really good afternoon.

At Least We Don't Have to Set the Alarm

2010-06-22T13:38:00.000-05:00

It is official. Or at least mostly.

My dad is out of a job.

I am out of a job.

Friday night, after having worked all day, my dad got a message on his machine saying that there was no need to return to work on Monday since the locks had already been changed. He was to call on Monday instead to set up an appointment to come get his personal things.

Fourteen plus years and he is given two weeks severance pay and no notice. At his scheduled appointment to retrieve his personal items, he was escorted in by an armed guard where he had to sign in with the time. This armed guard then stood over him watching every move he made. Once he felt he was done, he had to sign out with the time and the guard signed behind him.

He was so intimidated that after he left, he realized he had forgotten something and had to call back and ask that it be set outside for him to retrieve later. When he picked that up, he realized there were a couple of other things that he had forgotten. He is still trying to decide whether he is going to try to get those things or not.

Once he was there, he asked questions like when he would receive his last check and that sort of thing, but was told that at this point the company has no money so they don't know when they are going to pay them. And, you can't sign up for unemployment until you have received your final check.

As far as my job, I got an e-mail on Friday from the state which I didn't really understand. One of the other school nurses that I know from another district called me and told me that she didn't understand it either, so she contacted them. What she was told was that the Governor decided to totally cut the funding for school health. That means that my job is no longer funded by the state and if the school wants to still have a nurse, they will have to figure out how to pay for one.

The superintendent was out and didn't come back until today. And, (gleefully I am sure) he came to tell me that he had called the state to ask a couple of questions. He told me that he was told that all he could do was to contact his legislators and try to get them to change their minds. He told me that he would contact them and keep me updated.

I asked if what he was saying was that I needed to find a new job, he told me that he would keep me updated since the legislators may change their mind and go ahead and fund it.

I asked him if I would have a job here come August. He told me that if the funding was definitely cut then I would not have a job, but he would keep me informed.

I told him that if I were to be honest, then I can't sit around and wait until the day before school starts and then be told that I have no job. He seriously expected me to do that! He also expected me to wait a year to see if the funding would be re-instated for the following school year!

This still has to be approved by the school board, but most of the time, whatever he recommends, they go with. The worst thing is that I will be on vacation when the school board meets, so I can't even fight for my job in person.

At least my dad gets a severance and the vacation that he has saved up. I don't get anything. And, I have to finish working my 'volunteer' month.

Anybody have a couple of jobs for me and my dad?

Pictures

2010-06-17T12:13:00.000-05:00

I know that I haven't been here in almost a week. I finally got all of my reports for the state done and I have been working on getting things ready to go for next school year. Add that to the fact that I am tired and my brain seems to have shut down so I don't know what to talk about....and I haven't been here for nearly a week!

Last week, several of the teachers that I am working with started talking about Zumba. Have you heard of this? I hadn't. They were talking about going to a new class that was getting ready to start in our local community center. Seems that one of the local news reporters was willing to come teach it to anyone who wanted to learn.

When I got home, I was flipping through channels and discovered a infomercial about Zumba. I watched it. And figured that there was absolutely no way that I could keep up with it! However, it did guarantee that you could lose one dress or pant size in 10 days. That intrigued me. And, the more the girls at school talked, the more I thought I may want to at least try it.

So, try it I did. And discovered that I am so much more uncoordinated than I ever thought! But, I also discovered that it was kind of fun too. And even though it was a lot of work, it was exercise and it didn't feel like it took an hour to do it. In other words, I didn't dread it.

And I still don't. I have been to four classes and actually am enjoying myself. I still don't have all of the steps down, but I am still having a good time. I thought that it would be easier with people that I don't know, but being with folks that I do isn't so bad.

There are six more classes that are scheduled that I will be able to attend before we head off on vacation. I am keeping my fingers crossed that my body reshapes itself to look better in my summer clothes. I don't know that I will lose the dress/pant size before leaving, but maybe tone up a little anyway.

Moving on.....

I have taken several pictures that I thought I would share. They aren't anything special, just shots that I took that appealed to me.

This is Little Little Brother with Nephew's new puppy.

I am rarely able to get a picture of The Boy because he doesn't like to be photographed so he hides behind others or puts his head down. He thought he was hiding here, but his momma is getting better!

Little Little Brother decided to try the 6 pound Burrito Challenge. He ate just shy of a pound of it! It was really fun to watch him.

We were at a military cemetary in Illinois a couple weekends ago. Most of the headstones there were labled as "Unknown Soldier". This was a look down the path between two lines of headstones.

I liked how the sun fell on these stones.

This tree is working on overtaking one of the headstones.

Crazy Man pointed out this stone that looked like the sun was shining right through it.

That is all I have for now. Hopefully I will be better about being here next week!

Friday Fragments

2010-06-11T12:09:00.000-05:00

I know that I haven't done this in several weeks, but today is Friday. And that means that it is Friday Fragments time. You can head on over to Mrs. 4444 to check out just how fragmented everyone else's week has been....after you finish up here of course!

I started to walk at nine months of age. And I have known forever that despite walking so early in life I just am not a very coordinated person. On Wednesday evening I discovered just how uncoordinated I truly am! I attended a Zumba class with some of the folks I work with. It was a total train wreck for me! Evidently angels actually carry me everywhere that I go. That is the only way I can figure out how I can get somewhere safely instead of tripping over my own feet like I did during Zumba.

Believe it or not, I am planning on going to more of the Zumba classes. Hang on. Let me consult a dictionary...... Yep. I thought so. Looked up "glutton for punishment" and found my picture there.

It has been really hot and humid here. About time! I really am not into being cold. But this humidity really bites. Especially when the temps are in the high 80s or low 90s....and the humidity is hovering around the same numbers.

We had our American Legion Riders shin-dig a few weeks ago. It was a bomb. Really. It opened up and poured. And not only did the rain get us, but another group just up the road planned on top of us. I think we ended up breaking even, but all in all, it wasn't good. We are going to plan again for next year though I think. (Yep. There is my picture again!)

The Boy is helping with summer school in the Pre-K class. There are only about 19 young'uns in there. But with that age, it really feels like there are twice that many in the room! He is doing well (according to the teacher) and the kids miss him when he isn't in the room. He usually has nothing to say about the whole experience, so I guess it can't be that bad.

I saw an ad in the newspaper that I dropped off my resume for on Wednesday. When I got home, there was a message on the machine from them. I am not sure I was out of their parking lot when they left it, asking me to come in to talk to them. Not sure if that is a good sign or not. Supposed to go talk to them around 3pm today.

Still having some issues dealing with the loss of one of "my" kids. Tears will hit me out of the blue. The Boy is starting to get used to it. I am not. If I am having such a hard time, I can not imagine how his parents are dealing with it.

Boyfriend and Boyfriend's Wife came out to the sticks for Memorial Day. We grilled and visited. Then Boyfriend and Crazy Man went out to shoot at targets for a while. We had a really good time! After we were done eating, Boyfriend showed me how to do a couple of things on Photoshop. I am about as good at that as I am at Zumba if that tells you anything!

Crazy Man and Boyfriend are going on an Iron Butt Ride tomorrow. They are supposed to travel 1000 miles within 24 hours on the motorcycle. They plan on leaving around 5am I think. I thought about riding with Crazy Man, but The Boy is with me this weekend, so I didn't want to leave him home alone. That, plus the fact that I am not sure I would be walking very well (or at all!) after riding 1000 miles on the back of a bike.

We are slowly but surely getting closer to the day we leave for vacation. Three weeks until we board the plane! I can't get excited about it yet. I am still afraid there will be something that will keep us from being able to go. Or worse, something will happen when we get out there and we will have to head home too early. I guess I am actually looking more forward to the day the plane lands rather than the day it takes off! That way I know that we have gone and had a good time. Crazy, I know.

The Boy had an orthodontist appointment yesterday afternoon. The girl who is assigned to take care of him looks like she is about to pop. Her due date is Monday, so she decided that yesterday would be her last day. That means that one of the orthodontists himself will be working on The Boy. Took a little convincing of The Boy to get him to agree to it, but hopefully it will only be a maximum of three times.

Have you heard the song "I Pray For You" by Jaron and The Long Road to Love? If you haven't, you need to go here to see the video and listen to it. It has made my list of favorites.

And that is the end of what I have to say! Will see you back here next week. At least that is what I am hoping for! Have a safe weekend. Spend it with someone you love!

I Heart Faces

2010-06-08T13:24:00.001-05:00

The theme of the week over at I Heart Faces is "play". When I read that, I knew immediately which picture I wanted to show. It isn't all fancily photoshopped or anything like that. What you see is what I saw as I snapped the shot.

And what I saw was an uncle with his two nephews, all three with a smile. Getting The Boy and Little Little Brother to smile was feat in and of itself. But when I whispered to each of them to give Nephew a 'wet willy' on the count of three.....that did it. Laughter all around!

And it does a body good to see and hear it!

Now, you need to head on over there and see all of the other playing going on!

Guess Who?!

2010-06-01T13:07:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not, I have not fallen off the edge of the Earth! I am still around, just not able to have been online for the past couple of weeks due to the fact that school finally dismissed for the year. So how am I able to type this out now? Because, unfortunately, summer school started today.

Many many things have happened in the past couple of weeks. Nothing majorly important though! What can I say? I live a fairly ho-hum kinda life. Most of the time that is a good thing!

As I said, summer school started today. I was informed that I am required to be not only the nurse, but also the secretary. And not receive an extra check like the rest of the staff who is working. And, I am required to like it. Yeah, well, that ain't gonna happen! I may be forced to be here, but I don't have to like it.

The Boy ended up coming with me. He is too old to actually attend, but I didn't have anywhere else for him to go. The plan (in my mind) was for him to stay either at home or with Little Little Brother two or three days out of the week. I was not overly thrilled with this option, but you do what has to be done, ya know?! He had to come with me today because with an appointment scheduled this afternoon for him, I didn't have time to run home and get him. But, things have a way of working themselves out I guess. Our Kindergarten teacher has the class of little ones during the summer that she will be teaching next school year. And this group is a major handfull it seems! She asked if The Boy would be willing to come everyday and help her out. I feel much better about this, even if The Boy does not!

I am in the process of looking for a new job, so if anyone out there reading this has need for me, let me know! It would be nice if I could make at least what I am making at the moment, but more is always appreciated!

At this moment in time, I still don't know if I have a job for the next school year. I have heard a rumor that I was hired back "pending funding" but nothing has been officially told to me yet. Of course that means that when the state cuts the grant funding that my creates my position, I don't know if the school is going to be willing to dip into their own pocket to keep me working in the district or not. It will probably be sometime in August before I know. I just wish they would make a decision since it is really hard to tell a prospective employer when I am able to start a new job.

I am not going to make this very long today. I have a bunch of reading to catch up on and some reports that are due in a couple of weeks that I am working on. Just wanted to let anyone who visits here know that I am still around.

Friday Fragments

2010-05-14T09:42:00.000-05:00

Friday Fragment time! Should you wish to join in, just head on over to Mrs. 4444's place and link up, or just see how fragmented everyone else's week has been.

As you can tell from my not being around for a week, it has been chaos around here. My whole week has been nothing but fragments! I have actually got a few things to say that could take up a whole post, but just can't find the cohesiveness needed to form a complete post.

Today is the last day of the school year. For that I am very happy! Next year (if I still have a job here) we will be in a brand new elementary building which sits directly across the street from the high school. That will make things a lot easier. I have yet to move anything from this room to that one. Some would say that I am being obnoxious and rude about it, but why would I want to pack everything that belongs to the school and try to squeeze it into a tiny little space when I don't know if I will even be using it next year? Call me obnoxious if you want!

Last night was the school board meeting where they were supposed to make a decision about rehiring the non-certified staff for next year. I am considered one of those. However, when I am hired, the board always puts the stipulation of "pending funding". I completely understand this. But it makes me angry too. Because my position is funded by a grant through the state, the board will only hire me back if they receive the funding. When I asked a board member last night if this district even wanted a nurse, he emphatically told me that they did. But when I pointed out to him that if I am hired "pending funding" then what I am actually being told is that the district only wants a nurse if someone else pays for it. He had no response. And all I had were tears of anger. I am total limbo here. I can't look for another job because I don't know if I still have the one that I have now! And, if this year is the same as all the years past, then I won't actually know if I have a job until August....about a week or so before school starts.

Yesterday the superintendent came to me and told me that there was going to be a scaled back version of summer school this year because the funding from the state is not like it should be. He told me that I would be the secretary as well as the nurse for summer school. The reason is that this way he can fill two spots with no money out of pocket. He has never paid me extra to work summer school. Despite the fact that every other person working it takes home a nice extra check.

Tomorrow, I am involved with putting on a scavenger hunt, bike show, raffle and all sorts of other things to support our local Veteran's Home, the Fischer House, and the Legacy Fund. It is all being put on by our local chapter of the American Legion Riders. This is the first time we have attempted something like this, so if you could just say a little prayer that the rain stays away and the turn out is good, it would be much appreciated!

Last Sunday on Mother's Day, I took some pictures of The Boy, Little Little Brother and Nephew. I haven't been able to go through them all and decide which are the best, but once I do, then I will show them on here.

Yesterday I bit the bullet and set up a Facebook page. I have no idea as to how to use this thing! Crazy Man has been wanting me to set it up and I have been resistant. Shoot....I can't even keep up here! But, within a week, two people that I haven't talked to in a long time asked me to find them on Facebook, so I finally caved. Guess Crazy Man will have to show me how to work the darn thing!

That is all the fragments of the week that my brain will acknowledge at this point, so I guess I am done. Hope everyone has had a great week and will have an even better weekend.

Friday Fragments

2010-05-07T10:43:00.000-05:00

Time for Friday Fragments hosted by the wonderfully amusing Mrs. 4444. I have not linked to her in a while for several different reasons. If you have no idea what those may be, then just look back on this site in the month of April. That should explain everything. And if you still haven't figured it out, send me an email and ask! Now that that is out of the way, it is time for those things that have happened, but are not major enough to warrant an entire post.

School is winding down for the year, for which I am terribly happy about. Now if I could just have those three months off that everyone always says that school workers have! I am usually lucky to get 5 weeks out of the 12 not at school.

Couple of field trips coming up. Going to the skating rink in the next town over today. Next week is the park and bowling alley. Next Thursday is the annual kickball game between the sixth grade students and the Elementary staff. It is fun for all! At least until the staff tries to get out of bed the next morning! Next Friday is our last day and we get out at noon.

We only have 56 days until we are scheduled to get on the plane and fly to Hawaii! I am trying to contain my excitement since a lot could happen between now and then. But it is really hard to do with the weather warming up and the tickets all paid for and waiting to be used.

I really need to find a swimming suit for me to take on our trip, but am thoroughly dreading it. Sometimes I think I would rather swim to Hawaii than try to stuff this body into a bathing suit. Of course, if I were to do that, then I don't think I would mind getting into a tiny little bathing suit because whatever the sharks didn't eat would be nice and tan and thin. And others wouldn't turn their heads in disgust when I show up in a tight little piece of material.

I already received my Mother's Day gift from The Boy and Crazy Man. They built me a new bookcase out of old barn wood. I love it! It is nearly completely full, so I told them that I need about 10 more! I also will need an extra room to put them all in, but one thing at a time, right?!

That is all I have to say for the time being. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Dear Someone Letters

2010-05-06T14:07:00.000-05:00

I have missed writing Dear Someone Letters the past couple of weeks. I just wasn't able to do so. But, today is different! And besides, I have things to say! Once you have made your way through mine, head on over to Short Mama's place to see who others are writing to.

Dear Waiter at O'Charleys,

Yes, I really wanted a Cuban Sandwich. It is what my taste buds were craving, not the hamburger that I had to order because your restaurant had removed my sandwich from the menu and you swore the stuff to make it was not in the kitchen. So when you came back to our table and found me in tears, I almost hope that you thought it was over not getting that sandwich! Of course that would just make me look like a complete idiot if it were truly the case. I didn't explain then, but the tears were because I had been informed of the death of one of 'my' kids at school. Also, I won't be able to come into your eating establishment until the ~~Cuban Sandwich has returned to your menu~~ grief has lessened.

Thanks for understanding,

Don't Make Me Cry Again

Dear Principals,

If you want me to do my job, then let me do my job. If you want to change the rules for one child here and there, then don't lay it off on me. I am trying to follow what the law says, but evidently laws aren't really important to administrators. If the law (yes, it is a real law) says the child can't be in school, then they can't be in school. You should not have the authority to decide willy-nilly who has to follow the law and who doesn't. Your job should be to back me up as I try to enforce this law, since that is truly what it is....a law. But, if you don't want to do that, then please be aware that at any unannounced (at least it won't be me telling you when it is) moment, the state can come in and do an audit. If they find this school lacking, then they will write you out a bill for several thousand dollars per child who is non-compliant.

Thought you should know.....again,

Not My Fault

Dear Superintendent,

All of the Elementary staff are packing up their rooms so they can take it all to the newly built building three miles away. Well, all of them except for me. And why is it that I am refusing to pack anything? Because if you won't tell me that I have a job, then why should I move things that I may or may not be using next year? I will pack and move it all when you tell me that you have hired me back. So, maybe if you want it done before August 1st you should let me know this year before that date. And it may be a nice idea if you find me some space to actually place the items that I need to place.

Thanks for nothing,

Your School Nurse

Dear IRS,

When I opened up your letter to me yesterday afternoon, I nearly vomited. First off, why is it that you are just now looking at my 2008 income taxes? Shouldn't you have done that in, oh I don't know, 2008?! Secondly, there is absolutely no possible way that I owe you more than I made in 2008. For that matter, it is more than I made in 2009 and am scheduled to make in 2010! And thirdly, if Crazy Man and I had actually made what you say we made, then we would have already built our house's much needed second floor....and we haven't.

Signed,

You are Wrong

Dear Little Little Brother,

Please do not try to go to school next year for only half a day. It is your Senior year. You need to have that experience! It only comes once in a lifetime (or at least it better, so keep your grades up!) and you will regret it when you are my age if you don't stay.

Love,

Your Favorite Sister

Dear Son,

I am so extremely proud of you! You have worked really hard this year, and being named as top student in the Freshman class proves it. Next year, you have signed up for some tough classes, but I know you can do it. And, since you had to have special approval to get into a couple of those classes, then you know that both the teacher of those courses and the principal believe in you too.

Love,

Your Mom

Getting There

2010-05-04T09:46:00.000-05:00

I am back. Kind of. Physically I am here. Mentally and emotionally I still sometimes kind of check out for a little bit. If you have been around very long, then you know that I can't always write here because of lack of computer access. And if you have been around for the past couple of weeks, then you know what has been happening in my neck of the woods and why I haven't been around.

Today, I finally feel like writing something.

Things are starting to normal up a little. Although, it is still not like it should be around here. I still wear my "in memory" ribbon. And the reason I do that is because I still cry without warning. And I figure that when I stop doing that, then I will stop wearing the ribbon. My grief, my prerogative.

What else has been happening around here?

Well, last Thursday evening was the Academic and Sports Banquet. Awards for these two things are given out that night. Each family brings in a couple of covered dishes and the school provides the meats, drinks, plates and such. You have to be invited academically or be on one of the sports teams.

The counselor gives out awards for kids on the A and B Honor Rolls. If you have made the A Honor Roll all year (for the first time), then you get an academic letter (to put on a school jacket), a pin to go on that letter (each year you achieve this) and a certificate for the school year. She also awards a plaque with the student's name and the school year stating that they are the Top of the Class for their grade.

The Boy is not on any type of sports team, but we were invited to attend because he has really good grades. He has actually had really good grades for his whole school career. And, he has always been one of the top three or four kids in the class. When I moved him to this school to start the fourth grade, there was a girl in his class that was blind. She remains in his class and has been named the top student every year since we moved here.

Now, several of the kids think that it is kind of not fair since she doesn't do all of the same work that the rest of them have to do. They also don't like the fact that she has someone reading tests and assignments for her since her reader could know the answer and inflect a tone of voice when reading the correct answer. The Boy is one of these kids (even though he has no understanding of tone of voice! Go Autism!). I just try to remind him that he wouldn't want to be blind. I also make sure he knows that I can't change his mind over his opinion, but as long as he feels that way and he still does his very best, then he knows that the grades he receives are his very own. I don't think it makes him feel any better, but at least he still does his best!

When the counselor announced that she was giving out the Top of the Class awards, several in this class prepared to clap for the same child that had been receiving it every year. Man was everyone surprised when The Boy's name was called! I was excited for him. The Boy however, just went up and got the plaque without so much as a grin! He wouldn't even let me take his picture with it! I think he is excited too, but he was embarrassed to be the center of attention. The other kids were happy for him though!

I am trying to get excited enough to start packing up my office here at work/school to move it all to the newly built Elementary building that sits right across the street from the High School. Don't get me wrong. A new building that close to the High School will be nice. The problem comes in when I tell you that I will be moving from a room that is about 20 feet by 20 feet with two windows to a room that is literally 14 ft by 8 ft and has no windows in the walls or even in the door to see out into the hallway. I have seriously used painter's tape to mark out the dimensions on my current office floor so that I can somehow figure out where to place the items that I need to take. It is like a tetris puzzle! Once it gets in the room, you can't just change your mind about placement of items without moving everything out the door and starting over! Oh. And the 14ft by 8ft area actually only has 10ft by 5 1/2 ft of actual workable floor space! Yeah. Everyone needs a challenge!

We are scheduled to get out of school on Friday, May 14th at noon. At this moment, summer school is supposed to start on June 1st. Don't even get me started on that! I am kind of hoping that it is called off due to lack of funding. Does that mean that I won't have to show up anyway? Probably not since the superintendent is a (insert word of choice here).

So that is how things have been here. I am healing from the inside out. Although this whole thing is going to be leaving a scar.

Say Cheese!

2010-04-27T10:49:00.000-05:00

I have found another category in which I have a great (in my humble opinion) shot that needs to be shown off in an I Heart Faces challenge. This week's theme is "Smiles". Once you gander upon my entry, click on over there to see the hundreds (literally!) of others that are entered. ~~And leave them a comment telling them that my entry is the best!~~ I also know that there could be lots of PhotoShopping done to this picture, but I didn't. This is the way it happened to turn out.

This is Azriel. Maybe this isn't a full out all teeth showing smile, but what do you expect from a baby who is less than 20 minutes old?! If nothing else, it sure made the rest of us smile. Admit it....you smiled too!

Last Week

2010-04-26T14:24:00.000-05:00

Last week was tough.

Scratch that.

Last week was brutal.

Why? Find out here.

Friday, we were out of school for our scheduled "Spring Break". One whole day that I was actually looking forward to having at home to do some things that needed to be done.

Instead, I spent the day crying.

The funeral home was filled with kids and adults alike, all wearing camouflage. I overheard a story in which the funeral home had set up 300 chairs throughout the building. Every single chair held at least one person. Many many more found seats on the floor, in the hallway, or leaning along the walls. The estimate was that there were 500 people inside the building during the service. That does not count the numbers of folks who came and left before service time.

Stories abound detailing the concern and prayers pouring out for our "family". Our girls were in the middle of a softball game on Tuesday afternoon when they heard the news. Tears began to fall, but to the outfield they went. The other team heard what happened and called off the game, saying that they were too far behind to catch up. Once the high fives were over, the other team went to their bench where they placed their gloves and hats. They then made their way to our team where each of their girls hugged each of ours.

The state university rushed at least one of our students and her mother (a teacher here) through while they were attending Freshman orientation for next semester. They got them out in time for the two of them to slip quietly in just as the service was starting.

There were hugs between people that you would never expect for hugs to be. Kids were hugging teachers. They were hugging each other. They were crying in front of each other without shame. Teachers were letting the tears fall in front of all. People who were having spats with others put those aside and came together in their grief.

Schools from surrounding communities sent e-mails or called our counselor offering support and sympathy. Even the state university called to offer condolences. Remember, we are a tiny school. And the state university called.

The hallways are still unusually quiet. They are louder now, but still not at the level they should be. Kids are still in shock. Although, some are wavering still between denial and anger. There is no acceptance as of yet.

We should be grateful that out of the three classmates who were together, only one was taken from us. And yet, we can't rejoice in that fact because one was taken from us.

There are some kids who have started counseling through an outside source because of the stress they have been forced to endure.

I feel silly because I still break into tears at times. And I can't come up with a reason when Crazy Man asks why. Like yesterday afternoon. My MIL hugged me and told me to "have a good week". I am having more trouble than normal putting my thoughts together.

And I am not this child's mom. Nor am I blood related to him. I am just a mom of a classmate who happens to have worked with this child through school. I can not imagine how she feels. And selfishly, I don't want to imagine how much worse she feels if it hurts this badly for me.

If you have read this far, please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers.

Thanks for listening. Tomorrow will be better.

No Words

2010-04-21T14:04:00.000-05:00

I am not really myself today. Physically, I look the same. Mentally, just not all there. (Stop laughing. I know that I am normally not all there, but this is different.) This is a tough post. Just be warned.

Yesterday was April 20. The seniors are released from school on April 29th. The entire school lets out on May 14th. The place is loud and happy between classes.

Today is April 21. We are out of school on Friday. There are a total of 16 days left in this school year. And there are no loud happy students in the halls between classes.

What could have changed so much just overnight?

Yesterday afternoon, around 4:43 pm, one of our 16 year old ninth grade students was pronounced dead by the county coroner at the scene of a motor vehicle accident.

This boy was in my son's class. He was one of 28 students in that grade. His brother is a senior. His father was raised in this school, just like many of us here.

We are not a happy place right now. The only word I can come up with to describe this place is eerie.

It isn't supposed to happen here. Not our school.

But it has. And it sucks.

Looky Looky!

2010-04-14T10:16:00.000-05:00

Not long ago, I told you that I had joined in on a Spring Swap hosted by Short Mama. And, I have been saying that I was working on getting things together to send to my partner. Well, I played by the rules and got everything all boxed up and sent out on the day it was supposed to go. Want to see what I sent to my partner Julie? Just click on her name and it will take you to her site, Just Playin' Around.

She also played by the rules. And, because she did, I got mail! I love getting mail. The problem is that when you get rid of the bills and the junk mail, there usually just isn't anything left to love! That was not the problem with this batch of mail since I got this lovely box with my name written all over it. Of course, there were others who were as curious as I was as to what was inside....

Once I was able to convince Ziggy that I really didn't need his help, I opened it all carefully and found.....

A card peeking out on top of something bright and pink. What could it be?! I was having trouble not just ripping through it! Instead, I used patience and took my time, savoring every exciting piece!

Look......

A very cute springy card and a fun new tote! And, she shops at Target! How do I know this? Because I saw one of these on one of my recent excursions there ~~when I was gathering things for her box~~ and talked myself out of buying it! Not sure how she knew this, but she did.

Inside this fabulous bag was.....

all sorts of other goodies!

Let's see, shall we?

Springy, flowery fun tumblers. These things are heavier than you think! I am always looking for something that I can use that isn't glass. I love these.

A cute little pail filled with those little puff candies (which I can never get enough of!) in flavors that I have never seen before.

Now, I don't know where she found this, but I LOVE it! It is a coupon holder that I can hang on my cart while shopping. I thought she was several hours away from me, but evidently she was watching when I came this close to spilling out my tons of coupons the other day in the grocery store! That won't happen with this nifty thing!

This is a neat little notebook that I can write anything my little heart desires in. Isn't it cute and springy?!

And, finally....my very own cooler bag! I don't have one of these and am thrilled to finally be the proud owner! And, it is a bright pink, so The Boy and Crazy Man won't bother with using it! Now, I don't have to wonder just what I am going to put my lunch in when I go on these upcoming field trips at work/school.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I loved everything in my package. Hopefully you enjoy what was in your package as much as I liked picking it out for you!

Want to see what the other 66 folks who signed up got? (Add me and Julie and you get a grand total of 68.) Click here to go find out!

Getting the Finger

2010-04-12T09:15:00.000-05:00

I have decided to enter another picture over at I Heart Faces this week. I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get my act together in time to enter anything last week. I didn't think I would be able to show off this photo as an entry because there is not a face to be found. But, after reading the rules for this week, there doesn't have to be a face showing at all! Yay for me!

This picture was taken around Halloween time. I love these cookies, not only for the taste, but also because sometimes it is fun to give someone a finger!

Writer's Workshop

2010-04-09T10:22:00.000-05:00

If you are a reader who has been here a while, you may notice that today I am going to try something a little different. I have decided to link up over at Mama Kat's. She hosts the Writer's Workshop and gives you some different prompts to chose from for your writing.

The prompt that I chose reads: Where does that fear come from? Write about something that frightens you that other people might find ridiculous. Write about it in a poem, a story, or whatever.

I have a crazy fear of funerals. Well, not really the actual funeral, just portions of it. I know that most people don't like to attend funerals. Although if you do, then I can only assume that you are a mortician or something along those lines.

Anyway, when you go to a funeral, you hope that whoever dealt with the body was able to make your dearly departed look as though they are just sleeping. I am not sure why this is the case, but you never hear anyone say that they want to look horrid at their own funeral. But, the thing is that if they make them look as if they are just taking a nap, that is when my mind starts to play tricks on me. Because when the funeral director closes the lid I begin to panic and freak out.

How did I arrive at this fear? Well, I didn't even know that I had the fear until I was at my uncle's funeral several years ago and I had the misfortune to witness the closing and sealing of the casket.

Now, when I go to a funeral, I keep my fingers crossed that the lid will be closed when I am not looking. Crazy, huh? I know the body is still inside, but unless I actually witness the lid closing I am fine.

Another fear that I have about funerals was discovered this past November. We had been at a visitation for around six hours and was finally leaving for the night to get something to eat and then get some rest so we could return the following morning for the funeral. I rode with my husband planning to leave my car at the funeral home and return to get it after eating.

Simple enough, huh? Not really. Because when I got back to get my car, I couldn't make myself get into it and leave. I just had a major meltdown and started to cry. After several minutes, I was able to verbalize just what it was that was causing the episode.

The irrational fear was that everyone had just left the funeral home. How can people just pick up their stuff and leave their loved one in that place? Alone? They have been a mom, a dad, a sibling, a friend, a husband or a wife for many years. And it is doubtful that anyone had ever just walked away from them without telling them that they were loved or even just a simple 'see ya later'. But this had happened. And I lost it.

Another fear of the funeral stuff occurs in the cemetery. I have to walk several feet away from in front of the stone or directly behind the stone. If I don't do it that way, then I feel as though I am walking on someone. And that is just wrong.

All of these things give me nightmares for weeks when I attend a funeral. Even just a visitation will usually set off the nightmares. For that matter, I will probably have nightmares tonight just because I brought this to the forefront of my mind. Talking about them makes me want to cry.

I know that these fears are totally irrational. And most people look at me like I am totally crazy when I verbalize them. But even though my mind knows it is a little on the nutty side, my heart has yet to be convinced.

Head on over to see what others are writing about this week!

Dear Someone

2010-04-08T10:36:00.001-05:00

Today is the day that I like to join in with Short Mama to write Dear Someone Letters. Let's get started!

Dear Short Mama,

I have no idea what is going on here, but I could not get your button to show up. I have tried everything I know how to do, but no dice. Could I really have forgotten how it is supposed to work in a week?! I don't think so, but something is up.....

Sorry,
Ima Hick

Dear Everyone,

It has been a long week since I last posted. And I am just nearly too tired and confused and brain jumbled to even come up with something to write that is even close to being readable. That is the main reason that I haven't typed out anything for nearly a week. So don't be surprised if you read all of this, sit back and question just what exactly I was talking about!

Sincerely,

Ima Hick

Dear Nurse at the Other School,

Remember back in January when we sent emails back and forth concerning Kindergarten Screening? No? Well, I do. And if you don't, then I will gladly show you the emails that I happened to have saved. Anyway, during that time, I told you that you would need to make sure you were at the screening since you had a job to do there. I didn't realize that you didn't think that I was talking to you. Silly me! Where were you the day of the screening? Unless the date was different than what was posted in the newspaper, you were not there. After I had told you two months prior that you needed to be there! And, tomorrow is the deadline for you to return all of those papers to me that I have to have for the two of us to hopefully keep our jobs. Guess what? I don't have from you what I need. Am I totally shocked? Not at all. Will I apologize if the forms are delivered in the mail today or tomorrow? Maybe. We will have to see what kind of mood I am in.

So mad that I don't even know how to end this letter,

The One Who You are Supposed to Pay Attention To

Dear School District Voters,

Nice to know that someone besides those of us who work here are questioning the school board decisions and have decided to vote out an incumbent and vote in someone totally new. Have we all made the wrong decision? Time will tell, but can it really be worse than it was?

Thanks,

A School Employee

Dear Mother Nature,

The weather was really nice for a few days. For that I thank you. I have, however, had enough of the wind. Did you forget that this is Missouri, not Wyoming? Now, the rain is back and with it came cold again. Pick a season! Please. And make it summer.....

Thanks,

Wishing for Summer

Dear Grandma,

Didn't think I could get those deviled eggs done for Sunday dinner, did ya? Ha!! Fooled you! I not only got them done, but had some left. Of course, I delegated the eggs to be hard-boiled. But you never specified that I couldn't do that!

Love,

Your Favorite Granddaughter

Dear State,

Please do not cut funding for my position at school. No matter what anyone else might think, I am really a help to the school. And, if you want to cut funding, then that will just be one more person standing in the unemployment lines. I didn't realize that when the higher ups said they wanted to create jobs that what they actually meant was they only wanted to create them in the unemployment offices.

Please Save the Funding,

A School Nurse

Dear Mind,

I am tired. And you working all night shoving dreams that make no sense at all or that scare the you know what out of me is just not helping. I am really over this.

Thanks,

Needing Sleep

Dear New Doctor's Office,

You were so kind to me when I called. You answered all of my questions and then some. Thank you so much for being so kind and patient. I really appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Hope it Will Continue

Dear Boy,

You crack me up! And you are growing like a weed again. I am hoping that I will be able to convince you to start wearing short sleeves and shorts once Mother Nature allows warmer temperatures to show up around here. I know how hard it is to totally change your way of dressing. And I hate having to hide all of the wrong weather type clothing from you. But, I have done it before and will do it again!

Love,

Your Mom

Dear Swap Partner,

I have everything that I can think of that reminds me of Spring all ~~stuffed~~ neatly packed into a box that I am going to be wrapping up tonight. I will bring it with me to work in the morning so that I can stop at the post office on my way home tomorrow. And then it will be on it's merry way to your house! Hope you like it!

Keeping my fingers crossed,

Your Swap Partner

That is about all I can squeeze out of this tired, jumbled brain of mine at the moment. Hopefully next week will be better. Now, don't just sit there! Go check out the other letters!

Because of This, He Is

2010-04-02T08:00:00.001-05:00

I am ashamed to admit that I used to look at the kids who were throwing themselves down in the middle of Wal-Mart's aisles and wonder just why the mom was letting the child act that way. I would always tell myself that my child would never! And if he did, then that would only happen once!

Then God performed a miracle and I had a child who he blessed with Autism.

What?! A miracle and a blessing?! Are you crazy?!

Probably. But yes, a miracle and a blessing. I have not always looked at it that way. And to be honest, there are days that I still don't! Especially when I am the mom of that kid in Wal-Mart. Or when I am seen trying to calm a tearful scared child who stands inches above me when we are in the pediatrician's office. Or when The Boy refuses to let anyone but Shannon touch him at the orthodontist office.

I will not lie when I say that I sometimes wish that my son had a limp or a cast or whatever that could be seen by the world instead of this invisible disability. At least then there would be no scathing looks from others when the above happens. I can handle those looks (or I at least like to tell myself that I can), but I get royally ticked when they are directed at The Boy.

If I try to explain that The Boy is on the spectrum, the looks turn to a couple of different things. Since he has grown so much, most of the time the look continues as anger because now I am just trying to cover for an overgrown brat or a really spoiled teen. Or, it could turn to confusion and then pity. Very rarely does it ever go from confusion to understanding.

A miracle and a blessing is what I have.

When my Grandmother says in awe, "he hugged me", I am reminded of this. When my teenager tells me that he loves me and doesn't mind if his classmates hear, I am reminded of this. When I realize that he is smarter than I will ever be, I know that he is a blessing and a miracle. And without the blessing, The Boy would not be The Boy. Sure, he would still be my son, but he would not be who he is.

Today is Autism Awareness Day and the month of April is Autism Awareness Month. Please, open your hearts and your minds when you see those Wal-Mart meltdowns. Maybe, just maybe, that family you are passing judgment on is working through Autism.

Dear Someone

2010-04-01T14:14:00.000-05:00

As you know, or maybe you don't, I link up with Short Mama to write Dear Someone Letters. These help me say the things that I would love to be able to tell people, but usually don't. Enjoy!

Dear Mailman,

Please do not talk behind my back. Just because I have called and asked that my mail be dropped off at my parent's house does not mean that my husband and I are having problems. It simply means that with all of the icy weather we were having and now the major possibilities of flooding, I just really need to have access to those bills that continue to be sent to me despite the weather.

Thanks,

Still Happily Married

Dear Major Television Networks,

Do you realize how hard it is to watch your shows when you schedule all of the good ones at the same time? You know, your ratings for each would rise if you put the good ones opposite the ones that are never watched. Maybe you should try that next season and see if it helps any.

Sincerely,

Tired of Having to Choose

Dear Department of Education,

No matter what you do, not every child will be proficient at the subjects that you throw out there. Have you ever even visited a school? Do you realize that there are children here that have such major disabilities that they can't even tell you their own names? And you want them to be proficient at math?! C'mon. Really? Who is coming up with all of your brilliant ideas? I agree that it would be nice to have a country full of really smart kids who turn into really smart adults, but can we be realistic?

Sincerely,

Just Shaking My Head

P.S. And having end of course exams that count for 20% of the grade at the beginning of April? There are still six weeks until the end of school! Shouldn't these be called 'Three Quarters of the Course' exams?

Dear Interviewers,

Can I have the job I interviewed for? Or at least some other job that I may be even better at? How about any job that you may have available? For the same pay as you were advertising of course. Really. Just give me two weeks and I would be all yours. Matter of fact, if I was to tell the Superintendent today, then more than likely he would tell me not to come tomorrow. Then I could be all yours on Tuesday since Monday is a state holiday. It would really do my ~~wallet~~ heart good to hear that you want me to work for you.

Sincerely,

Waiting on Your Call

Dear Family,

Is this a joke? You want me to bring the deviled eggs for Easter Dinner, all the while knowing that I can't hard boil an egg to save my life. You are doing it just so you can laugh at me, aren't you?

Love,

I Will Show You

Dear Second Grade Teacher,

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I truly appreciate you boiling the eggs for me. I am being 100% honest when I tell you that I have tried everything known to man and the middles are still not done. And I even proved it to my mother who stood over me and watched me start with cool water, and then I even boiled the yolk right out of the thing for 30 minutes before letting the water cool down a little and then running cool water over it again to let it sit for another hour. And the darn thing wasn't fit to eat. Sad, ain't it?

Thanks again,

I Can Cook Anything But a Hard Boiled Egg

Dear Mother Nature,

Thank you so much allowing us the privilege of knowing that Mr. Sunshine is still alive and well. I was beginning to wonder if you were waiting on a ransom or something. I know that I have not received a ransom letter, but then maybe it was lost in the mail? Either way, I am glad to see that you have released him and allowed him to return to showing himself.

Very Grateful,

Vitamin D Deficient

Dear Mrs. 4444,

You know how I love ~~riding your coattails~~ linking up to you for your Friday Fragments every week. But this week, I will not be at school/work because of our abbreviated version of spring break. Not that you are worried about less link up, I am sure, but I wanted to let you know just on the off chance that I am missed! I will return to your regularly scheduled Fridays as soon as possible!

Hope to be back next week,

Ima Hick

Dear Anyone Who Has Read Down This Far,

Tomorrow morning I have a special post all scheduled to arrive here around 8am central time. It isn't linked up with anyone or anything like that, but I would love to have you come visit and read it tomorrow. And, if it isn't too much trouble, maybe send some others over this way to read it also. I would love to have the extra visitors!

Thanks so much,

Ima Hick

Did you find anything that you wish you could have written? If not here, then maybe over at Short Mama's place. Head on over and see what others have to say. Tell her I said "hey" and that I sent ya!

The Interview

2010-03-30T14:20:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday I went on an interview. I was a bit nervous since I have not been to one of these in quite a while. Plus the fact that interviews always make me question just how qualified I am anyway. They always seem to ask the strangest questions and you never are sure what answer they are looking for.

I have been looking for a different job for a while. It is not that I don't like the job I have, because I do, it is just that I think that a change may be for the best. Especially since I come to work everyday wondering if it will be my last. After all, this position is grant funded and with all of the cuts that the state government is making, I feel that if my grant is cut even by $100, I will be out of a job. Couple that with the fact that I have been told there is no longer a need for me since "your last diabetic is graduating in May" and I figured it was time to start actively looking.

Around the tenth of this month, I received a card in the mail looking for resumes for a job working for the state. Now, I was a bit worried about applying for that since it is a state position, and like I said before, a lot of states are making cuts. In the end, I decided to apply anyway and see what happened.

I sent in my resume by email, which I have noticed a lot of employers now accepting them this way. You never know if it gets to where it is going or if it is lost somewhere in cyberspace though. But I guess it is the same as sending it by snail mail since you are never certain it got where you addressed it.

About a week after I sent it, I was contacted and told that I had been "chosen" for an interview. First hurdle cleared! She told me that I needed to get online and fill out an application and then she would mail an application to me also that would need to be filled out. Why can't they just use the one I fill out online? Because everything for the state has to be done a dozen different times!

I made it to the interview with just about two minutes to spare before my scheduled appointment time. Which was actually pretty good since I had forgotten the shoes I needed and had to go back home to get them and then drive through water that was beginning to flood over the road. Things seemed to be looking good!

When I was called back for the interview itself, there were three women sitting at two tables pushed into an "L" shape. I am seated at a table with one of the women and the other two are at the other table.

The first lady tells me that the way a state job interview works is that they each have a packet of papers in which there are several questions written on them. They will go around the group and each ask a question. As I speak, their job is to "write everything you say".

What?! Everything I say? Holy cow. Now you have just made me even more nervous! But, I take a deep breath, tell her that is fine and she begins.

Her first question is "Do you have a reliable source of transportation?" I nearly get up and leave at that. My answer is 'yes', but what goes through my mind is the conversations that I have had with The Boy. We have been talking to him about looking for a job and he keeps telling me that he has to "have a reliable source of transportation". I tell him that as his mom, I am his reliable source of transportation. He tells me that "moms don't count"! So, I really have to think before answering this question!

This interview goes on for about 30 minutes with a pass the buck sort of question and answer session. Each of them asking a question and me answering while they scribble down answers.

At one point, I look at the lady sitting across from me and see that the question is above where she is writing. Just below that, there are lots of words that seem to be things that need to be either said or implied in my answer and she circles each of those things. Then there is a scale from one to five that I can only assume means to evaluate how I answered the question with a five being very good. Now mind you, I couldn't read everything that was typed, let alone what she wrote, but that was what I could make out.

As I watched her write what I had said, I noticed that she was circling mostly fours and fives. That made me feel a lot better about how the interview was going since a lot of the questions that were being asked I felt like could only be answered if you had held the position before.

Once I left, however, I got to thinking about the whole set up. Maybe that lady who was seated at the same table as me was a ringer. Maybe her whole job was to circle those fours and fives to make the person being interviewed feel better about how it was going. Maybe her scores didn't count at all! Maybe those other two women were back there circling ones and wishing there were zeros!

The more I think about the whole process, the worse I feel about it all. Maybe I shouldn't have told them a couple of the things I did in the hopes of clarifying my application. Or maybe I should have done some more research on the types of questions that were going to be asked. Or maybe I should have just told them that according to The Boy I am not a reliable source of transportation and gotten up and left right then!

Either way, now all I can do is wait. I don't know how long it will be before they make a decision one way or the other since I forgot to ask and they didn't offer that up. Is that because they didn't feel I needed to know since they had already made a decision earlier in the day? Is that why they didn't tell me when I could expect to hear?

Jeeeez. Can I just win the Mega Lottery and not have to worry about any more interviews? Please?

Friday Fragments

2010-03-26T13:28:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Friday Fragments, once again hosted by Mrs. 4444. Go see what she has to say. And when you are done with that, visit everyone else that has linked up. And, when you are done with that, link up yourself!

If you were here yesterday, you know that I was scheduled to have an interview. And, if you were here yesterday, you also know that I forgot the shoes I was going to wear. Well, today, you will be happy to know that I was able to make it home through the water that was across the road and get the shoes that I needed. I then made it to my scheduled interview with about a minute and a half to spare. And wouldn't you know it, I had to wait on them! Guess I will continue to wait on them to see if they want me to work for them.

Tonight is the night of the last of the fish frys in the area. Next Friday is Good Friday and the don't have one then. We have been to three different ones this year. Plan on going tonight, but not sure which one. And, my grandparents have finally been convinced to come out with us! I am so happy about that!

I have got to get all of this paperwork off of my desk! It is starting to get toward the end of the year and I really need to get it all filed and counted and whatever else needs to be done with it! Anyone not busy and wanna come help?!

Crazy Man just called a little bit ago. Wants to take Lucille to Boyfriend's house to change her oil. Then tomorrow, we are hoping to get out for our first ride of the season. That is if Mother Nature reads the letter that it seems many are writing to her and the sun comes out.

Wednesday night we were watching the show Modern Family on ABC. I love that show! I find it absolutely hilarious and have even gotten Crazy Man watching it too. If your sense of humor is anything like mine, ~~God Bless the ones you live with~~ then you will be wiping away the tears from laughter. There aren't a bunch of shows that I find amusing on tv, but this is definitely one of them.

I think this weekend I will probably be trying to gather things up to mail to my swap partner. Lots of ideas, but none acted on yet. Which just tells my partner that I am not the 'crafty' type of person she may be hoping for! Because you those 'crafty' folks started to work on their ideas when the mention of a swap was brought up I am sure! Hopefully she will like what I pack anyway.

We only have 32 days of school/work left this year! Well, that is not counting the 20 days of summer school. If they have summer school this year anyway. With all of the cuts that the state is making, nobody is really positive at this point that the funding will be available come summer school time. Wouldn't bother me if we didn't have it since I am not paid anyway. Of course if I get this other job that I just interviewed for then I won't have to worry about it anyway.

Okay....gotta run. Those organizational fairies still haven't shown up. And I know that I filled that form out in triplicate requesting their services. If I could just find my copy on this desk.......

Dear Someone Letters

2010-03-25T14:07:00.000-05:00

I have finally made it to Thursday. And let me just tell you that I am really happy for that little fact. For one, I am just glad to have made it that far with the chaos that is happening here. Another reason is because it is time for the Dear Someone letters hosted by Short Mama. Click on over there because there are more letters where these came from!

Dear Mother Nature,

Look. I know that I asked for no more snow, as I am certain many others did. However, I think that what I really meant was no more lovely wet stuff falling from the sky. I know, I know....you have to have the rain to make spring flowers. I understand that, truly I do. But you have to look at it from my perspective too. When you pour that much rain out of the sky, I can't get home because you have filled everything so full that it is now flooding. And that ain't cool. Because I like to be at home in my own bed to sleep. So, could you pretty please just slow down on the wet stuff? Just a little. I'm not asking for it to completely cease. Just slow it down so there isn't the flooding. After all, if it floods, the flowers can't grow underwater.

Thanks,

I'm Not a Duck

Dear Sinatra and Ziggy,

I know that we haven't been at home much this past week. But it isn't because we don't want to be. Mother Nature is working against us. Maybe if you would contact her, then there would be three of us asking nicely. Look at it this way though....at least you have as much food as you want when we have to pack and leave in a hurry.

Love and miss your furry and purry-ness,

Mom and The Boy

Dear Crazy Man,

I just don't understand. If I had days that I could take off, I would much rather wait until I could spend it with you and The Boy or when I had something that absolutely had to be done that I couldn't get done any other time. Not to go to a funeral of someone that I hadn't become acquainted with until a short time ago. I know that you felt "obligated" but I just don't understand. And I am trying, really I am.

Love,

Your Wife

Dear Organizational Fairies,

Why have you not come to clean off my desk yet? I have wished for you to come and organize it all and let me know the color of the desktop and yet you have not shown up.

Please come....quickly,

Leaving the Door Unlocked

Dear Boy,

I love you son.

Love,

Mom

Dear Interviewer,

Hopefully when I talk to you later this afternoon I won't make a complete and total fool of myself. After all, I am wanting this position that I applied for. Or at least I think I do. I really think that I could do the job with the right training. And I am hoping that you will think the same thing by the time we are finished talking. I was told that I would be the last interview of the day. Maybe that will be good for me and I will be the only one that you remember.

Sincerely,

C'mon....Give Me A Chance

Dear Superintendent,

Hopefully the above mentioned interview goes well and I can give you my notice soon. It would do my heart good to be able to dump all these forms in your lap and tell you that they are due April 15th. Yep, it would make me smile!

Sincerely,

Keeping My Fingers Crossed

Dear Me,

Get it together! You will be fine this afternoon. Even if you did forget your shoes for the interview. You will have time to go get them and all will work out wonderfully.

Signed,

Just Believe

Dear Readers,

Don't forget to head on over to Short Mama's to read more Dear Someone letters. Better yet, join in! It may just save your ~~life~~ sanity!

Thanks,

Ima Hick

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge

2010-03-23T11:02:00.001-05:00

Time for another photo challenge at I Heart Faces. This week's challenge is "Focusing on Angles". I thought this was a nifty picture for that.

This wasn't taken with my newest camera. Just a Kodak point and shoot. That is probably why it looks a little blurry. Or at least it does to me.

Either way, I love the colors. And The Boy can smile! Not often that you see that! Which is another reason I love this shot!

Monday Morning Musings

2010-03-22T10:46:00.000-05:00

This morning, as we were getting ready to leave, I got a phone call. Now, you know, if the phone rings in the mornings, it usually isn't the best of news. And this was the case today.

My mom was calling to say that they noticed that the water was on the rise and that if it has rained as much north of us as it has rained here in the past couple of days, then dad felt I may have some problems getting home this afternoon. Which means that I should pack some clothes and grab what we need in case the roads are flooded and we can't get home after work/school.

So, ten minutes before we were scheduled to walk out the door, I am throwing thing in bags. When we go into town over the weekend, I have to pack clothes for both me and The Boy. Luckily these things were still in the suitcase. Of course, they are all dirty, but at least there is something. We grabbed the dog and his crate and food to drop off at my parents' house on the way.

I didn't get work clothes, just what was in the bag. There was no time. As it was, I walked in the door at work at exactly 8 instead of 7:35. So, if the roads are flooded and we can't get home this afternoon, looks like we will probably be at my parents' house. And, I guess I will wash what I have and if they don't like what I am wearing, I will come home.

Other than that little scene this morning, the day has been wonderful! I am hoping to spend some time today perusing my swap partner's site. This weekend, I got myself all partnered up by Short Mama who is hosting a Spring Swap. I have some ideas as to what I will be packaging up and sending, but I haven't made the final decisions yet.

I picked up The Boy's report card on Thursday evening at Parent/Teacher Conferences. He did really well. All "A" or "A-" with the exception of one "B+". He is sooooo much smarter than I will ever be! We visited with several of his teachers. One of them told me that he was going to let The Boy teach for the rest of the year! Another told me that he was at the top in his class. We asked his math teacher if she thought he would have any problems if he took both Algebra II and Geometry next year, and she said that she felt he would do just fine. That is something that I worried about, but if she feels he will do well, then I will fight with him to get his allowed to do this.

The only thing that I had an issue with was that the DNA Donor had showed up before I was able to get there. Normally, that is no big deal, after all, at least he showed up. However, when he shows up to something like this, he always makes his opinions known....loudly.

This time, it seems that he told the counselor that The Boy didn't want to go into the classes that we had been talking about for next year. He said that those classes were of no benefit to him, but that he wanted everyone to get him to take as many college courses as he could so he could earn dual credit. The counselor asked The Boy what he wanted, not what Mom wanted and not what DNA Donor wanted. The Boy told her that he wanted to take two maths and two sciences next year in case he decided to take the pre-engineering course at the Career Center his junior year.

He did have questions (which we had already discussed together but think that he wanted to make sure that I was telling him the truth) about how a pre-engineering course could help him when he wanted to do something with computers. When those were answered, he repeated again which courses he wanted to take "if possible" next year. Now all we have to do is wait and see how the schedule pans out.

Everyone thinks that handling a young child's needs runs you ragged. And they do. But personally, I think that getting that teenager on the right course for what he feels he wants to do with his life is even more stressful.

Dear Someone

2010-03-18T12:12:00.000-05:00

Short Mama is hosting her weekly Dear Someone letters. I love these things! If you want to join in or just see what others have to say, head on over to her place.

And now, without further ado.....

Dear Doctor #1: I sure do wish you would have listened to me. If you had, then you wouldn't have forced me to waste both my time and my money on tests that I had already told you the results for. Just because I am not a doctor like you has no bearing on whether I know what my body is doing. Maybe you should learn to listen to your patients. I don't want to know about some disease process that I do not have. I want you to talk to me like you have heard what I have said and about MY disease process.

Sincerely,
Poorer for Visiting You

Dear Doctor #2: Of course you agree 100% with Doctor #1's course of action. Was there ever really any doubt? I have yet to hear a doctor who sends a patient to another one ever disagree with the one he sent his patient to. Trust me when I say that tomorrow you and I will be having a conversation and I plan on letting you know exactly how I feel about it all. Depressed my a**. I am pi**ed off!

Sincerely,
Be Prepared

Dear Doctor #3: I am loving your job! More specifically, I am loving your paycheck. How many folks can say that they live in a fabulous home and drive fabulous cars by only being in the office for a half day a week? And, did you know while you are not in your office, you have some not so brilliant people taking care of things there? Yeah. Like the someones who lost the question that I really need an answer to on Monday. And then again on Wednesday. I guess I will have to say that third times a charm and try again soon to get an answer.

Sincerely,
Lucky I'm not Dying

Dear Medical Schools Across the Country and Around the World: I know that in every graduating class that someone has to finish last. However, do you have to funnel the bottom of each class to my area? Can't you skim the top of a few classes so we have some options here?

Thanks,
My Health

Dear Body of Mine: I am really quite sick of you. Honestly. You are turning against me no matter what I do. Seemingly falling apart from the inside out. You are going to have to stop rebelling and start playing by the rules. Otherwise, we will have to continue having to deal with Doctors 1,2, and 3. And heaven knows that I am over that.

Sincerely,
Straighten Up

Dear Subconscious: I know that you are in charge of dreams when I am fortunate enough to sleep deep enough to have them. I don't know what kind of games you are playing. I feel like you are trying to insure that I am crazy. These ~~dreams~~ nightmares are starting to get old real quick. Maybe you and Body of Mine need to get together and work things out amongst yourselves. Otherwise, I am going to have to figure out how to get rid of you both.

Sincerely,
Really Need Some Decent Sleep

Dear Boy: I am so glad you finally let me cut your hair. After taking off nearly three inches, you look older and ready for summer.

Love,
Mom of a Boy....Not a Girl

Dear Crazy Man: You get my birthday gift out of the box and I will let you take yours out of the package! Deal??

Love,
Your Favorite Wife

Remembering When

2010-03-17T10:36:00.000-05:00

When I was around three or four, we moved to the house that my parents and Little Little Brother still live in, and which happens to be about three miles from where I live now. I remember the day we moved in. The house sat (still sits) on top of a big hill just off of the gravel road and right before a curve. Across the road and back a ways on the property was another house that employed big mean dogs to keep you off of their property. And around the bend from there was my grandparents' house, where my dad had grown up. When the leaves were off of the trees, we could see each others house.

Grandma and Grandpa lived on a huge 425 acre farm with cattle and crops. The house they lived in was built by my grandpa. My grandma tells me that she and my dad laid the real wood flooring while my grandpa was working as a mechanic in town. The big garage out back of the house has my tiny little footprints pressed into the concrete from the day it was poured. There was a 50 gallon barrel that sat at the corner of this garage and gathered rain water. We used to sit in the swing that hung between two giant trees and shuck corn and break beans. They sold this place over 20 years ago.

I remember "running away" once. I packed a little suitcase, put my shoes and jacket on and out the door I went. With shoelaces flopping (because I was too young to know how to tie them yet) I went around the bend to Grandma's house because that was the only place I knew how to get too! As my mom stood at the door watching me, she called my Grandma to let her know that I was on my way. I don't remember what happened after that, but evidently I came back home!

We were on a "party line". I don't know how many people know what that is, so maybe I should explain. I remember there being four different houses on the same phone line. Each house had a different ring. When a call would come in, I imagine that there were people in all of those houses who stopped and listened to see if it was their ring. And, when you wanted to use the phone to make a call, you carefully picked up the receiver to hear if there was a dial tone or someone talking. To this day, I rarely answer the phone on the first ring and I always listen for a dial tone before making a call!

I remember there being a giant mud puddle that would appear in the curve when it rained, and my Big Little Brother and I would always be running through it with our bare feet or with our bikes. Not one time do I remember my parents complaining that we were a mess.

I remember that at one point there were only four kids on the entire 5 mile road. There happened to be another boy and girl who lived a couple of hills over from us. That girl and I became best friends and still are. Our parents used to put us together on Halloween every year. We would start Trick-or-Treating at the beginning of that road just as the sun set. Everyone on the road knew who we were of course. They made, not bought, the right amount of treats for us all. No skimping! House after house had popcorn balls and oranges and still warm from the oven cookies. When we knocked on any door, we were immediately invited in, and while the adults visited, the kids tried to eat as many of the goodies as we could before stuffing the remainder into our bags as we headed out the door to the next house. When we would get to the next house, there would have been a phone call from the previous house letting them know that we were on our way. There was never any reason to check the treats before eating them, because the treat makers ate right along with us.

I remember getting up on Saturday mornings and putting on your "town" clothes. We went to town once a week. I don't remember everything we did while we were there, but it had to be several things since we only went once a week. I do remember going to visit a Great Aunt and Uncle. He always had a pocket on his shirt and I would always find a silver dollar in that pocket! There were always Circus Peanut candies on the coffee table too. We would do grocery shopping while we were in town. I didn't know until after my grandparents sold the farm that you could buy meat in the store!

It is amazing to me how things have changed in just a few years. And I am certain that as I get older, I will continue to wish that things were the way they used to be.

I think that is part of the reason that I live where I live and how I live....because I loved that place. And I want my son to experience at least a little of the same things. I love the memories that I have. And I want The Boy to be able to remember with love when he could look out and not see/hear his neighbors. Or when he was able to have chickens run wild in his yard. Twenty years from now, I want him to look back and wish that he could return to a simpler time filled with things that he wants to re-create for his own children. I know I do.

Mad and Glad

2010-03-16T09:41:00.000-05:00

Is it really too much to ask for a simple "thank you"? I have always thought that those two little words could make a person's day or break their heart. I try really hard to make sure that I speak those words when someone does something for me. No matter how big or little.

Did you load the dishwasher? Thank you.

Did you empty the basket of laundry that I just don't have the energy to fold? Thank you bunches!

Did you bring me a warm blanket while I was so sick in the hospital? Thank you.

Are you the one who finally got an iv started in me when I was sick? Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Are you going to let me stay at your home while we visit your area? Thanks.

See. Nobody has to do what they do. It is a choice. And if we don't give them the thanks for doing it, then why would they want to make the choice to help you out again the next time?

Think about it. Don't you appreciate when you do something that is your choice and you get a thank you? Doesn't that make you feel like they appreciated your help? And, most of the time, you will consider doing something for that person again, right?

Last October, my mom bought some material to make a baby blanket. She had just recently found out that a girl in her office was pregnant and the material was on sale. She found what she wanted and paid for it.

I asked her if she wanted me to take it home to make the blanket or if she was planning on doing it. She told me that it would be a while before the shower, so she thought she would be able to handle it. Great.

Skip ahead to last Thursday. My mom calls me to tell me that the baby shower was going to be Tuesday (today) and says she never got the blanket done. She asked if I would make it for her. I told her that I would.

Yesterday after school, I put the material on the tables here at school/work and spent an hour getting the blanket done. I dropped it off on my way home. My parents were not home from work yet, so I left it in the bag hanging on one of the kitchen chairs.

I have not heard from her yet. How hard is it to call and say "hey thanks, it turned out nice" or "that thing is pretty ugly, but thanks anyway for taking the time to do that" or even "thanks, I found it here"?

Evidently I am expecting too much. After all, family doesn't require thanks, right? Maybe not, but it is still nice to hear. Aren't they the ones who taught me as a child to always say thank you?

I know that I have taught my son to have manners. Please and thank you are major words in his vocabulary. Matter of fact, I have been told that he is very polite. How would I have been able to teach him this if I hadn't been taught?

And, I guess some would argue that a parent doesn't have to thank their child for doing whatever. But, I don't agree with that either. You can't teach your child how important those words are if you never use them.

There are plenty of people out there in the world who feel that kids don't have the respect and manners that they used to have. How can they when they aren't being taught? Or at least the teachings aren't being followed by the parents?

I am probably making too big a deal out of all of this. I have been told recently that I blow tiny little things out of proportion. And, according to them, this is one of those times. But, dog-gone it.....I am crabby lately and this just irritates me!

One thing that isn't irritating me right now is that I have decided to join in on some swapping fun. Around Christmas time last year, I joined in on a Secret Santa in the bloggy world. That was a bunch of fun. Now, I have found that Short Mama is having a spring time swap.

Maybe that will make me happy again! Being able to gather things that I enjoy for spring and send them to someone else? At least that is how I understand that is the way we do this.... If so, then I have three weeks to gather my items and send them along to whoever Short Mama hooks me up with.

I read about this last week, but couldn't decide if I wanted to join in or not. After thinking all about it and coming up with a couple of ideas, I decided to spring forward with it! Plus, the bonus is that I will be getting a package also! And I love mail!

If you want to join in, and you know you do, then just spring into action and link up. But hurry...you only have until tomorrow!

I ♥ Faces

2010-03-15T09:56:00.001-05:00

This week on I ♥ Faces, the theme is Bundled Up. When I read about this, I immediately thought of the following picture:

This probably isn't the best picture in the world, but it is one that I love. The Boy is bundled up enough that his breath is starting to fog up his glasses! We were trying to figure out how to get the big tree that the ice had brought down across our lane out of the way.

This is only the second time that I have entered a picture. Neither of the ones that I have entered have been altered in any way. Why not? Because I either like them the way they are, or I haven't figured out PhotoShop Elements yet!

Birthdays!

2010-03-14T08:35:00.001-05:00

This is a momentous post for a couple of reasons.

First off, today is my Crazy Man's birthday. He is old. That is all I am going to say about his age!

He is the love of my life. I have had to go through a lot of things to get to him. And I wouldn't change it since I know the outcome. I think that I knew the minute I met him that I loved him. But it took several years together and apart for me to be able to tell him.

I wouldn't change anything about him, even if I was given a magic wand and the powers to do so. I wish that I could give him the winning PowerBall ticket so that he could have all the things that he would like to have. And so that I could laugh at him when he buys the most ridiculous things! But it would make him happy, so that would make me happy.

Happy birthday Crazy Man! I hope that you have many more. Especially since I know you will always be soooo much older than me, no matter what the numbers actually show!

Secondly, this happens to be my 100th post. Cool, huh?! Even better that it falls on Crazy Man's birthday ~~since that is his age~~! Guess that means it is happy birthday to this blog also.

Come on over, there is birthday cake for all!

Friday Fragments....finally

2010-03-12T14:26:00.000-06:00

It is Friday Fragment time again. Hosted by Mrs. 4444. Click on over there to see how everyone else is doing.

As for me, I am happy about Friday. I am also happy about the fact that I have a place to put down the fragments of this week. I have been so busy that I am not sure that I have even had a full sentence thought this week!

I live 30 minutes from "town". Because of this and the price of gasoline, I try to only go into town twice a week. Once because The Boy has an appointment and the second to meet Crazy Man on Friday evenings when we usually stay there for the weekend. As of today when I go, this will be day four this week. Next week, I have to go three days. I just want a day at home!

So why did I spend nearly every afternoon in town? Well, on Monday, we went to the Autism Center for a meeting. On Tuesday, The Boy had his regularly scheduled appointment. Wednesday, we actually were able to go home after work/school. Thursday I had an appointment at the hospital. And now today, it is back to Friday and we are planning on staying in town again this weekend.

The appointment I had was for an ultrasound of my thyroid. Again. I really believe that the only thing it is going to show changed from last year around this time is that it has gotten smaller. So why did I do it? Because if I didn't do it, basically the doc told me that he would do nothing for me. And I guess so that I can prove that I know what is going on with my body. Silly me for thinking that I understand my own body.

Last week, the endocrinologist decided that he wanted to draw labwork again. Lovely. They ended up sticking me twice and bruising me pretty badly. They couldn't get it the first time because the only vein they can usually hit wasn't healed up from the last time. And, the labs show that since lowering my meds, my levels are becoming non-therapeutic again. DUH! He also discovered that my vitamin D level was half of what the low range is. So, he added a supplement to see what would happen. And after three months, they will ~~bruise the crap out of me~~ draw labs again.

In better news.... We can see a bracket! Yay! A bracket, a bracket, a bracket! No. Not the March Madness bracket. One of those brackets on a tooth. You know. For braces? Yeah. THOSE brackets.

Now most people don't get all hyper and turning cartwheels in the streets for that, right? Well, I am not most people. See, when The Boy had braces put on over two years ago, there was one tooth that was growing in the middle of the roof of his mouth. An oral surgeon had to go in, under anesthesia and much drama, to attach a bracket to this rogue tooth and have a chain looped out of it so that it could be reeled in over time.

And that time is now! Three weeks ago, you couldn't see the bracket. Today, it is plainly visible. All that has to be done now, is to get it turned the way it is supposed to sit and get it all comfy in the hole that is available. Once it gets comfy and happy in it's new home, all the braces can be taken off and we can go happily along our merry way!

Who knew a bracket could be so exciting, huh?! I know you are smiling and cheering too. Don't deny it!

Pennies for Patients

2010-03-10T14:19:00.000-06:00

Yeah, yeah, I am still alive. Although it has been a crazy week to say the least. And, it doesn't look like it is going to be getting any slower any time soon. There has been so much happening this week, that I have not had the time to actually sit down and type anything until just this minute. I don't even know where to start! Maybe I will just post random things on Friday and go ahead with what I had planned for Monday now. Yeah...that would probably be for the best.

Remember when I was looking for ideas for our Pennies for Patients campaign? Well, we came up with some things to do to try to raise money. One of those was a hat day. The kids paid a dollar to get to wear a hat all day at school. We sold chances for all sorts of things to be given away. And then we sold water balloons for a dollar to throw at one of our teachers.

Through all of the three weeks that this took place, the kids could bring in any type of money to be added to their classroom total weight. When we did this last year, I decided that it would be easier to weigh the money (since most of it comes in as change) than to find the time to count it all each week. The class with the most weight would win a pizza party.

Once we finished the three weeks of our campaign, I had planned to take the change to the bank that I use to have it counted. The problem with that is that the bank told me that that they did not take bulk change without it being rolled. How silly is that? So, instead of having them count it, I had to count and roll it all myself. Well, not really alone since my father in law and my Crazy Man helped.

After it was all rolled (which took nearly a week!) the grand total was $567.25! This was less than what we brought in last year, but not bad when you consider what is going on with the economy. And, since we only have 157 kids that participated, that works out to be an average of $3.61 each. Not too bad!

We threw water balloons on February 19th. Outside. It was a little nippy, but it was actually the warmest day that we had been privy to for several weeks. I brought my camera and gave it to a friend/co-worker who took all the pictures since I was busy coordinating the goings-on.

I filled all of the water balloons at home the night before. There were only about 200 of them total!

The kids had a really good time. And, truth be told, so did the adults! We are already trying to come up with something to top the water balloons for next year.

I am really proud of the kids. They did a really good job raising the money that they raised. I am also equally impressed by our music teacher for volunteering to have cold water balloons thrown at him on a cold and windy February!

Friday Fragments

2010-03-05T09:47:00.000-06:00

Yay! Friday! And with that comes another episode of Friday Fragments, brought to you by Mrs. 4444. Click on over there to join in.

This week has been a long short week. With The Boy being sick on Monday, I have had to pack 5 days of stuff into 4 days. He is still not feeling 100%, but he is definitely on the mend.

I think The Boy is growing again. Either that or I was wrong by saying that he is on the mend. His usual bedtime is 9pm and then he is awake by 6:30am and out of bed by 7am. The past couple of days he has come home from school and wanted to take a nap. Then last night, he started to eat and eat and eat. I love the fact that he is growing. The bigger the better! Although, I am going to have to get another job to buy the clothes he will need and the food he continues to consume.

I went to the high school on Tuesday to help the science teacher draw blood from some of her students in her A&P class. They are studying the circulatory system and had asked if they could type their blood. So, it was up to me to stick the kids and keep a controlled level of bleeding. After I had stuck the first student, the teacher realized that the solutions we needed to proceed had been misplaced. Ended up that I went back on Wednesday and we started all over again. If you have never done this, it is really neat to see and do. The kids thought it was great!

Our school's girls basketball team won the district tournament last night. They have done really well the past several years and have placed in state a couple of times. We are keeping our fingers crossed that they do as well this year at the state level.

The boys team is much better this year than last year. I think they will be even better next year. They aren't quite up to the girls level, but everyone knows that girls are better than boys, right!

I finally got all of the change counted for our Pennies for Patients campaign. I will post next week with pictures about everything related to that.

The Boy has finals today. Well, four out of seven are today. The rest are on Monday. He says that he is ready for them and thinks that he will do well. I am sure that he will be fine.

Little Little Brother is signed up to take the ACT. In case you aren't familiar with the term, it is kind of like the SAT. He has to do well on it to get into college. Hard to believe that he is old enough to be looking into colleges.

Crazy Man's birthday is coming up soon. I have got to figure out what to get him as a gift. He shouldn't be that difficult to get things for, but he is. Guess I am going to have to do some research to see what I can find for him.

Not much else going on this week. Hopefully the weekend is nice and sunny and warm. Well, it probably won't be warm, but I can at least hope. Have a good weekend!

Dear Someone,

2010-03-04T10:52:00.000-06:00

Another Thursday has made its appearance and that means that it is time for Dear Someone letters once more. These fabulous pieces of mail are brought to you by Short Mama, so hop on over there to read all the letters.

Dear Short Mama: Welcome back. Hope that you and yours are crying less and remembering the good things more.

Dear DNA Donor: You are an idiot. There have got to be more people in this world who look at you like they aren't sure how it is you have gotten this far in life than just me. When you ask The Boy questions about a meeting that you knew about, but decided not to attend, and only get "I don't know" in response, welcome to my world. Do not get mad at me because you can't find out the answers. You have a phone, I have a phone number. Put the two together and you will more than likely get answers to those questions. If you don't tick me off by acting as though I am the idiot.

Also, I would appreciate it if you didn't tell The Boy to lie to me. Yeah, I know. You didn't use those exact words. But when you hand him money and then tell him "don't tell your mom"....that is basically the same thing. I don't care if you give him money. Heaven knows you have more of it than I do. But when you tell him that he should keep secrets from me, (and not about just money that you hand him but the other things too) that is telling him that I am not to be trusted with any information. I pray that others are keeping their hands off of him and that he isn't contemplating drugs, because you just taught him that it is fine to keep secrets from his mom. Again...you are an idiot.

Dear Family: You have hurt my grandma's feelings. Yes, I know that she and grandpa would not have gone out to eat with you on Monday night for my nephew's birthday, but she still wishes that you would have at least asked.

Dear Department of Family Services: I understand that you all have more than you can possibly handle in one day. But here is the deal. If you have seen something in a hot-lined home that sends up red flags in your mind, please open a case file to make sure that the child receives what you feel they need to remove those flags from your mind. Don't just make the suggestion and then walk out while dictating a letter saying that there is no reason to open a case file. God gave us the ability for our mind/gut to throw red flags for a reason. Pay attention. Or get a different job. Please.

Dear Boy: You, my dearest son, need a haircut. I know you don't like them. But I am afraid that people are going to start calling you a girl. Besides, you look so much older when your hair is shorter. With that thought, maybe we won't cut it.

Dear Parents: I do not have x-ray vision. I can not tell you if your child has broken a bone unless it is seriously deformed or sticking out through the skin. And if either of those are the case, then I am going to guess that you can tell if the bone is broken without my input. If you continue to send me stupid requests like this, then I am going to start charging a co-pay.

Dear Readers of this Blog: Thanks. And if you have anything that you would like to say in a letter to someone, go link up. It will make you feel better. Really. It will.

Nashville Anniversary

2010-03-03T15:46:00.000-06:00

This past weekend was our 2nd fake anniversary. Unless you have been here before, you wouldn't understand that remark. If you have been here, then you know that we were married on February 29, 2008. And since that date only shows up once every four years, this past weekend was a fake anniversary where we had to choose a day to celebrate. Instead of one day, we chose the whole weekend.

Crazy Man had racked up enough points on his Wyndham card from staying out for his job that we could spend a free night in a hotel. He chose the Wyndham at Union Station in Nashville, TN. I had looked at all of the pictures online, and it looked like a really nice place. The quoted prices were in the amazingly hefty range also.

When we finally were able to get gone from town on Friday, it was after 6pm. We were planning on staying with his sister that night, doing whatever we wanted to do on Saturday, stay at the hotel that night, then come home on Sunday. And that is basically what we did.

On Saturday morning, we wanted to eat at the White Trash Cafe. Upon arriving at their address, we discovered that they were no longer in business. Too bad because what I had read about it said that it was really good. We ended up having to eat at McDonald's. And, by the time we made it there, it was almost dinner time instead of breakfast.

We then went to the flea market at the fairgrounds. We spent several hours wandering around hunting for anything that was interesting enough to spend money on and bring home. We found a couple of things, but nothing fun and interesting enough to share.

Once we finished at the flea market, we said good-bye to his sister and made our way to the hotel. We were kind of concerned about where to park, but when I went inside, the lady at the front desk was telling someone else that they could either use the valet parking or park in an open lot themselves, about a half block away. The valet parking was only about $6 more, and we could come and go as many times as we wanted to. Plus that parking was just outside the front doors of the hotel. We went with valet!

When I checked us in, I was told that our certificate from Wyndham had not arrived yet. I told her that we would work on getting that as soon as we got into the room. She gave me two room key cards and said that we would be in room 111. She told me that to get there, I would have to "go through that door across the lobby and take the elevator around the corner to the first floor."

Silly me! I thought I was on the first floor. Nope. The main lobby happened to be on the third floor. And, I guess that made sense after thinking about it. After all, the hotel used to be an old train station. And, you can't very well have the trains coming through the lobby, now can you?!

So, out to the truck to get Crazy Man and our suitcase. We got the guy to valet park our truck and in we go to find our room.

We get off the elevator, after going down two levels, and step off into a darkened hallway. I started looking around and realized that there were just a few actual rooms to stay in. Mostly there was a meeting room and all the other rooms that it takes to run a hotel. I was not really excited about this, but figured that I would reserve judgment until I saw the room. After all, it had to be good since it was supposed to cost nearly $300 a night.

When I walked into the room, I was nearly in tears. It was a nice room with a king sized bed, a couple of night stands, a chair, a flat screen tv with a business type table against the wall...and no place to walk. They had squeezed all of this into a tiny little space with seven foot ceilings, which made it seem even smaller. I thought that maybe the view would save it. But when I opened the curtain, I found this sight:

On the other side of this fence were the trains that come and go at all hours of the day and night. I can sleep with train noise...as long as I have a couple of weeks to get used to it. One night? Not gonna happen.

I asked Crazy Man if he would mind if I asked if there was a different room available. He said that he didn't care. So, while he was attempting to get our voucher faxed, I requested a different room since I felt like we had been banished to the dungeon.

She re-keyed our cards for room 623. This is what our second view looked like:

Not much to see, but at least there was something! And, the train was not on the other side of the fence.

From standing next to the bathroom area, this is what the room looked like:

This room felt much bigger, probably because of the twelve foot ceilings.

We went up one floor so that we could get some cool pictures like this one:

And like these of the lobby:

Once we got all settled in to our new room, we decided to go out and see what we could see until it was time for supper. We found the Batman Building, which I am thinking is one of my favorite buildings:

We made our way to the mall once we realized just how close to the action we were and could walk instead of having to pay to park. This is what Crazy Man got me for our anniversary:

I love going to Build-A-Bear! I don't always come home with something, but this time we found Sgt. N. Cognito who says that he loves me when you press his foot!

By about 5pm we were starting to get hungry, so we made our way back toward the hotel. We had gotten wind of this place:

Doesn't look like much but a house, huh? This is Monell's. They serve down home food. Silly me didn't take the camera inside, so you will just have to trust me on the sights. They took us into a back room where there were two long tables set up with about 15 chairs around them. The waiter told us to find a seat, but not to leave any empty chairs between us and the others sitting at the table.

We ended up eating supper with 12 other people. None of the plates matched. The only things offered for us to drink were sweet and unsweet tea and water. In the middle of the table was a lazy susan which held dessert plates and spoons and the drinks along with condiments.

And then they started to bring out bowls of food! Potato salad, slaw, green beans, cucumbers and onions, macaroni and cheese, corn pudding, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, meat loaf, pulled pork, banana pudding, biscuits and cornbread and several other things that I have forgotten! You get to eat your fill of all of this. And when it is gone, they bring more!

It was wonderful! We really are looking forward to going back to try their breakfast one morning, since one of the folks we ate with said that it was even better than the meal we ate.

We waddled our way back to the truck and dropped the truck off at the hotel. We walked the few blocks to see what there was to see. We ended up going here:

The worst part about this was that most of the businesses that used to be there are no longer. Matter of fact, the only sign I even remember seeing advertised naked karaoke! And, we definitely did not want to see that!

We finally saw all there was to see and went into this world famous bar:

We stayed for an hour or so and then made our way out again. It took us probably 20 minutes to get out of the joint since there were people jammed in there so tight you couldn't move.

Walking back, I took a couple of pictures of the outside of our hotel:

This one is my absolute favorite one though:

I love how the clouds make it look all spooky looking!

On Sunday morning, Crazy Man wanted to eat at the Loveless Cafe. So, we headed that way on our way out of town. Once we got there, they told us it was going to be an hour wait. And they were right on about the time frame. Just shy of 60 minutes after we arrived, we were seated.

They are supposed to have some great biscuits. Good enough to have beaten Bobby Flay in a showdown! Yeah...they were good. But the best thing they had was actually the blackberry preserves. Or at least I thought so!

Once we finished up there, it home again. We had a great weekend for our anniversary. Crazy Man says that he is going to try to make each one better. As long as we are together, then the next one will be better, no matter what he plans. I am looking forward to many more. Both fake and real!

Autism Meeting

2010-03-02T14:40:00.000-06:00

There are so many things going on here that I am not sure where to start! Maybe if I had been here yesterday, there wouldn't be as much that I have to say. But, that was beyond my control. The Boy was sick yesterday. He seems to be feeling better today. Hopefully that will last, since he has finals on Friday and Monday.

By the way....a final, worth 20% of his grade....on a Monday?! C'mon! I am sure he will do fine, as long as he is there to hear what is being discussed, but there are plenty of others who won't do as well since nobody studies over the weekend!

Moving on to talk about what happened in the meeting with those who work with Autism Spectrum folks.

Where we are from, (or at least in the closest big town) they have just built a brand new autism center. Housed inside of that is another group which was started because a local orthodontist (who The Boy sees) has a son who is on the spectrum. Growing up, there was not really anyone around who could help get him ready for what he would need to accomplish in his life. This group is now available to help gear these kids up to help them fit into the world around them. (His son has gone on to attend an out of state college and is an amazing artist.)

When we met with these folks the other day, they decided that The Boy would fit well into a group that they were going to begin. This group would be broke up into smaller groups of kids/young adults who seemed to be on the same level of "Social Thinking". The way I understand it, these groups would help teach how to deal with the public....the way things are said, reading body language, etc.

I was told that the group that they felt would work the best for The Boy would be meeting on Wednesday evenings from 5:30 until 6:30. Each child/parent would have to sign a contract saying that they would attend all (or as many as reasonably possible) of the meetings. Also, each participant would need to eat supper before they arrived so that hunger would not be an issue. She went on to say that each meeting would cost $25 and they did not send it in to any type of insurance, nor were they sure if any insurance would cover it.

I felt like this would be a wonderful thing for The Boy. But, I have a few problems with it all. First of all, we live 30 minutes away from where the meeting would take place. That would mean that we would spend an hour of travel time and an hour of group time. And, we wouldn't get home until after 7pm if we were able to walk out the door at exactly 6:30. (And how many meetings do you attend where you leave the exact minute they say everything is going to end?)

Another issue would be that I would have to get us home from school/work, get homework done and supper fixed and eaten before 5pm. That gives me an hour. I don't know that I could make that happen.

The travel issue is still a problem when you consider the fact that I try to make only one, possibly two, trips into town each week. Especially considering the fact that gas ain't cheap! Granted, there are some weeks when I make considerably more trips into town. Doesn't make me happy though.

Another factor is the cost. Yeah, she said that $25 "is really cheap therapy". And it doesn't sound like very much per week when you say it out loud. But when you actually look at it added into your budget, I would have to come up with an extra $125 for March. And it all averages out to an extra $100 a month. I don't have that much extra. We live paycheck to paycheck with every dime accounted for.

I kind of felt like they were thinking that if I really wanted to help my son, then I would do anything it took to do so. And maybe anyone who reads this will think the same thing. If that is the case, then think how you wish. The fact remains that I don't have the extra, no matter what is on the wish list for things we want/need. So, unfortunately at this point in time, The Boy will not be attending these meetings.

Another thing that was discussed was trying to get him into a Vo-Tech program through the school. The one they were all looking at is a pre-engineering program. They were hoping that he would be able to start going to it during his sophomore year (next year). That isn't going to be able to happen though since he has to have certain math and science courses completed that are not offered until next year.

We are going to try to get him to get some of the classes done so that he can attend during his junior year though. The counselor told me that if he does go to the Vo-Tech, he could possibly lose out on being either Valedictorian or Salutatorian of his class. She said that the Vo-Tech classes are not considered to be "weighted" courses and if someone stayed and took weighted classes at the high school, it could push him out of the running. I have discovered that I can appeal to the school board to get the pre-engineering classes designated as weighted if I make a good enough argument for it.

That is what we will do. The Boy would love to be one of the top in his class, but he also would like to attend this Vo-Tech class. I don't think that it would be fair for him to go to a pre-engineering class and be penalized for attending and doing well. Therefore, we will appeal to the board should the need arise.

And that is what happened during our meeting. It sure seemed like a lot more rattling around in my head before I typed it all out!

Friday Fragments

2010-02-26T09:32:00.000-06:00

This weeks Friday Fragments are being brought to you by Mrs. 4444, just like always! Run on over there to see how fragmented the rest of the bloggers' week has been.

I have been fired. Yep. Evidently one of those who signed up as a follower has fired me. My six followers has recently become five.

I don't know why they are no longer a follower. Did I say something that they didn't like? Did they just decide that they had to downsize their bloggy world visits and started getting rid of those with the least seniority?

I wonder....can I draw unemployment because of this firing? Because you know....I could really use the extra money.

I think I know where they went. They went to Helene's! Why would I think this? Because she has over 1000 followers! That is amazing. I don't think that I even know a thousand people in the real world, and I am positive that I don't know that many in the bloggy world.

Anyway....yesterday was a crappy day at work. I am telling you that you should have to pass a test before you can receive a working uterus or sperm. I probably would not have passed, but that is besides the point, since I am at least trying to take care of my child.

As soon as school/work is done for today, The Boy and I are headed home to grab a few things and then out the door we go. He is spending the weekend with the DNA Donor. Crazy Man and I are making our way to Nashville. We will be staying with his sister tonight and then tomorrow night we will stay in a nice (really nice from the looks of it) hotel. Crazy Man set up the trip for our six month anniversary. Actually, in calendar years, it is our second anniversary, but since we got married on February 29th, we have been saying that our one year is in 2012 when that date shows up again.

We have a couple things planned, but nothing really grand at this point. We kind of take things as they come when we go do something like this. I am looking forward to it.

I have been having really odd dreams lately. I don't usually remember them, I just know that I have been having them and some of them are weird and some of them are scary. Matter of fact, Crazy Man said that I sat up yelling the other night. The only thing I remember is that I felt like someone was coming at me. Last night, I had a dream that I had frozen bacon in my hands and I was trying to get it to thaw while I was at school getting kids loaded on the buses. I woke up this morning to a ringing phone and my first thought was "huh...wonder how that turned out?" Crazy, I know!

The Boy hasn't felt so swell the past couple of days. I think he got the cold that I had last weekend. After some DayQuil dosing, he is starting to feel better.

Earlier in the week we had a visit with some folks that deal with people on the autism spectrum. We had been there before where some testing was done, but we never heard anything from them. Now all of a sudden they give us a call because they want to put The Boy in to a program. I asked why now and not then. They told me that he was a bit young when he first came in for what they could do. Now, they feel that he is just about the right age. They told me that they would be working with him on some transition type stuff to get ready for the real world instead of the controlled environment of the school.

I will post later about what all happened in this meeting. It is more than just a fragment!

That is the week in a nutshell. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Short and to the Point

2010-02-25T13:46:00.000-06:00

This week's Dear Someone letters has been postponed this week due to a death in the family over at Short Mama's. This blog sends its condolences to her and her family.

And, I am having a rough ~~day~~ week so I will have to keep this short and sweet. I will be back tomorrow with a post that will work well for Fragmented Friday. Since that is the way I have been able to think this week...in fragments.

Jefferson City

2010-02-24T14:48:00.000-06:00

The long awaited post has finally made it's appearance!!

Several weeks ago, I went to Jefferson City for a ~~stupid~~ wonderfully informative meeting related to my job. When we had arrived the night before, we were out and about looking for where this ~~super informative~~ meeting was supposed to be. We also had to find a place to eat supper. We had a GPS to guide us to where we were supposed to go, but sometimes they aren't all that clear. And even when they are that clear, the streets themselves do not lend themselves to be driver friendly!

That is how we stumbled upon this:

Now, something that big you would think that it would be kind of difficult to stumble upon. But that is exactly what happened! We found an empty parking spot that had a sign saying that it was for a reporter. The governor was giving a speech at that moment in the building, so we figured that since we would only be there for a few minutes and if the reporter wasn't already there, then evidently he wasn't coming. As we were putting our cameras away and climbing back into the car, this guy comes driving by and starts yelling at us out his window about us being in his parking spot. He wasn't very nice, so we took our time leaving. We nearly got ourselves into a fight on the stairs over a parking spot, but at least we got the picture!

I had visited there before, but I was young enough that I don't remember a whole lot about it. Other than the fact that my parents took me. And that we went into either the house or senate portion to watch and that I was nearly in tears from being afraid of heights.

This time, I was still afraid of heights, but was able to get some cool pictures. My friend took some neat ones too of places that I would never be able to take them. But, just watching her lean over the railing and taking pictures made me break into a sweat!

There were some really interesting combinations of paintings and architecture. These were taken from the main floor looking up:

This one was taken from me sitting on the floor at the bottom of the stairs:

While sitting on the floor for this picture, we looked up and found the most wonderful stained glass on the ceiling. How in the world could we get a great shot like this if we didn't lay down on floor?!

There was more stained glass in the Senate and House of Representatives:

We couldn't go inside because they were gone for the day and the doors were locked, so I took pictures through the windows of the doors.

Everyone thinks that the state decisions are made by the person who works in this office:

But we figured out that the real one always watching over to make sure that the right decisions are made is:

They have what I call bodyless heads, but what others call 'busts' of folks that were born or raised in Missouri that have become famous, like:

I was teasing one of my fellow travelers about giving Walter Cronkite a kiss when we happened across his bodyless head. She was a bit too short though. But, when we found Harry S Truman, there happened to be several chairs stacked up next to him which made for the perfect height for this:

We had several people ~~gawking with open mouths and shaking of heads~~ watching ~~and laughing at~~ us. We even laughed and said that we should have t-shirts made that read "Don't laugh. I'm from the sticks" in big bold letters on them!

Overall, even though I had to attend a ~~boring non~~ informative meeting, we had a really good time touring the capital building.

Secret Wishes

2010-02-23T10:34:00.000-06:00

On Valentine's Day I got a text message. Lots of folks out there did I am betting. This one, however, wished me a "Happy valentines day, sweetie." Still not an unusual text to receive. But this one came from a number that I did not recognize. And neither did Crazy Man.

I sent them a text in return to let them know that I appreciated the message, but that both my husband and myself were curious as to who the message was from. When I didn't get a response, we assumed that the sender was kicking him/herself because they sent it to the wrong number. So, we just laughed about it and carried on with our lives.

On Saturday, we were eating when I got a text message. This one wished me a "Happy birthday, sweetie." Again, not unusual since it actually was my birthday. But it was from the same number as the valentine's message. The one that I didn't recognize.

I thought it was funny. Crazy Man? Not so much!

I just laughed and sent a message back letting them know that we obviously knew each other but that their name was not showing up. I then asked if they could at least give me a clue as to who they were and thanked them for the birthday wishes.

Crazy Man wanted me to immediately call the number. I told him that I may still not know since they didn't have to answer the call. And, if they didn't have a voicemail set up, then it still wouldn't give him the answer that he wants.

He then went to the internet to see if he could track down the owner of the number in that manner. He could...if he paid. He decided that it wasn't worth that much!

He tells me that he is not a jealous man. Seems to me that he is a bit more jealous than he thinks he is!

Would I like to know who it is that sent me those messages? Sure. But not knowing is also fun.

Un Happy Birthday

2010-02-22T13:20:00.000-06:00

Saturday was both mine and my grandpa's birthday. Thank you to Cheryl and Carolee for the birthday wishes. I appreciate them!

Just so you know, I am going to complain. Yep. I am. My birthday, my right.

Last Tuesday, one of the teachers had a birthday here at school. Another teacher (who happens to be a fabulous cook) brought in a big pan of brownies to celebrate. Silly me felt left out when there was nothing brought in to celebrate my birthday. Maybe if my birthday had been on a weekday?

Then, my Crazy Man called my grandmother to tell her that it would really mean a lot to me if she and my grandpa (whose birthday it also was) would go out to eat fish like we have done the past several years. She told Crazy Man that Grandpa wouldn't want to go. I don't think she even mentioned it to him. My parents and in-laws ended up going to eat fish with me and Crazy Man. The Boy stayed with Little Little Brother at Big Little Brother's house because he is allergic to fish and didn't want to go if he couldn't eat anything they had. The fish tasted wonderful, but not nearly as good as it would have been if my grandparents had been there too.

On Saturday morning (my actual birthday) I woke up to Crazy Man telling me happy birthday. He then ended up getting a phone call to tell him that he could use the tractor for an hour, so he needed to come and get it.

I know that doesn't make any sense, so this is the explanation for that. On Wednesday, a guy that Crazy Man knows was to bring by a 15 ton load of gravel to drop on the lane up to the city house. This lane has just turned to mushy mud with all of the rain/snow/icky weather and we were hoping that this would do some good. The guy told him that he would bring it and spread it, just like he had done in the past.

When we showed up to look at it that evening, it had been brought and dumped, but not spread. The worst part was that the guy had spread about 10 feet worth, but then just dumped the rest of it in 4 different piles. We couldn't even get a vehicle up to the house! Crazy Man called and told the guy who then said that if Crazy Man and his father couldn't get it all spread by hand, to let him know and he would bring the tractor over to spread it.

Do you know how long it takes two men to hand move 15 tons of rock?! Yeah, well, neither do I because they gave up after about 4 hours. Crazy Man called the guy who said that he would bring the tractor over to spread it all out on Saturday morning.

And now, here it was Saturday morning and he is calling Crazy Man to tell him "you can come get the tractor, but you can only use it for an hour because I need it back for another job." Let me tell you....I was a bit ticked off. He did nothing that he said he was going to do other than bring the rock.

So, Crazy Man and his dad left to go get the tractor. That was at about 10 am. They were finally able to get everything spread out and the tractor returned and them home about 1:30.

Once he cleaned up a little, we needed to get something to eat. Now I know you have seen those commercials advertising that you get a free Grand Slam Breakfast at Denny's on your birthday, right? Yeah, so had I. We happen to have a Denny's in town, so that is where we headed.

Crazy Man and I each ordered the Grand Slam Breakfast, and The Boy had a hamburger and fries. When it was time to pay, Crazy Man grabbed the bill and off to the register we went.

I told the girl that it was my birthday and she asked to see some ID. I showed her my license and she took off $2 on the bill. I asked her if I got a free breakfast or not. She told me that she would have to go talk to the manager.

When she came back, she told me that I could have had the free breakfast if I had ordered the original grand slam, but since I ordered a build your own, then she was only allowed to take off $2.

I know. Didn't make sense to me either. Crazy Man said to not worry about it and she rang it all up. That meal for the three of us ended up costing $22.50. Not bad for a free meal, huh?!

When we went out to leave, I noticed a big sign in the window advertising the free meal. I stood there and read every single word on it and nowhere did it say the word original. I went to the truck and asked for the receipt but was told it was no big deal. I insisted by saying, "this is my birthday and if I want to pitch a fit I will. They promise a free meal and I want my free meal."

I went back in and asked for the manager. She told me that it was only for the original. I told her that there is nothing in the advertisements that say that. She then told me that "it is in the fine print." I told her that I stood outside her restaurant and read all of the fine print, but still nothing with the word original to be found.

I told her that all I wanted was what was promised. She finally found my ticket and told me that she would fix it. She ended up giving me my free meal and our drinks for free. She must have done more than that though, because when she finally presented me with the final bill, it came to a grand total of $6.50! She said that the initial bill was incorrect to begin with.

So, three hours later, we are at my grandparent's house to have supper with the whole family. The bad part about this was that even though it was partially my birthday supper too, there was not much I would eat. And they knew it when they were deciding what to make earlier in the week. Luckily, Crazy Man discovered this and his mom ended up making a rotisserie chicken that she brought, knowing that I would at least eat some of that.

She also made a carrot cake with cream cheese icing from scratch because they were also not having any type of dessert that I liked either. Yeah. Nice, huh?

I did get some nice gifts though. My grandparents gave me some money. My parents got me a couple of cookbooks that were neat. (Not that I can cook, but I do like to look at them and wish that I could make things in them!) My in-laws got me a gift card to Barnes & Noble plus some Bath & Bodyworks hand soap and some blackberry jam. (Crazy combination, but great nonetheless!) Crazy Man and The Boy got me a new stereo system for the car since mine has decided to keep my CDs for itself. Now they have to get the right parts to get it installed and take apart the old one to rescue my six CDs.

All in all, I am glad this birthday is over. It didn't turn out as well as I would have liked. But at least we all lived through it and it is done. Maybe next year will be better. Hopefully anyway.

Friday Fragments

2010-02-19T09:19:00.000-06:00

Friday Fragment day. Just a few fragmented thoughts for your reading enjoyment today. Or maybe not enjoyment. Whatever. It is Friday. Finally.

On Wednesday, Crazy Man came home to tell me that he was definitely getting old. I asked him how it was that he finally came to this conclusion. He told me that he had found a couple of gray chest hairs! I just laughed at him.

He also told me that he had made himself look like an idiot on Wednesday. Says that he told a couple of people that they had some dirt on their forehead. I laughed at him about that too. He said that in his entire life, he had never seen folks with an ash cross on their foreheads for Ash Wednesday. I kind of figure it is because ~~he doesn't pay much attention~~ he grew up in the city and not a close knit community where this is a yearly occurrence.

I am hoping to get my Grandpa to go out to eat at one of the fish frys that take place every Friday night around this area to celebrate Lent. We have been going for several years on the Friday night closest to our birthday. This year, I am not sure we will be able to convince him to come out for it.

My Grandpa and I celebrate our birthdays tomorrow. He will be 93 years old. I will be less than that. Although at times, I don't feel much less than that!

I spent several hours last night at home filling water balloons. Why? Because the big ending to our Pennies for Patients campaign is today and we sold water balloons to throw at our music teacher. I am hoping to have some pictures of it to post sometime next week.

While I was filling water balloons, I talked The Boy through getting clothes out of the dryer, putting more into the dryer and even getting a load going in the washer. You know you do a lot of laundry when you can talk a kid through doing all of those things without ever stepping foot into the laundry room!

My uncle and cousin, along with his boy will be here sometime today. Not sure why they decided to come now, but they are more than welcome to celebrate birthdays with us!

I may be the only person around who is not watching the Olympics. Is that a bad thing? Does that make me un-American?! Hope not. It is not that I am not interested, because I am. Its just that I have so many other things to do (like fill water balloons) that I just haven't had time.

If you want to see what others are fragmented about today, head on over to Mrs. 4444's place. And, while you are at it, have a good weekend!

Dear Someone,

2010-02-18T09:35:00.001-06:00

Another Thursday, another round of Dear Someone letters. All hosted by Short Mama. Gotta love her for that!

Dear Crazy Man's Work: Maybe it is no big deal to you, but you forgot to ask those of us that this concerns. When you go from paying your employees every single Friday to every other Friday, and only give me two weeks to prepare...that is a major issue! Yeah, that was awfully kind of you to offer an advance in pay to help get us through, but then to have that money taken out of the following checks actually helps not in the least. But thanks for thinking of us.

Dear Me: Check the calendar! I don't know why I was so shocked Tuesday night to see that The Boy had an orthodontist appointment yesterday. After all, I made that appointment! And don't forget....you need to get your driver's license renewed. You only have until Saturday to get that done.

Dear Girl Scouts: Thanks for the cookies! I truly appreciate the yummy-ness of them. Although, my clothes are really ticked at you.

Dear Wii-Fit Voice: If you say one more time "ohhh" when I step onto that darned board, I may just have to take out your batteries. After all, calling you a B**ch is not making me feel better anymore.

Dear Mail Order Prescription Folks: About friggin' time.

Dear UPS Guy: Upon driving up my third of a mile lane to reach my house and seeing that I have a smashed up mailbox laying in front of my garage, do you really think that I will not assume that you are a complete idiot when you ask if my mailbox was destroyed? Here's your sign.

Dear Cousin's Guardian Angel: Thank you. I know that you have been working really hard with him lately, keeping him alive and all. I just want to recognize all of your hard work. It was just this summer that he nearly died from a supposedly easy little surgery. And, he was just in that same building a short time before the lady opened fire in Alabama.

Dear Fred: Do you really have to sniff the entire yard? We live on more than nine acres...and it is cold outside. Just choose a spot to do your business already.

Dear Sinatra and Ziggy: The vet says you are fat. Not me. Not The Boy. We call you "fluffy" or something equally as nice. So we can only give you so much food each day. At least we try to spread out your portion so you don't have to remember to save a little so you can have a snack before bedtime. You should love us for that and not complain that you are hungry. Ok? Ok.

Dear Readers of this Blog: Thanks. I know I haven't been here that much this week. I will try to do better next week!

Dear Short Mama: I just discovered that it is your birthday. So have a happy one! You know that all the great people are born in February, right?!

Dancing into the Contest

2010-02-16T14:28:00.000-06:00

I have been watching this blog for a while now and have finally decided to enter a picture. Actually, I wanted to enter one last week, but was unable to do so because of no access to a computer. After looking at a lot of the different pictures, it seems like several of them have been edited in some form or fashion. Or maybe it is just because they are better photographers than me and their pictures are just better all the way around! Because I have yet to fully figure out Photoshop Elements, mine is not edited at all!

This week's theme is "I Wanna Dance!" So, without further ado, here is my photo:

This is my cousin who was just over 2 years old at the time of this picture. We were at his very first parade which is held every year to kick off the local fair.

Head on over to I ♥ Faces and check out all the other photos.

♥ Day

2010-02-14T08:04:00.030-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

I was going to write this in red, but didn't know if it would show up. And if it did show up, then I a little nervous about how it would clash and all. So, if you are reading this in all of it's typed black glory, just imagine it is in red! And have a great day with those you love and who love you back!

Two years ago today, my Crazy Man proposed to me with 14 million people listening in on our private moment. He won a contest on the Sean Hannity radio show where he could propose on the air.

We were stranded at my grandparent's house because of a massive ice storm that had passed through. He told me that he was going out to help his dad with some things and would be back later.

My phone rang and it was someone that I did not know, but I had promised Crazy Man that I would answer my phone that day even if I didn't know the number. I did and the lady told me to hang on for a minute.

The next voice I hear is Crazy Man's. He is telling everyone what it is that he loves about me.

Hannity then introduces himself to me and asks if I recognize the voice. I tell him that I do. He asks Crazy Man if he had something special planned for Valentine's Day. He said that he did, but he wanted it to be a surprise.

At that point, Hannity didn't know what to do because he was expecting Crazy Man to just go ahead and propose. He had to then ask if he had anything else he wanted to say to me.

Crazy Man then asked if I would be his wife. I didn't know what to do but cry and tell him "absolutely!"

About that time, he and his mother walk into my grandparent's house. He was carrying a huge bunch of flowers and a ring. He gave me the ring box with a sucker ring in it!

Once we hung up with Hannity, Crazy Man got down on one knee and asked me again to marry him and he gave me my real ring. He said that he had to do it in person too since he wanted to give me the ring and see my face.

I loved every little detail about the proposal! I think the best part though was the fact that he had asked The Boy, my parents, and my grandparents if it would be okay if he asked me to marry him. I also liked the part where he did it for a second time in front of my family. My Grandma and Grandpa loved being there to see it.

Later I found out that he had been running around town trying to track down the UPS man to find the flowers that were supposed to be delivered to me so that he could have them when he needed them! I also discovered that he was sitting out in the driveway while the phone call was being taped.

They sent us a couple copies of the proposal and we played one of them while the bridal party walked down the aisle at our wedding 15 days later! I cried then too! Matter of fact, I shed tears while typing this just now!

I used to not really like Valentine's Day. Just another day. Now....it is one of the best days of the year for me because of the memories it holds. Thank you Crazy Man. I love you!

Friday Fragments

2010-02-12T13:31:00.000-06:00

It's Friday! Finally. And with that comes another edition of Friday Fragments hosted by Mrs. 4444. Scoot on over there and read what others are saying!

I have been hunting around the internet looking for tutorials on how to work this crazy Photoshop Elements that I have managed to place my hands upon. So far, I have tried a couple of things with not very good results. But I am not going to give up! It has to be easier than what I am making it out to be!

The Boy cooked supper last night. Although he had tons of help from me, it was his recipe that we used. He made it before with Little Little Brother, so everything had to be exactly the same way. Unfortunately, I didn't have the exact same ingredients as he used before, so things had to be tweaked a tad to get it all to work out in the end. That threw him for a loop, but we made it work. What did we have? He called it Chicken and Rice. It was chicken pieces cut up into some rice and mixed together with brown gravy. Not too thrilled with the actual look of it, but the taste wasn't too terrible! He did good!

Valentine's Day party at school/work today. Yippee!

We have gathered about 115 pounds of change for Pennies for Patients so far. One more week to go!

I am just so glad that it is Friday! And I have a three day weekend since Monday is President's Day and we have the day off. Which means that I will probably not be back here until at least Tuesday unless I go somewhere. Guess I will see you then!

Dear Someone

2010-02-11T10:02:00.000-06:00

Today is another day of Dear Someone letters. Once again being hosted by Short Mama. And let me just say, this couldn't have come at a better time because I have a few things to address!

Dear Mother Nature: What has gotten your panties all in a twist lately? Are you and Father Time having an argument or something? Should you really be taking it out on us defenseless folks here who are just trying to get by in life? I mean really.....how much snow are you gonna dump on everyone before you two kiss and make up?

Dear Tax Guy: Thanks for getting Grandma into such an uproar. You have her all worried and near tears now. I understand that you were just doing your job and trying to look out for her and Grandpa by letting her know that she should really have medical and financial power of attorney drawn up and that she needed to make sure that someone besides the two of them were listed on all of their assets to make sure it all stays out of probate once they are gone. I understand. But when you tell an 80-something year old woman who has a 90-something year old husband that this needs to be done, she starts to get a little upset. And I completely get why too. Thanks for reminding us that there may not be a lot of years left for them.

Dear Grandma: Just because this tax guy told you to do all of the above, it doesn't mean that you are going to die in the next few days. I am glad that you are getting it all taken care of, even though you thought everything was already in order. Guess with new laws coming into effect every year things change, huh? Also, I know that you all have picked out your burial plots and even already have the headstone engraved with everything but the last date...but I don't really want to talk about it! And, please don't tell me all the time that you think Grandpa is just "holding on until his birthday." Remember that his birthday is also mine, and it will be here in the next few days.

Dear Boyfriend: Give her a hug and tell her you love her. She needs those things whether she tells you she does or not. She just buried her father. Give her time.

Dear Mail Order Prescription Company: I'm still waiting.....

Dear Crazy Man's Boss: Thank you for letting Crazy Man work in the warehouse on the day that it was too unsafe for him to drive. The Boy also thanks you since it is his belly that would be empty without Crazy Man's paycheck!

Dear Superintendent and School Board: I need a raise. Please. When we miss making the cutoff for free lunches by less than $100 a month, I need a raise. Thanks.

Dear Me: Just a reminder that you have lost your mind. And it hasn't been found yet. Probably because we don't have the extra money to offer a reward for its return. Guess you will just have to learn how to function without it until some boy scout finds it and returns it out of the graciousness of his heart.

Have things you want to let someone know? Write them a letter and link up!

Lost: One Mind

2010-02-08T10:46:00.000-06:00

I am losing my mind. I have to be. That is the only explanation for it. The only other thing it could be is that I am getting old. And that surely is not the case.

Remember that report that I was supposed to do and then mail in last month? Well, I did do it. I promise you I did. But now, these people that the report was mailed to want me to do it again. But this time online.

Great. So I go to get the copies I made so that I can input the thing online...and I can't find them. No copies anywhere. Where could they be? I know that I made them. And I thought that I set them with the other papers that need to be filed. Nope.

I have sent an email to the report requester to see if she will either fax or email a copy of what I sent in so that both the hard copy and the online copies are exactly the same. Guess I will have to see if she will do that or not.

And, I was going to post pictures from Jefferson City today. Do you think I remembered to bring them with me to work? Of course not. Wanna know why? Because I am losing my mind!

They are forecasting more snow here. I am not happy with this little prediction. For one, I am going to have to figure out where to stay again. Do I pack and go into town? Do I stay home and keep my fingers crossed that I don't get stuck in the sticks?

Plus, if we get more snow like they are calling for, we may miss more work/school. Just one more thing that I am not excited about. We only have two more days they can take away from us before they start to add days to the end of the year. I fear that if I don't come to school/work tomorrow and they take away or add more days from the calendar, I will definitely lose what little is left of my mind.

Also if we are unable to come to school/work tomorrow, then how am I going to post a kissing picture for the I ♥ Faces contest? I would have done it today, but again, I am losing my mind.

I think it would be better if I didn't know that I was losing my mind. Unfortunately I do know. And that makes it even worse. I just really don't like the fact that I know what I want to do and how to get it done, but then realize that I have totally forgotten what it is that I am needing to get it done with.

I just read over this post. And it looks like it should be a Friday Fragments post. Of course that is probably all directly related to the fact that I am losing my mind.

Friday Fragments

2010-02-05T14:10:00.001-06:00

It is that time of week again. Thank goodness! Mrs. 4444 is hosting Friday Fragments! Skip on over there to read everyone else's noncohesive thinking for the week. Of course, you should do that after you finish here!

I tried to post something about my trip to Jefferson City with pictures and all, but the pictures wouldn't load for whatever reason. I will attempt to do that next week. Maybe things will go better.

I have been hunting online for tutorials to walk me through some of the things that can be done with Photoshop Elements. And I have actually used one of them to play around with making the eyes "pop". I didn't save it or anything because I also was messing around with the layer stuff and it didn't really come out the way I was hoping. But, yay for me that I actually got it to do what it was supposed to do!

The Boy was the Lab Assistant during his Biology class this week. Every week, the teacher chooses someone who is keeping a nice binder full of the stuff she wants in it in the order that she wants it in there plus has good grades to be the Lab Assistant. For that week, the chosen student does not have to do any of the assignments for the class. On top of that, they are also rewarded with not having to take any quizzes or tests that there may be that week. Today there was a test, so The Boy was excited about not having to take it. This will be the first time that has happened. The last time he was named Lab Assistant, they didn't have any tests that he got out of. He is excited about it!

As of today, on February 15th, The Boy will be going to meet someone who is working in the new Autism Center in town. They are supposed to be doing an "interview" with him and filling out some paperwork/evaluations on him. They have several programs that he may benefit from. We had gone through all sorts of evaluations about 18 months ago, but they said that he was kind of young for them to be working with. Matter of fact, I didn't get all the reports until this Monday. They have now decided that they may be able to work with him now. Guess we will see what happens. And I am sure that I will be making posts about it as we go.

My feelings were a bit hurt this week. My Great Grandfather had a fiddle that he would play when he was alive. He owned it before he ever married my Great Grandmother. One of his wishes was that it be passed to his first grandchild, which is my dad. Long story short, my dad has had the fiddle for about 30 years, but it was hidden away. I have always known about it and have asked numerous times to see it. I also said that at some point in the future, I would like to be the owner of it. Because of whatever reason, I had never seen it. Last week, Little Little Brother is carrying it around. Literally. Picking it up, handling it, everything. Yeah, it bothered me. Still bothers me if you wanna know the truth. Not much I can do about it I guess except sit back and nurse my hurt feelings. The plan is to try to find out how old this fiddle is. My Grandfather will be 93 soon. And it was his father that owned it. We are fairly certain this fiddle is over 100 years old. And they were letting a 17 year old boy carry it around!

No big major plans for this weekend. With it raining like crazy here since yesterday afternoon, I am just hoping to be able to make it home and back out again! I am keeping my fingers crossed that it isn't flooded enough to keep me from getting home this afternoon. And, on top of that, the forecast calls for up to 3 inches of snow by Sunday. Not as much as this last weekend, but still enough.

We had the second round of Fluoride Varnish put on a bunch of kids' teeth today here at school. It was organized chaos. Have you noticed that nobody needs anything until you are fully involved in something that you will have a difficult time getting uninvolved with?! That is how today has gone.

The first week of our Pennies for Patients campaign has finished today at school/work. We have collected a total of 43.25 pounds of change so far. I have no idea how much actual money that works out to be since we are going by weight. At the end of the three weeks, I will take it to have it counted and will let you know then. Next week, we will still be collecting money, but also having a hat day on Friday. Kids will have to pay $1 to get to wear a hat all day at school. For every dollar they give, their class total gets a half pound added.

There ya go. Lots of things going on, but nothing really deserving of its own full sized post. (Well, maybe the entire story behind the fiddle....) Hope everyone has a great weekend. I plan to be back here on Monday. As long as the weather holds out anyway!

Dear Someone

2010-02-04T10:51:00.001-06:00

I found this and thought, "hmmm....there are a few things I would like to say to folks, and had been writing it out anyway, so why not link up with others?" So, Short Mama hosts this weekly Dear Someone letter writing and I think it is time to get some things off my chest.

Dear Crazy Man: I'm sorry that I have been an absolute horrid wife recently. They tell me that it is my thyroid causing all sorts of issues and this is one of them. They promise me that it will get better once all the meds and stuff are working like they are supposed to be working. I am trying. But, is it really a bad thing to have to take an anti-depressant? I haven't filled it yet because I know that you don't want me to take it. However, just remember that I am not really like that chick you used to know many years ago that was actually crazy and taking meds. This is just a short term thing that will be fixed once the docs fix my thyroid.

Dear Mail Order Prescription Place: I called you the other night to get my asthma meds refilled only to find out that you won't fill them because even though there are refills left, you say the actual prescription is too old. I don't believe you. It was written less than a year ago. How can it be too old?! Now, thanks to you, I will be out of the medication that has kept me under control for so long. And, unless you pick up the pace and get those meds to me, I will have no more as of Saturday night. And even though I have been told that blue brings out the color of my eyes, I don't think blue as a skin tone would be nearly as pretty.

Dear Parents: Please do not send your child to school sick. Especially after I sent them home the day before with a fever and a note telling you that they have to be fever free without medication to keep it down for at least 24 hours. Please. And while we are at it...if the child in your care has seizures and needs anti-seizure medications while at school, please send the medicine to school for your child. And if you forget to send it, at least be available to be reached so that you can bring it in.

Dear Photoshop Elements People: Thank you so much for making such a great photo editing program. You all are wickedly smart to be able to do something like that. If only you were also smart enough to include some instructions with the software.

Dear Big Truck Driver: Do you realize that you nearly squished my carload of people into a police car as you ran that red light? Yeah, the red light that had been red long enough for both myself and the officer in the lane beside me to actually hit the gas and get into the lane before you decided to turn in front of us. I am sure that you know this now since the officer saw the terrified looks on our faces and flipped his lights on to pull you over as he changed his mind to follow you instead of going wherever he had been headed.

Dear Friend's Ex: Driving with your two kids in the truck at 7:30 in the morning, being pulled over by the police and blowing over 2 1/2 times the legal limit for alcohol? Really?! And you thought this was an okay thing to do? Tell the judge that. Hopefully he will set you straight.

Dear DNA Donor: I am still waiting on those EOBs from the insurance company. Yep. I am thinking that nine years would be long enough for you to have given those to me. After all, you receive them at least once a month. There is no way that you could honestly forget.

Dear Child Support People: I have yet to understand how you people survive. Since I am almost certain that you folks are not truly smart enough to do so. Then again, maybe you all are so smart that I just don't follow you. The DNA Donor is required by law to provide child support through you. I am just obligated to put it into my account. I didn't choose for you to be in control. Why am I the one who is charged for you to accept money on my behalf? Why do you not make him pay the extra money instead of taking it out of what he owes me? And, supposedly when I call you guys to talk about the child support, you have no record of me. Huh....

Dear Lazy Check Drawing People: I have just been informed that according to the state, or the courts, or whoever, that it is perfectly fine for you to get a check in the name of your child every month for well over $1000. All because he requires medication which you get for free but refuse to give to him so that you can continue to say he is disabled. I am going to assume that you are also the people who refuse to work, file income taxes and receive thousands of dollars in return. How does that happen?! Crazy Man and I each work full time and for the past couple of years have had to pay more in than what was held out of our checks. And you sit at home getting free food and housing and medical care, dressing better than I do, driving a nicer vehicle and not paying a dime into the system...getting huge income tax returns. Keep it up and I will have to get a second job just to support you. (Which makes me wonder why it is that I can't claim you on my income taxes since I am providing everything you need to live.) Congratulations. You have figured out the system. Pass it on to your children so that mine will have to support them just as I am supporting you. Maybe by then the IRS will decide that he can claim them also.

Dear Followers: Look! There is another one of you! Thanks!

Snow Fun

2010-02-03T13:57:00.000-06:00

It has been a few days since I was last here. But, we didn't make it back to school until Tuesday and then I was working on getting things caught up. Amazing how if you aren't at work on Monday, you have to do double on Tuesday even with no kids at school either. And, I know that it is early in the afternoon now, but I guess better late than not posting at all, huh?!

We were expecting all sorts of snow to hit us last Thursday night. Did it? Nope. Not a flake to be seen. And yet we didn't have school. Of course the one in charge of calling school off didn't do so until I was ready to walk out the door! By that time, there were already staff members at school, most on their way, and kids outside waiting on the bus. It was a cluster for sure.

It did start to snow later in the morning, but at bedtime, we had not gotten nearly the 4-8 inches like we were told we would have at that point. I did get some nifty pictures while it was snowing though.

I love the little squirrel! That one and the two of the male and female cardinals were taken through my grandma's kitchen window.

On Saturday morning, this is how much we woke up to:

Yep, 7.75 inches was the official total. My dad stuck a ruler into the snow on top of my car just to see. He then told me that I needed to go take a picture of it. So, a picture I took!

Unfortunately, this happened to be the weekend that The Boy was with the DNA Donor. He said that where he was, there were five foot drifts at some points. I thought that was kind of interesting and would have made for some pretty nifty pictures!

Because we were getting a lot of snow being forecasted, most of my family headed over to my grandparent's home. They live in town and those of us who live in the sticks didn't want to get stranded, so we went to her house. I convinced Little Little Brother to stay with us instead of at Big Little Brother's house since this was all supposed to be here to play in on Friday.

But, because the snow didn't show until Saturday, The Boy was gone so they couldn't play like planned. Instead, I got myself all bundled up and went with Little Little Brother to the park across the street from the grandparent's house.

There we found a decent sized hill where we began to pack it down so we could sled. We played for three hours, just the two of us! Near the end of our playing, Crazy Man came up with the camera. I took the ones all the pictures except the ones that have me in them.

We made a nifty little bump that we could jump, as you can tell.

This is how we rode down the hill together. It wasn't too bad....until we hit that bump! That is how I got all the bruises. And yes, there are plenty!

We also were playing Criss-Cross. Little Little Brother and I would head down the hill at the same time, but he headed toward the bump and I would bypass it. We would see if we would miss each other or if we would collide. Most of the time we missed each other. But there were a few times that we didn't!

On Sunday, after The Boy got home, we went back to the sledding hill. Let me tell ya....after a night of freezing, those paths we made were even faster!

We only spent an hour or so on Sunday because the sun was quickly going down once The Boy got home. But we still had a really good time!

Fragmented Friday

2010-01-29T09:11:00.002-06:00

This is a something that I have discovered over at Mrs. 4444's place. I tried this last week and it seemed to work pretty well, so thought I would continue it this week and see what happens.

I have been curious about a lot of different things this week. None of them make for a full post on their own, so Friday Fragments it is.

What things? Well, things like this:

I have been scouting out other blogs online. (Duh, right?! Where else would they be?!) Anyway...where do people get the little buttons like the one at the top of this post? Do they have someone in the 'know' make them for them or is this something so easy even I can do it?

According to that little follower spot over there to the left, I have four people who are following. I wonder...after again scouting other blogs, how do these people get the hundreds of followers that they have? I guess they are a lot more interesting than I am! Mind you....like I said in the beginning...this place is for me. If others want to see what I am thinking/doing, they are more than welcome to follow along.

Why do parents/teachers send a kid to me and ask me if something is broken? Especially when there are no bones sticking out? Really. If I could look at an arm/leg/finger/foot and tell you if it was broken, then don't you think I would be rich and famous and not working at a school???

And, while we are on the subject, just how am I supposed to know if a kid has strep throat/mono/sinus infection without the same equipment that your local doc has? Do you really think that I am just that brilliant? If you do, then thank you!

Did you know that you can tell the what the weather will soon be by the way a classroom full of children are acting? Trust me. You can.

How can I be exercising for 30-90 minutes every single day, eat next to nothing and gain two pounds within 24 hours? How exactly does that work?

Why oh why does it have to snow and keep us out of school just so we can make the darn day up later? Why?? Yeah, a day off is a good thing. Just don't make me have to come back later.

That is about all I have today. Other than I am glad that it is Friday. Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend and you spend it someone you love and who loves you back!

Doctors

2010-01-28T08:47:00.000-06:00

I have decided that I want to become a doctor. Yep. I don't want all the stupid stuff that goes with that title, but the money would be really nice.

I mean really. Where else can you walk into a room, listen to someone complain, look in an ear and a throat, walk out 10 minutes later and charge $255?

If I figure that right, that is $1,530 an hour. And in an eight hour day, that would be $12,240! If you multiply that by five days, you would make $61,200 a week. Multiply that by 52 weeks, and your paycheck (before taxes of course) would figure out to be $3,182,400.

Yeah, I know. Don't get all mad and fill my comment area telling me all the things like they have lots of liability insurance and they have to pay their office staff out of that amount and they have to go to school for a bunch of years.

I know all of this stuff. You forget. I'm a nurse. I understand what type of schooling and the crap they go through to get to where they are. But still. $255 for me to walk in for a follow up visit where he looks at my labwork, tells me that it looks good and to continue to do what I have been doing?! Please. I want that job!! He couldn't just call me and tell me that the labwork is fine? Or, as is normally the case, look at the labs and tell the nurse to call me?

I have also decided, (while I am at it making all sorts of medical decisions) that going to the doctor's office should be like going to Wal-Mart.

Sounds crazy, but bear with me here.

If your doctor tells you that he wants to send you to a specialist because he can't provide what you need, then you shouldn't have to pay. After all, if Wal-Mart doesn't have what you need, but Target does, do you have to pay Wal-Mart for not having it since you went there to look for it??

Or, if your doc diagnoses you with something and gives you meds for it saying that you will feel better soon, but it doesn't work....should you have to pay for the visit? Wal-Mart has a return policy. If you buy something there, get it home and it doesn't work, you can return it and get your money back. Shouldn't a doctor be the same way?

I know. None of the above is going to happen. But it sure sounds like it should! Guess I will just go back to being the lowly little hick in the sticks that I am and grudgingly write out my check to hear that all is fine (despite the fact that it isn't) and make another appointment in 6 months to do it all over again.

Redneck Fire Alarm + Autism

2010-01-27T11:09:00.000-06:00

On the way to work/school this morning, I showed this picture to The Boy. I thought it was amusing and figured he would too. What I didn't know was just how he would react.

The Boy looks at it, kind of chuckles and says: "At least you would never have to change the batteries on it."

Now really. Was that the first thing you thought when you saw that picture?!

He proceeds to then tell me all the reasons why this would not actually work. What are those? Well, first off, who would hear the popcorn popping and know that there was a fire? And then there is the whole deal of the house would probably be already destroyed by the time the heat really caused it to even start popping. Plus, the picture was titled as a Smoke Alarm. It would never detect smoke, but if it was a Fire Alarm, then it might work...over time.

I can only assume that this is the autistic way of finding the picture funny. For me, I think it is funny because...well, because it is so crazy I guess. I mean, really. Using Jiffy Pop as a fire alarm?! C'mon! But what The Boy immediately finds amusing is that he wouldn't have to deal with batteries!

Autism has also been showing itself in other mysterious ways lately. Or at least I am going to blame that. I would hate to say that The Boy is just not nice.

The Boy has a class during 6th hour at school called Transitions which I have discussed before. Before Christmas, there was only one other boy in the class. Since the new year, two more kids have been added.

One of those kids is also in The Boy's freshman class. However, this child has severe delays (they say they are related to him having seizures) and can not read.

On the ride home from school one day, The Boy asks me how someone can go through life without knowing how to read. I tell him that these people usually find ways around it by knowing where things are and using visual cues. He asks me how they can use a phone if they don't know their numbers or how they can pay for anything if they don't know numbers or letters. I told him that some do know their letters and numbers, but just haven't figured out how to put them all together to form words. He asked why they can't read. I tell him that just like his brain is wired differently than mine, so is theirs.

When I asked what brought this line of questioning on, he told me that it was because what had happened in his Transitions class. One thing they do as part of this class is called a Copy Center. The teachers complete a form telling what they need, how many and when it is needed. The kids in the class get it all done for them. Kills two birds with one stone that way. Saves the teacher time and teaches kids responsibility and a life skill.

Evidently the two new kids in the class were being shown how this whole system works. Their teacher filled out a fake request sheet and gave it to "L" and told him to ask questions if he needed help. "L" took the paper and began looking at it.

The Boy asked him if he needed help. "L" never answered. The Boy asked again. No answer from "L". Finally, The Boy just looks at him and says "L. Do you have a question? Can you even read that paper?"

"L" tells The Boy that he can't read it. The Boy proceeds to tell him, "If you can't read it then how are you going to know what you are doing? You are going to have to ask for help you know."

All that The Boy said may have been true. But he needs to learn a little tact!

I did remind The Boy that maybe "L" is a little embarrassed about the fact that he can't read, so it may be hard for him to ask for help.

Yeah, autism sucks. But sometimes it is funny too. Plus it helps remind me that some things that you don't even think about that come naturally to most others has to be taught. Like tact!

What a Crazy Man

2010-01-26T11:14:00.000-06:00

My name is Ima Hick and I am a coupon cutter. I am not ashamed to say that I do this. I am also not ashamed to say that I save money because of it. And, I am also not ashamed to say that I will only visit one specific supermarket when they are having things on sale for a dollar...and then take in my coupons to be doubled, therefore giving me items for free or very close to it.

So how can I honestly spend one single night in a hotel room that costs as much as a car payment...and doesn't give me a free breakfast in the morning?! Easy...I'm getting that one basically free also!

See, as a truck driver, Crazy Man has to spend the night out on the road for his job, usually at least once a week. He has been doing this for years, but until he got his current job, he would just sleep in his truck. Now, the company pays for his night in a hotel. He joined a frequent sleepers club (or something like that) and he has been racking up points for over a year and half.

On Sunday, he told me that he was going to cash in some of those points. His plan is for us to go to Nashville for our ~~2 year~~ 6 month anniversary. He made reservations for us to stay at the Wyndham Union Station Hotel.

Holy cow! Have you seen this place?! The pictures are amazing. I am really looking forward to getting there to see it all in person...and to take my own pictures.

Last year, we went to Nashville too. This year he wanted us to go to St. Louis, but there were no rooms available. So back to Nashville we go. Which is not a problem for me. I ♥ Nashville!

I would not ever want to actually live there though! I am not a big city girl. Way too many people. But, to visit is wonderful. I have been a bunch of times, but there are still things that I have never done. And I can't think of anyone that I would want to do them more with!

**Hopefully, my computer will have been returned back to me before then so that I can get my pictures in order. I am having withdrawal!**

Not Me Monday

2010-01-25T09:59:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

This is going to be a dual post. The first part will be for Not Me Monday. The second part will just be for Monday.

So, what did I not do this past week?

I did not talk to the GPS voice who told me where to go and how to get there on my trip to Jefferson City. Because that would just be ridiculous since this is not a real person, and he couldn't answer me back.

I did not walk out of a meeting with five others without looking back, knowing full well that the person in charge was going to tattle tell to someone more in charge than her.

I did not lay on the floor of the state capital building in the hopes of getting a cool picture. Nope. And I definitely did not do that more than once!

I did not get upset that I still have not gotten my computer returned to me so that I could show you the pictures that I did not take while lying on the floor of the capital building.

I did not laugh at some guy in the Wal-Mart parking lot yesterday attempting to place his cart in the the little cart wrangler area. Why would I laugh at something like that? There is no way that could ever be funny...unless he slammed it against the blue 'not this side, dummy' bar...and then slammed himself against the cart...and then started to loudly question "wtf"! I would never laugh at something like that since he could have been hurt.

I did not thank God yesterday at the restaurant that it was not my autistic child who picked up a pickle with the tongs...twice...and dropped said pickle straight into his mouth...and then lick the juice off the tongs before putting them back into the pickle container. I also did not laugh since I was so glad that this was not The Boy. I did not contemplate if this had happened to us if I would have just acted as though nothing had happened, or if I would have gone to the manager and confessed as to what my teenager had just done.

I did not refuse to answer the phone when I saw who was calling me because I didn't know what they wanted since they have never ever called before. And, since I also was afraid that they were going to ask for money. And I would really hate to tell them no and get a cussing. So, I didn't just let it ring.

Those are just some of the things that I did not do this past week. Who knows what will happen in the next week!

___________________________________

And now for my thoughts for today. Which I know that you have been waiting patiently for....

I really think that schools should only be in session for four days a week. Although, I am not sure which day we should take off.

Not having to attend on Friday would be great. We could start our weekend sooner, and who doesn't want that?

Then again, maybe not going in on Monday would be better. That way everyone could recoup from the weekend. And, I think that maybe people would be in better moods and there wouldn't be as many kids who think they are sick.

But, maybe the best day to take off would be Wednesday. That way we could work for two days, be off a day, work for two days and be off for two days. We would always have a day off to look forward to very soon.

And, if I was off every Wednesday, I could schedule all of our appointments on that one day instead of something every day after school. This week, we have an orthodontist appointment on Tuesday, a counselor appointment on Wednesday and a doctor appointment on Thursday. All of them scheduled between 3:30 and 4:00.

Yep...Wednesday would be the best day to be off and for us to only have a four day school week. I would definitely be willing to go for a little bit longer each day if we could get to that four day week. And, I would not even complain about which day is chosen for us to be off. As long as there is one chosen!

Friday Fragments

2010-01-22T11:06:00.000-06:00

It was suggested by Georgie that some of my posts would be good for something called Friday Fragments. Evidently I am not alone in discovering that by the time Friday finally decides to roll around, none of my thoughts are in line anymore. I am so glad to know that I am not the only one!

So, with that discovery, I am linking up to Mrs. 4444 for the first time ever. Will probably be doing more of that in the future.

I am tired today. And nauseated....still. Have been like that since I woke up on New Year's Day all icky sick. Hoping this goes away soon. Really really hoping.

Made my trip to Jefferson City. The weather was foggy until I got almost there and then the next day it was all rainy. Lovely. And the meeting was totally useless...which I made sure to comment about on the evaluations.

Stopped at the Capital Building. Got some nifty photos. Had actually planned to make a post today with them in it and tell about all sorts of things that happened on the trip. Unfortunately, my computer was not at home with me last night.

How does this happen, you ask, since usually computers do not have legs? Well, I needed to download some updates but don't have internet at home, so brought the tower to school where the IT guy was supposed to do this stuff for me....and it isn't finished yet. Keeping my fingers crossed that it is done today and I will be able to show and tell Monday.

Is it normal to worry about someone you don't actually "know"?! The reason I am asking is because I hadn't seen where Georgie had posted anything until yesterday while I was gone. Guess I had gotten used to being able to snoop into someone else's world instead of having to always focus on mine!

I am so glad today is Friday. Have nothing major planned for the weekend at this moment. Maybe it will stay that way....nice and calm. Yeah...right!

It's Triplets!

2010-01-20T09:14:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I was at the high school building giving some medications to a couple of kids. I was in the hallway and I hear someone say to me "Hi, The Boy's mommy! I love you!" (Of course, she said his real name, but you get the jist!) I just looked at her and told her that I loved her too and she went on to class with a big smile.

This girl is a friend of The Boy's and in his class. I don't know a ton about her, but I do know that she has kicked the butt of a male classmate. I know...maybe I shouldn't let The Boy hang out with her. But, everyone needs a friend and hopefully some of The Boy's calmness with shed onto her. Besides, she treats The Boy well.

I laughed with The Boy this morning telling him about it. A few years ago, another boy in his class decided to call me mom also. The Boy wasn't too excited about that happening and told him that he had had me longer. They discussed all of this and it was decided that he would be called Son Too. He didn't like it at first because he said that since he was actually a month older than The Boy, then he shouldn't be the second son. I told him that was not the way too was spelled. That seems to have satisfied both of them!

Now, it seems that I have a daughter! My grandmother will be so happy to have another girl in the family. I told The Boy that his list of siblings was growing by leaps and bounds. I also let him know that since they were all basically the same age, then that made him a triplet! He just grinned and said that he was okay with that.

I always wanted a bunch of kids. I am thinking that this way of getting triplets is probably much less inexpensive. Plus, I didn't have to go through a triplet pregnancy!

Lost

2010-01-19T10:08:00.000-06:00

I have to say that I love my camera. I also have to say that despite the fact that I have owned it for more than half a year, I still don't know how to do a lot with it.

I do know how to use the zoom and all that stuff, but as far as figuring out how to use the "f" number and the aperture stuff....I'm lost. I have read the manual that comes with it and have even tried to look up online as to what it is that I should be doing. After all, it seems a major waste of good money to just point and shoot! If anyone out there has any easy way to teach me this stuff, I would be more than willing to listen!

And then there is the whole photo editing stuff. I have been drooling over the Photoshop programs for years, wishing I could have one of them. But, I felt that it was better to feed The Boy than to spend the money on a computer program to play with. Or at least that is how the Department of Children and Family Services feels.

Last year around fair time, Crazy Man, Boyfriend and His Wife, and I all visited this little fair. We ran into a lady who had a tent set up selling her professional photography skills to anyone willing to pay the money. Now, Boyfriend and I are big photo buffs and we spent some time talking to this lady. We asked about what she used to edit her photos. I don't remember the exact name of the program she used, but she offered to send us a copy of it. We gave her our names and addresses and went on our merry way.

Weeks passed and we never received anything from her. Boyfriend called her and she told him that she had lost the paper we had written on, so asked if he would text her our information. He did.

It has now been months and we still have heard nothing. Don't get me wrong, I am not surprised. Seems to me that she would be silly to send us the program without us having paid for it. But, she offered.

Last week, I was talking to a friend who has Photoshop 7 who offered to let me have it to install on my computer. I took it home and install I did!

And that is when I realized that I am simply not the very smart.

I can not figure out this silly program. You would think that it would come with some type of directions included, wouldn't you?! Well, it didn't. It did come with a very short, not well written manual which mostly told me how to install the darn thing. It did discuss, briefly, that you could download photos into the program from your camera, a scanner or the hard-drive of your computer. So why can I not find any pictures saved to my hard-drive? Because it doesn't tell me how to get them there, only that they can be gotten.

I can not possibly be the only person out there that is totally lost with this program. Maybe it is because I have not upgraded from a previous version and am starting my photoshopping with Photoshop 7. I don't know.

I am hoping that when Boyfriend gets back from his military training in about 3 weeks, he can teach me how to use this silly program. And keep me from feeling like I am outright stupid!

Non-Cohesive Thoughts

2010-01-15T10:35:00.000-06:00

Let me just say this....I am so glad it is Friday.

It has been a long week. For whatever reason, I am thinking that there were two Mondays and maybe even an extra Wednesday thrown in for good measure.

I got my report done yesterday and even got it in the mail. Good thing since it had to be postmarked by today! Of course, when they receive the report, it isn't going to say what they wanted to hear. But, I can only do what I can do.

I also got a hotel reservation for the meeting that I am required to attend next week in Jefferson City. At this very moment in time, it looks like I am going to be lucky and a friend is going to go with me. Not sure what time we will be able to leave though. Not that it matters, as long as I don't have to go by myself!

Crazy Man's aunt and uncle are supposed to be leaving for Hawaii to visit their daughter and son-in-law on Saturday. Last weekend we were talking and told them that we would take them to the airport if they wanted so they wouldn't have to pay to park the car for two weeks. (The closest major airport is a couple hours away.) The uncle said that would be great and that they would pay us for the fuel. Crazy Man tells him that we could just drive their car and then they wouldn't have to worry about paying us anything.

Next thing I know, we are being told that they would rather pay the money to park their car!

Crazy Man is a good driver. Actually, he is a really good driver. He drives a big truck for a living and has done so for many years. Without problems. Now, they don't trust him to drive a normal sized car?!

Whatever!

When we got our house refinanced recently, we had a little bit left over to do a few home improvements. I think I am going to try to convince Crazy Man to look for whatever we need to finish our front patio. It has only been halfway completed with a tarp over it for 16 months! I think it is time to do something about that.

After talking it over with the principal at our elementary building, we have decided what we are going to do to bring in money for our Pennies for Patients campaign next month. I know that I said that it would be too cold for water or outside, but it has been decided that we would have the kids buy water balloons or use a super soaker water gun aimed at our music teacher. And, he did agree to this!

We are also looking for donations of things that we can raffle off that the kids would like. So far, we have collected a school blanket, one of next year's yearbooks, a couple of certificates for painball games, some posters and backpacks.

I am trying to contact stores to see if they would be willing to donate gift cards that we could raffle also. And, there are two movie theaters in town (not the one our school is in, but 20 miles away) and I am going to see if they would be willing to donate some tickets.

I am hoping that this is going to go well. Last year, it was a roaring success, so hopefully this year will be even better.

Can you tell that all of this is just a rambling thing?! I can't seem to get all my thoughts in a nice neat little package that makes sense and flows well. Oh well, as long as I can follow it, then it makes no never mind!

Any Suggestions?

2010-01-13T10:36:00.000-06:00

I need ideas! Last year at the Elementary building of the school I work at, we participated for the first time in something called Pennies for Patients. This is a drive to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. If the school raised over $300, then the winning classroom would get a pizza party paid for by the Society.

We did things just a little different from they way they suggested it to be done. Instead of the class raising the most money winning, we decided to do it by pounds. If we had paper money, then we weighed how much a dollar worth of pennies was and added that amount.

Over three weeks, we had the kids bring in their money to put in their classroom buckets. On each Friday, we would weigh what they had brought and announce who was in first, second and third place. And, the last two Fridays was something special. We had a hat day where they could pay a dollar and wear a hat. The last day, we used duct tape to tape a coach to the wall. Each kid paid a dollar for a strip of duct tape.

We raised a total of $674.74. And, instead of just the first place classroom getting a party, we split the money they were sending to buy the pizza and also had smaller parties for the second and third place groups.

Now, we are revving up for this year. We are going to be doing this the first three weeks of February this year. We have been brainstorming ideas, but nothing is set in stone yet. We know that we want to go by weight and have three parties again. But other than that, we aren't positive.

These are some of the things we have considered:

-- pay a dollar to wear a hat

-- pay a dollar to chew gum in the afternoon

-- buy a candy gram to be passed out for Valentine's Day

-- find folks to donate some good stuff and offer a raffle

We had also considered taping the coach to the wall again, but thought we should try something else this year to keep it from becoming old. Don't think that we are going to be able to find any staff member that will let us shave or color their hair!

If anyone out there has any suggestions, I would be more than willing to listen and consider them. Just remember that it is really cold around here in February, so nothing that involves water or outside.

Or, if you want to donate something or know of someone who would, leave a way to contact you and I will do so.

Yeah, I know this is a long shot since there aren't many who even know that I am around, but it never hurts to try!

---------------------------------

Other stuff.....

The Boy brought his grades home on Monday. He got all A's for both the quarter and the semester! I am so proud of him. And, even better, he is proud of himself!

Yesterday was the first day in a lot of days that the temperatures got above freezing. A heat wave! Matter of fact, it felt downright warm in the sunshine! Of course, it fell way below freezing overnight. We have been keeping drinks (like gatorade) out in our garage. No need to use electricity to keep them cold! Opened one earlier and it was slushy!

Got a hotel reservation for my meeting that I have to make up for when the weather was bad. Trying to convince a friend to go with me so that I don't have to drive it by myself. The only problem is that if she goes with me, then we will have to leave closer to 5pm, so that puts us not getting there until sometime between 9 and 10. If I go alone, then I am hoping against hope that I will be allowed to leave school around noon to drive it.

I have been trying to use my Wii Fit everyday for at least 30 minutes of step. And, I have taken to weighing myself on it in the mornings right after I get out of the shower. Loosing some weight would be great, but if I could just tone things up a little to get back into some of my clothes, that would be good too.

The DNA Donor wants a copy of Crazy Man's insurance card that covers The Boy. He says it is "just in case I need to take him to the doctor." This is causing a little tension. Crazy Man says that he won't let DNA Donor have a copy because it is secondary. Therefore, it won't change what the DNA Donor's insurance will do. And, then there is the fact that DNA Donor would have no idea which doctor to take him to if he were sick, and he better be letting me know so that I can be there if he needs to take The Boy to the hospital. Maybe I am crazy, but it doesn't seem like there is a need for DNA Donor to have a secondary insurance card.

Realized on Monday morning that our water softener was not softening water. Lovely. The thing is less than six months old. It shouldn't be giving me problems yet, should it?! Have no idea what the problem is/was, but have coaxed it into softening water again.

Still haven't gotten my report that is due Friday done. I'm trying!

Have been trying not to cry lately. All the time. Don't know what the deal is, but tired of it. Maybe I just need a vacation. And a winning PowerBall ticket.